this is bbc news. the headlines at 2pm: more than three million british gas customers will see their electricity prices increase by 12.5% next month. donald trump has sacked his white house communications director anthony scaramucci after less than ten days in the post. the trauma unit at oxford'sjohn radcliffe hospital is to close for up to a year after the building was found to be a fire risk. two prominent venezuelan opposition leaders are seized by security forces in a night—time raid. and in the next hour: the man who drifted miles out to sea in a toy dinghy is rescued by a rnli crew. what are you doing out here? it comes as the charity launches a water safety campaign this month — the busiest for its lifeboat crews. the piece hall in halifax has re—opened today following a £19 million transformation.

the piece hall in halifax has re—opened today following a £19 million transformation. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. british gas will increase electricity prices by 12.5% in september, a move which will affect more than three million customers. its parent company centrica said the price rise is a because of the increasing cost of transmitting energy to people's homes, and government environmental policies. the government has indicated that it may still legislate to impose a cap on energy prices. our business correspondent theo leggett reports. british gas likes to say it is putting its customers in control. but even if they turn the heating down, those on a standard variable tariffs will see their bills going up. after the increases announced today,

the cost of an average dualfuel energy bill, electricity and gas, provided by british gas, will be going up. it will now cost £1120 a year, an increase of £76 compared to last year. it is not the cheapest among the big players any more, but it is not the most expensive. british gas says it does mean 3 million people will pay more for their energy, but another 5.3 million customers will not be affected. british gas‘s owner centrica says it has little choice but to increase bills because of the cost of providing electricity in particular has increased sharply. the reason for this is the transmission and distribution costs have been going up as well as the environmental and social policy costs, and recently, we have been selling electricity at a loss. those are the reasons why we have had to put prices up, beginning in the middle of september. over the past six months, centrica has seen profits

from its home energy business falling sharply and it has also lost hundreds of thousands of customers. british gas has had pressure on its profits, and the domestic side, reflected in this announcement which they argue is because the price freeze and they argue most recently they have made a loss and electricity overall, so there is a on them i guess to make sure they are not loss—making. earlier this year when other major energy companies raised their prices, the regulator of gems that the regulator ofgem said the increases were notjustified. but plans for a cap have been watered down. the government needs to urgently look at what they do for the customers paying over the odds. there has been so much discussion about the energy market and it does not work for consumers, the discussion needs to end and we need to see some action. regulators want more people to shop around and switch suppliers to find a cheaper deal. but not everyone is willing to do that. for the sake in my case of nearly £20 saving a year, it is not worth it.

not worth my time. it is dear enough as it is, that is why i have both and gas and electric together because you have the 10% discount. if i could get a better deal somewhere else, i will always look for the best deal possible. centrica says it would welcome some changes to the energy market including the abolition of the expensive standard variable tariffs. we can speak now to our assistant political editor norman smith to tell us what the political reaction has been to this rise. there has been so much talk of a cap, but is that all it is, talk?” suspect it is. theresa may had the opportunity to oppose a cap earlier and chose not to do so. people and governments say there is brexit, an awful lot on our plate, all this brexit legislation to get through. argy—bargy with the europeans, we don't have time for this big piece of legislation adding to which in

tory ranks it is hugely controversial. many conservative mps say it is not the job of the conservative party to be telling businesses what sort of prices to charge, that is not a tory sort of thing. where the government to go down this route, they would almost certainly face a legal tussle with the big energy companies. although the big energy companies. although the government are not ruling out this cap, in reality, i think it is very unlikely to happen. ipaq with eve ryo ne very unlikely to happen. ipaq with everyone now thinking about holidays, theresa may already on hers, you sort of wonder, are we in for a relatively quiet time in the coming weeks? given the past few weeks and months, quite tame as the one thing one can almost certainly rule out. top of the west must surely be theresa may coming back from holiday to try to stamp some

order on proceedings because in recent days we have had different ministers coming out with different versions of brexit and down the line we now in september mrs may has to get the first three —— big piece of brexit legislation through the commons. that'll be the big battle ground. beware what happens when you are on holiday. a message for us all. thank you, norman. the white house communications director, anthony scaramucci, has been fired just ten days after his appointment. he was dismissed last night, hours after generaljohn kelly, a retired marine general, was sworn in as the president's new chief of staff. officials say mr scaramucci made "inappropriate" comments to a magazine journalist. it means three top officials have left the trump administration in the last ten days, as richard lister reports. my start state is going to be in a couple of weeks, so it is 100% totally cleansed and clean. anthony scaramucci never made it

to the official start state, the white house decided what had to be cleansed was him. why? looked at his comments to the new yorker magazine look at his comments to the new yorker magazine where he said of the then white house chief of staff, reince priebus is a paranoid schizophrenic. and of the chief strategist of donald trump, i am not trying to build my own brand on the strength of the president, i am here to serve the country. but as it turned out, not for much longer, the victim of a vicious political culture he had spoken out to the bbc. one of the things i cannot stand about this town is the backstabbing that goes on here, where right grow up, in my neighbourhood, we are front—stabbers. this is the man who helped to wield the night, the new chief of staffjohn kelly, the first retired general in the

post since the nixon administration. his task is to bring order to the white house. as i think we have made clear a number of times over the last couple of days to several of you individually, of you individually, general kelly has the full authority to operate within the white house and all staff will report to him. president trump has nothing but praise for generaljohn kelly but friends say the general was reluctant to become his chief of staff and will want to drive the white house agenda forward. if the president of the united states is disrupted in himself, i think general kelly will have frank discussions about things he could do that would help the situation and improve it. with three high—level departures from the administration in two weeks, general kelly'sjob to maintain discipline will be a challenge. the question is, will we see a more disciplined president trump and that is the big question going forward. keep in mind, the departure of scaramucci is perhaps the easiest thing that john kelly will be able to get done in this white house. general kellie will be

watching this space, the president's twitter feed, which described yesterday's extraordinary shake—up is simply a great day at the white house. our correspondent barbara plett usher is in washington. ifi if i said this to you 2a hours ago, you would have said, don't be ridiculous. and that seems to be the pattern. and when president trump says a great day at the white house, does there seem to be two of them? we wa ke does there seem to be two of them? we wake up with one bombshell and by leaving there is a new bombshell so we have forgotten the original one. so my answer to that is i don't know. john kelly has all the ingredients to make this white house function. respected internally, experience in government, doesn't have a dog in the fight in terms of internal battles. leadership

experience in opposing order. and he has the authority from the president. so if he is not able to manage this white house, i think that very few others will be able to. he did get off to a roaring start. he fired anthony scaramucci because of what were called inappropriate comments during that profane thai raid last week to the new yorker. he had a meeting with staff in the west wing where he laid down his rules. he said they would all report to him, there would be limited access to the oval office andi limited access to the oval office and i will be more structure and accountability. by all accounts, they agreed to play by the rules, including the family of president trump. i think the reserve willingness in the white house to try to get some more normal functioning. donald trump set this up functioning. donald trump set this up with different i'll ideological groups. could he tell president

trump to stop tweeting?” groups. could he tell president trump to stop tweeting? i doubt anyone could get him to do that. that has been how he has communicated for years. the question is whether general kelly would be able to moderate or temper some of his more wilder impulses. valley was the head of homeland security, he showed he was willing to stand up to the president on issues. we know donald trump likes him, he likes military men, this is a 4—star generalfrom the marine military men, this is a 4—star general from the marine corps. they are nearly the same age. he is probably closer in similarity in stature than other people in the west wing. it depends whether president trump agrees to hear things from him. in the end, he is the boss. the test will be when there is a crisis or something goes badly whether the chief of staff

will be able to get mr trump to restrain himself. just between you and me, the departure of anthony scaramucci, i was surprised. i would love to know what your reaction was. i was surprised in the sense that he was there for such a short period of time and had been such a roller—coaster. to be honest, my surprise quotient is quite a bit lower now six months ago. also, his interview with the new yorker seems to cross a line. it felt like a line was being crossed. thank you. some breaking news. prisoners armed with weapons have taken over when the prison hertfordshire. have retreated. press us —— specialist

units are being dispatched to the jail. it is thought at least 50 prison cells have been damaged after disturbances from yesterday. there are unconfirmed reports of a disturbance also at a prison in wiltshire. the ministry ofjustice has been contacted. we have not had a response to questions we have put to them so far. so issues at mount prison in hertfordshire and also at ellis stoke prison in wiltshire. we will bring you more on that as we get it. relatives of two opposition leaders in venezuela say the men have been re—arrested, just two days after a controversial vote to change the constitution. the daughter of one of the men — antonio ledezma — posted this video on social media. she says it shows her father being taken away by officers from the intelligence service. the wife of the other man —

leopoldo lopez — said she would hold the president responsible if anything happened to her husband. earlier, our correspondent sent us this update from caracas. authorities in venezuela have claimed for a long time that they're not a dictatorship, as has been said by the opposition over and over. but this sort of action in the dead of night with the opposition leaders in their pyjamas as they're dragged away by armed and masked men of the security forces does nothing to strengthen that argument. on social media, there's been a huge reaction by their supporters, who saved this is simply a further step into autocracy and controlled by the government of nicolas maduro. but the government say the two men violated the terms of their house arrest by calling for action on the streets, and violence, they say during this recent and very controversial vote on creating a new legislative body in venezuela.

so it is an extremely complex picture, and things like this do nothing to calm the tensions of ordinary people on the streets of notjust caracas but across venezuela. just to update you on the situation in moscow were three just to update you on the situation in mo fiaere three g at g just to update you on the situation in mo fiaere three g at a shot . they the defendants were shot as they tried . escape. two others were tried to escape. two others were wounded. three law enforcement officials were also wounded. one of the defendants has said four of the

accused have been killed. that is a developing story. we will speak to oui’ developing story. we will speak to our correspondent in moscow a little later. lawmakers in pakistan are to choose a new prime minister later, to replace nawaz sharif, who stepped down on friday. he was disqualified from public office by the supreme court, which ruled that he had failed to disclose his family's financial assets. it's exactly what we expected. a guy called shahid khaqan abbasi has been elected prime minister of pakistan. when i say elected, this is elected by the members of parliament, by the national assembly of pakistan, not by the people of pakistan. so he has been elected prime minister. he's the new prime minister of pakistan, but he is only in place, we think, for about two months before the longer term successor, so the man appointed by nawaz sharif, the former prime minister, disgraced and kicked out of office by the supreme court on friday,

he nominated wait for it, his brother to succeed him. his brother isn't actually an mp. he needs to get himself a seat in parliament, then he, in turn, can be elected by the parliament as prime minister succeeding this guy, abbasi, whose won the prime minister ship today. that is where we are at in pakistan. we do have a new prime minister, but he's not going to last for long. the headlines on bbc news: the white house insists that president trump's new chief of staff will bring discipline to his administration, following the sacking of anthony scaramucci. to man prominent venezuelan opposition leaders were seized by security forces in a night—time

raid. in sport, karen bardsley will miss the rest of the women's euro 2017 after it has been revealed she broke her leg. she was injured against france. her substitute is likely to face the netherlands in the semifinal on thursday. hearts have sacked head coach ian cathro after seven months in charge. it follows their shock exit from the scottish cup. ellie downie will miss october's world championships in october after ankle surgery. the 18—year—old picked up the injury before winning four medals in the european championships. she says she aims to train for the next commonwealth games in australia. more in ten minutes. let's go to our correspondent in

brussels. what sort of disruption are we talking about at airports? hello. the airlines for europe group which represents carriers across europe has been warning for the last couple of days that could be bigger than normal queues at immigration and passport counters across europe. guessing it is partly because of new rules about checking eu national passports that are introduced in april this year. we have had quite a lot of anecdotal evidence of queues at some airport. it is very patchy these reports. the new rules introduced in april said that all eu nationals had to have their passports checked against european wide databases when they were crossing an external border of the

eu. previously that had only applied to nationals from outside the eu. a big increase in cheques being done on people as they went to immigration at airports. this airport workers saying that may be to blame for some of these cues. european commission say it is not theirfault and european commission say it is not their fault and they were asked to introduce these changes by all 28 member states in the wake of the paris acts of 2015. it was up to the individual countries themselves how the implemented these checks. the airlines say it is notjust the law thatis airlines say it is notjust the law that is the problem, it could be that is the problem, it could be that in some airports were not enough staff on duty during busy weekends and some airports don't have quite the right technical infrastructure to handle these new rules. a lot of anecdotal evidence of trouble today. do you have any fa cts ? of trouble today. do you have any facts? it sounds like this was a big issue at the weekend whether a bit user quite a number of airports, particularly in majorca and malaga

in spain. smaller airports could perhaps many were not as geared up for this. apparently there were problems at the smaller airport in paris, or the airport. they realised quickly they needed more staff and put more people on the gates. these warnings are coming very much from the airlines trade body themselves. trying to get ahead of any trouble to say look, it is not the airline's fault, this is a combination of new legislation and airport logistics, not just airlines. over the legislation and airport logistics, notjust airlines. over the weekend, loads of my friends on social media complained of flight problems nothing to do with fishing in borders code or new eu rules about schengen. it was things to do with delayed flights overbooked flights. next weekend will be a busy holiday weekend. we keep an eye on the

airlines and airports and whether they have their eye on the ball.|j saw that, you have loads of friends. that's great. is there any evidence there is a particular national passport which is being targeted? you speak of malaga and spain, pictures in barcelona show similar problems. a lot of british people go to these countries. and just wondering if there is a sense of particular nation is being targeted? no sense of that at all actually. this is meant to be a european white thing about all 28 countries in the eu and all external borders of the eu. with this becomes an issue as there is the schengen area, passport free travel area at the heart of europe that the uk is not part of. uk traveller coming from the uk to spain or anywhere else in europe could technically be crossing and external border which means the airport is then going to check their passport against the state of 80s.

whereas if you drove between the border between germany and luxembourg there would not be a passport border checks on now possibility for iq. these measures we re possibility for iq. these measures were introduced in april on a temporary interim basis. airports have until the start of october to get procedures in place for this to be fully rolled out and fully functional. ipaq add—on, i am fully corrected. thank you very much. the trauma unit at thejohn radcliffe hospital in oxford will close for up to 12 months due to safety concerns about the cladding on the building following investigations in the wake of the grenfell tower fire. 52 inpatient beds will be moved by august the 11th and the work to remove the cladding could take a year. they found a number of things. first, they found the cladding was flammable. second, they found that the measures in place to stop fire from spreading from to floor were not as good

as they should be. we have good measures to stop fire from spreading within a single floor, but we do not have measures it turns out in that building to stop spread from floor to floor as reliably as we want. greater manchester police is facing fresh investigations by the police watchdog in connection with three fatal firearms incidents. the bbc‘s victoria derbyshire programme has learned that the independent police complaints commission is examining new evidence in the cases, which date from 2008 to 2013. many of the officers involved are still serving in the force. greater manchester police says its armed units do a very difficult job under the highest levels of scrutiny. simon cox reports. anthony grainger was shot dead in the village of culcheth in cheshire in march 2012. police believed he was planning an armed robbery. there were known violent criminals with him but they were unarmed. what do you mean, he is shot? we're not in america.

and then they said the police did it. and i just collapsed. but i didn't believe it. even up until i saw his body. there was a public enquiry into his death. it was argued that there were mistakes in the police intelligence. apublic enquiry into his death was started, but it has not reported yet. it was argued that there were mistakes in the police intelligence. some of the armed officers had failed training courses & the most failed training courses and the most senior officer had changed his notes on the operation. you've got separate failures which brings up the big picture of an organisation that is questionable. it looks farfrom good. we've discovered there's a new investigation into the case by the police watchdog. it follows evidence given

at the public enquiry. we've learned there's another new investigation into a shooting involving firearms officers from greater manchester police. ian terry was devoted to his job as a firearms officer. he was killed on a training exercise at this disused factory in 2008. an inquestjury ruled he would have been saved if the training had been properly prepared. we were told there had been an accident at work and everyone had done all they could but could not save him. john foxcroft ran the firearms training unit at greater manchester but left over safety concerns in 2006. i thought we were getting a little too much into the aggressive tactics. the more aggressive you get, the more likely you are to have people shot. earlier this year, the ipcc launch the new investigation earlier this year, the ipcc launched a new investigation into the case ofjordan begley, his mum called the police after a row with neighbours. i need the police as quick as i can. you're not going out!

he died after being tasered and restrained by armed officers. greater manchester police says the firearms officers volunteer for the role and do a very difficult job, quite rightly, under the highest levels of scrutiny. but with many of the officers still serving, it poses tough questions for greater manchester police. a man who drifted a mile out to sea in a toy dinghy had to be rescued by a lifeboat crew last night, as he battled against the wind and tide off redcar. what are you doing out here? the alarm was raised at 7:30pm in the evening, after he was spotted near a wind farm off the coast. the man was wearing just shorts and a top. it comes as the rnli says the number of near fatal incidents in uk waters is highest in august — and it's launching a campaign, urging people to take proper precautions when heading out

on the water. rick kelsey reports from cornwall. tens of thousands of people will go into the water of the uk this month. one of the most popular places is here in newquay. how would you describe the conditions? it is pretty good, pretty solid out there. josie has the job of watching hundreds of surfers and swimmers here. on a beach like this, what are the trickiest things that could cause a problem? for holiday—makers, theyjust don't understand the water like we do. they just don't understand the water like we do. for holiday—makers, the rips. they just don't understand the water like we do. they just think they can go wherever they want. sometimes when you tell them, they don't like to be told what to do. every year, under 200 people die on the coastline anthony miller was 23 when he went into the water. they were drinking, partying, and he said, i'm going skinny—dipping.

he went in the sea and disappeared. i really, really want people to be aware that when you are on holiday or a live by the sea, and your out drinking, by all means and you are out drinking, by all means have a good time but the water. i really, really want people to be aware that when you are on holiday or a live by the sea, and you are out drinking, by all means, have a good time but do not go near the water. because you may not come back out alive. the temperatures do not get much about 16 celsius, which is about the same that comes out of your cold water tap. it is also the time that the guys that work in this lifeboat station are the busiest. you could be out fishing and you slip on rocks, if you end up in the water you will be in your clothes, because you were not prepared. i want you to on your back, push your chin as chin as high as you can towards the air.

it is that initial part of giving yourself 90 seconds, to let your heart rate go back to a normal rhythm, get your breath back, compose yourself. trainer lewis wants people to go against their natural reactions. despite the warnings, the amount of injuries and deaths has remained steady and the rnli hope fewer people to get into trouble with this device. centrica ongoing trouble at two let's speak to danny shaw that brought us the news. let's start with earl stoke, because that is over? it appears that incident has been resolved. what i heard earlier was that staff had apparently withdrawn from one section of the prison, a command centre was set up,

indicating a serious disturbance. it looks like it has been resolved quickly. erlestoke prison, the problems are over. but still problems are over. but still problems at the mount prison. and the problems started yesterday? a serious disturbance yesterday that went on into the early hours of the morning involving prisoners in two wings. footage of fire is being set, windows smashed. my understanding is that 50 cells were damaged to some extent. the extent of the damage is being assessed. while the prison was recovering from that and was on lockdown with inmates being stuck in their cells, locked in their cells, what has happened this morning is in another wing, in nash wing, a relatively new building, constructed two years ago, holding 200 prisoners, there has been trouble. a well—placed source told me that prisoners armed with weapons were

seen prisoners armed with weapons were seenin prisoners armed with weapons were seen in that wing. staff have retreated. they felt there was not sufficient back—up. they have withdrawn, and specialist officers, tornado teams, staff trained to deal with riots and disturbances, are being dispatched to the prison. the ministry ofjustice confirming it, but how damaging is this? incidents ta ke but how damaging is this? incidents take place in prisons all the time, there are low—level disturbances, problems with one or two individuals, and most of those go unreported. but when an incident like this takes place with tornado teams involved, that takes it to a new level. when you have prisoners rioting or barricading themselves in with staff having to withdraw, that is very serious. the problems at the mount have been brewing for some time. there have been reports coming out that there have not been enough staff. the independent monitoring board, the independent inspectors that go into prisons, saying in

february that there were something like 24 february that there were something like 2a or 25 staff short out of a condiment of 136, a serious shortfall. you can factor in the summer shortfall. you can factor in the summer holidays, staff taking annual leave. that means there is less time for prisoners to go out of their cells to do activities where they can be safely escorted to those activities and supervised, meaning they are stuck in their cells, frustration and anger boils up and this is what happens. thanks very much. hello. this is bbc news. that catch up with the forecast. sunshine to be had this afternoon at a good crop of showers. a high chance of showers cropping up in east anglia, maybe towards the london area. the south coast will stay find. the rumble of thunder

into the evening, but showers fade away. general rain showing in the south and west with a freshening breeze. 15 or so in the south, ten in the north. rural spots go into single figures. through tomorrow, wet and windy weather, rain pushing northwards and eastwards. north of scotla nd northwards and eastwards. north of scotland should have a decent day, thatis scotland should have a decent day, that is where the best sunshine will be. it will dry up in the afternoon. miserable in the south, wet and windy. that clears, and on thursday, back to square one with sunny spells, showers and a blustery breeze. hello. this is bbc news. the headlines: there have been renewed calls for a cap on energy prices, after british gas' owner, centrica, announced it would charge 12.5 % more for electricity from september. the ministry ofjustice has confirmed there is an ‘ongoing incident‘ at the mount prison. specialist riot—trained prison staff

are being despatched. the white house has insisted that president trump's new chief of staff will bring discipline to his administration, following the sacking of anthony scaramucci as director of communications after less than ten days in office. two venezuelan opposition leaders have been re—arrested two days after a controversial vote for a constitutional assembly saw violence on the streets. pakistan's parliament has elected shahid khaqan abbasi as prime minister to replace nawaz sharif, who was forced to resign last week in the wake of corruption allegations. it is time for the sport. england goalkeeper karen bardsley will miss the rest of women's euro 2017 after it's been revealed she broke her leg. the manchester city keeper was injured in the second half of sunday's quarter—final win over france but managed to walk off the pitch.

siobhan chamberlain, who came on for bardsley, is now likely to face the netherlands in thursday's semi—final. the fa say she's fractured a fibula and will stay with the squad as they prepare to face the tournament hosts. staying with injury news: british gymnast ellie downie will miss october's world championships in canada after ankle surgery. the 18—year—old injured her left ankle at the british championships in march but went on to win four medals in april's european championships. downie plans to return for next year's commonwealth games in australia. she's tweeted, "a minor setback is a pathway for a major comeback." her older sister becky will miss the world champion as she recovers from an elbow injury. hearts have sacked head coach ian cathro afterjust seven months in charge. the 31—year—old, who was in his first managerial role, a former newcastle assistant, appears to have paid the price for a shock league cup exit against dunfermilne. hearts say it was a very difficult decision, calling him an extremely talented young coach

with a very bright future. maria sharapova made her return to hardcourt tennis last night with a three set victory over american jennifer brady. following her 15 month drugs ban, a hip injury also forced sharapova to withdraw from wimbledon qualifying. but the russian broke several times on her comeback in california, to take the first set 6—1. and while she lost the second, the former world number one was at her very best in the decider, winning it 6—0. sharapova hadn't played in the us for over two years. los angeles is set to host the 2028 olympic and paralympic games. la's bid team has reached an agreement with the international olympic committee, which is expected to be ratified by the los angeles city council later today. la had originally been bidding for the 2024 games, but that event is now set to take place in paris. we really have an olympics ready

city. one thing i will say is, unlike the old model where people try to fit the olympics to the city, this is a model where we are fitting the city to the olympics. we are not building things for the olympics, we are building things for our people who will benefit, and we know the olympics can take advantage of those. it is a different model, not every city will be la, but we can change the model by telling folks, use what you have and use it well. and, iaaf president lord coe has called usain bolt ‘a genius‘ and says his retirement from athletics will leave a huge void after the world championships. the 11—time world champion defends his 100 metres title and will also compete in the 4x100 metres relay before bidding farwell to the sport. we shouldn‘t be sitting there max ehmer, you are suddenly going to find a new hussain bowled, van boxing suddenly finding a new muhammad ali. when muhammad ali retired, left the sport, the bloodline didn‘t suddenly dry up.

were they arguably pounced the pound, arguably, just as good? plenty will argue that some were better. yes, absolutely. but we are not going to replace hussein bolt, not going to replace hussein bolt, not because you are not going to have a trophy cabinet full of three back—to—back olympic doubles and relays, and world championships. you‘re just not relays, and world championships. you‘rejust not going relays, and world championships. you‘re just not going to replace him because his personality dominated not just our because his personality dominated notjust our sport, it has dominated pretty much every sport out there. that‘s all sport for now. i‘ll have more in the next hour. why is there a better idea? i thought there was a bear? he is called andrew and he is a nice chap. that went seamlessly, thank you very much! british gas says it will increase the price of electricity for the first time in nearly four years. its owner centrica says electricity prices will increase by 12.5% from the 15th of september. 3.1 million customers will be affected. but the company‘s gas prices will be held at their current level.

let‘s talk to victoria macgregor, director of energy at citizens advice. to be fairto to be fair to british gas, they are one of the last to put up their prices. that is right. british gas are the last of the big six energy companies to put up prices this year. in reality, this announcement means millions of british gas customers and their most loyal customers and their most loyal customers at that, those on the standard variable tariff, will pay more for their energy. what you make of british gas‘s explanation of this, that it is getting more expensive for them to get the gas to oui’ expensive for them to get the gas to our appliances? the energy regulator, often, their own data shows that supplier costs have been falling in the last few months. what is important is that we focus on providing price protection for those customers that are most vulnerable and can not afford to pay. it also getting more people off these

expensive, poor value standard variable tariffs. that means switching for many of them. we have talked about switching the years, is there evidence that people are too i don‘t know, perhaps too confused to don‘t know, perhaps too confused to do it? there are a number of reasons why people don‘t switch. some people worry about whether it is confusing. some people worry about the amount they can save. but we encourage anyone concerned about the prize all service they receive from their energy supplier to consider switching. at citizens advice, we can help with that if they are not sure how to get the best deal. how many people are you having to deal with that face few will poverty? day m, with that face few will poverty? day in, day out, people struggle to pay essential bills. last year, 70,000 people had fuelled debt issues. what about the issue of capping energy bills? it has been talked about for so bills? it has been talked about for so long, would that make a difference? our priority is the

lowest income people that cannot afford to pay as much are given price protection. ofgem are looking at that and we encourage them to do it as soon as possible. explain the warm home discount, which is how this would affect it. that is one group that it is suggested could be used to identify people that need extra protection. so what would you like, you would like british gas and all companies do not put up prices for the next few years, we would all like that. but in reality, what do you think is the best option for the next 2—3 years? you think is the best option for the next 2-3 years? i think it is a range of things. as i said, it is about price protection immediately, or as soon as, about price protection immediately, or as soon as, for low income people that cannot afford to pay more for their energy. and it is about

switching. but it is also getting companies to do more to get people off standard variable tariffs that are up to £140 a year more expensive than the best deals on the market. thank you forjoining us. the labour mp steve mccabe has been left with facial injuries after being hit with a brick by an attacker on a motorcycle. the memberfor birmingham selly oak tweeted this picture of himself, saying he was suffering from a "very sore & swollen face" following the incident in the yardley wood area last night. west midlands police said they are investigating and are appealing for witnesses. a couple of lads came racing down the road, zigzagging backward and forward , the road, zigzagging backward and forward, cavorting around, doing wheelies. we have had lots of complaints from people about this carrying on in the area, so i shouted at them to pack it in. i

shouted at them to pack it in. i shouted at them to pack it in. i shouted a couple of times. i said, if you don‘t pack it in, i will call the police. one of them got off their bike and came to confront me, throwing a stone at me. while i was engaged with him, his associate picked up a rock or a brick, and through it with some force at the side of my head. how does it feel at the moment? it's quite swollen, and it‘s quite sore, but i mean i suppose, i have been fortunate. had it been my eye all the side of my head,it it been my eye all the side of my head, it could have been much more serious. it was a violent assault, and was quite deliberate. it‘s no secret that this year‘s general election threw up a tighter than expected result. but why was this? for the past three years, the british election study has followed a panel of the same 30,000 voters — asking them hundreds of questions about their political views and choices. we can now see what they said about the 2017 election. as we can see from this graph, by far and away the most significant issue in voters minds was brexit —

over one in three chose this as their top issue. it changed the way people voted. the majority of leave voters opted for the conservatives, while labour picked up lots of remain voters. this might seem strange, given that labour where also committed to leaving the eu, but this next graph explains what happened. by the time the election was fought, the brexit debate was not so much about leave or remain, but about how to leave. the survey asked whether it was more important for the government to "protect britain‘s access to the single market, or to gain full control of immigration". there‘s a striking correlation between wanting to control immigration and voting tory, and wanting access to the single market and voting labour or lib dem. of course there was more to the election than brexit. this graph shows how the leader‘s likeability ratings converged as the campaign wore on. mr corbyn picking up more support, while mrs may lost hers, despite starting very strongly. this helps explain the unexpectedly tight result. to get more on this,

i‘m joined from our westminster studio by our political correspondent emma va rdy. it's it‘s always nice to see grafts, but they don‘t look that surprising, did we know this? on the one hand, yes. but this is the most detailed look yet, drilling down into the numbers with a big sample size of 30,000 voters surveyed over three years. it gives us the best look yet at what exactly was going on. it has been said that the result of this year‘s general election was one of the most surprising in living memory. remember, the shock moment when the exit poll came out and we saw that we we re exit poll came out and we saw that we were left with a hung parliament. what exactly was going on? one of the most striking things about this study is it shows us the churn that went on during the campaign. the campaign really did matter. lots of people changed their minds during this period, some 19% of voters

changed their minds during the 2017 general election campaign. quite a few voters changed their mind, 17% in the 20 15th few voters changed their mind, 17% in the 2015th campaign, too. but this year, what was striking was that a flow was overwhelmingly in one direction, labour were the big winners. 54% of voters that switched, switched their votes to labour, compared to 19% that switched to the conservatives. it shows how labour were able to broaden its appeal during the election campaign. it was not enough to win, of course. but it does explain the surprise surge for labour, which became the story of the election. no mentions of the conservative issue over social care, but what does it tell us about the issue of brexit and how big a factor it was? when people survey were asked what the most important issue was facing the country at the time of the general election, brexit was way out in front of many of the traditional issues like the economy or nhs. really, brexit was an issue

that cut across traditional party loyalties. it showed that the conservatives were more likely to pick up votes wanting to see stronger controls on immigration, whereas labour and the lib dems were more likely to benefit from votes that wanted to see closer ties to the single market. labour was seen as the best bet, and party, for those that wanted to keep closer ties with europe. in saying that, they won over a number of remainers from the conservatives, explaining pa rt from the conservatives, explaining part of the surge. the tories were then seen as the party of hard brexit, if you like. whilst labour we re brexit, if you like. whilst labour were seen as brexit, if you like. whilst labour were seen as the party of soft brexit. it was about what brexit should look like. finally, how important the issue of the personalities, the character of the leaders? this is really striking, too. at the beginning of the election campaign, jeremy corbyn‘s

likeability factor, theresa may was up likeability factor, theresa may was up here, jeremy corbyn was down there. what happened to the grafts during the campaign, it converges. at polling day, the two leaders are neck and neck. it is striking to see howjeremy corbyn was able to draw more support. people that were lu kewa rm more support. people that were lukewarm towards him at the beginning of the campaign were much more in favour of him by the end. the study interprets it to say that theresa may suffered because of what was perceived to be a weak conservative campaign. overall, the story is it is a brexit election, but the story of two leaders and a campaign that really mattered. thanks very much. in a moment a summary of the business news this hour. but first, the headlines on bbc news: the government indicated can legislate to oppose a cap on energy prices as british gas says it will put up energy prices by 4.5 doesn‘t. the white house insists...

there is a second day of trouble at the mount prison in hertfordshire with armed prison is understood to have taken over a wing. in the business news: good news, bad news from british gas. its raising the cost of electricity by 12.5%. that takes effect in september. but its keeping the price of gas on hold. the aerospace company rolls—royce has had a good six months. it‘s reported half year profits of £1.9 billion. that compares to a loss of £2 billion the same period last year. it says its seen a big rise in sales. there is a shake—up at the aaa. the us prides itself on its heritage as a car producer.

and donald trump has been on a mission to boost the industry. but is it working? well, samira in new york has the latest figures. are those figures out yet? yeah, so what we are seeing is the figures are trickling out right now. we have heard from two car companies, we have heard from fiat chrysler, and their sales are down 10%. ford as well has reported that their sales are down 7.5%. what this really shows is that it is really industrywide but we are seeing a big slowdown in terms of us car sales. remember, 2016, and even 2015th we re remember, 2016, and even 2015th were record—breaking years the us car sales. —— 2015. were record—breaking years the us carsales. —— 2015. many were record—breaking years the us car sales. —— 2015. many people were expecting this, but it is still a bit of a blow to the industry.

asi bit of a blow to the industry. as i mentioned, donald trump has been on a drive to get as many cars sold, that was a terrible pun, but he has been on a mission to boost the car industry, is it working? he has put his foot on the accelerator to drive those sales, but the problem really is, look, there has to be demand for these us cars, american cars, in the united states. you can put forth a lot of policies, you can demand that car companies build their cars in the united states and demand they build more factories in the united states, but if there isn‘t a consumer demand, it is hard to do anything. that is what we have seen. people have bought ca rs over we have seen. people have bought cars over the last few years. car sales were in a great ways, but

people don‘t replace their cars as often, not over two years. it‘s usually a lot longer. that‘s why we are seeing car sales plateau. thank you very much. in other business news: sony has reported its highest ever first quarter profits. the figure came in atjust under $1.5 billion. that means its on track to make its highest yearly profits for 20 years. but it‘s still facing stiff competition from the likes of lg and samsung. it‘s been a good year so farfor greggs. it‘s reported a 7% rise in sales to £453 million. it opened 61 new shops in the first half of the year. another update on house prices, this time from nationwide. average prices went up by 2.9% last month. that‘s a slower rise than the 3.1% rise seen injune. serena williams is calling on black women to step up their demands for equal pay. writing in fortune magazine, the world‘s highest—earning female

athlete urges black women to be "fearless" and to "fight for every penny". her comments were published as part of black women‘s equal pay day. let‘s look at what the markets are doing. the ftse mac building on games it made yesterday. as well as firing bob mackenzie, the aa also issued a profit warning, and its shares have plunged 15%. here in london rolls royce share are doing well, after its very strong results. the insurer direct line also has been showing gains after its stellar results, profits up around 9.5%. british american tobacco has also shown improvement,that‘s after it dipped on news that the us might curb the amount of tobacco firms can that‘s all the business news. britain‘s only surviving cloth trading hall reopened today, after a £19 million renovation. the piece hall in halifax once operated as a centre for handloom weavers, and was at the heart of the world‘s wool trade.

the refurbishment of the grade—one listed building has taken three years. our correspondent fiona lamdin was there earlier and sent this report. for the last two and a half centuries, the piece hall has stood at the heart of halifax. where in 1779, people came to trade pieces of cloth. there were 315 individual rooms built for the sale of cloth, from which clothiers would have sold the wall to merchants. merchants came from quite far afield, including europe. the trade went back to europe and also to the americas. this is the country‘s only surviving cloth hall. with 315 individual yet identical trading rooms. it seems such a waste that this beautiful building was only opened back in the 18th century for two hours every week.

but after the industrial revolution, the cloth was mainly made and sold from the mills. in its place, the piece hall was filled with fruit and veg sellers. a century on, in the 1970s, this is how it looked. a blot on the landscape, flattened to make way for a car park. one of those who fought to save it back then was mary crossley. she had a shop on the second floor. she‘s not been inside for decades. we took her back. isn‘t that lovely! when i first came in, it was all black. there were leaning to sheds. there were warehouses and vehicles. there were holes on the floor and it smelt of cats.

at 10am today, the people of halifax were welcomed back in. it is brilliant. it is a plus for the tone. i am born and bred in halifax. fantastic. good to see it how it is back to where it should be. i used to come here and hang out with my mates. it is really nice to see it. i hope that it takes off and people come and visit it because it is a fantastic place to be. nothing is new for these old stones, who have witnessed itt before. to update you on the grenfell tower fire. they have announced who is taking over from robert fire. they have announced who is taking overfrom robert black, who resigned as kensington and chelsea te na nt resigned as kensington and chelsea tenant management. elaine elkington

has been named, director of housing at birmingham council, where she worked for ten years, mr black stepped aside to assist with the investigation and enquiry into the fire. we will get more reaction later. let‘s catch up with the weather. a good crop of showers so far. most in the north and west of the uk, transferring eastwards. a high chance of seeing showers in east anglia towards the london area. the south coast. if i and dry, 23 in london, 18 in glasgow. a rumble of thunder into the evening, but the showers fade away. freshening breeze in the south and west. 10 degrees in the north, rural spots will go into single figures. through tomorrow, wet and windy weather. the north of

scotla nd wet and windy weather. the north of scotland should have a decent day, which is where the best sunshine will be. it will dry up through the afternoon. miserable in south wales and the south—west, wet and windy. it clears away, and on thursday, back to square one with sunny spells, showers and a blustery breeze. this is bbc news. the headlines at 2pm: more than three million british gas customers will see their electricity prices increase by 12.5% next month. the white house insists his new chief of staff will bring discipline to the white house, following the sacking of communications director anthony scaramucci. there‘s a second day of trouble at the mount prison in hertfordshire, with armed prisoners understood to have taken over a wing. the trauma unit at oxford‘sjohn radcliffe hospital is to close for up to a year after the building was found to be a fire risk. and in the next hour: the man who drifted miles out to sea in a toy dinghy is rescued by a rnli crew.

what are you doing out here? it comes as the charity launches a water safety campaign this month — the busiest for its lifeboat crews. the piece hall in halifax has re—opened today following a £19 million makeover.