today at 5pm, theresa may is under increasing pressure to step down, as several cabinet ministers tell the bbc "it's the end of the line" for the prime minister. she's still urging mps to back her new plans for brexit, but the furious reaction to her proposals has been hardening in recent hours. ourjob in this house is to take decisions, not to duck them. so i will put those decisions to this house because that is my duty and because it is the only way that we can deliver brexit. she's been focused only on keeping her divided party together, and it hasn't worked. and hertime... her time has now run out. we'll have the latest from westminster, where our

political editor says the situation for mrs may is getting "very serious". the other main stories on bbc news at 5pm. british steel goes into receivership, putting 5000 jobs at risk. the company says it needed millions of pounds of government support. i've got a friend who's just about to return after maternity leave — her partner works on the steelworks as well — asking how she's going to pay her mortgage. if it goes under, the town will disappear really. there will be nothing left. there's all your little businesses, they'lljust... there'll be nothing here. a panorama undercover investigation finds vulnerable patients being mocked and taunted by abusive staff at a specialist hospital in county durham. it's the last day of campaigning before the european parliamentary elections, and we'll be gauging the mood of voters. and another win for lyon's ada hegerberg, voted the bbc‘s women's footballer of the year, but why won't she be

playing in the world cup? it's 5pm, good afternoon. our top story is that the prime minister is under growing pressure following a furious backlash over her revised brexit plans. several cabinet ministers have told the bbc that theresa may cannot stay on in number 10, with one saying, "it's the end of the line." but downing street insists she must continue and present her proposals to the commons. mrs may also faces a fresh bid by backbenchers, with a meeting under way of the influential 1922 committee, to change conservative party rules to allow a leadership challenge. let's get the very latest from our political correspondent nick eardley. it is not proving

an easy day in here. across westminster, a belief the pm's brexit offer is destined for the scrapheap and renewed speculation that theresa may could be on her way out soon. is it time to go, prime minister? will you still be prime minister in a week? that's what some of her colleagues are now asking. there is precious little sign of anyone being won over by her latest plan. and from this cabinet brexiteer, hardly a ringing endorsement. i'm looking very carefully at the legislation today. as leader of the commons, that's myjob. and making sure that it delivers brexit. thanks very much. the plan had been to win over mps with concessions and compromises. the option of another referendum, more of a say on how close our trading relationships should be. many believe the offer has fallen on deaf ears. her time has run out, she no longer has the authority to offer a compromise and cannot deliver. that is why it is time for a general election to break the brexit

deadlock and give the country a say. the prime minister has lost the confidence of her party, parliament will not support her, and she has lost the trust of people. it is time, prime minister, to go. will you do it? if we are going to deliver brexit in this parliament, we are going to have to pass the withdrawal agreement, and we will not do so without holding votes on the issues that have divided us the most. that includes votes on customs arrangements and on a second referendum. we can pretend otherwise and carry on arguing and getting nowhere, but in the end, ourjob in this house is to take decisions, not to duck them. outside the chamber, the pressure is increasing. many tories just won't back the pm's new plan.

at least one cabinet minister is meeting her to express concerns, painting a very bleak picture for mrs may. this is not going to get through parliament, it does not talk about the confirmatory final vote on the deal that ourselves and other parties have talked about. if she had, then we might support it, but you know, it is still a bad deal. theresa may has seen plenty of criticisms in here, but the signs are now that she is running out of road. this new offer was supposed to be a last throw of the dice, an attempt to get something, anything through parliament. so far, though, the gamble has failed to pay off. the big question now is how many conservatives will decide they need to act to get rid of mrs may and abandon her plan. a growing number of conservatives are calling for change at the top. the cabinet frankly failed in being direct in standing up for brexit and they've failed in actually questioning the leadership approach over brexit as well. i think it is now a matter of time where we see change and i think that change will come. there are still some fighting publicly for the pm. but theresa may faces tough

hours and days ahead — keeping her party together, somehow building support for her plan, trying to stay in office. nick eardley, bbc news. let's speak to our chief political correspondent vicki young, who's in the central lobby at parliament. the sand does seem to be shifting dramatically in the last few minutes beneath the prime minister's feet. dramatically in the last few minutes beneath the prime minister's feetli am beneath the prime minister's feet.” am tipping of the people here saying it is all over it she has to go. there is the question of how and when but we are talking about whether it is this week, next week or the week after quite frankly. there are now loyal mps who are saying it has become about the messenger, the any deal that theresa may was trying to sale would not work because she cannot communicate it properly and people have lost confidence in her and they feel that thatis confidence in her and they feel that that is now the problem. so the question is what happens next. there are cabinet ministers particularly unhappy about her offer of holding a vote on the possibility of a second

brexit referendum. they feel that she has gone beyond what was discussed in cabinet yesterday. they are very unhappy about it and they are very unhappy about it and they are hoping to see her in order to say she have to change all of that. we also have to article written in the ft, the chairman of the foreign affairs select committee, he says there is one last chance to get it right and leave in an she must announce her resignation after thursday's european elections. there are many conservative mps who feel the same way. and what about the highly influential 1922 committee? they are meeting now to decide whether or not to change the rules to allow another leadership challenge. she was challenged in december and there were some that felt that was not the right time to do it because they thought she would win and see that challenge all. and because she did so, it means she is safe for another year. there are

many mps say they should change those rules and make sure we can challenge her immediately. that is what they have been discussing and ina what they have been discussing and in a moment, the two—way mps are being filled with the conclusion is of all of that. we should find that out in the next few minutes but let's talk to the former cabinet minister nikki morgan who is with me 110w. minister nikki morgan who is with me now. everyone is saying it is the end of the line but actually with rb anyone who moves against her that makes it happen? it is not so much you will go voluntarily.” makes it happen? it is not so much you will go voluntarily. i think members of the cabinet are having that conversation and junior ministers are having conversations with number ten. it is a very sad state of affairs because he parameter has worked very hard to get a brexit deal through parliament but there does come a moment with some of this little capital is all used up some as you said they are, the other thing is about her giving commitment to whether it is that you or the opposition and people are saying we cannot rely on those commitments because we do not think you are going to be here very moment. i think it is time to move on and to start the process of

choosing a new leader. that means as far as brexit is concerned we are back to square one. all those months and years of working a new leader in and years of working a new leader in and reasonably might be somebody who backed brexit in my have a different view and they start the whole process again? i don't think necessarily in the course it will depend on who that person is, whether they have been cabinet and how close they have been to negotiations. 0ne how close they have been to negotiations. one of the things i said is we should not have the vote out said is we should not have the vote our lives you because counsel winces of that book, the bill not being approved, you end up in no deal or invoking article 50 and that is not where a new leader and a prime minister or parliament should beat. let's take the time to stand back, look at what has been agreed, think about what needs to be outstanding and be assured about and have a vote potentially some way off. but before, we have this halloween deadline so we have not gotten very long. jeremy hunt has requested a prime minister this evening so it

does sound like cabinet ministers are going into speak to her to say that it are going into speak to her to say thatitis are going into speak to her to say that it is time to go. you say we are running out of time and a sense and there are some who fear particularly people like yourself who don't want a no—deal brexit that actually someone could come in as a new leader and say we had run out of time and take the country into no—deal brexit. how would parliament stop that? first of all, it will be a conservative mp to select the final two leadership candidates who will go to members so we will quiz them very carefully about what attitude towards a no—deal brexit is. there might be in a leader or pm, it will not change the palm entry arithmetic and left there were to bea entry arithmetic and left there were to be a general election which most candidates say to the do not want so they will have to accept the parliamentary arithmetic and work with parliament that does not want a no deal and try to find that, my skin with that solution that means an agreement can get over the line. thank you very much indeed. we should find out in the next minutes about whether that real change is likely to happen which would put even more pressure of course on

theresa may. indeed, thank you, vicki young at westminster and we will rejoin vicki when we get any more of the results from that 1922 committee meeting. british steel has gone into liquidation following the failure of rescue talks between the government and the company's owner, greybull. it means 5000 jobs are at risk, including 3000 at the company's plant in scu nthorpe. the move also endangers thousands more jobs in the wider supply chain. the uk's second—biggest steel—maker has been seeking millions of pounds of support to help it deal with what it called "brexit—related issues". the business secretary greg clark said he would "work tirelessly" to secure the firm's future. but he said it would be unlawful to offer a guarantee or loan on the terms requested by british steel. sarah walton reports. the steel plant in scunthorpe dominates the landscape, but it also dominates life here, with 3000 people from the town working in the plant. today, their future,

like the company's, is unclear. it's notjust this town that gets affected, it's everywhere around it. that's a lot of people's lives up in the air, really, so they need to do something. if it goes under, the town will disappear, really, there'll be nothing left. there's all your little businesses, they'lljust... there'll be nothing here. i feel that the steelworks is the life of the town. basically, it's the heart of the town. and if the heart stops beating, services, retail, everything else that's around it will be affected massively. british steel employs 5000 people across the uk and abroad, but it's thought the company supports a further 20,000 jobs in its supply chain. it's notjust the people that are directly employed here, but it's the contractors that rely on the steelworks here forjobs. house prices, people aren't going to be able to buy a house if they've not got a regular income. today's news is the latest blow

in the long decline of steel—making, which was once the bedrock of british engineering. the industry now employs just 10% of the number of people it did a0 years ago. and that's largely due to increased competition from abroad. in the last two years, china has produced more steel than the uk has in its entire history. and now, british steel's current financial problems are being linked to a drop in orders from european customers because of uncertainty over leaving the eu. brexit causes uncertainty and additional costs and the uncompetitive business landscape in the uk. but, actually, there's a good business there behind what british steel do. they make excellent rail and are a world leader in providing rail to the uk and abroad. but the scunthorpe site has been rescued before. in 2016, a private equity firm bought it from tata steel forjust £1. earlier this week, its owners, british steel, appealed to the government

for an emergency loan. today, the business secretary said that would've been illegal, but explained what support they will be offering. during the days and weeks ahead, i will work with the official receiver, the special managers and with the british steel support group of trade unions, management, suppliers, customers and the local communities to pursuit remorselessly every possible step to secure the future of these valuable operations. mr speaker, this is a very worrying time for everyone associated with british steel. each one of british steel's sites has a proud record of steel— making excellence, and i'm determined to see it continue. there will now be attempts to find a buyer, and staff will still be paid. but in a region proud of its steel—making heritage, the future of this plant is about more than just money. sarah walton, bbc news. joining us now from scunthorpe is alasdair mcdiarmid from the steelworkers' trade union community.

good evening. thank you for being with us. a dreadful day for all the workers where you are. what are you as the union telling them this afternoon? of course it has been a difficult day for everyone involved with british steel but of the same time, we really believe that there isa time, we really believe that there is a new opportunity here to build a new business, a profitable successful business away from capital who need to step out of the road and get those who care but the steel industry and get on with working together to save the jobs and british steel business going forward. are you talking about a pencil buyer out there being found? iam pencil buyer out there being found? i am confident there are buyers out there, this is a world—class workforce in a world class business wicking world—class deal and if improbable into of the last three yea rs. improbable into of the last three years. my unit committee has been reaching out to suitors. what is important is the official receiver gives us time and space to work with buyers to enable buyers to come forward to develop their plans and

government have to support that process in any way necessary, be that in terms of incentivizing finances, thinking up strategic state, whatever it might be commit we have to get this right, the sta kes a re we have to get this right, the stakes are so high here. 25,000 jobs from a failure is not an option. very high—stakes indeed. are you speaking about a employee by outcome of some kind of partnership underwritten by the government perhaps? i think it is far too early for any of that. what we are concentrating at the moment on is getting the time and space and creating the right conditions to ensure that those who are interested in running this business come forward and have a chance to engage with the government, to engage with the employees and work to find a long—term solution to ensure that jobs in the business are secured and government has a key role in that. they should be prepared to intervene and necessary because if they do not, the cost of the taxpayer could be potentially huge. cleaning up this comports i alone could run into the hundreds of millions of pounds and that is not to take into account

the payment scheme of the wages lost and so want if a worst—case scenario happens also there is a very strong public interest here for intervening here. but you have to make this company attractive to any potential buyer and an company attractive to any potential buyerand an m company attractive to any potential buyer and an m pulley buyout, some kind of public, private partnership with government underwriting what is going on here, that would make the company very attractive. is that the appeal you would want to make to government at the moment? look, it is possible. i'm not ruling in or out, iam is possible. i'm not ruling in or out, i am saying all options are on the table but government has a key role here. they have a key role in terms of supporting the sales process what they have to support every steel company in the uk by creating the right conditions to enable businesses to prosper long—term into the future and we talk about energy prices, business rates, procurement, industrial strategy, all the things we talked about the last three years ever since the bastille crisis here, all the problems are still the same we need positive government action to

deal with steel for all the industry to give us the best chance of competing with this marketplace. thank you very much indeed. from the community union for steelworkers. an undercover investigation by the bbc‘s panorama programme has found vulnerable patients being mocked, taunted and intimidated by abusive staff at a private hospital in the north east of england. 16 permanent staff have been suspended at whorlton hall hospital in county durham and a police investigation is under way. the hospital looks after patients with learning disabilities or autism. this investigation comes eight years after panorama exposed the abuse of patients at another mental health hospital. it led to promises that such institutions would close. 0ur social affairs correspondent alison holt has the story. you may find some of her report upsetting. this is whorlton hall hospital in cou nty this is whorlton hall hospital in county durham, a privately run

hospital looking after about a dozen nhs funded patients who have learning disabilities or autism. here, a bbc panorama investigation found some staff bullying, intimating or even boasting about hurting the very vulnerable people in their care. during shifts over two months, an undercover reporter witnessed a disturbing culture. 0ne patient, a young woman with autism who lives on this core door, should only be looked after by women. she is frightened of man but when she gets upset, the female staff are deliberately sent away. the female cares or told to go in for five and it's commit leaving the men taunting the young woman. her screams can still be heard at the end of the core door. it was total intimidation. that is what it was given intimidation to make a stop because they are too big grown man,

just cause her to act out even more. it was massively distressing for the patient, massively distressing. this patient, massively distressing. this patient is a regular target for staff. professors glynis murphy and andrew mcdonald are leading experts on learning disabilities, autism and challenging behaviour. it is like torture, i think it is like psychological torture because she is stuck there, she cannot actually get away. so it's a secure unit and they are deliberately tossing her and deliberately upsetting her.” are deliberately tossing her and deliberately upsetting her. i agree. that is torture, adding to a situation to visibly cause distress to another human being. the undercover footage also shows patients being provoked by staff then restrained. here, a patient with him disabilities is pinned after nearly ten minutes. his distress largely ignored.

staff also go to remove his personal possessions from his room. wow, come on. just accrue because it is being used as a punishment clearly. the company that took over the hospital says a safety and care of patients is paramount importance. they are cooperating with the police and moving patients elsewhere. the ca re and moving patients elsewhere. the care regulator which had rated the hospital as good has apologised to patients and families. this is a review it has carried out for the government has also underlined the failures of the wider system. these hospitals should ship because they are no longer needed but that was said seven or eight years ago and it has not happened. so it is delivering on that promise of providing alternative services, that is what has to happen. the

government says it is working to ensure more people return home after treatment and investing in more community support. and you can watch the full undercover report in tonight's panorama on bbc one this evening at 9pm. sir philip green's arcadia empire has announced plans to close at 23 stores. 0ur has announced plans to close at 23 stores. our business reporterjeremy robertson is here. what is the background? the background is really the increasing trouble which all retail outlets have on the high street. 0nline shopping has obviously made headway into their markets and you are seeing them really having to struggle. we knew that arcadia was going to have to do something and we thought more stores

would have to close and we are talking about 60 and in fact out of a total of 566 stories in the uk and ireland, 23 are going to have to close. not immediately but in the forthcoming, reasonably near future. these are proposals. it is called a company these are proposals. it is called a com pa ny volu nta ry these are proposals. it is called a company voluntary arrangement which means that the company system and talks to its creditors. the creditors are usually landlords in the landlords up into now in a lot of cases you might have heard cba about before, they are getting thumbscrews going on with landlords and they have been having a very ha rd and they have been having a very hard time having their rents renegotiated. they do not really have much of an option. these companies are saying either you renegotiate our rent in our lease or else we are just going to pull out. this is what is happening with arcadia. there is also a question of the pension fund is well and also payments into the pension fund. i'll go through briefly what they have

arranged. they also be restructuring the us operation, which probably will mean the closing down of their retail outlets there and going online. there will be £50 billion invested into arcadia itself. one of the things landlords have become learning about is saying there is not enough investment going into the shop. lady green, philip green's wife, a shareholder, is the shareholder of the arcadia group. she will be investing £50 million into the group. and then on the pension front, they had been in talks with the pension regulator and the pension protection fund and they have been saying that they are going to actually cut their contributions from 50 million down to 25 million, but in replacing that, lady green will be putting in a total of 100 million so they will cut it down to 25 million a year but in total, she will put in over the next three

yea rs will put in over the next three years 100 million. whether the pension regulator will be content with that remains to be seen. but thatis with that remains to be seen. but that is in brief what is they have come up with. but it is a proposal, it will go to the creditors injune, and we'll see what they say. nd cometh many thanks. —— indeed, many thanks. one of britain's most notorious criminals, kenneth noye, is to be released from prison after the parole board concluded he's suitable to return to the community. he's served more than the 16—year minimum sentence he was given. noye stabbed 21—year—old stephen cameron to death in a road rage attack in 1996 and was arrested in spain two years later. throughout the week ahead of tomorrow's elections,

the elections that were not supposed to happen but european parliament reelections will happen tomorrow. we are looking at the west midlands. the region elected three ukip meps, two conservative and two labour. in the 2016 referendum, 59.3 % of voters across the west midlands voted to leave the european union. in birmingham itself, 50.4% voted to leave, 49.6 to remain. to discuss this further, i'm joined now from birmingham by professor alex de ruyter. he's director of the centre for brexit studies, birmingham city university. thank you for being with us. the vote in the referendum for birmingham itself was on a knife edge. patty thicket will go tomorrow. is the brexit party going tomorrow. is the brexit party going to make inroads the way it seems to have gone and other parts of the country? the polls currently predict of course that the brexit party looked to be set to win about 40% of the vote which will translate into

three meps elected. they would currently replace the three ukip meps. why was the vote so close back in 2016? welcome to the vote was close and aggregate across birmingham city council but that 50.5% or thereabouts concealed huge differences between inner birmingham and out of birmingham. enter birmingham, you had suburbs with high minority populations where the remain margin was somewhere approaching 70%. in contrast, in the outer suburbs of birmingham, these predominantly white areas, older than average slightly and working—class lower income, the leave vote margins were more in the tune of 60—70%, more typical of the other urban towns, the black country in places like tonne worth and indeed stoke—on—trent. in places like tonne worth and indeed stoke-on-trent. remainder parties have not been able to make any inroads in the last few weeks?

certainly not change uk but the liberal democrats and the green party do appear to be picking up at the polls are any guide, to satisfaction from the remain vote is with labour, and support for the main parties in the west midlands, conservative and labour appears to be taking along with the rest of the country. and the remains side, the liberal democrats in the green party toa liberal democrats in the green party to a lesser degree appear to pick up, little they will pick up votes all people tomorrow. interesting because when people look at birmingham can they see a fairly cosmopolitan outward looking city. and this is not to suggest that there are not brexiteers who feel that way, but the traditional argument might have been that birmingham would perhaps have voted ina birmingham would perhaps have voted in a different way than it did in the referendum ? in a different way than it did in the referendum? yes, that is certainly true of inner—city birmingham. the areas which voted remain at birmingham in the inner—city were other areas with

high black and ethnic minority groups in the suburbs or otherwise more affluent areas like edgbaston and mostly commit where you had a more middle—class, more educated vote. an education was biggest radicular of whether you voted remain were leave and the more highly educated you working with a more likely you were to vote remain, and that will certainly true in birmingham and other areas in the country. in terms of the water west midlands, the west midlands and the east midlands have been those regions which have suffered the most from structural change in the last 30 years. the shift away from manufacturing to services. our own analysis has picked up on that. we find in the midlands a very distinct phenomenon to that of the north of england whereby relative erosion or decline in gdp per capita, that standard of living, your purchasing power, in the north of that decline in gdp per capita is about two thirds to be double to minority

population decline, or as the midlands, about 9% is due to relative economic decline. the midlands have been feeling it particularly over the last 20 or 30 yea rs particularly over the last 20 or 30 years in terms of this notion of feeling left behind orfilling years in terms of this notion of feeling left behind or filling their living standards giving worse off. and i think there is a strong case to be maimed that you could correlate that relative feeling of decline in how good you think life is and how well you are doing to the consequent higher than average levels of support for previously ukip and now nigel faraj's boeckx a party relative to the wider uk. very interesting indeed. thank you. director of the centre for brexit studies at birmingham university, thank you very much indeed. and you can see a full list of candidates in your area for tomorrow's european elections on the bbc website. go to bbc.co.uk/politics. a little bit of breaking news, concerning the meeting of the 1922, an influential meeting of backbench mps, which took place in the commons

in the last few minutes. that meeting has broken up without agreeing a real change. the 1922 committee has broken up that meeting, it began about 5pm and has now finished after about five minutes —— 30 minutes, without a real change. there was already a leadership challenge against theresa may at the end of last year, and that means under the current rules of the conservative party, there cannot be another challenge for 12 months. all the controversy and blowback following theresa mayrevisions, she would have said, compromises concerning her brexit deal, they have hardened attitudes towards her position at downing street, with a number of senior conservatives now saying that the time is up. but the 1922 committee, an influential group of backbench mps, they have broken up a meeting today without agreeing a rule change that could possibly have led to a

leadership challenge against theresa may. the executive will meetjulian smith at 5:30pm and after that, the 1922 committee will meet again at 6pm. so, we will keep you posted on all that here on the bbc news channel. time for a look at the weather with darren bett. good evening, it has been a lovely day across the country, lovely sunshine around, and some more sunshine around, and some more sunshine in the next few days. not a lot of rain, most bases have been dry today. some showers, which has gone now, and patchy rain across northern scotland. that will continue overnight, we will have some breeze blowing down, dragging in more cloud. elsewhere, clear skies, some cloud coming in from the atlantic, but it is making slow progress. temperatures typically 6-7, progress. temperatures typically 6—7, not as cold as it was last night in southern scotland. many places starting dry tomorrow, more sunshine around, still a cold

breeze, cloud across the northern half of scotland. some patchy rain here and there as well. more cloud into northern ireland, and eventually into wales in the south—west of england. best of the sunshine further east with the highest temperatures, 23 in london. a pleasant 18 for newcastle, always cooler in northern scotland with the cloud, breeze and a little bit of rain. this is bbc news. the headlines: theresa may is under increasing pressure to step down, as several cabinet ministers tell the bbc "it's the end of the line," for the prime minister. the 1922 committee of backbench tories is meeting, and its expected that changes to the leadership rules will again be discussed to push theresa may out of number 10. british steel goes into receivership, putting 5,000 jobs at risk. the company says it needed millions of pounds, of government support. i've got a friend who is just about to return after maternity leave, her partner works on the steelworks as well, asking how she is going to pay her mortgage.

an undercover investigation by the bbc‘s panorama programme finds vulnerable patients being mocked, taunted and intimidated by abusive staff at a specialist hospital in the north east of england. let's have a look at the sport now on bbc news. good afternoon. ada hegerberg is the bbc women's footballer of the year for a second time. she won the first women's ballon d'or in december and on saturday capped a remarkable season by scoring a hat—trick to lift her fourth champions league title with lyon. but she won't be appearing at this summers world cup because a disagreement with the norwegian federation around how they are developing the women's game she has refused to play for the national team since the summer of 2017. it's not always about money either, it is all about attitude and

respect. we are talking about young girls, giving them the same opportunity as boys, giving them the same opportunity to dream, everything, it is about everything. if you change attitudes in the beginning, things will automatically change as well, i think. arsenal want urgent talks with uefa following the europa league final. managing director vinai venkatesham says the situation is "unacceptable" that their player henrikh mkhitaryan doesn't feel able to travel to azerbaijan. he's the captain of armenia, and relations between the bordering countries are strained to say the least. uefa say a "comprehensive security plan" was in place for mkhitaryan — and the azerebaijan football authorities say that the players decisison is unwarranted. what has become clear in the fortnight since arsenal and chelsea qualified for the final, is that travelling to baku is proving extremely difficult and expensive for some fans. neither club is expected to take

up their allocation of 6,000 each. for everybody, it is better to play with 30,000 fans from chelsea and 30,000 fans from arsenal. you do this job for these matches, and so, it is better for everybody to have the fans with the team. heather watson is through to the second round of qualifying at the french open after beating bibiane schoofs. the british number three won in three sets 6—2, 4—6, 6—4. watson is aiming to come through qualifying at roland garros for the fourth time in her career. meanwhile, katie swan was impressive in advancing as she beatjil teichmann. the brit won 6—4, 6—2 on her french open debut. teichmann — the second seed — is more than 100 places ahead of swan in the world rankings.

tyson fury says a world heavyweight title rematch with deontay wilder is likely to happen next year. wilder retained his wbc belt with a thrilling draw against fury in los angeles in december, and knocked out fellow american dominic breazeale on saturday. fury says wilder can't run forever, and says the fight should happen in the spring of 2020. the former england cricket captain, andrew strauss, says they'll never have a better chance to win the world cup. it all starts at the oval when england play south africa a week from tomorrow. they've named their 15—man squad, and made some tough decisions, bringing in the exciting fast bowler joffra archer ahead of others with more experience. strauss says it's an exciting time for the side. it is just so exciting going into the world cup as favourites. when i played, i don't know what the opposite of a favourite is, but we

wear that. so, on opposite of a favourite is, but we wearthat. so, on our opposite of a favourite is, but we wear that. so, on our home soil with home advantage, and hopefully the quys home advantage, and hopefully the guys can do it. and if they do, it will create such an incredible feeling for the sport in this country and momentum and interest. i don't want to put them under pressure, but we will never have a better chance. no pressure! we'll have more for you in sportsday at 6.30. in the run up to tomorrow's european elections, we've been putting your questions to the main uk parties. joining me now for the final in the series of these interviews is adam price, the leader of plaid cymru. good to see you, thank you for coming in. a lot going on at westminster, we may get onto that later on, but let's get straight into some of the questions asked. this is from deborah, and she tweeted asking why do you want wales to remain in the eu and be part of the eu and yet want independence for wales from the uk? it is an

interesting contrast, isn't it? if you think about the way that wales in this union of four, the british union, has been treated, you know the last three years, we have been ignored as the brexit negotiations have been going on. we have been neglected high and dry, essentially, over many generations. compare and contrast the way in which small nations are treated within the bigger ring of the eu, look at the republic of ireland, it has been treated with the utmost respect and solidarity during the same brexit negotiations. many of us in wales have come to the conclusion that maybe we are leaving the wrong union, because in this so—called united kingdom, unfortunately, the history of wales is that we have been a second—class country within this union, whereas we could be an equal member of that wider eu. of

the problem is, you say you are the party of the welsh people, but they voted to leave the eu. well... i have agonised about this question, and... have you got it right? the way that i have understood what happened is that in a sense, there we re happened is that in a sense, there were many reasons for people voting the way they did in the referendum, andi the way they did in the referendum, and i will not pretend that i will ca ptu re all and i will not pretend that i will capture all of them. but i think at the heart of it, in many of those coalfield communities, where i come from, it was partly an expression of deep dissatisfaction with the political establishment and the state of life. we had been bumping along of the economic league table for generations. what i have said is that i think it was the wrong answer to the right question. the right question was, how do we get change,

social justice, question was, how do we get change, socialjustice, economicjustice for those communities? i think we need to redirect the anger. the problem wasn't brussels, it is westminster that hasn't been investing in those communities over many years. in fa ct, communities over many years. in fact, if you like, following the demise of our coal and steel industries, the only game in town was the money we were getting from the eu. westminster didn't bring us anything. so, ithink the eu. westminster didn't bring us anything. so, i think that we need to reframe this question, the only way that we can prise ourselves out of the rut of poverty that we have found ourselves in is not brexit, it is by empowering ourselves, taking back control, if you like, not putting it into the hands of westminster politicians, the same ones that ignored us all along the. briefly, it is a message that doesn't seem to have flown, does it? we have seen what has happened in the polls with nigel farage anti—brexit party, they are cleaning up. yesterday, there was a

polarisation going on on one side, absolutely, brexit supporters are coalescing behind nigel farage's party, but there is an equally opposite phenomenon, a remain wave happening in wales, so the lead remain party is getting coalesced behind. we will see where we are on sunday when the tally comes. but i see, particularly amongst young people, they will have to live with the consequences of the decision, you are seeing a massive rediscovery of enthusiasm and passion, even in these dark times of politics, because i think that that better vision of an empowered wales and equal member of the eu, let's hope that we can get the final say referendum so we can keep wales and the rest of the uk in, that is the critical decision tomorrow. i think thatis critical decision tomorrow. i think that is the better vision. i understand the reservoir of

alienation, i think, from which for many people, that brexit vote didn't emerge, but let's try and channel that anger into hope. let's go on to the next question from dylan, who tweeted saying... how will you persuade those who voted for leaving the eu? sunshine the first thing that would happen, if we were an independent member of the eu, we would have access to cohesion funding, which all member states which are below 90% of income per capita, wales is way below that level, we are one of the poorest nations at the moment within the eu, have access to this special help from the eu. ireland had it when they were a poor country. it is not that long ago that the republic of ireland, 1960, they were half as rich person as wales. that has

com pletely rich person as wales. that has completely reversed, they are now twice as rich in terms of income per person. why? because they were able to benefit from the investment, the eu was seeking to help them help themselves. they have been able to invest in infrastructure and human capital, all the things we could have done if we, as a small nation, we re have done if we, as a small nation, were also a member of the eu. we never had that up from westminster, we would have it as an independent member of the eu. we are not asking for charity, we are simply asking as a nation that is currently poorer to have the help to help ourselves stop white harry makes the point in a tweet. he says that welsh independent is running at no more than 16%. who are you talking to in trying to get this message across? from a low base admittedly, support is rising. we have had the biggest rally ever for welsh independence

recently, and the leading newspaper in wales said that independence is now coming in from the margins, into the mainstream. i think that is partly because a brexit, many people are looking at the shambles, we see the events in downing street and thinking, there may be a better way than the current setup in terms of british politics. i think people are asking questions about where we could be as a nation. we have been where we have been for generations, i don't think that is inevitable. there is nothing that predetermined is wales to poverty, we could be a successful small country like so many other independent members of the eu. ultimately, we don't have the eu. ultimately, we don't have the levers, the ability to chart our own course, to shape our own economic policy in a way that responds to the economic problems we have and also the opportunities. that could change the moment we believe in our own capacity as a country. that is starting to happen and those levels of... 20% support

independence at the moment, that is where opinion was in scotland about ten yea rs where opinion was in scotland about ten years ago. and that has moved on. a long way to go, but what do you have to offer the eu? would you ta ke you have to offer the eu? would you take the euro as your currency? no, we wouldn't. if we were an independent country, we would follow the same policy that has been outlined recently with the scottish government, so initially, we would be part of a sterling currency area and then move to creating our own currency, using the similar tests that have been set out by the scottish government. why would we do that? that would give us an additional economic lever if you have your own currency and monetary system, you have your own central bank, and that gives you, once again, alongside the fiscal levers, the policy levers, to shape the kind of economic trajectory, putting wales on the rising curve, rather than where we have been, drifting for 20 years or more. interesting

question from keith. he is considering voting plaid cymru tomorrow, but as an english born non—welsh speaker, he feels a bit of a fraud. how can you make plaid cymru a welcoming place for voters like me? that is an interesting question, and i probably think about that more than any other question. we have to be the party of everyone in wales, we are a small nation, we need every ounce of talent of every person who lives in wales. if you live in wales, you are a citizen of wales, and we want you to feel part of this new nation we are trying to create. my mother is english and we area create. my mother is english and we are a diverse country with people from england and many other parts of the world, and we want to send a message that we want to be an inclusive, diverse nation, forward—looking, outward —looking, not the backward —looking and inward looking kind of british nationalism thatis looking kind of british nationalism that is being served up by other political parties. finally, we have gotjonathan from political parties. finally, we have got jonathan from exeter, political parties. finally, we have gotjonathan from exeter, he wants to know... i think we have to, we

have to. there's a difference, there isafair have to. there's a difference, there is a fair question, this would be on a specific deal. the last brexit referendum was on an abstract, general question. this is on a specific deal. i think that most of us specific deal. i think that most of us would agree on this, we need a final resolution of this question. there are many other bigger questions about climate change, child poverty, about the gross inequality in these islands, they currently a re inequality in these islands, they currently are not getting the attention they deserve, because brexit is sucking all of the oxygen and energy out of our democracy and we have to bring that to an end. the way to do that is to have a final say referendum, and absolutely, that should not be advisory, it should be binding and it should make it clear where we go. so theresa may was right to put it in her revised withdrawal agreement? what the prime

minister gives, she takes away. she wasn't committing to changing the policy. you can have as many votes as you want, but unless the government shifts its position, we will be stuck where we have been for the last three years. adam, thank you forjoining us. let's get more on the mounting pressure on theresa may. several cabinet members have requested to meet the prime minister this evening. and the influential backbench1922 committee is meeting the chief whipjulian smith about now, ahead of a fresh meeting at six o'clock. let's speak to our chief political correspondent vicki young. julian smith has been in to see the executive committee. he was only in there for about two minutes, we have seen him walk past here and into his office, not looking very happy, but then again, as people have pointed out, he hasn't been happy for quite

some time. we expect that conservative mps will now be called back to see what has been decided, whether there has been a decision about a rule change, so that theresa may can be challenged for the leadership. separately to that, cabinet minister have been trying to go in see theresa may. the home secretary and others as well, but we have been told she is refusing to see them tonight and iain duncan smith, former leader, he said the sofa is up against the wall, maybe she is hoping it will all go away, but it isn't likely. i am joined by the chairman of the foreign affairs select committee. you have decided that the time has come for theresa may to stand aside. that is right, i wrote in the financial times this afternoon that the time has come for afternoon that the time has come for a change of leader, we only had a few months left until the 1st of 0ctober deadline, and we need a new tea m 0ctober deadline, and we need a new team to deliver that. sadly, the prime minister has done her absolute best and nobody can fault her for her devotion to duty and integrity,

but sometimes it isn't about the individual, it isjust but sometimes it isn't about the individual, it is just time for a change. do you think that a new leader could change the dynamics here, given that the parliamentary numbers will stay the same?” here, given that the parliamentary numbers will stay the same? i do, because i think we are going through a large change, notjust here in the uk, but also in europe, of course, tomorrow, the european elections will change the dynamics of the eu parliament, will also change the european commission. we know that jean—claude juncker, donald tusk european commission. we know that jean—claudejuncker, donald tusk and michel barnier are reaching the end of their leadership, so there is a fresh look at many of the obstacles that i've entered process over recent yea rs. that i've entered process over recent years. who would be the person that can achieve that? are you willing to back anyone?” person that can achieve that? are you willing to back anyone? i have looked hard and i think it has to be someone who voted for brexit at the time of the referendum. 0ne someone who voted for brexit at the time of the referendum. one of the people who led the campaign and has demonstrated huge amounts of imagination, creativity in various different ministries and has them

mistreated huge success is michael gove. so at the moment, i am minded to support him, but there are many other exceptional candidates who will make this more like the grand national than a leadership race. there are some really impressive people. where do you think it went wrong for theresa may, mainly? she tried to get the compromise, because the country has split and parliament has a split. it was what is going to be difficult. truth is that it is a hugely demanding task and sometimes the hill is too high. the criticism i would level is that both at our own government and the eu commission, we started this the wrong way round, we have been trying to build a bridge to the future without knowing the future. the mistake we made, as early as 2016-17, mistake we made, as early as 2016—17, was that we should have sorted out where we were going before trying to construct the agreement to get us there. tonight, we are hearing theresa may is refusing to see cabinet ministers, what is your advice to her? you know

more about what is happening in downing street than i do, so i will not comment on that. i think i have made my views very clear, i have written in the financial times about this. and on your programme now, i have been clear that sadly, the time has come and the amount of public service she has given a country we should all be grateful for, as service she has given a country we should all be gratefulfor, as prime minister, home secretary, and the amount of work she did on women to women, it was a hugely important legacy of a woman who has given an amazing amount to our country. thank you forjoining us. everyone is now waiting to see what the next move will be, where it will come from, various people making their views known. the question is whether theresa may is listening to any of them. the rate of inflation reached its highest level this year last month, as energy bills and holiday flights pushed up prices. the office for national statistics said the consumer price index

was 2.1% in april, up from 1.9% the month before. they're the elections that weren't supposed to happen. but as brexit has yet to be enacted, people will vote tomorrow on who'll represent the uk in the european parliament. middlesbrough voted strongly to leave the eu in the 2016 referendum, and as part of the bbc‘s we are middlesbrough week, the north east's political editor richard moss has been to gauge the mood there on the eve of polling. a town built on trade, but sold on brexit. almost two thirds of voters in middlesbrough wanted to leave the european union. three years on, that hasn't happened and among potential voters here there is a good deal of fatigue. how long has this been going on now? two yea rs ? and they are trying to sort it out and we are still no further forward. ijust feel there's a lot of issues being ignored at the moment. i just feel everything's just brexit all the time, i'm just sick of it. everything else that's been

going on around the country has just been swept under the carpet. it didn't make a difference when we voted in the referendum, we voted, but theyjust ignored it. but in a town centre cafe you can find people who will vote. mainly to send a message south to westminster. i think a lot of people are probably voting to make a kind of political statement about the way things are now. we are broken and the only thing that can heal it is a second referendum, as much as that might annoy people. politics is important but i think people have forgotten, i think they feel let down and i can understand that. so they are taking it out on the main parties. i voted to come out of europe, i voted, that was three years ago. i'll be 99 before it happens, the way they're going on! what about middlesbrough's next generation? these students and apprentices weren't old enough to vote in 2016, some are still too young. but they do believe their futures could be at stake. we should be voting for our future and what we want, not other people who are not going to be here in the next 40, 50 years.

the country was lied to about brexit. definitely, if there was a referendum, the chances are i would probably vote against it because with working for a japanese company, it could influence quite badly the way the company acts within the country. there is a sense that not much has moved on here in middlesbrough in the last three years, except for a growing sense of frustration, disillusionment, with what has been happening in westminster. emotions that may influence who votes and how they vote in tomorrow's elections. richard moss, bbc news, in middlesbrough. the 6pm news is coming up, the latest on the twists and turns in westminster and theresa may's future. time for a look at the weather, with darren bett. it has been lovely for many parts of the country, warm sunshine, high temperatures of 21—22 in the south—east. this was the sunshine

earlier in staffordshire, warm in the sunshine. different story in northern parts of scotland. in inverness, it was largely dry, but a lot of cloud, and that has been the story across many northern parts of scotland. this cloud brought some showers earlier, they are gone, but we will keep some wet weather in the far north of scotland, over the hills and highlands. 0therwise, far north of scotland, over the hills and highlands. otherwise, a dry night, clear skies around before we start to see some cloud coming in from of the atlantic. i had of it, temperatures will be 6—7, not as it was last night in southern scotland. here and across many other parts of england, wales and northern ireland, starting quite sunny, but the cloud will increase across northern ireland, eventually into the wales and the south—west of england, more cloud drawn in from the cool breeze in scotland, temperatures will be 12-13 in scotland, temperatures will be 12—13 like today. best of sunshine

in the east, 23 in london and 18 in newcastle, should be quite pleasant. as we head into friday, we will see the low pressure which has brought most of the rain in northern scotland, moving away into scandinavia. we then have a north—westerly breeze coming down, dragging in more cloud southwards across scotland, but it should be a dry day in the north. some showers possible for northern ireland, into the irish sea and wales, arriving in the irish sea and wales, arriving in the south—east towards the end of the south—east towards the end of the day. few showers, though, there should be light and a lot of places still drive. with more cloud around, it won't be as warm as thursday. 0n saturday, starts dry, cloud amounts will increase and we will see some light rain or drizzle coming into northern ireland and the far west of scotla nd northern ireland and the far west of scotland later in the day. temperatures will drop a bit further, still warm in the sunshine across southern part of england and wales, 21—22 here. there will be some rain from the north—west, the low pressure and weather front will arrive overnight and into sunday.

most of the rain over the bank holiday weekend will be on sunday, and it will be the north and west of the uk. further south and east, a chance of staying dry. some sunshine, but increasing cloud will add to the cooler feel as the weekend goes on.

tonight at 6:00: there's mounting speculation about the prime minister's future. is it time to go prime minister? it's a question many in her own party are asking — and the prime minister seemed to acknowledge the issue as she delivered her brexit statement. while i am here, i have a duty to be clear with the house. i have a duty to be clear with the house about the facts. if we are going to deliver brexit in this parliament, we are going to have to pass a withdrawal agreement bill. behind closed doors, tory backbenchers have been meeting and they're set to reconvene any minute now. others have been more open. the feeling is very much there that we've come to the end of the road with this prime minister. we need to turn the page as quickly as possible.

two cabinet ministers have