this is bbc news, i'm reeta chakrabari. the headlines at apm: more pressure on president trump as he's accused of asking the head of the fbi to drop an inquiry into his former security chief's links with russia. now is the time to gather all the pertinent information. ourjob is to be responsible, sober and focus only on gathering the facts. that is what congress does in conducting oversight of the executive branch. the liberal democrats put europe at the heart of their election manifesto — promising a referendum every vote and every seat for the liberal democrats giving us the opportunity to strengthen our plan when it comes to the key central plank of this manifesto, which is giving you the british people, you and yourfamily giving you the british people, you and your family the final say on what happens next with brexit. i'll be reporting live from breath national green where the liberal democrats are launching their general election manifesto in a few

hours‘ time. unemployment falls again — it's now at its lowest level since 1975. but for the first time in three years — pay is lagging behind inflation. i'm simon mccoy. also coming up — the sexist world of horse—racing it's a sport worth more than £3 billion, but why do women looking for a career, rarely get to the finishing line? and what would corrie‘s cash—strapped cleaner have to say about this? as soap busybody hilda ogden's pinny and curlers go up for auction. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. the chairman of an influential us congressional committee is demanding that the fbi hands over all records of contacts between its former chief, james comey, and president trump.

the documents are at the centre of claims that the president asked mr comey to drop an investigation into links between his former national security adviser, michael flynn, and russia. the allegations, in the new york times, have been denied by the white house. wyre davies reports. donald] trump, the 45th president of the united states, is barely four months into office — yet he's dealing with an almost daily drip of damaging allegations. the latest — that he tried to influence an fbi inquiry. in february, one of the president's closest allies was forced to resign, when it emerged that mike flynn, then the national security advisor, misled the administration over his contacts with russian officials before mr trump took office. now an explosive accusation from the new york times that the day after mr flynn's dismissal, donald trump had asked the fbi director, james comey, to drop the flynn investigation. "i hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting flynn go."

those were the president's words, according to a note, which the paper says mr comey wrote directly after the meeting. and there's james! despite public shows of support, relations between donald trump and mr comey were strained over the fbi investigations into mr flynn and alleged russian interference in the us election. investigations mr comey insisted would continue. the fbi, as part of our counterintelligence mission, is investigating the russian government's efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election. mr comey was fired by the president last week, but washington has been astounded by the existence of the note he apparently made after their earlier meeting. a meeting which vice—president mike pence was reportedly asked to leave. in a week full of revelation after revelation, on a day when we thought things couldn't get any worse — they have. only 2a hours ago, president trump

justified sharing sensitive intelligence information with russia's foreign minister, a decision which observers say could have compromised american allies and their sources. for some senior law—makers, republicans included, this is all too reminiscent of an earlier dark era. i think we have seen this movie before. i think it's reaching a point where it is of watergate size and scale, and a couple of other scandals that you and i have seen. days after sacking the fbi director, donald trump issued his own warning to mr comey on social media, appearing to suggest he may have recorded their meetings. days after sacking the fbi director, donald trump issued his own warning to mr comey on social media, appearing to suggest he may have recorded their meetings. the white house has emphatically denied that mr trump asked the fbi to stop any investigation. the president still has plenty of support in congress, and especially outside of washington.

and backing from the most unlikely source today when vladimir putin said donald trump wasn't being allowed to govern. the house speaker paul ryan said facts were needed and reminded reporters that a number of official investigations were underway. look, there has been a lot of reporting lately. i think that requires close examination. let me tell you what i told our members just this morning. we need the fa cts . just this morning. we need the facts. it is obvious, there are some people out there who want to harm the president, but we have an obligation to carry out our oversight regardless of which party is in the white house and that means before rushing to judgment, is in the white house and that means before rushing tojudgment, we get all the pertinent information. the house reform committee requested this memo and i'm sure we're going to wa nt this memo and i'm sure we're going to want to hear from mr comey if this happens as he allegedly describes, why didn't he take action at the time? so there are a lot of u na nswered at the time? so there are a lot of unanswered questions. what i told oui’ unanswered questions. what i told

our members, now is the time to gather all the pertinent information. ourjob is to be responsible, sober and focus only on gathering the facts. that is what congress does in conducting oversight of the executive branch. reporter: do you want to see comey tv in an opening hearing?” reporter: do you want to see comey tv in an opening hearing? i will leave to the committee. there is an investigation occurring at the fbi. there is an investigation in the house and there is an investigation in the senate. we've got three investigations going on. i'm not going to micromanage or armchair quarterback investigations, but the point is this, we can't deal with speculation and innuendo and there is clearly a lot of politics being playedment ourjob is to get the fa cts playedment ourjob is to get the facts and to be sober about doing that. the house speaker paul ryan. let's go to connecticut. prosecute will be speaking at the us

coastguard academy. there are questions around the president which he may allude to. we will be bring you his words once he appears. let's speak to jane o'brien in washington. already the w word, watergate is being used. does that overstate the difficulties that the president finds himself in? well, it is certainly a useful tag line and i'm standing in front of the very committee room where the famous watergate hearings were held all those years ago. it is a fairly apt metaphorfor those years ago. it is a fairly apt metaphor for what's happening at the moment and people are describing president trump's behaviour as nicksownian. it is too early to talk

about impeachment because nobody knows what has been said. we have had reports of a memo that's not been made public. snippets were read by an unnamed associate of the ousted fbi director james by an unnamed associate of the ousted fbi directorjames comey to reporters, but nobody has publicly seen that memo which is why you have the chairman of the house oversight committee saying that congress needs to see all documents, memos, e—mails, anything that was documented, catalogued that will show what president trump and james comey discussed at any point. james comey discussed at any point. james comey himself, people want to hear directly from him. you've got susan collins a senior republican on the senate intelligence committee saying they have reached out to the former director the they want him to come and tv. so far he has been refused, but the offer still stands and the pressure is growing for him to come forward and tell everybody exactly what the president said.

legally, jane, a memo written by the head of the fbi has considerable legal weight? it certainly does. head of the fbi has considerable legalweight? it certainly does. it carries the weight of law. it is a document that can be produced in evidence, but again, we're a long way from talk of obstrugting justice which is what a lot of democrats are muttering about at the moment. there has to be an investigation first and just to put this into context. you have a sitting president who by definition enjoys protection from immunity. you have a republican controlled congress, both the senate and the house are controlled by republicans. they would have to move for impeach the, both houses before anything could happen and you have a justice department headed by an attorney—general that had to rea ccuse attorney—general that had to reaccuse himself from all investigations into any ties between donald trump's campaign and the russians. so, legally, the waters

are extremely murky anyway and this may well still turn out to be a political decision rather than a legal one. jane, thank you very much. jane o'brien there in washington. the liberal democrats are putting another eu referendum this time on the deal the uk strikes with brussels at the heart of their general election manifesto. the party said it would "let the people decide" whether brexit happens, once negotiations have finished. the party's leader tim farron says the decision to leave the eu could "wreck" the lives of future generations. he'll be in east london later to launch the party's manifesto, but for all the build up let's cross live to ben brown. yes, we are in bethnal green and it is here at #.15pm that tim farron will be launching the liberal democrat manifesto, the promise is to hold a second referendum on brexit. to quote "give the final say to the british people." that's what the manifesto will say. there are other promises too. there isn't this

time around any promise to abolish tuition fees and scrap university tuition fees and scrap university tuition fees, but there is a promise to legalise cannabis and to tax the sale of cannabis saying that the liberal democrats saying they could bring in with that taxation around £1 billion a year in revenue. well, let's get this report from our political correspondent, chris mason. tim farron went back to school this morning. the lesson? how the liberal democrats think the country should be run. front and centre was brexit, and how it should be handled. at the heart of our manifesto is an offer to all of the people in our country that no other party is making and that is that we do not just have to accept whatever deal we get back from the brexit negotiations, but the british people, you, should have the final say. if you don't like what theresa may comes back with, you should have the right to vote to remain. the lib dems say they would spend more money on health and education paid for by higher corporation tax and a penny on income tax. on housing, they want to introduce

a rent—to—own scheme for tenants, and they have promised to legalise and regulate cannabis. they claim this could generate £1 billion per year in tax. it's about keeping the availability of hard drugs away from cannabis, and it's about regulating cannabis so the most skunk are outside of the regulated system. it is about helping those people who are vulnerable and hitting those people who are the criminals who take advantage of them. the big lib dem manifesto launch event isn't until this evening. but take a look at this. the document itself is online. tim farron says it isn't a programme for government, he expects the conservatives to win the election and he thinks it could be a landslide. he wants to be a strong voice in opposition. it's telling as well what isn't in the manifesto. the liberal democrats are not promising to scrap university

tuition fees in england. the very promise they broke in government. what you need to do is make promises that you can keep. what we've laid out in the manifesto, fully costed on the based of the government's current figures, even with us heading out of the european union, is a plan that will boost education, further education, and schools, by £7 billion. at the last election, the lib dems faced the ghoulish nightmare of near oblivion. they're all smiles now but have a huge amount of ground to make up to get even close to where they used to be. you heard from tim farron in that report. he is saying that the liberal democrats at this election are offering what he called a better, brighterfuture. are offering what he called a better, brighter future. a are offering what he called a better, brighterfuture. a rejection of what he called the extreme brexit thatis of what he called the extreme brexit that is being offered by the conservative party. at the heart of our manifesto is an offer to all the people in our country that no other party is making and that's we don't have to

accept whatever deal we get back from the brexit negotiations, but the british people, you, should have the final say. but the british people, you, should have the final say and if you don't like what theresa may comes back with, you should have the right to vote to remain. if we think that three—quarters of our young people in this country voted to remain, they are a reminder of why there is so much dismay at what theresa may is planning to do. the most extreme version of brexit thatjeremy corbyn and ukip backed as well. the liberal democrats are the only people offering you hope that britain's future could be brighter and better. but if people vote no at that point, isn't it that we then just leave without a deal at all? well, our policy is that theresa may would have the motivation to go and get the best possible deal for britain so she could win her argument. our view though is that if the british people reject that deal then they should have the right to remain in the european union. it is a simple choice, accept the deal and leave the european union or vote to reject the deal and remain in the european union.

tim farron there, the liberal democrat leader. i'm joined in bethnal green ahead of that ma nifesto bethnal green ahead of that manifesto launch by our correspondent following the liberal democrat campaign around the country, throughout the election. brexit and this idea of a second referendum is very much at the heart of the manifesto? brexit has been at the fore front of this campaign from day one. we have been following tim farron for the last week—and—a—half and every time he goes to a constituency and talks to constituents about what he his key policies are he talks about leaving the single market. he said this should not be the case. this would be bad news for the younger generation. we went to the south—west with him last week. this isa ba south—west with him last week. this is a ba battle ground for him. most people voted to leave the eu and he will struggle with people and place like this to convince them that to vote for him because he is actually still talking about something that has already happened. we have voted to leave the eu. as we heard in chris mason's report, the lib dems we re chris mason's report, the lib dems were routed at the last election.

they lost almost 50 seats, they have got a mountain to climb at this election, haven't they? the recent poll figures show they are at 9%. the polls are not in their favour. we know past experiences have taught us we know past experiences have taught us that, but just we know past experiences have taught us that, butjust talking to people around the countriment many people are angry, it is palpable, they don't feel that tim farron has the character and the charisma to cut through the policies he has been talking about haven't making headlines, the other parties seem to be dominating the news agenda and he will have to do something significantly differently to get in there really. he is taking part in a news debate tomorrow and that could twist things around. it did with nick clegg in 2010. thank you very much indeed. our correspondent following the lib dem campaign and we are expecting the liberal democrats to launch the ma nifesto the liberal democrats to launch the manifesto just the liberal democrats to launch the ma nifesto just after the liberal democrats to launch the manifesto just after 7pm this evening and full coverage of that here on bbc news. and today at 5.30pm on bbc news

we will be putting your questions about the liberal democrat manifesto to the party's former leader, nick clegg. you can get in touch via twitter using the hashtag bbc ask this or text your questions to 61124 and you can e—mail us as well at: askthis@bbc.co.uk one ofjeremy corbyn‘s key allies, the leader of the unite union, len mccluskey, has said he believes that labour is now in with "a real chance" of winning the general election. in an earlier interview, mr mccluskey suggested a labour victory on 8th june would be "extraordinary". but today he said labour's manifesto was fantastic, and he was full of optimism. the interview i did with politico was a conversational piece, and it was against the backdrop of if the opinion polls are to be believed that i made those comments. of course, since then, labour launched their manifesto and it's fantastic.

a manifesto for workers and ordinary working people. a manifesto that will change britain for the good. and the response that we've had from unite members has been incredible. that's why i was checking our polls that we do, constant rolling polls, and the response has been like something we've never seen before. so i'm now full of optimism — if i was having that interview today, i wouldn't be making those comments. back to connecticut because president trump has just arrived. the national anthem hasjust been played and he has been introduced. this is at the us coastguard academy, an organisation facing 12% cuts. there have been protests at the academy. the president will be addressing after the national anthem.

american national anthem american national anthem applause

please remain standing. at this time i invite the professor to the front of the stage. 136 commencement exercises of the united states coast card academy are i'iow united states coast card academy are now convened. —— coastguard academy are now convened. applause captain michaelj, command chaplain united states coastguard academy

will now deliver the invocation. let us will now deliver the invocation. let us pray. heavenly father help us to be mindful of your presence and of your love for your people as we gather to see the class of 2017 graduated from this academy and commissioned in the united states coastguard. we thank you for the perseverance and strength of purpose that bring them to this happy day. we thank you too lord for all who have offered them support and encouragement along the way, for parents, and family, and friends, for teachers, and coaches. for the leadership of the academy and of the nation, for mntors, sponsors, and clergy, amen. thank you, chaplain. ladies and gentlemen, please be seated.

platform party, and presenters of commissions, pleasejoin platform party, and presenters of commissions, please join the class of 2017 in uncovering, all of their military personnel, please remain covered throughout the ceremony. i 110w covered throughout the ceremony. i now have the pleasure of introduce the 41st superintendent of the united states coast card academy. —— coast card academy. we'll return as soon as donald trump ta kes to we'll return as soon as donald trump takes to that podium. the former american soldier chelsea manning, who passed hundreds of thousands of confidential diplomatic documents to wikileaks, has been released from a military prison in kansas. the 29—year—old was expected to remain in jail until 2045, but president obama commuted her sentence just before leaving the white house injanuary. a little earlie reta spoke to our north amercia correspondent,

rajini vaidyanathan. we got a statement from the us military which had the time stamp of 2am telling us that chelsea manning had left. that was it. but we weren't expecting anything more than that because even chelsea manning's lawyers had told us she wasn't planning to make any sort of appearance and just wanted to leave the prison quietly. now, of course, she spent seven years at this us military prison. some of that time in solitary confinement after she was convicted, sentenced to 35 years in prison for being behind one of the largest leaks of us government data in us history. do we know what sort of life she can be expected to lead now in liberty? the fact of her being released is controversial, isn't it? it is. it's worth pointing out that whilst, of course, she has a lot of supporters who have been fighting for her release for many years and of course, it was president obama,

at the start of this year in one of his final acts in office, who commuted her sentence. it was a controversial decision and at the time president—elect trump did send a tweet calling chelsea manning a traitor. this is a military town and i have spoken to a few people here, very few people actually knew who chelsea manning was when i asked them about her impending release, one person i spoke to said she was a member of the us military and felt that chelsea manning should never have been released because she compromised us government secrets. in terms of the second point that you ask about what happens next? one of the key things to point out is that chelsea manning for now will still remain an active member of the us military. even though she was given a dishonourable discharge from service at the time of her sentencing and that is because her lawyers say she is fighting her conviction.

so she is appealing that conviction and while that process is ongoing she will remain an active member of the us military without pay, but she will have access to medical and health care benefits. now if she loses that appeal they will be dishonourably discharged, but that doesn't change the fact that she is a free agent. american national anthem uk unemployment is down again — falling to its lowest level in 42 years. latest figures from the office for national statistics show the number of people unemployed fell by 53,000 to 1.54 million in the three months to march — a rate of 4.6%. but are the figures as good as they seem? our economics correspondent andrew verity reports. you would need to be well into your 40s to remember a time when the unemployment rate was this low. at 1.54 million, the number of unemployed people is only 4.6% of a working population that keeps swelling to record numbers. economists have been convinced for years that if unemployment got low enough then pay rises

would start to take off. especially if prices were rising more quickly. but we keep on getting fresh lows in the unemployment rates and that keeps on not happening. donna spicer lives in charlton in south—east london. she earns just enough as a teaching assistant not to receive benefits. her pay was frozen for four years and in the last two years it has gone up byjust1% per year. half of her wage goes on rent. i struggle to eat sometimes. i have no social life because of no money to go out. and it's a choice of heating and eating. so one winter it was sitting there with blankets and hot water bottles, jackets, jumpers and a very blue nose. and a choice of food. the economy has exceeded almost all forecasts in generating jobs. unemployment dropped by 53,000 over the past three months to the end of march. the average pay rise was 2.1%. and the average amount we produce per hour,

productivity, has fallen by 0.5%. before the financial crisis, it was taken for granted that most employers could afford inflation beating pay rises. because each worker would produce a bit more each year as companies invested in new technology and training. but since the crisis those improvements in productivity have been much lower. have been much slower. well, it's a bit of a puzzle the fact that unemployment is not driving wages to the extent we might expect. but there are two headwinds on wages that might be driving some of that. one is fast rising inflation which is eating into pay packets and the second is productivity, output, for each hour worked that is the long—term driver of pay and that has been stagnant for nearly nine years. the economy has beaten expectations for generating jobs, but it has fallen short of expectations for generating real pay rises. whatever government is in power, they will be

hard—pressed to change that. now the weather. some heavy rain and thundery bursts in the far south—east and into east anglia before it clears away later. it has cleared from parts of wales, western areas of england. some areas didn't get into the rain. we've got a few showers in northern ireland and england. it is clear across the north and the west of the uk. temperatures will be lower than this in rural spots. for some as we start the day tomorrow, a fresher feel across the uk. a good deal of sunshine. showers get going quickly in northern ireland though through the morning and then into scotland especially to the north. much of the midlands and east anglia and the south east will avoid the showers and stay dry. quite pleasant in sunshinement even though it is fresher. quite cool when the showers move through. a risk of more rain running up north sea coastal parts as we go on through friday.

elsewhere, it is sunshine and showers and that covers it for the weekend as well. hello. this is bbc news. the headlines at 4.30pm. leading democrat congressmen have formally established a commission to investigate links between president trump and russia. the republican house speaker paul ryan has dismissed the claim. the liberal democrats have launched their election manifesto with the promise of a referendum on the final brexit deal. leader tim farron says the party also wants to see a massive boost in housing, an increase in nhs funding by putting a penny on income tax and the legalisation of cannabis. unemployment has fallen to its lowest level in 42 years, but average earnings are lagging behind inflation, increasing by 2.4% in the year to march, below the inflation rate of 2.7%. and women are facing "prejudice and discrimination" if they choose

horse—racing as a career. according to the sport's first ever survey into gender, women are under—represented in the most prominent areas of the sport. and she was famous for her trademark headscarf and pinny — now coronation street's hilda ogden‘s trademark possessions are going under the hammer. time for the sport now and olly foster has all the details. walter mazzarri will leave his position as the head coach of watford after sunday's final game of the season at home to manchester city. his tenure has lasted less than year like so many before him. they have only won 11 games all season

although they did beat relegation. they briefly climbed to seven before christmas but they have lost their last five matches. they could finish as low as 17 although they won't go down. manchester united are at southampton tonight. they will finish sixth. jose mourinho has beenjuggling his squad to keep them fresh for the europa league final. they have lost their last two matches but he insists they will be competitive at st mary ‘s. we want to fight for the result. i don't want to field a team where people has the feeling that we are not fighting for the result. we are fighting for the result, so i am going to rotate people. as i was saying, fellaini will be playing against southampton because he is not playing the last three matches, so try not to accumulate, but people have to play, because we do not have other players and i cannot put four or five kids out together in the fire.

i cannot do that to the kids. kyle edmund has been knocked out of the roma masters. he was beaten by juan martin del potro. del potro now has to face kei nishikori in the third round. andy murray was also knocked out in the second round, the world number one was the defending champion in rome. he has had a real dip inform champion in rome. he has had a real dip in form recently and he says he can't work out why. a lot of people will think i've got no chance of doing anything at the french after the last couple of weeks, but i do think i can. it's certainly not going to be easy.

i'm going to have to work hard this next few days. you know, really, you know, prepare very well, make the most of every single day and then really work my way into the tournament. it's going to be tough but i still think i can do well there. some cricket competitions will be broadcast live on free to air television from 2020. the english and and wales cricket board have offered a package of a right steel to run cricket on terrestrial tv. it hasn't been on tv since the ashes victory of 2005. since then, sky has held all rights, including most recently a £75 million—a—year deal, which is about to be superseded. that's all sport for now. more now on the pressure facing

donald trump amid allegations that he told the former head of the fbi james comey to drop his investigation into one of the president's senior advisers. let's speak to greg miller, a correspondence at the washington post. tell us what you think about the way in which the white house and the way in which the white house and the president handle that certain story. i think they handled it through attended de lyw attempted misdirection. if you read carefully what they have said about it, they confirm all of the key aspects of them. he sent out his national security adviser to say that trump had not revealed any sources and methods in that conversation with

the russians but our story didn't ever say that. he said he had revealed significant details about an islamic state plot and those details would provide clues to the russians about the sources and methods behind that importance between intelligence. do you think that story had any bearing on the growing row now about the fbi head james comey? absolutely. i think there is just a james comey? absolutely. i think there isjust a growing concern among republicans in washington and others of course, about trump's behaviour, his discipline, his fitness for office. i think there was a growing number of people in washington, important people, including some trump allies, who see his administration in deep trouble and don't see him behaving in ways that would suggest he is capable of lifting it out that trouble at any time soon. he did have a very

straightforward a nswer to time soon. he did have a very straightforward answer to your story, eventually, which was to say he was perfectly entitled to give out this information as president. absolutely and so he utterly contradicted his own staff. one day earlier, they said he had not disclosed any sensitive information and he comes out on twitter the next morning basically confirming he did so morning basically confirming he did so and saying it was within his rights. i think technically that is accurate because the president of the united they have great authority over classification of sensitive issues, government secrets. he can disclose things and it is hard to accuse him of violating the law because of his powers. but that is not the issue. the issue is the appropriateness of his decision to share such sensitive information which wasn't even gathered by a us spy which wasn't even gathered by a us spy agency, it came from an ally. to share it with the russian foreign minister and ambassador. where is

all of this heading? there are calls foran all of this heading? there are calls for an investigation into the president's's links with russia, a wider investigation. how serious is the mood when it comes to what scrutiny the president should come under? i think it is very serious. one week ago when he fired the fbi director, people would be heard whispering about whether that constituted obstruction ofjustice. i think we are beyond whispers now. many officials, even members of congress in his own party, wonder whether he has crossed that line and committed a illegal violation in addition to demonstrating behaviour over and over that is highly problematic for a president. i think they are in a crisis. and if he has crossed illegal line, does it lead to impeachment? it could lead to

that. people in washington are urging restraint. they want to get the facts together, they want to see what is in the comey memo and others. they will want not to rush past that. but i think logically, if this evidence holds up, that is where this leads. how do you think this is playing out in the country at large? because a lot of this is quite complicated, about process, what effect is this happening on the way in which the public views the president? i think it is mixed. way in which the public views the president? ithink it is mixed. i have been a reporter in washington many years and am accustomed to getting reaction from readers. in this case, after we broke the story this case, after we broke the story this week that he had shared classified information with russian officials in the oval office, i got two kinds of reactions. i had people

calling and leaving voicemails... inaudible iam inaudible i am sorry, we have lost greg miller but i think we got most of what he was saying. the liberal democrats have published their general election manifesto. saying britain is in the last chance saloon and only the lib dems can offer the country hope on the final brexit deal. they also promise more spending on education and health and are promoting policies aimed directly at younger voters — including pledges to make it easier to get on the housing ladder. our chief political correspondent, vicky young, has been speaking to the party's leader, tim farron. at the heart of our manifesto is an offer to all of the people in our country that no other party is making, and that is that we don't just have to accept whatever deal we get back from the brexit negotiations, but the british people, you, should have the final say. and if you don't like what theresa may comes back with you should have the right to vote to remain. three quarters of all young people

in this country voted to remain. they are a reminder of why there is so much dismay at what theresa may is planning to do, that most extreme portion of brexit thatjeremy corbyn and ukip back as well, the liberal democrats are the only people offering the hope that britain's future can be better and better. if people vote no at that point, is it not then that we are not having a deal too? our policy is that theresa may would have the motivation would to get the best deal for britain so she could win her argument. our view is if the british people reject the deal, then they should have the right to remain in the european union. it is a simple choice, accept the deal and leave the european union or vote to reject the deal and remain in the european union. isn't the problem for you that when this election was called, the liberal democrats hoped that the remain voters would swing behind your party in extreme numbers, that hasn't happened, has it? membership has increased dramatically as a result of the election, a fortnight ago

the liberal democrats were the only opposition to go forward with 7% increase — a higher increase than the conservatives. many people in this country lack hope. they think the only thing on the table is theresa may's vision of us leaving the european union with a hard brexit, and they are crying out for somebody who gives them hope of a different direction. what the liberal democrats are saying is that we must invest in our hospitals and schools. we must give the british people, particularly younger people, the hope of a better future that we can reject the extreme version of brexit that theresa may, jeremy corbyn and ukip have backed and vote for a better future. there are also many people who voted remain that now accept that result, something you are unwilling to do and they feel you have got to get on with it now and many of them think theresa may is the person to do that. what there is are many people who feel they have given up the fight. what i am saying to people is i haven't.

if you believe that britain's future is better alongside our neighbours in europe, if you believe that, however you voted in the referendum you should have the final say on the deal, then you should not be forced to live with a deal that will damage perhaps your jobs, affect the prices of things you pay for every week, how much money we have got to spend on health and education, you should not accept a stitch—up between brussels and london, you should have the final say. moving on to your manifesto, housing, you say you want to help first—time buyers in particular. how does the promise that you have made to people that they can use their rent to buy their house work? people over a 30—year period being able to rent and own it at the end of that 30 year period, those young people having the opportunity to own their own home. but it is not the only way of tackling the housing crisis. the heart of our manifesto is designed to give the people

of our country, particularly the young people, hope to build a better future that we can build the council houses and affordable homes for everybody that we need and we need three million over the next ten years. we need councils building council houses again. developers will build. the liberal democrats are unique in saying that we would directly commission new homes and build them on brownfield sites. but it goes along with the other things we think are so important. the fact that our education system, here we are in a school that has done really well, but two in three schools are going to lay off at least one teacher in the next six or eight weeks. there are £3 billion theresa may is taking out of our schools over this next three years. a positive endorsement of theresa may is a positive endorsement of those policies. of the cuts to schools, the lack of a solution to our housing crisis and to carry on with the health and social care crisis that we have. the liberal democrats are offering a bright and different future because britain needs some hope.

the other thing young people say they want is the abolition of tuition fees. that is not in your manifesto. do you accept tuition fees were the right thing to do and they are working? i voted against the rising tuition fees. i think it is important people keep their word and that is why my advice to others is don't make promises you cannot keep. but would you reverse it? we have said a significant addition in money to returning grants to students to make sure it is affordable. particularly working—class backgrounds who might otherwise not choose to go into higher education. is there any evidence that tuition fees have put off people from poorer backgrounds? my sense is you need to make promises you can keep. what we have laid out in our manifesto, fully costed on the basis of the government's figures with us, at the moment heading out of the european union, is a plan that will boost education and further education and schools by £7 billion. but remember at the moment

the government is planning to squirrel away £23 billion a year from 2019—20 in savings, perhaps making sure that we put it away for a rainy day and yet your average head teacher will tell you it is raining now. laying off teachers when there are thousands and thousands of teaching posts about to go in the next year because of all the cuts the conservatives are planning, our schools need hope for the future and the liberal democrats' fully costed programme to put £7 billion back into schools and further education gives us hope. we have some news to bring you about the irish prime minister enda kenny, he says he is to retire as the fine gael leader from midnight. a decision he made earlier in the year. he says he will continue to carry out his duties in an acting capacity until his successor is

elected through the process. he has asked his council to have that process concluded by the close of business by friday, june two. he says he wants to assure people that throughout this process, i will continue with my duties and responsible as taoiseach in full but i intend to a brief but appropriate period for my successor to engage with groups and supported members of the government. in a moment, we will ta ke the government. in a moment, we will take a look at how the financial markets closed the day but first the headlines. news — more pressure on president trump as he's accused of asking the head of the fbi to drop an inquiry into his former security chief's links with russia. the liberal democrats put europe at the heart of their election manifesto — promising a referendum on any brexit deal. unemployment falls again — it's now at its lowest level since 1975. but for the first time in three years — pay is lagging behind inflation.

hello — i'm ben bland. now a look at how the markets in europe have ended the trading session. stock markets across europe are down on the day — including the ftse 100 in london. they were dragged further down this afternoon — as us markets moved lower. investors perhaps worried that the political turmoil in the us might delay president trump's economic reform plans. baker ba ker let's baker let's pick out a few key stories. lloyds banking group was among the main gainers on the ftse100. its share price rose after the government confirmed its remaining shares in the bank have been sold. that's eight years after £20 billion of taxpayers money was pumped in to save lloyds during the financial crisis. unemployment in the uk has fallen to a 42—year low with a record number of people in work.

but earnings are still not going up as fast as prices. wages — excluding bonuses — were up 2.1% compared with a year ago, which is below the latest inflation rate of 2.7%. the us markets are sharply lower, after the turmoil surrounding president trump's firing of fbi directorjames comey intensified — with questions about whether president donald trump tried to interfere with a federal investigation. what does all this mean for the president's tax and economic stimulus plans? let's get detailed analysis of all those stories. justin urquhart stewart is the director of seven investment management. let's start with that story about the us markets, sharply lower. they had been enjoying a good rally and we saw the effect of that felt in markets around the world. is this is

the start of a downward adjustment, and also, can we see that affect being felt elsewhere around the world ? being felt elsewhere around the world? i think you are right because what has been happening since trump was elected, this wave of euphoria that there would be tax cuts, tax incentives. all sorts of support coming for the economy. the economy was doing perfectly well anyway but we have this extra support coming through. as the weeks have gone by, slowly but surely, whether it was the tax reforms, and in terms of a chance of getting all of those reforms through any time soon, that has fallen away. most recently, the arguments over what happened with james comey and what will happen, that has left the reputation of the white house frankly looking in tatters. all of the goodwill and support they might have been for the market has dissipated. but the economy itself is still doing well. but be prepared. this will mean you

may well have a period of greater volatility through the summer if and when we start seeing any slow down in the economy. i want to bring things closer to home. the uk has had some interesting figures over unemployment, a 42 year low. but wait is not rising as fast as prices on average so we might have a situation where unemployment is low but individually, people might be feeling poorer. they will be. we only have to go back about three yea rs only have to go back about three years when inflation was overtaken by wages for about six years, people had been feeling poorer because inflation was ahead of pay. then pay over the inflation and that has now been reversed. over the next year, they will start to feel a bit poorer, that is what is a strange because normally, when you have a period of tight employment, a record number of people working, that is when you see pay rises going up significantly. but you are not seeing that this time, you are

seeing that this time, you are seeing pay rises going up marginally. so people are not feeling better off at the moment. that might be why the reason they went to the country and a general election, because it gets worse from here. if inflation carries on up, thatis here. if inflation carries on up, that is when the bank of england has to decide whether to put interest rates up. unlike the us, when they do it there, it doesn't have on the consumer because the mortgage is long—term quite a fixed rate whereas in the uk, it is short—term and variable. so a small move in interest rates because of inflation could be a significant interest in your monthly payment for mortgages and that is bad for the economy. many thanks. we talked about the political turmoil in the us, simon can hopefully tell is a bit more about that. president trump is now at the podium. somebody in your family has been doing something right. i am sure they all are very proud, just

as we are, of the fine young officers who are graduating today. i would like to take this opportunity to express our appreciation to all of the parents and grandparents and family members who have supported these amazing graduates. give your pa rents these amazing graduates. give your parents and everyone a hand. applause because america has families like yours and we will keep all of those families safe and very secure. they are keeping your family safe now. families safe and very secure. they are keeping yourfamily safe now. if you are not already, you are about to become military families. so starting today, i hope you feel the full gratitude of our nation. these fine young cadets are about to take their rightful place on the front

line of defence for the united states of america. cadets, you deserve not only the congratulations, but the gratitude of each and every american, and we all salute you. a proud nation. and you are a part of a very proud nation. which salutes the 195 cadets of the coast guard academy class of 2017. good job. and of the coast guard academy class of 2017. goodjob. and i of the coast guard academy class of 2017. good job. and i understand from the admirals that this has been a very special class. you have been trained to handle the toughest situations, the hardest of moments, really, that you can experience. and the hardest in people's lives and to help the week in their hour of need. but even for the coast guard, this

has been an exceptionally dedicated class, you served breakfast at the local food bank every weekday. you rebuild a home with habitat for humanity. last year, you lead cadets in donating a total of 24,000 hours, a lot of time, the community service. you have done amazing work and in the true coast guard fashion, you had fewer people and fewer resources but you accomplish the objectives and you did it with skill and with pride and i would like to say, under budget and ahead of schedule. we are doing a lot of that now with the united states government. we are doing a lot of that. i won't talk about how much i saved you on the f 35 fighterjet! i won't even talk about it! or how much we are about to save you on the gerald ford aircraft carrier. it had a little bit of an overrun problem

before it got here. it was still have an overrun problem, we came and went was finished and we will save some good money. when we build the new aircraft carriers, they will be under budget and ahead of schedule. just remember that. allowing us to build more. there are always a few slip ups from time to time. you know that. for example, iunderstand slip ups from time to time. you know that. for example, i understand that once or twice, first class cadet bruce kim, where is bruce? where is bruce? how do you do this to yourself? as regimental parking officer... might have accidentally caused a few tickets to be issued or a few of your cars to be booted. bruce, what is going on with you? laughter from this day forward, we want eve ryo ne from this day forward, we want everyone to have a clean slate in

life, that includes bruce, right? laughter and so for any oversights or small violations, that might have occurred this year, as tradition demands, i hereby absolve any cadet serving restrictions for minor offences. bruce, stand up once again. they saved you, because they all wanted me to do that. congratulations. good job. don't worry, bruce, that is a tradition, i was forced to do that. this is truly an amazing group of cadets. here today. for commission. you could have gone to school anyway he wanted and with very few responsibilities by comparison.

instead, you chose the path of service. you chose hard work, high standards and a very noble mission. to save lives, defend the homeland... studio: we will leave president trump addressing graduate of the us coastguard academy, clearly enjoying himself. many questions swirling around washington about his team's links with russia. weather update now, nick miller to doa weather update now, nick miller to do a good job. soaking rain across large parts of england today. england seeing it going into this evening. possible thundery rain in a few spots. showers for northern ireland and north west scotland, some quite heavy at the moment but many places will turn dry as the night goes on. temperatures in rural spots lower,

especially in western parts of the uk. you have had the rain today, much quieter and sunny day tomorrow. midlands, east anglia and south east england, staying mainly dry. showers getting going quite quickly in northern ireland and in the north of scotland, developing showers, andy north of england. a fresher feel to the weather across all parts but pleasa nt the weather across all parts but pleasant in some sunshine. it is sunshine and showers and for the weekend, sunshine and showers. today at 5.

the liberal democrats have launched their election manifesto, with the promise of a referendum, on any final brexit deal. the british people, you, should have the final say. and if you don't like what theresa may comes back with, you should have the right to vote remain. we'll have the latest from washington. and from bethnal green where tim farron is to launch the party ‘s ma nifesto farron is to launch the party ‘s manifesto in just a couple of hours. and former leader nick clegg will a nswer and former leader nick clegg will answer your questions about the ma nifesto answer your questions about the manifesto in around 30 minutes. the other main stories on bbc news at 5. the white house strongly denies the claims, saying the president has