17/02/2017 Victoria Derbyshire

Hello, it's Friday, it's 9 o'clock, I'm Joanna Gosling,

Tony Blair says voting for Brexit was a massive mistake and he's

going to make it his mission to change people's minds.

He's making a major speech in central London shortly.

He will call for people who campaigned to remain to rise up and

stop taking Britain over the cliff edge.

Another setback for Donald Trump as his choice for National Security

It comes as the President makes another stinging

I turn on the TV, open the newspapers and I see stories of

chaos, chaos. Yet it is the exact opposite. This administration is

running like a fine tuned machine. Also today, as London

fashion week gets underway, we'll be talking to a panel

of industry insiders about how the fashion

industry is creating jobs, contributing billions

to the economy, and why it's set to grow even more by the end

of the decade. Welcome to the programme,

we're live until 11am this morning. Let us know whether you welcome

Tony Blair's intervention Plus, do you text your

children in their rooms? Is it simply easier

than shouting up the stairs or another nail in the coffin

of healthy family life? Do get in touch on all the stories

we're talking about this morning. Use the hashtag VictoriaLIVE

and if you text, you will be charged Former Prime Minister Tony Blair

says he wants people to rise up During a speech in the next half

hour he'll say that voters made their decisions without knowing

the real damage that Downing Street says

it is "absolutely committed" Let's speak to our Political

Correspondent, Tom Bateman. What are you expecting to hear from

him? We have known what Tony Blair thinks about Brexit for some time,

saying he thinks it would be catastrophic for Britain but what is

different and new about this speech and what is significant is that it

is explicitly a rallying cry, an expression of mission that those who

campaigned on the Remain side should effectively continue to do so,

continued to make the case for Britain staying in the EU and the

language here is something that I think Tony Blair's critics will be

infuriated by also he called on those Remain campaign to rise up and

to attempt to change people's minds over Brexit so those people who

voted for it, he wants them essentially to think again. He talks

about a range of issues from immigration to potential break-up of

the UK over the Brexit vote but in essence he says the way the

government is taking this is to what he called the cliff edge, a

so-called hard Brexit, and as the negotiating process goes on, he

thinks it will become clearer that is not in the interests of Britain.

How much impact will it have? Quite a bit, people are talking about it

already and as you can imagine, those who campaigned for Brexit are

pretty cross about it. Iain Duncan Smith has said that this is bullying

and cajoling and lecturing by Tony Blair and he believes it make the

exact point about what is wrong, that it is classic elitism and

people who are out of touch and don't understand the Democratic

vote. Interestingly, even those in the remaining campaign, some of

those are not happy about this and one of the bosses of the official

campaign has tweeted, saying she does not agree with it and the job

of those who campaigned for Remain is now to accept the Democratic

vote. And to fight for the best version of Brexit but not to fight

Brexit itself. I think there will be those who are concerned that

effectively Tony Blair has a toxic legacy that will even hardened the

divisions over this and not help their cause. Thank you. We will take

that speech live which is good start at about 9:30am.

Ben is in the BBC Newsroom with a summary of the rest

President Trump's choice to be his new national security

Vice Admiral Robert Harward cited personal reasons for declining

the offer to replace General Mike Flynn, who resigned

earlier this week over revelations about discussions he'd had

with Russia's ambassador to America over sanctions.

In a statement, Mr Harward, who carried out a security

role for President Bush, said he couldn't make the 24 hour

a day, seven day a week commitment required for the job.

Well, earlier, Donald Trump has launched a ferocious attack

on the media while defending his record during his first

He insisted his administration was running like a fine tuned machine

and he told reporters that level of dishonesty was out of control.

Our North America Editor Jon Sopel was there.

Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States.

At short notice a news conference was announced to be

given by the president - highly unusual.

Ostensibly to announce his new choice as Labor Secretary,

but really it was to get a whole lot off his chest.

Because the press is honestly out of control, the level of dishonesty

And the idea that his administration was in meltdown?

Nothing could be further from the truth.

I turn on the TV, open the newspapers and I see

stories of chaos - chaos - yet it is

This administration is running like a fine-tuned machine.

But how could he reconcile that with the travel ban that has been

A question I asked after a little back and forth.

Can I just ask you - thank you very much, Mr President...

On the travel ban, would you accept that that was a good example

of the smooth running of government, the fine tuning...

We had a very smooth roll-out of the travel ban.

We're going to put in a new executive order next week sometime.

The other thing that the president is in a rage about is the suggestion

that he's in the pockets of the Russians.

Donald Trump said his administration would crack down on the leaking

of classified information and then, at the end, something you never see

at a White House news conference - the President being heckled.

REPORTER: If you have no connection to Russia why

won't you release your tax returns and prove it?

Ten British tourists are being treated in hospital

in Norway after a speedboat hit the base of a water fountain.

It happened in the harbour of the town of Harstad,

Two people are reported to have been seriously injured.

What started out as a pleasure cruise ended in a dramatic rescue.

These British tourists were left in near-freezing waters for around

15 minutes before being rescued after they'd been

The party had been returning from a sightseeing trip off

the shores of Harstad when one of the speedboats crashed

into the base of a water feature which wasn't working at the time.

A second boat following behind is thought to have been

caught up in the incident, which happened around

TRANSLATION: All of the passengers have been brought to hospital

We will contact all of them later to further investigate.

We will also talk to the boat drivers and people

A spokesman for the Surrey-based holiday company Inghams said

the tourists all arrived in Norway on Wednesday and were due to return

A couple from West Yorkshire have won damages, after their week-old

baby was taken off them by social workers, due to what authorities

said were the father's "unorthodox views" about formula milk.

Kirklees Council has been ordered to pay the family more than ?11,000

for taking the infant after medical staff expressed concern

The High Court heard how authorities falsely claimed the parents had

In sentencing, the judge said there was no doubt in his mind

the council had violated the family's human rights.

The founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, says he fears that

millions of people who feel left behind by globalisation,

are withdrawing from what he calls the "connected world".

In an interview with the BBC, he said fake news and "filter

bubbles", where people only heard opinions they already agreed with,

Commuters on Southern rail are facing the prospect of more

disruption after a deal to end the dispute over who should open the

train doors was rejected by the members of the union, Aslef.

Under the proposed agreement, Southern would have been able to run

trains without a guard or onboard supervisor under

Southern says it's hugely disappointed and will be seeking

The Business Secretary, Greg Clark, is expected to report back

to the government after holding talks in Paris on the future

of thousands of jobs in the car industry.

Peugeot-owner PSA is looking to take over the European

arm of General Motors, which includes the Vauxhall

Mr Clark says he will remain in close contact with both firms

Union officials yesterday said British industry must be

American scientists attempting to bring the woolly mammoth back

from extinction believe they are close to a breakthrough.

Mammoths died out over 4,000 years ago but the team

from Harvard University is using DNA retrieved from specimens found

They claim that in the next two years they will be able to mix it

with Asian elephants to create new hybrid embryos.

But they also admit a living, breathing mammoth is

That's a summary of the latest BBC News.

Thank you. You are sending in your thoughts on Tony Blair and the

speech he will be making, calling on people to rise up against Brexit. We

will take that live when it begins. Anthony says, Tony Blair should be

careful about what he says. If he will tell people to rise up and

change the Brexit referendum result, it could cause riots. Tina says that

he is right and the decision to leave was insane and the referendum

was not a mandate. Robert said this man should be confined to history.

Thank you for those. Do get in touch with us

throughout the morning. Use the hashtag VictoriaLIVE

and if you text, you will be charged Let's get some support. Manchester

United are all but through to the last 16 of the Europa League but

their manager still isn't happy what is wrong? Jose Mourinho is rarely

happy! I have a theory, when he shaves his head he turns into Mr

grumpy! Or maybe the building works are keeping him awake but in all

serious, Manchester United were 3-0 winners. The world's most expensive

player, Paul Pogba, came up against his brother. His brother plays for

Saint-Etienne. That was his family. They were wearing half and half

shirts and scars. This was Manchester United going into a 2-0

lead, Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored a hat-trick. But look how happy Jose

is after the game. I had the feeling immediately in the dressing room,

too noisy and funny and relaxed. And my existence have the feeling in the

warming up with some of the guys not really focused on getting the right

adrenaline in their bodies -- my assistance. Spurs able to do if they

want to make the last 16 after they lost 1-0 against Gent who are

mid-table in the Belgian league. Spurs have a bad record at Wembley

which is where the second leg will be played next Thursday. And an

interesting one, Eugenie Bouchard went on a date with a fan after a

bet on Twitter? She went on a date and the top news is that she has

agreed to a second date! It is with the guy called John from Chicago who

happens to be pretty good-looking. They had a bet on Twitter after she

said there was no way renewing the Patriot would win the Super Bowl but

they did. John said that if they do, will you go on a debate. They went

to watch the Voeckler nets. Since then -- the Brooklyn nets. Since

then he has sent over a pair of expensive earrings. They have agreed

to go on a second date. She said that he was just a normal fan and it

was complete luck. The cynic in me thinks this might be slightly

staged! But they look very happy. The second date is on. That is

horribly cynical! I am watching thinking, if you don't ask, you

don't get! I have sent her a treat myself today, genuinely, to come to

Manchester to watch the Greyhound racing but he hasn't got back to me

yet! Keep us posted and good luck. London Fashion Week kicks off today

as a host of top and up-and-coming names descend on the capital

for the 65th edition of the event. More than 5,000 guests,

including buyers and journalists from over 49 countries,

are set to attend. But it's about much

more than looking good. The UK fashion industry makes

a direct contribution In 2015, sales of womenswear

in the UK was ?27 billion pounds, And 880,000 jobs are supported

by the UK fashion industry. Paula Knorr, a fashion

designer showcasing Martell "Mr Flyy" Campbell,

a designer, stylist Jenni Sutton, a development manager

at Fashion-Enter, which manufactures garments in their factory

for the likes of Asos. Natasha Pearlman, editor

of Grazia magazine. Razina Bapu, a pattern cutting

apprentice at Fashion-Enter. It is so interesting to talk about

the business of fashion and how much it is boosting the nation's coffers.

Jennifer, you are a great example of the fashion industry and how it is

working well at the moment, manufacturing garments in London for

which brands? We manufacture for Asos, Marks Spencer best of

British. But we also do a lot of small production runs for

independent brands like new business start-ups, London Fashion Week

designers. It is really across the range. Why are people coming to you?

Not long ago, a lot of manufacturing would be happening in China and

India, countries where production costs are much lower. It is becoming

more attractive to manufacture in Britain. There is a real topical

debate over the made in Britain flag. It is not actually that much

more expensive. You have got things like oil prices that are going up

and the transportation costs to get over to India and China. We have a

three-week turnaround, so it is fast fashion. Retailers can come to our

factories at any point to monitor their collections. It is all about

the quality and competitiveness, and we are quick and reliable. Natasha,

how is the UK seen globally in terms of fashion? For me, it is one of the

most exciting cities to be in, London. It is where people come for

creativity. People come from all over the world to see the new talent

that is popping out. There are people like Christopher Kane who was

invested in by one of the biggest luxury firms in the world. This is

where the home talent is grown. Alexander McQueen came from here.

And look at the amazing new talent coming up. These people are on an

international scale and they came from the London fashion scene. And

how do we compare with the other big fashion capitals, New York, Milan,

Paris? Milan is the big business capital. If you look at all the

brands that are based there, they are big mega brands like Gucci and

Prada that have been established for a long time. If you go to Paris,

that is again lots of established old houses like Louis Vuitton and

Chanel comic huge names with huge influence on a global scale. London

has the Burberrys, but it also has the new names. It is a real space

for young talent and that is why people come to us, because we have

the big names and we also have a focus on creativity. At Grazia, as a

weekly magazine, we can cover so many, and we have watched designers

grow from their first collections into the big insurance is. And

sometimes very quickly. That is the thing. In London, we can find these

people. The BFC is a massive supporter. We back and we invest in

the new names as much as we back the big names. Paula, you are from

Germany but you studied here and now you are doing well quickly because

you graduated in 2015. And you are showcasing at London Fashion Week.

Exactly. My second showcase at London Fashion Week is tomorrow

morning. I did my first season in September. It is incredible. I come

from Germany, and the support I got here in my studies and later from

the BFC, the British fashion Council. What support have they

given you? They have tonnes of supporting schemes, but I am part of

new Jen and they helped me with the fashion show and most importantly,

they have been mentoring the growing of my business. That is really

helpful. I studied for my MA and I am a designer and this is what I

learn. But I never experienced the whole business side, so it is great

to have their support. Jennifer, how important her support beam from the

British Fashion Council and other initiatives in terms of helping to

grow the fashion industry? Because we are a business support

organisation for young designers, it is so important to have those

technical skills behind you. We see lots of creative designers leave

university, but they don't necessarily know how to construct a

garment. So we have a fashion technology academy and we do a

stitching academy, and we are noticing more graduates coming to us

to learn about fabrics and how to construct a garment, had to do

pattern cutting. And in turn, that helps them create a viable

collection. And in the industry, the model keeps mushrooming. Absolutely.

Razina, you are one of the people showcasing your skills. Tell us what

got you attracted into that? What I found interesting was that you get

the practical skills as an apprentice. I don't think you get

those as a university graduate. You don't know what to expect in the

industry. People might dismiss the fashion business as being something

that is a nicety, but we are talking about the hard facts of it being an

important business for this country and a job creator, and you are one

of the people at the sharp end of that. Yeah. Everyone thinks the

fashion industry is just glamorous, but they don't know what goes on

behind it. It is a lot more technical, and that is what we have

got here. We get a design that the designer comes in with, and that

they have annotations and a sketch. Everyone thinks it is just that, but

there was more to it. So you make samples and you have different

stages to assess the fit. Let's talk about how British clothes are

growing in terms of the market. Martell, you are here to speak about

the men's fashion in this country. That has suddenly seen a lot of

growth. It is growing rapidly. There are a lot more options for men

nowadays. We were talking about young designers and new designers.

There are so many coming out of the menswear scene also. And again, with

the BFC supporting certain designers, they stop from almost

nothing and now they are well-established. And why do you

think men's fashion is doing well here? London being one of the

capitals of fashion, there is so much going on. There are so many

cultures coming here and having influence here. None has so much to

say -- London has so much to say, especially for open and street where

designers. And Natasha, that feeds into what you were saying about the

creativity of this country. It is so exciting that we have that. That is

one of the things being debated over Brexit. At the moment, we have

people coming over from Europe. Some of our big designers have come from

Europe and made their names here and they consider themselves to be

British designers. I have a stat here that people might find

surprising, which is that the UK fashion industry, with that ?28

billion direct contributing to the UK economy, is only three and a half

times smaller than the UK's construction industry. How quickly

has the fashion industry been growing here? The creative

industries are the fastest-growing in the UK. Creative skills are more

prized than ever before, because they can't be replicated by

technology. You need those people. That is why it is exciting to be

here in the creative industries, because it is mushrooming at such a

rapid rate and because those skills can only come from the individual.

How quickly has your business been growing, Jennifer? We have been

established for ten years, but it has only been in the last five or

six years that it has really grown in terms of our training at our

factory, because it is so unique. We have a live factory doing 8000

garments a week. But alongside that, we have a training academy. So even

though the notion of being a designer is a fantastic career,

people have to go back to the technical skills. And they are

noticing that more by coming to our factory and learning stitching and

patent -- pattern cutting. You said costs are very competitive now with

production costs in the country is typically associated with cheaper

production costs. But how competitive is it? When people think

about Brexit going forward and more manufacturing in this country, is

there an equation which might mean higher prices? We have all got used

to paying cheap prices. That is why we started the stitching academy. We

want to nurture home-grown talent so that people here can continue the

stitching skills. So even with Brexit coming up, we want to make

sure that manufacturing can thrive in this country to make sure people

can stitch and pattern cut. It is competitive. About 70% of our

production is for Asos. Jersey dresses, scuba dresses. M do a

specific made in Britain range where they source fabric from Leicester

and get the production done in London. We have retailers knocking

on our door now more and more. It is definitely getting there. It is

competitive and appealing to have production in the UK. Paula, there

will be a lot of buyers and journalists at London Fashion Week.

What could that mean for your business? Oh, that is what Ms it

means when you have to showcase your brand. I am happy to be wholesaling

to six stores already in my first season. I hope to add to that this

season. It is exciting. I also have a showroom in Paris, so I am doing

two different things. You are doing incredibly well very quickly. I know

that you don't know what it was like before because you didn't work on it

before, but is there a sense that it is easier to do things more quickly

these days? Definitely, because there is an awareness with Instagram

and social media. You can get snatched from an editor or stylist

much more quickly. Or you can get in contact with people much quicker and

they find you. It is also special in London because we have the big

schools here, and people go to the big fashion shows and look at the

graduate and then nurture them from the start. This is really unique in

London. London is probably that the fashion capital where it is easiest

to start to become big quite quickly. Martell, you will be

blogging from London Fashion Week. Tell us what trends we should be

looking out for, and how far ahead are they throwing forward to? From a

menswear perspective, it is more wide silhouettes. The shapes are

definitely looser, less tailored. But there is still the aspect of

tailoring through and through. Nowadays, they are always in and

out. So you find that there is a bit of consistency, and you find that

some trends trickle into the next season. And the old trends are

always getting revived. Great to talk to you all. Good luck with your

businesses and enjoy Fashion Week. Tony Blair is about to

make a speech on why Britons should change their minds

about leaving the EU. And we'll get more reaction

to President Trump's latest attack on the media,

this time over coverage of how his Former Prime Minister Tony Blair

says he wants people to rise up In a speech, Mr Blair

will say that voters made their decisions without knowing

the real damage that Downing Street says

it is "absolutely committed" Prime Minister Theresa May plans

to formally trigger formal Brexit talks by the end of March -

a move that was backed in the House President Trump's choice

to be his new national security Vice Admiral Robert Harward cited

personal reasons for declining the offer to replace

General Mike Flynn, who resigned earlier this week over revelations

about discussions he'd had with Russia's ambassador

to America over sanctions. Ten British tourists have been

injured after a speedboat The holidaymakers and their

local guide were thrown into the water when their speedboat

hit the base of a water Two people are reported to be

seriously hurt but none of the injuries are said

to be life-threatening. A West Yorkshire couple have won

damages after their week-old baby was taken off them by social workers

due to what authorities called the father's "unorthodox

views" about formula milk. Kirklees Council has been ordered

to pay the family more than ?11,000 for taking the infant after medical

staff expressed concern The High Court heard how authorities

falsely claimed the parents had The judge ruled there was no doubt

in his mind the council had violated The founder of Facebook,

Mark Zuckerberg, says he fears that millions of people who feel left

behind by globalisation, are withdrawing from what he calls

the "connected world". In an interview with the BBC,

he said fake news and "filter bubbles", where people only heard

opinions they already agreed with, The Business Secretary, Greg Clark,

is expected to report back to the government after holding

talks in Paris on the future of thousands of jobs

in the car industry. Peugeot owner PSA is looking

to take over the European arm of General Motors,

which includes the Vauxhall Mr Clark says he will remain

in close contact with both firms Union officials yesterday said

British industry must be That's a summary of the latest BBC

News - more at 10.00. Now let's get the sports

headlines with Will. Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored his first

hat-trick for Manchester United in their 3-0 Europa League win over

Saint-Etienne at Old Trafford. It gives a great chance of reaching

the last 16 as they head Despite the win, Jose Mourinho says

he was't happy with his after they lost away to Gent,

a side in mid-table Spurs will have the chance to make

amends at Wembley next Thursday. Huddersfield missed the chance to go

top of rugby league's Super League - beaten by 30 points

to 20 by Salford. Gareth O'Brian, scored 22

points but it was Josh Jones' try, five minutes from time that sealed

Salford's first win of the season. 15-year-old Jackson Page's

remarkable run at the Welsh Open snooker is over -

he was knocked out in the third Page returns to school

with winnings of ?3,500 and says More for you coming up at 10am.

Thank you. Tony Blair is to announce his

"mission" to persuade Britons to "rise up"

and change their minds on Brexit. He's about to make a speech

in Central London at an event organised by the pro-EU

campaign group Open Britain. Let's get more from our

Political Correspondent, What is he going to say? I think he

will set out the way in which he believes those who campaigned to

remain in the European Union should, in effect, continue to do so. This

is a rallying cry, an expression of mission that people who believe that

Britain was like a place in the EU should continue to try to persuade

those who voted for Brexit that the future should be within the EU.

There are some pretty strong words from somebody who we already knew

who felt that Brexit would be a catastrophe for Britain. And he sets

out the reasons for it in that he believes the government has become

defined by Brexit and dominated by it. And he thinks that will lead

Britain over what he called a cliff edge and therefore it is the duty of

those who think this is not in our national interest, in effect, just

to say so. I think it is an attempt to shape the agenda at what is a

pretty critical time with the article 50 built about to go back to

the House of Lords. The chances that it will make any difference are

pretty slim but what he is clearly trying to do is to seek to bring the

notion that we should remain in the EU backed up the agenda. Plenty of

people are telling us what they think. One person says, I do not

welcome the advice of Tony Blair. Michael says, he called it right on

Brexit at the start, pointing out the division it would cause and he

is right. Sivado said that Tony Blair ignored the millions who

protested about the Iraqi war and now he wants an uprising. One person

says, we knew what we were voting for.

Childs says, we don't need Tony Blair to implement Brexit. David

said that this is heartening news, something decisive has to happen to

reverse the catastrophe that leaving the EU would be. David says, Tony

Blair is demonstrating exactly the we know best attitude of the

Westminster elite which contributed to the Brexit boat. His language is

insulting in the extreme -- the Brexit vote. It is a thinly

disguised way of saying Leave voters is stupid. His arrogance is

staggering. I guess that gives a flavour of the divided reaction

there is likely to be? And some of the sentiment in those messages are

affected by those who campaigned for Brexit, and Conservative MP Iain

Duncan Smith has said he believed Tony Blair is bullying and

lecturing, and reflecting those views, saying it is everything that

was wrong with some of those who campaigned to stay in the EU and

this is elitism, not listening to what people have clearly said they

want. But beyond that there are some interesting politics going on within

the dynamics of those who wanted to stay in the EU, who campaigned for

that. The majority of the Labour Party in Parliament has taken a

tactical approach, that, in the end, the right thing to do was to accept

the Article 50 bill, they have voted for that process which will open the

door toward a leading and stopping the negotiation but in time to apply

conditions. Thank you. I think he is just about to start. Good morning,

everyone, it is a great pleasure to be with you, many thanks to

Bloomberg for giving us this wonderful venue and many thanks to

Open Britain for hosting this event and doing such an excellent job in

the country. Thank you, Antoinette, for that kind introduction. It is

people like you who give me hope for our country and our democracy so

thank you. OK, I will get straight into it! I want to be explicit. Yes,

the British people voted to leave Europe and I agree the will of the

people should prevail. Except right now there is no widespread appetite

to rethink. But the people voted without knowledge of the terms of

Brexit. As these terms become clear, it is their right to change their

mind. Our mission is to persuade them to do so. What was

unfortunately only game in our site before the referendum is now in

plain sight -- are only dim. The road we are going down is not simply

hard Brexit, it is now Brexit at any cost. Our challenge is to expose

relentlessly what that cost is, to show how the decision was based on

imperfect knowledge which will now become informed knowledge, to

calculate in easy to understand ways how proceeding will cause real

damage to our country come and to build support for finding a way out

of the present rush over the cliff's edge. I don't know if we can

succeed, but I do know we will suffer a rancorous verdict from

future generations if we don't try. How hideously in this debate is the

mantle of Patrick isn't abused. We do not argue for Britain in Europe

because we are citizens of nowhere. -- patriotism. We argue for it

precisely because we are proud citizens of this country, Britain,

who believe that in the 21st century we should maintain our partnership

with the biggest political union, the largest commercial market on our

doorstep, not in the munition of our national interest, but in

satisfaction of it. -- diminution. Consider for a moment the surreal

situation in which our nation finds itself. I make no personal criticism

of the Prime Minister or the government. I know the Prime

Minister is someone who cares about our country, who is trying to do the

right thing as she sees it, and I know how demanding the job of

leadership is. But just consider, nine months ago both she and the

Chancellor were telling us that leaving would be bad for the

country, its economy, its security, its place in the world. Today it is

apparently wanted a generation opportunity for greatness. -- once

in a generation. Seven months ago, after the referendum result, the

Chancellor was telling us that leaving the single market would be,

"Catastrophic". Now it appears we will leave the single market and the

customs union and he is very optimistic. Two years ago the

Foreign Secretary was emphatically in favour of the single market, now

pitching it is brilliant. -- teaching. The Prime Minister says

she wants Britain to be a great, open trading nation and our first

step in this endeavour? To leave the largest free trading bloc in the

world. She wants Britain to be a bridge between the European Union

and the United States of American author how to begin this? To get out

of Europe, leaving us with no locus on the terrain where the bridge must

be constructed. We are told that it is high time our capitalism became

fairer. And how do we start laying the foundation for such a noble

cause? By threatening Europe with a move to a low tax, light regulation

economy, the antithesis of that cause. This jumble of contradictions

shows that the Prime Minister and government are not masters of this

situation, they are not driving this bus, they are being driven. And as

we pass each milestone, so the landscape in which we are operating

changes, not because we willed the change, but because this is the

direction in which the bus is travelling. We will trigger Article

50 not because we now know our destination, but because the

politics of not doing so would alienate those driving the bus. And

the surreal nature of this exercise in is enhanced by the curious

absence of a big argument as to why this continues to be a good idea.

Many of the main themes of the Brexit campaign barely survived the

first weekend after the vote. Remember the ?350 million a week for

the NHS? Virtually the only practical argument still advanced

under the general rubric of taking back control of immigration and the

European court of justice. On the European court, I would defy anyone

to be able to recall any decisions which they might have heard of as

opposed to the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights, a

non-EU body. I can honestly say that during all my time as Prime

Minister, there was no major domestic law that I wanted to pass

which Europe told me I couldn't. It is true, European court rulings are

important on technical issues, some which business likes and some they

don't, but nobody would seriously argue that the ECJ alone provide a

reasonable leaving Europe. Immigration is the issue. Net

immigration into the UK was roughly 335,000 in the year to June 2016.

But just over half was from outside the European Union. I know in some

parts of the country there is a real concern about numbers from Europe

and the pressures placed on services and wages. However, of these

European Union immigrants, the Prime Minister has recently admitted that

we would want to keep the majority, including those with a confirmed job

offer and students. This leaves around 80,000 who come looking for

work but without a job. Of these 80,000, a third come to London,

mostly ended up working in the food processing and hospitality sectors.

It is highly unlikely, frankly, that they are taking the job is

British-born people in other parts of the country.

So the practical impact of Brexit on immigration is less than 12% of the

immigration total. And for many people, the core immigration

question, and one which I fully accept is a substantial issue, is

immigration from non-European countries, especially when from

different cultures in which a simulation and even potential

security threats could be an issue. Yet this immigration impact of the

Brexit decision. It was Donald Trump, no less, who said that

without the refugees from Syria might "You probably wouldn't have a

Brexit". It is no coincidence that the immigration poster of Leave was

Mr Farage in front of a line of Syrian refugees. Thus we have moved

in a few months from a debate about what sort of Brexit, involving a

balanced consideration of all the different possibilities, to the

primacy of one consideration, namely controlling immigration, without any

real discussion as to why. And when Brexit doesn't affect the

immigration people most care about. However, we are told we just have to

stop debating Brexit and just do it. I would question whether the

referendum really provides a mandate for Brexit at any cost. But suppose

it does. The argument is then that the British people have spoken, we

must deliver there will, and we should just get on with it. And I

agree that getting on with it is a powerful sentiment and at present,

the predominant sentiment. But were we to be true to the concept of

government through British parliamentary democracy rather than

government by one-off plebiscite, we would also feel obliged to point out

that it isn't a question of just getting on with it. This is not a

decision that once made, is a mere matter of mechanics to implement. It

is a decision which begets other decisions. Every part of this

negotiation, from money to access to post-Brexit arrangements, is itself

an immense decision with consequence. If we were in a

rational world, we would all the time, as we approach the decisions,

be asking, why are we doing this? And as we know more of the costs, is

the pain worth the gain? So let's examine the pain. We will withdraw

from the single market, which is around half of our trade in goods

and services. We will also now leave the customs union, for trade with

countries like Turkey. Then we need to replace over 50 preferential

trade agreements we have via our membership of the European Union,

for instance with Switzerland. So EU related trade is actually two thirds

of the total. This impact everything from airline travel to financial

services to manufacturing industry, sector by sector. Then we will pay

for previous EU obligations, but not benefit from future opportunities.

With figures as high as ?60 billion as the cost. We will lose influence

in the world's most significant political union and have to

negotiate on issues like the environment, where we presently

benefit from Europe's collective strength on our own. There is alarm

across sectors as diverse as scientific research and culture as

European funding is withdrawn. And all this then to do an intricate

renegotiation of the trading arrangements we have just abandon.

That negotiation is without precedent in complexity. It is even

possible that it fails, and that we end up trading on WTO rules. This is

in itself another minefield. We would need to renegotiate the

removal not just of tariff barriers, but the prevention of nontariff

barriers which today are often the biggest impediment to trade and pile

costs on businesses. This could take years. Our currency is down around

12% against the euro, 20% against the dollar, which is the

international financial market's assessment of our future prosperity,

ie we are going to be poorer. The price of imported goods in the

supermarkets is up, and thus the cost of living. Now, of course

Britain can and would survive out of the European Union. This is a great

country, with resilient and creative people. And yes, no one is going to

write us off, nor should they. But making the best of a bad job doesn't

alter the fact that it isn't smart to put yourself in that position

unless you have to. Most extraordinary of all, the two great

achievements of British diplomacy of the last decades in Europe,

supported by governments both Labour and Conservative, namely the single

market and European enlargement, are now apparently the two things we

must regret and want to rid ourselves of. The single market, so

we are clear, has been an enormous benefit to the UK, bringing aliens

of pounds of wealth, hundreds of thousands of jobs and major

investment opportunities. Our trade with an enlarged European Union has

meant, for example, that trade with Poland has gone from ?3 billion in

2004 to ?13.5 billion in 2016. Nations that came out of the Soviet

bloc have seen themselves safely within the EU and Nato, so enhancing

our own security. In addition to all of this, there was the possibility

of the break-up of the UK, narrowly avoided by the result of the

Scottish referendum, but now back on the table, but this time with a

context much more credible for the independence case. We are already

seeing the destabilising impact of negotiation over border arrangements

on the Northern Ireland peace process. None of this ignores the

challenge is the country faces which stoked the anger fuelling Brexit.

Those left behind by globalisation. The aftermath of the financial

crisis, stagnant incomes for some families and for sure, the pressures

posed by big increases in migration which make perfectly reasonable

people anxious and feeling their anxiety unheard. I always believe

that if the centre ground does not deal with problems, the extremes can

exploit them. But our duty surely is to give answers, not ride the anger.

And here is the paradox. As we go through this unique experiment in

diplomatic and economic complexity, the entire focus of the Government

is on one issue - Brexit. This is a Government for Brexit, of Brexit and

dominated by Brexit. It is a mono purpose political entity. And

nothing else therefore truly matters. Not the NHS, now in its

most severe crisis since its creation. Not the real challenge of

the modern economy which is the new technological revolutions of

artificial intelligence and big data. Not the upgrade of our

education system to prepare people for this new world. Not investment

in community is left behind by globalisation. Not the rising burden

of serious crime or bulging prison populations or social care. Not

even, irony of ironies, a genuine policy to control immigration. You

see, government priorities are not really defined by white papers or

words. But by the intensity of focus. This Government has bandwidth

only for one thing, Brexit. It is the waking thought, the daily grind,

of the meditation before sleep and the stuff of extremes or nightmares.

-- the stuff of its dreams or nightmares. It is obsessed with

Brexit because it has to be. Future historians will be scurrying to

investigate the antecedents of these migrants from Europe, for whose

restraint we were willing to sacrifice so much. And what will

they find, that they were a terrible group of people who threatened our

country's stability? They will find that on the whole, they were

well-behaved, work hard, pay their taxes and were a net economic

benefit. So this is the surreal situation. The question is, what do

we do? The Leave campaign was a coalition, some against Europe for

economic reasons, some for cultural reasons. Some were ideological in

their opposition. Some had done a cost benefit analysis and concluded

better out than in. We must expose the agenda of the ideologues and

persuade those interested in the cost benefit ratio. For the latter,

we must be in day out articulate the reality. The pain is large and the

game illusory. But the ideologues are the ones driving this bus. The

economic future which could work outside of Europe is exactly the low

tax, light regulation, offshore free-market hub with which Mrs May

threatens our European neighbours, but which to the Brexit ideologues

is actually a promise of things to come. Indeed, this is what many in

business say they are being told by Government ministers but is the

opposite of what voters are being told when promised a fairer

capitalism with a fairer deal for workers. This free-market vision

would require major restructuring of the British economy and its tax and

welfare system. It will not mean more money for the NHS, but less.

Actually, it probably means a wholesale rebalancing of our health

care towards one based on private as much as public provision. It will

not mean more protection for workers, but less. And if that were

what we wanted to do as a country, we could do it now. Europe wouldn't

stop us. But as of now, the British people would, because they wouldn't

vote for it. So the ideologues know that they have to get Brexit first,

then tell us that this is the only future which works. And by that

time, they will be right. In defeating them, we have two major

challenges. There is an effective cartel of media on the right which

built the ramp for pro-Brexit propaganda during the campaign, is

now equally savage in its efforts to say that it's all going to be great,

and anyone who says otherwise is a traitor or a moaner, and to make it

clear to the Prime Minister that she has their adulation for exactly as

long as she delivers Brexit. It hugely skews the broadcast coverage,

I'm afraid. For example, a week ago, there was the annual survey of top

British business, the leading UK companies. Over half said Brexit was

already having an adverse effect on their business, and half did not

have confidence in the Government negotiating a good deal. Idlib the

Financial Times. -- it led the Financial Times. It was barely

covered as well. The BBC has -- had it as an item in the business news.

Had it been the other way round, it would have featured prominently in

the broadcasts. That is one challenge. The second challenge is

the absence of an opposition which looks on the polling capable of

beating the government. The debilitation of the Labour Party is

the facilitator of Brexit. I hate to say that, but it's true. So what

this means is that we have to build a movement which stretches across

party lines and devise new means of communication. There are lots of

different groups doing great work. "Is one. These groups have got to

find ways of converting strategy and tactics effectively. We should begin

to create informal links immediately and then build them into a movement

with weight and reach. We need to strengthen the hands of the MPs who

are with us, and let those against know that they have serious

opposition to Brexit at any cost. The Institute I am setting up will

play our part, we are creaking a policy platform wider than the

Europe question. There is an urgent need to reposition the whole debate

around globalisation and how we make it work for people. -- we are

creating. In this sense, the Brexit debate is something which is part of

a much bigger debate. But developing the argument around Brexit will be

an important element of the Institute's work. Then, together we

need strong links with the rest of Europe. If our government were

conducting a negotiation which genuinely sought to advance our

country's interests, that negotiation would include the

possibility of Britain staying in a reformed Europe. It is clear the

sentiment which led to Brexit is not confined to the UK. There is a

widespread yearning for reform across Europe. Part of our work,

therefore, should be to help build a European wide alliances to give

voice and effect to such an impulse. So this movement must have many

dimensions to it. It requires arguments of detail and arguments of

grandeur. The case for Europe remains rooted not in understanding

the past but the future. All over the globe, countries are coming

together in regional alliances for a very simple reason. As China rises,

as India and other large population countries follow, and with the USA

already so powerful, so to maintain strength and influence to defend our

interests adequately, nations of our size will cooperate based on

proximity. This is true of the nations of Europe. But for Europe,

there is a more profound reason. The transatlantic alliance is needed

more than ever but how much stronger it is with Britain in Europe and

Europe an equal partner with America. Forget the short-term

electoral politics, there or here. In the long term, this is

essentially an alliance of values, liberty, democracy, the rule of law.

As the world changes and opens up across boundaries of nation and

culture, which values will govern the 21st-century? Today, for the

first time in my adult life, it is not clear that the resolution of

this question will be benign. Britain, because of its history,

alliances and character, has a unique role to play in ensuring it

is. How, therefore, can it be wise for us during this epic period of

global evolution to be focused not on how we build partnerships but on

how we dissolve the one to which we are bound by ties of geography,

trade, shared values and common interests? The one incontrovertible

characteristic of politics today is its propensity for revolt. The

Brexiteers were the beneficiaries of this wave but now they want to

freeze it to a day in June 2016. They will say the will of the people

cannot alter. It can. They will say leaving is inevitable. It isn't.

They will say we don't represent the people. We do. Many millions of

them, and with determination, many millions more. They will claim we

are dividing the country by making the claim and the case. It is they

who divide our country. Generation from generation, north from South,

Scotland from England. Those born here from those who came to our

country precisely because of what they thought it stood for and what

they admired. So this is not the time for retreat, indifference or

despair. But the time to write up in defence of what we believe. Calmly,

patiently winning the argument by the of argument but without fear and

with the conviction that we act in the true interests of Britain -- at

the time to rise up. Thank you. Tony Blair with his speech saying it

is time to rise up in defence of what we believe. It is Brexit at any

cost, we need to know what the cost is he said. He will now answer some

questions so we will stay with this. I am Pat McFadden, the MP for

Wolverhampton South East and abounding supporter of Open Britain

-- founding supporter. We will have some questions from the audience in

a moment but I would like to begin by asking you about a couple of

things you talked about. The first is, in a constituency like mine in

Wolverhampton, a big part of the impetus to vote Leave is what has

been termed as the discontent over globalisation, people feeling left

out of economic change, disaffected by politics, and feeling that often

the past seemed to offer a better economy, seemed to be a better

economy, than the present they are living in. Around the world, the

Right has offered answers to these discontents through nationalism,

through anti-globalisation politics and, in some cases, anti-immigrant

politics. So the first thing I would like to ask you about is, if the

answer from the right is wrong, what is the better answer from the

centre-left? And secondly, on Scotland, you talked about how the

Brexit vote has put the issue of the unity of the UK back on the agenda

but you went further, saying that in some ways that case may be more

credible. Could you say a bit more about that as well? Sure. The first

question is at the heart of Western politics today but the answers of

the right or the far right are not really answers. When they say that

rejectionism is better than free trade, this is not going to protect

people's jobs -- protectionism. The changes that are happening in the

jobs market changes more driven by technology than by trade and the

next generation of technology is going to change things to an even

greater extent. We have got to provide the genuine answers rather

than riding the anger and this is the reason I'm establishing this

institute which will go broader than Europe but of course the Europe

debate is part of it. The truth is, the answer to communities left

behind by globalisation is not for Britain to get out of Europe than it

is for Britain to stay in Europe and argue for policies from Europe which

allow Europe to make the best bit opportunities, and within Britain,

to say that if there are communities left behind, let's go help them. It

is not this idea that industrial change is happening. I remember in

the 60s, the whole reason there were new towns created all over the UK

was because there was a huge displacement of people so let's go

to those communities and help them. Someone, a working-class person in

northern England unable to get a job, is not going to be helped by

stopping a Polish guy working as a waiter in London. It is this false

perspective we have to expose to people. At the same time as dealing

with a genuine concerns around immigration. You cannot ignore those

issues, you have got to deal with them but provide the answers and not

the anger. And remember, because this is crucial, that globalisation

can be, to some degree, somewhat slowed down by government, it can be

in some degree somewhat facilitated by government. But globalisation as

a force is not a policy of government. It is driven by

technology and travel and it is going to carry on, the world will

move closer together, this is what will happen. We need to make sense

of that rather than seeking for someone to blame, whether it is the

left wanting to blame business or the right wanting to blame migrants.

On Scotland, let me be very clear. I want Scotland to remain in the UK

even if Brexit goes ahead, I'm still in favour of Scotland remain in the

UK and let's be clear, Scotland's single market with England is of far

greater importance to it economically than Scotland's

interaction with the rest of Europe. However, I'm afraid, as we said in

the referendum campaign, unlike the other side, we don't want to say the

things we said in that campaign. When myself and John Major warned

this would be a threat to the UK, we meant it, and it's true, and you can

see that by the referendum coming back on the agenda. Thank you. I

will turn to the audience now and we will take a few questions. I will

take three now, starting with the gentleman in the middle and there is

a lady over their and then the gentleman in the middle. Thank you

for the speech... STUDIO: We are going to leave that for now but we

will go back if there are any more questions that we could go back for,

but a lot of you are getting in touch with your thoughts on Tony

Blair's speech. Want to read, Blair had his day and people will not

trust a word he says. Marina says, he is trying to undermine the

current government which is carrying out the people's wishes. We're not

stupid, we know what we voted for. Frank says, Tony Blair, you are

right, people have not felt the pain yet to come or the damage they have

caused the country. MJ said it is a bullied reflection of how we got

into this, the benefit of EU membership and a need for a sober

pause and rethink. Kevin says his impact on Out but is it likely to be

limited as you seem to be a leading player in some of the problem is

that led to the economic meltdown that led to the surge in anti-EU

sentiment. Thank you for your comments and keep them coming in.

Alcohol abuse and psychological problems are not uncommon amongst

In the most serious cases, personnel can return from warzones

with post-traumatic stress syndrome - something we've talked about

Now there's growing evidence that the true scale of the problem

may be worse that feared, because people are reluctant

to seek help, or don't return to their doctors

The study - published in the medical journal The Lancet -

is calling for new ways of helping people get the treatment they need.

Let's speak now to Professor Sir Simon Wessely from

King's College London, he's the President of

Grant Evatt, who is in Plymouth, and a solicitor representing

Daniel Malcangi, in Salford, who served in the army from 2001

to 2011 and fought in war zones three times in Iraq.

Saw things that later gave him post traumatic stress disorder which has

On bad days he says he almost finds it difficult to leave the house.

Daniel, clearly you have been hit very hard. When you first realised

you were struggling, did you speak up? No. Looking back, when I first

realised I had the problems was when I was still serving within the

battalion. And I didn't come forward and face the problem, I buried it

deep inside and try to forget about it and that is where the problems

manifested themselves. Why did you do that? At the time you are kind of

surrounded by the people who you went to the war zones with and did

the jobs you did with. You don't find it creeping to the surface, it

is not until you leave the forces and you are not around your peers

who you went through the rough times with that it starts to creep out.

The statistics show that a lot of people in the Armed Forces will

struggle with issues like post for Mitic stress disorder, anxiety,

depression and alcohol abuse. 20% developed psychological illness --

post-traumatic stress disorder. 16% developed alcohol misuse. There are

not that you going through this but you are saying a lot of people are

suffering privately. Why do you think people don't reach out to each

other? To be fair, within the service, while you are still serving

and you are a soldier under contract to the British Army, it is kind of

put to bed, a bit of a taboo subject and nobody really wants to come out

and say, I'm struggling and having nightmares, problems. I think a lot

of it, while you are serving, is covered up with drink. But you are

still in that aggressive environment where you are in that every day so

it is not spoken about. And Eileen Womersley, in Lincoln,

whose partner is a veteran and has Eileen, your partner was medically

discharged after serving from 2002 to 2015. What happened with her? She

was in Afghan and -- Afghanistan and Iraq and after numerous tours, she

couldn't cope any more. She had a complete mental breakdown and was

diagnosed with PTSD and then medically discharged. Did she speak

up from the beginning? She did when she came home from Iraq, the last

tour she did. And she was almost pushed away. She was given sleeping

tablets and pretty much told to man up and move on. And then she just

hit it. She was drinking heavily and was quite violent, and then just

pretended that everything was OK. And what support has she had now

that she has been having these issues? When she was going through

the medical discharge procedure, not a great deal, really. The MoD seemed

ill-equipped to deal with the amount of people with complex PTSD. And

once they medically discharged her, they left her to the NHS, who again

are ill-equipped to deal with people with such severe cases of PTSD. Let

me bring in Professor Wessely, president of the royal College of

psychiatrists. How do you respond to what you are hearing about the way

people sometimes handle it? It is certainly true that the majority of

people who suffer mental health problems in the Armed Forces, whilst

they are in service will not come forward with that. But the same

would be true in this building. If we did the same study we have

published here, I would be surprised if we did not get similar results.

This is not unique to the Armed Forces, although particular aspects

of their culture add to it. It is a difficult thing to talk about.

People are reluctant to come forward. They worry that they will

be stigmatised and it will have an effect on their career. They worry

what people will think they are not convinced that the mental health

services will help them. Alternatively, they think they can

do it for themselves. They are proud people. So there needs to be

encouragement to speak up. Certainly. What we showed this

morning was screaming looking at everybody who came back from

Afghanistan, which was 10,000 soldiers in a randomised controlled

trial, which is what other countries do. Unfortunately, it did not have

any effect. Why was that? Were the wrong questions being asked? It was

for the reasons I have just said. While people really didn't want to

go and see doctors, they didn't necessarily trustee services. A lot

of people felt they could do it on the run. These things meant that

during a screening programme wasn't effective. We have been saying that

therefore, the money that would have gone into an ineffective programme

should be spent on increasing support, which of course happens,

but it can be improved, and on improving access to treatments.

Daniel, can you think of what might have been done that might have

encouraged you to speak out as soon as you knew you were having trouble?

It needs to be in the domain more, especially when you get out of the

battalion and you are on Civvy Street. As you have heard, the NHS

are not equipped and don't have the resources to deal with military

personnel coming back from Iraq and particularly Afghanistan, where the

fighting was Morpheus. -- it was more fierce. People do not want to

acknowledge what you have done and what you have seen. In the NHS,

you're just treated like another person would be. Not to say that

people are not going through a bad time, but I definitely think a

veteran coming back from serving against enemy troops in Afghanistan

and fighting the enemy on a daily basis needs to be treated

differently to someone who has had a car crash. In my opinion, they need

military representation in these hospitals within the NHS so that the

psychiatrists can liaise with them to get something put in place. At

the minute, there is nothing out there. Grant Evatt, you are a

solicitor by presenting bedrooms with mental health problems. What

cases do you come across? Cases like Daniel. We see some shocking things

in the line of work that we do. Daniel talked about transition from

being in the military. We train our men and women to fight, to carry on

even when under effective enemy fire. And the transition from that

institutionalised service environment into Civvy Street is

very tough. Men and women bottle things up. Our troops avoid not just

talking about it, but even thinking about it. They become isolated from

their friends and families. Then you have this spiral of alcohol, drugs,

violence. They don't eat properly. Their sleep is affected. They don't

exercise. You then have poverty, crime, homelessness. We need to do

more as a society. This is a problem not just for our service community,

this is a problem for all of our veterans and entire society. Simon,

we are talking about what happens once somebody is struggling. What is

done in the military in terms of building up mental resilience? The

focus is obviously on physical resilience. What about tackling the

problem from the other rent? Firstly, we need to remember that

most people who have served to go on to lead successful lives. The people

affected are a minority. And it is not just the NHS. There is a whole

range of charities out there, over 2000 military charities. There are

perhaps too many avenues, a bewildering mixture for many

veterans. In terms of preparation, the military are pretty good at

that. They are not the same as me and you. They are well trained. They

are physically very healthy, and part of their whole structure is to

develop both the mental and physical resilience. Most people would

acknowledge that they do a good job on that. It is when that isn't

sufficient that the whole thing that makes people proud and independent

also unfortunately makes it difficult for them to admit to what

they sometimes erroneously seen as weakness. Having done this effort of

screening to identify people and it not having had the success you would

have hoped for, what lessons have you learned? Well, some things have

already been done. None of these are just one thing. We have had a lot of

investment in peer support, which is reasonably successful. They do

things like decompression and briefings, which have a minor

impact. But the biggest thing is to make sure they have access to decent

services that they trust and I believe that they can help them both

in service and outside the service. There are services for people like

Daniel. But you are saying there are lots of options. If anything, there

is too much. We need to make it easier for Daniel to pick the

service that will help him. There are over 2000. The second thing we

need to do is have more NHS services that are veteran focused. Daniel

made that point clearly. There is a feeling now that many people working

in the NHS, 30 years ago, everyone who taught me said they had been on

D-Day. But that generation has gone and now most people who work in the

NHS don't have much knowledge of the peculiarities and complexities of

military life. And particularly at the start of treatment, it is

important that you have not just the sympathy, because people in the NHS

are sympathetic, but you have more of an actual understanding of what

the experiences are Tom the language they use, Daniel may talk in a way

that NHS people don't understand with some of the jargon. But

building that level of training takes time. It takes time, but there

was a developing network of veterinary services across the NHS

which is in its early stages, because it is fair to say people

have been slow to respond to this problem. In 1945, we had 6 million

service personnel coming back, so they had to respond. Now, the

numbers are much smaller and less visible. So it has not been as fast

as it can. But there is a network developing that is getting good

results. Daniel, listening to Simon, does that make sense to you? It

doesn't work that way. It is not that simple. You have got military

charities out there that have said they are therefore veterans, and I

can guarantee you that it is not as simple as picking up the phone to a

military charity and getting the help you need. I am not going to sit

here and name charities and name call the military charities, but I

have been left flat on my face by all the military charities I have

been involved with. , the British Legion are the only ones who have

reached out to help me with the things I have needed. You get in

touch with them and you get told that they will be back in touch, but

you never hear anything. And this goes on every day, because I have

spoken to friends going through a similar thing and everyone says the

same. They are quick to teach you how to put a bayonet into somebody,

not so quick to teach you how to speak to people when you leave the

army. I joined when I was 16. That is such a young age to learn how to

do these things. When I was discharged, I got no resettlement

package. I was released and expected to know how to conduct myself in a

civilian environment. It is impossible. Thank you all very much.

The Ministry of Defence has released the following statement:

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has told the BBC that social media

companies are at least partly to blame for fake news. He fears that

millions who feel left behind by globalisation are withdrawing from

what he calls the connected world. He has written a 5500 word address

to Facebook users, published on the site overnight, which he is calling

a manifesto. The BBC's economics editor Kamal Ahmed has more.

He told me about the polarisation of use, some of it exacerbated by

social media, and he calls on people not just to be upset, but to act. He

also is publishing a manifesto where he talks about Abraham Lincoln,

spirituality and connecting globally. This does not dampen

speculation that Mark Zuckerberg might fancy a political career with

a very different message from that of President Trump. But for now, he

insists he is focused on running one of the biggest, most important

companies in the world. Why is he doing this? I think he is laying out

a strategy that will guide Facebook, and he is also tackling some of the

issues that have dogged the company. We'll have more on Tony Blair's

mission to persuade Britons to reject the result

of the EU referendum. And I'll talk to the victim

of a knife attack - stabbed 12 times for helping a woman

being attacked - about his plans to help stop young

people carrying blades. Tony Blair has set out what he calls

his "mission" to persuade people the former prime minister said

that the UK is "rushing over a cliff's edge" and he wants to

build support Downing Street says

it is "absolutely committed" Mr Blair told members

of the pro-European campaign group, Open Britain, he respected

the will of the people, but voters had not known

the terms of the deal. I accept right now there is no

widespread appetite to rethink. But the people voted without

knowledge of the terms of Brexit. As these terms become

clear, it is their right Our mission is to

persuade them to do so. President Trump's choice

to replace Mike Flynn as his new National Security Adviser

has turned the job down. In a statement, Vice Admiral Robert

Harward said he couldn't make the 24 hour a day,

seven day a week commitment General Flynn resigned earlier this

week over revelations about discussions he'd had

with Russia's ambassador Ten British tourists have been

injured after a speedboat The holidaymakers and their local

guide were thrown into the water when their speedboat hit the base

of a water fountain Two people are reported to be

seriously hurt but none of the injuries are said

to be life-threatening. Retail sales in the UK dropped

unexpectedly in January, following on from December's dip.

unexpectedly in January, Official figures from the Office

for National Statistics show sales dropped by 0.3% compared

with the previous month, that's well below the 0.9% rise

which had been expected. Analysts say food and fuel prices

squeezed consumer spending power A West Yorkshire couple have won

damages, after their week-old baby was taken off them by social

workers, due to what authorities called the father's "unorthodox

views" about formula milk. Kirklees Council has been ordered

to pay the family more than ?11,000 for taking the infant after medical

staff expressed concern The High Court heard how authorities

falsely claimed the parents had The judge ruled there was no doubt

in his mind the council had violated That's a summary of the latest news,

join me for BBC Newsroom Arsene Wenger says he'll make

a decision on his Arsenal future in March or April, but won't be

retiring this summer. The Frenchman's been at the club

for more than 20 years but his position is under greater

scrutiny following that 5-1 defeat at Bayern Munich

in the Champions League. Wenger says "I will manage next

season, whether it is Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored his first

hat-trick for Manchester United in their 3-0 Europa League win over

Saint-Etienne at Old Trafford. It gives a great chance of reaching

the last 16 as they head Tottenham are 1-0 down in their tie

after they lost away to Ghent, a side in mid-table

in the Belgian league. Spurs will have the chance to make

amends at Wembley next Thursday. And Huddersfield missed

the chance to go top of rugby league's Super League -

beaten 30-20 by Salford. Gareth O'Brian scored 22 points

but it was Josh Jones' try five minutes from time that sealed

Salford's first win of the season. I will have more sport on the BBC

News channel throughout the day. Well - the main news this

morning is that the former Prime Minister Tony Blair has made

a speech urging He said people had voted without

knowledge of the terms of Brexit, and it was now their right

to change their minds He said government policy to deliver

Brexit was being driven by ideologues, and future

generations would deliver what he called "a rancorous verdict"

if no effort was made to change After his speech, he took questions

from members of the audience including my colleague, Carole

Walker. Carole Walker, BBC. What you say to the charge that you are doing

is fundamentally undemocratic, you are trying to overturn a vote of the

British people? Isn't the only way you can do that through a second

referendum and, if I may, do you really think you are the one with

the popular appeal to get a different answer if you did get a

second go? First of all, on me you can like the messenger or not, and

this is a free country so I've got a right to speak and you've got the

freedom to listen, or not. You don't want to listen to me, don't listen

to me. APPLAUSE I'm very clear and simple on this, I

know there will be a volume of abuse that will come my way for speeding

but I'm speaking because I believe in it and I care about the country

-- -- for speaking. This thing about it being undemocratic to carry on

debating this, the will of the people is not some fixed immutable

thing that can never change, irrespective of the fact that are

brought to their attention. When the people voted on June 23, I accepted

entirely they voted to get of Europe. But they didn't at that

point know what the alternative was. They were told, and I have used this

analogy before, it is like a house swap, we want to swap our house but

we haven't seen the other one will stop one group of people tell them

the other house is fantastic and you should move. Another group say no,

it's a bad idea, I wouldn't do that. What do they do? They heard two

people and decided to go with the person who said it was fantastic.

But here's the thing, now they go and see it. They go and visit the

neighbourhood. They test the structure. Now they are going to go

and see if it is the type of move they really want to make. The idea

that, in those circumstances, if they decide, you know what, this is

not such a great neighbourhood and we don't like the structure and it

hasn't got the right bedrooms for us and the right facilities and it will

cost too much to do it up, what, they can't change their mind? No,

you've made your decision! Stop debating, don't think about it any

more! Who made that rule?! This is ridiculous. That was our political

correspondent Carole Walker asking the question of Tony Blair. She

joins us now. He talks about rising up, of building a cross-party group

against Brexit. How much is he going to put into this mission?

Interestingly he said he wasn't actually setting up a new political

party but he is setting up an Institute and he said he does want

to counter the arguments which he believes at the men are being driven

by the ideologues, those who are passionate about the move to leave

the European Union. His argument essentially is that when people

voted to leave the EU, they didn't realise how bad it was going to be,

how severe the damage was going to be to the economy, they didn't

realise perhaps that it could herald the break-up of the UK with Scotland

now warning of a possible referendum on Scottish independence again. And

he talked about the concerned about the effect on the Northern Ireland

peace process. As you heard, he was questioned about whether he was the

right person to try to lead this argument but I think one of the

other interesting point he made was that he feels at the moment that

there is no opposition to the move towards Brexit and he clearly

includes in that the Labour Party which of course has said it accepts

the moves to trigger Article 50 and leave the EU. This was the core of

his message God that it was time for the people to try to counter those

moves towards Brexit. They will say that reading is inevitable. It

isn't. They will say we don't represent the people. We do. Many

millions of them, and, with determination, many millions more.

They will claim we are dividing the country by making the claim and the

case. It is they who divide our country. Generation from generation,

north from South, Scotland from England. Those born here from those

who came to our country precisely because of what they thought it

stood for and what they admired. So this is not the time for retreat.

Indifference or despair. But the time to rise up in defence of what

we believe. So that was some of Tony Blair's speech earlier here at

Bloomberg, the same place incidentally where, four years ago,

David Cameron first made that pledge that he would give the British

people and EU referendum which of course led us on the path to Brexit.

I'm joined by Heidi Alexander, a Labour MP who was there. That call

from Tony Blair to rise up against the march to Brexit, is it

realistic? I think Tony gave a very powerful, measured speech about how

things are likely to play out over the next couple of years. Of course,

when people voted nine months ago, Brexit was perhaps a dim and distant

prospect but now we find the reality is hurtling towards us at a speed of

knots. Whether you love him or loathe him, he is somebody we should

listen to, he has huge experience of politics at the top level and I

think he is right to have drawn attention to the fact that when

people voted last year, the debate that led up to it was not fantastic,

perhaps partial information that people had to their fingertips, and

we have a situation where the Chancellor a couple of weeks after

the referendum said it would be a disaster to come out of the single

market, catastrophic was the word. Tony Blair was also very critical of

the Labour Party for failing to provide any opposition to the

government on the whole drive to Brexit. I think if you listen to

some of the debates me and my colleagues made in the House of

Commons over the last few weeks, we have been clear this cannot be

Brexit at any cost, as Tony Blair has said. Your party is supporting

the legislation that is going through to start the negotiations.

Personally I voted against triggering Article 50 a few weeks

ago because whilst I acknowledge the result of the referendum, what I

don't feel that I can do is sign up to Theresa May's version Brexit

which is one where she will pull us out of the single market, where she

prioritises reducing immigration over the National economic interest

and where she threatens the country's closest to us with these

low tax, light regulation economy that Tony talked about. What Tony

Blair was talking about was not just changing the terms of a future deal,

he was talking about trying to overturn the Brexit vote. Is he

really to get sufficient of mass movement to overturn that vote of

the British people? I think what he was talking about was making sure

that we have the best possible relationship with going forward.

This is a case of ensuring that our options are open as we move forward,

as the economic reality Brexit starts to hit, the implications in

terms of jobs, living standards, the price of goods in shops, the falling

value of sterling and all the blondes this will cause the economy.

The point he is making is that this cannot be Brexit at any cost -- and

all the problems this will cause. Begu for joining us. Clearly that

intervention by the former Prime Minister is going to spark of a

whole new round of argument over Brexit and whether he can actually

change the course of events, I think that is probably more doubtful.

Thank you. Now, a story of finding love in

the most unusual of circumstances - Joan Neininger met Ken Selway

as he rifled through a bin outside her bookshop

in Gloucester city centre. Now, some three decades later,

the couple both in their 80s are finally getting married -

on Joan's birthday tomorrow. It didn't have that little red

thing going up and down. Back on the street

where they first met. And there was a seat

for people to sit on. Appropriate that it began

here, in a book shop. The shop was full of books,

laden with shelves, lots of books. And that was my lounge,

and that was my bedroom up there. Joan ran the little shop

in the centre of Gloucester with her husband, and one day

in 1975 she saw Ken That's were the bin where I used

to go and look for food. People would eat them

and they would throw the rest away. So Joan gave Ken a cup of tea

that day and sketched He was a shy man who'd

suffered a head injury He developed schizophrenia

and ended up sleeping rough. He always looked as if he didn't

belong on the streets. He looked gentlemanly

and he spoke very... Gave me the impression that he'd

been to a good school, He doesn't look scruffy,

he's the groom! He looked a little

bit better, actually. Joan invited Ken to move into her

family home, and she helped him Over the years he became

part of the household, Although Joan's relationship

with Ken was purely platonic, her But as the decades passed, the three

of them became good friends. Then in 1983, Joan's

husband Norman died. Ken and Joan are back to marry, 42

years after that first cup of tea. Perry Como sings like him,

and he sings like Perry Como. How much of a difference has

Joan made to your life? Ken, what is it about Joan that

you've fallen in love with? She's given me everything

that I wanted. It's a little bit like

having a pet, almost. I was on the street,

it was terrible. I never dreamed that

I was going to marry him. When he's not being grumpy

and stinky and horrible. It was Joan who proposed to Ken

after visiting him in his care home. I'd come out of the house

and I'd cry, because I was And I thought, "Well,

I suppose I could." And how excited are you about

this wedding and this Because you've never been

married before, you see. You've been a happy bachelor

all these years and now I've come Joan's children and grandchildren

fully support the marriage and will all be at the wedding

tomorrow, which is What about the future,

what does the future holds Well, there won't be babies and it

won't be a white wedding dress! Some of their friends jokingly call

them the Lady and the Tramp. Nearly five decades after meeting

outside the book shop, If somebody had said

to you all those years ago when you first saw one another that

in 2017 you'd still be together Our next guest, Will Flint,

was standing at a cash machine when he saw a young woman

being attacked and But rather than defuse the argument,

the attacker standing in front The man swiped at him with the blade

and the pair got into a tussle. As Will tried to protect himself,

he was stabbed 12 times, leaving him with a perforated

stomach, spleen and diaphragm. Miraculously, he survived,

and Will says he now wants to use his experiences to fight

against knife crime. You stepped in to be a good

Samaritan. What happened? In a way, yes. I was out with friends,

bringing in the new year. We had watch the fireworks in town and I

was on my way back in a taxi. Stopped off to use the cashpoint to

get some money out. Whilst I was there, I heard a commotion to my

left, turned around and I saw an assault. I saw a man hurling abuse

at a woman. He had punched her in the eye and grabbed her by the hair,

and she was walking away at this point towards where I was standing.

And as she was approaching me, I asked her, was she OK? Do you want

some help? At that point, I turned around and saw the man approaching

behind. And as I spoke to him, I looked down and he was holding a

knife. And at that point, he came at me quickly. Did you think about

running? No. It was a frightening situation and I had nowhere to run.

I had to wrestle the knife from him. But he managed to stab you 12 times,

and you were fighting during that time. Yeah. I mentioned the injuries

that you sustained. Tell us what impact it has had on you. Initially,

there is a psychological impact. It has been tough. But I am through

that now. I have a supportive network around me of friends and

family. It is just that realisation of how close I was to dying and how

lucky I am. And you want to talk about it because you want to raise

awareness of the issues around knife crime and the man to attack you has

been jailed for eight years and ten months now. What is the message you

want to get across? Quite simply that knives can change lives in an

instant. A momentary lapse of judgment can cost is not just the

person using the knife, but obviously the victim as well. And

they ruins lives quickly. There needs to be more awareness about

that. Anyone looking to carry a knife before they leave the house

needs to look at stories like mine and see how quickly things can

escalate and change their lives. You could have been killed in the

attack. What did Doctor say about your chances of survival at the

time? I was lucky in the sense that I have a bit of training behind me.

Last year, I did some nice self-defence after I saw a

high-profile stabbing on the news. So totally by chance, you did that

prior to it happening to you? Yeah. I learned simple techniques to turn

your body away from the line of fire. So I got hit in the side

rather than the front. And also to move in to gain control of his arm.

Unfortunately, I had been stabbed in the shoulder and my lung had

collapsed, so it was difficult to wrestle him. And he managed to stab

me 12 times. But I think without that knowledge, I would probably be

dead. Did anybody can to help you? Yeah. After the tussle, I think he

cut himself and was pulled back of me. At that point, I dumped in a

taxi and went to hospital. We have just seen you doing some

self-defence exercises. That is embarrassing! You said it was the

fight or flight, and that you don't think about it when something is

unfolding and some rationality goes out of the window, but would you

step in again? Absolutely. I wouldn't class myself as a hero. I

was just a regular guy at the cashpoint. I saw something terrible

happening and wanted to help. It didn't cross my mind that he might

have had a knife. That is one to take away from my story. There are a

lot more knives on the streets than you realise. People now deem it

acceptable to carry a. But if you had known he had a knife? I probably

would still have done the same thing. Because you were protecting

the woman? In a way. He might have turned the knife on her. It's just

one of those things. I would like to hope that people can hear my story

and use it as a reason not to act in that situation or turn a blind eye,

but to take away from this that knives are rife. Would you ever want

to talk to him? Have you had any thoughts about him? No. I wouldn't

want to talk to him, really. I have had my closure. Justice was served

quite quickly. I am ready to move on now. But it has given you a sense of

a mission that you want to get the message out there. Yeah. People need

to be aware of the risks and implications before they carry a

knife. It has pretty dire consequences. The temptation of

pulling a knife out when you have got one on you is big. People are

empowered by it. And that needs to change. They need to listen to

stories like mine and realise what the consequences will be. Will

Flint, thank you for coming in. More reaction now to Tony Blair's beach.

Dominic Robb, the Tory MP and prominent Brexit supporter has just

described Mr Blair's intervention as the height of arrogance, saying he

wants to go on putting the same question over and over again until

he gets a different answer. The former Work and Pensions Secretary

and prominent Leave campaigner Iain Duncan Smith joins us now from his

constituency in Chingford. What is your reaction to Tony Blair's

comments? Rather similar to Dominic Raab's. I was firstly quite

surprised to hear Tony Blair entering the fray. He seems to have

been rather busy going out and giving advice to dictators around

the world, so maybe his view of democracy has been tainted by that.

We had a democratic vote last year. The British people made a decision,

and now the job of the Government is to get the best arrangements with

the European Union. We are not leaving Europe, and she wants to get

good trading arrangements costs to stay friends and cooperate on