you're watching bbc news at nine with me, annita mcveigh. the headlines... the former defence secretary, gavin williamson, stresses his innocence after he was sacked over a leakfrom a national security council meeting. mr williamson was blamed by the prime minister for revealing discussions about the chinese company, huawei. a former army chief says there may need to be further inquiries. i don't know where the truth lies, but if misty williamson is protesting his innocence, then it has a right to be tested itself —— but if mr williamson. eating less meat, taking fewer flights and giving up our cars — how the uk could become a world leader in tackling climate change. the us attorney general refuses to testify before a second congressional committee, about his handling of the mueller report.

new photographs of princess charlotte taken by her mother have been released to mark herfourth birthday. and in sport, messi inspires barcelona to a 3—0 victory over liverpool in the first leg of their champions league semifinal. good morning and welcome to the bbc news at nine. the former defence secretary, gavin williamson, has angrily rejected claims he leaked sensitive information from a meeting of the national security council. he was sacked by the prime minister yesterday after a cabinet inquiry blamed him for revealing details about the chinese tech giant huawei to a newspaper.

in a letter confirming his dismissal, theresa may wrote, "i put to you the latest information from the investigation which provides compelling evidence suggesting your responsibility. i have concluded that i can no longer have full confidence in you as secretary of state for defence and have asked you to leave her majesty's government." but in response, mr williamson said, "i strenuously deny that i was in any way involved in this leak. i am confident that a thorough and formal inquiry would have vindicated my position." opposition parties are demanding a criminal investigation, but scotland yard says it's not currently carrying out any inquiries. here's our political correspondent, chris mason. yet another westminster convention has been exploded. a leak inquiry has actually found a culprit and it has cost this man, gavin williamson, his job. the disclosure of information from the national security council had infuriated the prime minister.

by temperament and experience, one cabinet minister told me, it had appalled her to her core. she loathes the gossipy nature of westminster so many of her colleagues adore and years as home secretary had instilled, i'm told, an unsha keable respect for the confidentiality of the conversations ministers have with the intelligence services. from some in government, there is no sympathy for mr williamson. he had form, said one. what turbocharges this row now is gavin williamson's very public view that what has happened represents a gross injustice. but his downfall means promotion for others. can you keep a secret, mr stewart? are you happy with the new post, rory? rory stewartjoins the cabinet as international development secretary, and penny mordaunt, a royal navy reservist, becomes the uk's first ever female defence secretary.

well, the prime minister's made her decision. what i'm focused on is getting on with the job, and it's a huge privilege to be asked to work with the best armed forces in the world. but labour and the liberal democrats say the police should now investigate the allegations mr williamson so strongly denies. well, certainly, we shall continue to call for that police investigation. but i think the really worrying thing for the country is the way that this is yet another sign that the prime minister is not in control. she's not in control of her cabinet, she's not even in control of the national security council, and now that's very, very serious. some of gavin williamson's friends believe the government's inquiry jumped to a premature conclusion. downing street say they had compelling evidence and they regard the matter as closed. but that might prove to be wishful thinking, given the venom and anger of gavin williamson's response.

speaking to reporters this morning, the work and pensions secretary, amber rudd, gave her reaction to mr williamson's dismissal. good morning. was the prime minister right to sack gavin williamson? the prime minister has made a decision, i sat on the national security council for many years. it is very important everybody has confidence in it so of course the prime minister made her own decision. do you think a criminal investigation is needed? it is up to the prime minister. it is up to her to make the decision. we need to have confidence in the national security council. gavin williamson said his sacking was in part down to his poor relationship with the cabinet secretary, and national security adviser, mark sedwill — who carried out the investigation into the huawei leak. the former cabinet secretary, lord o'donnell, said the only person who would have made the decision to remove mr williamson as defence secretary was the prime minister. the national security council has a

special status. you are bringing all the intelligence chiefs around that table. we want them to be frank. there will be times when you have discussions where leaks of that information would put people's lives at risk. isn't that the point that the cabinet secretary, a man of course also national security adviser, sir mark sedwill, making an example of gavin williamson, saying, thus far and no further. no, let us be absolutely clear, only one person making the decision here, the prime minister. cabinet secretary gives advice to her and the cabinet secretary is saying, it is a matter for a violation of the ministerial code, it is not a breach of the official secrets act, putting people's lives at risk. that is why it isa people's lives at risk. that is why it is a matter for the prime minister to decide. does she want this person in her political team when faced with this evidence? she has basically decided he is not the lionel messi of the cabinet and she can do without him.

let's discuss this further with our political correspondent, ben wright, who is at westminster this morning. downing street says the matter is closed but with such an emphatic denialfrom gavin closed but with such an emphatic denial from gavin williamson himself, can it be? we are left with the stand this morning between number 10 insisting the evidence against gavin williamson was compelling in the former defence secretary taking strong exception to that, saying he definitely did not lea k that, saying he definitely did not leak any details of this national security council meeting to a telegraph journalist, security council meeting to a telegraphjournalist, insisting security council meeting to a telegraph journalist, insisting the inquiry wasa telegraph journalist, insisting the inquiry was a stitch up, did not do a thoroughjob, inquiry was a stitch up, did not do a thorough job, if inquiry was a stitch up, did not do a thoroughjob, if it had continued for longer, he would have been exonerated. you have a total war of words between number 10 and gavin williamson, you have calls from opposition parties for the police to become involved and for the met to see if there was a breach of the official secrets act. it is hard to see how it goes, gavin williamson will continue to deny he had anything to do with the leak, the

options for escalating this are limited and he must privately accept his careerfor now limited and he must privately accept his career for now is limited and he must privately accept his careerfor now is in limited and he must privately accept his career for now is in tatters. he is out of the government uncertainly as long as theresa may is a number 10 there is no way back. he mentioned he has said himself a thorough and formal inquiry would have cleared him, a clear day that the inquiry that has taken place. given that under calls from opposition for this to be taken to the level of a criminal inquiry, is that the direction this could go? —— it isa that the direction this could go? —— it is a clear big at the inquiry that has taken place. lord o'donnell very sceptical about the suggestion it could constitute a breach of the official secrets act and i think his view is the police would be relu cta nt to view is the police would be reluctant to go down that route u nless reluctant to go down that route unless it was very sure they could bea criminal unless it was very sure they could be a criminal prosecution at the end of it. i think that is my take too, having spoken to people who have been looking at this. while there is clearly a breach of the ministerial

code, far less clear this is anything to do with the official secrets act. the reason it has escalated so quickly and produce such a clear and decisive result, lea k such a clear and decisive result, leak inquiries, as chris mason was saying, they tend to drag on, often not producing any sort of conclusion. this was treated very differently at the top of government because it was a leak from the national security council, a forum where the prime minister, senior ministers, intelligence chiefs, heads of the armed forces sit in what they must understand to be com plete what they must understand to be complete secrecy, with impenetrable walls, where matters of national security can be discussed in confidence and i think the prime minister and the cabinet secretary we re minister and the cabinet secretary were genuinely appalled that information could leak out of that toa information could leak out of that to a journalist and end up in a newspaper which is why it moved so quickly to find out what had happened here. i do not expect number 10 to produce any further evidence. we know gavin williamson

did speak to a telegraph journalist after the meeting. mr william williamson insists it was not discussed of the meeting but i do not think number 10 will feed the story a ny not think number 10 will feed the story any more with evidence they say they have and which is emphatic and compelling against gavin williamson. they consider this now to bea williamson. they consider this now to be a closed issue. thank you very much. the uk should lead the world away from dangerous climate change, by cutting greenhouse gases to virtually zero by 2050, according to a new report. the committee on climate change, which is the government's official adviser, says that, if other countries follow suit, the world stands a 50—50 chance of keeping the global temperature increase below 1.5 degrees. the report also lists a number of things you can do to reduce emissions. when heating your home, it suggests turning the thermostat down to 19 degrees in winter.

when travelling, it says we must fly less and britain must ban all but electric cars by 2030 — ten years earlier than the current plan. and we should all eat less meat, which can reduce our dietry emissions by 35%. but individual choices won't be enough, the report says. only huge changes to government policy and tens of billions in investment can save the planet. our environment and energy analyst, roger harribin, has this report. when britain sparked the industrial revolution, we didn't know that burning coal, oil and gas would produce emissions that would overheat the climate. now, a clean industrial revolution is under way and advisers say that, by 2050, the uk should add no more heating gases. this target, with lots of renewable energy, is called net zero. in setting a target, a net—zero target, here in the uk, we are sending a strong signal to other countries around the world,

and especially the developed countries, that they need to do the same thing. it means industry will have to curb emissions much more quickly. power plants like this one in yorkshire will lead the way. then farming — burping cows are heating the climate. we need to eat less red meat and turn some farmland to forest, the report says. housing must be net—zero emissions, too. this innovative solution may offer some help. it is quick and cheap to erect, and look at this. the insulation on it is absolutely massive. existing homes will also need to be made much warmer. for the first time, flying and shipping should be included in the targets, the committee says. protesters will say the report doesn't go far enough. others will think it goes too far.

the committee insist their targets are realistic and essential to protect the climate. and roger harrabin isjoining me now. your report began talking about the industrial revolution and chatting a few minutes ago, you are saying reflecting on all of this, where we are now, the uk, it is extraordinary, compared to the time of the industrial revolution. extraordinary, compared to the time of the industrial revolutionm extraordinary, compared to the time of the industrial revolution. it is absolutely amazing. when we started the industrial revolution, we had no idea we would create climate change in the way we have. all of our wealth in the uk and globally has been based on burning fossilfuels, the basis of our entire economy. to have a report like the saying that within a relatively short amount of time we can stop all emissions from fossil fuels completely, except those which we compensate for by growing forests, we can stop them all completely, that really is a

remarkable step. i think if you were a historian in a hundred years from now, you look back and think, what is the lead story? what is the really important thing? this is far more significant than the resignation of a cabinet minister, for instance. the committee on climate change, the government because my official adviser, says if the uk follow suit and the uk does this as well, and other countries followed suit, the world stands a 50-50 followed suit, the world stands a 50—50 chance of keeping global temperature increase below 1.5 degrees, that is what is driving this, explain for us why the 1.5 degrees target is so significant. 0k, degrees target is so significant. ok, our problem is, we do not know for certain how much we can heat the atmosphere without creating runaway effects. we may have already overheated the atmosphere too much already. we cannot be sure. 1.5 celsius rise, we currently have one celsius rise, we currently have one celsius rise, we currently have one

celsius rise, another 0.5 degrees, it isa celsius rise, another 0.5 degrees, it is a threshold above which we advisedly would not go without triggering potentially irreversible effects, the loss of all coral reefs, for instance. it is the uk because my aim that it should do its bit to stick within that 1.5 celsius range, but crucially, two questions, are we going to do it? is the 1.5 celsius range enough estimate should we be cutting it even more? —— is the1.5 we be cutting it even more? —— is the 1.5 celsius range enough? is the government on track to do it as things stand ? potentially government on track to do it as things stand? potentially many governments between now and the date of 2050, is the government as things stand on track to do that? are the targets different for england, wales, scotland, northern ireland? starting with that one, northern ireland will follow england because of the political chaos there. scotla nd of the political chaos there. scotland will have to achieve its target somewhat earlier and wail somewhat later, largely because of

the amount of livestock in the welsh economy “— the amount of livestock in the welsh economy —— and wales somewhat later. realistic or not, we have big challenges, one is finance. the treasury at the moment is being asked by the department for transport if it will help people fit the bill for putting charging points in their homes. so they can charge electric cars —— foot the bill. the treasury sa no. this report suggest there will be many things the treasury will need to help and the truth is, this will not happen, we will not achieve this target unless climate change is brought back to the heart of government into downing street, not just left with the heart of government into downing street, notjust left with other departments. even then, even with the political will, there are other issues. is there going to be enough cobalt full batteries to go into electric cars? we are not sure. at least not in the timescale suggested. there everyone because mahon has to be insulated really well. people are reluctant to do that, it has be helped by the

treasury, it is a lot of hassle —— every home has to be insulated. are there enough hands to do the job? very difficult to get people to do building work at the moment anyway. is there enough for a mass programme at this? very ambitious report but huge challenges ahead. good to talk to you. let us discuss this further. and joining me now from north london is rachel huxley. she's the director of knowledge and learning at environment group c40 — a network of cities around the world taking action against climate change. good to have you with us. you have heard roger i hope talking about the big challenges at the level of national policy, what about at an individual level, what can we all do to reach this target? a huge amount. i think the zero by 2050 will see us

all switch to electric vehicles and move away from private vehicles —— net zero. people walking, cycling, more public transport. we are a network of cities around the world, we are seeing it happen, in copenhagen, over 50% cycling, barcelona, with the super box programme, planning to freer 60% of the city for walking, cycling and green space. we will hear changes in the way we heat our homes and power our homes. so people do not need to wait for government, we can switch to green electricity sooner. but net zero will mean our homes would be powered by renewable energy and clea n powered by renewable energy and clean low carbon energy. in terms of our diet, eating less meat two and less dairy has a huge beneficial impact. food is responsible for around 30% of greenhouse gases. switching to seasonal local diet with more vegetables and fruit, it is not just healthier with more vegetables and fruit, it is notjust healthierfor with more vegetables and fruit, it is notjust healthier for the with more vegetables and fruit, it is notjust healthierfor the planet

but much healthierfor is notjust healthierfor the planet but much healthier for us. he mentioned a couple of cities, copenhagen and barcelona, already doing very well —— you mentioned. is there anything in those countries, denmark and spain, that is being done at a governmental level different from the uk approach?m copenhagen, the danish government have supported wind power, renewables, very positively. they have set a target for net zero by 2050, considering it at the moment. they have got much higher taxes on cars, for example. we are seeing national policy supporting better action in our cities and certainly cities cannot do this alone. they are taking great strides, we do need national government to support particularly on things like energy policy which is largely out of the hands of our cities. what do you make of the target of 2050 to cut

emissions entirely? is it achievable? can it be achieved sooner achievable? can it be achieved sooner perhaps? it is definitely achievable, the technologies exist today in terms of electrifying the way we travel and electrifying and powering our homes through clean energy. absolutely achievable. we fully support the paris agreement aspiration of 1.5 degrees for all the reasons we just heard about earlier, it is a climate emergency, we really have to act now. we would see the country like the uk with the capability and responsibility should potentially consider net zero sooner than 2050. not only will... would you put a date on that? 2045 would be great, to at least aim for, and as we see the prices of technology dropped in response to such ambitious action, the market responds really quickly, and then we would want to review that target and see if it could be brought forward

even further. it helps the uk set out its stall as a global leader and it is great for us in terms of developing business solutions that can be exported as well. it really helps add ambition and momentum to international discussions on climate change. we need to be peaking our emissions now, we need to be halving them by 2030. as well as discussing what we will do in 2050, one of the things we need to constantly remind ourselves of as we have to act right now in order to have any chance of achieving the targets we want by 2050 and keeping a safe future. good to talk to you. rachel from the environment group c40. a teenage boy has been stabbed to death in east london. the boy, who police believe was 15, was found injured in hackney last night. he died at the scene, making him the 29th person to be stabbed to death in london since the start of this year.

plans to make it harder to prosecute police drivers involved in crashes have been confirmed by the government. the home office says officers should have greater confidence when pursuing gangs on mopeds. the new rules would take into account the training police drivers receive, rather than subjecting them to the same scrutiny as members of the public. voting is taking place for english local elections today, with polling stations open from 7am this morning until 10pm this evening. there will also be elections for six directly—elected mayors and for ii northern ireland council areas. will batchelor reports. from bin collections to housing, school admissions to road repairs, councils run a huge range of services, depending on their size and shape. local elections take place in four—year cycles and, today, voters in 248 english councils will go to the polls. there are almost 8,500 seats up for grabs. the vast majority were last contested in 2015 and the conservatives are defending

the largest number of seats. most of england's district councils are going to the polls. 30 of the larger unitary authorities such as bedford, stoke—on—trent and york are electing all of their councillors, while a smaller number are choosing a third. most of england's 36 metropolitan borough councils, including cities such as manchester, liverpool and newcastle, are also electing a third of their councillors. five local authorities and the new north of tyneside combined authority will hold contests for six directly—elected mayors. the first results are expected in the early hours of tomorrow morning. the us attorney general, william barr, has said he will not testify before a senior committee of the house of representatives. it follows tough questioning from senators about his decision to clear president trump of obstruction ofjustice.

mr barr dismissed accusations that he'd downplayed the conclusions of robert mueller‘s report into alleged russian interference in the 2016 election. here's our washington correspondent, chris buckler. the us attorney general knew as he made his way into this congressional hearing that he was walking into a battle. having now seen most of robert mueller‘s report into claims of collusion involving the trump campaign and allegations that the president tried to obstruct justice, democrats have been very publicly questioning bill barr's own finding that donald trump did nothing wrong. you, in effect, exonerated or cleared the president. no, i didn't exonerate. i said that we did not believe that there was sufficient evidence to establish an obstruction. but time and time again, during heated exchanges, democrats accused mr barr of acting less like america's top lawyer and more like donald trump's. but now we know more about your deep involvement in trying to cover

up for donald trump. being attorney general of the united states is a sacred trust. you have betrayed that trust. america deserves better. you should resign. and with comments like that, the anger of democrats was met by the fury of republicans. you slandered this man from top to bottom, so if you want more of this, you're not going to get it. but it's now clear that robert mueller, the man who wrote the report, wasn't happy with how his conclusions were presented. in a letter to the department ofjustice, he said mr barr's summary did not fully capture the context, nature and substance of the special council's work and findings. democrats still have unanswered questions. he is terrified. he is terrified of having to face a skilled attorney. and i can understand,

given how dishonest he has been. democrats have already issued a subpoena for the full unredacted report. now they are threatening another one to try to force bill barr to testify and they still want to hear from robert mueller himself, the man who actually examined the actions of the president. chris buckler, bbc news, washington. indian officials have ordered the evacuation of coastal areas as cyclone fani bears down on the country's eastern coast. the storm is currently above the bay of bengal with winds in excess of 200kph. fani is expected to make landfall on friday and head towards neighbouring bangladesh, bringing heavy rainfall. a small ink sketch of a bearded man has been identified as one of only two known portraits of leonardo da vinci. it's thought to have been drawn by an assistant not long before the artist's death exactly 500 years ago. the sketch is part of the queen's art collection held at windsor castle. it's due to go on display in london later this month.

in a moment, the weather. but first, let's here's victoria derbyshire with what she's got coming up in her programme. an official peso at the london marathon has told the programme she and some of her fellow runners were treated horrifically, including being called fat and slow by contractors clearing up around them and being sprayed by chemicals in the clean—up operation.|j and being sprayed by chemicals in the clean-up operation. i don't know if you can see, sweep up behind me. lam undera if you can see, sweep up behind me. i am under a 17 minute pace and he is throwing detergent all over me. this is our london marathon. we will talk to her after turning on. we will see victoria at 10am. —— after 10am. beautiful picture of belfast this morning telling us the story of the weather, fair bit of cloud this

morning and some showers. others will also see sunshine. first thing this morning, we have scattered showers as temperatures rise further showers as temperatures rise further showers will develop almost anywhere, more likely to catch a shower anywhere than yesterday and some will be heavy and thundery. the weather front is moving south across scotla nd weather front is moving south across scotland dragging in cooler air behind it. for the rest of the uk, still in double figures. this evening and overnight, where the front sinks across england and wales taking cloud and showery rain with it -- taking cloud and showery rain with it —— weather front. wintry showers coming in behind across northern scotla nd coming in behind across northern scotland as temperatures fall behind the weather front but hold up ahead of it. that is the story tomorrow. the showers across england and wales. ahead of those, cloudy with some sunny spells. my own. behind it, wintry showers in scotland, mostly it, wintry showers in scotland, m ostly o n it, wintry showers in scotland, mostly on the hills, mostly at lower levels —— mild.

hello, this is bbc news. the headlines. the former defence secretary, gavin williamson, stresses his innocence, after he was sacked over a leakfrom a national security council meeting. mr williamson was blamed by the prime minister for revealing discussions about the chinese company, huawei. the former cabinet secretary says theresa may has used herjudgement.

yelling that it is a matter for the prime minister to decide, does she wa nt prime minister to decide, does she want this person in her political tea m want this person in her political team when faced with this evidence and she has decided she can do without him. a report commissioned by the government says the uk should become a world leader in tackling climate change by cutting greenhouse gases to almost zero by 2050. the us attorney general refuses to testify before a second congressional committee, about his handling of the mueller report. fighting is taking place for english local elections today with polling stations open from 7am until 10pm. new photographs of princess charlotte — taken by her mother — have been released to mark herfourth birthday. have been released voting is taking place for english —— voting is taking place for english local elections.

time now for the morning briefing, where we bring you up to speed on the stories people are watching, reading and sharing. they'd been close political allies for years, but yesterday, theresa may made the shock announcement that she'd lost confidence in her defence secretary. we arejust going we are just going to head to toe hah where sebastien coe is speaking about the caster semenya case. —— we are going to doha. athletics has two classifications. it has age and gender. we are fiercely protective about base and i'm really grateful that the court of arbitration has upheld that principle. cas raised issues about the evidence provided for the 1500 metres and the

one mile, would you delay the implementation as regards to those particular events? no. what about those that say that we don't have any rules. don't elite athletes had special gifts? i understand the interest in that but we will try to keep it a little bit to the hero now if is possible. any more from the floor? i don't mind. you go first. one question,

not on the cas decision, the new format for the diamond league,. lord sebastian coe speaking in doha at the iaaf athletics governing body news conference about the case of the south african athlete caster semenya, who had challenged new iaaf rules restricting testosterone levels in female runners. she lost that challenge. the south african athletics federation says it's reeling in shock after she lost the case against the iaaf. the south

african athletics federation saying the decision goes to lengths to justify discrimination in their opinion. sebastien kay is speaking about that in doha. let's return to the morning briefing. we've been talking about the case of gavin williamson, a close political ally to theresa may for years but yesterday she made the shock announcement she yesterday she made the shock announcement she had lost confidence in him. the prime minister sacked gavin williamson, who she suspected had leaked sensitive information from a meeting of the national security council — something he strongly denies. well earlier bbc breakfast spoke to the former head of the british army, lord dannatt. well, i think one has to agree that it's a most unfortunate episode. it's a personal tragedy for gavin williamson. it's actually most upsetting for defence as well. the secretary of state for defence position is a difficult appointment. it takes time for anyone to master

that particular brief. he had just done so and begun to make some good contributions to defence, particularly arguing the toss over resources. he's now gone. i think the only good thing about this is that penny mordaunt has come in. she is a former forces minister, she knows the ministry of defence well, she's a naval reservist. i think she'll do a good job. but this is not a good day for government, not a good day for the prime minister, not a good day for either gavin williamson or for defence. can i ask you, in relation to the official secrets act, is it ok, given the severity of this charge, this allegation which williamson has denied, is it ok to leave it with downing street saying we consider the matter closed and gavin williamson saying i didn't do it? can we leave it like that? is that acceptable, given how important this is to the way government works? well, clearly from gavin williamson's point of view, and i was in touch with him last night because i've had a lot to do

with him over the last 18 months, he is protesting his innocence. i think, in a sense, he has a right for that protestation to be tested. the only way that can be tested, i think, is through a police enquiry. we want to be under no illusions here. this is a very serious matter. the national security council is the nation's most significant committee for dealing with the nation's defence and security. what goes on within the national security council should and must be private within the confines of the meeting meeting room. so, leaking, which is something politicians seem to be fairly frequently, it might be one thing to do it from around the cabinet table, but for someone to do it from the national security council, that's quite a different issue. a very serious issue. and if mr williamson presses for a police enquiry and it comes out the wrong way...

well, he's in a degree of trouble. we're hearing that an urgent question has been granted to tom watson, labour's tom watson, to ask the prime minister if she will make a statement on the findings of this enquiry into the national security committee leak for which gavin williamson has been sacked. we are told that urgent question is at 10:30am. we've been hearing this morning about potential plans to make the uk "carbon neutral" by 2050. but one village is hoping to hit that target much sooner. the people of ashton hayes, near chester, are hoping to become england's first carbon neutral community — and they've been working towards it since 2006. brea kfast‘s graham satchell spent the morning there, and spoke to professor roy alexander. well, we started off encouraging people to make simple, everyday changes to their lifestyle. to think very much about how they used energy, not to waste energy in the house. not to leave things on standby,

to turn lights off in our news trends, and also to think about what they wasted. not to throw away anything they didn't have to throw away. and those changes built up over time and gave us a 20% reduction in carbon footprint domestically in the first 12 months. what about other lifestyle changes, like eating less red meat, taking fewer flights? those things have come along as well. reduction in numbers of flights taken was a message that got across pretty early. one of our biggest changes in the early years. dietary changes have come a long gradually too. not just less red meat but also eating more likely produced goods as well. maybe this is a foolish question, but why do people want to do it? is it a sort of moral crusade? to some extent, yes. yes, indeed. our initial starting point was we don't think things are happening quickly enough. this was back in 2006. we want to get on and do something. we've got a responsibility to our children and grandchildren. we want them to know that we at least tried to do our bit. and the report out today says

that the country needs to make these changes by 2050 to become carbon neutral. what do you think of that? some people are saying it's too far away, some people saying it's too near. what do you think? i think it is too far away. we were lobbying in the early stages when the climate change act was passed. initially, they want to just a 60% reduction, then we got it up to 80%. now it's going for net zero, it's still too far away. our aim has always been to move earlier. trending on twitter this morning are the new photos of princess charlotte that have been released to mark her fourth birthday. the pictures were taken by her mother, the duchess of cambridge, at both kensington palace, and the family's anmer hall residence in norfolk. very happy to her. —— a happy birthday to her.

the makers of the board game scrabble, have released a list of new words, which are now officially recognised. they include "bae", which means a sweetheart or lover, and will score you five points. "fatberg", which will score 13 points, is a huge mass of fat and waste products which builds up in sewers. and if you're about to win the match you may wish to celebrate with the word "yowza", which is an an expression of enthusiasm or excitement. and it's worth a whopping 20 points. our director is saying you can tweet in your outrage about the inclusion of that particular word. please do if you have any strong opinions on that! let's have a look at the front pages of some of this morning's papers. unsuprisingly, most are leading on gavin williamson being sacked as defence secretary after a cabinet inquiry blamed him for revealing details about the chinese tech giant huawei to a newspaper. the guardian says theresa may summoned williamson after receiving the "compelling" evidence, and when he refused to resign, she sacked him. the daily telegraph focusses on williamson protesting his innocence. it says he claims he's the victim of a "stitch—up". and the times says williamson is the first cabinet minister to get sacked for leaking

in more than 30 years. it writes that mrs may said had no choice but to fire him and restore confidence in the national security council. let's have a look at what you're reading and watching on the bbc news app. the most red is a story about the london marathon, and a woman called liz ayres who was a pa cesetter says that called liz ayres who was a pacesetter says that runners who we re pacesetter says that runners who were running it in a slower time we re were running it in a slower time were called open —— were called fat and slow by some contractors and marshalls. she's complained about this, she says as early as the three hour mark, cleaning operations were beginning, runners were being sprayed with chemical sprays to clea n sprayed with chemical sprays to clean the rates after the main body of runners had gone through. london marathon event director said he was

very sorry to hear about her experience. he said a small number of others experienced it too and he's investigating all of this. you are going to hear more about the story on the victoria derbyshire show, it's number one in our most red. this is from the us. irresponsible dog owners who aren't picking up their pet's poo are being traced from dna samples. that's a good idea. at numberfour, this is a story about the london gay men's chorus gathering outside the admiral duncan pub in soho and performing to remember the victims of the nail bomb attack there on the 30th of april 1999 in which three people we re april 1999 in which three people were killed and 79 were injured. the game then's chorus performing

outside the admiral duncan. that is the most watched. that's it for today's morning briefing. sport now — and a full round up, from the bbc sport centre. good morning. liverpool were looking good, they had chances to score an away goal and matched barcelona, for three quarters of their champions league semifinal — until seven minutes of messi magic effectively took the tie away from yurgen klopps side, with barcelona 3—0, first leg winners, andy swiss was watching. the nou camp is famed as a footballing fortress, a wall of sound and colour. and, led by the magical lionel messi, it was to be ba rcelona's night. they soon struck — thanks to a liverpool old boy, no less, luis suarez ghosting in to help his former club. you feel he mightjust have enjoyed that one. ——no less, luis suarez ghosting in to haunt his former club. the barcelona lead should have been short—lived,

sadio mane with a glorious chance at the break. barcelona tightened their grip, and itjust had to be messi. first, after suarez had hit the bar he mopped up one of the simplest goals of his career. but that was just a taster for his big moment — a free—kick, and something very special. his 600th goal for barcelona, in breathtaking style. liverpool had their chances, mo salah hitting the post, but that summed up their night. a chastening one for them, a stunning one for barcelona. after that lionel messi masterclass, fair to say liverpool now have a mountain to climb in the second leg at anfield next week. yes, they are no strangers to dramatic comebacks, but they are going to need something quite extraordinary to keep their champions league hopes alive. messi dominates the back pages of this morning's newspapers. the guardian say he's from another

planet after his 600th goalfor barcelona. the mirror call him a genius whilst the telegraph call him a maestro. and there's more european football tonight. there's live commentary of arsenal's europa league semifinal againsrt valencia on bbc radio 5 live from seven o'clock tonight. there will also be updates from chelsea trip to eintracht frankfurt. caster semenya says she will "rise above" her defeat in a landmark case against the governing body of athletics. here she is arriving in qatar ahead of the first diamond league meeting of the season in doha tomorrow. the court of arbitration for sport dismissed her challenge against the iaaf‘s new rules which restrict testosterone levels in female runners. in the last few minutes iaaf president sebastian coe has given his response to the ruling.

i think this is pretty straightforward, and it's very straightforward, and it's very straightforward for any international federation straightforward for any internationalfederation in straightforward for any international federation in sport. athletics has two classifications. it has age and gender. we are fiercely protective about both. i'm really grateful the court of arbitration has upheld that principle. cycling's tour of yorkshire gets under way in doncaster today, and britain's most succesful cycling team — team sky — will be riding for the first time under their new name: team ineos. the team is now owned by britain's wealthiest man — sirjim ratcliffe — who says he'll withdraw his backing if the team are caught cheating or doping. despite the team's unrivalled success, they have faced several controversies and allegations of cheating. we looked at all of that. we talked about it, we talked to dave about it, we did our due diligence. i — i mean, for the record, i have absolutely no interest in cheating or drugs or anything like that. you know, the day that any of that enters our world, we'll be exiting that world. what's the point in winning a race if you cheat?

i mean, there's no point in it, really. also, i believe that if you've got the best athletes in the world, with the best training regimes, you know, you don't need any of those enhancements. one of horse racing's most succesful jockey‘s, ruby walsh, has announced his retirement from the sport. the 39—year—old has ridden 2,500 winners, in a 24—year career — and he went out in style. riding joint favourite kemboy to victory in the punchestown gold cup yesterday. he says "there comes a time when you just want to do something else". judd trump is the firm favourite to win snooker‘s world championships in sheffield, and he remains on course after making short work of his quarterfinal. he comfortably beat stephen maguire by 13 frames to 6, and will now play qualifier gary wilson — and former taxi driver — in the semifinals. the four—time championjohn higgins is also though to the last four — and he got quite a few people on social media worried during his quarterfinal win over neil robertson. there he is at the back of the shot.

some on twitter suggested he'd been taken out by some kind of silent assassin. fear not, he was just watching the telly. it is right above, up there at the top of the building so it doesn't get in the way of spectators. before we go, don't forget sportsday. all the day's sports news on the bbc news channel from 6:30 tonight. that's all the sport for now. more from the bbc sport centre at 11:15. the policing watchdog has found that burglaries, car crime and assaults are being investigated by under—qualified and inexperienced officers. the inspectorate of constabulary, which examined a representative group of 14 police forces in england and wales, also warned reduced funding was undermining effforts to tackle police corruption. the home office says it's committed to making sure police have the resources they need, but that forces must make improvements.

the inquests into the 2017 london bridge terror attack begin next week — and are a painful reminder of the trauma for those caught up in the events. two women who survived separate attacks are now working with the police, to improve mental health support for victims. they've been speaking for the first time to our home affairs correspondent danny shaw. we walked away from situations that could have killed us. hugely affected us much more, but i think the psychological effects are definitely something we share. they have become friends through adversity. two women who survived separate terror attacks in london reliving their experiences on camera for the first time. sirens and screaming. injune 2017, eight people died in van and knife attacks near london bridge. natalie tait was eating

out with a friend. the whole market just went into chaos. screaming. we heard gunshots, very quick, um, very, very loud gunshots and with that the chap from the restaurant said, "come in, come in" and we basically locked down in the restaurant. the fear was incredible. i was convinced that i was going to die on that evening and i did not know how it would happen, i did not know when it would happen but i...it is the only time in my life that i felt that i was going to die and... ..that fear takes over your whole body. the explosion, the noise, i knew instinctively that it was some sort of bomb that went off. joanette fourie was on a train at parsons green station when a device, packed with nails and knives, partially exploded. knowing what to do.

so i knew i had to get off and call 999, i had to make my way out. joanette knew what to do because she had training. police are encouraging others to do the same, to help them cope if there is an attack. some of the victims and survivors of terrorist attacks that i've worked with and spoken to over the last year or so, they've told me, where they have had a bit of training, and they have been able to give a bit of thought to the situation they've been caught up in, they've been able to respond differently. either to protect themselves better or, as importantly, protect others. the bombings in sri lanka brought back painful memories forjoanette and natalie but their experiences have made them stronger. it is a reminder that things can happen and you are not always 100% safe, even when you might assume that you are. but equally, i will not continue to be troubled because they're not having that.

they will not win by affecting the rest of my life. danny shaw, bbc news. facebook is being used by traffickers to buy and sell looted antiquities, the bbc has learned. private groups also discuss how to illegally excavate ancient tombs, despite a police clamp—down and the retreat of the islamic state group. caroline hawley has this special investigation. we are in istanbul with a syrian archaeologist on a secret and sensitive mission. i know this work is dangerous and difficult. i work with people, they are like a network or the mafia. he fled syria when islamic state took over his city. now he's going to meet someone offering to sell looted syrian a rtefa cts , offering to sell looted syrian artefacts, and illegal trade we've been monitoring. they took us to a

small house. he was offered the small house. he was offered the small religious book which he was told was 1000 years old from southern syria. it's tiny. another seller has approached him with photographs. what is it? gold. he works for a syrian charity that covertly tracks and documents the damage being done. millions of pounds worth of looted a rtefa cts millions of pounds worth of looted artefacts have millions of pounds worth of looted a rtefa cts have crossed millions of pounds worth of looted artefacts have crossed into turkey despite a recent police clamp—down. but this lucrative business is now being done somewhere else as well. the user offering them for sale is based in northern syria... this man shows me how networks of looters are

using facebook as a marketplace. what we've seen is an explosion of sites and users. facebook is essentially allowing this to happen. we've seen hundreds of items for sale from around the middle east. many are fake but some are genuine and very valuable. these are mosaics still in syria being offered. people exchange tips on how to delete sites. facebook says people should report anything that breaks their community standards. coordinating illegal activity isn't allowed on facebook and we have removed 49 groups where there was evidence of this taking place. but we know of dozens this taking place. but we know of d oze ns of this taking place. but we know of dozens of groups that are still active. what is going on in syria is dreadful. it's heartbreaking. every site that is damaged is damaged for ever. experts at the british museum play a key role in monitoring the secretive world of looted art. it's very difficult to do much work in syria until there is peace.

very difficult to do much work in syria untilthere is peace. back in istanbul, he's been sent new images of antiquities for sale. including this. a mosaic from northern syria of enormous value. it's amazing. is it real? he is appalled at the dismantling of his heritage. he knows it's going to be a long battle against a crime that reaches across borders. criminals emboldened by growing online demand. caroline hawley, bbc news, istanbul. doctors in the united states have, for the first time, used a drone to fly a human organ for a transplant.

it's hoped the breakthrough will speed up the moving of organs and save more lives. the university of maryland spent three years developing the drone and fitted it with specialist equipment to monitor the organ, such as devices to measure temperature. although it was a short journey — just 5km — the team behind it said the distance was just a starting point. doctors say the recipient of the kidney, trina glispy, is doing well following the operation. how's this for a bird's eye view of the traffic? this seagull is one of a pair, nicknamed graeme and steve, which have started perching on a transport for london traffic cam, overlooking a road near the blackwall tunnel. fittingly, that's close to canary wharf. now it's time for a look at the weather with simon king. hello. we've got a bit of sunshine out there this morning but there are some changes in the weather over the next 24 hours. we will start to see that change in northern scotland, turning colder. some sunshine at the

moment is in london currently. sunny spells across a good part of eastern england but showers at the moment in north west wales, north—west england and the east of scotland. becoming more widespread throughout the afternoon, then turning heavy. perhaps thundery in places. there will be brighter skies in between and the south west england and later on this afternoon in wales and north—west england and northern ireland, it will be drier. a rash of showers in north—east england and up into scotland. only eight or 9 degrees in scotland, that's a sign of the colder air moving in. three tonight, still a few showers, more so tonight, still a few showers, more so in tonight, still a few showers, more soina tonight, still a few showers, more so in a band of clouds and showers moving south across northern parts of england. temperatures down to about 6—8. throughout friday, we've got this cold front moving south. you can see a few snow showers going

into scandinavia and we could see snow showers moving into northern scotland. otherwise, showers are pushing into the south. behind it we will have the colder air but ahead of it still a few showers and brighter skies. temperatures 13—15. behind a cold front, temperatures dropping away. for many northern areas, there is temperatures tomorrow afternoon eight or 9 degrees. much lower than it should be for the time of year. into saturday, a cold, northerly wind from the arctic across the uk. that means it's going to be a chilly start to your saturday morning. in fa ct, start to your saturday morning. in fact, some frost around first thing. to compensate, some sunshine and a bright start. some cloud building as the day goes on. some showers affecting eastern parts of england with a brisk northerly wind. elsewhere, sunny spells throughout

saturday. look at those temperatures. not great if you've got outdoor plans over the bank holiday weekend, because there will be more frost going into sunday. largely try with some sunny spells. there's temperatures way below the average for the time of year.

hello, it's thursday, it's 10am, i'm victoria derbyshire. fly less, drive an electric car, eat less red meat and turn down your heating — a new report out today says these are the things we need to do to get carbon emissions down to virtually zero by 2050. by by sending a net zero target in the uk we are sending an incredibly strong signal to other countries that they need to do the same thing. he is from the independent committee on climate change and he says it is the government and big industries who will have to make the most significant changes. the former defence secretary, gavin williamson, sacked