The Context

The programme reported live from Baltimore, Maryland, where US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth was speaking at the Sparrows Point shipyard before President Trump was expected. The event was intended to unveil a multi-billion-dollar investment in submarine manufacturing during Trump's tour of more than 30 states ahead of the November midterms. Democratic Governor Wes Moore said Trump blocked him from speaking, which a White House official did not dispute; Moore had helped negotiate the deal, but no Democrats were on the podium. Later, Trump arrived and spoke to workers about the investment. The broadcast then reported on protests in France over conditions in schools. High school students had been demonstrating since late September, and a national day of protest drew more than a quarter of a million people, according to some union sources, including parents, teachers and union members. Riot police clashed with demonstrators in cities including Lyon, Paris and Lille, with tear gas, fires and fireworks; thousands of schools and nearly all universities were blockaded or closed. President Macron held an emergency meeting and denied ordering police repression. At least 215 people were injured and more than 6,000 arrested since the protests began, most of them minors. A correspondent reported that 215 pupils and 85 teachers had been injured, along with 715 police officers. An analyst said student unions had called new strikes for Thursday and that the turnout had surprised police, while the government faced demands for rapid investment amid efforts to control debt ahead of next year's presidential election. President Trump posted on Truth Social that the unrest was out of control mass migration and about Islam wanting to take over a once great country, not schools.

The programme also reported that police investigating an incident at RAF Fairford in southwest England had made a further arrest. A 22-year-old British man was arrested in London on suspicion of preparation of terrorist acts, the seventh arrest in connection with the incident. Six other men had been released on bail. A major incident was declared after police were alerted to three suspicious vehicles near the airbase. Since March the base had been used by the US air force to launch bombing raids on Iran. On 27 September police were alerted to three suspicious vehicles, and five men were arrested on suspicion of preparing an act of terrorism before being released on bail. One of those men dialled 999 himself. On 1 October a sixth man, a UK-Iranian dual national, was arrested and released on bail, and on 4 October the US appeared to quickly remove its remaining B1 bombers from RAF Fairford. The broadcast then reported that two police officers who tasered a 92-year-old man at a care home in East Sussex had been sacked for gross misconduct. The officers had responded to a call saying resident Donald Burgess, who had dementia and was an amputee in a wheelchair, was holding a dinner knife and threatening carers. Body-worn footage showed him being pepper-sprayed, having a baton used against him and being tasered within 90 seconds of the officers arriving. He was handcuffed and taken to hospital, where he contracted COVID and died. A disciplinary panel found unjustified and excessive use of force, and the officers were not held responsible for his death. His family said he was much loved and a family man.

The Conservatives said they would spend £10 billion on a missile defence system for the UK if elected. The Britannia Shield was announced at the party conference in Birmingham, and shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge said it would protect critical national infrastructure and act as a deterrent, describing it as one of Britain's most significant military programmes since the Cold War. Military experts raised questions about the cost, with one estimating it could require up to £100 billion. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that £10 billion over a decade would be sufficient, saying a billion pounds a year over 10 years should deliver the plan and that it was not a replication of Israel's Iron Dome. The government's plan for air and missile defence was reported as about £70 million a year. The broadcast also examined questions in the US about funding for President Trump's planned Golden Dome missile defence shield, estimated at up to $1.2 trillion over 20 years. Congress made a $24 billion down payment last year, but around 97 percent of the requested funding was contingent on legislation that could be blocked if Republicans lost control of Congress in the midterm elections next month. Experts discussed the feasibility, funding and need for a high-low mix of capabilities against drones and more complex missiles.