the lease for people were killed by wildfires which destroyed forests and seaside homes in greece. tourists and residents tried to escape the flames fanned by strong winds in searing heat. towns east of athens were worst hit. hundreds ran into the sea to escape the inferno. thank god my family was completely safe. we ran down to the sea. in the meanwhile, a couple of ladies have lost their lives. we are alive from greece tonight as three days of national mourning are declared. also on the programme: pay rises for public sector workers of up to 3.5% after yea rs of public sector workers of up to 3.5% after years of a pay cut. under scrutiny for paying thousands into a under scrutiny for paying thousands intoa bank under scrutiny for paying thousands into a bank account of an african politician. aaron banks, who donated millions of pounds to the brexit campaign. tens of thousands of people given

infected blood by the nhs. and the boys from thailand rescued from a cave take temporary vows for those who rescued them. and geraint thomas still leaves at the tour de france after finishing safely in the peloton. others are not so lucky on stage 16. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. at least 7a people have been killed by wildfires in greece. residents and tourists rush to beaches and into the sea to avoid the flames fanned by strong winds and high temperatures. hundreds were evacuated, but others found themselves trapped as the fire tore

through forests and seaside towns. 26 people have been found dead in a local resort, huddled together in an open space. our correspondent is in greece. and the stories and images coming out of greece are horrifying. yes, 2a hours ago this was a lively resort with crowds of tourists, lush vegetation and bustling holiday apartments, but it has been decimated with at least 7a killed and close to 200 killed and dozens more are still missing in what has become a night of national trauma. like a vision of hell. mile upon mile, smothered, suffocated by flames. as one was put out another roared. 47 simultaneous fires ripped through the greek hills. they fled

for their lives, hundreds ran into the sea, rescued by the coastguard. but for dozens more it was too late, killed by the worst wildfires greece has seen in over a decade. as morning fell, the mountain still burned, 60 miles an hour winds fanning the flames. and even as someone fanning the flames. and even as someone extinguished, the acrid smoke billowed, choking those caught in its grip. with the trail of destruction and almost apocalyptic scene, streets in the seaside town of mati near athens looked like a bomb had hit. many died in their cars, asphyxiated or burned alive. we found someone badly burned and searching for clues at the spot where he last saw his wife. searching for clues at the spot where he last saw his wifeli searching for clues at the spot where he last saw his wife. i took my where he last saw his wife. i took b where he last saw his wife. i took my baby and ran towards the sea. my wife i did not know what happened. i

think she burned, yes. from the skies manford nature, cyprus and spain helped with equipment and firefighters. this peaceful holiday resort has been virtually destroyed. many were here at the height of the tourist season, like konstantinos. as the flames consumed his car coming he and his family ran to the sea. we went directly with our close into the sea up to here to save ourselves. and the fire was still coming because it burned everything and it was becoming more and more on oui’ and it was becoming more and more on our faces and it was becoming more and more on ourfaces and and it was becoming more and more on our faces and we sank into the water to save us. as the flames came crashing down the hill, devouring everything in their wake, one of the most tragic incidents happened over here. some 25 people ran towards the sea to take refuge, but they were too late and they were trapped and

when their bodies were discovered, the remains of the parents were found hugging the children. the greek prime minister visibly shaken announced a state of emergency in the athens region and three days of national mourning. translation: there are no words to describe the feelings of all of us at this hour. the country is living and untold tragedy. dozens of human lives have been lost. the picturesque has turned to horror. greece is blessed by its climate, its coast, its lush forests. tonight it feels cursed. greece is no stranger to some wildfires. it is not yet known what caused this one. the fear is it could have been arsonists hoping to look empty apartment blocks. an investigation is under way. most of the fires are out, a couple are

still smouldering. greece was getting back on its feet after is crippling financial crisis, but yet again it has been plunged back into again it has been plunged back into a very dark moment. the heat wave that has caused the deaths of at least 65 people in japan has been called a natural disaster. more than 22,000 people have been admitted to hospital with heatstroke, nearly half of them elderly. the country recorded its highest ever temperature yesterday of 41 celsius. people are being advised to drink water, used in air—conditioning and to rest often. more than a million public sector workers will receive a pay rise this year, the biggest in nearly a decade. teachers will see salaries increase up to 3.5%. military personnel up to 2.9% and police officers' table go up by as much as 296 officers' table go up by as much as 2% and salaries will rise by up to 296 2% and salaries will rise by up to 2% forjunior doctors. 2% and salaries will rise by up to 2% for junior doctors. but

2% and salaries will rise by up to 2% forjunior doctors. but labour says it will come at the cost of other services because it will be funded by government departments and not the treasury. the called to lift the pay cap have been getting louder. the public sector is tired after a decade of austerity. growing problems recruiting and keeping staff. nowhere more so than in schools. we are going to design posters about how to keep safe in the sand. not enough teachers starting training, too many leaving after a few years, so too many leaving after a few years, so head teachers have been pressing ha rd so head teachers have been pressing hard for today's pay rise. something serious is happening. our ability to recruit and the right quality of people to work in our schools is important unless we give a competitive package for teachers. but it is only younger teachers who will get the full pay rise. classroom teachers are getting the

biggest slice of these government backed increases, but these are pay rises for some but not all public sector workers. even so not all public sector workers. even so it could bejust not all public sector workers. even so it could be just enough to help stave off the threat of industrial action that was looming for this autumn. it was announced as mps leave for their holidays. what we are announcing is the biggest pay rise in almost ten years for around 1 rise in almost ten years for around i million public sector workers across britain, including teachers, armed forces personnel, prison officers, police, doctors and dentists. it followed an earlier pay dealfor many dentists. it followed an earlier pay deal for many nhs staff. all this to be paid for out of further government savings. but not everyone is happy. the union for rank and file police said it was insulting. £2 50 more a week for those starting on the beat. and fears across the

public sector that local budgets will pick up some of the bill.m public sector that local budgets will pick up some of the bill. it is about the morale of our officers and their well—being across the country. therefore i am very disappointed for them. they worked exceptionally hard. there is no extra money for pay, whether in wales or england. this will come out of existing government spending. let's talk to oui’ government spending. let's talk to our economics editor. this is not coming from the treasury, it is coming from the treasury, it is coming from the treasury, it is coming from other government departments that will have to make cuts elsewhere to fund it. what we have not heard a lot of recently is austerity cuts. last month we had the nhs budget rise, £20.5 billion. on that occasion the government said taxes would have to rise to find that money. but here it is a very different tone. but the figure itself for how much it will cost for these pay rises is relatively

modest, about £120 million. the overall bill for public sector pay is £181 billion, a small amount of money. the treasury insists this money. the treasury insists this money can be found by departments. some departments and spend every year and the treasury says that can be recycled and public finances are in better condition at the moment, soa in better condition at the moment, so a bit more money. but a note of caution. departments say they have been under pressure for a decade and there is a lot of money to find to pay for these pay increases. mps have voted to suspend the democratic unionist party's ian paisleyjunior after his failure to declare two family holidays paid for by the sri lankan government. his suspension lasts 30 days and he will be absent from some key votes on brexit, reducing the government's absolute majority. the man who donated

million pounds to the government's leave campaign is under scrutiny for donating millions of pounds in the small african nation of lesotho. mr banks admitted paying money into the personal accounts of a government minister there, but denied the payment amounted to a bribe. lesotho may be one of the poorest countries in the world, but the lure of diamonds has drawn many to the kingdom in the sky, including businessman and brexit donor arron banks. but when we found his diamond operation the machines were silent and the site was deserted. everything here will be done by the end of august. the operation is winding up after three years in which they only found six small diamonds. getting a licence to mine in lesotho is not easy. the more friends you have got in the government, the more likely it is

you will succeed in permit application. what did they expect? you have got to greece some palms. arron banks has certainly invested in making friends in government. not only was he a political donor to the lesotho national party, he also transferred £65,000 lesotho national party, he also transferred £65, 000 to lesotho national party, he also transferred £65,000 to a personal bank account for the party leader. 16,000 of that was paid just weeks before banks received a permit to for diamonds. mr arron banks and myself as the leader of the party agreed this is the system we wanted. lesotho is close to collapsing. is there a danger if it goes into a private account that can look corrupt in his own way? no. in 2014, during the military coup, arron banks not only paid his rent whilst he was an excel, but the prime

minister of lesotho told me that he had also been funded by arron banks in south africa. did he help you personally? well, yes. what sort of help did he get? will well, we needed to buy food. seriously. we showed our interviews to a leading corruption investigator in south africa who has the authority to fire a criminal case with the national prosecutor. we will be carrying out further investigations of our own, forensic investigators, and i will open a criminal docket. a docket is evidence sent to the national prosecuting authority, setting out the case for the prosecution charges. arron banks has been informed and when i spoke to him yesterday he denied he had funded the prime minister, but he did not deny his relationship with a

government minister. did he ask you for money? yes. did you pay money? yes. do you think that is appropriate? yes. it is not corrupt at all. you are putting money into a personal account of a government minister. he was a government minister. he was a government minister for women's equality. i cannot see how you link the two. minister for women's equality. i cannot see how you link the twom is not going into a charity account ora is not going into a charity account or a party account, it is a personal account for him, often a south african account. did that not seem suspicious? no. following our investigation, arron banks, one of the biggest political donors in british history, is now under scrutiny in a tiny mountain kingdom have a world away. our top story: wildfires in greece have killed over 70 people as seaside towns and

forests are consumed by flames. and british divers who helped rescue the 12 boys from thailand in a cave are hailed as heroes at number ten. and on sports day, our football matches in the uk to heavily policed? the football supporters federation thinks so and want things to change. it's been called the biggest scandal in nhs history. in the 1970s and 80s, thousands of patients across the uk were given blood products that were infected with viruses such as hepatitis c and hiv. many had an inherited bleeding disorder called haemophilia and reguarly needed donated blood clotting products which in some cases were infected. but it's feared tens of thousands of non—haemophilliacs may have been infected through blood transfusions too. now, a long awaited public inquiry has begun. this week we're hearing from victims

and families directly affected. tonight, jean hill in torquay in devon tells us about losing her husband ron who died after being infected with hepatitis c. i still talk about ron like he is still here and some people don't know that he is gone because i can't help it. it is part of my everyday life. my name isjean hill and i was married to my husband ronald hill for nearly 22 years. ron was a wonderful man. he was funny, he was bright, he was caring, he was generous and he loved his life. one was a mild haemophiliacs. it is a

problem in the liver where they do not make a clotting agent so they are given factor eight to help the blood to clot. he was tired all the time. his skin was going yellow. his eyes we re time. his skin was going yellow. his eyes were going yellow. he was a lwa ys eyes were going yellow. he was always in pain in his side. he used to lie on the sofa most of the time. we were aware that the hep c had come from blood products but not as much as we are now because without the internet, we did not know the story of it. we did not know where it had come from, how the virus was in the pooled plasma. we did not realise they were infecting him every time they gave it to him, not just once, but every time. after ron

died, ijust shattered. i totally collapsed, gave in, give up. i did not want to do anything. i just lost it, to be honest. i did not know how to deal with life without him. the ripples just to deal with life without him. the ripplesjust go on. to deal with life without him. the ripples just go on. now my grandchildren have missed out on the most wonderful grandad. he never got to walk his daughters down the aisle. we have missed out on everything he had to give us and we are so much poorerfor it. i'm glad we have got a public enquiry and it is something that we really need because we need to know the truth. i don't want my husband to have died in vain. i don't want my strong

healthy man to have been poisoned and died for nothing. i want to know why they used the blood products if they knew, even if it was just an idea that they might be contaminated. how dare they use them on my husband? we go up to the tree, his memorial tree and we have picnics there. the grandchildren can go there and play around it. he is still part of our life. he will a lwa ys still part of our life. he will always be part of our life. they took my husband but they cannot take my love. the story of jean hill there. you can read more about the contaminated blood scandal and the accou nts contaminated blood scandal and the a ccou nts of contaminated blood scandal and the accounts of others by going to the bbc website. hundreds of people are missing and an unknown number dead after a dam collapsed in south east laos.

the hydroelectric dam had been under construction as it gave way late on monday, it sent flash floods through six villages. more than six and half thousand people have been made homeless. the former archbishop of canterbury, george carey, has admitted he failed the victims of former bishop peter ball, a convicted sex abuser. carey told an independent inquiry into child sexual abuse that he should have passed letters to the police alleging sexual abuse by ball back in 1992. instead ball was allowed to continue officiating in the church of england and abusing more victims. our religion editor martin bashir reports. this is not how 82—year—old lord carey planned to reflect on his tenure as archbishop of canterbury — arriving at the independent inquiry to be cross—examined about his role in the case of peter ball. bolt stood down as bishop of gloucester in 1992 after accepting a

police caution for gross indecency dash back ball. two years later he was allowed to return to christian ministry by lord carey. responding to questions, lord carey said he struggled to believe that ball was a predatory abuse. i could not believe that a bishop in the church of god and do such evil things, so i actually believed him for quite a time. lord carey was reminded of seven letters that he was sent by victims of abuse, but instead of counselling then, he arranged for ball to receive £12,500 in financial support. seems particularly galling that peter ball should be sent money to go on holiday when the victims

and survivors were not given any counselling. i have already said i regret the treatment of the victims. the only time he showed remorse was about the loss that peter ball had suffered. there was so much consideration given to peter ball and his brother and virtually nothing for the victims. after five hours of testimony, lord carey conceded that the church had failed to many. the home of the red arrows raf scampton is to be sold. 600 people currently work at the site near lincoln, which was also where 617 squadron prepared for the dambusters mission in world war two. the mod is also closing raf linton on ouse in north yorkshire where 300 people work, in order to cut costs. fracking at the site in lancashire has been given final approval by the government. the shale company quadrilateral is being given permission to go ahead with the controversial process at the site in

preston new road. —— the company cuadrilla. opponents say it could cause the an untold damage. the boys who were rescued from the cave in thailand —— the divers who rescued the boys from the cave in thailand have been thanked at downing street. this report contains flash the geography. it is just flash the geography. it isjust one flash the geography. it is just one of a series of ceremonies of thanks the rescued boys will now participate in. in thailand, 11 have become novice buddhists. as is customary, the boys have had their head shaved. they will meditate, pray and clean the temple as well as paying tribute to the diver who lost their life to save theirs. the coach and 12 boys spent two weeks trapped in the cave network before a constipated mission

to free them was launched. this afternoon at number ten, the british rescu e rs we re afternoon at number ten, the british rescuers were honoured at the reception by the prime minister. we we re reception by the prime minister. we were counting. i asked how many there were. we were pleased that i think we were both aware that there isa think we were both aware that there is a big difference being alive inside of a cave and being alive outside of a cave and that is why it took a week or so to make that happen. selflessly courageous. superbly confident. in australia, medals for the divers who deem their own hobby 0rd. this doctor, the last man out of the cave, his job was to sedate the boys, something he said was the scariest part of the rescue. it was an experiment in a way. i have never done it in the back of a cave on malnourished skinny kids before. that for me was the most frightening part of the week. back in the uk, theresa may says she is

very proud of these reluctant heroes. they are great heroes. i think everyone is a hero. despite rain in some parts of the uk today, it will not have escaped your notice that the heatwave will continue for many of us and it will get hotter. sian lloyd has been taking a look at some of the businesses which are winning and losing in the heat. brea kfast alfresco winning and losing in the heat. breakfast alfresco for this family from lincoln, camping on the cow peninsula. the recent spate of good weather is enticing more visitors like them to holiday closer to home. we usually go to spain on holiday. we usually go to spain on holiday. we usually go to spain on holiday. we usually have a family holiday abroad but this year we have come back here. it feels like we are abroad. it has been a bumper year for bookings with every picture taken. we are fully booked, i am afraid. they are having to turn

customers away for now but the campsite say the heatwave will benefit them in the longer term. people are booking for september and october and we are receiving enquiries. they want to book early for next year because people now think this is the weather for the uk. sales of ice cream and sunscreen have soared but there has been a dip in sales on the high street. you have to look and say the forecast is this weather, what can we do to make sure we get families and footfall in our city centre and through the doors? high street hope the sales will warm up in time for christmas but this farmer says it is too hot for christmas. there is some burning on the edge. 30,000 christmas tree saplings have died in the weather. i'm doing rain dances and keeping an eye on the forecast at the moment. on the beach they are toasting the sunshine and hope for more days like this to come. talking of the weather, nick miller

is here. what have we got in store? how many shopping days until christmas?! some of us want to cool down but maybe that is a bit extreme. there could be some rain for parched ground later in the week. there has been some light rain today out of this cloud from northern england and into wales. there are one or two showers in essex. there may be the odd shower rushing north—west scotland. for sleeping, after the hot day into eastern england, temperatures do not go down as far as some would like. overnight temperatures are not too bad into the low teens. tomorrow morning there will be plenty of sunshine from the word go. some cloud building here and there. most will be dry. an isolated shower could be possible. for most it is dry, long sunny spells. it is a bit

warmer tomorrow across the board. where we saw 31 today in east anglia, we could see as high as 33 degrees. look at this for thursday. these are rain bearing weather fronts waiting in the wings. they are not coming on thursday. it may start to fringe into north—west scotla nd start to fringe into north—west scotland and northern ireland. still the outside chance of a shower in eastern england. it will be dry and sunny but hotter more widely on thursday and in the hotspots in scotla nd thursday and in the hotspots in scotland and northern ireland into the 20s. some places good seats 34 or even 35 celsius. in the west, outbreaks of rain moving in. across eastern parts there could be torrential thunderstorms in the midlands and up to north—east england on friday. on saturday the temperatures have come down. it will feel fresher across the uk but the heat will be back again next week.

thank you. that is all from the bbc news at six. we can join the nuisance where you are. bye—bye. hello this is bbc news. the headlines. wildfires sweep across coastal towns near athens leaving at least 74 dead — in greece's worst fire disaster in more than a decade. a million public sector workers will receive their biggest pay rise in nearly a decade, according to the government. theresa may takes personal control of brexit talks with the eu, but the new brexit secretary dominic raab insists he hasn't