live from london, this is bbc news. the uk is out of recession — with gdp figures released today showing the fastest economic growth in two years. israel's prime minister vows to press ahead with the offensive in rafah in defiance to us calls for restraint. labour leader sir keir starmer sets out his policy to stop migrant boat crossings — promising new powers to tackle people—smuggling gangs. and israel gets through to saturday's eurovision final, amid protests about israel's war in gaza. and we caught up with prince harry as he surprised a charity event for bereaved military children in the uk — before he jetted off to nigeria. it's amazing. what scotty's is doing with these kids as is absolutely incredible. are you glad to be back in the uk?

yeah, it's great. nice to see you. some breaking news for you, official figures released in the last hour show the uk economy is no longer in recession. the economy grew by 0.6% in the first three months of this year. the uk entered recession after output fell during two consecutive quarters at the end of last year. most economists had predicted growth of 0.4%. this is the fastest growth rate for more than two years. well, i think it's encouraging that we, in the last quarter, have grown faster notjust in france and germany, but also the united states. but i think more significant is the longer term data that is coming out now about the uk economy. we can see that since 2010 we have created morejobs in the uk

than anywhere else in europe. we've attracted more greenfield foreign direct investment, notjust done anywhere in europe, but anywhere in the world outside of the united states and china. in terms of the most rapidly growing industries, we have by far the largest tech industry in europe. and international monetary fund say that, over the next six years, we will grow faster than france, italy, germany orjapan. for the families that have been having a really tough time, i think they can see that the very difficult decisions that we have taken in order to get the economy back on its feet after the pandemic, after the energy shock, are beginning to pay off and we need to see them through. let's put today's gdp figure into context. this chart shows the comparative figures, quarter by quarter, going back to 2021. the blue bars are growth — the red show when the economy shrank — and, as you can see, this is the first growth in the uk since the first quarter of 2023.

let's speak to our economics correspondent andrew verity. good to have you. it's good news, but could you tell us what this really means in terms of the health of our economy, first?— of our economy, first? well, good news, of our economy, first? well, good news. that — of our economy, first? well, good news. that is _ of our economy, first? well, good news, that is a _ of our economy, first? well, good news, that is a judgment - of our economy, first? well, good news, that is a judgment you - of our economy, first? well, good | news, that is a judgment you make about this. we have some figures showing the economy is expanding, but does that mean that we are each, individually, getting better off? not necessarily. what do we mean by economic growth? it is worth remembering what we are talking about is just people and their economic activity. the economy can growjust by adding people. sometimes economic growth just means we have a bigger population. the figures within this show gdp per capita, gross domestic product, all of the domestic services, divided by

people. that has grown in the first quarter of the year but it is still 0.7% down on where it was a year ago. the fact is, people can get better off in recessions and worse off in recoveries. how we fare as individuals does not necessarily align with whether the economy is growing or not. that align with whether the economy is growing or not-— growing or not. that a really good oint, growing or not. that a really good point. and — growing or not. that a really good point, and some _ growing or not. that a really good point, and some people _ growing or not. that a really good point, and some people have - growing or not. that a really good i point, and some people have called the growth of this economy anaemic, you have andrew bailey who says he calls it slow growth. in terms of how people are feeling it in their pockets and purses, how does this vary, for example, for the people with mortgages, and also mortgages that are coming up for renewal? how are they feeling the cost of living right now? are they feeling the cost of living riaht now? , ., ., ., right now? right, if you are in one ofthe right now? right, if you are in one of the grouos _ right now? right, if you are in one of the groups that _ right now? right, if you are in one of the groups that has _ right now? right, if you are in one of the groups that has been - right now? right, if you are in one of the groups that has been hit - right now? right, if you are in one i of the groups that has been hit hard by high interest rates, which are designed to slow the economy down a little bit so we don't have as much inflation as we have had, so it doesn't get embedded and last, some of the people who have bought houses with large mortgages and low interest rates, three four years

ago, they are really feeling the pinch. some of them are seeing mortgage rates double. people who are renting, most of the people under a0 who have to rent because they can't afford to buy, those people have seen their rents go up in double figures. you'll be hard—pressed to tell them that they are better off because the economy is growing. if you divide it by individuals, it's not that great a picture. however, there is no doubt it is a better picture than for most of the last couple of years, when we have this shallow recession and people have definitely been getting worse off. 0.6% is more like the norm that we were used to, per quarter, before the global financial crisis. eversince quarter, before the global financial crisis. ever since then we have had what a lot of people regard as anaemic growth ofjust about i% or less over the last 15 years. not enough to be spread around the population and make us each feel significantly better off.— significantly better off. really im ortant significantly better off. really important context, _ significantly better off. really important context, thank- significantly better off. really important context, thank you | significantly better off. really i important context, thank you for that. israel's prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, has said he hopes to overcome his differences

withjoe biden, but vowed to press ahead with a military assault on rafah. mr netanyahu was speaking to us media after president biden confirmed that the us had withheld a delivery of munitions, and could halt more shipments if israeli forces attack hamas in rafah, a densely populated city in the gaza strip. mr netanyahu said israel had to defeat hamas in rafah. let's speak to our middle east correspondent, yolande knell. good to have you. what is the latest in what is becoming an increasingly public rift betweenjoe biden and benjamin netanyahu? public rift between joe biden and benjamin netanyahu?— public rift between joe biden and benjamin netanyahu? well, i think there latest— benjamin netanyahu? well, i think there latest comments _ benjamin netanyahu? well, i think there latest comments by - benjamin netanyahu? well, i think there latest comments by mr - there latest comments by mr netanyahu, speaking in english, to an american audience, where more conciliatory than we had heard from him before. suddenly he was talking about efforts to overcome

disagreements with israel's closest ally. and he was reiterating the need on israel's behalf to go into rafah, to have a bigger invasion there, to deal with hamas battalions that he says are still in that city, and to therefore be able to get a full victory over hamas in gaza. 0f full victory over hamas in gaza. of course, what the us and what the world is really worried about is that nadal is so crammed full of displaced people, there are more thani million of displaced people, there are more than i million of them there, close to the egyptian border. already what we have seen in the past few days, with the relatively limited incursion of rafah by israeli forces, is that humanitarian operations there are in a new crisis. ~ ., , operations there are in a new crisis. ~ . , . crisis. meanwhile, there is so much ho -e and crisis. meanwhile, there is so much hope and focus _ crisis. meanwhile, there is so much hope and focus on _ crisis. meanwhile, there is so much hope and focus on the _ crisis. meanwhile, there is so much hope and focus on the ceasefire - hope and focus on the ceasefire talks, where do they stand amidst all of this back—and—forth? talks, where do they stand amidst all of this back-and-forth?- all of this back-and-forth? those talks really _ all of this back-and-forth? those talks really broke _ all of this back-and-forth? those talks really broke down _ all of this back-and-forth? those talks really broke down last - all of this back-and-forth? those | talks really broke down last night. we saw hamas in israel sending away

their delegations. although the mediators, the egyptians, the qataris and the americans, they say they are continuing to work on closing the gaps, the fundamental difference remains there. hamas has said it is ready to sign up to mediators�* proposals, that would basically see a phased end to this war. they want the complete withdrawal of israeli troops. they want an end to the war in gaza. whereas israel has said it is really only prepared to sign up to a truce in return for the release of its remaining hostages, still being held ijy remaining hostages, still being held by hamas. at this stage, it�*s not ready to agree to an end to the war. thank you for that. we will keep hearing from yolande is that story develops. the porn star stormy daniels, at the centre of donald trump�*s hush money criminal trial, has ended her testimony in court in new york. under fierce cross examination, she was accused of trying to profit from the case. the former president is charged with hiding a payment to her, to cover up an alleged

affair, before the 2016 election. he�*s pleaded not guilty, to sa counts of falsifying business records. sarah smith has the latest, from new york. stormy daniels�* lawyer posted this picture of his client looking very happy to have finished with a hostile cross—examination. in the courtroom, she was repeatedly accused of being a liar, of having made up the story about having sex with donald trump in 2006. referring to her career in adult films, mr trump�*s attorney said to ms daniels, "you have a lot of experience in making phony stories about sex appear to be real." she replied, "the sex in the films is very much real, just like what happened to me in that room," referring to her alleged sexual encounter with mr trump and then saying, "if that story was untrue, i would have written it to be a lot better." donald trump denies ever having sex with stormy daniels and claims the case against him is bogus. this is a frankenstein case. they took a dead misdemeanour, they attached it to a dead alleged federal felony and zapped it back into life.

so many of us are just amazed to watch this actually walk into court because it�*s not a recognisable crime. the judge and jury kept straight faces, as ms daniels described being called a human toilet online and replying that she was the best person to flush that orange turd down. because she tweeted a link to her online store selling team stormy merchandise the day mr trump was indicted, ms daniels was accused of trying to make money from this case. "not unlike mr trump," she said. he sends out frequent emails to supporters trying to raise money to defend himself. stormy daniels�* testimony over a day and a half was explicit and explosive, talking about donald trump in black silk pajamas and describing having sex with him. but it may not have much impact on this criminal case. legally, it doesn�*t really matter whether donald trump and stormy daniels had sex. in fact, his defence team had been arguing for a mistrial, saying all this explicit detail has

nothing to do with the case in hand. they were denied that. donald trump doesn�*t deny paying stormy daniels to keep quiet, and what he�*s actually charged with is falsifying business expenses because he marked those hush money payments as legal expenses, so it doesn�*t really have anything to do with the sex. sarah smith, bbc news, new york. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

the leader of the uk�*s main opposition labour party will visit dover shortly, to make a keynote speech about people smuggling. sir keir starmer is expected to outline his plans to deal with migrants arriving across the english channel on small boats. labour says it will cancel the government�*s plans to send migrants to rwanda if it is elected — and instead use funds to create a new border security command.

live to westminster and our political correspondent helen catt. good to have you. what are we expecting to hear today? labour has been under pressure _ expecting to hear today? labour has been under pressure for _ expecting to hear today? labour has been under pressure for a _ expecting to hear today? labour has been under pressure for a while - expecting to hear today? labour has been under pressure for a while to i been under pressure for a while to set up more detail about how it plans to tackle the issue of people being smuggled across the channel in very dangerous small boats. so what we�*re going to from sir keir starmer todayis we�*re going to from sir keir starmer today is labour�*s plan to do that. what we are being told he is going to announce is that he would use £75 million in the first year of money that, at the moment, is set to be put towards the rwanda scheme and, instead, set up a border security command unit which would oversee hundreds of new intelligence officers, cross—border police officers, cross—border police officers and others who will all be working together with european

partners to try to tackle the smuggling gangs. and also these officers, these agents, they would be given powers that are usually only available to counterterrorism officers at the moment, so they could do things like, for example, stopping and searching people of the border, they could do things like closing bank accounts and target them in other ways. so, that is labour�*s plan for this. i�*m the main difference with the government is that they would not enact the rwanda plan. the government says it is working with european partners already to tackle smuggling gangs too. ., ~ already to tackle smuggling gangs too. ., ,, , ., already to tackle smuggling gangs too. ., ,, i. ., ., let�*s speak to andrew fisher, who served as director of policy of the labour party, underjeremy corbyn, from 2015 to 2019. thank you for your time. now, i want to get your reaction, i am sure you listen to helen that they are about the labour leader, sir keir starmer�*s plans on tackling the

criminal smuggling gangs as a priority. criminal smuggling gangs as a riori . , ., criminal smuggling gangs as a riori _ , ., ., ., “ priority. yes, good morning. ithink it is very welcome _ priority. yes, good morning. ithink it is very welcome that _ priority. yes, good morning. ithink it is very welcome that labour - priority. yes, good morning. ithink it is very welcome that labour says | it is very welcome that labour says it is very welcome that labour says it will scrap the rwanda scheme which, frankly, is a stain on the united kingdom�*s reputation. a horrible scheme that this government might go has set up to try to shirk our responsibilities to refugees genuinely come into this country, fleeing war and persecution. it�*s great that is going to be scrapped. 0n the people strip —— modellers, nobly thinks it is acceptable happy blogging smuggled on small boats, it is very dangerous. the way to stop the smugglers and stop people travelling on small boats is to open safe and legal routes to claim asylum. there is virtually no way in which the vast majority of people coming, from countries like syria, afghanistan, iran, iraq, that they can only get there by regular

routes, either in lorries, which is very dangerous, as we saw the vietnamese people who died in tilbury, and small boats across the channel. again, that is very dangerous. in the last couple of weeks, we have seen people drowning, trying to get across here. we need to close the market for people smugglers. this isn�*t about crackdowns on people smugglers, that will not solve this. we need to shrink their market by having a humane refugee system in this country that treats people fleeing persecution as people that need our help and assistance. that is what we are failing to do.— are failing to do. andrew, what ou're are failing to do. andrew, what you're saying — are failing to do. andrew, what you're saying are _ are failing to do. andrew, what you're saying are similar - are failing to do. andrew, what you're saying are similar to - are failing to do. andrew, what. you're saying are similar to what you�*re saying are similar to what the refugee council has said, that it is more important to create safe routes. but what many members of your own party, as well as the conservatives would argue is that some migration is explained by people seeking a better life economically, that it puts pressure on the uk, on its own services, in terms of cost, and that some deterrent is needed, whether that is

the rwanda skiing all these plans that have been announced by the labour leader, sir keir starmer. what is your response to that? fit what is your response to that? of course we need a fair asylum system. and there is an asylum system in this country. the home office is currently approving about 70% of cases in the last couple of years of people who came across in small boats. the vast majority are legitimate asylum seekers, they are deemed to be by the home office and others win on appeal as well. of course there should be a process to see if the claims are genuine. there is no problem with that. of course there should be routes for people that we need another part of the economy, whether that is nurses or doctors, to come and contribute in that way. at this rhetoric that people are coming here, putting a strain on our services, actually, we help you separate out two things. one is that we have a duty to the world. if you want to prevent asylum seekers coming here, look at the countries they are coming from. these are countries we have bombed all we have armed dictatorships that

have bombed those countries in recent years. we have a duty to do more in the world to stop refugees existing in the first place, to stop people being displaced. that is about more international aid, better diplomacy, stopping bombing campaigns of our own or arming other dictatorships that abuse human rights, that which enabling it. so there�*s lots of things we can do to stop the flow. there's lots of things we can do to stop the flow-— stop the flow. andrew, the government _ stop the flow. andrew, the government has _ stop the flow. andrew, the government has published| stop the flow. andrew, the i government has published its stop the flow. andrew, the - government has published its own economic assessment of its illegal migration act, and it has estimated costs per individual. i understand what you�*re saying is that the costs are justified, what you�*re saying is that the costs arejustified, that what you�*re saying is that the costs are justified, that is your view here. another point sir keir starmer has made is assured a labour government be elected, they would scrap the rwanda plan. and yet the current government has said flights could be taking off as soon asjuly. what is your view on what happens to people who are potentially already in kigali? i

people who are potentially already in kiaali? , ,, . ., people who are potentially already in kiali? , ,, . . people who are potentially already in kiuali? , ,, . . . in kigali? i suspect and hope that the courts and _ in kigali? i suspect and hope that the courts and various _ in kigali? i suspect and hope that the courts and various other- in kigali? i suspect and hope thati the courts and various other legal action will stop that from happening. it was the uk supreme court that rocked the original rwanda scheme because it was illegal and in contravention of international law. domestic uk law. i hope that won�*t happen. if it does, obviously i think the labour government to bring those people back and process them properly. not hand them over to a dictatorship in rwanda that has just been accused of bombing a refugee camp in neighbouring congo. this is not a safe country to hunt people too, and it�*s actually shameful for britain, the sixth richest country in the world, to seven people our way across the world, to a poor country, across the world, to a poor country, a dictatorship, which is not a safe place for refugees. just a dictatorship, which is not a safe place for refugees.— a dictatorship, which is not a safe place for refugees. just to say that the conservative _ place for refugees. just to say that the conservative government - place for refugees. just to say that | the conservative government would argue that the illegal migration act ensures anyone at risk of serious harm in the country to which they are being removed will be able to delay their departure. i understand what you�*re saying echoes some of the concerns of the labour party as

well. �* ., ., , ., well. and the united nations, and indeed the uk _ well. and the united nations, and indeed the uk conservative - indeed the uk conservative government in 2021, went to the un and accused rwanda of human rights abuses including torture, disappearance and displacement. so... disappearance and displacement. so. . . , disappearance and displacement. so... , , ., ., ., so... there is new legislation now. i so... there is new legislation now. i understand _ so... there is new legislation now. i understand what _ so... there is new legislation now. i understand what you _ so... there is new legislation now. i understand what you say, - so... there is new legislation now. i understand what you say, and - so... there is new legislation now. | i understand what you say, and you are not the only want to have some of those objections. the government would argue that there is new legislation that has declared rwanda a safe country. legislation that has declared rwanda a safe country-— a safe country. declaring something safe doesn't — a safe country. declaring something safe doesn't make _ a safe country. declaring something safe doesn't make it _ a safe country. declaring something safe doesn't make it safe. _ a safe country. declaring something safe doesn't make it safe. i - a safe country. declaring something safe doesn't make it safe. i could i safe doesn�*t make it safe. i could declare the world is made of cheese, does not make it so. the government is not being honest and truthful here. unfortunately, it has legislated and got it through parliament to say that rwanda is a safe country. it�*s not. we know it is not, because the uk has accepted asylum seekers from rwanda in recent years. so it is clearly not.— years. so it is clearly not. andrew fisher, years. so it is clearly not. andrew fisher. thank _ years. so it is clearly not. andrew fisher, thank you _ years. so it is clearly not. andrew fisher, thank you for _ years. so it is clearly not. andrew fisher, thank you for that. - years. so it is clearly not. andrew fisher, thank you for that. the i fisher, thank you for that. the world is, indeed, not made of cheese. the prince of wales is visiting the isles of scilly today as part of a two day tour of cornwall

in the south west of england. let�*s speak to our correspondent jenny kumah who�*s in scilly isles off the coast of cornwall. good to have you. what can we expect from this trip and what have we seen so far? , ., , so far? yes, well, last-minute preparations — so far? yes, well, last-minute preparations are _ so far? yes, well, last-minute preparations are under - so far? yes, well, last-minute preparations are under way. i so far? yes, well, last-minute i preparations are under way. the prince is due to be here this morning and speaking to businesses on of this harbour. we are 28 miles off the coast of cornwall, and these isles are said to be among the favoured places of prince william. it's favoured places of prince william. it�*s easy to see why, as you fly in and see the group of islands with the white sandy beaches and turquoise sea water. he will be coming here for the first time as duke of cornwall. he came here many times as a child with his parents, and has continued to do so as a father and a husband. it will be noticeable today that he is here on his own, while his wife continues

her cancer treatment. significant today because it is the first visit as duke of cornwall. he inherited the title back in september, as well as the dutch estate, september 2022, when his father became king. he has a busy schedule ahead today, speaking to people here at the harbour. a short distance away of the community hospital, where he will visit the site of a facility thatis will visit the site of a facility that is being built on duchy land, a facility that will be a combined health and social care unit, including a maternity suite, inpatient beds and care, residential care beds. i guess it will serve as a reminderfor some of the health issues that his own family are facing. issues that his own family are facina. ., ~ issues that his own family are facina. . ~' ,, issues that his own family are facina. ., ~ , facing. thank you. of course, there will be more _ facing. thank you. of course, there will be more coverage _ facing. thank you. of course, there will be more coverage from - facing. thank you. of course, there will be more coverage from jenny i will be more coverage from jenny of the trip, and more on the bbc news website and app. the war in gaza is casting a shadow over the eurovision song contest, in sweden. israel has reached the final,

with a song performed by eden golan. she received claps, cheers, and some booing, when she took to the stage in malmo. earlier, thousands of people protested in the city against israel�*s involvement. the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, wished her success, saying she had already succeeded against an "ugly wave of anti—semitism". 0ur correspondent sarah rainsford is in malmo. speaking to police officers here, the mood is pretty relaxed, in actual fact. there are lots of them. they�*re definitely being vigilant. we know that the terror threat in sweden as a whole is pretty high at the moment. but in terms of policing the process, the authorities are trying to keep this as calm and as peaceful as possible. they have community police officers. they call them dialogue police. they are right along the route of any of the protests. and the mood has been peaceful, although the mood of the protesters themselves is passionate, too.

they are angry that israel has been allowed to take part in eurovision this year, at a time when the israeli military is bombing gaza, at a time of humanitarian crisis. and the slogans and the chants are pretty furious. so, the mood is strong. the crowds are growing. there were probably 10,000 or so protesters there, according to police yesterday, although some quotes and estimates are a bit higher than that. but as i say, it has been peaceful, it has been contained. all of this is organised and planned in advance with the authorities. we haven�*t seen any spontaneous protests of any particular size. so i wouldn�*t say it was tense here, but i would say that there are plenty of people who want to make their views heard and that view that eden golan, israel, should not be at eurovision, particularly talking about what they call hypocrisy, because of course russia has been banned from eurovision because of the full scale invasion of ukraine. and lots of people at the protest will mention that when they tell you why they�*ve come out to protest. i should just mention as well, perhaps sweden�*s most famous political activist was also in the crowd of protesters yesterday. i had a quick chat

to her, greta thunberg. she told me it was her moral obligation to speak out. she was joining the protest, she said, because she considers it considered it inexcusable for israel to be taking part in eurovision whilst the bombing of gaza continues. and finally, justin bieber has announced he�*s going to be a father. he and his wife — the model hayley beiber — are expecting their first child. the couple tied the knot in a secret ceremony in new york in 2018. followers of the couple�*s separate social media accounts were also treated to a video that apparently shows them renewing their vows at an open—air ceremony. the instagram post comes weeks after the couple were spotted in hawaii, sparking online speculation that she might be expecting a baby. i want to take you to some live pictures that have come in of prince harry in nigeria. he is there after

he surprised a charity event for bereaved military children in the uk. we will have more in the next hour. stay with us. hello there. 0ur weather is going to stay warm, sunny and dry for the next couple of days. yesterday was the warmest day of the year so far, with temperatures reaching 2a.6 celsius at st james�*s park temperatures reaching 2a.6 celsius at stjames�*s park in london. that figure is going to be beaten later on today, when we could see temperatures hit 26 and the hot spots. 27 is possible. this very warm weather is here for another few days just yet. the only real exception to the theme of the dry, sunny and warm weather is shetland, where we have some thick cloud, a bit of morning rain gear. should be of a bit drier and brighter in the

afternoon. sunshine a little sign for scotland and northern ireland. there will be a bit of cloud bubbling up across england and wales into the afternoon. but it will be warm. temperatures widely 20 or 2a celsius. a hot spot could hit 26 degrees later on. 0vernight celsius. a hot spot could hit 26 degrees later on. overnight at night, there is a low cloud and the north sea that is going to move into the coastal areas of lincolnshire and india part of east anglia. could even see an odd spittle drizzle from that. otherwise, it is dry with clear spells, temperatures holding on for many of us into double figures. low cloud to start the day, if you missed patches will burn back to the coast pretty quickly. then we are looking at another fine day with lots and lots of sunshine. the wind staying light, the temperature is getting a little bit higher. through the afternoon, we should see highs reaching around 21 or 23 degrees for scotland and northern ireland. the hottest spots across england probably reaching about 27 celsius. then we see something of a change as we get into some day. we are going

to see some showers and thunderstorms breaking out on sunday, they will begin to move in from the south—west. so, fairly heavy downpours are possible here during the course of sunday. with more cloud pushing in as well, those temperatures are going to be lower across western areas. however, for eastern areas of england and eastern areas of scotland, there will still be some pockets of warmth and we could still see temperatures up at around 26, 20 could still see temperatures up at around 26,20 7 could still see temperatures up at around 26, 20 7 degrees. that is just about possible. on into next week, it is all change. the message is to make the most of the warm sunshine while we have it, because we are not going to have it on monday. low pressure is moving in and it is going to be wet, and even as the low pressure eases, there will be plenty showers around and a much cooler look to the weather deeper into week. bye for now.

this is bbc news, the headlines. israel�*s prime minister vows to press ahead with the offensive in rafah in defiance to us calls for restraint. it�*s revealed that the nhs continued to give patients blood contaminated with hepatitis—c even after screening was introduced in the early 1990s. this is neom. the new futuristsic saudi city, where the bbc uncovers evidence lethal force has been used to clear villages. and prince harry and meghan are set to begin their three—day visit to nigeria — as part of publicity

around the invictus games.