this is bbc news, i'm lukwesa burak. the headlines at 2:00pm. four men have died in a road traffic collision in leeds. police are appealing for more information. patients in england may no longer be able to have some procedures that are deemed "ineffective or risky", including tonsil removal and haemorroid surgery. this is not financial. certainly from our perspective it is about safe and appropriate care of patients. tata steel, which owns the port talbot plant, has confirmed merger plans with germany's thyssenkrupp. one of the uk's largest water companies urges people to conserve water, as it makes emergency deliveries during the heatwave. the army will extend its stay in saddleworth to continue to tackle moorland blazes which have been burning for six days. tens of thousands of people applauded military personnel at the main celebration of armed forces day in llandudno in north wales.

i'm very pleased to be at llandudno today on armed forces day, recognising the tremendous job that our armed forces do for us. also coming up — the world cup moves into the knockout stages. france prepare to take on argentina for a place in the quarter finals and portugal will meet uruguay later. and at 2:30 the internationally acclaimed writer alexander mccall smith speaks to gavin esler at the hay festival in talking books. i think it's very important that as a writer you should be able to write about anybody. so you should really be able to understand, or i hope empathise to an extent, with all sorts of other people. good afternoon.

four men have died after a collision between a car and a taxi in leeds. the crash happened in the early hours of this morning on the a6120 in the horsforth area of the city. the men, all aged between 18 and 21, died at the scene. two girls, aged 16 and 17, were also in the car. one is in a critical condition while the other has non life threatening injuries. the driver of the taxi was taken to hospital with serious injuries, but which are not thought to be life threatening. we'll be speaking to our correspondent sarah walton who is at the scene, shortly. the nhs in england has set out plans to stop hundreds of thousands of patients every year receiving treatments deemed

"ineffective or too risky". haemorrhoid surgery and treatment for varicose veins are among the procedures that will be restricted under the proposals. it's expected to save the nhs an estimated £200 million a year. katherine stanczyszyn reports. some nhs treatments could be about to become much rarer. plans are being drawn up by nhs england to limit options that they say are ineffective or too risky. it's drawn up a list of 17 procedures, including surgery to treat snoring, tonsillitis or varicose veins, knee arthroscopy is for osteoarthritis, and steroid injections for nonspecific back pain. the body says doctors should start to use a much higher bar when it comes to offering these kinds of solutions, and that they should happen only when there are compelling reasons. nhs england says it has come up with these proposals after extensive research, and in most cases alternatives such as physiotherapy or a change of diet

would workjust as well. they are backed by leading health professionals who say it is about providing the right care. something that is ineffective is obviously something that's going to be unnecessary, and even more than that, it can potentially harm patients. things that don't work, any drug you take, any intervention you have, potentially carries harms. it's thought the move will affect around 100,000 people every year, freeing up an estimated £200 million to be used on critical services like cancer care. but some doctors are warning this will lead to patients being forced to pay for private treatment, or missing out altogether. the british medical association has described the plans today as a tough pill to swallow. my worry is that a simplistic approach could deny some patients the treatment they need, and in fact far from saving money, patients could become iller. a child that needs a tonsillectomy, for example, could end up with hearing problems,

and that could cost the nhs further. if agreed following a public consultation which begins next week, the changes will be brought in next year. katherine stanczyszyn, bbc news. a march in support of the nhs is taking place in central london this afternoon. the demonstration will be addressed byjeremy corbyn later and will celebrate the 70th anniversary of the health service. our correspondent, richard galpin is following the march and joins me now from trafalgar square. a celebration of the nhs, but those people behind you want to get their voices heard. absolutely. if you look at the placards, a lot of them are very angry, people really believing that the nhs is still not

being properly funded. that seems to being properly funded. that seems to be the major theme in what is effectively a demonstration heading towards number 10 downing street. this is despite the government announcing recently a long—term plan to increase funding for the nhs by 23 or 24. they expect there will be more than £20 billion of extra resources for the nhs, but people are saying that is not enough. it needs to be much more and that is why they are taking part in this celebration and marched today. we know a petition has been handed into downing street, requesting more funding. with me now is someone who isa funding. with me now is someone who is a consultant, maddy piper. can you explain to me why you have decided to take part in this marched today? at the moment i walk for the

manure and bevan university health board in south wales, so part of me coming here is to celebrate the nhs, 70 years this year, and it is the most civilised thing humanity has ever done and we should be tremendously proud of it. we should be proud of this and try and keep it going. a lot of people are here because they have experienced the shortages and underfunding in the nhs which we have had for a long time. i have experienced that more. i work time. i have experienced that more. iwork in time. i have experienced that more. i work in wales but lived in england andl i work in wales but lived in england and i experienced the underfunding asa and i experienced the underfunding as a citizen in my local area. do you have any examples? yes, i led a campaign that we work successful in, oui’ campaign that we work successful in, our local commissioning group, gps who decide on local funding, announced that they had to withdraw support for vasectomies and reduce funding for ivf. after a lot of interaction they have changed that plan and they have now reinstated

funding for vasectomies. they have restricted the other funding, but they have given way on something. they are completely strapped for cash. how big is the hole? they announced a £60 million hole in the coming budget. they do not know what to do about it. the government says there will be big increases in 2023 and 20 24th of 20 billion per annum. does that not reassure you? that gets us back to the maintenance levels of previous years, but we have had years of underfunding, so we have gone down and down and as we all know the population is becoming increasingly elderly with complex issues. that has all been addressed over the last few years with serious underfunding, so now we are going back to where we were to stand still. we are not standing still, we have got elderly and fragile people coming to the nhs. we need funding equivalent to other countries so we

can start to deal with that package. they talk about efficiencies and you could have an efficiency straightaway where there is a division between the commissioner and the provider, the internal market. that has cost billions in extra management to run. if they wa nt extra management to run. if they want efficiencies, that is where you get them. maddy piper, thank you very much. as this demonstration continues, they are heading into whitehall and there will be speeches by politicians and activists and members of the nhs. richards, thank you very much. richards, thank you very much. events are taking place across the country to mark armed forces day 2018. the national event is being held in the welsh seaside town of llandudno in conwy, whilst hundreds of street parties and military parades will be hosted across the uk. the annual event is held on the last saturday ofjune to commemorate the service and sacrifice of britain's military. speaking at the event, the prime minister praised the work of the armed forces and said the uk

would commit to increase defence spending every year. well, i'm very pleased to be able to be at llandudno today on armed forces day, recognising the tremendous job that our armed forces do for us, celebrating their professionalism and their bravery, they put themselves on the line for us every day. they make sacrifices for us and it enables us to say thank you to them, thank you to their families who support them, and thank you to our veterans. we should always remember the debt we owe to our veterans, and i'm pleased to announce today that next year we will be holding the first national games for our wounded, injured and sick veterans and personnel. these are based on and inspired by the invictus games, but focused purely on our british military. it's an opportunity to say again, thank you, to all those who serve. in terms of pay, is it time to lift the pay cap on military pay? well, what we have been doing as a government is ensuring we are putting funding into our defence budget.

we actually have the biggest defence budget in europe, we are committed to our 2% spend of gdp on defence, and increasing the money we put into defence by 0.5% over inflation every year. but it's notjust about the money that we put in, it is about how we value our veterans, value our service people. it's about making sure we provide them with the capabilities they need to meet the threats of the future, and that's what our modernising defence programme is about. on that, prime minister, i'll let the red arrows go past... on that, does it matter to you that the uk remains a tier one military power, and if it does, is that a commitment you could give today? well, the uk is a leading military power, and we will continue to be a leading military power. we have the second biggest defence budget in nato, we have the biggest defence budget in europe, and we will ensure that we continue to have the capabilities that we need for the future. it's notjust about the money we are spending, it's about saying

what are the threats of the future and what capabilities do we need to address those threats? that's what our modernising defence programme is about. it is ensuring that our service personnel are equipped to meet the threats of the future. if the modernising programme means we are no longer a tier one power, does that matter, do you think? we are a leading defence nation, we will remain a leading defence nation, but what we need to do is to ensure that as we are increasing, as we will do with the money we spend on our defence, it's important for us to ensure that we have the capabilities we need to meet the threats of the future, and that's what our modernising defence programme is about. we owe it to our servicemen and women. your defence secretary reportedly threatened to bring you down over defence spending. are you going to give in to him and give him what he asks for, and has he apologised for his comments earlier in the week? we are a country that has the largest defence budget in europe, we are the second biggest

defence budget in nato, we are committed to meeting our 2% of gdp commitment on defence spending, and ensuring that we are putting more money into our defence budget every year. we've committed to at least 0.5% above inflation every year. what's important, and we owe it to our service men and women, is that we ensure we have the capabilities to meet the threats of the future, and that's what our modernising defence programme is about. let's return to our breaking story.

four men have reportedly died and two girls injured. that speak to our correspondent in leeds. bring us up—to—date with the latest. correspondent in leeds. bring us up-to-date with the latest. it has been confirmed that four men were killed in the crash in leeds at 20 to three this morning. police say a car with six people in it was travelling in this direction and collided with a taxi coming the opposite way. the four people who died were all in that car. they were four men aged 18, 19 and 20 one. there were also two teenage girls in the car. they were taken to hospital. the 17—year—old with serious injuries in a critical

condition. a 42—year—old man was also taken to hospital but his injuries and thought to be life—threatening. police believe that the seat leon was travelling at speed and they ask for anyone with any information to come forward to help with the investigation. thank you. the headlines on bbc news. four men have died in a road traffic collision in leeds, police are appealing for information. patients in england may no longer be able to have some procedures that are deemed "ineffective or risky", including tonsil removal and haemorroid surgery. tata steel, which owns the port talbot plant, has confirmed merger plans with germany's thyssenkrupp. let's stay with that story.

tata steel and the german industrial group thyssenkrupp have agreed a merger that will create europe's second—biggest steelmaker. unions have welcomed the agreement, saying it ensures that production will continue at britain's largest steel plant until at least 2026. tata employs around 4000 people at its port talbot works in south wales. here's our business correspondent, joe lynam. it's one of the biggest mergers in the steel sector for many years. a german giant isjoining forces with a british one to create europe's second largest steel company. considering the stresses on british steelworkers over the past few years, there is a huge sense of relief from unions and the local mp. i think it's very welcome. we've had a tough time over the last two years in the steel industry, and this is going to help us to get out of the woods and to put the industry on a more solid footing. tata steel employs 7000 people in wales, most

of whom work in port talbot. it had been up for sale two years ago, when steel prices had plunged, but this merger has avoided that. however, 4,000 jobs between both companies will have to go, though none of them will be compulsory. although this merger will secure the immediate future of the port talbot plant, global events could shake things up again. president trump's 25% tariff on all steel being sold in the us has created fears that steel from china or elsewhere might be diverted or dumped in europe, undercutting steel from uk factories. and then there's brexit. what sort of deal does tata steel need? we want free access to our movement of material and also being able to employ people across nationalities within the eu and uk. when asked what might happen if there's no deal with the eu, mrjha said it would be a sorry state of affairs. so while there is some relief from the workers at this megamerger,

events on both sides of the atlantic may yet dilute the benefits. joe lynam, bbc news. water companies across the uk are warning customers to urgently reduce how much they use amid increased demand during the current heatwave. the first hose—pipe ban to be introduced in northern ireland in nearly 25 years came into force last night while united utilities has warned a ban could follow in north—west england. peter ruddick reports. as the mercury rises, the water flows. however, it is the scale of the increased demand during the recent heatwave that is beginning to seriously worry utility companies. in rugby, bottle stations have opened up as a precaution amid fears a nearby water storage facility could run dry this weekend. customers are being asked to conserve supplies and it is a story being played out across the country. severn trent says people are using about one third more water than usual.

it has led to several disruptions and outages already and they are asking everyone to act neighbourly. in the north—west, united utilities says it needs urgent help while they may be forced to introduce a hosepipe ban on monday. they have asked people not to wash their cars or take baths this weekend. a ban is already in place in northern ireland, it came into effect on friday evening and it is the first to be imposed in the nation for nearly a quarter of a century. the problem is not a lack of water, as reservoirs are actually nearly full after a rainy spring. however, huge spikes in peaktime demand mean companies are struggling to treat the water quick enough, so it is ready to be supplied to our homes. the problem we have got is people are watering gardens and using so much more water that it is going out of the pipes as fast as we can get it in. some of them are enormous, probably about that size, and some can go down to that side serving an individual street. that size will not get much bigger and we can only get a certain

amount of water down it. with hot and dry conditions set to continue into next week, both weather and water warnings could be here to stay. peter ruddick, bbc news. the army will remain in saddleworth over the weekend to help keep on top of the moorland blaze. about 100 soldiers who initially deployed on thursday will stay until monday following a request by the mayor of greater manchester, andy burnham. on friday the fires were contained, but it could take weeks before they're fully extinguished. 0n winter hill in lancashire where grass fires broke out on thursday a man has been arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life. our correspondent, kevin fitzpatrick, sent this update from winter hill. the firefighters have done a fantasticjob in the last couple of hours to get a grip of this blaze. an hour ago there were plumes of smoke across the valley. one line of a fire raging on both sides of winter hill in bolton

and this front of it goes up for about two miles. you can see further up the hill, even though they have the flames down, there are still flames and smoke coming from further up there. that is bolton where 80 firefighters are dealing with this. 30 miles away in saddleworth, that is the fire that has raged since sunday and a bit of good news, they believe they have got control of that. the army arrived on thursday to give exhausted fire crews a lift and even though it spread across a huge area, seven miles square, they believe they have got on top of it. at any moment though, because the grass is burned and there is peat underneath, at any moment they fear pockets of fire could reappear but the focus today for fire crews in the north—west is winter hill and they have been ferrying water up and down. it is isolated and will be a big job to keep on top of it and prevent it spreading too far.

kevin fitzpatrick. there's been a surge in uk citizens acquiring the nationality of another eu country since the brexit referendum according to data obtained by the bbc from 17 eu member states. the rise is thought to be down to britons who meet the criteria seeking to keep the legal rights attached to european union membership. matt cole reports. it's two years since this moment. the eu referendum and victory for the leave campaign. since then, there has been a big rise in the number of uk citizens getting new nationalities. in 2017, 12,994 uk citizens obtained the nationality of one of the 17 member states from which the bbc has received figures. this compares with 5,025 in 2016 and 1,800 in 2015. it's really a sense of still having

that door open and being able to get up and go if you really want to. most of the people we know getting citizenship in other eu countries have no intention of living there, it is just knowing the fact that they have that citizenship in their back pocket. the most frequent new nationality was german, with a twelvefold increase between 2015—2017. french was the second most popular nationality and then belgian. some of these numbers relate to people translating long—term residency of countries into citizenship, though not always included, for instance, are those using family descendant rights, such as the tens of thousands using their parents or grandparents to claim an irish passport. matt cole, bbc news. virgin atlantic says it will no longer work with the home office to forcibly deport illegal immigrants. it's faced pressure from campaigners angry about the government's treatment of post—war caribbean

migrants known as the windrush generation. in a statement virgin atlantic said it had informed officials that it would no longer play a part in the enforced deportation of anyone deemed to be an illegal immigrant adding that the decision was in the best interests of its customers and staff. prostate cancer kills more men than breast cancer kills women, but the initial test to see if you've got it is hit and miss at best. now, a cambridge research team is working on a new, cheaper, quicker and more accurate test, using microchips normally found in a mobile phone. 0ur science correspondent, richard westcott, has been finding out more. there's a touch of the james bond baddie lair about this place. but the work going on here could play a vital role in finding prostate cancer — using something you normally find in a mobile phone. that is it.

that's it? that's a sensor. that is what we're putting all this effort into making. they are developing a new testing device for the disease. because the current method is so hit and miss. hello, mark, how are you? i'm very well. good to see you again. good. and you. so, we'rejust going to do a psa for you today. called a psa test, it takes five days and the results are often confusing. and i heard exercise as well can increase your count? yes, physical activity, having an infection at the time. things like riding a bike. so once you are in position, you just fire it. surgeon vincent gnanapragasam has already invented this low—cost device for safer prostate checks. this dark area here mimics a tumour? a tumour, yes, if you like. they practise on a model. the prostate is the blue lump. he calls the cancer a two—headed beast.

one type spreads quickly and is lethal. the other is sleepy and may never need treating. but current tests struggle to tell them apart. what we found is there is a sizeable number of men who actually were being treated because they were considered to have potentially lethal disease, who probably would be fine by monitoring for long years to come. now, in terms of an estimate, i suspect that probably about one in five men may be treated for cancers they don't actually, will never actually cause a problem. or at least not yet. vincent is leading a multi—skilled cambridge team, including engineer andrew here, to find new ways of fighting the disease. and they've come up with a new testing device. so, andrew, this is a silicon wafer, is it? that's right. so this is what we are making our devices on. and then we dice that wafer up into lots of little chips. this is just water. but eventually your gp will simply put a pin prick of your blood on top of the adapted chip and it could spot signs of cancer by weighing the molecules inside. critically, it should be able to distinguish between the lethal form and the slow—growing type

you can potentially leave alone. it could be ready in just five years' time, cost a quarter of the price of the current test, and give you immediate results. if you can have a test which is in a gp's surgery which is really cheap, really easy, where the gp's sat there with the patient and saying, you know what, just to be on the safe side, let's look and see if you've got this. probably not, but let's try it. and the cost and ease of doing this is just so low and so easy, it makes that practical. by the time the nhs is 75, the first step to finding prostate cancer may be just a case of putting a drop of blood on this little thing. richard wescott, bbc news, cambridge. 0lympic diver tom daley and his husband, the film—maker dustin lance black, have become parents. the couple revealed the news in the times newspaper, with an announcement of a son, robert ray. tom daley first announced they were to have a child via a surrogate mother

on valentine's day, by posting an image of the baby scan on twitter. now, when was the last time you used a video player? you probably haven't rented a film on vhs for five years since blockbuster stores finally shut their doors for the final time in 2013 due to the rise of dvds and the emergence of streaming services. but one man is trying to rewind time with the opening of a new vhs shop, in liverpool. 0ur entertainment correspondent, colin paterson, has been to take a look. it's one of the least likely openings of the year. liverpool has a brand—new video rental shop. meet the man who wants to rewind to a bygone era. here's the selection. it's really been a dream of mine for a long time. i used to work in a video shop. and then the crunch came when my dad was downsizing his house and it was kind

of like an ultimatum, are you going to take these videos to the tip or are you going to actually do something with them? and so i thought yes, i'm going to go ahead and open a video shop. the video boom is one of britain's growth industries. it has created 20,000 newjobs in the past two years. vhs players dominated for two decades. at the start of the millennium, they were still outselling dvds. but andy is worried film history is being lost. we've actually got a whole range of vcr players that we can rent out as well, so i think there's going to be a lot of people who maybe can't find films online, they want the hard copy. real good film fans. because when you think about it, these are works of art and they are the first edition. we've got phantasm, hell—raiser. like all good video shops, it has a horror section. evil dead ii. maniac cop iii. exactly. and evil dead ii. generally considered the better film! so, is maniac cop iii the best of the trio as well? if you going to invest an evening in maniac cop, go for the third one!

this is the kind of advice you don't get online. when you're scrolling through thumbnails, that's right. and a certain boy wizard is represented. what's happening with harry potter fans is they are all reaching that age now when they are starting to experience the nostalgia of it and for people who grew up buying the books, this would've been probably first way they watched the movie at home. but is there really a market for this? we wanted to know when people had last used a video recorder. at my nan's, watching the clangers. that's an old, old kids' programme. i had land before time, that's my favourite. and you've still got it on vhs, in the attic? don't look ashamed. they're old and just rubbish, aren't they? too big and bulky. i have it in my house. what kinds of things? probably wrestling, i imagine — wwf. we took one to the car— boot sale last week. and did it sell? no, and then it went to the charity shop.