this is bbc news. the headlines at eight. a last—minute dash for party leaders in the final day of campaigning before millions of voters head to the polls. theresa may urged voters to back her on brexit in herfinal rally of the campaign. who do you trust to have a strong and stable leadership to deliver the best dealfor britain in europe? brexit matters, it is the basis for everything else. we've got a choice. five more years of tory cuts, longer waiting lists, underfunded schools in many parts of our country and hope under labour. and in other news: the body of a missing frenchman has been found in the river thames, which brings the number of dead in the london bridge attack to eight. and i loved him because we looked great together. and celebrating the life of ronnie corbett as fellow performers gather at westminster abbey for a memorial service. good evening and

welcome to bbc news. with just over 12 hours until polls open party leaders have spent the day criss—crossing the country, making their last pitch to voters. 50 days after calling the general election theresa may said that brexit was the priority and she was the leader best able to build "a stronger, more prosperous britain". beginning his day in glasgow the labour leaderjeremy corbyn warned voters against five more years of austerity and pledged more spending on health and education, delivering hope not fear. we'll be bringing you the last word from all the campaigns but first our political editor laura kuenssberg has been following the uk's two major parties — labour and the conservatives. this is the last push, the final few

miles as they try to bring you over and even before most voters were awake, theresa may was out in is london. talking about the conservative‘s plans to invest more in london. with security dominating the campaign, mrs mayer pledged to toughen the laws to tackle terrorism, but today returned again and again to her core message. who do you trust to actually have a strong and stable leadership that is going to do the best deal —— which is going to deliver the best deal for britain? brexit is the base of everything and we need to get the deal right.

the labour leader started his day in glasgow, pledging higher taxes the business and the better off to put billions more into public services. there is hope under labour. hope that our pensions will keep the triple lock and keep that secure and hope to invest in our economy all over the uk. by lunchtime jeremy corbyn was drawing the crowds in north wales. it is time for a change. time for a government that invests across the whole of the uk that supports people all across the uk. and deals with of inequality and poverty. as the hours ticked by, theresa may took to the skies to get to her next

campaign stop off. she caught up with voters playing bowls. a choice between two people who can be prime minister, who do they want to see leading this country into the future and building that stronger, more prosperous britain? tomorrow, the choice. he's not aiming for government, but wants the lib dems to be the party of opposition and in the west midlands, first thing today, urged voters not to give theresa may a blank cheque. to make sure that people have an opportunity to resist the dementia tax, the school cuts, the police cuts, and to give the british people the final say on the brexit deal seems to me a strong offer and one that i hope that the liberal democrats will reap rewards for. in scotland, the snp are warning a vote for labour would let theresa may into government through the back door. after the vote to leave the eu, ukip are fighting to stay relevant

and pushing for a hard brexit. i mean a brexit whereby we reduce immigration, a brexit where we don't pay a divorce bill, brexit where we take back full control of our waters and sign trade deals all over the globe. don't go out and vote tory, go and vote for the real deal, which is ukip. it's really only the green party looking ahead and saying we have a wave of automation coming in, we have to think about how we tackle those job losses. and also, we aren't going to waste £110 billion renewing trident nuclear weapons. it's only by having a strong team of plaid cymru mps will we make sure that wales' voice is taken seriously and not ignored in the way that it has been since the referendum took place, last june. of course, it's power here the parties are all competing for and they'll be using the last few hours of the campaign to try and win over any waivering voters to help to return their candidate to the house of commons. now, though, it's over to you. time to make your mind up and choose who you'd like to see as our next prime minister.

the leader of the liberal democrats, tim farron, has launched a last ditch effort to prevent a conservative landslide in tomorrow's election. he's been touring cities across england, where he's been pushing a message to voters to think tactically when going to the polls. speaking to supporters in bath this evening, mr farron said a landslide victory for the conservatives would jeopardise funding for community services across britain. mr farron said a landslide victory for the conservatives would jeopardise funding for community services across britain. a landslide tomorrow would mean permission for the dementia tax, permission for the dementia tax, permission for the dementia tax, permission for more police cots and underfunding of our schools and hospitals. it's a vote against all of that with the lib and —— with the

liberal democrats. it's a vote for the funding our schools deserve and for a stronger police. keep us all safe. our correspondent tom bateman is in bath for us this evening. the liberal democrats, the message seems to be very much, we can't have a tory landslide? absolutely and as you saw there, tim farron was handing out pizzas to keep people well fed before they start hammering on doors. it is a greater slice of the votes that tim farron really wa nts. the votes that tim farron really wants. he has been touring six different constituencies around the country and they are places where the liberal democrats came second in 2015. he believes that some tactical voting, appealing to labour voters, they will get enough votes to win

again. the liberal democrats took an absolute morning in 2015. tim farron will bejudged on how many absolute morning in 2015. tim farron will be judged on how many seats absolute morning in 2015. tim farron will bejudged on how many seats he can gain, but one thing was really striking in that speech that he gave. not so much what he said, which was about cuts to public services and social care and the plan to add 1p to income tax to reinstate those services, but what he didn't talk about was brexit. the liberal democrats wanted to carve out their place as the party of the 40%, the out their place as the party of the a0%, the remains voters, in a city like this where the majority wanted britain to remain in the eu. he's not talking about that spontaneously on the stump here because he believes that it's not catching the imagination of voters. they believe brexit might become an issue for them further down the line. right

110w them further down the line. right now it is not something that will get voters into the polling booths for them, so they are talking about public services. thank you very much indeed. labour leaderjermey corbyn will be holding a rally in about an hour's time, in islington in north london. our correspondent dan johnson is there. he has been crisscrossing the country, but now finishing the campaign on home soil? indeed, yes. we are very close tojeremy campaign on home soil? indeed, yes. we are very close to jeremy corbyn‘s home constituency, and maybe he has represented his 1983. this is a church and a drop—in centre for the homeless. this is one of the issues thatjeremy corbyn has referenced at every rally has given. his team say he has addressed a hundred values and around 100,000 people have come to hear his message. we have seen

the level of support he can stir amongst those people, but they are probably most likely people who are a lwa ys probably most likely people who are always going to vote labour anyway. he may have inspired them and got the mac campaigning, but the real test and what is harder to judge the mac campaigning, but the real test and what is harder tojudge is how much his messages will resonate with the wider electorate, people who won't turn up to a rabbit like this. the kind of people who might not know a lot aboutjeremy corbyn, but has seen more of him as the campaign has unfolded. the sign is that he has been better received than people have expected. the signs are that his policies, the labour policies are warmly welcome. he has talked about proper funding for the nhs, cutting class sizes, free tuition fees for students. he's talked about fairness and equality.

he said that is a direct contrast to five more years of austerity that we would get under theresa may, but the real test is how much that will hit through to the wider electorate, whether he can get his message home. thank you very much indeed. theresa may ended her campaign in birmingham. a lot of the refrains and phrases were familiar to us all. we heard about strong and stable leadership, perhaps the final time of the campaign. she wanted to bring this back again and again to brexit, arguing that there will be this huge political drama unfolds days after the general election and in her view

it isa the general election and in her view it is a choice between higher and jeremy corbyn as to who will be the prime minister to get a deal in europe. she has a plan for brexit, taken britain out of the common market, doing deals with others. borisjohnson interestingly market, doing deals with others. boris johnson interestingly was the warm up act before theresa may came on. he has had a far more prominent role in this election in the last few days. a sign that the tempo was being raised. he was far more personal in his attack onjeremy corbyn. he was laying into him, raising his past relationships with sinn fein and all the rest of it. he really went to jeremy corbyn, where as theresa may made it more optimistic and sunny, which is a lie she is trying to paint for britain post—brexit. that is what she loves

people here wanting to feel. trying to make britain a more meritocratic country. that was the message. it was quite brief. it was the last rally of the campaign, but the speech did not last longer than ten minutes. if so what are the conservative bus map plans? they plan to increase the nhs budget in england by 8 billion pounds over the next five years. they've restated their pledge to cut immigration to the tens of thousands. and they say they will achieve a balanced budget by 2025. labour have a brexit deal in mind too — putting the economy

and living standards first. they promise to end austerity and invest in public services — and they'll increase taxes on business and the highest paid. they say they will nationalise a number of companies,and abolish tuition fees for university students in england. our deputy political editor john pienaar reports. it may feel like a long march, this election, but then britain is deciding its future, choosing between candidates to run the country. whether you havejoined the battle like the labour faithful here in runcorn today, all you had other pressing business. people everywhere have been making their minds up. my mum works in the nhs, she deserves a pay rise. my school, the children who go to school, the two schools have got to find almost £1 million worth of cuts in the next three years. my niece goes to university and she is going to leave with £44,000 worth of debt. we havejust had enough. you go to university, you have got a student loan, it hasn't stopped you? no, but i feel it will affect me later on in life and i do not think that is fair.

you go to university to get a betterjob, but why should you have to pay? stop privatising the railways and bring them back into the public, you know. instead of selling them off to these private franchises. the glaring differences between the parties and the leaders has grabbed the attention of people who will make such an important, even historic decision tomorrow. government for the many, not the few, isn'tjust a labour slogan. it is what all the parties and both main contenders for downing street realise they have to offer post—brexit britain. in the hours before the polls opened, people are deciding instinctively in many cases, who they trust to deliver what they think matters most. in deep blue tatton, conservatism has grown deep roots. so what is it today that is making tory support here flourish? theresa may has been in it from the start with the brexit situation. so what about the worry some people have that she is going to go for too hard a break, it is going to disrupt

and damage the economy? no, i think she is prepared for that because as i said she has been in it from the start. and therefore she knows the ins and outs and she obviously has the economy at heart. ijust have more faith in theresa may and she is stronger minded. what is it for you? i agree with what she says about helping older people. personally i will lose the benefit for heating, but... and does that not put you off, losing the winter fuel allowance? probably somebody else will need it more than i do. i'm sure the people who really need it will it. the race is very nearly over. what comes next, a new government, a new plan, a new place in the world after brexit. that future starts tomorrow, june the 8th. john pienaar, bbc news. and we will be finding out more

later in the papers. the headlines on bbc news: voters prefer to head to the polls after seven weeks of campaigning. the body of a missing french man has been found in the river thames bringing the number of people killed in the london bridge attack to eight. they have been convictions after people were found guilty of abuse at a care home in devon. eight people are now known to have died in the london bridge attack — that's after police searching for a frenchman who disappeared during the attack found a body in the river thames. xavier thomas, who was a5, had been in london with his girlfriend for the weekend. our special correspondent ed thomas reports. remembering those who died.

and returning to london bridge for the first time. the police officers who faced the london attackers. who comforted the injured. here to lay flowers and pay their own respects. in a city grateful for the bravery of officers like pc green. it is really important to have that support from the public, and obviously our thoughts are more so with the casualties and everything that happened here. thank you. today police looking for xavier thomas said they found a body in the river thames. he was in london on holiday with his girlfriend who is seriously injured in hospital. ignacio echeverria, a spanish national, was confirmed dead today, last seen jumping off his bike to help a woman being stabbed. also named, sara zelenak, who was 21 and working as an opener.

an au pair. her family said she was a beautiful daughter and sister. the family of french chef sebastien belanger confirmed he was also killed after watching the champions league final. it means the total number of deaths now rises to eight. and this is the latest raid by police, a family home in ilford with officers still looking for evidence. to piece together more about these men. khuram butt, a known islamist extremist, rachid redouane, a moroccan libyan who once lived in dublin and italian moroccan youssef zaghba also police in italy suspected he wanted to join so—called islamic state, and his mother, speaking anonymously, she had no idea. translation: there was no way for me to know that he would ever do anything like this, never. i would like to ask for forgiveness but that would make no sense. i can't ask for forgiveness on behalf

of someone else. this investigation now reaches towards morocco, italy and ireland, but the focus has always been here in east london and those unanswered questions of how all three men met and planned their attack. and should more had been done? khuram butt was known to m15 but police say there was no intelligence and attack was being planned. there was a message from a city today to those who caused so much pain. ed thomas, bbc news, east london. a nursery school worker has been taken to hospital with a wound after being stabbed in the street in east

london. she was attacked in once did on her way to work this morning. her injuries aren't life—threatening, but she was taking to hospital. she was attacked from behind. my staff member was coming to work from wa nstead member was coming to work from wanstead station, member was coming to work from wa nstead station, walking member was coming to work from wanstead station, walking down the high street, which is right on our doorstep and unfortunately three young girls in their 20s, asian, we re young girls in their 20s, asian, were following her and they attacked herfrom behind, dragged herto were following her and they attacked herfrom behind, dragged her to the floor and then kicked her and punched her and then one of them got a knife out and slashed her arm, her left arm. then someone came to the rescue. a passer—by shooed them away. to terror attacks in iran have left 12 people dead. the parliament building and the founder of the

islamic republic were attacked. iran has said that one of the attackers set of a suicide vest. the surrounding buildings have been put on lockdown. the second attack hit the team of the founding father of the team of the founding father of the islamic republic. security forces surrounded parliament to lock down the area in

central tehran. inside there were reports of hostages being taken amid a stand—off between the attackers and the police. some gunmen fired out of the windows and iran's deputy interior minister said one attacker had set off a suicide vest. the group that calls itself the islamic state said they were responsible for the attack and release this video reportedly from inside the parliament. one gunman reportedly shouted, do think we are going anywhere? we are here for ever. miraculously, some mps carried on with the business, while others rushed to leave the building by any means they could. emergency services rushed to the scene. the local media reported a number of people killed, possibly 12, and many more wounded in the attack. at a nearby hospital iran's health minister visited some

of those who had been hurt. this man said he had been shot from a long distance by men with big machine guns. i have a shot in the lead he said, but they shot others in the head and the chest. about half another later several miles to the south, this. the second attack on the shrine of ayatollah khomeini. at least one of the attackers shot several people before detonating a suicide bomb. as police rushed to the scene there were reports that at least one person, the gardener, had been killed, and many others wounded. the state of emergency was declared across iran as official said a third attack have been thwarted. iranians backed forces are fighting so—called islamic state across iraq and syria, but is attacks like this in iran are very unusual and the could be few more symbolic targets than iran's

parliament and the mausoleum of its founder. qatar is being isolated by its neighbours after it is reported that they support extremists. having backed the move that anyone supporting them will receive 15 yea rs supporting them will receive 15 years in prison, he has now retracted that. a fire broke out last december during an illegal rave at the venue known as the ghost strip. investigators haven't determined the cause of the blaze, which was the deadliest in the united states are more than a decade. 13 people have

been convicted after an investigation into abuse at to private care homes for adults with learning disabilities in devon. a series of trials at bristol crown court which now can be reported have been hearing that residents at the homes were routinely punished by being held in empty rooms without food, heating or even a toilet. it looks idyllic, but what happened in this form a care home was described as neglect. adults with learning disabilities routinely imprisoned in an empty room, for the sake of convenience. what i heard, no mother should ever hear. this woman's son was held in isolation nearly 200 times at vielstone in north devon. put in a so—called "quiet room" without food, heating, or even a toilet. it was not a quiet room. it was far from a quiet room. how would you describe what happened there? barbaric. disgusting. unnecessary. it is shameful. before he was placed at vielstone her son was a resident

at the notorious winterbourne view home in bristol, where he was assaulted. his mother says she can't believe he has been let down again. i can't get the images out of my mind. of what has happened to him. he tells me day after day, night after night, it is awful. vielstone manager jolyon marshall on the left here, was jailed for 20 months for false imprisonment and perverting the course of justice. his wife and fellow manager rachel marshall was given a suspended prison sentence. mr hewitt, what do you say to the residents of atlas? paul hewitt, who set up atlas project teams, said he wasn't aware of any punishment rooms. no message at all to the residents or their families? although he was cleared of false imprisonment, he was fined for breaching health and safety laws. thejudge said he had been the company's guiding force and had shown wilful blindness. as well as paul hewitt and the marshalls, ten other members of staff have been convicted in a series of cases. they either pleaded guilty or were found guilty of falsely imprisoning vulnerable residents. 11 others have been cleared. the abuse at vielstone

and at a sister home nearby called gatooma, was eventually uncovered by the care quality commission after a call from a whistle—blower. but families want to know why it wasn't spotted, and stopped, sooner. john kay, bbc news, north devon. time now for the weather. the weather today was better than yesterday, but it hasn't lasted. many western areas of clouded over and we have rain splashing through this evening. most of this is not heavy. the heaviest rain will fall across wales. it is marked with 13, 14 across wales. it is marked with 13, 1a degrees in the south. scotland will be clear with temperatures of

only 6 degrees. it will be an overcast day tomorrow with rain on and off. it could be heavy at times across northern ireland ‘s. perhaps some of these north—western areas. in the south the rain will be lighter and some areas across the south—east and east anglia might get away with a dry day. friday the weather will improve again. there will be some sunshine around and it will be some sunshine around and it will feel warm. hello. this is bbc news. the headlines at 20:30. political leaders make a final push for votes, in the final hours of campaigning before millions of voters head to the polls tomorrow. the contenders for number ten hammer home their core messages, theresa may on brexit, jeremy corbyn on the future of public. here do you trust to have the strong

and stable leadership is going to deliver the best deal for britain in europe. brexit matters, the basis of everything else. you have a choice, five more years of tory cuts, longer waiting lists, underfunded schools in many parts of our country, and hope under labour. the body are missing frenchman has been found on the river thames, that bringing the dead from in the london bridge attack to eight. friends and family gather at westminster abbey for a memorial to ronnie corbett. let's return now to the last day of election campaigning — and in scotland the snp leader, nicola sturgeon urged voters to show their support for a fair and prosperous society in scotland, and to stop the tories in their tracks.

she warned that a vote for labour risks "handing the keys of no ten" to theresa may. our scotland editor sarah smith reports from edinburgh. scotland's first minister, nicola sturgeon. the snp, the party defined by scottish independence, don't want it to define this campaign. nicola sturgeon would much rather talk about her opposition to tory cuts and what she says voting snp means. it means voting for mps who will stand against tory austerity, voting for mps who will stand up for investment in our public services, voting for mps who will protect the incomes of pensioners, who will protect the winter fuel allowance, the triple—lock, and who will protect free personal care and stand against a dementia tax. they call this the nicolopter, flying the snp leader to all the places her party looks vulnerable. having won all but three

of scotland's seat two years ago, they are not fighting for new mps but are hoping to limit their losses. nicola sturgeon says she believes theresa may will win the election but may not increase her majority. she called this election because she thought she could steam—roller the opposition and have a landslide but she has been found wanting. she has come across as weak and evasive. she can't answer basic questions, so it is possible scotland could stop her getting a bigger majority, we could hold the tories in check. in places like the scottish borders, the snp are trying to fight off emboldened scottish tories who say they are the only party who can stop a second independence referendum. they hope to pick up seats like this one as a result. scottish voters are effectively being asked to choose whether or not they want another vote on independence. the outcome of this election could well determine when or if that might happen. sarah smith, bbc news, hawick. in wales forty seats are being contested.

at the eu referendum wales voted to leave. so now in this general election will it be issues associated with brexit that will be on voters' minds or will they be thinking of health and education as they make their mark at the ballot box. from cardiff, here's our wales correspondent sian lloyd. anglesey — the constituency of ynys mon has changed hands three times in the past 35 years. labour is fighting to hold on here. it's a target seat for both plaid cymru and the conservatives. so in a seat that has swapped political colours so often, what are the choices influencing this art group on the island? the benefits have been cut drastically for a number of people and a lot of people i am aware of are struggling at the moment. i think this election is all about brexit. it's important for wales to get a good deal. like wales as a whole, people on anglesey voted to leave the european union. in the run—up to the referendum, ukip gained ground

amongst welsh voters. this political expert believes what happens to that vote now could be important in a number of welsh seats. the suggestion is that ukip will not perform as well as they did in the 2015 general election so which way will ukip voters swing? will they go to the conservative party? ukip voters may even go to parties like the liberal democrats, it may be a way of registering a different kind of protest vote. at the other end of the country it's business as usual in cardiff bay. devolved politics has continued throughout this general election campaign but for some voters the waters have been muddied. uk party manifestos have made promises about a number of issues, like health and education, that are devolved so will it be our schools and hospitals or wider uk and brexit issues that influence people here? the political lines in wales are perhaps blurred like never before. sian lloyd, bbc news. in northern ireland voters last went to the polls only a few months ago. that was for an assembly election but the parties haven't been able

to agree a deal to form a devolved government at stormont. and the general election campaign hasn't helped relationships. chris buckler is outside stormont for us: since michelle o'neill took over as sinn fein‘s leader at stormont earlier this year... the party have tried to present her as a bright new face of irish republicanism. but old disputes have dominated her time in charge, leaving northern ireland without a government, and relationships with their old power—sharing partners, the democratic unionist party, certainly aren't good. they have even accused her of being in the pocket of the sinn fein president gerry adams. and what about a wee bit of respect, michelle? just saying. what about respect for the public, arlene? what we need to do is to have... and those were just a few of the angry words that have been

exchanged between the dup leader arlene foster and her sinn fein counterpart. in a newspaper interview, she also called her "blonde", a phrase mrs foster said was intended as a compliment. michelle o'neill saw rather differently. you see comments like blonde comments or all the rest of it, there's no place in political leadership for sexist remarks, for homophobic remarks, for racist remarks. we have a job to do to lead the way, to set the tone. and do you feel that she was sexist? absolutely. of course she was. mrs foster denies that. but this fight for votes has become personal. and nobody is pretending that things are calm below the surface. sinn fein said they won't go back into government instalment is arlene foster is first minister, because a public enquiry is taking place into a botched green energy scheme that she helped set up. and while she refused our request for an interview, it is clear others in the dup feel sinn fein are trying

to undermine their leader. parties have worked together in the past when they didn't necessarily get along. it doesn't make insults right though, does it? i think it's somewhat trite and trivial, if i may say so, for the bbc to say that the collapse of the government is all about personal relationships. it may be part of that, but it's certainly not the main reason. there are many divides. but in a place with a history of big politicalfigures, experience would suggest that relationships really matter. and after another bitter election, they were once again need rebuilt. chris buckler, bbc news, belfast. one of the key battle grounds is the south west of england — which the liberal democrats are targeting as they try to make a comeback after losing nearly 50 seats at the last election. now a region represented almost entirely by conservative mps, it's an area where opposition to the government's school funding policy has been particularly strong. our south west political editor martyn oates has this report. dear mrs may, i am nine years old,

living in devon, attending primary school. writing about the cuts on funding towards education i have heard about recently. mike has written to party leaders expressing his concern about school funding. class sizes in his school increased in september. the classroom next door now a store cupboard. the school unable to afford a teacher working here. when you cut funding levels it affects children at all levels. the more able children do not get the attention they need, challenging the support to go on. our most vulnerable children find education more difficult, do not get the one—to—one support they previously had. devon's schools receive £290 per pupil per year, less tha n receive £290 per pupil per year, less than the national average. transport is another area in which

the south—west feels like a poor relation. three years ago, the main railway line to london literally fell into the sea. patched up since, but a proper repairjob would cost hundreds of millions of pounds. lack of affordable housing is another huge problem. another headline issue for the lib dems, as they plot to return from the political grave. here in cornwall, every seat was held by liberal democrat mp just seven held by liberal democrat mp just seve n years held by liberal democrat mp just seven years ago. this one, north cornwall, one of the last to be engulfed by the tory tide in 2015. now the lib dems want it back. not for the first time they are trying to fight a very local campaign. for the first time they are trying to fight a very local campaignlj have to fight a very local campaign.” have not had one person mentioned brexit toonie. more a case of everything else escalating. back in south devon, mike's mum says school

funding could sway her vote. for me the most important is are education and health. definitely that will be focusing my mind, when i go to vote on the 8th ofjune. lib dem tim farren was the only leader to reply to mike's letter. but mike cannot vote, and the lib dems will need at least 10,000 more supporters to win the seat back. the outcome will be decided in key marginal seats around the united kingdom. jeremy vine as ever is in oui’ kingdom. jeremy vine as ever is in our election studio considering the scale of the electoral challenge facing each of the main political parties. let's look at what the parties may be hoping for, and perhaps fearing as well.

here is the map as it was left by the 2015 election just two years ago. let's look first at the conservative battleground, the seats they are defending. so gower was a very tight seat last time. derby north, croydon central, vale of clwyd. these are the smallest majorities in these seats. all the conservatives have to do is lose that column, and they are plunged into a minority where they can't outvote all the other mps put together in the house of commons. they don't want that. at the beginning of the election campaign, though, looking at this from the opposite angle, people were talking about a conservative landslide. well, these are their targets, the seats they nearly won last time. chester, ealing, berwickshire, brentford, halifax. if they took the whole of this board, that would be an extra 32 seats. if they took the whole of the next board as well, yes, that is a landslide, that would be about a 130 seat majority for theresa may.

at the moment, that doesn't look too likely. as for labour, they have to improve, surely, on ed miliband's performance to have had any kind of a good night. and these are their targets. the seats they were closest to last time. gower, derby north, croydon central, vale of clewyd, and so on. if they can take this board here, and half of the next board, they would be the biggest party in the house of commons. but they'd have to go all the way to the end of board three here and take all of these seats to actually have an overall majority. so a huge mountain to climb. they'd have to take cleethorpes, which currently has a conservative majority of 8000. as for the liberal democrats, the first aim for them is to defend what they've got. these eight seats. after that, it is a matter of targets, but even taking the whole of that board back there wouldn't get them back to where they were in 2010.

the scottish national party, different story. last time they painted scotland yellow. look at the map, look at the board here. they need to defend seats starting with berwickshire, their most marginal. if they hang onto anything in the first column, they will have had a very good night. they have got seats to spare in scotland. of course there are the nationalists in wales as well, there are the greens, there's ukip, there's the northern ireland parties. but they key thing is just to watch the map on the night and see how the colours move, which parties are going forwards, which backwards. who is up and who is down. vote is adding to the polls are seven weeks of campaigning heads to a close. a body has been found in river thames of a frenchman. bringing the total 38 in the london bridge tax. 13 have been convicted after an investigation into abuse at two private care homes for adults with learning difficulties. the bbc has seen a copy of the letter that the former fbi director james game will —— james

comey will give tomorrow at the hearing into alleged russian links into the election last year. what is in the letter is that the more —— the mccrum did not break the law 01’ —— the mccrum did not break the law or obstruct justice. —— the mccrum did not break the law or obstructjustice. there are number of statements where mr describes incidents as concerning. certainly the reaction coming in from leading senators on both sides of the aisle. let me give you the hits and headlines. michael flynn, the former national security adviser, fired after full contacts

with russian ambassadors. it turned out he had misled the vice president. you heard that an account byjames president. you heard that an account by james comey said president. you heard that an account byjames comey said president trump asked include pc fair way of letting this go. this crucially when it comes to the investigation, james comey said he did not believe donald trump was asking him to drop the entire russian investigation. another point within the documents, a one—on—one dinner that president trott had with james comey, in which he leaned over, and said i need loyalty, i expect loyalty, when discussing hisjob. the full testimony will be read aloud by james comey, questioned by the senate intelligence agency in less than 2a hours' time. senate intelligence agency in less than 24 hours' time. very interesting. the creator of charlie and lola,

lauren child, has been named as the new children's laureate. the post was created in 1999 to highlight the contribution of children's literature to cultural life. our entertainment correspondent colin paterson was at hull city hall for this afternoon's announcement. previous children's laureate have included quentin blake, julia donaldson andy tennant children's laurier, the creator of charlie and lola, lauren child. those are big names. they are, and the interesting thing about quentin, he was the first children's laurier. made lorry at when i had just begun my career. incredible for me to be in this role myself. quite surreal. you have two

yea rs myself. quite surreal. you have two years as laureate, what do you hope to achieve? i would like to talk about children's creativity. the pressures on children, to do all kinds of things. not quite enough time to stare into space, look at the window, putting thoughts and ideas together. the fact that it comes from everywhere. all kinds of things you can look at. that's all make a thought, a creation, an idea. i really would like to look a lot at that. how will you get children to stare out of windows more? to encourage them to observe things. when you have the quiet moments, maybe we do not spend enough time just looking. seeing things. the way

to become a writer, an artist, a musician, to have those moments where you just look around you. seeing these wonderful things. little hilarious things you see going on. they all important, taking pictures of the floor. the social media things stop them reading?” don't think one thing is right, another is wrong. i feel everything feeds into creativity and ideas. social media has a great place, a pa rt social media has a great place, a part to play in that. if we could let go of all the neediness. a lot of affirmation. always needing to be liked. very different to be a child than 18 years ago? very different. that is one of the pressures. taking

the playground out of the playground. it is all around you now. being light, being approved of, being disapproved of. really hard to dare to have an idea, have a thought in case someone doesn't like it. luck to achieve two years. this is the laurier‘s medal, with her name on the back. tonight, if you are reading your child charlie and lola as they go to bed, you are reading of the children's laurier. he was a giant of comedy and today, colleagues, friends and fans gathered to remember ronnie corbett at westminster abbey. the comedian, who's best known for his partnership with ronnie barker in the two ronnies, died last year at the age of eighty five. here's our arts correspondent david sillito. we are here to celebrate the life of ronnie corbett. name, ronald goliath corbett.

laughter. westminster abbey is a place for solemn state occasions. today, though, it was anything but. this was a celebration of a lifetime of laughter. it is a memorial, but... i might start laughing in westminster abbey and i won't apologise! a lot of people will be laughing and people crying and my memory isjust laughs. these are friends and colleagues from the days of cabaret, the frost report, the two ronnies, 60 years of show business memories. and inside a certain easy chair, and behind it a very specific number of candles. four candles. no, fork handles. there you are, four candles. no, fork handles.

handles for forks. laughter. becoming friends with this remarkable man that i'd had my head for as long as i can remember was truly one of the great pleasures of my life. and we'd talk on the phone, i still have many... sorry. i still have many of his answerphone messages. good heavens! wonderful! he'd come to the phone, and always say, is it me? it was the final goodbye from them and goodbye from him, and a walk past the one empty seat. david sillito, bbc news, westminster abbey. let's get the latest sports news. tennis, andy murray into the semifinals of the french open. the

defending champion novak djokovic is out. he beat kei nishikori in four sets to keep alive is title hopes. blue skies, still found andy murray storms to the weather. used to that of late, questions over his form having firmly answered. kei nishikori altogether great in the first set, aggression composition. murray turned around, blown off course in a headwind. the first set last. prevailing wind coming from the east. the world number one needed something to change. time violation called against him, frustrating. murray knows how to channel the aggression. the spark that prepared propelled him. murray looked decisive, keeping ahead, before blasting his way to a third

set tie—break. was this kei nishikori's chance missed? andy murray so rather last set 6—1. in paris, another storm went. it was novak djokovic you beat murray in the final last year. 12 months on, the final last year. 12 months on, the former world number one was knocked out at the quarterfinal stage. beaten by austria's dominic thiem. the last he lost 6—0. it means he will face rafa nadal. murray will take on standard thinker. extraordinary quarterfinal in the women's singles. simona halep saved a match point and fought back from one set and 5—1 down to beat her russian counterpart. reaching the semifinal. warren gatland conceded a moment of brilliance cost the british and irish lions. victory in their second tour match in new zealand. the lines leading with ten minutes remaining. a superb try with

ten minutes left from west sealed the victory for 22—16. they have a three test series to come against the world champions. jamie vardy has pulled out of the england squad missing saturday's world cup qualifier with scotland and the friendly with france next week. the exact nature of the injury is not clear. a short statement said he left the squad as a precaution. gareth southgate's squad top their group before the match at hampden park before heading to paris for a friendly. vunipola full apology to southampton for any and appropriate interest in their defender virgil van dijk. they have since dropped their interest. pakistan are on course for victory in their chappers trophy match against south africa. they reduced south africa to 218.

david millar the anyone reaching 50. pakistan are ahead of the duckworth—lewis as rain stopped play. pakistan 119—3. great britain we re play. pakistan 119—3. great britain were not get the chance to reduce tea m were not get the chance to reduce team new zealand's lead in the america's cup semifinal after heavy winds prevented sailing in bermuda. trailing 3—1, wind speed of 24 knots and meant all four races have been pushed back. sir ben ainslie's team hopes to build momentum after winning the last race when team new zealand ca psize. winning the last race when team new zealand capsize. that is all the sport. let's get the weather. the weather looks, well not so great for many of us. pretty cloudy, outbreaks of rain. some sunshine today. now the weather has turned a lot more cloudy across many western areas. this it yesterday. the next weather front

moving across the country. rain in the south west into wales. for many of us, overcast, some rain around. most of it across eastern and southern areas very light. across wales, it will be heavy. contrast in the temperature, very mild from northern england southwards. the far northern england southwards. the far north of scotland, clearer skies, fairly chilly. thursday, around rush hour, rain into cornwall and devon. quite heavy across the valleys. around the irish sea. many southern and eastern areas are dry. rain getting into northern ireland. the staff are pretty wet spell tomorrow for northern ireland. the far north of scotland, fresh and sunny start of scotland, fresh and sunny start of the day. through the day, rain continuing to move to the

north—east. missing east anglia and the south—east. spits in spots. in northern ireland, the rain could be heavy tomorrow. heavy across the north west and central parts of scotland. 19 in the south, fairly fresh in the north. thursday, into friday, still a messy area of low pressure. this one heading our way on saturday. the remnants spilling into the north. friday will be a day of sunny spells, just a few showers. most of the showers will fall in the morning, show pretty good, warming up, 16—18 in glasgow in newcastle. 21 for london. the weekend, another low, sitting on top of the uk. probably saturday morning the wettest period of the weekend. by the time we get to sunday things

should improve. the weekend summary, pretty unsettled, some rain, some sunshine. for sure, definitely pretty unsettled, some rain, some sunshine. forsure, definitely not pretty unsettled, some rain, some sunshine. for sure, definitely not a write—off of the weekend. a bit of a mixed bag. this is bbc news. the headlines at nine. a last—minute dash for party leaders in the final day of campaigning before millions of voters head to the polls. theresa may urged voters to back her on brexit in herfinal rally of the campaign. who do you trust to have a strong and stable leadership to deliver the best dealfor britain in europe? brexit matters, it is the basis for everything else. we've got a choice. five more years of tory cuts, longer waiting lists, underfunded schools in many parts of our country and hope under labour. and in other news: