good afternoon. the education secretary, damian hinds, said the european elections would be the ultimate protest vote for some people and admitted it would be difficult for the conservatives. two opinion polls suggest the brexit party has a big lead. its leader, nigel farage, told andrew marr that the political system needed to change and his party should be represented in negotiations for leaving the eu. jessica parker reports.

the sun is shining as theresa may left church this morning, but the prime minister knows there are plenty of political storm clouds about. as the european elections approach, this conservative said the party has a challenging contest. they will be difficult elections for us, that have been here. for some this is the ultimate protest vote and turn outs s tepd to be low as —— tend to be low and people use it as a free vote. this is in a sense for some people the second referendum. cross party talks with labour in search of a brexit deal have been going on for weeks and this path will be walked along again tomorrow as discussions resume. the government's eager to see its effo rts government's eager to see its efforts bloom, warning brexit may not be delivered at all. does labour think a compromise can come? what we are trying to do is say, we want a

brexit deal along a permanent customs union basis, something that secures rights for workers and environmental protections and a single market relationship. that is what we have been negotiating. but not getting very far. if we can't get that and we have a tory deal that we don't believe is in the interests of the country or no deal, which is not in the interests of country, then we would support a referendum. a couple of favourable polls for nigel farage and he said he is confident of his cause. you can accept from the point of view of the referendum n2016, there is no mandate for a no deal brexit. the referendum n2016, there is no mandate for a no deal brexitli couldn't disagree more. we voted to leave. the labour and conservatives said they would honour the result

and here we are nearly three years on, brexit has not been delivered and given this government and this parliament, there is no prospect of these parties delivering a clean break brexit. what of party s who wa nt break brexit. what of party s who want a further referendum, whatever happens, like the greens and the liberal democrat and the snp? a former labour prime minister says he will stick with his tribe, but urged other to opt above all for any proremain party. if we tumble out of eu witha proremain party. if we tumble out of eu with a no deal brexit of the sort nigel farage and borisjohnson want, you are going to get a silent revolution as well. there are going to be people who are going to feel so to be people who are going to feel so strongly about this and i say this to both parties, they will sweep them away. so the battle lines are being drawn, but these elections are being drawn, but these elections are unlike anything we have seen before. it's crunch time for the premier league's two top sides

as manchester city and liverpool battle to take the title. the reds are hoping a win against wolves will snatch it but it'll be all over for them if city win against brighton this afternoon. in a moment, we'll speak to our sports editor dan roan at anfield but first to our sports correspondent natalie pirks at brighton's amex stadium. well a beautiful day for a title—decider and after an extraordinary week for english football, surely there can't be another twist. both liverpool and city have been relentless in their pursuit of the title. the gap between liverpool and chelsea in third is 20 points. the gap that matters is the one between liverpool and city. the lead has changed hands 32 times, with city winning their last 13 games, they know if they

beat brighton, they will be the first premier league side in a decade to win back—to—back titles and they're going for a domestic treble. the last time the league came down to the final day was five yea rs came down to the final day was five years ago and it again involved liverpool and city. pep guardiola said he won't pay any mind to what is happening at anfield. but dan will. are fans coming in hope more than expectation? yes, but you know after that incredible ability to reach the champions league final against barcelona here at anfield, liverpool fans will feel that now almost anything is possible. having said that, they are realistic and know unless brighton do them a huge favour, then that long 29—year wait for the title to return to anfield will probably continue. i think despite that, this frustration they will no doubt feel and it will be frustration, because at one point they were seven points ahead of

city, will be mixed a great deal of pride, of course, liverpool would have loved to have won the title, 30 years after hillsborough that would and could still bring poignancy to the achievement. even if they don't manage it, their fans will the achievement. even if they don't manage it, theirfans willadmire the resilience of the side and the way they have kept pace with manchester city and they realise in almost any other season, the points they have would have been enough. but if it doesn't happen today, the fans at least know they have the consolation prize of being in the champions league time in a couple of -- final in champions league time in a couple of —— final in a couple of weeks time zblchl thank you. let's take a look at some of today's other news. a light aircraft has crash landed on a dual carriageway in south wales. emergency services were called to the scene on the a40 between raglan and abergavenny,

at around 11 o'clock this morning. police says three of the aircraft's occupants were treated by paramedics at the scene. their injuries are not life—threatening. 0rganised crime kills more british people a year than terrorism, war and natural disasters, and more money is needed to tackle it. that's according to the national crime agency, which called it a "chronic and corrosive" threat to the uk. the government says it has invested in the right tools to fight organised crime. police in northallerton are appealing for information after a 15—year—old girl collapsed in the applegarth car park, and later died. it's believed she had taken mdma. detectives are warning anyone who has taken the drug recently to get medical help if they feel unwell. a mexican wrestler who gained internationalfame in a hollywood film has died during a show in london. cesar barron, who is known by his stage name "silver king",

appeared in the film "nacho libre" with jack black in 2005. he was performing in camden when he collapsed in the ring. mexican media are reporting that he suffered a heart attack. the stars of the small screen will gather in london tonight for the top awards in british tv — the baftas. killing eve — which is up for six gongs — will go head—to—head with the bodyguard, for the prize of best drama series. here's our entertainment correspondent, lizo mzimba. are you 0k? killing eve was one of the most talked about shows 2018. it leads the way with six nominations including one for best drama and two in the best actress category for its two leads, sandra oh, who plays an mi5 officer, and jodie comer, who plays a charismatic assassin. there are three nominations for the year's most watched show, bodyguard, including best drama and best actress for keeley hawes.

it's time for me to say hello. ant mcpartlin did not take part in the final episode of saturday night takeaway following his drink—driving arrest and subsequent conviction. he and his co—star dec are nominated for best entertainment performance, however, and the itv show for best entertainment programme where it will be up against the bbc‘s strictly come dancing. do you love him? oh, god. there are also four nominations for a very english scandal, the mini—series about the jeremy thorpe scandal, including a best actor nomination for hugh grant and best actress for ruth wilson who played her own grandmother in the drama mrs wilson. and this year, the highest accolade, the bafta fellowship, goes to the journalist and broadcaster joan ba kewell, recognising her huge contribution to tv. you can see more on all of today's stories on the bbc news channel.

the next news on bbc one is at 5.30. bye for now. hello. you're watching the bbc news channel with ben brown. president rouhani of iran has warned his country that it is facing difficult times ahead because of renewed us sanctions. addressing a meeting of political actvists, he said iran could be facing even greater economic problems than in the 1980s when it was subject to international trade restrictions during the war with iraq. andy beatt reports. american military might en route to the gulf. warships, bombers and missiles intended to send a clear message to tehran. but it's notjust about fire power.

tough new us sanctions are raising temperatures further. iran's president is feeling the heat. his rallying cry comes amid growing anger at a slump in the economy caused by sanctions and sustained pressure from washington over the country's nuclear programme. translation: we are here today to defend our right to nuclear technology. this is a right of all nations and the islamic republic has used this right, but they have intensified sanctions and made life very hard for the iranian people.

protesters here back president rouhani's recent threat to restart nuclear activities, but that risks killing the landmark nuclear deal that america pulled out of a year ago, a decision robustly defended on saturday by the us secretary of state. we struck a terrible agreement with the islamic republic of iran to put the regime's campaigns of terrorism and proxy wars on steroids. as its military build—up continues, the pentagon claims iran was preparing to stage attacks against us forces or interests. that is dismissed as fake intelligence by tehran. it says whatever the pressure it will not be intimidated by psychological warfare. more than a0 states in the us have filed a lawsuit against 20 pharmaceutical companies. they are accusing them of price—fixing and conspiring to reduce competition.

this follows a five—year investigation into why prices have sometimes suddenly increased and in some cases by over 1000%. 0ur washington correspondent chris buckler explained more. according to that investigation, at times they seem to be doubling, tripling or rising by more than 1000%, sometimes with no explanation whatsoever. that is why the states have been looking into this and have brought the lawsuit. they are suggesting 20 of these companies, along with 15 individuals, have been involved in some kind of conspiracy, essentially to try and manipulate and inflate prices and also to try and restrict competition. these are extremely serious charges. they say they want to bring this suit to try to force change, but also to claim damages and ensure drug prices remain lower. there are 20 companies and 15 individuals and there has not been a response from all of them,

but it seems that the majority of them, if not all, will fight this suit. if you listen to any politicians here, including president trump, they say time and time again americans are paying more than people in other parts of the world for their medications and they cannot understand the reason for that. it is one of the rare issues in the us at the moment that unites republicans and democrats and they both want something done about it although they can't agree what that should be. so far we have not had any proposals for legislation that would address this issue properly. i suspect it will be talked about a lot leading up to the 2020 presidential campaign. at least three gay rights campaigners have been detained at a march in the cuban capital, havana. it's after the island's annual gay pride event was cancelled without a clear explanation by the authorities. the state announced the usual march would not be held, citing "foreign interference".

it prompted a number of activists to organise another march via social media, in direct conflict with the government. from havana, our cuba correspondent, will grant, reports. havana's gay pride is normally much bigger than this, an annual celebration of the island's gay and lesbian community, and their decades—long struggle to be recognised. but this was an improvised event, with word spread by social media, after the cuban government cancelled this year's march at the last minute. this particular gay pride march might not look very big, but what it represents is really quite significant in cuba. after being told they weren't allowed to hold the march, many have simply turned up anyway. the organisers said they had always wanted to hold their normal event, and only decided to put this one together instead as they were never given a coherent reason for the cancellation. translation: they obliged us to hold this event. we had every intention

of participating in the government—organised event, the usual gay pride march. but what we still don't understand is why the march was cancelled. we know the excuses they have given us are not the reasons, because they lack any real foundation. in essence, the decision to go ahead with a smaller march, in defiance of the authorities, put the participants in conflict with the government—approved gay rights body, cenesex, and its head, mariela castro, seen here at a gay pride march a few years ago, the daughter of the former president raul castro and the niece of fidel. once the improvised march began, the event was held in a festival atmosphere, walking down one of the main boulevards of old havana. however, at their destination, the marchers came up against a large number of police and state security. at least three people were arrested, some of them violently detained. the image of peaceful gay

and lesbian marchers being dragged away was exactly the kind of scene in which the island's lgbtq community hoped was finally behind them. gay pride has been held in havana peacefully in previous years, this and the fact that this one ended in some confrontation is a reflection of the fact that the authorities aim to control anything that hasn't been government sanctioned. however, the organisers say the entire situation could have been avoided if they had been allowed to hold their original march in the first place. the stars of the small screen will gather this evening for the bafta tv awards in london. the bbc‘s killing eve is leading the way with six nominations. the ceremony, hosted by graham norton, will be shown tonight on bbc one. earlier i spoke to scott bryan, tv critic and co—host of bbc‘s must watch podcast and started by asking him about the contenders for this yea r‘s best actress.

the actual show itself was not eligible to start off with but they have had to bend the rules to allow it because killing eve was originally made in the us and the rules state that the show has to be aired in the uk first. it has been the most critically acclaimed show of last year. it has got some of the greatest actors in it. it would have been mad if they did not include it. to see it have six nominations is a good thing. best actress is the key category, a lot of competition. i would not be able to say who i would be able to go for because you have sandra oh in that category and eve in that category. jodie comer. the name just eluded me for a second! i was like, "oh, she's going to assassinate me!" then you've got ruth wilson also. it is really exciting. and keeley hawes for bodyguard.

we are not going to be able to say which one is coming through. such a competitive field. bodyguard got huge ratings, very popular, not as well critically received as something like killing eve. yes. with bodyguard the fact it was such an unexpected success, i think even the bbc have been surprised at how big a hit it was, and maybe the fact that the last episode of the series caused quite a large division in terms of how well people think it actually went and that left people to think was it really as good as everyone was thinking it was? i still highly recommend it. it is the fact that keeley hawes is the best thing on it, to see her nominated is fantastic. it will be interesting to see whether a show will be able to have that high regard in years to come when it is more of an event tv. you are having to be there all watching it at the same collective moment.

some people might be confused why shows like line of duty or fleabag, huge successes, are not nominated. that is because of the dates. it is baffling, like the film awards, there is a cut—off date. with the film awards it's a lot sooner but with the tv awards these are last year's shows and would have had to have aired mostly last year, and the awards ceremony is in may so when you are going through nominations there are fantastic nominations — such as the bros documentary and britain's got talent — but you are thinking have i seen these shows? it is quite realistic to have forgotten that some of them have existed. any other highlights? the bros documentary. it would be a great shame for me if that doesn't win. that was hilarious. yeah, a brilliant thing, a little christmas treat. another surprise hit. yes, very much a surprise hit. bbc four have been saying they always knew it was going to do

well but i think it surprised them as well. graham norton hosting. yes. the first time he has been able to do it in three years. normally he is needed abroad for eurovision presenting duties but he is back in the uk this time. the headlines on bbc news: the sacked defence secretary gavin williamson warns the prime minister it would be a grave mistake to compromise with labour over brexit. as america flexes its military might and renews sanctions against iran, its president issues a stark warning about difficult times ahead to his country. a light aircraft has crash landed on the a40 between raglan and abergavenny in south wales. police says three of the aircraft's occupants were treated by paramedics at the scene. their injuries are not life—threatening. sport and for a full round up from the bbc sport centre,

here's jane dougall. a look ahead to the climax of the premier league title race, the moment of truth is getting closer. the title race will be decided today between manchester city and liverpool who've been vying for top spot all season. with just one point between them, liverpool host wolves at anfield while manchester city travel to brighton where our sports correspondent natalie pirks is. natalie — cityjust have to win against brighton and it's job done? yes, job done, and they know they are coming against a side who have made themselves safe from relegation. city have won their last i3 league matches in a row. brighton fa ns i3 league matches in a row. brighton fans have been mentioning while i have been standing here we are not going to be a pushover. they helped arsenal to a 1—1 draw and some themes are dangerous when they have nothing to play for. no pressure for

brighton. they could be the kings players. most liverpool fans are going to anfield then hope rather than expectation. they were seven points clear at one point and now they are one point behind. the interesting thing about the premier league this season is just how consistent both those sites have been. they have been relentless. the lead changing hands 32 times. the gap between the pacesetters and the rest has been massive. it has been an interesting season. today we will find out if we are going to have that aguero moment from 2012. after the week we have had, could we have another twist? both teams have matched each other. do you feel this has been one of the most exciting title races you have known?|j has been one of the most exciting title races you have known? i think so. title races you have known? i think so. the outgoing chief executive of

the premier league said the same. i do not thinkjust in terms of the top two. up until last weekend we had the race for fourth and did top two. up until last weekend we had the race forfourth and did not seem like anyone wanted to have a champions league spot. we had that interesting race. we had the race for relegation with cardiff sealing the deal. it has been fascinating. look at what wills have achieved. in terms of city, they have been so consistent —— wolves. city could become the first premier league side in history to do the domestic treble with the league cup on the bike and the fa cup still to come. liverpool and city have blown everyone out of the water. it will be interesting to see how liverpool's midweek madness affects them. they claim is not in the bag. i do see both sides winning andi

the bag. i do see both sides winning and i see city winning the title. enjoy the match. 60 minutes gone at ibrox in the old firm match it's still 2—0 to rangers. they went ahead in the second minute with a james tavernier free kick outside the box, and scott arfield hasjust scored their second. celtic have already been confirmed as champions, rangers will finish in second. there's commentary on bbc radio scotland. in the last hour, dundee manager jim mcintyre has left the club after their relegation from the scottish premiership. it comes a day after dundee ended a run of ten consecutive defeats with a 1—0 win away to livingston. and it's half time in the first leg of the league one play—off semi—final between doncaster and charlton — it's 2—0 to charlton, lyle taylor and joe aribo with the goals. there's text commentary on the bbc sport website. it's the final day of the iaaf world relays injapan and great britain's men have won a bronze medal in the ax100m nethaneel mitchell—bla ke anchored

the team, and caught china to secure third place. the british quartet ran a world leading time yesterday, but it was beaten today by the gold medal winners, brazil. gb will be looking to retain their world championship relay title in doha later this year. that's all the sport for now but there's more on the bbc sport website, including build—up to the spanish grand prix — and the website will also have audio commentary — the race starts at ten past two. the annual list of the richest people in britain is out — and it reveals that there's now a record 151 billionaires in the country. together they hold a combined wealth of £525 billion, and london is home to more billionaires than any other city in the world. that's according to the sunday times. john mcmanus reports. if you woke up this morning to find that once again you haven't made it onto the sunday times rich list, well, don't be too envious. the very well—heeled can afford large yachts but life is not all plain sailing

for the captains of industry. one of the most famous names, philip green, fell out with the british establishment over the collapse of his high street chain bhs and harassment claims that he strongly denies. it is notjust his reputation that plummeted. the sunday times says he lost over £1 billion and is now merely a multimillionaire. the top dogs of the list for the third time are the hinduja brothers who made their £22 billion fortune in energy, property and finance. at numberfive is sirjames dyson, under some flak for deciding to move his head office from the uk to singapore. he hoovered up an extra £3 billion bringing him a tidy sum of 12.6 billion. 25—year—old grime artist stormzy is a new entrant to the list. worth 16 million. he uses some of his money to support two scholarships for black students at cambridge. fellow musician ed sheeran has

doubled his net worth which is now £180 million. and if you do find some spare gold bars down the back of the sofa, the equality trust says it is asking the rich list members to support higher taxes on their wealth to solve inequality. time for a look at the weather, chris fawkes. how is the weather for the big football games? it is going to be great for both the matches in liverpool and in brighton, lots of sunshine around across brighton, lots of sunshine around a cross m ost brighton, lots of sunshine around across most of the uk this afternoon. looking out last week, a real contrast because it was a wet week with nearly a month's real contrast because it was a wet week with nearly a months worth of rain in yorkshire. that rain was welcome, and across east anglia,

where the weather has been dry. the farmers would have been pleased. today what a contrast. clear blue skies and patchy cloud in northern ireland but largely cloud free skies elsewhere. this was one of the steam locomotives in shropshire moving across the viaduct making its own cloud for a time. going through the day we have plenty of sunshine and the forecast. it will be a little bit cloudier in northern ireland and staying drier and brighter and temperatures getting into the mid to high teens sustain warm in the sunshine with light winds. 0vernight it is not going to be as cold as it has been over recent nights but elsewhere with clear skies that turns chilly with temperatures taking a tumble. 0ne turns chilly with temperatures taking a tumble. one or two patches of trust in the countryside and the very cold est of trust in the countryside and the very coldest areas on monday. the week ahead is going to be largely

driver spells of sunshine. there will be some changes in the weather as we head towards thursday and friday. the fine weather is to this high pressure that is thatjust to the east of the british isles. the winds are going clockwise and that is going to tend to bring some of the warmest heir to the western side of the country. for most of us they will be virtually cloudless skies and a significant jump will be virtually cloudless skies and a significantjump in temperatures far eastern areas of scotland. temperatures of 19 in edinburgh. tuesday, it is spot the difference. there will be a bit more ofa difference. there will be a bit more of a breeze across parts of east anglia around the coastline into parts of essex and kent and that will keep things fresh but in the sunshine it is going to feel pleasa ntly warm sunshine it is going to feel pleasantly warm wherever you are. temperatures into the low 20s in scotland, one of the warmest places in the uk in the week ahead. the

highest temperatures on wednesday, highs of 23 or