this is bbc news. the news at 2pm. three tower blocks are found to have combustible cladding while 600 high—rise buildings have similar cladding to that on the grenfell tower: i was informed that a number of these tests have come back as combustible. the relevant local authorities and local fire services have been informed, and as i speak they are taking all possible steps to ensure buildings are safe and to inform affected residents. senior figures in the church of england "colluded" with a disgraced former bishop, who abused young men — according to an independent review. theresa mayjoins eu leaders in brussels to discuss brexit — as the president of the european council hints the uk could still change its mind. a post—mortem examination finds that 51—year—old makram ali, who died at the scene of the terror attack outside finsbury park mosque, died as a result of multiple injuries. and in the next hour,

an ancient mosque in the syrian city of mosul has been destroyed by is. the iraqi government says that the destruction of the mosque is a defeat by the is mill taints. prince harry tells a us magazine that no—one in the royal family really wants to be king or queen. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. downing street has revealed that an estimated 600 high—rise buildings are covered in aluminium type cladding — which could be similar to that used on grenfell tower which was destroyed by fire last week. urgent tests ordered by the government have so far confirmed that three tower blocks are covered in combustible cladding.

the tests are on—going with samples from tower blocks all over the country being sent in for testing — 100 samples can be processed a day. the prime minister says steps are being taken to make the buildings affected safe and to inform residents. our political correspondent iain watson reports. an unimaginable tragedy, that's how the prime minister described the fire at grenfell tower. but was it an avoidable tragedy? and are tenants in the tower blocks at risk? local councils estimate 600 buildings may have similar cladding. there will be a public enquiry. politicians have been drawing their own conclusions. mr speaker, shortly before i came to the chamber i was informed that a number of these tests have come back as combustible. the relevant local authorities and local fire services have been informed and as i speak they are taking all possible steps to ensure buildings are safe, and to inform affected residents. the bbc has seen e—mails sent

to residents in this north london block, telling them the cladding here is similar to grenfell tower. but the flats do have the safety systems in place, including sprinklers. although the reason for the grenfell fire hasn't been firmly established, the labour leader wants councils to be given enough cash to replace cladding. there is obviously a huge cost involved in removing and re—cladding blocks that are found to have flammable materials included in them. that resources, that money that must be made available immediately because it's a huge job of work. but while precautions are being taken now, some opposition politicians accused the government of being too slow to act and recommendations from four years ago following this fire at lakanal house in south london. the coroner in 2013 in lakanal house said those deaths were avoidable,

that there should have been sprinklers, that there should have been changing the fire instructions, that there should be greater supervision of contracts and fire inspection. the coroner did not, as i understand it, say there should be sprinklers in every one of these types of properties. but what is important is that because of what underpins what she was saying, was a necessity of making sure that people living in similar blocks are able to feel reassured about their safety. here in kensington the most senior official in the local authority has resigned. this was welcomed at westminster but the council — was criticised for a slow response to the crisis. the prime minister wants to see swift recommendations from the forthcoming public enquiry, but grenfell tower appears to be becoming something of a political symbol of inequality and a new consensus seems to be emerging here in the house of commons that more priority should be given to people who live

in rented housing. we have to learn those lessons, to make sure this tragedy is a turning point in our whole attitude and never again do people dying needlessly in a towering inferno, litigant poverty, surrounded by a sea of prosperity. long after the tv cameras have gone and the world has moved on, let the legacy of this awful tragedy be that we resolve never to forget these people and instead to gear our policies and our thinking towards making their lives better and bringing them into the political process. but more immediately the government needs to reassure tenants across the country that their safety is paramount. iain watson, bbc news, westminster. 0ur chief political correspondent, vicki young, is in the houses of parliament. so, making sure that the tower blocks are safe? absolutely. they are saying that there are possibly

600 high rise buildings that have similar cladding to the cladding on g re nfell tower. similar cladding to the cladding on grenfell tower. now it does not necessarily mean it is come bustible oi’ necessarily mean it is come bustible or that there is a problem with it but it now needs to be tested. they say that they can test up to 100 samples a day. the tests do come back quickly, they are trying to reassure residents as soon as they can. let's speak now with david lammy who represents the seat in totte n ha m , lammy who represents the seat in tottenham, north london. what are your thoughts the idea that there could be hundreds of towers with similar cladding that may or may not be safe? yesterday i found i have a tower block with 22 storeys with the same cladding on the grenfell tower. i have had the residents contacting me. they want to be reassured and they want to be safe. i am comping with the executive of the housing

association. it may be over the next 24 to 48 hours, that if they cannot making buildings safe the people must be rehoused. that is a huge operation and also the fact that residents around the country will be feeling scared, even if the building is safe, they don't know whether it is or not. people are saying that they cannot sleep. in #3450i constituency, what the housing association does is to put fire wardens 24 hours in the building and that is helpful and the buildings have sprinklers, that makes a difference. but still, assessments must be made of all of the 600 buildings and rapid liverpool. while we speak, there are families with children, deeply worried about their security overnight. it's a big operation but we have to do it. the cost of this, theresa may was asked about that. she said she was working with the local councils and any work that needs to be done will

be done. does that reassure you?m has to be. there is no cost to a life. the money must be found so the treasury must dip into vivants to ensure it is available to the local authorities. what i am clear on is that there are no local authorities with that kind of money themselves. they have been stripped bare. save for the london borrow of kensington and chelsea, which has deep reserves and chelsea, which has deep reserves and was able to give this help, that is the irony of this tragedy. do you believe this is down to money, down to cuts that have happened to councils?” money, down to cuts that have happened to councils? i do think if you cut back fire resources and the local authorities don't have the office rs local authorities don't have the officers to enforce when they have outsourced the building of buildings, there are profound questions about what the state is for. we have seen here, as if kensing and to chelsea have lost the capacity to do this specifically.

they have a lot of posh folk, they wa nt they have a lot of posh folk, they want bins collected but that is about it. when it comes to housing and bringing together and supporting vulnerable people, they have been inept. there are lots of authorities who have lost those skills, they don't have the offices, and there are questions about why we pay our council tax, what it is for and the importance of local government and the state in these moments. we must answer those questions as well as big questions about housing, social housing and council housing. jeremy corbyn said this must be a turning point. that out of this dreadful tragedy there will be adifferent approach. theresa may says she wants a different approach to social housing and housing, do you think that will happen? we are obviously in the aftermath of this terrible tragedy, sometimes memories fade. do you think it will make a difference? there is a generation of people who are watching who grew up

ina people who are watching who grew up in a council house, had a friend from a council house it was a great period in the 19605 and the '705, and you can watch call the midwife and you can watch call the midwife and see that generation of people. we have lost so much of that community. there are questions about getting it back. i don't have the confidence that this government can deliver it as i'm not hearing the body language or the sense that they understand it and are griching the we re understand it and are griching the were 011 understand it and are griching the were on level. i want faith, as i do believe what we have seen in this 5tory believe what we have seen in this story is tremendous vulnerability, when you 5trip everything bare, people who need the state beyond ju5t 5chool5 people who need the state beyond ju5t schools and roads and it is not there for them and that says something about britain, a bigger question about britain, what we have become. people hark back to something that we had in the past. thank you very much. those are the conversations taking place in westminster. notjust the aftermath, dealing with the

emergency. that has happened but profound questions too about the state and social housing in particular. thank you very much. vicki young there. our chief political correspondent. let's get the latest reaction from the community in north kensington. simon, there is other news about similar buildings with the same cladding and thes are ignition of a senior member of the council. what is happening? i have been speaking toa is happening? i have been speaking to a family, and his family members we re to a family, and his family members were killed in the tower behind me and his response was that the response is too little too late. we may have had the chief executive of

the council going, theresa may saying this morning in the commons saying this morning in the commons saying that the effort was stepped up saying that the effort was stepped up to provide security and information for people on the ground and we have heard that now increased checks on other tower blocks but that message has not been good enough. theresa may admitted herself in the commons that the response has not been adequate. that what happened what happened here should not have happened. but what it plays into is that the feeling, that the voices have not been heard in the past. when people have raced concerns about fire safety and things in the community generally. people are feeling that they have not been taken seriously enough. there is a welcome that tests are taking place on other tower blocks to see if they have a similar cladding to the one on the tower behind me and a welcome to that but people feel that it has taken so many deaths for this to happen. they need reassurance that things will change in the future. there have

been fires in the area in the past and recommendations were not listened to. things did not change. so for the community they need confidence in the authorities it will be hard to earn that back. simon, thank you. simonjones there. joining me now from newcastle isjohn knapton, a structural engineering expert and former professor of structural engineering at newcastle university. thank you for being with us. how big a job is it to replace cladding on all of these tower blocks? we are looking at potentially 600, although i think it will be a small number of those that need substantial work. it will need removing of the panels and the replacement which is not such a major construction issue, however i feel that although the statement was made be the prime minister this morning that the panels were come bustible, i don't think that the way

that fire spread right to the top of the building very quickly was a result of that directly. i think that there are issues at grenfell tower and in particular, the fact that essentially there were 14 ribs from the bottom to the top of that building, come prizing the panels that allowed the hot gases to get straight to the top. so i feel that there are specific issues at g re nfell tower there are specific issues at grenfell tower that will not be the same of many other tower blocks. i same of many other tower blocks. , 5°. same of many other tower blocks. ,so, to same of many other tower blocks. , so, to be clear it is not the material in the panels that is combustible but the gap of air between the structure of the buildings and the panels where the air travelling up? yes. we will have to wait for the outcome of inquiry but basically, whilst certainly the polyethylene fill to the panels is

combustible, to some degree, the panels have fire sets to show that they are suitable for buildings in they are suitable for buildings in the eu, the uk and indeed in the united states, so the panels themselves don't explain the rapid development the fire from the bottom of the fire to the top of the building quickly, i think that the gap behind them is as important as the panels themselves. when people talk about firebreaking, what does that mean exactly?m means that the same way that each of the flats have a one—our fire resista nce the flats have a one—our fire resistance to the flat above and below, the vertical claddings have a similarfire resistance. below, the vertical claddings have a similar fire resistance. it below, the vertical claddings have a similarfire resistance. it is not clear if that was specified in the design of the cladding systems or if it was specified, indeed, whether it was built. so i think that the investigation is focussed on the

details that went into that building and if there is any good news it is the fact that some parts of the building are in tact and that will bea building are in tact and that will be a very important piece of evidence for those investigating how the fire propagated itself so rapidly right to the top of the building. you can understand why the residents in other blocks are worried and councils are worried. so if there is to bea councils are worried. so if there is to be a replacement of cladding, how difficult is that? how time consuming and expensive is that to ta ke consuming and expensive is that to take off the old cladding, and put on new cladding or no cladding at all? the prime minister says this is something that will be quick. it will not take years, this should be donein will not take years, this should be done ina will not take years, this should be done in a malter of weeks. i think that i would reassure people it would be very unlikely that there is another building with all of the features that grenfell tower had. i would say right now that i don't think anyone living in any other

towers should be fearful. the right things are being done. as long as they are done in the right time frame, the great majority of the 4,000 high rise towers in britain are safe right now and a little bit of work i think is going to have to be carried out on maybe, 20, 30 or 40. good to get your expert analysis. the prime minister has arrived in brussels to meet eu leaders for the first time since she lost her parliamentary majority in the general election. brexit will be discussed and theresa may is expected to offer certainty to eu nationals living in the uk. 0ur correspondent damian grammaticas is in brussels. yes, a tricky encounter for theresa may to navigate. herfirst yes, a tricky encounter for theresa may to navigate. her first summit with the european leaders since the election, an election she called to

strengthen her mandate but ending up ina weaker strengthen her mandate but ending up in a weaker position. she will be given a few minutes at the end of dinner to discuss what it means for brexit. ewe believe she will outline her offer as it is on the european citizens' rights in the uk. she was asked what the election means for her negotiations, this is what she said. today i will be setting out the uk's plans on how to propose to protect the rights of eu citizens and uk citizens as we leave the european union. and other important issues on the agenda such as counter—terrorism. 0ne the agenda such as counter—terrorism. one of the things i will be calling on with other european leaders today is that we do more working together to ensure we stop the spread of extremism online, that we prevent terrorists from having a safe space online and we keep our citizens safe. are you ready to compromise? we are

going into negotiations, those that are started constructively. what i will be setting out is clearly how the united kingdom proposes to protect the rights of eu citizens living in the uk and the rights of uk citizens. that is one of the early issues considered in the negotiations, that is now the case. that work is starting. we will be setting out how we propose to ensure that eu citizens living in the uk have their rights protected in the united kingdom. what the european leaders will not do is engage in negotiations with theresa may. she will make a statement and be ushered were the room. angela merkel said that the summit won't focus on brexit but focus on the issues on the eu workers. so that falls below what the eu has put on the table, which is preserving all rights as they

exist. if it is blow, it could cause problems in the negotiations ahead. if it is blow, it could cause problems in the negotiations ahead. the headlines on bbc news: councils in england estimate that 600 high rise buildings have similar cladding to grenfell tower. and the prime minister welcomes the resignation of the chief executive to the kensington chelsea authority, saying it was clear he could not cope. and makram ali died as a result of multiple injuries. warren gatland has made a selection for the test this weekend. eliot daly, liam williams are included. ireland are to be handed test cricket status, and there have been

meeting to decide if they should be approved to play alongside other approved to play alongside other approved nations. and hats are the order of the day for the meeting at royal ascot and the gold cup races today getting under way at 4.00pm. single parents with children under two have won a high court challenge against the government's controversial benefit cap, after a judge ruled that "real misery is being caused to no good purpose". clive is with us. why did they win? what did thejudge clive is with us. why did they win? what did the judge say? the application of the benefits cap, to application of the benefits cap, to a specific group, lone parents with children up to two years of age, on the one hand the government says those parents should not seek work because of their care and responsibilities but on the other hand if they can't work more than 16

hours, they are caught by a benefits cap it limits the amount of state benefits, including housing benefit that out of work families can receive and the claimants in the case, two of whom have been made homeless as a result of domestic violence, argued that was forcing them to making decisions as to whether or not to pay rent on the one hand or to buy food on the other. what they argued was that the application of the cap was unlawful as it discriminated against them and their children. this morning, mr justice collins agreed with them strongly on that. that this was a thumping defeat for the government. saying it was unlawful as the cap discriminated against the children. the effect on the young children. there was a lot of expert evidence in the case about the damaging effect of poverty on very young children from newborn babies to the age of two years of age. so a defeat

for the government. the government saying it will appeal. it was given leave to appeal but mrjustice collins raised an eyebrow saying that they should think long and hard before they did progress with their appeal. but what we do know is that 5,000 families in england, scotland and wales are in this sort of category and could again fit from this decision. clive, where does this now leave the benefit cap as regards this group of pa rents ? benefit cap as regards this group of parents? well, it is a really interesting question. this court behind me ruled that the application of the cap to those pa rents application of the cap to those parents is unlawful. the government position is that nothing changes pending an appeal. the solicitor, however, for the claimants said in court, that the government didn't ask for what is known as a stay, a stop, effectively, pending the appeal, so her view, the solicitor

for the claimants, is that if the government continues to apply the benefit cap to the group, then it will be acting unlawfully. so a grey question. the government will have to decide whether or not it continues with the appeal. if it drops the appeal it will no longer be able to apply the benefit cap to this group of people, that it would be unlawful and it cannot do that. clive, many thanks. 0ur clive, many thanks. our legal correspondent. an independent review has found that senior figures in the church of england ‘colluded' with a former bishop who was convicted for abusing young men. peter ball, who's now 85, was jailed in 2015 for historical sex offences against eighteen teenagers and young men. our correspondent, helena lee, is at church house in westminster. this is a very difficult report for

the church of england. it's been very critical of the church and it's handling of the peter ball case, the information it got, who knew what they knew and how much information they knew and how much information they passed on to the police. the archbishop of canterbury, justin welby, responded to this report, saying it makes for harrowing reading and the behaviour of the church is inexcusable. criticising not only the church but how it dealt with the victims at the time. i have with the victims at the time. i have with me bishop peter had been come, the lead bishop in safeguarding at the lead bishop in safeguarding at the church. what went through your mind? harrowing. it is a harrowing and a disturbing report, clear in 5peak being the nature of the abuse and the fact that the church failed to respond, adequately, appropriately and effectively when the abuse was brought before them

and at the knew of this. so, therefore, today i offer the victims of the survivors and the families of thi5 abu5e my wholeheartedly sincere this abuse my wholeheartedly sincere apology. it is now my responsibility to make sure that going forward we ta ke to make sure that going forward we take the recommendations that has been given in the report and that they are swiftly, decisively and effectively ta ken forward. clearly all of the recommendations are important. but is there any one particular one that stands out for you to stop this from happening ain? you to stop this from happening again? the second recommendation is about listening and caring for those who are survivors. that is where the church must start. to recognise mistakes and for those suffered and that suffering was come pounded by the church's action, to listen, learn, to reflect to ensure it does not happen again. and the first recommendation, asking that the

bishops to take more decisive responsibility and authority in the matters to ensure that in their diocese and across the parishes in the church that our policies and procedures are as robust and effective as they can be. what must change in terms of the report, it mentioned how some of those abused were men so, not children, and that was not something that was talked about at the time much is that something to look into much is that something to look into much more? we do. we have started steps for that. policies to deal with vulnerable adults. and it is important that the church is an open, welcome and safe place for people who are vulnerable of all ages, they must be able to come to the church and to the organisations that we are responsible for, to ensure that they are safe places for all to come. thank you forjoining us. some of the victims were asked to give their thoughts to the review but many said

it was too distressing to go through it was too distressing to go through it all again. helena, thank you very much. the man who died at the scene of the terrorist attack in finsbury park in north london on monday has been named as 51—year—old makram ali from haringey. his family have been paying tribute. our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford is at scotland yard. mrali, mr ali, the only person to have died in the attack being formerly named by the police today. a 51—year—old who moved to the country age 10 from bangladesh. a man who had four daughters, two sons and two grandchildren. a man who suffered from a weak leg and had collapsed on the way back from prayers in the early hours of monday morning and chatting to helpers, when a white van ploughed into him, injuring many

of the worshippers and who u nfortu nately of the worshippers and who unfortunately killed him. his family describing how devastated they are at his loss. the daughter, speaking on behalf of the family. the daughter, speaking on behalf of the family. we wish everyone to know what a lovely man he was. he spent his whole life without any enemies, choosing a quiet life instead. we, as a family have always believed that the actions of one person cannot be a reflection of a whole people. we have no doubt that our father would not wish for there to be any retaliation or recriminations and would urge people to remain calm and to pray for peace in these difficult times. the police are asking for anybody who saw the distinctive white van with the yellow logo over it, to come forward. a 47—year—old man, darren 0sborne is still in custody but as not yet be charged. now a look at the weather.

it isa now a look at the weather. it is a very different feeling today. it is fresher with more cloud. showers lingering over the south—east and east anglia. they are clearing into the north sea in the english channel. the temperatures are about 18 to 20 celsius in the north—west of the uk. 25 celsius in the south—east. but 10 celsius coaler than yesterday. 0vernight there is a front from the north—west, bringing cloud, breeze and outbreaks of rain to northern ireland, scotland, and parts of northern england. elsewhere in the country, a drier condition but coaler. through the day tomorrow we keep the outbreaks of rain to the north—west. creeping to the south over england and wales, so outbreaks of rain. largely driened bright from the south coast up from london. a return

to sunshine and scattered showers in the north. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines at 2.30pm. three tower blocks have been found to have combustible cladding after the grenville tower fire. about 600 hundred high—rise buildings in england have been found to have similar cladding to grenfell tower, where at least 79 people were killed in last week's fire. a number of these tests have come back as combustible. the relevant local authorities and fire service had been informed and they are taking all possible steps to inform local resident and make sure buildings are safe. meanwhile the bbc identifies one new tower block in north london where residents have been told the building has the same type of cladding used on grenfell tower. a sprinkler system is installed

there. theresa may is meeting eu leaders in brussels to discuss brexit, for the first time since she lost her parliamentary majority. mrs may is expected to offer certainty to eu nationals living in the uk. meanwhile german chancellor angela merkel said that the future of the european union had to be the priority over talks about brexit. an independent review has found that senior figures in the church of england colluded with a disgraced former bishop who abused young men. peter ball was jailed two years ago for historical sex offences but he'd accepted a police caution for gross indecency in 1992. a preliminary postmortem examination has found that 51—year—old makram ali, who died at the scene of the terror attack outside finsbury park mosque, died as a result of multiple injuries. now let's get the sports news. british and irish lions head coach warren gatland has made a bold selection ahead of the first test with new zealand, claiming his side

must be courageous with the ball and score some tries if they're to beat the all blacks. ireland's peter 0'mahony will captain the side, after a string of impressive displays, with tour captain sam warburton named on the bench. alun wynjones is preferred to maro itoje in the second row. but it's his selection in the backs which will leave nobody in any doubt as to how he gatland wants his side to play. with the attacking duo of eliot daly on the wing and liam williams at full back, selected instead of george north and leigh halfpenny. we said that we would focus on form and players that are probably, there will be a lot of differences from the start of the tour to now in terms of what people have speculated the side has been. the messages we have tried to be delivering an inconsistent from us, and the 23 have been selected, we're pretty excited about opening night. it's in

credible to be picked for the lion and then be asked to captain. it's down to business now, and it's down to our performance. when you go and grown—ups “— to our performance. when you go and grown—ups —— when you grow up playing rugby and watching it, you wa nt playing rugby and watching it, you want to be involved internationally but games of this magnitude, all of these players want to be here. gareth thomas is going to write in support of chris froome in the tour de france. the race starts on saturday 1st ofjuly with chris froome seeking a fourth tour de france win and a third straight victory. juventus have confirmed they will release right—back dani alves from the final year of his contract, adding to rumours he could be set for a move to the premier league. manchester city boss pep guardiola is known to be interested in the 34—year—old brazilian, whom he knows from their time together at barcelona.

juventus say alves has "expressed a desire to try a new experience". the top seed left at the aegon championships marin cilic is safely through to the next round after a straight sets win. he took the first set against stefan kozlov six—love, before taking the decisive second 6—4, to book his place in the quarterfinals. there's live coverage from queen's club in london on bbc two this afternoon and on the bbc sport website. andy murray's conqueror jordan thompson is in action this afternoon. the aussie is up against the american sam querrey. ireland are on the verge of being handed test playing status. the international cricket council is expected to vote to admit ireland, along with afghanistan, into the elite member group that is permitted to play traditional five—day test matches. if approved it would take the total of countries playing tests to 12. and it's ladies day at ascot —

expect high fashion and hats on day three of the royal festival. a strict dress code applies for those in the royal enclosure. for the first time trousers and jumpsuits are allowed for women. while top hats and morning dress is the attire for the men. the signature race of the day the gold cup is at 4.20pm this afternoon with last year's winner 0rder of st george starting as favourite. that's all the sport for now. you can find more on all those stories on the bbc sport website. i'll have more in the next hour. iraqi forces say they are just a street away from the famous ancient mosque in the city of mosul that was blown up by so—called islamic state. the iraqi prime minister described the destruction of the great mosque of al—nuri as "an official declaration of defeat" by islamic state fighters in their last stronghold in iraq.

0ur correspondent richard galpin has the latest. iraqi troops fighting their way into mosul‘s old city. the last district still in the hands of so—called islamic state. the army is closing in now on the few hundred militants in what remains of their caliphate. and, in the midst of the fighting, stood this. the famous leaning minaret of the grand al—nuri mosque, built more than 800 years ago. it was here the islamic state leader, abu bakr al—baghdadi, made his only public appearance, after proclaiming the caliphate across northern iraq and syria. but, this week, people were horrified to see video showing the minaret and mosque being blown up by the militants as they retreat. although they blame

an american air strike. and the destruction has been described by the iraqi prime minister as a declaration of defeat by islamic state. with overwhelming numbers of iraqi troops now concentrated in the old city, and with backing from a us—led coalition, it does seem to be only a matter of time before isis is finally driven out of mosul. translation: our forces on the ground are moving forward. they have now penetrated the old city. it is true, the advance is slow, but we are advancing carefully, taking into account the lives of the civilians trapped inside the city. but the upsurge in fighting is leading to many civilian casualties. this is mosul‘s general hospital. it now lies just a few hundred metres away from the front lines. these people, most

of them are children. there are children, lots of civilian casualties, that you see here. most of them are fleeing, and on their way out, they are injured. with at least 100,000 people still in the old city, the number of casualties is likely to keep rising until the offensive to retake mosul from islamic state, which began in october last year, finally comes to an end. richard galpin, bbc news. let's speak now to mina al lami from bbc monitoring, shejoins us from reading. a terrible act of destruction as we've been hearing, but do you think does signify that is are facing defeat? i think the group was

already heavily under pressure in mosul even before the destruction of the mosques, but what this shows is that it's a desperate measure from is, kind of saying, if we don't have the mosque, yukon habit. of course, it is that you cannot have it. it is a big symbolic mosque, some would say, given that the leader gave a speech in that building, why would they blow it up? one thing is, to see the mosque demolished is better than seeing the victorious iraqi forces in the mosque making their speeches in victory. even though is is not admitting defeat, it is a big dealfor the group, is not admitting defeat, it is a big deal for the group, especially symbolically because it marks the launch of its so—called caliphate. tell us about. tell us about the mosques, and it's leaning minaret which has powered over mosulfor

almost a millennium, it's a terrible cultural loss to the heritage of iraq? yes, i am from iraq and i can't say how significant this leaning minaret is for mosul. people saying it's like london without its big ben, like paris without its eiffel tower. it's very similar. mosul had the nickname, the hunchback minaret. so in iraqi literature, in school textbooks, they would come together, they would say, the hunchback mosul. that's how significant it was. it's a shame because the jihadist group has destroyed most of the landmarks, the monuments, historical and cultural sites, in syria, religious sites, and in mosul. and now as it about to be rejected, it did this final act

of destruction. although it is blaming it on the us. yes, it was saying it was a us air strike. what does this now mean for is in iraq?|j does this now mean for is in iraq?” think the monarchy, again, it does speu think the monarchy, again, it does spell the end of the group, from the so—called caliphate. but we have to remember that is is not only present in mosul. it hold up in a small neighbourhood in the old city, but it fully controls five towns across iraq. but not as big and significant as mosul. for the group and their supporters online, they are portraying this as business as usual, that losing territory doesn't speu usual, that losing territory doesn't spell the end of the group. it will continue to pump out that message that losing land here or there is not the end, and they will emerge victorious in different areas. and in terms of the iraqi forces who have been fighting is in mosul, it's

taken quite a long time to secure this victory. what do you think that says about the state of the iraqi forces ? says about the state of the iraqi forces? i think they have set different deadlines, the initial assumption was that they would ca ptu re assumption was that they would capture mosul in a few months, or in a month's time. i think the biggest difficulty has been, and iraqi forces have said this, is that the eastern part of mosul, especially the old city, is densely populated and is has prevented a lot of civilians from leaving the city. and thatis civilians from leaving the city. and that is one of the main reasons that made the progress much slower than it was in the past, then it would be assumed at the beginning. thank you so much forjoining us. she is originally from iraq, she was telling us. many of the uk's top universities have failed to achieve the highest award in the first major assessment of teaching standards. more than half of those that entered the teaching excellence framework did not score a gold rating.

0ur education correspondent gillian hargreaves reports. in future, universities in england will be judged on the quality of their teaching and be awarded the bronze, silver or gold rating. if they want to charge undergraduates up to £9,250 per year, they're going to have to prove students get value for money. nottingham trent, which attracts many students from less well—off backgrounds, achieved the highest award. overall, 59 universities gained a gold. 116 were rated silver, and 56 achieved bronze. it's measuring how likely the university is going to be in helping you get a good job. it's measuring whether the university has got systems in place that are going to keep you on your course when things get tough. it's measuring the effectiveness and the speed of feedback on your work. it's looking at the quality of library and other learning resources.

but some prestigious universities have scored less well. london school of economics, liverpool and southampton are all members of the elite russell group, but only achieved a bronze. experts have warned that students shouldn'tjust use these rankings to decide where to study. with me is rachel hall, editor of the guardian's higher education network. first of all, what is the point of the teaching excellent framework, why would it introduced? the government thought that the university ‘s worst to focus on researching rather than teaching, because it receives a lot of funding for it. so they wanted to focus again on teaching. but they have done it without any original research, it is all data they have

collated from universities themselves. yes, it's the selection of six different measures which include responses to the national student survey, dropout rates and also graduate outcomes. and then thatis also graduate outcomes. and then that is provided with the quality inspections, but there is no inspections, but there is no inspection regime, it is not 0fsted, no one is looking at individual lecturers. it's quite controversial and quite subjective, student outcomes, who has got a job, that may be nothing to do with teaching as they are perceived. that's one of the main controversies, the government has said it is meant to reflect the teaching and learning environment, and this information will be useful for students, and they should look at this alongside other information. there was a suspicion when this teaching excellence framework was introduced by the government that this was a means of allowing universities to

raise tuition fees, that anybody who crossed a certain bar could then raise tuition fees, what do you think of that? with this particular year, this is the second year of the exercise, they were all allowed to raise their mission fees in line with inflation in the first year, and that was so long as they have this minimum quality level that they had passed. but we don't know what's going to happen in future. so we will have to see how it goes. but that has been very controversial because when you attach an assessment exercise to financial incentive, that can result in gaming. have you seen that at all?” gaming. have you seen that at all? i think it might be a bit too early to tell because this is the first year that the gold, silver and bronze medals have come out. are there has already been linked with the recent spate withjob been linked with the recent spate with job cuts been linked with the recent spate withjob cuts in been linked with the recent spate with job cuts in universities, been linked with the recent spate withjob cuts in universities, there is no proof of this but some people have linked this to the teaching

excellence framework. and finally, the point at the end of the piece, a leading university getting a bronze award isn't really going to stop stu d e nts award isn't really going to stop students wanting to go there?” don't think it will, no, perceptions are ingrained within the uk and there's lots of other sources of information that students can and should use. for example there is the rankings, and the government has said they will put out as much guidance about how the teaching excellence framework should be interpreted as possible. which university you go to is down to personal choice personal and university you go to is down to personal and students should look at everything including course content, and which medal it got to date should be a small part of that decision. some news coming into us about riva rail north, we're hearing that workers there are going to stage three day strike —— from arriva

north. it's part of the long—running dispute about driver only trains. that is according to rmt union, their workers are striking onjuly their workers are striking onjuly the 8th for three days. now i think we're going to go to the headlines. it is nearly 2:50pm. combustible cladding has been found at at least three tower blocks across the uk with samples expected to be checked for many more. seniorfigures in the to be checked for many more. senior figures in the church of england colluded with the disgraced former bishop who abused young men, according to an independent review. theresa may has joint eu according to an independent review. theresa may hasjoint eu leaders in brussels to discuss brexit as the president of the european council says he hopes the uk can still change its mind. british summer fruit and salad producers are struggling to recruit

enough migrant workers to harvest their crops, according to a bbc survey. more than half of the businesses that took part weren't sure whether they'd have enough staff with many blaming the weak pound and uncertainty over brexit. live now to susannah streeter who is in the market town of godalming in surrey. how, as you can see, i am in one of the blue brie poly tunnels. there are ten hectares of poly tunnels dedicated to blueberries alone on this site, we also have strawberries and rothbury ‘s. —— rasa breeds. the weather has been good for the blueberries, they like the heat. not so good for the pickers who have to pick so many every single day. we have some workers from romania behind me. many growers across the

uk have said that this year, they found it particularly hard to attract the right number of pickers, to come and help this industry, which is a great british success story until now. here on this site, it has not been too bad and we can now speak to one of the managing partners here at the farm. tell me why you think your recruitment has been a little bit easier compared to some other growers this year. the first thing to say, we've built relationships over 20 years with bulgaria, poland and romania, and those religion should have stood us in good stead. we think the offer that we give to our pickers in terms of pay, accommodation, wireless on mobile phone mobile home of pay, accommodation, wireless on mobile home sites, they are all accommodated on farm for six months, they are positives for us, particularly the pay even though the

exchange rate is a downside. we have been able to increase our pay annually for three years. why can't you rely on those people in the uk who are long—time and employed, they could be bussed into these sites to fill the labour gap or potentially other growers who are struggling? the first thing to point out, in the first world countries, germany, holland, france, belgium, they're all doing exactly the same thing and they have been for decades. migrant labour or overseas labour has come into these countries to do the horticultural work and it's no different in britain. we need to be clear about the challenges ahead if we wa nt clear about the challenges ahead if we want to change our strategy around that, because it's a massive endeavour to not bring in overseas workers to do this lay before us. that's the first thing to point out. the next thing is, we have now got work systems which are less arduous,

like table top strawberries. maybe it's now possible for england workers to do that work, i would encourage them to look for that work and if they can do it, that is wonderful. looking ahead to brexit, when britain leaves, what kind of seasonal worker system needs to be in place and how soon do that needs to be in place so that your business won't lose out? it's taken a 20 year to build up this relationship and over 2500 staff, and it's not a tap, you cannot turn that labour source on or off, whether its uk or overseas. we have got to have a transition period. the next thing is, we currently employ 29,000 in the dairy industry in the uk. that grows about 140,000 tonnes. i think the government should be looking at their soft fruit strategy, what they wa nt to their soft fruit strategy, what they want to achieve, and say, we want to grow 200,000 tonnes and employ

40,000 people because it's a wonderful endeavour to do. the more berries that we grow in the uk, the more fruit there is in the store for longer in the year and the more forward the fruit is and that's good forward the fruit is and that's good for the country. we are very good it is, it's a good thing for people to eat. it's really healthy. and ultimately it pays taxes to the government. but you need to the workforce to be able to produce it. thank you very much. of course, there's a lot of competition from other european countries for all these migrant workers, they're offering lots of incentives, and that's why growers say they find it particularly difficult with the exchange rate as well. a line of news that's coming into us, newcastle united has won permission to bring a high court challenge over the seizure of documents by tax officials who have been investigating the financial affairs of several football clubs.

we will bring you more on that later. around 30 boys in a devon school have worn skirts to lessen in a protest in not being able to wear shorts. they say they were jokingly told to wear regulation skirt instead. the uniform policy is stripped at this couege uniform policy is stripped at this college and this protest took full advantage. when the boys complained about not being allowed to wear shorts in the recent heatwave, they we re shorts in the recent heatwave, they were told, perhaps humorously, where regulation skirt instead so today, around 30 did. because five people did it yesterday, so then everyone was like, if everyone else does it, then they can't stop anyone else doing it so they bring shorts back

for the summer. it's embarrassing the school is wearing shorts, so. girls wear skirts the year round, they get cold legs and we have to sit there setting. do you think you are embarrassing the school? no. i think it's great, to say, if were not allowed to wear that, we will weather skirts, good on them. the we re weather skirts, good on them. the were borage from goals who supported the protest. i think it's good, if they can't wear shorts, they have to wear skirts. it's like them being told off for having hairy legs. they got told off yesterday for having hairy legs. no one from the academy was available for interview. the statement said, shorts were not currently part of the uniform policy for boys, and they would not wish to make any changes without consulting those students and their families. however with hotter weather becoming more common, they would be happy to consider changes in future. the irony to be wearing skirts protest, of course, the weather today is much

cooler. protest is real! a bit ofa a bit of a revolution that! they looked like kilts! so, we now have the weather. it's a very different feeling whether day today, compared to the past week or so. the heatwave we have seen coming to an end. yesterday we had temperatures are about 35 degrees. today more typically most of us around 20 degrees. here is a scene sent in by one of our weather watchers schering cloudy skies in north yorkshire, that's the way it looks in many parts of the country. 0ver that's the way it looks in many parts of the country. over the next few days, we will keep the fresh appeal to the weather, cloudy conditions at the bit afraid. not all of us will see it, we've had some heavy showers and thunderstorms in southern england, they will clear off towards the east. then a mostly dry picture. drizzly rain pushing into northern and western parts of scotla nd into northern and western parts of scotland but sunny spells into southern scotland and across

northern ireland. some ploughed around but sunny stars breaking through, —— some cloud around. 25 degrees the highest in the south—east but we should lose the heavy thundery showers. towards the west, largely dry with some brighter spells breaking through the cloud. for all of us, certainly fresher thanit for all of us, certainly fresher than it has been. into this evening and overnight, a much more co mforta ble and overnight, a much more comfortable night for sleeping, much cooler and less humid. breezy and showery weather moving into the northwest, elsewhere it stays dry with temperatures down to 13 to 15 degrees first thing friday morning. friday we will start to see a weather front shifting south—east with across the uk, opening the doors to fresher conditions in the north—west. through friday, that cloud brings outbreaks of rain across parts of scotland and wales,

to the south of that, breezy and warm, another day of 24 degrees in london. further north, fresher, 16-18. the london. further north, fresher, 16—18. the saturday, a day of sunny spells and scattered showers, a cold front will clear away from the south—east. not bad, 13 to 23 degrees. and sunday, a day of less showers but still sunny spells, a breeze from the northwest. this is bbc news. the headlines at 3pm.

councils rush to check their high—rise buildings as combustible cladding is found on at least three tower blocks across the uk. i was informed that a number of these tests have come back as combustible. the relevant local authorities and fire services have been informed and are taking all possible steps to ensure buildings are safe and to inform all affected residents. the bbc identifies one new tower block in north london where residents have been told the building has the same type of cladding used on grenfell tower. i was anxious and worried in the first place, now with the