this is bbc news. i'm ben brown. the headlines at midday: on the first day of the conservative conference, theresa may says she's sorry the party didn't win a majority at the general election. i know people who went out during that election who worked really hard and i'm sorry the result was not the one all of us wanted. 38 people are injured as voters clash with riot police in the spanish region of catalonia, as many try to take part in a banned referendum on independence. the low—cost travel company, monarch, has been granted a 24—hour extension to its licence to sell package holidays. an air france flight was forced to make a sudden diversion when it lost part of an engine over the atlantic. also in the next hour — the closing ceremony of the invictus games. founder prince harry wants to expand the event in the future, saying ‘the sky's the limit‘. and at 12.30, click looks

at all things battery, from how to keep your smartphone charged to the mountain storing energy in lakes. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. one the first day of the conservative conference, theresa may says she's sorry the party didn't win a majority at the general election. the prime minister is also seeking to enhance her party's appeal to younger voters by outlining changes to student funding and has indicated that graduates won't have to start repaying loans until they earn £25,000 a year. let's go live to assistant political

editor norman smith, who is at the party conference in manchester. good afternoon. thanks very much indeed. i think one thing we can say is a senior tories are desperate for this conference not to be just about brexit and brexit and brexit. which is why we had this announcement is trying to ease the pressure on students, with a couple of initiatives. 0ne, freezing the current level of tuition fees so they do not go up from £9,250 up to 9500 and increasing the threshold at which graduates begin paying back from £21,000 to £25,000. that is promised as a fundamental review of the current funding system for student fees. downing street are saying nothing is ruled out, although on a graduate of tax they say that is not their preferred

option. they seem to be looking at possibly shorter courses, maybe two yea rs, possibly shorter courses, maybe two years, which would not cost so much. and crucially trying to get universities do have different levels of fees rather than jacking all of them up to the maximum level. we will listen to the prime minister speaking about her plans at this morning on andrew marr‘s programme. this is not as an issue, people think about student finances, something that worries student themselves, this is something that parents and grandparents are concerned about in terms of debt. so we have a system that provides funding for universities, as is that which ensures more people can go to university but people are worried about the level of debt that the students build up. so we will look at it again. she might not want us to talk about brexit all the time but we will spend an awful lot of time talking about it because of one brian johnson. yesterday he appeared to

set out new red lines on brexit in the wake of his telegraph article. a fortnight ago he paid accusations from the home secretary of being a back—seat driver. he is now suggesting we should not have a transition period lasting one moment longer than two years, we must not ta ke longer than two years, we must not take any new rules from the eu in that time, and we must not seek to shadow brussels as we leave. downing street have played this down but it has reignited speculation about what on earth boris johnson has reignited speculation about what on earth borisjohnson is up to. the prime minister was asked if boris johnson now could not be sacked. he is now behind the line that we have taken. what we have seen with what he has said is the importance we have taken in the florence speech. that has moved the discussion along. it has created a momentum in european negotiations. is he unsackable?

let's be very clear about what we have in this government. we have a government determined to build a country that works for everybody. you talk about the job of boris and mine, ithink the people watching this programme are interested in what we are going to do for their jobs and their futures and that of their children. i take it from a nervous laughter borisjohnson may i take it from a nervous laughter boris johnson may indeed i take it from a nervous laughter borisjohnson may indeed not be stackable. we can speak to a conservative mp and chairman of the select committee for education. does it go nearly far enough? we are now saying to young people they do not have to pay back any of the loan until they earn more than £25,000. that step will help people on low incomes. but we need to do more for young people as a party. we need a message of compassion, social justice and show we are the party of the land of opportunity. and if they

wa nt the land of opportunity. and if they want an education, skill and a house we will get the chance to climb the ladder to give them the prosperity they need for the future. why do they need for the future. why do they not hear that at the moment and is part of the problem you are too focused on pleasing older voters?|j think focused on pleasing older voters?” think many older voters are not on high incomes. just because you are on pension credit does not necessarily mean higher income. that is right we look after the pension population. inevitably things are surrounded by brexit. what we need to say is fair tuition fees, to make sure we are fed to the student and taxpayer but also we need to say to every young person to offer high—quality technical education and apprentice ship. —— air to young people. —— reasonable foryoung people. —— reasonable foryoung people. we need to increase on housing, as well. we know jeremy corbyn has promised to abolish tuition fees altogether. is the

difficulty with your announcement that in comparison it is a minnow of a policy? jeremy corbyn has already rode back on getting rid of student debt and he admitted they are no longer able to afford the 100 billion. we have to be fair to the student and taxpayer. this that important step forward. it is not just about tuition fees and universities. we need to offer young people a lot more. we need to tell them and show them we can give every single young person a high—quality skill, a high—quality apprenticeship invest in the apprentice ship so they earn while they learn and have a job at the end of it. the labour party conference in brighton, there was lots and lots of young members. i was reading the average age of the conservative party is now 72. we have a huge problem with membership of our party and we need to do a lot of our party and we need to do a lot of work to try and change it. i have views we need to democratise the

party more and get the members more involved in policy making and representatives. in my view we need to become a modern trade union in the sense we will offer members services like discounted fuel cards. we need to show people we have a message and we are part of the ladder of opportunity and when we get on the ladder we will help you climb to get the education, the skills, by housing, jobs you need to get security and severity for your future. thanks very much for your time. that will be one of the challenges the prime minister faces at this conference, to shift the focus away from brexit, which will dominate much of the airtime. but we get a sense of some of the ideas she will be talking about, especially tuition fees and that announcement on housing. key areas of calls for younger voters. norman, many thanks. norman smith, assistant political editor in manchester. spanish riot police have broken into polling stations and confiscated ballot boxes, as part of a massive operation to stop a controversial independence referendum going ahead in the north—eastern

region of catalonia. catalan officials have accused the police of "unjustifiable violence" — after officers reportedly fired rubber bullets. many people had queued for hours to ensure they could cast their ballot, despite the government in madrid banning the poll. we have just heard the spanish government have urged catalonia to end what it has called the referendum farce. earlier i spoke to the the europe editorfor the bbc world service mike sanders, who said the catalan government were going against the national government's wishes. and they have repeatedly taken votes towards the process of holding a referendum without authorisation from madrid. the constitutional court in madrid said this ballot should not go ahead because they wa nt should not go ahead because they want time to examine the legit gallop —— the legality. the banish garment is unhappy about that and

there are several other regions in spain which have justifiable claims to autonomy. ask, pelissier, even valencia to the south of catalonia. they would all have some valid claim toa they would all have some valid claim to a greater degree of autonomy. and madrid is wanting to send a message that if that is going to happen you have to negotiate with us properly and not go ahead on your own. what we are seeing now with the spanish, well, riot police on the streets, actually, firing rubber bullets, was that inevitable, that crackdown effectively stopping the referendum, 01’ effectively stopping the referendum, or trying to stop it? it has been like a slow motion car crash. when the government had taken the decision and segregated and said the ballot would not go ahead and then to stop it, in the face of a catalan government determined to hold it, of course they will have to use some degree of force. the local police, the catalan police, have refused the

court orders to seize ballot boxes and sees voting material and it has been left to the national guard, a police force controlled by the interior ministry and defence ministry in madrid, to intervene. that really brings back echoes of the civil war, when madrid was in the civil war, when madrid was in the power, the fascist power, against the republican holdout, catalonia and it has been very bad. andy moore scenes like this we are watching, riot police on the streets, it presumably inflames passions. —— and the more scenes we see like this. what is the mood here? if there were a completely constitutional referendum and everybody was freely allowed to vote, would there be an overwhelming majority for independence in catalonia? basically, no. opinion polls show probably 45 up to 35 against independence. but what the

catalonia ‘s do not like is being told they cannot vote. they want to hold the exercise. and that is where maybe the madrid government might eventually be seen to have made a tactical error. if they had let the ballot go ahead, perhaps there would not have been a vote in favour a nyway not have been a vote in favour anyway or it would have been so close the justification would not be there. these are live pictures of voting in barcelona at a polling station. spanish authorities have been trying to crack down in some areas and we have had scuffles and even rubber bullets being fired, we are hearing, in other areas, people are hearing, in other areas, people are queueing up quite calmly and casting their ballots. either for or against independence. both sides blaming each other, the catalan government blaming the violence we have seen on the spanish national

authorities and the spanish national authorities and the spanish national authorities in madrid saying that the whole referendum being held todayis the whole referendum being held today is a farce, unconstitutional and that any problems on the streets in terms of clashes between people and the police is the fault of the cata la n and the police is the fault of the catalan authorities. but voting is going ahead. there are more than 2000 polling stations altogether. let's talk about what is going on in catalonia today with a journalist for a catalan magazine. he is in barcelona for us right now. thank you for being with us. what is the situation where you are? we are near the station, about a kilometre. they

are deciding whether or not to leave spain. the catalan government is trying to help people, that is protecting the polls and protecting the schools where people are voting from police. because the spanish government has sent a boat with a lot of police and it is going to try to cancel the vote of catalan people and avoid that boat. what is your impression? —— avoid the vote. is it a big turnout of voters?” impression? —— avoid the vote. is it a big turnout of voters? i think it isa a big turnout of voters? i think it is a very important situation and a

very important thing for catalonia and spain. i think the spanish government has stopped all of the terms of catalonia, of reform and autonomy of constitution because they wanted more autonomy and constitutional reform. but the government of main political parties in spain have avoided the insistence of cata la n in spain have avoided the insistence of catalan people to reform that matter, that aspect. and the truth here is that catalonian people are trying to vote, trying to express

their opinions. and the only conversation, the only thing is that the spanish government is more violent and people here are trying to vote peacefully. trying to vote without any violence. catalonian politicians have told in all the meetings and in all the celebrations and frustrations to the people that they had to act peacefully and i think the catalonian people are convinced to vote and that a situation has been developing from yea rs situation has been developing from years ago. ok, thank you very much indeed for being with us. a journalist from a catalan magazine

in barcelona with the latest on the referendum. despite that police crackdown on the referendum, quite a lot of people are casting their ballots. the headlines on bbc news: one the first day of the conservative conference, theresa may says she's sorry the party didn't win a majority at the general election. voters clash with riot police in the spanish region of catalonia, as many try to take part in a banned referendum on independence. 38 people have been injured. the low—cost travel company, monarch, has been granted a 24—hour extension to its licence to sell package holidays. and all the latest sports news now at the bbc sports centre with jessica. thank you very much. max verstappen has won the malaysian grand prix in a thrilling race. there was drama even before the race started. kimi raikkonen had a problem

with his battery, ruling him out of the race. lewis hamilton finished second. he extended his lead in the standings. rival sebastian vettel finished fourth. man city are at the top of the premier league this morning, leading on goal difference ahead of united. both teams are undefeated this season. city defeated chelsea by 1—0 yesterday. united eased past struggling crystal palace 4—0. marouane fellaini scored twice. romelu lukaku got his seventh of the domestic campaign. he has equalled the club record held by andy cole of six goals in seven games for united. arsenal hosting brighton. that starts at midday. currently 1—0, arsenal. nacho monreal putting the gunners ahead. everton monreal putting the gunners ahead. eve rto n fa ce monreal putting the gunners ahead. everton face burnley at goodison park and burnley travel to

newcastle. they will be hoping to put their frustrating run of september results behind them. there are some teams obviously flying. does not mean the others teams should not try to fly, as well. we all do not give up and say, that is so all do not give up and say, that is so good, oh, my god. have a season ticket for manchester, whichever stadium. but we really still try to sort out things and to improve. with all the problems we have had so far, we are still with points. i have no problem with criticism. i only have a problem if people think we cannot sort out our things. moeen ali said he is excited about playing in australia in the ashes series and he thinks they can win even without ben stokes. following the arrest of ben stokes last week after an incident in bristol, the ecb said he would not be considered for selection until further notice. meaning stokes might not travel to australia. we know how good a cricketer he is.

and what he can bring to the table. he is one of the main players that we have. it would be great to have him out there. we will see what happens. i am looking forward to it. i played in australia in the world cup. the wickets are really good out there. i saw them against pakistan and i feel when you get in it feels like it is a good place for batting. two course two course records two course records in cardiff this morning. the second largest half marathon behind a great north run and a record 25,000 people took part this year. the kenyan runners have dominated. the winner of the men's race crossed the finish line in 60 minutes and 40 seconds, setting a new record. followed by his countryman and defending champion. griffith finished fourth in a personal best time of 61 minutes and

32 seconds. brilliant effort by him. in the women's race, edithjulie mote set a course record with her victory, completing a kenyan clean sweep in the women's race. nichols and richie powell winning the wheelchair races. birmingham should know by the end of the year whether their attempt to stage the commonwealth games in 2022 has been successful. it was the only city to submita successful. it was the only city to submit a bid to the federation before the deadline yesterday. the governing body will review the application and check it meets the necessary requirements. the new zealand women's open golfers had plenty to do with yesterday. if you have played a round in challenging conditions, look at this. sweeping storms forcing the event into an unscheduled fifth day. umbrellas turned inside out and advertising hoardings swept down the fairway. this was in windross in auckland.

play was called off late in the afternoon when the violent weather stopped play for the third time. arsenal are playing brighton and it is currently 1—0, arsenal. around 20 minutes gone. i will have more in the next hour. studio: jessica, thank you very much indeed. the low—cost travel company, monarch has been granted a 24—hour extension to its license to sell package holidays. it means travellers who book with the firm until midnight tonight will be covered for their trips. the airline is understood to be in talks to sell part or all of its short—haul operation, as simon cleminson reports. for almost as long as package holidays have been popular, there has been some form of protection in case businesses fail. the government atol scheme ensures that not only do you get a refund if you booked ahead, but if you are already abroad, and the firm you're

travelling with goes bust, you can get home. companies need to prove they are financially robust to get a licence in the first place. under intense pressure from falling prices, a weak pound and shrinking demand because of terror threats in egypt and turkey, monarch is trying to find a buyer for part or all of its shorthaul operation. it is engaged in talks with a large number of potential investors. a 24—hour licence extension to its atol licence means the airline can continue selling in the charter market today and customers will still be covered. monarch also needed a temporary licence last year. ultimately, 10,000 passengers already out of the could be affected. —— already out of the country could be affected. the civil aviation authority is thought to be working on backup plans, using other airlines for the return leg. it says it will provide daily updates. the airline says it continues to work on its future and flights are operating as normal. i have been speaking to simon calder about these problems and he says it

isa about these problems and he says it is a worrying time for customers. this time it is a lot more serious, i'm afraid. i would say the aviation authority assertion they can sell package holidays today is something ofa package holidays today is something of a red herring. because as far as ican see, of a red herring. because as far as i can see, monarchy is not selling anything today. not necessarily because people are not confident they will not be flying next week, next year, but because overnight they have quadrupled prices. i was checking last night. you could fly almost anywhere for £32 from leeds— bradford, manchester, birmingham and gatwick and this morning all the prices have gone up by at least £100. the only thing i can infer is they do not in fact wants to sell any tickets today, because it would increase their exposure if the worst happened and the airline had to shut down. as i am —— as simon gunnarsson said in his report, everything is going normally today. —— simon clementson. people have flown out this morning to italy and greece and our boarding flights to come back as

scheduled. everything is fine today but i honestly cannot speculate if it will be ok tomorrow. more generally what are the problems of moniker? it has been very unlucky. it was committed to sean al sheikh in egypt. but now no british airline can in egypt. but now no british airline ca n fly in egypt. but now no british airline can fly there any more because of security concerns. they have many flights to turkey. demand for that pa rt flights to turkey. demand for that part of the world declined because of terrorist concerns. so it really had to do what everybody else did, plough capacity into short—haul routes into spain, portugal, and competition has been so intense at the height of the summer. you had flights from leeds— bradford going to ibiza for a return of £40 in the middle of august. unheard of. with prices like that every airline has had a tough summer. going into the winter these kinds of prices that they were able to get looks even more impossible. and it seems as

though the investors, who came up with a restructuring plan one year ago with £165 million, have not been able to go to the civil aviation authority with a big bunch of cash and say hey you are, we will keep going for another year. simon calder, travel editor for the independence —— the independent. an air france flight from paris to los angeles carrying more than 500 people was forced to make a sudden diversion when it lost part of an engine over the atlantic. the plane flew for about an hour on three engines before it reached goose bay airport in eastern canada. no—one was injured in the incident, but passengers remained on board hours after the landing. oj simpson has been freed on parole after nine years in prison. the former us football star and actor was approved for release injuly. he has been serving jail time for armed robbery, assault with a deadly weapon and 10 other charges following a

confrontation in las vegas in 2007. prince harry says he hopes to expand the invictus games in the future, week-long eventthat'hetps'wounded' and psychological rehabilitation. the closing ceremony then, a star—studded ending with some of music's biggest names and recognition for one of the game's biggest stars, the uk's mark ormerod, multiple medal winner, the former royal marine commando recognised with the exceptional performance award.

to the thousands who filled the stands this week and the millions who watched at home, let me issue you a challenge. don'tjust move on from these games with happy memories. instead, make an invictus goal for yourself. the invictus games are not just for the these games are for those who need it most. please help us find them. as the scene sets on toronto's games, the flag was passed to the next host. it will be game on down under. i'll see you in australia. sydney taking on the duties. now looking forward to the next invictus games. a line to bring you from hampshire police. they say officers are investigating an incident on the m3.

that was last saturday. they have arrested and charged a 17—year—old boy from winchester. this was on the m3. thousands of people spent many hours stranded. when bomb disposal experts tackled what was described as potentially hazardous material on the road. the main route between london and southampton was closed between junctions nine and 11 for a number of hours in the early hours number of houlunihleaszhew; the two from winchester charged with two of:*‘* with w f ”7 effififigc: — f i“ from winchester charged with two of 2“, with intent . , feign“: — f i , , from winchester charged with two of 2“, with intent to feign“: — f i , , counts of arson with intent to endanger life. two counts of causing dangerfor road endanger life. two counts of causing danger for road users. endanger life. two counts of causing dangerfor road users. he was remanded in police custody to appear at basingstoke magistrates court on monday. news just at basingstoke magistrates court on monday. newsjust in at basingstoke magistrates court on monday. news just in from at basingstoke magistrates court on monday. newsjust in from hampshire police. now the weather with sarah keith lucas. cloud, wind and rain in the forecast today but it will not

bea the forecast today but it will not be a complete write—off. mild and largely dry weather for central and eastern parts of the country. windy wherever you are with outbreaks of rain, especially west scotland, north—west england. drizzle across wales in south—west england. brighter skies returning from the west and temperatures today 14—18. tonight that front pushes towards the east taking the rain away. we are the east taking the rain away. we a re left the east taking the rain away. we are left with windy conditions overnight, particularly across scotland, northern ireland and northern england. showers building here. dry for some and mild with the strength of wind keeping things frost free to start monday. very strong wind across scotland for the monday morning rush hour. we could see 60 mph. less windy further south but wherever you are, blustery with heavy showers in the north and west. dry to the south—east and cooler thanit dry to the south—east and cooler than it has been at 14—18d. goodbye for now.