06/03/2018 Beyond 100 Days

You're watching

Beyond One Hundred Days.

The facts aren't all in,

but the British Foreign Secretary

is already warning Moscow.

If a former spy was poisoned

by the Kremlin, Boris Johnson

is promising a robust response.

Sergei Skripal and his daughter

are still in critical condition

in a hospital in Salisbury,

and counter-terrorism police have

taken over the investigation.

The Russian Foreign Ministry says

accusations that Moscow is behind

this mysterious incident are "wild".

Donald Trump welcomes news that

North Korea is ready to discuss

giving up its nuclear weapons

and says the world is watching.

Also on the programme:

Hurricane Irma destroyed

lives and homes.

Six months on, are rebuilding

efforts on track?

We report from the

British Virgin Islands.

The new star and her statuette.

What's next for the profoundly deaf

six-year-old and Oscar

winner from England who's

the toast of Hollywood?

Get in touch with us using

the hashtag Beyond One Hundred Days.

Hello, and welcome.

I'm Katty Kay in Washington,

and Christian Fraser is in London.

Sergei Skripal used to spy

for Britain for the Kremlin

that made him a traitor.

The question now, raised

today in Parliament, is,

did Moscow's henchmen follow Skripal

to exile in the UK and poison him?

The Foreign Secretary,

Boris Johnson, said today that

Britain would respond "robustly"

if evidence of state

involvement emerges.

It hasn't been declared

a terrorist incident,

but counter-terrorism police

are leading the investigation.

From Salisbury, Tom Symonds reports.

A father and a daughter apparently

struck down in public on a Sunday

afternoon in Salisbury.

The BBC revealed today that

Yulia Skripal had been

visiting her father,

Sergei, from Russia,

when it happened.

They were left fighting

for their lives.

Her eyes were just completely white,

wide-open, but just white,

and frothing at the mouth.

And then the man went stiff,

his arms stopped moving.

But he was still

looking dead straight.

CCTV images obtained by the BBC

appear to show Mr Skripal

and his daughter walking together

at 15.47 on Sunday afternoon.

They were heading for a small

park surrounded by shops

in the centre of Salisbury,

called the Maltings.

The camera which captured

these pictures is yards

from where they were found.

Police were called at 4:15pm

when people reported the pair

were unconscious on a park bench.

Last night, an Italian

restaurant nearby, Zizzi,

was sealed by police,

followed today by a local

pub, Bishop's Mill.

Did someone slip something

into their food or drink?

For the police, this is a highly

sensitive and potentially

hazardous investigation,

not least for the officers involved.

The key question, of course,

is what was the substance that left

a father and his daughter in such

a terrible condition on the park

bench covered by the tent behind me?

There will be toxicology reports

prepared, but we understand that

several police officers

were admitted to hospital.

One has been kept in.

Symptoms include breathing

difficulties and itchy eyes.

Experts at the research

fertility Porton Down are now

involved, testing for a wide

range of substances.

It's from things that

are chemically toxic to things

that are radiological,

such as what was used

against Litvinenko.

I think people will have an open

mind, they'll be looking

at what's in the environment,

what's on the clothing,

on the skin of the people,

and also what's in blood and urine

and any other samples.

So far, the tiny Wiltshire Police

force has led the investigation,

but that changed today

in a significant development.

This afternoon, the Metropolitan

Police have confirmed that,

due to the unusual circumstances,

the counterterrorism network will be

leading this investigation as it has

the specialist capability

and expertise to do so.

After all, as the Foreign Secretary

made clear in Parliament this

afternoon, this incident could have

implications for Britain's

relationship with Russia.

Should evidence emerge that implies

state responsibility,

then Her Majesty's government

will respond appropriately

and robustly.

Sergei Skripal was arrested in 2004,

accused of spying for MI6,

convicted, and in 2010 handed over

to Britain as part of a spy swap.

Sergei Skripal's wife,

elder brother and son have

died in recent years,

the family believe in

suspicious circumstances.

He has been living quietly

here for some years,

but under his own name.

He would not have been hard to find.

Tom Symonds, BBC News, Salisbury.

We'll get reaction from Russia

in just a moment, but first,

a look at what we know so far.

Let's speak to Mark Urban,

the Diplomatic Editor

for BBC Newsnight.

Where have we got to with the

investigation? It is significant, as

Tom was reporting, that counter

terrorism command has taken over. It

is not terrorism but

counterterrorism command contains

specialist branch which deals with

these incidents. It is also evident

that the Foreign Secretary would not

have gone this far unless the

government was party to some kind of

intelligence about what had gone on.

We know, as in the case of

Litvinenko, there is a difference

between intelligence and evidence.

They want to show that they have an

idea, but they do not want to

obstruct or prejudice the police

investigation, said the two things

will go on in tandem. Intelligence

and gathering of evidence.

I was

surprised to hear that Mr Skripal

had been living under his own name.

Does that give us some indication of

what kind of like he has been living

for the last seven years in the UK?

It is interesting. He came here

after this exchange for the illegal

network that was arrested in the

United States in 2010. We know he

had been doing things like lecturing

at military colleges, intelligence

consulting with other agencies that

MI6 asked to get in touch with. The

family arrangements, his daughter

and son spent most of the time in

Russia but worth visiting

occasionally. And he was there under

his own name, his kids were

travelling back and forth, and some

people would argue that he felt

there was a kind of modus vivendi

there had been reached with the

Russian authorities, he would not

put his head above the parapet and

they would leave him and his family

alone.

Stay with us because we will

look at the Russian reaction,

authority saying they will

incorporate with the police

investigation but insist they have

no information at this moment to

share.

The Russian Embassy

in London says the reporting

of the incident has led

to the demonisation of Russia.

From Moscow, here's Steve Rosenberg.

It sounds chillingly familiar.

Russia under suspicion of planning

and executing an attack 2,000

miles away in Britain.

In 2006, the target was former

Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko,

murdered in London.

The man Britain believes

poisoned him is Andrei Lugovoy.

Today, he dismissed claims

that Moscow had attacked

Sergei Skripal as propaganda.

TRANSLATION:

Why do

they say he was poisoned?

Perhaps he poisoned himself

or had a heart attack.

You talk about propaganda,

but what about Alexander Litvinenko?

The enquiry in Britain

into his death found that

you had poisoned him,

probably on the orders

of Vladimir Putin.

TRANSLATION:

There was no

official investigation

into Litvinenko's death.

There was an attempt to accuse

Russia and a Russian citizen,

me, of poisoning him

in Britain with polonium.

As for the Kremlin, well,

it's been saying very little today

about Sergei Skripal.

President Putin's spokesman told me

earlier, "We have no information

"about what happened.

"We cannot comment."

Although he did add

it was a tragic situation.

But catching spies has become one

of Vladimir Putin's priorities.

Yesterday, he congratulated Russia's

security service, the FSB.

It uncovered 397 spies last year.

Spy-mania, and now a former double

agent collapsing in Britain.

Moscow denies any connection,

but it can only add

to the chill in relations

between the UK and Russia.

Steve Rosenberg, BBC News, Moscow.

The Foreign Secretary chose to

threaten Russia with retribution.

Looks like another anti-Russian

campaign has already been written.

Strong words from the Russians. Why

would the pardon someone and then

height in the UK? It is not make any

sense.

Going back to that Russian

statement, clearly, the Foreign

Secretary would have to have certain

information. He must've been briefed

on the certain way about this

because it is an enormous hostage to

fortune if the Russian embassy is

right and these denials from Moscow

right. The only thing one can say is

a convincing alternative explanation

would have the urge pretty quickly

in the police investigation for them

to be vindicated on this. On the

assumption your question carries,

that this was indeed the Russians,

this has always been seen as a way

of sending a message. The choice of

Skripal might be a combination of

who was available to all who was

easily findable and a desire to send

a message at a particular time,

elections coming up in Russia, who

saw in that report the emphasis on

catching foreign spies, retribution,

it has always been a team of

Vladimir Putin, and it may be it was

politically convenient for him to

have this at this time. That is all

one can say, but clearly one expects

further evidence to merge if indeed

the implicit point the Foreign

Secretary made today is to be

validated and proven that this was a

Russian operation.

So, Mark, say

this ends up with that evidence

pointing to Moscow, what would

Russia actually respond to, in terms

of retaliation? It is hard to

believe Boris Johnson saying, I will

not turn up at the World Cup will

make much difference.

I think,... I

have been talking to people today,

if this is proven, and some have

said, this is like Litvinenko only

worse, and Litvinenko has defined UK

Russian relations for more than

decade now, so if proof emerges or

significant evidence emerges that

Russian state operatives did this,

it will be an enormous factor in

relations. We can also see some

interesting possible tensions

between the UK and its European

allies. Some of them have never been

that keen on sanctions or measures

against Russia in the context of the

Ukraine. Imagine now, as the UK is

on its way out of the EU, asking for

solidarity and back-up for some

possible new measures against

Russia, it could be diplomatically

very tough situation.

Thank you very

much for coming in, interesting to

hear your thoughts. I have heard

people who have been intelligence in

the US in the last day or two,

talking about this case and saying,

this is a very British situation

that Britain seems to be in at

ground zero in this tussle between

intelligence factions in Moscow and

London, why is that?

Part of that

will be the money that is here in

London. It is no secret that there

are oligarchs here and there has

been an investment in Mayfair and

Belgravia, and there is a strong

link between Russia and the UK

through, in this case, MI6, soaked

former operatives come kid. But that

doesn't mean that other Russians in

Europe do not feel concerned as

well. We know Litvinenko's brother

in Rome feels equally uncertain

about his future more scared about

what has happened here today. There

is a reason I think White happens

more here.

So if money is part of

the reason, do you think money might

be part of the response?

As Mark was

just saying, they will look at

companies that are floated here

through the City of London and the

sort of money swilling around in the

sort of people who come here.

Sanctions might be one of the

issues. But if I threw this back at

you, there are all sorts of people

here saying, we need strong action,

but would the Americans think? They

have an American president who will

not even introduce sanctions passed

by Congress.

We have talked about

that a lot, this President's

attitude to Russia. This story has

not got a huge amount of attention

here in America and that is

interesting. Let's see if it makes

any material difference in terms of

the White House's response to

Moscow.

US intelligence officials

are clearly wary of North Korea's

offer to talk about denuclearising,

saying they'd have to know a lot

more before they can assess

whether Kim Jong-un is serious.

The North said it was open

to talking with the United States

if the safety of the regime

was secured.

President Trump naturally

took to Twitter.

It may all be false hope, he said,

but the US is ready to go

hard in either direction!

Meanwhile, Trump's Director

of National Intelligence said the US

would have to know far more before

assessing whether North korea

was serious about getting rid

of its nuclear weapons programme.

We saw the news this morning

relative to North Korea.

Hope springs eternal,

but we need to learn a lot more

relative to these talks,

and we will.

And the IC will continue to do every

possible collection and assessment

we can relative to the situation

that exists in North Korea.

Let's get some reaction

to this with the former

US Defense Secretary,

William Cohen, who joins me.

I wanted to get your reaction to

this offer from North Korea, how

seriously do you take it?

We have

been here before. This is the same

language they have used before, we

are prepared to talk about nuclear

issues provided our security is

ensured. That means that we cease

and desist from having training

exercises that we carry on each

year, said that would be the first

demand they make. They will be

postponed due to the Winter

Olympics, and now the schedule will

be started again, and be postponed

that will have a negative impact. We

have been there before. The North

Koreans have cheated before on

agreements. We have to remember they

have been supplying allegedly

chemical weapons to Syria, selling

weapons to Egypt, in violation of

all the sanctions. So we are

prepared to hear what they have to

say. But watch what President Trump

does not what he says and the same

thing applies to the North Koreans.

But this could potentially be a

diplomatic success story for

President Trump if it turns out that

all this tough rhetoric, the

military preparing nurse, everyone

is talking about here in Washington,

if that is pushed to the North

Koreans to say, we do need to talk

seriously.

If it does, it will be a

good thing. We will have to wait and

see, so watch what they do not what

they say.

I want to talk about

tariffs for president is dancing on

aluminium and steel. We have talked

about in the context of trade war

but what about security? By the

sitting in on these particular

meetings?

This is almost tantamount

to firing a warning shot to the

temple. The United States is looking

to hit China, but if we impose this

trade barrier or tariff, it will hit

the Europeans, the Mexicans, the

Canadians are far more than the

Chinese. This is something that most

of those in national security say is

not a policy of development, it will

mean there will be retaliation

against Boeing and other major

industries, agriculture. When the

president says, trade wars are easy,

they are not. For every complex

problem, there is an answer that is

simple, in terms of dealing with it.

Trade sanctions at this time, the

secretary of defence understands

that this is a bad thing for the

United States and we will have to

wait to see whether the president

follows through. He changes his mind

from day-to-day, maybe he will

change between now and next week.

I

must talk to you about the suspected

poisoning of the former Russian spy

here in Britain. A member of the

Foreign Affairs Committee said we

are entering a new era, second Cold

War when the Russians have a new and

sophisticated toolkit to interfere

in the West. Do you worry your own

president is not taking this as

seriously as he showed?

I do. The

president has done nothing in

response to the allegations and

universal conclusion that the

Russians interfered in elections.

Congress has passed more sanctions.

But the person has refused to

implement them. It is very curious

as to why the president is such a

pacifist in the face of what is

clearly an assault on the American

integrity and sovereignty. It is

something we will have to wait on,

but there is something wrong, why is

this dog not barking? When you see

so much evidence, not only new

tricks, but old tricks. The poisoned

thing was what the Russians

perfected and sometimes you need to

trace the footprints of guilt with

the searchlight probability, and

here the footprints will lead right

to Russian spy agencies, the

President Putin himself.

They are

certainly watching this on both

sides of the Atlantic.

Six months ago, Hurricane Irma

crossed the Caribbean.

It killed dozens of people and left

many more without homes.

One of the worst hit was Tortola

in the British Virgin Islands.

More than 80% of the buildings

were either damaged

or completely destroyed.

And so, six months on,

Aleem Maqbool has been back to find

out how the community is recovering.

It is shocking that,

so long after the storm,

there are still those

living in shelters.

They are among the thousands whose

homes were torn apart by Irma.

We've been here, like, five,

six months and nothing.

It seems to me that everybody

just gave up on us.

We're just here.

Irma was the most devastating

hurricane ever to be

recorded in this region,

barely a building on this

island was left untouched,

boats were lifted clean into the air

and dumped on the land.

Tortola now still has the signs

everywhere you look that a massive

storm came this way.

Well, even though it is desperately

needed, tourism here has suffered

immensely over the last six months

and they've suffered a huge blow

just in recent weeks,

with two of the biggest cruise

companies serving this area saying,

for this season, they won't be

bringing their ships

to the British Virgin Islands.

Peak season a couple of years ago,

sometimes it looks like there's

more boats than water.

You can't see the water

for the yachts.

It's not a good feeling, you know,

back then to compare it now.

It's not a good feeling.

The window went in.

The window went in and went out.

But light has been hard to come

by in the last six months here,

just ask Rita, whose home was badly

damaged by Irma and who says,

in this UK territory,

that she saw little aid from the UK.

Me have no aid, apart from the six

bottles of water I get.

That was it.

I don't have no aid.

It was a common perception we heard

here, that apart from the work done

by British troops immediately

after the storm, more

could have been done.

When we did need them to show

that we are truly a child

of the United Kingdom,

I think they disappointed us.

So it changed our view,

in terms of the relationship.

The governor of these islands says

he's proud of the UK's contribution.

We've got the electricity back on.

We've got businesses back open.

We've got all children

getting educated.

So we won't under estimate the scale

of the challenge still ahead of us,

but we've made good progress

after the last six months.

It's been a massive effort by people

here just to get this far,

but they're worried again,

the next hurricane season

is less than 100 days away.

Aleem Maqbool, BBC News, on Tortola,

in the British Virgin Islands.

She swapped the town of Swindon

in England for Los Angeles

and became one of the stars

of the Oscars.

Six-year-old Maisie Sly, who's deaf,

played the lead role

in The Silent Girl that won

the award for Best Live

Action Short Film.

Picking up the award,

writer and co-star Rachel Shenton

delivered her speech in sign

language as Maisie watched on.

Now they're planning

to make a full-length film,

as Colin Patterson reports.

A star is born.

Six years old and profoundly deaf,

Maisie Sly has now played the main

role in an Oscar-winning film,

and seems to be pretty unfazed

by all the attention.

Just tell me about your

day at the Oscars?

I feel happy, I felt really happy.

I want her to speak...

The Silent Child is about a deaf

girl struggling to communicate

as her family don't want her

to learn sign language.

It was made by two former stars

of the show Hollyoaks.

The Silent Child, Chris Overton

and Rachel Shenton.

It won Best Live Action Short.

Maisie was up on the balcony

at the Oscars with her mum,

while her dad watched nearby

with family and friends,

and this was their reaction.

The Silent Child...

SCREAMING.

After midnight, the winner

made her entrance.

And as for what's next -

well, Maisie could return

to the role, there are plans

to adapt The Silent Child

into a full length feature.

Absolutely extending the film's

what we would like to do next.

We asked Maisie what she wants to do

next and she said she wants

to do some colouring.

Which I think is

a much better answer.

Yeah.

Gold, gold colouring?

Probably.

She'll be drawing a lot

of pictures of Oscars, I think.

I bet she will.

Colin Patterson, BBC

News, Los Angeles.

Now, take a look at this.

Michelle Obama dancing

with two-year-old Parker Curry.

Who is she?

Well, she was the little girl

photographed staring up in awe

at the former First Lady's

new portrait in the National

Portrait Gallery here in Washington

DC in this famous photo

which was captured by

a tourist at the gallery.

At the time, the toddler

was refusing to turn

round and have her photo taken

by her mother because she seemed

so starstruck by the portrait.

It was tweeted and then retweeted

so many times it went viral quickly,

and now this video has

done the same.

That was Taylor Swift, if you didn't

know. You think I'm really that old?

This is Beyond 100

Days from the BBC.

Coming up for viewers on the BBC

News Channel and BBC World News:

We've more on the apparent poisoning

of a former Russian

spy and his daughter.

And what the Italian

election result tells us

about the country's feelings

on the EU.

Should Brussels be worried?

That's still to come.

We have

We have had contrasting conditions

across the country today. If you

were lucky enough to see the cloud

breaking and sunshine coming

through, it felt springlike at

times, but that was not the case for

all. Further north called story and

still further snow. The snow fairly

frequent across central and northern

Scotland, rain along the coast, but

still not particularly pleasant and

feeling quite roll out there as

well. We still have a combination of

snow and rain gradually drifting its

way northwards through the end of

the day. Elsewhere, overnight, we

will continue to see sky is clear,

patchy mist and fog forming, the

exception and the south-east where

we could see a scattering of

showers. Overnight lows, just below

freezing in a few places. Pockets of

frost here and there, we start of

tomorrow on a quieter note. A

combination of rain and sleet moving

its way through the Northern Isles

potentially, scattered showers

across western Scotland and Northern

Ireland. Some of these heavy at

times and a few scattered showers

across south-west and south-east

England, but generally speaking the

further inland to come, decent

spells of sunshine and temperatures

getting into double digits in some

places. As we move out of Wednesday

towards Thursday, we will start to

see this area of low pressure

threatening the south-west under the

influence of pressure in the north

which means showers never too far

away and cold here. Showers will be

of rain, sleet and snow with any

elevation. Elsewhere, quite quiet

story on Thursday, dry with

sunshine, a bit of rain moving its

way through the Channel Isles. As we

move out of the Channel Isles. As we

move out of Thursday into Friday, we

will start to notice a change. That

area of low pressure is likely to

squeeze up from the south-west and

bring a spell of wet weather. It

will stay with us as we head into

the weekend, but marked down to the

south, and it looks as though that

mild there will follow that low,

gradually pushing into the cold air.

However, weather fronts it's means

could see a spell of more snow as we

move into the weekend, but it is

likely to only be for the North and,

for a time, turning milder and

hopefully sunny spells.

This is Beyond One

Hundred Days, with me

Katty Kay in Washington -

Christian Fraser's in London.

Our top stories.

Counter terrorist police are now

leading the investigation

into the suspected poisoning

of a former Russian

spy and his daughter.

The US president welcomes

news that North Korea

is ready to discuss denuclearisation

- but says it could be a false hope.

Coming up in the next half hour.

Did the Eurocrats see this coming?

Italy's populists send

a message to the EU -

will Brussels take note?

She protested against

President Trump -

we meet the candidate who hopes

to become the first Muslim American

woman in the US Congress.

Let us know your thoughts

by using the hashtag

'Beyond-One-Hundred-Days'.

Whatever substance was used

to poison the Russian spy,

Sergei Skripal, the police response

tells us it was highly toxic.

So toxic, first responders

were themselves admitted to hospital

suffering the effects.

at a meeting of the national

security council.

Our correspondent Olga Ivshina is at

the scene in Salisbury.

We have areas still sealed off today

and that substance has been sent off

to nearby Porton Down, the chemical

laboratory.

There are still areas

cordoned off by police and we can

still seeing some locals quite

worried and asking questions both to

journalists and police trying to

find out what is going on and

whether their account is safe. The

police have reassured them the town

is safe for the people are still

worried because of what happened

here, definitely was something off

the scale for the locals. And both

of the victims remain in critical

condition in hospital and fighting

for their lives.

Thank you for that.

Well in Russia yesterday

President Putin praised the FSB

for their diligence in tracking down

almost 400 spies.

Sergei Skripal served

as an officer in Russian military

intelligence in the 90s,

and the early 2000s,

where he helped run personnel

operations in Moscow.

He was a high value MI6 asset.

Russia did pardon him in 2010,

but was he the kind of double agent

they could never really forgive?

Here's our security

correspondent Gordon Correra.

Does the long arm of the Kremlin

reach all the way from Moscow to

Salisbury in Wiltshire?

And if the attack on Sergei Skripal

did come from Russia, why?

After being released

from jail, Skripal had spent

the last eight years

living quietly in Salisbury,

but he still had enemies.

Sergei Skripal had been

imprisoned in Russia

for selling secrets to British

intelligence here at MI6.

It was claimed he

provided the identity

of hundreds of Russians operating

undercover in Europe.

Even though he had been

pardoned as part of a spy

swap his former colleagues

would still have regarded him as a

traitor.

The fact that he blew a whole range

of Russian agents, there

may be personal animosity there.

The fact that he was a British spy,

a former member of the Russian

military, in most Russians' minds,

it will categorise him as a traitor

so there will be people

who are delighted to see him dead.

Nobody is yet confirming

Moscow was involved, but

there have been other incidents

involving Russians in the UK.

As we have heard, most

famously Alexander

Litvinenko, another former Russian

spy poisoned in London's Mayfair.

And other figures have

aroused suspicions.

One died suddenly jogging in Surrey.

One study revealed traces

of a rare toxin in

his stomach and a businessman

campaigning over his death said not

enough has been done

to deter Russia.

Based on the reaction of the British

government to the murder in

Mayfair using nuclear material

of Alexander Litvinenko, which was

nothing, it basically gave the green

light to Vladimir Putin that he can

do whatever he wants

here and he has been

doing whatever he wants

for quite a while.

It's still too early to be sure

where this investigation

will go, but if the trail does

connect Salisbury to Moscow, then

the pressure will be on the British

government to respond.

Gordon Corera,

BBC News.

Bob Seely is a member

of the Foreign Affairs Select

Committee.

He has said before he believes

poisonous becoming the weapon of

choice for Moscow.

We asked him why.

They've used these weapons before

the United Kingdom and used them

elsewhere and they used them often

enough to become a significant part

of their armoury for what used to be

known as wet jobs, assassinations.

So radiation poisoning but also done

elsewhere as well, several cases in

Russia dioxins, Ukrainian

presidential candidate back in 2004

but others have also died from

dioxin poisoning. I've been talking

to people this afternoon about this

case and some speculate if poisoner

was used then we could be looking at

Italian, heavy metal which is

difficult to detect and highly

poisonous.

It has been reporting

today about the number of these hits

in London, I think a huge

investigation carried out by both

lead and they said 14. Do you

think...?

I'm not sure every single

one of those 14 is a strong case. I

think there are between nine and a

dozen probably that should've

investigated and why not.

That is an

extraordinary number of top we do

not hear a lot about it. Do you

think that the British Government is

covering up assassinations for

political reasons?

I think covering

up is too strong a word. I think it

is difficult to accept what is

happening even after Crimea, even

after the events in eastern Ukraine.

There is a reluctance to accept that

Russia is embarked on a new Cold War

with the West and probably has been

doing so since 2007 and maybe

before. They want to undermine our

values, reliance and institutions.

And confronting that is difficult

because it means getting your head

around these new forms of war. A lot

of these tools in fact have been

used against us and they are old

active measures warfare, espionage,

for the gander, assassination. This

was the tool and trade of the KGB

back in the 1970s and 1980s. They

had almost invented a new strategic

part of undermining countries that

they are opposed to. It is a very

significant development and I do not

think we have got our heads around

that and frankly have not wanted to

put up the longer we hold our heads

in the sand the West it will get.

-

worse. You heard Ross Johnson in

Parliament today saying if this was

proved to be Russian meddling there

could be some form of retaliation

perhaps scaling back UK

representation at the World Cup.

That does not sound so serious as

the counterattack. What could the UK

realistically do?

I wrote last week

to the select committee chairman who

are doing investigations into the

malign Russian influence and said we

need a common framework and common

definition and to understand these

spectrum of tools that the Russians

are using. From that we can have a

better idea of what do. I do not

think pulling out a few

representatives from going to the

World Cup will make a blind bit of

difference. I do a think sticking

another 500 troops in the Baltic

republics will make a difference. We

need to work out how to counter

malign Russian activity. Much of

that could be in terms of

anti-corruption measures in the UK,

pressuring Russian money in the UK,

using some new powers under

corruption laws. Soft power tools

that could be effective. But we need

to think through a strategy and have

not been doing that and neither has

the West. The US was cost - was

caught off-guard badly two years

ago. We should not be waving

fingers, we need to understand and

to think through the options and,

with some serious deterrence.

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince will be

here in the UK tomorrow.

Mohammed Bin Salman will meet

Prime Minister Theresa May

and the Royal family

during his three-day visit.

At home he's pushing through social

and economic reforms -

but abroad he's been criticised over

the Kingdom's role

in the war in Yemen.

The BBC's Chief

International Correspondent

Lyse Doucet sat down

with Saudi's Foreign

Minister Adel Al-Jubeir

about the Crown Prince's trip.

And started by asking him

about his country's

military campaign in Yemen.

The war in Yemen was a war

that was imposed on us.

It was not a war that we chose.

It was a war to support a legitimate

government and it was a war

that was fought in accord with UN

principles and UN Security

Council resolutions.

We did not ask for this war,

it was a war to stop a radical

militia, allied with Iran

and Hezbollah, composed of 50,000

people from taking over

a strategically important country

of 28 million.

What would you say to

Prime Minister Theresa May

when she says you have to find a way

to end this war and to stop

the civilian casualties?

We have been looking for a way

to end this war from day one.

We have always said the solution

is a political solution.

We have supported

the UN special envoy.

The military campaign is continuing

including aerial bombardment.

Because the coup continues.

Because the Houthi lay siege

to towns and villages

and starve people.

Because the Houthi recruit

child soldiers, nine,

ten, 11-year-old boys,

and put them in battle.

Because the Houthi launch ballistic

missiles at civilians in Yemen

as well as in Saudi Arabia.

Will there be any new announcements

while you are here, any talks

between the Crown Prince

and the Prime Minister about finding

a way to end the war?

You talk about it,

but it never happens.

Because there were more

than 17 understandings made

and every single one of them,

the Houthi reneged on.

The UN appointed a new special envoy

after the resignation of the man

who did a great job and Mr Griffiths

is coming to the region

to talk to us.

The British have put pressure

on you so you must be expecting

the Prime Minster to put pressure

on you again?

I don't know that I

would call it pressure.

Britain is our ally,

we deal with Britain and we deal

with United States and the Emirates

and what is called the quartet.

And we are partners and allies

and we look for ways to come up

with solutions that would bring

peace and stability back to Yemen

and prevent Iran from having

a foothold in Yemen.

And prevent the Houthi

from taking over the country.

Britain was trying to send a message

that it is becoming global

as it proceeds to leave

the European Union.

Is Saudi Arabia going to come

with offers of investment?

Britain is a global power.

And Britain is an advanced

industrial country.

Britain in the EU we believe very

strongly in, Britain outside the EU

we believe very strongly in.

What you do with Brexit

is really your decision

and we support whatever

decision you make.

It will not impact our

relationship with you.

Interesting though is mixed reviews

with Bin Salman. Clearly what he's

doing at home in three months' time,

Saudi women will be able to drive

for the first time in the kingdom.

There are remarkable social and

cultural changes and even economic

changes. Trying to diversify the

Saudi economy.

It is a crucially

important partner for the UK.

President Trump and Jared Kushner

spent a lot of time in Saudi Arabia

and invested in them relationship.

It is an important relationships

this way as well so they will invest

time and it especially given that

they're looking to the post Wrexham

future and given the fact that Saudi

Arabia is moving away from oil.

There is focus now on services and

the new economy in Saudi Arabia and

the UK will want of that. So aside

from what they want to talk about

with Yemen, the economy will also be

important for the British side.

He

is certainly getting a red carpet

welcome.

Six months ago the European

Commission President

Jean Claude Junker was breathing

a huge sigh of relief.

In Holland and in France the far

right had been defeated.

Angela Merkel was back in power,

albeit with a reduced majority.

"The wind is back in

Europe's sails," he said.

But is it?

In Italy the success this weekend

of the anti-establishment Five Star

Movement and the Eurosceptic

Lega, poses yet another challenge

to the European project.

Since September there's been far

right success in Austria.

And in Germany the far right

AFD is now the official

opposition in the Bundestag.

SO how will Germany,

how will the EU now respond?

I've been speaking

to the German Chair

of the European Parliament's Foreign

Affairs Select Committee,

David McAllister.

I was thinking back to the State of

the Union by Jean Claude Juncker is

that the wind is back Europe's

sales. Now we have the five Star

Movement in Italy. So are you

listening or is the solution more of

the same?

We are listening to the

people and I would remind you more

than 85% of the votes in the general

election went to pro-European

political parties. Of course the

Italian election result is not easy

and a lot will now depend on the

Italian president. He is a key

figure. But I remain optimistic that

it will also, we will also be able

to form a stable government in Italy

but it may take a few months as we

have seen in Germany.

But I'm sure

you've seen many common pieces today

in the European press about the

European project is under strain

again. Do you think that there was

commentary pieces are fair?

Of

course the election result in Italy

was not what we hope for or

expected. I think it is a matter of

concern that such a high percentage

of members of the Italian parliament

are openly anti-European or at least

sceptic. On the other hand we must

understand in the 21st-century and

in a globalised world that we as

Europeans are stronger and better

off together. We have to explain to

our citizens why is it so important

that we keep the European Union and

strengthen it. This is the only

possibility to find eyelevel with

other global powers like the United

States, China or Russia.

The

European Parliament chief exit

negotiator has been in London today

and talking about an association

agreement for people who do not

understand it, what would it mean?

We're all in Brussels deeply regret

that the UK is turning to leave the

EU. But we have to move on after I

do hope that preparations will be

successful in the next week so we

can start the second phase of the

British withdrawal negotiations at

the European Council on the 22nd

23rd March. We all listen carefully

to the speech made by the Prime

Minister last Friday, she is

obviously going for a tailor-made

agreement. A new kind of

relationship between the EU one hand

and the United Kingdom on the other.

It is a very ambitious plan but we

all agree that we want to have good

and close neighbourly relations with

the UK because this country will

remain an important trade partner

for us and also important data ally.

Given illustrations in Europe about

the way the EU is run and the

directions is taking, do you think

it was a smart political move to put

your fellow German into a top civil

service job without full

transparency of how he was appointed

to that job?

I have read the reports

in the newspapers but this is an

internal matter of the European

Commission. It has not been dealt

with yet in the European Parliament.

One political group has asked for a

debate on the European Parliament

and we will have an exchange of

views. But at the moment I would not

comment because it is an internal

matter of the European Commission.

Thank you very much for your time.

This is Beyond One Hundred Days.

Still to come.

Taking her protests

against the President

all the way to Capitol Hill -

we speak to the woman

who could become the first

Muslim American woman in Congress.

Here in the UK, thousands of people

are without water for a third day

after frozen pipes burst in

the recent thaw from cold weather.

Homes and businesses

in London, Kent, Sussex

and Wales are affected -

as Emma Simpson explains.

A Sussex country pub with lots

of beer, but no running water.

Not today.

I'm really sorry.

That's all right.

They've been saying sorry

to customers since Saturday,

200 lost bookings and counting.

How much is this all

going to cost you?

Probably £6,000, £7,000 so far.

It's devastation.

We can't open and we've lost food.

We've lost our revenue, you know.

Down the road, yet more emergency

supplies for households in need.

Oh, we're managing.

You know, we're British, aren't we!

They were helping themselves in west

Wales, and there are still thousands

without water in London.

Here's the problem, just one of many

burst pipes still being repaired.

No quick-fix, but

progress is being made.

The big freeze has put an enormous

strain on the water network,

but critics say the water companies

should be investing much

more in improving ageing

infrastructure and making

the system more resilient.

South East Water will invest

£450 million into its infrastructure

from 2015 to 2020.

We're dealing with an unprecedented

event here due to the weather,

where we've seen a 25% increase

in burst and water demand

over a couple of days.

Back at the pub, the chef's

cleaning, not cooking.

They just want to know

when they can re-open.

This ale won't keep

if it's not soon, yet more

money being poured away.

Emma Simpson, BBC News, Wadhurst.

You're watching

Beyond One Hundred Days.

A record number of American

women are running

for Congress this year -

one of them could become the first

Muslim American woman ever to be

a US lawmaker.

Her name is Rashida Tlaib -

she's of Palestinian origin.

In 2016 she was thrown

out of a speech by then

candidate Donald Trump

because she was

protesting against him.

Now Rashida is running

to represent a district

in Detroit, Michigan

in the House of Representatives.

I spoke to her just

a short time ago.

Rashida, it's pretty clear

from the fact that you got thrown

out of one of Donald Trump's rallies

when he was campaigning,

that you don't like

the president very much.

Now, I was wondering to what extent

does the fact that Donald Trump

is President of the United States

mean that you are

running for Congress?

Well, you know, I'm

a mother, I started Mums

against Trump in Detroit.

And it's not just me

being an American Muslim

Arab American woman that is running

for Congress, but also me being seen

as a bully out there,

how my children feel

about themselves

growing up in America.

I tell a lot of people, a lot

of the families across my district,

that this is about electing a jury

that will impeach this president

and I make one heck of a juror

especially as someone with a stake,

with two young boys at home.

Trump has ignited a fire within me

that I just cant stand by silently

or stand outside the ring,

I need to be in the ring fighting

back on his un-American

policies and rhetoric.

You spoke there about your two sons.

What tangible impact has

Donald Trump becoming president

had on your two sons?

As Muslims in America?

You know my eldest,

who is 12 years old,

knowing that I'm so worried

about his safety, worried about just

the increase in the number

of violent acts towards people,

African-Americans,

Latinos, Muslim Americans.

And you know, I remember him coming

into my bedroom one time

when I was expressing concern

to his father and he said you know,

don't worry, if anyone ever asks

if I am Muslim I'll lie and tell

them I'm not.

And that alone, this is probably

the first time I haven't cried

when I told that story.

But that alone, of everything I've

worked as as an attorney,

as someone that works for civil

rights, for equality,

that was the most heartbreaking

moment for me as a mother.

I don't ever want my

child to feel he is less

than or that he has to hide

who he is.

And right now Adam understands why

I'm doing this, he jokingly says mum

is going to Congress to give

Donald Trump a time-out.

And that is exactly

what I'm trying to do.

Europeans have always admired

the fact that Muslims in America see

themselves as Americans first

and Muslims in

conjunction with that.

But I wanted to ask you why do

you think it is that there has never

been a Muslim American woman

in the United States Congress?

I think there are American Muslim

woman that are running for office

at local level more than ever.

I don't know the answer.

Just like I don't know why it took

I don't know how many years to get

an African-American man elected

to the White House.

But this seems to be the time.

I was talking to other not only

Muslim mums but Latino mums,

grandmothers, every one of us

when we look at this issue of having

someone like him in the White House,

it means so much more to us

than just Democrat

versus Republican.

For us it is about humanity,

about how our children are feeling

right now having someone that

attacks them every single day.

Thanks so much for joining me.

Thank you for having me.

In these midterms I get the

impression that women will play

quite a significant role, candidates

and voters.

Women have decided that

they vote more than men in this

country and have a disproportionate

influence on the results of

elections. There are more women

running in a selection than ever

before in an American election

cycle, twice as many as during the

last election cycle so hard to think

that some of those women will not be

elected to Congress. There still

disproportionately outnumbered in

both houses. We will see if she

makes it. Hard being a woman and a

Muslim woman in this country to make

your voice heard and get a leg it

into government, I suspect.

A woman from Western

Australia has found

the world's oldest known message

in a bottle, almost 132 years

after it was thrown into the sea.

Tonya Illman picked up the bottle

while going for a walk around sand

dunes on a remote beach.

Experts have confirmed

it is an authentic

message from a German ship.

The note in the bottle,

which was dated 12 June 1886,

was thrown from the German ship

Paula, as part of an experiment

into ocean and shipping routes

by the German Naval Observatory.

And she found out it had come from

there because she converted to

handwriting samples the captain had

put any major logical blog. It was a

69 year experiment so German ships

were selling around the world

touring bottles of the and marking

their notes with the name of the

ship and coordinate.

Amazingly

efficient exec.