this is bbc news i'm martine croxall. the headlines at seven. not so smart smart meters? a criticism of delays in the multi—billion pound roll—out scheme — which may only save some customers £11 a year. fresh investigations into the novichok nerve agent attack in salisbury, as wiltshire police widen their search. president trump tweets his response to an alleged tape recording regarding a payment to a playboy model, saying he did ‘nothing wrong'. police seize 1.6 tonnes of cocaine off the coast of cornwall, as two dutch men are remanded in custody. also this hour. hundreds of people have attended a candlelit vigil in honour of the 17 people killed when a missouri tour boat capsized. nine members of the same family are confirmed to have died when an amphibious vehicle sank on a lake in missouri. one of the surviving members of that family spoke of her trauma. i was yelling, i was screaming.

finally, i said i was yelling, i was screaming. finally, isaid lord, i was yelling, i was screaming. finally, i said lord, just let me die. let me die. i can't keep drowning, i can't keep drowning. and coming up at 7:30, sportsday bring you a round up of all today's sporting action, including the latest from rory mcillroy in his third round at the open. the government's scheme to install smart energy metres in millions of homes and small businesses across the country, has been heavily criticised by a group of mps. their report claims the project, costing £11 billion, will actually only end up saving consumers less than a pound a month. here's our business correspondent joe lynam. malcolm got a smart metre so every year he could save enough energy... it's the biggest infrastructure projects you've never probably heard of.

costing £11 billion, the mass roll—out of smart metres into 30 million homes throughout the uk is designed to cut our bills and make our lives easier but things are not going to plan. the mobile phone mast isjust there, it is touching distance. warren lives in london and he's having problems with his smart metre connection. this so—called smart metre wasn't so smart after all. i'm finding my bill still comes through is estimated, and i have to keep updating them manually phoning them to give them a reading. until they finally reset the metre and they confirmed it was sending its readings again. the big infrastructure group of mps says smart metres may not be so bright after all. it says the government is rolling out technology which may be out of date already in some areas and it may be useless due to insufficient mobile coverage. and the cost savings for consumers that were expected might not materialise. certainly consumers won't get anywhere near what they were promised originally.

it is already down to about £11 from the originally projected 26. it is likely to fall further as well as the problems with this roll—out continue. and we are calling on government, on ofgem and the suppliers to get not so, according to the group charged with rolling out the new technology. this infrastructure upgrade is the biggest one that's happening in energy in our lifetimes so it's really important that people get to talk about this debate, but the thing everyone needs to know is to get a smart metre, it's going to save us all billions of pounds over the next few years. building an entirely new mobile network to reach 65 million people the government says it is a third of the way there. others say it is the wrong technology, it is behind schedule and won't to deliver the savings we all expect. and we'll find out how this story — and many others — are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:30 and 11:30pm this evening in the papers — our guests joining me tonight will be the home affairs editor at evening standard, martin bentham, and the political commentator, jo phillips. police investigating the novichok nerve agent poisoning in salisbury,

have stepped up their searches of a park in the city. detectives have been focussing on a bench and public toilets, in queen elizabeth gardens. one of the victims of the poisoning, charlie rowley, was discharged from hospital yesterday. his partner, dawn sturgess, died two weeks ago. our news correspondent simonjones, whose been at the scene in salisbury, sent us this update. you have got officers with protective suits who go into the park to try to search for clues. what we had around lunchtime is the officers heading over to that area, to a park bench. they took samples from that bench, and photos, and took away evidence bags as part of their investigation. what we do know is police are not prepared to give a running commentary on what they are doing. but we understand they have been able to speak to charlie rowley fairly extensively since his recovery has improved in hospital. we know he was released yesterday, we don't know

where he has been released. he can't return to his home in amesbury. that is because that remains part of the police investigation. hundreds of people have attended the funeral of the six—year—old alesha macphail, who was raped and murdered on the isle of bute earlier this month. mourners were asked to wear her favourite colour of pink. a 16—year—old boy has been charged. the funeral took place near her home in north lanarkshire, from where catrina renton reports. everyone was asked to wear something pink. alesha's favourite colour. at this site, dozens of ribbons were tied to the railings. inside, family and friends paid tribute to alesha.

the colder the best big sister, the best daughter, the best granddaughter and we can ask for. she had just finished her second year of primary school. she always came in the class and showed that big beautiful smile. it was an absolute pleasure to teach the cartoon. she had been visiting her grandparents and father on the isle of bute when she was missing. she was later found dead. of bute when she was missing. she was laterfound dead. a 16—year—old boy has been charged with her rape and murder. her uncle cannot believe she was gone. she does not want anyone here to be sad. no thinking about whatever has happened, the only think i to be about is her is her. her tiny pink coffin was brought to the waiting carriage drawn by white taurus dyna courses. the fbi is reported to have seized a secret recording of donald trump discussing a payment to a former

playboy model. the new york times says the tapes were discovered in the offices of mr trump's former lawyer during a police raid. our washington correspondent chris buckler reports. karen mcdougal was a model for hugh hefner's playboy magazine and she claims that she had an affair with donald trump that lasted for months. their alleged relationship took place a decade before mr trump ran for president, but in the months leading up to that vote karen mcdougal sold her story to a tabloid newspaper. however, the national enquirer which is owned by one of donald trump's friends never published it. his campaign team denied. it seems he did talk about it with this man. his former lawyer and so—called fixer michael cohen who is currently under investigation for a series of possible offences. ina raid

for a series of possible offences. in a raid on his offices, fbi agents a p pa re ntly in a raid on his offices, fbi agents apparently seized a secret recording in which mrtrump apparently seized a secret recording in which mr trump discussed with his lawyer the possibility to keep her and quiet. perhaps by buying the rights to her story. in a statement, michael cohen's own lawyer said... the president left washington for a weekend at one of his golf clubs without answering questions. his representatives insist that no payments were made that could have broken election laws. but on twitter, mr trump made no attempt to hide his anger with both the fbi and mr cohen. he said, hide his anger with both the fbi and mrcohen. he said, it hide his anger with both the fbi and mr cohen. he said, it was... there also remain questions about

the private conversations that donald trump had with vladimir putin at theirsummit in donald trump had with vladimir putin at their summit in helsinki. his political opponents clearly believe that some of his words could yet come back to haunt him. lets get more on this now. we can speak to our correspondent chris buckler who is in washington. this recording supposedly dates from before hasn't trump was elected. yeah, a couple of months before the presidential election and that's why there is concern about it and why could potentially form part of an investigation. like the payment that was made to the former porn star, stormy daniels, who also claims an affair with donald trump, there is

this question about whether payments we re this question about whether payments were made to stop embarrassing stories and merging about mr trump asa stories and merging about mr trump as a candidate ahead of that vote. that the case, then it could potentially mean they breached campaign—finance laws and meanwhile we have this investigation taking place into michael cohen it is important to emphasise who michael cohen was. yes, he was donald trump's personal lawyer but he was much more than that. he was the mr fix-it. much more than that. he was the mr fix—it. he made donald trump's towels go away. he took pride in that and he knew intimately about mr trumps business. we have these questions about what happened to him and the fbi raided his office as a result of a referral from robert miller. it's a separate investigation by going through all his business dealings and it seems this recording was one ofjust a number of things that were seized from his office at the time. and it

does seem to have some concern for president trump and some anger that first of found this recording and secondly that they are continuing to investigate exactly what dealings mr cohen was involved in. and for his pa rt cohen was involved in. and for his part mr:‘s lawyer says when things come to light it will not be mr cohen for damages, so you draw your own conclusions. yeah, the application there is that it could hurt somebody else. they will i heard mister:, it could hurt somebody else. also that line in that statement, it's a pretty biting statement from michael:‘s current legal representative in which he says that no amount of spin will change what is on the tape. you can imagine in washington there are many people asking exactly what is on that tape? maybe we will find out eventually. who knows. thank you. survivors of a tour boat which sank in a lake in the us state of missouri killing 17 people have been speaking for the first since the disaster.

17 people, including nine members from the same family, died when the amphibious vehicle — called a "duck boat" — went down in stormy weather on table rock lake. the victims were aged between one and 70. sophia tran—thomson reports. further ahead of them, another boat could not cope in the severe weather. one of the four survivors said the conditions worsened the passengers we re conditions worsened the passengers were not told to but like that song, but to stay seated. i could not see anybody, i cannot hear anything, i could not hear screams. at celek i

was out there on my down and i was screaming: and finally i said, lord, just let me die and! i said i can't keep drowning, ijust can't keep drowning, that was how i felt. nine members of her family died drowning, that was how i felt. nine members of herfamily died in drowning, that was how i felt. nine members of her family died in the accident. according to national weather service, the wins were over 100 kph, and the authorities say whether it is the cause the accident. the owner of the duck boat has also taken responsibility. what can you say? we are so sorry. this happened. it was just... can you say? we are so sorry. this happened. it wasjust... something happened, and we don't know exact than what it was, but it doesn't matter. any time that people suffer a loss like that it can be replaced, or it's absolutely devastating. ——

can't. a sit up or should be completed in a month but they're still unanswered questions whether they were aware of the weather warnings and when the passengers did not have liked that song. —— have life vest on. the headlines on bbc news. mps criticise delays to the £11 billion smart metre roll—out scheme — as a new report questions the value of the technology to customers. fresh investigations into the nerve agent attack in salisbury, as wiltshire police widen their search. president trump reacts to claims he was recorded discussing making a payment to a model as inconceivable, and says he's done ‘nothing wrong'. the authorities injapan are urging people to take precautions as a severe heatwave continues. more than 30 people are reported to have died as a result of the heat over the last fortnight in the city of kyoto, temperatures have hit, or exceeded, 38 degrees, for seven consecutive days.

the heatwave is also complicating recovery efforts in the west of the country, where around 200 people died in floods earlier this month. olivia crellin reports. earlier this month, western japan looked like this. after being buffeted by severe storms and waves of up to nine metres. now, the waves look somewhat more inviting as temperatures have rocketed to over a0 celsius in some parts. a five—year nationwide high. translation: it's hot all overjapan. it was 39 celsius yesterday, and the day before. when i was a kid the hottest day was about 33 degrees. the recent climate is surely abnormal. it's a dangerous high. and it's already killed about 30 people. and with thousands were hospitalized for heat related conditions, authorities are urging people to stay hydrated. translation: my job

is demanding so i majored to drink lots water. thatjob is even more challenging for the volunteers taking part in flood recovery afterwards. they rain that out of perjapan led to flooding and landslides. over 200 people died and more than 2500 people who evacuated are still not ready to return. the heat is weighing on their minds as they continued the clean—up effort. translation: i will take care not to get sick from the heat because that would only cause trouble for other people. it's no longer rain, but raise down injapan. a new meteorological trial for assistance but for some, like these children soaking up the sun on a beach open for the first time since the country's 2011 tsunami, the weather means summer has arrived. facebook has suspended an american

data analytics firm while it investigates claims it built surveillance tools with users' information. the company, crimson hexagon, is said to have worked with a group linked to the kremlin, and us government agencies. two men have appeared in court after 1.6 tonnes of cocaine was seized from a yacht off south west cornwall. the men, who are both dutch, were remanded in custody. janine jansen reports. the dutch flags yacht was intercepted 120 miles off the cornish coast on wednesday. the marcia was escorted into newlyn harbour by the border force cutter hmc vigilant. officers found bails of cocaine wrapped in plastic bags in a compartment underneath the decking. we have recovered a significant amount of controlled drugs, literally hundreds of millions of pounds worth, potentially even the second largest seizure in the uk, on a sailing vessel. an estimated two tonnes has been recovered from the vessel. the national crime agency,

border force and devon and cornwall police officers remain on the scene. the two crew members — 59—year—old maarten peter pieterse and 44—year—old emile adriaanjeroen schoemaker — appeared at bristol magistrates' court this morning via video link, charged with drug importation offences. pieterse didn't enter a plea. schoemaker pleaded not guilty. they were remanded in custody to appear at bristol crown court next month. janine jansen, bbc news. the education secretary damian hinds has said that schools need more cash and less stress. in an interview with the guardian, he said too many teachers in england are being overwhelmed by excessive workloads. the labour shadow education secretary angela rayner in his interview, mr hinds... defended the tougher gcse‘s & a—level exams. rebuked primary schools who put pressure on young pupils to do well

in sat exams and said workload of teachers was his ‘number one concern.‘ the labour shadow education secretary angela rayner said ‘we need action , notjust warm words and sympathy‘. helena brothwell is principal at queen elizabeth‘s academy in mansfield. she outlined the action she‘d like mr hinds to take. i would like him to continue to reassure school leaders some of the bureaucracy around data entry and measuring, that doesn‘tjust fatten the pig but measured it. reduce some of that bureaucracy for teaching staff. it will do an awful lot to improve our retention figures. you need to do some work to improve the status of teachers. we have spent decades having ourjob reduced to entertainers, ba by—sitters. that isn‘t what we do, we are trained to do this job. our status should be appropriate. also, he needs to find us some money. the european space agency

is asking for the public‘s help to name their new mars rover. the robot is currently called ‘exomars‘, but it‘s hoped the public can come up with something a little more inspiring, as caroline rigby reports. it is a competition that‘s, well, out of this world — what to call a robot set to explore mars in 2021. currently called exomars, this six—wheeled rover will travel across the red planet in search of life. capable of drilling to depths of two metres, it will also look for microbes deep below the surface. it‘s set to be a fascinating mission, and that‘s why scientists from the european space agency think this little robot deserves a big name. in america, nasa has previously opted to call its mars rovers names like opportunity and curiosity, and the european space agency has launched a public competition

to find something equally inspiring. any other names, any other ideas? british astronaut tim peake is leading the hunt, which he hopes will inspire future generations to follow in his footsteps. it‘s always nice to give something a name, especially when it‘s going on such an ambitious journey to voyage to the red planet. well, i don‘t think we‘re going to end up with boaty mcboatface on this mars rover! that was, of course, the name chosen by more than 100,000 people for this polar explorer ship in 2016. butjust in case you are tempted by the likes of rovey mcroverface for exomars, be warned — an expert panel will have the final say. caroline rigby, bbc news. the exceptionally dry start to the summer, is forcing the closure of one of britain‘s longest waterways. 55—miles of the leeds and liverpool canal will shut

for a month at the end ofjuly, because of concerns over water supplies. phil bodmer has the story. in group boat navigates the canal. from the end of this month that will no longer be possible as a 55 mile stretch of one of president‘s most popular waterways is closed sadly because of a lack of water. we have not got the water to fugitive the canal to keep going. it‘s a difficult decision for us to take, but it simply down to this glorious summer we are but it simply down to this glorious summer we are all enjoying. the canal which crosses from yorkshire and lancashire is the largest man made waterway in britain. it‘s also one of the highest with water travelling downhill from huge reservoirs. just one of a number of reservoirs. just one of a number of reservoirs which feeds the canal network. at the moment you can see it‘s around 20% of their total

capacity, indeed, she grant deed again to graze with the water level should be. just 50 mm of rain fell from june to july this should be. just 50 mm of rain fell from june tojuly this year. it‘s the driest summer since records began. despite recent rainy northwest is not enough to replenish the depleted reserves. they go from nought to 60 faster than a formula one car can, and yet speedway bikes, have no gears and no brakes. this weekend is the biggest of the speedway calendar, with the british grand prix taking place at the principality stadium, in cardiff. to get a taste of these most extreme motorbikes, mike bushelljoined britain s rising star robert lambert in training. the glitz and the glamour welcomes those in a sport that‘s all about true grit. faster acceleration than formula one cars, hitting the bends with no brakes at 70 mph while your rivals shower you in shale.

the world‘s best speedway riders have gathered in cardiff for the british grand prix — the highlight of the calendar. it‘s such a big stadium, and not normally used for speedway. it‘s normally used for rugby, football, that kind of thing, so to put thousands of tonnes of shale down and get the thousands of fans in there will make this such a great atmosphere. over in norfolk, robert has been putting in the laps at his home track at king‘s lynn, and practising those flying starts. and away he goes, my goodness! 0h! you can feel the air vibrate as he shoots around. you can see why it‘s the most extreme form of motorcycling. he is out racing most days — if not in the uk, in sweden or poland, where the sport has a higher profile. and despite being one of the form riders, he knows they‘re always on the edge. there‘s always that fear, but if you thought about it, you wouldn‘t be able to race. it‘s kind of a "no—fear" sport,

and i‘ve got no fear, so i‘m definitely suited to this. while his body is prepared for the physical demands by a set of gruelling exercises. straight arms and rotate. keep your hips still, and rotate the body. see, this is probably one of the most important ones, because you've a lot of turning and whipping around as you go around the corners. so this is it — the moment of truth. my little untrained hands trying to tame this, the ultimate, really, in motorcycling. my palms have never been so sweaty, knees so shaky. let the clutch out, not too many revs, let the clutch out. i was told that many experienced bike riders don‘t make the first bend due to the power in the throttle — hence my cautious start. and i remember what happened to former breakfast colleague chris hollins, on the left here, over a decade ago. one slip of the wrist, and i‘ll be off! he's doing all right for his first go. not many people get around the first corner, i'll tell you that now. it feels incredible! it feels like it wants to take you away into the north sea. it‘s so fast, so powerful.

around the corner, foot down. of course, i‘m not going to win any races at this speed, but even at this pace, my arms were so stiff by the time my sixth lap came to an unexpected end. this is as fast as i‘ve gone. what a way to end — running out of fuel. i‘ve done that a few times on the motorway, not on a speedway track! this is something you won‘t see as the professionals take to the track in cardiff this weekend for one of sport‘s great spectacles. mike bushell always game for trying a new sport! might as well try some stabilizes next time. now it‘s time for a look at the weather with tomasz. 0k, ok, so no change in the forecast. it's ok, so no change in the forecast. it‘s the same story that we keep

telling you day after day after day. lots of hot and sunny weather on the way but subtle differences as always in the forecast. looks as though the rest of the week and this would be warm and sunny for many of us, but northwestern parts of the country will remain a little on the cloudy side with a light rain. for today we have seen a weather system approach us and there‘s an awful lot of rain in it, not much blew it at all. computers suggest ten. not really caring much rainfall and the factored into the night it still dry and south. 18 degrees, 15 in belfast. again very warm, humid and muqqy belfast. again very warm, humid and muggy area out there. tomorrow, there will be some sunshine across there will be some sunshine across the eastern counties or towards the south. that‘s where the best of the weather will be. summertime clouds

and that sort of thing for the clear blue skies. just the chance for showers breaking out there for the heat of the day across the southeast. mid 20s quite widely i think newcastle and 2a around 25 celsius. the exception here in the northwest of the highlands. that‘s for friends out there. then sunday evening, changes but a few spots of rain there. in the week ahead, there will be some weather fronts approaching with western parts of the country and soul of the cooler for western scotland and possibly northern ireland. the head of that weather front we‘re going to see a loss of heat streaming in from the south and all the way from iberia and spain and portugal. and from africa as well. quite conservative really, we could get 31 even higher than that. computer models are

suggesting temperatures will be around 33 degrees. this is just a guide, certainly through much of the week it will be 30 or above. mid—20s even high 20s in some areas but notice that across scotland and northern ireland. we‘ll have that atla ntic northern ireland. we‘ll have that atlantic influence and slightly fresher air will have place. the heat will be coming but not for everybody.