hello, you're watching afternoon live. i'm ben brown. today at 2. the doctor at the centre of the gosport hospital scandal breaks her silence and says she was doing the best for the patients. her husband speaks on her behalf. she was a hard—working, dedicated doctor. doing the best for her patients in a very inadequately resourced part of the health service. ‘it‘s like the apocalypse' say people threatened by the wildfire raging on saddlworth moor as dozens of homes are evacuated. we noticed a new thick black plume of smoke and heard crackling and the fire, and there was all this ash and the thick black smoke came crumbling down, and we couldn't breathe. it was horrendous. prince william meets palestinian president abbas and becomes the first british royal to make an official visit to the occupied territories. (coming up on afternoon live. tim hague has the sport —

and tim any clues about england's line up for the big game against belgium tomorrow? plenty of clues. we don't think dele alli will be back in time for the game. he picked up a thigh strain in the opening match against chouy zia and suggestions of a start for marcus rashford. brazil and germany played the qualification, so plenty to talk about —— against tunisia. and ben rich has all the weather — and it's still sizzling out there — how much longer for the heatwave? quite a bit longer in the south and northern areasjoining quite a bit longer in the south and northern areas joining in with the heat, although it will cool down towards the weekend. all the details, plus some pictures of flooding from greece. also coming up — a report by mps says everyone over a0 in england should pay a new tax to help fund care in old age. hello, everyone.

this is afternoon live. i'm ben brown. ‘a doctor doing the best for her patients‘ — that's how jane barton has described herself, despite being at the centre of the gosport war memorial hospital scandal, where hundreds of people died after being given drugs inappropriately. dr barton has broken her silence, insisting she was a ‘hardworking, dedicated' doctor. but some relatives of those who died have denounced her statement as ‘worthless‘. last week, a damning report said as many as 650 patients may have had their lives shortened as a result of the overprescription of powerful painkilling drugs. duncan kennedy reports from gosport. it's exactly a week since the damning report was published and today, the first time we have heard

from the doctor at the centre of it, doctorjane barton, speaking through her husband, she said she was a dedicated medical practitioner. we have to the families of the patients involved, and they tell us they are extremely disappointed at what doctor barton had to say. jane barton is the doctor at the centre of the gosport hospital deaths inquiry. speaking through her husband, tim barton, she spoke for the first time today since the report was published, and said she had always been a professional medical practitioner. she has always maintained that she was a hard—working, dedicated doctor, doing the best for her patients in a very inadequately resourced part of the health service. we ask that our privacy is respected at this difficult time and she will be making no further comments. i did ask one question. do you have any message for the families? last week's report concluded a56 people died at the gosport war

memorial hospital after being given inappropriate amounts of painkillers. a further 200 patients probably died in the same way. robert wilson was admitted to recover from a shoulder injury and other conditions, but his family said he was dead within four days. his daughter tracie said she was disappointed by today's statement from dr barton. she had an opportunity today to come out and take responsibility for her actions. but she has chosen once again not to do that. she has portrayed herself as a victim, which i find quite distasteful. she is not a victim. drjane barton, seen here at an earlier inquest, wasn't the only individual or agency criticised in the inquiry. it said there was a disregard for human life at the hospital over a period of around 12 years, and the families say it is now time for the police to take action. hampshire police were also severely

criticised for their three investigations into the deaths and have stepped aside, but families this morning have told us they want a new force appointed as soon as possible and they say the first version to be interviewed by the force should be doctorjane barton. firefighters say they're facing enormous challenges in their attempt to tackle a vast blaze on saddleworth moor near manchester. local people have described flames leaping 20 feet in the air, as crews try to contain the situation in the heatwave. the army has been placed on standby to help. it's feared more than 2,000 acres of moor have been destroyed. smoke from the fire can be seen from space, and the authorities have warned people who live nearby to stay indoors and keep their windows closed. judith moritz is in carrbrook: this is a fire whose effects can be felt far and wire. public health

england are monitoring air quality gci’oss england are monitoring air quality across the whole of greater manchester, and you can see why. it looks like a foggy morning, but it isn't, this is all smoke and i can feel it in my eyes and the ash is floating around like a rain and this has been a moving situation because when i arrived here a few hours ago it was clear, but you can see with the wind changing it has moved, so this is a battle where firefighters are finding that the front line keeps moving. it looks like a wildfire in the californian bush or the australian outback. but this is six miles from 0ldham. last night as the moon rose over saddleworth, fire raged on the moor. drone footage in daylight shows the extent of the blaze. and metres away, homes bought for their tranquil views, suddenly threatened. residents were told to spend last night elsewhere. i kept looking out the window and we went about our usual business, having something to eat, etc. and there was just a knock at the door after eight o'clock

and it was one of the special police officers and they said, you know, you're going to have to get out. you're going to have to evacuate. as they were telling you to get out, did you think, my house is at risk? absolutely, yes. the last thing i said to him was, don't let my house burn down! some local schools have closed, unable to keep their classrooms ventilated. i have been here about 20 years and we have never been in a position where we've had to close the school premises because of fire and there has certainly not been any evacuations in the past. so this is unprecedented, without a doubt. the fire service declared a major incident. 50 firefighters said to be putting a heavy attack on the blaze. it is not unusual for the moorland to catch fire, particularly in the summer months. but the residents here say what is unusual is that their houses are so close to pockets of flame like this which keep flaring up. it is unforgiving, inaccessible land. the hoses only reach so far. firefighters have to stamp out some

elevated hotspots and keep coming back to re—extinguish fires. the heat was that intense it was turning the spray to steam, if you like. but it did stop it. it stopped it right on the peak. but as you can see this morning, it is flaming up again. it was just the smoke. the stinging smoke in your eyes. the army has been asked to be ready to respond. a request is being put together for help. but we have not made a decision yet whether or not to actually submit that request. so we are making the necessary preparations should they be needed. the point being, i think i get this sense just from being here, for the last couple of hours, it is a very changeable situation. as the country basks in a heat wave, imagine the temperatures these firefighters are coping with. it is exhausting and it is continuing. with talk of this fire taking many days to beat. plans to build community prisons for women in england

and wales have been scrapped. instead, the government will open five residential centres where female offenders will be helped with drug and mental health problems, and finding work. ministers say custodial sentences haven't stopped reoffending — and should only be used for more serious crimes, asjune kelly reports. inmates at work in the grounds of styal women's prison in cheshire. for years, reformers have been saying that prison doesn't work for many female offenders. the majority of women behind bars are assessed as low or medium risk and commit nonviolent and low—level crimes. paula harriet served four years for drugs offences. she knows what life is like on the inside for women. the lack of support that there is in the prison environment to really tackle things like serious mental health, serious addiction, childhood abuse, domestic abuse. you know, all of these

issues require therapy, they require support. women make up about 5% of the prison population in england and wales. nearly 60% have suffered domestic abuse, and many have mental health problems. 70% of those on short sentences will go on to reoffend. now, the ministry ofjustice says rather than women going to prison, there will be a network of residential centres. women can get the support that they need to turn their lives around, to stop them reoffending. that helps us bring down crime and it helps ensure that we get people on the right track. the change is very welcome. we don't need more prisons for women. we need money into women's centres and crime prevention support for women in the community. this is really good news. campaigners say the new alternatives to prison must be properly funded to be effective. june kelly, bbc news.

a line of news coming in about the heatwave we are experiencing. wetherspoons have apparently run out of drinks in some of their pubs, including john smiths, strongbow regular and strongbow dark fruit. the affected drinks are supplied by heineken, but they have stated they will take orders again soon: so maybe things will be back together soon. people over the age of a0 in england should pay a new tax to help fund elderly care, according to mps. the suggestion comes as ministers consider how to reform adult social care. the mps say the money would help ensure that everyone who needs support in their old age receives it. frankie mccamley has more details. currently, when it comes to social care, only the poorest get help towards the cost,

be it in their own home or a care home. others have to pay for it themselves, with one in ten facing costs of more than £100,000. some have to rely on friends and family or simply go without. now a group of mps are trying to find ways to reform the system and raise extra cash. they're calling for a new social care premium paid by employers, people over a0 and those in retirement. it would be based on income, those who could not afford to pay would not be expected to. it is looking at the principles of fairness, raising extra resources because without it, i'm afraid, social care is in a very precarious state, and a lot of people are just not getting the support they need. the combination of an ageing population and a squeeze on council budgets has left the social care system at breaking point. and with the over—65s being the fastest—growing age group in england, predicted to make up more than half the population in 25 years‘ time,

it is clear reform is needed. when i get to over 40, i wouldn‘t mind paying it, but until then, they can pay for themselves because they are going to need it first. why over the age of 40 — why not young people, everybody pay it, instead ofjust half the population? i don't care how much they get for the pensions and their private pensions and whatever, they have worked for that, and i think they should be entitled to have it. so, you know, they've just got to find another way of doing it. but no matter how they do it, with current spending, more funding is needed. i think there is agreement across the nhs, across gps, across the care providers, that the care system isn't working for people and we need to do something radically different to make sure people get the care they need. the government says it plans to publish a green paper on social care reform in the autumn. the prime minister has

defended her brexit strategy following warnings from business last week that a failure to reach a deal with the eu could threaten investment in the uk. at a stormy session of prime minister‘s questions, theresa may insisted she was ‘listening to business‘ and placing jobs at the ‘heart‘ of the government‘s plans. butjeremy corbyn warned her threat to walk away from brexit negotiations was a risk to britishjobs. 0ur political correspondent, ben wright, reports. are you in charge of your cabinet, prime minister? theresa may‘s ministers seem to be going rogue, speaking out about their colleagues and policy in a way that suggests a splintering cabinet and a breakdown in discipline. for instance, here is the number two at the treasury, liz truss, mocking the environment secretary, michael gove, last night. too often we are told we are thinking too much. maybe that‘s just me. eating too many doughnuts or enjoying the warm glow of our wood—burning goves.

i mean stoves. at that point there is a lot of hot air that emerges. then there is borisjohnson, who arrived back at heathrow yesterday after ducking a vote on the airport‘s expansion. he has not denied using very blunt language to criticise concerns from businesses about brexit. colleagues have not been impressed. business is usually important to us and i don‘t think anybody should be dismissive but this was, as i understand it, a throwaway remark at a drinks reception and probably not wise but i wouldn‘t read any more into it than that. and of course brexit divides the cabinet. theresa may will try to hammer out its differences at a meeting next week. differences jeremy corbyn tried to exploit at prime minister‘s questions. isn't the truth that the real risk tojobs in our country is a prime minister who is having to negotiate around the clock with her own cabinet to stop it

falling apart, rather than negotiating to defend jobs of workers in this country? we triggered article 50, agreed and implementation period, past the eu withdrawal bill. britain fit for the future and leaving the eu on the 29th of march 2019. but how and on what terms? in the coming weeks, theresa may has some big choices to make. you‘re watching afternoon live, these are our headlines. the doctor at the centre of the gosport hospital deaths scandal claims she did her best for patients as she appears in public for the first time since the damning report. firefighters say they‘re facing huge challenges tackling on saddleworth moor near manchester. local people are told to stay indoors. prince william meets the palestinian president mahmoud abbas in ramallah — the first royal to officially visit the palestinian territories.

and the temperature continues to rise as the uk records it‘s hottest day of the year so far, with the mercury topping 30 degrees celsius. england will live in collinear on gradel later as they prepare for their final gradel later as they prepare for theirfinal group gradel later as they prepare for their final group game against belgium and dele alli is expected to miss out again through injury —— kaliningrad. while england and belgium have qualified for the knockouts, brazil and germany have not. germany are first up, taking on south korea had three p:m.. serena williams is a seed for wimbledon, despite being out the world top hundred, after birth last year. more on that at half—past. the duke of cambridge is in ramallah where he‘s been meeting the palestinian authority president, mahmoud abbas. the trip marks the first time a member of the british royalfamily

has been on an official visit to israel. on tuesday, prince william was injerusalem and met prime minister benjamin netanyahu. 0ur middle east correspondent yolande knell is in ramallah. just explain what prince william has been doing, and why this is such an historic visit to the middle east? indeed, this is another important pa rt indeed, this is another important part of this trip, the first official trip via a british royal in the history of israel and to the occupied palestinian territories as well. we saw him arrive at presidential headquarters here in ron mahler —— and then went to speak to the palestinian president. he had been asked by the israeli president

yesterday to deliver a message of peace to mahmoud abbas and told, to encourage him to take the first step with israel towards what was described as ending the tragedy for their people. of course, the prince is supposed to be here on a strictly nonpolitical visit and that is the nature of royal visits but when he spoke to mr bass —— mr mahmoud abbas, he voiced his desire to see peace, and we were told that the palestinian leader told him he was seriously committed to peace with israel and the idea of a two state solution, the idea of an independent state of palestine living side by side with israel. that is very much the standard palestinian position. now what the prince has been doing is going to a palestinian refugee camp in ramallah and this will be a chance for him to meet a different segment of society. the people he will be meeting at a un health clinic in the camp are people who

are either descendants or the original refugees, people who were forced to flee back in 1948 in the fighting when the state of israel was created and then he will be coming here to downtown ramallah for more cultural events. you can hear the singing and there will be dancing and there will also be watching of a girls football team. you say this is a nonpolitical visit, but what has been the reaction to it, both on the israeli side and palestinian side? has anybody been critical of the visit, or is there generally supportive feeling towards his trip to the middle east? he was invited here first of all by both the israeli and palestinian government is so at official level he is getting a warm welcome indeed. he seems to have won over the israeli media because the

news headlines referred to him as prince charming and william the conqueror after he was seen on the beachin conqueror after he was seen on the beach in tel aviv hanging out with surfers as well as doing the things you expect on a vip trip like going to the holocaust museum and meeting israeli leaders. 0n the palestinian side, of course, there is a more mixed legacy because of the period of the british mandated palestine which preceded the creation of the state of israel. palestinians have a different idea about british involvement here in the region and the prince has acknowledged something that complicated history in the few official he spoke. but here in ramallah he will get the chance outside of meeting political leadership, the chance to circulate and meet some young people and get a diverse range of views, perhaps. something different to what you might getan something different to what you might get an atypical ministerial trip and according to palace officials, that is very important

for him, to listen to people and learn about this place and see some of the faces that could shape the future. thank you very much. the chancellor‘s deputy, liz truss, has publicly criticised some of her cabinet colleagues over their "macho" demands for more public spending, and telling people how to live their lives. in a speech last night she complained about ministers who told the public to drink less, eat fewer doughnuts, and get rid of their wood burning stoves. 0ur chief political correspondent vicki young is in westminster for us now. a lot of commentators saying that party discipline within the government seems to be breaking down, cabinet colleagues sniping at each other and a breakdown in collective responsibility. what is the mood at westminster?m

collective responsibility. what is the mood at westminster? it is at the mood at westminster? it is at the crux of it, the brexit issue, which means, as we know people in the cabinet have different views but it does seem to be spilling over into other areas and that speech by liz truss this lunchtime, conservative spokesman said some passages in the speech were intended to be humorous and nobody knows whether downing street were laughing as they listened, but she says it was all a joke, but of course, she was all a joke, but of course, she was seemingly attacking some government policy on things like childhood obesity and recycling and getting rid of plastics, so it‘s ha rd to getting rid of plastics, so it‘s hard to see what the intention was, so ministers can speak out on whatever they like. i‘m joined by the chairman of the education select committee. do you think we are being too critical of liz truss? it was strange, because she seemed to be going against a lot of things announced in the last couple of weeks. i think the chief secretary's role reminds me of hermione granger

and michael gove as possibly harry potter with his wizardry announcements on the environment. perhaps we do need a couple professors to bring heads together but i would take it in that vein and not too seriously. do you think she has a point about the nanny state, banging on about the environment and that maybe it doesn‘t mean that much to people. i think it means a lot to people, but we have to make sure the key priorities are about skills. that housing and the national health service and that is why i welcome the government 20 million announcement for the health service. the idea of ministers speaking out, they seem to be doing it more openly whether it is about borisjohnson saying that the business community should not speak out about brexit because it undermines negotiation.

the conservatives still the party business? i don't want to take the harry potter thing to barber he is a bit like ron weasley. there will always be things said offstage but let's look at the substance where the party has cut business taxes, created millions ofjobs and creative apprenticeships. that is what it means. are we creating a skilled and apprenticeship nation? when it comes to spending we know there will be presentations in the autumn, but they seem to be being donein autumn, but they seem to be being done in public, particularly the defence secretary calling for more money for defence. is that the way to go about things? the defence secretary is clearly putting his tanks on the treasury lawn. my only comment is that we are more interested in textbooks than tanks.

we have a wonderful spending settlement needed and we also need a five—year funding settlement as well, so schools and colleges across the country have the funding and stability they need to the next five orten stability they need to the next five or ten years. thank you very much indeed. a lot of talk about whether theresa may should be banging heads together. she will summon her cabinet to chequers at the end of next week, particularly about brexit. a conservative spokesman on this lunchtime said no pyjamas would be required. let‘s hope it is not a sleepover. britain is basking in the hottest weather this year — porthmadog in north wales has recorded the highest temperature of the year so far , 30.8 celsius, and the sweltering conditions will continue, with forecasters saying a high of 33 degrees is possible in the coming days. 0ur ireland correspondent, emma vardy reports. testing the water.

about 15, 16 degrees, so we have had warmer water days over the last few weeks, but this is nice, it‘s perfect. just too good not to take a quick break from the dayjob to enjoy it. i get an hour in the water, a bit of a shiver getting out, even today, then back to work. northern ireland has been enjoying its share of the uk‘s heatwave. today could break the record for the hottest temperature recorded here for more than a0 years. i'm taking a kayak out here because it is a lovely day here in bangor. it's amazing, not often it comes like this, so we just have to make the most of it and enjoy it while it is here. weather warnings continue to be issued around the uk as the heatwave intensifies. temperatures are above 30 degrees again in wales, which yesterday was the hottest place in the uk. rather cooler in aberdeen, around 22 degrees, but still ice cream weather. the hot weather also means difficult conditions for some. the seaside resorts of

weston—super—mare have welcomed many visitors. northern ireland‘s top temperature is expected to come sometime mid—afternoon, when forecasters will find out whether the record has been broken. 0n bangor‘s beach for now, there is plenty of space on the sand, but don‘t be fooled, there are many other children waiting to descend as soon as lessons are over. we‘re going to pick up her brother and sister from school and come back down to the beach for a big swim in the sea. if you do not fancy a swim, there is always pedal power, as northern ireland savours the moment. time for a look at the weather. here‘s ben rich. a lot of people might normally think i want to get away from it all, go to greece for my holidays. not right now. no, it feels topsy—turvy. we‘ve been

talking about this for the last couple of days, the unsettled weather, and we have the pictures to prove it. you can see the way that the cars have been strewn aside, all the cars have been strewn aside, all the debris on the road, and have a look at this rain. and it‘s a real deluge. . really strong winds and all of the rain rushing through, whereas at home the weather has been com pletely whereas at home the weather has been completely different. it's been amazing. most people love it but there has been a downside and we see that with the saddleworth moor fire going on right now. absolutely and reports of other fires taking part —— place in other parts of the country. this just shows the extent of the smoke from saddleworth moor and we‘ve seen pictures on the ground, but that is what it looks like from space. i thought it was worth talking about what the weather has been like this month because it has been like this month because it has been like this month because it has been exceptionally dry. so far

this month close to saddleworth moor they have recorded nearly 25 metres —— millimetres of rain, less than an inch, about 30% of what we would see in the last meaningful rain was on the 20th of june. in the last meaningful rain was on the 20th ofjune. you can imagine how dry things are and it was a dry may, and then people in that part of the world will be wondering when they get some rain. have a look at they get some rain. have a look at the forecast in rochdale. it stays dry for nearly seven days and the temperatures stay high, and a fair breeze, so that won‘t help. temperatures stay high, and a fair breeze, so that won't help. and the forecast for the next few days? it will not disappear any time soon. we saw blue skies and sunshine already today. on the west wales coast they had a temperature up to 32 degrees, very close, 31.9 degrees. the warmest day of the year

so far but not in sunderland because here more cloud, which has been slowly melting back towards the coast. if you are on the east coast beaches, bear in mind there could be cloud on the shoreline. and the lighter shade, feeling cooler here, but out west a lot of heat. we have seen but out west a lot of heat. we have seen the temperature close to 32 degrees. in the south, high 20s, low 30s, but northern ireland and scotla nd 30s, but northern ireland and scotland joining in today with the hot weather. this afternoon could bring temperatures up to 30 degrees. always cooler close to the east coast where we have more cloud. tonight, some of the cloud in the north sea will roll back inland, perhaps as far as the east midlands. 0ut west, a lot of clear sky overnight but temperatures will not dip too far. 10—1a. tomorrow, a

cloudy start in some eastern areas. the cloud tending to retreat out to sea the cloud tending to retreat out to sea and another day of hot, strong sunshine with high uv levels. the centre of glasgow tomorrow afternoon could get up to 30, possibly 31 degrees. unusual to have a temperature at this high, this far north, at this time of year. northern areas will see a cool down at the end of the week with high—pressure shifting its way north, which opens is up to a north—easterly flow, particularly into scotland and northern ireland. signs that we will tap into cooler air. working across scotland on friday, not spoiling things, but bringing a cool down. still a lot heat to be had further south. what

about the weekend ? heat to be had further south. what about the weekend? if you were watching yesterday i spoke about an area of low pressure which may get close enough to put showers in the mix in southern areas but it looks like high—pressure will hold which means more sunshine and heat, particularly in the south, but something cooler further north. this is bbc news. the headlines. the doctor at the centre of the gosport hospital death scandal breaks her silence. a statement read out on behalf of drjane barton said she was "doing the best for her patients". firefighters say they‘re facing huge challenges tackling a fire on saddleworth moor near manchester — local people are are told to stay indoors. prince william meets palestinian president abbas — and is the first british royal to make an official visit to the occupied territories. sport now on afternoon live with tim hague. the big game tomorrow, england and

belgium, any clues about the england line—up? dele alli is unlikely to play because of the thigh strain he picked up early in the tournament but suggested names put into the frame, they will arrive in the city shortly. both teams through to the last 16 but dele alli almost certainly not going to play but marcus rashford, eric dier and gary cahill, they will start. england top of the group because they have won fewer yellow cards than the belgians but both teams have the same goals scored, conceded and goal difference, of course. and a lot of exciting games today at the world cup? after argentina scraped into the knockout stages last night. amazing scenes at their game, can germany and braziljoin scenes at their game, can germany and brazil join them? scenes at their game, can germany and braziljoin them? brazil taking

on serbia. germany in a difficult position going into their match against south korea. 0ur news correspondent can tell us more. germany‘s quest to retain their title is still alive thanks to the dramatic comeback against sweden. a farfrom dramatic comeback against sweden. a far from perfect performance, dramatic comeback against sweden. a farfrom perfect performance, more about their mental strength and determination and they hope it will provide momentum for improvement through the tournament. 0ne provide momentum for improvement through the tournament. one of their biggest problems is a vulnerability to the counter attack exploited by sweden and mexico and today they will be without a key defender, boateng, who got a red card against sweden and is suspended. south korea lost opening games but have a chance to qualify for the knockout stage but they will have to improve because they were poor against mexico and sweden. they know however unlikely a victory against germany, it could be enough to see them through. while it has not been

straightforward for germany, it would be a major surprise if they do not qualify for the knockout stage. so there are four games in total today both matches in germany‘s group are on bbc. and later, brazil‘s group will be decided — there‘s commentary from those games on radio 5 live. it‘s not a decision that will please everyone, but serena williams has been seeded for wimbledon, which begins on monday. she‘s in at number 25, despite being outside the world‘s top 100, after giving birth to her daughter last year. here‘s our tennis correspondent, russell fuller. by by seeding serena williams at 25 the all—england club is offering limited protection which means she cannot play another seeded player in the first or second rounds but in the third round would expect to run into one of the top eight players. cibulkova has missed out. she said on the eve of the decision she does

not think it is fair on her or any other player in that position having earned their ranking over the past 12 months. there are many of the wta players who share that view, said the decision will not be universally popular. what the all—england club has decided is serena williams is a unique case, extraordinaire champion, and someone who has only been able to play three events because she gave birth in september. andy murray is not seeded, but he will play kyle edmund at eastbourne later today. many thanks. in the latest of a series of reports produced by a group of leading think tanks for the bbc, analysing the state of the national health service , the institute for fiscal studies says that future nhs funding will need tough choices over tax rises. the report — named ‘does the nhs need more money and how could we pay for it?‘ also analysed whether such

a tax rise would be supported by the public. we can speak to pauljohnson — the director at the institute for fiscal studies. thank you for being with us. it is one of the oldest questions in politics, we want a health service but how do we pay for it? one of the interesting things is over the last 70 years or so, we have paid more and more for the health service not just in real terms but as a fraction of national income, spending more than two and a half times as much as when it was founded as a fraction of national income, but we have not had to raise taxes because we have had such big cuts in things like spending on defence, nationalised industry, on houses, so we have been able to spend more on health and pensions without raising taxes. but, going forward, as the population gets older, we will need to spend

yet more, but it is hard to see there will be many other things we can cut spending on so if we have a health service that delivers what we want, in the end it will come down to more tax. people say they love the health service and want it to be better. would they be prepared to pay more tax, specifically for the health service, if they knew that is what it would go to? people say they would be willing to pay more tax for the health service but there are problems with that, because you cannot tell for sure where the money is going to, even if in the first year higher taxes fund more health spending, ina year higher taxes fund more health spending, in a few years you will not know whether it funds health or defence or anything else. while people say they will pay more tax, they do not often say they will pay a lot more tax, so even those who say they are willing to pay more,

maybe 200 year, even the amount the prime minister has promised to the nhs, would cost the average earner more like a00, £500 a year. nhs, would cost the average earner more like 400, £500 a year. how do we compare with competitors in terms of how much of our income, gdp, how much do we put into the health service compared to other countries? pretty average, if you take the advanced economies, a bit less than france, germany, the scandinavian countries, netherlands. for an average amount of money we put in, we getan average amount of money we put in, we get an average kind of health service, which is free at the point of use and is getting better, but is still much worse than a lot of other health services particularly in terms of curing things like cancer and heart disease. good to talk to you. if you have questions on the future of the nhs,

you can send them to us using the contact details on screen and a panel of experts will answer them at half past five on the bbc news channel. back to the occupied west bank, palestinian territories, and prince william the duke of cambridge in his sunglasses watching a cockerel event and the significance of this five—day visit to the middle east is that this is the first time a member of the british royalfamily that this is the first time a member of the british royal family has that this is the first time a member of the british royalfamily has made an official visit to israel and the palestinian territories. prince william has met the palestinian authority president, that is the day after he was in israel meeting the prime minister there. the visit

being described as nonpolitical, but significant in that it is the first british royal visit to both israel and the occupied territories. the israeli president had asked prince william to encourage mahmoud abbas to ta ke william to encourage mahmoud abbas to take the first with israel end what he described as the tragedy between israel and palestinians that has existed more than a century. that is prince william attending a cultural event. we will be back live with our correspondent throughout the afternoon. a heterosexual couple who want to enter a civil partnership rather than a marriage have won the backing of the supreme court. rebecca steinfeld and charles keidan argued that marriage had, for centuries, treated women as property, and wanted a civil partnership instead, currently only available to same—sex couples. judges today ruled unanimously that the current law is incompatible with human rights legislation.

earlier my colleaguejane hill spoke to our correspondent clive coleman at the supreme court. ironically, since gay marriage was legalised in 2013 there has been an inequality between gay couples who have the option of marrying or entering a partnership as again straight couples who can only married. today the supreme court ruled the inequality amounted to discrimination and it breached article eight of the european convention on human rights, the right to a private and family life. this was charles after the couple‘s victory. while there is no formal time limit, the ruling which is emphatic in our favour today really poses a serious question to the government about what it will do on behalf of the over 3 million cohabiting couples, the

fastest—growing family type. opening civil partnerships would be good for them, families and children, not just for us and that is why the case is important and that is why we have fought all the way to the supreme court. we are waiting for a statement from the government. the supreme court cannot force the government to act but it has put pressure on the government to open up pressure on the government to open up civil partnerships for the 3.3 million cohabiting heterosexual couples who may not want to get married but might want the legal and financial protection a civil partnership gives them and they are akin to the same protections you get when you get married. clive coleman reporting. the latest headlines before the business news. the doctor at the centre of the gosport hospital deaths scandal claims she did her best for patients as she appears in public for the first time since the damning report. firefighters say they‘re facing huge challenges tackling

a fire on saddleworth moor near manchester — local people are told to stay indoors. prince william meets the palestinian president mahmoud abbas in ramallah — the first royal to officially visit the palestinian territories. here‘s your business headlines on afternoon live. john lewis has issued a profits warning. it says it‘ll make a lot less than the £290 million it made last year. profits for the first six months of the year would be close to zero. it‘s also closing five of its waitrose food stores. the bank of england says the uk has made positive progress on handling risks to the financial sector posed by brexit. but it says there hasn‘t been similar action from the eu. shares in african budget airline fastjet have collapsed by two thirds, after warning it could go bust without new funding. the airline is backed by easyjet

founder stelios haji—ioannou and operate in several african countries including south africa, tanzania and zimbabwe. donald trump is digging in when it comes to trade with the rest of the world. he is ramping up in terms of putting america first. he has said he wants to andi america first. he has said he wants to and i quote, protect the nation‘s technologies from harmful foreign acquisitions. the way he wants to do this is to give more power to a special committee to essentially police deals involving takeovers of american companies. one of the big quarries is it might put people off investing in the us so for instance

last year, the amount of foreign direct investment fell by a0% to $275 billion. kim gittlesonjoins us live from new york what does he want to do with this measure? it is a walk back from draconian measures the administration had been considering, if you can believe that. we saw reports about putting a cap on the amount of foreign investors could pour into industries. but now going through congress something that will strengthen a little—known federation agency. the committee for foreign investment in the united states. this committee was created in 1970 underformer president this committee was created in 1970 under former president ford to monitorjapanese under former president ford to monitor japanese investment under former president ford to monitorjapanese investment in

american companies and it monitors potential deals to see if the deal could harm national security, threaten us intellectual property if it went through. we have seen the committee ramp up efforts with two deals scuppered as a result of their involvement. that was with money gram and another one on the west coast of the us. the trump administration says it supports measures to give this committee more powers. do we think it is aimed essentially at china? it is almost certainly aimed at china but less draconian. the idea is instead of deliberately targeting only chinese investment the committee looks that any foreign investment in american companies. obviously because it is most focused on protecting american intellectual property and american national

security, which congress people have been concerned about when it comes to china. it seems to be something republicans have said they are targeting, at chinese investors. this is part of a pattern. we are seeing a toughening up of the us attitude towards trade and investment. this is america first in action. we have seen a lot of tariff measures proposed. now the administration has proposed tariffs on $a50 billion, £330 of chinese exports. we are waiting for the final list of items that could be subject to the tariff duties. it looks like the administration will continue, partially because americans support the policy with a survey saying for the first time a majority of americans approved of the way donald trump was handling the way donald trump was handling the us economy. thank you.

what about the markets? the ftse is bouncing back after a tough start to the week with fears of a trade war with the us. carnival is rising from a tough start to the week — itv is under pressure because its finance director is stepping down. bp, other all major is doing well as the cost of oil goes up. thank you. the latest ideas on how to use satellite technology to improve life on earth, sound like the inventions of top scientists, but in fact they‘ve all been created by young entrepreneurs. 22 inventors have been given the chance to pitch their ideas to industry experts in a bid to make them a reality. john maguire reports. normally when entrepreneurs

enter the dragons‘ den, they‘re experienced business owners. but today, 21 young people aged between 13 and 21 are pitching their ideas to five dragons from the space industry, and they‘re a tough crowd. who‘s going to pay for this? you can, sort of, ramble slightly. if we put on our business hats, who do you think would be the end consumer? everyone here is already a winner of the uk space agency‘s satellife competition. they‘ve all come up with innovative ways to use satellite technology to improve our lives. so today, it‘s their chance to gain support and advice to take their ideas to the next level. at the age of 13, i took a very intense interest into ai, from which i created my first chatbot. a confident start for 15—year—old kari lawler, whose jacket leaves the dragons in no doubt of her ambitions.

if you can start identifying those things you want to pick apart, then i'd really like you to come and talk to me about a job. when you get into discussions with universities and partners, just make sure you read the fine print, get some people on your side looking at, you know, the legal bits and pieces. you didn‘t seem remotely nervous, were you nervous? erm, not really. i do presentations and speaking a lot, so it was all right. goodness, this is such a good event, i did this event last year as well, and the kidsjust really put together some amazing projects. really impressed again this year with the calibre of the projects coming forward. we first met the schoolgirls from cornwall with their surf safe idea two months ago. they‘ve come up with an affordable wristband to be worn by surfers and swimmers in the sea, which would help lifeguards on the shore track their exact position. aerospace cornwall has already offered the girls £5,000 to develop their idea. today, the european space agency said it would match the money.

you can tell it‘s a good idea because you go, surely someone has already thought of this, this must exist! if you‘re able to raise a little bit of money to get this started then we can double that from the european space agency and help you through those feasibility study and testing, kind of, stages. it‘s all very well doing a presentation, isn‘t it? but then they started asking you questions. what was that like? well, nervous, yes, not very good at answering stuff on the spot, got to admit. they're not only thinking about ideas of how to use a satellite imagery or data, they're thinking about how they can solve problems with that data. it's really inspiring to see young, creative minds moving and thinking in this kind of space, and it's ground—breaking. i'd like to take you on a journey. so much space technology seems futuristic when, in fact, it‘s being used today. but, when looking for what‘s next and who will create it, the future is already here.

the weather in a moment. a solidified lump of fat, oil and grease that‘s been on show at the museum of london could be preserved, after proving popular with visitors. the piece of fatberg comes from a so—called monster berg that had been blocking sewers in east london. it was going to be removed from display this week but the museum‘s curator says the fatberg caused a "marked increase" in visitors — and they are now thinking of preserving it, when it finishes its public display this week. who would have thought. a piece of fatberg a popular attraction. and maybe in this sizzling whether it would melt. let‘s check out the weather prospects. for most in on the day of blue skies

and sunshine but it has not been quite that simple. eastern areas starting with low cloud and further west, sunshine all the way as shown by this picture from cornwall. western areas have warmed up quickly. further east, a slow process because we have burning the cloud back to the coast. generally speaking, a day of strong sunshine with high uv levels. and this afternoon, northern ireland and scotla nd afternoon, northern ireland and scotland will join in afternoon, northern ireland and scotland willjoin in the action with temperatures up to 30 degrees, perhaps a touch higher. tonight, a fine end to the day with most bases keeping clear skies. but we see low cloud rolling back in from the north sea. temperatures generally holding up sea. temperatures generally holding up in double digits. sunspots

dropping to 9 degrees. tomorrow, similar, cloud to start on eastern coastal areas that will burn its way back to sea, then a lot of sunshine, high uv back to sea, then a lot of sunshine, high uv levels and pollen levels and lots of heat. temperatures across many parts are up into the 20s and even up to 31 degrees we suspect in glasgow tomorrow afternoon. friday, su btle glasgow tomorrow afternoon. friday, subtle changes with high—pressure drifting north and that allows us to bring ina drifting north and that allows us to bring in a north, north—easterly flow, particularly into parts of scotla nd flow, particularly into parts of scotland and northern ireland so whereas today they have been warm and will be tomorrow, friday will be cooler here. extra cloud across parts of scotland as well. afternoon temperatures more like 25, 26 in glasgow on friday. further south, plenty of heat to be had. in the

weekend, uncertainty. we have watched low pressure that has threatened to throw showers to the south and at this stage it looks like high pressure will hold firm. still plenty of fine weather to come and plenty of heat, particularly in the south. hello, you‘re watching afternoon live. i‘m ben brown. the doctor at the centre of the gosport hospital scandal breaks her silence and says she was doing the best for the patients. her husband speaks on her behalf. she was a hard—working, dedicated doctor. doing the best for her patients in a very inadequately resourced part of the health service. ‘it‘s like the apocalypse‘ say people threatened by the wildfire raging on saddlworth moor as dozens of homes are evacuated. we noticed a new thick black plume of smoke and heard crackling and the fire, and there was all this ash and the thick black smoke came crumbling down, and we couldn‘t breathe. it was horrendous. prince william meets palestinian president abbas and becomes the first british royal

to make an official visit to the occupied territories. coming up on afternoon live all the sport — tim — what‘s happening at the world cup? germany are trying to qualify. they are playing south korea. that has just kicked off. we will also give you the latest on england, gareth southgate‘s side play tomorrow against belgian, of course. thanks, tim, and we‘ll bejoining you for a full update just after half—past. ben has all the weather. sizzling temperatures are set to continue. you may be hoping for rain by now, but there is precious little in the forecast. in fact, but there is precious little in the forecast. infact, it but there is precious little in the forecast. in fact, it is more dry weather, more sunny weather, and more hot weather for the next few days. all of the details coming up.

thanks, ben. also coming up — wetherspoons is hit by the c02 shortage — announcing they‘ve run out of drinks in some pubs. ‘a doctor doing the best for her patients‘ — that‘s how jane barton has described herself, despite being at the centre of the gosport war memorial hospital scandal, where hundreds of people died after being given drugs inappropriately. dr barton has broken her silence, insisting she was a ‘hardworking, dedicated‘ doctor. but some relatives of those who died have denounced her statement as ‘worthless‘. last week, a damning report said as many as 650 patients may have had their lives shortened as a result of the overprescription of powerful painkilling drugs. duncan kennedy reports from gosport. it is exactly a week since that

damning report was published. for the first time we‘ve heard from the docked at the centre of it, doctor jane barton. she said he was a dedicated medical practitioner with her husband speaking for her. we have spoken to the families of some patients this morning and they tell us they are extremely disappointed at what doctor barton had to say. jane barton is the doctor at the centre of the gosport hospital deaths inquiry. speaking through her husband, tim barton, she spoke for the first time today since the report was published, and said she had always been a professional medical practitioner. she has always maintained that she was a hard—working, dedicated doctor, doing the best for her patients in a very inadequately resourced part of the health service. we ask that our privacy is respected at this difficult time and she will be making no further comments. i did ask one question.

do you have any message for the families? last week‘s report concluded a56 people died at the gosport war memorial hospital after being given inappropriate amounts of painkillers. a further 200 patients probably died in the same way. robert wilson was admitted to recover from a shoulder injury and other conditions, but his family said he was dead within four days. his daughter tracie said she was disappointed by today‘s statement from dr barton. she had an opportunity today to come out and take responsibility for her actions. but she has chosen once again not to do that. she has portrayed herself as a victim, which i find quite distasteful. she is not a victim. drjane barton, seen here at an earlier inquest, wasn‘t the only individual or agency criticised in the inquiry. it said there was a disregard for human life at the hospital over

a period of around 12 years, and the families say it is now time for the police to take action. hampshire police were also criticised. they have now stepped aside. families this morning have said they want a new force appointed as soon as said they want a new force appointed as soon as possible. they say the first person to be interviewed by that force should be doctorjane barton. firefighters say they are facing enormous challenges. local people have described flames leaping 20 feet into the air. as fire crews try to contain the situation in the current heatwave. it is feared more than 2000 acres of more land have

been destroyed. smoke from the fire can be seen from space. the authorities are warning people who lived nearby to stay indoors and keep their windows closed. our correspondent reports from car park. it looks like a foggy morning here. it looks like a foggy morning here. it isn‘t. this is smoke. there is cash floating around like rain. this has been a moving situation. when i arrived here a few hours ago it was clear. with the wind changing the fire has moved. this is a battle in which firefighters are finding that the front line keeps moving. it looks like a wildfire in the californian bush or the australian outback. but this is six miles from 0ldham. last night as the moon rose over saddleworth, fire raged on the moor. drone footage in daylight shows the extent of the blaze.

and meters away, homes bought for their tranquil views, suddenly threatened. residents were told to spend last night elsewhere. i kept looking out the window and we went about our usual business, having something to eat, etc. and there was just a knock at the door after eight o‘clock and it was one of the special police officers and they said, you know, you‘re going to have to get out. you‘re going to have to evacuate. as they were telling you to get out, did you think, my house is at risk? absolutely, yes. the last thing i said to him was, don‘t let my house burn down! some local schools have closed, unable to keep their classrooms ventilated. i have been here about 20 years and we have never been in a position where we‘ve had to close the school premises because of fire and there has certainly not been any evacuations in the past. so this is unprecedented, without a doubt. the fire service declared a major incident. 50 firefighters said to be putting a heavy attack on the blaze. it is not unusual for the moorland to catch fire, particularly

in the summer months. but the residents here say what is unusual is that their houses are so close to pockets of flame like this which keep flaring up. it is unforgiving, inaccessible land. the hoses only reach so far. firefighters have to stamp out some elevated hotspots and keep coming back to re—extinguish fires. the heat was that intense it was turning the spray to steam, if you like. but it did stop it. it stopped it right on the peak. but as you can see this morning, it is flaming up again. it was just the smoke. the stinging smoke in your eyes. the army has been asked to be ready to respond. a request is being put together for help. but we have not made a decision yet whether or not to actually submit that request. so we are making the necessary preparations should they be needed. the point being, i think i get this sense just from being here, for the last couple of hours, it is a very changeable situation. as the country basks in a heat wave,

imagine the temperatures these firefighters are coping with. it is exhausting and it is continuing. with talk of this fire taking many days to beat. it looks like a wildfire in the californian bush or the australian outback. but this is six miles from 0ldham. as the country basks in a heat wave, imagine the temperatures these firefighters are coping with. it is exhausting and it is continuing. with talk of this fire taking many days to beat. the duke of cambridge is in ramallah where he‘s been meeting the palestinian authority president, mahmoud abbas. the trip marks the first time a member of the british royalfamily has been on an official visit to israel and the palestinian territories. on tuesday, prince william was injerusalem and met prime minister benjamin netanyahu. this is another important part of this trip. the first official trip bya this trip. the first official trip by a british royal in the history of

israel. and to the occupied palestinian territories today, as well. we saw him arriving at the presidential headquarters. he was greeted by an honour guard. then he went in to talk to the palestinian president and have lunch with him. he has been asked by the israeli president, when he met him yesterday, to deliver a message of peace to abbas, and encouraged him to ta ke peace to abbas, and encouraged him to take the first step toward israel, which is described as ending the tragedy for their people. the print is supposed to be here on a strictly nonpolitical nature. but when he spoke to abbas he spoke of his desire to see peace here. we would expect that. we were told that the palestinian leader had told him he was very seriously committed to peace with israel, to the idea of a two state solution, the idea of an independent state of palestine living side by side with israel.

that‘s very much the standard palestinian position. now what the prince has been doing is going to a palestinian refugee camp here in ramallah. this is a chance for him to meet a different segment of society. he has been at a health clinic in the camp meeting people who are either descendants or the original refugees, the people who have fled from their homes back in 19a8 during the fighting when the state of israel was created. then he will be coming here to downtown ramallah for more cultural events. there is singing going on. he will also see dancing. he will watch girls football team. if i‘ll be a different flavour for him. —— girls football team. if i‘ll be a different flavourfor him. —— he wore what a girls —— he will watch a girls football game. has anybody been critical of the visit? or is there generally

supportive feeling towards his trip to the middle east? he was invited here by both the israeli and palestinian governments. so he is getting a warm welcome initially. he seems to have won over some of the israeli media. in some of the headlines they were referring to him as prince charming and william the conqueror. this after he was seen on william the conqueror. this after he was seen on the beach in tel aviv, hanging out with servers, as well as doing the things you would expect from a vip trip like going to the holocaust museum, and meeting israeli leaders. on the palestinian side, there is a much more mixed legacy. because of the period of the british mandate palestine, which preceded the creation of the state of israel. palestinians have a different idea about british involvement here in the region. the prince has acknowledged something of that complicated history. in ramallah he will get the chance

outside of meeting with the political leadership. he is going to circulate here. meet young people. get a diverse range of views, perhaps, something different from what you would get on a typical ministerial trip. according to palestinian officials that is important for him, to listen to people here, to learn about this place, to see some of the faces which could shape the future. plans to build community prisons for women in england and wales have been scrapped. instead, the government will open five residential centres where female offenders will be helped with drug and mental health problems, and finding work. ministers say custodial sentences haven‘t stopped reoffending — and should only be used for more serious crimes, asjune kelly reports. inmates at work in the grounds of styal women‘s prison in cheshire. for years, reformers have been saying that prison doesn‘t work for many female offenders. the majority of women behind bars are assessed as low or medium

risk and commit nonviolent and low—level crimes. paula harriet served four years for drugs offences. she knows what life is like on the inside for women. the lack of support that there is in the prison environment to really tackle things like serious mental health, serious addiction, childhood abuse, domestic abuse. you know, all of these issues require therapy, they require support. women make up about 5% of the prison population in england and wales. nearly 60% have suffered domestic abuse, and many have mental health problems. 70% of those on short sentences will go on to reoffend. now, the ministry ofjustice says rather than women going to prison, there will be a network of residential centres. women can get the support that they need to turn their lives around, to stop them reoffending. that helps us bring down crime and it helps ensure that we get people on the right track. the change is very welcome.

we don't need more prisons for women. we need money into women's centres and crime prevention support for women in the community. this is really good news. campaigners say the new alternatives to prison must be properly funded to be effective. june kelly, bbc news. you‘re watching afternoon live, these are our headlines: the doctor at the centre of the gosport hospital scandal breaks her silence and says she was doing the best for the patients: her husband speaks on her behalf. it's it‘s like the apocalypse, say people threatened by the wildfire raging on some form or as dozens of homes were evacuated. prince william meets palestinian president abbas and becomes the first british royal to make an official visit to the occupied territories. germany are playing south korea for

their place in the world cup knockout stages. only two from mexico, sweden and germany will progress from group f. dele alli is expected to miss out through injury on thursday. serena williams is a wimbledon seed despite being outside of the world‘s top 100 after giving birth last year. more on those stories at 3:30pm. the prime minister has defended her brexit strategy following warnings from business last week that a failure to reach a deal with the eu could threaten investment in the uk. at a stormy session of prime minister‘s questions, theresa may insisted she was ‘listening to business‘ and placing jobs at the ‘heart‘ of the government‘s plans. butjeremy corbyn warned her threat to walk away from brexit negotiations was a risk to britishjobs. our political correspondent, ben wright, reports. are you in charge of your cabinet, prime minister?

theresa may‘s ministers seem to be going rogue, speaking out about their colleagues and policy in a way that suggests a splintering cabinet and a breakdown in discipline. for instance, here is the number two at the treasury, liz truss, mocking the environment is secretary, michael gove, last night. too often we are told we are thinking too much. maybe that‘s just me. eating too many doughnuts or enjoying the warm glow of our wood—burning goves. i mean stoves. at that point there is a lot of hot air that emerges. then there is borisjohnson, who arrived back at heathrow yesterday after ducking a vote on the airport‘s expansion. he has not denied using very blunt language to criticise concerns from businesses about brexit. colleagues have not been impressed. this is usually important to us and i don‘t think anybody should be dismissive but this was, as i understand it, a throwaway remark at a drinks reception and probably not wise but i wouldn‘t read any more into it than that. and of course brexit divides the cabinet.

theresa may will try to hammer out its differences at a meeting next week. differences jeremy corbyn tried to export at prime minister‘s questions. isn't the truth that the real risk to jobs in our country is a prime minister who is having to negotiate around the clock with her own cabinet to stop it falling apart, rather than negotiating jobs of workers in this country? we‘ve triggered article 50, agreed an implementation period, past the eu withdrawal bill. britain fit for the future and leaving the eu on the 29th of march 2019. but how and on what terms? in the coming weeks, theresa may has some big choices to make. wetherspoons say they‘ve run out of some drinks in some pubs,

because of the carbon dioxide shortage. affected drinks, including john smith‘s and strongbow cider are supplied by heineken. the pub chain said that they‘re ‘disappointed‘ not to be able to offer a complete range of drinks, but things should be back to normal in a couple of days. what is causing this? joining me now is our business correspondentjonty bloom. more plants are being closed than normal. there are high energy prices at the moment so it isn‘t as profitable to turn them on. that led to this crisis which we have known about for a week. it affects the drinks and food industry because they use carbon dioxide throughout they use carbon dioxide throughout the process. it puts the fizz in

beers and ciders but it also used in pubs to pump the liquid from the cellar up to the bar. therefore it is used throughout the process. our other pop chains with the same problem? yes. —— are other pub chains. there is no talk of all beer is running out, this particular brand in particular areas. out, this particular brand in particularareas. heineken out, this particular brand in particular areas. heineken had a problem but they have sourced more carbon dioxide and they have upped capacity to work through the shortfall. so, crisis, maybe a minor crisis? yes, you might not be able to get particular brands in particular pubs. i don‘t think the nation will run dry. but heineken point out that demand is even higher than it is in the run—up to christmas. that is unprecedented. that is because of the warmer weather and world cup. this problem has come atjust about the wrong time. thanks very much.

we have some breaking news... vladimir putin and john bolton from the white house administration have been discussing a possible joint summit declaration about improving us russia relations and international security. that‘s the latest on that. we will bring you more on that as it comes into us here on bbc news. people over the age of a0 in england should pay a new tax to help fund elderly care, according to mps. the suggestion comes as ministers consider how to reform adult social care. the mps say the money would help ensure that everyone who needs support in their old age receives it. frankie mccamley has more details. currently, when it comes to social care, only the poorest get help towards the cost, be it in their own home or a care home. others have to pay for it themselves, with one in ten facing costs of more than £100,000.

some have to rely on friends and family or simply go without. now a group of mps are trying to find ways to reform the system and raise extra cash. they‘re calling for a new social care premium paid by employers, people over a0 and those in retirement. it would be based on income, those who could not afford to pay would not be expected to. it is looking at the principles of fairness, raising extra resources because without it, i‘m afraid, social care is in a very precarious state, and a lot of people are just not getting the support they need. the combination of an ageing population and a squeeze on council budgets has left the social care system at breaking point. and with the over—65s being the fastest—growing age group in england, predicted to make up more than half the population in 25 years‘ time, it is clear, reform is needed. when i get to over a0, i wouldn‘t mind paying it, but until then, they can pay

for themselves because they are going to need it first. why over the age of 40 — why not young people, everybody pay it, instead ofjust half the population? i don't care how much they get for the pensions and their private pensions and whatever, they have worked for that, and i think they should be entitled to have it. so, you know, they've just got to find another way of doing it. but no matter how they do it, with current spending, more funding is needed. i think there is agreement across the nhs, across gps, across the care providers, that the care system isn't working for people and we need to do something radically different to make sure people get the care they need. the government says it plans to publish a green paper on social care reform in the autumn. we have got comments in from the

foreign secretary, boris johnson. this is on the organisation for the prohibition of chemical weapons. the foreign secretary welcoming the international community in his words, coming together to strengthen the global band against the use of chemical weapons, the global band against the use of chemicalweapons, chemical the global band against the use of chemical weapons, chemical weapons, he says, are an affront to human dignity and have no place in the zist dignity and have no place in the 21st century. groups have come together quite rightly today to strengthen the ban on chemical weapons and prevent impunity for their use. but follows the netherlandsjoining their use. but follows the netherlands joining together with that call for the organisation of the prohibition of chemical weapons to say who they think is responsible for a chemical weapons breach as well as when. that‘s the latest from the foreign secretary on that. the inquiry into the fire at grenfell tower, which killed more than 70 people last year continues.

the fire officer who led the initial response, michael dowden, is giving evidence for the third day and told the inquiry that he felt "helpless" by the time he requested 15 fire engines around 35 minutes after the fire broke out. our news correspondent tom burridge has been following the inquiry and joins me now from central london. michael dowden has finished giving evidence. he was the watch manager on duty that night. he was in command from north kensington watch. he was on the ground for the first hour of the operation to fight the fire. after he gave evidence, richard miller qc, the barrister who has been questioning him for nearly three days solid, thanked him for his courage in giving evidence. he said we as a team, ie the public enquiry, salute you. those thoughts we re enquiry, salute you. those thoughts were echoed by the chair of the public enquiry. he said michael

dowden had set a good example. he was candid and showed courage and had provided very valuable evidence. those comments should be seen within the context of what we have seen on twitter within the last 2a hours. we have seen several serving fire officers from different parts of the united kingdom reacting to a hashtag, iammichaeldowden. there have been people reacting on twitter saying they felt uncomfortable, the way he has been questioned forensically over the past three days about the minutiae of detail, about the decisions he took and did not take. about the fa ct took and did not take. about the fact he did not call a mass evacuation of the tower block when

the fire was clearly spreading up the fire was clearly spreading up the cladding on the outside of the building. we were shown notes michael dowden made shortly after the incident where he wrote: the fla mes the incident where he wrote: the fla m es we re the incident where he wrote: the flames were halfway up the building, and now getting into flats, all of my previous experience now gone out of the window. we have had a lot of evidence looking today at the time, at around about1:30pm. a bit looking today at the time, at around about 1:30pm. a bit after michael dowden on the other firefighters we re dowden on the other firefighters were first on the scene. he was asked by richard miller qc that when he saw resident emerging, coughing from the building, he was questioned about whether he thought about contacting the control room about changing the advice to residents about staying in their flats. this is what he said. i have no thought

about that moment in time. witnessing what was unfolding in front of me... i‘ve never operated at that level before. i was making decisions to the rest of my ability with all good intent to try to successfully resolved that situation. that‘s the decision i took at the time. it's took at the time. it‘s really important to emphasise that michael dowden isn‘t a senior member. he is fairlyjunior. he had to call the incident as a 20 pump fire. he saw the flames move from the flat, flat 16, to near the top of the building. he saw resident is coming out coughing and with sooty faces. there was conversation about

communication on the ground, with a radio messages were getting through as they should, whether michael dowden had the proper equipment to communicate on that scale. there was also evidence about how a team went to the top to fight the fire from above. that didn‘t happen. an aerial ladder was eventually brought into the scene but had to be withdrawn not long after because falling debris was compromising that equipment being used. it was an unprecedented incident, something michael dowden said made him feel outside his comfort zone. he said yesterday he didn‘t have the training and experience to fall back on as the flames spread quickly up the building. thanks very much. britain is basking in the hottest weather this year — porthmadog in north wales has recorded the highest temperature of the year so far — 30.8 celsius — and the sweltering conditions will continue, with forecasters saying a high of 33 degrees is possible in the coming days. our correspondent, emma vardy reports. testing the water.

about 15, 16 degrees, so we have had warmer water days over the last few weeks, but this is nice, it‘s perfect. just too good not to take a quick break from the dayjob to enjoy it. i get an hour in the water, a bit of a shiver getting out, even today, then back to work. northern ireland has been enjoying its share of the uk‘s heatwave. today could break the record for the hottest temperature recorded here for more than a0 years. i'm taking a kayak out here because it is a lovely day here in bangor. it's amazing, not often it comes like this, so we just have to make the most of it and enjoy it while it is here. weather warnings continue to be issued around the uk as the heatwave intensifies. temperatures are above 30 degrees again in wales, which yesterday was the hottest place in the uk. rather cooler in aberdeen, around 22 degrees, but still ice cream weather. the hot weather also means difficult

conditions for some. in staffordshire it has been hard to keep livestock cool. northern ireland‘s top temperature is expected to come sometime mid—afternoon, when forecasters will find out whether the record has been broken. on bangor‘s beach for now, there is plenty of space on the sand, but don‘t be fooled, there are many other children waiting to descend as soon as lessons are over. we‘re going to pick up her brother and sister from school and come back down to the beach for a big swim in the sea. if you do not fancy a swim, there is always pedal power, as northern ireland savours the moment. how much longer will we have these sizzling temperatures? ben rich can tell us. you might be looking for a rain by now. there is

precious little in the forecast, certainly this afternoon hot sunshine for many and temperatures in parts of scotland and northern ireland getting to 30 degrees. cloud close to north sea coasts which will roll its way back into land. starting tomorrow with cloudy conditions in eastern areas. further west, another sunny start to the day. through the day tomorrow keeping spells of hot sunshine. some cloud on eastern districts. temperatures up into the high 20s, perhaps 31 degrees in the centre of glasgow. further ahead, a lot of dry weather to be had on friday and saturday. a little cooler further north. this is bbc news — our latest headlines.

the doctor at the centre of the gosport hospital death scandal breaks her silence. a statement read out on behalf of drjane barton said she was "doing the best for her patients". firefighters say they‘re facing huge challenges tackling a fire on saddleworth moor near manchester — local people are are told to stay indoors. prince william meets palestinian president abbas — and is the first british royal to make an official visit to the occupied territories. sport now on afternoon live with tim... more games are ongoing at the world cup. after argentina scraped their way into the knock—out stages last night, can germany and brazil join them? we‘ll get to the brazilians, but germany are in action now.... there are so many permutations in group f, but the world champions know they need to win against south korea really — the koreans are already out but nearly took the lead after manuel neur‘s mistake.

mexico are currently top with six points, the germany and sweden have three points and the same goal difference. and it‘s been a really open game in ekaterinerberg between the swedes and mexicans — chances for both sides. carlos vela with this early opportunity that went just wide. moments later emil forsberg should have done better for sweden. still 0—0 there. as you were, currently with no goals. england have a big game tomorrow but not that crucial. they have set off for the final group game against belgium. the fa tweeted they are on their way. they trained this morning at their base in repino ahead of the final group game against belgium. both teams are already through to the last 16 of course... delli alli is unlikely to return after his thigh strain. there‘s speculation marcus rashford, eric dier and gary cahill will start though.

england are top of group g at the moment because they have one less yellow card than the belgians. so we‘ve told you about the two games under way, but there are four games in total today... later on, brazil‘s group will be decided — there‘s commentary from those games on radio 5 live. it‘s very tight between brazil, switzerland and serbia. it‘s not a decision that will please everyone, but serena williams has been seeded for wimbledon, which begins on monday. she‘s in at number 25, despite being outside the world‘s top 100, after giving birth to her daughter last year. here‘s our tennis correspondent, russell fuller. by seeding serena williams at 25, the all—england club is offering her limited protection, which means she cannot play another seeded player in the first or second rounds but in the third round would expect to run into one of the top eight players. cibulkova has missed out.

world 32 currently. she said on the eve of the decision she does not think it is fair on her or any other player in that position having earned their ranking over the past 12 months. there are many other wta players who share that view, so the decision will not be universally popular. what the all—england club has decided is serena williams is a unique case, an extraordinary champion, and someone who has only been able to play three events because she gave birth in september. jo konta is in action at eastbourne later today and andy murray takes on kyle edmund in eastbourne. that‘s all for now from me. thank you. firefighters say they‘re facing enormous challenges in their attempt to tackle the vast blaze on saddleworth moor near manchester. local people have described flames leaping 20 feet in the air, as crews try to contain

the situation in the heatwave. it‘s feared more than 2,000 acres of moor have been destroyed. smoke from the fire can be seen from space, and the authorities have warned people who live nearby to stay indoors and keep their windows closed. our correspondent danny savage is near the blaze at stalybridge in greater manchester. let me try to describe what is happening here at the reservoir up in the pennines above stalybridge, the control point for the greater manchester fire and rescue operation to do with these moorland fires and there are various command vehicles around and you can see some axas coming down from taking firefighters to where the fires are. a salvation army truck is giving out tea and coffee to personnel. if you look at the hills, you can see the smoke and

this is what is covering huge areas of the pennines. going from greater manchester, down into derbyshire, many square miles of smouldering, smoking moorland with numerous fires in place, which the fire brigade is trying to stop from spreading will stop that smoke is spreading east over manchester and beyond with people over 20 miles away talking about smelling it and noticing the haze. this is what one of the senior firefighters told us. we have a significant fire that has been going the last 24 hours. we have at least a 75 firefighters or seen. have at least a 75 firefighters or seen. we have three open sectors, three fire fronts from this point and a two further fire fronts on the other side. at the minute, because the wind changes continuously, we

aren't trying to get ahead of the game. in one of the sectors we have put ina game. in one of the sectors we have put in a fire break and we are building it using hose, firefighters, beaters, using the natural terrain and track to stop it spreading across the track and picking up with the wind changes and then we have another fire to deal with. that is the situation with what the firefighters are saying. andy burnham, mayor of greater manchester, he requested military assistance. it is a major incident, assistance. it is a major incident, as it is described by the emergency services. we have raf personnel to try to work out where military personnel can be deployed and with no rain in the forecast, these fires are set to burn for sometime. peat can burna are set to burn for sometime. peat can burn a long time so there is talk of putting in a fire break to stop it reaching communities and thatis stop it reaching communities and that is the priority, stomping fires

from spreading before going in to put them out. that is danny savage reporting. a little earlier our correspondent danny savage spoke to wing commander gary lane about the raf‘s role i have gone up the top of the hill and it is a major incident and there are different requirements and there are different requirements and there are avenues the military can assist greater manchester fire and rescue with and one of those is how we can help with the pumping of water with what we call high volume pumps owned by the fire service. there is a potential and we are looking to scope a chinook helicopter moving those but it is early days. we are putting a plan together so if we are required we can do that. the high volume pump is a large piece of kit, a.5, five tonnes. bizarrely we exercise three, four miles away two

yea rs exercise three, four miles away two years ago on moving those with greater manchester fire and rescue and hopefully we can move those for them to help with the supply of water and looking at other activities where the military may assist the organisation. we are hearing that greater manchester fire and rescue services chief fire officer has said, we have been liaising with the military adviser on the scene in relation to the fire and following discussion we have requested military assistance from the ministry of defence. essentially the ministry of defence. essentially the fire teams fighting that fire on saddleworth moor, saying they have requested assistance from the ministry of defence. we will bring you more details in the moment. people want more help from the government to live healthier lives, a study has found. the analysis, one of five independent reports produced for the bbc to mark the 70th birthday of the nhs next month, said the success of the smoking ban

and sugary drinks tax should encourage ministers. it also suggested the fear of the "nanny state" was unfounded, with polling indicating the public have an appetite for tough action. dominic hughes reports. the introduction of compulsory seat belts in cars was one of the most important public health measures introduced by the government. at the time, critics said this was at the action of a nanny state but it led to a drastic reduction in road traffic deaths and injuries. since then, we‘ve seen similar measures, like the smoking ban and a sugar tax, and now a new report says the public supports government action. the majority of the public are in favour of governments taking some of these interventions, such as limiting fast food outlets near schools, limiting advertising of junk food before 9pm on television, and also things like the smoking ban. these are things the government does have control over. but the report also says that individuals have a responsibility

to look after their own health. men in sheds is a scheme in leeds, where these middle—aged men are doing just that, coming together to hone their carpeting skills, while also tackling the loneliness and isolation many of them have experienced post retirement. you‘ve just got somebody to talk to, you‘re not just sat on your own, being so bored. it is one of the best things i've discovered since retirement. i think the main thing is camaraderie. when you live by yourself, it can be quite lonely. it is the social, physical and economic environment we live in that is the biggest influence on our health. the report says there is public support for

government measures that help people to break down those environmental barriers to good health. dominic hughes, bbc news, leeds. a heterosexual couple who want to enter a civil partnership rather than a marriage have won the backing of the supreme court. rebecca steinfeld and charles keidan argued that marriage had, for centuries, treated women as property, and wanted a civil partnership instead, currently only available to same—sex couples. judges today ruled unanimously that the current law is incompatible with human rights legislation. earlier we spoke to our correspondent clive coleman at the supreme court. ironically, since gay marriage was legalised in 2013 there has been an inequality between gay couples who have the option of marrying or entering a civil partnership as against straight couples who can only marry.

today the supreme court ruled the inequality amounted to discrimination and it breached article eight of the european convention on human rights, the right to a private and family life. this was charles keidan after the couple‘s victory. while there is no formal time limit, the ruling, which is emphatic in our favour today, really poses a serious question to the government about what it will do on behalf of the over 3 million cohabiting couples — the fastest—growing family type. opening civil partnerships would be good for them, good for families and children, not just for us and that is why the case is important and that is why we have fought all the way to the supreme court. before the business news a quick look at the headlines. the doctor at the centre of the gosport hospital scandal breaks her silence and says she was doing the best for the patients. her husband speaks on her behalf.

greater manchester fire officers says they‘ve asked for help from the military — to tackle the wildfire on saddleworth moor. prince william meets palestinian president abbas and becomes the first british royal to make an official visit to the occupied territories. here‘s your business headlines on afternoon live john lewis has issued a profits warning . it says it‘ll make a lot less than the £290 million it made last year. profits for the first six months of the year would be close to zero. it‘s also closing five of its waitrose food stores. the bank of england says the uk has made positive progress on handling risks to the financial sector posed by brexit. but it says there hasn‘t been similar action from the eu. the country‘s biggest pub chain says some of its branches are running out of certain sorts of beer. it‘s because of a shortage of c02.

ei group — which has four and a half thousand pubs — says it‘s trying to get in some alternative beers. the issue could come to a head when england plays belgium in the world cup tomorrow. more evidence of the impact of brexit on industry. this is from one of the giants of the car industry. carlos ghosn. he heads alliance and also runs renault. he‘s very worried about the uncertainty surrounding brexit. he‘s been talking to theo leggett we are in expectation of the clarification of what is brexit because we have no proof of how all of this will end up. it has as a

consequence for us, the decision on the day—to—day business, being taken, based on the fact in the short—term nothing is happening. the major decisions which implications for the long—term are in the expectation of the clarification of brexit. it is difficult to state the position without knowing exactly what brexit means and for the moment we are effectively in the dark, not that we are being kept in the dark. i think nobody knows exactly how brexit will end up. it is difficult to ta ke brexit will end up. it is difficult to take a position not knowing exactly what brexit looks like. we have been clear about the scenarios we do not like. no surprise, business people are predictable about what they like. it does not require too much research to know exactly what i think they will be looking like. we want to have the

competitiveness of the uk. we represent one third of the total car production of the uk in our plant in sunderland. practically 500,000 cars in17. sunderland. practically 500,000 cars in 17. and 8% of the cars are exported and from this 80%, 55% are exported and from this 80%, 55% are exported to europe so for us the sta kes a re exported to europe so for us the stakes are high. it is difficult to tell you what decision we will take with them —— without knowing exactly what is brexit. we are not saying we are going to do this or that, we don‘t know. we are managing business as usual. but long—term, decisions have an impact, ten years down the road, they are being withheld as much as possible until we know exactly how brexit would look. one of the giants of the automotive

industry. the c02 shortage is causing problems. ido problems. i do not spend too much time thinking about c02 but it is having an impact because it is important for the food and rings industry going into beer, soft drinks. we heard from the ei group saying it is affecting their beers and wetherspoon also say some of their beers are hit. it is also used to stu n beers are hit. it is also used to stun animals in abattoirs and scotland‘s biggest abattoirs have had to shut down before the situation is sorted out. it is also used to preserve goods in packaged food. it is important and perhaps we should make more attention to it. we can talk to an expert on this.

joining us now is dr sharon george, from keele university. why is there a shortage? this has happened because there are five main producers of this source of c02 so it seems funny we are running out when we talk about there being too much c02 in the atmosphere. this is food grade, a by—product of the fertiliser industry and from the five producers, they... theirfocus is fertiliser production, not really the production of c02 is fertiliser production, not really the production of co2 for these uses. they prioritise that use and summertime is there time for shutting down for maintenance. some sites have shut down for maintenance and coupled with that there have been production problems on the other site, leaving us with no production in europe and worst hit has been the uk. will this eu is any

time soon? i'm sorry? will the crisis get better any time soon, do you think? the predictions are it will ease the beginning ofjuly as we move into july. will ease the beginning ofjuly as we move intojuly. but there is a lwa ys we move intojuly. but there is always a lag and the concern is the c02 when it is rolled out again, who will get priority? meat producers are concerned about animal welfare as animals are moved around for slaughter and the c02 levels are scarce everywhere. we slaughter and the c02 levels are scarce everywhere. we are slaughter and the c02 levels are scarce everywhere. we are in a situation where we could have animals waiting and that raises concerns over overcrowding. that industry would prioritise that. in the meantime there are pressures particularly on small businesses,

such as a small producer in the west midlands, holdens, have stopped production because they have no supplies. and they are trying to run a workforce so it has a major effect on smaller companies. the information coming out of gas suppliers is it is frustrating, the lack of communication, so people cannot plan. hopefully it will be changing soon. that is it from me. za ra zara and mike tindall have named their baby daughter. lena elizabeth. the latest ideas on how to use satellite technology to improve life on earth, sound like the inventions of top scientists, but in fact they‘ve all been created

by young entrepreneurs. 22 inventors have been given the chance to pitch their ideas to industry experts in a bid to make them a reality. john maguire reports. normally when entrepreneurs enter the dragons‘ den, they‘re experienced business owners. but today, 21 young people aged between 13 and 21 are pitching their ideas to five dragons from the space industry, and they‘re a tough crowd. who‘s going to pay for this? you can, sort of, ramble slightly. if we put on our business hats. who do you think would be the end consumer? everyone here is already a winner of the uk space agency‘s satellife competition. they‘ve all come up with innovative ways to use satellite technology to improve our lives. so today, it‘s their chance to gain support and advice to take their ideas to the next level. at the age of 13, i took a very intense interest into ai, from which i created my first chatbot. a confident start for 15—year—old

kari lawler, whose jacket leaves the dragons in no doubt of her ambitions. if you can start identifying those things you want to pick apart, then i'd really like you to come and talk to me about a job. when you get into discussions with universities and partners, just make sure you read the fine print, get some people on your side looking at, you know, the legal bits and pieces. you didn‘t seem remotely nervous, were you nervous? erm, not really. i do presentations and speaking a lot, so it was all right. goodness, this is such a good event. i did this event last year as well, and the kidsjust really put together some amazing projects. so really impressed again this year with the calibre of the projects coming forward. we first met the schoolgirls from cornwall with their surf safe idea two months ago. they‘ve come up with an affordable wristband to be worn by surfers and swimmers in the sea, which would help lifeguards on the shore track their exact position. aerospace cornwall has already offered the girls £5,000

to develop their idea. today, the european space agency said it would match the money. you can tell it‘s a good idea because you go, surely someone has already thought of this, this must exist! if you‘re able to raise a little bit of money to get this started then we can double that from the european space agency and help you through those feasibility study and testing stages. it‘s all very well doing a presentation, isn‘t it? but then they started asking you questions. what was that like? well, nervous, yes. not very good at answering stuff on the spot, got to admit. they're not only thinking about ideas of how to use a satellite imagery or data, they're thinking about how they can solve problems with that data. it's really inspiring to see such young, creative minds moving and thinking in this kind of space, and it's ground—breaking. i'd like to take you on a journey. so much space technology seems futuristic when, in fact, it‘s being used today.

but, when looking for what‘s next and who will create it, the future is already here. how much longer will we have this heatwave? here‘s ben. for most, another day of blue skies and sunshine, but it has not been quite that simple. eastern areas starting with low cloud, and further west, sunshine all the way as shown in this picture. western areas warming up quickly but further eased a slow process. burning cloud that. some coastal areas will keep hold of that. generally, hotand some coastal areas will keep hold of that. generally, hot and strong sunshine with high uv levels and temperatures and whereas the heat has been confined mostly to southern

areas, this afternoon, northern ireland and scotland willjoin in. temperatures up to 30 degrees. this evening and tonight, a fine end to the day and most places keeping clear skies overnight but we see some of this low cloud rolling back in from the north sea. temperatures generally holding up, some spots dropping down to 9 degrees. tomorrow, a similar looking day with cloud on eastern coastal areas which will burn its way back out to sea. then a lot of sunshine, strong sunshine, high uv levels and pollen levels. temperatures across many parts will be up into the 20s and even up to 31, we suspect, in glasgow tomorrow. moving out of thursday and friday, high—pressure drifting north and that allows us to bring in more of a north,

north—easterly flow, particularly in two parts of scotland and northern ireland so whereas today they have been very warm indeed, friday will been very warm indeed, friday will be cooler here. extra cloud limping across parts of scotland as well. more like 26 in glasgow on friday, further south, still plenty of heat to be had. into the weekend, uncertainty about this, we have been watching low—pressure threatening to throw showers towards the south but at this stage it looks like high pressure will hold. still plenty of fine weather through the weekend and plenty of heat, particularly in the south. hello, you‘re watching afternoon live — today at a. greater manchester fire and rescue ask for military assistance to help tackle the wildfire raging on saddleworth moor — dozens of homes have been evacuated. we noticed a new thick black plume of smoke and heard crackling and the fire, and there was all this ash

and the thick black smoke came crumbling down, and we couldn‘t breathe. it was horrendous. the doctor at the centre of the gosport hospital scandal breaks her silence and says she was doing the best for the patients: her husband speaks on her behalf. she was a hard—working, dedicated doctor. doing the best for her patients in a very inadequately resourced part of the health service. prince william meets palestinian president abbas and becomes the first british royal to make an official visit to the palestinian territories coming up on afternoon live all the sport — tim? germany are trying to progress. they are currently playing south korea. it is 0-0 are currently playing south korea. it is 0—0 at half—time. sweden and mexico are also drawing 0—0. as it

stands germany would progress, but one goal would change everything. thanks. tim will have more on the england squad for tomorrow. and then has all of the weather. sizzling temperatures, but for how much longer? a while for some. it looks dry for the foreseeable. plenty more heat in the foreseeable. plenty more heat in the forecast. all of the details on that, plus pictures from the south—east of europe with some very different weather. that is all on the way. looking forward to that. also this hour — wetherspoons is hit by the c02 shortage — running out of some drinks in some pubs. i‘ll speak to the chief executive of the british beer and pub association about how worried we should be. hello everyone — this is afternoon live. firefighters say they have asked for

help from the army to help them tackle the vast blaze on saddleworth moor near manchester. they say they are tackling seven separate files. local people have described flames leaping 20 feet into the air as fire crews tried to contain the situation. in the current heatwave. it is feared that more than 2000 acres have been destroyed. smoke from the fire can be seen from space. authorities have warned people who live nearby to stay indoors and keep their windows closed. our correspondent reports now. our quality is being monitored all over greater manchester. you can see why. —— air quality. it looks like a foggy morning here. it isn‘t. this is smoke. there is ash floating

around like rain. this has been a moving situation. when i arrived here a few hours ago it was clear. with the wind changing the fire has moved. this is a battle in which firefighters are finding that the front line keeps moving. it looks like a wildfire in the californian bush or the australian outback. but this is six miles from 0ldham. last night as the moon rose over saddleworth, fire raged on the moor. drone footage in daylight shows the extent of the blaze. and meters away, homes bought for their tranquil views, suddenly threatened. residents were told to spend last night elsewhere. i kept looking out the window and we went about our usual business, having something to eat, etc. and there was just a knock at the door after eight o‘clock and it was one of the special police officers and they said, you know, you‘re going to have to get out. you‘re going to have to evacuate. as they were telling you to get out, did you think, my house is at risk? absolutely, yes.

the last thing i said to him was, don‘t let my house burn down! some local schools have closed, unable to keep their classrooms ventilated. i have been here about 20 years and we have never been in a position where we‘ve had to close the school premises because of fire and there has certainly not been any evacuations in the past. so this is unprecedented, without a doubt. the fire service declared a major incident. 50 firefighters said to be putting a heavy attack on the blaze. it is not unusual for the moorland to catch fire, particularly in the summer months. but the residents here say what is unusual is that their houses are so close to pockets of flame like this which keep flaring up. it is unforgiving, inaccessible land. the hoses only reach so far. firefighters have to stamp out some elevated hotspots and keep coming back to re—extinguish fires. the heat was that intense it was turning the spray to steam, if you like. but it did stop it.

it stopped it right on the peak. but as you can see this morning, it is flaming up again. it was just the smoke. the stinging smoke in your eyes. the army has been asked to be ready to respond. a request is being put together for help. but we have not made a decision yet whether or not to actually submit that request. so we are making the necessary preparations should they be needed. the point being, i think i get this sense just from being here, for the last couple of hours, it is a very changeable situation. as the country basks in a heat wave, imagine the temperatures these firefighters are coping with. it is exhausting and it is continuing. with talk of this fire taking many days to beat. we can go to news correspondent. danny savage in near

stalybridge and joins me now. it seems the fire brigade on asking for help from the military and that is just for help from the military and that isjust an for help from the military and that is just an indication ofjust how serious this is. yes. there is a huge area going up in flames yes. there is a huge area going up inflames and yes. there is a huge area going up in flames and smoke at the moment. a few thousand acres. i think that is an underestimation. i don‘t think anybody has a handle of how widespread it is. the military have been requested. there was an raf officer here talking to firefighters early on today. talking about bringing ina early on today. talking about bringing in a cilic helicoptered to airlift equipment in or may be using trucks. —— chinnook helicopter. we are surrounded by four hills. three of those are on fire. that is towards crowden in derbyshire. firefighters from derbyshire are

over the hillside in the distance dealing with this fire which has spread rapidly as the day went on. it certainly got a lot nearer. that is one of many fires here. you can see another one smouldering away behind my right shoulder here. with the strong easterly wind blowing smoke away. the reason there isn‘t much more on this going round is that that is already being destroyed by fire over the last few days. that is now smouldering. and you have what looks like a frog in that valley. that is smoke. —— fog in the valley. that is smoke. —— fog in the valley. it is creating a huge amount of smoke which is moving towards manchester and causing those smog like conditions. just looking at the sky, to the south it is clear. to the north, with the wind blowing towards manchester, it is just smoke and cloud. having a real impact on the air quality and visibility in places, as well. nobody is affected

up places, as well. nobody is affected up here on the moor land. but what it is doing is causing problems further down in the communities where people are having to breathe it in and shot their windows. and they are likely to have to deal with this for many days yet. there is no rain in the forecast put out these fires. the fire brigade are simply trying to stop it from spreading. they cannot put it out because it is heather and peat and peat can burn for a very long time. thanks very much. ‘a doctor doing the best for her patients‘ — that‘s how jane barton has described herself, despite being at the centre of the gosport war memorial hospital scandal, where hundreds of people died after being given drugs inappropriately. we will take you back to a news conference on those fires we have been seeing on saddleworth moor. to be here to see if i can help

people and get a sense of what‘s going on. the firefighters behind us have told us the reactions they are taking. they are involved on many different fronts around this fire. lots of resources being deployed by manchester fire and rescue service. my manchester fire and rescue service. my question is if there is additional resources needed. a request has gone in for military assistance. then that is what the country must provide. some of the conditions have been described to me, over the distance firefighters are having to travel to get to the fire, the equipment they are wearing, the conditions are extreme. we must give them every bit of support that we can. in terms of the impact on the local area, it is significant. you can feel the air we are breeding in right now, which is says, but it isn‘t good. this is better than what it has been in other parts of the day, particularly this morning. —— breathing in right

now. some schools have had to be closed. lots of people are asking if the closures will apply tomorrow. we will get that information as soon as decisions are made, which will be very soon. decisions are made, which will be very soon. we understand the disruption that is happening. it means families are at home in these conditions. that isn‘t ideal. we must take decisions on what is safe for the environment for people at school. a huge thank you from me and the entire country to the work you officers are doing here in this area. my father was a fireman. we know that your families are also concerned. we even have kids at home making medals for firefighters. concerned. we even have kids at home making medals forfirefighters. that is tremendous. the community support has been tremendous. but that tells you about the scale of what is being faced. thanks very much. fire crews are working extremely hard in very hot conditions. we have seven

ongoing incidents across the moorlands. we have support from neighbouring fire and rescue services. and some resource vehicles from up and down different fire and rescue services in the country. we talked about the request for military aid. that has gone in. that isa military aid. that has gone in. that is a request to assist us move some high—volume bottles and some water supplies, also the ability to transport personnel to those more remote areas. we want to get to places quicker with more people with water supplies that we hope to put in place to sort the situation out. the council were called in last night to support the primary blue and white services. fire in particular. our supporters about —— our role is to support the local community and continue day—to—day life as easily as they can and

minimise disruption. we are here to acknowledge the great work the fire and rescue service is doing. we also wa nt and rescue service is doing. we also want to support and do whatever we can. we also have a primary role in terms of monitoring the impact on the community both at a soft level and scientifically and technically as the day goes by. inaudible we're still in detailed discussions with the military. they will move as quickly as they can to get resources here. it is difficult for me to say what that would be at this time. inaudible it is likely that it would be a chinook to move one of our high—volume pumps. inaudible we don't know how many. we probably wa nt we don't know how many. we probably want that two high—volume pumps which would give us access water across a wide area. we can tap into it and use it in a wider area than we are currently using. do you have

greater control of the fire? fire crews are working extremely hard. you can see how conditions can change between five and ten seconds if the wind direction changes. they are working really hard in extreme temperatures. they will continue to do that throughout the day until we start to lose daylight today. how large an area are we talking about... we are liaising with united utilities he's been doing that in another area across the border. we are in conversation with them if we can use them in greater manchester at some point today, as well. they've been doing it across the border in derby today. by helicopter? yes. how large an area is it? earlier today it was six kilometres. we haven't reassessed yet. inaudible we did a lot of work last night and throughout this morning. looking at

whether life risk is. where properties are. what is the greatest risk. it is not safe for firefighters to be in the middle of the moors. we are looking at residential areas to make sure we have an adequate resource of firefighters to make sure that we stay safe tonight. inaudible it has been ongoing. we are still working with the local authorities who are doing the air sampling. we are monitoring that. if things change, links have been set up on social media. residents will be advised accordingly. a stoic atmosphere around here. a lot of people have been able to move back in to the area evacuated. that's right. there is a chap in a farmhouse just further up who is being well protected by the fire service the stuff he does not want to move. he says he is in a safe

condition. the images people saw on social media, they are dramatic, so you can understand the concern that has generated. inaudible the firefighters who were on duty have been working out throughout the day. they will finish around seven tonight. we are working with them to make sure they are hydrated, don't get too hot, and have appropriate re st get too hot, and have appropriate rest periods. they all want to get it finished. it is more of a task to get them to rest. they are doing their utmost to resolve this incident is best and as quickly as they can. we have got 900 firefighters from greater manchester currently tackling fires on the moors. we have several support pumps from derbyshire and cheshire who

also supporting us. inaudible over 100 firefighters. plus the neighbouring services. what is the comparison with things last night? there are seven comparison with things last night? there are seven areas on comparison with things last night? there are seven areas on fire. pockets are cropping up when the wind changes direction. there is a lot of peat in the ground. peat is used as a fuel. when it is dry like it is now, and when it is at night, it is now, and when it is at night, it is now, and when it is at night, it is difficult extinguished. we need large amounts of water. that is why we are working and asking the military for help to get our high—volume pumps into position because that would help extinguish the fire. what about the risk to livestock? we are doing work with partner agencies around that. it is devastating when you think of the wildlife and the plants which have been destroyed. that's why we ought to resolve the incident as quickly as possible so we can minimise any

damage. at one point there were four fires, you have said there are seven,is fires, you have said there are seven, is it getting worse? it is because there are more areas of fire. we are trying our best to contain them. the areas of four earlier on, they would have been larger. although it seems like we have more fires now, it isjust more smaller pockets we are dealing with. inaudible i touched on it before. we will put plans in place this evening to make sure residents and communities are as safe as they possibly can be. everybody has been so vigilant. the community spirit has been fantastic. we will make sure we have plans in place tonight that these residents feeling assured. the people i have spoken to behind us. because of the response of the fire service they feel reassured. the threat of property has been limited. there are

issues around air quality. i understand there is specialist equipment from public health england coming up to monitor that. that is a feature. the air is difficult to be in forany feature. the air is difficult to be in for any sustained period of time. what is the advice? the simple advice is keep your doors and windows closed. if you don't need to be in this environment, take yourself away from it. inaudible is not at this stage. there are so many different possible causes which it could be. we will do work to see if we can identify the cause. people enjoy the countryside on a day to day basis. there are some fantastic areas around here people go walking in. we ask people to be careful, make sure they don't drop plastic bottles that can magnify the sun, don't smoke, don't have barbecues in open spaces. be vigilant. we have this great space let's make sure we don't have any more fires. can you

describe the challenge faced by the firefighters? people who live locally will appreciate the geography of the moors behind us. there isn't many roads. there are tracks and parts. for firefighters to get equipment from where you can ta ke to get equipment from where you can take a vehicle to an area where you need it, you know, it can be half a mile come up to two miles. they are having to physically carry that equipment in this heat to get to the scene equipment in this heat to get to the scene of operation. that's before tackling any sort of fire. it's been extremely difficult. they are getting on with it. they've done a fantasticjob. i getting on with it. they've done a fantastic job. i am getting on with it. they've done a fantasticjob. i am extremely proud of them. inaudible at this stage it is impossible for me to comment on that. inaudible greater manchester police have been involved from the outset. we will discuss with them the cause of the fire when it is appropriate to do so. fire when it is appropriate to do so. at the moment we are focusing our efforts on resolving the incident. there was some discrepancy

about the numbers of people evacuated at the high point of the fire? how many homes was it? i'm not sure. ithink fire? how many homes was it? i'm not sure. i think working with the local authority means we can get you a numberat authority means we can get you a number at some point. it is a fluid situation. people are turning back at home. there are people leaving at the same time. we are logging people in and out further down the road. that is our role in making sure that people who want to come back home can do so safely, but for those who don‘t feel safe to go home we can support them. inaudible i have not mentioned a number. we‘ve worked on an absolute maximum of 100 homes. probably less than that. but it has changed during the day. do you expect the helicopters tonight? no. it would be tomorrow.

studio: that was a news conference on those fires on more land close to saddleworth near stalybridge. it would seem that more fires are breaking out, pockets of fire. to that extent it is getting worse. the fire brigade have called in military assistance from the mod. that‘s the latest from the scene near stalybridge in greater manchester. we will take you back to one of our other big stories this afternoon. the doctor at the centre of the gosport memorial hospital scandal releasing a statement earlier on today. we can bring you more details from our correspondent duncan kennedy. it is exactly a week since that damning report was published. for the first time we‘ve heard from the

doctor at the centre of it, doctorjane barton. she said she was a dedicated medical practitioner with her husband speaking for her. we have spoken to the families of some patients this morning and they tell us they are extremely disappointed at what doctor barton had to say. jane barton is the doctor at the centre of the gosport hospital deaths inquiry. speaking through her husband, tim barton, she spoke for the first time today since the report was published, and said she had always been a professional medical practitioner. she has always maintained that she was a hard—working, dedicated doctor, doing the best for her patients in a very inadequately resourced part of the health service. we ask that our privacy is respected at this difficult time and she will be making no further comments. i did ask one question. do you have any message for the families? last week‘s report concluded 456 people died at the gosport war memorial hospital after being given inappropriate amounts of painkillers. a further 200 patients probably died in the same way.

robert wilson was admitted to recover from a shoulder injury and other conditions, but his family said he was dead within four days. his daughter tracie said she was disappointed by today‘s statement from dr barton. she had an opportunity today to come out and take responsibility for her actions. but she has chosen once again not to do that. she has portrayed herself as a victim, which i find quite distasteful. she is not a victim. drjane barton, seen here at an earlier inquest, wasn‘t the only individual or agency criticised in the inquiry. it said there was a disregard for human life at the hospital over a period of around 12 years, and the families say it is now time for the police to take action. hampshire police were also

criticised for their response. families of victims have said they wa nt families of victims have said they want a new four is appointed as soon as possible and the first person to be interviewed by that force should be interviewed by that force should be doctorjane be interviewed by that force should be doctor jane barton. be interviewed by that force should be doctorjane barton. we will discuss this case now. we can speak to peter birmingham whose grandmother was a patient at the gosport war memorial hospital. thank you for being with us. what is your reaction to those words we have heard from doctorjane barton? a doctor doing the best for her patience is how she has described herself in that statement which was read out by her husband. i'm disappointed. that has already been commented on by otherfamilies. but

probably not surprised by the lack of meaningful comment from the doctor. in terms of doing her best, i think if you read the report that view is at odds of what the independent panel have found. she said a hard—working, dedicated doctor. i cannot comment on how hard—working doctor. i cannot comment on how ha rd—working and dedicated doctor. i cannot comment on how hard—working and dedicated she was. but i think there are plenty of comments in the report on the circumstances surrounding the medication of our loved ones. also the statement effectively blaming what she calls the inadequate resources within the health service at the gosport war memorial hospital. in other words saying she was under real pressure because of a lack of resources. that's probably the most interesting to me today to hear that. because if you look at the report there is a paragraph in there saying the panel found no

evidence of doctor barton complaining of being overstretched or under resourced. not in 1991 when the nurses complained. not in 1998 when my family complained about the death of my grandmother. and in fact before she died. not in 1999 when otherfamilies before she died. not in 1999 when other families came forward. not until 2000 did she raise the issue of being understaffed or perhaps overstretched. that was after the first police investigation had started. what would you like to see happen now? the deaths of many people, potentially up to 650 we heard from that report last week. there has been indications from the health secretary there could be a police investigation and criminal proceedings. what would you like to see happen? as we stated last week, many families stated that we hoped another police force would take the matter forward. there is another police force would take the matterforward. there is more than enough material, more than enough

evidence, to move forward with this. we are still without legal representation as a group of families. we need that in order to examine the document for us, the report, and the associated documents. we have already started crowdfunding for that legal representation to fund that. going back to doctorjane barton‘s statement. what did you make of the fa ct statement. what did you make of the fact she made the statement at all? and the fact it was through her husband, rather than speaking publicly herself? again, unsurprising. we‘ve heard very little from doctor barton over the past 20 years. certainly nothing the families would consider as passionate or perhaps contrite. at the moment there is some understanding about reasons for that. nevertheless it is utterly disappointing. clearly there is real anger still among the families and relatives like yourself? absolutely

there is anger. although we are moving forward and last wednesday was very positive for us in terms of the truth, we still cannot help but be angered when we hear things that detract from the main story. and thatis detract from the main story. and that is everyone was responsible for their own actions or omissions during that time. the very comprehensive report we saw last week, you say it is not the end of the story from your point of view, you want to see more action taken? absolutely not. it is the conclusion of one chapter. there have been many cha pters of one chapter. there have been many chapters over the years. it‘s the conclusion of the latest chapter. the next chapter has already started and it is moving forward for what we have asked for, which is truth and accountability. thanks very much. several hundred people, up to 650,

whose lives may have been unnecessarily at that hospital according to the report. we are rapidly approaching a:30pm. the duke of cambridge is in ramallah as part of his tour of the middle east. this afternoon he has met with palestinian refugees in the jalazon refugee camp. earlier the duke met with palestinian authority president mahmud abbas. the trip marks the first time a member of the british royalfamily has been on an official visit to israel and the palestinian territories. it is an historic, ground—breaking visit. on tuesday, prince william was injerusalem and met prime minister benjamin netanyahu. it is time to check out the weather

conditions and ben rich is here to tell us. a lot of people would think it is the perfect place to have a holiday, beautiful sunshine, day after day. normally you might go to greece to get that but not at the moment. i went to greece a couple of weeks ago for that reason but as you can see from these pictures, heavy rain has caused major disruption. look how quickly it was falling. the torrents. huge amounts of rain day after day. low—pressure spinning around and making it unseasonal. forecasters have said it is more like autumn and summer. it has caused major disruption. a far cry from what we have had at home which has caused problems. i bet he was glad he went two weeks ago rather than right now.

absolutely, a good choice as it turns out but no insider knowledge! you talked about the problems it has caused. we are seeing an awful fire on the ball and close to saddleworth in greater manchester. —— on moorland. we saw the scenes of the ground and this is how it looked from space. the satellite image showing the extent of the smoke and it is worth looking at statistics. just how dry it has been. so far this month, 25 millimetres, less than an inch of rain. the last rain was on the 20th ofjune but then only 8mm or so. dry conditions are not helping and they continue. this is the forecast for stalybridge. ba rely is the forecast for stalybridge. barely a drop of rain. breezy and temperatures in the 20s. not great news. what can we expect

in the next few days? more sizzling sunshine? there are pros and cons with a heatwave but it continues. this was the picture on the welsh coast early on. we got very close to 32 degrees, the warmest day of the year so far. it was different earlier today on the east coast. extensive cloud we had to start in eastern areas but much of it has worked back out to sea. still feeling cooler along the eastern coast through the afternoon. elsewhere, deep orange colours on the chart. confirmation of 32 degrees on the west wales coast, but many other spots well up into the 20s and 30s. whereas the last couple of days, the hottest weather in the

south, even northern ireland and scotla nd south, even northern ireland and scotland have joined in. south, even northern ireland and scotland havejoined in. the warmest day in scotland in five years. as we go into the evening, set for glorious sunshine and then temperatures will dip away as the sun goes down. the knights have not been particularly hot. —— the night has not been particularly hot. not sultry, a cool start tomorrow morning. further east, cloud will retreat out to sea in the east. out west, orange colours make a return. widespread heat and temperatures up to the 20s. and in the centre of glasgow tomorrow you could be looking at 31 degrees, but in northern areas things will change towards the end of the week. high—pressure drifts north and that

will allow us to tap into a slightly cooler north—east feel. cloud limping across scotland which will not spoil the day too much but it will bring a cooldown. the heat goes on further south. if you were watching yesterday, you would have heard to be mentioned no pressure which we have been watching, because there is a threat it could throw showers into southern areas at the weekend but it looks broadly as if high—pressure will stay in charge. the weekend forecast, mostly dry sunshine, coolerfurther the weekend forecast, mostly dry sunshine, cooler further north. this is bbc news — our latest headlines. greater manchester fire and rescue ask for help from the army to help tackle the wildfire raging on saddleworth moor. dozens of homes have been evacuated. the doctor at the centre of the gosport hospital scandal breaks her silence and says

she was doing the best she was doing the best for the patients. her husband speaks on her behalf prince william meets palestinian president abbas and becomes the first british royal to make an official visit to the occupied territories. sport now on afternoon live with tim hague. a huge story is brewing in russia and it involves the world champions. so many interesting matches in the world cup but the big teams have tended to get the luck late on and do germany need luck. ollie foster in moscow can tell us all about it. a huge story. tim, germany are reigning champions and have 13 metres to save themselves. they need a goal because of the other match in

their group. between sweden, who worked group leaders, mexico, sweden have pulled out an incredible performance from nowhere. they lost against the germans of the last match. they got a 1—0 lead. and then a penalty, 2—0. they had an own goal and lead 3—0. that puts them to the top of the group. currently, german are 0—0 with south korea. they have the better chances. a header well saved. made five changes with method —— with method ozil but as it stands germany needs a goal which would get them back into the top two, at the expense of

mexico. the permutations are mind—boggling because then we would have a three—way tie on six points, but it would be germany going back into the top two and threw at the expense of mexico. sweden still winning 3—0 against mexico. it will bea winning 3—0 against mexico. it will be a tense ten minutes. it could swing it anyway. a couple of late games. one featuring brazil. they are here in town. always great when brazil are in town. they are facing serbia. brazil need a point against serbia. brazil need a point against serbia. they got out ofjail against costa rica. looking brighter. the swiss beat serbia in an ill tempered match and they have costa rica, the only team today who had no chance whatsoever of going through. the swiss needing a point. tomorrow,

england back in action and they play belgium. what is the latest? ingham‘s group decided a game early with belgium and england out on top. they are heading to colin ingram had to face belgium and we expect a lot of changes from both sides. still a question about whether dele alli will be risked in a match england do not have to win. some suggestion we could see changes with perhaps marcus rashford coming in at the expense of raheem sterling and eric dierfor henderson expense of raheem sterling and eric dier for henderson and gary cahill slotting into the back line. that will be interesting because by the time they play, we will know pretty much the path that would be easier into the latter stages of the tournament. bible not the final! as it stands, no path will have germany because they are heading out with

ten minutes left to play. who could have predicted that. wimbledon begins on monday. many of the top players preparing at eastbourne including jo konta, who is taking on caroline wozniacki. these are live pictures. jo konta taking the first set and losing the second. this is the deciding set. a-2 to second. this is the deciding set. a—2 to caroline wozniacki as it stands. andy murray plays kyle edmund later at eastbourne. we will see what happens to germany. the fire brigades union has criticised the grenfell tower

inquiry for asking ‘absurd‘ questions of the firefighter who led the response to the fire. michael dowden was the watch manager at north kensington fire station on the night of the fire. we can go to our correspondent who is covering the enquiry. interesting these comments from the fire brigades union, critical of the line of questioning this officer has faced. yes, strong language. the fire brigades union saying some of the questioning towards him should have been directed at his superiors later in the enquiry because in their view and it is true, they direct operational and training policy. they also take issue with the chronology, saying essentially because the refurbishment happened before the fire and decisions leading up to the refurbishment, they believe that should be the chronology, those decisions should be question first. the implication

is the union feel because the fire officers will come after, being cross—examined first, their evidence is being given more credence. there has been pressure on the inquiry from different sides? essentially the fire brigade ‘s union says that... they are saying over the last three days there has been a lot of questioning about the advice. michael dowden was in charge of the fire control for the first hour. they said it failed as soon as flammable cladding was put on the building. interesting question today once michael dowden‘s questioning had been finished. the chairman of the inquiry said his evidence was valuable. then there was a break and

then sir martin moore—bick said some people had expressed concern about his comments and he said he was disappointed. he said his remarks we re disappointed. he said his remarks were born out of courtesy for someone were born out of courtesy for someone who found it difficult to give evidence and his remarks in no way prejudiced his view of the issues. basically, what happens in a public inquiry, the qc for the inquiry, who we have heard from, he questions witnesses like michael dowden. the other barristers representing core participants like the companies and residents and survivors, they do not get the opportunity to question witnesses, so opportunity to question witnesses, so there is pressure on the lawyers, on the inquiry, to make sure certain lines of questioning are put forward and we believe to some extent that was the case in terms of the evidence given by michael dowden in the last three days. tom burridge with the latest from the grenfell

tower enquiry. thejohn lewis partnership has issued a profit warning. the chain said it expected its profit to be close to zero in the first half of the year — and the annual figure would be substantially lower than last year. the group is to close five waitrose stores. a slice of fatberg put on show at the museum of london could be preserved for future generations. the lump of congealed fat, oil and wet wipes has begun to "sweat" and change colour — and flies have hatched in it. i hope you‘re not having right now! but museum curators says the fatberg caused a marked increase in visitor numbers and they are now thinking of preserving it, when it finishes its public display this week. joining me now is andy holbrook, collection care manager at the museum of london. a lot of people will find this a

rather disgusting exhibit that a p pa re ntly rather disgusting exhibit that apparently a lot of people love it and are flocking to the museum to see it. that is right, we were not sure what the response would be but we have had a surge in visitor numbers and unsolicited amount of creative responses to the object we have never seen before. why would you want to put a bit of a fatberg on display in a museum? for us, it was telling a story about the pressure on london‘s infrastructure. we do not know if fatbergs will be a moment in time, whether it is representative of pressure on our infrastructure, if it is representative on how we eat, live our lives, so it is an opportunity to think about whether this is a once—in—a—lifetime opportunity to collect something of this nature. you are thinking of keeping it as an and exhibit because it is so

popular? we have it on display and back closes on sunday so there is still time to come and see it. after that it will go into the safe quarantine store and then we will ta ke quarantine store and then we will take a decision about whether to keep it for the long term. what is the current state of your peace of fatberg? it is doing very well. continuing to sweat, so there is condensation on the inside of the glass case. the flies you mentioned, they have not appeared for some months, so they are hiding somewhere. it has stabilised, stopped changing colour. it is pretty ha p py stopped changing colour. it is pretty happy where it is, happy and stable. essentially, you think it is an important social statement, environmental statement? perhaps a lesson to people about what we are throwing away and some of the

problems we are causing in our sewers. that is right, fatbergs form when we put the wrong things into this you are and so we have worked with thames water to run a campaign to make people understand what the good and bad things are to put down this you are. but it might be representative of the moment of when ourdiet representative of the moment of when our diet was representative of the moment of when ourdiet was in representative of the moment of when our diet was in a certain way and we dispose of things without thinking. we think it is worth hanging on to in case we need to tell that story in future. thank you. let‘s go now to kaliningrad in russia where england take on belgium tomorrow night. england manager gareth southgate is speaking. we have remote interpretation. when

you get the microphones, they are on. please believe me. there is a lot of speculation about whether he will rest players, gareth southgate. whether dele alli might play against belgium. not a crucial match in the sense that england are already through the group stages and into the round of 16, but questions about whether gary cahill might start in defence. whether dele alli might start. we can listen in to the thoughts of gareth southgate. bbc news, gareth, you use the word harmony a lot after the game on sunday, how do you ensure the

happiness of players who have not played in the tournament? you are always trying to keep the group together. it is critical, especially in a tournament, but with any team, the character of the team and the way they gel and competition for places is crucial. that is a lwa ys for places is crucial. that is always in my thoughts when we are together, even more so when we are away a long period of time. momentum is interesting because momentum shifts during the space of 90 minute matches, it is notjust about where you are in the tournament. positivity is probably a better phrase in terms of what we want to continue with. i think performance, as well. we are consistently performing well, the last nine matches, and hitting a level of

performance that is important when we go into the latter stages of the competition. please wait for translation. go ahead. speaks in french. well, we are really pleased with the way we have played. but we are still a team with a lot of improvement. we will face tougher challenges in the next few games. at the moment we

cannot consider ourselves a top team until we start to beat top teams. we have had good performances against brazil and germany and italy. our last defeat was away in france, which was a game we learned a lot from. we are pleased we have those matches. we have needed to test ourselves against the best. but we still are a team that have a hunger to keep improving. we are playing with a lot of confidence, which is important. thank you. please just wait for the translation. go ahead. this question is for the player. it follows on from gareth's question. frank lampard claim this side can win the world cup. is it something the players have discussed? no, it

is nothing we have discussed. we are focusing on one game at the time and thatis focusing on one game at the time and that is the best way to look at football in a tournament, at any level, to focus one game at a time, because if you look too far ahead you can get in trouble in football so you can get in trouble in football so the best thing is to focus on one game ata so the best thing is to focus on one game at a time and that is what we are doing. thank you, at the front. just one second. ok. from the daily mirror, in english, having been a key memberof mirror, in english, having been a key member of the setup on site, how disappointing was it not to be in the starting line—up and can you give an insight into the mindset of the players who have not played yet, it has been such a long time in camp? yes, notjust myself, every

player, the 12 players that are not playing, it is only natural we want to play. that is normal and one reason we get to where we do because we are competitive and have a competitive nature and we want to play in every game. that is not possible in football. we have been around long enough to know that is the case. we have to respect that. we have to keep pushing. i think thatis we have to keep pushing. i think that is what the players have been doing, that has been the mentality of the players who have not been in the starting 11, to keep working as ha rd the starting 11, to keep working as hard as possible and keep training to the best of our ability to try to force ourselves an opportunity to play. if we could maybe ask the photographers if they would not mind leaving so we can carry on. thank you. indistinct.

thank you, carry on, please. reporter speaks in own language. i had ihada i had a message from david beckham

before the tournament and after our first or second game, so it is nice we are getting support from a lot of ourformer players, we are getting support from a lot of our former players, whether directly, or through the media. but, of course, this tournament is about our current players their opportunity to create history, really. nice that he is coming to support and maybe we will see him, but obviously our attention is on this generation of players now. we arejust going this generation of players now. we are just going to leave the news conference. sensational views as south korea go 2—0 up against germany. —— sensational news. if germany. —— sensational news. if germany lose, you can see the tears from german fans, germany will be out of the world cup. the defending

world champions, germany, sensationally out of the world cup. it means that sweden and mexico would go through. south korea beating germany 2—0. absolutely extraordinary results. one of the biggest upsets in world cup history that the defending champions should not be able to get out of the group. they are desperately trying anything in the last few seconds. south korea defending for their lives. it looks like it is pretty much all over for germany. such a scramble in the penalty area the last few minutes as germany desperately try to avoid this humiliation of not being able to get out of the group in this 2018 world cup. i am sure that will be good news, welcomed in the england

camp. we were just hearing from gareth southgate. germany one of england‘s traditional big tournament rivals. so off and germany have destroyed english hopes in penalty shoot outs, amongst other things. germany desperately clinging to the hope they can somehow reverse this result and stay in this world cup in russia. but, just seconds of injury time left to do so. south korea defending for their lives but they are already 2—0 up. an incredible scoreline few people would have predicted. it looks like there is nothing germany can do to get the ball back the net. they are going out of the world cup. german hearts will be broken by humiliating results. but, for south korea, an

extraordinary results. they will be delighted. i think we can see some of theirfans, delighted. i think we can see some of their fans, who delighted. i think we can see some of theirfans, who have been absolutely delighted by the results. not quite a result yet, of course, but sweden and mexico will be going through. there is the results. —— result. heartbreak for germany, through. there is the results. —— result. heartbreakfor germany, who have achieved so much. and joy and delight and exhilaration for south korea and their fans. delight and exhilaration for south korea and theirfans. i think delight and exhilaration for south korea and their fans. i think the german players simply cannot believe this. all sorts of questions asked about this german world cup squad. ozil from about this german world cup squad. ozilfrom arsenal among about this german world cup squad. ozil from arsenal among others, questions about whether they have the right squad right players in the

right positions, in the right formation. all sorts of questions. they are a side of world cup pedigree, to see them thrown out of the world cup, cast out of the world cup as an early stage. not even reaching the knockout stages. it is almost unbelievable. it is a massive upset. it will send shock waves through this tournament. delight for south korea, but they are utterly exhausted. it reallyjust means that perhaps this world cup has been thrown wide open. one of the biggest teams in it are out. tonight at five — firefighters request the help

of the army to tackle a huge fire on moorland in greater manchester the blaze is continuing to rage — and now measures nearly four miles across. more than 50 homes have been evacuated. i heard crackling and a thick black smoke came tumbling down and we couldn‘t breathe. the smoke was really dense and you could hardly breathe plus your eyes were burning as well. we‘ll have the latest from the scene. the other main stories on bbc news at five. the doctor at the centre of the gosport hospital scandal appears in public — speaking through her husband, she said she was doing the best for the patients. she was a hard—working and dedicated doctor doing the best for her patients.