borisjohnson emerges as the clear frontrunner to be the next conservative leader, after the first round of voting by tory mps. three former ministers are knocked out, narrowing the field to seven. andrea leadsom, mark harper, and esther mcvey are all eliminated, after failing to win enough support from colleagues. the pensions secretary, amber rudd, says the race remains open. the fact that boris has a good lead amongst mps is as nothing we start again, it's back to zero when it goes to members and then there will be 16 hustings all across the country and anything can happen. oil prices rise sharply, after two tankers are hit by explosions in a suspected attack in the gulf of oman. almost three quarters of english hospitals miss nhs targets to treat cancer patients quickly enough.

and coming up look at the sport with gavin. we are awaiting an update on the condition of chris froome the time time tour de france champion badly injured after a crash in france, more on the story and what it means for him and his team later on. thanks gavin. good weather for that duck? yes, another day with heavy rain in june. further localised flooding today with whether staying on the rubbish side as we head into the weekend. we'll also look further afield in india for we are watching carefully for the arrival of a cyclone about to hit the north—west of the country. also coming up, the critically endangered bermuda snails released into the wild with the help of the british zoo.

boris johnson has emerged as the clear frontrunner in the conservative leadership election to determine the next prime minister, with more than a third of the votes cast by tory mps in the first ballot of the contest. the field of ten conservative mps has been narrowed to seven with the former cabinet ministers, andrea leadsom, mark harper and esther mcvey eliminated after failing to secure enough support from their colleagues. here are the results, announced in the last hour by the 1922 backbench committee. way out in front is the favourite boris johnson, with 114 votes, followed by the foreign secretary jeremy hunt on 43 votes, and the environment secretary michael gove who got 37 votes.

they're followed by the former brexit secretary dominic raab on 27 votes, the home secretary sajid javid who got 23 votes, the health secretary matt hancock on 20 votes and rory stewart who just made it with 19 votes. the former cabinet ministers, andrea leadsom, mark harper and ester mcveigh, all got below the 17 votes required and are eliminated. further ballots will be held next week, with the two most popular mps then going forward to a vote of the wider conservative party membership. the winner is expected to be announced in the week of 22july. jonathan blake reports. roll up for round one, tory mps arriving to vote this morning, stoltz some making up their minds who to back as the new leader and oui’ who to back as the new leader and our next prime minister. who to back as the new leader and our next prime ministerlj who to back as the new leader and our next prime minister. i am undeclared. conservative backbenchers convened in their traditional setting to hear the result and the numbers showed clearly the front runner was racing ahead. boris johnson 114. andrea

leadsom 11. esther mcvey nine. ahead. boris johnson 114. andrea leadsom11. esther mcvey nine. you topped the ballot today mrjohnson! he said he was delighted to win the first round but said to supporters he had a long way to go. michael gove finished third in this vote but his campaign say it's all to play for. she won't be going any further, it's all over for for. she won't be going any further, it's all overfor some of for. she won't be going any further, it's all over for some of the candidates who could not win enough support to survive. of the ten who started out in the contest three have fallen at the first hurdle, the remaining seven will face more secret ballots next week as mps narrow the field to a final two for party members to choose between. a man who has done the job they are all man who has done the job they are a ll after man who has done the job they are all after has a warning to those candidates promising to deliver brexit with or without a deal by the current deadline. i don't think it's credible to take us out of the eu on the 31st of october. i don't see how

it could be done. i think those people suggesting it can be done and it's not only borisjohnson, have their fingers crossed behind their back whistling gently into the wind and hoping some medical might happen when it might be possible. the outsider who scraped through the first round said his plan is cutting through. i am going to get people to focus on the practical issues, how do we get this done? the contest is 110w do we get this done? the contest is now a little less crowded and the favourite is way out in front but this race to run the country is far from over. our chief political correspondent, vicki young, is in the central lobby of the houses of parliament for us. i suppose the big question at the moment is three eliminations, who will the people they were backing follow now? immediately there are 30 vote up for follow now? immediately there are 30 vote upforgrabs, follow now? immediately there are 30 vote up for grabs, i am sure things are busy as the remaining candidates try to persuade them to come over.

that's what happens after the first round, the jostling for position continues. the position looking at these results is all about who comes second, who's going to be the person who gets onto the ballot paper so this goes to the vote of the conservative party members. jeremy hunt at the moment is in that position but it's still pretty close. his major supporter amber rudd today making the case for him. the plan is to make sure that as many voters as possible get buy in jeremy hunt, and continues to build momentum and pick up some of the votes may be from people who believe the race. it looks highly likely boris will be in the final two then it goes to members. the fact boris has a good lead amongst mps it goes to members. the fact boris has a good lead amongst mp5 is as nothing. we start again, then there's going to be 16 hustings all across the country and anything can

happen. i hope jeremy across the country and anything can happen. i hopejeremy hunt across the country and anything can happen. i hope jeremy hunt wins. that was a case for the foreign secretary, lets speak to chris grayling who is backing boris johnson. he's a long way out in front, any complacency setting in? the opposite, i've been around for a numberof the opposite, i've been around for a number of these contests and the one things you never do is take things for granted. it's a good start but there is a long way still to go. yesterday he took questions, not many, and some felt he was still being quite evasive such as whether he had ever taken cocaine, he's not really answering the questions. the electorate is your colleagues at this stage. there is always a demand for media appearances but the way you make progress is to spend time with his colleagues which is the sensible thing to do because the

la st sensible thing to do because the last are those who parliamentary judge of the best place to leave the country. there are many mps who don't think boris johnson country. there are many mps who don't think borisjohnson is trustworthy and there are still accusations of him saying one thing ta ke accusations of him saying one thing take one group of people in one room and then other others something else whether he would go for no deal or not whether he would consider a second referendum, this is a problem isn't it? in a contest where you have different views on different candidates you are going to have differing views. what boris said yesterday on what we've all said over the months and the government, cabinet minister and people like boris, we want to leave with a deal, we want to leave with a sensible partnership with the european union. i've not heard anyone say in the party we don't want to be good friends and neighbours with our colleagues in the eu. how can he get changes to the deal, what's he going

to bea changes to the deal, what's he going to be a barrel to achieve that theresa may could not? there will be a period of a new commission, there will be new leadership here and there is good reason for everyone on both sides on the debate, both sides of the negotiations to find a way of bringing something forward this parliament will accept. fundamentally it's about that. time is tight, you talked about a new commission, they will not even be in place, is he being honest when he says he can do this by october 31? it's important we don't kick the can down the road again. we've already seenin down the road again. we've already seen in the european elections and the peterborough by—election the frustration amongst those people who voted to leave when we've not done so. voted to leave when we've not done so. i think it's the interests of the european union that we get this result by october 31 because they are going to complicate the process and start the next seven—year budget, it's in everyone's interest we resolve this. a couple of weeks

from a good deal he would be willing to extend article 50 underlay brexit? none of us want to delay article 50, boris has been clear, i believe we've got to come up with notjust keep believe we've got to come up with not just keep kicking believe we've got to come up with notjust keep kicking the can down the road and that's the point boris has been making. thank you very much chris grayling. at the moment chris grayling backing the man in front, what about some other candidates? you wearing a badge which is really handy so i don't get confused, sajid javid who launched his campaign yesterday, as he disappointed, he had a good campaign launch yesterday but will 23 backers be enough? numbers are what we expected. i think we are in it for the second round and that salami slicing of the candidates has begun. next tuesday will be the interesting contest

where i think things will start to crystallise. i think they will crystallise. i think they will crystallise around this question, borisjohnson has crystallise around this question, boris johnson has secured crystallise around this question, borisjohnson has secured a place in the final and that's very clear, great result and congratulations. it is who is best placed to provide a full and frank debate and discussion about the future of conservatism, what conservative means, what it can do and why it's relevant to the uk. i think do and why it's relevant to the uk. ithinksajid do and why it's relevant to the uk. i think sajid javid represents the best candidate to carry forward that banner of change and difference, to turn not an electoral coronation but to have an electoral contest with the final two where the outcome would not be a foregone conclusion so would not be a foregone conclusion so you need to have somebody who is diametrically different to boris johnson and i am confident that sajid javid is that candidate today and will be that candidate when we get to the process. is it enough to

be different, he talked about looking different and not being from central casting, his background is very different from lots of the other candidates but is that enough? of itself? no but it's a good start. you have to look beneath that and find out what makes the man tick. that's a set of values and beliefs which effectively says he and i are the same generation, we are the same age and we want to make sure that we provide this generation and the next with the tools to allow them to get oi'i with the tools to allow them to get on and do from the sorts of backgrounds we came from, modest backgrounds, working hard, trying to support children and keep food on the table and all the rest of it, to try to make sure the next generation is equipped with the tools like we have to break down the glass ceilings. we didn't do that by wearing an old school tie and calling in favours, we did it by

ha rd calling in favours, we did it by hard graft. we need to make sure that's what our next generation is equipped with. if you look at the re cord equipped with. if you look at the record recently at the home office it's been a great sense of social justice, fairness and sticking up for women's rights, making things like the domestic abuse bill, clamping down on crime, making the case to the treasury for additional funding for more police to make people feel safe. these are things which matter to people. his narrative is taking the delivery of brexit as a given. we've had our instruction from the british people, we've now got to get on and do it. butjust as churchill we've now got to get on and do it. but just as churchill fell foul in 1945 he delivered victory in the war but did not have a dynamic domestic agenda and then lost because the electorate quite rightly looks to the future. they want to find out what will happen to them, what's the value set which will set a whole ring of policies on health, police,

aduu ring of policies on health, police, adult social care, things people talk about, the don't talk about brexit 24/7, that's ourjob. people talk about things which will shape and influence their lives, their security and prosperity, their hopes and aspirations and futures. that's something i know to the very fibre of my being motivate sajid javid to make sure we will be able to see job done, brexit delivered but look at these policies,, we have to have a radical exciting agenda otherwise the electorate quite rightly should never vote to say

to shape the debate, to provide our members with a real difference and choice. borisjohnson i am sure would not mind me saying this, many would not mind me saying this, many would describe him as the marmite candidate. some people love marmite, some people don't. we have to make sure there is a candidate to vote for if you like marmite and there is a candidate who you like if you don't. simon, i will not a candidate who you like if you don't. simon, iwill not describe yea rs don't. simon, iwill not describe years marmite, back to you. there's been a sharp rise in the price of crude oil after two tankers were believed to have been attacked in the gulf of oman. one is reported to have been hit by a torpedo. both ships have been evacuated. there's been heightened tension between iran and the us following similar attacks on tankers in may. richard galpin has the latest. an oil tanker ablaze in the gulf of oman this morning. this photograph, from an iranian news agency, believed to be of the norwegian—owned tanker front

altair. the fire, its owners say, the result of an explosion. and this second tanker, the koku ka courageous, also hit by an explosion around the same time. the crews of both ships escaped unharmed. the tankers were sailing close to iran through one of the world's most important shipping lanes for oil supplies. what caused the explosions here remains unclear, but there is suspicion it was an attack. tensions have spiked in recent months, with the united states deploying this carrier group to the arabian sea, and claiming it was responding to iranians threats to us forces and other personnel in the middle east. the show of force sparking concerns it could lead to conflict. not long afterwards, in mid—may, four tankers were damaged in the gulf of oman, apparently by explosive devices

attached to the ships by frogmen. us officials suspect it was carried out by the iranians or their proxy forces. president trump has, since he came into the white house, has adopted aggressive attitudes, i think it's fair to say, towards iran. he's identified the iranian revolutionary guard corps as a terrorist organisation. this latest incident today has already led to a spike in oil prices, something which would help iran, a major oil producing country, but which is suffering under intense sanctions imposed by the united states. on iranian television this morning the explosions on the tankers made headline news. the authorities in tehran expressing concern about what had happened and also saying they were the ones to rescue the crews and take them to safety. whoever was responsible for what has happened today, tensions between the us and iran will inevitably flare up again. richard galpin, bbc news.

our defence correspondent, jonathan beale, is with me now. you know the area, you have been on one of the naval vessels, what does the picture tell you about what might have happened? first of all you noticed the fire on board is smack bang in the middle so, we don't know what caused this, weather, whether it hit something, for example a weather, whether it hit something, for examplea mine weather, whether it hit something, for example a mine or another vessel, or whether something was fired at it essentially, a torpedo 01’ some fired at it essentially, a torpedo or some kind of muscle. but those of the areas where they will now look and they can look at the ship and get residue from the ship to try to find out exactly if there was an explosion what caused that explosion. it's important to say

that the maritime patrol aircraft essentially used to hunt down submarines. these are moving pictures on the screen which have just come in, it's a pretty devastating event whatever it is. we think there were a number of explosions reported on the ship. over a course of hours. and again, from eyewitnesses who were they are, the crew on board had been taken off, suggestions there were a number off, suggestions there were a number of explosions which happens, one in the engine room, one what looks like in the middle. clearly they believe something because that explosion, something because that explosion, something hit it. a number of russians among those evacuated but on the wider international scale the concern absolutely as relations between the united states and iran. last month there were a number of attacks on cargo vessels which were

taking shelter just attacks on cargo vessels which were taking shelterjust off the uae. and the us has pointed the finger at iran, whether it was iran itself or in iranian proxies. we know the carrier last week was sent because of rising tensions and fears iran would do something against us intentions. this incident happened close to the street, 21 miles wide, hundred and 80 vessels going through each, millions of barrels of oil, even though we don't know what's behind this i think the suspicion will be iran, they will have to prove it. as you were saying such a crucial waterway and the price of crude oil is going up as a result of this attack. you have a platter now,

four cargo vessels hit in the gulf of oman and now you have this. if you are an insurance company you will be slightly more worried about what's going to happen to vessels going through those dangerous waters so going through those dangerous waters so there will be concerns but i think the biggest concern is the security situation, tensions flaring with iran but also remember saudi is a big player in this region, tensions with iran as well. it's the potential for miscalculation and military conflict which will also be a worry. thank you. donald trump says he would be willing to use potentially damaging information against an opponent in the presidential election, even if it came from a foreign government. in an interview with abc news, the president said he wouldn't see it as interfering with an election. cbs correspondent laura podesta gave us the latest from new york.

the reaction has been swift and provoking. we know joe the reaction has been swift and provoking. we knowjoe biden wrote on twitter in part that an american president should not seek aid from those who want to undermine our democracy. senator kemal had is also running for president said that president is a national security threat and another opponent senator elizabeth warren renewed her call to impeach mrtrump. i elizabeth warren renewed her call to impeach mr trump. i think what we are looking at today as if any of the republican allies of mr trump will say anything about the fact he essentially welcomed foreign meddling in the upcoming election, saying there is nothing wrong with listening if someone has dirt on a political opponent. right now no republicans have come out and said they agree with the sentiment. i should also mention that here in the us political candidates are prohibited under law from accepting financial contributions from foreign entities but it's unclear if the courts would consider information to bea similar courts would consider information to

be a similar contribution. the president himself has been on twitter and may where she had not. if you read that you can see the interesting spelling of the prince of wales. he needs to drop his h is when he's talking about the of wales. talking about his meeting with the queen of england, the prince of wales, the smack of united kingdom, the prime minister of ireland, said we talked about everything, should i call the fbi? i would never be trusted again he said. a bit of whale watching from donald trump. the worst performing trusts fewer than 61% of patients being seen in that time. cancer charities say they are worried and long waits could put

patients at risk. nhs england said increasing demand on services has led to delays and referrals. lauren moss reports. it's a long time to wait for treatment or diagnosis. for cancer. it's emotionally distressing. for yourself and your family. when a whena gp when a gp makes our referral

almost 32 and a half thousand patients across england were not seen patients across england were not seenin patients across england were not seen in that time in the past year. bbc analysis shows maidstone tunbridge wells nhs trust was the worst performing, just 61% of patients treated in the target time. that's followed by wolverhampton, western alia health, southend bradford. kingston hospital nhs trust in london topped the list seeing 90% of patients within the timeframe. it's a really difficult experience for people to go through and the longer people have to wait to get the diagnosis and get treatment the more it will impact on getting through that experience. the latest figures indicate a similar level of failings in other areas of the uk. maidstone and tunbridge wells nhs trust says it experienced a surge in

referrals last year and has since hired more staff and hopes to be on target by the summer. in a statement and nhs england spokesperson said. daniel is now in remission but unable to return to work as a title 01’ unable to return to work as a title or artist. he is receiving support ata or artist. he is receiving support at a local cancer centre and says he sympathetic of the pressures nhs staff are under. i think they are under resourced. and the amount of people being diagnosed with cancer is so overwhelming it putting such a strain on the nhs. details of how the nhs plans to recruit more doctors and nurses are expected later this year but charities say right now it's a system in crisis. you can find out more about waiting times and care in your area on the bbc‘s nhs tracker, that's on bbc. co. uk/health asian shares have slumped

as the hong kong market was hit for a second straight session following a day of massive street protests. hong kong's hang feng index was down 0.8% today, extending yesterday's 1.7% loss. the authorities in hong kong have closed government offices for the rest of the week, after violent clashes broke out over controversial new extraditions laws. police fired tear gas and rubber bullets in clashes with demonstrators yesterday as tensions heightened. the proposals would allow extradition to mainland china. opponents say the plans would be abused by beijing to pursue political enemies. just to update you on the president's twitter, we showed it to you, we cannot show it to you now because he's deleted it and corrected it but others spotted it, let's show you this, this from hazel who works for buzzfeed. the first photograph from the meeting with the prince of wales. there we go! it's

been deleted and amended to spell correctly. time for a look at the weather. before we look at the awful weather here at something heading for india we need to be watching? yes, this storm, this cloud rotating, this, the centre of the cyclone is going to stay out too sure, out to sea which is good news, we have gust of hundred miles per hour, damaging and distracting gusts, on the dirty side of the cyclone. you better explain what the dirty ciders. if you are in the northern hemisphere, it depends which hemisphere you are in but if you are in the northern hemisphere it's where the winds shove the storm surge into the sea. this site would not have the storm surge but the right side, the eastwood site does.

we could be looking at a storm surge of up to astronomical tides, where the tides coincide with the storm surge we could be looking at coastal inundation and then there is heavy rain. we could get around 1—200 millimetres, we could see flooding. each day? day by day, as long as it's close enough to the show we could get it by the southern portion of gujarat. it's difficult to judge how much impact there will be because the strong winds and a storm surge and flooding are not great but this is a part of india where we get the monsoon, the monsoon currently down here. it travels northwards over the next four or five weeks and will probably be about five weeks away from gujarat i would guess. it will be filed before the get seasonal rain. this could be welcomed by some people in these parts of the world, it is relatively dry. bit of a difficult one to judge, could get flooding rain but

could get welcome rain for some as well. and miserable here? hundred and 53 millimetres of rain, that's getting on for three months worth of rain, that's incredible, more wet weather around, you have got a line of persistent rain for eastern scotland and northern england, swinging into parts of east anglia and south—east england as well. more wet weather, all in all this adds up to the risk of further localised flooding, travelling could be affected, local flooding on roles, the rain will push west, a waiter across the west, getting less weight in the east, in the same time a weather system developing across western parts of england and wales, bringing rain pushing east into the midlands, central and southern england, east anglia and southern england, probably towards dawn on friday. you might be wondering why our weather

has been so rubbish for so long and this is the answer, we are surrounded by high pressure to the east, north and west and it means this area of low pressure is trapped. normally they would spin up to the north—east, they cannot move saw it spinning over the uk, its been with us all week and will probably last well into next week as well. weather—wise friday rain pushing east across england and wales, wet weather. showers in the forecast for scotland and northern ireland, some of those could be quite heavy. in between are still a lot of cloud around but occasional brighter spells and that will help temperatures up to about 90 degrees 01’ so temperatures up to about 90 degrees or so but generally temperatures are still a little bit below par. into the weekend forecast it stays u nsettled the weekend forecast it stays unsettled so we are looking at further showers, some of which will be heavy, cloud bit bright spells and temperatures coming up by the degree or two so not quite as cool as the weather has been. saturday forecast in more detail, the low pressure pulled further west but it's a day of sunshine and showers, no one is immune from getting the

odd heavy downpour, temperatures we are looking at highs of around 15—19 which were in the sunshine comes out will feel a bit more pleasant than it has done. but it in and and through the week will see further showers to the sunday probably stay in quite unsettled well for the first half of next but week signs the weather could become a little drier and the weather could become a little drierand a the weather could become a little drier and a bit more warm towards the south—east of england. before we get there we got more rain in the forecast and that means the risk of further localised flooding. that's the latest weather.

this is bbc news. our latest headlines: boris johnson secures the most votes to become next conservative leader, after the first round of voting by tory mps. three former ministers are knocked out, narrowing the field to seven. oil prices rise sharply, after two tankers are hit by explosions in a suspected attack in the gulf of oman. almost three quarters of english hospitals miss nhs targets to treat cancer patients quickly enough. sport now on afternoon live with gavin and the us open golf is just getting underway.

the last two us opens have been won by brooks koepka, so the american is one of the favourites again. he also won the last major, the us pga last month, but he still isn't a household name. it's something he's felt the need to speak up, left out of much of the promotional material for the tournament. tell you who hasn't been left out of that — tiger woods. much of the build up has again concentrated on the man who demolished the field at pebble beach back in 2000. that was the first of three us opens for tiger woods. and he's expected to contend again. he won his 15th major at the masters in april. we've picked out a few tee times for you — rory mcilroy, he'll fancy this, after winning the canadian open last week. e goes out at about 10 to four uk time, with koepka off much later, at around 9:45, just before tiger woods, who'll be playing alongside two other former us open champions, jordan spieth and justin rose. the first players tee off in around 15 mins or so. and have we heard any more

about chris froome's condition? yes, we know he's still being treated in hospital, in intensive care, not in great shape according to his team's principal, after a really nasty accident, on a practice run, at the criterum du dauphine in france. froome fractured his leg, ribs, elbow and broke a hip, after a gust of wind caught his bike, and sent him crashing into a wall. initial surgery had gone well and there's no indication of a head injury we understand. but this all now means he misses the summer's big cycling event, the tour de france, which he was hoping to win for a 5th time. andy swiss has this report now. this was chris froome out training yesterday, shortly before his crash and just listen carefully. alongside him, his team seemingly won him about taking his hands off the handlebars but as they head off down the road, minutes later, it is emerged chris froome let go of the

handlebars got to blow his nose, lost control and crashed into a well. as he was taken away by ambulance, the details became shockingly clear. it is always the very gusty and it sounds like you has taken his hands off his bars to blow his nose and the wind has taken his front wheel and he has hit a wall at 60 k per hour. some thing like that. he is badly injured. our first primary thought is for his care. make sure he gets the best medical care now that he possibly can, think about his family, make sure they are ok. he was later airlifted to hospital with a fractured leg, elbow and ribs. it is understood surgery has gone well and there is no indication he suffered any head injury but he remains in intensive care. chris froome had been participating in a warm up race for next month's tour de france, which he will now have to miss. among the messages of support, one from last year's champion, geraint

thomas, he said it is always horrible hearing about any bad crash but worse when it is a good mate. former olympic champion danny rose suffered a training accident in 2014 which left her with broken ribs and a collapsed lung. she says returning from such serious injury is a gruelling challenge. from such serious injury is a gruelling challengelj from such serious injury is a gruelling challenge. i am sure chris is absolutely devastated at the moment and it is hard to put things into perspective. hopefully for chris, he can just kind into perspective. hopefully for chris, he canjust kind of into perspective. hopefully for chris, he can just kind of reset and for me, what helped was kind of having small goals along the way and i think that is the only way to kind of go forward after an injury like this. at 34, the future for chris froome is uncertain. he will hope he can return to the top but for now, his only focus is the long road to recovery. the bbc understands ferrari will not appeal against the penalty that cost sebastian vettel victory in the canadian grand prix. the german won on track but was penalised five seconds for dangerous driving, which handed victory to mercedes driver lewis hamilton. the bbc has learned that ferrari

have told governing body, the fia, they would be withdrawing the appeal. west bromwich albion have appointed slaven bilic as their new head coach. the croatian last managed in england at west ham, where he was sacked in november 2017. his most recent role was in saudi arabia. west brom missed out on promotion to the premier league in the play—offs. that's all the sport for now. you're watching afternoon live with me simon mccoy. let's remind you of our top story and the results in the first round of voting in the conservative party contest to select a new leader and the next prime minister. way out in front is the favourite boris johnson, with 114 votes, followed by the foreign secretary jeremy hunt on 43 votes, and the environment secretary michael gove who got 37 votes. they're followed by the former brexit secretary dominic raab on 27 votes and the home secretary sajid

javid who got 23 votes. also through to the second round are the health secretary matt hancock on 20 votes and the international development secretrary rory stewart, who made it with 19 votes. the former cabinet ministers, andrea leadsom, mark harper and ester mcveigh, all got below the 17 votes required and are eliminated. joining me now is the conservative mp and father of the house kenneth clark. iam very i am very pleased. most of the candidates apart from virus will be slightly disappointed by the score they got. —— boris. rory was very little known to the general public and wasn't only the newest member of the candidate but has moved in and out of the second round and in extreme ul and he has for the best campaign so far, not only for its colourful public presentation and his huge following on social media, but certainly for its content. you can pine is being able to compete with boris with campaigning flares and personality, with actually being

able to be a serious politician, interested in the government of the country and does have a policy that matches reality. let's come back to reality for a moment. borisjohnson with 114 let's come back to reality for a moment. boris johnson with 114 votes is clearly ahead. is there a moment where you would say to rory stewart, this is not your time, pull out now and where would you then want to support a go? boris is a marmite politician that is the great cliche. he has people who are very enthusiastic about him and they think he is great fun but he has a lot of mps who are extremely fearful about the idea that he is a prime minister. this is not some tv reality show, we are not choosing the winner of the great bake off, we are talking about government. let me pick you up on that. yes, it is prime minister of this country, so what is your problem with boris johnson as prime minister of this

country question mark let's nail this down. he does not have any policies that are consistent from day to day in the way that he put them. i don't actually think you know is what he would do to get us out of the brexit crisis. he is going to go along and sort of look at them all severely and be more firm with them and they will alter it in some very not clearly specified way and they will drop this irish backstop which the hardline brexiteers have a conspiracy without —— conspiracy theory about. i think he will tend to sort of work day today and try and get his way through it. he is not a man who is interested in detail and policy and unfortunately, the result is he slightly changes what he says day—to—day when he does give interviews, he has not been given many interviews, not very good at them. but when he is with the mps, he does not say the same thing to different people. that is partly

because he does not always remember what he said the day before and he doesn't know quite what he wants to do. doesn't remember? he works for the day. intellectually, he is a sound man but he seems to move on and put city slightly different way the following day. it does rather depend who is talking to and what he thinks they want to hear. in the real politic world, the world you are in, mps certainly and perhaps those who will eventually decide who is the next leader will also be think about what happens in a general election and againstjeremy corbyn and nigel farage, the view seems to be in your party that it is boris and boris alone who can tackle those two. i think the first thing is we should avoid a general election with very few members of parliament and any party want a general election. the mood of the

party is anger. anger with remainers deadlocked with angry levers will a group of people in the middle angry with politicians for not sorting it out. if you had a general election now, i don't thinkjeremy corbyn is electable, we would be the most frightful mess to have an election now, you would return i think a very fragmented multiparty parliament and probably put us into a worst political crisis, so what we need is to resolve brexit in a sensible way thatis to resolve brexit in a sensible way that is not damage our manufacturing industry and our farming that is not damage our manufacturing industry and ourfarming and that is not damage our manufacturing industry and our farming and then demonstrate that we can govern in the way a conservative government normally governs, with competence, proper sensible regard to free—market economics and prudent management of the public finances, combined with a social conscience and some stepping up to the problems of the public services, all the things... we need a couple of years to demonstrate we can go back to

being a normal government. if we had a general election any new future, it would be a disaster. if you went back to normal government, arguing on policy against a more credible leader of the labour party, i don't think boris is very good at that. you voted with labour yesterday on the move to try and get parliamentary control to stop a no brexit and dominic grieve also voted with you has said he would leave the conservative party and is considering that sort of action. is that something that would cross your mind? in the rather unthinkable case that a prime minister came in who realised that the majority of the house of commons opposed some extreme policy, a no deal policy, and he had not got a majority and would suspend parliament, not have a parliament, use dictatorial powers asa parliament, use dictatorial powers as a semi—president and then let parliament come back when he had achieved what he wanted, i think

thatis achieved what he wanted, i think that is preposterous. that is totally contrary to our constitution. i would not support a prime minister, wouldn't remotely support a prime minister staying in office who is happy to contemplate doing that. would you leave the party? the party would leave me, i think. for 60 years, i had been a mainstream conservative. it is a broad party but my own views are broadly coincided with the broad body of what i thought was an extremely good conservative policies, free—market economics with a social confidence —— conscience. that has been the conservative party for if you suddenly had some way out right—wing nationalist posturing going on with parliament being sent away because parliament was being so rude as to threaten to vote against the government on the piccola policy, that is not a world that i am familiar with. i will always regard myself i think as a conservative, but there is a limit

to the factions of the conservative party i am prepared to associate myself with. finally, if it is not to be your man and it is all men now, if it is not going to be rory stewart, you don't want boris johnson, who would be your second choice? well, there are other good people. matt hancock who did disappointingly. obviously, jeremy hunt is the establishment alternative. there is nothing wrong with those two, except their actual campaigns do have a certain amount of colourful fantasy in them. and they both start off by saying, they are going to go to brussels and somehow they are going to look more sternly at our opposite numbers and persuade them to change their withdrawal agreement in ways that actually would do damage to the european union or lead to a danger of our breaking the good friday agreement if they were remotely ever going to agree to that. i am sure

that people like that are sensible people who would face up to reality when elected but i think rory has a much clearer idea of exactly how in the grown—up real—world, tough, difficult world of government and international relations, how you put in place, a satisfactory delivering of brexit that does not ruin quite a lot of important sectors of our economy. tough and difficult times. are interesting times or are they now frightening times? they are fascinating. for a political addict like me, this would be wildly entertaining if it was not deadly, deadly serious. it goes back to the boris problems of course i like to be entertained and you have got to have public accessibility, to hold the public and take them with you and expend what you are doing but at the heart, you are responsible for the heart, you are responsible for the governance of the country, lives and livelihoods are at stake, you need to have a serious intellectually well—founded body of

opinion and the conservative party has been the natural governing party of the united kingdom for most of my lifetime because it is competent. it ru ns lifetime because it is competent. it runs the economy sensibly and usually, it deals with crises and reforms were necessary, all the real work of government. who is nearer to fitting that bill? borisjohnson or rory stewart? the boris problem, you said. you said the boris problem earlier. i think i said. you said the boris problem earlier. i think! pronounced boris —positive name correctly. the decision you are having to take as given this is a very difficult time and our economy is to pity stagnant —— pretty and our economy is to pity stagnant — — pretty stag na nt and our economy is to pity stagnant —— pretty stagnant and there is no investment going on, huge uncertainty, whereas there is someone uncertainty, whereas there is someone who could be a statesman to ta ke someone who could be a statesman to take us through, it is tempting to treat this whole rather tragic farce

ofa treat this whole rather tragic farce of a circus as hugely entertaining but it is frightfully interesting and people are more interested in the personalities and the policies, if you are not careful, but you have to ask, who is actually going to lead this country out of this crisis and who is best going to guarantee a proper future of this country and for future proper future of this country and forfuture generations? proper future of this country and for future generations? a great pleasure to talk to you. thank you for your time this afternoon. people have been forced to leave their homes and roads have been closed in parts of lincolnshire, as more heavy rain has caused a river to burst it's banks. seven flood warnings are in place, with more rain expected through this afternoon. some parts of lincolnshire have had about six weeks worth of rain in a 24 hour period. it has been raining here for about 48 was pretty much nonstop. this is the result of a

trust you have floodwater running through the streets. people sandbagging. what happened here is interesting. there is a river about 1000 feet from here, just over beyond those houses and last night at about nine o'clock, it burst its banks. it is a cliche we use all its banks, but it literally burst its banks, but it literally burst its banks, shedding millions of tonnes of water onto surrounding farmland, a lot of it came into this community and their houses further up there which we have not been able to safely get too but they are under two or three feet of water. one homeowner i spoke to had just finished renovating the entire house. it was a dream retirement home and it is now absolute erect. one of the beds on the ground floor is floating around the bedroom. com plete is floating around the bedroom. complete devastation and they are facing months in temporary accommodation. it is causing disruption to roads and schools and there are children over there who have not been able to get out of

school. it is causing disruption to the rail services as well. the local line has been suspended today. it might be suspended until the weekend. you have this picture in lincolnshire, very heavy downpours, there are several rivers on the highest form of alert. the river steeping is on alert, there are engineers assessing the river banks just to make sure that there are no more vulnerable places where that bank could collapse again and cause even greater problems. quite a state of shock in this community really because they have not seen threads like this in living memory. —— floods like this. in a moment, the business news. but first a look at the headlines on afternoon live. borisjohnson emerges as the clear frontrunner to be the next conservative leader, after the first round of voting by tory mps. three former ministers are knocked out, narrowing the field to seven. oil prices rise sharply, after two tankers are hit

by explosions in a suspected attack in the gulf of oman. crew members are said to be safe and uninjured. here's your business headlines on afternoon live. oil prices have jumped. oil prices havejumped. unconfirmed reports of explosions coming and make heightened tensions in the region. dozens of crewmembers have been rescued. sir philip green has thanked landlords and suppliers who backed the deal that saved his retail empire. in an interview with the bbc, he batted away the suggestion the topshop group had been on the point of going bust. shares in majestic wines tumble as the group says it is in advanced discussions to sell stores and the chairman unexpectedly resigns. discounting is something we've seen a lot of in retail, but one company seems to be stepping away from that.

yes, it's the model trainmaker hornby, an iconic british toy brand. heading for a turnaround according to its latest results. it made a loss in the last financial year of £5.2 million, but that pre—tax loss is almost half what they lost the year before, which was just over £10 million. so are they selling more? no, their total sales actually fell by about £3 million, but they've reduced their losses because they stopped discounting so that helps their margins, what they make on the sale of each item. it's not all plain sailing — potential choppy waters ahead. let's speak to the company's ceo, lyndon davies, whojoins us now. it has been described as a turnaround but still a loss of £5 million in a year is not brilliant news for investors. no, but it is pa rt of news for investors. no, but it is part of the long—term strategy to put the foundations of the company on the straight course and hornby

have lost money year after year and successive managements have come into try and turn the business around but what they have done is looked at short—term fixes, instead of getting the engine of the company right and that is what we have been doing in the last year, we have been getting the engine of the company right, working with the supply change, working with customers and partners and over the last 18 months, that has all been transformed and what we now have is the foundations in the business for the foundations in the business for the future and indeed in the second half of the last financial year, our sales have edged up. where we suffered was in the first part of the financial year because the factories had not been loaded but that has been corrected and we have a longer term visibility and we know what we are going to make, in which factories and when they are going to make them. ijust factories and when they are going to make them. i just wonder, the company is describing discounting as being like a drug in terms of

retail, how do you get customers to pay more for products when they are used to heavy discounting? you have got to remember, we are not producing the same product, so you are not actually looking at the same product and doing a comparison. much of what we do is new products. what we have had to do is make our products more relevant, so we have signed licenses so that we have train sets coming out that our new train sets coming out that our new train sets, harry potter train sets, there is no comparison, we have a price and what we will not do, which has happened previously, is put the market into the... put the product into the marketplace and within months discount it heavily through certain routes. what we are doing now is ordering the right amount of products because we know what we need to order and we are putting into the market and we are prepared to hold onto that stock and not looking at trying to hit a short—term sales target. what we are actually looking at is to get a

company that can actually sell at a fixed price into the market over a period of time. sounds like hogwarts express to the rescue! thank you very much indeed. there's been a surge in the price of oil today and it's linked to the tanker fires in the gulf of oman. yes, a lot of uncertainty around what exactly caused the blasts on two oil tankers. this is one of the world's busiest oil routes, hence concern about the possible impact on supply. and that is why we've seen prices rise so sharply. the price of a barrel is up about 4% today. let's speak to samira hussain in new york. this is such an important oil route, hence the impact on the price. absolutely. 30% of the world's oil reserves passes absolutely. 30% of the world's oil reserves passes through. if there is any instability in the region and there is a risk to any ships going

through that straight, that will certainly have an impact on oil prices, which is something that we are absolutely seeing today. remember that this comes at a timing which actually all prices have been falling quite a bit. there has been demand for oil and as we see there is so much uncertainty in the global economy, especially when it comes to theissues economy, especially when it comes to the issues of trade, there is a lot more hesitancy within the market, so you really have seen the price of oil falling somewhat. and this is really pushing it up because people are worried about the risks this is posing to potential oil routes. and there have been several similar incidents in that area now within recent months. exactly. this is the second time that we are seeing something like this happen. back in may, we saw some old tankers that we re may, we saw some old tankers that were also attacked and really that is putting in more pressure which is why we think —— we are seeing this

not being the first instance of this and it happens at a time when the prime minister of japan is and it happens at a time when the prime minister ofjapan is visiting iran to try and broker some sort of mediation, to calm tensions within the region, especially between the united states and iran. this is sort ofa united states and iran. this is sort of a signal that, no, there united states and iran. this is sort ofa signalthat, no, there is reason to be nervous and that is why you are seeing such a ripple effect throughout the markets. thank you very much indeed. that's all the business news. thousands of critically endangered snails have been released into the wild after being rescued from the edge of extinction, all with a little help from a british zoo. the greater bermuda land snail was thought to have died out, until a small colony was discovered living inside plastic bags. some were sent to chester zoo for a unique breeding programme. now more than 4,000 snails have been taken back to bermuda and released into their natural habitat.

time for a look at the weather. here's chris fawkes. it isa it is a very familiar weather script. anotherjune it is a very familiar weather script. another june day it is a very familiar weather script. anotherjune day and more heavy, persistent rain. the rain has been coming down in a couple of zones, been coming down in a couple of zones, across eastern been coming down in a couple of zones, across eastern scotland, the far north of england, and another area stretching from central england, the home counties and threatening parts of the midlands. we are likely to see some more localised flooding conditions and a very tricky set of travelling conditions. overnight, comedy rain easing for a time. another batch working in before spreading to the midlands and east anglia. the rain in scotland the rain easing across eastern areas. more rain in the forecast for friday. another u nsettled forecast for friday. another unsettled day. the worst of the rain pushing across england and wales. further heavy showers for scotland and northern ireland. another day

where no one is guaranteed to stay dry. temperatures coming upjust a little. hello, you're watching afternoon live — i'm simon mccoy. today at three: borisjohnson emerges as the clear frontrunner to be the next conservative leader, after the first round of voting by tory mps. three former ministers are knocked out, narrowing the field to seven. andrea leadsom, mark harper, and esther mcvey are all eliminated, after failing to win enough support from colleagues. the pensions secretary, amber rudd, says the race remains open. the fact boris has a good lead amongst mps is as nothing. we start again, it's back to zero when it goes to members then it's going to be 16 hustings all across the country and anything can happen. oil prices rise sharply after two tankers are hit by explosions in a suspected attack in the gulf of oman. almost three quarters of english hospitals miss nhs targets to treat cancer patients quickly enough. coming up on afternoon

live, all the sport. thank you, we will have the latest on the condition of chris froome who is in intensive care following a crash in france. and more heavy rain coming in the uk bringing risk of further localised flooding and we will cast our eye over towards in the upper cyclone will brush the north—west coast which could bring some impact as well. thanks chris. also coming up — the master tapes containing thousands of the greatest recordings of the twentieth century are said to have gone up in flames in america, wiping out part of modern music's history. boris johnson has emerged as the clear frontrunner

in the conservative leadership election to determine the next prime minister, with more than a third of the votes cast by tory mps in the first ballot of the contest. the field of ten conservative mps has been narrowed to seven — all men — with the former cabinet ministers, andrea leadsom, mark harper and esther mcvey eliminated after failing to secure enough support from their colleagues. here are the results: way out in front is the favourite boris johnson, with 114 votes, followed by the foreign secretary jeremy hunt on 43 votes, and the environment secretary michael gove who got 37 votes. they're followed by the former brexit secretary dominic raab on 27 votes and the home secretary sajid javid who got 23 votes. also through to the second round are the health secretary matt hancock on 20 votes and the international development secretrary rory stewart who made it with 19 votes. the former cabinet ministers, andrea leadsom, mark harper and ester mcveigh, all got below the 17 votes

required and are eliminated. further ballots will be held next week, with the two most popular mps then going forward to a vote of the wider conservative party membership. the winner is expected to be announced in the week of 22july. our political correspondent jonathan blake reports. roll up for round one, tory mps arriving to vote this morning, some making up their minds who to back as the new leader and our next prime minister. i am undeclared. conservative backbenchers convened in their traditional setting to hear the result and the numbers showed clearly the front runner was racing ahead. boris johnson 114. andrea leadsom 11. esther mcvey nine. will you top the ballot today mrjohnson? he said he was delighted to win

the first round but said to supporters he had a long way to go. michael gove finished third in this vote but his campaign say it's all to play for. she won't be going any further, it's all overfor some of the candidates who could not win enough support to survive. of the ten who started out in the contest three have fallen at the first hurdle, the remaining seven will face more secret ballots next week as mps narrow the field to a final two for party members to choose between. i invite sirjohn major to come onto the stage. a man who has done the job they are all after has a warning to those candidates promising to deliver brexit with or without a deal by the current deadline. i don't think it's credible to take us out of the eu on the 31st of october. i don't see how it could be done. i think those people suggesting it can be done and it's not only borisjohnson, have their fingers crossed behind their back whistling gently into the wind and hoping some

miracle might happen when it might be possible. the outsider who scraped through the first round said his plan is cutting through. i am going to get people to focus on the practical issues, how do we get this done? the contest is now a little less crowded and the favourite is way out in front but this race to run the country is far from over. our chief political correspondent, vicki young is in the central lobby of the houses of parliament for us. the question is where do those who have gone out, whether of their supporters go? 30 votes up for grabs. iam supporters go? 30 votes up for grabs. i am sure mps will be popular over the next few hours as each team tries to say they should switch their support and get behind their man as it now is. i think the clear thing obviously is borisjohnson's huge support, nobody doubting he will be in the final two and get on the ballot as it goes to the tory membership. the question really is

who is going to challenge him? that looks pretty wide open at the moment. a lot of the candidates close together and that's most people saying it all to play for. this was the reaction from chris harris who has been backing andrea leadsom. i am hugely disappointed i think she's the most significant political woman in our party but even political woman in our party but even she could not get into the final seven of this race and we need to look at that and how we can promote while women through our ranks. we have got class, quality female mps here, some of the best in parliament, i promise you, but they need to break through the glass ceiling yet again so we can have the third female prime minister before labour even get there first. what about the others? jeremy hunt coming second but not far behind was michael gove, let's talk to george eustice who is on team michael gove. fairto eustice who is on team michael gove. fair to say it's not been a great

week after everything that happened with the admission of taking cocaine, are you happy, do you feel the support has held up? as you said we had a difficult week, some uncomfortable headlines in the sunday papers which has influenced the agenda all week but he came out fighting, the more successful launch of any candidate on monday, outperforming the other candidates in hustings during the week. our support is higher than that publicly declared for us. crucially we are within touching distance ofjeremy hunt but with more scope to gather support from other candidates below us as support from other candidates below us as the contest progresses. 30 votes up for grabs, esther mcvey and andrea leadsom seem as brexiteers, are you confident you can convince them to come over? michael gove led them to come over? michael gove led the league campaign, he's a campaignerwho the league campaign, he's a campaigner who has believed in leaving the eu or resetting our relationship with it all his life. i think is best placed to deliver

that, he's got a strong track record for delivery in the departments he's beenin for delivery in the departments he's been in and he can unite our country, pull things together but get things done, that's what we need at this moment. why would an mp get behind him rather than boris johnson, you can see he's out in front. a lot of mps even those wards with reservations think you will win, he might give me a job, i need to get behind him. wood river wins has to put the party back together and whoever goes into this thinking they can give assurances aboutjobs and roles will not be able to succeed at the end of the day. i hope borisjohnson succeed at the end of the day. i hope boris johnson is succeed at the end of the day. i hope borisjohnson is not behaving in that way but the truth is boris johnson is now guaranteed a place in the run—off, the only question is who we put in that run—off against him. to give members a proper choice. i think michael gove is the person to do that, anyone eliminated from that contest right now, coming

johnny come lately to the boris johnson sure does not achieve much. they've got an important role as the smaller candidates drop out in shaping these contest as they can cheaply goes into the final round. others say it's not much of a choice because they have similar views on brexit and you will not be surprised to see the team of rory stewart is saying he would be someone who would make it a different campaign or sajid javid for example because they have different backgrounds and different approaches. the conservative party believes we should respect the referendum result, i don't think there's any constituency within the conservative party that thinks we should either not honour the result or have a second referendum or go for a soft brexit and continue to kick the can down the road. the view we have to get brexit done but there is a question about how best to do that. i think the michael gove approach, his command of detail, his track

record is why he's the right one to do it. all the teams who are left in this think it's all to play for until the next round on tuesday. thanks very much. with me are asa bennett, brexit commissioning editor at the telegraph. and also i'm joined by katy balls, deputy political editor for the spectator. thank you both forjoining me this afternoon, first of all, is it, it's no boris's to lose, is it? absolutely, people were worried thinking he need to get hundred and five votes to get into the final two, he's exceeded expectations and i suppose that's the strength of his campaign. to show the level of victory, even if you add up michael gove, jeremy hunt and dominic raab's tally boris is still ahead which is why it will go down to is what vicky was talking about, what happens to the 30 votes from the other

candidates who dropped out, even if they go to glitzyjeremy hunt bodice is ahead. with boris johnson in this position who will be under pressure, who will be told why don't you pull out? i think dominic raab, if you look at the brexiteer support and the brexiteer candidates will be under pressure because he got significantly less than boris johnson. dominic raab's pictures he is up brexiteer and less divisive than borisjohnson is up brexiteer and less divisive than boris johnson and is up brexiteer and less divisive than borisjohnson and if is up brexiteer and less divisive than boris johnson and if you is up brexiteer and less divisive than borisjohnson and if you look at the parliamentary party that does not appear to be the case. there will be pressure there to perhaps fall behind into the johnson campaign. if you look at the cabinet candidates if you want to call them that, jeremy hunt, sajid javid en michaeljoel, i think the problem that, jeremy hunt, sajid javid en michaeljoel, ithink the problem is that closeness between john michaeljoel, ithink the problem is that closeness betweenjohn hunt and michael gove and i thinkjeremy hunt's team would have hoped for a clearer lead so they could have said

clearly our candidate is the one in front. i think at the moment michael gove's team we had a difficult few days and it still managed to get pretty close to what jeremy hunt has. he's not planning to go anywhere so i think there will be pressure for dropouts but i think when he looks at candidate cabinets he be reluctant. amber rudd a supporter ofjeremy hunt and making the point that once it goes to the grass roots it all starts all over again but does it? if you look at the grassroots ultimately the conventional wisdom has always been the parliamentary party is the most against borisjohnson the parliamentary party is the most against boris johnson and there would be a stop bodice campaign. that campaign has not really been very clear and i think it's because there's been a campaign to stop dominic raab from getting much support who are seen as more of a hardline brexiteer. ithink support who are seen as more of a hardline brexiteer. i think with the grassroots borisjohnson has a good chance of making it to number ten if he goes to the grassroots because he

repeatedly comes out as the favourite. i think there are many in the party who do feel they have to go through the grassroots stage and to the hustings because they did not in 2016 and there is the view that had they done the full contest theresa may's weaknesses would have come to the surface sooner. i think as soon as boris johnson come to the surface sooner. i think as soon as borisjohnson makes it to the final two it's a good chance he's going to be the next prime minister. on that point, either of those around borisjohnson who might be saying, this is yours to lose, don't do anything to rock the boat, why go on television, why take part in debate? absolutely, i think because he's the frontrunner and the best—known tory and brexiteer they feel he does not need to define himself anymore, he just needs to avoid giving his enemies ammunition. because clearly rory stewart and feisty people like him are desperate for anything we can weep on so this is why he is trying to avoid controversy. and yet what we are

seeing clearly is there will have to be debates at some point. the broadcasters are very keen, i think the bbc are doing one next week? they want other candidates together, you can expect a bargaining with boris only appealing if everyone else does, threats of empty chairs, but if you're a frontrunner you don't make gambles because you have stuff to lose but if you are an outsider you want to play to win. do you think that means borisjohnson may well decide not to take part in debates? i think there a good chance he does not take part in the big debate next week. i think boris allies make the point they are worried about this because they think if you have all the candidates and it becomes blue on blue warfare it can be recognised by labour or momentum ina it can be recognised by labour or momentum in a general election. there has been plenty of blue on blue warfare in the last few years so there's lots of material anyway, but i think borisjohnson so there's lots of material anyway, but i think boris johnson will come undera lot of but i think boris johnson will come under a lot of pressure to do it. i think what the boris johnson camp under a lot of pressure to do it. i think what the borisjohnson camp is most likely to do is put him in a

head—to—head debate if he makes the final two. i think if he chooses not to do the debate next week, the bbc debate, it might have a few warning signs with some of his supporters because i think he has to show he is not hiding from the press or the public, he is willing to do interviews and debates. the intriguing part finally is if it is borisjohnson who is one of the two who do you think will be the other? looking at the numbers jeremy who do you think will be the other? looking at the numbersjeremy hunt and michael gove are in contention. jeremy hunt has had a good week and i think that in large part because michael gove has had a bad one following reports and michael gove admitting drug use. i think moving on from there the camp will think they can put that behind them and start to build up but at the moment it'sjeremy start to build up but at the moment it's jeremy hunt's to lose that second place but i think boris johnson's team will be quite happy if the final two is borisjohnson versus if the final two is borisjohnson versusjeremy if the final two is borisjohnson

versus jeremy hunt. do you agree? i think borisjohnson would be more worried if someone like sajid javid reached the final two, they have got the number ofjeremy hunt, establishment choice, boris you get what you see, it's an easier dividing line. both thank you very much for your time. you're watching afternoon live, these are our headlines: borisjohnson emerges as the clear frontrunner to be the next conservative leader, after the first round of voting by tory mps. three former ministers are knocked out, narrowing the field to seven. andrea leadsom, mark harper, and esther mcvey are all eliminated, after failing to win enough support from colleagues. oil prices rise sharply after two tankers are hit by explosions in a suspected attack in the gulf of oman. and in sport british cyclist crush firm remains in intensive care after its straight hitting a brick wall at hundred and 40 mph. the us open is

under way at pebble beach in california, defending champion brooks koepka is going for three in a row. and the wash—out continues, the rain calling the match between india and new zealand to be abandoned at trent bridge. back with more on those stories later on. picking up on one of those headlines. there's been a sharp rise in the price of crude oil, after two tankers were thought to have been attacked in the gulf of oman. one is reported to have been hit by a torpedo. both ships have been evacuated. there's been heightened tension between iran and the us following similar attacks on tankers in may. richard galpin has the latest. an oil tanker ablaze in the gulf of oman this morning. this photograph, from an iranian news agency, believed to be of the norwegian—owned tanker front altair. the fire, its owners say, the result of an explosion. and this second tanker, the koku ka courageous, also hit by an explosion around the same time. the crews of both ships

escaped unharmed. the tankers were sailing close to iran through one of the world's most important shipping lanes for oil supplies. what caused the explosions here remains unclear, but there is suspicion it was an attack. tensions have spiked in recent months, with the united states deploying this carrier group to the arabian sea, and claiming it was responding to iranians threats to us forces and other personnel in the middle east. the show of force sparking concerns it could lead to conflict. not long afterwards, in mid—may, four tankers were damaged in the gulf of oman, apparently by explosive devices attached to the ships by frogmen. us officials suspect it was carried out by the iranians or their proxy forces.

president trump has, since he came into the white house, has adopted aggressive attitudes, i think it's fair to say, towards iran. he's identified the iranian revolutionary guard corps as a terrorist organisation. this latest incident today has already led to a spike in oil prices, something which would help iran, a major oil producing country, but which is suffering under intense sanctions imposed by the united states. on iranian television this morning the explosions on the tankers made headline news. the authorities in tehran expressing concern about what had happened and also saying they were the ones to rescue the crews and take them to safety. whoever was responsible for what has happened today, tensions between the us and iran will inevitably flare up again. richard galpin, bbc news.

our defence correspondentjonathan beale gave us this update. first of all you noticed the fire on board is smack bang in the middle so, we don't know what caused this, whether, whether it hit something, for example a mine or another vessel, or whether something was fired at it essentially, a torpedo or some kind of missle. but those of the areas where they will now look and they can look at the ship and get residue from the ship to try to find out exactly if there was an explosion what caused that explosion. it's important to say that the maritime patrol aircraft is up, essentially used to hunt down submarines. these are moving pictures on the screen which have just come in, it's a pretty devastating event whatever it is. we think there were a number of explosions reported on the ship over a course of hours.

and again, from eyewitnesses who were there, the crew on board had been taken off, suggestions there were a number of explosions which happened, one in the engine room, one what looks like in the middle. clearly they believe something caused that explosion, something hit it. a number of russians among those evacuated but on the wider international scale the concern absolutely is relations between the united states and iran. last month there were a number of attacks on cargo vessels which were taking shelterjust off the uae. and the us has pointed the finger at iran, whether it was iran itself or iranian proxies. we know the us carrier last week

was sent because of rising tensions and fears iran would do something against us interests. this incident happened close to the strait, 21 miles wide, 180 vessels going through each day, millions of barrels of oil, even though we don't know what's behind this i think the suspicion will be iran, they will have to prove it. as you were saying, such a crucial waterway and the price of crude oil is going up as a result of this attack. you have a pattern now, four cargo vessels hit in the gulf of oman and now you have this. if you are an insurance company you will be slightly more worried about what's going to happen to vessels going through those dangerous waters so there will be concerns but i think the biggest

concern is the security situation, tensions flaring with iran but also remember saudi is a big player in this region, tensions with iran as well. it's the potential for miscalculation and military conflict which will also be a worry. nearly three quarters of nhs services in england failed to treat new cancer patients within 62 days of an urgent referral last year — that's according to research by the bbc. the worst performing trust saw fewer than 61% of patients being seen in that time. cancer charities say they're worried — and warn that long waits put patients at risk, nhs england say increasing demand on services has led to delays in referrals. lauren moss reports. when daniel was 35 he was diagnosed with a brain tumour. he had surgery and underwent intensive rounds of radio and chemotherapy. daniel says he was treated promptly at maine

stone in tunbridge wells in kent but figures show many patients here and elsewhere in england are not beginning treatment within the two month target. it's a long time to wait for treatment or diagnosis. for cancer. it emotionally distressing. for yourself and your family. it causes huge upset and stress. that's overwhelming, especially when you are being diagnosed with something as awful as cancer. when gp makes an urgent referral guidelines say 85% of patients should cancer treatment within 62 days but almost 32 and a half thousand patients across england were not seen in that timeframe in the past year. bbc analysis shows maidstone and tunbridge wells nhs trust was the worst performing, just 61% of patients treated in the target time. that's followed by wolverhampton,

weston area health, southend and bradford. kingston hospital nhs trust in london topped the list, seeing 96% of patients within the timeframe. it's a really difficult experience for people to go through and the longer people have to wait to get the diagnosis the more it's going to impact on them, their health and well—being and getting through that experience latest figures indicate a similar level of feelings in other areas of the uk. maidstone and tunbridge wells nhs said it experienced a surge in referrals last week and has since hired more staff and hopes to be on target by the summer. in a statement and nhs england spokesperson said... daniel is now in remission but

unable to return to work as a title or artist. he is receiving support ata or artist. he is receiving support at a local cancer centre and says he is sympathetic of the pressures nhs staff are under. they are under resourced and the number of people being diagnosed with cancer is so overwhelming at putting so much strain on the nhs. details on how the nhs plans to recruit more doctors and nurses are expected later this year, but charities say right now it's a system in crisis. you can find out more about waiting times and care in your area on the bbc‘s nhs tracker, bbc.co.uk/health time for a look at the weather. here's chris fawkes. there is a cycle you are watching? yes it's working towards the north—west coast of india, this is the southern portion of gujarat. the heavy rain going here, the eye in

the centre of the cyclone beginning to turn back out to sea we have gusts of 100 mph but over the next 24 hours as the cyclone continues to turn away the winds we experienced will be more like 50 mph which is a lot less impactful. potentially 100, 200 nanometres of rain, the risk of localised flooding and storm surge, the storm surge itself expected to be between 60 centimetres and about 1.3 metres above the astronomical high tide, so are the high tide coincides with the storm surge which is likely where we'll get the biggest impact. the impact is difficult to gauge because i think the rain will be quite welcome across this part of india. the monsoon itself, the seasonal rains... that's already hit? it's

done here at the moment, bending up the monsoon tracking north over the next few weeks, it's not going to reach this part of india for the next five weeks or so. this rain could be welcome but it could cause coastal flooding. just depends how much false. i know where rain is not welcome at the moment. that's pretty much everywhere here. hundred 55 monitors, to give context, in this pa rt monitors, to give context, in this part of shropshire the average, nearly three months worth of rain and it's raining there again across parts of the uk. more wet weather on the way, more risk of further localised flooding, the ground saturated after the rain has fallen and travelling conditions could be problematic as we go through this evening. going through the night

time the rain in eastern scotland will focus through western areas, at the same time we will see rain developed across wales and western areas of england and that will pulse east across the midlands, central southern england and on towards eastern england by the time we get to friday. the reason the weather has been so rubbish, look at this chart. high pressure surrounding us, normally it would move in a north—east direction but because we are surrounded it's like a cage and this area of low pressure cannot move, its been with us all week and will probably stay with us for about tuesday or wednesday next week all the while drifting further west. we will see subtle day—to—day changes. friday rain pudsey is east followed by showers and there will be plenty of shoppers fallen off for scotland and northern ireland. the rain might not be quite as intense but the downforce could be heavy, could still cause localised surface water flooding given how saturated the ground is and it's a similar forecast as we get into the weekend.

further showers expected, the weather often cloudy, limited bright spells and the temperature is just slowly creeping up from the cool levels much this week. another arm of rain pushing its way east across england and wales, plenty of showers for scotland and northern ireland once again, probably focusing more once again, probably focusing more on north—western areas. temperatures coming a bit with highs of 15—19dc on saturday, further showers in the forecast on sunday, the low pressure getting less intense into next week but close enough to bring further showers through monday and tuesday before it finally clears out of the way, this low pressure will be with us for about a week and a half, could see further localised flooding before we get rid of that pressure into next week.

this is bbc news — our latest headlines. borisjohnson says he's "delighted" to have won the first round of the conservative leadership contest. three former ministers are knocked out, narrowing the field to seven. andrea leadsom, mark harper, and esther mcvey are all eliminated after failing to win enough support from colleagues. pensions secretary, amber rudd, says the race remains open. the fact that boris has a good lead amongst mps is as nothing. we start again and it goes to zero when it goes to members. there will be 16 hustings right across the country and anything can happen. oil prices rise sharply

after two tankers are hit by explosions in a suspected attack in the gulf of oman. almost three quarters of english hospitals miss nhs targets to treat cancer patients quickly enough. sport now on afternoon live with gavin and we've had an update on chris froome's condition after that nasty crash. we've heard from the doctor who's been operating on chris froome. froome was airlifted for surgery — after a really nasty accident on a practice run at the criterium du dauphine. he crashed into a wall at high speed, after a gust of wind blew him off course. he was said to be blowing his nose at the time. the force of the impact fractured his pelvis, right femur, and left him with broken ribs and a broken right elbow. the surgeon said it was a successful four—hour operation. there was no neurological, or head trauma. and that froome would be back in a few months. it does mean he'll miss the tour de france next month, so can't win it for a 5th time.

translation: the objective is that he can get back on the bike. the fractures will not have an impact. sportspeople often recover quickly so we have high hopes that he will get back on the bike to the same high level he was before. more updates here as we get them. let's switch to golf. the us open is under way. the last two us opens have been won by brooks koepka. so the american is one of the favourites again. he also won the last major — the us pga last month, but he still isn't a household name. it's something he's felt

the need to speak up — left out of some of the promotional material for the tournament. tell you who hasn't been left out of that, tiger woods. much of the build up has again concentrated on the man who demolished the field at pebble beach back in 2000. that was the first of three us opens for tiger woods. and he's expected to contend again. he won his 15th major at the masters in april. we've picked out a few tee times for you — rory mcilroy, he'll fancy this — after winning the canadian open last week. he goes out at about 3:40 uk time, with koepka off much later, at around a quarter to 10 — just before tiger woods, who'll be playing alongside two other former us open champions, jordan spieth and justin rose. the crowd under pressure, it all wrapped up a little bit in the majors. i'm here to do myjob and as much as i enjoy playing with tiger, i will be doing my thing and sometimes when the atmosphere is wrapped up like that it forces you

to turn lane and focus a bit harder and sometimes it can be a good thing. rose talking ahead of the us open which is under way. the weather has got the better of the cricket world cup again. the game between india and new zealand in nottingham has been abandoned without a ball being bowled — the third complete washout of the tournament. four games have already been abandoned because of the weather so far — the most of any world cup — and there have been calls from some to introduce reserve days to get more games on. the group stage games, i think it is pa rt the group stage games, i think it is part and parcel of being anywhere in the world, the fact that it might rain at some stage. morgan also said that mark wood is an injury doubt for tomorrow's match against west indies. he's got a sore ankle and will have a fitness test

before play tomorrow. joss buttler‘s available again after recovering from bruising. england are currently fourth in the table with four points. rain has also affected the third and final england mac women's game. ruining everything today. west bromwich albion have appointed slaven bilic as their new head coach. the croatian last managed in england at west ham, where he was sacked in november 2017. his most recent role was in saudi arabia. west brom missed out on promotion to the premier league in the play—offs. and the premier league fixtures were announced today. manchester city travel to west ham on the first weekend of the season. the full list on the bbc sport website. that's all the sport for now.

this is bbc news — our latest headlines. let's remind you of our top story — and the results in the first round of voting in the conservative party contest to select a new leader and the next prime minister. way out in front is the favourite boris johnson, with 114 votes, followed by the foreign secretary jeremy hunt on 43 votes, and the environment secretary michael gove who got 37 votes. they‘ re followed by the former brexit secretary dominic raab on 27 votes and the home secretary sajid javid who got 23 votes. also through to the second round are the health secretary matt hancock on 20 votes and the international development secretrart rory stewart who made it with 19 votes. the former cabinet ministers, andrea leadsom, mark harper and ester mcvey, all got below the 17 votes required and are eliminated. one of the campaign managers for one

of the people who dropped out has said on the whatsapp group, don't be contacting me now. there will be an awful lot of interest in those who backed the candidates who dropped out. the headline is the huge amount of support for boris johnson out. the headline is the huge amount of support for borisjohnson and those who don't want him as the new leader are pretty despairing because they can't really see any way that he can be dropped, because once he gets o nto he can be dropped, because once he gets onto the ballot and it goes out to the grassroots tory membership, he is so popular with them it seems very difficult to see how he can be stopped. it doesn't stop the race for second place. it looks pretty inconclusive. no clear winner in a way although jeremy hunt inconclusive. no clear winner in a way althoutheremy hunt came second. i don't think he did as well as some of his supporters were hoping. a little earlier i spoke to transport secretary chris grayling, who is supporting borisjohnson. i've been around for a number of conservative party leadership contest.

contests. the one thing you never do is take anything for granted in them so i would say from the point of view of thejohnson campaign, a good start and a good platform but there is a long way still to go. what about yesterday? he hasn't done an awful lot in public. he did take some questions, not very many, and some felt he was still being quite evasive about things such as taking cocaine, how he was going to deal with brexit. he is still not really answering the question. at this stage in the leadership contest, the electorate is your colleagues. i know there's always a demand for media appearances but actually the way you make progress in a conservative leadership contest is to spend time with colleagues, and it's what he's been doing. it is sensible because first and foremost, the last two we present to the country the parliamentary colleagues, people who know them most closely, are the best place to know who should lead the country. but there are many

mps who i've spoken to over the last couple of years who don't think borisjohnson is trustworthy and people are still saying he is saying one thing in one room and something else to someone in another room, something completely different about brexit, about whether he would go for a no—deal brexit or wouldn't or consider a second referendum. this is a problem, isn't it? in a contest where you've got different views and candidates and people supporting different candidates, of course people have differing views. what boris said yesterday and what we've all said over the last two months in the government, cabinet ministers and people outside the cabinet, we want to leave with a deal, we want to leave with a sensible partnership with the european union and carry on as good friends and neighbours. i don't know anybody in the party who says they don't want to be good friends and neighbours with those in the european union. how can he get changes to the deal? what's he going to be able to achieve that theresa may couldn't? as we go through the autumn into a period where there's going to be new leadership here and i think that the dangers to everybody of this unravelling are very visible. then there is actually very good reason for everyone on both sides of the debate,

on both sides of the negotiations, to find a way of bringing something forward this parliament would accept. that was chris grayling, who is backing borisjohnson. that was chris grayling, who is backing boris johnson. i that was chris grayling, who is backing borisjohnson. ispoke that was chris grayling, who is backing borisjohnson. i spoke to michael gove's team who are actually quite pleased, given the terrible week they've had with him admitting he had taken cocaine. not the headline they would have wanted. they are pleased they have increased the pledges they had had publicly so they don't think they are out of this race. everyone thinks they are in the race for second place at this point. thank you very much. she's always slightly worried about what i'm going to say next but i didn't say anything. she still smiling. recordings by sir eltonjohn, aretha franklin, nirvana, eminem and thousands more were destroyed in a fire in 2008, according to a new york times report. they were lost when a blaze swept through a warehouse at universal studios hollywood, causing extensive damage

that was downplayed at the time. in confidential documents issued in 2009, universal music group estimated the loss amounted to 500,000 songs but the universal media group have disputed the new york times' reporting of the extent of the damage caused. derek walmsley, the editor of independent music magazine the wire, joins me to talk about this further. lets just describe what we've lost here. these are the master tapes, the original recordings. master tapes, multitrack recordings. the original quarter inch or, you know, magnetic tapes which were stored away in this way has for many yea rs stored away in this way has for many years so, you know, when the magic was happening in the studio at the time, if you will, these are the recordings of it and these are what has gone in their hundreds of thousands. who is going to necessarily care about this? presumably if they were going to reissue, this is a problem because these are what they would have used. who else might be upset

by this? for a start you have your music as tau rea ns for a start you have your music as taureans and your music fans. it might mean when releases come out later they are a little bit thinner, focusing on one thing rather than anything comprehensive but wider than that, it is hard to measure losses of cultural heritage, if you know what i mean. you don't know what it's lost until it's gone. we are looking at heritage going up in smoke. some of the artists, we are talking about historic names. you can probably pick anyone and they might be affected by it. chuck berry, louis armstrong, billie holiday, john coltrane, alice coltrane, so many jazz holiday, john coltrane, alice coltrane, so manyjazz and r&b artists. some of the greatest cultural achievements of the 20th century of america, you might say. ifa century of america, you might say. if a record company wanted to reissue, rerelease or digitally remastered, can they still do it without these particular tapes, as they are?

yeah, i mean, forthe they are? yeah, i mean, for the music listener nothing is going to disappear of spotify or anything like that and people can be master recordings from cds and vinyl. the further you get from the original copy, which is the master, they might be in effect in the audio fidelity so there might be a loss in that. more importantly you are losing the cultural artefacts, the boxes who say who was recording each session, who was around and who recorded it. the primary stuff for historians that tells you about the area. one era in american music history of course is jazz. there are some huge jazz recordings affected by this. i mentioned journal can train —— i mentioned john coltrane, alice coltrane, louis armstrong, sanders... the music is going to be

more compromised. if there is a comparison with art, how would you compare this in terms of the loss that we've suffered? it's hard to know because there are some things coming out saying it's a bit like they lost the mona lisa or something like that but it's really ha rd to something like that but it's really hard to quantify because the music, you are still going to be able to listen to it. however it is hard to deny in terms of the loss of the great swathes of particularly american music, it is probably the biggest ever. there are so many unknowns about what actually is being lost that, you know, it looks like a real body blow for the music which we have in its master primary form? given this loss, fires happen. what do you think should happen to these historic artefacts ins terms of musical history? it's hard to know because record labels are at heart commercial entities, they are not cultural

institutions, funded by taxpayers. ultimately they are going to be guided by profit and going to be trying to keep a legacy of recorded music safe but at the same time they are not necessarily going to make a song and dance about it. it is hard to know but it would be nice if there was a closer relationship with artists and so on so that the estates of those artists, you know, there would be more checks and bala nces there would be more checks and balances in place so stuff wouldn't be put in a warehouse. good to talk to you. thank you very much. donald trump says he would be willing to use potentially damaging information against an opponent in the presidential election — even if it came from a foreign government. in an interview with abc news, the president said he wouldn't see it as interfering with an election. cbs correspondent laura podesta gave us the latest from new york.

we know thatjoe biden said and american president shouldn't seek aid from those who want to undermine our democracy. a senator who is running for president said the president is a national security threat and elizabeth warren renewed her calls to impeach mr trump and i think what we will be looking at todayis think what we will be looking at today is if any of mr trent's republican allies are going to say anything about the fact that he essentially welcomed foreign meddling in the election saying there is something wrong with listening if someone has dirt on an opponent. right now no republicans have come out and said that they agree. here in the us, political candidates are prohibited under law from accepting financial divisions from accepting financial divisions from foreign entities but it is unclear whether the court would consider information to be a similar

contribution. asian shares have slumped as the hong kong market was hit for a second straight session following a day of massive street protests. hong kong's hang feng index was down 0.8% today, extending yesterday's 1.7% loss. the authorities in hong kong have closed government offices for the rest of the week, after violent clashes broke out over controversial new extraditions laws. police fired tear gas and rubber bullets in clashes with demonstrators yesterday as tensions heightened. the proposals would allow extradition to mainland china. opponents say the plans would be abused by beijing to pursue political enemies. penn is here with the businesses but first the headlines. boris johnson says he's "delighted" to have won the first round of the conservative leadership contest. three former ministers are knocked out, narrowing the field to seven.

andrea leadsom, mark harper, and esther mcvey are all eliminated, after failing to win enough support from colleagues. oil prices rise sharply after two tankers are hit by explosions in a suspected attack in the gulf of oman. here's your business headlines on afternoon live. oil prices jump after an incident involving two tankers in the gulf of oman. unconfirmed reports of successive explosions come amid heightened tensions in the region. dozens of crew members have now been rescued. sir philip green has thanked landlords and suppliers who backed the deal that saved his retail empire. in an interview with the bbc, he batted away the suggestion the topshop group had been on the point of going bust. shares in majestic wines tumble as the group says it is in "advanced" discussions to sell stores — and the chairman unexpectedly resigns.

a lot of retail news around. including britain's biggest retailer — tesco — publishing its results. how are they getting on? it said sales growth slowed in its latest quarter — so that means sales are increasing but not as quickly as they had been. sales rose on a like—for—like basis by 0.4% in the three months up to may 25th — compared with the same period last year. what are they putting it down to? tesco chief executive dave lewis said the market is tougher — but insisted the group had outperformed the wider uk market by improving its ranges and lowering prices. the retail giant has blamed poor early summer weather — and consumer confidence being hit by the political uncertainty around brexit. recent industry data has shown all of britain's big four grocers continuing to lose market share to german—owned discounters aldi and lidl.

another factor is the conditions for trading were particularly good in that period last year, so it's hard to build on that. britain enjoyed hot weather and major events including a royal wedding. that spurs people to go out and spend on bunting and prosecco. blaming a subdued overall market that has been hamperedby poor early summer weather, sending its shares lower on thursday. on every front, tesco are experiencing difficulties but they are doing very well. they have the margin back, which is important. he is saying that times aren't easy for the british consumer. with brexit, it isn't easy. he has raised the issue of stockpiling which will be

difficult if we are exiting in october because retailers will be stockpiling for christmas. they should be proud of the turnaround they have achieved because it is a huge british business, it employs lots of us and it pays a lot towards their tax bill of the uk. speaking of big achievements in retail, the arcadia group achieving quite a feat on getting lower rents on stores. if that kind of move sustainable or do you think there are underlying issues they have yet to deal with? it isa to deal with? it is a pretty hollow victory, what happened with arcadia. there are huge issues with how they operate. even philip green agreed that perhaps they haven't been quick enough to deal with how shoppers are shopping online and spending less time on the high street. they've got a reading space where they have to act quickly and sort out their

pricing, and many shops they've got, to avoid getting into trouble again. and then turning our attention to majestic wine, you would have thought there was no shortage of people who wanted to pick up a nice bottle of malbec on the way home that their retail side of things doesn't seem to be particularly strong and the chairman abruptly leaving, a lot to make investors nervous. they have said they will sell majestic and focus everything into online naked wines. majestic is a great retail business but there are some changes in how they are looking to sell it, move on and looking for a buyer who wants a high street retail chain selling foseco and malbec but we need something to celebrate and drink all of the upper psycho with, as you've just said. i wonder whether we will find it in the retail sector or not. —— drink a

glass of wine with. imight glass of wine with. i mightjust celebrate getting home. ftse100 is flat - giving up some of its earlier gains. the spike in the price of oil had lifted shares in energy and oil companies. but the market is being pulled downward by a fall in retail stocks. tesco dropped after britain's biggest retailer said its underlying sales growth slowed in the latest quarter. thousands of critically endangered snails have been released into the wild in bermuda after a remarkable reversal of fortu nes. the greater bermuda land snail was thought to have died out but a small colony was discovered living in an alley way. some were sent to chester zoo where a successful breeding programme has meant more

than 4,000 could be returned to their natural habitat. helena briggs has the story. meet the greater bermuda land snail. believed to have become extinct decades ago. a few hardy snails were discovered clinging to life inside plastic bags in this urban alleyway in bermuda. some of the survivors were sent to the uk for a breeding programme and here at chester zoo, they now have too many keep track of. at last count we had somewhere around 13,000 snails. may be more than that. they have had many babies since then but they breed quite easily, actually, so they are a good conservation project. as long as they have some nice soil to live in and some nice food. they like sweet potato. now 4,000 snails from the zoo have been taken home to bermuda for release into the wild. they have been set free in a nature reserve where the population will be closely monitored. it is hoped that zoo—bred snails

will help rescue this critically endangered species in a rare glimmer of hope in the fight against extinction. well, in his usualfashion, president trump has taken to twitter to address the reports that he would take foreign information on a rival in the 2020 us election. he wrote: he also said that his full answer is rarely played by what he calls the fake news media. well this image was posted by buzzfeed reporter hazel shearing with reference to trump's now corrected spelling of wales.

time for a look at the weather. it isa it is a familiar weather script. more rain. if you look at what has fallen in shropshire since the weekend, a staggering 153 millimetres of rain has been recorded and more around today as well. you can see some areas. a persistent area in the north, another band of rain pushing across central and southern england, the south midlands and counties as well. some localised flooding which is likely to get worse before it gets better in some places with some tricky travel conditions. during this evening and overnight the rain across eastern scotland will push westwards and it will ease a little bit but not wet weather here. another area of rain across western

counties, southern england and the midlands and threatening east anglia and south—east england into the first part of friday morning. you might want to see why the weather has been so rubbish and it is because we are surrounded by high pressure to our west, north and east. this area of low pressure which would normally track towards scandinavia is stuck over the british isles and it will probably still be with us even into next week. looking at the weather picture for friday we have some rain pushing northwards and eastwards across england and wales so more wet weather. it does stay unsettled. there might be a few more brighter spells around and that will help lift the temperatures but generally a little bit cool and disappointing for this time of year, and the theme continues into the weekend. further showers around, still quite cloudy with bright or sunny spells but temperatures picking up a little

bit. the weather forecast for saturday— march i was pushing into western parts of england and wales with downpours for western scotland. temperatures coming up a little bit with highs of 16 in edinburgh, 19 in london but nowhere is guaranteed to stay dry. similar into sunday with further showers on the forecast but there is a trend for the weather to become a little more settled into the middle of the new week.

hello, you're watching afternoon live, i'm simon mccoy. today at four... borisjohnson says he's "delighted" to have won the first round of the conservative leadership contest. three former ministers are knocked out, narrowing the field to seven. andrea leadsom, mark harper, and esther mcvey are all eliminated, after failing to win enough support from colleagues. the pensions secretary, amber rudd, says the race remains open. the fact boris has a good lead amongst mps is as nothing. we start again, it's back to zero when it goes to members, then it's going to be 16 hustings all across the country and anything can happen. oil prices rise sharply after two tankers are hit by explosions in a suspected attack in the gulf of oman. almost three quarters of english hospitals miss nhs targets to treat cancer patients quickly enough. coming up on afternoon

live, all the sport... yes, chris froome remains in intensive care. we hearfrom yes, chris froome remains in intensive care. we hear from the surgeon who operated after that horror crash in france. see you later on. look at the weather, it is pretty grim. wet weather is set to continue and there will be further scenes like this for some of us with localised flooding. i will tell you where the worst of the rain is likely to be. also coming up, back from the brink of extinction, the critically endangered bermuda snails released into the wild after being rescued with the help of the british zoo. hello, everyone — this is afternoon live, i'm simon mccoy. boris johnson has emerged as the clear frontrunner in the conservative leadership election to determine the next prime minister,

with more than a third of the votes cast by tory mps in the first ballot of the contest. the field of ten conservative mps has been narrowed to seven — all men — with the former cabinet ministers andrea leadsom, mark harper and esther mcvey eliminated after failing to secure enough support from their colleagues. here are the results. way out in front is the favourite boris johnson, with 114 votes, followed by the foreign secretary jeremy hunt on 43 votes, and the environment secretary michael gove who got 37 votes. they're followed by the former brexit secretary dominic raab on 27 votes and the home secretary sajid javid who got 23 votes. also through to the second round are the health secretary matt hancock on 20 votes and the international development secretary rory stewart, who made it with 19 votes. the former cabinet ministers, andrea leadsom, mark harper and esther mcvey all got below the 17 votes required and are eliminated. mrjohnson said he was delighted to have won, but warned supporters there was a long way to go. there will be more ballots next

week, whittling the field to the two most popular mps who will go forward to a ballot of the wider party membership. the winner is expected to be announced in the week of 22july. our political correspondent jonathan blake reports. roll up for round one. tory mps arrived to vote this morning, some still making up their minds who to back as their new leader and our next prime minister. i'm undeclared. conservative backbenchers convened in their traditional setting to hear the result on the numbers showed clearly different runner was racing ahead. boris johnson 114. andrea leadsom 11. ahead. boris johnson 114. andrea leadsom11. esther ahead. boris johnson 114. andrea leadsom 11. esther mcvey ahead. boris johnson 114. andrea leadsom11. esther mcvey nine. will you top the ballot today, mrjohnson? borisjohnson said he was delighted to win the first round but told his supporters he had a long way to go. i have been around for a number of

conservative leadership contests and the one thing you don't do is take anything for granted. a good start for thejohnson anything for granted. a good start for the johnson campaign and anything for granted. a good start for thejohnson campaign and a good platform but a long way still to go. foreign secretary jeremy platform but a long way still to go. foreign secretaryjeremy hunt is in a distant second place but his backers say he is a serious choice. jeremy is one of the candidates who has been absolutely honest about the challenges ahead of us. that is one of the reasons i backed him. my concern about some of the candidates as they are not facing up to the difficulties. michael gove finished third in this vote but his campaign say it is all to play for. boris johnson now is guaranteed a place in the run—off. the only question is who we put in that run up against him so that we give members a proper choice. my view is that should be another committed brexiteer, albeit who will do it in a slightly different way and i think michael gove is the person to do that. she won't be going any further though, although whether some of the candidates now who couldn't win enough support to survive. seven are now left in the running. mps will

narrow the field to a final two next week, then conservative members will cast the final vote. the outsider who scraped two first—round says his plan is getting through. the way i am going to win this race is get people to focus on the practical issues, how do we get this done? the contest is now a little less crowded and the favourite is way out in front. but this race to run the country is far from over. our chief political correspondent vicki young is in the central lobby of the houses of parliament for us. tell me that story again about the phones, because people are expecting to get lots of calls now we are already seeing people eliminated. yes, there are 30 boats up for grabs because of the three contenders who have fallen out of the contest. a lot of scrambling around but there are some who have obviously failed today who are saying to their collea g u es today who are saying to their colleagues and contact me at, give

mea colleagues and contact me at, give me a bit of time, mike candid list has dropped out, leave me alone, i will not come out for anyone at moment, but quite a lot time to go to the next round on tuesday, there are hustings and tv debates, so still time for the others to try and garner some more support but i think the standout moment obviously was that result for boris johnson the standout moment obviously was that result for borisjohnson and not many people can see him being beaten at this point. some are very happy about that and others not so much. they are pretty despondent because i think that if he gets onto last two and to the ballot paper at the grassroots conservative members will back him. what about the others? there has been a lot of spin going on everyone looking at the results for their person, their man as it turns out, and saying it has been a good result so michael gove's tea m been a good result so michael gove's team saying that at the terrible week he had with all those headlines about him confessing to taking cocaine, they actually feel he has done pretty well and his support has held up more than they might have

expected. then at the other side rory stewart who has come from nowhere, he has been running a very unusual campaign going out around the country doing a lot of it through social media, they think the fa ct through social media, they think the fact he has managed to get 19 mps behind him, more they say than expected, he is staying at the race, they see that as a big positive and of his backers is ken clarke. most of his backers is ken clarke. most of the candidates apart from boris will be slightly disappointed by the score they got, whereas rory, who is little known to the general public and the newest member of the cabinet, has moved in and got to the second round and done extremely well. he has fought the best campaign so far not only for its gullible public presentation and his huge following on social media, but certainly for the content. his team say that only someone with an unconventional approach could get close to beating borisjohnson because he has clearly got an awful

lot to do if he is going to finish in second place. what about those whose campaigns are over? andrea leadsom is very obviously disappointed at her sewing. this is what one of her supporters had to say. i am truly disappointed. i think she is possibly the most conservative woman in our parliamentary party and even she couldn't get into the final seven. we need to have a look at that and how we can promote women through our rights. we have some class quality women mps here, some of the best in parliament i promise you, but we need to have them breaking through the glass ceiling yet again so we can have the third female prime minister way before labour even gets there first. everyone here really discussing who was it going to be that ultimately challenges boris johnson and that is not at all clear here. there is a chasing pack here all pretty close together. the movement we are going to get between different people, those who have

dropped out in the next few days is going to be very hard to see but the next round is on tuesday and at that point the person with the lowest number of outcrops out, plus anyone who doesn't reach 10% of mps so they need to get 32 supporters, a much higher bar next tuesday. thank you very much. there's been a sharp rise in the price of crude oil — after two tankers were thought to have been attacked in the gulf of oman. one is reported to have been hit by a torpedo. both ships have been evacuated. there's been heightened tension between iran and the us following similar attacks on tankers in may. richard galpin has the latest. an oil tanker ablaze in the gulf of oman this morning. this video taken from the american navy believed from the norwegian owned tanker stop. and this second tanker, the koku ka courageous, also hit by an explosion around

the same time. the crews of both ships escaped unharmed. the tankers were sailing close to iran through one of the world's most important shipping lanes for oil supplies. what caused the explosions here remains unclear, but there is suspicion it was an attack. tensions have spiked in recent months, with the united states deploying this carrier group to the arabian sea, and claiming it was responding to iranians threats to us forces and other personnel in the middle east. the show of force sparking concerns it could lead to conflict. not long afterwards, in mid—may, four tankers were damaged in the gulf of oman, apparently by explosive devices attached to the ships by frogmen. us officials suspect it was carried out by the iranians or their proxy forces. president trump has, since he came into the white house, has adopted aggressive attitudes,

i think it's fair to say, towards iran. he's identified the iranian revolutionary guard corps as a terrorist organisation. this latest incident today has already led to a spike in oil prices, something which would help iran, a major oil producing country, but which is suffering under intense sanctions imposed by the united states. on iranian television this morning the explosions on the tankers made headline news. the authorities in tehran expressing concern about what had happened and also saying they were the ones to rescue the crews and take them to safety. whoever was responsible for what has happened today, tensions between the us and iran will inevitably flare up again. richard galpin, bbc news. more on this a little later.

nearly three quarters of nhs services in england failed to treat new cancer patients within 62 days of an urgent referral last year — that's according to research by the bbc. cancer charities have expressed their concern about the figures, but nhs england say it's due to increasing demand on services. lauren moss reports. when daniel sims was 35 he was diagnosed with a brain tumour. he had surgery and underwent intensive rounds of radiotherapy and chemotherapy. daniel says he was treated promptly at maidstone, in tonbridge wells, in kent but figures show many patients and england and wales are not beginning treatment within the two month target. 62 days is a long time to wait for treatment or diagnosis for cancer. it's emotionally distressing for yourself and your family. it causes huge upset and stress that is overwhelming, especially at a time

when you are being diagnosed with something as awful as cancer. when a gp makes an urgent referral nhs guidelines say 85% of cancer patients should start treatment within 62 days but almost 32,500 patients across england weren't seen in that time in the past year. bbc analysis shows that maidstone and tunbridge wells nhs trust was the worst performing, just 61% of patients treated in the target time. it is followed by wolverhampton, weston area health, southend, and bradford. kingston hospital nhs trust in london topped the list, seeing 96% of patients within the timeframe. frimley health, bolton, bid cheshire and gloucester also performed well. it's a really difficult experience for people to go through and really the longer that people have to wait to get that diagnosis and get treatment the more it's going to impact on them, their health and well—being, and just getting through that experience.

latest figures indicate a similar level of failings in other areas of the uk. maidstone and tunbridge wells nhs trust says it experienced a surge in referrals last year and has since hired more staff and hopes to be on target by the summer. in a statement an nhs england spokesperson said, cancer survival is at an all—time high, 2 million people were tested last year, up 15%, and almost 130,000 patients were treated within two months. daniel is now an remission but unable to return to work as a tattoo artist. he is receiving support at a local cancer centre and says he sympathetic the pressures nhs staff are under. they are under—resourced and the amount of people now being diagnosed with cancer is so overwhelming, it's putting such a strain on the nhs. details of how the nhs plans to recruit more doctors and nurses are expected later this year but charities say right now it's a system in crisis. lauren moss, bbc news. you can find out more about waiting

times and care in your area on the bbc‘s nhs tracker, that's on bbc. co. uk/health. you're watching afternoon live, these are our headlines... borisjohnson says he's "delighted" to have won the first round of the conservative leadership contest. three former ministers are knocked out, narrowing the field to seven. andrea leadsom, mark harper, and esther mcvey are all eliminated, after failing to win enough support from colleagues. oil prices rise sharply after two tankers are hit by explosions in a suspected attack in the gulf of oman. and in sport chris froome remains in intensive care following surgery to multiple fractures. he hit a brick wall during practice. the us open is under way at pebble beach in california. rory mcilroy is in the early stages of his opening round. defending champion brooks koepka is

going for three in a row. and the wash—out continues, rain has caused the match to india and new zealand to be called off at trent bridge. more on the stories at around half past four. let's return now to news of a sharp rise in the price of crude oil — after two tankers were thought to have been attacked in the gulf of oman. there's been heightened tension between iran and the us following similar attacks on tankers in may. we are nowjoined by dr philip belcher, marine director at intertanko — the international association of independent tanker owners which represents 200 companies. those will now be feeling quite nervous. you know this stretch of water, you have served on tankers here as a navigator. just explain that six napkins of where this is happening. the arabian gulf as a strategic waterway. about a third —— third of the world's oil and gas transit through, saudi arabia, qatar

and formerly a man. it seems remarkable and thankful that talking about no casualties at this stage, these are very dangerous attacks. absolutely. these two ships were carrying very volatile products and it is just amazing that the seafarers on board survived this incident. this is a reckless attack upon the seafarers and the ships which werejust going upon the seafarers and the ships which were just going about their normal commercial activities. but mike what is the atmosphere on board a vessel and i think you have sailed, is it tense? yes, and eve ryo ne sailed, is it tense? yes, and everyone is looking at the procedures and safety and security making sure the ship is secure going through these waters. these are merchant ships, civilians, so in the same way we wouldn't expect truck drivers going around the m25 to be taking initial precautions we rely upon the navy to keep the strategic

planes and communications open for the world tried to pass through. which up until now they have done so successfully. yes and there is a lot of navies end there, the uk has opened a base in bahrain, the us fifth fleet is based there as well as various others, the russians and chinese and indians. as someone who is on board what do you fear most, is on board what do you fear most, is it torpedoes or a mine?|j is on board what do you fear most, is it torpedoes or a mine? i think the torpedoes, technology which hasn't been used against ships for many years so this looks like minds attached to the holds of the ships, passing through in some way. this shows a level of sophistication which is beyond that which is normally seen in this environment. certainly beyond that which has been used before. it bears all the same harmonics as we saw a couple of weeks ago when the attacks. we talked about the financial impact in terms of oil prices but to ensure one of these things is not cheap anyway, what will this do to premiums? the joint work committee

which is based here in london already listed the area to make it an area where we had to acknowledge you were going in there before and that would have added an additional premium to the airy and now ships will have to pay an additional premium we would expect. you were there during the iran and iraq war, are we entering a period of similar danger, this is not the first attack of this nature. we are watching with great concern and i wouldn't draw parallels between the state on state war as it was, in the 1980s, but we have a series of attacks and we see no sign declining, but we would: it is for navies to have a few cooler heads because this is a third of the world's oil and gas supply going through this area and if this is cut off in anyway it would have a dramatic effect. would ship

operators or insurance companies start insisting on divers checking holds before you leave anyway? that is being done in some cases already. and what sort of operation is going to be required to ensure the safety of these if these attacks, if this marks the start of a similar bout of attacks, what else can be done? the shipping industry as a service industry and we carry the world's trade and our main concern is the safety a nd trade and our main concern is the safety and security of the seafarers, they are being used as pawns and proxies in this war between various actors in the area. it is the role of the navies and states to maintain the sea lanes open and that is the key thing here, not the commercial industry. it has to be done to our navies. you are very calm sitting here but i imagine there is quite a bit of anger in the industry at the moment. absolutely. there is real concern. these are innocent civilians seafarers, 2025

on board a ship, who are being put at extreme risk and danger when these reckless attacks occur. it is those focus making sure the seafarers are safe and commercials tried every day commercial trade continues on. great to see you, thank you for coming in. more now on the tory leadership contest — let's hear now from another of the mps who was successful in getting through today's secret vote — former brexit secretary dominic raab. he's been talking to our political editor laura kuenssberg who asked him how happy he was with securing 27 of the 313 votes from conservative party mps. i was really grateful for all the support i survived and i'm looking forward to going through to the next round with a strong base to on and rule on the rest of the race and ready to start and looking forward to the first televised debate on sunday and i hope everyone gets involved to have a proper debate on the country. do you really think you can now get to the final two especially because the other

brexiteer, the other big name brexiteer, the other big name brexiteer borisjohnson brexiteer, the other big name brexiteer boris johnson is brexiteer, the other big name brexiteer borisjohnson is so far ahead? there are a lot of candidates with a lot to offer and we are right at the beginning of this race, we haven't really tested the visions and ideas and policies of all the candidates and i think the debate coming up, the bristol on sunday evening is a great opportunity to test the views, vision and policies that we are all talking about so i'm looking to that and i think there has been a slip... would not be your best hope, that borisjohnson slips 7 best hope, that borisjohnson slips ou best hope, that borisjohnson slips up? you know what they say about tory party leadership contest and front runners but i think more importantly for the country, and we had a very quick coronation effectively last time, it is like to ta ke effectively last time, it is like to take yourtime, effectively last time, it is like to take your time, once the adrenaline of the first thropton unzip this contest ebbs a little bit and have a proper contest on the substance and vision and the tv debates are great way of doing at. if other people don't turn up to those tv debates what you think they would say?“ you can't hold your nerve and take the heat of a leadership contest,

what chance under the glare of the lights in brussels? in terms of your own feelings about where the numbers came out, i got a toe considered pulling out? no, of course not, we have a strong base and we are looking forward to the next round. this is round one and we are looking forward to building on the support, particularly given the way the built spell. why do you say that? i think we have a good position to build on solid base we got and make progress and for the rand. it would be quite something for you to get to the final two given that if you think will be the tory party is on leave and remain, your base among brexiteers and boris johnson and remain, your base among brexiteers and borisjohnson is so far out brexiteers and borisjohnson is so farout in brexiteers and borisjohnson is so far out in front as having been brexit‘s cheerleader in chief, do you acknowledge it would be a big upset for you to get to the final two ? upset for you to get to the final two? i certainly recognise i am the underdog but i will be the underdog fighting for the underdog whether it is the worker that hasn't had a pay rise, the work kids from the top

council estate or the british people who have been written off are far too long, this race is that getting started. have you had any conversation at the stage with other candidates about potentially doing some kind of deals, potentially landing supporting aren't i?” some kind of deals, potentially landing supporting aren't i? i am not one for deals, i am one provision making sure this contest is about competing ideas, vision for the country and an optimism that we need to get out right now. president trump has been tweeting again and he's caused quite a ‘splash' this time. he was addressing the reports that he would take foreign information on a rival in the 2020 us election. he wrote: ‘i meet and talk to ‘foreign governments' every day. ijust met with the queen of england, the prince of whales' — note the interesting spelling of wales there — ‘the prime minister of the uk, the prime minister of ireland, the president of france and the president of poland. we talked about ‘everything!” he went on: ‘should i immediately call the fbi about these calls and meetings? how ridiculous! i would never be trusted again'. he also said that his full answer

is rarely played by what he calls the fake news media. well, this image was posted by buzzfeed reporter hazel shearing with reference to trump's now corrected spelling of wales — she wrote ‘first photos in from trump‘s meeting with the prince of whales.‘ people have been forced to leave their homes and roads have been closed in parts of lincolnshire — as more heavy rain has caused a river to burst it‘s banks. seven flood warnings are in place, with more rain expected through this afternoon. our environment correspondent paul murphy is in wainfleet. he updated us on the situation in the area. some part of lincolnshire have had about six weeks worth of rain on a 24—hour period. it has been raining here for about 48 hours pretty much nonstop. this is the result of it. you have floodwater running through the streets here, people sandbagging, what happened here is interesting because there is a river, about 1000 feet from here just over beyond those houses, and

last night at about nine o‘clock it burst its banks. i know it is a cliche we use all the time, that it literally burst its banks. shedding millions of tonnes of water onto surrounding farmland, a lot of it came into this community. there are houses further up there which we have not been able to safely get too but they are under two or three feet of water. one home where i spoke to their had just finished renovating their had just finished renovating the entire house. it was a dream retirement home strip it is now absolutely wrecked, one of the beds on the ground floor is floating around the bedroom, complete devastation. they are facing months in temporary accommodation. the environment agency is essentially saying we are facing many more hours of heavy rainfall here. it is causing disruption to roads, schools, there are schoolchildren over there who have not been able to get out to school. it is causing disruption to the rail services as well, the local line between boston and skegness has been suspended today. it might be suspended until the weekend. you have this picture in lincolnshire, very heavy

downpours, there are several rivers on the highest form of alert. the river sleeping here is on alert. there are engineers assessing the river banks, just to make sure that there are no more vulnerable places where that bank could collapse again and cause even greater problems. quite a state of shock in this community because they haven‘t seen floods like this here in living memory. now it‘s time for a look at the weather with chris fawkes. it isa it is a very familiar with the script. another gene day and more heavy persistent rain. the rain has been coming down in a couple of zones. been coming down in a couple of zones. one been coming down in a couple of zones. one across been coming down in a couple of zones. one across eastern scotland to the far north of england and another area of rain stretching from central southern england to the home counties and threatening parts of east anglia and the east midlands. this heavy rain we are likely to see some further localised flooding conditions and tricky travelling conditions. overnight the rain eases for a time across england and wales. another batch works into western counties of england and wales before spreading to the midlands, central

and southern england and east anglia. rain in scotland moves westwards so wet across the north westwards so wet across the north west of scotland with the rain easing across eastern areas. more rain in the forecast for friday. another unsubtle day. the worst rain pushes east across england and wales followed by heavy showers. a risk of further showers for scotland and northern ireland. another one of those days where no one is guaranteed to stay dry. there will be further dampers around. temperatures coming up just a little.

this is bbc news. our latest headlines. boris johnson says he‘s "delighted" to have won the first round of the conservative leadership contest. three former ministers are knocked out, narrowing the field to seven. andrea leadsom, mark harper, and esther mcvey are all eliminated, after failing to win enough support from colleagues. the pensions secretary, amber rudd, says the race remains open. the fact boris has a good lead amongst mps is as nothing. we start again, it‘s back to zero when it goes to members, then it‘s going to be 16 hustings all across the country and anything can happen. oil prices rise sharply

after two tankers are hit by explosions in a suspected attack in the gulf of oman. almost three quarters of english hospitals miss nhs targets to treat cancer patients quickly enough. sport now on afternoon live with gavin and we‘ve had an update on chris froome‘s condition after that nasty crash. it was a really nasty accident that put chris froome in hospital. the surgeon who operated on him has been speaking today. he said it was a successful operation — no neurological, or head trauma. but froome could be out for several months. froome crashed into a wall at high speed, after a gust of wind blew him off course. he was said to be blowing his nose at the time, losing control of the bike. the force of the impact fractured his pelvis, right femur, and left him with broken ribs and a broken right elbow.

froome was airlifted for surgery after the practice run at the criterium du dauphine. it does mean he‘ll miss the tour de france next month, so can‘t win it for a fifth time. translation: the objective is that he will get back on the bike. top sports stars a lwa ys back on the bike. top sports stars always have a tendency to recover quickly with a strong mental capacity for recuperation so we have high hopes that he will be able to when they get back on the bike to the high level he was before. perhaps some good news for froome when he leaves hospital. froome could be named the 2011 vuelta a espana champion. eight years afterjuan jose cobo was found guilty of an anti—doping violation. froome was runner up to cobo that year. the uci — cycling‘s governing body — confirmed today, that the spaniard used a banned substance — which he could appeal. but should the disqualification be upheld then froome would be promoted as race winner and in line

for a seventh grand tour title. they‘re underway at the us open. tough to call who‘s going to win this one. the last two us opens have been won by brooks koepka. so the american the favourite again. he also won the last major — the us pga last month. koepka has won four of the last eight majors but feels he‘s yet to get the recognition he deserves. tiger woods is used to getting the limelight. he‘s been a big part of the build up again — remember he demolished the field at pebble beach back in 2000. which many regard as the best ever performance at a major. that was the first of three us opens for tiger woods. and he‘s expected to contend again. he won his 15th major

at the masters in april. koepka off much later, at around 9.45pm — just before tiger woods, who‘ll be playing alongside two other former us open champions, jordan spieth and justin rose. the crowd and the pressure and the noise in the light and the music... it all ramps up a little bit in a major but i am here to do myjob. and as much as i will enjoy playing with tiger i will be doing my thing. and when the atmosphere is ramped up like that it forces you to focus a little harder and sometimes that can be a good thing. let‘s ta ke let‘s take a look at the leaderboard. they are under way. usa in front at three under. the spaniard is the man who could cause an upset to the favourites. rory

mcilroy. dustinjohnson, an upset to the favourites. rory mcilroy. dustin johnson, phil mickelson and fleetwood tee off together later. the weather has got the better of the cricket world cup again. the game between india and new zealand in nottingham has been abandoned without a ball being bowled — the third complete washout of the tournament. four games have already been abandoned because of the weather so far — the most of any world cup. and there have been calls from some to introduce reserve days to get more games on. but the england captain isn‘t a fan of the idea. the tournament is quite a long tournament as it is. i think to have reserve tournament as it is. i think to have reserve days in the group stages is too much. i do think later in the tournament they are a necessary but for group stage games, it is part and parcel of being anywhere in the world, the fact it might rain at some stage. morgan also said that

mark wood is an injury doubt for tomorrow‘s match against west indies. he‘s got a sore ankle and will have a fitness test before play tomorrow. joss buttler‘s available again after recovering from bruising. england are currently fourth in the table with four points. the rain has also affected the third and final one day interna ntional between england and west indies women in chelmsford. england were 43 without loss in the 11th over before the rain came. west bromwich albion have appointed slaven bilic as their new head coach. the croatian last managed in england at west ham, where he was sacked in november 2017. his most recent role was in saudi arabia. west brom missed out on promotion to the premier league in the play—offs.

now on afternoon live let‘s go nationwide and see what‘s happening around the country — in our daily visit to the bbc newsrooms around the uk. let‘s go to phil bodmer, who‘s in leeds and is going to be talking about autism and employment. alex lovell is in bristol — she‘s talking about a much loved comedian who is about to open in a play in bath. first we will speak to phil, talk us through this employment issue. autism is a disability that affects the way we perceive the world. it isa the way we perceive the world. it is a condition for life, it is not a disease that can beat cured. —— that could be cured. according to a yougov survey, nearly 70% of employers had concerned about supporting someone with autism. nearly a quarter felt somebody with autism wouldn‘t fit in and people

with autism often experience sensory overload, which can include bright lights and smell which can be overwhelming for some. employers can help by providing a quiet area and ensuring instructions are clear and specific and provide different shifts with people with autism so they have a structure and pattern. we filmed with a couple. declan and john. they talk about the effect a lack of structure can have on somebody with the condition. it feels like it‘s more normal to be unemployed than it is to get employed. i don‘t feel like i‘m never going to get employed like my pa rt never going to get employed like my part i can. i don't like seeing declan upset. i think there is a bit of taboos sometimes in asking for help because if you ask for help it seems like

you are not good enough or people won't take you seriously. the characteristics of autism but va ry the characteristics of autism but vary from that one person to another but in orderfor a diagnosis to be made a person will be assessed as having persistent difficulties with social communication and social interaction and restricted and repetitive patterns of behaviour. we have been filming at a supermarket in york where they run a programme to employ people with autism to cater for their needs and we found out how the opportunity has helped them in their everyday lives. thank you very much, phil. let‘s go to bristol with alex. there‘s something coming up in the theatre royal in bath. yes, jennifer saunders, no less. she is playing the clairvoyant in blithe spirit by noel coward. i wasn‘t sure how much stage acting she had done.

we know how adept she is in the small screen but she took this role saying it was a comedy classic for a woman of a certain age — her words, not ours. she added that if the director richard asked her to be in a play, she would be a fool to turn it down. as we were chatting it seems that being in bath has really swung it. it's swung it. it‘s the extraordinary thing that the second you say you are in a plate people say, oh. then you say in bath they say, oh, we might come and see that. everyone likes a trip to bath. i‘ve got more people coming to bath. i‘ve got more people coming to see this than have almost com pletely to see this than have almost completely me and anything. which we love, because she was in lady windermere is fun in the west end in london. herfather end in london. her father was end in london. herfather was in the end in london. her father was in the air force and was stationed in melksham, not far

from bath. jennifer has fond memories, talking about being driven home from swimming in bath it is vulture smelling of chlorine in the back of the car with her friends, steaming up all the windows. some very nice memories. ok, let‘s go back to the play. what‘s that about? blithe spirit, it centres around a socialite and novelist who invites this eccentric cla i rvoya nt, novelist who invites this eccentric clairvoyant, jennifer, to her house to conduct a seance. he wants to gather material for his new book but it goes wrong because afterwards he is wanted by the ghost of his first wife who is really temperamental. jennifer plays this role and it‘s difficult because it is a role that is very famously played by those who remember the films from yesteryear. margaret rutherford, angela lansbury. i margaret rutherford, angela la nsbury. i asked margaret rutherford, angela lansbury. i asked jennifer whether

it was a gift of a role or whether it‘s actually quite hard to play. the clairvoyant is a psychic medium and she‘s actually surprisingly quite good at it. she is an unlikely sort of character. she‘s very no nonsense but also slightly away with the fairies. eight live performance, it‘s just the fairies. eight live performance, it‘sjust remembering the fairies. eight live performance, it‘s just remembering stuff, you know. you just think, well i remember it all? will they mind? i don‘t think anybody would! it runs for a month. i‘ve got a feeling she‘s going to be brilliant and try to resist the urge to say absolutely fabulous. meeting a huge star. yes. i mean her. another when you owe me. thanks to

you both. if you would like to see any more on any of those stories, you can access them through the bbc iplayer. every weekday afternoon at 4:30pm. an overwhelming majority of students say they support universities being able to warn parents if they have a mental health crisis. the study of 14,000 undergraduates, by the higher education policy institute, suggests more universities should consider asking students permission to alert their families in extreme circumstances. nina nanji reports. the number of university students seeking help for mental health problems has risen sharply. 50% in just five years, according to data gathered by the bbc. now this study of 14,000 undergraduates suggest students want that information to be shared in a crisis. 66% said that, under extreme circumstances,

the university should contact a parent or guardian. while 15% say mental health concerns should be shared under any circumstances. some students do expect complete confidentiality, but this report suggests others want their parents or guardians involved. students want that support from all sides, so they want the support from the university, they want the support from their friendship group for example at university, but they also want to know that those connections that they have got from back home are also being kind of made aware if there are issues going on. the office for students say the survey‘s findings should give serious pause for thought. one silver lining — more students believe their course offers value for money. it comes after a government— commissioned report last month called for a cut in tuition fees in england. but with still fewer than half of students saying they are getting good value for money, this report suggests universities still have more to do. nina nanji, bbc news.

a line of breaking news from the metropolitan police saying that a comment made byjo brand on the programme heresy is being investigated following an allegation of incitement to violence. ajoke about of incitement to violence. a joke about throwing battery acid. the comedian made the remark during the satirical show heresy on tuesday night. she was accused by nigel farage, who has had milkshakes thrown on him, as inciting violence. the bbc said it was not intended to be taken seriously. it is a long—running comedy show where as the title implies panellists make provocative comments. the

metropolitan police say they will be investigating the comments made by jo brand during that programme. anderton park primary school in birmingham has been the focus of demonstrations for the past ten weeks — by parents opposed to their children being taught about lg bt relationships. they say the lessons aren‘t age appropriate. earlier this week birmingham city council secured an extension to an exclusion zone — meaning parents arent allowed to protest directly outside the school gates. the bbc asian network has been at the school all morning speaking to teachers, parents and local lgbt campaigners. the big debate has been

here at anderton park primary school today, talking about equality. there have been protesting outside the school for the last ten weeks, all about the issue of teaching and discussing equality in class and this is something i spoke to her teachers and teachers all about today on the programme. there are teachers who have had to have psychologists brought in to help them deal with the strain of leaving work every day to placards complaining about what they are teaching. i spoke to the head teacher who was actually saying it‘s important to carry on as normal but ensure that equality is a cornerstone of everything that they teach here. we spoke to some governors who are in a tricky position, governors who have children here at the school as well so they are both governors but also parents. one of them said perhaps things have been blown out of proportion and there could have been a bit more dialogue to avoid getting to this stage but the key thing we talked about are some of the positive works that the children are doing here. lessons such as what it means to be a man today. also talking about debating. there is a debate where they can express their opinions in a respectful way. one of the things we took part in today was finding out about the pe schools

sports teams as well. there is no gendered sport. if you are good enough to pay for the football team, you do so regardless of whether you are a boy or girl so it‘s all about quality. so it‘s all about equality. we also did ask the head teacher why there weren‘t protesters here at the school today. sarah clarkson the head teacher said she didn‘t feel comfortable with the protesters on site but i spoke to the lead protester in the week and he raised his objections as to why he thinks teaching equality, in particular lgbt issues, is too young for four—year—olds. ben is here — in a moment he will be telling us what‘s hot and what‘s not in the business news. first a look at the headlines on afternoon live. boris johnson says he‘s "delighted" to have won the first round of the conservative leadership contest. three former ministers are knocked out, narrowing the field to seven. andrea leadsom, mark harper, and esther mcvey are all eliminated, after failing to win enough

support from colleagues. oil prices rise sharply after two tankers are hit by explosions in a suspected attack in the gulf of oman. here‘s your business headlines on afternoon live. as we‘ve been hearing — the tanker explosions in the gulf of oman pushed oil prices up as much as 4%. it‘s the second serious incident in a month involving tanker shipping close to the strategic strait of hormuz. at least one—fifth of the world‘s oil passes through there. sir philip green has thanked landlords and suppliers who backed the deal that saved his retail empire. in an interview with the bbc, he batted away the suggestion the topshop group had been on the point of going bust. shares in majestic wines tumble as the group says it is in "advanced" discussions to sell stores — and the chairman unexpectedly resigns.

pension schemes are big investors in shares. major pensions provider nest plans to go "tobacco—free" across its investments. nest was set up by the government to help deliver automatic enrolment into workplace pensions. since launching in 2010, it has grown into the largest uk master trust and includes 730,000 employers who pay into it for their workers. it has more than £6 billion of assets under its management. how much of that is in tobacco? the scheme‘s exposure to tobacco is currently worth around £40 million. nest said its decision to "quit smoking" was based on the long—term future of the industry, which has been facing falling demand, tougher action by governments

and litigation risks. it estimates it will take up to two years to go tobacco—free. lawrence gosling is editorial director at what investment? good to see you. we will come onto that smoke—free nest pensions story ina that smoke—free nest pensions story in a moment but the big one around todayis in a moment but the big one around today is the oil price. up as much as 4% at one point, and even so, we are still looking at oil ending the week probably lower than it started. it's week probably lower than it started. it‘s kinda fascinating. what we see with these individual terrorism incidents and this is the second we seenin incidents and this is the second we seen in the last couple of weeks, investors get a bit spooked... we should probably say we don‘t know at this stage the cause of it the moment. correct. there is regulation on some of the wire services is to wear to the origin of this comes from but

you are right to say that. more broadly it does disrupt the supply of oil and broadly it does disrupt the supply of oiland a broadly it does disrupt the supply of oil and a significant amount of oil supply the world uses go through there. there is not enough supply foot demand, which explains the price. oil is trading lower than it was a couple of months ago when it was a couple of months ago when it was above $70 against the backdrop of slowing economic growth and some of slowing economic growth and some of the trade wars between china and america. retail doing some interesting things today. tesco results out. subdued sales growth. growing but not at quite the pace it was. majestic wines suspending their dividends. real signs of headwinds in retail. absolutely. it is a tale of two giants on the high street. tesco sails upa

giants on the high street. tesco sails up a bit on this time last year. interestingly, the wholesale business that they bought last year has performed well, up 3%. with majestic it has got itself into a bit of a mess, trying to sell off its high street stores and there is a lot of competition for that from big private equity houses. the chairman unexpectedly quit. the company said it would suspend its dividends, all of which makes nervous investors. speaking of which, i wonder how nervous the tobacco companies will be by that decision by next or will they —— that decision by nest. it is £40 million. i was a member of a nest scheme and i was puzzled that my money was going into contributions into tobacco. i was slightly worried when it was about a business model and not the ethics of

tobacco. business model and not the ethics of to ba cco. if business model and not the ethics of tobacco. if i knew that i might have gone elsewhere. this is the pension scheme for lots of companies. thank you. ftse100 is flat - giving up some of its earlier gains. the spike in the price of oil had lifted shares in energy and oil companies. but the market is being pulled downward by a fall in retail stocks. next and marks and spencer are lower. that‘s all the business news. let‘s update you on the condition of chris froome. the six—hour operation has been described as a success by his team. he suffered a fractured

femur, broken elbow, broken ribs. he was unconscious following the crash. he is awake and doctors say they are pleased with his progress. he will remain in hospitalfor the next few days. he took his hands of his handle by to blow his nose. he was loa n handle by to blow his nose. he was loan into a wall. thousands of critically endangered snails have been released into the wild in bermuda — after a remarkable reversal of fortu nes. the greater bermuda land snail was thought to have died out — but a small colony was discovered living in an alleyway. some were sent to chester zoo — where a successful breeding programme has meant more than four thousand could be returned to their natural habitat. helena briggs has the story. meet the greater bermuda land snail. believed to have become extinct decades ago. a few hardy snails were discovered clinging to life inside plastic bags in this urban alleyway in bermuda. some of the survivors were sent to the uk

for a breeding programme and here at chester zoo, they now have too many keep track of. at last count we had somewhere around 13,000 snails. maybe more than that. they have had many babies since then but they breed quite easily, actually, so they are a good conservation project. as long as they have some nice soil to live in and some nice food. they like sweet potato. now 4,000 snails from the zoo have been taken home to bermuda for release into the wild. they have been set free in a nature reserve where the population will be closely monitored. it is hoped that zoo—bred snails will help rescue this critically endangered species in a rare glimmer of hope in the fight against extinction. the oldest person in the uk has died at the age of 112.

gracejones died in her sleep last friday. born on the 16th of september 1906, grace lived through the reigns of five monarchs and twenty one prime ministers. she lived through two world wars, the sinking of the titanic and all three london olympics. that‘s it from your afternoon live team for today. next the bbc news at five with carrie gracie. time for a look at the weather. here‘s chris fawkes. afamiliar a familiar weather script. another tune day and wore heavy rain. if we look at what has fallen in shropshire is the weekend, a staggering 153 millimetres of rain has been recorded. more around today as well. rain in a couple of areas. a persistent area of heavy rain in eastern scotland and the far north of england with another band putting across central and southern england across central and southern england across towards east anglia and the

home counties. the extra rain clearly not welcome and we have some localised flooding already, getting worse before it gets better in places and tricky travelling conditions as well. during this evening and overnight, the rain across scotland will tend to push westwards and it will ease a little bit but nevertheless more wet weather here. another area of rain developing across western counties of england, spreading into the midlands through the night and threatening east anglia and east england as we head into the first pa rt england as we head into the first part of friday morning. you might wa nt to part of friday morning. you might want to know why the weather has been so rubbish and essentially it is because we are surrounded by high pressure to our west, north and east. this area of no pressure that we would normally travel to scandinavia has been trapped and will probably with us even into next week. looking at the weather picture for friday, rain pushing northwards and eastwards across england and wales. further showers across scotla nd wales. further showers across scotland and northern ireland as

well so it does stay unsettled. there might be a few more brighter spells around which will help lift the temperatures but it is still cool and disappointing for the time of year, with the theme continuing into the weekend. those temperatures picking upjust into the weekend. those temperatures picking up just a into the weekend. those temperatures picking upjust a little bit. here‘s the weather forecast for saturday. we will see another area of rain or showers pushing its way to england and wales, with more downpours for western scotland and further downpours in northern ireland as well. highs of 16 in edinburgh, 19 in london but nowhere is guaranteed to stay dry. a similar theme into sunday with further showers in the forecast but there is a trend for the weather to become a little bit more settled for some of us at least into the middle of the new week.

today at five — boris johnson emerges as the clear frontrunner in the first round of voting in the conservative leadership contest. a total of seven candidates will now go through to the next stage of the leadership race — which will be held next week. andrea leadsom, mark harper, and esther mcvey are all eliminated, after failing to win enough votes — the surviving candidates and their supporters say the race remains open. we are right at the beginning of this week. we haven‘t really tested the visions, the ideas, the policies of all of the candidates. the fact that boris has a good lead amongst mp5 is as nothing. we start again, it's back to zero when it goes to members. we‘ll be asking some of them whether borisjohnson now has