rape and murder her. israel is sending a delegation to resume talks aimed at securing the release of hostages held by hamas. hurricane beryl�*s battering of the caribbean continues—— of the caribbean continues — right now its the cayman islands bearing the brunt of the storm. also coming up on the world today: ballots are being cast in the uk's firstjuly general election since 1945 — with up to forty—six million people choosing a new government. welcome to the world today. a man has been found guilty of plotting to kidnap, rape and murder one of britain's biggest tv stars — holly willoughby. he was arrested after discussing his plans online with a man who was in fact an undercover police officer in the us. the court heard that gavin plumb

was obsessed with the star and had assembled an abduction kit which included handcuffs and cable ties. as charlotte gallagher explains, the jury at chelmsford crown court dismissed plumb�*s defence that his plans were a fantasy — to warn you, there are upsetting details in her report. holly willoughby, one of the uk's most popular and successful television presenters. this was her final appearance on this morning, before her life changed dramatically. police! as later that day gavin plumb was arrested for plotting her kidnap, rape and murder. at the moment, you are under arrest for conspiracy to kidnap. _ who?! holly willoughby. i'm not gonna lie, she's a fantasy of mine. i mean, she's a fantasy of a lot of guys, in�*t she?! plumb had even assembled a kidnap kit which he filmed himself. metal cable ties, two sets of handcuffs...

police found chloroform in his home and saw he had researched realistic—looking air weapons. he'd also scoured the internet for how to meet people who planned to kidnap celebrities, and he found some, even sending voice notes about his plans. we're then going to force her to make a video, just saying that she come with us under her own free will and she's fully consenting into everything we do to her, so that covers us. but one of those people he met online was in fact an undercover policeman in the united states. plumb told him he knew where holly lived, her routine, and how he was planning to abduct her. that detective was so concerned he contacted the fbi and police here. much of the evidence that we've heard in court has been distressing. some of it's been too graphic and violent to broadcast.

gavin plumb was obsessed with holly willoughby and spent hours and hours discussing kidnap plans. he told the jury it was just a celebrity crush. they didn't believe him. gavin plumb told the court he was just a fantasist, but this isn't the first time he's committed crimes like this. he has previous convictions for attempted kidnapping and false imprisonment. i would say that gavin plumb is a dangerous individual to women. that can be seen from his previous convictions, where he has already overpowered women. and it is demonstrated by the conversations that he was having with others online, and the graphic

this case was about sexual violence, humiliation and degradation. gavin plumb said it was online chat, something that would never happen. the jury decided his plans were very real. charlotte gallagher, bbc news. our correspondent lizo mzimba has the latest from chelmsford crown court. over a two—year period he was active on several forums on an app called kick. some were about holly willoughby, some more about other things. by his own admission he said he lived most of his life at that time online. it was on a group

called abductor lovers where the undercover police officers who we only know by the pseudonym of dave nelson first encountered him, where gavin plumb was making public posts on fare at the time he said they were upwards of maybe 50 members on the air he said gavin plumb�*s suppose stood out because of the detailed bear. he said they were not typical of the kind of posts that were seen there. that's what raised alarm bells with him. so he went on to make direct contact with gavin plumb through the app by direct private messaging so that nobody else could see over a period of days he talked to gavin plumb. that's when gavin plumb sent him videos of restraint kits, bottles of reported to be chloroform. at the end of this, this is where the police officer contacted the fbi in the united states as whether the metropolitan police in london and an essex police here in harlow. and

gavin plumb was arrested very swiftly after that. in fact in her statement holly willoughby did single him as well as other people out when she said as women, we should not be made to feel unsafe going about our daily lives and in our own homes. i will be forever grateful to the undercover police officer who understood the imminent threat. gavin plumb wept in the dark when the verdict was read out. the three guilty counts to kidnap incitement, ralph incitement, to murder. he said that he was not somebody who is ever going to carry this out. but the jury felt differently and he has been convicted of those charges. he will be sentenced a week tomorrow on friday the 12th ofjuly back here at chelmsford crown court in the meantime he's continued to be remanded in custody.

israel's prime minister has told president biden he's sending a negotiating team to take part in talks aimed at securing the release of hostages held by hamas in gaza. the two men talked over the phone earlier. but benjamin netanyahu's office also made clear that he wouldn't end the war before achieving all its objectives — as he put it. these include the destruction of hamas and the return of all hostages. his announcement follows new proposals put forward by hamas. it's not yet known what new ideas the group's offer contains. hamas had earlier demanded that any deal must include an end to the war and the withdrawal of all israeli troops from gaza — terms rejected by mr netanyahu. meanwhile, israel's military assault has been continuing across gaza — these are the latest images from inside gaza — the aftermath of an israeli strike on a residential building in khan younis in the south. gaza's health ministry says more than 38,000 palestinians have now been killed inside gaza since israel launched its military assault on the territory in october.

meanwhile a total of 116 hostages remain unaccounted for after being kidnapped from israel by hamas on 7 october last year. our middle east correspondent yolande knell has the latest from jerusalem. hamas is prescribed as a terrorist organisation by several countries. for weeks now it seemed really like diplomatic efforts had been installed on trying to secure a new cease—fire in hostage release deals we've had real signs of a revival in just the past days for the first of all hamas coming back with its official response to the deal that is currently on the table, this 3—phase plant that was laid out by president biden back at the end of may and the us has been pushing for this deal to be agreed fully by both sides for the it's presented as in israeli plan. hamas is said to have

shown greater flexibility, this israeli plan. hamas is said to have shown greaterflexibility, this is according to reports and in particular when a full cease—fire would be expected to take place, to take effect as part of the deal. that is creating room for negotiations, according to the reports. what we're hearing is encouraging because the israelis say that they are going to send the head of the intelligence agency, in the past they've only sent him to the new rounds of negotiations when they felt there is some possibility of progress. still it is not clear if this will lead to a break break through but it is a positive sign. benjamin netanyahu repeating what you said about his call to president biden saying israel will only end the war after achieving all its objectives and we know what they are. , , , ., �* , are. indeed, this is something he's been saying _ are. indeed, this is something he's been saying repeatedly, _ are. indeed, this is something he's been saying repeatedly, they - are. indeed, this is something he's been saying repeatedly, they want| are. indeed, this is something he's l been saying repeatedly, they want to defeat hamas both in terms of its military capabilities and its governing capabilities in gaza. in

the war will go on until they feel they achieve that objective as well as bringing home hostages. we know at the same time there's been an increase signs of division, particularly behind the scenes between top army generals and far right elements in mr netanyahu whose hard—line government when it comes to the direction of the war in gaza, increase complaints coming through media reports from the israeli military saying the top brass, then needs to be a clear vision on how to ultimately end this war. there even been reports in the new york times quoting a half—dozen unnamed top military officials as saying that they felt that a cease—fire deal would bring home the hostages was the most effective way to bring home the most effective way to bring home the hostages, even if that left hamas in power. that brought a very angry reaction from the prime minister who came back saying that was out of the question.

hurricane beryl continues its sweep across the caribbean, currently its the turn of the cayman islands — to be lashed with heavy rains and powerful winds . some areas have lost power. but first to jamaica — beryl has already hit the southern coast of jamaica with sustained winds of 220 kilometres an hour, killing at least one person, damaging buildings and felling trees. this map shows the route of the storm, sweeping upwards through the caribbean passing the cayman islands and on its way to mexico, where it's expected to end. 10 people are known to have died so far. nick davis reports from jamaica. the destruction caused by hurricane beryl as it makes its way across the caribbean was felled here injamaica yesterday, the island lashed for 2h hours by storm surges macro, heavy rain and driving winds, toppling trees, causing power cuts and blocking roads. the country's main airports forced to close, everyone stay indoors, with a nationwide curfew that remains in place. flooding now a real issue, caused by the torrential rain that hammered down hours. so what we can see here, trees which have fallen down,

which in some cases hit power lines, which knocked out electricity for about 65% of the island. it's now about trying to get back to critical infrastructure. in many cases, that is not going to take days but weeks. barbados was one of the first islands hit by hurricane. the impact is life changing for some. we don't know how big the told us, but we estimate may be 30 vessels. ——the toll. hurricane beryl is now tracking towards grand cayman, with winds of 113 mph. in its wake, it expected to dump up to six inches of rain on this low—lying island. while the hurricane is expected to weaken on its path over the next 2a hours, residents are getting themselves ready to face its arrival, protecting their homes, their livelihoods and themselves. i'm just trying to keep calm, but i am anxious and a bit scared.

and as the storm continues its trek across the region, mexico has also put itself onto alert. there is a hurricane warning across the eastern coast of the yucatan peninsula, and having seen the destruction that the storm has had across nearly 2000 miles, people are taking necessary precautions. this is the atlantic season's first hurricane and the earliest storm on record. and the us national oceanic and atmospheric administration is forecasting there will be a large number of major hurricanes this year in what they call an extraordinary season. nick davis, bbc news, kingston. i mentioned that the hurricane is currently ontop of the cayman islands. despite being downgraded to a category three storm, locals say that some areas there have already lost power. earlier i spoke tojondo obi, director for cayman islands red cross, who told me a little bit more about how the island has

prepared for the storm. at the moment it's making its way out of the cayman islands. thankfully, it moves cell. we've got the government damage assessment teams out there trying to see what's going on. we're currently in lockdown until we get the actual all clear from the government. how have ou and clear from the government. how have you and your — clear from the government. how have you and your teams _ clear from the government. how have you and your teams been _ clear from the government. how have you and your teams been preparing i you and your teams been preparing for this? . �* , you and your teams been preparing for this? . v , �* for this? that's why we're there. an bod for this? that's why we're there. anybody who — for this? that's why we're there. anybody who lives _ for this? that's why we're there. anybody who lives in _ for this? that's why we're there. anybody who lives in the - for this? that's why we're there. i anybody who lives in the caribbean knows from june to november is hurricane season. as a red cross we have a responsibility to make sure that we not only train our volunteers but also work with the community. betweenjanuary volunteers but also work with the community. between january and june it's all about preparedness, encouraging people to start getting their disaster relief supplies ready and with the volunteers we train them to respond. one of our biggest tasks when it comes to hurricane is that we send our first aid training volunteers into each of the national shelters. that's a big task because these are volunteers and they need to prepare their homes first. yesterday the majority of the stuff

we did was try to get our volunteers into the shelters to make sure that the people were safe. i would say the people were safe. i would say the people were safe. i would say the people of the cayman islands took this very seriously. we had quite a number of people enter the shelters. ., _ ., , shelters. you say that it is hurricane _ shelters. you say that it is hurricane season - shelters. you say that it is hurricane season from - shelters. you say that it is | hurricane season from june shelters. you say that it is - hurricane season from june onwards but this is early for such a strong storm. do you think people generally are quite well—prepared given how it is? $5 are quite well-prepared given how it is? �* , , ., are quite well-prepared given how it is? m 4' ., are quite well-prepared given how it is? as you know, the clarity and is uuite is? as you know, the clarity and is quite vast- — is? as you know, the clarity and is quite vast. with _ is? as you know, the clarity and is quite vast. with the _ is? as you know, the clarity and is quite vast. with the cayman - is? as you know, the clarity and is. quite vast. with the cayman islands we had hurricane ivan put up that really got us to put a lot of things in place both from the red cross and from a governmental level as well. we have a very strong and eeoc that's a national emergency operation centre of which the red cross is there. we do work as heads of departments to make sure that we're prepared. i of departments to make sure that we're prepared-— we're prepared. i see so far it's been the _ we're prepared. i see so far it's been the flooding _ we're prepared. i see so far it's been the flooding that - we're prepared. i see so far it's been the flooding that people | we're prepared. i see so far it's - been the flooding that people have been the flooding that people have been most concerned about. is that

similar for the cayman islands? been most concerned about. is that similarfor the cayman islands? the similar for the cayman islands? the damaue similar for the cayman islands? tue: damage assessment similar for the cayman islands? tte: damage assessment crew similar for the cayman islands? "tt2 damage assessment crew is similar for the cayman islands? tt2 damage assessment crew is out there. so far from our shelter managers within the shelters across the island we have not heard anything about flooding. we're quite thankful for that. about flooding. we're quite thankful forthat. i about flooding. we're quite thankful for that. i must say, about flooding. we're quite thankful forthat. i must say, during about flooding. we're quite thankful for that. i must say, during the month ofjune we had a lot of rain for the about three weeks ago we had a little bit of flooding. people have really ta ken a little bit of flooding. people have really taken this seriously. jondo obi from the red cross on the cayman islands. still to come on the world today — joe biden has insisted — again — that he won't pull out of the us presidential race, despite appeals from a growing number of fellow democrats. around the world and across the uk. this is the world today on bbc news.

let's go back now to those ceasefire negotiations between israel and hamas. president biden has welcomed an announcement by israel's prime minister that he's sending a negotiating team to resume

talks aimed at securing the release of hostages held in gaza. the two men talked over the phone earlier. let's speak to our state department correspondent, tom bateman. both sides have released readers. as they often do what if they said? yes, it wrapped upjust in our so ago. these phone calls between president biden and mr netanyahu are relatively infrequent. the two men have had a touchy, difficult and stretch relationship as the war in gaza has gone on. i think it matters that the call has taken place. i think it shows it is a sign of progress now in the cease—fire hostage release. the proposal that basically president biden put out therejust over a month basically president biden put out there just over a month ago now. basically president biden put out therejust over a month ago now. i think in an attempt to lock in an israeli position on the

negotiations. there was a huge amount of pressure by the americans piled onto hamas to try and come closer to what they described as the israeli position, although the israelis have been pretty reluctant about this whole proposal, it has to be said. i think what we've seen in the last week is a real movement. reportedly, over the weekend there was a shift in what the americans were prepared to accept in terms of israeli position. that went back to hamas and we saw yesterday hamas released a public statement saying they had responded to the so—called israeli proposal. they said positively about sticking to their lines they had to be a complete and to the war and withdrawal of israeli forces from rafah, the so—called philadelphia corridor in the south on the border with egypt. there is movement. we had prime minister netanyahu today confirming that he would send his negotiating team back to joe harr. would send his negotiating team back tojoe harr. what we haven't seen over previous weeks is any talks ——

no hard for the mediated talks between senior officials involved in this it looks like were in a position now where some talks will begin again. and mediated between israel and hamas in qatar, involving senior intelligence achieves from israel, the us in egypt and the qatar is. things are moving. but still extremely complex and difficult negotiations i think many more weeks before a potential progress or breakthrough. t see more weeks before a potential progress or breakthrough. i see from some of the — progress or breakthrough. i see from some of the newswires _ progress or breakthrough. i see from some of the newswires israel- progress or breakthrough. i see from some of the newswires israel saying | some of the newswires israel saying it will be there achieve leading the hostage negotiation also reuters saying they are quoting a source in the israeli negotiating team saying that the proposal put forward by hamas includes a very significant breakthrough. it's interesting. we don't know what that response from hamas was yet. we don't know any of the details of that?—

the details of that? none of the text of the _ the details of that? none of the text of the so-called _ the details of that? none of the text of the so-called israeli - text of the so—called israeli proposal that was made public in terms of the broad structure of it by president biden, none of the text is been released or leaked in any of its entirety. we know the big sticking point has been around the so called phase two of the deal. this has been something had been proposed in phases. you would have the first six weeks where you would get around 40 or so. certainly the elderly and wounded hostages held in gaza by hamas release and return for a temporary cease—fire. in some withdrawal of the israelis and populated areas of gaza. not from the gaza strip, crucially that is always been the point that hamas is this is in a cease—fire. they say they want in american guaranteed enter the war. this was their original position in phase one and a full withdrawal of israeli troops

with a bat for them is effectively the way they would try to shelter their constituency a kind of victory. remember, this is what both sides are trying to sell to their audiences as part of any cease—fire agreement. it seems there has been by hamas some kind of concession on the first phase into the second phase. we don't know the details of it. that is what they will be hammering out in dalhart. certainly enough or they are to be movement to give real movement again to these talks. that's the point about intelligence chiefs with a one of the interesting point is it has very much been the intelligence chiefs from these countries that have been putting to gather these deals. that's why we've often seen this contradictory situation where political leaders have been reluctant after we see apparent breakthroughs. that is despite egypt, the us, israel that have been mediating that event very much

putting together the framework of this and goes back to their own countries. it's been difficult for everyone to swallow. this does seem like progress. everyone to swallow. this does seem like progress-— like progress. thank you for now. tom bateman _ like progress. thank you for now. tom bateman in _ like progress. thank you for now. tom bateman in washington - like progress. thank you for now. tom bateman in washington for i like progress. thank you for now. i tom bateman in washington for us. millions of voters are going to the polls in the uk general election. the bbc, like other broadcasters, isn't allowed to report details of campaigning or election issues while polls are open. you can vote until 10 o'clock tonight — and photo id is needed to vote in person. here's iain watson: here's iain watson. democracy in action. at seven o'clock this morning, 40,000 polling stations opened across the uk. some in unlikely places, from a hair salon to a launderette to someone's house. if you haven't voted yet, don't forget — for the first time at a general election, you'll need to produce a form of id. this electoral commission video demonstrates how it works. driving licence, passport, bus passes for older or disabled people are all accepted ways

of proving your identity. 150,000 staff are on duty to enable you to cast your vote in the privacy of the polling booth, while pets faithfully wait outside. but from leeds to leaders... in yorkshire, rishi sunak chose to vote early, but you have until ten o'clock tonight to cast your ballot. the labour leader, sir keir starmer, voted in north london. while today, another knight, sir ed davey, the lib dem leader, voted in south—west london. the snp leader, john swinney, made his way to his polling place, a village hall in perthshire. the co—leader of the greens in england and wales, carla denyer, cast her ballot in the west of england. the plaid cymru leader, rhun ap iorwerth, cast his vote in north wales. but many people have already voted by post, and that includes reform uk's nigel farage. global media has descended on westminster to cover the election result. 650 mps will be elected, so a party needs 326

of them to form a majority. but whatever the result, there will be lots of new faces in there, because one in five mps in the last parliament chose step down. votes will be counted overnight, and if you are able to stay up overnight, seat by seat, the bbc election programme will bring you the results. iain watson, bbc news. you can find all the latest including how the bbc reports polling day on the bbc news website and app. and a reminder — you can watch the general election results programme live on bbc one in the uk and here on the bbc news channel around the world from 9:55pm uk time — all the way into friday. stay with us here on bbc news. hello there. many of us have seen some decent

spells ofjuly sunshine today. however, there have been lots of showers, particularly across the northern half of the uk and especially in western scotland where some of those downpours really quite heavy, gusty winds gusting into the 40s of miles an hour and those temperatures rubbish forjuly. glasgow saw temperatures around 1a degrees through the afternoon. the average of this time of the year is 19 degrees. and this coolish run of weather is going to continue through friday and into the weekend, beyond as well. suppose where thejuly sunshine comes out, it is still going to feel ok. it's just temperatures be a little bit lower than normal. now looking at the weather picture overnight tonight, the rain continues for western scotland, driven in by those blustery winds. further southwards, we've got a new band of rain that starts to push into southern england, perhaps affecting parts of southern wales and temperatures broadly similar to those of last night.

now, this area of rain that we have across the south of england friday will actually develop into a new area of low pressure by the time we get to saturday. what all this means is we do have more rain on the way. the rain initially across southern parts of england, maybe the south wales area, and perhaps wriggling into east anglia through the day. further north, it's a much brighter day for scotland, northern ireland, northern england. the winds a good deal lighter. there'll be much more in the way of sunshine and temperatures a couple of degrees higher. so we are ticking lots of boxes here. however, there is still a risk of a few passing showers affecting northern areas. not as many, though, as we've seen today. on into saturday, that low pressure really winds up. and so we've got more general outbreaks of rain across parts of scotland, central and eastern england, cold winds coming down the north sea, probably the best of the driest and sunniest weather, will be across wales and south west england. a few showers this time affecting northern ireland and our temperatures 18 in london. average forjuly is 24. so again we are getting short changed, probably starting off the day on sunday dry with some sunshine, but sunday is a showery day. the showers become quite widespread, some of them turning heavy

and thundery come the afternoon and little change with the temperatures. i'm afraid once again it will be relatively cool forjuly, and that kind of pattern of cool and settled weather is set to continue through much of next week as well. that's the latest. bye.

this is the world today from bbc news, the headlines ballots are being cast in the uk's firstjuly general election since 1945, with up to forty—six million people eligible to vote. french leaders call for rejection of violence, after some candidates were physically assaulted during the campaign for sunday's election. the european union hits chinese electric cars with new tariffs, as brussels takes action to protect the bloc�*s motor industry pigs don't fly, but apparently hippos can, and we will be talking to a veterinary professor to explain this scientific leap. french prime minister gabriel attal has called on the electorate to reject what he called a climate of violence and hate in the campaign for sunday's parliamentary elections. on wednesday a colleague of his was attacked by a gang as she was leafletting in a paris suburb.

prisca thevenot, a government spokeswoman, was putting up election posters in the suburb of muh—don