tonight at ten, the prime minister launches her election campaign with an outspoken attack on european politicians and officials. speaking in downing street after the rising brexit tensions of recent days, theresa may accuses brussels of not wanting britain to prosper. threats against britain have been issued by european politicians and officials. all of these acts have been deliberately timed to affect the result of the general election that will take place on the 8th ofjune. the prime minister had visited the queen to mark the dissolution of parliament, as political opponents accused mrs may of poisoning the political atmosphere for partisan reasons. let's calm down, be serious, be sensible and approach these very, very important negotiations with the seriousness they demand and deserve. it is a cold and calculated choice by theresa may to try and make our neighbours in europe into our enemies, just so she can

win a few more votes. and from brussels another warning that the brexit process will be a steep and rocky path for both sides. also tonight... a student has been found guilty of planting a home—made bomb on a london underground train. accusations of lying as the two candidates seeking the french presidency debate ahead of sunday's final round. the director of the fbi defends his decision to re—open the investigation into hillary clinton, weeks before the presidential election. and the most prestigious award in the world of british art boasts a rather more mature short list this year. coming up in sportsday later in the hour on bbc news, juventus score what could prove to be some very decisive away goals in their champions league semifinal against monaco. good evening.

the prime minister has opened her election campaign by launching an outspoken attack on european politicians and officials, accusing them of trying to influence the outcome of the british general election. mrs may also claimed they were working against a successful brexit deal. her comments follow days of rising tension with brussels. opposition parties have accused the prime minister of poisoning the atmosphere and of conducting herself in a way that's unworthy of a british prime minister. our political editor laura kuenssberg has more details. what was on her mind, with that raise the eyebrows? not just the formalities

at the palace of revving up for an election — which she, remember, was not obliged to call. but theresa may seems determined to play the brexit card for all it's worth. setting her face against brussels, she wants you to believe she won't be messed around. whoever wins on the 8th ofjune will face one overriding task, to get the best possible deal for this united kingdom from brexit. and, in the last few days, we have seen just how tough these talks are likely to be. britain's negotiating position in europe has been misrepresented in the continental press. the european commission's negotiating stance has hardened. threats against britain have been issued by european politicians and officials.

all of these acts have been deliberately timed to affect the result of the general election which will take place on the 8th ofjune. yes, she did just accuse some in the eu of interfering in our election. the events of the last few days have shown that whatever our wishes and however reasonable the positions of europe's other leaders, there are some in brussels who do not want these talks to succeed, who do not want britain to prosper. this brexit negotiation is central to everything. if we do not get the negotiation right, if we let the bureaucrats of brussels rule over us, we will lose the chance to build a fairer society, with real opportunity for all. the last few days have seen the intensity of the jousting of the eu become even more troublesome. but, using all the trappings of downing street, theresa may has just upped the ante even further, even accusing some in brussels of trying to make trouble

in the general election. just who could she have had in her sights? the chief negotiator at the eu commission? i give the floor to michel barnier. days after a tense downing street dinner, amongst suggestions the uk would have to pay 100 billion euros as we leave eu. some have created the illusion that brexit would have no material impact on our lives, or that negotiations could be concluded quickly and painlessly. this is not the case. more cryptically, less diplomatically, he said... "just like when hill walking, you have to learn the rules, or accidents happen." the government didn't start the day with a subtle message. the tories, eager to make disputed claims about labour's plans for tax.

forget that, every question was about the possible bill from brussels. and rather than ramp up the row, those two had tried to tone it down. could i ask you both not simply to hide behind the fact there will be negotiations? in this election, don't voters deserve to know how much of their taxpayer's cash they may be asked to stump up? is that figure closer to zero, or100 billion? the public want one thing. they want a good outcome from this negotiation. they want the best possible outcome from the negotiation. we do that in the negotiating room, not by negotiating with a megaphone. i'm not remotely surprised that people are manoeuvring for opening advantage in that negotiation. that approach long gone by the afternoon — above all else, it is election time. and brexit creates opportunities and problems for every party. i voted leave, i'm proud to have voted leave.

i knew what i was voting for. i don't think theresa may can expect to be taken seriously. it is a cold and calculated choice by theresa may to try to make our neighbours in europe into our enemies, just so she can win a few more votes. it is a political decision by her, and it's not worthy of the office prime minister. theresa may has some formidable foes. they'll use this against her. i think what we've seen today is her trying to make the eu the bogeyman in order to do that. but she's playing a dangerous game here. by poisoning the atmosphere of these negotiations, she risks getting a bad deal, or no deal. her rivals wonder if she really means it. i don't think anyone in brussels really believes that theresa may is prepared to walk without signing a comprehensive deal. this doesn't seem to have a strong scent... but it's labour that is vulnerable in a big way. theresa may is after their traditional support. we will negotiate a brexit

that works for all, for the many, not the few. we won't threaten europe on the way into brexit and, above all, in this election campaign, we'll put forward a proposal and a plan for britain which is about dealing with inequality and injustice. behind the gates, theresa may was never going to be the kind of politician simply to agree. but even in the heat of an election campaign, strong words cannot be unsaid. in a moment we'll speak to our europe editor katya adler in brussels, but first let's go to westminster and our political editor laura kuenssberg. let's talk about the tone and the language deployed by theresa may today, and the thinking behind it. well, it's not so long ago that the prime minister repeated again and again there would be no running commentary over brexit, and even yesterday she was still sort of trying to stand by the idea that somehow this spat was just idle

brussels gossip. this afternoon, blasting out from one of the most powerful microphones in the country, in front of the shiny black door at the start of the election campaign, quite an extraordinary attack on her opponents in the brexit negotiations. the reasons for that, i think, pretty clear. first of all, historically, british prime minister at prime minister have enjoyed politically pointing the finger at unnamed forces in brussels across the channel. the context here is different. the tories are, i think, genuinely quite cross behind the scenes about how the last few days have unfolded, with the aggressive, unnamed briefings. of course, this is an election time. we are at a crucial moment, notjust in terms of the general election but local elections right across the country, where ballot boxes will open tomorrow morning. the tories sense an opportunity here. remember, nearly 4 million voters chose ukip at the last general election. they think they can scoop up handfuls of

those votes and also picked off labour voters, traditional labour voters, many of whom chose out in the referendum. a lot of this is about positioning and opportunity in about positioning and opportunity in a general election. i think it is fairto a general election. i think it is fair to say, a general election. i think it is fairto say, in a general election. i think it is fair to say, in politics, by being strong and talking tough, you can win friends and influence. but go too far, sound excessive, bandy about strong accusations that cannot be taken back, there is also a risk you could get left out in the cold. let's go straight to brussels and put some of those points to katya. first, thoughts on what kind of impact this contribution by theresa may could have on brexit talks? well, there was brexit talks have not yet started, they are not going to start for several weeks. in a way, it does not impact immediately, there are no big talks or decisions that need to be made tomorrow. but we can see already how nasty things can get, extremely quickly. there we re can get, extremely quickly. there were no real sense of outrage in

brussels at the comments, at a eu leadership level, they are being seen as comments leadership level, they are being seen as comments by a prime minister in an election campaign. they don't expect her to talk down a wall with brussels if she thinks she can score political points like that. but the atmosphere is souring. what is your sense of what is really at stake? are we talking about a different culture in terms of politics, the way people do business, or something more fundamental? i think you are seeing a huge clash of political cultures. on the one hand, there is the cut and thrust of westminster politics, where you live and die by the verbal sword, where you take your opponent by the scruff of the neck and can destroy them. in mainland europe, it is a pretty for an idea. there is lots of coalition building, it is about consensual politics. when it comes to relations, the mood music is important. at the moment, eu backs

up. you can see how it has changed so up. you can see how it has changed so fast, almost a year ago, there was dismay here, people were upset and there was a period of denial. then there was a lot of talk about trying to keep the uk ever so close. tonight, it is more about the uk, already a third party, at arms length, a difficult customer. but they will deal with that difficult customer. angela merkel, many years asa customer. angela merkel, many years as a politician, she knows that a eu and uk deal is important for both sides. do business, they will. as i say, the mood is bad and we can expect trouble again ahead. thanks again. katya adler and laura, thanks to you in westminster. labour has said it will suspend the planned closure of some hospital services in england if it wins power next month and begin an immediate review of the proposals, which would see some accident & emergency departments and maternity units being downgraded or closed. but the conservatives claim the nhs modernisation programme has been backed by senior doctors and nurses. our health editor,

hugh pym, has more details. protests against nhs closures are nothing new, but in some communities, like huddersfield, concerns about cuts are growing. this protest last autumn was in reaction to plans to remove a&e services at the local hospital. campaigners say people will suffer because of longerjourney times. patients are going to be dispersed all around the north of the country, really. those will involve longer trips and the longer the trip, the more danger there is inherent in the situation. labour's john ashworth, at a meeting of activists from huddersfield and around west yorkshire, said he wanted to halt closures, specifically by stalling nhs reform plans in england. we're saying, let's just halt them. let's just have a moratorium on them and let's just step back and have a full review of them. when we review them, let's involve clinicians, but let's involve the people as well. let's involve the public because so far they have been cut out of the decisions, and we don't think that's fair. the nhs reform documents are known as sustainability and transformation

plans and have been published in 44 areas across england. some involve hospital bed cuts and service reductions, with funds reinvested in community care. the south—west london plan involves the possible reduction of five hospital sites to four. local campaigners say this one, st helier, faces closure. but the plan's authors say that resources will be shifted into local area teams involving gps, social care staff and nurses, providing care closer to people's homes. for the conservatives, jeremy hunt said, in a written statement, that labour's plan was "nonsensical" as the party had previously backed the reforms which were, he claimed, supported by leading doctors. the liberal democrats said the real issue was lack of investment. fundamentally, if there's not enough money in the system, however you rejig those services, you're never going to be able to provide the quality

of care that is needed. that's why as a party, the liberal democrats, we are calling for significant investment to be made in the nhs. nhs leaders believe that the plans, getting more people treated away from hospitals, are essential in response to rising patient demand and stretched resources. whoever‘s in government can expect more intense political debate over the process. hugh pym, bbc news. a 20—year—old student has been found guilty of planting a home—made bomb on a london underground train. damon smith, who has asperger‘s syndrome, was caught on cctv last october leaving a bag filled with explosives in one of the carriage. the train was evacuated minutes before he had set the device to explode. our home affairs correspondent, june kelly, has the story. alone on a london underground platform, damon smith is caught on cctv priming his device to explode on the tube. it's inside a rucksack and he's timed it to go offjust after ii.00am. surrounded by passengers, he feigns interest in his book.

further down the line he gets off, but he's abandoned the rucksack in the carriage and left the device, packed with ball—bearings, to detonate. the rucksack was eventually spotted, north greenwich station was evacuated. although parts of the bomb were viable, it failed to explode. if it had detonated, it certainly would have endangered life. without a doubt, it would have caused mass casualties and certainly would have caused substantial damage to the underground system. he had an unhealthy interest in firearms and violence, particularly in mass shootings in america, and although he was in possession of some isis material, we cannot prove his motivation or certainly his ideology. the tape's on. yeah. this was damon smith in a police interview. he has asperger‘s syndrome, a form of autism. when i was on the tube, i realised it was going to stratford. right. and i thought, it'd be a good time to leave my bag for a prank. a former friend witnessed his developing interest

in extremist violence. he was showing me videos of isis grabbing a knife and cutting off people's heads slowly. he was, like, "don't this look sort of fun", and all that. i was like, "no, it doesn't, it look as bit wrong, actually." hello, everyone, i'm going to shoot my gun. he had posted this on the internet, this pistol fired blank rounds. he also showed off his knife and he posed on facebook with a knuckle duster. damon smith used an al-qaeda bomb—making manual to help him construct his device, but he denied he held extreme political views. he will be sentenced later this month. june kelly, bbc news. a brief look at some of the day's other news stories. police in dorset have arrested four people in connection with the murder of businessman guy hedger.

he was shot during a burglary at his home in the early hours of sunday morning. sainsbury‘s says that profits have fallen by more than 8% in the past year as it warns of a challenging trading market and unpredictability in the value of the pound caused by brexit. the supermarket says it's trying to avoid passing on the increases to customers by raising prices. facebook is taking on another 3,000 staff to monitor inappropriate content on the site. the company has been criticised for failing to act quickly enough to remove violent broadcasts on its live streaming service, including some images of murders and suicides. it is ten years to the day since three—year—old madeleine mccann went missing from a holiday apartment in the portuguese village of praia da luz. her disappearance sparked a massive police search at the time and worldwide attention, but a decade later, despite extensive global inquiries, the investigation remains open. our correspondent, jon kay, reports. ten years, ten years

after everything changed for them. tonight, gerry and kate mccann attended their church, in leicestershire, to remember theirfirst child, madeleine. it's a family of four instead of five and it should be a family of five. so, we pray each day. 1,000 miles away another service tonight, in the portuguese resort of praia da luz where the toddler disappeared during a family holiday. it's unbelievable that there's been nothing. you know, nobody‘s found anything. this comes into my mind every day, every single day. jenny murat is still haunted by what happened, she only lives a few yards from the block where madeleine and her family were staying. back then she set up a stall, appealing for information, but it was something she saw herself that's now reported to be a significant part of this investigation. she remembers driving past the mccann's apartment on the night

madeleine vanished and seeing a young woman acting suspiciously right outside. i noticed her there and she kind of looked as if she was trying to hide from me. but i do remember she was wearing a plum coloured top. jenny morut says she informed the police at the time, but this is the first time she's talked about it publicly. she also told me she saw a brown car that night, speeding towards the mccann's apartment, going the wrong way down a one way street. itwas a... one of the small cars, like the rental cars you have. the normal every day, sort of, rental cars. were you able to see the driver? i saw the driver, i was beside the driver. both of us looked at each other and he had a very british look about him. please give our little girl back. ten years of publicity have produced ten years of theories, and still no answers. it's had a huge impact on my personality and the way i was... jenny morut‘s son, robert, was the first person

to be made an arguido, or named suspect, in the case. a decade on, his name may have been cleared, but he can't bear to look online. 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. you're adamant, you were not there that night? no, 100%. this resort is now synonymous with what happened to madeleine and many here are fed up with all the attention. ten years and, like the mccann family, this community is still desperate for answers. at exactly this time ten years ago the mccann's were outside their apartment, screaming in the street, frantically searching for help.

since that night, really, we don't know much more. we don't know, despite everything that's been written and said, all the money spent on investigations. that's pras the most extraordinary part of this whole story, we don't know how madeleine left here, who she was with. the only thing we know for certain is that she's still missing. huw. jon kay there with the latest from praia da luz. the two candidates hoping to be president of france are going head—to—head in the final television debate of the election. the latest polls suggest the centrist emmanuel macron is well ahead of his far—right rival, marine le pen, but his lead has narrowed in recent weeks. both are competing to win over large numbers of apprently undecided and reluctant voters ahead of the final round on sunday. our correspondent, james reynolds, has been watching the exchanges. he calls her the candidate of hate. she says he has no qualities. tonight, they meet. emmanuel macron, the frontrunner,

won't want to slip up. he's standing as a pro—eu, pro—immigration centrist and he's protecting a clear lead in the polls. marine le pen, from the from the front national, is trying to bring him down. i asked her what she wanted from the debate? translation: what do i expect from the debate? some clarification from mr macron, he's still being very vague. and tonight, on french tv, the two candidates faced one another and began immediate attacks. translation: mr macron is the candidate of savage globalisation, uberisation, economic uncertainty, social brutality, of every man for himself. translation: you have shown you're not the candidate for a balanced democratic debate. the question is — do the people want your defeatist attitude ? you say globalisation is too hard for us, so is europe. let's shut our borders,

leave the euro because others succeed, not us. the atmosphere got heated. "i treat the french like adults," mr macron told his opponent. "you lie all the time." then each was asked about terrorism. translation: the safety of our people, the fight against terror and islamist extremism, you don't want to take it on, i know why. against terrorism, we have to close our borders straightaway, immediately, and that's what i'll do the moment i take power. translation: closing borders achieves nothing. there are many countries outside the schengen area that have been hit as hard as this by terrorist attacks, and since 2015 we have put back border controls to fight terrorism. in this debate, the french people have heard two very different visions. now they have to pick a side. two and a bit hours in they are

still talking. emmanuel macron accuses his opponent of playing games with people's anger. she accuses him of making a mess of the country. tough words from both, but no surprises. that may end up helping the frontrunner. there are now just two full days of campaigning left before sunday's run off vote. huw. james reynolds, our correspondent there. the director of the fbi, james comey, says he has no regrets about his decision to re—open his investigation into hillary clinton's emails just before the presidential election last year. mr comey said be felt "mildly nauseous" at the thought that he might have influenced the result, but insisted he would make the same decision again. he was giving evidence to a senate committee, and our north america editor, jon sopel, was watching. history is likely to judge that this law enforcement officer played a decisive role in determining the outcome of the 2016 presidential election.

just days before polling, james comey revealed the fbi had reopened its inquiry into hillary clinton's emails from when she was secretary of state. he said he had no good options. so i stared at speak and conceal. speak would be really bad, there's an election in 11 days. lordy, that would be really bad. concealing, in my view, would be catastrophic, notjust to the fbi, but well beyond. and honestly, as between really bad and catastrophic, i said to my team — we've got to walk into the world of really bad. so how does he feel now about the impact his intervention has had? look, this was terrible. it makes me mildly nauseous to think that we might have had some impact on the election. but, honestly, it wouldn't change the decision. what's not in doubt is that his letter, 11 days before america voted, convulsed the campaign. its significance can't be over—stated. this was donald trump, the day the news broke. the investigation is the biggest political scandal since watergate and it's everybody‘s hope that justice, at last, can be delivered.

and hillary clinton has now made clear she believes that james comey may have cost her the election. i was on the way to winning until a combination ofjim comey‘s letter, on october 28th, and russian wikileaks raised doubts in the minds of people who were inclined to vote for me, but got scared off. but donald trump, on twitter, attacked hillary clinton and seemingly has a swipe at james comey, too. the question is — why did the fbi make public the email investigation and not the parallel inquiry into the trump campaign's links with russia?

the answer seems to be that congress had been told the email investigation was complete and therefore reopening it needed congress to be told again. it's an explanation that baffles many democrats. jon sopel, bbc news, washington. the general election is five weeks away, but tomorrow voters will be taking part in local and mayoral elections in england, wales and scotland. it's a major exercise in local democracy with councils supplying essential services to millions of people. our political correspondent, vicki young, is here to explain the range of contests taking place tomorrow. it's very rare for local elections to be held in the middle of a general election campaign and all the parties will be hoping for signs that they‘ re making progress. almost 5,000 seats are up for grabs, but none in northern ireland. in scotland, these elections involve all 32 councils and were last contested in 2012. back then the snp won the most seats, but labour wasn't far behind. a key battleground this time will be

glasgow city council, where labour's held overall control since 1980. in wales, all 22 councils are being elected. labour performed strongly five years ago and it's defending almost 600 seats, far more than any other party. plaid cymru and the tories are hoping for gains and ukip could build on its good showing in the welsh assembly elections. in england, there are 3a elections, most of them for county councils, and this is a traditional area of strength for the conservatives, who have twice as many seats as labour. the liberal democrats are hoping to claw back some of the ground they've lost over the past few years and labour's strength will be tested in the councils they control in derbyshire, lancashire and nottinghamshire. so with a general election next month, how much should we read into tomorrow's results? it will give an indication of whether the conservatives are a long

way ahead in the opinion polls, whether they are advancing in scotland. are labour really in trouble across the length and breadth of great britain? we shouldn't assume that what happens on thursday will necessarily be replicated exactly in the general election ballot boxes. six areas of england will elect new metro mayors — greater manchester, liverpool, the west midlands, tees valley, the west of england and cambridge and peterborough. they'll mostly be responsible for economic development. doncaster and north tyneside are also voting for local authority mayors. local elections won't necessarily tell us much about how people might vote in a national contest, but as the results come in on friday, party leaders will seize on anything that suggests they have momentum heading into the general election on the 8thjune.