what price to keep theresa may in power? we'll be getting the latest from our assistant political editor norman smith in downing street. also this lunchtime. inflation hits a nearfour—year high, continuing the squeeze on consumers as prices rise faster than wages. an inquest opens into the deaths of the victims of the london bridge terror attack, and hears five of them were stabbed. washington awaits. one of donald trump's top advisers, jeff sessions, will testify over claims russia tried to meddle in last november's election. and remembering jo. a year after her murderjo cox's parents speak for the first time about the death of their daughter. the phone rang. and it was dan, one ofjo‘s aids, and he said, "jo has been shot, i think." and that was it. and coming up in the sport on bbc news, another loss for the lions — a penalty with just six minutes left means highlanders win

in dunedin byjust one point. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. talks are underway in downing street, as theresa may tries to strike a deal with the democratic unionist party which will enable the conservatives to continue to govern. the prime minister and arlene foster are discussing the detailed terms of the dup's backing for her minority government, focussing on the upcoming brexit negotiations and their particular implications for northern ireland's border with the republic of ireland and trade. the conservatives are having to rely on the support of ten dup mps, after they fell eight seats short of winning an overall majority in last week's general election. here's our political correspondent chris mason. the sun is shining on northern

ireland's democratic unionist party. just ten mps and their leader who now wield huge powers. are we looking at the real government? big smiles and with good reason. the democratic unionists are crucial in propping up theresa may in government. look how excited they are. and listen carefully. the future is bright. the future's bright, the future's orange. a clever mash up of an advertising slogan and the colour traditionally associated with unionism. as the cabinet met this morning there was an obvious question to ask. are you up an obvious question to ask. are you up freddie woodward dup? the answer is yes because... we need a stable government governing international interest in one of the ways to do thatis interest in one of the ways to do that is talk to the largest party in

northern ireland in order to make sure we can have the support for a queen's speech which will enable us to negotiate a good brexit deal in due course and have policies the country needs in order to make sure out country needs in order to make sure our public services are working effectively and the economy grows more sustainably. what might the dup wa nt more sustainably. what might the dup want in return for what is expected to be an informal arrangement with the conservatives, where they promise to back them on the most important promise to back them on the most im porta nt votes promise to back them on the most important votes in parliament quiz mac could involve money, extra money for roads. the dup are against limiting pensioners who can receive the winter fuel allowance. other parties sniffjust how vulnerable the tories are. misses may promise the tories are. misses may promise the electorate a strong and stable government but what we have got is a shambles. she said we wouldn't have a coalition of chaos but that is where we are heading. the truth is the country deserves a proper government which will rule on behalf of the many not on behalf of the

few. your party is used to bunking up few. your party is used to bunking up with another outfit with which you might not share every governing philosophy so what is wrong with what the tories are planning now? theresa may is trying to use this stitch up with the dup in order to pretend nothing has changed when, in fa ct, pretend nothing has changed when, in fact, everything has changed. she's got to understand that in the house of commons everybody is a minority and nobody is going to get their own way on everything all the time. and this was the scene in downing street a few minutes ago. are you ready to drive a hard bargain? what is your price? are you drive a hard bargain? what is your price? are you happy? what price to keep mrs may in power? here other bouquets the theresa may. chin up, the message reads. our assistant political editor norman smith is in downing street. assuming there is a deal, how stable

will it be? i think in the short term it probably will be quite sta ble term it probably will be quite stable and what we will see today is smiles, handshakes, photo opportunities because both parties have a mutual self interest in reaching some sort of accommodation, they agree on many of the big issues like brexit and virulent opposition tojeremy like brexit and virulent opposition to jeremy corbyn‘s like brexit and virulent opposition tojeremy corbyn‘s labour party. from theresa may's perspective she needs a deal to have a majority in the commons and from the dup‘s point of view, they hope there is going to be money for northern ireland, funds for economic regeneration and reconstruction. the difficulty is down the line. one of the reasons is because this isn't a coalition, it isa because this isn't a coalition, it is a day by day arrangement, it means ministers have to put their arms around dup mps and say, come on, you canjoin us today. it is a much more wheeling dealing politics which isn't mrs may's strong point.

it is also a very small majority, giving mrs may a six seat majority. david cameron had a 17 majority and even then he suffered a whole load of defeats on things like tax credits, personal independent payments, sunday trading. the real fear is once the dup have got their crowbar in, they start to exert the leveraged, they start to demand much more contentious issues, possibly around things like the future of parades in northern ireland or foreign funding for sinn fein. then it might be much harder to hold this deal together. norman smith, thank you very much. but whatever deal is done between the conservatives and the dup, it will be problematic. with talks scheduled to get under way to try to restore power—sharing in stormont, sinn fein president gerry adams has warned that no arrangement between the conservatives and the dup would be good for northern ireland. live now to chris page at stormont. this is all very edgy. that's right.

here in northern ireland, before the early hours of friday morning nobody thought they'd see what has just happened in downing street, the site of arlene foster going through the door of number ten, holding the keys to power, as it were. but that is now what has happened and ever since it became clear that was going to be the situation, the dup were going to be in the situation, the dup were going to beina the situation, the dup were going to be in a position of influence, there's been a clamour of opinion as to what the dup should be asking for, everything from parading to measure specific to northern ireland on brexit. one thing that has come up on brexit. one thing that has come up is that northern ireland should get more economic assistance, if not cold, hard cash for infrastructure projects them for tax breaks to help out businesses. everyone watching to see what comes out of the talks this afternoon but there is another di mentioned to this. the dup are involved in two sets of negotiations, one in london, one in stormont, where discussions are continuing to restore the government that collapsed injanuary. sinn fein

have said they are not at all happy of the prospect of a deal between the dup and the conservatives. gerry adams has said it would not be good for the people of northern ireland. the leader of the sdlp said that if there is an economic package as a result of the discussions in london thenit result of the discussions in london then it should reflect economic need not the dup‘s political priorities. both parties say it showed the british government cannot be an impartial broker at stormont. james brokenshire has says it could be separate to stabilising the government in stormont. a few months ago the mantra was that "brexit means brexit. " now, though, it's increasingly unclear what that means, and the eu is beginning to show signs of impatience. the eu's chief negotiator michel barnier urged london to start talks "very quickly" and appoint a negotiating team that is "stable, accountable and with a mandate." the european parliament's guy verhofstadt said the eu is growing impatient as it waits to learn the uk government's

negotiating position. live now to gavin lee in strasbourg. the message from various we are ready. it is. they are ready and becoming impatient, those were the words of guy verhofstadt, the eu parliament's brexit words of guy verhofstadt, the eu pa rliament‘s brexit negotiator, words of guy verhofstadt, the eu parliament's brexit negotiator, who will have a say in the final part of the deal towards the end of the process. michel barnier, the chief negotiator for brexit, process. michel barnier, the chief negotiatorfor brexit, gave process. michel barnier, the chief negotiator for brexit, gave an interview with a number of newspapers published this morning in which she said he cannot negotiate with himself and said whilst he is aware of the problems in the uk, what he wants is somebody who is stable, accountable, and has a mandate to come to the table and quickly. he doesn't see it at this stage to extend the deadline.

interesting as well, the german finance minister today talking about there being an open door if, for any reason, the british decided brexit wasn't something they were seeking. absolutely not the case when you speak to people here, including guy verhofstadt, he said he used to think like that but now he is absolute. we are on a course of article 50. it has been triggered. the other reason why we have to start hopefully next week is we have only a time frame of less than two years. everything has to be behind us on years. everything has to be behind us on the 29th of march 2019. years. everything has to be behind us on the 29th of march 20 19. guy verhofstadt. inflation in the uk has risen to its highest rate for four years. figures out from the office for national statistics show it rising to 2.9% in may, up from 2.7% the previous month, keeping inflation above the bank of england's 2% target. here's our economics correspondent andy verity. the weakness of the pound

since the referendum should have helped tourist towns like stratford—upon—avon, but the businesses trying to attract chinese or american tourists import much of what they sell, and they're being squeezed by higher costs. business owners know they can't always pass on those costs if they want customers to come in. no profit grows where no pleasure is taken. certain items, for example on the afternoon tea, the salmon — in six months now it has gone over £4 a kilo. cocoa for the chocolate cake, again, has gone up quite remarkably. these are things like butter — august last year, a packet of butter, about 85p. bought some yesterday, £1.18 a packet. fish, including salmon, was one of the fastest risers, up 10.5% since last year. the average price of all goods rose by 3%. that is the first time in years that have gone up faster than services, up 2.6%. competitive businesses like this one don't want to raise their prices because of the risk that customers

get put off and go elsewhere, so they're trying to find other ways to trim their costs. but, eventually, they'll be faced with a choice — raise their prices or see their profits wiped out. and the biggest upward pressure on that cost is labour. the higher minimum wage is one reason for the higher cost of recreational services, one of the biggest upward pressures on inflation in recent weeks. but overall wages aren't keeping up — prices are now rising substantially faster than pay. inflation probably hasn't reached its peak, it could go above 3% over the next few months. i don't think that we're going to see the bank of england raising rates any time soon, though, because we're seeing a slowdown in activity, and they will be more conscious of the risks to the economy, rather than the risks of inflation rising substantially further. the bank of england hadn't thought inflation would get this high this early in the year. up until now, most members of the committee at the bank that sets interest rates had been convinced it's temporary, so there's no need to head it off

with an early rise in rates. andy verity, bbc news. a lucrative part of the city of london's financial trading could be forced to move to continental europe, after the uk leaves the eu. the european commission is expected to say later that it wants the eu to regulate the clearing of euro denominated transactions. at the moment, hundreds of billions of euros move through the capital every day. our business correspondent jonty bloom is here. we need to explain what this is. and how big a deal it is if the city loses it. clearing isjust the same as when you clear a check. if i pay you a check and you paid it into your bank account you can take the money out until it clears. this is that on a massive scale. it is every euro transaction which has to be cleared in the same way which accou nts cleared in the same way which a ccou nts to cleared in the same way which accounts to hundreds of millions if not billions of euros a day. 70% of that passes through london even though we have never been in the

eurozone. there have been attempts in the past by the eurozone to get that business done inside the euro area. that failed, stopped in the courts. because of brexit, they are trying again, the european commission saying they will want to regulate those firms in london and if they don't like what they see or if they don't like what they see or if they don't like what they see or if they don't like being regulated, they are happy to move to the eurozone, forcing them if they don't like what they see. that matters to london because it is a big business inputin london because it is a big business input in tens of thousands of people, involving vast amount of cash. more importantly, they see this as the first attack on their strength. there are lots of cities in the eurozone, frankfurt, paris, amsterdam, which would love the business going on in london and the city sees this as an attempt to grab the business and that will carry on for a long time. inquests have opened and been adjourned into the deaths of five of the victims of the london terror attacks. eight people were killed, and dozens injured, when three attackers drove a van into pedestrians on london bridge,

then stabbed people in nearby borough market. our home affairs correspondent tom symonds reports from southwark coroners' court. they were young, they'd come from around the world to make their lives in london. now a coroner will have to decide how they came to be murdered by three young men with knives on a warm summer's night. sara zelenak was 21, and no pair from australia. the court heard she was found with a stab wound in her neck. graham—mac, 32, was an entrepreneur from neck. graham—mac, 32, was an entrepreneurfrom london. he was found in the street with a stab wound in his chest. kirsty boden was 28, another australian victim, a staff nurse at a london hospital. she died from a chest wound. sebastien belanger was the fourth victim, he was 36, french, a chef who was stabbed in the chest. ignacio echeverria was 39, a spanish

a nalyst for ignacio echeverria was 39, a spanish analyst for hsbc who is said to have fought back against the attackers. he died stabbed in the back. the family of sara zelenak were in court to hear the coroner offered his condolences. he said it was a terrible time and he will consider in detail the causes of all eight deaths. the police investigation is in full flow. the coroner, as is normal in these cases, said he would suspend his inquiry until the police had finished. but he said the families of the victims would be given full details about how their loved ones died. britain's most senior counterterrorism officer today made a further call for help in dealing with the threat. he told the times... we need communities to be more assertive and calling out extremists and radicals among us, we need to be occasions and in the based based companies to show more responsibility. the government was

considering further powers to make them take more action. that is a measure of last resort, what is more important is that we develop ever greater co—operation between security and intelligence services and tech companies within the confines of the lord when sure that this material never reaches the internet in the first place. traders hope to reopen borough market tomorrow, a show of defiance against the man who brought terror here. tom symonds, bbc news, southwark. our top story this lunchtime. theresa may is meeting the leader of the democratic unionist party in downing street, as she seeks a deal to enable the conservatives to govern. and still to come: we hear from the parents of a muslim convert who travelled to territory controlled by so—called islamic state about why they want the british government to help find him. coming up in sport, six—times paralympic champion david weir has announced he'll retire from track racing at the anniversary games next month. he'll continue to race on the road after winning his seventh london marathon in april. the pressure on donald trump over

alleged links between his campaign and russia may step up today. in the latest appearance before us lawmakers, us attorney generaljeff sessions, he's the most senior member of president trump's administration to testify before a senate committee looking into allegations that russia had tried to meddle in last november's election. it comes less than a week after the former fbi chiefjames comey appeared at a similar hearing. peter bowes has the details. senatorjeff sessions! jeff sessions is the highest—ranking member of the trump administration to face questions about russia's alleged meddling in the 2016 election. a one—time close adviser and loyal supporter of donald trump, mr sessions‘ relationship with the president has become strained in recent weeks. at one point, he reportedly offered to resign. today, he'll face tough questions — and may refuse to answer.

he'll be asked to explain his role in the firing ofjames comey, the fbi chief, who gave evidence to the committee last week. if, as the president said, i was fired because of the russia investigation, why was the attorney general involved in that chain? i don't know, and so i don't have an answer for the question. mr sessions recused himself from the russia investigation following media reports about meetings he'd had with the russian ambassador — meetings that he'd earlier failed to acknowledge. the stakes are high, because democrats on the committee will be pressing mr sessions to clarify on—the—record statements he made during his confirmation hearing in january. he said then that, as an adviser to donald trump, he didn't communicate with russian officials during the presidential election campaign. with the white house engulfed in scandal and much hingeing on today's hearing, donald trump has been meeting with his cabinet. in an unusual move, with the cameras rolling, his most senior officials took the opportunity, one by one, to lavish praise on the president.

a somewhat surreal scene, as washington braces itself for yet another day of high drama and political intrigue. peter bowes, bbc news. our correspondent jane o'brien is in washington for us now. high—stakes, as we were hearing, how nervous will donald trump be? well, donald trump has already tweeted this morning that fake news has never been so this morning that fake news has never been so wrong oi’ so this morning that fake news has never been so wrong or so dirty. he wasn't specific about what he meant by that, but we can intuit that he is pretty upset about the whole thing. now, of course, the whole testimony from james comey last week was supposed to lay all these issues to rest, and what we are now discovering is that, farfrom doing that, it's raising even more questions about russian meddling in the presidential election, the trump campaign's possible involvement in

that, and it is now embroiling senior members of the trump administration. it is how many threads can continue to be pulled before we come to the end of this saga, and of course that is what donald trump is desperately hoping for. he tried to lift the cloud of the russia investigation by firing james comey, we now know that that decision has come back to bite him in the backside with ferocity of a swarm of hornets. so yes, he is upset, yes, he is worried, but more to the point, how worried are republicans? because while this is going on and we are all talking about these endless hearings, they can't get their political agenda under way, they can't concentrate on tax reform, health care reform, lived the debt ceiling or put into place mr trump's infrastructure plan. so there is a lot at stake here. jane o'brien, thank you very much. the european court of human rights will rule later on whether doctors treating ten—month—old charlie gard, who is terminally ill, can turn off his life support.

it would be against the wishes of his parents, who want to take their son to the us for experimental treatment for a rare genetic disorder. but last week, the uk supreme court agreed with specialists at great ormond street hospital that he should be allowed to die with dignity. our medical correspondent fergus walsh reports. charlie gard cannot see, hear, move, cry or swallow. he is seriously brain damaged and kept alive with a mechanical ventilator. his parents, chris gard and connie yates, have raised £1.3 million through crowdfunding for experimental treatment in the united states. they say they simply want the best for their son. he hasn't got anything to lose. we know that even if it doesn't work, which i think it will, we know that we have done everything that we can for him. but doctors, including independent experts, say the treatment cannot improve his condition. one concern is that charlie may experience pain but is unable to respond to it. lask week, the uk supreme court said

while it had the utmost sympathy for his parents, it was not in charlie's interests to subject him to futile treatment which might simply prolong his suffering. today, a panel of sevenjudges at the european court of human rights in strasbourg will consider written evidence in the case. if they decide to take on the issue, a full hearing will be organised. if not, then the parents‘ legal battle to take their son abroad will be over, and from midnight, great ormond street hospital will be free to switch off charlie's ventilator and provide only palliative care. fergus walsh, bbc news. the son of an oxfordshire farmer who travelled to territory controlled by so—called islamic state as an 18—year—old has turned up almost three years later, in a prison run by a kurdish militia. jack letts told the bbc that he walked across the front line,

assisted by people smugglers. his parents are now asking the british government to find him and fly him back to britain. here's our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford. jack letts was the white middle—class boy from oxford, 80 news old and just out of school, who ran off to live in territory controlled by so—called islamic state. —— i8 controlled by so—called islamic state. —— 18 years old. that was more than two and a half years ago. since then, he claimed that the bbc, he has travelled all over is territory. using the encrypted messaging app telegram, he said he had been injured in an explosion but that he was not fighting at the time. he said he had fallen out with is leadership and been put in prison. he said five weeks ago he left, crossing the front line through a minefield using a people smuggler. supposedly, we were going to go to kurdish territories for a bit, then continue to turkey, and then as soon as we got here, got arrested and put in prison. in prison for a few days, not sure how

long exactly, around a week maybe, and then after that i was in solitary confinement until now. he told the bbc thought he was being held just outside a syrian town on the border with turkey held by the ypg, the kurdish militia fighting islamic state. it is about 150 miles from he is struck gold of raqqa. jack letts had an average middle—class childhood. jack letts had an average middle-class childhood. all we have wa nted middle-class childhood. all we have wanted is getting to safety... they will stand trial later this year accused of sending their son money for terrorist purposes, which they deny, saying the money was to help them escape. they tell me now we use a kurdish prison, they want the british government to intervene. we suddenly got a message out of the blue, saying that he was in a safe zone, and it was the news we have been waiting forfor zone, and it was the news we have been waiting for for three years, ever since he went out their plans.

—— out there. and now we want to get him home. he will have to account for himself, and i completely understand that. if he has anything to do with is, i want nothing to do with him. i really despise any group thatis with him. i really despise any group that is extremists like that. the foreign office said it would not comment on jack letts' foreign office said it would not comment onjack letts' case, saying only it cannot provide consular support in syria, but it is understood officials have been trying to locate him. neither the bbc nor his parents have heard from him for 12 days. daniel sandford, bbc news. on friday, it will be exactly a year since the murder of the labour mpjo cox. she was stabbed and shot in her constituency by a man who supported the extreme right. her family have since spoken about their wish for her to be remembered for what she achieved in life, and this weekend, they're encouraging people to join together with neighbours, friends and their community at events in her memory. our correspondent catherine burns has been speaking tojo cox's sister and parents about their daughter's legacy. i still miss the sound of her coming down the drive...

gordon and jean leadbeater say they're private people, but as the anniversary of their daughter's death approaches, they've agreed to talk to us. what were you doing when you got that call? we'd just sat down about five minutes. and then the phone rang, and it was dan, one ofjo's aides. and hejust said, "jo's been shot, i think." and...that was it. i said, "where is she?" and wejumped in the car, i remember usjumping in the car, and we couldn't get near, and we set off running. and i don't know... i don't know how we ran, how we managed to get there into the middle of birstall. the police were there. in this case, it was a police inspector, comes into the room, and he has to tell you. and we know. in fact, he doesn't have to tell you — you can see by his expression.

and he said, "i'm sorry to say she didn't make it." one of the things that kim said afterwards was, "ourfamily is broken now, but we will mend over time." how are you mending? we'll always be broken, because there's a piece missing. but, yeah, ithink, to the outside world, we do appear strong, all of us. but there's a lot of days when the bad is bad. the low times for us are when we turn the television on and see terrorist acts — westminster bridge, manchester — because that's when it brings everything back. for me, the ambulances, the sirens, i'm back there again in birstall. so this is not what you'd expect your average mp to be like, is it? no, no, absolutely, but this wasjo, just very, very relaxed, very comfortable, and just embracing

the situation she was in. jo's sister kim tries to focus on happier times. that is absolutely stunning, isn't it? oh, is this the karaoke? yeah, that's the birthday karaoke, with the elaine paige and barbara dickson, i know him so well, which was our party piece when we were kids. and it was re—enacted for my birthday last year badly. # looking back, i could have made it differently... # i'm not in denial. i think there must be a difference between denial and disbelief, i can't believe it's happened. ijust cannot i just cannot believe ijust cannot believe it's happened. despite their grief, one year on, the family is keen to create a legacy forjo. going forward, build the children, they won't go away, but we have to be positive, and we are being. and jo's but we have to be positive, and we are being. andjo's children but we have to be positive, and we are being. and jo's children have got so much of her, and brendan, in them. that is a great legacy, and we do have that.

that was catherine burns speaking tojo cox's parents and sister ahead of the anniversary this friday of her death. time now for a look at the weather, nick miller is here. useless weather factor lead, june 13 has a rather special place in uk weather history, it is the only summer day on record in the uk where the temperature has not reached 30 celsius. you know what? it is not doing it again today, better luck next year! tomorrow some of the us will get quite close, but by no