today at five — following bruising results for the main parties in the eu elections, both sides are trying to define their positions on brexit. for the tories, the leadership contenders are split over whether to leave the eu with or without a deal. as the prime mininster arrives in brussels, she says she still wants an orderly exit. the position i've always taken has been to work to get the best possible deal for the uk in leaving the eu. i've always taken the view that the best option for the uk is to leave the european union with a deal. labour are under pressure to spell out their position as they tussle over the question of another referendum. labour expel senior party figure alastair campbell after he revealed he voted for the lib dems in the european elections — he says he did it in the best interests of the party.

i'm very sad, because... but i don't feel i've left the labour party. iam i am still in the labour party as far as i am still in the labour party as faras i'm i am still in the labour party as far as i'm concerned. and i will a lwa ys far as i'm concerned. and i will always be labour. i suspect i will be in and around the labour party longer than some of the people who are aroundjeremy longer than some of the people who are around jeremy corbyn at the moment. the other main stories on bbc news at five... the equality and human rights commission launches a formal investigation into the labour party over claims of anti—semitism. the london bridge inquests hear new details about how one of the attackers became radicalised. another death of a climber on everest — we talk to a mountaineer about why this season is proving so dangerous. and northern ireland's newest mep, naomi long of the alliance party, joins us at 5.45pm.

it's five o'clock. our main story — the two main westminster parties are in turmoil over brexit in the wake of their poor performance in the european elections. both parties are being pulled by their core vote towards a position which might alienate the other side of the party. for labour — jeremy corbyn is coming under mounting pressure from senior front benchers to come out, unequivocally, in favour of a second referendum. but one ofjeremy corbyn‘s biggest union backers, unite leader len mccluskey, says they are wrong and a second vote won't solve anything. meanwhile, the party has expelled one of the architects of new labour — former communications chief alastair campbell, who admitted to voting for the liberal democrats last week. for the conservatives, the foreign secretary, jeremy hunt, has said a no—deal brexit would be political suicide for his party. arriving in brussels, the prime minister said it was important to leave the eu in an orderly manner.

ourfirst report is from our political correspondent jonathan blake. cheering celebration for the party that wants us out as soon as possible, and one that wants to keep us in. but the mood is much gloomier for the tories and labour, searching for a solution to the brexit stalemate. one conservative leadership candidate is trying to set himself apart, arguing against leaving the eu without a deal. if we guarantee a date by when we will leave the european union, we are running the risk that when parliament then tries to block a no—deal exit, as i think it would, you are then committed to a general election. the only way you can get over parliament blocking a no—deal exit is to change parliament, and that would be a general election. that would be catastrophic. good morning, good morning. he sees it differently, saying we should leave by the deadline regardless. other senior tories yet

to say if they willjoin the race feel the same. i'm just getting on with myjob today, thanks. one who is standing is keeping any big ideas to himself — for now. brexit is clearly going to be one of the big issues that has to be addressed properly and every candidate has to come forward with a credible plan, so i will have much more to say on that in the coming days. thank you very much. which way to turn on brexit is the question all ten people who now want to be prime minister will have to answer, sooner or later. whatever you think about no deal, it's pretty obvious the eu may choose no deal on our behalf. so my view is we have to do everything we can to be ready for that point, so that we can take the option, if required. this crowded field of candidates have to first convince tory mps they have a credible plan for brexit, but it's conservative party members who will make the final choice, and many of them favour leaving with no deal, if need be. it's notjust the tories, though, that are trying to find their way. after disastrous european election results, labour, too, are under pressure to revise and rethink their plan.

parliament has failed and we need the people to decide. and we are saying that that's what our members have told us and that is the message that the vast majority of labour supporters up and down the country in these elections, i think, have told us in the elections this week and also the local elections a month ago. one ally ofjeremy corbyn it said he should resist. throwing a party weight behind calls for another public vote. my message today is for people to calm down and don't be spooked by these elections. the only thing that these elections showed is that we have a divided nation and it is time to reflect on how we get the labour party policy over. some in labourfear backing another referendum would cost the party votes and jeremy corbyn says he is listening to all sides. for voters trying to do the same, their message might be far from clear. jonathan blake, bbc news, westminster. let's get more on all of this

from our political correspondent nick eardley, who's in westminsterfor us. let's start with alastair campbell, iam let's start with alastair campbell, i am struggling to think of someone more aggressively pro—labour than him and he is coming out fighting? he isa him and he is coming out fighting? he is a man who was at the heart of the new labour machine when it was in downing street in the late 90s and the early 2000s, anyone who worked at westminster would know him as the man who came out to bat for tony blair every day, basically, he has been thrown out of the party for admitting on the bbc that he backed the lib dems in the european elections last week, for the simple reason that he is completely in favour of another referendum. he has been explaining what happened in the last how far, let's have a listen. so much i believe i voted in the

interests of the labour party.” think it is particularly sad and disappointing that this comes on a day when actually, finally, the labour party seems to be trying to move to what i would define as a sensible position on brexit. and so... sensible position on brexit. and so...| sensible position on brexit. and so... ithink sensible position on brexit. and so... i think there are people in jeremy corbyn's office who have recommended voting against the labour party. jeremy corbyn himself, for reasons best known to himself, brought in... i think you can interpret the rules and also is of different ways but one thing i know is, i'm not going to leave the party just because some random e—mail comes in telling me i've been expelled. i will definitely appeal

against it. labour says those are the rules, if you have made it clear you back to another party, you cannot remain a member of labour. but the broader problem they have is, alastair campbell is not the only one, we have already had this afternoon from bob ainsworth, a former defence secretary saying he voted for the greens in the european election. and more broadly, there are a lot of traditional labour voters who turned their back on the party on thursday. so it is notjust alastair campbell thatis so it is notjust alastair campbell that is the problem. tactical voting on both sides of the brexit debate this past week. it is a curious day in which to expel him because this is the when the ehic has opened its investigation into the allegations of anti—semitism within labour and of anti—semitism within labour and of course alastair campbell has pointed to those within the party who have not been expelled for the anti—semitic views. who have not been expelled for the anti-semitic views. absolutely, some labour mps doing the same on twitter this afternoon as well. this has

been boiling overfor this afternoon as well. this has been boiling over for about this afternoon as well. this has been boiling overfor about three yea rs. been boiling overfor about three years. labour has really struggled to get a lid on claims it is failing to get a lid on claims it is failing to deal with anti—semitism. today the equality watchdog has come out and says it is going to look into whether or not the party has acted unlawfully, whether it has discriminated against people from a jewish background. let's have a look —— might let's have a listen to the pa rty‘s —— might let's have a listen to the party's equalities spokesperson, dawn butler. the labour party will fully cooperate with the ehrc, that is terribly important. and what we strive to do as a party is make sure that we have the most robust and fair system that we can possibly have and i think this investigation will allow for us to be able to say with some confidence that we have that. asign of a sign of the times and the problems both parties are facing, the muslim council of britain has also written to the e hcr this afternoon signed the conservative party should be

investigated for its approach to islamophobia. the tories have always said they have robust procedures as well but clearly this is an issue that both parties are struggling to get a that both parties are struggling to geta grip that both parties are struggling to get a grip on. let us talk briefly about the conservatives. we have ten candidates running for the leadership, an announcement in the last hour that the bbc will host the leadership debates. the political equivalent to the grand national is going to be happening in mid june, when we finally get the final list of who is standing to be the next tory leader and prime minister. the bbc is announcing today it is going to have a debate in mid june between however many there are candidates. the process then comes back here to westminster, mps will whittle that list down with numerous votes to two, there will then be another question time special when we hear from the two people who are hoping to be our next minister. then the vote goes to conservative members around the country, the party hopes that process is over by mid—july and

theresa may's replacement will be announced then. we will hesitate to call it deal or no deal! theresa may is in brussels this evening for an eu summit at which leaders will be discussing who becomes the next european commission president. in theory, britain still has a vote so long as it is a member of the eu. and it does matter, because britain is going to be dealing very closely, in the months and years ahead, with whoever is in charge at the commission. it will be mrs may's first meeting with the eu council leader, donald tusk, since she resigned on friday. speaking to reporters as she arrived in brussels, mrs may said she still favoured leaving the eu with a deal. while i've been prime minister, i've been to something like 15 council meetings or more, and at every one of those, i've been working hard to negotiate the best possible deal for the uk in leaving the european union, and it's a matter of great regret to me that i haven't been able to deliver brexit. but of course, that matter is now for my successor, and they will have to find a way of addressing the very strongly held views on both sides of this issue,

and to do that, and to get a majority in parliament, as i said on friday, i think will require compromise. but while we are still a member of the european union, while i am prime minister, i'll be continuing to meet the obligations of the office and the duties of the office, and of course that includes being here today, where we are due to discuss the top jobs in the eu institutions, and the uk will continue to play a constructive role during the time of this extension of article 50. some in your cabinet who want to succeed you have suggested they would renegotiate the withdrawal agreement. other former cabinet ministers have said they would let the uk leave without a deal in october. are either of those positions correct? the position i've always taken has been to work to get the best possible deal for the uk in leaving the eu. i've always taken the view that the best option for the uk is to leave the european union with a deal. i'm not going to comment on the views of individual candidates. there will be a process of selecting my successor as leader of the conservative party,

but i continue to have the view that it is best for the uk to leave with a deal. not the easiest evening for the prime minister! our europe correspondent, damian grammaticas, joins us from brussels. i would think they would be plugging herfor i would think they would be plugging her for what is likely to happen over the course of the summer? yes, i think certainly the leaders we have heard, the dutch prime minister saying he would receive her with hugs and kisses because he respects her, and i think it will be awkward because she has failed to get the withdrawal agreement she negotiated with them and said she could get through parliament, she has failed to do that, but they have made clear they will not be reopened. but the ladies have sympathy because they understand the pressure of those sort of exposed leadership positions and how exposed they can be so there

is fellow feeling. meanwhile they will be discussing the top jobs and particularly the european commission presidentjob, which is the big one. is this a tug of war between the european commission and the european parliament? well, that is the plum job, the president of the commission, filled byjean—claude juncker at the moment, it is a tussle, yes, between the european states, the leaders who are here, and the parliament. you have the council, which is whether leaders meet, they will nominate someone which will go to the parliament to approve. the parliament has been pushing the idea that it should actually, being the democratically elected body that has just held the election, 200 million people voted, it should be able to put forward a candidate for the leaders to pick from. so there is that push and pull there. the leaders say the reason they are having this meeting is to seize these —— the initiative but what is interesting is the way the

balance is shifting. the germans, the old centre parties, angela merkel‘s christian democrats, came out the best party in the parliament, they say they should still have that top job, that is how jean—claude juncker got it, but their man is not going down well with some of the others so what we see there is the french, emmanuel macron with his new liberal meps who he will be bringing, part of the liberal bloc which has boosted their role, they say this is a new situation, the all parties have lost their dominance, they have to listen to the others like mr macron, he is pushing a couple of names, michel barnier is one possibility. that may not get through. if not, the liberals pushing the danish liberal who has made a big name for herself here in the last five years, running the very powerful competition arm of the very powerful competition arm of the european commission, taking on

the european commission, taking on the likes of google and amazon, people like that, about paying their taxes in europe. she has a popular —— she is a popular choice. taxes in europe. she has a popular -- she is a popular choice. thank you very much indeed for that. i'm nowjoined by dutch mep bas eickhout. he's the greens' co—lead candidate for european commission president and he'll be hoping to replace jean—claude juncker when he steps down later this year. thank you for being with us. so, the front runner is the leader of the evp, manfred weber. the christian democrats would say, we finished top of the pile in the european elections so we should get to go first. well, that needs to be decided by a majority in the parliament. and a majority of member states. so in that sense, yes, there are the biggest in the parliament but we as the greens have made clear that we are going to decide on the basis of a programme, so the candidate for the commission presidency that is really going to

deliver a new and a change to europe which is going to act on climate change, going to put in more social policies, that can be the candidate we will support because manfred weber is not having a majority support yet. there needs to be negotiations on a programme and then let us see who we can support.|j understand the french president met with the spanish prime minister yesterday, clearly with an eye on forming this progressive alliance that could stop manfred weber. it seems like we are heading towards a battle royale! i thinki hope, seems like we are heading towards a battle royale! ithinki hope, it is a lwa ys battle royale! ithinki hope, it is always a problem if you only see a battle around persons and leading europe, i think what we are obligated to show to our voters is that it obligated to show to our voters is thatitis obligated to show to our voters is that it is about a battle of ideas, in which direction is euro going? so out it can be a progressive alliance, that is something the greens can support but it must have a majority. in the european parliament, it is very nice that emmanuel macron is discussing with

sanchez but in the end, in the european parliament, if you only look at the greens, socialists and liberals, they don't have the majority. so there will have to be talks with the christian democrats, whether we like it or not, they will be needed for a majority and that's why i think it's much more important to talk about the topics and where we think change coming to europe is more crucial than only talking about the numbers and the people. but donald tusk would disagree, he would say it's not just donald tusk would disagree, he would say it's notjust about donald tusk would disagree, he would say it's not just about the direction of europe, it's about balancing things between bigger and smaller countries, about gender equality, he has to take into account a whole range of issues that you will not be considering an parliament. now, but to be frank, we asa parliament. now, but to be frank, we as a european parliament according to the treaties, we elect the commission president, whether he likes it or not, he will have to deal with the european parliament. there is also his own position where he can, he will be replaced as a

president of the council. there is also a position for the european central bank. there are more top positions out there, so if donald tuskis positions out there, so if donald tusk is concerned about the gender balance, which we are also concerned about but also geographically etc, there are other positions where the european parliament will have no say in it. i think the european commission's topjob in it. i think the european commission's top job is about new policies that will come in from the european commission and that is really the key of future policies of europe, that clearly we will have a european parliament that has a strong mandate, we will use that mandate to push for greener and more social policies and that is where we are going to base ourjudgment. very interesting, i sense there will be some horse trading! thank you for joining us. has appeared in court. a mother accused of murdering her two teenage children has appeared in court.

34—year—old sarah barrass from sheffield faces two counts of murder over the deaths of tristan, who was 13, and blake, who was 14, on friday last week. 38—year—old brandon machin of no fixed abode also faces two charges of murder. the inquest into the london bridge attacks, which claimed the lives of eight people, has been hearing evidence about the backgrounds of the three attackers. our correspondent richard lister is at the old bailey. i want to talk about whether there are any warning signs for the families of any of these men, what are you hearing from court? i think for kurram but there were warning signs, which is family picked up on. most of the time that we spent hearing about the accounts of the lives of these three attackers were spent on khuram butt. initially seems it seems with all that they were described as fairly normal individuals, they smoked, they drank, liked music and so on. but it does seem that one key

influence to khuram butt with his meetings with anjem choudary, the convicted hate preacher, those meetings it was said left khuram butt energised like a lion out of his cage. in 2015 his family were so concerned about his growing radicalism that they took his passport to stop him from going to syria and in fact his brother—in—law reported him on the anti—terror hotline. in 2016 khuram butt appeared ina hotline. in 2016 khuram butt appeared in a channel four documentary, which was something that was a complete surprise to his family but it doesn't seem to have emerged very widely because when he was interviewed for a job at the london underground, they gave him security clearance to be a customer services representatives. there was less detail about rashid read one —— rashid read one, he was praised by

his manager but his extremism revealed itself when he told a friend that the murder of lee rigby in 2013 was the fault of the government and it emerged that the attack took place at london bridge had taken his child to some of the places the attack was being prepared. for zaghba, there was even less information. he worked in a restau ra nt, less information. he worked in a restaurant, he was a coach in a children's gymnastic programme, no criminal convictions, but one curious incident, his mother was in italy, he was flying from bologna to istanbul and when he was stopped in istanbul and when he was stopped in istanbul and when he was stopped in istanbul and asked why he was going, he said, to be a terrorist before quickly and saying, tourist. he was another one who had previously enjoyed clubbing and drinking but it seems he changed in the months before the attack when he went to the same gym as khuram butt and

redouane. the formerjls singer oritse williams has been found not guilty of raping a woman in his hotel room. he told the jury the encounter — after a gig in 2016 — was consensual. a new voluntary code for banks has taken effect, strengthening protection for people who are tricked into sending fraudsters money from their accounts. victims of scams will be reimbursed by banks signed up to the scheme — unless they decide a customer was negligent. james corden has announced via twitter that the tv comedy series gavin and stacey is set to return for a one—off christmas special on bbc one. corden said he and his co—writer ruthjones had been "keeping this secret for a while". the authorities in nepal say an eleventh climber has died on everest. christopher kulish, who was 61 and from the united states, had reached the summit, and was on his way down when he had a suspected heart attack. at least four deaths this season — the deadliest since 2015 — have been blamed on delays

because of overcrowding on the mountain. gail mclellan reports. everest, where mankind battles mother nature to reach the top of the world. it's a deadly endeavour. the mountain stands over 8,800 metres tall, and a lack of oxygen means humans slowly die on the peaks upper slopes. the number of deaths this year already higher than the whole of 2018. it's been carnage and i should say, it has become a death race there, because there was a massive traffic jam and people are pushing themselves, who are not even capable of doing it. they do it and instead of summiting, they kill themselves. mountaineers say overcrowding is partly to blame, as record numbers of climbers try to conquer one of the world's toughest tests.

conditions have been also worse than normal, with high winds blasting the mountain, leaving a narrow window of time to reach the summit. it really comes down to, this year, a deadly confluence of three factors. you had a limited number of suitable weather days. the second is that you had a record number of permits issued by nepal, along with a requirement each person has to hire a guide. and the third is, due to the market forces, there are now companies offering everest at the lowest—priced ever, which is bringing in a bunch of people that really don't have the experience. and also you have some guides that simply aren't qualified. despite the danger, despite having to climb past the bodies of dead mountaineers, and despite the monumental effort required to reach the top, the pull of everest means people will continue to push for the summit and continue to die doing so. the highest mountain, the highest risk. gail maclellan, bbc news.

i'm joined now by nirmal purja, who's witnessed the congestion on mount everest himself. he joins me live from kathmandu in nepal. good to see you. i hope you can hear us good to see you. i hope you can hear us well. you imagine that the journey to the top of the mountain is going to be a singular experience, that you are going to ta ke experience, that you are going to take on the mountain. and yet, all these climbers are arriving at the summitand these climbers are arriving at the summit and they are practically queueing up to get to the summit, it doesn't look much fun at all. yes, well, i think if i'm being com pletely well, i think if i'm being completely honest, thisjune, even if there are more people in the mountains, you feel like, just as yourself, you are trying to be successful, but of course you see loads of people, and for those who

are not phased out, it is a matter of concern. explain to me why that happened, why did everyone arrived at the same spot at the same window, what was happening at the last base camp before the summit? basically, it all cascades from when the summit route is opened, and for example you have so tight a weather window, and loads of companies, commercial companies fitting the plans in in order to summit. so just because of the time window, everybody tries to go to the summit and the population on the south summit became larger.|j read there was a third of the oxygen at the summit that we breathe here at the summit that we breathe here at sea level so it is very difficult and that is why you carry oxygen in and that is why you carry oxygen in a time. if you are sitting waiting, you are using up that oxygen, is that the reason why so many people are dying on the way down? well,

that could be one of the reasons. if the guides and the commercial companies haven't put that into consideration. for example, if some of the well—known companies with good reputations know that there is going to be a queue, they would obviously increase the oxygen, they might have one more to tank, spare tank. but for those who didn't know, just maths and science probably, that could be the reason. there has been criticism of the nepalese authorities, because clearly, this isa authorities, because clearly, this is a moneymaking experience, they ta ke is a moneymaking experience, they take a lot of money from the shore powers in the local communities and they want as they can accommodate. but have they issued too many licenses and is there a way to stop those who aren't good enough to climb go up there? if i'm being

com pletely climb go up there? if i'm being completely honest, it shouldn't be like, you know, for this and that, in the wake this problem could be solved is, for example, if the summit route is shaped by the end of april, you have the whole of may to summit. ithink april, you have the whole of may to summit. i think the fixing of the lines can be done. for example we we re lines can be done. for example we were in annapurna, we fixed the lines by the 23rd of april. does that mean? people have longer to rest and take the climbs or for the people who want to summit, you have loads of weather windows so people do not rush into the descent. just making it easier, i guess. thank you very much forjoining us. lots of focus at everest on those whether windows! let's look at our weather window, this dramatic in london.

it is going to look very different tomorrow. it has been a bit chilly today, more of a northerly breeze, a mixture of sunshine and showers. we end the day with the sunshine for the western side of the uk, but the last few hours have seen showers continuing. some heavy ones running through yorkshire and essex. the showers will take a few hours to fade, but it should become drier later in the night. then we look to the west to see this change, more cloud from the atlantic, a bit of rain in wales and the south west keeping the temperatures up. quite chilly overnight in scotland, may be a touch of frost in rural areas. a sunny start here as it will be for the east. we have this cloud pushing its way further east through the day so it will be clouding over in most areas. some rain and drizzle with that too. the weather in north—west england and wales later in the day. not much for eastern areas of england, temperatures 15 to 17, a bit colderfor england, temperatures 15 to 17, a bit colder for northernmost parts of scotland. towards the end of the week, northern areas are seeing more

cloud and rain but for a good part of england and wales, more sunshine and it really is going to get much warmer. this is bbc news. the headlines. following bruising results for the main parties in the eu elections both the conservatives and labour are trying to define their positions on brexit — the prime mininster she says she still wants an orderly exit. the position i've always taken has been to work to get the best possible deal for the uk in leaving the eu. i've always taken the view that the best option for the uk is to leave the european union with a deal. labour expel senior party figure alaistair campbell — after he revealed he voted for the lib dems in in the european elections — he says he'll appeal the decision and that he'll "always be labour". the equality and human rights commission launches a formal investigation into the labour party over claims of anti—semitism. and coming up — in around 15 minutes we'll speak

to northern ireland's newest mep — naomi long of the pro—remain alliance party. all the sport now with holly hamilton. as chelsea and arsenal continue their preparations ahead of their europa league final in baku tomorrow night — fans are making their way to azerbaijan, some by whatever means possible. olly foster has made the journey ahead of that game. there had been a lot of talk about the decision to stage the final in baku. you doubt the minute, is there a sense of occasion? there is, there are fun parks everywhere and a lot of europa league final branding because the final of course was a lwa ys because the final of course was always going to be here in baku on the shores of the caspian sea on the

eastern frontier of european football. you can see those famous plain towers behind mejust let football. you can see those famous plain towers behind me just let up in the colour red. arsenal ensconced in their hotel in one of those towers, chelsea just over the road from us. we heard from the arsenal manager in the past hour saying how disappointed he is that there are not more fans here but both teams we re not more fans here but both teams were allocated 6000. at the time they said that was not enough but they said that was not enough but they had not taken up their full allocation. you get the feeling there are twice as many arsenal fans as chelsea fans at the moment anyway. earlier we spoke to the azerbaijan president of the football federation and asked for his comments about the fact that it is here in baku and that fans of these london clubs simply just here in baku and that fans of these london clubs simplyjust have not been able to travel the numbers. london clubs simplyjust have not been able to travel the numberslj share been able to travel the numbers.” share the disappointment and i'm

really sorry for them that they cannot support their team but is a fanl cannot support their team but is a fan i also want to say that distance was never a barrier for the supporters to travel and we could see out of 6000, more than 5000 arsenal fans will make it to the match. some of them are already here and just more than 2000 chelsea fans will be coming and i'm sure there will be coming and i'm sure there will be coming and i'm sure there will be a lot of international fans coming. they say it will be a 62,000 sell—out at the stadium, about five or six miles to the north—east of us here in land for the both arsenal and chelsea right now are training at the stadium and then of course at 11 o'clock local time, a late kick—off here, for the europa league final and kick—off here, for the europa league finaland a kick—off here, for the europa league final and a lot more resting on the result for arsenal and chelsea

because with that there is qualification for the champions league arsenal have not got that at the moment and chelsea have. so we will see. the towers have changed behind you from red to blue. that will keep everyone happy. scotland's women are playing at hampden park this evening, for the first time in seven years. they take onjamaica in their final match ahead of the world cup — and manager shelley kerr is hoping to smash their attendance record. take away the performance side of it, we've always set ourselves a target — inspiring the nation. and i think it would be fantastic for the players if we were to get that, you know, 10,000 or more. british number one kyle edmund is through to the secon dround of the french open after completing a marathon match injust seven minutes this morning, eventually winning the deciding set againstjerermy chardy after it had to be suspended late last night due to bad light at roland garros. meanwhile dan evans is playing fernando verdasco

in the first round. he hasjust been beaten in the he has just been beaten in the last few minutes. losing his place in the next round. that's all the sport for now. you can find more on all those stories plus the latest team news ahead of the champions league final on sportsday at half past six and on the bbc sport website. march 29th was supposed to be the brexit deadline. the new date is october 31st. don't waste time, said the european council president donald tusk. but two months have already lapsed, and now we are into a conservative leadership contest. with me is chris morris from our reality check team. the clock is ticking loudly. it is and as you said not much has happened in the time since the date

we we re happened in the time since the date we were supposed to leave, the 29th of march, but was always set in stone for a couple of years. we talked about it so much. but as we know an extension came first until the middle of april and now until the middle of april and now until the 31st of october. and when out two months on from that and where have we got to, we do not yet know who will be the next prime minister, we know theresa may isn't going to be stepping down. but the race for whoever wins that tory leadership contest could take certainly up to a couple of months, the idea is it will be completed and the new prime minister will be in place before the summer parliamentary recess, the second half ofjuly. and after the second half ofjuly. and after the second half ofjuly, holiday time! castles made of sand! here and in the eu, brussels closes down through august so the idea you have any

serious contact during that period isa serious contact during that period is a little far—fetched and suddenly then we're into september with just two months ago. course in september parliament only comes back for a couple of weeks and then we have another recess of three weeks while political parties hold their party conferences. already that takes us into octoberjust a month ago and people wondering where have we got to. we reckon there are maybe only 58 sitting days in the house of commons between now and the 31st of october and only around half of those will be under a new prime minister. it feels like a long time to go but in parliamentary time it is not. this time pressure is well on the eu side. yes and also a lot of distraction for the eu, they have just held european elections, they need to select a new president of the european commission. leaders are gathering in brussels this evening to begin that process. they also

need to select a new president of the european council and some people would argue most importantly of all a new president of the european central bank who will have to deal with reform of the eurozone as well. so all those things need to be done, the new parliament bedded in, they're not thinking primarily about brexit, it isjust they're not thinking primarily about brexit, it is just one of many issues on the agenda. but they want to get brexit done and dusted a service plan to move on with other things. ten candidates now in the leadership contest and they will have to come down one side or the other on where they stand on deal or no deal. presumably the preparations continuing on both sides. the emergency no deal preparations taking place towards the end of march, some of those will have been stood down as the government said that we are in theory preparing for no deal. but of course there are also business and citizens and many

businesses have changed their supply chains, stockpiled certain items in preparation for much the 29th and nothing happened. it cost them quite a lot of money and time and now potentially they would have to do it all again. business cannot wait until a couple of weeks before the end of october so come the quartet leading up to the end of october, if they do not know what is going to happen in that process will have to start again and people have to spend money which may never be needed. thank you very much. the foreign secretaryjeremy hunt says his conservative party faces an existential threat unless it delivers brexit. but the plan he set out today to renegotiate the deal that theresa may secured looks to have run into trouble. the eu commission president jean claude junker said this evening, the withdrawal agreement would not be reopened. so, how to break the deadlock? malcom rifkind — who served in various roles as a cabinet minister for the conservative party including secretary of state for scotland, defence secretary and foreign secretary — joins us now.

good evening. do you think british politics on the evidence of this past election has gone beyond the party lines and we no longer define as right or left but as leave and remain? for the purpose of brexit of course that is true. the thing that people have not absorbed in my own party in particular is that on thursday we had the brexit victory under nigel farage and borisjohnson and dominic raab on the other brexiteers are anxious to try to win back votes lost in that direction. but equally important and in the longer term may be more important was the long—awaited recovery of the liberal democrats. probably as many tory votes lost to the liberal democrats as to the brexit party. particularly here in london where

they triumphed. so no use candidates for the leadership saying the objective has got to be to persuade people to stop voting for nigel farage, if they try to do that just by trying to copy him and saying we hey have brexit with no deal, for every vote they went back they will lose at least as many from conservative voters to the liberal democrats. take away from this election is you cannot suit both sides and ifjeremy hunt is correct and there is an existential threat than strictly speaking you have got to go after the core vote, maybe you can only go for a broad appeal in the country, and once you have finished a very divisive job of delivering brexit. that is not yet too theoretical, as theresa may found you cannot deliver brexit u nless found you cannot deliver brexit unless you get the approval of the house of commons and the house of commons overwhelmingly is against no deal. therefore there are only two

ways brexit could be delivered, the first is to persuade the house of commons by compromise which is what theresa may was trying to do and failed. the only other way and i would not have said this a few weeks ago, is to ask the electorate because they are the only people who can give legitimacy and support and a mandate for leaving with no deal if that is what some people believe is right they've never voted on that issue before, no deal is not what the government had been trying to achieve but if parliament cannot be persuaded by compromise to support the government then you will not get brexit at all, ever unless you have a referendum asking the electorate whether that is what they are prepared to support. they would have to be given the choice of that or a deal or remain and that is the political reality. this leadership contest is not a general election and the people who ultimately decide our 120,000 conservative members and you though they more disposed to no

deal probably than the average person in the rest of the country. that has been chill for at least 150 yea rs, that has been chill for at least 150 years, but if the prime minister retires or resigns during parliament, then you do not have a referendum or general election to choose the successor. until 30 or a0 yea rs choose the successor. until 30 or a0 years ago it was a magic circle of the conservative party and then it became the conservative mps and now at least 120,000 people. what is crucial is you cannotjust choose whoever you like, the members of parliament and the conservative party have got to choose the final two candidates to go to the party membership and that is notjust a fuddy—duddy ruling it is because the labour party ignored that criteria and ended up withjeremy corbyn who was loved by the party activists but detested by most of his own labour mps. and if the labour party today is in the mass almost as much of a mess as we are that is because the

party activists thought they could ignore the views of the members of parliament who work with the party leader and the prime minister and his support, his support is crucial if legislation is to be passed on the house of commons. we should talk about boris johnson since the house of commons. we should talk about borisjohnson since were told he is the frontrunner and he said recently that he is primarily a journalist to get more attention to the headlines. but he does energise the headlines. but he does energise the base and maybe that is what the conservative party need, that shot in the arm. i did say that about boris but i also said of donald trump that he is not an extremist. i think he is opportunistic on brexit but on other issues he follows the one nation conservative tradition. whether it is boris or someone else, if you have ten candidates to choose from a sensible question to start with is who has shown that they have experienced to do the incredibly

difficult task of being prime minister. none of them compare, no job in cabinet compare with the burden of the prime minister, and boris for all his brilliance as a very divisive character. he was not a su ccess very divisive character. he was not a success as foreign secretary, i do not think anyone would suggest otherwise. and so i'm not convinced he the right person. he has to prove in the next few weeks that i'm wrong but frankly i do not see him doing that. you talk about experience and kit malthouse, the former deputy of course of the mayoral office says that the party does not want an old face but someone from the backbenches who has not had a role in negotiation so far. would you say thatis in negotiation so far. would you say that is right? boris is one of the old faces, he keeps telling us that he was mayor of london for eight yea rs. he was mayor of london for eight years. that is a pretty important

job. he was foreign secretary. but kit malthouse says he could do the job because he is not tarnished by the negotiation, not the old guard. first of all when he resigned as foreign secretary over an issue of principle, he conveniently forgot that two days earlier he had tested theresa may on the deal that subsequently led to his resignation. he only resigned because david davis resigned and he had to demonstrate that he was also a man of principle. it was not convincing at the time and nothing has changed since. who are you going to support?” and nothing has changed since. who are you going to support? i do not know but i'm going to support whoever i think can look at this as a national interest issue. i was disappointed with boris jumping the gun and saying we're going to leave ona gun and saying we're going to leave on a table at the 31st deal or no deal. it sounds good to the party activists who already agree with that point of view but many people

on thursday voted not even to leave the eu, rather than leave with no deal so you need a prime minister who is prepared to acknowledge that there is no majority in the house of commons. the conservative party in the last few days, i don't think anyone, anywhere of the party would wa nt to anyone, anywhere of the party would want to contemplate a general election in the next few months, we will be slaughtered by the liberal democrats as well as people from the brexit party. how do you break the deadlock because jeremy hunt says brexit party. how do you break the deadlock becausejeremy hunt says if you set a date and invite the labour party to vote against the deal...? as sherlock holmes once said, when you've ruled out all the other possibilities whatever is left however disagreeable may be the necessary course of action and if parliament cannot be persuaded to agree a deal because parliament itself is divided then the only people who can decide whether there isa people who can decide whether there is a mandate to leave with no deal

or to remain or whatever it is are the electorate who voted in the referendum on the first place. i have not been a supporter of a referendum because i assumed perhaps in might naivete that if the government could not reach agreement, parliament would oppose an agreement on the government and we've seen that parliament is as divided as the government so if the government and parliament cannot reach agreement the only people left, fortunately we have another option and that is the electorate. we always tell the electorate other people who demanded brexit and of course that is correct, therefore the electorate are the only people who now can deliver it. the government by itself does not have the majority to do that and parliament cannot coalesce about an alternative compromise that would enable us to go through that. so you eliminate that, whether it is boris johnson or anyone else who is prime minister, that will not change the fa ct minister, that will not change the fact and jeremy corbyn could not change those facts either. general

election will not lead to a stronger conservative government, it comes back to the democratic way of resolving this. not to give people an opportunity to change their mind, if they had not changed their mind then they will vote for brexit and might even vote for no—deal brexit but that gives it a mandate. the house of commons would never allow borisjohnson or house of commons would never allow boris johnson or anyone else house of commons would never allow borisjohnson or anyone else to prove without instruction, explicit instruction from the electorate. you're not going to tell me who you are supporting. but tell me who you think will win. i think it will depend on if the members of parliament panic because of nigel farage then they will go for dominic raab or boris johnson farage then they will go for dominic raab or borisjohnson as being the only person who might win back people who have defected to the brexit party. if the members of parliament vote according to what they believe to be the national

interest and indeed take into account also the party interest, that we do not want to lose as many to the liberal democrats as we lose to the liberal democrats as we lose to brexit then they will do what they believe to be right and we have seenin they believe to be right and we have seen ina they believe to be right and we have seen in a number of elections that candidates, politicians, prime ministers both in the uk and other countries, who simply stick to what they believe usually when the trust and respect of the electorate. whereas parties and politicians and party leaders who simply scramble after that which they think will give them the most votes in the short term forgetting that there is a longer term which is more important, normally do not impress. i served under margaret thatcher for several years and i remember when an issue was raised that was unpopular she said so what, we're here to do what we believe in and if we do it and believe it is in the national interest tha n and believe it is in the national interest than we get it right or we

will get the political reward eventually. the idea that there was a mandate for no deal as a way with the birds, there was never a mandate for no deal, there was a mandate for brexit that is true but if parliament cannot agree and government cannot agree on what kind of deal they are prepared to prove that i come back to the point that only one group of people have that right and that is where we end up, with the electorate themselves having that option. that is what happens in a democracy. we will see whether they take your counsel. more now on the results from the european elections. in northern ireland, the pro—remain alliance party won a seat in the european parliament for the first time, after hugely increasing its vote in the poll. its leader naomi long collected over 170—thousand votes — 115,000 more than her party received in the 201a european election. the taoiseach leo varadkar hailed mrs long's victory as a historic, pro—european vote which he said would be "heard across the continent".

we can speak to naomi long now — she joins us from belfast. many congratulations. the belfast telegraph said this morning you have rebranded the alliance party and brought passion and fire to the middle ground. not something that you hear very often about centuries what is the secret? i passionately believe what northern ireland needs and what the country as a help needs at the moment are people who have a strong vision for the future. i believe in cooperation and collaboration and the challenges which face is going forward our international challenges. climate change, peace and security, migration and poverty. so to tackle those we have to do that working together with other people. i'm passionate about doing right and passionate about doing right and passionate about doing right and passionate about the eu and people i think i've listened to the message that we have sent. i believe what people want our solutions and especially here in northern ireland

where we had stagnation at stormont. where we see the chaos that brexit has introduced not just where we see the chaos that brexit has introduced notjust in local politics but nationally. people are looking for solutions and i have been clear that at this juncture with parliament deadlocked the only way forward is to have a peoples vote and allow people to have a second say on what they want to do. that way we get clarity on the way forward and i hope in light of everything people have seen in the past three years they would agree that remaining within the eu is in the national interest and also very much in the local interest here in northern ireland. we could look at it through the lens purely of brexit but is it also feasible perhaps for a centrist party to represent both nationalist and loyalist communities in northern ireland?” nationalist and loyalist communities in northern ireland? i think it a lwa ys in northern ireland? i think it always has been that we did it until now on a much smaller scale, that is the first time with dunnett in northern ireland constituency level.

but we have grown our vote steadily and in recent government elections we had a huge surge towards the alliance party for that because we presented people with practical options but also we have a strong vision of a cohesive future where people work together, not looking at what is good for this or that community but talking about what is good for the entire community. i think people were encouraged by the idea that we could come together and work together for the common good. i think the brexit issue has broken up duopoly is which we had here in northern ireland, it has broken the duopoly even in westminster because what it has done is introduced the problem that is more complex and requires a different approach to politics. so i'm hopeful as a result of the brexit tobacco which has been deeply damaging that we may see at the other side of this a better kind of politics. that's more focused on the delivery of issues and people

demanding much more than empty slogans from the people they elect. what you think would happen if we ended up with no deal? for northern ireland i think it would be catastrophic and part of the issue is in westminster we have ten mps who attend from the dup and almost exclusively give what i would say is an outlier opinion in terms of northern ireland politics because they are pro—brexit and pro—hard brexit so that is not the consensus in northern ireland, not the majority opinion. the majority of people in northern ireland want to remain within the eu for complex reasons, of course trade is part of it and reasons, of course trade is part of itand our reasons, of course trade is part of it and our relationship with the republic of ireland but there is also a psychological impact of the notion of borders and entering back into the political discourse 21 yea rs into the political discourse 21 years after the good friday agreement. we thought we'd moved beyond that to a point will be further focused on working together.

ina further focused on working together. in a community that was wider than us in a community that was wider than us in the european union and by taking that away it has undermined the process here in northern ireland. you do not hear that in westminster because it is not in the interests of the dup to make that case. and sinn fein do not take their seats in westminster so what you're hearing coming from northern ireland is a very pro—brexit message that flies in the face of what business says, and what the agricultural sector say, there are very concerned about the impact of brexit. thank you very much indeed. time for a look at the weather. here's darren bett with the forecast. we have seen quite a few showers earlier on today. and we had cold airand earlier on today. and we had cold air and heavy showers. but here in

wales a different story, ending with these blue skies. it has been quite chilly but the weather is changing because the air is going to be coming from a long way south. this is the mid—atla ntic coming from a long way south. this is the mid—atlantic and we have this humid airwhich is the mid—atlantic and we have this humid air which will lift temperatures and also bring in more clout from the atlantic. ahead of that we have some chill in the air. temperatures currently around 9 degrees. many showers down the eastern side as well and still some heavy showers for the next few hours. they gradually fade overnight. but the air coming from the atlantic starts to arrive in northern ireland and the south—west with increasing cloud. ahead of that in scotland cold enough for some frost in rural areas. but a bright start to tomorrow but that may not

last because the cloud is pushing east and will bring some outbreaks of rain and drizzle. most of that right and patchy. 15, 17 degrees with that thickening cloud. these weather fronts are bringing the thickest of that cloud and rain. they are not moving a great deal on thursday. ahead of that to the south of those weather fronts a lot of cloud to begin with. most of the rain is going to be further north across much of scotland and northern ireland. brightening up through the midlands and east of england with temperatures lifting quickly. quite a contrast to the far north of scotland. heading towards the end of the week this is the kind of pattern we have, for northern areas of the uk cloud and rain at times. but

across england and wales we see temperatures getting a boost in the sunshine and by the weekend in the south—east we could see temperatures of 27 celsius. for herfinal eu summit. responding to the results of the european elections, she says they were disappointing. what it shows is the importance of actually delivering on brexit. i think the best way to do that is with a deal, but it will be for my successor and for parliament to find a way forward. meanwhile, labour expels tony blair's former press adviser alastair campbell for admitting he voted lib dem in the european elections. also tonight... the family of the ringleader of the london bridge attack says they reported to him to the anti—terror hotline two years earlier. a mother appears in court charged with murdering her two teenage sons. on the streets — how the number of homeless people with a physical disability is increasing. and as the cricket world cup gets under way this week,