11,000 jobs at risk on the high street, as two more big retailers run into trouble. house of fraser plans to close half its stores — 6000 jobs could go. the boss says it's brutal but necessary. 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. with more than 5000 jobs also at risk at poundworld, we'll be assessing the future of the high street. also tonight... a showdown between the brexit secretary and the prime minister over britain's customs arrangements with the eu. the threatened resignation of the brexit secretary never comes, but it's been a day of chaos in westminster, with the prime minister's authority sorely tested. firefighters defend their advice to residents of grenfell tower to stay in their flats while the fire took hold. supreme courtjudges say northern ireland's abortion law is incompatible with human rights. commentator: rashford, dropping deep and going for goal

and scoring a goal which is right out of the top drawer. and england shine in their last game before the world cup. and coming up on sportsday bbc news, find out why rafa nadal thinks he was lucky to have sunshine after the rain in paris, as he reached his 11th french open semifinal. good evening. 11,000 jobs are at risk tonight as two big high street retailers become the latest to run into trouble. 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 is brutal and as tough as it gets. and the discount chain, poundworld, is struggling too, with nearly 5,500 jobs at risk.

our business correspondent emma simpson has more. it's the cornerstone of many a high street. this is birmingham's biggest and oldest department store, but it's going. wolverhampton‘s closing, too. we're just devastated. it's a lovely, wonderful shop. edinburgh is also on the hit list. i can see partly why it's going to close, it's just old now. so is cirencester. it's like the high street isjust dying. it's very, very sad. it's also grim news for cardiff. the chain is pulling out of wales altogether and the boss didn't mince his words. this is brutal. this is as tough as it gets. we have not taken this decision lightly. it's necessary today, because without it we aren't a business with a viable future. house of fraser is trying to restructure its business. it has 59 stores across the uk.

it wants to close 31 of them, but it needs 75% of its creditors to approve the plan at a vote later this month. 6000 jobs are at risk. even london's oxford street is to go, because of falling sales and rising costs. in the ‘60s house of fraser and department stores were a magnet for shoppers, but nowadays it's much harder to make the sums add up. they want to reduce what is a very considerable debt. retail expert richard hyman was talking about its problems 25 years ago. he's still doing it today. for many, many years it hasn't had a sufficiently differentiated product. it hasn't stood out. it hasn't been clear about exactly who it's been targeting. there hasn't 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's the problem facing high streets up and down the country — how to fill the gaps when we're shopping more online. although it looks as if this site is finally being redeveloped. but who will step into this vast space up the street? the house of fraser store known here as binns. it's the smallest towns like this one which will be the hardest hit. the impact is going to be catastrophic in terms ofjob losses and the loss of the shopping experience, but we shouldn't lose sight of the fact that house of fraser is an anchor tenant that brings people into town. and they'll miss it. i think we're losing a lot of the big stores. marks will go, this will go, then we've got nothing left in the town, really. for house of fraser it is a drastic attempt to stay in business. this retailer though may be just days from collapse. poundworld says it intends to appoint administrators

if it can't find a solution to its troubles. it's been a terrible few months for our high streets as the weaker players struggle to adapt to the new world of retail. emma simpson, bbc news, darlington. 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 simon jack has been finding out. for a nation of shopkeepers, we seem to be losing an awful lot of them. this year alone, house of fraser, mothercare, carpetright and even marks & spencer have announced store closures. poundworld is on the brink of administration, while maplin‘s and toys "r" us are gone forever. hundreds of new gaps on britain's high streets, tens of thousands ofjobs lost. so what's going on? the boss of the uk's biggest retailer says the fight for retail survival is not a fair one and an industry that employs

four million people deserves government 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 actually are we allowing it to stay competitive, or are we by stealth lowering corporation tax and increasing business rates to a place which is creating an uneven playing field? i think the thing that's really interesting is, for the government, in an industrial strategy which has nothing about retail — the biggest employer — nothing about the food industry — which is actually quite central to the security of the business — seems strange to me. this building is home to an online retailer that sells 250 million different products, without the same burden of business rates, but it does employ 28,000 people in the uk — and according to the boss, straight comparisons aren't helpful. i think it's a little simplistic to draw a pure distinction between physical stores and online, because i think if you look at the reality of most operators

today, they're all a little bit of both. you know, actually, if you look at the customer experience, of course there's huge value of walking in and touching and feeling the products, and the vast majority of sales in the uk are still through physical outlets. but at the same time there's a huge convenience of being able to discover products on my phone, on my tablet, to be able to order 24 hours a day and to have it delivered. when woolies went bust ten years ago, many of the people who lamented its demise also admitted they hadn't been in the shop for a while — and that's the point. yes, of course business rates are important for retailers both big and small, but it's us — the consumer — that ultimately will decide what survives and what the future looks like. amazon is experimenting at new frontiers of retail, but doug gurr says the rules of the game will still be the same. we find we're not very good at predicting the future, so what we tend to focus on — what are the things we don't think are going to change? what do customers care about? do you have the right products? can i get them at a great price?

and can i get them in a convenient way? meanwhile, back in store, tesco has tried converting surplus retail space for housing, but dave lewis says customers will still want to go to the shops. i'm not unoptimistic about the future for food retail. i think it will change, but i see that actually there's still a very, very good business. and, as i said at the start, stores like this, for me, will still be a very important part of that. so, we're a nation of shopkeepers, the shop is here to stay? the shop is definitely here to stay. simon jack, bbc news. 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 an agreement on customs can't be reached with the eu. theresa may has now committed the government to an ‘expectation‘ that the so—called backstop arrangement would end by the close of 2021. 0ur political editor laura kuenssberg reports. are you about to lose your brexit secretary, prime minister?

she has a lot on, but theresa may's first job today was to prevent disaster. to stop the man who is meant to be in charge of brexit from flouncing out. david davis was summoned to an early meeting behind the commons gates, behind closed doors. 0ther ministers were trying to embrace the day. one of the nice things about this beautiful summer's day is there's an opportunity of course, for me to have a chat with my colleagues about the important issues we are dealing with. an hour of discussion, but back into the jag with no agreement. david davis was threatening to quit... stop brexit! ..if the prime minister didn't put a specific date for a time limit into a government document. the plan for customs after brexit, if new ways of managing can't be found. who would budge? are you going to resign, mr davis? downing street was sweating. at stake, not just this proposal, but the fortunes of the government itself. a nervous wait during nearly another hour of talks,

but then david davis‘ team claimed victory. the document would, after all, include a date. with this crucial line... in other words, the brexit secretary had made the prime minister move. foreign secretary, isn't it a problem the cabinet have been bullying the prime minister in public? no mistake, it's anotherfudge, not a concrete commitment to anything. the smile on borisjohnson‘s face as he left after a long meeting suggests one thing, some senior brexiteers in government believe they have won. after today's very public power struggle, look who's sure he won. did you get what you want, david davis? david davis, taking his time, savouring the moment. even though by tomorrow, his advantage may seem hollow. i think it's particularly true of theresa may's government, that it does operate by collective responsibility. we do come to collective decisions. reporter: arguing in public?

sometimes that takes a little bit longer, leaving the european union is one of the most important things that we've done in this country for a very long time. it's important we get the decisions right. as everybody knows in the referendum, opinions and feelings run high on this 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. we have just received this proposal two hours ago. we are working on it. the eu doesn't much like the look of the proposal anyway. there'll be a formal response tomorrow. try, as the chief whip does, to be positive... really positive day. ..the government looks split. the brexit secretary has had his way, although what's been done is not a clear plan of his liking, but a fudge, which will mean 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 leaves behind the risk of bad compromise,

contradictions still all around. ina in a moment we can talk to our europe editor, katya adler. first, laura kuenssberg, who is in westminster. after this showdown with david davis mrs may lives to fight another day, but how damaged is she? it's been quite chaotic at westminster, there isn't another word for it. let's try to stop our heads spinning and work out what this means. 0n the face of its quite seniorfigures in this means. 0n the face of its quite senior figures in government are saying tonight look, david davis made a fuss, he got a concession but actually he might have saved some face, but what he achieved doesn't really m ea n face, but what he achieved doesn't really mean very much. he's basically managed to create a fuss and come out of it looking 0k basically managed to create a fuss and come out of it looking ok but not actually change the weather. but if you stand back in the big picture, theresa may was forced to change her plans because one of her cabinet ministers made her do so.

whether or not the actual change really amounts to very much as a different question. the fact is she had to budge, because david davis was determined to resist her and thatis was determined to resist her and that is not what happens to a prime minister who is 100% in charge of her own affairs. but just minister who is 100% in charge of her own affairs. butjust when things seemed like they might have been calming down a bit, a couple of hours after all the torrid nature of today, a recording of the foreign secretary boris johnson today, a recording of the foreign secretary borisjohnson managed to find its way to a news website, buzzfeed, where he is heard to be talking about his own hopes and fears for brexit and his own belief that theresa may needs to find a few more guts to be able to deal with what is ahead. but frankly right now with all the divisions in government it means not just with all the divisions in government it means notjust that with all the divisions in government it means not just that theresa with all the divisions in government it means notjust that theresa may needs guts, she needs all the help she can get and the reality from the last 2a hours is that not all of her collea g u es last 2a hours is that not all of her colleagues are necessarily trying to give her it. katya adler in brussels, the eu now has this latest proposal from the government. what

are they likely to make of it? well, this was a very big day for brexit in the uk, as we just heard, this was a very big day for brexit in the uk, as wejust heard, but here in the eu it is seen more as a limited if significant step forward. why significant? well, because for weeks while cabinet ministers were rowling over how close a relationship should have with the eu after brexit, there was no progress being made here in are in negotiations about the issue that eu warns could bring a brexit deal crashing down, the irish border conundrum. this, they say, is the absolute key of it and this is why they are looking today at the paper to see whether it helps them in that at all. we will hear tomorrow from michelle barnier, the eu's chief brexit negotiator, that the eu sees a lot of holes in this paper. they have a lot of further questions and this will by no means be the end of the irish border chapter, because eu of course wants cast—iron legal guarantees that there will be no

reintroduction of a border between northern ireland and the irish republic after brexit. today, the uk came with its proposal and this means the two intended sides in the negotiations can get back to the brexit table but despite the criticism there will be words of encouragement as well for the uk, because from here they can see that theresa may is in trouble from all sides and they do not want to help here in brussels to unseat her altogether. katya adler in brussels and laura kuenssberg in westminster, thank you both. the london fire brigade and firefighters' unions have been defending their decision to advise residents of grenfell tower to stay in their flats as the fire took hold. speaking to the public inquiry, they said there was "no obvious and safe alternative" to the stay put policy. the metropolitan police is investigating that policy as a possible health and safety offence. lucy manning's report contains some scenes of the fire that 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 and safety laws were breached. the choucairfamily, 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, their barrister said, a sinisterfire they had no realistic chance of extinguishing. lucy manning, bbc news. 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 reports. from belfast to england, in 2013 the bbc followed sarah, who travelled to the uk for an abortion.

i don't even want to go out and do a shop, for baby clothes. people pushing their newborns. her unborn baby had a fatal condition. she's campaigned ever since to try and change the law. if i'd had this procedure at home, in my own hospital with my own medicals, i would have had a grave to visit or ashes. i have absolutely nothing of my wee daughter to remember her by. that breaks my heart. today, sarah was in court to hear the ruling of the most seniorjudges in the uk. the legal challenge by the northern ireland human by the northern ireland human rights commission failed on technical grounds. but the supreme court made it clear, and majority ofjudges believe northern ireland's abortion law is in breach of women's human rights. we are of the firm and clear opinion that the current law is incompatible with article eight. the judges‘ remarks today were not legally binding.

but will add weight to the growing political arguments of mps over at westminster, who now believe the government should legislate on northern ireland's behalf. but anti—abortion campaigners have resolved to resist any change. unborn children have a universal and fundamental right to life. they have a fundamental right to be protected in northern ireland. this ruling shows the human rights commission have wasted tax payers money. shows the human rights commission have wasted tax payers moneym shows the human rights commission have wasted tax payers money. in the absence of the norman island assembly which collapsed 17 months ago, there are a cross—party calls for westminster to act. sarah's journey continues. today she says she has lodged a new legal challenge because she said her difficult journey to england is one but women in northern ireland continue to make. emma vardy, bbc news, at the supreme court. there is new pressure tonight

on the chief executive of tsb, paul pester, over the botched computer upgrade which left nearly two million people unable to access online banking. the treasury select committee has publicly called on the tsb board to consider sacking mr pester. 0ur personal finance correspondent simon gompertz is here. this is extremely damning, but tsb has come out fighting. it is unusual for the chair of the treasury committee to call for the head of the boss of one of our major banks. she is stinging in the criticism in the letter she has written, accusing him of dissembling in front of mps, of saying everything was running smoothly for the vast majority of customers when only half of them could login. denying there were delays on the line for reporting fraud. niki morgan says there were big delays. she is saying the board should consider his position, whether he should keep hisjob. but in response, the chairman of tsb has said the board is fully behind him.

previously, mr pester said he will not fall on his sword because he is committed to fixing the problems at tsb. but this piles on the pressure. he carries on and we are likely to hear along the statement from tsb in the morning on his defence, but this makes his position uncomfortable. simon, thank you. 20 premier league matches a season will be shown on amazon from next year. it's the first time an online streaming service has won the rights to show games. they'll cover matches in december as part of a three—year deal. so what does it mean for fans and for the television industry? here's our media editor, amol rajan. premier league champions. in recent years, sky sports and bt have maintained a stranglehold on rights to show live premier league games. every few years the league would open an auction with those two firms emerging victorious. but at the last auction, something unusual happened. the price achieved by the league fell by half a billion pounds. so they opened the rights up and amazon have swooped. this is the first time a big us technology firm has entered

the market for britain's most popular sport. it shows the distinction between tv and the internet has all but collapsed and that streaming services are branching out from drama and entertainment into live sport. but it's also a sign of the complexity and cost that viewers have to deal with now, because they had to subscribe to multiple providers. definitely, it's too much! because now instead of paying for sky, you have to pay for sky for amazon for this and that and nobody wants to pay that kind of money. even bt was a step too far for me, ijust kept the sky sports and i wouldn't pay any more for anything else. i'm quite lucky because i've already got amazon, i bought it for all the tv package and the free delivery. so it's actually a bit of a bonus for me. yeah, i agree, i've only got amazon prime, the problem is are they going to put amazon prime up as well with these additional games on top of your existing fees? amazon's ambition knows few bounds. live sport is an attractive route, it arouses huge passion, has an international and committed following and offers

multiple revenue streams from advertising to merchandising. that's why amazon have already moved into tennis. and facebook into baseball. 0ne former boss of both the bbc and the football association says this is a sign of things to come. this is, i suspect, just an experiment on amazon's behalf. they want to see how this does the two chunks of rights they'll own. one is going to be played, i think on a bank holiday and one is going to be played on a midweek day. and i think they'll see how that goes. if it works then that will be the future, i suspect. and just this afternoon, the man who engineered the deal announced he is to stand down at the end of the year. richard scudamore will leave the premier league after nearly 20 years as chief executive. it's inevitable that in the war for viewers' ratings today, those with a spectacle to sell chase

the wealthiest business. in the long—term, british sporting jewels will become objects of american desire. amol rajan, bbc news. this week we've been considering questions of local and national identity within the uk, how we feel about the past and future for our communities. england, unlike scotland and wales, does not have its own parliament. mark easton has been speaking to people in three english communities, to find out how they feel about that and if they want to be closer to political decision making. the end of the line. this corner of north east kent on the river medway was once the beating heart of british naval might, but power and influence have trickled away on the tide of history. almost 85% of people here feel they have little or no influence over the decisions that affect their local area, and the vast majority say they're disconnected from power both nationally and locally. the geography of sheerness may help explain the town's peculiar

sense of detachment, but across england almost eight in ten people think they have very little or no influence over national decisions that affect their area, and seven out of ten say their link to council decision making is no better. you elect, don't you, the people you want to lead you, but then they have their little meetings and they decide what they want, and i don't really think it reflects too much on what people want. i feel a bit cut off, yeah, a little bit, like we're in own little corner of the world. you've got one toilet in the town, one phone in the town, it just doesn't work and you can't talk to anybody. many in england look enviously at the power devolved to the other uk nations, complaining that english local government has been emasculated as central government has become more distant. travel to malvern in worcestershire, where sir edward elgar was inspired to compose anthems to his beloved england, and there is evident

nostalgia for a country more in tune with its rural heritage and more in control of its own destiny. the idea of an english parliament has strong support in these parts. i would be personally in favour of an english parliament, english members of parliament should be voting on english matters. i think it would help to give us our own identity and perhaps a feeling of cohesiveness that perhaps isn't there at the moment. would you like an english parliament? yeah, i would. i don't agree with scottish mps voting on things that are nothing to do with them, and they do. do you resent london a bit? yes, i do. from elgar‘s green and pleasant worcestershire, travel north, to stockport, a town forged in the industrial revolution, now being regenerated and where people report a much greater sense of control over their affairs than the england average. councils in greater manchester,

stockport included, pioneered the development of combined authorities — town hallsjoining together to take on powers previously run from whitehall. now they're still very new, but it does seem that people are generally enthusiastic, and nowhere more so than places that already have one. asked if they'd like a combined authority in their area, 48% of people in england said they would. if you exclude those who didn't feel they knew enough to comment, support rises to 73%. and in stockport the equivalent figure is 87%. in one of stockport‘s old factories — a building that once boasted of being the largest cotton mill in the world — local entrepreneurs are supported as they seek to grow. with power flowing back to the north, optimism is on the up. really creating a sense of unity and energy that was much needed, and yeah, that idea of bringing it away from westminster and owning that decision—making.

there's definite differences in the north and i think manchester is a big place for people to identify as sort of a centre of power. the people of england generally feel excluded from the decisions that affect them and their local area. the connection to power seems too weak. finding a bridge for that divide is the answer to the english question. mark easton, bbc news, england. football — and england have been in action tonight, in their last match before they head to russia for the world cup. they faced costa rica in a friendly in leeds, from where natalie pirks reports. for queen and country. england's preparations for russia had a royal presence today. as patron of mental health the duke of cambridge took

time to applaud danny rose's decision to speak out about his battle with depression. it is really, really good what he did, he said. well done, you should be pleased. yorkshireman rows returned home tonight as england played their first match in leeds for 16 years. it's all part of gareth southgate's plan to bring the fans closer. but real madrid's keeper couldn't get anywhere near marcus rashford. fabulous for marcus rashford. how is that for staking a claim for both country and club? england had all the possession, costa rica offered little. when the three lions needed to put this to bed, danny welbeck, used his head. the substitute's