18/08/2017 Newsnight

A moments silence across Spain as the country grapples

with the latest European terror attack.

But just how serious is the Islamist terror threat in Catalonia?

The disappearing act continues as Steve Bannon becomes the latest

Trump advisor to be cast out of the White House.

This picture shows his top team in January.

Only Trump and his Vice President remain...

But how much will his departure change the Presidency's

It will be nice to see you on Newsnight... To see you on

Newsnight, nice! There is a first! Mr Light Entertainment, TV legend

Sir Bruce Forsyth, has died. With depressing familiarity,

a minute's silence was held today to remember terror victims

in a major European city. The public and politicians came

together in Barcelona in scenes which have echoed London,

Manchester and Paris As they stood still,

police action to tackle Police killed five people

in Cambrils, south-west of Barcelona, after another car

attack killed one and injured six. But the driver of yesterday's van

is still on the run. What has surprised many is the scale

of the Islamist terror Our reporter Elaine Dunkley

joins us from Barcelona. Yes, this is Las Ramblas, a street

hugely popular with shoppers and tourists. When FC Barcelona win a

major title, this is where they come to celebrate with the cup. But

things can be more different today. Thousands of been here to mourn and

pay respects. 24 hours ago, 13 were killed and more than 100 injured

when a van ploughed into pedestrians. Tonight, police are

still searching for the driver of the vehicle, 18-year-old Musa bowl,

from the capital city of guerrilla. Police told us that they managed to

stop a bigger terrorist attack when they managed to shoot five

terrorists in Cambrils -- Moussa Oukabir. They also used a vehicle to

kill and injure people. The search for answers continues on

radicalisation and extremism here in Spain.

Ware Barcelona, a city known for tourism, and now terrorism. Like

other major cities in Europe, it knows the feeling of loss. And,

defiance in the face of a new threat. This is the first time that

Spain has come under a major terror attack in more than a decade. In

2004 there were the Madrid train bombings which killed 191 and left

more than 2000 injured. It was the worst terror incident in modern

European history but authorities learned by beefing up security with

successful operations and raids and arrests, and try to integrate

different communities. The Spanish style was sophisticated, but the

attacks have become less so. A van used as a weapon with devastating

effect. Leaving 13 dead and more than 100 injured on Las Ramblas.

Police here say that it terror network of at least eight people

were behind this attack and 170 miles away on the coastal resort of

Cambrils. So, why here? Why now? Was it just a matter of time? Catalonia

is self as a large Muslim community, most of Brock background. In one of

the wealthiest regions of Spain, it is just a factor of numbers. The

presence of this community, it has different wings, some are peaceful

and quiet -ist, some are quite militant. Obviously you get fringes

which go further and a red radicalisation trajectory, to

militancy. Often radicalisation happens because of who you know and

when you get a bad apple you get other people around that. Last year,

Barcelona's status of a major centre of Islamic radicalism was

highlighted by a Spanish security think tank. They found that of all

of those detained between 2013 and 2016 for offences relating to

Islamic State activity, more than one quarter were residents of

Barcelona. About one third were based in the North African and the

south of Spain, and 15% were from Madrid. There is a problem, but

worshippers at this mosque around the corner from Las Ramblas say that

their faith has been hijacked. He tells me that he witnessed what

happened yesterday. The bomb exploded in the underground

car park of a crowded supermarket... The attack yesterday also brought

back memories of a bloody campaign by the group ETA which lasted for 40

years, fighting for the independence of the Basque region of Spain. It

left 400 people dead. Getting used to terrorism once again

is a grim thought, but Barcelona's motto is "Daesh, we are not afraid".

Joining me know from Barcelona is Alfred Bosch.

He's leader of the Republican left party on Barcelona City Council.

Alfred Bosch, thank you for coming on. We heard in that report about

28% of those detained have come from Barcelona, for potential terror

offences. It appears there is a problem in your city. If so, why? I

am not sure I heard your question well. Let me try again. The report

says around 28% of people detained in Spain on possible terror offences

are from your city of Barcelona. Is it fair to say that you have a

problem there? Well, it is fair, that we have the same problem that

New York has, Paris has, London has, Munich, Berlin, Madrid, Nice, etc.

Obviously, this is a cosmopolitan city, an open and free city. Yes, we

are targets, as you are. So I think what comes from that, and what we

must do, is get together internationally to fight this

terror. It hits us all. We are all targets, also here in Barcelona we

are very much aware of that and we've got to do something together.

So how do you balance? Your city has a global and enviable reputation as

being a great place to go and a great place to party. And you have

the freedoms there. Now you have the threat as well and you have to

protect your own citizens and tourists who come to your great

city. How do you balance the two? First of all, not giving up. We must

not give up, we must not surrender. As I said, this is a free and open

city. We love democracy. We love to have fun. We love hard work. Right

behind me, you have Las Ramblas, where everything happened. This war,

this boulevard, crosses the old city of Barcelona. This is a stream of

light and life. The first thing we have to do is say no, we are not

afraid. That is what thousands of people are spontaneously saying. We

had to say firstly, no, we will not give up. We will not bow to terror

and two killers. That is what they are. They are killers. That is the

first thing we have said, we have said it all day. It is an important

message. It is important that you are informing and listening to us,

from the UK and all over the world. Knowing that this is also a

cosmopolitan city. Las Ramblas here is a cosmopolitan war, promenade.

That is what they are going for through the whole world. The target

is cosmopolitan. We had to rise and we are doing this already, to say no

to that. It is the right thing to do but, Mr Bosch, if you look elsewhere

in the world, countries like Tunisia and Egypt, their tourist industry

has been badly affected. In London we have a target area twinned with

you in Barcelona which was the sight of a London attack, and many of

their stores, the trade there has gone down. How do you combat that in

Barcelona? We encourage all of you. That is a direct message to the

people listening and watching us right now. Please, help us. Please

help us. The best way you can help us is by coming here. Supporting us.

If you have plans to come to Barcelona, please come here. We are

not going to surrender and you had to help us in that regard. You are

already doing it. I must acknowledge that and thank you for that. Of

course. You talk about help. There is the report the Spanish government

is suggesting that authorities in Catalan are not helping as much as

they might with the Spanish government. What can you tell us

about that and how accurate is that? No, please. There's been very

serious about this. We are talking about people being killed. We are

talking about kids. I was in Las Ramblas, there was a small girl

saying... Talking to her mum saying they are leaving teddy bears there

because children got killed here. Please, let's respect those fallen.

I'd totally am... I totally am respecting. The police have been

excellent. The cooperation is as good as it can be. Please let me say

this, because it is true. The police have been excellent, emergency

services have been excellent. They have avoided greater harm. You know

it perfectly well. They were planning explosives here. Hundreds

of people, hundreds of casualties, they could have been killed here.

They have done a very good job. They have avoided other attacks in the

past and they will in future. Now, what happened? The same that

happened in New York, Paris and London. You all know it and have

experienced it. Let's be reasonable and thank the police for all they

are doing. Lastly, how long before Barcelona is restored to its tubular

and, joyful, colourful self, how we remember it and how we know it? --

GPL and. This morning, I was walking down Las Ramblas, I live a couple of

blocks from this central nerve. The emotional nerve of the city, as you

know. I saw people recovering, and people rising already. Saying no, we

will not accept this. We will go back to normal. We will be our

themselves, our own radiant, happy, hard-working and joyful selves. I

think that is happening already. With the help of all of the

visitors, I must say, who are in the city because, as you know, many of

the victims were international visitors. We have to say that also.

This was an attack against humanity as a whole. Good luck with

everything you are trying to achieve in Barcelona. Mr Bosch, good luck

and best of fortune with everything. We move on.

Donald Trump has lost his chief strategist Steve Bannon -

fired, we understand, in what can be seen as a win

Bannon played a prominent role in the president's "America First"

election campaign message - and has been accused of harbouring

anti-Semitic and white nationalist sentiments.

With the mounting controversy over the death of an anti racist

protestor in Charlottesville, Bannon's role was

But, it was after an interview this week where he undermined

the president on North Korea that it looks like his fate was sealed.

So, what does this mean for the direction of travel

David Willis joins me now. Why now? What is behind the timing? It's an

interesting question. Steve Bannon was, of course, one of the

architects of Donald Trump's victory in the presidential election last

year. He was behind the right wing website Breitbart News. In recent

weeks, he has been accused of leaking to the press, he gave a

controversial interview to a liberal magazine here. A few days ago. As

you mentioned in your introduction, he appeared to contradict the Trump

administration's position on North Korea. He is known to have clashed

with others close to President Trump. Including his son-in-law,

Jared Kushner. And his daughter, Ivanka Trump. People Steve Brannon

brands" the globalists" in the White House, the new chief of staff, John

Kelly, has basically been looking to install a sense of discipline into

the White House. He has apparently had Steve Bannon under review for

several weeks. Today, a very brief statement was issued, saying that

Steve Bannon would be leaving as of today. As for what he does now,

there are suggestions that Steve Bannon may go back to Breitbart News

and continues to be highly influential on the right wing of

American politics. That was going to be my next question. If he does do

that, as is being mooted, what may the effect be on Trump and his

administration? Well, it depends whether he offers support from his

new perch, or criticism. Breitbart News has been particularly critical

of some in the administration. HR McMaster, the National Security

Advisor among them, and Steve Bannon has been pretty open in his

opposition to those sorts of people. But, you know what? We have seen a

lot of people leaving this administration in recent weeks.

Among them, the press spokesman and director of Communications, the

White House chief of staff. Now, the chief strategist, Steve Bannon, is

out the door. Some may speculate that perhaps the era of chaos is

coming to an end, but Donald Trump remains his own man. As we have seen

this week in his comments about events last week in Charlottesville,

Virginia. There is enough to keep you busy in

this story for weeks and months ahead. Thank you.

In many ways the life of Sir Bruce Forsyth

is the life of TV light entertainment in Britain.

Actor, singer, dancer, musician and of course TV

The list of his talents was matched by the ease

His death at the age of 89 arguably brings to a close the golden

# Nursie, Nursie, I'm getting worsie

I used to go and see the Fred Astaire films,

or any film that had dancing in it.

And I'd be intrigued by the dancing, and I'd come home and

dance away for sometimes hours, in a room all by myself.

I wanted to, if I didn't make it, get out.

Maybe go more into the musical side of the

Then I got into the Palladium, which turned everything around.

The first thing about audience participation is you've got

I see your jokes are a bit like that, aren't they?

I've loved it because you never know what's going

If somebody says something, I like to come back at them.

Or if they do something, I love to pounce on it.

After I did that radio show with you, I did Have

That was the big turning point, wasn't it?

Here you go, here's Bruce, 74, 75 years old,

invited to go on Have I Got News For You?

You blew away all of the other guest hosts.

Tony Blair insists that weapons of mass destruction will

Well, it would be nice to see them, to see them...

The other thing you are doing is Come Dancing is coming back?

It's going to be Pro Am Come Dancing!

Professional dancing with celebrities learning how to dance.

My headmaster said, I can't give you a very good

report because you've had so little schooling.

I said don't worry, sir, I'm going into a

business where they go by what they see you can do.

We're joined by Arlene Phillips who - of course -

worked with Sir Bruce on Strictly Come Dancing

and by his friend the actor Christopher Biggins.

Can I start with you, Arlene, people talked about a triple threat,

somebody who can sing, dance, he could do everything, sing, dance,

tell jokes, present, how did he do it? I think he is a consummate

showman. He started when he was 11 years old, but before that he was

doing his thing, tapping, and Bruce never stopped working. Not just in

terms of training but in rehearsal, going over things. So he worked hard

at being Mr showbiz. He worked hard at staying fit, didn't he? Very

hard. I saw some of the tapes of his dancing, that was phenomenal. Bruce,

to retain his balance, used to spin 80 times a day and to the left. 80

times a day? Absolutely, he was warming up, he would constantly work

his body, and sometimes even on Strictly just before he had to go on

you would see him almost revving himself up like a car getting

himself ready to go out there and entertain. Christopher Plummer I saw

you chuckle when we watched that report, particularly Play Your Cards

Right, I honestly don't think there is any other entertainer that this

country has ever had that could have carried that off. Absolutely, he is

a consummate professional, he was brilliant. I remember, he was a

friend when I was a child because he was always in our sitting-room at

home with the family, and we sat there laughing at this man. It was

like having a sort of television uncle. He was brilliant. He was

brilliant year after year after year in different shows, different

genres, he was fantastic, movies, everything he did, dancing, singing,

and when I met him I remember he was enchanting. A lovely story, if you

years ago I was on a cruise somewhere in the world and I got a

phone call from him and I thought it was very odd and I said hi, how are

you? I said I'm very well. I wanted to use you as a joke in this truly

come dancing on Saturday and I wanted to check that you are all

right with it, and he told me they gag, and I said absolutely, and he

put it in. I've been thinking all night what the gag was but I can't

remember but it was a funny gag and it involved me. That was the funny

gentleman that he was. First on TV in 1939, and think how society has

changed, how Britain has changed, he was at the London Palladium in the

60s, how did he do that? Society changed, tastes changed, but he

stayed top of the game. He proved time and time again that he was this

entertainer par excellence. He was brilliant. I can't think of anyone

today who could touch him, or anybody then. He has been unique all

these years. Coming back to Strictly, I saw him many times,

Arlene and if a contestant possibly stomach had a bit of a slating,

possibly justified, he would metaphorically and sometimes

literally put the arm around the shoulder. Absolutely and I remember

when Matt DeAngelo was in the semifinal and he couldn't remember

the dance and he just sat down on the steps to the stage and Bruce, I

saw his face genuinely heartbroken that someone was so troubled that

they couldn't continue the dance. He wouldn't like it. If Craig says

something, or I said something and he didn't like it, he was really

angry, I mean genuinely, it wasn't an act. Did you ever have any sort

of offstage heated exchanges? I didn't have hot heated exchanges,

however, we used to discuss the fact how much he loved it, I would say

Mark Ramprakash's hips were fabulous, Bruce loved it, he wanted

more, you know, don't stop. Some people said he was also a tremendous

producer or director in his own right, he had and I and could almost

direct the show himself and if you look at his game shows he was moving

the camera and the contestants. And he would put people into situations

which were hysterical. It was wonderful. In my own way I've done

things in pantomime but never like him. He was doing this with groups

of people. It just went on and on and on, his talent. He possibly was

a product of vaudeville, if you will allow that. Because we don't have

vaudeville, could perform like this return? That is a good question. We

get very good comedians now, we get very good singers and we get very

good dancers, we get very good actors. But not one that does

everything. That is what is so extraordinary about Bruce. He was a

brilliant, brilliant dancer. His tap with Sammy Davis Junior was a

symphony of tap, the sounds they made and the brilliance of the small

taps. Something like that, you work at

that, clearly he was a gifted individual and had an eye but he

worked very hard. Yes. Very hard working. What was also so great

about Bruce was he was a family man. Pour Winnie who was gorgeous and the

love of his life, and his children who I believe were there today for

the last moments -- poorer. I think it's extraordinary what talent he

had. Thank goodness he got his knighthood. Yes. So well-deserved.

It meant a lot to him. Christopher and Arlene Phillips, thank you for

coming in, not for the right reasons. But thank you. Let's

returned to Steve Bannon who has been fired in the last few hours,

and what this means for the direction of travel for the trumpet

administration. I'm joined by Richard Painter who worked in that

White House under George W Bush as his chief ethics lawyer. Thank you

for joining us. You have been critical with some of your messages.

Surely the President has woken up to public opinion and he's ready to put

things right. Ready to congratulate him? This is definitely a step in

the right direction to remove Mr Steve Bannon but there are others in

the White House with connections with the altar -- alt-right. This is

a dangerous group, the spread of racist stereotypes on the Internet

and encouraging even more extremist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan and

Nazis rallying in Charlottesville. The altar -- alt-right has sought to

influence our foreign policy, Sebastian Gorka is still in the

White House who is still very much a threat to our foreign policy. He has

an obsession with Muslims and wants as in a confrontational posture

towards Muslims throughout the world, which is definitely not in

the American interest. Stephen Miller is still in the White House,

he has connections with the alt-right. There are others with

extremist views. They all need to be removed if the President is going to

seek to stabilise this administration and convince the

Republicans in the House and the Senate and the American people that

he is capable of being an effective leader, much less of course the

Democrats, who may never want to really accept him. But at this point

the Republicans are very frustrated, and certainly getting rid of Steve

Bannon is a step in the right direction. But there is more work to

be done. What now for Mr Steve Bannon? Is there a danger he could

be a thorn in the side for the President and that he could cause

issues if he reconnected with that fan base the President had? We are

concerned about that, concerned about him going back to Breitbart

News. Breitbart News is engaged in extensive race dating over the last

few years -- baiting. And it was a self-proclaimed platform for the

alt-right so if he goes back to Breitbart News and encourages more

of this alt-right business we may see more unrest in our cities, as we

did in Charlottesville, and then there might very well be attempts to

influence the White House, and that would be most unfortunate. There are

some ethics rules in place that prohibit Steve Bannon for lobbying

back to the White House on behalf of Breitbart News and I hope they are

taken seriously and unforced. You speak understandably dismissively of

what Bannon and the President achieved but they are only there

because they got a lot of votes so they clearly appealed to a lot of

Americans, white? They did get a lot of votes, they didn't get as many as

there are quite unpopular rival Hillary Clinton. They were very

unsatisfied with both alternatives. We are in a situation where

Americans have given Donald Trump a chance. It's been eight months and

his approval rating is way down on where he started in the White House.

I think it's time for the President to recalibrate what they've been

doing. Has he got time? Sorry to talk over you. Has he got time to

recalibrate? I don't think he has much time because people are losing

patience, his lost the support of the business community, the chief

executive officers quit his industrial council just a few days

ago. So he needs to make a clean sweep of the altar -- alt-right out

of the administration and fire Sebastian Gorka and the rest of the

Majri fire his policy to focus on the issues the American people care

about, making sure we have health care for all Americans and that we

stabilise the economy. Great to talk to you, sorry to talk over you,

Richard Painter, thank you for your time.

But, on a day of sad news, Newsnight has had to digest

Liz MacKean, a former BBC reporter who worked

on Newsnight for 14 years, has died aged 52.

Liz reported on hundreds of stories for this programme but made her name

for her tenacious and fearless investigations, into the care

system, into toxic waste dumping and child sex abuse,

including the Jimmy Savile investigation which blew

Liz's former colleagues and friends David Grossman and producer

Liz MacKean was one of the most resourceful and determined

As Newsnight's Northern Ireland correspondent, she was fearless in

challenging the paramilitary hard men.

The IRA may not have authorised his murder and Robert's

sister's acknowledged that, but the fact that its members

could have carried it out, covered it up and

then ordered witnesses to stay silent demonstrates the hold the

She made her name, though, with investigations.

She picked difficult subjects and was always on the side

of victims who had been ignored, disbelieved, or worse.

Newsnight has obtained documents that...

In 2010 she shared the Daniel Pearl Award

for Investigative Journalism for her reporting on the dumping of toxic

The flood of allegations about Jimmy Savile's behaviour...

It was, though, for her investigations into

child sex abuse, with which Liz made the biggest impact.

Together with producer Meirion Jones, she

worked to expose the appalling crimes of Jimmy Savile.

She believed the investigation was suppressed by

the BBC, and the resulting scandal made headlines all over the world.

The decision not to run it was seriously flawed.

Feeling let down and rather out in the cold, Liz left the

Her investigations for Channel 4 went on

She was named journalist of the decade by Stonewall.

His accusers were ignored and then others were abused.

She was, though, above all a wonderfully fun woman, the perfect

companion for a decompression drink once the day's filming

Occasionally, her humour found its way onto the screen.

Here she is puncturing the absurd conventions of

And what's this got to do with the wider debate about trust?

I was asking that question to thin air.

Liz also loved being outdoors, sailing

Her final tweet, just a week before her death, was a picture

Now, we're coming into the Newsnight studio...

Liz took her journalism very seriously but never

ailment of the investigative journalist, the serious ego.

Sorry, everyone, I forgot what I was trying to say.

Liz leaves behind her wife and her two children.

Good evening, the weather looks more promising for