donald trump's white house of lying about him. he was fired by the president, saying the fbi was in disarray — now james comey hits back. the administration then chose to defame me, and more importantly, the fbi. those were lies, plain and simple. also on tonight's programme — three more arrests in the london bridge terror investigation. new cctv footage shows the attackers meeting at a gym five days before they killed eight innocent people. the moment armed police ended their rampage — opening fire as they arrived at the scene. they have responded and neutralised the threat as firearms officers within six seconds. i think that is kind of exceptional to the individuals and the training that they have received. a castle, a laundrette and a windmill — today they are all polling stations — voting in the general election ends at 10pm. life under the taliban — three years after british

combat troops left — helmand is back under their control — a special report. the motion is therefore carried. scotland's episcopal church agrees to same—sex marriage, a first for anglican churches in the uk. and coming up in sportsday later in the hour on bbc news: for the first time in over 50 years, an england football team has reached a world cup final — that's after the under 20s beat italy. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. in one of the most politically explosive hearings washington has seen the former director of the fbi has accused white house staff of lying.

james comey — who was fired by the president trump — was giving evidence to a senate committee which is trying to establish whether there was russian interference in last year's election — and whether mr trump's campaign team colluded in that effort. as our north america editorjon sopel reports — the hearings could have significant implications for the trump presidency. people talk about the crackle of expectation. in washington this morning, in this room as james comey walked in, it was palpably there. you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you god? i do. please be seated. it's being called the political super bowl and the former fbi director's opening statement didn't disappoint as he reflected on the manner of his being fired. the shifting explanations confused me and increasingly concerned me. they confused me because the president and i have had multiple

conversations about myjob both before and after he took office, and he repeatedly told me i was doing a greatjob and he hoped i would stay. and he spoke of the president's portrayal of him and the organisation he had led. the administration then chose to defame me and more importantly the fbi by saying the organisation was in disarray, that it was poorly led, that the workforce had lost confidence in its leader. those were lies, plain and simple. but first the committee chair wanted to go over alleged russian involvement. if this were a game show, this was the quickfire round. do you have any doubt that russia attempted to interfere in the 2016 elections? none. do you have any doubt the russian government was behind the intrusions and the dnc and the dccc systems and the subsequent lea ks of that information? no. no doubt. do you have any doubt the russian government was behind the cyber intrusion in

the state voter files? no. michael flynn, the national security adviser, fired for lying about his contacts with russia, the president wanted to protect and according to comey asked him to drop the fbi inquiry into him. was that obstruction ofjustice? i don't think it's for me to say whether the conversation i had with the president was an effort to obstruct. i took it as a very disturbing thing, very concerning, but that's the conclusion i'm sure the special council will work towards to try to understand what the intention was there and if that's an offence. but why one senator wanted to know, if what the president asked about michael flynn was so wrong haven't the fbi director cried foul immediately? i was so stunned by the conversation that i just took i was so stunned by the conversation that ijust took it in, the only thing i could think to say, and it was playing in my mind because i could remember every word he said, it played in my mind, what should my response be? i carefully chose the words. comey was at his most damning

when he explained what he needed to keep records of his conversations with the president. i was concerned he might lie about the nature of our meeting so i thought it better to document them. back combination of things i never experienced before but it led me to believe i had to write it down in a detailed way. days after his sacking president trump fired out a warning shot on twitter that comey had better hope there are not tapes of their conversations. today brought this riposte the former fbi director. i've seen the tweet about tapes and i hope there are tapes. in washington bars opened only to show the hearing. everyone will have their views on what happened but the keyjudgment on whether there was legal wrongdoing will now rest with the independent special counsel who has taken over this investigation. today marks the end of act one, act two now moves to that inquiry. there was one bar in washington offering its clear until a free drink every time donald trump tweeted. smart move, he didn't tweet

once, but his sun did saying there was no obstruction ofjustice and i just bumped into a senior white house staff who said one thing to me, the president is not a liar. in the next half an hour we are due to hear from the president's external counsel, his lawyer he has taken on to deal with this, and i expect him to deal with this, and i expect him to hit back hard. they will not let james comey‘s testimony stand. the trump white house wants to hit back. jon sopel, thank you. new images have emerged of the moment armed police shot dead the three london bridge attackers — firing within seconds of arriving at the scene. police have made three more arrests. police have also been looking at cctv footage of the men five days before the attack. five days before the rampage, the three attackers meet, khuram butt, rachid redouane and youssef zaghba. redouane puts his phone on the ground while they walk away for a

conversation, perhaps worried it will somehow be used to record what he has said. they seem in good spirits, there is no sign they are about to kill and maim innocent people. the cameras outside a gym where one of the three khuram butt worked out. the gym is closed, renovations and today a massive media attention. but outside wynette fahad khan, khuram butt‘s cousin in law. he argued with khuram butt about his religious views and his desire to put them into practice abroad. he wanted to go to syria to fight. because of the family pressure, or it might be intervention by the authorities, who seized his passport or whatever, he couldn't go. he identified from the picture another man regularly seen at the gym. he was once accused of being a leading member of the band islamist group al—muhajiroun, although he has denied it in the past. you are the leader of

al—muhajiroun? past. you are the leader of al-muhajiroun? no, iwasn't. on the wall is a statement that says he is not employed at the gym and does not own the business. that might be strictly true, but a number of people told us that he is directly connected with this place. more cctv images today showed the final seconds of the attack in borough market. the killers had just set up on the final victim. when a police armed response team arrived. they had seconds to assess the situation. they opened fire and it was over. i don't think anything more could have been done given the circumstances. they have responded to an incident which has lasted eight minutes, they have responded and neutralised the threat as firearms officers within six seconds and i think that is credit to the individuals and training. among many stories from that night, one stands out, the british transport police

officer who stepped in to stop the attack. in a statement today he said, iwant attack. in a statement today he said, i want to say to the families that lost their loved ones, i am sorry i could not do more and i want you to know i did everything i could. he started off engaging with one of the terrorists and ended up fighting with all three of them. it is an astonishing story when you hear it. the victims have all now been identified. eight people from five countries killed in an attack on the people of an international city. tom symons, bbc news. voting is taking place in the general election. polling stations opened at seven this morning and you've got until ten o'clock this evening to cast your vote. nearly 47 million people are registered to vote —

electing 650 westminster mps. the first results are expected from around iipm. our political correspondent gary o'donoghue reports. bright and early, the first of the leaders out this morning was the prime minister with husband philip, voting in her berkshire constituency. not long after came the man who wants herjob, jeremy corbyn greeting the photographers with a smile and a thumbs up as he made his way into a polling station in north london. how are we doing? welcome to the lake district. just a hint of irony from the lib dem leader tim farron as he braved the elements on the way into the polling station. but he was well out of the way when tempers frayed among the watching photographers. they're having a proper scrap. and up—and—down the country other party leaders were doing exactly the same. the snp's nicola sturgeon, and paul nuttall from the uk independence party. but it's not just about them. 47 million of us are registered at this election, one that's been overshadowed by the terrorist attacks in manchester and london. those attacks have meant a bigger police presence than usual. everyone conscious that the threat level is still severe. this westminster polling station is just one of 40,000 the length

and breadth of the uk where you're electing your 650 representatives to the house of commons, just a couple of hundred yards down the road from here. those new mps will be here next tuesday and on monday week the queen will open parliament and set out the new government's plans. some peculiar places have been pressed into action as polling stations. this one is in a launderette in oxford. here's one in a windmill in hove. and this pub was playing host to voters in exeter. last orders for casting a ballot are at 10pm tonight with the first results due in before midnight. gary 0'donoghue, bbc news. and if you'd like to see all the results as they come in — you canjoin david dimbleby and the team tonight on bbc one and the bbc news channel for election 2017. it starts at 9:55pm. the scottish episcopal church has made history, voting to allow same—sex couples to be married in church. that makes it the first branch

of the anglican communion to do so. michael buchanan reports. for scottish anglicans it's now a case of here comes the bride scum of the episcopal church, born of protestantism's schism with catholicism, has separated itself once more from the wider anglican family. at its general synod in edinburgh the church backed a proposal to allow gay marriages in its churches by just proposal to allow gay marriages in its churches byjust one vote. the motion is therefore carried. the supporters of this change had quiet satisfaction rather than unbridled jov- satisfaction rather than unbridled joy. it means equality for gay couples who want to come and get married in church, equality for gay pistes like me. it also means we have been a church that has decided to stay together over this and it means that people who disagree with

means that people who disagree with me will still have an honoured place within the church. the vote will improve scotland's reputation as a global wedding venue. thousands of couples like them come to the town each year to tie the knot from across the uk. and now gay anglican couples could join the marital march north. so far this church has not been able to capitalise on gretna's worldwide reputation for holding weddings. that could all change now this vote has been passed. gay anglican couples can now come to scotla nd anglican couples can now come to scotland to get married in church. for gay campaigners in the church of england, which doesn't allow same—sex marriage, today's news is a bittersweet moment. lucky for me i have friends and family in scotland, and, yes, potentially i have churches that i know up there. but i must admit i yearn to get married in my home church where i have worshipped for many years with my partner so that you can have our

friends, family and community around us. traditionalists, however, are appalled and seek support for gay marriage as the latest sign that anglican churches, first in north america and now scotland, are moving further from god's teachings. today's decision by the scottish episcopal church to change the biblical and historic definition of marriage has highlighted the need to respond to the cries and pleas of those scots who today have been marginalised by their leaders. the attempt to redefine marriage is not one that a faithful christian can support. the first gay marriage should take place in the episcopal church later this year, and while no priest will be forced to conduct such a wedding today's vote will put pressure on other anglican churches to follow suit. michael buchanan, bbc news, edinburgh. the time is nearly 6:15pm. the top story this evening. the former fbi

director accuses donald trump's white house of lying about him. james comey hits back after he was fired by the president. and still to come, we've just fired by the president. and still to come, we'vejust got fired by the president. and still to come, we've just got to put our own package together. cutting dialogue — how the national theatre's latest play is hoping to attract new audiences. coming up in sportsday in the next 15 minutes on bbc news: a very happy birthday forjelena 0stapenko — the first unseeded player to reach the french open final in over 30 years. it's almost three years since british combat troops withdrew from afghanistan after more than a decade fighting the taliban. some of the heaviest fighting took place in helmand province where over 100 british soldiers died. since the withdrawal, helmand and many other parts of the country have fallen back into the hands of the taliban. auliya atrafi from the bbc‘s afghan service has been given rare access to the taliban's effective capital,

musa qala. we just entered taliban territory. we didn't have to travel far. all we had to do was get off the main road and we were in. we passed through sangin, where so many british soldiers fought and died. we are heading for musa qala. 0ur taliban minder always with us. the bustling market looks like any in afghanistan but there are some tell—tale signs we are in taliban territory. the men are all wearing traditional clothes, their beards grown long. the women are nowhere to be seen. we leave the market and head for the local high school. it's religious studies and only boys get an education. 0ur taliban minder insists there are other lessons,

and that girls can go to school, just not here. the taliban used to burn schools down. now they are running them, funded by the central government. the government inspectors do their supervision, the taliban don't have any problem with them. in the playground, the main attraction seems to be our cameras. most of these children have never seen anything like them. it's a reminderjust how isolated these communities are. but it's notjust schools that the taliban are running. this is the local hospital. it is also funded by the government, but lacks supplies. there's no female doctor or child specialist. you can't even have a chest x—ray here. and now the surgeon is leaving too because he hasn't been paid in the last six months.

the next day we meet the taliban's spokesman. they remain a deeply controversial organisation in afghanistan, responsible for many deaths. but they claim their approach to governance has changed. the taliban has a separate committee for education, health and local government. we don't only have military setups but also administrative systems. the taliban have captured huge territories in helmand, and now they have to govern them. the next challenge is how much they join the modern world and how much they will reject it. auliya atrafi, bbc news, afghanistan. the parents of a terminally ill baby are said to be devastated after losing a legal battle in the supreme court, to take their son to the united states for treatment. chris gard and connie yates want ten—month—old charlie gard, who suffers from a rare genetic

condition and has brain damage, to undergo experimental therapy. our medical correspondent, fergus walsh, is at the supreme court. a terribly sad story, is this the end of the road for the parents? almost. the supreme court has said doctors should continue life support for charlie until 5pm tomorrow night to give time for the european court of human rights in strasbourg to decide if it wants to hear the case. if it doesn't, doctors at great 0rmond street hospital will be free after that point to switch off the mechanical ventilator that keeps him alive. thejudges said mechanical ventilator that keeps him alive. the judges said they have the utmost sympathy for his parents, who left the court distraught, but they said it was charlie's best interests that were paramount. they said prolonging his life was simply

prolonging his life was simply prolong his suffering. the treatment being proposed was futile and that's why he should be allowed to die with dignity. fergus, thank you very much. a company director has gone on trial accused of the manslaughter of four sailors who died when one of his yachts capsized in the north atlantic. the crew on board the cheeki rafiki were returning from antigua to the uk in may 2014 when it got into trouble. today a court heard that douglas innes failed to maintain the vessel and allowed it to set sail. duncan kennedy reports. this is the cheeki rafiki on an earlier voyage before it capsized into the atlantic, leading to the deaths of these men. the prosecution say the yacht was being brought back to the uk from the caribbean but that it was broken and not safe. the cheeki rafiki was operated by douglas innes. there was a search by

the american coast guard, they were criticised calling it off too soon and later resumed it. the court heard it is possible james mail and andrew bridge may have survived some time after cheeki rafiki. the prosecution say the bodies were never found. it was the loss of the cheeki rafiki keel that led to the capsizing. they said douglas innes had failed to get the boat properly maintained. they saw this three tom keel had been broken off. in court the prosecution said douglas innes had been trying to cut costs and had let the men set sail without proper chart. he denies four counts of manslaughter by gross negligence and

the first witnesses in this case will give evidence tomorrow. the growing resistance of bacteria to antibiotics is one of the most pressing challenges facing modern medicine. the problem has been made worse by the extensive use of antibiotics on farm animals. now researchers at leicester university are developing an alternative way of treating diseases in pigs. as our our science correspondent, pallab ghosh reports it's hoped the findings will have benefits for humans too. nearly half the antibiotics used in britain are given to livestock to keep them healthy. simon watchorn raised his pigs outside so he doesn't use a great deal. but indoor intensive farms do, so if their animals become infected with drug—resista nt superbugs, then the infection could be passed on to people if the meat isn't properly cooked. there was a suggestion that resistant bacteria in animals might be passed to humans, and if we've got another tool in our tool box where we can deal

with resistant bacteria — whether it be in the animal population or the human population — that's got to be a gain. researchers at leicester university may have come up with just the tool farmers are asking for — of virus called a phage that kills infections just like antibiotics. the phage attaches itself to a salmonella bug. the virus then injects it with its dna and makes the salmonella harmless. and if it stops superbugs developing in animals, it will reduce the risk to people. it can be completely transformative for human health. there are many bacteria that we just can't treat now with antibiotics because they have become resistant to all the antibiotics we know. so using this natural enemy of the bacteria for specific diseases could really change the way that we treat infection in the future. so far, they've shown that it works in the lab and they have freeze—dried the phage into a white power powder. the next phase is to feed

the phage to pigs to see if it works in practice. if it does, it could begin to replace antibiotics, and that could greatly reduce the risk of superbugs developing on farms. trials are due to begin later this year. if they are successful, doctors can then see if the phage virus can be used to treat people. pallab ghosh, bbc news, leicester. the barber's chair is taking centre stage in a new play at the national theatre. the barbershop chronicles is the latest work by award—winning poet and playwright inua ellams. it explores issues around black identity and immigration. 0ur correspondent elaine dunkley reports. from lagos to london, the black barbershop is a sacred sanctuary. the sound of clippers the backdrop to conversations, stories and confessions. why is the barbershop such a source

of fascination and beauty? i think the reason why it's sacred is because lots of places where men gather to show strong emotion in britain have been historically hostile to black men, and i think of places like football stadiums or working men bars and little places like that. therefore barbershops, where these are safe places where we can go and be ourselves. where have you just come from? your work explores black masculinity, at times redefining that. why is that important to you? i was born in nigeria and up until 12 my experience of the world was seen through a very nigerian lens. and when i came to the uk, i realised i was black firstly, then realised i was an immigrant. and within all of that, i realised there were kind of stereotypes of black guys. those of being rappers, being naturally born athletes, aspects of identity where they are projected onto me

and clashed with who i actually was or who i actually felt like. there is a buzz around inua ellams's work. he's received awards and accolades but perhaps most importantly he is attracting a new audience to theatre. parts of that i started to, like, get emotional because i saw my father in parts, i saw myself in parts. for me as an indian woman, when i go and get eyebrow threading, it's the conversations i have so it wasjust so beautiful to have, and this is what we need in the theatre right now. elaine dunkley, bbc news. time for a look at the weather. here's sarah keith lucas. we have had a lot of cloud around today with outbreaks of rain, a bit like this picture taken by one of our weather watchers earlier in north wales. however there has been some sunshine out the too. this is deal in kent. some clear skies as we had through to this evening but

there are some heavy showers around. this is the recent satellite and radar showing the heavy showers. more persistent rain across scotland and that will push its way northwards overnight so towards the north—west of scotland more persistent rain, whereas further south across the uk clearer spells and scattered showers, particularly across the west of england and wales too. during tomorrow i think we will have fewer outbreaks of rain compared to today. still some showers working from west to east during the day but equally good deal of sunshine, so the show was passing through fairly quickly on the breeze and temperatures touch warmer than today. heading through friday evening, overnight into saturday, initially drive but then the next area of frameworks in from the south—west. the wind is picking up too, so rather unsubtle start of the weekend. we have wind and rain,

particularly across north and western parts of the country. on saturday that rain moves eastwards. saturday that rain moves eastwards. saturday in the south—east stays dry for most of the day if not all of the day. temperatures not doing too badly, between 18 and 22 degrees. for most, sunday will be the better day of the weekend. sunny spells, showers, and temperatures around 23 degrees. more details on our website. that's all from the bbc news at 6pm, so it's goodbye from me and on bbc one we nowjoin the bbc‘s news teams where you are. this is bbc news. hello i'm 0lly foster , these are our sportsday headlines tonight england reach a football world cup final for the first time in over 50 years. for england's senior side, a crunch world cup qualifier against scotland this weekend. we'll have the latest from both camps.