this is bbc news and these are the top stories developing at 11am. another blow for the high street: house of fraser announces plans to close half of its stores, putting 6,000 jobs at risk. another retail giant in big trouble and lots of towns and cities across the country are losing department stores that have been there for generations. bt is hearing in wolverhampton has been here for 100 yea rs wolverhampton has been here for 100 years and is now earmarked closure. theresa may is to meet with senior ministers amid tensions over her brexit customs backstop proposal, due to be published today. campaigners lose a supreme court appeal over the legality of abortion in northern ireland, but judges say the law there is "incompatible" with human rights. also in the next hour — tributes are paid to nightclub owner peter stringfellow, who has died aged 77. the so—called king of clubs opened venues around the world, despite facing criticism, in a career spanning six decades.

and — a very risky manoeuvre: the driver who reversed more than a mile, narrowly missing oncoming traffic on a busy us highway. good morning. it's thursday seventh june, i'm annita mcveigh. welcome to bbc newsroom live. the retailer house of fraser has announced plans to shut over half of its stores as part of a rescue deal, affecting 6,000 jobs. the department store chain said 31 of its 59 shops have been scheduled to close, including its flagship shop on london's oxford street. if the plan goes ahead, 2,000 house of fraserjobs will be lost, along with 4,000 brand

and concession roles. the retailer needs the approval of 75% of its creditors to go ahead. our business correspondent maryam moshiri joins me now. give us an overview of what's happening. house of fraser runs 59 stores across the country, two of these will be exempt but of those remaining 57, we will see 16 category one stores, the most profitable, staying open and having trading as normal, rent unchanged. category two stores, of which there are ten, will have their rent is reduced and will remain trading, however the remaining 31 will have rent reduced to 30% of current levels, then they will close. that includes the flagship store in 0xford includes the flagship store in oxford circus. the head offices will

also move, so oxford circus. the head offices will also move, so many oxford circus. the head offices will also move, so manyjobs could be affected. what is the background to this? many reasons, the high street is changing. more and more people go online, using amazon and online shopping. you have to keep up house of fraser has not been doing doing that. it has had a lack of investment in its stores, and in some ways you could say it is perhaps out of fashion, the stock it's been buying has not been popular. too much discounting, many people feel lots of department stores are a race to the bottom in terms of getting football and discounting items. 0ne terms of getting football and discounting items. one finds it hard to navigate a lot of these bigger, all the stores and they are very expensive to run. they have negotiated these rent years ago when the high street was booming and now the high street was booming and now the high street was booming and now the high street is slowing down and that means these rents are too high and they're struggling. you mentioned a reduction in rents, if the surviving business is to be viable on an ongoing basis. house of

fraser isn't the only high street name do have had a share of woes this year. completely, what's house of fraser wants to do is pare back and move forward in a different way with a different model. we've seen so with a different model. we've seen so many of these businesses struggling, marks & spencer late last month with a fall in profits, toys " r" last month with a fall in profits, toys "r" us went into administration. maplin, or that toys "r" us went into administration. maplin, orthat also went into administration. mothercare, and restaurants like carluccio ‘s, byron, who have all had to come forward with a cba. it's not all been bad, there have been some success not all been bad, there have been some success stories, john lewis for example is doing pretty well. why? well, the likes ofjohn lewis have changed with the times, improved its online offering and crucially, invested money in stores. that's why stores like that are doing better than house of fraser. this has not been voted on yet, we do need 75% of creditor approval and that vote

ta kes pla ce creditor approval and that vote takes place on the 22nd ofjune. thank you. 0ur correspondent phil mackie is in wolverhampton where another of the department chain's stores is due to close. we often talk about the changing face of the high street. if beatties goes, what will that mean for wolverhampton? it's going to leave a huge hole in wolverhampton‘s retail markets. just look at the size of beatties here, it occupies a whole block in the city centre. it's been here for 100 years, 132 by next year when it is earmarked for closure. it is the beating heart of wolverhampton‘s city centre. i have wolverhampton's city centre. i have seen tweets from people today including the novelist and broadcaster who grew up here, talking about remembering childhood visits to this store. it's an iconic brand. beatties itself was a regional chain with stores in places like buster and halford which was

taken over like buster and halford which was ta ken over by like buster and halford which was taken over by house of fraser when it ran into difficulties more than a decade ago. they are all now earmarked for closure. a huge disappointment for wolverhampton, which has struggled for decades. to lose another iconic landmark store like this is a real blow for the local economy. the former boss ofjohn lewis has been tweeting about this news, saying it will be devastating to so many staff. he says we need some innovative and creative thinking about how we support our high streets and town centres in the digital age. is an interesting discussion point because people want isa discussion point because people want is a vibrant high streets but if they are spending more money online, how can you have both? he is the man who lead john lewis to its great success , who lead john lewis to its great success, including an expansion. he's now the west midlands mayor,

wolverhampton fools in his remit and he will be aware of the problems this city has faced. we are looking ata this city has faced. we are looking at a revival in coventry, the city of culture, and birmingham is booming. even though the house of fraser store there, which people will have known to generations as raqqa's, will survive. but in places like bum —— like wolverhampton, it will be a shame. who will take on a building of this size? how will be divided up to smaller units? it's difficult to imagine what will happen here. perhaps there will even bea campaign happen here. perhaps there will even be a campaign to try to save it but it's a real devastating blow. there's a similar picture in towns and cities across the uk who have heard the news today about the local department store, often known as house of fraser now used to be known as something like beatties, they will have had their parents and grandparents growing up with these

places and it's a real blow. thank you. some other gloomy retail news just emerging, we hear pound world is poised to announce its intention to appoint administrators, putting around 5300 jobs at risk. that's comes from the press association, pound world appointing administrators, putting more than 5000 jobs at risk. we will bring in more detail when we get it. 0nto brexit... theresa may will meet with senior ministers later in an attempt to resolve tensions over the government's brexit ‘backstop' plan. in the proposal, the uk would match eu tariffs temporarily in order to avoid a hard irish border post—brexit. she has already been meeting david davis this morning, billed as something of a showdown. but we are hearing on twitter, and i hope we can show you this. senior source

tells me there will be more clarity on the time limit on the backstop and it will still be published today. crucially, nobody will be resigning from government today according to the senior source talking to laura. joining me now from downing street is our assistant political editor, norman smith. bring us up to date. i was asking earlier if this would be a showdown something else altogether, some sort of compromise perhaps?” something else altogether, some sort of compromise perhaps? i think we are heading more towards the compromise because the meeting between david davis and theresa may which was in the house of commons is now over. this mays back in downing street, david davis returned a short time ago to the brexit brexit apartment down the road. got out of his car, moved quickly into his office in number nine, shouted questions, are you quitting, are you resigning? he did not give any

a nswe i’s. resigning? he did not give any answers. just rushed straight in. speaking to a close ally of mr davis, he was saying to me that we journalists all need to calm down. although it was difficult, he said there was no need to make this a dramatic situation. i take it from that that mr davies and no one else is going to be walking the plank today. which will come as some relief to many brexiteers who did not want mr davies to go because of their fears it could not want mr davies to go because of theirfears it could have not want mr davies to go because of their fears it could have thrown the whole brexit process into utter disarray. listen to the former brexit minister david jones on the today programme this morning. brexit minister david jones on the today programme this morninglj brexit minister david jones on the today programme this morning. i know he is unhappy with what is proposed at the moment. personally i hope he does fight his corner. and that there can be sensible policy going forward in the eu this week but we clearly need to get this resolved and we are arriving at quite a crucial moment. david davis has been methods that process began, he knows

all the ins and outs of the negotiations so far. he is completely across his brief. therefore, it's essential that david davis stays in position. he has my support and i know he has the support and i know he has the support of a lot of my colleagues. if there is to be a compromise, does that mean we will see something written on paper in terms of a time limit on this backstop, which of course was the issue that was causing david davis so much consternation? will no later today because the government will publish in what is called a brit ministerial statement the backstop proposal might get, i guess what we will see is toughened up language but not a fixed, firm date. it will not say that the backstop option comes to an end onjuly 21,2022 that the backstop option comes to an end onjuly 21, 2022 for example. it will maybe talk about giving an absolute assurance that there will bea absolute assurance that there will be a fixed time for the duration of this backstop. it will try to give

reassuring language to appease brexiteers and to ensure they don't form the view that basically this could become a sort of limbo land where we go on and on in the backstop option which would mean that the uk remain bound by some of the eu's custom rules. i imagine number ten will have found some wordsmith in downing street you can put together a formulation or phrase which is enough to keep david davis happy without actually giving a fixed date. we will find out later. thank you. human rights campaigners have lost a supreme court appeal over the legality of northern ireland's abortion law. but a majority ofjudges said the existing law was incompatible with human rights law in cases of fatal foetal abnormality and sexual crime. any change in the law will now be up to the politicians, either in belfast or westminster. this is just the latest challenge to the abortion law in northern ireland in recent years. in 2015, a high courtjudge

in northern ireland ruled northern ireland's law breached the european convention on human rights in cases of fatal foetal abnormality or sexual crime. the following year members of the northern ireland assembly voted against legalising abortion in cases of fatal foetal abnormality and cases of sexual crime. last year, the supreme court rejected an appeal by an anonymous mother and daughter that women there should be able to access free nhs abortions in england. then the government announced women from northern ireland would be entitled to free nhs abortions in england, after a labour—led campaign. and in october, the supreme court was asked to consider an appeal that argues northern ireland law is incompatible with international human rights. 0ur ireland co—respondent, emma vardy, is at the supreme court in central london. this case brought by the northern

ireland human rights commission lost ona ireland human rights commission lost on a technicality. take us through the details of what the judges had to say. northern ireland human rights commission was dismissed today but lots of excitement from campaigners out here because campaigners out here because campaigners for reforming abortion law in northern ireland will be talking this up as a win. that's because of the very powerful language used by the judges because of the very powerful language used by thejudges in because of the very powerful language used by the judges in the supreme court today. they ruled, while they remarked, that this was, they considered the abortion law in northern ireland to be incompatible with human rights legislation. in cases of fatal foetal abnormality, rape and incest. they pointed out this is not binding. the reason it was lost on a technicality is because the northern ireland human rights commission did not have the power, the entity that it is to bring these kind of proceedings.

they said importantly that had this case being brought by a victim, by an individual woman who had suffered asa an individual woman who had suffered as a result of northern ireland abortion law, then they would have made that a definitive ruling. that tells you a lot about the mindset of the supreme courtjudges here today on what goes to the heart of this very divisive issue. i am joined by keeling gallagher who has been acting on the half of one of the abortion reform groups involved in this, what will you take this? at humanist uk, we do consider this a win. there's a clear ruling by the supreme court, court, five judges in powerful terms have said today that the law in northern ireland is incompatible with human rights and stop and that the three women a day at the moment. to travel or pills, risking criminalisation and jail, there human rights had been breached. we have heard powerful

testimony from some of the affected women, the women who had very much wanted pregnancies and to discover the heartbreaking news that they we re the heartbreaking news that they were suffering fatal fatal abnormalities have come forward and told their stories. many women have not been able to come forward because of stigma and shame, including the women who have suffered pregnancies as a result of sexual violence, rape and incest. suffered pregnancies as a result of sexual violence, rape and incestm there any regret that one of those victims was not put at the centre of this, to bring the case on their behalf? you could effectively have been celebrating a much firmer winter day. first of all, the northern island human rights commission did a powerful thing in taking this case, recognising that many of the thousands of women affected by this law cannot come forward. the commission denigrating powerful thing and we stand behind that. secondly, whether a case could now be ta ken that. secondly, whether a case could now be taken by one of those women, it's good. but we think it now time for westminster to act and not to put another one into the rigmarole

of having to trawl through the northern ireland courts and back up to the supreme court when the answer is now clear. the supreme court has made clear today that the law northern ireland requires radical reconsideration and those responsible for ensuring the uk is acting incompatibility with human rights standards must take action. that's why we strongly feel westminster must now step in and ta ke westminster must now step in and take action by the court could not because its hands were tied on a technicality. thank you forjoining us. technicality. thank you forjoining us. we have also heard from pro—life campaigners here today, who are resolute that they will continue to campaign againstany resolute that they will continue to campaign against any change to the abortion laws in northern ireland. i will leave you with a comment from lord kerr, justice of the supreme court who said in a clear message to westminster, though it's not in any sense binding, the remarks today must be worthy of close consideration by those in whose power it lies to decide whether the law should now be changed. a clear

message to those who sit over the road from here in westminster. thank you. the headlines on bbc newsroom live. house of fraser announces plans to close half of its department stores, putting 6,000 jobs at risk. theresa may will publish her brexit customs backstop proposals today after a crunch meeting with the brexit secretary to address his concerns. the supreme court rejects an appeal on abortion rights in northern ireland, but agrees current rules are incompatible with human rights law. and in sport... england defender danny rose openly reveals his battle with depression, which he says was triggered by a long—term injury and the death of his uncle. rose and co will play england's final friendly before the world cup this evening — they take on costa rica — before travelling to russia for the tournament. and rafa nadal is back on court at the french open — and he's already levelled his quarterfinal against diego schwartzman, taking the second set of their rain—delayed match. i'll be back with more

on those stories after half—past. the nightclub owner peter stringfellow has died at the age of 77. known as the king of clubs, his most famous venue — stringfellows — is one of london's longest—running clubs having first opened its doors in 1980. the businessman had been suffering from cancer which he had decided to keep private. jon donnison reports. have i got the bestjob or what? peter stringfellow, the self—declared king of clubs, was a feature on the british entertainment scene for half a century. he opened his first club in his hometown of sheffield in 1962, after trying his hand as a barber, a car mechanic and a merchant seaman. when i was 21 years old, i decided, as per usual, i was chasing money, anything to get me some money extra, and i started booking a church hall called st aidan's in sheffield, which i renamed the black cat club.

his move into adult entertainment in the 1990s with table dancing and lap dancing sometimes brought him into conflict with the authorities. calling it... sexual encounters establishment is a derogatory term, it is kind of penalising. "we don't like what you do so we are going to give you a nasty name." he preferred to call his establishments gentleman's clubs and eventually opened venues in new york, paris and beverly hills. he famously once claimed to have slept with more than 2000 women. critics accused him of objectifying women. undoubtedly, peter stringfellow built his life and business around them. peter stringfellow who has died at the age of 77. 0ur correspondent simon jones is outside stringfellows in central london. for someone who courted celebrity on

such a public figure, he had been incredibly private about this illness. absolutely. he only told his family and close friends about the illness. it has come as a shock to many people. this club he described as his heart and soul, here in covent garden. it opened in 1980 and celebrities would queue up to get into the club and to have their picture taken with peter stringfellow. he do such a charismatic and popular figure. stringfellow. he do such a charismatic and popularfigure. he actually met his third wife here at the club and have a naming ceremony for his two children here at the club, that's because he said he was actually offered the chance to have it at westminster cathedral, but he decided that would be right and didn't fit decided that would be right and didn'tfit in decided that would be right and didn't fit in with his use of

religion. as well as that, he would describe this club is the premier gentleman ‘s club in the country. he promised if people came here, they would find attractive women, they would find attractive women, they would find attractive women, they would find opulence, luxury, but they would also find discretion. that discretion is something that characterised the end of his life. he truly decided he didn't want people to know in public about the illness he had. he had been diagnosed with lung cancer ten years ago, then again he kept that secrets. he recovered from that but when cancer returned, he did not wa nt when cancer returned, he did not want the general public to know, so the flamboyant figure very much wa nted the flamboyant figure very much wanted to share that news just with those closest to him. thank you for that. the grenfell tower inquiry should consider whether firefighters were put in an "impossible situation" when battling the blaze, according to the fire brigades union. the fbu said in its opening statement that given "multiple" safety failings within the building, "the firefighters were always chasing a sinister fire they had no realistic chance of defeating". 0ur correspondent

tom burridge is outside the inquiry hearing in central london. strong words from the fpu. tell us more about what's been said today. its importance, we've been hearing from the three organisations representing firefighters who tackled the fire on that night, because in some of the other opening state m e nts because in some of the other opening statements in qcs representing relatives of those who were killed and survivors, there had been questions about the policy to advise residents to stay put in the building. we have been hearing from the last few minutes and stephen walsh qc representing the london fire brigade that firefighters on that night faced intolerable decisions, often faced with a stark choices with consequences. he said they received operators on that night, they received more calls from people seeking advice on how to

survive a fire than had in the previous ten years in the whole of london, they got more calls of that type than in the previous decade in one night. then he went on to talk about the steep that policy of what's been described this morning as they put less. stay put unless, u nless as they put less. stay put unless, unless your flat is affected by smoke orfire. unless your flat is affected by smoke or fire. —— unless your flat is affected by smoke orfire. —— he went on unless your flat is affected by smoke or fire. —— he went on to talk about the stay put policy. he said buildings like grenfell where expressly designed to contain the fire in anyone's flat, the building therefore was not intended to do the opposite, to facilitate a simultaneous evacuation. golding is like grenfell tower are just built ina way like grenfell tower are just built in a way where you could suddenly decide to get everyone out. the stairwell is not good enough. there is not a common alarm system through

the building. stay put is not a creation of the fire service but a principle of building design. fire services, when attending fires in premises of this kind do not interpret the stade puts principle to mean that residents should remain in theirflat to mean that residents should remain in their flat whatever the circumstances. —— the stay put principle. it's not how it's applied nationally and it is not how it applied during the grenfell fire. quite the contrary. part of the advice to residents who called the fire service control room is that if their flat is affected by a fire or smoke, they should leave. if it is safe to do so. this is where we begin to see some of the real dilemmas and problems which fire services face. the 999 calls and the fire survival guide and scores

reveal that many of those who called the nfb control room on the night of the nfb control room on the night of the fire said they could not leave. because of the conditions in the lobbies. martin seaward from the fire brigade union said many firefighters remain traumatised, facing challenges beyond their knowledge and training and procedures. he asked if they were put in an impossible position and he agreed with the assertion made on many occasions throughout this week by other barristers, particularly representing the relatives of those killed and survivors, that grenfell tower was a highly combustible death trap. it was guilty, people were guilty in his words of a serial noncompliance with building regulations and there was a complete failure at every stage in terms of fire safety. we also heard from the

fire safety. we also heard from the fire officers association and all three organisations representing the firefighters rejected any criticism, any suggestion that the decisions of firefighters ta ken any suggestion that the decisions of firefighters taken on that night we re firefighters taken on that night were done in any prejudicial way in terms of race. that suggestion had been made at one point this week and was totally rejected by all three organisations representing firefighters on that night. thank you. a 39—year—old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a 100—year—old woman died following a robbery. sofia catchan sustained injuries — including a broken neck — when her handbag was stolen in a street in derby last week. the man had initially been arrested on suspicion of robbery before mrs catchan died yesterday morning. politicians in guatemala say the country's emergency response agency should be investigated for criminal negligence after sunday's volcano. 0pposition parties say the head of the conred body failed to evacuate the area despite advance warnings ahead of the deadly eruption of the fuego volcano.

ninety—nine people are now known to have died and many others remain unaccounted for. new figures suggest that fewer than two in five students in england think they're getting value for money. the survey of 111,000 students found tuition fees, teaching quality and lack of contact hours were the biggest causes of dissatisfaction. measures of well—being, such as anxiety among students, have also worsened. new figures suggest that one—and—a—half—million people in the uk were destitute last year. the findings have been published in a report by the charity, thejoseph rowntree foundation. the government is now being urged to reform the welfare system but ministers insist work is the best route out of poverty. here's our social affairs correspondent, michael buchanan. daily, the emmanuel centre in nottingham helps those who have little. one of the regular visitors is dave james. he has been homeless for years after a relationship breakdown. without shelter he has also

had to go without money when his benefits were stopped — he was accused of not trying hard enough to find a job. i find it hard to look for work because when i split up with missus i had nothing. you know, couldn't claim benefits for about two or three months. and then, when you get your first claim, you know, you try and make that last and then you've got to go through the procedure again to look for work and then you get another sanction. today's report says people are destitute if, over the course of a month, they've gone without basis, such as food or shelter, or have less than £10 a day to live on. in 2017,1.5 billion people in the uk were said to be living in destitution. the main causes included benefit sanctions and poor health. what we see every day is people struggling to make ends meet, having to make terrible choices about whether they pay their rent, whether they buy food, whether they clothes themselves, they buy these things.

the highest thing that people when they're destiture is a lack of food. the number of people in destitution is estimated to have fallen by about a quarter since 2015, says today's report, due to benefit sanctions being used less often. researchers want that trend to continue and for the freeze in benefit rates to end, to ensure fewer people are left destitute. ministers say they are spending £90 billion annually helping those in most need. michael buchanan, bbc news. lots more on all our main story is coming up but it's time for the weather. largely dry day out there for much of the country, variable amounts of sunshine, for some of us plenty of blue skies but for other areas more cloud and that will bring showers. the chance of a shower through the rest of today, not all of us but particularly along the south coast of england we are seen showers bubbling up, some quite heavy. if

you catch one there could be a rumble of thunder, but they are hit and miss. the sunshine north, 19—21 will feel quite pleasant. cooler around the east coast where the breezes coming in from the north sea. 0ne breezes coming in from the north sea. one or two showers for west of scotla nd sea. one or two showers for west of scotland and northern ireland but most scotland and northern ireland but m ost pla ces scotland and northern ireland but most places dry tonight, fairly cloudy, temperatures on the mild side tomorrow morning with the spots of rain across wales and the midlands. these showers could be heavy at first tomorrow but similar to today's most places dry. more cloud than today but it should break up cloud than today but it should break up on into the afternoon. sunny spells developing, temperatures up to around 21 degrees, a bit cooler in the east. this is bbc news — our latest headlines. house of fraser is planning to close 31 of its 59 stores as part of a survival plan, with the loss of about 6000 jobs.

theresa may is expected to reveal her brexit backstop proposals later today after a crunch meeting with david davis to address his concerns — the brexit secretary is said to have considered resigning over the plans. human rights campaigners have lost their attempt to overturn northern ireland's strict abortion laws on a technicality. but the supreme court made clear that it agreed the current rules are incompatible with european human rights legislation. stars from across the showbiz world have paid tribute to peter stringfellow, who died at the age of 77. the strip joint owner, known for his flamboyant personality, opened a string of night clubs across the world. much praise ahead of england's final

world cup wall map match for danny rose. england defender danny rose has admitted to suffering with depression during what he called a "testing time at tottenham" last season. the left back believes it was triggered by a knee injury that kept him out for eight months, and the death of his uncle during his rehabi. he said he hadn't even told anybody how his mental health had suffered. rose also said that playing for england had been his salvation — england take on costa rica tonight, in their final warm—up game. and manager gareth southgate says he understands why did was told his family not to travel to russia where racism is still a problem. in his court he has said we cannot change

the world but maybe we can have a small impact on how we conduct ourselves. the guys from all the communities they came from our fantastic role models for children in terms of the way they are able to show what is possible. and the way they interact with each other. so there's a possibility to change people's thinking and have an impact. england have moved up one place to 12th in the latest fifa rankings — but there's bad news for russia. they'll go into their own world cup as the lowest ranked side of the 32. after a string of poor results, they're down to 70th, which means they've fallen below saudi arabia, the only side ranked lower on the previous list. and those teams actually open the world cup in a week's time. joey carbery will start ireland's first test against australia on saturday at fly—half. he replacesjohnny sexton for the brisbane game, in what's a much—changed line—up. carbery was back—up to sexton

throughout ireland's grand slam winning six nations campaign. head coachjoe schmidt has rested several leinster players following their busy end of season schedule and flanker peter 0'mahony will captain the side in the absence of regular skipper rory best. after all the problems in australian cricket — not least the ball—tampering scandal, are they coming to england this summer to play nice? not in the slightest. head coach justin langer says they won't be cutting back on the sledging — that's the verbaljibes they aim at opposing players — although he doesn't want it to go too far. collett banter or sledging or whatever you want, everyone talks about sledging but there is a difference between banter and abuse and abuse is no good, it does not matter if you are on or off the field, there is no room for abuse anywhere but there is plenty of room for banter or what we call sledging. it's a fun part of the game. it's actually part of the game. now, the philadelphia eagles

have responded to donald trump's decision to withdraw an invitation to the white house — which is usually offered to the new super bowl champions. many players had opted not to attend, so the meet—up was cancelled altogether. the administration said protests throughout the season, during the national anthem, were unpatriotic. so one player, malcolm jenkins, made his points via hand—written cards instead, with comments about social injustice in the us. 0ne card also appeared to address the president directly, reading "you aren't listening". theresa may will publish her brexit customs backstop proposals today after a crunch meeting with david davis the brexit secretary to address his concerns. in the proposal, the uk would match eu tariffs temporarily in order to avoid a hard irish border post—brexit. this is a twitter message from laura

kuenssberg citing a senior source telling her there would be more clarity on the time limit on the backstop proposal which would crucially still be published today and also nobody will be resigning from the government. that's what this senior source says. joining me now is the conservative mp desmond swayne. good morning, thank you for your time today. we are hearing although nothing is absolutely firm yet, that there will be in whatever is published later today strongly assurances, reassuring language about the backstop being of a fixed length but not necessarily with a date being committed to paper, is that good enough for you? i'm inclined to say phew. it's better than what was being billed this morning, i still have reservations about the whole notion of the backstop, i believe it causes us to blink first if you like in these negotiations. the position is that

the worst fears of our negotiating partners is that we leave without a deal because they are £40 billion short and the effects of the world trade organisation rules disproportionately affect them. we however would have £20 billion to spend on the nhs before the next election. we of course would have a less good deal than we might otherwise have. but nevertheless we would not be as badly as affected as them. they fear is that we leave without a deal. that is our strongest negotiating card, to play that card and persuade them that we are prepared to walk away, the way toa are prepared to walk away, the way to a good deal is to threaten no deal will stop but having a backstop arrangements, particularly one that does not have a time limit is effectively to blink and say we will

not leave without a deal and that oui’ not leave without a deal and that our strongest card. but with nine months to go progress must be made. exactly which is why you must concentrate their minds on the reality we are making every preparation to leave without a deal. and preparation for a deal? absolutely. the best way to get a good deal is to show you are genuine in your preparations to walk away. my in your preparations to walk away. my fear about the backstop deal is effectively you are signalling that whatever happens we will stay until it is fixed. if it is good enough for david davis is it good enough for david davis is it good enough for you? if it is good enough for himi for you? if it is good enough for him i will be very reassured. and that line from the senior source talking to our political editor laura kuenssberg sing there will be no resignations today, how close do you think david davis would have been to resigning over this issue?

who knows? i work on the principle that nothing is ever as bad as reported. what we get is stories and the swirl of the media, who knows, in the quiet discussions in the cabinet room what is actually going on and what takes place. i expect it's the lower temperature than the hype which surrounds it. it is the time for compromise. do you accept but do you accept both sides have to make compromises in order to get the work done there needs to be done by next year? i agree we have to go forward with the clear plan and that will require compromises on both sides. but i would be very worried if we were to discard our best negotiating position. thank you very much. dying patients in the north of england are not receiving the same level of care as those

in the south, according to new research. the study found that terminally ill people are not getting palliative care early enough — with those in the north being referred far later than those in the south. nicola rees reports. when you're ready. tell me when to stop. jenny bowes doesn't have long to live, lung cancer has spread to her bones. i have been fighting it best i can, but there are some days when it's — yeah, you just wonder why you are still here. at saint gemma's hospice in leeds, jenny is getting expert end of life care. everybody has time to talk to you and make you feel wanted again, so there is a reason to keep going. palliative care isn'tjust about the final days of life. according to the latest clinical trials research, people need to be referred 3—6 months before death to have their quality of life improved. but that is not happening and for many terminally ill people,

crucial end of life care comes far too late. it should be before you get to that point where you are in that stressful situation. suzanne white's mum hillary was diagnosed with stomach cancer 18 months ago, but her referral for palliative care came just a few weeks before she died. it would have been brilliant to access that information so that i could have supported mum a bit more. it did upset me that in the last few weeks when she lost communication, i couldn't speak to her about anything and didn't know how to speak to her about it and i am sure they would have been people here that could have supported me with that six months ago. today, a national survey of hospices was published, it found that patients in the south were only referred for palliative care on average 55 days before death. this situation is worse in the north of england. here, terminally ill people were referred on average,

35 days before death. it could be that health care professionals in the north are more reluctant to refer until the very late stages. it may be that patients are reluctant to accept referrals. more stoic. it could be that hospices are not as well integrated, potentially, in the community as they might be, to encourage earlier access or facilitate that. in a statement, the government said: but with more older people living for longer than ever before, today's report shows there is still away to go to insure all of us live well before we die. how much of a difference did it make once you were in here? complete, immediate relief. we had all the support here and everybody was amazing. it has just been, yeah, total different

experience to anywhere else that i've ever been. it's incredible. some breaking news to bring you, we are hearing that amazon has secured premier league tv rights for the uk. this is coming from our sports news correspondent richard conway, this isa correspondent richard conway, this is a deal, amazon securing one of the two remaining domestic premier league broadcast deals available. we are told these matches will be available on prime video in the uk at no extra cost to people who have prime membership. securing the rights for the 2019—20 season and then a three—year deal every premier league club will be featured across two four rounds of 20 matches per season. that news just coming

through, we'll bring you more detail on that soon. in a moment a summary of the business news this hour but first — the headlines on bbc newsroom live: house of fraser announces plans to close half of its department stores — putting 6,000 jobs at risk. theresa may will publish her brexit customs backstop proposals today after a crunch meeting with the brexit secretary to address his concerns. the supreme court rejects an appeal on abortion rights in northern ireland, but agrees current rules are incompatible with human rights law. shares trading on the london stock market was delayed by an hour today — because of an issue with pricing data. the opening session began at 0900 rather than the usual 0800. the lse would not comment on the nature of the issue or whether it is concerned about an outside breach of its systems. the collapse of construction giant carillion will cost uk taxpayers

an estimated £148 million, the national audit office has said. there will also be wider costs to the economy, carillion's customers, staff, the supply chain and creditors according to the report. house price rises in the uk slowed in the year to the end of may — increasing by 1.9%. according to the halifax, part of lloyds banking group, the change reflected "a relatively subdued" housing market. it also said that while detached and semi—detached homes were the most common purchases, flats had seen bigger price gains over the past five years. department store chain house of fraser is to close 31 of its 59 shops, affecting 6,000 jobs, as part of a rescue deal. if the plan is approved, 2,000 house of fraserjobs will go, along with 4,000 brand and concession roles. joining us now is samantha dover,

senior retail analyst at mintel what's the goal. give us some background into why the house of fraser has found itself in so house of fraser has found itself in so much trouble. i think a big factor has been the growth in online meaning it's easier for consumers to shop around and on top of that online means a broad range of products is no longer a unique selling point for retailers like department stores. and alongside that we've had a big shift in locations in terms of shopping centres across the uk and i think a lot of football has been directed away from house of fraser stores and they do not have the ability to move in the same way smaller retailers do. we have been hearing from the former boss ofjohn lewis who has been seeing we need to get together to sort out the high street and work out a plan to help the high—street flourish because it's going in a

direction nobody wants to see. definitely, research shows consumers still want high streets, they still wa nt to still want high streets, they still want to shop there but they are doing it less frequently so it's finding how can you drive the football back to stores and that will be the big challenge. the problem with retailers like house of fraser is they are wedded to huge department stores which have had rents negotiated many years ago when the high—street was flourishing but now when the high—street is slowing down the rent deals seem really high. definitely and that's a big challenge. they have a lot of costs involved in even relocating stores. it's going to be a big challenge for a lot of department stores and they are particularly the struggling compared with other retailers. livestock about poundworld, reports it will be calling in administrators, it is also struggling. it is indicative of the challenges a lot of retailers are facing at the minute, people are

shopping online and shopping around more frequently. but not all retailers are struggling, i was reading aboutjohn lewis which is bucking the trend merely because it invested so much money in its stores and online offering and the likes of selfridge's and harrods have tapped into the foreign market. so there are ways in which some elements of the high—street are getting on quite well. john lewis is a great example. they have invested both in—store and online. i think thatjust shows they have a real understanding that actually the difference between whether a person shops in—store or online is less and less notable now. i think that is wherejohn lewis has excelled, understanding that shift. samantha, good to talk you, thank you. the london market to her by the time to get going but when it did it has struggled. it's currently down. the rest of europe doing well but the strong pound added pressure to

the strong pound added pressure to the market. more from the business department later throughout the day in fact for now. the british—pakistani author, kamila shamsie, has won this year's women's prize for fiction. home fire is a modern reworking of the greek tragedy antigone, telling the story of a british muslim family's connections to the islamic state group. and i'm pleased to say that kamila joins me in the studio now. congratulations, how did it feel to be announced as the winner?m congratulations, how did it feel to be announced as the winner? it was one of the nicer moments in my life i must say. everton seven, eight books before. this is my seventh. let sure the book before we go further, i hope the viewers can see the cover. tell us what it is about? it is the story of five british muslims, the home secretary and his son is one family, and on the other

side of the tracks are three siblings who are the children of the jihadi who died been transported to guantanamo and early in the novel the son of the home secretary meets one of the daughters of the jihadi and things go from there. that is the starting point. where did this idea come to you? it came to me in a funny way, there was a man who runs an arts company in south london who asked me to write a play and to consider rewriting a 2000 and the half year old story, antigone. as i was reading it and i thought it was so was reading it and i thought it was so contemporary and i thought i want to do it as a novel and rewrites antigone but for our world. you have brought your prize with you. she is called bessie. what does it mean for you to win this? ask the next week.

it's still sinking in. it's the first time i have been shortlisted for a price which i have loved for yea rs, for a price which i have loved for years, i for a price which i have loved for yea rs, i loved for a price which i have loved for years, i loved it as a reader before i was published and the list of winners is extraordinary and i think it's an important price. it was set up it's an important price. it was set up to redress what was then a very strong gender imbalance within the price culture in britain and i think it's shown how things, initiatives like this, can shift things. in 2015 andi like this, can shift things. in 2015 and i think it was you called on publishers to make 2018 the centenary publishers to make 2018 the ce nte nary of publishers to make 2018 the centenary of women getting the vote the year of publishing women, you asked them not to publish any mail —— male offers to redress the balance. how has that gone? let's be honest, i was doing it as a provocation. i did not actually on publishers would, but we need to have a conversation about continuing

forms of imbalance. it was a delight when it publishing house said they would do it and they say they are only publishing books by women this year. it's been interesting the way it's made them rethink submissions and how they think about books and what they decide to publish. as you say it was a provocation to get a debate started, to what extent has that work to do you think?” debate started, to what extent has that work to do you think? i think the debate has started. i have heard from other people, one publishing house did not take it on but they said it changed the conversations they were having read the editorial room. and perhaps lead to more female authors being published and there are scripts being read than otherwise might have. it's not about how many women get published but also how many get submitted for prizes and get review coverage, the whole a of things other than just been published. in an idealworld

would you see a situation where there perhaps didn't need be specific prizes for fiction by female offers? in an ideal world we would not need to do anything to address gender imbalance because it would not exist, but this prize has such a good track record of turning up such a good track record of turning up quality books. i would be sad to see it end for that reason. talking about antigone, an ancient story and the whole idea of a patriarch day as a system of retaining power, it happened then and still happens now. it still happens, we have not got rid of the patriarch day. there are days when it can feel really grim and depressing, the ways in which the patriarch years studying so persistent but then you can look around and think the voter did happen, this prize happened, things are happening but it's depressing how much still needs to go on. are

you already working on your next book? i have no idea so if any viewers want to send any end... that's one way to get the creative juices flowing. thank you very much for coming in. i thought i had some additional breaking news coming in. we are hearing from the metropolitan police that nine people have been arrested today over allegations of fraud in connection with the grenfell tower fire. no more details on that at the moment, we know the enquiry into the g re nfell tower moment, we know the enquiry into the grenfell tower fire is continuing. but the metropolitan police say in a brief statement that nine people have been arrested today over allegations of fraud in connection

with the fire at grenfell tower. as soon with the fire at grenfell tower. as soon as we with the fire at grenfell tower. as soon as we get with the fire at grenfell tower. as soon as we get more with the fire at grenfell tower. as soon as we get more detail on that we will bring it to you. the headlines will be coming up in a few moments on the bbc news channel, in a moment we will say goodbye to viewers on bbc two but first let's look at the weather forecast. for many of us it's a fine and dry day outside, but a day of contrasts. not everywhere is staying dry, we've got some hit and miss heavy showers around. this is the scene taken by one of our weather watchers in north—west wales, beautiful blue skies with barely a cloud, contrast that to the south coast of england, west sussex, fairly grey skies and we will continue to see the threat of showers across parts of southern england in particular through into this afternoon. some of the showers could be heavy and potentially thundery for parts of kent and essex, towards cornwall as well. not

all of us seeing them, they will be hit and miss with dry weather in between. more places staying dry, a bit cooler around the east coast, just one or two showers cropping up across the west of scotland and northern ireland. into this evening most of the showers fade away and we will see more cloud moving in from the east so by first thing tomorrow morning a slightly more great start to the day but still quite mild, double figures towards the south, rain likely across parts of wales towards the midlands as well but that should ease through the day. tomorrow similar to what we got out there today. dry weather, balliol clouds, parts of northern ireland south—west scotland, still the threat of one or two isolated showers on the cards. that theme continues into the weekend, there will be some spells of warm sunshine that always the threat of sharp and possibly thundery showers around. during the day on saturday most of the showers will be towards the

west, perhaps west of scotland and northern ireland down towards the south—west of england where further east you got rather more cloud around but it will then and break, sunny spells coming through. temperatures 20—22, a bit cooler around the east coast as we get the breeze from east. low pressure in the south, it's bringing plenty of heavy showers across france and that will move closer to the south coast so will move closer to the south coast soi will move closer to the south coast so i think sunday there is a threat humidity will rise and we will start to see heavy, possibly thundery showers pushing from the south later on in the. day still heavy downpours and the far north—west. temperatures bit warmer than they have been up to about 23, possibly 24. still cooler around east coast, drawing in a breeze from the north sea. 0ver around east coast, drawing in a breeze from the north sea. over the next few days we've got a lot of dry, settled weather, some spells of sunshine on offer, watch out for those hit and miss heavy and thundery showers. this is bbc news, and these are the top stories developing at midday.

another blow for the high street: house of fraser announces plans to close half of its stores, putting 6,000 jobs at risk. this is beatties in wolverhampton, owned by house of fraser, it's been a department store for 30 —— for over 100 years and people are devastated it is now in marked foreclosure. theresa may will publish her brexit customs backstop proposals today, following a crunch meeting with senior ministers. amazon secures rights to show 20 premier league matches on its uk prime video service from 2019. campaigners lose a supreme court appeal over the legality of abortion in northern ireland — butjudges say the law there is "incompatible" with human rights. also in the next hour — tributes are paid to nightclub owner peter stringfellow, who has died aged 77.

the so—called king of clubs opened venues around the world — despite facing criticism — in a career spanning six decades. and — a very risky manoeuvre, the driver who reversed more than a mile, narrowly missing oncoming traffic on a busy u.s highway. good afternoon. welcome to bbc newsroom live. the retailer giant, house of fraser has announced plans to shut over half of its stores as part of a rescue deal, affecting 6,000 jobs. gfx the department store chain said 31 of its 59 shops have been scheduled to close, including its flagship shop

on london's oxford street. if the plan goes ahead, 2,000 house of fraserjobs will be lost, along with 4,000 brand and concession roles. the retailer needs the approval of 75% of its creditors to go ahead. our business correspondent maryam moshiri explains what's happened. the department store house of fraser i’u ns the department store house of fraser ru ns 59 the department store house of fraser runs 59 stores across the country, two of these will be exempt but of those remaining 57, we are going to see 16 category one stores, the most profitable, staying open and having trading as normal, rent unchanged. category two stores, of which there are ten, will have their rent reduced and will remain trading. the remaining 31 will have reproduced to 30% of current levels for around seven months, then they will close.

that includes the flagship store in 0xford that includes the flagship store in oxford circus, and the head offices will move. many jobs oxford circus, and the head offices will move. manyjobs could be affected. 0ur correspondent phil mackie is in wolverhampton, which is losing its house of fraser store. known to local people as beatties for many decades. we were chatting earlier about, as we consider changing high streets, for beatties to go, it's such a huge building in wolverhampton, that would be a huge blow to the town? i think it will be. just looking at the reaction, we've been speaking to people coming out of the shop, they are really upset about the news. on social media, people say this is a real blow to wolverhampton. the store occupies a whole block in wolverhampton city centre and it's ha rd to wolverhampton city centre and it's hard to imagine what could come in and take it over and occupy it. it's ha rd to and take it over and occupy it. it's hard to see how that will happen, it was shut this morning and opened

later, staff were told and that was a similar picture across the country. a real blow to wolverhampton, a city that's been on ha rd wolverhampton, a city that's been on hard times in recent decades, has struggled economically. the only good news in wolverhampton has been that wolverhampton wanderers, wolves, have been promoted back to the premier league but there has been an economic blow with carillion based here going bust. bad economic news. i was looking at some of the tweets from the wolverhampton mps, describing it as a iconic store, a real blow, tragic news. the west midlands mayor said it was devastating news. but added, remember he was the bossjohn lewis, that it was time for an innovative and creative thinking about how to support high streets in town centres in the digital age. 0ne famous broadcaster from wolverhampton said this is so sad. as i mentioned, i talk to someone coming out of there, janet, who is 90 and has been

shopping here all her life. she was almost lost for words and really sad. an iconic store in a city for which it has been a vital part of so many years. that comment from andy street that drew attention to, the former boss ofjohn lewis, saying, how can we support our high streets in the digital age? he clearly lays pa rt in the digital age? he clearly lays part of the responsibility on the fa ct part of the responsibility on the fact that more of us shop online and while we might be perhaps going into shops like this, not necessarily spending our money there? yes. john lewis has been a success story but evenit lewis has been a success story but even it has stopped its expansion plans in recent years since andy street left to become the mayor of the west midlands. 0nline shopping is really striking a blow into the hearts of the streets across the country. i've noticed lots of smaller independent shops are beginning to open up, lots of coffee shops etc, but they are not really replacing the big iconic brands.

andy street has got plans which he will be talking about in the future, using his expertise as well as his political clout to try to do something about cities that wolverhampton who are really feeling the impact of changing patterns. thank you. theresa may will meet with senior ministers later in an attempt to resolve tensions over the government's brexit ‘backstop' plan. she is meeting david davis for the second time to discuss his concerns about arrangements with the irish border after we leave the eu. the downing street said they expected him to remain in his position. this is relating to the so—called backstop position where we would match eu tariffs in order to avoid a ha rd match eu tariffs in order to avoid a hard irish border post brexit. joining me now from downing street is our assistant political editor, norman smith. david davis back in to see the prime

minister for a david davis back in to see the prime ministerfor a second david davis back in to see the prime minister for a second time before this big meeting that's due to take place, where we expecting that second discussion norman? no, we thought it was all over. that mrs may have held her meetings with the key brexit supporting ministers after which number ten said there would be no threat to resign, no constructive —— a constructive meeting. they would publish the backstop puzzles later, end of row. now we discover david davis is to return for a further meeting which would suggest perhaps it's not all done and dusted and that maybe he is still not satisfied by the proposals which mrs may is including in this backstop option. the question is, what does mrs may now have to say or do that will satisfy david davis, because he still has, it appears, concerns that there is not enough clarity about an end state, a time limit for when this backstop option would end. and where he now to

decide that the reassurances he received an not sufficient, and decide to walk, then that would plunge the government into complete chaos, albeit that this morning fellow brexiteers were pretty much urging mr davies not to go. listen to former brexit minister david jones. i know he is unhappy with what is proposed at the moment. personally i hope he does fight his corner. and that there can be sensible policy going forward in the eu this week but we clearly need to get this resolved and we are arriving at quite a crucial moment. david davis has been methods that process began, he knows all the ins and outs of the negotiations so far. he is completely across his brief. therefore, it's essential that david davis stays in position. he has my support and i know he has the support of a lot of my colleagues. talking to one of mr davies's close allies, he told me that we all

needed to calm down, but it was a difficult situation but there was no need to turn it into a dramatic one. i took from that the sense he did not think mr davies would be resigning. if you look at mr davies returning earlier to downing street, well, it's hard to read his body language. he ignores the questions that are shouted at him. he does not really give much away. reading body language always an art norman. for the moment, thank you. you will keep us the moment, thank you. you will keep us up with what's with what's happening, thank you. the sbu said in its opening state m e nts the sbu said in its opening statements that given multiple safety failings in grenfell tower

welding, the firefighters were a lwa ys welding, the firefighters were always chasing a sinister fire they had no chance of defeating. tom burridge brought us up to date. its importance, we've been hearing from the three organisations representing firefighters who tackled the fire on that night, because in some of the other opening statements in qcs representing relatives of those who were killed and survivors, there had been questions about the policy to advise residents to stay put in the building. we have been hearing in the last few minutes and stephen walsh qc representing the london fire brigade that firefighters on that night faced intolerable decisions, often faced with a stark choices with consequences. he said they received operators on that night, they received more calls from people seeking advice on how to survive a fire than had in the previous ten years in the whole of london, they got more calls of that type than in the previous decade in one night. then he went on to talk about the steep that policy of what's been described this morning as stay put unless.

stay put unless, unless your flat is affected by smoke orfire. —— he went on to talk about the stay put policy. he said the policy is a crucial part of the design process for any building. he said buildings like grenfell where expressly designed to contain the fire in any one flat, the building therefore was not intended to do the opposite, to facilitate a simultaneous evacuation. buildings like grenfell tower arejust built in a way where you could suddenly decide to get everyone out. —— just not built in a way where you could decide to get everyone out. the stairwell is not good enough. there is not a common alarm system through the building. "stay put" is not a creation of the fire service but a principle of building design. fire services, when attending fires in premises of this kind do not interpret the stade puts principle to mean that residents should remain in their flat whatever the circumstances.

—— the stay put principle. it's not how it's applied nationally and it is not how it was applied during the grenfell fire. quite the contrary. part of the advice to residents who called the fire service control room is that if their flat is affected by a fire or smoke, they should leave. if it is safe to do so. this is where we begin to see some of the real dilemmas and problems which fire services faced. the 999 calls and the fire survival guide and scores reveal that many of those who called the nfb control room on the night of the fire said they could not leave. because of the conditions in the lobbies. martin seaward from the fire brigade union said many

firefighters remain traumatised, facing challenges beyond their knowledge and training and procedures. he asked if they were put in an impossible position and he agreed with the assertion made on many occasions throughout this week by other barristers, particularly representing the relatives of those killed and survivors, that grenfell tower was a highly combustible death trap. it was guilty, people were guilty in his words of a serial noncompliance with building regulations and there was a complete failure at every stage in terms of fire safety. we also heard from the fire officers association and all three organisations representing the firefighters rejected any criticism, any suggestion that the decisions of firefighters ta ken on that night were done in any prejudicial way in terms of race. that suggestion had been made at one point this week and

was totally rejected by all three organisations representing firefighters on that night. tom symons has also been tweeting about the grenfell enquiry and he says the metropolitan police are to carry out a criminal investigation into the use of the so—called stay put policy by the london fire service, during the grenfell tower fire. they are considering possible health and safety offences. following on from the detail that tom was telling us about earlier, from the enquiry today, the met to carry out a criminal investigation into the use of the stayed put policy by the london fire service, the idea that in the case of a fire like this, residents should stay in their apartments in the first

instance. the met carrying out a criminal investigation into the use of that policy during the grenfell tower fire and considering of that policy during the grenfell towerfire and considering possible health and safety offences. some other industry news, we are hearing about a three—day strike later this month by workers on south western railway. this is in a long—running dispute over the role of guards, coming from the rail maritime and transport union, the rmt. that strike due to start on the 21st ofjune and last for three days, workers on south western railway launching a three day strike from june 21. human rights campaigners have lost their attempt to overturn northern ireland's strict abortion laws on a technicality. but the supreme court made clear that it agreed the current rules are incompatible with european human rights legislation. any change in the law will now be up to the politicians, either in belfast or westminster. this is just the latest challenge to the abortion law

in northern ireland in recent years. in 2015, a high courtjudge in northern ireland ruled its law breached the european convention on human rights in cases of fatal foetal abnormality or sexual crime. the following year members of the northern ireland assembly voted against legalising abortion in cases of fatal foetal abnormality and cases of sexual crime. last year, the supreme court rejected an appeal by an anonymous mother and daughter that women there should be able to access free nhs abortions in england. then the government announced women from northern ireland would be entitled to free nhs abortions in england, after a labour—led campaign. and in october, the supreme court was asked to consider todays appeal which argued northern ireland law was incompatible with international human rights. joining me now is our legal affairs correspondent, clive coleman. first of all, tell us why this

challenge from the northern ireland human rights commission was thrown out on a technical legal point. the challenge was brought by the human rights commission of northern ireland. that's a body, not a person. human rights law says a challenge of this type must be brought by a victim. the commission we re brought by a victim. the commission were not prepared to bring forward a victim who would have had to have been a woman who was carrying a foetus that had a fatal abnormality. that's a terminal condition that means the foetus would die either in the womb or shortly after birth, alternatively someone who would become pregnant as a result of rape or incest. they were not prepared to put a woman through that ordeal of the court case. they brought the challenge in any event, it failed on technical grounds that the commission was not a victim for the purposes of this legal challenge. having said that, i can't recall a case where the court said basically we do not have anyjurisdiction to

make what would be a declaration of incompatibility, but we are going to say what our views are and the views we re say what our views are and the views were expressed very powerfully. a powerful message from some of the most seniorjudges in the country, that the current laws in northern ireland that forbade an abortion to be carried out in cases where there isa be carried out in cases where there is a fatal foetal abnormality all pregnancy results from rape or incest, that those laws breached human rights, they breach article eight of the human rights act. politically, this adds more pressure thanit politically, this adds more pressure than it does legally. effectively thejudges saying than it does legally. effectively the judges saying it's over to politicians now. we heard from amnesty international saying all eyes on theresa made to legislate a change in terms of abortion law in northern ireland. politically, that is extremely tricky for her. a very issue. of course. first of all, abortion has been a devolved matter for some years now. of course, there

are big problems at stormont, which is not functioning at the moment summit will be something westminster would have to do. it is politically a highly charged issue, because of the dup situation that the government finds itself in. and the dup, for our viewers, they oppose abortion and of course as our viewers are aware, is in an arrangement with the government. if theresa may was to try to go ahead with changes to the law, who knows what would happen? that relationship could come under strain. interesting to note the strength of the language from thejudges, lord kerr said effectively although the views of the court are not binding, they are nevertheless of cardinal importance. he said it must be forthrightly stated plainly understood that a clear majority of this court has reached the view that the law on

abortion in northern ireland insofar as it relates to fatal foetal abnormality is not compatible with article eight of the european convention on human rights. effectively they have said, now over to the lawmakers, and pay attention to the lawmakers, and pay attention to what we have said this morning. thank you. the headlines on bbc newsroom live: house of fraser announces plans to close half of its department stores — putting 6,000 jobs at risk. theresa may will publish her brexit customs backstop proposals today after a crunch meeting with the brexit secretary she is holding a second meeting with david davis. amazon secures rights to 20 premier league matches on its prime video service from 2019. speaking of sport... good afternoon.

there's been much praise ahead of england's final world cup warm up match this evening — for defender danny rose. he has admitted to suffering with depression during what he called a "testing time at tottenham" last season. he believes it was triggered by a knee injury that kept him out for eight months, and the death of his uncle during his rehab. he said he hadn't told anybody — not even his family — about how his mental health had suffered. rose also said that playing for england had been his salvation — he'll start in that final warm—up game against costa rica in leeds tonight. manager gareth southgate understands why rose has told his family not to travel to the world cup in russia, where racism is still a major problem, although he's hoping the side can have a positive influence. danny has said we cannot change the world but maybe we can have a small impact on how we conduct ourselves. the guys from all the communities they came from our fantastic role models for children in terms of the way they are able to show what is possible. and the way they interact

with each other. so there's a possibility to change people's thinking and have an impact. joey carbery will start ireland's first test against australia on saturday at fly—half. he replacesjohnny sexton for the brisbane game, in what's a much—changed line—up. carbery was back—up to sexton throughout ireland's grand slam winning six nations campaign. head coachjoe schmidt has rested several leinster players following their busy end of season schedule and flanker peter 0'mahony will captain the side in the absence of regular skipper rory best. now, the philadelphia eagles have responded to donald trump's decision to withdraw an invitation to the white house — which is usually offered to the new super bowl champions. many players had opted not to attend, so the meet—up was cancelled altogether, with the administration saying protests during the national anthem were unpatriotic. so one eagles player, malcolm jenkins, made his points via hand—written cards instead, with comments about social injustice in the us. 0ne card also appeared to address the president directly, reading "you aren't listening".

quarterfinals back on way at roland garros, rafa nadal now two sets up an diego schwartzman. fighting back after yesterday. that's all the sport for now. new figures suggest that fewer than two in five students in england think they're getting value for money. the survey of 14,000 students found tuition fees, teaching quality and lack of contact hours were the biggest causes of dissatisfaction. measures of well—being, such as anxiety among students, have also worsened. nick hillman is co—author of the report. thank you for coming along. begin by putting users into some sort of context. these surveys have run since 2000 you might get a slightly

different impression of what's coming on depending how you look at them. yes, we ask many of the same questions year after year, starting in 2006 because that's when fees one to £3000, then to 900012. every year since they went £9,000, perceptions of value for money have got worse. —— then to to £9,000 in 2012 will stop except this year, a little bit more positive in england. but still huge concerns about fees. 0verall but still huge concerns about fees. overall value for money, contact time with lecturers and so on. take us time with lecturers and so on. take us through those areas of dissatisfaction. about a third of stu d e nts dissatisfaction. about a third of students in our survey tell us they are unhappy with value for money. similarly, only two thirds say they are happy with the course and university they have chosen. about a third of students seem to be unhappy, it's different to the caricature of a student to someone who spends their time in the pub and does not do much work. we find a happy students are those who do more

work than others. students are best in terms of their happiness and anxiety in terms of their happiness and a nxiety levels in terms of their happiness and anxiety levels when they are doing something similar to full—time jobs, because they are doing full—time study. they wants to be working about 35 hours a week, something like that. they feel they are getting more value for money if they are being given more work to do, if it's something that is engaging them off. exactly. the students who come top in terms of value for money are people who are training to be doctors and dentists, they are also the ones who do the most work. both contact hours and what is called independent learning on the road. the flip side of that? yes, you can work too hard as a student.” the flip side of that? yes, you can work too hard as a student. i meant in which courses are students reported most dissatisfaction? well, idid reported most dissatisfaction? well, i did history at university and some of the arts subjects are the ones that do less well. there is classification called mass documentation, which is things like

media studies, some of those courses do less well, i think those are the ones where the spotlight will be shone on. when you get your findings, you send them off to universities. the government looks at them as well, what sort of demonstrable changes have come about because of the sort of survey? the government has recently launched something called the teaching excellence framework which measures universities on the quality of their teaching. when ministers talk about that, they very often link it back to the survey. we have the government minister speaking at our conference where we launch these results this morning and he said there must now be further work by government by universities, government by universities, government and if —— and students themselves. thank you. the nightclub owner peter stringfellow has died at the age of 77. known as the king of clubs, his most famous venue — stringfellows — is one of london's longest—running clubs having first opened its doors in 1980.

the businessman had been suffering from cancer which he had decided to keep private. jon donnison reports. have i got the bestjob or what? peter stringfellow, the self—declared king of clubs, was a feature on the british entertainment scene for half a century. he opened his first club in his hometown of sheffield in 1962, after trying his hand as a barber, a car mechanic and a merchant seaman. when i was 21 years old, i decided, as per usual, i was chasing money, anything to get me some money extra, and i started booking a church hall called st aidan's in sheffield, which i renamed the black cat club. his move into adult entertainment in the 1990s with table dancing and lap dancing sometimes brought him into conflict with the authorities. calling it... sexual encounter establishment is a derogatory term, it is kind of penalising. "we don't like what you do so we are going to give you a nasty name."

he preferred to call his establishments gentleman's clubs and eventually opened venues in new york, paris and beverly hills. he famously once claimed to have slept with more than 2000 women. critics accused him of objectifying women. undoubtedly, peter stringfellow built his life and business around them. peter stringfellow who has died at the age of 77. politicians in guatemala say the country's emergency response agency should be investigated for criminal negligence after sunday's volcano. 0pposition parties say the head of conred failed to evacuate the area despite advance warnings ahead of the deadly eruption of the fuego volcano. ninety—nine people are now known to have died and many others remain unaccounted for. let's catch up with the weather forecast. not much changed since yesterday.

some of us have woken up to cloudy skies and brighter weather in the latter pa rt skies and brighter weather in the latter part of the day. we have got some sunny latter part of the day. we have got some sunny spells as far as the rest of the day is concerned, and temperatures in the south will get into the low 20s. just a risk of showers showers across southern areas and also maybe western scotla nd areas and also maybe western scotland as well as northern ireland. tonight, still showers affecting possibly the midlands that they are showers so very few of us will catch them. temperatures will get down to around 13 degrees in london, 9 degrees there in newcastle. tomorrow, a little on the cloudy side with a risk of a shower across wales, possibly the midlands, scotland, but the vast majority of the country should have a fine day

with temperatures up to 21 in london but still fairly cool on the north sea coast. this is bbc newsroom live — our latest headlines: house of fraser is planning to close 31 of its 59 stores as part of a survival plan — with the loss of about 6000 jobs. theresa may is holding a second meeting with the brexit secretary david davis over his concerns about her backstop brexit customs proposal which is due to be published later today. the metropolitan police says it's carrying out a criminal investigation into the use of the "stay put" policy by the london fire service during the grenfell tower fire. amazon has secured rights to show 20 premier league matches per season on its uk prime video service from 2019. theresa may is holding a second meeting with the brexit secretary david davis over his concerns about her backstop brexit customs proposal is due to be published later today. chris morris from

reality check is with me now to explain more. quite a mouthful isn't it? it is, i have to take my time with it every timei have to take my time with it every time i see it. as we talk about back stops, it's easy to fall into using this terminology but let's just take a pause and remind everyone where this idea of the backstop came from and what it is? we are getting into terminology which i think makes people switch off but it's important stuff. if you think back to the december agreement that there would be no hard border in northern ireland, there would have to be sons of the backstop, which was a bit of a fudge. embedded in the eu turned it into formal legal text and that made pretty clear that it would mean that northern ireland would be

treated very differently from the rest of the uk and therefore there would in effect be some sort of customs border down the irish sea. the way it was written theresa may had a very strong reaction as did many in her party and she said it was something no uk prime minister could ever agree to. ever since then, ever since she said that by configuring there's been a search on foran configuring there's been a search on for an alternative solution. so what is the new proposal from the uk or how much do we know about what it might be? the main thing about it, the idea that it will be a temporary alignment with the customs union. but it would not be for northern ireland, that would be a temporary alignment for the whole the uk. this would begin after december 2020 at the end of the 21 month transition period. one of the key things we scared comings and goings in downing street today and yesterday is how long would it last four. we understand the language it said it

would be time limited but david davis and no doubt others would like to see a specific date because if you call something time—limited it can you call something time—limited it ca n stretch you call something time—limited it can stretch on and transition one can stretch on and transition one can become transition two and so on. that's the debate within the uk government if you like but even if they can agree on the wording of this proposal it's still going to be seen this proposal it's still going to be seenin this proposal it's still going to be seen in brussels and potentially scoff that. the fundamental question thenis scoff that. the fundamental question then is with this proposal time—limited or otherwise actually solve the irish border question. yeah, and untilwe solve the irish border question. yeah, and until we see i suppose every, and. you cannot be sure. 0ne of the things you have to do remember is it's notjust about customs checks. everyone has been focused on customs arrangements but there's another thing which happened at the irish border which hopefully we will see in a moment, the single market. customs means tariff duties, the tax you have to pay moving things from one place to another. the single market is rules and

regulations and the irish border in particular, things like animal welfare and food safety, you need to check things a lot so again there would be checks. the initial eu backstop proposal just would be checks. the initial eu backstop proposaljust involving northern ireland would essentially have kept northern ireland notjust in the customs union but the single market for almost all kind of goods. if the uk proposal does not deal with the single market issue in itself it would not solve the northern ireland border problem. we wait to see the specific wording and detail and punctuation on that proposal which we are told will be published later, thank you very much. let's return now to house of fraser's decision to shut more than half of their stores across the uk and ireland — meaning around 6000 job losses. catherine shuttleworth is a retail analyst — and the chief executive of retail marketing agency savvy marketing. thank you very much, what do you

make of this news and of house of fraser's proposals to try to salvage pa rt fraser's proposals to try to salvage part of the business? i hope you can hear me... i think we are having some issues... apologies for that, we will try to get back to her as soon as we will try to get back to her as soon as is the chocolate that news about house of fraser. donald trump has freed a 63—year—old woman, who was given a life sentence for a drug offence, after a campaign by a news website that was taken up by kim kardashian west. alicejohnson, a first time offender, was jailed in 1996, and her case found its way to the white house with a personal visit from the reality star. now, donald trump has commuted her sentence. kim kardashian west said on twitter it was "the best news ever." well, mrsjohnson has now spoken about her case to the cbs news channel in the us — she was asked about her reaction

when the news was brought to her by kim kardashian west. (sot next) it was the most incredible day of my life, the most incredible amazing overwhelming day, moment of my life. when she told me i could go home i started screaming and jumping up and i know people were looking at the window probably thought i was having some kind of fit. what do you want to say to her? i want to tell my angel that i thank you for never giving up. that you did it, you never gave up on me. you giving up. that you did it, you never gave up on me. you fought until i was free and that is one thing she told me. she said she would not give up on the and i would like to thank her and hug her. in the video that first caught our attention you said the real miss alice is a woman who has made a

mistake, tell us how you came to that conclusion and how you turned your life around when you're in prison? for me i know it's something that i cannot even imagine i did what i did in the beginning. but i turned my life all the way around in prison and decided i am not going to just do time arlette time do me. i'm going to make the most of this opportunity. i'm going to be of service to others. because that is what life is about. before we hopefully return to our guest to talk about house of fraser more detail on what is happening in regards to the discussions at the highest levels between the prime minister and the brexit secretary about the backstop proposals about a ha rd about the backstop proposals about a hard border in ireland after brexit, we are seeing from our political expert laura kuenssberg that david

davis is about to put out a statement. we are told he is not resigning but apparently there has been clarification on timing on when this would end and a close source to david davis is seeing there has been a back and forth on this, the backstop has been amended and ex presses backstop has been amended and expresses much more detail in the time natured limited —— time—limited nature of the proposal. we heard earlier in the day there was going to be something of the nature of reassuring language without necessarily a specific time for this ending but it seems like it's been firmed up and expresses in more detail the time—limited nature of the backstop proposal. that's the latest, let's wait and see what emerges from the meeting due to be

taking place very shortly. let's return now to house of fraser's decision to shut more than half of their stores across the uk and ireland — catherine shuttleworth is a retail analyst — and the chief executive of retail marketing agency savvy marketing. i trust that you can hear me this time? ikan! excellent! iwas asking for your reaction to this news from house of fraser and what you thought of the proposals to try to retain the rest of the business prison in these closures to happen?” the rest of the business prison in these closures to happen? i was shocked at the scale of these proposals. particularly that they would shut down in oxford street which is one of the biggest retail thoroughfares in the world. i'm surprised that the scale of the closures. i think this is a last—ditch effort to try to keep the brand on the high street and i hope

this will save them but i'm not sure we can be sure at this stage. huge amount of football from customers on 0xford amount of football from customers on oxford street but also a huge amount of opposition from other retailers, what does that say about the fundamental offering? they are stuck in the middle of the high street so at the top end, even on 0xford street you've got selfridge's and john lewis. there are lots of people who offer a lot of the products house of fraser has the cell in different places and i think what they've done is lost sight of the shopper. they've not had fabulous online offer and people have gone to other places. those shoppers have just disappeared over the years and they are now in a place where they've not got enough sales to cover the cost of rent, the standing cost and people are not buying

enough from them. i think it's as much a failure of house of fraser in terms of keeping the offer up as it is around the whole change in the retail market we are seen at the moment. i will come back that in a second but basically 75% of the creditors if they agree to these closures, you are saying house of fraser fundamentally needs to have a rethink about how it presents itself, what it stocks etc? absolutely, it needs to think about what it looks like in a digital age and how it is going to move forward ina and how it is going to move forward in a reduced business, reduced footprint which is probably the right thing and creditors do need to agree to that but i don't think they are out of the woods yet. there is more they need to think about. in terms of how it competes in the digital world, you may have heard and the street speaking about that, the formerjohn lewis boss saying more needs to be done to look at how the high—street competes against

online shopping. what are your thoughts on that? absolutely, no question we have to think about how we reinvigorate high—street and how we reinvigorate high—street and how we decide we can recalibrate them for the future. what we need to think about is how do we get people to work, with and play around the high—street, not only have we driven store is into out—of—town parts we've also driven employment out—of—town centres and that has a huge impact. that's down to people to reinvent and make them places we do want lots of lines emerging out of downing street about what is happening in these discussions between the prime minister and the brexit secretary of the government's backstop proposals to try to avoid a ha rd backstop proposals to try to avoid a hard border in ireland. norman smith

is keeping across all of this, bring us is keeping across all of this, bring us up to date? we know david davis was called back into a second meeting with theresa may, sparking speculation he was still not happy, could still resign. that now no longer seems to be likely because sources close to david davis are signalling he has agreed to an amended backstop option which he says now more clearly reflects the need for a time limited backstop. so it appears some sort of compromise has been reached between david davis and theresa may and that david davis will therefore not be quitting as brexit secretary. we should get the details of that backstop option later today, the government it is understood hopes to publish that proposal which will be scrutinised

in intense detail to see exactly what sort of assurances david davis has managed to crowbar out of the prime minister and whether there is indeed a specific date by which time the backstop will end, albeit downing street have been very clear the view that possibility as deeply impractical because you simply can not now when the technology will be in place to get round the need for the sort of transitional phase for these customs rules. >> weather—mac: briefly... the main news... sorry to interrupt, but briefly if there is a specific date or much more detail perhaps indicated earlier on today, will this be viewed as a compromise or will it be viewed as a victory for the brexiteers in cabinet over those who would seek a softer brexit perhaps? i am sure both sides will claim victory but the truth is it will be another phage, language will

have been used to bridge the divide between the two sides so david davis and theresa may can go forward together. there will be some sort of formulation of words, i doubt very much whether it will include a specific end date. for the moment, thank you norman smith in downing street. the headlines on bbc newsroom: house of fraser announces plans to close half of its department stores — putting 6,000 jobs at risk. theresa may is holding a second meeting with the brexit secretary david davis over his concerns about her backstop brexit customs proposal is due to be published today. amazon secures rights to show 20 premier league matches per season on its uk prime video service from 2019. the russian president, vladimir putin, has said that

russian officials should be given access to yulia skripal. ms skripal and her father were poisoned with a nerve agent in salisbury last march. mr putin, speaking during his live televised annual phone—in with the russian people, also answered a question about visa problems experienced by billionaire roman abramovich in the uk. sergei goriashko is from the bbc‘s russian service. more on this phone in session that the russian president has been doing for quite a few years, first of all, tell us what more he said about yulia skripal? he also mentioned that yulia skripal should be given access that yulia skripal should be given a ccess fro m that yulia skripal should be given access from the russian consular but he did not pay lots of attention to this subject. but vladimir putin told lots of things about relationship. he told that the usa are wrong to try to restrain russia and he also mentioned that the

situation in the world is difficult but the third world war would be the end of civilisation which is why it cannot happen. but after that he mentioned that russia is already trying to make work its new missile presented earlier, in the winter. and he told also lots of things about domestic problems like this direct line, this phone in with citizens are more for people inside russia than for the whole world. 0k, critics say this event, especially coming days before the beginning of the world cup is somewhat stage—managed, but basically vladimir putin saying this is an opportunity for him to hand out orders in real—time to regional governors and government ministers to get things done, what evidence is there that this happens, that the spawn ends affect actual change in russia? he's acting like a

troubleshooter in this direct line, when somebody calls him and says there is a problem in the region, he usually signs some papers and makes these problems disappear. but now these problems disappear. but now the format has changed and vladimir putin is going directly during live to the governors and he makes them a nswer to the governors and he makes them answer the questions people, the citizens are asking vladimir putin himself. he's acting like a troubleshooter but he does not want to be responsible for the problems which are happening in the country. like with this question about the high prices of gas, problems with petrol in russia, problems and high prices. hejust really petrol in russia, problems and high prices. he just really to these questions from a truck driver to the minister of energy, like the president himself he is not responsible for that but the minister and other officials are.

that is what we can say about the format and the changes. you are absolutely right that this whole direct line is absolutely directed and questions are usually, well, taken in advance and vladimir putin knows what he will be asked. it happens like that for 16 years already but still he likes the show. thank you very much. last year the session with vladimir putin lasted four hours. there are just days now before the planned summit between president trump and the north korean leader kim jong—un — a meeting with potentially huge ramifications for many countries. not least, japan. there's still concern that any deal between washington and pyongyang may not suit tokyo. rupert wingfield—hayes reports. japan is afraid of kim jong—un's nuclear missiles.

so much so that last year it began doing something it hasn't done since world war ii. practising air raid drills. america is afraid of this. north korea's huge new hwasong—15 missile. so far it has been tested only once. but japan fears these. nodong intermediate—range missiles. and kim jong—un has hundreds of them. the question now is will a trump kim deal in singapore include all north korea's missiles, orjust the ones that can hit the united states? prime minister shinzo abe is hoping his close personal relationship with president trump will guarantee japan is not left out. i have seen america for the past 30, 40 years, but this is very unique president and i'm afraid that president trump is undermining

the leadership role of the united states. how worried is prime minister abe? well worried enough that he's flown all the way to washington dc again today, to tell president trump don't forget about us. don't do a deal on missiles and nukes which leaves out japan. and there's one more thing that he wants. to find out what happened to japanese citizens abducted on the orders of kim jong—un's father in the 1970s and 80s. megumo yokota was just 13 when she disappeared on her walk home from school in 1977. for two decades her family heard nothing. then in 2002, north korea made a stunning admission. it had kidnapped megumi and 12 others. five were allowed to return to japan but pyeongyang

insisted the others, including megumi, were dead. megumi's brother says herfamily has never believed that. we believe my sister is alive and suffering in north korea, he says. they told us megumi died in 1993 but others saw her alive in 1994. north korea sent back her ashes. dna tests showed they were from a different person. so we think north korea is lying. if she is still alive, megumi yokota will now be 53 years old. her family has waited more than four decades for her to come home. the singapore summit has given in the hope that could yet happen. rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news, tokyo. the race is on to develop electric vehicles before 2040, when the production of new petrol and diesel cars is due to come to an end.

and it's the world of motorsport where that new technology is being put to test, as radio1 newsbeat‘s eleanor roper has been finding out. formula e is the future of motor sport, ten teams travelling the world to compete on street tracks and it's all electric and claims to be fighting climate change.” and it's all electric and claims to be fighting climate change. i think it's the future so to have this technology tested here is fantastic. evenif technology tested here is fantastic. even if you're not foster racing you will notice that all of the big car manufacturers are getting behind the sport. jaguar is one of the many names involved and this summer are bringing out theirfirst names involved and this summer are bringing out their first electric road car. the technical transfer of the technology developed in the race car applied to the road cars to make them ultimately better cars for consumers to drive and enjoy. we have been following the sport for the last seven months. the competition has ta ken the last seven months. the competition has taken the teams from europe to south america as temporary tracks pop up in city centres. we are in marrakesh, we made it and it's an amazing place for a race. boiling hot, palm trees everywhere

and yet behind us are the atlas mountains. the exciting thing about this is the technology they are developing for the cars on the track today which is moving at a very rapid pace and will impact everything we see at home driving which will have a great effect on the environment. from 2048 the government has banned the sale of new petrol and diesel cars. sir richard branson is one of those investing in formula e and he thinks the date and brought forward. personally i think 2040 is too long. there are governments in europe which upset by 2025 all new cars must be battery driven. that is what i would hope every government around the world does. but the government does not agree, they are not giving much away at the deadline of 2040 will need for drivers but save more detail is imminent. what we've got at the moment is obviously car industry very much based around conventional diesel and petrol

vehicles, radically improving and investing towards electric and it's a question of allowing them enough time to make the transition and trading that off against the quality targets. with car manufacturers continue to sign up and drivers like felipe massa also coming over from formula 1, it looks as if the sport is just getting started. all eyes are now on formula e as it helps the car industry to make the change. we've all felt frustrated sitting in a trafficjam, but here's how not to get out of it. traffic cameras in ohio captured this suv reversing out of a queue of cars after getting into trouble. it's thought the driver continued to drive backwards for more than a mile — narrowly missing oncoming traffic on their way up the slipway. police believe the driver had problems with their automatic gearbox, but the department

of transport said motorists with mechanical problems should stay put and call the emergency services. certainly not drive the wrong way. ina certainly not drive the wrong way. in a moment the news that one but first here is the weather forecast. looking reasonably dry and settled for most part of the country today but it's somewhat hit and miss with some sharp showers around. this is the scene earlier this morning taken bya the scene earlier this morning taken by a weather watcher, beautiful blue skies, barely a cloud around. spells of sunshine across many parts of the country also the chance of a shower which will be pretty heavy, the odd rumble of thunder particularly across southern england and south wales. the satellite image shows cloud drifting over the past few hours across southern parts of britain. more cloud around the coast of england, eastern scotland at times and towards west of scotland and northern ireland are a few

showers, cloves developing through the day. hit and miss showers towards the far north—west, the far south as well. elsewhere dry and sunny with temperatures generally around 22—23d, colour and the east coast and slightly cooler air coming from the north sea and a bit more cloud as well. that will become more extensive through tonight, drifting its weight east to west across many parts of the country, clearer skies towards the west but generally mild night ahead with those temperatures staying in double figures. brady a similar data what we got out there today, i think fewer showers in the south compared to those heavy showers will see today, a lot of dry weather, slightly cloudy conditions but the cloud will tend to break up a bit during the afternoon, temperatures doing reasonably well, 20-23 temperatures doing reasonably well, 20—23 were you see the sunshine, colour around the east coast. more of the same on the weekend, warm sunshine but a chance of a few sharp showers around. this is saturday,

you can see generally dry conditions across many parts of the country again. western scotland and perhaps towards the south west of england will tend to see a few showers gathering, one or two on the heavy side. most of us avoiding the showers, 20—23 in the sunshine. heading onto the second half of the weekend high pressure to the north, low pressure to the south bringing heavy showers across parts of brands. some of those showers will be drifting northwards. i chance of heavy downpours, the odd thunderstorm particularly across southern parts of britain, further north the showers fairly isolated in the sunny spells highs of up to 23. goodbye. another blow to the high street as house of fraser says it plans to close more than half of its stores with the loss of around 6,000 jobs. its flagship on oxford street is among the 31 stores earmarked to shut as part of a rescue plan. there's a tsunami of challenges that have come towards retail over the last five or six years. they've been well documented and they've hit house of fraser very hard.

that momentum has built over the last 24 months or so. if the plan is approved, the 169—year—old company will shut many of its stores early next year. also this lunchtime... the brexit secretary, david davis, says he is not resigning amid divisions over customs arrangements for the irish border after brexit. the grenfell tower inquiry is told that firefighters were left in an impossible situation with no safe alternative for residents to the stay put policy.