the government says no cuts to foreign aid — but stops short of promising to keep pensions rising as they do now. as theresa may campaigned in berkshire, her chancellor in the us also suggested a possible softening of the government's promise not to raise taxes. all chancellors would prefer to have more flexibility in how they manage the economy and how they manage the overall tax they manage the overall tax burden down, than having to have their hands constrained. we'll be assessing what messages voters can take from the first few days of political campaigning. also tonight. the paris gunman — the authorities reveal he'd beenjailed forfiring at police officers before. a report into the deaths of three sas reservists on the brecon beacons says it could happen again. tributes are paid to the former england and aston villa defender ugo ehiog who's died at the age of 1m. harry styles went straight to number one with his debut single. sign of

the times. can he do it again? and the duke and duchess of cambridge as you've never heard them before. a court hears how a teenager created mass hacking programmes from his pa rents mass hacking programmes from his parents house in hertfordshire. good evening. on day three of the campaign trail the prime minister and the chancellor have given theirfirst hints of what will and what may not be in the conservative manifesto. theresa may says she'll keep the current spending on foreign aid — despite pressure from some within her own party to cut it. but she would not commit to keep the so—called triple lock on pensions — which guarantees they rise by inflation, average earnings or 2.5% each year, whichever is highest.

labour says it will keep it. and the chancellor philip hammond has hinted that the conservatives will end the party's promise not to raise income tax, vat and national insurance. our first report is from our deputy political editorjohn pienaar. trust me, i'm a politician. no leader stays popularfor ever, but theresa may clearly feels she's liked enough for now to make promises some might like, but others won't. she looks confident enough. and the message, one we've heard before and will again. what drives me in politics, the passion that i have in politics, is to make the united kingdom a country that works for everyone and notjust the privileged few. today, that meant sticking to britain's target for spending on foreign aid. spending that some right—wingers want cut. what we need to do, though, is look at how that money is spent and make sure we are able to spend that money in the most effective way. aid budget safe, then. but how will the cash be spent and held back? in future?

and what about that other costly pledge? keeping up the value of pensions. again today you are telling the country you are a leader that people can trust. so, can pensioners trust you to go on raising their state pensions year by year just as your party and your government does now? what i would say, john, to pensioners, is just look what the conservatives in government have done. pensioners today, £1250 a year better off was a result of action that has been taken. we were very clear about the need to ensure that we support people in their old age and that's exactly what we've done. that wasn't a yes, but here in berkshire, in a lot of places, plenty of people like the idea of looking after pensioners. they've worked all their lives and they've paid their national insurance and they've paid their taxes, so i think they deserve it as much as anybody else. if you can't look after the elderly, what can you do? if it can be done, stop it. they don't need it.

a lot of them put it straight in the bank. theresa may may be about to upset an awful lot of voters. even thinking about dropping the tory promise to pensioners takes a leader very confident about this election. especially now she's clearly protecting overseas aid spending at the same time. a big lead in the polls comes in handy if you are about to annoy millions of pensioners. a big majority in the commons even more so. if she then gets on and does it. the next prime minister. that deserves a hug. jeremy corbyn‘s campaigning his way. to small crowds. and big ones. no talk of saving on benefits here. the corbyn way sounds like this... theresa may sounds incapable of answering any questions about the protection of the triple lock on the state pension. well, i give you my commitment now, labour will maintain the triple lock. he stood by what is called the triple lock, pensions up every year by inflation or average earnings. two and a half percent.

can labour afford this along with other promises? he hopes he can win this argument. sorry, i'm not quite sure where i'm going. but how could he? no one does, no one's actually voted yet. the lib dems look perky. they are sure this election will be better than last time. we are the only clear opposition to the conservatives opposing a hard brexit, opposing exit from the single market, being a clear and effective decent opposition on every other level. on they go. pollsters and pundits may think they know how this ends, but there are 48 days to go. john pienaar, bbc news. the chancellor philip hammond has said he would prefer the government to have more ‘flexibility‘ on taxes. speaking to the bbc, he hinted that he would to see amended the conservative‘s 2015 manifesto promise not to raise income tax , vat or national insurance. he was talking to our economics editor kamal ahmed in washington. it was the solemn pledge treated to

the voter by david cameron before the voter by david cameron before the election of 2015. no increases in tax, vat or national insurance. will it be repeated before this election? today the chancellor visiting washington for a meeting of leading industrialised nations hinted maybe not. i came into politics not to see taxes rising, but to see the burden of taxation falling as our economy grows, and that remains my very clear political ambition. but you do not support a specific tax pledges not to raise income tax, national insurance and vat, because it would tie your hands. all chancellors would prefer to have more flexibility in how they manage the economy and how they manage the economy and how they manage the economy and how they manage the overall tax burden down. then to have their hands constrained. the problem with pledges, they tend to come unstuck.

here is the chancellor on budget day announcing an increase to national insurance payments for the self—employed. there followed a screeching u—turn after critics pointed out mr howard had broken that 2015 pledge. the chancellor is here in washington to talk about the global economy, but frankly his mind is on matters rather more domestic. in his interview with me i think he went as far as he feels able to given that the manifesto is not yet finalised. he's no fan of constraining promises, particularly on tax. he used one word over and over again. flexibility. on tax. he used one word over and overagain. flexibility. mr hammond has opened up a flank, and labour attacked. i think he's recognising he's got problems with the economy, problems with the budgeting he's done. as a result of that there will be tax rises under a conservative government if they get re—elected. this is quite a tax bombshell. as

always, the big test in any election, the economy. and today's retail sales figures suggested the increased inflation is starting to bite, and consumers are feeling the strain. some might say you've called this election to get a mandate before the economy truly turned soui’. before the economy truly turned sour. we've called the election because it will strengthen the prime minister's hand in the negotiations to get the right brexit deal for britain. but in terms of the economic data, it has been remarkably resilient over the last nine months. just this week, the imf revised up its forecast for britain's economy this year to 2%. the chancellor will return from his us trip at the weekend. back to an election battle where the promises the parties make to voters will be key. as far as mr hammond is concerned, the fewer it would seem the better. kamal ahmed, concerned, the fewer it would seem the better. kamalahmed, bbc concerned, the fewer it would seem the better. kamal ahmed, bbc news, washington. let's speak to our deputy political editorjohn pienaar, who's in westminster for us now. the end of the week which has seen political campaigning get underway

from a standing start — what can people take out of what's been said so far? fiona, we're less than a week into this campaign and already the prime minister has made and may be preparing to make some very big calls. dropping the tories pensions promise risks upsetting a lot of the people who are always the most likely to make their way to the polling station on election day. is that about confidence, is it about economic pressure? well if that's what happens it would involve a big dollop of both. an overseas age theresa may has already decided to ta ke theresa may has already decided to take on part of her party, part of fleet street and a large slice of public opinion who would like to see more aid spending devoted to priority is closer to home. as far asjeremy priority is closer to home. as far as jeremy corbyn priority is closer to home. as far asjeremy corbyn is concerned, never doubt his sincerity talking about protecting public services, public spending. it goes down well with a lot of his loyal supporters. yet he will admit he's the one who has to

d efy will admit he's the one who has to defy the odds and the polls and the pundits. why? there are questions about the affordability of some of those labour plans, questions about leadership and trust. this election will be a lot to do with trust and to do with questions of leadership. as many have in the past. this time, though, there is a distance willett difference. as the country faces this stark choice of futures on the brink of brexit it's a defining historically nation defining time and no one taking part in this election will have had an opportunity to take part in such a decision in the past. and may never 0ur europe editor, katya adler, reports from paris.

french police on guard and at the ready on the champs—elysees today. the authorities long feared attacks by extremists could be possible around the presidential election after a string of attacks here linked to islamic fundamentalists over the last two years. police officers paused to pay their respects to their colleague, named as 38—year—old xavierjugele. this mobile phone footage appears to show the moment police shot his attacker who is hidden from view. details about the attacker have emerged throughout the day. 39—year—old frenchman karim cheurfi came from a troubled suburb on the outskirts of paris. investigators searched his house today taking three members of his family in for questioning. police said knives and guns were found in his car and a handwritten paper defending so—called islamic state lay next to

his body. the state prosecutor said he'd been known to the authorities. he'd beenjailed for trying to kill police officers before but they had found no evidence of extremist links. translation: karim cheurfi was not on the watch list and during his long time in prison, a period of almost 1a years, showed no signs of being radicalised or trying to convert others during all those years of imprisonment. the shootings on the champs—elysees have cast a long, long shadow over sunday's election. the response by rival candidates to the shootings betrayed the stark contrast in their vision for france. centrist emmanuel macron spoke of the need for unity. while firebrand far right front runner marine le pen called for the closing of french borders and the expulsion of foreigners on the watch lists of the intelligence services. before last night's shootings one in three french voters said they were still undecided

who to vote for, so has the attack changed things? translation: the vote on sunday mustn't change things. that's what the terrorists want, that we vote hate and division. we mustn't. translation: every attack has an impact. it pushes people more to the extremes. the french presidential election has ramifications far beyond the country's borders and not just security related. france is europe's third—largest economy so it's france is europe's third—largest economy so its president will have an impact on brexit, on the future of the euro and on the european union as a whole. and if there is a victory here for the far right, or the far left, that will be a boost to populist politics across the continent. hundreds of years on, the french revolution still inspires the idea of the power of the people. the power to choose.

but rarely so close to a french election has there been so much uncertainty with so much at stake. as you say, the first round of voting is on sunday, it is so close, and there has been much speculation today that yesterday's attack could have boosted the chances of the far right. absolutely, marine le pen has or was put nationalism and security front and centre of her election campaign so and centre of her election campaign so it would be easy to assume she would benefit at the ballot box following last night's shootings. but there are many french men and women who see her as a dangerous extremist threat. moving around the streets of paris today i met a number of voters who said they would vote tactically, maybe not for the candidate they love but for the one they believe could beat her and stop herfrom becoming they believe could beat her and stop her from becoming france's they believe could beat her and stop herfrom becoming france's next president. the latest polls we have seen this evening shows it is still very much a four horse race so voters can choose their front runners from the far right to the

far left, the centre and traditional centre right as well and there is crucially still a big chunk of french voters who say they will make up french voters who say they will make up their mind at the last moment. legally in france from tonight there isa legally in france from tonight there is a news blackout so no more polls, no more political information until sunday night, so it will be then only that we know what kind of impact those shootings have had. it macey long road and torn out, fiona, but as you pointed out, we can't forget this is just around one. but as you pointed out, we can't forget this isjust around one. we will be back here for round two of the french presidential election in two weeks' time and then we will find out who the next president of france will be. katya adler, thank you. taliban gunmen disguised in army uniform have attacked a military base in northern afghanistan — killing more than 50 afghan soldiers, according to a us military spokesman. the attack lasted several hours and soldiers were targeted as they attended mosque and ate a meal. a number of militant fighters were reportedly killed. police investigating a bomb attack last week on a bus carrying the borussia dortmund football team say they now believe

it was an elaborate financial scam. they've arrested a man who they say had hoped to send the club's share price plummeting in the hope of making a profit on investments he'd made before the attack. the health trust facing an investigation into the avoidable deaths of babies was told by regulators a decade ago that its maternity services needed to improve. the health care commission told the shrewsbury and telford trust that its monitoring of babies' heart rates during labour wasn't good enough and that its training of staff was inadequate. our social affairs correspondent michael buchanan reports. she was very dependent on me. my life went round a clock. i had to give her medication at certain times, make sure herfeed was running ok. i was more of a nurse and a carer than a mum. abby everett was born in 2004 with brain injuries, including severe epilepsy and cerebral palsy. staff at the royal shrewsbury hospital failed to promptly deliver her, despite foetal heart traces

indicating abby was in distress. the errors led to abby dying aged just 17 months. her heart rate went down, deep, down and down. they didn't intervene. obviously they tried to move me to see if they could find a trace. there wasn't anything there. if they would have done theirjob and got me into theatre when she was dropping, as in her heart rate dropping, then i might still have her now. following abby‘s death in 2007, the bbc‘s panorama programme learned the nhs regulator wrote to the trust urging them to improve maternity services. the healthcare commission said they should keep a record of foetal heart monitor traces, staff training needed updating and learning from clinical incidents had to improve. two days ago, we asked the trust to lay out the actions they'd taken following the healthcare commission's advice. this afternoon they responded. they failed to provide evidence that any changes had, in fact, been made. instead, they say that every baby's death is investigated to ensure that

lessons are learned and, again, repeated their unreserved apologies to the families who've lost a child. we were prepared to have a child, to change our lives completely. and that didn't happen. kai hall should still be alive. but staff at the trust failed to properly monitor his heart rate and missed that he was in distress. his heart—broken parents are astonished the trust was told a decade ago to improve its maternity care. it makes me angry, but it makes me sad as well, to think of all the people that have lost their children because theyjust haven't done anything, they haven't acted. it's horrible. you feel robbed. this memory bear is katie and matt's main lasting link to kai.

years after the trust was told to improve care, their son is one of several babies who need not have died. michael buchanan, bbc news, shropshire. len mccluskey has been re—elected as the general secretary of the uk's biggest trade union, unite. mr mccluskey beat his nearest rival gerard coyne byjust over 5,500 votes. but onlyjust over 12% of unite's million—plus members voted. following the result, mr coyne, who was suspended from his position in the union yesterday, said he's considering a legal challenge. britain is on course to see its first full day generating electricity without using coal. so far the national grid's records show the country has been powered without the use of the fossil fuel since just before 11pm last night. if that remains the case for the next 30 minutes or so then it'll be the first continuous 24—hour coal—free period since the industrial revolution. a ministry of defence report

on the deaths of three sas reservists in the brecon beacons has found that there were multiple failures and that it could happen again. corporaljames dunsby, lance corporal edward maher and lance corporal craig roberts died of heat exhaustion during a recruitment exercise on one of the hottest days of 2013. our political correspondent adam fleming is outside the ministry of defence for us tonight, a pretty damning report. yes, fiona, and it echoes previous similar criticisms from a coroner and the health and safety executive. now we have this investigation by the mod‘s defends safety authority declassified today. the document points out failures at really every single level. on the ground the staff running this exercise didn't have the equipment to monitor the temperature on a day when temperatures reached 31 celsius. the

people running the exercise haven't clocked the fact that the reserve lists who are part—time soldiers might not be as physically fit or as well—prepared as the professional soldiers who work full time doing the exercise a long side them. further of the chain the report identifies the issue that no one really knows exactly what role these specialist reserve units should be playing if they are ever deployed on the battlefield, which means no one really knows if this really exceptionally gruelling kind of training is the right thing for them to be doing. the conclusion in this document released today, there is a danger something like this could happen again. that is rejected to night here at the mod where officials say lessons and recommendations are being listened to and learning is being done. adam fleming outside the mod, thank you. the world of football has reacted with shock to the death of the former england and aston villa defender, ugo ehiogu, at the age of 1m. he collapsed yesterday after suffering a cardiac arrest at tottenham hotspurs' training ground, where he worked as a coach.

he was capped four times for england. here's our sports correspondent, joe wilson. ugo ehiogu was a rock, he stopped goals and sometimes he's scored them. a central defender as strong and imposing as any in football. now, at the age of 44, he has died. his passing was perhaps felt most poignantly at aston villa where he played for a decade. poignantly at aston villa where he played for a decadelj poignantly at aston villa where he played for a decade. i think we are all shocked and devastated by the news of somebody so young who very, very quietly was making his way as a very quietly was making his way as a very talented coach from what i've been hearing. he was uncompromising, quick, all of the football world will be shocked and saddened. ugo ehiogu was making his name as a coach with tottenham and bailey looked like he had aged from his playing days. he suffered cardiac arrest at tottenham's training

ground yesterday. through his career one man stood alongside ugo ehiogu, gareth southgate, defensive partners at villa and then middlesbrough, southgate is now the england manager. his friend gone. southgate paid this tribute to ugo ehiogu today. most importantly, he said, he was a gentleman. ugo ehiogu was married with two macro children. forfootball ugo ehiogu was married with two macro children. for football the death of a dedicated professional and dominic at 44 carries the sadness of simply not making sense. the footballer ugo ehiog, who has died at the age of 1m. and just before we go, the duke and duchess of cambridge as you've never heard them before — announcers of this week's radio 1 chart show. the couple popped into the studio to talk about their mental health campaign — amongst other things as our royal correspondent

peter hunt reports. please welcome to radio 1 the duke and duchess of cambridge. with a destiny to fulfil, some djing in the meantime. these are royals bringing their message about mental health to a young audience and a confession about listening habits. is it true that you text in? i have texted in, yeah. under a different name? obviously, i wouldn't tell you who i was. definitely not! what are you doing texting in your car? obviously i stopped in a lay—by. i have not texted while driving because that is illegal. the princely fan who seeks shout—outs and who was castigated when he missed a royal event for a skiing and clubbing trip loves going to gigs. it's not something you can really do all the time? no, and you know, i've got enough trouble with my dancing recently so it's kind of best to keep away from that, to be honest. the price of such airtime, questions that wouldn't have amused

victoria, like what takes their fancy for a tv supper. yeah, i'm not so good with the spicy food. i'm not good with spice. but if you do a takeaway they must never believe you when you're ordering it to the palace, right? it doesn't usually get ordered to the palace, chris. right, i see. we tend to go and pick it up. not ourselves. i've got you, got you. go for a little visit around the area. he's not going to go to chicken cottage, is he? laughter the professionals changed, the royals remained, and were set to work. and the duke and duchess of cambridge. go. he had 13 weeks at number one with shape of you. before harry came slong and spoiled his easter. sounds familiar! laughter radio bringing together briefly two national institutions, the monarchy and the chart show. so, number one is ed sheeran, shape of you. for a couple facing a life of pomp this was pure pleasure. when i'm on holiday would you mind stepping in? to be honest with you we could probably do a betterjob. peter hunt, bbc news. that's it. now on bbc one, it's time for the news where you are. have a very good night. good evening.

i'm asad ahmad. a judge at the old bailey has been hearing how a teenager and magic are silky leaves the tributes to his friend ugo ehiogu, saying here stunned and deeply saddened at his laws. ronnie o'sullivan is just three friends away from a places with the gap is like world championship quarterfinals. and ellie downey becomes the history maker had just 17. she is the new european queen of gymnastics. england manager gareth southgate

says the death of his friend and former hayemaker are one is difficult to come to terms with. the two played together at both aston villa at middlesborough, and paying tribute today southgate says here stunned and saddened that at his passing. former wales international striker dean saunders spent years alongside ugo ehiogu at villa.|j described him as being like a doctor ora described him as being like a doctor or a policeman. use one of those characters who was... methodical in everything he did. dedicated. on the training pitch, he used you wanted him in yourteam, training pitch, he used you wanted him in your team, you training pitch, he used you wanted him in yourteam, you didn't want to play against them. it was like... quick, strong, aggressive. he had a knack of hurting you in training every day. he was a great character,

i can't believe we are even talking about this. there was a tribute to the former england international star before the start of tonight's championship match between norwich and brighton, where fans and players joined ina and brighton, where fans and players joined in a minute's applause before kick—off. similar tributes applied ata number of kick—off. similar tributes applied at a number of grounds over the weekend. the match was brighton's first since promotion to the premier league, but it didn't go well for them. they lost 2—0 in the most bizarre circumstances. two own goals from their goalkeeper, the first hitting the bar and striking him on the back, the second very similar. went off the post this time, bright and still 7—point clear of second place, nuke is now have a game in hand. manchester united were played the spanish team in the europa league. united courage to the quarterfinal, they will be a way in the first leg on the 11th of may. the other tie will hit ajax against

lyon. the women's super league has gone into liquidation after their we re gone into liquidation after their were unable to clear their debts. this is the team leaving meadow lane earlier today after being told the didn't have a job any more. it was two days until the team were due to start. they have now withdrawn from the league. one of four players selected to go to the championship is with england this summer.m didn't seem real. i was looking forward to playing arsenal on sunday, and then to be told that the clu b sunday, and then to be told that the club doesn't exist any more. you look around the room and you see that people are upset and crying. their livelihood has been ruined. to leave it this late, when the take—off was done a year ago, to now come to the conclusion two days before the kick—off that he doesn't wa nt to before the kick—off that he doesn't want to do it any more is heartbreaking. let's round up some of the other action from the day's sport.