in this is bbc news. i'm simon mccoy. the headlines at lipm. ireland's prime minister says the clock is ticking on brexit and challenges britain to find a solution for the key issue of the irish border. i do not underestimate for a second the enormity of the challenges we face. the probe into russian interference in last year's presidential election intensifies as the man investigating appoints a grand jury. the russia story is a totalfabrication. it's just an excuse for the greatest loss in the history of american politics. four members of a police helicopter crew are found not guilty of filming people sunbathing naked and engaging in sexual acts. the world's most expensive footballer, neymar, is unveiled at paris st—germain. he says it's about more than money. translation: i was never motivated by money. it was never my first motivation. what i think about is my happiness.

i want to be happy. also coming up, the world athletics championships get under way in london tonight. the fastest man in the world and britain's greatest distance runner are both in action in their last major competition before retiring. stay out of the sun. as temperatures soar over southern europe holiday—makers and locals are warned to stay inside. and the ingenious device that could cut the weight of washing machines and so save fuel, cut emissions, and reduce back injuries. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. the man leading the

investigation into claims of collusion between president trump's election campaign and russia has convened a grand jury to consider whether there are grounds for criminal charges. the panel of ordinary citizens, which hears evidence in private, is already reported to have demanded further details about a meeting between mr trump's eldest son and a russian lawyer in june last year. the white house says it is committed to cooperating fully with the inquiry. but at a rally in west virginia last night, the president rubbished claims about russian interference. tom burridge reports. it hangs over the trump presidency. rallying his supporters, as abc news learns a grand jury has been together for weeks. did his election campaign collude with russia? at a rally last night after news of the grandjury rally last night after news of the grand jury was now considering evidence, something akin to a counterattack from the president. the russia story is a totalfabrication.

it's just an excuse for the greatest loss in the history of american politics, that's all it is. cheering. a grandjury a grand jury which is looking at evidence in secret in this building doesn't mean an indictment will follow. it's a panel of american citizens. theirjob isn't to determine guilt or innocence. we are pulling out of that report and taking you straight to the justice department in washington because jeff sessions justice department in washington becausejeff sessions is just holding a news conference on leaking. this task force has an important role to play and one we are taking seriously. progress has been made and we intend to reach new levels of effectiveness. first let me say that i strongly agree with the president and condemn in the strongest terms the staggering number of leaks undermining the ability of our government to protect

this country. just yesterday, we saw reports in the media about conversations the president had with foreign leaders. no one is entitled to surreptitiously fight to advance battles in the media by revealing sensitive government information. no government can be effective when its leaders cannot discuss sensitive matters in confidence and talk freely in confidence with foreign leaders. we're here today to talk about the dramatic growth in the number of unauthorised disclosures of classified and national—security information in the past several months. this includes links to both the media and in some cases even unauthorised disclosures to our foreign anniversaries. referrals for investigations of classified leaks to the department ofjustice from oui’ to the department ofjustice from our intelligence agencies have

exploded. in the first six months of this administration did apartment of justice has received nearly as many criminal referrals involving unauthorised disclosures of classified information as we received in the previous three years combined. classified information by definition is information that, if disclosed, would do harm to national—security. as the director will discuss, leaks are incredibly damaging to our intelligence mission and capabilities. simply put, these lea ks and capabilities. simply put, these leaks hurt our and capabilities. simply put, these lea ks hurt our country. and capabilities. simply put, these leaks hurt our country. all of us in government can do better. the first requirement is for discipline within all our agencies of the government to prevent these leaks, every agency and congress has to do better. we are taking a stand in this culture. this leaking must stop. furthering

the school today we're here to announce some steps are being taken and under way by the national insider threat task force to ensure the government's first priority to protect this country and her citizens isn't undermined by the very people who have been entrusted to protect. while the department of justice doesn't discuss ongoing investigations or confirm specific matters, it is important for the american people and those might be thinking about leaking classified or sensitive info know that criminals who would illegally user access to our most sensitive information do endanger our national—security and aren't fat being investigated and will be prosecuted. since january the department has more than the number of active investigations compared to the number of pending at the end of the last administration. and we've already charged for people

with unlawfully disclosing classified material or with concealing contacts with federal officers. soon after i arrived here in february i initiated a review of our leak investigations and prosecutions. i reviewed how these cases are being referred unhandled and was concerned with what i found. too few referrals, too few investigations with the sufficient resources dedicated to them. i concluded the unprecedented rise in lea ks concluded the unprecedented rise in leaks required an increase of additional support for more investigations and to speed up existing investigations. our system relies on the intelligence community making a determination of whether classified material has been improperly handled all released and then sending referrals to us at the department ofjustice. this means it is vital for the intelligence

community to know that the department ofjustice is committed to investigating and prosecuting these referrals. and when few investigations take place, criminal lea ks investigations take place, criminal leaks may occur more often and a culture of leaking can take hold. so today i have this message for our friends in the intelligence community. the department ofjustice is open for business and i have this warning for would—be leakers — don't do it. for the past several months with already made changes and are seriously ramping up our efforts. first hour fine deputy who encompasses nsa headquarters and who has personally held investigations of this kind and the investigator fbi director will all receive classified leak investigations, actively monitor the progress of

each and every case. secondly, there isa each and every case. secondly, there is a division in the department of justice and us attorneys to prioritise cases involving unauthorised disclosures. the department won't hesitate to bring lawful and appropriate criminal charges against those who would abuse the public trust. third is i've said we've tripled the number of active leak investigations. in response the fbi has increased resources involving to the chasers and created a new counterintelligence unit to manage these cases some ill tamest of this department is reviewing policies that impeach impact leak investigations. and i've listened to our fbi agents and others and our prosecutors about how to most successfully investigate and prosecute. at the suggestion one of the things we are doing is reviewing policies affecting media subpoenas.

we respect the important role that the press players and we will give them respect but it is not unlimited. they cannot place lives at risk with impunity. we must balance the press' role with protecting our national—security and the lives of those who serve in the intelligence community, the armed forces and all law—abiding americans. finally, this is what i wa nt to americans. finally, this is what i want to tell every american today. this nation must end this culture of lea ks. we this nation must end this culture of leaks. we will investigate and seek to bring criminals tojustice. we won't allow rogue anonymous sources with security clearances to sell out our country. these cases to investigate and prosecute and never easy but cases will be made and lea kers easy but cases will be made and leakers will be held accountable. all of us in government and in every agency and congress must do better.

the first requirement is personal discipline, education and repetition within our departments and agencies will make the difference. prevention is what is required. an investigation of the leakers too late, really. the damage is done. thank you all and i would now recognise our director of national intelligence. we will pull out of that. jeff sessions condemning in the strongest terms the leaks of sensitive government matters. saying four people have been charged with unlawfully disclosing material. no more details on that. the essence of that news conference which we've just heard, he said to leakers who we re just heard, he said to leakers who were considering leaking confidential information, he said don't do it. he says the administration has tripled the number of active leak investigations and also there was considerable damage being done to the

intelligence service of the united states by the incessant leaking. jeff sessions, a man whose own future has a question over it with the president of the united states strongly criticising him from recuse himself from the russia prep. some suggestions hisjob himself from the russia prep. some suggestions his job might himself from the russia prep. some suggestions hisjob might be at sta ke suggestions hisjob might be at stake but this is the last day before the summer break and the us senate has blocked president trump from making appointments during the recess. we will have more from our correspondent in washington later. the irish prime minister, leo varadkar, has called for unique solutions to preserve relations between britain and the european union after brexit. speaking during his first official visit to northern ireland, he raised the possibility of a bilateral customs union between the uk and the eu and an alternative to the european court ofjustice to oversee any deal. our ireland correspondent, chris buckler, reports. leo varadker crossed the irish borderfor the first time as ireland's prime minister to set out his concerns about what could happen to it after brexit.

he arrived after upsetting unionists about brexiteers. but in queens university, the new taoiseach was quick to point out how much relationships have changed in a few decades. the border itself was a very different place. a place of bloodshed, of violence, of checkpoints. he is of a new generation. the first time leo varadker voted was in the referendum for the good friday agreement. but there is a new challenge, and the potential of a new border. there are people who do want a border, a trade border, between the united kingdom and the european union, and therefore between ireland and britain, and therefore, across ireland. these are the advocates of the so—called hard brexit. at a time when brexit threatens to drive a wedge between north and south, between britain and ireland, we need to build more

bridges and fewer borders. there are scores of cross—border roads. he wants to keep them completely open. today, mr varadker demanded for any brexit agreement to protect the free movement of people, goods and services across this island. when people talk about the border of the past, they refer to the troubles, when huge security was needed. that is not the case any more. this is the dividing line between the countries, not that you would notice. the political tensions in northern ireland are obvious. those questions of what will happen to the border after brexit. the irish prime minister will be on the eu's side of the table during negotiations. on a shared island, there is a shared interest in finding solutions. they only have months to discover them.

chris buckler, bbc news, northern ireland. a little earlier, chris told us mr varadker‘s intervention underscores the sense of frustration in dublin about the border question. in the speech that leo varadkar gave, he set out a number of what he regards as solutions to try and look at this issue, to try and deliver some of the issues and deal with solutions to the problems that are caused by the border. the fact that he has come here to deliver this speech in belfast is a sign he has become frustrated, with flashes of frustration at the way westminster is handling this. he doesn't feel solutions are being put forward quickly enough. he has said time and time again the clock is ticking and he's also concerned about the fact there is their power—sharing government at stormont currently. he asked a couple of times who speaks in northern ireland? that isn't him of course but there are shared interests across the border and he is concerned about the impact on

ireland's economy as well. you get a sense he feels brussels are talking about the irish border, that they feel in a position where they are concerned about it, they've made it on their priorities. but he feels westminster are not talking about it enough. two police officers and two pilots accused of misusing a police helicopter to film naked sunbathers and a couple having sex have been cleared of all charges. we can speak with our correspondent danny savage who has been following the case at sheffield crown court. this happening in the last hour or so, danny. what became clear in court this afternoon is that there was only one person responsible for the sordid goings—on on the south yorkshire police helicopter on form applications over a five—year period and that was a 50—year—old south yorkshire police officer, adrian pogmore. on board when all these incidents happened, described as the tea m incidents happened, described as the team deviant. he pleaded guilty before this trial started and he was

the common link before all four of these cases, the first involving a woman sunbathing naked in rotherham, the second was filming a couple of naturist is in their caravan at a site near doncaster. the third incident involved a couple having sex on the patio outside their home and the final incident involved the couple sunbathing in their garden, and one of the women involved says she feels sick when she thinks about it. the other crew members who the helicopter with parkmore during those incidents were charged with misconduct in a public office. they've been on trial for the last few weeks and in the last hour or so they were cleared of all the charges, so they were found not guilty, unanimously, by thejury charges, so they were found not guilty, unanimously, by the jury who heard all the evidence evidence and watched the evidence. and they found

those men not guilty. there were shouts of relief and joy from the public gallery here adds sheffield crown court as the verdicts were read out. thank you very much. the headlines on bbc news: ireland's prime minister says the clock is ticking on brexit and challenges britain to find a solution for the key issue of the irish border. the investigation intensifies in washington— a grand jury is called to look into claims that russia interfered in the election of president trump. four members of a police helicopter crew accused of filming naked sunbathers and a couple having sex have been cleared of all charges. in sport, england lose a batsman but joe root is still on the crease. it is the final day of the final test with south africa. aiming for golden glory in a few hours' time, that man usain bolt goes in the 100 metre

heats and the world ahtletics championships in london. he has arrived, the most expensive footballer in history tells the fans he didn't move for the money as neymar addresses the world's media in paris. i'll be back with more on those stories at az30pm. let's return to washington. four people have been charged with leaking government information to the media. let's talk to our correspondent. do we know who they are? i know one of them was widely reported, 25—year—old reality when in the us air force, and we reported on that at the time. that was hailed as the first criminal charge. she faces trial in the autumn. i'm not sure what the other three are but the attorney general denounce those

ina the attorney general denounce those in a news conference a few moments ago. he said the department of justice has charged for people for disclosing classified information or disclosing classified information or disclosing contacts with federal officers. in terms of what jeff sessions wants to do, and in haitian that he wants to look at the law in terms of journalists that he wants to look at the law in terms ofjournalists and how they operate. that's right. he said he wa nted operate. that's right. he said he wanted to review that and he said he wa nted wanted to review that and he said he wanted to review that and he said he wanted to review that and he said he wanted to review policies on the subpoenas, balancing the role of the press and national—security. of course, the lea ks press and national—security. of course, the leaks we've been seeing out of the white house, many of them have illuminated what's been going on in terms of the russia investigation, for example, in terms of various contacts that people in the trump administration had had with the russians in the campaign. let's ta ke with the russians in the campaign. let's take the example of the president's son who was forced to disclose his e—mails relating to a

meeting he'd had with a russian lawyer during the campaign because news organisations had got hold of the story. that is a slightly concerning measure the attorney general is proposing because a lot of these stories and governments across history, going back to the nixon era, have been disclosed through leaks. for the department of justice and the president trump, it's about balancing that. president trump only at the end ofjuly called on his attorney general to do more to stop the leakers. that is what he's saying he will do. there's anger at what happened yesterday, the leak of these chats between president trump and the leader of mexico and the leader australia stop when yellow. that sort of link has come from the white house itself. kelly ann conway described those lea ks of kelly ann conway described those leaks of those phone calls as a national disgrace. jeff sessions in his news conference said it could

compromise relations with foreign leaders. of course, we have seen lea ks leaders. of course, we have seen leaks like that before, disclosures of conversations and suchlike. remember the big wikileaks link that chelsea manning was behind at the state department cables that compromised a lot of relationships the us had with various allies. the keyissue the us had with various allies. the key issue in terms of national security concerns at the department ofjustice are really trying to zone in on are the kind of intelligence lea ks related in on are the kind of intelligence leaks related to the manchester attack which, as you may remember, the uk government were very unhappy with the fact that the us media had information around the manchester investigation before the uk authorities were comfortable with releasing the information. 0k, thank you. the nhs must put its house in order and improve standards before asking for more taxpayers money according to the man leading a review into efficiency within the health service. a senior surgeon claims the

nhs doesn't deserves more money because it wastes so much on poor care. the review also found huge variations in the cost and quality of common treatments. with me now is chris hopson, the chief executive of nhs providers. that is an organisation which speaks on behalf of nhs acute, ambulance and community mental health services. a lot of people will look at what he says and will think that is my experience. there is a lot of ways. i think two unfortunate impressions have been given by the media coverage. the first one is that somehow the nhs isn't tackling waste and making savings. we made £3.1 billion of savings last year, a record amount, £200 million more than the year before. the second misleading impression is that somehow if we did tackle the clinical variation issues, which we know we need to do, that by itself would close the gap. the obr, an

independent government created body, has identified a 15 billion pound gap infunding. has identified a 15 billion pound gap in funding. we know if we did everything possible in terms of reducing and eliminating clinical variation, that might close to billion pounds, maybe £3 billion. that is a lot of money. it is, and what i am saying is that workers already been done and this programme is very helpful in that in terms of identifying things that can be done to eliminate unwarranted variation. but we just need to be careful about making assumptions about somehow this £15 billion gap can be closed when, actually, this will make an important but probably only at most of the read billion pounds contribution to it. this is someone who knows what he's doing, this is the most comprehensive ordered the nhs has ever undertaken and he's saying there are huge variations in

the costs of treatment of various common treatments. why is that? we know there are. we know there are variations but the key is to identify what is unwarranted variation and what is warranted variation. a very good example would be professor briggs is an orthopaedic surgeon, focused on the need to improve the number of cemented hip replacements we use as opposed to non—cemented replacements. when you talk orthopaedic surgeons is the idea that every single hip replacement could be dyke via cemented replacement isjust could be dyke via cemented replacement is just not the case. so we need to be very careful about saying that all variation is unwarranted. another example that is length of stay. we know there are reasons as to why patients in certain hospitals, particularly if edgy graphically isolated, if they don't have access to step—down beds, we know that people will stay in

hospitalfor we know that people will stay in hospital for longer we know that people will stay in hospitalfor longer than we know that people will stay in hospital for longer than in other places so what we need to do is use the information that professor briggs is generating very helpfully to identify what is warranted variation and what is unwarranted. the nhs could save hundreds of millions if not billions if the most efficient practices were applied across the country, he says. despite what you've said, this isn't going to help the perception out there that, at a time when everybody‘s struggling, there isn't the money around, the nhs is frittering look awful lot of ways. the nhs realise £20 billion worth of savings in the last parliament, a £3 billion worth of savings in the last year, so we are absolutely eliminating waste. we'd be the first to admit and acknowledge there is more that needs to be done but wejust acknowledge there is more that needs to be done but we just need to be careful about making some assumptions that somehow you can close a £15 billion funding gap that

an independent government created agency has identified when actually the contribution these efficiency gains can make is only probably £3 billion, important though they are and hard as that everybody is working to make sure they realise. and hard as that everybody is working to make sure they realiselj wonder if last year, there's £3 billion worth of savings you could make, you could have said, where are they? what we are saying is we made £3 billion of savings, a record amount of savings last year, so this work is going on. let me give you a simple example. some of this is about changing very long held clinical practice. i visit hospitals every week of the year and when i have conversations with the clinical teams, what they say to me is this basic benchmark data tim briggs is providing is very helpful but, actually, we need to understand

where this variation is justified it could be because of case mix, because of the nature of something else going on in the hospital, and where it is unwarranted. what tim is right about is that hospitals up and down the land we are having a quality of conversation thanks to this benchmark data and we are improving things. the only point i'm trying to make is let's not pretend, this is the real danger, that somehow the funding gap that has existed for a long time and has been priced at £15 billion by an independent agency, let's not pretend we can close that gap through these efficiencies. otherwise you let a load of people off the hook. what was your reaction when he saw the front page of the times, the nhs doesn't deserve more money because it wastes so much on poor care. it is an unfortunate headline because two weeks ago there was a report issued by the commonwealth institute in america

that showed that we have not only the best health care system in the advanced western economy but also the most efficient. to be frank, there will be lots of nhs people who read that headline today, who won the one hand recognised the need to improve efficiency, and there is waste to be eliminated, but who'd feel looking at that that's their effo rts feel looking at that that's their efforts to do so are not being recognised. and they were to be aghast at the idea that the gap opening up in nhs funding could solli opening up in nhs funding could souibe opening up in nhs funding could solli be closed by eliminating clinical variation. i'm solli be closed by eliminating clinicalvariation. i'm looking at some of the specifics. looking at just how different hospitals are spending money. some hospitals pay 350 times more per basic or surgical equipment than others. how is that sort of spread... how is it possible? we need to be very careful... 350 times doesn't suggest a... we recognise there is an issue

about insuring supplies efficiently but we need to be careful of the data. in certain places a hospital has used a small number of particularly specialised equipment for a particular case which means thatis for a particular case which means that is significantly more expensive than the average, and that therefore when you kind of look at how that hospital has spent, you can get some outlying figures. that is the point of this exercise that tim briggs has played such an important role in, is providing benchmark data. this seems to me to be very important, we need to me to be very important, we need to be very careful about making assumptions that in every single case, this variation is unwarranted because we know in lots of cases it genuinely is warranted and there are good reasons as to why using this variation. this time next year, you andi variation. this time next year, you and i are sitting here, what sort of figure will we be looking at in

terms of savings? i can say we are confident that we will be targeting againa confident that we will be targeting again a further £3 billion worth of cost improvement programme efficiencies the nhs will realise next year or the current year we are in. i'd hope it would be another record year but we really mustn't do down those people that are working incredibly hard on the front line, and who realised £20 billion worth of efficiencies and last parliament and a record £3.1 billion of efficiencies in the year ending march 312016. chris, good of you to come and talk about it. thank you very much. let's catch up with the weather. thanks, simon. it has been showery in places. a lot of wind but not as windy as yesterday, particularly

across southern areas. the wet weather across scotland will use. elsewhere it will turn dry the first half of the night and then we will see a rush of showers pushing into western areas by the end of the night. sunshine and showers is going to be the theme of the day. some of the showers will be quite heavy. into the midlands, noticed the bright colours. eastern parts of england, the south—east as well. the odd thunderstorm mixed into cost so much gusty winds. it should brighten up much gusty winds. it should brighten up behind it later on, temperatures 21 degrees. showers die away saturday night, becoming chilly. a call saturday night, becoming chilly. a ca ll start saturday night, becoming chilly. a call start to sunday. dry weather in central, southern and eastern areas but wet and windy weather will push into northern ireland. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines...

donald trump is coming under increased pressure over the allegations that russia interfered in the presidential election. the man investigating the claims has convened a grand jury, made up of private citizens, to weigh up the evidence. and in the last half an hour, the us atourney general, jeff sessions, has said the "culture of leaking" classified information must stop, as he admits the number of leak investigations has tripled and four people have been charged. two police officers and two pilots accused of misusing a police helicopter to film naked sunbathers and a couple having sex have been cleared of all charges. a fifth man, pc adrian pogmore, pleaded guilty to the charges before the trial started. irish prime minister leo varadkar has suggested that a bilateral customs union could be created between britain and the european union after brexit. he was speaking in belfast during his first official visit to northern ireland. police in australia say two men charged with terrorism offences yesterday had obtained military—grade explosives and were being directed by a senior commander from so—called islamic state. a british computer expert who helped stop a worldwide cyber attack which hit the nhs has been arrested

by the fbi in the united states. marcus hutchins, who is 23 and from devon, is accused of creating malware which steals bank details. let's go to the bbc sport centre for a full round—up. will pericak hello again. hello, simon, a lovely afternoon again. it is the first day of the fourth and final test against south africa. the won the toss this morning but keatonjennings falling the won the toss this morning but keaton jennings falling cheaply. alastair cook was approaching his half—ce ntu ry alastair cook was approaching his half—century when he was caught. joe root has steadied that innings somewhat. england 185—4. there is commentary on radio five live and the bbc sport website. we're just hours away from all the action starting at the world athletics championships. a big day for the usain bolt and britain's mo farah. they are the star attractions on

show. olly foster is at the london stadium for us. the atmosphere is building, look at those people behind you! by an loving it, lots of union flags for mo farah amongst others. you mentioned the two athletes, there are 2000 athletes from 200 countries. but you're right, because those who have a ticket for opening night, the first of ten days of competition at the 16th world athletics championships here back at the olympic stadium, not believe in london stadium, they are going to see the greatest distance runner of all time and the greatest brink of all time and the greatest brink of all time. usain bolt goes in the heats of the 100m. not defending his 200m title here. he will go in the relays as walt would be in the competition as well. this will be his final global track appearance. there are younger crops of sprinters catching up. he realises he will because if he carries on. we wait to

see exactly what shape is in as he goes for another global gold. for me, i'm excited now. this is a moment that i've been looking forward to. after a race or doing a race, the emotions all come out. it depends on how the crowd reacts, you know what i mean? if the crowd's cheering, i'll be happy. but they find ways to get emotions out a few. is saying bolton the heats of eight o'clock. the 2000 metres for mo farah —— usain bolt in the heats at 8pm. that is one week tomorrow. he absolutely decimated the opposition of both the 5000 and 10,000 over the past couple of olympics and few world championships as well. it is his time as well to call it a day on the track. he is going to carry on onto the road, marathon running. it will be a half farewell from the 10,000 metres tonight. i was thinking back,

what do i need to do? i've achieved what i wanted to achieve. it would be nice to be able to finish on a high. i guess why not do it where it all started in london? that track, where i became an olympic champion, that's what changed me as an athlete, the whole nation got behind me. it's incredible. i'll never get those memories back again. he will have some of those memories tonight if he can replicate that, but a gaggle of canyons and ethiopians want to knock him off his perch. we will keep a very close eye on laura muir, who is doubling up in the british team. the 1500 metres and also the 5000 metres she goes in. it is the 1500 metres heats. she has had a brilliant indoor season, a real breakthrough for her. at the oppositionjust real breakthrough for her. at the opposition just ramps up yet again.

plenty to watch out for. but it really is about the fastest man against the other end of the spectrum on the track, mo farah over the distance of 10,000 metres. looking forward to it, olly foster, with us throughout the course of the world championships. neymar says he wasn't motivated by money when signing a £200 million deal for paris st—germain. he says it is sad that people think he is motivated by money. speaking at a press conference, the world's most expensive player also said he was looking for a bigger challenge with the club. the brazilian, who's 25, even went against the advice of his dad when signing a five—year deal, but says it all worked out in the end. that's all sport for now. i'll have more in the next hour. thanks, will. as we've been reporting, donald trump is coming under increased pressure over the allegations that russia interfered in the presidential election. the man investigating the claims has convened a grand jury, made up of private citizens, to weigh up the evidence. here to explain what exactly a grand jury is is our legal correspondent, clive coleman. that's the first question, what is a

grand jury? it is that's the first question, what is a grandjury? it is ajury but it is not a jury which determines whether somebody is innocent or guilty. it is really an investigative tool. his job is to look at evidence and determine whether there is sufficient evidence for a criminal charge to be brought, and indictment to be blood. there really is nothing similar in this country. what it does is it puts citizens at the centre of that part of that criminal justice system, which in our country is occupied by the crown prosecution service, and in deciding whether there is sufficient evidence they have to be satisfied there is something the americans call probable cause. that is a similar test of the one that we have here. the cps have to decide if there is a realistic prospect of conviction. but it is done by citizens in a grand jury, not by provisional lawyers employed by the state. how does it work? it works by being grand, that's the first thing to say! normally there will be between

16 to 23 citizens who sit on a grand jury, that is why it is called a grand jury, because it is bigger than a normal trialjury, which is normally 12. hearings are held in secret. those under investigation are not allowed to be present. they can apply to be present. critically, anyone who does appear, either as a witness or somebody under investigation who does appear, they are not allowed to have a lawyer present with them. that has been one of the great criticisms of the system. a famous judge of the great criticisms of the system. a famousjudge in new york once said that a grand jury could indicta hand once said that a grand jury could indict a hand sandwich. —— a ham sandwich. it is seen as an easy time for a prosecutor because you don't have lawyers present too can challenge you. those who are appearing that have the advantage of having legal advice and representation. some criticise it as being an easy task for a prosecutor. what does the grand jury then do?m hears evidence from witnesses. it can call witnesses, it can compel witnesses to come. it can compel the

production of evidence, the production of evidence, the production of evidence, the production of documents. interestingly, thejurors production of documents. interestingly, the jurors themselves can ask questions of the witnesses. again, some people criticise the system, saying, you know, why should jurors, who have no legal training, be able to do that? but they are able to do that. ultimately what it has to decide by a majority, there have to be at least 12 who decide whether or not there is sufficient evidence, whether or not there is probable cause and an indictment should be put. we have looked at how that differs from the system here in the uk. i wonder how it fits into the uk. i wonder how it fits into the special prosecutor's investigation's how will they use it? well, the special prosecutor really is kind of the ringmaster of the grand jury. by the way, in fact, they are called special counsel...” got it wrong! they used to be called special prosecutor for reasons i'm not going to go into, they have now changed their name to special counsel. they are in effect

prosecutors. a special council will normally be appointed if there is some reason within thejustice department, some co nflict—of— i nterest department, some conflict—of—interest perhaps or whether it is in the public interest to have a special counsel, somebody from outside thejustice department but appointed by them. it gets that this american thing, there is some would say is always this all suspicion of authority figures and authority figures who are close to government institutions. the grand jury government institutions. the grand jury system, which puts citizens at the heart of this investigation and the heart of this investigation and the charging of individuals, also in relation to the special prosecutor, you know, when there is a suspicion that there may be a conflict—of—interest, you go outside and get somebody from the outside because of the suspicion of the corrupting effects of those, you know, government institutions and those employed by them. really it is a vein that runs through the american constitution from its earliest days and is still alive and kicking today. it is interesting that the grand jury system is only

used,it that the grand jury system is only used, it can apply across all of the estates in america, but it is only used in around half of them. but that suspicion really is at the heart of this system, it is citizens who should occupy this critical role of assessing the evidence and deciding whether or not somebody should be charged. clive coleman, thank you. i just want to bring you some breaking news that we are hearing from police in west yorkshire. a man from west yorkshire was sentenced to six years in prison after he gave advice to an undercover police officer that he believed wanted to drawing daesh in syria. this man advised the officer on what he should pack for the journey, how long it would take to get to the syrian border from istanbul and gave him £160 for accommodation in turkey to help fund his trip. he lied about his income to get credit cards from various banks. he pleaded guilty to two ounce of engage in conduct in preparation of engage in terrorist acts. sue hemming is on the cps said

he liked about why he was going to tag using he could enter syria, joy up tag using he could enter syria, joy up with daesh, islamic state, and potentially commit terrorist acts. this was heard at leeds crown court. he was charged with two ounce of engaging in conduct improper issue for terrorist acts. —— in preparation. this happening between september last year and november the 2nd last year. details of that case coming through. we will have reaction a little later as well. a british it expert who was hailed as a hero when he stopped a global cyber attack which hit the nhs has appeared in court in the united states, accused of creating software to steal bank details. 23—year—old marcus hutchins, from devon, was arrested in las vegas, where he was attending a security conference. our north america correspondent james cook has more. marcus hutchins was hailed as a hero for stopping an attack which crippled the nhs and spread to tens of thousands of computers in 150 countries. his arrest is not related to his role in neutralising the so—called

wannacry ra nsomwa re, which we discussed in this recent bbc interview. i checked the message board, and there were maybe 16 or 17 reports of different nhs sort of organisations being hit. that was the point where i decided my holiday was over, and i had to look into this. in the past week, mr hutchins had been in las vegas for the def con cyber security conference. he was apparently arrested at the airport minutes before he was due to fly home. we've now obtained a copy of the indictment against marcus hutchins, and another unnamed defendant. it reveals they're facing charges in the us state of wisconsin. they're accused of creating and selling a programme to harvest online banking data and credit card details. prosecutors say the arrest here in las vegas came at the end of a two year long investigation. cyber security remains a top priority for the fbi, says the special agent in charge. marcus hutchins may now face his biggest challenge yet in an american court room.

james cook, bbc news. in a moment, a summary of the business news this hour. but first, the headlines on bbc news... ireland's prime minister says the clock is ticking on brexit, and challenges britain to find a solution for the key issue of the irish border. the investigation intensifies in washington — a grand jury is called to look into claims that russia interfered in the election of president trump. four members of a police helicopter crew accused of filming naked sunbathers and a couple having sex have been cleared of all charges. time for a look at the big business stories of the week, and joe lynam is here to take us through them. donald trump under fire, is here to take us through them. donald trump underfire, but he is here to take us through them. donald trump under fire, but he was last night saying, look at the latest jobs figures, and last night saying, look at the latestjobs figures, and he's got a point? yes, they are pretty good. 2009000 for the month ofjuly. they

also revised upwards the number that they estimated for the month of june. so, in the last two months, there are nearly 500,000 jobs created. he can definitely say, this is on me. but the democrats and shot will say that this is due to the ha rd will say that this is due to the hard work and structures that were put in place well president obama was in place. but i suppose he could feel passionate about the results. of course. somebody else passionate, the boss of rbs, a very different story to last year. do you like my thai? colleagues pointed out it is the rbs official logo! it is a total coincidence, i have to side. it is probably a stackable offence! career ending, too! if you juxtapose that beside the first half of last year when the losses were £2 billion, thatis

when the losses were £2 billion, that is a notable turnaround. having said that, the boss admitted today that the full—year numbers for 2017 will end up as a loss, it is due to bad behaviour before the financial crisis. car figures, previously we've been talking about good figures, but now they are falling. yes, for the fourth month in a row they are down, down 5.3% compare to this month last year. big drop in sales of diesels. people are worried they are going to end up paying pay—as—you—go fees for these cars. hugejump in not ordinarily pay—as—you—go fees for these cars. huge jump in not ordinarily fuelled cars, electric vehicles and that kind of stuff have soared, but still a tiny fraction of the business. let's discuss those in detail with david buikfrom let's discuss those in detail with david buik from panmure let's discuss those in detail with david buikfrom panmure gordon. good afternoon to you, david. can i ask you about the us economy? it appears to be firing on all cylinders. yes, but i don't think we should be

paying too much attention to just the raw figures. the most important thing is, unemployment is down from 8% ten years ago to 4.3%, down just a bit from 4.4% last month. the figure that everybody looks at is this wage inflation. it is only 2.596. this wage inflation. it is only 2.5%. admittedly inflation in the united states is only 2%, they are rather better than we are. at the moment we are 2.9% inflation and we have between 1.8 to 2% wage inflation. it is still frankly fairly anaemic. there are an awful lot of people who have given up applying forjobs as well, which people mustn't forget. a lot of people mustn't forget. a lot of people say the great figures. janet yellen, chairman of the federal reserve, puts more importance on these figures than anything else she looks at during the course of a working month. rbs this side of the atlantic, pretty decent first—half numbers. i'm guessing that without the legacy issues, this would be a

profitable bank. it would be. natwest itself in isolation has done incredibly well. again we have to go back to 2008 when the ludicrous sum of {28.6 back to 2008 when the ludicrous sum of £28.6 billion was paid. since that day, the royal bank of scotland has managed to lose £58 billion, which is a not inconsiderable sum of money. ross mcewan has got to be pretty excited about the £939,000 half—year profit, million pounds, i beg your pardon. that his bonus! it is gradually, this time. the department of justice have is gradually, this time. the department ofjustice have still got an outstanding figure, probably £5 billion, for mis—selling, which it have alluded to. it will take the royal bank of scotland into a rock so royal bank of scotland into a rock so mike ross for the night here running. things that do matter, capital was 4.7%. the domestic business is going, the costs have been cut by £500 million each year. there is a lot to be very happy

about but we are going to be at least another two years. the share price went up 2.5% today but is still what half we need. with trepidation, simon mccoy wants to was... i wondered! ben trepidation, simon mccoy wants to was... iwondered! ben broadbent said that the rate increase will be higher than we are all the ring. rates could go to 1% by the end of 2018. -- rates could go to 1% by the end of 2018. —— than we are all fearing. what i do think is that if interest rates to go up, the wafers in margins that people have and the percentage increase of borrowing costs would pretty much kill the economy have. it is pretty weak as it is at the moment. unless we can get wage inflation up dramatically and also economic activity, there is no question about lack of clarity in the brexit negotiations temporarily damaging us. i think we had better sit on our hands and leave those

interest rates where they are. car sales notably down for a fourth month in a row. a bit worrying, or have we hit peak car a few months ago? i think some of it is to do with registration, i don't want to hide behind the fact that there is no question that confidence has gone with a lot of people. what is interesting is that the number of car companies, when they buy 25 vehicles or more for business use, has gone down substantially. with that 2.2% on the year, £1.5 million on cars have been sold, not the kind of figure that you want to do. you talked about hybrid cars, they are up talked about hybrid cars, they are up16%, but it talked about hybrid cars, they are up 16%, but it is a very small level. hybrid electric cars are 2% of the market when year ago, they are now 5%. we need to see some improvement on the whole outlook of cars. thanks, david. we will swap his distinguished features for the markets to see how they close. we should have the rbs numbers as well.

they are not there! ok... well, the ftse100 was up 01%. a lot of that was thanks to rbs, their shares were up was thanks to rbs, their shares were up today. the dowjones was up considerably when positive payroll numbers came up out but it is only up numbers came up out but it is only upa numbers came up out but it is only up a smidgen now. that is how they suspected finish the week. i'm looking for the rbs figures, i haven't got them. it's difficult to get the staff these days! we've just lost one on the telly, we'll miss you, joe! the results of the 2017 national geographic travel photographer of the year contest are now in. over 15,000 photos were entered this year from more than 30 countries. for photographers, it's a coveted title to take, and one which can catapult them into international photography stardom. this year's grand prize was awarded for an incredible shot of lightning striking the erupting colima volcano on mexico's west coast. here's a look at the winners list. music

earlier, i spoke to winner of this year's competition, sergio tapiro velasco. i think this is the most precious gift that nature gave to me. i've been photographing 15 years this volcano. so this is the most important part of this work of 15 years. you'd been monitoring the volcano's activity. but when you saw the result in your camera, what did you think? well, i felt that the picture wasn't ok, because it was a lot of light from this lightning. so i had to download it to the computer to see if it was ok. and, you know, i was so happy, the image was incredible. and i didn't believe it.

i wanted to cry, i wanted to jump. well, it has become the biggest photo of my life. and anybody who looks at it now will understand why. it has an etherial, it has a magic to it, doesn't it? it's magic, because the light is so strange. most of the people, even the experts, say that at first impression that it's a composition, a photo composition. but i know that it's a real photo. i won 2016 for this photo, a third place in the nature category. they asked of me to review the original image. and this is the case with the national geographic. they ask you to make a remission

of the original image, and it's ok. amazing picture. now, in reptile news — bristol water has found an alligator in a local reservoir. this baby was scuttling at a snappy pace along a path by chew valley lake — and very carefully scooped up in a net by a bristol water worker. it has now been picked up by the rspca where a licensed handler rehomes reptiles of this nature. this particular baby was only up to a metre long — but they can grow to more than three and a half metres in their native americas. that's to scale, that picture, but i would be worried! time for a look at the weather. stav has the forecast. thanks, simon. it has been a showery

day again, not as showery as yesterday and not as windy for many of us, it has been wet across a good portion of central, northern and eastern scotland. showers tending to die away this evening, the wind also becoming lighter. as we head into water latter part of the night, the showers will make a return across the west, some of them quite heavy. for the start of the weekend, it is another sunshine and showers picture. some of the showers will be heavy across wales and spread towards the midlands, maybe southern england, becoming thundery in the east. east anglia could have some hailand east. east anglia could have some hail and gusty winds with the downpours. elsewhere, sunshine and showers. temperature is nothing that great, 17—21d. the showers die weight during saturday night. the sky is clear, turned quite chilly. a chilly start. day. a lot of dry and bright weather across the north and west, we will stop to see wet and windy weather pushing into wards northern ireland and western scotla nd northern ireland and western scotland through the day. today at five, a call for ‘unique solutions' for the brexit question,

from britain's closest ally in europe. ireland's new prime minister warns the border with northern ireland must not become a barrier to free trade, but he outlined the enormity of the task ahead. the challenge of the first world war was a challenge of that generation i think perhaps the challenge for our generation brexit. we'll have the latest from westminster. also on bbc news at 5, yet more pressure on president trump. his administration now faces the possibility of criminal charges, as a grand jury is convened to look at alleged collusion with russia. the world's most expensive footballer, neymarjoins paris saint germain for a record £200 million, but says he didn't do it for the money.