hello, you're watching afternoon live — i'm martine croxall. today at 2. arron banks — one of the most infuential figures in the leave campaign during the 2016 eu referendum — has been referred to the national crime agency over criminal allegations. arron banks has welcomed the inquiry into campaign funding — adding that he never received any foreign — or russian — donations. 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. former leicester manager claudio ranieri returns to the king power stadium to lay a wreath in memory of the owner, who died in a helicopter crash at the weekend. he leaves behind a legacy that will be remembered forever. and a vision

that the club and myself as manager we ta ke that the club and myself as manager we take forward with us. coming up on afternoon live all the sport with hugh. and rugby union's autumn internationals are coming into sharp focus... they begin this weekend and both england and wales named their starting line—up for the opening games. the england line—up raises eyebrows particularly in the back fow. eyebrows particularly in the back row. an experienced and look to the welsh side withjust row. an experienced and look to the welsh side with just one uncapped players, all the details to come. thanks hugh — and will bonfire night be tinder—dry or a damp squib. alina can tell us.... we have said goodbye to halloween and there are strong winds and rain in the forecast, details later. thanks alina. also coming up — taking whale—watching to new heights — the scientists using the latest imaging technology to count whale species from space. arron banks — a senior

figure 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 eight million pounds of loans from mr banks to his company, which ran the unofficial leave dot eu campaign. in the last hour he has welcomed the investigtion — adding that he never received any foreign — or russian — funding during the campaign. our political correspondent iain watson is in westminster. incredible that the referendum carried out more than two years ago

is still proving hugely controversial as is the conduct of that campaign, we should make it clear we are not talking about the official leave campaign, vote gleave, the allegations against leave the eu, a separate campaign for brexit associated with the businessmen arron banks and nigel farage. what the electoral commission are saying is there seems to be £8 million in question, this came apparently from arron banks and went to leave a dot eu and its pa rent went to leave a dot eu and its parent country. nearly £3 million was used during the referendum campaign and what alleging as the money did not come from and banks but via companies registered offshore and gibraltar and the isle offshore and gibraltar and the isle of man. that would have made that money impermissible, and other moderate should not have been spent during the referendum campaign as the electoral commission are correct. they are saying they do not

run to investigating offshore companies so they have passed the information to the police and national crime agency who have confirmed they are investigating. they have also made a further allegation against arron banks that they were concealing information. arron banks said he welcomed the investigation because of clean—up what he calls ludicrous allegations and he said the idle commission was put under pressure to investigate by anti—brexit campaigners. in addition she has been speaking to radio four and says effective than the money came from companies owned by arron banks, he was a beneficial owner, a uk taxpayer so and shot nothing to say here. others would disagree including damian collins the chair of the cross—party committee investigating this is part of a wider investigation into fake news. they questioned arron banks and one of his colleagues at a committee

meeting not long ago and damian collins has been his reaction. the select committee report be published this summer so that it was not clear what the source of arron banks‘s wells was for the donation she made then this should be referred to the national claim agency. the electoral commission had the same concerns and has been referred and all panels should be used to investigate this fully, these are very serious matters are part of that investigation as to bring to a conclusion our understanding of what the real source of arron banks‘s wealth was to make these donations. he talks about that source of wealth, he was talking about whether the money had come from russian interests. that connection has not been made explicitly by the electoral commission and arron banks also said there was no russian money oi’ also said there was no russian money orforeign money also said there was no russian money or foreign money involved also said there was no russian money orforeign money involved but clearly the fact this is now gone to the police needed is a very serious matter indeed. thank you.

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 shadow home secretary was among those arguing that police should have more resources. dominc 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 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 walkouts 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. these include 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 workers stopped swiping their screens and downed their devices. hundreds moved away from their workstations and took part in the protest, against sexual harassment, and the i'm walking out along with others in support of anyone who has been harassed and to ensure that perpetrators are not protected and not rewarded. over the past week, anger among 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 he told staff via e—mail... but that is not good 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. 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 hasn't always been the case for this ten—year—old, who has had epileptic fits every day that could 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 are just crushed. 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. and after half past i'll be joined by a mother who has been campaigning for a law change on medicinal cannabis. the culture secretary, jeremy wright, has defended the timescale for the implementation of new rules on fixed—odds betting terminals.

the government announced in may that the maximum stake on the machines would be cut to £2. the changes will not be brought in until next october. our chief political correspondent vicki young joins us from westminster now. it was quite a battle persuading the treasury to change the rules on this because it brings in a lot of money. the tax paid on those bets as pretty lucrative so the arguments today from the government was that it is not the principle that is an argument, it is about the timing and we seen as argument, it is about the timing and we seen as a argument, it is about the timing and we seen as a knock—on effect for the industry, there has to be time to adapt to all of this. there could be job losses as well in the industry. that is why they want it to be october. the culture minister battled really ha rd october. the culture minister battled really hard to get this change, she spearheaded a campaign which had lots of campaigners and

mps behind it, a lot of them feel it is morally wrong that this was playing on some of the poorest and most vulnerable in society and was leading to devastating consequences and gambling addiction. the culture secretary today sent that the timing, there had been no change at all, he said this was the right timing and the right timescale. i think my honourable friend is doing an outstanding job as the minister for sport doing an outstanding job as the ministerfor sport and doing an outstanding job as the minister for sport and civil society and the honourable gentleman is right that she deserves a large part of the credit for the substantive change this government is making. a decision that's the last government, the last labour government did not make and a decision which it falls to us now to make. as to why she is not answering the urgent question, the urgent question that has been

askedis the urgent question that has been asked is about a change in government policy. first of all as i have explained their is no change in government policy. i take responsibility for policy made in this department. the government collectively makes decisions on these matters and that is the decision that i have explained to the house. tracey crouch is said to be furious about this, she felt there was a commitment that this change would happen sooner. i have been speaking to other conservative mps and they have made it clear that they also unhappy. there's the possibility that could be a vote on this, possibly brought forward by labour to do with the budget so that could bea to do with the budget so that could be a massive problem for the government with not really a very big workable majority, they could struggle to win a vote on that.

tracey crouch is spending the day considering whether to resign over the matter. you're watching afternoon live, these are our headlines 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. staff at google offices around the world are staging a series of 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. the leicester city manager is speaking to media for the first time since the club's honour and four others lost their lives and a helicopter crash at the stadium last weekend. in rugby union owen farrell returns to fly—half for england's first autumn international on saturday, ben te'o muster at centre after just making one

saturday, ben te'o muster at centre afterjust making one appearance for his club worcester so far this season. and neil lennon has called the behaviour of fans and the edinburgh derby disgraceful after she was hit thrown from the crowd. police scotland have arrested a man in connection with an assault on the assistant referee. more later. 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. breaking news regarding the shooting in pittsburgh, we havejust heard that the suspect in that case has pleaded not guilty to 44 counts including hate crimes and firearms offences. 11 people died at the tree offences. 11 people died at the tree of life synagogue in pittsburgh

following that shooting last saturday. six people including four police officers were also wounded before the suspect was shot by police. more funerals have been taking place of those people who died in that incident. robert bauer ‘s ali robert bauer ‘s (pres) the appledore shipyard in devon is to close — bringing an end to 163 years of ship building and repair work. its owner, babcock international, says they're looking to re—locate all 199 employees at its other sites. most of the affected staff have been redeployed in recent months to the sister yards at devonport in plymouth. our southwest business correspondent, neil gallagher is there for us ...what‘s the mood today 7 pretty sombre, we have seen dozens

of shipyard workers leaving the gates to get on buses to go on that familiar 65 mile trip back up to theirfamily homes familiar 65 mile trip back up to their family homes in familiar 65 mile trip back up to theirfamily homes in north devon. if you do not know the geography, devonport is on the south coast of devon, apple door shipyard is on the north coast, these yards both run by babcock. how many redundancies are expected? it could be almost 200 or none at all because babcock said all 199 employees of appledore shipyard will be offered redeployment, realistically that would be an devonport and union rates have told us devonport and union rates have told us that most of the workers will not choose to redeploy here but will ta ke choose to redeploy here but will take their chances with the north devon economy which is a pretty low—wage economy. thank you.

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 there is something out there and the ocean that looks like a harry kane. harry kane. we often get the re m na nts of harry kane. we often get the remnants of harry kane is swept up in the low pressure but this is

interesting because it is the original system, if interesting because it is the originalsystem, if there interesting because it is the original system, if there is no longer a hurricane but whenever you see these isobars back together you know there will be strong winds and we will see that through the weekend. that might be a bit of a problem because there are big events this weekend. we say goodbye to halloween and look forward to the next event which is on fire displays through the week and day by day, friday through monday, away from northern ireland and will be quite wet and western fringes of scotland, much of the uk will be dry, wind not that strong and it is cool but not too cold. saturday is the interesting one because the winds will be a feature, we could see gusts up to 65 mph across scotland and northern ireland and north—west england and the strength of the wind might have an impact on some displays. away from scotland and

western fringes of the uk you should be mainly dry and by sunday the winds are lighter, there will be rain around but not for everyone. sunday messi so that is reasonable weather conditions but the strength of the wind on saturday will be an issue. today we have a front moving eastwards a ci’oss issue. today we have a front moving eastwards across the uk meaning contrasts and weather, cloud and outbreaks of rain and south—east england, further west increasing amounts of blue sky and sunshine although still the chance of some show was particularly for western coastlines. he was the satellite picture, the clouds only cleaning from east anglia and south—east england but very slowly so still outbreaks of rain here through the rest of the afternoon into this evening finally disappearing. sunshine behind it, but sharp showers for western coasts as temperatures of between eight and 12 01’ temperatures of between eight and 12 or13, and a temperatures of between eight and 12 or 13, and a mild through the

weekend are not tonight, rain clearing from the east and behind it clearing from the east and behind it clear skies and a scattering of showers for irish sea coasts and the western isles but that is going to bea western isles but that is going to be a cold night even in the centre of town temperatures onlyjust be a cold night even in the centre of town temperatures only just above freezing. into the countryside, cold spots down to “11 —5. up to a domain for the channel islands but a crisp start to tomorrow, frosty for many with 20 sunshine tanning hazy through the day as high cloud spills in from the west. for a day late hours, mainly dry. after the cold start temperatures recovering to between nine and 13 but the area of rain behind me is going to move into northern ireland through the evening, when is strengthening and extending into western fringes of scotland. elsewhere if you do have firework plans through friday evening it is mainly dry, wind is not that strong but he is what was hurricane oscar heading towards us, strong wins and stronger through

saturday and northern ireland, outbreaks through the morning, slowly filtering east so further south and east it should be mainly dry, spills of sunshine. the average wind speeds through the afternoon but gusts of 65 mph in parts another wild and north—west england and western scotland. we are in some mild earso western scotland. we are in some mild ear so tween 12 and 1a through saturday, outbreaks of rain by pushing east and here is where the band of rain is on sunday, pushing further north and west. to the north that will be dry, scattered showers and seven east as well spills of sunshine. temperatures on sunday between 11 and 13. the theme over the weekend as we will see a strong winds particularly the further north you are, there will be somebody but also a good deal dry weather. this is bbc news — our latest headlines. the national crime agency

investigates arron banks and his leave.eu campaign for alleged offences committed during the 2016 eu referendum. mr banks has welcomed the inquiry into campaign funding — saying that he never received any foreign — or russian — donations. staff at google offices around the world stage walk—outs in protest at the company's policies on discrimination and harassment. it follows reports that a high profile executive received a $90 million pay—out after leaving the firm, despite an allegation of sexual misconduct being made against him. medicinal cannabis products can be legally prescribed from today in a limited number of circumstances where other medicines have failed. the change follows a campaign on behalf of two severely epileptic children who were treated with cannabis oil. and for the first time uk scientists have used high—resolution satellite images to count and identify individual species of whales from space. sport now on afternoon live with hugh.

a poignant moment when claudio ranieri visited the site at leicester city's ground after the tragic helicopter accident on saturday. leicester city's manager claude puel has given his first press conference at the kingpower stadium since the helicopter crash on saturday... in which their owner vichai srivaddhanaprabha and four others lost their lives... well earlier the club's former manager claudio ranieri, visited the stadium to lay a tribute amaonst the many that have already been left. he of course led the club to their astounding premier league title win in 2016. his replacement, puel...

the tragic loss of five lives has left us with sadness and shock. our players are with vichai srivaddhanaprabha's family and all the other families who have lost loved ones. vichai made it a family, made it a dream. he invested in the clu b made it a dream. he invested in the club and the city and the people. he truly was loved by everyone inside and outside of the club. personally, it was a privilege to work for him.

we showed great moments. seeing all of the message, flowers and shirts outside the stadium this week shows on the lives he has touched. he leaves behind a legacy that will be remembered forever and a vision that the club and myself as manager will ta ke forward the club and myself as manager will take forward with us. puel also confirmed the club's players wanted to attend the funeral but will instead be in action in the premier league against cardiff on saturday afternoon. england have named their team to face south africa in the first autumn international this weekend, and saracen's owen farrell will start at fly half at twickenham. it's the start of an important series for head coach eddiejones with england struggling for form ahead of next year's world cup. our rugby union reporter chrisjones is at the england we will not hear from chrisjones.

james graham will captain england's rugby league side in the second test against new zealand this weekend. graham takes over from regular skipper sean o'loughlin who's been ruled out with a calf injury for the match at anfield. england can seal the three match series with a win in liverpool. the hibernian manager neil lennon says the behaviour of fans at last night's edinburgh derby with hearts was "disgraceful". lennon goaded hearts fans after a late disallowed goal, and was then hit by a coin. it was a bad tempered affair, with the hearts keeper hit by a fan in the second half of the scottish premiership tie, and a 25—year—old man has also been charged with assault after an assistant referee was attacked. i got hit by a coin. thankfully there is no cut or damage down. it is unsavoury, to say the least.

unacceptable. i saw the goalkeeper gordon as well. if any hibernian fa ns gordon as well. if any hibernian fans have been misbehaving as well, i want them punished for it. it is unacceptable. —— goalkeeper go down as well. in a statement the scottish pfa say... that's all the sport for now. the world gymnastics championships continue on bbc two and the bbc sport website and the app. it's being described as the new tobacco. many of us are exposed to dangerouly high levels of air pollution on a daily basis.

the world health organization says air pollution causes seven million premature deaths each year. the bbc‘s reality check reports now on the pollution levels found during a typical commute in the indian capital delhi. it's estimated that over 90% of the world's population breathes polluted air and that 7 million deaths each year are linked to air pollution. delhi is one of the most polluted cities on earth. breathing delhi's air is equivalent to smoking more than a dozen cigarettes a day. people are advised to stay indoors as much as possible when pollution is severe. but for commuters that's often not an option. do certain types of transport expose you to higher amount of pollutants than others? researchers in delhi tried to find out just that. they estimated the amount of air pollutant inhaled by commuters on different types of transport in delhi. they looked at pollution in the form of small particulate matter, also known as pm2.5. these are tiny air particles that you can't see, but they can make you sick. here's what they found. per kilometre travelled,

the dose of inhaled pollutants was highest when walking, followed by cycling, travelling by bus, the metro, rickshaw, and finally by car. in part, this is explained by the fact that getting from a to b by walking and cycling usually takes longer and the amount of air inhaled is higher during such active modes of travel. in other words, breathing deeper in a polluted environment means inhaling more pollutants. the data collected in delhi showed that the intake of small particulate matter per kilometre was nine times higher when cycling compared to travelling by car. are the findings from delhi applicable to commuting in other cities? a review of studies from around the world showed that on average cyclists followed by pedestrians inhaled the highest doses pollutants compared to those using motorised transports. this took into account the higher rate of inhalation during walking and cycling. that's an important distinction. because overall pollutant levels in the air are higher in cars and buses, and lowerfor cyclists

and pedestrians in the majority of studies. so should you ditch your bike if you live in a polluted city? the authors of the review say that the long—term benefits of physical activity outweigh the risks from air pollution. though this may not be the case in cities with the most extreme air pollution levels, such as delhi. if you travel by car, closing windows and switching to internal ventilation can reduce pollution exposure. on all types of transport, proximity to traffic emissions also matters. so taking quieter routes can help reduce pollution exposure. the government has sought to re—assure businesses they will not have to carry out "rigorous checks" on eu citizens in the event of a no deal brexit. the announcement contradicts a warning by the immigration minister caroline nokes, who told the home affairs select committee this week that employers would have to carry out digital checks on eu citizens applying forjobs, to see if they had the right to work in the uk. her comments had prompted criticism from the business organisations,

and criticism from mps. joining me from our westminster studio is the mp stephen doughty, who sits on the home affairs committee. thank you forjoining us. how reassuring you buy what the government is now saying? not at all, the home office is in a shambles. to have the immigration minister saying one thing one day, the home secretary contradicting that days later, shows you what a mess we are in. employers are not clear about what their responsibilities will be and v3 .5 million eu citizens in the uk are none the wiser. if the government is saying to businesses we are not going to have to carry out these rigorous checks, surely this is providing peace of mind for those you are trying to help? still huge contradictions. we have to be able to distinguish, they say, between settled status in uk, whether or not

they have applied at the time of brexit, whether they have come as new arrivals —— whether they come. with the policy the home office is currently pushing out, we have seen scandals such as windrush. they want proofs, they do not want the risk of being prosecuted. it is having an impact on people's lives. people are deciding to leave the uk because they are not sure what the system will be. what kind of clarity will be sufficient for you in terms of what the business community needs and eu citizens need? we don't want the situation where the immigration minister and home secretary are saying different things, different m essa 9 es saying different things, different messages in statements and e—mails. one clear message, we are simply not getting. we need people having

adequate proofs for their status. i have doubts about the home office's ability to cope with the registration system. they are not being able to make it work on all types of smartphones, and the android. it is chaos. that is what we have seen with windrush and other scandals. only five months left. various officials have appeared before you earlier in the week, you pointed out. surely that is enough time to bring about the quieter you are seeking? five months to go before one of the most significant events in british history in recent decades where millions of lives and prospects for employment for those who have lived and contributed, lived with members of our country for years. that is we need a people's heart. at the

very least, the home office needs to get a very least, the home office needs to geta grip very least, the home office needs to get a grip urgently. foreign immigration minister to provide inaccurate information and unable to a nswer inaccurate information and unable to answer the most basic of questions is unacceptable. the committee made it clear to caroline noakes she had to appearand it clear to caroline noakes she had to appear and provide better a nswe i’s. to appear and provide better answers. for your part, you said it was tough luck she had been kept an extra 45 minutes. do you regret that? didn't sound disrespectful coming from a committee member to a minister? no. she failed to give a nswe i’s minister? no. she failed to give answers on a whole series of issues, not just the stages answers on a whole series of issues, notjust the stages of eu citizens, but crucial national security at our borders, money being spent at the office, and the spectacle of the director of border force and head of hr mrc arguing in front of the minister. this is a minister and capable of being able to carry out her brief. complaining we when we

we re her brief. complaining we when we were asking important questions. it isa were asking important questions. it is a duty to be accountable to parliament. and to give accurate information, which they have not donein information, which they have not done in this case. with just days to go until the us mid—term elections, president trump has been on the campaign trail again, rallying support from some of his most devoted followers — evangelical christians. and in the latest in a series reports for the bbc, our north america correspondent chris buckler has been to mississippi, looking at religion's influence on america's 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, oxford, mississippi. in a moment we'll hear what's hot and what's not in the business news. first a look at the headlines on afternoon live. 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. staff at google offices around the world are staging a series of 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. here's your business headlines on afternoon live. safe for now — shareholders in the cafe chain patisserie valerie — approve a plan to inject more money into the company, by issuing more shares. at an emergency meeting, shareholders expressed their fury to management that new owners may get a share of the company at a knock—down price. the bank of england has kept interest rates on hold amid growing uncertainty amongst businesses over brexit. the bank's monetary policy committee voted to leave the cost of borrowing unchanged at 0.75%. the financial markets are indicating that rates will not rise until after the uk leaves the eu next march. a shipyard is to shut despite its owner being offered a £60 million contract by the mod. staff at appledore shipyard in devon have been told by owner babcock

that it will close by the end of march 2019. the company recently lost a contract with the armed forces of malta, causing financial difficulties. let me know if they need to the pin. i was outside the studio having a major coughing fit. you have battled on. i can barely talk. makes a change! so google's in trouble with its own employees? staff at google offices around the world are staging an unprecedented series of walk—outs in protest at the company's treatment of women. both men and women walking out. 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 — a move which would make it possible

for victims to sue. samira hussain, our north america business correspondentjoins us from the new york stock exchange. talk me through why google employees decided to walk out. long simmering issues with regards to the google culture within the company. several insta nces culture within the company. several instances people upset about the treatment of women within the company. what really has sparked the new wave of anger, it was recently revealed one executive at google received a $90 million exit package despite the company having found that the accusations of sexual misconduct against him were actually very credible. so that has really got a lot of people in the company upset. that is on top of a host of

other culture issues that have been long simmering within the company. this kind of protest is really unprecedented. for google's park, the head of google has said i respect the desire for the kind of protest, he is apologetic. andy twitter response? what they're trying to get in terms of changes, there are five issues but there is one worth highlighting. the arbitration that is really in place. it's really prevents any of the google employees from going off and seeing at words. they want to see a change to the process. —— suing. it is not just google, change to the process. —— suing. it is notjust google, it is within the

technology industry. people want to see more changes happening now. sterling has risen as high as $1.2930, up1.2%, sterling's gains against the dollar left the pound on track for its biggest one—day rise since august, as hedge funds heavily short rushed to cover their positions when sterling began to rise. for more than six months, day and night, ross edgley has been swimming 2000 miles, in an attempt to become the first person to swim around the british coast. ross has smashed several world records and burned more than a million calories. he's due to cross the finish line this sunday in margate. john maguire has been to meet him. not just for hours, not for days, nor even weeks, but for more

than six months ross edgley has been swimming around britain. so, wejoined him in the water to ask the obvious question: #why did you do it? because it's there? yeah. basically yeah. i sat down one day and i thought, you know what, people have rode around, people have ran around, cycled around, but no one has swum around. it seemed logical at the time. but when i set off onjune1 from margate, i was so naive. i have often said i was so naive. i did not think how big great britain really was. by day and by night, battling storms and more jellyfish than most mariners see in a lifetime. jellys! i knew thejellyfish would be bad. but they are just brutal. you never knew what kind of jellyfish were stinging me at night. ross understands that this is mind over matter. this has gone from being a sporting event. now you are having to take care of your immune system. you can't grit your teeth and get through it. he will have burned 1 million calories.

it is just an eating condition with some swimming thrown in. this isjust a nice bit. countless hours immersed in saltwater have taken their toll. at one stage, it took one hour to dress his blistered neck. his tongue suffered hugely. his favourite mid—swim snack — a banana or two or three, maybe four. people think this is the number of days at sea. but this is the record i am most proud of. this is the banana tally. it started as a little joke. i was getting salt tongue after 12 hours in the water every day. my tongue was falling apart. i woke up with chunks of my tongue on my pillow. it was grim. it was something about bananas that was really soothing, a neutral taste. of course, you need to catch one first. the skipper of the support boat, matt, plans each day meticulously.

two six—hour swims, regardless of time, to catch the tides. his worst saw him go backwards, his best swim faster than multiple olympic champion michael phelps. anyone can train and be fit, and you can pretty much get the nutrition right, but swim tide on, tide off, day and night, in the way he has, it isjust a huge mental challenge. i would be very surprised to see if there is another person who even attempt it in the near future. on sunday, after 2000 miles, he will swim back to the point where it all began, margate beach. and for the first time in six months, he will set foot on dry land. he has swum faster and further around the coastline than anyone else before him. an achievement that may never be beaten. john maguire, bbc news. back to our top story —

that 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. it's focuing on eight million pounds of loans from mr banks to his company, which ran the unofficial leave dot eu campaign. mr banks has been tweeting in the last half hour — from bermuda — with the words ‘gone fishing!‘ earlier this afternoon he issued a statement about the investigtion — calling the allegations ‘ludicrous‘ — and insisting that he never received any foreign — or russian — funding during the campaign. time for a look at the weather. here's alina. hello, we have the front working its way east across the uk today which means we have notable contrasts from west to east. behind the front, plenty of sunshine. a scattering of showers for the western isles of scotland and some western coasts. further east, not only have we had mist and fog but also some outbreaks of rain. all tied in with a strip of cloud which, as it moves away eastwards, we will see increasingly dry,

sunny weather arriving from the west. a few showers for western coastlines but it may not be until evening that this rain finally clears away from the coast of east anglia, essex and south east england. behind that, clear skies and a dry night. just a of showers from the irish sea affecting western parts of scotland. it will be a cold night. even in the centre of town, temperatures only just above freezing. our prone cold spots dipping perhaps to —4 or minus five. a crisp, frosty start to the day tomorrow. plenty of sunshine. turning hazy as high cloud spells from the west. from the list of us through daylight hours it is going to be a dry day with a gentle breeze. after that cold start, temperatures recovering to between 9—12. i am sure you spotted this area of rain moving into northern ireland through the evening. eventually western fringes of scotland. the breeze will be picking up as well. if you have firework display plans tomorrow evening away from here it should be dry with just

a gentle breeze. those winds will be picking up further overnight all tied in with this area of low pressure. it was hurricane oscar. no longer a hurricane but it will bring some strong winds, particularly to northern ireland, north—west england and scotland through saturday. here you will see outbreaks of rain slowly trying to slide their way eastwards. eventually affecting western fringes of wales in south—west england towards the afternoon. south and east, dry, sunny spells and sunshine, a breezy day here. these are average wind speeds but gusts could get up to 60—65 mph for parts of north—west england, western scotland and northern ireland. eventually the rain clears from northern ireland. temperatures up to between 12—14. by sunday, here is our front. what tends to happen, it pushes its way back north—westwards through the day. either side of this, some sunshine. most of us will seek a spell of rain for a time on sunday. still fairly mild, 11—14. goodbye. hello, you're watching afternoon live —

i'm martine croxall. today at 3. arron banks — one of the most influential figures in the leave campaign during the 2016 eu referendum — has been referred to the national crime agency over criminal allegations. mr banks has welcomed the inquiry into campaign funding — insisting he never received any foreign — or russian — donations the government unveils a new strategy to tackle organised crime — it comes after a senior officer said police should focus on burglary and violent crime rather than complaints such as gender—based hate incidents. google employees around the world stage a series of walkouts demanding fairer treatment for female and ethnic minority staff. medicinal cannabis products can now be legally prescribed to some patients across the uk for the first time. former leicester manager claudio ranieri returns to the king power stadium to lay a wreath in memory of the owner, who died in a helicopter crash at the weekend. coming up on afternoon live

all the sport with hugh and england have raised some eyebrows with their latest team selection.. yes, eddiejones's side in need of some good performances in the autumn internationals, taking on south africa answer added by ben teal will start despite just 20 minutes of action this season. thanks, and we'll bejoining you for a full update just after half—past. alina has all the weather. halloween has been and gone and no attention turns to fireworks, what role the forecast have installed? details later. taking whale—watching to new heights — the scientists using the latest imaging technology to count whale species from space. hello everyone —

this is afternoon live. the national crime agency is investigating arron banks and his leave.eu campaign for alleged offences committed in the 2016 eu referendum. mr banks was referred to the agency by the electoral commission, which said it suspected money given to the campaign came "from impermissible sources". mr banks has denied any wrongdoing — calling the allegations ‘ludicrous‘ and saying he welcomed the national crime agency investigation. our political correspondent iain watson is in westminster. let me take you through some of that in more detail. it is interesting that two years on from the referendum the conduct is still proving to be controversial. at

sta ke proving to be controversial. at stake today is allegations by the electoral commission, the watchdog, that these million pounds was effectively on the surface lent to not just the leave.eu effectively on the surface lent to notjust the leave.eu campaign but also to its parent company better for the country by arron banks. they are suggesting the money did not come directly from mr banks but potentially came from companies registered offshore in the isle of man and gibraltar. if that is the case the significance of that is the money would have been an permissible in electoral law among meaning it should not have been used for the purposes of referendum campaigning and they say nearly 3 million of the £8 million was used in the referendum itself. they are also suggesting that arron banks and the chief executive of leave.eu with concealing information so they are pass this onto the national crime agency and the national crime agency has confirmed today it is out its own investigations. arron banks was quizzed by a number of mps and a

cross— party quizzed by a number of mps and a cross—party committee, not long ago, a fiery session ended up in arron banks walking out because he felt the session had overrun, he did not wa nt to a nswer the session had overrun, he did not want to answer any more questions. the chair of that committee damian collins has been reacting to the news that the national crime agency is now getting involved. the select committee report we published this summer says that if it was not clear what the source of arron banks‘s wealth was for the donations he made then this should be referred to the national crime agency. the electoral commission had the same concerns and has been referred and all powers should be used to investigate this fully, these are very serious matters and part of that investigation is to bring to a conclusion our understanding of what the real source of arron banks‘s wealth was to make these donations. some of the allegations damian collins made was that the source of the wealth could perhaps come from russia. arron banks denied that at

the committee and again today, said that there is no foreign donations of russian money. he is currently in bermuda on a fishing trip, he posted a picture or social media. nonetheless leave.eu has issued a statement on his behalf saying... i am pleased the electoral commission has referred me to the national... he says it is anti—brexit campaigners who have put pressure to defend the matter to police. not just arron banks but also the chief executive of leave.eu has been referred to the police, she spoke

earlier to radio four and denied any wrongdoing. i welcome the matter being passed on to the national crime agency because it seems it is a biased approach that they hope the matter will be shortly concluded to demonstrate that no claims have been committed. —— no crimes. demonstrate that no claims have been committed. -- no crimes. arron banks use more graphic language suggesting they will swamp creatures packed full of minerals. there's no love lost but it becomes a serious matter which goes to the police with none of that baggage and all the forensic resources at their disposal to try to get to the bottom of these serious allegations about her money was used or misused during the referendum campaign. puig about how money was used must use. 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 shadow home secretary was among those arguing that police should have more resources. dominc 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 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 walkouts 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. these include 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 workers stopped swiping their screens and

downed their devices. hundreds moved away from their workstations and took part in the protest, against sexual harassment. i'm walking out along with others in support of anyone who has been harassed and to ensure that perpetrators are not protected and not rewarded. over the past week, anger among 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 responds. also whether the employees

themselves believe that things have changed. google's chief executive has apologised. he told staff via e—mail... but that is not good 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. this is the scene live at google offices in new york

where employees there arejoining the protest. these are the men and women at google throwing their support behind these walk—outs, demanding key changes into her sexual misconduct allegations are dealt with at the firm and the chief executive of google has told staff he supports their right to take the action. what they want to see as a change in how those allegations are made. are dealt with. google staff in zurich, london, tokyo and dublin have also been taking part in this action. ——

tokyo and berlin. 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 hasn't always been the case for this ten—year—old, who has had epileptic fits every day that could 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. 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. 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. let's talk to baroness meacher, who chairs the all—party parliamentary group on drug policy reform. thank you for staying with us. just explain from the people you have spoken to how important this change in the rules is. it is unbelievably

important. and i do say thank you to the home secretary, after 47 years it is wonderful to have today. but there are about 1 it is wonderful to have today. but there are about1 million patients with many different conditions who now that cannabis is helpful for them because they have taken it illegally rather than not have it so all those people out there are going to be thinking, great, maybe i can get cannabis legally because tiny numbers will get it because doctors do not understand that cannabis really ca n do not understand that cannabis really can help patients. one of the problems as a lot of the research into cannabis has been on a skunk, andi into cannabis has been on a skunk, and i would agree dangerous. that is not medical cannabis so the research is misleading doctors who think it is misleading doctors who think it is not good. but good cannabis is incredibly helpful for a lot of people. how damaging as a delay in

getting access to these medicinal cannabis products particularly for children? the biggest tragedy about delay is that children with treatment resistant epilepsy because there is some extent a new drug that is helpful for some of those children that will become available but it is only any use for a tiny number of children, a tiny proportion of children with treatment resistant epilepsy. all the other children will go on having seizures, what has that been doing to their brain? alfie is now on cannabis medicine, here's a seizure free and these other children could many of them, i'm not saying all of

them, to be completely seizure free. every seizure damages the brain. how likely is it the availability of these products will be wider eventually went doctors understand how to prescribe? i have no doubt as an other countries who have started very narrow and laurent and it will become available i am sure to all epileptic children, treatment resista nt epileptic children, treatment resistant children but the danger is the government will want to use this drug because it has gone through all the trials, started ten years ago but it is not, there are a better cannabis medicines available today and those need to be available to those children desperately. you mentioned skunk which is a recreational drug, what would you say by way of the assurance to people who think that by a loving the prescription of medicinal

cannabis products, it isjust the beginning ofan cannabis products, it isjust the beginning of an end to the illegality of recreational drugs? skunk will remain illegal and it will in my view always be illegal evenif will in my view always be illegal even if certain cannabis products became legal for recreational use. skunk is dangerous, that will never be legalised in my view in this country so do not even have to think about that. the worry about skunk, it is dangerous, and so much research into cannabis has been based on skunk because that is all researchers could get hold of. medical cannabis if it is the right balance for the person concerned is not dangerous, it is much less dangerous than morphine. and yet thatis dangerous than morphine. and yet that is available every day. thank you. and after half past i'll be joined by a mother who has been campaigning for a law change

on medicinal cannabis. you're watching afternoon live, these are our headlines arron banks — one of the most infuentialfigures in the leave campaign — has been referred to the national crime agency over suspected criminal offences commited during the 2016 eu referendum. the government announces a new strategy to combat serious and organised crime, after the national crime agency says it poses a bigger threat than terrorism. google staff around the world stage a series of walk—outs in protest at the company's treatment of women in sport, the leicester city manager claude puel describes the past week as the hardest in the club was my custody as he pays tribute to those including the club's owner who lost their lives in a helicopter crash at their lives in a helicopter crash at the stadium last weekend. the first

gymnast who won four world titles, 12th overall. and owen farrell returns to fly half for england's first autumn international against south africa on saturday. ben te'o will start at centre after this one appearance for most of the season. i will back with more list after 330. the culture secretary, jeremy wright, has defended the timescale for the implementation of new rules on fixed—odds betting terminals. the government announced in may that the maximum stake on the machines would be cut to £2. the changes will not be brought in until next october — campaigners had hoped it could be brought in by next spring. it was quite a battle persuading the treasury to change the rules on this because it brings in a lot of money.

the tax paid on those bets as pretty lucrative so the arguments today from the government was that it is not the principle that is an argument, it is about the timing and we seen as a knock—on effect for the industry, there has to be time to adapt to all of this. there could be job losses as well in the industry. that is why they want it to be october. the culture minister battled really hard to get this change, she spearheaded a campaign which had lots of campaigners and mps behind it, a lot of them feel it is morally wrong that this was preying on some of the poorest and most vulnerable in society and was leading to devastating consequences and gambling addiction. the culture secretary today sent that the timing, there had been no change at all, he said this was the right timing and the right timescale. let me start by saying i think my

honourable friend is doing an outstanding job. and the honourable gentleman is right that she deserves a large part of the credit for the substantive change this government is making. a decision that the last government, the last labour government did not make and a decision which it falls to us now to make. as to why she is not answering the urgent question, the urgent question that has been asked is about a change in government policy. first of all as i have explained there is no change in government policy. i take responsibility for policy made in this department. the government collectively makes decisions on these matters and that is the decision that i have explained to the house. tracey crouch is said to be furious about this, she felt there was a commitment

that this change would happen sooner. i have been speaking to other conservative mps and they have made it clear that they are also unhappy. there's the possibility that could be a vote on this, possibly brought forward by labour to do with the budget so that could be a massive problem for the government with not really a very big workable majority, they could struggle to win a vote on that. tracey crouch is spending the day considering whether to resign over the matter. the appledore shipyard in devon is to close — bringing an end to 163 years of ship building and repair work. its owner, babcock international, says they're looking to re—locate all 199 employees at its other sites. our news correspondent neil gallagher gave us the latest we have seen dozens of shipyard

workers leaving the dockyard gates here to get on buses to go on that really familiar 65 mile trip up to theirfamily homes really familiar 65 mile trip up to their family homes in really familiar 65 mile trip up to theirfamily homes in north devon. if you do not know the geography, devonport is on the south coast of devon, appledore is on the north coast, both yards run by babcock. how many redundancies are expected asa how many redundancies are expected as a result of this decision? it could well be almost 200 or it could be none at all because babcock have said that all 199 employees of appledore will be offered redeployment. realistically the only remotely nearby gabbia could be deployed to as devonport and union rips have told us that most of the workers will not choose to redeploy here but will take their chances with the north devon economy which is to be honest a pretty low—wage economy. 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. now it's time for a look at the weather with alina a good deal of sunshine around, shambles in the west but further east we may not see the rain pulling away. through this evening and overnight, clear skies, a scattering of charles and usually coasts and the west of scotland. cold even in centre of tones, just above freezing

and cold spots. a crisp and frosty start to tomorrow, sunshine turning hazy as high cloud builds, dry for daylight hours but after the cellist at temperatures recovering to between nine and 12. rain arriving into northern ireland and western fringes but if your plans for firework displays, it should be dry away from here but winds picking up and quite windy for all of us on saturday. public sovereignty for the rest, the further so that each should be mainly dry with sunshine and fuelling mild. goodbye. this is bbc news — our latest headlines. the national crime agency investigates arron banks and his leave.eu campaign for alleged offences committed during the 2016 eu referendum. mr banks has welcomed the inquiry into campaign funding — saying that he never received any foreign — or russian — donations. a senior police officer says forces need to go back to basics, focusing on catching thieves and violent criminals rather

than working on incidents where no offence has been committed. staff at google offices around the world stage walkouts in protest at the company's treatment of women. it follows reports that a top executive received a ninety million dollar payout after leaving the firm, despite an allegation of sexual misconduct being made against him. medicinal cannabis products can be legally prescribed from today in a limited number of circumstances where other medicines have failed. the change follows a campaign on behalf of two severely epileptic children who were treated with cannabis oil. and former leicester manager claudio ranieri returns to the king power stadium to lay a wreath in memory of the club's owner who died alongside four others in a helicopter crash at the weekend. sport now on afternoon live with hugh... and hugh, it's been another sombre day for leicester city... the man who led leicester city back

in 2016 to the premier league title. claudio ranieri, to the ground, and we heard from his replacement? he has only been in the job a year, claude puel. the tributes continue to grow. the scale is quite extraordinary and claude puel and his players and staff have been saddling it for themselves and recent day and it really struck them. he was the first person to speak so far from the club. he was

clearly devastated but spoke well. speak so far from the club. he was clearly devastated but spoke welllj am devastated. like all the people. i have a responsibility also to move together, to look forward. and to try to bring my support but also to look forward and it is difficult of course. it is difficult. leicester city are back in training. they will travel to cardiff city bypass. they will not travel by air out of respect to the accident. —— travel by bus. the manager says they have a

responsibility to carry on the legacy of vichai srivaddhanaprabha. it is possible some of the players will travel to pay their respects to the funeral. american simone biles has become the first female artistic gymnast to win four world all—around titles. it's also her 12th world title overall in her career. it was also the biggest margin of victory she had during herfour gold medals. owen farrell returns to fly—half for england's first autumn international with south africa on saturday... ben te'o starts at centre afterjust one appearance for his club, worcester, this season... just 30 minutes. riot shields and

marc wilson form an area experienced —— inexperienced back row. it is the start of a important series for eddiejones with start of a important series for eddie jones with england start of a important series for eddiejones with england struggling forform ahead eddiejones with england struggling for form ahead of the world cup.|j think any game is a must win game. i think any game is a must win game. i think it is exciting. we are excited by the challenge, looking forward to it and we have repaired well for the game. as the clock ticks to japan, not a good run recently, is there any not a good run recently, is there a ny extra not a good run recently, is there any extra pressure on your shoulders? i cannot see why they would be, mate. there is pressure every time you play a test match. 80,000 fans, we want to play well for them. james graham will captain the rugby league side, sean o'loughlin has been ruled out, the

regular captain. 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. indonesian navy divers say they have retrieved the flight data recorder from the lion air plane that plunged into the java sea on monday morning, it was brought to the surface after being found buried in debris on the sea floor. divers are now trying to find the second black box containing a voice recorder from the cockpit that they hope will reveal the final conversations between the pilot and co—pilot. our correspondent rebecca henschke is following all the developments and has the latest now from jakarta. divers bring to the surface, the flight data recorder, in good condition retrieved from the bottom of the sea. it will reveal the plane's final movements before it crashed into the java sea, just minutes after take—off.

divers now searching for a second black box which would have recorded conversations between the two pilots. another key piece of information in terms of determining why this new plane crashed in daylight and in good weather. boeing, working with the indonesian government on the investigation. translation: we will let the transportation safety ccommittee translation: in retrieving the black we will be able to uncover the mystery as to why the plane crashed. the findings of that investigation are unlikely to be known for some time but what we do know is that the pilot requested to return to base after take—off. a technical log obtained by the bbc shows there were problems with the plane on a previous flight. lion air insisting those technical

issues were solved before a full safety clearance was given for it to fly again. but on the orders of the indonesian government they fired their technical director. none of the more than 180 people on board survived when the plane crashed into the sea. only this family has been able to hold a funeral. laid to rest, a 24—year—old female chemical engineering graduate who worked for the energy ministry. the first victim to be identified. other families have come down to the port to see what has been recovered from the wreckage. this man finding his child's shoes. translation: my child's black adidas running shoes. my child's shoes. these personal possessions, bags, clothes, children's items and shoes laid out here, a symbol of the enormous loss so many families are now

having to deal with. first a look at the headlines on afternoon live arron banks — one of the most infuentialfigures in the leave campaign has been referred to the national crime agency over suspected criminal offences commited during the 2016 eu referendum. a senior police officer says forces need to go back to basics, focusing on catching thieves and violent criminals rather than working on incidents where no offence has been committed. google staff around the world stage a series of walk—outs in protest at the company's treatment of women. here's your business headlines on afternoon live. safe for now — shareholders in the cafe chain patisserie valerie — approve a plan to inject more

money into the company by issuing more shares. at an emergency meeting, shareholders expressed their fury to management that new owners may get a share of the company at a knock—down price. the bank of england has kept interest rates on hold amid growing uncertainty amongst businesses over brexit. the bank's monetary policy committee voted to leave the cost of borrowing unchanged at 0.75%. the financial markets are indicating that rates will not rise until after the uk leaves the eu next march. a shipyard is to shut despite its owner being offered a £60 million contract by the mod. staff at appledore shipyard in devon have been told by owner babcock that it will close by the end of march 2019. the company recently lost a contract with the armed forces of malta, causing financial difficulties. so a look at food and drink trends? yes, waitrose has released what's cool and what's not

in the world of food and drink and what matters to the consumer. things are changing for the better in terms of the environment. more and more of us are using reusable bottles, coffee cups. more of us eating less meat, more vegetables. talking about what is in terms of food. the water from the king talking about what is in terms of food. the waterfrom the king of chickpeas. do not shut it down the sink. —— water from chickpeas. do not shut it down the sink. —— waterfrom a chain of chickpeas. it is like vegan milk. you can make from it. they talk

about the fact that the roast dinner is very important among brits. london, more likely to use lamb. in the north—east, brown sauce with our roads. and in scotland, roast dinner, not roast lunch. tor haris, head of corporate social responsibility, waitrose. so many of us thinking about social responsibilities? it is a real shift we have seen in the report this year. we run this report every year for the last six. the consumer trends are interesting to see them shift. mindful consumerism is the concept this time. people conscious about their choices around food having on the broader environment

and their own health and well—being. fewer of us are eating meat or choosing to eat meat. more of us eating more vegetables or a more vegetarian diet? research showing that one in eight of us are choosing a vegetarian or vegan diet. a further 21% are facts of variance —— flexitarians. vegetarians are still eating meat occasionally, a pragmatic dipping in and out approach we are seeing. feeling the pressure from working lives, being very busy, how is that affecting the food and drink choices we make?m is interesting, we see customers adopting a lighter eating habits during the week, more healthy meals, reducing alcohol during the week. we have valet ranges that beautifully

simple to cater for that. in your introduction you said some of the things that the weekend, the traditional sunday roast, still a cornerstone for the nation. the future, what will be called next year? ice cream for adults, gourmet ice cream is coming back? west african food, and i write? we think those are hot trends coming down the track. and also the concept of people being conscious of health and well—being will be there, too. looking at the rise of personal health, fitbits, that kind of thing. directorjosh was hoping that vienetta would make a comeback. arctic roll and don't like. child of

the 19705. child arctic roll and don't like. child of the 1970s. child of the 1980s. ajewish a jewish rates ajewish rates on hold for more than six months,tweet day and night, ross edgley has been swimming 2000 miles, in an attempt to become

the first person to swim around the british coast. ross has smashed several world records and burned more than a million calories. he's due to cross the finish line this sunday in margate. john maguire has been to meet him. not just for hours, not for days, nor even weeks, but for more than six months ross edgley has been swimming around britain. so, wejoined him in the water to ask the obvious question: why did you do it? because it's there? yeah. basically yeah. i sat down one day and i thought, you know what, people have rode around, people have ran around, cycled around, but no one has swum around. it seemed logical at the time. but when i set off onjune1 from margate, i was so naive. i have often said i was so naive. i did not think how big great britain really was. by day and by night, battling storms and more jellyfish than most mariners see in a lifetime. jellys! i knew thejellyfish would be bad. but they are just brutal. you never knew what kind of jellyfish were stinging me at night. ross understands that this is mind over matter. this has gone from being a sporting event. now you are having to take care of your immune system. you can't grit your teeth and get through it.

he will have burned 1 million calories. it is just an eating condition with some swimming thrown in. this isjust a nice bit. countless hours immersed in saltwater have taken their toll. at one stage, it took one hour to dress his blistered neck. his tongue suffered hugely. his favourite mid—swim snack — a banana or two or three, maybe four. people think this is the number of days at sea. but this is the record i am most proud of. this is the banana tally. it started as a little joke. i was getting salt tongue after 12 hours in the water every day. my tongue was falling apart. i woke up with chunks of my tongue on my pillow. it was grim. it was something about bananas that was really soothing, a neutral taste. of course, you need to catch one first. the skipper of the support boat, matt, plans each day meticulously. two six—hour swims, regardless of time, to catch the tides.

his worst saw him go backwards, his best swim faster than multiple olympic champion michael phelps. anyone can train and be fit, and you can pretty much get the nutrition right, but swim tide on, tide off, day and night, in the way he has, it isjust a huge mental challenge. i would be very surprised to see if there is another person who even attempts it in the near future. on sunday, after 2000 miles, he will swim back to the point where it all began, margate beach. and for the first time in six months, he will set foot on dry land. he has swum faster and further around the coastline than anyone else before him. an achievement that may never be beaten. john maguire, bbc news. a global human rights group says sexual violence against women

in north korea is endemic. human rights watch interviewed 54 north koreans who left the country after 2011 — when the current leader kimjong un rose to power — and eight former north korean officials who fled the country. ?the group concluded powerful officials commit sexual abuse against women with almost complete impunity. and reported such abuse is so common it's become part of ordinary life. human rights watch released this clip of one of the women they spoke to. it's being described as the new tobacco. many of us are exposed to dangerouly high levels of air pollution on a daily basis. the world health organization says air pollution causes seven million premature deaths each year. the bbc‘s reality check reports now on the pollution levels found during a typical commute in the indian capital delhi. it's estimated that over 90% of the world's population breathes polluted air and that 7 million deaths each year are linked to air pollution. delhi is one of the most polluted cities on earth.

breathing delhi's air is equivalent to smoking more than a dozen cigarettes a day. people are advised to stay indoors as much as possible when pollution is severe. but for commuters that's often not an option. do certain types of transport expose you to highers amount of pollutants than others? researchers in delhi tried to find out just that. they estimated the amount of air pollutant inhaled by commuters on different types of transport in delhi. they looked at pollution in the form of small particulate matter, also known as pm2.5. these are tiny air particles that you can't see, but they can make you sick. here's what they found. per kilometre travelled, the dose of inhaled pollutants was highest when walking, followed by cycling, travelling by bus, the metro, rickshaw, and finally by car. in part, this is explained by the fact that getting from a to b by walking and cycling usually takes longer and the amount of air inhaled is higher during such active modes of travel. in other words, breathing deeper

in a polluted environment means inhaling more pollutants. the data collected in delhi showed that the intake of small particulate matter per kilometre was nine times higher when cycling compared to travelling by car. are the findings from delhi applicable to commuting in other cities? a review of studies from around the world showed that on average cyclists followed by pedestrians inhaled the highest doses pollutants compared to those using motorised transports. this took into account the higher rate of inhalation during walking and cycling. that's an important distinction. because overall pollutant levels in the air are higher in cars and buses, and lowerfor cyclists and pedestrians in the majority of studies. so should you ditch your bike if you live in a polluted city? the authors of the review say that the long—term benefits of physical activity outweigh the risks from air pollution. though this may not be the case in cities with the most extreme air pollution levels, such as delhi. if you travel by car,

closing windows and switching to internal ventilation can reduce pollution exposure. on all types of transport, proximity to traffic emissions also matters. so taking quieter routes can help reduce pollution exposure. hello, we have the front working its way east across the uk today which means we have notable contrasts from west to east. behind the front, plenty of sunshine. a scattering of showers for the western isles of scotland and some western coasts. further east, not only have we had mist and fog but also some outbreaks of rain. all tied in with a strip of cloud which, as it moves away eastwards, we will see increasingly dry, sunny weather arriving from the west. a few showers for western coastlines but it may not be until evening that this rain finally clears away from the coast of east anglia, essex and south east england. behind that, clear skies and a dry night. just a of showers from the irish sea affecting western parts of scotland. it will be a cold night.

even in the centre of town, temperatures only just above freezing. our prone cold spots dipping perhaps to —4 or —5. a crisp, frosty start to the day tomorrow. plenty of sunshine. turning hazy as high cloud spells from the west. from the list of us through daylight hours it is going to be a dry day with a gentle breeze. after that cold start, temperatures recovering to between 9—12. i am sure you spotted this area of rain moving into northern ireland through the evening. eventually western fringes of scotland. the breeze will be picking up as well. if you have firework display plans tomorrow evening away from here it should be dry with just a gentle breeze. those winds will be picking up further overnight all tied in with this area of low pressure. it was hurricane oscar. no longer a hurricane but it will bring some strong winds, particularly to northern ireland, north—west england and scotland through saturday. here you will see outbreaks of rain slowly trying to slide their way eastwards. eventually affecting western fringes of wales in south—west england towards the afternoon.

south and east, dry, sunny spells and sunshine, a breezy day here. these are average wind speeds but gusts could get up to 60—65 mph for parts of north—west england, western scotland and northern ireland. eventually the rain clears from northern ireland. temperatures up to between 12—14. by sunday, here is our front. what tends to happen, it pushes its way back north—westwards through the day. either side of this, some sunshine. most of us will seek a spell of rain for a time on sunday. still fairly mild, 11—14. goodbye. hello, you're watching afternoon live. i'm martine croxall, today at four: arron banks — one of the most influential figures in the leave campaign during the 2016 eu referendum — has been referred to the national crime agency over criminal allegations. mr banks has welcomed the inquiry into campaignfunding, insisting he never received any foreign — or russian — donations. calls from a senior police officer

that forces should focus on catching thieves and violent criminals and not on incidents such as gender—based hate incidents receives a mixed reaction. google employees around the world stage a series of walk—outs demanding fairer treatment forfemale and ethnic minority staff. medicinal cannabis products can now be legally prescribed to some patients across the uk for the first time. former leicester manager claudio ranieri returns to the king power stadium to lay a wreath in memory of the owner, who died in a helicopter crash. coming up on afternoon live, all the sport with hugh. and eddiejones has been making some big decisions. he has already made them, and i can tell you he has gone for an inexperienced back row, a big call

at inside centre, ben te'o starts, despite making just one appearance so despite making just one appearance so far this season, all the details to come later in the hour. and all the weather, we need to know what it will be like for bonfire night. halloween has been and gone, our attention turns to the next big event, bonfire night this weekend, some strong winds in the forecast, i will tell you all about it in half an hour's time. taking whale—watching to new heights — the scientists using the latest imaging technology to count whale species from space. hello, this is afternoon live, i'm martine croxall. the national crime agency is investigating arron banks and his leave.eu campaign for alleged offences committed in the 2016 eu referendum. mr banks was referred to the agency by the electoral commission, which said it suspected money

given to the campaign came "from impermissible sources". mr banks has denied any wrongdoing, calling the allegations "ludicrous", and saying he welcomed the national crime agency investigation. our political correspondent iain watson is in westminster. yes, two yea rs yes, two years on from the referendum, martine, it is still proving to be very controversial indeed. i should proving to be very controversial indeed. ishould make proving to be very controversial indeed. i should make it clear that these allegations we are talking about do not relate to both leave, the official campaign, but leave.eu, a separate campaign, associated with arron banks and nigel farage campaigning for brexit. now, these allegations, just to run through them that the electoral commission has been carrying out an investigation, on the surface it looks as though arron banks had given the leave. eu looks as though arron banks had given the leave.eu campaign and pa rent given the leave.eu campaign and parent company a total of £8

million. nearly 3 million of that, the electoral commission says, was used during the course of the campaign, but it is now suggesting that the money didn't really come from arron banks insult, from his own pocket but potentially from companies registered offshore, in the isle of man and gibraltar. that would make those donations to those campaigns impermissible under electoral law, in other words that money should not have been used during the referendum campaign that is the case. the electoral commission does not have the power to investigate offshore and overseas facilities, so it has brought in the police, the national crime agency, and has suggested that it takes up the cudgels, if you like, and investigate itself. it has confirmed it is doing so, and one of the mps at westminster who has been campaigning on the issue for the last 18 months, labour mp stephen kinnock, believes this is the right decision. i have been calling for this since

the spring of 2017, along with a number of colleagues, and we feel vindicated today that our request for a full investigation has been listened to. i think it is very good that it has been passed to the national crime agency, they have got the forensic capability to make this happen, and arron banks has serious questions to answer. he is the biggest donor in british political history, £9 million. we need to know where that money came from. arron banks was asked about this in front of a committee, whether there was any russian involvement, he has absolutely denied that, and he is currently in bermuda, he says on a fishing expedition, and he has posted a picture of himself on social media, looking none too perturbed at the current allegations. meanwhile, leave. eu perturbed at the current allegations. meanwhile, leave.eu has issued a statement on his behalf, and in it he says i am pleased that

the electoral commission has referred me to the national crime agency, i'm confident that a full and frank investigation will finally put an end to the ludicrous allegations levelled against me and my colleagues. he goes onto say that there is no evidence of any wrongdoing from the companies that he owns, he says he is a uk taxpayer and says, i have never received every foreign donations, the electoral commission has produced a no evidence to the contrary. he also alleges that the electoral commission was put under severe pressure by anti—brexit campaigners to ta ke pressure by anti—brexit campaigners to take this issue up. interestingly, of course, it is not just arron banks, but also the chief executive of leave. eu, just arron banks, but also the chief executive of leave.eu, i will get that absolutely right, leave.eu's chief executive, elizabeth bilney, who has been referred to the police, she spoke to radio four and said she was not guilty of any wrongdoing. i welcome the matter being passed on to the national crime agency, because to date all we've seen from the electoral commission is a biased approach. i hope that the matter will be

shortly concluded to demonstrate that no crimes have been committed. she is accusing the electoral commission of buyers, previously when investigated by them, arron banks used rather more colourful language to suggest they were swamped creatures, filled with remainers. no love lost there, but what is really serious about this, the serious implication today is that it has moved away from the electoral commission, the ding—dong between them and leave.eu, and is now being investigated with the police with the forensic capability to try to get to the bottom of whether this money was used legitimately or not during that referendum campaign. iain watson, 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 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 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 for the police service that is being transformed by 21st—century crime. staff at google offices around the world are staging walkouts 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. these include 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 workers stopped swiping their screens and downed their devices. hundreds moved away from their workstations and took part in the protest

against sexual harassment, leaving this message at their desks. i'm walking out along with others in support of anyone who has been harassed and to ensure that perpetrators are not protected and not rewarded. over the past week, anger among 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. so far it seems they don't.

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... but that is not good 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. 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 hasn't always been the case for this ten—year—old, who has had epileptic fits every day that could 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're just crushed.

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 crushed. practically the announcement is, at the present time, meaningless. campaign 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 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. we have just hired some we havejust hired some breaking news in regarding anyjapanese pilot who has admitted to being almost ten times over the alcohol limit shortly before a flight from heathrow, according to police. this is a 42—year—old pilot who was arrested at heathrow after failing a breath test 50 minutes before japan airlines flight to tokyo was due to ta ke airlines flight to tokyo was due to take off with him in the cockpit. the flight was being operated on a

boeing 777 aircraft which would have had up to 244 passengers on board. he pleaded guilty to exceeding the alcohol limit at uxbridge magistrates court today, has been remanded in custody, and will be sentenced at idle with crown court later this month. back injune, i don't really recall, and experienced british pilot was jailed for being on duty well two four times over the limit. four times meant drinking three double vodka is on an empty stomachs before the, julian monaghan, was going to flight from gatwick to mauritius. so ten times over, that is a lot of alcohol. you're watching afternoon live, these are our headlines. arron banks — one of the most infuential figures in the leave campaign — has been referred to the national crime agency over suspected criminal offences commited during the 2016 eu referendum. a senior police officer says forces need to go back to basics, focusing on catching thieves and violent criminals rather than working on incidents

where no offence has been committed. google staff around the world are staging in walk—outs in protest against the compa ny‘s treatment of women. and in sport, leicester city manager claude puel well describes the past week as the hardest in the club's history. he paid tribute to those, including the club's owner, who lost their lives in a helicopter crash at their lives in a helicopter crash at the stadium last weekend. simone biles has become the first female gymnast to win four all—around title is at the world championships, the 12th world title of the 21—year—old's career. and owen farrell returns to fly half for england's first autumn international against south africa on saturday, but a surprise inclusion at inside centre as ben te'o starts afterjust one appearance for his club this season. i will be back with more on those stories just after half past. the culture secretary,

jeremy wright, has defended the timing of new laws on fixed—odds betting terminals. the government announced in may that the maximum stake on the machines would be cut to £2. the changes will not be brought in until next october. campaigners had hoped it could be brought in by next spring. ministers are insisting there has been no delay. our political correspondent vicki young gave us the latest from westminster. it was quite a battle persuading the treasury to change the rules on this because it brings in a lot of money. the tax paid on those bets is pretty lucrative, so the arguments today from the government was that it is not the principle that is an argument, it is about the timing, there is a knock—on effect for the industry, there has to be time to adapt to all of this. there could be job losses as well in the industry. that is why they want it to be october. the culture minister battled really hard to get this change, she spearheaded a campaign which had lots of campaigners and mps behind it, a lot of them feel it is morally

wrong that this was playing on some of the poorest and most vulnerable in society and was leading to devastating consequences and gambling addiction. the culture secretary today said that the timing, there had been no change at all, he said this was the right timing and the right timescale. i think my honourable friend is doing an outstanding job as the ministerfor sport and civil society, and the honourable gentleman is right that she deserves a large part of the credit for the substantive change this government is making. a decision that the last government, the last labour government did not make, and a decision which it falls to us now to make. as to why she is not answering

the urgent question, the urgent question that has been asked is about a change in fovernment policy. first of all, as i have explained, their is no change in government policy. i take responsibility for policy made in this department. the government collectively makes decisions on these matters, and that is the decision that i have explained to the house. tracey crouch is said to be furious about this, she felt there was a commitment that this change would happen sooner. i have been speaking to other conservative mps, and they have made it clear that they're also unhappy. there's the possibility that there could be a vote on this, possibly brought forward by labour to do with the budget, so that could be a massive problem for the government with not really

a very big workable majority, they could struggle to win a vote on that. tracey crouch is spending the day considering whether to resign over the matter. vicki young in westminster. indonesian navy divers say they have retrieved the flight data recorder from the lion air plane that plunged into the java sea on monday morning. it was brought to the surface after being found buried in debris on the sea floor. divers are now trying to find the second black box containing a voice recorder from the cockpit that they hope will reveal the final conversations between the pilot and co—pilot. our correspondent rebecca henschke is following all the developments and has the latest now from jakarta. divers bring to the surface the flight data recorder, in good condition retrieved from the bottom of the sea. it will reveal the plane's final movements before it crashed into the java sea, just minutes after take—off. divers now searching for a second black box which

would have recorded conversations between the two pilots. another key piece of information in terms of determining why this new plane crashed in daylight and in good weather, boeing working with the indonesian government on the investigation. translation: we will let the transportation safety committee do theirjob, and we have requested boeing to help determine the criteria needed for inspection to find out the cause of the crash. the findings of that investigation are unlikely to be known for some time, but what we do know is that the pilot requested to return to base after take—off. a technical log obtained by the bbc shows there were problems with the plane on a previous flight. lion air insisting those technical issues were solved before a full safety clearance was given for it to fly again. but on the orders of the indonesian government, they fired their technical director. none of the more than 180 people

on board survived when the plane crashed into the sea. only this family has been able to hold a funeral. laid to rest, a 24—year—old female chemical engineering graduate who worked for the energy ministry. the first victim to be identified. other families have come down to the port to see what has been recovered from the wreckage. this man finding his child's shoes. translation: my child's black adidas running shoes. my child's shoes. these personal possessions, bags, clothes, children's items and shoes laid out here, a symbol of the enormous loss so many families are now having to deal with. 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. alina has joined alina hasjoined us, quite a big weather system behind you! i will have to step to one side so you can appreciate it, this was

hurricane oscar, no longer a hurricane, they often break up and merge with other areas of low pressure, but this one is the original system, much weaker, and i must emphasise no longer a hurricane, but when you see these isobars close together, you know it will be windy, and it is arriving just in time for the weekend, which is fireworks. and what will it bring, will it be disruptive to all the events being planned? particularly on saturday, martine, we have to think about some strong winds. we have done a quick look around the uk over the next few days, because it will be happening friday through monday night, and away from western fringes of scotla nd away from western fringes of scotland and northern ireland on friday, mostly dry, a bit of a breeze, but on saturday we will notice the strength of the winds, 60-65 notice the strength of the winds, 60—65 mph gusts across western scotland, north—west england, so windy conditions, rain as well for parts of scotland, western fringes of wales, but the winds to ease down, rain in places, particularly

for the west midlands, wales and south—west england. and the forecast generally? some of us have seen sunshine, a beautiful afternoon in places, but for others it has been very wet. this was suffolk not so long ago. further west, plenty of sunshine, this was cumbria earlier on this afternoon, and the reason for the contrast is this front moving eastwards, defined by this zone of cloud. it is slowly pulling eastwards to leave clearer skies behind, but still lingering across parts of east anglia, south—east england, and it is not going to be until later this evening that it finally pulls away. for much of the country, clear skies overnight, a few showers feeding in across irish sea coasts, western side of scotland, elsewhere dry and cold. even in the centre of town, not much above freezing, for our cold spots, as low as minus four, but much milderfor as low as minus four, but much milder for the as low as minus four, but much milderfor the channel as low as minus four, but much milder for the channel islands, eight celsius here, but foremost a frosty start to friday, a good deal

of sunshine through the morning. as the day wears on, more cloud streaming eastwards, that will turn the sunshine hazy, but for much of the sunshine hazy, but for much of the daylight hours, mainly dry, temperatures recovering to 9—13 celsius. i am sure you can see the rain behind me, moving into northern ireland, western fringes of scotland through tomorrow evening, the winds strengthening here, but if you have displays the magpie work displays tomorrow, away from that area it will be dry. —— if you have firework displays tomorrow, away from that area it will be dry. this is what was hurricane oscar, windy foremost, particularly across northern ireland, western scotland and north—west england, outbreaks of rain through saturday morning, slowly pushing eastwards, so by and large much of england and wales will be dry with spells of sunshine, and quite mild, 12—14 celsius, but also very windy, so picking up on the wind strength through the evening,

around the time of firework displays, these are average strengths, could be gusts of up to 65 mph for parts of scotland, north—west england and northern ireland. by the time we get to sunday, a slightly different position, dragged across wales, south—west england, the midlands, south—eastern parts of scotland, wavering around through the day, on either side spells of sunshine, so not raining all the time, some good escape with a mainly dry day, still mild, 11-14dc. escape with a mainly dry day, still mild, 11—14dc. that is the team over there two days, frosty start tomorrow, turning milder, strong winds through the weekend. —— that is the theme. this is bbc news, our latest headlines: the national crime agency investigates arron banks and his leave.eu campaign for alleged offences committed during the 2016 eu referendum. mr banks has welcomed the inquiry into campaignfunding, saying that he never received any foreign — or russian — donations. a senior police officer says forces need to go back to basics, focusing on catching thieves

and violent criminals rather than working on incidents where no offence has been committed. staff at google offices around the world are staging walkouts in protest at the company's treatment of women. it follows reports that a top executive received a $90 million payout after leaving the firm, despite an allegation of sexual misconduct being made against him. medicinal cannabis products can be legally prescribed from today in a limited number of circumstances where other medicines have failed. the change follows a campaign on behalf of two severely epileptic children who were treated with cannabis oil. sport now on afternoon live with hugh. and, as we've mentioned, the tributes continue to grow outside the home of leicester city. yes, indeed they are, good afternoon. we have more of an idea today just how afternoon. we have more of an idea todayjust how leicester's players and staff felt upon finding out the

club's owner vichai srivaddhanaprabha and four others lost their lives just outside the ground in the helicopter crash on saturday evening. david ornstein is outside the king power stadium now. it has been a pretty sombre day where you are once again. yes, it has, it really is a sense of loss, a sense of grief but also of togetherness and gratitude for kun vichai and that is illustrated by the tributes here, a sea of scars ensured sunflowers, not from just leicester city fans from badly but from people all over the world. we saw earlier the firefighters who we re saw earlier the firefighters who were on duty when the helicopter crash lay their own tributes and we saw the leicester city title winning managerfrom 2016 saw the leicester city title winning manager from 2016 claudio saw the leicester city title winning managerfrom 2016 claudio ranieri. he will always be in the hearts of this club with that extraordinary

5000-1 this club with that extraordinary 5000—1 achievement, and you feel that the tributes will continue for a long time to come, it really is quite extraordinary. today for the first time, we heard from a member of the club's hierarchy, claude puel, and he was keen to heap praise on his players during this difficult time. it was a fantastic feeling, i think, to see all my players on the pitch... i have 27 players in the squad and all the players were ready together to train, to give their best, 100%, just to remember the owner on the pitch, of their chairman. the reality is that attention for claude puel and his players and staff much now switch, for the time being anyway, to

football because on saturday, they have decided that their match against cardiff city in the welsh capital will go ahead. they have decided to travel by road instead of airout of decided to travel by road instead of air out of respect and sensitivity. a minute's silence will be held before kick—off, black armbands will before kick—off, black armbands will be held by all. —— worn by all. the funeral will be in bangkok and it is our understanding that leicester are considering letting all of their players travel over to pay their respects for a man who will forever be in the hearts of this football clu b be in the hearts of this football club at a terribly tragic time. david ornstein, thank you very much. hard sun hibernian have released a joint statement condemning the ugly scenes during last night's edinburgh derby at tynecastle —— park seung—hi brno. hibs boss neil lennon was struck on the jaw moments after seeming to celebrate hearts having an injury time goal disallowed. hearts goalkeeper was also hit by a hibs fan while police scotland have arrested a man in connection with an assault on an assistant referee. the

clu bs assault on an assistant referee. the clubs have released a joint statement, saying... olympic champion simone biles has underlined her star quality by making history at the world gymnastics championships in joe hart. the american qualifier first in the all—around final and went on to become the first woman to win four titles in the event that the world championships —— in doha. it is the biggest margin of victory she has had for those golds and takes a number of overall world titles up to 12. and that is all the sports are now. john watson is here with more for you in the next hour. 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. janine jansen is in plymouth, where it has been

announced the appledore shipyard in devon is to close. and in leeds is keeley donovan, where specialist doctors can now prescribe medicinal cannabis to some patients for the first time. first of all, where they expecting this at appledore? yes, in a way, there has been speculation the weeks that appledore shipyard my close and it is the news that workers and families were absolutely dreading. last weekend, hundreds of people protested in bideford to show their support for appledore and this week, a group travel to westminster with a petition signed by more than 9,000 people and it was handed into the house of commons. at a meeting, over 200 workers were told the dreaded news, there was anger, outright hostility. many were said to have walked out of the meeting in a really really sombre mood. they were told they could go home early to spend the day with their families

andi spend the day with their families and ijest spend the day with their families and i jest the spend the day with their families and ijest the news. completely devastated. a lot of men upset, sad, completely unbelievable that they had taken the decision to shut the yard. it is a devastating blow to the local community, north devon as a whole and the history of shipbuilding in ourarea. a whole and the history of shipbuilding in our area. it a whole and the history of shipbuilding in ourarea. it is a whole and the history of shipbuilding in our area. it is a kick to the teeth again. so what are the owners, babcock, saying. kick to the teeth again. so what are the owners, babcock, sayingm kick to the teeth again. so what are the owners, babcock, saying. it is due to close at the end of march next year but babcock say all of the owners are going to be offered work at devonport, the sister shipyard and 140 of them are currently working in plymouth. they are being bussed down 65 miles in the morning and 60's —— 65 miles back in the evening. babcock says it is determined to protect their employment in the business and very much regret having to take this course of action and recognises the impact it will have on its dedicated and professional workforce. unions are describing this news as an

absolute hammer blow to the north devon economy. the bishop of exeter says the area doesn't have many large employers, so losing one that offers skilled, permanent work is going to have a massive impact on the local economy and we spoke to some shop workers today in appledore. this is what they said. we see a lot of them, they come in here all the time for their lunches. coffees, they go in the grocery store for all their shopping before and after shifts. we see the wives and the kids. all the kids growing up, you know, you see it all, all the generations and it's alljust going to be gone. and they will all move to devenport and that will be that, sad. the end of shipbuilding in appledore. yeah, which has been hundreds, thousands of years? yeah. there was a bit of excitement last night, we thought there was a lifeline, the mod said they might be able to bring forward works worth around £60 million but it wasn't enough to reassure babcock. and if you think that the north devon coast has been providing timber and ships to the royal navy since the days of

nelson, this is a truly historical and significant turning point. thank you very much. to killie donovan in leeds, and we have been talking today about the change in the law that permits the prescription of medicinal cannabis, how has that change affected the people in your region? on the face of it, today's news is a successful campaigners. doctors can now legally prescribed medical cannabis in the form of oil or cap shores. however, we have spoken to one family, the parents of ten—year—old harry from north yorkshire, who are still unhappy. harry has a rare form of epilepsy which can cause seizures every hour, but, after taking normal medical cannabis oil this year, he hasn't had a seizure sincejune. despite today's law change, harry's parents say they still won't get a prescription for medicinal cannabis because of a lack of guidance given to doctors. i actually could feel my bodyjust literally crushing inside, you know? and angry, angry as well.

i mean, how on earth can you make this announcement? how can you give people that hope? i mean, it's almost... you know, it's like giving a child a sweet or something and say, yes, it's here, it's so gorgeous and you want this and i'm just going to revel in this. it's going to change your life forever, but you can't have it. so what have doctors said? today marks a law change by the government so, yes, medicinal cannabis is now legal and whilst the nhs has offered some guidelines, they say only a small number of patients are going to be eligible for this new type of medicine. many doctors don't feel confident enough yet to prescribed medicinal —based cannabis. nothing is going to dramatically change immediately. the reality is that the guidance will make it no longer illegal for us to prescribe cannabis—based products, but it doesn't actually provide us with any cannabis—based products that we can prescribe at the moment, so i don't think anything is going

to change immediately. so doctors say the guidelines from nice outlining how medicinal —based cannabis should be used will probably not be published until this time next year. keeley, thank you very much. keeley donovan and jenny jansson, good to hearfrom both of you today. and if you would like to see more on any of those stories, you can find them on the bbc iplayer and a reminder that we go nationwide every weekday afternoon at 4:30pm here on afternoon live. with just days to go until the us mid—term elections, president trump has been on the campaign trail again, rallying support from some of his most devoted followers — evangelical christians. and in the latest in a series reports for the bbc, our north america correspondent chris buckler has been

to mississippi, looking at religion's influence on america's upcoming vote. christian talks radio station here don't shy away from the topics that can cause division in this country. 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, oxford, mississippi. oprah winfrey lends her star power to georgia democrat stacey abrams quest to become the united states' first black woman governor at a pair of appearances in the state on thursday. she is due to appear at two town offence in georgia in what has been described as a get out the vote event. she did of course endorse barack obama for the white house in 2008 and was, in fact, encouraged herself to run against president romp but, up until now, she has resisted that temptation, so there she is on stage in georgia. —— president trump. in a moment, the business news. first a look at the headlines

on afternoon live. arron banks — one of the most infuential figures in the leave campaign — has been referred to the national crime agency over suspected criminal offences commited during the 2016 eu referendum. a senior police officer says forces need to go back to basics, focusing on catching thieves and violent criminals rather than working on incidents where no offence has been committed. google staff around the world are staging a walkouts in protest are staging walkouts in protest against the compa ny‘s treatment of women. here's your business headlines on afternoon live. safe for now — shareholders in the cafe chain patisserie valerie approve a plan to inject more money into the company, by issuing more shares. at an emergency meeting, shareholders expressed their fury to management that new owners may get a share of the company at a knockdown price. staff at google walk out in protest at the company's treatment of women. employees are demanding changes in how sexual misconduct allegations are dealt with at the firm, including a call to end

forced arbitration. the move would make it possible for victims to sue. google's chief executive has told staff he supports their right to take the action. a shipyard is to shut despite its owner being offered a £60 million contract by the mod. staff at appledore shipyard in devon have been told by owner babcock that it will close by the end of march 2019. the company recently lost a contract with the armed forces of malta, causing financial difficulties. so what are the markets doing today? if the pound has been interesting, gaining strength against both the dollar and the euro. the reason we are seeing sterling strengthening is the move by the bank of england not only to leave interest rates unchanged at 0.75% but a hint there could be possible rate rises on the horizon if there is a smooth grexit

in march. that has got the markets quite excited in terms of the pound. and a tweet from president trump... every time he tweets, something happens and every time he tweets about the markets, this time it is averted the china and us —— about china and the us. there are quite a few!. basically, what he is saying, it isa few!. basically, what he is saying, it is a positive tweet about the trade relationship between china and the us and the president of china has, according to chinese state media, been quite positive and that has put a rocket under the markets in the us in particular. maike currie is investment director, fidelity international. let's talk about the pound, it has had a turbulent time over the last few months but sterling is strengthening. that is right, if

anything, today is a reassurance of how sensitive sterling is to brexit negotiations. two things have happened, one is the announcement from the bank of england being a bit more positive that if we do have a smooth brexit then they will push up interest rates sooner than expected, which has buoyed the pound because when interest rates go up, money tends to flow to that country and the other thing has been rumours about a possible deal being agreed on financial services between the uk and the eu. but those factors have seen and the eu. but those factors have seen the pound really strengthened. let's talk about the bank of england, specifically their forecast. there are hints that we could see rate rises on the horizon. they have hinted at that, yet today they voted unanimously to keep interest rates low. they weren't spring any surprises on the economy as long as the brexit fog is around, and until that clears, any decisions will be made on an add—on basis and

governor mark carney said they could move in either direction, up or down but for now they remain where they are, and that means savers, those who have been prudent with their finances, more bad news for borrowers, and those on a mortgage, good news because rates remain low. the us president, his tweets orrell was interesting, tweeting some positive news about the trade relationship between china and the us. he did and it is interesting that it comes five days before the us mid—term elections. president trump keeps a close eye on stock markets, he sees it as a barometer for his administration's success and now he has tweeted that talks with china are going smoothly, that has buoyed stock markets, who have been very concerned about this trade war with china, about it escalating into a full on currency war and, of course, they will keep a close eye on what the president does next. ok, good to talk to, thank you very much indeed. let's take you through those

final figures. indeed. let's take you through those finalfigures. the london market is down nearly 0.5%, the stronger pound not liked by big companies that foreign facing. the dowjones is in positive territory, the pound is strong against both dollar and the euro. it is lovely when you are here. i know, it is lovely when you are here! nice to see you, do come back. we are going live now to the house of commons were the chief secretary to the treasury liz truss is speaking at the end of a budget debate. we are thinking she might be saying something about a government concession to do with the introduction of this new maximum of £2 on fixed—odds betting terminals. campaigners had hoped that change would be brought in next spring but at the moment, the government is saying it will be next october. at the moment, she is talking about the budget. giving people more control over their own money. so we put £630 into universal credit for families.

we cutting taxes for those on the basic rate by £130 this year, making people better off and raising the higher rate thresholds are you don't start paying higher rate tax until you earn £50,000. and this is not about giving tax cuts to millionaires, these are people on medium incomes who are dragged into the top rate of tax under the labour government. at the same time, mr deputy speaker, our strong economy means we can fund the service is eve ryo ne means we can fund the service is everyone relies on. that is why this budget has included extra money for defence, extra money for schools, extra money for our health system and for our local authorities. and what is also important is we are going to spend this money in a way that delivers results. the honourable gentleman talked about children's services. not only are we

giving counties an extra 650 million to pay for adults and children's social care, we are also rolling programmes out like the one we have seen programmes out like the one we have seenin programmes out like the one we have seen in north yorkshire called no wrong door. that programme has meant fewer children in care, few are ending up in trouble with the police and fewer ending up in accident & emergency and it is a great example of how, by spending money in the right way, we can cut long—term costs for the taxpayer and, more importantly than that, we can make sure our children get the best possible start in life. and i did wa nt to possible start in life. and i did want to applaud the member for rotherham on what she said in this debate. i want to applaud her for her bravery. she stood up against those gangs targeting young women in her area and those gangs targeting young women in herarea and i'm those gangs targeting young women in her area and i'm very happy to discuss the issues she raised in the spending review. but, mr speaker, as

well as addressing the immediate issues we face, this also backs enterprise to take risks, make investments and grow their operations. we slashed business rates by one third, which has been welcomed by the member for st ives, the memberfor aldershot welcomed by the member for st ives, the member for aldershot and my honourable friend for solihull. we have cut corporation tax to the lowest level in the g20. we have increased capital allowances from 200,000 to one million and what that all means, it means that companies wa nt to all means, it means that companies want to grow, they want to invest in britain, they want to take more people on. it means morejobs for people on. it means morejobs for people across this country, it means higher wages, seeing real wages rise now for three quarters of people employed in the private sector, and it also means we are able to afford money for our public services. we are launching ten new development corporations across the country, so we won't just corporations across the country, so we won'tjust have canary wharf, we will have ca nary

we won'tjust have canary wharf, we will have canary wharf north and in all other parts of the country. we are also creating a special economic sign in to side with new freedoms to grow. but, mr deputy speaker, this is not just about grow. but, mr deputy speaker, this is notjust about cold, hard cash. this is about realising people's aspirations and their dreams and their hope for the future. it is about being able to afford a holiday ora about being able to afford a holiday or a car about being able to afford a holiday ora carand it's about being able to afford a holiday or a car and it's about more opportunities for young people emerging from our schools and our colleges. i think this is a good budget and i will without any question be supporting it tonight enthusiastically. however... however, there is an issue of the start time, the starting date for the fixed odds betting is terminal reduction to £2. it is clearly not

something we can deal with this evening but i would say to my right honourable friend, i wonder if she would give an undertaking that in time for the finance bill, we will certainly return to this.|j time for the finance bill, we will certainly return to this. i thank my honourable friend, my right honourable friend, my right honourable friend, my right honourable friend, for his point. we have brought the date forward by six months. i don't believe it is an issue that the finance bill but i'm certainly happy to discuss it with my honourable friend about what more we can do. mr speaker, where as we are making sure that young people emerging from our schools and colleges have opportunities that people are able to fulfil their dreams and aspirations, we see a labour party on the opposite benches who would kill those dreams. they are driven by pessimism, by envy and by spite and the reality is, mr deputy speaker, that they would rather see... mark

so that is liz truss in the commons debate, in duncan smith asked to address the issue of when the maximum bet of £2 will be introduced on the fixed odds betting terminals and she says it has been brought forward by six months, campaigners we re forward by six months, campaigners were hoping it will be next spring but it now looks like the government will stick to its plan of next october. it could mean that the minister who has been overseeing that change, tracy crouch, is still having to consider her position. she may decide to resign from her post as minister if the date isn't brought forward to next spring. we will keep an eye on it here on bbc news. that is it from the afternoon live team. time for a look at the weather. here's alina jenkins. hello, a good deal of sunshine around this afternoon, some showers pro—western codes but further ease, some showers and it may not be until

this evening until we see the rain moving away from the of essex, the east. a scattering of showers for the curse of northern ireland and western scotland. temperatures in cities and towns down, —4 —54 hour prior and cold spots. a good deal of sunshine tomorrow as high cloud builds from the west. plenty of sunshine, although that sunshine will slowly turn hazy as high cloud spills in from the west, but for most of us, through daylight hours, it's going to be a dry day with a gentle breeze and after that cold start, temperatures recovering to between nine and 12 celsius. the breeze will be picking up as well but if you have firework display plans tomorrow evening, away from here, it should be dry and just a gentle breeze but those winds will be picking up further overnight, all tied in with this area of low pressure. it was hurricane oscar, no longer a hurricane but it will bring some strong winds, particularly to northern ireland, today at five:

the national crime agency is to investigate alleged offences relating to campaign spending during the eu referendum. ukip donor arron banks was amongst those referred to the agency by the electoral commission — which suspects that money given to the campaign had come from impermissible sources. they should use all of their powers to investigate this really. these are very serious to investigate this really. these are very serious matters. mr banks says the allegations are ludicrous and says he welcomes the inquiry. the other main stories on bbc news at 5... a senior police officer has questioned whether investigating misogyny rather than crimes such as burglary is the best use of resources. google employees around the world stage a series of walkouts demanding fairer treatment for female and ethnic minority staff. mps criticise what they call a delay to a planned crackdown