28/02/2018 Beyond 100 Days

You're watching Beyond 100 Days.

Jared Kushner is in charge

of relations with China,

Mid East peace and reinventing

the US government.

It's a huge, difficult brief

for someone who has just had

their security clearance downgraded.

The President's son in law may find

it harder to tackle those tasks

now he can't even see

top secret intelligence.

The children of Parkland return

to school, two weeks to the day

after a gunman walked

in and killed their friends.

I think eventually it

will be normal again,

but not the same normal

it was before, it will probably be

a new type of normal because those

17 people aren't going to be there.

Evangelist Billy Graham becomes only

the fourth private citizen

in America to lie in honour

in the US Capitol.

Also on the programme:

Is the UK being backed into a corner

over the Irish border?

We've the details of the EU's

controversial Brexit proposal

for Northern Ireland.

Rallying the royals,

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

appear with the Duke and Duchess

of Cambridge, setting

out their charitable work.

Get in touch with us

using #Beyond100Days.

Hello and welcome -

I'm Katty Kay in Washington

and Christian Fraser is in London.

Jared Kushner, the President's

wunder-kid son in law,

is not having a good day.

His White House security clearance

has been downgraded meaning

he no longer has access

to top secret information.

And, a report in the Washington

Post, describes how Jared's

business interests are seen

as vulnerabilities

by foreign leaders.

US intelligence authorities have

picked up conversations in China,

Mexico, the UAE and Israel that show

officials there think

they can manipulate the 37-year-old

political novice.

The Post report was written

by Shane Harris their national

security correspondent.

I spoke to him earlier.

Spell out this story for us,

according to your reporting US

intelligence has overheard or

somehow got information that some of

America's allies are looking at

Jared Kushner and thinking he's got

vulnerabilities?

The vulnerabilities

the countries see our that he has a

lack of experience in government and

foreign policy so I naivete as one

White House press and it to us. As

well as his own complex business

history and particularly financial

issues he has in the form of large

debt on a property in New York City

that the company, his family real

estate company owns. There is about

a $1.2 billion debt on that company

which comes due and we understand

people are looking that is leveraged

they may able to use. We don't know

precisely what these people said

about that but I think what a number

of our sources have concerns about

is that they may have seen that as a

way to try to engage Jared Kushner

in some kind of business related

transaction separate from his

official capacity but in order to

try to influence him in an official

way.

Is it your understanding that

US intelligence has intercepted in

some way reports from officials from

China and Mexico and the UAE and

Israel discussing plans around Jared

Kushner or a waste that plate?

That

is correct, in the course of

intelligence gathering which we do

an allies and others raised in the

United States these conversations

were picked up and we know there

were conversations Jared Kushner had

on his own while he was in the White

House with officials in some foreign

countries and those conversations he

did not report internally through

normal protocol to senior officials

in the White House.

My understanding

that not reporting conversations

with pollen officials is something

which in the normal course of events

seizure security clearance denied.

It would be a huge problem when

you're trying to obtain security

clearance and if you had clearance

that is right, it would be an issue

to go outside of the normal channels

and do that. We understand the

National Security adviser HR

McMaster find out when he came into

office earlier in 2017 that Jared

Kushner was having sidelined

conversations are not reporting them

and he was taken aback by this.

There were concerns Jared Kushner

might be freelancing foreign policy.

So how big a problem is this for

him?

It's a big problem in terms of

the foreign contacts he has had. The

immediate resolution, his security

clearance level has been downgraded.

He is now at secret and it's our

understanding that the foreign

conversations he had with foreign

people was not reporting was a

reason he could not obtain a final

top-secret security clearance.

Could

this force him out of the White

House?

I don't know how he can

continue to do the jobs in his

portfolio with only this level of

clearance but that is up to the

president.

Joining us now with his analysis

is our political analyst

Ron Christie, a former advisor

to George W Bush.

You of course went through the

security clearance procedure when

you worked in the George W Bush

administration, do you think if

Jared Kushner did not happen to be

the son-in-law he would still be in

the White House given these security

issues?

He would have been gone a

long time ago. This is an intensive

process, this is something, they

look all the way back to when you

are in elementary school and they go

forward, they say did Ryan Christie

tell the truth, about where he lived

and worked? Some of the

conversations he had over the

durations of his life. What we have

here is he had an interim top-secret

clearance, one of the highest levels

you can get, to have that brought

down, anyone else would have been

fired.

What is the practical impact

on him and his ability to do his job

now he has lost the top-secret

clearance?

His access to information

and his access to the present. There

will be several times during the day

were the White House chief of staff

would say OK this is top-secret

compartmentalised information,

everybody if you do not have it what

out. Now you have an assistant to

the president, he will have two W

out the room all the time and will

not be in the room a lot of the

time.

Embarrassing nothing else?

I

get it, last night I got an e-mail

from 35,000 feet, how about that? In

that e-mail you said the fact that

Donald Trump elected not to keep

Jared Kushner at that level because

it was a decision for the chief of

staff, should tell you something?

I

have to be careful about what I is

injured and where I send it because

you will call me on it. But this is

significant, it is significant that

the president was briefed by his

chief of staff who in turn had been

briefed by the White House counsel

and said here is what we find out.

In my opinion there is something

substantial to have here and they

said Mr President this is why we

have made this recommendation for

Jared Kushner to be demoted and the

fact that the president did not

overrule his White House counsel and

chief of staff tells you there is

something there.

The fact that

Donald Trump brought his children

into the White House and they were

seen by foreign governments as the

weak link tells you a little bit

about how this White House is being

run.

It does and this is why you do

not bring your children into the

family business if the family

business is politics. You need to

have close and candid advice from

your advisers but you have to be in

a position, the pleasure of you in

the White House could end long

before you like it to be. If this

was not the President's son-in-law

we would be talking about him being

shown the door a long time ago.

Lets

see how much longer he lasts, thank

you for coming in.

If he is shown

the door what difference will it

make, what has he achieved?

This

reminds me of a story in 1960,

Eisenhower was asked what has

Richard Nixon achieved in your

administration, Eisenhower thought

for a moment and then said give me a

week and I might be able to think of

one. It's hard to think of some

solid contribution, China, Mexico,

the Mexican president has just

cancelled a visit to the naked state

which is highly embarrassing, which

Jared Kushner has achieved. Tame

Impala promise.

What effectively he

has access to is stuff that will be

leaked to the front page of

newspapers. You cannot do the jobs

on his plate with the intelligence

he has access to. Organically when

you look at the problem, this is a

problem of the President's on making

because they did not hand the Rob

Porter thing properly so they had to

look at background clearance and

this is what you get when you bring

your children in.

Maybe it's worth

reminding ourselves that this is not

normal. Having your son-in-law and

daughter as an adviser, this has not

happened before in American politics

and maybe there is a reason for it

and perhaps Jared Kushner came in

full of confidence and said he could

do all these things but you do not

bring your kids into the White House

when you are the president

particularly when they have various

financial dealings and shadows

hanging over them.

As the US Congress dithers,

American companies are taking

action to restrict guns.

Today Dick's Sporting Goods,

one of the largest sporting

retailers in the country,

announced these steps in the wake

of the Florida school shooting.

The chain will no longer sell

assault-style rifles.

Nor sell firearms

to anyone under 21.

And it will no longer sell

high capacity magazines.

This corporate

crackdown was announced

on the morning that students

in Parkland returned

to class for the first time

since the shooting at their high

school - in which 17

people were killed.

We followed one teenager who talked

about what it was like going back.

They don't want us to bring

backpacks today, we are not going to

really be using them because we are

not going to be doing much, it's all

about healing. Going back to school

for the first time in about two

weeks it feels really weird. Not

that one. I will bring this one. I

get nervous because I am frightened

it will happen again. I know the

chances are that it will not but I

am going to have that feeling for

maybe the first week or two. Is it

going to fit in the small and tiny

bag, that is the question? I think

eventually it will be normal but not

the same normal it was before, it

will be a new type of normal because

those 17 people are not going to be

there. It's going to be reared,

going on and not seeing the coach at

all the sports events, it's going to

be

the building where the incident

occurred is currently shut down.

There is a huge fence around it and

it has a police presence so we

cannot go in there. So we are going

to be squished together in certain

rooms, some of our rooms have been

relocated.

Welcome back.

Thank you.

It's not going to be the same but

it's going to be OK.

Let's get more from our

North America Correspondent Nada

Tawfik in Parkland.

These children have been so eloquent

and have campaigned hard on the

issue of gun control, but two weeks

on this is the moment where they

have to walk through the door of the

classrooms and face up to the awful

things they went through?

Yeah,

absolutely. This has been an

emotionally draining day for many of

those students. Behind me they

walked this long stretch to the

school entrance and were greeted by

teachers and police officers who

gave them high fives to raise their

spirits and welcome them back. I

spoke to one student after school

and she said she had a very hard

time, crying, having to be led into

the class with the help of her peers

and seeing her teachers cracking

with emotion while they tried to

remain strong. One student wears a

red ribbon and he said that, to him,

symbolises that the students here

have been empowered and have a voice

in this national and state debate

here about gun control. They say

they do feel they have made a

difference. You see it with

companies abandoning the NRA, today

a major retailer saying they will no

longer sell assault rifles, Dick's

sporting goods. There is a new

approach and how they speak to these

children, they are a force to be

reckoned with because they do not

shy away from being blunt about how

they feel. That was the main

takeaway today, the students trying

to get back to some sense of

normality but also feeling hopeful

because her voice has made a small

difference but the difference

nonetheless.

Kill McAfee have moved

a lot of people and a lot of emotion

to deal with, thank you.

If a solution to the Irish border

question cannot be found

during the Brexit negotiations

the EU says the border with the UK

should effectively be

placed in the Irish sea,

annexing Northern Ireland

from the rest of the UK.

A legal text published today,

which seeks to spell out the terms

of a divorce agreement,

proposes a "common regulatory

area" between Northern

Ireland and the Republic.

It also demands the UK makes

Europe's highest court the ultimate

arbiter in future Brexit disputes.

Theresa May told parliament

they were "demands no UK prime

minister could ever accept".

Our Europe Editor,

Katya Adler reports.

In the historic process

in which the UK leaves the EU,

this is a big moment -

the first legal draft

of the UK's exit treaty.

So how is it possible,

you might ask, to have a draft

withdrawal agreement already

when Brexit negotiations

are still ongoing?

Well, this 120-page document

is the European Commission's

understanding of what has been

agreed to date with the UK and of

what it still wants to be agreed.

So in here, we see that divorce

issues which were discussed,

but not finalised, before Christmas.

The rights of EU citizens

within the UK and UK citizens

in the EU after Brexit.

Also, the financial settlement,

the so-called Brexit Bill.

And to the Irish border.

Also in here, the transition

agreement, but no details

of a future EU-UK trade deal,

because those talks

haven't even started yet.

The document's paragraphs

on Northern Ireland

are particularly controversial.

The EU's chief Brexit negotiator

came out today to defend them.

We have applied imagination

and creativity, to find a specific

solution to the unique challenge

that Brexit poses for the protection

of the Good Friday Agreement.

Mr Barnier said three options had

been agreed with the UK to avoid

the reintroduction of a hard border

between Northern Ireland

and the Irish Republic,

but he said the UK hadn't yet come

forward with details.

So his backstop solution involves

Northern Ireland remaining

in a customs agreement with the EU

and in parts of the single market.

You must also be aware

of the potentially explosive

effect in the UK of this

Northern Ireland protocol.

Is this perhaps

intentional, on your part?

TRANSLATION:

I'm not trying

to provoke or create shock waves.

I want these negotiations

to be a success.

But let me remind you that it was

the UK's decision to leave and,

as I've said from the beginning,

nobody should underestimate

the consequences of this action.

But the Prime Minister

was having none of it.

The draft legal text

the Commission have published

would, if implemented,

undermine the UK Common Market

and threaten the constitutional

integrity of the UK by creating

a customs and regulatory border down

the Irish Sea, and no UK Prime

Minister could ever agree to it.

The Prime Minister and the EU

do agree a hard border

between Northern Ireland

and the Irish Republic must be

avoided, but the Prime Minister's

negotiating position is complicated

by the Government's reliance

for Parliamentary support

on Northern Ireland's Democratic

Unionist Party.

If we didn't leave the EU to oversee

the break-up of the United Kingdom,

it would be catastrophic

economically, never mind

politically, for Northern Ireland

to cut off from its biggest market.

But this is not

where the story ends.

This document is a first draft,

to be amended by EU member states,

then negotiated with the Government

- which has plenty to say about it.

Katya Adler, BBC News, Brussels.

Is politicians spend a lot of time

talking about this and they came to

some kind of agreement, is this a

case of when you come to an

agreement which is basically a fudge

and they called it regulatory

alignment, when you put the details

on at the fudge falls apart?

At some

point you have to put it into legal

text. We were at the summit in

December and they said they had

found an agreement on full

alignment, no border between North

and South. What Michel Barnier is

saying is this is the logical

extension, that if you reach no deal

you have to put the border somewhere

and although they don't spell it out

it would have to go in the Irish

Sea. Its highly provocative to

suggest you are going to effectively

annexed part of the United Kingdom,

mess with the internal market of the

UK and the constitutional

arrangement between the UK and

Northern Ireland and that is

hardening attitudes on both sides.

So is there a sense amongst

Brexiteers in the UK today, watching

on social media for example, that

this was deliberately provocative on

the part of Michel Barnier?

I think

so, if you look at the social media

feeds of people who voted remain

then it says surely this is what the

government expected, and indeed John

Major set out today that the

question was always the there. David

Davis with some justification has

said if you put the cart before the

horrors and talk about the Ireland

issue as part of the divorce

proceedings rather than part of the

solution and trade agreement then

you will always arrive at this

point. Both sides feel they have

facts on their side if you will but

it's something I think has hardened

positions today in both camps.

Theresa May left in no easy position

at all. He is often

He's often described

as America's pastor and today

a ceremony was held

in

the US capitol to honor Billy Graham

- who is now lying there in honour.

Graham died last week at the age

of 99 but since then he has been

remembered for his impact

around the globe.

He preached the gospel in 185

countries and territories

and he prayed with every US

president from Harry

Truman to Barack Obama.

Today President Trump was among

those paying his respects

and delivering remarks.

an ambassador for Christ who

reminded the world of the power of

prayer and the gift of God 's grace.

Today we say a prayer for our

country, that all across this land

the Lord will raise up men and women

like Billy Graham to spread a

message of love and hope to every

precious child of God.

It's an

enormous honour for a private

citizen to be placed in Capitol

Hill, only four before.

Yeah, boot

Capitol Hill police officers who

were shot in attack were placed

there in honour and Rosa Parks, the

civil rights leader who defied the

bus segregation ban. We should

clarify, we are saying he is lying

in honour and not lying in state

because he was not a political or

military figure but he was someone

who united the country at a

different time when, he was somebody

who Republican and Democratic

presidents went to and prayed with

and you wonder in this very divided

time who could fill that kind of

role?

Extraordinary man.

Severe weather is

role?

Extraordinary man.

Severe weather is causing

role?

Extraordinary man.

Severe weather is causing problems

role?

Extraordinary man.

Severe weather is causing problems

across the United Kingdom and

Scotland's first ever red snow

warning has come in to place. It

urges people to take action now to

keep safe. Amber warnings are in

place for other parts of Scotland

and northern and eastern England.

It's been revealed that a murdered

Slovakian journalist was probing

alleged political corruption with

points to the Italian mafia. He was

shot dead at home. The Slovakian

Prime Minister has appealed for

information and is offering a 1

million euros reward.

The World

Championship surfer Mike Fanning who

vigorously fought off a great white

shark during competition retires

next month. The 36-year-old

nicknamed white lightning, he won

three world titles and will hang up

his surfboard in March saying he has

lost his drive to compete on a

day-to-day basis.

Meghan Markle has joined

Prince Harry and the Duke

and Duchess of Cambridge

for their first official

engagement together.

They were setting out their vision

for the future work of their

personal charitable organisation.

It's called the Royal Foundation

which Ms Markle will officially

join after her wedding

to Prince Harry in May.

Our Royal Correspondent

Nicholas Witchell reports.

They are the foursome who will take

the Royal family forward

for decades to come.

And on stage together

for the first time, they talked

about their mission.

William said it was to build

on what his parents

and grandparents had achieved.

Hold on to the values that have

always guided our family,

but seek to engage in public life

in a way that was updated

and relevant for our generation.

Attention inevitably

focused on the newcomer,

Meghan Markle underlined

the relevance of her agenda talking

about female empowerment.

You'll often hear people say,

"You're helping women

find their voices."

And I fundamentally disagree

with that, because women don't

need to find a voice.

They have a voice, they need to feel

empowered to use it,

and people need to be

encouraged to listen.

And I think, right now,

in the climate that we're seeing

with so many campaigns,

I mean, Me Too and Time's Up,

there is no better time

than to really continue to shine

a light on women feeling empowered,

and people really helping to support

them, men included in that.

Meghan said she was looking forward

to hitting the ground running

after her wedding.

Sitting next to her,

her future sister-in-law.

So how is it working as a foursome?

Working as family does have

its challenges, of course it does.

The fact that everyone's laughing

means that everybody knows

exactly what it's like.

LAUGHTER

But, look, you know,

we're stuck together

for the rest of our lives, so...

LAUGHTER

This is true.

Togetherness at its finest.

Togetherness, yeah, yeah.

Together and seeking

to make a difference.

Nicholas Witchell, BBC News.

Imagine if we had to say that, stuck

together for the rest of our lives.

Initially it said just 100 days and

now we are beyond 100 days! Who

knows?

How many more hundreds and

hundreds but congratulations to

them, they look happy.

The Royal

family in good hands by all counts.

This is Beyond 100

Days from the BBC.

Coming up for viewers

on the BBC News Channel

and BBC World News:

Same party, different politics -

the Brexit warning from a former

British Prime Minister

to Theresa May, but is

Sir John Major's intervention

too little, too late?

And white out - we've more

on the wild wintry weather that's

freezing over the UK and Europe.

The 'beast from the east'

is going nowhere fast.

That's still to come.

This week has got ever colder,

Everson Neuer and parts of Scotland

bearing the brunt of the heaviest

snow. Met Office warnings, this red

area covering much of the central

belt, the highest level of warning,

snow piling up, dangerous situation

particularly for anyone still

travelling but the advice is not to.

This amber area through the rest of

north-east Scotland and East of

England, further snow showers will

add to the accumulations we've got.

Elsewhere scattered snow showers,

there will be clear spells but as we

take a closer look at this snow

running, we have put totals, some

spots will get even more than Nasa

by the time it's all said and done.

This very serious situation

considers into the morning.

Increasing cloud, tempters maybe not

as low as they were last night but

it's bitterly cold overnight,

another severe frost and it fields

colder in the wind. Into tomorrow

those showers continue to affect

Scotland, a few elsewhere but

starting to see outbreaks of snow

rather than just snow showers across

parts of southern England during

Thursday then reaching parts of

Wales as well. The wind picks up

with this as well. Look at that in

Cardiff, feeling like -11 at times.

And things could get quite dangerous

as we run through Thursday evening

and night into south-west England

and Wales, an area of low pressure,

this wind pushing moisture and

North, the snow turning heavier,

drifting in the wind as well, the

amber warning on through Thursday

evening and night, the situation

could go downhill quite quickly,

quite icy as well, some spots into

Friday, further south less cold

starting to move in but that brings

a risk of freezing rain. On through

Friday we have an area of snow

affecting England and Wales into

Northern Ireland so quite widely we

will be seeing centimetres in places

with an impact on travel and we

still have snow showers running into

Eastern Scotland. It's still

bitterly cold and colder in the

wind.

This is Beyond 100 Days, with me,

Katty Kay, in Washington.

Christian Fraser's in London.

Our top stories.

One of President Trump's top

advisers and son-in-law,

Jared Kushner, has his White House

security clearance downgraded -

thought to be linked

to his business dealings.

A warning on Brexit from a former UK

Prime Minister who urges Theresa May

to put country before party and not

rule out a second referendum.

No-one can truly know what the will

of the people may then be,

so let Parliament decide or put

the issue back to the people.

Also coming up in

the next half hour.

Three years of fighting,

millions are starving and a civil

war that threatens to get worse -

we've a special report

from inside Yemen.

The capital Sanaa is

the prize in this war -

the Houthis want to keep it,

the ousted government wants it back.

But to take the fight into this

historic, densely-populated city

would be a bloody urban battle.

Let us know your thoughts

by using the hashtag

#Beyond100Days.

There's nothing unusual about splits

in the Conservative Party,

but it is highly unusual

for a former Prime Minister

to criticise his successor.

Today Sir John Major said

Theresa May was guilty of "bad

politics" over Brexit.

And he accused his fellow

Conservatives of putting

party politics above

the national interest.

Sir John wants Theresa May

to guarantee a free vote

for Conservative MPs when the final

Brexit deal is eventually

put to Parliament.

His interjection comes ahead

of the Prime Minister's speech

on Friday in which she will set

out her opening,

negotiating position.

There was a majority for

negotiating position.

There was a majority for Brexit.

negotiating position.

There was a majority for Brexit.

There was a majority for Brexit. But

There was a majority for Brexit. But

there was no overwhelming mandate to

ignore the reservations of 16

million voters who believe it will

be a harmful change of direction for

our country. Brexit has been the

most divisive issue of my political

lifetime. It has divided not only

the four Nations of the UK but

regions within those nations. It has

divided political parties,

colleagues, families, friends and

the young from the old. As the

ballot box showed us very clearly on

referendum day. I believe the

government should take a further,

very brave and bold decision. I

believe they should invite

Parliament to accept or reject the

final outcome on a free vote. I know

the instinct historically of every

government is to oppose free votes.

But the government should we the

advantages of having one very

carefully. They may find it is in

their own interest to do so. There

are some very practical reasons in

favour of a free vote. Brexit is a

unique decision. It will affect the

lives of the British nation for

generations to come. And if it

flops, there will be the most

terrible backlash.

A short while ago we spoke to former

Conservative leader,

and leading Brexit campaigner,

Iain Duncan Smith.

And I put it to him

that Sir John Major,

a former UK Prime Minister,

attacking a sitting

Prime Minister from his own party

is quite unprecedented.

It is always advisable for people

who have left the job they are in to

keep their own council as much as

possible and they haven't got

anything to say that is helpful.

What he does say is Brexit is such a

fundamental change in direction for

the UK that it makes sense to offer

a free vote to Conservative MPs, it

is smart politics because it puts

the onus on Parliament rather than

the Conservative Party if it goes

wrong?

I do find this surprising,

this is a Prime Minister, who during

the Maastricht debates insisted on a

very strict whip and we were not

given any free votes and a bunch of

Conservative MPs had the whip taken

off them and were kicked out of the

party for a period for disobeying

the whip and voting against and then

people were dragged in on ambulances

and all sorts to various votes in a

very strict three line whip. I do

find this a little bit strange, the

Prime Minister, John Major when he

was Prime Minister, was less than

kind or helpful over those who

apparently had issues of conscience.

I don't agree with them and I think

the government policy is to deliver

on the vote of the British people,

they had a vote and he and others

may not like it but the British

people voted and they said they

wanted to leave and we have to

deliver on that. It was made clear

at the time by all of those

including him that you must leave

the Customs Union and single market

and therefore they all knew what

they were voting on.

Theresa May

said no UK Prime Minister could

accept what the EU has set out today

on Ireland and the border issue.

They question why they are

surprised, we talked about the

agreement in December and there

seems to have been movement together

in December it towards a solution.

We seem to be back where we were

last summer.

No because the view of

the European Union commission and

Ireland is playing political games

with an important issue. The reality

is there is a report from the

European Union in Parliament that

says there is no need to go down

this road, no need for a hard border

with border posts and everything

else, in that report they make it

clear that technology is there for

us to make this very relaxed and

straightforward and if we manage to

control and get after illegal arms

and illegal drugs crossing the

border by dealing with the Irish

Gardai and police service away from

the border, it is even easier to

deal with legitimate products

crossing the border. There is no

need and this has been conjured up

for one reason only, the idea is to

use this as a stick to beat a dog to

tell the British government they

have to leave Ireland in the Customs

Union and get us to change our mind.

It will not happen and there is no

need for a hard border.

You mention

social media earlier, that was Iain

Duncan-Smith and we have been

getting some tweets from people who

say, this is making Ireland suffer

because of decisions were taken in

England, in the rest of the UK, and

they will have a country divided

because of Brexit?

That is a feeling

that is felt acutely in Ireland but

then you have to go back to the Good

Friday Agreement, and effectively,

symbolically, there was a

triple-lock because he had three

parties involved, you had the Irish

government, you have the people of

Northern Ireland, both Protestant

and Catholic, and the UK government.

Only because of that triple-lock,

Ireland, in the end, removed its

claim to Northern Ireland and

Catholics play their rightful place

within the UK. And I think both

sides, the Irish and British side,

are sensitive to that issue. Last

night, the European affairs

spokesman for Fine Gael in Ireland

was asked 34 times on the BBC when

the border was going to go and he

did not want to say that it was

going to go in the Irish Sea. At all

costs! He understands that if it is

seen that Northern Ireland starts to

drift back towards Ireland, that

undermines the Good Friday

Agreement.

He sees that as

controversial, you made the point

that the John Major intervention was

not welcomed by many entries Theresa

May's circle but we should put this

in context because John Major

chooses his words carefully and has

moments -- his moments to intervene.

He would say, I felt I had to say

something that this crisis point?

He

is not the only former Prime

Minister, Tony Blair has his own

initiative which he is trying to

push for the government, to put

Brexit to one side, ultimately. But

a soft Brexit if it has to be.

People like Iain Duncan Smith would

say, he did not allow a free vote on

my street and he warned us about

these things back in the 1990s and

many decisions that he took, on the

exchange rate etc, proved to be

folly so he does not have a very

good record on the sort of things.

John Major is no stranger to have --

having our former Prime Minister

intervened on his watch.

On Tuesday's programme we spoke

about the catastrophic

conditions in Yemen,

one of the Arab world's poorest

countries, devastated by civil war.

Now we have a special report

from inside the country, almost

three years since the Saudi-led

coalition launched its first air

strikes against the Houthi

rebels in Yemen, sparking

an all-out armed conflict.

The situation is so bad,

the UN now says it's become

the world's worst man-made

humanitarian disaster and right now,

more than eight million

people across Yemen

are at risk of starvation.

The BBC's Chief International

Correspondent Lyse Doucet

sent us this report.

High above the Arabian Peninsula,

just off the coast of Yemen.

Saudi Arabia and its allies

have ruled these skies

since the war began.

And they control the seas below.

These shipping lanes

are a vital gateway

for the world's energy supplies.

And a smuggling route

for illicit goods.

Among them, the Saudis say,

weapons that Iran supplies

to Yemen's Houthi fighters.

We land on board a Saudi warship.

Inspecting vessels

bound for the port.

Most of Yemen's imports flow through

there but it is in Houthi hands.

Saudis are on the look out

for suspicious vessels.

We meet the captain,

whose mission is a crucial

front line in this war.

Operational rules are to treat

all vessels as suspicious?

Yes.

Even humanitarian.

A Naval blockade has

been lifted for now.

It had obstructed vital medicine,

food and fuel from reaching

Yemenis in desperate need.

But this war grinds on.

And on the ground,

it is Yemen's army who are

battling Houthi fighters.

Advancing slowly on hostile terrain.

Mountain by mountain.

Seizing strategic heights

of the approach to the capital.

The capital, Sanaa,

is the prize in this war.

The Houthis want to keep it and

the ousted government wants it back.

To take the fight into

the heart of this historic,

densely populated city,

it would be a bloody urban battle.

All roads in this war

lead to this capital.

Yemeni forces and their allies

have an ambitious plan.

Surround Sanaa and force

the Houthis to surrender.

But their enemy is well entrenched.

Supported by Iran, the Houthis

are well trained and well supplied.

Ballistic missiles have reached

the heart of the Saudi kingdom.

And fear is part

of their arsenal also.

Hundreds of journalists

and political opponents have been

detained arbitrarily.

Many have fled.

In a government-controlled area,

we meet 27-year-old Abbas.

His crime?

Posting comments on social media.

He tells us, they hung me

up, tortured me until

I fell unconscious.

When he woke up he couldn't move.

Imagine, he says, in

a second you cannot walk.

What can I be now?

But Yemenis live with other fears.

This is the impact of the Saudi air

strike in a neighbourhood close

to the Defence Ministry.

The Saudi-led coalition has been

pounding enemy positions.

Armed with the most sophisticated

weaponry from allies

like Britain, the US and France.

The Saudis insist civilians

are not a target.

But they are being hit.

This family, like many

others, lost their home

in a coalition bombing.

They had taken refuge here.

We are begging for help,

cries this woman.

Yesterday my three

children did not eat.

I am ill, always ill.

Neither dead nor alive.

It is hard to escape from this war.

It has pushed these families

from place to place.

At this temporary settlement

they are digging in.

Trying to make a new home

from the little they now have.

The Arab world's poorest nation now

a battle ground for regional powers

in a Middle East which grows

ever more combustible.

Saudi Arabia and Iran know

they are playing with fire.

Great reporting.

In the next half hour

President Trump will be hosting

Democratic and Republican lawmakers

at the White House to discuss

the issue of gun control.

In the wake of the Parkland shooting

there have been a number

of proposals but will Congress take

action or simply hit gridlock?

Back with us is Ron Christie.

President Trump has called singer

Republicans, some who have

proposals, to come to the White

House to see if anything can be

done.

Where would you put your

fortune? I think you will find an

initiative to extend the age of long

guns, from 18 to 21. Will

Republicans agree to that? Possibly,

the President seems very inclined to

want to do this, I think he can get

enough moderate Republicans, over a

third of Republicans are retiring

from office and if you can get them

in a coalition with Democrats, that

could pass.

Christian NRA has made

it clear they don't like that.

Republicans don't really know where

the President is, he has put forward

a lot of proposals but they are

facing in the primaries, the second

Amendment supporters, energy on the

left, do they want a fight over the

second Amendment?

They don't and

this is perilous for Republicans, as

you have identified, on one hand

they are strong proponents of the

second Amendment, the right to bear

arms, but there is a new atmosphere

here, that these school shootings,

something has to be done and

politically we are looking at this

from the prism of politics and

Republicans don't want to be seen as

standing on the sidelines when the

President and Democrats are trying

to do something.

The story that came

out from the sports chain, how

significant is that?

Removed from

the corporate sector? That is

significant, this organisation said

we will no longer sell high-capacity

magazines, this type of armament, we

in the private sector are taking an

affirmative step because we don't

want these guns were people who

should not have them.

Thank you very

much.

This is Beyond 100 Days.

Still to come - 'Snowverload'.

We've some of the best pictures

from around Europe and the UK -

as the Arctic blast

of weather really bites.

Here in the UK, they've been

big high street names

for more than 30 years -

but now Toys "R" Us

and the electrical chain Maplin

have both collapsed.

Emma Simpson reports.

# With toys in their millions

# All under one roof

# It's Called Toys'R'Us!...#

It was a force to be reckoned with,

pulling in shoppers

with its American-style megastores.

Today, the Magic's long gone.

Some stores were already

closing to cut costs.

But it wasn't enough.

It's a shame, but it's not

probably a great surprise.

It's been on the cards for a while.

Because I've four children,

grown up now, but we always used

to come here for their toys,

so it's a shame.

So what went wrong for Toys'R'Us?

They are too reliant on these

large out-of-town stores.

But a lot of the problems

are actually self-inflicted.

They overlooked the importance

of online, where about 40%

of toy sales take place.

And perhaps more importantly,

they've neglected their stores.

Toys'R'Us has been struggling

for years, a business way down

by huge amounts of debt.

Its American owners filed

for bankruptcy protection

in the States last autumn.

And today, this toy story ended

with the UK chain effectively

running out of cash.

And tonight, the man tasked

with rescuing it told me

that wouldn't be easy.

Whilst we're going to make every

effort to sell the business,

I think realistically

there is a small chance that

someone will come through.

And if they do, it will be

for parts of the business,

and certainly not for the business

as a whole, and certainly not

in its existing format.

Maplin also collapsed today

with more than 200 stores.

It blamed a slowdown in consumer

spending and higher costs.

It's been a bleak winter

for many retailers.

Today, two big casualties,

and thousands of jobs on the line.

The shops are still trading,

but for how much longer?

Emma Simpson, BBC News.

You're watching Beyond 100 Days

and we're watching Italy

because voters there will be

going to the polls on Sunday

to elect their next government.

A new voting system means

a coalition on the right

is highly likely led

by Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia.

That said, polls suggest

the Eurosceptic, anti-establishment

Five Star Movement will be

the single most popular

party among voters.

Immigration is the key

issue in the election.

I have been speaking to one

of their MP's Manlio Di Stefano,

about where his party currently

stands on the issue?

We want to take care of all those

who have the right to stay, asylum

seekers, persecuted people, all of

this, and to do that we need to fix

the internal problems so we are

asking in a strong way, 12 mandatory

quotas around the 27 countries and

internally intently, all around the

8000 cities we have.

How European

are you because in the past you said

you wanted to hold a referendum on

the single currency?

We never said

that the European Union has to be

destroyed, this was storytelling

that was made to attack us. We are

always saying that we think to be

European, we want to be European but

with this currency and the way that

all economic system is managed, the

European Union will collapse. Can

you imagine that were under the same

currency but we don't have the same

taxation between countries? Can you

remember that every month there is a

big Italian enterprise that moves to

Slovakia and Poland, to Hungary,

because they find better taxation,

maybe 15 or 20 points under the

Italian one. If we don't have the

same rules we cannot be the same

family.

Either reform or do away

with that?

To reform the economic

system is the only way to keep the

European Union alive. We are sceptic

that the Eurozone, but with the EU.

We can fix one of them to save the

other.

It is true that the new

electoral rules that have come in a

few months ago. You going into

government.

The other parties will

prevent that? The day that Mr Renzi

and Mr Berlusconi draft of this law,

it was ten points higher than right

now, therefore to be in want to

create a coalition like they did in

2014 and a second government

together, but now everything has

changed so in any way, you will have

the numbers, they will have to

consider as as fundamental. I don't

know if we will have the numbers to

create our own government alone. But

surely they will not do at the same.

It will be like... Our proposal to

create a coalition on a specific

programme will be the only decision

for this country.

I was reading a

piece in the Washington post looking

at Germany and young voters who are

fed up with the establishment

coalition politics. They don't want

people making big copper misers.

They are moving towards Populist

parties on both ends of the

spectrum. Particularly the far

right. I wonder if you could see

parallels between what has happened

in Germany recently and this

election in Italy?

Absolutely, to

illustrate the parties, you have got

Five Star Movement at the top and

these will be coalitions after the

weekend, the one at the bottom,

Forza Italia, Silvio Berlusconi

cannot be the Prime Minister because

he was banned after his things in

the court and he is a kingmaker

potentially with brothers of Italy

with fascist roots, and we also have

Lega and this smaller group, and the

question is whether Silvio

Berlusconi can rein in the hard

right sentiments are some of those

parties, particularly when it comes

to migration and security. He maybe

starts to look to the party on the

centre-left, the Democrats, for a

grand coalition or whether it is our

supply arrangement on different

issues. But certainly, Five Star

Movement are big force and the

problems are not going away.

Now, we've been talking about it

enough - and as we've been seeing,

the Beast from the East is hitting

the UK in a big way.

There's a very serious side to this

storm, but we've been getting

some incredible pictures

of the Arctic blast.

Here's a time-lapse of the snow

falling over London -

you can see the dome

of St Paul's Cathedral disappearing

as the weather system moves through.

This is the view of our building,

New Broadcasting House,

and a special camera fixed

across the road - it even has

wipers to clean the lens.

And of course, the view

of the Houses of Parliament,

just down the road.

Cold enough for you, Katty?

We should ban the phrase, based from

the east! But this is serious.

Children have got farms in the

country and people are vulnerable,

losing livestock. We have a family

in Scotland who are farmers and they

have been Scotland -- have been

suffering. And young people around

the country. It is a very serious

storm. And it is not going anywhere

quickly.

I've had a look through some

of those pictures too

and I particularly like these

ones from Cornwall.

A smooth way to travel here -

no travel disruption on a snowboard,

or a quad bike, for that matter.

In Norfolk, here's a couple who just

hopped on their skis.

You should have tried that this

morning!

What did you do?

I'm going to go one better

in the bravery stakes, Katty -

and the Irish are a hardy bunch.

Take these brave swimmers taking a

dip. Certifiable definition! This is

Galway Bay on the West Coast. Very

popular with the locals. This was me

walking in this morning. There is an

unhealthy interest in whether I am

wearing my leggings. I am wearing my

long johns. This was out of my

window this morning. Your office has

never looked quite so romantic! I am

working on double shift tonight. I

will be here right through the

night. I will not get home! Because

people could not make it in. I am

hard-core. I will be with you

through the night.

Back same time

through the night.

Back same time tomorrow.

through the night.