this is bbc news. i'm shaun ley. the headlines: mps warn british democracy is in crisis because of targeted campaigns of hate and misinformation on social media. the chief constable of the west midlands admits his police force is, at times, providing a poor service, and he apologises. we are incredibly busy. sometimes the service doesn't meet what the public expect. welcome relief for some as the cool air arrives — but strong winds could cause travel disruption as temperatures drop across the uk. also coming up, australian sailor wendy tuck has become the first woman skipper to ever win the clipper round the world yacht race. the families of the sailors onboard were waiting at liverpool to welcome them back to dry land. he has done some sailing from the

caribbean but this was epic. and at 11:30am we will hearjane hill and her guests discuss what the future of syria holds. good morning. voters are being systematically manipulated by the spread of fake news, according to a group of mps. a report from the commons culture, digital media and sport select committee, which was leaked by one of the witnesses, warns the uk is facing a "democratic crisis." the report is due to be published tomorrow. the commitee says there should be tighter regulation of social media networks and new measures to combat attempts to interfere with elections.

our technology correspondent, rory cellan—jones, reports. this report pulls together the story of an inquiry which has roamed far and wide, looking into the scandal over cambridge analytica's harvesting of facebook data, examining the use of data during the eu referendum campaign, and the extent of foreign interference in uk politics. it's the language used which is most striking — there's talk of the relentless targeting of hyper—partisan views, which play to the fears and prejudices of people. it warns that our democracy is at risk and calls among the measures the mps demand are new rules to make online political campaigning more transparent, and greater powers for the electoral commission. they are also fiercely critical of the former director of vote leave, dominic cummings, who refused to appear before them. his decision to leak their report two days before they planned to publish it is unlikely to improve relations. rory cellan—jones, bbc news. let's talk to our political correspondent. in the sense there are not surprises

in the result because we have heard a lot of this criticism before. in the result because we have heard a lot of this criticism beforem is the town of it, because we have mps calling it a democratic crisis. they've make it clear they think this is serious. they have been looking into this since last year, looking into this since last year, looking at the cambridge analytica scandal, where we saw people's personal data being harvested on facebook in order to influence how they were voting in the us elections in 2016. mp5 they were voting in the us elections in 2016. mps are concerned about what may have happened during the eu referendum here in the uk, and they are also concerned about external foreign influences and interference in uk politics and whether that has been happening. they talk about a democratic crisis, needing tougher regulations, and if you look at the recommendations, they are quite far reaching. for example talking about how you did more clarity about who has made these adverts. sometimes people are bombarded with things and they don't know where it has come

from. they don't even know if it is an advert. exactly, and if you look at leaflets you get through your door, you know which party it has come from. with many of these social media adverts, you do not know where they have come from. they are saying that should be made clear. also they talk about how there should be a register so everyone talk about how there should be a register so everyone can see talk about how there should be a register so everyone can see what m essa 9 es register so everyone can see what messages are being put out there, because a lot of targeted messages are sent to targeted individuals. say you are interested in immigration or animal welfare, you are targeted with specific adverts that other people do not have access to. so potentially buries the possibility of villagers being urged to vote for contradictory things, and nobody would ever know. yes. they also talking about finds. the electrical mission can only impose fines of £20,000 per person. peanuts. yes, so they are talking

about increasing that an taxing social media companies so it campaignfor social media companies so it campaign for education. let's get more on this with jamie bartlett, director of social media at the think—tank demos, which is on the centre left of politics. he's also written a book, "people vs tech", which looks at how the internet could be killing democracy. a lot of these findings went surprise you very much but what do you make of the suggested ways of dealing with it? yes, the report, even though on the face of it it is about fake news, really it has morphed into something quite different, about these targeted adverts and platform responsibility, which i think is quite right. i think they are the long—term threats and risks to democracy. as for the recommendations, yes, some of it as your correspondent said, pretty far reaching. some kind of model likely

financial conduct authority where tech firms would be taxed and regulated to have more power, the report also suggested, and i think this is pretty different, a sort of new category. we have always talked about whether tech firms are platforms or publishers. should they be legally responsible for what is posted? the committee says, quite bravely, i think, posted? the committee says, quite bravely, ithink, that posted? the committee says, quite bravely, i think, that they are neither and should be treated as a new category, it is kind of like a platform, relatively neutral, but with more responsibility. i think that final recommendation that your correspondent mentioned, this register of all political adverts that are put on line, bringing the law up to speed, that is absolutely essential. the electoral commission has said so, the information commissioner's office has said so. i think that will actually pass but it has to do is fairly quickly. is there a danger this will get caught up there a danger this will get caught up in the argument about how the new referendum was conducted, and people

will end upjust referendum was conducted, and people will end up just been referendum was conducted, and people will end upjust been pushed back into their traditional partisan positions on that rather than engaging with the argument behind it, which is about more than just that referendum campaign, it is about every election still to come. i hope not. the way that i see this, it is not just i hope not. the way that i see this, it is notjust about i hope not. the way that i see this, it is not just about where i hope not. the way that i see this, it is notjust about where the tech is now, where is developing? we are producing more data and they will be more of this coming. this report to me is about the long—term integrity of elections. people trust that they are fairly held and they are getting accurate information. but i agree there is a risk that this gets dragged into this debate about brexit. so pro—brexit people will dismiss a lot of it, those who are anti—brexit will say, this is why we should have another referendum. the more important thing, i think, is the long—term health of democracy. it isa the long—term health of democracy. it is a risk. i hope it doesn't

happen but i fear it unfortunately probably will. and when you look at the scale of the problem we are facing, how much responsibility rests on us to be a bit more savvy as users of the internet. this stuff comes at us but we don'tjust have to ta ke comes at us but we don'tjust have to take it at face value. comes at us but we don'tjust have to take it at face valuelj comes at us but we don'tjust have to take it at face value. i actually think we are more responsible, more knowledgeable about the risks of fa ke knowledgeable about the risks of fake information or misleading adverts than we were even one year ago. ina adverts than we were even one year ago. in a strange way, all of these stories, cambridge analytica and the rest, i think has done is a rather good service in alerting us to this stuff. things are better on those respect, government regulation on what is and isn't fake news would bea on what is and isn't fake news would be a really bad thing here. we have to be more discerning as users of these services. would probably need a bit of help government to make

these rules clearer, but at the end of the day it is down to us. in our world we are bombarded with contradictory information 2a hours a day and our duty as citizens is to get informed, get knowledgeable, sceptical, and make decisions ourselves. thank you. many will welcome some cooler weather today — but strong winds could cause travel disruption as temperatures drop across the uk. two months of sunshine and dry weather mean that some parched trees are at risk of falling down when hit by anticipated gusts of a0 to 50 miles per hour. ben ando reports. from sunshine by bc... two ha ilstones from sunshine by bc... two hailstones in the street. and lightning overhead. it may have felt like four seasons in one day for parts of the uk as storms swept in to bring the heatwave to an end. cooler temperatures may have brought relief to those feeling the heat of

the last few weeks, but travellers have seen little respite, with ongoing problems of air conditioning equipment leaving long queues at the channel tunnel, and bad conditions on the roads. in york there were problems on the railways and tom jones cancelled his show at the city's racecourse. bad weather overnight is causing delays and cancellations for other flights at airports including edinburgh, birmingham and luton. looking ahead, forecasters say temperatures should stay lowered to date but the big issue could be high winds, with gusts of up to 50 mph, and that could be more problematic than usual, because trees are more brittle and prone to breaking, which could lead to more disruption,

dismay and disgru ntlement. police in essex have provisionally identified a body found near to clacton pier this morning as the missing 15—year—old ben quartermaine. he went missing near the pier on thursday evening. the death is not being treated as suspicious but the cause of death is currently unknown. the chief constable of england's second largest police force has admitted it sometimes provides a poor service that fails to meet public expectations. in an interview with the bbc, west midlands police chief dave thompson said budget cuts meant a full range of policing could not be delivered. sima kotecha reports. a taxidriver in birmingham. he says one afternoon, a group of men threw some bricks at him. he claims the police response was nil. i don't feel safe. they are not scared of police because they feel they will not get caught. that's what they told you on your face. like other police forces across the country, west midlands police admits, at times, it's struggling. the man in charge says sorry. the demand on the service is going up because, actually,

local authorities and other services have been reduced, so more vulnerable people come into the place. and we are absolutely at a point where that is not a sustainable position for policing anymore. and i'm sorry about that, but that's the reality of where policing is now. all the forces across the uk have seen their funding cut since 2010. new figures show the number of frontline police officers in england and wales has reduced by 20,000 over the same period. the government says this force will get millions of extra cash over the next year and that it expects the police to investigate every crime properly. but according to the officer who leads the force, that's simply not possible. sima kotecha, bbc news, in the west midlands. a 24—year—old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder and sexual activity with a child, following the death of a 13—year—old girl. lucy mchugh‘s body was found in woodland in southampton on thursday, after she was reported missing.

the man remains in custody. let's look now at the case of jack shepherd, the man convicted of the manslaughter of charlotte. she had beenin manslaughter of charlotte. she had been in his boat on the thames with him when the boat was involved in an accident. she wasn't wearing a life jacket. charlotte's mum roz, and her sister katie, have been at the old bailey for the duration of the trial. he had absconded earlier and was not there and they have appealed for him to turn up and face justice. they've been speaking to bbc breakfast along with with met police family liaison officer gavin seeley. our opinion of him is that he is a coward, confirmed by a statement he

had written earlier this week. the judge read it out yesterday, and he said the recent was he didn't want to face us, and that he was a coward. menu on the friday before trial, so we were going to trial on the monday morning and both chris andl the monday morning and both chris and i went to the old bailey and had and i went to the old bailey and had a hearing and we had an indication —— and we had an inclination that something was going on. then we had for the first time that jack shepherd is not likely to attend his trial. a big decision to make up that point. it is a friday, the family have geared up for three—year is to get to this day, the monday of trial. do i tell the family on that friday by phone call, because they are out of london, risk losing their weekend or worrying over the weekend, or doi weekend or worrying over the weekend, or do i tell them face to face? i'd make the decision to talk to the mum and dad face on the

monday morning because then we have... the next question is, what happens? we then have a legal argument on the monday morning. it isa argument on the monday morning. it is a manslaughter case at the old bailey. do we have this trial in his absence or are we instructed by the judge to go find him and then we have the trial when we find him? he has brought devastation to our family, it is not an understatement —— and that isn't a statement. charlotte has lost her life unnecessarily. she had everything to live. she had been to university, had a good job, she was young. he did not give that one second consequence in his mind that night, that his actions would take her life. charlotte brown and herfamily charlotte brown and her family along with gavin seeley from the metropolitan police talking to cut earlier. the headlines:

mps warn british democracy is in crisis because of targeted campaigns of hate and misinformation on social media. the chief constable of the west midlands admits his police force is, at times, providing a poor service — and he apologises. welcome relief for some as the cool air arrives — but strong winds could cause travel disruption as temperatures drop across the uk. female skippers have taken first and second place in the clipper round the world yacht race — a first in team ocean racing. the 40,000 nautical mile race set off 11 months ago and ended in liverpool this morning. our correspondent peter harris is live in liverpool for us now. good morning. it has been an exciting couple of hours. it has. it isa exciting couple of hours. it has. it is a shame about the weather. they probably expected the heatwave of the last couple of months. they

arrived back on the mersey to traditional english weather. it is a real feat for these people. traditional english weather. it is a realfeat for these people. one traditional english weather. it is a real feat for these people. one of the keys of this race is that any of those taking part are amateurs, not professional sailors. they are skippered by professionals but you can imagine what a daunting experience that must have been 11 months ago, when they set out here from liverpool. on their travels, 40,000 nautical miles, they've been to uruguay, china, new york, cape town, and then back here to liverpool. of course, along the way, all kinds of different weather conditions that they have had to face. mark is the race organiser. you must be a busy man. busy today, but very happy. this is such a feat for people who are not professional. what kind of an experience is that for them? amazing. to go around the world leaving friends and family and just facing the elements. extreme

heat, large waves, storms, apart from the elements, you have the challenge of living onboa rd from the elements, you have the challenge of living onboard with 20 other people and managing everything, and that is a huge challenge. and you have been around the world to every different point. they must be facing different conditions every day. massively. uses their faces when they come in and you heartheir uses their faces when they come in and you hear their stories on the dock. we have a winner. tell us about them and their achievement. the winners are led by australian skipper wendy tuck, the first female to wina skipper wendy tuck, the first female to win a round the world yacht race. and good news for liverpool. yes, we have started and finished in liverpool several times and to be able to race right up the river mersey is pretty special. there is a crowd of about 200,000

people here. and the crews will be going round the docs here in liverpool through the day and we hope to catch up with some of them when they come ashore. thank you. labour party members in birkenhead have passed a motion condemning their pro—brexit mp, frank field, for supporting the government in the commons last week. they also urged the party at westminster to withdraw the whip from mr field. he has been in birkenhead since 1979. -- he he has been in birkenhead since 1979. —— he has been mp in birkenhead. earlier, the constituency party of kate hoey at vauxhall in south london took a similar decision. travel disruption continues for many across the the uk after the hot and stormy weather yesterday. at the moment there are delays of up to five hours on the eurotunnel. they've asked passengers not to travel unless absolutely necessary. p&o ferries are asking customers to allow an extra 90 minutes to clear all security checks at dover.

and members of the rmt union at south western railway and eurostar are on strike for 24 hours over separate disputes. south western railway says half of its services in south—west london and southern counties of england will be cancelled. but eurostar say a normal service will run. and this was the scene at stansted airport this morning. thunderstorms across europe had a knock on effect in the uk with delays and cancellations last night. stansted say they are no cancellations today but there delays and some restrictions because of continued storm activity in europe. and long queues this morning were caused by passengers spending the night in the airport. the advice today is check with your individual airline before you fly. we can get some advice for real from our reporter at stansted. what has been the knock on effect and how long will the disruption last? as

you can imagine, lots of frustrated travellers here today. it is the busiest weekend of the year, thousands of people are expecting to fly off on their holidays for the start of the school holidays, but because of the fund storms across europe, many flights have been grounded and cancelled and that has caused a nap and effect here at sta nsted. —— a caused a nap and effect here at stansted. —— a knock—on effect. people have posted on social media about the huge crowds and many people crammed into cramped conditions, they say they have spent the night on the floor of the airport. many families with very young children. stansted had said there are not cancellations today, they are open as usual. there is a backlog of delays but passengers are advised to check first with their airlines before travelling. thank you. sport now and a full round—up of all the action, including the tour de france. so is this geraint thomas's day?

one day more. today's time trial is the last barrier to geraint thomas riding into paris to take his place on the biggest podium of all. he began yesterday with mountains on his mind. on the start line in lourdes, welsh cycling fans were hoping their man's time had finally come. thomas and team sky weren't expecting an easy ride, and they didn't get one on the final day in the pyrenees. he does have the strongest team in the race, including chris froome, but eventually their numbers dwindled and, as fourth—placed primoz roglic attacked, froome fell behind, leaving thomas potentially exposed without his last remaining ally. the yellow jersey under threat, but the welshman held firm. his rivals couldn't break him. roglic tried again on the way down and this time, managed to escape. but froome had recovered and led the chase on thomas's behalf,

ensuring roglic couldn't threaten the overall lead — although he did win the stage to take third place overall from froome. but the four—times champion had done his bit for thomas, setting up the man in yellow to sprint home for six bonus seconds — notjust defended his lead, but extending it. congratulations well earned. drew savage, bbc news. those down the bottom of the standings have already started the time trial. the leaders are off later. geraint thomas hasn't dropped a single second, to dumoulan, over the race. the top 20 are split by two minutes

breaks. geraint thomas is last of, at about 3:30pm. it is a 31 kilometre course and they are expected to complete it in about 45 minutes. britain's olympic bronze medallist vicky holland has won the edmonton leg of the world triathlon series. it was an imperious performance from holland — who led out of the water, and the bike, before breaking clear of a number of athletes on the run — including australian ashleigh gentle. and adding to her win in the city in 2015. a trio of british athletes, followed her in third, fourth and fifth so well done too to georgia taylor—brown, jess learmonth and jodie stimpson. jonnie brownlee finished 5th in the men's race. i wasn't sure how that was going to play out. we had a big group of us running together, and i know i've been running well, but i know ashley's such a class competitor, and the other british girls as well. so ijust kept the pressure

on and i sensed that she'd disappeared from my shoulder, like you said, with about 700 to go, so i couldn't look back then. the force india f1 team will complete the remainder of the hungarian grand prix weekend, despite being place into administration. it's understood the team owe more than £160 million to its creditors. final practice is currently under way. sebastian vettel is currently topping the time sheets. the international athletics federation says russia will remain banned from the sport until at least december. they've been suspended since november 2015 following systematic doping, and whilst the iaaf says russian athletics has made significant progress, their ban would remain in place until the council meets again. that's all the sport for now. now the weather. a big change in the weather this weekend. we have lost the heat and

humidity and now have something fresher but windier. there are still some flashes of thunder and rumbles of lightning today. this weather friend is pulling away north and eastwards. the heaviest of the rain is across northern ireland and scotla nd is across northern ireland and scotland through this morning and into the afternoon. further south, sunny spells and frequent showers, particularly for wales and south—west england, where we could have earned and lightning. that and lightning also possibly for scotland for a time. nowhere in the info showers. —— immune from the showers. perhaps the wind will be 50 mph for southern and western coasts. temperatures are 10—12dc lower than recent days. still hot in east anglia in the sunshine. a cool day for northern ireland given the rain and wind. further showers around

this evening. most of them will fade but persistent rain for north—west scotla nd but persistent rain for north—west scotland and another spell of rain arriving for wales and south—west england later in the night but for others a cooler night, a more co mforta ble others a cooler night, a more comfortable night. quite a messy picture tomorrow. more rain to come. notice the squeeze in the isobars and wept again it will be windy. northern ireland potentially drier. heavy and persistent rain stretching from south—west england through wales up into the midlands. it will continue north and eastwards through the day. dry in scotland until the rain arrives in the afternoon. notice the strength of the wind. gusts could get up to 40 or 50 mph again, particularly on the southern and western coast. noticeably more windy than it has been for some time. temperatures fresh. as we going to next week, still some

showers around, on monday, tuesday and wednesday. not as hot as it has been recently but later in the week it turns drier and the temperatures start to rise again. hello, a warm welcome to dateline london, i'mjane hill, and this week we're discussing the british prime minister's summer charm offensive in europe and asking, what is the new deal in the middle east? we'll discuss syria, iran and the us's approach. my guests this week: the british politicaljournalist steve richards, with us before he heads off to the edinburgh festival with his one—man show; from germany's die welt, stephanie bolzen; the editor of the abu—dhabi—based daily the nation, mina al oraibi; and the american writer and broadcasterjeff mcallister. it's summer — school's out, and so is parliament.