this is bbc news. the headlines at 12pm: theresa may rules out a vat rise and promises to protect pensioners from unscrupulous employers. we will also be introducing greater powers to take action against individuals if what they were doing was effectively about trying to destroy people's pensions for the future. madeleine mccann has been missing for ten years but in an interview to mark the anniversary, her parents say they still hope she'll be found. last time we talked, you told me how you were still buying birthday presents and christmas presents... are you still doing that? yes, we still do that. anthonyjoshua produces the performance of his career to win the world heavyweight title with a knockout at wembley stadium. 100 days into his presidency, donald trump tells a rally media criticism is "fake news". one of the most famous climbers in the world, ueli steck, has been killed on mount everest.

and at 12:30, click investigates a company claiming to offer ‘absolute security‘ and discovers all is not what it seems... good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. theresa may says the conservative party has no current plans to raise tax and has ruled out a specific rise in vat. she has also said that pensions would continue to rise but wouldn't commit to retaining the triple lock. and speaking to the bbc‘s andrew marr, mrs may also restated her earlier assertion that no deal is better than a bad deal in brexit talks with the european union. meanwhile, labour are campaigning on workplace conditions today. jeremy corbyn‘s party says they'll

end zero hours contracts and raise the minimum wage. the liberal democrat leader tim farron told andrew marr that mrs may had called the election out of cold political calculation and said he wants voters to make him the real leader of the opposition. with me is our political correspondent jonathan blake. we can start with theresa may and tax. these were other first major interviews since she announced the selection, and taxes, going to rise 01’ selection, and taxes, going to rise orfall? the prime minister said that she wanted to cut tax for working families, but as for the detail, it was thin on the ground. but specifically, ruling out a rise on vat but no specific proposals on

where she is absolutely sure that the candy delivered. not going to make any promises about things that she cannot keep. but she is still not ruling out the government's promise to cut national insurance, vat and tax. we have absolutely no plans to increase the level of tax. but i'm also very clear that i do not want to make specific promises on tax unless i'm absolutely sure i can deliver on those. it would be my intention to reduce the taxes on working families. we have got no plans to raise the level of tax, in relation to specific taxes. we will not be increasing vat. but i want to be able... definitely not going to raise vat? 100%?

when we do look more widely at the tax system, we want to be absolutely clear that we can deliver on that. and also, i want to see us able to reduce taxes on working families. it was a clear promise, not to raise vat but we will get more details, after the manifestos, over the coming weeks. and brexit, she stressed that no deal was better than a bad deal. really sticking to her guns on that. and responding to the eu leaders unanimously agreeing the eu leaders unanimously agreeing the negotiating position, up against the negotiating position, up against the determination that britain should pay its divorce bill, and guarantee the rights citizens before

entering any deal. pensions, the conservatives also focusing on that today. theresa may has said that the state pension would continue to rise but no specifics about the triple lock, that state pensions will rise by two and a percent, four in line with inflation, whatever is going to be the highest. but the conservatives looking to cut down on —— stamp down on unscrupulous bosses. and labour, also tackling taxes? and focusing on worker rights, the 20 point plan put out today, to improve the rate economy, strengthening worker rights, things like banning zero hour contracts, unpaid internships and guaranteeing equal rights for all workers, full time, part time. and the shadow

chancellor was asked about this this morning, about how his party plans to raise taxes. what we will be doing, is we will be having every policy fully costed, and that costing is going to be the funding source. some of that, going to be borrowing? infrastructure but not the day to day spending. that is the fiscal rule. tax rises, matching every single one of your day to day spending commitments? we will end the tax giveaways for the corporations and the rich, demonstrate item by item how we fund those. a fair taxation system. but i can give this assurance, no increases in income taxes for the middle and low earners... but you need to define. what do you mean? in your manifesto you will tell us? we will define that. can you tell me now? what you see as the middle income earner? the only increases, are those higher percentages. 100,000? we will define that in the manifesto. the conservatives, perhaps straying

into labour territory, about talking about cracking down on these unscrupulous bosses, and campaigning that traditionally strong hold labour areas. but the shadow chancellor there, making clear that the pulpit of labour is going to be worker rights, the cornerstone of any future labour government. the parents of madeleine mccann say they believe their daughter is still alive and real progress is being made to find her. in an interview with the bbc marking the tenth anniversary of her disappearance they've also defended the costs of the ongoing investigation. last week scotland yard confirmed it's still pursuing critical lines of inquiry. laura tra nt reports. not a day goes by where they don't remember her. but the ten—year anniversary of their daughter madeleine's disappearance is a reminder of what should have been. it is time we should have had with madeleine. have

been a family of five. it feels stolen. the three—year—old disappeared from her bedroom while her parents were eating at an on—site restaurant. more than £11 million has been spent on the search for her. i know she is a single missing child but millions of tourists go there year on year. essentially, you have a british subject who has been a subject of a crime. there is no evidence that she is dead. the prosecutor has said there was no evidence we have been involved in any crime. for a decade, her disappearance has been a mystery. now there are only four officers working on the case. butjust days ago, the metropolitan police said they are pursuing a significant line of enquiry. her 14th birthday is in may. her twin siblings, who are now 12, were in the room with her the night she went missing.

the mccanns have tried to protect them from online abuse. people are writing things that are untrue and they need to be aware of that. both of us realise we owe it to the twins to make sure their life is fulfilling, as they deserve. we have tried our best to achieve that. as a family, the mccanns vow to never give up hope. you can see the full version of that interview on panorama: madeleine mccann ten years on. that's on wednesday night at 9pm on bbc one. anthonyjoshua's being hailed as one of the biggest stars in boxing after a sensational win over wladimir klitschko to lift the world heavyweight title. the stoppage time victory was watched by a crowd of 90,000 at wembley last night. joshua was knocked down in the sixth round but fought back and floored

the 41—year—old ukrainian with a flurry of punches in the 11th. the win meansjoshua adds two belts to his ibf world title and remains undefeated after 19 professional bouts. and we can go back to the election, jeremy corbyn speaking to headteachers at the conference. we wa nt to headteachers at the conference. we want to ensure that every child gets the opportunity to learn instruments, dance, and have regular access to galleries, museums across the local area. and this, of course, is going to improve and strengthen good relations with local art projects, what it is going to bring children

up what it is going to bring children up understanding that arts are for all, not a few. but funding for education has been cut, multi—billion pound tax giveaways. how can it be correct that money has been taken out of the schools, and directly into the pockets of the super rich? sadly, that ends up in tax havens. we have a clear once and for all. enough is enough. throughout this election campaign, we're going to make absolutely clear the commitment to building the country for the many, not few. and we are going to be treating an education system that provides for every child, regardless of background, parental income. we will introduce a national education

service, ensuring excellent learning opportunities for all, from early yea rs opportunities for all, from early years to adult education. what we need, and what you as teaching professionals need, concrete answers and concrete solutions to the problem is that the education system has been facing. that is why labour set out a plan to give every young person the best possible start in life, introducing universally free school meals for all pupils in primary schools, paid for by introducing vat on private school fees. it's clear... as you know, clear educational benefits to drinking enough water to get through a speech! and not dehydrating as the day goes on. but you know the clear

educational benefits to the school meals, it boosts concentration levels and in those early, formative yea rs, levels and in those early, formative years, i think we have got a duty to provide for children but also children in school together, it is a short period... eating together, understand each other better. remembering those moments for the rest of the plates. i am determined to introduce this policy. we care for many, not few. getting every child healthy nutritious meals, helping no matter the background. it isa helping no matter the background. it is a great start in life. not only will the policy help children but it will the policy help children but it will also help teachers, and we will see the improvements coming through. and it is good to help parents,

saving money but have peace of mind knowing that children are going to get healthy school meals. too many teachers, you know this, dip into their own pockets, to help children day in day out. it is not necessary, it is wrong, we have got to ensure that children get enough to eat. how can they learn without eating properly? but if we place the value on our children, properly? but if we place the value on ourchildren, and... properly? but if we place the value on our children, and... that was jeremy corbyn speaking at the head teacher conference, stressing the plans that labour has, including free school meals, to be paid for by vat, on private school fees, and other measures to improve the outlook for everybody. the headlines on bbc news: theresa may rules out a vat rise and promises to protect pensioners

from unscrupulous employers. madeleine mccann has been missing for ten years but in an interview to mark the anniversary, her parents say they still hope she'll be found. anthonyjoshua produces the performance of his career to win the world heavyweight title with a knockout at wembley stadium. and we'll hear more about that. sport now, and for a full round up we can cross over to the the bbc sport centre. tyson fury says he'd like to fight world heavyweight champion anthonyjoshua following his title win over wladimir klitschko. joshua challenged fury after his victory last night, with fury responding on social media saying "let's dance"! joshua added the wba world heavyweight title to his ibf belt in front of 90,000 fans at wembley stadium. 0lly foster was there. anthonyjoshua is burning brighter than ever this morning,

but last night the lights almost went out. wladimir klitschko, at the age of a1, defying the march of time. in a stadium famous for knockout competitions, they came in record numbers to see a] deliver the most important knockout of his career. the ukrainian rocked and was so resilient. in the next round he was stunned, hitting the ground for the first time. but his fight was just getting started. he had never been through to a seventh round, this went to eight, nine, ten. and wladimir klitschko looked like he was going to be top. but then anthonyjoshua put him down again and again. wladimir showed unbelievable heart, but another flurry of punches ended the contest. and the fire was still burning. it's fun.

i don't box just for the belts, i don't box just for money. ijust enjoy it. i don't feel like someone who lost. tonight, we all won. even though i did not get the belt, i don't feel like i lost. wembley is slowly returning to normal. this night will not be forgotten in a hurry. if you cut through all the hype, this was one of the great heavyweight contests. anthonyjoshua is still learning, and that is a frightening thought, especially for his next opponent. manchester united could go above liverpool and into the top four today — that's if they beat swansea. they kicked offjust over 15 minutes ago at old trafford and the latest score is... 0-0. swansea have come close. in today's other games, second bottom middlesbrough host fourth place manchester city. tottenham could close the gap on chelsea to just one point, but they'll need to beat arsenal to do it, and hope chelsea lose at everton.

the north london derby kicks off at 11:30. if spurs win, they'll finish above arsenal for the first time since 1995. let's be honest. i answered that question about shift, 18 consecutive yea rs. question about shift, 18 consecutive years. nothing has changed. you cannot say that the weight of one year has the weight of 20. mark selby and john higgins will meet in the final of the world snooker championship in sheffield this afternoon in a repeat of their 2007 match up. selby narrowly beat china's ding junhui 17—15, to reach the final, as he aims for back to back titles. scotland's higgins overcame barry hawkins to book his place, and he's looking for a fifth world title to match ronnie 0'sullivan. it is going to be a fantastic occasion. the first final, ten years

ago was against higgins. here we are. to win it twice was more than i wished for. a third... i can only dream of that. hopefully that is going to come true. i definitely to raise my game. need probably do the same as! raise my game. need probably do the same as i was against mark allen, but the good thing is that i know i have got to do this. one massive game at the end of the season. see where it takes me. that's all sport for now. i'll have more in the next hour. in turkey, the manager of an iranian television network has been shot dead in istanbul. saeed karimian was driving with a business partner when masked gunmen opened fire on their vehicle. mr karimian‘s network, gem tv, broadcasts foreign and western shows in iran. 0ur correspondent geear gol sent this update from istanbul. at this moment, police have been conducting a very

thorough investigation, looking at cctv from areas, and at around 8:15 last night an suv vehicle cut off saeed karimian and his vehicle, with his business partner, pretty much firing at them. saeed karimian was killed on the spot. and later, they found a vehicle set on fire. it seems that this has been well planned and executed by professional killers, not leaving anything, any clues behind. but police conducting the investigation have been talking to witnesses, family members, and colleagues of saeed karimian, to find out who was behind this. and he had had a lot of trouble, back in iran? look... this television network was one of the most popular, showing soap operas,

islamic regime, and they believe this is promoting western culture, against islam. years ago, some of his family members arrested, putting pressure on them to shut down the television network. and i talked to some people close to his family and they have told me that over the last few months, threats, and he was thinking of leaving istanbul and going back to london. but obviously, we have just got to wait and see what is going to happen. some people on social media have said it was a lot of murky business, it could have been some sort of business feud, but what we know definitely... the islamic regime was not happy with the programmes being shown. last year... a court sentenced him to six years.

that was for spreading propaganda. one of the most famous climbers in the world, ueli steck, has been killed on mount everest. he died in an accident while acclimatising for an attempt on the mountain, without oxygen, by a new route. steck, who was 40, won multiple awards and was known for the speed of his climbing. his body has been recovered from everest and brought to the nepalese capital, kathmandu. let's talk now to mountaineer alan hinkes. he's the first briton to conquer the world's 1a highest peaks and has much experience of remote locations — he met ueli steck of a number of occasions. thank you forjoining us. any idea what went wrong? what happened? thank you forjoining us. any idea what went wrong? what happened ?m is sad news. a family man. mountain

guide in switzerland, the same as me, but we do not know. it looks as though he has slipped on the west shoulder of everest. that is what he was trying to do. his body found lower down. it could just have been one little thing, and when you are clibming without ropes, you do not have any chance of recovering. clibming without ropes, you do not have any chance of recoveringm was a new route? not quite, but it would have been the first time it had been done since the 1960s. he was just trying to do that on his own, with no ropes, and he did have a nepalese friend with him. he was the man on everybody‘s lips. the man of the mormon. and if you had been successful, it would have put him into another sphere. it is just

sinking in at the moment. he was known as the switzerland machine. he was lovely, fit guy, petite really. just a bundle of energy. i am 6ft, not as tall as me. i have met him in scotland, when he was in scotland to try to climb. sad loss. but he also got up to all sorts of, from the outset, the devil things? going without oxygen, cycling, taking any form of transport? and exceptionally fit person. if he was in the 0lympics, who would have known what he could have done. even the tour de yorkshire. exceptionally fit. he trained. at the height of his powers. 0nly a0. the sort of stamina

and skill level he has acquired, he was at the height of powers. tragic. solo climbing without ropes, just one thing... you've had it. and for the grace of god, i have had narrow escapes, even at the lake district. it is just escapes, even at the lake district. it isjust sinking in. i only found out hours ago. i'm on my way to nepal myself. thank you for your memories of ueli steck. thank you. a four—year—old boy has died after being hit by a car in leeds. police were called to the reginald medical centre on chapeltown road shortly before 5pm yesterday but the youngster was pronounced dead after being taken to hospital. his parents are being supported by officers. mps are calling for best—before dates on food to be scrapped, saying they‘ re unnecessary and contribute towards unacceptable

levels of food waste. in a report published today the environment, food and rural affairs committee also believes that supermarkets should sell more wonky vegetables, as claire marshall reports. mixed in with other waste, we throw more than £10 billion worth of food away every year. the committee calls it a scandal. councils have to raise bills to dispose of it. and this is happening while food bank use is at a record high. mps say the best before date should be abolished. 0n packaging, it only refers to quality. it is perfectly safe to eat afterwards, but the food may not be at its best. industry experts told the committee it was meaningless. the important information to be displayed was the use by date, which is about safety. the best before date, i believe, can be scrapped, because it is unnecessary. it means food is wasted and sometimes people don't actually eat that food when it goes beyond the best before date. the use by date

is still safe to eat. we need to make the best use of our food. if it is still good to eat, let's eat it. customers at a pioneering project in leeds sell food that otherwise would have gone in the bin. three tonnes arrive each day. best buy dates need to go. they say we need to learn to love our wonky veg. pope francis has called for international mediation to ease tensions between the united states and north korea. he said the crisis over north korea's missile and nuclear programme risked sparking a devastating war in which "a good part of humanity" would be destroyed. he also suggested a third party such as norway should mediate in the dispute. these missiles in korea, it has been

one you're that they have been talking about it. but the issue seems to have heated up. i always wa nt seems to have heated up. i always want solutions through diplomatic means, war would destroy a good part of humanity. everything. it would be terrible. we have to stop and get the diplomatic solution, the united nations has the duty for us because it has been watered down. five people have been killed and dozens more injured after a series of tornados hit texas. at least one powerful storm hit the city of canton, about 80 kilometres east of dallas, and more were reported in surrounding areas. the local fire department says a warehouse in canton was also struck and unknown chemicals were released. texas lies along a region of the united states known as tornado alley and is prone to frequent, powerful storms. we do not have any of that, but what

about the prospects? it is going to bea about the prospects? it is going to be a case of mixed fortunes, for the remainder of the bank, the weekend. for many people, things remaining dry, but today, windy, and we have already had that across devon. going to the south east of england this afternoon. towards the north, a lot of dry weather, sunshine, 18 degrees but going to be cooler around the east coast. brisk breeze. this evening, more showers across england and wales, scotland and northern ireland getting cooler conditions but possibly just a ireland getting cooler conditions but possiblyjust a touch of frost, for some of the scottish glens. blood bank holiday monday, it is great to be sunny and some scattered showers across england and wales,

temperatures in the mid teens. dry weather across the week ahead, and cooler conditions in the east. bye for now. this is bbc news. the time is 12:30pm. the headlines: theresa may rules out a vat rise and promises to protect pensioners from unscrupulous employers. we will also be introducing greater powers to take action against individuals if what they were doing was effectively about trying to destroy people's pensions for the future. madeleine mccann has been missing for ten years — but in an interview to mark the anniversary her parents say they still hope she'll be found. last time we talked you told me how you were still buying birthday presents and christmas presents for madeline — are you?