the far—right national rally. the british prime minister, keir starmer, is travelling to scotland which is led by a pro—independence party. sir keir wants to improve relations between the central government and other parts of the united kingdom. protests in israel, with demands the government reach a deal with hamas to ensure the release of the remaining hostages in gaza. the palestinian armed group is reported to have accepted a us proposal to begin talks of a release. and four volunteers have emerged from a small compound in texas where they've spent more than a year in conditions simulating those on mars. the american space agency, nasa, wants to find out how they've coped. the new business secretary has said "job guarantees" will form part of the negotiations with steel giant tata about its port talbot site. jonathan reynolds said there was "a better deal available" on the future of the plant, but said newer technologies would employ fewer people.

we see this as a major priority. i have already spoken to tata steel about it, as has the new prime minister made time for that conversation. i will be talking to them again today, asking representatives of the workforce, sharon and unite, but also community and gmb, to talk to me next week about that. it is not about underwriting loss—making businesses in perhaps a way we might have thought of industrial policy in the past. it is about being a partner for investment in the future. there is more money available for the steel industry under our plans for government. but that is about making sure we meet this transition with the private sector together and recognise — i think sharon used the phrase — it is a good example of how we have to make sure that decarbonisation is not deindustrialisation, and we've got to do that together. but there is a better deal for port talbot and the steel industry as a whole, i am sure of that. meanwhile, the tata steel uk ceo rajesh nair said in a statement...

after labour's landslide on thursday, the conservatives were left withjust 121 mps in the commons. robertjenrick, who quit as rishi sunak�*s immigration ministerjust before christmas, was able to hang on to his newark seat. in the sunday times today, he blames the conservative defeat on their failure to deliver. he spoke to laura kuenssberg earlier, and told her why he thought the tories were defeated on thursday. there are so many brilliant, dedicated public servants, my former colleagues, who lost theirjobs and i feel desperately sorry for them. but my argument is that the reason that we lost the trust of millions of people across the country is not because we were too left—wing or right—wing, or had this slogan or that slogan, but fundamentally because we failed

to deliver on the promises that we made to the british public. so you didn't do what you said you would do? in 2019 we promised we would get brexit done and that we would deliver a strong economy, a strong nhs, and secure borders. and although there are many things that i will fiercely defend about the record of our party in government, and we did get brexit done, we did not deliver the level of growth and taxation that conservatives expect. the quality of service in the nhs for the public. and, above all, the secure borders and controlled and reduced migration that we promised, and which we need to deliver. so you broke promises you made to the public and that's why you were voted out? i think there are many things we should be proud of as a government, but we will only begin the long road of winning back the trust and the faith of the public if we are honest, and that is why i am being painfully honest today and in the article i wrote in the sunday times

about what has gone wrong. because as a party, we have got to have a shared diagnosis of what happened. we have got to have a common set of principles that we can unite around. the conservative party is a broad church but has got to have a common creed and if we can do that in the weeks and months ahead, then we can begin that long road of regaining trust and confidence and holding the labour party to account. but why didn't you keep those promises? was it because you were too busy arguing about brexit? was it because there were questions about the behaviour of ministers in government, and all the things that happened under borisjohnson and his relationship with the truth? what was it that stopped you? you know, who bears responsibilty for your failure to keep those promises which you have outlined? i don't think it is about any one individual. we are all responsible for what happened. in politics, you win or you lose as a team, but what we have got to learn is,

why did we not deliver on those central promises? above all, immigration, but not exclusively immigration. it was a number of things. we did not have a good enough diagnosis ofjust how broken some of our public services were. and we did not have the willingness to take the tough decisions that were necessary to deliver for the british public. when we said, for example on immigration, that we would do whatever it takes, we didn't do whatever it takes. and it is only by showing the public that going forwards the conservative party understands that we didn't do what was necessary on those crucial issues, and making clear that if we were ever fortunate enough to be in government again, we will do that and i think then we can begin to earn trust again. and of those things, it is crucial that we understand that migration was at the heart of it. two thirds of the constituencies that sadly we lost on the general election,

the majorities, the margin of defeat, was less than the reform vote. that's the case in the north, the south, scotland, wales, everywhere, including in seats that we lost to the liberal democrats. on that issue, not exclusively, but above all that issue, we have got to make sure the conservative party takes a different approach. you said you are being painfully honest, so can you be honest about your own ambition? do you think you have what it takes? i don't think three days on from a general election in which we have just lost so many of our friends and colleagues that it is right to have self—indulgent conversations like this. the reason i came on your programme, laura, is because i care about the conservative party, i've been a member of the party since 1997 when i was 16 years of age and i have been with it through thick and thin. i want to ensure that it has the right diagnosis of what has gone wrong, and that diagnosis is not about personalities, it is about principles and ideas, not individuals.

let's talk about in principle. with respect, i think it's clear to most of our view is that to most of our viewers that you and victoria atkins are both partly hit because you have partly here because you have ambitions and you want to at least be considered to be in the running for the party leadership. i think our viewers will know that very clearly, even though both of you are being coy this morning. do you believe in principle that you might have what it takes to be party leader? i am honestly not going to get into that because that is self—indulgent. i think the first step for the party is to have a proper, honest diagnosis about what has gone wrong. does that mean a long campaign, a long handover? i would support a longer campaign. we as a party have to think carefully about what has happened, and once we have that, unite behind that common set of true conservative principles and move forward. and above all, hold keir starmer to account. the country needs the conservative party right now to provide a strong opposition. the tailwinds were also in favour of the liberal democrats,

who have celebrated winning more than 70 seats. here's what its leader, ed davy, had to say about it. it was an amazing result for the lib dems. we got 72 seats with the last one coming in just yesterday. we are very excited by this opportunity. we fought the campaign putting health and care at the top of our list, and we are going to fight in parliament, campaign for health and care. i have already called for an emergency budget for health and care this month so we can start rescuing our nhs which is on its knees because of the conservatives. you were very energetically in the campaign criticising the conservatives. are you going to be just as energetic and going after the labour party? well, we will be constructive opposition. we fought the election on health and care and the cost of living, on ending the sewage scandal and we will focus on those issues in parliament. we will urge the government to go further and we have started that by calling for an emergency budget on health and care, and i want to make sure they respond. one thing i was disappointed in labour's manifesto

is it did not mention family carers, unpaid carers, who are critical. i've made very clear that the lib dems will be the voice of carers and we will challenge the government to make sure they deliver for the millions of people looking after their loved ones. but when labour has this enormous majority, how are you actually going to make them pay any attention to you? they don't have to, they are not under any obligation and they have raw power now. they don't have to pay attention to the lib dems. well, by the strength of our arguments. we have managed over a number of years to persuade people to steal our policies, and that's a really good idea. so even in opposition, it was the liberal democrats who argued for a windfall tax on the huge profits of the oil and gas companies made on the back of president putin and his illegal invasion of ukraine. it was the lib dems making that argument to help people with their energy bills and three months after we made it, the labour party stole that idea. so i am hoping, as we argue for health and care, we argue for ending the sewage scandal, we argue

for action on the cost of living, that the labour government will realise that we actually have the best arguments, the best policies, and take them and that would be great. reform uk got many more votes than you, but have ended up with far, far fewer seats. is that fair? well, you know, laura, that the lib dems have long argued for fair votes and long argued for electoral reform and proportional representation. we want to improve our democracy because our politics is broken and we will continue to make that case. there might be people elected who we don't agree with and that has been the case with first past the post because there are many in the conservative party who seem to share the values of reform. and they are already there. in terms of your belief in reforming the voting system, if you did so under proportional representation, which you have long argued for, would you then be happy to see

reform uk being the third biggest party and not the liberal democrats? well, i believe in democracy, and i believe in taking forward your ideas for political reform. people will get voted in who you don't agree with under first past the post people in reform have also got elected, and people in the conservative party who were close to reform have got elected. that is democracy, that is allowing the people to express their will. guru—murphy spoke to sam white, he is the former chief of staff to sir keir starmer, and caroline slocock and caroline slocock who is former private secretary to conservative prime ministers margaret thatcher and john major and the director of the think tank civil exchange. geeta started by asking sam white if he ever thought labour could win such a big majority. i went to work for keir maybe three or four days after he got elected leader of the labour party, running his strategy during covid.

and at the time, my motivation was, i thought we'd had a long period of really poor government in the uk and a period where the labour party had largely exited the pitch of serious politics. you know, arguably labour, as michael heseltine has said in the past, can win any election it chooses to, itjust has to choose to do it. and i wanted to help keir bring the party back from the brink of a near extinction—level event, as the tories have experienced this week. back to being a credible alternative government, and i did believe it was possible. i went back to work for him a second time in 21—22 as his chief of staff, and i remember meeting donors who said to me, "yeah, yeah, "it's all very well, but this guy's not going to win, is he? "you're losers. "you're not going to come back from this. "you can't really believe it." and people like deborah madison and i said, "no, we've left ourjobs. "we've come to do this because there is a narrow "route back." it's like, you know that bit in the avengers movie where they're fighting thanos, and doctor strange looks into all the different futures, and there's like one million futures and they win in one of them? it's an incredibly narrow path, full of self—sacrifice and bravery, and that's the path

we decided to take. ok, we'll come back to that thought in a moment. but, caroline, just let me bring you in. are you surprised by the distance travelled, first of all? and there is a huge change, isn't there, in the direction of government that will happen now, both for the ministers and for civil service. yes, i mean, obviously it's a historic moment. and they're now setting out to try and deliver some of the things that they promised. and i think the most fundamental thing is trust. and keir starmer made a very big pitch in his speech on the steps of number ten to restore trust, you know, calling it a wound that needs to be healed. and we're now looking for the actions and not just the words. and actually, on that day, civil society leaders, experts and others wrote to him to say, you know, "these are the actions "that you need to take to restore trust." and they include setting up that new ethics and integrity commission he's promised and sticking to really high standards, committing to the rule of law and actually respecting key democratic

institutions which have recently been really trashed. you know, institutions like the civil service, civil society itself, the bbc and others. and really having stronger parliamentary accountability, so important when you've got such a big majority, including not sidestepping parliament through the abuse of secondary legislation to avoid proper scrutiny and bringing the country together in real partnership. now, you can do these things without massive resources. you know, they're actually easy to do in lots of ways. but if you do them well and restore that trust, you will unlock a lot of resources in society. it's notjust, you know, the government, civil service, you know, big resources though they are, and the money that they may pour into it. but it's also the wider resources of society as a whole, including, you know, voluntary organisations, for example, across the country, who, if we can create a shared

purpose, will work with them and make some of these things real. england fans have been celebrating after the team defeated switzerland at the euros, thanks to a perfect set of penalties. gareth southgate�*s team are now through to the semi—finals, and will face the netherlands in dortmund on wednesday. our sports editor dan roan watched them win. commentator: england go through! another penalty shoot—out is won. this what it meant for the manager, his players and the fans after england held their nerve to deliver in dusseldorf. to come from behind again and show the character and resilience we did, we talked to the players about that. winning tournaments is not just about playing well. i thought we did play well today but it's not just about that. you have to show all those other attributes to win. the fans who witnessed the drama

here starting to believe. brilliant! i can't hear my voice after it. i was screaming too much, but it's coming home. absolutely love it. fantastic. come on! not before time and all! i'm soft, me, mate. honestly, that's the best feeling ever. i thought bellingham's 94th minute winner was the best feeling ever. if they can do that... old gareth's lucky. he's not the best tactically| but he seems to be getting through with a few lucky shots. once again, though, england did it the hard way, going behind when breel embolo poked home, to give his side a deserved lead. and switzerland score! england were heading out, but with their first shot on target, man of the match bukayo saka came to his side's rescue. saka having a go! one—all after extra time, the match went to penalties. with england one up in the shootout, manuel akanji was first up for the swiss. saved by jordan pickford!

with both sides then scoring, up stepped saka. saka scores! his missed spot kick had led to england losing in the final of the last euros. three years on, redemption. here we go. with the next three penalties all scored, sub trent alexander arnold had the chance to seal it. trent takes the net off! with five perfect penalties and pickford's decisive save, england had prevailed. commentator: england go through! for sure, yeah, it was special, special. you know, how we fought back, and to go to penalties as well, the last time we took a penalty shootout at the euros, we all know all what happened. the euros, we all know what happened. so proud of everybody, how we got over the line. with even prince william struggling to contain his emotion, england had dug deep to claw their way to victory by the narrowest of margins. my my goodness, it was exciting, wasn't it? four volunteers have emerged

from a small compound at a nasa base in texas, after spending more than a year living in conditions designed to simulate those on mars. they've been growing crops, operating equipment, and carrying out experiments, to help nasa prepare for a future mission to mars. aina aslam reports. hey! this is the moment kelly haston, ross brockwell, nathanjones and anca selariu emerged from the mars simulator that's been their home for the past 378 days. as they left the 3d—printed habitat and finally reunited with theirfamilies, they appeared to be in high spirits. i am so proud and honoured to be part of this crew and project, and to be a part of a small, incremental part of the work being done here on earth that will one day enable humans to explore and live on mars. the volunteers spent most of their time in the small compound simulating operations future astronauts will have to do, including going for mars walks in a red sandpit, growing and harvesting vegetables, and dealing with a 22—minute communication lag with earth.

nasa is eager to know how they got on with the experiments and their prolonged isolation. this mission is an important step in nasa's plan to set foot on mars by the early 2040s. the volunteers were thanked for devoting a year of their lives to serve humanity's exploration of space. anna aslam, bbc news. now, if you've been looking for a plumber recently, you may have found one hard to come by, with the industry warning of a shortfall. it's hoped that teaching plumbing in schools will help boost numbers in the longer term, and give children valuable life—skills. laura may mcmullan reports. drilling learning the tools of the trade. and a hands—on plumbing opportunity for these pupils at sandon primary academy in stoke—on—trent. we do like to think outside of the box. nothing better than a plumbing workshop. for us, it's a great opportunity to give our children

a chance to apply maths skills, real—life science, teamwork, problem—solving. they're going to high school soon, these children are, and we want to give them experience of real—life work. and it was all hands to the deck. more than 150 pupils here have been learning pipework and how to fit a radiator. it's an option for a really good job. plumbing is, like, a high—paying job. i liked how we did the water- because we could see how we built the pipes and we could see if the pipes that we built i were strong enough to hold the water source. i'm loving it so far. it's, like, fun to do and i see it being like a job in the future i could do. and according to industry experts, there is a shortage of plumbers due to a skills gap and an ageing workforce. it's estimated that 70,000 new plumber recruits will be needed by 2032. and it's something these tutors from plumb learning are well aware of. they say by giving youngsters hands—on experience at an early age,

the plumbing trade will benefit in the long run. you're never going to teach a child to read without there being a book or a word or a letter, so how can they say, "i know what i want to do in a career"? it's so important because when we give them something linked to real life, they can see like tangible evidence of what they can achieve. and it was certainly top marks for their handiwork today, with no leaking pipes. it's hoped that sessions like this can ignite a passion for learning new skills. laura may mcmullan, bbc news. that's fantastic, isn't it? i hope they visit my kids�* schools. more now on the prime minister's first tour of the uk since winning the general election. sir keir starmer is in edinburgh this afternoon where he will meet the scottish labour leader, anas sarwar, and scotland's first minister, john swinney, at bute house. he will then move on to meet the devolved leaders in wales

and northern ireland tomorrow. we are expecting to hear from the prime minister shortly so let's hold over to you to house and our reporter katie hunter and sir keir starmer has promised a reset of relations with the devolved governments, hasn't he? yes, and you can may hear — governments, hasn't he? yes, and you can may hear a — governments, hasn't he? yes, and you can may hear a noisy _ governments, hasn't he? yes, and you can may hear a noisy protest _ governments, hasn't he? yes, and you can may hear a noisy protestjust - can may hear a noisy protestjust you might write about gaza and a heavy police presence here as well ahead of sir keir starmer�*s visit and here it is interesting that he has chosen to come to edinburgh so quickly after taking power and when new prime ministers and leaders come into power we are always monitoring where they call first and visit and he is here in scotland and before sir keir starmer meetsjohn swinney here, we have heard from both the uk government and the scottish government and the scottish government and the scottish government and i do said, sir keir starmer is talking about resetting

the relationship with the devolved governments and talking about the fundamental values of respect, service and community. john swinney, the first minister of scotland, remember he has only been in this job for a couple of months himself and has said he hopes to have constructive discussions with sir keir starmer on shared priorities such as eradicating child poverty, growing the economy and prioritising net zero an effective public services so ahead of this meeting, the mood music has been fairly positive from both men and it is no secret that relations between the uk government and the scottish government and the scottish government in the past have been fairly strained at points and these two will be meeting here later on this evening and we are expecting to hear from them both after that meeting. hear from them both after that meetinu. , ., , ., ., ~' hear from them both after that meetinu. , ., , ., meeting. yes, we are 'ust looking at ictures meeting. yes, we are 'ust looking at pictures now _ meeting. yes, we are 'ust looking at pictures now of h meeting. yes, we are 'ust looking at pictures now of sir — meeting. yes, we are just looking at pictures now of sir keir _ meeting. yes, we are just looking at pictures now of sir keir starmer - pictures now of sir keir starmer meeting with anas sarwar, the labour leader in scotland smiling there and we will listen and see if either of them says anything stop

applause thank you so much everybody. it is fantastic to be here and to hear that labour has won the election and we now have a labour prime minister in sir keir starmer. applause thank you. applause thank ou. �* , , ., thank you. but friends, first and foremost. _ thank you. but friends, first and foremost. we — thank you. but friends, first and foremost, we have _ thank you. but friends, first and foremost, we have to _ thank you. but friends, first and foremost, we have to say - thank you. but friends, first and foremost, we have to say thank| thank you. but friends, first and . foremost, we have to say thank you to the people of scotland, who have put their faith and trust in the scottish labour party. over the last three years, we have worked really hard to with humility and energy so we can look people in the eye in this election and asked for their trust and support and thanks to that trust and support and thanks to that trust and support and thanks to that trust and support, scottish labour has notjust won this election, we aren'tjust has notjust won this election, we aren't just the largest has notjust won this election, we aren'tjust the largest party of at

this election, we have won a majority in scotland and a mandate for change. —— after this election. applause and we want to say directly to those people who voted scottish labour for the first time or perhaps voted scottish labour for the first time in a long time, the way we have operated in the last three years does not change now we have won an election, the same hard work and humility will continue and we will never turn our back on a single scot because we want to deliver for each and every scot, theirfamily because we want to deliver for each and every scot, their family and community right across the country and that hard work for change starts straightaway, and it starts with our fantastic 37 new scottish labour mps.

applause scottish labour mps who are going down to westminster not to sit in the opposition benches, not to shout, not to protest, and ultimately come back with nothing, but 37 scottish labour mps who are going to sit on the government benches, sit around the table, help make decisions and deliver for their communities and for scotland. applause it is a victory for scottish labour. and in particular, i want to congratulate our new secretary of state for scotland, the fantastic ian murray.

applause friends, after 11! years, we finally have a government that cares about scotland, understand scotland and wants to deliver for scotland. after 14 wants to deliver for scotland. after 11! years, we finally have a prime minister who believes in decency, integrity and values and believes in public service. and we said during the election campaign that scotland would be at the heart of a labour government and it is no coincidence that the first engagement of a labour prime minister is to come to scotland and say that scotland will be the beating heart of that a labour government. applause

because with sir keir starmer, we will always put the country before we put the party, and that is why we are serious about restoring devolution, resetting it, taking us back to those founding principles where governments are work together in the national interest, cooperation over conflict, respect over suspicion and making sure we are delivering for every scot right across the country. because what happened on thursday night was a historic shift in scottish politics, the politics of division and fear are in decline and the politics of hope and unity are on the rise, and that hard work for change starts straightaway. because we are going to hit the ground running to make sure there is a uk government, uk labour government, delivering for the people of scotland and people did not vote for changing just one failing government, they recognise

they want to change for scotland too and that is why we have also redoubled our efforts here in scotland so in 2026, we complete stage two of change and elect a scottish labour government too. applause no doubt, friends, you will be hearing a lot more about that any and months to come. but hearing a lot more about that any and months to come.— hearing a lot more about that any and months to come. but right now, i want ou, and months to come. but right now, i want you. please _ and months to come. but right now, i want you, please come _ and months to come. but right now, i want you, please come to _ and months to come. but right now, i want you, please come to give - and months to come. but right now, i want you, please come to give the . want you, please come to give the loudest possible welcome to my friend, the person i have been absolutely proud to stand shoulder to shoulder and side by side with to deliver that change, my friend, our deliverthat change, my friend, our prime deliver that change, my friend, our prime minister, deliverthat change, my friend, our prime minister, keir starmer. applause

thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you very much. thank you. thank you very much. thank you, anas sarwar, my friend. without your leadership, we would not have achieved this year in scotland. and i cannot tell you how important it is to me to be here in scotland with you, 48 hours after the king invited me to form a government. that was an incredible honour. to be here two days later, making good on my commitment to scotland by making a start, is hugely important to me. and to be with you, anas, cements the hard

work we have done ever so many