this is bbc news, i'm annita mcveigh. the headlines at lipm. absolutely explosive news out of washington tonight. political shockwaves as president trump tells his fbi director: you're fired. he says it's over hillary clinton's emails, but critics see a cover up over russia. the dismissal of director comey establishes a very troubling pattern. but president trump claims james comey had lost the confidence of almost everyone in washington, republican and democrat alike. the 11 year old girl who died on a school trip to a theme park in staffordshire — her family say their world has been torn apart. no conservatives will face charges for breaches of expenses rules over the 2015 general election — says the crown prosecution service. labour and the lib—dems pledge billions of pounds of investment in schools over the next 4 years. the tories accuse their rivals of ‘made up promises‘. i'm ben brown. in the next hour, a

special investigation into human trafficking into britain. we know there are three girls currently missing who are back in the uk in glasgow. yes. and 50 years after pink floyd's debut album — the new exhibition at london's victoria and albert museum. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. president trump has defended his decision to sack the head of the fbi without warning, saying he'd lost the confidence of almost everyone in washington. james comey learnt of his fate last night when he was handed a note as he briefed fbi agents in los angeles. mr comey had been leading an investigation into alleged links between mr trump's election campaign last year and russia.

but the white house insists he was dismissed for mishandling an inquiry into hillary clinton's emails last year. from washington, here's aleem maqbool. absolutely explosive news out of washington tonight... this is a fox news alert. fbi directorjames comey has been fired by the president of the united states. americans have learned to expect almost anything from their president, but this really was high drama. fbi directorjames comey wasn't even in washington. he was addressing fbi staff in los angeles when he learned he had been sacked. a short while later, a letter arrived at fbi headquarters. "you are hereby terminated and removed from office, effective immediately. while i greatly appreciate you informing me on three separate occasions that i'm not under investigation, i nevertheless concur with the judgment of the department ofjustice that you're not able to effectively lead the bureau." and it was signed, donald trump.

except the trump campaign was being investigated by the fbi for its links to russia. james comey was leading the investigation, and now he's gone. are people going to suspect cover—up? absolutely. if an independent special prosecutor is appointed, there still can be some faith that we can get to the bottom of this. if not, everyone will suspect cover—up. speaking on us tv, the president's adviser dismissed that notion. this has nothing to do with russia, it has everything to do with whether the current fbi director has the president's confidence. and can faithfully and capably execute his duties. the shock waves from this decision are notjust being felt here at the fbi, but across the city and beyond. for his supporters this is evidence that donald trump is a strong leader. but for many others this just adds

to the perception that this country is now being run by a man who is intolerant of those who disagree with him and who do not entirely do his bidding. aleem maqbool, bbc news, in washington. comments coming through to us from the us vice president, mike pence, saying firing james comey was simply the right decision, saying he is confident president trump will choose a replacement forjames comey who can restore confidence. those coming in from the us vice president. joining me now via webcam is drjacob parakilas, deputy head of the us and americas programme at chatham house. good afternoon to you. i guess we wouldn't be expecting the vice president to say anything other than that. the whole thing is very curious, given its not that long since president trump was praising

mr comey. yes, it's very interesting timing. the fact that comey was castigated this week for misrepresenting what was found on anthony wiener‘s laptop, and what huma abedin had forwarded to anthony wiener during the course of the clinton e—mail scandal is the sort of proximate cause, it was certainly what the deputy attorney general cited in his letters giving reasons for the firing of james cited in his letters giving reasons for the firing ofjames comey. cited in his letters giving reasons for the firing of james comey. but this was a shock to everybody outside the inner circle of the trump white house. when the vice president says he's confident donald can appointa president says he's confident donald can appoint a new director, who eve ryo ne can appoint a new director, who everyone can have confidence in, what do you make of that? clearly this is an incredibly politicised time. if there isn't to be the appointment of a special prosecutor which the senate minority leader has called for to investigate the

alleged links between the trump campaign and russia, then thatjob is going to fall to whoever this new fbi director will be. i think broadly there are two directions trump could take his choice of new fbi director. one is somebody with a long record of working for both parties as an administrator or law enforcement officer, as attorney general or state attorney at some level. that would be fairly uncontroversial. the other possibility is he appoints a loyalist like rudy giuliani or david clark, a surrogate for trump on the campaign trail. it would be seen more broadly as a sign trump was seeking to turn the fbi into an arm of his own rather than an import shall —— impartial person. of his own rather than an import shall -- impartial person. he said nothing less is at stake than the integrity of law enforcement in the us and of the executive. chuck

schumer‘s emphasis on integrity is important here, the fbi has a long tradition, like any government agency, it had successes and failures, made mistakes. but the fbi prides itself on being an independent agency. and on having judicial independence from the president. there is a reason the fbi director is appointed on such a long basis, so the president can't hand—pick their choice. there is a real sort of emphasis here on making sure the right person gets into this job and someone capable of following leads wherever they may go. the republicans have the upper hand in of numbers in congress, do you think because of that fact alone we're not going to see the appointment of a special prosecutor? that this isn't going to run and run. or will some republicans in significant numbers break ranks and say, we need to have an independent investigation into what has gone on? you've already

seen a what has gone on? you've already seen a couple of republicans in a house call for a special prosecutor oi’ house call for a special prosecutor or independent investigation of some kind. a few republicans in the senate have suggested in more subtle terms, more nuanced terms, they might be weakening their opposition. toa might be weakening their opposition. to a large degree it will depend on the extent to which republicans perceive this as a potential political issue for the 2018 midterms which we're getting closer to every day. thank you very much. to recap what the vice president mike pence has been saying about this dramatic dismissal of the fbi director by donald trump, vice president p saying the decision to fire james comey was based only on the president's commitment to ensuring the fbi has trust also saying it was nothing to do with the russia investigation. and that donald trump is now in the process

of evaluating individuals to replace james comey. and mike pence saying donald trump has provided strong leadership by firing the fbi director. let's go to our correspondent. let's speak to rajini vaidyanathan who is at capitol hill in washington. the vice president, as you'd expect, backing up president trump, a controversial decision to sack his fbi director. yes, but very simply a lot of politicians here in the senate simply don't buy that argument. mostly they are democrats who say they don't agree that russia has nothing to do with this. but even some republicans here in the senate are calling for the white house to explain further their rationale for firing james comey. some senior democrats have been talking to this morning say they believe that the reason he was fired was because he'd spoken in the senate at a hearing, house and

senate at a hearing, house and senate hearings in recent months and said he was looking into links between the trump campaign and russia. they put, they believe president trump has fired him as pa rt president trump has fired him as part of what they call a cover—up. there are some republicans i've spoken to who support the decision, like as we were hearing from vice president pence. they say this was squarely about the way james comey handled hillary clinton's e—mail investigation. the comments i keep hearing today are, what about the timing? why did they decide to do this now? lots of general election campaigning going on today. let's hedge to york wherejeremy going on today. let's hedge to york where jeremy corbyn going on today. let's hedge to york wherejeremy corbyn is talking about education. in secondary schools, which subject to get rid of. it is a labour government that will fund schools properly. we will not be investing in vanity projects at selected grammar schools, because i

believe education is for all! every child, every child deserves the very past that we can give to them. —— the very best. there's one other thing i want to do for primary schools, that is the arts pupil premium, so that every school will get some money to spend on music, an art, and drama. because... every child has imagination, do well at music, you're better at maths. all these things are linked together. let's not put everything into little boxes, let's fund that so we can do it properly. you look at secondary schools and the issues there, the funding of course. but also those

that come to the end of secondary school doing their gcses. when you bring back the education maintenance allowa nce, bring back the education maintenance allowance, so that all these young people can continue and go on to college. because we want to see education for all. i'm going to say more about this next week when our ma nifesto more about this next week when our manifesto comes out, but i'm very clear one of the great achievements, rachel talked about labour governments in the past, was their investment in adult education throughout life, you are older, you wa nt to throughout life, you are older, you want to change yourjob, change career, have new interest. learn it, by all means, go and learn it. and we will provide the resources to do it. because in everyone of us there is and potential. the combination of poverty, of bad housing, low wages,

limits the achievements our children could make. and we all lose. a child but doesn't achieve in the school is a doctor we haven't got in 20 years' time. and so it is also about what we do in the future of our economy. the future has to be a future where we invest. in germany, government invest. in france, governments invest. in france, governments invest. the model is there, it is there to look at. when you invest in a great economy you get higher living standards, greater levels of productivity, you get greater levels of invention and innovation. we seem to pass by on the other side and think it doesn't matter. we will have a national investment bank, regionally based, which will fairly invest in transport infrastructure and other infrastructure within this

country so we get economic growth or across. and we will develop and invest in the sustainable green industry jobs of the future and renewable and sustainable energy jobs of the future. and our ma nifesto jobs of the future. and our manifesto next week will give you a little bit more about that. there is an awful lot more i'd like to say, but there is somebody pulling at my trouser leg at the moment. and they are doing it for a very good reason, because apparently i'm supposed to because apparently i'm supposed to be speaking in rotherham at the near future. i want to say this to you, in conclusion if i may, i'm very proud of what rachel has achieved as the mp in a very short time. i'm asking you all two things, i'm asking you all two things, i'm asking you all two things, i'm asking you all two things. one, make sure everybody eligible... the bell

is tolling... everybody eligible must register to vote. our ancestors laid down their lives that we might be able to vote. the democracy of the vote brought brought us education, housing, the national health service. use your right to vote and make sure everybody understands it. register to vote. and think about this... for the future. are we to be a country that glories in the sunday times rich list every year? seeing the 14% increase, 14% increase in their wealth in one year. a collective wealth in one year. a collective wealth more than three times the annual budget of our national health service. or are we to be a country... labour leaderjeremy

corbyn urging people to vote in next month's election. talking about the pa rty‘s month's election. talking about the party's main theme of the day, education. seeing a labour government would run schools properly and criticising what he called the conservative education vanity projects. out and about on the campaign trail in york this afternoon. an eleven—year—old girl who died after falling from a water ride at a theme park in staffordshire yesterday has been named as evha jannath from leicester. she was on a school trip to drayton manor park when she fell our correspondent phil mackie reports. evha jannath had come to the park on a school trip. the emergency services arrived quickly. staff and paramedics tried to save her, but she was pronounced dead after being airlifted to hospital. today, investigators are examining the splash canyon ride and are trying to work out how she fell into the water. there is a height restriction that means that young children

between three and three and a half feet tall have to be accompanied by an adult. although people aren't strapped in, they are told to remain seated. four years ago, another young boy, patrick tracey, fell into the water on the same ride. one hand was still holding onto the bar, and he was half stood, to wave, and at that point the boat sort of bumped against the edges of the rapids, and he just was tossed headfirst into the water. i panicked and i didn't know what to do, but luckily there was a member of the public, a lovely lady next to me, thatjust said, hold on, i've got him, and jumped over this fence we were leaning on. she jumped over a second fence and dragged patrick out of the water. drayton manor says it's checking through its record and liaising with the health and safety executive. evha's school is shut today. staff and pupils have been offered counselling. she was a lovely, sweet natured girl. she was loved by everyone at the school. as a school and as a community, we are trying to make sense of this terrible tragedy. our thoughts and our prayers

are with evha's family at this most difficult time. everybody's in shock, everybody's in utter shock, there's no words. i mean myself, i couldn't sleep last night thinking of this, you know, i've got kids that probably will be in the future going to a trip like this, i probably won't send my children. the park is shut today as a mark of respect. no decision has been made on when it will reopen. the crown prosecution service has said no conservative politicians or officials will be charged with breaking rules on election campaign spending in 2015. the investigation considered evidence from 1a police forces. earlier our home affairs correspondent, tom symonds, explained the background to the investigation. all those police force is looking into the way in which the national party sent resources, battle buses

full of activists, two constituencies in the 2015th election campaign. the claim was that spending, the cost of the bosses, hotels people were staying m, bosses, hotels people were staying in, was incorrectly put down as national spending when it was local, because it was benefiting various candidates. theoretically it can be an offence under the representation of the people act, but the cps that had to decide whether to rosicky said today it was an offence to knowingly make a false declaration, therefore the police would have to prove there was knowledge a false declaration was being made, they said there was no evidence for that. in all of these cases the 1a cases it has considered today, it's been decided there can be no further criminal action. the party has been fined by the electoral commission for missing and incorrect statements about spending already, a record fine from the electoral commission, £17,000. the timing of this

announcement is right in the middle of the election campaign. this was nothing to do with the election campaign, this was just when they came up with the announcement. that's right, there was to be a legal deadline by which they would have had to start proceedings against anybody they wanted to prosecute. depending on which case you are talking about. there is one outstanding bit of this, one of the files, about kent, the campaign in south thanet east kent, it hasn't been decided. the cps says it could been decided. the cps says it could be another week or so before it decides. the issue there is the last date for pulling out of the election, the candidate there, craig mckinley, is running again, is tomorrow. therefore, if conservatives were worried there could be prosecution, they might have to decide to pull out craig mckinley. i've spoken to somebody at conservative headquarters who says no discussions are being had about that. they wouldn't have long anyway. looks like they are going to

wait and see. a bbc investigation has discovered girls are being repeatedly trafficked to scotland by eastern european organised crime gangs. one slovakian girl was discovered to have been trafficked to glasgow three times, others have been sold to asian crime gangs and forced into sham marriages. and the pursuit of profit has opened up diverse forms of trafficking as sam poling report. what you're watching is an illegal organ deal. how much do you want? 45. thousand euros or sterling? this romanian is selling the kidney of the woman beside him, he says she's his wife. i know the doctor is ok, very good romanian doctor. is he? he does these transplants all the time? people are now the second most lucrative criminal commodity next to drugs, sold for labour or sexual exploitation and for their organs. we discovered criminal gangs are now targeting specific areas of scotland

for the selling of women trafficked from abroad. there is a clear link between eastern european crime gangs who human trafficking is one of the things they do. and links with organised asian crime gangs and glasgow. so eastern european crime gangs provide the victims and asian crime gangs here will provide accommodation. i went to slovakia to try and track down some of the victims, including one girl who was trafficked twice previously to glasgow. but when we get to the house we are in for a shock. maybe she is back to glasgow. you think your daughter may have been trafficked back to glasgow. other victims also appear to have been trafficked again. we know there are three girls currently missing, who are back in the uk in glasgow. yeah. inside this house, this girl was sold for sham

marriage by a family member. the marriage allows the groom, commonly pakistani or indian, to apply for uk residency, as he is now married to an eu citizen. if i ask the questions i really want to ask, the men are going to get very angry? doing his business. this is a transit house where victims are kept before being transported to glasgow for sham marriages. how many girls would have come...? five, ten, 100? more than 100! really? really. i searched scotland's marriage records and found numerous suspicious averages between young eastern european brides and old asian men, the same addresses being used on multiple occasions, yet little trace of any of the couples living there. europol, the eu law enforcement agency, confirmed scotland was being targeted by the trafficking trade. samantha poling, bbc news.

and viewers in scotland can see more on this story tonight on bbc one at 9pm. a new study published in the british medicaljournal points to a link between high doses of some painkillers — and heart attacks. it builds on previous research that suggests anti—inflammatory painkillers like ibuprofen, could be connected to some heart problems. scientists said the findings were not clear cut and other factors — notjust the pills — could be involved. with me is a senior cardiac nurse with the british heart foundation june davison. people might find this a little bit alarming because so many people take painkillers like these. how strong is the evidence? these medications,

called non—steroid anti—inflammatories, include medications that we commonly hereof, ibuprofen, and the majority of them are prescribed. this research was an prescribed medication. some of them you get over the counter. these medications are commonly prescribed for pain relief and longer term conditions like arthritis. this research isn't new, we know these medications can increase risk of heart attack, it's not new. what this research tells us is that it's about the timing of the risk. researchers found the onset of risk can researchers found the onset of risk ca n start researchers found the onset of risk can start very early, when you start medication within a week. the highest risk is within the first month of taking it so you don't need to ta ke month of taking it so you don't need to take it long—term to have the extra risk. does research tell us what is the causal link between these painkillers and heart condition? it was an observational study, there is no cause and effect.

it's important to remember there could have been other influencing factors. somebody prescribed a painkiller like this for an episode, acute painful events, we don't know if the heart attack has been caused by the starting of the medication or something else. the crisis or the painful event. we must be cautious about drawing further conclusions from it. it emphasises health care professionals and patients themselves need to be aware of the potential extra risks. doctors need to be more aware of rain that —— of weighing up risks and benefits. if somebody is debilitated by their arthritis, they may need to consider... it might do them... they might get more benefit being on this drug than not. you can buy ibuprofen over—the—counter. a lot of people use it for back ache, all sorts of

aches and pains. what is the implication of this research? should they cut down on ibuprofen or not change what they do at all? we suggest people need to discuss it with their doctor. it is likely one of medication for a headache isn't going to be a huge issue, we're talking about people on stronger doses through the day. generally people need to be cautious, read the information in the leaflet. if you have a condition like arthritis, you might buy stuff over—the—counter on a regular basis. you definitely need to discuss with your gp. there could be an alternative medication that doesn't have the same risks. discuss it with your doctor and pharmacist. thanks for coming in. one of the team tasked with investigating corruption in world football says fifa's decision to sack him and most of his team is a major setback. cornel borbely — who was fifa's chief ethics investigator — says his committee were investigating several hundred cases of possible corruption at fifa.

richard conway reports. they were the legal officials trying to clean up world football. largely unseen and unheard but after fifa's world governing body ruled they are to be replaced, they've come out fighting. claiming their dismissal is politically motivated and the decision marks the end of the scandal stained organisation efforts to change its ways. it's lost respect for years, fifa will suffer because of this. and without a functioning ethics committee, the fifa code of ethics is a dead letter. with hundreds of cases pending, the man jointly letter. with hundreds of cases pending, the manjointly responsible for banning sepp blatter, amongst others, believes his own ousting will set fifa back years. what message does this send to the world

of football? it's a bad message, because it looks like we don't want to have a clear comment on the interior mess. fifa history has been marked by a series of corruption scandals. after a reform process, gianni infantino, the president, declared the crisis over at the end of last year. part of that was to look to the future and a world cup co—hosted by the usa, mexico and canada... he may have spoken too soon. canada... he may have spoken too soon. once again, doing the fifa showcase week, the talk is not about football, but about the past, and politics. as well as leading a world cup bid, victor is fifa vice president. to be honest, it's been way overblown from a hype perspective. maybe it's my canadian background, but i'm a little

uncomfortable when judges start speaking to the media during their ten year ship or even after the 10—year ship. i think it is unprofessional. —— during or after their tenure. it's better that people who sit on these committees just do theirjob. diego maradona has been in a town as a fifa ambassador trying to keep the focus on the game. as with the governing body, when he's involved, events often feel more like theatre than football. richard conway, bbc news, bahrain. quite a lot of sunshine around, let's see how long it's going to last. tomasz schafernaker let's see how long it's going to last. tomasz schaferna ker can let's see how long it's going to last. tomasz schafernaker can tell us. we have got a beautiful day as promised today. that's for sure. it will last for the rest of the day. for most of the uk, not necessarily across western and northern scotland, a bit more cloud, but it's stunning out there. so the next 2a hours, change on the way, 2a to 48 hours, change on the way, 2a to 48 hours we will feel the humidity

increasing and there is a risk of thunder. it won't happen this evening. maybe later in the night we'll evening. maybe later in the night we' ll start evening. maybe later in the night we'll start to see some showers developing across southern areas and that's very difficult to predict exactly where the showers will fall. they could be almost anywhere. i think we're confident that northern areas during the course of thursday will stay dry and sunny, beautiful weather there, but across the south weather there, but across the south we could see thunderstorms already during the second half of the afternoon. perhaps even early afternoon. perhaps even early afternoon and yorkshire around 20 celsius, 17 celsius there in glasgow and then friday and saturday, a risk of further thunderstorms, not everywhere, very hit and miss and so, quitea everywhere, very hit and miss and so, quite a mix of weather, i think, on the way, friday and saturday and into sunday. hello.

this is bbc news. the headlines at a.32pm: the fall—out from donald trump's decision to fire his fbi directorjames comey continues to cause waves in washington with critics claiming the move is part of cover up. president trump has hit back at the claims saying that mr comey had lost the confidence of almost everyone in washington, republican and democrat alike. the family of 11—year—old evha jannath girl who died yesterday at drayton manor theme park have released a statement. they say they are devastated by her loss and their world has been torn apart. they describe her as "a beautiful little girl who was full of love and always smiling". no conservative officials or politicians will face charges for breaching the rules over campaign expenses in the 2015 election says the crown

prosecution service. the tories have hit back, saying the allegations against them as "politically motivated." labour and the lib dems have pledged to pump billions of pounds of investment into schools over the next four years. the tories have said school spending had reached record levels and accused their rivals of "made—up promises". a man who stole a 32—tonne truck and nearly drove into colleagues and the police has been given a six month sentence. patrick deman admitted to aggravated vehicle taking and driving dangerously after police helicopter footage showed him driving the wrong way on a dual carriage and narrowly missing two police cars. now, as you will be well aware if you have been watching this afternoon, the us president, donald

trump, has been meeting the russian foreign minister. we have a still now to show you a photograph of that meeting between the two men on what is an incredibly dramatic day in washington following donald trump's sacking of his now ex—fbi director, james comey last night. mr comey was running the investigation. the trump administration saying he was sacked over his investigation into hillary clinton's e—mails last year. so, a lot of questions about the tiling of this sacking and claims of a cover—up by those who are opponents of donald trump, but this is a still photograph of the two men meeting a little earlier. now, it's time for sport. let's

catch with hugh ferris. two years ago it was the group of death that put pay to england's chances at the rugby world cup. in two years' time it won't be any easier. eddiejones hasjoked he'll have to visit a japanese temple to pray before taking on both france and argentina in their pool. we'll hear from our reporter chrisjones on today's draw for the 2019 tournament injapan in a moment, but first his namesake eddie. well, we want to win the world cup. yes, it's quite clear we want to come here and win the world cup. what a great experience it would be winning the world cup injapan. the first time a rugby world cup is played outside a traditional country so played outside a traditional country so we'll prepare well for that and every day until the world cup, we'll prepare to get better. eddie jones says it's not a tough group, it'sa eddie jones says it's not a tough group, it's a good group. he's embracing the challenge. he feels the games against france and argentina will be the ideal preparation for the greater challenges come the quarterfinals

and potentially beyond, but you could forgive some england fans, having a little bit of trepidation a the moment given the fate that befell england at the world cup in 2015. right across the pool stages there are some mouth watering clashes, poole a, scotland and ireland... we have to leave chris there and hand you back to annita mcveigh. we saw a photograph of the russian foreign minister meeting donald trump and we can cross to washington where mr lavrov is giving a news conference. translation: we've got a common understanding regarding the fact that should should be ed step that will contribute to the cessation of violence throughout the territory and syria. it will be a step to contribute to the settlement of humanitarian problems and i would form a solid framework to achieve political settlement based on

resolution 2254. we agreed to work together within the framework of the format where the us is an observer. we appreciated the constructive contribution of the us. we'll continue co—operating within the framework of the geneva process which is supposed to resume next week. we hope that all the participants of those talks will be constructive, both the government and all opposition groups. we also discussed many other issues and challenges the international community is facing where together with the us and many other stakeholders we could turn the tide and improve the situation. i mentioned the issue of the israeli settlement, afghanistan as well as the compliance with the minsk agreements regarding the ukrainian settlement. we agreed to continue

our working contacts on all these areas in order to ensure the convergence of the positions of all the parties involved. by lateral relations are not very encouraging, the reason the duration of the relations is well—known. u nfortu nately relations is well—known. unfortunately the previous administration bent over backwards to undermine the solid foundation of our elections and right now we have to start from a very low level. but we understand that both russian and american people want to live in accord, want to be able to contact each other and our task is to remove all the barriers in this field together with rex tillerson we discussed the outcomes of the meeting of our deputies that took place in new york the day before yesterday where they reviewed the state of our by lateral relations.

it is obvious that not all the problems have been solved. i would say rather that say that the pace of the efforts is quite month at news, but we agreed to use the channel to address the irritants that were artificially introduced that our relations. i believe that's a business—like foot fall approach. we won't be able to address all the problems overnight. it is obvious, but there is a desire to move in the direction of the settlement all the problems. president trump clearly stated his interest to build business—like pragmatic relations with russia and to settle outstanding issues which is extremely important that both president trump and president putin are willing to attain concrete results that would help removing problems from the international agenda. that is what i wanted to

start with. any questions? please use the mic. have you discussed the issue of sanctions and including the issue of sanctions and including the issue of sanctions and including the issue of restoring access to seized russian property and my second question is if this situation is not settled by the american side, what would be the retaliation from the russian side? well, we did not discuss the issue of sanctions. it is not our problem. it is the result of unilateral actions taken again us. of unilateral actions taken again us. regarding our property, well, indeed, that is an issue that is a priority in our talks because it is our property. diplomatic property and recognised as such by legal

documents given to us in the areas, that it documents given to us in the areas, thatitis documents given to us in the areas, that it is our property and no one denies that. our american partners do not deny that it is our property. it is clear that the outgoing obama administration undertook very pitiful dirty tricks against our diplomats and our property, our diplomats and our property, our diplomats were ordered to get out of the country and they were given only 24 hours to do that. i believe that eve ryo ne 24 hours to do that. i believe that everyone understands in trump's administration that these are i will legitimate actions and as president putin said when barack obama had announced those decisions, he said that we had a right to retaliate and american partners know what kind of retaliation is going to be, but as of now, we decided not to be hasty with retaliation because president putin doesn't want to follow the

lead of those who are trying to poison our relations to the point of no return. our american partners or aware of our position. they know about our right to retalate, to reciprocate. we wouldn't want to use this right and we do hope we will be able to settle the situation without deteriorating our relationship further. speaks in russian russia's foreign minister, at the foreign ministry in

washington talking about co—operation between the us and russia on syria. but, of course, all of this really overshadowed by donald trump's sacking of the ex—fbi, now ex—fbi director, james comey last night. he says it's over comey‘s handling of the investigation into hillary clinton's e—mails. you may remember that from last year, but many suspect it is because james comey was leading an investigation into alleged links between russia and the trump campaign in the run—up to his election. now, a cull of lines coming to us about this. we're hearing that the acting fbi director, andrew mccabe, he was james comey‘s deputy will tv at the senate intelligence hearing tomorrow. and we're hearing in relation to the senate intelligence

committee the committee chairman, senator richard burr said he hoped to get the same level of co—operation from andrew mccabe, but an interpretation in the access we have to documents and personnel would be harmful to our investigation. he's talking there about the senate intelligence committee's investigation into possible, possible russian meddling in the us presidential election. so, the chair of the senate intelligence committee basically admitting that the events of the last 24 hours may delay that investigation. chuck schumer gave his reaction, saying there must be an investigation into why james comey was sacked. there are a great many outstanding questions about the circumstances of director comey‘s dismissal, the status of the executive branch investigation into the trump campaign ties to russia and what the future holds for these investigations. so i will be requesting

that the majority leader call a closed and if necessary classified session, all senators briefing — sorry. i will be requesting that the majority leader call a closed and if necessary, classified, all senators briefing, with the attorney—general and the deputy attorney—general separately at which they can be asked questions. some of the questions — why was attorney—general sessions, who had recused himself from the russia investigations, able to influence the firing of the man conducting the russia investigation? did deputy attorney—general rosenstein act on his own or at the direction of his superiors or the white house? are reports that the president has been searching for a rational to fire the fbi director for weeks true?

was director comey‘s investigation making significant progress in a direction that would cause political damage for the white house? why didn't the president wait for the inspector general‘s investigation into director comey‘s handling of the clinton e—mail investigation to conclude before making his decision to fire him? was this really about something else? no doubt we'll have an opportunity to question mr comey, now a private citizen about what happened. but we need to hear from this administration about what happened and why and what is going to happen next. and that is why again, i am requesting that the majority leader call a closed and if necessary, classified all sessions briefing, with the attorney—general and the deputy attorney—general

separately at which they can be asked these questions. i hope the majority leader agrees with me that we need to get to the bottom of this and get a handle on all the facts so that we can grapple with them. i remind him and my republican friends that nothing less is at stake than the american people's faith in our criminaljustice system and the integrity of the executive branch of our government. chuck shumar there. a 36—year—old tipper truck driver who almost drove into his boss and colleagues following a row at work has been sentenced to six months in prison. police helicopter footage shows patrick denman, from ashington in northumberland, driving the wrong way down a dual carriageway, swerving and narrowly missing two police patrol cars. he then continued to a junction where he turned left through a red light, into a housing estate before eventually coming to a stop.

the court heard he was on his way to his ex—partner‘s home to intimidate her. in a moment a look at how the financial markets in europe closed the day, but first the headlines on bbc news: political shockwaves as president trump tells his fbi director ? you're fired . he says it's over hillary clinton's e—mails, but critics see a cover—up over russia. the 11—year—old girl who died on a school trip to a theme park in staffordshire, her family say their world has been torn apart. no conservatives will face charges for breaches of expenses rules over the 2015 general election, says the crown prosecution service. hello. i'm ben thompson. now a look at how the markets in europe have ended the trading session.

another day and another rise in the index of our 100 leading companies. the ftse 100 just shy of a one—month high thanks to some strong earnings updates. shares in telecoms firm talktalk fell sharply after the firm cut dividends and warned about profits. at one point, shares were down 17%. it warned that earnings may fall again this year because of the cost of attracting new customers with offers and discounts. and snap, the company that owns snapchat, is posting its first earnings as a public company today. the company floated on the us stock market at the beginning of march priced at $24 a share. shares peaked at $27, but have fallen as low as $19. last time i look they were around

$23. this will be the first glimpse at how the company may perform long term. barclays held its annual general meeting today amid trouble and controversy over its chief executivejes staley. he has been criticised for trying uncover the identity of a whistle—blower. speaking today, mr staley apologised to shareholders. barclays also revealed that it has no plans to shift any operations or staff to the eu after brexit. simon derrick is from bank of new york mellon. simon, it is good to see you. let's pick up on the thoughts from ba rclays pick up on the thoughts from barclays because we have seen a lot of the big banks, haven't we, put the contingency plans in place and say, "we nood to have a plan for brexit." barclays says "we're not planning to move anyone." it is in contrast to what ba rclays were saying lastjuly. contrast to what ba rclays were

saying last july. they contrast to what ba rclays were saying lastjuly. they said, "we may well need to deal with the issue about running our businesses in your and maybe we will need to run some operations overseas." remember ba rclays, a lot operations overseas." remember barclays, a lot of barclays operations are international. so they saw this as being a real issue. now, 12 months later, it seems to be less of an issue. they seem to be co mforta ble less of an issue. they seem to be comfortable that there is a significant proportion of the business that can continue to run out of the uk. it's a good news story as well. there has been consultancies out there talking about what it might and might not mean for financial services companies. most of the financial services companies are saying, look, we're going to keep the majority of our business in britain. there is stuff we will need to move overseas and we will do, but want to have as little disruption as possible. a positive story. it's a different feeling that we're getting from the other banks because they were saying

we don't know of the there is a lot of uncentrity and unanswered questions, we don't know what deal we'll get with europe so we'll do it anyway. ba rclays taking we'll get with europe so we'll do it anyway. barclays taking the other tac. let's talk about talktalk. and they've warned that it's going to cost them dear to keep customers coming through the doors and signing up coming through the doors and signing upfor coming through the doors and signing up for their subscription services? yes, over the course of the last few yea rs yes, over the course of the last few years talktalk has gone down this route of trying to be a multiservice provider, notjust in brpd and offering tv boxes and mobiles as well. it hasn't really be seen to different ate itself in thosary yas. it was talking about spending quite a lot of money on fresh infrastructure spending on its mobile, but with consumers continuing to go down less and less, every single year. there has been perhaps a need to refocus the business. so they have decide we're going to look again at perhaps that infrastructure spending we were thinking about on the mobile phone

and maybe we're going to focus our business on brand and trying to make as much as we can on that. they're talking about a heavy spend over the course of the next couple of years. but what they are talking about is marketing. we will see more adverts for talktalk in the coming months. let's stay with tech briefly. i reckon you're a snapchat user, aren't you? my daughter might be i think it would be fair! let's talk results because we find out how the company is doing. lots of expectation again on a tech firm, can it live up to the hype, can it? well, we'll find out in a few hours' time. this bass the largest technology ipo since facebook in 2012 and plenty of people remember what happened with facebook and indeed twitter made the first earnings announcements, dramatic declines. there will be a lot of focus on quite how many users snapchat has been able to keep because they are getting competition from facebook, trying to copy what

there are' doing. that will be the key story here. remember this comes against a backdrop of technology stocks. trading 20% higher than they did. this is really interesting and a really critical moment for markets. we will watch closely. simon, really nice to see you. simon derrick there. a word on what america is doing. not a huge amount moving. walt disney's disappointing results, while investors turned cautious after president donald trump fired his fbi chief. that's all from me. there is a round—up of all the other top business stories on our website: bbc.co.uk/business staying with the story about donald trump sacking fbi directorjames comey, we're hearing from washington that the president is now considering four fbi officials to

serve as interim fbi director while the search for a permanent replacement takes place. james comey‘s deputy is acting fbi director at the moment, andrew mccabe, but trump is now considering four possible interim fbi director choices including acting director andrew mccabe while he looks or while there is a search for the permanent replacement forjames comey. well, donald trump has been asked in the last short while about that sacking and this is what he said. reporter: why did you fire director comey? because he was not doing a good job simply. he was not doing a good job simply. he was not doing a good job. did it affect your meeting with the russians today? excuse me. did st affect your meeting with the russians today? not at all. thank you, everybody. pretty intense questioning there.

it's 50 years since pink floyd released their debut album. and to mark the occasion a new exhibition is opening at london's victoria and albert museum this weekend to celebrate the rock band. it features memorabilia including instruments, musical scores and album covers. our arts correspondent david sillito has had a sneak preview. london, may 1967. the queen elizabeth hall, a classical music venue, hosted what was to become a landmark in rock history. the lights, the surround sound, the psychedelia. the summer of love had arrived and was being featured on the bbc. the pink floyd, they have an audience, and people who have an audience ought to be heard. perhaps it's my fault that i don't appreciate them. 50 years on, this exhibition tells the story of how pink floyd helped turn rock music into a visual spectacle by retreating from the spotlight. it was a gradual

slide into obscurity. we just found that it worked better to utilise sort of effects and video and strange lighting devices and so on to augment the music. it was an era of massive experimentation and there was a whole generation of designers and architects creating things that they thought no one would ever build and then along came pink floyd. the stage designs, the giant inflatable pig. the album covers. all vital visuals for a band that liked to say no. i do remember that when we went on the road there was a big resistance to publicity.

i think we were a bit po—faced and snotty. it is in many ways a record of an era which is now past. when albums ruled and no one was counting the cost of rock excess. some beautiful blue skies outside today. let's see what is up for us this evening with tomasz schafernaker. hi. we're in the studio not being able to enjoy the fine weather. such able to enjoy the fine weather. such a fine able to enjoy the fine weather. such afine and able to enjoy the fine weather. such a fine and beautiful day across most of the uk. i want to stress most of the country because it's not like it everywhere. in western and northern scotla nd everywhere. in western and northern scotland thicker cloud here. actually over the next couple of days there will be more cloud around and there is a risk of some

downpours, possibly thundery ones as well, but not in the short—term. later early the hours of thursday morning we could start to see the showers develop. they will be drifting out of the south and with that comes a spell of humid weather. you will notice the humidity rising across southern you will notice the humidity rising across southern areas you will notice the humidity rising across southern areas and these showers popping up during the later pa rt showers popping up during the later part of the morning and into the afternoon and possibly thunderstorms around as well. it's so difficult to predict precisely where each storm is going to be. they're only yeah big. the forecast predicts the most likely position. there could be more around on friday and possibly into saturday as well. by the time we get to sunday it looks as if things will freshen up a little bit. that's the latest from me. today at five.

donald trump defends his decision to sack his fbi chief over his handling of an inquiry into hillary clinton's emails. the president says james comey had lost the confidence of republicans and democrats alike, and would be replaced by someone who will do a far betterjob. he was not doing a good job, very simply. but as mr trump meets the russian foreign secretary, critics link the sacking to an fbi investigation into possible collusion between the trump presidential campaign and russia. were those investigations getting too close to home for the president? the dismissal of director comey establishes a very troubling pattern. we'll have the latest from washington shortly.