this is bbc news. the headlines. theresa may and jeremy corbyn are both challenged on a special edition of question time. the prime minister was questioned on nhs funding with the labour leader heckled when he avoided questions about using nuclear weapons. my my wage slips from 2009 reflect exactly what i am earning today so how can that be fair? we will put more money into the nhs. but there isn't a magic money tree. would you allow north korea or some idiot in iran to bomb us and say we better start talking? you have to do it first. no, of course not, of course i would not do that. senior conservative cabinet members say that a future tory government would not raise income tax even for high earners. labour say low earners have had no guarantee from theresa may over tax. ariana grande makes a surprise visit to fans injured in the terror attack at her gig last week, that's ahead of her benefit concert tomorrow evening. hope for ovarian cancer

patients as a new drug shows promising results. iam in i am in the welsh capital where football fa ns i am in the welsh capital where football fans are gearing up for the biggest prize in european football, the champions league final. and coming up, a look at istanbul, a city that spans two continents, good morning and welcome to bbc news. theresa may and jeremy corbyn have faced tough questions from a tv audience, just days before the general election. they were challenged separately in a special edition of question time in york. mrs may faced uncomfortable

questions about nhs funding. while mr corbyn faced a robust exchange over whether he would use the uk's nuclear deterrent. our political correspondent vicky young was there. the party's the pa rty‘s manifesto the party's manifesto commits the conservatives to keeping tax as low as possible but hadn't ruled out increases in income tax. labour says low earners have had no guarantee over tax. our political correspondentjoins me now over tax. our political correspondent joins me now from over tax. our political correspondentjoins me now from a campaign event in west yorkshire. this is an interesting intervention from the defence secretary michael fallon. it certainly is. as the campaign enters its closing stages, the prime minister's just turned up enters its closing stages, the prime minister'sjust turned up here in west yorkshire to meet party activists to try to rally the troops. i think we are seeing signals of some concerns that if traditional conservative voters in parts of the world like this where

there are marginal seats don't turn out, it could do some damage. what we are seeing out, it could do some damage. what we are seeing now out, it could do some damage. what we are seeing now is i think a reinforcing of some of those core conservative messages and one of thoseis conservative messages and one of those is about tax because what we have had so far is a message in the ma nifesto have had so far is a message in the manifesto simply about vat, not about income tax, not about national insurance in terms of guaranteeing a freeze on those. theresa may has said until now there are no plans to raise income tax but what we had last night was a hardening i think of that position from michael fallon, the defence secretary, who asked the question about whether high earners could vote conservative safe in the knowledge they wouldn't have income tax rises, he replied, yes, they can. that appears to go further than what we have had so far and certainly further than the ma nifesto. and certainly further than the manifesto. it will be interesting to see whether the prime minister will commit herself to that position as well as she potentially faces a few questions on that in west yorkshire later. of course, all of that after

last night's question time special with theresa may and jeremy corbyn facing questions from voters in the studio in york. the mood here among conservative party aides is they think it went pretty well for the prime minister, a polished performance, they felt. my colleague vicky young was there last night. they came here hoping to persuade people that they have what it takes to lead the country. no one expected an easy ride but from the start it was clear that this would be a testing evening. theresa may was accused of being untrustworthy, of changing her mind on calling an election and on policies like social care. others were angry about funding for schools and hospitals. my wage slips from 2009 reflect exactly what i am earning today so how can that be fair? we have had to take some hard choices across the public sector in relation to public sector pay restraint. we did that because of the decisions we had to take to bring public spending under control because it wasn't under control under the last labour government. brexit is why theresa may says

she called this election. she said she was determined to deliver. we take this opportunity of brexit, new trade deals around the rest of the world, actually seeing how we can build a more prosperous, stronger and fairer britain. i think we can do that and i think we can do that because i believe in britain and i believe in the british people. forjeremy corbyn, this was a chance to prove he's ready to take the topjob in politics. he was unapologetic about plans to raise taxes for companies and higher earners. where are the skilled workers going to come from tomorrow? where are going to be the consumers of tomorrow? i think it's time that we looked at inequality in our society and used public investment in order to improve services and give real chances to everybody. poverty is a waste. but mr corbyn had his most difficult moment when he was pressed to say whether he'd ever use nuclear weapons to defend britain? would you allow north korea or some idiot in iran to bomb us and then say,

oh, we better start talking? you would be too late? you would have to do it first. no, of course not. the general election is less than a week away and this was a great opportunity for voters to see both the people who want to be prime minister. yes, setting out their vision, but also coming under real pressure over policies and both hope that this will be the moment when the public swings behind them. we are going back to west yorkshire later when theresa may is expected to speak. the singer ariana grande has visited fans in hospital who were injured in the terror attack at her manchester concert. the star spent time with youngsters at the royal manchester children's hospital in a surprise appearance ahead of a benefit concert in the city tomorrow. simonjones reports. the smiles say it all. fans like this eight—year—old lily harrison who was still recovering from her injuries

in hospital, meeting the singer who means so much to them. the children had been getting ready for bed when the star arrived unexpectedly, bringing gifts and signing autographs. we were the last room on the ward she came to visit so the excitement was building and heap came skipping in and as you can see, she's made up. there were thanks as well for the nurses. and tomorrow she will perform at a concert to raise funds for the victims and their families. the 22 lives lost have been remembered at saint ann's square which has become the focal point for those wish to pay tribute, to contemplate and to grieve. manchester city council says that this may be the last weekend the flowers remain in place as it needs to look at relocating them respectfully. it will now consider setting up a permanent memorial in the city. it is a must. the 22 who died... ...just have to have something that is a testament to what happened. i think people will want to come

forever, just to pay their respects, really because, as i say, it should not have happened and they were babies, weren't they? and should have been the night of their life and it wasn't. it is sad. a big heart with all of the names on the date of birth of all of them would be a good idea. alongside the remembrance, the police operation goes on. last night a car was taken away which they say could be significant to their investigation. police will be out again in force for tomorrow's concert. an early and small scale trial of a new drug to combat ovarian cancer has shown promising results, according to researchers. the drug shrank tumours in almost half of the 15 women in the advanced stages of the disease who took part. here's our health correspondent, sophie hutchinson. marianne heath has advanced ovarian cancer. there are very few drugs to treat this type of cancer and the ones that exist can no longer help her.

so she says when she was asked to take part in a trial for a new drug shejumped at the chance. well, i decided to go on the trial because there were no other way out for me, there were no options presented so it was the trial orjust radiotherapy so i decided to do the trial first. the trial, run by the institute of cancer research and the royal marsden, aims to test the safety of the new drug known as 0nx—0801. it involved just 15 women all with advanced ovarian cancer. the result, tumours shrank significantly in almost half of the women over the course of five weeks. one of the fantastic things about this new drug that's being developed here is that it has so few side—effects, compared to traditional chemotherapy. and that's because it specifically targets cancer cells, leaving healthy cells unharmed. this drug attacks the tumour and you see very encouraging tumour

responses but you don't see the common side—effects like hair loss or sore mouth or diarrhoea or susceptible to infections as seen with other chemotherapy. but the scientists are urging caution. they say it was a very small study and it's too early to know whether the success could be replicated in a larger group of patients. they now want to plan the next phase of the trial. sophie hutchinson, bbc news. i am joined now from salford by florence wilks, who has ovarian cancer. thank you very much for being with us on thank you very much for being with us on bbc news. let me ask you first of all what was your reaction when you heard about the trial and the results ? you heard about the trial and the results? i think it sounds so exciting because we need further advancesin exciting because we need further advances in treatment for women with advanced ovarian cancer. i have had four lines of chemotherapy and two

major surgeries and i can tell you chemotherapy is very, very you have to. one of the great things about this new drug is it's targeted and the side—effects are less than traditional treatments, which is very harsh. what has the impact of the ovarian cancer you are dealing with been on your life in terms of the disruption of day—to—day life with the treatments you have had to put up with? my life's been totally devastated op one hand, the treatment is very, very harsh. my life's been turned downside down, very traumatic on myself and my family. on the other hand, i have had a wonderful seven years, i was diagnosed in 2010. to live a happy fulfilling life you have to accept where you are, grateful for what you have got and therefore take happiness from that, life is short for all of us, but i think when you live in a devastating situation which cancer diagnosis is and mine was advanced, it spread from the ovaries to the abdomen, which meant it wasn't curable, just treatable,

prognosis currently is poor, i still have cancer in the abdomen even though i have finished my fourth round of chip therapy. so life is a challenge. however, iam lucky round of chip therapy. so life is a challenge. however, i am lucky to be alive —— chip therapy. —— chemotherapy. in one of the patients speaking who was involved in this study, two of her tumours have stayed the size they are after shrinking, one is starting to grow back. this isn't a cure, but equally you think in terms of quality of life it could make a difference for people? it could make a huge difference f. i have had four rounds of chemotherapy and almost decided i couldn't bear to have any more. whereas if you have a drug where the side—effects are minimal and it is shrinking tumours and keeping them stable, potentially quality of life could be very good. this is a very small study. 15 women, seven of whom

experienced this shrinkage of tumours. i suppose with any medical advances there is a danger of raising our hopes too high. how realistic do you think we have to be about this? i think we have to be really realistic. however, there's lots of current research taking place and many other trials taking place and many other trials taking place and many other trials taking place and i think the future of ovarian cancer treatment will be transformed in years to come and i think there's a lot of, i am a voice for the charity ovarian cancer action and research centre at hammersmith hospital are currently doing fantastic research. i think we need more money to be put into research so the outcome for women could be better, more quickly. we have had an amazing advance in the treatment of breast cancer and the same needs to happen with ovarian cancer. pleasure to speak to you, thank you so much. good to be talking about potentially positive news. thank you. statins — which are usually prescribed to lower cholesterol — could help reduce the risk of dying from breast cancer by 27%, according to a new study. scientists in china who analysed

research involving 200,000 women, found patients who took the drug were less likely to see their cancer return. charities have welcomed the news but say more clinical trials are needed. the consumer group which is calling on british airways to create an automatic compensation system for passengers affected by serious flight delays and cancellations. it comes a week after a major it failure caused hundreds of the airline's flights to be grounded. the images of the week from ba. passengers waiting for flights, some of which ended up being cancelled. the compensation bill could exceed £100 million for the airline. ba says it will treat customers fairly and refund legitimate expenses but consumer advocates say that is not enough. in a letter to the chief executive it says compensation should be automatic for passengers out of pocket.

they should not have to apply directly to airlines for a refund. an automated system would save time and money for ba as well as prevent companies from making profit from misery of others. people are entitled to money but they are not given it automatically. passengers are often not realising what they are entitled to. the airlines can pay compensation because they know what flight you were on and what you are entitled to and we think that should be the rules. there are other sectors in energy and water where you are automatically paid compensation if you do in response, ba said it had put additional resources into its call centres to process claims quickly as possible. one group that is not out of pocket are investors in ba's parent company. its shares were up this week despite the whirlwind endured by customers. the prime minister is about to speak

to party activists in west yorkshire. her warm—up man, to party activists in west yorkshire. herwarm—up man, talk about a blast from the past, william hague, who was foreign secretary and himself a former conservative leader. let's hear what he has to say. he usually has a few good jokes. the alternative to a conservative majority is... booing. jeremy corbyn propped up by scottish nationalists and, i am not going to talk about him this morning, but if what he believed in worked, the soviet union would have become the most successful society on earth. we know what happened there. it would and disaster for this country. know what happened there. it would and disasterfor this country. i know what happened there. it would and disaster for this country. i am just going to say a few words about oui’ just going to say a few words about our prime minister who's going to speak to you, because i know her well, 18 years ago when i was leader of our party, i appointed a promising new member of parliament to the shadow cabinet. and guess who

that was? it was obvious then theresa may was going to be a big figure in our politics and there she is now as prime minister and quite rightly and i want to tell you a little bit about her, you all know about her, you are supporting her. first of all, she has real staying power. that was 18 years ago. she has never faltered in power. that was 18 years ago. she has neverfaltered in her dedication to public service for a single day of those 18 years. i pay tribute to that. secondly, she's also been about representing all the people of this country, that's what her conservativism is like. jobs for young people and tax reductions for lower paid people and economic growth for the whole country, including the north of the country. this is the right sort of conservativism, for all the people

of the country. third, served for . .r... . ,. calm and clear and decisive in she's calm and clear and decisive in a crisis and we all know in the next five years there will be threats at home and abroad where we need those qualities in a prime minister. fourth, she is a tough negotiator. evenif fourth, she is a tough negotiator. even if you are on her side she's a tough negotiator. as i know! but whenjean—claude tough negotiator. as i know! but when jean—claude juncker starts demanding extra tens of billions from the uk, we need a tough negotiator in number 10 downing street. she's respected abroad. i know that again from my work as foreign secretary when she made an argument to a foreign country, that foreign country generally tended to agree. again that's what we need in agree. again that's what we need in a prime minister. and she's honest. and people are being made promises by other parties in this election that are not honest, that are not affordable. and we can see that.

it's common sense to see, it's yorkshire common sense to spot that! so, ina yorkshire common sense to spot that! so, in a prime minister when you have got staying power, representing all the people, being calm and clear ina all the people, being calm and clear in a crisis, being a tough negotiator, being respected abroad and being honest, that's a pretty good combination, isn't it? we don't need to look for someone like that in this election, we've already got someone in this election, we've already got someone like that to be prime minister! applause. so, i give you this morning and i ask you to support all the way to polling day, and beyond, the way to polling day, and beyond, the prime minister, theresa may. applause and cheering thank you, thank you. thank you very much indeed everybody for that very great yorkshire welcome. it's great to be here in dewsbury and great to be here with william who has been

such a wonderful servant, both for our party and for our country over the years. of course, is a famous son of god's own county himself. as you heard, it was william who started it all by giving me that break and putting me on the shadow cabinet all those years ago. but it is very good to be with you here today as we look to the election on thursday, just those five days to go of campaigning through to what is, i think, the most crucial election that we have seen in this country and during my lifetime. you know, 12 months ago, the british people voted for a brighterfuture months ago, the british people voted for a brighter future for our country and i believe that we can build a stronger, fairer and more prosperous britain because the promise of brexit is great, the opportunities before us are enormous

andi opportunities before us are enormous and i believe that we have the confidence as a country if we get brexit right to ensure that we can build that country that is fairer, thatis build that country that is fairer, that is stronger, that is even more prosperous, that's more outward looking and global, that is more confident in itself, more secure and more united and a country that our children and grandchildren feel really proud to call home. but to do that we need to ensure that we get those brexit negotiations right and we need to have a vision for the future of this country. i have that vision because i believe in britain andi vision because i believe in britain and i believe in the british people. as we look ahead to this election i think there is a very clear choice for people, they can vote conservative to get the strong and sta ble conservative to get the strong and stable leadership and government that will deliver that vision for the future and success in the brexit negotiations, or as william said, the alternative, which isjeremy

corbyn propped up by the liberal democrats, the scottish nationalists, presiding over this coalition of chaos. and votes here in yorkshire will be critical in this election. if i lose just six seats my government loses its majority. so every vote at this election counts. every vote also cou nts to election counts. every vote also counts to strengthen my hand in those brexit negotiations. as we look to polling day on thursday, i think the issues are the same now as they were at the beginning of this campaign, ithink they were at the beginning of this campaign, i think there are three issues for people to think about. there is a very simple question, which is who do you trust to have the strong and stable leadership, to ensure that we get the best deal for britain in europe? because brexit really matters. it matters for our future prosperity, for our place in the world, for our standard of living, for the prospects for young people. so those brexit negotiations are important. and there is a simple

choice, which is who has the will and crucially the plan to deliver a successful brexit? you know, those brexit negotiations startjust 11 days after polling day. so you have got to be ready, whoever becomes prime minister, which ever party is in government, has got to be ready to go on day one. the europeans aren't going to say no, you can put it off for several months while you sort your coalition out. laughter. so we have got to be there and ready. then, as i say, a simple reality, which is that if we lose just six seats we lose our majority. it isjeremy corbyn in number 10, coalition of chaos, diane abbott as home secretary, john mcdonnell in the treasury. booing. of course nicola sturgeon pulling the strings. but get those negotiations right, get that vision for the future of our country, and we can build that better britain and it's about getting a better deal

abroad and a better deal here for ordinary working people. there are various elements to that, yes, it's about those negotiations, it's about taking back control of our borders and our laws and money, it's also about striking new trade deals for british goods and services around the rest of the world with new friends and old allies alike. it's about backing those who work hard, helping businesses to create better paid jobs. and new rights for and protections for workers. it's about giving people more of a chance to be able to own their own home by building more affordable homes. helping people with the cost of living by capping those rip—off energy tariffs. it's about ensuring every youngster has a good school place with more school funding, making sure that they get a best start in life, but also a proper technical education in this country for the first time. it's about that strong economy and enabling us to fund the nhs, that first—class nhs

so people have the confidence of knowing it's there for them and that we can ca re knowing it's there for them and that we can care for our elderly and it is about protecting our national security and defence and that's about defeating terrorism, but also dealing with the extremists who seek to divide us. but by coming together, by having confidence as a country and confidence in ourselves, we can do these things but of course we can do these things but of course we need to have the right government in order to be able to do them and you will be out there over the next five years... five days! laughter. over — out there campaigning to make sure that we get the government that's going to deliver that for britain and! that's going to deliver that for britain and i think it is very simple message to people, that if they don't thinkjeremy corbyn should be prime minister, if they don't think he can do those negotiation, if they don't believe that he is going to ensure our

economic security or national security, there's no safe way to vote labour. actually the only vote that ensures you get that strong and sta ble that ensures you get that strong and stable government that will lead our country stable government that will lead our cou ntry forward stable government that will lead our country forward is to vote conservative. so, iam country forward is to vote conservative. so, i am offering myself as prime minister and my party in government with that clear vision for the future, a plan for those brexit negotiations, resolute determination to get this right and make a success of brexit, optimism that we can get a really good deal for us all, and the confidence in this country and the belief in britain and the british people that will take us forward. but of course it's only the people that can give me and the party the mandate to do that and so my message is very simple to people, give me your backing to lead britain, give me the authority to speak for britain, strengthen my hand while i am fighting for britain. if you give me

your backing, i will deliver for britain. thank you. applause. studio: theresa may talking to party activists in yorkshire with her message at the start of this final week of the general election campaign. five days to go and a stark reminder to her party, if i lose six seats my government loses its majority, she said, in other words, get the vote out in the next few days. she will take questions now from party members. from the press. reporter: you said you have no plans to raise income tax, are you saying categorically you will not raise income tax? our position on tax hasn't changed, we set it out in the ma nifesto. hasn't changed, we set it out in the manifesto. what people will know when they go to vote on thursday is that it's the conservative party that it's the conservative party that always has been and is and a lwa ys that always has been and is and always will be a low tax party. it's our firm always will be a low tax party. it's ourfirm intention to reduce always will be a low tax party. it's our firm intention to reduce taxes for ordinary working families. indeed, as we committed in our

ma nifesto to indeed, as we committed in our manifesto to continuing to raise the personal allowance to £12500 and to raise the 40% threshold up to £50,000. so the choice is very simple for people on thursday, a conservative party that's always believed in lower taxes or a labour party with a manifesto that we know will mean higher taxes for all and ordinary working people paying the price. sky news. matthew parris, a former conservative mp has said you and your team former conservative mp has said you and yourteam are former conservative mp has said you and your team are insulting our intelligence with stupid slogans. do you think that you have been running an undignified campaign?” you think that you have been running an undignified campaign? i have been running a campaign which has been setting out the clear choice that the british people have on thursday, i have been setting out the very real challenges that the government will face over the next five years but this isn'tjust will face over the next five years but this isn't just about a choice for the next five years, because

what we do in government after this election will set this country on a path for decades to come. it's a really important moment of change for our country. that choice is between the strong and stable leadership of me and my team providing that plan for those brexit negotiations and a clear vision for a stronger, fairer more prosperous britain. orjeremy corbyn, and a coalition of chaos. itv? yes. itv news. prime minister, we heard from you and jeremy corbyn over the previous weeks what you would do in government but given the lack of direct debate between the two of you in this election i wonder if perhaps you might have a direct message to jeremy corbyn? laughter. i think you might look back and see several direct messages i have given to him in pmqs over the time. my message today is to the british people, which is that if you wa nt to british people, which is that if you want to ensure that we get those

brexit negotiations right, if you wa nt brexit negotiations right, if you want a government that is firmly committed to delivering the will of the british people, and ensuring that we leave the european union, because in that coalition of chaos there will be parties like the liberal democrats who want to take us liberal democrats who want to take us back into the european union, if you want us, a party that's going to deliver on the vote on the will of the people, and if you want a party that has a vision for a more prosperous stronger fairer britain in the future, then the only vote you can give is a conservative vote. applause the defence secretary said today that he is absolutely guaranteeing that he is absolutely guaranteeing that income tax will not rise under the conservatives. in reality, isn't it national insurance that you will hike up? i've been very clear in the first answer i gave,