this is bbc news. i'm julian worricker. the headlines at 6pm: businessman arron banks is accused of contradictions and deliberate confusion after defending donations to a pro—brexit campaign. he insists the money came from his uk businesses, not russian sources. i'm telling you it came from a uk company which had cash generated in the uk. which uk company? rock services. an investigation‘s begun into how eight children fell from an inflatable slide at a fireworks display in woking last night. none suffered serious injuries. tributes to former head of the civil service, sirjeremy heywood, who has died from cancer at the age of 56. leicester city players join funeral ceremonies in bangkok for their chairman who died in a helicopter crash. back on land — the man who's become the first person to swim around the entire coastline of britain. i always said it would only feel real when i'm standing on land.

it still doesn't feel that real. maybe it will later when i'm in a hot bath and in a warm bed. manchester city beat southampton 6—1, returning them to the top of the premier league. and 10,000 flames are being lit at the tower of london, to mark the centenary of the end of the first world war. hello. good evening and welcome to bbc news. the pro—brexit businessman, aaron banks, has again insisted that all the money he provided for a campaign to leave the eu was generated from his businesses in the uk, and therefore within the rules on political donations. the multi—million pound donation

is being investigated by the national crime agency. in a bbc interview this morning, mr banks said the money came from a uk company called rock services, which he said had "all sorts of revenues". 0ne mp has accused him of bluster and contradictory and confusing statements. manveen rana reports. arron banks — brexiteer, businessmen and now the subject of a criminal investigation into the source of the funds he provided to the brexit campaign. as he arrived at the bbc this morning to speak to the andrew marr programme, he faced serious questions about where the £8 million had come from. i would just like to say, absolutely for the record, there was no russian money and no interference of any type. all right. let's follow the money, as it were. i just want to be absolutely clear about that. the electoral commission say they suspect arron banks was not the true source of the £8 million he loaned to brexit campaign groups. mr banks claimed the money came from his uk—based company rock services.

however, the electoral commission suspects the money came from the parent company, rock holdings, registered in the isle of man, which would make it an illegal source of funds under uk electoral law. the money trail was at the heart of the interview with andrew marr. i'm telling you it came from a uk company that had cash generated in the uk. which uk company? rock services. we have evidenced that to the electoral commission. rock services is a shell company. it doesn't generate money. you have just said it is a shell company. we don't see how rock services can generate 8 million quid. are we not in a situation where the electoral commission have referred it? we will explain ourselves, and the accounting that went behind it, and i'm very happy with it. you told parliament that rock services was just a service company. you've told me something very different today. i haven't seen the actual transcript of that. i will go back and look at that, but i'm telling you the source of the funding was rock services.

the electoral commission, who have seen the accounts of rock services, claim there were insufficient funds to justify such a large donation. you've not given me an answer. you're avoiding it... an mp from the select committee that quizzed mr banks says his explanations so far have been inconsistent and full of bluster. it's clear from what mr banks said today that some of the lines that he is now presenting contradict what he told us on the select committee. it's a very confused picture that he is presenting. i think that's quite deliberate. i'm delighted that we are now going to have a forensic analysis and investigation of mr banks‘ affairs. as the criminal investigation gets under way, arron banks can now expect months of financial scrutiny by the authorities. manveen rana, bbc news. seven of the eight children injured after falling from an inflatable slide in surrey yesterday have been released from hospital. the slide had been erected at a fireworks funfair in woking, with police declaring a major incident when the children fell.

frankie mccamley reports from woking. the aftermath of what should have been a fun evening of fireworks and fairground rides that turned into chaos. we were coming to watch the fireworks... caught up in it all were lucas and henry, both 11 years old. before it happened, i said to my mum i did not feel safe. because, obviously, the air and, of course, it was really busy. the pair were on the inflatable slide in woking park when eight children were injured. it's probably one of the biggest bouncy castle slides i've ever seen, with the two stairways up each side. when we got to the top, we were shouting, "please, everyone, can you calm down? i don't want any tragedies happen." we were shocked at first. just stood there. i could not move for a few seconds. i was just so shocked at seeing all the children just fall from three quarters of the way up

to hitting the floor. i was really shocked, because these incidents are quite astonishing. i saw lots of children laying on the ground. it was awful. yeah. i've never seen something quite that bad in my whole life. it was around 7:30pm yesterday when this evening of family fun was suddenly cut short. the park was evacuated as ambulance crews tried to help the injured children. this afternoon, investigators temporarily reinflated the slide to gather evidence and build a better picture of what happened yesterday. as the slide is deflated and other attractions nearby are checked, officials from the health and safety executive, alongside the police, remain on the scene and the cordon is still in place. 0rganisers of the event say they still don't know how the children fell. we're pretty shocked and distressed by the whole thing. we have a full safety plan for this event, which we agreed with woking borough council. we've used this funfair operator

for a number of years. some are now calling for a government review into the regulation of inflatables. what needs to happen is a temporary ban — and i stress temporary ban — on bouncy castles and inflatables in big public areas, until we have updated the regulations, until we have changed the inspection regime and parents can be 100% confident that when their children go on these things, there's nothing to worry about. a reassurance many parents may well be looking for this evening. frankie mccamley, bbc news. senior figures from across the political spectrum have paid tribute tojeremy heywood — lord heywood — the former head of the civil service who has died at the age of 56. he retired from his role less than two weeks ago after serving four prime ministers, and was regarded as a key influence in shaping modern britain. 0ur political correspondent jonathan blake reports. when i launched my leadership campaign... he was the prime minister's right—hand man, putting

the government's policies into practice, and giving advice on how best to get things done. as cabinet secretary and head of the civil service, and in other senior roles, lord heywood has worked at the heart of government for more than 20 years, serving four prime ministers. jeremy heywood was the most outstanding civil servant. indeed, the most dynamic civil servant of his generation. exceptional ability, unimpeachable integrity. as we saw in facing his illness, exceptional courage, also. politicians on all sides have paid tribute. theresa may said... the labour leader, jeremy corbyn, described sirjeremy as... and the former deputy prime minister, nick clegg, said... lord heywood's wife, suzanne, said he was a wonderful husband and father who could light up any room. i think we started with

the 1975 guidance... despite huge influence, he kept a low public profile. described by one former colleague as the most important person nobody‘s ever heard of. but his death, at 56, is a shock to those who knew him well. jeremy, ithink, was a wonderful public servant. and he, ithink, did a huge amount to hold governments together, at very difficult times. i obviously knew him very well, personally, and... ithink, you know, all thoughts with his family. despite his illness, lord heywood worked until recently. some nicknamed him sir cover up for resisting transparency, which he said frustrated him. but he'll be missed, as a man who has had a hand in how the uk has been governed through some turbulent times. well, a little earlier, i spoke to the former director of communications under tony blair, alastair campbell, who reflected on lord heywood's life. jeremy was not somebody

who was terribly status conscious. i think he was unflappable, actually. i don't think i ever saneremy lose his cool or feel that any situation was not one where he could make a difference. and i think that some people find it strange that you can move effortlessly from government in one colour to another, but i think if you look at it... tony blair, gordon brown, david cameron, theresa may, very different personalities. butjeremy made himself indispensable to all of them because of who he was. it's striking, as you say, that there have been tributes paid right across the political spectrum. what was it about his character that enabled him to apparently work so comfortably with all of these different... ? the best of the civil servants, that's what they do. but i think he did have something very special. he was incredibly straight. i heard him earlier described as a modern—day sir humphrey. i don't think there's anybody

less like sir humphrey then jeremy heywood. he was absolutely straight, he was prepared to speak truth to power. he was not out for himself in any shape orform. of course, he was ambitious — the same as anybody who likes to make most of their potential — but he was never someone climbing the ladder for his own sake. i would say he was a good friend of mine, but to this day, i don't know how he voted. i always felt that, when we were in power, he was absolutely committed to helping a labour prime minister, labour ministers deliver what they were elected to do, the exact same as what he tried to do with david cameron and theresa may. but when talking truth to power, there would be occasions, when needed, he had to say something that the powerful might not want to hear. absolutely. he was never scared to do that.

it's interesting that... it's no secret times, tony blair and gordon brown, number10, numberii, difficult relations. jeremy worked for both. he was a very important part of that dynamic and when, if you like, things were not so good, keeping the show on the road as well. and he had a real humanity in the way he worked. he'd deal with what some might see as a relatively minor personnel issue that had to be sorted out in the civil service, and in the next minute, he is in the room saying what he thinks in relation to something like whether we join the euro or some of the big crises that we faced. i do remember, two of the worst crises for us, the foot in mouth outbreak and the fuel protests, around the same time, i was looking in my diaries... through this period, "jeremy was brilliant, jeremy was outstanding, jeremy was excellent." he just always was someone who stood out because he was prepared to think things through, really sharp intellect.

and thenjust and then just say what he thought. and happier away from the spotlight, by and large? i think your report said it. he did not like when the press went for him. he saw himself as being there to serve the prime minister. and his own wife said thatjeremy always felt the role of the civil servant was to see things through the eyes of the ministers. there's nothing wrong in that. i think some civil servant, and the public as well, they confuse independence and impartiality. jeremy was utterly impartial. that did not mean of a real feeling for what the government in power was trying to do. there was a remark made there about the level of influence he holds in the context of the actual smooth running of the country.

put that into some sort of context. what i think about when you mention that is, actually, the end of our time. i can remember the day that gordon brown left office. jeremy was there, because by then, he was chief of staff in downing street. the queen's private secretary was hanging around in downing street, feeding back to the palace. and jeremy, at that point, that was his role. when you talk about the smooth running, government, that was the position that he held, but i also mentioned in relation, things like putting a budget together. relatively small numbers of people who were trusted with the whole kind of picture that is being put together, and jeremy was very much one of those. police are investigating a fatal stabbing in south east london after the body of a man was found this afternoon. it's the third such fatality in the capital in the past 72 hours. meanwhile, a teenager who died after being stabbed outside

a clapham tube station has been named by police as malcolm mide—madariola — a 17—year—old student from peckham. 0ur correspondentjon donnison is at the scene of the stabbing in bromley in south east london. three fatal stabbings within a few miles of each other in less than 72 hours. the latest happened in broad daylight around about half past 12 here in bromley, and the body of a man who police believe is just 22 years old is still lying in the road behind me, with forensic officers at the scene. we spoke to a couple who said they were driving up the road when they saw the body laying in the road, a man in distress. they tried to save him, stop the bleeding but were unable to do so. the ambulance service arrived, and he died just about half an hour later. this is just three days after anotherfatal stabbing. a 15—year—old was stabbed outside of a chicken restaurant and then on friday night, just

outside clapham south tube station, a 17—year—old, malcolm mide—madariola, also stabbed to death. it brings the total number of homicides being investigated in the capital this year tojust under 120. the metropolitan police say that violent crime in the capital has leveled off. for people living in south london, it probably does not feel that way this weekend. back jon donnison reporting. a man and a child have died, and nine people were injured in a crash between a car and minibus. cheshire police said the crash happened just after midnight on sunday on the asa in alderley edge. north west ambulance service confirmed a man and a child were killed in the collision. the nine injured people include a child, who was taken for treatment to royal manchester children's hospital. cheshire police is appealing for any witnesses to get in touch.

time for the headlines here now on bbc news. the businessman arron banks insists his donations to a pro—brexit campaign complied with electoral law and came from his uk businesses. an investigation‘s begun into how eight children fell from an inflatable slide at a fireworks display in woking last night. none suffered serious injuries. tributes are paid to the former head of the civil service, sirjeremy heywood, who has died aged 56. republican the democrats have again a final burst of campaigning. president trump told supporters at rallies in montana and florida that democrats want to do flood the country with illegal immigrants and described the barb wire being erected on all the border with mexico as a beautiful site. the presidential plane in front of montana's snow—covered mountains. winter is coming, and so is donald trump. clocking up the miles repeating

his familiar campaign themes — a strong economy, record job numbers, promises of tax cuts and tough talking on iran and immigration. remember the wall? well, it still isn't built. so instead, it's troops to the mexican border and talk of tent cities. we have our military now on the border. applause. and i noticed all that beautiful barbed wire going up today. barbed wire, used properly, can be a beautiful sight. what the president doesn't say is that the current group heading through mexico is made up of only a few thousand migrants and they're still a few thousand miles and probably months away. he claims this is one of america's

most important elections. so do the democrats. barack 0bama gave the sort of criticism former presidents usually avoid. they are hopeful of taking control of the house of representatives and frustrating the president's plans. on tuesday, you can vote for a politics that is decent, for a politics that's honest, for a politics that is lawful. for a politics that tries to do right by people. record numbers have already voted. but there are more rallies to address, more crowds to please. in the final few days, it looks like turnout on tuesday will be high. danjohnson, bbc news, washington. earlier, i spoke to our correspondent, jane 0'brien, who is outside the fedex field stadium in maryland, which has traditionally been a strong state for the democrats. the partisan divide is alive and strong here. just as much as it is anywhere across the country. this is a very polarised election.

we know that both sides are galvanised. democrats are turning out in this blue wave we're talking about. the polls indicate that they could well hit a wall on the other side. there's a lot at stake. the democrats desperately trying to take control of at least the house and they are odds—on favourite now to do that. but the senate could well stay republican. we could end up with a divided congress, and a realjamming up of the works of donald trump's presidency because he will not be able to get any partisan legislation through. so play for for both sides but this really is becoming a referendum about donald trump himself. going back to your use of the word divided. as you speak to people through this campaign, are you getting that sense of a divided country which people are making so much of in recent times? divided country, divided families, divided friendships across the board. in fact, it's really telling that a lot of people i've been speaking to here have not wanted to discuss politics at all. not with me and not in front of their friends.

they say it's just becoming too contentious. people are very worried about expressing any views, particularly republicans, because they are instantly labelled something, and that's what i'm hearing over and over again. they don't want their political beliefs to become a moral indictment. that's a lot of what this election has become. it's a tricky situation, and it's a very sad one for america, because there's very little evidence that there is a middle left to bring people together. jane 0'brien in maryland. leicester city's football players are in bangkok to attend funeral ceremonies for their former chairman. mr vichai died in a helicopter crash outside the king power stadium last saturday. four other people were also killed. the team flew out to thailand after their match against cardiff yesterday. 0ur south east asia

correspondent, jonathan head, spoke to us earlier from the temple where the funeral ceremony has been taking place. we're on the second day of the funeral. we saw the players arrive here, as you say, directly from that match in cardiff. they got here as soon as they could. just about an hour ago, off a bus, taken straight from the airport. they're not all here, but we sanamie vardy, captain wes morgan, goalkeeper kasper schmeichel, of course, who was particularly close to mr vichai. coming off wearing black suits with other players and officials. and they were taken straight into the temple complex you can see behind me, where the funeral will go on for many, many more days. there are four more rituals over the next five or six days, but then the cremation itself will not be for at least another, well, close to 100 days. they are there today with the daughter of thailand's current king, king maha vajiralongkorn. this is a royally sponsored event. it makes it a very elite and illustrious occasion indeed. a reflection of vichai's extraordinary business success, and the status he achieved in a relatively short time. he made his money relatively quickly here in thailand, and of the very good

networking he had. we've seen, really, the cream of the great and good coming to show their respects for him. but it does not have the same kind of feel as the tributes we have seen back in britain. his sporting success, while many thais have taken pride in it, can't have the same impact as it has for a team like leicester and the people of that city. this is much more of a formal buddhist occasion where there isn't much engagement with the thai public. jonathan head in bangkok. it's been four years since the tower of london captured the public‘s imagination by filling their moat with ceramic poppies to mark the centenary of world war one. to commemorate the end of the centenary, each evening from 5pm tonight, around 10,000 torches will be lit by beefeaters, representatives from the armed forces and volunteers. the sea of fire will light up the moat and walls of the tower until 9pm, at which point the tower will be plunged into darkness,

ahead of the floodlights being turned back on. 0ur correspondent so belongs at the tower of london for us. -- sophie long. the tower of london looking even more beautiful this evening. the moat lit up by thousands of individual claims, a active public remembers. little earlier this evening, a lone bugler played... a moment of silence. this is an evolving audio and visual installation that will take place overfour installation that will take place over four hours every evening up to and including armistice day on sunday. it's designed by tom pieper and i'm very pleased to say he is at the tower of london with me now. thank you very much for taking the time. how do you feel? looks beautiful. i'm very honoured and moved by the whole thing. it's been a huge amount of effort by everybody, the tower of london and

all the volunteers who have come. for me, the most movement that moving —— moving part of the evening, members of the public... 0ne single flame brought in from the darkness the seed for now a great thousand flames at the circle of the tower. it's not really raining, which is wonderful but they will survive the rain, is that right? we've done a lot of test. they should survive rain. they should survive. we make sure they connected web before then the. and just walk us web before then the. and just walk us through the inspiration of how you came up with it beforehand. us through the inspiration of how you came up with it beforehandlj was you came up with it beforehand.” was involved with the poppies, a huge success here at the tower. the tower invited me to create another work in response to the end of the

anniversary period of the first world war. for me, the kind of darkness of war, and then bringing light to it seemed like a kind of fitting metaphor that we've had this. would fitting metaphor that we've had would bring light to it. it looks both ways and the flames representing both the kind of spirits and energy of those lost men but also the hope of peace, but also how fragile peace is and how we have to safeguard our democracy even now. and this, both audio and visual, people can probably hear the music behind us. how does that collaboration work? are sound artists compose... basically, she has created this beautiful piece that response to the problem that the piece is named after, and that we can play with how that works in the space and there are speakers hidden around. there are actually some speakers hidden nonperformers

who walk amongst the people walking around, so you who walk amongst the people walking around, so you never who walk amongst the people walking around, so you never really know where the sound is coming from. it's very evocative. and this is the first time they've been altogether? we certainly had a very public dresser her soul that stress reversal la st dresser her soul that stress reversal last night. —— a very public dresser her so last night. i'm so pleased with the way it's gone. congratulations and so much thanks the people involved. tom, thanks the people involved. tom, thank you very much indeed. tom piper, the designer of this very beautiful installation. it runs every evening for hours every night up every evening for hours every night up to and including next sunday. all the tickets are sold out but you can get a very good viewjust from up there on the tower of london. back to you. thank you very much. sophie long at the tower of london. an adventurerfrom lincolnshire has become the first person to swim almost 1,800 miles around great britain.

ross edgley left margate onjune 1, swimming forup to 12 hours a day and eating more than 500 bananas. he's been up against strong tides and currents, as well as storms and jellyfish. john maguire went to meet him as he returned to dry land. this is the moment ross edgley set a new world record, became the first person to swim around britain, and set foot on dry land for the first time in more than five months. great britain's big, isn't it? you tell me — you swam round it. yeah, it's much bigger than i thought. scotland's big. people don't realise how big that is. the highs are so high, but the lows are so low. scotland is just amazing, the scenery is stunning. but it is also very humbling, just getting slapped in the face byjellyfish every single day. it feels weird now to be sort of looking back and reflecting because, for 157 days, i almost didn't allow myself to do that, so now it feels quite nice. swimming twice a day every day for up to 12 hours both day and night, he has battled storms, exhaustion, and waters seething with jellyfish.

at margate beach this morning, where he first set off injune, well—wishers who'd followed his progress joined friends and family to welcome him back home. absolutely immense. he's a man who has always had character and has shown that over the last five months. this is the epitome of survival, the epitome of resilience. this is like caveman, feral instincts — dating back to historic. absolutely historic. what this man has done for these people to support him is absolutely amazing. he is either mad or he knows what he is doing. he lived on board throughout the 2000—mile swim, consuming more than 1 million calories to fuel his endeavour. as for what is next, ross says he is keen to take on yet another swimming challenge, but that's after he gets his land legs back. thank you. stop it.

i'm going to cry. john maguire, bbc news, margate. let's check on the weather prospects. hello, there. the further east you are scanning to stay dry. it is no lower than around six to 10 degrees. this is the pressure chart for monday stop. pressure chart for monday showery bursts... eastern college at ten to stay dry.