this is bbc news. the headlines at 7pm: in the last few minutes, the former tory mp gavin barwell has been appointed theresa may's new downing street chief of staff. it comes as the prime minister's top aides, nick timothy and fiona hill, resigned after the conservatives failed to win an overall majority in the general election. 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. the prime minister is preparing for talks with the democratic unionist party to shore up her government. the chief whip is in belfast for talks. labour urges to read to me to week —— to make way for it to form a government. the other headlines: police reveal the london bridge terror attackers 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. a mid—atlantic yacht rescue involving the queen mary two cruise two cruise liner after a once—in—a—lifetime summer storm. and tonight into —— and the 2—2 draw at hampden park. good evening, and welcome to bbc news. the prime minister theresa may has appointed a new chief of staff following the resignation of her two most senior aides in the wake of thursday's general election in which the conservatives

lost their overall parliamentary majority. he is gavin barwell, who lost his seat as a conservative mp in the election. the resignations of nick timothy and fiona hill followed what the bbc understands was a warning from conservative mps that mrs may would face a leadership challenge if she didn't sack them. more on gavin barwell‘s appointment in a moment, but first here's our political correspondent alex forsyth. they were at the heart of power, the prime minister's closest advisers for years. 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—haired people who have been around the block saying, do not do that, you will make mistakes. nick timothy said that britain was divided...

today, as the consequences of the campaign sunk in, reflection and recrimination. 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 undue influence. the prime minister is under pressure from all sides. with no majority, plans for things like grammar schools and social care will be hard to get through parliament. the queen's speech, her programme for government, is just over a week away. i cannot see how a queen's

speech can be laden with interesting 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 here. in order to lead a minority government, she will have to balance competing demands on most every front. considering notjust the position of the dup on some issues, but that of her own mps, too. in scotland, there are no 13 of them, the backing is essential to the prime minister. the party leader here 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 leaving the european union, and i hope to be involved in those discussions. the prime minister might be back in number ten

but in a position far from what she had hoped. she has lost two most trusted aides, she has lost her majority in the house of commons, and the job of leading has become much harder. joining me now is our political correspondent gary o'donoghue. a replacement for the two people who have left today. he was an mp himself until thursday. yes, he was one of the casualties of the election that did not need to be cold, losing his seat in croydon. he had a pretty thin majority there, 165 off the top of my head. so he lost that, he got a newjob today. it isa lost that, he got a newjob today. it is a crucial post for theresa may to appoint quickly. the departure of nick timothy and fiona hill created a huge vacuum, the necessary price

that the party demanded of her for having failed to win a majority, let alone an increased majority. gavin ba rwell alone an increased majority. gavin barwell is actually very popular inside the conservative parliamentary party, he was the housing minister up until the election. more importantly, before that, he had a couple of spells in the whips office, which means that he knows the parliamentary party very well. if you're on the flip‘s office and you remain popular then thatis office and you remain popular then that is something of an achievement —— whip‘s office. that is something that he can bring to downing street so that he can bring to downing street so that theresa may can try to be established connection with the party who has felt excluded. it is as smart appointments, theresa may has given strong words tonight in support of gavin barwell and how pleased she is to have him on board. i expect that this was in the offing from last night at some point in time. there was plenty for him to do, he has got to oversee the deal that the strike with the dup, the

democratic unionist party, he has got to sell that deal to the conservative parliamentary party as well and ensure that, come the end of, a week on monday when the queen ‘s speech is, if few days after that, when there is a vote on the queen's speech that theresa may actually get that through. if she does not, she is out. you mentioned the dup and about how they might cooperate with the conservatives. not without controversy for some people? absolutely. we're not talking about a full call issue, we we re talking about a full call issue, we were never talking about that. the nature of that deal, we are yet to see. it might be some sort of confidence and supply, which means that the agreed to back the government of confidence motions, and supply, which is a fancy parliamentary word for money. after that, it is a case—by—case basis. but the government's chief whip is

in belfast, we are told, talking to the dup. at the heart of the dup‘s agenda, parts are controversial. it is opposed to same—sex marriage in the province, which is still illegal there. something that the tory government brought in there. that has greeted some unhappiness, particularly amongst people like ruth davidson, the leader of the scottish tories, who said that she does not want to see any backsliding on legislation. i do not think there is much chance on it, quite frankly. interestingly, ruth davidson says today that she believes that the result of the election says that they can at least look again at the tape of brexit they're looking for. scotla nd tape of brexit they're looking for. scotland voted against leaving the european union, so she is in a sense nodding to some of the public opinion up there. it is the first indication from a senior conservative that brexit might need to be different from the one that we we re to be different from the one that we were thinking about four. theresa may, though, still under pressure,

isn't she? pressure. it is undoubtably a catastrophic political miscalculation that she has taken in the last seven weeks. she has seemingly blown a 20 point lead in the opinion polls, run a very poor campaign, a couple of missing steps. sure there are things that blew the campaign off track, notably those terrible terrorist attacks. tory party, it is ruthless when it comes to its readers. she has won the election, but it feels like a loss as far as they are concerned. whilst you might need to stay in place at the moment because of the queen's speech coming up and brexit in negotiations, you could not conduct a leaders competition right now, there will be a lot of people who think that her days are numbered, the question is how long.

iamjoined the question is how long. i am joined underlying by a conservative peer. what you make of this choice of gavin barwell? it isa this choice of gavin barwell? it is a smart decision, it is very popular with his colleagues and she also knows the parliamentary party. cheers of his free looking for someone cheers of his free looking for someone who can cheers of his free looking for someone who can reassure cheers of his free looking for someone who can reassure the parliamentary party, but for those of us who are also keen on the conservative party being a string —— having modernising parts, he is reassuring. what makes him reassuring? because people who were on that wing of the party has no one

gathered for a long time, know the politics he stands for and also trust him as a safe of hands. he has been involved in what of the campaigning work that the party has done. here's a friend of mine, therefore probably not looking to me for the more stringent view of his personality, but i think he is widely accepted to be the things that i have suggested. we may try to tease that it'd even if he is a friend! he lost his seat in croydon central only on thursday, this is quite a consolation ram, isn't it? gavin a summer day that has worked in the conservative machine for quite a long time. before he became a member of parliament he was very involved in the campaigning work, thatis involved in the campaigning work, that is how i have known him, of the party centrally. he also was somebody who worked as a special adviser, he has been in the research

department, he knows the party very well, that is one of the requirements for being the chief of staff. none of the things that you can say about gavin makes the political situation due future easier. it still remains the case that the prime minister does not really have the majority in the house of commons for the sort of brexit that she has been hoping to negotiate. it also makes negotiation that much easier. but insofar as you can make your life much easier in your choice of chief of staff, most people who know gavin, or who have observed him, as i said that i would knock a few points off because i know him and have a high view of him,i know him and have a high view of him, ithink know him and have a high view of him, i think most people ignore the situation would think that a good choice. theresa may will be fully aware of the pressure that is on her from her own party, never made other parts of the country. voters who

decided not to give her the backing on thursday. so, in that case, how much of a critical friend on thursday. so, in that case, how much of a criticalfriend is on thursday. so, in that case, how much of a critical friend is gavin ba rwell much of a critical friend is gavin barwell need to be for her, and how will he do do that? my experience of him is that he is a very robust, intelligent person, who is not afraid of other people. i think that you will be a critical friend of hers. i am a great believer that we analyse politics a lot through people. she is in a situation where she does not have a lot of money because the country is still running a big deficit, growth has gone down, she does not have parliamentary majority, she is relying on a small party with a lot of eccentricities, parliamentary party is sceptical of her. we have these incredibly difficult negotiations where it is not obvious in parliament where the majority lies. these are all incredibly difficult positions, none

of them are solved by simply appointing a new chief of staff, but insofar as that is imported, it is important to get those rights, i think most people who are aware of the parliamentary party and thinking about the problems that they have got keeping the party together with regard that as a good appointment. what does she have to do to shore up her own position? this was one of the measures that she can take. she clearly had to demonstrate to members of parliament that she has understood the criticisms of her own style, that is that she knows that she has two attem pts that she knows that she has two atte m pts to that she knows that she has two attempts to give more of herself, something that she finds difficult. and i think that she also used these to average her big advantage with the parliamentary party, which is that people do not really see as being much and think that the party

requires stability in order to ensure that it is running the country. that is her big advantage, because people in the conservative party will be frightened with such a small majority that the government will not be able to carry on. she needs to demonstrate that it can. i suppose the thing that i have been doing with greatest expedition at this point in time would be appointing the rest of the government. thank you very much. earlier, my colleaguejane hill spoke to the conservative commentator tim montgomerie, who said the resignations of nick timothy and fiona hill were highly significant. outside of the westminster village, i do not know quite how to best 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. was it inevitable, if she's going to stay in number ten? 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 advisers went. the allegations were that they were 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 at thursday's result at first, 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 of the election literature and the campaign, it was very much theresa may's campaign, and ultimately it failed. as we have been hearing, theresa may needs the support of martin allen's democratic unionist party —— the support of northern ireland's dup. political views here are firmly held and slow to change.

this 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 off, they should be asking to stop the witchhunt against the british army. just across the street, what do people think the 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. 0n 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 a wider question here — how can a conservative secretary of state be an honest broker among the northern ireland parties if they are in government with the dup? john campbell, bbc news, belfast 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. here's our home affairs correspondent, daniel sandford. 0n 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 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 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 tried 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. he might be able to make out london bridge in the background, borough market is close by. this is very close to the events of last week. the people i happens between two here says that although it is on their minds it certainly will not stop them coming back to the capital. that israeli sentiment being promoted across the city this evening and donations are set to pour into the uk solidarity fund —— that is really the sentiment. people will be asked to donate the price of a drink, the

cost of a meal, alternate £1 per fare. all of the money will go to the victims and the families of the victims caught up in the attacks. certainly the sentiment from here is what ever happened last saturday will not stop people enjoying themselves. 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 ok". a rescue operation has taken place in the mid—atlantic after a fleet of yachts that set out from the uk was hit by what's described as a once—in—a—lifetime storm.

the sailors, competing in a transatlantic race, encountered 15—metre waves and 60—knot winds. crew on three yachts issued mayday calls last night and another two needed help from the coastguard. the cruise liner the queen mary two was also involved in the rescue effort. earlier the director of the race, john lewis, gave this update on the situation. 0ne one man is rescued by the queen mary, he is on his way to halifax. we have another boat from hungary, 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 dismasted and they have been rescued. have a further two

retirements. 0ver rescued. have a further two retirements. over the 36 hours, five boats seriously expected, three boats seriously expected, three boats sunk and to both retired. everybody is well, safe and presently recovered. adam west, the american actor best known as the star of the 1960s series batman has died. his portrayal of the superhero won him a cult following. he has died after a brief battle with the kenya, according to a family spokesperson. —— with leukaemia. breaking news. we're hearing from

downing street that the dup have agreed to the principles of an outline agreement to support the tories on a confidence and supply basis. the democratic unionists took ten seats in the election on thursday, which helped to reason may reach the magic number of 326 to have a majority in parliament, having been shy of that total by eight seats. we are told from the outset that the dup would not be in an actualformal outset that the dup would not be in an actual formal coalition with the conservatives but they were going to do it ona conservatives but they were going to do it on a deal by dual basis. that is something of that ilk. the method known as confidence and supply. the other issue for a lot of people is that the dup have certain views and policies which are not regarded as liberal enough in some people's views. also there have been questions asked about associations that the party may have had in the

past with whilest extremists in northern ireland. the talks have been taking place today. you can see those pictures from last year, the dup leader, arlene foster, there have lots of controversies as well with her at the centre of them to do with her at the centre of them to do with an energy scheme in northern ireland. that ended up costing a huge amount of money. and martin mcguinness, you can see, who died a few months ago, he resigned from the stormont executive. they were not successful in putting another executive together after elections. asa executive together after elections. as a consequence, executive together after elections. as a consequence, there has been direct rule reimposed from westminster. 0ur political correspondentjoins us again. so, the principles have been outlined. yes, this is not a surprise, we never thought that there would be a full coalition to get hold of those

ten democratic unionist party votes to get theresa may an effective working majority in parliament. what they are going for, by the look of it, we do not have detail at this stage, is what is called confidence and supply. if that is a parliamentary way of saying that if there is a confidence vote in parliament then the dup agree to support that, back theresa may so that government has some stability in that sense, and supply is meant ina posh in that sense, and supply is meant in a posh parliamentary way to mean money. anything in the budget, money bills, they will back on that. that will give her some degree of certainty about what she do. but thatis certainty about what she do. but that is not very much, because after that is not very much, because after that you will be looking at a case—by—case basis, each individual piece of legislation, saying whether the dup like it or not, taking concessions, even concessions to them over this, that and the other. it does not create huge amount of stability but it could create a little bit more stability than she has at the moment. what we do not

know is what price she has had to pay for this. those details are not out there yet. i suspect that that negotiation will continue because we are looking at a principled agreement at the moment. but you can bet your bottom dollar that money will be involved, because it always is. extra money for northern ireland, perhaps protections in terms of benefits and things like that. but also, of course, and more crucially, the dup have some very strong views on brexit and how brexit ought to affect the province. they are very keen on there not been a hard border, customs points and checkpoints between the north and south when britain leaves the eu. they are keen on making sure that your farmers they are keen on making sure that yourfarmers get they are keen on making sure that your farmers get compensated to likely to get hit by leaving the eu. and of course, there is the