this is bbc news. i'm chris rogers. the headlines at 3pm. travel disruption at airports, on the roads and in the eurotunnel, as the recent weather continues to cause problems — some ryanair flights from stansted have been cancelled. 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 occasionally providing a poor service — and apologises. also coming up — australian sailor wendy tuck has become the first female skipper to ever win the clipper round the world yacht race. thousands watched her team return to liverpool, nearly a year after 12 yachts set out from the city. i feel a bit of everything at the moment. can't wait to see my mum and my brother! the cast for the next star wars film is revealed — and it will include previously unseen footage of the late actress carrie fisher.

and at 330 click goes to hollywood and visits a virtual reality film studio. first it was the hot weather causing disruption, now its storms leading to misery for tens of thousands of people. violent storms and lightning strikes have caused the cancellation of flights and trains. among the worst affected have been stansted airport, the eurotunnel and the east coast mainline. simonjones reports. the holiday getaway from hell, seemingly unending queues at stansted airport as flights were cancelled, blamed on the thunderstorms that meant planes couldn't fly safely. after waiting for several hours, many had to give up and head home.

it's just incredible how unaccountable they are, there is no—one here to deal with it. the queues are never ending. people are supposed to wait. it's ridiculous. we have been waiting for six hours. then they say that the flight is delayed. then we come back here, another queue for ten hours, just to talk with them. the storms that swept in, heralding the end of the heatwave, were supposed to put a stop to this, too — the chaos at the channel tunnel. for three days, trains had been unable to run at full capacity because it was too hot. the air conditioning couldn't cope. now it's much cooler, but delays have gone up, a six and a half hour wait for some. the company says it's taking time to bring back the carriages that had to be taken out of service. lightning strikes have also taken out some rail services. whoa! and members of the rmt union have walked out on strike on southwestern railway and eurostar.

weather alerts remain in place, warning of danger, as the weather continues to claim lives. this morning, a body was found close to the beach at clacton on sea in essex, after a teenager went missing in the water. simonjones, bbc simon jones, bbc news. we can speak to katherine da costa who's at stansted airport. what is happening? in the last half an hourwe what is happening? in the last half an hour we have had an update, more information about what has caused the disruption here and we know that 30 departures were cancelled last night affecting ryanair, thomas cook, easyjet and a few others. cancellations means that planes are in the wrong position and that leads to knock on effects today and that is why we have seen so many delays. we have spoken to many tired and frustrated travellers who have spent the night here at the airport sleeping on the floor, many of them

with very young children, and they described last night as chaos. huge crowds and cramped conditions and waiting many hours without any information. today the queues started to subside. the check—in areas were started to subside. the check—in areas we re clear started to subside. the check—in areas were clear about ryanair seems to be worst affected, still suffering from delays and cancellations, although the airline has not confirm how many have cancelled today. we have had plenty of stories of people saying they have to wait 2a hours for the next flight have to wait 2a hours for the next flight and when they had managed to get on the plane they then waited on the tarmac for six hours to be told the tarmac for six hours to be told the plane had missed its spot and they had to return to the airport. sta nsted says they had to return to the airport. stansted says the huge crowds were caused because passengers had decided to stay at the airport and rebooked after their flight had been cancelled. they say passengers should speak to their airlines to

get the latest information. ryanair have blamed the cancellations on the weather but also they have said there were air traffic control staff shortages and that has caused further disruption including delays and these cancellations. the company has said it has contacted affected customers by text and e—mail offering refunds or seats on the next available flight and it has apologised and said the weather conditions were simply beyond their control. thanks forjoining us. female skippers have taken first and second place in the clipper round the world yacht race — a first in team ocean racing. australian wendy tuck became the first female skipper to win the 40,000 nautical mile event on the boat sanya serenity coast, with british skipper nikki henderson coming second. and we can go live now to the winners trophy presentation in liverpool.

she said she hates banging on about women, but she's very proud. this is history in the making, though. the first and second teams who are skippered by women. we're expecting wendy tutt to receive her winning trophy —— wendy tuck. huge crowds have turned out, by the way. the event has been going on since 1996. they have gone to destinations including uruguay, south africa, china, and northern ireland. nearly half of the crews have come from 41 countries and had no previous sailing experience before signing up. i'm sure you've done it, travelling on the underground, and

you have seen posters asking for people to sign up to the challenge, but these people have gone for it, raising money. some of them have jobs to go back to and some don't, but they have been away from their families for a year. incredible achievement. well done to wendy tuck and also nikki henderson, only 25 yea rs and also nikki henderson, only 25 years old. she and her team came in second. we are going to stay with this because we are expecting wendy tuck to come to the stage, the australian who has won the clipper challenge. we can listen in to our commentators. commentator: victorious over all, will you please give your biggest round of applause

for wendy tuck and her team? cheering and applause wendy, where are you? come to me. making all the headlines, you are the talk of the world and liverpool is very proud to have you here. the first female skipper to achieve something so great, how do you feel? tired. talk us through your adventure. 11 months ago i met this team and we said we would like to finish in the top four, but they have worked very hard and we have got better and better. friends and family and supporters, please make some noise. cheering and applause 0ff

off she goes. lifted up like the trophy! you have some special guests to welcome onstage. to present the framed photos, first—place pennants and a magnum of wine, the founders of the clipper round the yacht race, along with the mayor, miss world and the minister for sport tracy crouch who will present you with the winner's trophy. studio: i'm sure they would rather just winner's trophy. studio: i'm sure they would ratherjust have the champagne after 12 months at sea! wendy tuck at the first female skipper to win the round the world yacht race. nearly a year after 12

yachts set out from liverpool. they are all amateurs led by professional skippers, many of them giving up theirjobs and say goodbye to family and friends to set off on the 40,000 nautical mile race. nikki henderson, british skipper, 25, she came second with her team. there is the champagne, they will be grateful for that. miss world and miss uk have p°pped that. miss world and miss uk have popped along to say congratulations. they are all there. the minister for sport and the founder of the clipper race, as well. they will be looking for the next lot that want to sail around the world in 12 months. congratulations to wendy tuck and her team and also to nikki

henderson, anybody can do it, that is what they say. voters are being systematically manipulated by the spread of fake news, according to a group of mps. in a report due tomorrow, but which has already been leaked, the culture, digital media and sport select committee says the uk is facing a "democratic crisis." it's urging tighter regulation of political posts on social media and measures to combat interference in elections. 0ur politcal correspondent suzana mendonca is here. susana, what's the background to this? we are not torque people who their information wrong and thence put it on twitter, this is systemic criminality —— we are not talking about people who get their information wrong and then put it on twitter. yes, much of this is not illegal because the laws around political campaigning have not kept up political campaigning have not kept up with the movement in technology, so up with the movement in technology, so whereas we have leaflets which go

through doors but we have a lot of this online campaigning where we don't know where it is coming from. there were the revelations about people's personal data being harvested on facebook by cambridge analytical which was being used in order to influence the us election, and mps have been looking at whether something similar has been happening in the eu referendum and they have been looking at whether they have been looking at whether they have been influenced from foreign countries like russia, for example, and if you look at the wording of the report it is pretty strong language. they say the uk is facing a democratic crisis and that voters are being relentlessly targeted by online messages that are basically preying on theirfears online messages that are basically preying on their fears and prejudices in order to influence the way they vote. so what are the

recommendations? it is not easy to police. quite far ranging in terms of what they are suggesting, government would have to decide if these things came into play, but firstly they are looking at new online campaigning roles so basically the idea that you would have to make it clear where adverts come from —— rules. many of the adverts generated online, you don't know where they come from, and you also want it so that anybody can see the adverts which are targeted at other individuals because the problem is people get targeted according to their interests. if you are according to their interests. if you a re interested according to their interests. if you are interested in immigration or animal welfare you will be targeted with adverts around that. another recommendation is to have a tax on social media networks and what the mps are saying is that the social media networks have a responsibility andi media networks have a responsibility and i can't just

media networks have a responsibility and i can'tjust carry on hiding behind the idea that they are a platform and not a publisher —— they can't just. there needs platform and not a publisher —— they can'tjust. there needs to be a new category for them, mps are saying, and they need to be taxed in order for that to find the new regulations around them and also to fund education in schools and awareness programmes about what fake news is. another recommendation is the electoral commission, the watchdog which polices the processes, should be given the power to impose tougher fines because at the moment the electoral commission can only impose fines of just electoral commission can only impose fines ofjust £20,000. there have been warnings from some campaigners who say mps risk overreacting and impeding people's right to freedom of speech and we heard from dominic cummings, the former director of vote leave the official campaign to leave the eu, and healy this report yesterday —— he leaked this report.

he refused to be involved in the report, he was not interviewed. he has described this as fake news. we have heard from the government, as well, and this is a report from backbench mps and so the government would have to take on these recommendations for this to come into play, they have said they will look at the report and by looking at online safety laws to make it much more safe than it is now. thanks for joining us. much more on that tomorrow when the report officially comes up. a man travelling by horse and cart has been killed in a collision with a car in south east london. the victim, who's in his 30s, was pronounced dead at the scene on the a2016 near thamesmead this morning. the horse was put down because of its injuries and a 30 year—old motorist has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving. 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. she'd been reported missing the night before. the man remains in police custody. the chief constable of england's second largest police force says budget cuts mean the current level of policing in the west midlands is not sustainable. dave thompson has apologised to people who feel they've received a poor service from his officers — whose numbers have fallen by around a quarter since 2010. mr thompson says he's having to prioritise which crimes to investigate. sima kotecha reports. a taxi driver doing hisjob, and then attacked. one of the guys came and smashed the windscreen wipers, threw more bricks, and one of the guys, i did not even see from where he came, he threw a pile of bricks on me. and first it hit me, i was like that, in this position, so it hit me on my elbow,

and then on this side, then ijust lie down and i saw them running. he says he was repeatedly targeted in a matter of minutes. his arm and waist were severely bruised. but he claims the police response was nil, leaving him feeling afraid and deflated. i don't feel safe. they're not scared of the police because they feel they will not get caught. that is what they told you to your face. west midlands police admits at times it's struggling to cope and that it simply cannot investigate every crime because of a lack of resources. sometimes that service that we provide in those peak times does not meet what the public expect, i get that. sometimes that service will be a poor service. sometimes, actually, the service is what we can and say we will offer. and sometimes that might not always be what the public want to see. the head of the country's second—largest force goes even further and says sorry. demand on the service is going up because actually local authorities and other services have been reduced.

some more vulnerable people are coming to the police and we are absolutely at a point where that is not a sustainable position for policing any more and i'm sorry about that, but that is the reality where policing is now. west midlands police has experienced the biggest budget cut of any other force in the country. it has 2,000 fewer police officers today than it had in 2010 and over the next few years, it expects to lose hundreds more. new figures show the number of front line police officers in england and wales has reduced by 20,000 over the last eight years. 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 thoroughly, but according to the officer who leads the force, that's simply not possible. sima kotecha, bbc news, in the west midlands. a raging wildfire in northern california has killed two

firefighters and forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes. officials say the fires are being sucked up by strong winds to form "fire tornados" that are uprooting trees and overturning cars. more than 3,000 fire fighters are trying to prevent the flames spreading. 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. earlier, the constituency party of kate hoey at vauxhall in south london took a similar decision. the headlines on bbc news. travel disruption at airports, on the roads and at eurotunnel, as the recent heatwave continues to cause problems — some ryanair flights from stansted have been cancelled. 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 occasionally providing a poor service — and apologises. large crowds of supporters of the two main candidates in zimbabwe's election have gathered in the capital harare, on the last day of campaigning before monday's presidential elections — the first since robert mugabe was ousted last november. emmerson mnangagwa is hoping to legitimise his rule. the leader of the main opposition mdc, nelson chamisa, is popular among the young and unemployed. he's already warned that the election is being rigged. we can speak to our zimbabwe correspondent nomsa maseko who's in harare. it is always tense when it comes to politics in africa but this is the first time st bob were has a chance to break away —— the first time

zimbabwe has a chance to break away from someone like robert mugabe. that is the reality people are hoping to see, especially on the streets of harare where young people are talking about wanting change, and we heard earlierfrom are talking about wanting change, and we heard earlier from the president emmerson mnangagwa who would like to legitimise his leadership. there was a military coup which ousted robert mugabe. emmerson mnangagwa wants to legitimise his leadership and this has been described as the most important election since independence because the name of robert mugabe is not going to be on the ballot paper and also that of the ballot paper and also that of the late former prime minister. when it comes to the election itself, how

can we trust the art, and the votes and the conduct of those counting the votes? —— how can we trust the outcome. for the first time in decades international observers have been allowed inside the country to monitor the elections and that is seen monitor the elections and that is seen as a monitor the elections and that is seen as a positive start and also the fact there has not been violence in the lead up to these elections, and also the fact that opposition supporters are walking hand—in—hand. wearing their respective colours. walking towards their respective rallies. this was never seen especially in 2013 which was the last election where the former president robert mugabe won. so you

are getting a sense of zimbabwe turning a corner? that is what is going on. especially regarding boats and young voters, who are optimistic they want change and they want whoever wins to take the country forward —— especially regarding voters. and make sure that young people get employment which is one of the reasons why they have been going after two neighbouring countries in south africa in search ofjobs. —— countries in south africa in search of jobs. —— going countries in south africa in search ofjobs. —— going off to neighbouring countries. thanks for joining us. you can keep up—to—date with all the developments on the baby —— bbc news website as the voting begins. the cast for the next star wars film has been revealed with a mixture of veteran stars and new faces set to appear. the late actress carrie fisher

will also feature, using previously unseen footage. fisher, who played princess leia in the film series, died suddenly in 2016. we are told it will be without special effects or cgi. veterans mark hamill, who plays luke skywalker, and anthony daniels who plays c—3p0, have also been confirmed. joining me now is star wars fan zsofi szemeredy. any spoilers in this cast announcement? does this give you an inkling of where the storyline is going? the fact that orlando is coming back —— lando is coming back, thatis coming back —— lando is coming back, that is good news. the plot is important because star wars lost fa ns important because star wars lost

fans with throw? —— with the last jedi? yes, it wasn't the best, but i'm hoping that jj jedi? yes, it wasn't the best, but i'm hoping thatjj abrahams will fix this. he did a good job with the force awa kens. this. he did a good job with the force awakens. how important is it that these films continue to be good and continue to be gripping because there are so many now in the franchise? it will always be important. it was the first film i ever saw when i important. it was the first film i ever saw when i was a important. it was the first film i ever saw when i was a kid and i went into the film business because of it and it will always be... there is someone and it will always be... there is someone working in the gallery today who has never seen a star wars film. it is adam. everybody knows now. does that surprise you? some of my friends haven't seen star wars and i a lwa ys friends haven't seen star wars and i always promise i'm going to tie them toa

always promise i'm going to tie them to a chair. but there are many people who are watching star wars that have never watched it before because of disney who are able to catch up with the storyline and get two groups with it but are enjoying it and there is something very special about the plot —— get to grips with it. they have introduced it to the young kids, as well. the old characters are important. you are pleased that princess leia is going to continue? very much. how important is that? very important and it is good that she will have a nice ending now and that she will not be a gi character because that would have been very bad. —— cgi character. in the last film she dies within the first 30 minutes, well, you think she has. are there any other surprises in the cast? richard e grant. that is great. i never

thought i would see him in a star wa rs thought i would see him in a star wars film. what kind of character? hopefully a bad character. he nearly became doctor who. he would have made a very good doctor who. what about the films since disney took over? there was concern it would come to childish and too young. over? there was concern it would come to childish and too youngm is. are you happy so far? i will a lwa ys is. are you happy so far? i will always be happy to watch the new star wars films but it is more than my brothers generation and my siblings generation because they enjoy it. it is not like the originals were. it is merchandising. we have more funny toys. it is very

big all over the world, of course. thanks forjoining us. last night millions of people witnessed the longest lunar eclipse this century as the moon passed through earth's shadow and turned a striking shade of red, or ruddy brown, for one hour and 43 minutes. visibility was limited in the uk because of cloud, but the so—called "blood moon" was visible from europe, the middle east, africa, australia, most of asia and south america. we are still struggling with the weather. now it's time for a look at the weather with tomasz. for a time this morning skies were looking like this but the cloud have rolled in and a dramatic change to our weather in the last 24 hours or stop very blustery weekend in front with showers and very heavy rain and there is an amber in northern

ireland, torrential rain coming and going, so check your local weather. elsewhere it is hit and miss showers and sunshine, as well, and another speu and sunshine, as well, and another spell of very heavy rain and strong winds on the way to south—western parts of the uk and there could be a lot of rain in the brecon beacons and south—western parts of england and south—western parts of england and coastal areas on sunday and through the afternoon, with gusts of 40-50, through the afternoon, with gusts of 40—50, and you can see the rain sweeping north and east across the country. a fresher datamirror still, around the high teens —— a fresher day tomorrow still.