this is bbc news. i'm reeta chakrabati. the headlines at three: police charge conservative candidate for south thanet, craig mackinlay, over an alleged breach of election spending at the last general election. 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? 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. i'm simon mccoy, live in york, where it's all gearing up for question time tonight. theresa may and jeremy corbyn will face questions from perhaps the toughest audience of all, the voters

themselves. 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. also 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 on june eight, 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've 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 was in ramsgate earlier, and said it's unclear whether the cps's decision will affect the election. 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 full 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, in just a few days' time, we're 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 a statement from the conservative party, they say that the allegations put before craig mackinlay, his agent nathan grey, and party activist marion little, are unfounded. that is correspondent charlie rose. 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, the full implementation of the paris climate agreement. when president trump announced his decision last night, he said paris was a bad deal for 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 g7 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. we are taking you straight to the skies over kazakhstan, where we can see two astronauts who have left the

international space station about to land back on earth. their space capital, the soyuz space is capture all -- capital, the soyuz space is capture all —— space capsule, they are expected to land very shortly. the crew, the two members arriving back area crew, the two members arriving back are a russian cosmonaut and a french astronaut, they have spent almost 200 days on board the international space station. they have left behind an american crewmember who is staying on board. and you can see the first of the two making a landing. radio: landing occurring at 9am central time...

let's move on now. 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. finally, 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're focussing 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. and 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 i had with salman, it was a close relationship. for him to betray the image of family in that manner, it was out of order. 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 abedi came to the house in the days before the attack. ten men remain in custody. 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. 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 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 light work of his third round match at the french open. chasing a tenth title at roland garros, the ‘king of clay‘ demolished his opponent, winning 6—0, 6—1, 6—0. kane williamson has his hundred as new zealand look to post a big total in theirfirst champions trophy match against australia at edgbaston. after choosing to bat first, the black caps are 254 for three with five overs to go.

and tomorrow's champions league final at cardiff's principality will be as safe as possible for fans according to uefa president president aleksander ceferin. lets cross to york where that question time debate is due to take place later and join my colleague simon mccoy. tight security in readiness for the start. we will be on air at 8pm with a special programme, looking at what might come up, and straight afterwards at 10pm, we will be in the spin room at the university of york, talking to some of the politicians come and some of the journalists watching the debate, to see how the two leaders have performed. not a debate as such, because theresa may and jeremy

corbyn will not talk to each other. they will take questions from an audience of 150 people, with david dimbleby, as usual, hosting question time. i have been into the set for a sneak preview. as you can see here at the university of york, nothing has been left to chance. we have the microphones, jc main, jc spare, jeremy corbyn, of course. pm, two for her, and two for david dimbleby, who will stand at the lectern, putting the questions from the audience directly to the prime minister and to the leader of the labour party. they're going to be standing here at this lectern on this set, which as you can see, is yet to be unveiled. let's talk to rob hopkin, directing tonight's show. i call it a show, but you have got to be ready for anything, haven't you. yes, because it's live. we have members of the public here asking questions, and who knows what's going to be said, what's going to spark or ignite the clamour, the success or the failure of the night depends on the

interaction between politicians. a quick word about the audience, how are they chosen? that's a very complex issue. it's very balanced. demographically and politically, it is representative of the area, that's our formula for question time. tonight itwill be even more focused on a national agenda. i know you have lots to do. thank you very much, rob. of course, all the cameras are going to be focused here, but in many ways, it's notjust the two people performing here that will be the focus, it will be the question from the audience. 150 people will be sitting here. as we've seen before, it's a question from a person sitting here, and a response to that which could be making the headlines tomorrow. that depends on what questions they

ask. with me is vicki young. they can ask anything, and it has been a busy day. they could be in for a rough ride. the format of this is different to having five, six or seven party leaders standing behind a podium with a set introduction, shouting at each other for a couple of hours. it is harderfor politicians to deal with the public. the 2015 election seems like a long time ago. but david cameron got asked difficult questions about cuts to welfare. people put forward their personal experiences. it is harder for politicians to fob them off, if you like, maybe, in the way they might do with sound bites with was entered and the like. but they can't do it with real voters that are sitting in front of them. it is a more challenging experience. 45 minutes, an audience of 150 people. as you say, they can ask anything. given what is happening today, climate change, what else will be in

the list? the question so far they have faced from the members of the public, forjeremy corbyn, there has been a lot about security, what he feels about trident, past associations with the ira, four example. but there will be questions about policy, of course. manifestos. .. it is about policy, of course. manifestos... it is interesting how the economy may be hasn't dominated this election as much as it did two yea rs this election as much as it did two years ago. when ed miliband did this, he was asked, do you think the last labour government spends too much money? it through him, and it was a moment. brexit, of course, i am sure will be raised. theresa may feels that is her strong point. we shall see on all of that. economy, taxation, immigration, iam shall see on all of that. economy, taxation, immigration, i am sure, all of those things. theresa may is going first, they drew lots, is that a disadvantage becausejeremy corbyn can respond to what she says. that is the nearest to a debate we will see. that is true. the only other thing is, last time around, the audience has warmed up by the time

the second leader came, and they we re the second leader came, and they were a bit more spark you. maybe if you go first, you get them a bit cold. she will be, it she hasn't performed well here. she has been accused of not turning up to the debate on wednesday. she chose not to ta ke debate on wednesday. she chose not to take part in all of that. there has been a backlash from people. it dominated the last few days of whether she was running scared, why she wasn't prepared to defend her record. she has been accused of talking in sound bites rather than sounding out. it is a chance to change that perception. forjeremy corbyn, it is a chance for him to show he can be the next prime minister. perhaps the sort of audience where sound bites would work, which we have seen in previous debates. they have to come up with something which an audience is prepared and happy to hear. that is partly because when we as journalists go to press conferences and ask questions, you ask your question, they answer, but then the microphone is taken away from you.

we don't get a chance for a follow up, if you like. that doesn't happen here. david dimbleby will chair it, here. david dimbleby will chair it, he will come back with a follow up questions, but they can, too, in the audience. it is an unusual situation to be in. they have do think carefully about how they will answer, it has do satisfy the person asking the question, who is sitting in front of them. we are here all evening. hours of fun. that is one way of looking at it. we will have a special programme at 8pm, looking ahead to that debate tonight, a question time special. after question time special. after question time at 10pm, we will be on the bbc news channel in the spin room with reaction to what has gone on. theresa may has 45 minutes, jeremy corbyn has 45 minutes, and off the back of that, we will be in the spin room with live reaction. that is all to come. back to you.

simon, do continue having fun. 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. ona sunny on a sunny day, newport in temperature could be described as one of the most picturesque places in the country. it is a ruble county, 23% of the population are over 55 years old. given that so many key issues our devolved, what matters to the people here? getting a good deal with brexit, definitely. somebody has to be strong enough to get us through different times, but policies are what stand strongest for me, i think. policies are what stand strongest for me, ithink. pembrokeshire is policies are what stand strongest for me, i think. pembrokeshire is an agricultural heartland in a sector

like several others in wales, and benefits from european funding. little parties have said they would replace the shortfall when we leave, but there are worries about what could happen if the money isn't replaced. it would be very damaging to the red meat sector, to the beef and sheep sector, because without the statistics, it shows without the support payment, they would be losing a lot of money, and you would see them disappear. even though last year, both newport in wales voted to leave the eu, politically in a general election, they have voted differently. in modern times, this seaside village is almost always voted conservative. but the city, with its two constituencies, as one term, labour. here, what is most important and what will win the vote on the 8th ofjune. the leaders will change the vote. my biggest concern

is that wales gets the money that we would have been paying the eu, and to help people in britain. because i know, in newport, we did well from the eu. business rates are another devolved issue, however issues on financing large—scale devolved issue, however issues on financing la rge—scale projects aren't. what would benefit the economy in newport the most?m would run straight through newport, thatis would run straight through newport, that is a key enabler. it means that newport is brought closer to london, market in the south—eastern england are crucial and lucrative for welsh businesses. from the sunny beaches to the urban landscape, both newports have their own voting agenda on the 8th ofjune. will the vote be based on brexit, the leadership battle or something else to swing the vote in newport on polling day. and just a reminder that 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, #bbcaskthis, or text your questions to 61124, and you can email us as well, at askthis@bbc.co.uk more now on last week's manchester terror attack. the bbc has learned that the bomber, salman abedi, visited a british—libyan man in prison who'd been jailed for terrorism offences. with me is our home affairs correspondent danny shaw to explain more. it has emerged that salman abedi went to a prison in liverpool twice in march to visit a man that had been jailed last year for terrorism related offences. he was jailed for five and a half years for trying to help an raf veteran get to syria. he

isa help an raf veteran get to syria. he is a british libyan man. the visits by obadeyi had to be approved by the prison authorities and by counterterrorism police. they were fully aware of his visits. they didn't bar him from going to visit abdullah. they let the visits go ahead. my understanding is the visits were closely monitored. and there will now be, obviously, keen interest to find out whether moore should have been done afterwards, or what steps were taken should have been done afterwards, or what steps were ta ken afterwards to see whether there was anything sinister going on. but the visits went ahead, two visits to prison, by salman abedi. we are now getting a fuller picture of what he has been doing in the last few years. you may render that police had said that they have no record of anyone contacting counterterrorism police hotlines with concerns about salman abedi, despite the fact that the bbc has been told that five years ago, phone calls were made to that

hotline. that again is something else that needs to be bottomed out in the fullness of time. in terms of the wider policing investigation into what happened, where are we?m is still going on. a lot of work by greater manchester police. according is in place, in rush home in south manchester. a car, a nissan micra, is being looked at. police say it could be potentially significant, the fact that somebody had moved out of the local area, around there, it is indicative of that. in terms of suspects, ten men are in custody. the deadline is ticking, the deadline is approaching for when police need to make a decision whether to charge or release them next week. the deadline for some of the men, that takes place. all the time, police trying to build up a picture of obadeyi's movement and discover if he was part of a network 01’ discover if he was part of a network or not. whether he was assisted in any way. they have said it looks increasingly likely that, in the

days before he carried out the attack, he did most of it by himself and bought a attack, he did most of it by himself and boughta bomb attack, he did most of it by himself and bought a bomb components, and got them himself. thank you. let's look at what the weather is doing this weekend. it is starting to cool off across most parts of the uk now. as we head into the weekend. mixed with sunshine and showers, but a lot of sunshine and showers, but a lot of sunshine about. not an awful lot of sunshine about. not an awful lot of sun around today. cloud across western areas of the uk. we still have some warmth. it is mostly across east anglia and the south east. temperatures peaking at 27, the possibility of some isolated thunderstorms a little bit later on in the day as well. as this cool front in the day as well. as this cool fro nt m oves in the day as well. as this cool front moves across the uk, fresh air out of the atlantic on so tonight will be that bit fresher compared to last night. mostly around ten or 11, still on the warm side across the

far south—eastern portion of the uk. tomorrow, a bright and sunny day for most of us, occasionally interrupted by cloud and showers. most of the showers will be in western areas, the odd heavy one. 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. opposition 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. i spoke to president trump last night and made it clear the uk wa nted night and made it clear the uk wanted the united states to stay within the paris agreement and that we continue to support the paris agreement. police investigating the manchester suicide bombing have evacuated part of the rusholme area 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 as the number of patients waiting six months or more for surgery has tripled over the past four years in england. two astronauts have landed back on

air after having spent 196 days in the international space station. let's get an update on all the sport. novak djokovic is a set down in his third—round match at the french open, the world number 41 swartz men took the opening set, djokovic reading 4—3 in the second set but it is going with serve. rafa nadal had no trouble moving into the fourth round with the combines of straight sets win over his opponent. he dropped only one game in the entire match winning 6—0, 6—1, 6—0 inside

90 minutes, his 100th best—of—5 sets match on clay and his 98th win. bad news for the belgian tenth seed david goffin who is out after retiring hurt in his third—round match. he was leading 5—4 in the first set, slept chasing a ball and looked like he jammed his foot in the covers at the edge of the court and he could now be a doubt for wimbledon starting in four weeks' time. defending champion garbine muguruza is safely through to the fourth round in a match which featured 11 breaks of serve. the spaniard eventually winning 7—5, 6-2. spaniard eventually winning 7—5, 6—2. england all—rounder chris woa kes has been 6—2. england all—rounder 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. chris woakes could only manage two overs before he left the field with

injury, his replacement has not yet been named that steven finn is amongst the possible candidates. luke ronchi and kane williamson have put new zealand any good position in their champions trophy meeting with australia at edgbaston. a rain affected match has been reduced to 46 overs each, luke ronchi hitting 65 from 43 balls, williamson run out but he reached a century. just under four overs remaining. the president of european football ‘s governing body uefa is now far more concerned over fan safety given the recent terror attacks. however he says the sport is adapting to the current climate to ensure tomorrow's champions league final at the principality stadium in cardiff will be as safe as possible for fans.|j don't know football was a target but

all big events with big crowds are possibly targets. the problem is that the stadiums are secured and they are safe but there are many people on the street so we have to be cautious about it. we have to be connected to the police, local police, intelligence agencies and we are doing that. more bad news, jared payneis are doing that. more bad news, jared payne is going to miss the opening lions match against the provincial barbarians due to eight calf strain. he isa barbarians due to eight calf strain. he is a former member of the new zealand under 20 side, he had been picked on the bench for the opening match of his first lions tour but he has been replaced by elliott dearly. the

martin kaymer has lept 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 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. welcome to bbc ask this — today we're looking at defence and foreign policy. our diplomatic correspondent james landale is here with me. we have had several questions, let's

start with one from adam macdonald who asks what's the defence budget ‘s dance of the parties, let's confine ourselves to the three main uk wide parties. there is a degree of similarity, they are all signed up of similarity, they are all signed up to this idea that defence spending should be at least 2% of national income, gdp, that is the nato base mark. not every country meet that, we do at the moment, and all the three largest uk party support that. the conservatives say they would also increase spending by at least half an percent more than inflation each year to top that up but the big problem is there is a huge spending gap within defence spending at the moment so whichever party is elected would have to find a lot more money either by making cuts are getting money from elsewhere so there is a big spending question over defence at the moment. a question from peter who has

contacted us on twitter, he asks what approach should the uk undertake to strengthen relationships with commonwealth countries post brexit? interesting, the relationship between the uk and the relationship between the uk and the commonwealth after brexit will change. next year what is the gathering of all the heads of government which will be in the uk. a lot of focus is being placed on that now and the uk government as currently composed is very much focused on saying what more can the uk do to increase its trade with the commonwealth. in the grand scale of things the commonwealth is not as large as other trading blocs but the government is looking to do more. there is a summit a few weeks ago with trade ministers from around the commonwealth who came to london seeing what more can we do? a lot more will happen there. the problem they have got to address is that a

lot of commonwealth countries are quite concerned that once the uk leads the eu what access for those commonwealth countries have the eu markets? a lot of their goods are sold within the eu so that's an area they want reassurance and that is where these commonwealth countries we re where these commonwealth countries were notched up to deal with the uk but they will have to deal with the eu themselves and ask how is this changing, can we still sell our goods because some of them might be british dependent territories or things like that. another question ona things like that. another question on a different topic, asylum. they are asking what other plans for each party regarding the dubs children and the future of the vulnerable persons relocation scheme for syrian refugees, you might want us to remind us what that is. this is the scheme, it is the uk version of the eu wide deal which basically said there is a huge refugee problem resulting in the conflict in syria,

most of them have gone to neighbouring countries but a large number have made it through to mainland europe and some of them have come here so under the eu, the uk has agreed to take some of them. not that many but it has agreed to ta ke not that many but it has agreed to take some of them. all the parties, both labour and the conservatives don't mention this by name in their ma nifesto, don't mention this by name in their manifesto, the conservatives say our focus will continue to be helping refugees close to where they have come from rather than giving all the money to make it all away to the uk. labour want to review the hallway refugees are handled, their access to housing and how they are dispersed around the uk so they will have a review. it's the lib dems who specifically say they will expand the dubs scheme, that they will offer sanctuary to 50,000 refugees over the lifetime of the next

parliament, and they want to reopen the dubs scheme to make sure that britain meets its responsibilities by taking 3000 unaccompanied children. interesting that the harris not been much of a focus on this given migration is such a big issue. another question, is there any suggestion of foreign particularly russian interference in the general election? the prime minister herself said eu institutions were trying to influence discussions by what they said about brexit, that was a claim not met with universal consensus but it is one she made. the other suggestion is, there is a body called the national cyber security centre which is part of the spies we have got in cheltenham at gchq, the government monitoring side of the security services and they issued some guidance last month to mps,

former mps, candidates and political parties saying look, we have some evidence of what is called a fishing campaign, that is fishing with the ph, dodgy e—mails trying to get into other peoples and do bad things, guidance was issued saying this is best practice, we have some evidence ofa best practice, we have some evidence of a few candidates getting some of these dodgy e—mails they think from a foreign state but they did not say which. so far to my knowledge that is the limit of any sense of foreign government mayor may not have been involved. we have just had a questions sent in by someone watching and listening to what you are saying, asking how long will it ta ke to are saying, asking how long will it take to get new trade deals with other countries like canada and india and so forth? it depends on how ambitious those trade deals are.

if they are quite modest it can be quite quick, for example, countries in the gulf are keen to do trade deals with the uk, they have had limited access to the market because they don't have access to the eu market. these gulf countries, relatively straightforward economies, bit of oil, but of high—tech, bit of gas, they don't have completed agricultural it's possible a deal can be done. what the british government want to do is get a few early trade deals and other belt, almost for a political purpose, to say it is possible before they get onto the really difficult ones which could take longer. one final one, again i different issue, why doesn't anyone question our continued involvement in the combined european defence force ? in the combined european defence force? i will be honest, in the combined european defence force? iwill be honest, i am

in the combined european defence force? i will be honest, i am not quite sure what he's getting at in this question, but the point essentially is why are we leaving the eu, still involved in some of the eu, still involved in some of the eu, still involved in some of the eu military operations, security operations? the eu has an operation in the mediterranean it is trying to prevent, rescue migrants from north africa. it has operations in kosovo, in african countries like malia. the bottom line is that when the uk leads the eu we will have nothing to do withjoint eu leads the eu we will have nothing to do with joint eu military operations u nless we do with joint eu military operations unless we the uk choose to join these operations bilaterally, to say we are doing this operation, would you like some help? the uk was to be pa rt you like some help? the uk was to be part of the commons committee defence policy of the european union which means we participate in these schemes but the whole idea of an eu army which are still a long way

away, the uk will not be part of that leaves the eu. up until that point we can take part if we wish but most of the military co—operation eu does tends to be on an intergovernmental basis. take it or leave it option. very little it is done by decision—makers in brussels. very good to talk to you, thank you for all that information and answering all those questions. and at 5.30 we'll be putting your questions to the shadow international trade and also climate change minister — barry gardiner. you can get in touch via twitter using the hashtag bbc ask this, or text your questions to 61124. you cab also email us at askthis@bbc.co.uk 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.

our ireland correspondent chris page reports. live now to our correspondent chris page who is in dublin. tell us more about the frontrunner? leo varadkar, if expected is elected leader of fine gael, he would be ireland's youngest ever leader, he is only 38 and would be the first openly gay prime minister and the first of asian extraction, he is the son ofan first of asian extraction, he is the son of an indian immigrant. the irish republic's housing minister is also in the race but he fell behind because leo varadkar won the support of most of the members of parliament and the way the voting system works is that the m members of parliament have the biggest say. but members of the party across the country have been voting and those which are

being counted right now, we expect a result sometime after 5pm, perhaps towards 6pm. the way the contest has been reported internationally, if you put leo varadkar‘s name into any search engine you get a lot of results from international news sites and almost all of the headlines have focused on the fact headlines have focused on the fact he is gay and half indian. but whenever leo varadkar came out as 93v whenever leo varadkar came out as gay and a radio interview he said he did not want that or his ethnicity to define him and it's proved the case here in ireland during this and president did party leadership campaign. the campaign has not focused on most things but it has focused on most things but it has focused on most things but it has focused on economic issues, leo varadkar seen as socially liberal but economically conservative, his opponent here has suggested he would pull the party more to the right but it does seem like a majority of members of the party have decided that leo varadkar is the man to lead

them into the future and to replace enda kenny. expect the leader of this election to be ratified in parliament in a vote in the next fortnight or so, the challenge is coming upfor fortnight or so, the challenge is coming up for that person will be how to build an ireland's economic recovery and more than anything else the challenge presented by the decision of ireland's nearest neighbour, the uk, to leave the eu. many thanks. we'll bring you the results of that contest as soon as it happens. in a moment a summary of the business news this hour but first 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 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". in the business news this afternoon: insurers have clashed with british airways over covering passenger costs of those caught up in last weekend's travel chaos. the ba website suggests customers should initially make any expense claims on their travel insurance — but the association of british insurers say responsibility is with the airline. ba says it will update the language on its site. members of the black, asian and ethnic minority communities are a third more likely to be in insecure work than white workers — that's according to the trade union congress. one in 20 white employees are on zero—hours or temporary work contracts, whilst the figure for ethnic minority workers is one in 13. construction here in the uk hits an 18—month high. latest figures credit the boost to a rise in house building but commercial construction, including shops and offices also

increased at its fastest rate since march 2016. good afternoon — now the weekend is upon us. if the weather holds up — you might be planning something fun to do outdoors. well 25,000 of you will be playing board games! this weekend is the uk games expo. it's the largest hobby games convention in the uk. jenga — leslie scott. jenga alongside other popular games like monopoly and cluedo, household sta ples, like monopoly and cluedo, household staples, where did you get the inspiration? i was very young at the time, icame inspiration? i was very young at the time, i came from a family where we turn everything into a game, from spitting your olive pep and seeing who could get the furthest, and it

was playing around with a set of wooden blocks that belonged to my baby brother, that was the beginning andi baby brother, that was the beginning and i decided to put it on the market. that was about 1982. things have moved on since the 80s, we have got the digital world, virtual reality headsets, is there a place for board games any more, does it make money? yes, absolutely. what is interesting is that when i did put the game on the market back in 82 there was a huge, people were sort of signalling the death knell of the board game then, then there was a huge resurgence because of trivial pursuit. today there is another big resurgence of board games, this time i think more to do with party games, things like cards against your manatee, those sorts of games. a

huge resurgence of games where you play with more than one person, you're not playing with the screen you're not playing with the screen you are playing with a team of people and its a fun form of entertainment. this board games convention, does not appeal to eve ryo ne convention, does not appeal to everyone necessarily who likes board games but they are useful in selling your products, you started going to these conventions and selling gender and that is how it took off? actually the time i put gender on the market —— jenga actually the time i put gender on the market ——jenga on actually the time i put gender on the market —— jenga on the market, these conventions did not exist, certainly not in this country. they had in germany, very famous board game convention for the public there. what was open to us at the time were more trade shows, there was not really this opportunity to show your game and get it tested by the public then. now this is around the public then. now this is around the world they have these board game

conventions where people can come and test your game. it would have been very useful to have that back in 82. it all sounds very exciting, good luck, thank you forjoining us. in other business stories we've been following snapchat spectacles — as modelled by our very own rory cellan—jones this morning — are sunglasses which also capture photographs and video, are going on sale in the uk. they launched in the us last year — some people were a bit concerned about being recorded and thought it might be an invasion of privacy. snap inc, the company behind both the product and the app, are selling the devices online and in special mobile vending machines around the uk and europe. vacuum icon hoover has ditched its £500 million retirement scheme — its now being moved into a protection fund after getting the green light from the uk pension regulator. the deal has been struck because there was evidence

to suggest that hoover would inevitably fall into insolvency otherwise. up to 4,000 people in wales could be affected. those still under retirement age could receive an immediate 10% cut in their pension pot. owners of facebook stock were rebuffed on thursday after they called on bosses to share more information about what they're doing to address fake news. they asked the firm to prepare a report, but facebook maintained that was unnecessary and wouldn't benefit the company. it wasn't a massive surprise though as facebook chief executive mark zuckerburg has the majority say. a quick look at the markets. that it from me. breaking news from manchester where police are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding last week ‘s bombing, one of ourjournalists

on the ground say a bomb disposal squad has just turned on the ground say a bomb disposal squad hasjust turned up on the ground say a bomb disposal squad has just turned up at the road leading to oxford place. we now the police have evacuated pa rt we now the police have evacuated part of the city, we will bring you more at 4pm. let's get a look at the weather. thunderstorms lurking around south—eastern areas of the uk but many parts of scotland and northern ireland enjoying a beautiful afternoon. sunshine and showers on the way for this weekend so on balance not looking bad at all. the low pressure sending fresh weather to scotland and northern ireland but thick cloud at the moment, i want to show you what is happening, whether frontier basically means cloud and rain but ahead of its nasty storms.

moving in the direction of east anglia. to the west outbreaks of rain, some of them heavy, and then through this evening the weather should improve, clear skies, you can see here across eastern areas are bit more cloud and maybe some spots of rain, fresh night revellers skies clear. into tomorrow morning around about ten o'clock, quite a sunny and fresh start to the day, bit cloudy across the south east. closer to the north sea coast may be spots of rain perhaps nudging into eastern scotla nd perhaps nudging into eastern scotland and showers for northern ireland and west scotland. saturday looking mixed across the uk, showers which will fall will mostly fall across northern ireland and scotland, some could be heavy, could be one or two running into wells and the south west. the further east and south—east you are the drier it will

be on saturday and a pleasant day if you don't mind one or two refreshing showers. sunday a similar day, again showers. sunday a similar day, again showers around, most of them across western areas. it all changes on monday, we are all thinking about the weekend but i want to flag up monday because we could see nasty weather, how nasty, too early to say, i think at the moment its potential for heavy rain and very strong winds as well so quiet weekend relatively speaking with sudden showers and then watching for strong winds come monday. that's the latest from me. this is bbc news. i'm reeta chakrabati. police charge conservative candidate

for south thanet, craig mackinlay, over an alleged breach of election spending at the last general election. 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? 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. i'm simon mccoy, live in york, david dimbleby will