the advice on the foreign office website. if you are taking drugs in the prescription drugs albeit, to find out if they are legal in the country you're going to. people might not necessarily think about it. according to an interview with her mbe earlier today on radio 4, karl turner, that information may only went up on the foreign office website since her arrest. but you should still be asking the question, you would expect to take enough jerks that you would need for your own prescription for the length of time you will be there. but 290. politically this has played better for the government than the case of the iranian woman because the labour mp poured praise on the foreign office. this is the point i was making about this being a clemency issue, that if she did not know and was a bit naive about taking drugs, it may well be we could ask for mercy from the egyptian authorities. but that is the kind of thing the foreign office could do, and at the moment from what we've seen it does not seem to be that that the conviction

instead, the foreign office issued a statement after two hours of what they call a constructive meeting. they discussed the full range of bilateral issues and they both spoke frankly about the obstacles in the relationship, including the foreign secretary's concerns about the consular cases of british—iranian dual nationals. both emphasised their commitment to continuing to work together to improve the bilateral relationship. one good sign — iran's foreign minister confirmed borisjohnson should be able to meet president rouhani tomorrow. yeah, he's reciprocating your hospitality. something that is not automatic on a visit like this. the talks went on for two hours. positives and negatives in relations were fully aired. we shouldn't expect immediate consequences but iran is in no doubt about british efforts to get nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe home. singing christmas carols this evening in london, richard ratcliffe and supporters have been gently keeping up the pressure to have the family reunited. he says he was not able to sleep last night and may not find rest tonight either, before

a british woman, rebecca dykes, has been killed in beirut, the foreign office says. she worked for the department for international development. an investigation is under way following a multi—vehicle crash in central birmingham in which six people were killed. police described the scene as "harrowing". plans to automatically enrol hundreds of thousands of young people in workplace pensions for the first time, to help them save for retirement. england's ashes hopes are fading — captainjoe root one of four men out already with still a day to bat to save the series. in half an hour here on bbc news bbc sport will have a round—up of all the day's sports events with sportsday. good evening and welcome to bbc news. a british embassy worker has been killed in beirut. the body of rebecca dykes was found by the side of a road in the city yesterday. what do we know about the circumstances and timing? police sources believe rebecca dykes was murdered on friday night. they said they believed she had been strangled. an autopsy has been carried out and they will do another.

i was impressed by borisjohnson, foreign office. i was impressed by boris johnson, and foreign office. i was impressed by borisjohnson, and his understanding in interest and knowledge of the case. i know that the minister responsible has made representations co nsta ntly, a nd responsible has made representations constantly, and that british embassy officials are constantly informing myself, and ministers, government ministers what is happening. so, i have got absolutely no criticism of the foreign office. i have been very impressed, and i expect them to continue to make representations on behalf of laura. there are things that can be done to second—guess what ministers might be saying, but there are options available to us, and we are very hopeful that this will, eventually, to a happy conclusion. the universities minister, jojohnson, has warned academic institutions that they could face fines if they fail to protect free speech, within the law. some universities and student groups have banned speakers, because of their views, or

i have been very impressed with the foreign office. i have spoken to the foreign office. i have spoken to the foreign secretary, boris johnson, directly. i was impressed with his understanding and interest in the blaze. —— in the case. british embassy officials are constantly informing myself, and ministers, government ministers of what is happening. so, i have got absolutely no criticism of the foreign office, i have been very impressed. and, i would exact them to continue to make representations on behalf of laura. there are things that can be done, it is too early to is second guess what ministers might be saying, or doing, but there are options available to us, and we are very hopeful that this will come, eventually to a happy conclusion. hopeful that this will come, eventually to a happy conclusionm is that word, eventually, though, but it is quite clear that hearing from her sister and her mother's reaction, that's the family watch out, and they want out sooner rather than later. yes, and so do i. but, the reality is that she has been sentenced today. we have go

we've had a statement from the foreign office, just describing the foreign office, just describing the talks that were hard, —— the talks that happened, and one word i found very interesting was frank talks. how frank can you afford to be with iran sitting opposite you at the table? i think in a private meeting between boris johnson the table? i think in a private meeting between borisjohnson and him, the two can be very frank indeed. and i would hope they would be, because it is important that both understand exactly the position of the other. and i think that could do quite a lot of good. both for the wider relationship between iran and the uk, and in this particular case we are concerned about. but other people in the regime, it would not be wise to be so frank with.|j suppose there you are to be talking about the revolutionary guard. how does what is said perhaps with the government line in sync with the revolutionary guard? the iranians syste m revolutionary guard? the iranians system is quite tightly controlled and integrated. and that is something that sometimes is forgotten

the foreign office said the discussions had been "frank" and "constructive." there's been a third day of protests by palestinians in the west bank and gaza after donald trump's decision to recognisejerusalem as israel's capital. four people are now known to have died in the violence. palestinian leaders have cancelled a meeting with the vice president mike pence. iraq says its war against so—called islamic state is over. government troops say they now have complete control of the iraqi—syrian border. the group seized large parts of syria and iraq in 2014, declaring it a caliphate, but has suffered a series of defeats in the last two years. now it's notjust footballers who are in training for the world cup. so are some of the animal kingdom. next year's tournament will be in russia and in the host cities the search is on for creatures who can accurately predict the soccer scores. everyone, it seems, wants to emulate paul the german octopus, made famous for his forecasting skills during the 2010 world cup. both our moscow correspondents sarah rainsford and s

we have spoken to the foreign office, they haveissued spoken to the foreign office, they have issued a statement saying that they are liaising closely with the lebanese authorities, and also looking after rebecca's family. they issued a statement, through the foreign office, the family, that is. they said they were devastated by the loss of our beloved rebecca, we request the media respect our privacy as we come together as a family at this very difficult time. the police in beirut have launched an investigation. as i say, they are due to carry out a second postmortem in the coming days. and we'll find out how this story — and many others — are covered in tomorrow's front pages. at 10:30 and 11:30pm this evening in the papers — our guests joining me tonight are the author and journalist yasmin alibhai—brown and ruth lea, economic advisor at arbuthnot banking group. police investigators are trying to find out what caused a car crash in an underpass in birmingham this morning. six people were killed and several others suffered serious injuries. firefighters have described the s

the foreign office delegation left iran sensing both sides wanted to resolve the difficult issues in the relationship. the qatari government is buying 2a typhoon jets from bae systems. britain's defence secretary gavin williamson signed the deal, worth in the region of £5 billion in doha. around 5,000 bae employees are involved in building the typhoon, mainly at warton in lancashire. our business correspondentjoe lynam is here with more. good news for bae systems. yes, the value of the deal is £6 billion because £5 billion will go to bae systems for these eurofighter typhoons, but then a further billion pounds will also go towards other services. as for bae systems, it secures work, making those eurofighter typhoon jets into the 20 20s. eurofighter typhoon jets into the 20 205. it eurofighter typhoon jets into the 20 20s. it will not, though, prevent thejob 20s. it will not, though, prevent the job cuts 20s. it will not, though, prevent thejob cuts which 20s. it will not, though, prevent the job cuts which were announced in 0ctober the job cuts which were announced in october by t

instead, the foreign office issued a statement after two hours of what they call a constructive meeting. they discussed the full range of bilateral issues and they both spoke frankly about the obstacles in the relationship, including the foreign secretary's concerns about the consular cases of british iranian dual nationals. both emphasised their commitment to continuing to work together to improve the bilateral relationship. one good sign — iran's foreign minister confirmed borisjohnson should be able to meet president rouhani tomorrow. yeah, he's reciprocating your hospitality. something that is not automatic on a visit like this. the talks went on for two hours. positives and negatives in relations were fully aired. we shouldn't expect immediate consequences but iran is in no doubt about british efforts to get nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe home. singing christmas carols this evening in london, richard ratcliffe and supporters have been gently keeping up the pressure to have the family reunited. he says he was not able to sleep last night and may not find rest tonight, either, before

do you think borisjohnson and the foreign office could've been more forceful with iran? i have long criticised the foreign office for not being as robust in public as i would have liked them to be, and that is a battle we've had behind closed doors as well, with me saying you should be tougher, and them saying, that is not how things work. and yes, if he is able, through his charm and presence, bring her home, then great. i've always been clear that myjob campaigning is to say that this is unacceptable and outrageous and she should be with her family. but she should be with her family for christmas, and please can that be arranged? how much did what the foreign secretary say to the committee and the furore about him apparently damaging her case, and much did that affect his ability to bring about the positive results? certainly he is now associated with her case in a way that he was not six weeks ago. because of what you regard as a gaffe? because of what he said, and the way the iranian media used it. it was endlessly repeated, saying that the foreign secretary revealed

instead, the foreign office issued a statement after two hours of what they call a constructive meeting. they discussed the full range of bilateral issues and they both spoke frankly about the obstacles in the relationship, including the foreign secretary's concerns about the consular cases of british—iranian dual nationals. both emphasised their commitment to continuing to work together to improve the bilateral relationship. one good sign — iran's foreign minister confirmed borisjohnson should be able to meet president rouhani tomorrow. yeah, he's reciprocating your hospitality. something that is not automatic on a visit like this. the talks went on for two hours. positives and negatives in relations were fully aired. we shouldn't expect immediate consequences but iran is in no doubt about british efforts to get nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe home. singing christmas carols we'll hear more from nazanin‘s husband richard later in this bulletin. a senior un official has told north korea that there's an urgent need to prevent miscalculations and open channels to reduce the risks of conf

a british woman, rebecca dykes, has been killed in beirut, the foreign office says. she worked for the department for international development. police investigate what they call a harrowing car crash in birmingham. plans are revealed to lower the age at which young people are automatically a row —— involved in pension schemes. information from the cia helped russian security services stop a terror attack on a cathedral in st petersburg, the kremlin says. also in the next hour. prince harry takes on a new role as a journalist — interviewing the former us president barack obama. if there are long pauses between the answers, you will probably get the face. let me see the face. the interview was recorded as part of the today programme's guest editor series to be broadcast later this year. in half an hour here on bbc news — bbc sport will have a round—up of all the day's sports events with sportsday. good evening and welcome to bbc news. a british embassy worker has been killed in beirut. the body of rebecca dykes was found by the side of a road in the city yes

the foreign office says both sides spoke forthrightly about obstacles in the relationship and the need to make progress. once again, boris johnson raised the case of dual nationals in iranian prisons, including nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe. we now know the foreign secretary last night met some of nazanin‘s family in tehran. in london, her husband richard is much happier today, showing me pictures of his iranian family and delighted by the fact that nazanin didn't have to face a possible court appearance today. he told me about the family meeting with borisjohnson. the foreign secretary also met with nazanin‘s father and had a long chat, 45 minutes, with him, talked about it and he said "i have raised her case with everyone i have met. this is important. i will keep worrying and battling for her. don't worry, we're caring for her and we'll do what we can". they came away pretty hopeful. so if there has been progress in these uk—iran talks, where might it have been made? the foreign secretary has been careful to say nothing publicly while in iran. but a foreign office statement says

the foreign office delegation left iran sensing both sides wanted to resolve the difficult issues in the relationship. the disgraced publicist max clifford has died. he was 7a. he'd suffered a heart attack in prison, where he was serving an eight—year sentence for eight indecent assaults against teenage girls. danny shaw reports. he was the pr supremo who could make or break a reputation. but when max clifford's past caught up with him, his own career lay in ruins. the last three years of his life was spent in prison in failing health and this morning, after suffering a heart attack, he died in hospital. the allegations in respect of which i have been charged are completely false. max clifford always denied the claims of indecent assault that eventually led to his downfall. but his trial heard evidence of his manipulative behaviour and how he promised to boost the careers of aspiring models and actresses in return for sexual favours. he was found guilty of eight charges against four women and girls, the youngest victim was 15. for 30 years, he provided sensational stories for the t

, or any foreign office minister, personality also counts. back in the commons, labour has accused the chancellor philip hammond of preferring to make giveaway payments to britain's banks over the country's financially stretched public services. in last month's budget mr hammond went ahead with cuts in the bank levy, that is, an annual tax on bank debt. labour believe the bank levy should have been increased, not decreased. the issue was raised when mps debated the bill that implements measures announced in the budget, namely the finance bill. the bill proposes a stamp duty cut that according to analysis will include house prices while failing to address the housing crisis by introducing measures to build more affordable homes. it also includes plans to continue with the government's 2015 bank levy cut and go further, as the minister seemed to proudly proclaim, exempting all foreign banks from the bank levy and ensuring that all banks from 2021 only had to pay the levy based on their uk balance sheets. on the subject of the bank levy, looking

the foreign office says both sides spoke forthrightly about obstacles in the relationship and the need to make progress. once again, boris johnson raised the case of dual nationals in iranian prisons, including nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe. we now know the foreign secretary last night met some of nazanin‘s family in tehran. in london, her husband richard is much happier today, showing me pictures of his iranian family and delighted by the fact that nazanin didn‘t have to face a possible court appearance today. he told me about the family meeting with borisjohnson. the foreign secretary also met with nazanin‘s father and had a long chat, 45 minutes, with him, talked about it and he said "i have raised her case with everyone i have met. this is important. i will keep worrying and battling for her. don‘t worry, we‘re caring for her and we‘ll do what we can". they came away pretty hopeful. so if there has been progress in these uk—iran talks, where might it have been made? the foreign secretary has been careful to say nothing publicly while in iran. but a foreign office statem

office now the foreign office had misplaced a file relating to a case called the mosque case that was back in one thousand nine hundred seventy eight was the shooting of a bulgarian dissident journalist over on waterloo bridge not too far from where i'm sitting now this is what the foreign office had to say about that missing file take a listen. seventeen out of nineteen documents have been recovered and we're sending them back to the national archives we're still searching for the documents that have not yet been accounted for. so an explanation there and clearly efforts being made to shall we say correct what has happened because the public care has a right to access these documents these chapters of british history rather than finding that they have been misplaced and according to some perhaps a little too conveniently now the opposition labor party here has called for an investigation into the missing documents otherwise they say they'll be allegations of a cover up in relation to this while human rights groups like amnesty international like reprieve they use these archives quite

office now the foreign office had misplaced a file relating to the markov case that was way back in one thousand nine hundred seventy eight it was the shooting of a dissident both gary and journalist on waterloo bridge which isn't too far from where i'm sitting now this is what the foreign office. to say about those documents take a listen seventeen of nineteen documents have been recovered and sending them back to the national archives we're still searching for the documents to have not yet been accounted for so an explanation there and clearly efforts being made to shall we say correct what has happened because the public care has a right to access these files access these chapters of british history rather than finding that they have been misplaced and according to some misplaced a little too conveniently omitted contact the national archives they told us that when loaned files go missing they request that action be taken international affairs commentator jonathan steele says that the huge loss of sensitive documents raises many questions. scandal because as you pointed out most

office now the foreign office had misplaced a file relating to the markov case that was way back in one thousand nine hundred seventy eight it was the shooting of a dissident both gary and journalist on waterloo bridge which isn't too far from where i'm sitting now this is what the foreign office had. just say about those documents take a listen seventeen of nineteen documents have been recovered and sending them back to the national archives we're still searching for the documents to have not yet been accounted for so an explanation there and clearly efforts being made to shall we say correct what has happened because the public care has a right to access these files access these chapters of british history rather than finding that they have been misplaced and according to some misplaced a little too conveniently. we contacted the national archives they told us that when loaned files go missing they request that action be taken international affairs commentator jonathan steele says that the huge loss of sensitive documents raises many questions. because as you pointed out to them refer

we know this morning the foreign office has confirmed borisjohnson has the foreign office has confirmed boris johnson has in the foreign office has confirmed borisjohnson has in teheran, he has got these talks scheduled this morning. he will be feeling under pressure. he said that nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe had then in iran training journalists, something he later apologised for an something she and her family have strongly denied. someone who has been campaigning for her release is the labourmp, tulip sadik, campaigning for her release is the labour mp, tulip sadik, who had this to say. borisjohnson was not to say. boris johnson was not going to to say. borisjohnson was not going to rant just to release nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe just to release nazanin zaghari— ratcliffe and there just to release nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe and there should be no expectations. i did ask whether he would be raising the fact she needs to be released on humanitarian grounds. he will be raising it with the iranian authorities that it was made clear that we should not expect any miracles. the one thing

office now the foreign office had misplaced a file relating to the markov case that was way back in one thousand nine hundred seventy eight it was the shooting of a dissident both gary and journalist on waterloo bridge which isn't too far from where i'm sitting now this is what the foreign office had to say about those documents take a listen seventeen of nineteen documents have been recovered and sending them back to national archives. for the documents to have not yet been accounted for so an explanation there and clearly efforts being made to shall we say correct what has happened because the public care has a right to access these documents these chapters over british history rather than finding that they have been misplaced and according to some perhaps a little too conveniently now the opposition labor party here has called for an investigation into the missing documents otherwise they say they'll be allegations of a cover up in relation to this while human rights groups like amnesty international like reprieve they use these archives quite often to search for evidence of huma

daniela joins us from the foreign office now. daniela, this case centres around painkillers that are legal here, but banned in egypt. her lawyer says they've lodged an appeal what chance does she have? an appeal can take anything up to a number of years so the reality is any chance of laura plummer having her sentence cut or dismissed looks remote at this stage. but it appears she's had as much help as is possible from the foreign office here. her own local mp has had several meetings with the foreign secretary boris johnson several meetings with the foreign secretary borisjohnson and said he was satisfied that everything was being done to help laura plummer and herfamily. boris being done to help laura plummer and her family. boris johnson himself has made a direct representation on her behalf to the egyptian prime minister but even with all of that help it didn't stop her being sentenced today. this afternoon the foreign office has issued the most brief of statements in response to her sentencing, in which it says it will offer

we will take you live to the foreign office. borisjohnson will take you live to the foreign office. boris johnson has just will take you live to the foreign office. borisjohnson has just began his speech. they are seeking each other right in countries where governance is weak. they are there in afghanistan, libya, somalia, northern nigeria. five months of this year, the so—called islamic state were in the philippines. they're state were in the philippines. they‘ re capable of state were in the philippines. they're capable of operating even put in places where governments are comparatively stable, as they tried to do in tunisia and egypt. 100 of the foreign fighters came from malaysia. we see the impact in western europe. in the concrete and steel chicanes installed around public buildings. in the endless queues at airports and recent attacks in manchester and london. we know they are simultaneously moving up know they are simultaneously moving up and down the ladder of technological ambition. you're working on new bonds of all kinds, new ways of eluding detection, they are enlis

office now the foreign office had misplaced a file relating to the markov case that was way back in one thousand nine hundred seventy eight it was the shooting of a dissident garion journalist on waterloo bridge which isn't too far from where i'm sitting now this is what the foreign office had to say about those documents take a listen seventeen of nineteen documents have been recovered and sending them national back to.

the foreign office delegation left iran sensing both sides wanted to resolve the difficult issues in the relationship. later in the programme we will be hearing more from richard ratcliffe, who came in and told me his hopes going forward. heavy snowfall across much of the uk is causing disruption on the roads, to air travel, and on the railways. hundreds of flights have been cancelled or delayed at a number of airports, while some roads are described as hazardous, with the police warning motorists to travel only if absolutely necessary. meteorologists say it's the heaviest snowfall to hit the affected areas in four years, as richard lister reports. much of britain looked like a christmas card today. scotland and northern england had been expecting snow, but this was buckinghamshire, and it wasn't pretty. breakdowns and blizzard conditions on the m25 near gerard's cross made for slow going. 0n the asa near newbury — two stuck lorries, and the southbound carriageway had to be closed. in wales, some smaller communities were cut off entirely and thousands of people had lost power. this

the foreign office says officials from the british consulate are in contact with local authorities. it says staff are ready to provide consular assistance. ian palmer, bbc news. an eyewitness said that it took a tight right—hand turn and nosedived into the river north of sydney. a full—scale search was under way but

the foreign office delegation left iran sensing both sides wanted to resolve the difficult issues in the relationship. james robbins, bbc news. the brexit secretary, david davis, says britain won't pay a divorce bill for leaving the european union if there's no final trade deal with the eu. but in a statement to mps tomorrow, the prime minister will say a new sense of optimism has been injected into the talks. meanwhile, the labour party has suggested that it may be willing to pay for access to the european single market in order to retain its benefits. here's our political correspondent iain watson. was the strain beginning to show? this was the prime minister on her early morning dash to brussels on friday. there was relief all round that talks could now move on to trade, but serious challenges lie ahead. the eu has called for more clarity about what kind of future relationship britain wants. today, the brexit secretary tried to give it. canada plus, plus, plus would be one way of putting it. so what on earth does that mean? well, canada has negotiated a wide—ranging trade deal w

office now the foreign office had misplaced a file relating to the markov case that was way back in one thousand nine hundred seventy eight it was the shooting of a dissident both gary and journalist on waterloo bridge which isn't too far from where i'm sitting now this is what the foreign office. to say about those documents take a listen seventeen of nineteen documents have been recovered and we're sending them back to the national archives we're still searching for the documents to have not yet been accounted for so an explanation there and clearly efforts being made to shall we say correct what has happened because the public care has a right to access these documents these chapters over british history rather than finding that they have been misplaced and according to some perhaps a little too conveniently now the opposition labor party here has called for an investigation into the missing documents otherwise they say they'll be allegations of a cover up in relation to this while human rights groups like amnesty international like reprieve they use these archives quite often to

office now the foreign office had misplaced a file relating to the markov case that was way back in one thousand nine hundred seventy eight it was the shooting of a dissident both gary and journalist on waterloo bridge which isn't too far from where i'm sitting now this is what the foreign office. to say about those documents take a listen seventeen of nineteen documents have been recovered and we are sending them back to the national archives when still searching for the documents that have not yet been accounted for so an explanation there and clearly efforts being made to shall we say correct what has happened because the public care has a right to access these files access these chapters of british history rather than finding that they have been misplaced and according to some misplaced a little too conveniently we contacted the national archives and they told us that when loaned files go missing they request that action be taken international affairs commentator jonathan steele says that the huge loss of sensitive documents rate is many questions which is an absolute scandal be

so i have absolutely no criticism of the foreign office. i have been terribly impressed, and i hope and expect them to continue to make representations on behalf of laura. there are things that can be done, it's too early to second—guess what ministers might say or do, but there are options available to us and we are very hopeful that this will come eventually to a happier conclusion. karl turner talking to simon mccoy little earlier. lewis hamilton has apologised after sharing a video of him chastising his nephew for wearing a dress. the formula one driver tweeted that his words had been "inappropriate" and that it was "not acceptable" for him "to marginalise or stereotype anyone." during the video, he said he was "sad" his nephew was dressed as a princess and shouted at him for doing so. out of all the professional photographers with their expensive kit waiting to snap a picture of the royal family at the christmas day service in sandringham, it was a mum from norfolk who captured the perfect image on her phone. the photograph taken by

office now the foreign office had misplaced a file relating to the markov case that was way back in one thousand nine hundred seventy eight it was the shooting of a dissident both gary and journalist on waterloo bridge which isn't too far from where i'm sitting now this is what the foreign office had to say about those documents take a listen seventeen of nineteen documents have been recovered and we're sending them back to national archives west. solution for the documents that have not yet been accounted for so an explanation there and clearly efforts being made to shall we say correct what has happened because the public care has a right to access these documents these chapters over british history rather than finding that they have been misplaced and according to some perhaps a little too conveniently now the opposition labor party here has called for an investigation into the missing documents otherwise they say they'll be allegations of a cover up in relation to this while human rights groups like amnesty international like reprieve they use these archives quite often to searc

office now the foreign office had misplaced a file relating to the markov case that was way back in one thousand nine hundred seventy eight it was the shooting of a dissident both gary and journalist on waterloo bridge which isn't too far from where i'm sitting now this is what the foreign office. to say about those documents take a listen seventeen of nineteen documents have been recovered and sending them back to the national archives we're still searching for the documents to have not yet been accounted for so an explanation there and clearly efforts being made to shall we say correct what has happened because the public care has a right to access these files access these chapters of british history rather than finding that they have been misplaced and according to some misplaced a little too conveniently we did contact the national archives they told us that when malone files go missing they request that action be taken international affairs commentator jonathan steele says the huge loss of sensitive documents does raise quite a few questions which is an absolute scandal because

office now the foreign office had misplaced a file relating to the markov case that was way back in one thousand nine hundred seventy eight it was the shooting of a dissident both gary and journalist on waterloo bridge which isn't too far from where i'm sitting now this is what the foreign office. had to say about those documents take a listen seventeen of nineteen documents have been recovered and we are sending them back to the national archives we're still searching for the documents that have not yet been accounted for so an explanation there and clearly efforts being made to shall we say correct what has happened because the public care has a right to access these files access these chapters of british history rather than finding that they have been misplaced and according to some misplaced a little too conveniently we contacted the national archives they told us that when lone files go missing they request that action be taken into actual affairs commentator jonathan c. it still says that the huge loss of sensitive documents raises many questions. which is an absolute scandal

do you think borisjohnson and the foreign office could've been more forceful with iran? i have long criticised the foreign office for not being as robust in public as i would have liked them to be, and that is a battle we've had behind closed doors as well, with me saying you should be tougher, and them saying, that is not how things work. and yes, if he is able, through his charm and presence, bring her home, then great. i've always been clear that myjob campaigning is to say that this is unacceptable and outrageous and she should be with her family. but she should be with her family for christmas, and please can that be arranged? how much did what the foreign secretary say to the committee and the furore about him apparently damaging her case, and much did that affect his ability to bring about the positive results? suddenly he is now associated with her case in a way that he was not six weeks ago. because of what you regard as a gaffe? because of what he said, and the way the iranian media used it. it was endlessly repeated, saying that the foreign secretary revealed

do you think borisjohnson and the foreign office could've been more forceful with iran? i have long criticised the foreign office for not being as robust in public as i would have liked them to be, and that is a battle we've had behind closed doors as well, with me saying you should be tougher, and them saying, that is not how things work. and yes, if he is able, through his charm and presence, bring her home, then great. i've always been clear that myjob campaigning is to say that this is unacceptable and outrageous and she should be with her family. but she should be with her family for christmas, and please can that be arranged? and we'll find out how this story and many others are covered in tomorrow's front pages this evening. our guests joining me tonight are the political commentator jo phillips and nigel nelson, political editor of the sunday mirror. weather warnings are in place for large parts of the uk as heavy snow and icy conditions continue to affect scotland, northern ireland, wales, northern england and parts of the midlands. it's thought 20cm of snow cou

ran to visit his daughter and wife imprisoned, the foreign office have two guarantee his security as a citizen. the other thing i discussed about this trip is whether boris johnson will visit nazanin himself we have previously had a problem with a diplomat going to iran, going to the prison where nazanin is based but not seen her face to face. that is one thing i pushed for if boris johnson is there in iran, will he try and see my constituents face to face? have you spoken to her recently? i spoke to her about ten days ago. in my conversation even though she was trying to appear upbeat, she was trying to thank all the campaigners who are working on her behalf here, she thanked me as well, it's clear her mental health is fragile. that is what worries me, that she has a court hearing tomorrow. she will spend yet another christmas separated from her daughter who is growing up without her, without her husband, and we need to make sure she does not go back to being suicidal, being on hunger strike which is what she was at the time. when i did speak to her, it was quite strange because we

office now the foreign office had misplaced a file relating to the markov case that was way back in one thousand nine hundred seventy eight it was the shooting of a dissident both gary and journalist on waterloo bridge which isn't too far from where i'm sitting now this is what the foreign office. to say about those documents take a listen seventeen of nineteen documents have been recovered and we're sending them back into the national archives we're still searching for the documents that have not yet been accounted for so an explanation there and clearly efforts being made to shall we say correct what has happened because the public care has a right to access these files access these chapters of british history rather than finding that they have been misplaced and according to some misplaced a little too conveniently. we contacted the national archives they told us that when they learned files missing they request that action be taken international affairs commentator jonathan steele says that the huge loss of sensitive documents raises many questions which is an absolute scandal becau

but this trip was not at the behest of the foreign office. he was there to help make his brainchild, the invictus games, the biggest and best yet. for eight days, more than 500 athletes from 17 countries took part. all of them had been damaged either physically or mentally in the course of serving their countries. the invictus games were harry's idea to help them on their road to recovery. right now, you are on a high, at the summit of a mountain many of you thought was too high to climb. you have done it, this is the moment, right here, right now, shoulder to shoulder, you are invictus! applause. the sydney games will take place in october in what is shaping up to be a busy 2018 for prince harry. tonight on panorama... the offshore secrets of the rich and powerful out in the open. in a year in which royal headlines were overwhelmingly positive, early november was an exception. the queen and prince charles were drawn into a global media story looking into offshore investment funds. a leak of millions of documents revealed that the duchy of la

the foreign office promised... the foreign office promised when he was back, get a full briefing as to how it is going. there was suggestion that the british gum push for diplomatic protection. is it your understanding thatis protection. is it your understanding that is now off the agenda?m protection. is it your understanding that is now off the agenda? it is not off the agenda. there needs to be more evidence in this area and this area and then we will put the recommendation towards the foreign secretary. it is an ongoing process. you are confident that this visit will help your wife, will help the prospects of her release. do you have any concerns that given the whole history of this case the arrival of the foreign secretary could simply rampart the atmosphere around all of this and make the situation even worse? around all of this and make the situation even worse ?|j around all of this and make the situation even worse? i guess we will see how it goes. i'm confident it isa will see how it goes. i'm confident i

the foreign office minister alastair burt. now, the news was announced in the week of the death of the 1960s model christine keeler, the last of the principal players in one of britain's great political sex scandals. she became famous for her part in the scandal, which shook harold macmillan's government. duncan smith explains. in 1963, the secretary of state for work, john profumo, in 1963, the secretary of state for war, john profumo, was forced to resign after admitting lying to the house of commons after admitting his affair. christine keeler was also sharing a bed with a soviet spy. when keeler began attracting press attention, the story started to leak out. profumo admitted all to his wife in the country. he never returned to the world of politics. duncan smith. so why was the profumo affair quite so damaging? in 1963, lord carrington was a fellow defence minister with jack profumo. for a special programme four years ago that marked 50 years since that tumultuous time, he told me he'd asked profumo why he'd lied to the c

her mp, tulip siddiq, says she's been told by the foreign office that mrjohnson probably won't secure her imminent release. we had a conversation with the foreign office yesterday and we were very clear to stress that borisjohnson was not going to iranjust to release her and there should be no expectations of him coming back with her. but i asked whether he would be raising the fact that she needs to be released in humanitarian rows. and he will be raising it with the authorities but we should not expect any miracle. what we should ask is whether he can arrange for a visa for richard ratcliffe to go to iran. bear in mind he has not been able to go to iran to see his daughter or wife because he hasn't been granted a visa for the last 19 months. that's a tangible thing we will asked of the foreign secretary when he goes to iran. let's get more in sight into this visit with our bbc persian correspondent siavash ardalan. thank you for talking to us this morning. this visit, the background to the visit, is not the happiest. how would you characterise relations between iran and britain? it

office now the foreign office had misplaced a file relating to the markov case that was way back in one thousand nine hundred seventy eight it was the shooting of a dissident both gary and journalist on waterloo bridge which isn't too far from where i'm sitting now this is what the foreign office had to say about those documents take a listen seventeen of nineteen documents have been recovered and sending them back to national archives. for the documents to have not yet been accounted for so an explanation there and clearly efforts being made to shall we say correct. what has happened because the public care has a right to access these files access these chapters of british history rather than finding that they have been misplaced and according to some misplaced a little too conveniently we contacted the national archives and they told us that when known files go missing they request that action be taken international affairs commentator jonathan steele says that the huge loss of sensitive documents raises many questions which is an absolute scandal because as you pointed out most o

the foreign office said the discussions had been "frank" and "constructive." there's been a third day of protests by palestinians in the west bank and gaza after donald trump's decision to recognisejerusalem as israel's capital. arab foreign ministers have urged the us to abandon its decision. palestinian leaders have cancelled a meeting with the vice president mike pence. iraq says its war against so—called islamic state is over. government troops say they now have complete control of the iraqi—syrian border. the group seized large parts of syria and iraq in 2014, declaring it a caliphate, but has suffered a series of defeats in the last two years. parts of north wales, northwest england and the midlands are bracing themselves for heavy snow.

there are also allegations that there were dead and fictitious people on this force's payroll and the foreign office has now confirmed that it has suspended the funding towards the ajax scheme that is the access to justice and community security scheme in syria take a listen would take any allegations of cooperation with terrorist groups and of human rights abuses extremely seriously and the foreign office has suspended this program while we investigate these allegations it's important to note that these allegations have already called somewhat of a brown hair in the u.k. adam smith international have called the allegations entirely. untrue and misleading they put out a statement saying that it refutes the claims every legal avenue to defend the reputation of the project and the company as well as the choke pic of britain's foreign aid is highly controversial here is one that's been part of public debate because it's all about times his money being censored brought to help countries thirteen billion pounds a year to be precise and many his say that the government should be spending at least s

the foreign office here is in contact with officials in australia. the aircraft — on a sight—seeing trip ahead of the new year celebrations — came down in a river close to the suburb of cowan. ian palmer reports. police divers have spent the day searching for bodies. the seaplane is underwater. the party was returning from a trip to a restaurant, before crashing into the river. six people were on board. for reasons that are not known at this stage, the plane has hit the water and it has subsequently sunk. it is sitting in approximately 13 metres of water. at the time of the collision, the plane had a pilot and five passengers on board. i can confirm the six people on the plane are deceased. the aircraft crashed just after three in the afternoon local time. it is operated by the company sydney seaplanes. a major tourfirm, it offers many sightseeing trips across australia. in a statement the company says: "sydney seaplanes is deeply shocked by this incident and the resulting loss of life. we wish to pass on our heartfelt condolences to the family

the foreign office says it is ininterest gating the allegations. britain is one of six countries that funds the free syrian police, set up to bring security to opposition—held areas. for eight months, british aid money meant to pay for officers‘ salaries was handed over by the police to an extremist group, nour al—din al—zenki. translation: zenki used to get a percentage from the salaries of the free police members. it was just about taking a percentage in return for the services, and to create a sort of equilibrium between the police and the fighters. the police we fund also provide support for zenki‘s barbaric justice system, responsible for torture and summary killings. the company which runs the aid project, adam smith international, or asi, told us the government was aware of cash going to zenki, and as! have strict guidelines in place to ensure detainees are treated fairly and plainly. the foreign office has suspended funding while it investigates panorama‘s allegations. as new driving tests come into force to better reflect moder