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. i think the richest, 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 i think 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 that regulator should have teeth, in other words 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 every day? 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, the way platfroms 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. and for the mps who wrote today's report, that is not acceptable.

they are now expecting the tech giants to do much more. richard galpin, bbc news. this thursday, 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 a 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, so 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. the duke and duchess of cambridge has released a new photograph of princess charlotte to mark her second birthday. the picture was taken by the duchess at their home in norfolk. the couple released a similar photograph of charlotte last year to celebrate her turning one. with all the sport, here's will perry at the bbc sport centre. it has been a tense and dramatic world golf title so far. mark selby injohn higgins are still battling it out at the crucible. there was a likejohn higgins was

going to victory—mac, yesterday he had a big lead but today he reappeared rejuvenated. john higgins was now finding themselves in traps he was struggling to get out. he needed to hit the red here to escape the snooker, but he tried again and again. have you ever seen anything like that before. after some encouragement, finally a different outcome. before long mark selby had clawed his way back and turned the match around. john higgins looked like he needed a break. the evening saw no letup from the defending champion and soon he moved to frames from victory, but there were still twists and turns ahead. john higgins, witha twists and turns ahead. john higgins, with a wonderful century

break showed he was not going down without a fight. mark selby‘s precision hit another hurdle. without a fight. mark selby‘s precision hit another hurdlelj without a fight. mark selby‘s precision hit another hurdle. i did not see it hit. he was penalised for hitting a ball and thenjohn higgins took advantage to end up one behind. now it is time to find out who will hold their nerve. mark selby needs just one more frame for a victory. you can watch the conclusion of the snooker on bbc two. liverpool have boosted their chances of securing a champions league place next season by beating watford i—o in the premier league this evening. a spectacular overhead kick by emre can ensured liverpool remain in third place in the table and move three points clear of manchester city in the race for automatic qualification. and, with a month to go until the champions trophy, england's ben stokes returned from injury to hit a century in cricket's indian premier league. the england all rounder missed the two previous games

with a shoulder problem, but came back and beat off cramp to score an unbeaten 103 offjust 61 balls. stokes' innings helped lead his side rising pune supergiant to victory over gujarat lions with one ball to spare. that's all from me, stay with us on bbc one, it's time for the news where you are. you can see more you can see more on you can see more on all stories on the bbc news channel. good night. this is bbc news. there might be vital for the economy, carrying millions of people every year to shop, work and study, but both services outside london are in crisis according to campaigners. councillors across england and wales have cut their boss budgets by a third, affecting thousands of routes. it is the young, the less well off than those living in small villages who are suffering the most.

our transport correspondent has the report. time is running out for many of our buses. they carry three times more people than the trains, but thousands of routes have gone in recent yea rs. thousands of routes have gone in recent years. this is a late—night service from bath. it is one of the services facing cuts. in september the funding for the service is going to run out completely. most of the passengers on this bus are young, like holly who works late in a restau ra nt. like holly who works late in a restaurant. and joshua goes to couegein restaurant. and joshua goes to college in bath. they cannot afford to drive or move house. you just cannot find the same opportunities in a small town, so being able to travel daily and nightly is very

important to me being able to earn enough money to live. how much longer will you be going to college? three years. how will you get there? i want be able to if they cut the bus services. it is said that different councils should help to fund the services. first bus has kept it going for a few months but u nless kept it going for a few months but unless a kept it going for a few months but unlessa campaign kept it going for a few months but unless a campaign can drum up more passengers some services will go. it isa passengers some services will go. it is a story reflected across much of england and wales. campaigners said nearly 3000 routes have been slimmed down or dropped since 2010. 500 of them last year when two thirds of local authorities cut their ‘s budget. first group ran one fifth of the bus services outside london, which is where these cuts are

happening. we want to serve more customers. when we are criticised we ta ke customers. when we are criticised we take it hard. we only withdraw services as a last resort. they're usually as a result of cuts in funding. they said that cuts in funding have forced them to cut rates. they will soon have more powers to improved services but passengers know that once their boss disappears it almost never comes back. coming up at 11:30pm we will have a full paper review before then here are some of the front pages. the daily telegraph says that eu officials are trying to prevent the prime ministerfrom officials are trying to prevent the prime minister from getting officials are trying to prevent the prime ministerfrom getting a deal about expats in europe. it also features a large picture of princess charlotte. the ft says the european

commission is planning to issue plans to control the euro clearing market. it is the high cost of calls in hospitals that is highlighted on the front of the metro. the high claims that tax laws are so complex that tax payers may end up overpaying. there is also the meeting between to reason me and jean—claude juncker. the prime minister is claiming that the account was just gossip. the daily mail says that fertility clinics exploit couples who are desperate for a baby by persuading them to donate eggs in return for free treatment. the claims warns of a financing crisis around new cars. they say that buyers are not always made aware of the terms of the loa ns. made aware of the terms of the loans. the guardian says that the

prime minister is having to battle getting brexit talks back on track after what it calls a humiliating start to the negotiations. those are the front pages, now it is the weather. the last of the showers will soon clear away so for most of us it is looking dry. some cloud and clear spells and it will cool down a little in rural areas. some parts of scotla nd little in rural areas. some parts of scotland that were so warm today could end up close to freezing in a few places as we start tomorrow. the odd patch of mist and frost but a fine start for much of the uk. eastern england will see some showers moving west through the day. the west will see the best of the warmth and the sunny spells. as we look ahead to the evening, the showers and some of them will be

heavy will gradually fade. the breeze will keep coming in and that is also a feature on wednesday. wednesday some showers in the south—east that sunny for scotland. this is bbc news. the headlines at 11:00pm: theresa may has dismissed as hearsay an account of sharp disagreements about brexit during a meeting with senior eu officials last week. look what they said immediately after the talks took place.