britain's biggest payday company — wonga — collapses, afterfacing a growing a surge of compensation claims. it follows a government crackdown on payday lenders. wonga has been criticised for its high—cost, short—term loans, and accused of targeting the vulnerable. i think they deserved it, i think they deserved to go bust, because they played on people who were vulnerable and they didn't deserve it. we'll be asking what went wrong for wonga and what impact it'll have on their 200,000 customers. also tonight: frank field, one of labour's senior and longest serving mps, resigns the labour whip in protest at the anti—semitism controversy that's engulfed the party in recent months. an unmarried mother who was denied a widowed parent's allowance for her children after her partner died, wins a landmark case that could benefit thousands of other bereaved families. the search for new treatments to help children with a severe muscle wasting condition — scientists hope they've made a significant step towards finding one. and from the queen to an astronaut‘s wife —

the star of the crown, claire foy, on her new film about the life of neil armstrong. and coming up on sportsday on bbc news: sam curran saves england on what was a disastrous day for the hosts on day one of the fourth test with india in southampton. good evening. britain's biggest payday lender, wonga, has collapsed into administration after facing a surge of compensation claims. the privately owned company, which became one of britain's most controversial loans companies, ran into trouble after the government cracked down on payday lenders. wonga's profits peaked at £85 million six years ago, when it had more than a million customers. but the latest figures show that

plunged to a loss of £65 million, with a sharp fall in borrowers. the company faced criticism for its high interest loans and was accused of targeting the vulnerable. 0ur personal finance correspondent simon gompertz reports. with a loan from wongacom... wonga rode to number one among payday lenders on a wave of humorous adverts which glossed over the harm being done to some borrowers. borrowers whose compensation claims have been crippling wonga ever since a clamp—down on payday lenders three years ago. stacey in south london saw a £600 loan turn into to £5,000 when she missed some payments. they're still chasing me for the money, which i'm trying to get cancelled out now. they completely screwed me over. i was very vulnerable at the time. i don't know if you've heard, but they are in big financial trouble. yes, i have heard, i read about it. so, what do you think about that?

i think good on them, i think it's what they deserve. because of the way they treated you? yeah, yeah, i do. i think they deserved it. i think they deserved to go bust, because they preyed on people who were vulnerable. wonga's fall began in 2014, when it had a big financial penalty for sending threatening letters to borrowers from fake lawyers' addresses. then it was forced to compensate 330,000 customers it hadn't checked could pay the money back. in the backlash, charges for payday loans were capped, and as more compensation claims came in, £10 million from wonga's backers turned out not to be enough to cover them. so, what are the options for wonga customers who've seen the message they are not lending any more and heard that the company has failed? well, if you've got a loan, you'll still have to pay that back. if you're pursuing compensation, the danger is that you're just have to join a long queue of creditors trying to get their money back from wonga. wonga were always considered the bad boy... this debt expert wants wonga's woes to be a turning point. one of the reasons people use

the likes of wonga will still exist. we hope this today sends a message to other lenders, theyjust can't lend to people at exorbitant rates and expect to get away with it any more. with a loan from wonga... wonga's rates were 1500%, but its business model backfired and this lender's time has run out. simon gompertz, bbc news. our business editor simon jack is here. it certainly was a controversial company. will anyone mourn its demise? i suspect they won't, you saw stacey say good riddance to them in nappies. also, the claims management companies that bombard us with texts saying do you want to claim, afew with texts saying do you want to claim, a few will miss that. but it is bad for consumers and a couple ways. first of all, if you owe money to wonga, you will still have to pay it. if you are owed money by wonga,

in the form of compensation for some of their previous more reckless lending, irresponsible lending, you are very unlikely to get all or even any of that compensation. so in a way, it's the worst possible outcome for some consumers. at its peak it had more than a million customers. what happens to them, where do they go now? that is right. there was a huge demand for this short—term credit and a lot of people have used responsibly, just using it until payday, borrowing 50 quid, paying £6 interest over the next four days, and that stops you faulting on things like electricity bills or mortgage payments. been talks about how to bolster credit unions, going to friends and families, but that has its issues. it shows there is a deeper issue here that 76% of people who use these companies have no savings whatsoever. the resilience of personal finance are wafer thin. although wonga has gone, those kind of problems don't go away. thank you. one of labour's senior and longest serving mps, frank field,

will no longer sit with labour in parliament, after resigning the party whip. in a letter to the party, he says he's decided to sit as an independent mp because the labour leadership has become a force for anti—semitisim in british politics. mr field, who's represented birkenhead for nearly a0 years, accused the labour leadership of overseeing an erosion of the party's core values and spoke of a culture of intimidation and intolerance in the party. 0ur deputy political editor john pienaar reports. the outwardly friendly relations were never likely to last. they've both been called mavericks, but frank field's relationship with his leader always looked like a split waiting to happen, and now it has. the campaigning mp has always trod his own path including brexit, but it's his blunt message now on labour's handling of anti—semitism that's led

to today's break with the party he's served for over half a century. i've resigned it because i want the labour party to change. i want it to be seen as a clearly anti—racist party, and i want the party to be clearly seen that the local thuggery that's going on will not control local mps. do you want other mps to follow in your footsteps? i've done no, i've spoken to no mps about this. i gave that undertaking to the chief whip. it's my wake—up call to the labour party. it's not part of a wider plot. jeremy will see us into the next election. frank field's always been more of a loner than a plotter. pro—brexit, tough on welfare reform, but his resignation letter will inflame the already high octane controversy that's come to dog the party. he described labour's leadership becoming a force for anti—semitism in british politics. "britain fought the second world war to banish these views from our politics", he wrote. "a culture of intolerance, nastiness and intimidation now reigns in too many parts of the party." others are worried about what happens next. frank may not be the

last mp out the door. so, there is now, i think, a really important moment for the leadership to respond, to act, for all of us to pull together, to stop this decision by frank field turning into a full—blown existential crisis for the labour party. tonight, in his birkenhead constituency, people are predictably split. he's jumping before he's been pushed. he's a good man. he's good for the area, and he's been in a long time. so, i think he should be all right and keep him as he is. i don't like the man. i don't like anything he's voted for. everything he's voted for, i've been against. the labour veteran recently lost a vote of confidence in his local party, and tonight a senior corbyn loyalist is saying he should stand down as an mp and face a by—election. but, whatever happens, he's likely to be forced to quit labour altogether. so, could this be the beginning of a wider schism, taking more of those

who disagree withjeremy corbyn over the edge, perhaps towards the new centrist grouping that's been talked about for months? for them, centrist grouping that's been talked about for months? forthem, it's centrist grouping that's been talked about for months? for them, it's a test of old loyalties and nerve. tonight, labour's deputy leader tom watson call this a wake—up call. shadow ministers and mps loyal to jeremy corbyn are so far keeping a low profile but quietly they will be angry enemies and militant friends quietly hoping that frank field won't be the last one to walk away. john pienaar, thank you. thousands of families across the uk could now be entitled to benefits for bereaved parents and their children, after an unmarried mother of four won her case in the supreme court. siobhan mclaughlin, from county antrim, was refused widowed parent's allowance when her partner died, because the couple weren't married. but the supreme court has ruled that it breached the family's human rights. the government is now considering whether to change the law. 0ur ireland correspondent emma vardy reports. a father and a partner for 23 years. john adams lived together with his family.

when he died from cancer, siobhan mclaughin had to take a second job to help support their children. she was told widowed parent's allowance was only paid to those who've been married or in civil partnerships. today, the supreme court ruled that denying this benefit to unmarried parents has breached siobhan‘s and her children's human rights. the judges said the allowance was there to diminish the loss suffered by children, a loss that was the same whether or not the parents are married. children are innocent, children don't have a voice, and it's really unjust that the government could say that two children could be treated so differently, when they are both grieving. to realise that, yeah, there's only some benefit you can claim as a cohabitee, but you can't claim because you're not married... it's a bit of a minefield of the system. so, should the system reflect modern society? today, families come

in many different forms. while married couples are still in the majority, figures show there's been a huge increase in cohabitation. now, around one in five couples with children choose not to walk up the aisle. widowed parent's allowance and the new bereavement support payment, which has replaced it, are there to support children when one parent dies. the surviving parent can now receive a lump sum and monthly payments of up to £350. they must have at least one dependent child, up to 18—years—old. crucially, the current law says they must have been in a marriage or civil partnership, but today's ruling means that could change. sarah cripps' partner died of a stroke in 2015, leaving their three children without a father. he'd been the principal breadwinner, but because they weren't married or in a civil partnership, she too missed out on an allowance. he was their father in every way.

i feel that he's now not being treated as their parent and the children aren't allowed his contributions. this would have the money that james would have paid through his national insurance contributions throughout his working life. siobhan‘s victory puts pressure on parliament to change the rules. the government has said it will study today's judgment, but there is still no guarantee siobhan will receive the widowed parent's allowance. she may need to take the case to the european court if thousands more cohabiting couples are to gain the same rights to bereavement benefits as those who are married. emma vardy, bbc news. scotland's first minister, nicola sturgeon, says it's important that allegations of sexual misconduct against her predecessor, alex salmond, are properly investigated and not just "swept aside". mr salmond, who strongly denies the accusations, resigned from the snp last night. he said he intends to rejoin the party once he's had an opportunity to clear his name.

0ur scotland correspondent lorna gordon sent this report. they've been side by side for decades. alex salmond and nicola sturgeon, an unbreakable political duo who made the snp the dominant force in scottish politics. now, the cracks are beginning to show. nicola sturgeon is leading a government which mr salmond is taking to court, and a party from which he has resigned. it follows allegations of sexual misconduct against mr salmond, which he denies. ms sturgeon left defending the complaints process he's facing, while trying to maintain party unity. amidst of all the focus on process and politics here, it's really important, in my view, that we don't lose sight of the fact that two individuals came forward with complaints. those complaints can't simply be hushed up or swept aside because of the identity of the person involved. since losing his seat at the last election, mr salmond has moved

into broadcasting, presenting his own programme on russia today. welcome to the alex salmond show... in his show earlier, he made no comment about his resignation, but in his statement online he said he'd resigned to try and prevent opposition attacks on the snp and to avoid potential splits in the party, should nicola sturgeon have been forced to suspend him. but what could now cause division and difficulties is mr salmond's decision to launch a crowdfunding campaign to help with costs in his legal challenge against the scottish government's complaints procedure. he's collecting notjust money, but also a very public show of support from those in his corner. he's raised well in excess of his £50,000 target. 0pposition parties uneasy at the message this sends. frankly, this drags scotland into the gutter. that he is using his position and his recognition to put a signal to the people who have come forward and made those complaints

that he might not still be first minister but he is still extremely powerful, and that they should get back in their boxes and leave him alone. mr salmond is a giant of scottish politics. his legacy now threatened by potential rifts within the party he led for so long. lorna gordon, bbc news, edinburgh. in germany, thousands of people have attended a protest tonight organised by the far right, after a man was murdered last weekend — allegedly by immigrants. his death sparked two days of racist mob violence involving thousands of neo—nazis and other extremists. police in the city of chemnitz in eastern germany have arrested two suspects — from iraq and syria — who have been charged with manslaughter. extra police were drafted in tonight ahead of this latest protest. jenny hill sent this report. it's not what angela merkel wanted — extremists on the streets, nazi slogans in the air. "luegenpresse", they

shout — "lying press". this city's caught between grief and anger. this is where a german man was fatally stabbed by, it's believed, a syrian and an iraqi man, in a street fight at the weekend. even the police admit they've been overwhelmed by the subsequent violence. it's horrified germany, terrified chemnitz‘s migrant population. abdul told us he was attacked on sunday. translation: a group of 15 men abused us, then beat us. i ran, but one punched me in the stomach. i fell and he took his foot and stepped on the side of my face. and mara told us she locked herself and her children into their flat for two days, too afraid, she said, to leave. but she's frightened too.

"go down to town," she says, "see what happens to you as a woman." there's only one person here speaking up for migrants. "open your eyes, wake up," they tell her. tense times then for this troubled city. local politicians tonight appealed for calm, but few here trust them to keep chemnitz safe. angela merkel wanted to put the migrant crisis behind her. chemnitz may not let her. it's rather early, of course, to determine whether chemnitz will have real political ramifications for mrs merkel, though there are more protests planned for the weekend.

it's certainly not over yet. this is former east germany, where anti—migrant sentiment tends to be stronger than the rest of the country come away the far right anti—migrant party country come away the far right anti—migra nt party alternative country come away the far right anti—migrant party alternative fur deutschland does particularly well. mrs merkel will have two turn her attention to this side of the country. what we can say with certainty is that chemnitz really illustrates a dramatic cultural shift here in germany will stop the things we've heard said quite openly here on the streets, the language, the sentiment, the arguments, would have been completely unsayable in public in germany just have been completely unsayable in public in germanyjust a few years ago will. jenny hill, thank you. a technique known as gene editing has been used to correct dna errors in a small group of dogs that have a genetic muscle—wasting disorder. scientists say it's a significant step towards making an effective treatment for?the condition duchenne muscular dystrophy, which is fatal in humans. it mostly affects young boys — who tend to live only into their 20s or 30s.

0ur medical correspondent fergus walsh reports. part beagle, part king charles spaniel, these young dogs all have duchenne muscular dystrophy. the condition mostly affects males in both dogs and humans, and it gets progressively worse as they age. now look at the contrast with these females, who carry the faulty gene but are unaffected. the dogs are part of a ground—breaking project published in the journal science involving the royal veterinary college and the university of texas. this research involved editing the dog's genome — the recipe book for life. a faulty gene in the dna causes their disease, duchenne muscular dystrophy. the gene editing system, known as crispr, was injected into the dogs. it scanned the genome, making a single cut at a precise point. this prompted a natural repair and enabled the dogs to produce

the dystrophin protein which is crucial for muscle strength. these dogs normally do not produce any dystrophin protein or effectively no dystrophin protein, and by modifying their dna in their muscle cells and in their heart, we've gone from effectively zero to up to 92% levels of dystrophin protein — and that is widely predicted to be life changing in human beings if we can get to that amount. you have to press that. and that really could be life changing for felix. he is six and his muscles are already beginning to weaken. an early treatment is vital for him, because time is running out. the prognosis for the duchenne kids is very, very bad. deteriorate very quickly from the age of seven and eight, normally lose the ability to walk by the time they are ten, 11, 12, and then it's a very rapid decline from then. we trade in hope, so to hear about something like this

is absolutely fantastic. these animals are all descended from one dog whose owners brought it to the vet with the muscle wasting condition and scientists found it had the same gene defect as in humans. these dogs are playing a key role in the search for an effective treatment for duchenne muscular dystrophy, a devastating illness, but longer—term studies are needed to show whether it actually improves muscle strength and is safe. only then would it be tested on humans. it is early days, but this research could ultimately benefit both humans and dogs, affected by one of the most severe of all genetic conditions. fergus walsh, bbc news. french prosecutors have begun an inquiry into allegations that the actor, gerard depardieu, raped and asaulted a young woman. mr depardieu's lawyer says he absolutely denies the claim. it's reported that a 22—year—old

actress has accused him of attacking her at his home in paris earlier this month. the cost of buying a plastic bag could rise from sp to 10p with all shops in england having to charge. the change is part of government plans to tackle plastic pollution. theresa may said she wanted to leave a greener, healthier environment forfuture generations. the government is considering banning energy drinks for the under 18s, amid fears that they're damaging young people's health. british children are thought to be among the highest consumers in europe of energy drinks — which contain high levels of caffeine and sugar. 0ur correspondent dan johnson reports from maidstone in kent. high energy, packed with sugar and loaded with caffeine. there's concern about obesity and tooth decay, hyperactivity and sleeping problems, and they reckon two thirds of 10—17 year—olds are drinking them. when i was younger, i used to buy energy drinks all the time,

kind of after school. it was just the done thing, really. when they buy them when they're out, after—school, i'm not there, so, yeah... i don't let it happen in the house. i think for younger children, it's worse, but i think 16, 17, 18 — there's not really an issue. people will still be able to get hold of them. like, the same way you get kids smoking and stuff, they get hold of it, so it might reduce it a bit, but i don't know by how much. if you take red bull, every 100 ml has 32 mg of caffeine and 11 grams of sugar. the levels in monster are around the same. that's three times the amount of caffeine in coca—cola and a similar dose of sugar. so, one large energy drink gives a child their daily allowance of caffeine. this local gp has seen an 11—year—old who was drinking eight cans a day. large amounts of caffeine lead to things like palpitations, rapid heartbeat, headaches, chest pain and behavioural problems in children, and sugar leads to obesity

and things like diabetes. the people behind these brands say they're not marketed at children. they've pointed out that most of these energy drinks contain the same level of caffeine as a cup of coffee. but the government is asking how a ban should work and whether 16 or 18 is the right age. this primary school headteacher‘s already gone further and banned all fizzy, sugary drinks because of their impact on kids' health and behaviour. inattentiveness, inability to sit still. disruption, calling out, rocking on chairs. there are enough issues that create hyperactivity tendencies within children, let alone them taking on caffeinated drinks in the morning. they're eye—catching, tasty and cheap, but it looks like energy drinks are about to have their wings clipped. danjohnson, bbc news, maidstone. suicide is the leading cause of death in men below

the age of 50 in england. men working in the construction industry are particularly vulnerable. the suicide rate among low—skilled male labourers is three times higher than the national average for men. long hours, lack ofjob security and a macho atmosphere are all partly to blame, according to the unions, who say not enough is being done to protect workers. caroline davies has this report. lee rowland is a 28—year—old carpenter. he spent years living with anxiety, but he never spoke about it. until he was at work and came close to taking his own life. to the outside world, it could seem like it's a good laugh and a bit of fun — working on the building site. it's bloody stressful. it's not really somewhere where you talk about how you're feeling really and your emotions. it's been hard trying to explain to some people that... i struggle sometimes with stuff and sometimes i can be a bit sort

ofjoking and a bit blase about it rather than giving it, i suppose, the real emotional thought that it really needs. martin, just start hoisting up on the rope. up you go again. lee asked for help. now he speaks to other workers to encourage them to take care of their mental health, but trade union leaders say it's the structure of the industry that's the underlying problem. lack of permanentjobs, travelling to work, poor lodging, very long hours — between 12 hours a day, 60 hours a week, isolation, and above all of that a stigma. a fear that if they raise a mental health disorder with their employer that somehow they will be disciplined or dismissed, and that's a very real probability. many of these issues are serious and long—standing and they're difficult to untangle, but there is now a sense in some parts of the industry that something needs to change. people that sadly take their lives

haven't reached out for support. ijoined a class on mental health awareness at a building site in north london. these men were given time out of their working day to talk with each other about the particular pressures they face. meetings like these are happening more often, but they're not being offered to builders everywhere. i went back to my caravan and i cried myself to sleep — a 50—year—old man. madness that, isn't it? simon pantry spent nearly 20 years as a crane driver. he told me his suicidal thoughts eventually forced him to leave the job. still a very macho atmosphere in construction. the crane driving game can be very, very lonely, can be very high pressure. it's that type of cut—throat environment that guys are working in. we need to kind of take a step back and really look at what we're doing to people out in the workplace. he has this advice for anyone feeling the way he once did. just go out and talk to somebody.

talk to somebody at home. if you need to seek a bit of counselling, talk to your employer butjust don't bottle it up, don't swallow it. just talk, let it out. let it out, that's the best place for it. simon pantry ending that report by caroline davies. and if you've been affected by any of the issues raised in that report, you can find details of organisations which offer advice and support on the bbc actionline website — at bbc.co.uk/actionline. cricket — and england 5 batsmen struggled on the first day of the fourth test against india. england were in danger of a total collapse after slumping to 86—6. but a battling 78 runs by 20—year—old sam curran led a late revival to finish on 246 all out. the prime minister has spent the last day of her trade mission to africa in kenya. earlier this week a lot was made of her dance moves which she showed off in cape town — some comments though were less than kind.

but it seems it hasn't put her off, because today, she threw herself into it all over again — this time in nairobi — as she was greeted by scouts at the united nations campus. she rolled out more dance moves — copying those of the scouts who were there to greet her. it was all part of an event to inspire young people to combat single—use plastic pollution. the star of the crown — claire foy — has taken to the red carpet at the venice international film festival for the premiere of her new film, first man, which tells the story of the astronaut neil armstrong. 0urs arts editor will gompertz has been to venice to meet her. welcome to the 75th venice international film festival with 0scar contenders written all over it. bradley cooper and lady gaga are here to launch their remake of a star is born. the coen brothers are here to premiere their darkly comic western, the ballad of buster scruggs, and damien chazelle — the multi—award—winning director of la la land — is back with his

new film, first man. the film tells the story of neil armstrong and his journey to become the first man to walk on the moon. ryan gosling takes on the role as the emotionally guarded astronaut, with claire foy... be an adventure. ..who made her name playing the queen in the crown, as his wife. what scope did you think there was for you as an actress, playing the housewife of the heroic husband? i think for me it was that opportunity to not be the cliche. i didn't want her to be, you know, the conventional version that you see on a film of the woman at home, who is perfect in absolutely every single way. this isn'tjust another trip, neil. you're notjust going to work. do you think you're coming back? were you surprised to get the role, given there is not a huge shortage of american actresses?