the inflation rate has fallen to 2% , the first time in almost three years that the bank of england's target has been met. the snp launches its election manifesto, pledging a major investment in the nhs, and a promise to deliver independence. sinn fein has also launched its election manifesto, promising to deliver �*postive change�* for northern ireland. the jury is discharged in the trial of constance marten and mark gordon after being unable to reach verdicts. hello, i'm lewis vaughanjones. at euro 2024, scotland have taken their first point in the tournament — with a 1—1 draw with switzerland. scotland took the lead in the first half, scoring on the break, thanks to this deflected shot from scott mctominay.

but midway through the half, xeridan shaqiri seized on a loose pass from the scottish defence — and hit a first time shot into the top corner. the result means scotland have just one point from their first two games — and are likely to need to beat hungary in theirfinal group game to reach the knock—out stages. live now to a fan zone in glasgow — and our correspondent catriona renton. look, this is a result for us today, we are absolutely thrilled that we got a point. sometimes during the match it looked hairy, switzerland had to disallowed goals but we got there, got a 1—1 draw which means it's got an arson in the tournament. and people here this evening have beenin and people here this evening have been in great spirits, living today, and the atmosphere has been so positive. we picked ourselves up, we

dusted ourselves down from friday's defeated germany, undercut what we did today, and finds many here are really thrilled about this result. tell me how you feel about the result today? we tell me how you feel about the result today?— tell me how you feel about the result today? we are still in the name, result today? we are still in the game. so _ result today? we are still in the game. so we're _ result today? we are still in the game, so we're going _ result today? we are still in the game, so we're going to - result today? we are still in the game, so we're going to win, i result today? we are still in the| game, so we're going to win, go result today? we are still in the - game, so we're going to win, go on scotland~ _ game, so we're going to win, go on scotland. ~ . ., i. game, so we're going to win, go on scotland. ~ . ., ~ , ., ~ scotland. what about you westmark i feel the same. _ scotland. what about you westmark i feel the same, although _ scotland. what about you westmark i feel the same, although it _ scotland. what about you westmark i feel the same, although it says - scotland. what about you westmark i feel the same, although it says come | feel the same, although it says come on scotland. i—i, we normally wouldn't be happy, but we are happy to date with that.— to date with that. come on scotland. we are really — to date with that. come on scotland. we are really proud _ to date with that. come on scotland. we are really proud of— to date with that. come on scotland. we are really proud of that _ to date with that. come on scotland. we are really proud of that scotland | we are really proud of that scotland team, aren't we? we we are really proud of that scotland team, aren't we?— team, aren't we? we really are, scotland never _ team, aren't we? we really are, scotland never wins _ team, aren't we? we really are, scotland never wins but - team, aren't we? we really are, scotland never wins but we - team, aren't we? we really are, scotland never wins but we are l scotland never wins but we are always — scotland never wins but we are always here _ scotland never wins but we are always here to _ scotland never wins but we are always here to parties, - scotland never wins but we are always here to parties, come l scotland never wins but we arel always here to parties, come on scolland~ — always here to parties, come on scotland. ., ., ., scotland. there we go, we had an absolutely — scotland. there we go, we had an absolutely fantastic _ scotland. there we go, we had an absolutely fantastic night - scotland. there we go, we had an absolutely fantastic night here - absolutely fantastic night here tonight, everybody was in great spirits all the way through, we

really picked ourselves up and we proved that we are still in this tournament and we really hope that we are going to make it through to the next round. we will find that out on sunday we play hungary, but we have everything in it now, we have everything to win it.- we have everything in it now, we have everything to win it. thank you so much, have everything to win it. thank you so much. never— have everything to win it. thank you so much, never mind _ have everything to win it. thank you so much, never mind the _ have everything to win it. thank you so much, never mind the football. so much, never mind the football players, great performance from yourselves there, given those circumstances, wonderful and soft. a police constable serving in rishi sunak�*s close protection team has been arrested for placing bets over the timing of the general election. the metropolitan police said the officer was taken into custody on monday in connection with an allegation of misconduct in a public office. he has since been bailed pending further inquiries. our political editor chris mason has the details. an officer close a department search

charged with ensuring the prime ministers safety was investigated over bets, bets plural over the timing of the general election. clearly there is at least a concern and suspicion that the officer may have known more than was in the public domain at the time, hence the investigation by the gambling commission and by the metropolitan police. if all of this has a splash of deja vu in your mind, as you think of all the various bits of election noise and hullabaloo that is been washing around us in the last couple of weeks, you might remember the story that we brought you last week, originally broken by the guardian, and my colleaguejoe pike, catching up with craig williams, an aide to the prime minister who also acknowledged what she described as a huge error of judgment of having himself put a bet on the timing of the general election. the context of course, is that plenty of people at westminster, i must admit me

included, were assuming the election would be in the autumn. it was a surprise to plenty of us that is in july. obviously, there are a handful of folks that might�*ve known about it, and to get these kinds of investigations. we wait to see what the metropolitan police and a gambling commission say in this instance, but right now a police officer suspended and under investigation. inflation has hit the bank of england's target for the first time in almost three years. prices rose at 2% in the year to may — down from 2.3 % in april. rishi sunak said bold action by the conservatives meant the economy had turned a corner. the labour leader sir keir starmer said the lower rate didn't mean "life had got easier for many people". laura suter who's head of personal finance at the investment company aj bell told us what this number means. it means that the price rises aren't as high as they were when they were at that peak of about ii%, but it does still mean that prices are rising. so inflation falling doesn't mean prices falling.

itjust means they're rising by a more moderate amount than they were. and hitting back at this 2% target is a great achievement for the bank of england, they will say. the conservatives will also be saying that that's part of the work that they've been doing on economic policy to get it back to this 2% target. but we're not necessarily expecting it to stay at this level now and continue at 2% for the foreseeable. the bank of england itself is expecting it to rise a bit before the end of the year before falling back down again. so, whilst we're certainly not expecting to go back to those 11% figures they were previously, just because it's hit 2% doesn't mean it will rigidly stay at the 2% rate. i see, so what does that mean for interest rates? so, there was a lot of hope that the fall to 2% today might spur the bank of england to cut interest rates. we know that they're meeting tomorrow. there's a decision tomorrow. it's very unlikely that they would cut rates this soon.

but also during this general election cycle, during this period, the bank has said it won't come out and make any statements. so, if it was cutting interest rates, it wouldn't be able to explain why it was doing that, because it has this kind of ban on talking about rates. so, then that pushes the decision out to august because we don't have a meeting of the bank of england injuly, so expectations are that we might see an interest rate cut in august or in september. so, it's not a case ofjob done inflation back down to 2% and the bank will immediately start cutting rates. we're still expecting that to be a few months out. i see, so a few months out, but if that does happen, does that then mean things like mortgage rates start coming down, too? yes, and so once the bank of england makes that move to cut interest rates, then what we would expect to see is interest rates falling, both the fixed rate offerings out there for people, and obviously

tracker mortgages which track that bank of england base rate, they would start to fall. the flip side to that is, of course, savings rates would fall as well, and we have seen a bit of a fall in those savings rates already, so it's a good reminderfor anyone who has savings and hasn't fixed in or locked in a new interest rate, that it's a good time to do it before interest rates are cut. live to westminster and our political correspondent harry farley. hi, harry, another day of campaigning is done and dusted, it's in the books, what stood out for you westmark? just in the books, what stood out for you westmark? , ., in the books, what stood out for you westmark?— westmark? just two weeks to go to choose who — westmark? just two weeks to go to choose who gets _ westmark? just two weeks to go to choose who gets the _ westmark? just two weeks to go to choose who gets the keys - westmark? just two weeks to go to l choose who gets the keys to number ten. we are in the wonder stage of the campaign where that manifestos are out, all the mean policies have been punished or launched, their been punished or launched, their been spoken about, so we are at the stage of the campaign where the mean

parties are spending most of the time at check—in and rubbish their opponents ideas and not necessarily given any new ideas of their own because they have released them all already. it feels like a slight lull in the campaign. in terms of the mean new stories today, we heard from chris earlier about the close protection officer of the prime minister who has been arrested for placing bets regarding the election, and one thing that stood out today, we had the highest number of people crossing the china in small boats, 882 crossed the channel yesterday. that is the highest number since october 2022, and obviously with out about how immigration is a key part of the debate in these campaign, rishi sunak arguing that the overall numbers crossing in general are down in the past 12 months that is correct, and he was trained to frame it as a choice of this election between his rewind a plan, the policy we have spoken so much about,

aiming to send those arriving in the uk on small boats to rwanda, and keir starmer, the labour party in particular, using the figures to say what they say is the conservatives failure to get a hold of illegal immigration in particular. i suppose one development there today that stood out to me. another, of course, the final of the major party manifestos, the snp, lunch there today, focusing in particular on their demands for a major investment, as they call it, in the nhs. �* ., ., ., . nhs. and what some of the economic data, how nhs. and what some of the economic data. how is — nhs. and what some of the economic data, how is that _ nhs. and what some of the economic data, how is that play _ nhs. and what some of the economic data, how is that play into _ data, how is that play into everything?— data, how is that play into eve hina? ., ., ., , everything? you have to remember, that they rishi _ everything? you have to remember, that they rishi sunak _ everything? you have to remember, that they rishi sunak called - everything? you have to remember, that they rishi sunak called the - that they rishi sunak called the surprise election, and it was a surprise, most people were not expecting it to the autumn, he called it off the back of a lowering of inflation data, so the update that we had today from the office of national statistics confirming that inflation was done at 2%, down from

2.3% on the date rishi sunak called election, down to 2% which is the bank of england target, obviously welcomed by it rishi sunak, welcomed ljy welcomed by it rishi sunak, welcomed by the conservative party as an indication, they argue, that their plan is on track, and they say the economy has turned a corner, though they do acknowledge that many people are still finding thing stuff. the labour party on the other hand saying that and wants to emphasise that prices have still risen are still rising, they have risen a lot in the last year or so, and that people are still struggling. so that economic data, i suppose it was that that kicked off this whole election battle in the first place. another update today, helpful, you might think, for the conservatives, but they have, as they've spoken about before, they have a long way to go to close the gap in the polls, and the obvious other thing to say, we had another of those big what they called mrp polls, the big close that

use large sample size that try to pick —— predict what will happen in each constituency. we have to be careful, it is one pole, and there are lots of caveats that apply to it, mainly because a lot of these polls disagree with each other, but the pattern across those poles confer and repeated in the version we had today is that the conservatives are heading for, appears to be having for a significant defeat, so that positive economic news, i suppose, they were trying to talk about today dampened slightly by that are there pole this afternoon. ., ~ slightly by that are there pole this afternoon. ., ,, , ., slightly by that are there pole this afternoon. ., ~' , ., ., slightly by that are there pole this afternoon. ., ,, , ., ., ., elsewhere today, the snp launched their general election manifesto. party leader — scotland's first minister, john swinney — promised "a betterfuture for scotland" — based on delivering independence, rejoining the eu, and major new investment in scotland's nhs and other public services. mr swinney pledged an end to what he called "westminster austerity" — with a new set of tax and spending rules aimed at boosting the scottish economy.

speaking at the launch in edinburthohn swinney began by outlining his case for independence. we will always put the interests of people in scotland first, wherever our people were born, wherever our people have come from. and of the very heart of our beliefs is the principal that decisions about scotland should be made by the people who live in scotland. why? for the simple reason that no—one else cares as much about this wonderful country and no—one else will do a betterjob of taking care of it, now and in the future, than the people who live here. it is through independence, therefore, that we feel we can build a fairer country and the more prosperous economy we know is possible. not independence for its own sake, independence for the powers to protect our national health service and to help people through tough times. independence for a stronger economy and happier, healthier lives. and independence for a better future for scotland,

made in scotland, for scotland. brian taylor is a political commentator and columnist for the herald — he gave us his take on the snp's priorities. john swinney says you drew attention to, as you say, page one, line one of the manifesto, the opportunity for scotland to become an independent country. i think it's interesting. i think the context in which he is placing independence is very firmly in terms of the concerns and anxieties of the people, rather than the concerns of anxieties of his own supporters and his own party. he's arguing that it is through independence, independence is the conduit to, for example, improving the economy, to, for example, producing productive spending that could tackle the problems in the health service, etc., etc.. so he is linking it to popular concerns. but when he is putting forward those policies on, for example, higher taxation for higher earners, as happens in scotland, when he talks about more money on the nhs, when he talks about scrapping trident, when he talks about ending

the two—child benefit cap, what he is doing is saying we are advancing the opportunity of independence. but in this immediate electoral contest we are facing the labour party, and these are all challenges directly aimed, not at the incumbent conservative government in westminster, but at the potential labour government. whatjohn swinney is saying is that if there is a majority of snp mps from scotland in the next parliament, then he regards that as a mandate, not for independence, — this is not the de facto referendum that we heard under nicola sturgeon — this is a different beast. but he would regard that as a mandate to press upon the the then uk government, which he presumes would be labour. the demand that the people of scotland wish a further referendum, and they expressed that in 2021 in the elections to the hollywood part of parliament where a majority of of msps to the holyrood part of parliament where a majority of of msps were from the snp and the greens, therefore in favour of independence. do i think that he believes that that will be conceded? no, i don't. and also, there is a feeling

on the ground in scotland, certainly among labour canvassers, senior labour canvassers say that even supporters of independence are saying, "maybe not now. maybe right now is the time for the economic crisis and the cost of living crisis to be addressed". john swinney is aware of that. so it is a double edged sword. it is a single transferable campaign. what he says is, "we will campaign for you on the issues of the cost of living, brexit, austerity," all these issues that he raised and he blames upon westminster. but at the same time, he is simultaneously pleading to those supporters of independence, if you wish independence to stay relevant, if you wish it to stay germane, if you wish it to proceed, then the only way to do that is to vote snp. it is a multiple approach. meanwhile in northern ireland, sinn fein have been launching their manifesto. they won seven seats at the westminster parliament at the last election — although their party does not take up it seats. here's some of that launch. we want a stronger and fairer economy that delivers good jobs, that pay well, offers workers secure

conditions and supports local business, and to ensure childcare is affordable and accessible to parents. there is a growing and unstoppable conversation taking place right now about the future, and constitutional change. the good friday agreement provides a peaceful and democratic path to a referendum to achieve a new ireland within the european union. planning and preparation must start, and the irish government should lead those preparations by immediately establishing a citizens assembly so that people can have their say. we need a process that facilitates generous engagement with all of those from all of our communities on this island. we must work to build a new ireland that is reflective and representative of everyone who calls our island home, and has strong public health system, a vibrant and dynamic economy, and good public services and, of course, affordable housing.

rejoining the european union as a result of unity would hugely benefit the all—ireland economy, and the irish and british governments must set a date for the referendum on irish unity. for now is the time to plan for the future. sinn fein is committed to an inclusive and diverse society based on equal rights and equal opportunities for all citizens. we want to create a safe and welcoming and inclusive society for all. we want a society that values and celebrates the diversity of our identities, religious or non sexual orientation, gender, disability, age or ethnic origin. the scourge of violence against women and girls must be addressed. and an end in violence against women and girls strategy must be delivered. we want women to be able to access a safe and legal health service they are entitled to.

we want to see parity of esteem for irish culture and language as provided for in the good friday agreement. we vigorously oppose the provisions outlined in the british government's legacy act. it's time to address the legacy of the past by implementing the mechanisms agreed at stormont house in a human rights compliant manner. sinn fein will also continue to advocate for victims and survivors of institutional abuse to protect their right to truth, justice and redress that they have been denied for too long. our ireland correspondent chris page was at sinn fein�*s manifesto launch in belfast — he gave us this analysis. i think sinn fein has really stuck to the policy positions that the party thinks has served it very well in elections here in northern ireland over the last few years. in 2022, it became the largest party in the devolved assembly. the party's vice president, michelle o'neill, has now become northern ireland's first ever nationalist first minister. also, last year, sinn fein

became the largest party in local councils here. so, neither sinn fein is defending seven of northern ireland's 18 westminster seats. the manifesto that has been published this afternoon is concise — nine pages long, no huge departures from anything the party has been saying before. it wants more powers transferred from westminster to belfast — for example, it wants the devolved administration at stormont to be able to make decisions over progressive taxation and the level of the national minimum wage. it wants the british and irish governments to set a date for a referendum on irish unity. that is sinn fein�*s ultimate aim. worth saying that both labour and the conservatives have said that such a referendum isn't on the agenda at all at the moment, though, sinn fein making clear that it's going to continue pushing for that and also a statement about the the financial state of affairs in the devolved administration.

sinn fein has said that public services here are underfunded and that reform isn't possible unless northern ireland gets more money from the exchequer in london. and as we count down to election day, we're speaking to people across the uk to find out what's important to them, and what might win their vote next month. we're in constituencies all over the country. our correspondent nicky schiller who is in hayle in cornwall today — which is part of the cambourne and redruth constituency. we are hail in cornwall. and you can see currently the flamingoes at paradise park and jungle barn, which is one of the tourist attractions that are here in cornwall. the reason we are in hayle is to talk about housing issues and the balance between the number of second homes that are in the county and also homes for local people. nick is from paradise park. we must mention the flamingos because they're in the news at the moment, aren't they?

why? there's certainly the news. yeah. you can see the one sitting on the nest there. she's just had an egg about two days ago, so our first egg for five years. just to the left there is derek, who was the bird that we bred five years ago. so we're really hoping that this egg is going to be fertile. but you can see that the other other nests are really nicely built up and we're hoping to have more than one egg this year. so the flamingos have a home. tenuous link for me to get to the fact that staff here, how many of them have their own home here in cornwall? well, we've got a lot of staff here. we have staff numbers of 55. so, you know, most of them are living in homes. obviously, a percentage have rented. we have one girl that moved here to work and she spent some months trying to find a rental accommodation. and i know she had at least 50 or 60 appointments to see places and eventually she found somewhere. so it's really, really quite hard. it's across the sector. i've just come from a meeting of all the association members in cornwall and they're all saying the same thing this morning. malcolm bell is from visit cornwall, which is the umbrella organisation

for tourist attractions here. malcolm, how big a problem is this? the fact that there are a lot of second homes and holiday lets you need the tourists, but you also need the workers to work in these attractions. yeah, we need to balance. and over the last ten years we've been arguing for a thing called statutory registration, because at the moment anyone can buy a house and let it out. so what we're arguing for is every property should be registered, should be compliant with the regulations, and most importantly, that would give us the data. and then you can actually start thinking about licensing or planning restrictions. but it's all got to start with everybody having to be registered and then we can get the balance right because you're quite right. it's a matter of balance. yes. so you're not against the holiday lets that are here because they bring the tourists to you. they do. but it's a matter of balance and size. you know, if you're talking about in some places maybe 10% being professional and holiday lets, that's probably going to bring an economic advantage. when you get bigger than that and the effect on rentals, then it starts to be negative.

so what we need to do is be able to plan, manage it. but for that, we need the data and we need everybody registered. and are you optimistic that it's going to happen? it was the government was bringing it in before they called an election. so we hope the new government will carry on, but include everybody who provides accommodation. so if you let for one night, then you must be registered. malcolm, thank you very much. so an issue that cornwall is dealing with, and of course other places around the country, where you have second homes versus the tourist industry versus the local people who want to actually live here. back to you in the studio. thanks to nicky for that you'll be able to see a list of all the candidates standing in camborne and redruth at this general election on your screen now. and you can see a list of all the candidates standing in all the constituencies across the country on the bbc news website. keep up to date with all of the election news on bbc sounds.

head to the app now, and look for the latest news section. moving from the election no postop. an old baileyjury has been discharged in the case of constance marten and mark gordon after being unable to reach verdicts over the death of the couple's newborn baby. earlier, our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford explained what this means for the case. this was a case that initially gripped the public imagination in january last year, when constance marten, who comes from a wealthy family with royal connections, who survives on a trust fund, and mark gordon, they went missing with a newborn baby. there was a national police manhunt. on the 27th of february in brighton last year, they were found, but there was no sign of their baby, and a couple of days later, their baby, victoria, was found dead in a shopping bag in a shed on an allotment in brighton and they were charged with manslaughter by gross negligence.

well, the trial began on january the 25th, and it was originally scheduled to end in march. but for various reasons, including a fire at the old bailey, it was badly delayed, and it started running into things like the easter holidays, and it got further and further delayed. we lost two jurors, we were down to ten. eventually, the jury were sent out on the 30th of april to consider their verdicts, but they've sat fairly sporadically since then. and after considering for 72 hours and 33 minutes, but spread over several weeks, they sent a note to the judge saying they were unable to reach a verdict on the count of manslaughter by gross negligence. they were called back into court, the clerk asked them if they could reach a verdict on that charge by a majority, and the foreman said no and the judge said that they were discharged from the case and that they no longer needed to be involved in the case. and it'll now be for the prosecution

to decide whether they want to go for a retrial, and that's going to be the next decision in this case, which will probably be made next week. thanks to daniel for that. spanish police and mountain rescue teams are searching for a man from lancashire who went missing after a music festival in tenerife. 19—year—old apprentice bricklayer jay slater left the festival with two men and later told a friend he was planning to walk for ten hours back to his apartment — but said his phone battery was low and he needed water. the teenager, who hasn't been heard from since monday morning, was on his first holiday with friends. hundreds of people have died in saudi arabia due to searing heat at the annual muslim pilgrimage to mecca, the hajj. temperatures in mecca were above 51 degrees celsius on monday — that's around 124 degrees fahrenheit. the saudi government has not released any figures, but several countries have confirmed the deaths of their citizens. our correspondent sally nabil is following developments from cairo. actually, this season has been very

challenging for pilgrims because they have been performing the rituals in scorching heat, and the numbers of the victims are still on the rise. most of those who lost their lives during the hajj season come from here, from egypt, where i am right now. we're talking initially about at least 500 egyptian pilgrims who died during the season. and most of the deaths so far are heat related. we don't have any official figures released as of yet, but all the numbers came from the saudi side, and also from the families who have been trying to find out exactly what happened to their loved ones. this year, we have the issue of the unregistered pilgrims, those who went to saudi arabia on a tourist visa without getting an official hajj visa. and these people were performing the rituals in very tough conditions. they went walking on foot. they didn't enjoy the other services that formal hajj

convoys have been enjoying. and this kind of explains why many of them lost their lives during the season. coming up in the few minutes is the deleted news at ten p:m., with my colleague sophie reword, for no goodbye. tonight — a police officer has been arrested over alleged bets about when a general election would be held. the officer who was part

of the prime minister's close protection team has been suspended. a conservative candidate is also being looked into over a bet relating to the timing of the general election. also on the programme... inflation falls to its lowest rate for almost three years — helped by slightly lowerfood prices. the search continues in the canary islands for a british teenager, jay slater, who's been missing since monday. launching their manifesto — the scottish national party says winning a majority of seats in scotland would mean independence negotiations could begin after the election. commentator: it's deflected in! and a draw for scotland against switzerland keep the tartan army's hopes alive at the euros. yes, a goal in cologne for scotland gives them a precious point here at the euros. stay with us here on bbc news for

continuing coverage and