this is bbc news. i'm simon mccoy. the headlines at 4pm... the labour leader dismisses suggestions the result of the coming election is a foregone conclusion, and vows to "stand up for the people" against the political establishment. but of course they do not want us to win — because when we win, it is the people, not the powerful, who win. former ukip mp douglas carswell says he won't stand for re—election in june, and will support the conservative candidate in his clacton constituency. a couple are found guilty of causing or allowing the death of their baby girl after pretending she had died on a bus in east london. i'm reeta chakrabarti. in the next hour... a potentially significant step forward in the treatment of dementia. scientists discover drugs which could slow down the progression of a range of degenerative brain diseases. more than £500,000 is raised for a 17—year—old racing driver who's had both legs amputated after being involved in a crash. and, keeping fit

during your commute. how cycling to work can halve your risk of getting cancer and heart disease. good afternoon, and welcome to bbc news. the labour leader, jeremy corbyn, has said he will stand up for ordinary working people, as he attacked big business and the elite in his first major speech of the general election campaign. casting thejune 8th vote as a fight between the "establishment and the people", mr corbyn said a "cosy cartel" ran a "rigged system", and that wealth should be shared. recent opinion polls have put labour between 15 and 20 points behind the conservatives, but mr corbyn dismissed suggestions the election result was a foregone conclusion. here's our political correspondent, chris mason. the next prime minister

of the uk, jeremy corbyn. do you believe it, do they believe it, does he believe that? 0pinion polls suggest it is highly unlikelyjeremy corbyn will be heading for downing street. but he is trying to change people's minds. much of the media and the establishment are saying this election is a foregone conclusion. they think there are rules in politics which, if you don't follow by doffing your cap to the powerful people, accepting that things cannot really change, then you cannot win. but of course they do not want us to win, because when we win it is the people, not the powerful, who win. jeremy corbyn was full of vim, zip and energy. he said the conservatives are morally bankrupt. the system is rigged. and he would prove people wrong. anyone who stands up to create

a better, fairer and more decent society gets vilified. 0ur party gets vilified. but we are bigger and stronger than have ever been. and more determined than we ever been. his challenge is convincing enough people outside of this run. —— outside of this room. there is a clear choice between strong and stable government under theresa may and the conservatives, or a coalition of chaos withjeremy corbyn propped up by the snp and the lib dems. having voted itself out of existence, parliament here will soon be dissolved. politics will leave this postcode and head to your postcode. if you want to have a say, you have one month to register to vote. whilst the business of government trundles on for now, deciding who walks through this door as prime minister in june is in your hands.

staying with labour — there appears to be some development surrounding the unite union leadership contest. the bbc understands that gerard coyne, the man challenging len mccluskey, has been suspended from his job as a regional official. let's get more from our political correspondent iain watson, who is in westminster. do we know why he has been suspended? not exactly. but this is interesting, because we are focusing on the general election, but there is another big election going on right now — the election for who leads britain's biggest union. the result of that election, the general secretary of unite bag reunion, is due to be announced next week. ballot paper is our beginning to be counted. simultaneously with the counting process we find out the challenger to the incumbent, gerard coyne, has been suspended from his

job with the united trade union, he is the west midlands regional organiser. it is significant, in the context of the general election len mccluskey is a big supporter of jeremy corbyn‘s readership, his union has donated money tojeremy corbyn‘s leadership campaign over the past few years. gerard calling —— gerard quinn has been a critic of jeremy corbyn. he has been suspended from hisjob at jeremy corbyn. he has been suspended from his job at the union. jeremy corbyn. he has been suspended from hisjob at the union. it is not clear whether that will mean he is ineligible to stand as general secretary of the united union. his supporters say that the is a membership of the union, it should have no bearing on the result on the ballot papers are counted. but we haven't had any official confirmation from the union as to whether it would affect his eligibility for the top post. 0ne whether it would affect his eligibility for the top post. one of the reasons he could have been

suspended is in this internal e—mail which the bbc has obtained. this is from the acting general secretary, while this contest has been going on it has been making the accusation that some of the literature was dislam are was very critical of len mccluskey and suggesting that he might have breached union's rules by knowingly or recklessly or in bad faith providing the union with false or misleading information. that may form the basis of the case to suspend gerard coyne. but it does look incredibly suspicious to gerard coyne's supporters that moving her out of that job coyne's supporters that moving her out of thatjob in the west midlands with the unite union has happened simultaneously with the counting process for the union's top job. more on that i'm sure will follow shortly. looking at other developments today, the independent mp, formerly ukip's on the mp,

douglas carswell, has said that he is not going to stand in the general election. what has the reaction been too bad? douglas carswell said that, while many political careers end in failure he does not believe that apply to him. he was successfully elected to parliament on four occasions, not all for the same party. he said hisjob is done because britain is now leading the european union. he left ukip, he was the body's sole mp, very recently indeed to assist us in independent. he will now support his former party, whoever the conservatives stand as a candidate in his clacton constituency. the reaction has been varied, to say the least. 0bviously he has been praised for the work he has done as a constituency mp by some. but there have been critics too. arron banks, the biggest funder of ukip, was threatening to stand against durrant mike castle if he hadn't stood down. —— against

douglas carswell. they accused him of being a mole and trying to undermine ukip's in the referendum campaign. he was potentially facing a challenge by a very well funded opponent in his seat. some of long—standing opponents of brexit, including the liberal democrats, have been saying that douglas ca rswell has have been saying that douglas carswell has been clearing off so that he wouldn't have to take responsibility for what the leave campaign has visited upon britain. his standing down from politics hasn't been universally either praised all welcomed, but from douglas carswell‘s point view, he is effectively saying that his job is done and ukip's job effectively saying that his job is done and ukip'sjob is done. theresa may is leaving the european union, so may is leaving the european union, so there is very little point in him either staying on in parliament or in anybody backing the united kingdom independence party, from his point of view, he is happy now to return to the conservatives, not as an mp but has a mere supporter.

thanks, iain watson. scotland's first minister, nicola sturgeon, has said labour is "unelectable" under jeremy corbyn‘s leadership. speaking during first minister's questions, she said voting snp was the only way to protect scotland from the conservatives. because of the unelectability of labour, scotland faces the prospect of an unfettered, out—of—control tory government, and we know the damage that can do to scotland. to our budget, to the vulnerable, to pensions, to our economy. so that's the choice for scotland. vote snp to make sure that scotland's voice is heard, and that scotland has protection against the tories. 0ur scotland correspondent, lorna gordon, has been following today's events in holyrood. she said each party was effectively practicing their pitch for the election campaign ahead. rehearsing the argument we will hear again and again, i think, over the next seven weeks. there is a protest outside parliament this afternoon over reforms to child tax credit. that was one of the main issues at the start

of first minister's questions today. there were noisy exchanges over that issue. but what you did really get was a sense of the election issues ahead. nicola sturgeon saying again and again that it is her opinion that only the snp can protect scotland from what she described as an increasingly hardline conservative government. the conservatives are the main opposition here at holyrood, their leader ruth davidson, for her part, saying nicola sturgeon's first intervention in this election has been to put mr corbyn in pole position to become prime minister. that, of course, nodding towards comments yesterday from nicola sturgeon that she would be prepared to support a progressive alliance. nicola sturgeon's response today was that polls suggest there was no chance of mr corbyn getting into numberten. labour, for their part, and kezia dugdale, their leader

in scotland, claimed it suited the snp for the tories to stay in power because the snp have only cared about, she suggested, the issue of having another referendum. willie rennie, the leader of the liberal democrats, went in hard over the issue of europe and accused the snp of going soft on that issue. nicola sturgeon has been due to set out how their proposals to hold a second independence referendum for the coming weeks, triggered by the issue of europe, it's not clear whether that will now happen now a snap election has been called. lorna gordon in scotland. the drinks giant diageo is to cut more than 100 jobs in scotland because of concerns over brexit. that news has just come the green party has launched what it calls its "boldest" election campaign ever. the party set out its goals in bristol, where it hopes to take the bristol west seat from labour with current mep molly scott—cato. it set out its vision for young people, and also called for the voting age to be

lowered to 16. co—leader caroline lucas, the party's only mp, said the greens would continue to tackle brexit, the environment and affordable housing. if you're a young person trying to get your foot on the housing ladder, especially in a place like bristol or brighton, it is a nightmare. we need to have genuinely affordable housing, notjust a government that changes the definition of that. we know it is not delivering. the need for the green party has never been greater. if you want to cast a vote that is opposed to an extreme brexit, that is standing up for a real investment in public services and a more equal society and will always put the environment and climate change at the heart of all our policies, the only way to do it nationally is to vote green. the only way to do it in bristol west is to vote for the wonderful molly. you are watching bbc news. the parents of a four—month—old baby who disguised her death

by pretending she'd died on a bus journey have been convicted of causing or allowing the death of their child. 0ur correspondent dan johnson is at the old bailey for us now. thejudge said that the judge said that baby imani's shortlife was painful, distressing and bewildering. she was only four months old when she was killed, she died at the hands of her parents, and we will probably never know exactly what happened, what led to her death, because rosalind baker and jeffrey wiltshire haven't explained fully what actually went on. there was a bizarre attempt to cover up on. there was a bizarre attempt to cover up what had really happened by rosalind baker taking her baby, already dead, onto a bus and pretending she had suddenly become ill. geoffrey would so much culture, on cctv, was seen giving her a thumbs up sign so—called jeffrey wiltshire. he said he was proud to have fathered 25 children, but they we re have fathered 25 children, but they were described as very poor parents who couldn't do anything to protect their daughter. i have been talking

to the detective who led this investigation from the metropolitan police, john marriot. well, having such a young victim of such an offe nce such a young victim of such an offence is unusual. and i think that made it even more horrendous, in a way. a three—month—old child, who was prematurely born and spent the first six weeks of life in hospital and then the next six weeks must have been misery, to be honest. we have been misery, to be honest. we have seen a catalogue of injuries that poor imani had suffered, it really is heartbreaking. do you think we will ever know exactly how she died was law i don't think so, to be honest. i think that that will be capped between her parents, wiltshire and baker, who so far have really not come up with any reasonable excuse or reasons of what has actually happened. and it is between them. nobody else is going

to be able to tell us that, unfortunately. what was their attitude towards this when you were questioning them? theyjust really didn't want to answer questions. they gave very brief, prepared statements, they tried to hide their knowledge of the injuries that imani had, and any knowledge of it. they continued that throughout the court proceedings. one thing that was remarked on was the lack of emotion, the lack of concern, that was and baker showed, even as other passengers on the bus and paramedics we re passengers on the bus and paramedics were trying to save the life of her baby daughter, it was all too late because she had suffered the rangers injuries. a fractured skull —— horrendous injuries. she had over a0 fractures to her ribs. she had been assaulted many times before she —— before they eventually went up to the fact that she had died. they tried to cover up what had really happened. there will be a serious

case review, because social services had some involvement with the family before imani's death. sentencing will not take place here and max month. thejudge was will not take place here and max month. the judge was clear that this isa month. the judge was clear that this is a very serious case and that the two defendants should expect substantial prison sentence is. thank you, dan jones substantial prison sentence is. thank you, danjones at the old bailey. the headlines... jeremy corbyn says labour could defy the "establishment experts" in the coming election and pledges to put power and wealth back in the hands of the people. former ukip mp douglas carswell says he won't stand for re—election in cla cton won't stand for re—election in clacton and will back the tories. the parents of a four month old baby, who was found dead with multiple injuries on a bus, are found guilty of causing or allowing her death. and in sport... andy murray has been knocked out of monte carlo masters. he's been beaten in the third round by the 15th seed albert ramos—vinolas. it was murray's first tournament for a month after an elbow injury. and neil robertson is

through to the second round at the world snooker championship. the australian, who won the title in 2010, beat thailand's noppon saengkham10—a. and great britain's 0lympic medallist germain mason has died in a motrocycle accident injamaica. the 3a—year—old won high jump silver in beijing in 2008. i'll be back with more on those stories in half an hour. theresa may has invited the president of the european commission jean—claude juncker, and his president of the european commission jean—claudejuncker, and his chief brexit negotiator michel barnier to a meeting in london next week. it follows a meeting earlier today with the president of the european parliament, who made clear his priority was the future for eu citizens in the uk. our diplomatic editorjames citizens in the uk. our diplomatic editor james landale citizens in the uk. our diplomatic editorjames landale has been following the visit. antonio tajani may not be a household name in britain, but he matters,

because his parliament matters. in brussels it will have a veto, a vote, on any deal over brexit between the uk and the european council. so he's a character whose voice we will come to know and we will need to listen to in the months ahead. after meeting the prime minister this morning he said something very interesting. since the prime minister called the election, most senior european figures have kept their heads down. the president of the european parliament, however, said that he really welcomed the prime minister's election because of the stability that he thought it would bring to the brexit negotiations. this is what he said to me. it was a difficult event. i think for the european union it's better to have stability in the united kingdom. to have the next two years the same interlocutor without problem, without internal problems. for us it's much better to have this negotiation with the new government than a government before election, with election campaign. for us, it's much better. the other point the european parliament

president made, is in his eyes the importance of securing an early deal on the right of eu citizens living here in the uk as part of any kind of brexit deal. he said both the prime minister and he agreed there was a need for this to be done as soon as possible. he talked of a framework deal in perhaps a matter of months. i have to say, talking to officials here in the uk and in brussels, they say that would be quite optimistic because of the sheer scale of the technical problems of reaching a deal on this. which migrants are we talking about? 0ver what timescale? what rights are we talking about? rights to live, to work. what benefits? the whole question of citizens‘ rights is very complicated. political agreement early on to try and make some progress. i think it'll be tough to get an early deal on this. scientists have discovered drugs which may be able to halt the progress of a wide range of degenerative brain diseases, including alzeimer‘s and parkinson's. one of them is already safely given to people with depression. the research has been described

as potentially a major step forward. our health correspondent, jane dreaper, reports. these pills could hold promise for fighting some of the illnesses we fear the most. scientists now think this drug and another one could reduce the brain shrinkage caused by alzheimer's and other diseases. an effective treatment would give hope tojoy watson. i was diagnosed officially at the age of 55. it was actually my birthday. before then, i was experiencing symptoms of being clumsy, and it was all put down to depression and stress. but it was quite a relief when i got the diagnosis. i tried to put on a brave face for the other people i have contact with, and my family. it's almost like living a double life to be honest. one of the drugs is already licensed and used to treat depression. it will take time and trials in many

people, before we know whether this can definitely also help prevent the damage to the brain caused by dementia and similar illnesses. but scientists are excited. we aren't going to cure these disorders, but if we stop them in their tracks, and we change the way they progress, we will radically change the course and the natural history of diseases like alzheimer's disease and other dementias. because people will still be able to hold onto a meaningful quality of life and stay out of institutional care. so far, the research has focused on brain cells in mice, but it is hoped trials in humans will begin soon, because one of the medicines is already on prescription. we can move to testing these in people much faster than we would for other drug discovery processes. although this isn't an overnight process, it's maybe a few years rather than decades before these can be helping people. but some previous drug trials into these brain disorders have

ended in disappointment. a lot of hope will be riding on the latest work. pakistan's supreme court has ruled there is not enough evidence to remove nawaz sharif from the role of prime minister over corruption allegations. but the court has ordered a further investigation into money transfers. his family's wealth was called into question after leaks in the panama papers connected three of his children to offshore accounts. mr sharif and his family have denied any wrongdoing. in the last hour, the rmt union has announced that london underground workers will stage a 2a—hour strike next month. it's to start at 10pm on may the 7th. the action is in a dispute over the sacking of a colleague. the american billionaire bill gates has used a speech in london to warn theresa may that reducing the government's commitment to foreign aid would cost lives. the prime minister has refused to say whether she will retain a pledge made by david cameron

to spend at least 0.7% of national income on overseas development. so what is the money spent on, and how do we compare to other countries? chris morris of reality check reports. loading up. the uk is one of a handful of countries that meets the long—standing international target of spending 0.7% of gross national income on overseas aid. that translates to more than £12 billion a year. and there are those who argue that it's too much. the 0.7% figure was written into law in 2015. theresa may has refused to say whether she intends to keep it. prominent campaigners insist that she should. if you have less aid, you pick the things you're going to spend less money on, like girls education, less one tools of contraception that empower women and bring down the population growth. less on malaria bed nets, where we bought children's deaths from a million a year to a half million a year.

how did our aid budget of 0.7% compare with other countries around the world? scandinavia's pretty much at the top the list. in 2016, sweden spent 0.937% of its gross national income on aid. but other big countries are significantly below us. the us spent 0.18%, and russia only 0.08%. british development assistance is focused on places where the need is greatest, like the horn of africa or syria. but there is now some pressure in westminster to include uk aid spending in a larger budget that would also cover defence and trade. giving the government greater flexibility on how money is spent. we also recognise, and one of the ways we justify our overseas aid spending, is part of our diplomatic effort. part of our soft power. it's also part of our defence, because if we help poor and developing nations to grow and prosper economically, then we can trade with them.

in both parliament and the press, there have been campaigns against wasteful spending abroad at a time of cuts at home. plans to spend millions to continue funding this group known as ethiopian‘s spice girls were abandoned by the government earlier this year. there is also significant political backing for development aid. supporters see it as a crucial, life—saving policy area in which global britain should still aspire to lead. chris morris, bbc news. over £500,000 has been raised to help a 17 year—old racing driver who had his lower legs amputated after being involved in a crash on sunday. billy monger ran into the back of another car which appeared to have stopped during the formula a race at donington park in leicestershire. our sports correspondent, joe wilson, reports. 17 years old, and his life changed forever. billy monger, one of britain's most talented racing drivers, was competing at donington park when he collided with a stationary car at 120 miles an hour.

airlifted to hospital at the queen's medical centre in nottingham, his lower legs were removed in surgery. billy monger‘s talent was well—known, even when he was at primary school. at age nine he was featured on blue peter. you are amazing. how fast where you going? 55 mph. his racing team is raising money to help fund his recovery. the total is already over half a million, with lewis hamilton and jenson button amongst supporters. billy has been communicating with his team principal in hospital. he is aware of what's happened. he's obviously a very positive lad. the first thing he started to do was to work out how to use a clutch with his hand. motor racing with prosthetic legs is possible. it is what david birrell dolls.

david birrell lost his legs after he was injured while serving in afghanistan, and has offered to help billy monger. it put tears in my eyes. i've been a young man who lost his legs, obviously in different circumstances. ijust think about billy, i've been in that position, you try and be strong in front of everybody. in your head, you're still trying to make sense of it. formula a is a route to formula 1. drivers here were practising today at thruxton. motor racing may be safer, it doesn't mean it's risk—free. what happened to billy monger is a reminder of what can happen to anyone. all the headlines coming up injust a couple of minutes. first, let's get a weather update. we will go to hell and on the other side of the newsroom. hello there, good afternoon —— we will go to helen willetts. decent weather on the cards considering we are still in april. the sunshine hasn't been

abundant, but this was in berwick—upon—tweed recently. it is sentin berwick—upon—tweed recently. it is sent in by graham, who earlier sent us sent in by graham, who earlier sent usa sent in by graham, who earlier sent us a beautiful shot of edinburgh. clearly enjoying the sunshine across the north—east. we do have some sunshine in the south—east, but it is crowded here. the odd showery burst of rain. this weather front is the main player, changing the type of rain into tomorrow and the weekend. 0ver tonight, quite of rain into tomorrow and the weekend. 0vertonight, quite a bit of cloud, however it could be a bit murky and mystique by morning in southern areas with some fog occurs we have got some worcester around. behind this weather front we introduce colder air. cloudy and cold in the east of scotland with the breeze starting to come round from the north—west. elsewhere, some holes in the cloud and brightness. we could see 15—16d. look at that, what a noticeable drop across eastern scotland. the chilly is heading south. there will still be an awful lot of dry weather with

some sunshine. —— the chilly air. the headlines: the labour leader jeremy corbyn says a conservative victory is not a foregone conclusion. he vowed to put the majority first. we will build a new economy where they of the new economy where they of the new economy and we will build a country for the many, not the few. douglas ca rswell says we will for the many, not the few. douglas carswell says we will not be standing in the general election. he says we will back the conservative candidate in the general election. the parents of a four—month—old maybe have been found guilty of allowing their maybe's gap. —— death. let's catch up with the sport.

andy murray has been knocked out of the monte carlo masters in the third round. they welcome the one was built -- round. they welcome the one was built —— beaten the first time in many months. an elbow problem did seem to hamper his serve in the latter stages of the match. this is his first tournament on clay this season. the 15th seed in monte carlo took the second set, but andy murray let slip a a—0 lead in the decider. disappointed to lose. i mean, maybe tomorrow or the day after i will be able to look back a little bits and think where i am now from where i

was a week ago and my elbow felt pretty good. i served much better today than i did yesterday and that is only going to get better. i will keep going in the right direction, hopefully. football news just reaching as in the last couple minutes. a former aston villa and england defender is in hospital after collapsing at a training centre. totten say that the 3a—year—old received immediate treatment on site from the medical staff after being transferred to hospital. they released a short statement sending their best wishes to him and his family and they say he is going to —— they are going to continue to keep sending updates when they happen. lots of speculation about joe hart, when they happen. lots of speculation aboutjoe hart, and a possible move to liverpool. he has

been on loan in liverpool —— cilia hears of the highest quality. we have the quality goalkeepers. it is not in the future or now. it is not because of joe. is not in the future or now. it is not because ofjoe. i understand the question, but cannot give the answer that a few people want. rugby union, eddiejones has that a few people want. rugby union, eddie jones has named that a few people want. rugby union, eddiejones has named his squad to tour argentina this summer. 16 of his players are on touring duty. he was buying rugby league until very recently. he's got a lot to do positional

wise. as i say, he has got a certain bit of ex—factor or whatever you wa nt to bit of ex—factor or whatever you want to call it. he finds the line. snookehs world championship continues. these are live pictures. it is over on bbc two and on sky —— he has taken a five — zero lead. he is seeded 16. you can see that wilson needs snooker ‘s v is not going to lose anotherframe. snooker ‘s v is not going to lose another frame. he now leads snooker ‘s v is not going to lose anotherframe. he now leads 5—2. a little bit of a comeback. a very tight affair that. that is over on your red button on bbc two and on the bbc sport website. the conclusion of one match already, a first—round match, neil robertson is

through after a 10—a win. the australian who won the title in 2010 has got marco fu from hong kong next. germain mason who won a silver has been killed in a motorcycle accident. mason was born in the country, but qualified to great britain —— represent great britain. using bolt was one of people who arrived at the scene. he was 3a. that is a sport for now. we will have more fuel in the next hour. more now on the labour leaderjeremy corbyn who has vowed to overturn the rigged system by putting power and wealth back in the hands of the people. he said the 8th ofjune poll was not

a foregone conclusion and that labour could defy the establishment experts. in a sense, the establishment and their followers in the media, are quite right. i don't play by their rules. and, if a labour government is elected on the 8th ofjune, we won't play by their rules either. they are yesterday's rules from the elites. we should be consigning them to the past. they have allowed a cosy cartel to wreck the system in favour of if a few. it is a rigged system set up by the wealth extractors for the wealth extracted. things can and will change. a little

earlier, matthew doyle, the former adviser and director to tony blair gave me his take on corbyn's speech. i think it was the authenticjeremy corbyn. this is the way he is going to campaign. he will campaign as he did during the labour leadership election. that campaign was throw successful. i think this one is going to be a tough ask. trying to speak to not just those who are already supporting, but those who will bring tory voters and undecideds back to the fold. the polls have put labour between 15 and 20 points behind the conservatives. as of now, it doesn't seem as if the electorate has been listening. no. this is the tory‘s election to lose. that gives a couple... if the public

conclude that this was a general election timed for party reasons are not in interest of the country. also not in interest of the country. also not having tv debates and ripping the structure of the campaign, the expectations are all on theresa may in terms of her having to conduct this. the media complaining about the lack of access they are getting to have. if she's as they don't want the tv debates, but not on doors, that that will be tested. if in reality she is just talking to halls of supporters, that is going to be a downside to have. you are someone with long experience of political tactics within the labour party, had you expect this campaign to be different for labour? and for individual labour mps? i think it is going to be very different. you're going to be very different. you're going to be very different. you're going to see across the country the dividing line between areas that voted brexit. you are going to see

in labour candidates a level of anarchy that we have not seen before the 1997 general election. specifically on europe are on the leadership to? if you are a labour party candidate, you want this to be in our demented about who is the best person to be your local member of parliament. you do not want this to bea of parliament. you do not want this to be a proxy vote about who is going to be the leader of this country. you need a strong opposition. in reality, we know who is going to win the general election, or the most likely person to win the general election, therefore make sure you have got a strong member of the parliament, and thatis strong member of the parliament, and that is essentially the most strong pitch that labour candidates can make across the rest of the country. for labour candidates who are going to re—election, how many of them are in the position of voting differently when it came to europe

from their own constituents?‘ number. you are clearly going to see people making electoral calculations in terms of whether they are going to move closer to their electorates than the positions that they advocated earlier. we have seen that on the conservative side when there has been a fantastic amount of discipline. it is only ken clarke who rebelled. labour has got a different challenge because it faces the pincer movement in certain areas where the liberal democrats are trying to get back into the game by being the pro—european party in this election, and also their art more challenges in labour's traditional areas where they have those votes. so far in this election campaign, we have heard from political leaders here. and what about people in brussels? how can this impact this? joining me now via webcam

is tom nuttall, the chief of the economist's brussels bureau. how have they react to this? they cautiously welcome it. the people do not believe that it will make any impact on the negotiations. they believe that will happen soon after the election, but some may see a larger conservative majority, if theresa may is able to do that, as a way for her to freeing half hand to go for what they would see as a soft brexit orate less confrontational brexit orate less confrontational brexit than she might otherwise have been able to do having a small majority. is there more interest in the british election? france has got its presidential election starting this weekend. germany has. they preoccupied with their own domestic affairs? yes. the french bell first

round of the french elections. as you say, a german vote later in the year. it is an extremely crowded electoral timetable. the priority for a lot of european leaders is not so much about dealing with brexit, although that is important, it is about keeping the eu together and dealing with future challenges from the eurozone to migration to terrorism and so on. the outcome of the french and the german elections is going to be absolutely crucial to the eu. that is occupying a lot of political space right now. the prime minister theresa may met somebody at the houses of parliament today. he said the most important thing other eu citizens living in the uk right

now. do we expect that pressure to be put on theresa may over the future days and weeks. because she is meeting other people who feel the same. yes, this is very important. in one respect, it should be straightforward to deal with in the sense that everybody is on the same site here. britain wants a guarantee for the right of its citizens and the rest of the eu and vice versa. the difficulty here is not going to be about a huge political battle, it is going to be about the extraordinary technical and legal complexities of getting a deal together. i think it is a good sign that they are talking about this now, and also that she is talking to the present of the european parliament at this stage because as he never tires of body up that the european parliament will have a vote on this so it is important that they talk. i was happy to see them beginning these talks before formal

negotiations. it could well be the detail like that are not ironed out before british voters go to the polls on june before british voters go to the polls onjune the 8th. before british voters go to the polls on june the 8th.|j before british voters go to the polls on june the 8th. i think it is a cast iron certainty that they won't be. they have to be discussed informal brexit negotiations. he was in warsaw today, the polish capital, when he said the talks will not go until the end ofjune after a british government has presumably been assembled and after a french government has been assembled. as i say, this is a fantastically complex issue this one. there are other things to be worked out including the so—called brexit build. all of this stuff is congregated. some will be difficult political wrangling. it will take months to get ironed out at best. we will leave it there. many thanks for joining at best. we will leave it there. many thanks forjoining us. breaking

news to bring you. politicians in northern ireland are going to give more time —— be given more time to sort a power—sharing deal. the bbc understands that the deadline is going to be pushed back until the end ofjune. that newsjustin to allow for more talks after the westminster election on june allow for more talks after the westminster election onjune the 8th. as the uk gears up for a general election, voters in france are getting closer to deciding who their new president will be. this weekend's result will be closely watched, as candidates campaign hard on issues that could have big implications across europe. graham satchell has been on a french exchange between the twinned towns of tredegar in south wales and 0rvault in north west france. we are in noirmoutier on the west coast of france. on board le petit train, a group of french and welsh people

whose towns have been twinned for almost a0 years. they share friendship, camaraderie, and it turns out, a deep mistrust of traditional politics. everybody‘s fed up of what politicians say and they are going for the other option. people are fed up with some old way of doing politics. fed up and slightly confused. the french face a dizzying array of candidates to be president — 11 in all. what is astonishing about this french election is the almost complete rejection of mainstream politics. the next french president is most unlikely to come from one of the two parties that has run france since the war. what will we do? what will happen? it is so new that we are lost. 0ur welsh contingent comes from tredegar, part of south wales that voted for brexit. in france, many have the same

worries about the eu and in particular immigration. it's why the far—right leader marine le pen is doing well. they say, what are the politicians doing for us? and they seem to think, as far as the immigration problem is concerned, that they are doing absolutely nothing. and this is why i think perhaps a certain lady may well be leading france in a fortnight‘s time. marine le pen? 0ui. dissatisfaction with the merry—go—round of centre left and centre right has opened the door to marine le pen and jean—luc melenchon, on the far left. the prospect of one of them actually winning has left some in a spin. translation: to have marine le pen, for example, orjean—luc melenchon would be extremely detrimental for all of us. time for some lunch. there is an alternative to the extremes of right and left — a new party of the centre with a candidate who has never stood for election

before — emmanuel macron. macron is attractive. he has an attractive programme as well. i think many french people are not sure about him. sometimes, he says white. the day after, he says black. we don't know exactly what he thinks. macron and le pen are the front runners in what is a close race. marine le pen wants to take france out of the euro. she is very anti—eu. macron is a staunch supporter of the european union. if one of these two wins, it will have dramatic impacts on our negotiations over brexit. the day finishes with a knees up. many here have watched brexit and trump and say anything could happen. but whatever the outcome, the people of tredegar and 0rvault will remain friends. everyone knows that using two wheels rather than four is good for you,

but now researchers believe cycling to work could actually halve the risk of developing heart disease and cancer. scientists at the university of glasgow, who analysed data from more than 250,000 people, said walking reduced the risk of the same conditions by a quarter. jon kay reports. is this the best way to live for longer? laura certainly hopes so. she cycles five miles to work in bristol every morning, and then five miles back home again. how do you feel cycling to work helps you? it wakes me up in the morning, gets me geared up for the day, puts me in a good mood. it's a good way to manage stress and things as well, because when we live in the city, busy lifestyles, getting on your bike in the morning is great. it gets rid of all that stress and adrenaline that can build up. some people say it's very stressful riding a bike, and that's one of the reasons they don't do it. i think, if i had to cycle on main roads for the whole journey,

i would find it quite stressful. luckily, i can use the cycle track. scientists from the university of glasgow looked at the health of a quarter of a million commuters over five years to examine the benefits of cycling. they found that those using pedal power had... that's compared with people who are driving or using public transport. we need to make it easier for people to cycle, so we need to increase cycle lanes, we need to have cycle and city hire schemes, subsidised bike schemes, have people have showers at work, so they don't feel sweaty when they get to work. there's a whole host of things just to make it easier for the average person to cycle. if we can do that, we'll get more people on their bikes, and we'll improve public health, just like places like amsterdam and copenhagen have done. cycling groups say if we follow the lead of those european cities, we could save money on health care, because fewer of us would become seriously ill.

although, of course, cycling can also lead to more accidents and injuries. researchers say walking to work also has some benefits, but not as many. they say for commuters like laura, cycling is especially good, because it fits into the daily routine. jon kay, bbc news, bristol. in a moment, a look at how the financial markets in europe closed the day. but first, the headlines on bbc news: jeremy corbyn says labour could defy the "establishment experts" in the coming election, and pledges to put power and wealth back in the hands of the people. former ukip mp douglas carswell says he won't stand for re—election in his constituency of clacton, and will support the conservative candidate. the parents of a four—month—old baby girlare facing jail after they pretended she had stopped breathing on a bus to cover up her earlier death. now a look at how the markets in europe have ended

the trading session. there are too many uncertainties around for people to make big bets on the markets at the moment. that's why the stock markets aren't moving much. interestingly the ftse is now, despite all the gains at the start of the year, very close to where it was on january the 1st. unilever came out with a good set of numbers, with underlying sales up 2.95 — that's quite a bit better than most unilever—watchers had expected. shareholders should be pleased with this. remember, it's only a couple of months since the company successfully fought of a ta ke—over offerfrom kraft heinz. in the retail sector, debenhams — britain's second—biggest department store — said it would return to growth, but warned it would have to close a few stores and distribution centres, revamp the rest and improve its online service. finally, sky, the broadcaster, is teaming up with hbo, the programme—maker,

to produce what it calls a new global drama powerhouse. it's a $250 million project, and will make at least two big dramas a year. let's get detailed analysis of those stories. let's start with sky. how important as this? i always thought it was football that was the thing that got them excited. it has been football that has got them excited principally. their operating profits are down 11% because of the cost of football. they have been good at expanding into films and now broader artistic elements with hbo. inexpensive existing development they have with hbo and canal plus. this is their development to both incumbent operators and new

operators like net clicks and amazon and they are proving reasonably adept at that. what about unilever? this is a pretty nice number. also more elements after they rejected a ta keover more elements after they rejected a takeover offer. getting rid of their margarine labels. it seems as though they have had a rocket put under them by that bid. it did seem like that. unilever has always been a fairly good company and what the management are outlining is doing things a bit better. they will make a slightly bigger dividend and do some restructuring. the sales of some restructuring. the sales of some of their spread businesses, flora, margarine. that adds a little bit to sales and to the money they make on those sales and it has been well received by shareholders and they have maintained games that were

driven by the bid from craft a few months ago. let's move on to debenhams. their shares are down 5%. poor performance. still talking about trying to revive the brand, sales. it is not looking very good. when you compare it to marks & spencer ‘s who said that they will be closing stores today, but also opening others. yes. most of the other ones are going to be in the food area which has been a great success for marks & spencer ‘s. debenhams, this is an opportunity... some others on the high street are running upa some others on the high street are running up a very fast moving down escalator. debenhams have struggled in this environment and are trying to put in place an antidote for that. would you be a buyer of debenhams shares of the moment?” think this is the right plan today.

it is very difficult for companies like debenhams. 0thers it is very difficult for companies like debenhams. others have done well, next, h&m, primax, proving that you can sell this on high street. marks & spencer is even with their clothing side had said it can be done. we are all shopping differently and if you have got a large and very expensive store on the high street, it is difficult to compete. thank you. so, just to recap on the markets — all of them quiet, although oil was falling yesterday, as investors began to fear that there was an oversupply building up in the united states. always this problem that the shale producers can turn on taps so you get a natural ceiling. the prices down to 52.9 seven. seems to be unable to go any higher than that. that is what the markets feel. otherwise, the markets are playing it safe ahead of one or two

elections that have captured the public imagination. that's all from me. there is a round—up of all the other top business stories on our website — bbc.co.uk/business. before we go, let's get more on the election campaign. the prime minister says there would be a "coalition of chaos" underjeremy corbyn due to his refusal to rule out a second referendum over brexit. speaking during an election campaign visit to a business in enfield, mrs may hit back at mr corbyn's comments that the snap election was an ego trip. no. this election is about ensuring that we have strong and stable leadership in this country in the national interest. it's about strengthening our negotiating hand for brexit. and it's about sticking to our plan for a stronger britain, developing a more secure future for ordinary working people in this country. what we saw from jeremy corbyn this morning was his refusal to rule out the possibility of a second referendum over brexit. that's wrong. people voted in the referendum last year to leave the european union.

that's what the government needs to put into place. and his failure to rule that second referendum out shows the coalition of chaos that we would have under jeremy corbyn. time for a look at the weather. hello. it has been a good afternoon for some parts of the north east and north—east scotland because we have temperatures towards 19 celsius and lots of sunshine. that has not been the case for all. quite a bit of cloud across the country. this was in staffordshire earlier. not looking bright and sunny, but it is wet and looking bright and sunny, but it is wetand —— looking bright and sunny, but it is wet and —— not wet and gloomy. with assistance sinking south. another system will take centre stage over the next 2a hours. this one starting

to introduce a change to colder air behind it. 0vernight, breaks in the clouds will dip to single figures in the countryside. not especially cold, but misty and foggy. we will have that rain coming into scotland. it will not be especially heavy, but it does mean a different complexion to the weather. to the south of that weather front, dry weather. to the weather. to the south of that weatherfront, dry weather. quite to the weather. to the south of that weather front, dry weather. quite a bit of cloud, but i am confident we will see sunny spells and temperatures attaining 15 or 16. for those who have seen a teams or 19 is today, it will be considerably cooler tomorrow. it will be even cooler tomorrow. it will be even cooler next week. today at five, jeremy corbyn vows to ‘stand up for the people'

in the upcoming election. the labour leader pledged to challenge what he called a ‘rigged system‘ and said the final result was not a ‘foregone conclusion‘. but of course they do not want us to win, because when we win it is the people not the powerful who win. the prime minister reiterates her commitment to see net migration fall to the tens of thousands following britain leaving the eu. leaving the european union in it was us leaving the european union in it was us to control our borders as well as those who are coming from outside the eu. we‘ll have the latest from westminster and we‘ll be out on the campaign trail. the other main stories on bbc news at 5: gerard coyne, who is challenging len mccluskey to lead the unite union, has been suspended

from his post as west