you are. good afternoon. police were called to the london home of borisjohnson and his partner carrie symonds after and his partner carrie symonds after a neighbours reported hearing a loud argument in the early hours of friday morning. metropolitan police say all occupants of a house were

safe and well. this afternoon, the first of a series of hustings events around the country will take place in birmingham. mrjohnson and jeremy hunt, the two surviving candidates for the conservative party leadership, will be questioned by party members and they will vote next month on which man will become their party leader and the next prime minister. our political correspondent eleanor wilkinson was sports. this morning, no sign of borisjohnson at sports. this morning, no sign of boris johnson at the sports. this morning, no sign of borisjohnson at the london flat he shares with his partner, terry symons. the flat police were called to bya symons. the flat police were called to by a neighbour concern for the welfare of a woman inside —— carrie symonds. the couple had been in a relationship since last year, one borisjohnson had relationship since last year, one boris johnson had tried relationship since last year, one borisjohnson had tried to keep private the the headlines for all for all the wrong reasons. a neighbour passed on a recording to the guardian newspaper over an alleged row in the couple's home late on thursday night. it is reported to a woman's voice could be heard saying, get off, and get out

of my flat. she also said she heard a woman screaming. of my flat. she also said she heard a woman screaming. the met police confirmed they had been called by someone concerned confirmed they had been called by someone concerned for the welfare of a female neighbour. they said they attended and spoke to all the occu pa nts of attended and spoke to all the occupants of the address, who were all safe and well. there were no offences or concerns apparent to the officers and there was no cause for police action. but this for the man who wants to be prime minister could not have come at a worse time. this afternoon, the first 16 hustings ta kes pla ce afternoon, the first 16 hustings takes place in birmingham. this morning, his rivals at a separate eventin morning, his rivals at a separate event in london. is boris fit to be leader? no reply but today jeremy hunt said he wants borisjohnson to ta ke hunt said he wants borisjohnson to take part in earlier televised debates. i think we should be doing debates. i think we should be doing debates early and often. if the party wa nts debates early and often. if the party wants him to go out to battle against nigel farage, jeremy corbyn, 27 eu countries, then surely it's not such a big deal to go out

against a friendly foreign secretary. this is a contest which, yes, looks at the policies and vision are both candidates, but it will also look at their characters and questions obit borisjohnson's private life are unlikely to go away. —— about. helen is with me now. the timing of this at the very least is awkward and potentially embarrassing for mrjohnson. yes, it could not have come at a worse time for borisjohnson could not have come at a worse time for boris johnson built could not have come at a worse time for borisjohnson built up in the headlines not for his policies, to do with the leadership campaign, but for his private life. we of course have the start of the second part of the leadership contest this afternoon, the first of the 16 hustings where both borisjohnson and jeremy hunt are going to be facing an audience of tory members, the very people who will be choosing who the next leader is. and of course there will be lots of questions about brexit and the nhs, but taxes, things that matter to

these people. but also for some, not all but some, character will be important and character of the candidate will matter to people when they do decide who becomes the next leader and for boris johnson, they do decide who becomes the next leader and for borisjohnson, his character keeps on coming up. helena wilkinson, our political correspondent, thank you. the foreign office is to send one of its carrie symonds ministers to iran tomorrow to call for an urgent de—escalation of tensions in the region. the news comes after president trump admitted he came within minutes of launching air strikes on iranians targets after the downing of a us military drone this week. our correspondent alan johnson is outside the iranian embassy in central london for us. the united states has not had diplomatic relations with iran for 40 diplomatic relations with iran for a0 yea rs now diplomatic relations with iran for a0 years now and presumably any link between one of its allies and iran and this visit tomorrow it will be potentially very important? potentially, you are right. that attack by the americans, if it had

gone ahead on thursday night, could quite easily have sparked a major confrontation in the gulf. nobody doubts the extraordinary seriousness of the situation. britain is keen to communicate its concerns directly to the so the foreign office minister andrew murrison is being dispatched rapidly between tehran and he will call for urgent measures to de—escalate the situation. we are told he will also discuss what the west regard as iran's malign influence across the middle east issues such as their support for the syrian government in the war there. meanwhile, the war of words and the florid language goes on foot of an iranian army spokesman in tehran this morning said that if america makes a mistake, it will be like firing ona makes a mistake, it will be like firing on a powder keg. there is so much attention that the concern is a misjudgment by the force on the ground may spark an all—out war almost accidentally. that is how serious the situation is. allan

johnston at the iranian embassy, thank you very much. churches could be encouraged to act as safe for young people at risk of becoming victims of knife crime. the plan will be discussed at next month's general synod of the church of england. bigger threat in the impact of knife crime in her parish churches who open their doors to children immediately after school finishes. jayden moody, jodie chesney, and use of mackie, just three out of more than 100 people stabbed to death in the uk this year, many still in their teens. now a london vicar said scenes like these are becoming too familiar and these are becoming too familiar and the church must step in to provide a safe haven that is badly needed. she says churches must be open when the school day finishes. there is less and less opportunity for young people and there is more need for spacesin people and there is more need for spaces in the community where young

people can feel safe and churches, because they are a present in every community, have the opportunity to open their doors and be that a safe space. the reverend has also suggested putting knife amnesty bins in churches to encourage more people to hand in weapons. the church of england will now discuss the proposal at next month's general synod, a new idea in the fight to tackle knife crime. business leaders are calling on the next prime minister to publicly commit to delivering the hs 2 high—speed rail project. more than 20 groups including the cbi, the federation of small businesses and the chamber of commerce said the scheme is running faster links between london and the midlands and eventually northern england is a once ina eventually northern england is a once in a generation opportunity to rebalance the country's economy. the knockout stages of the women's world cup begin today in france. germany play in nigeria and australia take on norway. tomorrow,

england will play cameroon in valenciennes but of our sports correspondent katie gunnell is there. the lionesses have topped their group after three wins and presumably the smart money is on then making it four?|j presumably the smart money is on then making it four? i think you are right. based on rankings, this is the biggest mismatch of the round bottom cameroon art a3 places below england but it won't be a stroll in the park for phil neville's team. cameroon have a physical team and they have a striker in great form who's got a dramatic injury time winner to put them through against new zealand. although england have shown flashes of brilliance in their three wins so far, what they have not shown its consistency across 90 minutes and that is something phil neville has been speaking about and he says there is more to come from his england side. the bigger tests are still to come and i still think there is another 15, 20% from this team. in terms of performance levels. i would say we are in a really good place to attack the last

16. i always think when you come out of the group stages in a major tournament that this is when you have to really start owning your money and enjoying it even more. and start focusing, but it's all about winning. and although england do have that intense focus on winning as phil neville discussed, there is still a relaxed atmosphere in the camp. we have seen a number of the players this morning in valenciennes are out enjoying a coffee. they will be training for softening and as for the city itself, it really doesn't seem the city itself, it really doesn't seem to have embraced the women's world cup in a way that we have not really seen in some of the other cities so far. there are a lot of signs and posters up, you get the feeling there is a women's world cup happening here. when england have played in front of so many empty seats already, you just hope this enthusiasm is going to be reflected in the stands tomorrow. indeed, katie, thank you very much. events a re events are taking place across britain to mark national windrush day, the first in the uk has

formally celebrated the contribution of people from the caribbean in the aftermath of the second world war and that of their descendants. the government has also announced a permanent monument at london's at waterloo station. it is more than 70 yea rs waterloo station. it is more than 70 years since the first of what is known as the wind was generation arrived by the ship the empire windows to help rebuild britain after the second world war. adina campbell reports. one last practice for the schoolchildren in north london. for which they have been preparing performances for a special audience. some of the residents in this care home belong to the windrush generation and have been sharing their stories with their younger guests. hi. where'd come from? i'm from jamaica. do you rememberwhen you from? i'm from jamaica. do you remember when you came? yes, 1959. what was your first day in the uk like? it was all right, i settled

down when i came. the empire windrush brings to britain 500 jamaicans... windrush docked at tilbury port in essex in 19a8. hundreds of passengers from the caribbean who were invited over after the second world war left theirfamilies to after the second world war left their families to start a new life in the uk, taking upjobs in the nhs, armed forces, and other public services. some of these experiences are services. some of these experiences a re reflected in services. some of these experiences are reflected in the group performances at the care home. half £1 million of government funding has been made available for community events all over the uk to celebrate members of the windrush generation and their families. # i don't need nobody... it is hoped these extraordinary stories will help us remember their value be contribution. —— valuable. # all contribution. —— valuable. #all| contribution. —— valuable. # all i need is you. adina campbell,

bbc news. i like that! you can see more on all of those stories on the bbc news channels through the afternoon and the next news on bbc one is at 6:30pm. goodbye. hello.

this is bbc news. i'm shaun ley. lets return to the story now that police were called to the home of the conservative leadership candidate boris johnson and his partner in the early hours of friday morning in london — after a neighbour reportedly heard a noisy row. the guardian newspaper says a neighbour recorded some of the alleged argument in which mrjohnson's partner carrie symonds can be heard saying "get off me". the police say all occupants of the house were safe and well when officers called. a spokesman for mrjohnson has said "no comment". joining me now is tim montgomerie, political commentator who supports boris johnson

and co founder of the website conservative home. it means, tim, of course, that this isa it means, tim, of course, that this is a stage of the campaign you know particularly well. conservative home was set up to get the advice of grassroots tories and is very effective in getting a sense of their mood. how do you think they are likely to react to this story? i think they will be some concern that they may be getting to something of an unending soap opera with borisjohnson. but i think the overall view, certainly, my view, is that until carrie simmons was boris johnson's partner, was to complain directly about conduct, they should be treated as a nonissue. if there was any domestic violence, boris johnson's candidacy would be toast, and would deserve to be, but all we have at the moment is a partially

overheard conversation between two people late at night. the police we re people late at night. the police were called and have been very clear that both people were well, neither party made a complaint. and i think, who in this world hasn't necessarily had a slightly shouted conversation with someone late at night, and wouldn't want other people to be involved in it. unless there a complaint we should join a line under this. the issue, i suppose, under this. the issue, isuppose, it's embarrassing, the timing of it, whatever it turns out to be. but the issueit whatever it turns out to be. but the issue it raises is one that some have had, the concern about boris johnson, which is that question of character. that he is gaffe prone in the sense that, actually, that doesn't matter so much when you are a politician who is a character. his flaws are a politician who is a character. his flaws a re pa rt a politician who is a character. his flaws are part of his appeal. but when you are prime minister, possibly at the most critical time in this country's history for decades, it could be a problem.

it might, but i spent a year following donald trump versus hillary clinton for the times, and again come again and again the newspapers focused on exaggerations, and... itake newspapers focused on exaggerations, and... i take your point, i'm sorry to interrupt, but slightly back to the conservative party, the reason i raise the question is, for example, michael howard sacked borisjohnson and made it very clear this was about moral characteristics. it was about moral characteristics. it was about his honesty, his willingness to tell the truth about things. they have been concerns that flip—flops on issues, says one thing, then a different thing to another. there are claims he has done it on h is two and brexit. there are concerns that when the pressure mounts, he shifts, and that's a problem when you're ina shifts, and that's a problem when you're in a leadership position. in a way it might not be when you're in everyday politician. the point i was trying to make wise, i don't think the average voter is

that interested in the exaggerations, on secondary issues. maybe, they should be. that's a different question. but why voters are stuck with tramp, is he put pro—lifejudges on the are stuck with tramp, is he put pro—life judges on the supreme court, cut taxes and is trying to deliver on what he promised. he is doing the things that matter. that's why i am supporting borisjohnson, he will deliver brexit. he has been committed, no flip—flops, to use your terminology, since he came out four vote lead he has been the most robust supporter of brexit. i want to see the north—south divide, in this country, healed. he will focus on issues like that. surely, the uncertainty, surely we have decided we need h s two, let's get on with it. i put more money into something to link manchester across the pennines. there are ways of healing the

north—south divide without building a railway line that's quite potentially expensive, what value for money we get. business leaders are saying that, actually, you can't have one without the other. just in context. there are plenty of leaders who disagree with borisjohnson on brexit. are you certain he can beat jeremy hunt? or is this a contest.|j am certain of nothing in politics. anything could happen. i would be surprised and disappointed if boris johnson isn't prime minister, but we've all made predictions over the last few years, so i'll be careful about doing any more. tim montgomery, thank you very much. we cross now to central london where jeremy hunt has been speaking, one of the organisers of that event joins me now. thank you for speaking to us this afternoon. i know the event is going on and you need to get back inside. what was your impression of whatjeremy hunt had

to say today. i think he gave a fantastic speech, he came into a room with 300 or more activates, full of energy, and spelt out a clear vision for how the country goes forward as a successful and independent country after brack said. he focused on the issues that all people care about and will continue to care about after brexit, like housing, the green agenda, crime, investment in the future of our country. just on that question, you said he focused on things that will happen after brexit, brexit has to be delivered. i was dragged by one of the things he said, that categorically, they will be no general election until we deliver brexit. that raises the question did he give you any other indication about how this conundrum will be resolved? so far, the conservative prime minister has not been able to. i thinkjeremy hunt has been clear from the beginning, that his approach will involve an attempt to

renegotiate with europe and an attempt to work across the entirety of the parliamentary party to get this issue over the line. we saw in the last leadership election, the five candidates, that all of the conservative party has an understanding that brexit has to happen and will happen. this leadership election, in the months to come, with focus minds on the fa ct to come, with focus minds on the fact that if we don't deliver brexit, we come as a party, will not govern in the future. that is universally understood. what about this story that appeared about borisjohnson, does that give you cause for concern? look, i don't want to read too much into this story. the full facts haven't been published, it's one of those where it could dissipate fairly quickly, and could run on. right now it's too early to say. what about the prospects for mr hunt. ina what about the prospects for mr hunt. in a sense it is not a bad situation for him to be in, because eve ryo ne situation for him to be in, because everyone treats borisjohnson as the frontrunner and says it is his to lose, sometimes it takes the

pressure offjeremy hunt. does he have the capacity to feel that space? he is not that well—known a figure in public, at least. i thinkjeremy hunt has a really good opportunity, because he has a month now, 16 hustings, to craft his own narrative, his vision for the future of the country. if you are boris, and you are the favourite, you have more to lose over the course of a month worth of campaigning than you have if you are the underdog. people keep writing jeremy hunt off, he is the foreign secretary, was the health secretary, securing one of the biggest investments in the nhs in recent memory. this is a competent, professional politician, the idea that this is a foregone conclusion is not the case. the obvious question arising from this, if you have a lot of the candidates, who by the time they came toa candidates, who by the time they came to a conference were no longer candidates and had been knocked out, sajid javid and agger led some, esther mcvey talking this afternoon,

did you invite borisjohnson? we did, yes. we extended an invite to all the leadership candidates. we are delighted that sajid javid, andrea leadsom and estimate they have agreed to come today. it's a wonderful testament to the strength of our parliamentary party that we have so many capable and diverse candidates putting themselves forward. it gives me every confidence that whoever winds this election will have the people around them to form a formidable cabinet and go forward and deliverfor this country. is there any indication of why he didn't want to take part? i believe it was a scheduling conflict. there is hustings in birmingham later. butjeremy hunt is going to that, so presumably we've got a good train service? all i am asking... i can't explain why some candidates came, and some didn't. we were told there was a diary conflict. we were

fortu nate there was a diary conflict. we were fortunate with jeremy there was a diary conflict. we were fortunate withjeremy hunt, he had been on the agenda since february. he was always coming to speak it. the timing is aligned that he was able to do that. thank you very much, we should let you get back to the conference, i hope it goes well. thank you for your time. the foreign office has announced that one of its ministers will travel to iran tomorrow to raise concerns about the country's threat to breach the terms of its nuclear accord. the government says andrew murrison will call on senior irani officials for an "urgent de escalation" of tensions in the region. it comes as president trump has said he is not looking for war with iran, but that if it did happen it would lead to "obliteration". iranian forces shot down an american surveillance drone on thursday and mr trump ordered three air strikes in response. earlier i spoke to a representative, but whether he believes donald trump ‘s account that he didn't attack iran because it wouldn't been

proportionate. certainly, that is a viable explanation. at the same time, you have to bear in mind that the americans were also concerned because there are many american personnel that are also extracted now. so it is conceivable that iran could have retaliated with rocket attacks, with american personnel being at large. so whilst president champs's action has diffused the situation —— president trump's of action, the reaction has increased tensions and possibilities for further reaction down the line. u nless further reaction down the line. unless some sort of sanity prevails. you use the word sanity, one of the things that struck me, is that iran and the usa have had no diplomatic relations for a0 years. that must be, kind of, globally one of the almost unprecedented, for a major superpower, america or britain, and

a country that is pivotal in the region. yes, the iranian government, through its sloganeering, and i have to say slogans that are a0 years old, which the present government and system has inherited. it cannot use, it cannot discard at the same time. you can't go from being the great satan to our best mate. it is only working against the interests of the iranian people and nation. they have to get out of the system, once for sure. we are, using bad language, the little satan, but we do have relations. what is the potential of this visit by the minister at the foreign office to tehran tomorrow. coming on the back of visits from other eu ministers and the japanese prime minister, the idea is to try to encourage some

kind of dialogue between iran and the united states. iran is caught in a bad situation, the economy is suffering and the people are suffering, these cannot be alleviated until such time that the sanctions are removed. sanctions cannot be removed unless there is dialogue and communication with the united states. briefly, if iran were to do something like release nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe as a humanitarian gesture, she is on hunger strike and has a young daughter. that would be a useful pr move for the iranians? to add to the division? it could be seen as a good pr move, it could be seen by some people, inside iran, as a sign of weakness. these are things to consider. the point is that going to the table with the americans, something that the supreme leader of iran has been relu cta nt to the supreme leader of iran has been reluctant to do is because of iran's a weakness, but right now, refusing the offer that has been made could

bea the offer that has been made could be a lost opportunity. iran, if they we re be a lost opportunity. iran, if they were to accept negotiations at this time, they would be accepting at a time, they would be accepting at a time when they are in a position of relative strength, on the back of the events that have happened in the last few days. that was a little earlier. i think you will like this, mostly, it's the weather, with nick. nicely timed for the start of the weekend, high pressure and settled for most of us. many of us started the day like this. this was cambria earlier. this guy stay like this throughout, with a slight chance of an isolated shower. the vast majority stays dry, warm as well. this is the big picture. low pressure eventually comes in this weekend come into monday. high pressure is in control. that's why we are expecting a fine saturday because the bulk of the uk. there is cloud across eastern parts of england, it may produce isolated

showers and the odd shower in northern scotland. cloudy so far in northern ireland with sunny spells. 18 to 21 degrees, 22 in cardiff and london. high pollen levels in england and wales. this evening, barbecues are in good shape. showers in northern scotland and variable cloud. just hints with outbreaks of rain getting closer to the far south—west of england. not as chilly as it was last night. back to the big picture, part two of the weekend, this area of low pressure gets closer. this is where the front is thrown towards the south—west of the uk. high pressure still in control for now, but after a fine start increasing cloud across the uk. the breeze is starting to pick up. one ortwo uk. the breeze is starting to pick up. one or two showers, the odd thundery one, but the main area of rain, just edging across south—west england, south—west wales, into northern ireland. some of this turns heavy and thundery in places, perhaps a little bit warmer though, and a touch cooler, up to 25 celsius

in warmer parts, but more humid areas of south—west england. here is the rain on sunday into morning, northern ireland seeing some rain. big varieties of rain totals possible here, certainly in the heavier based some of us could see a lot of rain, in a fairly short space of time. the potentialforflooding and disruption into monday, as that all pushes northwards for a wet monday in scotland, up to 100 millimetres on higher ground. the potential for disruption, a storming start to the weak, heart as well, 31 celsius is passable in hotspots, much more humid as well, with not eve ryo ne much more humid as well, with not everyone getting that heat.

hello, you're watching bbc news. the headlines this hour, police were called to the home of the conservative leadership candidate borisjohnson conservative leadership candidate boris johnson and his conservative leadership candidate borisjohnson and his partner in the early hours of friday morning after a neighbour heard