this is bbc news and these are the top stories developing at 11. four weeks after the grenfell fire, the search teams still working inside the tower warn they face months of work ahead. i feel passionate about getting those people back to their loved ones. i understand how frustrating it is for people outside of this environment to sit there and wait and say, why can't i have my family back? surely it is easy? and it's not. the new council leader promises to use money from reserves to build more homes for survivors, but admits she had never been inside any of the tower blocks before. i haven't been inside high—rise tower blocks before, but i'm doing so now. donald trumer says he never told his father about his meeting with a russian lawyer. it was such a nothing. i wouldn't have even remembered it, if you hadn't been scouring through this stuff. an ex—cavalry officer wins

a supreme court battle to secure his husband the same pension rights a wife would enjoy. the queen is to formally welcome the king and queen of spain to the uk, as they begin a three—day state visit. and the selfie pensioner. we speak to the chelsea pensioner who needed a bit of help for his photo withjohanna konta. good morning. welcome to bbc newsroom live. the new leader of kensington and

chelsea council says they will use pa rt chelsea council says they will use part of the budget to build new accommodation. mps will debate the inquiry in to the devastating fire at grenfell tower, four weeks on since the tragedy. a consultation period on its terms of reference has been extended by two weeks. labour has criticised what it calls the government's "chaotic" response. they say the government has been too slow in reassuring other people in tower blocks in the area. at least 80 people are believed to have been killed in the tragedy, although officials have warned it could take months before the final death toll is known. 151 homes in the tower and the surrounding area were destroyed. tonight, the community will come togetherfor a vigil, to honour those who lost their lives. frankie mccamley is in north kensington. i have been here for a number of weeks now, speaking to people who escaped a fire and two others who lost loved ones in it. emotions are

still running fairly raw. for weeks on, there is still a long way to go. especially coming on the back of the news that the investigation into the fire will not be completed for months. claiming the steers to what was people's homes. investigators have so far recovered 32 bodies and believe that apr still dead or missing. many of the victims may not be identified. we will need officers on all of these flaws, often working on all of these flaws, often working on the hands and knees. i am very passionate about this and i can

understand why people sing, play can i not have my family back? it should be easy. it is not. i dream about it. every night, it comes back to me. you cannot change it. it is going to haunt me for the rest of my life. following a series of killings by the council, the new council leader said that despite her back to him, she is right for thejob. leader said that despite her back to him, she is right for the jobli object to the fact that because i was in the south of the borough, i would have no idea what was going on in the north of the borough. also, this notion that the wealthy do not hear is simply not rate. many other

top tower blocks in the area have field safety checks and the labour party has said the government needs to speed up the process. later today, there will be in the commons over the public response to the disaster. tonight, the community will come togetherfor a disaster. tonight, the community will come together for a vigil, to show unity after the tragedy which tore so many lives apart. this afternoon, the inquest of the main victims will be open, to give families the chance to get some of these questions answered, what happened to the loved ones. but there are many questions still to be answered. many are wondering what will happen to the tower itself. will it be demolished? obviously, a lot of people still living in hotels in temporary accommodation. although

it is for weeks on, it feels like this is just the it is for weeks on, it feels like this isjust the beginning. a little earlier, the new leader of kensington and chelsea council did an interview on the today programme, in which she said she had never visited the high—rise tower blocks in the borough. campaigners for the grenfell victims have reacted angrily to that. had you ever been inside the grenfell tower, before the fire? i am going tomorrow. no, before before the fire, had you ever been inside it? i hadn't been inside before the fire. had you ever been inside the trellick tower, nearby? not trellick, not grenfell, but i have been inside many other council houses and i have been spending last week... the high—rise ones? had you ever been inside any of them before? i had not been inside any of them. i am certainly doing that known. this

person is so disconnected from the community. the cantor are completely disconnected from the community. i would go as far as to say that they have steam from the north kensington residents. the first thing she did was apologise for the response by the council to the residents. too late. the cups we have seen across the borough. the meal of london has renewed his call for the government to sending commissioners to take over kensington and chelsea borough council. it is quite clear that residents do not have any faith in

the council. the government should be consulting local residents and sending him commissioners to take over the running over the council, as they have done with other councils across the country. there are council elections due to take place next year. that could be new elections and residents could choose new leaders. our assistant political editor norman smith is in westminster, where mps will debate the inquiry into the grenfell disaster later today. a month on, the frustration of people who lived in grenfell tower remains. those tasked with dealing with the aftermath do not understand the lives of the residents. there are also a lot of questions which remain unanswered. what is happening with all the other tower blocks which are being tested? we do not

know where we are with that. a lot of mps this afternoon will be wanting to know about the state of all the war—torn blocks with the cladding was deemed not to be safe. over 200 tower blocks have been tested and many have field, nearly all of them. it does not seem to be much clarity. what happens to the 4000 taiwan blocks in which other people were living in? when will they be tested. a lot of questions. a lot of people feel they are living in limbo. the other area rivers clear concern is claiming. there was a hope that an interim report would be produced by the summer. it looks likely that the enquiry will not get up likely that the enquiry will not get up and running before september at

the earliest. the idea of summer is out the window. in part, this is because of the extension of the consultation period. thejudge will have to look at the feedback to the save the remit of the enquiry. the prime minister will then have to give the go—ahead. mps are going into recess at the back end of next week. you can see how this whole process of the enquiry before it even process of the enquiry before it eve n gets process of the enquiry before it even gets going is going to be further and further delayed. thank you very much. we are currently hearing about the latest state of brexit negotiations. he is saying that britain must stand up for its

financial obligations to the european union. this follows the outspoken statement by the foreign secretary yesterday with regard to that. we await our clarification on the subjects in order to be able to start the discussions. if i can turn toa start the discussions. if i can turn to a couple of points. the other points related to the separation. we have proposed a number of arrangements so have proposed a number of arrangements so that goods vehicles which are legally on the market of the before the date of withdrawal, they would be sellable after the date of withdrawal. this is not negative. we have also put forward a mechanism to implement that

agreement with the number of sub points. for example a mechanism based on the court ofjustice with the european union. but also a joint committee to decide on matters relating to the interpretation and the implementation of the withdrawal agreement which do not relate to european union law and the committee could do fear upwards to the court of justice could do fear upwards to the court ofjustice in could do fear upwards to the court of justice in the could do fear upwards to the court ofjustice in the european union in the case of disappointment. finally, we are proposing a loft which would enable us to complete legal proceedings under way, civil proceedings, commercial matters, criminal. such as, matters relating to the european arrest warrant. on all these things, what i have to see as the quicker we move forward and

thatis as the quicker we move forward and that is the spirit i am working on an all these fees one subjects, the sooner we an all these fees one subjects, the sooner we will be able to discuss our future relationship. one final point, i have said they will always listen to the different points of view and the british debate. listen to the different points of view and the british debatem listen to the different points of view and the british debate. it is only natural. later today, view and the british debate. it is only natural. latertoday, i view and the british debate. it is only natural. later today, i will meet a delegation from the house of lords to answer questions the delegation will be led by the european union select committee. the meeting is at the request. i will

also meetjeremy corbyn and the first minister of scotland, nicholas dodging, and also the first minister for wales, carwynjones. dodging, and also the first minister for wales, carwyn jones. i dodging, and also the first minister forwales, carwynjones. iwill only negotiate with the united kingdom government. we can switch to your questions. adam fleming, bbc. you said you wanted clarity from the united kingdom government. is it a problem that they have not been certain about the position and does reveal much about their attitude to the process? the sooner we receive clarification

on the british positions on the topics we have not heard from them, the better. i am ready. topics we have not heard from them, the better. iam ready. our team is ready. if tomorrow or in the coming days before the second round starts, we receive these qualifications, we will work on it and look at it in detail. a very prepared and to work on this very quickly mate andy and over the weekend and even on my national holiday in france. as you have just national holiday in france. as you havejust said, national holiday in france. as you have just said, everybody needs to express the opinion that the outset and explain what the airliners on all the points. that is what we want. when these topics, of the

divorce. they are all to do with the withdrawal. i know the british government are working on it. i know they have been working on the systems. once we get this that position, we will be able to make a comparison of rear there are points of agreement. i am sure there will be many points of agreement, even on some of the other topics. at the same time. we will carry out an evaluation and diagnosis and look at the points of disagreement and then we can start work on trying to get the disagreement positions to converge. i very much hope the british government will specify an express its position as quickly as possible before the second round.

couple of questions. can you give us any idea of when you may produce a paper on the commissions position on theissues paper on the commissions position on the issues affecting ireland? is that being affected by the failure of the parties in northern ireland to come together with the working executive? do you believe it is compatible with any prospect of the transition agreement that the british could repudiate access to the coastal region and is that going to hold up any sort of transition agreement? ijust to hold up any sort of transition agreement? i just wanted to hold up any sort of transition agreement? ijust wanted to know if you are prepared to whistle as the june. on the last point, i do not want to

make any comment. i am not leaving any for make any comment. i am not leaving anyfora sling. make any comment. i am not leaving any for a sling. just the clock ticking. on ireland, or more choice in accordance with the british side is to start on monday the political dialogue at the highest level. my deputy will be the year for the discussions and that is to try and come up with some sort ofjoint policy approach, a joint political approach, and i think that has to come about no before retiring find

the technical and technological solutions to the issues linked to the border. that is the work we are going to start and they have already said this to you before, but under my remit as european commissioner, in the years after 2000, i consolidated and facilitated unimproved with the authorities in northern ireland and the united kingdom the peace programme. that is one of the very important instruments which has contributed to the success of the good friday agreement and it i am very attached to it and i'm very committed to maintaining the aspects of peace and security in northern ireland. he was

asked what he thought about the foreign secretary saying the european union could go whistle with regard to what he regarded as extortionate exit payments for the united kingdom. the commissioner said he did not hear any whistling. though, we can talk about this massive a spirit which has broken away. . it is one of the biggest iceberg ever recorded. it covers about the size of wales. it is a

protrusion that flowed off the eastern side of antarctica ‘s peninsular. about the size of the quarter of wales. it is estimated to be twice the hate of st paul's cathedral in london. —— ——height. though, if you were watching the television coverage at wimbledon yesterday, you will have seen that each chelsea pensioner became famous yesterday after getting his picture taken with konta after her victory

yesterday. the man with a best picture and the house is with us. he is from swansea yesterday —— originally. did you enjoy that yesterday? it was absolutely amazing. it was a privilege to be invited. i was one of a group of chelsea pensioners sitting there and to have the silvey with novakjock of which when he went back to the to the dressing rooms. and then also got another one with konta. you enjoy the tennis and they were very happy to have the photographs taken with you? i was clearly delighted when novak came over and when i assemble a photograph, he actually took the phone offers and actually

took the phone offers and actually took the phone offers and actually took the photograph. he did have a few others, but they would not work out. venus williams did not want to have the photograph taken. she wa nted have the photograph taken. she wanted to get off and into the changing room. you are in your 1970s and have served all over the world. but you soon to be a bit of a teenager when it comes to the phone device. i had to lay quite fast yesterday. the opportunity only comes once in a lifetime. i was very happy to have taken a photograph with two fantastic players. obviously, the british player is in the semifinal. any chance you will be great to see her again. u nfortu nately. we

be great to see her again. unfortunately. we only get one in freight during the wimbledon fortnight, but they will be certainly be watching it on the television and be rooting for her and hope she wins the championship. as we are both welshman, we're just going to talk about rugby no. as we have just here, it has not happened for decades, but konta has become the first british woman to reach the semifinals of the singles tournament since 1978. after a near shading victory, she isjust two matches away from the championship.

i have always been confident in my ability, but i did not give myself to time to dream and just focus on the work. she did at the hard way, losing the first set on a tie—break. relying on the powerful server and the booming backhand, it took us to a decider. konta has worked very ha rd a decider. konta has worked very hard on the mental side of the sport. 0 say, the fans tried to raise the roof. she became the first woman from britain into the semifinal since 1978. today, all

eyes will be on the defending champion andy murray and his semifinal. he is placing the american sam querry. the match gets under way about one o'clock. the american is a rear of his underdog billing. playing against the number one, you just have to go out there and do your best. it is going to be the toughest match for me and i am going to have to play very well. i have to hope i'm in a lot of first serves in and play as aggressive as ican. serves in and play as aggressive as i can. thank you very much. the king and queen of spain have arrived on the first day of a three—day state visit. king felipe vi and his wife queen letizia will be officially greeted by the queen and the duke

of edinburgh in the next hour, in what is expected to be the duke's last state visit before he retires from official duties later this year. our royal correspondent nicholas witchell is on the mall in central london. visiting heads of state are rather partial from this. visiting heads of state are rather partialfrom this. a personal invitation to stay at buckingham palace. you can see in the background the household cavalry forming up behind us. there is serious business behind us. the king and queen will be arriving in about half an hour or so. there will be a state banquet tonight, but behind that there is the serious business of politics. other officials are hoping that within the warm and positive atmosphere, they are hoping they can do business between london

and madrid. thank you very much. the headlines are coming up on the bbc news channel. in a moment, we say goodbye to viewers on bbc two. first, we leave you with for a look at the weather. good morning. the rain beginning to clear away towards the east. a beautiful photograph sent in from cambridgeshire. light winds and temperatures getting into the low 20s. maybe 22—23dc for the south east. for wimbledon, much 20s. maybe 22—23dc for the south east. forwimbledon, much drier conditions this afternoon. sign this evening, as well. could be some

other chilly temperatures in sheltered areas. tomorrow, showers mainly across the north—west, which could be heavy at times. similar temperatures to today. this is bbc newsroom live. the headlines now: four weeks after the grenfell fire, the search teams who are still working inside the tower have warned they face months of work ahead. it comes as survivors of the blaze have reacted angrily to the new leader of the council's admission that she'd never been inside a high—rise tower block like grenfell before the fire. donald trump tweets that his son, donald trump junior, is innocent and calls the allegations against him the greatest witch hunt ever. an ex—cavalry officer wins a supreme court battle to secure his husband the same pension rights a wife would receive. the queen will formally welcome the king and queen of spain to the uk as they begin

a three—day state visit. it is expected to be the duke of edinburgh ‘s last state visit before he officially retry ‘s official duties at the end of this year. president trump's eldest son has said he didn't tell his father about a meeting last year with a russian lawyer who was apparently offering to help the trump election campaign. yesterday donald trump junior released e—mails which showed he was keen to see what incriminating material the lawyer was prepared to offer on mr trump's election rival, hillary clinton. our north america correspondent david willis sent this report.

congratulations, dad, we love you! donald trump junior played a key role in his father ‘s ascent to the presidency and now its actions are threatening to undermine our directory. further revelations about a meeting last year at trump tower and the president's son releases e—mails exchanged between him and the man who brokered the meeting. those e—mails have released some is disturbing questions. in retrospect i probably would have done things a little differently. this is before russia mania and when they were building it up in the me it was opposition research so i wanted to irate about but really it went nowhere and that was apparent that it was not what the meeting was about. the e-mails were exchanged between donald trump junior and about. the e-mails were exchanged between donald trumpjunior and a british publicist called goldstone

who said a russian lawyer had damaging information about hillary clinton and the information would be very useful to his father. he said it was very high level and sensitive information but it was part of the russian government support for mr trump. donald trump junior russian government support for mr trump. donald trumpjunior replied that if it was what he said he loved it. did you tell your father anything about this? it was such a nothing there was nothing to tell. i wouldn't be remembered it until you start scouring through all this stuff. it was literallyjust start scouring through all this stuff. it was literally just 20 minutes wasted which was a shame. donald trump has only said that if i was a high—quality person and he applauded his transparency, but the apparent eagerness of donald junior to a cce pt apparent eagerness of donald junior to accept russia offer of help to his father ‘s campaign has left lawmakers of both parties deeply concerned. it is serious and this is

a serious situation. doesn't appear that when they had information this person might be connected with the russian government ration national that they didn't immediately call the fbi. the fact that will trump 's son—in—law was also present in the meeting in trump tower also adds to the concern here. now a senior adviser to the president, some are saying that it is another sign of how keen the trump campaign was for information about its presidential rival. president trump travels to france today, anxious to escape the impression that his is an administration under siege. one of the biggest icebergs ever recorded has just the biggest icebergs ever recorded hasjust broken the biggest icebergs ever recorded has just broken away from ant arctic. it is calculated to weigh 1 trillion tonnes. an american satellite observed the iceberg while passing over a region called the larsen ci shelf, with me is our

science correspondent. tell me more. this is impressive, isn't it? imagine walking from monmouth to caernarfon, that imagine walking from monmouth to caerna rfon, that is imagine walking from monmouth to caernarfon, that is how long it would take to walk the length of this iceberg. it probably tower was about 30 metres above the cease surface but icebergs sit mostly underwater. it is 200 metres, about as far as underwater. it is 200 metres, about as faras usain underwater. it is 200 metres, about as far as usain bolt runs twice, 200 metres underneath the surface of the water so it is immense, it really is. it has come from a region called larsen c, imagine the antarctic peninsular, a finger of land going up peninsular, a finger of land going up towards south america. it has come off the eastern side of that and it will move away gradually over the coming weeks and months, driven by the tides and by the winds and currents and they will have to monitor it because it is so big it could get into shipping lanes and if it does that it will obviously

become a navigation hazard. what about the reasons for a breaking away, our scientists concerned ? about the reasons for a breaking away, our scientists concerned? this is what antarctica does when it gets up is what antarctica does when it gets up in the morning, it carves iceberg. this area called larsen c is an ice shelf, as the glaciers come off the land they go into the ocean and then they lift up and become buoyant and that ice joins together and calls —— forms and ice shelf. it can only support so much ice before an iceberg breaks off and thatis ice before an iceberg breaks off and that is what we are seeing here, a very natural function of what antarctica does. it is true that this region further north has seen a lot of ice go in the last few decades but some of the incidents we saw one those ice shelves we're not seeing in this area at the moment so this is really business as usual. what are those symptoms. we have seen what are those symptoms. we have seen air temperatures rise in the antarctic peninsular very recently and meltwater appear on top of ice

shelves, great big ponds of water which goes down through cracks and can drive the cracks down through the cracks and right down to the ocean and split off the ice and on other ice shelves we have seen them covered in melt points and we are not seeing that in larsen c said this is different. thank you very much. there's been another fall in unemployment. singer ariana grande has been made an honorary citizen of manchester,

after she organised a concert to raise money for the victims of the manchester arena terror attack. celebrities including miley cyrus and justin bieber performed to thousands of fans at the one love manchester concert, which was held one month after the attack. twenty—two people died when bomber salman abedi detonated a device at the end of ariana grande's concert in may. face—to—face bullying is considerably more common than cyber—bullying among english teenagers. that's according to a new academic study of more than 110,000 15—year—olds. researchers from the university of oxford say nearly a third of those surveyed were being bullied regularly. political parties must do more to prepare candidates for the ruthless nature of campaigning, according to a new report. a parliamentary cross—party group documented the scale of abuse and intimidation of parliamentary candidates during the general election.

one mp suffered an anti—semitic attack and another was targeted by racist graffiti and repeated death threats. turkey's president recep tayyip erdogan has told the bbc that membership of the european union was not indispensable for his country, criticising the eu for being insincere. in an exclusive interview with the bbc‘s hardtalk programme, mr erdogan also said he hoped for a free trade deal with britain once it leaves the eu and rejected criticism of turkey's record on press freedom. he was speaking to zeinab badawi. we are loyal to our word. if the eu bluntly says we will not be able to accept turkey into the eu this will be comforting for us. we will then initiate our plan b and see. the eu is not indispensable for us. turkey is able to stand on it's own two feet. the majority of my people, they don't want the eu anymore. they don't think the eu's approach to turkey is sincere. despite all this, we will continue on being sincere with the eu for a little more time. we will see what that brings to us. you can see that full interview on

the bbc news channel this friday at 9:30pm, online and on the bbc iplayer. the battle to retake the syrian city of raqqa from the islamic state group is intensifying. the kurdish—led syrian democratic forces now control about a quarter of the city, the us military say. as hanan razek reports, the battle is taking its toll on civilians. pushing deeper into the capital of the self—declared caliphate. kurdish and arab forces have surrounded raqqa and now they are advancing into the old town. as the forces make progress, civilians flee.

people are escaping the violence anyway they can. this cattle truck is what this family crammed into in their search for a safe shelter. some of those fleeing the city have decided not to go too far. just a few kilometres away from raqqa, people have begun setting up makeshift tents. despite the dire conditions, they hope they will be able to go back home soon. the push towards raqqa started at the end of last year with heavy

air strikes in and around the city. according to the un, at least 300 civilians died in raids since march alone. with an estimated 100,000 people still left inside the city, there are growing fears for the safety. north of the city, a camp has been set up for those who have escaped the fighting. in may alone, around 100,000 people were displaced. it's safer here, but conditions are tough. the forces surrounding the city say they will capture it

in a matter of months, but that will mean many more thousands facing the dangerous journey into camps like this one. four weeks ago today, a tragedy was unfolding at grenfell tower. we now know more than 80 people died and hundreds more lost their homes in the fire. the trauma has had a huge impact on the community, particularly on the children who live in the area. our correspondent graham satchell has been to see how they're coping in the aftermath of that night. in sight of grenfell tower, fun and laughter. this is kids on the green, a safe space where children are encouraged to be children. football is really fun.

there is lots of food. it is really fun overall. the first week was pretty hard, then it got a bit easier, after a few weeks, and then when this started happening, you come here and it distracts you a lot. kids on the green is run by volunteers. teachers, therapists, entertainers and even hairdressers. children can play and be supported, and parents can get some respite. i've got two boys and an older girl who is 13. and a couple of her friends were in the tower. so she has been really affected by it and upset. it is hard to know that some of the neighbours, teacher, some of the children that my kids were friends with, are no longer with us. and the building being right there in our faces, it doesn't help. so being in this space, it helps us to forget. we look forward to having it the next day. one month after the fire, the impact on some of the children is only now starting to show. the last week, some of the symptoms have become more severe. we find that a lot of kids have been

scared to go to bed, they have been scared to go to sleep. so we are giving parents lots of practical support in resetting those routines and making their children feel safe. everybody likes to have fun. this is for grenfell tower. just hope that all the residents who live there are really, like, that they are ok and that they are just, um, getting lovely treatments and everybody can help get them a new home. in the art tent, children can paint anything they want. most of them draw the tower. we have a team of art therapists on site, so children drawing disturbing pictures are supported. perhaps they might want to talk.

it is very sad that so many children witnessed it. such widespread sadness and horror. all the children here have witnessed unimaginable horror. we asked for a show of hands for those who knew someone who had died. this isjust the beginning of the healing process. but we know that the healing is going to take years. it is going to take a very long time. it will take time. but kids on the green is a chance to escape, to play, to be normal and forget. in a moment a summary of the business news this hour but first the headlines on bbc newsroom live: but the new conservative leader of

kensington and chelsea council admits she has never been inside a tower block before. donald trump junior defended his decision to meet a lawyer offering information from the russian government to help his father ‘s election campaign. hello. in the business news to day:. uk unemployment fell by 64,000 to 1.49 million in the three months to may, meaning the unemployment rate fell to its lowest since 1975, at 4.5%. but wage increases continued to fall further behind inflation. more on this in a moment. fees for unplanned overdrafts are to be scrapped for the 20 million customers of lloyds banking group, which includes the halifax and bank of scotland. from november this year, any customer going over their overdraft limit will face no fees at all, but the bank may continue to block payments from the account until the overdraft is paid off. the proposed purchase by supermarket giant tesco of wholesaler booker is to be subjected to an in—depth probe.

the competition and markets authority says there are concerns over the proposed £3.7 billion tie—up, with 350 areas where there is an overlap between tesco shops and booker—supplied independent stores. it said the deal could be bad for shoppers in those areas because of reduced competition. there are nowjust over 32 million people in work in the uk, the highest since comparable records began in 1971. let's take a look at the numbers. uk unemployment has fallen by 64,000 to 1.49 million in the three months to may. it means the unemployment rate fell to its lowest since 1975, at 4.5%. but no improvement for real wages, excluding bonuses, wages grew at 2% compared to an increase of 1.7% in the previous three months. real weekly earnings fell by half a

percent compared to a year earlier thanks to inflation. let us start off with the good news. unemployment is at its lowest rate for a long time and we have added jobs to the economy. are we getting better creating new jobs? that would seem to be the case, the gig economy and the new industries have something to do with it as well. you are absolutely right that the labour party picture was a mixed collage. a strong side we have unemployment and as you say the lifetime loan. we have employment growing and the number of people in work is actually growing and another indicator of the tightness of the labour party, —— labour market, candidates looking for work is near the best levels of this cycle and it tells us we have a

warming labour market and yet it believes economists no more confident about the strength of this economy and the consumer led increases the bank of england. wage growth does not seem to make too much difference. because of the weight of inflation it is not actually making a difference. real wages actually fell by half a percent week to week. why is that and will that gap persist?‘ percent week to week. why is that and will that gap persist? a looks likely that this will persist because price growth is still accelerating. it is still fairly high and we expect it will move higher towards the end of the year, above the 3% mark and that the same time wage growth remains soft. the jobs being created are not necessarily paying much more. any increase that there is about wages and labour income is being eaten

away by faster high street prices growth, leaving consumers worse off. a final word on interest rates. where does this leave the bank of england? more pressure presumably to raise rates? the bank of england has to balance the effects of a weaker sterling exchange rate on consumer price inflation with uncertainty about this consumer led recovery when savings are so low and it is so high and real wages are being squeezed. that ultimately creates a real question mark in the minds of markets. on the one hand we think that the bank of england cycle has turned and the next move may well be a hike up rather than a cut but there is a question here as to how soon there is a question here as to how soon and how much stimulus withdrawal we will really get from the bank of england when the outlook is getting cloudier. thank you very much forjoining us. let us have a look at the markets before we go. the pound is currently up slightly

from the start of the day but it is a minimal change and it relies —— belies a rocky start to the day. the pound initially went down in the jobs figures sent it back up again so jobs figures sent it back up again so it has been a rocky start. that is it from me and i will be back in one hour. the eu brexit negotiator michel barnier has held a news conference about the progress of the brexit negotiations. the next round of talks start monday next week, with citizens rights and the uk's brexit bill expected to be at the top of the agenda. when asked about what he thought of boris johnson's comments that the eu can "go whistle" over a brexit divorce bill, mr barnier said he can hear no whistling, just a clock ticking. during his news conferencethe chief negotiator for the eu said they were ready for the next round of negotiations. we need to engage substantially, substantially in all the issues of

the first phase of negotiations, as agreed with the uk onjune 19. agreed with the uk onjune19. citizens rights, the single financial settlement, the new borders, in particular in ireland, and the other separation issues like the treatment of goods placed on the market before the brexit day. we have published nine e u position papers so far on the different issues. the positions are clear. we now need to know the uk's position on each of these issues in order to make progress. we need to know on which parts we agree and which points we disagree. so that we can

negotiate in earnest. my aim is to make good progress next week and at our next sessions in august on all issues. we cannot remain idle as the clock is ticking. we can go to our brussels correspondent. the clock is ticking, he used that in the context of talking about boris johnson saying the eu can go whistle for money on brexit, if it asks for too much. there is a sense of impatience coming through from michel barnier today. there is a little bit. i think it is because he, as he said, he is ready and he knows that the brexit clock had time started ticking back in march and we are now injuly and he

feels that time is already slipping by and there is already a lot to do so by and there is already a lot to do so he is focusing on these issues that he needs to tackle the first round of negotiations and he still waiting for clarification from the uk side on many of its own positions and he says he is ready to work night and day soon as he get those, prefera bly night and day soon as he get those, preferably before the negotiation phase starts next week. what is the latest on the divorce bill? as mr barnier was saying the eu position is that he has produced a position paper that goes through and lays out the reasoning. that reasoning is pretty simple, which is that the uk, asa pretty simple, which is that the uk, as a member of the eu at the minute, has signed up to budgetary commitments for this budgetary period, which means extending

forward to 2020 and those commitments are real spending commitments are real spending commitments for projects already under way in many cases and obligations that need to be met, so to farmers, scientists and students and as mr barnier said that it is a huge problem for the eu side, and a huge problem for the eu side, and a huge issue from that side because those projects and those people expect that funding to continue and the eu side, he said, expect the uk to honour its obligations entered into. he made a point of saying it is not about punishment but he is ready to go through line by line that reasoning and discuss that to reach an outline agreement, that is what he is looking for, with the uk on finances. thank you very much. let us catch up with the weather right now. good afternoon. conditions will

continue to improve as we had through the rest of the afternoon. we did have a fair bit of rain overnight and to start the day across the south—east and we'll continue to see some rain for a time, but clearing as we head through the afternoon. in the past 24—hour is there is a lot of rainfall and a soggy day across the south west. we have had rainfall of up south west. we have had rainfall of up to 40 millimetres and this is the start in east sussex sent in from our weather watchers with drizzle and cloud and damp conditions. continuing to improve with hardly a cloud here, sent in from the weather watchers in cumbria. it is dry and fine across the santry with sunshine around. the cloud will continue to break and we have seen that clear the kent and sussex coach and there is much more in the way of dry conditions and in the light winds it is feeling pleasant but it will feel fresher across the coast. in northern ireland and western scotla nd northern ireland and western scotland there is a lot of sunshine with temperatures up to 20 or 21 but along the east coast here, with an

onshore breeze, maybe 15 degrees at best, but for central areas, wales and the south—west it will be a pleasa nt and the south—west it will be a pleasant summers afternoon with sunshine around and temperatures reaching the high teens or maybe the low 20s and improve conditions for the southern counties of england and the southern counties of england and the south—east with temperatures around 22. for the men's quarterfinal singles at wimbledon it is much brighter. sunshine around with temperatures reaching 23 and it will be improving to the evening as well. i pressure still with us as we had through the night, long clear spells are turning chile especially for central glens around low glens. tomorrow does start off largely dry with a good deal of sunshine around. more on the way of showers developing and across england our van northern ireland and north—western parts of the highlands and islands. looking ahead to

tomorrow night and into friday we have a weak weather front approach with showers and showers. friday will improve and we will have drier conditions are more sunshine developing by the afternoon. temperatures still reach the high teens and maybe up to 22 degrees in the south west. as ever, more details on the bbc website. that is it from me. have a great day. to4 this is bbc news and these are the top stories developing at midday. as police continue their search of g re nfell tower, the new council leader promises money from reserves to build more homes in the borough. four weeks on, mps

will debate the tragedy and we will be live in the commons shortly, where minister damian green is standing in for theresa may at prime minister's questions. week idle, as the clock is ticking. that is the chief negotiator from the european union. he was responding to the comments yesterday by the foreign secretary. one of the biggest icebergs ever recorded has broken away from antarctica. and help your selfie — the chelsea pensioner who needed a bit of help for his snap withjohanna konta is delighted with the result. i could see the opportunity only

comes once and i i could see the opportunity only comes once and i was i could see the opportunity only comes once and i was very happy to have been able to taken to taken the photographs. good afternoon. welcome to bbc newsroom live. damian green is standing in for theresa may at today's prime minister's questions. mrs may is attending a welcome ceremony for the king and queen of spain, who are on a state visit to the uk. let us take you live now to the house of commons where prime minister's questions has started. we are waiting for it to start, we can bring in norman smith. a bit ofa a bit of a different feel to things today, with too few people standing

in. many people thought she did very well last time. she asked six questions on one subject. she may talk about brexit again and pick up on these comments by the foreign secretary. that comment that the european union could go and whistle if they wanted the tape of payment via been talking about from the united kingdom to leave the european union. we have the first report by one of the pay review bodies, the teachers, which suggested sticking to that 1%. there is a lot of unhappiness within the conservative

party about this. especially when inflation has risen to 2.9%. she may also talk about the so—called gig economy. the labour party believes a lot of these companies are hiding behind technology to avoid paying national insurance. it will be an interesting dynamic. often, these understudy prime minister's questions can be quite surprising both in subject and how they go about it. the prime minister is welcoming the king and queen of spain on the state visit to the united kingdom. as

today's report that national grid made £3 billion profit at the expense of households further evidence that the government is not delivering fear energy prices? will the government agreed to a complete re bate the government agreed to a complete rebate for overcharging and will the government know, to it and energy price for the households of the most expensive tariffs? you rate to identify the issue of energy places andi identify the issue of energy places and i am sure she will welcome the announcement in the queen's speech that the government will ensure fairer markets for consumers, bringing forward measures to tackle unfair practices in the energy places to help reduce energy bills. iam sure places to help reduce energy bills. i am sure this is an issue we can work across the house on together. yesterday, you kindly hosted to

important talks on health care funding. the nhs in stalk is pervading fame care but is under huge financial pressures. can we come together to make this parliament one which suits hills and social care at the top of its agenda? i am gratefulto my honourable friend. i know he has been campaigning vigorously on behalf of the health service in his constituency. he and i both welcome the fact that the government has committed an extra £8 million over this parliament —— £8 billion to the nhs over this parliament and we will have a debate across this post about how we can improve our social care

system because it is one of the big issues facing our country. let me welcome the first secretary to his new position. in a 20 years since he first joined the house, new position. in a 20 years since he firstjoined the house, he is the 16th member of the party opposite representing as part of prime minister's questions. he has until the end of the station to be able to name all of them. i am sure he and the whole house willjoin me in congratulating the british and irish lions on their historic achievement. on the subject of british and irish cooperation, there are huge problems regarding the practicalities of the common travel area. what will happen to the irish language if no deal is reached between britain and europe between 20 million 2019.|j reached between britain and europe between 20 million 2019. i am grateful for the kind

between 20 million 2019. i am gratefulfor the kind remarks. i need take up our offer to name all 16 later. there are many distinguished people on this party from both sexes, because we occasionally elect female leaders. i also absolutely sheer point you're rushing about the rugby. it seems a very british thing to do to celebrate draw. i know you will fit be very keen on following the process of what konta and andy murray. letters all we have two finalists at the weekend. with

regard to the irish border, it is the aim of the government to make sure we get the best deal for britain and as the prime minister set out in her lancaster house speech, one of the key issues we wa nt to speech, one of the key issues we want to bring forward at the start of the negotiations is precisely the issue of the border with ireland. it issue of the border with ireland. it is not only important foreign—born citizens, but for the irish republic that we get this right and i have already had meetings with my opposite number in the irish parliament. i mentioned at the outset that he is the 16th member to represent the party opposite. only three of these have been women. and alas, with the exception of the current prime minister was 16 years ago. if i can turn to the next question. my question was not what still be hope to get, my question

was not what do we hope to get, but what happens if we do not get any deal whatsoever? this is not some sinister thing dreamt up. it was the prime minister who first mentioned it. the brexit secretary said we would be prepared to walk away. since the election, the chancellor has admitted that would be a bad outcome. a former minister told sky news that no deal is dead. we'll be secretary clear this up? are the minister simply making this up as they go along? or is it still the government ‘s clear policy that no deal is an option? i recommend that she leads the prime minister ‘s lancaster house agreement. her

speech. it is conceivable that we would be offered a kind of punishment deal which would be worse than no deal. it is not our intention. we want to deal, we want a good deal. it is our party ‘s position that whatever is on offer, they will accept it. that is a terrible way to go into the negotiation and all i congratulate them on as the consistency. they have been consistently in favour of unilateral disarmament. that type of attitude also applies to the belief in the future prosperity of britain. the first secretary did not get the prime minister ‘s memo. he is supposed to be building a consensus. if we ignore the political bluster,

i think what we hear was that no deal is still an option. if that is the case, can we turn to what i make the case, can we turn to what i make the east india club question. before the east india club question. before the memberfor the east india club question. before the member for newton abbott was going to ask, what does this deal mean for our people and our businesses and for people in northern ireland ? businesses and for people in northern ireland? can he addressed the question no. what does note he will look like in practice? the question no. what does note he will look like in practice ?|j the question no. what does note he will look like in practice? i am happy to address that. i am a moderate pearson keen on consensus. i look forward to sharing the labour party ‘s views this morning on the unemployment figures. unemployment

is no down to its lowest level since the early 1970s. many members in this house were not born when unemployment was as low as this government has made it. i hope she will welcome lower unemployment. on the substance of question, as she knows, we are seeking a good deal for britain that will enable us to trade as freely as possible with the european union to protect prosperity. , at the same time, we wa nt to prosperity. , at the same time, we want to get trade deals with other important markets around the world. and the last week alone, both the united states and australia and said they would like to sign deals with britain as fast as possible. i am happy to report that negotiations are going well and that her fear of no deal is probably overstated. are going well and that her fear of no deal is probably overstatedm you want to talk about unemployment,

let me ask them specifically will he publish the treasury ‘s assessment of the impact of what the ideal outcome would have on jobs and growth in britain? will he publish that today? i do not think so. if the first secretary will not tell the first secretary will not tell the house what no deal will mean. order! but a first minister and the rate honourable lady must be here. can he at clean up with there is a plan for no deal existing? i have heard that there is no plan. two overs later, downing street said the rewards. he may be laughing, but i

am coming to him next. the brexit secretary was so am coming to him next. the brexit secretary was so busy fighting with himself that on march 12, he said there was a plan. five days later he said there was not. i'm even thinking he said he spent half his time thinking about it. yesterday, he said he was not prepared to comment. can the first secretary clea n comment. can the first secretary clean up the confusion today? is it a contingency plan for no deal or is there not? if there is, will republish it? the honourable lady said she is happy to talk about unemployment. she could not bring herself to talk about the falling numbers. we will have to try harder to establish consensus on something which she genuinely nick unite all

sides of the house. with regard to the report, it will be published tomorrow. she just needs to be patient. the first secretary seems to be saying that no deal is still on the table but will not say what that means. and then as a no deal contingency plan that he is not going to publish. this is two steps forward and two steps back. if the government seriously wants opencast sparked a debate about the best way forward for the exit, they have to speu forward for the exit, they have to spell out what all the options look like. can he provide clarity on one issue and try and make some progress. he has said repeatedly that we want to avoid the cliff edge brexit. but the prime minister can

hardly lash out of a meeting and see there will be no deal and then come back and say they wanted two more yea rs back and say they wanted two more years to prepare. does no deal mean no transitional agreements? let me try harder to establish consensus. i hope she agrees with me that all of us hope she agrees with me that all of us want a deal. the reason i am optimistic because of negotiating sta nce optimistic because of negotiating stance on the position set to open the prime minister is that we have, for example, maybe fear and —— fear and realistic offer to try and remove that obstacle. that is the first indication of how we will approach the negotiations. we will approach the negotiations. we will approach the negotiations. we will approach the many positive state. it is not just approach the many positive state. it is notjust in the interest of great britain but also of the other member states of the european union to

reach a deal with one of the biggest trading partners. it is in everyone's interest to reach the deal and said she said nothing constructive that would contribute to that, i will give her one more chance. i know he is new to this, order! i do not know if this is orchestrated. but the idea that this will stop questions being asked is for the birds. we will carry on for as long as possible to accommodate the backbench members. the way it works is he asked the questions and the answers. i ask the questions and he answers. laughter. if he does not

wa nt to he answers. laughter. if he does not want to continue on these rules, i am sure there are others who would like to audition as prime minister. ido like to audition as prime minister. i do appreciate all of the answers. the dojust i do appreciate all of the answers. the do just served to illustrate what the miss the gottman has got itself into by threatening to walk away even before talks began. as the truth not that we have a no deal option on the table when they will not tell us what that means. there are contingency plans but they will not let the public see them. we have a chance like demanding transitionary arrangements. we have the foreign secretary making it up as he is going along. we have the brexit secretary so used to overruling his colleagues that he is no starting to overrule himself. and we offer prime minister so bereft of ideas that she is putting out

suggestion boxes around parliament. asa suggestion boxes around parliament. as a country, we have got 20 months to go until brexit. we absolutely have to get a grip. if the party is not that this trend of the towers, we have got to get rid of them. not that this trend of the towers, we have got to get rid of themlj think you could be a question on that. can i be assured her of two things. the government is already in the negotiations. we have started them. they are going well. the first thing we wanted to do was negotiate citizens rates. that was the first item on the agenda during the first meeting. we want to make sure european citizens in this country and equally importantly, british citizens in european union countries have much certainty about the rates as soon as

have much certainty about the rates as soon as possible. that is what we negotiating. that is the sign of a practical and pragmatic government getting on with the work in the interests of the british people. as we have seen from the labour party, they have so far had nine different approaches on europe. they want to be in and out of the single market and customs union. they said they wa nted and customs union. they said they wanted to remain at the spot the party on that. she made one point about whether she would prefer to be at this dispatch box rather than that one. i would lament of the other event which has happened recently, when the conservative party got more seats than the labour party got more seats than the labour party and won the election. we will leave the house of commons at the moment. a lively encounter. the prime minister is attending events

for the spanish state visit, which we will show pictures of shortly. talking about brexit andy contingency plans are as to whether there was going to be a deal or not. we can go to horse guards parade at the moment. the king and queen of spain are being officially greeted. they are here for a three—day state visit. they will be residing in buckingham palace. the duke and duchess of cambridge are expected to attend the state dinner tonight. the king will also address members of

parliament. he will also be meeting the prime minister downing street. that is why she is missing from the house of commons at the moment. this is the traditional pomp and ceremony around the state visit. this was postponed twice because there was a political crisis in spain in march last year. a new date had been reached, but that then clashed with the general election here last month. they will inspect the guard of honour on horse guards parade. this will be the worst state visit before the duke of edinburgh steps

back from public duties. —— the last state visit. there is some speculation as to whether the king of spain will mention gibraltar. his predecessor ken carroll was brought it up when he made a state visit to britain in 1986. —— king carlos. last september, he said he wanted the negotiated handover of gibraltar. it is an issue which has come back into discussion because of brexit. it is possible that it will be raised by the king of spain during this cd visit. the prime

minister as herself said that the status of gibraltar will not be up for discussion. this is the pomp and ceremony around this state visit. all happening along the mall. the king and queen in the royal carriage. he will be staying at buckingham palace during the visit. and in the carnage behind, the duke of edinburgh and the queen of spain. there will be a private lunch at

buckingham palace with the queen and prince philip and afternoon tea with the prince of wales afterwards. tonight, a state banquet. they have entered buckingham palace at the start of this three—day visit. more coverage later. the new conservative leader of kensington and chelsea borough council has promised that they will use money to build more houses within the borough. she did not say how much would be spent, but they have reserves of £274 million. labour has

criticised the response, seeing that they have been too slow in looking at other tower blocks across the country. investigators have so far uncovered 32 bodies. up to 80 are believed to have been killed. we are looking at searching of flats and on all fours. that means people on the hands and knees. we understand how people are frustrated out with this environment, thinking that it is easy for them to have the aloft a 1's bike. it is not. many are weakly

know for permanent homes and many are living in temporary accommodation. it is taking its toll. every night it comes back to me. you cannot change it. it will haunt me for the rest of my life. following a series of feelings by the council, the new leader takes a position next week. she said that, despite her background, she is the right person for the job. just because i come from the south of the borough, there is this sort that i have no understanding of what goes on in the north. this belief that people who will see in the borough to nokia is simply not true. they do. safety checks have been carried out in 200 chicks with similar cladding to grenfell tower a dollar

field. the labour party says the process needs to be speeded up and people need to know whether the homes are safe. later today there will be a debate in the commons over the public response to the disaster. the residents will gather to lead 40 vigil to show unity over a tragedy which is torn so many lives apart. the eu brexit negotiator michel barnier has held a news conference about the progress of the brexit negotiations. the next round of talks start monday next week, with citizens rights and the uk's brexit bill expected to be at the top of the agenda. when asked about what he thought of boris johnson's comments that the eu can "go whistle" over a brexit divorce bill, mr barnier said he can hear no whistling, just a clock ticking. during his news conferencethe chief negotiator for the eu said they were ready for the next round of negotiations. we need to engage substantially, substantially in all the issues of the first phase of negotiations, as agreed with the uk onjune 19th. citizens rights, the single

financial settlement, the new borders, in particular in ireland, and the other separation issues like the treatment of goods placed on the market before the brexit day. we have published nine eu position papers so far on the different issues. the positions are clear. we now need to know the uk's position on each of these issues in order to make progress. we need to know on which points we agree and which points we disagree, so that we can negotiate in earnest. my aim is to make good progress next

week and at our next sessions in august on all issues. we cannot remain idle as the clock is ticking. president trump's eldest son has said he didn't tell his father about a meeting last year with a russian lawyer who was apparently offering to help the trump election campaign. yesterday donald trumer released e—mails which showed he was keen to see what incriminating material the lawyer was prepared to offer on mr trump's election rival, hillary clinton. gary o'donoghue is in the washington. what is the latest? the president has been out in social media,

defending his eldest son in vigorous terms, saying he did a good job in his interview last night with an american network, where he effectively defended what he had done during the campaign but there was a slight glimmer of regret and he said he may have done things a little differently, knowing what he knew now but effectively they are fighting a rearguard action now because this is the first indication ofa because this is the first indication of a willingness on the part of people in the inner circle of the campaign to take a meeting with someone campaign to take a meeting with someone they believed at the time was somehow connected to the kremlin, to the russian government, paddling supposedly negative information about their opponent. it didn't transpire like that will turn out like that, i don't think anyone really thinks it turned out like that at all, but it was the willingness, i think, that at all, but it was the willingness, ithink, to that at all, but it was the willingness, i think, to embrace that idea. he said during those e—mails when he was offered this information, i love it! the willingness to embrace that is causing the american government some

problems at the moment. how damaging could this be? there is a drip, drip which has been there since the beginning of this presidency and before and we now have multiple enquiries by various congressional committees are some here at the senator and some of the house of representatives and we also have special counsel is being appointed by the department ofjustice to look into this as well. we have a new fbi director who will be here in the senate today for his confirmation hearing. it is everyday, every day of every week. donald trump this morning suggested it is a witchhunt, the biggest witchhunt in history, he has said that before. just saying that doesn't make it go away and i think until these investigations are concluded and people believe the fat fa cts concluded and people believe the fat facts a re concluded and people believe the fat facts are all out there this will continue. thank you very much, gary. now let us catch up with the weather. things are improving. oh,

it you over there. you come over here? things are improving. we had a lot of rain yesterday, quite a contrast in weather fortunes today as we started off the day with dangerous driving conditions. this was taken in twickenham. most of the day will finish with clear and sunny skies as we wait for the cloud to break up and the sunshine come through. as far as temperatures go this afternoon it is the average for the time of year. overnight, with the time of year. overnight, with the clear skies, temperatures will fall away pretty quickly. it will be a chilly night from northern england, northern ireland and scotla nd england, northern ireland and scotland and cold enough the ground frosts in some places. temperatures in towns and cities stay well up. we start with sunshine but it should

stay that way in the morning and by the afternoon there is a band of rain to end the day in western scotla nd rain to end the day in western scotland and northern ireland. that is your latest weather. this is bbc newsroom live. the headlines now: one month on from the grenfell fire, search teams are still working inside the tower. mps are debating the tragedy in the commons where minister damian green is standing in for theresa may at prime minister's questions. the eu's chief brexit negotiator has said britain must recognise its financial obligations in the union after borisjohnson suggested it could "go whistle" in regards to paying the divorce bill. one of the biggest icebergs ever recorded, weighing in at a trillion tonnes, has broken away from antarctica. the queen and prince phillip have formally welcoming the king and queen of spain to the uk today as the pair begin a three—day state visit. it's expected this will be the duke of edinburgh's last state visit before he retires from official duties later this year.

there's been another fall in unemployment. in the three months to the end of may, the total fell by 64,000 to 1.49 million. but wage increases continued to fall further behind inflation. in the 12 months to may, average earnings excluding bonuses rose by 2% year—on—year. the headline inflation rate is 2.9%. the employment minister damian hinds welcomed today's figures but said it was important to keep driving wages forward. yes, we do have at the moment inflation which is higher than it has been in the previous period. of course, we had quite an extended period of historically low inflation. at the moment there is an exchange—rate effect going on in the figures. we need to keep driving wages forward and fundamentally that is about productivity and the skills

base and underpinning those things is investment. the single most important thing for driving both continued jobs growth and wages is creating the right opportunities for firms to carry on investing, to attract firms to come to this country, to make sure that when they make their next investment decision it is britain that is chosen over other alternatives. one of the biggest icebergs ever recorded has just broken away from antarctica. the giant block is about a quarter of the size of wales and is calculated to weigh a trillion tonnes. an american satellite observed the iceberg while passing over a region called the larsen c ice shelf. earlier i spoke to our science correspondent. it is impressive, isn't it? imagine walking from monmouth to caernarfon, thatis walking from monmouth to caernarfon, that is as long as it would take you to walk the length of this iceberg. it towers about 30 metres above the

sea it towers about 30 metres above the sea surface but underwater we all know that icebergs sit mostly underwater, so more than 200 metres. think about how fied usain bolt runs, that is how far down, twice when he runs, 100 metres, underneath the surface of the water. it is immense, it really is. it has come from a region called larsen c, so come from a region called larsen c, so you imagine the antarctic peninsula, there is a finger of land going up towards south america and it has come off the eastern side of that. it will move away gradually over the coming weeks and months, driven by the tides and by the wins and currents and they will have to monitor it because it is so big it could get into shipping lanes and if it does that it will obviously become the navigation hazard. what about the reasons for it breaking away, our scientists concerned? this is what antarctica does, when it gets up in the morning it carves icebergs. this area called larsen c is what they call an ice shelf. as

the glaciers come off land they go into the ocean and lift up and become buoyant and that arise joins together and forms an ice shelf and it can only support so much ice before an iceberg breaks off, and thatis before an iceberg breaks off, and that is basically what we are seeing here, we are seeing a very natural function of what antarctica does. it is true that a region further north has seen a lot of ice go in the last few decades but some of the symptoms we saw on those ice shelves we are not seeing in this area at the moment on larsen c said this is really business as usual. what were those symptoms? we have seen air temperatures rise in the antarctic peninsular quite significantly and we have seen a lot of meltwater appear on the top of ice shelves, great big ponds of water. this water goes down through the cracks and it can drive cracks downwards right through to the ocean and then split of ice. on other ice shelves we have seen ice shelves covered in these melt ponds and we are not seeing that at larsen c, so

this is different. a man has won a landmark ruling which will give his husband the same pension rights as a wife would receive. the supreme court, the uk's highest court, unanimously ruled that as long as they remain married, ifjohn walker dies his husband is entitled to a spouse's pension. speaking after the ruling, mr walker made a statement outside the supreme court, saying he now wants a commitment from the government to continue protecting the pension rights of same—sex spouses after brexit. it is to our government ‘s great shame that it has taken so many yea rs, shame that it has taken so many years, huge amounts of tax payers money, and the uk's highest court, to drag them into the 21st century. in the years since we started this legal challenge how many people have spent theirfinal days legal challenge how many people have spent their final days uncertain about whether their loved one would be looked after? how many people have left unprovided for, having already suffered the loss of their

partner? what i would like from theresa may and her ministers today isa theresa may and her ministers today is a formal commitment that this change will stay on the statute books after brexit. and i would just, if i may, very quickly, like to thank the people that have made this possible. i, as an old, grey—haired pensioner, wanted to ta ke grey—haired pensioner, wanted to take ona grey—haired pensioner, wanted to take on a £1 billion a year large super chemical company, not a chance in the world, but thanks to liberty, who are here to support little people like me, we went out there and we took them on. after round one, a classic david and goliath, goliath decided that actually he needed a bit of help so he brought in the department for work and pensions, her majesty ‘s government, quite a big lot to take on, but again, thanks to these people we we re again, thanks to these people we

were able to do it. and through liberty, they found two amazingly talented, incredibly ha rd—working, very professional and beyond anything else, really passionate barristers. one of them is here today, max, max and martin. they have won this case today. it has taken us five and a half years to get here, a long, long journey, but those people have made it possible with liberty, for a little person like me to take on her majesty ‘s government. we can all do it. there is one other person out there somewhere, you know who you are, who is actually made sure that i was able to come to the supreme court. thank you. i would finally like to just thank my family. many of my family have been very supportive over these years and my husband is not here today, he is suffering a family sybase, but thank very much. singer ariana grande has been made an honorary citizen of manchester, after she organised a concert

to raise money for the victims of the manchester arena terror attack. councillors unanimously backed the decision at a special meeting this morning. celebrities including miley cyrus and justin bieber performed to thousands of fans at the one love manchester concert, which was held one month after the attack. 22 people died when bomber salman abedi detonated a device at the end of ariana grande's concert in may. political parties must do more to prepare candidates for the ruthless nature of campaigning, according to a new report. a parliamentary cross—party group documented the scale of abuse and intimidation of parliamentary candidates during the general election. one mp suffered an anti—semitic attack and another was targeted by racist graffiti and repeated death threats. lloyds banking group is changing the way overdraft fees work, in a shake—up which will affect millions of customers. starting from november, customers will be charged a single rate of 1p per day for every £7 pounds of planned use of their overdraft.

the bank says it will help customers to budget, rather than being hit with a bigger bill weeks later. a charity says every household in the uk should get a one—off rebate of £285 on its energy bills, because providers have been making excessive profits at the expense of its customers. citizens advice says the regulator ofgem allowed companies to charge too much and overestimated their costs. but ofgem and energy providers are disputing the claim, as our personal finance correspondent, simon gompertz reports. a quarter of our bills is made up of the cost of transporting electricity and gas, a job done by the national grid and various local network companies who, because this is a monopoly, have their charges vetted and approved for eight year periods. citizens advice estimates that in the current eight years, which we are halfway through, the network companies stand to make £7.5 billion of excess profits, hence the demand for a rebate of £285 per household, the money to be returned through lower bills. ofgem have overestimated the cost of investment

and borrowing. for example, interest rates haven't been as high as they expected. they've also allowed the companies to earn money at the rate that a much riskier company would be able to do and they have not been tough enough with the companies on sharing the benefits of any efficiency savings they've made. ofgem says the cost of getting our gas and electricity to us has been going down and it's already secured rebates. but it's launching a review today of how it sets prices in future. the network companies reject the calculations made by citizens advice and point to huge amounts of money they need to invest. simon gompertz, bbc news. as police continued their search g re nfell tower as police continued their search grenfell tower the new council leader promises to build new houses in the borough. the eu say britain

must recognise its financial obligations after borisjohnson suggested it could go whistle. one of the biggest icebergs ever recorded, weighing in at1 trillion tonnes, has broken away from antarctica. four weeks ago today, a tragedy was unfolding at grenfell tower. we now know more than 80 people died and hundreds more lost their homes in the fire. the trauma has had a huge impact on the community, particularly on the children who live in the area. our correspondent graham satchell has been to see how they're coping in the aftermath of that night. in sight of grenfell tower, fun and laughter. this is kids on the green, a safe space where children are encouraged to be children. football is really fun. there is lots of food. it is really fun overall. the first week was pretty hard, then it got a bit easier, after a few weeks, and then when this started happening, you come here and it distracts you a lot. kids on the green

is run by volunteers. teachers, therapists, entertainers and even hairdressers. children can play and be supported, and parents can get some respite. i've got two boys and an older girl who is 13. and a couple of her friends were in the tower. so she has been really affected by it and upset. it is hard to know that some of the neighbours, teacher, some of the children that my kids were friends with, are no longer with us. and the building being right there in our faces, it doesn't help. so being in this space, it helps us to forget. we look forward to having it the next day. one month after the fire, the impact on some of the children is only now starting to show. the last week, some of the symptoms have become more severe. we find that a lot of kids have been scared to go to bed, they have been scared to go to sleep. so we are giving parents lots of practical support in resetting those routines and making their children feel safe.

everybody likes to have fun. this is for grenfell tower. just hope that all the residents who live there are really, like, that they are ok and that they are just, um, getting lovely treatments and everybody can help get them a new home. in the art tent, children can paint anything they want. most of them draw the tower. we have a team of art therapists on site, so children drawing disturbing pictures are supported. perhaps they might want to talk. it is very sad that so many children witnessed it. such widespread sadness and horror. all the children here have witnessed unimaginable horror. we asked for a show of hands for those who knew someone who had died.

this isjust the beginning of the healing process. but we know that the healing is going to take years. it is going to take a very long time. it will take time. but kids on the green is a chance to escape, to play, to be normal and forget. one of the first emergency responders on the scene has been speaking about his experiences on the night. he spoke of his experience when he first saw the fire. i got to the hill of ladbroke grove va n fire. i got to the hill of ladbroke grove van dijk look to my left and i saw grenfell grove van dijk look to my left and i saw g re nfell tower grove van dijk look to my left and i saw grenfell tower and i saw fire shoot out from the lower floors and go shoot out from the lower floors and 9° up shoot out from the lower floors and go up the side to the roof. i was probably still about a mile away and

at that point i was able to say it was definitely a major incident and we need everything. on the way there i was already getting people back at the station to put calls into the local authority to get rest centres opened and to put the machine that is the emergency services into play. on arrival, before i got there, other units started to arrive and the magnitude started to become apparent, even before you got there, insomuch as people were coming out coughing and spluttering, still in the nightclothes, fire officers were going in, you could tell by the tension in the offices voices that it was going to be a long night. i was very it was going to be a long night. i was very lucky in that i had an image of what i was facing before i got there so upon arriving, i came down the road i was directed to by my colleague, it wasn't a surprise,

which obviously wasn't the case for everybody else who was arriving there. everybody was just awestruck and just standing, arms by their sides, head up, mouths open, staring at the fire, and even in the short time it took me to drive less than a mile, the fire escalated and spread up mile, the fire escalated and spread up the top two floors. you had to ta ke up the top two floors. you had to take a few seconds just to think, goodness, this is not normal. that was nick thatcher on dealing with the grenfell tower fire. turkey's president recep tayyip erdogan has told the bbc that membership of the european union was not indispensable for his country, criticising the eu for being insincere. in an exclusive interview with the bbc‘s hardtalk programme, mr erdogan also said he hoped for a free trade deal with britain once it leaves the eu and rejected criticism of turkey's record on press freedom. he was speaking to zeinab badawi. we are loyal to our word. if the eu bluntly says we will not be able to accept turkey into the eu this will be comforting for us.

we will then initiate our plan b and c. the eu is not indispensable for us. turkey is able to stand on it's own two feet. the majority of my people, they don't want the eu anymore. they don't think the eu's approach to turkey is sincere. despite all this, we will continue on being sincere with the eu for a little more time. we will see what that brings to us. three seven—month—old tigers are on their way to start a new life in france, after being rescued from a tiny box bound for syria. caroline davies reports. waiting to go to their new home, these siberian tigers are being sent to france. no we're getting them to

one of the best sanctuaries in europe. we're trying to rescue these animals from the illegal trade. they nearly ended up somewhere very different, syria. in march they arrived in a tiny crate into beirut airport. they were covered in maggots and faeces. the importer had permission to transport them but the conditions violated international rules. after three months of the lebanese government decided the tigers should be resettled in france. the big cat trade is a lucrative business in lebanon and some animals are forced to perform in circuses or use as status symbols, it is something these tigers have escaped. drugged and loaded into boxes with their names on, they will be taken from lebanon asa on, they will be taken from lebanon as a special cargo to start a new life in france. afterjohanna konta's momentous victory over simona halep at wimbledon yesterday, one lucky chelsea pensioner got

the shot of the day. he managed to to get a selfie with the winner minutes after she secured her place in the wimbledon semifinals. and this is the picture he took withjohanna konta. our 0ur correspondence our correspondence has been to meet john at the royal hospital, chelsea. we arejust john at the royal hospital, chelsea. we are just recovering here from that fantastic game yesterday in whichjohanna that fantastic game yesterday in which johanna konta became that fantastic game yesterday in whichjohanna konta became the first british woman for several years to get to the semifinals but the man with the best seat in the house and the best picture in the house was john griffiths, chelsea pensioner gear. you from swansea originally, what was it like yesterday, watching such a fantastic game of tennis? absolutely amazing, being in the centre court and being privileged to invited. i was one of eight chelsea pensioners to be sitting in the centre court and to have a selfie with novak djokovic, as he was passing through to leave to the changing rooms, he agreed to have a selfie taken, and then to be followed up with a selfie from

johanna konta, it was absolutely amazing. you had your wits about you. you enjoy the tennis and you we re you. you enjoy the tennis and you were there in your scarlet and they we re were there in your scarlet and they were happy to have their photos taken with you. yes, i was amazed when novak djokovic came over and i asked him if he would take a selfie with me and he actually said yes, took the phone off me and he took the selfie, which was pretty amazing. you didn't have it all your own way, did you? you asked for a few other selfies but they didn't all work out. yes, i ask venus williams and she reluctantly wouldn't have a selfie with me because after coming off the pitch she was sweating quite a lot and embarrassing issue backed off and said, no. she went into the changing room. you are a chelsea pensioner and in your70s room. you are a chelsea pensioner and in your 70s and you have served all over the world, cyprus, and in your 70s and you have served all overthe world, cyprus, germany, northern ireland, and yet you are pretty much of a teenager when it comes to this orange device that eve ryo ne comes to this orange device that everyone has seen comes to this orange device that everyone has seen you with. you knew what to do it atom—thin the

pictures. i had to learn quite fast yesterday because i could see the opportunity only comes once—in—a—lifetime and i was very happy to have been able to have taken a selfie with the two great players. johanna konta is in the semifinal, i imagine you will root for her. we go back and see her ain? for her. we go back and see her again? unfortunately i will not have the opportunity to go back because we only get an invite during the wimbledon fortnight on the first and second tuesday, but i will certainly be watching it on the television and i will be rooting forjohanna konta and hoping that she wins the championship. well, good luck. john is off to play bowls now and as we are both welshman will talk about by. are both welshman will talk about rugby. back to you! coming up the news that one, but first the weather. hello, it has been a very wet 24 hours across england and wales. some

in england have had half months of rainfall in the last 24 hours alone and lewis was one of the wettest places with 24 millimetres of rain. large panels of standing water out on the roads and pretty dangerous driving conditions. you can see how the wet weather just worked its way across england now. it was the heaviest rain in the south of england but it has cleared away and high pressure built the clouds have melted away. today is a completely different weather picture. for most areas there are long spells of sunshine and the sun is already out in the highlands of scotland. we have clad at the moment in the southern counties of england but it will melt away this afternoon and temperatures generally lift up into the low 20s. 23 degrees is the top temperature in london. not far behind that in the midlands and northern england. low 20s in the warmest spots. in northern ireland is another dry day coming up with lengthy spells of sunshine, more than yesterday. in scotland yesterday we had showers and today

is dry with sunny spies in place. conditions look fine at wimbledon. we here coming through the clouds. no weather disruptions here. as we go through this evening and overnight, with clear skies, temperatures will fall away quite quickly in rural areas and it will bea quickly in rural areas and it will be a cold night with pockets of ground frost in rural parts of england, northern ireland and scotland. temperatures in the towns and cities are holding up into double figures. i pressure with us on thursday but we have a complication coming in off the atlantic, a weather front, complication coming in off the atlantic, a weatherfront, it complication coming in off the atlantic, a weather front, it will be the focus of rain moving in late in the day across the north west. dry morning for many areas on thursday. as the heat of the day builds we see shower clouds bubble up, scattered across england and were, there could be a few sharp showers. the cloud build—up in northern ireland and western scotla nd northern ireland and western scotland and a band in the afternoon and there could be sharp showers for eastern scotland for a time. temperatures 19 to 23 foremost. more

fine and dry weather on friday and on friday night more rain moves through and the remnants of that will bring a lot of clout to the uk for the start of the weekend. that is your weather. coming up next on the bbc news channel, the news that one, with the top stories this lunchtime. stay with us throughout the afternoon for all the news from 2pm, and later tonight at 10:40pm, join the papers for a look at tomorrow's headlines. reserves to build new homes, to help those who no longer have one. the community is strong. the chasm is between the community, whether they are rich or poor, it is between them and the state. whether they've lost trust in local government or in

central government. that is what we have got to restore. we'll have the latest from west london. also this lunchtime. a gay man wins a landmark ruling at the supreme court about equal pensions. thousands of married gay couples will now have the same pension entitlements as heterosexual couples.