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. 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. twenty years to the day after he swept to power in labour's general election victory, tony blair tells the dail mirror "ivm tony blair tells the dail mirror "i'm back". a new picture of princess charlotte enjoying the outdoors, taken princess charlotte enjoying the outdoors, ta ken by princess charlotte enjoying the outdoors, taken by her mother, the duchess of cambridge, has been released ahead of the toddler's second birthday. welcome to bbc news. 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. theresa may said the european commission had themselves said immediately after those talks that they had been "constructive". the newspaper reported

there were sharp disagreements about how quickly a deal could be reached over the rights of british and eu citizens and also how much the uk owed the eu. with me is our political correspondent. what do we make of all of this? what do we make of all of thi57m seems like it is going down as the most prickly and enjoyed a dinner party of all time. it was a meeting between the chief negotiator and the president of the european union at number ten last week. we have had an account in a german newspaper of what the dinner party was apparently like. as you pointed out to reserve av like. as you pointed out to reserve a's desire to make brexit a success, jean—claude junker was shocked that the reciprocal rights for citizens could be done as quickly as she

anticipated. and he apparently left saying he was ten times more sceptical than he was before and i kept repeating the words apparently. because a spokesperson for the prime minister said they did not recognise the account at all and funnily enough journalists working to ask her about this or she was campaigning today. from what i have seen it is brussels gossip and look at what the european commissions themselves said after the dinner took place which was that the dinner took place which was that the talks had been constructive. it also shows that these negotiations are at times going to be tough. and in orderto are at times going to be tough. and in order to get the best deal for britain we need to ensure that we have that strong and stable leadership into those negotiations. asi leadership into those negotiations. as i say every vote for me and my team will strengthen my hand in

those negotiations are when it comes to vergini eight people have a clear choice, there will be 27 other countries on one side of the table, who do they want to see the standing up who do they want to see the standing up for britain, me orjeremy corbyn. what have led her to say? you heard her say who'd you want orjeremy corbyn, she said she needs another brexit negotiators need to be done delicately, we also heard from the shadow chancellorjohn mcdonald who has been campaigning in central london in trafalgar square. here is a little of what he had to say in response to this prickly dinner party? sheep appeared clueless in terms of the address and i find that harrowing. she had either been badly briefed or couldn't handle the

situation. we are finding as she is refusing to debate orjeremy corbyn that this concept of her as a strong and stable leader, she is not strong, she's wrong and as for sta ble strong, she's wrong and as for stable she is feeble. labour were putting out a policy that landlords would have to meet a minimum standard for damp, wiring, sewer works and promised they would bring in fines for works and promised they would bring infines forup works and promised they would bring in fines for up to £100,000 for landlords who did not meet a certain is that of minimum requirements. more policy from labour today but the prime minister and the conservatives are clearly on this leadership issue. as far as the campaign goes we are not at the start yet? that's correct, we are five... the official campaign hasn't

started and we have the local elections coming up. we will not get the manifestos until the local elections are out of the way so yes, some time still to go. police investigating the murder of a businessman at his home in dorset say they're hunting at least two suspects. 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. we believe there was a level of preplanning within this offence, it appears the offenders have actually 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 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. can you 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 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. 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 women, two 18—year—olds and one 19—year—old. they are currently 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 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. a policeman more specific on the latter picture in terms of foiling 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. three 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. earlier i spoke to our correspondent in paris james reynolds and i asked him to tell us a bit more about what has been

happening in the city today. there has been a big march today. you have seen a little earlier that there were they few clashes between marx protesters, and the police. we understand the clashes over and things are very peaceful at the moment, protesters are milling around. around a0 metres away can see lines of riot police and police vans, the riot police still have their helmets the atmosphere here at their helmets 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 because they know that that is where they we re they know that that is where they were to shore up support. in particular at marie le pen had to do

something, appeal to right—wing social voters and left wing, that's a hard coalition to put together. macron has been trying to appeal in particular to try to get some of these people, union members and people who support leftist causes, people who support leftist causes, people who support leftist causes, people who describe themselves as a nti —fattest people who describe themselves as anti—fattest and he would be horrified by the prospect of marie le pen. —— antifascist. although it is not the natural choice to find themselves obliged. when you look at themselves obliged. when you look at the polls is it possible to assess how many people are still undecided with just how many people are still undecided withjust under a how many people are still undecided with just under a week to go? how many people are still undecided withjust under a week to go?|j haven't withjust under a week to go?” haven't seen any poll suggesting indecision at the moment. the ones we have got, people are making up their mind in favour of macron but he doesn't want to be complacent because he will work out that the worst thing for him to soon as the election is over which will allow marie le pen to betray him as arrogant. someone who is not letting the french people make decisions he

will clearly feel it is in his interest in order to win and to fight until the last minute. 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. earlier today i spoke with fiyaz mughal —— the founder of tell mama, a group that supports victims of anti—muslim hate and monitors anti—muslim incidents. he gave evidence to the home affairs select committee: well we made a number of things clear, for example agencies like google, twitter and youtube are not removing far right material even when they were notified that there we re when they were notified that there were extremist material. they were

not delinking from the material not moving it from twitter platforms and if they did that bennett accused to get material. we also made very clear to the home affairs select commitee that if you looked at platforms like twitter which were used by young people and a vast number of individuals in our country, the fact is even if an account was closed, twitter could not stop somebody opening up another account and continuing with their harassment so there were no safeguards of the systems that entrepreneurs in san francisco.... we also made clear and it was accepted, that the fact there was a social cost to our nation in terms of policing and impact on civil society groups and psychological health and that it was not good up that social media companies were making fast profit that our country was leaking cash because of their platforms and because of the cost of a social cost to our country and they have said that they should be fined if they repeatedly failed to act on illegal material. that is a

very welcome step forward and a carrot and stick to social media companies are they need to get their house in order. let me deal with what the companies have said, they have acknowledged more could be done in response to this but i'm naturally also defending their position to a degree and there was a comparison made in one comment today with how much they can feasibly do. for example the post office cannot open every envelope of male which goes between one person and another, how feasibly can social media companies do this? we're not asking social media companies to monitor everything online, we're very clear on illegal material which they are notified of ad which they do not act on is unacceptable. this is a ruse and social media companies this is their smoke and mirrors saying we cannot do everything, we can do a little bit more, that's a bit of a

ruse, the reality is when there is illegal material which should be removed, they are part of the eu directive to remove material in 2a hours, they are not meeting that requirement in some of the platforms. we are saying when they are notified they need to remove instead of the skating and saying are we are saying when they are notified they need to remove instead of 0pti skating and saying i we're not sure, it you need to go to the service provider in the us law which is not acceptable. for you it is how they act when they know about it than how they should act before?m isa than how they should act before?m is a combination of both. they are clever enough, they use algorithms and a whole range of manners and the home affairs select commitee made that clear to generate profit and income. they are clever at how the use algorithms. they can use of that to re m ove use algorithms. they can use of that to remove the volume whether it is anti—semitic, anti—muslim or homophobic hate. the second element is when they are notified of the

hatred and intolerance, they then need to act and act quickly. in one case it has taken four years. 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". police in dorset say burglars suspected of shooting dead a businessman in his home broke into the property armed with a shotgun as pa rt the property armed with a shotgun as part of a pre—planned raid. 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. the organisation representing nhs groups has called on political parties to commit to linking health spending to the growth of the economy. the nhs confederation also wants whoever forms the next government to set up an independent body to work out how much funding is needed to meet the needs of the nhs. 0ur much funding is needed to meet the needs of the nhs. our health editor hugh pym reports.. the future funding of the nhs has

risen up the political agenda, and the election manifestoes should spell out where the different parties stand. the nhs confederation, which represents health groups in england, wales, and northern ireland, has called for commitments for a minimum fixed percentage of gdp — that's national income — to be spent on health, as with defence and international aid. the confederation notes that uk's health spending as a share of the economy, just under 10%, is below that of france and germany. the organisation has also called for an independent office, to advise ministers on appropriate funding for the nhs. the confederation says political parties must recognise that without action soon, the health and care system will be incapable of meeting modern needs. hugh pym, bbc news. 27 people have been injured on a

flight 27 people have been injured on a flight from moscow to bangkok when the plane suffered severe turbulence. russian officials said passengers who weren't wearing their seat belts were injured and that some of the injuries included broken bones. four boys, aged between 15 and 17, 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. with just 38 days left until the general election on june with just 38 days left until the general election onjune eighth, let's cast our mind back twenty yea rs let's cast our mind back twenty 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 hinting at his return to front line british politics, what is the legacy of tony blair, and what sort of impact can he make to the country in 2017? earlier i spoke

tojohn rentoul, the country in 2017? earlier i spoke to john rentoul, chief the country in 2017? earlier i spoke tojohn rentoul, chief political commentator at the independent and the author and journalist 0wen jones over how likely it was that tony blair would make a political comeback? the only people who are obsessed with tony blair coming back to british politics arejeremy corbyn supporters who haven't defined their entire politics as being whatever tony blair did against it. the rest of us have moved on. tony blair was a good prime minister, but it was some time ago. it started 20 years ago and ended ten years ago and it's time to move on. has mr blair moved on? iget time to move on. has mr blair moved on? i get the sense he is keen on the idea. he doesn't want to stand as an mp are anything but he... different role? but he wants to contribute to the public debate and ca res contribute to the public debate and cares about the question of europe and he is to be fair to him the most articulate exponent of the point of view that says we have to do what we

can to stop brexit because it is not in our national interest and he ex presses in our national interest and he expresses that very well. i don't agree with him but i think the company should hear it. owen jones what you think of a return of tony blair in whatever role he may be in? first of all lots of good thing happened with tony for, minimum wage, windfall tax on private utilities, public investment, peace in northern ireland, we could go on. the problem with tony blair is that he could have gone down in history asa he could have gone down in history as a great prime minister but the iraq war is something which many people find difficult to get over. that's because at the time people protested against the iraq war, we we re protested against the iraq war, we were accused of being hyperbolic in terms of disastrous consequences, if anything will not hyperbolic enough. millions traumatise, dead or injured, a sectarian bloodbath, the rise of isis and the destabilisation of the middle east, that is such a colossal catastrophe that it is

difficult to get past. the other problem of course is the fact that since he decided to step down he decided to work for a variety of pretty unsavoury dictators, the dictate of kazakhstan for example, he is very charismatic. in his daily was the pre—eminent politician of his time but his reputation was so sullied by a monumental catastrophe that whatever cause he comes to now, i don't agree with his cause, i want to remain but i accept the will, i don't think somebody like tony blair given the brexit to be seen as a punch in the face to the political elite people we ren't punch in the face to the political elite people weren't happy with, if i was elite people weren't happy with, if iwasa elite people weren't happy with, if i was a hard—core brexit fan i would wa nt to ny i was a hard—core brexit fan i would want tony blair to run it with you? they might be vital yet bus services

outside of london are in crisis according to campaigners. campaigners 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. 0ur 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 bath to frome. it's one of the services that is facing cuts 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 2675 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, is how the communities we serve are successful. 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, is 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 photographic printer charlotte has been released to mark a 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 now. this has been a bank holiday which has delivered sunshine and water for some of us near 21 celsius. this was the view earlier today from one of our weather watchers. in northern ireland warmest day of the year so far with temperatures nearing 19. it was port stewart which had that temperature near 19. this is where the lion's share of the sunshine has been. some rain in cornwall going into the channel islands. they fade away over the next few hours and after midnight looking dry, variable cloud and clear spells, maybe the odd patch of mist and fog, quite: the countryside and some spells in

the countryside and some spells in the morning, close to freezing and maybe an isolated touch. we start tomorrow with cloud and sunshine and the biggest cloud down the eastern side of the uk, for eastern england we develop showers during the west before cornwall, for devon and the channel islands where we saw rain the drier sunnier picture for tomorrow. wales looking mainly dry and maybe catching the showers later, showers pushing into eastern parts of england, the odd heavy rain as we go into the late afternoon, scotla nd as we go into the late afternoon, scotland and the north—west having a fine day, cloud, sunshine and it might get to 19, not as warm as today that the cloud giving some of us today that the cloud giving some of us down the eastern side call. specially factoring in the breeze. that is a story throughout this, coming in over the north sea it does mean eastern parts will be cooler compared to the west. wednesday lots

of sunshine, more cloud for england and wales are maybe a shell around the eastern parts. maybe a bit of patchy light rain, you can see the temperature contrast between east and west. we end the week with high pressure to the north, a flow of air around that will mean the prevailing easterly wind across the uk. it is high pressure and that means the exception of a few showers. there will be a lot of dry weather to come, not good news if you want something in a garden, cooler in the east, warmer in the west. theresa may describes reports of a fractious dinner between her and the european commission president as "brussels gossip". she was responding to german newspaper claims of sharp disagreements with jean—claude juncker over how quickly a brexit deal could be done. it is brussels gossip. look at what the european commission themselves said immediately after the dinner took place, which was that the talks

had been constructive. also on tonight's programme: the businessman shot dead during a burglary at his home in dorset — police reveal details of the raid. a last week of campaigning in the french presidential election ahead of sunday's vote. and social media companies accused of a "disgraceful" failure to tackle illegal and extemist material online. good evening. the prime minister has described reports of a supposedly fractious dinner between her and the european commission president, jean—claude juncker, as "brussels gossip". a german newspaper reported that there were sharp disagreements about how quickly a deal could be reached over the rights of british and eu citizens and over how much the uk owes the european union.

0ur political correspondent ben wright reports. may day means a bikes and barrows festival in this lancashire village. and people seem keen to peddle their politics. the election was not the main concern here in scorton this morning, but it seems brexit will shape how many people vote. if she gets a majority, which i presume she will, it strengthens her argument, doesn't it? obviously, it will be a difficult time during brexit. if she wants to push through and put through what we need as a country and as a government, she needs the backing and to know that she has the support of the country with her being elected. she's called it because knows she's going to win. so i think she's covering it up with the brexit banner. it wouldn't change the way i was going to vote anyway. which is? labour. the tories are targeting

many marginal seats like this in lancashire. their message, that brexit negotiations will be tough and theresa may is best placed to handle them, sits at the heart of their election campaign. but this tough? a german newspaper has published an account by unknown eu officials of a dinner held last week at number ten between theresa may and the eu negotiating team. it describes deep disagreements between the two sides. according to the paper, the prime minister and the eu commission presidentjean—claude juncker, seen here before the dinner, clashed over the exit bill britain must pay, the structure of the talks and the prospects of a quick trade deal. apparently, mrjuncker left the dinner ten times more sceptical than he was beforehand, and he found that theresa may showed no willingness to compromise. the prime minister was also in lancashire today on the stump and trying to stamp out talk of a fracas with brussels. is the account of the meeting true, has brexit already gone off the rails before the talks have even started?

from what i've seen of this account, i think it is brussels gossip. just look at what the european commission themselves said immediately after the dinner took place, which was that the talks had been constructive. may day means worker solidarity for labour, but there was no fraternity from opposition parties for a prime minister under pressure. to start negotiations by threatening to walk away with no deal and set up a sort of low tax economy on the shores of europe is not a sensible way of approaching people with whom half of our trade is done at the present time. the revelations overnight show theresa may being guilty of astonishing arrogance and complacency, that she feels that somehow, the lack of any kind of deal, no free trade deal, no cooperation on police and security, that that is somehow acceptable to families in this country. brexit will be a difficult dance between the uk and brussels, and this leaked account from the eu side shows a willingness to brief about the talks to their advantage.

but it also reveals that on many issues, the sides are far apart, and the mood is farfrom merry. i thought the remarks made by the prime minister were telling. she said this account of a dinner ruined and acrimony between her and the key eu negotiators was just brussels gossip. that is not the same as dismissing it completely and claiming that she and jean—claude juncker ci to eye on everything when it comes to brexit, which they clearly don't. the big concern for number ten is that they want the process of brexit to be done behind closed doors, largely in secret, whereas this sort of briefing indicates that the eu want a lot of public lobbying going on. this could strain trust between the sides even before brexit negotiations get off the ground. in the run—up to the election, we'll

be exploring some of the key issues. you can email us with your views on what you think they are at yourelection.co.uk. police have revealed more details of the burglary in dorset in which the householder was shot dead. they say the men broke into the property wearing balaclavas — one of them armed with a shotgun. 61—year—old guy hedger died at his home in the village of st ives. duncan kennedy reports from the scene. it's been described as one of the most exclusive residential neighbourhoods in southern england, but it's now the scene of a murder investigation. dozens of officers have been searching for clues in what's become a wide—ranging inquiry. police say guy hedger, who was 61, was shot in the early hours of yesterday morning. he later died of his injuries. this afternoon, detectives said this was a horrific act of gun violence on the tranquil edges of the new forest. we believe there was a level of preplanning within this offence. it appears that the offenders

have actually gone prepared to be confronted. they were wearing balaclavas and in possession of a shotgun. police said jewellery, including some designer watches, were taken in the robbery. a friend and former work colleague of guy hedger told us his death was deeply shocking. 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 our people as we can, and we will offer our sympathy and condolences to his broader family and friends at this distressing time. police say another man living in the house was unharmed and could be an important witness. this is an area with large, detached houses behind imposing electronic gates, with many residents here profoundly unsettled by what has happened. it's absolutely dreadful.

absolutely awful, sickening. this evening, the police said that mr hedger‘s family had been left devastated by what has happened. they said a postmortem examination was carried out this afternoon, dorset has one of the lowest gun crime profiles of anywhere. but this violent burglary in the heart of the english countryside is now at the centre of an intensive police investigation. both candidates in the french presidential election have been holding rallies in the final week of campaigning. the far right contender marine le pen has attacked her rival as the ‘continuity candidate' while emmanuel macron said the future of europe is at stake in this election. 0ur correspondent lucy williamson is in paris. less tha n

less than a week before the final round of voting in this election, they getting sharper. both emmanuel macron and marine le pen are fighting for votes on the far left and on the conservative right. mr macron is the clear favourite for sunday's vote, but whoever wins will face a country of new political divisions. the second round of french elections has been the graveyard of far right dreams of power. used to facing a united front of all her rivals, marine le pen is now calling on voters to unite against someone else, her liberal opponent emmanuel macron. at a rally today, she attacked mr macron as a back door socialist, soft on terror, a friend of high finance and too easily irritated to be head of state. her image, by contrast, has become ever softer, a woman of the people, a mother and protector of what she calls forgotten france. for decades, the front national

has influenced french politics from the margins. now marine le pen says the party represents the mainstream on issues like immigration and the eu. but many voters still fear that she would unravel france's democratic traditions, and that fear, as one paper put it, is her political glass ceiling. by the river seine today, emmanuel macron honoured a moroccan man killed by far right supporters two decades ago, a reminder of the controversial history that dogs the front national. but support for the far right is growing here, and on a visit to france's rural heartland over the weekend, he told us that this election was the last call for france's membership of the eu. to have almost half of this country angry with the european ideal, we have to reform europe. we need a new european union in situation to protect our people and to regulate our globalisation.

if, the day after, i decide to follow up and pursue the current functioning of the european union, i will betray my people. i don't want to do so, because the day after, we will have a frexit or the front national again. france's main unions held separate rallies today, their members were divided over the choice in this election — to vote macron, to block le pen or to not vote at all. 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. propaganda videos from extremists.

hate speech. sexualised images of children. all should be removed much more rapidly from social media sites, according to today's report. the home affairs committee took evidence from the tech giants facebook, twitter and google, which owns youtube. they have billions of users around the world, and mps have lost patience. the richest and biggest companies in the world have both the ability and a responsibility to make sure that this kind of illegal and dangerous material is removed. i don't think they are taking this seriously enough, and they need to. and it's notjust angry words being fired off at the tech firms. the report also suggests some tough sanctions, imposing multi—million pound fines on companies failing to remove unacceptable posts fast enough, and forcing them to pay for police investigations into suspect online material. but some charities want

mps to go further. the nspcc thinks there should be an independent regulator to hold social media companies to account, and that regulator should have teeth, meaning the ability to force companies to take certain actions. but is it really possible for the companies to pick out extremist and abusive material amid the millions of posts being put up on social media sites everyday? there is certainly more that companies can do, and they have acknowledged that. they could improve takedown times, partnering with each other to flag content across platforms. but we should also be careful. the way that systems work is that they have a limited liability for the content on there, much like the post office can't steam open every envelope to see if a criminal is sending a message to another criminal. so at the moment, social media companies are still largely reliant on their users reporting what they consider to be illegal material.

for the mps who wrote today's report, that is not acceptable. they are now expecting the tech giants to do much more. the space x rocket has blasted off from florida with a secretive us government satellite on board. three, two, one, zero. liftoff. it's the first military launch for the aerospace company, headed by the billionaire, elon musk. ten minutes after launch, the rocket returned to earth, landing upright at cape canaveral. 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.