today at one, a17—year—old—boy appears in court charged with murder of three young girls in southport on monday. he can now be identified. he appeared at liverpool crown court this morning, charged with three counts of murder and ten counts of attempted murder. also on the programme. gps in england will start limiting the number of patients the sleigh. the bank of england cut interest rates to 5%, the first drop interest rates to 5%, the first drop in four years. the bbc faces questions over why it didn't sack present a huw edwards when it learned of his arrest on suspicion of child abuse image offences. and

new signs of life at the stump of the felled sycamore gap tree, giving hope it could live on. coming up on bbc news, the first days of olympic golf tees off in paris with the men playing for a gold medal went previously in the modern era by justin rose and xander schauffele a. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. we can now name the teenager charged with murdering three young girls and the attempted murder of eight other children and two adults in southport. axel muganwa rudakubana, southport. axel muganwa rudaku ba na, who southport. axel muganwa rudakubana, who is 17, appeared before the crown court in liverpool this morning full stop from there, our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford sent this.

three days after the horrifying stabbing in southport, the 17—year—old who has been charged with the attack was brought to court in a white custody van. the hearing was at the main court complex in liverpool, the van in which the defendant was travelling was accompanied by two police cars and three riot vans and several other vehicles. the road was briefly closed. a host of other police officers were providing extra security because of tuesday night's riots in southport. the first hearing lasted about five minutes. the 17—year—old, who at that stage could not be lawfully named, because he was under 18, was wearing a police issued grey tracksuit made of sweatshirt material. because of his young age the defendant was only referred to by his first name throughout the hearing. apart from a brief glance at the press benches, he kept his face covered at all times, as well as the charges of murder and attempted murder he is also accused of being in possession

of a kitchen knife with a curved blade. the young girls he is accused of murdering at monday's taylor swift themed dance class are six—year—old bebe king, seven—year—old elsie dot stancombe and nine—year—old alice dasilva aguiar. he is accused of attempting to murder the class organiser, leanne lucas, and john hayes, who had rushed to help, and eight other young girls who can't be named because of court reporting restrictions.— because of court reporting restrictions. ~ , , . ., , restrictions. whilst these charges are a significant _ restrictions. whilst these charges are a significant milestone - restrictions. whilst these charges are a significant milestone within | 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. counter-terrorism policing north-west.— counter-terrorism policing north-west. �* north-west. after the youth court heafina north-west. after the youth court hearing the _ north-west. after the youth court hearing the case _ north-west. after the youth court hearing the case moved - north-west. after the youth court hearing the case moved to - north-west. after the youth court hearing the case moved to the i north-west. after the youth court . hearing the case moved to the crown court, one floor up in the same building, and there thejudge court, one floor up in the same building, and there the judge said the defendant could be named, for the defendant could be named, for the first time, as axel muganwa rudakubana.

we will speak to lauren moss but first daniel sandford is outside the court. bring us up to date with what we know. the name axel muganwa rudakubana has been known to many of the reporters in southport all week, but we haven't been able to report it because of the legal rules about reporting the age of people under 18, but today, thejudge reporting the age of people under 18, but today, the judge said we could name him as axel rudakubana and we've got some images of him when he was a schoolboy, to give some people an idea of what he looks like as well as the court sketches that we obtained today in court. it's very, very unusual for someone who is under 18 to be named at this stage of the court legal process but the media applied to the judge, because it's the defendant is going to be 18 only next week. his birthday is on the 7th of august and it seems strange that he couldn't be named at this stage and the judge

accepted that, saying it seems to me that an order made today would have little practical effect in protecting the defendant or his family. the balance clearly comes down in favour of the public interest, continuing to prevent the full reporting has the disadvantage of allowing others to spread misinformation in a vacuum. daniel, let's —— thank you, let's go to southport and lauren moss. yes, this is a community three days on after monday's attack which is standing together and standing here coming down to look at the tributes that have been left on the corner of hart street and lay yet more and today, i've spoken to people who were late last night came and collected the teddy bears you might be able to see there, to stop them from getting wet in the rain, and then they came back with bag. then this morning to put them back out as the sun came up. i've spoken to an

elderly gentleman, 82 years old, round the corner, filling up the buckets of flowers and keeping them alive in the warm heat near the police called in at the police officers on the cord and have been helping him do that as well. just read some of the tributes to you as well, one that we've seen this lunchtime has been written by elsie dot stancombe's parents, to our beautiful lc, you will never leave our hearts, love grandad and nanai. she was seven years old when she died from her injuries on monday. in the last couple of hours there has been some positive news that everyone was waiting for and hoping for, two of the children have been discharged and able to go home. five others are being treated along with two adults. lauren, thank you. the prime minister is to meet police leaders this afternoon after protests across london led to more than 100 arrests last night. our political correspondent harry farley is in downing street for others. harry. the context of this meeting

is multiple incidents of public disorder. as you say, here in westminster but also aldershot, hartlepool, just yards away from where i'm stood now, protesters last night hurled flares at the gates of downing street, bottles and beer cans thrown at police, ugly scenes in many places and the purpose of summoning police leaders to downing street today, is, i'm told, to offer them the government's full support. it's an indication of the level of concern in the building behind me both about the violence we've already seen and about the possibility of more to come. keir starmer will tell the police that they have his full support, but also that those in the words of downing street who sow hatred and carry out violent acts should face the full force of the law and i'm told the prime minister will encourage the police to use their full powers to stop what the government is calling mindless violence. it's worth remembering that it's less than a

month since keir starmer became prime minister and already he is facing multiple incidents of public disorder. questions for him for how he responds and summoning police officers to downing street this afternoon, one part of that response. harry, thank you. gps in england will limit patient appointments and stop work they're not formally contracted to do. more than 98% of those who took part in the ballot by the bma voted in favour of the action, which could continue indefinitely. the doctors' union says some practices are having to close because government funding has not kept up with rising costs. our health editor hugh pym has the details. strike action by nhs workers has become commonplace, withjunior doctors and consultants walking out, and now general practice is showing its frustration. gps aren't going to strike, but as of today, some practices will limit services. they argue they're underfunded and consistently under pressure with a growing workload. so from today they'll

stickjust to the letter of their contracts. they say they want the government to realise that urgent action is needed to shore up primary care. we've seen thousands of practices close. thousands more gps leave the nhs. we're going to have to do something. every patient you probably speak to will tell you the same story that their local practice has changed or their service has diminished. this is an emergency. i would much rather be seeing patients than spending my time filling in a 16 page referral form when i'm trying to get my patient reviewed by another part of the system, and often we're doing work that is part of other bits of the nhs, but is falling to us, and that takes us away from direct patient care, which can't continue. so what will the action involve? gps will limit appointments to 25 a day. the bma say this is the maximum safe level, but some gps currently do 40 or more. in addition, fitness to work notes and prescriptions won't be issued if they can be dealt with by a hospital department.

minor injury services in hospitals are expected to feel the impact most. nhs england has warned health leaders that the gps�* action could result in more pressure on the system, and patients are concerned. generally speaking, there's already the sentiment that a lot of people don't really go to the gps anymore. it's kind of a very common thing. most people are looking to kind of get private health care through work and things like that. so i think what you will see is probably the gp services being abandoned by people, just because there's just a kind of lack of faith in the system. and so, yeah, unfortunately, ithink things are probably going to get worse as a result of this. ministers have urged the bma to reconsider their action. ministers have urged the bma to reconsidertheiraction. i ministers have urged the bma to reconsider their action. i can totally understand _ reconsider their action. i can totally understand why - reconsider their action. i can totally understand why gpsl reconsidertheiraction. i can totally understand why gps would want to _ totally understand why gps would want to publish the previous conservative government but this action, _ conservative government but this action, if— conservative government but this action, if it — conservative government but this action, if it goes ahead, will only punish _ action, if it goes ahead, will only punish patients. the conservatives already— punish patients. the conservatives already got their kicking at the general— already got their kicking at the general election and we now have a labour_ general election and we now have a labour government that's really committed to working in partnership with gps _ committed to working in partnership with gps. the committed to working in partnership with gps. , ., , _ committed to working in partnership withgps. , , , , committed to working in partnership withgps. , _ , ,, with gps. the protest by gps is open-ended- —

with gps. the protest by gps is open-ended. doctors' - with gps. the protest by gps is open-ended. doctors' union . with gps. the protest by gps is - open-ended. doctors' union leaders open—ended. doctors' union leaders favour action will continue until there is a response by the government to the problems they have highlighted. the question is how much will it affect patients as of now, the action beginning in england today, but it may take a little while but clearly if the number of appointments is being capped at 25 per gp, when that gp normally does up per gp, when that gp normally does up to 40 or more, then it will be harderfor patients to up to 40 or more, then it will be harder for patients to get appointments. i have to say the british medical association, the doctor's' union, says those 25 appointments will be longer to do a better service for patients but nhs authorities in england have warned there will be higher demand in some areas of hospitals and 111. the message going out to people is to go ahead with your appointments, do go into the gp surgery if you need care, but clearly this is an open ended situation, there is no sort of ended situation, there is no sort of end at the end of four days or something, gps will continue, so the challenge for wes streeting is to

see if he can do some sort of deal which might involve more money and more reforms longer term as he has also tried to do with the junior doctors who are now voting on that deal. hugh pym, thank you. the bank of england has cut interest rates, the first cut since march 2020. the rate had been 5.25%, the highest in 16 years. now it's 5%. the last cut was at the start of the covid pandemic. that took rates to 0.1%, the lowest in history. since then there had been 1a consecutive rate rises until last summer when it has been held at 5.25%. so what does today's announcement mean for our pockets? our chief economics correspondent darshini david reports. one of my favourite artists is new order. i have quite a nice connection with them. they were the first band that i went and saw after covid. a blast from the past. record shop managerjames has been riding high on the revival of vinyl,

but it comes at a price. a lot of customers understood that, you know, prices are going up, so they might need to pay a little bit more. but at the same time, i think they were pretty thankful that we didn't burden them with the whole cost. the bank of england's rate rises have aimed to kerb spending and so price rises. but there's another side to those higher rates forjames. i ended up moving back in with my parents, and the main reason for that was because i was spending quite a lot on rent. and i'm kind of at the age now where i need to start thinking about getting my own place. if interest rates do come down, it will only be beneficial for me. inflation is already at the 2% target, but the bank'sjob is to keep it there. and it had been worried about the risk of price pressures re—emerging for three reasons. the rebound in economic activity, wage inflation, and also services inflation, the likes of hotels and restaurants — they've all been

stronger than expected. but the bank thinks that risk is receding and it's happy now to cut rates. but it's the narrowest of decisions, with five of the nine members of the rates panel opting for that cut. we need to put the period of high inflation firmly behind us, and we need to be careful not to cut rates too much or too quickly. so some relief for borrowers. the average first time buyer spends 37% of take home pay on mortgage repayments, but those may not fall much further soon. the days of interest rates around 1% or 2% from two or three years ago, everybody's realising that that's not going to be the same for a very long time. the bank's changed its tune but remains vigilant over the risks of resurgent inflation. the rhythm of future cuts will depend on how the economic data plays out. dharshini david, bbc news. and we can now speak

to our economics editor faisal islam whojoins us now from outside the bank of england. after three years of rolling inflationary shocks from energy to food, this cup from the bank of england, four years in the making, a year we have had it held a 5.25%, a 16 year high, finally the first cut now. it is a staging process of sorts, it is a turning point of sorts, it is a turning point of sorts, marked the fact that the bank of england think the process of inflation turning around and putting those shocks behind us has started now. but it doesn't think, if you like, the inflationary dragon is totally defeated right now. it is still a bit tentative, that is why this vote was very close. so whilst this vote was very close. so whilst this is a rate cut, don't expect there to be consecutive series of rate cuts, like yours when they went up. i think there is space for further cuts this year, but a

balanced dipping their toe is the sort of impression we are getting from the bank of england governor here today. the culture secretary is to speak to the bbc�*s director general today, after it emerged the corporation knew huw edwards was being investigated over child abuse image offences months before he resigned from his role. yesterday he pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children. our culture reporter charlotte gallagher has this report. huw edwards, once the trusted face of bbc news. now convicted of paedophile offences. he's admitted three counts of making indecent images of children. some category a — the most severe — two involved a child estimated to be as young as seven. the career and reputation of edwards lies in tatters. now the bbc is under pressure

about how it handled the case. in november 2023, whilst mr edwards was suspended, the bbc, as his employer at the time, was made aware in confidence that he had been arrested on suspicion of serious offences. 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. but it has emerged that bosses knew what crimes he'd been arrested for. many people want answers, including the culture secretary, lisa nandy. she'll speak with the director general, tim davie, today. there are some really serious questions for the bbc and the people at the top of it. why wasn't huw edwards sacked when bosses were told he'd been arrested? why did he continue to receive his full salary from the moment

he was arrested until he resigned in april this year, around £200,000? and why was he allowed to resign and leave on his own terms instead of being dismissed? huw edwards has been off—air sincejuly 2023 after being accused of paying a young person for sexually explicit images. police found no wrongdoing in that case. his legacy should have been as one of the uk's most successful presenters. now it is one of disgrace and the reputation of the bbc itself could be at stake. charlotte gallagher, bbc news. our culture and media editor is outside the bbc in london. we have been hearing about the reputation of the damage to the bbc. what more do we know? it does look reputation elite difficult. charlotte said, so many questions for the bbc to answer, which is why the culture secretary has called a meeting with the

director—general tim davie. has called a meeting with the director—generaltim davie. huw edwards was notjust the director—generaltim davie. huw edwards was not just the face director—generaltim davie. huw edwards was notjust the face of news and the face of important landmark, national moments, he was also involved in the bbc school report up until 2017, a programme where 11 and 14—year—old schoolchildren were encouraged to make news. alarm bells must have been ringing at the bbc as soon as it found out back in november that he was being investigated by the police over those images involving child sexual abuse, the most serious crimes, although the bbc said it didn't know the details at that point. but it did know that back in november, how many senior leaders knew? and why didn't they suspend him? i charlotte said, those are some of the questions. there is mitigation around what was a very complex and difficult decision because the bbc was balancing its duty of care to an employee, huw edwards, who had an expectation of a right to privacy with its more public facing role. it would have

been given advice both by hr and the leaving team that huw edwards could have a legal case against them if it sacked him. however, we have a bit of information on that which was the information i am told by a source that was given about the arrest was given in strict confidence by the police and was not to be shared. that offers up an explanation. the metropolitan police would not comment on that to me today and i do still think it still will not stop the questions around the judgment calls made by senior leaders here at the bbc. ., ., ~ calls made by senior leaders here at the sac. ., ., ~ , ., ., ., our top story this afternoon... a17 a 17 year boy accused of murdering three girls at a dance class in southport can now be named. axel muganwa rudakubana appeared at liverpool crown court this morning charged with three counts of murder and ten counts of attempted murder. and we hear about how hope is beginning to grow after a tree in

northumberland was felled last year. coming up, three medals on the water for team gb, including two bronze medals and a silver for the women's four, as helen gloverjust misses out on making history to be the first british female rower two win three olympic gold medals. large crowds lined the streets in iran today for the funeral procession of the political leader of hamas. ismail haniyeh killed in a strike in tehran yesterday, which has been blamed on israel. israel has declined to comment but threats of revenge have raised renewed fears that the war in gaza is turning into a wider regional conflict, as yolande knell reports. an elaborate send—off for hamas's top man, bringing out crowds of thousands in tehran. but the assassination of this vip guest on his visit here was also a humiliation for iran. and its supreme leader, praying over ismail haniyeh's

coffin, has sworn revenge. translator: it's daring to attack our guests inside our country. - god willing, we have to give an answer. translator: we were ashamed of this incident, which has left _ palestinians even more alone. israel's declined to comment on the tehran attack, but today, the defence minister was crossing another name off his country's list of wanted hamas leaders. the army's now confirmed that this strike last month killed mohammed deif, military head of hamas in gaza, an architect of the shocking 7th of october attacks. this all comes after israel also killed a hezbollah commander in beirut in retaliation for a deadly attack last weekend. the prime minister says israel's dealing crushing blows to its enemies. translator: anyone who massacres our children, anyone _ who murders our citizens, and anyone who harms our state, will bear the responsibility for his own death.

but internationally, there are growing fears of a wider regional war, adding greater urgency to calls for a gaza ceasefire. i think it remains manifestly the case that ceasefire is in the interests of everyone. it's in the interests of israelis. it's in the interests of palestinians. it's in the interests of the region. and yet, as israeli hostage families block this motorway, marking 300 days since their loved ones were snatched, a deal that will bring them home looks as elusive as ever. and in gaza too, the latest events are only deepening the despair. yolande knell, bbc news, jerusalem. and this region remains very much on edge this lunchtime. you have the coffin of ismail haniyeh, the hamas leader, being transported to qatar, where he lived in recent years, and he will be buried there. the funeral is also about to get under way in beirut for that hezbollah commander.

the foreign secretary, david lammy, is on a visit to lebanon at this time and has reiterated the uk's call for a ceasefire in gaza. but just to underline the real difficulties there, ismail haniyeh was really overseeing the hamas side in those indirect negotiations with israel on a new ceasefire deal and regional mediators have highlighted how they say his killing is really a major setback. how they say his killing is really a major setback. three of the men accused of plotting the september the 11th attacks in the united states in 2001 have agreed to a plea deal. they have been held at the us navy base at guantanamo bay for years without going to trial but now, according to us media reports, the men will plead guilty to conspiracy charges to avoid the death penalty. donald trump has questioned his likely opponent kamala harris�* racial identity during a heated exchange. trump falsely claimed the vice—president had only emphasised her asian—american heritage until recently when,

he claimed, "she became a black person". now she wants to be known as black. i don't know, ishi indian or is she black? ., , , ., black? donald trump spoke at the annual meeting _ black? donald trump spoke at the annual meeting of _ black? donald trump spoke at the annual meeting of the _ black? donald trump spoke at the annual meeting of the national. annual meeting of the national association of blackjournalists. and it _ association of blackjournalists. and it was — association of blackjournalists. and it was the same old show. a and it was the same old show. takeover of royal mail will be reviewed by the government and cabinet office officials who say any links to russia will be carefully examined. the buyer owns a gas transmission business which carries russian gas into europe. it was a silver and two bronze medals this morning for team gb, but not the bold helen glover had been hoping for. laura scott is at the

rowing for us. laura. it was a frenetic morning at the rowing venue because those three medals for great britain came in the space of an hour. as you mentioned, the women's four were going for gold, that included the double olympic champion helen glover, was trying to make history and theyjust missed out on that gold medal. there was some disappointment, but i can tell you the scene in the stands from her children and the other athletes and' families told a different story, that they didn't mind the colour, they were hugely proud of what had been achieved out there. there were two bronze medals as well in the women's double sculls and the men's four. more medal chances to come later. joe clarke those in the canoe slalom and he has a really strong chance of a medal. but there is injury news today because jake wightman has been ruled out of the 800 metres with a hamstring injury and sky brown, the teenage skateboarder, has dislocated her shoulder, so she faces a race

against the clock to be fit for competition next week. in the boxing there is a developing story. this is in the women's boxing were italy's angela porrini abandoned herfate afterjust angela porrini abandoned herfate after just 46 seconds against an algerian, one of two boxes cleared to compete here in paris who was disqualified from the world championships last year after failing eligibility requirements. laura, thank you for that. there was an outpouring of anger when the sycamore gap tree was cut down last year, having stood next to hadrian's wall in northumberland for nearly 200 years. but now, there are new signs of life at the stump where the iconic landmark once stood. our reporter harriet bradshaw has more. dramatic, cherished and of hollywood fame, its destruction led to a national outpouring of shock. two men charged with criminal damage deny the offence. but it would seem nature has found a way, bringing with it some hope.

park ranger gary pickles discovered these shoots at the sycamore gap stump as part of routine checks, and now work is being done to protect these signs of life, with new fencing and a call to the public to be careful in the area. the appearance of that tree in that setting was just so perfect. and to have lost that has been devastating. so to start seeing that regrowth happen so that hopefully, we'll have something again in the future at some point for future generations is really great news. in the spring, i was given rare access to a secret greenhouse to see how the tree's seeds and salvaged twigs were showing signs of promise. decisions are still being made over where these shoots, once mature, will end up. as for the stump, so late in the summer, what's popped up has come as quite a surprise. personally, for myself, i think we'd got this far

through the growing season and nothing had appeared to happen, so i think i was beginning to lose heart that we were actually going to see anything happen this year anyway. and perhaps i think others may have felt like that as well. but, yeah, this was a real surprise. over the years, this has been a place to celebrate proposals, anniversaries, farewells — this tree has seen them all. perhaps if these shoots develop into something bigger, there'll be more to come. harriet bradshaw, bbc news. a reminder of our top headline this afternoon. a 17—year—old boy has appeared in court charged with murder of three young girls at a dance class in southport. he has been identified for the first time. axel muganwa rudakubana appeared at liverpool crown court this morning charged with three counts of murder and ten of attempted murder. and we visit an animal and rescue charity at

breaking point. hello and welcome to sportsday — i'm hugh ferris. our top stories this lunchtime. three medals for team gp�*s rowers but not a third gold for helen glover as the women's for settle for silver. home favourite leon marchand has won three golds alreadyjust a paris 2024, but britain's duncan scott beat him in the individual medley heats. and once more unto the breach for andy murray. at roland garros it will be a double semifinal or the end of a career.

hello again. three rowing finals at paris 2024 this morning and three medals, a silver and two bronzes for the team gb. but for helen glover the team gb. but for helen glover the gold that would have proved history proved elusive. shifter the gold that would have proved history proved elusive. after days of extreme _ history proved elusive. after days of extreme heat, _ history proved elusive. after days of extreme heat, the _ history proved elusive. after days of extreme heat, the thunder - history proved elusive. after daysj of extreme heat, the thunder and lightning over the french capital last night brought some welcome relief. the water at the venue of the rowing was calm, but where the british nerves? in olympic finals, you need experience. take your seat at the back of the boat, helen glover. the two—time medallist, now a mother of three, could she help guide them to the same outcome? in the elevator blame number three their slow start was followed by a steady pace. with 500 metres to go, stroke for stroke, it was neck and neck the dutch. butjust as they look like they were edging at they were pipped on the line. they had to

settle for silver. the super mums with the story of the day, after mathilda hodgkins—byrne and becky wilde took bronze in the double sculls, 29—year—old matilda hodgkin spur needed for surgery in september and faced a battle to keep her place as a full—time athlete. this was some comeback. i her place as a full-time athlete. this was some comeback.- this was some comeback. i had freddie just _ this was some comeback. i had freddie just over _ this was some comeback. i had freddie just over two _ this was some comeback. i had freddie just over two years - this was some comeback. i had freddie just over two years ago. we -ot freddie just over two years ago. we got selected in march. we were given the challenge and it was probably not possible to qualify so we just attempted to do that and then secretly — attempted to do that and then secretly to ourselves we were determined to get on the podium and that is— determined to get on the podium and that is what we have done. great britain other _ that is what we have done. great britain other reigning _ that is what we have done. great britain other reigning world - britain other reigning world champions in the men's coxless fours book a day at the olympic title chris mightjust six months of gruelling effort and potential glory. whatever the race plan was probably wasn't this. with the finish line sight honest wilkes that but they found themselves behind the

front boats crossing the line in brown's position. meanwhile northern ireland is philip doyle made it to the podium after finishing ireland is philip doyle made it to the podium afterfinishing third in the podium afterfinishing third in the double sculls. no goals and what of the team gp but three medals in the space of one hour— not a bad morning's work. let's speak to laura scott. a sense of what might — let's speak to laura scott. a sense of what might be _ let's speak to laura scott. a sense of what might be in, _ let's speak to laura scott. a sense of what might be in, in _ let's speak to laura scott. a sense of what might be in, in particular i of what might be in, in particular for the women's four.— of what might be in, in particular for the women's four. exactly. as joe mentioned — for the women's four. exactly. as joe mentioned it _ for the women's four. exactly. as joe mentioned it has _ for the women's four. exactly. as joe mentioned it has been - for the women's four. exactly. as joe mentioned it has been a - for the women's four. exactly. as i joe mentioned it has been a frenetic day here at the rowing. there was some disappointment from the women's four. they wanted the gold, they were expected to take the gold, but this is sport and it doesn't follow a script. we saw that incredible tussle between the netherlands and great britain and we saw the same again today. they did say they had gone as fast as they could and they were just pipped on the line.

gone as fast as they could and they werejust pipped on the line. some disappointment but the scenes in the stands told a different story. i was there with steve back show and the children, helen glover's family, and there were so proud of her that she has made it here to paris and she was on that podium with a silver medal. this is what helen glover said to me when i asked her what message she hoped it would send, that there were mothers on the podium here today. for that there were mothers on the podium here today.— that there were mothers on the podium here today. for mums, not “ust in podium here today. for mums, not just in sport. _ podium here today. for mums, not just in sport. in _ podium here today. for mums, not just in sport, in society, _ podium here today. for mums, not just in sport, in society, in - just in sport, in society, in business. _ just in sport, in society, in business, work, going back to things you love, _ business, work, going back to things you love, i_ business, work, going back to things you love, ijust think that you can io you love, ijust think that you can go back— you love, ijust think that you can go back and — you love, ijust think that you can go back and be exceptional, not despite — go back and be exceptional, not despite having children but because you have _ despite having children but because you have children, and i want to send _ you have children, and i want to send that— you have children, and i want to send that message out to anybody who wants to _ send that message out to anybody who wants to have kids and go back to something — wants to have kids and go back to something they love, something they are proud _ something they love, something they are proud of. not only can they do it that _ are proud of. not only can they do it that they— are proud of. not only can they do it that they should be able to do it. it that they should be able to do it and — it that they should be able to do it. and everybody in society should support _ it. and everybody in society should support that. it. and everybody in society should support that-— support that. that sentiment was echoed by matilda _ support that. that sentiment was echoed by matilda hodgkins - support that. that sentiment was | echoed by matilda hodgkins burn. support that. that sentiment was l echoed by matilda hodgkins burn. i spoke to her after her bronze, alongside rebecca wilde, in the

women's double sculls. she said it was all worth it, coming back after the birth of her son freddie. just a mention to the story of rebecca wilde. this was just her third mention to the story of rebecca wilde. this wasjust her third ever international competition. that is quite the start to a rowing career and a bronze in the men's four. all in all a pretty good day for great british rowing after a disappointing regatta at the tokyo games. thank ou ve regatta at the tokyo games. thank you very much _ regatta at the tokyo games. thank you very much indeed. _ the international olympic committee said imane khelif was disqualified.

jake wightman has withdrawn from the games because of a hamstring problem. elliot giles has been called up as an elite athlete replacement and will race in the 800 metres. it will be his third games. and teenage skateboarder sky brown has suffered a dislocated shoulder. she said she still intends to compete in her event which is next week. the 16—year—old, who won a bronze in tokyo, suffered the injury on sunday, just a day before she travelled to paris. bbc sport understands it was a full dislocation. brown is now against the clock in her bid to compete. britain's duncan scott was on hand to bring leon marchand back to reality this morning in the olympic pool reality this morning in the olympic pool. after his second and third goals leon marchand started his attempts to win number four in the individual medley. scot beat him in the heat after overtaking him on the final freestyle leg. leon marchand confessed afterwards he only had four hours sleep after his historic

night. they will be a different semifinals later with britain's tom dean also going through. the men's sprint is an end to the pool for all ten heats of the 50 metres freestyle. australia's can mcavoy trust when his further live while his american rival onlyjust made it through the semifinals. in the next lane will be the 2022 world champion in this event was up he won his heat to qualify for fastest overall. the best remaining chance could be in the canoe slalom later withjoe clarke hoping to win the title for a second time. the 2016 olympic champion wasn't selected for tokyo but recovered from a poor first run to make this afternoon's semifinal admitting to feeling relief. it will start 17th of the remaining 20 competitors. there is of course also andy murray to consider. he plays alongside dan evans in the quarterfinals of the men's doubles

at roland garros. that will either signal the end of his career or a semifinal place. follow it across the bbc but it is time to go back to the bbc but it is time to go back to the news that one team and rejoined lewis forjones. with spiralling costs and unprecedented demand, animal rescue charities are warning that they're at breaking point. an urgent appeal has been launched by the rspca to encourage more people to adopt instead of buying a pet. fiona lamdin has this report. over 300 animals — kittens, chinchillas, shetland ponies and dogs — all living side by side at ferne animal rescue centre in somerset, set up in 1939 by lady nina, who started rehoming pets when their owners had gone off to war. we are anxious to have the names and addresses of people who can offer free accommodation for other people's animals.

there must be large numbers among those who are likely to leave london and provincial centres in an emergency. thank you so much for your kind support. they saved 6,000 animals during world war ii and have gone on to rescue 40,000 in the sanctuary�*s history. but with spiralling costs there is a real risk that funds could run out in the coming months. ferne has been in existence for 85 years and it has never been this tough. in the last six to 12 months, our increasing costs has been something like 50% year on year, an example of that being vet and medical by 60% alone. so that, for a charity like ours, is about £350,000 to £400,000 increase year on year. it is really tough. it's notjust unwanted pets — cruelty to animals is also on the up.

here at this centre in somerset, the rspca say they have seen a 10% increase since the start of this year, that's 2% nationally. coupled with the fact adoptions are down, they have just got many more animals to look after. this is a real challenge for us. our centres are full and we're spending half a million a month on private boarding facilities. so, as a charity, the rspca doesn't put healthy, rehomeable animals to sleep, so we are really fighting for space. so here at our rspca centre, the guys have got more than 100 animals in their care here and we are full to bursting point at our centres. hello. back at ferne, there is good news. it looks as ifjackson, this ten—month—old border collie, is getting a new family and a new home. the message from charities is to adopt rather than buy a pet. so, do you like him then? yes — thanks to fiona for that.

it has been really warm for a lot of us today, but over in paris it has been quite dramatic. thunderstorms hit the olympics host city overnight as lightning struck behind the eiffel tower. and it could be a similar story with warnings in place in england and wales. chris fawkes has the weather. those thunderstorms are now over in germany, but we have concerns that we will have storms developing here later on. forthe we will have storms developing here later on. for the time being the weather is quite quiet with a lot of cloud around in scotland, sunshine in england and wales, but it is humid. to make showers and thunderstorms are newly temperatures to get past 25 celsius and we will do that in parts of england and wales. this afternoon we will see shower clouds shooting up was in the atmosphere to bring some hefty downpours. we have already seen a shower break out around the brecon beacons and one in the swindon area, but the heaviest will be in this line of convergence where the winds

bash together, anywhere from east wales across the midlands into central and southern england. that is where we are most likely to see heavy, slow moving downpours. not everyone will see them but one or two of them could be pretty heavy, a month's worth of rainfall in a space of a couple of hours. as we head into the evening though showers move into the evening though showers move into parts of south—east england and east anglia. they could be heavy with one or two problems. later on in the night the weather will quiet down with clear spells around and temperatures for most of us around 12 to 15 degrees, but a muggy 17 degrees in london. that is the lowest temperature we will see in the capital. for friday and saturday we have this next area of low pressure moving in off the atlantic, pushing across the country. will that will come eventually have some news to bring you. under way as a prisoner exchange. we can

confirm that the biden administration in the us has agreed to a prisoner exchange with russia and they are hoping to secure the release of three american citizens imprisoned in russia. crucially this does include, we understand it includes a wall street reporter, paul whelan and a russian american radio journalist. paul whelan and a russian american radiojournalist. this is coming from a senior administration official in the biden administration who has told the media that this is under way right now. we have to say there has been speculation for a number of days, that there would be a major swap between various countries, notjust the us and russia— others involved as well, which was heightened really, the speculation, after several of these dissidents and journalists that were jailed in russia were moved from their prison cells to unknown locations. we heard about this

movement. that heightened that speculation and now we have this confirmation that a prisoner exchange, a massive prisoner exchange, a massive prisoner exchange, is under way at the moment. the kremlin opponents with dual russian — british citizenship is one of the detainees but we don't know where he is right now. that has fuelled expectations that he could be released. there are some key names in there that you may be familiar with that we have been following force a long time now and the news coming in that we expect some of to be exchanged in this massive prisoner exchange including the wall street journalist you massive prisoner exchange including the wall streetjournalist you will remember paul whelan and evan gershkovich were accused of russian espionage and were en route to a

destination outside of russia. this is a complex exchange. it does involve russian political prisoners being freed as well. that is the nature of prisoner swap as well as numerous russians who have been jailed in the west for espionage. we don't have details of them but we can confirm to you from the biden administration that this prisoner exchange with russia is expected to soon see the release of three americans we are hearing the wall streetjournal evan gershkovich, paul whelan and the russian american journalist. what we don't know yet though is about very well known kremlin opponents with the dual russian british citizenship, vladimir kara—mirza. there are expectations he could be released. this is just confirming expectations he could be released. this isjust confirming rumours expectations he could be released. this is just confirming rumours that we have heard for some time now and

they really got field, these