this is bbc news. the headlines at 11. the bank of england raises interest rates to 0.5% for the first time in a decade. there could be more rises ahead. consistent with our mandate and supporting the economy, that requires two more interest rate increases over the next few years. the labour mp, kelvin hopkins, is suspended by the party while it investigates allegations made against him. meanwhile, gavin williamson replaces the defence secretary, sir michael fallon, who resigned because of sexual misconduct. an arrest warrant is issued for ousted catalan leader carles puigdemont, as eight former colleagues are remanded in custody after the disputed independence vote. and scientists discover a mysterious 30—metre long void hidden inside the great pyramid of giza. on newsnight, what difference will be first interest rate rise in more than a decade actually make? is theresa may guilty of going easy on

harassment in westminster? and we talked to goldie. —— talk. good evening, and welcome to bbc news. for the first time in over a decade, the bank of england has increased interest rates and there could be more to follow. it's raising the official bank rate to 0.5%. it's part of the bank's attempt to restrain inflation which is well above the government's target. but some economists believe the decision is wrong and will put greater strain on the economy. the higher rate will mean bigger monthly payments for those with variable rate mortgages but savers will see some benefit, as our economics editor, kamal ahmed, reports. dad, what's for dinner?

one small step upwards for interest rates, affecting millions of savers and millions of borrowers. it's more expensive if you have a mortgage, and forjames smith in south london, it's time to cut costs. we've been very lucky without realising it. i think it's going to start... it will probably bite more from now on. for so long we've thought, it's always going to be like this, but it's got to end sometime, but we never realised it was going to be this soon. the governor of the bank of england knew it was a delicate balancing act. the economy is still struggling, but he said rising prices had to be controlled. so, in many respects, today's decision is straightforward. with inflation high, slack disappearing, and the economy growing at rates above its speed limit, inflation is unlikely to return to the 2% target without some increase in interest rates. of course, these aren't normal times. brexit will redefine the uk's relationship with our largest trade and investment partner, and it will have consequences

for the movement of goods, services, people and capital, as well as the real incomes of uk households. this is certainly a historic moment for interest rates. and to realise why, it's worth remembering when incredibly low interest rates were not the norm. if we go back to 1992, when britain was struggling with a currency crisis and norman lamont was chancellor, interest rates hit 12%. in the era of cool britannia, the economy righted itself and interest rates tumbled to 7%. but then the financial crisis hit. in a desperate attempt to keep global economies afloat, interest rates were slashed to 2%, so all of us could borrow cheaply and spend. but then, after the referendum, another cut to a record low of 0.25%. today, the first rate rise for more than ten years. how high could those

interest rates now go? i asked the governorjust that. should we be ready for further rises? the path would be very gradual relative to history, and to a limited extent. and i can be a little more specific about that. which is, the forecast we put out today, that requires about two more interest rate increases over the next three years. economists said it was clear why. in the past, when you've had one rate hike, you usually have a series of them in quick succession. the world's not like that anymore. growth is slower, everyone's worried that if you hike rates now, the economy may soften too much. so, i think they're going to wait. they may do one early next year, but that will depend on the economic data. for millions of people, today is one they haven't experienced for 10 years, an interest rate rise. but with the key economic ingredient

still being uncertainty, it is likely to be a long time before we see another one. kamal ahmad, bbc news. at westminster, the conservative chief whip gavin williamson has been appointed defence secretary following the resignation of sir michael fallon who stood down last night, saying his conduct had "fallen short" of the required standards after allegations of inappropriate behaviour. sir michael is the first politician to resign following recent claims of sexual harassment at westminster. but as our political editor laura kuenssberg reports some conservative mps are unimpressed by the appointment. who would it be? nervously waiting at the ministry of defence. he looked a bit fretful too, as he waited across the road at number 10. is it time to clean out the stable, defence secretary? before long, gavin williamson emerged with the top brass. to take a proud walk

across whitehall. into one of the biggest jobs in government. he's never worked in a government department before though. it's a privilege to be able to step into this role. and what's so amazing is to have so many first—rate, world—renowned people to be working with. and the armed services are the greatest pride of our nation. until today, he was in charge of party discipline. last month, he described his approach. i don't much like the stick. but it is amazing what can be achieved with a sharpened carrot. less time for cheesy local mp pictures. instead of managing his constituency and 315 tory mps, he's in charge of about 200,000 staff and £36 billion. part of a rising tory generation and a yorkshireman to boot.

and here's his replacement, julian smith, the new tory arm twister in chief. one of gavin williamson's compadres, who seems to have inherited his tarantula. yes, the giant spider the former chief whip kept on his desk. is it time to clean out the stables, ms mcvey? the new number two, esther mcvey, who says she'll add this to the mix. hopefully, i can bring maybe a feminine touch to the whip's office and work with all my colleagues. the logic of gavin williamson's move over there is simple, he's a good operator and theresa may trusts him. but the push—back has been fierce. one senior tory told me he's abandoned his post at a crucial time. one minister suggested that he has outplayed number 10, saying theresa may is so weak, she has allowed him to appoint himself. and one former minister said this shows that the government is in the grip of a bunch of boys. as ever, in politics, the irony is rich.

the man who was in charge of making sure that mps behave has found himself in a plum newjob because one of his colleagues did not. and all the parties are readying themselves in case they have to defend their side from more potential allegations of bad behaviour. the foreign secretary, known for his interesting private life, said today he had nothing to hide. thank you, foreign secretary. number 10 acknowledges that everyone has to do more to protect staff and victims at westminster. but there are calls for wholesale change. we've seen bullying allegations that've happened between members of staff, we've seen allegations of sexual impropriety between elected members and others, and this is all about power. it's who holds that power and how they use it that sets the course. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster.

labour has announced that it's suspended one of its mps, kelvin hopkins, from the party. a spokesman said that it was "on the basis of allegations received." let's speak to our political correspondent, emma va rdy. what is known at this stage about all of this? kelvin hopkins is one of the luton mps. the labour party says he is being suspended. that statement came hours before the telegraph newspaper published an article detailing claims from a 27—year—old labour activist saying she received inappropriate text m essa 9 es she received inappropriate text messages from kelvin hopkins, and also detailed some claims in the telegraph newspaper of inappropriate physical contact with him after a political event. now, the bbc has also spoken to this political activist who made these claims. she

says she raised the allegations with the labour party at the time, with the labour party at the time, with the chief whip. but she said at the time while kelvin hopkins was reprimanded for his conduct, she herself was told it could not be taken any further if she was to remain anonymous. now, she felt frustrated by this because some time after she raised these allegations, kelvin hopkins was then promoted to the shadow cabinet. in light of all of the allegations that have been circulating westminster this weekend now be particularly hard line parties are taking on this, the labour party has announced tonight kelvin hopkins has been suspended from the party and they say they ta ke from the party and they say they take all complaints extremely seriously. thank you very much. reporting from westminster. a libyan armed group holding a man wanted in connection with the manchester arena bombing in may says it is "ready to co—operate" with a request to extradite the man to the uk. greater manchester police have

issued an arrest warrant for hashem abedi, the brother of the suicide bomber salman abedi, in relation to murder, attempted murder and conspiracy to cause an explosion. the libyan militia group had earlier refused to consider the request. two 14—year—old boys have appeared in court in leeds and pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to murder. the teenagers from northallerton in north yorkshire were arrested on saturday by counter—terrorism officers. since the arrests, searches have been carried out ata number of properties in the area. supporters of catalan independence have been protesting in barcelona after spain's high court ordered the detention of eight former members of the regional catalan government. the demonstrations happened as prosecutors said they were also seeking a european arrest warrant for the ousted catalan leader, carles puigdemont, and four members of his former cabinet, who've travelled with him to belgium. these pro—independence campaigners

have come out to protest against the remanding into custody of eight former ministers. "libertad, libertad," they chant in catalan. "freedom, freedom." bear in mind, just a few days ago, these ministers were working in this, the headquarters of the catalan government. but now the reversal has been stunning. in a matter of a few days, those ministers declared independence, then madrid took over this region, and now all the ministers who work there are now in exile, on bail, or now in prison. and the town hall has reacted. in catalan there, there's a sign you mightjust be able to read, "freedom to the political prisoners." and that will be a strong feeling among the pro—independence camp here in catalonia.

the anti—independence camp might simply say that spain is now following the law. there will be plenty more demonstrations, probably from both sides, in the next few weeks and months. let's have a quick look at some of the front pages of tomorrow's papers. the telegraph says that theresa may is preparing for her succession with the surprise appointment of the former chief whip gavin williamson to defence secretary. the times says that mr williamson's appointment leaves the prime minister vulnerable to a renewed coup on herjob. the guardian also leads with the appointment of gavin williamson. they say that the prime minister's choice has angered backbench tory mps. the same story leads the i. it also focuses on the anger from tory backbenchers at his appointment. and the former chief whip's promotion also leads the metro. the ft leads with the rise in interest rates, signalling that more increases could be on the way. and the express says that thousands of foreign nationals, who were supposed to be deported by the home office, are on the run in britain. that is a summary of the news. now,

newsnight. it's been 10 years, three months and 27 days of cheaper and cheaper money. but today, it just got a little dearer. the bank of england hikes interest rates by 0.25%, but who's that going to help? we ask whether the bank has got its timing right. also tonight, a breaking story of fresh allegations of sexual harrassment by another member of parliament emerges. on the day the pm was forced to replace a cabinet minister, could this herald a crisis for both her and the leader of the opposition? and we speak goldie — from breakdancer to dj, grafitti and grills, a more mellow goldie tells his life story. goldie fights with 19—year—old on the way to yoga. goldie dies in knife fight on the way to yoga. either way that's not going to look right! first tonight, the breaking

political story. the labour mp, kelvin hopkins, has been suspended from the party after it received allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards a young woman. the labour party is remaining relatively tight—lipped about it. our political editor, nick watt is here. nick, what can you tell us? kelvin hopkins, a 76—year—old former shadow minister has been suspended from the labour party and that means the whip is suspended from him after an incident that took place in 2014 with a young labour activist and he was addressing the labour society at essex university and it is alleged that he sent a text after saying, if only i was a0 years younger and this why he has been suspended,