you're watching bbc newsroom live. it's ham and these are the main stories this morning... south african olympic champion caster semenya awaits a decision from the world's athletics body on whether it will limit testosterone levels in female runners. wikilea ks co—founder julian assange arrives in court to be sentenced for violating his bail conditions. venezuelan president nicolas maduro defiantly vows to stay on after calls for a military uprising by the opposition leader. translation: we face so many attacks and so many lies. and, thanks to it, we've emerged victorious in every situation and will continue to emerge victorious in any difficulty that we face from now on. leeds is the first uk city to report a drop in childhood obesity — after parenting classes on how

to set boundaries for children beavers have become a protected species in scotland, making it illegal to kill them or destroy their dams without a licence. good morning. welcome to bbc newsroom live. let's cross now to middlesbrough, where ukip leader gerard batten is speaking. is being betrayed. why are we holding these european elections at all? we are holding them because we haven't left the european union and it doesn't look like we're going to be leaving it anytime soon. we could have left the european union anytime after the 24th of june have left the european union anytime after the 24th ofjune 2016 and, indeed, we were supposed to leave on

the 29th of march this year, but here we still are. we're here because of the political class in westminster never had any intention of delivering brexit. and even so, there still seems to be some doubt about whether these european elections will actually take place on the 23rd of may. now, on the —— in the unlikely event of mrs may withdrawal agreement being approved by parliament, we are told that these elections could be called off on the 22nd of may. so will we actually put on the 23rd? and if we do, well the nep—— will the meps ta ke do, well the nep—— will the meps take their seats? and if they do, are they going to give up their seats on the 31st of october when we are again as to leave the european union? 0r

are again as to leave the european union? or will they be there for the full five years and, will be fighting another european election in 2024? no fighting another european election in 202a? no one can answer that question, including mrs may has not got a clue. the whole thing is in chaos and our country is now a laughing stock of the world. car horn we have been made a laughing by our prime minister, our government and by our parliament. has been a cancer at the heart of politics since... the transfer of democratic powers has rotted the soul of our politics and our national life. the essential issue has always been the same, do we want to be governed by oui’ same, do we want to be governed by our own are democratically elected parliament in westminster, or we wa nt to

parliament in westminster, or we want to be covered —— want to be covered by the undemocratic institution of the european union? that went unresolved until the referendum in 2016. the referendum was brought by the ukip site. it was put to the people to resolve and the people resolved it by the decisive vote of 17.4 million for leave to 16.1 million for remain. leave one at that result, despite the best effo rts that result, despite the best efforts of the remain establishment. of efforts of the remain establishment. of our politicians and media. and despite the interference of the international establishment. leave w011 international establishment. leave won despite the lies of a project fear. however, as i said, our

politicians in westminster never had any intention of implementing the result of the referendum. the intention from the day after the mentor emblem —— the intention for the day after the referendum was of overturning the result of the referendum eventually. and we are 110w referendum eventually. and we are now in that final phase of the process. and our prime minister has done that hand in glove with the european union. we have been betrayed, the 17.4 million people who voted to leave had been betrayed. now, some of our more sensitive mps don't like being called appeasers, collaborators, quislings and traitors, but if the cap fits, then wear it. what call it when our prime minister goes back and forth to brussels continually begging for favours? that's called appeasement. what you call it when the leader of the opposition and

other senior politicians go to brussels with. .. in other senior politicians go to brussels with... in order to treat with a foreign power during these negotiations? that's called collaboration. what do you call it... what you call politicians who wa nt to it... what you call politicians who want to surrender their country to a foreign power? they are called quislings. the latin word origin of traitor means to hand over. , literally. and treason is what has gone on in this country since 1972 when our nation has been handed over bit by bit by our politicians to the european union. now ukip doesn't wa nt european union. now ukip doesn't want these european elections taking place at all, but they are. and they offer the 17.4 million leavers to once again vote to leave the stop as

we said on the bus, tell them once and tell them again. ukip is the only party that has the queue clear policy on how to leave the european this is ukip‘s policy in the selection. this is what the voters need to tell the government. no second referendum. leave by unconditional unilateral withdrawal. 0ffer unconditional unilateral withdrawal. offer the european union tariff trade or wto regulations, their choice. then we set about repealing the thousands upon thousands of pieces of eu legislation in place but in accordance with our priorities and our timescales. 0ur government has a to stop asking the european union how it can leave and start telling them how it's going to happen. brexit is notjust a word

brexit means exit. if we're going to leave the european union, then we need a plan on how to make it happen. and if you keep has that plan. —— and ukip has that plan. that brings me onto something that i cannot avoid mentioning in this campaign as it starts. the brexit party. we are in competition for the same party. we are in competition for the sa m e votes. party. we are in competition for the same votes. so let me compare for the benefit of the voters, the differences between ukip and the brexit party. ukip is a real political party that has a constitution, it has a governing body, the nec. it has a real book and has members with right who elect the leader. and they like the nec. the brexit party has no members of

structure. —— they elect the nec. it isa structure. —— they elect the nec. it is a subsidiary of one man's ego. we have a manifesto and the brexit party does not. ukip has a plan how to leave the european union, the brexit party only has empty rhetoric. ukip is a party of ordinary people from all social classes and backgrounds, the brexit party is an alternative tory party, a safety valve for disaffected conservatives. it is tory light. there are light blue colours tell you everything you need to know about them. and, of course, in this pa rt about them. and, of course, in this part of the world, i believe the conservatives are not very popular. we have been listening to gerard batten, the leader of ukip lunching

at the party's ego election campaign. we will bring you all of the campaign launches as they happen. the south african 0lympic champion caster semenya, has lost her appeal against the iaaf who want to restrict testosterone levels in women runners in specific track events. caster semenya identifies as a woman but is believed to have a condition called dsd. ‘disorders or differences of sex development‘ are a group of rare conditions where the reproductive organs and genitals don't develop as expected.people with dsd, have a mix of male and female sexual characteristics. caster semenya is believed to have three times the level of testosterone than the average woman, research commissioned by the iaaf showed female athletes with elevated testosterone had

"a competitive adva ntage". they claim high testosterone was responsible for as much as 3% improvement in runners, but those findings have been contested by semenya and her team, they claim that it is not clear how much dsd athletes benefit from their naturally higher levels of testosterone. 0ur sport correspondent richard conway is here, what's the background to this ruling? highly significant ruling today for the court of arbitration for sport. they have been considering this matter now for some weeks. caster semenya taking her case to them because at the iaaf have said, if you want to compete with an athlete with differences in a sexual developed, you must take testosterone suppressing medication for six months prior to your event. now, it only impacted running events before 400 metres and the mile —— between 400 metres and the mouth to stop she has been dominant in the

800 metres and objected to this. she said this was discrimination, she was born as a women, raised as a woman and was born with this condition. so she should not have to —— so condition. so she should not have to —— so she says i should not have to ta ke —— so she says i should not have to take anything to suppress my levels of testosterone. the science was disputed because many experts are saying levels of testosterone in athletes with tst does not have the same equipment as the men athletes. —— athletes with dsd. the regulations from the iaaf are disco entry, but the majority of the panel found that on the basis of the evidence omitted, such discrimination is necessary, reasonable and proportionate —— the regulations from the iaaf are discriminatory. when he that hearing, he said this was not about one individual athlete, but about

preserving the level playing field because they fear that is athletes with these differences with dominate athletics to the detriment of other female athletes who did not have such high levels of testosterone. so much those from this. we'll talk about the wider ramifications any moment. but her specifically, about the wider ramifications any moment. but herspecifically, how was she likely to respond to this? because as for her to continue carry on as she once, she had to take harm and drugs? no she now has a decision to make. she has to take hormone suppressing drugs. to make. she has to take hormone suppressing drugslj to make. she has to take hormone suppressing drugs. i think this is highly unlikely in caster semenya's case. she has been impairment in her opposition to these regulations. she could now switch to longer distances, distances that are not restricted by these distances, like the 5000 metres. she ran this recently in south africa. so we will have to see what her reaction to the

size, but i think she has options that could include moving to another event. obviously mentioned other athletes? and any other athletes are affected by this? over100 records have been set by athletes with dsd and that they say shows at the risk of not taking action and not level the playing field as they say. but i think i caster semenya, they are saying this is completely discriminatory and affects our rights, our human right to compete as we are born. i think this argument will go on, but it is a significant victory for the iaaf. they will hailed as undoubtedly as per detecting the integrity of the sport. —— is protecting the integrity of their sport. this is very much a test case for this issue. the iaaf have one and now caster semenya and other athletes have a very clear choice to make. caster semenya and other athletes have a very clear choice to makem that it or can they be an appeal against this ruling? like this is

the highest court that you can go to in the sports, but you can go to swiss federal court any point of law, but that is unlikely in this case i think. now it was in the end of the line for caster semenya, but we will get her reaction from south africa i'm sure from —— orfrom her lawyers later today. you talked about records being set by athletes with dsd, but they look at those records? when i try to address that and this or will they say that was then, this was and is now and look at going forward? they be doing it ina at going forward? they be doing it in a somewhat haphazard method for a number of years and trying to draw a line under this. there are regulations and if you want to compete in women's running events, these are the regulations. they have w011 these are the regulations. they have won that fight now. it has been hard for it. —— it has been hard—fought.

he will feel that the integrity of the sport has been preserved. what about other athletes? how have they been viewing this? transgender athletes in particular will be looking at this case will stop it is different, but it does have indications for them. if caster semenya had won, they would say why do we asa semenya had won, they would say why do we as a transgender women have to ta ke do we as a transgender women have to take testosterone suppressing drugs in order to compete in events. that 110w in order to compete in events. that now it has been utilised as an issue. but again, it shows that the changing way in ethics, gender, identity that is playing an increasing role in a sport. this case had all those things wrapped up in it now we've had some clarity so i think the sporting bodies will hope to move on from this onwards stop very much. julian assange is about to be sentenced for breaching his bail. the wikileaks co—founder, who's 47, was photographed as he arrived at southwark crown court earlier.

he was removed from the ecuador embassy where he spent seven years earlier this month. this is the scene outside court in south london where supporters have gathered. there are julian assange there arejulian assange supporters there for that hearing and a lot of journalists and we will be there as soon as he is sentenced and get a reaction to that. we will keep you updated on what is happening there at southwark crown court with julian assange. the headlines on bbc news... south african 0lympic champion caster semenya has lost her appeal against the world's athletics body's ruling to limit testosterone levels in female runners. wikilea ks co—founder julian assange has arrived in court to be sentenced for violating his bail conditions. venezuelan president nicolas maduro defiantly vows to stay on — after calls for a military uprising by the opposition leader. and in sport there is criticism for

totte n ha m and in sport there is criticism for tottenham after allowing their defender back on pitch after he suffered a head injury. they said they followed protocols. liverpool play their first they followed protocols. liverpool play theirfirst like... sorry, a slight technical issue. the president of venezuela has pledged to stay on as leader, despite calls for a military uprising which prompted a day of violent clashes yesterday. nicolas maduro used a defiant tv address to accuse the opposition, led byjuan guaido, of trying to mount a coup with the support of the united states. ramzan karmali reports. another violent protest in caracas but this time, the violence hit a new level as an armoured van drove towards the protesters. these were the scenes on tuesday after opposition leaderjuan guaido called on people to take to the streets to help him end president nicolas maduro's grip on power. but in a tv address, the president declared himself victorious, surrounded by key figures

from his cabinet, including the defence secretary and military leaders. translation: with the truth as a sword, as a shield, we face so many attacks and so many lies and thanks to it, we've emerged victorious in every situation and will continue to emerge victorious in any difficulty we face from now on. but earlier, it seems his time as president of venezuela was coming to an end. the us secretary of state mike pompeo said maduro was on his way to cuba. he was ready to go. he'd made a decision that we had been urging him to make for quite some time and that he was diverted from that action by the russians. juan guaido himself appeared to have the backing of the military from this social media post. so far, though, at least publicly, they remain loyal to mr maduro. and it seems his push for power isn't over.

in another online post, he defiantly said that the struggle for power, or what he calls 0peration freedom, would carry on. ramzan karmali, bbc news. thousands of cash machines, which are currently free to use, will start charging fees this year, according to the consumer organisation, which? its research suggests in the first three months of this year, nearly 1700 atms started charging for withdrawals. 0perators say they're not making enough money from running the machines. i'm joined byjohn howells, chief executive of link, the network that connects banks and building societies to cash machines. thank you forjoining us. it is the link charges that have led to this? the uk has an excellent network of machines, but we will see the number of reduction in atms as people use

cashless. we only have 30,000 today, but we will be well provisioned —— we have 50,000 today but we will be well provisioned to come. we have 50,000 today but we will be well provisioned to comem we have 50,000 today but we will be well provisioned to come. if they are in an area where they cannot access a free cash machine, this will wear them because they were not able to access their medical because the money? we will make sure that in your rural and remote areas, we will put the money to make sure that they there and say free. you often have 40 or 50 machines all within a few minutes of each other and we think thatis minutes of each other and we think that is evidence that our prices there have been too high and we want there have been too high and we want the number of atms to come down. so hang on, you say that what operators are getting paid in busy city centres is happening, but it is not happening in from the? absolutely not. it is particularly rural and

remote areas where consumers use atms left where there is a risk of closure. that is where we are putting up money, link is putting up money, to allow them to stay there and to stay free for the future. one of your stay states, being disabled means that i cannot walk to the next carriage machine —— walk to the next cash machine... another says, i stopped using a local cash machine when it started charging me i'm on a tight budget and i cannot be charged that mike cannot afford to pay. consumers are going to have affordable atms in future. we will

make sure that in rural and remote areas will keep those. no consumer is going to be left without free access to cash and is going to be fine for years into the future. access to cash and is going to be fine for years into the futurelj can make sure that will happen? as their somewhere that consumers can contact their somewhere that consumers can co nta ct if their somewhere that consumers can contact if they find that actually the situation has changed for them and they are unable to access free machines? love link is a regulated entity —— link is a regulated entity and we... it is very important that link maintaina and we... it is very important that link maintain a free network because people rely on cash and they need it for free. like thank you very much. the high court has rejected a series of legal challenges against the government's plan to build a new runway at heathrow airport.

environmental groups, charities and local authorities are opposed to the development, saying it would have a damaging impact on climate change, congestion, air quality and noise levels. parliament backed the plan for a third runway last year. leeds has become the first city to report that it has reversed childhood obesity amongst pre—schoolers. parents were taught how to serve healthier meals as part of a 10—year project. the improvements have been highest in the city among the poorest children, a result that has been described as "astonishing" by researchers. let's go back to the news that south african 0lympic champion caster semenya, has lost her appeal against the iaaf who want to restrict testosterone levels in women runners in specific joining me now is our reporter ade adedoyin in johannesburg. this is obviously being watched very closely in south africa is she is a very well—known athlete in south africa. what will her reaction be to this? i imagine she will be very

disappointed. she has actually posted on a social media saying, sometimes it is best to react with no reaction. she has been defaced of this issue since she onto the scene. her life has been under scrutiny and inappropriate things written about her where there were questions about her where there were questions about her gender. she has talked about how difficult the period was for her and all the questions asked about her, and is written about her when she was so young to stop she has talked about the support she has received from her country and how important that had all been. for her, she a lwa ys that had all been. for her, she always maintained that this was discriminatory and, in that court of arbitration willing, they have said it is, but they also said it was important to have a fair competition amongst women and this is why this policy was introduced. the governing body have thanked her for organising

this supremacy. they said that any athlete who falls into this category who wants to compete in an event from 400 metres to the male would need to start taking medication in the next week or so —— 400 metres to the next week or so —— 400 metres to the mile would need to start taking medication next week or so to suppress the levels. the other option is to compete in an event thatis option is to compete in an event that is not part of thatjudgment, a an event like the 5000 metres. last week she won the title here in the 5000 metres, but can she be competitive against the well‘s best is that it is difficult to know. so, a big day as far as this willing is concerned full stop this was a very pivotal case, because it will have ramifications for the international committee and for transgender athletes as well. but for caster semenya it is not the result she wa nted semenya it is not the result she wanted and she will be disappointed. you have said that she has various

choices to be up, whether she takes the drugs or switches to a different distance. is there an excitation of which way she is likely to go on this? —— is there an expectation which way she like they got to go on thisshe has shown that she has talent in the longer distance as well. in the 5000 metres. that is a possibility. we do believe that she has had to take less harm suppression in the past before in 2011, the iaaf introduced a bill for athletes with hyperandrogenism and we do believe she took the medication. she won a medal at london 2012. the athlete ahead of her was found to have doped. she was still fun to be competitive, even though she took this medication. ——

she was still believed to be competitive even though we believe that she took this medication to stop it is whether she wants to go through that again stop the united nations human rights council have said that in the build—up to that they thought it was unfair, discriminatory and harmful and are necessary. that is a big decision that she has to make. in terms of whether this is the end of the matter, it appears it would appear to be so. she could take it to a swiss tribunal to appeal this on issues... it takes an awful long time to resolve it. on the other case it took up to a decade, but at which point semenya's career will be over. she effectively has one week to decide what you want to do. i understand she is not here, she is not in south africa, she is in doha —— any plane to doha. her post on social media, sometimes at the best way is not to be at all, it is

unlikely that she will talk to stop one of her management team, spoke to, who said that she will probably give it a more detailed press piece later on today to stop a setback for her camp, they iaaf have achieved their end. they have always maintained that their position is not a personal attack on caster semenya, but it is to protect the integrity of women's sport and i guess they have achieved what they wa nt to guess they have achieved what they want to do. some unused to bring about brexit and ferries and ferry contracts that we re and ferries and ferry contracts that were signed in orderfor and ferries and ferry contracts that were signed in order for them to and ferries and ferry contracts that were signed in orderfor them to be capacity —— for there to be capacity. the department for transport is going to be terminating its no deal brexit ferry contracts. it has a decision that could cost the taxpayer millions of pounds extra freight services are needed again in the run—up to new brexit deadline in october it is likely the

government would have to negotiate a new set of contacts. it was estimated, a couple of months ago, by the national audit office at that cancelling the cost of all three would be 56.6 million p. previously one of the other contracts was cancelled. —— 50 6p. —— 50 6p. they had never been involved in petty contract and that was a controversial one. that was worth £13.8 million. it left to back other contracts in existence which we are now hearing have also been cancelled. it is expected that the transport secretary, chris grayling is going to make that announcement a little bit later. he has been under fire over those ferry contracts.

now it's time for a look at the weather with simon king. it is going to try colour over the next few days. is zone of cloudy weather across scotland. she was propping up later on it which could perhaps be heavy, thundery in the north—east of england. potential for some floods to in scotland. and the far south—east of england temperature generally about 13 to 17 degrees. so tonight, we will continue with some showers in the north—east of scotland to stop a few more drifting their is to it. 0vernight temperatures down to about five or 10 degrees for some throughout thursday, it will continue with some showers in the north—east. those were suppressed —— spread further. she was developing into the south—east of england, some sunny spells particular in northern ireland, north—west england during thursday to stop the temperatures

down by a couple of degrees again. about 12 to 16 degrees. hello, this is bbc newsroom live. the headlines. the south african 0lympic champion caster semenya — has lost an appeal against the world's athletics governing body over its ruling to limit testosterone levels in female runners.

the wikilea ks co—founder julian assange has arrived at court in london to be sentenced for violating his bail conditions. venezuela's president nicolas maduro says he's defeated what he called a military coup by the opposition — after clashes yesterday that injured more than 100 people. leeds is the first uk city to report a drop in childhood obesity — after parenting classes on how to set boundaries for children and beavers have become a protected species in scotland — making it illegal to kill them or destroy their dams without a licence. sport now, here's azi farni. good morning. tottenham say they followed all the right concussion protocols in allowing jan vertonghen to return to the pitch following a head injury in their champions league semi final defeat to ajax last night. donny van de beek scored the winner

for the dutch side on a night when spurs couldn't make the most of home advantage. but the game's major talking point came when vertonghen was involved in a clash of heads with his central defensive partner toby alderweireld. the belgian was treated on the pitch, briefly went off, but then moments after returning to the field he signalled to the spurs bench that he couldn't carry on. vertonghen then looked visibly distressed as he left the pitch, but his manager mauricio pochettino says things were more relaxed after the game, and it shouldn't be too much of an issue. well, the brain injury charity headway have criticised the way that vertonghen's head injury was dealt with. their spokesperson luke griggs says concussion is a big problem that's still not being taken seriously enough. it is hugely concerning and so disappointing that we continue to have this discussion about whether football is doing enough to protect players from the dangers of

concussion. clearly, a player has had a serious blow to the head and insidious distress. millions of people around the world to see him return to the field and play. it is very concerning, was that the right decision? what message does it send to millions of amateur and junior players across the world. uefa protocol says in the event of suspected concussion, player will stop... spurs say they followed the protocol so what needs to change the think? it is important to say that concussions are notoriously difficult to diagnose correctly in a short space of time. the signs could be hidden and required a player to be hidden and required a player to be asked whether they are filling gnosis, their vision is blurred or

whether they have any signs of confusion. whether that might be symptoms may delay in the manifestation, for several hours and even days later. that is why the three minutes on the pitch, under the gaze of thousands of fans, is not effective. the time has come to introduce concussion substitutions to allow players to bss off the pitch and a better environment by independent doctors. —— to be assessed. what tb need exactly? take the example of rugby which is had the example of rugby which is had the system in place for a number of yea rs. the system in place for a number of years. a substitute goes on while the player is taken off and assessed for a longer period, at least ten minutes to get a better idea of what is happening. if the fit to come back on, they go back on and replace the temporary substitute. it works in rugby and we see no reason why it

will not work for football. tonight it's the turn of liverpool. they go to barcelona for their semi final. liverpool are aiming to reach their second final in a row. but it won't be easy, they take on a barca side who haven't lost at home in 31 champions league matches. one other line of football news this morning and aaron ramsey has played his last match for arsenal. he's out for the rest of the season after injuring a hamstring in the europa league last month. ramsey's agreed to joinjuventus when his contract expires at the end of next month. let's nip to the world snooker championships in sheffield where two former champions are in quarter—final action. these are live pictures from the crucible where two time finalist ali carter's trailing gary wilson by 11 frames to nine. 0n the other table 2010 winner neil robertson is leading the four—time champion john higgins 6—4.

you can watch it live now via the bbc sport webiste. that's all the sport for now. i'll have more for you in the next hour. thank you very much. a new law comes into force in scotland today making it an offence to kill beavers. the animals were re— introduced into the country a decade ago. the law has been welcomed by wildlife organisations, but some farmers fear the beavers will cause damage to agricultural land, as lorna gordon reports. for hundreds of years, beavers were absent from scotland's rivers and streams. but now they're back, and it's not hard to spot the signs of where the animals have set up home. they're busy creatures, foraging here, taking down the trees, using it for their food, but also as construction materials. beavers are known as ecosystem engineers. their dams alter their watery landscape, capturing silt and pollutants and helping support a web of life,

of insects and birds. now beavers have been added to the list of protected species in scotland, making it an offence to kill them without a licence. farmland around the tay is some of the most productive in scotland. an unofficial release of the animals here led to dams appearing in some drainage ditches and waterways, costing farmers crops and money. adrian ivory will now need a licence to clear any dams beavers build from his land. he recognises, though, that beavers are here to stay. we're involved in a mitigation trial whereby we're going to put a device known as a beaver deceiver or a beaver gate into the water near the mouth of the river. and, where all attempts to limit the damage beavers cause don't work, licences can be issued to allow for their culling. around 20 have been granted. there are calls for close monitoring of how many end up being killed. the balancing act of protecting beavers while also protecting crops now set in law, to allow for

the species to spread in scotland. tomorrow, elections will take place for 248 councils in england, as well as every council in northern ireland. nearly 9,000 council seats are up for grabs in total. 0ur political correspondent, chris mason, is already excited. after all the bluster and fluster of day—to—day politics, it all boils down to a polling station, a piece of paper and a little, stubby pencil. so a carnival of democracy across much, but not all of the uk, starting in northern ireland, where every seat on all 11 councils is being contested, with just over 800 candidates competing for 462 seats. let's hop back across the irish sea to england, where 248 councils are holding elections, when some 8500 seats to be won. so, let's take a look at who currently holds those seats. the conservatives have

the largest number, 4901. labour the next biggest party, and then there is the liberal democrats. the uk independence party and the greens. so, even if the tories lost hundreds of councillors, they are still likely to win the most seats overall. now, the last time most of these seats were contested was back in 2015. the reason the conservatives did so well last time is that they were six points ahead of labour in the national share of the vote in the local elections then, 35% against 29%. if that lead were to narrow, the tories are likely to lose seats to labour. also, if the tories' 24 point lead over the liberal democrats was too narrow, then theresa may's party may lose seats to vince cable's. so what are the main parties hoping for on the night? the conservatives will be hoping that the worst predictions of the opinion polls will not be fulfilled, because not least nigel farage's brexit party is not

on the ballot paper and therefore, they will only suffer losses of a few hundred seats rather than, let's say, over 500, 600, 700. the labour party will want to put in their first convincing local election performance since 2012, over 35% of the vote, and suggest that actually, a future general election would be a good prospect for them. the liberal democrats are defending their worst ever set of local election results. progress of some kind for them at least will seem to be essential. now, let's be honest, what is it about local elections? maybe they sometimes lack the capacity to grip, to enthuse. they don't exactly effervesce with energy and that big sense of a big moment in the way that general elections can. this is the first time people will have voted since the brexit deadline passed, without, well... brexit actually happening. so they are a crucial test of support for the parties. and, of course, councils matter. they decide where houses get built, who runs the buses,

and whether a pub can get a late licence, as well as plenty of other stuff, like bins, social care and much more. so if you are going to stay up all night with huw edwards, and why wouldn't you want to, where should you be looking out for? let's take a look at swindon. the conservatives could lose control, there. that is one that is worth looking at. milton keynes, currently hung, under no overall control, but the conservatives defending the most seats. there is colchester in essex, where the conservatives are close to winning a majority. and winchester, where the conservatives could lose their majority and it will be interesting to see how the liberal democrats do. and a last one to look at, also in the west midlands, the conservatives could take control. they unexpectedly won the walsall north seat in the general election back in 2017. so plenty to keep you going with huw in the dead of night and more to follow throughout the day on friday. and if you are feeling just a tad left out,

perhaps you are in scotland or wales or most parts of england, where your council is not holding elections this time, well, there's the european parliament elections. they are looking increasingly likely to happen all over the uk towards the end of this month. breaking news to bring you. julian assange has been sentenced to fifty weeks in prison for breaching his bail. he has got the maximum for that offence. the wikilea ks co—founder, who's 47, spent seven years avoiding court by staying in the ecuadorean embassy in london but he was removed from there last month. he has been in southwark crown court this morning, this is a picture of him going into court this morning, holding up his fifth in a gesture of defiance as he arrived to hear his

sentencing for breaching his bail conditions. we have just sentencing for breaching his bail conditions. we havejust heard sentencing for breaching his bail conditions. we have just heard that it is 50 weeks injail, conditions. we have just heard that it is 50 weeks in jail, just short of one year. there are lots of reporters gathered outside the court, there are also supporters for julian assange. you can hear —— we heard shouting earlier as a court hearing was under way. he was found guilty of breaching the bail act earlier this month after he was arrested at the ecuadorian embassy. he went into the ecuadorian embassy after being accused of sexual offences in sweden in 2010 and after he had exhausted the legal options againstan he had exhausted the legal options against an extradition order, he went to the ecuadorian embassy in 2012 to seek sanctuary. that is where he remained until he left and was arrested at the embassy last

month. we have a letter that i can read out an extract from which was read out an extract from which was read to the court in whichjulian assange said, i apologise unreservedly to those who consider i have disrespected them by the wee i pursued my keys. ifind myself struggling with difficult circumstances. i did what i thought at the time was the best or the only thing i could have done, i regret the course that that has taken. the letter goes on to say those difficulties were compounded and impacted on very many others. 0ur correspondent andy moore is at southwark crown court with the latest. the sentence was 50 weeks, very near the maximum of one year which can be imposed. you can hear his supporters outside the court, there were shouts

of shame on you asjulian assange was sentenced to 50 weeks. it was quite a long proceeding. julian assange arrived at court this morning and his it had been friends he gave a clenched fist salute as he was taken into court. he said he did not understand the details but understood this was a case which would permit him to prison. he was wearing a jacket over a greyjumper and jeans. the prosecution were short in saying this should be treated as a very serious case of skipping bail, then we had quite a long speech from the qc forjulian assange. he said julian assange was infearfor assange. he said julian assange was in fearfor his assange. he said julian assange was in fear for his life and felt he would be extradited to guantanamo bay in the united states and might be tortured there. that is why mark

summers said julian assange had gone to the ecuadorian embassy for asylum. we heard about his medical conditions. there was a doctor's report from 2017 which said he was depressed and suffering from depression. the defence and mitigation said they should be taken asa mitigation said they should be taken as a moderate case of skipping bail and there should not be that ultimate of one year long sentence. but thejudge dismissed ultimate of one year long sentence. but the judge dismissed most of his arguments and said this was the upper limit of seriousness to her, she said was a case where nobody was above or beyond the rule of law. the judge said, this was a deliberate attempt to avoid justice and so she sentenced him to 50 weeks in jail and he will get sometime off, the three weeks he has already spent in

jail. butjulian assange sentenced to jail for jail. butjulian assange sentenced to jailfor nearly a jail. butjulian assange sentenced to jail for nearly a year. that is over issues regarding his bail conditions, for breaching them, what about the other issues he's facing? he is wanted in the united states and they have requested his extradition and he faces allegations in sweden. that is correct. this is one legal case againstjulian assange. he will be appealing against —— in a different court, westminster magistrates' court and nvidia link. this is in connection with the extradition case. the judge made the case today that this was nothing about extradition. tomorrow he will appear before an ideal link in connection with the american authorities who want him for trying to break into the us defence system, break their password. it is alleged he was acting in conjunction with

chelsea manning, formerly bradley manning, the soldier who gave a whole load of the secrets to wikileaks back in 2010. julian assange faces up to five years and an american prison if he's convicted of that. tomorrow is likely to be a procedural case before westminster magistrate. extradition proceedings themselves could last several years. the swedish case, going back to why julian assange skipping the first place, was because he was accused of rape and sexual assault in sweden. the swedish prosecutors have put the rape case on hold for the time being, is that when he was arrested three weeks ago, they would go back and look at it again. certainly the women who alleges rape once it revived. the swedish authorities said they would look at it and think about and then tell the world what they had decided. three weeks have

passed and we have no decision yet from the swedish authorities. thank you very much for updating us. lots of activity behind andy, where julian assange has been sentenced to 30 weeks injailfor breaching his bail conditions. in a moment, all the business news and first the headlines. julian assange has been sentenced to 15 weeks —— 50 weeks injailfor breaching bail conditions. venezuelan president nicolas maduro defiantly vows to stay on — after calls for a military uprising by the opposition leader. i'm maryam moshiri with the business news. free—to—use cash machines have been disappearing at a rapid rate across the uk, according to a study by which?

nearly 1,700 machines started charging for withdrawals in the first three months of the year, with the majority starting to charge in march, according to the consumer lobby group. it could mean the country losing 13% of its free atms in only a few months. the warmer weather over easter helped boost sales at retail giant next, sales in the 1st quarter were £10 million more than predicted. the news comes as many other high street names continue to struggle. the failed bid to merge with rival asda cost sainsbury‘s £46 million, the supermarket giant has said. in april, a proposed merger between sainsbury‘s and asda was blocked by the uk's competition watchdog overfears it would raise prices for consumers. sainsbury‘s said that like—for—like sales growth slowed in the fourth quarter, especially over the christmas period. it added it would accelerate investment in its stores and technology. staying with the sainsbury‘s story. sainsbury‘s supermarket

reported profits up 7.8% at £635m for 2018/19 - but after one off costs — including the blocked asda takeover profits were down 40% . the supermarket has promised investment in stores — and yesterday rolled out the uk's first till free supermarket. we spoke to the boss of sainsburys mike coupe. we do not agree with the regulator, thatis we do not agree with the regulator, that is clear. we believe we will be able to lower prices and we are in a competitive market. every morning we open ourselves we have customers and they have a huge amount of choice and that choice is increasing over time. we have to adapt our business as we look forward to those changing customer habits. underlying results today, we had seen online business grow by 6.9%, we have seen artist editions planned grow by to percent and we are now delivering around 20%

of company and we are now delivering around 20% of com pa ny sales and we are now delivering around 20% of company sales through online channels. you will have the joy of talking to me again in the not too distance future. business to business was an opportunity undoubtedly and we believed it would have benefited customers ultimately but you can see by the results today there is still a huge amount of change going on in our organisation. that was the boss of sainsbury‘s. the guardian paper recorded an operating profit of £0.8 million for 2018—19: its first such profit in two decades and the culmination of one of the most significant turna rounds in recent british media history. the margin is vindication of the strategy pursued by chief executive david pemsel and editor in chief katharine viner since their appointments in 2015. sales of apple's iphones fell at their steepest—ever rate, according to data for the three months to the end of march. the firm said revenue from the iphone dropped by 17%, compared with the same period a year

earlier, to $31 billion. however, apple chief executive tim cook said sales were stronger towards the end of march, including in china where it cut iphone prices to boost demand. former google boss eric schmidt will leave the board of its parent company alphabet in june. mr schmidt stepped down as chairman of the alphabet board last year but remained on the board. he will continue to advise the firm on technical matters. the 64—year—old has played a crucial role in the development of google from a small california start—up to the global business. that's all the business news. back to you. thank you very much. let's go back to the news that south african 0lympic champion caster semenya, has lost her appeal against the iaaf who want to restrict testosterone levels in women runners in specific track events. joining me now is michael mcnamee, professor of sports science

at swansea university. thank you forjoining us, what is your reaction to this ruling? surprised in the first instance. think it sets out a bad precedent. pasteur‘s on recognition is it is discriminatory but they believe they have to do this to preserve the integrity of the contest and i think that reasoning is flawed. i am quite appalled by the decision really. it is not consistent with a number of previous presidents. we have had to finish champion and olympic medallist who had naturally high ipo advantage which gave him a huge advantage which gave him a huge advantage but no one suggested he should undergo biological separation. what about people who have other biological variations which give them an advantage? do we make a

which give them an advantage? do we makea similar which give them an advantage? do we make a similar medical intervention? it is extremely problematic for me they should draw this case of hyper androgynous and force an athlete to undergo hormonal separation. it is very problematic for the international federation. the iaaf has gone through a turnaround in recent yea rs has gone through a turnaround in recent years but their own code of effort says, safeguarding the individual is fundamental. all forms of harassment are fun —— avoiding harassment are fundamental. they are doing the opposite here, forcing an athlete with naturally high levels of testosterone having to undergo suppressant treatment is not consistent with their own code of ethics and inconsistent with the code of athletics. he said there are

other aspects of the development of people which could impact on the natural ability to excel in a sport, potentially might the unintended consequence be that other things will be looked at? it could be. i think it is a dangerous precedent. i think it is a dangerous precedent. i think it is a dangerous precedent. i think it may create a slippery slope. the ruling appears to acknowledge the difficulties in itself, first, what to do people who deliberately boost testosterone levels ? deliberately boost testosterone levels? you call that doping but this is not a case like that, it is naturally occurring high levels of testosterone. secondly, the science that has been done on this is deeply flawed stop so there is no precise understanding of the amount of advantage given by these testosterone levels so why rush to judgment? why not do more research to find out better? the acknowledge the practicalities of this possible be difficult to push through. so i

have this early rolling? for me, if usually thought this was a problem based on better science in better understanding of how to structure sport... sorry to interrupt about we are heading for prime minister's questions. we will have to say thank you and goodbye. there will be more reaction on the website throughout the day. let us catch up with the weather. we have a mixed picture across the uk we have some showers across middle england, northern england and showers in scotland in the north east lincolnshire town heady. some sunshine in the south—east, and the sunshine in the south—east, and the sunshine in the south—east, and the sunshine in northern ireland. temperatures lower than yesterday. chillier over the next few days. that's all for now.

you're watching bbc newsroom live. these are today's main stories... the wikilea ks co—founder julian assange is sentenced to 50 weeks injail for breaching bail conditions. south african 0lympic champion caster semenya loses her appeal against the world's athletics governing body, allowing it to limit testosterone levels in female runners. such discrimination is a necessary, reasonable and proportionate means of achieving the iaaf‘s objectives of preserving the integrity of female athletics in some track events of international competitions. venezuelan president nicolas maduro defiantly vows to stay on after calls for a military uprising by the opposition leader. and this is the scene currently in the house of commons, where prime minister's questions

is about to begin. good afternoon. welcome to bbc newsroom live. i'm joanna gosling. theresa may will shortly face the house of commons for prime minister's questions. 0ur assistant political editor, norman smith, is in parliament. what are your predictions, norman? i'm expecting a sort of goody two shows on because we are on the day before local elections, so do not expect tory mps to be getting mrs may a ha rd tory mps to be getting mrs may a hard time over brexit. i expect most of it is going to be about buses and libraries and local roads and how at such and such counsel offer better

value than others that make such councils offer better value. it will be the first time that we have heard from mrs may in a nearly three weeks because she was not here for last wednesday's pmt is because she was at the funeral of the northern ireland journalist lyra mckee. the last time that she appeared in the commons was when she was announcing that there could be another delay possibly until the end of october and there has been this curious to backin and there has been this curious to back in here, we have not heard from the prime minister and does not seem to be any movement on the brakes front. there is no real legislation going through parliament. it really is, just a sense of that westminster is, just a sense of that westminster is becalmed at the moment with no one having any real sense of how to break the brexit deadlock. so we may get a little bit more of that, not

any pm queues, butjust afterwards at around 3pm when the pm appears at the select committee. all 90 minutes will be dominated to brexit. so we would think we get some clarity from the payments are what her next plans we re the payments are what her next plans were in terms of trying to get a deal through. although, knowing mrs may and her ability to do a boycott and just stood while all the questions that come in, perhaps we should not hold their breath. questions that come in, perhaps we should not hold their breathlj questions that come in, perhaps we should not hold their breath. i want to talk about as well about the ferry contracts. that is something thatis ferry contracts. that is something that is expected to be confirmed later that the government is terminating the last of the no—deal brexit ferry contracts and a potential cost to the government of £50 million. this is going to be different for the government? costly current, but yes the cost to us at the taxpayers to stop we are ready now that the whole process has been mired in controversy to stop you

remember after chris grayling originally had it out that £13 million contract to seaburn ferries, who it transpired had no ferries —— to seaborne ferries who it transpired had no ferries. and that eurotunnel felt they were being u nfa i rly eurotunnel felt they were being unfairly discriminative against. p and 0 are now taking action because money was given to eurotunnel and basically taxpayer's money seems to be spread all over the place to now purpose. to no purpose. that money, a lot of it will frankly have gone into the dustbin to stop not all of it because some of the tenders will have been re—let. that can only, i can imagine increase the likelihood ofjeremy corbyn having another crack at chris grayling. the news only came in the last half an hour

soi only came in the last half an hour so i think you will have to have been up to speed on that and he and nafta have worked it out this morning. the sort of line of questioning their going to going to stop my guess —— he will have to have worked it out this morning. stand by, let's have a look. the prime minister. i am sure members across the house will be pleased when young people take an interest in and attend this chamber such as those from saint warren's school today to stop i'm sure those are the has will wipe to say my best wishes —— would like to say my best wishes and congratulations on the birth of their daughter and i want to congratulate everyone who took part in the london marathon on sunday, including members of this house, parliamentary staff and a lobby journalist. and i would particularly like to congratulate my parliamentary private secretary, the

honourable member for a west aberdeenshire and carding who completed a marathon with the fastest time of any member of parliament. mr speaker, i know... just for those who are suggesting otherwise, no, iwas not just for those who are suggesting otherwise, no, i was not chasing him at the time. mr speaker, this morning i had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others an additional two majorities in this house i will have meetings and further today. i associate myself with the comments of the prime minister and i promise to try and much harderfor next minister and i promise to try and much harder for next year. minister and i promise to try and much harderfor next year. on minister and i promise to try and much harder for next year. on this day in 1707, scotland and england came together to form the united kingdom. does the prime minister agree with me that there union has

served our country, there union has served our country, there union has served our country well and most people in scotland agree with that? and at superdrug with me that rather than obsessing with independence —— and does she further agree with me that rather than obsessing with independence that nicola sturgeon should continue with the job of getting on with... first of all, can i congratulate my honourable friend for running the london marathon and for running the london marathon and for all the money he raised for marie curie on his own. and can i thank him for highlighting this anniversary. i measure all members across this house will want to join me in marking this anniversary because it is... and he is absolutely right that under the snp, and government in scotland, what we are seeing as public services are getting worse because the snp... the snp are focusing... are focusing on holding another independence referendum. as my honourable friend says, it is time the snp stopped

ignoring those millions of scots who do not want another independence referendum and got on with the day job and are focused on the issues that matter to people like schools and the economy. thank you mr speaker. ijointly and the economy. thank you mr speaker. i jointly by and the economy. thank you mr speaker. ijointly by and congratulating all those who run the london marathon and i think the shadow health secretary getting a personal best shows just how fit the labour health team is. mr speaker, cani labour health team is. mr speaker, can i take this opportunity to wish... to wish the house and people across the country a very happy may day on international‘s workers day. today mr speaker —— tomorrow mr baker many people will go to the polls across the country. the

government has delivered nothing but failure. 0n government has delivered nothing but failure. on her first government has delivered nothing but failure. 0n herfirst day in office, the prime minister promised to fight against the burning social injustices that plague our society does not yesterday an independent government body confirmed that inequality is entrenched in our society from birth to work. can you plan on now admits that her government is completely —— has com pletely government is completely —— has completely failed to tackle a bang injustices? can i first say to the right honourable gentleman that i am very sorry that he did not take the opportunity to welcome the anniversary of the union between scotla nd anniversary of the union between scotland and england. i have to say... i have to say i think it's the first time he has not welcomed or congratulated union in this house. he asked about the question... he asked a question about social ability. and can i say

to the right honourable gentleman, cani to the right honourable gentleman, can i remind him of what they are martina said in the commission yesterday to this report. there is a real commitment in government to make a difference in this area. i wa nt make a difference in this area. i want everyone to have the opportunity to reach their potential, whatever their background. and that's why we're improving education, ensuring to create higher paid jobs, boosting homeownership. but what with the right honourable gentleman's party offer young people? broken promises, and a millstone around the neck? things are getting worse under this government. i will give you an example. life expectancy in britain is falling for the first time since 1945. where does the prime minister think this government has gone

wrong? when we have reached the point where people now expect to live shorter lives than they did in the past? can i say to the right honourable gentleman, that first of all, it is not the case that people are now expecting to live shorter lives than they have done any future, it is the case... no, what we have been doing is ensuring that we have been doing is ensuring that we are providing four people at every stage of their lives and for young people particular today, —— we are providing for people at every stage of their lives and ensuring that young people have healthy lives in the future. ensuring thatjobs are better paid, ensuring people have an encouragement to get into the workplace, ensuring that we provide for them notjust of the workplace, ensuring that we provide for them not just of the welfare system, but also to the long—term plan for the national health service will stop at every stage of life we are ensuring that we as conservatives are improving people's lives and in so many of

those areas, that right honourable gentleman has done nothing but vote against the policies this conservative government has produced. mr speaker, life expectancy has fallen by six months. infa nt expectancy has fallen by six months. infant mortality is rising and up. this month we have also learnt that a record 1.6 million food parcels we re a record 1.6 million food parcels were given out last year alone. under this government, things are getting worse. does the prime minister agree with her secretary of state that it is the policies of this government that has meant that in one of the richest countries on this earth, said banks are now handing out 14 million meals a year to people, some of whom there are in work, who have not got enough to eat? the best route out of

poverty... at any stage, the question has been put under the answer from the prime minister must be heard. the better route out of poverty is to be any workplace or stop we want to see that there are more better paid jobs being created for people in this country and that is what we are seeing under government. we see record numbers of people in employment and we see wages are rising, real wages rising for the first time in a decade. and we see that this government is taking decisions that are helping people to keep more money in their pockets. tax cuts for 30 to nine people, an increase in the national living wage, —— tax cuts for 32 million people. what are the right honourable member do? he has voted against them a dozen times? those

receiving food parcels are actually those people in work, many of them. because of the low wages their own andindeed because of the low wages their own and indeed the frozen wages for the past ten years to stop even the secretary of state admitted that universal credit has caused people to rely on food banks. the number of older people now are not getting the ca re older people now are not getting the care they desperately need has risen to1.4 care they desperately need has risen to 1.4 million. think of that. 1.4 million people in need of social care. things are getting worse. doesn't the prime minister agree with labour's plan to properly fund social care, or come up with her former deputy, who wants to tax at the over 50s and take their benefits? as i have said on a number of occasions in this house, we agree that we do need to ensure there is a long time to set stable future for social care and we will bring forward proposals in relation to that. we have given councils access

to nearly £4 billion more per adult social care this year. that means a 996 social care this year. that means a 9% increase in real terms in funding for adult social care between 2015, 16 and 2019 and 2020. it is notjust about the funding that goes into social care, but also about ensuring... lots of labour members say it has it, now actually it is about ensuring that best practice is seen across local authorities and nhs trusts. this is notjust about funding for social care and local authorities, it is also about our long—term plan for the national health service. the biggest cash boost in the national health service's history to stop providing for people in their old age. the prime minister seems to have her head in the sand. the reality is that 7 billion has been cut from aduh that 7 billion has been cut from adult social care since 2010, a system teetering on the brink of

colla pse system teetering on the brink of collapse as care companies go into administration and the stress on the residence of those homes and their families is unbelievable. we need a serious strategy that ensures people get the social care they need when they need it. under this government, mr speaker, things are getting worse and on our streets to a. violent crime is up by 90%, robbery up by 18%. knife crime at the highest level on record. violent crime —— violent crime is up by 19% stop i believe because there is in insufficient staff. mother payments agree that there is a violent crime epidemic on her watch and it is telling families and communities apart? and has to be investment in our communities? can i say festival that he made a reference in relation to ca re that he made a reference in relation to care companies at the beginning

of his question. with a suggestion that this was a wedding time for all those that are in the provision that are provided by those care companies. —— a worrying time for all those that are in provision and provide better care companies. the ca re provide better care companies. the care quality commission is absolutely clear that there is no risk of service disruption at this time to stop and there should never bea gap time to stop and there should never be a gap in care for an individual. that is because of the 2014 care act introduced under the conservatives in government which places the duty on local authorities to intervene to protect individuals where their provider is unable to carry on care because of business failure. he then went on to talk about the issue of crime and, can i say to the right honourable gentleman, first of all, what we see is that overall, jenny crime survey, crime is down by a third. -- crime survey, crime is down by a third. —— under the crime survey. he's actually been holed up by the national statistics authority for

failing to quote... he talks about my money being built to police, but there is around £1 billion more money available to the police this year. the police and crime commissioners plan to recruit 3000 more police officers. but what we also need to do to tackle knife crime and to tackle serious violence? yes, we are concerned about it that is why we have brought forward the serious violent strategy. we also need to make sure we are dealing with drug crime. we also need to make sure we are turning people that like turning on people away from violence. and ensuring that the police and others have powers to do theirjobs. i will ta ke have powers to do theirjobs. i will take no lectures on this from somebody who voted against more money for the place and voted against tougher laws on a knife crime because of that is not helping the police or our citizenry. if she does not believe me, maybe she can believe her own home secretary. he said in march that se dispenses on the rise and communities are being

torn apart —— serious violent crime is on the rise. he said there lack of police is likely to be contribution the cut and incompetence have left communities are struggling and have pushed public services into crisis. they have cut council budgets by 50%. poverty is up violent crime is up. its austerity agenda instead of tackling the burning social injustices. ahead of tomorrow's local elections, can the prime minister explain why from social ca re minister explain why from social care to climb from life expectancy to poverty, things are getting worse under her government? —— from social ca re under her government? —— from social care to crime. the biggest cash

boost to the nhs under this conservative government. more people in work than ever before, more children and good outstanding skills getting opportunities. and what do we see from conservative councils up and down the country? —— good outstanding schools. conservative councils re—cycle more fix more potholes, and they charge lower taxes. i vote for labour is fro worse management and higher taxes. it is conservative councils that give better services and charge less. with the pen minister confirm her support for —— with the pen and a for the transport for not‘s... which would provide economic growth by connecting the northern cities

and connecting key trunk roads such as the a64 which runs through the constituency of thirsk?” as the a64 which runs through the constituency of thirsk? i cruise my honourable friend about the importance of transport for the north. we are giving the great towns and cities and counties of the north more say over transport investment through transport for the north, enabling the north to speak with one voice on its vision for transport over the next 30 years. they have made significant progress in finalising their strategic transport plan andi finalising their strategic transport plan and i welcome that. and we're committed to reversing decades of underinvestment in northern transport and we will have invested a record 13 billion in the region by 2020. in regards to the a64 that my friend raises, i understand that highways england have taken sketch undertaken considerable work... as pa rt undertaken considerable work... as part of the second road investment strategy, but i am sure that they will have heard the passionate plea

from my honourable friend from his constituency. thank you mr speaker. scotland's first minister has pledged to match free eu student fees to 2021, while the prime minister follow this example or she determined build a bigger, hostile environment? we have made clear about the position for eu stints in this year and we will make the announcement in good time for the future years. that might eu students in this year. i think i'm right in saying is what the scottish government has actually done is saying that eu stints can have for jewish and up to 2024, but english and will have to pay stop —— will have free tuition up to 2024 but english students will have to pay. it has the toadies who have

introduced fees for english students. the prime —— it is the tories who have introduced fees for english students. her government intends to curb eu student visas to three years. scottish courses are generally for years. the scottish garment and scottish universities have asked repeatedly for this simple change to be made to reflect our circumstances. “— simple change to be made to reflect our circumstances. —— the scottish government. but the prime minister confirmed today that her government will extend visas for four years to allow scottish university students, or will she completely ignore the wishes and interests of scotland as she has done right through the shambolic brexit process?” understand the situation is not quite as pub in attic for those stu d e nts quite as pub in attic for those students as he sets out. he started

of —— the problem is not quite as bad for the student as he sets out. the snp if the snp are worried about stu d e nts the snp if the snp are worried about students and scottish universities, they need to ensure that they are spending more time improving the quality education in scotland and less time about independence. number ofand less time about independence. number of and individuals are cost is venture, particularly catholic community, have raised concerns about pictures coming to the uk on short—term —— creatures are coming to the uk on short—term visas. —— and preachers coming to the uk on short—term business. can the pen minister ensure they are not placing more barriers on this?” minister ensure they are not placing more barriers on this? i recognise the verifiable part that ministers

from all faiths that make valuable pa rt from all faiths that make valuable part that miserable face make under community. we want to allow them as pa rt community. we want to allow them as part of our immigration rules. the home office will be talking to representatives of a range of faith and community groups and those discussions willing late those for religion... mr speaker, i have a community fed up with rising levels of crime and anti—social behaviour. i heard about a lady in her 90s, terrified in her own home and residents in another part of my constituency had ta ken residents in another part of my constituency had taken to carrying out their own street patrols. clevela nd out their own street patrols. cleveland police, my local force out their own street patrols. cleveland police, my localforce has two co nte nt cleveland police, my localforce has two content with the fourth highest crime rate in the country, but has lost 500 officers. i can stitching of asked me to come here to ask her

to look at the funding for police. will she do so? i want to congratulate him as i understand he was one of the london marathon runners on a sunday. we are making more money available to local police forces. around the country there are a number of police and crime commissioners who are recruiting more police officers. the issue of dealing with crime and with dealing with anti—social behaviour is not just about policing. it is about what we do, how we ensure that we can young people away from that behaviour and violence and that is about a wider range of activities. it is why i have held together with the home secretary and other secretaries of state the summit on serious violence and knife crime last month. bring people together from organisations and police forces to ensure that we can tackle this as a whole of government and the whole of society issue. in 2017 my constituent rebecca tragically took

her own life. she had her whole life ahead of her, but she suffered from postnatal depression. her son will never know his mother. and many mothers returning to work suffer mental health challenges while seeking tojuggle the mental health challenges while seeking to juggle the demands of work and parenting. today is world maternal mental health day, does dependency agree that we need to do more to support the mental health appearance, mothers returning to work and moshi back rebecca's ‘s family campaignfor work and moshi back rebecca's ‘s family campaign for more specialist ca re family campaign for more specialist care more specialist mental health ca re care more specialist mental health care units care more specialist mental health ca re units across care more specialist mental health care units across the country?” wa nt to care units across the country?” want to send our condolences to the family of his constituent, particularly that young son who will be growing up that his mother. it is not like this issue of positive depression, that issue are people returning to work is one of balancing those child care and work responsibilities as an important one. we are looking at a new

returning's programme to help those returning's programme to help those returning into the workplace and i know that my honourable friend, the minister responsible for mental health, is also doing some very good work looking at this whole question of mental health provision, particularly for mothers, young mothers, mothers with young babies. this is an area and it is right that my honourable friend has raised it. the government is looking at this and a lot of ways. we aim to ensure that no one else suffers any way that no one else suffers any way that his constituent and her family did. the prime minister will not be surprised to learn that i would like her to finally spill her beans on cambridge analytical and aggregate iq visiting downing street. for more than a year now why these shadowy organisation had been invited into the heart of government. —— cambridge analytica. when have raised these people have said that

there is nothing to reveal and no meetings took place and so i had a letter from the fco said ministers and officials had a series of meetings with cambridge analytica. will the prime minister finally come clea n ? will the prime minister finally come clean? which of her ministers, special advisers have met a iq or cambridge analytica, when did they meet them and what was the purpose of them? she has consistently stood up of them? she has consistently stood up and asked me about meetings that took place in a number ten and she has a nswers took place in a number ten and she has answers about meetings that have taken place in a potential stop she has been written about this. we've been to me that make me retain my publish answers about this. the honourable lady might also know that the uk government doesn't publish far more transparency later than the scottish committee. —— uk government

does publish far more transparency than the scottish government. one of the companies on the register includes money to the fca itself. in light of the collapse of another fca approved company, leaving thousands without their life savings, will she find out what exactly the financial conduct authority actually do to regulate the companies on their approved register? president honourable friend, he raises an important issue and i am... by the financial conduct authority to stop perhaps it would be more helpful to him ifi perhaps it would be more helpful to him if i could give him a more detailed reply in writing. may i be lucky enough to be one of the 27% who get their question answered by this point minister. payday loans

disproportionately affect the vulnerable and the motherwell postcode has a largest payday loans per head in scotland to stop as this government's universal credit system is forcing people to turn to these high interest lenders, will be prime minister halt the roll—out of universal credit and take action on these vultures in these companies who pray on the most desperate in our society? the issue of universal credit, this government has changed to be this operates. we have ensured someone moving onto universal credit can get 100% advance payment where that is necessary for them. can i also remind her that the scottish government actually has extra powers in relation to welfare which so far they have been reluctant to use. may i thank you for... it is an

excellent school and with outstanding teachers. will the prime minister join outstanding teachers. will the prime ministerjoin with me in congratulating the education secretary for increasing funding to these schools, and relentlessly focusing on the needs of schools like these on rural areas. they need more sex foreign any skills. minister. can i join more sex foreign any skills. minister. can ijoin with him in congratulating the education secretary for the action he is taking. and for ensuring the funding is available across the school sector and ensuring that where there are particular needs they are properly supported and recognising the particular needs of schools in rural areas. during the general election, the prime minister gave a

ma nifesto election, the prime minister gave a manifesto election to giving three tv licences on bus passes, does she still stand by this? we do stand by the commitments we made. we are changing the arrangements for the tv licences, that is going to the bbc but there is no reason why the bbc, with the money available to do it, —— available to it, is not able to do this. will the prime minister welcomed the first—ever training session been held in the house of commons today on understanding autism. 39 colleagues and signed up, mr speaker. each of us have around 1000 people in our constituency her on the artistic spectrum and therefore it is vital that members of parliament understand what it is like for people with autism and they can provide their constituents with better services with that understanding. thank you for reading this. she has raised this issue with

me in the past and i have welcomed the suggestion for having these courses available to members of parliament, i think it is very important and parliament, i think it is very importantandi parliament, i think it is very important and i congratulate the 39 members who have signed up for the course today. it is important we have able to provide the support for people who come to our constituencies and we need to challenges that they face. will the prime minister commits herself here and now to build the three royal navy supply ships in british yards, including the time by reversing an unpatriotic decision to put the site international tender? as he knows, we have taken shipbuilding in the united kingdom incredibly seriously by publishing a ship building strategy which is aimed to ensure we can enhance the capability of shipbuilding yards around the country. individual decisions are

taken regarding country. individual decisions are ta ken regarding naval country. individual decisions are taken regarding naval ships but it is important to have an overall strategy which encourages shipbuilding around the country. jackie wilcox started the work campaign regarding the safety of people who are given a general diagnosis and their place of work. this week we reached over1 million employees who are covered by the volu nta ry employees who are covered by the voluntary charter, is it not time the government took this on and process this into law?” the government took this on and process this into law? i thank her for raising this issue and for chanting this campaign. i know she's met ministers to discuss this. we all agree that it is important that all agree that it is important that a terminally ill person should not have worries about theirjob which is why the chartered is so important. iam is why the chartered is so important. i am very pleased to hear that it has now reached the million mark in terms of number of

employees. employers are making commitments to their employees by saying that charter that they will not be dismissed, their families financial security will not protest. i will ask the minister to write to her about the disabilities act and look at the simulation to legislation. —— in relation to legislation. —— in relation to legislation. in 1986, my constituent went on holiday to dubai and arrested and never came home. he was convicted of possession of kicking despite no drugs being found on him. he is serving 25 years and had to buy jail. we he is serving 25 years and had to buyjail. we apply he is serving 25 years and had to buy jail. we apply for he is serving 25 years and had to buyjail. we apply for him to serve his sentence in the uk so his elderly mother can see her only son. this was refused as have been all other applications since the pta was signed by the united arab emirates in —— a few years ago. so i have the

prime minister is that agreement worth the paper signed on? obviously i recognise her concern. i will ask ministers and the foreign office and ministry ofjustice to look at this issue and come back to her on this particular case. we do expect when we have these agreements signed that they do thejob we have these agreements signed that they do the job that they are intended to in a loving prisoner tra nsfers. intended to in a loving prisoner transfers. i live that the relevant minister writes to her on the releva nt minister writes to her on the relevant minister writes to her on this specific case. mr speaker, apart from this specific case. mr speaker, apartfrom an this specific case. mr speaker, apart from an extraordinary leak which i will not go into, the decision which has been discussed in many parts of the world at the moment is a possibility we will be nesting a dragon in the infrastructure of the uk by a narrowing of huawei to build the cyber network in five g. this decision is frankly extraordinary given the advice of the national security and hysteria and the united

states. could the prime minister explained why she feels ignoring our close intelligence allies and putting in danger as 70 year intelligence sharing relationship is worth it for chinese commercial grey —— mike dean? worth it for chinese commercial grey -- mike dean? we are committed to taking decisions supported by a hard—headed, technically informed assessment of risk. we discuss closely with the raleigh security issues and we have in place a review of the 5g supply chain to ensure we have a resilient roll—out and the decisions of that review will be announced in due course. the priorities we have in relation to the future of telecommunications are stronger cybersecurity practices, greater resilience for networks and diversity in the market and that drives our thinking. mr speaker, three weeks ago in this chamber, i informed the prime minister that nearly 8000 children in place now

living in poverty, a significant pa rt living in poverty, a significant part is due to the roulette of universal credit last year. in her response, she is the hackneyed phrase, in families where both pa rents a re phrase, in families where both parents are in work they are five times less likely to be in poverty. that is misleading. both parents working is not a guarantee they will not be living in poverty. what is only one parent is working? what if it isa1p only one parent is working? what if it is a 1p and family? she was universal credit is not working for thousands of people. for my constituency and millions of people up constituency and millions of people up and down the country. i believe the truth is she does not care. prime minister. i thank him but the reference i made to the number of children impacted in a household where both parents are working is correct, that is a fact. what is also the case is that there are more people now receiving the full benefits which they are entitled as

a result of universal credit being introduced. we see disabled people in the household having access to more funding as a result of universal credit and universal credit is ensuring that people are not only getting encouraged into the workplace but once they are there, they can keep more of the money they earn. this is in direct contrast to a legacy system from labour which meant that 1.4 million people were left on benefits for nearly a decade. thank you, mr speaker. i received a telephone call this week from constituents. he lives near plymouth and has been charged with attempted murderfor anna plymouth and has been charged with attempted murder for anna —— plymouth and has been charged with attempted murderfor anna —— and incident in northern ireland 40 to yea rs incident in northern ireland 40 to years ago. he is not alone, we have other soldiers, what is happening is directly in contradiction what our prime minister promised years ago. could she tell us that is exactly

what she has done and what she is doing to end this process which is abhorrent to so many people in this country? i absolutely respect their sincerity and public spiritedness of the honourable gentleman but it is not generally desirable to refer to subjudice cases not generally desirable to refer to sub judice cases and not generally desirable to refer to subjudice cases and i know the prime minister will want to take that into account and her response. the prime minister will say what she wants to say. thank you. can i say to my honourable friend we have been clear about the current system for dealing with the legacy system in northern ireland is not working well for anyone. as i have said before, around 3000 —— people were killed by. around 3000 —— people were killed by, the majority by terrorists. there are also hundreds of deaths of security forces but the system of investigating the pastors need to change to provide better outcomes for victims and survivors of the

troubles but also to ensure our armed forces and police officers are not unfairly treated which is why the government we are continuing to work on proposals had theirs to move forward. the mod are also looking the wider issue to see what more can be done to see that service personnel are not pursued unfairly through the courts, including legislation. frustratingly, this is neither third pmqs in which i have raised the play of fellow parents of premature and sick babies. last time the prime minister to the house the government was taking a review of understanding the barriers to participating in the labour market. when will the government published the findings of that review and take action for us? can i congratulate the honourable member, he also ran the honourable member, he also ran the marathon on sunday. i understand he did it in support of glasgow

youth football club and raise money for that good cause. 0fficials youth football club and raise money for that good cause. officials are undertaking a short focus to internal review of parents with sick and premature babies. the looking at theissues and premature babies. the looking at the issues he raised, barriers to returning to work and remaining in work that some parents can face. they have been working with some organisations to better understand theissues organisations to better understand the issues for parents. i'm sure the minister with happy to meet the honourable member into course when the conclusions are reached. as it isa the conclusions are reached. as it is a gary radcliffe has now been in prison in tehran for more than three yea rs. prison in tehran for more than three years. deprived of the presence of herfamily, with years. deprived of the presence of her family, with the years. deprived of the presence of herfamily, with the prime minister join with me in her and all those who are unjustly imprisoned overseas as the member mentioned earlier that they are not forgotten in the size and would she update the highs as to what measures have been taken to

make sure she can return home as soon as possible and in the meantime get the medical treatment she so desperately needs. i will give the general insurer —— reassurance that my friend asked for, these cases are not forgotten and continue to be worked on by ministers and officials. her case in relation to iran, i raise whenever i see president rouhani. i raises issues, the foreign secretary raises these edges with his opposite numbers, we are constantly raising these issues and we are also ensuring that in terms of our presence in iran, they are working with the iranians authorities to ensure that the necessary medical assistance is provided to her and others are supported in the way the need to be. ican supported in the way the need to be. i can assure him that these cases are not forgotten, we continue to work on them and raise them regularly with the eddy main 30s. ——

the iranian authorities. it was a campaign ministers questions as predicted by our reporter before the european elections. we have some breaking news to bring you. we are hearing that a man called john radford who was formerlyjohn worboys has been charged with administering a substance with intent to force separate individuals —— to four separate individuals —— to four separate individuals —— to four separate individuals between 2,000 four and to thousand eight in london. he has been charged where he is in prison in wakefield of two cou nts is in prison in wakefield of two counts of administering a stupefying job with intent, two counts of

administering a substance with intent. each offence relates to four separate individuals. he will appear in custody at westminster magistrates' court on the 23rd of may. the offences were committed between 2,000 four and to thousand eight in london and the charges relate to charges made in 2014. that isjohn worboys who has changed his name. under his new name he has been charged with his four senses of administering substance with intent to four separate individuals between 2,000 and 2,000 eight. let usjust ta ke 2,000 and 2,000 eight. let usjust take you to paris where there have been clashes between police and protesters. police in paris are clashing with protestors from the gillet jaune, also known as the yellow vest movement.

protesters are out for international media. there has been tear gas fired. these protests include yellow vest protesters, the trade unions and climate activists who are going on the march today. it is a march which is described as a climate march but there have already been clashes and it is reported there have been around 80 arrests and tear gas has been used as well. we can see that in some of the images we we re see that in some of the images we were looking at while prime minister's questions was under way. these are life pictures and we can see tear gas being used. there is a lot of activity on the streets of paris with these demonstrations and you can see people using —— wedding facemasks to protect themselves against the tear gas. we will keep

you updated. julian assange has been sentenced to fifty weeks in prison for breaching his bail. the wikilea ks co—founder, who's 47, spent seven years avoiding court by staying in the ecuadorean embassy in london but he was removed from there last month. earlier i spoke to our correspondent andy moore who was outside southwark crown court as the news broke... yes, the sentence was 50 weeks, very near the maximum of one year you can hear his supporters outside the court, there were shouts of shame on you, as mr assange was sentenced to 50 weeks. it was quite a long proceeding. mr assange arrived at court this morning and his beard had been trimmed, to his friends he gave a clenched fist salute as he was driven into court. he said he did not understand the details but understood this

was a case which would commit him to prison. he was wearing a jacket over a grey jumper and jeans. the prosecution were short in saying this should be treated as an a1 case, a very serious case of skipping bail, then we had quite a long speech from mark summers, the qc forjulian assange in mitigation. he said mr assange was in fear for his life and felt he would be extradited to guantanamo bay in the united states and might be tortured there. that is why mark summers said mr assange had gone to the ecuadorian embassy for asylum. we heard a little about his medical conditions. there was a doctor's report from 2017 which said mr assange was depressed and suffering from depression.

the defence in mitigation said this should be taken as a moderate case of skipping bail and there should not be that ultimate of one year long sentence. but the judge dismissed most of those arguments and said this was the upper limit of seriousness to her, she said this was a case where nobody was above or beyond the rule of law. the judge, judge taylor said, this was a deliberate attempt to avoid justice and so she sentenced him to 50 weeks in jail and he will get some time off, the three weeks he has already spent in jail. but julian assange sentenced to jail for nearly a year. let's go back to paris — our correspondent hugh schofield has the latest on the developing protests. bring it up—to—date with what is

happening. yes, it is getting quite hot, the head of this possession is due to set off in one hour but there has been a kind of confrontation between elements who formed part of that cortege, what they call the black blocks, you can see them infiltrated into the main union cortege. they have been facing off against police around about the junction between boulevard montparnasse, there are lots of famous cafe surrender. it looks like the cafe select has had its windows smashed in. you can see the kind of pictures we have got used to with their yellow jackets attacking police, police responding with tear gas and anti succumbing to grenades as they call them. they have not

officially started their possession yet, it is supposed to be one hour from now but already it looks quite violent at this point in the possession. we will have to see how it pans out but this was what the government wasn't fatal. it is not just regular union but yellow jackets and the black blocks. thank you very much. we will stay across what is happening in paris with that demonstration. the south african 0lympic champion caster semenya, has lost her appeal against the iaaf — which wants to restrict testosterone levels in women runners in specific track events. semenya had said the regulations were "unfair" and that she wanted to "run naturally, the way i was born". the court of arbitration for sport rejected the south african's challenge but said it had "serious concerns as to the future practical

but the majority of the final find that on the basis of the evidence submitted by the parties and the procedure. such discrimination is a necessary, reasonable and proportionate means of achieving the iaaf‘s objectives of preserving the integrity of female athletics in some track events of international competitions. that is 400 metres to one mile. the government has announced its cancelling contracts to provide ferry services after brexit, which it's thought will cost the treasury around 50 million pounds. the contracts to extend services from ports including plymouth poole and portsmouth were designed to ease pressure on dover, but with brexit now delayed until at least 0ctober, the services are no longer needed.

it comes after one of the contracts, awarded to a company with no boats, was scrapped in february. it was part of a £4 billion insurance package that the government put in place in case of a no—deal brexit. it is only 1% of that total commitment, a comitment around new systems, preparing forjams in kent, making sure agricultural checks can take place. people will expect a responsible government to take out an insurance policy and that is what we have done to make sure we can deal with all the challenges of a no—deal brexit. we never wanted it, we never worked for it but we surely need to be ready for it. a new law comes into force in scotland today making it an offence to kill beavers. the animals were re— introduced into the country a decade ago. the law has been welcomed by wildlife organisations, but some farmers fear the beavers will cause damage to agricultural land, as lorna gordon reports. for hundreds of years, beavers were absent from scotland's rivers and streams. but now they're back, and it's not hard to spot the signs

of where the animals have set up home. they're busy creatures, foraging here, taking down the trees, using it for their food, but also as construction materials. beavers are known as ecosystem engineers. their dams alter their watery landscape, capturing silt and pollutants and helping support a web of life, of insects and birds. from today, the animals have european protected species status in scotland. farmland around here is some of the most productive in scotland, and unofficial release of the animals here led to dams appearing in some drainage ditches and waterways, costing farmers crops and money. adrian ivory will now need a license to clear any dams beavers build from his land. he recognises, though, that beavers are here to stay. we're involved in a mitigation trial whereby we're going to put a device known as a beaver deceiver

or a beaver gate into the water near the mouth of the river. and, where all attempts to limit the damage beavers cause don't work, licences can be issued to allow for their culling. around 20 have been granted. there are calls for close monitoring of how many end up being killed. the balancing act of protecting beavers while also protecting crops now set in law, to allow for the species to spread in scotland. in a moment it's time for the one o'clock news with ben brown but first it's time for a look at the weather with louise lear. hello there. sunny spells and scattered showers for the start of may across much of the country. much colder as we move towards the bank holiday weekend. and the mains concentrations fdor the showers in the west is actually a weather front, a weak affair which is pet up the showers, especially this morning, coming up with england and south—west scotland.

but with a little bit of sunshine and east, we could see showers here through the rest of the afternoon. sunny spells and showers add to the east, thicker cloud out to the west, not a bade end to the afternoon. so with the sunshine, temperatures will reach the high teens, 17 degrees in places. more cloud and showers, 13 or 14 celsius. that is how we will finish off wednesday afternoon. then the showers will fade away and we will see skies clearing from the west. that will allow temperatures to fall away, perhaps overnight down down to lows of five, nine or 10 degrees. tomorrow morning, another showery day. sunny spells and scattered showers for most of us. some of the showers could turn heavy with thunder extent. the only exception is the far north of scotland, this front will bring more cloud and gradually introduce cold air.

mid to high teens the highest value. but this weather front will be the main culprit for change over the next few days. it continues to sink south and open the floodgates for this northerly wind which will pick up, because in excess of 30 miles and 50mph in the northern isles. making it few quite bitter. patchy outbreaks of rain. ahead of the weather front we will see high temperatures of 18 degrees. behind it the cold front is doing itsjob in introducing cold air, single figures. it will feel quite bitter. but cold air pushes across the country for the start of the weekend and it will be breezy as well. there will be some time weather but it will be noticeably colder, fingers crossed just that little bit milder from monday onwards.

a landmark ruling in the world of sport. south african athlete caster semenya loses an appeal against new rules restricting testosterone levels in female runners. the double olympic gold medallist has unusually high levels of the hormone in her body. today's ruling means she will now have to take medication if she wants to compete. such discrimination is a necessary, reasonable and proportionate means of achieving the iaaf‘s objective of preserving the integrity of female athletics. we'll be assessing the implications of today's ruling from the court of arbitration for sport and getting reaction from semenya's native south africa. also this lunchtime... may day riots in paris as thousands protest against president macron. after violent clashes in venezuela,