today at 5pm, an official apology from britain to a libyan man and his wife, who suffered "appalling treatment", following an operation by mi6 and the cia. abdul hakim belhaj was kidnapped in 2004, and was then tortured in libya. today, the uk government offered an apology, and full financial settlement. in behalf of her majesty's government, i apologise unreservedly. we are profoundly sorry for the ordeal that you both suffered, and our role in it. fatima boudchar, who was pregnant at the time of her capture, called the apology "historic", and the couple delivered this response. translation: this is an historic day, a historic moment that i have been waiting for. i would like to thank the prime minister and especially the attorney general, who i have met personally. you showed me

that human rights are not to be violated. we'll examine the implications of the case for mi6 and the cia, and we'll be talking to the couple's lawyer. the other main stories on bbc news at 5pm... interest rates on hold and the growth forecast cut, but the bank of england says it's still optimistic on the ecomony. president trump reveals the time and place of his historic meeting with north korean leader kim jong—un. earlier, the president had welcomed home three us citizens, released from detention by north korea. and dame barbara windsor — star of eastenders and the carry on series — has been diagnosed with alzheimers. it's 5 o'clock. our main story is that the uk government has formally apologised to a libyan dissident and his wife, who were forcibly taken to libya in 2004, in a joint

operation by mi6 and the cia. abdel hakim belhaj and fatima boudchar were handed over to the gaddafi regime during the so—called war on terror. today, the attorney—general jeremy wright told mps there'd been an out—of—court agreement, and a "full and final settlement" for the "appalling" treatment they'd suffered. our security correspondent frank gardner has the story. i have a copy in arabic and english ofa i have a copy in arabic and english of a letter from the i have a copy in arabic and english of a letterfrom the prime i have a copy in arabic and english of a letter from the prime minister to mr belhadj and his wife. an historic moment in britain's istanbul consulate today. the british government has handed over an unprecedented apology to this former libyan dissident, tortured in qaddafi's jails. he and his pregnant wife were delivered there with help from britain's mi6 and the cia.

abdul hakim belhaj was an islamist rebel leader who became a military commander in tripoli after the fall of the qaddafi raging. before that, he says, he was abused in these jails for six years. he blamed britain, he never gave up on his demand for an apology, and today he got it. in parliament, the attorney general said the uk government's actions had contributed to mr belhadj‘s retention, rendition and suffering. on behalf of her majesty's government, i apologise unreservedly. we are profoundly sorry for the ordeal you both suffered and our role in it. the uk government has learned many lessons from this period. we should have understood much sooner the unacceptable practices of some of oui’ unacceptable practices of some of our international partners, and we sincerely regret our failures. speaking to the bbc in istanbul today, abdul hakim belhaj gave his reaction. translation: there is no

doubt we welcome the apology the british government has offered, and we are grateful. i value the carriage and humanitarian position taken carriage and humanitarian position ta ken by carriage and humanitarian position taken by the prime minister and attorney general. tony blair's government embraced colonel gaddafi's regime. it wanted to reward for dismantling libya's very real chemical weapons programme, but thenit real chemical weapons programme, but then it took a wrong turning. by 2004, belhadj had fled libya and was living in china. while trying to apply the uk asylum, he was arrested and taken to thailand. from there he was handed over to libya. western intelligence always suspected belhadj of being a dangerous extremist, close to al-qaeda, which he denies. he fought his case in the courts, demanding just a token £1 in condensation. frank gardner, bbc news. let's examine this in a little more

detail. with me is sapna malik, the lawyer representing abdul—hakim belhaj and fatima boudchar. thank you for coming in. just give us thank you for coming in. just give usa thank you for coming in. just give us a sense thank you for coming in. just give us a sense of what this means for you, and more importantly, your clients today. it is really an unprecedented apology, in terms of the level of detail it goes into in the level of detail it goes into in the uk's role in what happened to them. this is something that our clients have wanted from the outset of their case. they asked for this backin of their case. they asked for this back in 2013, and even before legal proceedings were issued. so it really has finally brought to a conclusion this horrendous episode in their lives. why has it taken so long? that is really a matter for the government. this case was fought up the government. this case was fought up to the supreme court. that turn four years, while the government sought to get the case struck out of court, because it potentially involved criticism of the us. but the supreme court ruled last year it was absolutely right for the case to

be brought in the uk courts. since then, there have been a number of contested hearings, but today we have reached the right result. just to explain to viewers, when we talk about the extent of the apology, it goes way beyond the kind of apology you might get from a government in different kinds of cases. explain to us different kinds of cases. explain to us why that extent insignificant? 0ur us why that extent insignificant? our clients really wanted vindication for an acknowledgement of what had happened to them. the apology has been given before there has been a full court hearing or court findings were a detailed public enquiry into what happened to them. so it was very important for them. so it was very important for them for the precise steps that the uk took to be publicly acknowledged. it is quite a daunting task to take on the force of the state in these insta nces, on the force of the state in these instances, to get the state to recognise that something has happened, which is, in this case, appalling, to use the word used by the government themselves. was there any point in this process where there was a loss of heart, all the

way your clients thought it is just not worth the fight any more? the time it has taken has certainly led to some attrition, but ultimately they were determined to seekjustice and stuck with it and were willing to get a trial. what is their state of mind now, how would you describe it? it has obviously been a very emotional day, but they really do feel there is now some sense of closure and that they can move on. just in terms of the plans they have for their life, have they talked about this great burden being lifted, and i think i read earlier that fatima boudchar, living free of the weight of these events with my husband and their five beautiful children, how do they really build a life after this? public of -- public apology goes a long way to healing those wounds that have been

festering since 2004. building a legal case, the way you have presented it, what are you was the most challenging part of bringing this case to this level? in a case like this, especially since the justice and security act came into force in 2013, much of the government's evidence, indeed their whole case so far, has been in secret. we were very lucky in this case that our client actually had a lot of the evidence and a lot of documents themselves from the fall of the gaddafi regime. that is very unusual. we were fighting a case with one hand tied behind our backs. a final point, which is, i suppose, for wider implications, people who feel they have suffered a terrible injustice but don't think they have the resources, if you like, or the kind of wherewithal to bring this kind of wherewithal to bring this kind of wherewithal to bring this kind of case, to pursue it for so many years, and really to take on the might of government, what would your message beaker people in those

circumstances? not precisely the same circumstances clearly, that similar circumstances. it really does take resilience, but they should not give up hope. there might have been people who never thought that this case would actually see the light of day, but it has. good to talk to you, thank you for coming it is nine minutes past five. the bank of england has decided to keep interest rates unchanged, at half of one per cent. until recently, it had indicated that it would try to increase the cost of borrowing. but as our economics correspondent andy verity reports, the latest economic signals have forced a change of mind. if inflation no longer looks as threatening, we're not all feeling it yet. the squeeze on living standards caused by prices rising faster than incomes, may have eased, but here in newark people look on that like the sunny weather,

you can't be sure it will last. it's ok, it's ok, it is ok. but you do see things creeping up but that's life, isn't it? it's not bad, i'm quite lucky. the cost of living is going up quite significantly, and the wages really aren't. i don't think things have got tighter recently, not noticeably. with inflation still above the 2% target, the bank of england has been planning for months to raise interest rates for a second time. today, interest setters on its monetary policy committee decided not yet. but the governor thinks the economy still has underlying momentum. what is the sensible thing to do? do you act now or wait to see evidence that that momentum is reasserting? the judgment of the majority of the committee is you wait to see evidence of that reasserting. making it more expensive to borrow money could apply the brakes to an economy struggling to get started. higher oil prices have pushed up petrol by 7 pence a litre in the last year, one reason

consumers are tightening their belts and spending less. interest rates have been at rock bottom for nine years, with the official rate at half a percent or less. as recently as march, the city was almost certain that interest rates would rise today, but since then, there have been growing signs of an economic slow down and the fear is raising rates now might make matters worse. inflation at the last count was 2.5%, less than expected. in the first three months of the year, gdp grew by 0.1% and output in the construction industry was down 4.9%. the message that comes across today, there is less urgency in terms of rate rises and probably the bank today thinks the rates don't need to rise as far as they previously did. three months ago the bank of england was predicting the economy would grow by 1.8% this year. now, it has revised that down to 1.4%. an interest rate rise is now not

expected until november or later. in the past few minutes, the governor of the bank of england, mark carney, has been speaking to our economics editor, kamal ahmed. we expect that the uk economy is going to pick back up, not rocket back—up, but picked act up, largely driven by those exporters and investors investing, less so on household spending, and overall we see an environment where the economy will continue to use up resources, in factories, if you will, and also hire more people. a consequence of that, we think, in the end, that we will need to do some adjustments, some increases in interest rates over time, but at a pretty gentle pace. what you think the risks are to that bounce back? from a global

economy perspective, there are lots of headlines, but in terms of underlying growth in trade and business investment and the strength in both the global economy as a whole, but also in europe at the moment, i think that is less of a risk. but the biggest risk is probably around the biggest part of this economy, any economy, household spending. to be honest, we see risk this upside, which is economist speakfor something this upside, which is economist speak for something positive could happen, and also risk to the downside, and the risk on the downside, and the risk on the downside is that people have been through a tough time, as we know the last several years, and they have registered their savings, they are now starting to see wages pick up, and inflation come down, so they are making some headway. the question is are they going to spend in line with that pick—up or are they going to save a bit of it? you can see reasons for either to happen. in general, they are more likely to do

the former, to spend, but we have to see it happen, and then on the upside, the positive for the household sector, is what, a lot of people in work, there is a prospect, a possibility that as businesses invest, productivity will go up, and therefore wages will start to accelerate, and in that case we will see more momentum in the economy. mark carney, the governor of the bank of england, talking to our economics editor. president trump has announced he will meet the north korean leader, kim jong—un, on june 12th, in singapore. on twitter, mr trump said both men would try to make it a "very special moment for world peace". the announcement came shortly after the president had personally welcomed home the three american detainees released by north korea. speaking at andrews air force base, he said it was an honour to have played a part in their release. the white house considers the move a gesture of goodwill, in advance of the summit. 0ur correspondent chris buckler reports from washington. this was a return that only months

ago would have been unthinkable. then, america and north korea seemed on the verge of war. cheering now the release of these prisoners has been hailed as a gesture of goodwill between the countries. and it is a diplomatic victory for donald trump. i'm very honoured to have helped these three folks, they are great people. i got to speak to them on the plane, these are great people. they've been through a lot. but it is a great honour. the true honour is going to be if we have a victory in getting rid of nuclear weapons. of the three americans, the one held longest in north korea was kim dong—chul, a pastor. he was detained in 2015, and sentenced to ten years hard labourfor spying. kim sang—duk, who is known

as tony kim, worked at a university in pyongyang, he was detained in april 2017 and charged with espionage. kim hak—song was detained a month later, he's a christian missionary held on suspicion of hostile acts. these releases contrast starkly with the return of otto warmbier less than a year ago. the american student was sentenced to years of hard labour for stealing a propaganda poster in north korea. he eventually was flown back to america, suffering from unexplained brain injuries, and died just days later. at one stage, president trump's angry words, and even threats, looked like they could bring conflict with north korea. instead, the newly released americans believe he put pressure on kim jong—un that ensured that they could return home. the us secretary of state went to pyongyang to oversee the releases and finalise details of the much anticipated summit between president trump and kim jong—un to discuss denuclearisation. the photos of mike pompeo and mr kim

laughing together made the front page of north korea's normally anti—american state newspaper. if there was ever a symbol of change, it is this. but even those images could not compare to the obvious joy of those mr pompeo brought home. chris buckler, bbc news, washington. live to washington, and our correspondent anthony zurcher. you have to pinch yourself, of those pictures, and then they turn put out by the president, this is a relationship that has been transformed in weeks. it is remarkable, you look back as recently as last september, donald trump describing kim jong—un as a madman, and there were the fire and fury remarks, the threat that united would respond to north korea's sabre

rattling with fire in the early, they were made just last summer. here now you see donald trump attempting to frame this as kim jong—un being as somebody interested in peace, optimistic they can work together. it is a remarkable change of rhetoric in just a short amount of rhetoric in just a short amount of time, and i guess reflected of how donald trump conducts diplomacy. he is not afraid to use harsh language and then pivot very quickly to being more corporative. it is different than what we have seen in traditional diplomatic circles and with the previous presidents. that is the tone, let's talk about location. singapore on the 12th of june. tell us a little bit about how interesting that is as a choice. singapore was one of the finalists for a location. its name had been floated out there over the past month or so, including mongolia. donald trump self tweeted about how he would have preferred to have it at the demilitarised zone between north and south korea, because he felt that it was appropriate to meet

their in the country where they could be celebrations after this meeting. when you talk to us officials however, they said that singapore was a more obvious choice, because it was perceived as being neutral, it is a safe location, modern, it has the facilities to her something like this, and is still relatively close to north korea, a place that the us has strong relations with, as well. so when you look at the different areas in eastern asia, that could be impartial, it was one of the front runners from the very beginning. thank you very much again. anthony zettel with the latest in washington. 90 minutes past five. this is bbc news at 5pm — the headlines: the prime minister apologises for the uk's role in the treatment of abdul hakim belhaj and fatima boudchar, the couple were forcibly returned to libya in 2004. the bank of england keeps interest rates on hold, after extreme weather hits economic growth in the first three months of the year. president trump announces

the historic meeting between himself and north korean leader kimjong—un will take place next month, in singapore. and in sport, wayne rooney has agreed a deal in principle that could see him leave everton for mls side dc united in washington this summer. the deal is said to be worth top of five millions per —— £12.5 million. swansea manager is due to leave at the end of the season with the club almost certain to be relegated to the championship. reddish amber one kyle edmund beat the word nonattendance david goffin at the madrid 0pen today. i will be back —— beat the world and attend david goffin. royal bank of scotland has agreed a £3.6 billion fine with us regulators, to end a long—running investigation into its actions before the financial crisis. the bank, which is partly owned by the uk taxpayer, had been accused of selling

risky financial products. our business editor simon jack is here. simon, first of all, the fine and the reaction to it. this is another painful echo of a decade—long, this has happened during the financial crisis, and this £3.6 billion fine, it sounds weird to say it but it is ashley quite good news, for if you reasons. firstly it is much lower than many people were expecting, second it is hopefully the last very big check that rbs will have to write to pay for its sins of the past, and even better news is they have actually already set aside some of this money so they are only having to take a mere 6p fine in this hit so it will be a profitable yearfor this hit so it will be a profitable year for the this hit so it will be a profitable yearfor the bank. this hit so it will be a profitable year for the bank. in this hit so it will be a profitable yearfor the bank. in many ways rbs will be hoping this is the beginning of the end of probably the most painful chapter in its entire

history. what is your reading of the future of the bank, where is it likely to go? you can now get back to being a normal bank, a properly profitable bank, good news for its majority owner, 70% owned by the taxpayer. this will start the firing gun on —— the starting gun on the beginning to pay dividends to shareholders, that makes it more attractive to investors to buy, we can attractive to investors to buy, we ca n start attractive to investors to buy, we can start selling some of that 70% sta ke can start selling some of that 70% stake back to the private sector. it will not be easy, this £25 billion sta ke will not be easy, this £25 billion stake represents essentially the biggest privatisation in uk history, and it will take years to do. but the process is now under way. we as taxpayers will begin to get some of that money back. one word of warning, it is very unlikely that we will get back the full amount of the £45 billion we put in backing 2008, bearing in mind we spent more money defending a bank then we spent on our entire defence budget, but we

may get some of it back and the treasury is banking on it, because ina way treasury is banking on it, because in a way in many of their financial forecasts, they have already started spending the money. thank you. israel has launched air strikes against iranian targets in syria. israel said the action was in response to a rocket attack by iranian forces on its positions in the israeli—occupied golan heights. the foreign secretary boris johnson condemned iran's attack, and said israel has the right to defend itself. 0ur correspondent yolande knell is in jerusalem. some reaction, and really come your reading of what this latest exchanges about? this was israel's biggest military operation in syria really for decades. now what we are seeing, in terms of reaction, the white house coming out, accusing iran of provoking a dangerous escalation, insisting on israel's right to defend itself, and we have also had comments from many european powers, from britain, france,

germany, also from russia, calling for restraint, trying to dear skill of this situation after this dangerous flare—up, because of course the concern here is always that this could lead to a wider regional situation, yet another confrontation between israel and iran in neighbouring syria. and israel has been warning repeatedly in recent months that it will not allow iranian military infringement in syria. remember of course that iranian forces have been fighting in syria alongside president assad's troops supporting him, as well as the lebanese armed group his brother, which is aligned to iran —— his and wejust and we just heard from the israeli prime minister has been attending an israeli security cabinet meeting to look at all of these developers, and he talked about how iran had in his words crossed a red line in syria, and he insisted that israel's

response was appropriate. clinical dame barbara windsor — one of the most popular figures in british showbusiness over the past half century — has revealed she has alzheimer's disease. the actress — who's 80 — is famous for her roles in the carry on films, and for playing landlady peggy mitchell in eastenders. her husband says she was diagnosed with the illness four years ago, but that her condition has worsened in recent weeks, as our correspondent lizo mzimba reports. get out of my pub! for years, she was the queen of the queen vic, dame barbara windsor is undoubtedly showbiz royalty. in a newspaper interview, her husband scott mitchell said it was in 2009 that he'd first noticed she was having more difficulty learning her lines, just before the first time she left eastenders. my dear friend. five years later, after a series of medical tests, she was diagnosed with alzheimer's. she left eastenders for the final time two years after that.

scott told the sun newspaper: tens of thousands of people develop alzheimer's each year in the uk, a condition that can put huge amounts of pressure on those diagnosed and the people around them. sadly, too many people have felt it's not possible to speak about it, that they have to bottle it up, keep it to themselves. then they and their family get isolated. so what scott has done is saying, it's right to talk about it and everyone in society can play their part to support barbara and the 850,000 other people with dementia around the country. her eastenders co—star ross kemp said: she is continuing with charity work,

and has recently recorded a radio 2 documentary on show business, a demonstration that her diagnosis isn't stopping her doing what she has done for decades, entertaining millions across the country. lizo mzimba, bbc news. a look at the headlines in a moment, and the day's sport, but what is the weather doing? kellen moore palace everything. i cannot tell you it will be like last weekend but it won't be a wash—out. today, lots of sunshine after the overnight rain cleared, i enjoyed that the garden at least, it has cleaned the error up a bit, but

we have these two troublemakers sitting in the atlantic waiting to bring some rain, yes, just in time for the weekend, in factjust before it starts. in the evening and overnight, starry skies will make for a new tonight this time of year, we are talking about frosts in the glens of scotland as we see temperatures dipped to freezing, two or three degrees in the countryside further south even. the exception being northern ireland because the cloud is coming in, the wind strengthening, so a very different complexion for the weather in northern ireland tomorrow. the rain eventually pushes into the western fringes of scotland, england and wales. because the winds are southerly, temperatures will be higher, but that weather front is with us through the weekend, it stag nates with us through the weekend, it stagnates across the eastern part of the country, which gives us a bit of a headache, how quickly it clears. nothing like last weekend but still some sunshine around, just not as warm, 13 to 16, it's about average. this is bbc news — the headlines: the government has made an unreserved apology and full financial settlement to a libyan man

and his wife after british intelligence contributed to their detention in 2004. abdul hakim belhaj said what he called the "courageous move" had put an end to "years of suffering". translation: this is a historic day, a historic moment that i have been waiting for. i would like to back the prime minister and especially the prime minister and especially the attorney general, who i have met personally. he showed me that human rights are not to be violated. the bank of england has kept interest rates on hold and downgraded this year's growth — but it remains optimistic about the uk's economic outlook. president trump has revealed the time and place of his historic meeting with north korea's kim jong—un. the two leaders will meet in singapore on 12th june. dame barbara windsor — star of eastenders and the carry on series — has been diagnosed with alzheimer's. let's catch up with the day's sport.

good evening. wayne rooney has agreed a deal in principle that could see him leave everton for mls side dc united this summer. rooney re—joined everton last year after 13 years at manchester united. he retired from international football last year as england's leading goal—scorer. the bbc understands nothing has been signed yet, but rooney's representatives have been in the usa to negotiate terms — the deal is said to be worth £12.5 million. swansea city manager carlos ca rvalhal will leave at the end of the season. they're almost certain to be relegated from the premier league on sunday, after losing to southampton on tuesday. carvalhal is out of contract at the end of the season. he'd been in talks to stay on — but it's understood the swansea board decided not to take up that option after a run of eight games without a win. ian holloway has left championship side queens park rangers after 18 months in charge. holloway was in his second spell

at loftus road and guided the club to 16th in the table this season. former england manager steve mcclaren, who spent time as a coach at the club in 2013, is one of the names linked with thejob. he beat novak djokovic yesterday — today kyle edmund had a straight sets win over the world number 10, david goffin, at the madrid open. he's guaranteed a place in the world's top 20 after his recent run on clay. he'll play either denis shapovalov or milos raonic in the last eight. i'm ina i'm in a good place. it was good to beat novak yesterday. it gives you confidence, but winning those big matches, it is nice to back that up again and again and not have a one—off good match. it is good that you can play consistently well at big tournaments. andy murray's motherjudy says he's still aiming to be fit in time for the grass—court season.

there had been suggestions that he'd suffered a set—back in his recovery from a hip injury, which could rule him out of wimbledon. butjudy murray told victoria derbyshire he's still working hard on his comeback. it's been a long and frustrating lay—off for him, and he's doing everything he can to be ready, but the strength and depth of men's tennis is so great now that i don't think anybody would want to come back from an injury into that environment unless you are 100% fit. so he is doing everything he can to get ready and i am sure that when he has some news, he will share that. but his goal was always to be ready for the grass court season, and fingers crossed that is what will happen. ai ueda to put a percentage on how fit he is? no. it will take as long as it takes, and he will decide when he's ready. you will have heard some people ask, is this the end of his professional career. what would you say?”

the end of his professional career. what would you say? i don't think so. he still has a lot of things he wa nts to so. he still has a lot of things he wants to achieve. a briton is the new leader of the giro d'italia, but it's not chris froome. simon yates has taken the pink jersey from australian rohan dennis after making his move a mile from the finish of the sixth stage on mount etna. he could have won the stage, but allowed his team mate esteban chaves to take victory. yates now leads the race by 16 seconds from defending champion tom dumoulin. froome is eighth overall, more than a minute off the lead. that's all the sport for now. you can find more on all those stories on the bbc sport website. more than 25,000 people have had operations cancelled at the last minute, according to figures from nhs england for the first three months of this year. it comes as the latest cancer statistics show that not one part of the uk is hitting

targets for treatment. our health correspondent catherine burns reports. it's no news that this winter was tough for the nhs. we saw huge pressure on the front line, with queues in a&e and patients treated in corridors. then hospitals were ordered to cancel routine operations en masse in january. at the time, the government apologised to patients. we're trying to do it differently this year. last year, we cancelled a lot of operations at the very last minute, so people got a call the day before to say their operation wasn't going ahead. that is obviously very undesirable, so we want to do it in a much more planned way. but our hope is that the total number of cancelled operations won't be significantly higher this year. routine operations were supposed to be back to normal by february, but we now know that over the first three months of the year, more than 25,000 operations were cancelled, either

after the patient arrived in hospital or on the day surgery was meant to happen. meanwhile, the bbc has analysed the latest data on cancer treatment. in england, 85% of patients are meant to start treatment within 62 days of cancer being suspected. that target is 95% for the rest of the uk. not one country is achieving that. ron andrews should have started treatment for a tumour on his liver by last march. it didn't happen until october. by that stage, his cancer was terminal. i said "it would have made a difference if you had been seen me back in february". and she nodded, she nodded and said "yes". cardiff and vale university health board apologised for communication problems, but said ron's cancer had been

difficult to diagnose. in the last 12 months, there have been more than 170,000 urgently referred suspected cancer cases. the vast majority, over 140,000, were seen within two months, but around 30,000 were kept waiting. the targets were put in place for a very good reason. when you receive a cancer diagnosis, it's important that you know what is going to happen and when. so it's important that they are met. it is not straightforward, there are all all sorts of factors that get in the way of meeting targets, and those are the issues which we need to resolve. the cancer targets and cancelled operations all point to the same thing, a health service under extreme pressure. nhs providers, which represents chief executives, says urgent steps must be taken to address issues like staff and bed shortages. joining me is cancer research uk policy manager, sara bainbridge.

it's very concerning, but is this all down to financial pressure or is there more to it? at cancer research uk, we have been worried about these statistics for some time, because as was pointed out, all parts of the uk are missing cancer waiting times and have been for some time. one of the key things that we think is underlying these problems is the shortage of staff. in some cases, hospitals would like to employ more staff and they may even have the budget to do so, but they can't fill those vacancies. so for some key professional groups, someone like a radiologist, who interprets a scan, there are tempers and vacancies that can't even be filled because we don't have the right kind staff available —— 10% vacancies. don't have the right kind staff available --10% vacancies. so don't have the right kind staff available -- 1096 vacancies. so there isa available -- 1096 vacancies. so there is a lack of qualified staff. is there an issue around trying to get people in from other countries to do

this work, is that a factor? we know there are lots of things being done to try to address these staff shortages. obviously, we would like to make sure there are more staff shortages. obviously, we would like to make sure ' there re more 1 for’ «jfishortagefig — . ' “ its“ shortages. in , . , ~ , “ its“ shortages. in some ~ , well as staff shortages, in some cases that would just be meeting the current levels of demand. but we know more people will need tests in the future, and to address this we need to make sure hospitals are funded enough to employ more staff and have the kid they need to do the tests a nd and have the kid they need to do the tests and make sure someone gets the diagnosis and starts treatment on time. i know the health service is run differently in different parts of the uk, but are we in a position to even get a sense of what the funding gap is? at the moment, i

can't say what the funding gap is, but we know there are staff shortages affecting all parts of the uk. and the number of people being referred for tests has been going up across the board. that is a good thing, because it means gps are referring people to get an investigation and find out if they have cancer. we welcome that, but what hasn't happened is that the capacity in hospitals does not exist to meet that demand. what is your sense of the thinking in government on this? we have the devolved administrations, plus the uk government, as i say. is there a sense that there is a recognition that there needs to be a more sharply focused re—channelling of resources here, or does the government on the whole think it is doing as well as it can, given that this is not the only area under pressure and there are several other areas in the health service where

there could be people sitting in your seat saying, my area is also in need of extra resources? what is your sense of the thinking in government? we know that all parts of the uk are prioritising cancer, because it affects so many people. and we can do better. compared to our international neighbours, we do like behind on cancer survival and on people being diagnosed at an early stage. so governments are prioritising cancer and we know they are trying to address meeting these targets in the short—term. but in the long term, we would like to see all parts of the uk having i fully . é means

will be waiting longer and people will be waiting longer and potentially, people will get a late diagnosis, is bad news. thanks for shedding more light on those figures. sara bainbridge from cancer research uk. if you want to find out how your local service is doing, you can use the bbc‘s nhs tracker at www. bbc.co.uk/nhstracker. you put in your postcode or you can search for a local area, and it will tell you what is going on. it can tow you about the performance of nhs cancer services and other targets in your area. some of the other stories making bbc news at 5: 92—year—old mahatir mohamad has been sworn

in as the new prime minister of malaysia, becoming the oldest elected leader in the world. supporters gathered on the streets of kuala lumpur to cheer dr mahatir, who came out of retirement to oust his former protege amid corruption allegations. three worshippers have had their throats slit in an attack on a mosque in durban in south africa. according to reports, intruders entered the mosque after midday prayers and set fire to several rooms before fleeing. the victims were taken to hospital. it is not yet known if they have survived. at least 47 people have died in kenya after weeks of torrential rain caused a dam to burst. two villages were deluged. the kenyan red cross says dozens of people were rescued from the mud. hundreds more have been left homeless. food could become much more expensive in the uk after brexit if a trade agreement isn't reached, according to a new house of lords report.

the committee says that the tariff on imports is likely to rise and that this would lead to price increases at the checkout. our environment correspondent claire marshall has the details. half the food we eat is imported. 30% of this comes from the european union. the uk is now negotiating its own trade deals, but it's not clear what the terms will be. according to the lords report, if there is no agreement, there could be severe price rises for shoppers. if we apply the equivalent of european tariffs, then, on average, that is some 22% on food prices that are imported. not all of that would go on food prices itself, but it obviously would have a major effect on the price of food. the report also warns that if there is no trade agreement, we could see more things like this. it advises that there is not the staff, it systems or infrastructure. britain's ports could be choked. we went to a truck stop near chippenham in wiltshire.

at the moment, a two—minute delay at customs leads to a 17—mile tailback. it seems more checks will be needed. does that worry the truckers? we need a bit of common sense in the haulage industry. i'm hoping now with brexit, we might get some common sense around the rules that are already in place. are you worried about changing rules, then? no, not at all. it won't make any difference whatsoever. the rules that are here now will still be here. i think it will be done online. as a driver, i don't think you'll see much change, really. the department for the environment says it's considering how it will best manage border checks and controls without impacting the smooth flow of trade. it will respond to the report in due course. claire marshall, bbc news. this is bbc news at 5 — the headlines: the uk government apologises to abdul hakim belhaj and fatima boudchar for the involvement of british intelligence in the couple's capture and forced return to libya.

the bank of england keeps interest rates on hold after extreme weather hits economic growth in the first three months of the year. president trump announces the historic meeting between himself and north korean leader kimjong—un will take place next month in singapore. an update on the market numbers for you — here's how london's and frankfurt ended the day. and in the united states, this is how the dow and the nasdaq are getting on. injust over a week, the royal wedding will command quite a big chunk of attention across the world when prince harry and meghan markle are married at st george's chapel, windsor. it will sharpen the focus even more acutely on the couple, but we're already able to access more information about the groom because the journalist and royal commentator angela levin followed

prince harry for a year on his official duties and was given rare and exclusive access to him at kensington palace. her new book harry: conversations with the prince was published a few days ago. and it sheds lots of light notjust on his activity, but on his character. royal author angela levin is in the studio with me now. well timed! if someone was to say at this point, we have seen lots of prince harry and we have heard him speak on lots of things, what is the thing that comes out of this book that you think will surprise people? i think he is very charismatic. he is talked of as not having much academic skills, but he has something that you can't actually

improve on, which is instinct, intuition and a lot of people who are damaged in some way, whether they are young and have had difficult or dysfunctional families, or they are soldiers who have post—traumatic stress syndrome. he is extraordinary with them. he knows exactly what to say that goes right to the heart of them, whatever age they are, but doesn't offend them. and soldiers afterwards have said to me, he has given me hope. it's the first time i feel more confidence and that i should live. extraordinary. he is quite magic. but at the same time, he is damaged and you can see dark shadows coming across his face when he is a bit tetchy about something, usually admin or bureaucracy. he wants to get things done. he is full of energy. he is a fascinating combination. i think that is why women particularly like him, because they can mother him and enjoy his

exuberance. i think it is important to underline as well, people make the point about intellectual gifts, but that has nothing to do with intelligence. he strikes one as being a bright chap who has interesting and perceptive things to say. very much so. and he is also in a hurry. when i saw him meeting with people who were discussing things, he would go straight to the core, he would cut all the rubbish. they could spend an hour and a half talking and he would say in three or four sentences, write to the core. that is a very sharp mind, in my view. hejust that is a very sharp mind, in my view. he just knows what should be done and how. we saw that when he established the charity has got in africa for children with hiv. what do you make of this partnership? how does the chemistry work? well,

chemistry happens without you really having any effect on it. but i think what he likes is that she is very strong. she has her own views. she is beautiful. she is self—made. she has had a disturbed background. although her parents are divorced, she says they get on fine. i don't think you can get on fine, although you can work together. and she seems to love him very much, and she is motherly. she was stroking him, encouraging his —— encouraging him. people say he is much calmer now that she is here, more relaxed. somebody, at long last, can cope with the social spotlight and seems to be making him very happy. with the social spotlight and seems to be making him very happym with the social spotlight and seems to be making him very happy. it is one thing to see people in the public sphere, and there is always an element of having a public face

in this position. but you have had the advantage of spending time where he has not been public. is there a big gulf, whisbi harry we see the same harry that you saw? he said he was divided into three prince harry is back. he is the royal harry, there is the army, where he felt so free as one of the guys, and the family. and he switches between the three as he needs to. a lot of us do that. we are different at home to how we are at work. comedians are often miserable at home. so i think thatis often miserable at home. so i think that is a normal thing. and i think he has managed to build that so that he has managed to build that so that he can cope with the pressure. we have discussed in the past the fact that he had a very challenging upbringing in many ways, traumatic. but your sense of his temperament,

how would you describe it? some people are very laid—back, some are not. he is very laid-back about some things. he is laid—back about family. he doesn't like family rows, family. he doesn't like family rows, family is very important to him. he is not laid—back about incompetence. he wants things done efficiently and well. he is very caring and soft and gentle with people who he sees as needy and he has no patience with the press. he tolerates us. that is quite a big thing, in the sense that there is still a lot of resentment for how the press have acted in the past. i asked a member of his team, does he still hate all the press? it is quite traumatising to interview someone who you know doesn't like you before you even open your mouth. and they said, well, he is now beginning to realise they are not all terrible. one or two are ok. and isaid,i all terrible. one or two are ok. and i said, i hope all terrible. one or two are ok. and isaid, i hope i all terrible. one or two are ok. and i said, i hope i am one of those. but did you feel you have to prove

yourself? yes. they told me i had 20 minutes, which is no time. i got to ask him a really significant question to make him realise i am not silly or superficial. and having watched him for a year and seeing how he talked to people, i sat there and said, your royal highness, i have watched you for a year. i have seen you with people who are damaged, and i would like to ask whether you are also use that to help yourself with your own demons and whether it is a form of therapy. he was silent for a bit, and i thought, i'm out of the door. and he said wow, that's a big question. then silence again. and he said, you're right, of course. and we then got on well and it clicked. and he talked to me at a much more profound level than he would have done if i had asked him when was his next holiday or what a lovely room it was. what is your sense of what he wa nts to was. what is your sense of what he wants to achieve in years to come?

this is another big question. there will be lots of commentary around the kind of marriage it will be, but asa the kind of marriage it will be, but as a partnership, what will they try to achieve as a royal couple? the first clue that was in the engagement interview, when meghan said on theirfirst engagement interview, when meghan said on their first date, they both talked about how they wanted to change the world. i have never heard anybody do that on a first date, it's anybody do that on a first date, its extraordinary. she is full of energy, full of ideas. i knew harry would be delighted. he told me when he was in the army, for the first time he felt part of a team. he realised that you can't do anything u nless realised that you can't do anything unless there is teamwork. and meghan said she didn't mind giving up acting, it wasn't giving it up, it was moving onto other things. she wa nts to was moving onto other things. she wants to work as a team with harry. so he has got someone very close with him. he said to me countless times, iwant

with him. he said to me countless times, i want to make a difference. i don't want to be just thought of as prince harry, i want to change things and i have to be quick, because there prince george and princess charlotte coming up behind me. they are not really behind him, because they are tiny! but it was the thought that he only has a certain space where he can approach young people. he wants to get young people keen on the monarchy. they are the ones who are perhaps less interested. and he wants to do things with charity and the invictus games, which he set up in six months, which is amazing. these things can take years, but he works ha rd to things can take years, but he works hard to get it going. and i think they will come up with a lot of ideas, including spending time in the commonwealth. who is the stronger character, harry or meghan? well, i think he is giving meghan her time now, letting her go forward and speak. he is proud of her and he wa nts and speak. he is proud of her and he wants the british public to know and love her like he does. but harry has

got very strong views. i think there has been silly criticism about his beard and the colour of his jacket. that is easy to do, but he will stand firm and he will want to do what is right for the royal family. he has come right back in after his rebel years, and i think she will hopefully learn to curtail some things and work together with a tremendous amount of energy and open it up because she is biracial and american and an actress. they could do something wonderful. as long as she is not squashed. can't see her being squashed. well, the royal family can be difficult about the way you have to be. i think harry will fight on her behalf, but they could come together and make it something really special. angela, i will see you at windsor! harry: conversations with the prince is by angela levin and it came out a few

days ago. it is a very timely read at the moment. thanks for coming in. the news at six is coming up. time for a look at the weather with helen willetts. a bit of evening sunshine still to enjoy. many have enjoyed the sunshine, notjust enjoy. many have enjoyed the sunshine, not just in enjoy. many have enjoyed the sunshine, notjust in the north, but across the board. a bit more cloud towards the north and west. this was east sussex earlier in the day, the north—west seeing more cloudy and argyll and bute. the west will see more tomorrow as well, so than today. this was the earlier cloud that brought the overnight rain. this massive cloud will be heading in to the second half of tomorrow for most. the evening hours will have clear skies, starry skies overnight. and it will turn chilly, particularly for this time of year

as temperatures fall to within a few degrees of freezing. later in the night, you can see the approach of this weather front. that the terms things more cloudy and breezy. then it pushes towards dumfries and galloway and into the irish sea coast of england and wales. the afternoon looks damp for the western side of scotland. further east, there will be some sunshine. we will catch that rain for the west. the rain, albeit fairly intense to start with, will weaken for a time as it heads eastwards. it is pushing into this area of high pressure, which will weaken it. then it grinds to a halt and that is our big question mark for the weekend. there may be heavy rain brought northwards, and it is the timing of those heavier pulses and where that weather system

grinds to a halt that is giving us a headache for the weekend forecast. it doesn't look as funny or as one —— a sunny or as warm as previously. further west, sunshine and a scattering of showers. sunday sees that weather system starting to clear away from the east coast of england, but it is a different day for much of central and northern scotland, and the showers further south and west become more prevalent. if you catch one of the showers, you will get quite a soaking. temperatures are average for the time of year, but a far cry from last weekend. accepting the apology today — abdel hakim belhaj says a tip off

from mi6 led to him and his wife being captured in thailand and thenjailed in libya. translation: it's been six years of prison and six years of waiting, which was a continuation of the suffering for me and my family, and hopefully today represents the ends of all that. today he and his wife accepted the unprecedented apology and £500,000 compensation. on behalf of her majesty's government, i apologise unreservedly. we are profoundly sorry for the ordeal that you both suffered, and our role in it. also on the programme tonight: