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. eight residents of a florida nursing home that was left without power for days following hurricane irma have died. 115 others have been treated in hospital. downing street says theresa may is frustrated by international rules

which prevent british aid being spent on relief work in the caribbean. and the new plastic tenner featuring jane austen and raised dots to help blind people. a clear plastic window with winchester cathedral, gold coloured, on it, and that's the last resting place of jane austen there, on the back of the note. and coming up in the sport on bbc news: maria sharapova hits back at the people who have criticised her return to tennis, after a 15—month doping ban. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one.

the public inquiry into the grenfell tower fire, which killed at least 80 people injune, has opened with a minute's silence to remember the victims. the man leading the inquiry, sir martin moore—bick, said he acknowledges "the great sense of anger and betrayal" felt by survivors, and that the inquiry can and will provide answers about how the disaster could have happened in 21st century london. he added that the inquiry would not shrink from making recommendations that could lead to civil or criminal prosecutions. frankie mccamley reports. it was a catastrophic tragedy that killed at least 80 people. three months on from the fire at grenfell tower, those affected are still looking for answers. launching the public inquiry into the disaster today, the retired judge sir martin moore—bick, beginning with a minute's silence. he addressed how many have been feeling. thank you very much.

followed by a strong reassurance he is working with those affected. i'm 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 inquiry process is not adversarial. my task is not to decide which of two or more competing parties has the better case, nor is it to punish anyone or to award anyone compensation. it is simply to get at the truth with the help of all those

who have relevant evidence to give. after months of speculation and frustration, residents gathered here in this church just metres from grenfell tower to watch sir martin moore—bick‘s statement being live streamed on television screens. the hope, to get a better understanding of what the public inquiry will cover, and more importantly find out whether they think their questions will be answered. we know that there is a lot of documents and a lot of papers that need to be studied and that need to be looked at, so i want to be positive and to allow them the time to work out the truth, because at the end of the day this is what we want. i think a lot of us are disheartened and don't have much faith in the inquiry and we also have to recognise there are other ways we can possibly acquire the change, you know, achieve the change that we are looking for. and as far asjustice goes, i think we have to continue scrutinising the processes of this inquiry continually.

the inquiry will be carried out in two stages examining issues including the cause and spread of the fire, the design, construction and refurbishment of grenfell tower, how far regulations go in relation to high—rise flats, whether those were followed in the case of grenfell tower, the actions of the relevant authorities before the tragedy and the response after the fire. but for those 196 households who remain homeless there is a more immediate concern as only three have been permanently rehoused. for others, though, today will be another reminder of the pain the fire caused 12 weeks ago. frankie mccamley, bbc news. 0ur correspondent sarah campbell is outside where the inquiry is being held in central london. so, what happens from here on in?

well, it was here that more than 150 people packed in to hear what sir martin moore—bick was going to be doing over the coming months and possibly years. the date of the first hearings are yet to be determined, he said that would append on the evidence gathering process but he said all those hearings would be public, and streamed online so those members of the public who wanted to keep across them would be able to. it would be into macrophages, the first round the developing the fire, where and how it's started, how it spread so quickly and the efforts to put it out and the evacuation of residents. he said there was an urgent need to find out what aspects of building construction enabled this disaster to occur, and key, what steps are the high rises should take insure that their residents are safe. he expects this phase to be more quickly because of the urgency of those matters. but in parallel, there will be eight second phase,

examining ona there will be eight second phase, examining on a broaderfront how there will be eight second phase, examining on a broader front how the building came to be so seriously exposed to the risk of fire, its design, the modifications we've heard, so much about the cladding, did it comply with fire regulations, what with the communications like between the residents and that te na nts between the residents and that tenants management associations. i spoke to several resident after the inquiry was launched, there is still a significant level of mistrust towards the inquiry and that is a challenge for sir martin moore—bick. a man who was given a ten month sentence for arson, but has spent more than 11 years in prison, is to be released. james ward was given a sentence known as an ipp, 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. 0ur correspondent zoe conway has been following james ward's case, and has this report. for the last 11 years, james ward has been in prison without ever

knowing when he would get out. until 110w. knowing when he would get out. until now. in just knowing when he would get out. until now. injust a knowing when he would get out. until now. in just a few weeks‘ time, james is expected to be moved to a hostel. i just james is expected to be moved to a hostel. ijust can't believe it. i'll hostel. ijust can't believe it. i‘ll believe it when he walks through the door. and give him the biggest hard he can have. when james was 19, he went to prison for a year for assault. near the end of his sentence, he set fire to the mattress in his cell. for doing this, a judge gave him an ipp, or imprisonment for public protection, and said he should serve a minimum of ten months. he‘s been in prison for more than 11 years. james has been writing to us from prison. this letter was written last month when he‘d lost hope of ever being released. 0na

on a visit to see him last month, his family were shocked by how ill he looked. because he is on constant watch because of the self harm, he‘s literally sat behind a cage like an animal, they walk past and point and laugh at him. how is that humane? how is that a human rights? the ipp sentence was abolished in 2012, but there remain more than 3300 ipp prisoners in england and wales. 85% of them have served more than the minimum term they were given. 278 we re minimum term they were given. 278 were given sentences of more —— two yea rs were given sentences of more —— two years 01’ were given sentences of more —— two yea rs or less were given sentences of more —— two years or less but they have served eight years more than that. what needs to happen if the government needs to happen if the government needs to happen if the government needs to work closely with the pa role needs to work closely with the parole board to make sure that these cases are processed as quickly as they can be and that when it is safe to release people, they are released. jane has had the news this morning. he told his family he is

excited for the future. his sister knows exactly how he shall be greeting him. i will hard him so tight. ——| greeting him. i will hard him so tight. —— i will hug him so tight, i think there will be a lot of crying. bill and christine will have to wait a few weeks to see the son who hasn‘t been home for 11 years. a senior executive at the security firm gas has told mps he is "ashamed" by revelations of abuse at an immigration detention centre run by the company. the commons home affairs select committee is hearing evidence from managers at gas following undercover filming by bbc‘s panorama which exposed scenes of violence and chaos at the brook house immigration removal centre, near gatwick airport. 0ur social affairs correspondent alison holt is with me. what‘s more has the committee been hearing? peter betham, the boss of

gas in the uk, said he was ashamed of what he‘d seen in panorama. that followed a rebuke from mps for what they described as a system failure that was exposed by the undercover filming in the programme. he described, he said they had taken action as a result but overall, he felt ashamed by the actions he‘d seen. in an earlier session, the reverend nathan ward, who was a gas manager until three years ago, gave evidence to the committee. he told them how he had tried to raise concerns in the past, but they had gone nowhere. he also talked about, he was also questioned about the finances of brook house. the levels of profit. this follows on from a bbc news report last night. he said that he had sat in a presentation where a fit of between 20 and 30% we re where a fit of between 20 and 30% were discussed for both —— where profits of between 20 and 30% were

discussed for both brook house and the centre next door. this was put to gas, the boss said he did not recognise the figures and on the ground in brook house, people, including the head ofjustice and ca re including the head ofjustice and care services who was sitting next to him, wouldn‘t necessarily know the numbers because they didn‘t include central shared services. it was a fascinating session but it ended up with gas being asked to provide more information to the committee about the true level of profits. the human cost of hurricane irma is still emerging in florida. it‘s now known that eight people died in a nursing home, after it lost power during the storm. 115 others have been treated in hospital, some are in a critical condition. police have begun a criminal investigation. 0ur correspondent richard lister reports. when emergency teams searched this florida nursing home, they made some horrific discoveries. three elderly residents dead, five more dying, and scores of others enduring dangerously high temperatures.

we did start getting calls this morning indicating that there were a number of people that needed treatment and as we arrived on the scene with our fire rescue crews, we saw that there were a number of people in respiratory distress. many of those led to safety were dehydrated and suffering heat exhaustion. hurricane irma had cut the electricity and then back—up generators failed. the residents had no air conditioning to combat temperatures pushing into the 30s. a nearby hospital took them in. the scene was chaotic when i arrived. when we were called to help, we mobilised at least 50 to a hundred of our employees that left the whole hospital, ran down the street and pulled all of these patients out of the facility and made sure they got to a safe place. staff said when they first rang for help, they got no reply, but the home‘s safety record has been criticised in the past. right now, the building has been sealed off, we‘re conducting a criminal investigation inside.

that may be related to the loss of power in the storm. we‘re conducting a criminal investigation, not ruling anything out at this time. one in three florida homes and businesses is still without power. homeowners have begun returning to the florida keys where an estimated 90% of the buildings were damaged or destroyed. the help is arriving. water on its way. but the people here know that this level of damage will take months to put right. i've been through wilma and andrew here. so we know how to survive. hurricane irma claimed more than 80 lives in the us and the caribbean. but the lack of power means many survivors are still at risk. downing street says theresa may is "frustrated" by international rules which prevent british aid being spent on the hurricane irma relief effort. the spokesman said the situation does not and will not stop britain dedicating money to hurricane relief

and the government has today committed almost £60 million. 0ur diplomatic correspondent james landale is here. can theresa may change the rules, can she still give the money? these rules are international, laid down bya rules are international, laid down by a body called the organisation for economic corporation and of element in paris, the uk is a member of that body. these roles say you can only give official aid to the poorer countries in the world and these overseas territories have large international income so they don‘t qualify for assistance. the priming of the‘s spokesman said today that she was frustrated about these rules, she doesn‘t believe that that always means that the money is spent in the right way so she is working with other international partners to change those rules. the problem is that these rules take a very long time to change. it‘s a very slow process.

secondly, it requires unanimity. a big meeting in october will look at these rules once again. britain wa nts to these rules once again. britain wants to change these rules, they got to persuade 29 other countries to do that, a high bar. james landale, thank you. the time is 1:17pm. our top story this lunchtime: the public inquiry opens into the grenfell tower fire. the retired judge leading the inquiry said he acknowledges the great sense of anger and betrayal felt by survivors. and, coming up, how russian women are fighting sexism in the air, on land, and at sea. coming up in sport: essex close in on their first county championship since 1992 with early wickets against warwickshire. but can second—placed lancashire spoil the party? a long—awaited review of betting rules is due next month, focusing on the gambling industry‘s

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. 0ur correspondent chris buckler has been speaking to one couple whose son took his own life as a result of his addiction. 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. four years ago, lewis killed himself after running up gambling debts well in excess of £50,000. he left a note. itjust said — addiction is cruel. and that just. .. he hid it from everybody and he must have been absolutely going through torture and that's the thing that hurts the most. much of lewis‘s debts

were from gambling online. a long—delayed government review of the law surrounding the industry throughout great britain is due to be published soon. it‘s looking at advertising and also what are known as fixed—odds betting terminals, or fost 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, the fost — the fixed—odds betting terminals — arejust insidious, they are in every bookmaking shop in the uk. it‘s incredible. they need to have a major reduction on the maximum bet. it should be, instead of £100, it should be maybe £2, £5. that would be definite. the one that gets me most is being a sports person and watching sky television.

there are at least ten major betting companies who are there at every break. 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 of the firms support sporting events and clubs. if you look at the strides the bookmaking industry has made injust the last three or four years, you can see the investment and you can see the drive. we want a sustainable business and that means people viewing it as a leisure pursuit and spending the amount of money they can afford to lose in a betting shop. 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. that was his last wish. his dad used to say, well, you'd better tell somebody else because i'll be gone before you. but it wasn't the case. sadly.

that report from chris buckler. the bank of england has kept interest rates unchanged at 0.25%. but it‘s repeated its warning that if the economy continues to grow as forecast, rates could rise faster than the market expects. 0ur economics correspondent andy verity is with me. they have been very low for a very, very long time now. they have, in fa ct very long time now. they have, in fact the last time there was a rate rise was more than ten years ago, the date wasjuly rise was more than ten years ago, the date was july 2007, rise was more than ten years ago, the date wasjuly 2007, so before northern rock, before anyone, or before most people had an inkling there was a great crash coming. that was the last time they rose, the last time they felt to the emergency level was march 2009 and the last time they moved was august last year, august 2016 when they dropped. people have been anticipating over

97 meetings a rise in interest rates and it hasn‘t happened. so, when will it happen? the speculation in the city this morning before the bank of england came out with its statement was february, rant about them is when rates would rise. but this statement, as you mentioned, hints it might be sooner than the market felt. some stimulus is likely over the coming months, translation, we may have to raise interest rates in the coming months. of course, thatis in the coming months. of course, that is a fairly elastic phrase, it could be three months and it could be eight but the markets anticipate a rate rise in december. all right, thank you, andy verity. a prisoner was murdered by three fellow inmates at pentonville prison in london, as part of a violent feud over control of a lucrative smuggling route into the jail, the old bailey has been told. robert butler, basana kimbembi, and joshua ratner deny murdering jamal mahmoud in october last year. our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford reports from the old bailey. pentonville prison in north london,

victorian and close to the road, providing on g wing what the prosecution called a lucrative contraband prosecution called a lucrative contra band route into prosecution called a lucrative contraband route into the jail, used for smuggling in knives, mobile phones and drugs with drones and makeshift ropes. jamal mahmoud and his friends had two of the cells on the fifth floor of g wing especially prized, as they had access to that route. in court today the prosecution said that robert butler, basana kimbembi, and joshua ratner murdered jamal mahmoud to make a point and to get control of the smuggling route, and that even after basana kimbembi prugh stamped jamal mahmoud with a knife pushed aside prison officers and stamped on him and kicked him several times. the prosecutor said of jamal mahmoud

that he was killed with catalytic brutality by group of men armed with weapons that went to find him. the prosecution told the jury that the officer in charge of g wing had been warned that day there would be trouble but was persuaded to let the alleged killers out of their cells just before 2pm. by a.30 21—year—old jamal mahmoud was dead. all three men on trial deny the charges. daniel sandford, bbc news at the old bailey. 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 watchdog. the competition and markets authority will consider the implications for broadcasting standards, and for media plurality. 0ur media editor amol rajan is in cambridge at the royal television society convention. what are the implications of this? this is the second time the murdoch family have bid the full control of

sky. they started out in 2011 bidding for what was then known as bskyb, the 61% they didn‘t control, then the phone hacking scandal happened forcing them to abort the bit and they split their company in two and have bid again. in every stage of this, the second attempt to ta ke full stage of this, the second attempt to take full control, they‘ve been told they cannot do it. karen bradley said she wanted to refer this to the next age of regulatory intervention, so next age of regulatory intervention, so 0fcom, the broadcasting regulator who has already had a look and now she wants the competition and markets authority to have a look and not just markets authority to have a look and notjust on grounds of media plurality, so whether the murdochs have too much control over the media in the uk but also whether they are committed to broadcasting standards, meaning it‘s going to be a long time. possibly three to six months before the murdochs know whether they will get full control of sky and whether they can marry 21st century fox, the american bear with the european operation of sky, which isa the european operation of sky, which is a bit broadcaster across europe. this means that for the time being this deal the murdochs have been

trying to make happen for almost seven trying to make happen for almost seve n years trying to make happen for almost seven years is stuck in the very long grass. amel rajan, thank you. 100 years ago, the russian revolution brought greater freedoms for women there. they got the vote in 1917, abortion was legalised soon after, and later, it was the ussr that sent the first female cosmonaut into space. but today, russian women are battling discrimination again — over their appearance, and their ability. 0ur moscow correspondent sarah rainsford sent this report. at aeroflot slim is in. this is the look russia‘s national airline wants to present. but when it linked flight attendants‘ pay to their dress size it came unstuck. evgenia tells me aeroflot first stopped issuing bigger uniforms. so you had to add this bit? it‘s my little secret. this is to make it big enough. then she realised it wasn‘t just her dress that had shrunk, it was her salary.

translation: i was in shock at first. it made no sense. how could they cut your page because of your dress size? but an aeroflot document said the success of a stewardess depended on her size. of course that really offended me. this job was a childhood dream for evgenia but it‘s gone sour. aeroflot denies discrimination. but she says hundreds of women had their pay cut and were moved to lower—paid domestic flights. judged, as they say themselves, too old, too fat, or too ugly. sexual equality is a principle soviet russia once prided itself upon. but years later russian women are once again battling discrimination. they are not onlyjudged on the way they look, they are also barred from almost 500 professions just for being female. that‘s why svetla na tells me she was banned from captaining a boat. russian law supposedly protects

women‘s reproductive health. but the list ofjobs judged too dangerous includes driving trucks and trains, and even carpentry. svetlana is now fighting the ban in court. translation: i don't think there‘s equality in russia. it‘s a very patriarchal country. maybe they name women to some state positions but this list speaks for itself. evgenia took aeroflot to court too. there its lawyers tried to defend the pay cut, saying every extra kilo of weight costs more fuel. but the judge ruled against them. and evgenia notched up one victory in a much bigger battle for equal rights. sarah rainsford, bbc news, moscow. a new £10 note has entered circulation. it features an image of the novelist jane austen — and for the first time in the uk, has raised dots on it, to make it easierfor visually impaired people to identify.

0ur personal finance correspondent simon gompertz has more details. early this morning, from a few selected banks and cash machines to start with, the first of the new tenners. immediately you notice the plasticky feel, and the bank of england have persevered with plastic notes despite objections from vegan and some religious groups about the animal fat tallow that is used in making it. but the plastic enables them to have various security features, changing colours, changing shapes, a clear plastic window with winchester cathedral, gold coloured, on it. and that‘s the last resting place of jane austen there. 0n the back of the note. plastic is now the future for banknotes. if it‘s anything like the £5, i‘m not a big fan of it. why? it‘s just the way that you fold them, they don‘t really, i don‘t know, i‘m not a big fan of the £5 note, i‘m not a big fan

of the whole plastic note. because of the materials that are used making it. for forgery, what do you use? i'm a vegetarian, and maybe that's a bit gross. you don‘t like the idea of tallow used in it? not particularly. if you have a severe visual impairment, like fashion blogger emily davison who writes about how these issues affect her life, the new £10 is particularly exciting. it‘s a lot more smoother now. because in the top left corner are two clusters of bumps to distinguish it from other notes. as someone who works in retail, it‘s not very good etiquette to start holding a note up to see whether it‘s a certain note and i could explain to the person i‘m working with, i‘m not doing it because i don‘t think your note is legitimate, i‘m doing it because i can‘t see what note you‘ve given me. this will help? yes, definitely, i think this

will help like with the new £5 note, feeling it on the edge, it will make it a lot quicker to know what note you‘re holding. you can carry on using the old paper tens until the spring. then it will be out with the old and in with the new. time for a look at the weather. with storm eileen out of the way and high—pressure beginning to come in we will see, whether on the way. we saw a mix of sunny spells and showers this morning but many of us got away without seeing too many showers, wales saw the main focus, more persistent rain further east, so more persistent rain further east, so our more persistent rain further east, so our weather watchers have sent in beautiful pictures of blue skies, this from st andrews, more in the way of cloud here but still blue skies poking through. moving through this afternoon, a