this is bbc news. i'm ben brown. the headlines at 9am. pressure on the prime minister to ease austerity — michael gove joins cabinet ministers calling for higher pay rises to public sector workers. council tenants whose services have been disrupted by the grenfell tower fire have had their rent suspended. iraqi forces say they've taken control of the main base of the so—called islamic state in mosul. we report from the frontline. also in the next hour — could battery powered planes be the future of flying? we'll take an exclusive look at an experimental electric plane. and our sunday morning edition of the papers is at 9.35 — this morning's reviewers are the journalist and broadcaster james rampton and prashant rao, deputy europe business editor at the international new york times. good morning and

welcome to bbc news. pressure is growing on theresa may and the chancellor, philip hammond, to lift the one percent cap on pay increases for public sector workers. in a newspaper article today, the environment secretary michael gove suggests ministers should heed the recommendations of the pay review bodies that are currently examining the issue. some backbench tory mps have argued austerity lost the party seats at last month's general election. with me is our political correspondent, emma va rdy. is emma, what else has michael gove been saying? there has been this series of hints that the government could ease up on the cap to public sector pay. michael gove is the

latest of those. both had said that the government need to listen to the public sector pay review bodies when they make recommendations, saying that he accepted that when they made recommendations on teachers paid. he said his colleagues would want to respect the integrity of that process. what might happen next? it's unlikely we will see the public sector the cap strapped across the board but it's a sign that things could start to change. we are expected to see recommendations on the pay of teachers and other police this month and expects downing street to look at this on a case—by—case basis. the mood on austerity does seem to be changing. yesterday, we saw thousands of people marching in london against austerity and they were addressed by the labour leader, jeremy corbyn. today, there are reports of a rebellion being threatened by

conservative backbench mps unless money is bound to end this public sector pay cap. emma, thank you very much. kensington and chelsea council is suspending rent for those who have been disrupted by the grenfell tower fire. meanwhile some campaigners say victims of the grenfell tower disaster could boycott the public inquiry, unless its scope is widened. simonjones reports.. the devastating fire that claimed so many lives has opened up a gulf between residents and the council elected to represent them. is this the first good decision you have made? the leader nick paget—brown is on his way out but labour council member benazir, who hasjust returned to her home in the shadow of grenfell tower, says change is needed quickly. now that he has resigned, who is taking responsibility? who will he palm this off too? yes, he should resign

but he needs to take responsibility. people need to be in place to manage what is going on here. as the community mourns the dead, the government says the new leader will be chosen by the council itself. commissioners from outside will not be sent in. it is warning it will intervene if it needs to. the absolute priority remains looking after the victims, their family and friends, making sure they get everything they need and in doing so, when it comes to local council, nothing is off the table. the council insist the disaster was so huge any authority would have struggled to cope. but it says it wants to learn lessons. when that new leader has been elected, we have to revise how we have come across and we have to be more proactive. we have to listen more, we have to show the residents that we really are on their side. it is a tough task. and a warning from both the government and residents — you must get it right this time. and simonjoins us now live from kensington town hall.

simon, after the resignation of the leader of kensington and chelsea council, when might we expect to see a new leader? yes, some residents are concerned about a power vacuum. we are are concerned about a power vacuum. we are expecting a meeting to be held early in the coming week to start considering the process for a new leader. there will be pressure on the council to sort this out quickly, both from the government and also from local residents who wa nt a nswers. and also from local residents who want answers. i think the reason the government has decided not to bow to pressure to bring in commissioners from outside to take over this council is they have already brought in council employees from other boroughs across london and they also have a task force which is meeting two or three times a week. but there is also pressure on the government today per one residents group about the public enquiry, because they are

concerned that these global not be large enough. the retired judge who will be leading it had hinted in the week that it may only look at how the fire started and how it spread so quickly but this residents group says that is not enough and if the scope is not widened, they may consider not taking part. and also, simon, a promise that residents affected by the fire way to do pay rent? yes, there are three blocks which are in the shadow of grenfell tower where people were moved away from in the aftermath of the fire but some have now been allowed to return. those who have returned have found they have no hot water because the boiler serving those three blocks was destroyed in the fire. so the council has led to those residents that it will not charge them any rent if they decide to return before the start of next year at the earliest. that's a gesture of goodwill. we have also heard by one

campaign group that there was one resident who was actually living in g re nfell tower resident who was actually living in grenfell tower whose home was destroyed who found once they had got their bank card back that they had actually been charged rent after the fire. the council have told us if that happened, it shouldn't have happened and they will look at putting the situation right. it's another sign, residents say, putting the situation right. it's anothersign, residents say, of putting the situation right. it's another sign, residents say, of how the council has not got to grips with the situation. simon jones, thank you. iraqi forces say they have captured so—called islamic state's main base in mosul after days of intense fighting. the militants have been driven from a hospital compound where several senior is leaders were thought to have been hiding. our correspondent orla guerin reports from mosul. a symbol of victory, in what was the main base of is in mosul. troops, weary after driving the militants from this vast medical complex, but vowing to hunt down every last one of them. "we will keep chasing them and those who support them," says this man,

"and we will throw them in the garbage." commanders say they have removed a cancer here, but one that has already spread. "our message is daesh is not only an iraqi problem," says colonel falah al—wabdan. "it's international." explosion. he was interrupted by a booby—trapped bomb. the militants may have gone from here, but they left plenty of threats behind. and plenty of wreckage in iraq's second largest city. well, this is what victory looks like in mosul after more than eight months of fighting. the remaining is militants have been driven from here, but at what a cost. this hospital complex, which was a place of healing, now lies in ruins, like many

other parts of mosul. the city may be regaining its freedom, but there will be a great deal of rebuilding to do. the city is not fully liberated yet. commanders admit that even when it is, there is a real risk is could be back. orla guerin, bbc news, mosul. britain is withdrawing from an agreement which allows foreign countries to fish in its waters. the government says leaving the london fisheries convention will allow the uk to take back control of access to its fishing rights. daniela relph reports. the uk fishing industry is a multimillion pound business. but the government says britain's exit from the european union is a chance to build a new domestic fishing policy. the withdrawal from the london fisheries convention will prevent vessels from france, belgium, germany, ireland and the netherlands fishing within six and i2 nautical miles of the uk's coastline. it will not be a quick process.

britain's departure from the convention will take around two years. the environment secretary michael gove said that triggering the withdrawal from the agreement would lead to a more competitive, profitable and sustainable industry for the whole of the uk. the london fisheries convention was signed in 1964. it currently allows other countries to catch 10,000 tons of fish from uk waters, worth approximately £17 million. the government believes leaving the convention will allow britain to take back control of its fishing policy. state television in syria says a suicide bomber has blown himself up in tahriquuare in the centre of damascus, killing at least nine people and wounding many others. the report says the bomber was in one of three cars that had been pursued by the authorities.

the others were destroyed on the outskirts of the city. the cholera outbreak in yemen has now claimed 1500 lives. that's according to the world health organisation, which has appealed for more help to tackle the epidemic. it comes two years into a devastating civil war between a saudi—led coalition and houthi rebels, backed by iran. the who's spokesman in yemen says the rapid spread of the disease is unprecedented. the situation is extremely, extremely serious. between the 27th of april and the 30th ofjune, we reported a total of 246,000 cases of suspected cholera across the country. three men have been arrested on suspicion of murder — after a 24—year—old man was stabbed to death. officers were called to reports of men fighting

in the street at grays in essex on saturday morning. three other men were taken to hospital with serious injuries. at least 28 people have been injured following a shooting at a nightclub in the us state of arkansas. police say two people are in a critical condition after the incident took place around 2.30 in the morning local time. it is not thought to have been terror—related. more than 80,000 migrants, many fleeing war and poverty, have arrived in italy the first six months of the year. the united nations high commissioner for refugees has added his voice to those calling for italy to be given more support, as it deals with large numbers of migrants crossing the mediterranean. sarah corker reports. europe's migrant crisis rarely makes the headlines now but it is far from over. every day, italy is seeing more and more people arrive. most come from africa, fleeing war or poverty and these are the latest to be rescued at sea, exhausted but alive. so far this year, 2,000 people have

died trying to reach italian shores and the un refugee agency says it is an unfolding tragedy. in a statement, filippo grandi said: he said europe had to organise a system for distributing migrants urgently. it comes as italy is threatening to close its ports after nearly 11,000 migrants arrived in just five days last month. and the european union says it is ready to do more to help. we are ready to increase our support to italy, including substantial financial support if needed. all member states now need to deliver and show solidarity towards italy.

the situation is said to be unsustainable. more than 80,000 people have reached italy by sea since the beginning of the year. that's an increase of almost 80% on last year. at least 200,000 places for migrants have been filled and since 2014, the country has seen half a million migrants arrive by boat. and the dangers are well—known. this man was found clinging to a boat rudder at sea, just one of many thousands rescued by the italian coastguard. and the un is now calling for greater international efforts to combat the root causes of migration and to tackle trafficking. sarah corker, bbc news. 0ur headlines on bbc news.

pressure on the prime minister to ease austerity. michael gove joins cabinet ministers calling for higher pay rises for public sector workers. those affected by the grenfell tower fire have had their event suspended. and we report this morning from mosul after iraqi forces take control there. president donald trump has criticised the growing number of us states, who're refusing to pass on voters' details to his commission on electoralfraud. earlier he tweeted, "what are they trying to hide?" 0ur washington correspondent laura bicker explains what might happen next. donald trump setup an election integrity commission back in may. he wa nted integrity commission back in may. he wanted to look at claims, including his own claims, that voter fraud was widespread across the united states. he believes, for instance, that many

people who might have died in the past are still on the electoral roll and people are voting on their behalf. to that end, the commission sent out letters to all the states. they are asking for very personal information about the voters, the 200 million voters across the us. they want their names, their addresses, their birth dates and, crucially, the last four digits of their social security numbers, but some states have real concerns. first of all, they wonder how this information can be kept safe if they send it to washington and they send it to the commission. they say this information would be ripe for hackers. they say there is limited cyber security on it which is not safe. 0thers believe this entire investigation is unnecessary and violates the privacy of those within their states. that is some of the reasons why they are saying they will not comply. let me give you a couple of the greats from

california, poor instance, a democratic state, the secretary of state desert, california's participation would only serve to justify the both and debunked claims of voter fraud by the president. justify the both and debunked claims of voterfraud by the president. but republican states are also saying they will not comply. the secretary of state for mississippi said to the commission, it can go and jump in the gulf of mexico and mississippi isa the gulf of mexico and mississippi is a great state to launch from. so, they are not having much luck when it comes to getting this information. that is one of the reasons why donald trump has taken to twitter, saying, what are they trying to hide? he can keep pushing, these dates can keep pushing back. how will this end? we willjust have to wait and see. let's ta ke to wait and see. let's take you back now to the news we we re let's take you back now to the news we were reporting that iraqi forces say they have captured so—called

islamic state's main base in mosul. the militants have been driven by —— from a hospital compound where several senior ias leaders were thought to be hiding. campbell macdiarmid is a freelance journalist based in nearby erbil. he has spent five days over the past fortnight embedded with iraqi government troops in mosul. thank you very much for being with us. do you think ias have gone from mosul now or are there still of resistance? there are certainly still pockets of resistance. i think they've got tens of thousands of civilians still living under areas of isis control. they have taken a large hospital complex which they've been battling for for several weeks, the iraqi security forces, and they are well into retaking the old city, the last bastian islamic state control. what you are now seeing on the iraqi government is probably some premature celebration, giving

you an idea of what a big propaganda victory this would be the iraqi government, retaking mosul, rob's second biggest city which has been under their control for the last three years. so when you say premature, do you mean they have not been defeated there? no, they are still maintaining control of areas that. maybe a third or a half of the old city is still under control of the militants. certainly the battle is nearly over, it's a foregone conclusion now and it's a matter of time before they be take all of that territory. as i said, you were there for a few days. what where conditions like in the parts of mosul where you work? almost indescribably terrible for the civilians still living under isis control. it's been a siege now four months, so they've run out of food, they are facing starvation. we are seeing children with signs of

serious malnutrition, old people too wea k to serious malnutrition, old people too weak to walk out and under the co nsta nt weak to walk out and under the constant threat of coalition air strikes, artillery, mortars and so forth. a lot of them only managed to get out when their houses bond and they pull themselves out of the rubble. in the wider scheme of how this affects ias across the middle east, what is your view of how significant this is, what is happening in mosul? it is certainly a major blow to any pretensions they had of maintaining a caliphate. we will see in the next few months, as other areas of iraq and part of syria get reta ken other areas of iraq and part of syria get retaken by my sis, they are no longer going to control territory, so they will revert back to being just a terrorist group. we are already seeing signs of that. we have seen suicide bombing is being carried out in liberated areas,

ongoing suicide attacks in baghdad. whilst they are defeated on the battlefield, i don't think that means the end of terrorist attacks in the middle east or further afield. the reasons for their defeat in mosul, was it simply overwhelming firepower and overwhelming numbers in the iraqi forces? and not too forget the coalition support. that has been the main driver of many advances made by the iraqi security forces. i don't think they could have done it without coalition air support. that has been overwhelming firepower against the isis militants. in the parts of mosul where you were, what was the reaction of civilians when is were word drawn—out —— of is when is word drawn—out. word drawn—out —— of is when is word

drawn-out. there is a lot of suspicion by the iraqi security forces against the civilian population and some thought the civilians were putting on a show when they arrived. many were extremely happy to see isis go but there were still those in mosul and other parts of iraq that do still support the group. way to do to you. thank you very much for your time. campbell mcdermott, a freelance journalist who has been in mosulfor five days over the past fortnight with iraqi forces there. electric airplanes could soon have a dramatic impact on the world. they're less noisy and less polluting than the ones flying around today, and plenty of experts believe electric engines are the key to building fleets of flying taxis in the future. the bbc‘s been given special permission to fly in an experimental electric plane, which is being shown in the uk for the first time. 0ur transport correspondent richard westcott went for a ride. it's a plane that will

revolutionise flight. not the spitfire, this. the efusion looks quite ordinary, until you see it being refuelled. no tanker trucks and kerosene, you just change the batteries. it's an experimental aircraft and the bbc has been offered a rare flight. the really obvious thing is how lovely and quiet it is. yeah. and you don't get all the vibration. right. it's so comfortable and smooth and everything reacts so nicely. is electric the way it's going? will we have electric planes in the future, electric cabs? definitely. we will have electric planes, hybridelectric planes of all different sizes. you can get up to 50 seats.

maybe 100 seats. for regional aircraft, transporting people over distances of 500 nautical miles. the efusion can fly for about 30 minutes on one charge, something they want to improve. it'll top 140 mph and has a range of around 60 miles. i am going to try and experiment now. i'm take my headphones off. normally, if you do that in an aircraft, it's so noisy you can't hear yourself think. let's see what it's like when i talk into the microphone. ah, can you hear me 0k? it's actually like being in a car on a motorway! it's a lovely way to see the world! turning left... but this isn't just about how we're going to go on holiday, it's about how we are going to pop to the shops. electric engines are cleaner and quieter, making them perfect for flying taxis. seems far—fetched? look at this!

dubai is testing an electric air cab later this year and the giant taxi ride firm uber says it wants customers flying around injust six years. it's been seven decades since the jet engine changed the world. electric engines could have a similar impact on our future. a smartphone system which alerts qualified life savers to someone having a heart attack, has been launched for the first time outside of london. the app automatically calls first responders near the emergency, to get them there before paramedics arrive, as james roberson reports. there are already hundreds of them in the five counties covered by east midlands ambulance service. hello, there. my name's andy, i'm a responder with the ambulance

service. first responders are drawn by staff and fully trained volu nteers by staff and fully trained volunteers and also from the fire service and the region's various medical staff. they used to have to be told by phone about an emergency but now there is an app. when a critical cardiac arrest is identified, it automatically send an alert to the first responder to get their first alert to the first responder to get theirfirst —— alert to the first responder to get their first —— fast to start cpr. alert to the first responder to get their first -- fast to start cpr. it looks for the nearest five people within 800 metres of this scene and alerts those. where it can't fight somebody or the best buy people have rejected, it will then look further for the next five people. ambulance and medical staff are aware that at home, in the countryside or out and about, survival chances can be really increased... anything we can

do to increase that number by getting their hearts coming soon will increase the chance of those people having a productive life. will increase the chance of those people having a productive lifem has taken four years to develop the system. it is across the world is already growing. already, about 400 first responders are registered across the east midlands to receive alerts. they hope that will grow and more people will benefit from this. hello there. today is shaping up to bea similar hello there. today is shaping up to be a similar story to yesterday. a good deal of fine weather in the offing and scattered showers in the north—west and across argyll and beat. a beautiful day with blue sky and sunshine across much of yorkshire and that really is the story for much of us. this cloud across the south—east easing away, with sunshine for you as well into the afternoon. the bigger cloud for

the afternoon. the bigger cloud for the north—west, strengthening winds driving in showers across the north of scotland. some of these quite heavy with the odd rumble of thunder. i suspect for the bulk of us, it will feel somewhat like this. just a light breeze in other places. fairweather cloud coming and going, but not spoiling the story. we will see bigger cloud to the north of england northern ireland and the isle of man. but the sharp showers, some of them with thunder, will continue, with more disappointing temperatures. 14 or 15 celsius. this weather fans will think it's very southwards through the night, introducing more cloud and rain into northern england and then wales. it will weaken off as it pushes in to the south—eastern corner. the only real significant rain will be on tuesday from this area of low pressure into northern ireland and northern england but that does mean for wimbledon there is the risk of light patchy rain around on monday,

getting better for tuesday and wednesday. warming up nicely with 25 or 26 degrees not out of the question. that weather front on monday pushing across from the channel, 24 degrees the hype. here is the brain as we move from monday into tuesday. it is worth bearing in mind that to the south here, we start to really import some pretty warm air. temperatures could start to peek into the mid—20s on tuesday. a little bit fresher to the north of that frontal system. that will be the story from wednesday onwards. if you are heading to wimbledon, 25 is 77 fahrenheit. a good deal of dry weather to close out the week. buy.