this is bbc news, i'm nicholas owen. the headlines at eight. wildfires sweep across coastal towns near athens leaving more than 70 dead, in greece's worst fire disaster in more than a decade in memory of those who perished, we are declaring three days of national mourning. but we should not let the morning overwhelm us, because this isa time morning overwhelm us, because this is a time to fight, to be unified, courageous and most of all to have solidarity. a million public sector workers are set to receive their biggest pay rise in nearly a decade, following a government announcement. labour says its a pr stunt. theresa may takes personal control of brexit talks with the eu, as the new brexit secretary insists he hasn't been sidelined under scrutiny for paying thousands into the private bank account of an african politician, aaron banks, who donated millions of pounds to the brexit campaign. also coming up... in a ceremony of thanks, the boys rescued from caves in thailand are ordained as buddhist monks

and closer to home, the british divers who rescued them are hailed as heroes at downing street night has come. and they stole our hearts at the royal wedding with their rendition of ‘stand by me', now the london—based gospel choir lands a record deal. more than 70 people have been killed by wildfires in greece. residents and tourists rushed to beaches and into the sea to avoid the flames fanned by strong winds and high temperatures. hundreds were forced to flee by boat but others found themselves trapped as the fire tore through forests and coastline near

the capital athens. the worst hit area was the local tourist resort of mati, 26 people have been found dead there huddled together in a open space. our correspondent mark lowen has more from mati. 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 mountains still burnt. 60 mph winds fanning the flames. and even as some were extinguished, the acrid smoke billowed,

choking those caught in its grip. with the trail of destruction, an 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 this man badly burnt and searching for clues at the spot where he last saw his wife. i took my baby and ran towards the sea but my wife, i don't know what happened. i think she burned herself here. from the skies, man fought 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 tourism season. like this man. as the flames consumed his car,

he and his family ran to the sea. we went directly with our clothes into the sea up to here to save ourselves, you know? very quickly and the fire was still coming because it burnt everything and it was coming more and more in our faces. we sank into the water to save ourselves. as the flames came crashing down the hill, devouring everything in their wake, one of the most tragic incident happened just over here. some 25 people ran towards the sea to try to take refuge but they were too late and they were trapped. 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. mark lowen, bbc news. the mayor of the greek seaside resort of rafina told our correspondent gavin lee that he expected the number of people killed in the fire to rise. i have my house here, it is burned now. many problems, many lives over, andi now. many problems, many lives over, and i think it's not. eating what

than to attribute would you think more than 100 people have died? yes. i had seen all of this with my eyes. last a heatwave that's caused the deaths of a least 65 people injapan has been declared a natural disaster by the country's weather agency. more than 22,000 people have been admitted to hospital with heat stroke, nearly half of them elderly. the country recorded its highest ever temperature yesterday of 41 degrees centigrade. the public is being advised to drink plenty of water, use air conditioning and to rest often. at least 20 people have died and hundreds of others are missing 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 more than a million public sector workers will receive a pay rise this year — it's their biggest in nearly a decade after wages freezes and a pay cap. teachers will see salaries increase up to 3.5 per cent. for military personnel, up to 2.9 per cent. police officers' pay will go up by as much as two per cent and salaries will rise by up to three per cent forjunior doctors. but labour says its a publicity stunt and that it will come at the cost of other services, because it will be funded by other government departments — and not the treasury. 0ur education editor branwenjeffreys has more. the calls to lift the pay cap have been getting louder. the public sector tired after a decade of austerity. growing problems recruiting and keeping staff. nowhere more so than in schools.

what we're going to do is we're going to design posters about how to keep safe in the sun. not enough teachers starting training, too many leaving after a few years, teachers have been pressing hard for today's pay rise. there's something very serious happening now, our ability to be able to recruit and the right quality of people work and our schools is really going to be hampered unless we can continue offering a competitive package for teachers. but it's only younger teachers that will get the full pay rise. classroom teachers are getting the bigger slice of these government backed increases, but these are pay rises for some, but 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 today, mr speaker, amounts to the biggest pay rise in almost ten years.

for around 1 million public—sector workers across britain, including teachers, armed forces personnel, prison officers, police, doctors and dentists. it follows an earlier pay deal for many nhs staff. all of this to be paid for out of further government savings. but not everyone is happy, and the union for rank—and—file police said it was insulting. £215 more a week for their starting on the beat. and there is across the public sector, the local budgets that will pick up some of the bill. it's about the morale of our officers, about their own well— being, across the country and so therefore, i am very disappointed for them, they work exceptionally hard. there's no extra money for pay, whether in wales or in england, this will come out of existing government spending.

well with me in the studio now is the president of the union, the national association of head teachers, andy mellor. good evening to you.” good evening to you. i think it's a bittersweet moment, it is great that hard—working teachers are having their efforts recognised. hard—working teachers are having their efforts recognisedli hard—working teachers are having their efforts recognised. i think their efforts recognised. i think the that the bitter part of it is the that the bitter part of it is the fact that the first 250 million is going to have to come from school budgets in those as school budgets that are really hard—pressed. budgets in those as school budgets that are really hard-pressed. to staying with the pay issue, he was saying that classroom teachers benefit first and so people further up benefit first and so people further up the scale, not so much presumably. so it is not an overall marvellous picture for anyone wish don't make a recommendation at the .5% for, senior leaders as well. and

they're not going to get an inflation proof pay rise, thinking it isa inflation proof pay rise, thinking it is a pay cut. so in terms of recruiting school leaders to the future, we are not doing anything, this move today is not going to do anything to help with the recruitment. the number of people leaving, there is always an argument about people leaving the teaching profession, and he signed the” about people leaving the teaching profession, and he signed the i can get to take this in context, it is the first right of any sort in ten yea rs, the first right of any sort in ten years, and have a 10—year pay freeze is going to put people off. go look at in context of the next ten years as opposed to today. there have been some increases which have been below the rate of inflation. effectively, we fall further and further behind.

yosemite point about industrial action, which i think is a silly term, not, disruption do you think? it might be something that might postpone it, i don't think that the other unions are fooled by a one—off payment that's been recycled from other areas of the department for education, and reviewed the treasury need to step up. and finally, this is about money for schools themselves. of course, pressure is on and all forms of the state isn't it? you can't accept this system of... education is a special case when he talked about the nhs, and ultimately we are waking out of the brexit nightmare, we're going to find in education system decimated,

is that really the education system what the future? and we'll find out how this story, and many others, are covered in tomorrow's front pages, at 10:45 and 11:30 this evening in the papers. our guests joining me tonight are the broadcaster, lynn faulds wood, and the deputy editor of the express, michael booker. 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 working majority. theresa may is taking personal control of brexit talks with the eu, with dominic raab deputising for her. mr raab was drafted in as brexit secretary to replace david davis, who quit in protest at the prime minister's proposals for post—brexit trade. 0ur political correspondent iain watson is at westminster for us. good evening to you. good evening,

yes, interesting times. effectively what the prime minister is announcing is what everyone was expecting of going on anyway. he resigned after the agreement to effectively change the pitch to the european union on negotiations, and effectively said that they were being sidelined anyway, the department was being used as a croissant. so the prime minister has confirmed that she is in charge of her on strategy, and deputize for her. but i think what worries the brexiteers is what else is in that statement, because effectively, they have been taught to deal with domestic consideration, all the preparations in this country, including planning for an ideal scenario. and a unit inside the

cabinet, the european unit is going to ta ke cabinet, the european unit is going to take the lead when it comes to negotiations with the rest of the european union, and that unit is led by ali robbins, a former secretary that has been taken into the prime minister zorba, he's saying it as a person behind the prime minister's change of tactics, so they're not too keen on them. so interestingly enough, the last term, cross party committee, not only has a new brexit secretary been there, but also robbins asked the questions as well, and former cabinet minister asked rather pointedly, effectively who's the real brexit now? the european union will have overall responsibility for the preparation on the conduct of negotiations, drawing upon support the departments. does that suggest that the two of you should swap places? and you being supported by our

official? what we have done is to try and make clear that you understand, and given the mixed functions that both the cabinet 0ffice functions that both the cabinet office and they were performing. there is a matter of the official level of advice we get, and in terms of the ministerial chain of command, there is one team. dominick stressing his own position of brexit secretary and refusing to, but mr robyn still came in for an attack, and response for a quiet coup d'etat, and another asked them about the controversial document at checkers, that effectively trading

goods with the eu. which was presented? so what i ended my team did, with a lot of officials, but more than anywhere else, is prepare papers for the cabinet to consider at, and those cove red a cabinet to consider at, and those covered a range of issues,. saying that he was not responsible for the brexit paper, , saying that he was not responsible for the brexit paper,, papers, 120 pages of them so i think that the brexiteers will be pretty sure in their own minds that he was quite influential in that process, but as for dominic, he also campaigned for leave boat, he says he does not want to leave the data deal with the european union and the run—up to the next crucial summit and working

every hour of every day to get a good dealfor britain. every hour of every day to get a good deal for britain. there is another issue around today, to do with the stockpiling of drugs, what is this all about? the last day, and various committees and peace, we have looked at the brexit committee there and and elsewhere was a new health secretary was asked about whether he's making plans in the event of the new deal brexit this stock are medicines, this is a possibility a few weeks ago on the new health secretary confirmed that, in fact, he said that i asked them to stockpile by industry, this includes a train of medical supplies, blood products and working for the potential need to stockpile in event of a no—deal brexit. they did add he expected it to get a deal

with the european union. but i sunday was just that to some extent, the potential consequence of a no deal, will accuse the government of panicking, below are going to see over the summer and peace going for their summer break, government ministers, departments will be setting up their own preparations for a no—deal brexit and when i talked to a very senior government minister about this and what would actually perhaps lead to the panic 01’ actually perhaps lead to the panic or stability, his answer was actually, to look this over unprepared but to even more instability and that's why we're setting up those plans of the next few weeks. and we will be looking at the key moments on brexit this year with tom mctague from politico and george eaton from the new statesman. that's just after eight thirty. the headlines on bbc news... wildfires sweep across coastal towns near athens leaving more than 70 dead — in greece's worst fire disaster

in more than a decade. a million public sector workers are set to receive their biggest pay rise in nearly a decade, following a government announcement. labour says its a pr stunt. theresa may takes personal control of brexit talks with the eu, as the new brexit secretary insists he hasn't been sidelined and coming up... protests of the government gives the green light to begin tracking. sport now, and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's a day of drama with stage 16 held up for 11 minutes because of protests at the roadside, bombers have

blocked the road, leading police to spray them with tear gas, which kind to the eyes of some of the writers. conditions were tricky as well, over the final climb, but in this crash ended his chances of winning the stage. 0verall, ended his chances of winning the stage. overall, the sky team—mate crossed the finish mine safely in the main bunch, thomas still leads by 99 seconds. england captain has been shortlisted for the best wife a men's player, he is included along with last years winner and premier league players are also nominated. 0ne winner and premier league players are also nominated. one of the 11 coaches nominated for the best men's coach award, he led england to the best tournament finish since 1990. manchester city manager is also

nominated as if liverpool boss boss and she is one of the managers to make the women's shortlists, she guided the team to a couple double last time, and she was pregnant for most of the campaign as well. she gave birth to a boy two days after her team clutched the title. winning every domestic will miss the king george after losing against, he was penalised for the angels hide in the duchess of cambridge, and find intend to cause

and, at panel has reduced the band from ten days to six, but that doesn't mean he will miss out on two t wright at the glorious goodwood festival. richard kruse has won the fencing world championship medal since 1965, currently ranked fourth in the role and guaranteed himself a metal, early in the day. but he lost in the final, fencing with sexy well five sports —— his sport funding removed in 2016.100 five sports —— his sport funding removed in 2016. 100 two british athletes would take part in next month's european athletics championship in berlin, for the first time that a major championship, more women than men have been in the squad, she will only race in the 1500 metre, she has an achilles problem so she is

favourite for gold and 100 metres while she is a bid to become a three—time european gold medals. using so many girls, best that are going to be out there challenging, so going to be out there challenging, soi going to be out there challenging, so i would love to be, obviously! i would love it! but it depends on me going there in the knee brace that they need to run, you got your favourites, you got the people who, in the next thing you like, oh, that is the thing that makes people want to watch out for this, because you might know who's going to, you might think you know who's going to win! we wa nt think you know who's going to win! we want to win in your head, but ultimately when that gun goes it's anyone's game. that's all the sports, i will have more at half past ten, see you then. the firm will be

allowed provided certain conditions are met. campaigners say they will continue to try to stop there, the process involves pumping liquid in high—pressure deep underground and police gas this is the kind of protest we haven't seen for months and the task these cat campaigners, not a could face a jail sentence. they're campaigners, not a could face a jail sentence. they‘ re brought campaigners, not a could face a jail sentence. they're brought in an injunction, designed to prevent trespassing. it's the first time it's been breached. potentially there is a lot at stake, going into this but clear head and know what they got themselves into, and they are incredibly brave. it's more against the injunction than in the company themselves, a growing perception that the injunction is

actually an abuse of the legal process. they said they respect the right to protest, but things are being delayed. breach of the injunction they said is contempt of court. if the police ask you to move, there's a lot going in and coming out,. it is designed to limit disruption as the company prepares to carry out, this afternoon they gave final permission to go ahead here. last week the second horizontal well was drilled, it's the first time commission has been given on mainland britain, for horizontal. they locked themselves in together with steel and concrete, to seven hours, they found themselves released. no matter what they do, they cannot stop us. protests event taking place almost daily for months, despite the

injunction, campaigners say they're determined to try and stop from going ahead. the british divers who helped to rescue 12 boys from a cave in thailand have been thanked by the prime minister at downing street. the boys themselves have been preparing to spend time in a buddhist monastery — partly to thank those who freed them. with more, here's chi chi izundu. her report contains flash photography. the british divers who rescued 12 boys from a cave in thailand, they have become buddhists as is customary, the boys that had their heads shaved. they will meditate, pray and clean the temple. as well as picture butte to the diver that lost his life trying to say there's. the coach and 12 boys spent, this

afternoon at number ten, the british rescu e rs we re afternoon at number ten, the british rescuers were honoured at a reception by the prime minister.” how many there were, we were very pleased but i think a we we re we were both aware, but was a big difference of bending the light inside the cave is posted out in atla ntic inside the cave is posted out in atlantic as a week or so. selflessly courageous. superbly professionally confident. in australia, medals for the divers who deem their own hobby odd. this doctor, the last man out of the cave, his job was to sedate the boys, something he says 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 dehydrated thai 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.

john said they are not heroes, but i think every one is a hero. chi chi izundu, bbc news. they are the gospel choir who stole our hearts at harry and megan's wedding at st george's chapel in windsor earlier this year. the kingdom choir, who are based in battersea, performed a version of ‘stand by me' that earned them plaudits and praise around the world. ever since offers from music labels have been pouring in, and today it was announced they've signed a new record deal. wendy hurrell reports. when the night has come and the land is dark and the moon is the only light we see... white neck became the inquirer, the average was around

200, until may the 19th just as long as you stand, stand by me. all of a sudden, 2 billion people i mean, i never would have thought it. i never would have thought it. so darling, darling, stand by me.” would have thought it. so darling, darling, stand by me. i guess life has changed a little bit? yes, the responses, just the recognition down the road, for example. people saying, thank you, the honour was, there are no words. get conductor did have to come up with a few today as she and acquired revealed their latest news. they have been the park all morning singing in the sunshine for the breakfast shows of some of some of the big broad casters, all

to announce that they had a record deal with sony. to announce that they had a record dealwith sony. i can't to announce that they had a record deal with sony. i can't believe it! as you utter the words i'm mike, while us? it's surreal! it all started at kensington palace, a few days after getting the call while she was at a house that she came to meet harry and megan.” she was at a house that she came to meet harry and megan. i walked in, it was really lovely, they were beautiful, just really down to earth, friendly, smiling, encouraging and, very much in love. they'll be in the studio soon, recording the album due for a release in november. phil a record deal is one thing, but bringing a message of love, peace, joy and hope. that is what we want to do. i think the world needs it. (now it's time for a look

at the weather with ben rich. can they vary at all? let's get the latest. hello, it has been another hot day for many of us, saw temperatures up to 30 degrees, some spells of sunshine, contrast that with a scene on western scotland, bopping around around 18 degrees, but much of the cloud breaking up to the evening, so overnight, we're all going see clear skies, fresh up towards the northwest, apart from some early missed, a beautiful day in terms of sunshine, plenty of it. temperatures here could get to 32 degrees, some extra

cloud, 22 degrees in belfast. further on thursday, some get it 35, but there's a chance of some vicious thunderstorms on friday. hello. this is bbc news with me, nicholas 0wen. here are the headlines. wildfires sweep across coastal towns near athens, leaving more than 70 dead — in greece's worst fire disaster in more than a decade. here, a million public sector workers are set to receive their biggest pay rise in nearly a decade, following a government announcement. labour says it's a pr stunt. theresa may takes personal control of brexit talks with the eu, as the new brexit secretary insists he hasn't been sidelined. under scrutiny for paying thousands into the private bank account of an african politician, arron banks, who donated millions

of pounds to the brexit campaign. let's return now to our main story. more than 70 people are known to have been killed by wildfires in greece. nearly 200 others have been injured in the country's most deadly fires for a decade. 0ur correspondent gavin lee has been to the seaside village of mati which was devastated by the blaze and sent this update. this is what's left of the greek resort, village of mati in the welcome sign here. i've been here for 30 minutes and it's so clear how much damage there is. when you come to this town, lines upon lines, hundreds upon hundreds of cars com pletely hundreds upon hundreds of cars completely destroyed. and we're walking the main stretch, the coast, the seat just a few

walking the main stretch, the coast, the seatjust a few metres away. some of the buildings are absolutely scorched to the ground, one just in front of me here. 0thers scorched to the ground, one just in front of me here. others and the way of the fire moved completely untouched, so some neighbours spent five, six hours through the night last night running onto the beach, into the seat to try to get away. if you come this way, i will show you has moved through the media crews, the police, the endless service as well, i've just the police, the endless service as well, i'vejust spoken the police, the endless service as well, i've just spoken to one family as well who are in complete shock. they ran out of their home because i'm told when the fire came through, it was minutes, running straight to the beach, there are people that did not make it out. one family said they grabbed their pets, they got their cats, their dogs. you will see their cats, their dogs. you will see the cars here coming by at the moment. 7a people have died so far was that the number, the greek government have confirmed, has increased. what the media are saying

is there are still a lot of people who are missing, a lot of people who ran onto the beach as well who have stopped stoney still not been accounted for. in these towns, and narrowly escaping through the sea. some swam, we are told four people drowned. this is the scene here now. a lot of people walking around in com plete a lot of people walking around in complete shock. that is gavin lee reporting live from mati. earlier, i spoke to panos tzilavis, general manager of the marathon beach resort, which has been providing shelter to those who have been affected by the fires. at the moment, we have around 50 to 60 people. we are trying to do the best we can and many people from the community wringing food and a close and everything they can to help them and everything they can to help them and to do the best at the moment, because this is the first few days

which are very difficult. how are people getting to your place? are they coming by both? how are they getting to you? they came last night. some of them came by boat... how do you decide who can stay? what happens to those who you have not room - that's a very big got room for? that's a very big question. what we do is after discussing with the municipality, families that have kids lower than six years old and people over 70 yea rs old six years old and people over 70 years old stopped and the rest of the people are taken care of by the municipality. these people are

shocked by what they have been through. definitely shock. it's a very difficult time and a very sad time for them at the moment. that was panos tzilavis, who is manager of the marathon beach resort, helping some of the people involved in those awful fires in greece. let's return to brexit. parliament has entered its recess period, although negotiations with the eu will continue in some form over the summer. so what progress has been made in 2018 and where are we now? what are the sort of key moments from it? well, to discuss some of brexit‘s key moments this year are tom mctague — chief uk political correspondent for the online journalism company politico — and george eaton, political editor at the new statesman. good evening to you both. let's start with key moments. give us your thoughts. i thought david davis's

resignation after the checkers deal a few weeks ago, that was a key moments. it really crystallized theresa may's main problem. she needs to get a majority in the house of commons for whatever brexit deal she gets back from the european union, if she gets a brexiteer from the european union later this year. and his resignation means she's really going to struggle to get the brexiteers on—site because it means she's left requiring the support of the labour mps, she's left requiring the support of the labourmps, and she's left requiring the support of the labour mps, and they're not going to give it to her. georgetown is that your key moment? we wondered how many brexiteers could survive in theresa may's cabinet. that took her over the edge, although you still got some like michael gove in there. the interesting thing was the eu's response to the chequers agreement. michel barnier still said i was an

unsatisfactory deal for us. it's very ha rd unsatisfactory deal for us. it's very hard to... should she make further concessions to europe, even more tory mps will be unhappy with the proposed deal. that was one resignation. i think you would ask most people if they have thought about that, they would think of another resignation. and boris johnson resigning 2a hours later was because of david davis's resignation. most people thought boris would have clung on but he was shamed into resigning because of david davis. david davis did not expect that but together, that caused a huge problem for theresa may, and forest‘s speech really put himself back in the game. i think he was drifting out of any leadership hopes with a less than impressive stint as foreign secretary. by making that speech, he again got himself in the front of the queue of the brexiteers. and the speech, in

many ways, everybody talks about the jeffry houser that did it for margaret thatcher. i was not this, was it? he naturally likes to play the comedian. this speech was notable because it wasjoke free the comedian. this speech was notable because it was joke free and what he is liberated to do now is to campaign, and he is stilla popular politician. he's still someone who knows how to translate some of these arcane technical issues into populist language. we that during the referendum. if theresa may starts winning over tory members and is greeted at the tory conference this year on the fringes as the darling again, that can be dangerous for her. and what do we think about boris making it through? do you think it's still his leading ambition? absolutely it's his

leading ambition, i don't think there's any doubt about that. it's about hunting for borst. —— it's about hunting for borst. —— it's about timing for boris. we are looking at the october and september tory conference now, and we've got three months ago to see how this chequersjill is three months ago to see how this chequers jill is going three months ago to see how this chequersjill is going to play with tory voters and voters at large. reid talked a lot about what's going on with the tories and brexit and so one, but labour themselves, they had an interesting time. it was actually some up for brexit labour mps who saved... labour has its own divisions on brexit. jeremy corbyn facts remain in the campaign but has said since then he believes the vote should be respected. by contrast to most of his mps for most labour

members and labourvoters, most of his mps for most labour members and labour voters, they have a negative attitude towards brexit. they would back membership in the single market and indeed a second referendum. seeing jeremy corbyn there in the commons, the two leaders have done in this last period. there have been other things to brexit. jeremy corbyn, you might think he's had a pretty good deal, but on the other hand, he's had the anti—semitism problem. but on the other hand, he's had the anti-semitism problem. you talk about what expectations are you measuring the two leaders against. the morning after the general election, you would have said that theresa may, the expectations for theresa may, the expectations for theresa may's longevity were pretty low, and she is still there and likely to still be there in october. and nobody‘s ruling out whether she can actually get a deal and take britain out of the european union. if she does that, that's quite an extraordinary achievement with the

majority. jeremy corbyn on the other hand was flying high, going to glastonbury and held the hero. he has not got labour i had in the polls, they are neck and neck and he is getting bogged down in rows over anti—semitism, which is terrible for the labour brand in the country. do you agree with that? british politics is incredibly polarised at the moment and it is like a stalemate. i think the outcome would be another hung parliament. neither party is pulling at the level it needs to be to be confident of winning a majority. i thinkjeremy corbyn will be released on brexit at least that labour have not been as dramatic as they could have been yet, and they are trying to pull off this balancing act where they are letting the tories have the pitch themselves and fight it out. labour does not want to interrupt them while they making a mistake. labour things they can watch on the site,

the tories will tear themselves apart and hopefully he can inherit our. and there's one other big political person person we've so far managed to avoid but we should not, the president, president trump and his visit to this country. what do you think that did tour theresa may for example? i think president trump told an awkward truth for theresa may, and that the brexiteer that she is proposing is going to limit the ability to strike a trade deal with the us and other countries —— the brexit deal that she is proposing. it is tied to the same standards on goods as the european union so therefore, you cannot offer to lower them to american standards. he said that quite openly twice. at nato, a job dropping moment, and then in the the sun interview. it was an extraordinary moments but i think he actually honed in on one of the most

uncomfortable truths for theresa may and she still is not able to really explain that away. george? i think he highlighted the risk with theresa may which is that she comes up with a middle ground option that pleases no one. she can single—handedly alienate the eu and donald trump. the longer that goes on, the greatest pressure she will come underto greatest pressure she will come under to pick a side. she was a relu cta nt under to pick a side. she was a reluctant remainder before a lot of people voted remain, that president trump took office after the vote makes brexit less attractive. why is the time we have the most haphazard, reckless us president we want to leave the eu? that is a question theresa may will continue to be asked. both of you, thank you very much. tom mctague and george eaton, thank you very much. speaking of donald trump, days after tweeting that iran faced consequences "the like of which few throughout history have suffered before", donald trump has said he's ready to make

a deal with the nation. in a speech to the veterans of foreign wars he said "we'll see what happens", as well as talking about the denuclearisation of north korea. iran is not the same country any more. that i can say. and we'll see what happens. but we're ready to make a real deal, not the deal that was done the previous administration which was a disaster. we are also pursuing that the nuclearization of north korea and a new future of prosperity, security and peace on the korean peninsula —— denuclearization. new imagesjust today show that north korea has begun the process of dismantling a key missile site and we appreciate that. we had a fantastic meeting with chairman kim, and it seems to be going very well. president trump. the headlines on bbc news:

wildfires sweep across coastal towns near athens, leaving more than 70 dead — in greece's worst fire disaster in more than a decade. here, a million public sector workers are set to receive their biggest pay rises in nearly a decade, following a government announcement. labour says it's a pr stunt. theresa may takes personal control of brexit talks with the eu, as the new brexit secretary insists he hasn't been sidelined. and we'll hear how the facial recognition of a west midlands police officer is so sharp, he's been given a special award. a woman who posted a video on snapchat of her boyfriend dying has been found guilty of orchestrating his killing. the old bailey heard that fatima khan plotted with a love rival to kill khalid safi, who she had been seeing for two years. the jury heard how he had been repeatedly stabbed in the chest by the other man. fatima khan uploaded footage of khalid safi dying

to the social media site along with an offensive message. the old baileyjury found her guilty of manslaughter. the man who donated millions of pounds to the brexit campaign is under scrutiny for paying thousands of pounds to a leading politician in the small african kingdom of lesotho. arron banks has mining interests there and neighbouring south africa. in a bbc interview, mr banks admitted paying money into the personal account of a lesothan government minister, but denied that the payment amounted to a bribe. manveen rana reports. 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 the 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 and labelled 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 isn't easy. the more friends you've got within the government, the more likely it is that you will succeed in a permit application. what do they expect? you got to grease some palms. arron banks has certainly invested in making friends in government. not only was he a political donor to the basotho 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 hunt for diamonds. well, mr arron banks and myself as the leader of the party, this is the system that we have. you see, lesotho is overwhelmed with corruption. do you think that there is a danger that if it

goes into a separate, private account, that can look corrupt in its own way? no, no. no. in 2014, during a military coup, arron banks not only paid this rent, but the prime minister told me that he had also been funded by arron banks in south africa. did he help you personally? we were good friends. while you were in exile, did he help? he did. what sort of help did he give? we needed to buy food. seriously, we needed to buy stuff to wash. we showed our interviews to a leading corruption investigator in south africa who has the authority to file a criminal case with the national prosecutor. we will be carrying out further investigations of our own. what we call forensic investigations. and then i will be opening

a criminal docket. a docket is evidence sent to the national prosecuting authority in south africa, setting out the case for corruption charges. arron banks has been informed of the investigation, and when i spoke to him yesterday, he denied that he had funded the prime minister but he did not deny his relationship with another government minister. did he ever ask you for money? yes. did you ever pay money? yes. do you think that was appropriate? yes. you are putting money into a personal account. it's not corruption at all. he was a government minister. he was the minister for women's equality. i don't see how you link the two. this isn't going into a charity account, it is not going into his party's account. you're putting money into a personal account for him. 0ften often in this south african account too. did that not seem suspicious? no. following our investigation, arron banks, one of the biggest political donors in british history, is now under scrutiny

for his funding of politicians in a tiny mountain kingdom half a world away. manveen rana, abc news. —— bbc news. how good are you at remembering people? if you think you have something of a knack for never forgetting a face, you may have met your match in andy pope. his extraordinary facial recognition skills? have been honoured with a chief constable's award. andy is a police community support 0fficer,?and his rare talent comes in rather handy. emma thomas put him to the test. this is pcso andy pope. in the last six years, 1300 suspected criminals have been arrested after he is recognised their faces. apparently i've got a look, according to my colleagues, when i see somebody. it's like a sniffer dog, i kind of zone out and trying remember where i have seen that face. pcso pope's talent has now been recognised itself by a policing award. but can he recognise this person? andy, we really do need to speak to this lady as a matter of urgency.

let's see if he can find me. andy pope is one ofjust 20 people in the world who have passed a scientific test to join the association of super recognisers. he has a record of spotting offenders wanted for crimes committed even years ago. but today, he took just seconds to find me. emma. hello. nice to meet you. i finally found you. so how does he do it? there might be something distinctive on a certain face or whether it's just the whole face itself. when i was tested down in greenwich, they basically said that i sort of do it holistically, so i break the face down. subconsciously i don't realise i'm doing that but that's apparently how i do it. perhaps the biggest fan of andy's talent is his boss.

oh, it is remarkable. i'm always at him. "bring andy in, i need him to have a look at this cctv. bring andy in, i need a look at this still." and actually, do you know what? he has recognised that many offenders, so not only are we catching and taking them off the street, really important to me, we're giving justice to the victims. and for me, that is really, really important. so if you are out there, watch it, because we're coming for you. and if there is anyone who can, andy can. emma thomas, bbc midlands today, birmingham. despite rain in some parts of the uk today, it won't have escaped your notice that the heatwave continues for many of us — and it's due to get hotter, peaking on thursday or friday. sian lloyd has been taking a look at some of the businesses that are winning and losing in the heat. breakfast alfresco for this family from lincoln, camping on the gower 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 have a family holiday abroad, but this year,

we have come back here. it feels like we are abroad. it's been a bumper yearfor bookings, with every pitch taken. we haven't, i'm afraid. we are fully booked, i am afraid. they are having to turn customers away for now but the campsite's owners say the heatwave will benefit the business in the longer term. people are booking for september and october and we are already receiving a lot of 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 see the forecast is this weather, what can we do to make sure we get families and footfall in our city centre and through our doors? high street shops hope the sales will warm up in time for christmas, but this farmer says it's too hot for christmas. there is some burning on the edge. you can see the tree's just wilting.

30,000 christmas tree saplings have died in the dry weather. i'm doing rain dances, praying for rain and just keeping an eye on things at the moment. 0n the beach, they are toasting the sunshine and hope for more days like these to come. sian lloyd, bbc news, swansea. will there be more days like this to come? i know somebody has got an answer. for all of us, it's been a hot day. east anglia for temperatures up above 30 degrees. some spells of sunshine. contrast that with the scenes across western scotland, where we had thicker cloud can to integers topping out around 18 degrees. much of that cloud breaking up degrees. much of that cloud breaking up through the evening. —— and temperatures topping around. temperatures not dropping far across the southeast, always a little bit cooler in fresher up in the northwest. apart from its early

mist, a beautiful start to the day in terms of sunshine. plenty of it. as we go on through to the afternoon, small chance of a shower in the southeast, but temperatures here to get to about 32 degrees. just a measure cloud in the far northwest, 22 degrees in belfast, 23 in glasgow. some places could hit 35 but there's the chance of some vicious thunderstorms on friday. hello, i'm karin giannone, this is 0utside source. the worst wildfires for a decade hit greece leaving more than 70 dead. survivors report taking desparate measures to escape with their lives. translation: thankfully, the sea was there, and we went into the sea because the flames were chasing us all the way to the water. it burned our backs, and we jumped into the water. with extremes of hot weather affecting places from sweden's arctic circle to japan, we'll be looking at why

this is happening, and the link to climate change. also in the programme, hundreds of people are missing in laos after a dam breaks, unleashing a massive deadly flood. and if you want to get in touch, the hashtag is #bbcos.