this is bbc news. the headlines at 103m: government staff are being drafted in to manage the response to the grenfell tower fire, following fierce criticism. this community has been mine for my whole life and i have never been scared until recently with the renovation and the gentrification of the area. people are scared they will lose their homes and lose their immunity and theirarea. church services take place across the country to remember those affected by the blaze. the queen's speech to parliament next year is to be cancelled to allow mps more time to scrutinise brexit legislation. at least 43 people are killed in a forest fire in central portugal, which continues to spread. claims of growing inequality across britain — a new report says the gap between rich and poor is getting wider. in the next hour we've a special edition of talking books. rebecca jones is at the hay festival to talk to the austrialian

novelist tim winton — that's in half an hour. 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. nick quraishi reports. the devastation caused by the inferno stops people in their tracks.

the dark reality abundantly clear in broad daylight. 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 and we felt that was listened to and listened to carefully. 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. our correspondent simonjones is in west london, outside notting hill methodist church, where one of the services will be held. well, throughout the morning more people have arrived to leave flowers as tribute to the many people who lost their lives here. there are also posted up on the side of the church of people missing, now sadly presumed dead. in the past few days, we have had the shock, we have had the grief, we have had the anger. what the church leaders are hoping is that today can be a day of

reflection. there will be a service here, where there will be special prayers to remember those who lost their lives and those who have been affect it, and it is very much in the heart of this community. that is the heart of this community. that is the entrance to the judge. over here we have got the police standing on the corner, and i have also got a the corner, and we have also got a number of fire and rescue fans. we have seen people actually go into the site, and update you can see what remains of the tower block, still quite a shopping site, even these days on. the government has faced some accusations, particularly from the local community here that the church has stepped in to help, volu nteers the church has stepped in to help, volunteers have stepped in to help, but the big western is, where are the government officials, where are the government officials, where are the council officials? there was a meeting yesterday that some local residents were invited to with the prime minister, and that has led theresa may to say that more staff will be sent down to help the council code. one of those who

attended the meeting was this lady. the main message we were trying to get across was hope and peace in terms of this community has been mine for my whole life and i have never felt scared or anxious to be here, until recently with the renovation and the gentrification of the area, people are scared they will lose their homes, lose their community and the area. the message we are trying to convey is how scared and angry and passionate people are. if you come around here, you can see for yourself it's a great area, simile community centres, opportunities for people to learn and expand their horizons. this is where the carnival is, it is a great pace to live. we want to understand things need to be done i'iow understand things need to be done now and people need to be held accountable. the people who have lost their lives, and the people who are affected by this incident for years to come, they need to be...

not even rewarded, that does not begin to say it, but 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 and knightsbridge. we have been here, we have been helpless. we have been trying to get people to help. well, the church is hoping after the initial crisis response now it can move into another phase where it is offering support for people who have been so badly affected by what has happened here, people who have lost relatives, family members, friends. we are also expecting later today the police to release some video footage that they have taken inside the tower block. the aim of that is to show just the tower block. the aim of that is to showjust how dangerous the conditions are, how unsafe it is, to give people some understanding why it is taking emergency services so long to try to provide answers. simon, many thanks. the chancellor

of fixed, philip hammond, has been speaking about the grenfell tower fire on the andrew marr programme, fire on the andrew marr programme. e to reports that the responding to reports that the building did not have a proper sprinkler system. people want to know whether or not the government took the appropriate action following a previous far in 2009 what was actually done. philip hammond was questioned about it today, and he said he was not there today, and he said he was not there to see the governorate had not acted on it, there was a consultation in place, they commissioned researchers. he was asked about this issue of sprinklers, whether or not there should have been sprinkler is in place in a building like grenfell tower, and he was making the point that in terms of the advice they had been given - experts that they been given from experts that they we re been given from experts that they were not clear on whether or not

sprinklers were actually needed. here is what he said. well, if the conclusion. a here is what he said. well, if the conclusion . a proper technical conclusion of a proper technical evaluation is that that is the best way to deal with the problem, then of course... i am way to deal with the problem, then of course... lam sorry... way to deal with the problem, then of course... i am sorry... my understanding, andrew, is that the best expert advice is that retrofitting sprinklers may not always be the best technical way of ensuring fire safety in a building. if it is, it should be done. but let's get the technical advice, properly evaluated by a public enquiry, and then let's decide how to go forward. but let's be clear, if there is something that needs to be done to make buildings safe, it be done. i am not an expert will be done. i am not an expert either, you don't actually need technical expertise to tell us that sprinklers help put out fires, and a lot of people sitting in blocks like lotefpeople sittinginblecks like one, lotefpeepie sittinginbiecks like one, watching this programme that one, watching this programme there are no sprinters

thinking there are no sprinters outside my staircase, why not? the fire brigades union has pointed out that they has never been a case of anyone losing their life in a fire in this country where sprinters have been fitted. well, these are technical questions. sprinters put out fires! i have been in these meetings. of course, we have asked all these questions. what i am hearing from the leading fire safety experts is that it is not necessarily necessary to retrofit sprinklers to make a building fire safe. we do need to look through the public enquiry at all the evidence for this, all the technical evidence. the commitment the government should make, and i will make it now, is that when the enquiry produces its findings, and i don't mean in years because we will ask them to produce interim findings, and we will act on those.

the chancellor philip hammond there. the chancellor philip hammond there. the other major issue is brexit, of course. talks are starting tomorrow. yes, those talks tomorrow, everyone wa nts to yes, those talks tomorrow, everyone wants to know what direction the governorate will be taking it in. in terms of what philip hammond has talked about, he has made it clear that he thinks no deer would be very, very bad for britain, but worse than that would be a deal would damage britain in the which would damage britain in the long—term. so, he is very much focused upon trying to get some kind of deal that means we have a slow, rather than a cliff edge, meaning some interim dealfor britain. we have heard from the shadow brexit secretary today on the andrew marr show. with labour you get inflicting views, really, on whether or not they think the single market should be in or out. labour's official position is that we are out of the single market, but keir starmer was talking about access, so a lot of

people are wondering about whether that means they want us out of the customs union or inside. keir starmer try to give some kind of clarity on that, talking about what labour would want would be a deal that would mean we still had the kind of access that we currently have, but not formally inside the actual single market. he was very clear that he thinks that, considering the election we have just had, and the situation the government is in at the moment, and the approach it has taken with the eu, he thinks it has been quite negative, and that means britain sta rts negative, and that means britain starts easily go she asians on the back foot. i think the prime minister has got us into a complete mess. she has got no mandate here, and she has got no authority abroad and she has got no authority abroad and the negotiations start tomorrow. her approach so far has alienated oui’ her approach so far has alienated our allies, weakened our position in the eu, and it has got us into the worst possible starting position.

that was keir starmer‘s view on the brexit negotiations. of course, we have had that general election, it is the first and we have heard from philip hammond. of course, you would let on the sidelines, you was not really involved in the media interviews during that campaign, and today he has said that he thinks if there had been an economic message, a positive message about britain's economy, that could have led to a better outcome for the conservatives, and he was not happy with the role he had to play during the election where he was effectively sidelined. many thanks. 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 io% of the population own £5 trillion, or half the uk's wealth, while the top i% own 14% 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. the bodies of a number of sailors missing after a us navy destroyer collided with a container vessel off the coast of japan have been found. an investigation is under way to establish how the collision occurred with the philippine vessel in the middle of the night. earlier, the commander of the us 7th fleet, vice admiraljoseph aucoin, 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, through 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 earlier, our correspondent told me

it was not clear how this happened. the question has come right from the very start, how did such a sophisticated warship, one of the most sophisticated warships anywhere in the world, collide with a large container ship in calm, clear weather, albeit at night. the answer to that will come with the investigation. what we do know is that the filipino registered cargo vessel does appear to have made a number of sharp turns as it approached the coast of japan early on saturday morning. there will be questions as to why. these are sharp

u—turns, you can see it on the gps tracking that the japanese coast guard have, over and over again in a very erratic way, so the captain and crew of that vessel will be questioned as to when they made those terms. nevertheless, it is a large, slow—moving ship, so there will be questions as to why the us navy crew did not spot the ship turning and ten themselves away in time. they turned away at the last minute, but it was not quickly enoughin minute, but it was not quickly enough in order to avoid a collision. the galician inflicted a huge amount of damage. dash—macro the collision. we saw the pictures of the navy ship, which has been severely damaged. it has, and the only damage we can see from those pictures is above the water line. the commander of the us navy forces in that press conference said actually there is far more damage actually there is. far mere damage.--... . .- - - e actually there is. far mere damageee... . .- - - e the actually there is. far mere damaueec... . .- - c e the water line, and there is a alow 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 saved, it was in danger of sinking at the beginning. time now for the headlines. government staff have been drafted in to manage the response to the grenfell tower fire after criticism of kensington and chelsea borough council. church services are to take place across the country today to remember those affected by the blaze. the queen's speech will be cancelled next year to allow more time for brexit negotiations. it has been described as an unusual move. sport now, and for a full round up from the bbc sport centre, here's katherine downes. after day three at golf‘s us open, england's tommy fleetwood remains firmly in contention at the top of the leader board. he sits just one shot behind the overall leader brian harman

going into the final round in wisconsin. adam wild reports. for tommy fleetwood, there is plenty to smile about. but getting amongst the leaders in wisconsin is one thing, staying there is quite another. this weekend, it is a crowded place. still, he was making his presence felt, progressing steadily in the right direction. for others, that didn't appear to be the case, but here forjustin thomas, even going in the wrong direction can work out perfectly in the end. his round of 9—under par is a tournament record and was enough to put him for the moment ahead of the rest. while he flourished, others floundered. england's paul casey's hopes of staying in contention lost somewhere in that deep, deep rough. they call day three moving day — there was now plenty of that on the leaderboard, and with shots like this, the american brian harman was heading towards the very top. fleetwood remains in the crowd, just one stroke behind,

plenty still to smile about, but the us open has rarely been more open. adam wild, bbc news. this is my first time in contention in a major, so whatever happens, i'll be doing my best and seeing how well i can finish and that's that really. that's all you can do. but it will be a pleasure to go out on a sunday trying to win a major. warran gatland has named his side to face the chiefs on tuesday, and has included all six controversial call—ups he made yesterday as replacements. ireland hooker rory best captains the side, with the bulk of the squad that beat the maori all blacks yesterday aren't playing so they can prepare for the first test against the all blacks next saturday. gatland says those involved on tuesday will be playing for themselves and for the whole squad. we brought you scotland's historic win over australia here on breakfast yesterday morning, and that was just the start of it as england completed a 2—0 series victory over argentina after winning the second test in santa fe.

full back mike brown broke clear before producing a brilliant off load to send piers francis over for a great try before half time. england went on to win 35—25 but eddiejones's squad was missing 30 of their best players, largely due to the lions tour. india have won the toss and chose into field in the champions trophy final today. india easy winners when the two sides met in the group stages. but, with tickets at a premium for the match and talk of over half a billion people watching the game on tv, everyone's hoping for a classic at the oval later. i don't see the relevance of the first game here, because you can never guess how teams will produce. some teams won't have the best start

but comeback amazingly, which is what pakistan has done. everyone is aware of the kind of talent they have in the team. i said before, they are really, really calm. but they are really, really calm. but they are really, really calm. but they are very excited right now and there is a good vibe in the dressing i’ooiti. there is a good vibe in the dressing room. let's hope we can put in our a game again tomorrow. if we put our a game again tomorrow. if we put our a game together and we do the basics well, we can beat anybody. johanna konta could become the first british woman since virginia wade a0 years ago at wimbledon to win a tour event on home soil. she's reached the final of the nottingham open after coming through in straight sets against magdalena rybarikova of slovakia. it's the first time the british number one has reached a grass court final. she'll face croatia's donna vekic, ranked 70th in the world. the draw for queens which starts tomorrow will see defending champion andy murray face fellow brit aljaz bedene in the first round. murray beat him in the second round last year. johanna konta gets underway at 3pm

and you can keep up—to—date with that and the rest of the day's sports stories on the bbc sport website. i will be back for more in the next hour. with the number expected to rise. 16 of the victims died in their vehicles as they tried several firefighters are amongst those reported as injured. the prime ministers said this fire was the greatest tragedy we have seen in recent yea rs greatest tragedy we have seen in recent years in terms of forest fires. because of the fire is currently unknown. let's get more on this now with our reporter alison roberts, whojoins us now from lisbon. the continent has been experiencing some very high temperatures, hasn't it, and this will no doubt have to the fire? that's

contributed to the fire? that's right, very high temperatures over the weekend and pretty low humidity. there have - some thunderstorms, there have been some thunderstorms, but not in the area affected by this fire. there were, however, lightning strikes, and the prime minister ‘ suggested ‘suggested that that may have himself suggested that that may have been the cause of this fire. but it eééfi ifié anee fir’ifife’ffréeei 1? so eééfi ifié anee fir’ifife’ffréeei 1? so the case that it spread very, is so the case that it spread very, very rapidly overnight, and that was pa rt very rapidly overnight, and that was part of the problem. it is a thickly forested area, which means that some road through the forest are quite vulnerable, and this seems to have been a majorfactor vulnerable, and this seems to have been a major factor in this case. you mentioned there, 18 people were ove rco m e by you mentioned there, 18 people were overcome by the fire as they tried to flee in their cars, and the other ti h? we. thiif e§f§ {the thi fiffifif ti “é? i'fi thiif e§f§ {the thi fiffifif seem te flee i'fi tfiéeif eefe efie eee eheef seem to ee elee ie eeeif eefe eee eee eeeef seem to have taken place deaths seem to have taken place along roads in that forested area. we don't yet know the cause of we don't yet knew thecauseeflthe but we den't yet knew thecauseeflthe but are you hearing what fire, but are you hearing what people are saying? yes, specifically pacifism the case of. fire, it could in the case of this fire, it could well have been a lightning strike. it has not been concerned, but the

prime minister suggested that was f f: g he f f.f % he was hearing. there are many what he was hearing. there are many and various causes of fires in the summer and various causes of fires in the summer in portugal, sometimes it is arson, but that does not seem to be the case in this particular situation, but it. something that situation, but it is something that will no doubt be looked at. at the moment, of course, they are hoping with the tremendous amount of injured, some serious injuries. at least for firefighters are seriously and also one child. injured, and also one child. alison, we will come back to you for an update later on. many thanks. 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 is within an ace of pulling off the second part 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? translation: haven't we had too 1111.15an

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 — extraordinary democratic coups ever. the tools for reform will be in his hand. hugh schofield, bbc news, paris. 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. a new horticultural programme, 5

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. peter seabrook was one of the presenters in percy thrower was god and everybody watched every friday without question. and—if he sheweda—plant- 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 eightgarciens!

the next main presenter. if this does not make you drool, nothing will. anerhaving—laeenepaat my mission in life is to impress upon people the pleasure to be gained from growing things and the importance of keeping 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? 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. no worries there then! so happy golden birthday, gardeners' world. and here's to the next 50 years! happy birthday! and queen of the music industry. the american pop star beyonce has given birth to twins. entertainment weekly, us weekly and people magazines have confirmed the news, but the date of birth and gender beyonce, who is married to rapper jay—z, announced her pregnancy ........g........ .. post in history. nothing yet from the couple

themselves on social media. time fer a leek at theweather— new time for a look at the weather now with helen willetts. another. day across the board with very few exceptions. may creep up a little temperatures may creep up a, little yesterday because we have got on yesterday because we have got plenty of sunshine around as well. p lenty of sunshine around as well. satellite picture showing you the satellite picture showing you how expensive it is. cloud in the north—west of scotland, limiting the strength of the sun here. particularly for england and wales, very high levels of uv, about as strong as it gets in the uk. it will strong as it gets in the uk._lt_\alill a little bit of fair continue. a little bit of fair weather cloud bubbling up and it would be remiss of me not to mention the really small of the really small chance of thunderstorm because of the heat.