today at 5pm, police say they would have questioned the former prime minister, sir edward heath, about allegations of sexual abuse, had he still been alive. sir edward, who died 12 years ago, would have been questioned about allegations of indecent assault, and the rape of an 11—year—old boy. he would have been interviewed under caution in order to obtain his account in relation to the allegations made against him. sir edward's friends and supporters say the police report is highly unsatisfactory and unfair, despite the conclusion that no inference of guilt should be made. i don't believe any of the allegations from what i know and have known of the man for 50 years. we'll be talking to lord macgregor, the former cabinet minister who once served as sir edward's adviser. the other main stories on bbc news at 5: after yesterday's eventful conference speech, an effort by ministers, to bolster

the prime minister's position. the prime minister will continue in her role to do an excellentjob. she has my full support. in las vegas, officials look into the theory that the gunman planned to escape, and may have had help to plan the massacre. this year's nobel prize for literature has been awarded to the british author kazuo ishiguro. he says he's amazed and surprised by the news. and finally when the bbc friend i thought it might be true! chuckling because i am old—fashioned, i trust the bbc. ch uckling home nations in action to qualify for the world cup finals in russia next summer, england will go through if they beat slovenia tonight. it's five o'clock.

our main story is that police have been heavily criticised for their handling of an investigation into the former prime minister sir edward heath, who died 12 years ago. police said today that if he'd been alive, sir edward would have been questioned under caution, about allegations of historical child abuse, made by seven individuals, including an allegation of raping an 11—year—old boy. but the police said that no inference of guilt should be drawn from their report, which took two years to produce. friends of sir edward say the report is ‘profoundly unsatisfactory‘, and they've called for a judge—led inquiry to settle the matter once and for all, as our correspondent richard galpin now reports. sir edward heath, conservative prime minister in the early 19705, is remembered for much, including taking the country into what would become the european union. also whilst prime minister, he famously skippered one of the yachts which won the admiral‘s cup.

but since his death 12 years ago, allegations of child sex abuse have come to the fore. today, wiltshire police announced that allegations made by seven people would have led to the former prime minister being questioned if he was still alive. the offences where he would have been interviewed under caution are one allegation of rape of a male under 16. three allegations of indecent assault on a male under 16. four allegations of indecent assault on a male under 1a. and two allegations of indecent assault on a male over 16. it is clearly inappropriate to speculate what his response would have been to the allegations put to him, and no inference of guilt should be drawn by the decision to interview him. but the police investigation,

launched two years ago outside mr heath's house, has been bitterly criticised by those who knew him. it seems to have begun with a conclusion it wanted to reach, and so it has behaved in a way that would enable that to happen. so i don't think it begun with the police saying, "let's see what we find." it began with the police saying, "this is what we want to find, and we will do our damnedest to make sure we get that." there were allegations that the former prime minister abused dozens of other people, but the police dismissed these. some because of undermining evidence, others because the police believed the claims were false. the former director of public prosecutions ken mcdonald believes the whole investigation was an exercise by the police to cover their backs at the expense of a dead man. "shame on them," he wrote. there are calls now for an independent judicial inquiry

to try to determine whether or not mr heath was involved in child abuse. but with the former prime minister long dead, the truth may never be known. our correspondent helena lee is at wiltshire police headquarters in swindon. what are the implications for possible next steps, if they exist? i think officers here who gave that news c0 nfe re nce i think officers here who gave that news conference earlier on today on this investigation that has been going on for two years now, they we re going on for two years now, they were ready for what they have seen today, criticism of the investigation itself. you may remember in 2015, they held a very high profile press conference outside of the former prime

minister's house here in wiltshire, asking for alleged victims to come forward. what we heard from the chief comes to hear at the police station is that he said he was satisfied that they had compelling reasons to investigate what he says are serious allegations. he says i believe was the moral, ethical and professional thing to do. in terms of those critics, friends of sir edward the, they feel that the investigation into a man who is not here to be able to answer these allegations is only going to leave a dark stain on his reputation. but in terms of what happens next, this report has now been handed over to the independent enquiry into child sexual abuse, who will look at this report, they say, but the crown prosecution service cannot recommend any prosecution in this case, of course, because sir edward heath is no longer alive. the former cabinet minister lord macgregor was sir edward

heath's private secretary in the 1960s. it was in the middle of the 19605 had three years, i was head of his private office, which is the equivalent of being principal private secretary at number ten were, when he was leader of the 0ppo5ition and i went everywhere with him, abroad, long meetings, often well into the night. and before an election, so going around the country a lot with him every weekend, and i have not the 5lightest sign of anything that he has now been accused of, never, and i was with him so often. and after all, when he became prime minister, he had all his security people alongside him, and on yacht5, you can't go off and do something secret ona can't go off and do something secret on a yacht. so i am just rather amazed at this and this very important to stress, as you did in your introduction, of the 42 allegations, only seven have actually been gone forward, and that the police to stress that there is

no suggestion of guilt, no inference of guilt should be drawn by the fact he would have been interviewed under caution. the second point is it is the wrong way to go about it. we will pick up on that certainly. there will be lots of people thinking, given the seriousness of some of these coins, —— complaints, the police were right to get through them in some detail?|j the police were right to get through them in some detail? i think it is them in some detail? i think it is the nature of the enquiry that is wrong. the fact they asked for anyone to come forward, that was an invitation to fantasi5t5, tho5e anyone to come forward, that was an invitation to fantasi5t5, those who have a grudge against 5ociety invitation to fantasi5t5, those who have a grudge against societyju5t come forward and make the allegations. and then how thoroughly that was done, i think we will find in the end that the evidence is pretty 5lim indeed. in the end that the evidence is pretty slim indeed. when they say they had a moral, ethical and

professional case for moving forward , professional case for moving forward, on those three grounds, which would you question?” forward, on those three grounds, which would you question? i am not questioning them, i am questioning the fact that i think it should have been an independent enquiry independent of the police, and i think we have cases with lord brittan and lord bramall too, where accusations were made, which made theirfamilies's accusations were made, which made their families's life a misery in their families's life a misery in their later years, and their families's life a misery in their later yea rs, and they their families's life a misery in their later years, and they were never properly investigated by an independent enquiry, and that is why so many of us feel this is what should be done now with the report that has come out, an independent enquiry by an independentjudgment or the ability to question people about it. do you think that is practical, in that sir edward i5 about it. do you think that is practical, in that sir edward is not here obviously to defend himself, we are talking about a span of maybe a0 or 50 years, what will a judge leading fiery achieve? or 50 years, what will a judge leading fiery achieve ?|j or 50 years, what will a judge leading fiery achieve? i think it could actually rather more strongly

enquire into the allegations that we re enquire into the allegations that were being made, given that most of us were being made, given that most of us think it is just not like the man at all, that it should be independently done, independent of the police, by a judge, perhap5 independently done, independent of the police, by a judge, perhaps a retired judge or an existing judge was used to doing the sort of things, and can actually inquisition quite hard. a thought about the way the police handled this. you said you thought you mentioned the appeal for people to come forward, and the fa ct for people to come forward, and the fact that they held a kind of press conference outside sir edward's former home in salisbury, there are two things, you made the point about the kind of enquiry, are you being more directly critical about the actual methods used by police here? i was critical of the way they 5ta rted i was critical of the way they started because it was an invitation to fa ntasi5ts and started because it was an invitation to fantasi5ts and anyone who wanted to fantasi5ts and anyone who wanted to make an accusation. i am not so critical of the way they did it, there wasn't any independent and the whole thing. richard dawkins i think

he is called from the university of 0xford, criminologist, who was asked to assess the likeness of the people coming forward, and he was very critical of the people who were giving the evidence that the police took up. so he was asked not to continue further with the case. i heard him on the radio making a very 5trong heard him on the radio making a very strong case that it was not properly done. lord mcgregor, i hope you don't mind while we are talking about the former prime minister, but the current prime minister, clearly there are lots of talks about her after the speech yesterday and we will be talking to your former colleagues, lord lamont, in a few moments. iju5t wonderwhat colleagues, lord lamont, in a few moments. i just wonder what your view is as a seasoned political ob5erver view is as a seasoned political observer of the current state of the party, and do you think that the party, and do you think that the party should be rallying around there5a may? party should be rallying around theresa may? i was very sorry for her yesterday actually, this awful throat, which is not and i5 her yesterday actually, this awful throat, which is not and is the way to make a big speech. the fact that that comedian came in, which is

really a worrying security thing. she could have been bumped off. the fa ct she could have been bumped off. the fact that he did that, and then something went wrong in the back. the5e something went wrong in the back. these are all trivial things. the point is she was making a very good case, i think. point is she was making a very good case, ithink. a5 point is she was making a very good case, i think. a5 to your point about what will happen now, i am not the house of commons any longer and it would be a mati fernandez of parliament. but i think actually we will settle down and agree that with all the complexities and challenges of brexit going through, we have to keep the party united. that means no change of leader? that means no change of leader? that means no change of leader? that means no change of leader, certainly a5 change of leader? that means no change of leader, certainly as we are going through this process. lord mcgregor, thank you for coming in. the former conservative cabinet minister and former adviser to sir edward heath. senior ministers are engaged in a sustained effort, to bolster the prime minister's position after yesterday's blighted conference speech, and to dismiss any talk of a challenge to her leadership. but there are growing signs of disaffection on the back benches, with former minister ed vaizey,

a close colleague of david cameron, suggesting that yesterday's 5peech had left a number of his colleagues convinced that the time had come for her to resign, and that he was finding it ‘increasingly difficult to see a way forward'. it‘s being reported at westminster that a number of conservative mp5 are discussing whether to ask mrs may to stand down. 0ur political correspondent leila nathoo reports, her report does contain some flashing images. this wasn‘t how it was supposed to go. the chaotic course of a speech meant to bolster her position, has left there5a may exposed and vulnerable. this morning, though, senior cabinet ministers have rallied to defend her. what did you think of mrs may‘5 speech? very brave, very good speech. the prime minister will continue in her role to do an excellentjob. does she still have yourfull 5upport? she has my full support. factor5 beyond her control — a cold, prank, a crumbling 5et — all conspired to present a leader struggling. she pushed on to the end,

winning support from the crowd. but her performance rai5ed que5tion5 again about how long she can carry on. in public, most people are being pretty loyal. i think in private people are very concerned. i think there‘ll be quite a few people who will now be pretty firmly of the view that she should resign. the tory party conference was a great opportunity to reboot the party and therefore reboot the country, to give a clear sense of direction, and that didn‘t happen, so i‘m finding it increasingly difficult to see a way forward. westminster can be a fickle place, where political careers can quickly rise and fall. ever since the election and the loss of her parliamentary majority, there has been talk among tory mp5 about there5a may‘5 future. now a group of her critics are considering a renewed pu5h to persuade her to go. but what remains unclear, is whether a critical mass of backbencher5 will materialise to try to force her out. foreign secretary, is the prime minister going to resign? if she does go, who takes her place? he‘s been touted as a potential successor, but he has plenty of opponents, too. talk of leadership does nothing but shift the momentum

towards labour, and nobody wants a general election, and nobody wants us to be distracted from the real challenge, which is showing we have a vision for this country for the 21st—century. that‘s what there5a may wanted to set out in her speech. away from de5tabili5ing talk about the fragility of her position, for now she will be hoping to recover, regroup, and get on with herjob. the former conservative chancellor, lord lamont is with me. thanks forjoining u5. thanks forjoining us. your view of the prime minister‘s po5ition, thanks forjoining us. your view of the prime minister‘s position, is it considerably weakened after yesterday, or not? whatever people think about there5a may, for or against, i don‘t believe for one minute anyone serious could change their mind because she had a cold and sore throat. that really would be ridiculous, or because a letter

fell off the platform. the question i5, fell off the platform. the question is, was it a good speech? i believe had she been able to deliver in a normal way, it would have been a pretty effective good conference 5peech pretty effective good conference speech and would have been regarded a5 speech and would have been regarded as having brought the party together. i think many people would have admired her dignity, her courage have admired her dignity, her courage in carrying on her determination, and i think those are some of the qualities that she has that actually are going to start this country row well. i think what people ought to remember before they pitch in is that we are facing a very serious situation at the moment. we are facing this ma55ively important negotiation, and the last thing we want is political instability, and conservative mp5, mo5t instability, and conservative mp5, most of them, actually, are rallying around, i would say the vast majority. but anyone who i think steps out of line is really damaging not just the interest of the conservative party but the interest of the country. i think they ought

to bea of the country. i think they ought tobeaa of the country. i think they ought to be a a lot more careful. we have heard one or two of them, ed vaizey, who was a great ally of david cameron, however the word we‘re saying is that yesterday was just adding to the perception that the prime minister possibly wa5n‘t up to thejob. you say prime minister possibly wa5n‘t up to the job. you say that is a ridiculous over reading? it is ludicrous to say because something falls off a wall... but perceptions and politics are very strong. but it i5 and politics are very strong. but it is up to us to mould perceptions and pointy ball on the right direction. there is no obvious alternative to the prime minister. i think she has done a very good job. she was a very effective home secretary for a very long period of time, came through thejob, which has blown a hole in many political reputations over the years. i think she is perfectly

capable of being an outstanding prime ministerfor this capable of being an outstanding prime minister for this country. we had an election, which as we acknowledge, wa5 had an election, which as we acknowledge, was not what she wanted to have, but given five years, and what people tend to forget, it is five years nearly until the next election, the question is can she recover? i believe yes. can we have a good outcome from brexit? i believe yes. and crucially can the government build achievement after brexit in time for the next election, and i believe it can. you tapped into that answer very neatly a remark that was there is no other real alternative credibly, or words to that effect. if there were to be an alternative that he thought was credible combo maybe you would not be making the robust case you are making today? i do believe in any circumstances a leadership election would be right now in the middle of the brexit negotiation. to have one i5 the brexit negotiation. to have one is merely to invite the europeans to pre55 is merely to invite the europeans to press us even is merely to invite the europeans to pre55 us even harder, to make it more difficult to get a satisfactory

outcome to the negotiations. so you are right to pick me up on it, it is not just that it are right to pick me up on it, it is notjust that it is a question there is no obvious successor, though i don‘t believe there is, but actually i think it would be totally wrong in principle, even if there were some giant standing there obviously waiting. final point, on a personal level, given the immense pressure on the prime minister, any prime minister the job, the prime minister, any prime minister thejob, regardless the prime minister, any prime minister the job, regardless of the circumstances now, which are even more exceptional, do you think mrs may is feeling the pressure?” more exceptional, do you think mrs may is feeling the pressure? i am sure she is feeling the pressure, but as someone once said when i was chancellor, life is not meant to be easy. but i think she understands that, and whatever else she is, she is extremely determined. i think she has the ability to steer this country through a very difficult situation. thank you for coming in. it is 20 past five. now some of the day‘s other news. stay with us as just after 5.30 we‘ll be getting the view of two

westminster insiders anne mcelvoy of the economist and sam coates of the times. the girlfriend of stephen paddock, the man who shot dead 58 people in las vegas, has said she had no idea what he was planning. marilou danley, who was in the philippines at the time of the attack, is being questioned by the fbi. police say paddock spent years building up his arsenal of weapons, but it‘s still unclear why he carried out the attack. what can you tell us about the investigation? police are still working very hard to try and determine a motive. why did stephen paddock carry out this brutal massacre? as you say, one of the key areas of the investigation is of course speaking to his girlfriend merrily dudley, that is because they say there is actually very little they can find out about him. he had no real trace on social media, very few close friends so it has been

very difficult for them to ascertain much about him and his movements. but there are more than 100 fbi officers working across the country on this case. one area they are looking at is that he bought around 30 guns in october of last year and one thing they are looking into is whether some event was the cause of why he bought these 30 guns in one go. so that is something they are looking at. and the fact that he booked a room in another hotel in las vegas about a week or so before this attack took place, and the room that the book actually overlooked another music festival here, so they are trained to work out whether he wa nted are trained to work out whether he wanted to try to target that one. what is the position with access to any of those rooms? can you tell us any of those rooms? can you tell us any more about that?” any of those rooms? can you tell us any more about that? i took a wonder over to the mandalay hotel earlier. from where i am, it isjust a walk down the road, past what has become a growing makeshift vigil to the

victims, lots of candles and flowers and they are expecting as many as 10,000 people tonight at a vigil by the police academy. as you walk along the road, watch truck me is the stage from the route 91 music festival, which is where the attack took place, is still there and the signs as well, showing that festival was there. that is on one side of the road, and there is a big and busy highway in the middle, about a a—lane stretch. 0n the other side of the road, quite far back, the mandalay hotel. you can see it behind me. it was from the 32nd floor of that hotel that stephen paddock took fire. but it really is quite astonishing to see the distance from which the stage was and the people would have been crowded, and of course his hotel room. it would have taken meticulous planning on his part to actually pick a room that had the right angle, and indeed it shows you just how powerful those weapons must have been to have been able to carry across a busy highway and target those people. thank you very much

again. and for those impressions of the room and what happens there in las vegas. 23 minutes past five. spain‘s constitutional court has provisionally suspended a session of catalonia‘s parliament, scheduled for monday, amid fears that it could vote to declare independence for the region. the ruling follows a complaint brought by the socialist party of catalonia, which fears that such a move would be in breach of the constitution, resulting in parliamentarians being stripped of their powers. 0ur europe correspondent damian grammaticas is in barcelona. spain‘s constitutional court said it was hearing this case as a matter of urgency and it has provisionally suspended that session of the cata la n suspended that session of the catalan parliament. what it says is if the catalan leaders press ahead

with that, the session will be null and void, and those who do push ahead with it could face serious legal sanctions. what is interesting is that the case was brought to the constitutional court by one of the cata la n constitutional court by one of the catalan regional political parties opposed to independence for colonia —— catalonia, the session‘s party, not the centralist government in madrid. the socialist party here asked the constitutional court to step in, saying this would be a violation of the spanish constitution and of the rights of deputies here. the constitutional court has agreed there are important questions that this raises, because of course the constitutional court had already been involved in this whole dispute. it had already ruled that the referendum was illegal. cata la n that the referendum was illegal. catalan separatist has pushed ahead anyway, ignoring the constitution, but the question now is will they continue to ignore it again, and will they try to press ahead with

that session, because remember what they were talking about is holding they were talking about is holding the session on monday to validate the session on monday to validate the result of that referendum, and from that could flow their attempt to make a unilateral declaration of independence. now we have had one response from the president of the cata la n response from the president of the catalan parliament just on response from the president of the catalan parliamentjust on twitter, she said is this the way to respond to an offer, a dialogue, meaning the cata la n to an offer, a dialogue, meaning the catalan authorities here, the president had offered dialogue with madrid, but what the spanish government itself has been saying is that it will not talk to the catalan authorities while it says it is being blackmailed by them. that is the government‘s view. it says the authorities are pursuing an illegal path, a legal actions, it would discuss with them until they drop their desire to call for independence unilaterally. we have her that again from the spanish prime minister today. a new ratcheting of tensions here and the critical thing will be over catalans

press ahead on monday and what will spain do? alfred bosch is the president of barcelona city council‘s erc group — the republican left of catalonia — who back independence from spain — and hejoins me now from barcelona. your thoughts on the constitutional court‘s decision today? what does it mean? it is a bit bizarre, because the session had not been scheduled officially, still it has been suspended. but my opinion is that they mightjust suspended. but my opinion is that they might just spend suspended. but my opinion is that they mightjust spend one session or 200 sessions, but nobody will prevent the catalan parliament from freely discussing whatever it is they wish to discuss. 0h freely discussing whatever it is they wish to discuss. oh well, that is mr bosch, i‘m afraid, a bit vague latch —— glitch on the web link. if we get him back which we will try to do will talk to him that bit more. are you still with us? yes, i'm here. sorry, the line stuck for a

second. tell us a little about where we stand on this political stand—off? how do you see the balance of power? well, the spanish government said it would avoid a clamp—down on the referendum last sunday. they did it, they sent military police and the spanish police to suppress this but people still voted. in the midst of disruption and police violence. but people voted, so now we have a mandate, which we have to push through because that is the will of the people and we have to deliver. thank you forjoining us, good to talk to you, alfred bosch, the president of the erc, the republican left of catalonia. it is 5:27pm, a look at the headlines in just a moment. a full update on the sport but ben is herewith the weather. a bit of a turbulent start this morning but things have been coming

down as the thing has gone on. winds have fallen lighter, quite a lot of sunshine around and with the wind is continuing to ease as we go through the evening, and most of the showers, you can see them here on the satellite picture, most of these will fade away and that is a recipe for what will be quite a chilly night actually. clear skies are many as we had through into the first pa rt as we had through into the first part of friday. underneath is clear, starry skies, there could be the odd fog patch. even in towns or cities, 69 degrees, in the countryside across northern england, northern ireland and scotland, some places will get the freezing, even just a touch below. don‘t be surprised to see a tetchy frost tomorrow morning but it is a nice looking day. good spells of sunshine. england and wales holding on to that of the day. western scotland seeing more cloud an outbreak of rain and strengthening winds later and highs of 12 to 15 celsius. saturday, mostly cloudy with some rain at times, drier but not particularly bright enough on sunday. this is bbc news — the headlines: police say they would have

questioned the former prime minister sir edward heath about allegations of sexual abuse, had he still been alive. he would have been interviewed under caution in order to obtain his account in relation to the allegations made against him. a downing street source says that "resignation is not an issue" for theresa may after yesterday‘s eventful conference speech. the fbi says it is yet to find evidence that sunday‘s shooting in las vegas — which killed 58 people — was linked to terrorism. spain‘s constitutional court has provisionally suspended a session of catalonia‘s parliament, scheduled for monday, amid fears that it could vote to declare independence for the region. sport now, here‘s will perry. good evening, busy night of world

cup qualifiers with england, northern ireland and scotland all in action later, we will be live at hampden park later but england hoping to secure their place in russia with a win at wembley, 0llie foster is there for us. hello, another one of those fairly stress —free another one of those fairly stress—free qualification campaigns for england starting with the one match in charge of sam allardyce, he was sacked, gareth southgate came an almost exactly 12 months ago, win against malta and a bump in the road was a draw away to slovenia, tonights opponents. and drew against scotla nd tonights opponents. and drew against scotland but it‘s looking good for gareth southgate‘s side, five points clear at the top of the group, slovenia and lithuania to play, if they get two points, a win will do it tonight, they will qualify automatically for russia are not have the stress of finishing as a runner—up. it‘s a qualification

strea k runner—up. it‘s a qualification streak they‘ve not lost in eight yea rs. streak they‘ve not lost in eight years. harry cane wearing the captain‘s years. harry cane wearing the captain ‘s armband, years. harry cane wearing the captain‘s armband, we asked when a full—time captain would be chosen and gareth southgate is quite happy rotating it at the moment but we will have somebody in charge when and if they qualify for russia. harry kane in an believable form. crunch time for scotland. katie gornall is north of the border for us gornall is north of the border for us at hampden park. yes and you get a sense there is a lot of nerves among the fans and the scottish press because there is so much riding on this game for scotland. if they win this match and the next one in slovenia they will finish second and geta in slovenia they will finish second and get a place in the play—offs but lose tonight and they are out. even now i draw wouldn‘t mathematically eliminate them it would see them

rely on an unlikely set of results elsewhere so that‘s why this is being talked up as a must win game. they lost to slovakia 3—0 last time out but this is a more confident side, more momentum, but two of the players who helped create that momentum, scott brown and stewart armstrong are out. but at this point in time it is still in scotland‘s hands which at one stage in the campaign seemed unlikely. thank you. northern ireland guaranteed a place in group c and a point should be enough to earn them a place in the play—offs but they are taking on world champions germany. but michael neill says his side are in a strong position. we have a group of players that enjoy being together. we have a three, three and a half great years where it‘s been constant progression. we are enjoying where we are at this minute in time. still a lot to play for, a lot of football still to be played but to be in this

position it something, i would not say we would have dreamt of but certainly something we believed we we re certainly something we believed we were capable of achieving off the back of the euros but we knew how difficult it was going to be. tha nkfully difficult it was going to be. thankfully we ran a great position coming into this game. zak hardaker has been priced out of the castleford tigers squad face leeds j'uj'u castleford tigers squad face leeds juju a breach of club rules. no details have been given but it must be serious to drop one of the most important players for the biggest game in the head district. he‘s been a hugely influentialfigures game in the head district. he‘s been a hugely influential figures and joining from leeds scoring 13 tries in 30 games. he has been nominated for the man of steel award this season. you can find more on the stories in the bbc website. more for you in sportsday at 6:30pm. more now on the news that senior tories have been jumping to theresa may‘s defence — after her mishap laden speech to the conservative party conference. there are reports of backbenchers

possibly talking about a possible leadership challenge, is any of that true? the deputy political editor of the times — sam coates is in our westminster studio and anne mcelvoy, senior editor at the economist and columnist at the london evening standard — is in our central london studio for us. what‘s going on? what's going on? i think what is is going on is after conference, it was a bit ofa going on is after conference, it was a bit of a shocking day yesterday, people went away very much weighed down by the sense that theresa may‘s speech, partly her own fault and partly bad luck had not gone well at all. the dangerous point from leaders in that position if i look back to a lot of leaders, i have covered a lot of conservative party conferences, it is the bitjust after. you go home, you‘re in shock and you say she did her best,

determination is a word which is being spun but people go away and think did she answer the question we we re think did she answer the question we were asking, are we better off with horror or are we better off taking a chance on a transitional candidate? my chance on a transitional candidate? my feeling is that the search is now seriously honour for that figure. behind the scenes you‘ve got a lot of agitation, disaffected mp5 thinking this is not going anywhere. if it goes on like this i could lose my seat. but where do those boats land and could they ever come to view of of the credible candidates? it was hard enough last time. banks. sam, norman lamont saying earlier there is no credible alternative which is part of the reason he thought theresa may should not be challenged, how do you read it?” think the market amongst tory mps has moved in the last week against

her. the question being asked that the moment is do they think she's going to be able to do the whole brexit negotiation up to 2019, they seem to conclude she cannot so should she go before then? maybe if they can find a candidate and there are names floating around, the frontrunners you have heard, boris johnson, he's extremely unpopular in large parts of the party right now evenif large parts of the party right now even if activists like him. could it be someday like david davis who could do brexit in the way it's being done at the moment? but he is also something of a throwback. somebody like michael fallon, maybe a slightly fresher cabinet figure but there is no agreement so it's a short—term burst of activity, an attempt by some people to gather names in order to test the level of desire to get rid of her immediately and a sort of acceptance theresa may is not the candidate, the prime minister they hoped she would be.

but the problems were conservative party are bigger than this. theresa may went into conference last week with the divided cabinet on brexit, without a majority or any money to spend to deliver a different vision and a variable public presentation and a variable public presentation and problems doing interviews. getting rid of her would deal with the third one but not the first two and those are the big challenges. for that it is unclear how we get through it. what is your perspective on that and i will ask both of you, are you ruling out or not ruling out some kind of move, let‘s say, in the medium term by which i mean a couple of months? i would not rule that out at all. the other thing i would add, the thing i was writing about today is when they get into looking at the legislative burden this government has taken on, parliament returns next week and i think they have bitten off more than they can chew. a government with a slight majority

which for reasons best known to theresa may in the summer put together an ambitious queen‘s speech, so you have all sorts of legislation, much of it very prone to amendments and being argued over and people trying to make alliances to hold up government bills and the labour whips will be onto that. i think what you will see is a series of very difficult roads in the commons, possibly a series of defeats as well. perhaps give theresa may the benefit of the doubt, she might play her hand cleverly but unless she‘s very lucky in the autumn she will look like she‘s taken one ball after another. at that point it often becomes a tipping point even if there is no particularly credible or a unifying candidate when people simply say enough is enough, we will move to a transition, saw that happen, going from william hague, iain duncan smith, michael howard, none of them ever got to be prime minister but they at least had a go at trying to steady the party. we could be into

that period, not much a handover but slalom, see who is in charge by the time they get to the bottom of the slope. that point about the legislative burden, that‘s a very very relevant one. there is also the budget coming up, there is no money, the amount of money is minimal, the tories have tough and challenging fiscal rules. the bills accumulated since the last budget are enormous andl since the last budget are enormous and i was surprised to see them spending billions this week on announcements which did not get much positive publicity and some conservative mps and cabinet ministers were suggesting might have to be reformed. i don't know how they get through this, that's the problem. it probably unbridgeable gap on brexit. theresa may is a vassal prime minister with little authority around the top table. the

question being asked is can she hang on or is she doing the kind of damage to the conservative party that you saw in the run—up to the 1997 election that put the tories out of power for 13 years? the more they look like it's the latter the quicker she is to go. you asked if you asked if she can hang on, does she want to? i think she has a real sense of duty towards her party and she spent many years trying to get to the top of it, she was very frustrated in the david cameron either, felt she was sidelined and she really wanted the job. it‘s either, felt she was sidelined and she really wanted thejob. it‘s been a feel of tears, she came into it thinking she could triangulate or somehow balance these different wings of her party over brexit and i think that is proving impossible, difficult or not impossible for whoever is in charge. i think she also doesn‘t want a go like this. i

had to those close to her she was extremely distraught last night, felt she had had bad luck but also had a bad day, blames herself to a large extent. i think she wants to get out of this series of pratfalls. she does not like being seen as inept. she does not mind being accused of being a bit wooden, even accused of being a bit wooden, even a bit of the old—fashioned style of politics. she does not like populism. but what she doesn‘t like is the view that she seen as incompetent or incapable. if there was another time when she could put up was another time when she could put up our hands and say i can see this isn‘t going to be possible she might go in those circumstances. she doesn‘t want to be pushed out like this which is why it might take longer than people are saying. what is your sense of the prime minister appetite? i can only guess. we know she takes her sense of duty strongly. if she feels that sense of

duty is that she should resign and handover to another candidate then so handover to another candidate then so be it. but theresa may is a famously unreadable person. she's not a people person. i don't really know, i suspect she will do whatever she is told in the best interests of the party. fascinating to talk to both of you, thank you both for your thoughts. sales of new cars in the uk have fallen for six months in a row. the society of motor manufacturers and traders says the number of new car registrations is down 9.3% on this time last year. it marks the first time in six years that figures have fallen in the september market, a key month for car sales. 0ur economics correspondent andy verity has the details. if you want a test of consumer confidence, it‘s here, in aluminium, steel and glass. consumers don‘t shell out thousands for a new car if they‘re uncertain about the nearfuture, and right now, according to car dealers, they‘re not confident. people are seeing the headlines, seeing growth forecasts being a lot lower.

certainly the confidence in the economy doesn‘t seem to be as strong as it once was. that‘s been borne out by some recent figures. so it‘sjust causing consumers to delay purchasing. how long they‘ll delay them for remains to be seen, but certainly we are seeing the impact now and it‘s really beginning to accelerate. after record sales last year, a drop of 1.2% in registrations of new petrol—fuelled cars doesn‘t look so bad. what sent the figures plummeting was sales of new diesel cars, down by more than a fifth. what‘s put us off diesel? proven to be not as clean as they originally thought they were, and polluting a lot, so i wouldn‘t even think of buying a petrol car. i‘m a hybrid man now. there's lots of things in the news about diesel at the moment. and is it carcinogenic and fumes coming off? i know that my mum tells my dad not to get diesel cars. why have you decided to buy a diesel car? i don't know, i think i made a mistake. i didn't know what was going to happen to legislation in respect of

diesel cars or what the price of diesel will be in the future, so i think my next car will be something else. car—makers say mixed signals from the government about diesel cars has sown confusion. the new models give off less carbon dioxide and won‘t face additional charges or bands. most manufacturers now offer scrappage schemes where you trade in your diesel and get £2000 off your next purchase, but that hasn‘t stopped sales dropping. people are concerned about the values of diesels — if they buy diesel, can they sell it on? will they be penalised in clean air zones or by taxation purposes. in a lot of cases new diesels won‘t be penalised in clean air zones, which will come as a surprise to a lot of people, and we are waiting to hear on the clarification around taxation on diesels in the autumn budget. sales of electric and hybrid carsjumped by a third compared to last year, but they were the exception. with other big purchases like sofas also selling poorly, the consumers‘ readiness to spend more than ever before on cheap credit is gradually becoming exhausted.

andy verity, bbc news. this is bbc news at 5 — the headlines: police say the former prime minister, sir edward heath, would have been questioned over seven allegations of indecent assault and rape — if he was still alive. ministers rally round theresa may following the mishaps she experienced during her conference speech yesterday. the fbi says it is yet to find evidence that sunday‘s shooting in las vegas — which killed 58 people — was linked to terrorism. an update on the market numbers for you — here‘s how london‘s and frankfurt ended the day. and in the the united states this is how the dow and the nasdaq are getting on. the british novelist kazuo ishiguro has been awarded the nobel prize for literature.

the author whose most famous works include remains of the day and never let me go said it was ‘amazing and totally unexpected‘ to receive the award. he said he hoped the win would support the "forces for good" in the world. he‘s been speaking to our arts editor will gompertz who started by asking him if he was actually expecting the prize. of course i wasn‘t. it‘s not something i generally think about. but it‘s an amazing honour. i have to say that. it's amazing honour. i have to say that. it‘s a cliche for people to say winning prizes and all that but i think, i would say the swedish academy has managed to keep itself away from the fray of politics while remaining engaged with world events.

i think, for me anyway, i think they stand for something decent in the world. i‘ve always wanted to address a wider audience, notjust people of my generation, people who are educated like me. i‘ve always had a kind of faith that it should be possible, if you tell stories in a certain way, to transcend barriers of class, education, race and ethnicity. this is a great things storytelling can do. with your books, starting off with the two set injapan around the war and then another one almost around the war, remains of the day, never let me go and so forth, is there a thread, a line through all those books of an idea or thought you are exploring?” think it‘s evolved and changed over the years. but i think somewhere at

the years. but i think somewhere at the heart of it, i have been concerned at the idea that it‘s very easy to waste your life. both in the big world and in the small world. u nless we big world and in the small world. unless we make some sort of effort, our best work, our best contributions can actually end up contributing to things we don‘t like we would not approve of. it‘s very easy waste your life and the personal arena as well by not perhaps understanding world. you are a british writer with japanese roots, you came here when you were five, how important is that combination of factors to you and your writing? you‘re not a japanese writer but you come from a japanese

heritage. i do feelthe writer but you come from a japanese heritage. i do feel the japanese pa rt heritage. i do feel the japanese part of my upbringing is crucial to who i am as part of my upbringing is crucial to whoiam asa part of my upbringing is crucial to who i am as a person and as a writer. i‘m a british citizen, i have lived in this country since the age of five, entirely educated in this country. i am a genuine lover of britain. but i grew up in the japanese home with japanese parents speaking japanese. throughout my growing up! speaking japanese. throughout my growing up i think there was always this other dimension. i saw things through the eyes of japanese people. i saw british society through japanese eyes. and i think that helped me to some extent see things from something of a perspective, perhaps some of my friends did not have. we have been sitting here for ten and 15 minutes, the phone has not stopped ringing, do you think this will change your life, as it already changed your life?

this will change your life, as it already changed your life ?” this will change your life, as it already changed your life? i don't know. i hope it‘s not going to change my life very much. the important thing to remember at these moments, things like, moments like win the nobel prize lands a new, it‘s a fantastic honour. but the real writing scene, the really important thing is what happens in my shabby little study up there. when i sit at my desk and stare at a piece of paper with a cheap pen. i‘m hoping that will remain the centre of my writing life. because that is where the literary scene is. the literary scene is genuinely made up of writers writing in $

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if he were alive. but they add that is not to say that he was guilty of any of the allegations. if sir edward heath would have been alive today, it has been concluded he would have been interviewed under caution, in order to obtain his account in relation to allegations made against him. but the former head of public prosecutions say the way the police conducted their inquiry was a disgrace and they should be ashamed. also tonight... while we will... excuse me. after that speech, the government rallies round in defence of the prime minister. the girlfriend of the las vegas gunman says she had no idea he was planning any kind of violence. the housing crisis — a special report as the number

of households in emergency accommodation reaches