ben rich is here. very, very warm? yeah, a week ago in sheffield it was 5 degrees, yeah, a week ago in sheffield it was 5degrees, in yeah, a week ago in sheffield it was 5 degrees, in sheffield, it's now 25 degrees in sheffield and some other eastern parts of england have got all the way up to 27 degrees already. that isn't spring weather, that summer weather, basically. already. that isn't spring weather, that summerweather, basically. blue skies and sunshine to match as well in most places, that's how it looks in liverpool a little earlier on but it isn't like that everywhere. when is it? northern and western parts, this is northern and western scotla nd this is northern and western scotland for a weather watcher, there's some extra cloud in the mix. you can see the stripe of cloud working across western areas. there's mist and murk and fog for some coasts of wales and the south—west but even these cloudy areas will see some sunshine, a few showers perhaps across western scotland. where we get the best of the sunshine, down towards the south—east, 28 degrees, way above where we should be at this point in april. and some sunshine to takes into the evening as well. across

england and wales will have some clear skies through the night but bit of mist and fog is likely to develop. some showers into the far north—west of scotland, may be cooler than last night but in the big towns and cities towards the south, staying in double digits. a bit of mist and murk in southern and central areas to start off tomorrow but that should clear and then another sunny day for many parts of england and wales. northern ireland and scotland seeing more cloud, the odd shower across western scotland and as the winds switch to a west or south westerly will be bringing some slightly cooler air from the atlantic, so temperature of across western areas tomorrow will not be quite as high as today. the further east you are, still the orange colours on the chart, still during tomorrow afternoon temperatures expected to get around 27 degrees across the south—east. there's a small chance that could kick off a heavy shower later date but for most friday evening will be fine and dry. you are probably hoping this fine weather will last into the weekend

weekend. well, this area of low pressure may well be on its way to spoil the party, because although saturday will start off fine and dry perhaps with the mist patch, and with some sunshine, then we'll see some thundery showers starting to creep in from the south—west and many areas could be affected by these downpours later on saturday. still some warmth to be had down towards the south but a bit cooler further north and west and the cooler feel will develop more widely across western areas into sunday. a little wea k across western areas into sunday. a little weak weather front, you can barely see it by the afternoon, a bit of patchy rain with that but it will introduce them cooler fresher conditions. still 20—21 towards the south—east, pretty warm for the london marathon for example. as we head into the weekend things are going to change a bit, turning a bit less warm, with the risk of sums thunderstorms. a reminder of our main story this lunchtime. the queen tells commonwealth leaders she hopes prince charles will succeed her as head of the organisation one day.

it's my sincere wish that the commonwealth will continue to offer stability and continuity for future generations and will decide that one day the prince of wales should carry on the important work started by my father in 1949. that's all from the bbc news at one. it's goodbye from me. on bbc one we nowjoin the bbc‘s news teams where you are. bye— bye. time for the sport headlines with azi farni. chelsea defender marco alonso will miss the cup final against southampton. he has been given a three—match ban for violent contact for tackling shane long. he will also miss tonight's premier league game against burnley. the fa took retrospective action with officials failing to see the incident. the government says there are no

plans to change the whole seating manager mark hughes is desperate for the points. a win would leave them two from safety with four games to play. we have to get them in a positive frame of mind and they need to focus on what they need to do. i have to say, the last two performances have been really good. we have made mistakes clearly and that has been prevalent, not only during my time, but previous to me coming here, but for the most part, the intention and the application of the group has been really good. arsene wenger has given his hundred percent backing for safe standing proposals. the government says there are no proposals to change the all

seater stadiums after a pilot was rejected. more evidence is needed before safe standing can be provided. the more closer you are to the position of the player, the more supportive you are. people lying in bed watching the game could fall asleep, so it's better they stand up. overall, i must say it is much better. there are safety reasons why they don't do it, but if the safety is right, then they have my hundred percent backing. replays of incidents viewed by video referees will be used at the world cup. it comes despite criticism of its use in domestic competition. one issue has been that fans can't see the same replays that referees used to make their decision which leads to

confusion, but this summer the crowd will be told when at decision is being reviewed. tracey neville described funding for netball as a noose around their neck. a little earlier i spoke to two members of the team who hope there are recent old will be a platform for the sport to grow. after 2019 our funding situation is uncertain. we have had great support so far from the national lottery and sport england, but we hope with disco mirror ball more sponsors will come on board. it will mean that 20 of us will be able to play professionally. we want our leave to be totally professional so that we can keep competing and keep getting gold medals. ronnie o'sullivan faces a difficult first—round match against stephen maguire at the world championship in sheffield. he beat maguire en route

to winning the uk championship and world grand prix earlier this season. the defending champion mark selby is chasing the fourth title in four years. it will start on saturday at ten o'clock, live on bbc tv and online. that is all the sport for now. more on all those stories at the bbc sport website. the queen has formally opened the commonwealth heads of government meeting, during a ceremony at buckingham palace, which highlighted her own contribution to the organisation. it's expected to be the last such meeting to be opened by the queen. leaders from many of the fifty—three countries which make up the commonwealth have gathered here in london to discuss issues including ocean conservation, cyber security and trade. theresa may told the leaders the summit would "take on some of the 21st century‘s biggest questions". over many decades this organisation

has brought together out common bonds. there have been difficulties, su ccesses bonds. there have been difficulties, successes and controversies, but i believe wholeheartedly in the good that become a world can do and this week as young people from our many nations gather and contribute their views, our responsibility as leaders is to ensure their voices are heard and to build a commonwealth that we can be proud to hand onto the next generation for in the we have an incredible opportunity. an opportunity to show just what can incredible opportunity. an opportunity to showjust what can be achieved through coordinated action and cooperation. to seize the possibilities open to us as member countries and together to take on some of the 21st—century's biggest

questions. how we support our most vulnerable member states as we tackle climate change and improve the health of our oceans, creating a more sustainable commonwealth. how we develop through trade, pushing back against protectionism for a more prosperous commonwealth. how we respond to threats to the wall —based international order and from cyber attacks, creating a more secure commonwealth. and how in all of this we advance those common values which our organisation has a lwa ys values which our organisation has always stood for. democracy, human rights, tolerance and the wall of law, so that we establish a fairer commonwealth. the prime minister addressing heads of the commonwealth earlier today. more now on the status of the windrush generation, and the former head of the civil service, lord kersla ke, has called for an investigation into the destruction of thousands of documents, which could have helped commonwealth citizens prove their right to remain in the uk. a little earlier our assistant political editor norman

smith spoke to trevor phillips, the former chair of the equality and human rights commission who explained the significance of these latest revelations regarding these destroyed documents. i hate this response, this is the response what we passed the 2010 equality act we put in it that every public body did not inadvertently create a situation where groups could be discriminated against on the grounds of race, gender or sexual orientation. the way to do that was to create an impact assessment. what impact would it have on different groups? they did one for the 2016 legislation and it was absolutely clear in the home office's own words that there would be a large group of people, particularly older non—eu migrants who would have difficulty

finding documents and home office actually says that some of these documents will probably have been destroyed. the point of impact assessment was to the government, if this legislation will create this kind of problem, don't pass it, or if you feel you have to pass it, find some mitigating measures and the critical thing here is that the impact assessment must be run by ministers. ifind it inconceivable, absolutely inconceivable that ministers or their prices were not aware of this. how then do you read the statements we've heard from ministers in effect saying, it was civil servants being too rigorous and too bureaucratic if you like in implementing the procedures? in other words it's a way officials interpreted these rules that have resulted in the windrush saga. i hate this response, this is the response of a boss who dumped on the nearest available junior employee. it is undoubtedly the case that we call advise ministers in a case

that allowed them to think they could basically get away with it so i don't think civil servants are not culpable but the responsibility for this does lie with the ministers involved. in this case, the home secretary and the immigration minister at the time and saying, frankly, it was something that happened in a back office somewhere, really does not wash. this is what was in the equality act. it is a reason why we put that into the legislation and it was entirely to make sure that this sort of thing did not happen and was predicted and it was predicted, but they basically thought, oh, we'll get away with it, who cares what a bunch of old black people go through? let me also ask you about the comments from michael gove who says that he doesn't believe that this saga hasn't damaged britain posner standing in the world. michael gove

is one of the most intelligent politicians on the british scene today. therefore, he cannot possibly believe what he has said. he probably hasn't talked to his great friend and colleague borisjohnson, who i imagine has been getting what four from who i imagine has been getting what fourfrom caribbean who i imagine has been getting what four from caribbean heads who i imagine has been getting what fourfrom caribbean heads of government and from others. the truth of the matter is, and i work now half of my time in the united states and some of my time on the continent, everybody in the world now knows this and actually, one of the worst parts of this is most people think that if you are not white, britain is the best place in europe to live. and that means that the exposure of this kind of problem, this kind of scandal has damaged our reputation far more than if it had happened in any other european country because actually, what we are showing is a country

that others look to for good race relations really isn't that serious about it. does it matter more now that we are leaving the eu and trying as it were to almost cast and new identity for ourselves?“ trying as it were to almost cast and new identity for ourselves? if the point about the new post—brexit britain is that we become a global player with new, fresh open relations with countries all over the world, particularly in the growing markets of africa and in latin america, imagine if you are sitting in accra or you are sitting in kingston, jamaica or georgetown guyana, it is not a good look, is it? this is not a country that you think will treat you seriously if actually, having spent 60, 70 years with people here who have paid their taxes and thought themselves as british and now suddenly they are being shown the door. that is not the way to begin this new era and

these new friendships. trevor phillips talking to norman smith earlier. in a moment, a summary of the business news this hour, but first the headlines on bbc news: dignitaries from around the globe have gathered in london for the commonwealth heads of government meeting. the government is to propose a ban on plastic drinking straws and cotton buds in an effort to cut the billions of items that are thrown away each year. a former head of the civil service calls for an investigation into the destruction of thousands of documents which could have helped commonwealth citizens prove their right to stay in the uk. good afternoon. i'm jamie good afternoon. i'mjamie robinson with the business news. a collapse in profits a the department store debenhams — down over 80% over the last six months to march — it's blamed february's freezing weather and a tough retail market. and in an unexpected announcement the firm's chief financial officer matt smith is to leaving, to take up a post as finance boss at selfridges. debenhams is not alone. overall retail sales saw their biggest quarterly fall

in a year during the three months to march. again the bad weather was a lot to blame. people stayed at home — fuel sales fell, but the office for national statistics that gathers the data said there was some evidence to show online shopping increased. talktalk has again been named the most complained—about broadband company in the uk. the telecoms regulator ofcom says for every 100,000 talktalk customers, about 31 made a complaint to ofcom, usually to do with technical problems. the company says, it's ‘disappointed by these results'. as we've been hearing the retailer debenhams has reported a collapse in profits — down four fifths over the last six months. the actual sales figures were down but not nearly as much — 2.2%, and it was the freezing february weather that was to blame. debenhams was forced to temporarily close 100 stores in the uk. so, profits for the whole year are going to be lower that hoped and the chief financial officer matt smith is off — he's joining rival selfridges.

the chilly weather knocked the stuffing out of all shoppers — notjust debenhams customers — everyone seems to have simply shut the doors and stayed at home. overall sales volumes in the shops fell 1.2% in march. the numbers come from the office for national statistics. there has been a high level of discounting across the high street and debenhams took the brunt of that. its overall sales were in line with what they were last year, but is that discounting and they have such a focus on fashion and is disappointing for them. it's very tough because they are focusing on beauty and making it more social shopping, a destination shop which eve ryo ne shopping, a destination shop which everyone is trying to do, especially in department stores, but because they are not a former department

store likejohn lewis which has higher sales, but only a0 stores, they have over a ‘s, so they can make some of their stores look good, but it's difficult get the rest of the stores, and lots of them have long leases, up to that kind of level. a celebration of the world's biggest girl band in history is set to take over london this summer when a spice girls exhibition arrives injuly. from iconic costume pieces to memorabilia, spiceuplondon will showcase thousands of items for fans of victoria beckham, emma bunton, mel b, mel c and geri halliwell. joining us now is alan smith—allison, the director of spice girls exhibition ltd where is all this stuff from? how much money do you expect this to raise? still an interest in the spice girls? yes, 20 years on they are still popular and there is still a demand. people are interested in what they are doing. that is them as individuals though because they have

surely moved on? i don't know. they kind of got together and had little chat at geri halliwell‘s us. it's a case of waiting to see what they will come up with next. so who are be spice girls now. who is the brand? i think they own it themselves. the spice girls limited has five directors. so actually this is their show, it's not music management who are having it? no, this is independent to the spice girls. this is my collection that is going on show with some other fans. we have put together spice up london and it will showcase thousands of items spice girls memorabilia and costu mes. items spice girls memorabilia and costumes. so is your personal exhibition? it is. where did you get

all be stuff from? i brought it over the years from places like ebay and the years from places like ebay and the spice girls have also had charity sells for good causes. mel b had one and victoria beckham had one for mothers to mothers which is an aids charity. how much have you spent on spice girls memorabilia over the years? too much money. probably about $150,000. so you need to replenish your bank account? we'll see. it's not a moneymaking exercise. i have this huge collection filled with iconic costu mes collection filled with iconic costu m es of collection filled with iconic costumes of pop history and it's a shame to have them in boxes and suit carriers. they should be out on show for the fans to see and that's why i

am doing it. good to talk to you. thank you. the head of japan's ministry of finance has resigned after allegations he harassed female journalists. junichi fucuda denies the accusations. separately, a local governor stepped down over allegations he paid women for relationships. japan's traditionally conservative society has so far been slow to join the worldwide #metoo movement. the apprenticeship levy introduced in england last year is causing "confusion and frustration" among employers and must be reformed. that's according to the british chambers of commerce which says the scheme is currently "unfit for purpose". since its introduction the number of new apprenticeships has fallen by 25%. facebook is to change its terms of service meaning 1.5 billion users will no longer be subject to the new european data protection laws. the law will allow european regulators to fine companies for collecting or using personal data without users consent. currently, users agree terms of service with facebook‘s international headquarters in ireland. following the cambridge analytica data scandal, facebook has been under increased scrutiny from us

lawmakers and regulators. a long—running case about whether the shape of kit kat can be trademarked has reached a significant milestone. the european court ofjustice says that the european union intellectual property office must re—examine whether the "four—fingers" shape can be trademarked. the opinion is another blow for kit kat maker mondelez that's trying to stop others using its design. that's all the business news. new research in australia suggests that a marine heatwave that

bleached large parts of the great barrier reef two years ago was so severe it "cooked" vast swathes of coral. scientists from queensland say millions of coral in northern parts of the reef were killed by the rise in sea temperatures. they say australia's greatest natural treasure is threatened with ecological collapse. you can now experience differing levels of pollution from five different cities all under one roof. it is part of a new art installation that has been unveiled in london. visitors can wander through pods that re—create the fumes and smells of cities including new delhi and beijing. our arts correspondent, david sillito has been finding out more about the air that we breathe. my name's michael pinsky.

and this is an artwork. and this is an artwork? .it doesn't feel good at all. for me it smells good. does it? the air they are breathing has been created by chemists and perfumiers. it is called living diesel, and it is a careful reconstruction of the smell of london. wow... you like london, don't you? yes, i love it. wow. it is a combination of both combusted and uncombusted diesel. it's two different kind of diesel types. people aren't going to be buying this for christmas for their loved ones. there are five pods and it begins with... what am i sniffing here? this is clean air. really clean. but as you walk around it gets polluted. a recreation of a bad

day in beijing, delhi, sao paulo, and london. however, he has had to take all of the unpleasant things out, even for london. why notjust have proper london air that's out there at the moment in here? umm, because... would you be allowed to do that? i cannot do that. what's going on? you are not allowed to have the air out there in here? well, this is the problem. if you say i'm going to actively go out and pollute people, that kind of statement of intent means that you will be prevented from doing that. i'm actually lost for words. this one does not smell nice. it's kind of fumey, and there's lots of... the smell of diesel. it seems the moment you turn the air we breath into an artwork,

it is a safety risk. time for a look at the weather. according to the met office it is the warmest day of the year so far with temperatures at 27.9 degrees at north halt. with temperatures like that it north halt. with temperatures like thatitis north halt. with temperatures like that it is not spring, it is summer. this is how it looked in liverpool. the cloud has been a little bit thicker up towards the north—west. the satellite picture tells a story. a bit more cloud across scotland today and some into northern ireland and some slightly murky conditions for the coasts around wells that

warmth across a good part of yorkshire, 26 in hull. during this evening and tonight there will be some patches of cloud across scotla nd some patches of cloud across scotland and northern ireland. further south where we keep clear skies, some of them will fill in with mist and fog and temperatures no lower than 13 degrees in the centre of london. elsewhere it will bea centre of london. elsewhere it will be a bit cooler than it was last night. tomorrow could dawn a bit murky with mist and fog around, but they will lift and again there will bea they will lift and again there will be a lot of sunshine. northern ireland and scotland plagued by cloud and possibly rain. we pick up an atlantic influence with winds coming from more of a westerly direction. perhaps not as warm as it has been today, but from eastern

scotla nd has been today, but from eastern scotland and parts of wales, a warm day on the cards and towards the south east, temperatures of 27 degrees. that could just be enough to spark off the odd sharp shower in the south later in the day, but the most friday night will be fine and dry. you may expect the fibre that last into the weekend, but it's not that simple. this area of low pressure will spoil the party to some extent. outbreaks of showery rain pushing through on saturday. they could turn heavy with flashes of lightning and rumbles of thunder. further north and east you are the better chance of staying warm. still some real warmth towards the south, but green across scotland. some patchy rain and things will turn cooler and fresher, but with high is still in the 20s in the south east. —— highs.

hello, you're watching afternoon live — i'm simon mccoy. today at 2. keeping it in the family — the queen says — when the time comes — she wants prince charles to take overfrom her as head of the commonwealth. it is my sincere wish that the commonwealth will continue to offer stability and continuity for future generations and we'll decide that one day the prince of wales will continue the important work started by my father in 19a9. she was speaking at the commonwealth conference — where the uk government announced plans to ban billions of plastic straws, cotton buds and drinks stirrers. how we support our most vulnerable member states as we tackle climate change and improve the health of our oceans, creating a more sustainable commonwealth. i'm ben brown — live at buckingham palace —