full weekend of the general election campaign. theresa may says she's taking nothing for granted after success in the local elections, asjeremy corbyn insists labour is closing the gap on the tories. also on tonight's programme. france seeks to stop hacked emails and documents from influencing the outcome of tomorrow's presidential run—off vote. prince philip may be standing down from his royal duties, but prince edward says he, "won't stop for a minute". i don't believe that he's going be putting his feet up completely and disappearing into the background and never being seen again. he'll pick and choose what he wants to do and how he wants to do it. and the young racing driver who lost both legs in a horrific crash says he won't give up, after support from racing legends and fans worldwide. itjust shows you that, like, when a tragic event like this happens, how people pull together. good evening.

the main political parties have been out canvassing support on the first full weekend of the general election campaign. theresa may says she's grateful for the support her party's received in the local elections — but she says she's taking nothing for granted ahead of next month's general election. earlier, the labour leader jeremy corbyn admitted his party faced an historic challenge — but said his party was closing the gap on the tories. our political correspondent ben wright reports. step by step, theresa may is closing in on polling day, now with hundreds of new conservative councillors in her ranks. at wolverhampton aerospace factory, she toured the floor with the new west midlands

mayor, andy street. i am taking nothing for granted. i need support from across the united kingdom to strengthen my hand, and only a vote for me and my team will ensure that britain has the strong and stable leadership we need to get the best deal for britain from brexit. theresa may needs tory voters to turn out onjune 8th. that's why she claims this contest could be close. after winning the west midlands first metro mayor contest yesterday, the conservatives are confident of turning this much of this labour territory blue. in wolverhampton, a sense from some of allegiances shifting. the labour party has let itself down over the past few years. i am not very confident in the current leader. i have no confidence in labour at the moment. more confidence in theresa.

jeremy corbyn did not seem down after yesterday's drubbing. his supporters are as fired up as ever. visiting leicester and the east midlands, mr corbyn conceded labour faced a huge challenge. of course i am disappointed with the election results on thursday. but we're giving a message about how our economy and society could be very different. where's the ukip leader? after losing all 146 council seats it was defending, paul nuttall insisted the party's voters would return. ukip has a good future. it needs to stay on the pitch and hold its ground and people will come back to us. the snp were the biggest winners in the scottish council elections, replacing labour as the largest party in glasgow and aberdeen. there today, nicola sturgeon met the snp's councils group. we won the election yesterday emphatically. more votes, seats and councils.

we are the largest party, notjust compared to five years ago but compared to every other party in scotland. this strange, unexpected election has yet to set passions alight. the choice is big. but it is in battlegrounds like this the next government will be decided. ben wright, bbc news, wolverhampton. labour's shadow chancellor, john mcdonnell, is to announce that 95% of workers won't face a rise in income tax, if labour wins the general election. mr mcdonnell is promising his party would not increase income tax in the next parliament for anyone earning less than £80,000 a year. labour is also ruling out any increase in vat or national insurance contributions. the liberal democrats have pledged to increase spending on the nhs and social care — by raising income tax by a penny in the pound. they say it would raise an extra £6 billion and would be ring—fenced in england. scotland, wales and northern ireland would be able to decide how to spend the extra cash. 0ur political correspondent leila nathoo reports. how are you? good to see you. would you pay more to fund more gps,

for better mental health services, for a better nhs? the liberal democrats are asking. they have said they will increase all income tax bands by one percentage point to raise £6 billion, ring fenced for health and social care in england. if we want the best health and social care for our families, our loved ones, going into the future, we have to provide the money to pay for it. everyone else is pretending it can be done on the cheap. it cannot be done on the cheap. the party says someone earning £25,000 next year will pay £133 more in tax annually. on a salary of £100,000, the income tax bill would increase by £883. taking the focus away from brexit, this is the liberal democrats‘ main election pitch on tax and spending. they think the policy will be popular despite the risk of already committing to tax rises because of voters‘ concerns

about the state of the nhs. health is a devolved policy area. scotland has its own powers over income tax. there is no doubt the nhs and social care are under pressure across the uk with demand soaring and budgets squeezed. over the past few years, spending in the nhs in real terms has not actually decreased. it has gone up, but at a slower rate in the past. this funding will be double of what is promised in the last few years and would look generous compared to increases in the last few years but is not that large compared with spending increases over the long term. the conservatives say they would keep taxes low, while labour are ruling out tax rises for low and middle income earners. the liberal democrats think a tax rise across the board is the only way to secure the future of the nhs. french officials have issued a warning about documents believed to have been stolen from the presidential favourite emmanuel macron‘s campaign by computer hackers.

they say anyone who shares the contents could face criminal charges. it comes ahead of tomorrow's presidential run—off vote which pits mr macron against the far—right candidate, marie le pen. 0ur europe correspondent james reynolds reports. emmanuel macron arrived last night for his final interview, assuming that his campaign was basically done. but whilst he was speaking, documents stolen from his team were being circulated online. his campaign had been hacked. coming at the last hour, his team said, this intervention is an attempt to destabilise democracy, as happened in the usa during the last election. so, who stole these documents? in the past, emmanuel macron has suggested that russian—backed hackers were out to get him. but one cyber expert says that this hack looks different. it is very low level for the russians, compared

to what they have done in the united states, which was really a highly creative and high end information war mixed with hacking and cyber war. what we're witnessing right now with macron is very low end, very amateurish. but many french people, here braving the saturday drizzle, don't know much about the hack. on this, the day before the vote, the french media is banned from doing any in—depth political reporting. a last—minute hack is dramatic, showing emmanuel macron has capable enemies but it may not change the course of this election. many french people have already decided which way they'll vote. and some have already cast their ballots. these french citizens in canada have made an early start. 47 million voters here in france will soon follow. james reynolds, bbc news, paris. at least 82 girls who were among

more than 200 kidnapped by islamist militant group boko haram in nigeria three years ago have been released. the girls were taken from a secondary school in chibok — a remote area in the north of the country. an official told the bbc that the girls are now in the custody of the army. prince edward has been speaking about his father's decision to stand down from royal duties later this year. he said he was sure prince philip wouldn't disappear into the background, as our royal correspondent, peter hunt, reports. prince philip, as we soon won't be seeing him, in public, on duty, by his wife's side. from the autumn, the soon to be 96—year—old will be giving up such engagements. retirement beckons but prince edward insists his father won't be inactive. i don't believe that he is going to be putting his feet up completely and disappearing into the background and never being seen again. i still think, he'll pick and choose what he wants to do and how he'll do

it and what's sensible and what's practical. as i said, i don't think we'll see him completely disappear but he's making it absolutely clear to organisations, please don't come round asking me to do things and expect me to say yes, because the answer's going to be no. hopefully he can enjoy more of what he enjoys doing. this is an ancient institution adjusting to the fact that one of its key players will be on display a lot less. out and about, the queen relies on her husband. others will have to step up to the mark. it is always a team effort and that's what we do. the show goes on. if an actor retires from a show, guess what, the show goes on, everybody shuffles around and we fill in the spaces and keep it all going. and that's what we will do. it doesn't require any massive reorganisation, that's what we do, we support each other. such support is already happening. here, prince william was on hand, a grandson helping his grandmother, the queen, as she met her

guest, aung san suu kyi, myanmar‘s de facto leader. the windsors are in transition. this is a taste of the future. peter hunt, bbc news. with all the sport, here's 0lly foster at the bbc sport centre. hello, kate. wasps have finished top of rugby union's premiership table for the first time in 20 years. victory against saracens secured first place in the regular season just ahead of exeter, while leicester are also guranteed a play—off spot. tim hague reports. eight months, 126 matches, and the search was still on to find first place in the english premiership, as well as a home tie in the play—offs. wasps and an understrength saracens had a chance of both. fitting that they played each other, then. even more fitting that christian wade scored for wasps, his 17th try of the season, equalling the league record. it helped the home side dominate the second half. their only lion, elliot daly, will hope to feast against the all blacks next month,

and he got in some practice here before his team—mate, thomas young, son of the coach dai, rounded off the win with his hat—trick. 35—15 the score. wasps top, saracens third, and in between them are exeter. they beat gloucester to secure second for the second successive season, while the fourth and final play—off spot went the way of leicester. 23 points from departing fly—half freddie burns got them over the line at worcester, but the celebrations can't last long. it is the play—offs next, and the search for england's top team continues. tim hague, bbc news. that's how the regular season finished. wasps will face leicester in their play—off in a fortnight. saracens will play exeter. the pro 12 regular season has also come to a close. scarlets‘ biggest win against 0spreys, 40—17, sees them finish third, and they‘ll face leinster in the play—offs. 0spreys still finished fourth and will play table—topping munster.

some other rugby union news this evening, england‘s ben youngs has withdrawn from the british and irish lions squad tour to new zealand next month after the wife of his brother and team—mate tom was diagnosed with terminal cancer. scotland‘s greg laidlaw has been called up. match of the day follows the news, but if you want today‘s premier league results now, here they come. swansea have moved out of the relegation zone after a 1—0 win at home to everton. they have two more games left to play. elsewhere, there were draws at bournemouth and burnley. hull have dropped into the relegation zone after losing to sunderland. champions leicester can‘t go down after beating watford 3—0, but crystal palace aren‘t safe yet. they lost 5—0 at manchester city. the bottom club in the scottish premiership, inverness caledonian thistle, could have been relegated today, but beat hamilton 2—1 to keep alive their hopes of staying up with three games left. there were also wins for champions celtic, dundee and ross county. the england rugby league team have

won their final match before the world cup in the autumn. they were facing samoa in sydney and scored five tries. the final score 30—10. they‘ll return to australia for the tournament that starts in october. the first classic race of the flat season, the 2000 guineas, was won by the favourite, churchill. it‘s a record eighth victory in the race for the irish trainer aiden 0‘brien. dream castle and eminent, sons of the legendary frankel, the guineas winner in 2011, were fifth and sixth. and that‘s all your sport, kate. the teenage racing driver who lost both legs in a horrific crash says he‘s "lost for words" after well wishers raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for him. billy monger was racing in the formula 4 championship last month when he was involved in a high speed collision. richard lister reports. they call him billy whizz.

one of the rising stars of british motorsport. he was supposed to be racing this weekend. instead, he‘s reading messages from driving legends like lewis hamilton and niki lauda after the injuries that changed his life. that‘s amazing. and as i turn over, there‘d be signatures from many world champions. that really touched my heart. i was lost for words, and i still am now. three weeks ago he was racing at donington park at 120 miles an hour when he struck a stationary car. he was airlifted to the queens medical centre in nottingham, where they carried out partial amputations of both legs. today he was preparing to go home, grateful to the staff who saved his life. without them i wouldn‘t be here today, so a massive thanks to every single one of the staff that have helped me. it‘s going to be emotional, saying goodbye to them all. billy turned 18 yesterday and is contemplating a return to racing eventually.

his team has already helped raise more than £800,000 towards his recovery and those who will be racing at thruxton this weekend are ensuring that although he won‘t be there, his nickname will at least still feature on the grid. itjust shows you that when a tragic event like this happens, how people pull together. i definitely want to take the positives out of this and make sure that i use it in a positive way for the rest of my life now. i‘ve still got a few years left in me, for sure. watch this space. richard lister, bbc news. all the best. you can see more on all of today‘s stories on the bbc news channel. that‘s all from me. goodnight. good evening, welcome to bbc news.

let‘s get more now on the day‘s events in the general election campaign. 0ur political correspondent iain watson has been following the campaign trails in the midlands and sent us this analysis. syriza‘s campaign has been campaigning in what was seen as labour territory. —— theresa may‘s campaign. the conservatives managed to win that west midlands metro mayor. she sees it as a strong statement and appealed for her hand

to be strengthened in negotiations with the eu. jeremy corbyn is taking her on with the eu. jeremy corbyn is taking heron in with the eu. jeremy corbyn is taking her on in the same territory, because he has come to an area that isn‘t held by the labour party. he isn‘t held by the labour party. he is in isn‘t held by the labour party. he isina isn‘t held by the labour party. he is in a key conservative marginal in derby north, surrounding himself with a rural idyll, where he is going to be speaking to campaigners. his message to his supporters were that what labour needs to do now is keep calm and carry on campaigning. he paints himself as the outsider who will take on the establishment. he told his activists not to be too downbeat when you look at the opinion polls, because the gap between labour and the conservatives was not as big as some were predicting. in scotland, the first minister, nicola sturgeon, said the conservatives‘ showing in the council elections didn‘t change the arguments about another independence referendum. the snp won more councillors than anyone else in scotland, but the tories made big gains,

mostly at labour‘s expense. jamie mcivor reports. for the snp, one for the family album. the party is set to run scotland‘s largest council, the one—time labour fortress of glasgow, a fortress which once seemed impregnable. some older snp supporters in glasgow might not believe this result. not long ago, the party only had one councillor in the party only had one councillor in the city. across scotland, the snp won, but the conservatives saw big games. the first minister says the tory wins does not change the argument about the second independence referendum. let's take the tory i admit at face value. they chose to fight the referendum. they

had no other that ”5 lost ' " ' ”5 lost the ' issue centrestage. and they lestthe issue sentrestege. and they lestthe leader werein g; ' " tories arch the tories are the largest where the tories are now the largest party in the council. it is only the scottish conservatives that can take the fight to the snp. labour are now the fight to the snp. labour are now the single biggest party on just three councils, but they may play a pa rt three councils, but they may play a part in some coalitions elsewhere. the scottish executive committee of the labour party met today, and we have agreed not to do any deals or coalitions with parties that appeared to pass an austerity to the poorest people. we will carry on investing and opposing a second independence referendum. former lib dem leader lord campbell had a chance meeting with labour‘s lord

falconer. the lib dems were encouraged with how they did in westminster target seats. we will probably win more seats because we have a great chance of stopping the snp and the divisive independence referendum, of standing up against the conservative hard brexit. in glasgow, labour can wave goodbye to the council, but in many places it isn‘t clear who will be in charge of local services, and deals could be tricky this side of the general election. and we‘ll find out how this story, and many others, are covered in tomorrow‘s front pages at 10:30 and 11:30 this evening in the papers. 0ur guestsjoining me tonight are katy balls, who‘s a political correspondent at the spectator, and nigel nelson, political editor of the sunday mirror and sunday people. three men have appeared in court charged with murdering a businessman who was fatally shot, allegedly during a botched burglary. 61—year—old guy hedger was killed after at least two intruders

entered his home in dorset. from poole, duncan kennedy reports. it was in the early hours of last sunday morning that guy hedger was shot at his home near ringwood just outside bournemouth. he was taken to hospital but later died. the 61—year—old businessman had worked in marketing and was the director of a schools academy trust. today, three men were brought to the magistrates‘ court at poole in dorset, charged with the murder of mr hedger and with aggravated burglary. the three men are kevin downton, 40, jason backus, a1, and 44—year—old scot keeping. the hearing lasted just five minutes. there was no application for bail. all three men are remanded in custody. the men, who all come from dorset, will next appear by video link at winchester crown court on tuesday. a ao—year—old woman arrested in connection with the case has

been released, pending further police investigations. police in south yorkshire are linking the deaths of three people in the barnsley area to a wider inquiry into the deaths of four people from a suspected drugs overdose. it‘s thought a contaminated batch of heroin may lie behind them. shamir masri has the details. in the last 2a hours, south yorkshire police have confirmed three further deaths here in the barnsley area, which they believe are linked to a contaminated batch of heroin. one person was found dead on wednesday and two other users were found dead on the 20th of april. this news comes following the death of six people over easter weekend. four of those are here in barnsley and two in nearby west yorkshire. police believe all nine deaths have been caused by heroin being laced with powerful

anaesthetics, one of which is more than 100 times more potent than street heroin. while police continue their investigations, they are urging any users with any concerns to seek urgent medical attention. a search team examining forest land in northern france for the body of seamus ruddy, a man who "disappeared" during the troubles in northern ireland, has found human remains. mr ruddy was working as a teacher in paris in 1985 when he was abducted, killed and buried by the republican paramilitary group, the inla. since monday, investigators have been searching a remote wooded area near rouen, from where our news correspondent mervyn jess reports. following the discovery this morning, the search area has been locked down by french police and the media cameras are not being allowed in. a team of investigators have been searching this piece of woodland since monday.

the area has been searched before but this time they were working with more specific information, passed on by former members of the inla. seamus ruddy was working as a teacher in paris when he was shot dead by the inla and secretly buried in 1985. his sister anne morgan was the last family member to see him alive when she visited paris a month before he disappeared. yesterday she visited the search site to see the work going on herself. this morning she was among the first to be told about the discovery. the human remains have been covered with a tent while a hand search of the ground around them is carried out. these human remains will eventually be taken to a nearby french laboratory for dna testing to confirm this is the body of seamus ruddy. given the location and the confidence the commission has in the information it received, there seems little doubt this marks the end of the 32—year search for another one of the disappeared. now time for a look at the weather.

it has been a lovely evening across the northern half of the uk. nice blue skies in scotland. i suspect there will be more cloud across this pa rt there will be more cloud across this part of scotland tomorrow. today we have had cloud in devon, and we have been very much on the edge of some rain here. the rain is trying to move up from the south, but isn‘t really going to make it. we have more cloud as far as northern england, and then the cloud is more broken further north. the cloud will come down across the north—east of scotla nd come down across the north—east of scotland to bring a bit of drizzle. clea rest skies, scotland to bring a bit of drizzle. clearest skies, south—west scotland, northern ireland and northern

england, so pretty chilly in the countryside. into sunday, more cloud across northern scotland, north—east scotland, where we could see light drizzle. the cloud may have filtered through into the central belt. should be quite dry. a sunny start for northern ireland, north—west england and northern wales. quite cloudy for the north—east of england, and for much of wales. southern england will start cloudy. we will see some changes throughout the day. north—west england will hang on to some sunshine, and sunshine will develop across wales, the midlands and southern england in the midlands and southern england in the afternoon. but cloud will start to move down towards the wash. a bit ofa to move down towards the wash. a bit of a breeze picking up in the north. warmer in the west and further south. monday, more of a west east

split. more cloud in eastern areas, and a cool breeze, but the best of the sunshine towards the western side of the uk. we will see these sorts of temperatures again. further west and south, some sunshine. that‘s the story through tuesday and wednesday. cloudy skies across the eastern side of the uk. more sunshine on wednesday as the wind dropped, but further north—west, the best of the sunshine and the highest temperatures.