today at 5, i'm lyse doucet live in paris by the notre dame cathedral, which is damaged but still standing after surviving a massive fire. so much lost but so much saved after this massive fire. hundreds of millions of euros are pledged to return the cathedral to its former glory — after firefighters worked though the night to save it from being completely destroyed. the extent of the damage is slowly becoming clearer as french president emmanuel macron vows to reconstruct the historic building. an artefact said to be the crown of thorns, worn byjesus, before his crucifixion is among the mass of treasures rescued from notre dame. i'm shaun ley with the day's

other main stories on bbc news at 5. jeremy corbyn sets out plans to abolish primary school sats — doing away with what he called the "regime of extreme pressure testing". the earliest evidence of plastic litter in the ocean — scientists discover a plastic bag that became tangled in a piece of research equipment more than 50 years ago. new research suggests cholesterol—lowering "statin" drugs don't work well enough, in around half of the patients who are prescribed them. welcome to paris, where the cost is being counted after last night's devastating fire in notre dame cathedral, but a sense of relief too that this could have been so much worse. at this moment, a statue of the

virgin mary being carefully lifted from one of the gables of this historic cathedral. the cathedral of cathedrals here in the heart of paris. the survivor of a major fire. there is a huge sense of relief today that this devastating inferno could have caused so much more damage. and yet today there is a sense that this huge cathedral, this historic site, can now be rebuilt. today, tributes are being paid to the hundreds of firefighters who battled through the night to save the cathedral from complete destruction. we have been told about a moment around half an hour long when the edifice was on the brink of com pletely when the edifice was on the brink of completely collapsing. prosecutors say that this was an accident, not arson, and a team of some 50 investigators are now looking into

what caused this tragic place. our first report tonight is from richard lester. first report is from richard lister. roofless, smoke scarred, but still standing. there were times overnight when many feared this ancient cathedral would not survive the inferno. but those assessing the damage today are now confident the worst is over. the whole fire is out. now we are investigating and a set of experts is analysing all the structures to establish what we do next to consolidate the building. it was a cauldron of fire. flames racing through the medieval roof, so dense with timber it was known as the forest. the scaffolding in place for renovation work was also at risk of collapse. it stayed up but so much more was lost. when the central spire finally succumbed to the

flames it seemed to rip the heart from the building. the shock on the face of president macron spoke for all of those looking on. for fire crews, it was a nightmare race against this all—consuming inferno. the height of the cathedral made it almost impossible to get enough water where it was needed. some two thirds of the roof was eventually lost. overnight, parisians kept a vigil. the streets around notre dame filled with the sounds of morning. with the sounds of mourning. there are hundreds of people who died to build the cathedral and in here is their memory as well. it hurts to see that. it is sad that a monument like this burns. it is very sad. one of the great

monuments of france. i studied history and it was very important for me to come and see her, maybe for one last time, before she was no longer there. notre dame has been at the heart of french at the heart of french national life for almost a millennium. it is wherejoan of arc was declared a saint and napoleon became an emperor. today, it is scorched and rubble—strewn. most of its treasures were ta ken to safety but there are years of restoration ahead. at noon, bells rang across europe in solidarity with paris. in strasbourg, home of the european parliament there was also pledges of support. at stake here is something more than just material hope. the burning of the notre dame cathedral has again made us aware that we are bound by something more important

and more profound than treaties. the french interior minister arrived to see the damage for himself, hundreds of millions of euros have been promised by businesses and billionaires for reconstruction. the government says the cathedral will be rebuilt. notre dame is notjust a cathedral. it is our common legacy, it is our strength, history, and it belongs to everybody. without it, paris does not exist. surveys of the building are already under way. it was initially suggested the fire may have been caused by building work at the cathedral. questions remain about that and why a better plan for dealing with a fire on this scale was not in place.

nearly nine centuries of history in this stone and so many precious a rtefa cts this stone and so many precious artefacts inside. paul adams reports on notre dame's treasures. as the smoke clears, and the shock passes, what has been lost, and what saved? despite the apocalyptic fears, the bulk of notre dame's 800—year—old stone structure seems intact. glimpses of the interior also give cause for hope. above the smouldering wreckage of the walls show little signs of damage. the pulpit, here on the right, unscathed. miraculously, most of the vaulting above the nave has not come down. but there are gaping holes. last night saw a race against time, many of the cathedral‘s treasures were salvaged as the fire took hold. they are in storage, and some will be transferred to the louvre. they include the holy crown of thorns said to be won byjesus at the crucifixion. a 13th century tunic worn by king louis ix,

the only french king to be canonised, and a 14th century madonna and child. with regard to the treasures, they will be put in a safe place, today or tomorrow, but as soon as possible. with regard to the paintings, the big ones, they cannot be retrieved, until friday morning. as far as i'm concerned, they are not damaged. there is a little bit of smoke, we will transfer them to a secure place in the louvre museum. but what of notre dame's three famed rose windows? this morning fire crews were taking a closer look, last night there was talk of lead melting and glass exploding. the west window shows no signs of damage, but these are immense and intricate structures, it will take time to assess them. the south rose window was given by louis ix around 1260, it contains scenes from the life of christ, wonderful 13th century artistry.

these were among the finest rose windows, the finest painted glass, to survive from high medieval europe. questions too about the vast 8000 pipe grand organ, recently restored, dating back to the medieval period. notre dame has been at the centre of french life for the better part of 1000 years, now it must close its doors, count the cost, and begin the long process of restoration. paul adams, bbc news. with me is thierry heil. notre dame cathedral, more than a cathedral, a place of worship and what is being described as the heritage of humanity. 13 million people have been coming to paris to the heart of the city to see notre dame year in and year out. with me is thierry heil. he organises and runs tours

in paris about history, art, architecture and french society and knows notre dame cathedral inside and out. history is being made here, behind asa history is being made here, behind as a crane lifting one of the many statues from the gables. you have seen statues from the gables. you have seen those statues close up, describe some of them. this one is the angel of the resurrection on top of the north cable, the north transept of the cathedral. as you can see, the roof has caved then so there lifting it up to save it. when you do tours around paris, how important was the cathedral of notre dame in your vision of paris?m important was the cathedral of notre dame in your vision of paris? it is probably what comes first. you can see the amount of people around us, everyone is in shock and devastated. who would come here without seeing notre dame? but there must be a sliver of light because you will know that just months sliver of light because you will know thatjust months ago there was a cry saying that notre dame needs funds, it needs to be prepared and

people need to support it. now they are supporting it after it is lost so are supporting it after it is lost so much? it will probably top 1 billion euros in the coming days and we can only thank everyone for that, but it is true that many prescience overlook notre dame, leaving it to the tourist somehow, so now this tragedy proves that every tradition, every french person in person in the world feels closer to notre dame tonight. and if you were doing a tour right now, how would you describe this magnificent building to people because it is more than just a cathedral? when i go around notre dame, i organise and see how the building comes from the bottom, rising to the sky, and how it is proving to all pilgrims and people coming around that it is standing out, it was so huge for them in

medieval times, and how you can see it is like a ship moving forward, so it is like a ship moving forward, so it accompanies parisians. it seems alive. it is way more than a building. and fortunately the two gothic towers still stand but the spire that dominated the parisian skyline for centuries is gone and that must hurt? it does, it is true, but we have to understand the spire dates from the 19th century. the original file before the french revolution, so it hurts less to have a 19th—century spire to repair than the original bell towers, that would have been the end of it, so it is essentially saved and we can thank everyone for that. it should be

remembered today that the history of notre dame is also the history of destruction and surviving wards and weather and unrest, and consequently the building. it is less than 5096 is original from the 13th century, so it has been rebuilt year after year. every bishop and king has added a little bit to it and you can just remember how it was in a bad state during the french revolution when napoleon got his coronation. many things have changed, including the spire, including many statues, so thatis spire, including many statues, so that is going to be the next step, a new life for notre dame and it will rise again, forever. a cathedral was so much history. thank you so much for joining so much history. thank you so much forjoining us with your expert knowledge on this magnificent gothic cathedral. and we are fast approaching that moment when the wall of fire first arose from the roof of the cathedral. at that time,

a vigil will be held ——. a vigil will take place this evening at saint sulpice as parisians mark last night's blaze. then, thousands of people gathered in the streets around the cathedral. people are marking this tragedy and so many different ways since it happened. 0ur paris correspondent hugh schofield reports now on how the people of paris have reacted to the fire. this morning the parisians came to see for themselves. notre dame is their cathedral. the inferno was felt as a trauma, and they needed reassurance that the worst had not come to pass. the firemen are heroes. we applaud them. i stayed until the end. it was important for me to come this morning because ijust wanted to see if it was real, you know. to feel the place, and, like, see the stones. i wanted to be here, to communicate with the place.

as a christian, i want to be full of hope, we can rebuild this fantastic cathedral. we have to rebuild after this tragic event. a cathedral is a place of worship, and in the week running up to easter catholics have a special reason to mourn. but, reason to hope as well. translation: this is a terrible fire that has destroyed this heritage building, but the stones of the church are a living thing. we are not burnt. despite the recent incidents against churches, we are not burnt. the church is alive. this week we will celebrate the passion and resurrection of christ. already minds are turning to what needs to be done, fundraising, reconstruction, the head of the notre dame foundation, which long before the fire was raising money for renovation, told me contributions are already flooding in this morning from around world. last night i said, ok,

what should we do now? because the fire was extinguished in the middle of the night, and this morning i said, what do we need to do, let's tackle it, yes. it will be saved? yes, yes, it will be saved, i'm sure it will be saved. overnight the mood has changed from despair and terror to defiance and determination. notre dame will survive. and today notre dame seems to matter more than ever to parisians, the people of france and people around the world. we are joined by yvonne who has been here for nine years and organises dutch tours, you're from the netherlands yourself, and aerial parisian, who has a british and

french connection. with your lovely bike right next to us, when you do your tours of paris, how important is the notre dame cathedral? your tours of paris, how important is the notre dame cathedral7m your tours of paris, how important is the notre dame cathedral? it is a big one, one of my favourites, so we do highlight tours with a combination of the big monuments and the nice little streets behind, but notre dame is one of the favourite streets, for me, because i am a big fan of paris history and love to talk about the nasty and dirty history around notre dame. nasty, dirty history? a case of intrigue. kings have been crowned, celebrations, war is ended. kings have been crowned, celebrations, war is endedm kings have been crowned, celebrations, war is ended. it is a big history and paris is known for its beautiful city, the city of love, but don't forget in the time notre dame was built it was a little nasty island, like jack the ripper

streets, where lots of things happened. for you this is not a tourist site but the city of your birth. some say that paris forgot notre dame, did you forget it? you forget it because you live with it, so time goes by and you don't think about it, but today you think about it, andi about it, but today you think about it, and i want to say, yesterday i had my mother on the phone and she was crying because at the age of 80 she thought never she would see it again rebuilt and it is very touching for french people. i have a son who is 16 years old and it is a lifetime for him. it is a building but not just a lifetime for him. it is a building but notjust a building and a building for everyone in the world and especially for paris. do you see it as and especially for paris. do you see itasa and especially for paris. do you see it as a cathedral, a place for christians, or is it for people of all faiths and no faith at all?

christians, or is it for people of all faiths and no faith at alum is all of that. it is like the eiffel tower or the taj mahal. and you are hopeful that notre dame will rise again? of course she will. she will be rebuilt like a phoenix. rise again? of course she will. she will be rebuilt like a phoenixlj thought will be rebuilt like a phoenix.” thought this from yesterday on the. we are france, come on. we have the money and the people to rebuild so i am hopeful. thank you forjoining us with your little bit of intrigue and your inspiring talk about what this cathedral, this place, one of the most famous places in the world, means to the people of france. we just heard from aerial parisian that notre dame is feminine, she is a woman, and she will rise again. we approach the moment when a huge ball of fire engulfed this historic

cathedral. thanks very much and there will be more during the course of this hour. now for some of today's other news. the labour party leader jeremy corbyn has said a labour government would scrap the sats exams which are compulsory at the end of a child's primary education in england. the government had already announced that, from 2023, seven—year—olds woulds no longer have to take their sats. mr corbyn said labour's policy would relieve pressure on schools and ‘prepare children for life, not just for exams‘. i visit primary schools all over the country and i talk to children about it as well as on my own community. the stress levels are huge and i question the necessity. other countries don't test children as much as we do. i think we test them more than any country in the world and the results are no better because of that. what we should have is much more teacher involvement and teacher assessment of how children are progressing, and take the stress

and strain off teachers. when one fifth of all teachers say they are ready to quit the profession because of the stress levels and the workload, surely that is a warning to all of us. the total number of people in work in the uk has reached a record high, just over 32.5 million. the level of unemployment has fallen by 27,000 in the three months to february — meaning 1.34 million people are out of work. average pay rose by 1.5%, the highest figure since the summer of 2016. it's the earliest evidence of plastic litter in the ocean — a bag which became tangled in a piece of research equipment half a century ago. the finding is part of a study by scientists in plymouth which has tracked the history of plastic in the ocean — revealing the scale of the accumulation in recent decades. victoria gill reports. a mission beneath the waves. for decades, scientists have been measuring the health of the ocean by collecting plankton, the most important link in the marine food chain.

along the way almost by accident they have produced a historical record of our impact on the seas using a very old—fashioned device. the design of this plankton recorder hasn't changed for a century. it's been towed millions of miles are the ocean but in recent decades what it's finding everywhere it looks as plastic. with more than half a century of ships logs, the scientists have a record of every time, everywhere on the planet plastic litter became entangled in the device. in 1965, we got a plastic bag and snared. one of the earliest pieces of plastic litter to be found floating in the ocean? yes. the other records from ingestion studies where they look at sea turtles and sea birds, the earliest records are again in the 1960s, so it matches up exactly.

this project has documented ocean plastic from 1957 to 2016. since 1990 the amount of plastic litter in the sea increases significantly. the number of plastic bags found has decreased in recent years although it is not clear that is linked to campaigns to phase them out. when one of the recorders in the fleet has finished its mission, it is brought back to plymouth and here researchers continue to add to a library of samples they have gathered from all over the world. you can pull out a sample from 1951 or 1952. people are applying science to that that wasn't thought of back then. i like to think all this effort we are putting in, some bright spark going to university, being born now, may apply some amazing science to what is cut as we

are speaking now. it is a mission that first dove beneath the surface around the time plastic was invented. now it will continue to provide vital information to help reduce the impact of our litter on the oceans. cholesterol—lowering statin drugs may not work well enough for about half of those prescribed them. that's according to new research which suggests it has too little effect on what's called bad cholesterol. experts say it may be that some patients require a larger dose. our health correspondent, rob sissons, reports. millions of people in the uk are on statins. it's medication shown to reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke by lowering bad cholesterol. at the university of nottingham, they analysed the patient records of more than 165,000 patients in the uk who didn't have a history of cardiovascular disease. the good news — in around half the patients, 49%, there was a significant benefit after taking statins. harmful cholesterol levels went down by at least ao%.

but the other half, 51%, saw little benefit from statins to their cholesteral levels within two years. the researchers say there could be many reasons why some patients don't do as well as others. individuals might not be following the instructions that gps are giving to them. the other reason could be that there's some genetic variation that we are certainly learning a lot about now. the british heart foundation suggests another reason. it insists statins are an important proven treatment, but that some patients may not be on the optimum dose. so we would like to make sure that patients are on the best dose possible and getting the maximum from their statins to reduce their risks further. this study is a stepping stone, but much more research is needed. a front—line gp who is involved in the latest study says closer follow—ups of patients on statins may improve results. our traditional approach is to start statins in a very light monitoring, but clearly some patients need closer monitoring and that needs to be taken into account.

for patients, this shows that they need to carry on taking the statins. even if they are getting less of a response than we'd like, they are still benefiting from them and they will prevent heart attacks. experts stress statins save lives, but say if you have any concerns about your medication, you should talk time for a look at the weather, with chris fawkes. thank you. it has been a grey and cloudy day but the weather will get better and brighter and warmer as we go through the rest of this week. this was the scene just an hour or so ago, and you can see things are rather grey with mist patches. rain becoming patchy across england and wales but heavier in eastern scotla nd wales but heavier in eastern scotland where it will be for the first part of the evening. the weather front weakening so rain

becoming lighter and patchy. otherwise, a lot of cloud around, mist and fog patches forming over the hills but not a desperately cold night, the temperature between four and seven. until wednesday, the chance of some rain first thing across the far north—west but otherwise largely dry, early morning low cloud, mist and fog patches lifting, sunshine breaking out widely. feeling warmer in the sunshine with highs up to 19 towards london in the south—east.

welcome back to paris, in the shadow of the magnificent cathedral of notre dame. the battle to save this historic building goes on. after hundreds of firefighters battled long into the night to save this magnificent structure. helped as well with dozens of security personnel. and they work notjust out of a sense of duty but because of their love for this precious heritage. one of the last people to leave notre dame as the flames started to rip through the building was the organist.

johann vexo was playing the organ inside notre dame when the fire alarm first sounded. my colleague adam fleming caught up with him this afternoon. i was at notre dame yesterday afternoon. playing the daily mass, we have every day at 615. and about 15 minutes after we started the mass, the fire alarm rang in the cathedral and so it was a very big surprise for all of us because we never heard such an alarm in the building. there was this alarm and some messages in french and english to ask people to leave immediately the cathedral because people started to leave by the front doors of the cathedral, with my colleagues, we immediately left. and when the cathedral was empty, we came back into the cathedral and just

discussed whether some colleagues, people who were at notre dame, and we all thought that it was like a mistake or something wrong with the alarm system, but we never thought about such a fire. i left may be 20 minutes after the alarm and when i left the cathedral at about 645, i did not see any fire, any smoke, any firefighter trucks. when did you realise what was happening?” firefighter trucks. when did you realise what was happening? i went back afterwards at home and a few minutes later, one of my colleagues called me and he asked what had happened at notre dame, he was abroad. ijust looked happened at notre dame, he was abroad. i just looked out happened at notre dame, he was abroad. ijust looked out of the window and i saw this very big cloud, not really dark, a big yellow, a cloud of smoke and i stood

—— understood immediately what happened and so i reached not the cathedral because every thing was close around but i saw the roof and the fire all over the roof. it was absolutely terrible. how did that make you feel? i felt very bad and i left immediately. i just make you feel? i felt very bad and i left immediately. ijust aid like two minutes. it was full of people everywhere and i just went two minutes. it was full of people everywhere and ijust went back home and watched the tv. what with the emotions that you had?” and watched the tv. what with the emotions that you had? i think i don't realise yet, i did not see the building after a fire. i think it would be hard to see. so i am a bit afraid about seeing it. over the next few days probably. but yes, i am devastated. the organist of notre

dame. in about 15 minutes, a vigil is set to get under way at a church a short distance from where we are standing on the river bank. but in some sense, ever since this fire broke up, it has been one long vigil in paris with people visiting paris marking this event in whatever way is most meaningful. people still keep coming here, they have been coming through the day, some to take photographs, some to pray and some to just take a look. and some photographs, some to pray and some tojust take a look. and some people have been writing articles about it, what it means to them. one of them is the european correspondent to the atla ntic is the european correspondent to the atlantic manic —— magazine and she happened to be here when the fire broke out. complete shock and horror andi broke out. complete shock and horror and i could not believe what was happening. i walked about ten minutes north of here and i saw the smoke and i thought it might be a small fire and the closer i got, the more i realise it was huge. i stood where we are now, watching huge

looms of pale yellow fire, which we re looms of pale yellow fire, which were beautiful in a horrible way, rising up. and the steeple which was on at the spire, which was built in the ninth century —— nine —— started to crumble. you started to see it crumble. at a certain point itjust snapped and fell. and there was a gasp from the crowds of people standing with me. and tears and shock. it felt unreal. notre dame is not supposed to collapse in flames. what has it led you to reflect on the nature, of our attention with we started take buildings for granted, they are so much part of the face of a city? that is true. we just walk past and think it will always be here. it has been there for 800 yea rs. we here. it has been there for 800 years. we should not taken for hunted. as you can see from the

scaffolding, notre dame is under renovation and it needed a lot of work because it was starting to crumble and the gargoyles were being eroded. i think itjust shows that we need to protect these things and not taken for i also find that it just inverts the order, these monuments were there centuries before us and we are supposed to say centuries after us, we measure our lives in many shorter years than this and it feels like some order has been violated when a building like this collapses before our lifetimes. as we see time and again, out of tragic events can sometimes come some good, some hope, president macron for example was supposed to yesterday be speaking on the conclusions of his journey across the country to try and unify everyone. this has done more than any speech could have achieved. he has been under fire for many months and there is a sense of division between the people —— people feeling

the president did not fully respect them. this is a moment when everyone comes together. it is notjust a french monument, a catholic monument, there is the sense that it is ours and we must protect it, rebuild it. it has been a sadly unifying moment. paris has been hit by summary terrible things in the last two years and this is another sad one. so many have said it is a unifying moment today. a moment to reflect on the importance of notre dame cathedral. our lady of paris. of course, paris is known as the city of love. let us talk to a french couple who have come down today, who have been going out for the last year. why did you come here now? we saw yesterday what has happened and we wanted to see notre

dame cathedral. yesterday, we saw the beginning of the fire and so i did not think it was notre dame. and after, we justly walked like five minutes and it was already huge. yes, it was very impressive and we followed the fire on the tv, but it isa very followed the fire on the tv, but it is a very special feeling to us parisienne speakers yes, it is part of our hearts, i would say, and we both studied history in university, so both studied history in university, so to us, it is... we will see these pictures in the history books.” think. when you saw the huge ball of fire and you come today and see the stone structure is still there, does that give you some relief, some hope? yes, of course, this is... it

shows that even if it has been destroyed, it is still one of the biggest monuments in paris and one of the biggest and most important in france. we are proud to be french today but it is a tough one. yes, it is good for the future that all the people around the world say they will help us to rebuild notre dame and it is a lot of hope for the future and what will happen. you studied history and you know that notre dame has been partly damaged and rebuilt, so it has become again comedy history goes on.” and rebuilt, so it has become again comedy history goes on. i think that there is like very few moments that are 800 years old, so this is impressive and it is a very special feeling to me. i think that we don't know how to describe it but it is

very special. this is what so many say, after seeing so much loss, many have been at a loss for words, and now today in paris, more hope and relief. yes, that is what we hope, thatis relief. yes, that is what we hope, that is what we ask for. and yes, life goes on. and it will be a nice cathedral in a failures, i hope. many are now saying, the people of paris neglected the cathedral, that in fact they had been a cry for funds because parts of it were crumbling and they were not getting the money to restore it. do you think they will now take more care of it? yes. it matters more to the people now, do you think? you see

notre dame but it was in the country and now i think people will know the story of notre dame, people, and we reconsider it. and i think it for it is for french people, it is important to know about the history of this wonderful monument and i think that we will donate because yes, to me, ithink think that we will donate because yes, to me, i think that this is a great occasion to donate and to be really pa rt of great occasion to donate and to be really part of the french nation and the french symbols. that is very interesting. we have been hearing about the french billionaires offering huge sums of money and the commemoratives coin being reissued again, but also has there been an appealfor the again, but also has there been an appeal for the citizens of france, paris, to also give what they feel they can afford, to contribute to this reconstruction? yes, i think it

is very important that everybody... everybody has to be concerned about this. as a french citizen, we cannot ignore the history and the importance of this monument, so yes, this is our country, this is our history, so, yes, to us, it is very important. today, when you are talking to your friends and family, has it been the topic of discussion, what happened to notre dame, in your generation? everybody is speaking about it. yes, it was a huge incident and everybody is speaking about it. everybody is really sad and yes, it is a very special feeling. i think that people don't really know how to describe it but of course, everybody speaks about it, of course. yes, we want to cry,

orjust speak it, of course. yes, we want to cry, or just speak about it, of course. yes, we want to cry, orjust speak about it, it is very difficult to describe.” orjust speak about it, it is very difficult to describe. i think that everybody is sad. really sad. thank you, both of you, forjoining us, as you, both of you, forjoining us, as you came down, like so many people now in paris, coming down to the banks of the river seine, as the sun begins to set on this day. there we re begins to set on this day. there were many tears shed last night. i did many places around the world. today, the smiles are bigger. there isa today, the smiles are bigger. there is a sense of relief that while so much was lost, so much was saved and so much was lost, so much was saved and so much will be rebuilt. that is the story of notre dame today. many thanks. let's go straight to westminster abbey in london, where the bell has begun to chime, marking the bell has begun to chime, marking the moment 24—hour is ago when the police began. —— the blaze began.

a gesture of solidarity from the church of england to the catholics and the french, of all rich —— religions and none, who appreciate notre dame so much. we have some breaking news for you, this is from the heritage director, who says only one piece of architecture inside the sacred building has been damaged. he says the high altar, which was installed only in 1989, was harmed by the cathedral spire when it came crashing down into the church. we have been able to salvage all the rest, he said. all the 18th—century styles, frescoes, chapels and the big organ are fine. good news there. let's bring you the other headlines. hundreds of millions of euros are pledged to return the notre dame cathedral to its former glory after it was damaged by a massive fire. as the extent of the damage

is slowly becoming clearer, french president emmanuel macron vows to reconstruct the historic building. in the uk, jeremy corbyn sets out plans to abolish primary school sats — doing away with what he called the "regime of extreme pressure testing". an update on the market numbers for you. here's how london and frankfurt ended the day. and in the united states, this is how the dow and the nasdaq are getting on. historic buildings such as notre—dame are notoriously vulnerable to fire. york minster suffered a similar blaze back in 1984, but has since been fully restored. david silitto has been in the city for us today. it is one of the first things i remember seeing comedy flames last night, a memory of 35 years ago and

york minster in flames and for those of us who were around, many similar sorts of feelings and especially from the man joining sorts of feelings and especially from the manjoining me now, john david, master mason, you were here on the night when it was in flames. yes, i was outside at the beginning of the fire and i went inside to help remove artefacts because we we re help remove artefacts because we were concerned the whole building might go up in flames. if we actually look up at the top, that is the great rose window. the actual roof collapse, didn't it, much like notre dame? yes, first of all, the fire was actually in the top part of the roof and you can see the lead opening up, and what happened was the fire was getting hold but fortu nately, the fire was getting hold but fortunately, there is a wooden vault below the outside roof, which was

also on fire, and to contain the fire, stop it spreading to the rest of the building, they were able to drop the roof to floor level, so the rest of the actual building could be saved. many similarities between notre dame and york minster on the fa ct notre dame and york minster on the fact that today you can barely see any evidence of that fire gives you hope, doesn't it? yes, there is no concern that knotted term —— notre dame cannot be rebuilt. there is a stone vault and it was very difficult to contain the fire because they are working at rooftop level and the fire did go into the north west tower. the building will move. all of that weight is off it.

they were ongoing repairs to notre dame already in hand. whether or not... the question is, the stone vault because whether it is actually damaged inside, whether the walls can keep that vault together, so it actually can be repaired and consolidated. so my questions now. but with john's work to restore york minster, it is a never—ending job, but if you go inside today, it gives you some help about the future for notre dame. that's the experience from york about rebuilding parts of an ancient building. let's discuss how such projects in the past could help and guide those tasked with returning notre dame to its former splendour. joining me now is becky clark. she's director of cathedrals and churches, for the church of england and also here is francis maude, who's director of donald insall associates, who has been involved in the restoration of churches and also windsor castle, following the devastating fire there in 1992. how critical is this moment? the fire is out now and people might think, the worst is over. it is

brilliant news but the key priorities now are to stabilise the remaining parts of the structure which are still standing and then once that has been done, to analyse the remains that there are at floor level and we have heard in earlier presentations how there is almost no damage internally to the architectural fabric, which is really good news. but we will hope to learn more about the roof and how much of that can be saved as well. what can you say, what can you restore, what might you have to replace? how do those dilemmas and out in historic buildings, the degree churches, which are notjust buildings that kind of places that have a sense of spirit as well? what you would do with any building that had suffered a major fire, you would consolidate and assess and take that moment, making sure the building was secure and then stepping back. the big difference comes at that moment for churches and particularly a cathedral like notre dame, somewhere

that has so many memories and so much associated with it, it is important that you look at every decision that is made through the lens of this being a house of god, a place of worship and a place of really humanity's history being held and that affects some of the decisions you might then take. you might decide you do not want to keep the place closed for as long as you might with non—public buildings. you might with non—public buildings. you might think it is important to give access. it influences every decision you make adult how you go about restoring it. the bell is now tolling. it is a helpful sound. westminster abbey has been lucky in its history. it was bombed in 1941 but not the extent of damage we are talking about here, or at york minster in the 1980s. how else is the church helping to signal its empathy with what is happening? the church of england feels this so keenly because a lot of our churches

have been there. coventry cathedral was completely bombed out in 1940. this evening they are holding their evening prayer in the ruins of the old cathedral and the symbolism of that, standing at the altar, open to the sky, where the roof was taken out and never put back, it is very much in march to what is going on in paris. and later this week, on thursday, the archbishops have asked to consider ringing the bells at 7pm insula dad —— solidarity with each other and with france. and easter day collections will be pledged and contributed to the fans. how useful is the money there are millions of euros coming in, that sounds great, but it is a question of priorities? the roof, the forest, as it was called, 13,000 oaks were felled.

would one look to replace that? or would one look for a different approach, given the concerns about fireproofing for the future? that'll bea fireproofing for the future? that'll be a discussion. some will say it should be put back exactly as it was and others will look for a more fireproof form of construction, going forward. i don't doubt that we could consider other repairs that have been done in the past. when cathedral was done largely using steel. they are built to avoid any future risk of fire from that. it is too early to make a decision right now. we will see how much can be salvaged. that may inform what decision is made. yes, what we have learned from the approaches taken differently in places like york minster all coventry is that it can be done and it can be done in a numberof be done and it can be done in a number of ways. and that hope and that the fires that we are seeing in paris is something that fills me with hope as well because actually

that will be the thing that carries the project through. money is available, materials are presumably available, materials are presumably available, what about skills question mark presumably there is a finite number of highly skilled masons and glass workers who could do this sort of work? yes, there is a shortage of some skills but actually there has been a recent resurgence of traditional skills around england where we had a grant scheme around cathedrals which enabled a numberof scheme around cathedrals which enabled a number of apprenticeships and trainees and the cathedral workshop fellowship is one example ofan workshop fellowship is one example of an organisation that has really put effort into training new stonemasons across europe and this isa stonemasons across europe and this is a craft that has always been pan—european in the masons who built lincoln cathedral also worked in norway. that fills me with hope as well. this will always be an international effort. that is

com pletely international effort. that is completely right. we are keen contribute as much as we can and as much as they would like us to do. there are a lot of new projects here and abroad that are sustaining that level of craftsmanship. and that quantity of people available to do the work. it is wonderful to see the spirit and enthusiasm in france for the restoration of notre dame. there is something of a rebuke to the neglect there has been to this building. isaw neglect there has been to this building. i saw the communications directory few months ago saying it is almost soviet lie, we preserve the facade but it was ruined behind. it is obviously a huge sum and it is very difficult to find that. but there is a need to invest in all of our major churches and on an ongoing

basis. thank you both very much for coming to us. an optimistic moment. any moment, the weather but first relief this evening in paris that notre dame has not been destroyed and donations are flowing into restore the building. we will leave you this evening with images of how it all unfolded.

it has been a pretty cloudy day for most parts of the uk today but there are signs it will be warming up nicely over the next two days. a reminder that we started off the week with temperatures really struggling. 8 degrees in aberdeen, belfast and newcastle. but if we fast forward to saturday, things are said to get much warmer. temperatures set to reach 24, 20 five celsius in the warmest areas. today has been a pretty cloudy day but the weather front that brought the cloud has been moving away from south—west england. late day sunshine in cornwall and that has helped to lift the temperatures. more of that tomorrow. but for the time being, this weatherfront continuing to bring rain across north—west england and scotland.

quite heavy for a time over the next few hours. but turning patchy and light later on in the night. a lot of cloud overwrite. —— overnight. wednesday, high pressure is still in scandinavia, dragging in those cold wins, clipping into shetland but otherwise, the winds are coming in from western europe, it will not be as cold as it has been over recent days. that will help lift the temperatures. wednesday, the early morning low cloud will clear away with spells of sunshine coming through later in the day. the best of it in the afternoon. highs of 19 celsius in london. warming up in edinburgh. a better day for belfast. 13 celsius the top temperature. one of that fine and settled weather on thursday. any early low cloud burning. some fine spells of sunshine. 20 degrees in cardiff. but

notice the coastline is kept a little bit cooler and fresher. on friday, more good weather to come again. temperatures continuing to lift a bit —— a little bit. temperatures peaking at 21 celsius, something like that, across parts of southern england. and as we head into the weekend, temperatures will continue to rise further. we could see 25 celsius towards london and the south—east but there is a trend for the weather to turn cooler and claudia through sunday, across north—western areas, with a threat of some rain as we head into monday.

tonight at six — pledges to help rebuild notre dame cathedral in paris pour in from around the world after last night's devasting fire. it took 15 hours and 400 firefighters to extinguish the fire — now the investigation into what caused the blaze. there's relief that so much of the ancient structure survived and many of its iconic treasures have been saved. notre—dame is notjust a cathedral, it is our common legacy, it is our strength, our history and it belongs to everybody. there was an overnight vigil, as france comes together determined to restore its spiritual home. already hundreds of millions

of euros have been donated