this is bbc news. the headlines at 9am: government staff are drafted in to manage the response to the grenfell tower fire, following fierce criticism. chgrch services will tfike'ptacef to remember those affected by the grenfell tower fire. queen's speech to parliament next year is to be cancelled to ;;aaas;;— =; a; la; ;;;;;aa;; a; a—aa w, , ,,, mps ;;aaas;;— =; al; la; ;;a—aa-;aa;; l; a—aa w, , ,,, mps time ;;aaas;;— =; l; la; ;;;;;aa;; l; a—aa w, , ,,, mps time to ;;alas;;— =; l; !a; ;;;;;la;; l; a—aa w, , ,,, mps - time to scrutinise allow mps more time to scrutinise brexit legislation. at least a0 people are - in a at least a0 people are killed in a forest fire in central portugal, which continues to which’cfintinuestd—spreatb names of growing inequality the names of growing inequality gci’oss the names of growing inequality across britain. a new report says the gap between rich and poor is getting wider. also in the next hour we'll take a look at the papers with broadcaster vincent moss and journalist sean dilly. the grenfell tower fire dominates many of the papers and we will have many of thepapers and we will hale full many of thepapers and we will have full review. good morning and

welcome to bbc news. government staff have been drafted in to improve the response to the grenfell tower disaster in west london, amid criticism of the local council's performance. at least 58 people are believed to have died in last wednesday's blaze, with the police warning that the total could rise. many residents have complained they received little or no help from kensington and chelsea council. meanwhile, church services will be held today to remember the victims of the blaze. the devastation caused by the inferno stops people in their tracks. the dark reality abundantly clear in broad daylight. four days on, the community is still angry about a lack of co—ordination, communication and accountability. it's always the public that runs to the rescue.

where's the authorities? where are they? residents, community leaders and volunteers took their frustrations to downing street, spending two hours with the prime minister. it was a robust discussion, there was forceful emotion in the room, people were able to say what they wanted to say theresa may, who has come in for widespread personal criticism over her handling of the crisis, said she'd heard the concerns. the prime minister admitted: whitehall officials have been drafted in to help kensington and chelsea council cope with the response and the red cross will provide psychological support. as people wait and pray for the missing, church services today will remember those who didn't make it out of grenfell tower. a reminder of the complex and lengthy process of recovering bodies from this charred shell.

nick quraishi, bbc news. 0ur correspondent simonjones is in west london, outside notting hill methodist church, where one of the services will be held. it is going to be an incredibly sad occasion. well, after the shock, after the grief, after the anger, church leaders are hoping that today will be a day of reflection. there is going to be a service here at 11am. 0f is going to be a service here at 11am. of course, the churches in this area played a huge role since the tragedy. some of them opened up their doors on the night it was happening, at 3am, got people in, gave them some shelter, they were pa rt gave them some shelter, they were part of taking in donations of food and clothing from the local to help those affected. community to help those affected. but a lot of people here have been saying, although it is greatly church has done that, why is it up to the church to do it? they are

asking where the government has and also where the local been, and also where the local council has been. many people let's talk to one of abandoned. let's talk to one of those who went to speak to the prime minister. what did you say to her about what people are feeling here? the main message we try to get across was hope and peace. in terms of this committee has been my a ,. ,, ,, ass; a; of this committee has been my a as as as ssaa saa for my life and of this committee has been my a as as as ssaa saa for my- life and i community for my whole life and i have never. scared or anxious to have never felt scared or anxious to here, - recently with the be here, until recently with the renovation and the of renovation and the gentrification of the area. people are scared they the area. peopte arescaredthey lose the area. people arescaredthey lose their homes, lose their will lose their homes, lose their immunity. the message we tried to convey was how scared and angry and passionate people are because if you come around here come you can see for yourself it is a great area. have you ever seen so for yourself it is a great area. have you ever seen so many for yourself it is a great area. have you ever seen so many committee centres in one place, so many for people to learn opportunities for people to learn and expand their horizons. this is the carnival is, it is a great where the carnival is, it is a great place to live. we wanted her to

understand that things need to be done and done now. people need to be held accountable. people have lost their lives, and those people who have been affected by this incident for years to come, they need to be, not even rewarded, that does not begin to say it, stuff has to happen. things like this cannot fly, they cannot be tolerated. we are just as much a part of kensington and chelsea as south kensington, we have been trying knightsbridge. we have been trying to get people to help. you looked theresa may in the eye, what did you say to her about the response so far from her government? long story i her it from her government? long story i. her it has been short, i told her it has been appalling. i think she knows that as i think she is we eaer to well. i think she is very eager to rectify the situation. she reads a lot warmer in person, she was present and she engaged, and she

tried to best show as an outsider that she wants to be included and she wants to help on a personal scale. i also convey to her that a direct response message needs to be provided now. people need to know what is going on, let us know numbers, let us feel like you care about us and treat us like people. how much in the dark have you been feeling? to be honest a crazy amount. especially because this is my community. i have two no, you know. my little sister has to go to school, or we don't know when stations are closed, roads are blocked, we don't know when people are coming here to get there and got on the garment out. to let people grieve, you have two release the true numbers. you have to be truthful and responsible and take account of who ever did this, and whoever will pay. in order to move

on, people have to know. the police are releasing numbers when they know they are accurate. going back to the prime minister, when you left that meeting, she said she would send in teams, there will be more to help the local council. is that enough, do you trust that? the only thing that i can be is hopeful because if you come at this with anger and fear and aggression, then nothing gets rectified. this is a peaceful community. this is a unified community. this is a unified community. the - people tend to community. the same people tend to live here, we grow up and we have children, our children grow up, and people just need to understand that also need to give us time to they also need to give us time to grieve. unfortunately it is becoming a tourist attraction and people are using it as a scapegoat of some sort to voice their disdain for local

government, and unfortunately that is not what this is about. give us time, we are hurting and will hurt for a long time to come. thank you for a long time to come. thank you for joining for a long time to come. thank you forjoining us. there will be a church service here in a couple of hours' time, and that will be a moment for people to think about events, think about people who have lost their lives, the families affected, and a contemplation on what the response has been, a great community feeling but also a feeling that not enough was done by the authorities. simon, thank you. the government says it intends to double the length of the new parliamentary session to two years. this is to give mps the maximum possible time to scrutinise brexit legislation. the unusual move will mean the queen's speech next year will be cancelled. the speech is used to outline the government's legislative programme. with me now is our political correspondent susana mendonca. a lot to talk about, really. let's

start with brexit, and negotiations start with brexit, and negotiations start tomorrow but we don't know yet what the plan is, and we don't yet have a government with a working majority. exactly, because the state 0pening majority. exactly, because the state opening of parliament has been delayed until wednesday, so we don't yet have the government in place. but we are going to have those negotiations. david davis will be meeting to negotiate on the eu, and i suppose some inconsistency as to what the focus is going to be. the eu is saying the focus will be all about exit and what that involves, so trying to focus on the future of citizens and also the cost, really, to britain of leaving the eu. that's what they want their focus to be first, but david davis is still talking about having parallel discussions whereby we also discussed trade. the eu says that is not what they will be doing straightaway. there seems to be not a meeting of minds as yet as to what

the focus will be at the beginning, and those negotiations start tomorrow so all eyes will be on that. there will only be a day of negotiations this week, and we understand there will be more negotiations over the summer. each month there will be periods where they meet. certainly, all eyes will be on whether or not they can get the kind of deal that theresa may had been talking about before the election. now she has weakened because she does not have the majority in parliament, and is having to rely on the dup, potentially. you mentioned that the queen's speech is delayed from tomorrow until wednesday. and next yea r‘s tomorrow until wednesday. and next year's queen's speech is cancelled. yes, this is a sign of theresa may realising just how difficult it is going to be to try to get the brexit legislation through parliament without that majority that she was hoping she would have. she has got the immigration, the great repeal bill, plans that she will want to get through, and hopefully she will

have —— potentially she will have opposition from other parties. she needs to give parliament the chance to look through this catholic. what this means is that she does not have to have another queen's speech in a yea r‘s to have another queen's speech in a year's time, when she may not have the support of the dup. if you don't have enough support, then the queen's speech gets voted down and they don't want to be in that position a year into negotiations, when the focus will very much be on what is happening in terms of those negotiations on the eu. very interesting, thank you. a forest fire in central portugal has killed at least 30 people, with the number expected to rise. 16 of the victims died in their vehicles as they tried to escape but became trapped by flames. nimesh thaker has more. a deadly mix of a strong winds and a severe heatwave have fanned the flames, now threatening to engulf homes. burning uncontrollably, this fire is already one of the worst forest fires in portugal in decades.

more than 20 people have died, most of them trapped in their cars. a number of people were reported to be missing. translation: it was a big tragedy. we've already identified 2a victims, but this number could rise. all of those who died were on a road in the same fire at the same place. it started on saturday at 3pm local time in a mountainous area 200 kilometres north—east of lisbon. around 500 firefighters were called to the scene. translation: i was there staring at my house, i don't know what will happen with it now! 0fficials describe the fire spreading violently, some properties have been destroyed. the local mayor said there wasn't enough firefighters to deal with the number of villages at risk. nimesh thaker, bbc news. the bodies of a number of us sailors

missing after their ship collided of japan have been found. as yet, the commander of the ship gave this update. so this was a severe emergency, but the ship's crew was swift and responsive, and i can't tell you how proud i am of the crew for what they did to save the ship. so the heroic efforts of the ship's crew. they prevented this ship from foundering, or even sinking last night. they were able to save the ship, and they were able to bring it back yesterday under its own power, back here, and you can see the ship behind me. let's speak now to our tokyo respondent. rupert, the commander there praising the heroism of the

crew, but huge questions as to how this happened in the first place. yes, absolutely. the question has come right from the very start, as to how such a sophisticated warship, of the most sophisticated one of the most sophisticated anywhere in the world, collided with anywhere in the world, collided with a large container ship in a calm, clear weather, albeit at night. the a nswer to clear weather, albeit at night. the answer to that will come with the investigation. what we do know is that the philippine registered cargo vessel does appear to have made a number of sharp turns as it approached the coast of japan early on saturday morning, and there will be questions as to why. these were very sharp u—turns, you can see it on the tracking that the japanese coast guard have. it happened over and over again coast guard have. it happened over and overagain in coast guard have. it happened over and over again in an erratic way, so there will be questions as to why those turns were made. nevertheless, it isa those turns were made. nevertheless, it is a large, slow moving ship, so there will be questions why the us

navy crew did not spot the ship turning and turn away themselves in time. it seems they did turn away at the last minute, but it was not quickly enough in order to avoid a collision. and the collision inflicted a huge amount of damage. the pictures of the navy ship has been severely damaged. it has, and actually the only damage we can see from those pictures is above the water line, and the commander of the us navy forces in that press conference said there is far more damage below the water line, and there is a large gash, even bigger than the one above below the water line, that went through several compartments. he said water rushed in extremely quickly, there was a large volume of water rushing in, and that's only because of the rapid action of the crew was the ship é it was in danger of sinking saved. it was in danger of sinking at the beginning. rupert, we will come back to you with more updates,

but many thanks for now. the headlines on bbc news: government staff have been drafted in to manage the response to the g re nfell tower in to manage the response to the grenfell tower fire after criticism of kensington and chelsea borough council. judge services are to take place across the country today to remember those affected by the blaze. —— show church services. the queen's speech will be cancelled next day to allow more time for brexit negotiation. it has been described as an unusual move. a fall in the number of people who own their own home is fuelling inequality in britain, according to a new report. research from the resolution foundation think—tank suggests that 10% of adults own around half of the nation's wealth. our business correspondent, joe lynam, has more. the awful fire at grenfell tower has highlighted for many the issue of inequality in britain. dozens dead in the wealthiest borough in the uk. now an independent think tank has

said inequality has worsened since the great recession because fewer people own their own homes. the resolution foundation says property ownership is now spread less evenly than salaries and incomes are. it says the richest 10% of the population own £5 trillion, or half the uk's wealth, while the top i% own ia% of britain's wealth. by contrast, 15% of adults have no or negative wealth. wealth is arguably the biggest determinant of living standards over people's lives and yet it barely features in today's living standards debates, and that's a big deal because our analysis shows wealth is far more unequally spread across scoiety than incomes are and because of declining property ownership, declining home ownership, for the least wealthy households that inequality has started to go up, and that's a real concern. the report is part of a wider study into a growing gap between older and younger people. the foundation says older people

have accumulated wealth due to rising house prices as well having gold—plated pensions, which the young won't enjoy. the government says "we want to build an economy that works for everyone. "income inequality is at its lowest level since the mid—1980s "and the lowest paid saw their wages grow faster than for 20 years." joe lynam, bbc news. french voters go to the polls today for the second round of the country's parliamentary elections. president macron's en marche party is predicted to win up to 80% of seats, as our paris correspondent, hugh schofield, reports. president macron, here voting in last sunday's first round, is within an ace of pulling off the second part of his quiet revolution. if all goes as expected, he is about to secure the biggest makeover in decades in france's parliament, the national assembly. it's notjust that his en marche! party looks set for a crushing majority, the actual candidates are very different from what went before. half are totally new to politics.

half are women, which means the new parliament is likely to be one of the most feminised in the world. the opposition parties, meanwhile, are preparing for the worst, which, in the case of the socialists, could mean a total wipe—out. so great is the president's predicted victory that the big problem may be the lack of opposition. can that, some ask, be good for democracy? emmanuel macron says that he wants french democracy to be alive again, that he wants the french parliament to work, to criticise, to propose. can he do that with a majority so big, with such a big abstention rate? but not all voters see the president's growing power as a problem. translation: haven't we had too much debate over the last few years? the country hasn't moved forward for the last 30 years precisely because there's too much talking and not much gets done.

after today, france's long election season — two rounds of presidentials then two rounds of legislatives — will finally be over and president macron, it's almost certain, will have pulled off one of the most extraordinary democratic coups ever. the tools for reform will be in his hand. the task now is to use them. hugh schofield, bbc news, paris. a little over two weeks ago, the world watched in horror as another terror attack unfolded on the streets of britain. eight people were killed when terrorists drove a van into pedestrians on london bridge, before launching a knife attack in borough market. the journalist and martial arts expert geoff ho was stabbed in the neck when he confronted two of the attackers to protect his friends. he's still receiving treatment for his injuries. he spoke to the bbc this morning about the moment he came face to face with the attackers. i saw some of my friends and others scramble for the back, some hid under tables, some went into the

back of the restaurant. one of my friends was behind me and i knew there and then that unless i delayed them, the worst could possibly happen. i knewi them, the worst could possibly happen. i knew i had to delay them because the police were in the area. all i needed to do was buy to them time. unfortunately i saw what looked like suicide vests on them, soi looked like suicide vests on them, so i knew i wouldn'tjust charge in and attack them because they could have detonated them and that would have detonated them and that would have been the worst possible outcome. so i somehow needed to keep them at bay. they started yelling eve ryo ne them at bay. they started yelling everyone to get on the floor. i knew if everyone had done that, that would have been game over and they would have been game over and they would have been game over and they would have killed them then and there. the attackers came at me, shouting at people to get on the floor. i told them no, and i shouting at people to get on the floor. itold them no, and i kept saying no and then they snapped and they charge at the with knives. they try to stab me in the throat,

u nfortu nately try to stab me in the throat, unfortunately they succeeded on that front. they tried to stab me in the stomach, but i managed tojump out of the way and avoid that blade and ijust got a of the way and avoid that blade and i just got a couple of the way and avoid that blade and ijust got a couple of of the way and avoid that blade and i just got a couple of scratches of the way and avoid that blade and ijust got a couple of scratches on my stomach. unfortunate, they got me on the side of the face. they attacked my friend, but he just got superficial injuries, and then they ran off and the police arrived. the london bridge attack. this weekend, events across the uk are taking place to mark the first anniversary of the death of the labour mp, jo cox. the "great get together" was organised by her family, to celebrate her life and unite communities. fiona trott has more. the perfect day for a great get together. hundreds of people of all ages all gathered here at green park in heckmondwike. theyjust wanted to come together, be neighbourly and show support for the family of their old mp. you know, the kids are over there at the moment eating too many pancakes, we had about six cakes and three ice creams so they'll be bouncing around for the rest of the day.

it's the sort of thing she'd have thrown herself into, she'd have been buzzing around to as many as possible and that sense of how do we focus on those things, asjo spoke about in her maiden speech, the things we have in common. we spend so much time fixating on the differences and actually people here and across the country will be coming together for a moment and celebrating the things we have in common, which this weekend includes good weather, which is a nice change. around 120,000 events are taking place. this national celebration of what people have in common continues throughout the rest of today. fiona trott, bbc news, west yorkshire. now this is a pretty impressive achievement. a traditional polynesian canoe has just completed its first ever round—the—world trip without using modern navigation methods. the boat returned to honolulu in hawaii after being on the journey for three years. the crew used the stars, wind and ocean swells to guide it. the same techniques that brought the first polynesian settlers to hawaii hundreds of years ago.

kathryn armstrong reports. it was an emotional farewell at the start of an epic voyage around the world. cheering. first ports of call, the islands of tahiti and samoa, where the crew were welcomed ashore by their pacific cousins. sings. in new zealand, the crew of hokule'a were welcomed with a traditional maori greeting before learning about their shared cultural history. onto australia, where the boat sailed around the coast from sydney, visiting several different cultural and environmental sites, including the great barrier reef. the trip from australia to bali was a difficult one for the crew, due to poor conditions, but also marked the first time the canoe had ventured further than the pacific ocean. sailing into south africa after a brief stay on the island of mauritius meant the hokule'a had successfully sailed 10,000 nautical miles. applause.

the leg between south africa and brazil proved tricky for the navigators, who had to use tiny islands as markers to keep them on track. in cuba, crew membersjoined a meeting about us relations and discussions on cultural connections between cuba and hawaii, before heading to the virgin islands and on to america. aloha! after reaching florida in may of 2016, the hokule'a spent the next several months travelling the east coast, connecting with local schools, native american and maritime communities. singing. from there, she travelled to new york and new england. the boat then began its journey back to the pacific ocean via a trip through the panama canal. arriving on rapa nui, also known as easter island, was a significant accomplishment on the journey, as the tiny island is considered extremely hard to find using natural navigation skills. the last part of the journey included brief stops at the pitcairn and marquesas islands before

the crew steered the canoe back to hawaii. 19 countries and a0,000 nautical miles later and the hokule'a's work is farfrom done — the boat will now embark on an eight—month trip around the hawaiian islands in a bid to reconnect with local communities and schools. with humble beginnings in a shropshire garden, it has bloomed into one of the bbc‘s most iconic programmes, with an audience of up to 2.5 million people a week. so, as gardeners' world turns 50, kay alexander has been digging through the decades to investigate how a show, rooted in plants and personalities, has experienced such enduring success. 50 years ago the advent of colour television enabled the bbc to make a new horticultural programme, and gardeners' world was born. it was presented by the legendary percy from his garden near shrewsbury. good evening.

september. the sun still shining. in my family, everything stopped dead for gardeners' world. my mother was a keen gardener and so was this little girl. i am still a big fan of the programme. peter seabrook was one of the presenters in the 1970s and is still a big influence on gardening today. percy thrower was god and everybody watched every friday without question. and if he showed a plant on his programme then by 10am the next day they would be sold out across the country. the effect was remarkable. in 50 years there are a number of personalities who have made their name on gardeners' world, including geoff hamilton whose garden was one of the eight gardens used over the years. after he died in 1996, alan titchmarsh became the next main presenter. if this does not make you drool, nothing will.

i think i am proud of having had a hand in gardeners' world and having been a part of its history. my mission in life is to impress upon people the pleasure to be our planet green. it is the sharp end of looking after the planet, gardening. since the programme's debut in 1967 it has gone through all sorts of fashions and trends and styles. but, is there a magic ingredient that keeps it fresh and exciting? one of the magical things about gardeners' world is the fact you canjoin the head gardener in their garden every friday. it is the value of looking over the garden gate to see what they are doing but at the same time it is about plants, passionate plant people and the places in which those plants grow. lumbering outside broadcast vehicles of the past have been replaced by the latest technology. but what about the future of the programme? every gardener knows that every season is different

and new and exciting, and if you can just capture that excitement, you will not have to worry about the future. just go with it. no worries there then! so happy golden birthday, gardeners' world. and here's to the next 50 years! happy birthday! it isa it is a beautiful day out there. hello, another hot day across—the—board with very few exceptions and temperatures may creep up a little on yesterday. we have got plenty of sunshine around. the satellite pictures show you how expensive it is. we do have cloud again on our weather front across the of scotland, limiting the strength of the sun here, but elsewhere, particularly england and wales, very high levels of uv, this is about as about as strong as it

gets here in the uk. and it will continue. some fairweather cloud bubbling up, and it would be remiss of not bubbling up, and it would be remiss of. not to mention the small of me not to mention the small chance of a thundery downpours eight in the day because of the heat. east anglia and the south—east the most likely areas for this. elsewhere, an uncomfortable night for most of us for sleeping tonight, and again tomorrow looks hot and dry for many, although the cooler air creep south across scotland and northern ireland in particular.