this is bbc news. i'm geeta guru—murthy. the headlines at 3pm... ahead of his state visit to the uk, president trump defies protocol — he praises borisjohnson and his bid to become prime minister. i've always liked him. i don't know whether he's going to be chosen, but i think he's a very good guy, a very talented person. in madrid, fans gear up for this evening's all—english champions league final — liverpool versus tottenham. it takes place here at the wanda metropolitano stadium in five hours‘ time. tottenham and liverpool vying for club football‘s biggest price. and here in the heart of the city, the fans are gathering for what is guaranteed to be a glorious night for english football. the former arsenal and spain player jose antonio reyes has died in a car

crash at the age of 35. in the us state of virginia, 12 people have been shot dead after a gunman opened fire in a local government office. and coming up a little later on bbc news, what happens when you get to see for the first time in years? find out in click at 3:30pm. good afternoon. donald trump has broken with convention by commenting publicly on the conservative leadership race — saying that borisjohnson would do "a very good job." in an interview with the sun newspaper ahead of his state visit to the uk, president trump described mrjohnson as very talented.

he also expressed his view about some of the other contenders, as our political correspondent mark lobel reports. it‘s not a diplomatic intervention, but donald trump doesn‘t seem to much care. ahead of a three—day state visit, the president comes close, very close, to endorsing a candidate as our next prime minister. i‘ve always liked him, i don‘t know that he‘s going to be chosen but i think he‘s a very good guy, talented person. he‘s been very positive about me and our country. and offers this teaser about the other contenders. other people have asked me for endorsements, i‘d been asked for endorsements. other leadership contenders have asked you for endorsements? i don‘t want to say who, but other people have asked. there were harsh words for michael gove after he criticised donald trump for sabre rattling over iran. donald trump‘s team don‘t want this to overshadow his state visit

and have insisted the president is not endorsing a candidate despite all appearances. the conservative party members will be left in no doubt that boris johnson has friends in high places. when the british government and the white house fixed the date they probably thought this would not be such a critical moment when we had essentially a lame duck prime minister and an open field for the succession, in which case i think it was inevitable this was a president who will say what is on his mind. meanwhile the leadership race remains wide open. today the home secretary put no—deal firmly at the centre of his bid. speaking in singapore the defence secretary penny mordaunt, who is thinking aboutjoining the contest, was asked to allay us fears about the uk‘s relationship with the chinese telecoms company huawei. these are judgments to be made. there are vulnerabilities ofjust having one supplier. so, all nations facing these decisions have

to look at the detail, they have to weigh that up. candidates have just over a week left to come forward with 12 standing so far. and expect a few more to enter the race and for others to publicly back candidates, though not perhaps with the fanfare the words of support from this man gets. mark lobel, bbc news. mr trump also praised the foreign secretaryjeremy hunt. our correspondent glen campbell asked mr hunt for his reaction to the president‘s comments at the world news media congress congress in glasgow. what do you make of president trump offering warmer words for your leadership rival boris johnson offering warmer words for your leadership rival borisjohnson than he does for you, does that help or hinder your he does for you, does that help or hinderyourcampaign?” he does for you, does that help or hinder your campaign? i think you have to ask boris whether that helps or hinders him, but what i would say isiam or hinders him, but what i would say is i am very proud as foreign secretary that we have the best relationship with the united states, andl relationship with the united states,

and i am sad that some political parties have used this state visit when we are celebrating and remembering the normandy landings, the 400,000 american troops who lost their lives in the second world war, they are using it as a moment for virtue signalling. this isn't about any individual president or prime minister, this is about a deep friendship between our two nations, the two nations that have done more than any other to stand up for liberty, freedom, democratic values, the rule of law, things we all believe in. adam bienkov, uk political editor of business insider, told me trump‘s comments will have very little effect on the conservative membership. i think if you are a conservative mp, knowing what you know about borisjohnson and you still want him to be prime minister i don‘t think having donald trump endorsing him will fundamentally change that. the problem with the endorsement comes beyond this contest. what it says to the general public

who already have strong doubts about borisjohnson‘s character and i think this could cause him problems further down the line going into a general election, because borisjohnson used to be a very popular politician and could reach across the political divide and labour voters, non—conservative voters but he threw a lot of that away when he led the leave campaign and is much more divisive in the general public now and i think this endorsement will only reinforce a perception. do you think the us president should be endorsing any of the leadership hopefuls? he has also talked aboutjeremy hunt positively and a few words of criticism for michael gove. by ordinary diplomatic standards this is a major gaffe, but by no means out of character for donald trump, exactly what we would expect. he has already spoken in favour of borisjohnson before when he came over to the uk, he embarrassed theresa may by making similar comments. it is not surprising but out

of character for a world leader. is it expected he would endorse borisjohnson given what he said before? they are political insurgents as they would like to see it. the reason why borisjohnson is the current favourite to be prime minister is conservative mps are looking at him. they are seeing the rise in populist politicians, donald trump in america and across europe. borisjohnson is of a similar mould. we have nigel farage and the brexit party doing so well in the recent european elections. in a poll this week in second place ahead of the conservative party, looking at that and thinking things are in a really bad state at the moment for the conservative party and perhaps borisjohnson has what it takes to win in this landscape. the formerjustice secretary the labour peer lord falconer says the party should expel a prominent party member who was suspended yesterday. peter willsman is accused of saying the israeli embassy was "almost certainly" behind complaints of anti—semitism. lord falconer is leading labour‘s

inquiry into the claims. earlier today he spoke to the bbc about the current position of the claims and the process. well, first of all, my task is now effectively being done by the equalities commission, that are launching a full—blown investigation into allegations of anti—semitism in the labour party. the issue of pete willsman is an acid test for the labour party. peter willsman has, in this recording that was published by a radio station yesterday, said that the allegations of anti—semitism in the labour party are, in effect, orchestrated by the israeli embassy. that is a conspiracy theory which has absolutely no foundation whatsoever. if you were a member of the jewish community, it would give you little hope that the labour party would deal fairly with allegations of anti—semitism, if somebody on its main ruling body — the national executive committee — had those views.

it‘s right that he‘s been suspended, but the next step for the labour party is to deal with the disciplinary case against him as quickly as possible because, otherwise, people will have little confidence in our setting ourface strongly against anti—semitism. john mann, mp for bassetlaw and chair of the all party—parliamentary group against antisemitism — said he was horrified peter willsman had only been suspended. we expect the labour party to act decisively. he is a repeat offender. he is one of the key figures in the labour party. it happens to be i am in the labour party as well of course and i expectjeremy corbyn to have already acted and expelled him. iam have already acted and expelled him. i am horrified that he hasn‘t done, but he has only been suspended. this man is obviously should be out of the labour party already. this is about whether racism is dealt with oi’ about whether racism is dealt with or not. a web of the people are. after what he has done it is not the

first time he has done it, there is no ambiguity about the slander he has come out about. it is extraordinary the comment and he gave the game away by a very naively saying, off the record, the words let me try and get away with that, let me try and get away with that, let me try and get away with that, let me sneakily tell you what i think, rather than be captured doing it. butjenny manson, co—chair ofjewish voice for labour, denied that peter willsman‘s reported comments amounted to anti—semitism — and said a full investigation should be held before any decision is made on his future with the party. there was a very alarming lack of justice in the way that claims of anti—semitism are being dealt with, but by the press and by the public, too often, if peter willsman has made statements people find offensive that is one thing, there is nothing he has said that i have heard that his anti—semitic. what should be done instead is if the party wa nts should be done instead is if the party wants to investigate what

peter willsman said it should be dealt with as a confidential issue and are to be no commitment to expelling anybody until thorough investigation. as to that particular comment, about israel, we know israel has been involved to some extent in british politics because of the film made by aljazeera in 2016, shown in the early 17, called the lobby, but it is not unusual, governments interfere overtime and other country‘s politics... governments interfere overtime and other country's politics... sorry about that. around 70,000 liverpool and tottenham hotspur supporters will be in madrid tonight — for only the second ever champions league final to feature two english clubs. fans have been told they won‘t be able to watch the game on the big screens, as officials have confirmed that fan zones will shut before kick—off for safety. if tottenham win, they‘ll lift their first european cup. liverpool will be hoping they can win their sixth. david 0rnstein is already at the stadium in madrid, where tonight‘s match will take

place, and anna holligan is in central madrid, where fans are beginning to gather. ifi if i could begin with you, can i just explain what is going on with these fun some screens, people not being able to watch anything. that would appear to be the case. and i will have more on that because she is in the ground around the ban sounds in the city centre. as for the wanda metropolitano itself, many fa ns the wanda metropolitano itself, many fans are already arriving here in the city centre despite being five hours to go before kick—off, a measure of the excitement around this match, which is the biggest fixture in club football with such an important prize on offer and that prize will be coming back to england to either liverpool or tottenham, who the winner will host a victory parade tomorrow. the match itself hits two premier league rivals but they weren‘t really rivals in the premier league season just gone with

liverpool finishing 26 above totte n ha m. liverpool finishing 26 above tottenham. they pushed manchester city all the way in the title race finishing one point behind them on a staggering 97 points so livable are the favourites, they also beat totte n ha m the favourites, they also beat tottenham 2—1 away in september and at home in march in the premier league. tottenham however, is on the dogs with no pressure on them, or not the same sort of pressure as liverpool. mauricio pochettino who has transformed tottenham, will come here with it appears to be quite quietly confident of pulling off a surprise victory here. both managers spoke yesterday and looked very relaxed. their teams trained the wanda metropolitano behind me and it should be a brilliant match. totte n ha m should be a brilliant match. tottenham welcome back harry kane. whether he will start or be a substitute remains to be seen. liverpool have a clean bill of health apart from a recent concern over their key man up front roberto

firmino. they of course have reinforcements over the last year, virgilvan dijk and reinforcements over the last year, virgil van dijk and alison macro the goalkeeper, so a strong defence. the stadium has officially 17,000 supporters from both clubs but you can bet your bottom dollar that will be quite a large number more inside because they fight for tickets is very hot. thank you. anna, can you tell us a bit more about what is happening in the fan zone so people can watch the game and how much money exchanging hands the moment? david is absolutely right, a lot of money. we have just david is absolutely right, a lot of money. we havejust heard one fan sold his single ticket for £10,000. there are also plenty of touts around here trying to sell fakes. we have been hearing from you wipe out warnings that there may be people posing as stewards, with fake devices trying to steal those tickets from the lucky fans who have

one of these golden tickets. in terms of the fan zones the strategy is to keep the fans are separate, to divide and conquer and there have been questions about the logic. the idea isjust been questions about the logic. the idea is just before been questions about the logic. the idea isjust before kick—off been questions about the logic. the idea is just before kick—off they will be disbursed from these two separate fan zones that are about one kilometre apart to try and send the passions around the city. speaking of passions we have some passionate fans here, charlotte, chris. harrison. the atmosphere here is just incredible, we don‘t have a ticket but it is enough. we knew before the ballot was done and we didn't get a ticket so we were coming anyway. amazing so far. what does it feel like, harrison? it feels good. chris, this would be a once—in—a—lifetime for you and totte n ha m , once—in—a—lifetime for you and tottenham, never lifting this spirited just piece of silverware ever before. how much chance do you think they really have? the odds are

stacked against you. think they really have? the odds are stacked against youlj think they really have? the odds are stacked against you. i still don't believe we are actually here. i am still pinching myself. they will give their best, i will be proud of them. a one—off game and anything can happen. the one thing guaranteed is that this is a glorious night for english football. there is definitely a camaraderie between you rivals. in a sense there is something really special and magic in the air because it is an all english final in the first time in more than a decade. i think it is great. i can say tottenham winning to be fair, i think it is ours all the way so i feel a bit too confident which is not great. i see liverpool lifting the cup. enjoy the game and thank you, thank you very much. good luck to both of you. we are of course sitting firmly on the security fences. security is high here, it is considered to be a

high—risk event, about 5000 police officers on the streets, but that is not on their minds. thousands of fa ns not on their minds. thousands of fans gathering here in the heart of the city, but right across the city there are scenes like this, posters up there are scenes like this, posters up on the balconies, a chance for fa ns to up on the balconies, a chance for fans to try and win one of these tickets, 68,000 seater capacity stadium. everyone here is constantly looking at their watches on this count down to what is the most important game in club football, in the world, and who will lift this prestigious trophy? anna holligan and david 0rnstein, thank you both very much. i confess i am liverpool born so you can imagine where my sympathies are. if you want to see all your build—up to the game in strictly neutral fashion, stick with us strictly neutral fashion, stick with us for the next few hours and you can listen to live commentary on bbc radio five live at 8pm tonight. the former arsenal footballer

jose antonio reyes has died in a car crash at the age of 35. the spain international signed for arsenal in 2004 and returned to spain after two years, going on to play for real madrid, as well as atletico madrid and sevilla. the headlines on bbc news... ahead of his state visit to the uk — president trump defies diplomatic norms, praising borisjohnson and his bid to become prime minister. in madrid, fans gear up for this evening‘s all—english champions league final — liverpool versus tottenham. in the us state of virginia — 12 people have been shot dead after a gunman opened fire in a local government office. and in sport... with less than five hours until the all—english champions league final kicks off, more liverpool and tottenham fans are arriving in madrid. many don‘t have tickets, with some paying ten of thousands to get in. england have lost their final warm up match before the women‘s world cup. they were beaten 1—0 by new zealand. phil neville‘s side play scotland in their opening game of the tournament next sunday.

and thierry henry has described his former arsenal teammatejose antonio reyes as a "wonderful player and exceptional human being" after the 35—year—old died in a car crash. henry and reyes were part of the invincibles squad which won the 2004 premier league title without a single defeat. we will have more in the next hour. there are reports that a team of eight mountaineers, including a briton, has gone missing on its way to the nanda devi peak in the himalayas. the team had been due to return to base camp yesterday, and a rescue team has set off in search for the group. a number of questions about safety in the poll recently, but we will update you on that search. —— nepal.

in the united states, at least 12 people have been killed — and several injured — in a shooting at a government building in virginia. the suspect has been named by police as dewayne craddock, described by officials as a disgruntled city employee. he fired indiscriminately at the location in virginia beach last night. 0ur washington correspondent chris buckler reports. some of the employees who were finishing up their work on friday afternoon never had a chance to go home. the police say one of their long—time colleagues walked in and started shooting indiscriminately, killing a dozen people. they said to stay and wait until the cops got there and let us come out. there was probably about 20 of us in an office, crammed in. we barricaded the door. did you hear any gunshots? yes, we did. several people were wounded and had

to be airlifted to hospital. the gunman is said to have made his way from floor to floor, shooting wildly, before being killed in an exchange of fire with police. an officer was also struck, but he was saved from serious injury because he was wearing a bullet—proof vest. the suspect, and this will be the only time we announce his name, is dewayne craddock. he was an engineer with public utilities, and was employed with that department for approximately 15 years. the suspect's family has also been notified. behind the cordons, police teams, the fbi and forensic officers are examining the scene and trying to piece together the background to this country‘s latest shooting. it is believed the gunman was a disgruntled public employee, based here at the offices at virginia beach. there will be a full investigation to try to determine what led him to commit these murders. but the wider debate once again

will now about how easy it is to get guns in america. this is the 150th mass shooting in the united states this year. chris buckler, bbc news, virginia beach. from today, private tenants in england will no longer have to pay letting agents fees when they sign up to rent a property. the new rules, announced in 2016 by the chancellor, have been described as the biggest change to the renting industry in decades. but there are warnings rents are already being pushed up as rental businesses try to claw back income. our business correspondent katy austin reports. today‘s changes affect letting agents, landlords and millions of private renters, like kirsty in coventry. this is what she had to pay on top of her first month‘s rent. application fee, that was 300. deposit, 895, i think it was. so, £120 to then renew the contract, to stay for another 12 months here.

the fees charged to kirsty were fairly typical, but for years there have been complaints that some agents have been charging far more and that some of what renters have had to pay simply hasn‘t been justified. there‘s already a ban on fees charged to tenants in scotland, and now england too. charges including application and referencing fees are banned. deposits are capped at five weeks rent. some things can still be charged for, including replacing lost keys, but only reasonable costs. campaigners worry letting agents willjust make money in other ways. some letting agents are looking to use things like deposit alternative products, which they get a commission from, but can end up being very expensive for renters. agents say they‘re already charging landlords higher fees to boost income, and they will raise rents. but businesses who can‘t make up the difference, they say, will fold. it will have a massive effect. they will close offices, and we've already seen that started. it's going to be the smaller ones, the independents, that

are going to suffer more. landlords agree rents will rise and say more will self manage to avoid agents‘ costs. do you have the training, do you have the time, do you have the experience for it? and if they don‘t, they are probably going to go out of the market. it‘s not worth it, especially with tax changes coming up in the next year as well. tenants like kirsty are just happy their next move will involve lower upfront costs. katy austin, bbc news. the coastguard say they‘ve been helping the border force deal with 13 incidents in the english channel, where a number of boats carrying migrants have been spotted off the kent coast. reports say four boats have been stopped, with about 30 people on board. eight men were seen in an inflatable dinghy at winchelsea beach in east sussex. 0ur reporterjohn mcmanus has been speaking to the local mp charlie elphicke. 13 incidents in the channel today according to the coastguard who have been assisting border force vessels and finding migrants who are making

the crossing from northern france. we know the numbers are increasing. last month 140 migrants made the crossing. that is two more than in december when 138 came crossing into calm conditions and it is also very calm conditions and it is also very calm today. as the government lost control of this situation? joining me is the local mp for dover charlie elphicke. as the government lost control of this? this was a crisis at christmas. the home office said they were putting in a plan with the french to bring the situation under control. and yet the numbers are simply starting to surge through the summer. simply starting to surge through the summer. it‘s urgently home office get a summer. it‘s urgently home office geta grip summer. it‘s urgently home office get a grip on the situation and that this crisis is brought to an end. typically at sajid javid become secretary on new year‘s day he was bringing back two border force vessels from southern europe and they were going to be controlling —— patrolling the waters behind us. he was going to increase cooperation with the french on the ground in northern france. have you been getting updates about any of that

has been going and if it has made an impact at all? that is right, the french and british authorities entered an agreement injanuary and we we re entered an agreement injanuary and we were told that that would bring an end to this crisis. but we can see for the number of arrivals, the unprecedented number of arrivals today, that it isn‘t working, that more action is needed and that the home office need to get the situation under control. what more could you think is not taking this seriously, the uk or france? i think what needs to be done is to see a step change in what people are doing and how britain and france approach this. we need to see the english channel become a joint safety and security zone so that any migrants anywhere in the channel can be helped carefully to safety back in france. we have to remember this isn‘t just a france. we have to remember this isn‘tjust a border france. we have to remember this isn‘t just a border security france. we have to remember this isn‘tjust a border security crisis, this is a dangerousjourney isn‘tjust a border security crisis, this is a dangerous journey for people to be taking, in overcrowded boats with men, women and children on board. the chances of a tragedy happening increase the more trips that are taken. that is life urgent action is needed and we have to remember that action is also needed

against the people traffickers who are behind this crisis, exploiting vulnerable people. we need to bring them to justice and put an end to their activities as well. on that particular point i think it will strike many people is rather strange that the french police and security forces can simply find where these gangs are and they must be nearby, and arrest them ? gangs are and they must be nearby, and arrest them? that is what we need to see here. we need to see more action on the front side of the border. people say isn‘t it easier just for the french to send them across, the answer is no. in calais it becomes a migrant magnet and we saw it before, with the notorious calaisjungle, you saw it before, with the notorious calais jungle, you end saw it before, with the notorious calaisjungle, you end up with a large number of people trying to get to calais and there is an equal problem on the front side of the border as much as our side of the border. and indeed a crisis in terms of exploitation of people and the danger people are in, that is why it is an everyone‘s interest to take action and bring this crisis to an end. do you think people who are brought ashore by uk forces should

be returned to france? what is needed is a compact between britain and france that any found anywhere in the channel should be returned back to france and that anyone trying to get to britain should know they have no hope of succeeding because that is the only way we will get the message to the migrants, to the traffickers, and needs to be a pa ct the traffickers, and needs to be a pact between britain and france for more aerial surveillance to see anyone setting off from the french coast and make sure they are picked up coast and make sure they are picked up rapidly before they get too far into the channel particularly as the weather can change so quickly on the channel and conditions can worsen and we have to remember it is important to preserve and protect life here as well. numbers are growing but they are small beer compared with other parts of southern europe where there are water vessels patrolling the borders between greece and turkey, is is being taken out of proportion and i wonder what local people are saying to you. people often say it isjust a few people, what does it matter, the answer is this is how the calais migrant magnet starts, it always sta rts migrant magnet starts, it always starts slowly and then gathers pace,

we saw it with the calais jungle and there were 10,000 people living in squalid conditions with people traffickers roaming free and violence happening on an appalling scale. no sanitation either so people were suffering greatly. we cannot see that situation return and thatis cannot see that situation return and that is why action is needed now before the situation gets even worse. charlie elphicke, mp for dover, thank you very much. conditions in the channel behind me are extremely calm. the authorities think that might encourage migrants to try to make the crossing that the government wants to be clear, a calm sea is not a safe seat and they say they will try to disrupt this migrant crossings using all the resources at their disposal. now it is time for a look at the weather with nick miller. the uk recorded it highest temperature of the year so far today but the heat isn‘t evenly across the uk. the best sunshine at the end of the day is across east anglia and

south—east england. elsewhere affirmative cloud round. wetter later in the evening across northern ireland over night, rain spreading northwards across scotland and parts of wales and western england. quite muqqy of wales and western england. quite muggy where it has been hot overnight across the south—east of the uk but everywhere will have a mild night to come. breeze picking up mild night to come. breeze picking up three sunday. we start with cloud and outbreaks of rain and showers towards the north and west. this area of showers moves further east during the day. it weakens as it moves east. the breeze continues to pick up particularly close to low pressure towards the north—west of the uk and it turns quite blustery here. sunny spells and some heavy showers. a big range of temperatures to end the weekend. most of us in the teens but still ahead of the weather front in east anglia some spots into the upper 20s.