today at 5.00 — the conservative leadership contender boris johnson is to appear in court to face accusations of misconduct in a public office. it follows claims he made during the brexit referendum in 2016 that the uk sent £350 million pounds to the european union every week. thejudge at westminster magistrates court says mrjohnson should appear at crown court. we'll have the latest. the other main stories on bbc news at 5.00 — the us special counsel robert mueller, who investigated russian interference into the 2016 presidential election, says charging donald trump with a crime was never an option. if we had had confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so. new analysis shows much less is being spent on social care per head in england than in wales and scotland.

i'm desperate. and i'm not the only one. you know, lifelines cut, you just think, "if they don't "listen to our pleas, how is the future going to evolve?" an inquest hears the london bridge attackers used 12—inch kitchen knives bought from a supermarket weeks earlier. and the all—english europa league final is just hours away, with chelsea and arsenal going head to head in azerbaijan. iam here i am here at the olympic stadium in baku where fans are now starting to gather ahead of tonight's match. it's 5.00.

our main story is that the conservative leadership contender boris johnson is to appear in court to face accusations of misconduct in a public office. it follows claims he made during the brexit referendum in 2016 that the uk paid £350 million to the european union every week. a judge at westminster magistrates court has ruled that mrjohnson should appear before a crown court. it is a private prosecution launched by a campaigner called marcus ball, but mrjohnson‘s representatives have called the case a political stunt. 0ur political corresepondent jonathan blake has more details. the claim at the heart of this case, made by borisjohnson and others in the eu referendum campaign, that the uk sends £350 million a week to the european union. now, in the first case of its kind, the former foreign secretary is, for his use of that claim, accused of misconduct in a public office —

a criminal offence. marcus ball, a businessman here on the right, is behind the legal challenge, a private prosecution financed by an online crowdfunding campaign. in previous hearings, his lawyers have claimed borisjohnson repeatedly lied and misled the british public about the cost of membership of the eu. good morning, good morning, good morning. mrjohnson‘s representatives have suggested the case is a stunt aimed at undermining the referendum result. his lawyers say he denies acting improperly or dishonestly at any time. today, a districtjudge ruled she was satisfied that there is prima facie evidence of an issue being determined at trial, but stressed the allegations against borisjohnson are unproven. he will now have to attend a preliminary hearing before the case is sent to crown court for trial. as the frontrunner in the contest to become the next prime minister, this case will be an unwelcome distraction for boris johnson, and may be used by his opponents against him. jonathan blake, bbc

news, westminster. nick eardley is at westminster. what has the reaction to this bean today? if you ask most people around westminster, they would tell you that boris johnson westminster, they would tell you that borisjohnson is the frontrunner to be the next conservative leader and potentially, inafew conservative leader and potentially, in a few weeks‘ time, our prime minister. so i think it is fair to say at this stage, this is a distraction for someone that would much rather be talking about their campaign to be prime minister. let‘s just remind ourselves exactly what this is about. that £350 million figure that was claimed was sent from the uk to brussels every week was a big part of the referendum campaign. vote to leave used it, various people said it on a different occasions. it has not been disputed that that was said. what is being questioned is whether the use of that figure was misleading and whether using it constitutes

misconduct in public office. now, in the last while, we have heard from a source close to borisjohnson saying that this is nothing less than what they call a politically motivated attempt to traverse brexit and crush of the will of the people. they argue that this is not the role of criminal law to regulate political speech and that this summons being issued for mrjohnson is extraordinary, but that is exactly what is going to happen. at some point in the next few weeks, mr johnson will be called to a court to talk about this issue, and for someone talk about this issue, and for someone who is about to launch a campaign to be prime minister, that is the last thing they want. when we look at the dynamics of the leadership campaign, it is a campaign that is obviously developing in terms of candidates and all the rest of it. how do you see that panning out? the race is turning into a bit of a political grand national, isn‘t it? a dozen candidates the last time we checked,

we have had a few of those candidates coming out in those last few hours to say that they think this case should not go ahead, that they don‘t agree with the idea of political comments being regulated in the courts. in fact, i think we can hearfrom in the courts. in fact, i think we can hear from one in the courts. in fact, i think we can hearfrom one of mrjohnson‘s supporters now, jacob rees—mogg.m isa supporters now, jacob rees—mogg.m is a grave error to try to use of the legal process to try to settle subtle political questions. the issue at hand is whether it was right to use the gross or net level of our contribution to the european union. that is a question of free speech and the democratic process, and this court case is fundamentally misjudged and improper. during the preliminary hearings into the case, the argument made by marcus paul‘s legal team was that this is in the public interest, and they have the right to bring a case like this. let‘s your from his lawyer now. —— marcus ball. it is not for us to respond to those allegations today.

ican respond to those allegations today. i can say that the judge at the hearing on the 23rd of may heard arguments about the alleged political motivation of the application for the summons against mrjohnson. and in herjudgment today, has decided to issue a summons notwithstanding those allegations of political motivation by mrjohnson. so you refute the suggestion this is an attempt to try to block the outcome of the referendum? i am not going to be drawn on the substance of this case. marcus ball‘s lawyer there. more broadly, this leadership campaign has a way to go, huw. at some point, the 12 or so candidates we have already heard from, there may be more, they will be whittled down to two by mps in the commons, and probably by mid july, we will get a ballot of the last two, which goes to conservative party members, then we will have a new prime minister. the question is whether that prime minister will be boris johnson the question is whether that prime minister will be borisjohnson and whether he will have to appear in

court. nick, thanks very much for the latest from westminster. in the past hour, the us special counsel robert mueller has reaffirmed the findings of his russia investigation in his first public comments since the inquiry started in 2017. speaking in washington, mr mueller said charging president trump with a crime was not an option because of justice department policy. at the same time, mr mueller underlined that his report into russian interference in the 2016 presidential election did not exonerate the president. he said that if he‘d had confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime, he would have said so. if we had had confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so. we did not, however, make a determination as to whether the president did commit a crime. the introduction to volume two of oui’ the introduction to volume two of our report explains that decision.

it explains that, under a long—standing department policy, a present president cannot be charged with a federal crime while he is in office. that is unconstitutional. evenif office. that is unconstitutional. even if the charge is kept under seal and hidden from public view, that too is prohibited. a special council‘s office as part of the department ofjustice, and by regulation, it was bound by that department policy. charging the president with a crime was therefore not an option we could consider. it would be unfair to potentially accuse somebody of a crime when that there can be no court resolution of there can be no court resolution of the actual charge. so that was justice department policy, those we re justice department policy, those were the principles under which we operated, and from then, we concluded that we would not reach a determination one way or the other about whether the president committed a crime. and i will close

by reiterating the central allegation of our indictments, that there were multiple, systematic effo rts there were multiple, systematic efforts to interfere in our election. and that allegation deserves the attention of every american. thank you for being here today. well, a short while after the statement from robert mueller, president trump took to twitter in response, re—affirming his view on the outcome of the investigation. let‘s speak to our washington correspondent gary 0‘donoghue. first of all, can be be in any doubt at all about what mr mueller was basically underlining in this

statement? i don‘t think so. i think this essentially reiterates what we learned from his report. but making it very clear that his hands were tied, he had no ability to indict the president. even if there was these ten or so instances of evidence of obstruction ofjustice, and as you pointed out, he had said very explicitly in his statement that if they had been able to say the president wasn‘t guilty, they would have done so. but they were not able to say that, but they couldn‘t charge him anyway. he is handing the baton here on to congress, huw. he is effectively saying it is up to you guys if you wa nt to saying it is up to you guys if you want to do anything more about this. we have already had some reactions from the democrats, the chair of the judiciary committee, who has been trying to get robert mueller to testify in front of him, and he says, it falls to congress to respond to the crimes, lies, and other wrongdoings of president trump, and we will do so. nobody,

not even the president of the united states, is above the law. so that may be a nod towards impeachment in the future, it may be a nod towards further investigation by his committee. but you can be sure from this, i think, committee. but you can be sure from this, ithink, that committee. but you can be sure from this, i think, that the democrats are not going to let this go, whereas the white house thinks the straw is a real thick black line under the whole matter. what is the state of public opinion on this, gary, in the sense that congress has clearly made a rather different noises about the possibility of taking this forward, especially under the democratic side. how would you characterise it? let‘s be clear that the voters don‘t really care about russia. they didn‘t really ca re about russia. they didn‘t really care in the midterms, there is no sign of the skin to be a major issue for them in the election next year, the general election. —— no sign it is going to be a major issue. that is going to be a major issue. that is why there is this debate inside the democratic party. you have the new, young, more left—wing members of congress who wants to go after

the president, the older guard, the membership, believe there is nothing to be gained and substantial amounts potentially to be lost if they are seen to be vindictive or pursuing something that has already been thrown out in many ways by a two—year investigation. so that is the problem that the opposition faces here at the moment, what to do next, how to do it, and whether or not the voters will care even if they do do it. gary, thank you for talking to us. gary 0‘donoghue with his thoughts on the miller statement today. there‘s more evidence of the stark financial pressures facing english councils, and the devastating effect on care services. new figures suggest 11 local authorities could run out of cash reserves in four years, with the local government association saying councils face systemic underfunding. ministers insist they‘ve put more money into social care, but the health foundation says the average spend in england is much less per head than in wales and scotland. 0ur social affairs correspondent alison holt has been examining the care system for bbc panorama.

i don‘t like it. that's all right, i'll come with you and i'll help you. rachel and her mother barbara are at the sharp end of the financial pressures local authorities are facing. where are you? i'm only here. we're going to go this way now. all right? i don‘t want to be here. barbara has severe dementia and their county council, somerset, closed the dementia 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. wash your hair, ready for tomorrow. i'm desperate. and i'm not the only one. you know, our lifeline has been 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 a 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 number of our services, i am conscious that that has been out of the cost of services that people have valued, no longer being available. plans to reform the care system across england will be published at the earliest opportunity, according to the health and social care secretary. i have already talked about the different ways of making sure we have a properly funded social care system in the long term. firstly, making sure there is more money there upfront. i have secured an extra almost £1 billion going into social care,

so there is now almost 10% more money in social care than if there was a couple of years ago. mum, we're going to go in the car now. that's all right, they stay here. but in places like somerset, they say the need for long—term funding and a plan for the future is now urgent, because the pressures are already biting. we're going to go in the car, we're going home now. sir andrew dilnot is an economist and author of the dilnot report on social care. he joins us from oxford. what is notable about this film is the real distress that lots of people are feeling in a system that is clearly overstretched. what is your sense of where the system is really at breaking point at the moment? i think the system is at breaking point. it has been at breaking point. it has been at breaking point. it has been at breaking point for many years. we spent 20 years or more trying to find a way through all of this, but now i think the pressures have

become intolerable. you see in that panorama programme on tonight that people in this kind of depth of distress that is extremely difficult to watch, despite the wonderful care given to them by their family members and by the people working for the council. so we have got a system that is simply overstretched, there is not enough money going into it to deliver a service that works, and the whole structure is less than perfect by a very long way. so there isa perfect by a very long way. so there is a desperate need to get something done. if the viewers were to ask you today, you know, what is the kind of money that needs to be pumped into the system to make a proper measurable difference, what would that be? i think if we were to get an extra £4 billion a year into the system, we could have a properly funded, means tested system, the system being looked at in the panorama tonight, something that would make the structures work for the population as a whole. £4 billion sounds like a lot of money, but it is actually only about 0.5%

of total public spending, so a very small amount compared to money going into the health service and other areas, so it is certainly doable and something we could all reasonably turnit something we could all reasonably turn it to our politicians and say, come on, you have had many goes at this, you have repeatedly said on all sides of political argument that this is an urgent problem. well, now it is time to do something about it. it is eight or nine years since you started on the commission you jet which came up with its own report which came up with its own report which i think it is fair to say was basically dropped after 2015, wasn‘t it? the circumstances of that and the kinds of things that you are calling for, or of a revival at this point, politically? yes, they are, that particular set of recommendations, which i came up with myself, so of course i think they are a great idea, they were enshrined in law, the queen signed the act, so it is still there waiting, it was simply postponed after the 2015 election. so that could be brought into play very quickly. more money could be put

into the means tested system right now, so it is not that there are no ideas of what to do, it is not impossible, it is political will thatis impossible, it is political will that is required. the population as a whole, the politicians who serve us, recognising the kind of distress we have seen briefly in that clip and we will see at much greater length tonight, these are things which we need to do in some senses together, much of it we can do on our own if we are not one of the very unlucky ones with enormously difficult care needs that last for a long time, but if you are one of that relatively small minority that ends up with a very significant care needs, that is a risk that you need to pull across the whole of the population, just as we do the risk of having a very serious health problem, it is something to do together and that is what politics should be for. is it fair to say, in politics, that there has been a relu cta nce politics, that there has been a reluctance and maybe still is to tackle this issue? we saw what happened to the conservative proposals on the 2017 general election because they lasted just a few hours. there is an

understandable sensitivity and relu cta nce understandable sensitivity and reluctance about this, is that fair? i think it is, that is true on all sides. in 1998, early in the tony blair government, they set up a royal commission, but by the time he left off as quite a long time later, they had not managed to get anything through. the coalition government in 2010 had a go, the conservative ma nifesto 2010 had a go, the conservative manifesto from the last election had a go, albeit one that i think was not well thought out. so yes, there have been lots of attempts, and i think politicians sometimes say this looks like the third rail of british politics, touch it and you die, but now we have got to the point where it is the third rail in the sense of don‘t touch it, don‘t address it, and you ought to come in for criticism, because it really is a major politics facing people that we could deal with if wejust major politics facing people that we could deal with if we just add some political courage. thank you for talking to us today. and you can find out more tonight in the first of a two—part panorama series, crisis in care —

that‘s at 9.00pm on bbc one. a total of 11 conservative mps have now put their names forward to be the next leader, and prime minister, following theresa may‘s decision to step down. the latest candidate is the junior brexit ministerjames 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 in july. with me is the senior conservative mp nigel evans, who is helping to organise the official hustings for the party leadership contest. i suppose it would be easier to see who is not standing. i'm not standing, andi who is not standing. i'm not standing, and i knowa who is not standing. i'm not standing, and i know a lot of people will be dismayed by that news. but you‘re right, this morning we had a football team, and we still have another 11 days to go before the opening and closing of the nominations, and who knows by that time? we may have more candidates

than electors. why is this happening? we have got a lot of talent, and nobody is prepared to hide that, they are all stepping forward one by one. and i think the important thing for us is to ensure that it important thing for us is to ensure thatitis important thing for us is to ensure that it is done in an orderly way. the 10th ofjune is when nominations open and close, and then we‘ve got the hustings straightaway. we have got so many candidates we will have to do that over two days. it is going to be a bit like the eurovision song contest, with as many eurovision song contest, with as ma ny co ntesta nts, eurovision song contest, with as many contestants, and even as a gay man, eveni many contestants, and even as a gay man, even i couldn‘t keep up with the eurovision song contest this year, so goodness knows what will happen with our leadership election. but what normally happens in these sort of things, people who think they would have a huge number of supporters find they only have a proposer and a second, they may start to drop out even before the first ballot, but certainly after the first ballot, which is expected on the 13th ofjune, people will have a look and say, my popularity may be not what i thought, clearly

people have been lying to me and they said they were going to support me and now they haven‘t, and so there will be people who then start to draw out, and then of course the game is to work out who is closest to your views, who is likely to win as well, or get into the last two, and then you start to publicly declare that you are going to go for that sort of candidate. so i would imagine that after the first ballot, there will be if you dropping out. —— afew there will be if you dropping out. —— a few dropping out. there will be if you dropping out. -- a few dropping out. there will be some people that was to do not stand any chance of winning, i will not name any names. they are perhaps using it as a vehicle for putting their views out there in order to get some kind of decentjob when the new leader is elected. should the leadership contest be used for that context, and what are the public to make of a leadership contest with ca pless make of a leadership contest with capless people involved? be leadership contest be used for that purpose? does it get a little too involved? i think we are approaching

that. you‘re absolutely right, it is a well trodden vehicle. i do not know when it started that people started to put their name in the hat in order to get a cabinetjob afterwards, but there are so many now, they will not all get a cabinet job, so we need to look and see where they will be best to go. we have got the hustings over two days, which gives an opportunity for mps to ask the questions, and at least with so many candidates, we have got a wide spectrum. so we have got people on one side who seem to be almost perhaps more towards negotiating compromise more, etc, write to the ones that say, "no deal, leaving the 31st of october, wto rules". so it looks there is a wide spectrum there. the hustings in parliament will give an opportunity for mps to say, "what are you going to do differently from what theresa may is just to do differently from what theresa may isjust done to do differently from what theresa may is just done for the last three yea rs may is just done for the last three years and we are still in the european union? how will you get is out of the eu by the 31st of 0ctober? are you going to extend

article 50 even further?" and it is those sort of questions that will be asked. and there are even domestic questions people are interested as well, believe it or not. so once we have got brexit out of the way, people want to know, health services, public services generally, education, law and order, the economy. all of these questions have got to be answered, then finally the big one, huw, who is going to win the next election for the conservative party? who will have that charisma and appeal in the country? and that is where when it comes down to the last two, and i think the bbc are taking part in some of the hustings themselves, having debates between the candidates, that is going to be vitally important, in the television age, that the membership of the party, those who cannot get to the hustings and watch it on tv, they will think i rather like them, or i‘m not so sure. if you remember, and richard nixon got crucified on one of the tv debates when he was perspiring a little bit more than the other guy. where do you think the other guy. where do you think the candidates will be tested? will

it be with party members, members of the public, or will it be with their own peers in parliament, their own collea g u es own peers in parliament, their own colleagues on the parliamentary benches? well, i think the sifting process will be vitally important as to who the final two are going to be, andi to who the final two are going to be, and i can‘t say how mps are going to go. we say it is the most sophisticated electorate, however many there will be left. they also say they are quite duplicitous, there have been cases where one person was known to commit to all five candidates, one election period. but the sifting is to be important, and that is where, i guess, the drilling down of the policies on brexit, because that absolutely killed us on the european union elections and the local elections. the labour party as well, but it killed us. and then, when they start to drop off, then it goes to the country, that is meant to be incredibly important then as to who the 160,000 members of the

conservative party believe it‘s going to be getting us out of the european union, delivering for policies in the domestic front, and then, we don‘t know when this next election is going to be, huw. you could be fronting the election at night special event sooner than you anticipated. who knows? and you have beenin anticipated. who knows? and you have been in parliament for 27 years, you area been in parliament for 27 years, you are a member of the executive of the 1922 committee, you have a great vantage point. have you currently made up your mind as to what you‘re doing? do you have that person in mind? no, but all the criteria i just give you is what is going through my mind, and i will sit in at the hustings... through my mind, and i will sit in at the hustings. .. that is more than one person who meets those criteria? absolutely stop i want to make sure the answer the question on brexit clearly, that they are going to be able to deliver the brexit i think the people voted for, speaking a brexiteer. to leave on the deadline? i‘d prefer that deadline. and then on the domestic front, a number of issues that interest me for my own constituency and the country. and

then finally, after having gone through the carnage of sunday night‘s results, and i did say to somebody when they asked how i thought we would do, "if you have a glass of champagne for each time we getan mep glass of champagne for each time we get an mep elected, i think at the end of the election night programme, you‘ll still be able to drive home safely". i wasn‘t far off, we only got three. the north—west, when i represent, we haven‘t got a single conservative. a number of tory mps throughout the country will say, "hold on now, deliver brexit, yes, domestic agenda, but we‘ve got to get elected," because it is going to be whoever we elect. we want this, we wa nt be whoever we elect. we want this, we want two to to the membership. i don‘t want a repeat of what happened last time when andrea leadsom dropped out and then it theresa may was crowned. i want the person who is going to become the next prime minister to have the authority of the membership so that when there is any tantrums within the parliamentary party, they can at

least say they are speaking with the authority of the membership. and then of course, as i say, the next election could be a bit sooner than we absolutely think, and we‘ve got to make sure that notjust brexit, but we‘ve got a number of other policies that are going to attract people and win back those seats that we lost during the last general election in 2017. you reference the social policy, it was a bit of a disaster. the next manifesto must not have the grim reaper on it. can borisjohnson be not have the grim reaper on it. can boris johnson be beaten?” not have the grim reaper on it. can boris johnson be beaten? i look at the polls, he is clearly incredibly popular, but what are the favourite a lwa ys popular, but what are the favourite always wins, i don‘t know. it is a bit like the grand national, would you put your mortgage on the favourite? i don‘t know. sometimes they come in, and sometimes they don‘t. they come in, and sometimes they don't. nigel, good to talk to. conservative mp nigel evans with his views on the conservative leadership contest that is under way. labour‘s deputy leader has called for an amnesty for labour members who backed other parties in the european election. tom watson said expelling tony blair‘s former spin doctor, alastair campbell, for voting

liberal democrat last week, was "spiteful," and is urging labour to listen to disillusioned members rather than punish them. legislation which could pave the way for a new scottish independence referendum has been published at holyrood. the scottish government wants to put the question of independence to a new public vote in the second half of 2020. however, the bill does not set out key information on the key issue of when a referendum could be held or what the question would be. the prime minister has repeatedly refused to allow a second vote on scottish independence. footage of the london bridge attackers preparing in the days and hours before they killed eight people in 2017 has been played at the inquests. the court was shown images of rachid redouane buying a kitchen knife from a shop in east london, which was used in the attacks. 0ur correspondent richard lister

is at the old bailey. the inquest was shown around two hours of video the inquest was first shown footage from a lidl supermarket in east london showing rachid redouane buying twelve—inch ceramic kitchen knives used in the attack. its looks in the video like a perfectly ordinary transaction. he has to get help from the assistant in the supermarket. 0ther footage shows him buying bottles of wine. those bottles were found in the front passenger foot well of the ban on the night of the attack, they had been turned into petrol bombs. they we re been turned into petrol bombs. they were viable. they were not used at the time. other video showed three

men meeting a few days before the attack, late in the evening, and we see rachid redouane discarding his phone and some rubbish just outside, before the three men go to walk in a neighbouring street and talk, presumably, about their plans for the coming days. one theory put to the coming days. one theory put to the inquest is that he was concerned that his phone could have been used to monitor his movements and conversations and that is why he discarded it. he picks it up and then he goes back to the gym. also, then he goes back to the gym. also, the inquest heard how someone had tried to rent a 7.5 tonne truck. he had to make do with a smaller van. the inquest was shown 29 sacks of gravel that the attack is put into the back of the van, presumably in

an effort to make it heavier and more deadly. 0ne an effort to make it heavier and more deadly. one very chilling image. the court was shown a photograph of a phone that was retrieved from the van on the night of the attack, showing directions to 0xford of the attack, showing directions to oxford street, one of the busiest places in central london. it is thought that possibly the three men decided to attack london bridge only at the last minute, having got lost on theirjourney at the last minute, having got lost on their journey towards at the last minute, having got lost on theirjourney towards central london, and had maybe been intending to go to oxford street and were diverted at the last minute. it is clear that the attack could have possibly been even worse than it was. a promising start this morning we had sunshine but since then cloud has moved on. misty over the tops of the hills as well. you can see the

rain pushing eastwards. the heaviest rain pushing eastwards. the heaviest rain working across northern ireland and into south—west scotland. it will be a soggy rush hour commute there. there worst of the rain will be confined to coastal hills overnight. increasing mild air. by the end of the night, 15 celsius in london, cooler air over the far north of scotland but it is in the shetland isles that we will have the best of the days of sunshine for tomorrow. sunny but cold. 0therwise we have mild westerly winds. into the afternoon, there will be heavy rain pushing into northern ireland and parts of scotland and north—west england. we are thick clouds breaks further south across england there could be sunny spells. temperatures 23 celsius, starting to feel warmer and more humid as well.

we are going to the sports centre for the latest on the sport. not long until the all—english europa league final. both clubs arsenal and chelsea are from london but they and their fans have had to travel two and a half thousand miles to azerbaijan — where our reporter 0llie foster is. 0llie, we know the club‘s haven‘t filled their allocation, so what‘s the atmosphere like? it has been fantastic the last half an hour. we are still two and a half hours away from kick—off in the europa league final. we havejust had a splendid match of azerbaijan fans. we had a marching band, paddington bear, the details. it was something else. we hope to bring you those pictures at half past six sports day. their hard season fans have had some journeys from

sports day. their hard season fans have had somejourneys from london to get here. the teams have also come in quite a journey to get to this baku final. plenty is riding on the europa league finalfor arsenal plenty is riding on the europa league final for arsenal and chelsea. it is notjust a first european trophy for a quarter of a century that the gunners are chasing in azerbaijan, but a place in the champions league. that slip from their hands with 81—1 draw at home to brighton on the fifth may. now it is baku or bust. a club like arsenal has to be in the champions league. it is an amazing and important game. we wa nt it is an amazing and important game. we want the champions league. 0ver the season, maybe we deserve to be there, in the top four. it is a big game, a final. we can take a trophy and we can go back to the champions league. few british fans will be watching it in person with the difficulty of getting to azerbaijan are seeing only a few thousand

travelling. also staying at home is midfielder micky syrian, the politics of the regent leave him feeling for his safety. —— mkhitarian let him feeling for his safety. help as to achieve the champions league. chelsea's last european title was this 16 years ago, but sarri is yet to win a trophy as manager. pressure is on him and there is speculation this could be his final game in charge. him and there is speculation this could be his final game in chargelj could be his final game in charge.” wa nt to could be his final game in charge.” want to think only to the final of course. then i have a contract which is for two years. first of all, i will speak with chelsea. this is not at the moment. now we have to think

of the final. as you know very well, our feeling is that we deserve to win. we want to win. eden hazard could also be on his way out with real madrid rumoured to be his destination. it was his skill which puts chelsea to the final. their fa ns puts chelsea to the final. their fans will be hoping he can deliver one last time to make it a fond farewell. 0llie, we‘ll get team news in around an hour and a half — but there‘s been some selection problems for both managers hasn‘t there? yes and injury for chelsea midfielder kante. yes and injury for chelsea midfielder ka nte. what yes and injury for chelsea midfielder kante. what does sarri do about that? as for unai emery, he has got petr cech, does he stick with him, because that number one, he wants to start for arsenal. bats

will be interesting. does he stay loyal to petr cech? we will have that team news at half past six. more on those stories and also more on the story thatjohanna konta has taken the first set of heart match. more on that at half past six. let‘s return to the news that the us special counsel robert mueller has made his first public statement since he was appointed two years ago to investigate alleged russian interference in the presidential election. the inquiry also examined whether president donald trump had obstructed justice. in his remarks, this afternoon, robert mueller, made clear that charging mr trump with a crime was not an option because of justice department guidelines. he also went on to say that if we had confidence that the president did not commint a crime, we would have said so.

he then said he had done what he had done within the department of justice guidelines. in response, president trump took to twitter to say: nothing changes from the mueller report. there was insufficient evidence and therefore, in our country, a person is innocent. the case is closed. thank you. that was the president‘s attempt to shut down the reaction after the statement of robert mueller. in washington is niall stanage — white house columnist at the hill. what did you make first of all of robert mueller‘s statements? what did you make first of all of robert mueller's statements?” thought you picked up on the important points. in his statement he seemed to be all but directly implying that the reason president trump was not charged was because he is -- trump was not charged was because he is —— because a sitting president cannot be charged in criminal court. there was an exceptionally thin veil placed over the implication that there was at least a case to answer

here. indeed. just a thought therefor about where that goes possibly. is that really an appeal to congress to take up the matter, or how would you read that?” to congress to take up the matter, or how would you read that? i would read it in that way. at one point in his statement robert mueller suggested that there were essentially other remedies if a president were guilty of some kind of criminal conduct. 0ther remedies outside of the criminaljustice system. the only reasonable reading of that is the suggestion that congress should at the very least consider taking up impeachment proceedings. what do you think is the likelihood of that? fascinating question because some of the democratic leaders in congress are not eager to take up impeachment proceedings. not out of any particular moral and ethical qualm but because they worry about the electoral implications. now it will be difficult for those democratic

leaders in congress to hold back the tide, the tide of demand from their own supporters to do something about this, to at least begin an impeachment inquiry. the tweet i mentioned, which you will be familiar with, from the president, characteristically blunt, that will be seen by his own supporters as absolutely the right conclusion. but is that kind of thing enough to draw a line or not? well, it is such a polarised country that it will certainly appeal to a large number of people. but as a general matter i do not think someone general matter i do not think someone who has been under investigation declaring the case closed into themselves is always the most credible suggestion, or the most credible suggestion, or the most credible suggestion, or the most credible assertion. clearly, president trump is playing a political game also, he wants to see case closed in order to make it appear that democrats, if they

sought impeachment, would be delving into a matter that has already been settled for political advantage. that is the case that he wants to at least put himself in the position to make. how would you describe the level of interest among voters in this entire episode about russian involvement in the election three yea rs involvement in the election three years ago? is there a high level of public interest or not? there is a high level of interest from people who are politically engaged. the question is, people who are laced interested in politics, art that engaged. we spoke about democratic leaders being reluctant to pursue impeachment, the fear that kitchen table issues, health care, jobs, cost of living, cost of education, they fear that those things are more powerful to those less engaged voters and that therefore impeachment would be a distraction from that. good to talk to you.

thank you. 15 civilians are reported to have been killed as russian—backed, syrian government forces continue their assault on rebel—held territory in the country‘s north—western province. the un says barrel bombs are being used against civilians and hospitals are being targeted. the region is dominated byjihadi fighters who used to be linked to al-qaeda as richard galpin reports. the last rebel held areas in syria are now under intense bombardment by government forces, backed by their russian allies. this, the north—western province of idlib, the primary target. it‘s under the control of a jihadist group which has been linked to al-qaeda. but on the ground in the towns

and villages under attack, desperate scenes as rescuers try to save the lives of civilians, including children trapped in collapsed buildings. mustapha from the white helmets rescue team says rockets fired at this town, killed seven people and left six others injured. almost a thousand people are reported to have been injured or killed since the offensive ramped up several weeks ago, after a truce across the area started unravelling. at the united nations last night, a mood of despair amongst humanitarian aid officials. further military operations will overwhelm all ability to respond. as a result, in many areas of active hostilities, humanitarian operations have been suspended.

the question today is — what you will do to protect civilians in idlib? translation: but russia‘s deputy foreign minister said the offensive was targeting islamist extremists who he said were terrorising civilians and using them as human shields. and yet there are reports of indiscriminate weapons such as barrel bombs again being used by pro—government forces in this offensive. and of many hospitals being targeted. we agree the terrorists al-qaeda must be killed but the way that the syrians and russians are doing it at the moment, for every terrorist killed, 100 or 1000 civilians. already almost 300,000 people have fled the offensive. the un says syria is on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe.

the headlines on bbc news... the conservative leadership contender borisjohnson is to appear in court to face accusations of misconduct in a public office. it follows references he made in the 2016 referendum campaign that the uk since £350 million to the eu every week. the us special counsel robert mueller — who investigated russian interference into the 2016 presidential election — says charging donald trump with a crime was never an option. new analysis shows much less is being spent on social care per head in england than in wales and scotland. an update on the market numbers for you — here‘s how london‘s and frankfurt ended the day. losing ground. and in the the united states this is how the dow and the nasdaq are getting on. trading still going on.

britain‘s highest mountain, ben nevis, has long been popular with climbers and walkers, and draws tourists from all over the world to the scottish highlands. but since decemberfive people have died on its slopes, and with the high number of deaths on mount everest this year, there‘s a renewed focus on climbers‘ safety wherever they are. james shaw reports. there are views across the west highlands. it can also be very busy. thousands of people come here because it has bitten‘s highest mountain. but that is a place where conditions can change quickly. there is a straightforward path at the southern slopes, but the north face is a serious challenge. we have hired a mountain guide to make sure we do it safely. tell us what we are looking at there, that little bit of snow that we can see, what is that? that is at

the foot of number five galley. it is we are all the store has come down in avalanches over the winter. that is a particular hazard as we know from what has actually happened this winter. absolutely. numberfive gully does avalanche regularly and dramatically. it is a regular avalanche spot. the incident at the mountain guide is talking about happened in march when three climbers from switzerland died in this gully. it is potentially a death in the wrong conditions. 0n this gully. it is potentially a death in the wrong conditions. on a different day, snowfall, westerly winds, this is normally where it collects, where you get avalanches. this is the place to avoid. just along the side. 1000 feet up the

snow has melted, but the climbing does not get any easier. there is a bit of a drop down there. at this point we are grouped together in case one of us drops or falls. this is one of the roots at the north face of ben nevis. it is pretty arduous and pretty hard going. but you are rewarded by these absolutely amazing views. but completing this route is a long, ha rd but completing this route is a long, hard slog. we are at less than half way. halfway up? tiredness and changing weather conditions can mean that a plan which seem to see if can start to look more dangerous. 0ther climbers are also taking account of the conditions when planning their day, and planning accordingly. when you go into the mountains the weather is changeable. you should always have plan a, plan b, plan c. if it is not suitable, you are not fit enough, you have not chosen the right thing, you can always turn

around. experienced climbers note that there is always the potential for something unexpected to happen. planning and assessing the dangers as you go can‘t reduce the risks to as you go can‘t reduce the risks to a minimum so that this thrilling mountain landscape can be enjoyed. james shaw reporting from the summit, of ben nevis. the build—up to tonight‘s europa league final in azerbaijan has been dominated by the difficulties fans have had trying to get there. there are fears the all—english final, between chelsea and arsenal, will be played to a half empty stadium. so what‘s the atmosphere like in baku? 0ur correspondent sarah rainsford is there for us. it does not look like it will be a half empty stadium. that might be something of an exaggeration if you look at the crowds that are starting to build up and the cries we have

seen to build up and the cries we have seenin to build up and the cries we have seen in town. people have come here from all over the world for this match but that once you have had the most difficulty are the arsenal and chelsea fans coming from the uk and london in particular. they have had extremely long and expensive journeys to get here. that has caused all sorts of criticism. a couple of arsenal fans have turned up couple of arsenal fans have turned upfor couple of arsenal fans have turned up for the couple of arsenal fans have turned upforthe game, couple of arsenal fans have turned up for the game, arrived today, one of them directly, one of them took a longer route. it has been difficult to get here. this is a european final but it is not very close to london. no. it is very far. it has taken me three trips to get here. i went to kiev. i went to to pelissie. i managed to get a flight out this afternoon from tim lisi this afternoon. it is problematic. that is the affordable way to do it. the long route took the price down. you took the direct route. yes, i took the gamble, direct from london

heathrow. i couldn't understand why it in azerbaijan. but that was selected. i shall follow. there has been criticism about baku being the home —— being the venue for this given the travelling. how do you feel about azerbaijan hosting this big match? i have no problem with it being here. my personal problem is with uefa, knowing that two english teams were likely to come here two months ago, and they‘re not helping out more, maybe organising more flights in. 0nly out more, maybe organising more flights in. only 6000 tickets. it has made it a nightmare for us to get here. but we are here. one of the other thing that has arisen around the scheme is one of your player, a midfielder, he is armenian, we add in azerbaijan, there is a conflict going on. how do you feel about the fact he has not been able to come, he does not feel safe ?

been able to come, he does not feel safe? he should feel protected all the time. reassurances that he would be ok. disappointment but it is more ofa be ok. disappointment but it is more of a personal choice from what i am told. do you think you should have come? no. it is down to him how he feels for his personal safety. he was given assurances from the ambassador to the uk. it is then down to his personal choice whether he feels he is set to come or not. if he does not feel safe, who are we to question that? there are not that many chelsea or arsenal fans to question that? there are not that many chelsea or arsenalfans here from the uk. is that disappointing? does it change the atmosphere? what is it all the same? regardless of the seller does not change the atmosphere, it is a european final. i would have preferred it be closer. but it is personal preference. can you afford to go? can you afford to go the distance? financial status, it changes. it is a big dealfor arsenal particularly. as long as we win it, nothing else matters. as long as we walked back into the

champions league next year that is all that matters to us. how has the atmosphere been in baku? there is a lot of arsenal fans in azerbaijan which might have been a surprise to some people. it is great. we went to the fan zone. arsenal fans and chelsea fans alike. it is great to communicate with them. it will be a great experience. thank you. enjoy the match. i hope you get the right result for you. a couple of the arsenal fans are saying that is a lot of arsenal and chelsea supporters. while there may not be many from the uk there will bea number not be many from the uk there will be a number from azerbaijan filling the stands. this is a showcase for azerbaijan. they want to show this venue off as a major venue for sporting events like this, they do not want to see empty seats. bbc news at six coming up in a few

minutes. time for a look at the weather. the weather will get warmer towards the weekend. temperatures could reach 27 celsius for some. but before we get there, this close, and wet weather. the rain at its heaviest at the moment in northern ireland. but what a beautiful start to the day it was. sunshine for most parts of the uk. cloud and rain has been rolling in. the rain heavy for northern ireland, north—west england, south—west scotland. turning heavier and persistent here at the moment. showers working in across eastern scotland as well. those are grey skies, it gives a different complexion weather—wise in parts of wales, rather murky conditions. more of that overnight. that rain will tend to become confined to western coasts and hills later in the night. we will have a brisk westerly wind with us as well. that will blow an increasingly mild air. temperatures overnight, 15 celsius in london, cooler across the

far north of scotland. it is here in shetland we will have the best of the de‘s sunshine with northerly winds however it will not be worn. elsewhere, for most of us cloudy, and a damp start. later, heavier rain, back into the north—west, northern ireland, scotland, north—west england seeing that spell of heavy rain. to the south, there could be cloud breaks but with the sunshine it will feel more humid, temperatures into the low 20s. a warmer day and it has been today. friday, more wet weather targeting the north—west of the country. quite heavyin the north—west of the country. quite heavy in northern ireland. at its heaviest in western scotland where we could see some large puddles and surface water on the roads. further south, after a cloudy start, it should brighten up and warm up as well. temperatures into the low 20s. it is on saturday that we could see things getting quite warm across parts of central and eastern england. to the west, there is still

weather fronts with us but they are wea k weather fronts with us but they are weak because pressure is tending to build. there could be a little bit of rain around. are we not too much. cloud from the north—west. england and wales, that is where we have got heat building. temperatures, 25 celsius across parts of wales, 27 celsius across parts of wales, 27 celsius across parts of wales, 27 celsius across parts of east england, and for those of you who have friends or relatives in europe, also warming up here, temperatures getting into mid to high 20s. quite a change in the forecast with warmer weather as we head to the weekend but do not get too used to it, it looks like things will turn cooler again as we head into next week.

borisjohnson is ordered to appear in court over claims he lied during the eu referendum campaign. he stands accused of lying about the uk giving the eu £350 milllion a week. districtjudge coleman decided that having considered all the relevant factors she was satisfied that this is a proper case in which to issue generally speaking i would prefer it that the courts keep out of affairs, i find the general public are incredibly discerning. we‘ll bring you the latest on how the legal case is likely to proceed and its possible impact on the tory leadership contest. also tonight... how funding for social care in england is a third less