this is bbc news, the headlines at 5pm. downing street are disputing claims of a fractious dinner last week with european commission presidentjean—claude junker and theresa may. three teenage women are arrested on suspicion of terror offences in raids linked to a police operation in north london on thursday in which a woman was shot and injured. also: scuffles in paris as rallies are held by both candidates in the presidential election. there've been clashes on the sidelines of a may day parade —— as protestors demonstrate against far—right presidential candidate, marine le pen, who's made a scathing attack on her rival. police say the burglars who shot dead dorset homeowner guy hedger were armed with a shotgun, wore balaclavas and stole jewellery in a pre—planned raid. twenty yea rs jewellery in a pre—planned raid. twenty years to the day after he swept to power in labour's general election victory, tony blair tells the daily mirror "i'm back". a new

picture of princess charlotte enjoying the outdoors, taken by her mother, the duchess of cambridge, has been released ahead of the toddler's second birthday. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. in the past few minutes the prime minister has dismissed as brussels gossip an account — published in a german newspaper — of a supposedly fractious dinner between herself and the european commission president, jean—claude juncker, last week. the newspaper reported there were sharp disagreements about how quickly a deal could be reached over the rights of british and eu citizens and how much the uk owed the eu. number ten described it as a "constructive meeting." the newspaper reported sharp disagreements about how quickly a deal could be reached and how much

the uk owed the european union. our political correspondent leila nathoo reports. no love lost between the prime minister and the european commission's presidentjean claude—juncker last week. a chance to get together in private before the 27 eu states agreed that brexit glaciations position. but behind the door, how did the meeting go? the influential german newspaper has published an account of the dinner from anonymous sources at the european commission. the report paints a picture of a difficult encounter, with the two at odds over britain's eu divorce bill and help the future relation ship will play out. jean—claude juncker apparently left, saying he was ten times more sceptical than he was when he arrived. in a statement, downing street said... on the election campaign trail, brexit is the backdrop. and the liberal democrats

wants to play a role. the revelations overnight show theresa may being in the astonishing arrogance and complacency, that she feels that somehow the lack of any kind of deal, no free trade deal, no cooperation of police and security, that is somehow acceptable to families up and down this country. never mind how we voted lastjune, that is for every individual, but for the country, we deserved a good deal. labour says theresa may has underestimated the quebec city of underestimated the complexity of the talks and her bridge is putting the economy at risk. you start at the basis that you want to reach an agreement, and that you have shared interests and values. have a very important trading relationship with europe. if you start on that basis and show respect you are more likely to get a good deal. if you start with a megaphone and calling people silly names, it is not a great start to anything. meanwhile, the snp accused the tories of chaotic leadership over

brexit. the remaining 27 eu states are uniting to make sure brexit works for them. but theresa may says she still confident she can get the best dealfor britain. the prime minister has been giving her reactions in the last few moments. i have to say from what i've seen from the account, i think it is brussels gossip and look at what the european commission themselves said immediately after themselves said immediately after the dinner took place which was that the dinner took place which was that the talks had been constructive. it also shows that actually these negotiations are at times going to be tough. and in order to get the best dealfor britain be tough. and in order to get the best deal for britain we need to ensure that we have that strong and sta ble ensure that we have that strong and stable leadership into those negotiations. as i say every vote for me will strengthen my hand in those negotiations. and when it comes to june the those negotiations. and when it comes tojune the eight people have a clear choice, there will be 27

countries on one side of the table, who do they want to see standing up for britain on the other side, me or jeremy corbyn. earlier i spoke to the economist's berlin bureau chiefjeremy cliffe. he warned of caution over the comments from brussels. this is a one—sided view of the dinner from insiders at the european commission, which is hardly a disinterested body here. so i think part of it has to be chalked up to a certain amount of chest puffing before negotiations get under way. we have seen that from the british side as well, with theresa may talking of walking out of talks without a deal and that would be better than a bad deal. that said, it does have substance and it does matter because it speaks to a perception that is very widespread in other european capitals, in brussels, berlin and elsewhere, that theresa may is just not realistic about what she can achieve from brexit talks. in particular, what she can achieve in the time frame she has, whether she can cherry pick parts of eu membership, about things like the rights of european citizens in britain, and there is a real sense that she does not understand how hard it will be

in the next two years. in terms of the dinner, we're probably talking about something between the two different accounts being about right? it is very hard to say because downing street has not put out a full account of the dinner on its own side. it's simply said it was constructive and there were some nice words. whereas this is a blow by blow account of disagreements between the two sides. i'll wait to see if downing street has anything to say about some of the particulars. if there is some truth to them, it does give britain reason to worry. for example, it was said in the report that theresa may suggested to jean—claude juncker that a template for the brexit docs could be her own renegotiation of britain's participation in europeanjustice and home affairs co—operation when she was home secretary a few years ago. when she did that, she opted britain out of different sorts of cooperation and selectively back in.

now, that was allowed by the lisbon treaty. there was a lot of concern on the side of the commission when this was brought up at the dinner that she thinks brexit will work in exactly the same way and britain can opt out of europe as a whole, selectively opting back into the things it wants to be part of. their view is that this is absolutely not on the table. our europe correspondent kevin connolly is following the story for us in brussels. it would've been useful to be at the dinnerto it would've been useful to be at the dinner to know firstjust how fractious it's really was of course because it is worth saying again that this is very one—sided, it'll come to the european commission, they do have a dog in the fight. they are not disinterested observers of the position. it does i think say there will be enormous differences of perception about how doable brexit dealers when the two sides

sit down and that might be happening of course as early as june. there sit down and that might be happening of course as early asjune. there is a real sense in europe, especially in brussels, especially in the commission that britain has unrealistic expectations of how easy the talks will be, but also the sort of result it might get at the end. what they are doing with this quite hostile briefing is trying to set out how they feel things stand at the moment and the ceiling on expectations that they think britain should have for the sort of deal thatis should have for the sort of deal that is doable in the time frame that's coming up. important that the 27 appear at this stage to be united? the 27 at this stage certainly appear to be united, we sort the weekend when they agreed they are negotiating guidelines. but

that unity has been achieved by talking about their goals in rather general terms. they all unanimously agree that britain must make some kind of payments for leaving before a trade deal can be discussed. but they have not yet discussed how much that should be. it's possible of course that different countries with different interests, poland and lithuania with their populations in england and germany and holland with important trade relations, they may have different expectations over how much the uk should pay before you start talking about trade so they are united now that i'm —— i would say they are united as a point where it is easy to be united. three women have been arrested on suspicion of terror offences after raids in east london. the arrests are being linked to the counter—terrorism operation in which a woman was shot and injured in north west london last thursday. a total of ten people have now been arrested in connection with what's known as the harlesden

road police operation. our correspondent james waterhouse has been following developments the met police are describing this is an ongoing intelligence led operation. these arrests involve three women, 218—year—old and ii9—year—old. they are currently being questioned outside of london oi'i being questioned outside of london on suspicion of the commission, preparation and instigation of terrorist acts. officers have confirmed that these arrests are linked to a similar raid that we saw oi'i linked to a similar raid that we saw on thursday last week in which a 21—year—old woman was shot and injured by police. she has since been discharged and arrested on suspicion of the same offences. policeman more specific on the latter picture in terms of foiling any meaningful plot? not yet. it is any meaningful plot? not yet. it is an ongoing investigation, there have been ten arrests in total, there is

an unusual feature here in seven of the ten suspects are women. no one yet has been charged but this is quite a wide network that the police are working with. there have been arrests in london and kent. we don't know to what end a foil has been stopped that you get a sense of the size of the operation. two police officers have been injured in clashes between between police and masked youths during a may day march in paris. the march carried extra significance ahead of the presidential election run—off on sunday. the two remaining candidates for the presidency have been holding rallies in paris today. the centrist, emmanuel macron, has a strong lead in the polls over marine le pen of the national front. hugh schofield sent this report. less than a week to make up a gap in the polls and marine le pen is looking to consolidate supporters in her key workers, working men and women who find themselves victims of globalisation, the eu and the world of finance. translation: i will protect

businesses by making them less vulnerable to globalisation and i will protectjobs and stop them from moving abroad. across town, another rally. this one pulled together marine le pen's opponents in the left—wing trade unions. the unions here are calling on people to out and vote for marine le pen's rival, emmanuel macron, to keep marine le pen out. but the question is, how many working—class voters are interested in that message because for many people who vote left traditionally in france, emmanuel macron isjust as bad or worse than marine le pen. i am here to say to all of my compatriots, vote macron, even if you do not like him very much. a former banker, pro globalisation emmanuel macron

knows he is not the natural choice for working—class voters. but he acknowledged their concerns about the eu. the dysfunctions of the european union are no more sustainable. so i do consider that my mandate the day after will be the same for the european union and our european party. in this race, left—wing voters feel they have no runner. if they vote macron, for many, it will be with a heavy heart. live to the french capital now and james reynolds is there. a lot of people i been on the streets, what has been going on? there has been a big march, a unionist and leftist cause march. you probably saw earlier there were clashes between protesters and the police. we

understand they are over and things are very peaceful here. there are a lot of protesters milling around, around a0 metres i can see lines of riot police, police vans with sarin still flashing and the riot police have helmets on but the atmosphere here at the moment is calm. what is your assessment of the two candidates today? they have been trying to make pitches to undecided voters. they know that is where they'll have to get support. in particular marie le pen has two appeal to left—wing anti—european voters but social conservatives and thatis voters but social conservatives and that is a different aspect altogether. macron feels that he wa nts to altogether. macron feels that he wants to get some of these people, union members are people supports leftist causes, people who describe themselves as antifascist who would

be horrified by a marie le pen administration. although he is not the natural choice of these people they will find themselves obliged to vote for him. when you look at the polls is it possible to see how many people are undecided with a week to go? i haven't seen any of that suggesting indecision at the moment, the ones who do have suggest people who've made up their minds are making up their minds in favour of macron but he doesn't want to be complacent because he knows the worst thing for him to assume is that the election is over which will allow marie le pen to betray him as arrogant and not letting the french fuel to make a decision so it is in his interest to fight until the last minute. the headlines on bbc news: theresa may has dismissed an account —— published in a german newspaper

—— ofa —— published in a german newspaper —— of a difficult dinner last week with the european commission president, jean—claude juncker, as "brussels gossip". three teenage women are arrested on suspicion of terror offences in raids linked to a police operation in north london on thursday in which a woman was shot and injured. police fire tear gas in paris on the sidelines of a may day parade as protestors demonstrate against far—right presidential candidate, marine le pen, who's made a scathing attack on her rival. and in sport it is game on in the world snooker championship final, mark selby trailed john higgins io—a at one point and he is now i2—ii ahead. the first time he's been in france since the first session. like nche have been set a target of 297 by yorkshire to win the odi cap. has either hameed went for eight, currently i6a—6. the first great

britain lions rugby league tour in more than a decade could take place in 2019. dorset police say they are searching for "at least two" suspects after a businessman was shot dead by suspected burglars in the early hours of yesterday. 61 year old guy hedger was fatally wounded at his home in the village of st ives in dorset. in the last hour it's emerged the men entered the property wearing balaclavas. one was armed with a shotgun which has yet to be recovered and jewellery, including designer watches, was stolen. our correspondent duncan kennedy reports. there has been constant police activity at the scene today. dozens of officers have arrived as part of what is now a very large investigation. police said guy hedger, who was 61, was shot in the early hours of yesterday morning. he later died of his injuries. the victim, say police, of a break—in by intruders. we are treating this as an aggravated burglary,

so the offenders we believe went in to steal and have subsequently shot an innocent man. the police say they think they were at least two intruders. this is an area with large detached houses behind gates and tall bushes. the murder of guy hedger has been deeply upsetting for his neighbours. i think it is absolutely dreadful. absolutely awful. sickening. i'm just very shocked, really, we moved here two or three years ago and it is a very quiet area. we feel very safe here. so just really shocking. it is a bit of horror, isn't it, really. when you only live i70 metres from the place then it is quite concerning. i'm sure you will agree. it is believed guy hedger shared this house with his partner who is said to be deeply affected by the incident. guy hedger was a director of the avonbourne academy trust.

in a statement they said, everyone at the avonbourne trust is shocked and deeply saddened by the passing of guy hedger. guy had a deep passion for education and was dedicated to expanding the experience and knowledge of children in bournemouth. everyone at the trust will miss his guiding hand, friendship and the wonderful service he provided us. detectives say they do not think guy hedger knew his intruders. they say anyone who heard or saw anything should contact them as soon as possible. in the last hour, police have released further information relating to the intrusion. we believe there was a level of preplanning within this offence, it appears the offenders have actually gone prepared to be confronted, they we re gone prepared to be confronted, they were wearing balaclavas and were in possession of a shotgun.

subsequently we believe they have stolen jewellery which includes designer watches, they have fled the scene and what i would like to appealfor scene and what i would like to appeal for today is anyone who may have seen anything in the hours or days before the offence which are suspicious in the area to come forward and speak to us and anybody with any information to contact us. kenny tell us any more about the other person? they are a witness to the event, they are highly traumatised by what has happened and are being supported by family and to oui’ are being supported by family and to ourfamily liaison are being supported by family and to our family liaison officers. can you confirm the identity please?‘ our family liaison officers. can you confirm the identity please? a male. colleague and friend of mr hedger, jon sellors said there was shock throughout the company at the news of his death. it's a very close—knit business so the sense of shock and upset will be felt very deeply. we will give as much support to people as we can and we will offer our sympathy and

condolences to his broader family and friends at this distressing time as well. four boys, aged between 15 and i7, and a man in his forties are still being questioned by north wales police on suspicion of murder following a stabbing in rhyl. a 37 year old man from the manchester area died after the incident at a house in prince edward avenue, in the early hours of yesterday morning. five other men from outside the north wales area were also arrested for public order offences following the incident. japan has dispatched its largest warship to protect a us navy supply ship as it crosses japanese waters in the western pacific. it's the first time ever that japan has sent one of its war ships to sea with the purpose of protecting a foreign military vessel. japan amended its security law last year to allow such missions. from tokyo, rupert wingfield hayes reports. the izumo is the pride of the japanese navy. the biggest warship the country has built since world war ii. today's departure is hugely symbolic. the izumo will escort and protect this us navy supply ship and will respond with force if it

comes under attack. forjapan‘s military this is another big step away from pacifism. just across the sea of japan satellite photos show north korea is preparing for another underground nuclear test. speaking on sunday, us president donald trump again warned pyongyang not to go ahead. i would not be happy if he does a nuclear test, i will not be happy. and i can tell you also, i don't believe that the president of china, who is a very respected man, will be happy. if pyongyang is worried, it is not showing it. today it vowed to go ahead with the nuclear test at any time and at any location. this all comes two days after north korea test fired another of its growing family of ballistic missiles. the fifth test this year.

meanwhile the uss carl vinson carrier battle group has finally arrived in waters off the korean peninsula. the huge ship and its escorts are a very potent symbol of america's military might. but what are they here to do? president trump is not giving many clues. ijust don't want people to know what my thinking is. so eventually he will have a better delivery system and if that happens, we cannot allow it to happen. for the first time the us president acknowledged the terrible consequences that could result from a military strike against north korea. massive warfare with potentially millions of people being killed. that, as we would say, trumps trade. tensions are now higher than at any time since north korea's young dictator kimjong un came to power in 2011. despite the heated rhetoric, neither side wants a conflict. but when tensions are high so are the dangers of miscalculation. her man has been charged after

illegal immigrants were captured the yachts. all seven people were from ukraine, the 48—year—old man will appear before norwich manager at court tomorrow in connection with the incident. 27 people have been injured on a flight 27 people have been injured on a flight from moscow to bangkok. the flight flight from moscow to bangkok. the flight suffered severe turbulence, with russian officials saying the passengers who weren't wearing their seat belts being injured. some of the injuries included broken bones. devastating weekend storms in southern and mid—western parts of the united states have killed at least thirteen people. deaths were reported in texas, arkansas, missouri and mississippi. tornadoes flattened homes, overturned cars and brought down power lines. eastern texas was the worst hit, with storms there killing at least four people and leaving a trail of extensive damage.

social media companies have been accused of a "disgraceful" failure in their efforts to tackle terrorist propaganda and hate speech online. the commons home affairs select committee says the firms are putting more effort into protecting their profits, than keeping people safe. google, facebook and twitter have previously defended their approach to online safety. richard galpin reports. according to the mps' report, illegal content, including sexualised images of children, had not been removed quickly enough from the website of social media companies. despite repeated requests for this to be done. the home affairs committee had taken evidence from facebook, twitter and google, which owns youtube. the companies have billions of users around the world. mps have now lost patience. i think the richest and biggest companies in the world have both the ability and the responsibility to make sure that this kind of illegal

and dangerous material is removed. i do not think they are taking this seriously enough, and i think they need to. the mps suggest fines, potentially millions of pounds, the companies which do not remove posts enough. they are also proposing that companies pay for police to investigate online material suspected of being illegal. but is it really possible to quickly spot extremist material, like thisjihadist recruitment video, amid the millions of posts being put up on social media sites every day? there is certainly more that companies can do and they themselves have acknowledged that. they could be improving takedown times, partnering with each other to flag content across platforms, but we should also be careful. the way that systems and platforms work is that they have a limited liability for the content on there. much like the post office cannot

steam open every single envelope to see if criminals are sending messages to each other. so at the moment social media companies are reliant on their users reporting what they consider to be illegal material. and for the mps that wrote the report today, they are not accepting that they expect the tech giants to do much more. time for the weather now. some of us have been enjoying the sunshine today and the warmth and western scotla nd today and the warmth and western scotland near 21 celsius and northern ireland around 20, the warmest day of the year in northern ireland so far. some parts of southern england heavy and thundery showers. they are just about gone. as we get to midnight most places i drive. overnight variable cloud. in

rural spots we start the day with a lot of clout through much of scotla nd lot of clout through much of scotland and the eastern side, the warmth will again present itself into western scotland in some sunshine, maybe not as warm as today, finds through much of wales, eastern england and central and southern england as we go into the evening. perhaps the odd heavy one. west is best for sunshine and warmth and scotland and northern ireland will have a lot of sunshine to come. hello. this is bbc news. the headlines: prime minister theresa may has dismissed an account published in a german newspaper of a difficult dinner last week with the european commission president, jean—claude juncker, as "brussels gossip". three women are arrested on suspicion of terror offences in raids linked to a police

operation in north london on thursday in which a woman was shot and injured. police and protestors clash on the sidelines of a may day parade in paris — they were demonstrating against far—right presidential candidate marine le pen, who's made a scathing attack on her rival, the frontrunner emmanuel macron. police say the burglars who shot dead dorset homeowner guy hedger wore balaclavas, were armed with a shotgun and stole jewellery in a pre—planned raid. time for a check on the sport now. news from the crucible to come. with the premier league title run—in a two horse race between leaders

chelsea and second placed tottenham, attention turns to the race for champions league qualification. tonight, liverpool can move three points clear in third place — ahead of both of the manchester sides — with a win at watford. united and city dropped points yesterday. jose mourinho's side were held to a 1—1 draw at home to swansea city had to rely on a late equaliser to swansea. city had to rely on a late equaliser from gabrieljesus to rescue a point at struggling middlesbrough. liverpool bossjurgen klopp says the battle for the other two champions league spots will be fascinating. yes, it would be nice if we had ten points more and fight with chelsea for the title. but that is not for us for the title. but that is not for us at this moment, so we have to fight for what we can fight for. and thatis fight for what we can fight for. and that is a champions league spot. it is really interesting. they're more pressure? no. it's a pressure you create by your performances. england cricket captainjoe root was cut off in his prime in yorkshire's one—day cup group match with lancashire at headingley. root returned to form with an unbeaten 75 in his county's win on saturday

against notts and was going well on 21 today before he was caught. gary ballance — who's currently out of favour in the england set up — looked in good form, hitting 85 of yorkshire's total of 296 for 9. lancashire have lost three wickets in their innings so far, including that of england opener haseeb hameed for eight. they're 83 for 3. root‘s england team mate jos buttler has been in action in the indian premier league. he hit a quick—fire 33 for the mumbai indians as they beat the royal challengers bangalore with a ball to spare. mumbai are now top of the table. wba and ibf world heavyweight champion anthonyjoshua says he needs to improve ahead of his next fight. joshua beat wladimir klitschko at wembley stadium in a thrilling bout on saturday night. former world champion tyson fury is currently without a boxing licence, but has indicated he'd like to fightjoshua. there could also be a re—match with klitschko, or a unification fight with wbc champion deontay wilder.

i want to start planning how i'm going to improve. i know my next fight and going to improve. i know my next fightandi going to improve. i know my next fight and i think ok, cool, i've done my learning now. they can't keep saying, oh, he is still learning. i have got to get better. soi learning. i have got to get better. so i will go back to the gym and find out where my weaknesses are and improve on them. a first great britain lions rugby league tour in more than a decade could take place in 2019. england, scotland, wales and ireland have played as individual nations since 2007, when the lions played a series against new zealand. nigel wood, chair of the rugby league international federation, has told the bbc there could be a tour to the southern hemisphere scheduled between this year's world cup in australia and the 2021 tournament in england. britain's rachel atherton has claimed a 1ath consecutive downhill mountain bike world cup victory by winning the season opening event in lourdes. the world champion last missed the top of the podium back in 2015 at the french venue

and was the clear favourite following her unbeaten season last year. she beat australia's tracey hannah by two and a half seconds, with fellow britons tahnee seagrave third and manon carpenter fifth. now back to the world snooker championship final in sheffield. now back to the world snooker championship final in sheffieldm has been thrilling. mark selby has shown real character to not only get back into his world snooker championship final againstjohn higgins, but now lead mark selby is of course a defending champion and world number one and well and truly on top at this stage. that's all the sport for now. i'll have more in the next hour.

with just 38 days left until the general election on june 8th, let's cast our mind back 20 years ago today, when tony blair led the labour party to a landslide victory in the 1997 general election. but with the former prime minister today announcing his return to front line british politics, what is the legacy of tony blair, and what sort of impact can he make on the country in 2017? with me is chief political commentator at the independent, john rentoul. and also, i'm joined on webcam from north london by the author and journalist, owen jones. let's talk about a possible return for let's talk about a possible return foer blair. let's talk about a possible return for mr blair. john, what do you think? it's not going to happen! the only people who are obsessed with tony blair coming back to bush

politics are jeremy tony blair coming back to bush politics arejeremy corbyn supporters, who have defined their entire politics as being whatever tony blairdid, entire politics as being whatever tony blair did, they are against it. the rest of us have moved on. on balance, tony blair was a good prime minister, but it was some time ago. he started 20 years ago and ended ten yea rs he started 20 years ago and ended ten years ago. but has mr blair moved on? i sense he is keen on the idea. no, he doesn't want to stand as an mp. but he wants to contribute to the public debate and he cares about the question of europe passionately. to be said to him, he is the most articulate exponent of the point of view which says we have to do whatever we can to stop brexit, because it is not in the national interest. i think he ex presses national interest. i think he expresses that well. i disagree, but the country should hear it. owen jones, what do you think of the possibility of a tony blair return in whatever role he may end up in? first off, lots of good stuff

happened with tony blair — minimum wage, tax on privatised utilities, peace in northern ireland, we could go on. the problem with tony blair is that he could have gone down in history as a great prime minister, but the iraq war is something which many people find it very difficult to get over. at the time, those of us to get over. at the time, those of us who protested against the iraq war we re us who protested against the iraq war were accused of being hyperbolic in terms of the disastrous consequences. in terms of the disastrous consequences. if anything, we were not hyperbolic enough. hundreds of thousands dead, millions displaced, traumatised or injured. sectarian bloodbath, contributing to the rise of isis and general destabilisation in the middle east. that is such a colossal catastrophe that it is difficult to get past. the other problem, of course, was the fact that since he has stepped down, he has worked for a variety of unsavoury dictators like the dictator of kazakhstan, who tortures and murders his political opponents. so he is very charismatic. in his

day, he was the pre—eminent politician of his time. but his reputation was so sullied by such a monumental catastrophe that whatever cause he now associate himself with — like john, cause he now associate himself with — likejohn, i don't cause he now associate himself with — like john, i don't agree with the cause. i advocated for remain, but i acce pt cause. i advocated for remain, but i accept the will of the british people. but if there are people who wa nt people. but if there are people who want brexit overturned, i don't think someone like tony blair, given that the baroka that was a punch to people in the political elite, if i wanted to choose who should lead the cause, i would say tony blair. so it is more about the man than the message? the problem is, it doesn't matter what he says. he could come up matter what he says. he could come up with arguments i agree with and make the most persuasive argument on earth, and he is good at making an argument. but the fact is that the iraq war, whether it be his working for various unsavoury regimes, plus

the financial crash and the failure to regulate the city, new labour made that faustian pact with the city of london. the problem is that that legacy has left people feeling very bitter. let me go back to john rental on that legacy. and the pass owenjones is critical of. rental on that legacy. and the pass owen jones is critical of.|j rental on that legacy. and the pass owen jones is critical of. i was hoping i was going to disagree with tony blair and owen jones hoping i was going to disagree with tony blair and owenjones was going to defend him. but that was not to be. owen is obviously not going to blame tony blair for the crash. it was just that he failed to regulate the city. a faustian pact, he said. wait a the city. a faustian pact, he said. waita minute, the city. a faustian pact, he said. wait a minute, john rentoul. people like me on the left were the only people in the last few years who defended tony blair's spending. the tories backed every penny that tony blairand tories backed every penny that tony blair and gordon brown spent, we agree on that. the tories argued after that that that caused the

crisis we are in. people like me said it wasn't. people like you failed to save. villa but whether that spending come from? it came from taxing the city and a dynamic and growing economy which tony blair and growing economy which tony blair and gordon brown built and which you have spent your time criticising and calling neoliberalism and other words which mean nothing. what about the points raised with regard to iraq and the points raised about who tony blair has chosen to mix with?” agree. most people have a poor opinion of tony blair because of iraq. ithink opinion of tony blair because of iraq. i think that is unfair, because he took a reasonable decision which he thought was in the national interest on the basis of the information at the time, but i accept that iraq has gone so badly

that people want someone to blame. they want one person, and because tony blair identified himself with that iraq decision so much, because that iraq decision so much, because thatis that iraq decision so much, because that is the sort of leader he was, it was actually an american war which we got involved with and people like owen will hate him forever for that. john, rather than going over the past, forever for that. john, rather than going overthe past, i forever for that. john, rather than going over the past, i have passionately defended aspects of tony blair's record, more so than you in this interview. the fact is that the public spending that took place was welcome and was unfairly demonised. the point about the financial sector is because manufacturing continued to decline, we became increasingly dependent on the city, with catastrophic consequences. many of the former industrial areas, which didn't re cover industrial areas, which didn't recover in the weather should have done under a labour government, they are the ones that most heavily supported brexit. so for me, it is not about saying he caused the crash. that started in washington on

wall street. but it was the fact that if we have regulated the city better and supported new forms of manufacturing like countries like germany, we would not be in the mess we are in today. let me end the conversation by bringing it back to brexit, which to an extent, you did a moment ago, owenjones. you seem to agree in regards to the tony blair role, if there is one, in basically saying brexit was a dreadful mistake. owen jones, basically saying brexit was a dreadful mistake. owenjones, should that voice be heard and if so, who should put that argument forward most persuasively now? well, this is a democracy and all positions should be heard, those who want a hard or soft brexit or no brexit at all. personally, i accept the will of the british people. we need to make the best of it. we will not have that undera best of it. we will not have that under a tory government, which will damage living standards under brexit. but if the tony blair

position of getting rid of brexit altogether is to be heard, he is the worst possible champion and i would implore people who support that to find someone else. john rentoul? i am sure there are worst possible champions. kim jong-un! buti am sure there are worst possible champions. kim jong-un! but i accept that tony blair's intervention is not particularly helpful, although there are a lot of people in this country who think that he was on balance a good prime minister and they want to hear what he has got to say. he does express the argument extremely well. i think keir starmer is making a good fist of things, the shadow brexit secretary. but there is no reason why people like tony blairand is no reason why people like tony blair and john major and gordon brown and the rest of them shouldn't pitch in. these are people with experience and they know what they are talking about. thank you both very much. just a line of breaking

news coming out of a bloomberg interview that president trump has given in the last little while, reuters reporting that he has said he would meet with the north korean leader kim jong—un "under the he would meet with the north korean leader kimjong—un "under the right circumstances". i'm not sure if those circumstances were clarified during the interview, because that is all i have. if there is further clarification, i will pass it your way. the testing of primary school children is affecting their learning and mental health according to a committee which says the way that sats results a re committee which says the way that sats results are used to judge schools is causing a negative impact on pupils. even from a young age, children are well accustomed to being tested, but mps are worried the importance placed nowadays on how pupils perform in isolated tests,

leads to a multitude of problems. results are used to judge schools in annual performance tables, which this education select committee report says create a high—stakes environment — damaging to both pupils and teachers. these year 6 students are gearing up for their tests. it's a good school in a challenging area of london. the reality is, children at the age of ten or 11 are going to do an hour's test, which will rate their learning and reading for four years. it's a very high—stakes hour. for us, as a school, the results of that are also very high stakes, in that that's how our school is rated. the report recommends scrapping the annual publication of tests, in favour of a rolling three—year average. one union described the current system is toxic. the current system of assessment is not fit for purpose. we are pleased to say today's report acknowledging that. we have been working with the government over a number of months

to bring about long term improvements and there are encouraging signs, but there is a long way to go yet. ofsted too is also urged to take the focus off sats and look for a broad and balanced curriculum in its inspections, to prevent so—called "teaching to test". ofsted said it already looks for a broad curriculum. the department for education said it will consider the report and respond in due course. in a moment, a summary of the business news this hour but first, the headlines on bbc news: theresa may has dismissed as gossip reports in a german newspaper of a difficult dinner she had last week with the european commission presidentjean—claude juncker. three teenage women are arrested on suspicion of terror offences in raids linked to a police operation in north london on thursday in which a woman was shot and injured. police fire tear gas in paris on the sidelines as protestors demonstrate against far—right presidential candidate, marine le pen, who's made a scathing attack

on her rival. this week, millions of voters in england will elect a new kind of politician, the first—ever metro—mayors, as power is devolved from westminster to some english regions. there are six areas electing a metro—mayor including the west midlands, from where our home editor mark easton now reports. in a baptist church on the edge of birmingham, the pews are filling for an election hustings. nothing to do with the national or the local campaigns, though. they're coming to scrutinise candidates for something entirely new, a mayor for the west midlands. thank you to our candidates, who must be all husting—ed out by now. whoever gets the job will oversee the lives of 3 million people and an economy worth £120 billion, inheriting powers currently held in westminster. oversight of the region's transport, housing and economic development. a good idea? we gave each candidate ten seconds to explain why the west midlands needs a mayor.

we need to take back control of the west midlands from london. we've been run directly by london politicians for a0 years, and they have let us down. people here voted against having a mayor, it's really clear from the campaign so far, they don't want an mayor at all still. the reason we're having one is the government says to have more money, we have to have one. we need a west midlands mayor as a champion and advocate, as a social entrepreneur, to deliver the self—made place. and as a consensus builder. that person's got to speak up for us in london, and around the world. and that person's also got to deal with the issues that can only be dealt with on a regional basis. to fight the cuts that we constantly get from westminster, and also to keep control and open up the secret combined authority. well, i don't think we need a mayor. i'm standing against the mayor. we need plenty of extra democracy, we need a new system, but not a mayor. birmingham's most famous mayor, liberaljoseph chamberlain, ran the city at the height of its municipal greatness. he controlled the supply of water, electricity, gas. he controlled the police service and the fire service, and for some,

the new metro—mayor is a welcome return of power to the west midlands. as well as birmingham, the mayor's constituency includes coventry and walsall, dudley and sandwell, solihull and wolverhampton. so what do the passengers on the wolverhampton tram think? the worry is that the smaller conurbations around the west midlands won't get as much as everywhere else. as long as it's a fair crack for everybody then, yeah, go for it. i think it's yet another layer of very expensive bureaucracy, when in essence the country is controlled by central government. they hold the main purse strings. i don't know anything about it, to be honest. have you not been hearing anything about it? no. i watch a lot of reality programmes. i've not listened to the normal news! watched over by chamberlain's ghost, the regeneration of birmingham's city centre symbolises

what a metro—mayor should do for the region. get it right, and more control may be granted. get it wrong, and the most radical devolution of english power in a generation may turn to rubble. mark easton, bbc news, the west midlands. in iraq, the battle for control of mosul grinds on, with iraqi forces gradually encircling the old city to try to remove fighters loyal to so—called islamic state. but seven months after nearby christian towns were liberated from the grip of is, their inhabitants still haven't returned. the area east of mosul known as the nineveh plains was once home to around 200,000 iraqi christians, but they fled when is arrived in 201a. many live in camps in kurdish controlled erbil. some have gone abroad. our correspondent paul adams has been to the largest christian town, qaraqosh, once home to 50,000 people but which remains almost entirely empty. waiting to go home, the christians

of qaraqosh came to erbil more than two and a half years ago. their lives are still on hold. we meet this couple at the door to their cramped two—room cabin. they have agreed to take us back to qaraqosh to see why it's so hard to return. the area was liberated in october. isis have gone. but it's a ghost town. naz‘s father is almost the only person here. this is where the whole family once lived, 30 people. when they came back last year, they found a burned—out, looted wreck. translation: if no one cares about us, or replaces what we lost, how can i come back? it's a disaster. six months after liberation, there is no water or electricity and no plans to repair the damage. as the battle rages on in nearby mosul, the people

of qaraqosh feel ignored and vulnerable. translation: we are christians, the original people of this place. we want our own christian province on the nineveh plain, to run our own affairs by ourselves, to guarantee the future for ourselves and our children. they were married in the church of saint mary, one of the biggest in the middle east, defaced and burned by is fighters. in the courtyard, signs of target practice. and from the roof, a lifeless panorama. this really does bring it home. up here on the roof of the church, you look around in every direction, there is no sign of movement. no one hanging out the washing, no one walking

in the street. before isis arrived, there were at least 50,000 people in qaraqosh. now, there is almost no one. on the edge of town, a small unit of mostly christian troops guards the entrance to qaraqosh. but people remember how quickly isis swept in before. could it happen again? wisam runs the only cafe in town. translation: it's up to the iraqi government whether is comes back or not. it's all about security. we hope they will not come back. but if the security forces withdraw, there is a chance is will return, maybe even stronger than before. qaraqosh is an overgrown, haunted place. the christians who lived here have scattered. some are living abroad.

it is hard to see them coming back any time soon. they might be vital for the economy, carrying millions of people every year to shop, work and study, yet bus services outside of london are in crisis, according to campaigners. councils across england and wales have cut their bus budgets by a third since 2010, affecting thousands of routes. and it's the young, the less well off and those living in small villages, towns and the countryside who are suffering the most. our transport correspondent richard westcott reports. time's running out for many of our buses. they carry three times more people than the trains, but thousands of council—subsidised routes have gone in recent years. this is the 267 late—night service from bathto froome. across the country, and in fact come september,

the funding for this service is going to run out completely. most of the passengers on this bus are young, like holly, who works lates in a restaurant. and josh, who goes to college in bath. they can't afford to drive, catch the more expensive train or move house. it's a really, really big deal because you just can't find the same opportunities in a small town like frome, so being able to travel daily and nightly back from bath, it's really important to me being able to earn enough money to live independently. how much longer have you got potentially going to college in bath? just under three years. how are you going to get there for the next three years? i won't be able to if they cut it. i don't know what i'm going to do. bath and north east somerset council says other authorities should help fund the service because the passengers come from different areas. first bus has helped keep it going for a few extra months, but in reality unless a campaign can drum up more passengers, the late weeknight 267s will go.

it's a story reflected across much of england and wales. campaigners say nearly 3,000 council—subsidised routes have been slimmed down or dropped since 2010. 500 of them last year, when two thirds of local authorities cut their bus budget. first group run a fifth of the buses outside london, which is where these cuts are happening. we want to carry more customers, that's how we are successful, it's how the communities we serve are successful. when we are criticised for bus cuts or whatever, we do take it hard. we only ever withdraw a service as a very last resort and of course very often at the moment a service is being withdrawn because of reductions in local authority funding. councils say years of cuts in government funding have forced them to ditch routes. a new buses bill will soon give them more powers to improve services, but back on the 267, passengers know that once their bus disappears, it almost never comes back. richard westcott, bbc news, frome.

a new photograph of princess charlotte has been released by the duke and duchess of cambridge to mark her second birthday tomorrow. the picture of the toddler was taken earlier this month by her mother at their home on the sandringham estate in norfolk. the royal couple said they're "delighted" to share the photo to mark their daughter's special day. time for the weather. it is a fine evening for many of us, but we are dodging a few heavy showers, as we have done throughout the day in england and wales. for a few more hours, maybe still a thundery one, but they will fade away into the evening and after midnight we are all looking dry for the second half of the night. a mixture of cloud and clear spells. the odd patch of mist and fog for tomorrow morning. tomorrow, dry weather during the morning. a lot of cloud down the

eastern side of the uk. west is best for sunny spells tomorrow. from that cloud across parts of eastern england, there will be a few showers developing. they will push further west as the afternoon goes on. maybe a few heavy out there. cooler along the north sea coast with the breeze coming in. on wednesday, from the cloud coming into east anglia, a few showers. it will feel cooler along the north sea coast compared with elsewhere, because the west has the best of the sunshine. this is bbc news, the headlines at 6pm. theresa may has dismissed difficult dinner talks was jean—claude junker. i have to say from what i have seen

it as brussels gossip and just look at what the european commission said immediately after. police say the burglars suspected of shooting dead dorset homeowner guy hedger were armed with a shotgun, wore bala clavas armed with a shotgun, wore balaclavas and stole jewellery in a pre—planned raid. three teenage women are arrested on suspicion of terror offences in raids linked to a police operation in north london on thursday in which a woman was shot and injured. also: scuffles in paris as rallies are held by both candidates in the presidential election.