this is bbc news. the headlines at 8pm... ice to the right, 522. the noes to the left, 13. mps vote overwhelming in support of a snap general election to be held on june eighth. campaigning has already started, with both major party leaders visiting voters in key constituencies across the uk. it's about providing the strong and sta ble it's about providing the strong and stable leadership this country needs to ta ke stable leadership this country needs to take britain through brexit and beyond. it's about strengthening our hand in the negotiations that lie ahead. the labour council in croydon is building council housing. cheering i want cheering iwanta cheering i want a labour glove that builds council housing. cheering the former chancellor george osborne will quit as an mp to concentrate on his newjob as a newspaper editor. also in the next hour, prince william speaks out

about his mother's death he says the shock of losing her is still he says the shock of losing her is still with him 20 years on. travel chaos at london euston as a track—side fire in north london halts services in and out of major transport hub. sam warburton of wales will captain the british and irish lions on their tour of new zealand in the summer. good evening and welcome to bbc news. mps have voted overwhelmingly to back the prime minister's call for a general election on june eighth. opening the debate, the prime minister declared that it was time to trust the people and let the people decide.

let's take a look at the day's main developments. mps backed the government motion by 522 votes to 13 — easily surpassing the two thirds majority of all mps needed to trigger the poll. already a row has broken out over mrs may's refusal to take part in any tv leaders‘ debates. mr corbyn and others have accused her of running scared. in another development the former chancellor, george osborne, has announced he's quitting as an mp to concentrate on editing the evening standard. with a look back at the first day of the 2017 general election, here's our political editor laura kuenssberg. day one of the national argument that will decide who is in charge round here. the placards are ready, the cameras are poised. cheering already ringing out. technically, it's not underway, but this campaign is coming soon to a place near you. cheering. but, while the prime minister had the power of surprise,

questions about her motivation chased her through the day, having gone back on her promise not to call a vote. can she be trusted? i trust the british public and i'm asking them to put their trust in me. if they give me a mandate for these negotiations, for the plan for brexit the government has, the plan for a stronger britain beyond brexit, i think that will strengthen our hand. questions to the prime minister... labour says she simply can't believe it. —— simply can't be believed. on both sides, prime minister's questions was a glimpse of the weeks to come. over the last seven years, the tories have broken every promise, on living standards, the deficit, debt, the nhs and schools funding. why should anyone believe a word they say over the next seven weeks? we will be out there, fighting for every vote. whereas the right honourable gentleman opposite would bankrupt our economy

and would weaken our defences and is simply not fit to lead. none of the leaders have time to waste. with brexit the backdrop for this election, the lib dems see their resistance to the prime minister's plans as their selling point. thanks for coming. in leafy parts, they hope that sells, like richmond outside london. it's an opportunity for british people to reject hard brexit, to vote to stay in the single market. to vote to have a decent, strong opposition in this country, for the good of our democracy. onlyjust over a dozen mps tried to stop it happening. the opposition could have blocked theresa may's desire to hold a election three years early. the ayes to the right, 522... but not a chance.

the noes to the left, 13. it is now officially on. the realities of brexit and the timing of this election, but theresa may was also tempted by the lure of the polls and the desire to get things done at home. the challenge for the opposition parties, to make the arguments on their terms. he is no stranger to this. jeremy corbyn had two successful rounds of campaigning to win his party's leadership, but he is already on the road in marginal croydon facing a much bigger task this time around. are we going to be a country that works only to make the richest even richer? i know which side i'm on, you know which side you are on. this election is going to be fought on the streets of this country, up and down, in town halls, in streets, on beaches, on the seafront... and look who dropped into westminster.

is it realistic for the snp to defy gravity and keep their record—breaking number of mps? the tories already claim, with echoes of 2015, they'd be in cahoots with labour. the snp will in this election, as we always do, stand up for scotland. a vote for the snp is a vote to protect scotland. if the parliamentary arithmetic lent itself to the snp being part of a progressive alliance that would keep the tories out of government, the snp would seek to be part of that, as we said in 2015. you have just opened the door to a coalition. you suggested you might work with the other parties. i don't think that the territory we are going to be in in this election and i don't think you will find anybody in any part of the uk who thinks that. what i was simply stating is the fact that i don't want to see a tory government. feeling confident, prime minister?

can you unite the country? she may be feeling the first, but achieving the second will be harder to do. much stands in theresa may's way of driving back in still prime minister in 50 days. so with the official starting gun fired on the election, attention turns to the battleground seats where parties will be out and about over the next 50 days, fighting for every single vote. one of those battle grounds is bolton north east, currently held by labour with a majority ofjust over 4,000 votes. that's where the prime minister is tonight. our political correspondent vicki young is following her. the conservatives are heading into labour territory, with ambitious plans to grab seats like bolton north east that have been beyond their reach for 20 years. labour areas which voted for brexit could be fertile territory for the tories. theresa may think she can win them

over. it is about providing the strong leadership this country needs. to ta ke to take britain through brexit and beyond. it's about strengthening our ad in the ahead and sticking to our plan for a stronger britain that will enable us to secure that more stable and secure future for this country and take the right long—term decisions for the future. and as the voters of bolton digest news of the snap election, some have already made up their minds. i voted liberal democrat last time. but now theresa may has got my vote. can you tell me why that is? i think she is a strong leader, notjust because she is a woman, but she is strong. and i think she will do the country well. she's not messing around with all this bickering in parliament and, you know, she is trying to do a good job of a bad situation that she has been left in. labour hope to succeed by attacking the government's record on the nhs and school funding. things they hope will matter to people. i'm voting forjeremy corbyn, yeah.

i definitely think he relates closely to, you know, the lower, well, under the middle class. labour, but obviously it depends on issues on health care and education, those are my main two priority things. bolton is just the kind of place where the tories think they can make real progress in this election. theresa may will be appealing to the ukip and labour voters who backed brexit in the referendum. telling them that she is now the person to deliver on that promise to leave the european union. and as voters focus on choosing their next prime minister, some question the labour leader's credibility. i usually vote ukip, but i will vote conservative. so rather than have that idiot, jeremy corbyn, i would go for theresa may. because, like she says, he can only lead a political demonstration, but he can't lead his party.

i have always been labour and stuff like that, but he can't be trusted. he just seems like he doesn't know what he's doing. this battle has just begun but today theresa may signalled she is ready to challenge the labour party on their own turf. vicky young, bbc news, bolton. the former chancellor, george osborne, has announced he's standing down as an mp at this election to concentrate on his newjob as editor of the london evening standard. he'd faced intense criticism after taking on the newspaperjob alongside hisjob in parliament, as our deputy political editor john pienaar reports. from political big beast to big city editor and the greenest hack in the newsroom, the new boss in fleet street chooses to see his future as moving on, not coming down. george osborne told me today he would use his new role

to fight for liberal conservative views against any harsher vision of brexit. myjob is to speak for my readers and this country and its future. our country has got some big decisions to make about the kind of britain we want to be, and those values of openness, tolerance, diversity, enterprise are the values i hold dear and the ones i've fought for in government as chancellor, and that i fought for in parliament at the mp for tatton, and i'm going to fight for them at the evening standard. strategist in a hard hat, visionary in hi—vis, out to build tory support in areas off—limits since thatcher. close to david cameron, they rose and fell over brexit. theresa may, not he, moved from the wings to centre stage. can being an editor ever compensate for never being prime minister? i am very excited to be the editor of the evening standard, and the exciting thing is not how you engage in the public debate but whether you do, and ifound... but realistically, you wished to be prime minister

and you will not now be. i count myself as nothing other than incredibly fortunate, to be an mp, to represent the seat that i did and also to be chancellor for six years, and i'm proud to have been part of a team that turned round the fortunes first of all of my party and then the country. perspective or a brave front on a dream? the coalition government hung together, as osborne planned, and in the end, as he planned, the lib dems were hung out by the voters. i don't think he ever had great popular appeal in the country at large but he loved the game of politics in westminster and whitehall and he relished that kind of thing. looking back, he insists he is proud. his so—called omnishambles budget glossed over. brexit, he is philosophical. what do you regret most, brexit or taxing pasties? i did eight budgets.

you don't get all of them right. and, in the end, you have to be judged on whether you work from your own values. how do you want history to remember you? somebody who left britain in a better state than i found it. live to westminster, and our political correspondent alex forysth. day one. theresa may in bolton, mr corbyn in croydon. two marginal seats that both parties think they can win. as ever with the elections, marginal seats are key because they are the ones that are most likely to change hands. that is where any election campaign is often fought, w011 election campaign is often fought, won 01’ election campaign is often fought, won or lost. interesting for theresa may particularly with her choice, she has opted for a seat that in previous years might have seemed com pletely previous years might have seemed completely out of reach for the

conservatives. what theresa may signals with her chosen visit for her speech made after winning the support of parliament for the election is that she thinks the tories can tap into labour and ukip voters, many of whom voted to leave the eu. she has framed the election in terms of brexit at once to get some of those leave voters on her side by portraying the conservatives, with her at the lead, as the party that will deliver on brexit. jeremy corbyn, some of the m essa 9 es brexit. jeremy corbyn, some of the messages coming from his first stump speech this afternoon, all about other issues beyond brexit. brexit will undoubtedly be important but labour will be bringing in anti—austerity messages, talking about investment in public services, about investment in public services, afairer about investment in public services, a fairer taxation system. you can see where the parties are starting to position and we are only in day

one. who wins the battle of those narratives could do well in this election. theresa may, there seems to bea election. theresa may, there seems to be a bit ofa election. theresa may, there seems to be a bit of a head of steam building up against the fact that she has decided not to take part in any televised debates. how surprising is that given that we have had debates in the as to mark rowley elections and in the eu with a random? they have become a feature of these high profile campaigns and people have come to expect them. -- we have had debates in the last two elections and the eu referendum. there was argument about how the debates would take place, whether david cameron would go head—to—head with the party leaders, whether it would be one—on—one style questioning. theresa may has come out early and said she will not do any head to head debates chewing the course of the election, which has attracted some immediate criticism from other party leaders, particularlyjeremy corbyn from other party leaders, particularly jeremy corbyn and nicola sturgeon of the snp, saying she is scared to do it and cannot defend her policy platform. number

ten is putting forward the argument that they will campaign and answer questions and other formats, that they will campaign and answer questions and otherformats, not least the house of commons and other media interviews. there is a tussle over the debates. how important that issue becomes is yet to be seen but it is the first real sticking point in the first point at which theresa may is facing criticism. thank you, alex. with me now to discuss the polling — and where the upcoming election might be won or lost — is the polling analyst matt singh, who runs the website number cruncher politics, and correctly predicted that result of the 2015 general election. good to see you, thank you for coming in. as i said to alex, jeremy corbyn in croydon, theresa may in bolton. trying to target those areas where they think they can pick up seats that they lost last time around. where do you think the other big areas of contention will be? the main battle ground as always is the

conservative/ labour marginal background. we often thing about swingometer revs and it even but the swingometer revs and it even but the swing looks like being different in different parts of that, primarily along remain/ leave lines. there is along remain/ leave lines. there is a direct result because people who would have voted leave might have a more positive view of the prime minister's stance on brexit, but they also tend to have lots more ukip voters, which has been quite a big source of the increase in conservative support since the last election. so the big brexit boating areas and where perhaps voters might have voted ukip, you think they might move to the conservatives? there is evidence of that happening, the ukip share has dropped in most polls from the last election and in general about a third or so of 2015 ukip voters have gone to the conservatives, so in those areas, because there is more of them, the

effect is likely to be larger.m would seem that is because the conservatives have made it clear they are the party of brexit, by and large. theresa may will push it through and get the best deal she can. emily thornberry of labour, the shadow foreign secretary, said last night newsnight they had not formed a position on which side to jump. does that make it more difficult for voters to see labour in their camp 01’ voters to see labour in their camp or not in their camp? yes, some of the polls are showing and when you ask voters what they think the various parties' positions are on brexit, many say they are not sure on the labour position. labour's structural problem is that its coalition of voters is split between the metropolitan social liberal wing and the more traditional labour voters in places like the north—east —— bolton north east, for example, who would have booted leave. keeping

that coalition together when an issue like brexit is in play is quite difficult. it is a pragmatic and sensible decision on the part of the labour party not to be clearly defined on either side because there are some areas where they will be battling constituents who are pro—brexit and others where they are not? they need to appeal to both. whether having somebody saying we have not taken aside yet, whether that satisfies both or falls between two stools is the question. i think it will come up during the campaign. you correctly predicted the 2015 election, not a lot of people did, it has to be said. there have been problems with the whole concept of polling and how accurate it can be. where did you see the 2017 election ended up? the forecasters still... the work is ongoing. all the evidence at this stage, bearing in mind we have only had one pole since

the election was announced and there are seven weeks to go, at this stage we are looking at the likeliest outcome being a large conservative majority, likely than not in three figures. as i say, it is some way to go and all to play for. you are suggesting 100 plus? yes. it is good to see you, thank you forjoining us, matt singh. and there's plenty more analysis and information about the election onjune 8th on our website at bbc.co.uk/news. and we'll find out how this story and many others are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:a0pm in the papers. our guestsjoining me tonight are alison little, deputy political editor at the daily express, and lucy fisher, senior political correspondent at the times. stay with us for all that good stuff. now hugh ferris is in the bbc sports

centre for us. the british and irish lions squad for the tour to new zealand has been selected. sam warburton will lead them as he and coach warren gatland try to any labour success from four yea rs try to any labour success from four years ago. the squad is bigger than the tour to australia and it might have to be better, with the mighty all blacks lying in wait. katy gordon will —— katy gordon all was at the squad announcement. there had been months of speculation but one man seemed sure of the spotlight. once again, sam warburton will lead the lyons, this time against the worlds best, new zealand. it will be the toughest i've done. but it is the biggest honour i've had as well. being captain of the lions for the second time against new zealand, that ranks as the pinnacle of my career. 41 players were chosen by warren gatland and, as predicted, england dominate the squad. wales have 12 players, and ireland, who beat the all blacks back in november, have 11.

scotland only have two. half the squad make their lions debut, including the rookie prop kyle sinckler, yet to start a test match for england. warburton has been given the armband despite no longer being captain of wales. it is the second time sam warburton stood in front of these cameras as the captain of the lions and even though he is injured, there was no danger of him being left out by warren gatland. surprises in the squad were lurking elsewhere. despite leading england to back—to—back 6 nations titles, dylan hartley is out of the squad, as isjoe launchbury. after an underwhelming 6 nations, wales have more players than expected while scottish fans will be disappointed that stuart hogg is only one of two making the trip. i would love to have seen other boys go on, but you need to look at the squad and the pressure warren gatland is under to pick a squad. i would not want to do it. four years ago, the lions won the series in australia but what is good enough to beat australia might not be good enough

to beat new zealand. lions beat them once back in 1971. being selected could be the easy part... two more teams will reach the champions league semifinal tonight. barcelona are hoping to make a miracle comeback. they started 3—0 down to juventus miracle comeback. they started 3—0 down tojuventus and overcame a 4—0 deficit in the previous round, but they will need to take chances like they will need to take chances like the one already missed by lionel messi. the other game between monaco and borussia dortmund was delayed for five minutes after the german team's bus, attacked by terrorists last week, was held up in traffic. dortmund trailed 3—2 from the first leg. they have it all to do now is to going behind to monaco. radamel

falcao headed in the home site's second goal. monaco 2—0 on the night, 5—21 aggregate. just over ten minutes until the break. tournament favourite judd trump is just a frame away from a first—round world championship exit to world number 5a rory mcleod. 1000—1 outsider trump resumed 5—4 behind after surrendering a 4—0 lead, and seemed hindered by a shoulder problem, missing a series of simple chances, but managed to fight back to 6—6, before mcleod pulled away into a 9—7 lead when the match had to be stopped prior to the afternoon session. the pair will play to a finish later with the first to ten heading into the second round. these are live pictures from the crucible. formerfinalist barry hawkins is taking on tom ford. tom ford two frames to one up, it could be developing into another shock in

sheffield. the first two ten goes through to the next round. that is on bbc two, the red button and the bbc sport website for audio snooker coverage. “— bbc sport website for audio snooker coverage. —— all your snooker coverage. andy murray has made a winning return to competitive tennis after a month out with an elbow injury, beating gilles muller at the monte carlo masters. the world number one was broken in the first game of the match, but came back to take the opening set 7—5. much to the dismay of muller. and disgust and anger! murray last played on the atp tour in indian wells in march, and had to recover from another early break in the second to wrap up victory in just under two hours. british number three kyle edmund is out, though — beaten by nine—time winner rafael nadal. that's all the sport, much more in the next hour. thank you, hugh ferris. in france, voters are preparing to go to the polls this weekend in the first round of the presidential elections. our correspondent thomas fessy reports from the city of amiens,

once a left wing stronghold — but where old certainties, in a tight election race, are ebbing away. here in amiens, yet another factory about to close down. these workers feel that globalisation has passed them by. theirjobs are going to poland, and they blame the political establishment. translation: parties of the right and left play ping—pong, but nothing moves. laws are being passed, but not implemented. people are fed up. none of the candidates talk about relocations, he says, except for perhaps marine le pen and jean—luc melenchon, or the far right and far left. like anthony and christine, many here look to the extremes. four days to go before the vote, and only two thirds of french voters say they are sure of their choice. last—minute deciders may prove the current polls wrong, and traditional parties worry they may suffer from a potentially

record low turnout. evelyn has always voted for the republicans, but this time around, she tells me, trust is broken. she will abstain. translation: i am not going to vote for people who have been manipulating us for so long. whether it is one side or the other, they always promised a lot but nothing ever gets done. distrust of the political elite, job losses and calls for change, the stories from amiens resonate across france, and will determine the direction the country decides to take. thomas fessey, bbc news, amiens. let's speak to our correspondent hugh schofield who's in marseille, where the national front candidate marine le pen is holding a rally. marine le pen is still on herfeet. is there a sense of worry, perhaps,

with the polls that perhaps she might not get to the second round? that seems to be a shoo—in a few weeks ago. on the face of it there is no worry, nobody is saying we are rattled by these polls, it is all outwardly very confident, she is in her heartland and everyone is cheering likely on, stamping their feet and booing the bogeyman like france was the —— francois still on and manuel macron. but believed that seemed so in a saleable for so many months does not look so unassailable with just four days to go. she has been coming down from a high of 2830% down to 22123, and we're seeing her opponents coming up. we have four frontrunners in a handkerchief, as they say. it will bea handkerchief, as they say. it will be a very tight race. she cannot rely on anything. there is a sense

that her campaign has not been brilliant and she needs to pull something out of the bag in order to assure her supporters that they will get through. it helps that she is in marseille. it is part of a power base area in france, she is surrounded by the party faithful, the kind of platform that will give her the boost she feels she needs going into the first round? exactly. in the closing phases or the first round of an election in france, candidates go back to their core message, there is a sense that in the first round you reach out to your real electors, in the second your real electors, in the second you how to broaden your repeal and talk to more people. at this stage ahead of the first round she has to go back and make sure that her core voters turn out to get through to them the message that it is not a done deal, we can'tjust rely on getting through, you have to turn out on sunday and in force. that is

what the rally is about, it will send lovely pictures of waving flags around france with all these die—hard supporters, the saudi people who turned out for her father five or ten years ago and really love her —— this sort of people who turned for her father. this is the message that needs to go out across the country to her camp to say turnout on sunday, it is very important. thank you. it is exactly 8:30pm. time for a look at the weather, and thomas has all the details. the weather was not so bad in the second half of the day across southern parts of the uk, some late sunshine. the rest of the country, a little overcast. it will be predominantly cloudy, not too many clear spells and one or two spots of rain. it will be a mild night in some areas, temperatures around nine or10 some areas, temperatures around nine or 10 degrees. that little bit of

pressure around southern and eastern areas. tomorrow overrule a fairly cloudy day, most of the clouds will be fairly thin and we will see some sunshine poking through, but certainly more clouds and blue sky on the way tomorrow and temperatures in the low teens. friday and saturday, not much change. it might brighten up across southern areas but further north around 12 or 13 degrees, no higher than that. in the weekend if you're wondering what the weather is doing, it will be relatively settled, this area of high pressure sitting on top of the uk. it doesn't mean clearly skies but it does mean mostly dry. goodbye. hello there. you're watching bbc news. the top stories for you, just after 8:30pm... news. the top stories for you, just after 8:30pm. .. the ayes to the right, 522. the noes to the left, 13. mps have voted overwhelmingly in favour of a snap general election

on june 8th.theresa may says a conservative victory would give britain stability during and after brexit. campaigning has already begun, with both major party leaders visiting key constituencies across the uk. it's about providing the strong and sta ble it's about providing the strong and stable leadership this country needs to ta ke stable leadership this country needs to take britain through brexit and beyond. it's about strengthening our hand in the negotiations that lie ahead. the labour council in croydon is building council housing. cheering i want cheering iwanta cheering i want a labour government that builds council housing! the former chancellor, george osborne, who is about to become editor of the london evening standard newspaper, has announced he's standing down as an mp. prince william has been speaking out about his mother's death, saying the shock of losing her is still with him, 20 years on.

there are major problems for people trying to use london euston after a fire next to the track. there are no services into or out of the station. back now to our top story. mps have voted overwhelmingly to back a snap election on june the 8th. the motion was approved by 522 to 13 in the commons. the prime minister says the poll, three years ahead of schedule, is needed to strengthen her hand in talks on brexit. but she says she won't take part in any tv debates. earlier, my colleague simon mccoy spoke to the former liberal democrat leader and deputy prime minister nick clegg, and asked him for his views on theresa may's decision not to take part in tv debates. so, she's clearly right from her own selfish point of view, because she is not a politician that performs particularly well out of her comfort zone. but i think she is fundamentally wrong when it comes to the interests of our democratic country.

i think people have got used to the idea and welcome the idea that every few years they get to see how the runners and riders in an election measure up to each other and argue with each other and they want to see that for themselves. the artificial bearpit of westminster is no surrogate for a much more fluid, open, contemporary setting that you have in these tv debates. so the broadcasters and the other leaders should go ahead anyway. what, and empty chair her? yeah. why shouldn't everyone else be deprived of the opportunity to assembler because she is not courageous enough to do it? i think it reveals something else which i think rings true with me given that i worked with her for many years in government, which is that theresa may is an accomplished politician in an environment where she controls over him. home secretary is a classic part of whitehall where you pull a lever and something happens, it is a command and control of government, and she has clearly

run government like that with a clique around her in the tent. i general election campaign is different, it is more chaotic, spontaneous, unpredictable, you need to show agility and an ability to be spontaneous on your feet. i would like to think that the prime minister of the day, who is now going to go into this very context negotiation with 27 other governments and parliaments, should seem to have the agility and the quicksilver skills which are necessary to complete that negotiation. and in failing to participate in those tv debates, i think she is failing to put herself through a test which she should rightly be expected to endure. so, just how important are tv debates? are they integral parts of election campaigns — orjust unnecessary sideshows that distract us from the main events? let's discuss this further with david muir. he was director of political strategy for gordon brown and also negotiated with broadcasters the first tv election debates. and in our exeter studios

is the former conservative minister ann widdecombe. good to see you both. thank you for joining us. david, ifi good to see you both. thank you for joining us. david, if i could start with you. the debate is that the debate sucked all the life out of the campaign. what do you say to that? i think that was definitely a factor in 2010, because it was the first time that happened, and everybody, journalists and politicians, struggled to get their heads around how a campaign would function around them. that being said, there is very clear academic evidence that voters like it, it engages voters, it helps undecided voters and it helps attract female voters and it helps attract female voters in particular and young voters. one of the reasons why i was really pro doing it in 2010 was that our politics felt broken after the political expenses crisis, and as a

result of those debates, in 2010 voter turnout was significantly higher than it had been in 2005. in 2005, voter turnout was 61%. in 2010, it was 65%. in 2015, it went up 2010, it was 65%. in 2015, it went up againsta 2010, it was 65%. in 2015, it went up against a 66%. so i think it is very helpful in a garage inc participation in the political process. the sense of dislocation and ramon is that people have from politics and politicians, the leaders debates help deal with that a little? i don't agree with that, i think that the reason why the turnout went up in those two years was because people wanted change. when people want change, they really vote for change, you usually get a higher turnout than when they are shrugging and thinking there's not much point. but i think these debates are totally artificial and

i'm delighted that theresa may has had the courage to put the genie backin had the courage to put the genie back in the bottle. all day people have been saying, what a brave decision to have an election. no, the brave decision is to actually defy this and to say, we're going back to a style of campaigning which is not presidential, which is not modelled on the american experience, which is for the long haul and isn't an all or nothing question, and i also think it is quite wrong of nick clegg to suggest that somehow this is because she lacks agility and thatis is because she lacks agility and that is going to be terribly important in brexit. for heaven 's sake, brexit is going to be a two—year long sturdy test of nerve. it is not going to be a few minutes in front of a camera. though i think she's right. ok, so you have no truck with the suggestion, and widdecombe, that it has encouraged female voters, younger voters, and

the polls suggest that young people do like the tv debates and it has helped them make up their mind when it comes to pulling. i think that's actually a rather patronising attitude, "0h actually a rather patronising attitude, "oh well, it helps female vote rs attitude, "oh well, it helps female voters and it helps young voters". it's just the evidence. it's just the evidence, ann. where is the evidence? it is well documented in the tv viewing figures for each of the tv viewing figures for each of the debates and in additional academic research. you can have your own opinion on this stuff but you can't have your own facts on it. you say tv debates are artificial. for many people in the united kingdom, one of the most artificial forms of debate can be found in westminster. it's not very appealing to many people in the united kingdom, the quality of the debate that they see there. secondly, you say this is an

american invention. while the tv debates did start in america and i am in america speaking to you today, they played a crucial role in the french election, the german election, they are used in the australian election. they are used in many countries aside from just the us. it's not about the commercialisation of politics, it's just about another way to get people to engage with politics. with the decisions that theresa may has got to make in a post dexit britain, it is important that cheap at herself through the test where she can beat closely questioned by members of the public and by other party leaders. and i do not understand what she is scared of. hang on, let me reply to that. secondly, those countries which you mention which also have tv debates, also have residential systems. germany doesn't. germany doesn't, ann. can i finish what i'm

saying? ok, i'm just doesn't, ann. can i finish what i'm saying? ok, i'mjust pointing out the facts. i didn't interrupt you once, why are you interrupting me every time? why can't you just listen without interrupting? ann, please make your point. go ahead. my point is that tv debates encourage a presidential style of election, whereas that is not the british way. where i do agree with what david has said is that people don't actually relate very much to debates at westminster, and i don't think they do. i think a lot of valuable stuff is lost because it happens at westminster. but equally, a general election is not fought at westminster. general election is fought out in the country, it is fought out in the country, it is fought in television studios, it is fought in television studios, it is fought on platforms and it is fought notjust by the fought on platforms and it is fought not just by the top figures but fought on platforms and it is fought notjust by the top figures but by teams of people. and that is what i think is so important. i can rememberfor think is so important. i can remember for example when i was

shadow home secretary doing a television debate with jack straw, who was the home secretary, and whoever it was from the liberals, simon hughes, i think, the shadow home secretary for them, we did a television debate. it wasn't just about the prime minister, it was about the prime minister, it was about governments and who would be the best for number ten, that is the british approach. david, do you think the tv companies, the bbc, itv and sky and so on, they want these debates? viewing figures are usually good. do you think they should empty chair theresa may if they go forward ? chair theresa may if they go forward? yes. wouldn't that make the companies locate bit silly, bearing in mind that the polls suggesting that she's probably going to win? wouldn't that make them look a bit silly? that is theresa may's decision, but there should be a full and frank debate between the other party leaders. it's her choice if

she wants to stay away from the studio. what will happen is that people will read something into that. theresa may, her character, her behaviour, her rigidities, the need that she has two kind of control things, and they will take their homeland in from that. i actually think if she were in the debates, because she is a talented politician, she would be able to make her case, i actually think she may not achieve everything she is expecting to in this election, because of this particular issue, because of this particular issue, because of this particular issue, because of her lack of participation in the debates. and widdecombe finally, there is that fear that she is running away from this, running scared. —— ann widdecombe. is running away from this, running scared. -- ann widdecombe. i'm sure your profession will say that over and overagain, but i'm your profession will say that over and over again, but i'm sure the electorate is bright enough to work out that this is a prime minister who is not going to do policy announcement and trial by television, she is a serious,

grown—up politician who is going to do it ina grown—up politician who is going to do it in a completely different way, and good for her. good to have you both on the programme. thanks for joining us. thank you. thank you. thank you. the headlines on bbc news... it is quarter to nine. mps have voted overwhelmingly in favour of a snap election on june voted overwhelmingly in favour of a snap election onjune the 8th, by a majority of more than 500. the prime minister says she will not be taking pa rt minister says she will not be taking part in any tv debates during the campaign, drawing criticism from opponents including labour leader jeremy corbyn. chaos at london's euston train station as a track—side fire stops services in and out of the major transport hub. and a final update on the markets, the footsie down, the dax up. final bell on wall street, a mixed bag their too. prince harry says he has been amazed

by the response after speaking out for the first time about his difficulties dealing with his mother's death. his brother prince william has also spoken about dealing with their mother's death, dating the pain is still with him 20 yea rs dating the pain is still with him 20 years on. our royal correspondent peter hunt's report contains flash photography from the beginning. harry and his little helper melissa, getting the london marathon preparations underway. it's a race which, this year, has a special focus on a princely passion — mental health. prince harry has attracted widespread praise this week for his honesty when he spoke of the anguish and the anxiety he suffered for years after his mother's death. it was only right to share my experience, to help, to hope, to encourage others to come forward, and sort of reduce or smash that stigma.

to make it easier for them to talk about their own experiences. so, i wasjust doing my bit. and was it liberating? ummm... or scary? no, i mean, look — when you've heard so many stories from so many other people, and if you can relate to that, then it's only right that you talk about your own experiences. but all the experts you've met, they would have told you one of the key issues is funding, that there isn't enough money in some places? what are you going to do about that? that's not for, as you probably know, that's not our mission. our mission is to remove the stigma of mental health so that we can provide a platform for people to be able to discuss it. but the risk is you could be encouraging people to seek services that aren't there. no, and that's something that we've been completely aware of over the last year, but the fact and the reality is that, as i said, the appetite is there. once the appetite is there, things will change. i'm confident of that. it's not my position and it's not our position or ourjob, to do that.

we are nonpolitical. so we will do everything that we can to encourage the conversation, remove the stigma, so that everything else can then take place. opening up about the past is a brotherly trait. in a bbc documentary, prince william has provided an insight into the trauma of his bereavement. the shock is the biggest thing, and i still feel, you know, 20 years later, about my mother, i still have shock within me. you know, 20 years later. people go, shock can't last that long, but it does. you never get over it. it's such an unbelievably big moment in your life. it never leaves you. you just learn to deal with it. an upbeat harry believes their campaign is at a tipping point. the uk, he hopes, will lead the way, and the world, by removing the taboo surrounding mental health. sorry i gave you such big scissors! peter hunt, bbc news. network rail says it expects major disruption to services in and out of london's euston station

until possibly tomorrow morning. it comes after a fire broke out near the track at south hampstead, damaging signalling equipment. our transport correspondent richard westcott gave us the latest. since we've been here, the last couple of hours, we've had thousands of people turning up, no one knows what's going on. very few people have actually heard the news in advance, obviously, that's why they're turning up. and they are met by closed doors. how often do you see a huge station like this, one of the biggest in the country, com pletely the biggest in the country, completely shut? then everyone is milling around, wondering what to do next. making phone calls, looking for alternative routes. there have been rail staff on hand in the last few hours handing out leaflets. i've got one in my hand now, this is a virgin trains leaflet, they do trains going up to birmingham, manchester, scotland as well. they are trying to lay on some alternative routes because they know people have got a long way to get home tonight. this isn'tjust commuters of course, one of the

busiest —— busier stations in the country. it was all caused by a fire, track—side, which knocked out a power line. if you don't have power lines, you don't have signals, and there is no way to move trains around safely if you don't have signals. that's why they've had to stop the lot. there are network rail engineers working on it now, i'm told they have to replace about 100 metres powerful electrical cable, not an task. you've then got to check it all to make it is all is —— make sure it is all safe. they're going to work through the night and they are hoping to get the station open for the morning. they don't think it's going to be tonight now, they leave you are travelling around here, i wouldn't bother, i would look for alternatives. they are hoping to get it back up and running for the morning. police have named a man they are looking for in connection with an acid attack in

east london on monday in which 20 biba were injured. police have named a man they're looking for, in connection with an acid attack at a nightclub in east london on monday, in which 20 people were injured. arthur collins, who's 25 and from hertfordshire, is the boyfriend of the reality tv star, ferne mccann. jane frances kelly reports. the metropolitan police have released two pictures of arthur collins. this image was taken of him at the mangle e8 club in dalston in east london, where an acidic substance was sprayed, early on monday morning. 20 people suffered burns. 12 needed hospital treatment. two men, aged 2a and 29, have been transferred to a specialist burns hospital in essex where they remain in a serious but stable condition. mr collins can be seen here with reality tv star ferne mccann, who was not with him at the time of the incident. a spokeswoman for the star, who is best known for her appearances on the only way is essex and i'm a celebrity get me out of here, said in a statement... isabella fraser, whose injuries can be seen here, was in the club with her sister prue at the time. they are from australia and spoke to a channel there. someonejust ran into me

and had acid or something all over their face. i felt my back, and i thought someone had scratched me. it was stinging and i realised my shirt was stuck to my skin. i could not find isabella anywhere and i could feel my arm burning. everyone was saying, there is acid that has been thrown... police say they have also visited an address in hertfordshire where they arrested a 54—year—old man and 52—year—old woman on suspicion of cultivating cannabis. victims who were enjoying a bank holiday night out at the nightclub say they have been left shaken and deeply shocked by the incident and at how many people have been hurt. jane—frances kelly, bbc news. almost two weeks ago president trump announced he was sending an armada towards the korean peninsula, amid rising tensions with north korea.

but it's emerged that the aircraft carrier supposedly on it's way and its warships, were actually heading in the opposite direction, to australia, to complete a training exercise. rupert wingfield—hayes has the details. the sight of the us vice president on board a nuclear—powered aircraft carrier is a very rare event — even more so when it's sitting in japan. was this an elaborate piece of theatre, or a sign america is really preparing for action against north korea? we will defeat any attack and meet any use of conventional or nuclear weapons with an overwhelming and effective american response. applause. the united states of america will always seek peace, but, under president trump, the shield stands guard and the sword stands ready. if president trump is planning some sort of military action against north korea, there is no sign of it here. this is the uss ronald reagan, the flagship of the seventh fleet, but it won't be ready to leave this

port in japan for at least another month. meantime, the other carrier battle group president trump said he sent into the korean peninsula has been seen sailing in the indian ocean. the carl vinson saga began on april the 8th, when the us pacific fleet commander ordered the aircraft carrier to leave singapore and sail north to waters near korea. three days later, president trump confirmed he was sending an armada. very powerful, he said. but, instead, for a whole week, carl vinson and its escorts sailed in the opposite direction, into the indian ocean. the us navy now says the carrier battle group is finally heading to korea. back on board the ronald reagan, vice president pence hinted its departure may also now be accelerated. godspeed on the uss reagan's imminent deployment. figuring out what the trump administration is planning for north korea isn't easy —

perhaps deliberately so. rupert wingfield hayes, bbc news, at the yokosuka naval base injapan. we have heard a lot from the prime minister since she announced her surprise plan for an election yesterday. we've also heard a lot from brenda from bristol, whose reaction to the news when she was stopped in the street by the bbc yesterday has been a big hit. our correspondentjon kay went back to see her today to see how the news is sinking in. i can't believe... oh no — no, no, no. i can't believe all this! brenda, 75 years old and suddenly an internet sensation. i can't stand this...i can't stand this...i can't stand this... just one comment to bbc news about being fed up with elections, and this retired secretary went viral. this is absolutely weird! somebody here in america saying "well said, brenda!" america?

oh, god! australia... hashtag "brenda for prime minister". "i agree with brenda from bristol". oh my lord... you were trending on twitter! trending on twitter? do you know what that means? quite frankly, no, because i don't possess any form of technology! general election... you'rejoking? not another one! she's been deluged with media offers since her anti—election broadcast, but not all the responses have been positive. there are some people on social media saying brenda is wrong here, that we fought for the right to vote in elections, that we should be proud of doing this? in my very humble opinion, there is hardly anybody in any of the parties that you would put your life on the line for. we need somebody that's got a little bit of guts, you know, to get us all going.

question number one... it seems brenda has got many of us going. a floating voter, now the unlikely early star of this election. not since her days in amateur dramatics has brenda known attention like this. oh, isay! jon kay, bbc news, bristol. time to look at all the weather news. nothing too exciting happening on the weather front this evening or overnight. in fact, the rest of the week is going to be rather cloudy. it may warm up a bit across some southern areas of the uk but that is pretty much it. later in the weekend and into next week we could see some changes to our weather pattern that has been very quiet lately. there is a lot of cloud out there across the atlantic. it has certainly been streaming into northern parts of the uk over the last few hours or so,

losing clear skies across the south, which will stick around into tomorrow. the further north you go, thick cloud here, spots of rain from time to time. frost free here, no lower than nine or 10 degrees, but that frost constantly stuck underneath the cloud, hence it won't be quite so chilly. there will be scattered cloud around, yes, but essentially a bright if not for most of us sunny start for the southern counties and east anglia and the south midlands. we have got a bit more cloud around generally across more cloud around generally across more proportions of the uk it will bea more proportions of the uk it will be a cloudy start to the day but a bit milder, temperatures will already be around double figures. tomorrow overall describing the weather across the uk, more cloudy than what we had today. southern areas will notice cloud sticking in.

13 or 1a degrees for most of us tomorrow. there will be some light rain but it really will be very light by the time this weather front reaches southern areas, just a line of cloud. temperatures may briefly reach 17 degrees in the south on friday but a cooling trend in the north overall, as we go through the weekend. this is saturday's picture, weekend. this is saturday's picture, we are anticipating light winds with lots of settled weather around. it doesn't look like clear blue skies across the uk, it will be quite a cloudy area of high pressure and temperature is around 12—13, 1a degrees. then the low—pressure sweeps through sunday into monday across northern parts of the country, there could be some severe gales blowing across scotland and then once this big area of low— pressure then once this big area of low—pressure sweeps through, the indications are that early next week, wait for it, tuesday, wednesday, we are in for a bit of a cold snap, believe it or not, but

thatis cold snap, believe it or not, but that is still a long way off. hello, i'm ros atkins, this is outside source. the british parliament has voted to hold a general election on june 8th. the ayes to the right, 522. the noes to the left, 13. the ayes have it, the ayes have it. already theresa may is making this election about brexit. it is about strengthening our hand in the negotiations that lie ahead, sticking to our plan for stronger britain. we will report from westminster. in france, two of the leading candidates for the presidency are holding rallies. it's four days to go until the first round. bill o'reilly has been dropped by fox news. he was the most—watched cable news anchor in the united states. we'll be live in washington. donald trump has ordered a review of the iran nuclear deal. even though iran is meeting all its commitments.