David Miliband has announced he is to quit frontline politics after being pipped to Labour's leadership by his younger brother. The former foreign secretary has said he is not putting himself forward for a place in the shadow cabinet because it is the right decision for him, his family and for Labour.

Political editor Michael Crick will asking what this means for Ed Miliband, and looking at David Miliband's life in politics. We'll have reaction to the news from a senior Labour politician.

Meanwhile, Jeremy has been speaking to Ed Miliband about who he is, and what he stands for. Does he believe in God for instance?

Plus we'll be asking our focus group of ex-Labour voters what they feel about having the younger Miliband at the party's helm.

Also in the programme, veteran US investigative journalist Bob Woodward - of Watergate fame - will be speaking exclusively to Gavin about the contents of his new book, Obama's Wars, which depicts a US administration deeply divided over strategy in Afghanistan. Watch a preview clip here.

We'll also have a report from Science Editor Susan Watts on Dr Robert Trossel, who has been struck off by the GMC following a Newsnight investigation into his controversial stem cell treatments. Read more about the story here.

Join Jeremy and Gavin tonight at 2230 BST on BBC Two.

Ed Miliband delivered his maiden speech to the Labour party conference in Manchester earlier, telling delegates "I am ready to lead" and that a new generation was in charge of Labour with "different attitudes, different ideas, different ways of doing politics".

He concluded his speech saying: "We are the optimists and together we will change Britain."

Jeremy is in Manchester for us tonight with an audience of Labour members who'll give their views on the day's events.

David Grossman will give us his assessment of Ed's wide-ranging speech - did he manage to reassure those who think the wrong brother won the leadership contest?

And our Political editor Michael Crick will give us his analysis of where the Labour Party is now, nearly five months on from its election defeat (and you can try your hand at Michael's latest conference season quiz - this week all about the Labour Party - by clicking here).

Then back in London Gavin will be speaking to the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, about his new book - a collection of essays that looks at how we build a new social and economic model out of the ashes of the financial crisis.

All this and more at 10.30pm on BBC Two.

David Miliband today issued a rallying call to the Labour conference, saying the party now had a "great leader" in his younger brother Ed. David - who was long considered favourite for the top job - insisted he would "be fine" after being beaten by just over 1% of the votes in the leadership battle.

So, ahead of Ed Miliband's keynote speech tomorrow, we'll be hosting a Labour Party conference special in Manchester with an audience of delegates.

Political editor Michael Crick will be assessing the mood of the conference, wondering what David Miliband is going to do, and how the shadow cabinet will shape up. David Grossman will be reporting on the party's strategy for cutting the deficit, and whether there will be a change of tack.

We'll be speaking to Unite's Tony Woodley, Spectator political editor Fraser Nelson and columnist Jenni Russell, among others.

Meanwhile, cult Taiwanese animators Apple Daily will be bringing us their take on the Labour leadership race.

Join Jeremy at 10.30pm on BBC Two.

Things you never knew about a Miliband brother #4672...

Ed Miliband could do a Rubik's cube in one minute 20 seconds with just one hand when he was small. I can say that safe in the knowledge that voting for the Labour leadership is now closed and I will thus not be in danger of swaying votes amongst Rubik's devotees.

Tomorrow: David Miliband, Connect4 genius. We'll keep you posted.

Tonight, Michael Crick will be looking at the upbringing the Miliband brothers had - the legacy their father - radical Marxist Ralph Miliband - left upon them. And how their mother, Marion, another left-wing socialist, may actually have been the greater influence. To mangle a quote, to see one son enter mainstream politics could be considered a misfortune. To see two could seem like carelessness. Read more about the influence of Ralph Miliband from Michael Crick here.

Also this evening we'll be asking if councils could chose to outsource all their services - slashing their budgets and sacking thousands to meet the cuts required. Suffolk County Council will be the first to try it out, a council near you may quickly follow.

Mark Urban will have the latest from the UN as Obama and Ahmedinejad take to the stage.

And Tim Whewell will be looking at allegations of torture against a British citizen by the Bahraini government - his wife tells Newsnight that the Foreign Office could have done more to get him out.

Do join me at 10.30pm on BBC Two.

Emily

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The Kremlin this week formally banned the sale of S-300 air defence missile systems to Iran, three months after new UN sanctions against the country.

So, as US President Barack Obama and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad both take to the podium today to address the UN General Assembly, we'll be taking a look at what appears to be mounting pressure on the Iranian government over its nuclear programme.

Also, with the new Labour leader set to be announced on Saturday, Newsnight Political editor Michael Crick will be looking at the influence Marxist academic Ralph Miliband had on his sons and leadership hopefuls, David and Ed.

Plus, we'll be asking whether moves by the Conservative-controlled Suffolk County Council to cut costs by 30% and outsource much of its services could become a new model of local government.

Further details later.

So, on the final day of Pakistan's cricket tour of Britain, we'll be discussing whether the last few months' events have damaged the country's reputation, and what the effect they have had on Pakistan's relations with Britain.

We also have a powerful film from Peter Marshall on Briton Linda Carty, who is awaiting execution on death row in Texas. He speaks to the St Kitts-born grandmother and investigates why campaigners believe her 2002 trial was flawed. Read more about the story here.

And, on the day equalities minister Lynne Featherstone delivered a keynote speech to the Lib Dem conference, Jacqui Long will be asking leading women - including editor of the Lady Rachel Johnson and writer and campaigner Natasha Walter - about what issues need to be tackled. We also hope to speak to Ms Featherstone about her plans.

Join Jeremy tonight at 10.30pm on BBC Two.

In a day steeped in religious symbolism, Pope Benedict XVI this afternoon became the first pontiff to step foot inside Lambeth Palace, where he met the Archbishop of Canterbury - the leader of the Anglican Church - on his own turf. And, in what is seen by many as another symbolic act of unity between the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion, the Pope will head to the Anglican Westminster Abbey later, where he and Dr Rowan Williams are due to give a joint blessing from the High Altar.

We'll be discussing the significance of today's events on the programme and asking what they say about the current ecumenical relationship.

We'll also have the latest on the arrest by counter-terrorism officers of five men, all street cleaners, on suspicion of planning a terrorist attack during pontiff's trip.

But before all that, we'll have an exclusive story from Richard Watson on party political funding. Find out more by watching later.

Join Gavin at 10.30pm on BBC Two.

It was in response to the Duke of Edinburgh who, she later revealed, had asked her if she wore tartan knickers, one of the less choreographed exchanges of the day's events.

The day, as it happened, was bathed in sunlight and mellifluous harmony as crowds turned out to line parks in Glasgow and Edinburgh for the pontiff's visit. It was also the day that a minister asserted the new government would "defend people of faith" or, "dare I say" she added, "do God".

Is Baroness Warsi right to assert people of faith are more likely to do more for their communities? The humanists don't think so. We'll be talking to her tonight. And we'll be hearing Steve Smith's latest thoughts on Big Society (read more about that here).

After the EU justice commissioner accused France of thinking the unthinkable in its expulsion of the Roma people we compare the fortunes of Roma here in Britain.

And Bernhard Schlink - author of best-selling novel The Reader (which became an Oscar-winning movie) - talks to us about guilt, forgiveness and what the Pope should do about wrongdoing within his own Church.

Join me, Emily, at 10.30pm on BBC Two.

From earlier:

Pope Benedict XVI has arrived in Britain saying he wants to "extend the hand of friendship" to the whole of the UK during his state visit. We will have the latest on the pontiff's trip - and will be assessing the reception he has so far received.

Meanwhile, we'll be reflecting on Baroness Warsi's speech to Church of England Bishops in Oxford last night in which she confirmed the coalition government "does God" - and described how she wanted church leaders to play a greater role in local communities.

The Conservative party chairman said the coalition would have a very different approach to Labour - referring to Tony Blair's former spin doctor Alistair Campbell's now famous quote which stated "we don't do God".

We'll also have the latest on Stephen Smith's project in Hastings, where he has taken over a roundabout to test the government's idea of a "big society". This week he will be reporting on the battle to cut red tape.

Archbishop Vincent Nichols, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, has brushed off concerns that there may be a lack of interest in the Pope's visit. The archbishop's comments came after it emerged that thousands of tickets remained unsold for events during the visit of Pope Benedict XVI, due to arrive in the UK on Thursday.

So what sort of welcome will the Pope receive in Britain, and is there really a sense of indifference to the Pontiff's arrival? We'll also ask to what extent Britain may be a more secular place than it was in 1982 when Pope John Paul II made the journey from Rome.

We'll have the latest on the public inquiry into the murder of loyalist prisoner Billy Wright. The report has concluded that serious failings by the prison service, not state collusion, led to his death. We'll have exclusive footage of former Maze prisoners, including one of Wright's killers, Christopher "Crip" McWilliams, who told Newsnight back in 2000 how he believed the prison authorities had "turned a blind eye" to the murder. Watch the film from 2000 here.

We'll also have the second of Tim Whewell's powerful films on private fostering in Britain. Ten years after the death of eight-year-old Victoria Climbie, he finds it is still easy for a child to be brought into the UK and grow up "invisible" to the authorities. Read more about the story here. And listen to an audio slideshow about foster child Tunde Jaji here.

And finally, ahead of Battle of Britain Day tomorrow - a time when many Britons reflect on the Blitz and how it shaped the nation's identity - we will be exploring what impact the allied bombing of Germany had on the German national psyche.

Do join Jeremy at 10.30pm on BBC Two.

We have a hard-hitting investigation from Tim Whewell into private fostering in Britain. He finds that poor regulation of the practice is leaving hundreds of children, many brought into the UK from abroad, vulnerable to abuse.

We follow the journey of one young Nigerian, Tunde Jaji, now 24, who was brought to London when he was five years old to live with a woman he called his "aunt" only to discover, years later, that they were not related.

Ministers tell Newsnight that they are looking at what more can be done to increase the numbers of privately-fostered children who are known to local authorities. Read more about the story here. And follow Tunde's story here.

Also in the programme, Political editor Michael Crick will be reporting from the TUC conference in Manchester, where delegates have backed joint industrial action should what they call the coalition's "attacks" on jobs, pensions and public services go ahead. We will be asking what this means for the Labour leadership with David Miliband, who will be joining us fresh from the party's hustings.

And Matt Prodger will be asking whether we really live in noisier times after poet Ian McMillan's public call to reduce our noise footprint, made up of such things as the tinny beat emanating from iPod headphones, the repetitive thud of road drills, or what he terms the burglar alarm's "version of house music". We'll also be speaking to Ian McMillan about why he wants us all to live a quieter life.

Do join Jeremy at 10.30pm on BBC Two.

After a compelling debate in the House of Commons today, MPs backed calls for a fresh parliamentary investigation into allegations of phone hacking by journalists.

A number of the News of the World's former employees have claimed that hacking was rife when Downing Street's communications director, Andy Coulson, was editor of the paper. He has repeatedly denied that he was aware of the practice.

In the Commons, former Labour minister Chris Bryant led the demands for the investigation, saying he believed media reports about those targeted were "only the tip of the iceberg", and Labour's Tom Watson told MPs he believed parts of the media were out of control.

"They are untouchable, they laugh at the law, they sneer at Parliament, they have the power to hurt us and they do with gusto and precision," he said.
We'll be speaking live to deputy Lib Dem leader Simon Hughes, whose phone may have been hacked, and we'll be debating the power of the media with Tom Watson and former Sun editor Kelvin MacKenzie.

Also, Peter Marshall will be looking ahead to Pope Benedict XVI's visit next week, and will be asking what kind of man Joseph Ratzinger is. He has had unique access to Britain's only mass for a predominantly gay congregation.

And we will be discussing the BBC Two programme Gareth Malone's Extraordinary School for Boys, in which the choirmaster turns teacher to try to re-engage boys who don't like school. Gareth will be joined in the studio by the school's head teacher, Chris Thurgood, and the former London deputy mayor and youth worker, Ray Lewis, to discuss the project.

Do join Gavin tonight at 10.30pm on BBC Two.

An investigation carried out by BP has blamed a "sequence of failures involving a number of different parties" for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

The oil giant has acknowledged that it was partly to blame, but concluded other companies working on the well also bore some responsibility.

We will be asking what these failures mean for the future of the oil industry.

Scotland's First Minister, Alex Salmond, will be speaking to us about his final programme of legislation before the Holyrood elections in May - a programme that doesn't include a referendum on independence.

We also have a film from Science editor Susan Watts on the search for the elusive "theory of everything". She will be asking how far scientists have got in the quest for the ultimate answer, and speaks to Professor Stephen Hawking as well as Eels frontman Mark Everett, who talks about the contribution of his physicist father, Hugh Everett III.

Listen to Stephen Hawking's personal invitation to Newsnight viewers.

And, after a small US church said it would defy international condemnation and go ahead with plans to burn copies of the Koran on the anniversary of 9/11, we will be asking how far should people be allowed to go in the name of freedom of speech?

Do join Jeremy at 10.30pm on BBC Two.

So, as hundreds of thousands take to the streets of France to register anger at plans to overhaul pensions and raise the retirement age to 62, Economics editor Paul Mason will be explaining why the current model for retirement is almost certainly unsustainable.

Also in tonight's special programme, Stephen Smith will be asking why our view of old age, embodied by grumpy sitcom character Victor Meldrew, has become so entrenched in our psyche. Is it time to change our clichéd understanding of what getting older means?

Back in the studio we will be speaking to a variety of guests, old and young, about their expectations of life over the age of 60 and whether the baby boomers stole the future from younger generations.

Do join Jeremy at 10.30pm on BBC Two.

Home Secretary Theresa May today told Parliament it was "right" for the police to say they would examine any new evidence in the News of the World phone hacking case and the government would "await the outcome" of any further action.

Responding to an urgent question from Labour MP Tom Watson, she said the Metropolitan Police had indicated that "if there was further evidence, they would look at it".

Matt Prodger will be bringing us the latest on the story tonight.

MPs are to begin debating plans for a referendum on changing the way MPs are elected, as the Commons resumes business after the summer recess. They will debate a bill paving the way for a referendum on 5 May 2011 on changing to an alternative vote system.

The Tories oppose AV and some say the date will affect turnouts across the UK - it coincides with devolved elections. And although Labour back the poll, they have threatened to oppose the bill over proposals to change constituency sizes.

Tonight our Political editor Michael Crick will be explaining what AV is and where it might lead.

And we have a film from Peter Marshall about Pope Benedict XVI ahead of his UK visit later this month. Will the way he deals with paedophile priests be the measure by which his papacy is judged?

As a Cardinal Ratzinger held responsibility from 2001 for investigating the sexual abuse of minors by priests, so why did inquiries into serious abuse cases involving the former Archbishop of Vienna, the late Cardinal Hans Hermann Groer, and Father Marcial Maciel, the Mexican founder of the conservative order the Legionaries of Christ, run aground?

Jeremy is back in the presenter's chair - do join him at 2230 on BBC
Two.
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From earlier:
Plans for a referendum on changing the way MPs are elected will take centre stage when the House of Commons resumes business today after the summer recess.

MPs will debating a bill paving the way for a referendum on 5 May next year on changing to an alternative vote (AV) system.

The commitment to hold a referendum on replacing the current first-past-the-post electoral system with AV was a key part of the coalition deal signed by the Conservatives and Lib Dems in May.

But many Tory MPs oppose AV and some say the date will affect turnouts across the UK as it coincides with devolved elections. And although Labour backs the referendum, it has threatened to oppose the bill over proposals to change constituency sizes.

We'll have the latest on the debate later.

We also have a film from Peter Marshall looking ahead to the Pope's UK visit later this month.

Further details to come.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has told Israeli and Palestinian leaders they have the "opportunity to end" the Middle East conflict as a new round of direct talks get under way between Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.

But the push for a deal comes amid fresh violence in the West Bank and Diplomatic editor Mark Urban will be asking what the two sides can really achieve with Hamas not involved. He will also be analysing what the talks mean for Mr Obama ahead of mid-term elections in November. We will be speaking to Hamas, among others, about the talks.

Back in Britain, we will have the latest on Foreign Secretary William Hague, who has received "100%" support from Downing Street following speculation about his private life. And we'll be asking whether Professor Stephen Hawking is right to conclude that there is no place for God in theories of the creation of the Universe. He had previously argued belief in a creator was not incompatible with science, but in his new book, The Grand Design, he concludes the Big Bang was simply an inevitable consequence of the laws of physics.

Finally, Gavin Esler interviews one of Israel's most celebrated authors, David Grossman, who will be talking about his new book To the End of the Land - a portrayal of modern Israeli life.

Join Gavin tonight at 10.30pm on BBC Two.

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley wants family doctors to decide where the NHS's money is spent as part of the government's plans for a major shake-up of the NHS system in England.

But not everyone is happy about the move. The UK's largest public service union, Unison, has launched legal action claiming ministers failed to ask the public if it wanted such fundamental changes in the first place. And a Muscular Dystrophy Campaign study seen by Newsnight found many GPs had no knowledge of muscle-wasting conditions. The charity warns that a move to GP-based commissioning would be disastrous. The Shadow Health Secretary and Labour leadership contender Andy Burnham joins us live.

We also have a film from Mark Seddon on the decline of the English elm, which is under threat from a fresh outbreak of Dutch elm disease. Watch out for the specially-commissioned poem dedicated to the elm written and read by Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy. Read more about the English elm here, and listen to Carol Ann Duffy's poem here.

And we'll be asking why President Barack Obama's disapproval rating is higher than his approval rating for the first time in an Ipsos poll.

Join Kirsty tonight at 10.30pm on BBC Two.

From earlier:

The English elm - once a common sight in the British countryside - is under threat from a fresh outbreak of Dutch elm disease.

We have a film from Mark Seddon investigating the history and decline of the great English tree. It will feature a specially-commissioned poem dedicated to the elm written and read by Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy. Read more about the English elm here, and listen to Carol Ann Duffy's poem here.

We are also looking at a number of other stories, including plans in Germany to end conscription.

More details later.