this is bbc news. i'm ben brown. the headline at 2pm. theresa may launches the conservative manifesto with a promise to tackle the "big challenges" facing britain, including a shake—up of social care. on brexit — the prime minister promises a fair deal — but predicts the next 5 years will be "among the most challenging in our lifetime". come with me as i lead britain, strengthen my hand as i fight for britain, and stand with me as i deliver for britain, and stand with me as i deliverfor britain. britain, and stand with me as i deliver for britain. i'm sophie long live in halifax where the prime minister unveiled a raft of policy pledges and asked voters to strengthen her hand as she fights for britain. also this hour — more pressure on president trump. a former fbi boss is brought in to investigate russia's role in the us election — and its ties with him. he says he's been subjected to the biggest witchhunt against a politician in american history. rolf harris will be released from prison on bail tomorrow — and will attend court in person

for the rest of a trial where he's accused of indecent assault. police launch an investigation into an unusually high rate of baby deaths and collapses at the countess of chester hospital. and it's all in the packaging — the everyday items that recyclers say are impossible to deal with. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. the prime minister theresa may has launched the conservative party manifesto this lunchtime with a raft of policy pledges claiming to "get to grips with the great challenges of our time". it includes major changes to social care in england. for the first time, the value of someone's property would be included in the means test for care at home. mrs may pledged changes

to our state pensions — she said there'll be a new ‘double lock‘ system when the current triple lock expires in 2020. there's also a promise for an increase in nhs funding for england, by a minimum of £8 billion in real terms over the next five years. on brexit mrs may warned that if a government failed in the negotiations, the consequences would be "dire". there were also new measures to curb immigration. my colleague sophie long was at the launch in halifax. the prime minister arrived here late this morning to a small but very noisy protest. she asked voters to strengthen her hand as she fights for britain. see unveiled the

conservative party manifesto. it boasted a raft of policy pledges on the nhs, an education, immigration and care. she said her priorities we re and care. she said her priorities were a strong and care. she said her priorities were a strong economy and and care. she said her priorities were a strong economy and delivering brexit. she set out to appeal to working families. this report from eleanor garnier. it is the general election she decided to call. please welcome the prime minister, theresa may. this is her pitch to persuade you that she is the person to sort out the country's problems. because it is the responsibility of leadership to be upfront and straight with people about the challenges ahead. about the difficult decisions and trade—offs that need to be made, and the hard work required to overcome the obstacles in our way — and that is what this manifesto does. theresa may claimed that the conservatives had always

been the centre ground, but was this an attempt to redefine what it means to be conservative? with the right brexit deal secured, my mainstream government will deliver for mainstream britain. all those who work hard and make this country what it is. people who have a job do not always have job security. people who own their home but worry about paying the mortgage. people who can just about manage but worry about the cost of living and getting their children into a good school. mrs may said she would look to balance the budget by the middle of the next decade, pledging billions more for the nhs, she promised to protect the country's public services. the government i lead will build a britain in which the economy is strong to support world—class public services, with the most ambitious programme of investment in technology and building the nhs has ever seen. record and fair funding for schools. real technical education for young people. and the first—ever proper plan

to pay for and provide social care. theresa may has also promised if the conservatives are elected, the winter fuel allowance worth up to £300 would be means tested, and the pensions triple lock would be reduced to a double lock, with a state pension rising in line with earnings and prices, the minimum 2.5% increase would no longer be guaranteed. schools in england would be protected from any losses from a new funding formula, but free school meals for all infants would be scrapped for all but the poorest, replaced with free breakfasts across primary. and theresa may says she will recommit to curb net migration to the tens of thousands. it is right that we want to bring net migration to sustainable levels, we say those are in the tens of thousands, because of the impact controlled migration has on people, especially at the lower end of the income scale, because it can hold

down people's wages. it can mean a displacement ofjobs and it puts pressure on public services. theresa may hopes this manifesto shows she is able to take what she calls big and difficult decision and perhaps it shows an indication she thinks this is her chance for maximum power, and a chance to take over swathes of the country, including parts of labour's heartlands, to turn them a new tory blue. it was theresa may's decision to call this general election, which has made the conservative campaign about her — this manifesto a personal test for the prime minister. this is the conservative party ma nifesto. this is the conservative party manifesto. one of the main targets in the conservative manifesto — to tackle the rising cost of social care in england. it promises that no—one will have to sell their property

in their lifetime to fund residential or home care — instead, the cost of care will be taken from their estate when they die — as long as that's worth at least £100,000. but one former government adviser says many people would have no protection from care costs. sarah campbell reports. the population is ageing. how to pay for the increasing numbers of people will need often expensive care in their final years as a problem successive governments have failed to adequately tackle. today, the conservatives said social care will require taking difficult decisions. this morning, on the norfolk coast, reaction to their plans was mixed. i think that is fair enough, honestly. i don't think you can't expect the government to keep on paying. i think you have to pay. my father is in care and the amount of money it costs us to keep him on top of what we have to pay out and what he has to pay out is disgusting.

i think it is wrong. you have worked all your life. and suddenly those who saved, they've not wasted their money, they are expected to use it for social care. under the plans, everybody will get to keep £100,000 of assets, an increase ofjust over £23,000. but for the first time, the value of a person's home is taken into account to pay for their care. that only happens now if it involves residential care. and a person's property will not have to be sold until after they have died. we say that everyone will have the confidence of knowing that they can pass on £100,000 to their children and grandchildren but there are trade—offs in order to make that commitment. and we will be treating people who have care at home in the same way as people cared for in care homes. there will be no cap on the amount of money people will be expected to pay for their care. so some will have bills potentially running into hundreds of thousands.

the certainty is that if you have assets in total including the value of your house of more than £100,000, you are on your own you have to pay for yourself until you get to that level. for most people, the prospect is that if they need social care, they will have to pay and the government is not providing a scheme to allow them to pull that risk to ensure that. what is certain is that with more people living longer, social care and who pays for it is an issue likely to affect most of those deciding how to vote next month. our assistant political editor norman smith is in halifax. how much of a change from the david cameron years? huge change, the more igoto cameron years? huge change, the more i go to the manifesto the more you see bits and pieces of the cameron era being discarded. we already know mrs may is not going to commit to

those elbow matic! emblematic cameron policies, winter fuel allowa nce, cameron policies, winter fuel allowance, a cap on care costs. also we've just seen a tweaking of one of mr cameron's stand—up policies, this not .7% of national income going to overseas aid. in the may plan it is being redefined, it's possible the money could go to projects which aren't necessarily always associated with age, they might be to do with security issues. it provides a much broader range of what you can spend that sort of money. again and again the sort of policies are central to mr cameron's efforts to rebrand the tory party seemed to be being discarded. i'm half left wondering how mrs may managed in the cameron cabinet because you must have been sitting there grinding her teeth saying i don't agree with that, i don't agree with that, i don't agree with that because half the stuff

david cameron did is being junked. the broad strategy, too, is different. david cameron basically tried to appeal to aspirational middle—class voters. theresa may is not doing that. the middle classes are not shielded from for example ca re costs, they are not shielded from for example care costs, they are still liable to be hit, it very hard indeed. david cameron went out of his way to protect pensioners. theresa may is not doing that. she is appealing to people much lower down the income scale, people who she says don't go the grand vision, people just getting on with their lives. the cap on energy prices, reforms to sort of working conditions. those sorts of policies she thinks many lower income voters will respond to. in detail and general trust this is a clear break with the cameron years. how do you think this is going to

play? we're in the north—west and this was clearly pitched at those people she spoken so much about during the campaign, the peoplejust getting by. how will it play in the tory heartlands in the south—west, kensington and chelsea for example? one group of traditional tory support who will be feeling decidedly miffed is the business community. we've already seen that some the proposals in here to tax businesses, to tax them all for bringing in migrant labour. the business community, various business organisations, say, hang on, there isa organisations, say, hang on, there is a labour shortage in britain, if we wa nt is a labour shortage in britain, if we want to grow our business and grow the economy we need to be able to bring in migrant labour. if you tax us you are taxing economic growth, a very un—tory thing to do. theresa may's approach seems to be to say for many ordinary people in communities up and down the country immigration matters profoundly, they

see communities being changed around them, they want stability, they want numbers down. if it means business just has to take a slightly more restrained approach when it comes to immigration, so be it. tough, she's going to have to put the concerns of many ordinary families above what is the normal tory desire to have a pro—business liberal labour market where firms can bring in migrant labour it easily. more analysis and reaction to the conservative party ma nifesto reaction to the conservative party manifesto from halifax through the afternoon. theresa may has asked voters to trust her. we have a clear idea what she intends to do with that trust if voters give it to her comejune that trust if voters give it to her come june the 8th. that trust if voters give it to her comejune the 8th. now, let's stay with the launch of the conservative party manifesto under plans for changes in the way care for the elderly is in england. and funding

for the nhs. with me is professorjohn appleby, director of research and chief economist at the nuffield trust, an independent health charity. promises of more spending from the conservatives, an extra £8 billion funding the national health service, is that enough? that's a very tough question. a good question but a tough one. we've got all the pledges in and the big caveat is the devil is in the detail that all of these numbers. labour are suggesting an extra 12 billion by the end of the parliament compared to now, lib dems around 9 billion. we hear today conservatives around 8 billion. in my terms they are more or less in the same ballpark. really, to be honest, carrying on this austerity the nhs has faced over the last decade. it leaves the nhs still in a

difficult financial position. is impossible to say in an ideal world what the nhs needs? it's difficult. if you're saying 8 billion isn't enough, how much is enough? these are the choices the parties are putting to the electorate. but we do have some sort of context of this. for example an organisation called the office for budget responsibility, independent group of economists, headers rise to the government about public spending. they do a lot of the numbers for the budget and so on. our interpretation of what they project the need for nhs spending in england by the end of the parliament is not an extra 12, nine, 8 billion, something in the region of 30 billion. a huge 93p- the region of 30 billion. a huge gap. people are getting older and me more care to medical advances we like to provide to the nhs and so on. as i say, all three parties in

the same ballpark. is a figure like 8 billion enough to keep the nhs roughly the level if you now? just about. it really is broadly a continuation of the plans of the conservatives have put forward for the nhs to 2020. the thing i'll point to unfortunately is performance of the nhs. we know about four hour waits for a&e. hospitals in england were way over spent a couple of years ago, couldn't control their spending in the face of demand. other waiting time targets have been missed as well. if that's what we mean by continuation, i suspect that's what's going to happen. professor john appleby from the nuffield trust, thank you. we can focus on measures in the

conservative manifesto on immigration. joining me now from our westminster studio is phoebe griffith, associate director for migration at the centre—left think tank the institute for public policy research. phoebe, conservatives talking about getting net migration down to tens of thousands, something we've heard from them before. is that, in your view, achievable? it's not clear from this manifesto at least. the policy that in the ma nifesto at least. the policy that in the manifesto seems similar to the policies we've had for the last six yea rs. we policies we've had for the last six years. we know non—eu migration remains pretty high still. we've kept the international students within the target, which was a substantive part of that number. the policies around family reunion, which proposed to lift the amount people who can sponsor migrants from abroad make them have to burn more before they can sponsor spouses.

we've tried that route. on non—eu workers, i mean, the numbers aren't significant. as we know, employers have put up a lot of resistance for further taxation on them before they can bring workers from outside the eu. because i think there we are... those policies we've already bottomed out. it's not clear what is in the manifesto is going to deliver what the prime minister is proposing. is it right for the prime minister to propose cuts in net migration? a lot of people will say that what many voters in the brexit referendum were voting for. to leave the eu, the single market, to stop the eu, the single market, to stop the free movement of people and curb immigration. yes, the prime minister has also said she wants to get a good dealfor britain. its clear free movement from within the european union has to be within the mix when we go to the negotiating

table. the levels of access we get to the single market in the european union is going to be conditional on the number of compromises we are able to make around free movement. promises we will bring down migration at whatever cost is pretty problematic. you think it'll be difficult to keep that promise even if we leave the single market?” think it is going to be very difficult, migration is very much pa rt difficult, migration is very much part of our economy. this is why the numbers are very part of our economy. this is why the numbers are very high. because businesses need workers from abroad? in particularfrom the eu. a number of sectors of our economy are highly reliant on eu migrants. the government itself can't quite pinpoint which sectors will see significant restrictions. as i've said already, the levels of economic migration from outside the eu aren't particularly high, the type of immigration the government does have control over. it is very hard to

understand what the strategy behind this net migration target would be moving forward. phoebe griffith from the institute of policy research. and today at 5.30pm on bbc news we will be putting your questions about the conservative manifesto to iain duncan smith — the former cabinet minister and of course tory party leader. you can get in touch via twitter using the hashtag bbc ask this, or text your questions to 611211, and you can email us as well at askthis@bbc.co.uk. donald trump has taken to social media after the us justice department appointed a special counsel to investigate claims of russian interference in last year's presidential election. former fbi chief robert mueller will also look into allegations of collusion between mr trump's campaign and moscow. on his twitterfeed this morning, mr trump described it as "the single greatest witchhunt of

a politician in history!". he has also said that any investigation will show there was nothing going on between his team and moscow. richard galpin has the details. these are the darkest days so far for donald trump, whose brief, chaotic tenure at the white house is steadily being engulfed by allegations of inappropriate links with russia. direct if you would rise. so much so a former fbi director, robert mueller, has been called in to lead the growing investigation into the allegations. he seen as an independent outsider and has been welcomed by democrat and has been welcomed by democrat and republican politicians. and has been welcomed by democrat and republican politiciansm and has been welcomed by democrat and republican politicians. it is evidence the administration is taking it seriously, good news.” don't believe it was necessary, i don't believe it was necessary, i don't believe it was necessary, i don't believe in special counsels, they can go off on their own. having

said that, i've got a lot of confidence. there has to be confidence. there—hazttrhe—h ccnfidence. there—heeh‘rhe—h gag-72:2! ccnfidence. there—heeh‘rhe—h excellent choice. at the root of this, the alleged collusion between trump's campaign team and russian officials during and after last yea r‘s officials during and after last year's us election. in february two's national security adviser michael flynn had to resign because he lied about his contact with russia. the next day, it has now emerged, the president allegedly asked the fbi directorjames comey to drop the investigation into mr flynn. allegedly saying, i hope you can see your way to letting this go. but in march mr comey went public for the first time about the broader fbi investigation and on may nine he was sacked with mr trump saying it was sacked with mr trump saying it was his decision and that this "russia thing with trump" was a factor. for legal experts the investigation of this sequence of events and more is almost

unprecedented in its importance. it's hard to think of or consequential investigation when we're about the presidency and we're talking about potential foreign influence into our elections. we're talking about whether or not president trump has committed an obstruction of justice. president trump has committed an obstruction ofjustice. mr trump who strongly denies allegations issued a statement overnight ferry and if the investigation will confirm what we already know— there was no collusion between my campaign and any foreign entity. it will be many months before mr trump knows his fate, but already global financial markets have been falling in response to the crisis, putting yet more pressure on the president. richard galpin, bbc news. let's go live now to washington and our correspondent jane o'brien. i suppose the problem for the white houses with an independent investigation like this you never

know where it's going to end up. that's right, mr mueller has sweeping powers not just that's right, mr mueller has sweeping powers notjust to investigate the questions surrounding the trump campaign involvement with russia, but also any matters arising from that investigation. this could conceivably include the issue over whether or not mr trump tried to interfere with the ongoing investigation into michael flynn. this was yesterday's story if you remember that far back, when it was alleged he asked mr comey, the then fbi director, to step back from the case. he could go in all sorts of directions. i think it is also important to bear in mind mr mueller is still answerable to the administration in that he has to tell the justice administration in that he has to tell thejustice department if administration in that he has to tell the justice department if they ask what he's doing. and thejustice department can stop this enquiry any time. they could also potentially block charges, though if they did

that, given mr muller willett mueller‘s stature and the fact it has been touted as an independent oversight committee would look very bad indeed. donald trump calling it the single biggest witchhunt of a politician in american history. i wonder what the voters are making of it, particularly the voters who voted for him. i think people made up voted for him. i think people made up their minds about donald trump will be swayed one way or the other. is based on his core supporters, we'll see this as yet another example of the establishment trying to get their man. they'll see this as media theory, frenzy, as lawmakers, democrats in particular, doing what democrats do. i think it will persuade them one way or another. but i think, more importantly, again, it brings more credibility to the process of this investigation. there is no question

that the fbi investigation itself has been compromised. the lens through which it has been seen, the firing of the director last week, these allegations that perhaps donald trump tried to sway the investigation, it brings all these disparate strands, distils them into one single investigation and gives the inquiry... inaudible jane o'brien in washington with the latest. police in cheshire have launched an investigation following a number of deaths of babies at the countess of chester hospital. they say it follows a "greater number of baby deaths and collapses" at the hospital betweenjune 2015 and june last year. our correspondentjudith moritz is at the hospital. what can you tell us? just that, cheshire police told us this morning they were launching this investigation. particularly looking at the deaths of babies who were

here in the neonatal unit, the unit looking after very premature babies. over that year between the middle of june and that the middle of 2015 and the middle of 2016. in particular police say they will look at 15 deaths. they will focus on eight, they'll review another seven. they are also going to look at six babies who came very close to death. all of them having been here at the cou ntess them having been here at the countess of chester hospital. the hospital have told us there have already been a number of independent reviews into the neonatal unit here. in fact one of those reviews published earlier this year recommended 2a improvements. it talked about inadequate staffing levels. it also said it couldn't find anything to link these individual deaths. so the hospital felt there were still questions to

be answered, in particular, the hospital says they wanted to rule out any unnatural causes. that is why cheshire police have been brought in. the investigation has been launched. but the hospital say they didn't take the decision to call the police in lightly. they know it will cause extra distress to families and the parents of these babies are being supported. we've heard indirectly from one of those families through their solicitor but we can't name them, we don't know the name, but we're told this particularfamily the name, but we're told this particular family feels the death of any child is a tragedy. but their tragedy has been exacerbated by the fa ct tragedy has been exacerbated by the fact there are questions still left to answer. so they welcome the news there is going to be a police investigation and they hope it will come in time, provide the answers they want to. judith moritz reporting from chester. the former tv presenter rolf harris will be released on bail from stafford prison tomorrow.

the veteran entertainer is on trial at southwark crown court, accused of indecently assaulting three teenagers between 1971 and 1983. he denies all the charges against him. helena lee was in court and sent us this update. the judge has told the jury here at southwark crown court that rolf harris is going to be released from stafford prison on bail tomorrow. the jury have already been told that he was convicted and sentenced in 2014. she told the jury, "the fact they have given him bail does not have any bearing on the decision you make." she also told them that he been of course appeared during this trial via video link and he will now appear in person for the remainder of his trial from monday. rolf harris is facing four counts of indecent assault charges, historical allegations between 1971 and 1983 all relating to three victims, alleged victims between the ages of 13 and 16.

the court is hearing evidence to day from the second of those alleged victims and she claims he assaulted her at a sports event in cambridge when she was 16 years old. the trial here continuing but to confirm that means, rolf harris is going to be released from stafford prison tomorrow on bail and is due to appear at his own trial here from monday. the court will not be sitting tomorrow and rolf harris denies all the charges against him. time for a quick look at the weather. ben rich has the latest forecast. a mixed picture, mixture of sunshine and showers. after the deluge some of us had yesterday it is a somewhat brighter story in most places. this picture from a weather watch in

south lanarkshire, picture from a weather watch in south la narkshire, blue picture from a weather watch in south lanarkshire, blue skies, clouds wobbling, those clouds big enough to produce showers in places. we look down to the south, this lump of cloud working its way off the neo—con didn't beginning to feed training across some southern and eastern areas of england. as we head into the rush—hour, parts of the southeast will see outbreaks of rain, then through tonight before moving across east anglia, lincolnshire, uncertainty about how far west the wet weather will get. further west the showers will fade away, in one or two places is a bit cold enough for a touch of ground frost. tomorrow rain will still play parts of eastern england, maybe venturing into south—east scotland later in the day, most of it light and patchy. further west again, sunshine. again, showers. some of those heavy, possibly thundery. 11-16d. those heavy, possibly thundery. 11—16d. for the weekend no surprise, sunshine and showers on the way. that's all from me for now. this is bbc news with the headlines.

theresa may launches the conservatives general election manifesto, describing it as "a plan for a stronger, fairer, more prosperous britain". the manifesto says people will pay more towards the cost of their care, but that money will be taken from people's estates after they die. that first time ever a proper plan, a long term plan for social care to ensure that old people have dignity in old age but a plan that is fair across the generations. the us government has appointed former fbi chief robert mueller to be special counsel to investigate alleged russian interference in last year's presidential election. police launch an investigation into an unusually high rate of baby deaths and collapses at the countess of chester hospital. now a look at all of the sport. we

start with breaking news. players who dive in english football will face who dive in english football will fa ce ba ns who dive in english football will face bans from next season under football association regulations. under rules passed this arch, a panel will review each monday looking for cases of simulation. a player found unanimously guilty of diving will be put on a panel. crystal palace boss, sam sam sam is not impressed. well, it is utter rubbish. what about the lad that gets booked that didn't dive, what are they going to do with that? go on, what are they going to do with it? it? they are going to do with it? it? they are going to do with it? it? they are going to say that is unlucky. they will try to get it right the next time. but the lad that didn't dive,

they have to reverse that. bring technology in and look at it on the day. bring the sin bin in, put him in itfor day. bring the sin bin in, put him in it for ten minutes and then put him back on. stop speying people this money to do rubbish situations in the game. big sam not a fan. a swedish fixture between gothenburg and aik has been held off because of alleged attempts to match—fixing. the swedish general secretary described it as a serious attack against football adding that they will never let this happen. the swedish police have started an investigation into the allegations. this is the first at this top level we have heard about before. it has happened a bit in bass #ke9 ball and football in the lower leagues. in 2006, the lower division it almost

43 players accused of participating in match—fixing but to rise to this it is surprising. the secretary—general is hoping to stop this in the future but believes if they educate players on what to do if approached would help to nip this in the bud. johanna konta is playing against venus williams. williams eased through, and johanna konta fought back. williams leads three games to one. the european professional club rugby announced changes to the challenge cup qualifying. one or more nations could miss out. scotland, wales and northern ireland have one cup challenge in the season. the top seven in the pro—12 will qualify,

the top six from the premiership and the top six from the premiership and the top six from the french league will qualify automatically. the 20th place going to the challenge cup winner. and mcgregor and floyd mayweather junior, their contest has been set to be staged as a boxing fight. and the three—time gymnastic world champion and blains medallist winner, beth tweddle has become a pa rt winner, beth tweddle has become a part of a panel to help sports men and women adjust to life outside of sports. i think that there is support. it is raising the awareness to the athletes that the support network is there. go out and start finding out

about it. start talking about it. it is not something to start thinking about when they retire, if they start to worry, they are pre—empting retirement and can lose focus in the sport. it is saying it is not too early to think about it. 10% of your down time. have a go at it. that is all your sport for now. more now on the election campaign. chris morris and the bbc‘s reality check team have been taking a look at some of the all—important numbers behind some of the key conservative manifesto pledges. well after weeks of hearing about strong and stable leadership, we've finally got some numbers to look at. but unlike labour and the liberal democrats, the conservatives haven't so far released their overall costings in a single table, so we're still working on those. there are some headline numbers — the tories now say they plan to balance the budget by 2025. and they say that they plan to increase nhs spending by a minimum of £8 billion in real

terms over the next five years. so let's just look at a few more specific policies. the social care changes we've already heard about will mean tens of thousands more families have to pay for social care provided at home. but everyone will retain at least £100,000 of their savings and assets including value in the family home. it's a policy designed to take account of the fact that we are living longer. the conservatives also want to raise money by means testing the winter fuel allowance — ensuring that payments go only to the least wealthy pensioners. the scheme costs about £3 billion at the moment — means testing it could save about half that one revenue one revenue raising measure that both labour and the lib dems have promised of course is an increase in income tax? not the tories. if you look at this manifesto,

whilst there is not an absolute promise not to increase tax and national insurance, so on, here is a modest set of proposals that probably will not require much in the way of tax increases. one big conservative promise in the cameron years was the triple lock on pensions — under which the state pension rises by the rate of inflation, average earnings or 2.5%, whichever is the highest. theresa may wants to scrap that — losing the 2.5% guarantee. it would give the government more flexibility, but it's impossible to say how much money it might save. moving to education — the conservatives want to boost school funding by £4 billion over the course of the next parliament. one of the ways they plan to raise that money is to scrap universal free school lunches for infants — replacing them with much cheaper free school breakfasts in primary schools — but the manifesto contains no precise costing for this. immigration policy also looms large in conservative plans.

they plan to double — from £1000 to £2000 - the amount companies have to pay to import highly—skilled workers from outside the eu. we don't know how much that might raise. the conservatives have also reaffirmed their target of cutting overall net migration to less than 100,000 per year. the independent office for budget responsibility has estimated it could cost £5.9 billion to cut annual net migration from about 273,000 now to 185,000 by 2021 - still a long way short of the 100,000 target — that's because of things like a lower tax take, and a higher proportion of non—working people in the overall population. so that's something that will have to be taken into account in the immigration debate to come, and that emphasis on immigration is a reminder that this is an election taking place in the shadow of the looming brexit negotiations. the negotiations we are about to

begin with the european union will not be easy. they will be challenging. at times they will be tough. theresa may, and in her, britain has a prime minister with the strength to lead britain through the strength to lead britain through the negotiations and make a success in the future. the outcome of those negotiations over the next two years is deeply uncertain at the moment. the manifesto reasserts that the conservatives think no deal with the eu is better than a bad deal. so the eu negotiations will probably do more than anything else in the next parliament to determine the health of the british economy, and the chances for any political party to put their promises into practice. chris, thank you very much indeed. andrew dilnot who reviewed social care for the coalition has attacked the conservatives' plan to make more elderly people pay for social care, saying it would leave people

"completely on their own" to deal with future costs. i'm pleased to say that sir andrew canjoin us i'm pleased to say that sir andrew can join us right i'm pleased to say that sir andrew canjoin us right now from oxford. thank you very much for your time. so, just talk us through what you like and what you don't like about the conservative proposals on social care? so, what i like, because it is something that we ourselves recommended in our commission, and which the government in the last parliament legislated for, therefore was in the conservative party ma nifesto was in the conservative party manifesto the last time around was the increase and the means support in the system, we suggested it increased to 330,000, the conservative manifesto has suggested 100,000. there is another, the fuel

allowa nce, 100,000. there is another, the fuel allowance, to take it away from better off pensioners. that is sensible. as part of a package that does something good for pensioners on social care, which is where the package falls down. and a second way of raising money is to see the people in care in their homes, where the value of the house is ignored in the value of the house is ignored in the future the value of the house is included. that means that hundreds of thousands of people will be paying more. that is a reasonable thing to do if there were a much bolder suggestion on what to do for social care. all that the government is doing is suggesting that people can keep the last £100,000 of all of their assets. until that level they are on their own so, people will still have no way of managing the massive risk, no way of getting certainty about their future. so if you are unlucky to have a chronic illness, dementia, arthritis with

which needs care for a long amount of time, you are on your own, paying for it yourself until you are down to your last £100,000. that is not sensitive. what is your alternative? how would you do it, in your view, more fairly?” alternative? how would you do it, in your view, more fairly? i would it in the last way that the government set out their manifesto, to recognise that this is a risk that the private sector cannot insurance. if we are to ensure it, then it must be the whole community that does it. what we recommended and what was legislated for was social insurance with a large excess. so individuals would be responsible for the first slice of the costs but know if they we re slice of the costs but know if they were one of the unlucky ones with severe dementia or arthritis or other needs, that the costs would be borne. so a cap set at 72,000. so

once you had accumulated £72,000 of social care need, beyond that you know that the state would pay. then you remove the fear. social care leaves older people terrified and paralysed by having an insurance scheme in place we take the fear away. that is betterfor the individuals and for the providers as they are then able to innovate and deal with customers who are not as terrified as curbs merse are now. the problem with that, #k50rding to jeremy hunt is that it is unfair. his argument has been that you could have someone who own as house worth £2 million, with expensive care costs a nd £2 million, with expensive care costs and the costs are borne by taxpayers and younger families who may be themselves struggling to make ends meet. he, jeremy hunt is saying

that they don't think that is fair on different generations, in other words the younger generation, not as well off, paying for social care for the older generation? that is why we must look at the winter fuel allowa nce must look at the winter fuel allowance and the domiciliary care test into the means test. i am not suggesting we increase the amount of funding for pensions but looking at the triple lock, the fuel allowance, the triple lock, the fuel allowance, the domiciliary means test, that there are legitimate ways of funding this scheme. the amounts of money we are talking about is small. about £2 billion a year in insurance schemes. less tha n billion a year in insurance schemes. less than the winter fuel allowance. and in fairness, the proposals that we have mean if you are unlucky enough to suffer from a large social ca re enough to suffer from a large social care need, you will spend very large amounts of money with somebody not in that position, who won't. so it

isa in that position, who won't. so it is a form of inheritance tax that only penalises people with social ca re only penalises people with social care needs, those with dementia or other illnesses and that does not seem other illnesses and that does not seem the best way of tackling the concern. if we wish to tax inheritance heavily, it should be all, notjust inheritance heavily, it should be all, not just the inheritance heavily, it should be all, notjust the inheritances of the minority unlucky enough to have a social care need. very good to talk with you. thank you for your time. sir andrew dilnot who led the review on social care for the government in 2011. interesting to hear from you. and today at 5.30 on bbc news we will be putting your questions about the conservative manifesto to iain duncan smith — the former cabinet minister and of course tory party leader. 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 do send in your questions, about the

conservative party manifesto launched too. a group representing dozens of recycling organisations has named and shamed the six products in your shopping trolley that are hardest to recycle. pringles and lucozade topped the list, while black plastic meat trays were also highlighted as a problem by the recycling association. our environment analyst roger harrabin reports. we're running short of holes in the ground to swallow our rubbish. yet landfill sites are peppered with products that are supposed to be recyclable. why is that? the trouble is that so many products nowadays have several different types of materials in their packaging. that can make them almost impossible to recycle. take this. pringles. recycler‘s enemy number one.

you have the plastic lid. the foil top. the foil interior, the cardboard sleeve, the metal bottom. it's a nightmare. and take these bottles. there are different plastics in the base of the bottle and the top. or this meat. black plastic is virtually useless for recycling. so what's going to stop us dumping complex packages straight into the bin? well, prince charles is launching a $2 million prize to stimulate new, more environmentally friendly designs in packaging. there are already some good examples. the milk bottle, an industry collaboration so that the packaging is all made from one type of material — very recyclable. a can of coke. billions of these ring—pulls used to separate from the packaging and go into the environment.

now it's designed so the ring—pull is integral within the packaging and doesn't come off. and then this example we found injapan, it's the kind of idea we want to get from our design competition. the straw can be rehoused back into the body of the packaging, so it stops them leaking out into the environment. as we all carry on shopping the manufacturers of the hard to recycle goods say they do want to help the environment. they say they're interested in new ideas for packaging. roger harrabin, bbc news. in a moment a summary of the business news this hour but first — the headlines on bbc news. theresa may has launched the conservative manifesto with a promise to tackle the "big challenges" facing britain, including a shake—up of social care. president trump says he's being subjected to the biggest witch hunt against a politician in american history, after a special prosecutor was appointed to investigate russia's alleged meddling in last year's election. the former tv presenter, rolf harris will be released

from prison on bail tomorrow — and will attend court in person for the rest of a trial where he's accused of indecent assault. i'm ben bland — in the business news... spend, spend, spend — that seems to be what we're doing. retail salesjumped 2.3% in april from the previous month and by 4% compared with april last year. the office for national statistics said sales rose thanks to a late easter. the year—on—yearjump was far higher than expected and was helped by warmer weather, according to retailers. more on this shortly. the value of the pound has jumped on news of the april rebound in retail sales — particularly as it paints a much rosier picture in contrast with the fall in sales in march. sterling is up, hitting $1.30, its highest level since the end of september. royal mail has posted a healthy

package of figures showing annual profitsjumped by a quarter. that's thanks to better—than—expected growth in its parcel delivery business. it's thought our insatiable appetite for online shopping led to a 9% rise in parcel deliveries. but the number of letters posted fell by 6%. sterling is having a field day, especially against the us dollar where it's broken above the 1.30 level for the first time since september, but today's moves are part of a trend that's been in place since at least mid—march. the dollar in general has been weighed down by policy disappointment and political risk. joining me now is azad zangarna, senior european economist at schroders. so the strong sterling reflects

optimism about the health of uk economy? it tells us that the household sector is more resilient than thought to the rise in inflation and of course wages not quite #k50e7ing up with the increases in prices. households have been able to dip into savings or borough money to maintain spending habits, which is good for the economy. that is interesting it leads to the optimism about the strength of the economy, the rise of sterling. short—term, that might be good but is there not risk involved in that, if the wages are not keeping up with inflation and people are spending rather than saving, does it not build up risk in the longer term? absolutely. the savings rate, has fallen to a record low since data began in the 19 ‘60s. we know that the household sector is stressed. but what the data suggests is that

the sector itself is relaxed about its personal situation. jobs growth continues to be positive. there are very few fears of a recession at the moment. with that confidence, households feel that they can run down the savings and borrow more to maintain the concerned spending habits. a strong pound is good for travelling abroad, the half term is coming up but not so good news for the ftse 100, coming up but not so good news for the ftse100, which is down sharply today? absolutely. the sell-off in the ftse is part of a broader sell—off worldwide in equity markets, related to the concerns with what is happening with president trump and accusations of improper conduct. so absolutely, the stronger pound hurts the uk equities as they earn a large proportion of earnings from the overseas countries

but you must put it into context with the wider sell off globally. thank you very much. here's a look at some other stories we're following today. staying with retail — like—for—like sales at supermarket giant asda were down in the first three months of this year. they are slightly better than the decline in the final three months of last year and considerably better than the 5.8% slide in the three months before that. a growing appetite for greggs £2 breakfast deal and its salads and wraps has helped the bakery chain serve up a good start to the year. total sales rose in the first 19 weeks of 2017, with like—for—like sales up 3.6%. however, the company said the prospects for sales "remains uncertain in the context of slowing growth in disposable incomes". and facebook is being fined 100m euros by the european commission for giving misleading information over its purchase of whatsapp in 2014. calling it a "proportionate and deterrent fine", the european commission said facebook claimed it could not automatically match user accounts with those on whatsapp — but two years later launched

a service that did just that. the ftse 100 is down — in common with all the main european markets today reflecting losses on the us markets like the dow and asian markets overnight, because of the political turmoil in washington dc. we're seeing a stronger pound too — partly because the dollar has weakened — but also because of those strong uk retail sales figures. thank you, ben. there are an awful lot of bens around today. been bland and i'm ben and now ben rich. here with the weather. here with the weather. here we have some lovely pictures from the west of scotland. angry

showers there. whereas in st ives in cornwall it is looking beautiful. from the satellite and the radar, the shower clouds are bubbling up. h efty the shower clouds are bubbling up. hefty in the north—west. in the south—east, here it is clouding over. there is an area of rain beginning to work its way in. still uncertainty about how far west the rain will get. in london, east anglia, down to kent and sussex, expect splashes of rain in the rush hour and parts of south—west england, wales, the middle and north of england, here are is mixture of sunshine and showers. then in scotla nd sunshine and showers. then in scotland and northern ireland, sunshine and showers but for the north and the west of scotland and northern ireland here, the showers heavy and thundery in places. through this evening and tonight, eastern areas of the country will be plagued by outbreaks of rain. heavy rain here and there with uncertainty

about how far west the rain gets. maybe into the midlands. in the west again, the showers clearing with fog spells. temperature low enough to create frost patches. the east of england seeing patchy rain. maybe fringing to south—east scotland. elsewhere, another day of sunny spells and showers. heavier to the south—west. the temperatures there 112016 celsius. saturday, parts of scotla nd 112016 celsius. saturday, parts of scotland in the north—east, cloud and rain. sunshine and showers. the showers fading from the south later in the day and the temperatures in the southern areas creeping up. high pressure building in on saturday night to sunday. that should have the effect of killing off most of the effect of killing off most of the showers. it could make it a chilly start on sunday but sunday is a decent day in prospect. nice for getting out with sunshine, cloud and

maybe rain far later with southern winds. temperatures up to 20 celsius in london. the weekend is a mixture of sunshine and showers, not especially wet but not completely dry either. that is all from me now. more details available as ever on the bbc website. this is bbc news, i'm sophie long live in halifax. the headlines at 3pm: the headlines at theresa may has launched the conservative party's manifesto, saying politicians need to be "upfront" about the big challenges facing britain — and proposing a shake—up of social care in england. on brexit — the prime minister promises a fair deal — but predicts the next 5 years will be "among the most challenging in our lifetime". come with me as i lead britain; strengthen my hand as i fight for britain. and stand with me as i deliverfor britain. and we'll get reaction to the proposals in the conservative

manifesto in the next hour.