e—commerce this is bbc news. the headlines at four. jeremy corbyn apologises after he struggled to explain the cost of a key election pledge in an interview with the bbc‘s woman's hour. so, how much will it cost? i will give you the figure in a moment. you don't know by darwin you are logging into your ipad — you have announced a major policy and you don't know how much it will cost? can i give you the exact figure in a moment? theresa may says that with brexit negotiations due to start days after the election, only she is prepared to lead the uk out of the eu. i'm ready to go. jeremy corbyn is not. nicola sturgeon launches the snp manifesto, calling for a second scottish independence referendum "at the end of the brexit process". scotland must have a choice about our future, a choice about following the uk down the brexit path or becoming an independent country.

rolf harris says he's "relieved" after being formally cleared of indecently assaulting three teenage girls. also in the next hour... killed doing thejob she always wanted. the mother of zoo—keeper rosa king, who was killed by a tiger, says she loved her work, and wouldn't have done anything else. and back in the big time — huddersfield town will celebrate promotion to the premier league with an open—top bus parade in the next few hours. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. just to update you on that breaking

news, confirmation that greater manchester police are searching a property in wigan in relation to last monday's attack on the manchester arena. there is a cordon in place. one official said, we are asking people to avoid the area. there is a suggestion from reuters that the bomb disposal team is also in attendance, as police search that robert ian wigan. we will keep you updated on any progress in that story. with just over a week to go to the general election, campaigning has resumed in earnest, after a pause because of the manchester attack. the labour leader, jeremy corbyn, focusing today on the issue of childcare, found himself in a bbc interview unable to provide the cost of a key pledge — extending free childcare to all two—year—olds. meanwhile, theresa may, campaigning in the west midlands on brexit, attacked mr corbyn on nuclear weapons, the police, and dealing with terror, and said only she was ready and prepared for

brexit negotiations. our political correspondent eleanor garnier reports. it's the home stretch, the last nine days, the final push, so the parties are back to their game plans, their core messages. and forjeremy corbyn, that means public services, and pointing out how labour would aim to help families who are in work but are struggling. ours is a universal provision, so that every child gets a place, 30 hours a week, from 2—4. more than a million children will benefit from this. and later, on radio 4's woman's hour, mr corbyn was asked for a bit of detail on this key policy. so, how much will it cost? i'll give you a figure in the moment. you don't know it? erm... you're logging into your ipad, you've announced a major policy and don't know how much it will cost? can i give you the exact figure in a moment? it was all after a night when both

party leaders had been put through their paces. he was challenged on foreign policy and faced accusations of supporting ira sympathisers. theresa may was taken to task over cuts to policing, nhs funding and claims of a u—turn over a cap on costs for social care. but today, she was back to her now familiar message. strong and stable leadership is about being open about the hard choices that lie ahead in order to build that stronger britain. strong and stable leadership is about having a plan to take into those brexit negotiations, and to take britain beyond those brexit negotiations, and build that stronger, fairer country for all. the lib dem leader has admitted he's not aiming for government, and instead is focused on holding others to account. theresa may called this election taking people for granted and assuming she would win. the liberal democrats are determined to challenge that, because britain needs a strong opposition and it also needs a national health service which is properly

funded, education that is protected and a future with europe where the british people have the final say. it is you the voters who will end up with the final say on who ends up here after 8th june. and in their last efforts to win you over in these final few days, the parties will stick to their core messages, their safe zones, in the hope that you'll hand them the keys to no 10. earlier, the labour leader gary corbyn was speaking in watford and addressed that interview. corbyn was speaking in watford and addressed that interviewlj corbyn was speaking in watford and addressed that interview. i was unable to answer that question, for which, obviously, iapologise. buti don't apologise for what's in the ma nifesto, don't apologise for what's in the manifesto, and i will explain exactly what the cost is. it is £4.8 billion by the end of the parliament. and it means thati million children will get free childcare, 30 hours per week,

between two and four. this will mean that all of our children will get the chance to go to nursery to go to preschool, and to develop socially with each other. the present system of free school allocation is unsatisfactory and often very unfair. sometimes, if you're very poor, you can get a free place. if you have a fair amount of money, you can buy a place. the conservatives tried to increase the amount of childcare available for three— to four—year—olds, and found they could not meet their target because they did not put enough money into the system and too many sure start centres have now been closed have now been closed and the capacity simply is not there. our determination is to invest in sufficient nursery capacity throughout the whole country, supporting and hopefully reopening some of those sure start centres that have been closed down by this government.

i have to say, sure start was one of the greatest achievements of the last labour government. it gave opportunities for all of our children. our correspondent leila nathoo is with the corbyn campaign in watford. so, he addressed that issue, but that does not make it any less co nsta ble. that does not make it any less constable. they must be thinking, where do we go from here? well, simon calder i think labour are very keen to move on swiftly from that stumble in the interview. they were here in watford to talk about their faith manifesto, he was talking to a crowd of about 200 labour supporters, who did not seem to mind at all about this interview. they thought it was a trivial matter, just move on to the substance of policy, that's what many of the labour supporters here were telling the. but certainly, this is embarrassing for him, because it opens him up to the line of attack

which the conservatives have returned two in earnest today, which is questioning his leadership credentials. now, initially today, when we arrived here in watford, we we re when we arrived here in watford, we were told that actually the event was only for a few selected journalists, and we were not initially allowed in. but we did get m, initially allowed in. but we did get in, and obviously, whenjeremy corbyn finish giving his speech, he did have to face questions about his performance in that interview, and he dismissed it with a simple apology, as you heard, saying, look, ididn't apology, as you heard, saying, look, i didn't have the figure to hand, and then going into the policy detail. i think the key thing was, with diane abbott, she did almost exactly the same thing, the shadow health secretary... we have got a problem with that line... she's actually back up... north and we have lost her, she's gone. that was leila nathoo almost completing her latest report from watford. our chief colitical correspondent, vicki young, is in wolverhampton,

where the prime minister was campaigning earlier this afternoon. theresa may launched a very personal attack on gary corbyn, didn't she? yes, she did. i think conservatives are very keen to move on from that botched manifesto launch, when they had to do a u—turn on social policy. today, they are returning to the things they did before, it was leadership and brexit. it meant that theresa may did launch this pretty scathing attack onjeremy corbyn, saying that he simply was not ready to govern or lead. she pointed out references to nuclear weapons, saying he's reluctant to use those, talking about people that he had supported and wanted to attack our country, she said. so, really saying that he was not ready to be prime minister. she's trying to focus people's minds, nine days out, to say, we are about to choose our next prime minister, think about who you wa nt prime minister, think about who you want in the hot seat, is how she put

it, when it comes to those talks on brexit as well. she came to the west midlands, because there are watts of marginal seats here. but also because the majority of voters in this region voted to back brexit. so, she's hoping that former ukip and labour voters will switch over and labour voters will switch over and learn how their support. she says every vote for her will strengthen her negotiating hand in those talks. that's what she would like people to do. she wants leadership to be the focus of this campaign until next week. are the conservatives rattled? campaign until next week. are the conservatives rattled ? i campaign until next week. are the conservatives rattled? i appreciate we have to take the polls with a pinch of salt, but at the beginning of the campaign, they had a 2k point lead in the polls, and now it seems to be down to luna five — is that causing concern? there were certainly candidates across the country who were concerned about social care policy. because almost immediately, they were reporting from the doorsteps that people

didn't like it. some of them i spoke to, particularly in the south of england, say they hope those people, perhaps the elderly people who will go out and vote, we'll stick to the conservatives. they are have concerned about floating voters, people who might be thinking about switching from labour to the tories, it might put them off. others have said, let's not panic. they will look at the polls and say, there is still a comfortable lead, as they would see it for the conservatives, which would translate into quite a co mforta ble which would translate into quite a comfortable majority. but there is no doubt that people are really refraining from predicting what is going to happen, not least because of the brexit result and the last general election, when the pollsters got it wrong. i think it really is guesswork for most people, and that includes the candidates on the ground. i spoke to labour candidates as well today. they say that the issue of gary corbyn chillies leadership is coming up on the doorstep. they find it very hard to

predict what was going to happen. but i think you will see both sides returning to the areas where they feel most comfortable — public services forjeremy corbyn and brexit four theresa may. to bring you some breaking news... ariana grande, she was... sorry to interrupt but i got there before you! she was of course performing in manchester on the night of that attack on the 22nd of may. she is going to perform a benefit concert for the victims of that attack. the concert will take place on sunday the 4th of june concert will take place on sunday the 4th ofjune at the emirates old trafford in manchester. ariana grande will perform, but many others will be performing as well, including justin bieber, coldplay,

katy perry, miley cyrus, ashya, take that, they are all going to perform. and all the proceeds from this show will go towards the emergency front set up by manchester city to in partnership with the british red cross. that concert will take place on monday, and we will have more on that from our entertainment correspondent colin paterson in the next few moments. returning to the election... the scottish national party has launched its manifesto for the general election, promising to reverse cuts in welfare and to boost public sector pay. speaking in perth, the party leader, nicola sturgeon, said scotland should have a say in its own future, and called for a second independence referendum "at the end of the brexit process". ms sturgeon has been speaking to our scotland editor sarah smith, who asked her whether she was

worried that a independence referendum was a vote loser. no, i'm not. at the end of the process , no, i'm not. at the end of the process, i think scotland should have a choice over our own future. the alternative to that is brexit no matter how damaging. this is about talking about how damaging brexit would be to our economy and our big services if it goes wrong. i don't think scotland should have to accept that regardless. i think we should have a choice at the end of the process. i have also said that there is a more immediate opportunity, and that is to strengthen scotland's's hand in the brexit negotiations, so that we can have scotland's voice being heard and try to avoid an extreme brexit, going out of the common market, as well as eu. that's the immediate opportunity here, as is the ability, with a strong group of snp mps, to fight against further austerity.

today, we have put forward an alternative to continued tory has to ready, it includes investment in public services, and which would allow us to call a halt to the social security cuts. you have changed your language about independence, you have talked about scotland having a choice, we almost never hear you actually say a second referendum on independence. is it that you are embarrassed about it? i have campaigned for scottish independence all my political life, i don't think anybody is under any illusion about my position on that. i've got people saying i am talking about nothing else, when, as you have just said, that is not true. but they want to talk about nothing else, because the tories in particular are embarrassed about their record. what i'm saying is, i want us to have a choice at the end of this process, not now, to avoid having to accept brexit no matter how damaging it is.

that would have huge indications for our economy and public services for many decades to come. but this is a general election, and in this election i also want to make sure that there are strong snp voices standing up for scotland. standing up against tory austerity cuts, standing up for investment in public services and the economy, and standing up for a stronger voice for scotland in the brexit talks. we've seen over the past few months, the scottish government trying to make compromises on brexit, the prime minister brushing that aside. this gives the scottish people the chance to give real democratic legitimacy to the voice of scotland in these talks, and therefore to try to avoid that extreme brexit which would be so damaging to our economy. just a couple of months ago, you were saying there should be a second referendum on scottish independence, before the uk has left eu. now, you talk about the end of the process — has your timetable slipped ? my timetable has not

changed, i always said at the end of the process. that is for a very obvious reason. any choice has to be an informed choice. when i set out the timescale previously, that was based, as it is now, on what the prime minister herself was saying would be the end of the brexit process. but if that changes, and i have no control over the timing of the brexit talks, then i have also said, then perhaps our timing also has to change. the key point of principle is not a date in the calendar. it is that at the end of the process, when the options are clear for people, any choice must be an informed one. again, i come back to this election, and there is an opportunity in this election notjust to underline the right of the scottish people to have that choice, but also to strengthen our hand in the brexit talks so that we can avoid that extreme brexit. i was horrified yesterday to hear the prime minister talking

about the prospect, which would be devastating to the economy, of walking away with no deal, which would possibly threaten hundreds of thousands ofjobs across the uk. it would mean tariffs and difficulties with trading with our biggest market. it is really important that scotland's voice is heard in this, whichever way people voted in the referendum on the eu. the headlines on bbc news... jeremy corbyn apologises for stumbling over the cost of labour's election promise of free childcare for all two— to four—year—olds. theresa may focuses on brexit, saying thatjeremy corbyn is "not prepared" to provide strong leadership during negotiations with the eu. and the snp launch their manifesto, calling for higher public spending across the uk and an end to social security cuts. in sport, arsene wenger has agreed a

new two—year deal to extend his time as manager of arsenal. it comes just as manager of arsenal. it comes just a few days after he won his seventh fa cup, and will be officially announced by the club tomorrow. johanna konta has suffered a shock exit at the french open. the seventh seed has now lost in the first round for the third year in a row. world number one andy murray has been pegged at 21—1 against andrey kuznetsov but he is now 3—0 up in the third set. all of the sport at half past four. a jury in the trial of the veteran entertainer rolf harris has been discharged, after it failed to reach verdicts

on four indecent assault charges. the crown prosecution service say they will not seek a retrial. his solicitor read out this statement a few minutes ago on behalf of his clients. whilst i am pleased that this is finally over, i feel no sense of victory, just relief. i am 87 years old, my wife is in ill health and we simply want to spend our remaining time together in peace. i would like to thank my legal team for their extraordinary work and dedication and my barrister, my solicitor and my investigation team at merit international. i want to thank my wonderful friends and family, who have supported me and alwyn over this difficult period. yes, he was surrounded by camera crews from right around the world, and photographers, a sign of how much interest there still is in the veteran entertainer.

he was of course a regular fixture on our tv screens for a huge period of time. he has had a career spanning some 50 years in television, music and art. as he left court, he made no comment at all, despite the various questions which were shouted at him. we heard from his solicitor talking about the sense of relief, because he was facing some very serious charges, namely that back in the 1970s and 1980s, he groped three teenage girls. one of them had claimed it had happened at a music festival in london. a second woman said she had been groped by rolf harris during the filming of an itv celebrity show. another woman said she had been groped by rolf harris after an edition of saturday superstore on bbc one, where rolf harris had she said, rolf harris asked her if she liked being molested on a saturday morning. this was a retrial

of those allegations but after more than four hours of deliberation by the jury, they concluded they could not reach a verdict and reach a verdict and there was no prospect of them realistically coming to any conclusion. so, thatjury was discharged. and then this afternoon, the prosecution said, having considered the case, they did not think it was in the public interest to push for a further retrial. rolf harris has left court but he does not have his name cleared. he has served a jail sentence. he was jailed in 2014 for five years and nine months for indecently assaulting four girls. he was released from prison actually during this trial. for the first week of the trial he had to follow the evidence via video link. then he was released around a week ago so he was able to attend the trial. now, the charges he was facing at this retrial have been dropped, and he has indicated that he is now planning to appeal against his original conviction. the american singer ariana grande

has announced that she will hold a benefit concert in manchester after 22 people were killed at her concert at the manchester arena last monday night. she will be joined at the manchester arena last monday night. she will bejoined by international superstars, including justin bieber, coldplay and katy perry. with us now is our entertainment correspondent colin paterson. ariana grande announced this on her social media platforms — what else did she say? quite a lot. the speed of the turnaround of this league is what is remarkable. this concert will be held at old trafford cricket ground 13 days after her concert ended with that terrorist attack. basically, live nation, the company which put on the concerts, and ariana grande, have contacted some of the biggest names in music, and they have said yes. it will be a live aid—style concert, each fact playing two or three songs, and the line—out is very impressive. taking less tha n

line—out is very impressive. taking less than two weeks to put this together, ariana grande herself will perform, justin bieber, coldplay, katy perry, miley cyrus, take that, nile horan from one direction. one thing which struck me is, every one of those acts has played at manchester arena, which is probably one of the reasons why they said yes. this is an arena which they personally knew themselves, so they wa nt to personally knew themselves, so they want to come to manchester to show support for the victims and also for ariana grande herself. one thing she has said about the concert is that every person who was at the gig in manchester last monday will get into this gig, if they want to. that will bea this gig, if they want to. that will be a big decision for those people, weather or not they want to go to a concert so soon after being at one which ended with such a shocking event. over number after the bata cla n event. over number after the bataclan disaster, the band did exactly the same thing, everyone who

was at the gate was invited back and many just couldn't face going. was at the gate was invited back and manyjust couldn't face going. for many, it was an incredibly emotional thing. other things to note about this gig — michael carrick, the manchester united footballer, was due to be hoarding his testimonial match at old trafford football ground at four o'clock on the very same day, this coming sunday. they have agreed with him to move the kick—off of his match, or otherwise you would have had 125,000 people, because the grounds are only about half a mile apart. so, within briefly of that concert being hit with that terrorist attack, ariana grande will be back in manchester, putting on this all started. you mentioned that those people who had been at the concert will get a chance to have tickets for this one, but there will be other ways for people to see it as well? yes, we believe it will be broadcast on the bbc, both on radio and on tv. four. kinds of negotiations to be done, because question time was supposed

to be on on sunday night at that time. there are negotiations going on about when and where this will be broadcast. but the point of the concept is to raise money for the families of the victims of people of that terrorist attack last monday. this is a chance to raise money for charity, and also a chance for people to stand up and show that giggs will take place in manchester. i was actually at a concert at lancashire cricket ground, this venue, on saturday night, among 50,000 people. this will be the second gig at that venue in a week. tributes have been paid to a zoo keeper who was attacked and killed by a tiger. rosa king, who was 33, has been described as the "shining light" of hamerton zoo park in cambridgeshire. she died yesterday after a tiger entered the enclosure she was in. ben ando gave us the latest.

we do a lot of work for conservation... rosa king had always loved animals. they're being poached in the wild... and according to those who knew her, was passionate about their welfare and protection. but yesterday, while she was doing the job she loved at hamerton zoo park, one of the tigers in her care attacked and killed her. today, friends and family paid tribute to the 33—year—old keeper who had an affinity for cheetahs, but loved all the big cats. in a statement, her mother andrea said... now, an investigation is underway. the police have said there are no suspicious circumstances, but zoo managers will want to know how a tiger got into the enclosure where rosa was working, and in just a few seconds, turned a fun bank holiday into tragedy. experts warn that whether in captivity or not, tigers are wild and potentially dangerous animals.

under normal circumstances, there should be no reason for a keeper and a predator such as a tiger to be in the same enclosure at the same time. the only exception to that would be if the animal has been sedated so that it can undergo a veterinary procedure or similar. but there should be no reason for a conscious animal, conscious predator, to be in the same space as a keeper. but some animal welfare campaigners say keeping wild animals in captivity is just wrong. taking a child to a zoo for the first time, of course there will be the wow factor, why wouldn't there be when they see a tiger for the first time, an elephant for the first time? but after that, you have to ask yourself, what is the educational benefit of seeing that same animal in that same space doing the same thing day in and day out? four years ago, another keeper, sarah clay, was killed by a sumatran tiger at this zoo in cumbria. the park was later fined £250,000 for health and safety breaches. hamerton zoo managers have described

the death of rosa king as a freak accident, but alongside the shock and grief, there is a need to find out what went wrong and why. let's have a look at the weather. and we canjoin, according to the radio times, britain's favourite weather forecaster! let's get the weather forecast! the weather is mixed across the country right now. there is some rain around, moving across more northern and eastern parts of scotland. eventually, this evening, a little later on, the weather will try out and skies were clear. we are in for and skies were clear. we are in for a starry night across the north of the uk but short—term, spots of rain

here and there, but cloud coming and going through most of the afternoon. this evening, the clear skies across the northern part of the uk. a nip in the air, temperatures of eight celsius. further south, about 13 or 14. celsius. further south, about 13 or 1a. stubborn cloud around early in the morning across south western and southern areas. some missed, but not too stubborn because it will break up. the powerful sun will work on that cloud and we will have a decent day. wednesday is looking like it will be beautiful across the uk. temperatures in the low 20s and in cooler spots of 16 or 17 degrees. goodbye. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines at az30pm: american scenario in a grand day has

announced she will hold a benefit concert in manchester. —— the american singer ariana grande has announced that she will held a benefit concert in manchester after 22 people were killed at her concert at the manchester arena last monday night. police search an address in wigan in connection with last week's manchester bomb attack , a cordon is in place they are asking people to avoid the area. jeremy corbyn has apologised forfailing to remember how much labour's proposal to roll out free childcare to all two—year—olds would cost, but says he's proud of the policy. theresa may says with brexit negotiations due to start days after the election, only she is prepared to lead the uk out of the eu. the snp launch their manifesto — calling for higher public spending across the uk and an end to social security cuts. let's cross to the bbc sport centre tojoin hugh. good afternoon.

the bbc has learned that arsene wenger will be staying at arsenal — after agreeing a new two year contract. it follows a meeting with majority owner stan kroenke yesterday — where his future was to be dicussed. it's understood the 67—year—old will remain manager until at least 2019 — extending his tenure into a 23rd year. the bbc‘s sports editor dan roanjoined me earlier. i think it will divide opinion among arsenal's many supporters. let's not forget it wasn't long ago that arsenal were being drubbed10—2 on aggregate by bayern munich in the champions league and they finished fifth in the premier league, meaning they miss out on champions league football which is crucial to any big club for the first time in two decades. the pressure on arsene wenger in the last couple of months has reached unprecedented levels. there have been protests by fans and planes flown over demanding that he goes after all these years in charge. but despite that towards the end of the season, they enjoyed something of a resurgence

and they won the fa cup against all odds. many thought they would be beaten soundly by chelsea but they prevailed on saturday winning 2—1. maybe the final reckoning edging things in favour of him. but he always retained the support of the man in charge, american billionaire stan kroenke, who effectively owns arsenal. yesterday they met and we understand it was at that point things were finally done. i think the board were told in effect that would be the final decision. they did not have much say. it is the way arsenal is run. effectively a dictatorship, kroenke is in control. wenger has been there so long now it is difficult to imagine a life without him and once it was decided he wanted to stay despite the opposition that has hurt him in recent months, the decision was made. huddersfield town are still basking in the glory of their first promotion to the premier league. they beat reading in the championship play—off final at wembley yesterday in dramatic fashion — taking the match on penalties. the town is now preparing for a victory parade, our sports correspondent katie gornall is there.

it was a special day yesterday, celebrations are still ongoing? yes, all heating up as well! some of the fa ns all heating up as well! some of the fans have only just all heating up as well! some of the fans have onlyjust made their way back from wembley just fans have onlyjust made their way back from wembleyjust now. filling up back from wembleyjust now. filling up here in the square. in about one hour, the team are going to board their open top bus, at the stadium about one mile away. they will be hoping the weather improves when they do! then they will make their way down to is —— make their way down to saint georges square. thousands of fans are expected to line that route, where celebrations will pick up again. these are celebrations that they never expected to see, for a number of reasons. when you think back to 2003, huddersfield were in administration, languish at the bottom of the football league. they are expected to have one of the

lowest budgets in the league but had their day at wembley, beating reading in the play—off final to win promotion. a lot of credit needs to go to their german manager david wagner, inspiring when he was brought into the club 18 months ago. he likes to compare his side's rise to leicester city winning the premier league a couple of seasons ago. you cannot deny this is a remarkable rise for huddersfield, backin remarkable rise for huddersfield, back in the top division for the first time in 45 years. iam sure first time in 45 years. i am sure a rainbow will appear above you soon, thanks katie! british number onejohanna konta has suffered a shock defeat by chinese taipei's su—wei hsieh in the first round of the french open. she was beaten in three sets by the world number 109. jim lumsden watched the action. johanna konta's remarkable improvement over the last couple of years does not yet extend to clay. the world number eight was looking to get past the first round for the first time. in her way, her opponent hsieh.

the first set was a formality. the second set was the opposite. the chinese taipei player fought with greater resistance. despite being ranked 101 places lower than johanna konta, she despite being ranked 101 places lower thanjohanna konta, she won the tie—break 7—2. this was unexpected. johanna konta was hitting her shots straight at her opponent and was soon broken in the decider. hsieh continued to chip away at the british player. she found herself serving to stay in the match. but survived another game. but the revival was short lived. hsieh won the third set. bitter disappointment forjohanna konta, still to win in the main draw at roland—garros. jim lumsden, bbc news. andy murray is currently in action. currently leading 5—2 in his match. we will bring you the latest in the next hour. we will see you later, sorry about

that, hugh! simon has an issue with his microphone. meaning it is kept private. while i sort that out... shares have fallen for british airways owner iag after a computer failure that affected passengers from around the world. the fall wiped about 400 million pounds off the company's market value. ba says it is operating a full flight schedule today, but warned that it "may take some time" to reunite passengers with their bags. emma simpson reports: no queues, no chaos. this was heathrow terminal five this morning. an airline getting back to normal. a far cry from the weekend, when a power surge wreaked havoc, leaving 75,000 passengers here and abroad stranded. gary oswald's mum was one

of them. he told me that he arranged a surprise 80th birthday for her, but her flight from rome was cancelled. she wasjust abandoned by british airways. there's no other way of looking at it. just abandoned and told to get on with it themselves. it's not good enough. did you and make it back in time for her birthday celebrations? fortu nately her birthday celebrations? fortunately it was a bank holiday weekend so we could reschedule it. it was a good end to a slightly traumatic weekend. all of this will cost the adl. if your flight has been cancelled, you must be offered an alternative flight or a refund. and eu guidelines you are also entitled to compensation if your flight entitled to compensation if your flight is delayed by more than three hours. it could be more than £500 if it isa hours. it could be more than £500 if it is a long haulflight. airlines also need to provide hotels,

transport costs, meals and repression and where necessary. the bill for bae could be sky—high. the bill for ba could be sky—high. the financial markets will be watching closely what british airways does in the coming weeks and months in terms of evaluating the cause of a problem, how much they were able to rebuild customer confidence, and the impact it may have on long—term business, because it's an airline which has been very successful at cutting costs. up until now, it's also been able to maintain a very good reputation for customer service. but the two have to be able to work together. according to one brand expert, ba has now got its work cut out to regain the trust of customers. the impact on the reputation, in terms of the short— and mid—term, is going to be significant. people are booking, or thinking about booking, holidays. and they're going to think twice now when it comes to ba. they're going to probably say, maybe not. ba apologised again today for all the inconvenience caused. it says it's trying to get delayed luggage to customers as quickly as possible. getting to the bottom of what caused such a widespread meltdown across its computers and it systems

may take a good deal longer. let's speak to lawrence jones, let's speak to lawrencejones, the chief executive of uk fast, specialising in computer recovery for a number of major companies. specialising in computer recovery fora number of major companies. i expect very few have had to deal with anything of this scale. explain what you think went wrong? ba said that this was a ups problem which had a spike in power. but it is designed to deal with this. normally it is not maintained but the ups system at home is like a giant battery. if you imagine these data centres with all of the information for the airlines, they hold all of

that in the data. if it loses its power, it is lost. you need the system to bridge the gap while the backing generator kicks in.|j system to bridge the gap while the backing generator kicks in. i assume that a system keeps going if it is maintained properly? you would think so. there are not many moving parts in that system, being a giant battery is a beaver plainest and maintained. it should not go wrong. the big question is why they had this back—up failure. what was taking so long? and why have they not got another day —— data centre elsewhere? how often do these things happen? we don't always know about it? we get power spikes all the time, we had won a couple of weeks ago near the trafford centre. the bbc would have dealt with it, we dealt with it. now we have

sophisticated equipment to deal with these kinds of things. a problem on this scale, ba is an enormous organisation with enormous responsibility for its shareholders and customers. you would think that they would have had a mitigating system. a system with no single point of failure. it is quite clear in this case they do not have that. it is said that much of it had been outsourced as a cost—cutting measure, and that may be part of the problem? i know that you can have thousands of servers off—line and if they are all off, you need to switch each one back on in what they call gracefully. you need many hands on deck. if you have outsourced 600 or 700 jobs to india, it is not great when you want the location, you need people there at that point where they can help. you need to also understand that nowadays, the internet is quite a dangerous place. everybody knows you can protect from

the outside looking in, but we are also seeing a huge rise in problems from disgruntled employees or those within a business, where people attack businesses from within. it can be quite easy for a disgruntled member of staff to delete a back—up file and rendering useless. you need to be careful who you trust, and how you manage complex environments like this. ba say that there is no question of a hack at this stage, of any nature. was that your first reaction, when you heard about this? my reaction, when you heard about this? my first reaction was that there was a lot of bad luck all in one weekend! and if you look at the kind of weekend, a bank holiday weekend, and a holiday as it is school half term. to lose a whole data centre and not have a spare one, and to not

have a back—up ready? obviously, thatis have a back—up ready? obviously, that is difficult. but my heart goes out to ba in some aspects. when a system out to ba in some aspects. when a syste m goes out to ba in some aspects. when a system goes down of that magnitude, you are going to get some data losses and it is entirely likely that there will be discussed damaged, and that is going to be a hack of a problem to diagnose —— there will be some disks damaged. laurencejones, there will be some disks damaged. laurence jones, thank you there will be some disks damaged. laurencejones, thank you for joining us. the former military leader of panama, general manuel noriega, has died, aged 83. a former key us ally in latin america, he was forcibly removed from power by american troops in 1989. he was laterjailed in the us on drugs charges, and spent the rest of his life in custody. paul adams reports: manuel noriega was almost a caricature of a latin american strongman. a corrupt, brutal populist, favoured and then dumped by the united states. for a while, washington

found him useful. he was staunchly anti—communist, happy to support pro—american forces in el salvador and nicaragua. by the time he seized power, us officials knew all about his criminal activities. despite his cia connections, manuel noriega was helping to smuggle colombian cocaine into the united states. in 1989, noriega attempted to steal an election. his thugs beat up opponents, including the victorious vice presidential candidate. washington lost patience, launching an invasion just before christmas. it was a one—sided affair and didn't last long. the un condemned it. the us president said he had no choice. general noriega's reckless threats and attacks in panama created an imminent danger to the 35,000 american citizens in panama. manuel noriega eventually gave himself up, flown out of the city on an american helicopter.

the people panama seemed only too happy to see him go. in florida, the former dictator was jailed for 40 years. six years ago, his health is failing, he finally went back to panama, a country that has prospered without the man who once called himself maximum leader. paul adams, bbc news. pauladams, bbc news. studio: bringing you some news coming into the bbc, there has been an incident in high wycombe this afternoon. thames valley police were called to high wycombe railway station today, after reports that a man was acting suspiciously at the back of a train. this is the scene, you can see considerable activity there. the 2:55pm from marylebone station from london to oxford made an unscheduled stop at high wycombe railway

station, and was stopped at around 3:20pm this afternoon. some armed police helps to evacuate the train, passengers were cleared from platforms and a large number of people have been evacuated. two men we re people have been evacuated. two men were stopped at the scene, following enquiries they have been released. now police are packing their cars and leaving the scene. quite a bit of delay and difficulties for passengers on the london marathon to oxford train line a little earlier. —— london mala. in a moment a look at how the financial markets in europe closed the day, but first — the headlines on bbc news: jeremy corbyn apologises for stumbling over the cost of labour's election promise of free childcare for two to four year olds — saying he's proud of the policy. theresa may focuses on brexit, saying thatjeremy corbyn is "not prepared" to provide strong leadership during negotiations with the eu. and the snp launch their manifesto —

calling for higher public spending across the uk and an end to social security cuts. i'm ben bland, yet have a look at how the markets in europe ended the trading session. let's pull them up here... the ftse 100 trading session. let's pull them up here... the ftse100 ends the day lower than the lead in paris and frankfurt markets. british airways owner iag has pulled the uk market lower as investors reacted to the weekend's it failure. shares in iag dropped as the airline group counted the cost

of three days of disruption, which led to the cancellation of thousands of flights. oil prices have retreated. the price of a barrel of brent crude is down more than 1% — a short time ago it was at $51.62 a barrel, as concerns lingered about whether the extension of output cuts agreed by opec and other producing countries will be enough to support prices. budget carrier ryanair has reported its latest set of results. it's europe's biggest airline if you count passenger numbers — and says profits are up 6% for the full year to 1.3bn euros. the irish airline said fares would fall by between 5% and 7% this year, due to the weakness of the pound. shares in iag — the owner of british airways — are down. british airways says it's now operating a full schedule after an it failure meant it had to cancel thousands of flights over the bank holiday weekend. the airline is counting the cost of the disruption — with some estimates suggesting compensation and lost business could cost the airline £150 million. let's get detailed analysis of those stories and the effect they're having on the stock markets. jeremy cook is chief economist at world first — the currency exchange firm.

good to see you. let's begin with ba. when you see how much the share price has moved, it is down a little. why you expecting bigger moves, or is that in line with the reaction you would expect from investors ? reaction you would expect from investors? i think there is more to come, to be honest. the reputational risk british airways brand has suffered over the last couple of yea rs suffered over the last couple of years as people realise costs are continuing to be cut, and the proposition is falling away. then there was a pick—up in share prices when they said they would charge for food and short—haul flights but if you cannot get the passengers to where they need to go, that's the essence of an airline, you will continue to see share prices falling. we are looking to continue to see negative place for iag over the next few days. at this time of

year, i'm sure i'm not the only one whose thoughts turn to booking flights and holidays. ryanair say that they are expecting demand in full by five to 7%. explain why the pound being weak helps ryanair to cut its fares? that pound weakness that we have seen since the referendum depends in which currency you are up against. against the euro, image ora diop you are up against. against the euro, image or a diop ryanair flights leaving the uk are likely to be going there, —— a majority of ryanairflights. be going there, —— a majority of rya nair flights. the be going there, —— a majority of ryanair flights. the announcement of the general election. i don't know how ryanair the general election. i don't know how rya nair have the general election. i don't know how ryanair have hedged liabilities, saying many to protect a certain sterling rate. getting the pound at a good level, then they can dip into savings, and be able to offer cut—price flights to people looking

for a summer break. another thing that helps not only ryanair but all airlines is the fact that oil at the moment is stubbornly low. the price ofa moment is stubbornly low. the price of a barrel of brent crude has fallen of a barrel of brent crude has fa lle n eve n of a barrel of brent crude has fallen even further today. investors do not seem impressed with the output cuts agreed last week?m do not seem impressed with the output cuts agreed last week? it was telegraphed by opec that they would do in nine—month cut. on the morning of that meeting in vienna, there we re of that meeting in vienna, there were rumours that they may go for a nine plus three, i.e., coming to the end of this output cut in nine months' time, saying, you know what? another three months is probably needed. in the grand scheme of things, markets have said this is what we expect. we need to be surprised positively and it does not move shale operators, low—cost operators in the us, continuing to pump out oil from places we have never seen before. it does not keep them away from the action for much longer. there is definitely a top in

oil prices at the moment. jeremy kyle, thank you. —— jeremy oil prices at the moment. jeremy kyle, thank you. ——jeremy kirk, thank you. before i go, one other story. across the atlantic... shares in retail giant amazon rose above the $1000 mark for the first time in early trade before then slipping back. in perspective, it originally listed shares 20 years ago this month for just $18 each. appropriately, there is more online. top business stories on our website — bbc.co.uk/business what happens when two strong—minded individuals from opposite sides of the political debate sit down for dinner? the victoria derbyshire programme sent ex—ukip leader nigel farage and journalist racheljohnson — a remain campaigner, and borisjohnson's sister — on an election blind date. music. hi, i'm racheljohnson.

how do people best know you? oh that's such a mean question. laughter i think i've probably got to admit that they think of me as the sister of boris. which is annoying, but i have to accept it and i am a journalist. i'vejoined the lib dems. i'm very concerned that we don't just go off a cliff, willy—nilly, in terms of brexit, because i'm thinking about my children and grandchildren, i hope. i'm waiting for grandchildren. it would be great fun if it was nigel farage, that he'll drink me under the table. hello there. can i introduce you to your... how about that! that's amazing. hello, you. are you well? very well. good. i have a theory which is this, actually, i don't think i'll cared about project fear. i don't think people care that the eurozone is going to boom and that we're going to go off a cliff.

i honestly think that it's become an ideology and all they want to say is, we've got our country back without really knowing what that... the ideology is to lie to two dozen countries in europe, to tell them that they are joining an economic club and then bit by bit, to take away their democracy and their independence. what, are you single, nigel? that's a very good question. a lot of people are asking. i'm not very married at the moment, let's put it like that. you're not very married. no. it's sad that your private life has fallen apart. you've done it for a noble cause. 53, separated, skint, great. why are you skint? 20 years of doing this. could you go to bed with a remainer? could you make her see the light? well, i'm not going to answer that. laughter are you only attracted to brexiteers? how was your date?

i enjoyed it. he's taught me a lot. in ten years' time, we're going to have another dinner date and we are going to see if it's a great success that you hope for. and i'm hopeful too because i want things to work. in ten years' time the european union won't exist anyway. so it will be a different conversation. i don't think you're right. i'll shake your hand on that. thank you for a lovely lunch. no, it was great fun. you can watch the full film on the victoria derbyshire website, bbc.co.uk/victoria, and they'll be another blind date tomorrow. that's between 9am and 11am here on bbc news. blind date! thomas xhaka has the weather now... thomas? the weather is improving across the uk today. it has been quite wet in

some areas. we have had dark clouds, no real nasty weather like we had days ago, but some showers around. the clouds have been breaking up, especially in northern, central and southern parts of the country. this evening and overnight, eventually it will dry out and skies were clear. a lot of cloud at there. this weather front moving across northern ireland, north—west england and through scotland poured rain. we have rain around the lake district. it should be out of the way. overnight, a lot of clear skies. starry skies in major cities, in the northern two thirds of the uk. in the south it stays cloudy, and here temperatures just a little the south it stays cloudy, and here temperaturesjust a little higher this coming night, around 13 or 14 degrees. single figures further north. tomorrow, cornwall, devon, gloucester, somerset, and along the south coast to london, it is going to bea south coast to london, it is going to be a cloudy start to the day. gloomy early in the morning and three the morning, the clouds break

up. sheffield, manchester, belfast, glasgow, and all the way to inverness, across to aberdeenshire, a beautiful start of the day. a lot of sunshine. and first thing tomorrow morning, through the course of the morning, cloud across the southern and south—western areas breaking upa southern and south—western areas breaking up a little. you may catch some light showers but nothing more than that. a warm day. tomorrow overall will feel better if you have had nothing but cloud and spots of rain today. not much change on the way tomorrow. midweek looks smashing for many parts of the country. a change on the way for thursday. low pressure here at across the north atla ntic pressure here at across the north atlantic sending a long weather front in our direction, spelling rainfor front in our direction, spelling rain for northern ireland and western parts of scotland. wind blowing around it. meaning that the airwill be coming blowing around it. meaning that the air will be coming in from the south, across england and wales. here it will be warming up and wafting with warmth through

thursday. rain in the north—west is slow to move. on friday afternoon, it is parked across wales and north—west england. fresh air still ahead of that weather front, things warm up. things warm up across england, and especially the south—east, for some time. further north it is fresher, rain on and off. the end of the week looking u nsettled off. the end of the week looking unsettled across northern areas of the uk. enjoy the rest of your afternoon. today at five, the us pop star ariana grande will return to the uk on sunday for a benefit concert for the victims of the manchester bombing. she is topping a star—studded line—up including justin bieber, coldplay and katy perry. the 22 people who died in a bombing were attending a performance by ariana grande last week at the manchester arena. we'll have the latest on the announcement today. the other main stories today. jeremy corbyn stumbles over the cost of labour's free childcare plans,

in an interview on the bbc‘s woman's hour. how much will it cost?|j how much will it cost? i will give you the figure in a moment. you do not know it? you are logging