Fiona Hill: Russia expert tells children "grasp every opportunity"

Fiona Hill took to the stage of her old school, which she remembered falling off as a child

A miner's daughter who ended up being an advisor to three US presidents has visited her old school to try to inspire children.

Fiona Hill gave a talk to pupils at Bishop Barrington Academy in Bishop Auckland where she went in the 1980s.

The 56-year-old is an expert on the former Soviet Union and advised George W Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump.

She said she was nervous taking to the school's stage again after falling off it as a child while giving a talk.

She said: "I was a bit nervous because I have some bad memories of public speaking at the school because of some real disasters, falling off the stage messing everything up, everybody laughing and getting pulled off by the headmaster because I couldn't stop laughing.

"I've improved just a bit in public speaking since then."

'Really amazing'

She told the students it did not matter where they lived or whether they ended up going to university but the "crucial" thing was to "grasp every educational opportunity" they were given.

After the talk one pupil said he felt "motivated to succeed".

Another said: "It was really amazing and proves that anything is possible.

"People don't always realise there are things outside this area."

Her role on Mr Trump's National Security Council in 2017 led to her testifying as part of his impeachment hearing in 2019, after which she received death threats.

Ms Hill provided testimony in the impeachment inquiry of President Trump in November 2019

Ms Hill, who became a US citizen in 2002, testified that the president was not telling the truth when he said Ukraine was an adversary of the US and not Russia and that it was Ukraine and not Russia that attacked the country in 2016.

Talking about the war in Ukraine, she said: "I told the kids that Vladimir Putin thinks we won't have the nerve or resilience to continue to try and support Ukraine and push back against this invasion.

"If Putin thinks he can get everyone to capitulate, then he'll move on to the next place if he's got the opportunity."