with this is bbc news. the headlines: a public inquiry opens into the grenfell tower fire with a minute's silence to remember the victims. the chairman says he understands the survivors. they can and will provide a nswe i’s survivors. they can and will provide a nswers to survivors. they can and will provide answers to the pressing nations allow a disaster this kind could occui’ allow a disaster this kind could occur in 21st—century london. interest rates hold for now, but arise may not be far—off if the economy grows. a man who's spent eleven years in prison, despite only being sentenced to ten months, is set to be released. donald trump says he's close to agreeing a deal on allowing young immigrants to stay in the us. also this hour — no longer an endangered species. snow leopards are now considered only ‘vulnerable' after successful conservation projects.

we talked to novelist robert harris about his book, and mean it. —— munich. minute's silence has marked the official opening of the public inquiry into the grenfell tower fire which killed at least 80 people in june. the chair of the inquiry,

retired judge sir martin moore—bick, described the blaze as a tragedy "unprecedented in modern times today he laid out exactly what the inquiry will aim to do. it will look at whether the design, construction and refurbishment of the building complied with building regulations. ahmed chellat is on a journey to the opening of the grenfell inquiry today, but he hopes eventually to justice. i would like him to find out the cause of the fire. he lost his brother—in—law, sister—in—law, two nephews and a niece in the fire. eight—year—old mehdi, just identified yesterday, they are still waiting to find the remains of their 15—year—old. what do you want the inquiry in the end to be able to do for your family?

well, we're not going to have them back, that's for sure, but prevent it from happening again. prevent it from happening again. i mean, it will be the hope of the family and everybody. justice for grenfell will take some considerable time and inside the ornate room, a few miles from the fire, the chairman, sir martin moore—bick, opened the inquiry with silence for the victims. thank you very much. but it certainly isn't silence those who escaped from this tower want, but questions asked and answers given after so many died and so many lost everything. 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 and thereby, i hope, provide a small measure of solace. 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. as he finished, a barrister advising some of the survivors stood and tried to ask a question, thejudge didn't stop, the inquiry‘s broadcast from inside did. "hello" and "rubbish" some shouted. well, some of the survivors inside are very disappointed with what they heard and particularly with what they didn't hear. some of the survivors saying that they're not sure they can work with the inquiry. six members of nabil choucair‘s family died in the fire. he just walked out. it was very disgusting and disappointing. very disrespectful.

you would have liked him to have listened to the victim's questions? of course, he owes it to us. adel chaoui lost four relatives in the fire. we'd also like to reiterate concerns about the absence of a panel, which is the most important issue for bereaved families and residents alike. finally, the conduct of the chair at the end of the meeting, not addressing our concerns, was deeply distressing and disappointing. karim mussilhy‘s uncle died at grenfell. no naturally, myself and members of the community, survivors, are not confident in the inquiry, but we're being optimistic and we're trying to keep an open mind, but we're here to make sure that the right questions are being asked. for ahmed, his optimism from this morning has gone. i am disappointed because we went to the inquiry hoping that it's going to ease us a bit, but in fact itjust makes us angry. but you're not going to withdraw your support for the inquiry? no, no, no. we're not.

we're not going to withdraw it, we're going to carry on. three months on and still so much to do. only 60 victims identified out of the 80 believed to have died. on housing, 196 households need new homes, only three families have moved into permanent accommodation. on the police investigation, there have been no arrests so far and 165 other social housing blocks have been found to have unsafe cladding. the inquiry promises answers, but there's so much those who lost relatives and homes at grenfell still want and need to know. well with me now is polly neate, chief executive at shelter. clearly the issue of housing for these families, at the moment and ongoing, is a big issue. how surprised i used that only three otherfamilies surprised i used that only three other families have been surprised i used that only three otherfamilies have been permanently

rehoused as it stands? on one level iam not rehoused as it stands? on one level i am not surprised. that is what it is like for families awaiting for affordable housing in london. actually in some other places, too. waiting is terrible. we have far too many families in temporary accommodation. the options people are offered are often deeply unsatisfactorily, including being asked to move a great distance away from their communities, children's schools. on one level, not surprising. on another level, the situation of these families is so extraordinary, this is an unprecedented commit appalling tragedy. therefore it does have to be surprisingly, that more can not be surprisingly, that more can not be done for these individuals and families. on one level, that is what housing in london is like this in a

way, let's sit up and take notice of that. is that something we as a community are ok to live with. that we put families in temporary accommodation, even in these circumstances, for a long time. that is one of the questions we need to be asking. what do we, as a society can provide to meet the right of our fellow citizens, to a fair and secure home. how much could this enquiry open opportunity for that dialogue? with the remit of the enquiry, not much. what is missing, in your view? for a start, the survivors, even a day after the tragedy, they felt they have not felt listened to. they have not felt listened to in the run—up to the fire, and they still do not feel listened to now. now the enquiry has started, they still don't feel that. we have something to learn about listening to people. there is a

chance for a national conversation. the remake needs to be set by the individuals from the community in and around grenfell tower. and similar communities around the country. there is a chance for a national conversation about social housing. very important we have that conversation. it is important that the remake is defined, not by policy people, not by lawyers, not by people, not by lawyers, not by people like me, actually. but by people like me, actually. but by people directly affected. yes, there isa people directly affected. yes, there is a chance for that conversation, at the moment it is not happening. ina way at the moment it is not happening. in a way you feel one step removed, you cannot say what people facing theseissues you cannot say what people facing these issues would feel. given your experience, the people you meet and talk to, what are some of the issues that may surprise people who are not used to dealing with social housing, things that do not get hurt and

mentioned by policy makers and government. the sheer sense of powerlessness that tenants in all forms of affordable housing feel. people in social housing, private rented accommodation as well. always, in my experience, they feel very neglected but that they are not listened to, that they are not valued. the experience of not feeling valued is incredibly common among everyone in our society really. those who need affordable housing. that should shock people. just the condition of some housing people living. the fact that people are prepared to cut corners. a fact the condition of social housing is clearly not of the priority list or a large number of local authorities in this country. these are the wider

questions about the place of social housing in our society. and what we have an obligation to provide, that the enquiry is not going to answer, and we need a national conversation about that. thank you for your time this evening. the bank of england has decided to keep interest rates on hold, but warned that a rate rise might be necessary "in the coming months" to curb inflation. a decision would depend on the state of the economy but the governor of the bank, mark carney, said the possibility of a first rate rise since the financial crisis had definitely increased. the pound has strengthened on the news — hitting a one year high against the dollar and the euro. our economics correspondent andy verity reports. the bank of england brings out a new banknote with a famous writer on it. the hands of time are frozen as big ben gets a wash — not this month, butjuly 2007, the last time interest rates rose a prime minister had just left office and no—one had heard of the credit crunch.

more than a decade later, we're hearing hints rates may at last rise this year. in order to keep inflation, or return inflation to that 2% target, in a sustainabable manner there may need to be some adjustment of interest rates in the coming months. now, we'll take that decision based on the data but, yes, that possibility has definitely increased. after the banking crisis struck the bank of england slashed the official interest rate to 0.5%, the lowest it had got in 300 years, an emergency measure. since then, interest rate setters have met 97 times each time the question — when will rates rise? but each time they've done nothing, until last august, when they decided, in the wake of the brexit vote, to cut interest rates to a 0.25%. now the city thinks they'll go back up to 0.50% by december. a rise in the interest rate would help us greatly, thank you very much, because we don't have mortgages. if you've got savings, you want to seem maximise out and give you a good return

but for years obviously that's not happened. well, in some cases you want it to go up, because of your savings, but then in other cases you don't because we've still got a mortgage. so we don't want it to go up for that. after the bank of england's warnings the pound jumped to more than $1.34, the highest it's been for a year. if the bank of england is signalling it could be raising interest rates in the autumn of this year, thatjust makes the pound a more attractive currency for investors to invest in. it raises its value relevant to other currencies. the higher pound won't help exporters because foreign customers may have to pay more for their goods, but it should also mean imports are a little cheaper, slowing down price rises in the shop. andy verity, bbc news. and we'll find out how this story — and many others — are covered in tomorrow's front pages. at 10:40 this evening in the papers — our guestsjoining me tonight are the broadcaster and campaigner henry bonsu, and kate andrews, director of news at the institute

of economic affairs. 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 jailed under what's called imprisonment for public protection which meant a parole board had to be sure he wasn't a danger to the public before being released. zoe conway has been following the case, a man who was given a ten month sentence for arson, for 11 years, james ward has never known when he will get out of prison. until now. in just a few weeks' time, he'll be released to a hostel. i can't believe it. i'll believe it when he walks through the door. he'll get the biggest hug he can have. whenjames was 19, he was imprisoned for a yearfor assault. near the end of his sentence he set fire to the mattress in his cell. for that, a judge gave him an ipp, imprisonment for public protection, and said he should serve ten months. james' behaviour was destructive.

he barricaded himself into his cell and self harmed. the parole board said he continued to be a risk. james has been writing to us from prison. this letter was written last month, when he had lost hope of ever being released. "i've spoken to my sister recently, and she was in tears because of my self—harming. i owe my life to her, even if not to myself. i try so hard to stay as strong as possible, but i couldn't promise that i wouldn't do something stupid." on a visit to see last month, his family were shocked by how ill he looked. because he's on constant watch because of the self—harm, he's literally sat behind a cage like an animal. people walk past and point and laugh at him. how is that humane? why is that... how is that human rights? the ipp sentence was abolished five years ago by the then

conservative justice secretary, ken clarke. he called them a stain on the criminaljustice system. but there remain 3300 ipp prisoners in england and wales. 85% of them have served more than their minimum term. 278 ipp prisoners were given a sentence of two years or less. yet they have served eight years more than that. what needs to happen is the government needs to work closely with the parole board in order to make sure these cases are processed as quickly as they can be, and that when it is safe to release people, they are released. james has told his family he can't believe he will finally be free. his sister knows exactly how she will be greeting him. i'll hug him so tight. just... i think there'll be a lot of crying. bill and christine ward will have to wait a

few more weeks to see james, the son who hasn't been home for 11 years. zoe conway, bbc news. a record number of people were detained by police in the past year on suspicion of terrorism—related offences in england, wales and scotland. home office figures show there were 379 arrests, including dozens in the wake of the terror attacks in london and manchester. a bid by 21st century fox to buy the broadcaster sky will be referred to competition regulators, the culture secretary karen bradley has confirmed. the regulator is expected to look at whether the deal would give too much media influence to the murdoch family. the bid is facing a much fuller examination than initially expected. a senior executive at the security firm gas has told mps he is ashamed the headlines on bbc news: a public inquiry into the grenfell tower fire opens with a minute's silence to remember the victims. interest rates are on hold for now — but a rise may not be that far off if the economy continues to grow.

a man he has spent 11 years in prison, despite being sentenced ten months, is set to be released. sport now, and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's hugh. arsenal's europa league match against cologne tonight at the emirates has been delayed by an hour. they say it's in the ‘interests of crowd safety‘. some 20,000 fans have travelled from germany for the game... only 3000 have tickets. 17,000 german fans outside the emirates stadium. preventing not only those with tickets from cologne getting in the stadium, also the arsenal fans getting in. once the ticket holders have gone in, there have been

reports of scuffles inside the stadium. riot police put in place to deal with that. kick—off is due at five past nine. cologne celebrating return to european football after 20 yea rs. return to european football after 20 years. they were taken with a police escort through soto into central london. reports of bottles being thrown at the time. spirits are very high for a team we have spent that amount of time outside of european competition this we have received a statement from the met police, saying officers are dealing with this order at the emirates stadium, where fans have gathered for the arsenal against fc cologne match. police are in place, additional officers have been deployed. as yet things are yet to get under way because of the crowd trouble.

elsewhere everton have been any europa league action this evening away at atalanta. a night to forget. ronald koeman's side conceding three first—half goals. the first coming from a corner. the italian side adding twojust three from a corner. the italian side adding two just three minutes apart. gomez with the second. they lost at the weekend also 3—0. that is the way finish. everton losing on their return to europe. essex are closing in on their first county championship title since 1992 after beating warwickshire at edgbaston. it means if lancashire fail to win their match at somerset tomorrow... which is looking likely... essex will be champions. it was a very impressive bowling performance from essex today — backed up by some brilliant fielding — dan lawrence taking this catch to leave warwickshire nine wickets down. the end came when spinner simon harmer took the tenth wicket to give essex victory by an innings and 56 runs. lancashire are in trouble

against somerset. eight wickets down in their second innings with only a very slender lead. could not have scripted it any better myself. what do you put it down to? determination, i say determination, i pretty much gave the game up. thankfully took the chance when i came back. a lot of people helping me on the way. pretty much everyone in that dressing room played a part. our main story, before i go, arsenal's you readily match against cologne delayed by one hour. it will start at five past nine, after crowd issues. 20,000 german fans we understand in london. only 3000 with tickets. the others trying to get in, stopping others,

causing some problems at the emirates. donald trump has visited florida to assess the damage caused by hurricane irma. ten million people in the states of florida, georgia and north and south carolina are still without power, and thousands more have lost their homes. more than 20 people were killed in the us — and nearly a0 more who lost their lives in the caribbean. meanwhile — donald trump has said he is fairly close to reaching a deal with senior democrats to stop young undocumented migrants being deported from the united states. two senior democrats nancy pelosi and chuck schumer went to the white house for dinner last night. speaking earlier today, miss pelosi seemed to think mr trump will deliver on protecting young immigrants. when we were talking about this legislation to protect the dreamers, i trust the president is sincere and understanding that the public

supports, overwhelmingly, the public supports, overwhelmingly, the public supports not sending these young people back. this is what the president had to say about the issue — while visiting florida in the past few hours. we have a very good relationship with a lot of people, they want this to happen, they expect this to happen, we will see that happens. we will only do it if we get extreme security, not the only surveillance, but everything that goes along with surveillance. ultimately we have to have the walk if we don't have the wall, we are doing nothing. anthony zurcher is in washington for us.... some confusion about the outcome of this? definitely confusion. the democrats last night said there was an agreement, donald trump tweeting this morning there was not. donald trump essentially laid out in support for the exact same terms of the agreement the democrats talked

about the night before. in exchange for beating up border security. if you listen to donald trump, reading tweets, listening to him talking before he went to florida, he was saying the same sort of things you hear from democrats. talking about the value of these protected individuals serving in the military, holding downjobs. that is the sort of talking points you hear from democrats, supporting making this legislation of reality. mind you, donald trump once in florida, he kept talking about funding for the wall. without an agreement to fund the mexico border wall is not pa rt fund the mexico border wall is not part of the legislation, at least immediately thereafter. if that is the negotiating position, there will not be in agreement with democrats. they have made it clear this is not something they would deal on.“

this ultimately something that will fall apart? seems that the framework for a deal is there. donald trump may talk a good game with the wall, but if he wants you have any sort of agreement get this done, and there are people within the republican party, the leadership, even donald trump, expressing sympathy with individuals covered by the provisions, they will find a way to do it. not going to be easy by any stretch of the imagination. we have seen a vociferous outcry from his anti—immigration base. they have supported him from the beginning, when he came down saying undocumented mexican immigrants were rapists and murderers. now he's seeing is much more open to negotiation on immigration, that is a real concern. another key facet of donald trump is my policy, foreign

policy. under the spotlight today. -- is policy. under the spotlight today. —— is foreign policy. new sanctions on iran today. he has talked tough game, but looks like the iran deal, at least the framework of the deal, going to stay in effect. donald trump, during the campaign committee echoed some of the same concerns from other republican candidates, that it was a bad deal, he said he would negotiate a much better deal. finding time and time again when it comes to iran, the flexibility of this comedy tarrabt the deal and start over again, that is not realistic. he can work around the edges, find new sanctions, to do with the framework of the deal, but starting over from scratch with any sort of framework deal on the nuclear programme with iran, that is his own people within the administration counselling that is not realistic. ok, thank you now. 80 people are thought to have died

in the us state of texas as a result of hurricane harvey. the governor said 80 people are reported to have died, but confirmation they were all weather related has not yet been given. hurricane harvey hit last month. three people who work for google have employees delete m essa g es google have employees delete messages the employ versace ‘s culture where women are paid less for doing the same work. they allege google denied them promotions, and career opportunities, and claimed they were segregated into lower paying jobs because of their gender. the company has not yet commented on the accusations. 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 his company. managers have been giving evidence following undercover

filming by bbc‘s panorama at the brook house immigration removal centre near gatwick airport. gas refused to reveal the level of profit the firm makes from running the centre. alison holt has the story. it took an undercover panorama investigation to expose the realities of life at brook house immigration removal centre near gatwick airport. run by gas, it is plagued by drugs and self—harm. with some officers reacting to detainees with bullying, abuse, even violence. failing switched today jerry petherick, who runs the detention services, and gas uk boss peter neden, had to account for two mps. i was ashamed at what i saw and i'm very sorry for what saw. i can assure you that if we were in any

way aware of any of that behaviour, we would have taken action. but former gas senior manager nathan ward, now a priest, told the committee how he raised issues about bullying before leaving. he also described the intimidation he had faced since speaking out. i've had my car tyre slashed four times, i've had four anonymous letters in the last week, and in the last week received 12 anonymous phone calls. it's the home office that pays for services at brook house and next door tinsley house immigration removal centre. nathan ward told mps that financial and other information supplied to government officials about the places was not always complete. i'm also aware of inaccurate staffing, reported to the home office, and that is part of the concern that i raised tojerry petherick on my resignation, and other financial matters like that. do you think it is plausible that gas has been, or people working at gas, have deliberately been giving false information to the home office? categorically, yes. following documents shown by bbc news last night which suggest significant profits of 20% or more

on the two immigration centres 2013, mps pressed gas bosses on the money they were making. we don't make profit of more than 25%. that was overstated. do you make profits of between ten and 20%? i'm afraid i'm just not at liberty to disclose the profits that we make. there has never been very serious evidence around abuse and mismanagement taking place. it means that i think it is not acceptable for you to simply provide no information about the profitability on these contracts. well, we do provide that information, we provided to the home office, who is our client. gas says 11 staff and former staff have been suspended after the panorama. it also insists the information it provides the home office with, is accurate. but inevitably this session will raise questions for the government about the monitoring of information detention services. alison holt, bbc news. nick miller has the weather.

something less chilly on the way next. until then, yes, there is a chilly feel to the weather, in northerly breeze, and showers around. in many places they will die away overnight. some continue around the coast. this line of showers into england and wales overnight. away from that, under clear skies, england and wales overnight. away from that, under clearskies, it will be chilly, towns and city centres holding on to double figures. rural spots could be as low as a—5dc at the start of the day tomorrow. many starting the day on a fine note, showers working southwards across england and wales. elsewhere, showers get going. a goat —— a day of sunshine, scattered showers, it feels fairly pleasant in the sunshine, quite chilly in the showers, with most of us having

temperatures in the big teams. the picture for the weekend, saturday showery again. saturday really quite chilly. sunday is a dry day, not going to feel as chilly becomes the winds are lighter by then. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines: the inquiry into the grenfell tower fire has opened in london. its head, sir martin moore—bick, says his investigation will answer "pressing questions" about the disaster. the bank of england has said that higher inflation and a pick—up in growth could lead to a rise in interest rates in the coming months. a prisoner who is still injail11 years after being given a 10—month sentence for arson is set to be released. and, after some confusion, donald trump, who is visiting florida, says he is close to agreeing a deal on

allowing young immigrants to stay in the us. let's get straight back to our top story, as we have been hearing, a public inquiry into the grenfell tower fire opened today. sir martin moore—bick told the hearing he recognised the great sense of anger and betrayal felt by those affected by the blaze, and would examine evidence calmly and rationally. but he rejected calls from survivors to appoint a person from the community to the inquiry panel, saying it would risk undermining impartiality. i know that many of the survivors would like me to appoint someone from among their number, or perhaps another local resident, as one of my assessors. many of them can of course provide valuable evidence, andi course provide valuable evidence, and i shall ensure that all of their evidence is heard and carefully considered. but, to appoint as an assessor somebody who had direct

involvement in the fire would risk undermining my impartiality. in the eyes of others, who also deeply involved in the inquiry. sir martin moore—bick. this is how one survivor and his lawyer responded to today's details about the inquiry. that's the value, what we did get today. a3 minutes and 83 seconds, and that situation, millions and millions of people watching, at least, at least, give a chance to people to ask a few questions. families don't believe that they've been listened to. they don't believe they will listen to buy our pkc, they don't believe they we re buy our pkc, they don't believe they were listened to by the tmo, they don't believe they are listened to now by mr moore picks, sir maalbeek. he really needs to take that on board, because today was not an example of him listening, it was simply him playing the rule book as to how he himself wants to conduct the inquiry. earlier, i spoke to the

conservative mp david amis, who chairs parliament's conservative mp david amis, who chairs pa rliament‘s all—party conservative mp david amis, who chairs parliament's all—party group on fire safety and rescue. i liked him what he thought about sir martin's refusal to include a person from the gravell community on the inquiry panel —— i asked him. —— from the gravell community. well, i absolutely understand their disappointment. the judge has apparently taken the view that he thinks it would be prejudicial. well, that's his view. i'm not a legal expert. i think in all of this it's so important that the judge takes the families, who are grieving that terrible loss, with him throughout this whole process. and i certainly agree with my colleague david lammy‘s reported comments that, although this is a very, very difficult occasion, we must give the judge at least a chance to do the very best that he can to take the families with him as the inquiry develops. would it not have been a good way to do that to invite people who were directly involved to sit on the panel, then? yes, i can understand

the logic behind that. and again, i would have hoped that he would have made it clear, because representations must have been made about this issue before today, and i would have hoped that, if you like, behind—the—scenes, he would have laid out the reasons for him taking the decision not to include them in the inquiry. but at the forefront of the inquiry, it must be all about the victims, and reassuring the relatives that he will leave no stone unturned to get to the bottom of the cause of the fire — how it happened, why it happened, and what action needs to be taken. and he said there is no reason why, if the findings are such, there will not be criminal or civil proceedings. now, your particular interest as a member of the all—party

parliamentary committee is fire safety and rescue. so, what are you particularly going to be listening to during the course of this inquiry? well, i and my parliamentary colleagues had our meeting this week. and sir ken knight met us, and he is leading the advisory body. but the all—party parliamentary group has been pressing for a number of years for the building regulations to be reviewed. well, that is now happening. so, after the review, we want some detail of the findings, and to make sure that action is taken accordingly. that's the first thing. we very much feel that sprinklers should be fitted retrospectively, and that's now a matter for all local authorities and housing associations, and private landlords who have these tower blocks under their own responsibilities. we want that to happen. and we very much feel that, for instance, any new schools which are built, they must have

sprinklers fitted into them. sir david amis. trade union unite is launching a high court bid to block 113 bin workers losing theirjobs in birmingham. the move is the latest in a dispute over workers' contracts and pay, which has seen ongoing strikes from local binmen, leading to rubbish piling up in the city. a judge said today that the case was too complex for a short listing, and adjourned it for a full day's hearing on monday. our political reporter kathryn stanczyszyn was at the high court. well, this is unite the union showing just how serious it is in its fight with birmingham city council. it's come here to the high court to say that the redundancy notices issued on the 31st of august should be null and void. i'm told this is really unusual action to be taken between a union and a council. sometimes there's legal action over whether ballots are valid or not. but there is very rarely action over

whether a deal was done. that's exactly what unite says. they say they had a deal with the council to keep those 113 grade three binmen on, and the council has gone back on it. most employers uphold the sanctity of acas deals, and don't try and unwind them and send representatives to acas knowing that the intention is to reach a compromise and reach a deal. so this is quite an extraordinary situation that we're in. it's highly regrettable. i'm shocked that it is with a labour council, and i would call on those councillors to remember the platform upon which they ran — no more cuts. now, it sounds quite complicated. well, justice morris agreed today, saying that a two—hour hearing wasn't enough to really get to the bottom of this. he's adjourned it until monday. but he did agree with unite the union that that could unfairly be prejudicial against the binmen, because they've only got until the 1st of october before those redundancy notices kick in. so he said actually we'll suspend those redundancy

notices for three days — so running until the ath of october. unite saying that is a very, very small victory in this. the council says it changes nothing, and that real decision will be made on monday. a beach—side council house in cornwall has been sold at auction for more than £1.a million. the guide price on the three—bedroom property in st ives was set at £325,000. the local housing association says the money will be used to support affordable housing in the area, which is dominated by second homes. alan parkinson reports. this may appear to be just an ordinary three—bedroom house in cornwall. but if you follow me through the front door... and into the living room, a pretty good—sized living room. and you will see it's got possibly the best view in

cornwall. and now you can see the location of this house, perched on the edge of a cliff, just yards from the edge of a cliff, just yards from the waves of the atlantic ocean and the waves of the atlantic ocean and the famous tate gallery. today's guide price at auction — £625,000. but watch what happens in the auction room. 440, 450... ok, back with you, sir. £1,440,000. yes, that really is £1,aa0,000. the house will probably be rebuilt, but what would people in st ives do with it? oh, i would live here, absolutely definitely. it's just breathtaking, looking across here. i would share it with all our family as well. it would be the most perfect surf lodge or club or something like that. we've always dream about having a slide that comes down straight into the sure way, that is everyone's dream, i'd be happy to see that. the sure way, that is everyone's dream, i'd be happy to see thatm

probably won't end up as a surf lodge! absolutely not, it's a shame to see it go and it's a shame some the local didn't get it. people in st ives also hope that the money will be spent creating affordable homes for local people. will be spent creating affordable homes for local peoplelj will be spent creating affordable homes for local people. i would like to see them ring fence the money for the st ives area in the provision of some more extra affordable housing. we have on the housing registerjust under 600 families with a connection to st ives and the surrounding area. so that's how bad it is. devon and cornwall housing, who sold the house, say the money will now be spent on new homes in west cornwall. and they say they will be investing more than £200 million in new housing in the county over the next five years. eleanor parkinson with that extraordinary news. snow leopards are no longer an endangered species, according to an assessment by a major international conservation organisation. the international union for conservation of nature have warned that despite the change, the species — which were first listed as endangered in 1972 — still faces serious threats from poaching and habitat destruction.

a man who knows all about snow leopards... let's talk to ianjones — head of big cats at paradise wildlife park in broxbourne, who are part of a europe—wide breeding programme for snow leopards. ian, you have got two of these beautiful creatures indoor park. yes, we have. we have a male and a female. tell us a little bit about how they came to be in danger to in the first place, and about what's being done in your breeding programme? so, originally in the 70s, we don't really know a lot about snow leopards, and they were finally brought back into captivity to start a breeding programme. and then over the last line of 20—25 yea rs, then over the last line of 20—25 years, we've got a lot better at actually looking at snow leopards in the world and trying to find out how many snow leopards are actually out there. we believe there's probably

about 3500-7000 there. we believe there's probably about 3500—7000 snow leopards in the wild, a lot higher than 30 years ago. snow leopards here are hopefully going to play a part. on the breeding programme we have successfully bred here in the past. these two have been paired up for about a year and we are hoping they will go on and breed successfully in the future. we are looking at some beautiful cubs from the snow leopard trust. before that, possibly the inclusion of footage may have come from your own park, i'm not sure. it isa from your own park, i'm not sure. it is a real thrill for you to be looking at the prospect of cubs ain? looking at the prospect of cubs again? oh, yeah, definitely. there is nothing better. it's a great way to raise awareness to help the plight of snow leopards in the world. our two are part of the breeding programme and hopefully they will breed from a genetic point of view so we have a strong line in captivity. but more importantly, we are trying to raise awareness and money and funds to help charities in the world protect these amazing animals out in their natural habitat. and on that front, talk to

us habitat. and on that front, talk to us about the level of protection thatis us about the level of protection that is needed ? us about the level of protection that is needed? we are now hearing they have been declassified as being invaded. is that something that you're concerned about? -- being in danger. yes, it's great news in some ways, but you don't want it to be misleading. you know, snow leopards are still on the decline in the world, there are threats in every single country, probably around 12-13 single country, probably around 12—13 countries that they live in throughout the whole of the himalaya region. there are different threats in every country. urging, habitat loss, cumin — animal conflict, it is a real, major worry for them. loss, cumin — animal conflict, it is a real, majorworry forthem. even though numbers are better than we thought, they are still declining, just not at probably the rate that we first imagined. clearly breeding programmes like yours help. but in terms of the animals in their natural habitats, given the threats they face, how much is being done around the world to try and deal with those issues? well, we havili support two different charities. the snow leopard