this is bbc news. i'm ben brown live in north london, where last night a van drove into a group of muslim worshipers. the head of the metropolitan police has said that the attack here near finsbury park mosque was quite clearly a n finsbury park mosque was quite clearly an attack on muslims. one man died, ten people were injured. when he was on the ground i asked him, "why did you do that, why? innocent people." and he goes, "i want to kill muslims." we managed to surround him and protect him from any harm. we stopped all forms of attack and abuse towards him that were coming from every angle. a 48—year—old man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. it's been confirmed he wasn't known to the security services. i will bring you all the latest from

here in finsbury park in north london. and the prime minister has been speaking about the attack in downing street. i'm reeta chakrabarti. the day's other main news. police say at least 79 people have died in the grenfell tower fire. applause a minute's silence for those who lost their lives has been observed across the uk. a year on from the brexit vote, and talks finally begin to settle the terms of the uk's withdrawal from the european union. and portugal declares three days of mourning as hundreds of firefighters still tackle a forest fire which has killed more than 60 people. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news.

we are live at finsbury park in north london. police have said they are treating the attack on a crowd of muslim worshippers here in north london as a terrorist act. one man died and ten people were injured when a hired white van was driven into people who were tending to a man who had been taken ill. the injured are being treated at three separate london hospitals close to here. the prime minister, theresa may, has been visiting the area, the finsbury park mosque in particular. salsa macro as the labour leaderjeremy corbyn, and the mayor of london was here, sadiq khan, and indeed the commission of the metropolitan police, cressida dick. the mayor of london promised there would be extra police resources to protect muslim communities in the capital. the

prime minister denounced the attack is sickening and evil and said that the perpetrator would not be allowed to divide the community of the united kingdom and of london. let's get this report from richard galpin. it's shortly after midnight, and worshippers who had just left the finsbury park mosque in london have come under attack. a van ploughing into the crowd, leaving many casualties. he basically drove on the pavement, coming straight towards all the muslims and he, as he was coming to them, he hit all of them. he was shouting, i want to kill all muslims, literally that. i am sure this is a terrorist attack. whether he isa this is a terrorist attack. whether he is a muslim, whether he is a christian. this is a terrorist attack. those who had not been hurt

managed to catch the van driver, pinning him down before he could escape. this man in the striped t—shirt was amongst those who helped detain him. he also started asking him questions. when he was on the ground i asked him why did that, innocent people. and he goes, i want to kill muslims. and kill me, and i said, we're not going to kill you, why did you do that? you wouldn't a nswer why did you do that? you wouldn't answer me back. these pictures appeared to show the suspect being detained by police. a 48—year—old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder. this is being treated as a terrorist attack

and the counter terrorism commander is investigating. this was an attack on london and all londoners, and we should all stand together against extremists whatever their cause. after the attack on a mosque, many people walked towards the muslim power is. it was then that the van drove upa power is. it was then that the van drove up a bus lane and swerved into a crowd who were helping an elderly man who had been taken ill. a crowd who were helping an elderly man who had been taken illm a crowd who were helping an elderly man who had been taken ill. it is a reminder that terrorism, extremism and hatred take many forms, and our determination to tackle them must be the same whoever is responsible. the attack took place in the constituency of labour leaderjeremy corbyn. the stress levels from people that i have met, both last night and this morning, were frightening, just frightened that something like this could happen again, so we obviously need efficient and effective policing, we need also an attitude in our society of support for each other. the only way to deal with this kind of issue

is communities coming together. mr corbyn went on to join local community and religious leaders in a moment of silence following the attack. an attack on one faith is an attack. an attack on one faith is an attack on all faith and communities. those who try to divide us and who aim to spread via, hatred and division will not succeed. the area remains sealed off as the police investigation continues. already there are plans to increase security around all london's masks, particularly during the remainder of the muslim holy month of ramadan. towards the end of the month of ramadan, it is the most pious part of the month, more and more workers go to the mosque in the evening. we don't want to let anyone think they cannot go about their lives because they are feeling vulnerable or

scared. but the muslim community was already fearful. incidence of islamophobia have been on the rise following the recent series of attacks in britain by islamist extremists. and what has happened now, here in finsbury park, is by far the worst attack the muslim community has suffered. we know that some people pulled the driver out of the van, and there was a local imam from the muslim welfare house just around the corner, close to where it happened, and he appealed to the crowd to become and not to attack or injure the driver of the van who had carried out the attack. he has been telling us more about this at a news conference in time ago.

we stopped all forms of attack and abuse coming from every angle. by coincidence, while the people attending to the injured were calling the emergency services, a police van drove past by coincidence, we flagged down, told a situation, a man has mowed down a group of people, he is restrained. there is a mob attempting to hurt him, if you do not take him, god forbid, he may be seriously hurt. so we pushed people away from him. until he was safely taken into custody by the police. put into the back of the van. that's all that we did. it was not me alone — there were a group of brothers, i don't know their names, they were calm and collected. managed to calm people down. and to extinguish any

flames of anger, mob rule, that would have taken charge, had this group of mature brothers not stepped in. how worried are you about anger in the community after this attack? this community of ours is a mild—mannered, calm community. not known for their violence. our mosques are incredibly peaceful. a local imam from the nearby mosque here. we have also been hearing from sadiq khan as he visited the area. he promised increased policing around mosques. mr khan also said there had been

an increase in hate crimes following the jihadist attack on london bridge a fortnight ago. i attended the cobra meeting this morning. from the police and emergency services. i want to pay tribute to the fantastic response from the police and emergency services. but also from the local community. the local worshippers apprehended the man in the van who mowed down the pedestrians. i have heard stories from the imam who stopped angry local residents from, understandably, taking out their frustrations on the terrorist. i want to thank the mp and the whole community. this attack on seven sisters, the attack in manchester, london bridge, westminster bridge,

they are all an attack on our shared values of tolerance, freedom and respect. and we will not allow these terrorists to succeed. i want to thank the commissioner for ensuring that during the course of today and the next few days londoners will see an increased number of visible police officers. particularly in and around mosques and places of worship as we approach the holy day of eid. they'll be a zero tolerance to hate crime. anyone found guilty of hate crimes will be prosecuted by the police. do not think they're too trivial to report. these have been a terrible few weeks for london. unprecedented in recent times. we have seen the horror of the fire, the attack on london bridge,

and before that westminster bridge, and last night we saw the terrorist attack in seven sisters. we will stay a strong city. sadiq khan, the mayor of london. standing next to him was the commissioner of the metropolitan police, cressida dick, who said that her officers had been on the scene very quickly indeed, and she said she had no doubt this was a terrorist attack and an attack on muslims. this was quite clearly an attack on muslims who looked like they were probably muslims, and they were coming from a prayer meeting. we treat this as a terrorist attack, and we in the met are as shocked as

anybody in this local community or across the country at what has happened. we take all forms of hate crime and violent extremism incredibly seriously, and wherever we possibly can, we will seek to prevent attacks, and if we cannot prevent attacks, and if we cannot prevent an attack, we will seek obviously to bring people to justice. this is a highly integrated, truly diverse and multicultural place. the relationships between the police and the community here are very important to us, and are mostly very good indeed, and i'vejust come from a meeting of people of 20 faith is, all from the local communities, who was saying, as i say, the people who

perpetrate attacks like this think they will break our society down and cause division between us, and they won't do that, and they won't win. this is a very resilient city, and this is a very, very resilient set of communities. but i will finish by offering my deepest condolences to the family of a man who has died, and i'm sure all of our thoughts are with everybody who has been so horribly affected by this. my police officers responded last night within a minute, and we had a large presence here within ten minutes. that was cressida dick, the commissioner of the metropolitan police, i just want to show you some of the flowers that have been left here as people come to pay their respects to the person who died in this attack, and also the others who have been injured. on the wall, you might be able to see posters that

have been stuck to the wall, united against all terror, turn to love, which we saw prominently at the london bridge attack as well. muslim communities have been calling for increased action to tackle the growth of islamophobia and hate crime in recent months. daniela relph reports. prayers on the streets outside finsbury park mosque. just a couple of hours after the attack. a public practice of faith from a community feeling vulnerable. during the morning, the mosque was surrounded by police and others here to reassure. but there is deep frustration and some fear. no—one feels safe. we cannot go to the mosque without looking behind our backs. we have to look behind our backs to practice religion. we are living in fear.

many share that sentiment from across all communities that there is a general sense of insecurity. that feeling is hard to shake off. people have a question about safety in london after all of these attacks. we want to assure them they are safe. we want to welcome the police at the moment. every london borough has increased policing today. leave has been cancelled in many areas. they are visible and they are there to help and support full it is a time when every emergency services under enormous pressure. we are concerned about everybody. londoners have been hit with a series of attacks and have been nothing short of heroic. we will always make sure everybody is protected. we have a places—of—worship fund which we announced last summer, which is there to protect places of worship like mosques. we will do all we can to reduce these attacks. the incident last night

was directed at one community. a mosque and muslim men and women during ramadan. some believe the violence of the attack will expose the increased targeting of muslims. the rise in hate crime against muslims have been underreported, under understood, and not dealt with in the same way as bigotry impunity. hopefully, this will mean that action will be taken to tackle hate crime and the rise in hate crime against muslims which has been taking place over recent years and has reached a really worrying situation yesterday. as with all shocking attacks of this kind, the community response is a mix of anger and upset, alongside unity and defiance. what everyone now wants is reassurance and a feeling of safety during these are very difficult times. let's explore these issues more

closely now. with me now is dr chris allen, who's an expert in islamophobia and anti—muslim hate at the university of birmingham. do you believe there is a rising tide of islamophobia, and how do we deal with it is so? i tide of islamophobia, and how do we dealwith it is so? i think tide of islamophobia, and how do we deal with it is so? i think this has been an issue for 20 years. there was a report 25 years ago when the issue was brought into british political spaces for the first time. what we have seen over that 20 years is that this has been a steadily growing phenomenon, a discrimination, a form of hate crime, a form of prejudice as well, and what we saw last night was probably the most explicit and worrying development in terms of that. what we need to do is begin to talk about islamophobia as a

discriminatory phenomenon. we need to look at it along the lines of homophobia and racism and sexism, and we need to begin to tackle it within that frame. yes, we can look at it through the lens of extremism, and it would seem that the person who perpetrated this last night clearly bought into some sort of extremist ideology, but the vast majority of islamophobia is committed by ordinary people, and we need to realise, looking through that lens, then we can deal with some of the more atrocious dock alongside that. and do you feel it has risen exponentially because of the recent attacks we have seen in manchester, westminster bridge, and london bridge? i have been looking at this since before 9/11, and every time there is a terror atrocity, someone time there is a terror atrocity, someone claims to be acting in the name of islam, we see a spike which happens straight afterwards. so those who feel as though they need to ta ke those who feel as though they need to take their anger out will be verbally or physically abuse an

ordinary muslim going about their day to day business. so we to see those spikes, and what we have seen is the sheer intensity of those events, clearly what has happened is there has been an outpouring and that kind of unprecedented attack on islam phobia, and we have grown into this combination, and i agree with the earlier report that this may be a watershed moment where it really makes us sit up and take this seriously now. you say take it seriously, and we have heard political leaders and religious leaders coming together today to denounce islamophobia and hate crime, and this terrorist attack that we saw here last night, but in reality, what can politicians or community leaders or religious leaders do to stop islamophobia or to reduce it? one of the things is about shifting our attention, i

heard theresa may's comments earlier, she said she would tackle extremism, and we need to realise that islamophobia is not the same as extremism. islamophobia is not only a consequence of extremism. yes, we see the spikes after a terrorist atrocity, but islamophobia is a reality for a lot of muslims on a day—to—day basis, so notjust consequential. what we need to remember is that, you know, we need to start looking at this along the lines of it being akin to racism. how have we changed perceptions in society? there is obviously the side of it where we can look at legislation, ensure that hate crime legislation, ensure that hate crime legislation covers islamophobia, that we record properly, that we make sure the police and the monitoring is correct, but also an emphasis now on politicians as well, the kind of take this agenda forward , the kind of take this agenda forward, to not fall into these lazy kind of drugs where we are talking about muslims empathising with

terrorist atrocities. we know these arejust a terrorist atrocities. we know these are just a handful of individuals and muslims are part of our society, and muslims are part of our society, and it is about changing that this clause, not seeing all those things as being the same, that is where politicians can make the greatest impact. today, political leaders have been here in finsbury park, from prime minister theresa may, labour leaderjeremy corbyn, the mayor of london, sadiq khan, all with the same message, that this kind of attack cannot be allowed to cause disunity, that there is still unity in london, a city of so many different types of people, from so many different backgrounds. the prime minister was saying an extraordinary city of extraordinary people, but after this attack we know that one person is dead, eight we re know that one person is dead, eight were taken to hospital, we gather seven still in hospital right now, and two treated at the scene for more minor injuries. meanwhile, the

police investigation by counterterrorism command is continuing this afternoon. that is the latest from finsbury park, back to you, reeta. i'm going to show you some pictures coming to us from paris, right in the centre on the champs—elysees, police are saying they are dealing with an incident after a witness from the news agency reuters saw officers cordoned off the area. people are taking to social media to talk about a car that has caught fire in the area, and police have been telling members of the public to avoid the area. so that is right in the heart of paris, clearly an incident going on, something police are taking seriously. we will bring you more on that as soon as we get it. here, the metropolitan police have

named three more victims of the g re nfell tower named three more victims of the grenfell tower fire disaster. they have been named in the last few minutes as khadija saye, 24. anthony distin, 625. three victims of the g re nfell tower distin, 625. three victims of the grenfell tower via named by police just in the last few minutes. there has been a minute's silence held across britain to remember the victims of the fire, police say they believe 79 people lost their lives in the tragedy, but investigators warn that due to the complex nature of the recovery operation, the figure is likely to change. richard lister reports. as they assembled this morning in the shadow of grenfell tower, there was gratitude alongside the grief before a minute of reflection. big ben tolls parade, dismissed!

applause. and then for these teams and others, the work began again, to help those who survived and recover the bodies of those who did not. today, that number rose again. this morning, i know there are 79 people that are either confirmed dead and have been identified or are missing and sadly i have to presume are dead. i do think there may be some change to that number. the work we are doing is about trying to find those people to see if they are safe and well, and thankfully, over the last few days, we have identified five people who people believed were missing, and i am so grateful that

they actually are safe and well. i have investigated majorfires over most of my career, but nothing prepared me for what i saw in there. the residents in here got out in time, but there are more than 100 flats like this one. this man lived in one of them, on the fifth floor with his wife, brother and mother. on the night of the fire, he was away on a training course and returned to find his home in flames. his family managed to escape. how are you doing? but so many of his neighbours did not. i didn't know she was dead. he feels badly let down by the authorities. why are you not here? i have absolutely no trust in the government, in the royal borough of kensington and chelsea, and in the housing system.

there are now more signs of official involvement. the government says every surviving family will receive a £500 in cash and 5000 paid into the bank, but the help has been slow in coming. the authorities, like everyone else, taken by surprise. how is that possible? this video has emerged of fire crews racing to the scene last week in disbelief. their work continues. red watch are back on duty today, and they were on duty when the incident happened. although they have seen horrific scenes and they are devastated, they are all heartbroken but ready for duty today. the police have promised an exhaustive criminal investigation to ensure those responsible for this are tojustice. our home affairs correspondent dominic casciani is at new scotland yard. we heard the police commander talking about the recovery operation, but as richard lister was pointing out, also criminal

investigation going on. that is right, very serious criminal investigation has been launched, very much in full swing now. commander stuart gandhi said this morning that all criminal offences are being considered, and the way this will work in the weeks and months to come is going to be quite complex. 250 investigators are working on the scene, police others are trying to work out who were the victims and exactly what happened. now, obviously, the priority is to try to work out everybody who has died, brings some kind of, you know, news to the families who are desperately trying to find out whether their loved ones are alive 01’ whether their loved ones are alive or dead or missing. that is a very complex operation on its own. the criminal investigation, though, when that get started, and it isn't away at the moment — it will have three key strands. they will be looking at the management and maintenance of

g re nfell tower, the management and maintenance of grenfell tower, they will be looking at the fire safety procedures and plans which were in place, and critically, given the kind of things which were speculated about last week, they will be looking at the refurbishment of the building and whether that played some contributor a role to the fire. now, what scotla nd a role to the fire. now, what scotland yard won't say at the moment is whether they have taken any specific steps as part of that investigation. they won't say whether they have executed a search warrants, by which i mean whether they have seized computers or e—mails by many organisations involved in running the tower. they won't tell us if they have interviewed anyone under caution or anything like that, they are keeping their cards close to their chest, but this will take weeks. one of the things that is abundantly clear from the scene, when commander stuart cundy went into the scene, such a scene of devastation, it will take a long time to identify all the victims, and the fact that they have only got five identified so far, in terms of formally identified and in

the public domain, shows how difficult thisjob is the public domain, shows how difficult this job is going to the public domain, shows how difficult thisjob is going to be. it's time for a look at the weather. it is another hot and humid feeling day with sunshine across many parts of the country. if you're a hay fever sufferer you will have noticed we have high levels of pollen around. blue skies in york. we have had glorious scenes sent in up and down the country. if you like the hot weather, well these are the temperatures out there at the moment. in parts of london 32 celsius, widely 29 or 30 celsius. fresher weather across northerly parts of the uk. we have got a weak cold front which is slipping south across scotland and northern ireland. further south, we could see the odd shower developing across parts of the midlands and perhaps eastern parts of wales and east anglia. this is #pm. and we are —— 7pm. a very

hot, humid feeling evening. lots of sunshine. most of us will avoid any of the isolated showers, but if you catch one, it could be heavy and thundery. further north, lots of sunshine into the evening hours across much of northern england. scotla nd across much of northern england. scotland and northern ireland ending the day on a bright note with sunshine. most of the showers in the south easing away. through this evening and overnight it looks like any of the showers will clear away. so things will become dry tonight and again, it's going to be another sticky sort of night particularly in the south where some of us will see temperatures falling no lower than 20 or 2121 celsius. further north, it is fresher and less uncomfortable for sleeping, 14 celsius in newcastle. through the course of tomorrow we have got that hot air in place in the south across south wales and southern england too. another sticky feeling day in the sunshine. further north across the country, more cloud and fresher conditions. so if we look at the temperatures by tomorrow, still 30 celsius or higher in southern and south—western parts. further north,

and east, it's a touch fresher. around about 1 celsius and east, it's a touch fresher. around about1 celsius to 20 celsius. through wednesday, it looks like we will be seeing some outbreaks of showery rain across northern ireland and scotland with thunderstorms possible with the heat and huiedity bringing the fuel for the thunderstorms. further south, we should keep the dry, sunny weather into the middle part of the week and temperatures topping around 30 celsius. it looks like thursday probably is another hot day in the south. 29 or 30 celsius. temperatures in the high teens elsewhere across the country. it does look like as we head towards friday and into the weekend we will start to see fresher conditions working south across the uk with cloudier skies and rain, working south across the uk with cloudierskies and rain, but working south across the uk with cloudier skies and rain, but for the next few days, heat and humidity sticking around. hello. this is bbc news with reeta chakra barti. the headlines at 3.33pm: one person has died

and ten others have been injured after a van ploughed into worshippers near a mosque in london's finsbury park. police say they're treating the incident as a terrorist attack. a 48—year—old man was arrested after he was dragged from the van and held down by people at the scene. it's been confirmed he wasn't known to the security services. we managed to surround him and protect him from any harm. we stopped all forms of attack and abuse towards him that were coming from every angle. it's the fourth terror incident to happen in the uk in recent months. the prime minister says it was a "sickening" attack that targeted innocent people. today we come together to condemn this act and to condemn once again that hatred and evil this kind will never succeed. a minute's silence has been held across the country for the victims of the grenfell tower inferno

as police confirm 79 people are now presumed to have died in the disaster. brexit negotiations have formally begun in brussels, almost a year after britain voted to leave the european union. and portugal declares three days of mourning as hundreds of firefighters tackle a forest fire which has killed more than 60 people. let's go over to downing street now where the prime minister has been meeting her irish counterpart, the new taoiseach leo varadkar. this of course just as brexit talks begin and the irish border will be high on the agenda. they're just about to start giving a news conference. in fact infacti in fact i think that happened a few minutes ago and let's go over to it. good afternoon. i would like to

extend a warm welcome to leo varadkar to downing extend a warm welcome to leo va radkar to downing street extend a warm welcome to leo varadkar to downing street today for the first time and offer my congratulations on his appointment as taoiseach and leader fine gael. the unique relationship shared between the united kingdom and ireland is one of friendship, close co—operation and a deep sense of shared endeavour bound by common values, and generations of familiar links between our people. the taoiseach has said he believes in an ireland where every person has an opportunity to succeed and share in prosperity and i share a similar belief in the united kingdom should belief in the united kingdom should bea belief in the united kingdom should be a place where everyone should have the chance to live a secure and happy life, a country that works for everyone, not just the happy life, a country that works for everyone, notjust the privileged few. we also spoke about the unimaginable tragedy which struck g re nfell tower last unimaginable tragedy which struck grenfell tower last week. the government will continue to do absolutely everything possible to help all of those affected through the difficult days, weeks, months and years ahead. and we spoke too about the appalling attack on

londoners in finsbury in the early hours of this morning. as i said earlier, this was an attack that once again targeted the ordinary and the innocent going about their daily lives. our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of the man who died and those who were injured. and the taoiseach expressed his deepest sympathies for those affected by these events and we agree that the hatred and evil that leads to terrorism would never prevail. last week the taoiseach and i spoke and we agreed on the crucial need for the parties in northern ireland to a form a fully functioning execive by 29thjune and how we would continue to engage closely on this important issue and we reaffirmed that today. we have met the two main parties to make clear that the uk and ireland will do everything we can to work with them and the importance of reaching an agreement by the 29thjune. it is my belief with goodwill on both sides a resolution can be built. my

government remains absolutely committed to a successful outcome from these talks and we remain steadfast in our support for the belfast agreement and its successors. now belfast agreement and its successors. now as belfast agreement and its successors. now as the united kingdom embarks on leaving the european union, i fully kingdom embarks on leaving the european union, ifully respect that ireland will remain an eu member state and that's why it's more important than ever that the relationship between our countries continues to go from strength to strength. we're leaving the european union, but we're not leaving europe and we want to remain committed partners and allies of ireland and all our friends across the continent. trade between our countries is worth over £43 billion a yearand countries is worth over £43 billion a year and supports 400,000 jobs and there are complex supply chains that benefit both our countries and as i've said before no one wants to see this diminished and i'm personally committed to ensuring a practical solution that recognises the unique economic, social, and political context of the land border with ireland which so many people pass through every day. and it will remain our priority to work closely with the irish government to ensure

a frictionless and seamless border as possible. i made this clear in my letter to donald tusk triggering article 50 and that we want to maintain the common travel area between us to make sure the uk's withdrawal from the uk does not harm the republic of irelandment we want the republic of irelandment we want the rights that our citizens enjoy in both countries to continue including the rights guaranteed under the belfast agreement and both we and the eu have made clear that we and the eu have made clear that we wa nt we and the eu have made clear that we want to resolve this as a matter of priority and i'm pleased that as negotiations begin in brussels today we can start working in earnest together on joint solutions. and we can start working in earnest together onjoint solutions. and it is with this shared sense of purpose that i believe our two countries can build even deeper ties and our unique relationship will become closer and stronger. the taoiseach andi closer and stronger. the taoiseach and i have had constructive discussions today and i look forward to working with hill and to continue the close relationship that our two countries have enjoyed for many more generations to come. taoiseach. thank you, first of all, prime

minister, thank you very much for hosting us today here in ten downing street. it's my first time in this building. there is a little thrill in it as well. i spoke on the way in andl in it as well. i spoke on the way in and i was reminded in that famous scene of love actually where hugh grant does his dance down the stairs. it wasn't filmed here, so i didn't get a chance to see the stairs. it is my first visit overseas and i want to thank the prime minister for facilitating it at short notice, but it does, i think, underline and emphasise the strength and closeness of the relationship that exists between our two countries. at the meeting, i spoke again and offered the condolences on behalf of the irish people and the irish government to the british people and the british government on the enormous tragedies that this country and this city has faced in reen weeks. we passed the g re nfell tower faced in reen weeks. we passed the grenfell tower on the way in today andl grenfell tower on the way in today and i saw the destruction that's occurred there and even this morning, as you know, there has been

another atrocity at finsbury park on top of what happened at london bridge and london is very important city for irish people. i think pretty much everyone in ireland has somebody who lives here, who is a relative of theirs or a close friend and when there is an attack on london, we feel in ireland that it's almost an attack on us as well. i just want you to know that you have out just want you to know that you have our support and our solidarity and if there is anything we can do to assist we are ready and willing to do so. we spoke about renewing the bond of friendship that exists between our two countries. relationships have been transformed in the past number of years and decades between the united kingdom and ireland and we want to enhance further those close bonds of friendship and i'm here in a very historical venue and had me thinking about history and the words of a very great british prime minister, winston churchill who said that our two countries should walk together in mutual comprehension and

forgiveness, and today as we take another step forgiveness, and today as we take anotherstep in forgiveness, and today as we take another step in tackling the great issues that face us today, facing in your opinion and northern ireland and the british—irish relationship, we go one step further and we walk together in mutual comprehension and understanding, united in our shared ambition to find the best possible solutions to all of the many challenges that face us. we spoke, of course, about northern ireland, about our shared desire that the executive be re—established, that the assembly be up and running. it is what the people of northern ireland voted for when they voted for the good friday agreement and that should be respected by allowing those institutions to be re—established and be up and running again and of course, we think it's very important that northern ireland should have a unique voice at this important time when we face into negotiations on brexit and i think having an executive up and running, an executive that can speak for both communities in northern ireland would be a big advantage for northern ireland and also for our two governments. so we committed to

working together, to assist, engage and encourage the different parties in northern ireland to come to an agreement before the deadline of 29thjune agreement before the deadline of 29th june and we're agreement before the deadline of 29thjune and we're confident agreement before the deadline of 29th june and we're confident that can be done and are very seized of out can be done and are very seized of our roles as co can be done and are very seized of our roles as co guarantors can be done and are very seized of our roles as co guarantors of the good friday agreement and as actors, it must be impartial as the talks go on. finally, we spoke in detail about the united kingdom and brexit. we remain saddened that the united kingdom has decided to leave the european union. but that's, of course, european union. but that's, of course , a european union. but that's, of course, a decision fort united kingdom which we fully respect, but there are a number of things that we wa nt there are a number of things that we want to work on together where i think we have a common interest. we will negotiate as one of the 27 and negotiations are between the european union and the united kingdom, but there are two things among other things, but two particular things we want to focus on from the irish government's point of view. the first is maintaining

the civic rights that exist between britain and ireland. it's called the common travel area, but it's more than that, it is the right of irish citizens and british citizens to travel, live, work, study, reside, access health care, pensions and housing in each others countries as though we were citizens of both and that's something that both countries wa nt that's something that both countries want to retain. it has been there since independence and of course, long before and as well, we want to make sure that there is minimal or no disruption to trade between our two countries which the prime minister has outlined as being so important both in terms of the value and volume of trade, but all the job it supports and that's trade north and south, but it's also trade east and south, but it's also trade east and west which is enormously important to both governments and we wa nt important to both governments and we want to ensure as much as possible while there maybe a political border between our two countries, that there should not be an economic border and any border that does exist should be invisible and we have committed to work on that and affirm those common goals and work

together to achieve the best outcome possible for all of our people. thank you. thank you, now some questions from the media. do we have stephen walker? prime minister, a question for the prime minister, a question for the prime minister, a question for the prime minister and for the taoiseach. prime minister, when will you confirm that you've done a deal with the dup? can we expect to see it this week? and taoiseach, you have expressed reservations about the conservatives getting too close to the dup? did you relay that today to the dup? did you relay that today to the dup? did you relay that today to the prime minister? on the first question that you raise, we continue our discussions with the dup. we are talking about a confidence and supply agreement with them and on reaching such an agreement we will ensure that the details of that are made public so that people can see the exactly that agreement is based on. we remain committed to working with all the parties in northern ireland. i saw all, five parties

here in downing street last week to ensure that we see a new executive formed in northern ireland, that the devolved institutions are up and running by the end of the month as we've both committed to do so here. and as the uk government, we remain absolutely steadfast as i've just said in our commitment to the belfast agreement and to its successor agreements, but as i is a, any agreement with the dup will be made public when it's reached. yes, idid, of made public when it's reached. yes, i did, of course, relay those concerns. i was i did, of course, relay those concerns. i was very i did, of course, relay those concerns. i was very much i did, of course, relay those concerns. i was very much reassured by concerns. i was very much reassured by what the prime minister had to say that the agreement, once it's reached, will be published so it will be there for everyone to see and also we spoke about the very important need for both governments to be impartial actors when it comes to be impartial actors when it comes to northern ireland and also that we are co to northern ireland and also that we are co guarantors of the good friday agreement and that any agreement that may exist between the conservative party and the dup should not in anyway impact on the good friday agreement or the very special role that the two

governments have when it comes to impartiality under the terms of the agreement and i'm very reassured by what the prime minister said to me today, that that won't be the cause andl today, that that won't be the cause and i do, of course, accept and fully understand that the formation ofa fully understand that the formation of a government at westminster is a matter, of course, for the mps elected at westminster and not for our government, but i'm very reassured by the meeting today. reporter: prime minister, what practical assurances were you able to aufr the taoiseach that there wouldn't be an economic border. is it not a reality if britain leave the customs union that's an inevitability. taoiseach, on the same point, was it a blow to dublin that that reiteration that britain will be leaving the customs union, given that there had been some expectation that it may not happen in the aftermath of the election? you know, of course, it's a matter

of regret for us that the united kingdom is leaving the european union, the single market and the customs union. we would prefer if it was not so, but this is sovereign decision for the people of the united kingdom. so what we want to do is to try to bring about an outcome, or a new set of relationships between the united kingdom and the european union that allows trade to continue as it has donein allows trade to continue as it has done in the past. that we shouldn't have a hard border. we shouldn't have a hard border. we shouldn't have return to the border of the past as the prime minister said on man occasions and what we want to do is to try to ensure that whatever new relationship, whatever new treaty may exist between the european union and the united kingdom, allows us to continue to trade in the way that we have done for a very long time now to the benefit of all our citizens. of course, i can't give you the detail as to how that's going to work out right now because the negotiations have only just begun, right now because the negotiations have onlyjust begun, but we do have a shared objective to minimise the disruption to trade, both north and

south and east and west. that's the new irish taoiseach, leo varadkar on his first visit to downing street to meet theresa may. they spoke, of course, about brexit and he said that he was saddened that the uk had decided to leave the european union, but clearly, concerned about the border between the republic and northern ireland and theresa may confirming there that any agreement that her party makes with the dup in order to form a government will be made public. so, that's a question about the talks that are ongoing between the conservatives and the dup. i'm going to ta ke conservatives and the dup. i'm going to take you now to paris where there has been an incident on the champs elysees. the police had cordoned off a bit of the champs elysees because a bit of the champs elysees because a carr exploded and burst into fla mes a carr exploded and burst into fla m es after a carr exploded and burst into flames after it crashed into a police van on the champs elysees.

afp are reporting that the driver was armed and that the driver was seriously injured the the police just held a press conference in which they said the counter—terrorism unit opened an investigation into what happened, but we're told that the situation is now under control. it's been nearly a year since the eu referendum vote and today the formal brexit negotiations which could define the uk's political and economic future have finally begun. they are taking place between the brexit secretary, david davis and the eu's chief negotiator, michel barnier. mr davis acknowledged there would be challenging times ahead but said he was "determined to build a strong and special pa rtnership". let's cross to the bbc‘s christian fraser in brussels. thank you very much. yes, they have been circling each other for a year, david davis and michelle barnier are

finally face—to—face. a very cordial start to the day. they exchanged gifts. david davis gave michelle barnier a book. mr gifts. david davis gave michelle barniera book. mr barnier gifts. david davis gave michelle barnier a book. mr barnier gave david davis a walking stick which perhaps points to a metaphor they are in, they have this huge summit to ove rco m e are in, they have this huge summit to overcome and before they get to base camp, they have to deal with issues like ireland which we have been hearing about, the border between north and south, the issue of european citizens, 3.2 million european citizens in the uk and one million uk nationals in europe and also that severance payment, the divorce money that the uk will have to pay. within the last hour they have gone into their final session of the day, we are expecting a press conference from the two men and damian grammaticas has been looking at the opening exchanges. starting today, history being made and unmade. are you ready to make history, mr davis?

david davis' mission in brussels, to unstitch a relationship 44 years old, with the uk heading forfuture outside the eu as mr davis headed to his talks. it is almost exactly a year since the referendum and david davis says that with these talks, he is going to end up with a deal like no other before it. the eu side are waiting to see what it is he wants. the conservative party does not yet have a united view on brexit but article 50 has been triggered, and negotiations have to begin between mr davis and his opposite number, michel barnier. the handshake went on and on. a small test of strength perhaps before the real tests ahead. we will do all we can to ensure that we deliver a deal that works in the best interests of all citizens. to that end, we are starting this negotiation in a positive and constructive tone, determined to build a strong

and special partnership between ourselves and our european allies and friends in the future. thank you. we must first tackle the uncertainties caused by brexit. first, for citizens, but also for the beneficiaries of the eu policies, and for the impact on borders, in particular ireland. so what do we know about mr barnier? well, the former french minister spent months preparing. he told the european parliament a few months ago he won't be seeking to punish the uk, but it must pay its bills. let me be clear, when a country leaves the union, there is no punishment. there is no price to pay to leave. but we must settle the account. no more, no less. michel barnier is an eu insider.

he served as an eu commissioner working alongside vivian reading. she says he will be firm, but fair. he is a tough negotiator and good to be so. so we are very happy to have him as a chief negotiator instead of someone else. session of the day, we are expecting a press co nfe re nce session of the day, we are expecting a press conference from the two men and damian grammaticas has been looking at the opening exchanges. thank you. the tough stuff is not being discussed today. this first day was to set the tone. brexit is now in motion. this is about resetting the conversation today after all the mudslinging and for instance this afternoon they had a working group session. those working groups hadn't been decided before they met. so they will have decided what are the priorities? which issues they are going to need to deal with first? on that issue the uk side has given

ground. they are prepared to talk about the divorce settlement before they talk about the future trading agreement perhaps in october, if they make enough progress in the next three months. theresa may will be here on thursday for a meeting of the european council the all other 27 leaders will be in brussels to find out what went on here. she is only going to be allowed to talk to them over coffee setting out her position and what the election means for the uk. what impression do you get of the attitude of the european union towards the uk now and specifically towards the uk now and specifically towards theresa may? well, obviously they wanted theresa may to have a working majority and a much bigger majority than she has after this election and i think that unnerve as lot of europeans. we talked in britain about whether this means there is going to be a softer brexit and there is a lot of that in in the papers today, but in europe as well, there is one report that perhaps the germans would like to offer the uk side a norway—style agreement,

perhaps a different court to the european court of justice perhaps a different court to the european court ofjustice where uk justices and european justices sit—injudgment on justices and european justices sit—in judgment on certain justices and european justices sit—injudgment on certain issues, but obviously that needs a lot of movement from the brexit side. that wouldn't look to them like a brexit and of course, the government has to bring back the sort of offers that there are here. they talk about maybe softening their attitude, but when you actually look at what david davis is setting out here, in brussels today, it looks very much like the lancaster house speech that theresa may delivered last year, pulling out of the single market and pulling out of the single market and pulling out of the single market and pulling out of the customs union and we have spoken to plenty of people on the remain side today who don't like that one bit. christian, much more from you later in the afternoon. for the time being, many thanks. getsjoin sarah gets join sarah for the forecast. this is the

view at newquay harbour. fresher across parts of scotland and northern ireland because we have got a weak cold front which is slowly shifting further south. so not quite as hot in the north, but further south across the uk, lots more of that hot sunshine. most of us will be staying dry. 7pm, just a small chance perhaps of the odd isolated showers for parts of the east midlands and east anglia, but most of us avoiding them. london at 30 celsius at #pm in the evening. —— 7pm in the evening. lots of late sunshine around. there is more of it on the cards. perhaps just the odd shower across southern parts of scotland, but for much of scotland and northern ireland we end the day onafine and northern ireland we end the day on a fine note with sunny spells and temperatures around about 20 celsius in belfast. through into the evening

hours then, any of those isolated showers fade away and things will start to turn a little bit fresher than they have been over recent nights across the northern half of the cub, but further south, it is still looking hot. so 20 celsius or 21 celsius, that's the overnight minimum temperature. further north, around about 11 celsius in glasgow. soa around about 11 celsius in glasgow. so a contrast north to south, through the day tomorrow, as that wea k through the day tomorrow, as that weak front shifts further south, we will keep the warm, humid air in the south. so another day of temperatures around 29 or 30 celsius. towards the north and the north—east, it is not quite as hot as it is outside today. temperatures typically around 16 to 25 celsius or so. on to the middle of the week, wednesday, we are going to see some thundery showers coming in across northern ireland and scotland, with the heat and humidity fuelling the heavy showers. i think further south across the uk, we will see the dry weather continuing and the heat sticking around. so 30 or 31 celsius once again during wednesday. for

thursday, still sunny and hot in the south. 29 or 30 celsius in london. but we are starting to see more cloud and fresher conditions in the north. so towards the end of the week, we will start to see fresher weather moving in. some cloudier skies and rain particularly for friday, i think, skies and rain particularly for friday, ithink, into skies and rain particularly for friday, i think, into saturday, skies and rain particularly for friday, ithink, into saturday, but for the here and the now, more heat, high pollen and don't forget the high pollen and don't forget the high levels of uv too. this is bbc news, i'm ben brown live in north london, where last night a van drove into a group of muslim worshipers. the head of the metropolitan police has said that the attack near finsbury park mosque was quite clearly an attack on muslims. one man died, ten people were injured. when he was on the ground i asked him, why did he do that, why? and he goes, "i want to kill muslims." we managed to surround him

and protect him from any harm. we stopped all forms of attack and abuse towards him that were coming from every angle. a 48—year—old man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. it's been confirmed he was not known to the security services.