this is bbc news. i'm shaun ley. the headlines at two. the ultimate protest vote? a cabinet minister thinks so, and says the european elections will be "difficult" for the conservatives. a light aircraft reportedly crash lands on a dual carriageway in south wales, between raglan and abergavenny. it's unclear whether there have been any casualties. us—iran tensions: president rouhani warns his country of difficult times ahead because of renewed american sanctions. the national crime agency says more people are killed by organised crime gangs than by war, terrorism and natural disasters combined. will manchester city or liverpool be crowned premier league winners? both their matches kick off in one hour as the title race goes right down to the wire. two bbc dramas go head—to—head tonight at the bafta tv awards.

isn't it time to step aside and let someone you leave isn't it time to step aside and let someone you leave the party. thus michael lead the party. —— lead the party. and conservative mps express their anger that theresa may is still in charge. good afternoon. the education secretary, damian hinds, has said that some voters will treat the european parliament elections as "the ultimate protest vote". he admitted they'll be difficult for the conservatives. two opinion polls published today suggest the brexit party has a comfortable lead, with opinium for the observer newspaper putting it on 34%. nigel farage, its leader, told andrew marr that his party should be part of the team negotiating brexit. our political correspondent

jessica parker reports. the sun 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 clear. for some this is the ultimate protest vote opprounity. turnout tends to be low in european elections. 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 efforts bloom, warning brexit may not be delivered at all, if parliament does not support ideal.

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. we're 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. released today, a couple of favourable polls for nigel farage's new brexit party. in a tense interview he said he was 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. i couldn't disagree more. we voted to leave. we didn't vote for a deal. we voted to leave once in the referendum. the year after that the labour and conservative parties promised in their manifestos that they would

honour the result of the referendum and here we are, nearly three years later, brexit has not been delivered and given this government and parliament, there is no prospect of these parties delivering a clean break brexit. what of parties who want a further referendum, whatever happens, like the greens and the liberal democrat and the snp? we are answering we should stop brexit and have a people's vote on the deal, and keep the benefits we have for our economy and public services and for opportunities for future generations. 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 with a no deal brexit of the sort farage and boris johnson want, you are going to get a silent revolution in this country as well. there are going to be people who are going to feel so strongly about this and i say this to both

parties, they will sweep them away. the battle lines are being drawn but it is an unusual picture. these european elections are unlike anything we've seen before. jessica parker, bbc news. a light aircraft has crash landed on a dual carriageway in south wales. emergency services were called to the scene on the aao between raglan and abergavenny, at around 11 this morning. police says three of the aircraft's occupants were treated by paramedics at the scene. their injuries are not life—threatening. joel starr was there when the plane crashed. and was also involved in the rescue. can you tell us what happened? myself, my wife and our dog were returning from friends. we were driving down the aao and about 150 metres in front of us, out of nowhere, a plain, a light aircraft,

almost as deep as you can, hit the central reservation, burst into flames. it was a miracle no one else was on the road at the time. we put the handbrake on and jumped over the central reservation and sprinted towards the plane. 50, when central reservation and sprinted towards the plane. so, when you got there, what did you find?” towards the plane. so, when you got there, what did you find? i got about 30 metres from the plane. another gentleman, i don't know his name, he's come from the other side of the road in his car, and was on his back trying to kick out one of the windows. then i realised there we re the windows. then i realised there were people still in the plane. i got to the plane and the young lad had managed to crawl out of his broken window as i got there, and the woman was calling out the window. i grabbed her and dragged her clear. the pilot has got his hands out, i grabbed both of them

and pulled him out. stood him up and askedif and pulled him out. stood him up and asked if anyone else was on the plane. he was happy there was just the three of them. the other gentleman who kicked open the window went back to his car, so i never spoke to him or thanked him. ijust took the other three away from the plane, which was now completely ablaze, and got far away and waited for the emergency services. and what happened with the aircraft next? the fire extinctions popped off because of the pressure, and the rest of the fuel was in a very intense fire. they were very unlucky to crash, but they were very lucky that there was someone they were very lucky that there was someone there to help them to get out. yeah, i can't imagine being trapped in that plane, at all. it was just...

trapped in that plane, at all. it wasjust... yeah, trapped in that plane, at all. it was just... yeah, they trapped in that plane, at all. it wasjust... yeah, they were trapped in that plane, at all. it was just... yeah, they were there, someone was there was just... yeah, they were there, someone was there and we did what we could. it sounds like a daft question, but were you thinking much before you went near it? there was a risk to you as well. yeah, i was thinking, is it worth running down, is anyone alive? and you did. you got them out. ijust sprinted, yep. how did you feel afterwards? pretty pumped, pretty jacked. had how did you feel afterwards? pretty pumped, prettyjacked. had to apologise to my wife for leaving her in the car. check the casualties are all right and that's about it, really. you stayed presumably until the paramedics arrived and emergency services? me and my wife stayed until the abbott survived. the young lady had a head injury —— until the ambulance arrived. the police took state m e nts ambulance arrived. the police took statements from everyone. we stayed

until the three passengers got in the ambulance and went to the local hospital. i think you are ex army yourself, are you? yes, i'vejust been medically discharged for poster matic stress! good grief! this is possibly going to do me the world of good —— for post—traumatic stress. you'll have to see how you feel over the next few days and talk to someone the next few days and talk to someone if you need to. the important thing is that they were lucky you were there. thanks to the other gentleman as well, who got their even quicker than i did. whoever he is, he deserves just as much thanks. hopefully over the next few days the people on the plane can find out. they'll know who you are, joel. find out. they'll know who you are, joel.. thanks for joining find out. they'll know who you are, joel.. thanks forjoining us. keep safe yourself and for your wife as well. thanks for telling us your extraordinary story. thanks very much, take care. joel helped to rescue those three people from the light aircraft crashed on the a40 in wales.

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 north yorkshire are appealing for information following the death of a 15—year—old girl. she collapsed in a car park in northallerton yesterday evening and later died in hospital. it's believed she'd taken mdma. police are urging anyone who's using the drug to seek medical assiatance if they feel unwell. 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 phil norton at anfield, but first to our sports correspondent natalie pirks at brighton's amex stadium. ina sense, in a sense, it all hinges on manchester city this afternoon. what

is the mood in this last a0 minutes before kick—off? is the mood in this last a0 minutes before kick-off? a nervous tension, i would say. if you think about what an extraordinary week this has been for english football, normally you'd be saying it's all over, there is a going to be another twist but no one can bet against anything. liverpool and man city have been relentless in their pursuit of the title, blowing all others out of the water with their consistency. liverpool in second and chelsea in third, there isa20 second and chelsea in third, there is a 20 point difference. all that matters today is the one—point gap between liverpool and city, who have won 13 games in a row and if they beat brighton here at the amex stadium, who have just beat brighton here at the amex stadium, who havejust escaped relegation, they will become the first premier league team in a decade to win back—to—back titles. they are going for an unprecedented mastic travel. we have to go back five years for the last time it came down to the last day of the season —— michael unprecedented domestic

treble. pep guardiola says he will not be paying attention to anfield but the city fans will have their radio ready and they will know about it and the players will know about it, so it may be a bit nervous down here. certainly will be. i'd imagine, phil, that the nervousness is echoed at liverpool but at least the fans at anfield have the compensation that if it doesn't work out for them, they could still beat totte n ha m out for them, they could still beat tottenham in the champions league final, so there's something to fight for. but i'm sure they aren't thinking negatively like that. yes, it may be nervy down on the south coast but actually here, speaking to many of the fans who are arriving, they're here to enjoy the occasion. they know that the title race is out of their hands, they know that manchester city have to drop points against brighton on the south coast, but speaking to the fancier they say that they are very proud of this liverpool team. confidence is sky—high after the incredible result

in the wake, overcoming a 3—0 deficit in the champion league semifinal to beat barcelona a—o, giving them this incredible buzz. they say they are incredibly proud ofjurgen klopp's they say they are incredibly proud of jurgen klopp's team. they say they are incredibly proud ofjurgen klopp's team. they hope that while the game is ongoing that there could be one more huge twist in this incredible premier league season. certainly could be. no one would bet on anything after this week. looks like a lovely afternoon at both. thank you both. 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 that 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 a thousand percent. 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's why the states have been looking into this and have brought the lawsuit. they're 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. 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 on 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. the headlines on bbc news. a cabinet minister describes the european elections as the ultimate protest vote and predicts they will be "difficult" for the conservatives. a light aircraft is reported to have crash landed on a dual carriageway in south wales. police have closed the aao dual carriageway between raglan and abergavenny. it's unclear whether there have

been any casualties. as america flexes its military might and renews sanctions against iran, iran's president issues a stark warning about difficult times ahead to his country. 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, 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. europe goes to the polls in less

than two weeks to elect a new parliament in brussels. increasingly, the contest is being framed as a fight between mainstream parties and insurgent populists. nowhere more so than in france, where president macron's party is being targeted by the hard right led by marine le pen. caroline rigby reports. under the banner of project renaissance, nathalie loiseau, the head of emmanuel macron's party candidates, warned the future of the european project is under threat from the rise of populists. translation: we do not want a world in which the european construction of the founding fathers, monnet, schuman, adenauer, gasperi, spaak is destroyed. i don't want it for myself all my children. i don't want it for myself or my children. i won't let us take that risk. we will not be europe's sleepwalkers. but since launching her campaign, she has faced criticism for a series of blunders,

and with en marche, the last of the major french political parties to announce its candidates, many believe the french president is counting on himself as much as anyone else to ensure success. at a rally on friday, far right leader marine le pen suggested mr macron's engagement in the race put his future in the hands of the voters. she has urged him to leave if he fails. yellow vest protesters in recent months serve as evidence of the power of the people. and the far right is expected to perform strongly in the country where those in charge have come under increasing scrutiny but this picture is not confined to france. across the continent, people are closely monitoring the potential impact of populist movements. translation: right-wing

extremism and populism are the major challenges in this campaign. we take seriously the worries behind them, like economic decline, unregulated migration. we'll be clear in our fight against right—wing extremism. i will not allow it for europe, as we have created it. a europe, freedom and solidarity, to be undone by nationalists. polls suggest the centre—right european people's party, which manfred weber belongs to, is likely to remain strong, but with widespread predictions of historic gains for populists and nationalists the stakes remain high for establishment parties. you can find out more about who is running in the european elections and how the voting system works on the bbc news website. and with the campaign for the european parliament elections under way, we're going to be speaking to all the main uk parties here on the bbc news channel over the next few weeks. and we want you to send us your questions.

on tuesday at 5.30, we'll have nigel farage of the brexit party. then the next day at the same time chuka umunna of change uk. here, the annual list of the richest people in britain is out, and it reveals that there's now a record 15! 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 the largist yachts but life the very well—heeled can afford

the largest 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, which he strongly denies. it is notjust his reputation that has 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. we've been much better off and richer as a nation. 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. it is storm is here. it is stormzy here. 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. 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 bodyguard, for the prize of best drama series. here's our entertainment correspondent, lizo mzimba. are you all right? killing eve was one of the most talked about shows of 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. this ds budd. there are three nominations for the year's most watched show, bodyguard, including best drama

and best actress for keeley hawes. it is time for me to say hello to our audience. 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. did you love him? good 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. this year, the highest accolade, the bafta fellowship, goes to the journalist and broadcaster joan ba kewell, recognising her huge contribution to tv.

that will hopefully be when the sun goes in, although it starts at 8pm. it has been a lovely afternoon, at least in london. what about the rest of the week, chris? pretty good, so we have high pressure and the sunny skies are going to be lasting for a few more days. this was earlier today around worcester. we've seen beautiful weather watcher pictures from all different parts of the uk. sunshine across—the—board. this different parts of the uk. sunshine across—the—boa rd. this cloud different parts of the uk. sunshine across—the—board. this cloud in northern ireland is quite thin, so even here we are seeing some sunshine. overnight, the cloud thickening over northern scotland, so thickening over northern scotland, so not as cold as we've seen recently. maybe some rain. otherwise clear skies and a cold night, again cold enough for a bit of frost in the countryside. monday morning, a cold start but likely to be a glorious day. high pressure is over the east of england. wind spinning

ina the east of england. wind spinning in a clockwise sense. the warmest area is going from the north and west of the country. 18 in cardiff, much warmer in edinburgh, 19 and 17 in aberdeen. warmer than today. sunshine across—the—boa rd, temperatures into the high teens for the afternoon.

hello this is bbc news. i'm shaun ley. the headlines... a cabinet minister describes the european elections as the ultimate protest vote and predicts they will be "difficult" for the conservatives. a light aircraft is reported to have crash landed on a dual carriageway in south wales. police have closed the aao dual carriageway between raglan and abergavenny. as america flexes its military might and renews sanctions against iran its president issues a stark warning about difficult times ahead to his country.