live from london, this is bbc news. a 17—year—old boy is charged with the murder of three girls and attempted murder of ten other people at a taylor swift—themed dance class in southport. prime minister keir starmer is to meet with police as protests spread in parts of england after the southport stabbings. the funeral of hamas leader ismail haniyeh is held in tehran. benjamin netanyahu says his country delivered "crushing blows" to its enemies. iran vows revenge. the us pentagon says the mastermind of the september 11th terror attacks and two of his accomplices have agreed a plea deal. donald trump draws criticism after questioning kamala harris�* racial identity. she wants to be known as black, so i don't know, is she indian or is she

black? ., , , ., black? donald trump spoke at the annual meeting _ black? donald trump spoke at the annual meeting at _ black? donald trump spoke at the annual meeting at the _ black? donald trump spoke at the annual meeting at the national. annual meeting at the national association of blackjournalists. and it _ association of blackjournalists. and it was — association of blackjournalists. and it was the same old show. and questions for the bbc over its handling of the huw edwards case. the culture secretary demands an urgent meeting with the corporation's director general. hello, i'm kylie pentelow a 17—year—old boy has been charged with murder and attempted murder after a mass stabbing in southport, north—west england on monday. three children, six—year—old bebe king, seven—year—old elsie dot stancombe and nine—year—old alice da silva aguiar, died during the attack at a taylor swift—themed dance class. the teenager cannot be named because of his age. daniel sandford reports. it was two and a half days after the traumatic mass stabbing

in southport that prosecutors announced that a 17 year old had been charged with the attack. the crown prosecution service has authorised merseyside police to charge a 17—year—old boy of banks, lancashire, with three counts of murder and ten counts of attempted murder following the tragic incident that took place in southport this week. the i7—year—old's charged with the murders of six—year—old bebe king, seven—year—old elsie dot stancombe and nine—year—old alice dasilva aguiar. those he allegedly attempted to murder were not named. whilst these charges are a significant milestone within this investigation, this remains very much a live investigation and we continue to work with our partners from lancashire police and counter terrorism policing north west. in a highly unusual move, the announcement was made at midnight here at merseyside police headquarters. the 17—year—old suspect, who by law still can't be named,

will appear at the magistrates�* court in the morning and at crown court as soon as possible after that. it was leanne lucas who was leading the dance class on monday morning when the attack began. she tried to shield the children from danger. her cousin told the bbc how she's doing now. all we know is she's spoken. she's still definitely not out of the woods yet, but she's definitely talking. yeah, we're not allowed to say too much, but yeah, she's a hero. she is an actual hero. jonathan hayes was stabbed in the leg after he ran into the classroom, his office next door, when he heard the screams. from his hospital bed, he told the bbc he didn't see himself as a hero and wishes he could have done more. southport will be hoping that the charging of the suspect will be a milestone in this tragedy, but the town still has a lot of grieving and healing to do. daniel sandford, bbc news, southport.

let's speak to our correspondent lauren moss who's in southport. we know that a 17—year—old is appearing in court today. what has been the mood there in southport? in southport this morning it is three days now since the attack took place a few yards in the street behind me on monday, where three little girls were killed and of course others are still in hospital being treated. people have been coming this morning once again to lay flowers and tributes here. in fact, the tributes have spilled out onto the road, buckets of flowers. just half—an—hour ago a couple of residents came down with bagful is of teddy bears, which you can see here, which have been placed very carefully out on this sheet in the morning sunshine. they told me they came here last night because it was raining overnight, and still raining when i arrived here this morning,

and they didn't want the tributes and they didn't want the tributes and they didn't want the tributes and the bears that have been left for the three girls and their families to get ruined. they said they are going to do that for as long as it takes, for as long as the tributes are here, in different places all around the street that i have seen today. that is another example of some of the community spirit and feeling and people standing together in southport that i have witnessed over the last few days, people really pulling together in heartbreak and devastation, but also staying strong for the families and staying strong for each other. we know there are still people in hospital, children and adults, do we know about their conditions? we haven't know about their conditions? - haven't had an update on their conditions since a couple of days ago. we know eight children are treated in hospital. alder hey said two were still in a critical condition a couple of days ago, but they also said people and children were being treated at manchester hospital. we heard from one of the

men involved and who was injured trying to protect the children yesterday, and he said he wished he had done more. he is recovering in hospital. the cousin of lian, one of the teachers here on tuesday was injured and he spoke to the bbc, as we heard in daniel's report, saying she is slowly recovering and there is not much more they can say on that. people have been asking me if i have any update on the condition of the children, that is what people are very much praying for here in southport. are very much praying for here in southport-— are very much praying for here in southort. ., .,, more than 100 people have been arrested in a protest in central london following the knife attack and subsequent riot in southport the following night. police clashed with demonstrators on whitehall, close to downing street. there has also been disorder in hartlepool, which has been connected with the events in southport. eight people have been arrested and a number of police officers injured. the prime minister will host senior police leaders in downing street this afternoon in the wake of the unrest in multiple parts of the country.

harry, tell us what we can expect from that meeting. the harry, tell us what we can expect from that meeting.— harry, tell us what we can expect from that meeting. the context of the meeting _ from that meeting. the context of the meeting is _ from that meeting. the context of the meeting is the _ from that meeting. the context of the meeting is the disorder - from that meeting. the context of the meeting is the disorder you i the meeting is the disorder you spoke about just there. the meeting is the disorder you spoke aboutjust there. in hartlepool eight people were arrested in ugly scenes. and here in westminster last night, flares were being launched at the gates of downing street and also at a statue of winston churchill. beer bottles and cans were thrown at the police. keir starmer, the prime minister, summoning senior police leaders to downing street this afternoon. i understand the prime minister will offer the police is full support following what has now become multiple of extreme violence and public disorder. the meeting will place this afternoon and it is notable that we received notice of this meeting late last night, following that violence in whitehall. i understand the prime minister will tell these police

officers that while the right to peaceful protest is protected, those who exploit that right in order to sow hatred and carry out violent acts will face the full force of the law. he will encourage those police officers to use the full extent of their powers to crack down on violence. ~ ., their powers to crack down on violence-— their powers to crack down on violence. ~ . ., h, . violence. we heard that the police have extra — violence. we heard that the police have extra powers _ violence. we heard that the police have extra powers at _ violence. we heard that the police have extra powers at the - violence. we heard that the police| have extra powers at the moment, violence. we heard that the police - have extra powers at the moment, but people will be asking what can the prime minister do to stop these kind of protests happening? it is prime minister do to stop these kind of protests happening?— of protests happening? it is less than a month — of protests happening? it is less than a month since _ of protests happening? it is less than a month since keir- of protests happening? it is less than a month since keir starmerj than a month since keir starmer became prime minister and already having faced these incidents of public disorder. operational manning of the protests are for the police, but i understand, after speaking to seniorfigures in downing street this morning, that he will ask the police if they need additional powers, if there is anything extra they need from him, as well as offering them his full support. i think this meeting in downing street this afternoon with those senior

police officers is part of keir starmer�*s response to these incidents of disorder. as i say, it is less than a month since he took over as prime minister.— over as prime minister. harry farle , over as prime minister. harry farley. thank _ over as prime minister. harry farley, thank you _ over as prime minister. harry farley, thank you very - over as prime minister. harry farley, thank you very much. | there are growing fears of region—wide conflict in the middle east. iran is holding a funeral procession for the hamas political chief ismail haniyeh, who was assassinated on wednesday. 62—year—old haniyeh was the political leader of hamas, the group that runs gaza. he was killed in an air strike in tehran while visiting the iranian capital. hamas blame israel for the killing but israel hasn't responded. iran has vowed to avenge his death. meanwhile, the un security council held an emergency session in new york. the secretary general warned of a "dangerous escalation". and israel's prime minister says his country has "challenging days" ahead. let's speak to our middle east correspondent hugo bachega, who's in beirut.

we have seen those pictures from the funeral of ismail haniyeh. what are the fears of that potential response from iran? 50 the fears of that potential response from iran? ., , ., from iran? so we have seen two assassinations _ from iran? so we have seen two assassinations in _ from iran? so we have seen two assassinations in the _ from iran? so we have seen two assassinations in the last - from iran? so we have seen two assassinations in the last few i from iran? so we have seen two l assassinations in the last few days here in the middle east, in two different countries, but these cases are connected in so many ways. they are connected in so many ways. they are obviously raising fears of a wider regional conflict. we are seeing these large crowds in tehran, the funeral for seeing these large crowds in tehran, the funeralfor ismail seeing these large crowds in tehran, the funeral for ismail haniyeh, the iranian supreme leader ayatollah commonly leading the prayers in iran. both iran and hamas blame israel for this assassination which happened yesterday. the israeli authorities have not commented on this killing but they have a long history of targeted assassinations in this region. yesterday the new york times reported that the supreme

leader ordered iran to carry out a direct attack on israel in response to this attack, to this assassination, that happened yesterday. there has also been a message from the iranian mission at the united nations saying this response that special operations had intended to so deep regret and the perpetrator, in their words. the iranians say they will respond and we don't know what this response is going to be, but here in beirut later today we will see the funeral for the high level member who was assassinated here on tuesday in attack. he is described as a right—hand man to the leader. we will be hearing from the leader later today who will be addressing supporters and we are likely to see some signs of what they are planning

to do to respond to this attack. it was an attack that happened in the stronghold here in beirut. civilians were killed, including two children. i think it is inevitable that they will respond to this attack will stop the real fear here is that this could lead to an escalation of hostilities and people are talking about the possibility of a wider regional conflict. last night the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, gave a speech on television and he said difficult days lie ahead, but the country was prepared for every scenario. again concerns here that this violence could escalate and we could be seeing a wider conflict. let's speak to our middle east correspondent, yolande knell. hugo said benjamin netanyahu has been speaking about this. what does this mean for ceasefire talks? i am hearing that the hostage families have some major concerns.

have some ma'or concerns. indeed, that is the big — have some major concerns. indeed, that is the big question _ have some major concerns. indeed, that is the big question hanging - that is the big question hanging over all of this after nearly ten months of war in gaza, what does this mean for those talks. they had been ongoing via mediators between israel and hamas to try to bring an end to the war, to try to bring home the dozens of hostages believed to still be alive and gaza and held by hamas. the us had said recently that progress was being made in those talks. i was listening this morning to army radio where they had the former prime minister on who put forward an argument that perhaps israel had restored its deterrence in the region, restored it standing and now was the moment to really utilise the situation and for this government to try to bring home a deal. but the question over that is that ismail haniyeh was leading the

hamas negotiating team in the indirect talks with israel. it is not clear who takes his place. this is definitely a major setback at the least for the time being. the hostage families, of course their anxieties have only increased in the past 2a hours. they had these demonstrations already planned to mark 300 days of their loved ones being held in captivity. we have seen them blocking one of the main roads out of tel aviv writing 300 across the lanes of the road this morning. they are calling on the government to do a deal. let's speak to ian lesser, senior director for foreign and security policy at the us think tank german marshall fund. thank you for your time here on bbc news. we were hearing that the killing of ismail haniyeh was just hours after a strike on an israeli

commander in lebanon. what is your assessment of a potential wider, millie's —— middle east conflict? there has been a wider conflict going on for many months between israel and iran, the situation in the red sea with the houthis and his brother and israel and at the back of all of this is the role of the us. there has been a change of leadership in iran as well in this period will stop the new president elected is reputed to be a moderate. there are a lot of things coming together that both argue for greater escalation, but also some restraint on the part of the major parties. there are reasons for that. we were s-teakin there are reasons for that. we were speaking about _ there are reasons for that. we were speaking about the _ there are reasons for that. we were speaking about the hostages - there are reasons for that. we were speaking about the hostages and . speaking about the hostages and their families, speaking about the hostages and theirfamilies, those in gaza, how damaging is this potentially to ceasefire talks and to the release

of hostages?— of hostages? well, it is obviously tuite of hostages? well, it is obviously quite damaging — of hostages? well, it is obviously quite damaging because - of hostages? well, it is obviously quite damaging because ismail. quite damaging because ismail haniyeh was one of the principal interlocutors on the homicide and so his absence from the scene serves certain purposes for the israeli strategy, but also complicates the ability to negotiate with hamas. at the end of the day there will be some sort of negotiation to end this conflict, at least in gaza. who will be the interlocutor? this will have to be seen now. it certainly sets the process back. ian to be seen now. it certainly sets the process back.— to be seen now. it certainly sets the process back. ian lester, from the process back. ian lester, from the think tank, _ the process back. ian lester, from the think tank, the _ the process back. ian lester, from the think tank, the german - the process back. ian lester, from i the think tank, the german marshall fund thank you for your time. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

the uk culture secretary, lisa nandy, has called for a meeting with the bbc�*s director general after the former news presenter, huw edwards, admitted to making indecent images of children. he continued to be paid until his resignation in april. tom symonds reports. a household name, trusted to tell the nation that the queen had died. huw edwards delivered the news until he became the story. charged with having 41 indecent images of children sent by another offender on a whatsapp group, yesterday, he pleaded guilty. and now the new culture secretary, lisa nandy, wants to know more about how the bbc handled this, its reputation again at risk. here's the timeline. in may 2023, the corporation was told that huw edwards had been in contact with a 17—year—old boy.

after the sun newspaper published further details injuly, edwards was suspended by the bbc. under its policy, he continued to be paid. in november, a critical development, the bbc was told he'd been arrested for separate and serious offences. the corporation did not sack him and it continued to pay his full salary. in april this year, edwards resigned with no payoff. the bbc is facing difficult questions about all of this. when it realised its star presenter had been arrested, should he have been sacked? because between the point when he was arrested and his resignation, he was paid more than £200,000, public money, a salary which increased by £40,000 last year. the bbc said in a statement if at any point during the period mr edwards was employed by the bbc, he had been charged, the bbc had determined it would act immediately to dismiss him.

in the end, at the point of charge, he was no longer an employee of the bbc. the corporation took legal advice about its duty of care to huw edwards, and had been told of a significant risk to his health. his wife says he suffered from severe depression. he's expected to be sentenced in september. a prison term of up to three years is possible. tom symonds, bbc news. with me is our correspondent charlotte gallagher. can you take us through what the bbc knew and when. in can you take us through what the bbc knew and when.— can you take us through what the bbc knew and when. in november 2023, the bbc was informed _ knew and when. in november 2023, the bbc was informed that _ knew and when. in november 2023, the bbc was informed that huw _ knew and when. in november 2023, the bbc was informed that huw edwards - bbc was informed that huw edwards had been arrested on suspicion of a serious offence and released on bail. we now know that they did in fact know what he had been arrested for, which was on suspicion of making indecent images of children. so there was this five—month period

between november 2023 and april 2024, and that is when huw edwards resigned, he said, on medical grounds. and as tom said, he didn't receive a payoff. but during that five—month period continued to receive his full salary and we think at that time it would have been around £200,000, so a large amount of public money. then it was injune 2024 when he was charged with making indecent images of children. some of those images were category a, the most severe. that is the timeline. the bbc are saying had he been charged in the period when he was still employed by the bbc, he would have been sacked, but in the end he resigned before he was charged. so now the culture secretary wants to meet with the director—general of the bbc. do we know when that will happen? we the bbc. do we know when that will hat-en? ~ ~ the bbc. do we know when that will ha- ten? ~ ~ , the bbc. do we know when that will ha en?. ~' , ., ,, happen? we think it is happening toda , so happen? we think it is happening today. so it _ happen? we think it is happening today. so it is _ happen? we think it is happening today, so it is a _ happen? we think it is happening today, so it is a particularly - today, so it is a particularly urgent meeting. you imagine the kind of questions the culture secretary

will be asking. why wasn't huw edwards sat with the bbc knew what he had been arrested for? why was he paid £200,000 of public money during that time after he had been arrested? did the bbc at too slowly? did they act quickly enough to sort out the situation? why was huw edwards allowed to resign on his own terms. he wasn't dismissed, he chose when to leave. and does the bbc have the right kind of safeguarding policies in place and are they in place now? there are some really serious questions for the bbc. the career and reputation of huw edwards is in tatters at this and now the reputation of the bbc is at stake, so the bbc wants to sort this out quickly and make sure it looks like they acted properly and quickly enough dealing with a huw edwards situation. �* , ., ., situation. briefly, we have a statement. _ situation. briefly, we have a statement, but _ situation. briefly, we have a statement, but are - situation. briefly, we have a statement, but are we - situation. briefly, we have a - statement, but are we expecting to hear from the director—general? we hear from the director-general? we don't hear from the director—general? - don't know, we would like to hear from the director—general is bbc news. bbc news is editorially separate from the rest of the bbc, hence why i am reporting on the

story, and there are questions bbc news wants to put to tim davie, very similar to the question is lisa nandy will be putting to him, so i wasn't huw edwards sacked essentially? the man accused of masterminding the september 11th attacks in new york, khalid sheikh mohammed, and two of his accomplices have agreed to plead guilty. the three have been held at the us navy base guantanamo bay, cuba, for years without going to trial. according to us news outlets, the men agreed to admit to conspiracy charges in exchange for a life sentence, after a possible death sentence was excluded. the cases against the three have been mired in a decades—long controversy over whether their treatment at cia prisons compromised the evidence against them. khalid sheikh mohammed has been described as the mastermind behind the deadliest attack on us soil since the attack on pearl harbor in the second world war. he and his co—accused have been held at guantanamo bay

for nearly 20 years. the case has been bogged down by pre—trial hearings. defence lawyers had argued that the men's torture in prison had rendered the evidence against them unusable. now, the us department of defense has announced that a plea deal has been reached, but it hasn't given the details. now in terms of reaction, the husband of a woman who was killed in the attack has told the new york post that he's disappointed that families won't have their day in court and that the accused, he has said, should receive the highest penalty. it may be this was seen as a way of avoiding a lengthy trial and also the confession is seen as crucial to the confession is seen as crucial to the case. this was seen as a way of avoiding the possibility that those confessions would be thrown out. in

terms of reaction, the husband of a woman who was killed in the attack has told the new york post that he is disappointed that the families will not have their day in court. and that the accused, he has said, should receive the highest penalty. now, the national security council has said that the president's office had played no role in the negotiation. but the speaker of the house, mikejohnson, has tweeted that the biden—harris administration had done the unthinkable. they've agreed to a plea deal, he writes, and he's described it as a slap in the face for the victims�* families. jenny kumar in washington. you can stay up—to—date with all of the stories we have been covering here on bbc news on our website. there is a live page as the prime minister is expected to meet police leaders after those protests, after the fatal stabbing of three girls in

southport. we will have the latest on that within the hour here on bbc news. stay with us. hello again. as we go through today, many of us will have a dry day with some warm sunshine, still feeling humid in the south. for some of us, thundery downpours. we've seen quite a few of those this morning and into the afternoon, although there will be a lull as temperatures rise in the sunshine and they further develop. this morning's thundery downpours pushing into the north sea. some showers across parts of eastern scotland and northern england and then further thundery downpours which will be slow moving, heavy and also with hail and gusty winds around them, especially across parts of east wales, the midlands central southern england and the south east. but we won't all catch one by any stretch. into this evening, we start to loose those thunderstorms, many fading away, clear skies and mist and fog patches forming.

out towards the west, a new front will introduce thicker cloud, showery rain and stronger winds. humid tonight as well, and in places that have not been humid in the last few nights, like northern ireland and western scotland. tomorrow, here's our first front but low pressure dominating the weather in the west, bringing in thicker cloud, some rain and strengthening winds, it's only slowly pushing eastwards. ahead of that, the cloud will build. a lot of dry weather and sunshine around, some showers into the south east and highs of 27 degrees here. behind the cold front, things are freshening up a bit in the west. that will continue even more so as the fronts push across us through saturday. on saturday itself, we start with cloud and showery outbreaks of rain in the south east. a lot of dry weather, further showers and windy conditions coming in from the northwest but in between some sunshine and variable cloud.

but a difference in the temperature, 15 to 21 from the north to the west but still about 24 towards the south east. into sunday, we hang onto that fresher air across the board, temperatures returning to closer to the seasonal average. on sunday, a dry day, cloud building through the day with the front from the west introducing rain across western areas with gusty winds in the western isles.

this is bbc news. the headlines: a 17—year—old boy is charged with the murder of three girls and attempted murder of ten other people at a taylor swift—themed dance class in southport. prime minister keir starmer is to meet with police as protests spread in parts of england after the southport stabbings. the funeral of hamas leader ismail haniyeh is held in tehran. benjamin netanyahu says his country delivered crushing blows to its enemies. iran vows revenge. the us pentagon says the alleged mastermind of the september 11th terror attacks and two of his accomplices have agreed a plea deal. returning now to our main story — a 17—year—old has been charged

with murder and attempted murder following a knife attack