i'm martine croxall. today at 2: alex salmond, scotland's former first minister, describes sexual misconduct allegations against him as ‘patently ridiculous‘ and says he'll take the scottish government to court over its handling of the allegations i deny that i harassed anyone and i am explicitly refuting any suggestion of criminality. the scottish government confirms two cases are being investigated. mr salmond's successor, nicola sturgeon, insists the claims won't be swept under the carpet. it isa it is a difficult situation, but what is important is that complaints are treated seriously, regardless of who the person complained about is. thomas cook removes guests from an egyptian hotel following the deaths of a british couplejohn and susan cooper who died at a red sea resort. we should all abstain from alcohol. a new global study confirms previous research that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption

coming up on afternoon live, all the sport with katherine downes. the formula i season restarts. yes, second practice under way at the moment ahead of the belgian grand prix and fernando alonso seeks an apology from the boss of red bull. i will have all the details at 2:30pm. thanks, katherine, and mel coles has all the weather, looking ahead to the bank holiday. yes, there is a much fresherfeel to oui’ yes, there is a much fresherfeel to our weather at the moment thanks to wayne north—westerly winds speeding in plenty of blustery showers. there is quite a lot of weather heading on through the weekend. i will have all the details later on in the programme. thanks, mel. also coming up, after years of clerical abuse and cover—ups by the catholic church, can the pope's visit to ireland bring about the unity and reconciliation he hopes for? hello, everyone.

this is afternoon live. nicola sturgeon, scotland's first minister, has said that sexual misconduct allegations made against her predecessor alex salmond, could not be ignored or swept under the carpet. the scottish government said it received two complaints against mr salmond earlier this year. it's believed they refer to events in 2013, when he was still first minister. mr salmond's denied the allegations and said some of them were "patently ridiculous". he taking legal action to challenge the process of investigation which he has described as "unjust". the government in holyrood said it would "defend its position vigorously". lorna gordon is in edinburgh. he is one of the best—known figures in scottish politics. alex salmond,

former first minister, former mp, former first minister, former mp, former msp. a man who led his party, the snp, twice and secured a referendum on independence for scotland. and who is now facing allegations of sexual misconduct in the run—up to that vote. it is believed the complaints made by two people date back to 2013, during alex salmond ‘s time as a serving first minister when he would have been living here at the first minister ‘s official residence, bute house. the current occupant, first minister nicola sturgeon, said she had been aware of the investigation for some time. she said the complaint could not be ignored or swept under the carpet. complaint could not be ignored or swept under the carpetli complaint could not be ignored or swept under the carpet. i have made clear on many occasions that in all workplaces, people must feel able to bring forward complaints and have confidence that they will be treated seriously and now it is important that due process and fair process is followed. alex salmond has described the complaints procedure as unjust

and has said he will proceed with a judicial review of the complaints process at the court of session. in a statement he said he has not been allowed to see and properly challenge the evidence against him. he added that the permanent secretary chose to deny me contact with any current civil servant, many of whom wished to give evidence on my behalf and access to documentation to allow me to properly challenge the complaints. all of which i refute and some of which were paid and some of which we re which were paid and some of which were blatantly ridiculous. in a statement, scotland's most senior civil servant, the permanent secretary lesley evans, said the scottish government was limited for legal reasons in what it could say but she said alex salmond ‘s statement contained significant inaccuracies which will be addressed in the court proceedings he intends to bring. the scottish government said it will defend its position vigorously. police scotland refused to comment on whether an enquiry by

them is ongoing. but these just surfaced allegations have rocked scotland's political establishment and with the legal process now likely to start, the impact will be felt far beyond holyrood. bbc scotland's political correspondent, andrew kerr, is in glasgow for us. it is quite a state of affairs, isn't it? you have this former first minister challenge the scottish government over this. it is quite an extraordinary story with some quite extraordinary story with some quite extraordinary developments that we are seeing today. just to recap, there are these two allegations of sexual misconduct against alex salmond, alleged to have taken place at bute house in december 2013. alex salmond says the complaints procedure is unjust and unlawful. therefore you have this quite strange therefore you have this quite strange process therefore you have this quite strange process of a former scottish

first minister taking legal action against the scottish government, the government which he used to lead, of course. alex salmond very critical of the permanent secretary, the top civil servant, lesley evans, of the permanent secretary, the top civilservant, lesley evans, in of the permanent secretary, the top civil servant, lesley evans, in the scottish government, although of course she has said that alex salmond ‘s statement contained some significant inaccuracies. daggers drawn. this is what alex salmond was saying to us just a short time ago. i have made many mistakes in my life, political and personal, i have made many mistakes in my life, politicaland personal, but i have made many mistakes in my life, political and personal, but i have not sexually harassed anyone andl have not sexually harassed anyone and i have certainly not been engaged increment amity. i am and i have certainly not been engaged increment amity. lam no saint. i understand that. but these... i saint. i understand that. but these... lam saint. i understand that. but these... i am looking forward to the opportunity to establish that point. is there anything that could be misconstrued in your behaviour?” cannot go into it. i am not allowed.

lam in cannot go into it. i am not allowed. lamina cannot go into it. i am not allowed. i am in a court process and i have already said to you a number of times, i have not sexually harassed anyone and i am certainly not guilty of criminality. alex salmond is looking forward to having his day in court. he thinks that the scottish government have breached confidence actually as well but we have also been hearing as you saw from nicola sturgeon, the current first minister of scotland, looking actually quite visibly shaken during her interview with us and she was saying, you can't sweep these allegations under the carpet, no matter who the person is, there has to be that independent, impartial investigation, leading to this extraordinary story. it must be immensely discomforting for her. yes, it is and you could really see, i think, how moved she was, i think, emotionally, as well. it is very discomforting for her and perhaps in

some ways frustrating, i think. she does have to win some way speak overseeing this process as the political head of the government, as this investigation is run by the senior civil servants, including lesley evans, the permanent secretary, but then she has to be careful what he says and what she does, of course, when it comes to handling this but she did say that it has been upsetting for her and of course, it will be upsetting for the wider party, the wider scottish national party, as she was pointing out there, of course. alex salmond such a significant figure in scottish politics, leaving office four years ago but nevertheless, a well—known figure in scotland and of course in the uk as a whole and now we are going to have that day in court. he takes the scottish government to court. we will have to see what happens now. and looking more at these extraordinary developments. thank you very much. the daughter of a couple who died at a hotel in egypt has said they were fit and healthy

before their holiday. kelly 0rmerod was with her parents, john and susan cooper, who came from lancashire. they were staying at the steigenberger aqua magic hotel in the red sea resort of hurghada. mrs 0rmerod said herfather, who was 69, died in his room and her mother died in hospital. the couple had booked the holiday with thomas cook and the travel company says it's offering its 300 customers alternative hotels or the option to return home. dan johnson reports. what caused john and susan cooper ‘s deaths? their daughter says john collapsed in his room on tuesday and susan fell ill a few hours later. the egyptian authorities say they both suffered low blood pressure and heart failure. this is the steigenberger aqua magic hotel on egypt's red sea coast. thomas cook says there is no evidence of carbon monoxide poisoning here. but because of the tourists —— other tourists

have been ill, it decided to move its 300 holiday—makers or bring them home early. it is entirely possible the deaths and the illnesses are not linked. but people staying here are uneasy. everybody is really worried and obviously as the anxiety raises and obviously as the anxiety raises and people start talking, talking to each other, they are looking for a nswe rs each other, they are looking for answers from thomas cook. it is really disappointing. we flew out on tuesday, the day that these poor people passed away and i am really sorry about what happened. but i think we should have been given the option whether to come or not to come and we would have not. thomas cook has stopped taking bookings for the hotel and people due to travel in the next month will be offered an alternative. the hotel management and other travel companies have denied an increase in illnesses but thomas cook says safety is its first priority. jenin and her partner were u nwell priority. jenin and her partner were unwell at the end of their stay a few weeks ago. based on our story, if there is anything untoward, they may be right decision to remove all

the passengers from there. susan cooper actually work for thomas cook at their branch in burnley. it has been closed for a second day. collea g u es been closed for a second day. colleagues described her as a loyal, long serving staff member. their daughter is still in egypt with their three grandchildren. she says her parents were fit and healthy before their holiday. they may well have died of natural causes in a sad coincidence. there is still lots to be explained but in the meantime, thomas cook clearly is not taking any chances. sarah campbell has been following the story for us. a confusing picture for a lot of people. yes, we heard from the report that thomas cook has said they are going to give the 300 guests their alternative accommodation. in their original statement they said this was to do with reports about increased levels of illness and they were going to be taking this as a precautionary measure. they have released another

statement. this was just in the last couple of hours and they don't mention the illness. what they do say is there has been speculation in today's media the deaths may have been caused by carbon monoxide. currently they say we have no evidence to support this. and we should say that the hotel chain have been very clear in their statements that they say there is not a significant level of illness. although there were 300 thomas cook guests there, there are 1600 in total in the hotel and those people are not being moved. it is a little bit of a confused picture at the moment. different operators doing different things. what will happen to people due to go to this hotel in the future? thomas cook say, if you have booked via thomas cook, you cannot balk at the moment, you cannot balk at the moment, you cannot go online and bop. they say that people who are due to go in the next four weeks should be getting in contact with them. there may be alternative accommodation. that is central. the essential thing to this

story today is it is a tragic family story, it really is. you seem to have a situation where the egyptian authorities, although an official postmortem has not been released, they have released a statement with quite intricate detail, shall we say, about the details and they are saying that what happened was basically, john cooper, who was 69, had heart problems in the hotel room and died there and then tragedy, around five hours later, his wife, who had been taken to hospital, also died. so really, you know, that is at the heart of this story, a family tragedy and their daughter, kelly 0rmerod, is trying to get to the bottom of what has happened and also just wants to get her three daughters back onto lancashire. cabinet office minister david lidington has dismissed criticism of the chancellor's analysis of the economic impact of a no—deal brexit, saying there was nothing new in the treasury figures. yesterday, philip hammond wrote to the treasury select committee warning of large fiscal consequences if the uk leaves the european union next year without a deal on the future relationship.

but his letter received criticism from pro—brexit mps, who accused the chancellor of reigniting project fear. 0ur political correspondent, tom barton, is in westminster. what happened to joined up thinking and collective responsibility? yes, this is not the first time that philip hammond has drawn fire from mps who backed brexit any referendum. many of them hold a dim view of him. he is known in those parts as eeyor by some mps. it is about a letter he sent yesterday to the commons treasury committee. he talked about the potential consequences of a talked about the potential consequences of a no—deal brexit saying in 15 years' time, the economy could be 5—10% smaller than

it would have been if a deal was reached and that would lead to the government needing to borrow as much as £80 billion extra each year. now, brexit borders have taken pretty sceptical view of that letter —— supporters. he has though today had supporters. he has though today had support from his cabinet colleague, the cabinet office minister, david lidington. all of us ministers in the cabinet get umpteen letters from mps and we have to keep replying to them within the deadline that we are set in government to keep the correspondence turning round. i would not block for any conspiracies here. i think it was a coincidence and there is nothing that the chancellor said that has not been said before. it is notjust though what philip hammond said that has drawn criticism but when he said it. because that letter was published just a few hours after dominic raab,

the brexit secretary, had launched the brexit secretary, had launched the government first tranche of guidance for businesses on what to do if there is a no—deal brexit. 24 documents, 148 pages. and dominic ryan in his speech put a pretty positive spin on what a no—deal brexit would look like —— dominik rab. well, the timing has drawn criticism directly from some brexit backing mps, including people like jacob rees mogg who said yesterday that the chancellor seems to think that i'io the chancellor seems to think that no deal is absurdly frightening, saying it is nothing like as scary as philip hammond thinks. marcus fish said on twitter that this was yet another instalment of project fear. you're watching afternoon live, these are our headlines:

alex salmond described sexual misconduct allegations against him as blatantly ridiculous and says he will take the scottish government to court over its handling of the negotiations. the scottish government confirms two cases are being investigated. nicola sturgeon insists the claims won't be swept under the carpet. thomas cook removes guests from an egyptian hotel following the deaths ofa egyptian hotel following the deaths of a british couple, susan and john cooper, who died at a red sea resort. and hugo lloris has been charged with drink—driving. the spurs captain was charged following a routine patrols in central london. his side will face manchester united at old trafford on monday. fernando alonso says he wants an apology from red bull after they denied his claim they had offered him a drive with them for next season. and confusion over a pre—season friendly means chris ashton ‘s

seven—week ban for an illegal tackle could start later than first thought. there is no safe limit to alcohol consumption and health officials should consider recommending that people go teetotal, that's the finding of a major global study. the research, published in the lancet medicaljournal, concludes that although moderate drinking may protect against heart disease, the risk of cancer and other diseases outweighs these protections. our health correspondent, dominic hughes, reports. just how much alcohol is it safe to drink? different studies offering apparently contradictory results can be confusing, as is the level of risk posed by drinking even a moderate amount of alcohol. now new research says there is no safe level of alcohol consumption. the global study looked at drinking habits over 26 years in 195 countries. your risk is much more increased if

you drink one or two alcoholic drinks and the risks increased markedly as you get to three, four and beyond that level of drinking. it really hazardous to your health. the global study looked at drinking habits over 26 years in 195 countries. around the world, one in three people are thought to drink alcohol. alcohol use is linked to nearly a 10th of all deaths in those aged 15 to 49. this leaves the authors to conclude that any health benefits of drinking are outweighed by the risks. in the uk, the advice is to limit consumption by 14 units a week, around six pints of lager or seven glasses of wine. health experts say for most people, sticking to this level today's report says that people in britain have around three alcoholic drinks per day. it is a good idea to

have a look at your alcohol consumption and have a think for yourself, am i drinking every day of the week? two or three drinks every day? if that is the case, it is an opportunity to think about cutting back a little bit. today's advice echoes that of health experts who have said there are links with diseases such as cancer. but for most people, it represents a low risk and in the end, that is what the debate around alcohol consumption comes down to, the level of risk we are each willing to live with. almost 40 years on from the last papal visit tens of thousands of people are expected to travel to dublin to see pope francis this weekend. but in the wake of abuse scandals in the catholic church what kind of welcome will he receive? chris page reports. 39 years ago, ireland put on a massive display of euphoria, devotion and loyalty. people of ireland... john paul ii was the first pope to visit the country which, at the time, was often described as the most catholic in the world. tomorrow, pope francis will arrive

on a transformed ireland. the church's influence is much diminished and its reputation badly damaged. people who were abused in children's homes run by religous orders are preparing to protest. they want the pope to say sorry on behalf of the church and go further. we're asking him to apologise and, not only that, to fork up and do what's right. out of the faults and the money that they have, it's not all about money, i know that, but that's the only form of justice that people are going to get, especially our elderly people, whose lives have been ruined. the revelations aren't over yet, especially in northern ireland. stormont has commissioned research on church institutions for unmarried mothers to help decide if there'll be a public enquiry. particularly for a lot of women in northern ireland, their voices have not been heard. we do not know about their stories. and those stories are ones that we will hopefully be able to hear, be able to uncover,

be able to understand more in a new era, as the church does have to deal with the responsibilities from the past. the dark side of the church's past continues to overshadow its present. but catholic church attendances in ireland are still proportionally the third highest in europe. there are many thousands who express their faith practically and wholeheartedly to make a positive difference. at saint patrick's parish in north belfast, about 200 come to this soup kitchen every weekend. it's open to anyone in need from all communities and backgrounds. i suppose part of any christian faith is the basics isjust to reach out your helping hand and feed people. as christian catholic people, we want to be able to ensure that the people around us are given every bit of help that we can give. a number of the volunteers will be heading south for the pope's visit. they admire what he says about tackling poverty. they say the pope has shown a form

of leadership around different social issues, around homelessness, and shown passion as well, which is very important that that passion is shown and you can see the passion that people have. i believe, as well, that we're saving lives here. the soul of ireland is under the spotlight. half a million people are expected to come here to phoenix park in dublin for a papal mass on sunday. for the catholic church's most sincere members and its strongest critics, this weekend will be significant, symbolic and historic. chris page, bbc news. strong winds and torrential rains from hurricane lane have hit hawaii in the pacific ocean, causing flash floods and landslides. all public schools and many offices are closed as residents take shelter. the hurricane, earlier measured as category four has now been downgraded to category three, but authorities still warn it needs to be taken seriously and a state of emergency has been declared, as jon donnison reports. this is what half a metre of rain

has done to hawaii. a tropical paradise, transformed. the islands may have so far avoided a direct hit, but hurricane lane has made its mark. hawaii is going to be impacted, the question is how bad? right now the system is really setting up to be a significant rain event, torrential rains, forecasters are predicting over 30 inches in some parts. we are extremely concerned about the potential is for inland flooding, landslides occurring and damage to the transportation communications infrastructure. many have had to flee their homes with dozens of evacuation centres set about —— across the state. long queues have

formed outside supermarkets with people urged to stockpile food and water. a state of emergency has been declared. we have the federal aid across the county is here to make sure that we are protecting the health, safety and welfare of all of our people, including by the way some close to 300,000 tourists who are in the state right now. these pictures from the international space station show the harry kane is ata—— space station show the harry kane is ata —— as it space station show the harry kane is at a —— as it approached to —— earlier this week. it was a category five, these sorts of powerful storms are really rare close to hawaii. it does not actually get that many. but this is the latest satellite image. you can see the chain. this is where honolulu is. you can see most of the clouds are rapidly to the south and this track actually shows you where the eye of the storm may be in the next two or three days. and itjust

so next two or three days. and itjust so happens that in the last minute, it has taken a 90 degrees turn, so hopefully, the worst of the storm will stay out at sea. but the authorities are not taking any chances, with beaches being reinforced for a possible storm surge. hawaii surfers, the only ones making hay while the sun doesn't shine. time for a look at the weather. here's mel. there is a certain chill in the air. it feels slightly autumnal —— already. we have heard reports of simply believe in putting their heating on. some people have decided to go that way already. and yes, there is reason to because actually, to give you some idea of how much fresher it is, on monday night, these were our

minimum temperatures. monday night, the temperatures did not drop below this. 15 celsius. remember, we had all that humidity. it really did feel quite sticky. but it is all change. look at today ‘s maximum temperatures. in many places, they are below the minimum temperatures we had that night. these are our expected maximum temperatures today. why has that happened? well, what has happened is thejet why has that happened? well, what has happened is the jet stream why has that happened? well, what has happened is thejet stream has dipped down towards the south of the uk and that has opened up the floodgates to this air working its way down from the north and even at this time of year, that is a much cooler direction to be coming from. it is going to feel much fresher. and it is not helped by these blustery winds, these nor swept —— north—westerly winds. feeding in plenty of showers. really packed in quite quickly. they started off in the north—west of england and scotla nd the north—west of england and scotland but gradually as the day goes on, they are working their way

down to the south and the east. some of these are heavy. we have had reports of thunder and lightning. there are dry, bright intervals the further south and east you go but even here, not immune to those showers, as we head towards this evening. gusty winds, particularly around the showers. these are the average speeds of winds today. but they are gusting up to around 30 miles brouwer. it feels much cooler thanit miles brouwer. it feels much cooler than it has done recently. across low teams, maybe low 20s if you are lucky. as we head into tonight, it is good to be much cooler. the showers tend to ease unfazed as the evening goes on. for many places, it will be dry. in sheltered spots in particular it is going to feel much cooler. widely into single figures overnight. quite a keen wind first

thing tomorrow morning. but as pressure starts to build, the winds. to ease and it looks a much better day tomorrow. a lot of dry weather. more in the way of sunshine and as a result, the temperatures will do that bit better. and it should feel fairly pleasant for most of us through the day on saturday. but it is all change as we head into sunday. another low pressure system lurking in the wings. this is going to push rain into northern ireland as we head towards dawn on sunday. eventually pushing into south—west england, wales and up into scotland. that is going to work its way eastwards. heavy bursts of rain and it will be accompanied by fairly gusty south—west winds. underneath all that cloud and with the rain, it will be another cool day. temperatures back down into the teens across the board. monday, once that rain has cleared to the east, another dry day for most places. just a chance of one or two showers.

cloud increasing as the day goes on. the showers tend to be a bid to north—west scotland. a lot of fine and dry weather around and it will feel a touch warmer. for many, monday is a bank holiday. certainly not the warmest bank holiday we have had this year but they lot of decent weather around. this is bbc news. our latest headlines. scotland's former first minister alex salmond has said that although he's no saint and has flaws, he has not sexually harassed anyone. mr salmond's comments come after the investigation of misconduct claims from two people. i deny that i harassed anyone

and i explicitly refute any suggestion of criminality. current first minister nicola sturgeon said that while the situation was difficult to come to terms with due to the pair's political relationship, the claims which were made in january could not be ignored. the daughter of a couple who died at a thomas cook hotel in egypt says her parents were fit and healthy before their holiday. local authorities have said john and susan cooper suffered heart and respiratory failure while thomas cook continues to look into the circumstances of their deaths. a new global study confirms previous research that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption and suggests that health officials should consider recommending that people go teetotal. and coming up, we'll hear more of alex salmond's response to those sexual harrassment complaints. sport now on afternoon live with katherine. fernando alonso wants an apology

from red bull. there is a real row blowing up between mclaren's fernando alonso and the team behind red bull, the bosses, because fernando alonso races for mclaren, he has announced he is going to retire at the end of the season, but before that red bull said, why don't you drive for us next season? he turned down the offer. the boss of red bull has said that is not true, that they have never asked him to drive for them, and one of the bosses of red bull has said as well the reason they did offer that contract the reason they did offer that co ntra ct to the reason they did offer that contract to fernando alonso is because he is quite difficult to work with. quite a difficult personality. apparently christian horner has e—mailed fernando alonso for those specific comments but fernando alonso now says he should also apologise for claiming he is making up these stories about being asked to drive for red bull. it is

all getting very dramatic ahead of the belgian grand prix this weekend. aside from the politics, practice has got under way. yes, second practice under way. formula 1 back from its summer break. sebastian vettel showed his determination to narrow the gap on lewis hamilton. more than three tenths of a second ahead of hamilton. we will bring you the result is a little bit later. away from formula 1, tottenham and france goalkeeper hugo lloris has been charged with drink—driving. he has been bailed to return to westminster magistrates‘ court on tuesday the 11th of september. his side will face manchester united at 0ld side will face manchester united at old trafford on monday. burnley manager sean dyche has been critical of officials after his side‘s defeat in the first leg of their europa league play—off in athens. ben gibson was sent off and both sides

we re gibson was sent off and both sides were awarded a penalty. he was also upset regarding the home team‘s conduct at half—time. after the incident with a applied for a penalty, which wasn't a penalty, and people run on the pitch, run at the referee, the linesman, the fourth official, all i keep getting told is respect, and then the scenes i saw at half time around the referee were interesting, from all and sundry on their side. and then things change in the second half. chris ashton‘s hope of an england recall could be further congregated with the dates for his ban for a dangerous tackle possibly subject to change because his seven—week ban was due to start with another pre—season friendly scheduled for tonight but that match isn‘t on the fixture list which means his ban could start later and he may not

play at all before eddiejones names his squad for the autumn internationals. the first track called at the european para athletics championships has been won by david divine. the victory in the 5000 metres, on top of the silver he won in the 1500 metres. me and my coach just said, three—time olympian david murdoch has been named as britain's new hurling coach. he turned his attention to full—time coaching last year and said he was honoured to be given a role.

meanwhile, 0lympic honoured to be given a role. meanwhile, olympic gold and silver medallist winning cyclist calum skinner is taking a break from the sport in an effort to recharge his batteries for ——. he won bronze at the con wealth games in april. he says he still wants to compete in tokyo. we all need a rest now and then, don‘t we? let‘s get more on the claims of sexual harasment made against the scotland‘s former first minister. alex salmond strongly denies the claims, dating back to his time in office. the scottish government has confirmed it received two complaints regarding mr salmond. he says he now plans to take court action to challenge the way the investigation has been handled, saying he hasn‘t been allowed to see the evidence against him. mr salmond‘s been talking our scotland political editor, brian taylor. these complaints in march, which was

two months after the process has started, and crucially was told at this time that it was a confidential process , this time that it was a confidential process, nothing would be said about it, we were offered to contribute on that explicit basis. this week, the scottish government proposed to put out a statement breaching that confidentiality. that sort of thing is important, not just for confidentiality. that sort of thing is important, notjust for me, but for the complainants. who on earth is going to enter a process like this if confidentiality is breached by the scottish government themselves? i cannot understand what they are doing. the inherent nature ofa they are doing. the inherent nature of a process such as this depends on confidentiality throughout the process , confidentiality throughout the process, not least for the people who made the complaint. as i understand it there are two complainants. do you deny the allegations totally and fully?” deny that i harassed anyone and i explicitly refuse any suggestion of criminality. now, ican‘t explicitly refuse any suggestion of

criminality. now, i can‘t talk about the complainant or the complaints. the process is now going to court, the highest court in the land. if you had asked me would i have been in the position to take the scottish government to court, i would have been totally amazed, but that is what is necessary in order to establish a fair process. you have to have a fear kick up the boy, you have got to have —— a fair and just process and i hope that is what will be delivered. have you ever sexually harassed someone? have you been involved in behaviour that could be construed as that? i have never sexually harassed anyone and i have certainly never been engaged in criminality of that kind. ijust wa nt criminality of that kind. ijust want the opportunity to establish that point to a fair process. i

obviously regret deeply that the scottish government have decided to breach the confidential eddy of their own process. i think that is a dreadful thing. there is one benefit and that is now the matter moves to and that is now the matter moves to a real court, where things can be properlyjudged and a real court, where things can be properly judged and everybody a real court, where things can be properlyjudged and everybody will know it is a fair account for eve ryo ne know it is a fair account for everyone because it is that setting. ina way, everyone because it is that setting. in a way, that is the benefit of the actions of the scottish government. did you behave at any time in a way that could be misconstrued as inappropriate? i have made many m ista kes inappropriate? i have made many mistakes in my life, political and personal, but i have not sexually harassed anyone and i certainly have not been engaged in criminality. i am no saint, i have got flaws, i understand that, and i am looking

forward to the opportunity to establish that point. did you touch somebody inappropriately? is there anything that could be misconstrued in your behaviour? i am not allowed... iam in your behaviour? i am not allowed... i am in a court process andi allowed... i am in a court process and i have already said to you a number of times, i have never sexually harassed anyone and certainly no criminality. and the scottish first minister, nicola sturgeon, says the harassment claims cannot be ignored. complaints were received injanuary from two individuals relating to alex salmond. since then, they have been under investigation by the permanent secretary. and a procedure which was agreed by me in december of la st which was agreed by me in december of last year. the permanent secretary has been investigating, has been aware of the fact of the investigation, but i have had no role in it and until now was not

able to refer to it publicly in order to protect the integrity of the investigation. the permanent secretary advised me earlier this week that she has concluded her investigation and intended to make the facts of the complaint known publicly. alex salmond has now instituted legal proceedings against the scottish government and therefore restricted in what more i can say. i will however say that the scottish government will vigorously defend its processes. the other thing it is important to say is that when complaints are received, it is important that they are not swept under the carpet because of the identity, the seniority of the protocol allegiance of the person being complained about. i have made clear on many occasions that in all workplaces, people must feel able to bring forward complaints and have confidence that they will be treated seriously and now it is important that you process and fair process is followed. what has the investigation

concluded? i am not able to share that information. i have limited information but there are legal proceedings under way and for legal reasons that means i am not able to confirm even the limited information i have. has the case been reported to police scotland ? i have. has the case been reported to police scotland? that is not a matter i am able to confirm. that is a matter to be directed to police scotland. when and if the scottish government is able to make more information available, it will do so, but i hope people will appreciate that the most important thing is due and fair process to all parties concerned. when did you first hear about the nature of these allegations and what action did you take? i heard about the fact of the investigation initially from alex salmond himself in april. i knew at that time that the process that i had agreed in december was under way, i knew i had no role in that

process. i later made the permanent secretary aware that i knew about the fact of the investigation but i made it clear to her, as i had to alex salmond, that i would not intervene in that process. she informed me earlier this week that the process had been completed and it was her intention to make the fa ct of it was her intention to make the fact of it public. we then, obviously, had legal proceedings raised, which does however frustrating being may be for all, restrict the information the scottish government is able to give. is alex salmond still a member of the scottish national party? these matters will be considered in the fullness of time. i have limited information. for legal reasons, i am not able that information i am not able to pass to the party. the situation will undoubtedly develop, more information will become available, but i am not able to confirm more than i have at this stage. has anyone ever come to you

with concerns about alex salmond‘s behaviour? the first i have been aware of is in the context of the two complaints we are talking about. i have no prior knowledge of complaints having been made and the complaints having been made and the complaints that have been made have been under investigation by the scottish government. what is the personal impact of this on you, as somebody who has been side by side with alex salmond for many years? this is an incredibly difficult situation for me to come to terms with. everybody knows the length and the closeness of my relationship to alex salmond and i think people will understand how difficult this is for me and for my party. this will be extremely upsetting for members of the snp up and down the country. it isa the snp up and down the country. it is a difficult situation but what is important is that complaints are treated seriously regardless of who

the person complained about is. i have been very clear about my belief in the importance of that and that isa in the importance of that and that is a principle that cannot be applied selectively, no matter how difficult that might be for me, my party or for others. australia has sworn in its sixth prime minister in 11 years after malcolm turnbull was forced out by his party rivals. scott morrison, who had been an ally of mr turnbull, won a leadership contest held this morning. no australian pm has served a full three—year term since 2007. 0ur correspondent hywel griffith sent this report from the capital, canberra, and a warning that there are flashing images. meet australia‘s latest prime minister, the fifth injust meet australia‘s latest prime minister, the fifth in just eight yea rs. scott minister, the fifth in just eight years. scott morrison is known and school mode to his friends. allies he will need as he tries to rebuild

a governing party which has torn itself to shreds and lost the trust of the australian public. there has been a lot of talk this week about whose side people are on in this building. we are on your side, that‘s what matters. building. we are on your side, that's what matters. once again, australia has a new prime minister, but scott morrison faces a dual challenge, not just but scott morrison faces a dual challenge, notjust healing the wounds of his warring party but seeking the forgiveness of the australian public who watched the events of the last week with exasperation and anger. they won‘t have been impressed with what they‘ve seen. a few days ago scott morrison was standing shoulder to shoulder with his predecessor malcolm turnbull pledging loyalty. this is my leader and i am ambitious for him. but bitter feuds within this building over climate change and immigration meant malcolm turnbull had lost control. labelling those on the right of his party for wrecking his reign. australians will be just dumbstruck and so appalled

by the conduct of the last week. how much good will is there left amongst the voters? many enjoying a drink after work in canberra were pretty unimpressed with their politicians. lam unimpressed with their politicians. i am confused. it is one leader one day and then the next day we don't know who it is. we are more disappointed and in a lot of cases quite dismayed and disgusted by the way the politicians have been playing this out. you are now the 30th prime minister of the commonwealth of australia. perhaps he should have added good luck, with an election due in nine months, just staying in power will be difficult. some are already talking about who australia‘s 31st prime minister may be. in a moment, what‘s hot and what‘s not in the business news. first, a look at the headlines on afternoon live. alex salmond, scotland‘s former first minister, describes sexual misconduct allegations against him

as ‘patently ridiculous‘, and says he‘ll take the scottish government to court over its handling of the allegations. the scottish government confirms two cases are being investigated. mr salmond‘s successor, nicola sturgeon, insists the claims won‘t be swept under the carpet. thomas cook removes guests from an egyptian hotel following the deaths of british couplejohn and susan cooper, who died at a red sea resort. here‘s your business headlines on afternoon live. customs brokers, who make electronic declarations for uk firms that import and export, are expecting a huge spike in work if britain leaves the eu without a trade deal. the boss of one of the uk‘s largest such brokers warns the amount of customs processing work could rise by 500%. george baker said it will be "very difficult to cope" if there is no brexit deal. scottish power is to raise

its standard variable gas and electricity prices from the 8th of october. it said dual fuel prices would increase by an average of 3.7%. the company said the rise was due to wholesale energy costs having risen by more than 20% since april. omg! the consumer goods giant procter & gamble has reportedly applied to trademark various textspeak abbreviations. if it succeeds, it could then use terms like lol and nbd, that‘s no big deal, to market products. it registered the trademark application with the us authorities. a trade war between china and the

us. how have they been going? things got even worse. 0n us. how have they been going? things got even worse. on thursday, the us imposed a second wave of tariffs on more than £12 billion worth of chinese goods. immediately, china retaliated and imposed import duties on the same value of us products. we can speak to paul blake about this ina can speak to paul blake about this in a little bit more detail. joining us now live from the new york stock exchange is our north america business reporter, paul blake. has anything tangible at all come out of these meetings? at least they are sitting down and

starting to exchange some views, some of their concerns, what they hope to achieve. there is a sense of relief that there is actually some talking but nothing seems to have been accomplished. there is no concrete takeaway from these two days of talks. what are the two sides saying? we have got a statement from the white house and it says the talks covered how to achieve fairness, balance and reciprocity in the relationship. the chinese saying it was a constructive exchange of views. a fairly bland statement, nothing to report on what they have agreed on or anything down in the weeds about what they talked about. bland statements. my favourite sort.

0ne bland statements. my favourite sort. one more question, is the trade will actually being felt by people in the us? i know you have been looking at the trade issue all this week. that isa the trade issue all this week. that is a really good question. there are several different sets of tariffs. there is another set of tariffs coming potentially into effect at the beginning of september. this first set that has been fully implement it, that was targeting the agriculture and industrial sectors. the average american wasn't feeling the effects. the next step, those are more likely to hit the average american in the pocket. they targeted consumer goods like furniture, housing, cartyres, even baby seats for your car. the effects of that much more likely to lead the average voter and therefore much

more likely to be scrutinised by the white house. thank you. shall we talk about energy prices? that may not be at the front of people‘s minds in august but they will start to notice in the coming weeks and months. yes, without wishing our summer away, this is important. scottishpower will raise its standard variable gas and electricity prices from the 8th of october. it said dual fuel prices would increase by an average of 3.7%. that could add about £46 to the annual bill for around 900,000 customers on that particular tariff. and why are they doing it? the company said the rise was due to wholesale energy costs having risen by more than 20% since april. it is the second price increase announced by scottish power this year. in april, it said it would raise its gas and electricity prices by 5.5% for a third of its customers.

that kicked in from the start ofjune. the company said the majority of its customers would not be affected as more than two—thirds were on fixed—price products or other tariffs not affected by the price change. but it‘s not alone in hiking prices. earlier this month, british gas announced its second price rise this year, with a 3.8% increase in its standard variable tariff, due to come into effect from october. parent company centrica said the move would affect 3.5 million customers. e.0n, sse, npower, edf and bulb have also recently raised energy prices, blaming wholesale energy costs for the increases. a good time to fix your tariffs.

yes. a fixed tariffs lock you into a fixed rate for a certain period. but it is always worth pointing out that people can look at other providers who may be able to win their custom over by offering them a more favourable deal. that kind of competition. the ftse 100 the ftse100 has gone up slightly this morning. index being helped by oil majors. 0il majors royal dutch shell and bp were giving the index a boost. they were up after a norwegian government—appointed commission ruled norway‘s massive sovereign wealth fund should stay invested in energy stocks. housebuilders persimmon, berkeley, barratt development

and taylor wimpey were among the worst—performing after data showed mortgage approvals fell injuly despite appetite for remortgaging ahead of an expected bank of england rate rise. that‘s all the business news. time for a look at the weather. there are hints of what about our weather today, not helped by that brisk north—westerly wind which is feeding in 20 showers, some of them heavy with hail and send a mixed in. but in between there are dry, bright intervals to be had, even some sunshine, particularly the further south and east you are. but it is cooler for all of south and east you are. but it is coolerfor all of us. south and east you are. but it is cooler for all of us. the jet stream has taken a bit of a dip and that has taken a bit of a dip and that has allowed that cooler it to be dragged down from the north. that is certainly reflected in today‘s temperatures. cool around those

showers but across—the—board temperatures are now back into the teens. as we head into this evening, most of the show was will gradually start to ease and fade but most places dry overnight. lengthy, clear spells. we do keep that wind so in some sheltered spots it is going to be particularly cold. temperatures down into single figures. in rural spots in particular, it will be quite a fresh start. quite a keen wind at first down the north sea coast but as high pressure starts to build, the wind will ease, most places having a fine and dry day on saturday with good spells of sunshine and in the sunshine, without those winds, it should feel quite pleasant. mid to high teens down to the low 20s. but it doesn‘t last. look what is lurking in the winds leddy for sunday. —— in the winds leddy for sunday. —— in the winds ready for sunday. pushing into

wales, northern ireland and scotland. gradually working its way eastwards through the day, and there could be some heavy bursts of rain on this. quite blustery winds as we had through the day on sunday. 0nce again, under the cloud and with the rain, it will feel cool. temperatures back down into the teens. but another quieter day to come on monday. a lot of fine and dry weather. it will feel quite fresh and there will be one or two showers feeding in on that wind. another dry day with bright or sunny spells and feeling pleasant. hello, you are watching afternoon live. today at 3pm, alex salmond, scotland‘s former first minister, says allegations of sexual misconduct against him are ridiculous. i deny i had asked

anyone and i am expressively refuting any suggestion of criminality. nicola sturgeon insists that claims won‘t be swept under the carpet. it isa won‘t be swept under the carpet. it is a difficult situation but what is important is that complaints are treated seriously, regardless of who the person complained about his. the daughter of a british couple who died while staying at a red sea resort says they were fit and healthy before their holiday. ab stain from alcohol, the sobering message from a new study confirming there is no safe level of alcohol consumption. coming up, all the sport, including afar coming up, all the sport, including a farfrom coming up, all the sport, including a far from happyjose mourinho. he is often far from a far from happyjose mourinho. he is often farfrom happy a far from happyjose mourinho. he is often far from happy at the moment. he only spoke for eight minutes at his weekly press conference. he did not say much but

he denied any rift between him and the chief executive of manchester united. i will have more from jose mourinho at 3:30pm. and we have all the weather. good afternoon. a much fresher feel to the weather at the moment thanks to the weather at the moment thanks toa to the weather at the moment thanks to a brisk north—westerly wind feeding in plenty of blustery showers to most areas. i will have all the details for the weekend weather. a bank holiday for many. also coming up, as ireland prepares to welcome the pope, we discussed the role of the catholic church in the role of the catholic church in the country. nicola sturgeon, scotland‘s first minister, has said that sexual misconduct allegations made against her predecessor alex salmond, could not be ignored or swept under the carpet.

the scottish government said it received two complaints against mr salmond earlier this year. it‘s believed they refer to events in 2013, when he was still first minister. mr salmond‘s denied the allegations and said some of them were "patently ridiculous". he taking legal action to challenge the process of investigation which he has described as "unjust". the government in holyrood said it would "defend its position vigorously". lorna gordon is in edinburgh. he is one of the best—known figures in scottish politics. alex salmond, former first minister, former mp, former msp. a man who led his party, the snp, twice and secured a referendum on independence for scotland. and who is now facing allegations of sexual misconduct in the run—up to that vote. it is believed the complaints made by two people date back to 2013, during alex salmond‘s time as a serving first minister when he would have been living here at the first minister‘s official residence, bute house. the current occupant, first minister nicola sturgeon,

said she had been aware of the investigation for some time. she said the complaint could not be ignored or swept under the carpet. i have made clear on many occasions that in all workplaces, people must feel able to bring forward complaints and have confidence that they will be treated seriously and now it is important that due process and fair process is followed. alex salmond has described the complaints procedure as unjust and has said he will proceed with a judicial review of the complaints process at the court of session. in a statement he said he has not been allowed to see and properly challenge the evidence against him. he added that the permanent secretary chose to deny me contact with any current civil servant, many of whom wished to give evidence on my behalf and access to documentation to allow me to properly challenge the complaints. all of which i refute and some of which were paid and some

of which were blatantly ridiculous. in a statement, scotland‘s most senior civil servant, the permanent secretary lesley evans, said the scottish government was limited for legal reasons in what it could say but she said alex salmond‘s statement contained significant inaccuracies which will be addressed in the court proceedings he intends to bring. the scottish government said it will defend its position vigorously. police scotland refused to comment on whether an enquiry by them is ongoing. but these just surfaced allegations have rocked scotland‘s political establishment and with the legal process now likely to start, the impact will be felt far beyond holyrood. bbc scotland‘s political respondent

has this recap for us. there are these two allegations of sexual misconduct against alex salmond, alleged to have place at bute house. and of course alex salmond says that the complaints procedure is unjust and unlawful. therefore you have this quite strange therefore you have this quite strange process therefore you have this quite strange process of a form of scottish first minister taking legal action against the scottish government, the government which he used to lead, of course. alex salmond very critical of the permanent secretary, the top civil servant, leslie evans, in the scottish government. she said that alex salmond statement contains some significant inaccuracies. daggers are drawn. this is what alex salmond was saying to us just a short time ago. listen, i have made many mistakes in my life, political and personal,

listen, i have made many mistakes in my life, politicaland personal, but i have not sexually harassed anyone andl i have not sexually harassed anyone and i certainly have not been engaged in criminality. i am and i certainly have not been engaged in criminality. lam no saint, i have got flaws but i understand that, i am looking forward to the opportunity to establish that point. did you touch someone establish that point. did you touch someone inappropriately, is there any thing that could be misconstrued in your behaviour? i cannot go into it. i in your behaviour? i cannot go into it. lam in your behaviour? i cannot go into it. i am not allowed. in your behaviour? i cannot go into it. lam not allowed. i in your behaviour? i cannot go into it. i am not allowed. i am in your behaviour? i cannot go into it. lam not allowed. lam in in your behaviour? i cannot go into it. i am not allowed. i am in a court process. i have already said to you a number of times, i have not sexually harassed anyone and i am certainly not guilty of criminality. alex salmond speaking to bbc scotla nd alex salmond speaking to bbc scotland just a short time ago. alex salmond is looking forward to having his day in court. he thinks that the scottish government have breached confidence actually as well but we have also been hearing as you saw from nicola sturgeon, the current first minister of scotland, looking actually quite visibly shaken during

her interview. she said you cannot sweep these allegations in the carpet, no matter who the person is, there has to be that independent, impartial investigation, leading to this extraordinary story. it must be immensely discomforting for her. yes, it is, and you could really thing, i —— and perhaps in some ways, frustrating, i think. she does have two in some ways be overseeing this process as the political head of the government as this investigation is run by the signor serval servants, including leslie evidence, the permanent secretary, but she has to be careful what she says and what she does of course when it comes to handling this but she did say that it has been upsetting for rural and of course it will be upsetting for the wider party, the wider scottish national party, as she was pointing out, alex

salmond such a significant figure in scottish politics, leaving office four years ago but nevertheless a well—known figure in scotland and of course, in the uk as a whole and we are going to have that day in court as he takes the scottish government to court and we will have to see what happens now. looking more at these extraordinary developments. the daughter of a couple who died at a hotel in egypt has said they were fit and healthy before their holiday. kelly 0rmerod was with her parents, john and susan cooper, who came from lancashire. they were staying at the steigenberger aqua magic hotel in the red sea resort of hurghada. mrs 0rmerod said herfather, who was 69, died in his room and her mother died in hospital. the couple had booked the holiday with thomas cook and the travel company says it‘s offering its 300 customers alternative hotels or the option to return home. dan johnson reports. what caused john and susan cooper‘s deaths? their daughter says john collapsed in his room on tuesday and susan fell ill a few hours later.

the egyptian authorities say they both suffered low blood pressure and heart failure. this is the steigenberger aqua magic hotel on egypt‘s red sea coast. thomas cook says there is no evidence of carbon monoxide poisoning here. but because other tourists have been ill, it decided to move its 300 holiday—makers or bring them home early. it is entirely possible the deaths and the illnesses are not linked. but people staying here are uneasy. everybody is really worried and obviously as the anxiety raises and people start talking, talking to each other, they are looking for answers from thomas cook. it is really disappointing. we flew out on tuesday, the day that these poor people passed away and i am really sorry about what happened. but i think we should have been given the option whether to come or not to come and we would have not. thomas cook has stopped taking bookings for the hotel and people due to travel in the next month will be offered an alternative. the hotel management and other travel companies have denied an increase in illnesses

but thomas cook says safety is its first priority. janine and her partner were unwell at the end of their stay a few weeks ago. based on our story, if there is anything untoward, they may be right decision to remove all the passengers from there. susan cooper actually worked for thomas cook at their branch in burnley. it has been closed for a second day. colleagues described her as a loyal, long serving staff member. their daughter is still in egypt with their three grandchildren. she says her parents were fit and healthy before their holiday. they may well have died of natural causes in a sad coincidence. there is still lots to be explained but in the meantime, thomas cook clearly is not taking any chances. a little earlier, sarah campbell

told us about the latest measures put in place for the holiday—makers still at the resort and those who might be going in the next few weeks. thomas cook has said they are going to give the 300 guests their alternative accommodation. in thereof —— original statement, this was they say to do with about increased levels of illness and they would be as a precautionary measure. they have released another statement and they do not mention the illness. what they do say is that there has been some speculation in today‘s media that the deaths may have been caused by carbon monoxide. currently, they say, we have no evidence to support this. and we should say that the hotel chain have been very clear in their statements that they say there is not a significant level of illness because although there were 300 thomas cup guests there, there are 1600 in total in the hotel and those people are not being moved. so it is a

little bit of a confused picture at the moment. different operators doing different things. what is going to happen to people due to go to this hotel in the future? thomas cook say if you booked via thomas cook, you cannot balk at the moment. they say that people who are due to go in the next four weeks should be getting in contact with them. there may be alternative accommodation. that is kind of central. the central thing to this story today is it is a tragic family story because you seem to have a situation where the egyptian authorities although an official postmortem has not been released, they have released a statement with quite intricate detail, shall we say, about the details and they are saying that what happened was basicallyjohn cooper, who was 69, had heart problems in the hotel room and died there and then tragically, around five hours later, his wife, who had been taken to hospital, also died. and so really, you know, that is at

the heart of this story, a family tragedy and their daughter, kelly 0rmerod, is trying to get to the bottom of what has happened and also just wants to get her three daughters back home to lancashire. sarah campbell reporting. cabinet office minister david lidington has dismissed criticism of the chancellor‘s analysis of the economic impact of a no—deal brexit, saying there was nothing new in the treasury figures. yesterday, philip hammond wrote to the treasury select committee warning of large fiscal consequences if the uk leaves the european union next year without a deal on the future relationship. but his letter received criticism from pro—brexit mps, who accused the chancellor of reigniting project fear. here is tom parton in westminster. this is not the first time that philip hammond has drawn fire from mps who backed brexit in the referendum. many of them hold a dim view of him. he is now in those parts as eeyore. and this latest row

is about a letter that he sent yesterday to the commons treasury committee in which he talked about the potential consequences of a no—deal brexit, saying that in 15 yea rs‘ no—deal brexit, saying that in 15 years‘ time, the economy could be 5-10% years‘ time, the economy could be 5—10% smaller than it would be —— would have been if a deal was reached and that would lead to the government needing to borrow as much as £80 billion extra each year. now, brexit supporters have taken a pretty sceptical view of that letter and those comments. he has though today had support from his cabinet colleague, the cabinet office minister david lidington. all of us ministers in the cabinet get umpteen letters from mps and we have two keep replying to them within the deadline. i don't... keep replying to them within the deadline. idon't... i keep replying to them within the deadline. i don't... iwouldn't keep replying to them within the deadline. i don't... i wouldn't look for any conspiracies here. i think

it was a coincidence and there is nothing that the chancellor said that has not been said before. nothing that the chancellor said that has not been said beforem nothing that the chancellor said that has not been said before. it is not just what that has not been said before. it is notjust what philip hammond said that has drawn criticism, but when he said it. because that letter was published just a few hours after dominic raab, the brexit secretary had launched the government ‘s first tranche of guidance for businesses on what to do if there is a no deal outcome to the brexit negotiations. 24 documents, 148 pages. and dominic raab in his speech launching those put a pretty positive spin on what a no—deal brexit might look like, saying there could be some disruption but it would only be in the short term and the likelihood of that outcome was pretty slim anyway. the timing has drawn criticism directly from some brexit backing mps, including people like jacob rees mogg who said yesterday that

the chancellor seems to think that no deal is absurdly frightening, saying it is nothing like as scary as philip hammond thinks. marcus fish said on twitter that this was yet another instalment of project fear. these are the headlines. alex salmond, scotland‘s former first minister, described sexual conduct allegations against him as ridiculous. he says he will take the scottish government to court over its handling of the allegations. the scottish government confirms two cases are being investigated. nicola sturgeon insist the games will not be swept under the carpet. thomas cook removes guests from a egyptian hotel following the deaths ofa egyptian hotel following the deaths of a british couple. and coming up, donald trump declares a state of emergency in hawaii. and in sport, jose mourinho denies any rift with manchester united chief executive edward wood in a

terse press conference. hugo lloris has been charged with drink—driving. the spurs captain was charged following a routine patrol stop in central london. and fernando alonso says he wants an apology from red bull after they denied his claim they offered him a drive with them for next season. i will be back with more on all those stories just after 3:30pm. there is no safe limit to alcohol consumption and health officials should consider recommending that people go teetotal, that‘s the finding of a major global study. the research, published in the lancet medicaljournal, concludes that although moderate drinking may protect against heart disease, the risk of cancer and other diseases outweighs these protections. our health correspondent, dominic hughes, reports. just how much alcohol is it safe to drink? different studies offering apparently contradictory results can be confusing, as is the level of risk posed by drinking even a moderate amount of alcohol. now new research says there is no safe level of alcohol consumption. your risk is much more increased if you drink one or two alcoholic

drinks and the risks increased markedly as you get to three, four and beyond that level of drinking. it really hazardous to your health. it‘s really hazardous to your health. the global study looked at drinking habits over 26 years in 195 countries. around the world, one in three people are thought to drink alcohol. alcohol use is linked to nearly a 10th of all deaths in those aged 15 to 49. this leaves the authors to conclude that any health benefits of drinking are outweighed by the risks. in the uk, the advice is to limit consumption by 14 units a week, around six pints of lager or seven glasses of wine. today‘s report says that people in britain have around three alcoholic drinks per day. it is a good idea to

have a look at your alcohol consumption and have a think for yourself, a think for yourself, am i drinking every day of the week? two or three drinks every day? if that is the case, it is an opportunity to think about cutting back a little bit. today‘s advice echoes that of health experts who have said there are links with diseases such as cancer. but for most people, it represents a low risk and in the end, that is what the debate around alcohol consumption comes down to, the level of risk we are each willing to live with. health experts say for most people, sticking to this level of consumption presents a very low risk and in the end, this is what the debate around alcohol consumption comes down to, the level of risk we‘re each willing to live with. dominic hughes, bbc news. australia has sworn in its sixth prime minister in four years. scott morrison who had been an ally of

malcolm turnbull, won a leadership contest held this morning. no prime minister has served a full three—year term since 2007. awarning, three—year term since 2007. a warning, there are flashing images in this report. meet australia‘s latest prime minister, the fifth injust meet australia‘s latest prime minister, the fifth in just eight yea rs. scott minister, the fifth in just eight years. scott morrison is known as sco mo to his friends. he will need allies as he tries to rebuild a governing party that has torn itself to shreds. there has been a lot of talk this week about whose side people are on in this building. we are on your side and that is what matters. once again, australia has a new prime minister. scott morrison faces a huge challenge, notjust healing the wounds of his party but in seeking the forgiveness of the australian public who have watched the events of the last week with exasperation and anger. they won‘t have been impressed with

what they have seen. just a few days ago, scott morrison was standing shoulder to shoulder with his predecessor, malcolm turnbull, pledging loyalty. this is my leader. and i am ambitious for him. bitter feuds within this building over climate change and immigration meant malcolm turnbull had lost control and he blamed those on the right of his party for wrecking his reign. australians will be just dumbstruck and so appalled by the conduct of the last week. but how much is there left amongst the voters? many enjoy a drink after the work in canberra with pretty unimpressed.” a drink after the work in canberra with pretty unimpressed. i am confused, ok? it is one leader one day and then the next day, we don't know who it is. we are more disappointed in a lot of cases, quite dismayed and disgusted by the way that the politicians have been playing this out. you are now the

30th prime minister of the commonwealth of australia. congratulations. perhaps he should have added good luck. with an election due in nine months, just staying in power will be difficult. some are already talking about cool australia‘s 31st prime minister may be. strong winds and torrential rains from hurricane lane have hit hawaii in the pacific ocean, causing flash floods and landslides. all public schools and many offices are closed as residents take shelter. the hurricane, earlier measured as category four has now been downgraded to category three, but authorities still warn it needs to be taken seriously and a state of emergency has been declared, as jon donnison reports. this is what half a metre of rain has done to hawaii. a tropical paradise, transformed. the islands

may have so far avoided a direct hit but hurricane lane has made its mark. hawaii is good to be impacted by hurricane lane, the question is how bad. right now the system is really setting up to be a significant rain event, torrential rains, forecasters are predicting over 30 inches in some parts. we are extremely concerned about the potential is for inland flooding, landslides occurring and damage to the transportation, communication infrastructure. many have had to flee their homes with dozens of evacuation centres set up across the state. long queues have formed outside supermarkets with people urged to stockpile food and water. a state of emergency has been declared. we have the federal aid, all of the counties here, to make sure that we are protecting the health, safety and welfare of all of our people, including by the way close to 300,000 tourists who are in

the state right now. these pictures from the international space station show the hurricane irma is at —— as it approached hawaii earlier this week. two or three days ago, it was category five, top of the scale. these sorts of powerful storms are really rare close to hawaii. it is not actually get that many hurricanes. but this is the latest satellite image. there is the big island hawaii itself. this smaller one is honolulu. this track shows you where the eye of the storm may be in the next two, three days. it just so happens that in the last minute, it is taking a 90 degrees turn, so hopefully, the worst of the storm will stay out to sea. but the authorities are not taking any chances, with beaches being reinforced for a possible storm surge. hawaii ‘s surface, the only ones

making hay while the sun does not shine. good afternoon. there are hints of autumn about the weather today, not helped of course by that brisk north westerly wind which is feeding in plenty of showers. some of them heavy with hegel and thunder mixed in there. but in between, there are dry and bright intervals. but it is cooler for all of dry and bright intervals. but it is coolerfor all of us. dry and bright intervals. but it is cooler for all of us. the jet stream has taken a bit of a dip and that has taken a bit of a dip and that has allowed the cool air to get dragged down from the north, which isa dragged down from the north, which is a cool direction even at this time of year. that is certainly reflected in the temperatures today. across the board, temperatures are now back down into the teens. as we head into this evening, most of the showers will gradually start to ease and fade. most places dry overnight.

lengthy clear spells. we do keep that wind. in some sheltered spots, it will be particularly cold. temperatures down into single figures. quite a fresh start on saturday morning. but italy down the north sea coast. quite a keen win as high pressure starts to build, the winds will ease and it will settle down. most places having a fine day on saturday. in the sunshine, it should feel quite pleasant. temperatures up a notch or two on today. but it does not last because look what is lurking in the wings. sunday, a low pressure system will bring rain to most places, i think, throughout the day. it pushes into south—west england, wales, north—west england, northern ireland and scotland first thing in the morning, gradually working its way eastwards through the day. quite

blustery winds. and once again, under the cloud and with the rain, it will feel cold. temperatures back down into the teens. another quieter day to come on monday. a lot of fine and dry weather. windsmoor north—westerly. it will feel quite fresh. essentially another dry day with bright or sunny spells and feeling fairly pleasant. this is bbc news. our latest headlines. scotland‘s former first minister alex salmond has said that although he‘s no saint and has flaws, he has not sexually harassed anyone. mr salmond‘s comments come after the investigation of misconduct claims from two people. i deny that i harassed anyone and i explicitly refute any suggestion of criminality. current scottish first minister nicola sturgeon said that while the situation was difficult to come to terms with due to the pair‘s political relationship, the claims, which were made injanuary, could not be ignored.

the daughter of a couple who died at a thomas cook hotel in egypt says her parents were fit and healthy before their holiday. local authorities have said john and susan cooper suffered heart and respiratory failure, while thomas cook continues to look into the circumstances of their deaths. a new global study confirms previous research that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption and suggests that health officials should consider recommending that people go teetotal. sport now on afternoon live with katherine. jose mourinho not very happy. he started off by pulling a bit of a swift one on reporters by turning up half an hour early, so a lot of them weren‘t there. when he did get started, the press conference only lasted eight minutes and he

dismissed a lot of the questions out of hand. those who did answer, he dismissed rumours of a rift between himself and the manchester united chief executive ed woodward. and paul pogba as well. reports during pre—season of a frosty relationship between the three of them. but he says there is no problem there at all. the rest of the questions, he didn‘t want to give them the time of day. what? do you think it might be an overreaction? you are pessimistic, i am not. how do i feel? i feel we played well against leicester and we won. i felt we played bad against brighton and we lost. a montage of his grumpiest moments from today‘s press conference. it brings a whole new meaning to the word dismissive. some news this afternoon about the

totte n ha m some news this afternoon about the tottenham captain. tottenham and france goalkeeper hugo lloris has been charged with drink driving. the spurs captain was charged following a routine patrol stop in central london. he‘s been bailed to return to westminster magistrates‘ court on tuesday the 11th of september. his side will face manchester united at old trafford on monday. fernando alonso says he wants an apology from red bull after they denied his claims that they hovered him to drive for them next season. red bull boss christian horner insisted they hadn‘t offered him a contract since 2007. fernando alonso said christian warner apologised by e—mailfor comment said christian warner apologised by e—mail for comment saying he said christian warner apologised by e—mailfor comment saying he is difficult to work with. meanwhile, second practice at the belgian grand prix has just finished. formula second practice at the belgian grand prix hasjust finished. formula 1 back from its summer break. kimi raikkonen seems to have benefited most from the rest. he has won more belgian grand prix is than any of the current drivers. he finished

tenth of a second before lewis hamilton. sebastian down in fifth. chris ashton‘s hopes of an england recall could be further complicated, with the dates of his ban for a dangerous tackle during pre—season possibly subject to change. his seven week ban was due to start with another pre—season friendly scheduled for tonight. but that match isn‘t on the fixture list, which means his ban could start later, and he won‘t get to play at all before england boss eddiejones names his squad for the autumn internationals. the first track gold of the day at the european pa ra—athletics championships has been won by david devine. he added to great britain‘s impressive tally in berlin with victory in the t13 5000m. that‘s on top of the silver he won in the 1500m earlier in the week. me and my coach just me and my coachjust said, i knew i am in good shape sojust go to the front and control it for 4000 metres. and then go with two laps to go and put a kick in. one of the spanish guys went past me a few

times but only for a lap or half a lap each time, sol times but only for a lap or half a lap each time, so i am made up with that. that is exactly howl lap each time, so i am made up with that. that is exactly how i wanted it to go. the three—time olympian david murdoch has been named as british curling‘s new national coach, ahead of the 2022 winter olympics. murdoch won silver with great britain at sochi four years ago, as well as two world and three european titles. he turned his attention to full—time coaching last year and said he was honoured to be given the role. olympic gold and silver medal winning cyclist callum skinner is taking a break from the sport in an effort to recharge his batteries. the 26—year—old won bronze in the one kilometre time trial for scotland at the commonwealth games back in april. he says he still wants to compete at the 2020 olympics in tokyo once his indefinite break from the sport ends. that‘s all the sport for now. let‘s get more on the claims of sexual harassment made against the scotland‘s

formerfirst minister. alex salmond strongly denies the claims, dating back to his time in office. the scottish government has confirmed it received two complaints regarding mr salmond. he‘s says he now plans to take court action to challenge the way the investigation has been handled — saying he hasn‘t been allowed to see the evidence against him. mr salmond‘s been talking our scotland political editor, brian taylor. these complaints in march, which was two months after the process has started, and crucially was told at this time that it was a confidential process, nothing would be said about it, we were offered to contribute on that explicit basis. this week, the scottish government proposed to put out a statement breaching that confidentiality. that sort of thing is important, not just for me, but for the complainants. who on earth is going to enter a process like this if confidentiality is breached by the scottish government themselves? i cannot understand what they are doing. the inherent nature of a process such as this depends on confidentiality throughout the process, not least for the people who made the complaint.

as i understand it there are two complainants. do you deny the allegations totally and fully? i deny that i harassed anyone and i explicitly refuse any suggestion of criminality. now, i can‘t talk about the complainant or the complaints. the process is now going to court, the highest court in the land. if you had asked me would i have been in the position to take the scottish government to court, i would have been totally amazed, but that is what is necessary in order to establish a fair process. you have to have a a fair and just process and i hope that is what will be delivered. have you ever sexually harassed someone? have you been involved in behaviour

that could be construed as that? i have never sexually harassed anyone and i have certainly never been engaged in criminality of that kind. i just want the opportunity to establish that point to a fair process. i obviously regret deeply that the scottish government have decided to breach the confidential eddy of their own process. i think that is a dreadful thing. there is one benefit and that is now the matter moves to a real court, where things can be properlyjudged and everybody will know it is a fair account for everyone because it is that setting. in a way, that is the benefit of the actions of the scottish government. did you behave at any time in a way that could be misconstrued as inappropriate? i have made many mistakes in my life, political and personal,

but i have not sexually harassed anyone and i certainly have not been engaged in criminality. i am no saint, i have got flaws, i understand that, and i am looking forward to the opportunity to establish that point. did you touch somebody inappropriately? is there anything that could be misconstrued in your behaviour? i am not allowed... i am in a court process and i have already said to you a number of times, i have never sexually harassed anyone and certainly no criminality. in a moment, the latest business news. first a look at the headlines on afternoon live. alex salmond, scotland‘s former first minister, describes sexual misconduct allegations against him as ‘patently ridiculous‘, and says he‘ll take the scottish government to court over

its handling of the allegations. the scottish government confirms two cases are being investigated. mr salmond‘s successor, nicola sturgeon, insists the claims won‘t be swept under the carpet thomas cook removes guests from an egyptian hotel following the deaths of a british couplejohn and susan cooper who died at a red sea resort. here‘s your business headlines on afternoon live. pro brexit mps have accused the chancellor of spreading fear after he warned of the possible damage to the economy if britain leaves the eu without a trade deal. philip hammond published a letter on the treasury website warning that a "no deal" brexit could mean uk economic growth is around 7% less over the next 15 years than it would be otherwise, based on current conditions. energy prices rise again. scottish power will increase its gas and electricity prices for people on standard variable tariffs.

the hike will come in from 8 october. it said dual fuel prices would increase by an average of 3.7%. scottish power blamed a steep rise of more than a fifth since april in the price that it pays for energy on the wholesale market. ryanair is tightening the rules on what passengers pay to take luggage onto the plane, in order to ‘speed up boarding‘. from november, passengers will still be allowed to take one ‘small personal bag‘ into the cabin, as long as it will fit under the seat in front. but they will have to pay £6 if they also want to take a 10kg bag, such as a pull—along suitcase, on board. the airline says the move is not aimed at making money, but intended to ‘improve punctuality and reduce boarding gate delays‘. more of us are choosing to holiday at home. more than 7 million of us planning a holiday at home for the

august bank holiday. a survey has just been released and the trip tracker shows 7.3 million brits planning an overnight holiday stay in the uk, bringing an estimated £1.75 billion into the economy. that has been increasing over the years. last year it was £6.9 million. the year before that, 5.1 million. joining us now is patricia yates, director of visitengland. we were having such a wonderful summer but today it is a bit overcast, temperatures nothing to write home about, so why are people choosing to stay here? the weather came atjust choosing to stay here? the weather came at just the choosing to stay here? the weather came atjust the right choosing to stay here? the weather came at just the right time when the school '5 broker sold a lot of people have been exploring england and taking their main holiday at home. that pattern looks to

continue. as people experience more of the country, they realise how much more there is to see and the investment that has gone into the tourism industry both in increasing what you can do on wet weather days but also the standard and quality of accommodation and a range of accommodation and a range of accommodation that you can now choose. is there any sort of a steer from your survey as to what kind of holidays are proving the most popular? is it outdoors? hill walking? that kind of thing? 0r city —based, museums and galleries?m walking? that kind of thing? 0r city -based, museums and galleries? it is still the case that beach holidays are the most popular. but while we have seen is a big increase in trips to cities. so really polarising. and rural and village holidays still about the same. it is those two ends of the spectrum that are growing. were there any surprises that you

came across in the survey?” were there any surprises that you came across in the survey? i think how many of us still haven't made up our minds, actually. 7 million people are going to travel, 8 million people are not quite sure and they are waiting to see what the weather is like. i think that is the story very often of us holidaying at home. the weatherjust has to be right at the right moment. as the director of visit england, is there any way you think that is massively underrated and away from people‘s radar? if i told you that, everybody would know. good answer! i will be staying locally because my village has affair. there are places i love all over england. the beaches, the coast of yorkshire, just stunning. little hint there, i think. thank you very much indeed.

iam nota you very much indeed. i am not a great use of text speak. i‘m no fan of text speak, fyi, but it seems that it could be emblazoned all over household goods products? yes, and btw, by the way, i am occasionally guilty of using those abbreviations. but procter and gamble, the consumer goods giant, wants to trademark them apparently, so it can use them to market products. it‘s registered a trademark application for terms like lol and nbd with the us authorities. some think it‘s part of an effort to try and reach younger shoppers who might find established product brands a bit stuffy and maybe more likely to buy, say a kitchen cleaning product called icymi, or "in case you missed it". that was my own one. i had a text

speak message and i thought it looked like someone had lent on the keyboard. the markets? the ftse100 in positive territory but onlyjust. nothing really extravagant there. it has been given a boost by some of the big oil companies like bp and royal dutch shell. the price of crude oil has been creeping up through the afternoon because of concerns about the supply from iran, as the us sanctions have kicked back in. house—builders are down. persimmon, taylor wimpey, barrett, because injuly persimmon, taylor wimpey, barrett, because in july there were fewer mortgage applications approved despite their in theory being a lot of demand as people try to get on better mortgages before more interest rate rises coming from the bank of england. thank you. almost 40 years on from

the last papal visit tens of thousands of people are expected to travel to dublin to see pope francis this weekend. but in the wake of abuse scandals in the catholic church what kind of welcome will he receive? chris page reports. 39 years ago, ireland put on a massive display of euphoria, devotion and loyalty. people of ireland... john paul ii was the first pope to visit the country which, at the time, was often described as the most catholic in the world. tomorrow, pope francis will arrive on a transformed ireland. the church‘s influence is much diminished and its reputation badly damaged. people who were abused in children‘s homes run by religous orders are preparing to protest. they want the pope to say sorry on behalf of the church and go further. we‘re asking him to apologise and, not only that, to fork up and do what‘s right. out of the faults and the money that they have, it‘s not all about money, i know that, but that‘s the only form of justice that people are going to get,

especially our elderly people, whose lives have been ruined. the revelations aren‘t over yet, especially in northern ireland. stormont has commissioned research on church institutions for unmarried mothers to help decide if there‘ll be a public enquiry. particularly for a lot of women in northern ireland, their voices have not been heard. we do not know about their stories. and those stories are ones that we will hopefully be able to hear, be able to uncover, be able to understand more in a new era, as the church does have to deal with the responsibilities from the past. the dark side of the church‘s past continues to overshadow its present. but catholic church attendances in ireland are still proportionally the third highest in europe. there are many thousands who express their faith practically and wholeheartedly to make a positive difference. at saint patrick‘s parish in north belfast, about 200 come to this soup kitchen every weekend.

it‘s open to anyone in need from all communities and backgrounds. i suppose part of any christian faith is the basics isjust to reach out your helping hand and feed people. as christian catholic people, we want to be able to ensure that the people around us are given every bit of help that we can give. a number of the volunteers will be heading south for the pope‘s visit. they admire what he says about tackling poverty. they say the pope has shown a form of leadership around different social issues, around homelessness, and shown passion as well, which is very important that that passion is shown and you can see the passion that people have. i believe, as well, that we're saving lives here. the soul of ireland is under the spotlight. half a million people are expected to come here to phoenix park in dublin for a papal mass on sunday. for the catholic church‘s most sincere members and its strongest critics, this weekend will be significant, symbolic and historic. chris page, bbc news.

with me is ruth gledhill, multimedia editor of the tablet. i‘m also joined by margaret mcguckin who is a founding member he‘s a very different kind of pope but how difficult is this going to be? there has been a massive decline in catholic practice and the number of priests but most recently there has been this deluge of the most evil scandals with priests raping boys while other priests raping boys while other priests look on. suddenly, all these

voices are coming out. this has been going on for years but suddenly now it is coming out, we are hearing about it, and so pope francis, in an unenviable position, he has got to sort this out. it is an unprecedented challenge for any pope. whether it should be sorted out, massive structural changes are neededin out, massive structural changes are needed in the church from the bottom up, needed in the church from the bottom up, women needed in the church from the bottom up, women priests, the voice needs to be heard and acknowledged. the church saying, women, you can‘t receive contraception, you can‘t receive contraception, you can‘t receive communion if your husband has run off with a younger woman and you have remarried, and then they are going off raping little boys. finally they are being held to

account. thank you to the survivors who are coming out and telling the truth about what is going on about the great evil being perpetrated in the great evil being perpetrated in the name of the gospel by one of those priests. i‘m also joined by margaret mcguckin who is a founding member of the survivors and victims of institutional abuse support group. she‘s in dublin. tel is the lasting impact the abuse you suffered through the church has had on your life. it has been a lifetime of trauma, post—traumatic, anxiety, depression, and just lifetime of trauma, post—traumatic, anxiety, depression, andjust a disastrous life if you could even call it that, and that is because of being locked up in this institution, which was more like a prison with barbed wire on the walls. it was

24-7. we didn't barbed wire on the walls. it was 24—7. we didn't get out on weekends, we didn't get out in the evenings. we we re we didn't get out in the evenings. we were supposed to be cared for. as we found out in the historical institutional abuse enquiry, it was systemic abuse, it was neglect, physical punishment, we scrubbed floors, we scrubbed walls, they used us as floors, we scrubbed walls, they used us as child slaves. but that was as locked up in a small domain where even the girls in the place wherel was in followed the example of the nuns and beat out that the younger children. this is the way it went on the whole eight years i was there. you were in the nazareth house children‘s home. what is your relationship like now with the church? with the catholic church? there is no relationship at all. i do have my faith in one man above but not in any priests or bishops

and certainly not the pope. they are not a shining light, they are not an example to anyone, especially because of the enquiries all over the world, never mind what is coming out now from pennsylvania and even today, where 27 priests have stood down, but that is because of the fear of people standing up, campaigners and the media, showing them that they have gone far enough. it is never going to be the same. the catholic church has no power over the ordinary people and they will never have and we will continue to pound —— campaign against it because they have covered up, they are in denial, and it doesn't matter what language the pope uses today, it will certainly not wash with us. we do not believe them. they will come out with the right words to tickle people's years, but they are a laughing stock. i tickle people's years, but they are a laughing stock. lam ashamed for

the decent ordinary catholic people who still have their faith and give their lives to the catholic church, never mind to the collection plates, which all our fathers and mothers did through their lives to build up the coffers of the catholic church, which went into leading the vatican, one of the richest countries in the world, and what they do? they prey on children and vulnerable people to their own pockets. but how would you describe how adequate the response has been so far from pope describe how adequate the response has been so farfrom pope francis, who has spoken out about the historical abuse probably more than any other pontiff? it is not good enough and it does not go far enough. he has quoted scripture, but we can all quote scripture. but they don't practice what they preach. and they know what to say to try and smooth things over. he is doing this

now because he is coming to dublin but people are not listening any more. you will have the faithful there will always be because many catholic people are still in denial because they don't want to believe what the catholic church has done to its people. they don't want to believe because it hurts too much. i used to trying not to remember anything that happened to me and my brother and my other family members because it hurt too much. it hurts us. because it hurt too much. it hurts us. it only hurts them in their pocket and l us. it only hurts them in their pocket and i think that is what they are all about. they are a conglomerate for money on the backs of others. where did the impetus come, then? for the kind of reform you are talking about. given that in some parts of the world, they will feel the way that people do in ireland. well, the bishop of portsmouth has this week called,

written to the pope, and called for a sin not —— a meeting of the bishops. i think perhaps lady throughout the world are waking up to the truth of what has been happening in their church. i believe in the gospel, i am a christian, and i think, i in the gospel, i am a christian, and ithink, i believe in the gospel, i am a christian, and i think, i believe in god, and in the gospel, i am a christian, and ithink, i believe in god, and i think there is good in christianity. now, the question is, can the catholic church deliver that good any more? can it be the means of helping people access that good that it has traditionally presented itself as being, the moral arbiter, thejudge and jury, itself as being, the moral arbiter, the judge and jury, telling itself as being, the moral arbiter, thejudge and jury, telling us itself as being, the moral arbiter, the judge and jury, telling us what we can and can‘t do with our bodies? but aren‘t you asking the catholic

church to fundamentally do away with some of its beliefs? i don't know. i‘m not actually going that far... well, am i going that far? i don‘t know. i am well, am i going that far? i don‘t know. iam nothing in well, am i going that far? i don‘t know. i am nothing in this because the survivors are the people who are important in this. so much has been challenged. a country, a nation, ireland, one of the most catholic countries in the world, has been rocked to its very foundations. i think the future of the catholic church in ireland is in question and massive reform is needed if it‘s going to survive. just put that to you, margaret, can the catholic church to live in ireland and how does it do so in a way that is fit for purpose in the 21st century? no, i think they have failed everyone now. i don't i think they have failed everyone now. ldon't think they will ever pick up again. ordinary, decent catholic church going people have seen catholic church going people have seen the truth now over the years,

especially in the north and the south of ireland, and it is too little too late no matter what the pope says any more. i have my faith to, as many other people do, but they have their faith in god and not in man. the pope is only a man. we have forgiven many of them for what they have them against us but they will have to answer to god. margaret, you raise some very interesting points. and also ruth, thank you. time for a look at the weather. good afternoon. it is a cooler feeling day not helped by brisk winds. as we head into the weekend, it isa winds. as we head into the weekend, it is a mixed picture. high pressure will dominate the story on saturday but we have got rain moving in on

sunday. it is reflected in the temperatures, widely backed down into the teens across the board. as we head into this evening, we keep quite a brisk wind but most of those showers will gradually ease and faith. clear skies for many areas. 0ne faith. clear skies for many areas. one or two showers in north—west england, north wales and the west midlands. temperatures back down into single figures, particularly in sheltered spots. a much cooler start on saturday morning, particularly down north sea coasts. quite a brisk northerly breeze that gradually eases as high pressure starts to build in. potentially, a dry day. the chance of one or two showers and then lighter winds with more sunshine. you‘re watching afternoon live. the headlines at 4pm: former first minister of scotland alex salmond describes sexual

misconduct allegations against him as ridiculous and says he will take the scottish government to court over its handling of the claims. i deny that i harassed anyone and i am explicitly refuting any suggestion of criminality. the scottish government confirms two cases are being investigated. nicola sturgeon insists the claims won‘t be swept under the carpet. it isa swept under the carpet. it is a difficult situation but what is important is that complaints are treated seriously, regardless of who the person complained about is. the family of a british couple who died while staying at a red sea resort say they are in utter shock as they await results of postmortem examinations. ab stain from alcohol, the sobering message from a new study concerning pre—surge that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption —— previous research.

coming up, all the sport and jose mourinho not very talkative. he did manage to deny any rift between himself and the manchester united chief executive and himself and the team captain paul parker but those are the only question he deigned to answer. all very grumpy and just eight minutes long. i will have more at 3:30pm. —— 4:30pm. and we have the weather. a chill in the airfor some. a much fresher feel as we head to the weekend. a bank holiday for many. there is some rain in the forecast but a lot of dry weather also. i will have the details later on in the programme. also coming up, donald trump declares a state of emergency for hawaii as flash flooding and strong winds hit the us state as hurricane lane approaches. nicola sturgeon, scotland‘s first minister,

has said that sexual misconduct allegations made against her predecessor alex salmond, could not be ignored or swept under the carpet. the scottish government said it received two complaints against mr salmond earlier this year. it‘s believed they refer to events in 2013, when he was still first minister. mr salmond‘s denied the allegations and said some of them were "patently ridiculous". he‘s taking legal action to challenge the process of investigation which he has described as "unjust". the government in holyrood said it would "defend its position vigorously". lorna gordon is in edinburgh. he is one of the best—known figures in scottish politics. alex salmond, former first minister, former mp, former msp. a man who led his party, the snp, twice and secured a referendum on independence for scotland. and who is now facing allegations of sexual misconduct in the run—up to that vote. it is believed the complaints made by two people date back to 2013, during alex salmond‘s time as a serving first minister when he would have been living here at the first minister‘s official residence, bute house.

the current occupant, first minister nicola sturgeon, said she had been aware of the investigation for some time. she said the complaint could not be ignored or swept under the carpet. i have made clear on many occasions that in all workplaces, people must feel able to bring forward complaints and have confidence that they will be treated seriously and now it is important that due process and fair process is followed. alex salmond has described the complaints procedure as unjust and has said he will proceed with a judicial review of the complaints process at the court of session. in a statement he said he has not been allowed to see and properly challenge the evidence against him. he added that the permanent secretary chose to deny me contact it is what is necessary in order to

establish a fair process and you have to have a fair kick up the boy. you have got to have justice in the process. not just for the you have got to have justice in the process. notjust for the person on the receiving end of the complaints but for the complainers themselves. i have not sexually harassed anyone andi i have not sexually harassed anyone and i certainly have not been engaged in criminality. i am and i certainly have not been engaged in criminality. iam no saint. i understand that. but these... iam saint. i understand that. but these... i am looking forward to the opportunity to establish that point. ina opportunity to establish that point. in a statement, the permanent secretary lesley evans said the scottish government was limited for legal reasons in what it could say but she said alex salmond ‘s statement contains significant inaccuracies which will be addressed in the court proceedings he intends to bring. the scottish government says it will defend its position vigorously. police scotland refused to comment on whether an enquiry by them is

ongoing. but these just surfaced allegations have rocked scotland‘s political establishment and with the legal process now likely to start, the impact will be felt far beyond holyrood. the daughter of a couple who died at a hotel in egypt has said they were fit and healthy before their holiday. kelly 0rmerod was with her parents, john and susan cooper, who came from lancashire. they were staying at the steigenberger aqua magic hotel in the red sea resort of hurghada. mrs 0rmerod said herfather, who was 69, died in his room and her mother died in hospital. the couple had booked the holiday with thomas cook and the travel company says it‘s offering its 300 customers alternative hotels or the option to return home. dan johnson reports. what caused john and susan cooper‘s deaths? their daughter says john collapsed in his room on tuesday and susan fell ill a few hours later. the egyptian authorities say they both suffered low blood pressure and heart failure. this is the steigenberger aqua magic hotel on egypt‘s red sea coast. thomas cook says there is no evidence of carbon monoxide poisoning here.

but because other tourists have been ill, it decided to move its 300 holiday—makers or bring them home early. it is entirely possible the deaths and the illnesses are not linked. but people staying here are uneasy. everybody is really worried and obviously as the anxiety raises and people start talking, talking to each other, they are looking for answers from thomas cook. it is really disappointing. we flew out on tuesday, the day that these poor people passed away and i am really sorry about what happened. but i think we should have been given the option whether to come or not to come and we would have not. thomas cook has stopped taking bookings for the hotel and people due to travel in the next month will be offered an alternative. the hotel management and other travel companies have denied an increase in illnesses but thomas cook says safety is its first priority. janine and her partner were unwell at the end of their stay a few weeks ago.

based on our story, if there is anything untoward, they may be right decision to remove all the passengers from there. susan cooper actually worked for thomas cook at their branch in burnley. it has been closed for a second day. colleagues described her as a loyal, long serving staff member. their daughter is still in egypt with their three grandchildren. she says her parents were fit and healthy before their holiday. they may well have died of natural causes in a sad coincidence. there is still lots to be explained but in the meantime, thomas cook clearly is not taking any chances. 0ur correspondent sarah campbell told us about the latest measures put in place for the holiday—makers still at the resort in egypt and those who might be going in the next

few weeks. thomas cook has said they are going to give the 300 guests their alternative accommodation. in their alternative accommodation. in their original statement they said this was to do with reports about increased levels of illness and they we re increased levels of illness and they were going to be taking this as a precautionary measure. they have released another statement in the last couple of hours and they don‘t mention the illness. what they do say is there have seen speculation in today‘s media the deaths might have been caused by carbon monoxide poisoning. currently they say we have no evidence to support this and we should say that the hotel chain have been very clear in their state m e nts have been very clear in their statements that they say there is not a significant level of illness because although there were 300 thomas cook guests there, there are 1600 in total in the hotel and those people are not being moved. it is a little bit of a confused picture at the moment. different operators doing different things. what is going to happen to people due to go to this hotel in the future? thomas

cook say if you book via thomas cook, you cannot book at the moment. they say people who have booked should be getting in contact with them and there may be alternative accommodation. that is kind of central. the central thing to this story today is it is a tragedy, a tragic family story. the egyptian authorities although an official postmortem has not been released, they have released a statement with quite intricate detail, shall we say, about the details and they are saying that what happened was basicallyjohn cooper who was 69 had heart problems in the hotel room and died there and then tragically, around five hours later, his wife, who had been taken to hospital, also died. and so really, you know, that is at the heart of this story, a family tragedy and their daughter, kelly 0rmerod is trying to get to the bottom of what has happened and also just wants to get her three

daughters back home to lancashire. sarah campbell reporting. cabinet office minister david lidington has dismissed criticism of the chancellor‘s analysis of the economic impact of a no—deal brexit, saying there was nothing new in the treasury figures. yesterday, philip hammond wrote to the treasury select committee warning of large fiscal consequences if the uk leaves the european union next year without a deal on the future relationship. but his letter received criticism from pro—brexit mps, who accused the chancellor of reigniting project fear. this isn‘t the first time that philip hammond has drawn fire from mps who backed brexit in the referendum. many of them hold a dim view of him. he is known in those parts as eeyore by some mps. and this latest row was about a letter he sent yesterday to the commons treasury committee in which he

talked about the potential consequences of a no—deal brexit, saying that in 15 years‘ time, the economy could be 5—10% smaller than it would have been if a deal was reached and that that would lead to the government needing to borrow as much as £80 billion extra each year. brexit supporters have taken a pretty sceptical view of that letter and those comments. he has though today had support from his cabinet colleague, the cabinet office minister david lidington. all of us ministers in the cabinet get umpteen letters from mps and we have to keep replying to them within the deadline that we are setting government to keep the correspondence turned round. i would keep the correspondence turned round. iwould not keep the correspondence turned round. i would not look for any conspiracies here. i think it was a coincidence and there is nothing at the chancellor said that has not been said before. it is notjust what philip hammond said that has

drawn criticism, but when he said it because that letter was published just a few hours after dominic raab, the brexit secretary, had launched the brexit secretary, had launched the government first tranche of guidance for businesses on what to do if there is a no deal outcome to the brexit negotiations. 24 documents, 148 pages. and dominic raab in his speech with a pretty positive spin on what a no—deal brexit might look like, saying there could be some disruption but it would only be in the short term and the likelihood of that outcome was pretty slim anyway. the timing has drawn criticism directly from sam brexit cracking mps, including people like jacob rees mogg who said yesterday that the chancellor seems to think that no deal is absurdly frightening, saying it is nothing like as scary as philip hammond

thinks. marcus fish said on twitter that this was yet another instalment of project fear. there is no safe limit to alcohol consumption and health officials should consider recommending that people go teetotal, that‘s the finding of a major global study. the research, published in the lancet medicaljournal, concludes that although moderate drinking may protect against heart disease, the risk of cancer and other diseases outweighs these protections. our health correspondent, dominic hughes, reports. just how much alcohol is it safe to drink? different studies offering apparently contradictory results can be confusing, as is the level of risk posed by drinking even a moderate amount of alcohol. now new research says there is no safe level of alcohol consumption. your risk is much more increased if you drink one or two alcoholic drinks and the risks increased markedly as you get to three, four and beyond that level of drinking. it‘s really hazardous to your health. the global study looked at drinking habits over 26

years in 195 countries. around the world, one in three people are thought to drink alcohol. alcohol use is linked to nearly a 10th of all deaths in those aged 15 to 49. this leaves the authors to conclude that any health benefits of drinking are outweighed by the risks. in the uk, the advice is to limit consumption by 14 units a week, around six pints of lager or seven glasses of wine. today‘s report says that people in britain have around three alcoholic drinks per day. it is a good idea to have a look at your alcohol consumption and have a think for yourself, am i drinking every day of the week? two or three drinks every day? if that is the case, it is an opportunity to think about cutting back a little bit. today‘s advice echoes that of health experts who have said there are links with diseases such as cancer.

but for most people, it represents a low risk and in the end, that is what the debate around alcohol consumption comes down to, the level of risk we are each willing to live with. dominic hughes, bbc news. these are the headlines. alex salmond describes sexual misconduct allegations against him as ridiculous and says he will take the scottish government to court over its handling of the allegations. the scottish government confirms two cases are being investigated. nicola sturgeon insists the claims won‘t be swept under the carpet. the daughter of a british couple who died while staying at a red sea resort says they were fit and healthy before their holiday. postmortem examinations are taking place. and in sport, jose mourinho

denies any rift with the manchester united chief executive in a bad—tempered press conference lasting only eight minutes. hugo lloris has been charged with drink—driving. the spurs captain is charged following a routine patrols in central london. fernando alonso says he wants an apology from red bull after they denied his claim they had offered him a drive with them for next season. i will be back with all those stories at around 4:30pm. australia has sworn in its sixth prime minister in 11 years after malcolm turnbull was forced out by party rivals. scott morrison won a leadership contest held this morning. no australian prime minister has served a full three—year term since 2007. a warning, there is some flashing images in this report. scott morrison is known as sco mo to his friends.

he will need allies as he tries to rebuild a governing party that has torn itself to shreds. there has been a lot of talk this week about whose side people are on in this building. we are on your side and that is what matters. once again, australia has a new prime minister. scott morrison faces a huge challenge, notjust healing the wounds of his party but in seeking the forgiveness of the australian public who have watched the events of the last week with exasperation and anger. they won‘t have been impressed with what they have seen. just a few days ago, scott morrison was standing shoulder to shoulder with his predecessor, malcolm turnbull, pledging loyalty. this is my leader. and i am ambitious for him. bitter feuds within this building over climate change and immigration meant malcolm turnbull had lost control and he blamed those on the right of his party for wrecking his reign. australians will be just dumbstruck

and so appalled by the conduct of the last week. but how much is there left amongst the voters? many enjoy a drink after the work in canberra with pretty unimpressed. i am confused, ok? it is one leader one day and then the next day, we don't know who it is. we are more disappointed in a lot of cases, quite dismayed and disgusted by the way that the politicians have been playing this out. you are now the 30th prime minister of the commonwealth of australia. congratulations. perhaps he should have added good luck. with an election due in nine months, just staying in power will be difficult. some are already talking about who australia‘s 31st prime minister may be. strong winds and torrential rains

from hurricane lane have hit hawaii in the pacific ocean, causing flash floods and landslides. all public schools and many offices are closed as residents take shelter. the hurricane, earlier measured as category four has now been downgraded to category three, but authorities still warn it needs to be taken seriously and a state of emergency has been declared, as jon donnison reports. this is what half a metre of rain has done to hawaii. a tropical paradise, transformed. the islands may have so far avoided a direct hit but hurricane lane has made its mark. hawaii is going to be impacted by hurricane lane, the question is how bad. right now the system is really setting up to be a significant rain event, torrential rains, forecasters are predicting over 30 inches in some parts. we are extremely concerned about the potential is for inland flooding, landslides occurring and damage to the transportation, communication infrastructure.

many have had to flee their homes with dozens of evacuation centres set up across the state. long queues have formed outside supermarkets with people urged to stockpile food and water. a state of emergency has been declared. we have the federal state, all of the counties here, to make sure that we are protecting the health, safety and welfare of all of our people, including by the way close to 300,000 tourists who are in the state right now. these pictures from the international space station show the hurricane as it approached hawaii earlier this week. two or three days ago, it was category five, top of the scale. these sorts of powerful storms are really rare close to hawaii. it does not actually get that many hurricanes.

but this is the latest satellite image. there is the big island hawaii itself. this smaller one is honolulu. this track shows you where the eye of the storm may be in the next two, three days. itjust so happens that in the last minute, it is taking a 90 degrees turn, so hopefully, the worst of the storm will stay out to sea. but the authorities are not taking any chances, with beaches being reinforced for a possible storm surge. hawaii‘s surfers, the only ones making hay while the sun does not shine. almost 40 years on from the last papal visit tens of thousands of people are expected to travel to dublin to see pope francis this weekend. but in the wake of abuse scandals in the catholic church what kind of welcome will he receive?

chris page reports. 39 years ago, ireland put on a massive display of euphoria, devotion and loyalty. people of ireland... john paul ii was the first pope to visit the country which, at the time, was often described as the most catholic in the world. tomorrow, pope francis will arrive on a transformed ireland. the church‘s influence is much diminished and its reputation badly damaged. people who were abused in children‘s homes run by religous orders are preparing to protest. they want the pope to say sorry on behalf of the church and go further. we‘re asking him to apologise and, not only that, to fork up and do what‘s right. out of the faults and the money that they have, it‘s not all about money, i know that, but that‘s the only form of justice that people are going to get, especially our elderly people, whose lives have been ruined. the revelations aren‘t over yet, especially in northern ireland. stormont has commissioned research on church institutions for unmarried

mothers to help decide if there‘ll be a public enquiry. particularly for a lot of women in northern ireland, their voices have not been heard. we do not know about their stories. and those stories are ones that we will hopefully be able to hear, be able to uncover, be able to understand more in a new era, as the church does have to deal with the responsibilities from the past. the dark side of the church‘s past continues to overshadow its present. but catholic church attendances in ireland are still proportionally the third highest in europe. there are many thousands who express their faith practically and wholeheartedly to make a positive difference. at st patrick‘s parish in north belfast, about 200 come to this soup kitchen every weekend. it‘s open to anyone in need from all communities and backgrounds. i suppose part of any christian faith is the basics isjust to reach out your helping hand

and feed people. as christian catholic people, we want to be able to ensure that the people around us are given every bit of help that we can give. a number of the volunteers will be heading south for the pope‘s visit. a number of the volunteers will be heading south for the pope ‘s visit. they admire what he says about tackling poverty. they say the pope has shown a form of leadership around different social issues, around homelessness, and shown passion as well, which is very important that that passion is shown and you can see the passion that people have. i believe, as well, that we're saving lives here. the soul of ireland is under the spotlight. half a million people are expected to come here to phoenix park in dublin for a papal mass on sunday. for the catholic church‘s most sincere members and its strongest critics, this weekend will be significant, symbolic and historic. chris page, bbc news. it is home to the world‘s largest

indoor rainforest and it has attracted millions of tourists to cornwall but could a second eden project be on its way to morecambe? john maguire has been finding out. morecambe is rightly proud of its past. these pictures, almost 120 years old, showjust how popular the seaside town once was. and with an eye on that history, its annual vintage by the sea festival, which takes place next weekend, brings in around 40,000 visitors. but now it‘s this space—age vision that could propel morecambe into the future. this is the eden project in cornwall, a major visitor attraction, and now there are plans for one here. so the eden project could see this area totally transformed. absolutely, depending on final plans...

this whole project will be a total enabler for the district, not just the town actually, because it‘s not only going to be an economic one, it‘s going to be social, environmental and also educational, because with the involvement of lancaster university, being one of the top ten universities in the country, they‘re putting all their might behind us, and also their research, i believe this is going to be quite an educational facility as well. for local businesses, eden would represent a highly prestigious and, crucially, year—round draw. morecambe's been quite innovative over the years. morecambe invented bingo, so this is the new bingo if you will. it's really going to put us not just on the national but the international map. the eden project says its feasibility study indicates morecambe is a viable location, and now the task begins to raise the many millions

needed to create it. and, if it is built, it will bring notjust sunshine, but millions and millions of new visitors to morecambe bay. 0ur director this afternoon is skating on thin ice. he hasjust said in my year there are too many women on the news channel today. another one hasjoined me for the weather forecast and very able she is. a bit chilly for me. but for some, it has been too hot. yes, recently it has been too hard. quite humid conditions. a little bit ofa quite humid conditions. a little bit of a re—tap to give you some idea how much fresher it is. earlier we

had those sticky nights. these are the then temperatures overnight on monday. 15 celsius. down in southampton, 19 celsius. they were night—time minimum temperatures. these are our expected daytime highs today. much fresher conditions have been working their way in. why is that? the jet stream been working their way in. why is that? thejet stream has been working their way in. why is that? the jet stream has dipped below the uk. that has opened up the floodgates to this cooler air, working its way down from the north. even at this time of the north were all year, that is pretty cool. we have had plenty of blustery showers today. some of them quite heavy. reports of some lightning. there have been some dry and bright intervals in between. but even here, it is not immune to those showers. they really got going this morning. centred across the north west. but

as the day goes on, they are spreading south. packing quite a punch. rattling through quite quickly. gusts of around 30 mph. and it does not feel warm at all. look at those temperatures. certainly down on where they have been. this evening, showers continuing for a while but they gradually fizzle out. most while but they gradually fizzle out. m ost pla ces while but they gradually fizzle out. most places remaining drive. the chance of one or two showers. a brisk north—westerly wind. temperatures down into single figures. a much colder start to saturday morning. particularly in the north sea coast. but as the day goes on, high pressure starts to build and that will help to settle things down. many areas will remain dry throughout the day. the chance of one or two showers. as a result, it should feel a bit more pleasant. temperatures in the mid to high

teens. it is not going to last long because this is what happens as we head into sunday. another low pressure system edging ever closer, introducing rain to northern ireland as we approached dawn and as the day goes on, this will work its way eastwards. some heavy bursts in their and gusty south—westerly winds. underneath all this cloud, outbreaks of rain, it is not going to feel warm. temperatures back down into the teens across the board. but it is all change as we head into monday. bank holiday for many of us. some good spars of sunshine around. 0ne some good spars of sunshine around. one or two showers. there will be some decent breaks in a cloud as well. and as a result, monday will feel a bit warmer but it is certainly not the warmest bank holiday we have had this year. this is bbc news. our latest headlines. scotland‘s former first minister

alex salmond has said that although he‘s no saint and has flaws, he has not sexually harassed anyone. mr salmond‘s comments come after the investigation of misconduct claims from two people. i deny that i harassed anyone and i explicitly refute any suggestion of criminality. current scottish first minister nicola sturgeon said that while the situation was difficult to come to terms with due to the pair‘s political relationship, the claims, which were made injanuary, could not be ignored. the daughter of a couple who died at a thomas cook hotel in egypt says her parents were fit and healthy before their holiday. local authorities have said john and susan cooper suffered heart and respiratory failure. thomas cook has removed all its customers from the red sea hotel as a precautionary measure. a new global study confirms previous research that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption and suggests that health officials should consider recommending that people go teetotal.

sport now on afternoon live with katherine. jose mourinho not too happy. he is a divisive character at the best of times and even more so at the moment. first of all, he turned up half an hour early to the press conference today, then he spoke for only eight minutes. he did answer questions about his relationship with team captain paul popper and the club chief executive ed woodward, saying there was no problem with either of them, but the rest of the questions, you pretty muchjust dismissed rest of the questions, you pretty much just dismissed them. what? do you think it might be an overreaction? you are pessimistic, i

am not. i don't analyse video with my players. i feel we played well against leicester and we won, i felt we played bad against brighton and we lost. so not a happy man, lost. so nota happy man, it lost. so not a happy man, it would appear. no wonder he is still the bookies favourite to be the first premier league manager to leave hisjob this season. imagine if we delivered our bulletins like that. something might be said. some news from tottenham about their captain. tottenham and france goalkeeper hugo lloris has been charged with drink driving. the spurs captain was charged following a routine patrol stop in central london. he‘s been bailed to return to westminster magistrates‘ court on tuesday the 11th of september. his side will face manchester united at old trafford on monday. england‘s women are taking on france

in the under—20s world championship now. they have taken the lead. but in the last few minutes, france have levelled. 1—1 between england and france at the under 20 world cup. liverpool goalkeeper loris karius to visit das looks to be a step closer. look at this. he lost his place at anfield this evening. he made to costly mistakes in the champions league final. and alison was signed as the club‘s new first choice keeper. fernando alonso says he wants an apology from red bull after they denied they offered him a chance to drive next year. red bull boss christian horner insisted they haven‘t offered him a contract since 2007. alonzo said christian horner had e—mailed by e—mailfor previous

comments saying he is to go to work with and he hopes he will apologise for this as well. on the track, ferrari‘s kimi raikkonen has benefited most from the rest, clocking the quickest time of the day in practice for the belgian grand prix. attempt of a second ahead of chip leader lewis hamilton. chris ashton‘s hopes of an england recall could be further complicated, with the dates of his ban for a dangerous tackle during pre—season possibly subject to change. his seven week ban was due to start with another pre—season friendly scheduled for tonight. but that match isn‘t on the fixture list, which means his ban could start later, and he won‘t get to play at all before england boss eddiejones names his squad for the autumn internationals. the first track gold of the day at the european pa ra—athletics championships has been won by david devine. he added to great britain‘s impressive tally in berlin with victory in the t13 5000m. that‘s on top of the silver he won in the 1500m earlier in the week. me and my coachjust said, i knew i am in good shape so just go to the front

and control it for 4k. and then go with two laps to go and put a kick in. one of the spanish guys went past me a few times but only for a lap or half a lap each time, so i am made up with that. that is exactly how i wanted it to go. and great britain‘s women have reached their first ever final at the wheelchair basketball world championships. helen freeman, the team‘s longest serving player, led from the front, scoring 31 points. they will play either the netherlands or china in saturday‘s final. and that is always bought. —— thatis final. and that is always bought. —— that is all the sport. now on afternoon live, let‘s go nationwide, and see what‘s happening around

the country, in our daily visit to the bbc newsrooms around the uk. let‘s go to alex lovell over at points west, where a local barber has been providing local deprived and homeless people with free haircuts, out on leastonbury high street. and carol malia is up in newcastle for us, where look north have paid a visit to one yorkshire chippy, which has found itself become a culinary hotspot for hundreds on chinese tourists alex, this sounds like a heart warming gesture. tell us more. it is absolutely. it is so lovely. this barber comes from somerset, he shuts up his shop once a week and instead goes out and cuts hit on the streets of glastonbury. his name is leo theobald. he dreams of her of those who otherwise could not afford it. as it is free, says anyone is welcome. he says if people can

afford to pay, they can and do, others don‘t... let‘s hearfrom him. everyone isjust others don‘t... let‘s hearfrom him. everyone is just buzzing others don‘t... let‘s hearfrom him. everyone isjust buzzing from it. everyone isjust buzzing from it. everyone isjust buzzing from it. everyone is connecting. you get to know them on a personal level and they start to open up, telling you about where they have been, where they are now and where they want to be. so how much of a difference does it make to these clients? it is huge. such an important thing. as he said himself, it is notjust about giving somebody a tidy up, it is about having a chat and connecting with them. he explains that for him, giving out a service for free heels the inner you, and that is one of the inner you, and that is one of the reasons he chose glastonbury as well. he describes it as a town of spirituality. i think most people would probably agree with that. and somewhere accepting and open as well where people can really be themselves. and it doesn‘t stop

there because inspired by his generosity and the difference it makes, his brother and a friend have joined in as well so they are offering people food, hot drinks and most importantly their time, just stopping to chat and to care. let‘s hear from stopping to chat and to care. let‘s hearfrom his customers. stopping to chat and to care. let‘s hear from his customers. it is out of the ordinary. it is not something that a homeless person who is dying to survive would think about. but to be able to do something a little bit out of the ordinary, a little bit frivolous, makes you feel human again. it is beautiful. so many people here don't have hiccups because they don't have the money. then he turns up and now everybody is looking fresh. thank you very much. why this particular fish and chip shop in north yorkshire? for starters, it is near york, a fantastic city which attracts

millions of visitors every year, and chinese people are now amongst the biggest spending tourists in the world so york pulls in the visitors and now on their itinerary is this fish and chip shop called scott's, and it pretty much started when david cameron took the chinese president out for fish and chips about three years ago as part of an official visit. now chinese people have this on their agenda. they want to come for an english. this re sta u ra nt to come for an english. this restaurant is now doing everything it can to make sure its chinese visitors are made very welcome. we know the story with the president having fish and chips in 2015 with david cameron. what they do now, they like to come and have fish and chips, like a tradition for them. i know thank you, which i always do when i come in here. and abide by as

well. i think they washed it down, those two premiers, with a pint of english bitter. how much is social media playing a part in putting this fish and chip shop on the map? yes, there is a local chinese man who is actually promoting yorkshire in china. he is putting out there that fish and chips is now a must thing —— must do thing to do in england because there is nothing like it in china. nothing comes close. the re sta u ra nt china. nothing comes close. the restaurant now has its menus printed in cantonese and mandarin to make sure that everybody catered for. we don‘t have it like this. it is a different thing altogether.m don‘t have it like this. it is a different thing altogether. it is very tasty actually. i think it is mouthwatering. we eat chicken in

china and now i really like the fish here. it is making me peckish. very enterprising indeed. thank you very much both for taking as nationwide this afternoon. if you would like to see more on any of those stories, you can see it on the bbc iplayer. in a moment, the business news. first, a look at the headlines on afternoon live. alex salmond, scotland‘s former first minister, describes sexual misconduct allegations against him as ‘patently ridiculous‘,and says he‘ll take the scottish government to court over its handling of the allegations the scottish government confirms two cases are being investigated. mr salmond‘s successor, nicola sturgeon, insists the claims won‘t be swept under the carpet. the daughter of a british couple

who died while staying at a red sea resort says they were "fit and healthy" before their holiday. postmortem examinations are taking place. here‘s your business headlines on afternoon live. speaking at jackson‘s hole this afternoon, us fed chairjerome powell endorsed the rate—setting committee‘s slow—and—steady approach to bank rate rises. mr powell said the federal reserve‘s steady interest rate hikes are the best way to protect the us economic recovery and keep job growth as strong as possible and inflation under control. pro—brexit mps have accused the chancellor of spreading fear after he warned of the possible damage to the economy if britain leaves the eu without a trade deal. philip hammond published a letter on the treasury website warning that a "no deal" brexit could mean uk economic growth is around 7% less

over the next 15 years than it would be otherwise, based on current conditions. ryanair is tightening the rules on cabin baggage it says "to speed up boarding." from november, you‘ll only be allowed to take one small personal bag and it has to fit under the seat in front. a bigger bag or wheel on case would cost you an extra £6. ryanair says the move is not aimed at making money. rivals such as easyjet and jet2 still allow small wheel—on cases at no extra cost. ryanair is tightening the rules on what passengers pay to take luggage onto the plane, in order to "speed up boarding"? yes, this kicks in from november. something this size would probably be ok in the seat in front. you wouldn‘t be going very far for very long without. i wouldn‘t. wouldn‘t be going very far for very

long without. iwouldn't. if wouldn‘t be going very far for very long without. i wouldn't. if you are taking ona long without. i wouldn't. if you are taking on a bigger bag, something that size or a wheel on case, you would have to either pay £6 to take it on with you or even more, pay £10 to put it in the hold. and there is a limit on how many passengers, 95 perflight, so a limit on how many passengers, 95 per flight, so about half a plane. it says this is all to speed up punctuality and improved boarding times. of course, some people pointed out that other budget airlines still allow people to take on those ten kilograms wheel on cases for free. energy prices. it is a funny thing to be talking about in august that the weather is getting a bit cooler. it is. without wishing the summer away, this is something really important to be aware of. scottish power will increase its gas and electricity prices for people

on standard variable tariffs. the hike will come in from 8 october. it said dual fuel prices would increase by an average of 3.7%. scottish power blamed a steep rise of more than a fifth since april in the price that it pays for energy on the wholesale market. a second price increase announced by scottishpower this year. the government says it is disappointed and that is why it is bringing in a price cap to protect consumers. but others have made this price hike. british gas has announced its second price hike for the year. 0thers british gas has announced its second price hike for the year. others have all increased prices for the same reason, the wholesale cost has gone up. the really staggering thing here is that we have seen in 2018 so far, from the big six suppliers, ten price increases. this is the second

from scottishpower and we have had to from several of the big six. this isa to from several of the big six. this is a real kick for those consumers who are on these standard variable tariffs that suppliers can put up whenever they want to and that is what is happening here. it is a real wake—up call to consumers that you have got to take the power of this into your own hands. joining us now is laith khalaf, senior analyst at hargreaves la nsdown. the suppliers say this is because of the wholesale costs that they have to pass on to consumers. yes, and there has been a jump in the wholesale prices and that is now feeding through into the consumer economy and that is concerning because it is widespread. it is not one provider, the big six are raising their rates, and that is going to kick in when we hate winter and people need to heat their homes. that is happening at the same time as we are seeing that is happening at the same time as we are seeing a that is happening at the same time as we are seeing a spike in the oil

price and petrol prices at the pumps lurching upwards as well. you know, it is ironic that the devaluation of the pound is falling out of inflation but at the same time is being kept up there by rising energy costs, and that is always going to affect household budgets. particularly with wage growth so we cut the moment. energy prices are going up, that helps people who have got savings invested in energy shares, and pension funds as well. indeed. the big energy companies are obviously quoted on the stock exchange so if you have got a pension invested in the uk stock market, which most of us do, you will policy have some exposure to those companies, so there is always a double—edged sword between the benefit to shareholders and what is happening with customers as well. talking about new prices and extra costs for things, ryanair are going

to start charging people to take on those killed —— ten kilograms cases. they say it is to improve punctuality but i just they say it is to improve punctuality but ijust wonder whether it will give their rivals and edge in what is a very competitive market. yes, absolutely. this is a very quick change from a policy that was introduced not that long ago. there has been quite a lot of confusion around what the right baggage policy is. it is a very difficult period for ryanair with the industrial strikes causing flight the industrial strikes causing flight cancellations. you may think that the baggage is fairly trivial by comparison but actually a high proportion of ryanair revenue comes from what it sells on top of the seat pricing so it is absolutely key for all the budget airlines to get that pricing correct. i am interested to get your thoughts on the story about goldman sachs, a big

name in the investment banking world, but starting to make moves to offer retail banking in the uk, potentially with a savings rate of 1.5 per cent. that is, by current standards, quite something. when you think of goldman sachs, you think of wall street skyscrapers rather than taking deposits in the uk. but it looks like they are moving into the uk retail market. there is some uncertainty around the actual rate but1.5 percent is uncertainty around the actual rate but 1.5 per cent is what has been put out there. that would put it at the top of the table in terms of instant access accounts so that is good for competition. i guess what remains to be seen is how sustainable this is. is itjust a high teaser rate that they are putting on in order to attract attention as they enter the market or is it something they are going to be challenging, the high street banks, for some time to come. and

how worried do you think the big existing lenders will be, the likes of ba rclays, existing lenders will be, the likes of barclays, hsbc, by this move?” think slightly concerned. the reality is, if you look at the big banks, they still hoover up an awful lot of money and a lot of it is actually held at pretty uncompetitive rates. there are fair numberof uncompetitive rates. there are fair number of challenger banks already out there who offer better rates than you can get from a lot of your high—street banks so it is always worth making sure that you have a look online, look at the best savings rate, because you can make a fairamount savings rate, because you can make a fair amount more interest than on a lot of your typical high—street accounts. thank you very much. the markets. the ftse has been hovering

around that 0.2% through the afternoon. it was coming from the energy companies. they are up following the rise in the price of oil. house—builders down after some data showing that mortgage applications were not quite as buoyant as had been expected last month. despite, in theory, a lot of people trying to get on better deals before the rate goes up even further. almost 40 years on from the last papal visit tens of thousands of people are expected to travel to dublin to see

pope francis this weekend. but in the wake of abuse scandals in the catholic church what kind of welcome will he receive? there has been a massive decline in catholic practice and also this deluge of most evil scandals with priests raping boys while other priests raping boys while other priests look on. cover—ups by the hierarchy and it is as if ireland is having its moment now. suddenly, all these voices are coming out. this has been going on for years but suddenly it is coming out, we are hearing about it and so pope francis, who is in an unenviable position, the pope now has got to sort this out so it is an unprecedented challenge for any pope. whether he can, whether it should be sorted out, massive

structural changes are needed from the bottom up. married priests, women priests, the voice of the people needs to be heard and acknowledged. in the church they can stand there and say, women, you can‘t use contraception, you can‘t receive communion if your husband has run off with a younger woman and you have remarried, you can‘t receive communion, and then they are raping little boys. it is not right. the church is finally being called to account. thank you to the survivors and the people who have had the courage to come out and are able now, after all these years of being silenced, to tell the truth about what has been going on, about the great evil being perpetrated in the great evil being perpetrated in the name of the gospel by these so—called priests. the name of the gospel by these so-called priests. we are joined by margaret, a founding member of the

support group. she is in dublin. hellas the lasting impact —— tell us the lasting impact the abuse you suffered by the church has had on your life. it has been a lifetime of trauma, was anxiety, depression, and just a disastrous life, if you would even call it that, and that is because of being locked up in this institution, which was more like a prison with barbed wire on the walls. it was 24—7. you didn't get out at weekends, you didn't get out in the evening, and we were locked up in the evening, and we were locked up for something we didn't do. we we re up for something we didn't do. we were supposed to be cared for. it was systemic abuse, it was neglect, there was rates, physical punishment, we scrubbed floors, we we re punishment, we scrubbed floors, we were used as child slaves, but that was as locked up in a small domain

where even the girls in the place where even the girls in the place where i was in followed the example of the men's and beat the younger children —— nuns. of the men's and beat the younger children -- nuns. what is your relationship like now with the church? with the catholic church? there is no relationship there at all. i do have my faith in one man above but not in any priests or bishops and certainly not the pope because they are not a shining light, they are not an example to anyone, especially because of the enquiries all over the world, never mind what is coming out now from pennsylvania. and just today, 27 priests have stood down. but that is because of the few reach of people like myself standing up, campaigners

and the media, showing them that if they have... it is never going to be they have... it is never going to be the same. the catholic church has no power over the normal people and they never will have. we will continue to campaign against it because they have covered it up, they are in denial, and it doesn't matter what language the pope uses today, it will not wash with us. that is it from afternoon life. time for a look at the weather forecast. it isa it is a cooler feeling day not helped by the brisk wind. this weekend is a mixed picture. high pressure will dominate the story on saturday but we have got rain moving in on sunday. the pressure seem is reflected in today‘s temperatures. widely down in the teens across the board. this evening, we keep quite a

brisk wind but most of those showers will gradually ease and faith. clear skies for many areas. one or two showers sneaking in. temperatures back down into single figures. a much cooler start on saturday morning, particularly down north sea coasts courtesy of a brisk northerly breeze. that gradually eases as high pressure starts to build. 0n breeze. that gradually eases as high pressure starts to build. on friday, just the chance of one or two showers and then lighter winds and more sunshine. today at five: the former first minister of scotland, alex salmond, strenuously denies two sexual misconduct claims against him. mr salmond has called

for a review of the scottish government‘s handling of the complaint process — and described the allegations as ‘patently ridiculous‘. i have never sexually harassed anyone and i have certainly never been engaged in criminality of that kind. the first minister, nicola sturgeon, says the matter is upsetting for the party — but it won‘t be swept under the carpet it is a difficult situation but what is important is that complaints are treated seriously regardless of who the person complained about is. we‘ll be live in edinburgh.