wan" particularly cold. a will not be particularly cold. a touch of frost for northern ireland and scotland. minimum temperatures 6-9d. the and scotland. minimum temperatures 6—9d. the next few days, northern areas will have the best of the sunshine. other south and east, cloud. it will not feel as chilly as today. this is bbc news. i'm jane hill live at westminster, where every seat in the commons is up for grabs, as official election campaigning gets under way. the prime minister will visit the queen at buckingham palace to mark the dissolution of parliament. in brussels, the eu chief negotiator denies claims it's drawing up a big divorce bill to punish britain for brexit, but says the uk must honour its commitments. there is no punishment, there is no brexit bill, the financial settlement is only about settling the accounts. whilst we'll meet our international obligations, we'll meet the legal ones not the best guesses and wishes of the commission.

i'm ben brown, the other main headlines this hour: police investigating the murder of a man shot at his home in dorset have arrested two men and a woman. smartphone users only get access to signal two thirds of the time according to a survey. ten years to the day since madeleine mccann disappeared from a holiday resort in portugal, we speak to the first man named as a suspect. and concern for the uk's killer whales after scientists find shocking levels of a toxic chemical in a member of the last resident pod. hello and good afternoon from

westminster. on the day the general election campaign officially gets under way. at midnight, parliament was officially dissolved, meaning that from today every seat in the house commons is upforgrabs. let's ta ke let's take a look at the main developments so far today. the eu's chief negotiator on brexit, michel barnier, says britain must honour its financial obligations as it leaves the eu, and warns departure will not be quick or painless. later this afternoon, the prime minister theresa may will visit the queen at buckingham palace to mark the dissolution of parliament. and labour and conservatives have clashed on their tax plans. let's talk to our political correspondent eleanor garnier is at downing street. in terms of the formal election campaign, you are there because theresa may will make that symbolic

visit to the queen a little bit later on today. that's right. a bit of tradition that seems pretty difficult to let go of. in a short while, we expect theresa may to leave ten downing st. she will travel the short distance to buckingham palace to have an audience with the queen. we know the political parties have been campaigning for the last couple of weeks, but today with this visit to the queen, parliament is officially being dissolved. in fact, all the mps in the house of commons became members of the public. 650 members of the public, some obviously are now going to be campaigning in the general election as candidates. once theresa may has had her audience with the queen, she will travel back to downing street. we expect a short statement from her. this of course is the shortest parliament we have had since 197a. and actually,

because of fixed term parliaments, which we now have, the queen, the visit to the queen, isn't necessary to trigger the general election and the dissolving parliament. back in 2011 when the new act was brought m, 2011 when the new act was brought in, things automatically became, well, automatic. so parliament dissolved automatically, but the tradition of going to visit the queen does still continue. we know that as soon as this moment is over, political parties will be campaigning again, because today marks the last day of campaigning before the local elections. absolutely, a quick thought about the story, the debate that continues to to dominate, but comments again from michel barnier, david davis pushing back on that, saying the bill wouldn't be the sort of figures that michel barnier is talking about. what is your take on the sta nce about. what is your take on the stance and where we are with these negotiations, albeit very early stages, but both sides really very bullish. that's right. both sides

digging in their heels, lining up for the battle ahead. i think downing street are trying to give a sense that this is no big deal, this is just part of the rough and tumble ahead of the brexit negotiations, these figures and reported 100 billion euros row figure of a potential brexit bill simply won't happen. david davis the brexit secretary this morning saying there have been other figures secretary this morning saying there have been otherfigures bandied around, 50 billion, 60 billion, he says britain does not recognise those figures. simply, the negotiations, yes, they will be tough, but britain will pay what it is legally due to pay. and that figure is still yet to be worked out. downing street, saying it is pa rt out. downing street, saying it is part of what is going to happen, no big deal. but it does show that britain and the european union do have some way to go before there is going to be any agreement. so yes, lining upfor going to be any agreement. so yes, lining up for the battle, but

clearly, the next two years of negotiations will be very difficult. thanks there now. more from you later on. let's take a few minutes to assess what might await us now that the general election campaign is officially underway. joining me here. let's talk now to kate mccann, senior political correspondent at the daily telegraph and kevin maguire, associate editor of the daily mirror. i know today is the official start. it has been technically going for a few weeks, it has been very slow, calm and deliberate, shall we say, so calm and deliberate, shall we say, so far. some might say boring. do i'd do you expect things to liven up in the next few weeks?” i'd do you expect things to liven up in the next few weeks? i suspect probably not, which is a shame for us probably not, which is a shame for us political correspondents because theresa may once the election to be dull. she wanted to be strong, stable, steady and predictable. that is why the conservatives are happy for labour to do the job they should be doing and let them cause trouble

for themselves. diane abbott yesterday but into trouble with figures about the policing policy. a poster campaign has been launched today, and theresa may is happy to play her hand steadily, what it play out, and watch labour tried to respond to the attacks. i did think we are likely to see that change. respond to the attacks. i did think we are likely to see that changelj think the conservative propaganda machine will crank up, why they have £12 million to spend against labour's £7 million. the machine will go the journey corbin and john mcdonnell in particular. didn't diane abbott do it by herself? bek tactility shot herself and her party with that —— spectacularly. we don't even know the figures on the big launch. but theresa may once a coronation not a contest. she will leave the dirty work to other people. today, she will drape herself in the trappings of power, get into a chauffeur driven car, go to see the queen at buckingham palace, she will come out and make a

speech in downing street. she has a g-7 speech in downing street. she has a g—7 summit at the end of the month she will go to. she will look presidential while jeremy corbyn will be bedford again with a crowd trying to make himself change for the better. it is going to be two very different campaigns. she is doing her best to avoid people. what does it mean for the parties that remain? could it mean some researchers for the liberal democrats, for example, what do you see with the other parties? democrats, for example, what do you see with the other parties7m democrats, for example, what do you see with the other parties? it can go one of two ways. there is a danger that if the campaign is so boring and uneventful, people might think it is a done deal. there could bea think it is a done deal. there could be a low turnout. in some ways, that is not a good thing for theresa may. when people assume you are going to win. the people that you want to turn out and vote, not the ordinary people, they might not turn up. labour is very worried that there are the voters won't turn out and

won't put a cross in the boxjeremy corbyn, they won't turn up at all. liberal democrats hope to infuse people that would have turned to labour, younger voters, maybe older voters, they will turn out for tim farron. a low turnout doesn't help anyone. it is called the election that she didn't want, because it will be party political gain for her and she will increase a majority. conservatives are salivating at the prospect of painting britain blue. you are right, it might backfire if people think they want an opposition. they don't want her to have such power where she can do what she wants. i don't think big majorities are particularly healthy unless you win the votes. normally, you get a big majority in the commons and a minority of the electoral system. it could backfire oi'i electoral system. it could backfire on her. it is not a certain victory. interesting thoughts from both of you. plenty more weeks to discuss

them. thank you for now. good to see you. thank you for being with us here at westminster. let's get more on brexit. let's get more on the european union's chief brexit negotiator, who has been setting out his priorities for the brexit talks, warning that they will be complex and not painless. michel barnier insisted that the uk would not be punished for leaving but saying that the accounts have to be settled. it came after reports that the uk could be asked to pay up to 100 billion euros to leave the eu. mr barnier said the top priority was to establish the rights of eu citizens living in the uk and of britons in the eu. here's our political correspondent ben wright. in the tories' sights this morning, jeremy corbyn‘s tax plans. a warning, dismissed by labour, as a huge hole in the party's sums.

but what about the cost of brexit? there's an account to settle and taxpayers will get the bill. the numbers that have been bandied around in the press, 50, 60,100 billion, we don't recognise. we have had no indication of it. what we have said throughout is that we will meet our international obligations and we will enter into the negotiation in the best interests of both us and the european union. but reports this morning suggest the eu may demand 100 billion euros from the uk before a deal can be done. that is not a figure the eu's chief negotiator mentioned this morning. in fact, he didn't put any number on the bill, but he did spell out the principle. there is no punishment. there is no brexit bill. the financial settlement is only about settling the accounts. mr barnier said there would have to be progress on the terms of divorce before any talks about the future on trade. and he had this warning.

some have created the illusion that brexit would have no material impact on our lives, or that negotiations can be concluded quickly and painlessly. this is not the case. these are the eu's negotiating guidelines that will structure the brexit talks, and michel barnier said today that he wants everybody to keep a cool head through the process. not easy with pressure building on both sides, leaked reports of a very acrimonious dinner at downing street last week, and with a general election now in full flow. campaigning on the health service in bedford, jeremy corbyn said the government's brexit strategy was wrong. theresa may and david davis appear to open with megaphone diplomacy threatening europe that we will become some kind of tax haven on the shores of europe. let's approach this sensibly, because yes, we live in the european union, but we have do have a good relationship with them in the future.

the liberal democrats said the question—mark over britain's exit bill proved why a second referendum on the final deal was needed. this is what will happen over the next two years. you will, i will, our children will have a deal we have to live with for the next several decades, and none of us will be given a say. this will be stitched up by politicians in brussels and in london. the british people will be carved out. but ukip say there is a simple solution to the issue of money. what we want to know in ukip is how much is the government willing to pay? as far as ukip is concerned, we should not be paying anything at all. how we leave the eu and on what terms will dominate politics after the election, so in the weeks before polling day, parties are coming under pressure to explain what they would do. ben wright, bbc news, westminster. well, michel barnier has only been given the authority to begin the first phase of these negotiations. he has no legal mandate to talk

about future trade ties yet, even if the uk wants to do so. chris morris has been looking at what the initial sticking points are likely to be. the first two points will be guaranteeing that the rights of british citizens in the european union and eu citizens in britain and settling accounts before we leave. first, citizens rights, incredibly complicated, involving health care rights, pensions and the welfare of families decades into the future. the biggest problem may bejurisdiction, where are those rights guaranteed? the british government says the rights of eu citizens here will be guaranteed under eu law. the eu says that isn't acceptable, michel barnier pointed out today that their rights are guaranteed by the european courts ofjustice and wants that to continue. he says anything else would be just an illusion, just a promise.

the second point is this single settlement. the eu wants a clear agreement on the method of calculating the bill before it says that sufficient progress has been made in this first phase of negotiation. the problem is, how do you make that calculation. the eu seems to be going for the broadest possible interpretation, financial obligations resulting from the whole period of uk membership of the eu should be ta ken into account. meaning, potentially even money that gets spent after we have left. the attitude of many countries in the eu has hardened in the last few weeks which is why some estimates of the bill are as high as 100 billion euros. i don't think it will end up there but economists say even if it is tens of billions of euros then economically that amount is insignificant compared to the challenge of rebooting our entire trade relationship with the rest of the eu and the rest of the world. but politically though the financial settlement will be incredibly tough. michel barnier says it is not meant to be a punishment that to some

in the uk it may feel like that. chris morris there with his reality check. the green party has called on ministers to do more to tackle illegal levels of air pollution. the government is due to publish its air quality plans within the next week, after it decided not to appeal against a high court ruling. the co—leader of the green party jonathan bartley said air pollution is linked to 40,000 early deaths every year, and any delay in tackling the issue was ‘unacceptable'. we are talking a lot about now being into the formal election campaign, a few weeks of formal campaigning now. what do we know? how much do we know about the public mood? what is interesting the public about this election? and more besides. joe

twyman is here. are there specific issues? how much do we know about the public as we try to think about the public as we try to think about the next few weeks? we know that brexit is the big game in town. when you ask people on the most it important issues, two thirds of people say brexit, which is well ahead of things like the economy, which is traditionally high comic immigration, education, tax, all these other things. even in the areas where brexit is not directly related, it's likely that at various stages to the campaign, everything will come back to that, putting the conservatives in a good position because on that subject, along with many others, they are well ahead of the labour party. this is a curious one. we talk about brexit being an issue in the campaign, because the decision has been taken. it is out there, it can't be changed, which is interesting. it is about how people feel about the issue and who is best

placed to handle it. when you ask people who is best placed to negotiate and who can get the best dealfor britain in the negotiations, theresa may and the conservatives at the moment come through as the favourites. that puts them ina through as the favourites. that puts them in a strong position, notjust for that subject, but a host of other things. that helps to explain why they are doing so well in the polls compared to labour at the moment. white light very interesting. we will talk to you a lot in the next few weeks and other pollsters besides. people out there might not trust polls any more. can we rely on them? what processes do you go through, what has been changed or redefined since the last set of elections? firstly, you can trust polls but you have to remember certain things. they are only a snapshot of public opinion at the time. the polls will certainly change as the campaign progresses as events ta ke the campaign progresses as events take place. plus, there is always a

margin of error associated with these things. it is not an exact science. the true figure might be slightly higher or lower for statistics coming out, and it is worth bearing that in mind. for us, it has become a matter of data signs, that is the big word we have concentrated on. we have analysed the data points leading up to the last general election, and the eu referendum, to define the types of people that need to be better represented in our sample. then it becomes a recruitment exercise, hundreds of thousands of pounds spent to find people and take part in the survey. we have spent a lot of time and resource concentrating on that. do people also get asked if you are planning to vote at all? are you are planning to vote at all? are you going to go to the ballot box? it is something we have reflected on this afternoon, some people think it isa this afternoon, some people think it is a done deal, could there be voter apathy on the 8th ofjune?m is a done deal, could there be voter apathy on the 8th ofjune? it is a big uncertainty. which way people going to vote? the next big question is who is going to turn out and who isn't. because of apathy or

dissatisfaction with the main parties, combination of things, and how that precise share of the vote translate at a local level? what will that mean in terms of the actual number of seats won for each party? translating the national percentages into seats is extraordinarily difficult. that is where it all gets very complicated for us, particularly when you consider there is a lot of time left to go. thanks very much for now, the joe. more from here from half past, we will talk more about the dissolution of parliament and the formal visit to the queen by the prime minister as well. that is all to come over the course of the afternoon. i will be back at 14:30. other news now, and police investigating the murder of a man at his home in dorset have arrested three people. guy hedger was killed in the early hours of sunday morning after intruders broke into his home

in the village of st ives, near ringwood. our correspondent duncan kennedy is there. you can see the house over my shoulder. he was shot in the early hours of sunday morning, taken to hospital, where he later died of his wounds. a postmortem has confirmed that those wounds were inflicted by gunshot. in the last couple of hours, dorset police have issued a statement saying they have made three arrests of people in bournemouth. the arrests were made yesterday, but the information is only come out in the last couple of hours, it a 41—year—old man's, a 44—year—old bournemouth man, and a ao—year—old bournemouth woman have been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder and conspiracy to commit murder and conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary. all three people were told that they are being questioned. the same detectives say they are still looking for information from numbers of the public, and if they have that

information, they should contact the police as soon as possible. mobile 4g connection in the uk varies wildly, according to new research — with smartphone users only having access to 4g two thirds of the time on average. and it very much depends where you are in the country when you try to use it. our technology correspondent, rory cellan—jones told us more about the findings. they looked at the top 20 cities, and right at the top came middlesbrough with 83% connectivity. right at the bottom of those 20 came bournemouth, where 68% was the figure. and london came pretty far down the list compared with middlesbrough, it was at 74%. overall, if you put in all the cities in all the countryside, the average amount of time people were connected to 4g was 65%, so about two thirds. a third of the time, people can get a connection. annoying if you can't get a connection, but why does it

matter other than that? we are trying to become an advanced connectivity nation. ofcom have set a target of 98% coverage in people's homes, that's the key thing, by the end of 2017, by the end of this year. ofcom has a different method of measuring this from the ones used by which?, but says we 71% on the way to that 98%. a long way to go this year. and businesses will tell you that faulty connectivity is vital if we are to have a prosperous economy in the next decade. it is ten years ago today that 3—year—old madeleine mccann went missing from a holiday apartment in the portuguese village of praia da luz. her disappearance sparked a huge police search and worldwide attention which cast a shadow on the resort. but a decade later, despite extensive international inquiries, there've been no firm leads and the investigation remains open. jon kay reports. ten years. ten years since everything changed here. a little girl

vanished on a holiday with her parents. it's unbelievable that nothing, there's been nothing. you know, nobody‘s found anything. they haven't found the child, they haven't found anything. jenny murat remembers it like it was yesterday. she only lives a few yards from the block where madeleine disappeared. back then she set up a stall outside, appealing for information. she never imagined that the case would still be unsolved a decade on. this comes into my mind every day. every single day. everything you look at and you see all around you is... it connects somehow to the fact that a poor little girl disappeared. there are still so many theories. this week it's been claimed that on the night madeleine disappeared a mystery woman was seen outside the family's apartment. jenny told me she saw this woman, who is now reported to be a significant part of the investigation.

i noticed her there and she kind of looked as if she was trying to hide. i do remember that she was wearing a plum coloured top. for the first time, jenny has also told us about a car she saw that night speeding towards the mccann‘s apartment, heading the wrong way down a one—way street. itwas a... one of the small cars, like a rental car, the normal everyday sort of rental car. were you able to see the driver? i saw the driver. i was beside the driver. we just looked at each other and i think he had a very british look about him. please give our little girl back. she repeats her plea in portuguese ten years of unprecedented publicity. appeals, but no answers. it's had a huge impact on my personality...

jenny murat‘s son robert was the first to be named a suspect in the case. a decade on, his name may have been cleared, but he still cannot bear to look online. the internet is full of theories. i'd like to know the truth. not theories. i just want to know why that was the case. it didn't only lead to me being destroyed, it led to my whole family being destroyed and affected by those allegations. it was completely untrue. and you are adamant that you were not there that night? 100%. ten years ago this was just another sleepy village. now it is the place where madeleine disappeared. news coming in to us about london underground, we are hearing that tube underground, we are hearing that tu be staff underground, we are hearing that tube staff are to be balloted for strikes in what is an escalating row

about the sacking of a colleague. that is from the rmt union, saying that london underground station staff are to be balloted for strikes in that row over the dismissal of a colleague. more on that as it comes into us. there are just eight of them left in the waters around the uk, and now there are serious concerns about the future of britain's last remaining killer whales after one of the pod was found dead on the coast of west scotland last year. scientists say it had been contaminated with "shocking" levels of a toxic chemical banned in the 19705. our science correspondent, rebecca morelle reports. they are the uk's last killer whales. found off the west coast of scotland, today this pod has just eight animals. but they're in trouble. last year the group lost a female. lulu was found dead on the shores of the inner hebrides. she'd become caught up in fishing line. this is lulu's skull, this is the head... her skeleton is now stored

at the national museum scotland. tests showed she was heavily contaminated with man—made chemicals called pcbs. the levels that we found in lulu were 20 times higher than the levels we would expect in citations that weren't suffering any effects of pcbs. that puts her as one of the most contaminated animals on the planet. in killer whales, the chemicals can stop the animal from bearing young. they harm the immune system and also the brain. for lulu, one theory is that pcbs may have severely impaired her intelligence, perhaps leading to her deadly entanglement in fishing nets. here in the laboratory, securing effective heat is shown... pcbs were once man—made wonder chemicals. used in everything from plastics to electrics. but it was later discovered they were toxic and from the 19705 a series of bans around the world were put into place.

but they have stuck around. especially in landfill sites that contain the materials they were once used in. today the pcb problem lives on. especially in our oceans. the chemicals are long—lasting, they do not break down easily. and it is estimated that there is still more than a million tonnes of contaminated material in europe and this is leaching from the land into the sea. and on into the marine food chain. some scientists say more needs to be done to clear pcbs from the environment. but uk officials say levels are declining. the controls we have in place are working, it is just that they take a very long time to disappear. and they're probably disappearing into the sediment at the bottom of the sea and occasionally when that sediment is stirred up it brings them back to the surface. so it is going to take

a very long time for them to disappear completely. pcbs are of global concern, but with so few killer whales left in the uk, it is a problem that is sharply felt. it is likely the rest of lulu's pod is also heavily contaminated, making their future very uncertain. rebecca morell, bbc news. a man accused of planting a home—made bomb on the london underground — has been found guilty. damon smith was 19 when he packed a rucksack with explosives and ball—bearing shrapnel and left it on a train timed to go off within minutes on october 20 last year. news in from the old bailey that

damon smith who is 20 has been found guilty of planting a home—made bomb ona guilty of planting a home—made bomb on a busy tube train. the jury have been told that he was 19 when he packed a rucksack with explosives and ball bearing shrapnel, left it ona train. and ball bearing shrapnel, left it on a train. it was timed to go off within a few minutes on october 20 last year. he intended to make something that looked like a bomb but did not function as one, his qc told the jury. but he has but did not function as one, his qc told thejury. but he has been but did not function as one, his qc told the jury. but he has been found guilty of planting a home—made bomb ona guilty of planting a home—made bomb on a busy tube train. much more on that to come in the next half—hour. now, let's check out the weather prospects. a bit ofa a bit of a mixed bag. some of us enjoying sunny scenes whereas further south there is a lot more clout, not such a pretty picture in west sussex at the moment. under that cloud, it feels cold as well, temperatures in places no better than 910 degrees but up to the north—west with the sunshine we already have 19 degrees, and i

suspect parts of western scotland will get to 20 before the afternoon is done. this evening and the night, those northern areas where we have seen the sunshine will see the clearest of the skies for stock could be a touch of frost. temperatures will hold up around eight or 9 degrees. into tomorrow, we keep that split in our fortunes, southern areas mostly cloudy, the odd shower towards the south—west. furthermore, more sunshine, a bit of extra time —— extra cloud, as we had towards the weekend, we stick with the best of the sunshine up towards the best of the sunshine up towards the north and west for stock more cloud further south. you are watching bbc news with me, ben brown. the latest headlines at 2:32pm exactly. the prime minister will visit the queen at buckingham palace, at buckingham palace, today, marking the dissolution of parliament. every seat is up for grabs as the 2017 general election offically gets under way.

the eu chief negotiator, michel barnier, says the eu must honour its commitments, but there will be no punative brexit bill for britain. there is no punishment, there is no brexit bill, the financial settlement is only about settling the accounts. three people have been arrested in connection with the death of businessman guy hedger, who was killed in the early hours of sunday morning. all the latest sport now with you. lord coe, the president of the world governing body for athletics, the iaaf says it must consider european athletic suggestion that all world records set before 2005 should be wiped. the organisations are desperate to make a clean break in athletics after recent doping scandals, and lord coe believes all

options should be considered. these proposals actually underpin three important things. first of all it toughens up our stance on anti—doping, it make sure that world records are set in an environment where we now there is proper measurement and proper technology, and thirdly that the samples of those athletes that set a world record are now going to be held for ten years. these are all important proposals, but they do need to be discussed. clearly, detail needs to come through and i want to hear from the athletes, and the athletes will make their voices very clear, and there needs to be a global debate about this. javelin thrower goldie sayers says she will leave athletics with a deep sense of injustice, after announcing her the time. sayers who is 3a still waiting to see if she will be awarded with a bronze medalfor the 2008 see if she will be awarded with a bronze medal for the 2008 olympics as the third placed russian athletes who had it taken away the doping is currently appealing. the best moment

of my career was stolen, which is incredibly frustrating. i have been angry about it but also happy that i can say that potentially i am an olympic medallist, having produced such a good performance on the day. it wasn't as if i threw solidly and just missed out on a medal, i broke the british record and produce one the british record and produce one the furthest ever performances to someone finishing outside the medals, and that performance on that they would have been a solid silver medal in every subsequent olympics. so it isa medal in every subsequent olympics. so it is a bitter pill to swallow. there is some potential good news for manchester united, and manager jose mourinho. on the eve of their europa league semifinal against celta vigo, four of the injured players appeared on training this morning. including record signing, paul pogba, while defenders eric bailly, chris smalling and phil jones also appeared, while it seemed that they would all be missing the trip to spain. sunderland and

bournemouth have been charged with failing to ensure their players conducted themselves in an orderly fashion during saturday cosmic game. fifa blesses yashin has announced in the last few moments. former world number one elina stasi will not be invited into the royal box at wimbledon this year, following his behaviour at last month's fed cup tie. he was romanian captain for their match against great britain, but he was objected —— rejected after a foul mouth —— foul—mouthed ra nt after a foul mouth —— foul—mouthed rant at anne keothavong and the anaconda. he has been provisionally suspended by the british tradition federation. maria sharapova will now on the 20th ofjune is she is to be awarded a wild card to allow her to compete in this year's championship. she reached the semifinals instead got last week and her return to the sport after a 15 month doping suspension. the all—england club will wait to see if the all russian —— the russian can qualify. by

right. one final line of wimbledon news, the winners of this year's singles titles will earn £2.2 million each in prize money. that is an increase of £200,000 on the sums won last year by andy murray and serena williams for stock even those losing in the first round will walk away with £35,000. in the first round will walk away with £35, 000. that in the first round will walk away with £35,000. that is all the sport for now. we are going to take you back to westminster now. jane hill is there for us. welcome back to westminster on the day the general election campaign officially gets under way. you might have thought it had restarted but officially it is today. we vote on the 8th ofjune of course. let's just get the thoughts of political correspondence, eleanor gagne, who is just of political correspondence, eleanor gagne, who isjust a short of political correspondence, eleanor gagne, who is just a short distance away from the outside nemeth ten. there are —— outside number ten does that there are some formalities to

go through on a day like today. yes, that's right. it used to be the case that's right. it used to be the case that the monica puig have to go to the queen, sorry, that the prime minister would have to go to the manics to ask for parliament be dissolved. the law was changed back in 2011, so everything happens automatically, which is why parliament formally dissolved just after midnight this morning. all those mps are nowjust members of the public. many of them now parliamentary candidates. but that tradition of having an audience with the queen is a habit that is proving a bit difficult to break a must that is why we are all waiting here for theresa made to leave another ten. she will make the shortjourney back to back the palace. she will then come back to number ten and we are expecting her to make a short statement, i expect something along the lines that the country needs a strong and stable prime minister to ta ke strong and stable prime minister to take it through the brexit negotiations. we have already had a couple of weeks of campaigning, so you would have thought the election

had started ages ago. in fact, there are now 25 working days of the official campaign until we get to the 8th ofjune, which is of course polling day. a quick thought about the overall tone and mood of the coming weeks. you nodded to its lightly there. what we have seen so far has been pretty low—key. steady isa far has been pretty low—key. steady is a word we keep hearing. what are you expecting, what are analysts anticipating the next few weeks?|j anticipating the next few weeks?” think we are going to see is very different things from the different parties. in fact, what will be noticeable today is theresa may will be looking very prime minister real, as she comes out of number ten, goes up as she comes out of number ten, goes up to buckingham palace and makes that visit to the queen. when we see the conservatives travelling around the conservatives travelling around the country, and theresa may too, we know they want this election to be all about leadership, all about needing someone who is strong enough to do the deal in brussels, and get

the deal that the country needs. jeremy corbyn, who i was with this morning in bedford, he was out there campaigning about the nhs. he was mingling with lots of different people, lots of different people coming up to him to ask for photographs, to say it is my birthday today, will you wish me a happy birthday? so we are going to see contrast in styles to the campaign over the next few weeks, and today will feel a little bit different, not just and today will feel a little bit different, notjust because the prime minister is off to see the queen, but of course today marks the last day of campaigning for the local elections, because the elections for that are tomorrow. after which, we will get the ma nifestos for all after which, we will get the manifestos for all the parties. we should expect to see a more policy announcement from all of the parties as we ramp up to the 8th ofjune. to give you a bit more of a picture of what is going on at downing street at the moment, theresa may is inside but we have seen the outrider cars arriving. i have seenjust but we have seen the outrider cars arriving. i have seen just over my left shoulder some of the police on

motorbikes arriving too. they too will escort her the shortjourney towards buckingham palace. plenty for us to talk about in the coming weeks, as you have alluded to. stay where you are, we will be back with you in a little while but let's talk about some of the formalities of the day with the author and royal historian, kate williams has the slightly different territory, in that we keep reflecting the fixed parliament act to change things somewhat but the queen is very much involved, still has a role to play. the fixed term parliament act of 2011, before that, the manics could dissolve parliament if she or he so wished for stop there was all is done on the advice of the prime minister. that was the prime minister's initiation but still it could be done but now, before it was automatic but now it is essentially something that is part of the parliamentary business. so the queen's permission is still needed

but it is much more a four now the —— much more a formality. at the idea that the prime minister still deals with the queen at this most important moments is very vital to our constitution. the queen opens parliament, as she will do injune, and also closes parliament. that is and also closes parliament. that is a queen —— a key part of her being head of state. believes are images from the helicopter just head of state. believes are images from the helicopterjust above where we are now, we might end up raising our voices to each other but that will be the reason if so. we wait to see these images that will become familiar with on formal occasions such as this. this is a brief occasion. this wonderful shot reminds us that it is a short journey. it is those few moments inside the palace, that brief conversation at widdall love to be a fly on the wall. —— we would all

love to be. yes, and the weekly meetings that the monarchy has with the prime minister, even if the monarch is in balmoral. the prime minister usually goes up. it is usually a very useful sounding board. that is the role of the queen. she sees herself as a sounding board. she will often occu py sounding board. she will often occupy the other position, as a way of making it clear to the prime minister what the thoughts are. mrs thatcher famously thought, she said the queen was the sort of person to vote sdp, because she was always in the oppositional seat. that is not because she felt in a way left wing but she feels that is her role, cockburn, to advise and to listen to the prime minister, to listen to what she or he says, and to say have you thought of this, have you thought of that? meetings with the queen are a formality. they are a

key formality but no prime minister should expect to get an easy ride on any part of their meeting. and from everything we understand, the queen, to this day, is remarkably well—informed, i mean absolutely, will be fully across every element of this campaign, even though it is in its early stages. the queen is the most politically informed person in the country. this is her 13th prime minister, herfirst in the country. this is her 13th prime minister, her first was winston churchill, she has seen everything, so as a consequence she has seen political trends come and 90, has seen political trends come and go, she has seen so many elections. for her, she sees it as her duty and her responsibility to stay at the forefront of political news was that she is an avid watcher of political news, and added consumer of the newspapers. she will read all the newspapers, and she sees it as a role to keep on top of this, and thatis role to keep on top of this, and that is the role of the constitutional monarchy. she is the head of the church of england but most of all she is the head of the

state. we believe the union flag has just lowered, this means the queen has just arrived. we think there might have been some sort of delay, so perhaps she hasjust might have been some sort of delay, so perhaps she has just arrived. might have been some sort of delay, so perhaps she hasjust arrived. so they are awaiting theresa may, they will normally meet in the white drawing room, a rather marvellous touring room where all these key meetings go. that is where theresa may would have met her on the day she became prime minister. what she thought she would let's hope it doesn't get stuck. or blown away. chuckling that is a distinct possibly to today. you will know better than me, kate, how many prime minister ‘s...

13, theresa may is her 13th. winston churchill was her first. 13, theresa may is her 13th. winston churchill was herfirst. he was quickly won over as to how she was such a skilful and well—informed political operative and certainly thatis political operative and certainly that is the case and has remained so. every prime minister expects tough questioning from the queen, expects her to know everything about everything and you have to be on top of all your briefs, because the queen will be. there is no day that she doesn't read her red boxes. now that parliament is dissolved or what happens is that the queen works with her privy council if there are any documents to be signed. now she will work with her privy council. you are watching bbc news, today is all about the dissolution of parliament. we are waiting for the prime minister reza made to leave number

ten and make a way that short journey —— theresa made to leave another ten and make her way for the meeting with the queen. we believe the queen is now they're inside the palace. within the next hour or so that should take place was that the royal historian kate williams is following the afternoon's events with me. theresa may, the queen's 13th prime minister, what we would love to know is who she got on best with, who she enjoyed speaking to the most. those that she perhaps did not enjoy working with. there is a reason all of those topics made such a great stage play, because all of human nature is there, isn't it? we will only know a fraction. we will only know if the prime minister chooses to leak it. certainly

winston churchill was undeniably one of her favourites, the great war leader who she worked with as her first prime minister, and was very formative in her early years, one of her crucial favourites. formative in her early years, one of her crucialfavourites. i formative in her early years, one of her crucial favourites. i think when we look back, one of the ones they wa nt to we look back, one of the ones they want to talk about the most is mrs thatcher, because it is such a striking image, two of these incredibly powerful women. i think many people thought she was never going to have another female many people thought she was never going to have anotherfemale prime minister, and yet we have mrs may. two in her collection of 13. certainly mrs thatcher and the queen, i would certainly mrs thatcher and the queen, iwould not certainly mrs thatcher and the queen, i would not say they had a very sticky relationship, they had a mutually respectful relationship. mrs thatcher knew that the queen valued punctuality. mrs thatcher would arrive half an hour early and sit outside reading the newspapers because she knew what was most important to the queen is to get there on time. the queen can't bear you to be unconscious welcome which is what mrs may will not be because she is on her way. —— to be not

punctual. let's head down to the palace. our royal correspondent nicholas witchell is at buckingham palace. as we have been reflecting all day, nick, a slight change because of the fixed parliament act, but nonetheless there is a very important role. the next hour or so is still an important mark and a morgue —— a mark on formality about the day. it is a very important change. this is no more than a courtesy call by the prime minister to the head of state whereas in years gone by, a prime minister coming to the palace to seek the desert lesion of parliament would be a moment of considerable significance, of theatre. the monarchy had that power but it was taken monarchy had that power but it was ta ken away at monarchy had that power but it was taken away at by the fixed term parliament act. parliament has taken that power to itself. it has not beena that power to itself. it has not been a fixed five—year term because parliament also took to itself the

power to come early to a general election if there was a two thirds majority in the house of commons, which is precisely what has happened this time. so the user may wanting to maintain the custom of visiting the head of government, visiting the head of state, to notify her that parliament. it is still for the queen to name the day of the general election on the advice of the prime minister. the queen will also name the day when the new parliament will assemble. we know the state opening of parliament will be on the 19th of june. as you have been saying, the queen is at buckingham palace, ready to receive theresa may very shortly. nick, thank you for now. let's retention of the ten itself a stop eleanor gagne is still there. just trying to see out of the corner of my isos any movement where you are. we think things are pretty imminent.

the police cars and police officers on motorbikes are lining up to escort the prime minister off to the palace for that short audience with the queen. and, of course, remember, it was only injuly last year the queen. and, of course, remember, it was only in july last year that theresa may was invited to form a government by the queen. it has been an extremely short parliament, the shortest since 1974, of course. the theresa may became prime minister after david cameron's resignation in the wake of that vote for brexit. and here we are again, another general election, this time a snap election. the minutes ticked past midnight this morning, parliament was dissolved. all the mps became just members of public. they are now just members of public. they are now just everyday people like you and me, but of course many are now parliamentary candidates too. as we wait in downing street, you can't see them but just wait in downing street, you can't see them butjust perched behind the

camera, lots of photographers perched on top of their ladders. lots of journalists perched on top of their ladders. lots ofjournalists ready to see theresa may leave another ten and make the shortjourney theresa may leave another ten and make the short journey towards buckingham palace for that short audience with the queen. and we think a little bit later we will hear if you words from the prime minister? it is the formal start of an election campaign. we expect the theresa may to come back to downing street after seeing the queen and to make some form of short statement. there may be mention of a strong and sta ble there may be mention of a strong and stable government, i think we can be sure. just turning my back as the car pulls up next to the door, as we wait for that famous big black door to open. we expect her to come back and makea to open. we expect her to come back and make a short statement, saying that she has seen the queen and probably saying that the country

needs a new covenant. of course politicians right now across the country are campaigning. i was with jeremy corbyn this morning... here we go. there is theresa may, pearls, wearing pearls, as she gets into the back of the car. she has one of her special advisers with her. and off the car goes, blue lights flashing, down to the end of downing street, followed by a big mark range rover, land rover. police on motorbikes. leading the way. so we will follow this cortege,

watch the car make its way a relatively short distance down the buckingham palace. for that meeting with the queen. all of this, as we say, this afternoon marking the formal start of the general election campaign. it has been underway for a couple of weeks of course since that surprise announcement just after easter, that decision that was taken, we are told, when theresa may was walking in snowdonia with her husband over the easter break. and then that surprise announcement on then that surprise announcement on the tuesday morning. but this is the start of the campaign formally. our royal correspondent nicholas witchell is outside buckingham palace. we werejust witchell is outside buckingham palace. we were just reflecting on changes, because of the fixed parliament act, but nonetheless this is still an important moment, and as i have been discussing with kate williams as well, this meeting, the

meeting between monarch and prime minister, is what so many of us would be fascinated to know more about. yes. it is more of a symbolic moment now than a significant moment, as we were explaining earlier, but nonetheless it is part of the theatre of a british general election. the prime minister going to buckingham palace on this occasion that it is to take place. there we see the prime minister being taken through past westminster abbey. they always vary the route, they are going down victoria street on this occasion, and will be cutting up to back new palace just in the next few moments. the queen arriving here at quarter to the hour, cutting it quite fine really, but she is back at buckingham palace to receive the theresa may. this, her 13th prime minister of her reign. theresa may who was asked to form a government just reign. theresa may who was asked to form a governmentjust lastjuly. so

barely ten months into her administration as prime minister, theresa may going to buckingham palace to inform the queen that this general election will be taking place. and the queen, aid should be said, really spending quite significantly less time at buckingham palace now. we recall thatjust less buckingham palace now. we recall that just less than two weeks ago she was celebrating her 91st birthday. we don't think she has been at windsor this morning but certainly not at back him palace. there we are just cutting up through palace street, through the traffic, making their way, wending their way with some dispatch towards palace. they will come out in a momentjust by the royal mews and then i'm sure turnaround to the north syndicate, which is the normal way the prime minister would go into buckingham palace. she would normally come on a wednesday for her weekly audience with the prime minister vostok that usually takes place at around 6pm or

6:30pm in the early evening of a wednesday evening, and that again as we have been saying, that entirely private audience, which is of some significant value to prime minister 's. an opportunity for them to discuss things, in a sense as some of them have said, to unburden themselves to the one person they know will not break any confidences. again, a measure of the nature of our constitutional monarchy, where you have a prime minister, the head of government, coming, but the monarchy exercising his or her right to be consulted, to encourage and to warn. and i'm quite sure they have beena numberof warn. and i'm quite sure they have been a number of occasions when this particular monarch has done that, with some of the younger prime minister is in recent years. but now very close, just coming round by the victoria memorial. we can see the first of the police out riders whistling their way through. all the blue lights flashing in the slight glimmerof blue lights flashing in the slight glimmer of this afternoon, and the prime minister's limousine about to

turn in through the north syndicate. you canjust turn in through the north syndicate. you can just see turn in through the north syndicate. you canjust see the map turn the motorcycle outliers and in goes the daimler through the gates across the forecourt. there you get some measure of the security we now see all the time at buckingham palace for stock a lot of police with long weapons, and the car goes through that rather narrow archway, into the quadrangle, and there we are. it will we all round in front of a door, the king of nagpur, as it is known, where the prime minister will be greeted, and then she will be taken up to the queen's private audience room, where —— the king's door. there is the queen's acrylic, wing commander sam fletcher, ready to say good afternoon prime minister, and would you like to come in? in they go to buckingham palace

where prime minister theresa may well inform the queen that the prime minister is to have a general election. how long will that audience last? not terribly long i would think mrs may has other things to do. it is expected she will make a short statement when she returns to downing street but i would imagine perhaps 20 minutes is rather the norm. there have been occasions when prime ministers have spent rather longer than that but i don't think one would expect it to be much longer than that. we will see mrs may returning then to downing street. nick, think you so much now. you will stay there, kate williams the royal historian is still with us outside westminster. as nick was saying, we don't know how long this meeting will be between monarch and prime minister. we were reflecting on how extraordinarily well informed the queen is. there will be nothing one imagines theresa may will be

saying in the next few minutes, however long, that will come as any surprise to her majesty. indeed, she is the longest reigning monarch, she has just celebrated her 9ist birthday. she has seen everything in british political life, many changes, great changes, the change of empire, the second world war, the growth of the european union and the end of our relationship with the european union with brexit. there was nothing she has not seen, nothing to surprise her. but it still means she does not take a role for granted, the queen is on top of every pa rt for granted, the queen is on top of every part of her political life. she reads her red boxes diligently, she signed a document. she looks very carefully at the bills she has the sign into law. she doesn'tjust signed them, she is careful to note every pa rt signed them, she is careful to note every part and a few things there is something that doesn't seem legally correct, she will question the prime minister about it. she takes very seriously above all her role as constitutional monakana seriously above all her role as constitutional mona ka na she is seriously above all her role as constitutional monakana she is there to advise, to ronan, to discuss with the prime minister what they think is