0:00:06 > 0:00:08This is BBC World News Today.
0:00:08 > 0:00:13I'm Lucy Hockings live in Moscow.
0:00:13 > 0:00:15The headlines.
0:00:15 > 0:00:21Vladimir Putin will lead Russia for another six years.
0:00:21 > 0:00:23TRANSLATION:
0:00:23 > 0:00:26I can see trust and hope, hope of our people that we will continue
0:00:26 > 0:00:35working in the same way with the same great results.
0:00:35 > 0:00:37The exit polls show that with more than half of ballots counted,
0:00:37 > 0:00:45President Putin has almost three-quarters of the vote.
0:00:45 > 0:00:48He has also been speaking about the poisoning of a Russian spy that has
0:00:48 > 0:00:54led to a stand-off with the British government.TRANSLATION:I learned
0:00:54 > 0:00:57about it from the media, and the first thing that came into my mind
0:00:57 > 0:01:02is that if it was a military operation, people would have died
0:01:02 > 0:01:05straightaway.
0:01:05 > 0:01:06I'm Karin Giannone in London.
0:01:06 > 0:01:10Our other top stories.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13After two months of fighting and many deaths, Turkey drives
0:01:13 > 0:01:15a Kurdish militia from the northern Syrian city of Afrin.
0:01:15 > 0:01:17Senior Republicans urge President Trump not to close down
0:01:17 > 0:01:19the Special Counsel investigation into suspected Russian
0:01:19 > 0:01:28collusion with his campaign.
0:01:35 > 0:01:41Hello and welcome to Moscow, where President Putin has indeed won a
0:01:41 > 0:01:46fourth term in office. There were eight candidates running in this
0:01:46 > 0:01:48presidential election but there was really no doubt that President Putin
0:01:48 > 0:01:53was indeed going to win, when he has done so convincingly. They have
0:01:53 > 0:01:58already been seems of jubilation at a pro-Putin rally. You can see the
0:01:58 > 0:02:02Kremlin and Red Square behind me, beyond that a big concert tape and
0:02:02 > 0:02:05placed an ad with people celebrating. The date of the
0:02:05 > 0:02:09election was moved to today to celebrate the fourth anniversary of
0:02:09 > 0:02:15the annexation of Crimea. Let's take you through some of the results. We
0:02:15 > 0:02:20know there was an boating lake allowances reported in some parts of
0:02:20 > 0:02:23Russia but these are the official figures we are starting to get now.
0:02:23 > 0:02:31The exit polls showing 73.9% for the Russian president Vladimir Putin,
0:02:31 > 0:02:35absolutely eclipsing all of those other candidates. And I think the
0:02:35 > 0:02:38thing people will be talking about around the world who are looking at
0:02:38 > 0:02:43this election over the next few days will be the turnout. Vladimir Putin
0:02:43 > 0:02:47had wanted 70% in order to give the result some legitimacy, and he
0:02:47 > 0:02:53hasn't achieved that. What we are hearing is that there has been a
0:02:53 > 0:02:57turnout of 60% in this presidential election, and that is down from the
0:02:57 > 0:03:04last time Russians voted here in a presidential election from 48% in
0:03:04 > 0:03:062016, in the Parliamentary elections, which are often less, and
0:03:06 > 0:03:14then in the presidential election in 2012, 60 5%, so Vladimir Putin may
0:03:14 > 0:03:17indeed be disappointed with that, and that is also with some stuff in
0:03:17 > 0:03:22the ballots we have seen we will be talking about in a moment. But first
0:03:22 > 0:03:25I had mentioned the celebrations that had been taking place here in
0:03:25 > 0:03:30Moscow. Vladimir Putin arrived just a short time ago to address his
0:03:30 > 0:03:35supporters. Let's have a listen. TRANSLATION:
0:03:35 > 0:03:38I am a member of your team and everyone who voted
0:03:38 > 0:03:40today is one big team.
0:03:40 > 0:03:42In this I can see the recognition of what's being done
0:03:42 > 0:03:51over the last few years.
0:03:51 > 0:03:54I can see trust and hope, hope of our people that we will continue
0:03:54 > 0:04:04working in the same way with the same great results.
0:04:04 > 0:04:06Thank you for this wonderful multi-million member team.
0:04:06 > 0:04:07Thank you.
0:04:07 > 0:04:10Success is waiting for us!
0:04:10 > 0:04:13Vladimir Putin there and his supporters.
0:04:13 > 0:04:17Counting is under way in the Russian presidential election.
0:04:17 > 0:04:23A huge effort, you can imagine in a Candreva size of this, 11 different
0:04:23 > 0:04:27time zones, 97,000 polling stations were open today across Russia. We
0:04:27 > 0:04:32saw some scenes of cosmonauts boating in space, even down in
0:04:32 > 0:04:36Antarctica, polling stations were open there. It has been an
0:04:36 > 0:04:38incredibly busy day, quite festive at some of the polling stations, I
0:04:38 > 0:04:43was at one earlier, there were people singing, a man with an
0:04:43 > 0:04:46accordion, people playing sports as well. There was all very festive,
0:04:46 > 0:04:52but with a wrap-up of what has been happening around the country for us,
0:04:52 > 0:04:56here's our Moscow correspondent, Steve Rosenberg.
0:04:56 > 0:04:58It looked more like a show than an election.
0:04:58 > 0:04:59Russian polling stations providing free entertainment
0:04:59 > 0:05:06to boost the turnout.
0:05:06 > 0:05:11Inside, you could cast a ballot, and cast an eye at the art.
0:05:11 > 0:05:13Pride of place here reserved for a legendary Russian ruler,
0:05:14 > 0:05:15who had battled the West.
0:05:15 > 0:05:17The current leader is facing international
0:05:17 > 0:05:23pressure after Salisbury.
0:05:23 > 0:05:26Still, Vladimir Putin was relaxed as he voted.
0:05:26 > 0:05:28I believe in the programme I am offering my country,
0:05:28 > 0:05:29the president said.
0:05:29 > 0:05:30And his supporters agreed.
0:05:30 > 0:05:32He is a genius, he says.
0:05:32 > 0:05:35Putin wants Russia to prosper and for Russians
0:05:35 > 0:05:39to live in happiness.
0:05:39 > 0:05:41It is thanks to Putin, she says, that Russia still exists.
0:05:41 > 0:05:45But, critics of the Kremlin said the election was fixed,
0:05:45 > 0:05:47that only those candidates who stood no chance of unseating
0:05:47 > 0:05:55Vladimir Putin were allowed to run.
0:05:55 > 0:05:58The problem with Russia is that there is no such thing
0:05:58 > 0:05:59as Russian politics.
0:05:59 > 0:06:03Politics has been eliminated in Russia altogether.
0:06:03 > 0:06:08There is only one political institution in Russia
0:06:08 > 0:06:10and that is the physical body of Vladimir Putin.
0:06:10 > 0:06:13Which is why the result of this vote was never in doubt.
0:06:13 > 0:06:15This election is less about choosing a new president,
0:06:15 > 0:06:18and more about reappointing the old one.
0:06:18 > 0:06:22The political system Vladimir Putin has built ensures
0:06:22 > 0:06:27he doesn't face any challenge.
0:06:27 > 0:06:29He's set for a fourth term in the Kremlin.
0:06:29 > 0:06:31But these images will embarrass the Kremlin.
0:06:31 > 0:06:35Caught on CCTV, a woman stuffs the ballot box at a polling box
0:06:35 > 0:06:38at a polling station in Moscow.
0:06:38 > 0:06:48Suddenly there are two of them at it.
0:06:50 > 0:06:55And something suspicious in Siberia, during the vote count,
0:06:55 > 0:06:56someone moves a tricolore of balloons
0:06:56 > 0:06:58so they cover over the camera.
0:06:58 > 0:07:00Election officials say they will investigate alleged violations.
0:07:00 > 0:07:02But that won't change who will be running Russia
0:07:02 > 0:07:04for the next six years.
0:07:04 > 0:07:09Steve Rosenberg, BBC News, Moscow.
0:07:09 > 0:07:14So, as Steve was mentioning there, Russia's key opposition leader
0:07:14 > 0:07:18Alexei Navalny was banned from running in this election, and he
0:07:18 > 0:07:24said to his supporters that he wanted them to boycott the election,
0:07:24 > 0:07:28and what is interesting is that he is very active on social media, and
0:07:28 > 0:07:32many young people of course are thought to have possibly not shown
0:07:32 > 0:07:35up to vote because of record for that boycott, but there are also
0:07:35 > 0:07:44some young people passionate about Putin and I spoke to one earlier,
0:07:44 > 0:07:46Darius Sher over from United Russia party.
0:07:46 > 0:07:49You know what I will say that you can come for example to south
0:07:49 > 0:07:53arabia and say you guys have to be democratic here - well you have
0:07:53 > 0:07:57to come to Russia to be for example international observers to see how
0:07:57 > 0:07:58it works in Russia.
0:07:58 > 0:07:59You as the international community should
0:07:59 > 0:08:02not humiliate our rights to vote for the Putin that we
0:08:02 > 0:08:03support as president.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06Even if you don't like his policy - we like his policy.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09You have to respect our right to choose our president
0:08:09 > 0:08:19and you have to work with him - because his citizens choose him.
0:08:22 > 0:08:25So about 60% of the votes have been counted, though there is some talk
0:08:25 > 0:08:32of voting irregularity. Let's speak to the co-chairman of the electoral
0:08:32 > 0:08:39observers in Russia. Tell us about what your observers saw today.So
0:08:39 > 0:08:43ordinary elections in Russia, maybe you can give me more exact
0:08:43 > 0:08:46questions.What is an ordinary election in Russia because that
0:08:46 > 0:08:53would be very different to how we see elections.I know, but the main
0:08:53 > 0:08:57problem is we don't have any so-called alternative candidates and
0:08:57 > 0:08:59elections are not interesting and the same man has been running for 20
0:08:59 > 0:09:07years, it is a boring procedure, so they went to any expense to
0:09:07 > 0:09:11entertain people, to invite them with cheap goods, foodstuff,
0:09:11 > 0:09:15entertainment, singing, dancing, all that stuff, it is not elections, it
0:09:15 > 0:09:20is just a sham.What did your electro observers see in terms of
0:09:20 > 0:09:27the staffing of ballot boxes across the country?Actually ballot box
0:09:27 > 0:09:29staffing was found by video broadcast, not found by people on
0:09:29 > 0:09:34the ground live because usually fraudsters are afraid of any present
0:09:34 > 0:09:42witnesses and so on. In the first video you can see the policeman in
0:09:42 > 0:09:48the corner, the policeman was present. We have a report where a
0:09:48 > 0:09:55policeman himself was stuffing. So all sorts of people can participate
0:09:55 > 0:10:01in the ballot box staffing in this fraud, but not observers, observers
0:10:01 > 0:10:04are a deterrent, and yes, over there in the corner you will see behind
0:10:04 > 0:10:12your titles a policeman with shoulder straps, so yes, they are
0:10:12 > 0:10:16doing, but not observers, observers scare them away, real observers. Not
0:10:16 > 0:10:20fake ones.If your observers see things like this happening, what do
0:10:20 > 0:10:31they do?In 2008 I found ballot box staffing in 2008 in a Moscow school.
0:10:31 > 0:10:35They pretended it was, they said, let's look into that into the
0:10:35 > 0:10:40evening, but before the evening they said that the school was mind,
0:10:40 > 0:10:44somebody planted a bomb inside the school so it had to be evacuated,
0:10:44 > 0:10:47and later they destroyed all evidence, but I still have photo and
0:10:47 > 0:10:52video of that. So their main idea is to destroy evidence, but since we
0:10:52 > 0:10:57have a lot of mobile phones now, and boxes are transported, so it is very
0:10:57 > 0:11:05hard to hide for them, and nobody is punished. Since 2012, I can show you
0:11:05 > 0:11:08hundreds of official videos, and nobody is punished since.Thank you
0:11:08 > 0:11:17very much for joining us. We have been hearing from President Putin,
0:11:17 > 0:11:21and he has also given a press conference. In the last hour or so,
0:11:21 > 0:11:24he has been talking about this diplomatic row between Russia and
0:11:24 > 0:11:30the United Kingdom, he has said he has only had about the poisoning for
0:11:30 > 0:11:33the first time of Sergei Skripal and his daughter, and the very first
0:11:33 > 0:11:45time he heard about it was actually in the media. TRANSLATION:
0:11:45 > 0:11:48In relation to the tragedy you mentioned, I learnt about it
0:11:48 > 0:11:51from the media and the first thing that came into my mind was that
0:11:51 > 0:11:53if it was a military operation, people would have
0:11:54 > 0:11:55died straight away.
0:11:55 > 0:11:55This is number one.
0:11:55 > 0:11:56This is number one.
0:11:56 > 0:12:02Secondly, Russia does not have those weapons,
0:12:02 > 0:12:05Russia has demolished all its chemical weapons
0:12:05 > 0:12:08under international supervision, unlike some
0:12:08 > 0:12:13of our partners who haven't done it yet.
0:12:13 > 0:12:20Vladimir Putin addressing what has happened. Further developments to
0:12:20 > 0:12:23bring you, international experts from the chemical weapons body will
0:12:23 > 0:12:28be arriving in the UK on Monday. They will be testing samples in the
0:12:28 > 0:12:32UK. We have been hearing from the Russian ambassador to the EU and
0:12:32 > 0:12:36also from Britain's Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, with a
0:12:36 > 0:12:40wrap-up of today's events on the diplomatic fallout and everything
0:12:40 > 0:12:44that has happened with Sergei Skripal and the poisoning of him and
0:12:44 > 0:12:48his daughter Yulia. Here's Daniel Sandford.
0:12:48 > 0:12:50Today, despite the bad weather, troops and police officers continued
0:12:50 > 0:12:52the delicate and dangerous work of decontamination and preserving
0:12:52 > 0:12:57the scenes in Salisbury.
0:12:57 > 0:13:00It is clear now that the focus of this investigation
0:13:00 > 0:13:02is Sergei Skripal's burgundy BMW car, with detectives
0:13:02 > 0:13:04still seeking more information on its movements on the day
0:13:04 > 0:13:05of the nerve agent attack.
0:13:05 > 0:13:08This morning, the Russian ambassador to the EU chose to hint that Britain
0:13:08 > 0:13:12might have been responsible for the whole thing.
0:13:12 > 0:13:17Porton Down, as we now all know, is the largest military facility
0:13:17 > 0:13:19in the United Kingdom that has been dealing with chemical
0:13:19 > 0:13:23weapons research.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26And it's actually only eight miles from Salisbury.
0:13:26 > 0:13:29You are not suggesting that Porton Down is responsible
0:13:29 > 0:13:30for this nerve agent attack?
0:13:30 > 0:13:33I don't know, I don't know.
0:13:33 > 0:13:35Immediately afterwards, on the same programme, this
0:13:35 > 0:13:37was the Foreign Secretary's riposte.
0:13:37 > 0:13:40This is not the response of a country that rarely believes
0:13:40 > 0:13:45itself to be innocent.
0:13:45 > 0:13:48Their response has been a sort of mixture of smug sarcasm
0:13:48 > 0:13:54and denial, obfuscation and delay.
0:13:54 > 0:13:59And with 23 diplomats due to leave the Russian Embassy this week
0:13:59 > 0:14:02And with 23 diplomats due to leave the Russian Embassy this week,
0:14:02 > 0:14:04after being expelled as spies, the Foreign Secretary made his most
0:14:04 > 0:14:07direct accusation yet that Russia has been doing recent
0:14:07 > 0:14:09nerve agent research.
0:14:09 > 0:14:12We actually had evidence within the last ten years that
0:14:12 > 0:14:14Russia has not only been investigating the delivery of nerve
0:14:14 > 0:14:17agents for the purposes of assassination, but has also been
0:14:18 > 0:14:22creating and stockpiling Novichoks.
0:14:22 > 0:14:26However, the Foreign Secretary then had to concede that a wife
0:14:26 > 0:14:31of a former minister under Vladimir Putin had paid £160,000
0:14:31 > 0:14:33in a Conservative Party auction to play tennis with him.
0:14:33 > 0:14:34Did the tennis game actually happen?
0:14:34 > 0:14:35It did.
0:14:35 > 0:14:38It did.
0:14:38 > 0:14:41But the Labour leadership's position on the Salisbury attack now seems
0:14:41 > 0:14:43much closer to the government's than it was in the
0:14:43 > 0:14:46middle of last week.
0:14:46 > 0:14:48Putin has questions to answer, because this is highly likely this
0:14:48 > 0:14:51could have been a state execution.
0:14:51 > 0:14:54But what we don't do in this country is that we don't leap
0:14:54 > 0:14:55to conclusions without the evidence.
0:14:55 > 0:14:57Tomorrow, international specialists from the Organisation
0:14:57 > 0:14:59for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons will arrive
0:14:59 > 0:15:02at Porton Down to start their own independent analysis of what left
0:15:02 > 0:15:03Yulia and Sergei Skripal fighting for their lives.
0:15:03 > 0:15:10Daniel Sandford, BBC News.
0:15:15 > 0:15:20So as we continue to see Russia isolated on the international stage,
0:15:20 > 0:15:24it is quite a different message here in Moscow with Vladimir Putin
0:15:24 > 0:15:28addressing his supporters as he wins his fourth term in office, and he is
0:15:28 > 0:15:31talking about rising to the challenges that lie ahead, how
0:15:31 > 0:15:36working together as a team is the way forward here in Russia. 60% of
0:15:36 > 0:15:40the votes counted will continue to keep across all the development is
0:15:40 > 0:15:49here in Moscow. For now, back to you in the studio. Stay with us on BBC
0:15:49 > 0:15:52World News Today. Still to come, British MPs want to know more about
0:15:52 > 0:15:57how a data firm that supported Donald Trump's campaign used the
0:15:57 > 0:16:02personal information of millions of Facebook users.
0:16:13 > 0:16:19Today we have closed the book on apartheid.More than 3000 subway
0:16:19 > 0:16:23passengers were affected, nausea, bleeding, headaches and a dimming of
0:16:23 > 0:16:29vision, all caused by an apparently organised attack.
0:16:35 > 0:16:38The trip itself was on the pedestal in the middle of the Cabinet here.
0:16:38 > 0:16:41This was an international trophy and we understand now that the search
0:16:41 > 0:16:52for it has become an international search.
0:16:55 > 0:16:58Above all, this was a triumph of the Christian Democrats of the West,
0:16:58 > 0:17:01offering reunification as quickly as possible, and that is what the
0:17:01 > 0:17:08voters wanted.
0:17:14 > 0:17:17You are watching BBC World News Today.
0:17:17 > 0:17:19Syria's President Bashar Al-Assad has visited soldiers
0:17:19 > 0:17:21in Eastern Ghouta - an area his forces have been trying
0:17:21 > 0:17:23to retake from the rebels.
0:17:23 > 0:17:26These images - published on a Syrian Presidency Facebook page -
0:17:26 > 0:17:28show him surrounded by troops.
0:17:28 > 0:17:30A monitoring group has confirmed that government forces
0:17:30 > 0:17:34and their allies now control some 80% of Eastern Ghouta.
0:17:34 > 0:17:36Thousands more civilians fled on Sunday.
0:17:36 > 0:17:38But a pro-rebel website says there's been relative calm
0:17:38 > 0:17:46for the first time in a month. The Turkish president says
0:17:46 > 0:17:48the northern Syrian city of Afrin
0:17:48 > 0:17:49is now under Turkish control
0:17:49 > 0:17:55after its troops backed by Syrian allies, entered the city centre.
0:17:55 > 0:17:57Turkey has been engaged in a two-month battle with Kurdish
0:17:57 > 0:17:59fighters over the city, in Northern Syria.
0:17:59 > 0:18:02The Kurdish administration of Afrin says its forces will now strike
0:18:02 > 0:18:09Turkish and allied militia positions at "every opportunity".
0:18:09 > 0:18:14Mark Lowen reports from Istanbul.
0:18:14 > 0:18:17The sound, not of battle, but of celebration, Syrian rebel
0:18:17 > 0:18:19fighters backed by Turkey, taking the town of Afrin
0:18:19 > 0:18:25after a lightning advance.
0:18:25 > 0:18:28Their flags marked the new order here.
0:18:28 > 0:18:30The YPG, Kurdish militia, had promised to fight
0:18:30 > 0:18:32to the death in Afrin, but in the end, their resistance
0:18:32 > 0:18:36looked to melt away.
0:18:36 > 0:18:46Afrin fell within hours, the vestiges of the YPG ripped away.
0:18:47 > 0:18:49In the name of God the merciful, we are now inside Afrin
0:18:49 > 0:18:52liberated from terrorism, says this fighter, the city has
0:18:52 > 0:18:54returned to the Syrian revolution and we call on all residents
0:18:54 > 0:18:57to come back.
0:18:57 > 0:19:00The scars of this two month-long offensive are everywhere,
0:19:00 > 0:19:02a town in circles and besieged, residents fleeing
0:19:02 > 0:19:09the Turkish advance.
0:19:09 > 0:19:12Over 150,000 people are said to have escaped in recent days.
0:19:12 > 0:19:13A triumphant President Erdogan announced the success.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16Turks from all sides have rallied behind an offensive,
0:19:16 > 0:19:18targeting a group they say are linked to Kurdish
0:19:18 > 0:19:28militants within Turkey.
0:19:30 > 0:19:32Crushing age-old foes is a rare uniting force in this
0:19:32 > 0:19:33otherwise polarised country.
0:19:33 > 0:19:36TRANSLATION:Most of the terrorists have already fled with their tails
0:19:36 > 0:19:37between their legs.
0:19:37 > 0:19:40Our special forces and members of the Free Syrian Army are clearing
0:19:40 > 0:19:41the remaining pockets of resistance.
0:19:41 > 0:19:44In the centre of Afrin, symbols of trust and stability are waving,
0:19:44 > 0:19:48instead of the rags of terrorists.
0:19:48 > 0:19:51As a Kurdish statue in central Afrin was torn down, a bad omen
0:19:51 > 0:19:54for the much needed reconciliation.
0:19:54 > 0:19:56Many residents who will return are Kurds, hostile to Turkey
0:19:56 > 0:20:05and Syrian Arab fighters.
0:20:05 > 0:20:12But in some areas of Afrin, the rebels were welcomed as liberators,
0:20:12 > 0:20:15the question now is whether Turkey will push on to other YPG-held
0:20:15 > 0:20:17territory, that will be discouraged by the West,
0:20:17 > 0:20:22which sees the Kurds as vital allies.
0:20:22 > 0:20:24But for now, victory is being savoured, and eight
0:20:24 > 0:20:26years into Syria's war, each side continues to carve it up.
0:20:26 > 0:20:36Mark Lowen, BBC News, Istanbul.
0:20:38 > 0:20:47Well, this is clearly a military victory for Turkey on a highly
0:20:47 > 0:20:51celebrated anniversary for Turks, the Gallipoli victory a century ago.
0:20:51 > 0:20:58That was partly due to the YPG 's strategic calculation, and they ever
0:20:58 > 0:21:03accurate of the city, they enabled the civilians more than 150,000
0:21:03 > 0:21:06civilians evacuated from the city, not calling them for a mass
0:21:06 > 0:21:18resistance. They now vowed to expel Turkish forces. There will be
0:21:18 > 0:21:36implications that next to Afrin, where US shoots Dunn troops.Do you
0:21:36 > 0:21:39believe we will see Turkey fission to Syria against the YPG even
0:21:39 > 0:21:48further?For the East in your freebies -- you freelys, it is
0:21:48 > 0:21:56dubious. That is why that calculation from Turkey, it is
0:21:56 > 0:21:59simply because the United States probably make a deal over the
0:21:59 > 0:22:07region. But when Washington would make such a deal, the eastern new
0:22:07 > 0:22:143-Ds would be the red -- the eastern Yafridis would be the red line.
0:22:14 > 0:22:17There is division in Washington, close sources towards
0:22:17 > 0:22:26micro-Washington and pesetas wrote critical for the Raqqa security.
0:22:26 > 0:22:34Others close to the State Department, with the idea of the
0:22:34 > 0:22:38negotiation with Turkey so that they could secure the East new 3-D is,
0:22:38 > 0:22:45and perhaps they would convince YPG forces -- Eastern Yafridis, so they
0:22:45 > 0:22:49could secure their games in the eastern Yafridis where the SDF
0:22:49 > 0:22:55forces are very much powerful and secure.
0:22:55 > 0:22:59The head of Cambridge Analytica, the data firm used by Donald Trump's
0:22:59 > 0:23:02election campaign, has been called back before a committee of MPs.
0:23:02 > 0:23:04They believe Alexander Nix has fresh questions to answer
0:23:04 > 0:23:06about the way his company used the personal details of up
0:23:06 > 0:23:07to 50 million Facebook users.
0:23:07 > 0:23:10The social media giant, which will also be asked to appear,
0:23:10 > 0:23:12says it is conducting a 'comprehensive review'
0:23:12 > 0:23:13into the allegations.
0:23:13 > 0:23:23The BBC's business correspondent Joe Lynam has this report.
0:23:29 > 0:23:31The idea that all women should receive the same message...
0:23:31 > 0:23:32Meet Alexander Nix.
0:23:32 > 0:23:34He's the Eton-educated boss of the data mining
0:23:34 > 0:23:36company Cambridge Analytica, which specialises in something called
0:23:36 > 0:23:37psycho graphics.
0:23:37 > 0:23:38That is an understanding of your personality
0:23:38 > 0:23:41because it's personality that drives behaviour and behaviour obviously
0:23:41 > 0:23:47influences how you vote.
0:23:47 > 0:23:49But now a committee of MPs thinks he may have
0:23:49 > 0:23:51given Parliament false statements about what his
0:23:51 > 0:23:53company did with millions of Facebook profiles.
0:23:53 > 0:23:54He's been recalled for more questions.
0:23:54 > 0:23:56The Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg will
0:23:56 > 0:23:57also be called.
0:23:57 > 0:23:59It looks like Facebook were trying to avoid
0:23:59 > 0:24:01difficult questions about this and people will rightly be
0:24:01 > 0:24:03concerned, are there other data breaches we
0:24:03 > 0:24:05don't know about, how effective are Facebook at stopping people
0:24:05 > 0:24:07from taking data from their platform and
0:24:07 > 0:24:10using it in a way that suits them and that Facebook can't control?
0:24:10 > 0:24:12At the heart of this was an app designed here in
0:24:12 > 0:24:13Britain in 2014.
0:24:13 > 0:24:16It was supposed to tell you a lot more about your own
0:24:16 > 0:24:17personality.
0:24:17 > 0:24:20But if you logged in using your Facebook profile it
0:24:20 > 0:24:22allowed the app and its users access to some very personal
0:24:22 > 0:24:23data held on Facebook.
0:24:23 > 0:24:26Most astonishingly, though, it allowed the app access to all your
0:24:26 > 0:24:29friends' personal data, without their explicit consent.
0:24:31 > 0:24:33And we're going to make America great again...
0:24:33 > 0:24:36It has been claimed that Donald Trump's
0:24:36 > 0:24:39campaign used personal data acquired from Cambridge Analytica to try and
0:24:39 > 0:24:48influence the election, something flatly denied by the company.
0:24:48 > 0:24:51And it was also at the top table when the Leave.EU campaign
0:24:51 > 0:24:54was launched in 2015 but now denies that it did any
0:24:54 > 0:24:56work at all on the Brexit referendum.
0:24:56 > 0:24:58But it does raise the issue though of what happens when we
0:24:58 > 0:25:00click "OK" online.
0:25:00 > 0:25:02We see these quizzes pop up on our Facebook
0:25:02 > 0:25:06timelines, we think it will be fun, which famous star am I...
0:25:06 > 0:25:10But what you are really doing is handing every bit of your profile
0:25:10 > 0:25:12data onto a data collection service.
0:25:12 > 0:25:14Much of this has come to light because this
0:25:14 > 0:25:17former Cambridge Analytica employee Chris Wiley has now claimed Facebook
0:25:17 > 0:25:23knew what data the company held and how it could used.
0:25:23 > 0:25:25Facebook strongly denies his claims and has suspended
0:25:25 > 0:25:30his own Facebook account.
0:25:30 > 0:25:32The social media giant said that it was doing
0:25:32 > 0:25:35so because Mr Wylie had exploited Facebook to harvest millions of
0:25:35 > 0:25:36people's profiles.
0:25:36 > 0:25:41Joe Lynam, BBC News.
0:25:41 > 0:25:43Let's remind you of our main story.
0:25:43 > 0:25:50President Putin has been addressing his supporters in central
0:25:50 > 0:25:53Moscow after being re-elected for another six years in office.
0:25:53 > 0:25:55With almost half of the ballots counted, he's heading
0:25:55 > 0:25:57for a landslide victory with three-quarters of the vote.
0:25:57 > 0:26:00But the was turnout lower than the 70% he had hoped for. From me Caryn
0:26:00 > 0:26:02Giannone E, goodbye.