:00:00. > :00:07.A month ago, this programme revealed that the most senior lawyer
:00:08. > :00:10.on the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse
:00:11. > :00:13.was alleged to have sexually assaulted a colleague,
:00:14. > :00:15.but was allowed to resign with no investigation -
:00:16. > :00:22.Tonight, a committee of MPs has passed its judgment on how
:00:23. > :00:24.the inquiry handled the claim and it's damning.
:00:25. > :00:29.how damaged is the inquiry and can it ever win back the trust of those
:00:30. > :00:31.It's important to us because it's about us.
:00:32. > :00:35.It's supposed to be about what happened to us.
:00:36. > :00:38.So excluding us and dismissing us, and letting us see you treat other
:00:39. > :00:42.victims really badly, is scaring us.
:00:43. > :00:47.The Chair of the committee joins us live.
:00:48. > :00:49.Rebel-held Aleppo no longer has a working operating hospital.
:00:50. > :00:51.This brave little girl has been tweeting the world
:00:52. > :01:04.We hear from a doctor in the city who is still desperately
:01:05. > :01:12.Please, do anything to my children, anything to my wife.
:01:13. > :01:15.Please, do anything to save them", and I can't do anything.
:01:16. > :01:20.To boldly clean where no man has cleaned before.
:01:21. > :01:33.The mess in space and the plan to spring clean the solar system.
:01:34. > :01:38.Last month this programme reported on disturbing
:01:39. > :01:40.developments inside the troubled Independent Inquiry
:01:41. > :01:46.The inquiry's most senior lawyer was alleged to have sexually
:01:47. > :01:48.assaulted a colleague, but was allowed to resign
:01:49. > :01:55.The senior lawyer robustly denied the allegation and the inquiry
:01:56. > :01:58.insisted it had not received any complaint about such an incident.
:01:59. > :02:01.But tonight, a committee of MPs has sharply criticised the inquiry,
:02:02. > :02:04.saying its response to the disclosure of the alleged sexual
:02:05. > :02:08.assault, as well as allegations of bullying, was inadequate.
:02:09. > :02:11.It would be a troubling charge for any organisation,
:02:12. > :02:15.but it is especially so for one that was meant to be
:02:16. > :02:16.investigating just such failings in other organisations.
:02:17. > :02:19.So, can it now rebuild its credibility?
:02:20. > :02:45.It's job is to shine light into dark corners of our past and present. But
:02:46. > :02:49.tonight the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse was accused by
:02:50. > :02:55.MPs of fail to properly investigate a claim of sexual assault under its
:02:56. > :02:59.own roof. Tonight, Newsnight can reveal that the inquiry faces its
:03:00. > :03:03.potentially most challenging criticism yet. It was an allegations
:03:04. > :03:09.broadcast by Newsnight, four weeks ago. Tonight, the Home Affairs
:03:10. > :03:12.Select Committee warned the inquiry's failure to proper
:03:13. > :03:18.investigate itself was so serious that it threatened its able to judge
:03:19. > :03:21.others. We do not believe that they have taken seriously enough its
:03:22. > :03:26.responsibility to pursue allegations of bullying or disclosures of sexual
:03:27. > :03:31.assault within the inquiry. One of the inquiries key purposes is to
:03:32. > :03:34.assess other organisations procedures for dealing with
:03:35. > :03:40.disclosures of sexual assault or abuses of power and institutional
:03:41. > :03:43.reluctance to deal with difficult issues that might jeopardise their
:03:44. > :03:49.reputation. We believe it's extremely important the inquiry can
:03:50. > :03:55.show it treats these issues with appropriate rigour when they affect
:03:56. > :03:56.IICSA itself. Professor Alexis Jay announced an independent review. She
:03:57. > :04:17.said... I think there has been a lack of
:04:18. > :04:23.transparency and, for an inquiry that at its heart is all about
:04:24. > :04:29.undercovering conspiracies of silence and things being swept under
:04:30. > :04:32.the carpet and by public bodies not properly investigating serious child
:04:33. > :04:37.sex abuse, it's really vital that the inquiry itself is as upfront and
:04:38. > :04:44.transparent as it can be. So these stories about who did what to whom
:04:45. > :04:47.and when and how, within the inquiry, are not absolutely
:04:48. > :04:51.strategic to the work of the inquiry itself, but are seriously damaging
:04:52. > :04:56.in the way they've been gaining the headlines and overhanging the work
:04:57. > :04:59.of that inquiry. It's a very serious and unhelpful distraction.
:05:00. > :05:03.Newsnight's report in October revealed the inquiry had dropped an
:05:04. > :05:08.investigation into its most senior lawyer, Ed Miliband. This, despite
:05:09. > :05:14.being made aware of of a claim of sexual assault against him. A claim
:05:15. > :05:17.Mr Ed Miliband strongly denies. -- Mr Emerson denies. He resigned. It
:05:18. > :05:21.was agreed he would carry on working for the inquiry for a further two
:05:22. > :05:30.months when MPs asked, answers didn't come. Why was Mr Emmerson
:05:31. > :05:35.suspended? I cannot discuss anything to do with his circumstances. Of all
:05:36. > :05:41.the criticism of the inquiry today, arguably the most came in a letter
:05:42. > :05:46.sent by the MPs from the man who had been his deputy. Hue Davies QC is an
:05:47. > :05:50.expert in safeguarding. He had never said anything publicly about the
:05:51. > :05:56.inquiry and the inquiry had told him not to engage with the MPs. Mr
:05:57. > :06:31.Davies ignored them and he accused the inquiry of a cover-up.
:06:32. > :06:37.You can see how an organisation will say, look, things happen on our
:06:38. > :06:41.premises. If the two individuals concerned are not going to make a
:06:42. > :06:45.complaint, it's not going to go any further. On the other hand, an
:06:46. > :06:51.organisation has these days an object ply gays to provide safe and
:06:52. > :06:54.appropriate working conditions. It can't condone misbehaviour on its
:06:55. > :06:58.premises. It should look into what happened to see whether its behaving
:06:59. > :07:01.as it needs to to safeguard the concerns of people who work there.
:07:02. > :07:03.It can't just cover the whole thing up because there hasn't been a
:07:04. > :07:21.formal complaint. MPs agreed. The lack of preparedness to account
:07:22. > :07:24.for something that's gone on, slightly hiding behind HR, keyses,
:07:25. > :07:28.this is an internal matter we will deal with, I'm afraid aren't good
:07:29. > :07:33.enough. Because of the publicity you are surrounding this, they do need
:07:34. > :07:37.to account for what has gone on. The criticism didn't end there. The
:07:38. > :07:49.inquiry accused of not yet doing enough to support the abused.
:07:50. > :07:55.We want to see the inquiry, we don't want it to stop. We want it to
:07:56. > :07:58.succeed, but we want it to be right. It's important to us because it's
:07:59. > :08:02.about us. It's supposed to be about what happened to us. If you want our
:08:03. > :08:06.faith and confidence, all you have to do is be straight and transparent
:08:07. > :08:11.with us and do what you say you're going to do. So far you really
:08:12. > :08:14.haven't done that. Release tonight letters between senior figures on
:08:15. > :08:18.the inquiry and the Home Affairs Select Committee. Those letters show
:08:19. > :08:21.an inquiry fighting for it is independence, resentful of elements
:08:22. > :08:25.of the scrutiny MPs have put them under. The tonight's report has
:08:26. > :08:29.prompted a personal apology from the Chair of the inquiry, to victims and
:08:30. > :08:36.survivors of abuse. An apology for the anxiety caused by recent events.
:08:37. > :08:41.The inquiry is battling to retain the support of survivors of abuse.
:08:42. > :08:45.Bitter experience means many of them fear institutions will always tend
:08:46. > :08:50.to sweep embarrassing issues under the carpet. That is why how the
:08:51. > :09:01.inquiry handled their own matters so much.
:09:02. > :09:04.We asked for a representative from the inquiry and from the Home
:09:05. > :09:07.Office, but no-one was available. The Chair of the Home
:09:08. > :09:09.Affairs Select Committee Peter Knox QC, from 3
:09:10. > :09:21.Hare Court Chambers worked as junior Rosie Cooper, ir first of all, what
:09:22. > :09:27.shocked you the most? I think it was the complete lack of transparency
:09:28. > :09:34.and both about the - how they handled allegations of bullying and
:09:35. > :09:37.of sexual assault disclosures but also more widely the resistance to
:09:38. > :09:41.any form of of scrutiny. They are an independent inquiry. Their work is
:09:42. > :09:45.vital. We want this inquiry to be effective, but in order to do so,
:09:46. > :09:47.given all of the problems they've had, there has to be much more
:09:48. > :09:56.transparency about what's gone wrong. I want to talk about that in
:09:57. > :09:59.a minute. Two Chairs so far. Lead counsel, junior counsel, seven
:10:00. > :10:03.lawyers gone or going. The biggest survivor group has pulled out.
:10:04. > :10:06.Today, as you said, defensive and slow, not responding to the
:10:07. > :10:09.inquiries. How much worse could it actually get? Well, I think that's
:10:10. > :10:15.the issue that they need to deal with. They need to address to get it
:10:16. > :10:18.back on track. We set out some specific things that they need to do
:10:19. > :10:21.as well as the the more general things they need to do in order to
:10:22. > :10:26.deal with this otherwise they won't be able to build the confidence that
:10:27. > :10:32.people need. What about the position of the Chair, Alexis Jay? I think
:10:33. > :10:36.this is all got... Become too much focused on - can we solve everything
:10:37. > :10:41.by changing Chairs each time. This is the fourth Chair. We have lost,
:10:42. > :10:45.you know, Chairs along the way. If you just think this can be solved by
:10:46. > :10:48.just changing the Chairs it's missing the point. We didn't look
:10:49. > :10:52.specifically at the issue of the Chair, we looked at the wider issues
:10:53. > :10:56.around the inquiry, around the way it has got this culture of
:10:57. > :11:00.defensiveness it has built up and what are the things it needs to do
:11:01. > :11:03.to turn it round. The question Alexis Jay is a question of
:11:04. > :11:09.leadership. It is striking that after our report, when we approached
:11:10. > :11:12.the inquiry, about these allegations of bullying and sexual assault, what
:11:13. > :11:18.they said was flat out - no complaint. Not even disclosure. As
:11:19. > :11:22.far as they were concerned they claimed they knew nothing about it?
:11:23. > :11:29.The most disturbing thing was not what they said formally, it was the
:11:30. > :11:32.report, the unatrickitied report to an inquiry source reported in the
:11:33. > :11:37.newspaper being very, very dismissive of the whole thing. What
:11:38. > :11:42.we said, they should have done more to distance themselves from that
:11:43. > :11:47.source and that briefing as well. Do you think the inquiry was straight
:11:48. > :11:49.with the Select Committee and the public about Ben Emmerson's
:11:50. > :11:53.departure? We don't know what theishing ises were. Actually, in
:11:54. > :11:56.the en, it's not our position as the committee to go into the detailed
:11:57. > :12:00.allegations and what exactly happened. You have to hold it up to
:12:01. > :12:05.the light, don't you? That should be done by somebody else. It will be
:12:06. > :12:09.done by somebody else? Exactly. We called for an an external person to
:12:10. > :12:14.come in and look at this case. That could provide more transparency that
:12:15. > :12:17.they have followed procedures properly, they have actually taken
:12:18. > :12:22.seriously their responsibility to deal with allegations of bullying.
:12:23. > :12:26.Do you think that will be enough? Some of the big survivor groups are
:12:27. > :12:29.not having anything to do with this inquiry until this is sorted out?
:12:30. > :12:35.That is the responsibility on the inquiry to deal with this now. But I
:12:36. > :12:38.think it'ses not just the inquiry into the bullying allegations. Can
:12:39. > :12:47.you not have unresolved bullying allegations in an institution that
:12:48. > :12:51.has a responsibility... Not why... It's kind... I wonder if, in the
:12:52. > :12:55.end, it's going to be possible to put it back together again and get
:12:56. > :12:58.the trust of people again? Who is going to scrutinise it? That's the
:12:59. > :13:03.other interesting point. The inquiry has to be independent. It was set up
:13:04. > :13:06.to be independent as part of establishing its credibility. You
:13:07. > :13:10.wouldn't expect people to question the conclusions it comes to or the
:13:11. > :13:16.truth finding it does, but there has to be some scrutiny of its approach,
:13:17. > :13:20.of the processes and the approach it takes, particularly when so much has
:13:21. > :13:25.gone wrong. That's the role that we have tried to play. And public
:13:26. > :13:28.money? Yes. To hold it to an account that doesn't challenge the
:13:29. > :13:32.independence of the content of their work and the work they do to
:13:33. > :13:36.investigate, but does say - look, you have to be accountable to
:13:37. > :13:39.someone. Do you want to see the inquiry split into a judicial
:13:40. > :13:43.inquiry and a social services investigation? I think that is one
:13:44. > :13:48.option. Because the inquiry is so broad, in scope, I think that's been
:13:49. > :13:53.one of its challenges for each of the four Chairs, it has been a
:13:54. > :13:56.challenge as to you how to focus it most effectively. We came across
:13:57. > :14:02.this unresolved tension between those who want a judicial approach
:14:03. > :14:06.to past events - With a judge? Not necessarily. But someone who can
:14:07. > :14:12.approach that forensic. Get to the truth approach, it could be a judge,
:14:13. > :14:14.it could be somebody else. Separately an approach to child
:14:15. > :14:17.protection policies today where we know there are considerable
:14:18. > :14:21.failures. Those are two different kinds of approaches to two different
:14:22. > :14:24.sorts of things. There has been a tension and people worried that one
:14:25. > :14:29.is going to dominate the other. That they are not it actually going to
:14:30. > :14:32.get to the truth. We have to be absolutely clear about this, who
:14:33. > :14:37.this is awful for is the survivors? Exactly. That is who it has to be
:14:38. > :14:41.for to deal with the cover-ups that have never been challenged and the
:14:42. > :14:50.abuse that scars people today. Law very much. -- thank you very much.
:14:51. > :14:56.You are an experienced lawyer and were involved in the enquiry into
:14:57. > :15:02.the death of David Kelly, why do you think this has ran into so much
:15:03. > :15:05.trouble? There are two major problems, firstly the remit is
:15:06. > :15:10.impossibly wide. A lawyer looks at that remit and then she must be
:15:11. > :15:12.joking, it is to enquire into whether state institutions and
:15:13. > :15:17.non-state institutions have required the duty of care to children under
:15:18. > :15:22.protection without limit in time, it could go back 40, 50, 60 years. The
:15:23. > :15:27.other problem is there is no time limit in which the report has to be
:15:28. > :15:31.made. If you have a time limit of say coming back within a year then
:15:32. > :15:39.the people conducting the inquiry can say we can only carry out this
:15:40. > :15:43.wide remit within a certain sphere, the intention is that it's a white
:15:44. > :15:50.sphere and that has caused a lot of problems. So far we have lost seven
:15:51. > :15:54.lawyers, why is that? We have not been told the exact reasons, that is
:15:55. > :15:58.part of the problem. But as a lawyer all I can say is it virtually
:15:59. > :16:05.inconceivable that lawyers would resign from the inquiry. Really? I
:16:06. > :16:08.think one thing which is very striking is that there is no
:16:09. > :16:13.provision to work out what happens when you have this position. The
:16:14. > :16:17.reason for that is it just doesn't happen, normally. That is the
:16:18. > :16:21.problem which the home affairs committee came across, everyone
:16:22. > :16:26.effectively clammed up and said I am sorry, I cannot tell you any more.
:16:27. > :16:32.But on the question of, this is what lawyers are meant to do isn't it?
:16:33. > :16:39.Uncover injustice. So therefore this is actually, it's a very big job for
:16:40. > :16:41.lawyers who presumably don't walk away lightly because the very people
:16:42. > :16:46.they are trying to help are inevitably let down. Once you take
:16:47. > :16:50.on a brief that is it, you do it. You may not want to take it on and
:16:51. > :16:54.if you have reasons for not doing so you can, but a case like this I can
:16:55. > :16:57.understand why someone might say I cannot commit five years of my life
:16:58. > :17:00.to doing it. But I think once you have you are duty bound to carry on
:17:01. > :17:07.and it takes the most serious circumstances to drop out. Do you
:17:08. > :17:12.think it is fixable? What do you think can be done? I don't know but
:17:13. > :17:15.I guess the sensible way forward would be to terminate this inquiry
:17:16. > :17:18.and start a new one on a narrower basis with a time limit with which
:17:19. > :17:22.the report has to be made and I think I'm not the only lawyer who
:17:23. > :17:25.said that. I have seen other people suggesting it as well. Thank you
:17:26. > :17:29.both very much indeed. The UN announced today that its aid
:17:30. > :17:32.team in Syria has received written approval from rebels in the besieged
:17:33. > :17:35.opposition-held parts of the city of Aleppo to allow aid
:17:36. > :17:37.in and evacuate the wounded. No food or medical supplies have
:17:38. > :17:39.entered East Aleppo, which is home to some
:17:40. > :17:41.275,000 people, since July. Bana Alabed is a seven-year-old girl
:17:42. > :17:44.who's been tweeting from East Aleppo The heartbreaking pictures
:17:45. > :17:54.and footage she's been sharing have gained her over 90,000
:17:55. > :17:56.Twitter followers. According to the UN,
:17:57. > :18:04.by the end of October, government-led air strikes had
:18:05. > :18:06.killed more than 700 citizens in the east of this city,
:18:07. > :18:09.whilst rocket fire had left Before the war, travellers
:18:10. > :18:16.to Aleppo would have read in their guidebooks
:18:17. > :18:18.about a beautiful The street speaks a rhythm
:18:19. > :18:24.of sounds, from horse-drawn carts over cobblestones to the more
:18:25. > :18:28.frenetic pace of donkey riding couriers, still the fastest way
:18:29. > :18:31.through the atmospheric labyrinthine souq, that's fragrant with olive
:18:32. > :18:34.soap, exotic spices, roasting coffee Today, the city is almost razed
:18:35. > :18:45.to the ground. After a three-week moratorium,
:18:46. > :18:49.the assault on the area has resumed. The bombardment has left the streets
:18:50. > :18:52.deserted and people trying The Syrian Observatory
:18:53. > :18:59.for Human Rights says the strikes have been so massive that residents
:19:00. > :19:01.are frightened to use The last operating hospital
:19:02. > :19:08.in Eastern Aleppo has been destroyed, leaving up to 250,000
:19:09. > :19:11.residents of rebel-held districts without access
:19:12. > :19:17.to surgery or specialist care. Earlier, I spoke to
:19:18. > :19:19.a surgeon in the city, I asked him what the
:19:20. > :19:36.situation was like there. Aleppo right now is completely under
:19:37. > :19:46.siege and under shelling. There are more than 2000 shells in 24 hours,
:19:47. > :19:54.including parachute rockets and shells and barrel bombs and a lot of
:19:55. > :19:58.weapons actually. The whole situation, actually, it is a
:19:59. > :20:03.holocaust here in Aleppo. You say it is a Holocaust, tell me the kind of
:20:04. > :20:17.injuries you are seeing? As a surgeon I see all the casualties.
:20:18. > :20:22.They are shelling, the patients are full of fragments and shrapnel from
:20:23. > :20:31.head to toe. There are a lot of children and women, they are all
:20:32. > :20:35.casualties, they are civilians. You have a lot of people but you are
:20:36. > :20:41.seeing who need medical help but what can you actually do for them
:20:42. > :20:49.now? Actually, as you know, all trauma centres and all trauma
:20:50. > :20:53.hospitals have been destroyed completely. They are out of service.
:20:54. > :20:58.Now we don't have an operation room so we can't do anything to the
:20:59. > :21:07.patients. All patients and all casualties will be, will die. Or
:21:08. > :21:18.they will die later, because we don't, we cannot do anything. All we
:21:19. > :21:22.can do is such a small incision. Doctor, you send us pictures of the
:21:23. > :21:28.most desperate injuries which were too desperate for us to show. From
:21:29. > :21:32.your point of view as a doctor how frustrating is this that you have so
:21:33. > :21:38.little we are able to do? The most difficult moment to me, to a
:21:39. > :21:47.surgeon, I am a surgeon and I cannot do anything for these patients are
:21:48. > :21:53.these casualties. The patient's family appeal me and they say,
:21:54. > :22:00.please, doctor, please do anything for my children, anything to my
:22:01. > :22:06.wife, do anything to save them and I cannot do anything. They cry and I
:22:07. > :22:14.cried. Is there any chance you can get any of these children out? We
:22:15. > :22:17.plead, the international community, the Security Council, the United
:22:18. > :22:24.Nations, all the free world and Britain is one of them, England is
:22:25. > :22:33.one of them, we plead, we appeal them, open humanitarian corridor and
:22:34. > :22:42.entered humanitarian aid. And change the medical staff, medical staff are
:22:43. > :22:46.so tired. We are exhausted. We need evacuation of wounded and injuries
:22:47. > :22:49.and complicated cases. If there was a humanitarian corridor which got
:22:50. > :22:57.some people out over a short time span would you go would you stay to
:22:58. > :23:03.help the ones who are left behind? It's a big question, actually. I am
:23:04. > :23:07.a surgeon. Health care worker here, to see these patients, to save these
:23:08. > :23:12.people, I cannot go and leave all the civilian people here in Aleppo.
:23:13. > :23:17.Do you accept this is the death of Aleppo, the death of the city you
:23:18. > :23:25.are facing? We do not want to die here. There is not any fuel, any
:23:26. > :23:35.electricity or food, that is not any baby milk. There is not any fruit,
:23:36. > :23:39.there is no electricity generator. It's a horrible situation. A surgeon
:23:40. > :23:42.in Aleppo. The Chancellor, Philip Hammond,
:23:43. > :23:44.has spent the day defending Touring the studios this morning
:23:45. > :23:48.with the message that he's taken the first steps to ensure the UK
:23:49. > :23:51.economy is prepared for Brexit. He may have to go further to placate
:23:52. > :23:54.families who are struggling This afternoon, the Institute
:23:55. > :23:57.of Fiscal Studies published data suggesting the outlook for wages
:23:58. > :23:59.is "dreadful" and that workers will earn less in real terms in 2021
:24:00. > :24:03.than they did in 2008. Also, it predicts,
:24:04. > :24:06.the biggest losers will be... Yes - those lower income families
:24:07. > :24:08.the government has been Our political editor,
:24:09. > :24:22.Nick Watt, is here. Pretty dramatic sounding
:24:23. > :24:27.intervention? Absolutely, by Paul Johnson, a former Treasury civil
:24:28. > :24:32.servant, quite a cautious man using strong language, dreadful. They have
:24:33. > :24:37.produced a graphic, look at this. If you look, let's get it up on screen,
:24:38. > :24:40.there it is, look at that red line along the bottom, that is average
:24:41. > :24:48.earnings and it is bumping along and that is showing what you are saying,
:24:49. > :24:51.even by 2021 wages will not have recovered with a where in 2008 at
:24:52. > :25:00.the beginning of the global financial grass. -- crash. We can
:25:01. > :25:04.look at this any historical context, this has been produced by the
:25:05. > :25:10.resolution foundation and look at the far right, look at that red
:25:11. > :25:14.depth. Forecast at Autumn Statement 2016. Paul Johnson is saying we have
:25:15. > :25:20.not seen this since the Second World War and he also makes the point that
:25:21. > :25:25.some, although not all of this, has been caused by the consequences of
:25:26. > :25:33.the Brexit referendum. So what do the government say? It is not great
:25:34. > :25:36.for Theresa May, she said the Autumn Statement be aimed at those just
:25:37. > :25:40.about managing and I think what this shows is that it is 2-1 to Philip
:25:41. > :25:44.Hammond. He directed some measures towards those people but most of the
:25:45. > :25:48.spending in the Autumn Statement was about boosting infrastructure, that
:25:49. > :25:52.is where the megabucks went. If we look at that graphic again, Theresa
:25:53. > :25:57.May has a point in one of the things she said today, we are doing some
:25:58. > :26:02.measures, look at the national living wage, look at that blue line,
:26:03. > :26:09.up it goes. It is denoted beer because it has to get to ?9 by 2020.
:26:10. > :26:13.But I'm hearing an echo from the Treasury, a bit of a told you so in
:26:14. > :26:17.the direction of the Brexit crowd but they are seeing it under their
:26:18. > :26:21.breath because they know that the Eurosceptic Tories are turning their
:26:22. > :26:25.fire at the moment on the experts, the officer budget responsibility,
:26:26. > :26:30.and they wonder when it might be their turn. But let's end on a
:26:31. > :26:32.health warning. Forecast? Sometimes they are wrong. Thank you very much
:26:33. > :26:34.indeed. The issue of sales of Prosecco
:26:35. > :26:36.was exercising Boris Johnson when he met the Italian Economy
:26:37. > :26:41.Minister. Our Foreign Secretary opened that
:26:42. > :26:43.Italy would want to grant Britain access to the EU because Italy
:26:44. > :26:46.wouldn't want to lose out on sales of the fizz -
:26:47. > :26:49.which we apparently drink Mr Calenda shot back that the UK
:26:50. > :26:53.would sell fewer fish and chips. "I'll sell less Prosecco
:26:54. > :26:56.to one country. The serious side to this is that
:26:57. > :27:01.we're relying on countries to engage with the Foreign Secretary to sure
:27:02. > :27:03.Brexit goes smoothly. We know that the Chancellor
:27:04. > :27:06.and the Prime Minister seem to take great delight
:27:07. > :27:08.in ripping Boris Johnson. Earlier this evening,
:27:09. > :27:13.I spoke to the Mr Johnson's Italian counterpart, Paulo Gentiloni,
:27:14. > :27:15.and asked about the future of Europe, populism and how
:27:16. > :27:26.seriously he took our I started asking if he had
:27:27. > :27:37.confidence in Britain's Brexit negotiation team. As far as I know
:27:38. > :27:42.there is different roads in the UK Government. We are now in our
:27:43. > :27:48.waiting position. I am sorry about that but this is the only thing that
:27:49. > :27:52.we can do in the EU. There may be no formal negotiations but we know the
:27:53. > :27:57.Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson had a conversation with your colleague,
:27:58. > :28:00.the economy minister and Boris Johnson said Italy would grand
:28:01. > :28:04.Britain access to the EU single market because you do not want to
:28:05. > :28:13.lose per sec or imports. He is right isn't he? --
:28:14. > :28:23.Boris was joking a little on that subject but the issue is does the UK
:28:24. > :28:27.want to remain in the single market? It is rather strange that if you
:28:28. > :28:34.want to remain in the single market you vote for a leave in the
:28:35. > :28:39.referendum. But if the UK wants to remain in the single market we are
:28:40. > :28:45.happy. Obviously the single market has rules. Unfortunately there is no
:28:46. > :28:48.cherry picking. Let's look at Italian politics, you're having a
:28:49. > :28:52.referendum on the constitution and your government is one of the few
:28:53. > :28:55.central left governments in the EU and by Minister Matteo Renzi is
:28:56. > :29:00.trying to tap into the anti-politics going around just now, Donald Trump
:29:01. > :29:05.talked about draining the swamp and Matteo Renzi says he is not going to
:29:06. > :29:12.remain in the swamp. Why is he looking to Donald Trump for
:29:13. > :29:18.direction and inspiration? Well, I assure you he is not looking to
:29:19. > :29:28.Donald Trump as an inspiration. They use the same language. Obviously
:29:29. > :29:34.not. Absolutely not. If you mean that the Prime Minister having a
:29:35. > :29:44.language and values completely different and common to the European
:29:45. > :29:49.centre-left has also a special characteristic to be a young and
:29:50. > :29:53.antiestablishment leader, yes, you are right. And yet that would be
:29:54. > :29:58.exactly what the populist movements are saying, that they are the ones
:29:59. > :30:02.who are antiestablishment, you have your own 5-star movement, there is
:30:03. > :30:10.popular is in Hungary and France and Sweden. For sure we have a populist
:30:11. > :30:19.movement as we all have in Europe. I am rather confident that these
:30:20. > :30:27.populist movement in Italy will not be considered a movement capable to
:30:28. > :30:30.have, to offer an alternative as a government.
:30:31. > :30:40.This is I think the specific strength of our position.
:30:41. > :30:50.We are a government force, pro-Europe, very serious
:30:51. > :30:54.in its reform and its position, but also, understanding
:30:55. > :30:57.what our public opinion want to be changed in the establishment,
:30:58. > :31:02.If the central left is not aware of the changes that are necessary
:31:03. > :31:07.in the globalisation and in the establishment,
:31:08. > :31:09.I think that they risk, the centre left risk
:31:10. > :31:17.Do you fear for the future of Europe?
:31:18. > :31:27.Yes, because I think that if Europe is not able to give answers,
:31:28. > :31:29.especially to two main subjects, one is economic growth and the other
:31:30. > :31:46.These two issues are so urgent that if there is no European answer,
:31:47. > :31:51.I think that Europe is seriously risking.
:31:52. > :31:54.But we have now also a chance, after Brexit, Brexit was also
:31:55. > :32:03.But, finally, first the UK, who'll be next to want out?
:32:04. > :32:10.I think that UK's already sufficient.
:32:11. > :32:14.It's a very important country and I don't think
:32:15. > :32:20.we will have someone next, at least I hope.
:32:21. > :32:25.Paulo Gentiloni, thank you very much indeed.
:32:26. > :32:32.If you've ever thought, "I'll get round to cleaning that up later",
:32:33. > :32:34.then imagine the job that scientists are facing.
:32:35. > :32:39.Space debris is at crisis point and there's so much of it
:32:40. > :32:41.floating around the Earth, that future missions
:32:42. > :32:45.So, with a new era of satellite technology ready to be launched,
:32:46. > :32:48.Our science correspondent, Rebecca Morelle, has been looking
:32:49. > :32:50.at how to give the Earth's orbit a spring clean.
:32:51. > :32:53.It's incredible to think that we've been space bound
:32:54. > :33:02.We've achieved amazing advances, made countless scientific
:33:03. > :33:07.discoveries and made the world more connected than ever before.
:33:08. > :33:13.But for every advance, we've left something behind - waste.
:33:14. > :33:15.So if we want to keep on blasting off into orbit,
:33:16. > :33:32.The space around our planet is so full of rubbish orbiting
:33:33. > :33:37.at menacingly high speeds, it's seen as a threat to future missions.
:33:38. > :33:42.Space debris is made up of lots of things,
:33:43. > :33:44.but any space mission, any space craft, can
:33:45. > :33:50.Many people would say that low Earth orbit has already exceeded the kind
:33:51. > :33:53.of capacity that it has for space junk and that we'll see
:33:54. > :33:57.I think the evidence for that is a bit uncertain,
:33:58. > :34:00.but it's nonetheless something that we really need to take
:34:01. > :34:08.Low Earth orbit is about to get even more crowded.
:34:09. > :34:13.This is Clyde Space in Glasgow, one of several companies
:34:14. > :34:17.spearheading a new satellite revolution, were size matters.
:34:18. > :34:20.This little thing is the size that we're talking about,
:34:21. > :34:23.it's 10 centimetres cubed, and it's transforming
:34:24. > :34:31.They're not only designed to be small, but plentiful.
:34:32. > :34:33.Cost effective missions will see hundreds of them in orbit, working
:34:34. > :34:41.together in vast constellations and bringing great benefits.
:34:42. > :34:43.CubeSats are going to help change our understanding
:34:44. > :34:47.of the planet so we can take an image of the Earth every day,
:34:48. > :34:50.but also data from moisture content of the atmosphere.
:34:51. > :34:54.We'll be looking at the temperature of the oceans in a lot more detail.
:34:55. > :34:57.This will give them much better understanding of actually what's
:34:58. > :35:03.But there are concerns about CubeSats becoming
:35:04. > :35:08.And with so many joining the market, from schools to the military,
:35:09. > :35:12.it will be tricky to ensure that everyone's following the rules.
:35:13. > :35:15.International space guidelines require that satellites should
:35:16. > :35:23.If we build spacecraft, we don't want to shoot
:35:24. > :35:25.ourselves in the foot by making space unusable.
:35:26. > :35:27.Most CubeSats are launched into variable orbits
:35:28. > :35:30.and they have an orbital life of about three to five
:35:31. > :35:32.years which means, at their end of mission,
:35:33. > :35:37.There are other spacecraft up there that are quite large
:35:38. > :35:39.that are not functional, that could potentially cause a lot
:35:40. > :35:55.of damage if they were to collide with another object.
:35:56. > :35:59.We've been invading space for more than half a century,
:36:00. > :36:02.now though the brightest minds are trying to work out how
:36:03. > :36:05.we can clean up our act, but who's going to be the first big
:36:06. > :36:07.player in this special mission and who's going to be willing
:36:08. > :36:13.Let's first get the score on how bad our galactic
:36:14. > :36:19.Scientists are currently tracking more than 22,000
:36:20. > :36:22.pieces of space junk, more than 10 centimetres wide,
:36:23. > :36:25.that's 7,000 tonnes of trash to take out.
:36:26. > :36:29.But blowing the stuff up would just create a bigger mess.
:36:30. > :36:32.Instead, would-be cosmic cleaners need to bring pieces
:36:33. > :36:38.out of orbit to burn up in the Earth's atmosphere.
:36:39. > :36:41.But first, you've got to catch them, otherwise...
:36:42. > :36:53.At the University of Surrey, scientists are getting ready
:36:54. > :36:55.for the world's most ambitious refuge collection.
:36:56. > :36:57.So the remove debris mission is an exciting mission that we're
:36:58. > :37:02.It's going to be one of the world's first missions to actually test
:37:03. > :37:09.Fortunately though, there are animations.
:37:10. > :37:13.This is what their spacecraft will look like.
:37:14. > :37:17.First, it will jettison some junk made especially for this mission.
:37:18. > :37:21.Then it will fire a net to see how easy it is to snag
:37:22. > :37:27.The second experiment involves setting up a target to test
:37:28. > :37:29.the accuracy of firing the harpoon in the weightless
:37:30. > :37:38.Last up, to test future deorbiting tech and, to clean up after itself,
:37:39. > :37:43.it will deploy a sail designed to upset its orbit and drag it down
:37:44. > :37:50.The mission will cost 15 million euros and the idea is that each
:37:51. > :37:53.future mission would target one key piece of space junk.
:37:54. > :38:03.Well, the thing is, I like to think of space junk a bit
:38:04. > :38:07.It's a problem that no-one really wants to pay for,
:38:08. > :38:13.If you have $100 million satellite, it gets wiped out by a piece
:38:14. > :38:17.of junk, then you start thinking - well, maybe I should have done some
:38:18. > :38:20.of these missions to actually get rid of these pieces because it
:38:21. > :38:22.would have been cheaper to begin with.
:38:23. > :38:25.There's another consideration - a diplomatic one.
:38:26. > :38:28.There are legal issues with capturing space junk.
:38:29. > :38:31.You can't just go up there and grab anybody's junk.
:38:32. > :38:35.For example, a lot of the items that are worthwhile getting rid
:38:36. > :38:41.If we just went up there and try and grab those that would
:38:42. > :38:44.effectively be stealing them, it would be theft or interfering
:38:45. > :38:50.It's not only about reducing hazards for future missions,
:38:51. > :38:54.but preventing collisions that may themselves generate more junk.
:38:55. > :38:57.Look at the damage that can be caused by the millions of pieces
:38:58. > :39:04.British astronaut, Tim Peake, took this photo while on board
:39:05. > :39:06.the International Space Station, a chip in a window thought to be
:39:07. > :39:11.caused by an object a few thousand times smaller than a millimetre.
:39:12. > :39:17.The fear is that, in a few generations, low Earth orbit
:39:18. > :39:21.Navigation, Earth observation, weather forecasting, communications,
:39:22. > :39:25.all those things that we take for granted would be gone.
:39:26. > :39:28.There's already been one or two collisions between objects in space
:39:29. > :39:32.so far and there is a lot of objects up there.
:39:33. > :39:36.Space is pretty big, but it's something we need to be
:39:37. > :39:39.mindful of and I think we should be doing something about it
:39:40. > :39:42.now rather than waiting for there to be a problem.
:39:43. > :39:45.But efforts to make the world think collectively about our environment
:39:46. > :39:48.can be particularly challenging, even more so when that
:39:49. > :39:53.environment is hundreds of kilometers above the Earth.
:39:54. > :39:56.We may not be able to take out space's trash quite
:39:57. > :39:59.as literally as we'd like, but with a new era in satellite
:40:00. > :40:03.technology looming, experts think it's high time
:40:04. > :40:08.However, with so many decades of waste that's out of this world,
:40:09. > :40:20.we won't be able to get the lid on all of it.
:40:21. > :40:25.Now, just before we go, we are getting news of what could be a
:40:26. > :40:31.significant story in France. At least one person is dead and armed
:40:32. > :40:35.police are surrounding a retirement home for monks in the country after
:40:36. > :40:40.a masked man burst in carrying a knife and a sawn-off shotgun. It's
:40:41. > :40:43.thought 70 monks live at the home. At the moment there is no indication
:40:44. > :40:46.that the incident is related to terrorism. There will be more though
:40:47. > :40:52.on the BBC News Channel overnight. We leave you tonight
:40:53. > :40:54.with the haunting work An exhibition of his photographs
:40:55. > :40:58.of homeless people from around the UK and the world goes on show
:40:59. > :41:01.at the M Saatchi Gallery in London As hundreds of people sleep out
:41:02. > :41:05.on the streets of London and Bristol tonight,
:41:06. > :41:07.as part of a campaign to end homelessness, it's a timely
:41:08. > :42:00.reminder to appreciate that A lot of dry weather to come over
:42:01. > :42:03.the next few days. Plenty of sunshine on offer through tomorrow
:42:04. > :42:08.as well after a frosty start across many northern areas. A lot of cloud
:42:09. > :42:11.across the far north of Scotland might produce the odd spot of rain.
:42:12. > :42:12.. Pay cloud further south across