this is bbc news. the headlines: boris johnson indicates the government might be prepared to take military action in syria without seeking the consent of parliament. if the americans to us to ask again and they asked us to help, i think it would be very difficult to say no. we need to work through the un. we need to defend ourselves totally to getting a political settlement in syria. the vice president of the european commission says the general election will have no effect on brexit negotiations. new figures show a big rise in violent crime in england and wales. how a simple eye test could lead to much earlier detection of glaucoma, a condition which causes irreversible sight loss. in the next hour: switching back to paper. why readers are turning off e—books, as publishers enjoy a record year. and nasa's cassini space probe sends back dramatic data from saturn,

after diving through the gap between the planet and its rings. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. the foreign secretary has suggested britain could take military action in syria without a vote in the house of commons. borisjohnson said it would be ‘very difficult to say no' if president trump asked for british help in punishing the syrian regime for another chemical weapons attack. meanwhile mrjohnson has also waded into the election campaign for the first time, with a highly personal attack on the labour leaderjeremy corbyn. he has called him a mutton—headed old mugwump. here's our political correspondent, alex forsyth. us misile strikes on a syrian

airfield earlier this month, the first direct us action against syrian government forces, a response to a chemical attack which killed civilians. today the foreign secretary suggested if asked the uk would support such strikes in the future, possibly without the approval of parliament. if they come to us and ask for our support, whatever it happens to be, as was the case in 2013, in my view, and i know this is the view of the prime minister, it would be very difficult for us to say no. she would have to go to the commons. i think that has to be tested. i think it would be very difficult for us to say no. mps said no when asked to back air strikes in syria by david cameron in 2013.

today opposition parties said the process for making such decisions was vital. unilateral illegal intervention would be counter—productive. boris johnson is following tony blair in that respect. if the government wants to have parliamentary authority they should ask for parliamentary authority, not speculate wildly and jump to whatever president trump does. supporters of mrjohnson said the situation has not changed. he has not ruled out a parliamentary vote. this is one of the dividing lines between the parties. the tories think it is a strength, trying to portrayjeremy corbyn as a threat to national security. borisjohnson launched a personal attack on the labour leader today calling him a mutton—headed old mugwump who would be calamitous in downing street.

campaigning in downing streetjeremy corbyn said they were focused on serious debate, not name—calling. ask the possibility of air strikes in syria he labour wanted ask the possibility of air strikes in syria, he said labour wanted a political solution. above all we need to bend ourselves totally to getting a political settlement in syria and allow the inspectors space to work, allow them to make sure we know who committed that terrible chemical weapons attack and recognise that inspectors are destroying any stocks of chemical weapons they find. this campaign will determine who sits in number 10. who gets to make those decisions abroad and at home. politicians know their vision for the nation's future is vital. let's get more from our chief political correspondent vicki young in westminster. it will be interesting to see how much foreign affairs plays in this general election. people think they

usually seem to vote on issues like schools and hospitals. people are choosing the future prime minister. these kinds of decisions are very important. iam these kinds of decisions are very important. i am joined these kinds of decisions are very important. iamjoined by these kinds of decisions are very important. i am joined by the conservative member of the foreign affairs select committee. boris johnson suggesting it would be hard to say no to america. lots of people would be alarmed about that. traditionally, we have always supported the americans, apart from the vietnam war. there are a few examples where tony blair allowed george w bush to drive drunk and we didn't cover ourselves and glory perhaps. borisjohnson didn't cover ourselves and glory perhaps. boris johnson and theresa may are smart people. they will realise the key thing about violence and using military force is it has to be in support of a political objective, asset of political objectives. the obvious thing about the use of force. i very much hope

thatis the use of force. i very much hope that is the context in which these comments are made. going to that point, jeremy corbyn is saying, what will it strikes do? there has to be a political solution. he is right about that, but he is in la land to talk about assad listening to un weapons inspectors. he only listens to the iranians and the russians. last year, it was clear to us that this guy realised he was only in power and his skin had been saved by the russian effort. the russians are the russian effort. the russians are the people keeping him there. the russians are the people who could get him out of there. so forget the un. it's about the russians. what we should be doing now is using this window of opportunity were the russians must be really annoyed with the regime from putting siren in the

other day. to work with the russians and geta other day. to work with the russians and get a proper political track going which will result in assad and his brothers and the top cronies leaving so there can be some sort of resolution. boris johnson suggested that might not need to be able to. resolution. boris johnson suggested that might not need to be able tolj think it is a good thing for there to bea think it is a good thing for there to be a vote. the last vote a few years ago after the chemical attack. the prime minister also needs to be able to employ the principal military objective of surprise. so you must allow a prime minister to be able to make a decision on the spot and then perhaps go to parliament. can i ask about boris johnson and his language today? personal comments aboutjeremy corbyn. some have said he is demeaning the role of the office of

foreign secretary. well, i didn't see i have to say, some people tried to present borrowers as if he is some kind ofjoke, he was a very good mayor of london. i didn't notice put a foot wrong. to be honest, i'm not noticing him putting a foot as foreign secretary. boris johnson realises you have to have a political settlement. the last thing you can have is the collapse of that regime because then all of the territory we call syria will be unimaginable chaos for yet more millions of people in the middle east. he is no fool. thank you. 0thers east. he is no fool. thank you. others say theresa may might not have been totally thrilled by his intervention today. we disagree over stu d e nts intervention today. we disagree over students on immigration figures. we will have to see how many more trips out to the media borisjohnson has.

thank you. as we have been hearing, the labour leader has been out campaigning in harlow and has been talking about housing. labour have pledged to build a million homes overfive years, half of which would be council houses. but the conservatives say they are the party with a clear plan for affordable housing. so how do the figures stack up? this is a key issue. were not building the houses we should in this country. we're building less than any time in the 1920s. 0ur pledge is to build 1 million homes of the lifetime of the parliament, half of which will be cancelled and housing association builds, for rent and affordable housing. we need to have our country properly housed. young people in overcrowded places don't do well in school. it is very stressful in the private sector. also the policies we are producing in our manifesto. since the 1970s, there have been on

average 160,000 new homes built each yearin average 160,000 new homes built each year in england. a government white paper published in february said the consensus is that we need from 275,000 to tackle yourself population growth. the former london mayoral candidate zac goldsmith has been chosen by the conservatives to stand for parliament in his old constituency of richmond park. mr goldsmith was ousted as mp by the liberal democrats during a by—election in december. he had previously left the conservative party in protest at the government's backing of a third heathrow runway. the liberal democrats have decided not to contest the brighton pavilion seat currently held by the only green party mp, caroline lucas. last week, she called for a "progressive alliance" — where parties did not put up candidates in some seats to avoid the vote against the conservatives being split. and you can find out more about today's election pledges —

and the latest on the campaign — on our website. bbc.co.uk/news. crime in england and wales has risen in almost every category according to the latest statistics. violent crime is up sharply by 19%. it's the final set of crime figures before the general election and our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford has the details. a brutal attack outside a west midlands pub last month by half a dozen men who are still being sought by police. it appears to have been a targeted attack using a machete at a time when there are signs claim is on the increase in england and wales, particularly violent crime and crimes involving knives and guns. the number of offences recorded by police was up 9%. burglary was up 4% and vehicle crime up 8%, both crimes that have been falling for decades.

the office for national statistics says some of the increases can be explained by changes in police record keeping. any rises we are seeing are genuine because those improvements stabilised a long time ago. it is not good enough for 0ns to keep on saying they are to do with improved recording. i think they must be genuine. one of the biggest concerns in police forces at the moment is what seems to be a clear rise in knife and gun crime. more people seem to be carrying knives and using them. more guns are being fired. 0verall violent crime was up 19% last year. again some of that increase can be explained by record—keeping changes but firearms offences were up 13% and knife offences were up 14%. recent figures from hospital suggested a dip in serious violent related injuries.

a crime expert told me it is too early to know why violence is rising but there are some possible reasons. speculations would focus around things that we think might be related to crime like levels of police numbers, cutting services, mental health is becoming an important issue raised in public awareness during the election campaign and is important in relation to crime. the police recorded crime figures are contradicted by the official crime survey of people's experiences of crime which appear to be stable but statisticians believe the survey may be lagging slightly behind. also out today were separate figures on violence in prison showing a big increase in assaults on staff, self harm, homicide and suicide. the german chancellor angela merkel says some people in britain have illusions about the reality of brexit. she has also insisted there should be agreement on the uk's divorce bill from the european union before any negotiations on trade can begin.

it comes as ministers from the eu's remaining 27 countries meet in luxemburg to finalise their negotiating stance on brexit. 0ur europe correspondent damian grammaticus is there. damien, some tough talking from the german chancellor? angela merkel was saying that the uk will not have the same benefits as an outside country. what you meant by allusions was addressing the idea the uk can negotiate a deal with the same kind of access it currently enjoys. that is what we have heard today in luxembourg. the 27 countries have signed off on the negotiating guidelines. we have said certain core things mattered and it would be no special access to the

single market, no individual deals for single sectors like banking and the bill. the costs, the liabilities the bill. the costs, the liabilities the uk has built up would have to continue to be paid beyond brexit. interestingly, the deputy tojohn curran you are, the vice president of the european commission, said on the way in, what happens in the uk election will have no influence at all on the eu's side, on the negotiating position it is now adopting. he said the eu's decision would be determined by their interests seen by the 27 neighbouring countries. these will be signed off on saturday and the eu baldwin formally, be interested in starting negotiations. the draft

guidelines set out the principles of what we seek to achieve. are some differences between what the uk would seek to achieve, about the sequencing, the discussions and future relationship, differences between the european union position and the uk, but i'm sure they can be addressed once the negotiating teams sit down opposite each other. the emphasis here was on having an orderly process and agreeing that we will work to sort out the issue of citizens rights clearly and the issue of what the financial terms of the settlement would be. from an irish point of view, from a northern irish point of view, from a northern irish point of view, from a northern irish point of view, for both of us on our irish point of view, for both of us on our two islands, a good strong consensus we on our two islands, a good strong consensus we n'iust woi’k on our two islands, a good strong consensus we must work to ensure the peace agreement is preserved. that is the one area per the starting

position between london, brussels, dublin and belfast, we are all on the same page. i think piece on our islands sits above every other concei’n we islands sits above every other concern we have. the headlines on bbc news: the vice president of the european commission says june's general election will have no effect on brexit negotiations. and has been a rise in the number of crimes recorded by police in england and wales. 0f recorded by police in england and wales. of violent crime is increasing. in sport, there are thousands at the press conference as anthonyjoshua thousands at the press conference as anthony joshua and thousands at the press conference as anthonyjoshua and vladimir critical meet the media ahead of their sell—out fight on wembley on saturday. will be one or both of the manchester clubs that will focus for the champions league? the picture

could be clearer after the derby tonight. allens say they are cautiously optimistic of achieving test status, after the ipc and nt is a new test status, after the ipc and nt is a new path to achieving full membership. more in 15 minutes. the united states says it will try to pressurise north korea into dismantling its nuclear and ballistic weapons programmes by using diplomatic means and by tightening economic sanctions. china has called it a positive move, but as our correspondent wyre davies reports, tension on the peninsula remains high. not a sign of rapprochement between two countries on the brink of war but a crude attempt at parody this week in hong kong. donald trump and north korea's kim jong—un are not about to kiss and make up but, following an apparently softer tone from washington, the chinese government, which had urged both sides to show restraint, saw some positive scenes of hope. translation: we have noted the relevant comments and have noted

the messages conveyed in these comments, hoping to resolve the korean nuclear issue peacefully through dialogue and consultation. we believe this message is positive and should be affirmed. president trump's approach to north korea's growing nuclear programme is carrot and stick. on one hand, calling for tough international sanctions, on the other, accelerating the deployment in south korea of the american anti—missile defence system known as thaad. a south korean defence ministry spokesman said the decision to deploy thaad had been taken as a direct result of the grave security situation in the region. following this week's high—profile joint american military exercise with south korea, what isn't clear is if president trump has abandoned the long—standing but unsuccessful policy of containment through

sanctions or if he is genuinely preparing to attack. a much—publicised white house briefing on korea for all 100 members of the us senate came up with few answers. it is more of a pep talk. the secretary of defence, secretary of state, the top administration officials, i think it is to try to get the senate to support the president whatever he might decide to do. china aside, the north korean regime has few powerful allies, but in a letter reportedly sent to regional leaders, pyongyang appealed for support in order to prevent what it warned could be a nuclear holocaust. syrian state tv says an israeli strike was to blame for a large explosion and fire near damascus airport overnight. people 15 miles away were reportedly woken by the sound of the explosion. israeli officials haven't directly confirmed involvement. the online retailer amazon says

it is creating twelve hundred jobs at a new warehouse in cheshire. the company says it is recruiting for managers, engineers, human resources and it specialists for the site, which will open in warrington this autumn. it's one of four new centres the us company will open in the uk this year. researchers say a simple eye test could lead to much earlier detection of a condition that causes irreversible sight loss. the test involves injecting a special fluorescent marker into the patient. diagnosing glaucoma sooner would mean patients could start treatment before their vision gets worse. here's our health correspondent jane dreaper. francesca's eyesight is crucial for her work as an artist. glaucoma develops slowly over many years. there's no cure, but doctors in london believe this new injection will eventually help patients to get diagnosed and treated much sooner.

to lose one's eyesight early or later is devastating, really, especially if you have an artistic background. but this sort of gave you hope that they could monitor the condition, and then, if need be, they could give you drops, which would slow it down slightly. glaucoma is more common as you get older. it affects 600,000 people in the uk. if left untreated, nerve cells in the retina die, leading to sight loss. the new test uses a special fluorescent marker to highlight the failing cells, potentially revolutionising treatment. in glaucoma, we believe it's ten years between a visual defect being identified and when the actual process starts. that ten—year delay could mean that you have delayed starting treatment at the time when it's most accessible to treatment, and when you could even prevent vision loss occurring in the first place. these white spots are where the glaucoma is showing up.

the new test is cheap and exciting, notjust because it could help save people's sight. the scientists believe that in the future it could also be used to detect when nerve cells are dying because of other illnesses, such as alzheimer's or parkinson's. francesca wants to save her sight from deteriorating, and she's hopeful the new test will help many other people too. today's results are from a trial which involved just 16 people, but the researchers are already working with many more volunteers in the hope this work can fulfil its promise. nasa's cassini spacecraft is sending data back to earth after diving through the narrow gap between saturn and its spectacular rings. it's the first of 22 plunges planned over the next five months and it's aim is to gather ultra high—quality data. the mission is not without risk though because cassini is travelling at over seventy thousand miles an hour and if it hits even a tiny ice or rock particle it could do a considerable amount of damage.

0ur science correspondent rebecca morelle reports. a daring mission, deep in our solar system. nasa's cassini spacecraft travelling at 100,000 kilometres an hour has just plunged between saturn and its icy rings. taking us closer to this giant world than ever before. at mission hqip california, celebrations scientists received the news that the manoeuvre had worked. and these are the ultra—close—up images the spacecraft has just sent back. a colossal storm raging on the planet's surface and drifting clouds in its atmosphere. i was waiting with baited breath to make sure the spacecraft was ok and the data was coming back. this is the first time any

spacecraft has been this close to saturn and you're crossing the rings essentially, but hopefully in a gap, where there's no ring material. but it's never been done before. this is the first of 22 times we're doing this. our understanding of saturn has already been radically transformed by the cassini mission. it's been in space for 20 years taking countless stunning images and revealing dozens of saturn's moons from hyperion to enceladus with its icy crust. but now it's the beginning of the end for the spacecraft. after so long in space it's running out of fuel. in the coming months it will perform more sweeps through the ring system, before a final death dive into saturn's atmosphere to bring the mission to a close. lawyers are going to the high court today to explain why the government is planning to delay publication

of its anti—pollution strategy. ministers claim they cannot abide by a court ruling to publish the consultation document because it would break so—called purdah rules in the run—up to the general election. but environmental campaigners say clean air is a public health issue and such rules should not apply. an illinois couple married for 69 years have died within an hour of each other. 91—year—old isaac vatkin was holding the hand of his wife, 89—year—old teresa, as she succumbed to alzheimer's disease on saturday. isaac died a0 minutes later. staff at the local highland park hospital placed their beds side by side. family members said they took comfort in knowing they were together at the end. this is bbc news.

coming up in the next few minutes: a new chapter for books. children's fiction has helped sales in the uk reach their highest level for four years. we'll find out why the novelty has worn off for e—books and why sales are up. time for the weather. good afternoon. we have a lovely day for some of you. look at this glorious scene behind me in cornwall. shame it is not like that everywhere. we have some cloud across the uk. thickest over northern england. some heavy showers in north—east england, the midlands and east anglia. some sunny breaks ovei’ and east anglia. some sunny breaks over scotla nd and east anglia. some sunny breaks over scotland and northern ireland. generally cool. also tonight. patchy light rain or drizzle in the morning. rural parts of eastern scotla nd morning. rural parts of eastern scotland and northern england could

see scotland and northern england could see tomorrow, east coast, few showers around. chilly breeze. in the west, isolated showers and more cloud. for most, it will feel dry. warmer still into the bank holiday weekend. details on that coming up in halfan weekend. details on that coming up in half an hour. see you then! this is bbc news, the headlines: 0pposition parties are criticising borisjohnson — after he said it would be difficult to say no, if the us asked for support in another military strike on syria. if the americans choose to act again and they ask us to help, as i say, i think it would be very difficult to say no. jeremy corbyn has promised to build

1 million new homes if labour wins the general election. angela merkel says britain should not have any illusions about the kind of brexit deal we are likely to get. the latest crime figures show an overall rise in england and wales last year. police recorded 4.8 million offences — up 9% on 2015. research suggests a simple eye test could lead to much earlier detection of glaucoma, a condition which causes irreversible sight loss. time for the sport now. good afternoon. anthony joshua good afternoon. anthonyjoshua says it will just good afternoon. anthonyjoshua says it willjust me and a man coming to blows but his fight with gladbach klitschko has already seen hundreds of public workouts and n10 at the press of public workouts and n10 at the p i’ess co nfe i’e nce of public workouts and n10 at the press conference with plenty of onlookers in london, thousands

perhaps, before the 90,000 at wembley eventually perhaps, before the 90,000 at wem bley eventually ta ke perhaps, before the 90,000 at wembley eventually take to their seats to eventually watch what could be the most anticipated is certainly boxing event of the year. if not ever, as the heavyweight unification title fight between joshua and wladimir klitschko takes place at wembley. we will have some of what he, joshua, and latimer klitschko has had to say, a little bit later this afternoon. their arrival in manchester were supposed to of a fight between them for the premier league title but tonight, pep guardiola and jay z marine a meet with qualification for the champions league, the potential prize on offer instead. —— jose mourinho. league, the potential prize on offer instead. -- jose mourinho. every game is important. it will be difficult. and of course

all the other months, crystal palace, watford... all the other months, crystal palace, watford. .. game all the other months, crystal palace, watford... game by game, try to win points. and qualify for champions league next season. we are above them. if they finished third and we finish fourth, they are above us and we finish fourth, they are above us but it means a lot. this is not about pep guardiola or about city, it is about objectives. and we want to try to play football and we still have two doors open. and johanna konta is playing her second match against anastasia sevastova in the quarterfinals. she went on to lose that first set 6—3. compton was up

in the second set although that is on sei’ve. in the second set although that is on serve. ireland have moved closer to receiving test status in cricket, the icc have been discussing allowing the country to compete in a longerfor the game allowing the country to compete in a longer for the game at a meeting in dubai today. patrick geary told us more. four in the past, he want to be regarded as it nation, you need to be proposed to by other icc full members. the icc have not got rid of that barrier and ireland or afghanistan indeed could apply and bejudged on a afghanistan indeed could apply and be judged on a set of criteria that includes how good your national side is, the state of your first class cricket, finances, the quality of france, ireland feel they meet that criteria, perhaps with one or two twea ks criteria, perhaps with one or two tweaks and that they are cautiously optimistic that their bid would be accepted optimistic that their bid would be a cce pted by optimistic that their bid would be accepted by the icc. they will map the performance to a membership committee. irish cricket has made huge strides. it was regarded at one stage as a band for in game

by the daily athletic association, they play primarily in english county, dishes at one point too. in 2007, they had a big international breakthrough, for years later they had a famous win against england. in the past, talented irish cricketers, eoin morgan, for example, decided to switch site to play for england, to explain the elite end of the sport. now, this could be the beginning of all that changing. all square at the semifinal in the crucible. a repeat of last's final, between mark selby and dingjunhui. of last's final, between mark selby and ding junhui. selby won the fourth frame, missing out on a century break to leave the level at 2-2, century break to leave the level at 2—2, and you can watch that on bbc two and the bbc sport website. that's all the sport. thanks. let's return to the election now and with six weeks to go, what do voters make of the campaign so far? 0ur west of england political editor paul barltrop has been to gloucester for us. this is a very key seat indeed,

during the labour years, from 1997 until 2010, gloucester was held by labour, indeed down the road, so was stroud, across the river severn, the forest of dean, they took that in 1997 in the landslide as well. since then, things have gone badly for labour, they lost the forest of dean a while ago, they lost stroud in gloucester in 2010, they have devastated by 2015, sirjeremy: those that keep —— jeremy corbyn knows to make it he has to make it into the hearts and minds of people in gloucester. been talking to people today. undoubtedly, the biggest single sentiment we are hearing from people is cynicism. biggest single sentiment we are hearing from people is cynicismlj think hearing from people is cynicism.” think people just say they're going to do things when they get into power, they don't do what they say. nothing impresses me, i don't know

who to believe, so one party is saying if you vote for us, we will do this in schools or for the health service, i used to work for the health service, so that is close to my heart. but i really don't know. as for the labour leader himself, we came across a lot of labour voters here and rather mixed views as to what they may have jeremy here and rather mixed views as to what they may havejeremy corbyn. 0ne what they may havejeremy corbyn. one said not particularly excited but would vote labour another traditional old—fashioned but would vote labour another traditional old —fashioned labour supporters said corbyn isjust willingly. 0ne supporters said corbyn isjust willingly. one woman said she voted liberal life and would not be voting for them this time, she would vote for them this time, she would vote for theresa may, simply because of jeremy corbyn. they do have a lot of work to do if they want to win over voters in gloucester and indeed in several other key seat in the west country. it seems that when it comes to books, we like them to be nonfiction and made of paper. figures from the publishers association show 2016 was a record year for book sales though fiction fell by seven per cent, and we seem to be falling out of love with ebooks, which showed contiuned decline. instead, readers flocked to fitness and self—help books. andy moore has the details.

the publishing industry says it has an exciting tale to tell of rising sales, both at home and abroad, with one interesting twist in the plot. so it seems the death of old—fashioned books, printed on paper, has been overwritten. sales of books like this are up by 8%. sales of electronic books are down by 3%. for lovers of traditional books, there really is no competition. a physical book every time. it's the experience and it's just an absolute joy to take yourself away from the world and just enjoy that book and the smell and feel of it. it's got to be a physical book, except if you're going on holiday and you're going to be over the luggage limit. that's the only time, that's my only reason for not having a real book. the bestselling book of 2016 was harry potter and the cursed child. the vast majority of people bought the paper version. in every aspect of our lives we have

screens in front of us, whether it be at work or home and people are choosing to spend time away from them. people are choosing to spend time actually in their leisure moments looking at a book, a printed version. but also really important, when parents want to spend time with their children, they also want to read to them themselves, or they want their children to spend time away from screen. fiction sales are continuing their downward trend, but sales of children's books generally are doing well. i think so many things are encouraging that now, grannies, grandads, aunties, uncles are buying books as presents for children to encourage them. teachers are. the chris evans writing competition — all those kinds of things are really promoting reading and literacy and the importance of books and a good story. that's essentially what kids like — a good story. electronic books still play an important part in our reading experience. they make up about a third of the market. this report shows the traditional book is undergoing something of a revival.

andy moore, bbc news. with me is james daunt the managing director of waterstones and the founder of the daunt books chain. thank you for coming in, what do you make of this news that e—books are surprisingly still on the decline, having been such a great new thing some years ago? as a seller of physical books, i am pleased this continues. it has been true for a couple of years, it is a general readjustment as people become used to have a best like to read. i don't think it is in any way about the decline of even reading, it's just a generalflattening decline of even reading, it's just a general flattening off. decline of even reading, it's just a generalflattening off. so decline of even reading, it's just a general flattening off. so we won't see a general flattening off. so we won't see a total return of paper books ovei’ see a total return of paper books over the readers, just some things that people prefer to have in physicalform? that people prefer to have in physical form? exactly. that people prefer to have in physicalform? exactly. and people are discovering when an e—reader is helpful and which ones work better as a physical book. talk us through

some of the trends we are seeing. people may be surprised the paper because holding up well, particularly of children. children's book—sellers have grown in this period, we had jake dramatic decline through 11, 12, 13, as even reading crew, threat that period, children's books slowly grew and that has been carrying on over books slowly grew and that has been carrying on over the last few years. narrative fiction in young adult books are leading the way. that children's picture book to do well in a physical form that children's picture book to do well in a physicalform is unsurprising because kids want something big with glossy pictures, that's not going to work so well on an electric format but presumably it's more surprising that people might think that young teens are too busy doing other stuff on screens to watch or

read books and yet, yourfigure other stuff on screens to watch or read books and yet, your figure show otherwise. yes and the inventiveness and creativeness within children's publishing have been wonderful. great authors, some big celebrity ones, but also, just sheer creativity. and also, from social media, we're seeing a lot of bloggers on youtube of their own, adding a second loss to the whole thing. andrew independent book—sellers, what does this mean? what are you having to think about providing for the customer? how book shops changing? we have look to our shops and invest in those training and service and make them better places and we are being supported by publishers who are investing in the physical appearance of books in the editing and quality of books in the editing and quality of books in the editing and quality of books as well. i think they will be nicer places which to sell books but we're actually also selling nicer books. is there still a danger that people come into a book shop, browse, spend hours sitting on comfy sofas and checking out the books and

then go away. and they think, i like that, i will order that online or to read it on an e—reader of course, but we want people to discover books in the shop and one part of a rematch with becoming concerned about, because book shops are being very well at the moment, publishers are doing well, the online world democracy we re well, the online world democracy were rapid ageing well, the online world democracy were considering now, the thing we're worried about still our libraries, which i'm a big swell, funding is being cut, libraries continue to close. free. we are great champions of reading, we we are great champions of reading, we believe people are reading automobile they'll end up buying more books. somewhere, quite a lot of them with us. interesting stuff. thank you. a preliminary hearing into a heat scheme in northern ireland has been triggered. it is to help to increase consumption of heat from renewable sources. but flaws in setting the scheme's subsidy rate in the ensuing scandal resulted in the resignation of sinn fein‘s deputy first minister martin mcguinness. 0ur correspondent

is in stormont. a complex situation, tell us more. nothing straightforward, this whole affair is as complex as it is controversial. it was a scheme to encourage companies to switch from fossil fuels to encourage companies to switch from fossilfuels to more encourage companies to switch from fossil fuels to more environmentally friendly energy sources, like burning wood. it was similar to a scheme in the rest of the uk but there was one major difference in northern ireland, there was no upper limit on the amount of money which could be paid out. for every £1 users spent on renewable energy, they got £1 60 back from the public purse, so they got £1 60 back from the public purse, so the budget spiralled out of control and the team known as the cash for ash scandal. at one point, the projected overspend was almost half £1 billion. stormont past

cost—co ntrol half £1 billion. stormont past cost—control measures which will cover the next 12 months to save £30 million over the next financial year. the idea was could provide a template to claw back more of the overspend as the yea rs go years go on. years go on. the scheme was initially set to run 20 years. a huge crisis here at stormont, the coalition between the dan lydiate unionists and sinn fein never that sta ble unionists and sinn fein never that stable but this cost the final row between them, with sinn fein‘s martin mcguinness resigning as first minister in january and martin mcguinness resigning as first minister injanuary and that meant arlene foster was on a mandate out of office because she cannot work in isolation and the stormont executive fell and still has not been restored almost four months on. today, what we're seeing here at stormont is the judge that will show that public inquiry into the renewable heat incentive scandal, setting out some of his plans. he said the inquiry would fearlessly examine evidence and there will be no time limit set on and there will be no time limit set on the inquiry. public hearings are to begin, it is expected, in the

autumn. it will look at several aspects of this scheme, for example the rule of civil servants, the role of cost controls. and why such a huge overspend was allowed to happen. just a line of breaking news coming to us concerning activity by armed police in central london, specifically in whitehall, we are hearing armed police are at the scene hearing armed police are at the scene of an incident in whitehall, obviously at the area of government, a witness apparently saying he could see a witness apparently saying he could see two neighbours on the ground, one was a see two neighbours on the ground, one was a large bread knife, scotla nd one was a large bread knife, scotland yard say no one has been injured and one arrest has been made. we are expecting that police will make a statement later. in the meantime, some of the roads there have been closed to traffic. writers are reporting british police have closed some traffic outside the road leading to the residence of the prime minister, whitehall, of

course, the long street of which downing street runs. we have no information about where in whitehall this has happened. we know there has been some traffic closures, armed police at the scene and reports also of people in forensic suits, police wearing white forensic suits in whitehall in central london. it sounds like we may get a little more from police with a statement later. we will keep an eye on that. let's get more on the foreign secretary, borisjohnson, get more on the foreign secretary, boris johnson, making highly personal attack on jeremy boris johnson, making highly personal attack onjeremy corbyn in an article in the sun newspaper, mr johnson called the labour leader a mutton—headed old mugwump. an unusual word, what does it actually mean? joining me from coventry studio is a literature professor from the university of warwick. thank you forjoining us. a lot of people are used to borisjohnson and his flamboyant use of language. what

exactly is a mugwump? mugwump is originally a native american word that by the early 19th century was being used largely in a humorous way in american political discourse to meana in american political discourse to mean a boss or a leader and then towards the end of the 19th century in america, it began to be applied to republicans who refused to support the republican president shall candidate in 1884. what's interesting about borisjohnson using this word is actually it is largely a word that is used historically within america and american political culture, rather than british political culture. so, do you think you chose it because he loved the sound of it? as a linguistic tools? would you think it is trying to pass on some sort of subliminal message?” is trying to pass on some sort of subliminal message? i think, to be honest, he probably just liked subliminal message? i think, to be honest, he probablyjust liked the sound of the word. it is quite a nice sounding word, especially combined with the phrase,

mutton—headed old mugwump, it has this alliterative quality to it as well. i don't think he really understood what the word meant. i certainly don't think he understood the history behind the word within american political culture. i think he has since claimed he thought it had come from roald dahl‘s charlie and the chocolate factory. roald dahl uses a similar word in the puts, he uses the word mugglewump and in harry potter, the supreme mugwump. reptilian alien has been described in one piece of fiction as a mugwump. buti described in one piece of fiction as a mugwump. but i don't thinkjohnson knew what it meant and he must have known that his audience, notjust in the sun but more generally, would

not know what a mugwump is. i like many others had to go to a dictionary to check the meaning of that particular word. i think the question is why it's borisjohnson using a word that perhaps he doesn't know that certainly his audience don't know? it is interesting because boris johnson, don't know? it is interesting because borisjohnson, we know, is a great enjoyer of the english language and likes to push and prod at it. do you think that appeals to people or will put them off?” at it. do you think that appeals to people or will put them off? i think he hopes it will appeal to people. of course, borisjohnson‘s approach to politics is largely to be this slightly jocular clownish figure and therefore, this name—calling of jeremy corbyn is part and parcel of a statement which also lays out the idea ofair

a statement which also lays out the idea of air strikes about syria, so it is part and parcel, i think, of boris johnson's whole it is part and parcel, i think, of borisjohnson‘s whole approach to politics that we are perhaps distracted by his use of language, rather than concentrating on the content rather than concentrating on the co nte nt of rather than concentrating on the content of what he's actually saying. 0k, fascinating stuff. thank you for sharing your thoughts. doctor david taylor from the university of warwick. i just wanted to return to the breaking news of the last few moments, we can now bring you pictures of the live scene in westminster, specifically whitehall, and you can see just down on whitehall, and you can see just down on the bottom left of your picture, some police vans and our understanding is there armed police at the scene of a so—called incident in whitehall and you can see the cenotaph they're in the top right of your picture, just to give you a sense your picture, just to give you a sense of the geography if you know central london. this is the heart of

the political life of london. scotla nd the political life of london. scotland yard has said nobody has been injured, one arrest has been made but a witness apparently said he could see two knives on the ground, one, a large bread knife and we ground, one, a large bread knife and we have heard that there are police in forensic suits and so on. they have limited some traffic near downing street, apparently, that's according to a reuters news reporter at the scene but exactly what is going on, we do not immediately known. but that reuters reporter is inside parliamentjust known. but that reuters reporter is inside parliament just further up from this shot, saying they could see from this shot, saying they could see armed police and police in forensic suits, so we are expecting police to make a statement later to explain a little bit more about what has been going on butjust to show you there is some police activity there in whitehall this afternoon.

you're watching bbc news. pet owners are being urged to think twice before buying certain breeds because of concerns before buying certain breeds because of concerns over before buying certain breeds because of concerns over selective breeding. the british veterinary association wa nts a the british veterinary association wants a responsible breeding to create so—called designer pets should be banned. a reporter has been to see some of the animals concerned to find out more. the breed is popular because of their personalities, their character. they are like little clowns. as their popularity rises, so clowns. as their popularity rises, so too have clowns. as their popularity rises, so too have concerns over

clowns. as their popularity rises, so too have concerns over health problems. while many like teddy are healthy, their flat faces developed through years of selective breeding and means some suffer with a range of health problems, from high ulcers to severe breathing difficulties and it seems the issue of selective breeding is not limited to dogs. the famous owners like taylor swift and ed sheeran, these animals have been growing in popularity.” ed sheeran, these animals have been growing in popularity. i think it is the look on the temperament. they have a lovely temperament. this woman has been breeding the animals for years, even providing ed sheeran with his cats. the breed has a genetic mutation which makes them prone to health problems, including arthritis. they do have a particular problem which can cause stiffening of cartilage and it appears to be a progressive gene. we haven't any way of knowing what will happen as they

age. it is becoming such a problem that british veterinary association says any further breeding of this breed should be banned. these cats have chronic painful conditions they will develop and batters a real health and welfare problem, so we should not breed cats that have a known problem. the issue of designer pets has become a growing concern for vets. just last month, the industry's leading journal declared it will publish adverts featuring certain flat faced dogs due to concerns over the health. now, it says they will be reviewing its use of the scottish wildcat. there is something wrong that we as a society believe it is right to breed animals for their looks. there is something we for their looks. there is something we should perhaps question about that. the government says there are no that. the government says there are no plans to ban breeding of cats in the uk while breeders themselves argue they are simply —— that is

simply not enough evidence. would you consider not reading of?“ simply not enough evidence. would you consider not reading of? if i had discovered there would be significant problems, i would stop breeding them when you balance that against the number of other health issues that occur in other breeds, you could argue that for most pedigree breeds. whether they are proud to have a flat face flat ears, the fad for designer pets is not going anywhere. but potential owners have been asked to think about their health before their appearance. we will have the weather in a moment. briefly, just to take you back to the live pictures from westminster, specifically whitehall, this is following reports that armed police have attended an incident there and a man has been arrested is, a p pa re ntly a man has been arrested is, apparently also reports of knives being found but nobody injured and

no further details from police. but just to give you the context of error, you can see a just to give you the context of error, you can see a police van in the bottom left, the entrance to westminster tube station and this is all happening on whitehall, which if you don't know central london, is essentially, of course, the home of many government ministries and all of this taking place just down from downing street, which earlier, we showed you a shot which had the cenotaph up in the top of your picture, you can now see that but it is slightly further up the road and on the left—hand site, out of the screen, is downing street. so, a busy part of london, where the road, we understand, partly, has been closed to traffic, whilst armed police have attended what sounds like a small incident but we will bring you more when we get more details from scotland yard. let's in the meantime get the weather. thank you. good afternoon. cornwall, sunny

skies at the moment but the grey skies at the moment but the grey skies have developed across the city of london. quite a chilly feel. the best conditions in the channel islands. you will notice the cloudier parts of the country are here and we have a few showers at the moment. there could be a few heavier showers developing across north—east england. temperature rise, double figures. probably the best of the more and sorensen scotland. temperatures should hold up. a touch

of frost here and there. we start friday with a good deal of sunshine around, a nice crisp start. much fewer showers than we have seen. a lot more sunshine. a bit of cloud across western areas. most of the uk will spend friday dry and pride. temperature is starting to notch up day. and whilst there is some rain in your bank holiday weekend forecast, it is far from a wash—out. the problem with rain, we don't know how much there will be or how quickly it will come. this area of low pressure is developing and it looks like it will swing towards us. saturday, largely dry, showers here

and there. cool across the east. elsewhere, the breeze lifting temperatures. sunny spells, into sunday, but windier and temperatures. sunny spells, into sunday, but windierand rain temperatures. sunny spells, into sunday, but windier and rain more likely. how quickly that will spread is the question. it may pass through overnight, so by bank holiday monday, it could be dry yet again. more details on the bbc weather app. this is bbc news.

the headlines: armed police are at the scene of what has been described as a knife incident in whitehall. the police say an arrest has been made but nobody has been endured. borisjohnson indicates the government might be prepared to take military action in syria without seeking the consent of parliament. if the americans to us to ask again and they asked us to help, i think it would be very difficult to say no. we need to work through the un. we need to defend ourselves totally to getting we need to bend ourselves totally to getting