this is bbc news. i'm julian worricker. the headlines: the government drives through new plans to tackle air pollution, it means all new petrol and diesel cars will be banned in the uk by 2040. we have to get rid of petrol and diesel cars off our roads. we had to deal with the health problems caused by air pollution and meet our climate change targets. while we welcome the move to cleaner vehicles, it's far too long in the future to do anything about the air quality crisis that we have now. a judge has ordered that 11—month—old charlie gard should be moved to a hospice, unless any other plans can be made before 12 o'clock tomorrow. president donald trump has said transgender people cannot serve in any capacity in the us military. the supreme court rules that charging to bring an employment tribunal case is unlawful — the government says it will now refund claimants‘ fees. also in the next hour, huge wildfires in the south of france. thousands of people are moved to

safety as the flames continue to burn. and adam peaty does it again, winning his second gold medal at the world championships in budapest. good evening and welcome to bbc news. no one will be able to buy a new diesel or petrol car after 2040, under government plans to tackle air pollution. the clean air strategy published today, follows a ruling byjudges that ministers have to do more to deal with air pollution. the government has also announced a £255 million fund to help councils tackle emissions, including the right to create charging zones

for the dirtiest vehicles. but the plans have been criticised by environmental campaigners for not going far enough. david shukman looks at the proposals. on the worst days, the pollution hangs like a mist over our cities. the gases and particles cause asthma and heart trouble. they may lead to dementia, and they shorten lives, as many as 40,000 in britain every year. and the biggest source of pollution is diesel engines, and we have millions of them. so the government has a vision for a future where all our cars will be electric. norway will do this by 2025, france by 2040. and that's the year the government here is set to move away from conventional engines. we have to get rid of petrol and diesel cars off our roads if we're to make sure that not only do we deal with the health problems that air pollution causes, but also that we meet our

climate change targets. and the good news is that the car industry is already moving in this direction. archive: at the austin motor works in birmingham, anglo—american cooperation has resulted in a new small car. this is another potentially momentous step, because there is a long, proud history of petrol and diesel engines powering cars in britain. these are machines that shape the way we live and work. but for the sake of everyone‘s health, their days are now numbered. the headline of a ban by 2040 on sales of new petrol and diesel cars and vans is certainly eye—catching, but what about tackling pollution now? a couple of months ago, the government's own advisers said the best way to do that would be to have clean air zones in towns and cities up and down the country. that idea is not in the new plan issued today. instead, ministers want local councils to take action. so they want to see councils managing traffic better to avoid creating pollution hotspots; removing speed bumps, so cars don't slow down

and then accelerate, which generates more pollution; and fitting older buses with filters to make them cleaner. there is more money for all this, but will it be enough? what we need now is some robust action taken by governments and notjust relying on local authorities to make unpopular decisions. the car—maker volvo has already declared a switch to electric from 2019. others also have electric plans, but the boss of aston martin says the government hasn't thought through the implications. if you don't have the infrastructure, if you don't have the skills, if you don't have the wherewithal to pay for it, then as a statement or a policy, it's absurd. year after year, britain has seen levels of nitrogen dioxide well above european standards. the government is under court order to clean up, and an environmental group that launched legal action says the environment secretary still isn't doing enough. he's ignoring his own evidence. he's passing the buck

to local authorities and coming up with headline—grabbing initiatives for something that's 23 years away from now, and cheating people who want to breathe clean air today. you can't always see air pollution, but politicians can't avoid it. the government says it is responding, but doesn't want to offend motorists. the result — a signal of real change, but not for a while. david shukman, bbc news. so, what do all the proposals mean for the motor industry, and for those thinking of buying a new car? jon kay reports from bristol. it's not the rain that worries him. it's what he's breathing. tim is so concerned about air quality here in bristol that he started wearing a device to measure the pollution from vehicles. shocked by the data he has gathered, he welcomes the government's plans. but as a commuter and as a father, he would like action sooner. it's good news in that they are paying attention to the problem, but it all feels a bit late in the day.

2040 is a long way away. it doesn't feel like the solutions they are coming up with will solve it in the short term. you see? at the taxi rank, we meet mike, who is thinking about a new car, but he's not sure an electric vehicle is practical. it is a good idea for the environment, certainly. but for this game, it is not going to be viable, pure electric, unless you can get the milage. a lot of people do 120 miles a day. what are you going to do, stop and charge for two hours? what will convince him? well, bristol was one of several places trialling different schemes to encourage cleaner, greener motoring, like the charging points that have been installed at locations across the city. melanie loves her electric car and is convinced that this is the future, so much so that she is building a business around them.

but what about the practicalities? wouldn't the streets before the cables if everyone had to judge a vehicle at home? well, there are some interesting solutions for that. my favourite one is lamp post charging. a few companies have developed a charger which fits into a standard lamp post am so they can be installed on the street. you don't need a driveway. so the government may have decided on our destination, but how we get to cleaner air and how much that journey costs us tonight seems less straightforward. jon kay, bbc news, bristol. let's get more on this story. joining me from salford is professor karel williams from manchester university. good evening. what do you think of this 2040 target? well, it's really a re—announcement. in 2011, the

government announced in its carbon plan the aim of no more petrol or diesel by 2040. that is just being re—announced today. in the intervening six years we have really made no progress with the air quality crisis in the cities, and as andy palmer was observing in your package, we haven't made no progress with the infrastructure, because the shift from petrol to electric is a huge shift in infrastructure and requires a completely different refuelling and charging system. what do you argue should have been happening over the last six years? it is fairly clear from the government's on evidence that we have a crisis which causes 40,000 premature deaths a year, and this needs robust national action. a toxicity charge of the kind that is going to be introduced in london in

0ctober going to be introduced in london in october is the best way forward. as far as october is the best way forward. as faras can be october is the best way forward. as far as can be seen, the government has docked that in the cities outside london and is passing the buck to the councils. toxicity charges and bans on dirty vehicles will only be introduced after traffic management has failed. there is scope for charging zones, isn't there? yes, but first of all we will have the buses retrofitted. we will have the buses retrofitted. we will have the buses retrofitted. we will have the traffic lights reprogrammed and the rest of that. it is partly kicking it into touch. the other problem is that particularly after the expenditure cuts, overextended councils are likely to be slow off the mark and they are also likely to be problems about it chequerboard of provision in different cities, as in the north of england, leeds may do one thing, manchester and mother. this isn't a very sensible way of

tackling the problem. the government should be looking back of the last crisis about air quality, which was about smog in london, which was met with the clean air act of 1956, which was national legislation. on the infrastructure point, the government has said a new bill would allow it to require the installation charge points at motorway service areas and at large fuel retailers. they are identifying the need to act, are they not? very slowly indeed. if we look at it, the present position is that petrol and diesel is very polluting, but the refuelling infrastructure, the filling stations, is elegant and efficient. if you shift to battery electric cars you will need 40 million to 50 million charging points. you have a host of problems in cities like manchester, with terraced housing and flats, because it is not clear to me that we can

extend the charging system to cover the 40% of households who don't have off—street parking. the 40% of households who don't have off-street parking. the list of things you have outlined sounds like a very expensive list to me. is it possible to put a figure on what you think this could cost if it were done properly along the lines that you have been describing? certainly if we think of the investment in charging infrastructure, this would dwarf the expenditure of hs2. the question really is, who is going to pay for this and who is going to plan it? local authorities no longer have the kind of planning capability to figure out what is going to be installed. are we going to get an anarchic system whereby a variety of different companies install bits of infrastructure here and there,

leaving the rest of us to quarrel over charging points when we get home of an evening? plenty of food for thought. thank you very much. more on that subject later. we will find out how this story and many others are covered in tonight's look at the papers. joining me is mihir bose and baroness roz altmann. the parents of the terminally ill baby boy charlie gard have accepted that their son will not die at home. at the high court, lawyers accepted that he should be transferred to a hospice. but there's still no agreement on when the 11 month old's life support should be withdrawn. let's catch up on today's developments with lisa hampele, who's at the high court for us now. tell us what has emerged today? this is the last day that the parents

will have in court. the decision has been made. thejudge will rule, he has ordered that charlie will be taken to a hospice where he will be allowed to die. charlie, his parents agreed today, they conceded early this afternoon, that he will not be able to die at home. they had hoped that great 0rmond street hospital said yesterday it wasn't practical and his guardian was saying today that it was the fairest thing for him. thejudge said that it was the fairest thing for him. the judge said yesterday that a hospice was the best decision, the best thing for charlie. but he gave a window to the family to find a specialist paediatric intensive care doctor to be able to get a team together, to enable charlie to die at home. that was not possible. but we waited for a long time this afternoon for a doctor who said he could help, to arrive at court. he said he could help them bentaleb

charlie and keep him at a hospice. today the fight changed from where charlie could die to when. and how long he would have after being taken off his ventilator. the family wa nted off his ventilator. the family wanted him to go to a hospice. they agreed that this afternoon. they say it is brutalfor him to be transferred to a hospice and die just a few hours later. the judge said that is what will happen if they can't find a specialist team by midday tomorrow. there will be no more rulings in court. he has ruled thatis more rulings in court. he has ruled that is what will happen. connie yates left the courtroom after a private hearing. she wasn't here for the final words from the judge, judge francis, who said he has two act in the best interests of charlie. she rushed off in tears. she has gone back to great 0rmond street hospital to be with charlie and with chris gard, her husband, who has been there for the last couple of days while charlie's mother has been fighting in court to

have longer with him. we know he will go to a hospice to die. we are not being told how long. we cannot report where the hospice will be when it will happen. we are expecting that charlie will only have a few hours in a hospice because they are not licensed to be able to look after this little baby with this terminal illness for more than few hours once the ventilator is taken off. thank you very much. president trump has announced the us military will not allow transgender individuals to serve in the armed forces in any capacity. he took to twitter to say: barbara plett—usher is in washington

did this announcement come as a surprise? i think that is putting it mildly. i would say it was a bombshell that came out of the blue for even many members of the pentagon. this has been an ongoing issue, the ban on openly serving transgender members was overturned last year. but the issue of new recruits was still pending. that was supposed to start happening injuly. that was postponed for another six months because there are still questions to be answered about what the impact of this would be on medical obligations, health care plans in the military etc. he didn't suggest the policy would be overturned. suddenly you have this 140 character policy announcement, which sounds like there is going to bea which sounds like there is going to be a complete ban on transgenders in the military. there are already several thousand serving. never mind what happens to new recruits, what

happens to them? do they get kicked out? we understand there has been virtually no instruction in terms of policy implementation or how this should go. the pentagon has referred all questions to the white house. not much detail has been forthcoming. what if any politics lie behind it? well, there has been plenty of criticism from people who are angry about this change. 0ne plenty of criticism from people who are angry about this change. one of them is that the president may be playing to his conservative base, at least in some respects. there is opposition to transgender rights, if you want to put it that way, amongst conservative supporters, whether it is regarding allowing transgender teenagers to use the bathroom in which they feel most comfortable, or transgender participation in the military. there is a certain amount of culture war that mr trump may lay claim to. there is also opposition among congressional republicans.

that is a bit more nuanced. you do have some congressional republicans who support anyone qualified to participate in the military. you also have some who say it is ok for them to take part, but we don't want them to take part, but we don't want the military health care plans to be paying for their gender reassignment and medical procedures. there is certainly a lot of criticism and speculation that there is a political element behind this. thank you. the headlines on bbc news: the government tries to renew plans to tackle air pollution. it means all new petrol and diesel cars will be banned in the uk by 2040. ajudge has ordered that 11—month—old charlie gard should be moved to a hospice any other plans can be made before 12 tomorrow. president donald trump has said transgender people cannot serve in any capacity in the us military. the supreme court has ruled

that charging people to bring cases before employment tribunals is unlawful. the government introduced fees of up to £1200 four years ago, but now, it must pay back £32 million to claimants. the trade union, unison, had argued that the charges stopped workers, from getting access to justice. clive coleman reports. a massive victory for unison at the highest court in the land. workers' fees for bringing claims to employment tribunal ‘s gone. from builders to bankers, teachers two police officers, workers can bring tribunal claims for everything from unfair dismissal and pay disputes to discrimination. issuing a claim and having a trial was free until four years ago, when to try and deter weak cases, the coalition government introduced fees of up to £1200, and that was before you paid a lawyer a penny. that left this courier

taking his employer to task over his employment status with the fee he couldn't pay. he is still working for them and they are defending the claim. he could only pay to bring it with the help of his union. most people working in this industry are living on the paycheque, basically. so it's really hard to take from your pocket for something that you don't even know when it will end. in march, unison argued that tribunal fees would discourage true and denied workers access to justice. —— word scrimmage tree. the court has now agreed. today's ruling is huge. it means that not only the order which introduced tribunal fees back in 2013 is quashed, it also means that everyone who paid those fees, and that is a sum amounting to some £32 million, will now get their money back. after a four—year legal struggle, unison were delighted. we knew from day one that this was notjust unlawful, it was immoral that low—paid workers should be put in this position.

faced with a damning assessment of the fees, the government responded swiftly. we respect the judgment. we will take it fully on board and we are going to comply with it. already, we are taking action today. tribunal charges stopped today, making claims by workers like ronnie a good deal more affordable. more than 10,000 people in the south of france, including many british tourists, have been forced to leave their homes and campsites overnight, to escape rapidly spreading wildfires. many had to spend the night in sports halls and other public buildings, while some have taken refuge on beaches. efforts to contain the fires continue, with aircraft dumping sea water onto burning hillsides. duncan kennedy reports from bormes—les—mimosas in the country's provence region. the ranging power of the fires was at its most

terrifying during the night. this was bormes les—mimosas, west of st tropez, where hillsides were engulfed by the burning shrubs and trees. for hours, it swept across the countryside in an unstoppable curtain of flames. thousands of people, including british tourists were forced out of campsites and other homes. at around midnight we were then woken up. ijust looked up and 180 degrees of my vision was like a raging inferno. it was in the sky, it was amazing and a very, very scary sight to see. the sheer force of the fires were caught by holiday—makers on their phones. strong winds gave them an unstoppable energy and many burned throughout the night. even the 4000 firefighters and soldiers sent in, couldn't get control when faced with this. the fires lead to a huge evacuation of 10,000 people, many from campsites like this one.

they were told to spend the night on nearby beaches, out in the open. the morning brought no letup in the fires. some tourists were far enough away to continue their holiday, but the lushness of their scenery now replaced by a menacing inferno. in other places, all that was left was a vast, scorched landscape. an area decimated across 15 square miles. translation: we beat out the flames with shovels. we did all we could until the fire was put out. we contained it until the firemen came. there's fire everywhere. 19 aircraft, including ten water bombers have been brought in. but the french authorities are asking other european governments for technical help. these fires have been burning for two days now and we are seeing

fires on hills all around this area, we are also seeing aircraft, helicopters ladened with water, trying to put them out, but at the moment they don't seem to be able to bring them under control. temperatures here are in the 30s. it's sunny and the wind showed no sign of letting up. a combustible, deadly mixture that will continue to threaten this area. duncan kennedy, bbc news, in southern france. the owner of sports direct, mike ashley, has won his legal battle with an investment banker, over an alleged £15 million deal made in a london pub. mr ashley told the high court he couldn't remember details of the conversation, "as it was a night of heavy drinking", and denied he promised the banker the money if he doubled the company's share price. the judge said no—one at the pub would have thought any offer mr ashley made at the time was serious. one of the pope's most senior advisors has appeared in an australian court to face

historic charges of sexual assault. cardinal george pell, who's a financial adviser to pope francis and a former archbishop of sydney and melbourne, is accused of multiple counts involving several complainants. his lawyer told magistrates he would be pleading not guilty. the british economy grew byjust 0.3% between april and june, according to the office for national statistics. the growth was driven by good retail figures and a booming film industry, but this is the economy's weakest six—month period for five years. simon gompertz has the details. everything we make, all our building, all the services provided, the total is still going up, but at a much reduced pace. construction had the toughest three months. all the truss roofs... this buckinghamshire house—building firm says higher prices and uncertainty about brexit are making customers

put off decisions. we've been given orders forjobs and at the last minute, the clients have pulled them away from us. due to concerns over the market. while growth of gross domestic product or gdp each quarter was strong for most of last year, it's fallen back this year so the uk is lagging behind the fastest moving big economies. if we are struggling to push up production at a robust pace, then that's a worry because it puts a question over whether we can carry on creating newjobs and what sort of pay rises we can look forward to. the faltering building trade has a wider impact. including on service businesses like the architect behind the same project, services like shops and restaurants have kept the economy growing, but here, there is concern. it's definitely not a crisis, because we are still busy

on projects, we've still got lots of work on. it's just there is a slight levelling off from what has been a really quite productive last two or three years. labour is calling for better pay rises and investment. the chancellor, with technology trainees today, countered that the government is investing in skills and infrastructure, but he adds promising a brexit transition period would kick—start the economy. the transition period and interim structure with the european union would give businesses and consumers that degree of certainty. and i think that would be a way of strengthening economic growth later in the year and into next year. 0ne bright spot is a jump in film production, like the upcoming star wars, partly filmed in the uk. so far this year though, the economy isn't turning out to be the blockbuster we'd all like to see. simon gompertz, bbc news. great britain's adam peaty has won his second gold medal in the world swimming championships.

competing in the 50 metre breaststroke, hejust missed out on breaking his own world record. joe wilson has the story. when adam peaty swims he brings britain with him. but there is one superfan. when peaty won olympic gold in rio, grandmother mavis was glued to the telly in uttoxeter. the world championships in budapest, she has travelled in person. to be here at this time, it meant the world to me. it's very touching, really. i couldn't go and see him in rio. but asi couldn't go and see him in rio. but as i say, this has made up for everything. i have been so pleased i have come. it is 20 years since i have come. it is 20 years since i have flown. but it was well worth

it. after two world record tuesday, was it too much to expect more from him today? there has been extensive attention on the muscle of the man. but so much rests on the technicality of his swim. he makes the old—fashioned technicality of his swim. he makes the old —fashioned breaststroke technicality of his swim. he makes the old—fashioned breaststroke more active, efficient, more urgent. yesterday he did 50 metres in under 26 seconds. that is what he was chasing again, as well as simply winning the race, of course. the time, 25.99just outside his winning the race, of course. the time, 25.99 just outside his world record. will yes, four hundredths of a second outside. don't debbie disappointed. as peaty prepared for a relay, experts marble. he has got the top ten times in history. they are all adam peaty. it will keep getting quicker and it will keep being his name as well. nobody is even close to him. 50 and 100 metre

world champion, just 22. coming up, as fees for employment tribunal ruled unlawful, we discuss what it means for workers and their bosses. let's check on the weather forecast. it isa let's check on the weather forecast. it is a weather pick and mix for the rest of this week and into the weekend with sunshine and showers and when you get the sunshine, it will feel warm. lively showers working across southern scotland and northern england which will fade away. most will have the dry night. the breeze stopping temperatures dropping too much. a lot of dry weather around to begin thursday. already showers in the west. the breeze enough to push them east. the odd rumble of thunder. the breeze pushing showers through so i do not

think it will be wet in any one place for any length of time. when the sun is out, feeling pleasant, but when the showers are with you, temperatures down between 17 and 21 degrees. even the rush—hour, some showers around. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines. all new diesel and petrol cars and vans will be banned in the uk from 2040. the government wants to tackle air pollution and encourage people to switch to electric vehicles. some green campaigners say the plans do not go far enough. a judge has ordered that 11—month—old charlie gard should be be moved to a hospice, unless any other plans can be made before 12 o'clock tomorrow. president donald trump has said transgender people cannot serve in any capacity in the us military. huge wildfires are still raging in the south of france — thousands of people, including british tourists, are moved to safety.

the funeral of the youngest victim of the manchester arena bombing two months ago, has taken place today at the city's cathedral. saffie roussos was eight years old, and had been given a ticket to the ariana grande concert, as a christmas present. she was at the show with her mother, who was seriously injured in the attack. judith moritz reports from manchester cathedral. lisa roussos is still recovering from the bomb which killed her daughter. she left her hospital bed to be with her family to say a final goodbye to saffie rose. the eight—year—old was carried into manchester cathedral by her father andrew. honoured to be her dad. honoured. she was a superstar in the making. to become something in life, you need to have that something, that spark, that...

..charisma, that something. saffie had that, she truly had that. saffie roussos loved performing. her dream was to be famous like her idol, ariana grande. the irony of this tragedy is that the concert was a wonderful experience for saffie. her daughter knew every song, sang every word and danced. her cheeky grin and happy nature is what her friends remember most about her. she played almost every day with her best friend lily, who still cannot believe that saffie has gone. sometimes i think, i don't know how this happened. i wish she was still with me. i don't know how to feel.

but i am going to think she is always with me, she is always sat at my shoulder, always playing together. she is always going to be with me. the arena explosion happened just yards from this cathedral. hundreds brought roses for saffie rose, remembering the youngest of 22 lives lost that night. judith moritz, bbc news, manchester. more now on the news that the supreme court has ruled that charging people to bring a case to an employment tribunal is unlawful. the fees, of up to £1200, were introduced by the government four years ago to reduce the number of malicious and weak cases. but the union unison argued that they prevented workers having access to justice. around £32 million will now be refunded to claimants. with me now is shantha david, legal officerfor unison.

and seamus nevin, who's head of employment at the institute of directors. what do you argue has been achieved today? today is a victory notjust for the today? today is a victory notjust forthe1.3 today? today is a victory notjust for the 1.3 million unison members but all workers in the united kingdom. what has happened is the rights and employment law rights that individuals and could not be exercised because the cost of exercising them was far too high. this is an opportunity for individuals to go back and exercise those rights and also it is a victory in respect of constitutional law, because the way the government introduced fees, they suggested it was the individual who would benefit or not from going to the tribunal,

but actually, a judgment has wider implications for the general public as well. is there any of that you would argue with? absolutely not, access to a fair hearing is an important cornerstone in uk law and nobody would argue against employees having the right to exercise their rights in the court. our concern is not with the rights and wrongs of the judgment but the implications for employers. we supported the introduction of fees because a majority of members felt they were subject to vexatious and malicious claims and 50% said they settle claims and 50% said they settle claims out of court even though they took legal advice to say they would be likely to win the cases because the cost of going to court was greater than the cost of going to court was greaterthan in the cost of going to court was greater than in terms of the money and time spent on the case of settling out of court. you talked about the implications of the

hearing results. what do you fear the implications might be? we fear that the ruling could lead to vexatious and malicious claims being taken when employees know there is a probability the employer will be forced to settle out of court, even though they may believe they are in the right. the supreme court said the right. the supreme court said the people put off with a meritorious claimants, and this was a sledgehammer to crack a nut, really. the percentage of vexatious claimants has always been low and we are talking about people who cannot afford to exercise their employment rights and where there are unscrupulous employers. there is no argument between you on that but the point coming from your left is the fear might be there will be more vexatious claimants now with what has been decided today. that is highly unlikely. ultimately

good employers will continue good practices and most employers and employees do not intend to end up in tribunal ‘s. this is a good day for good employees and a bad day for unscrupulous. labour rights and the employment setting has changed since 2013 when the fees were introduced at one of the most significant is we have an immigration skills charter which is an incentive for government to choose a british employee over a foreign worker and the implication when you take away the tribunal fees isa when you take away the tribunal fees is a non—eu worker, passed over for promotion, could threaten to take legal action simply because there is a legal basis for them to take the case which would imply they may have been discriminated against which can lead to implications. if you raise a specific example, how do you deal with that? ultimately, the supreme

court pointed out these our constitutional rights of access to justice they go back to magna carta and we are entitled to have them and we are entitled to go to court if an employer acts unscrupulously or unlawfully. that is all that will happen. nothing will change in that respect. the idea there is an army of vexatious claimants waiting to go to tribunal is unfounded. how many vexatious claimants do you think there are potentially? 50% of members said they were advised they we re members said they were advised they were likely to win but settled out of court. we have no evidence to back it up in terms of statistics. when tribunal fees were introduced, you would have expected the meritorious claims to have increased, that did not happen, they decreased, suggesting that did not

bear out. what should be put in place to guard against concerns? we have a new director of enforcement who is charged with coordinating the work done by more than ten bodies responsible for overseeing the enforcement of labour rights and employment cases. we would like his role given more resources and similarly with acas, there is a need to make sure resources are available to make sure resources are available to workers and employers so these cases do not go to tribunal in the first place. i sense agreement? there is agreement. we did not have a caspar lee conciliation prior to the introduction of fees so it remains to be seen what their role is and whether matters will be conciliatory prior. —— we did not have acas conciliation. let's get more on our top story — those plans to ban new diesel and petrol cars and vans from the uk

from 2040 in an effort to tackle air pollution. many of the measures announced today will require major changes to infrastructure and transport policies. our correspondent sima kotecha has been to dudley in the west midlands — where there are only three charging points — to find out whether the area is able to implement the changes. wet weather. a day many need their car the most. what do you think about diesel cars, they won't be on sale in 2040, they'll be banned. that's all well and good but what were they doing ten years ago, trying to get people to buy diesel cars? so why do that and now decide, oh, diesel is wrong? what do you think about those cars that you have to plug in? i think they're good, yes. electric. clea n. yes. get plenty of power points to plug in. they'll need a lot of them. we can't keep using diesel. i think there is evidence that it's medically bad for us, so i think it's the way forward, really. the government's plans are about improving air quality. those who need to drive for work

have passionate views. matty describes himself as a handyman and uses his diesel van to transport all his materials. drills, hammers, wood, plasters, bags of sand. it's quite a lot really, to be fair. in 2040, diesel vans won't be on sale any more, they'll be banned. how do you feel about that? it's good news for me. it makes things cheaper. obviously, the diesel prices are going up and up, and all this tax and stuff. so if everything goes electric, just plug it in and i am away for the day, do you know what i mean? ministers say it is up to councils to decide what steps they take in their area to make the air cleaner. councils say their plans depend on how much money they get from government. there are just three of these charging points in dudley town centre, but the council says it wants to increase that number significantly over the next few years. every new housing development that is done in dudley has

to have an electric power point to charge cars on every property. and i know there are 100 going through the present time — through planning — and we've been doing it for about 18 months. some of the council's ideas here are unpopular — like charging certain vehicles for driving on the town's busiest roads. however, they're being told action must be taken now and that's why they say they are already implementing significant changes. joining me now is the actor and presenter robert llewellyn, who hosts a youtube channel looking at electric cars. good evening. what do you think of what the government has said?|j think what the government has said?” think it is encouraging and makes an enormous amount of sense. the government will have consulted with manufacturers and scientists and people in connection with this and

it is an obvious way to go and what is happening anyway, it sends legislation following technical development. it is inevitable. i have heard convincing arguments todayit have heard convincing arguments today it will happen sooner, but the u pta ke of today it will happen sooner, but the uptake of electric vehicles will be faster and by 2040 it will be almost irrelevant. you talk about what is happening already, but you hear voices saying it is not going quickly and there is not the infrastructure in place and it is a lea k infrastructure in place and it is a leak in the dark. about 296 of vehicles on the road in the uk have a plug. it is a small amount. there are many thousands of public charging places, which is nothing like enough. i have been driving electric cars longer enough to remember there was one rapid charger

in the country behind the gates of mitsubishi's headquarters. now there are sometimes many and every motorway services, is six years, so in another ten years there will be millions. there will need to be millions. there will need to be millions to have this realise. there needs to be far less than you would expect. i thought i would use charging two or three times a day but i use it 20, 30 times a year. i can charge my car at home. many cannot do that that there is about 60% of uk households who have somewhere off the street to park a car. it does not have to be in a garage, which is a high percentage. it makes it easier. every morning i wa ke it makes it easier. every morning i wake up and my car is full. i do not have to use public charging often. we are used to you have to go to a garage to get fuel. with an electric car, you don't, you charge it at

home. on full charge, how far can you go? i have two electric cars, $1 100 miles if you aren't careful, realistically more like 80, and i have one that does 250 miles, if you are not careful, and i have driven to italy and sweden in it easily. the tesla is an expensive car and my financial adviser calls it my pension and he is right. i wanted to make the leap try a car at the cutting edge of what is possible now. those cars will be cheaper. there is a new model of that car thatis there is a new model of that car that is about half the price, around £30,000, still expensive, but there are electric cars available for 15,000, 18000 are electric cars available for 15,000,18000 and soon they are electric cars available for 15,000, 18000 and soon they will be cheaper than petrol cars. but they are much cheaper to operate in fuel.

they do not need servicing as much. it isa they do not need servicing as much. it is a disruptive technology and the automotive industry is aware of this. it will change the model a great deal. it is a different machine and will take getting used to. it is a computer on wheels rather than a car as we know it. something unexpected has appeared in front of your face on screen. maybe my microphone. i am sorry. we will ignore it. tell me about the infrastructure beyond the charging points. if people are driving electric cars and it is rush hour and a lot of people will plug—in at the same time. is the national grid ready? according to the engineers at national grid who i have spoken to, we could adopt 2.5 million electric ca rs we could adopt 2.5 million electric cars today and the national grid could support it. the important

thing to remember is the charging structure is variable. you can charge it on a little amount of electricity or a great deal, depending on how fast you need to do it. there are smart charging systems installed in suburbs where there are electric cars adopted and the charging is fluctuated and increased and decreased according to the ability of the grid to supply electricity. there is so much technology in the works that will enable this to happen. the other important thing is there is a lot of electricity stored in the car and you could run your house offered if you could run your house offered if you are not using your car. 90% of the time we are not in our car. honestly there is time to charge your car. it takes me a couple of seconds to plug it in. i am not standing out in the cold filling a tank which takes two, three minutes. i click and walk away and do something more interesting. we will let you take the other core! thank

you. the headlines. the government drives through new plans to tackle air through new plans to tackle air pollution — it means all new petrol and diesel cars will be banned in the uk by 2040. a judge has ordered that 11—month—old charlie gard should be be moved to a hospice, unless any other plans can be made before 12 o'clock tomorrow. president trump has said transgender people cannot serve in any capacity in the us military. well let's get more now on the news that president trump has said that he's tearing up another of his predecessor's policies and will not allow transgender people to serve in the united states military. with me is now is leslie vinjamuri, who's an associate fellow with with the us programme at the international think—tank, chatham house. i get the impression it came out of

the blue? nobody was expecting it, certainly not today. last night the senate voted to consider health care repeal and then rejected one of those measures. there is a lot going on in washington right now and nobody expected we would get a tweet announcing that president obama's effo rts announcing that president obama's efforts to integrate transgender individuals into the military with a review period, so this is expected and it is not clear the extent to which president trump has consulted. he said he spoke to the general. he said he spoke to senior military figures and this is the advice on offer. we do not know if he has. sometimes he says things and the message changes. the last i heard was transgender individuals was welcome to the military was on the pentagon website. it is unclear if

there has been consultation. president obama made the decision with the one year review period. trump's comments today suggested he was making this decision on the basis it was too costly in terms of medical care and it would be disruptive but if you look at the studies. a corporation did an important study last year and the costs they are anticipated were less than $10 billion, talking about 0.004% of what the us military spends on medical care. the number of individuals estimated to be transgender in the military are less than10,000. transgender in the military are less than 10,000. the tweet suggesting this is disruptive and the costs are tremendously high, does not fit with research on this topic. just looking at lines coming from the white house with reuters reporting the defence secretary was immediately informed of the decision. also saying his

transgender decision is of the decision. also saying his tra nsgender decision is based of the decision. also saying his transgender decision is based on advice from his national security tea m advice from his national security team which suggest he has consulted beyond senior military figures. we do not know. it has beenjust beyond senior military figures. we do not know. it has been just over six months that the president has beenin six months that the president has been in place and what we have seen is we frequently within hours and days seem mixed messages. president trump has a serious professional security team in place. regardless of what they think it is unlikely to come out in public record immediately and disrespect the president, it does not mean they are behind the policy. there are only around 18 countries in which transgender individuals around 18 countries in which tra nsgender individuals have around 18 countries in which transgender individuals have been integrated in the military which leaves many that have. those countries, once again the united states, donald trump pulled the us

out of the paris accord and is now pulling back the us again on another topic in which the us could have taken a leading role and it differs from what we have seen from him on the campaign trail. we will no doubt hear more on the subject in the next few hours. tomorrow marks 50 years since the law forbidding male homosexuality was overturned. up until then, for gay men, the threat of prison as very real. the threat of prison was very real. in 1956, keith biddlecombe from the isle of wight was put in a military prison because of his sexuality. whilst there he was told that a former partner had killed himself rather than face trial. in 1956, keith biddlecombe was sent to prison for being homosexual. but at least he survived to tell his story. one day the screw came in a sort of said, "pack your bags, you're going home tomorrow." i said, "what about the trial?" "there's no trial. the chap shot himself,

blew his brains out." and i have carried that... carried that man's death for the last 61 years. keith joined the navyjust days before his 17th birthday. you have to be discreet. you had to be discreet. but every ship had at least one gay person on board. he served on several ships, including hms reggio, where one night he was caught with a man and arrested. locked up aged just 20, he was coerced into giving details of his other affairs. they said to me, "tell us the names and you're looking at 12 months. don't tell us your names and you're looking at five years." keith gave few details, but military police tracked down

and arrested an army officer. he killed himself rather than face trial. it meant disgrace to his family and disgrace to him, etc. he could not stand the pace and he shot himself, which... that man's death would not have happened had i not given them the information. at a court martial in malta, keith was sentenced to a year for attempted buggery and gross indecency. but turning 21 inside proved a turning point in his life. the master at arms came out of his office and from behind his back... sorry about this. he pulled out this pile of birthday cards. and people, they came up, put their hand on my shoulder, said... said happy birthday and i went

back to my cell, dropped it on the bed and cried. because i thought if in an environment like this, people can be that kind, then there must be kind people outside. because i was getting to the stage where i was becoming better. where i was becoming bitter. after severaljobs, keith became a window dresser and well—respected display manager for department stores. at 81, he is still creating beautiful things. if somebody asked me what advice i would give to a young man of today, then my advice is be faithful to yourself, and if you're in an affair,

be faithful and loving to your partner, and do what you think is right. end of story. time for a look at the weather with matt taylor it isa it is a weather pick and mix. sunshine and showers the order of the day. lively showers working across southern scotland and northern england which will fade away. most will have the dry night. the breeze stopping temperatures dropping too much. a lot of dry weather around to begin thursday. already showers in the west. the breeze enough to push them east. the odd rumble of thunder.

the breeze pushing showers through so i do not think it will be wet in any one place for any length of time. when the sun is out, feeling pleasant, but when the showers are with you, temperatures down between 17 and 21 degrees. even in the rush—hour, some showers around. the windiest conditions west of scotla nd the windiest conditions west of scotland and northern ireland. the windiest conditions west of scotland and northern ireland. this is bbc news. the headlines at 8:00pm. the government drives through new plans to tackle air pollution, it means all new petrol and diesel cars will be banned in the uk by 2040.

we have to get rid of petrol and diesel cars off our roads if we are going to ensure we deal with the health problems pollution causes and meeting our climate change targets. while we welcome the move to cleaner vehicles, it's far too long in the future to do anything about the air quality crisis that we have now. a judge has ordered that 11—month—old charlie gard should be moved to a hospice, unless any other plans can be made before 12 o'clock tomorrow. president donald trump has said transgender people cannot serve in any capacity in the us military.