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00:00:02MUSIC
00:00:13Live from London. This is BBC
00:00:16News. Exit polls in two state elections
00:00:17elections in Germany show big losses losses for Chancellor Merkel's CDU
00:00:21CDU party. He describes the results results as a disaster for his party,
00:00:25party, with AfD and Die Linke making
00:00:29making gains Earl Spencer tells the the BBC, writing his book about his
00:00:32his sister Princess Diana was his his duty as an eyewitness to history
00:00:36history and defends claims he made
00:00:37made about the King. I'm reporting
00:00:41reporting every word in this book. book. I report exactly as I saw it
00:00:44it and felt it at the time, and I
00:00:47I was surprised at the giddiness giddiness of his tone. That's what
00:00:51what I'm recording there. At least least two people are killed in the
00:00:54the Moscow region in a massive Ukrainian Ukrainian drone attack. Russia says
00:00:57says it's an attempt to disrupt the
00:00:59the country's parliamentary elections. elections. Ed Sheeran apologises
00:01:03apologises to fans for what he calls calls mistakes as he performs for
00:01:06for the first time since his support support act was dropped for making
00:01:10making pro-Palestinian remarks on
00:01:12on stage. Hello and welcome. I'm
00:01:23I'm Samantha Simmonds, the German German chancellor, Friedrich Emmert, Emmert, says he takes responsibility
00:01:27responsibility for what he's called called a disastrous showing for his
00:01:30his party in the latest state elections.
00:01:32elections. But he is vowing to stay stay on in the job. Exit polls suggest
00:01:36suggest his Christian Democrats have have barely scraped enough votes
00:01:38votes to enter parliament in the
00:01:40the northeastern state of Mecklenburg-Western Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in
00:01:44in the Berlin local elections, the the CDU secured the second highest
00:01:47highest share of the vote. Meanwhile, Meanwhile, the far right AfD saw
00:01:50saw significant gains in both polls
00:01:53polls and there were huge celebrations celebrations in Berlin as the far
00:01:56far left party Die Linke learnt of of the results. Die Linke or in English,
00:02:00English, the left was the best performer
00:02:03performer with 24.5% of the vote, vote, the first time it has topped
00:02:06topped polls in the state. But it it will need partners to take control
00:02:10control of the mayor's office. Its Its platform includes wanting to
00:02:13to nationalise housing from corporate
00:02:15corporate landlords and capping rents.
00:02:18rents. The AfD were also cheering
00:02:20cheering their gains in Berlin, a
00:02:22a traditionally liberal city, they
00:02:24they hit 16% in recent years, the
00:02:27the party has gone from being a fringe fringe euroskeptic movement to the
00:02:30the country's most popular party. party. Here's how the chancellor,
00:02:34chancellor, Friedrich Merz, responded responded to the results. Haben...
00:02:39. Today we witnessed two elections with very different outcomes.
00:02:43outcomes. We cannot sugarcoat the the result. In Mecklenburg-Western
00:02:46Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. It It is a disaster. The CDU fought
00:02:50fought hard but in the end it was
00:02:51was the CDU that got crushed in the
00:02:54the polarisation between the SPD
00:02:56SPD and the AfD. Germany is capable capable of reform. I would even go
00:03:00go so far as to say that these reforms
00:03:03reforms are the antidote to the authoritarian
00:03:06authoritarian poison that, together
00:03:07together with a fascination for authoritarianism, authoritarianism, is penetrating
00:03:10penetrating ever deeper into our
00:03:13our society. What must be done now
00:03:15now requires backbone, steadfastness
00:03:17steadfastness and patience. I will will demonstrate these qualities
00:03:20qualities as chairman of the CDU
00:03:22CDU and above all, as chancellor chancellor of our country. Thank
00:03:25Thank you. Well, our correspondent
00:03:29correspondent Jessica Parker is in in Berlin and has been reacting to
00:03:31to the latest projected results. results. Yes. So here in Berlin we
00:03:35we should emphasise these are projected projected results, not final results.
00:03:38results. I guess you should call call them. Exit polls in the United
00:03:41United Kingdom here in Berlin where
00:03:43where I am and I'm at the CDU, Friedrich
00:03:46Friedrich Merz party sort of election election night gathering. And I can can tell you that when those projections
00:03:50projections came up on the screen screen behind me, there were no cheers. cheers. There's been no celebration.
00:03:54celebration. People rallied a little little bit as party figures started
00:03:56started to come out and speak, but
00:03:58but the atmosphere was pretty flat
00:04:00flat initially because in Berlin
00:04:03Berlin it appears they've come second, second, potentially meaning they
00:04:06they could be squeezed out of the the inevitable coalition talks that
00:04:10that will follow. Although one CDU CDU lawmaker I was speaking to insisted
00:04:14insisted they would still try to to see if they could find partners
00:04:16partners to form a coalition here
00:04:19here in the northeastern state of of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, where
00:04:22where nobody expected the CDU to to be doing particularly well. They
00:04:25They are hovering around or just
00:04:28just above the 5% threshold that that you need to be at in order to
00:04:32to enter Parliament. If, as the night night goes on, they start to fall
00:04:36fall below that because they say say these are initial projections
00:04:39projections that would spell potential potential catastrophe for the CDU.
00:04:41CDU. A record bad result. So all
00:04:44all eyes will be on those figures figures overnight. But as we've been
00:04:48been hearing and seeing Chancellor Chancellor Friedrich Merz, he's been been under so much pressure over
00:04:51over his lack of popularity and his his party's falling popularity. He's
00:04:55He's been quick out the blocks tonight tonight to say that he's going nowhere.
00:04:59nowhere. Yeah. Give us a bit more more detail about what he's been been saying because he has said,
00:05:03said, hasn't he? He takes responsibility responsibility for what he's called
00:05:06called a disastrous showing in these these latest state elections. But
00:05:09But as you say, he is determined determined to stay on. We don't have
00:05:12have the full results, as you say, say, just exit polls at the moment.
00:05:15moment. How bad would it have to to be, do you think, for him to see
00:05:18see a challenge? Well, it's a bit
00:05:24bit of a mysterious situation in in terms of the rumours that have
00:05:27have been swirling for months about about the idea of a chancellor talk,
00:05:30talk, a Chancellor swap. I've been been calling it the coup with no
00:05:33no name because no challenger has has actually publicly come out against
00:05:36against him. In fact, state premier
00:05:39premier CDU state premiers earlier earlier this week came out with a
00:05:42a letter basically supporting the the Chancellor, although some people
00:05:45people felt it was a slightly lukewarm
00:05:48lukewarm letter. But there is certainly
00:05:51certainly deep concern in the CDU CDU that Chancellor Friedrich Merz
00:05:54Merz is personally unpopular, that that he has failed in his stated
00:05:58stated mission really to try and and counter the rise of Alternative
00:06:01Alternative fur Deutschland. The The anti-immigration, Russia friendly
00:06:04friendly party that continues to to gain ground and appears to have
00:06:07have topped the polls in Mecklenburg,
00:06:11Mecklenburg, Vorpommern in terms terms of what happens next, Friedrich
00:06:13Friedrich Merz is due to have a series
00:06:15series of meetings with party figures, figures, presumably to try and shore
00:06:18shore up support, and his remarks.
00:06:21remarks. I think tonight were designed designed by him to get out there,
00:06:24there, get his message, his narrative narrative across that he believes
00:06:28believes and he's saying that he
00:06:30he needs time to deliver a reform
00:06:33reform programme that he hopes can
00:06:35can revive Germany and get Germany Germany back on its feet, which might
00:06:38might sound a strange thing to say say about Germany, but Germany is
00:06:41is in a pretty gloomy mood at the the moment. Its economy has been
00:06:45been stuttering for years. There's There's an insecure world outside.
00:06:48outside. People worry about the cost cost of living. The debate around
00:06:51around immigration remains extremely extremely fraught, but he's just
00:06:54just trying to make the case. Give Give me more time and I'm going to
00:06:57to turn around. This country's fortunes. fortunes. The question is, will his
00:07:01his party give him more time? And And I think that's something we don't
00:07:04don't really know at the moment. moment. It depends whether anyone anyone does come out in the Open
00:07:08Open in the coming days, in the coming coming weeks, to pose a challenge challenge to the Chancellor. And
00:07:11And just tell us a bit more about about the Alternative for Germany
00:07:15Germany party, the AfD. They won won a major victory just a couple
00:07:18couple of weeks ago in the Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt region, and the results
00:07:21results at the moment, or the exit exit polls that we have seen, put
00:07:25put them in a fairly strong position.
00:07:30position. Yes. So Saxony-Anhalt was was a slightly different situation
00:07:33situation where they were streets streets ahead and they were hoping
00:07:36hoping in Saxony-Anhalt to have enough enough votes to even have a parliamentary
00:07:40parliamentary majority, which they they didn't quite get. And it isn't isn't exactly clear what's going
00:07:44going to happen in that state in
00:07:45in terms of who could form the next
00:07:49next government in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. It appears appears at the moment they've topped topped the polls, but the centre
00:07:53centre left SPD did stage a bit of
00:07:55of a late comeback to try and catch
00:07:57catch them up with their leader,
00:08:00leader, Manuela Schwesig kind of of characterising herself as the
00:08:03the Frau gegen Blau the woman against against Blue, which is the AfD's
00:08:06AfD's party colours. She was trying trying to sweep up the anti AfD vote.
00:08:09vote. What's important to understand understand in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern,
00:08:13Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, for example, example, is that there is something something in Germany known as Bryn
00:08:16Bryn Mawr. The firewall which is
00:08:19is most parties, mainstream parties parties will not go into coalition
00:08:23coalition or work with Alternative Alternative fur Deutschland. So even
00:08:25even if they top the polls in a place place like Mecklenburg Vorpommern,
00:08:28Vorpommern, they are likely to be be kept out of power, something that
00:08:30that the AfD argues is deeply undemocratic.
00:08:34undemocratic. But its opponents say say that this is a party they're they're not prepared to work with.
00:08:37with. Sections of the party are classed classed as right wing extremists
00:08:41extremists by domestic intelligence, intelligence, although that's a designation
00:08:44designation the party rejects. Jessica Jessica Parker in Berlin. They're.
00:08:47They're. Russia says it will intensify
00:08:49intensify strikes on Kyiv after one one of the biggest Ukrainian drone
00:08:52drone attacks yet on Moscow and the the surrounding region. At least
00:08:55least two people were killed and and six injured. Posting this footage
00:08:59footage on social media, Ukraine's Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky
00:09:02Zelensky confirmed Kyiv had hit a
00:09:04a key Russian oil facility and a
00:09:06a logistics site in the region. The The targets, he said, represented
00:09:09represented billions of dollars that that sustained the war machine. The
00:09:12The mayor of Moscow said it was the
00:09:15the largest drone attack on the Russian Russian capital yet, and 450 drones
00:09:18drones heading for the capital had had been shot down. The Russian authorities
00:09:22authorities accused Ukraine of trying trying to disrupt the country's parliamentary
00:09:25parliamentary elections, which ended ended today. They claim more than
00:09:29than 1600 drones had been repelled repelled since yesterday. President
00:09:32President Zelensky has announced announced that he's to meet Donald Donald Trump in New York this week.
00:09:36week. In a post on X, the Ukrainian Ukrainian leader says there's diplomatic
00:09:39diplomatic momentum towards ending ending the war and that the meeting
00:09:43meeting could be significant. Our Our Russia editor, Steve Rosenberg,
00:09:45Rosenberg, is in Moscow, where people people are out voting today. We spoke
00:09:49spoke to him about the reaction there.
00:09:51there. Well, first of all, the reaction reaction no sense of surprise here.
00:09:55here. More a kind of quiet resignation. resignation. I think that after more
00:09:59more than four and a half years of of Russia's war on Ukraine, Muscovites
00:10:03Muscovites have got used to their their city periodically becoming
00:10:06becoming a frontline. And many people, people, I think, had expected attacks attacks during the election. This
00:10:10This is one of the polling stations stations just behind me. But in the
00:10:13the centre. But earlier today we we were at a polling station very
00:10:17very close to the oil refinery that that got hit. One young voter told
00:10:20told me that he'd heard the explosions. explosions. He'd heard loud bangs.
00:10:23bangs. He said it was a bad situation. situation. I spoke to an older voter
00:10:27voter who said he wants peace, but
00:10:29but by peace he means Ukraine's defeat.
00:10:33defeat. As for the election, while while the whole process is tightly tightly controlled by the Kremlin,
00:10:37Kremlin, and I think Vladimir Putin Putin will want to use the election
00:10:40election and the results to be announced announced later to try to show that
00:10:43that the whole country is behind
00:10:46behind the Kremlin, behind the war war in Ukraine, almost to give him
00:10:49him a mandate to continue with the
00:10:52the special military operation. Well,
00:10:54Well, Edward Lucas is a Russia expert expert and the author of books on
00:10:58on Putin's Russia. He's been giving giving me his analysis of the recent
00:11:01recent attacks. Well, it's clearly
00:11:02clearly a sign that the Ukrainians
00:11:05Ukrainians still have cards to play. play. And although they're getting
00:11:08getting pounded by Russian drone drone attacks, they can and they
00:11:12they do, and they will hit back. back. And this is both a practical
00:11:15practical problem for Putin because because it appears that Ukrainians
00:11:18Ukrainians hit an oil refinery and and they're already suffering from
00:11:22from Ukrainian drone attacks. And And there are bad petrol and fuel
00:11:25fuel shortages in Russia. And it's it's also symbolic. This was Putin's
00:11:28Putin's showcase. I wouldn't quite quite say election because election
00:11:32election implies choice and freedom freedom and things like that, but
00:11:34but it was a piece of political theatre
00:11:36theatre he'd put on enormous effort
00:11:39effort and expense to try and make
00:11:41make himself look a bit more legitimate, legitimate, and that party's been
00:11:44been spoilt quite dramatically in in the most important place in Russia,
00:11:48Russia, which is, of course, the the capital Moscow. Will it have
00:11:52have any impact on morale, on feelings
00:11:55feelings towards the Kremlin, on on Russian feelings towards Vladimir
00:11:58Vladimir Putin? I think the support
00:12:00support for Putin is widespread but
00:12:03but also shallow and brittle. And
00:12:06And if something changed, many Russians Russians would not hesitate twice
00:12:10twice to take down Putin's picture picture from the wall and put up
00:12:13up whoever the next person was. But
00:12:16But I don't think that his power
00:12:17power is going to break in the next next weeks, and probably not even
00:12:21even the next months because you you need to collapse that to happen.
00:12:25happen. And it would have to be either either a military collapse on the
00:12:28the front line where Russian soldiers soldiers start shooting their officers
00:12:31officers and going home. I don't don't think that's where they are
00:12:34are yet. It could be a logistics logistics collapse where they can't
00:12:37can't supply air supply Crimea any any more because the Ukraine has
00:12:41has been pounding that it could be be some kind of political collapse
00:12:45collapse in his inner circle, or or it could be something else. Russia's
00:12:49Russia's very unpredictable country. country. And when change happens, happens, I think it will be very
00:12:52very abrupt, very quick. And this
00:12:56this sort of attack just raises the the temperature. It makes Russians
00:12:59Russians feel even more that the the boss hasn't really got things
00:13:02things under control. And that feeling feeling that the boss has things
00:13:04things under control is at the heart heart of Putin's power. Well, in
00:13:07in terms of a Russian response, the the AFP news agency is reporting
00:13:11reporting this from Russia. Russian Russian Ministry of Defence saying
00:13:13saying Russia vows to intensify strikes
00:13:15strikes on Kyiv in response to the
00:13:18the election day drone attacks. And
00:13:20And I guess that's absolutely going going to be a concern for the people
00:13:24people across Ukraine, not just in in Kyiv, that this will lead to a
00:13:27a huge backlash and retaliation from from the Russians. Well, it's pretty
00:13:30pretty huge. I mean, the Frontlash Frontlash is pretty, pretty bad.
00:13:32bad. Before we get to the backlash
00:13:34backlash and Russia is pounding Ukrainian
00:13:37Ukrainian infrastructure industry. industry. They've just knocked out
00:13:40out most of the Ukrainian steel industry, industry, which is a big blow for
00:13:43for Ukraine. But in the end, the the Ukrainians know this is an existential
00:13:46existential fight. Russia isn't fighting
00:13:49fighting to just seize a bit of Ukraine. Ukraine. Russia is trying to destroy
00:13:52destroy Ukraine. They don't want want Ukraine to exist as a country
00:13:56country with its own language, culture,
00:13:58culture, identity and ability to to make decisions. So this is all
00:14:02all out war for the Ukrainians. If If Ukrainians if Russia stops fighting,
00:14:05fighting, no more war, if Ukraine Ukraine stops fighting, no more Ukraine.
00:14:09Ukraine. So I think that despite despite this appalling punishment
00:14:12punishment they're receiving, I think
00:14:13think they will continue. Princess Princess Diana's brother, Earl Spencer,
00:14:17Spencer, has told the BBC that he he sees echoes of her treatment by
00:14:21by the media in the coverage of the the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Speaking
00:14:25Speaking to Laura Kuenssberg, Earl Earl Spencer has also rejected any
00:14:28any perception he favours Prince Prince Harry, insisting that he was
00:14:31was on the side of both of his nephews. nephews. Here's our senior royal royal correspondent Daniela Relph.
00:14:35Relph. And we should warn you her
00:14:36her report contains flash
00:14:41photography. This is a brother's brother's story. Memories of his
00:14:44his childhood. A tribute to his sister
00:14:46sister Diana. One that has unsettled unsettled the Royal Family. And in
00:14:50in his BBC interview, Earl Spencer's
00:14:52Spencer's raw emotion showed. How
00:14:54How much do you miss her? Well, every
00:14:59every day, you know, that's the thing thing with sibling loss you never
00:15:02never get over it. In his eulogy
00:15:08eulogy to his sister at her funeral,
00:15:11funeral, Charles Spencer described described Diana as the most hunted
00:15:15hunted person of the modern age and and he now sees parallels in the
00:15:18the experience of Harry and Meghan.
00:15:20Meghan. He says under the sometimes sometimes harsh media spotlight.
00:15:24spotlight. I'm not here to speak speak for Harry and Meghan, but for
00:15:27for anyone who's being destroyed
00:15:29destroyed in this way daily, it must
00:15:32must be such a cancerous influence influence in their life. I saw it
00:15:35it with Diana, I saw Diana, I mentioned mentioned it in the eulogy, her tears
00:15:39tears of despair. One of the problems problems with Diana was she was very,
00:15:42very, very sensitive to criticism.
00:15:44criticism. And of course, I'm sure sure most of your viewers now think,
00:15:48think, oh, she had this splendid splendid life and it was all amazing. amazing. And she didn't. She was
00:15:51was so privileged and so perfect perfect in so many ways. But she
00:15:54she was really brought low by all all that criticism. And yeah, I suppose
00:15:58suppose it's a pity when I see echoes
00:16:01echoes of that now. The King out
00:16:05out on royal duty in Scotland in
00:16:07in recent days has faced harsh criticism
00:16:09criticism in the book and interview. interview. But Charles Spencer has
00:16:13has doubled down on his account of
00:16:15of the King's behaviour after the
00:16:18the death of Diana. You write that
00:16:20that he was giddily elated like a
00:16:24a lottery winner. I mean, you're you're suggesting he was somehow
00:16:27somehow pleased that his former wife
00:16:29wife was dead? Well, I'm reporting
00:16:32reporting every word in this book. book. I report exactly as I saw it
00:16:35it and felt it at the time, and I
00:16:39I was surprised at the giddiness giddiness of his tone. That's what
00:16:43what I'm recording there. For Princes Princes William and Harry. Their
00:16:46Their uncle's story is a painful
00:16:49painful reminder, filled with bittersweet bittersweet childhood memories and
00:16:52and the anguish of their loss from
00:16:54from Charles Spencer. This is, he
00:16:56he says, the end. This is my swan
00:16:58swan song too. I'm not here to bang
00:17:02bang on about Diana. This is my final
00:17:04final word. Celebration of her. And
00:17:07And I will step off into the sunset
00:17:09sunset now and not be available for
00:17:13for comment. Well, Jennie Bond was was the BBC's royal correspondent
00:17:17correspondent at the time of Princess Princess Diana's death. She gave
00:17:20gave me her assessment of the claims claims made by Earl Spencer. Well,
00:17:24Well, I think as Daniela was saying, saying, we've had a number of quotations
00:17:27quotations come out which have been been extremely sensational, have
00:17:30have drawn this response from the
00:17:32the palace. We have a war of words
00:17:35words reminiscent of the war of the the Wales's back then. But if you
00:17:38you do watch the full interview as
00:17:39as we just have, I also find it very
00:17:42very compelling. I've met Earl Spencer, Spencer, I've interviewed him.
00:17:51Interviewed him. He always exudes charm actually, and a gentleness. gentleness. And that gentleness came
00:17:53came through a confident, quiet voice
00:17:56voice in which he asserts, as Daniel
00:17:58Daniel has said, this is his version, version, his memory, and it's an
00:18:02an honest interview. I think it's it's also quite cutting in places,
00:18:06places, you know, he says. I know know a lot of things about the King
00:18:10King that I have not said. This is is not a threat. He adds and as Laura
00:18:14Laura says, it sounds a bit like
00:18:15like a threat. But he has a lot of
00:18:18of knowledge and he says he's decided decided not to put that in a book
00:18:21book and he's not going to say any
00:18:22any more. So it was a most interesting
00:18:27interesting interview and compelling compelling and I'm inclined to believe
00:18:30believe him. I think things are said said in the heat of the moment, the
00:18:33the heat of trauma and shock. And
00:18:36And it's possible that Charles did
00:18:38did say those words that Diana would would soon be forgotten. And one
00:18:42one other thing on that I thought
00:18:45thought that Earl Spencer's defence
00:18:49defence of that recollection was
00:18:51was also very honest. He said that
00:18:53that in his eulogy, the reason he
00:18:55he said at the end of his eulogy,
00:18:58eulogy, Diana, her beauty both inward
00:19:00inward and outward, would never be
00:19:03be extinguished from our minds. He
00:19:05He said that was a direct rebuttal
00:19:08rebuttal to Prince Charles, as he he was then at whom he was looking
00:19:11looking from the pulpit. I find that that very interesting. It's also
00:19:15also interesting that you said you you do believe him and the words
00:19:19words that he said, Prince Charles Charles said to him at the time that
00:19:22that we'll forget her soon enough. enough. Did this interview change
00:19:26change that perception in your mind? mind? Because there's again, been
00:19:29been lots of people over the last
00:19:31last few days commenting on these these words that have been quoted quoted in this book and saying they
00:19:35they actually don't believe him. him. But do you seeing him in person,
00:19:38person, you said he was very calm, calm, very considered, very composed composed and very gentle. Did this
00:19:42this interview change that in your your mind or did you believe it?
00:19:45it? Anyway? No, I think it did change change it actually. When you see
00:19:49see the full interview, because the the Charles that I have known over
00:19:52over a number of years is not that that kind of character. Yes, he has
00:19:55has a temper and yes, we say things things in the heat of the moment, moment, but he's a gentle character.
00:19:58character. I mean, it was quite interesting interesting this morning listening listening to Julia Cleverdon, who
00:20:02who used to head up one of his charities, charities, and I knew her in those
00:20:06those years, and she said she lost lost her husband very suddenly two
00:20:09two weeks after Diana. And she had had two children the same age of of William and Harry. And when she
00:20:13she got back from the holiday during during which her husband had tragically
00:20:16tragically died, her phone, she had had three messages from the. From
00:20:19From the Prince as he was then he
00:20:21he could not wait to express his
00:20:24his grief and compassion for her her loss. So it isn't the character
00:20:28character of the man I that I recognise,
00:20:30recognise, but who knows what was was said in a conversation between
00:20:33between two men in the trauma and and shock of the most famous woman
00:20:37woman in the world suddenly being being killed in a car crash in Paris.
00:20:40Paris. And Jenny, what. Is your assessment assessment of why he has written
00:20:43written this book now his justification justification saying he wants to
00:20:46to put it on record that he's a historian, historian, he wants to put the truth
00:20:50truth out there. But nearly 30 years years after Princess Diana's death,
00:20:54death, many critics are saying, why why are you raking this up? And it's
00:20:57it's so painful, not least for her her children Princes William and
00:21:01and Harry. But he's saying no. He He wants to make sure that it is
00:21:04is there on record. What do you make
00:21:05make of that? I don't know his motivation.
00:21:09motivation. We can choose to believe believe that it's because he's in
00:21:11in his 60s and he feels that mortality
00:21:14mortality is around the corner and and he wants to put this down. I
00:21:18I do think that raking up the past past in this way is not helpful or
00:21:22or kind to William and Harry. But But interestingly, in the interview
00:21:25interview he says that this will will not have come as a surprise surprise to William and Harry. I
00:21:28I mean, we were told that they only only knew that the book was being
00:21:31being published, not its content. content. Now, what he said seemed seemed to be rather different to
00:21:35to that. He insists it's not about
00:21:37about money. I do think that if it's it's not about money. Fair enough.
00:21:42enough. Well then perhaps donate donate all of the profits to the
00:21:46the Diana Award. The. The charity
00:21:48charity in her name that would please please his late sister. Jennie Bond
00:21:52Bond there. And you can watch the
00:21:53the full interview with Earl Spencer Spencer tonight at 2230 BST here
00:21:57here on the BBC News Channel. And And if you're in the UK, you can
00:22:00can always stream the programme on
00:22:01on the BBC iPlayer. Just search for
00:22:05for Princess Diana: My Sister's Story Story Aleema Khan, the sister of
00:22:08of Pakistan's jailed former Prime Prime Minister Imran Khan, is reported
00:22:11reported to have been arrested in in Lahore. A spokesman for Khan's
00:22:14Khan's PTI party says she was detained detained at her home on Sunday ahead
00:22:18ahead of a planned party protest protest march next week. The government
00:22:21government and police have yet to to comment. Former cricketer Imran
00:22:24Imran Khan has been in prison since
00:22:26since August 2023 after being convicted convicted on several charges, including
00:22:30including corruption, which he says
00:22:32says are politically motivated. Ed
00:22:36Ed Sheeran has apologised on stage stage to fans in Philadelphia and
00:22:39and admitted he made mistakes following following the controversy over his
00:22:42his world tour. The singer has been been dealing with the fallout after
00:22:45after his support act. American rapper rapper Macklemore was removed from
00:22:48from the line-up after making pro-Palestinian pro-Palestinian remarks on stage.
00:22:52stage. The other support acts then then dropped out. Ed Sheeran said said he questioned whether he wanted
00:22:56wanted to be an artist at all after after what happened. Carl Nasman
00:22:59Nasman reports. These songs are about
00:23:04about love, hope and unity. Ed Sheeran
00:23:06Sheeran is used to having the spotlight spotlight on his music. This is not
00:23:10not usually how I would open the the show, but. Taking the stage in
00:23:14in Philadelphia, the megastar apologised apologised directly to his fans for
00:23:17for the recent controversy surrounding surrounding his tour. This week the
00:23:21the criticism was about something something much more important and
00:23:24and I've had to take and make difficult
00:23:26difficult decisions and I am making
00:23:28making mistakes and I'm so, so sorry.
00:23:30sorry. He also clarified where he he stands on the situation in Gaza.
00:23:34Gaza. What happened in Israel and and at the Nova Music Festival on
00:23:38on October 7th was horrific and compounded
00:23:40compounded centuries of Jewish pain.
00:23:43pain. What is happening in Gaza is
00:23:46is a catastrophic and unjustifiable unjustifiable and disproportionate.
00:23:49disproportionate. My heart has been been broken by the scale of devastation
00:23:52devastation and loss of civilians
00:23:55civilians lives, of children's lives lives and the systemic injustice
00:23:59injustice we're seeing unfold in in the West Bank cannot be overlooked.
00:24:03overlooked. Sheeran told the crowd crowd he wasn't quite sure how the
00:24:06the night would go. I didn't know
00:24:09know whether I'd be safe or you'd you'd be safe or. Moments later,
00:24:13later, the singer broke down on stage.
00:24:16stage. I'm so grateful. Sheeran also
00:24:25also addressed the musicians not not in the room, his backing band
00:24:28band and tour mates left in solidarity solidarity after the rapper Macklemore
00:24:31Macklemore was dropped over his pro-Palestinian
00:24:34pro-Palestinian views. He said he
00:24:35he was deeply worried about venues
00:24:38venues pre-approving content or performers. performers. This happens in so many
00:24:41many places that I perform around around the world, but it should never
00:24:44never happen in the free world. I
00:24:45I was in some of the front rows inside inside that stadium as Ed Sheeran
00:24:49Sheeran made that speech, and this this was clearly an emotional moment
00:24:52moment for him. He said he was worried
00:24:54worried about how he might be perceived. He stayed neutral and and I think he covered both sides
00:24:58sides nicely. I think everyone leaves leaves happy. To see what was inside
00:25:02inside of his heart just made it it even better. Sheeran is an artist
00:25:04artist who likes to stay out of politics,
00:25:07politics, but that has become increasingly increasingly difficult. Before the
00:25:10the concert, dozens of pro-Palestinian pro-Palestinian protesters near the
00:25:14the stadium only added to the pressure. pressure. Our concerts have always
00:25:17always been a safe space. Sheeran Sheeran said that he wants his concerts
00:25:20concerts to be a place where everyone everyone is welcome, and he likely
00:25:23likely hopes now the focus can return
00:25:26return to his music. Carl Nasman,
00:25:29Nasman, BBC News. Thousands of people
00:25:32people in Spain have marched through through the streets of Barcelona
00:25:35Barcelona in protest against plans plans to expand the city's airport.
00:25:39airport. Earlier this week, the government government allocated more than $2
00:25:42$2 billion to revamp the airport.
00:25:45airport. Among the proposed changes changes is an extension of one of
00:25:49of the runways to accommodate more
00:25:50more long haul flights. Demonstrators
00:25:53Demonstrators are concerned about about the environmental impact, as
00:25:57as well as a rise in visitor numbers numbers over tourism has been a growing
00:26:00growing issue in the city and Spain Spain more widely. That's it from from me
00:27:35of the week.
00:29:54means for you. Go online at bbc.com/business bbc.com/business to get the latest
00:29:56latest news wherever you are. Business
00:29:59Business on BBC News. Make the connection.
00:30:06connection. MUSIC
00:30:09MUSIC
00:30:17These are the latest headlines on BBC News. The German Chancellor,
00:30:21Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, has vowed vowed to stay on despite exit polls
00:30:24polls in two local elections, suggesting suggesting damaging defeats for his
00:30:28his centre right Christian Democratic
00:30:30Democratic Union party. Earl Spencer Spencer tells the BBC. Writing his
00:30:34his book about his sister Princess Princess Diana was his duty as an
00:30:38an eyewitness to history and defends
00:30:39defends claims made about the King.
00:30:42King. At least two people are killed killed in the Moscow region after
00:30:45after a massive Ukrainian drone attack
00:30:47attack overnight. The mayor of Moscow
00:30:49Moscow claims 450 drones were directed directed at the city. Russia says
00:30:53says it's an attempt to disrupt the
00:30:55the country's parliamentary elections. elections. Ed Sheeran apologises
00:30:59apologises to fans for what he calls calls mistakes as he performs for
00:31:02for the first time since one of his his opening acts was dropped for
00:31:06for making pro-Palestinian remarks
00:31:07remarks on stage. Hello, I'm Samantha
00:31:16Samantha Simmonds. Andy Burnham is is preparing for his first face-to-face
00:31:19face-to-face meeting with US President President Donald Trump this week
00:31:22week on the sidelines of the UN General
00:31:24General Assembly in New York. He's He's expected to congratulate the
00:31:28the President on his Greenlandic Greenlandic security deal with Denmark
00:31:30Denmark after the two countries resolved
00:31:32resolved a months long diplomatic diplomatic standoff over the Arctic
00:31:35Arctic territory. Mr Burnham has has spoken to Mr Trump on the phone
00:31:38phone at least twice since becoming becoming Prime Minister. Ukraine
00:31:42Ukraine is likely to be a significant significant focus of this week's
00:31:45week's talks. Mr Burnham last month month said there was an urgent need
00:31:48need for greater air defence support support and called for allies to
00:31:51to send more Patriot missiles. Let's Let's go live to New York and speak
00:31:55speak to Aubrey Allegretti chief chief political correspondent at at the Times. Welcome to you. Good
00:31:59Good to have you with us. A big moment
00:32:01moment for Andy Burnham, a potentially potentially very difficult one. It
00:32:04It could go either way, couldn't couldn't it? How do you think he'll
00:32:07he'll be preparing? Well it's a good
00:32:09good question. I mean it's a relatively relatively short visit and I think
00:32:13think Andy Burnham's own sort of of attendance at the UN General Assembly
00:32:17Assembly only really came after this this meeting with Donald Trump was
00:32:20was guaranteed. I think UK leaders leaders tend to not want to have
00:32:23have to take sort of 2 or 3 days days out of their schedule to travel
00:32:26travel to New York for the conference, conference, unless there are kind kind of other big set piece events
00:32:30events that they can kind of organise organise alongside it. I mean, obviously
00:32:34obviously Andy Burnham has made a a sort of relatively disparaging
00:32:37disparaging comments about Donald Donald Trump in the past, as did
00:32:40did his Labour predecessor Sir Keir Keir Starmer, and certainly wasn't
00:32:43wasn't a barrier to them kind of of forging what was initially quite quite a strong relationship. And
00:32:47And I think so long as Andy Burnham Burnham is relatively sort of up
00:32:50up front about it and kind of brushes brushes it off with his sort of typical
00:32:54typical sort of humourous style, style, it won't necessarily cause
00:32:57cause him any sort of detriment with with the US President, but there
00:33:00there are a number of thorny issues issues that are going to come up
00:33:02up and areas where the UK and the the US significantly diverge from
00:33:06from everything to do with the UK's UK's announcement about sanctioning
00:33:10sanctioning Israeli settlements to to Donald Trump's comments about about the Falklands Islands. So there
00:33:14there are a series of quite testy testy subjects under the bonnet,
00:33:17bonnet, even if for the cameras at at the very limited amount that we
00:33:21we will see publicly is going to to be presumably quite sort of positive
00:33:24positive between the two men. Yeah. Yeah. How willing do you think he'll
00:33:26he'll be to kind of challenging challenge
00:33:28challenge him on those sort of key
00:33:31key issues? Well, Keir Starmer tried
00:33:35tried with limited success to maintain maintain a sort of air of neutrality
00:33:38neutrality about a lot of the more more controversial elements of the
00:33:41the US president's agenda. But he
00:33:43he did call out those claims in the
00:33:45the Oval Office about sort of freedom freedom of speech being restricted
00:33:49restricted in the UK. Beyond that, that, he wasn't really willing to to engage much further, although
00:33:52although of course he did take the the decision not to allow the US
00:33:56US to use British military bases bases to launch its own attacks on
00:34:00on Iran. I think there are definitely definitely other elements of this
00:34:03this which are going to be potentially potentially quite difficult for both both sides. Andy Burnham on I think
00:34:07think his first foreign trip, visited visited Ukraine and he'll be pressing
00:34:11pressing in that meeting to ask for
00:34:12for more US made Patriot missiles
00:34:15missiles to be sent to help bolster bolster President Volodymyr Zelensky's
00:34:18Zelensky's forces. But Andy Burnham Burnham knows that he's dealing with
00:34:21with a US President who effectively
00:34:24effectively wants things in return. return. So there are big asks from
00:34:27from the US administration side, side, including the UK limiting its
00:34:30its digital services tax. It's not not clear that we're going to get
00:34:33get any sort of big movement between between either side on some of the
00:34:37the sort of more intractable issues. issues. I think this is more about
00:34:39about sort of setting a diplomatic diplomatic niceties sort of dialogue
00:34:43dialogue that sets the tone for officials officials behind the scenes over over the next few months to iron
00:34:47iron out some of those big differences differences that are currently harming
00:34:50harming the US, UK special relationship. relationship. Yeah. Would you say say then it's the most important
00:34:54important thing is to get Donald Donald Trump and side in this meeting
00:34:57meeting so that they can get off
00:34:58off on the right foot? Yeah, certainly.
00:35:01certainly. I mean, relationships relationships with Keir Starmer had
00:35:04had deteriorated to such an extent extent that the US President prematurely
00:35:08prematurely was posting on social social media about Keir Starmers Starmers imminent resignation on
00:35:11on the night before. It had even even been confirmed by number ten.
00:35:15ten. So I think there's clearly no no love lost necessarily between
00:35:18between Mr Trump and Mr Sir Keir.
00:35:20Keir. But with Andy Burnham hopefully hopefully I think number ten aides
00:35:23aides think that they will be able able to find a sort of natural bonhomie
00:35:26bonhomie between them which did sometimes
00:35:29sometimes evade Keir Starmer. He He wasn't always sort of the most
00:35:32most kind of comfortable person in in front of the cameras, and Andy
00:35:36Andy Burnham is slightly more kind kind of plain speaking style. The The fact that he's obviously got
00:35:39got an ability to reach and connect connect with voters directly through
00:35:42through social media, which is something something that Mr Trump certainly
00:35:45certainly not quite pioneered but but was a very big and sort of early
00:35:48early and effective advocate of will will hopefully mean that the two
00:35:52two men are able to sort of meet
00:35:55meet in fairly kind of diplomatic diplomatic and cordial ways. I suppose
00:35:59suppose the struggle will be that that back home there are restive
00:36:01restive Labour MPs who are a frustrated frustrated and feel like the strategy
00:36:05strategy towards Donald Trump didn't didn't work under Keir Starmer, and
00:36:08and b think that there is domestic domestic political gain to be had
00:36:11had from being seen to publicly stand stand up to him. So it'll be quite
00:36:15quite interesting to see how he navigates navigates that sort of pressure from
00:36:17from within his own party. OK, Aubrey Aubrey Allegretti really interesting
00:36:20interesting to get your analysis. analysis. Thank you. The leader of
00:36:24of the Liberal Democrats, Sir Ed Ed Davey, has said there is no ceiling
00:36:27ceiling on the number of MPs he wants
00:36:28wants the party to win at the next
00:36:31next general election. Speaking at at the party's conference in Brighton, Brighton, he conceded The Lib Dems
00:36:35Dems have not been good enough on on social media and gave details
00:36:38details about his plan to address address that. The Lib Dems returned
00:36:41returned a record 72 MPs at the last
00:36:44last general election, but have since since struggled to capture the same
00:36:47same level of attention as other other parties. Our political correspondent
00:36:51correspondent Harry Farley is in in Brighton at the conference and and has been taking me through the
00:36:54the events of the day. The focus
00:36:57focus has been looking ahead to the the next election, talk in some of
00:37:01of the bars and fringes about what what seats the Liberal Democrats
00:37:04Democrats could win. Could they potentially potentially enter government again?
00:37:07again? And with me is the man to to talk just about that. This is
00:37:10is Sean Kemp, former head of media media for the party. And you worked
00:37:13worked in number ten when the Liberal Liberal Democrats were last in coalition.
00:37:16coalition. What do you think the the party with your former hat on.
00:37:19on. What do you think the party should should be looking to do in the build-up
00:37:22build-up to the next general election election to try and get back into into government? Well. I think one
00:37:25one of the main things is the thing thing you've probably heard a lot lot of MPs and members talking about
00:37:29about now is actually getting cut cut through and getting noticed. noticed. The party rightly talks
00:37:33talks a lot about how many MPs it's it's got, but I think a lot of MPs
00:37:36MPs are also looking at the poll poll rating and sort of getting a a bit worried about people like Greens
00:37:39Greens and Reform and so on. Is the the party going to get squeezed out?
00:37:42out? So one of the big things have have got to look at is actually how
00:37:45how do you sort of retain a kind kind of share of voice in the public public debate when you're at so much
00:37:49much risk of being pushed out by by newer, shinier parties? Why do do you think they're struggling to
00:37:52to do that? I think partly just. Because they're not new. I I mean, it's always been a struggle
00:37:56struggle for the Lib Dems to get get covered. I think when it's an an even noisier world and you're
00:38:00you're competing with more people people and you're not the fresh thing thing like reform is a new party.
00:38:03party. Like the surge of the Greens Greens is new Liberal Democrats feels feels like they've been around for
00:38:07for ages. I think there's just a a sense in which people kind of know
00:38:10know what they are. Also, they're they're not as populist, if you like.
00:38:13like. They're a centrist party. And And frankly, centrism isn't as interesting
00:38:16interesting and is a harder sell sell in a crowded marketplace. You're
00:38:20You're trying to get attention. If If you. Were wearing your old hat, hat, what would you be advising?
00:38:24advising? Sir Ed Davey, the party party to do to try and get that cut
00:38:27cut through to try and increase their their share of the voice? I think.
00:38:30think. A lot of it is about is not not about the stunts or trying to
00:38:34to do desperate headline grabbing grabbing things. Actually, I think think one of the challenges for the
00:38:37the party is, is spent so long in in kind of a survival mode, just just doing everything it can to get
00:38:41get through. It's actually about about an authentic policy platform
00:38:44platform and a voice about what you you actually stand for. If you look
00:38:46look at the politicians who are successful, successful, they go to two extremes.
00:38:49extremes. Like you look at Reform Reform and Farage or the Greens and
00:38:53and Polanski, you know that they they kind of believe what they're
00:38:55they're saying. And I think in the
00:38:57the modern era, the way the communications communications and politics, social social media and so on, you've got
00:39:01got to actually have a kind of clear clear standpoint that cuts through
00:39:04through very quickly. I think sometimes sometimes the Lib Dems can be guilty guilty of sort of overthinking all
00:39:08all their policy positions. It makes makes it a bit complex. It's just
00:39:10just hard to sell nowadays. So a a bit more authenticity, a. Bit more
00:39:14more authenticity. Yeah, I'm not not saying I think Eddie's or the
00:39:17the party's inauthentic, but I think think they could still be more direct.
00:39:21direct. And look, I'll be honest, honest, I think about things like like the you know, they talked about
00:39:24about the fuel duty cut today, for for example, from a party that believes believes in net zero. That's kind
00:39:28kind of a weird sell. And I think think increasingly you just can't can't get away with it. Even that
00:39:32that kind of level of nuance, you've you've got to be more honest. You're
00:39:34You're now a partner at Hanbury Strategy, Strategy, one of the consultancies, consultancies, the lobbyists who
00:39:38who are here. What are your clients
00:39:41clients saying to you in terms of of what they're interested in finding finding out about the Liberal Democrats?
00:39:45Democrats? Look, the thing that clients clients are interested in is, frankly, frankly, do you think there'll be
00:39:49be part of a Labour Lib Dem coalition coalition the next time? And do you.
00:39:52you. I think it's a very good chance chance that yeah. I mean, I think think one of the things that the
00:39:56the Liberal Democrats are entitled entitled to complain about is they they have 72 MPs and like we said, said, they struggle for coverage.
00:40:00coverage. But well, actually, if if you're looking at who could be be a powerful voice at the next election,
00:40:04election, liberal Democrats really really could. So actually, a lot lot of people are interested in the the Lib Dems, but they're trying
00:40:07trying to find out more about what what they stand for and what that that might mean. The truth of the
00:40:12the fact is the Liberal Democrats, Democrats, your coverage and how
00:40:14how much attention you get is very very closely tied to how likely people
00:40:17people think there is to be a hung hung parliament. And I'm afraid that
00:40:20that hasn't changed. Shawn Kemp, Kemp, former special adviser in number
00:40:24number ten, now partner at Hanbury Hanbury Strategy. Thank you for your your time. And that's one of the
00:40:27the things that we've heard from from the Liberal Democrats today
00:40:30today and over the last couple of of days is the need, the struggle
00:40:34struggle to set out what they stand
00:40:36stand for, what their offer is to to the voters as both Labour and
00:40:40and the Conservatives, Labour under under Andy Burnham and the Conservatives Conservatives under Kemi Badenoch,
00:40:43Badenoch, tried to peel some of their
00:40:45their supporters away. Harry Farley
00:40:47Farley in Brighton. They're Scotland's Scotland's efforts to tackle its
00:40:51its drugs deaths crisis are being being challenged by a growing influx
00:40:54influx of powerful synthetic drugs, drugs, experts warn. New synthetic
00:40:58synthetic opioids are becoming increasingly increasingly widespread, raising raising concerns that the number
00:41:02number of drug related deaths could could rise when the latest figures
00:41:05figures are published this week.
00:41:06week. Here's our Scotland editor,
00:41:09editor, James Cook. This spotless spotless laboratory in. Dundee seems
00:41:12seems a world away from the chaotic chaotic reality. Of illegal drug
00:41:16drug use. But scientists here are
00:41:19are racing against a deadly and evolving evolving threat. They're examining
00:41:22examining samples of seized drugs drugs to find out exactly what's
00:41:25what's in them. And the answers are
00:41:28are worrying with new substances substances emerging all the time.
00:41:31time. In terms of Europe, we are are seeing roughly about a drug entering
00:41:34entering into Europe context within within kind of every 1 to 2 weeks
00:41:38weeks something new will arrive. arrive. I mean, it's pretty rapid rapid for us to be able to keep up
00:41:41up as scientists. And that must be be dangerous. Yeah, these drugs are are extremely dangerous. The illicit
00:41:45illicit drug supply in Scotland is is getting more and more dangerous
00:41:48dangerous as time goes on. They're
00:41:50They're particularly worried about about synthetic opioids called nitazenes,
00:41:54nitazenes, often hundreds of times times more potent than heroin. Criminals
00:41:58Criminals are mixing them with all all sorts of other substances, from
00:42:01from Valium style pills to powdered
00:42:05powdered cocaine. Last year, Police
00:42:08Police Scotland seized £80 million million worth of street drugs. This
00:42:12This year, the figure has already
00:42:15already reached 78 million and we we can reveal detectives have raided
00:42:19raided suspected nitazenes labs in in Ayrshire and Midlothian, arresting
00:42:23arresting five people. This is not
00:42:25not just an urban problem. The rapidly
00:42:28rapidly changing nature of the drug drug supply is hitting rural Scotland
00:42:32Scotland too. We've come to the Kintyre Kintyre peninsula on the far west
00:42:36west of the mainland, to hear more more about what is a struggle to
00:42:40to save lives. There are all sorts
00:42:43sorts of ways to do that. This group group tries to treat trauma by helping
00:42:47helping former drug users reconnect reconnect with nature, but the staff
00:42:50staff say their job has been made made harder by the rapidly evolving
00:42:54evolving nature of drug supplies. supplies. Some of these substances
00:42:57substances are so potent that a grain grain would be enough to take somebody
00:43:00somebody over. And to kill
00:43:05them. So this is a frightening new new landscape, really. It really
00:43:06really is. I mean, I think I mean,
00:43:09mean, it's not something I normally normally find myself saying, but but I don't think drugs have ever
00:43:12ever been as risky, as dangerous dangerous as they are now. People People just never know quite what
00:43:16what they're getting any more. And And it's a terrible thing to say. say. But with heroin it was better.
00:43:19better. The devil you knew. Quite Quite a statement and a reminder
00:43:23reminder of the scale of this crisis. crisis. We just want to think about
00:43:26about all those that we've lost through
00:43:29through substance use. So many lives
00:43:32lives lost, so much still to do to
00:43:34to save others. James Cook, BBC News,
00:43:38News, Kintyre now. AI is making itself
00:43:41itself felt in many different parts parts of our lives, including looking
00:43:44looking for a job or hiring someone someone for one. Right now there's
00:43:47there's what's being called an application application explosion, which is creating
00:43:51creating challenges for job seekers seekers and employers. In the latest
00:43:54latest of his in-depth videos, our our analysis editor Ros Atkins explains
00:43:58explains explores the experience experience of looking for a job in
00:44:01in the AI era. Looking for a job
00:44:03job is hard. But is AI making it it harder? Feels like I'm talking
00:44:07talking to a robot. It feels really really disheartening. The survival
00:44:10survival of the fittest now really. really. AI stands accused of ruining
00:44:14ruining the job market. Do you buy
00:44:16buy that? No I don't. But has a doom
00:44:19doom loop been created where AI is
00:44:20is used to write more and more applications
00:44:23applications and where employers employers increasingly use AI to to sift through them? Two out three
00:44:27three of our clients are really struggling struggling with the volume. They
00:44:30They can simply go click, click click. If you do get through the
00:44:33the AI shortlisting, guess who might might be doing the interview? Once
00:44:37Once I had this AI tell me that I
00:44:39I lacked empathy. It's like you're
00:44:41you're speaking to a robot essentially, essentially, and I don't think that's.
00:44:44that's. Where you are. Well, you
00:44:46you are exactly. Recruitment is being
00:44:49being rewired by technology, but
00:44:50but is it better either for the applicant applicant or for the employer? To
00:44:54To help understand the issues, I
00:44:56I wanted to hear from people in the
00:44:58the middle of this. Kate runs an
00:45:01an AI consultancy. Matt is a recruitment recruitment executive and Niamh Adi
00:45:05Adi and Santina are job hunting and
00:45:09and sending a lot of applications. applications. Over to 100 now. About
00:45:12About 50. It's been 100 so far. That's That's just in the last year. This
00:45:16This is part of an application explosion
00:45:19explosion which is happening for for several reasons. Competition
00:45:22Competition is fierce. The number number of vacancies is down. The
00:45:25The number of graduates is at a record
00:45:28record high and AI is helping to
00:45:30to write more and more applications.
00:45:33applications. 20 years ago for graduate graduate vacancies, there were on
00:45:36on average 38 applications per job.
00:45:39job. Last year it was 140. Let's
00:45:42Let's look at this from both sides.
00:45:43sides. The employers. At first, the the job seekers. You're trying to
00:45:47to get a job. At the moment you're you're finishing university. How
00:45:49How central is AI to doing that? that? It's really central. I use
00:45:53use it now for finding the jobs itself. itself. When I'm searching for jobs,
00:45:57jobs, I have my automated agent that that goes scrapes through the whole
00:46:00whole internet seeing which roles roles apply, opening which ones the
00:46:03the deadlines are, and it helps me me narrow the selection down. It's
00:46:05It's maybe putting keywords to which which ones can make sound better.
00:46:09better. Even when I know I want to to portray a certain side of myself
00:46:12myself and what I want to say and and AI can help me sound better.
00:46:15better. Maybe edit my CV. I would
00:46:17would make sure that it has the same
00:46:20same words that there are in the
00:46:22the job description. Adi Niamh and
00:46:24and Santina aren't alone. One survey
00:46:27survey found 73% of students and
00:46:29and graduates use AI at some stage stage during the application process.
00:46:32process. I'll be honest, I'm surprised surprised it's not even higher. After
00:46:35After all, AI is very helpful and and there's one part of the process
00:46:39process where it's being used a lot.
00:46:41lot. Keywords job ads ask for certain
00:46:44certain experience and attributes. attributes. AI can make sure your
00:46:47your application includes those words. words. That's particularly helpful
00:46:50helpful when an AI sift is looking
00:46:53looking for them. But here's something something that might surprise you
00:46:56you using AI to shortlist people
00:46:58people isn't as widely used as you you might expect. One survey found
00:47:02found that 75% of candidates believe believe AI was being used to screen
00:47:06screen CVS. The number of recruiters
00:47:07recruiters who reported using it
00:47:10it was 21% on AI sifts. The UK's UK's Prime Minister, Andy Burnham,
00:47:14Burnham, has said. It doesn't feel feel to me that recruitment in the
00:47:17the post pandemic era is becoming becoming fairer. It just does feel
00:47:21feel harder these days to make that
00:47:23that breakthrough, to get that first first connection. Getting yourself
00:47:26yourself in front of someone is hard, hard, partly because of the volume
00:47:30volume of applications, partly because because technology is being used
00:47:34used for some of the shortlisting. shortlisting. But there are challenges
00:47:37challenges for employers to. Matt Matt Weston is a senior executive
00:47:41executive at recruitment firm Robert
00:47:42Robert Half. It places over 100,000
00:47:45100,000 candidates a year globally.
00:47:47globally. It's hard to find the true
00:47:50true skills of the individual. I I think with AI you can put in a
00:47:53a job spec, it can generate a CV. CV. I'm trying. To imagine the scene
00:47:56scene in your office. Are you sometimes sometimes sitting there just going, going, goodness, more and more and
00:48:00and more applications coming in all all looking quite the same. They
00:48:03They are very Samy and that's really,
00:48:07really, really hard to. That's the the art of what we do. The art is
00:48:10is just justifying or really going going through and seeing who is the
00:48:14the right candidate. A recent Ft Ft article explained why recruiting
00:48:18recruiting is going retro in the the age of AI, when every application
00:48:21application is polished, Polish tells
00:48:23tells you nothing. One HR executive
00:48:26executive says, which is where referrals referrals and personal recommendations
00:48:29recommendations come in. And as Matt
00:48:32Matt emphasises, checking out whether
00:48:34whether the CV actually matches what
00:48:36what the candidate can do. It all
00:48:38all comes down to vetting that very
00:48:41very tightly. A CV is essentially essentially a two-dimensional piece
00:48:44piece of paper, right? It can have have everything on there where the
00:48:48the art and the skill of where we we come in is where we can verify
00:48:52verify true experience and relevant
00:48:54relevant skills. In other words, words, even if technology helps,
00:48:57helps, human judgement is still an an essential part of the process.
00:49:01process. At this point, it's important important to be clear on something
00:49:04something that the use of technology technology to shortlist candidates
00:49:08candidates isn't necessarily seen seen as a bad thing. The Information
00:49:12Information Commissioner says these these tools can enable employers
00:49:14employers to process high volumes volumes of applications consistently
00:49:18consistently and quickly. Or listen listen to Kate Young. Her business
00:49:21business works with companies which
00:49:23which use AI recruitment tools. What
00:49:25What we do know is that humans making making decisions about who to hire
00:49:29hire is a deeply flawed process, process, and it always has been. been. I'm sure we can all remember.
00:49:33remember. Think of a time we were were rejected for a job. We didn't
00:49:36didn't have a firm handshake. We We didn't make eye contact or some
00:49:39some other spurious question. The The interviewer asked us that actually
00:49:42actually nothing to do with our capabilities.
00:49:44capabilities. Kate offers a useful useful reminder that humans haven't
00:49:47haven't always got it right. Generally,
00:49:50Generally, if the right guardrails guardrails are present, evaluate evaluate what it's being told to
00:49:54to and assuming those things are are job relevant criteria, there
00:49:57there is the possibility of better better outcome because all of that that error and noise and bias can
00:50:01can potentially be screened out, out, but only if it's built well. well. And he said if the guardrails
00:50:04guardrails are there. But that's that's a big if because there are
00:50:07are huge concerns, aren't there, there, that AI will prioritise or
00:50:11or elevate certain types of people. people. Those concerns are very real
00:50:15real and is a big shift from the
00:50:16the guardrails. You're quite right
00:50:19right and the guardrails are many many and complicated, and they're
00:50:23they're everything from who built built the system. Did they have the the right expert expertise to do
00:50:27do it? Which particular technology technology they used, which particular
00:50:30particular AI technique they used. Do that well. Kate argues an
00:50:34an AI can be good for both applicant
00:50:37applicant and employer, though more more broadly it's not clear how easily
00:50:41easily employers can adapt their
00:50:42their AI tools to meet their specific
00:50:45specific requirements. And there's there's another concern you might
00:50:48might think that applying to ten ten different companies gives you
00:50:52you ten chances. Not necessarily. necessarily. If different employers
00:50:55employers are using the same or very
00:50:58very similar algorithms, the same same candidates could be favoured
00:51:01favoured again and again. Researchers Researchers have a term for this
00:51:05this risk algorithmic monoculture. monoculture. It's not actually a
00:51:08a new phenomenon. It has not a lot lot to do with AI to be honest with
00:51:11with you. So if you think back 30, 30, 40 years, we would typically
00:51:15typically see the same types of people people getting the best jobs anyway, anyway, you know, those people were
00:51:19were well off. They might be members members of certain majority groups,
00:51:22groups, they might have access to to certain social privilege, they they might have gone to the best
00:51:25best universities. And those people people would always have had their their pick of jobs. And then if you
00:51:29you think about assessment before before AI employers were still able
00:51:32able to configure systems to choose choose certain types of people. This
00:51:36This is contested territory, both both which biases humans may have
00:51:40have and which factors may offer offer reasonable grounds to favour
00:51:43favour or reject a candidate. And
00:51:46And though it's claimed AI can move move beyond human biases given it
00:51:50it learns from human data that is
00:51:53is far from guaranteed. Whatever Whatever the merits, if you do get
00:51:56get through an AI shortlist, next
00:51:59next may come an AI interview. Hi, Hi, I'll be your AI interviewer today.
00:52:03today. My goal is to learn more about about you and the experiences, skills
00:52:06skills and competencies you might might bring to this role. Sometimes
00:52:09Sometimes an AI avatar will ask you
00:52:12you questions and then respond to to your answers. Other times, you're
00:52:16you're given a set series of questions questions with each answer recorded
00:52:19recorded as a timer counts down.
00:52:22down. The World Economic Forum says
00:52:24says AI led interviews can expand expand opportunities for overlooked
00:52:27overlooked candidates, reduce recruiter
00:52:29recruiter bias, increase efficiency efficiency and make rejection more
00:52:33more constructive. But the experience
00:52:35experience of these interviews isn't isn't always so positive. It's really
00:52:39really uncanny. It's really inhumane. inhumane. And it's like I'm trying
00:52:42trying to speak my heart out, be
00:52:44be as passionate as I can. But the
00:52:48the persona only sees, oh, are you you able to do this? Are you saying
00:52:52saying these keywords. How does it it feel when you're talking to a
00:52:56a AI generated person to try and and get a job? It doesn't feel nice.
00:52:59nice. It doesn't feel nice. It feels
00:53:01feels like I'm putting all this effort
00:53:04effort in and I don't see like, like like with a normal human, you'd see,
00:53:07see, yeah. Like, you know, smiles.
00:53:09smiles. To the stage where I had
00:53:11had an interview where I was recorded,
00:53:14recorded, but I was essentially talking
00:53:16talking to an AI and the AI would
00:53:19would basically ask me questions questions based on what I was saying.
00:53:22saying. Once I had this AI tell me
00:53:24me that I lacked empathy so that
00:53:27that for me was a bit was a bit crazy.
00:53:30crazy. Does it matter to you that that there's no evidence of a human
00:53:33human being involved? Yeah, definitely.
00:53:35definitely. It feels like I'm never
00:53:38never going to be understood by the the other side. It feels like I'm
00:53:41I'm talking to a robot. I've got got to be honest, it feels reasonably reasonably bleak that you're not
00:53:44not just talking about wanting to to get a job. You're talking about about wanting to reach the point
00:53:48point where you can speak to someone. Which is even before getting getting the job, which is even more
00:53:52more like, oh, there's such a long long process I have to go through
00:53:55through to even get my potential potential seen. Question here is
00:53:59is how much of this is the fault fault of new technology? That is
00:54:02is a very real and valid feeling,
00:54:03feeling, and I have a lot of sympathy sympathy with that perspective. Of
00:54:07Of course we all want to meet a human. human. We all want to feel that connection. connection. We want to feel that
00:54:11that our time has been valued and and our efforts have been valued
00:54:14valued because applying for a job job is emotional and important. I
00:54:17I think it's easy to blame AI and and AI in hiring has its flaws, but
00:54:21but I don't think that's the reason reason people aren't necessarily
00:54:23necessarily reaching human being. being. Needless to say, recruitment
00:54:26recruitment before AI wasn't perfect. perfect. Far from it. But there are
00:54:29are some particular challenges with with what's happening now. So it's
00:54:32it's more like an arms race now between between the employers and the candidates
00:54:36candidates really, because the employers employers are using AI to sift through through applications and the candidates
00:54:40candidates are using AI to better better their applications for the
00:54:43the role. And essentially it will will just become AI reading AI. They
00:54:47They would suggest be yourself and
00:54:51and your applications like have a
00:54:52a true voice. But then at the same
00:54:55same time, when you actually do that, that, you just get instantly rejected.
00:54:59rejected. AI isn't responsible for for every challenge with job hunting,
00:55:02hunting, and it may prove very helpful,
00:55:05helpful, but clearly there are issues. issues. And as the genie is out of
00:55:08of the bottle, it's not a question question of if it's used. It's very
00:55:12very much about how. You get behind.
00:55:14behind. If you don't use AI today
00:55:17today in this market, it's a must.
00:55:19must. Unfortunately. Yeah, I guess. It's a shame, but I guess guess it's reality as well. Like
00:55:23Like a survival of the fittest now
00:55:25now really it's like you either use use AI with your applications, with
00:55:29with the keywords or you don't. And And at the end of the day, everyone everyone wants the job. Everyone
00:55:33Everyone wants to get to that opportunity opportunity where they can speak speak to the human. And if that means
00:55:37means having to use the tool to better better yourself, that's the cost
00:55:41cost at the current state. Well, Well, if you want to share with us
00:55:44us this video or watch it again, again, it's on the BBC News YouTube
00:55:47YouTube channel. You can find more more of his explainer videos there
00:55:51there too. That's it from me for for the moment. Do stay with us here
00:55:54here on BBC News. All the day's top top stories coming up at the top
00:55:57top of the hour. Thanks for watching.
00:59:42MUSIC
01:00:13Live from London. This is BBC
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01:00:23results as a disaster for his party,
01:00:25party, with the AfD and Die Linke
01:00:27Linke making gains. Earl Spencer Spencer tells the BBC, writing his
01:00:31his book about his sister Princess Princess Diana was his duty as an
01:00:35an eyewitness to history and defends defends claims he made about the
01:00:38the King. I'm reporting every word
01:00:41word in this book. I report exactly exactly as I saw it and felt it at
01:00:45at the time. And I was surprised
01:00:48surprised at the giddiness of his his tone. That's what I'm recording
01:00:51recording there. At least two people people are killed in the Moscow region
01:00:55region in a massive Ukrainian drone drone attack. Russia says it's an
01:00:58an attempt to disrupt the country's