arron banks, one of the most infuentialfigures in the leave campaign during the 2016 eu referendum, has been referred to the national crime agency over criminal allegations. they'll investigate whether some of the £8 million of loans and donations mr bank gave to the campaign came "from impermissible sources". in the last hour mr banks welcomed the inquiry adding that he never received any foreign or russian funding. we'll have the latest on this breaking story. also this lunchtime. we need to focus on catching criminals. the message from police chief sara thornton. the government says she's right to prioritise. what is really key is it is about harm. what harm is it causing you, your family, your business and your community? and different crimes cause different harm in different parts of the country. a google search for its own staff as workers around the world stage walk—outs in protest at the company's treatment of women. medicinal cannabis products can now be legally prescribed to some patients across the uk for the first time.

taking whale—watching to new heights. the scientists using the latest imaging technology to count the numbers of whale species in our ocean from space. and coming up on bbc news... owen farrell returns at flyhalf for england's first autumn international with south africa on saturday. ben te‘o starts at centre afterjust one appearance this season. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. arron banks, a seniorfigure in the leave campaign during the 2016 eu referendum, has been referred to the national crime agency for alleged criminal offences, the electoral commission has referred mr banks and the company

he founded to promote brexit, better for the country, to the national crime agency. the inquiry will focus on £8 million of loans from mr banks to his company, which ran the unofficial leave. eu campaign. in the last hour he has welcomed the investigtion adding that he never received any foreign or russian funding during the campaign. to westminster, and our assistant political editor, norman smith. how significant the figure is he? arron banks if the publishers, larger—than—life businessmen who bankrolled nigel farage —— businessmen, publishers, who bankrolled the leave. eu businessmen, publishers, who bankrolled the leave.eu campaign, the secondary of the brexit campaign. but the main borisjohnson vote leave campaign. nigel farage‘s campaign. he was in effect nigel farage‘s moneyman, his wallet. he has been under investigation by the

electoral commission for the past year and what they have uncovered is so year and what they have uncovered is so serious it goes beyond electoral law and their remit and they are handing it over to the national crime agency which is responsible to investigate organised crime. they believe around £8 million was fondled by arron banks into britain from companies outside of britain, and about 3 million went directly to the referendum campaign. they suggest, and they cite companies in, for example, gibraltar and the isle of man. that will fuel the speculation, allegations that have been swirling around for months now about possible dirty money, russian money, finding its way to parts of the brexit campaign. claims denied by mr banks this lunchtime, who said he was a uk taxpayer, he had received no foreign money, no russian money, said that the claims we re russian money, said that the claims were ludicrous. he accused the

electoral commission of batting for remainders. nevertheless, you get the sense of how serious this is that the electoral commission have decided they cannot continue on their own and they have too added over to the national crime agency. two years after the vote, what impact could this have? already one mp has said that she believes it throws into doubt the outcome of the referendum. i think there is no question of it possibly being re—held. the leave. eu question of it possibly being re—held. the leave.eu was the smaller campaign. i would suggest what it may well do, though, is fuel and in trench the division and bitterness that still persists long after the referendum, and will still leave some to believe that maybe the result of that referendum was tainted by foreign money. thank you very much. there's been a mixed reaction to calls from a senior police officer that forces should focus on catching thieves and violent criminals and not incidents where no offence has been committed.

chief constable sara thornton said forces were too stretched to deal with deserving issues, such as logging gender—based hate incidents and investigating claims against people who'd died. today the sahdow home secretary was among those arguing that police today the shadow home secretary was among those arguing that police should have more resources. dominic casciani reports. the bread and butter of fighting crime. merseyside police investigating a killing last month, the sixth shooting in liverpool in weeks. police chiefs said officers are under huge pressure, responding to ever widening demands, and pressure to investigate incidents that are not even offences, such as hate based on gender. speaking yesterday, one of the country's most senior police officers said recording misogyny as a crime would be a step too far. the public expect an effective response to organised crime, to terrorism, to the focus on the vulnerable, but they also expect the basics. responding to emergencies, investigating and solving crime and neighbourhood policing.

but we just do not have the resources to do everything that is desirable and deserving. i want us to solve more burglaries and bear down on violence before we make records of incidents that are not crimes. the figures that tell her story, recorded crime is up nearly a third in three years. there are 21,000 fewer officers today compared with 2010 and arrests have halved in a decade. chief constables say they do not have the manpower to solve every ill in society, but labour says it is clear how to resolve the competing demands. the real issue here is resources. if society decides that hate speech and gender—based hate speech is a crime, then we have to provide the resources to the police so that they can deal with it. what is really key is it is about harm. what harm is it causing you or your family, your business and your community? and different crimes cause different harm in different parts

of the country and sara thornton is absolutely right, that the priorities should be set by the police leaders and the locally elected police and crime commissioners. the concerns come as the government commits to cracking down on organised crime that is costing £37 billion a year. police will even target estate agents suspected of money—laundering, just another new demand of the police service that is being transformed by 21st—century crime. staff at google offices around the world are staging a series of walk—outs in protest at the company's treatment of women. the employees are demanding several key changes in how sexual misconduct allegations are dealt with at the firm, including a call to end forced arbitration, which demands any disputes are dealt with internally rather than through other methods such as the courts. critics say it's used to protect the reputations of both the company and the accused. sophie long reports. at 11am, local time, google

at 11am, localtime, google workers stopped sweating their screens and down to their devices. hundreds moved away from their workstations and took part in the quiet protest, against sexual harassment, and the workplace culture that is not working for everyone. i'm walking out along with other police in support of —— other colleagues of in support of —— other colleagues of in support of —— other colleagues of in support of anyone who has been harassed and to ensure that perpetrators are not protected and not rewarded. over the past week, anger and monks the tech giant's 94,000 staff grew into demands for change after the new york times revealed a high profile google executive had received a $90 million pay—out despite allegations of sexual harassment. i don't know that we will see a change of culture. right now we have a ceo who says he wants to see change, he has encouraged this walk—out, but i think we have to pay attention to whether or not any of these demands

or met or responded to or how the company response. also whether the employees themselves believe that things have changed. google's chief executive has apologised and pointed out that google has fired 48 people for sexual harassment over the past two years, none of whom received a pay—out. he told staff via e—mail, i understand the anger and the disappointment that many of you feel. i feel it as well. i am fully committed to making progress on an issue that has persisted far too long in society and yes, here at google as well. but that is not good enough for google workers here in dublin, orat enough for google workers here in dublin, or at the other offices around the world. they say the company famous for its culture is not meeting basic standards of respect, justice and fairness. and that has to change. sophie long, bbc news. the bank of england says its main interest rate will stay at 0.75%, but it's warned that the outlook for the economy depends significantly on brexit and the uk's future trading arrangements

with the eu. it said that depending on what form brexit take, interest rates could move in either direction. 0ur personal finance correspondent, simon gompertz, is here. what are we making of this? what we get today from the bank is a taste of where interest rates are going at the moment. the cost of borrowing and what we get back on our savings. there is no change there, it stays at no .75%. but also a look at what might happen to the economy in the future, and what might happen to interest rates. 0n the economy, it's reasonably positive from the bank of england. investment from businesses has england. investment from businesses ha s sta lle d england. investment from businesses has stalled with the uncertainty over brexit, but households have carried on spending. so they are expecting the economy to grow at 1.75%a yearfor expecting the economy to grow at 1.75% a year for the foreseeable future. which is less than what it has done historically, but slightly more than we had about in the budget that we have just had. interest

rates, that's another matter. very much influenced by brexit. let's have a listen to the governor of the bank of england mark carney, what he said about brexit and interest rates. the economic .it . it depends on the form of new trading arrangements between the eu and the uk, with the transition is abrupt or smooth, and how households, businesses and financial markets respond. whatever happens, monetary policy will act to ensure price stability and subject to vat, support the economy during the policy transition. monetary policy is theirjob and four interest rate. the interesting thing is that interest rates could go either way. the bank of england thinks there will be a smooth transition, a smooth brexit. in those circumstances, they would expect to see gradual and limited increases in interest rates over the next three

years. perhaps three increases come up years. perhaps three increases come up toi.5%. if years. perhaps three increases come up to 1.5%. if there is a disorderly brexit, all bets are off. then it could be that he suddenly get a reduction in interest rates to try and help households who are hit by the difficulties that are created by the difficulties that are created by the border problems that might happen, but you might also have an increase in interest rates to try and protect the pound. because people are worried that the pound would plummet in the second sentence. traditionally central banks tend to raise interest rates when that happens. so it's hard for households to gate at this stage what will happen. thank you very much. our top story this lunchtime. arron banks, one of the most infuentialfigures in the leave campaign during the 2016 eu referendum, has been referred to the national crime agency over criminal allegations. and coming up... why social media "fake news" is being blamed for a fall in children getting the mmrjab coming up on bbc news...

olympic champion simone biles is attempting to become the first woman to win four all—around titles at the world gymnastics championships. gold would make her a 12—time world champion. in just five days' time, us voters get their first opportunity at the ballot box to passjudgement on donald trump's presidency. in the mid—term elections, americans will elect members of both chambers of congress. and the results really matter for the president. in the battle for the house of representatives, his republican party currently holds 235 seats, compared with the democrats' 193. with all seats being contested, the democrats must gain 23 seats in order to take power. to stop that happening, trump has been campaigning hard, urging on his supporters — some of the most devoted of whom are evangelical christians. 0ur north america correspondent, chris buckler, has been to mississippi, looking at the influence religion will have on the upcoming vote. across the united states,

religion and politics feel part of the same conversation. join us for the next hour as we offer a christian response to the issues of the day. christian talk radio stations here don't shy away from the topics that can cause such division in this country. often they appear to embrace them. they say we should have an open border at the south side of our country, the southern border, but they live in gated communities. right. that's right. mississippi is said to be the most religious state in the us. here at ole miss university in oxford, there are several active christian groups, and evangelicals are among the republican party and donald trump's most devoted supporters. i can share with others... at the ole miss baptist student union there were many who recognise the president's flaws, but his hardline views on one issue mattered more than any other — abortion. it plays a huge role in every political decision i make.

just because i think human life, at its core, is that valuable. i think there were a significant number of christian evangelical voters who basically held their nose as they voted for president trump, because of the stench of his moral life. but they realised that out of the two there wasn't necessarily a good option, so they went with the person who represented their values in their policies more than the person who lived it out in their personal life. in the calvary baptist church in wisconsin, you'll find people keen to show their deep beliefs, both in god and in conservative values. because i'm overwhelmed by the love that god has for me, i'm going to reach out to the community around me and everyone that i bump shoulders with on a daily basis. but i believe that my conservative view is also tied into that. i don't think that you can separate the two.

this is much more than a bestselling book... the republican party is a natural home for many of the views held by this congregation. but that means they need to put theirfaith in president trump, a man whose lies and alleged affairs suggest a life less than godly. i think that can probably be said of every politician. and i don't know that he's a politician, but we are all sinners saved by grace, and so if he can recognise that and get advice from other people and, you know, surround himself with wise people, then i would be comforted in that. you get the impression that some christians are having to find forgiveness in order to praise donald trump. but the president and his republican party know that in evangelicals they have found something of a political rock. chris buckler, bbc news, 0xford, mississippi. medicinal cannabis products can now

be legally prescribed to some patients across the uk for the first time. a change in the law was announced after a high profile campaign on behalf of severely epileptic children. but the treatments can only be prescribed by specialist doctors and in a limited number of circumstances. david rhodes reports. harry has bundles of energy but that has not always been the case for this ten—year—old who has epileptic fits every day that can kill him. he has every type of seizure. we spent days just with him on the sofa. he didn't go to school. harry was dying before our very eyes, you know? epilepsy sufferers and other people with chronic conditions have made lots of noise in recent years about how cannabis—based products could help them manage their condition. at the moment, harry's parents can legally buy non—medical, low—strength cannabis oil, which they say have stopped harry's seizures. you know, 129 days

without a seizure, 130 — we count every single day. life—changing? life—changing. as harry grows up, his parents want him to have access to stronger medicinal products. and today, they hoped harry would get his first prescription. but their local doctor says he won't qualify for help. well, you just crashed. if you're going to make something legal and available and make a big announcement and get people's hopes up, people who are seriously ill, and then you just... it's all crashed. practically the announcement is, at the present time, meaningless. campaigning groups have welcomed today's law change, but say the rules regarding this new class of medicine are still unclear. there are still huge gaps in the process, and it's going to be very difficult for patients to be able to access cannabis on november the 1st. nhs england say a small number of patients with severe epilepsy or multiple sclerosis, and some cancer patients suffering from the effects of chemotherapy, could be prescribed medicinal cannabis. doctors say, though, they still don't know enough about these new products.

we like to prescribe where there is evidence that a particular medication or treatment will help. and right now, there needs to be a lot more research into the potential risks and side—effects of these treatments versus the benefits. and until we have that evidence, we won't be able to prescribe. taking or supplying cannabis for recreational use is still illegal across the uk, and the government says it has no plans to legalise cannabis use more widely. for a small number of people, today's law change is a big moment, but there will also be many families across the country left still searching for a medical solution. david rhodes, bbc news, north yorkshire. 0ur health editor, hugh pym, is here. how significant is this? it is significant because it is a big change in overnight prescribing. cannabis oil is already available on the high streets. what becomes legal

to date to be prescribed treatments with thc, the compound that makes people feel high. to clear up who can prescribe it, it is not gps and people cannot walk into a surgery and ask for it. it is a limited number of specialists who can prescribe. the conditions that have been put out and guidance from on high in the nhs are limited in terms of patients who qualify. severe epilepsy, adults with vomiting and nausea caused by chemotherapy, and adults caused with stiffness caused by ms. but campaigners are saying thatis by ms. but campaigners are saying that is too limited. everybody was expecting this big overnight change and there will be a few disappointed patients out there. at the same time specialists are saying more research is needed to assess the safety and addictive properties of cannabis in these treatments and that will take time. it is better to start slowly, do the research and then bring more conditions under the umbrella. but

certainly some dissatisfaction today amongst campaigners and patients that they should have been a big step forward, but there is a danger of people becoming disillusioned by it. the sports minister, tracey crouch, is considering whether to resign from the government over delays in cutting the maximum stake on fixed—odds betting terminals. the chancellor announced in the budget that the change would take effect in october 2019, six months later than originally planned. 0ur political correspondent, vicki young, is in westminster. do we know where she is? no, we do not, we know she flew back overnight from an official visit to america. we have been looking around for her, but there are suggestions she has been speaking to the chief whip about her future. this was a pretty big battle that she spearheaded to get this change because she, like many other mp5, feel that what was going on in many ways morally wrong, preying on some of the most vulnerable in society, feeding

gambling addiction. it was decided, and the treasury was persuaded, that things had to change, reducing those sta kes d own things had to change, reducing those stakes down to £2. this row is about the date. many people feel they had an understanding with the government that it would come into force in april. in the budget they said it was october. ministers are justifying that by saying there is a big change to the industry, there could bejob big change to the industry, there could be job losses and they want to make sure there are no losses to the cough is in the treasury and they wa nt to cough is in the treasury and they want to bring in another tax. i know from speaking to tracy crouch she feels extremely strongly about issue, she was passionate about the change and felt she had a commitment from the government to bring it in in april and she is spending the rest of the day considering whether resign over the issue. considering whether resign over the issue. divers from the indonesian navy have recovered the black box data recorder from the lion air plane which plunged into the sea on monday. the find could be critical in establishing why the jet — which was brand new — crashed as it did so soon

after take off, killing all 189 people on board. shareholders in patisserie valerie have voted to approve an emergency plan to save the coffee and cake shop from going bust. the future of 200 stores and 2600 workers were thrown into doubt last month when a £20 million black hole was discovered in its finances. the company's finance director was arrested and released on bail. the serious fraud office is conducting an investigation. well, our business editor, simon jack, is here. shareholders approving it, did they have any choice? no, they did not have any choice? no, they did not have any choice? no, they did not have a choice. their choice was approved a plan which would see new investors come in, or buy shares in the company they own at a knock—down price. they can improve that or the company goes bust. all of their entire value of their investment is zero. they had to double down. that did not mean there were not plenty of angry shouts. i was at the

meeting and some people called the decision in moral, said it was not fair, that small shareholders had not had the opportunity to participate. luke johnson, not had the opportunity to participate. lukejohnson, a well—known entrepreneur, the man who bought as pizza express, told them i have no choice, we were three hours away from the company going bust. he has got directorships or over the place, but he said he would reduce those activities and focus on reviving the trust in him and the company and the fortunes of the company. with the serious fraud investigation and the forensic inquiry going on, that will be a very big, full—timejob. inquiry going on, that will be a very big, full—timejob. fake news on social media is being blamed for damaging parents' faith in vaccines. england's chief medical officer, professor dame sally davies, has been speaking on the 30th anniversary of the introduction of the combined measles, mumps and rubella, or mmr, vaccine. she says online myths are behind a fall in children getting the jab. james gallagher reports. this is an almost forgotten sight in the uk.

measles is one of the most contagious diseases in the world. for most, it's unpleasant, but it can be deadly if it spreads to the lungs or brain. vaccination is why we now have so few cases. this is the mmrjab. it protects against measles as well as mumps and rubella. but completely discredited claims by this man, andrew wakefield, rocked faith in the vaccine. he falsely said mmr causes autism and was struck off the medical register in the uk. but his words led to a fall in the number of children vaccinated around the turn of the millennium. to stop measles spreading, 95% of children need to be immunised. but coverage fell to just 80% of two—year olds in 2003, when anxiety over mmr was at its peak. vaccination rates are now at 91% but have been falling for the past four years. so why are parents not taking their children to get theirjabs? when the infection rates drop, you get complacency. but there's also this dreadful

social media fake news and people peddling myths and stories. they are absolutely wrong. as a result, measles is making a comeback. there's been more than 900 cases in england already this year. professor dame sally davies accuses what she calls the anti—vax brigade of putting lives at risk by saying mmr was unsafe. people who spread these myths, when children are ill or dying, will not be there to pick up the bits to help or even to blame. instead, dame sally said the vaccine would save millions of lives around the world and encouraged parents to make sure that children were vaccinated. scientists here in the uk have taken whale—watching to new heights. they're using satellite cameras to monitor the movements of the mammals, which up until now have proved extremely difficult to track. from 400 miles up the imagery is sharp enough to capture the distinctive shapes of different species.

researchers from the british antarctic survey hope this can improve conservation efforts by more accurately working out whale populations. here's our science correspondentjonathan amos. big, beautiful, but we're a little sketchy on their numbers. whales are recovering from commercial hunting, although how well is open to question. the problem is their range. whales will cover vast tracts of the globe. what's needed is a rapid way to survey the oceans, to zoom in on their breeding and feeding grounds. the answer is the sharpest views from space ever released. well, this big blue piece of paper here is a satellite image of baja, california, off the west coast of mexico. and as you look closely, each one of these white specks is actually a whale that we're seeing. it's a whale near the surface. we can use these very high—resolution images to actually count the number of whales in any particular area. but totting up the

numbers is one thing. scientists also need to know the type of whale. whales have previously been counted from boats and planes, but these are small—scale surveys. now scientists are using the latest satellite images to cover the whole earth. key is the improved resolution that can see anything larger than 30 centimetres across. this means features such as fins and tails can be observed, and the animals identified. it should lead to more reliable estimates of the status of these endangered creatures. whales were pushed to the edge of extinction by commercial whaling. some species still number in the low thousands, but they are recovering, and scientists are keen to learn everything they can about their progress. whales are really important indicators of our ecosystem health. and so, gathering information like this on such a broad scale from satellite imagery, we can understand something about the ocean's health, and that's really useful for marine conservation.

the task of counting whales from space will only get easier as more and more satellites are launched. soon, we'll have a sharp picture of every corner of the globe updated every day. jonathan amos, bbc news. time for a look at the weather. here's alina jenkins. we are approaching the weekend which means things will get a lot worse. things will get interesting, let's put it like that. today we have a front moving eastwards across the uk. the further west you are behind the front a good deal of sunshine. further east we have got the cloud and the rain and that will linger for a few more hours yet. it is all tied into this zone of clouds extending its weight eastwards. as it does, we will see sunny skies behind it. still a scattering of showers on western coasts and taking

its time to clear from essex and anglia. a gentle breeze for most of us anglia. a gentle breeze for most of us with temperatures getting up to between 9—13. this evening that band of rain eventually clears away from east anglia. scattered showers in the western isles of scotland, otherwise it is a dry and clear night and hence a cold night. temperatures only just above freezing in the towns. in the countryside it could get down to —5. much milder in the channel islands. a crisp start to the date tomorrow, plenty of sunshine which will turn hazy from the west as high cloud builds its weight in. but for most it stays mainly dry. temperatures recovered to between 9—12. but i am sure you can spot this band of rain, extending