today at five — northamptonshire county council prepares for crisis talks about cuts to services — but vows to protect vulnerable people. £70 million must be cut by march — the council is meeting to decide which services it can afford to keep. we're notjust going to slash and burn all the services. we've got to look very carefully at some of the decisions we're going to have to take and they're going to be very difficult. we'll be live as protestors gather outside the council's headquarters. the other main stories on bbc news at five. anger on the streets of harare as election results suggest the ruling zanu—pf party has retained power in zimbabwe. former leader of the english defence league, tommy robinson, is freed on bail after partially winning an appeal against a contempt of court finding. jeremy corbyn says he apologises for the concerns and anxiety caused after he hosted a meeting where the israeli government was compared to the nazis. and, an emergency drought summit —

the national farmers union tells the government the prolonged hot weather is affecting food production. it's five o'clock — our top story. northamptonshire county council is about to begin an extraordinary meeting to discuss cutting up to £70 million worth of services, because of a budget shortfall. after imposing emergency spending controls for the second time in six months, the council is warning it may now have to cut even the most basic services. one of the commissioners appointed by the government to oversee the authority has described the situation as ‘truly perilous‘. our political correspondent tom barton reports. looking after older people,

caring for vulnerable children, repairing the roads, keeping people healthy. all work done by local councils on behalf of local residents. but one authority is warning that soon it might only be able to do the things it is required to by law. northamptonshire county council has warned twice in the last six months that it's at risk of running out of money, and has proposed reducing services to the bare minimum. the suggestion, reducing them to 33 core areas. the council says this is the best service offer it can afford, supporting only those most in need. what we have got to do here is spend within our budgets. making some important decisions

about those statutory services. we have had to make tough decisions about budgets, and we have to make sure that we protect the most vulnerable in both the likes of children's services and adult social care, as well as deliver some of the important other services we do, the likes of highways and highway maintenance. it's a massive, massive ask. the situation is so bad that earlier this year ministers sent commissioners in to oversee how the council is being run. and yet local government experts say other councils are starting to see similar issues. so, could northamptonshire be the canary in the coal mine? northamptonshire has got into a deeper financial hole, and the reason for this is clearly mismanagement locally and unwillingness on the part of councillors to make the tough decisions to bring the budget into balance within the year. other councils have just about managed that, but it's not to say there aren't others that are near the same situation, they are not there yet, but they are near it. over the next eight months, northamptonshire has to save more than £60 million. £7.5 million a month,

15% of its annual budget. even if these proposals are approved, that will be a big challenge. our correspondentjo black is in northampton. just before the meeting gets under way. about 25 minutes the meeting should start, at county hall here in northampton. i can tell you already that people are gathering outside in order to protest against these cuts, about the money that the council are trying to save and the services that might be affected. so there's a small gathering outside county hall and people waving flags, trying to make their voices heard as councillors make their way to the meeting. let me give you some idea of the impact these cuts are having

on people here. subsidised bus routes have been scrapped, highway maintenance has been clawed back, the building i'm standing outside of the building i'm standing outside of the moment, it only opened about a year ago and that has been sold. now the council leader says it is inevitable that there will be cuts to children services and possibly aduu to children services and possibly adult services and of course many people are worried about that. i spoke to people about this today. the financial crisis has been going oi'i the financial crisis has been going on for a long time so i'm glad it has come to light now but i think we are still some way away from resolving it. it is all down to the politicians, it has obviously been mismanaged and i presume we have not raised enough money through rates than the usual things. the government has cut as well, we are struggling. it is depressing and i

wonder if other councils are in the same position, we do not hear about that but i suspect we're not the only ones. it has affected me due to cuts in the local bus services because i have now got to come in four miles to get the bus to go to northampton. a lot of older people are on the bus that i used to catch and now they are stuck in their villages with no way of getting anywhere any more. i spoke to the gmb union here and they say that they are really worried about this story, really worried about members losing theirjobs or story, really worried about members losing their jobs or compulsory redundancies and also concerned about children services which is what many people are really worried about. children services here have

been rated as requiring improvement and there are concerns that if money is taken out of service they would slip back to inadequate. the meeting is just about to begin, no decision will be made tonight, were told by people will be watching with interest especially other local authorities around the country who find themselves in a similar position. and we will be talking more about this story later, i will be speaking to someone who has been campaigning locally for some time to try to save her local library and she will bejoining us try to save her local library and she will be joining us and also try to save her local library and she will bejoining us and also i will speak to the man who the government commissioned earlier in the year to produce a report looking at the state of the council and its finances. that is all coming up after 5:30pm. the president of zimbabwe has called for peace — after police reportedly shot dead a protestor during clashes in harare — over alleged fraud in zimba bwe's elections. emmerson manangagwa was speaking after gunfire, water cannon

and teargas were used against opposition supporters. meanwhile the head of the eu delegation observing the presidential election has said he does not understand why the result is taking so long to announce. richard lister has more. the day started peacefully enough, these supporters of the opposition movement for democratic change waiting for a much delayed announcement about who will be the next president of zimbabwe and many here believe that this election is being stolen from them. if the elections are not raped by are we seeing water cannons in the street. they're waiting for an uprising from the people. why are they delaying this? enough is enough. initially the water cannons stood idle and the riot police content to watch but

then tension rose. gunfire echoed through the streets as soldiers tried to disperse the protesters but here, they fought back. they are shooting, they want to kill civilians. a bbc journalist try to help a man who had been shot but he later died. this election was the first in zimbabwe not to feature robert mugabe who was ousted in november. the opposition movement for democratic change leader nelson chamisa says he has one the popular vote but the ruling party zanu—pf has got a majority in parliament and observers say that there had been problems with the ballot. there have been inducement, soft intimidation, pressure and coercion against

prospective voters in favour of the ruling party. this is the man who would benefit from that, emmerson mnangagwa, a former ally of robert mugabe, and supporters of him believe he has won the presidency. earlier he appealed for people to show patience but these people have waited four years for change and the frustration in the capital is reaching boiling point. police used tear gas and water cannon to clear the streets, another echo of the mugabe era. elsewhere in soldiers moved through the streets, eating those who got in their way. armoured ca i’s those who got in their way. armoured ca rs have those who got in their way. armoured cars have been deployed as well as the authorities prepared to announce who has won the presidency. whatever the result, it is unlikely to be accepted quietly. joining us now from harare is oui’ news correspondent shingai nyoka. just give us a sense of the mood, of

the protest, the scale of the protest because so criticism coming from the eu observers for example. this is the first political violence that we have seen since the departure of robert mugabe and certainly the first outbreak of violence since this electoral process began a few months ago. what we saw earlier on, the protesters that had barricaded the election results centre and they were demanding that the management body released the results immediately, they say the needy — they say the main opposition leader had told him that won the election and they felt any delay would be an indication that the electoral management body is trying to tinker with those results. what we saw then whether police in their vehicles, water cannon, trying to disperse the

protesters and they responded by throwing stones. soldiers that were deployed, we heard gunfire around the city centre and we understand that one person was injured, possibly dead. that has not been confirmed yet. we've also seen pictures of various people posted on social media injured. emmerson mnangagwa the president is expected to make an announcement later on, to make a statement, ostensibly to calm the tensions. nelson chamisa has not said anything about the violence but he says that the people will not allow this election to beast: and so there is a lot of tension before the presidential results are announced. we're not sure when that will happen but the international observers have warned that this is a very tense situation, zimbabwe remind —— remains on a knife edge until the results are announced. is it any official explanation as to why they

have not been read out yet? the election management body had said earlier that it would declare a presidential winner at around midday today but then when reporters and observers gathered they said that they were still waiting for the 23 residential candidates to meet and view the results and expressed their satisfaction. they said they wanted consensus and we understand there are still trying to get the presidential candidates together and tomorrow we will know when those results will be announced. but there are still a lot of tension about that and by law they are supposed to announce by saturday so it still gives them some leeway but observers have been warning that they should announce the results as soon as possible. thank you. some years coming through from the

football association in the last few minutes, they are saying the board has agreed to conduct a feasibility study into a bid for the 2030 world cup although no decision will be made until next year. that is what we're being told, so a feasibility study will be carried out although we will not know the results of that until next year. but the prospect of england hosting the world cup taking something of a step forward, that would be, it could be europe's only bid for the tournament. people pointing out that england won the only world cup it ever hosted. that is news just only world cup it ever hosted. that is newsjust in. leading jewish campaigners have rejected an apology from jeremy corbyn, for appearing at events alongside people whose views could have caused "concern and anxiety".

the labour leader hosted a meeting in 2010, where a speaker compared the actions of the israeli government to the nazis. our political correspondent, jonathan blake, is in westminster. this is an issue that has been dogging labourfor some this is an issue that has been dogging labour for some time, this is an issue that has been dogging labourfor some time, what sort of response are we seeing sort of response are we seeing over the course of the day now to the written statement from jeremy corbyn? well he followed a familiar pattering, since he put up that apology last night, recognising that his appearance alongside people whose views in his words he com pletely whose views in his words he completely rejects, may have caused concern and anxiety over the years. for his actions in terms of pursuit of justice for the for his actions in terms of pursuit ofjustice for the people of palestine. we have seen somejeremy corbyn supporters welcoming those words but others, labour mps who are

often critical ofjeremy corbyn have made it clear as far as they're concerned it does not go far enough. stephen kinnock in the last hour spoke to bbc think this is an issue of leadership now and he says it is over tojeremy corbyn, he has called on the labour party leader to explicitly say that some of the things that he has done or some of the people he has appeared alongside have said things and are in fact anti—semitic themselves. so there is clearly a call from any labour mps and specifically for their leader, to go further. other leading jewish campaigners have project that his apology as you say and said it has not gone far enough. so whilst jeremy corbyn has responded to this latest accusation, it seems for some in the party, although we have no way of knowing how the wider party membership deal about his handling of this, that he has not gone far enough. and the shadow chancellor john mcdonnell today acknowledged that the crisis is not over, he said

the party needs to get a handle on it, it has been shaken to its core and needs to be sorted out in september. thank you for now. the headlines on bbc news. northamptonshire county council prepares for emergency talks about cuts to services — and vows to protect vulnerable people. anger on the streets of harare as election results suggest the ruling zanu pf party have retained power in zimbabwe. former english defence league leader tommy robinson is freed on bail after winning an appeal against a contempt of court finding. in sportjob route and jonny ba i rstow both in sportjob route and jonny bairstow both made a half—century on the opening day of the first tense against india only for both to be rolled out in the evening session. dyla n rolled out in the evening session. dylan hartley will return to the international setup this weekend as he continues his comeback from

concussion. he will be part of a three day training camp. and fish gymnast becky downie has pulled out of the european championships after injuring herself in training. —— british gymnast. the former edl leader tommy robinson has been freed on bail after the court of appeal ruled that thejudge at leeds crown court, who sentenced him to a total 13 months in jail for contempt of court — had not adhered to the correct procedures for such cases. the appeal courtjudge ruled mr robinson was rushed straight into a hearing — limiting his opportunity to answer the case against him. to explain more — tom burridge is at the high court. tommy robinson screened an hour—long

video on facebook outside leeds crown court back in may and a group of asian men were on trial for allegedly grooming girls. in that video that he posted online tommy robinson spoke extensively about the case and at the time pleaded guilty to co nte m pt case and at the time pleaded guilty to contempt of court, the idea that his video risked prejudicing the trial that was ongoing at the time. he was jailed in a matter of hours and todayjudges at the court of appeal essentially ruled that the process happened too quickly and in their words it was flawed. he is now out on bail but will face another hearing soon when anotherjudge will consider whether or not his actions risked prejudicing a trial. tommy robinson is free, for now. he left onley prison in warwickshire this afternoon after he won an appeal. on bail, a judge will now hear his case again. # tommy's coming home! mr robinson's supporters celebrated and chanted at antifascist protesters on the other side,

as news filtered out at the high court in london that he was going to be released. i think it's great. i believe he was jailed unfairly in the first place, you know? he was jailed incredibly quickly. the high court accepted mr robinson's appeal against his jail sentence, relating to his actions outside leeds crown court in may. he had pleaded guilty and was jailed in a matter of hours. but everything happened too quickly and that is why his appeal succeeded. essentially because the process was flawed. i've caused a breach of the peace and i am being arrested. but a judge will still have to decide whether tommy robinson's broadcast, via facebook, outside an ongoing trial

at leeds crown court, risked prejudicing the case. his video was watched some 250,000 times and he was accused of breaching a suspended sentence from another broadcast he made outside canterbury crown court months earlier. a personal thank you to each and every one of you... he is a product of the internet age, sites like youtube allowed the founder of the english defence league to reach many more people than far right leaders of the past. before his arrest, he had struggled to attract as much support. but mr robinson's profile has risen since then, at home and abroad. this was the dutch far right leader geert wilders, addressing his supporters in london last month. free tommy robinson! but while some will celebrate his release on bail, others see a more sinister side. for the right, they will see it as a celebration,

they are putting him up as somebody who is a freedom fighter, he is not standing up for ordinary people, he is trying to divide them. anybody that believes in democracy and a multiracial society has to stand up against what robinson believes in. mr robinson will appear soon in front of anotherjudge. if found to be in contempt of court, he could be jailed again. co nte m pt of contempt of court is a serious offence and something that journalists must think about on a regular basis but in this day and age anything posted online about an ongoing legal case must be careful and that is essentially what this case is about. one condition of his bail is it cannot open 400 metres of leeds crown court, he will face a fresh hearing of his case very soon. farmers say the prolonged hot and dry weather is having an unprecedented impact on food production. representatives of the national farmers union had emergency talks with the environment secretary michael gove this morning. the nfu says farmers

face major challenges, with too little water for crops and severely reduced grass growth. prices for consumers have already risen, as katharine da costa reports. a long, hard winter followed by a wet spring. and now the driest start to summer on record. farmers often find themselves at the mercy of the weather. but with no significant rain since may, the unprecedented dry spell is having a crippling effect on producers across the country. just look at these satellite images. the left, taken in may before the start of the heatwave. the right shows the impact of weeks of drought. the cows on this dairy farm in cheshire should be grazing on lush green grass. instead, they are eating into winter rations. this is the food store, the fodder should reach right up to the gate. supplies that would already be depleted over the winter

have not recovered. it's highly unusual, and expensive. we are purchasing as much feed as we can at the moment. feed this year that would normally be say £50 or £60 per tonne, that would be straw, is £130 or £140. so at least double the price that it was last year. some livestock farmers are sending their animals to market early to relieve the burden of feeding them. elsewhere vegetable producers are already warning of shortages if the hot weather continues. the extra volatility and pressure on farmers high on the agenda at today's emergency summit. it is challenging, i think it is tough for the whole of northern europe. but the most important thing is that we link up the right people and have the conversations and we make sure in all of this that consumers are not disadvantaged. the main concern really is about getting straw and fodder to the areas that are in desperate need of it. the red tape is big in farming and we have a lot of regulations to adhere to. and it isjust to be a bit more

flexible and a bit more lenient. the environment secretary michael gove said the government would support farmers to put a plan in place. we want to make sure that farmers have access to the water they need in order to make sure the crops can grow. we want to make sure that farmers have access to the feed that livestock need in order to ensure that we can have food production maintained and healthy and successful farm businesses. and we will do whatever it takes. despite rising production costs, experts say retailers are likely to absorb any price rises for consumers. we cannot control the weather, but deciding the right course of action will be crucial to ensure the nation remains resilient in its food production. katharine da costa, bbc news. we all know that oily fish is good for us, but the levels of omega—3 in farmed salmon are falling. now researchers in the highlands are giving salmon food made with genetically modified crops, in an attempt to increase the fish's nutritional value. but critics say gm technology is

propping up an unsustainable system of industrial food production. our science correspondent, pallab ghosh, reports. two different types of salmon here, we've got wild and we've got the farmed here. chefs will tell you that salmon is one of the healthiest foods you can eat, but it's not as good for you as it once was. tests have shown that levels of an oil called omega—3 have halved in farmed salmon in recent years. there's still enough to be beneficial, but levels are continuing to drop. to reverse the trend, these fish are being given a feed high in omega—3 oil produced by gm crops. the feed has worked in the lab but the big question is whether it will do just as well on a real fish farm. like this one in the highlands of scotland. if it does, it will be commercially produced and make salmon more nutritious in farms all across the world. we have also trialled this with sea bass and sea bream,

which are the two main species farmed elsewhere in europe. but it can also be used in all farmed fish. and not only that, it can be added to feeds for other animals like pigs and poultry. because not everyone likes eating fish, like my wife! this is quite an efficient little production factory for making oil. researchers believe that these genetically modified plants are the solution. their seeds contain omega—3 oil. consumers in many parts of the world would be happy to eat the salmon fed on the oil that's crushed out of them, but there is consumer resistance in europe. i think the technology has got a great deal to offer. it is not necessarily a silver bullet, but i think we should use that along with all the other approaches that we could adopt. especially now that we're going be leaving the eu, maybe there is an opportunity for us to consider how we regulate gm. we're going to cook them in the same pan and then we're going to taste. because they taste completely different. aldo zilli is one of the country's foremost chefs. so he knows a thing or two about fish.

the scientists are saying that it is healthier, it's got more omega—3 in it. do we believe that? oh, i believe them. i personally don't agree with it, but if they think that there is going to be more omega—3, is it natural, is it good for us? you know, all those things are worrying when you start messing around with force—feeding animals. aldo is not alone in having his doubts. he is sticking to wild salmon, while i try the farmed. it's a stronger flavour. it's a completely different fish. but this isn't bad. it's not bad, but this is a different fish. palab ghosh, bbc news. time for a look at the weather. here's helen willetts with the forecast. the heat is back with us but more limited this time. it is just in the

south and the east were today temperatures were around 27 celsius. but this is how it looked in northern ireland and still looks in fact, quite a lot of rain. and also across scotland. that will clear the way overnight and we just increase that humidity. both warm nights are back. but tomorrow will be a different day, a different complexion especially for western areas, some more grey weather around. some sunshine around in scotla nd around. some sunshine around in scotland but was the south and east we see that heat building. 32, 33 on friday and the heat continued here into the weekend. this is bbc news.

the latest headlines: northamptonshire county council prepares for emergency talks about cuts to services, but vows to protect vulnerable people. it needs to find £70 million by march. police in in zimbabwe's capital harare clash with opposition supporters as tensions erupt amid claims of vote rigging in monday's election. one person has been shot dead by police. here, the former english defence league leader tommy robinson is released from prison afterjudges overturned a contempt of court ruling. they said he hadn't been given enough time to prepare a defence. are in some of the stories but right now let's catch up with the sport news. “— now let's catch up with the sport news. —— we will top more about some

of those stories but right now time for the sport news with tim hague. good evening. england and india are close to concluding the opening day of the first test at edgbaston. it's been an eventful day thus far. england won the toss and chose to bat, but the world's number one side quickly made in roads, with the wicket of alastair cook for 13. more followed, but captainjoe root and jonny bairstow really put the hosts in the ascendancy as they both passed 50 and put on 104 for the fourth wicket. only for root to then get run out for 80. before bairstow and buttler then followed. england losing those three wickets for just eight runs. the evening session is definitely india's. this is the latest score. things nicely poised head of the second day, england 243 for six.

mohammed shami and ravi ashwin both with a couple of wickets for the tourists. some big news this hour, as the football association is considering a bid to host the world cup in 2030. the last major tournament played in england was the 1996 european championship, 30 years after the country's only world cup. wembley is already hosting seven games during euro 2020, and the fa has bid to host the european women's championship in 2021. fa chairman greg clarke says they will decide whether to pursue a bid at some point next year. england failed with a bid to host the 2018 tournament, held in russia this summer of course. celtic are in norway tonight hoping to take a step closer to champions league group stage qualification. brendan rodgers' side lead hosts rosenborg 3—i going into the second qualifying round decider, with aek athens awaiting the winner. it's a very good pitch. it will be a tough game. but of course we come with an advantage, and we feel that we can come here and play well, but

like every european game away from home, you have to defend well, you have to be strong, and we know, as we have seen, that we can score goals. it's now just over a week to go until the premier league kicks off. we can't wait for that. and two contenders were in pre—season action overnight in the champions cup. tottenham youngster georges—k vin nkoudou got their only goal in a 1—0 win over ac milan in minneapolis. and manchester united also won. ander herrera got the pick of the goals in a 2—1 win over real madrid in miami. so has that cheered up jose mourinho? in i think" in i think 11 days we started the premier league, and these are the players that we have, plus lindelof who started training a couple of days ago, plus marcus rashford, jones and lukaku, because they gave to the group and to the team three

days of their holidays, so they are coming back three days early to try to be available for the team. and with the fantastic spirit that we have in the majority of the players — i repeat, in the majority of the players, we have a fantastic spirit. we will go with everything we have to the premier league. you didn't look very happy, did he, orsend it? —— he didn't look. england rugby union captain dylan hartley will return to the camp this weekend as he continues his comeback from concussion. he hasn't played since taking a blow to the head in theirfinal six nations match against ireland in march. he will now be part of a three—day camp after training with northampton over the summer and be monitored by the club's medical team. england's autumn campaign features a rematch with the springboks on 3rd november, before games with new zealand, japan and australia on consecutive weekends at twickenham. after suffering a single defeat throughout 2016 and 2017, england's form has dipped with just three victories in nine matches. we said it was only then day, jane

in the cricket, but not so even any more because india havejust got ben stokes out, a very big wicket indeed. more in sportsday at half past six with sarah. thanks to tim with the very latest sports news. let's return to our top story — northampton county council is holding crisis talks amid concerns that it will no longer be able to pay for services for vulnerable children and adults. let's take a look at how we got to this stage. a letter from 2015 showed that the authority had overspent by £43 million just seven months into the financial year. an independent inspection report was published in march this year — its damning conclusion was that the council should be scrapped. shortly afterwards the council leader stood down. in may two government—appointed commissioners were sent in to oversee the troubled council, and today emergency talks are being held

as £70 million in cuts are needed by march. max caller carried out that inspection into the council on behalf of the government — i'm delighted to say hejoins me now. thank you so much for coming in. the fa ct thank you so much for coming in. the fact that this emergency meeting is under way, that the figures we have talked about so often now that need to be saved, anything up to £70 million, presumably given the work you did these sums do not surprise you? not a surprise at all. in february when the council attempted to set its budget the external auditors served a notice saying the budget was potentially unlawful. they had to reduce their expenditure

at that stage, and even to make that budget work would have required really determined action, and they have not been able to deliver the savings plans in the first part of the year, so not a surprise at all. the budget is considered unlawful because... it doesn't balance. you've got to be able to show that what you are going to spend is matched by what money you've got. and that requires that you estimates of income and expenditure are valid. the savings plans have got to work. and the fact that it is not working, is that pure incompetence, i mean... what drives that? well, there has been a long history in this county council of the organisation failing to deliver services within the budget that has been set. the evidence shown in the inspection report shows from 2013, 14, on word, every year, the council was

overspending on services and was covering the gap by one—off expenditure. you can't keep running services with the long run of expenditure by putting one—off top p°p5 expenditure by putting one—off top pops in, because you run out of all the one—off money, which is exactly where there. government grants to local authorities have been cut and cut since 2010, anything up to about a 40% drop in what the government gives the local authorities since 2010. what about the council leader to you, i have x thousand vulnerable children and adults in my bar and it is not my fault the government has reduced the grant. and right around the rest of the country, council leaders, councils and council officers are struggling with those problems and solving those problems because they know that no matter what evidence you go .com if there is no money, the law says you balance the books —— no matter what evidence you boot up. only this

council seems to be in a situation where it just ignored council seems to be in a situation where itjust ignored the basics of local government and didn't try to live within its means, and it did things with capital receipts, one—off money, that actually are probably unlawful. if it says, "but we wa nt probably unlawful. if it says, "but we want to keep libraries open," for the sake of argument, "we believe they are an important valuable resource to the community," do those sort of arden is just carry no weight? of course they carry weight, but elected local politicians are there to make very hard choices. i don't pretend for a second that these choices are not horrendously difficult, but everywhere else, local government has made those choices, and actually in some places they have to deliver better services for less money than they were doing before. the basics of local governmentjust doesn't exist, didn't exist, here. as i said, you can't do the innovation if you don't do the basics well. do you think

there is a risk that any other local authority in the country could end up authority in the country could end up the same way, could go the same way? if the senior officers and leading members of local authorities don't take proper decisions, of course that's possible. but it's possible no matter how much money government puts in. local government is under tremendous pressure. the services the local government delivers are really squeezed. but that's no excuse for not living within your budget. so we are reaching a point where any local authority is, by definition, going to have to reduce and bridges and reduce what it does for its people, what it provides, unless it is prepared to put up council tax to an unacceptable..., prepared to put up council tax to an unacceptable... , or it prepared to put up council tax to an unacceptable..., or it will change the way it does business —— ridgers and reduce and bridges. there are lots of innovations you can see a red local government, lots of things being done and have been done over the past five years which really exciting, which actually do things better. it is notjust about cuts. it is about the basics of local

government, what is your budget? and delivering your savings plan. ifeel really sorry for the residents of the county. they are the real losers, and it could've been done better. if in 2015... things could've been changed. it is much harder now because all of the overspends that have taken place since that time are effectively trying to be clawed back in a few months, and that is really difficult. that is the impossible part. max caller, really good to talk to you. thanks for your time, and very interesting to hear your perspective. thank you very much indeed. let's talk to one local person. louise stubbs chairs a campaign group to keep her local library open, which has been threatened several times. shejoins me from northampton. louise, thank you so much for speaking to us tonight. what are your thoughts on the way your council has been run, and the fact

that you and others have obviously had to fight very hard to keep your library going? well, obviously it has been incredibly difficult for all of us. i would like to comment on something that max caller said they are, because although i personally have absolutely no doubt that mistakes were made, our library service in northamptonshire is the most efficient service in the entire country. there is no other county, no other council, that is running their library service cheaper than northamptonshire is, and that is why we've had to fight so hard to try to save them. because when we were given our options, in october, for saving money in the library service, it was simply "we have to close some. but there isn't any other way to make them cheaper. so do you feel let down, by the people running the council? if you are saying that actually libraries, in themselves, are one, you know, very well, in a

streamlined way, then clearly there have been problems somewhere else, and you and people like you who rely and you and people like you who rely and love your libraries, do you feel let down by that? absolutely. we have spoken to a floodlit thousands of people since last october, and everyone feels incredibly let down. —— to everyone feels incredibly let down. — — to absolutely everyone feels incredibly let down. —— to absolutely thousands of people. this is not a choice people made when they went to vote. they didn't see a ballot box that said, "i'd like my library to be closed, please. full squad that is not what they were aware would happen and it has suddenly been sprung on us, we have fought really hard, provide a huge rid of evidence about the equality impact these things have —— thatis equality impact these things have —— that is not what they were told. in most places, a lot of your services are only accessible through the library. we cover a wide variety of. there are about 15,000 people in our town of brackley, our library is where the job club is because we don't have a job centre. it is where the children's centre is because we don't have one, it is where the only

printer is if you don't have one at home. it is the only place you can do that. as well as vast numbers of groups for children of other ages, elderly people, so many things happen in the library. it is absolutely caught our town, as well as the educational prospects of our children, who will massively lose out by lack of access to books —— absolutely core to our town. and so what are you hoping to hear from tonight's meeting? we would love to hear that they are going to wait for the result of the judicial review that has already been in place about potential library closures in northamptonshire, before they make a decision about what they are going to do, because i think establishing what actually is their legal duties to libraries, because they do have a legal duty to run libraries. they are not an optional extra, they are not a nice to have, they are essential. that would be brilliant, to have that cleared up, to have northamptonshire county council

stick with that. louise stubbs, thank you so much for your time tonight, and for explaining so eloquently by the libraries are so important in your community. thank you very much, we appreciate your time. thank you. thank you. the potential new owner of house of fraser has pulled out of a deal to take a controlling stake in the struggling department store chain. c.banner — which owns the toy store hamleys — had agreed in may to buy a 51% stake in the company, but today announced any deal would be "inadvisable". our business correspondent emma simpsonjoins me now from outside house of fraser's flagship store in oxford street, central london. this is a struggling chain we have talked about many times. what does this mean, this decision today, emma? i think we can safely say, jane, things really have taken a turn for the worse for house of fraser tonight. as you say, c.banner, the fraser tonight. as you say, c. banner, the chinese fraser tonight. as you say, c.banner, the chinese owner of hamleys, was supposedly coming to

the rescue, taking a 51% majority sta ke, the rescue, taking a 51% majority stake, but crucially injecting £70 million of much—needed cash. now, that was on condition of house of fraser doing a restructuring deal which we all know about the cut 31 of its 59 shops, with thousands of job losses. it had to do a deal with its creditors. now, they approved it, i have to say, through gritted teeth, but landlords, recently, a group of them ended a legal challenge. but all this has now been overta ken challenge. but all this has now been ove rta ke n by challenge. but all this has now been overtaken by events because c.banner made an announcement at the hong kong stock exchange today saying essentially "because of a big fall in share price," they were no longer able to raise necessary funds to invest in house of fraser. emma, thank you, for now. emma simpson, outside house of fraser in london. we will keep you up—to—date with that, and more on that over the

evening. just while we were listening to that news about house of fraser, in fact, just to tell you some other news coming in following on from the novichok poisoning in wiltshire. we arejust on from the novichok poisoning in wiltshire. we are just hearing detectives investigating the more recent poisonings, talking about the poisoning of charlie rowley and dawn stu rg ess, poisoning of charlie rowley and dawn sturgess, who sadly died, her funeraljust sturgess, who sadly died, her funeral just having been sturgess, who sadly died, her funeraljust having been held, we are told that those detectives are undertaking precautionary testing of the ambulances use used to treat the pair, including the wiltshire air ambulance, the ambulance station, as well as emergency vehicles and kit worn by the first medical staff to respond to that 999 call. they are all going to be examined. they are saying that it is precautionary but it must be done to ensure that no onward contamination has taken place. and that means, in that list of items to be examined there, that

means that wiltshire air ambulance is going to be out of action, and it means the paramedic and doctors will instead respond to emergencies in rapid response cars. this hasjust come through in the last few minutes from wiltshire police. from wiltshire police. it isa it is a little after a quarter to six now. the headlines on bbc news: northamptonshire county council starts emergency talks about cuts to its services — but vows to protect vulnerable people. anger on the streets of harare as election results suggest the ruling zanu—pf party have retained power in zimbabwe. and the former english defence league leader tommy robinson is freed on bail after winning an appeal against a contempt of court finding. an update on the market numbers for you — here's how london's and frankfurt ended the day. the ftse 100 the ftse100 closing the day down in london, and similarly the dow and

dax, and in germany, you can see the dow is trading down and the nasdaq is in positive territory. the head of a mexican airline has praised the actions of both crew and passengers, after a plane crashed shortly after take—off. all 103 people on board survived the crash, in the northern state of durango. two people are in a critical condition, but most people on the plane were only slightly hurt. andrew plant reports. thick plumes of smoke in the distance from a passengerjet which crashed shortly after take—off. officials say that no one was killed, though 80 have suffered injuries. the photos show the plane was severely damaged. translation: our dispatch team have gone there, they are with the people to help. that is the most important thing. our priority is to ensure that all passengers are well and are being looked after.

and that those who want medical attention receive it. this is what we are doing. the aircraft was on its way to mexico city when it crashed. it had tried to take off from durango state on the two—hour flight south from guadeloupe victoria international airport, with 97 passengers and four crew on board. translation: there was a strong explosion which hit the plane. we don't know if it was a lightning bolt or a mechanical problem. we had just taken off and the plane fell. the survivors are still being checked, but 25 do not have serious injuries. ten others are in a serious condition. this footage has also emerged. a hailstorm in durango at the time of the crush. though it's not clear if the weather was a factor in what happened. authorities haven't said how serious the injuries sustained are. it seems some of the passengers managed to walk off the plane after it came down. the airport has now closed while emergency services deal with the crush and families wait for news on the condition of the passengers and the crew on board.

andrew plant, bbc news. nine minutes to six. a few of the day's other stories now... a 21—year—old man has been arrested on suspicion of murdering a father of two, who was attacked at his home after being involved in a car crash. the body of stephen walsh was found at his home in the mapperley area of nottingham on monday morning. police say he didn't stop after the car crash on sunday, and drove home, where he was later assaulted. the government says it will take responsibility for grenfell tower once the metropolitan police releases the site. it will make operational decisions, including security and access arrangements, until the site is handed over to a community—approved group to become a memorial. an agreement is expected to be finalised in the autumn. universal credit is leaving victims of domestic abuse at the mercy of their abusers,

according to a group of mps. under the system, benefits are paid into one bank account per household, which the work and pensions select committee says allows abusers to take control of family finances. the government insists that split payments are available for those who need them. thousands of children in the uk don't have their own bed, and have to share with a sibling or sleep on the floor — that's according to a charity which helps vulnerable families. buttle uk is calling on mps and local councils to take action. the government says its welfare reforms are "supporting those who need it most." anna crosely reports. delighted with his new bed and duvet. mikhail now has his own place to sleep, thanks to the charity buttle uk. since growing out of his cot two years ago, he had been sharing a bed with his mum at their home in bradford. i couldn't afford a bed with the money i was getting. mikhail was obviously keeping me up all night, kicking.

i was just surviving on two hours sleep. on two hours' sleep. so obviously i was getting poorly with myself, feeling like i shouldn't be a mum and stuff, because my children were going without what they needed. buttle uk says over the past five years it has given beds to 13,500 children. but it believes there are many thousands more who are affected. the boys are really wanting to get back out to play so... teacher bex wilson was so concerned about bed poverty in leeds that she set up her own charity to deal with the problem. today she is dropping beds off to three brothers — theirs is a familiar story. bright children who are too tired to learn. and if you look behind you, we've got some brand—new beds coming so that each of you have your own bed. it's typical of all our referrals that we have with the lack of furniture and things. no space for storage, and those kind of things. it's quite typical.

where are the children here sleeping? at the moment there's three in here. and then one in with mum in the other room. tonight across our towns and cities thousands of children will go to sleep without a bed of their own. many will be forced to sleep with siblings and parents. others will be on floors or sofas. the government says it is spending £90 billion a year on welfare. but charities like buttle uk say direct action is needed now to ensure the poorest youngsters have a proper place to sleep. anna crossley, bbc news. police in sweden have launched a manhunt after thieves stole some of the country's crown jewels from a cathedral in broad daylight — before escaping by speedboat. the two gold—plated and jewel—encrusted crowns, and an orb dating from the 17th century, were ta ken yesterday from a cathedral near stockholm. the jewels have been described as invaluable items

of national interest. well, one eyewitness desribed the moment the men fled the scene onto the boat. one of my friends, she saw two people running, a man from this direction and a man from that direction, and we could see... i saw the boat was there, a white little boat, with a motor on the back. the two men hurriedlyjumped on board, and it sped off in that direction of that way. i knew immediately that they were burglars because of the way they were behaving, and i told the girls to call the police, because i don't know how to do that in sweden. but they just said, "why are they behaving like that? "this is odd, in this small, quiet town." but the fact that they met like that on the boat was waiting, and the way that it moved away, it obvious to me that they were burglars, and that's why i said, "call the police." and in robbery. —— one man who saw

the robbery in broad daylight. now, if you've ever travelled on public transport, especially here in london, you may have noticed the signs and announcements asking us to remove our backpacks, to "mind the gap" and to stand well behind the yellow line on the platform. but do you really pay that much attention? what if someone famous was the voice behind the messages? well, authorities in toronto are hoping commuters will listen to the canadian actor seth rogan who's recorded some public service announcements of his own. seth rogen: hello, ttc users — seth rogen here. backpacks are superefficient, i get it. they carry all your stuff, they hang on your back, they're fantastic! but when you wear your backpack instead of taking it off, it very much annoys everyone on the subway. imagine, if you would, a world without feet. ok, don't, because it's a little. . . it's freaky. but, anyway, imagine a ttc where no one puts their feet on the seats. so, yes, while feet are cool, please leave them on the four while riding the ttc. —— floor while riding the ttc.

i can't believe i'm actually going to say this, but stop clipping your fingernails on the ttc! it's grosse! laughter i've seen a lot of things in london, but i've never said that! anyway, i love that. we should thought to have famous people doing announcements on the subway. we could have helen willetts, she's about to tell us the weather, but you could tell us to put her sunglasses on as well! laughter —— our sunglasses. yes, the dawn the way back, for some but not for all of us. i'm sure it will get rather warm on the tube as the heat continues to build, but a different picture across scotland and northern ireland. as you can see from the zach loyd, rain coming down, a good half an inch in parts of ireland —— see from the satellite. many southern and eastern areas, the rain

taking centre stage further north. through this evening, rather soggy one for parts of scotland, the north—west of england she and a few spots of rain, cloud boring as well, so spots of rain, cloud boring as well, so sitting on some of the hills around irish sea coast. at edgbaston it will be fine and it will be tomorrow as well because they are on the cusp of that weather front. you can see the cloud coming in through the night, so there will be a bit of fairweather clodagh wren, could be drizzle around irish coast overnight, and certainly as that rain clears away it will leave a legacy of cloud —— a bit of fairweather cloud. even here that more humid airarriving. fairweather cloud. even here that more humid air arriving. so agree complexion to some western parts of the uk tomorrow. perhaps around the south—west of england and the coast, the irish sea, but for the bulk of england and wales another dry, fine and hot day. for northern ireland, mori later. it brightens up after the morning dampness for the east of scotla nd the morning dampness for the east of scotland but we will keep the mist

and low cloud —— northern ireland, more rain later. then that front pushes morais northwards across scotland, this one sinking into central areas. a little question of where exactly that rain will sit. but the weather divides, brighter and fresher in the north but hot and stifling in the south. high humidity so an stifling in the south. high humidity so an uncomfortable night for most, but into the weekend, a lot of dry and decent weather, if you have plans. the odd shower could be anywhere but again we will see that temperature divide. 20 across scotla nd temperature divide. 20 across scotland and northern ireland, present luke mclean, but uncomfortable for some with the rising the south —— pleasant, but uncomfortable for some. this is the northern half of the country, 17—20, quite a bit of cloud, but largely dry, and further south temperatures into the high 20s again and not dropping a great deal overnight

either. gunshots. opposition supporters have taken to the streets as they claim the vote was rigged. it's changed dramatically, the atmosphere in the last 24 hours. really volatile now, with tear gas fired, shots fired. i think we've got to go. we report live from zimbabwe tonight as the chance of a peaceful transition to a new political era seems to be ebbing away. also tonight. a council in crisis talks about cutting services for adults and children as it runs out of money. the future of struggling retailer house of fraser is thrown into doubt as a major investor pulls out. how the number of new grammar school places is overtaking new secondary places in some parts of england. and farmers demand emergency measures to safeguard food production as they struggle with the drought.