the rather talented simone vezzani, finishing off the shortcut of click for this week. the full—length version is up on iplayer, you can watch that right now, and if you'd like to follow us throughout the week, we are all across social media — youtube, instagram, facebook and twitter too @bbcclick. thanks for watching, and we'll see you soon. good morning. welcome to breakfast with rachel burden and roger johnson. our headlines today:

the race begins for a new leader of the conservative party after theresa may announces she'll step down. four candidates have confirmed they'll stand. many more are expected to put their names forward in the coming days. president trump deploys extra troops to the middle east amid growing tensions with iran. universities in england could be told to reduce their tuition fees by nearly £2,000. good morning. celtic are looking to make history this afternoon. they're going for their third treble in as many years, when they face hearts in the scottish cup final at hampden park. spice girl fans get what they really, really want, as the band returns for their first tour in ten years. good morning. it's a largely warm and sunny start for this bank holiday weekend across much of southern and eastern england, but there is some cloud and outbreaks of rain to the north and west, here it could be a little cool and disappointing. all the details coming up shortly.

it's saturday the 25th may. our top story: the race to become the next conservative party leader has begun. theresa may has confirmed she will step down next month, meaning a new prime minister could be in place by the end ofjuly. four current or former cabinet ministers have already put their hat in the ring as our political correspondent, jessica parker reports. stepping out to acknowledge it's over. never easy to admit failure, least of all when so many are watching on. i will shortly leave the job that it has been the honour of my life to hold. the second female prime minister, but certainly not the last. i do so with no ill will, but with enormous and enduring gratitude to have had the opportunity to serve the country i love. theresa may had tried, time and again, to get her brexit

deal approved by parliament. but yesterday's retreat signalled an end to those efforts and the start of something else. him, her, and more besides, declared or otherwise, names being talked about is leadership contenders, entering what looks likely to be a crowded field. leadership hopefuls will no doubt try to project a sense of purpose and optimism for the future, but there's no getting away from the present brexit deadlock. whoever comes next, will inherit the same divided party and parliament here in westminster. he's running for sure, declaring that the uk must leave the eu by the end of october — with or without a deal. forgive me, i do not wish to elaborate now on what we're going to do and how we're going to it, but, believe me, you will be hearing possibly more about that than you necessarily want to hear.

laughter. another one throwing their hat in the ring, for him leaving without an agreement just isn't the answer. well, i think it's partly about positions on brexit. i think candidates who try to run with a no—deal brexit and are pushing for what that means for our economy would find it very difficult to reunify the country. candidates will offer up different visions of how to handle brexit and so many other issues, but that's the easy bit. winning sufficient support to deliver that vision so very much harder. jessica parker, bbc news. let's look now at how the weeks ahead should pan out. mrs may will step down as party leader on the 7th ofjune, but will stay on as prime minister until a successor is chosen. )the race for the conservative leadership will begin formally on the 10th ofjune. tory mps will have to select two candidates, then the winner will be chosen by party members. the final result is expected by the end ofjuly, with the successful candidate expected to become britain's new prime minister.

let's get the very latest from our political correspondent tom barton, who is in westminster now. after a ll after all the papers today, the front pages all have pictures of theresa may outside downing street yesterday morning, now the focus has shifted onto who might replace, but also the papers, many of the papers full of what the right way forward is now. labour, of course, want a general election. roger, you are absolutely right. this was the most drawnout, longest, slowest into a political career we've seen in modern times, but absolutely attention now turns squarely away from theresa may and onto who will be her successor. four names are already in the frame. borisjohnson,

the former foreign secretary, regarded by many as the favourite, although conservative party leadership elections can be incredibly unread bull affairs. also saying they want the job is jeremy hunt, the foreign secretary, esther mcvey, the former work and pensions secretary, and rory stewart, the international development secretary. there are four names there, but we are expecting many, many more to end up are expecting many, many more to end up potentially putting their names forward among those. so that is the people in the frame so far. that's it for now. tom, thank you very much indeed. we have those other six now. six possible. i can talk you through those. they are the six possibles, not the ones that have confirmed but could be contenders. that is right, roger, sorry there were problems with the graphics. among those are people like the agriculture sector,

michael gove, a high—profile member of the leave campaign. andrea leadsom, who was mps' a second choice to take over as prime minister when theresa may eventually took thejob a minister when theresa may eventually took the job a couple of years ago. sajid javid, also the home secretary, in the frame. we will hear over the next couple of days which of those are seriously considering a bid and then it will bea considering a bid and then it will be a couple of weeks before the race gets under way formally. perfectly understandable that the cameraman was confused, going backwards and sideways there. but frankly, we are all confused by what is going on at the moment. tom, thank you very much indeed. we'll be talking to one of those confirmed leadership contenders, rory stewart, at just after eight this morning. us troops have been deployed to the middle east as tensions between america and iran continues to rise. the relationship between the two countries has been strained for months since president donald trump imposed sanctions on iran and backed out of the iranian nuclear deal. here's our washington correspondent, chris buckler.

america is making its presence felt in the middle east. the pentagon has already deployed an aircraft carrier strike group to the gulf and it's now announced that extra trips are being sent to the region. all actions intended to send a message to iran, even if president trump has been playing down the possibility of conflict. we're going to be sending a relatively small number of troops, mostly protective. right now i don't think iran wants to fight, and i certainly don't think they want to fight with us, but they cannot have nuclear weapons. as you know, mr president, from day one... with tension heightened, president trump is doing his best to maintain his relationship with saudi arabia, america's influential ally in the middle east. $3 billion, $533 million, $525 million. in the past, he's boasted of their weapons sold to the saudis.

now he's pushing through deals to them and others worth $8 billion. crucially, he is also denying the us congress the right to approve the arms sales by declaring a national security related emergency because of iran. that's likely to ensure conflict in washington, even if the president insists he doesn't want a new fight in the middle east. chris buckler, bbc news, washington. police are questioning a man and a woman on suspicion of murdering two boys aged 13 and 14 following an incident at a house in sheffield. police were called to the property on friday and six youngsters were taken to hospital. four other children, aged between seven months and ii years are not seriously injured. universities in england have been told not to complain about a lack of funding ahead of a report which could suggest reducing fees by nearly £2,000. a review to be published in the coming week is expected call for better value for

money for students. education secretary, damian hinds says the sector is in good financial health and has warned university bosses against scaremongering. sarah walton reports. universities say they're worried about money. a report due out next week is expected to call for a cut in tuition fees. but the education secretary, damian hinds, says claims universities across england are struggling financially is scaremongering. the augar review was commissioned by theresa may to find ways of making university education better value for money. it's expected to suggest ideas like lowering maximum tuition fees from more than £9,000 to £7,500 a year, limiting student numbers, and offering incentives for shorter, cheaper, two—year degree courses. damian hinds has spoken in the past, revealing that while most sectors have had to tighten their belts since the financial crash, universities have seen

their income from fees go up. he also pointed to an increase in the number of international students who pay more for tuition. but there have been reports of universities being on the brink of bankruptcy. and one institution has been revealed as having needed a bailout from the office of students. universities uk says any drop in fees should be replaced with funding from the government to avoid harm to students, the economy, and communities that benefit from universities. sarah walton, bbc news. rules that allow homeowners in england to build extensions without planning permission are being made permanent. ministers say families can now avoid time—consuming red—tape — but the local government association has warned that councils won't be able consider the impact of such extensions on neighbours. have a look at these pictures. crew had to evacuate a cargo ship

after it began tilting in the river mersey. the container vessel began listing at gladstone dock in liverpool in the early hours of yesterday morning. the maritime and coastguard agency said the ship was back on an even keel, and all crew were safe. as you can see, it was a little precarious for a time. girl power is back, time to look out your unionjack dresses, tracksuits, platforms and leopard print because last night the spice girls returned to the stage to kick off their arena tour with their hit single spice up your life. i never put mine away. that would be your leopard print vest underneath the shirt. baby, scary, ginger, and sporty took to the stage minus posh for theirfirst performance since 2012's opening ceremony of the london olympics. here's ben ando. scary, baby, ginger, and sporty, back onstage together after seven yea rs. no posh, but that seemed no problem to the 80,000 fans who'd come to dublin's croke park for this first show of the spice girls new world tour.

# so tell me what you want, what you really, really want. # i wanna, i wanna, i wanna, i wanna, i wanna... the spice girls burst onto the scene in 1996. their message of girl power struck a chord and, apparently, it still does. # if you want to get with me, better make it fast... this night was unbelievable. it exceeded all my expectations. it was amazing. honestly, it was joyous. it was fantastic. out of ten i would give it 20. spice girls! the spice girls are, of course, all now women in their mid—40s. many of their fans have teenage daughters of their own. but the songs and the style are still selling. ben ando, bbc news. that was a great night for them. girl power, there wasn't that much

of it around for theresa may yesterday. she will remain as caretaker prime minister until the new leader of the conservatives is announced before the summer recess. in a moment, we'll speak to a once loyal backbench supporter of mrs may but first, let's remind ourselves of her tearful exit speech. i will shortly leave the job that it has been the honour of my life to hold. the second female prime minister, but certainly not the last. i do so with no ill will, but with enormous and enduring gratitude to have had the opportunity to serve the country i love. let's talk about mrs may exit in more detail now with the conservative backbencher, david morris who joins us now. we were just saying that you knew it was coming but maybe we did not expect it today. when you it was

coming. in the 22 committee it was confusing about what this statement was going to be. my personal thought was going to be. my personal thought was that it was going to happen sometime next week... what day i we today? saturday. it took us all by surprise to be truthful. you were a big supporter of her. on a human level how did you feel? i did not ta ke level how did you feel? i did not take any level how did you feel? i did not ta ke a ny comfort level how did you feel? i did not take any comfort watching that. i really didn't. people watching politicians on tv we all come across asa politicians on tv we all come across as a bit wooden but if you know somebody as a person, you know how they are an theresa may, she is not a robot make people say. she is a very, very personable and she has a nice sense of humour. it is the person, it came out at the end. nice sense of humour. it is the person, it came out at the endlj think a lot of people felt they could have seen some more of that kind of emotion from her previously,

actually anna maybe that is what connected a bit of a disconnect but in the end she was never going to please the whole party. do you see phone calls, posing coffee chat.|j do not do dinner dates but i get on with thejob. i do not do dinner dates but i get on with the job. i supportjeremy hunt, idida with the job. i supportjeremy hunt, i did a long time ago. i want to see jeremy as the prime minister purely and simply because he has been in the cabinet for longest, he is very experienced. we are choosing the prime minister who needs to deal with the civil service, not leader of the opposition. what will you do with the withdrawal agreement to make it palatable ?

with the withdrawal agreement to make it palatable? the mathematics of the same but this is my personal andi of the same but this is my personal and i am not speaking on behalf of any team. i think we will see a surge in populism on sunday and i think the europeans will not want that. they have that unique problems andi that. they have that unique problems and i think they will be willing to get around the negotiating table sooner get around the negotiating table sooner rather than later. even though they have said repeatedly they will not go back to the negotiations. you are right in saying that but they have made further concessions with theresa may, still. another problem for someone may, still. another problem for someone taking over is they do not really have a monday. they are elected by conservative mps and party members to lead the country and lead us through brexit. the labour party want a general election. if there was going to be a general election, why is now not the right time so whoever is the prime minister has the backing of the

country. the only time you get a change and the leader is when they fail ina change and the leader is when they fail in a general election. churchill was the greatest leader we have had and he was not elected. historically, more often than not leaders come in halfway to take over from somebody. given the country is so sweet, isn't it the right thing to do to have a general election and give people the chance to have their say and put the person they want in charge, to try and sort this mess. if you have a general election at this stage, are we looking at populism, the exit issue? this is not about jeremy populism, the exit issue? this is not aboutjeremy hunt and about choosing someone to take us through brexit, it is a long—term path and the direction of the country. we have to start believing in britain and we can do that. you thinkjeremy hunt could beat borisjohnson?|j and we can do that. you thinkjeremy hunt could beat boris johnson? i do, yes. there are many, many more

candidates and all kinds of unpredictable things can happen but if it was down to the two of them... you have to look at scrutiny and who was the front runner last time, it was the front runner last time, it was borisjohnson. was the front runner last time, it was boris johnson. what would he be like if he were to win because he is an interesting character. are we talking about boris? borisjohnson. is it the right person? look, at the end of the day, i look at it like this, at somebody‘s form. i am a pragmatist. with jeremy this, at somebody‘s form. i am a pragmatist. withjeremy hunt this, at somebody‘s form. i am a pragmatist. with jeremy hunt we this, at somebody‘s form. i am a pragmatist. withjeremy hunt we have someone pragmatist. withjeremy hunt we have someone who has delivered the ii pragmatist. withjeremy hunt we have someone who has delivered the 11 x, sorted out the nhs — that the 0lympics. boris as foreign secretary was not exactly brilliant. jeremy hunt was a brilliant. there are people who would take issue with

that but we do not have time to talk about it now but thank you for come to see us. so many more candidates. about a dozen potential candidates as faras we about a dozen potential candidates as far as we can make out. possibly more to come. plenty more on this in the coming days and weeks. here's louise with a look at this morning's weather. they come think and fast these bank holidays. easter, mayday, now the second spring bank holiday. not quite as straightforward. more rain around and it will get noticeably cooler. but there is still going to be some sunshine. today, the best whether in sheltered eastern areas. rain from the atlantic into western scotla nd rain from the atlantic into western scotland and northern ireland. in

the south—west we had some sunshine this morning but it will gradually cloud over. sunshine turning increasingly hazy. similar values to yesterday but already the cooler air into scotland, a little disappointing. the rain will continue through this evening and overnight into scotland, across northern ireland and some rain light and patch into the north of england and patch into the north of england and north wales. dry in the south. some changes to come for sunday because the cold front is pushing in and that will introduce some rain at some point to all of us through the day so it starts off grey and wet across scotland, moving out of northern ireland into west england and wales but slow improvement as the rain pushes its way steadily south and east. showery rain across the midlands and into the south—east corner by the end of the day but behind it and improvement with some

sunshine, with the exception to the north of scotland. some brightness and 21 degrees in the south—east but it is not expected to last. as the front it is not expected to last. as the fro nt m oves it is not expected to last. as the front moves away, there will be a few more isobars on the charts. winds swing into a north—westerly direction, a cooler source behind the cold front. plenty of showers through scotland, northern ireland, north—west england and wales. sheltered eastern areas seeing the best of the sunshine on monday but a little bit cooler. it is also half term for many across the country and it does look as if the cooler trend is set to continue, i'm afraid, into the week. some welcome rain for the garden but not welcome if you want to be out with the kids. temperatures just below the average for the time of year so choose your days carefully.

what is your dog cold? imagine. -- called. we will see madge at work? just say the word. i would be getting into trouble, no doubt. everybody is sending pictures of the most adorable puppy going to work on the roof. the last time you signed on the dotted line for a financial product, can you remember whether you were asked what you would do if a life—changing event meant that you couldn't make the repayments? adam shaw from bbc radio 4's money box has been looking at the issue and he joins us now. this happened to someone who got in touch with you. one of our listeners got in touch and she and her partner went to buy a new cloud, very excited. she was five months

pregnant. they bought the cloud on finance as most people do and tragically her partner died just after the cloud was delivered and, of course, she was in emotional and financial turmoil. —— car. of course, she was in emotional and financialturmoil. —— car. she wa nted financialturmoil. —— car. she wanted to give it all back because you could not afford it and they said no, you can pay us £16,000 and we will let you off the contract with nothing at all or you can pay us with nothing at all or you can pay us £30,000 and we will give you the car. she could not do either. we looked into the case and we found that she had not properly been advised and had not properly gone through the process and explained it. after an intervention they let her off the contract but it doesn't just highlight how dangerous and how significant these things are and you get distracted by the shiny car and

you do not worry about the finances and a lot of people in this situation. in fact, these companies are obliged in theory to ask you, could you cope with this kind of deal if there was a significant change in your life but you think that does not always happen?m change in your life but you think that does not always happen? it did not happen in this case. it is called a suitability test and it was missing in this case. even if the company is not asking, you have to ask yourself. how would you cope if there was a big change in your life, somebody died or if you lost your job. you really have to ask yourself these questions and i think the problem is, you get distracted by the shiny new toy and also you are not in the right frame of mind to ask yourself this. think of them beforehand as well. it is a really important issue to raise.

you can hear more about that on moneybox on radio 4 from midday today. caring for a child with a rare medical condition can be challenging for parents who are given limited information but a project called deciphering developmental disorders, near cambridge, aims to help families get the diagnosis they need. now, eight years since the project launched, the genes of more than 13,000 children have been read. here's our science correspondent, richard westcott. are you just having a chillout? eight years old with severe learning difficulties and various difficulties and various difficulties with her heart and digestion but her condition is so rare that for most of her life her family and doctors simply have not known what is wrong with and without that official diagnosis you can struggle to get the right help. with other conditions, you may go to these teams because we know for this particular condition you need to see metabolic and gastric team and you

get all that set up straightaway but with an undiagnosed condition it is wait and see what the problem might be first and then you go and see that team. thanks to a groundbreaking project, scientists in cambridge have finally been able to diagnose hailey‘s conditions and they found that one tiny glitch in her dna is causing all her problems, one misplaced part out of 3 billion in her body. deciphering developmental disorders has now checked the genes of more than 13,500 children with unknown conditions. step one of finding a cure is to understand what is the underlying cause of the disease and everything is critically dependent on that. from that point onwards you can on that. from that point onwards you ca n start on that. from that point onwards you can start narrowing down on the particular biology of the disease and what drugs may crucially be required to try and correct what is

going wrong. since they started eight years ago, the scientists have diagnosed more than a500 children and found 50 new disorders and the key to their success is in this room. what these machines are doing is reading dna but very, very quickly so back in the year 2000, what it would have taken them for yea rs what it would have taken them for years to read into this room they can read the same amount of dna in six minutes. the genes that we have identified as causing developmental disorder have been used globally to diagnose people so it has benefited from ask coalescing all data within the uk. ——us. from ask coalescing all data within the uk. --us. hayley's condition is a syndrome but even knowing a name has helped other families a syndrome but even knowing a name has helped otherfamilies going through the same thing. we found a group up into the state so we have

managed to connect with some families overseas but also have found about ten families in the uk as well so in the last two summers we have managed to meet up with some of the other families. richard westcott, bbc news. still to come on breakfast: stay with us, headlines coming up. hello, this is breakfast with rogerjohnson and rachel burden. here's a summary of today's main stories from bbc news. the race to become the next conservative party leader has begun. theresa may has confirmed she will step down next month, meaning a new prime minister could be in place by the end ofjuly.

four current or former cabinet ministers have already put their hat in the ring. mrs may had been coming under increasing pressure from both sides of her party over her handling of brexit. let's look now at how the weeks ahead should pan out. mrs may will step down as party leader on the 7th ofjune, but will stay on as prime minister until a successor is chosen. the race for the conservative leadership will begin formally on the 10th ofjune. tory mps will have to select two candidates, then the winner will be chosen by party members. the final result is expected by the end ofjuly, with the successful candidate expected to become britain's new prime minister. us president donald trump has sent 1,500 troops to the middle east as tensions with iran escalate. the deployment includes surveillance and fighter aircraft, and a patriot missile defence battalion. the relationship between the two countries has been strained for months since president donald trump imposed sanctions on iran and backed out of the

iranian nuclear deal. police are questioning a man and a woman on suspicion of murdering two boys aged 13 and 1a following an incident at a house in sheffield. police were called to the property on friday and six youngsters were taken to hospital. four other children, aged between seven months and 11 years, are not seriously injured. universities in england have been told not to complain about a lack of funding ahead of a report which could suggest reducing fees by nearly £2000. a review to be published in the coming week is expected call for better value for money for students. education secretary, damian hinds says the sector is in good financial health and has warned university bosses against scaremongering. homeowners in england will be allowed to build bigger extensions

their home without a formal application stop additions to terraced and semi detached homes can be up to six metres. detached houses will be able to extend up to eight metres. councils are warning that they won't be able to consider the impact of building work on neighbours. crew had to evacuate a cargo ship after it began listng in the river mersey. the container vessel got into trouble at gladstone dock in liverpool in the early hours of yesterday morning. the maritime and coastguard agency say the ship is now back on an even keel, and l crew were safe. let's introduce you now to a puppy named ‘shuck‘, who has become the newest recruit at a thatcher‘s firm in norfolk. hejoins his owner richard, on roofing jobs across east anglia, without showing any fear of heights. they've only been together for a few weeks, but have become inseparable.

and we have totally fallen in love. this led us to ask you about your dog is going to work with you and we have been inundated with tweets and pick as an e—mail the pictures to bbc breakfast. and we will try to show you some of them later. he does a big yawn at some point. it is tiring. look at this. 0h a big yawn at some point. it is tiring. look at this. oh dear. a big yawn at some point. it is tiring. look at this. 0h dearlj know how he feels. we're not against cats, you take your cat to work feel free, joining the party. gerbils, goldfish, anything. we are looking at a massive weekend of sport next saturday. i am up for it and making plans. steady yourself now. a massive game in scotland today. there is. let us not forget about this. celtic are just dominating at the moment. after

winning their sixth consecutive title, it is just... winning their sixth consecutive title, it is just. .. they winning their sixth consecutive title, it isjust. .. they have the trouble trouble this time. the trouble trouble this time. the trouble trouble. it is unprecedented. —— treble treble.|j like the hearts manager saying he was going for the single single. celtic have the chance to claim an unprecedented domestic treble—treble in the scottish cup final at hampden this afternoon. they've already won the league cup and the premiership title and have won every scottish honour available for the past three seasons. but standing in the way title are hearts, who have not won a game since their semifinal victory over a month ago. hearts another obstacle, difficult obstacle hearts another obstacle, difficult o bsta cle we hearts another obstacle, difficult obstacle we have to overcome. i am wa ry obstacle we have to overcome. i am wary of everyone talking about

ayes ha wary of everyone talking about ayesha hazarika and bus parades. we have got to play the game and it is important. that message will be hammered home to the players. we are coming for the single single. it isjust as important to us. we have recent history of beating celtic. and i feel the preparation for the game, particularly the last two or three weeks, has gone extremely well. england's women take on denmark in walsall later, in their penultimate warm—up match before the world cup in france. head coach phil neville said the starting line—ups for the final two friendlies will provide a good indication as to his starting 11 for theirfirst game against scotland. he says his side will be ready for the pressure of france. we've not gone easy on them, we've not let them cut corners, and we've not let them cut corners because when it comes to nice on the 9th ofjune, it will be, the expectation will be on england, expectation will be on england to do well in the tournament. and i want my players to be ready for that,

and prepared for that, and if they are prepared and they go out there and they enjoy themselves, we will be happy and we will be a force to be reckoned with. and england against denmark is live on bbc one this afternoon, kick off is at one o'clock. clearly training going pretty well, too. have you ever nutmegged anyone? not knowingly. not intentionally. when you put the ball between your opponent's legs — the ultimate insult. ididn't my i didn't my boys when they were four orfive. i didn't my boys when they were four or five. they do to me now. i wouldn't boast about it. well, phil neville felt the shame during training yesterday — nutmegged by one of his own team — alex greenwood — and toni duggan luckily on hand to film it. oh the shame.

there is no reason why he shouldn't. it is the ultimate insult. but it feels pretty good when you do it. we're only five days away from the start of the cricket world cup and there was worrying news yesterday for england, the tournament's hosts and favourites. captain eoin morgan picked up a finger injury in practice and while he's expected to be fit for their opening game against south africa on thursday, he'll miss today's warm—up match against australia in southampton — one that brad haddin expects to be a pretty tense affair. you're starting to get really close to that first game now, so it's really important that we get into some really good habit and there's no better way than to get that competitive edge than a practice game against england. i think we can talk a lot about it being a practice game, getting some miles on your legs, but once you walk across the line pride takes over and you want to do well against england. we have a big weekend of rugby union in store, with two premiership semi—final play—offs and the pro1a final — more than a0,000 fans are expected at celtic park for glasgow warriors against leinster. warriors are on a nine—match winning run but leinster are defending champions.

it's a massive day for the whole squad, for all our extended people, and backroom staff, and so on, and just a hell of a lot of work from a hell of a lot of people. and so that makes it special. but, yeah, we can't wait for the whistle to roll. the rugby league posts are up at liverpool's anfield stadium, for the annual super league festival — the magic weekend — with six matches over two days. it's part of plans to showcase super league in different parts of the country, to widen the sport's appeal. and for the players, it's a chance to play at an iconic football stadium. i got a chance to go there on monday and do the promotion for the magic weekend at anfield and just walking down the tunnel go down to the field and you see the you'll never walk alone and the signs on the side of the wall in the change room, it's an event i've been looking forward to since i've signed. you know, can't wait to get a taste

of what it is like to play on there. 0ne one of the games lined up is warrington versus wigan. warrington looking for revenge. it will be a great weekend. i love it. a magic weekend. holly, thank you very much, we will see you wenda nel. there are now more than a dozen runners and riders as potential tory leadership candidates after mrs may set out her timetable to leave number ten. let's find out what whispers have been circulating westminster‘s corridors of power since yesterday with ayesha hazarika, a former labour party advisor and the spectator‘s political reporter, cindy yu. they have joined us from college green. thank you for talking to us this morning. you have me at a slight disadvantage because were

standing next to each other and i am some distance away. don't come to blows. i'm sure you won't. what to each of you think? ayesha hazarika, first of all, your reactions to what we saw yesterday with mrs may. even though it was a long time coming it was quite a shock to see it happen. and definitely the crack in the voice at the end. from a human point of view you can look at the person and think i'd do feel sort of a bit of human empathy. but when i look at her in the office, i'm afraid i think she was the architect of her own demise. yes, she was handed a difficult hand, a bad hand, but she did played catastrophically. she should have reached out to people, she didn't. and i'm afraid when you look at her legacy she go down as one of, i think, the worst prime ministers in living memory. not only was break 0'day fiasco, we have the hostile environment for immigrants, we have the windrush generation, you know, the country is left very

divided —— brexit fiasco. we have massive problems. just this week british steel teeters on the brink of collapse, 25,000 jobs on the line. we have problems with schools, the nhs, infrastructure, housing, none of these issues are being addressed. i feel for none of these issues are being addressed. ifeel for her none of these issues are being addressed. i feel for her at a none of these issues are being addressed. ifeel for her at a human level but her legacy is appalling. cindy, your thoughts on that and then i will ask you something else. low festival, i was shocked it actually happened after two years. despite fighting of the many challenges she has actually gone. i think ayesha was completely right. 0na human think ayesha was completely right. on a human level we feel sorry for her, but at the moment, it doesn't look good. i think when we are looking at brexit, yes, she didn't deliver it, but how tough was the mission? it was incredibly tough it is notjust tories mission? it was incredibly tough it is not just tories who are split, it is not just tories who are split, it is the labour party. had labour party been under the scrutiny of

government they don't it necessarily would have done better full up looking at her deal, things that are undesirable, like the backstop, they are a result of the situation, the fa ct are a result of the situation, the fact that we don't want a hard border on the island of ireland. those are things you can't buy control. i think looking those are things you can't buy control. ithink looking back those are things you can't buy control. i think looking back on the situation in a year or two we might remember hera bit situation in a year or two we might remember her a bit more kindly. just to come back quickly on that, i feel that at the beginning she had made this 0dyssey she made on tuesday right at the start and if she had reached out, for example, cross— party reached out, for example, cross—party device, becausejeremy corbyn is quite a brexiteer, he could have helped get some deal together. she should have included scotland. i'd just feel that if her tone had been much more, she that would compromise right at the end, yet the only people she compromised with seemed to be at the erjiahui in the end kay voser anyway. she was never able to satisfy... —— erg. in the end kay voser anyway. she was never able to satisfy... -- erg. so how do you square the circle? we are

still the same country, we are still divided, how can anyone solve this? i think it is very tough to sell. i think we will see that very shortly. the conservative party is trying to have a leader in place by the summer recess, byjuly. by autumn, the october deadline, however the new leader is, probably a brexiteer, possibly borisjohnson, they leader is, probably a brexiteer, possibly boris johnson, they will say that this is the hand that theresa may has dealt with and they cannot do better. borisjohnson said he would not seek another extension on october 31. but when you look at the legislation that needs to be in place for a no—deal brexit there is not enough time for that. however the ex—tory leader is they will have a tough challenge already. therefore, ayesha, know what you will say in response this, would a general election help? but do we actually have time for a general election? well, look, this deadline of halloween is really, really tight. and we have squandered quite a lot of time since we got that

extension. it looks like the frontrunner is boris johnson. extension. it looks like the frontrunner is borisjohnson. he has already given overtures that we should be preparing to walk away with no deal. think the situation is very difficult and think my experience, having been an advisor, a political advisor long time, the last two prime ministers that got anointed or put into be prime minister by their party and then who did not have a general straightaway, they did not fare very well, gordon brown and theresa may, whoever wins the tory leadership it does look like it will be borisjohnson, i think he might be able to unite parts of the party but they don't think he will be able to unite the country. he is a very divisive character, a very marmite character. i think he should be putting himself out to the public as soon as possible, because unless you change the arithmetic of parliament, whoever takes over as prime minister is not going to be able to conjure up is not going to be able to conjure up some magic new deal. the eu have been very, very clear that they are not opening up the withdrawal bill and, as cindy says, there is some

stuff that is very difficult like the border in northern ireland. there is not a solution to that. it isa there is not a solution to that. it is a very sensitive political issue, as we have seen. we will have to leave it there. thank you both very much indeed. you stood side by side and were very civilised. that was very super. thank you both very much indeed. ayes ha thank you both very much indeed. ayesha hazarika and cindy yu. let's look at the weather but before that, we have been talking about dogs at work. a little earlier we showed you, shuck the puppy, working for a thatcher‘s firm in norfolk, since then you've been sending in pictures of your own ha rd—working pets. he would like to bring madge to work. here she is, drumroll. i have a levels and my house and you can imagine how stressful that is and

she knows when to climb on the bed and have a cuddle when necessary. we could do with a bit of pet therapy looking at the weather this you might need a few extra layers to go dog walking. a misty looking sky at the moment. clouding overfrom the west because there is a weather front coming and once the cold front arrives the second half of the weekend is going to introduce a different feel to the weather and u nfortu nately different feel to the weather and unfortunately it is half term for many. outbreaks of rain starting to push into western fringes of scotla nd push into western fringes of scotland and northern ireland as we speak. the odd spot of drizzly rain into north—west england and north wales. sheltered eastern areas with the best of the weather. already,

cooler weather conditions are starting to push into the far north and the rain will continue through this evening and overnight, some persistent with another burst of heavy rain as the cold front moves then through the night. dry weather south and relatively mild. temperatures widely into double digits. but the cold front expected through the day on sunday. it will ta ke through the day on sunday. it will take its time in arriving but it will introduce the cooler air and fresher weather story. a bit more of a breeze under those exposed west coast as well. a wet start to sunday across scotland, northern england into wales. that will move somewhat erratically through the midlands and the south—east corner. more cloud and a little bit of a showery rain into the afternoon but behind it brighter conditions. if you start went on sunday, you might see an improvement into the afternoon. on

monday, plenty of isobars from a north—westerly direction, a cooler source. showers into scotland and northern ireland. rest of the weather in eastern areas. back to you too. madge was absolutely lovely. we will have more dogs at work. we have had dozens and dozens of photographs sent in. we'll be back with the headlines at 8:00. now it's time for newswatch. hello and welcome to newswatch, with me, samira ahmed. in a week of high political drama, including resignations and an election, how well has bbc news managed the journalistic challenge? and was celebrity chef jamie oliver's restaurant business going into administration really more important than the fate of british steel?

the most dramatic moment of television news this week came on friday morning, but had been much anticipated. for a good hour or more, before theresa may's speech announcing the date of her resignation, bbc news was broadcasting live from downing street, often showing nothing more than the closed door of number ten. while waiting for the appearance of the prime minister, wayne fish took exception to the banner at the bottom of the screen... after the statement itself, angela rowley e—mailed as follows...

thursday was european election day, when political reporting is always rather a strange affair, with coverage limited, as the bbc guidelines put it, "to uncontroversial factual accounts, such as the appearance of politicians at polling stations or the weather." that is because all broadcasters have to follow strict laws set out by the regulator, ofcom, which govern their output to avoid any suggestions that might influence the outcome of the election. those restrictions were put to considerable test this week when, the night before uk voters went to the polls to elect members of the european parliament, the leader of the house of commons andrea leadsom resigned from the cabinet, prompting renewed speculation about the prime minister's future and the rules governing political reporting stay in place until sunday evening when the rest of the european union finishes voting. the dilemma was summed up by a tweet

on wednesday from a former head of the bbc newsroom, peter horrocks... we asked bbc news how it was approaching its political coverage, in the light of those rules and the current political turmoil, and they told us...

of course, a different set of rules have also been applied during the period leading up to the european elections, requiring due weight to be given to all parties, as we have discussed on this programme over the past few weeks. that can be achieved, the bbc says, across one programme, a series of programmes, or over the course of the election campaign. but some of those tuning into the andrew marr show last sunday had questions about the guest list outlined at the top of the programme. in an extended show this morning, i am joined by a whole range of party leaders — labour's jeremy corbyn, in liverpool. the snp leader nicola

sturgeon from glasgow. and here in the studio, the leader of the liberal democrats, sir vince cable. change uk spokesman, chuka umunna. and from the tories, one of the many vying to be the next prime minister, the newest member of the cabinet, rory stewart. five different parties represented then but they all had something in common, according to ian dutton. .. and susan hadley left us this telephone message. i wish to complain about the line—up on the andrew marr show on sunday morning. it is completely biased towards remain, as all the bbc programmes normally are, but we are so near european elections that this

is a totally biased outlook. we asked for a statement in response to those comments and were told... that wasn't the only controversy around last weekend's andrew marr show. during the programme, the liberal democrat leader, vince cable, was asked about the course word used in his party's campaign literature to sum up their opposition to brexit. talking about disrespectful things and propriety in politics, this is also the first manifesto whose title i cannot read out on sunday morning television.

do you not feel a little embarrassed about the coarseness of your main election slogan? well, a few people objected to it. i looked on the etymology. mr cable then went on to utter the phrase in question, prompting andrew marr to apologise to viewers for its use. responses from the audience were divided, with one objecting, as one viewer put it... before we leave politics this week, this footage of the brexit party leader nigel farage being covered in a milkshake while out campaigning on monday has been widely seen this week. two widely for llewellyn samuels,

who wrote... too widely for llewellyn samuels, who wrote... do let us know your thoughts on the issues we are covering this week or on any aspect of bbc news. stay tuned for details of how to contact us at the end of the programme. now for some of your other comments this week, starting with the reaction to the news priorities shown on tuesday's bulletins. here's part of the headlines sequence for the news at 6:00. simple food but made with love.

come in and see us at jamie's italian. but now, 22 jamie oliver restaurant are to close with the loss of 1000 jobs. british steel workers wait to hear of a government rescue deal can save their company from collapse. edward ashton had this response...

on newswatch, we don't only air criticisms about bbc news output, but also sometimes compliments and there were plenty of those following the panorama special. it revealed the abuse of adults with learning disabilities and autism at the specialist hospital whorlton hall. after two months of secret filming by undercover reporter, olivia davies. we won't be showing any of the more upsetting footage from the programme, but here is a clip relating to one patient who was scared of men and who had screamed in distress when she was left alone with male care staff. it was total intimidation. that is exactly what it was. it was intimidation to make her stop because they're big grown men, it just caused her to act out even more. it was massively distressing for the patient. massively distressing. heidi emery had this message...

finally, this week saw the death of nan winton, the bbc‘s first female tv newsreader. that was mentioned on news bulletins but carol iddon thought her death received insufficient attention, making this comparison... thank you for all your comments this week. please do get in touch with your opinions about what you see on bbc tv news, online or bbc social media, you may even appear on the programme. you can e—mail us. or you can find us on twitter. you can call us. and do have a look at previous

interviews on our website. that is all from us. we will be back to hear your thoughts about bbc news coverage again next week. goodbye. good morning welcome to breakfast with rachel burden and rogerjohnson. our headlines today: