this is bbc news. i'm rachel schofield. the headlines at 11: the wikileaks founderjulian assange says he's ready to engage with uk and us authorities after claiming victory over a decision by swedish prosecutors to drop a rape investigation. seven yea rs seven years without charge. why did my children grow up without me? that is not something that i can forgive. it is not something that i can forget. as donald trump heads to saudi arabia on his first foreign trip as president, the white house is engulfed in fresh claims about links to russia. theresa may is forced to defend her election pledge to scrap winter fuel payments for some pensioners as divisions open up within her party. on newsnight, as president trump jets off on his first foreign trip, fresh revelations alleging that he told russian officials the sacking of james comey releived great pressure on him,

and a senior white house official is identified as a significant person of interest in the investigation into links between russia and the trump campaign. good evening, and welcome to bbc news. the wikilea ks founder, julian assange, says he will not forgive or forget after a seven year rape investigation in sweden was dropped without charge today. for almost five of those years, mr assange has been holed up inside the ecuadarian embassy in london to avoid extradition. but today's development doesn't mean that the 45—year—old can finally walk free, police say they would still be obliged to arrest him if he left the embassy. our correspondent, caroline hawley, has the story. her report includes flashing images from the start. out into the fresh air.

cheering on the balcony of the ecuadorian embassy, julian assange emerged this afternoon to have his say on the end of the swedish investigation against him. today is an important victory, for me and for the un human rights system. seven years without charge. why my children grew up without me? that is not something that i can forgive. it is not something that i can forget. but the prosecutor in sweden hasn't cleared julian assange. she said that, in his absence, she simply couldn't pursue the case any further.

translation: the decision to discontinue the investigation is not based on an assessment of the evidence but because we don't see possibilities to advance the investigation further, so we do not make any statement on the issue of guilt. this complex international drama began in 2010 when two women alleged thatjulian assange had sexually assaulted them on a visit to sweden, accusations he's always denied. he was detained in britain under a european arrest warrant. in may 2012, the supreme court upheld a decision to extradite him to sweden for questioning. and injune, mrassange walked into the ecuadorian embassy in london asking for political asylum. the metropolitan police mounted a 24—hour guard at the embassy. by october 2015, it had cost over £30 million. by october 2015, it had cost over £13 million. and it's not over yet. julian assange is no longer wanted on an international arrest warrant, but the police say that if he stepped out of the embassy,

they're still obliged to arrest him for failing to surrender to a london court back in 2012. at the embassy this evening, his supporters were jubilant. but in sweden, the woman who accused him of rape issued a statement saying he was evading justice and expressing her shock at the investigation was being shelved. julian assange was not held without charge for seven years, he was subject to extradition proceedings within the eu, under the european arrest warrant scheme. he would have received a fair trial in sweden, had he chosen to go back, and the fact that proceedings lasted seven years was entirely down to him seeking refuge in the ecuadorian embassy rather than going to face trial in a country that is governed by the rule of law. light ‘em all up. come on, fire! it was this footage of an american helicopter shooting civilians in iraq that first brought wikileaks to international attention. a flood of other state secrets followed.

julian assange has always said it was his fear of extradition to the us that drove him through the doors of the ecuadorian embassy. thanks, guys. free assange! so, despite today's dramatic twist in this long—running diplomatic and legal saga, tonight, he's back inside, not, for the moment, going anywhere. it's reported tonight that president trump told russian officials at the white house that firing the fbi directorjames comey had relieved the great pressure the president was under because of russia. the new york times says he also referred to comey as crazy and "a real nutjob." another report says a current white house official is a significant person of interest in the investigation into possible ties between trump's presidential campaign and russia. the latest claims come as president trump flew out of washington on his first overseas trip. he's heading to saudia arabia where he's due to meet arab leaders before travelling on to jerusalem and rome. our north america editor, jon sopel, is in riyadh.

these are extraordinary allegations from the new york times. watched donald trump said in that contested meeting with sergey lavrov ten days ago. he said he had justified the head of the fbi, he was crazy, a real nutjob. head of the fbi, he was crazy, a real nut job. —— head of the fbi, he was crazy, a real nutjob. —— had just fired. pressure is off me now. the white house issued a statement while the president was in mid—air. farfrom pushing back and saying this is not exaggerated. it says the president has always emphasised the importance of making deals with russia. by grandstanding and do the sizing the investigation into russia, james comey damaged our ability to negotiate with russia. it was made clear that james comey was fired because of the russia investigation

and nothing else. but it also raises and nothing else. but it also raises a question of whether the president is halting an investigation byjames comey and a —— obstructing justice. donald trump will say he was trying to protect national interests. it is another extraordinary twist in this drama. it isa extraordinary twist in this drama. it is a very important trip for president trump. despite all he said about muslims in the campaign and keeping them out of america and the responsibility of saudi arabia for 9/11, there will be the warmest welcomes for him two reasons. he is not barack obama. the saudis did not like him. it was the coolest of receptions he received when i was here with president obama. donald trump will receive a warm welcome because he has taken a tough stand on iran. driving in from the airport, there were posters and

billboards across the motorway. loads of them had huge pictures of donald trump and king salman staying together we will prevail. he will like that. he might not like some of the other reporting. jon sopel reporting for us there. divisions are opening up tonight within the conservative party over its manifesto commitment to means—test winter fuel payments for pensioners. the scottish conservative leader, ruth davidson, said she was in favour of retaining the payment for all pensioners in scotland. but the prime minister argued it was unfair that wealthy pensioners received the money, while some families were struggling. here's our deputy political editor, john pienaar. would you trust her to keep things running or to run your economy? but has theresa may dropped a spanner in the works by keeping people guessing about her tax and spending plans, and then keeping pensioners guessing about who'd keep and who'd lose the winter fuel allowance. she wasn't giving much away. we will continue to ensure that the least well off pensioners are protected. but if you look at the situation

at the moment, we see well—off pensioners able to be supported with theirfuel bills, when struggling ordinary working families are not. i think there's a principle of fairness that underpins this. but that's not how all tories see it, especially scottish conservatives under their leader, ruth davidson, who greeted mrs may in edinburgh. the scottish tory manifesto, published today, says, "social security devolution allows us to make different choices in scotland, and so we will protect universal winter fuel payments for all older people and they will not be subject to means testing." we believe there shouldn't be means testing for the winter fuel payment. the reason that we've said that is, as many of your viewers will acknowledge, scotland has a colder climate, we also have a different amount of housing stock, and devolution allows you to make different decisions. mrs may's answer? she's writing policy south of the border. as a government, we have given the scottish government significant powers in relation to welfare,

and they make a number of decisions about various welfare benefits in scotland. and who knows? more voters might feel the same ifjeremy corbyn‘s promise to protect the fuel allowance and pensions catches on. labour's been attacked over tax and spending plans critics say don't add up. now he's hitting back. what she's done is she's caused a huge amount of anxiety, she hasn't said what level she's going to change it. we think the fuel allowance should be kept, and it will be kept under labour, and it will be universal. just one way for the snp full to go, right at theresa may. well, i think taking the winter fuel payment away from pensioners who have worked hard and paid in all their life is just wrong. you know, the winter fuel payment is not a king's ransom. not all tories south of scotland agree with mrs may on pensioners, on policies like social care. one former minister told me they'd be opposing her, except there's an election on, and that's one reason

it's happening. mrs may wants more backing for potentially unpopular decisions if public money gets tighter after brexit, and you can bet she'd hesitate to make risky promises if she wasn't so confident of winning. tories look upbeat about this campaign whether or not they always agree, but life could get tougher for them, for a lot of people afterwards, whoever wins. john pienaar, bbc news. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news this evening. a former newcastle united youth team football coach, george ormond, has been charged with 29 historical sexual offences, alleged to have taken place between 1973 and 1998. mr ormond, who is 61, is due to appear before magistrates next month. a man has beenjailed for more than nine years for a hit—and—run crash which killed a four year old girl. aidan mcateer lost control of the stolen car at st helens on merseyside. violet grace youens was killed. her grandmother who was carrying her at the time suffered serious injuries. greater manchester police say moors

murderer ian brady's body shouldn't be cremated in the city or surrounding area where he carried out his crimes out of respect to his victims' families. brady died in prison on monday. voting has finally ended tonight in iran's presidential elections after polling stations had to be kept open much longer than they were meant to be because of an unexpectedly high turnout. long queues formed across the country where the relatively moderate president hassan rouhani is facing a strong challenge from a hardline conservative rival. our middle east editor jeremy bowen's report contains flash photography. people are encouraged to vote in iran because it gives the system legitimacy, but the election, as ever, isn't free, because the candidates have to be

approved by the unelected guardian council. it's looking like a close race between the main candidates. at this polling station they were supporting hassan rouhani, the current president. translation: i want socialjustice, social freedoms and political development, and good relations with all countries in the world. translation: we will stand in these queues for as long as it's needed in order not to go backwards, for the shadow of the war not a hangover people's heads. iranian elections, with all their flaws, produce vigorous campaigns and moments of political openness. candidates have traded accusations of corruption and criticised iran's security policies. remarks that at other times could land iranians injail. iranians don't seem particularly enthused by the candidates. for many, it's a choice between bad and worse. the main challenger is ebrahim raisi. he is a veteran conservative hardliner. he is deeply suspicious

of the west, and if he wins, there could be crises ahead. president hassan rouhani wants to have another term. he's a moderate who would like more openness in politics and society. rouhani was elected last time because he promised better relations with the outside world and the relaxation of economic sanctions through making a deal about iran's nuclear plans. president rouhani is running on the success of the deal in which iran accepted restrictions on its nuclear industry. if he loses, it's because voters think he's handling the economy badly. raisi opposed the nuclear deal when it was being negotiated, but now says he'd keep it, though he insists his toughness will make sure iran stays strong. whoever‘s going to be the next iranian president, whether it be hassan rouhani or ebrahim raisi, it's going to change the tenor

of iranian politics, its ability to dialogue with the international community and the west, particularly the united states, and also its relationship with its neighbours in the region. whoever wins will have to work with the supreme leader ayatollah khomeini. in iran, he has the power and the last word. viewed from tehran, the country's a regional power with legitimate security interests and the right to help allies like the syrian regime. but that alarms its adversaries, especially the us, the saudis and israel, and that won't change. jeremy bowen, bbc news. newsday is coming up at midnight. now on bbc news, it's time for newsnight. up, up, and away. president trump takes off on his first foreign tour,