this is bbc news. the headlines at two. police charge conservative candidate for south thanet, craig mackinlay, over an alleged breach of election spending at the last general election. once again, it's bad judgment from theresa may. why on earth would you allow someone to go ahead as a general election candidate when this cloud was clearly hanging over him? the conservative party continues to believe that these allegations are unfounded. craig mackinlay is innocent until proven guilty, and remains our candidate. jeremy corbyn launches a stinging attack on theresa may for not joining european leaders in condemning donald trump for quitting the paris climate accord. police investigating the manchester bombing find a car they say may be "significant" to the inquiry into last week's attack. prince william visits manchester to talk to those who helped the victims on the night

of the bombing. and in the next hour, a warning from the royal college of surgeons. new figures show the number of nhs patients waiting six months or more for surgery has increased threefold since 2013. two astronauts are leaving the international space station and heading back to earth in the soyuz space capsule. good afternoon, and welcome to bbc news. the conservative candidate for south thanet in kent craig mackinlay has been charged with offences relating to his election expenses in the run—up to the last general election. the crown prosecution service said mr mackinlay, who's standing again onjune 8th, and two other tory party workers

will faces charges under the representation of the people act. here's our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford. craig mackinlay. it was one of the big conservative wins in the last general election, stopping nigel farage in south thanet. their candidate, craig mackinlay, won byjust under 3000 votes after talking during the campaign of all the support he had had from big name politicians. we have brought many powerful members of the government team down here to show that i am part of a very strong team. but today, craig mackinlay, who is standing for re—election, was charged with making a false declaration of the money he spent on his campaign. also charged was his agent, nathan grey, and marion little, a conservative party headquarters campaign specialist accused of aiding and abetting the other two. this was the moment

nigel farage found out about the charges as he was out campaigning this morning. you'rejoking? oh, my good lord. right, that is big news. craig mackinlay has just been charged. once again, it is bad judgment from theresa may. why on earth would you allow someone to go ahead as a general election candidate when this cloud was clearly hanging over him? there will be questions. it was not the big name politicians that all passed through south thanet two years ago that have led to this case. it was the thousands of pounds spent on hotels for party activists, disclosed by channel 4 news. these were picked up by the national party and put on their expenses return. but police have been investigating whether, in fact, they should have been entered on craig mackinlay‘s local campaign expenses. an investigation has now led to him being charged. the conservative party continues to believe that

these allegations are unfounded. craig mackinlay is innocent until proven guilty and he remains our candidate. craig mackinlay has said he will continue to fight for re—election. standing in this general election while accused of declaring false expenses in the last. daniel sandford, bbc news. 0ur correspondent charlie rose is in ramsgate. i have spent the morning here in south thanet, i went to the conservative party flat a few hundred yards from me in ramsgate to look for craig mackinlay. i went to the conservative party office in broadstairs, but no sign of craig mackinlay in either of those two places, but he has now released a statement. he describes the crown prosecution service's decision as shocking and says he has done nothing wrong. he says his candidature in south thanet is entirely unaffected, and his

campaign will continue as before. with the general election, though, inafew with the general election, though, in a few days' time, we are yet to see how this will affect the vote down here in south thanet, if at all. the function of the election will be unaffected, though. we have contacted thanet district council and the electoral commission, and they say craig mackinlay‘s name will remain on the ballot paper. postal votes have already started. they say that being charged is not a ban on being a candidate. we have is ebay statement from the conservative party, they say that the allegations put before craig mackinlay, his agent nathan grey, and party activist marian little, are unfounded. many thanks. the labour leaderjeremy corbyn has launched a strong attack on theresa may over her decision not to sign a letter from european leaders protesting at president trump's decision to pull out of the paris climate accord. mr corbyn said it showed mrs may's "silence and subservience" towards the president.

but downing street said she'd expressed her "disappointment," and a source said other major countries had refused to sign. meanwhile, in brussels, the eu and china have beenjoining forces, to send a message to the world that they stood by the paris agreement. from brussels, our correspondent damian grammaticas has sent this report. in the fight against global warming, and just hours after donald trump retreated, enter new leaders — the eu and china. apart from the us, these are the world's other two economic heavyweights, prompted by president trump to act in concert. what we're seeing here with this joint reaction to donald trump's statement is striking, not just for the swiftness, but also for the message it sends, at a time when the us under president trump is withdrawing from global leadership on climate change, instantly the eu and china are stepping in to take up that mantle. it's a striking global change which could herald

a decline in us influence. so at this special summit in brussels, the eu and china are making a joint declaration, they will not abandon the paris agreement, the opposite. they're committed to it. china and the european union are aligned on the need for international solutions. nowhere is that more important than in leading the global clean energy transition, and implementation, implementation of the paris climate agreement. when president trump announced his decision last night, he said paris was a bad dealfor the us. but this deal—maker won't be able to re—negotiate, say eu countries, who have issued their own coordinated condemnation. a single statement signed by germany, france and italy. angela merkel today called the us decision "regrettable",

and added she was holding back her real feelings. translation: the decision can and will not stop all of us dedicated to the protection of our planet earth, quite the opposite. we, in germany, in europe, and in the world, are more determined than ever to pull our strength to face one of the challenges of humankind. theresa may did not sign the joint letter with europe's other g—7 members, that prompted this scathing attack from jeremy corbyn today. given the chance to present a united front for our international partners, she has instead opted for silent, and once again, subservience to donald trump. it's a dereliction of both her duty to this country, and our duty to our planet. downing street says the prime minister did not act together with other european nations because she spoke directly to president trump last night to tell him she supports the paris deal. i've made the uk's position

on the paris agreement very clear. we remain committed to the paris agreement, it's an important international agreement on climate change. i made the uk's position clear to president trump last week at the g7 meeting, as did the other g7 leaders, and i made the uk's position clear to president trump last night. canada and japan have not signed that letter, neither has the uk, but we all have the same view that we remain committed to the paris agreement. in brussels, the eu and china have been prompted to take a stand because they share the belief that fighting climate change makes both environmental and economic sense. and the eu says it put it on the right side of history. damien grammaticas, bbc news, brussels. with me now is our political correspondent leila nathoo. how much pressure do you think mrs may is under over this issue of climate change? she has been roundly criticised by all of the opposition

parties. jeremy corbyn launching his strongest attack yet, i think, on theresa may. you heard about a dereliction of duty, her subservience, he said, in the face of this. the lib dems saying, this is an example where these metal relationship should be put into action, if we are so close to the united states, if we have the air of donald trump, we should be able to put pressure on him when it matters. ed davies, the liberal democrat energy ‘s bugs person saying, britain is a world leader on climate change. actually, donald trump's actions undermine it is policy. the greens called theresa may week. there is a risk she comes across isolated on this. although, she will say she has taken a different approach. i suppose that is the job of labour and the liberal democrats to oppose, but what do you think this episode says about mrs may's relationship with the american administration? the opposition

parties are making this very much about a question of leadership. jeremy corbyn talking about theresa may's leadership, turning her own argument back on her, the gym and she has been making all through the election campaign. he says it shows she will be weak in brexit negotiations, coming after mrs may's relu cta nce negotiations, coming after mrs may's reluctance to criticise donald trump's travel ban. she was also criticised for her stance then. there is the claim she is trying to remain close to donald trump because she needs a close relationship there after we leave the eu. but i think this does go to the heart of what and what future relationships around the world will look like once we do leave the eu, whoever is in government. thank you very much. police investigating the attack at the manchester arena are continuing to track the movements of salman abedi between the 18th and 22nd of may. in the last few hours, they've located a car in south manchester

they believe may be significant to the investigation. meanwhile, two of the bomber‘s cousins have told the bbc they had no idea abedi was planning his murderous attack. the two cousins were arrested and questioned for a week, but have since been released without charge. and police have released new cctv images, showing the killer shortly before he launched his bomb attack. this report from manchester, and our home affairs correspondent june kelly. a potentially significant development in this terrorist investigation say the police. they focus on a nissan micra found in rusholme in manchester. people have been moved out of the area, including an accommodation block that is part of manchester royal infirmary. but a visit to the hospital by prince william has gone ahead. new images have been released as salman abedi as he moved around the city where he was preparing to attack. he was back in manchester four days before he committed mass murder. he has been captured on cctv with a blue suitcase police

are still searching for. two of his cousins have been released after being questioned a week. a younger brother is still being held. it's not easy being connected to 22 lost innocent lives. the fact that the person that did this is related to us by blood is something that will stay with me the rest of my life. looking at the relationship with salman, it was a close relationship. for him to betray the image of family in that way, involving 22 innocent people. traumatised by it, to be honest. it's shocking. a barbershop was one of a number of addresses searched. salman abedi was here in february for a haircut. the brothers say they hadn't seen him since that time. earlier this week, a bomb squad was at a house

in the area now cordoned off. they say salman abedi came to the house in the days before the attack. a lot of arrests have been made and more are anticipated. we haven't finished yet. there is a long way to go. when it comes to warnings about abedi, police say they can find no record of calls to the anti—terrorist hotline. june kelly, bbc news, manchester. prince william has been meeting officers from greater manchester police who were among the first to respond to the may 22 attack at the arena. he spoke to one police constable who was off duty at the time and at the concert waiting for his daughter when the bomber struck. this report from our correspondent frankie mccamley. arriving at greater manchester police headquarters. the force at the centre of the investigation into the terror attack. prince william meeting officers who were some of the first on the scene to hear about the incredible work they carried out. a bit of, it can't be happening.

ii of us got into a carrier that seated nine to get as many officers down there. even on the way down, driving down stockport road, we had a feeling it would be a hoax and we would turn around and go back to longsight. as more and more calls came in, you realised it is what it is. next stop, manchester cathedral, talking to people from the community who went above and beyond to help those injured. his royal highness attending a service and signing the book of condolence to show his support to those affected. and here, crowds are gathering as his royal highness is meeting ten children seriously wounded in the attack and who are still being treated. metres away, parts of the hospital have been evacuated

as the investigation continues and a police search is going on nearby. it is just one week after the queen's visit, meeting others affected by the attack. another royal boost to a place dealing with the aftermath of a tragedy that killed dozens and injured many more. 0ur correspondent fiona trott is at manchester royal infirmary, where prince william has been visiting. look at what is happening a few meters away from where prince william was earlier today. a 100 metre cord william was earlier today. a100 metre cord and off the area, detectives believe they have found a car that could be significant to their investigations. that cord and still in place. people have had to evacuate homes, searches are ongoing. rinse william isjust here

at the royal manchester children's hospital earlier. a couple of hundred people outside cheering and applauding, excited faces at the windows, too. people in the crowd we re windows, too. people in the crowd were saying that although a lot of positive things have come out since the attack, the atmosphere is difficult at the hospital where it 11 children are still being treated after the attack happened. prince william was meeting patients who have been in intensive care. they we re have been in intensive care. they were too ill to meet the queen when she was here last week. it will have given them a boost. after the queen was here, they were talking about it with their parents for days. it meant a great deal to them. hospital telling us that ten patients are still being treated here, 11 days on. one is in intensive care, one is in the high dependency unit, the others are on general wards and in the burn is —— burns ward, too. the emergency fund has been set up, and

it is very important, because they are able to give bereaved families a flat rate payment of £20,000. people that have been in hospital can get between 3500 to £10,000. the concert on sunday is expected to raise £2 million for the fund. fiona, many thanks. the headlines on bbc news: the conservative candidate for south thanet craig mackinlay — along with his agent and a senior tory party official — have been charged with breaking electoral law, related to spending in the 2015 campaign. theresa may has been criticised by the opposition parties for failing tojoin the leaders the opposition parties for failing to join the leaders of france, germany and italy in condemning president trump's withdrawal from the paris climate deal. police investigating the manchester suicide bombing have evacuated an area in the south of the city after finding a car which they say could be "significa nt to the investigation". and in sport, rafael nadal makes

very light work of his third—round match at the french open, chasing a tenth title at roland garros, king of clay has demolished his opponent, winning 6—0, 6—1, of clay has demolished his opponent, winning6—0,6—1,6—0. luke of clay has demolished his opponent, winning 6—0, 6—1, 6—0. luke ronchi has smashed 6543 balls to give new zealand the early advantage over australia in the champions trophy, having chosen to back new zealand arles hundred 75—2, after 27 of their 46 overs. and tomorrow's champions league final at cardiff's principality stadium will be as safe as possible for fans, principality stadium will be as safe as possible forfans, including to the uefa president. i will be back for more stories at 14:30. leading surgeons say the number of patients waiting more than six months for treatment in england has nearly tripled over four years. the royal college of surgeons has analysed data since march, 2013, a time when targets were being met.

our health editor hugh pym has more. the target for waiting times for routine surgery and treatment in england is 18 weeks. the head of nhs england, simon stephens, recently said that performance would be allowed to slip because of other urgent health service priorities. but the royal college of surgeons argue this will mean increasing numbers of patients enduring long delays. the college, using nhs england data, says around 126,000 people had waited more than 26 weeks for non—urgent treatment in march, up 180% on march 2013, a time when targets were being hit. the biggest increases were for dermatology, ear, nose and throat and urology patients. patients are waiting in pain. they're anxious about when they're going to have operations done and in some cases delaying

the surgery may actually interfere with the outcome of their surgical procedure. hospitals have been running at close to full capacity with demand for emergency treatment rising, so that leaves fewer beds for non—urgent procedures and operations and those patients have to wait longer. we're seeing a tremendous pressure on access on those beds because emergency admissions are rising so sharply. and because at the same time you have a finite budget to afford to pay for the surgical treatments. lynn from cornwall, who is 65, had to wait nine months for herfirst hip replacement and then had another long wait for the second. she says it was a painful ordeal. in the end, it only happened because i pushed and pushed and rang the secretary and made a fuss about it. by which time i could hardly walk, really. the second one, it was supposed to be done within three months and it actually took six and a half months. again, i had to keep ringing the secretary and pushing for it. labour said it would increase nhs funding and restore the 18—week treatment target, which it says has been abandoned, to bring people

off the waiting list. the conservatives said there had been a sharp drop in the numbers waiting more than a year for treatment, and only their plans to grow the economy would support the nhs. hugh pym, bbc news. less than a week to go until the general election, with wales as one of the key battle grounds. labour won 25 of the 40 seats in 2015, with the conservatives in second on 11. let's get the latest on how voters are feeling and cross to newport, and speak to our correspondent tomos morgan. newport, a key battle ground because this is one area, two constituencies here, the tories are trying to take from labour. an early polls say that up from labour. an early polls say that up to 11 of labour's seat in the general election will be offered grabs. more recent polls say labour are back in control and will hold onto those 25 seats. there are battle ground is all across wales. but what are the key issues facing

voters in wales, what are they voting on? we had an assembly election last year, key policy areas like health and education are devolved. i have asked people what the main issues are for them, and what are the key issues coming out on occasions are brexit and voting on occasions are brexit and voting on the leader they want in westminster. let me go over to professor catherine farrell, what are the other policy areas that will have an effect on the welsh people in this election? people are voting oi'i in this election? people are voting on issues that affect them. the issues that are prominent in wales are 110 issues that are prominent in wales are no different to the issues prominent across the uk. education is important to people, so is health and refuse collection. these things are important. brexit is big, the biggest thing that has happened in wales. the welsh people have voted for brexit, but it is not an easy thing to turn your back on that income that has come from that. so big transition for people in wales. they are voting on aspects,

including that as well. in addition, the welsh government is in charge, and policies are devolved, but the welsh government doesn't control all aspects of public management in wales. there are other aspects people are voting on, including police, crime and defence. all these areas are important to people. when we vote for mps in wales next week, they are voting on these aspects which will be important for the wider public management area. when we talk about brexit, maybe it wasn't days a prize that wales voted to leave the eu, seven ukip members voted into the assembly a month before that vote. but let's talk about wrecks it's imprecation on wales comedy think it could mean further devolution when we come out of the european union? devolution is complex, it is different in wales than in northern ireland, and scotland, and other areas of england. devolution is convex. people are voting for mps, but what is likely to happen is, we want to

represent the people's voice in wales. —— complex. the uk government, which ever government is in place will control this whole amount of money, and the mps in wales will expect them to stand up for wales, the jobs in wales, and to grow those jobs, growth areas of strength that we have got and to build wales up again, and to continue to do that beyond brexit. wales is a huge beneficiary of eu funding, is there a fear in some circles that the eu funding won't be replaced from westminster, and will be mps going from wales be able to battle for that? they have to battle for that, regardless of what party they are in. but we have voted for people to sit within a uk parliamentary system to represent wales's voice. what that will mean is we will want as much a share of that cake in wales, or northern ireland or scotland, to support the jobs that exist. we want them to

stand up for wales, whether that is through being an mp in parliament, but through select committees and all the other things that happen. we expect mps to take on and prosper that wales boys. thanks very much. —— wales voice. the main issue people have been telling me, it is about brexit and who they want to be the leader in westminster, going into the negotiations. thank you to you. today at 3:30 on bbc news, we will be putting your questions about defence and foreign policy to our diplomatic correspondent james landale. if you have a question on where each party stands on military spending, defence or diplomatic relations with other countries. 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. a space capital will be positioned miles away as it begins its descent back to earth. it is expect it to land in kazakhstan after 3pm this afternoon. the crew has spent nearly 200 days of board the iss. let's see what the weather is doing now. as we head into the weekend, mixed, sunshine and showers, but a lot of sunshine and showers, but a lot of sunshine about stop not a lot of sun around today. cloud across western areas of the uk warmth in the south east, temperatures peaking at 27. the possibility of some isolated

thunderstorms a little bit later on. asa thunderstorms a little bit later on. as a cool front moves across the uk, fresh air out of the atlantic, tonight will be fresher compared to last night. mostly around ten or 11. still on the warm side across the south eastern portion of the uk. tomorrow, a bright and sunny day for most of us. 0ccasionally interrupted by thick cloud and showers. most showers will be in western areas, the odd heavy one, and as i say, a lot of sunshine on saturday and sunday. hello. this is bbc news. the headlines: a conservative general election candidate has been charged with breaking electoral law. it's claimed that craig mackinlay breached spending limits in 2015 when he won the seat of south thanet in kent. theresa may says he is innocent

until proven guilty. 0pposition parties have criticised theresa may for refusing to sign a protest letter from european leaders over president trump's withdrawal from the paris climate deal. for labour, jeremy corbyn said it demonstrated mrs may's "silence and subservience" towards the us president. european leaders and china say there can be no backsliding on the paris climate change agreement despite president trump's withdrawal from the paris treaty. police investigating the manchester suicide bombing have evacuated an area in the south of the city after finding a car which they say could be "significa nt to the investigation". the royal college of surgeons says its members are struggling to meet the "standards and timeliness of care" the public expects. let's get an update on all the sport. good afternoon, at the french open

rafa nadal has moved into the third round with a conference of straight sets win. he's the four seed and showed why he is dubbed the king of clay with an impressive performance against his georgian opponent. he dropped only one game in the entire match inside 90 minutes. his 100th best—of—5 sets match on clay and his 98th win. bad news for david goffin, he is out after retiring hurt in his third—round match. he was leading 5-4 third—round match. he was leading 5—4 in the first set when he slipped chasing the ball. looked like he jammed his foot and he could now be about four wimbledon in four weeks. garbine muguruza is safely through in the women's draw, 11 breaks of

serve in the 20 games played in her match, she eventually won. chris woa kes has been match, she eventually won. chris woakes has been ruled out of the rest of the champions trophy due to a side strain sustained in yesterday's win over bangladesh in the opening match of the tournament, he could only manage two overs before the injury. his replacement has not been named but steven finn is amongst the candidates. luke ronchi has put new zealand in a good position in their champions trophy meeting with australia, it's been a rain affected match reduced to 46 overs each, luke ronchi hitting 65 from 43 balls, he was the second man out after martin guptill went per 96. kevin williamson has got himself a half—century. the president of european football's governing body u efa european football's governing body uefa says he is far more concerned

about fans safety given the recent terrorist attacks. but he says the sport is adapting to the current climate to ensure tomorrow's champions league final at the principality stadium in cardiff will bea principality stadium in cardiff will be a safe as possible for fans.|j don't know if football is a target but all the big events with big crowds are possible targets. the problem is that stadiums are secured and safe but there are many people on the street so we have to be cautious about it. we had to be connected to the police, local police intelligence agencies and we are doing that. jared payne is the first injury withdrawal of the lions tour of new zealand, he will miss the opening match tomorrow against the opening match tomorrow against the provincial barbarians with a ca lf the provincial barbarians with a calf strain. he is a former member of the new zealand under 20 side, he was on the bench for his first match

in his first lions tour but he has been replaced by elliott daly. no indication as yet as to who serious his injury is. martin kaymer has led to the defence of tiger woods who was arrested for driving under the influence this week. he has posted a video on his social media account asking people to stop criticising tiger woods in the wake of the images of his arrest on monday. they are so an images of his arrest on monday. they are so an fair and very disrespectful in my opinion. because everybody who is involved in golf was changed by his legacy, by his play, why are you being so nasty? why don't you try to do the opposite and help him now? the way he inspired as, that is why we are where we are now and can have what we have. president trump said the paris

agreement "punished" the us — and cost americanjobs — and he has the backing of many republicans and the us coal industry. but some of america's largest corporations havejoined eu countries and china in condemning the president's move. 0ur environment analyst roger harrabin looks now at the widespread opposition to president trump's decision. it is an interconnected planet. in the slums of bangladesh, water levels are rising as the world warms. partly thanks to carbon emissions from america. the reaction of poor nations to president trump is no surprise. he has effectively made the us a rogue state. the us will be entirely on its own. the rest of the world has already said that we will carry on on our own without the us. condemnation stretches far beyond bangladesh. there has been a worldwide chorus of anger. wherever we are, we all share the same responsibility. make our planet great again.

it is inspiring to see china, india, brazil taking their commitment seriously on this. donald trump needs to be condemned in the strongest possible terms for this reckless and frankly economically illiterate decision. 0ur message to you, mr president, is that as a public servant, especially as your first and most important responsibility is to protect the people. but in america's coal states, there is strong support for the president's championing of fossil fuels. he made a promise. this is a man who gets up every day to keep the promises he made to the american people. and by withdrawing today from the paris climate accord, the president has demonstrated his commitment notjust to keep his word, not to put american workers, american consumers, american energy and the american people first. but renewables like solar and wind are now outcompeting coal on price

and creating three times morejobs. so the president may have caused an international row without saving manyjobs in coal. and imagine the next gathering of these guys, the g7 world leaders. president trump shamed them into paying more to defend our borders. now he is saying america won't pay to defend our planet. that meeting should be interesting. roger harrabin, bbc news. the labour leader, jeremy corbyn, has launched a strong attack on theresa may over her decision not to sign a letter from european leaders protesting at president trump's decision to pull out of the paris climate accord. mr corbyn said it showed mrs may's "silence and subservience" towards the president. but downing street said she'd expressed her "disappointment," and a source said other major countries had refused to sign. a short time ago the prime minister gave this response. we remain committed to the paris

agreement, it's an important international agreement on climate change. i made the uk position clear to president trump last week at the g-7 to president trump last week at the g—7 meeting as did the other g—7 i—d z駧;;;;§;;:é $15): % é i—d z駧;;;;§;;:é $15): ia a? and i—d z駧;;;;§;;:é $15): ia a and | mg the uk to clear to presidenttrump fast mghfi japan have - signed clear to presidenttrump fast mghfi japan have signed ;: ' canada and japan have not signed up later, neither has the uk but we all have the same view that we remain committed to the paris agreement. what did you say to president trump last night and doesn't it show your subservience to president trump as jeremy corbyn said? the uk position remains as it always has been, we believe this is an important international agreement and the uk is one of the leading nations in dealing with climate change. i made clear to president trump as did other g—7 leaders last week that we believed the importance of the paris agreement and we wanted the united states to remain within it. i spoke

to president trump again last night and made it clear that uk wanted the affected states to stay within the agreement and we continue to support the paris agreement. like canada and japan we have made are very clear views known to president trump and others. but doesn't such a public declaration by people who read countries show strongly what you really feel about president trump? does it not look weak not to join big countries like france italy and germany in standing up to him in a public way? i am making a public deck relation to the bbc know about the uk position. they've taken a different decision, we continue to commit to the paris agreement, we think it's an important global agreement on dealing with climate change. the uk is one of the countries at the forefront of dealing with climate change and we remain committed to the paris agreement. the biggest party in ireland's ruling coalition will announce

its new leader today. the winner is expected to take over as prime minister in the next few weeks. the strong favourite is leo varadkar the son of an indian immigrant who is ireland's first openly gay senior politician. 0ur ireland correspondent chris page reports. ireland is a much changed country. until the 1990s, homosexuality was illegal, and there were few immigrants. but the new prime minister is likely to be this man, leo varadkar, a doctor who is openly gay and half indian. he is 38 but has already been the state's health minister, and more recently has run the welfare system. mr varadkar is one of two candidates for the leadership of ireland's biggest political party, fine gael, currently in a coalition government with independent members of parliament. the other contender is simon coveney, the irish housing