this is bbc news. the headlines at 6pm: i'm jane hill at westminster, where the prime minister's top advisers, nick timothy and fiona hill, have resigned. nick timothy said he regretted not pledging to cap total social care costs, and that the party hadn't talked to the people who decided to vote labour. they went following what the bbc understands were demands from some senior tories that mrs may would face a leadership challenge if the two had remained by her side. ido i do not see how theresa may can really function properly without them, there were almost right and left arm. she has made a huge sacrifice by allowing them to resign oi’ sacrifice by allowing them to resign orforcing them to resign. mrs may is preparing for talks with the democratic unionist party to shore up her government. the chief whip is in belfast for talks. i'm reeta chakrabati. the other headlines:

police reveal the london bridge terror attackers tried to hire a seven—and—a—half—tonne lorry but their credit cards were declined. petrol bombs and blow torches were found in the van they did use. police say they had pink ceramic knives tied to their wrists. adam west, the american actor best known as the star series batman has died aged 88. good afternoon from westminster. theresa may's two closest advisors, nick timothy and fiona hill, have resigned, following the conservative party's failure to win a majority

in parliament, in the general election. the bbc understands the prime minister had been warned she faced a leadership challenge if she didn't sack them. the government's chief whip, gavin williamson, is now in belfast to hold talks with northern ireland's largest party, the dup, to try to secure support for mrs may's minority government. here's our political correspondent alex forsyth. they were at the heart of power, the prime minister's closest advisers for your. but in nick timothy and fiona hill were accused of having too much control over policy and tactics, costing theresa may her majority, costing them theirjobs. they are brilliant street fighters and terrible political leaders. at the heart of government you need green hued people who have been rendered block saying, do not do that, you will make mistakes. he

said that britain was divided to... today, as the consequences of the campaign sunk in, reflection and recreate nation. some tory mps saying that theresa may had to heed calls to change. there were plenty of voices in the conservative party that reminded her that you cannot run the government like you run the home office and there have been plenty of calls to make sure that the circle around her was wider and more inclusive, to prevent anyone believing that the two principal advisers had onjune influence. the prime minister is under pressure from both sides. with no majority, plans for things like grammar schools and social care will be hard to get through parliament. her—r ,. n- schools and social care will be hard to get throl for’arliament. her—r ,. n-

programme for government is just overi week over a week away. i cannot see how a queen's speech can be laden with many pieces of legislation, because many of them will be items which will cause dispute within the conservative party, and certainly between the conservative party and the dup. theresa may is seeking consensus with the dup in order to govern your. in order to read a minority government, she will have to balance competing demands on most every front. she will have to battle with their mps but also some of her own. in scotland, there are no 13 of them, the backing is essential to them, the backing is essential to the prime minister. she is already suggesting a revised approach to brexit. the conservative party, having failed to win a majority, needs to work with others. we can look again at what we hope to achieve in weaving the european union andi achieve in weaving the european

union and i hope to be involved in those discussions. the prime minister might be back in number ten but ina minister might be back in number ten but in a position far from what she had hoped. she has lost two most trusted aides, her majority in the house of commons, and herjob of leading has become much harder. the conservative commentator tim montgomerie said the aides' resignation was hugely significant. outside of the westminster village, ido outside of the westminster village, i do not know quite how to explain how important they were. they were almost like alex ferguson to manchester united. they were that important to the success of the project. obviously, not quite as many victories as alex ferguson achieved with manchester united. i don't really see how theresa may can function properly without them. they were almost her right and left arm, and she has made a huge sacrifice to try and continue as prime minister by allowing them, orforcing them to resign, i'm not quite sure which.

is it about timing, some of this, she had to try to keep going because of the brexit talks? the speculation was that key cabinet ministers insisted that these two advisers went. they were the sources of key and personal briefings against members of the cabinet and they were not prepared to continue with them at her right hand. i think that they had to go, but ultimately theresa may will have to go as well, i think that you are right, there is a continuity of her needing to stay to handle the brexit negotiations which are only just about to begin, but talking to tory mps and sources, the mood has shifted. there was shock but it is now turning into anger, really deep anger, and i do not see how

the prime minister survives. she is held very personally responsible for a campaign that, we should not forget, she put her name over all the election literature and the campaign, it was very much theresa may's campaign and ultimately it failed. joining me now is our political correspondent, gary o'donoghue. is it your sense that, similarly, this was a price that theresa may had to play given the result?” think that is right. nick timothy in particular was claimed for that you turn do on the social care costs. he thought about having to take responsibility for that, but interestingly he took a swipe at the way that their campaign was communicated, that they were not talking to labour supporters, that new methods of working, a clear

swipe at lynton crosby. they were heard gatekeepers, they kept safe, they were her conscience. it shows you how weakened her position is that she had to get rid of those two, because that would have been the last thing that she wanted to do. timescale, that in itself is so interesting, time is not on her side. notjust the talks with the dup but the queen's speech. the clock is ticking for her. the chief whip is in belfast negotiating with the dup. she needs to get the queen's speech through, that is voted upon in parliament, if you lose the queen's speech vote then you are out, you cannot govern and you are out, you cannot govern and you have to go straight to the palace. she needs to get that sorted. on the very day of the queen's speech, how ironic, brexit negotiations begin, and of course, that strengthened hand that she had hoped to get from the selection she

does not have, she goes into that wea ker does not have, she goes into that weaker than she was before the election that he did not have to call. there is a lot at stake, still an off call. there is a lot at stake, still anoffa call. there is a lot at stake, still an off a lot at stake, still in flows of people speculating that her days are numbered, if you like, after this immediate period is over then real questions will be asked at then real questions will be asked at the end of the summer, the bottom about her continuing leadership. will be expecting, she'd be still be expecting any more kind of cabinet movements and appointments? we had the announcements of the key positions of home secretary, business secretary, almost as standard. a lot of people lost their post. this is the non-shuffle recent full -- post. this is the non-shuffle recent full —— reshuffle. she is so weakened that she could not make any of those big changes that she was going to make, possibly moving philip hammond, even perhaps boris

johnson. she could not do any of that. what she is left with is rearranging a few of the cheers in the lower decks of the titanic, if you like. the junior the lower decks of the titanic, if you like. thejunior ministers lost their jobs, you like. thejunior ministers lost theirjobs, they will have to be refilled. there will be a little bit of musical chairs as a result of that but really she is stuck with 13. ina that but really she is stuck with 13. in a sense, she needs everyone's support now and what they will be demanding on her in parliament is much more openness in downing street, much less closed kitchen cabinet approach, which is what to advisers were accused of bringing about. much more corporation. they happens giving a tax on those two. one former of communications saying that they were childish and abusive. really bad feeling at the top. she will want to try to reach out. that is where there has been some talk of her deputy prime minister, nothing confirmed that, but that might help her make a bigger connection with her make a bigger connection with her party in parliament because

there is a hugejob of management her party in parliament because there is a huge job of management to deny, notjust the dup and doing a deal with them, but also keeping those within own party onside, who will see this as an opportunity to exert pressure particularly on the kind of brexit that they want. thank you very much. as we have been reflecting, theresa may needs the support of the dup to give her that working support in parliament. the government's chief whip is in belfast, what will the dup demand in return for its loyalty and how could any deal affects the politics of northern ireland ? any deal affects the politics of northern ireland? here isjohn campbell. political views here are firmly held and slow to change. on saturday mornings for the last five years, unionist protesters have gathered at belfast city hall, opposing a council policy to reduce the numbers of days on which it flies the union flag — a decision they feel undermines their british identity. they welcome the dup's

new influence. from a loyalist point of view, i think northern ireland is in the best position we have ever been in. we could not have wished for anything better than a hung parliament. what should they be asking for? first, they should be asking to stop the witchhunt against the british army. just across the street, what do people think dup should prioritise? the national health for the hospital is one of the most important ones. schools and welfare. i am pleased they are going into government with them. a functioning executive in government for northern ireland. money is great but it does not answer all the questions. the dup is a party with religious roots, and that continues to influence its social policy. it opposes extending gay marriage and abortion rights to northern ireland, but issues like these are unlikely to feature in talks with the conservatives. i think the dup's demands will be overwhelmingly financial.

they have a road map they set out in 2015 when they thought they would be in this position. there is very little in that about social policy. those financial demands are likely to include more money for infrastructure investment. the party will not support further austerity measures, like the means—testing on winter fuel allowance. on brexit, the dup does not appear to share theresa may's view that walking away with no deal is a viable option. the conservative chief whip is here tonight beginning talks with the dup. there is a suggestion a formal coalition could be on offer, rather than just a vote—by—vote arrangement. but the dup might be wary, given the lib dems' bad experience as a junior coalition partner. and there is the wider question here — how can a conservative secretary of state be an honest broker among northern ireland parties if they are in government with the dup? john campbell, bbc news, belfast

those talks continuing over the course of the weekend, certainly with the chief whip. we will keep you up—to—date on that and any other announcements are surprises here at westminster, an extraordinary period after that general election which resulted in the hung parliament. for now, at westminster, back to the studio. it's been revealed the ringleader of the london terror attack had tried to hire a seven—and—a—half—tonne lorry instead of a van to run down members of the public. police say the number of injured would have been much higher. eight people died in the knife and van attack a week ago. on the edges of borough market, they were repairing the damage today, replacing the doors that had been shot off by armed police in the desperate hunt to find the killers. the police are gone but the market itself where five

victims were stabbed to death remains sealed off. a scene of horror and heroism. we have stories of people who came out armed with chairs, other items, were throwing bottles and anything they could get their hands on, with a view to try to prevent the attackers coming into pubs and bars but more importantly to scare them off to stop other people being attacked. the weapons the attackers used were 12—inch pink ceramic knives of the ernesto brand, possibly bought at lidl. they were found tied onto the men's hands with leather straps after they'd been shot by police. minutes earlier, they had killed three other people on london bridge before crashing their b&q van. in the van, police found 13 petrol bombs made with lighter fluid and cloth cut from tracksuit bottoms and two blowtorches. detectives believe that behind this green door in east ham was the men's safe house. in a top—floor bedsit rented by rachid redouane two months ago,

detectives discovered items that had been used to make their petrol bombs and their fake suicide vests. and an english—language copy of the koran left open at a page referencing martyrdom. the ringleader of the gang, khuram butt, had actually to hire a 7.5 tonne truck that morning, which would have made the attack worse, but fortunately his payment did not go through. he was also being investigated by counterterrorism detectives for fraud and was still on police bail, although the case was about to be dropped. at the present time, i do not regard what i have seen as an intelligence failure. but everybody would expect us to look at what has happened and to ensure we learn whatever we can from what has happened and, secondly, we continue to improve and improve and that is what we have always done in this country in the face of a changing terrorist threat.

the men killed three of their victims as they drove across london bridge and stabbed five more to death in borough market. it was the third attack on britain in ten and a half weeks. people are being urged to visit london's bars and restaurants today in a show of unity and resilience a week after the attacks. our correspondent sarah campbell has been in southwark, near london bridge. this is the anchor pub, as you can see it is packed. borough market is just a few minutes walk from here, london bridge behind me. this is very close to the events of last week. but the people i have been speaking to hear say that although it is on the mains it certainly will not stop them coming back to the capital. that is relieved the sentiment being promoted across the city this evening. donations are set to pour into the solidarities fund,

set up by the red cross. people will be asked to donate the price of a drink here, and restaurants the price of a meal, uber will donate £1 per fear. price of a meal, uber will donate £1 perfear. —— price of a meal, uber will donate £1 per fear. —— fare. price of a meal, uber will donate £1 perfear. —— fare. that price of a meal, uber will donate £1 per fear. —— fare. that will go to a fund for victims and their families. whatever happened last be called not stop people here enjoying themselves. the prime minister's top advisers, nick timothy and fiona hill, have resigned. they went following what the bbc understands were demands from some senior tories that mrs may would face a leadership challenge if the two had remained by her side. mrs may is preparing for talks with the democratic unionist party to shore up her government. the chief whip is in belfast for talks. police reveal the london bridge terror attackers tried to hire a seven—and—a—half—tonne

lorry but their credit cards were declined. petrol bombs and blow torches were found in the van they did use. police say they had pink ceramic knives tied to their wrists. the former top gear presenter richard hammond has been airlifted to hospital afterfracturing his knee following a serious crash in switzerland. the 10—year—old, who sustained brain injuries during a crash in 2006, was driving an electric car whilst filming the grand tour season two when the accident happened. fellow presenterjeremy clarkson tweeted that, "it was the biggest crash i've ever seen and the most frightening, but incredibly, and thankfully, richard seems to be mostly ok". it seems that this was a very serious crash, but it seems that he is mostly ok? that is what it sounds like. the pictures of the crash, very fortu nate to pictures of the crash, very fortunate to escape relatively uninjured. the three former top gear stars had turned up for remains and

rally race. absolutely fantastic weather here in switzerland today, noissues weather here in switzerland today, no issues with visibility or rain. but the car that richard hammond was driving, apparently close to the end of the practice run, you see it going round one of these here pin bends on the mountain, it skidded off the road, luckily down just a fairly minor slope, but then cot fire. richard hammond himself a p pa re ntly fire. richard hammond himself apparently was able to get out of the car and walk away, but has sustained a fractured knee. he was airlifted to hospital, apparently chatting to the emergency services the whole way. as you have said, minor injuries, but what looks like a very serious accident. can you tell as anything about the sort of terror reign that he was driving on? we are in very maintenance country. —— terrain. we're not talking about

driving up the really high alps or anything like that. these are more rolling hills. it is viewed as a kind of fun race in very nice scenery, very bad indeed. you have not got ravines then the side of the road as you would have in the high alps, but nevertheless you are going at high speed round a sharp bend. an electric car, worth up to £2 million, in fact, there will be concerns, and we know the police are best eating it, how exactly it happens. i suspect how it was that it came to burst into flames —— the police are investigating it. that is not supposed to happen nowadays with ca rs. not supposed to happen nowadays with cars. very nice, regarded as a fun

race. and it will take place as planned tomorrow. the race organisers have said that. once they have finished, the police, looking at the course and doing the investigations. after looking at the shocking state of that corre, richard hammond is all right, we're told. rescue operations are taking place in the mid—atlantic after a fleet of yachts which set out from the uk was hit by what is described as a once—in—a—lifetime storm. the sailors competing in a transatlantic race experienced 50 metre waves and high speed winds. the coast guard, the navy and others were involved in the navy and others were involved in the rescue efforts. we have a competitor who has done the atlantic three times, he has just recently been rescued. his boat was severely damaged. he was rescued

by the queen mary. that was diverted to his position and he is now on his way to halifax. we have another boat which was sunk. we do not know the full reasons for that. they have been rescued. we have a yacht from holland, called happy. they were dis— masted. they been rescued and we have a further two retirements. five vote seriously affected, three boats sunk and two boats retired. everybody is well, safe and presently recovered. there has been a sharp rise in hate crimes in london following the attack last week which claimed the lives of eight people. the commissioner of the metropolitan

police has been speaking to the bbc. we are seeing an increase in hate crime. iam we are seeing an increase in hate crime. i am sorry to say that we a lwa ys crime. i am sorry to say that we always see, after a significant attack, terrorist attack, either here, or overseas sometimes, a rise in hate crime. the vast majority of those crimes are verbal abuse, harassment, perhaps online abuse, but it is of concern to us and we are looking into those complaints and we take every single one seriously. i spoke to someone who knew one of the attackers well, he was known to the attackers well, he was known to the police but yet he still carried a detached. we take all calls to the anti—terrorism i'm seriously, we investigate all information we are

given. sometimes that will mirror other information that we have. sometimes it will form part of a wider intelligence picture, very frequently we will not be able to go back to the individual who has given us the information to tell us precisely what we have done. but all information is taken seriously and i would encourage people to continue to give us that information. gap in three terror attacks on british soil in the last two months, is that don't intelligence failures? intelligence failure is a very powerful phrase to use. it would be wrong if we do not look back, of course, people would expect us to do that and we will review what has gone on, at the present time, i do not regard what i have seen as an intelligence failure. that everybody would expect us to look at what has happened. it has been a challenging few months

for your force. it has been a challenging few months for yourforce. how do it has been a challenging few months for your force. how do you describe morale? do you need more officers to keep london safe? morale in terms of dealing with this phenomenon is, i would say, high, and i have been nothing but inspired by my officers over the last week, and staff engaged in, for example, forensic work and other things, they are so determined. looking forward, we will review all our strategy, our resources , review all our strategy, our resources, her tactics. review all our strategy, our resources, hertactics. of course review all our strategy, our resources, her tactics. of course we will. and i anticipate that things will. and i anticipate that things will change in the future. i am not going to say that definitely means this number or that number more money, or more people, more officers, but i do anticipate that we need to take a long, hard look at how we are dealing with the spread of work that the metropolitan police has and this changing terrorist threat. we will be asking for more resources in the future.

that is the commissioner of the metropolitan police. and still it has been celebrating his 96 birthday. —— prince phillip. the king's troop royal horse artillery staged a gun salute in his honour in hyde park. he is understood to be spending the day presently at windsor castle. time for the weather. the latest satellite shows a swell of cloud, an area of low pressure. those weather front stressed across the uk, bringing some rain with it. the south—east corner, a lovely afternoon, some sunshine and warmth. that is confirmed by one of our weather watchers. underneath that close, here is a picture from wales.

there has been some rain stretching to northern england and into wales. maddening wind will dry up and with patchy rain will go through the midlands. there will be a few showers to be had in scotland and northern ireland. temperatures probably 1a celsius for glasgow and belfast. the south—east, 16 or 17 celsius, quite a close and eight. scattered showers in scotland and northern ireland. 15 degrees in the eastern part of scotland. he mostly dry picture in northern england, wales and the south—west in the morning. variable cloud and some sunshine. further cloud for the south—east, nine o'clock we already have 17 or 18 celsius. through the day, pretty cloudy, a little bit of light rain and drizzle on and off. some spells of sunshine and drizzle,

but the showers across scotland and northern ireland will be quite frequent and it will not be quite as warm as today. 16 or 17 celsius in glasgow and belfast, 20 or 21 in the south—eastern corner. quite breezy but pressure building all the while. this weather feature me to be a focal point for weather in scotland. the wind slowly eases down, some spells of sunshine to be had on monday. temperatures getting up to the war 20s on the south eastern corner. “— the war 20s on the south eastern corner. —— the low 20s. a glancing blow of the weather fronts, the closer to the north—west you're likely to see some cloud and outbreaks of rain. for most of england and wales it is looking fine and dry with light winds. hello.

this is bbc news. the headlines at 6.30pm: the prime minister's two chief advisers, nick timothy and fiona hill, have resigned. the bbc understands that theresa may had been warned this that unless they went she would face a leadership challenge. the leader of the scottish conservatives, has demanded assurances from the prime minister that the democratic unionist party's opposition to gay marriage won't be allowed to shape government policy. the government's chief whip is in belfast for talks with the dup. the metropolitan police has revealed the london bridge attackers tried to hire a seven and a half tonne lorry to carry out last saturday's attack — but the payment was declined. time to cross to the bbc sport centre now for sportsday.