you're watching bbc news at nine with me, annita mcveigh. the headlines... warnings over council cash for care services, as new evidence emerges of the financial pressures on local authorities. you almost feel like you want to ta ke you almost feel like you want to take your mother to the council and say, "i've had enough, take your mother to the council and say, "i've had enough, i take your mother to the council and say, "i've had enough, i can't cope anymore, and what are you going to provide for mum?" enough tory leadership candidates to make up a football team — brexit ministerjames cleverly becomes the 11th to enter the contest. dozens of tornados have left a trail of destruction across eight us states. forecasters warn more are on the way. danger on the slopes of ben nevis — five people have died on britain's highest mountain since december.

in sport, the all—english europa league final is just hours away, with chelsea and arsenal going head—to—head in azerbaijan. good morning and welcome to the bbc news at nine. there's growing evidence of the financial pressures on english councils and the effect that could have on care services. a report from the institute for fiscal studies says spending on council services has been cut by more than a fifth over the past nine years, though councils have been trying to protect care services for adults and children. separate research analysed by the bbc has identified 11 local authorities which have been warned that they risk exhausting their cash

reserves unless they cut spending or get an increase in funding. the government says it will set out reforms to the social care system at the earliest opportunity, and it has made nearly £4 billion in adult social care funding available for councils next year. here's our social affairs correspondent alison holt. where are you ? i'm only here. we're going to go this way now. why? i want to be here. rachel blackford and her mother, barbara, are at the sharp end of financial pressures local authorities are facing. barbara has severe dementia, and their county council, somerset, closed the day centre they relied on as it tried to balance its books. the authority offered alternatives, but, for rachel, this was vital support that worked. i'm desperate, and i'm not the only one. you know, lifelines are being cut. you just think, if they don't listen to our pleas, how is the future going to evolve?

over the ten months we followed somerset county council, it had to make £13 million of cuts or go bust. it meant painful decisions for the director of adult care services, who had to make his share of savings, despite the growing demand for care. this last year has been the hardest of my professional career, because i see ever more people who we are not providing the level and type of support that they want and need. and, whilst we have improved a numberof ourservices, i'm conscious that that's been at the cost of services that people have valued no longer being available. that's all right, they stay here. the government has promised to reform the funding of the care system at the earliest opportunity, but, in many places like somerset, the pressures are biting now. alison holt, bbc news. well, earlier, we spoke to the health secretary, matt hancock, who is now running to become tory leader. he admitted that the approach

to social care needs to change. i've already talked about different ways of making sure we have a properly funded social care system in the long term. firstly, making sure there is more money in there upfront, and secured, an extra almost £1 billion going into social care, so there is now almost 10% more money in social care. there is increasing demand, we've put more money in, but we need a solution for the long term, where instead of this year by year process, we all know and can plan with confidence. with me now is rachel blackford. she'sjoining me from salford. tell us a bit more about what life is like for you caring for your

mother, and the difficulty that you've had trying to get help? it's very exhausting, looking after my mother. she is at home with me 21w, except for about seven hours out of my day when she attends daycare. she gets me up at night, so, when she is at the daycare, that allows me to get home to have some sleep. and her incontinence care is much—needed, and showering, just the simple things in life, it'sjust and showering, just the simple things in life, it's just very, and showering, just the simple things in life, it'sjust very, very demanding. and to get support, that you need, because my mum suffers with very severe alzheimer's dementia, to get that professional, fully trained, specialist care that she needs, it's not easy to find. she has this very challenging behaviour episodes, it can be anything up to five hours of swearing and shouting and waving her

arms around. so, you need that professional ca re to arms around. so, you need that professional care to defuse that situation and it's very hard to find. stratfield house was providing that facility, they were all fully trained in the mental side and the physical side, and unfortunately it's been closed. 50 that was a facility close to you, and how much time was your mum spending there when it was open? she was spending two days a week at that facility. and it was really close to me. it was a lifeline for us. knowing we had that stability of care was a must for me and my family. listening to you and the amount of time that you devote to looking after your mum, it must mean that the time you spend with other memos of your family is greatly reduced, so there isa family is greatly reduced, so there is a huge ripple effect for your family? yeah, i haven't got a life,

i haven't got any quality time with my husband. he is a good man, he stands by me, he looks after me, but when you've got limited time together, that quality time, it's very hard, it has had pressure points on our relationship, at times we've been at breaking point because of it. and i've got other family as well that i need to look after. of it. and i've got other family as well that i need to look afterlj know obviously the physical and emotional demands of caring for your mother are huge and you've also said that you're exhausted trying to fight the system on top of caring for your fight the system on top of caring foryour mum? fight the system on top of caring for your mum? yeah. it's not only the battle of being exhausted from their care, to look after my mum, it has been the battle of seven years, i've tried to fight the council to getfunding, to i've tried to fight the council to get funding, to get care and support which they are duty—bound to provide. by law. and to get that

specialist care, which was taken away from us in the one place that worked. you're at the coal face of this, rachel, iwouldjust love worked. you're at the coal face of this, rachel, i would just love to get your perspective on what you think needs to happen. you've been battling the system, as you say, for yea rs battling the system, as you say, for years now, you've seen a facility which was in your words a lifeline for euclid was, taken away, that support gone — what do you think needs to happen to turn this around, to improve life for you and other carers like you and indeed the people who need these care facilities? well, first and utmost, we need more funding from the government. they need to take note that this is crisis point, this cannot continue, for the nation, where are we all going to go if they keep closing all these facilities down and care homes down? we need to find a solution of more funding, why can't we introduce a tourist tax, a

visitors tax into this country, where we could charge visitors maybe £5, £10, per visit, where we could charge visitors maybe £5, £10, pervisit, atairports, ports, at eurostar, that would generate billions of pounds over the yea rs, generate billions of pounds over the years, that money could come through treasury, down into the social care funding, and the nhs and other things that are critically needed. the government need to take note and get this green paper finalised. rachel, we really appreciate you talking to us and telling us your story. we wish you well. rachel blackford there. joining me now is david phillips, an associate director at the institute for fiscal studies... at the institute for fiscal studies and author of that report that we talked about. that is the human face of these cuts that you were finding about in your research, the statistics that you can tell us

about. but here is a woman who is at breaking point, she says, in her own words, through caring for her mother, not having enough help and support in the system. tell us about the range of cuts that you have catalogued, first of all? the first thing to bear in mind is that councils have been really struggling to try to prop up their social care budgets. overall, councils have seen their budgets and spending on services fall by about 20% over the last nine years. they've made much bigger cuts to some service areas, things like housing, planning and development, libraries, leisure centres, public transport, housing maintenance, that is down more than 40%. and maintenance, that is down more than a0%. and they have done that so that they can limit the cuts to things like social care. so, i don't social ca re like social care. so, i don't social care is down about 5%, children's social care is actually up about 10%, but that is in the context of rising demand, a growing elderly population... it is great news, more people with disabilities are surviving, and that is great news

but it means more people are needing care. whilst budgets are being protected largely speaking, it is leading to some very difficult choices. about a quarter of the people who used to get social care don't get it anymore as councils are focusing on those with the very most severe needs. so focusing on those with the very most severe needs. so we focusing on those with the very most severe needs. so we get a sense of a system which is really creaking. it isa system which is really creaking. it is a pattern we have been talking about for some time. if those cuts are being made to other services, outside of social care, roads, libraries or some of the other exa m ples libraries or some of the other examples you gave, and yet the areas which are supposed to be protected, young people and adult social care, are also creaking, you say at the end of your report, there are very big questions, what are they?” think we are reaching a crunch point when it comes to council funding. over the last couple of years, as the health secretary said, we have found little top ups to top up the budget for social care, and that has eased the pressure somewhat. but it is not a long—term solution, councils can't plan with little ad

hoc top ups. so i think we have to make a real choice now. are we willing to pay more in tax yet that is to our local authorities via council tax or maybe a new local tax like a new local income tax? or more to national government, to give to councils? or are we willing to accept further cutbacks on what councils provide? we can'tjust keep muddling on, we need to face this big choice of either more taxes or further cutbacks to the services that councils provide to people like that councils provide to people like that one in your last report.l proper national debate i think is what you suggest. yes. i think we haven't had this national debate. there are other issues if you like sucking the oxygen out of the political debate at the moment and we are not having this really big debate we need about, how do we reform the state, how do we fund the cost of an ageing population? council is one aspect of it, we have got the nhs, we've got pensions, and without that debate, what we risk is

a degradation of the services over time. does that social care budget, which obviously takes up such a big proportion of what councils have to spend, does that need to be ring—fenced to protect it, com pletely ring—fenced to protect it, completely separated from spending on other areas? that is one option. the government would say that social ca re the government would say that social care is a national responsibility, rather than a local responsibility. if it said that it could then give money to councils on a needs basis to fund social care, but that would be quite a big change to the way we have traditionally funded social care, a change in the role of councils. there is also a push to devolve more powers to councils, rather than take powers off them. so the question to ask is, do we think any national system would actually deliver on the ground, or is it better to trust local councils to prioritise spending in their area, perhaps actually spending more on things like leisure centres...? perhaps actually spending more on things like leisure centres. . . ? and very briefly, david, when the government says it will set out

reforms to the system at the earliest opportunity, presumably, you would have liked to have seen them start this long before now? yes. the social care green paper has been delayed and delayed. i think what we need now is a real clear sense of direction from the government. first of which is it willing to bite the bullet and say to people, we either need higher taxes or to accept further cutbacks in council services. but also to make this decision about, is it a national responsibility, national taxes, or is it a local responsibility, where different areas can set different policies, but actually then we could have different services in different parts of the country? david phillips from the institute for fiscal studies, , from the institute for fiscal studies,, thank you. foryourtime this morning. and you can find out more tonight in the first of a two—part panorama series crisis in care, that's at 9pm on bbc one. 11 conservative mps have now put their names forward to be the next prime minister, following theresa may's resignation. the latest candidate is the junior

brexit minister james cleverly, who's written in his local newspaper about the need to unite the party. the winner of the leadership contest is expected to be announced injuly. our assistant political editor norman smith is in westminster. so, a veritable football team of candidates, as we were mentioning audio, norman, what willjames cleverly bring to this? well, he says he wants to present a different sort of conservative party, one that is open to new ideas, is open to change, andi is open to new ideas, is open to change, and i think underlying his entry into the race, i think it reflects the frustration of many younger tories that the current crop of sort of tory cabinet ministers are ofa of sort of tory cabinet ministers are of a generation whose time has been. and i think they take the view, the younger tories, that they need to make way for fresh ideas and

fresh thinking and by continuing to dominate the cabinet, it is almost a block on new talent coming through. and it's worth remembering, david cameron and george osborne, when they took over the tory party, they we re they took over the tory party, they were if you like from a new generation. and i think it reflects that sort of tension building up because we really do have an extraordinarily large number of contenders. you say we have a football tea m contenders. you say we have a football team of candidates, it is probably going to go up to a rugby tea m probably going to go up to a rugby team pretty soon because quite possiblyjesse team pretty soon because quite possibly jesse norman will enter the race, quite possibly priti patel will enter the race, maybe steve baker, maybe back it graham brady, and onwards and upwards we go. so much so that there is a degree of, shall i say, weariness at the number of names coming forward, with jacob rees—mogg, the head of the erg last night calling for restraint, people maybe just to hold night calling for restraint, people maybejust to hold back night calling for restraint, people maybe just to hold back from night calling for restraint, people maybejust to hold back from putting their names down in an effort perhaps to raise their profile or

their leadership prospects sparsely when the actual terms of the debate remain so narrow and so are there focused on brexit and just this one particular component of brexit, which is, where do you stand on no deal? something james cleverly was challenged about this morning... we absolutely can deliver a brexit with no deal. but we should also remember... and you're reasonably... my words, not yours, but you're reasonably sanguine about that? yeah, because i've seen the preparations. it is not my preferred option, i don't think it should be an outcome to be pursued. it can be delivered but not pursued. but it's also really important we understand that not delivering brexit would be, in my mind, significantly more damaging, our political reputation with the country would be damaged, i think that the... the idea that we would somehow revert to a pre—referendum reality is for the birds.

james cleverly. meanwhile, norman, a number of labour figures are saying that, like alastair campbell, they didn't vote for labour in the european elections, are they going to suffer the same fate as alastair campbell? i would doubt it, frankly, given the backlash they have suffered following the expulsion of a nalyst suffered following the expulsion of analyst campbell, which has been juxtaposed with the fact that the equalities watchdog is now investigating the labour party over anti—semitism and its failure to deal with anti—semitism, the last thing they want is more alastair campbells out there. but the treatment of alastair campbell just reflects the current turmoil in the labour party over whether or not mr corbyn is going to pivot to openly campaignfor corbyn is going to pivot to openly campaign for another referendum. now, there are some newspapers this morning speculating that mr corbyn is indeed poised to make a big announcement, saying he would embrace another referendum. i have to say i've seen no sign of that, instead, it seems to me team

corbynite enforcing radio silence and not really wanting to engage with this argument at all, which is understandable when you look at the pressures on mr corbyn. yes, there isa pressures on mr corbyn. yes, there is a huge tranche of the labour party battering at his door saying, come on, you have got to back another referendum if you to hold onto labour remain voters. equally there are pivotal figures around him, like seamus milne, director of communities, like len mccluskey, saying that such a direction would be disastrous for the labour party because they would lose their leave supporting supporters. so i suspect we mightjust supporting supporters. so i suspect we might just see supporting supporters. so i suspect we mightjust see him hunkering down and leaving everyone to interpret what he has said in anyway they want, without giving any real clarity. just a brief word on john virgo, who says he won't be stepping down as speaker as early as we all expected. what is that going to mean for the process of brexit in parliament? -- john bercow. i think

it means it is still going to be a profoundly bloody process in parliament, because the hope of the brexiteers had been that mr bercow would quit as he promised this summer. the fact that he is not rather suggests that the problems and difficulties and setbacks mrs may suffered through mr bercow‘s determination to make sure parliament had a say will continue. more than that, it is pretty clearly a signal to those tory leadership candidates who have mooted the idea of no deal that if they think they can take the uk out without the say—so of parliament, then they're mistaken, he said, "that's for the birds." so in short, i think it means all the parliamentary infighting and gridlock which mrs may had to face, it is almost going to be the same sort of conditions that her successor will have to face. norman smith, thank you. and one of the conservative leadership candidates, rory stewart, will be speaking to the victoria derbyshire programmejust speaking to the victoria derbyshire programme just after ten o'clock.

the headlines on bbc news... new evidence shows councils in england are short of money but services. james cleverly becomes the latest conservative mp to enter the leadership contest. and a massive tornado has hit america's midwest in one of the worst ever storm seasons. in sport, chelsea rate and golo ka nte in sport, chelsea rate and golo kante no in sport, chelsea rate and golo ka nte no better than in sport, chelsea rate and golo kante no better than 50—50 to be fit for the europa league final tonight against arsenal. world heavyweight champion anthonyjoshua says his new opponent is more dangerous than taking on deontay wilder. and jo konta is in action in the french open today. more on all of those sports stories at 9.110. chelsea and arsenal go head—to—head in the europa league final

in azerbaijan later. but the all—english match has been overshadowed by controversy over the host city, baku. supporters of the two clubs have faced long and arduous journeys, and one of arsenal's star players has pulled out because of concerns for his safety. our correspondent sarah rainsford has more. they slid into baku on a slow train from georgia. some fans for the europa league final arrived bleary—eyed, after two flights and all night on here. it — wasn't wasn't too fun. it was long, it was long. arsenal fans are also upset that their midfielder from armenia won't be travelling here. henrikh mkhitaryan decided it wasn't safe for him. it all stems back to the war that forced this theatre group to flee their homes three decades ago.

they're from a part of azerbaijan that is now under armenian control. it is an emotional issue for many, even now. the region's football team is still going, too, in exile, and they say mkhitaryan would have been safe in the final. maybe they make some pressure, with the whistle, with some screaming something, but it's enough — nothing else. azerbaijan wants this final to project its best face to the world, but this is also a country where government critics, activists and bloggers are behind bars, and that is a side that the football fans won't see. the government firmly denies it is trying to whitewash its image through sport. for the fans who have made it, the talk of cost and controversy has cost and controversy is already fading, drowned out by the sound of hope.

there's been a report that one chelsea fan has been taken to hospital in baku after a brawl between the two rival sets of fans. well, our sports presenter olly foster is there — it's looking pretty peaceful where you are, olly? do you know anything more about this apparent incident and what is the mood like? not and i haven't heard of that incident, it is the first i have heard of it, there have been small pockets of fans, there just have not been that many, that has been the story, really, leading up to this europa league final. as you heard in sarah's report, both teams just have not taken up their full allocation, which seemed to be quite small anyway, with the local authority saying it is going to be a 60,000 sell—out, but only 12,000 we re 60,000 sell—out, but only 12,000 were offered to the two london clubs a nyway were offered to the two london clubs anyway and they could not take up that allocation because it soon became very clear that it was a difficult place to get to, with no direct scheduled flights, very expensive, midweek, a lot of fans

would have to take most of the week off because it is eye—watering lee expensive as well to get here. but those fans who have come here that we have seen and spoken to, they are loving the place, the weather is beautiful, it's a very curious... it's one of those cities that you would only perhaps a visit if your football tea m would only perhaps a visit if your football team was playing here. everybody is really just football team was playing here. everybody is reallyjust looking forward to this final, with a lot at sta ke, forward to this final, with a lot at stake, really, for both teams. we think that arsenal will outnumber chelsea fans by as much as two to one, with perhaps 4000 arsenalfans coming from london to perhaps half that from chelsea. we've seen a lot of chelsea and arsenal shirts, but that doesn't mean that they have come from london. obviously, a lot of travelling support from elsewhere. and the local people living here in baku, it seems that they have adopted a team for this final, which is a very big dealfor this and azerbaijan. for the moment,

thank you very much. and we'll get more from olly on the preparations for tonight's game in our sports bulletin — that's in about 20 minutes' time. stay with us for that. 15 people are now known to have died as a tornado continues to bring disruption to large parts of the united states. tens of thousands of homes are without power. nimesh thacker reports. this person is lucky to be alive. i was screaming, i heard him say, we are coming, we are coming. and i saw the flashlight. i was screaming, "lord help me, lord help me." i heard him say, "sue, we're coming, we're coming." and i saw the flashlight. and the neighbour on both sides helped get me out. across eight states, dozens of tornadoes pulverised homes and businesses. uprooting lives, destroying entire communities. in ohio, an 81—year—old man

was killed when a twister picked up his car and smashed it into his home. it sounded like a jet engine, just landing right on top of your house. then the whole house started shaking and vibrating, and you just heard a big explosion. that was the glass through all the house getting blown out. mankind is no match against mother nature. tens of thousands of people have been left without power, as authorities deal with gas leaks and search for people still trapped by debris. more severe weather is forecast and, while the tornadoes may have stopped for the moment, their impact will never go away. nimesh thaker, bbc news. the chinese firm huawei has warned that the us's decision to put them on a trade blacklist will harm billions of customers. washington recently added huawei to a list of companies that us firms cannot trade with unless they have a licence. they say the telecoms company

is a national security threat because of its close links to the chinese government. huawei denies the allegation. thousands of people are expected to gather at st stephen's cathedral in vienna today for the funeral of formula 1 racing legend niki lauda. he died last monday, aged 70. the triple world champion, who survived a crash during the 1976 german grand prix, died last week. fans will be able to pay their respects before he is laid to rest alongside his mother. in a moment, the weather, but first, let's join joanna gosling to find out what she's got coming up in her programme at ten. he tutored princes william and harry, served in iraq and afghanistan and was a professor at harvard. now, rory stewart is running for the conservative party leadership and he has already been

busy campaigning. here he was yesterday in west london. hi, this is rory, i am now in kew gardens, i am here partly because we are doing some interesting work with cocoa plants, as a minister. but it is also an amazing reminder for me after the conversations yesterday, just what amazing things we have in this country. we will speak to him about his campaigning style and what he would bring to the leadership. join us at ten o'clock. now it's time for a look at the weather with simon king. saturday, temperatures up to about 27 degrees. goodbye. it will turn warmer through the weekend but today we have increasing amounts of cloud and rain spreading from the west and much of the rain this morning across northern

ireland, wales and the rest of england. a bit of rain in the north—west england and into scotland. further north across scotland, sunny spells and showers in the northern islands. holding on to brightness perhaps in the far east. maximum temperature is 15—18. through tonight we will continue with outbreaks of rain, especially across northern parts of the uk. further south it will be drier, but a mild night for many with temperatures not falling below 10 degrees but colder across the far north of scotland. that's it. goodbye.

hello, this is bbc news. the headlines. warnings over council cash for care services — as new evidence emerges of the financial pressures on local authorities in england. we have put more money in but we need a solution for the long—term wear, instead of this year by year process , we wear, instead of this year by year process, we all know and can plan with confidence. enough tory leadership candidates to make up a football team — brexit ministerjames cleverly becomes the 11th to enter the contest. legislation will be published at holyrood to pave for the way for a new referendum on scottish independence, which first minister nicola sturgeon says she wants

to hold in the second half of 2020. in sport — the all english europa league final is just hours away, with chelsea and arsenal going head time now for the morning briefing, where we bring you up to speed on the stories people are watching, reading and sharing. let's return to our top story. as we've been hearing, a growing demand for care, together with tighter budgets is forcing some councils in england to make difficult decisions about which services they can keep running. kathryn smith, from the charity the alzheimer's society, has been speaking on bbc breakfast this morning about what needs to be done, to address the problem of social care. successive governments haven't tackled this issue and so the crisis is getting bigger and it is short—sighted, because when you take away support and care at early

stages, people and in crisis more quickly and that cost more in the longer term. we believe there is a 2.4 billion gap and that could come out of the nhs community care pot that has been identified already. there is no easy answer, if anybody had the answer to this it would probably be in place. the government has pushed back the green paperfive times over the past two years. we need the green paper on social care, we need the answer, we need something like a social insurance scheme that is compulsory so we share the cost of this across society. dementia does not discriminate and it is a disease and illness and it is not fair it does not get the same support and care as cancer, heart disease or anything else, and families are left bearing the cost themselves. more now on the race for number 10. the brexit ministerjames cleverly is the latest person to confirm he's running for the conservative party leadership. he's the 11th candidate so far. the winner, expected to be named by latejuly,

will also become prime minister. mr cleverly‘s been speaking tojohn humphrys on radio 4's today programme — he asked him to explain why he's running. there is a message, there is a message we are seeing from global politics which is the surprising candidates are disproportionately successful. the outside bets keep winning. what i have also seen is that we need to be able to reconnect with the country. we need to be able to sell a conservative vision and explain why it is the right answer for the british people. you do not think they have had too many? people looking at it now are beginning to giggle and saying it is becoming silly. a dozen, 13 candidates? the last leadership campaign we had a relatively small number of people in

the first round which distilled quickly down to ultimately theresa may, who went into the job. u nco ntested may, who went into the job. uncontested and untested. what we found is that as admirable as she is and as successful as she was around the cabinet table as home secretary, she did not fit well with the role of prime minister and it saddens me to say, and had we tested the candidates through that proper leadership campaign, we could have built a team around her which would have complimented her skills and made up her shortfalls. what was her big shortfall that you would be different from ? big shortfall that you would be different from? what i have seen... iam not different from? what i have seen... i am not talking about... i am going to talk about what i observe the role of prime minister. it has got to be that unless you say the other person got it wrong... there are

basically three things you need to do, you need to build and manage a team. you need to make tough decisions and you need to be able to communicate those decisions. i have done those three things, outside parliament, when i was working at city hall in the london assembly, making difficult decisions about the structure of london fire brigade. but you have not been in the cabinet. our two most successful, out of our four most recent prime ministers, to have come from a long period in cabinet and two had had zero government experience whatsoever. and our demonstrably two most successful prime ministers had absolutely no macro, not only no government experience whatsoever. well another of the conservative leadership candidates — the health secretary matt hancock — spoke to naga munchetty on bbc breakfast a little earlier. she asked him why he thinks he's the right person for the job. i think that we need to cast this to the future.

this is all about where britain can be in the 2020s. of course, getting through the brexit impasse now, but then moving on. i think the big debate and big battle of the 2020s in politics is going to be about how we can make sure the strong economy that we've got benefits everyone, how we can tackle low pay, how we can back business to succeed. why you, though? well, because, i think i'm the youngest of those putting their name forward. i have a background in technology. i have got the determination and vision to take britain through brexit, to deliver brexit, but then to get on and move forward with all the other things that we need to do, putting more money and people's pocket. properly funded public services. and also try to bring the country together. the sort of politics that i am interested in is where we can bring people together rather than divide

them and i think we need to do much more to do that in politics today. why would you be a better alternative than say boris johnson, who is considered the race leader at the moment? well, i think it's about notjust the conservative party, this election, but the winner is going to be prime minister on day one. we need to bring the country together, as well. so you think he is divisive, do you? i am not going to get into anything negative about any of the other contenders. there are lots of brilliant people who have put their names forward. but by being able to bring the country together, i think we can take a step forward. people want to turn the page. i have not had my name associated with the big rows around brexit. i've been getting on and delivering within the health service and other government departments before that. but what we really need to do now

is turn that page on the politics of the last few years, which has been pretty difficult. and, at the bottom of my heart, i believe that everybody has a contribution to make and it's the job of government to help people to make the best possible contribution that they can. and that is a way of uniting the country behind a mission to move us forward, back in business, who create the jobs and create us forward, backing business, who create the jobs and create the prosperity, and making sure that people get more money in their pockets. we can look at what you are reading and watching on the bbc news app. number one is about an unexplained wealth order and this is a case involving three london homes worth more than £80 million that have been frozen, which means they cannot be sold and nothing can be done with them. it is about a foreign official who apparently owns these properties

and was not named in court. the national crime agency demanded this person explain where their wealth has come from. this is the second time this sort of unexplained wealth order has been used in the uk. and the national crime agency is saying these orders are used to stop foreigners laundering cash in the united kingdom. the most watched, at number one is a story about being homeless and disabled. this is a report from the bbc‘s disability news correspondence. an interesting one at number three. about malaysia, following in china's footsteps, sending back thousands of tonnes of imported waste to the countries from which it has come. malaysia said it does not want to be a dumping ground for wealthier nations. that is an interesting one you are enjoying

looking at at the moment at number three. at number eight, a lovely story about a man who jumped into a canal when he saw a young dear struggling in the water. —— deer. saving it from drowning. he spotted something in the water and is a fisherman and thought it might be a large fish because he saw a tail sticking out of the water. when he realised it was a deer, hejumped in to rescue it. we hope to be talking to rescue it. we hope to be talking to him in the next few minutes and he can tell us more about the remarkable story. th remarkable story. sport now and a full round—up from the bbc sport centre. no guesses where you are starting. it isa no guesses where you are starting. it is a busy week. let's start with the europa league — just a few hours to go before chelsea and arsenal meet in the bfinal of the europa league, the first all—english final in the competition for 47 years. olly foster is in baku for us.

olly, we've been hearing a lot about missing fans over the last couple of days — can you confirm that the atmosphere is building over there? —ish. we saw pockets of chelsea and arsenalfans —ish. we saw pockets of chelsea and arsenal fans last night. a lot of arsenal fans last night. a lot of arsenal and chelsea shirt which does not necessarily mean those supporters, people tagging onto these teams perhaps, a lot have adopted a club for the night and a lot of international fans but those fa ns lot of international fans but those fans coming from london, it has been a struggle. we are down in the bay. we will take that out for a spin later. i have two fans including tim who writes for a chelsea fanzine and another who is an arsenal fan and writer. it is like a badge of honour getting here. absolutely. it has beena getting here. absolutely. it has been a slog, booking to get here,

hotels and things like that. i know people who have had accommodation cancelled. thankfully not me. i think it is a sense of solidarity between the two fans because we know we made a big effort to get him. they will be a lot of red and blue, but as i was saying, for you guys who had travelled from london, 2—1 in arsenal's favour. tim, you are not happy about how difficult it has been. you came via minibus. a nine hour minibusjourney been. you came via minibus. a nine hour minibus journey yesterday afternoon from tblisi. if they had subsidised it, there would be more supporters. where i come from, it is three or four days off work and most cannot afford that. it seems a shame we have a european showpiece. i know it is the second tier of european competition but it is a big deal. there are lovely people here and it isa

there are lovely people here and it is a lovely city but it is the wrong place to have a final bid two london teams. tim, the arsenal writer, place to have a final bid two london teams. tim, the arsenalwriter, a lot more at stake for your guys than chelsea who have already qualified for the champions league. what comes with a trophy is getting into the champions league and that can make a big difference for your club. huge. this is the biggest arsenal game probably since the last european final we were probably since the last european finalwe were in probably since the last european final we were in which we do not like to talk about. arsenal have not won a european trophy in 25 years and our european pedigree compared to our size is probably not where it should be but it is a massive crossroads for the club. if we are outside champions league again next season things become different in the transfer market and our standing in europe and the world. this is an enormous game. however we look back at this, it will be a result. we have had political tensions and one player thought he could not travel,

henrikh mkhitaryan. but let's talk about the match. briefly, give us the score. arsenal to win on penalties after a 1—1 draw. the score. arsenal to win on penalties after a 1-1 draw. nobody wa nts penalties after a 1-1 draw. nobody wants extra time after an 11pm kick—off. tu — one, chelsea. it is a beautiful day here in baku, the capital of azerbaijan. who would have thought i would say that?m looks great fun out there. anthonyjoshua says world heavyweight title opponent andy ruiz will be more dangerous than taking on fellow champion deontay wilder. joshua is the odds—on favourite to retain his three belts against ruiz when they meet at madison square garden in new york on saturday. why are fighting boxes like andy ruiz. when i can weigh up the two i

would rather take the deontay wilder opportunity. i don't want to be fighting these guys, i want to get straight to the big fight. british number one johanna konta is due on court today as the french open reaches day four. konta plays american lauren davis in the second round while rafa nadal and roger federer also play their second play their second round matches today. let's have a look at some of this morning's back pages. almost all of them have mauricio sarri as their back page splash. here the guardian has a picture of him kicking his baseball cap. the express has a similar shot — apparently he was frustrated at not being able to practise set pieces in training. same picture on the back of the times but their lead story is about the amount of money england's cricketers could earn next year. the cricket world cup starts tomorrow just a reminder that you can catch all the build—up to that europa league final in sportsday this evening at 6.30 with full

commentary on the match on five live from 7. that's all the sport for now. a manjumped into a canal to save an exhausted deer that had fallen into the water. marc headon, a painter and decorator, swam to the struggling animal in the fossdyke near saxilby, lincolnshire. he was filmed as he dragged the deer to the bank. go on, marc. go on, marc, get it. go on, marc. pull it this way. well done, boy. good lad. come on. it's going to come back now.

come on. saved this little boy. out the river. justjumped in and saved him. one of the loveliest stories he will see today. and the of the hour watching joining us now. everybody appreciated your efforts. you and your friend were driving along and your friend were driving along and you spotted something in the water. we pulled up because we thought it was a fish because b go fishing a lot. when we had a look and it was a little deer. -- we go fishing. i guess a lot of people would not have jumped into the water. did you hesitate? i did not think, ijust did it, to be fair. and was it so

exhausted that when you've got to it it did not struggle?” exhausted that when you've got to it it did not struggle? i had a quick look first because it looked like it was suffering but by the time i got to it it looked like it was happy for me to come, so i thought it been happy. you dragged it to the bank. notan happy. you dragged it to the bank. not an easy thing to get even a young deer out of the water. what condition was it in then? we saw you using clothing to rub it down. jamie helped me to get the deer out and then he pulled me out and then we carried it to the top of the bank. it looked like it was in shock, real cold, it must have been in there hours. we put my clothes and bla nkets hours. we put my clothes and blankets around it keep it warm. hours. we put my clothes and blankets around it keep it warmm was obviously traumatised and was quite happy to let you do this. was obviously traumatised and was quite happy to let you do thism looked like it was going to die, to be fair. we saw that shot of you holding it up. how were you feeling at that point? it felt good to save

at that point? it felt good to save a deer‘s life, of course. at that point? it felt good to save a deer's life, of course. what happened afterwards, did you call anyone? i rang the police. i did not know who to police. it is near a busy road and they put me in contact with the wildlife trust and we took it somewhere safe, because it was near the main road. we took it to a friend's house and after awhile it started coming back to life a little bit and the wildlife trust came and picked it up. you have this fawn skipping somebody‘s living room? we had it in the back garden. i thought you meant he brought it inside. it was skipping around the back garden and looking happier? by the time we left it, yes, and the world —— wildlife trust brought it. they were over the moon and said we had saved its life and it was a good job. very good job indeed and thank you for talking to us.

five people have died on the slopes of britain's highest mountain, ben nevis, since december. so just how dangerous is the climb? our scotland correspondent, james shaw sent us this report from the summit. there is no other mountain in britain quite like ben nevis, from the ridges, gullies and cliffs of the north face, to the stunning views from the top across loch linnhe and the west coast of scotland. it is uniquely beautiful. there is a straightforward path up the southern slopes, but the north face is a serious challenge. we have hired a mountain guide, mike, to make sure we do it safely. tell us what we're looking at there, that little bit of snow that we can see up there, what is that? that snow there is at the foot of number five gully, which is where all the snow has come

down and the avalanches over the winter, that's why it's so deep and why it's still there in the summer. and that is a particular hazard as we know, from what has actually happened this winter. absolutely. number five gully does avalanche quite regularly, and quite dramatically this year, causing that accident. so, yes, it is a regular avalanche spot. the incident mike's talking about happened in march, when three climbers from switzerland died at the foot of this gully. it is potentially a death trap. if we are here at the wrong time in the wrong weather conditions. yes, but on a different day, with fresh snowfall, the westerly winds blowing snow onto the top, this is normally where it collects, where you get avalanches that slide all the way down to the bottom here. so absolutely, this is the place to avoid in those avalanche conditions. using an ice axe aids stability, as mike kicks steps into the hardened snow. like we did before.

ice axe in your hand. iam ok. good. along this side? 1,000 feet up, the snow has melted, but the climbing does not get any easier. a bit of a drop down there. at this point, mike and i are roped together in case one of us trips orfalls. this is one of the ways up the north face of ben nevis. it is pretty arduous, it's pretty hard going but you are rewarded by these absolutely amazing views. but completing the route is a long, hard slog. are we only about halfway, or less than halfway? i'd say halfway up. tiredness and changing weather conditions can mean that a plan which seemed safe can start to look more dangerous. other climbers are also taking account of the conditions and planning their day accordingly. when you go into the mountains,

the weather is changeable, you should always have plan a, plan b, plan c and if it is not suitable, you're not fit enough, you haven't chosen the right thing, you can always turn around, you can always come back tomorrow. the mountains are not going anywhere. experienced climbers know that there is always the potential for something unexpected to happen. proper planning and assessing the dangers as you go can reduce the risks of the minimum so that this thrilling mountain landscape can be enjoyed to the full. legislation that could pave the way for a second scottish independence referendum has been published at holyrood. first minister nicola sturgeon said the bill would give people north of the border what she called the "opportunity to choose a better future". )let‘s speak to our chief political correspondent for scotland, glenn campbell.

this is called the referendums scotla nd this is called the referendums scotland bill. it is not legislation for another referendum on scottish independence. it in fact sets out arrangements for any and all future referendums in scotland, but in reality we know the only vote the current scottish government is thinking about having any time soon is another vote that would lead to scotla nd is another vote that would lead to scotland becoming an independent country. the details of this legislation will be discussed in the scottish parliament this afternoon. but it would take further legislation for there to be an actual referendum on scottish independence. the first minister here nicola sturgeon would like that to ta ke here nicola sturgeon would like that to take place before the next scottish parliament elections in 2021. she would like the vote to ta ke 2021. she would like the vote to take place in the second half of next year. do i think there will be another referendum on independence at some point? yes, i think that's

unlikely. do i think it will happen in that timescale? no, i think it unlikely, not least because of the current political turmoil in the uk and the uncertainty over brexit. of course, in these circumstances, almost anything is possible, but nicola sturgeon knows she needs the power to have another referendum lent from the uk government. she needs the consent of ministers in london. the current government says no, and the leadership contenders in the conservative race are being encouraged to say no to no to a second independence referendum by the leader of the scottish conservatives, ruth davidson, who does not wa nt want it to take place. now it's time for a look at the weather. by by the weekend we could be looking at the warmest day of the year so

far but until we get to that point we have a lot of cloud streaming into the atlantic. brightness towards northern and eastern areas but with this system moving in, the warm front is bringing rain and drizzle across western areas of the uk but further east we started with sunshine. and we still have sunshine in the north—east of england up to north—eastern scotland, but generally the cloud is increasing across eastern parts. the far north of scotla nd across eastern parts. the far north of scotland perhaps staying bright. showers in the far north. elsewhere, rain spreading eastwards. a south—westerly wind today so unlike yesterday when it was from the north, temperatures particularly around the north sea coast will be a little higher. 12—15. elsewhere, still on the cool side. throughout tonight we will continue with rain at times across north wales, midlands, northern england and into

scotla nd midlands, northern england and into scotland and northern ireland. further south, dry. a mild night. temperatures not falling below 10—13 in england and wales and northern ireland, cooler in northern scotland. just holding on to the colder air scotland. just holding on to the colderair in scotland. just holding on to the colder air in the far north of scotla nd colder air in the far north of scotland but for most, with the south—westerly, the warm air feeding in from the south—west. this is thursday. cloud and outbreaks of rain at times across northern england, scotland and northern ireland. further south it should be dry. a lot of cloud on thursday. it will feel warm and humid i suspect on thursday. into the weekend, 27 in the south—east of england possible on saturday. not as warm further north and west and as we go into the weekend, cloud across northern and western areas with outbreaks of rain. temperatures still getting to

15-18 rain. temperatures still getting to 15—18 across scotland, northern ireland, north—west england. cloudy with rain but further south and east, dry and brighter weather and temperatures widely into the low to mid 20s.

hello, it's wednesday, it's ten o'clock, i'm joanna gosling. the commons speaker, john bercow, is going to stay in hisjob. he says the momentous events in parliament mean it's right for him to stay. he's been accused of an anti—brexit bias. is it isita is it a no—no for a no—deal brexit, after speaker boco says mps must have the final say on weather we quit without a deal. there are now 11 candidates to replace theresa may, with james cleverly the latest to declare. and we'll be talking to one of them, rory stewart, who's been campaigning in a rather unorthodox way. hi, this is rory. i'm now in the slightly absurd setting of kew gardens and i'm here partly because as a dfid minister, we're doing some very