this is bbc news. i'm nicholas owen. the headlines at 8pm. president trump defends his sacking of the fbi chiefjames comey, saying he'd lost the confidence of almost everyone in washington. why did you fire director comey? because he wasn't doing a good job, very simply, he was not doing a good job. the white house says donald trump had been planning to sack james comey for several months. he'd lost confidence in director comey and frankly he'd been considering letting director comey go since the day he was elected. the crown prosecution service says no conservatives will face charges over claims they'd breached the rules on campaign spending during the last general election. the family of evha jannath — the 11—year—old girl who died at a theme park yesterday — say their world has been torn apart. and education takes centre stage in the election campaign. labour and the liberal democrats reveal their policies with pledges of billions more for the sector. and 50 years after pink floyd's

debut album — the new exhibition at london's victoria and albert museum. good evening and welcome to bbc news. washington is awash with rumour and speculation tonight after president donald trump's shock dismissal of james comey, the director of the fbi. the white house said the president had lost confidence in mr comey over the past several months. there's been widespread criticism of the move — political opponents have raised the suspicion that mr comey‘s dismissal was linked to his investigation into allegations that members of the trump team colluded with moscow during last year's presidential election. here's our north america editor, jon sopel. this is a fox news alert.

fbi directorjames comey has been fired by the president of the united states. the term breaking news is bandied about with abandon but last night it was justified. at fbi offices the first they knew their director had been fired was when it flashed up on their tv screens. and james comey, who was in los angeles addressing staff, knew nothing about it either until and aide handed him a note. the letter sent by president trump was brutal. you are hereby terminated and removed from office, effective immediately. at least they left him the government jet to fly back to the east coast. a private citizen, a turbulent career cut short. and today the president was unrepentant. why did you fire director comey? because he wasn't doing a good job, simply wasn't doing a good job. james comey, the six foot eight tall director confirmed in march that the trump campaign was under investigation

for its links to russia during the election. the fbi, as part of our counterintelligence mission, is investigating the russian government's efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election. the president has railed consistently that it's fake news and there has been no improper contact. last night he fired the man heading the inquiry. it's caused fury and dismay among some republicans, and all democrats. if there was ever a time when circumstances warranted a special prosecutor, it is right now. but the white house is seeking to persuade people that the decision to fire comey had nothing to do with russia or the fbi investigation. it is time for a fresh start at the fbi. i think the president did as he has done in many other cases, took decisive action. he provided strong leadership and to act on the recommendation of the attorney general. the white house says

the loss of confidence stems from james comey‘s investigation into hillary clinton's use of a private e—mail server when she was secretary of state. i made a mistake using a private e—mail. he decided lastjuly there'd be no prosecution, just a rap on the knuckles. republicans were furious. then, stunningly, he reopened his inquiry 11 days before polling. it took guts for director comey to make the move that he made. but if it's all about the way the fbi conducted the hillary clinton investigation, why sack him now? why this intervention? why not do it when donald trump first came to office? and how do you reconcile it with the praise heaped uponjames comey? whatever, it's left the fbi feeling very sore about the way their director has been treated. and into the washington maelstrom who should arrive today for his first visit to see the trump administration than sergey lavrov,

the russian foreign minister, injokey mood. was he fired? you are kidding! he then went to meet donald trump at the white house, but curiously, for the camera loving president, the press was kept away. this feels like house of cards on steroids. at the white house the deputy white house press secretary sara sanders gave a briefing earlier and we can speak to nick bryant our correspondent in washington who was at that briefing. it was interesting, the phrase lost confidence in mr comey came out lots of that was the line today, the president had lost confidence in him and he had to go. she also said he'd been considering james comey‘s position from the very day he became president and over time and

confidence had been eroded injames comey. he'd made a couple of slips, he said. at one point she said he'd thrown a hand grenade into the fbi headquarters and committed atrocities, though she didn't say precisely what they were. for that reason the president decided yesterday afternoon that james comey had to go. didn't buy him face—to—face of course, he fired him by hand—delivered letter, the news conveyed to james comey by one of his aides, who showed him an smartphone he had been fired. an absolute hailstorm of reaction has followed. yeah, absolutely, the democrats are saying james comey should not have been fired during the middle of an investigation by the middle of an investigation by the president whose election he was investigating. they say it's very fishy, they call for the appointment ofa fishy, they call for the appointment of a special prosecutor to launch an independent investigation. the white house could not influence it in

anyway. republican leadership says it right comey should go if the president has lost confidence in him, they say there should not be special prosecutor. they are saying the democrats are being hypocritical, they were critical of james comey when he made those famous interventions during last yea r‘s famous interventions during last year's presidential election which we re year's presidential election which were thought to have harmed hillary clinton, so how can they complain donald trump fires him. they say you can have same thoughts in your head at the same time, that comey should not have been fired during the middle of this incredibly politically sensitive investigation. nick bryant at the white house, many thanks. let's speak to a former senior official. what did you make of the decision?” thought it was a fabulous decision, apart from partisan politics, americans, i think,

apart from partisan politics, americans, ithink, in apart from partisan politics, americans, i think, in the last decade, have become pretty convinced the last two administrations especially that the law only applies to people who can't defend themselves. the working class. the people out there trying to hustle a buck. we watched the president obama for example try to change congressional legislation with his own pen without reference to the congress. we saw george bush expand and start wars all over the world. we saw mrs clinton do things that if it had been me when i was a senior official at the cia i would be in prison still making license plates. getting rid of comey and clearing the decks perhaps for going after people who have been above the law for most of their career i think is a tremendous thing for america. the only thing that is really left in oui’ only thing that is really left in our country that holds people

together is the idea of equality under the law. getting rid of comey and letting the carrots fall where they may is a great day for america. there are lots of arguments about this, one of them being, why is the president felt he didn't have confidence in mr comey from the day he was elected, apparently, according to the white house, why not get rid of him almost straightaway? why wait this long? you've certainly seen in our mainstream media and in the democratic party and some of the republican party, nothing he does is going to be approved. if he'd sacked him the day after he came in, which is the president's right, he would have been hit by a firestorm of this size on the first day. it's really kind of a lame excuse, an argument commonly used. he hasn't been praised for doing anything except by

the people who elected him.” praised for doing anything except by the people who elected him. i take the people who elected him. i take the point entirely but you must admit that to fire the man in charge ofan admit that to fire the man in charge of an investigation that relates to president trump, the likely nothing in it, that the russian connection... it does seem a rather dangerous move, and i put it that way, for the trump presidency?” think not, so, simply because i do not know how it is in your country but in america if they'd turned up one piece of evidence about collusion with the russians, it would have been leaked. the american bureaucracy at the moment is being cleared out because it's full of trump and clinton people. not trump and clinton people but obama and clinton people. i would bet that the new york times and washington and los angeles times have cause of reporters trying to find the least bit of evidence. if they found nothing, which is what the former

director of intelligence here said yesterday, there is nothing there. it's the democrats trying to figure out a way how the person obama called the most qualified person ever to run for the american presidency, obama must know nothing about george washington, lost the election to a businessman of all things. what about a possible successof things. what about a possible successor to mr comey. not going into names because they were mean much to us anyway, but will it have to be somebody who is a trump supporter? it wouldn't be a good thing, would it? i personally think he would be crazy to put a democrat in there. if you put it democrat in now why on earth would you go from fire to fire? it seems to meet some of the names that have been rooted about rok, rudolph giuliani. there isa man about rok, rudolph giuliani. there is a man in the congress called tray

goudie, congressman‘s from south carolina, former prosecutor, and about the fairest man in terms of partisanship i've ever heard. if they butchered someone like him i think it would be great. if you went afterformer think it would be great. if you went after former current republicans, democrats, it doesn't matter, he could go after everyone he wanted but he needs to demonstrate america is still based on equality before the law. michael, thank you very much in deed. we'll find out how this story and some others are being covered on tomorrow's front pages at 10:1i0pm in the papers. our guestsjoining me tonight are kate devlin, political correspondent at the herald and martin bentham, home affairs editor at the london evening standard. police have named an eleven—year—old girl who died yesterday while on a school trip to drayton manor theme park in staffordshire. evha jannath, from leicester, fell out of a boat on the splash canyon ride. in a statement her family said

their world had been torn apart. the drayton manor park will remain closed tomorrow. 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 trying to work out how she fell into the water. there is a height restriction, which means that young children who are 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. this was patrick treacyjust after he fell in the water on the same ride four years ago when he was ten. parents really should be aware of what, of how safe their children are going to be when they go on these rides. they look pretty calm, but they're actually quite dangerous. and when children aren't accompanied, i think seat belts should be in place. evha's school shut today; staff and pupils have been offered counselling.

she was a lovely, sweet natured girl, and 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. evha's family has issued a statement saying their world has been torn apart. they described her as "a beautiful little girl who was full of love and always smiling". they say that words cannot describe their pain and loss. the park was empty today — drayton manor decided to close as a mark of respect. phil mackie, bbc news, staffordshire. the time is quarter past eight, time to look at the headlines on bbc news. president trump has defended his decision to sack the head of the fbi without warning, saying james comey wasn't doing a good job. the

crown prosecution service says no conservatives will face charges over claims they breached the rules on campaign spending during the last general election. as we were just hearing, the family of an ii—year—old hearing, the family of an 11—year—old girl who died at a theme park yesterday say their world has been torn apart. no conservative politicians or officials will face charges for breaches of expenses rules during the 2015 general election. it follows allegations that the party had under—estimated the amount it spent in local constituencies. the crown prosecution service said it had examined files from 14 police forces in england but had not found enough evidence to justify further action. our home affairs correspondent tom symonds reports. i'm on the bus. the last general election, conservative activists to the country by battle bus staying in a string of hotels as they campaign for local candidates. party officials declared the cost of this as national election expenses not local. and political rivals said

the law had been broken. but today prosecutors decided there was no case to answer. after full and lengthy investigation the legal authorities have confirmed what we believed all along, and what we said all along, which was that the expenses, that local spending was properly reported, was properly declared and that the candidates had done nothing wrong. prosecutors said today that under the relevant law it must be proved that a suspect, that the local official putting in the declaration, knew the return was inaccurate and acted dishonestly in signing the declaration. but in this case the local officials said they'd been told what to do by the national party which received a record penalty fine from the electoral commission. gregg kinsell and his partner louise were also on the bus supporting a string of conservative candidates. but they went to the police

about how the campaign was run. their response to today's news. i think this is absolutely disgusting, it's a cover—up on a huge level and i think that the electoral commission are involved in this and i think the cps and the government. i think it's all to deflect attention from what really goes on behind the scenes. other parties have also been fined for the way they've filed election expenses. this time the justice system has concluded there's evidence of inaccuracies but not of a deliberate attempt to deceive. education has taken centre stage in the election campaign today. labour and the lib dems revealing their policies. both pledge billions more. labour says schools and further education policies would benefit under plans for what it calls a

national education service. liberal democrats say under their planned spending per pupil will be protected. branwen spending per pupil will be protected. bra nwen jeffreys spending per pupil will be protected. branwenjeffreys reports. lots of measurements of how long it ta kes for lots of measurements of how long it takes for the sound to get to us. measuring the speed of sound in cambridge. today a lesson in politics as well as science. news travelling of money for education. at the college in leaves it was all about lifelong learning. labour promising to invest in adults training. but most of all in schools, paid for by a rise in corporation tax. we have a problem in britain, we haven't invested enoughin in britain, we haven't invested enough in manufacturing, in infrastructure, in the skilled workers, engineers, scientists and teachers of tomorrow. we're determined to turn that around. what could be the impact of a rise incorporation tax? it'll reduce investment by companies in the uk and the long run won't raise as much

as it might in the short run as companies change their behaviour, reduce investment or move abroad. labour promises extra money each yearfor labour promises extra money each year for schools, reaching 4.8 labour promises extra money each yearfor schools, reaching 4.8 by 2022, a 10% yearfor schools, reaching 4.8 by 2022, a10% increase in current spending. 1.5 2022, a 10% increase in current spending. 1.5 billion extra for aduu spending. 1.5 billion extra for adult skills training and no school losing under a funding formula teixeira money across england, a promise matched by the lib dems. the party also says it would spend 5.8 billion extra one schools over the next four years, more for poor pupils. 616 million forfurther education. the lib dems suggested they come would raise taxes on businesses. two thirds of schools are planning to lay off at least one teacher, who is a least one teaching post in the next two months. under that kind of pressure there needs to bea that kind of pressure there needs to be a response, fully costed response, to build a future for all of our children so we can have

decent education and be confident in that. schools in cambridge are among the lowest funded in england. all the lowest funded in england. all the secondary headteachers here wrote to parents with a warning. we said there would be fewer teachers, fewer teaching assistants, fewer resources in classrooms, whether exercise books, laptops, fewer opportunities for students to go on trips or sporting fixtures. we've said that across the board there will be an impact. the school is one of thousands across england that has been writing to parents spelling out the difficult financial decisions that lie ahead. and that has galvanised parents to lobby mps of all parties. it is that grassroots pressure which is really pushing school budgets under the election agenda. the cost in schools are rising faster than budgets but today the conservatives defended their record. first of all, school funding is at record levels, and we've also within that put record levels of

funding into early education, we've protected the school pupil premium at two and a half billion pounds. what matters in education is, it's not about the funding, it's about the results you see and the education you provide for the children. labour and lib dems are also promising extra funding across the uk. labour has yet to confirm it would scrap university tuition fees and the lib dems on how they would handle a toxic issue for them. lets be to our political correspondent chris mason, who is at westminster. i think there might be some more information coming out about tuition fees this very evening. what's interesting here, as we we re evening. what's interesting here, as we were hearing from bramwell, this issue of education funding, whether it be at school level or university

level, so often a staple of general election campaigns... what's interesting is we are hearing that labour are moving towards a ma nifesto labour are moving towards a manifesto promise that we'll edge them a lot closer than they have been so far. twojeremy corbyn‘s promise when he was running for the labour leadership, of having free university education. the whole thing isn't nailed down as we understand it and they seem to be edging towards it rather than committing wholeheartedly to getting that far. and saying it explicitly. we'll have to wait for the manifesto to work out and see how they articulate the promise. it's been a long—standing view ofjeremy corbyn that education should be free. john mcdonnell the shadow chancellor said something very similar at a rally a couple of weeks ago. the big question for labour will be how they would pay for it. estimates suggest it would cost around about £11

billion. inevitably there would be scrutiny on whether the numbers add up. for the lib dems highly sensitive territory. it's a reminder for labour, any of the parties, about the dangers of making rushed and tasty promises in the heat of an election campaign. only to find yourself a little down the track at having to embarrassingly reverse out of them. at the moment because of the intense focus of an election campaign, reporters like me asking politicians every second minute what they are going to commit to. given they are going to commit to. given the media spotlight on them it's perfectly understandable they are tempted to want to say somebody generate headlines and attention. at the same time the reason we still have a week or so to wait for the party manifestos is they know those promises they commit to in a rush period of hammering out those documents will be once held against them for years to come. the

conservatives... we have the prime minister sort of spelling out where we are and why they think they have it right... their argument is, theresa may repeatedly says this, school funding is at record levels in england and in terms of the overall number, that is true. but, and it is a big but, school numbers in terms of pupils have been growing. funding per pupil, which from the perspective of a pupil or pa rent from the perspective of a pupil or parent is what really matters, has started to slide. it's in that context you seen these letters branwen context you seen these letters bra nwen jeffreys was context you seen these letters branwen jeffreys was talking context you seen these letters branwenjeffreys was talking about that headteachers have been sending out to parents, effectively begging for money. games this amount of traction, they have now become an election issue. it's something that on those conservative candidates as well as candidates for other parties who want to try to make some capital out of it at the expense of the conservatives. chris mason, thank you very much. throughout the election campaign we'll be putting your questions to politicians from all the main parties.

tomorrow at 11 thirty we'll be putting your questions to the snp‘s europe spokeperson stephen gethins. you can get in touch via twitter using the hashtag bbc ask this — or text your questions to 61124 — and you can email us as well at askthis@bbc.co.uk. three women, including one who was shoot during a police raid in north london last month have been charged by the metropolitan police. the women are charged with preparation of a terrorist act and conspiracy to murder, scotland yard have said. earlier three other women who had been arrested as of the investigation by the metropolitan police counter terrorism command were released without charge. a lorry driver who stole a 32—tonne tipper—truck has been sentenced to six months in prison, after almost driving into his boss and colleagues following a row at work. police helicopter footage shows patrick denman —

from northumberland — driving the wrong way down a dual carriageway and narrowly missing two police patrol cars. the court heard he was on his way to his ex—partner‘s home to intimidate her. 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. we would have the maddest ideas and would follow them through a long way. obviously some of them were too mad and discarded, but there's no one to tell us, you can't do it that way. we were young and arrogant and they were some brilliant times. way. we were young and arrogant and they were some brilliant timesm was an era of massive experimentation and there was a whole generation of designers and architects creating things no one would ever built. then along came pink floyd.

the stage designs, the giant inflatable pig. the album covers. the visuals were vital for a ban that was increasingly becoming anonymous. 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. david sillito, bbc news. let's ta ke let's take a look at the prospects for the weather over the next few days. details from tomasz schafernaker. quiet on the weather front right now

but thunderstorms may be on the is increasing over the next 24—48 hours. through this evening, very little change, this is the satellite picture from earlier. you can see clear skies, more cloud across western and northern scotland. house will start to increase across southern areas as we go through the course the course of wednesday night into the early hours of thursday. we could see showers across some of the southern areas. for the bus majority of the country it's going to be a dry night, not especially cold. tomorrow humidity keeps rising through the south, skies will turn hazy, if not cloudy, and there will be showers developing. some will be thundery. most of us will miss them but if you catch one it could be very heavy. temperatures to yorkshire in the sunshine up to 20 degrees, 17 degrees in sunny glasgow. friday and the weekend looking mixed, we could still see thunderstorms around friday into saturday. hello.

this is bbc news. the headlines at 8.30pm. president trump has defended his decision to sack the head of the fbi without warning — saying james comey had lost the confidence of almost everyone in washington. why did you fire director comey? he was not doing a good job. very simply, he was not doing a good job. the white house reveals that mr trump had been planning to sack james comey for several months. we had lost conference in director comey and frankly he had been considering letting director comey go since the day he was elected. here, the crown prosecution service says no conservatives will face charges over claims they'd breached the rules on campaign spending during the last general election. the family of evha jannath — the 11—year—old girl who died at a theme park yesterday — say their world has been torn apart. sport now, and time for a full

round up from the bbc sport centre. it's a crucial night for arsenal as they attempt to reach the premier league top four and qualify for the champions league. they're playing at southampton, where at almost half time it's 0—0. fairly even. both with chances in the first half. arsenal will go fifth if they win. .. three points behind manchester city in fourth with three games to go. atletico madrid need to overturn a three goal deficit against city rivals real if they're to reach the champions league final in cardiff. and they were already two thirds of the way there with just quarter of an hour gone at the vicente calderon. saul niguez opening the scoring... and then just four minutes later, antoine griezmann made it two from the penalty spot after fernando torres had been brought down. but in the last few moments, one has

been pulled back, a crucial away goalfor been pulled back, a crucial away goal for them. been pulled back, a crucial away goalfor them. three more goals needed for atletico madrid. they are also in injury time at the end of the first half. wayne rooney says he wants his future to be at manchester united, even if he admits that his lack of game—time is frustrating. rooney has made just 22 united starts this season and could miss out again when they defend their 1—0 lead in the europa league semi—final second leg against celta vigo at old trafford tomorrow. i would like to play more but that's the way it has panned out and, you know, i've tried to help the team of the pitch, on the pitch, and tried to help us win. i won't throw my toys out the pram, i haven't made a big fuss out of anything, but of

course, either football player, big fuss out of anything, but of course, eitherfootball player, i wa nt course, eitherfootball player, i want play football and, you know, the more i can play, obviously, the better for the more i can play, obviously, the betterfor me the more i can play, obviously, the better for me and the more the more i can play, obviously, the betterfor me and the more i the more i can play, obviously, the better for me and the more i feel i can help the team. well at that same press conference manchester united manager jose mourinho claimed paul pogba will not be affected by his world record transfer from juventus becoming the subject of a fifa inquiry. pogba was part of the united squad that trained today after the governing body confirmed they're investigating the £89 million move following claims his agent earned more than £40 million in the deal. rafa benitez will be given up to £100 million to spend should he agree to stay on at newcastle after their promotion to the premier league. benitez has so far refused to confirm he'd stay at st james park even though he has two years left on his contract. but following talks with owner mike ashley, a statement released tonight says the spaniard will have significant funds to strengthen the team. meanwhile harry redknapp will definitely be staying at birmingham. he's agreed to a one year contract, which he'll sign later this week. after helping the club stay in the championship in their final

three games of the season. the draw for the rugby world cup in 2019 has been made injapan. and after a group of death put pay to their chances at the tournament two years ago... england may be feeling a little unlucky again. they've been put in group c with six nations rivals france and argentina who reached the semi finals in 2015. we wa nt we want to win the world cup. it's quite clear. what a great chance it would be to win the rugby world cup injapan, the first time it has been played outside of a traditional country. let's have a look at the whole drawer, shall we? the hosts have been drawn alongside ireland and scotland. eddiejones hasjoked

eddie jones has joked that eddiejones has joked that he will have two visit a japanese temple to pray before taking on both argentina and france. the first matches will be on saturdays june ten the first matches will be on saturdastune ten and the 17th. and finally, to a rather embarrassing moment at the giro d'italia for slovenian cyclist lu ka pibernik. he was leading the fifth stage as it entered messina on the island of sicily. unfortunately for him, he had either forgotten they were meant to do two laps through the town or didn't hear the bell indicating the final lap and celebrated his uncontested victory only to realise moments later why the rest of

the field hadn't chased him! columbian sprinter fernando gaviria was eventually and legitimately first across the finish line for his second victory of the tour. britain's geraint thomas and adam yates came home safely in the main group remaining second and third overall. behind leader bob jungels of luxembourg. moonjae—in has been sworn in as south korea's president after winning more than 40 per cent of the vote — almost double his nearest competitor. his victory ends almost a decade of conservative rule as stephen evans reports. certainly a new tone. where the last president was reclusive, this one was the opposite. and whilst previous presidents had lavish inaugurations, this one took barely ten minutes. his president —— his predecessor is imprisoned facing

corruption charges. he said, i take office with empty pockets and i will leave with empty pockets and return to my hometown. but tone is easy. hard part is action. the us and korean military is collaborating against north korea, but donald trump and moon jae—in against north korea, but donald trump and moonjae—in have different policies. hardline tramp and softer president moon, how will that work out? president moon has signalled that he is not anti—american but the difficult will be if donald trump decides on a military attack on north korea when president moon is saying, you simply can't do that. the man from the north has kept

silent about a new man in the south. kimjong un silent about a new man in the south. kim jong un wanted someone who would talk to him, his media said so. we'll president moon keep his more conciliatory approach —— will president moon keep his more conciliatory approach? let's return now to our general election. with just under a month to go until we're being asked to cast our votes in the general election, the parties are keen to show what they would do were they to be in power. but what would you do if you were in power? well, bbc south east today asked a group of teenagers in heathfield in east sussex what changes they would make if they were pm for the day. let's sort out the boat. give it to 16 and 17—year—olds. let's sort out the boat. give it to 16 and 17-year-olds. i'd scaled back

any clear spending 16 and 17-year-olds. i'd scaled back any clearspending and 16 and 17-year-olds. i'd scaled back any clear spending and give it to education and the nhs. schools need more funding. we are the future. some schools have had to drop six or seven a—level subjects and that narrows choices and could narrow career paths. from the issues that affect them now to decisions they we re affect them now to decisions they were not able to vote on. if we want to stop the next generation making political mistakes that have been made recently, 16 and 17—year—olds should be allowed to buy it. people have been voting blindly under fake news and immigration misconceptions. but we can't allow people to just keep flooding in. but we have to help others as well. brexit is helping —— brexit is happening, so it's back to a prime ministers hope.

i would increase funding in the nhs. we rely on it every day but we neglect it a lot. i would work on environmental issues to help secure a future for our children. the potential future cabinet members and perhaps by minister have spoken. throughout the election campaign, we'll be putting your questions to politicians from all the main parties. tomorrow at 11.30am, we'll be putting your questions to the snp‘s europe spokeperson, stephen gethins. you can get in touch via twitter using the hashtag #bbcaskthis — or text your questions to 61124 — and you can email us as well at askthis@bbc.co.uk. an 89th—minute aston villa goal that put newcastle united top of the championship has won a punter more than £60,000. that last—gasp goal by jack grealish has earned this lucky football fan from the scottish borders a grand total of £60,734. the man,

who is in his 50s but did not want to be named, placed a £10 bet before the start of the season. seven teams to win in england and scotland. the accumulator bet — which would only pay out if all the predictions were correct — had chosen seven winners in england and scotland. in order for the bet to succeed, newcastle had to better brighton and hove albion's result on sunday during the final championship games of the season. grealish‘s late equaliser against brighton ensured the bet was a winner, with newcastle beating barnsley 3—0. with me isjessica bridges from the betting company ladbrokes. and also i'm joined by professor anatoly zhigljavsky — he's the statistics chair at cardiff university. good evening to you both. let's start with you, jessica. accumulator bets. one does hear about them quite a lot. i bet they're quite popular

but you don't pay out very often? they are incredibly popular and a lot of girls and boys like going down to the bookies on saturday with a couple of quid in their pockets, they get their lists, tick them off in the pub as they come along and inevitably, one or two, they hit the post and you only have one or two out of ten. this is a bet that has really pa id off out of ten. this is a bet that has really paid off very well for this gentleman now. he had seven teams across the football league in england and scotland as you said to win an outright league. he placed this but at the start of the last season and the odds were 6073 to one. he had £10. a long shot, you might say. so he hasjust onejust shorter £61,000. this is all thanks to jack grealish, because it was all down to brighton and newcastle. both

teams were up to the championship, it was all down to who was going to be first or second and it was all down to jack grealish. now let's speak to our professor, this business of accumulator bets, one can see the attraction but as jessica was saying, the chances of getting a pay—out are pretty remote, aren't they? yes, it doesn't really matter if you place single bets or multiples or accumulators in terms of average reward. mean reward is the same. if you estimate probabilities better than the bookies, you will get average pay—outs. this doesn't happen very rarely because bookies estimate probabilities very well usually, but there are some games when it is impossible to estimate a probability and there are a different —— there

are different ways of estimating probabilities. it depends on a person. some people like accumulators because they like doing accumulators because they like doing a lot. some people like multiples. my favourite is three out of eight. it pays much better than single bets but is more reliable than accumulators. so you have to play multiples. é you | betting man multiples. so are you a betting man yourself? are you speaking as something you know a lot about? we have a group in cardiff. we collect data for all football games, from all of the bookies, all of the files from the last three years, about 800,000 games, maybe more, and we analyse the data, create robots. students do projects each year, they

love this kind of project, because the first half of the year, they study and analyse them, play the robots themselves, and normally the robots themselves, and normally the robots lose but this year, the robot one for the first time. i must ask you one quick question about casino betting. is it right that blackjack is actually one to go for? the odds are slightly better in your favour down the house? the odds are always better for the house than the player but blackjack is a famous exception because when statisticians with a good memory or with some external device, they can report which cards are left and they can compete probabilities based on that. they can make small profits and thereafter they must stories when group self statisticians are there

and they were banned from all casinos because they won millions. well, exactly, no operators like it when the punters win, of course. i'm going to say, we should not be encouraging this - of thing, encouraging this kind of thing, but awn“, encouraging this kind of thing, but look, we what do you mean by that? look, we have to look after our customers. welfare is an absolute priority and whether that is responsible gambling or underage gambling, we have to be on top of that because if not, we will lose our license. we don't want that business. we are here because we wa nt that business. we are here because we want to help customers. they want to win money but we want to win money as well at the end of the day, ultimately. we are there to look after our customers and i must admit i've never had one of these bets coming but it's the thrill of having a bit where you put on a very small amount. this customer bet £10 and

£161,000. you can have a very small outlay to win a life changing amount of money. you can spend that on a bag of chips or a pint of beer. it's what people like to do. —— this customer bet £10 and he won nearly £61,000. president trump has defended his decision to sack the head of the fbi without warning — saying james comey wasn't doing a good job. the crown prosecution service says no conservatives will face charges over claims they'd breached the rules on campaign spending during the last general election. the family of evha jannath — the 11—year—old girl who died at a theme park yesterday — say their world has been torn apart. an update on the market numbers for you — here's how london's and frankfurt ended the day. and in the the united states

this is how the dow and the nasdaq are getting on. the white house says president trump is considering four senior fbi officials to serve as the interim replacement for the sacked director of the organisation, james comey. president trump wrote in a letter to mr comey that he agreed with attorney generaljeff sessions' recommendation that he was "not able to effectively lead the bureau". peter ahearn is a former intelligence officer, who spent 29 years at the fbi, and is also the president and founder of the ahearn security consulting group. hejoins me on webcam from north virginia. thank you very much for talking to us. one of the things that came out just an hour or so i gave from the white house was the suggestion —— an hour or so ago from the white house

was that mr comey had lost the confidence of the rank and file of the fbi, not just confidence of the rank and file of the fbi, notjust president trump himself. does that ring true with you? no, not at all. iwas himself. does that ring true with you? no, not at all. i was speaking with senior fbi executives in the last week or so and some yesterday and after the sacking and even today ata and after the sacking and even today at a conference and i don't believe thatis at a conference and i don't believe that is true at all. you have to say that is true at all. you have to say that mr comey haven't exactly covered himself in glory, has he? certainly as far as the clinton e—mail it first —— the clinton e—mail it first —— the clinton e—mail investigation is concerned. that's a matter of opinion. i think in hindsight he would have dealt with that differently but we could talk for a while from the standpoint of why he did what he did, given the fa cts of why he did what he did, given the facts of what was going on, that there was no leadership in the department ofjustice there was no leadership in the department of justice and there was no leadership in the department ofjustice and nobody can get through to talk to the department ofjustice get through to talk to the department of justice about get through to talk to the department ofjustice about the depth of that investigation. even though he made that announcement,

people need to understand that had he not done that, had it been done by the department, by policy, people he could have understudied what the fbi had done, he would have been up in front of capitol hill a week later doing exactly what he did. that is another matter. why would the president fired the director of the president fired the director of the fbi given the work he really has done overall, developing strategies in taking forward what threats and strategies are facing law—enforcement in the united states ? law—enforcement in the united states? that is the main concern in this country and with the fbi at the moment. the suspicion is around that it is sub —— it is somehow related toa it is sub —— it is somehow related to a russian connection with donald trump's election and people helping them. on the other hand, somebody i spoke to a little while ago said, listen, there's absolutely no evidence come forth yet from

anywhere, even the journalists digging away, no evidence has yet come forward for that. that's correct and they're not going to put any evidence they have forward during the middle of an investigation. clinton e—mail investigation. clinton e—mail investigation information was posed investigation information was posed investigation and that's why they made the announcement. in the past few days, the director asked for a budget increase for the investigation because of the number of agents and the money that was being spent as the investigation was going on. speculation is ongoing right now as to whether there is something there or not, but the point is that the investigation continues and let me note that people have been asking, will that change now? i can tell you right now that i went through my career with the last director who was fired, greg sessions, and the fbi doesn't skipa greg sessions, and the fbi doesn't skip a beat. they will not stop the investigation, they will carry on. but the real concern will be is,

once you are finished with it, if you find some evidence, right now there is concern within the bureau that will be department ofjustice barely look at any kind of prosecution if they find evidence? why are congress calling for a special prosecutor from outside of the department? what are your own feelings on this, your own suspicions? is there something in the idea that a president who doesn't like what they are finding out, let's fire him? this smacks of the richard nixon days, doesn't it? it does. the archibald cox firing on the saturday night massacre. i was a young man but i do remember it and the repercussions. the director of the repercussions. the director of the fbi has a 10—year term and can't be fired without some kind of cause and the court in the latter he cited

—— and because in the letter he cited was the e—mail situation with clinton and he could have said that the day after he was inaugurated. there are a lot of questions around that. i won't speculate on it but i think the optics of it, the timing of it, i will lead people to look at that and maybe months or years down the line, people will look back at how this all played out. you said the fbi would not miss a beat if it was on an enquiry, because the director goes, they still carry straight on. does that mean that whoever gets appointed, the fee would be that president trump would put in someone who is beholden to him from his opponents. does that matter? i think before it can get through congress, that has got to be agreement that the individual unable have independence. whether or not that happens is another thing. if any fbi agents were being told to

discontinue an investigation without due reason, that will not stay within the fbi and that would be all over congress. i think they are smart enough to put somebody in there who is going to be at least independent, critically that knows the rule of law, knows law—enforcement, again, the russian issueis law—enforcement, again, the russian issue is an issue, but i've got to tell you, i can't stress enough the bigger issue is that the director of the fbi is dealing with. the going dark issues, the ability to collect information in the 21st—century with the internet, the privacy concerns, security, and not just the internet, the privacy concerns, security, and notjust for the fbi but for all law enforcement. for the person coming in here, this is much more important than just the bus and investigation. that is a very small pa rt investigation. that is a very small part of what the director of a fbi is going to have to deal with. peter hearn, very grateful to you. thank you very much. thank you. as we discovered last week,

the duke of edinburgh will be stepping back from public life in the autumn. today he was out carriage driving in windsor and he was on lively form — as an american television interviewer found out. our royal correspondent nicolas witchell reports. he took to carriage driving when he gave up polo. it's a favourite sport. so too is winding up unwary interviewers, as an american carriage driver interviewing the duke for us television discovered this afternoon. so, a gentle first question. what does it mean to you to have the sport that you helped develop displayed here at windsor? not much. ok, well, how about some reminiscences. i heard a wonderful story once how you came back with only three wheels and needed a garden stake to sort of prop up... no, that wasn't me. no, it was somebody else. may be a more technical question about the competitions would work. what was your personal

favourite phase of the three days? i didn't have a favourite. we just had to get through them. laughter oh, please, there must be something you'd like to share. do you have some favourite experiences that you'd like to share? favourites? like turning over? that was your favourite? well, no, but i don't know what you mean about experiences. special memories you have of your years competing in the sport. is there something that stands out for you that you look back fondly and say, yeah, that was a good time. turning over here in the water. chuckles and there we have it, he's nearly 96, soon he will be taking life easier. we'll miss him. nicholas witchell, bbc news. that is known in the trade is a tough interview. now we are going to

look at the weather. is there good news? it is good news, if you don't mind a downpour or two and gardens do need it. it has been so dry over the last week or so. the next 24 to 48 hours are going to bring the risk of thunder and we will notice the humidity rising and the temperature is rising as well. in the short—term, certainly quiet on weather front but by the early hours of thursday morning, we might get some rain getting into southern and central —— south—western parts of the uk. if you are hoping for rain on thursday, i can't guarantee it. some areas will miss the rainfall altogether and it will end up being altogether and it will end up being a very dry day. this is what it will look like at about 8am, some showers around southern and central parts, but they could be further east or north, so difficult to pinpoint exactly he will get the rain in the

morning in the south, but the thought is that further north it will be a straightforward sunny start to the day. beautiful weather around central and northern parts of the uk. through the course of the day, clouds will increase, with the humidity rising and pent—up energy in the atmosphere could cause thunderstorms to break out. you can see they will only be small here and there. if you are right underneath one you will know about it, but for most of us, just a hazy day, quite close, with temperatures between 15 and 20 degrees. then some more substantial rain getting into the south coast. through the course of friday, we are seeing south—westerly winds sending moisture, cloud and all that humidity in our direction, soa all that humidity in our direction, so a game, a risk of cloud and thunderstorms around on friday, particularly in the central areas at the highest risk. 19 degrees in london. more like 16 across

scotland, which is pleasant enough with the sunshine. saturday, the cloud and the rain pushes eventually into northern areas of the uk. still feeling pretty humid on saturday, but then various fresh air to the west of our neighbourhood and this weather front will push through the uk on sunday. sunday, temperatures will be more or less the same but it will be more or less the same but it will be more or less the same but it will be a lot fresher on sunday competitor saturday. tomorrow, a risk of thunderstorms breaking out. hello, i'm philippa thomas, this is outside source. president trump has defended his shock decision to fire the fbi directorjames comey. he wasn't doing a good job, very simply, he was not doing a good job. outraged democrats say there must now be an independent investigation into ties between the trump campaign and russia. nothing less is at stake than the american people's faith in

ourcriminal than the american people's faith in our criminaljustice than the american people's faith in our criminal justice system than the american people's faith in our criminaljustice system and the integrity of the executive branch of our government. the sacking also surprised the russian foreign minister who met donald trump today at the white house. was he fired? yes. you're kidding, you're kidding! syria was