this is bbc news. the headlines at apm: boots has said it is "truly sorry" for its response to calls to cut the cost of one of its morning—after pills. former white house press secretary, sean spicer, has moved to minimise talk of divisions within the trump administration, after announcing his resignation. ijust think it's in the best interests of our communications. department, of our press organisation, not to have too many cooks in the kitchen. the ruling body of cycling in the uk has voted to adopt a new code of conduct. more than £40 million in public funding was dependent on the vote. owners of small, unmanned aircraft will have to register and take safety awareness courses. airline pilots have welcomed the move. a british grandfather's won £2 million by finishing fourth

in the world's most prestigious poker tournament. and donald trump's stalled plans to reform obamacare will be among the topics discussed on dateline london at four thirty with jane hill. boots has apologised for dismissing calls to cut the cost of its contraceptive morning—after pills. the pharmacy had refused to drop the price of the medicines, because it claimed that doing so would "incentivise inappropriate use". today, the firm apologised for what it described as its poor choice of words and said it would look for cheaper brands. campaigners have welcomed the move but say it should have come sooner.

our only disappointment is that it's taken this long, and really the threat of a boycott by its customers for boots, to reach this position. this was a position reached by superdrug and tesco far earlier. earlier i spoke to caroline farrow, columnist for the website conservative home, who said boots should not have been pressured into apologising. we don't live in a society where retailers should be forced to sell you something at the price you one to sell you. i don't go into a dress shop and say, i'd like this, i needed but i can't afford it. you needed but i can't afford it. you need to sell it to me much cheaper. this is not how the market works. we see this with alcohol, tobacco and

food. we see a fizzy drink tax, obesity tax, received... but boots isa obesity tax, received... but boots is a retailer. they are there not to pass moraljudgment, is a retailer. they are there not to pass moral judgment, they is a retailer. they are there not to pass moraljudgment, they are there to provide product at a good price. this drug can be priced at a much lower price point. and it is often. it can but boots are not actually passing moraljudgment, it can but boots are not actually passing moral judgment, they it can but boots are not actually passing moraljudgment, they are trying to optimise woman's sexual health, to say, you shouldn't take this on a regular basis. if you are, there is something going on that needs medical attention. something in your life that needs looking at if you need to keep taking the course to this emergency

contraception. boots are dammed if they do and stamped if they don't. they are looking out for people's health. i think they're within their rights to say as a responsible retailer this is what they are going to do. we don't quibble about a responsible drinking, eating, exercise, all other areas of life we borrowed moderation and responsibility. as soon as you start bringing this into sexual molarity, people say you are being judgmental. actually, there is a way to optimise sexual health. donald trump's spokesman, sean spicer, has said he had to resign from the post because there would be "too many cooks in the kitchen". he announced his departure after the president appointed a new communications director. it comes as mr trump's son — and other key officials — face questioning in congress about their links to russia. richard galpin reports. just six months in into his presidency, donald trump and his administration are beset by crises.

most damaging, the growing scandal of the russian interference in the election, allegedly to help donald trump into the white house. in response, big changes are now under way in the trump team. his press secretary, the latest to leave the white house. the new seniorfigures in the communication department are anthony scaramouchie and sarah huckerby—sanders. i think it was in the best interests of the communications department, to not have too many cooks in the kitchen. so i think that is a good quality. they need the team here that work so hard, so tirelessly to advance the president's agenda to have clear leadership. i thought it would be confusing having

additional people at the top. this is one of the people who now poses the biggest threat to the trump administration. robert mueller, the former fbi director, overseeing the investigation into the alleged links between the russian government and trump's campaign team. next week donald trump's son and son—in—law, jarod kushner, are due to testify. at the white house is in urgent need of a beefed up team to defend itself. president trump is getting ready for a scorched earth campaign. they are going to fight very hard against this investigation, which is coming closer and closer to things that make the white house very uncomfortable. sean spicer, he wasn't a good press secretary by any means. he wasn't a particularly honest man, but he was somebody who was recognisably from the familiar world of political communication. donald trump has always dismissed the allegations of collusion with the kremlin. but the investigation is closing in steadily,

putting him under intense pressure. richard galpin, bbc news. afghan officials say 16 police officers are now known to have been killed in a us air strike in helmand province. two commanders were among those who died, when warplanes accidentally attacked the group in the district of gereshk. police had just recaptured the area from the taliban when they were bombed. the nato mission in afghanistan said the incident would be investigated. almost 1000 children are being forced into temporary accommodation every month, because more families are becoming homeless, according to councils in england. the local government association says the number has increased by a third in three years. it wants more powers to build what are described as "genuinely affordable homes". 0ur social affairs correspondent, michael buchanan, reports. councils say more than 900 children, what they describe as the equivalent of a secondary school,

are becoming homeless each month. in total, they say more than 120,000 children and their families are being supported in temporary accommodation, an increase of more than a third since 2014. councils in the south—east and major cities are dealing with the largest numbers. though cornwall and the isle of wight, for instance, also have significant problems. the councils say they need to build more affordable homes. they want rules on borrowing relaxed so they can invest in housing development. councils need the power to intervene more in the homes market. we need more affordable housing built in the right place to provide people with decent affordable housing. we also need to be able to intervene earlier as well. rather than waiting for people to become homeless, we need to stop them becoming homeless in the first place. ministers say they are spending £550 million to tackle homelessness, and that a new bill passed earlier this year will prevent families from losing homes in the first place.

michael buchanan, bbc news. the ruling body of cycling in the uk has voted to accept a new code of conduct drawn up by government ministers. british cycling had been warned that funding worth tens of millions of pounds could be withdrawn if it didn't introduce new standards of governance. earlier i spoke to our reporter phil bodmer in warrington, where british cycling had been discussing the matter. this a tangible sense of relief that these reforms are going through. in these reforms are going through. in the end, delegates voted 94% in favour of accepting reforms. this means they have to clean the act up. cycling has had a tarnished reputation, allegations of bullying, sexism and doping. the threat of £113 million being withdrawn from the likes of uk sport and sport england,

there was a real worry is that without this funding the sport may struggle. this is what the chief executive said. how we fund the sport, the catalyst for growth that lottery funding has been offered the past decade, this is something that is clearly been very important. the investment in rustlers. the lottery funding has been instrumental. not everybody is happy, some delegates but more needed to be done and they we re but more needed to be done and they were worried that this takes control away from grassroots membership. british cycling now stands to gain £43 british cycling now stands to gain £113 million of the next three years in the lead up to two dozen 20 tokyo 0lympics. —— lead up to the 2020. here, the government plans to introduce a registration system for drones because of growing concern about the risk they pose to aircraft.

drone owners will have to complete a safety awareness course. dozens of near misses have been reported in the past year, asjoe lynam reports. drawings are very useful devices. sometimes they are used where they shouldn't be. gatwick airport has confirmed that some flights have been disrupted this evening by a drone in the area. not the first time a drone had flown close to a runway but enough to close down gatwick airport for a short while three weeks ago. pilots have long complained that unmanned vehicles could fly into their engines, causing accidents. drones are being used to fly drugs and mobile phones into prisons. now the government wants to act by forcing all drone users to register. the new rules mean that any drone weighing more than 250 grams would be registered and the owners have to complete a safety awareness test

when they buy them. and new technology to prevent drones flying near airports and prisons will to be expanded. it can be a danger to aircraft and individual users, so we need a registration scheme, this is about geolocations and fencing to stop them being flown near sensitive areas. it is about getting the balance right between the needs of the users and the dangers on the other part. the government wants all drones of more than 250 grams to be registered. but that is not much heavier than a mobile phone. but military experts say that drones as light as 400 grams can damage a helicopter. drones of two kilograms could take down a plane. but drones enthusiasts say that the rules may penalise the responsible users. the problem is other people who have no knowledge, they don't know how to fly, theyjust go and buy the drone and go up in the sky maybe, 1,000 feet high. this is the problem.

not us the problem. and the new rules will be hard to police. criminals are unlikely to sign up to a public register and anyone importing drones from abroad will not be covered. earlier, i spoke to paul rigby. he welcomes the new regulations. it's a great step into the right direction. it's nothing new for recreational users to go through a structured training scheme and allows users to have confidence that everybody knows what they are doing. it appears that the main area of concern is our ports. drones have been prevented be used around prisons. —— is airports.

quite a lot of places where we don't wa nt quite a lot of places where we don't want drones to operate. there are ways that you can make it difficult to enter. get onto the explanation ina to enter. get onto the explanation in a moment. first off, registering your drone, in a moment. first off, registering yourdrone, a in a moment. first off, registering your drone, a safety awareness course, will that go far enough?m will capture those of the users that they —— the users that are unaware that they do not follow the rules. capturing criminals is more difficult. the problem is here, hardy implemented? how do you place it? don't you need the retailers and manufacturers on board? absolutely. providing resources in policing and enforcement has to be thought about carefully. we have a structured regulation system at the moment.

there isn't a lot of implementation at the moment because of the combination of the police and civil aerosol ready. geofencing is some kind of data place on the drone. can there be something on the ground? for example around prisons. that is one way to go, the geofencing lives inside the aircraft but it is easy to circumnavigate and some hacking communities are dedicating their time to circumventing these restrictions. you fought with the department for transport, many drone hobbyists point out that the research is flawed because it used an old model of a drone. —— you've worked with. the wait was unrealistic. modern—day drawings can be the size of a bone. —— size of a

mobile phone. if you read the report undertaken, they used a popular piece of kit representing the battery technology, demonstrating that against aircraft at high and low speeds. if a drones was the size ofa low speeds. if a drones was the size of a smartphone, it would be exempt. the cut—off is to achieve 50 grams. anything above that, this has the potential to cause damage. the headlines on bbc news: boots has said it is "truly sorry" for its response to calls to cut the cost of one of its morning—after pills. former white house press secretary sean spicer has moved to minimise talk of divisions within the trump administration after announcing his resignation. the ruling body of cycling in the uk has voted to adopt a new code of conduct. more than forty million pounds in public funding was dependent on the vote. jordan spieth has teed off and the

last 20 minutes. from the third round today, the main headline, a record crowd for branden grace. he has a nine under 62. the lowest ever scored. crime chris from hold onto his tour de france t—shirt. tom daly and grace reid have won a silver medal in the three metres synchronised springboard. tom daly is currently leading in the ten metre platform. i'll be back about 5:30pm with a full update. some residents on the greek island of kos have spent the night in tents after a big earthquake. two people were killed, hundreds were injured and buildings were damaged during the quake. british visitors were caught up in it. police say the two who

died were tourists — a 22—year—old from sweden and a 39—year—old from turkey. train firms could be forced to reduce first—class seats on busy commuter lines to ease overcrowding. the transport secretary, chris grayling, says travellers will see less first class in the future with busy suburban trains having one class instead. the minister also suggested operators may be forced to scrap first—class areas when franchises are awarded in the future. poland's senate has backed an overhaul of the supreme court —— that's despite huge street protests and international warnings that the independence of the country's legal system will be undermined. the legislation paves the way for all supreme courtjudges to be removed and replaced. the government says it's needed to fight corruption. greg dawson reports. "free poland".

the chants of a crowd who claim that democracy in the country is under attack. the protesters gathered outside of the poland supreme court, the focal point of an argument that has split the country. friday night's vote makes it more likely that all of its judges will be removed. the fear of these people is that they will be replaced with judges sympathetic to the ruling law and justice party. translation: unfortunately, we are going back to the old days, to the communism when they were shutting our mouths, when judges gave verdicts that the authorities wanted. domestic opposition has been matched by concern internationally. donald trump may have enjoyed his recent trip to warsaw and a meeting with the president, but his administration has expressed unease about the planned changes. we are concerned about the polish government's continued pursuit of legislation that appears to limit the judiciary, and potentially weaken the rule of law in poland

so we continue to watch that situation very carefully. then, donald tusk. the european council president and former polish prime minister, who has called the changes "backwards". the european commission has expressed concern that one of its member states is abolishing judicial independence. on wednesday, it threatened to strip poland of its voting rights. the first time such a sanction would be used. the eyes of europe now fall on president duda, who, as an ally of the ruling party, is likely to approve these changes. if he does, the anger and accusations of authoritarianism in poland are likely to grow. greg dawson, bbc news. an official photograph has been unveiled to mark prince george's fourth birthday. the young prince has just returned to the uk, along with his parents, the duke and duchess of cambridge, and sister princess charlotte, from an official visit to poland and germany.

our royal correspondent, peter hunt, reports. beaming george at four, a prince poised to start school soon. a happy little boy, according to the photographer who took this official portrait. once more. this isn't george let loose on a violin. rather, hamburg's young being encouraged to take up music, something kate did in her youth. yeah! one day, william will be centre stage. not this day, which was left to his wife to take up the baton he declined. music: beethoven's fifth symphony for a helicopter—mad young prince, a pre—birthday treat, being shown around one similar

to the one his dad uses as an air ambulance pilot. this is the sort of moment when being on public display has its drawbacks. a sit—down protest from princess charlotte who, like any two—year—old, is not overly keen on delayed gratification. homeward bound for a birthday prince with a party to enjoy. a british man has won more than $2.5 million, after making it to the final table of poker‘s most prestigious tournament. john hesp has come fourth in the world series of poker‘s main event in las vegas. the grandfather of seven has little experience and usually plays a £10 tournament at his local casino in hull. a short while ago we spoke tojohn as he was celebrating in his hotel room in las vegas. i wanted to do this world series poker tournament for a couple

of years, it was on my bucket list. my wife kindly agreed to allow me to go if you like, she was happy for me to go this year, and i entered with the expectation and hope that i might be able to manage to get in the top 1,000 people. over 7,000 people entered the tournament. if i got in the 10,000 i would win $15,000 and pay for the entry into the tournament and my expenses in relation to my hotel and flight etc. then i managed to get in the top 500, then 100, 50, 30, and so on. almost the point where sub—100 was indescribable. nobody believed i could do it as an amateur but i dropped below the 100 and it seemed to be

that quite a number of the world's media got on board and started to want to talk to me. we got down to the final table where nine people were playing and i got busted out in the fourth position with a win of $2.6 million. it has been quite awesome and i have said it many times, i have been living the dream, loving every minute of it. i've had so much fun and entertainment. i came here not expecting to win big—money and i wanted to play some poker with some professionals and other people i do not normally do. i would like to spoil my family and take my wife on holiday. she is not bothered about going on holiday, she is happy to go away to ourcaravan in the yorkshire dales. that's about it, i can't say any more than that.

very happy looking john hesp there. a new exhibition, devoted to the works ofjim henson, is opening at a museum in new york. if you're a fan of the muppets, the fraggles or the cast of sesame street, you'll be able to find out more about how they came to appear on television screens. the bbc‘s tim allman has more. for generations of children, there has always been something magical about the muppets. kermit, miss piggy, big bird. just some of those appearing in this exhibition in new york. so what are the organisers trying to achieve? to tell a rich and riveting story about jim henson as a creative thinker, constantly curious, pushing the boundaries of technology and bringing these amazing characters to life. you can follow the history of the muppets from their first appearance on local

television in the 1950s. there are storyboards from sesame street and the muppet show. the exhibition will shine a light on the people who worked withjim henson. he had an amazing group of folks around him who just enjoyed the work so much and loved what they did. i think that the joy that people get from these characters, the ingredients of that are in the joy that the people who made them had in creating them. as well as this exhibition, there will be a travelling show that will allow muppet fans to seejim henson's work up close. so plenty of time to get things started for the muppet show tonight. this is bbc news. coming up in the next few minutes: dateline london donald trump's stalled plans to reform obamacare will be among the topics discussed.

turn to look at the weather. once again, we've got huge contrast in the weather. in some areas, it is sunny. in others, or rain. this evening, further showers under way. this is the scene at 6pm. the temperatures in some places are cold and some are warmer. a very mixed evening. take out your umbrella. as far as to note is concerned, lots of clear weather. berlin on the morning, lots of clear skies. —— early in the morning. once again, the clouds and showers will get going in the morning and into the afternoon. the showers exist throughout the course of the day.

but i think there will be fewer tomorrow. temperatures around the high teens, maybe low 20s. this is bbc news. the headlines... boots chemist has apologised, saying that the company is "truly sorry" about its response to calls to cut the cost of one of its morning after pills. president trump's former press secretary, sean spicer, has played down talk of divisions within the white house administration following the announcement of his resignation. councils in england say they're having to find temporary accommodation for more than 900 children each month, because more families are becoming homeless. most privately owned drones will need a licence under a new government scheme to clamp down on their misuse, following a number of near miss mid—air incidents. airline pilots have welcomed the move. the ruling body of cycling in the uk has voted to adopt a new code of conduct drawn up by the government.

by accepting the new rules, british cycling will retain £113 million of public funding. now on bbc news, it's dateline london, with jane hill. hello and welcome to dateline london, i'mjane hill. this week we ask, what are the advantages of brexit? we look at donald trump's stalled plans to reform obamacare,