, tower lower disaster grenfell tower disaster formally opening the inquiry which began with one—minute silence in memory of the victims. he said the inquiry can and will provide answers to how a disaster like this can occur in the 21st—ce ntu ry disaster like this can occur in the 21st—century but he said it would be a very challenging inquiry. our correspondent sarah campbell is in central london where the inquiry is being held. let's cross to her now. just take us through the key points that he made this morning. it'sjust finished inside the building there so we finished inside the building there so we will expect the people who have been listening, families of the victims and survivors, to be coming out shortly. he said the scale of the task is enormous. he spoke about the task is enormous. he spoke about the thousands of documents they would be expecting and hundreds of witnesses they will have. he has already had 300 applications for

people to be caught participants, people to be caught participants, people who will give evidence, have legal representation, here parts of evidence before they give evidence. there is no clear timetable because there is so much evidence to gather and so many submissions have to be gone through before public hearings can start. it is going to run in the two phases. the first phase will be the development of the fire, how it started and where, how it spread quickly, the chain of events during the hours before it was extinguished, and the evacuation of residents. he said there was an urgent need to find the answers to these questions, how a building construction could have enabled such a disaster to occur, and he said this is because we need to make other high—rise buildings safe and

people in those buildings are safe. there will be written and oral evidence from those involved, from residents, people living there, and firefighters, and he said he hopes many people will come forward. that is phase one. face to —— phase two will examine how the building came to be seriously exposed to the risk of fire. this will look at the design, modifications, we know that there was substantial modification which finished last year, the cladding on the outside of the building. he mentioned the fitting of the cladding, that it would be a focus of investigation. also we will look at communications between residents and the tmo and the local council. this section will also look at the response to the disaster and the steps in the days immediately following the fire. this area has

been an element of criticism from local people who say the response wasn't quick enough. he said both phases will run in faro will —— in parallel but he expects that phase one will take place more quickly. the urgency i think because this will be an invariant porton —— a very important question. he said the hearing will be in public and they will try to find rooms for the public evidence sessions to be held which are large enough for members of the public to come and listen. he also said public hearings will be streamed online. so as many members of the public as possible who want to access what has been said will be able to do so. back to the

beginning, we had one—minute silence and sirmartin paid beginning, we had one—minute silence and sir martin paid tribute to the fire service and the local community and he said he was astonished to learn that some children who had been involved had gone to school the next day and taken exams. he said it was difficult to find a better example of fortitude and resilience of this community. that is a brief outline of what he said over the last hour. we are waiting for the reaction of those closely involved, the survivors, to find out how they feel about this inquiry and whether they feel it is going to give them they feel it is going to give them the answer is that they so desperately need. i know you're going to try to speak to some of those pipers to get their reaction but we will leave you for the moment. —— those survivors to get their reaction. ismet rawat is from the organisation bme lawyers ii grenfell and she's with me now.

i know you were able to listen to most of what sir martin had to say. i know that your group has written to the prime minister, calling for the all—white inquiry panel to be more diverse. given this was the formal launch of the inquiry, is there still an opportunity for that diversity to be brought into the panel without delaying the work of the inquiry? diversity could have been brought in from the outset. there was no openness or transparency in this selection of the inquiry team. there is no need for there to be a delay but what they can do now is a point a panel of advisers. sir martin referred to assess as but i think he is really talking about the same thing. in his letter on august ten he was talking

about diversity in terms of experience. in modern—day britain, london, we are a diverse society and people have to have confidence in the system. if they feel the people who are making these important decisions to not at all reflect who they are or have any experience or insight into issues around social housing and so on, they will not have confidence. if you think these assessors sir martin was talking about reflect diversity of the g re nfell about reflect diversity of the grenfell community then that would give the people who want these a nswe i’s give the people who want these answers confidence and trust going forward 7 answers confidence and trust going forward? would answers confidence and trust going forward 7 would it answers confidence and trust going forward? would it give you confidence in the inquiry? certainly. we have been writing to the inquiry team and the prime minister from the inquiry team and the prime ministerfrom the the inquiry team and the prime minister from the outset, trying to engage. we are a voluntary organisation on the half of the community and we do not have any clients so we are looking at the community, not individual clients. it will engender confidence. we have

provided a directory. we are not asking for tokenism or positive discrimination. we are saying there are many bme professionals, experts on fire, safety, social housing, regulation. every public consultation meeting, the residents, survivors, community members, they said they did not have confidence in the team or the chair, which does not please anybody, but what are they doing about it? they did not change their approach during consultation or no matter how much we tried to engage. it is a crucial moment to try to change that? yes. nobody wants to be critical of a process. everybody wants this inquiry to be successful. we have seen then depend on inquiry into

child sexual abuse and how many stop sta rts child sexual abuse and how many stop starts it had. we saw what happened with hillsborough. nobody wants that to happen again. were you pleased with samaritan talking about the list of questions being a statement of current thinking and not exhaustive? it was prudent for him to say that because one does not know what is going to come up so should never said anything in stone. we have been calling for a broader basis, a 2—stage inquiry, one looking at what he has described as phase one and two, and the second stage looking at the issues which are stage looking at the issues which a re key stage looking at the issues which are key to people around social housing and austerity. this fire did not happen in a vacuum. there is a huge context. do you accept it might

have to be a separate inquiry and investigation? we would worry that if that is outside of this inquiry, we would be concerned it would not happen at all. a prisoner who was given a io—month sentence for arson, more than 11 years ago, is to be released. james ward was given a sentence known as an "imprisonment for public protection" which meant he wouldn't be released until a parole board decided he wasn't a danger to the public. earlier we had from his sister about their impact on his family. we are blown away. we have fought so ha rd we are blown away. we have fought so hard for this to happen and this result is mind blowing. it is amazing. just to be able to get this news is fantastic. 0ver amazing. just to be able to get this news is fantastic. over the last ten yea rs news is fantastic. over the last ten years there has been a massive fight

against this disgraceful sentence. he should never have been given the sentence in the first place. he is not a threat and hasn't been over the last 11 years. we are glad he has been released but so frustrated it has taken 11 years, 11 christmases of not seeing him. we have family members that have never even seen have family members that have never even seen him. it is an emotional time but a good time. let's get more insight into this story with our correspondent zoe conway. does he know yet that he is going to be released? i am not clear whether he actually knows because when i spoke to his sister this morning he still had not been informed and it is not always the easiest for a

prisoner's family to get hold of them. i assumed that he knows now it has been all over the news. what would be the process for his release? where will he go and how will he be look after? huge concerns about his mental health. the parole board has asked for him to be found a hostel in nottinghamshire. it is very important that james is close to his family, that is what has been decided, that closeness is important in terms of how he copes over the next few months and years. they have specifically said they want reassu ra nces specifically said they want reassurances in terms of the kind of mental health support he will get, thatis mental health support he will get, that is what the probation service are looking at now so we are looking at probably a hostel in the nottinghamshire area to be close to the family. just remind us how this situation arose. more than 11 years ago he was given a ten month sentence and yet he is still behind

bars. he was originally sent to prison in 2006 for assault. he was to serve a year and close to the end of the sentence he couldn't cope and set light to the mattress in his cell and that is what got him this sentence, this ipp, imprisoned for public protection, for ten months. within a few months the thought was that the parole board would assess his case as a risk to society and then perhaps release him but instead it went on and on and on for ii yea rs it went on and on and on for ii years and it has had a profound effect on him will stop we have been closely following his case and he has been writing to us over the last year, i have a sample here, and the first letter he ever wrote me more than a year first letter he ever wrote me more thana yearago, first letter he ever wrote me more than a year ago, he says prison is not fit to accommodate people like me with mental health problems, it has made me worse. how can a change here? i wake up every morning scared of the day. i have no fight left in me any more. he has been repeatedly

self harming over the last year, eric aiding himself in his cell, setting light to his cell, and for all these reasons he got stuck in this trap and the parole board kept thinking he was too much of a risk to release and has gone on to this point of the decision last night. thank you for bringing us up to date. the time is 11:32pm. here is the weather. plenty of rainbows being sent in at the moment from weather watchers. that is what happens with the domination of sunshine and showers. 0ne happens with the domination of sunshine and showers. one of the many that has been sent to us at the moment, injohn many that has been sent to us at the moment, in john 0'groats. many that has been sent to us at the moment, injohn 0'groats. forthe rest of the day we have clad in the eastern and south—eastern areas of england but that will break up with the sunshine moving through elsewhere good sunny spells. more cloud, thicker cloud and rain moving into the far north—west of scotland

but with the brisk winds it feels chilly, temperatures around mid teens. in tonight, further showers across scotland and the west side of england, temperatures at 8—11, a chill first thing on friday. then this weather front brings more cloud and more prolonged showers across the south but that will clear and then again we are left with this mixture of sunshine and showers in between those showers not feeling too bad in the shelter but when a shower comes along those temperatures drop away. that is it for me, see you later. this is bbc newsroom live the headline that 11:34am. the chair of the public inquiry into the causes of the grenfell tower fire has said the inquiry "can and will provide answers to the pressing questions as to how a disaster of this kind could occur in 21st century london." sirmartin sir martin moore—bick has been

giving an opening statement and there was a minute ‘s silence. iam i am well aware that the world of people living in north kensington has been turned upside down but if the enquiries to get to the truth must seek out all relevant evidence and examine it calmly and rationally. the culture secretary, karen bradley, has confirmed that rupert murdoch's bid to take full control of sky through 21st century fox will be referred to the competition authorities — due to concerns over broadcasting standards and media plurality. a prisoner who was given a io—month sentence for arson more than 11 years ago is to be released. james ward was given a sentence that meant he wouldn't be released until a parole board decided he wasn't a danger to the public. and the fa's inquiry into sexual abuse has been told that ex—aston villa manager graham taylor was warned about the abuse of young players in the 1980s — but allegedly advised one victim to "sweep it under the carpet". time for a look at the latest

sporting news. good morning. harry kane says spurs were clinical in the way they performed in last night's champions league opener. they beat borussia dortmund 3—i — theirfirst win at wembley this season. dortmund cancelled out a early goal by son heung—min. then kane then struck twice to ensure the victory. he has now scored six goals in four games, including two for england. we played well, we were clinical when needed, we deserved the win, we we re when needed, we deserved the win, we were clever in the way we pressed and got up so it was a professional performance, a big win for us. hopefully we can continue it. elsewhere liverpool were held to a 2—2 draw by sevilla at anfield. roberto firmino missed a penalty when the reds were ahead, and it proved to be a costly error. frustrated. i'm not sure about this

word, but not happy of course about this. i am word, but not happy of course about this. iam happy word, but not happy of course about this. i am happy about a big word, but not happy of course about this. iam happy about a big part word, but not happy of course about this. i am happy about a big part of the game. so... we tried to ignore the game. so... we tried to ignore the result of last weekend but we all know we are human beings and that keeps confidence, that takes away confidence, i saw we were really spot on from the first second we played, we played a good game. there were no problems for manchester city, they cruised to a 4—0 win over dutch champions feyenoord. john stones scoring twice. the fa has sent a video to fifa with the aim to prove that dele alli's middle—finger gesture was towards england team—mate kyle walker and not an official or opponent. television pictures showed the gesture during england's 2—1 world cup qualifying win over slovakia last week. the players, who were team—mates at spurs until walkerjoined manchester city this summer, have both given evidence to the fa. the fa asked fifa to confirm whether the decision will be made before england's next world cup

qualifier against slovenia in october. maria sharapova has responded to her critics in a uk exclusive interview with the bbc. after a is—month doping ban, she returned to the tennis circuit in april — but she wasn't welcomed by some players. eugenie bouchard branded her a cheat and andy murray said he was surprised that so many top level athletes apparently had heart conditions. i don't think it's for them to really have an opinion because they don't have the facts. so, you know, ithink that those are the types of words that make headlines and they will be used as headlines, but ultimately this is my career and ifaced it head on and i admitted my mistake, and i went about it and i served my suspension and now i'm back. a canadian player said you shouldn't be allowed back into the sport, it

sends the wrong message. what do you think? can occur those comments is not based on factors i don't take them into depression. white matter what are the facts? as you aren't a teacher? of course. -- you aren't a cheetah. eugenie bouchard branded her a cheat and andy murray said you can see the full interview ‘the unstoppable sharapova' on the bbc news channel, this friday at 9.30pm. essex are on the verge of winning the county championship title. with lancashire heading for defeat to somerset, a victory over warwickshire for essex will seal their first title since 1992. play is under way at edgbaston and warwickshire have already lost early wickets — you can follow live updates on the cricket pages of the bbc sport website. that's all sport for now. back to the formal opening into the enquiry into the grenfell fire. it will be led by the retired court of appealjudge sir martin moore—bick, and is expected to deliver an interim report by easter. 0ur correspondent sarah campbell is in central london where the inquiry is being held. let's cross to her now. the statement finished 15 minutes

ago. interested parties listened avidly. they're on the evening of the 16th floor, hammy, with me, listening. does it do you think a nswer listening. does it do you think answer the questions that you need answering? we have just been listening to the judge, we don't know what's going on. no answers, not yet, nothing. we wait for the answers but nothing has been heard. are you confident that he will be looking at the right areas? he will be looking at the design of the building, at the response immediately after the fire. what is the most important issue for you? he has to look at the cases, and we have seen him looking for a proper answer. the trauma continues, doesn't it? you have still not been

rehoused. you are still waiting for rehousing? i am still at the ibis hotel from the 14th ofjune. till now. we are still waiting. i have been offered something but it is not for me. the judge said he hoped the enquiry would provide some sort of solace, something for those that survived. will it? we are going to wait and see, wait to see what the judge does without we will keep on waiting, nothing has happened, said the judge has been talking to his team right in front, and theyjust left. we just want to lock some questions but no chance. there were some people that wanted to ask him some people that wanted to ask him some questions. that didn't happen. of course, yeah, that didn't happen. we will come back. we will carry on. fighting for our case, and this is it, me,| fighting for our case, and this is it, me, i want to get on with my

life. not after anything, it, me, i want to get on with my life. not afteranything, ijust wa nt life. not afteranything, ijust want to go back to my work, i work for my living, i want to go back and concentrate on my life, i don't need anything but i will follow what is going on. thank you to talking to us. going on. thank you to talking to us. i know you want to head off. goodbye. a local mp is here. you we re goodbye. a local mp is here. you were initially critical when sir martin was appointed. how do you react to what you heard this morning? to this morning we are in the middle of central london, a long way away from the site, people have had to travel in here, evil are disabled, it's not a wheelchair accessible venue. it was a ballroom dripping with chandeliers, it says everything about the us and then divide that people see that clearly the judge felt comfortable in, and lots of people including myself didn't feel such, that is the one thing that we first noticed what are we doing here. this isn't where the

enquiry is due to be held. he said he would find rooms where it would be enough for people. there are ple nty of be enough for people. there are plenty of places nearer with 200 people's room, a lot of people feel it was deliberate, a far as way as possible and lots of people and myself feel intimidated by that kind of atmosphere here, it made us feel unimportant and looks down upon. of atmosphere here, it made us feel unimportant and looks down uponm terms of what he said and the terms of reference for the enquiry, the fa ct of reference for the enquiry, the fact there will be two phases. the first phase, the development of the fire and how it spreads quickly and the second phase looking at the designing of the building, the modifications that were made. are these the questions that need to be asked? are you at least happy that be happening? we have very narrow terms of reference for the enquiry i think they will be done meticulously. why has this happened, how it was allowed to happen, how

the council were sitting on billions of pounds of reserves, saving hundred thousand pounds or whatever is was on the cladding? why those questions won't be answered. this enquiry probably won't touch on these general issues, people are descending into the depths of despair. they are feeling utterly abandoned, and people have been quite literally forgotten for days on end. there was one disabled person their carer forgot to come and she lay in her bed all day. what kind of process is taking place at the council is to mark how dare we fail people so miserably every day, and then we are sitting with a judge thatis and then we are sitting with a judge that is going to do a very meticulous piece of work on all the technical aspects of the fire and how it started and all of that in a ball at room —— in a ballroom with chandeliers, evidence of the other quality over treatment of peoples are not seeing any kind of coming

together there. the views of the local mp, there. some dissatisfaction still with the way the enquiry is run but we do know now that it has been launched, the full timetable hasn't been decided upon, and the judge full timetable hasn't been decided upon, and thejudge said that full timetable hasn't been decided upon, and the judge said that there was lots of evidence and submissions that people has two provide him before the report comes out but we expect an interim report next easter. let's speak to the david lammy, the labour mp for tottenham. he has urged the enquiry and government to an earth the truth of what has happened. they keep waiting to talk to us. you said the family must come first if ourjustice system is to have legitimacy in this enquiry. and what you have heard from sir martin moore—bick today, do you have confidence in the enquiry and whether it will put the families first? i think moore-bick understands he is acting upon the

half of the government, in terms of having a enquiry, and the behalf of the general public in having the enquiry. he has got off to a bumpy start with the victims and the families and i have always said he had to walk with those families, he is enquiring on their behalf. so, in a sense, i have fake, i have to have faith in this enquiry that it will get to the answers but my colleague emma there was very articulate in just why people are so worried, really, about the direction of travel. they want the bigger questions, you why questions, how was this allowed to happen? the central questions about the local authority with its huge reserves, questions about the companies that we re questions about the companies that were involved in the refurbishment of the building, big questions for the pmo and the way they ignored complaints over many years. technical questions at the beginning of the enquiry from a guess, we need

to understand that, but there are big, big questions about how 80 people minimum were allowed to burn and die in this way. sir martin did say amongst the terms of reference he outlined a gain in the opening statement that he would be looking atan statement that he would be looking at an the local authority and actions taken, for example. whether such regulations and legislation and industry practice were complied with in relation to grenfell tower. do those points, those specific points of reference, do those get to the concerns that you just mentioned? 0r are you talking about much order looks at social housing and the conditions leading to the grenfell tower fire, how people were living there, etc? i specifically asked for there, etc? i specifically asked for the social housing context be in the terms of reference and that request was denied by the government. he has

said he will interpret the terms of reference that he has widely and he has included the local authority within that we will have to see where he lands. and in a sense it is in the months and years, really, because it is only within the second phase that google gets those questions. we know that enquiries in britain can go on for many, many yea rs. we britain can go on for many, many years. we saw that with hillsborough for example. it will be years before the truth is known. we should not forget... if i may interrupt, the questions that cause this fibre that enquiry needs to be swift, doesn't it? would you accept that for the sake of people living in other blocks like this, in order to prevent a tragedy like this happening again that aspect of the enquiry needs to be relatively

speedy and perhaps these wider social question that you talk about need to be addressed elsewhere, although as we have heard from the association, the bme lawyers for gran fell, they say that if they aren't addressed in this enquiry that they won't be. actually, questions will about why when residents complained about the conditions of their building were ignored, they are central and should be asked quickly. questions about why the local authority sat on reserves and didn't fit spring liz and other things in this building have to be answered quickly. i think questions about gas pipes running up in stairwells needs to be answered quickly, so i am with you on that but the question is whether they will be answered quickly and we will just have to see. a couple of pieces of breaking news, a man has beenjailed in manchester crown court for life with a minimum

of 31 years for the murder of an 18—year—old student in wigan. 52—year—old mark buckley attacked 18—year—old alan higginbotham —— alan higginbotham, taking her laptop and mobile phone and leaving herfor deadin and mobile phone and leaving herfor dead in wigan in greater manchester. she was reported missing after failing to return home from wi nsta nley failing to return home from winstanley college in oral, on the 16th ofjune. if you do your old mark buckley jailed 16th ofjune. if you do your old mark buckleyjailed for life at magister crown court with a minimum of 31 years. also, vicky young is saying that theresa may is frustrated by international rules preventing british aid being given to the hurricane earner relief effort. —— hurricane irma. the

government has today committed almost £60 million to the effort. theresa may said to be frustrated by international rules preventing british aid being spent on the irma relief effort. in a moment a summary of the business news this hour but first , the headlines on bbc newsroom live: public enquiry into the causes of the grenfell tower enquiry has begun. the chair says pressing questions about how will a disaster of this kind can happen in 21st—ce ntu ry of this kind can happen in 21st—century london must be answered. a prisoner who was given a io—month sentence for arson, more than 11 years ago, is to be released. james ward was given a sentence that meant he wouldn't be released until a parole board decided he wasn't a danger to the public. us secretary of state, rex tillerson, has arrived at downing street to discuss the response and recovery following hurricane irma — with the prime minister and the foreign secretary. president trump will visit florida later today hello, i'm ben thompson. these are

the top business stories. fox's bid to take control of sky will be referred to the regulator. culture secretary karen bradley has confirmed she will seek advice from the competition and markets authority. it now has six months to investigate the merger and its implications for the media market before a final decision is taken on whether or not the merger can proceed. profits atjohn lewis are down more than 50% after the retailer was hit by the cost of restructuring and paying out to staff made redundant. it's also blamed a sharp fall in the value of the pound since last year's brexit vote, and rising inflation which has forced shoppers to cut back on spending. but fashion retailer next has upgraded its forecasts for full—year sales and profits after seeing "encouraging" trading over the past three months. it still said the retail environment was tough but prospects appeared "somewhat less challenging than six months ago". good morning to you.

more on that sharp fall in profits atjohn lewis — down by more than 50% after the firm was hit by extra costs and rising prices. pre—tax profits were down 53% pre—tax profits were down 53% to £26.6 million for the six months tojuly. it paid out £56 million in restructuring and redundancy costs. at its department stores, profits were up 10%, but at supermarket waitrose profits were down i8% as a result of those higher costs, that the firm blames on brexit. fashion retailer next, though, has upgraded its forecasts for full—year sales and profits after seeing "encouraging" trading over the past three months. it says the retail environment is tough but prospects were brighter. here's sofie willmott,

senior retail analyst at globaldata. good to see you. explain some of these figures for us because it is a very different picture that is opening up, one hand john lewis struggling with supermarket sides of things but the likes of fashion retailers doing 0k. the figures this morning show really the state of the ukhmh morning show really the state of the uk high street at the moment. john lewis reported sales up 2.5% on last year and next‘s sales were down 2.296. year and next‘s sales were down 2.2%. retailers have shown much better sales online competitive physical stores which is really what we are seeing physical stores which is really what we are seeing across physical stores which is really what we are seeing across the high street at the moment. that's the clap that different is opening up on the high street. who is doing well and why? john lewis are saying because costs are going up for it, at the supermarket and has blamed that on brexit, the value of the pound

falling. john lewis have invested in restructuring, have had you made redundancies, and trying to change their business to react to changing customer needs. impacting on their profits as a result but they have seen profits as a result but they have seen positive sales whereas they bull's sales were disappointing but the outlook they say is slightly more positive than they expected originally. that squeeze on consumer incomes will continue, would it? we have seen rising inflation, wages aren't keeping up with that and that is bad news for retailers. business is bad news for retailers. business is hard for retailers especially selling clothing, home wares, and home goods such as electricals, furniture, it is hard for those retailers to capture customer spend and there is more money needing to be spent on food and grocery where prices going up. a tough one for them. thank you, sophie. let's look at some market numbers. down more than 5%. morrisons, britain's no four supermarket, reported a 12.7%

rise in first—half profit and a seventh straight quarter of underlying sales growth, cementing a turnaround under chief executive david potts. shares down still 5%. next are going 10% higher. you are now up—to—date. the headlines are coming up on the bbc news channel. in a moment we say goodbye to viewers on bbc two — first we leave you with for a look at the weather... hello. my graphics of still loading u nfortu nately, hello. my graphics of still loading unfortunately, apologies for that. some decent rainbows at the moment, sunny spells and showers across most parts, and antacid rainbow pictures have been sent in, weather watchers. sunshine and showers continue for much of the afternoon, and in between those showers there will be some sunshine as well stop as we go through the afternoon, it will feel quite cool as well, a brisk

northerly wind making it feel chilly, and when those showers come through, temperatures. down by a few degrees or so. as we go through the rest of the afternoon, showers mostly confined i think towards northern and western parts where for scotland, and northern scotland there will be more cloud rolling its way in, temperatures resulting at ten or ii. way in, temperatures resulting at ten or 11. through the evening and tonight we will see some of those showers continue mainly across western parts of the uk, and it will be quite a cool night, temperatures around ten or 12. let's run through these graphics, hopefully we will get to where we are going. by tomorrow morning while it will be a chilly start, we will see some sunshine across many areas butjust like today shower clouds will build up like today shower clouds will build up and in those showers again it will feel pretty deep cool. let's run through to tomorrow morning, with those showers getting going fairly early on and we shall see

those showers well into the afternoon, against some of those on the heavy side. into the weekend a similar story really because we have high pressure to the west, loads to the east, and normally a northerly wind. there will also be some sunshine and also some showers. 0n saturday i think all of us at some point will again see some showers and again it will feel quite chilly with that northerly wind. by sunday with that northerly wind. by sunday with that northerly wind. by sunday with that area of high pressure i was talking about in the west, it moves to northern ireland and things will settle down a little bit. there will settle down a little bit. there will be some dry weather, some wet weather across the north and the west on sunday, showers confined to england and wales. temperatures on sunday rise a little bit by a few degrees or so. so really sunshine and showers will be heard a lot of over the next few days or so. some

sunshine, away from the wind damage could feel quite pleasant. bye for now. this is bbc news, and these are the top stories developing at midday. the public inquiry into the causes of the grenfell tower fire has begun. the chair, sir martin moore—bick, says the inquiry must answer "pressing questions". i am well aware that the past few months have turned the world of those who live in north kensington upside down. but if the inquiry is to get to the truth of what happened, it must seek out all the relevant evidence and examine it calmly and rationally. a prisoner, still behind bars after being given a io—month sentence for arson more than 11 years ago, is to be released. rupert murdoch's bid to take full control of sky — through 21st century fox — is being referred to the competition authorities. also...

president trump will visit hurricane—damaged florida this afternoon... ..as the us secretary of state, rex tillerson, arrives at downing street to discuss the response to hurricane irma . following her suspension from tennis, former world number one maria sharapova hits back at fellow players who have criticised her return. and back from the dead — a species of galapagos giant tortoise thought to have been made extinct 150 years ago is to be bred in captivity. good afternoon. welcome to bbc newsroom live. a public inquiry has begun into the fire at grenfell tower —

three months after the tragedy in which at least 80 people lost their lives. in his opening statement, the chairman sir martin moore—bick attempted to reassure those affected by saying his investigation "can and will provide answers to the pressing questions as to how a disaster of this kind could occur in 21st century london". he acknowledged the great sense of anger and betrayal felt by survivors and families of victims, but stressed the need for evidence to be examined "calmly and rationally". an interim report is expected by easter. last month the terms of reference for the inquiry were published. it will look at the cause and spread of the fire. also the design, construction and refurbishment of grenfell tower. and how far regulations go in terms of high—rise flats and whether they were followed in the case of grenfell tower. and the actions of the relevant

authorities before the tragedy and the response after the fire. i am well aware that the past few months have turned the world of those who live in north kensington upside down and that former residents of the tower and other local people feel a great sense of anger and betrayal. that is entirely natural and understandable. but if the inquiry is to get to the truth of what happened, it must seek out all the relevant evidence and examine it calmly and rationally. the solicitors and counsel acting for the inquiry will approach their task in that way, as i hope will the legal representatives of the various core participants. in that way, they will help us all discover where

the truth really lies. i should also remind everyone that section two of the inquiries act 2005 prohibits me from ruling on or determining anyone's civil or criminal liability. however the same section also expressly provides that i am not to be inhibited by the likelihood of liability being inferred from any findings recommendations that i may make. i shall therefore not shrink from making any findings or recommendations where they are justified by the evidence simply because someone else may at a later date consider that they form the basis of civil or criminal liability. the police are of course conducting their own investigation into possible criminal offences. 0ur correspondent sarah campbell is in central london

where the inquiry is being held. let's cross to her now. it was interesting that older couple of occasions he stressed the list of issues he talked about this morning was not intended to be exhaustive but a statement of current thinking. and that he would explore fruitful lines of inquiry. does that go some way of satisfying people who were concerned that the terms of reference were concerned that the terms of reference we re too concerned that the terms of reference were too narrow? the terms of reference when they were first talked about back injune and july, they have been expanded already since then and you are absolutely right that he made a point on a number of occasions saying it was not exhaustive but i think it is fairto not exhaustive but i think it is fair to say from the people we spoke to since the meeting finished and now that there is still some

dissatisfaction with how the inquiry is going. you were evacuated on the night and your flat was very close to the tower. do you think sir martin moore—bick is going down the right lines? i think it is our very tight line for him to walk and i think he took a stumble today. he could have equivocally stated that witnesses would be cross examined by legal representatives and core participants such as myself and i am concerned he did not do so. i concerned he did not do so. i concerned he did not do so. i concerned he is pre—empting the behaviour of legal representatives by saying he will force them in certain areas to only have one person who will be representing the inquiry panel. if such behaviour we re inquiry panel. if such behaviour were the same people asking this questions over and over happened thenl questions over and over happened then i could see a need for that but

why pre—empt it? then i could see a need for that but why pre-empt it? is it not the case he was outlining the broad terms and setting out a timetable as far as heated and letting you at least what he's going to be looking at? phase one being how the fire started and spread quickly, and moving on to phase two which is the design and construction. these are surely the answers questions we want the a nswers to. answers questions we want the answers to. yes, notjust answers questions we want the answers to. yes, not just for the people who died and people who were evacuated and survivors from the tower, but also people living in similar circumstances at the moment. but that isn't the only question which needs to be answered in this inquiry. the bigger question here would be why were concerns raised ignored? bigger question would be why is he already trying to pre—empt the behaviour of legal representatives and force them all to work together? there are certain

people representing groups here who i wouldn't want speaking on my behalf and yet it seems he is already going to try to corral that an insurer this happens. clearly still a level of distrust. you happy today to let think i restart and see how it plays out? of course. i went in your cautious and optimistic but sadly i am now more cautious than optimistic. the first report is due at easter but he said the timetable may slip because of the thousands of documents and hundreds of people to give evidence. you would like a nswe i’s give evidence. you would like answers as soon as possible. give evidence. you would like answers as soon as possiblelj give evidence. you would like answers as soon as possible. i would like to see a preliminary report by easter but i sure concerns that it isa easter but i sure concerns that it is a rather tight timetable. however, he is the person who set this timetable and i have confidence

he knows his own abilities to that extent so i am reasonably confident we should have something out by roughly that time next year. but we do not need some meandering inquiry that will take years and not really answer any of the questions which needed answering. at the same time, you're still in temporary accommodation? yes. i was evacuated on the night of the fire and i am still in hotel accommodation three calendar months later to the day. some reaction from the inquiry being launched and still clearly from local people level of disquiet, distrust about how this inquiry will play out. a prisoner who was given a io—month sentence for arson more than 11 years ago is to be released. james ward was given a sentence known as an "imprisonment for public protection" which meant he wouldn't be released until a parole board decided he wasn't a danger to the public. earlier today we heard

from his sister april about the impact of his imprisonment on his family. absolutely blown away. we have fought so hard for this to happen and to get this result is mind blowing. it is madness, amazing. just to be able to get this news is fantastic. over the last ten years there has been a massive fight against this disgraceful sentence. he should never have been given an ipp in the first place. the parole board hasn't released james because he has completed courses or changed patterns in his behaviour, they have released him because finally they have realised that he is not a threat to anybody but himself and never has been for the last 11 years. emotions are quite split. i am so glad he is being released but so frustrated it has taken 11 years, ii christmases of not seeing him. we have family members that have never even seen him.

it is an emotional time but a good time. a short time ago i spoke to zoe conway who has been following this story for the last year. she told me thatjames might not know he's about to be freed. i am not clear whetherjames actually knows because when i spoke to his sister this morning he still had not been informed and it is not always the easiest for a prisoner's family to get hold of them. i assume that he knows now it has been all over the news. what would be the process for his release? where will he go and how will he be looked after? huge concerns about his mental health. the parole board has asked the probation service for him to be found a hostel in nottinghamshire. it is very important that james is close to his family, that is what has been decided, that closeness is important in terms of how he copes over the next few months and years. they have specifically said

they want reassurances in terms of the kind of mental health support he will get, that is what the probation service are looking at now, so we are looking at probably a hostel in the nottinghamshire area to be close to the ward family. just remind us how this situation arose. more than 11 years ago he was given a ten—month sentence and yet he is still behind bars. he was originally sent to prison in 2006 for assault. he was to serve a year, and close to the end of the sentence he couldn't cope and set light to the mattress in his cell and that is what got him this sentence, this ipp, imprisoned for public protection, for ten months. within a few months the thought was that the parole board would assess his case as a risk to society and then perhaps release him but instead it went on and on and on for 11 years and it has had a profound effect on him.

we have been closely following his case and he has been writing to us over the last year, i have a sample here, and the first letter he ever wrote me more than a year ago, he says prison is not fit to accommodate people like me with mental health problems, it has made me worse. how can i change here? i wake up every morning scared of the day. i have no fight left in me any more. he has been repeatedly self harming over the last year, barricading himself in his cell, setting light to his cell, and for all these reasons he got stuck in this trap and the parole board kept thinking he was too much of a risk to release and has gone on to this point of the decision last night. the culture secretary, karen bradley, has confirmed she's referring rupert murdoch's multi—billion—pound bid to take full control of sky through 2ist century fox to regulators. fox owns 39% of sky but wants full control of the satellite broadcaster. the competition and markets authority will investigate

the impact of the proposed merger on broadcasting standards and media plurality. and we'll have more on this story at around 12.40 when we'll be speaking to our media editor amol rajan. a man who murdered a college student ata a man who murdered a college student at a beauty spot has been jailed for yea rs. at a beauty spot has been jailed for years. thejudge described it as at a beauty spot has been jailed for years. the judge described it as a premeditated attack. president trump will visit florida later today to see the destruction caused by hurricane irma. the number of people who died at a nursing home in the state has now risen to eight. meanwhile, boris johnson has defended the aid downing street says theresa may is frustrated by international rules on the relief effort. hit by the full fury

of the hurricane, the british virgin islands will need extensive humanitarian support. it's taken a week for some to get basic supplies, and after days of criticism that the uk's response has been too slow, the foreign secretary arrived on the island of tortola to see the full scale of the damage. i've just actually talked to the premier, orlando smith, who says they have food and water for two months, supplies here. and obviously what we are doing is intensifying our efforts. but the government can't use money from the international aid budget to fund the recovery. british overseas territories are deemed too wealthy to qualify, and so the treasury will have to foot the bill. and across this region, the trail of destruction is vast. in florida, millions are still without power. eight residents have died at this nursing home in miami. police said without air conditioning or electricity, temperatures inside were extremely hot. 115 elderly residents were rescued.

we have other patients in critical care. right now, the building has been sealed off and we're conducting a criminal investigation inside. we believe at this time they may be related to the loss of power in the storm. president trump is due to visit florida later today to witness the devastation firsthand. and amid sweltering temperatures, concern is growing for florida's 3.5 million senior citizens as officials struggle to restore power. sarah corker, bbc news. the headlines on bbc newsroom live. the public inquiry into the causes of the grenfell tower fire has begun. the chair, sir martin moore—bick says the inquiry must answer "pressing questions". a prisoner given a ten month sentence for a prisoner given a ten month sentence for arson more

sentence for arson more than 11 yea rs sentence for arson more than 11 years ago is to be released. james ward was given a sentence which meant he couldn't be released until a parole board decided he was not a danger to the public. the decision for sky to be taken over by fox will be referred to the competition authorities. and now sport. maria sharapova has responded to her critics in a uk exclusive interview with the bbc. after a is—month doping ban, she returned to the tennis circuit in april — but she wasn't welcomed by some players. eugenie bouchard branded her a cheat and andy murray said he was surprised that so many top level athletes apparently had heart conditions. i don't think it is for them to really have an opinion because they

do not have the facts. i think those are the types of words that make headlines and they will be used as headlines and they will be used as headlines but ultimately this is my career and i have faced it head—on and admitted my mistake and i went about it and served my suspension and now i am back. about it and served my suspension and nowl am back. eugenio bouchard said you were a cheater and you should not be allowed back in the sport. i think those comments are not based on fact and so i do not ta ke not based on fact and so i do not take them into consideration. that you are not a cheater? yes. you can see the full interview ‘the unstoppable sharapova' on the bbc news channel, this friday at 9.30pm. the fa has sent a video to football's world governing body fifa, hoping to prove that dele alli's middle—finger gesture was towards england team—mate kyle walker and not an official or opponent. television pictures showed

the gesture during england's 2—i world cup qualifying win over slovakia last week. the players, who were team—mates at spurs until walkerjoined manchester city this summer, have both given evidence to the fa. the fa asked fifa to confirm whether the decision will be made before england's next world cup qualifier against slovenia in october. paris has been confirmed as the host city for their win big games in 2024, 100 years since the event was last held in the french capital. they lost out in the bids for the 2008 and 2012 games. they were up against la where the olympics will be held in 2028. the head winter 0lympics coaches resigned. athletes had written to british bobsleigh to complain about discrimination. there is no suggestion of any wrongdoing. essex are on the verge of winning the county championship title.

with lancashire heading for defeat to somerset, a victory over warwickshire for essex will seal their first title since 1992. play is under way at edgbaston and warwickshire have already lost early wickets — you can follow live updates on the cricket pages of the bbc sport website. more sport in the next hour. the bank of england has voted to keep interest rates at a record low ofa keep interest rates at a record low of a quarter of 1%. policymakers voted 7—2 to hold rates at that level. a concerted effort to force so—called islamic state out of their stronghold city of raqqa in syria has been going on for four months now. a combination of coalition air strikes and us backed ground forces are trying to drive the militants out of the city. tens of thousands of civilians have fled. but it's unclear how many are still there. 0ur middle east correspondent quentin sommerville has more. the one thing you really notice here in raqqa city,

apart from the destruction, which is pretty much everywhere all around us, is the absence of people. when we've been into other cities, in mosul and sirte, where is have fled, people were always coming out, but not here. the reason for that — we've just heard some coalition air strikes not that long ago, rattled the shutters here. artillery shelling is almost constant. it is because the real fighting is going on about one or two kilometres from where i am right now. there, people are facing is snipers, minefields and coalition bombardments from artillery and from those coalition jets. the old city is just down here actually. so imagine living in that for a moment. if we just look up here, this was somebody‘s home. look at the bullet holes all over that. there almost isn't a building in this city that we have passed that has been untouched by the violence. if we just move down here a bit

closer, beyond there, right inside raqqa, almost an iron clad death trap has been created for people where they are facing snipers, minefields. another boom from artillery i think that was just then. there is no option of escape for civilians. it is much betterfor them for the moment, there is less risk, if they stay in the midst of all of that, in is territory, than try to escape. that is why the streets are so empty. more gunfire just in the background. one of the things to bear in mind is there's about 20—25,000 people still inside this city, trapped by is, trapped by those coalition air strikes. about half of them are children. their options are very limited at the moment. no one is coming back to this city any time soon. it is going to take a long time before it is retaken. the sdf said it might take them a month, it might take a bit longer than that.

but for the people trapped inside raqqa it is absolute hell and they have almost no escape. let's look at some of today's other developing stories. rohingya muslims in myanmar are facing a catastrophic humanitarian situation, according to the un secretary general. antonio guterres said alleged attacks by security forces on rohingya villagers were completely unacceptable. the army says it is fighting militants and denies targeting civilians. the un security council has called for urgent steps to end the violence. new figures show the number of people arrested for terror—related offences in the year tojune was the highest on record. 379 arrests were made, including those carried out in the wake of the westminster bridge, manchester, london bridge and finsbury park mosque attacks. five people have been arrested on suspicion of modern

slavery offences after raids across south—east england. the national crime agency and 95 surrey police officers were involved in the operation across surrey, hampshire, berkshire and london. a woman and four men were detained. police believe they may have broken a large scale trafficking and slavery operation. at least 24 students and teachers have died in a fire at a religious school in malaysia's capital, kuala lumpur. the fire broke out in the early hours of this morning. the victims are thought to been trapped in their dormitory as the windows were barred with metal grilles. the us secretary of state, rex tillerson, arrived at downing street earlier for talks with theresa may and borisjohnson. it's thought they'll discuss rescue efforts following hurricane irma and north korea's latest nuclear test. the bbc‘s victoria derbyshire programme has learnt that the fa's independent inquiry into sexual abuse in football heard former england team manager graham taylor

was warned about the abuse of young players at aston villa in the 1980s. 0ne victim has told the programme that mr taylor advised him to "sweep it under the carpet", not report it to the police. we've obtained a new document which appears to show a paedophile was employed as a scout by the club almost two years after senior staff were first warned about his behaviour. jim reed has the exclusive story. in the 1980s, tony brien was a bright, young defender, who played for a number of professional clubs. as a boy, he says he was abused by this man, ted langford, who died in 2012. langford was a scout for leicester city and aston villa. i tried to do something about it, tried to report it 30 odd years ago. but i wasn't listened to, and it happened to another two children. tony brien said he spoke to seniorfigures at aston villa about the abuse. when he was 18 or 19 he claims he had conversations with these two men, assistant manager dave richardson, and then—manager graham taylor. last month, he told the fa's independent enquiry into abuse, he felt taylor discouraged him from taking the matter further. and hejust said to me, "look,

you're a young lad starting out in the game," he said, "i know you've just made your debut, could you really be dealing with all the obscenities from the terraces? so i suggest, you sweep it under the carpet." it was a long time ago, are you sure he said those words to you? i'm exactly sure, yes. how did you react? i went into the kitchen when my mother was still doing the washing up, and she said, "well?" and ijust told her. "they told me to sweep it under the carpet." and i broke down in tears. former england manager graham taylor died of a heart attack in january. dave richardson said, afterfinding out about the abuse from other boys, he spoke to taylor and then chairman doug ellis sacked the scout responsible. he denied he or the club would have put off anyone from coming forward. earlier this year, he said... now new documents uncovered by the bbc

appeared to show that ted langford was working at aston villa at least a year after tony brien says he first raised concerns. a lawyer representing a second anonymous victim claims his client also tried to warn graham taylor and the club, but felt ignored. they could've done more. they could've acted quicker. they could've listened to these concerns to enable him to stop him from abusing other children. mr richardson said he does not think it's appropriate to comment on the latest information while the fa's enquiry is ongoing. aston villa says it takes welfare seriously and has policies in place to deal with any com planes. in 2007, ted langford was finally jailed for sexually abusing four young players in the 70s and 80s. the final number of victims is likely to be higher. a woman who was arrested on suspicion of attempted burglary at prince george's school in south london remains in police custody. the 40—year—old was arrested yesterday after gaining entry

to the building in battersea. scotland yard says it's working with the school to review security arrangements after the incident. it is time for the weather forecast. we're looking at some calmer weather over the next few days with a mixture of sunny spells and showers. a fairly brisk north—westerly breeze means it is fairly chilly. the showers moving fairly quickly on the breeze and some could be quite heavy. the odd rumble of not out of the question. this evening and overnight, england showers will be confined to the western coasts. we see this feature making its way south and bringing showers through parts of scotland into northern england and wales and the south—west. temperatures overnight area south—west. temperatures overnight are a touch cooler lure, rowley ——

cooler rowley. the showers will bubble up tomorrow. some thunder not out of the question for parts of england and wales. warm in the sunshine if you find a sheltered spot. into the weekend, rather cool, some chilly nights, and the wind starting to ease. still a mixture of sunny spells and showers but the showers fewer and further between. this is bbc newsroom live. the headlines: the head of the grenfell public inquiry says the investigation will answer "pressing questions" about the disaster. retired judge sir martin moore—bick has been giving an opening statement. am a minute's silence was also held. many have lost everything and even though the iraq are dependent on others for their daily needs. the

enquiry can't undo any of that but it can and will provide answers to the pressing questions of how a disaster of this kind could occur in 21st—ce ntu ry disaster of this kind could occur in 21st—century london. a prisoner who was given a 10—month sentence for arson, more than 11 years ago, is to be released. james ward was given a sentence that meant he wouldn't be released until a parole board decided he wasn't a danger to the public. the culture secretary karen bradley has confirmed that rupert murdoch's bid to take full control of sky through 21st century fox will be referred to the condition authorities due to concerns over media plurality. the fa enquiry into abuse shows that a manager was warned about abuse but swept under the carpet. the public enquiry into the fire at

g re nfell tower the public enquiry into the fire at grenfell tower killing at least 80 people in june has grenfell tower killing at least 80 people injune has begun its work today. in his opening statement, sir martin moore—bick addressed calls from survivors for local residents to be appointed to the inquiry team. it is expected to deliver an interim report by easter. last month, the terms of reference for the enquiry we re terms of reference for the enquiry were published. it will look at the cause and the spread of the fire. the design, construction and refurbishment of grenfell tower. also how far regulations go in terms of high—rise flats, and whether they we re of high—rise flats, and whether they were followed in the case of rain fell. —— grenfell. and finally the actions of the berlin authorities before and after the tragedy. in in his opening statement, sir martin moore—bick addressed calls from survivors for local residents to be appointed to the inquiry team. i know that many of the survivors would like me to appoint somebody from among their own number or perhaps another local resident as

one of my assessors. many of them can of course provide valuable evidence and i shall ensure that all their evidence is heard and carefully considered. but to appoint as an assessor someone who carefully considered. but to appoint as an assessor someone who had had direct involvement in the fire would risk undermining my impartiality in the eyes of others who are also deeply involved in the enquiry. i have therefore come to the conclusion that i cannot take the course that they would wish me to adopt. as a result i would have approached a number of people all com pletely approached a number of people all completely independent of those whose conduct may have to be investigated who have expertise of a social and administrative nature that enables them to provide them with assistance i need to carry out my task. i shall also need the assistance of people who can give me

expert advice in more technical areas, in particular the development of fires in high—rise residential buildings, and the intricacies of the building regulations, with particular reference to protection against fire. i am currently in discussions with several people who in my view have the expertise necessary to fulfil those roles, and iam necessary to fulfil those roles, and i am pleased to say that those discussions are making good progress. i hope to be able to announce the appointment of the first group of assessors with in the first group of assessors with in the first week or so. 0ur correspondent sarah campbell is in central london joining me from preston is professor richard hall from the university of central lancashire. he's a fire safety expert. also an expert in fire regulations. thank you very much professor for joining us. obviously quite a few of

the terms of reference that sir martin is looking at relates to your area of expertise, so in terms of dealing with the causes of the fire, the means by which it spread, the design and construction of the building and whether the regulations we re building and whether the regulations were complied with, in relation to g re nfell tower, were complied with, in relation to grenfell tower, how long do you think it will take for sir martin working with experts to get these a nswe i’s working with experts to get these a nswers to working with experts to get these answers to those sorts of questions? well, i suppose my hope is that he does manage to get proper answers to those sorts of questions. he isn't a technical person and i think that could go both ways is clearly an establishment figure. if he as an establishment figure. if he as an establishment figure. if he as an establishment figure makes the right decisions then the establishment are going to have to buy into that. on the other hand, as a nontechnical person he may struggle to grasp how when different people are telling you different things how to weigh up

whether someone is correct. now, in science we have peer review and we have proper processes for working out what is the truth and what is misconceived idea. i don't know in the courts of law, it doesn't seem to work like that and it is more in terms of how people are taking the evidence, and how that evidence is weighed up. so if he is being given subjective views he will have to try to ta ke subjective views he will have to try to take an objective view of perhaps varying opinions on these issues is what you are saying? and there are strongly different views from if you like the representatives of the industry who have provided the combustible foam, and people like me who are more concerned about fire safety. i am really a materials chemist rather than someone who is an expert on fire regulations but i have spent a lot of time looking at the fire behaviour of a lot of these materials. and the toxicity when

they burn. so this will be a highly technical enquiry in some respects, pointed? i hope so. i mean, there is a lot of human tragedy here which is unfolding around grenfell tower, but it seems to me from the terms of reference that this would focus on the technical issues, and then one hopes they will have sufficient technical expertise in order to be able to address those technical issues properly. there is a simple point that until, from 1666, the great fire of london, until about the 1950s, great fire of london, until about the 19505, it great fire of london, until about the 1950s, it was not permissible to put combustible materials on the side of buildings. then, gradually with the growth of plastics and people said look, architecture and we can make more attractive looking

buildings, and then you end up in this situation where you have the whole of the side of a building is combustible and then when a fire goes out of the wall it can spread up goes out of the wall it can spread up the entire side of the building with nothing stopping it. now, a very clear a nswer with nothing stopping it. now, a very clear answer is that you don't put combustible stuff on the side of buildings. you can't have disasters thus like grenfell tower. we discussed yesterday the issue of sprinkler systems, and of italy in 2007 it became law that in any building over 30 metres tall they had to have sprinkler systems, full sprinkler systems fitted. we discussed the issue of retrofitting tower blocks, built pre—2007, with those systems. there may be lots of recommendations coming out of the enquiry like that, but you are saying that there will be a strong lobby of companies pushing to avoid any drastic recommendations that would prove costly to implement. do

you think really that that sort of lobby will get away with that argument? if so martin says look, we need this, the safety of people in living in tall buildings. there are a number... 0n the sprinkler issue if you took the particular case of the fire at grenfell, it is hard to see how sprinklers would have stopped that tragedy. they may have reduced the numbers of deaths and made things perhaps better than they were, but i'm not sure that that would have been the answer because u nless would have been the answer because unless you put sprinkles on the outside of the building, you're not going to be able to stop the fire which is spreading on the outside will stop them going into the inside of the building, and the ferocity of the flames going into people's windows was something that probably sprinkle is wouldn't have suppressed, and the whole building would have needed to have had a very large water supply, and usually do anglers are for a couple of flats but not for all of the building at

the same time. so the next point you raised, could you just remind me? that was just one system we were thinking about, based on a bbc investigation and i appreciate obviously in terms of that specific area, we don't know what the enquiry will recommend. but i think you were making the point that there would be a strong lobby of companies hoping that there will be in your words no drastic recommendations, but if sir martin makes some pretty serious recommendations, as a result of this enquiry, they are going to have to just shut up and put up, aren't they, and spend the money?” just shut up and put up, aren't they, and spend the money? i think so. they, and spend the money? i think so. 0ne they, and spend the money? i think so. one would hope so. there are a number of vested interests and the first one had to be from the government because it doesn't look like the government are suggesting to authorities and private social housing organisations that they foot the bill. for the repair to make these buildings safe, and yet

clearly they have been so starved of money that they aren't going to be able to do anything in order to address those problems. there is another industry which is making money by putting combustible foam on the side of buildings, and they are going to be resisting any attempt of replacing combustible foam that goes on the side of buildings with noncombustible materials. and then there are other people who are going to say look, the only important thing is fire safety, and absolutely ensuring that the tragedy can't happen again. professor, tank you very much for your time. unlike thank you. a long awaited review of betting rules is due in the next month, focusing on industry advertising and the use of fixed odds machines. a recent report by the industry regulator estimated that up to two—million people in england, scotland and wales have a gambling problem. sport was one of the loves of lewis keogh‘s life, but hidden from family and friends,

it was gambling which was an obsession and an addiction. they called him the life and soul of the party. yeah. and underneath it all, he was suffering so badly. it was an alter ego. but he kept it all hidden, right to the very end. he hid it from everybody. he must have been absolutely going through torture and that is the thing that hurts the most. four years ago, lewis killed himself after running up gambling debts well in excess of £50,000. he had already twice remortgaged his home. he left a note and itjust said, "addiction is cruel". that just... the banks were throwing the money at him. i know that he wouldn't steal. he was very honest, he was very straight. he just did not see any way out.

he had to gamble. he couldn't get his fix. he'd decided to stop. that's obviously what happened at the end. he realised, he thought "i am not strong enough to kick this thing". much of lewis's debts were from gambling online. a long—delayed government review of the laws surrounding the industry throughout great britain is due to be published soon. it is looking at advertising and also what are known as fixed odds betting terminals, or fobts for short. they are much like fruit machines, available in high—street bookmakers with games like roulette, in which people can spend up to £100 in a single spin. there are three areas. fobts, the fixed—odds betting terminals, are just insidious. they are in every bookmaking shop in the uk. it is incredible. they need to have a major

reduction on the maximum bet. it should be, instead of £100, maybe £2 or £5. betting companies point out that they are major employers in an industry that is already highly—regulated. they say they encourage responsible gambling, and many firms support sporting events and clubs. sport was one of lewis keogh‘s passions. his ashes were scattered at hillsborough stadium, the home of his favourite football team. so he's there all the time. still supporting sheffield wednesday. still supporting sheffield wednesday! that was his last wish. his dad used to say, "you'd better tell somebody else, because i'll be gone before you." but sadly that wasn't the case... the headlines on bbc newsroom live:

the public inquiry into the causes of the grenfell tower fire has begun. the chair, sir martin moore—bick says the inquiry must answer "pressing questions". a prisoner who was given a 10—month sentence for arson, more than 11 years ago, is to be released. james ward was given a sentence that meant he wouldn't be released until a parole board decide he isnt a danger to the public. us secretary of state, rex tillerson, has arrived at downing street to discuss the response and recovery following hurricane irma — with the prime minister and the foreign secretary. president trump will visit florida later today. the culture secretary, karen bradley, has confirmed that

rupert murdoch's bid to take full control of sky through 21st century fox will be referred to the competition authorities. she said the competition and markets authority would investigate the impact of the proposed merger on broadcasting standards and media plurality. 0ur media editor amol rajan joins me now from the rts cambridge television convention. good afternoon to you. a couple of months ago karen bradley made a statement about this. in the commons, she said she would make a final decision around now, so what has happened in the interim? what has happened in the interim? what has happened in the interim? what has happened and what has changed is that initially karen bradley the culture secretary said that she was minded to refer on the grounds of media plurality, whether or not one family, the murdered family had too much power. her thinking has changed in the last week or so, he is minded to referred to a second watchdog, the condition and markets authority on the question of the commitments to broadcasting standards. james murdoch has literallyjust spoken here at the rts, rall television society commission, where he has given a sound and stout defence of 21st century fox, the company he

i’u ns 21st century fox, the company he runs which says they are deeply committed to both plurality and broadcasting standards. this is the second time that the murdochs have bid forfull control of second time that the murdochs have bid for full control of the six to 1% of sky that they don't already own and i think their sense is that it is getting very frustrating. a first bid six years ago, is delayed by the phone hacking scandal. they are by the phone hacking scandal. they a re every by the phone hacking scandal. they are every struck of their company and rebid, and find themselves in a co nsta nt and rebid, and find themselves in a constant public defence of why their company isn't going to jeopardise media plurality or broadcasting standards in the uk. karen bradley will be speaking this afternoon and will be speaking this afternoon and will explain her thinking as to why she thinks this idea, this bid needs another look. around six months before the cma to investigate the murder. why does this matter to the average person in the uk? this is all about the choice on offer to consumers and customers who watch television. the television industry and media industry is going under a tremendous degree with people, whether is more toys for ever before and what is happening as there is a

choice, people that own the ideas, the content, the stories, are trying to get together with people owning the distributor network, and that is why 21st century fox which is this huge machine wants to buy the whole sky so it has access to the 21 million customers that sky has got us million customers that sky has got us the whole of europe so the reason it matters is not to do with the quality of news output you get, tightly regulated as it is by 0fcom, this is about the choice on offer or consumers, across the uk. james murdoch has strongly defended the idea that by allowing this merger to go through there will be more choice for customers, and karen bradley the culture secretary seems to think it could jeopardise plurality across britain and that is what she thinks it needs another look. thank you very much, at a very noisy cambridgeshire convention there. a couple of lines coming into us on to russian submarines launching strikes at so—called islamic state targets in syria. from the

mediterranean. this is coming from the russian state news agency, saying that seven cruise missiles we re saying that seven cruise missiles were aimed at terrorist targets, and just a little bit of technical information, these submarines were 500, 600, and 70 do it is away from their targets, —— kilometres away, and two of them have launched their strikes against is targets. we saw a report earlierfrom strikes against is targets. we saw a report earlier from the middle east correspondent talking about the push to get is out of its stronghold of rack in syria. —— raqqa. we have been getting reaction from directly affected peoples outside the enquiry into grain fell. peoples outside the enquiry into grainfell. —— peoples outside the enquiry into grain fell. —— grenville tower. we

have put questions forwards for months, and as a survivor and the community and lawyers, i was expecting today more than that. community and lawyers, i was expecting today more than thatm was 43 minutes and 83 seconds, and it is fairly simple, he bought out his statement and didn't give any opportunity for the lawyers to speak. as a survivor were not going to speak, we understand that and respect that but please give for lawyers, the nominated ones from the survivors, to give each one of them one question, to raise a point, to help him! to be clear, he didn't give any opportunity for any lawyers do givea give any opportunity for any lawyers do give a single question. this was the launch of the enquiry, the enquiry itself will take many, many months. are you confident the questions you have will be answered at that point, even if they once today? in that way, i didn't... you know, there is a statement but he hasn't delivered. he hasn't delivered, the way he should deliver. he doesn't want any more

from the outside, everything is from the inside. that is my concern, why there is no transparency, he looks so... there is no transparency, he looks so... it looks so obvious to me. can i bring so... it looks so obvious to me. can ibring in so... it looks so obvious to me. can i bring in your solicitor here? he has rather did several of the families involved. there is a level of distrust, isn't there? it was announced before but seems to have continued today. unfortunately there isa very continued today. unfortunately there is a very high level of mistrust. it's notjust a small level will stop the families don't believe that they have been listened to. they don't believe they have been listened by dtm oh or rbkc, or sir martin moore—bick. it wasn't an example of him listening today. today he laid the rule book as to how he himself wants to conduct the enquiry. that is unfortunately symptomatic of how this whole process has been. what could or

should he have done today to have made people feel happier about the process ? made people feel happier about the process? mr michael mansfield qc stood at the end, he is a qc and well respected them and should have been respected and listened to, mr mansfield is an eminent lawyer, knowing the sort of questions to ask. he should have at least given him the respect to listen to what he had to say and answer it because what he was going to ask is exactly what he was going to ask is exactly what the members of the families wa nt what the members of the families want to be asked, and in part this is, listen to us. communicate with us. is, listen to us. communicate with us. engage with us, and you will be fine. if you don't do that then there will be deceiving people will wait and we will have no trust in it. that is the real problem, the nub of the problems because they have this mistrust and it is not being laid at the moment. reaction to the formal opening of the grand phi enquiry. —— grenville tower. the cassini probe is preparing to take its final pictures of saturn, before it crashes into the planet's atmosphere tomorrow. british scientists have played a major role in the 13—year mission, which has delivered a wealth of data

about the gas giant. a key discovery has been an ocean under the icy surface of the moon that may sustain life. nasa is ending the mission because the probe ran out of fuel and its final mission will see it dive into the atmosphere, where it will meet a fiery end. scientists on the galapagos islands are hoping to bring back a species of giant tortoise, thought to have become extinct 150 years ago. the giant floreana tortoise has been on the extinct list since the 19th century, disappearing soon after charles darwin's famous visit to the islands. virginia langeberg explains. nothing happens too quickly in the tortoise world, but this is a comeback worth the wait. the florea na tortoise, once thought wiped out, has been on the extinction list for a century and a half. now, with careful conservation, this species is being brought back from the dead. translation: today we are announcing to the world some very good news. we have managed to recover a species that was once thought to be extinct

and was listed as such for the last 150 years. the species became extinct from its home island of floreana during the mid—19th century, after hunting and exploitation from the first settlers. some floreana were dropped on other islands, breeding with other tortoises, but now the original species is slowly and steadily staging its return. a breeding programme at the galapagos national park has yielded dozens of floreana purebred tortoises with hopes of thousands more in the coming years. translation: we're going to recover this florea na species with a programme of reproduction in captivity using the experience that the galapagos national park has already used for 5,000 other tortoises that have been reintroduced into their natural habitat, and this will be the first time that we will do the same thing but with a species that was considered to be extinct. this is the gift that

we give to humanity. they will be given time to grow into their shells within the national park, then it's hoped in five years the floreana will be released back into the wild to reclaim their island. but there's no rush. fascinating story! in a moment... the news that one, but first the weather. this area of high pressure begins to push in over the next few days. some tightly packed isoba rs push in over the next few days. some tightly packed isobars today, a brisk north—westerly breeze. a mixture of sunny spells and showers and while those showers could be quite heavy there will be lots of dry weather around as well. those showers moved quite quickly through thanks to the brisk north—westerly breeze and some good spells of

sunshine brought in, though much ended and through the afternoon, those showers are heavy. temperatures struggle into the mid—teens, we could see a maximum of 17. in the south. so a good shattering of scours volley showers across england. the risk of seeing showers anywhere, essentially. a little more shelter means fewer showers, and in the north—west part of northern ireland and scotland we see the great he focused on the showers. temperatures struggle into the mid—teens. the focus showers overnight will edge its way southwards, coming to western coasts, and a wet night for wales and the south—west, seeing some clear spells across the south—east england and a cool night, with temperatures really a fruit the —— few breeze cooler than we are used to. a bright start to tomorrow, done good spells of sunshine starting

off, but we start to see some showers bubble up through the day. temperatures cool for that time of year but slightly nicer than today, so year but slightly nicer than today, so feeling a little warmer in sheltered spots, highs of 16 or 17 degrees. that takes us into the weekend, and we will see some rather cool weather, particularly some fairly chilly nights. the winds start to ease with a mixture of sunshine and showers. here is what is going on in the charts, high pressure pushing in from the north—west, beginning to settle things down for saturday across northern ireland and scotland, and i think we will see fewer showers with a little more in the way of dry and brighter weather. england and wales, one or two showers, a north—easterly breeze meaning they will be particularly focus on further north and east you are. cool, temperatures in the mid—teens, but present in the sunshine. bat pleasant in the sunshine. the public inquiry opens into the fire at grenfell tower where at least 80 people died. the retired judge leading the inquiry tells survivors

of his sadness and says he understands they‘ re still suffering enormous pain. the inquiry cannot undo any of that. but it can and will provide answers to the pressing questions of how a disaster of this kind could occur in 21st century london. we'll have the latest from the inquiry in central london. i think ithinka i think a lot of us are disheartened and don't have faith in the inquiry, and don't have faith in the inquiry, and we have to do recognise that there are other ways that we can acquire the change and achieve the change we are looking for. we'll have the latest from the inquiry in central london. also this lunchtime. a man who's spent more 11 years in prison after being sentenced to ten months for arson is to be released.