this is bbc news. i'm shaun ley. the headlines at 11pm: the businessman, aaron banks, insists all the money he gave to a pro—brexit campaign in the run—up to the referedum came from his uk businesses, not from russia. 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 recently retired cabinet secretary, sirjeremy heywood, who has died from cancer at the age of 56. 10,000 flames are lit at the tower of london, launching a week of commemorations marking 100 years since the end of the first world war. and at 11:30pm, we'll be taking an in—depth look at the papers with our reviewers lynn faulds wood and henry mance. stay with us for that. 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. as the national crime agency begins an investigation into the source of an £8 million donation, 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 deliberate confusion. 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 claims 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 today's interview. where did the money come from? i am telling you, it came from a uk company which had cash generated in the uk. which uk company? rock services. we've evidenced that to the electoral commission. rock services is a shell company. it doesn't generate money. you've just said it's a shell company. you told parliament that rock services wasjust 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 am telling you the source of the funding was rock services. this was arron banks‘s evidence to mps earlier this year. rock services, as we just discussed, it is a treasury function, itjust delivers the cash. it's just a service company. and the actual loan came from another one of my companies, that was delivered in. now, you told mps that the money came from, quote, another company that i own. which other company was it? i've said, rock services is where the money came from. it was generated from insurance profits made there. 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... i've said... 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. arron banks denies any wrongdoing. as the criminal investigation now gets under way, he can 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 have ever seen, with the two stairways up each side. when we got to the top, we were shouting, "please, can you calm down? i don't want any tragedies happen." we were shocked at first. just stood there. i wasm like, i couldn't 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. 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 agree 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, the former head of the civil service who has died at the age of 56. lord heywood retired less than two weeks ago after serving four prime ministers, and was regarded as a key influence at the highest levels of government. 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 lord heywood worked tirelessly to serve britain, and is a huge loss to public life. the labour leaderjeremy corbyn described jeremy heywood as an impressive and dedicated public servant. the former deputy prime minister nick clegg said it was heartbreaking news and he hadn't met anyone who had worked as hard and tirelessly in government. lord heywood's wife, suzanne, said he was a wonderful husband and father who could light up any room. think we started with a 1975 guidance... despite huge influence, he kept a low public profile, described by one former colleague at 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. he did, i think, a huge amount to hold governments together at a very difficult times. i obviously knew him very well personally. and, um, you know, ithink,

all thoughts with his family. despite his illness, lord heywood worked until recently. some nicknamed him sir coverup for resisting transparency, which he said frustrated him. but he'll be missed as a man who's had a hand in how the uk has been governed through some turbulent times. lord heywood, who has died aged 56. leicester city players have attended the funeral in thailand of the club's owner, vichai srivaddhanaprabha, who died last weekend. they attended a prayer ceremony at a temple in bangkok — part of several days of buddhist rituals. the helicopter crashed after taking off from the club's stadium, killing mr vichai and four others. from bangkok, jonathan head reports. they'd flown straight from their match in cardiff to be here. the leicester players and their manager, in bangkok, to show their late chairman how much he meant to them. theyjoined a traditional buddhist funeral, which will continue

for several days, attended by some of the wealthiest and most powerful people in this country. they were greeted warmly by mr vichai's sons, who will now run the company and must try to maintain its lucrative hold on thailand's duty—free business. this is a far more formal occasion than what the players will have experienced during those moving tributes to their late chairman back in britain. it is an important religious ritual, and also an affirmation of the power and status that mr vichai achieved as a businessman here in thailand. but it is their last farewell to the man who transformed the club, and it's bound to be an emotional one for the leicester team. after more than an hour inside the funeral pavilion, it was time to head off for a rest after their flight. but they are expected here again tomorrow night, before making the long journey back to britain in time for the next match. jonathan head, bbc news, bangkok. firefighters are tackling a large

blaze in nottingham, in the city's former cattle market. people living near the site, now a business estate, have been asked to keep their windows and doors closed. there are no reports of casualties and the fire service has urged people to avoid the area where possible. 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 another fatal stabbing. jay hughes, 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. jon donnison reporting.

final campaigning is under way in the united states ahead of tuesday's mid—term elections, a key test for president trump. this evening he's been addressing supporters at a rally in georgia, while barack 0bama, for the democrats, is campaigning in indiana. just over a third of the seats in the us senate are being contested this time around. at the moment, the republicans have a majority — with 51 out of 100 senators. they've a bigger majority in the house of representatives. all 435 seats in this second chamber are up for grabs on tuesday and both sides believe they've a chance of winning control of it. 0ur north america correspondent chris buckler reports. # proud to be an american... donald trump has been nothing but relentless in his campaigning. georgia is just the latest stop in a frantic week of rallies held in state, after state, after state. this is a president trying

to defend his power, and saying whatever he can to shore up his support. that means talking up the economy but also talking tough on the subjects that divide this country, including immigration. turn back now, because you're not coming into the united states unless you go through the process. cheering turn back. so, if you want more caravans and you want more crime, vote democrat. it's very simple. booing if you want strong borders and safe communities, vote republican. cheering along america's southern border, the first of thousands of troops have already arrived to defend this country against what the president has called an invasion. he's talking about this caravan of migrants from central america. they're still many weeks away from the us. and it's clear with this, and issues like iran. !

in washington, sunday was game day for american football fans, but they know the truly crucial contest will happen on tuesday. if we don't have a secure border, we don't have a secure country. we just need to get the republicans out. if you don't like something, vote. i don't want to hear any talk after. you're too late. it's a biggie. as barack 0bama knows all too well. in the midterms, floating voters tend to favour the party that opposes the president, but democrats are well aware that nothing feels certain in american politics any more. america's at a crossroads. the healthcare of millions is on the ballot. a fair shake for working families is on the ballot. perhaps most importantly, the character of our country is on the ballot. hundreds of candidates are taking

part in hundreds of elections across this country, but donald trump cast a shadow over all of those races. it's hard to see the midterms as anything but a referendum on his presidency. chris buckler, bbc news, washington. the headlines 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. sport now, and for a full round up from the bbc sport centre, here'sjohn watson. good evening. raheem sterling scored twice for manchester city as they beat southampton 6—1 to return to the top

of the premier league. sergio aguero scored his 150th premier league goal to put city 2—0 ahead, david silva and raheem sterling made it 4—1 at half time. the england forward who's set to become the highest paid english player in the league scored another in the second half, leroy sane then added a sixth late on. chelsea, two points off city in second, kept their unbeaten run going with a three one win over crystal palace. alvaro morata with two goals as eden hazard came off the bench in the second half following his return from injury. here's their manager maurizio sarri. i think we were a little bit in trouble, so some quality, some personality, and we were lucky today

because eden was on the bench, and so because eden was on the bench, and so he was able immediately to change the match. so, city on top, two points clear and with a hugely superior goal difference, chelsea are second and liverpool third, all three are still unbeaten. tottenham making up the top four. huddersfield, fulham and cardiff make up the bottom three. huddersfield and fulham meet tomorrow night, which aleady looks like a crucial game for both sides in their fight for survival. leaders arsenal beat birmingham 3—1 in the women's super league, to maintain their 100% start to the season with seven wins in seven matches. jordan nobbs scored twice to help seal the win for the gunners. second placed manchester city women also won, beating liverpool 3—0. nikita parris with two goals to become the league's new all time leading goal scorer with 37 goals, surpassing eni aluko's record.

wayne rooney will come out of international retirement to play a farewell game for england in honour of his record breaking achievemnets for his country. england's all time leading goalscorer will play in a friendly against the united states at wembley later this month. the match will be called ‘the wayne rooney foundation international‘ in support of his charitable interests. england fly half 0wen farrell will not be cited for the takle at the end of england's game with south africa, clearing him to face new zealand. it was deemed not worthy of a red card offence. the tackle was referred to the tmo nbefore the end of teh game, the fly half ajudged to have attempted to wrap his arms around andre esterhuizen. had farrell been penialised it would have presented the visitors with a kickable penalty, england won the match 12—11. and justin rose has reclaimed golf‘s world number one ranking after victory at the turkish 0pen. he came from three shots behind going into the final round to win in a play—off, both he and china's li haotong finished

on 17 under. it's his 19th career win and lifts him back to the top of the rankings for the first time since september. in rugby league, england have clinched a series win over new zealand after winning the second test at anfield by 20—14. tommy makison of st helens scored a hat—trick of tries, with jake connor claiming the other as the hosts overturned a 111—6 deficit. the victory gives england the series before next sunday's final test in leeds. playing for the - badge, it is pretty emotional honestly. to put the shirt on with these lights means a lot to me. as a team, we were brilliant. it was made by pretty special people around me, george plays against them week in week out and he terrorises defences. and then

jakeis and he terrorises defences. and then jake is a great centre. we have great fellas all over the park, people missing out at top quality and it shows what could commission —— could team chemistry we have got. —— good. that's all the sport for now. 12 people, including a family of nine, have died in floods and landslides caused by torrential rain around palermo in sicily. italian authorities say that 29 people have lost their lives in fierce storms that have battered the country this week. katie silver reports. it was in this house near palermo in sicily that a family was all but wiped out. nine people died in the incident, from children aged one, three and 15, to their grandparents. it happened when a small river nearby burst its banks. translation: it's not a good situation. it is something we never would have expected. so much rain in casteldaccia. 0n the other side of the island, firefighters recovered the bodies of a man and woman whose hire car was swept away by a flooded river. another man's body

was found in hisjeep. while rescuers are looking for a missing doctor who was en route to the hospital to start his shift. rescue teams evacuated many families from the agrigente area. "we can't go into our homes," she says. "someone lent me clothes. i don't even have underwear. we are devastated. i am speechless. " italy is reeling after heavy rain and gales have hit large parts of the country over the last week. many have died from falling trees while a german tourist and an 87—year—old woman were struck by lightning. near a northern city, torrential rain caused a massive landslide, blocking a regional road and cutting off a number of towns and villages. in the region of veneto, which has borne the brunt

of the damage, authorities believe it will cost one billion euros to repair and 100 years for the forests to regrow. the destruction has been widespread. all of these regions have been hit by bad weather, from veneto and the piedmont regions in the north to sardinia and sicily, which has been the area most affected in the last 2a hours. the danger now appears to have passed in the north—east but authorities in the south and north—west are bracing themselves for more wild weather to come. italy's civil protection agency describes it as one of the most complex weather situations of the past half—century. katie silver, bbc news. the moat around the tower of london was illuminated this evening with 10,000 torches, commemorating the final days of the first world war a century ago. it took around 45 minutes to light the flames in a ceremony that'll be repeated every night until remembrance sunday. the

as the nation prepares to mark 100 years since the guns finally fell silent, our religion editor martin bashir has been reflecting on one element of the kit issued to serving soldiers. as young british men prepared for conflict a century ago, they received the blessing of a chaplain and were armed with a helmet, a rifle and a bible. so, this is my grandfather's bible from the first world war. so, he was carrying this with him throughout the war. steve vinall‘s grandfather, george, was on the western front when his battalion came underfire. hours later, he wrote

a letter describing how shrapnel had hit his bible. where the bullet landed, he then opened it. and he said that the eighth verse of isaiah a9, where the bullet stopped, "contains these words, which caught my eye — directly i saw it. "i will preserve thee". he goes on to say, "may this be true of future days, until i see you all again is my heartfelt prayer." the words of scripture comforted soldiers during battle and, on occasions, at the end. soldiers, when they are very badly wounded, have a tendency to produce the new testament from their breast pocket and to read it as they die. now, this is a phenomenon that was recorded when soldiers who were killed on the first ofjuly 1916, the first day of the battle of the somme, were recovered and buried. many of them were actually found

dead, though with the bible, with the new testament in their hand. for george vinall, who survived the war, his faith increased and led him to work as a missionary. do you think we've been a bit remiss in the way that we haven't acknowledged the bible and its use by soldiers in the first world war? their faith, the belief that they were doing the right thing, that in those sort of circumstances, it's often out of your control, and therefore it's in the hands of god. and that, i think, we do miss. it is, after all, a verse of scripture that best describes the sacrifice of so many. "greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." martin bashir, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with stav.

a lot of people are going to be outside during the course of this week for all sorts of commemorations. what can they expect? something wet and windy but my old. this evening, lots of fireworks displays coming off and we have nature ‘s very own light display, the aurora borealis, the northern lights, beautiful pictures ofan northern lights, beautiful pictures of an out of the shetland islands in the last hours. in fact, some eastern parts of scotland, eastern parts of england with clear skies has the chance of seeing them, but the west a different story. and area of low pressure in the bay biscay, this pressure system extending northwards and that will bring outbreaks of rain as we go through overnight through monday morning. that will extend its way across northern ireland into northern and western parts of scotland and also across south—west england and wales. a mild light for all of us, to

temperatures between 7— 10 celsius. we start tomorrow morning with outbreaks of rain continuing across northern ireland, some of it heavy, turning dry across wales in south—west england, outbreaks of rain move north and east was but behind it deems will turn dry, some bright or sunny spells, a scattering of showers and a much more mild a. ties between 10— 50 celsius, 16 or 17 full east anglia or the south—east and a fairly gentle breeze competitor we can. if you have fireworks display plans through tomorrow evening for most it should be mainly dry, some outbreaks of rent be mainly dry, some outbreaks of re nt a cross be mainly dry, some outbreaks of rent across northern and western parts of scotland. maybe the far south—west, but for most it should be dry, gentle to moderate breeze and it will be mild. monday night into tuesday we have another system in the west losing its way eastwards. there is limited east was extent eastwards. there is limited east was exte nt o n eastwards. there is limited east was extent on tuesday the heaviest rain will be arriving into northern ireland, wales and south—west

england, also parts of western scotland, but further east it should try. some spells of sunshine and a noticeable southerly breeze but it isa mild noticeable southerly breeze but it is a mild direction, can temperatures upto around 13 and 17 celsius, well above average for the time of year. tuesday into wednesday, that front and it its way across, we will see some outbreaks of rain. and messy start to wednesday. it is mild, windy and outbreaks of rain and that will become increasingly patchy further east you are, some bright and sunny spells, but still persistent rain across western parts of the uk where it will continue to be heavy. a mild afternoon, can produce up to 12 and 14 afternoon, can produce up to 12 and 1a celsius. —— temperatures up to. hello.

this is bbc news, with me, shaun ley. we'll be taking a look at tomorrow morning's papers in a moment with lynn faulds wood and henry mance. as you can see, they are flicking through them as we speak. but first, the headlines: the businessman, arron banks, has insisted that all the money he provided to a pro—brexit campaign in the run—up to the referendum came from his uk companies. he's facing a police investigation into claims that he was not the true source of the funding. firefighters are dealing with a large blaze in nottingham, in the city's former cattle market. in total, four buildings are alight near notts county football club's ground meadow lane. no—one is thought to be injured. an investigation is under way after an inflatable slide collapsed at a funfair and fireworks display in woking in surrey last night.