another big name on the high street runs into trouble — house of fraser plans to shut over half its stores. the closures could affect 6,000 jobs. the boss says it's a necessary, but brutal, decision. this is as tough as it gets. and, er, we have not taken this decision lightly. it is very dramatic for people that we care about a great deal. we'll be looking at why the high street is proving such a struggle for so many retailers. also tonight... a showdown between the brexit secretary and the prime minister results in a time limit on a customs arrangement with the eu — or does it? firefighters defend their advice to residents of grenfell tower to stay in theirflats while the fire took hold. new data shows graduates in england how what they study — and where — affects their earnings. and peter stringfellow, the king of the disco and stripclub, has died, aged 77. and coming up on bbc news: the royal seal of approval. prince william meets the england squad, before their final world cup warm—up against costa rica this evening.

good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. today marks another casualty on the high street. the department store chain house of fraser plans to close over half its shops — affecting 6,000 jobs — as part of a rescue deal. the house of fraser boss has told the bbc the decision to close is brutal and as tough as it gets. and the discount chain poundworld is in trouble too, with nearly 5,500 jobs at risk. our business correspondent, emma simpson, has more. it is the cornerstone of many high street. this is birmingham's biggest

and oldest department store, but it is going. so is wolverhampton. we we re is going. so is wolverhampton. we were just devastated. it is a lovely, wonderful shop. edinburgh is also hit list. i can see why it's going to close. it isjust old now. so is cirencester. it is like a high street isjust dying. it is very, very sad. it is also grim news for cardiff, the chain is pulling out of wales altogether and the boss did not mince his words. this is brutal. this is as tough as it gets. and we have not taken this decision lightly. it is necessary today because without it, we are not a business with a viable future. house of fraser is trying to restructure its business. it has 59 stores gci’oss its business. it has 59 stores across the uk, it wants approval from creditors to close 31, putting 6,000 jobs at risk. eve and's oxford

street 6,000 jobs at risk. eve and's 0xford street is to go because of falling sales and rising costs. house of fraser and department store shops we re fraser and department store shops were a magnet for shoppers but now it is much harder to make the sums add up. they want to reduce what is of very considerable debt. for more than 25 years, this retail expert has been following the ups and downs of house of fraser. for many, many years, it has not had a sufficiently differentiated project that product, it has not stood out, it has not been clear about who it is targeting, there has not been enough investment in the business, there have been too many stores and the market has become far less forgiving. they know that here in darlington, where bhs is still standing empty. and that is the problem facing high streets up and down the country. how to fill the gaps when we are shopping more online, although it looks as if this site is finally being redeveloped. but who will step into this huge

space up the street? it is smaller towns like this which will be ha rd est towns like this which will be hardest hit. the impact is going to be catastrophic in terms ofjob losses and the loss of the shopping experience, but we should not lose sight of the fact that house of fraser is an anchor tenant who brings people into the town. and they will miss it. we're losing a lot of the big stores. marks & spencer will go and this will go and we have nothing left in the town really. for house of fraser, it is a drastic attempts to stay in business. this retailer, though, maybe just days from collapse. poundworld says it intends to appoint administrators if it can't find a solution to its troubles. it has been a terrible few months for oui’ has been a terrible few months for our high streets, as the weaker players struggle to adapt to the new world of retail. house of fraser is the latest in a long line of shop closures and job losses this year. so what is driving so many retailers out of business, and what does the future of shopping look like?

our business editor, simonjack, has been talking to two of the biggest retailers in the uk to find out. for a nation of shopkeepers, we seem to be losing an awful lot of them. this year alone, house of fraser, mothercare, copied right and even marks & spencer have announced store closures. poundworld is on the brink ofan closures. poundworld is on the brink of an administration while maplin is and toys "r" us gone for ever. hundreds of new gaps in britain's high streets, tens of thousands of jobs lost. so what is going on? the boss of the uk's biggest retailer says the fight for survival is not fairand an industry says the fight for survival is not fair and an industry that employs 4 million people deserve scott mead attention. a lot of businesses have gone to the wall in retail this year very regrettably. business rates is a large part of that. uk retail is the largest single employer and are we allowing it to stay competitive, 01’ we allowing it to stay competitive, orare we allowing it to stay competitive, 01’ are we

we allowing it to stay competitive, orare we by we allowing it to stay competitive, or are we by stealth lowering corporation tax and increasing business rates to a place creating an uneven playing field? the thing thatis an uneven playing field? the thing that is really interesting is, for the government, in a strategy which has nothing about retail, the biggest employer, nothing about the food industry which is quite central to the security of the business, seems strange to me. this building has no shop fronts, but it is home toa has no shop fronts, but it is home to a retailer that shows —— sells 250 million products, it is amazon and the uk boss says the battle lines are blurring. i think it is a little simplistic to draw a distinction between physical stores and online because if you look at reality of most operators today, they are all a bit of both. if you look at the customer experience, of course there is huge belly walking in and touching and building products and vast majority of sales in the uk are still true physical outlets, but at the same time, there is the huge convenience being able to discover products on my phone, my tablet, to order 24 hours a day, to

haveit tablet, to order 24 hours a day, to have it delivered. if you look at anybody focusing on what the customer needs, you will find probably that is taking us towards operations which are a blend of the two. when wallace went bust tenant yea rs two. when wallace went bust tenant years ago, many lamenting the demise of admitted they had not been in the shop for a while and that is the point. of course business rates are important for businesses big and small but it is the consumer that ultimately decides what survives and what the future looks like. amazon is trailing drone technology for the deliveries of the future, but dogs says the secret to success is pretty simple. we find we are not very good at predicting the future, so one of the things we focus on is the things that don't change. great products, at great price and in convenient way. meanwhile, back in store, tesco has tried converting retail space for housing, but dave lewis says customers still will want to go to the shops. i am optimistic about the

future for food retail. i think it will change but that is still a very good business in stores like this, for me, will still be a very important part of that. we are a nation of shopkeepers, the shop is here to stay? the shop is definitely here to stay? the shop is definitely here to stay? the shop is definitely here to stay. after a day of some drama at westminster, the prime minister has seen off the possible resignation of her brexit secretary, david davis. he had demanded a time limit on temporary arrangements to avoid a hard irish border if no customs deal is reached with the eu. theresa may has now committed the government to an ‘expectation‘ that the so—called backstop arrangement would end by close of 2021. here's our political editor, laura kuenssberg. are you about to lose your brexit secretary, prime minister? she has a lot on, but theresa may's urged today was to prevent disaster, to stop the man he was meant to be in charge of brexit from flouncing out. david davis was summoned to an early meeting behind the gates,

behind closed doors. 0ther ministers we re behind closed doors. 0ther ministers were trying to embrace the day. one of the nice things about this beautiful summer's day is it is an opportunity for me to have a chat with my colleagues about the important issues we are dealing with. one hour of discussion, but back into the jaguar with no agreement. david davis was threatening to quit. if the prime minister did not put a specific date for a time minister did not put a specific date fora time limit minister did not put a specific date for a time limit into a government document. the plan for customs after brexit if new ways of managing cannot be found. who would budge? are you going to resign, mr davis? downing street was sweating, at sta ke downing street was sweating, at stake this proposal and the fortunes of the government. a nervous wait during one hour of talks, but then david davis's team claimed victory, the document would after all include a date. but this crucial line, the uk expects the future arrangement to be in place by the end of december 20 21. in other words, the brexit

secretary had made the prime minister move. foreign secretary, is it not rather a problem that cabinet have been bullying the prime minister in public? no mistake, it is another mistake, not a concrete commitment to anything. the smile of boris johnson's face as he left a long meeting suggests one thing, senior brexiteers and governments believe they have won. after today's very public power struggle, look who is sure he has won. david davis taking his time, savouring the moment, even though by tomorrow, his advantage may seem hollow. i think it is true that theresa may's government does operate by collective responsibility, we do come to collective decisions. arguing in public? sometimes that takes longer, leaving the european union is one of the most important things we have donein the most important things we have done in this country for very time, it is important we get the decisions right. as everyone knows from the referendum, opinions and feelings

run high and its issue but we have shown we can reach an agreement civilly and collectively. but on the other side of the channel, that can look like chaos. ijust received these proposals two hours ago and we're working with them. the eu does not like the look of the proposal anyway, there will be a formal response tomorrow. try as the chief whip does to be positive, the government looks bright. the brexit secretary has had his way although what has been done is not clear plan of his liking but for chip which means that the government can stay intact for now. as the prime minister's bags were packed for a trip abroad, she kept the government together, just, yet she reads behind the risk of bad compromise, to did —— contradictions still all around. the supreme court has said that abortion law in northern ireland is incompatible with human rights. although the judges ruled against a legal challenge to the current law, a majority of them concluded it violates a woman's human rights in cases

of fatal foetal abnormality and sexual crime. currently, an abortion is permitted in northern ireland only if a woman's life is at risk. 0ur ireland correspondent, emma vardy, is at the high court for us. emma, this is a complex ruling. does it increase the pressure for a change in the law in northern ireland? well, thejudge's well, the judge's comments are well, thejudge's comments are not legally binding, but i think they will increase the pressure on the government. thejudges here at will increase the pressure on the government. the judges here at the supreme court today ruled that the case brought by the northern ireland human rights commission failed on technical grounds, but it made it clear that had this case being brought by an individual, by a victim, thejudges would have made a formal ruling in their favour. victim, thejudges would have made a formal ruling in theirfavour. now victim, thejudges would have made a formal ruling in their favour. now a prominent campaigner is doing just that because today, she wanted a new legal challenge. and she is somebody who previously travelled from northern ireland to england to end a pregnancy because her unborn baby had a fatal condition. meanwhile,

mps at the house of commons don't wa nt to mps at the house of commons don't want to wait for another legal process , want to wait for another legal process, there are many there who believe that in the absence of the stormont assembly which collapsed 17 months ago, that the government should intervene. and today, the comments from the uk's most senior judges will have given a new impetus to those mps to find a way to make a change. from the high court, thank you. the london fire brigade, and firefighter unions, have been been defending the handling of the fire last year — at the grenfell inquiry. they say there was "no obvious and safe alternative strategy" to firefighters advising people to stay put. the metropolitan police is investigating the policy as a possible health & safety offence. this report, from our correspondent lucy manning, contains some scenes of the fire viewers may find distressing. they are haunted by their memories that night. deeply affected, the inquiry heard, that despite their courage, the firefighters were unable to do more to save the lives of those who died.

but the bereaved blame the fire brigade's ‘stay—put‘ policy for some of those deaths. in a building like grenfell, it was expected the fire in flat 16 would stay in that flat and not spread, but experts say it was clear at this stage — half an hour after it started — that the ‘stay—put‘ policy wasn't working. get out! it lasted for nearly two hours. today, london fire brigade defended its actions. it is a fundamental misunderstanding of the events of the fire and of fire service capabilities to assume that the building's ‘stay—put‘ policy can be changed to simultaneous evacuation, at the stroke of a fire incident commander, at whatever time. the fire brigade said because of the single stairwell which firefighters with equipment were going up, the lack of a whole building fire alarm and the toxic conditions, there was no obvious,

or safe, alternative. the conditions on the stairs and in the lobbies were hugely challenging from a very early stage in the fire, by reason of their compromise through smoke, reduced visibility, intense heat and toxicity. but the fire brigade and its officers are now being investigated over the ‘stay—put‘ policy. the metropolitan police announced today the decision to tell residents to remain in their flats for so long will be part of the separate criminal investigation to see if health & safety laws were breached. the choucair family — three children, their parents and grandma — all died in the fire. they were, their relatives say, victims of the ‘stay—put‘ policy. it has cost lives from our family. i believe a lot of residents could have got out a lot quicker, erm... it is due to their lack of leadership. but the inquiry was asked,

because firefighters weren't aware ofjust how dangerous the building was, were they placed in an impossible situation — always chasing a sinister fire they had no realistic chance of extinguishing, their barrister said? lucy manning, bbc news. our top story this evening: house of fraser becomes the latest casualty on the high street, with plans to close half its stores. and still to come... how the chaos on the trains in the north of england has left the lake district completely cut off from the rail network. coming up on sportsday in bbc news, another bite at the cherry for simona halep, the world number one is into the french open final — a match she's lost twice before. new data has been published showing how what graduates in england are earning is affected by what they studied and where.

the universities minister sam gyimah says choosing a university is as big a financial decision as choosing a mortgage, and the government will make the statistics available to allow university comparison apps to be developed. here's our education editor bra nwen jeffreys. beth walker is about to leave university for a job. her passion is textile design. she will earn less than a doctor but says her course was good value for money. i've been able to kind of use the university to my advantage and get my money's worth whereas people who might do a more theoretical course, where they're not in uni as much, might feel they're being ripped off. half the students at huddersfield are from low—income families. getting a good job is on many students' minds. i'm going into an industry that there's not a lot of work in, but having done an industry placement here, i'm pretty determined that i will get a job. so, would it help to know how much

they could earn as graduates? some might find it a bit disconcerting, some might find it helpful to know what sort of future they could have and help them plan perhaps. just 35% of students in england say their degree is good value for money compared to 60% in scotland, where there are no tuition fees. the university you go to and the subject you choose to study can both make a massive difference to how much you earn when you graduate. ministers hope this information will lead to greater competition between universities, but it could also leave some students feeling even more dissatisfied with the value for money of their tuition fees. if you study creative subjects, you will earn less than doctors and lawyers. afterfive years, this is how it looks for a woman with a creative arts degree. huddersfield earnings are just 5% less than the average

graduate in any subject. brighton, 11% less than average. coventry, 19% less than average. different universities are good at different things. universities have got to sit up and, yes, wake up to the fact that the public is expecting a lot more from our universities now. gone is the time when people were just grateful to get a university place and the university dictated the terms to them. who in the organisation receives these rapid response reports? new nursing students know they will get a job, a graduate salary and career. but for many more students, the prospects are less certain. the questions about value, more urgent. branwen jeffreys, bbc news. 20 premier league matches a season will be shown on amazon from next year.

the online streaming service has won the rights to show every game from the first round of midweek games in december and all ten games on boxing day as part of the three—year deal. 0ur media editor amol rajan is with me now. this is a significant move by amazon. it certainly is. this is the first time the stranglehold of bt and sky on the premier league has broken and it's significant. it shows the distinction between the internet and the tv is redundant, and it shows a big us technology firms that we often talk about that are reshaping the media are branching out from their traditional domain of drama and entertainment into live sport. amazon have got into tennis, they spoke have got into baseball. it also suggests for many fans of live sport there is an increasing cost and complexity about the new world because they have to subscribe to lots of different services will stop

its obvious the sport is gaining but not the fans. the man who engineered this deal, and really made the premier league the financial behemoth it's become is stepping down as chief executive on the end of this year. thanks. a report says increased cocaine production in latin america has fuelled a surge in the use of the drug across europe. the study — by the eu's drug monitoring agency — says use among young adults in england and wales is the highest on the continent, with around 4% of 16 to 34 year olds having taken it in 2015. as delays and cancellations to trains across the north of england continue to plague passengers, greater manchester's mayor, andy burnham, says he still doesn't think the government is doing enough to help. the problems have led to the lake district being cut off from the rail network. danny savage has been to hear what people there make of it. 0n the branch line which links the lake district to the rest of the rail network, the trains haven'tjust been

delayed or cancelled, northern rail has shelved the whole service. nothing is running on these tracks. summer in the lakes means the visitor numbers are heading towards their peak. people want to come to one of the most popular national parks in britain, but they're not getting to windermere by train. it took them four and a half hours to get from lancaster university to here. businesses which rely on tourism aren't happy. the timing is absolutely disastrous for us. what we need is a reliable rail service reinstating as quickly as we possibly can. we're trying to encourage international visitors to come out of manchester and up to the lake district, and to not have those services — those reliable and consistent services, isjust such... it's just a real problem for us here in the lake district. up at the railway station, northern rail staff are doing their best. this passenger even got her own bus so she didn't miss her connection. buses replacing trains may not sound

like a big deal but tourism officials say it's acceptable. the lakes is a world heritage site and when the main road which runs parallel with the railway line gets busy, the resulting delays, say business owners, actually puts people off coming here. today the rail minister met with the mayor of greater manchester. remember, the government says fixing the trains in the north is a priority. i welcome the fact that he's here but i don't yet see the action plan to sort this out. i don't yet see the government saying the north of england and its transport needs are at the very top of our agenda. back in the lakes, people are worried that buses will replace trains for longer than the planned fortnight. they want help when the line reopens. we need a marketing campaign that is funded by northern and network rail to state that the service is open and the public transport back to the lake district is fully restored. northern rail says its performance has improved this week but this

part of cumbria just wants its trains back. danny savage, bbc news, windermere. the nightclub owner peter stringfellow has died at the age of 77. the businessman, who'd been suffering from cancer, died in the early hours of this morning. he was as famous for his fla m boya nt lifestyle as his discos and strip clubs. david sillito looks back at his six decades in the industry. fantastic, here you go, ready? have i got the bestjob or what, i don't know! peter stringfellow was more than just another nightclub owner. the big hair, the leather trousers, he was a showman who became a household name. he'd started out running clubs in sheffield after a spell in prison for selling stolen carpets. within a few years he was bookingjimi hendrix, the beatles and the who, but it was when he moved to london that he hit the big time. this was his ‘80s heyday, but fashions changed and in the ‘90s his disco empire was in trouble.

so, he shifted to what he called gentlemen‘s clubs. the strip shows saved him, but this man who boasted of sleeping with 2,000 women denied there was anything degrading or exploitative in the business. indeed, in a conversation with the academic and tv presenter mary beard, he talked of being a feminist. i interpret feminism of saying quite simply, women can do what they want to do and not be told not to by a man. that's simplistically. .. so if they want to take their clothes off, they can and... they can do anything. it's notjust being beautiful, they've got to be smart and what they do is entirely up to them within the scope of the law. mary beard was not the only one to be not entirely convinced, but he shrugged it all off. his almost unshakeable self belief had taken him from draughty church halls to medallion—strewn opulence. peter stringfellow, the self—styled king of clubs. who has

died at the age of 77. time for a look at the weather... here's tomasz schafernaker. we are edging towards the weekend, how was it looking? not bad at all so that's always a good thing, some sunshine on the way. it's been a decent day today, we have had a few showers and they affected southern areas of the uk, some of them quite heavy and i think the chance of showers continues into tomorrow. when we say a shower chanceit tomorrow. when we say a shower chance it means it is unlikely you will get one but we are forecasting them, they will be there during the course of the day. there are still showers around during the course of the night into wales but there's so few of them so the chance of catching one is very low indeed. very cool in the north but not so call in the south, then tomorrow probably starts off cloudy in the

morning with grey skies, especially for the early birds, then the sun gets going on the cloud and it should brighten up quite nicely but not everywhere we are expecting blue skies. again, in one or two spots you could catch a few showers. how about the weekend ? you could catch a few showers. how about the weekend? again some warm sunshine on the way, sunday will be particularly pleasant across the bulk of the country and risk of sharp showers once again. here saturday's weather forecast cloudy to start with across eastern areas, then in the afternoon you will notice blobs of blue across western scotland, northern ireland, possibly some showers breaking out in the south—west of the country but not a bad day all in all. on sunday some high pressure across scandinavia stretching across the atlantic, meaning the weather is very calm and settled at the moment so sunday is a decent day with a lot of bright weather around but blobs of blue across western scotland meaning a

few showers and temperatures could reach the mid—20s during the course of sunday. 0n reach the mid—20s during the course of sunday. on balance looking absolutely fine i think. thomas, thank you. a reminder of our main story... house of fraser becomes the latest casualty on the high street with plans to close half its stores. the closures could affect 6,000 jobs. the boss says it's a necessary but brutal decision. that's all from the bbc news at six so it's goodbye from me, and on bbc one we nowjoin the bbc‘s news teams where you are. this is bbc news. our latest headlines: house of fraser announces plans to close more than half of its stores with the loss of 6000 jobs. this is brutal. this is as tough as it gets, and we have not taken this decision lightly. it is very dramatic for people that we care about a great deal. the government has said that any temporary customs arrangement with the eu is expected to end by december 2021 — following resistance from the brexit secretary, david davis. scotland yard says

it's investigating the london fire bridages use of the "stay put" policy during the grenfell tower fire. the executive chairman of the premier league, richard scudamore is to stand down at the end of the year. in a moment it will be time for sportsday but first a look at what else is coming up this evening on bbc news.