the bbc understands at least 60 high—rise buildings failed a fire safety test, where insulation and cladding were tested together for the first time. the buildings identified so far are nine council blocks in salford. work to remove the cladding is already under way. we will have the latest about the new safety tests. also this lunchtime. the chancellor says any transitional deal after britain leaves the eu must end before the next general election. another blow for donald trump, as the us senate fails, for a third time, to overturn president obama's health care initiatives. pakistan is thrown into political uncertainty, after prime minister nawaz sharif is forced to resign in the light of corruption allegations. rubbish piles up in the streets of birmingham, as council refuse workers step up their industrial action. coming up in the sport on bbc news, alistair cook falls short

of his first century, since stepping down as england test captain, on day two of the third match against south africa. he is out for 88. good afternoon, welcome to the bbc news at one. the bbc understands officials believes at least 60 buildings have failed an official fire safety test, in which ininsulation and cladding, of the type fitted at grenfell tower, were analysed together for the first time. so far, just nine of the buildings which failed have been identified. they're in salford in greater manchester, where the local council is asking for help from central government to meet the cost of replacements.

frankie mccamley reports. as those affected by the fire at g re nfell tower as those affected by the fire at grenfell tower wait to find out how and why the fire spread, across the country, others are anxiously waiting to find out if their homes are at risk too. but for many, it's not good news. the bbc understands officials believe at least 60 tower blocks have failed a new fire safety test. including nine in salford, where the removal of cladding began weeks ago. the thought of it not being safe and you're sleeping in bed of a nighttime, do you know, that's it, it's bad, isn't it? really bad. they should take the lot off. i don't care how much money it costs them. it's not money, it's people's lives. i think we're sitting on a tinderbox. costs to remove and replace cladding are expected to run into tens of millions of pounds. the concern now is who will pick up the bill. local authorities, housing associations, some of them have reserves. all of

them have access to borrowing capacity and if there are any authorities that have difficulties, we will ensure that we make additional capacity available to them so that they can get the cash they need to do any urgent and necessary work. in the first round of tests, cladding from every building failed, but critics said this wasn't realistic. experts are now carrying out new, more thorough tests, like these, combining cladding and insulation to find out which materials are dangerous when put together, like they were on g re nfell tower. put together, like they were on grenfell tower. polyetholene is an oil based material. when it reaches 600 degrees it will perform like paraffin. we know what paraffin does, it burns. if you clad a building in it, you've got a fuel source for a flame to prop gait on. yesterday the metropolitan police said there were reasonable grounds to suspect that the company that

managed grenfell tower and kensington & chelsea council may have committed corporate manslaughter. it's very, very important that we now have a proper inquiry that finds out what happened, why that fire spread, whether the materials are the right materials and i and my colleagues will support that public inquiry. more than six weeks on, there's no escaping what happened here and with reverberations being felt across the country, there's clearly a lot of work to be done to ensure a tragedy like this never happens again. in a moment, we will be speaking tojudith moritz in salford, but first, we can speak to our correspondent, tom burridge, who is by grenfell tower in west london. tell us more about these tests, tom. previously the government commissioned tests, smaller scale tests, on samples of cladding similarto tests, on samples of cladding similar to that on grenfell tower. what's happening now are larger scale tests on a combination of both

cladding and insulation. in the case of this first set of results, we're expecting today, it's significant because the type of cladding in the test and the type of insulation taken as a whole and tested is exactly the same type as on grenfell tower, we're talking about a combustible type of insulation and we're talking about a type of cladding with a combustible plastic oi’ cladding with a combustible plastic or polyetholene core. given that it's hardly surprising it's failed. it leads credence to the theory that the building materials used, as a whole, on grenfell tower were not appropriate. it then beggars the question: was an appropriate test carried out on that system, that cladding system, the insulation with the cladding, or not? that will be a focus of both the public inquiry and the investigation by the metropolitan police. tom, thank you. judith moritz is in salford for us. the upshot of this is that work is

already going on where you are. yes, salford council say they didn't want to wait, in fact, they conducted their own review pretty much straight after grenfell and they began work to start taking away cladding last month. if i step out of the way now, the camera will move and try to show you what's happening here. if you look at the top of this building, can you see there is the grey and the red clad there. that cladding is thought to be unsafe, similarto cladding is thought to be unsafe, similar to grenfell. that has been there, it took two years to put up and that is going to start coming down. moving the camera down, you can see below it, when the cladding comes away it exposes the silver insulation. the council say they don't want to leave that exposed, if you move the camera across, you can see where the lettering is there on the side of the building, that is new cladding, temporary, it consists of concrete boarding. the council says that it is safe for now, but it's not a permanent solution. they

wa nt to it's not a permanent solution. they want to carry out further tests next month to find the sort of cladding that long—term they can put on these buildings. they know it will take a long time and will cost millions. they are demanding help from the government with that. thank you. the chancellor phillip hammond has said there is broad agreement in cabinet that there should be a transition period of up to three years after britain leaves the eu, but that it should be finished before the next general election, which is scheduled for 2022. the chancellor said a failure to implement a transition deal would sow chaos for business. our political correspondent iain watson is in westminster. what does all of that then mean for the brexit time table? as you know, the brexit time table? as you know, the prime minister's very fond of saying "brexit means brexit". but full brexit might take longer than some people thought. yes, we will leave the european union in march 2019, but the chancellor has got his

cabinet colleagues on board for a concept of a transitional period beyond that and during that time, things might not look all that different. we might have similar levels of eu migration, for example, until a new system is put in place. but in return, his cabinet collea g u es but in return, his cabinet colleagues have voted leave during the referendum have a guarantee from the referendum have a guarantee from the chancellor that transitional period won't last longer than three yea rs. there's a general view that any transitional period would have to be finished by the time we get to the date set for the next general election, june 2022. it might be a shorter period. it depends on the technical requirements to put in place customs and immigration arrangements and so on, and, of course, this is all subject to negotiation with the european union. but the overriding concern, as we leave the eu — and the job will be done on the 29th march, 2019 — the overriding concern is to make sure that we go through this process in a way that avoids disruptive cliff edges

for business and for individual citizens. the cabinet agrees with all that, but as is often the case in politics, the devil is in the detail. let me give a brief example. if the european court ofjustice would have a role during the transition period, if the eu insists 0h transition period, if the eu insists on that, this apparent cabinet unity could be shattered. thank you. in a major blow to president trump, the us senate has failed, for a third time, to repeal president obama's healthcare reforms. in a dramatic late—night sitting, three republicans voted against the proposed legislation. among the three was veteran senatorjohn mccain. he broke off brain cancer treatment to attend the session, and his "no" vote proved decisive, as richard lister reports. breaking news a massive blow to the republican plan to repeal at

fordable care act... americans are waking up to the news that obamacare lives on and seems, for now, unassailable. president obama's affordable care act required nearly all americans to buy health insurance and required insurance to cover eve ryo he . insurance and required insurance to cover everyone. republicans condemned it. momentum is building for the repeal of the health care bill... for the repeal of the health care bill. . . too for the repeal of the health care bill... too invasive, too expensive, they said. for seven years, they've demanded it be replaced. but they can't agree on how and with a single vote margin on last night's repeal bill, all eyes were on one man. mr mccain. the self styled maverick republican cast with a thumbs down to gasps in the chamber. and that killed the bill. cheering for obamacare supporters, this was a real victory, further repeal efforts seem real victory, further repeal efforts seem unlikely for now. this is

clearly a disappointing moment, from sky rocketing cost to plummeting choices and collapsing markets, our constituents have suffered through an awful lot under obamacare. this repeal bill was highly controversial. it would have abolished the legal mandate to buy insurance, but increased the number of uninsured people by 15 million and increased some premiums by 20%. democrats said it was time for a new approach. every place in every corner of the world, of the country, where we go, the number one thing we are asked, and i know this because i've talked to my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, is can't you guys work together? let's give ita you guys work together? let's give it a shot. this is a test of donald trump's presidency too. let obamacare implode, he tweeted. senator mccain was cheered outside congress but he's left his party in chaos and his president humiliated,

unable to overturn barack obama's health care legacy. president trump's new communications director has become involved in an extraordinary public feud with two senior colleagues, less than a week into the job. anthony scaramucci has launched a scathing attack on both the white house chief of staff, reince priebus, and mr trump's chief strategist, steve bannon. laura bicker reports on this, the latest episode in the white house saga. president trump's west wing is at war with itself. the appointment of the flashy financier, anthony scaramucci, as the new director of communications has prompted a bitter battle to win the ear of the president. mr scaramucci has indirectly accused his colleague, the white house chief of staff reince priebus, of leaking information about the administration. he called a us network show to say that only mr trump could judge whether the tense relationship between the two was repairable. we have had differences. when i said we were brothers

from the podium, that is because... but some brothers are like cain and abel. other brothers can fight with each other and get along. i don't know whether this is repairable or not, that will be up to the president. tonight, in an extraordinary phone call with a reporter from the new yorker, anthony scaramucci described reince priebus as a paranoid schizophrenic. he also took personally about mr trump's chief strategist, steve bannon. on twitter he said he would refrain from using "colourful language", but would not give up the passionate fight for donald trump's agenda. mr scaramucci has been in the west wing just one week, and appears to have spent more time launching personal attacks than pushing the president's policies. he may also be forcing the chief of staff, and a key republican establishment figure, out the door. let's hear more about everything

going on in washington overnight. what now for health care, what happens with that? what a night of drama under the dome of capitol hill. when it comes to republicans they're picking hill. when it comes to republicans they‘ re picking up hill. when it comes to republicans they're picking up the pieces but they're picking up the pieces but they are bruised and they are battered. how they go forward with health care is now uncertain. because one, they're running out of time. this is part of a spending bill. and two, as you heard from the senate majority leader there, perhaps it's time to move forward. and many of his party may feel the same. and the public feuding is quite extraordinary. well, this is as close to a reality tv white house as close to a reality tv white house as we've ever seen. what we have here is the white house chiefs of staff versus the newcomer, the communications director. now anthony scaramucci communications director. now anthony sca ramucci seems to communications director. now anthony scaramucci seems to have the ear of the president and he's a chip off the president and he's a chip off the old block. they are very similar personalities and backgrounds. if it comes to a fight between anthony scaramucci and reince preibus, ifear he will

be voted out. ( pakistan's prime minister, ( nawaz sharif, has resigned, after being disqualified from office by the supreme court, over corruption allegations against his family. the allegations stem from documents that came to light — the so called panama papers — regarding his children's offshore business holdings, which include four luxury apartments in london's mayfair. for opponents of the pakistani prime minister, today's court decision is a huge and unprecedented victory for accountability in a country where politicians often have a reputation for corruption. today, nawar sharif resigned after the highest court disqualified him from office. a panel of fivejudges

disqualified him from office. a panel of five judges unanimously decided he had not been honest when explaining his and his family's financial dealings to a corruption inquiry. the supreme court has led from the front. and democracy will strengthen. democracy will evolve in pakistan and we will be able to establish a new pakistan. the allegations against sharif revolve around four luxury central london flats. the documents from the panama paper leaks flats. the documents from the panama pa per lea ks revealed flats. the documents from the panama paper lea ks revealed were flats. the documents from the panama paper leaks revealed were linked to a number of his children. the pakistani supreme court has been trying to establish where the money came from to buy them. the prime minister's daughter widely seen as his political successor, as well as her father, will now face further inquiries by the national anticorruption inquiries by the national anticorru ption body. inquiries by the national anticorruption body. no prime minister in pakistan has ever completed a full term in office. sharif served twice in the 90s, but was overthrown in a military coup. some of his supporters have claimed

the allegations against him now are an attempt by the country's powerful army to oust him again. his family have always denied any wrongdoing and outside the court some of his ministers remained defiant. translation: no matter who becomes the prime minister, the prime minister in the hearts of the pakistani people will always be nawaz sharif. the ruling party will 110w nawaz sharif. the ruling party will now have to nominate a new leader but with elections due to take place by the middle of next year, the country is facing real uncertainty. our top story this lunchtime. the bbc understands officials believe at least 60 high rise buildings failed a fire safety test where insulation and cladding were tested together for the first time. and, coming up, hidden below ground for 75 years,

the royal mail railway you'll soon be able to hitch a ride 0h. coming up in sport, lewis hamilton isjust third quickest in the first practice ahead of the hungarian grand prix. he goes into the weekend trailing sebastian vettel byjust a point in the drivers' standings. aid workers in greece have told the bbc they're dealing with hundreds of extremely vulnerable refugees on the island of lesbos. many have suffered torture and sexual abuse at the hands of so—called islamic state in syria and iraq. the european commission has said such refugees should be moved to athens for specialist treatment but charities say that's not happening. our europe reporter, gavin lee, is on the island of lesbos. you check this, this is our life. life inside a migrant camp, lesbos. rare footage from a place journalists are banned. it shows tents have been replaced by containers,

a reflection of europe's waiting room being made a little more long—term for the 4,000 being held on the island. violence, rioting and fires are becoming routine. the camps are full and migrants, though small in number, are still making it here by boat. since so—called islamic state started to lose ground, many who arrived in greece have escaped attention, men tortured by tortured by is fighters, women used as sex slaves. some are pregnant here. there is little support for them and it is worsening the problem on an already volatile island. we are very worried. you need to improve the health care that is given to these people. if they are vulnerable, they need to be recognised as such, and they need to move to somewhere where they can receive care. the reality is, there isn't this care here on the island, and they need to move to the mainland to receive it. and they need to move to the mainland to recei‘ than killed it would be better than this humiliation. the policy is clear that vulnerable migrants should be taken off the island quickly for specialist treatment. so why are they still here? i would like at this point to

remind that 30,000 people have come through the island since march 2016 so through the island since march 2016 so there can be individual cases, some individual cases, that may have — they may not have been processed as quickly. the greek government is promising to take extremely vulnerable migrants off the islands. in the meantime, those needing the most help are still waiting. gavin lee, bbc news, lesbos. companies working on the crossrail project have been fined more than £1 million after three sets of failures, one of which led the death of a worker. the companies pleaded guilty to offences following an investigation. rene tkacik died after being crushed by wet concrete in 2014. two other men were injured in separate incidents within six days of each other injanuary 2015. four men have been arrested on suspicion of making an explosive device inside cardiff prison. police say no one was hurt

when a device erupted. the incident only came to light when a prison worker contacted a welsh assembly member, with concerns about staffing. tomos morgan reports. following an incident here at hmp cardiff on 15th june, a member of staff at the prison contacted the south—west wales assembly member bethanjenkins with concerns about the welsh capital's jail. the worker told msjenkins that prisoners had fashioned an explosive device out of tea whiteners which are very flammable. gyimah with her concerns that the situation could have been much more serious. he was implying to me that the prisoners could revolt, could take over the prison because of the situation potentially with the staffing, although there are other issues also and that's something i think that everybody needs to be aware of so that we ensure these type of situations don't happen again. the prison worker that contacted msjenkins said that staffing levels at the welsh capital's prison played

a part in this incident occurring. he went on to say that staff morale was at an all—time low and that unless things were to change an event of this nature could happen again. because there's not enough staff to do routine stuff like cell searches every day and checks on cells they may be missing these things. but that's always been the case for the past five years and that's why we are insisting that 2,500 extra prison officers simply isn't enough. we have lost over 7,000 and we need those 7,000 replaced. in a statement, the ministry ofjustice said that nobody had been hurt in the incident and that the matter had been referred to the police. they added that it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage. south wales police have released all four individuals originally arrested. one without further action, but investigations continue in relation to the other three men. tomas morgan, bbc news, cardiff. council refuse workers in birmingham are stepping up their industrial

action in a dispute that has left rubbish piling up in the streets. members of the unite union have been refusing to do overtime, and have been carrying out daily two—hour stoppages — which rose to three hours today. the dispute is about planned changes to working practices, as our correspondent sima kotecha reports. it looks bad, it smells even worse. piles and piles of rubbish strewn across some of birmingham's streets. on this road it's been three weeks since the rubbish was collected. we have seen a rat over there yesterday, absolutely disgraceful. four weeks now it's been here, absolutely terrible. so we pay all our money, council tax and they won't come and get it, give the binmen what they want. just get these bins gone. it's not fair on the kids, the kids can't even play out any more because of the vermin. it's disgusting, we come out of our house and it stenches of rotten food, it's horrible. while the stench from this

pile of rubbish here really is unbearable, not sure if you can see or not, but there are flies everywhere. and with this strike due to carry on until september, for people living on this street, the smell is going to get worse. since earlier this month, bin workers have been striking for two hours every day over changes to their shift patterns and plans to cut the number of supervisorjobs. from today, they'll be striking for three hours a day. they say the proposed changes will lead to staff being paid thousands of pounds less. i can talk about working patterns, i can discuss those with my members. what i can not discuss is members who are low paid, losing money that they can ill—afford. they have mortgages to pay and food to put on the table, remove that, don't have those on the lowest wages pay for austerity and mismanagement of council accounts. the local council says budgetary constraints mean they need to adopt a new way of working.

in a statement, it says: positive discussions are continuing to take place with the unions and we hope to be able to resolve this sooner rather than later. with august around the corner, a mixture of hot temperatures and more rubbish is what many here are dreading. for 75 years, an underground network of railways was used by royal mail to move post around the capital but in 2003 the system was abandoned. now it's reopening, as a tourist attraction — members of the public will be able to take a unique ride through tunnels previously travelled by only parcels and letters. tim muffett went for a ride. throughout its 500—year history, the royal mail's mission has remained pretty much unchanged. newsreel: now down the chute into the vans... to harness technology of the day to deliver letters

and parcels as quickly and accurately as possible. this new postal museum shows how deliveries have evolved. but by the early 20th century, the mail system in london faced two big problems — heavy fog caused by smoke billowing from chimneys, and heavy traffic. the answer lay below ground. in 1927, this underground rail network opened. newsreel: on the post office tube railway, 25,000 mails bags travel through 6.5 miles of tunnels below crowded city pavements... for 75 years, unmanned trains shuttled mail between six sorting offices and two railway stations, liverpool street and paddington. i guess it was designed for letters, not people. exactly right. passengers will soon be able to ride specially—adapted trains

through the tunnels. it was a really important part of moving the mail and speeding up the process. it was essential to allowing that communication to happen quickly in 2003, the service stopped. its running costs were deemed too high. transporting mail above ground was considered more cost—effective. this is one of the mail platforms, where the trains would have stopped and the mail would have been loaded into containers. it almost looks like it was abandoned. it pretty much was. the equipment was all left down here, newspapers and things like that still laying around, all the trolleys, the trains were still down here. soon to become a quirky visitor attraction, for some the mail rail has been underappreciated. the postal service is really the first social network, keeping people in touch, allowing people to stay in touch over distance and quickly, and it was important, the speed was important, and that's what mail rail was about, speeding the system up.

tim muffet, bbc news, 70 feet below london. the third cricket test is finely balanced after both sides enjoyed success at the oval. england are 269-6 at success at the oval. england are 269—6 at lunch. what shall we do about alistair? try and get him out early. toppling the former captain surely top of the agenda at the south african pre—play huddle. cook closing in on a 31st test century knows what it feels like to be the wicket to take. and they nearly got him. just a few overs in, just a few inches too far away and cook was saved by barely a brush on the grass. not so lucky the second time around, though. six added to his overnight total and

cook was gone, lbw. hopes of another 100 dashed. after a long day's work yesterday, today it's a long day watching. but ben stokes was still there. swinging his way to over 2,000 test runs and whipping one away to the boundary, flying over flaying finger tips to bring up his 10th test 50. bairstow was going well too. but with the new ball, his luck turned. edged, caught. out for 36. however, after yesterday's rain the clouds are blowing away for england, prospects perhaps brightening. test tight, series tied. all those that have gone before can do is watch and wait. is the weather brightening, here is nick. not much summer warmth today or for