this is bbc news i'm ben brown. the headlines at 12: there's continued focus on borisjohnson's private life, after he failed to answer questions at a tory party leadership debate about why police were called to his house following reports of a row. reports say the us launched a cyber—attack on iranian weapons systems on thursday as president trump pulled out of air strikes on the country. iran nor other hostile actor confuse this with weakness. president erdogan votes in a re—run of the istanbul mayoral election that has become a test for turkish democracy. stoking international tension — researchers detail a russian

campaign to put fake content on facebook and twitter. click talks to the winner of a prestigious global learning prize about how they are helping children with maths and literacy in some of the world's poorest countries. hello, good afternoon. the neighbour who called police after overhearing a row between boris johnson and his girlfriend has said he had feared for their safety. tom penn, who is 29, defended his decision to give a recording of the incident to a newspaper, saying that someone likely to become prime minister should be accountable. the story continues to dominate the front pages of the papers today. our political correspondent nick eardley says it is clear mrjohnson does not want to talk about the incident.

the argument his team—mate because he has kept his private life private and that won't change, but something that is again splashed across the front pages of the newspapers this morning and with questions still unanswered, quite frankly. i think more fuel has been put on the fire by liam fox, the international trade secretary, who is urging mrjohnson to give an explanation. i think it's always easier to give an explanation but again, and the key thing is that how you get onto the issues. what we can't have is it being a distraction from explanations about wider policy and where we to go and when. a suggestion from one ofjeremy hunt's main cabinet backers that this is distracting from the policies that the candidates would much rather be talking about.

let's briefly remind ourselves, borisjohnson was asked about this repeatedly yesterday at a hustings event in birmingham. let's listen to a segment of that interview. just to be clear, you won't make any comment at all on what happened last night? i think that is pretty obvious! applause. 0k. but, look, you know, i've sat where you sat, i understand the responsibilities. i wouldn't have spent the first five minutes on it if you answered the question. i did answer it. let's move on. that was boris johnson yesterday at the hustings in birmingham being asked about it. he wasn't saying very much about this whole row, but what about his supporters? his actual team, the people around him, aren't saying a great deal. if you have a look on twitter, some of the mps who are backing him are quite clearly saying that they don't think that this

guardian story is legitimate. i should point out the man who gave that recording to the guardian, tom penn, said he thought he was in the public interest for it to be out there and he only got involved because he was worried about the safety of the people in the flat shared by borisjohnson and his girlfriend, carrie symonds. many boris johnson supporters insisting he doesn't have questions to answer about this because it is a private matter but some of his surrogates have been suggesting that it is of public interest, let's listen. the police were called to an incident and what did they say? they said everybody was safe, everybody was well, there was no concerns that the officers had and there was no cause for any further action. given that is what the police have said and it is clearly a private incident, you and i weren't there, i think we should leave it at that. that is the view of the johnson camp. the wider question is what impact will this have on the leadership contest? the question of character

is crucial to this. you can'tjust remove somebody‘s life from the campaign to be the prime minister. jeremy hunt, his rival, has made clear he thinks character is important in this. he said character is something that should be scrutinised in televised debates and around the country. team johnson want to move on from this and to talk about other things but i suspect that will be easier said than done because there are many who are saying there are big questions about boris johnson's character. there has been some opinion polling, not polling of the crucial electorate, which is the conservative party membership, who will be voting between the two main men? boris johnson is the favourite. i think a lot of people have thought up until now that mrjohnson has one foot in the door at number 10.

the mail on sunday has polled conservative voters to see what they think of the last few days and interesting to see, since that story broke on friday about this incident at mrjohnson‘s flat, the lead he has over jeremy hunt with conservative members, this poll suggests has been reduced. a long way to go in this. still four weeks. it's not until the week beginning the 22nd ofjuly that we know the new prime minister. a couple of weeks until the ballot papers go out to conservative members across the country. so whether this will still be a big issue in a fortnight‘s time, we will have to wait and see but quite clearly for the moment, a lot of pressure on boris johnson's camp. it's interesting, thejohnson camp have been keeping him, i think it's fair to say, on the whole away from the media in the last few days and weeks and limiting his appearances. because, it is argued, that he is quite an unpredictable character and, i guess, this sort of incident that we have heard about over the weekend is exactly

what the johnson team feared? the joke you hear around westminster a lot at the moment is the only man that can stop borisjohnson becoming prime minister is boris johnson himself. you're absolutely right. how often have we seen borisjohnson answering questions, you saw an example there? he's done one interview, he had one press conference when he launched his campaign and was on that televised debate. but there is a sense with a lot of people out there, that we want to hear more from boris johnson. our political correspondent talking to mea our political correspondent talking to me a little earlier on. the us national security advisor, john bolton, has warned iran that it must not misinterpret president trump's decision to call off the air strikes. speaking ahead of talks with israel's prime minister, mr bolton said iran's continuing nuclear programme and threats of aggression were "not signs of a nation seeking peace." neither iran nor any other hostile actors should mistake us prudence and discretion for weakness.

no one has granted them a hunting license in the middle east. we expect that the new sanctions president trump referred to in preparation for some weeks, will be announced publicly on monday. stay tuned. joining me now is the bbc persian special correspondent, kasra naji. thank you forjoining us. where do you see this going next? president trump you see this going next? president tru m p clearly you see this going next? president trump clearly pulled back from the brink the other day that his military action by the united states still on the table? apparently, according to him it is still on the table. there are fears the americans are now looking for some kind of military action against some targets in iran that are deemed to be proportionate to what the iranians

did day few days ago, shooting down the american unmanned aircraft. so, what's that target might be, i think they are probably working on that and will decide what to do. what they seem to be suggesting is that they seem to be suggesting is that the attacks should not entail loss of life on the iranian side. so i presume they are working on that. and as we have heard, there have been effectively cyber warfare in this conflict? that is right. a report from the washington post says that apparently the us cyber command received a go—ahead from the president to attack iran's computer system attached to its missile systems. and according to the washington post, it did cripple these systems that are attached to

missile launchers and rocket launchers. we have no other information about that. iranians are not saying anything. the iranian news agency, which is close to iran's revolutionary guards, they are saying that they don't have any information whether this attack has taken place and if so, what impact it has had on the iranians systems but it says it could also be a blast from the american side to divert attention from the humiliating impact of this downing of the unmanned aircraft. and underlying this whole conflict really is the situation in iran, the sanctions that have increased pressure on the economy. a lot of people in iran restive, angry with the authorities, with their government. is the government under real pressure now, do you think, and in some ways does

welcome this kind of conflict with the united states as a distraction from all the economic problems there are? yes, john boltonjust mentioned they are thinking of major new sanctions to announce on monday. already, iran is under huge amounts of us sanctions and this is crippling iran's economy. it cannot go on for much longer. i give it probably two, three or four months for iran to basically get to a very desperate position. what would happen then? that is it, nobody knows. when the economy gets to that point, when the government cannot feed its people, then you would have to find a way out. what that option is is not clear. there are hardliners in iran who i'm sure i thinking, 0k, a conflict with the us mightjust do the trick by diverting

attention to an enemy outside the country and blame everything on the americans and see what happens. all right, good to talk you. thank you for your time. let's hear more on the reports we just heard. the cybersecurity expert emily taylor says these types of attacks are becoming a part of countries' toolkits. it sort of sits alongside the more traditional capabilities. what is interesting here is not so much that the us launched, allegedly launched the us launched, allegedly launched the cyber attack, but they have claimed credit for it. there are many incidents where it is thought that active cyber measures have been used, but states have kept quiet and thatis used, but states have kept quiet and that is one of the aspects of cyber

that is one of the aspects of cyber that makes it so attractive to states, that you can inflict potential damage without being identified. and without causing any casualties, i suppose, identified. and without causing any casualties, isuppose, which identified. and without causing any casualties, i suppose, which is another attraction? well, it all depends on where you draw the line. last month, we saw in israel allegedly in response to hamas cyber attacks, they actually bombed hamas installation. that shows how quickly things can escalate, even if you think that this is a sort of fairly clea n way think that this is a sort of fairly clean way of responding. states have to, they have various options and they have to seek a proportionate response to the attacks that the us have been worried about, and so cyber is part of that toolkit. we know there have been escalating tensions between the two countries in the last few days and weeks, what sort of damage do you think this

might have done to iran? it is difficult to say at this time because the reports are so early. however, i think, because the reports are so early. however, ithink, you know, the iran nuclear enrichment programme has been a source of concern in the west for years. ten years ago, there was an attack on nuclear installations allegedly by the us and israel in iran, and all of these, they can knock back capability by 18 months in that previous case. however, states who launch cyber attacks have to also watch their own back because nobody plasma cyber defences are perfect, even the us. that helps to explain why the us has perhaps been so worried about 5g roll and things like that, because they don't want the state to have access to their critical infrastructure and do, and have the same sort of tactics done u nto have the same sort of tactics done

unto them. do you think the united states are unto them. do you think the united states a re pretty unto them. do you think the united states are pretty good at this sort of cyber warfare? they are pretty good at it but it is always easier to attack than defend in cyberspace. also, cyber attacks are not like a bomb that blows up and does its damage. they are lines of code that can then be copied and used in other circumstances so a different type of fallout in the cyber world, which is that your exploit end up in the hands of your enemies and used against you. this is not a risk—free type of approach. even if it means that you don't have to deploy troops on the ground, it can lead to an escalation and you can end up being harmed by your own weapons. this has been seen time seen time and time again. emily taylor there, cyber security expert talking to me earlier on. the headlines on bbc news: to me earlier on. there's continued focus on borisjohnson's private life after he failed to answer questions at a tory party leadership debate about why police were called to his house following reports of a row.

reports say the us launched a cyber—attack on iranian weapons systems on thursday as president trump pulled out of air strikes on the country. president erdogan votes in a re—run of the istanbul mayoral election that has become a test for turkish democracy. sport now and for a full round—up from the bbc sport centre, here'sjohn acres. hello, thank you we start with football. england take on cameroon later in the last 16 of the women's world cup in france. cameroon are the lowest ranked side left in the competition, but the england manager, phil neville, says they will pose a threat his team "has not experienced". the game kicks off at a.30pm and it's live on bbc one and radio 5 live. former england keeper rachel brown finnis is part of the commentary team in valencienne.

if we are talking about england stars, ellen white has been their top scorer so far this season. that linkup play between nikita parris and lucy bronze has been world class and lucy bronze has been world class and that is something to watch out for. beth mead down the left—hand side has also been amazing and we have a young keira walsh who has been the pivotal player in front of the back four for england been the pivotal player in front of the back fourfor england in midfield. the girls have not really admittedly got going to full throttle yet so if you're watching tonight, i'd like to see them stamp their authority on this, go full out and get lots of goals tonight. good luck to the lionesses. in the men's game.. after being booed during their opening two matches of the copa america, brazil responded in style against peru. the hosts and eight—time champions won 5—0 in sao paulo. but have a look at this. liverpool's roberto firmino scoring this bizzare goal, capitalising on the goalkeeper‘s error before providing a "no—look" finish. let's have a look at that finish again.

that is spicy, showboating, isn't it? chelsea's willian was also on the score sheet to see brazil top their group and advance to the quarter—finals. also a brilliant finish. onto cricket. one match in the cricket world cup today and it comes at lord's, where south africa are playing pakistan. they're currently 8th and 9th in the table, so both sides are desperate for a win. pakistan won the toss and chose to bat first. they're currently 119—2. ball—by—ball commentary on radio 5 live sports extra. virat kohli has been fined 25% of his match fee for "excessive appealing" during india's world cup victory over afghanistan. the indian skipper has also had one demerit point added to his disciplinary record after he was ruled to have approached umpire aleem dar in an aggressive manner. kohli has admitted the offence and accepted the sanction proposed by the match referee. andy murray has reached the doubles final at queen's only five months after having career—saving hip surgery.

the two—time wimbledon champion and his partner, feliciano lopez, had to play their quarter and semifinals back—to—back. they went through in three sets against the third seedsjohn peers and henri kontinen and will play britain's joe salisbury and american rajeev ram in the final today. i didn't know what to expect, and obviously we had a tough draw as well. top seeds in the first match, and i didn't have high expectations at all. it's going to be a busy day for lopez as he's also in the final of the singles. he beat the 18—year—old canadian felix auger—aliassime in straight sets, before playing those two doubles matches with murray. he'll face frenchman gilles simon, who beat daniil medvedev in the other semi—final. you can watch all the action on bbc two from 1:20pm.

two britons are contesting the wheelchair final right now. . . these are live pictures from queen's, where alfie hewett is a set up against his doubles partner gordon reid. it's currently 5—2 in the second. hewitt leading by one set to love. you can watch it now on the bbc sport website and app. lewis hamilton will look to strengthen his grip on the drivers championship at today's french grand prix. the world champion leads his tea m prix. the world champion leads his team mate valtteri bottas by 29 points going into the race and will have the advantage once again, as he sta rts have the advantage once again, as he starts from pole position. valtteri bottas second. sebastian vettel back in seventh. you can listen to live commentary on bbc radio five live and on the bbc sport website at 2:10 10pm. that is all your support for now. more in the next hour. thank you, john. five people have been arrested as part of a fraud investigation

following the collapse of patisserie valerie. the high street bakery chain collapsed in january, with the loss of 900 jobs. here's our business correspondent katy austin. it was later bought out of administration by another firm that says it wants to revamp the brand but as part of that rebrand, 900 people lost their jobs. but as part of that rebrand, 900 people lost theirjobs. that followed the discovery of a black hole in their accounts, which was eventually revealed to be about £91; million. back in october last year, one arrest was already made and that was chris marsh, they form finance minister of patisserie valerie. this isa minister of patisserie valerie. this is a serious probe into what happened, how the chain collapsed as it did. today, they confirmed to me that on tuesday and part of a joint operation with hertfordshire, leicestershi re operation with hertfordshire, leicestershire and the metropolitan

police in london, five further people were arrested and questioned also in into action with this probe. they haven't said exactly who those people are and exactly what they have been arrested for. 0k, katie, for the moment, thank you. millions of residents of turkey's biggest city, istanbul, are voting in a re—run of the election to choose a new mayor. the opposition candidate, ekrem imamoglu, narrowly won the vote in march, but the result was annulled after complaints by the governing ak party. critics of the president, recep tayyip erdogan, himself a former mayor of istanbul, have accused him of pressurising turkey's election authorities. the north korean leader, kim jong—un, has received a personal letterfrom us president donald trump, according to state media. mr kim praised the letter as "excellent" and said he would "seriously contemplate the interesting content".

earlier, our correspondent laura bicker gave me this update from seoul. kim jong—un was pictured on the front of the north korean state newspaper, reading the letter from donald trump and he said he would contemplate the interesting content of that letter. could it be, for instance, that donald trump has come up with another proposal? certainly, the timing is interesting, donald trump is due to visit asia later this week, firstly at the g20 in osaka and then he's coming here to seoul to meet with president moonjae—in for talks about the korean peninsula situation. it's no secret, the talks between the united states and north korea have stalled since that summit in hanoi, where both sides failed to reach a deal. there have been very few talks between the two sides, but there have been letters between the two leaders. i think the interesting thing for us here is can these lovely letters, a beautiful letter, as donald trump

declared, from kim jong—un, and now an extraordinary letter to kimjong—un from donald trump, can those letters be turned into actual meetings, and can those meetings be turned into a deal? laura bicker reporting there. researchers say they've uncovered a large—scale campaign to plant fake content on twitter and facebook. the atlantic council, a us think—tank, says the material originates in russia. gareth barlow reports. britain spying on america. anti—immigrant sentiment in germany. the involvement of irish paramilitaries in the death of a former russian spy. serious stories, all of them fake. the campaign on 30 online platforms was designed to stoke international tension. researchers from the atlantic council say it originated in russia. most of the posts failed to gain traction, but with russia repeatedly accused of trying to destabilise

democracies, the latest revelations will surely cause further alarm. moscow has repeatedly denied using the internet to spread fake news and also alter public opinion. but politicians in europe and also in the united states say the kremlin is guilty of trying to influence elections. in 2017, fake news was made word of the year. it's a phrase that has become synonymous with elections, the internet and also with russia. the latest campaign used scores of accounts in multiple languages and although its impact was limited, it once again highlights the challenge facing social media providers and governments to separate news that is real from news that is not. gareth barlow, bbc news. sir mick jagger has proved he still has the moves, even after major surgery. he made an energetic return to the stage in chicago last night, just a few months after having a heart valve replacement.

the rolling stone's no filter tour was postponed in april to allow the frontman to recover, and judging by these pictures, he seems fighting fit once more. look away now if you don't have a head for heights or extreme sports, as the portuguese island of san miguel plays host to the fourth round of the cliff diving world series. 2a athletes have been taking part leaping from rocks and platforms on the volcanic island in the azores. australian diver rhiannan iffland celebrated winning her fifth world series title. well done to her. let's check out the latest weather prospects with nick miller. hello. after such a lovely start to the weekend, things not so straightforward today.

many noticed more cloud compared to yesterday. whilst most will stay dry during daylight hours, a weather system is coming to the south—west bringing some rain. as that feeds northwards tonight, there could be some torrential, thundery downpours. but it is across parts of south—west england, wales and northern ireland that we get the biggest cloud, the breeze picking up on some outbreaks of rain gradually moving further north and east. elsewhere, just some hazy sunshine to be had. whilst many are dry, north of the central belt, a warmer day for east anglia and across south—east england, a few spots come into the mid 20s. north sea coast with more of a breeze, very high pollen in england and wales. the rain moving northwards tonight, north wales and north england at the greater risk of seeing torrential downpours, maybe 20—50 millimetres. there could be some disruption. all that feeds into scotland as the night goes on, the rain heavy towards the east and a very wet start to monday, particularly across

north—eastern parts of scotland. during monday, there will be a dry, cloudy start for many back showers and storms start to break out again. in southern england, the midlands, northern england and north—east england, feeding back towards eastern scotland, again, these areas at greater risk of seeing some disruptive downpours. a risk of flash flooding, hail, frequent lightning. warmest in east anglia and south—east england but very humid with the warmth here. as we go through monday night, still some wet weather in scotland. we could see another area of torrential downpours with frequent lightning working up south—east england. and on tuesday, some showers and storms break out but by no means everywhere. there will be some hazy sunshine here and there, warmth and humidity as well. soa there, warmth and humidity as well. so a very active weather pattern to start the week. looks like it turns quieter later in the week, high pressure becoming more dominant, tapping into some hot air becoming established across continental europe. southern and western parts

of the uk in particular going into next weekend, temperatures could be soaring, some spots may be even the low 30s. it is already very warm where the england lionesses are in action this afternoon. that is your focus. —— forecast.

good afternoon. there's continued focus on borisjohnson's private life this lunchtime, after he failed to answer questions at a conservative leadership debate about why police were called to his house following reports of a row.

his supporters — including the former cabinet minister liz truss — say he should bejudged on his policies not his personal life. but detractors, like international development secretary liam fox — who's backing jeremy hunt — said today mrjohnson should have given an explanation of what happened. here's our political correspondent nick eardley. often in the headlines, this time for the wrong reasons. after police we re for the wrong reasons. after police were called to the flat boris johnson shares with his girlfriend, mrjohnson has been reluctant to explain. i don't think they want to hear about that kind of thing applause but this senior tory who is backing mrjohnson's leadership rival said in explanation would be sensible. it's always easier to give an explanation, but i think the key thing is then how you get on tv issues. what we can't have is it

being a distraction from explanations about why the policy. mrjohnson's team say he has never a nswered mrjohnson's team say he has never answered questions about his private life. his supporters say we should move on. the police were called and what they say? they said everybody was safe and well, there was no concerns the officers had and there was no cause for any further action. given that's what the police said and it's a private incident, we should leave it at that. the front runner to be prime minister is no stranger to controversy. scotland's first minister suggested he was racist for comments he's made in the past like comparing women wearing the muslim failed to letterboxes. borisjohnson has the muslim failed to letterboxes. boris johnson has made the muslim failed to letterboxes. borisjohnson has made a fairly racist comments, people prepared to make comments like that can't suddenly throw their hands up in horror and say they appear to be racist as a result of it. the first thing we need to do is get brexit done. at the heart of the leadership

contest a re done. at the heart of the leadership contest are questions about brexit. both sides made their case at the hustings in birmingham yesterday. liam fox suggested some of boris johnson's claims about what would happen if we leave without a deal are wrong. mrjohnson's supporters say their man can deliver. we need a leader with the determination to follow through, go through to the sist follow through, go through to the 315t of october, the leave, preferably with a deal but without a deal if necessary. he will be asked many more questions over the next few weeks but for now he's the man to beat. nick is here with me. the person who made this recording and gave it to the guardian has been defending that decision. that's right, a man called tom penn who has said his sole concern at the time was for the welfare of the people in the flat. he said he gave the recording to the guardian simply because he thought it was in the

public interest. that someone who wa nts to public interest. that someone who wants to be prime minister should be held responsible for their behaviour, in his words. it's clear mrjohnson doesn't want to talk about this, he refused to do so yesterday. his team say he doesn't talk about his private life and isn't going to start now. we heard liam fox suggesting there should be some explanation. the simple reason is conservatives would rather be talking about policy and about what they want to do in government. the problem is that we've seen time and time again mrjohnson's personal life and his character coming into question. the question is whether that will happen again. thank you. reports in the us say america launched a cyber attack on iranian weapons systems on thursday, as president trump cancelled air strikes on the country. several sources, including the washington post, said the attack disabled computer systems controlling rocket and missile launchers.

the action was in response to the shooting down of a us drone in the strait of hormuz last week. a senior british foreign minister has arrived in tehran today for talks amid growning tensions between iran and the west. jane frances—kelly reports. america appears to have used cyberspace rather than airpower to retaliate against iran's elite military forces. us media reports that the online operation was designed to cripple weapons systems like this, used by the islamic revolutionary guard to shoot down an american drone last thursday. the wreckage was later put on display by tehran. it came as president trump publicly declared he had pulled back from an air strike on iran because it would cause a loss of life. what it has to do with, very simply, is the fact is we are not going to have iran have a nuclear weapon, and when they agree to that,

they are going to have a wealthy country, they are going to be so happy, and i'm going to be their best friend. i hope that happens. but tensions remain high. the downing of the drone comes after a series of attacks on tankers travelling through the busy shipping lanes of the gulf, which washington has blamed on iranian forces. mr trump pulled out of the iran nuclear deal last year and has announced new sanctions will begin on monday. a british foreign office minister meeting with diplomats in tehran today has called for a lessening of tensions. within days, iran is likely to start breaching some technical limits of the agreement. this puts pressure on european leaders, including germany's chancellor, who remains committed to it. translation: i say that the political solution should not just be a hope but it should be worked towards with the utmost seriousness, because i believe it should only be a political solution. mr trump is using both the stick and carrot.

he is piling on the pressure while offering the hand of friendship. and so far iran has shown little inclination to bow to his will. the north korean leader has said he's received a personal letter from donald trump. kim jong—un said he would seriously contemplate the "excellent" and "interesting" content and he saluted the "extraordinary" courage of the american president, according to reports on state media. talks to stop north korea's nuclear programme remain stalled after the failure of the hanoi summit in february. people in istanbul are heading back to the polls for a re—run of the mayoral election that has become a test of the popularity of president erdogan and turkish democracy. the first vote in march was annulled by the election authorities after the president's party candidate lost — the government then claimed irregularities in the vote.

our correspondent mark lowen is in istanbul for us. mark, how important is this vote today? this is much more than a local election, it's a pivotal test for president erdogan, the key figure on the world stage on everything from european security to syria. this is the city he once ran as mayor and propelled him to national power. whoever wins istanbul wins turkey, he said. he may come to regret that statement because if the polls prove correct and he loses tonight, it would start to prompt talk of if this is perhaps the beginning of the end for him, the end of his political rise over the last 25 yea rs. political rise over the last 25 years. the opposition has tapped into the widespread desire among its supporters will change with a positive, optimistic message. this isa positive, optimistic message. this is a watershed moment for turkey,

this crucial country and its most powerful leader of modern times. five people have been arrested as part of a fraud investigation following the collapse of patisserie valerie. the high street bakery chain collapsed in january, with the loss of 900 jobs, after a £91; million black hole was discovered in its accounts. football — and england play cameroon later in the last 16 of the women's world cup. the lionesses finished top of their group, but manager phil neville said cameroon poses a threat the team "has not experienced yet". if england win they're through to the quarter finals. you can see coverage of that match on bbc one and that is from apm. that's it for now. the next news on bbc one is at 6:35 this evening. until then, have a good afternoon.

hello, again. sir malcolm rifkind has said that borisjohnson has made an error of judgment by has said that borisjohnson has made an error ofjudgment by refusing to a nswer an error ofjudgment by refusing to answer questions about why police we re answer questions about why police were called to his partner's flat. a neighbour said he raised the alarm after hearing roy out of concern for their safety. he has defended its decision to pass an audio recording to the guardian newspaper, insisting that someone aiming to be prime minister should be held to account.

i spoke to sir malcolm earlier on today. i think boris johnson has made an error of judgment. today. i think boris johnson has made an error ofjudgment. if you are in the running to be the next prime minister and the police are called to your house, you can get away with no comments. i think he should not have spent a lot of time detailing the details, butjust say that he had a row. if he had said that he had a row. if he had said that it would have been enough, but sang no comments implies it is none of your business, and it is the business of the public to know why the police have been called to his property. some of his supporters are saying that the neighbours who recorded this and then passed it on toa recorded this and then passed it on to a national newspaper, the guardian, that wasn't the clever thing to do. maybe it was, maybe it wasn't, that is for them to explain.

they knocked on the door three times, if that is true. if you hear a mini riot going on, if you knock on the door and you don't hear a nswe rs , on the door and you don't hear answers, you do get worried. there are questions about mrjohnson because my temper. one of his biographers who work with them quite a few years ago said this is typical of him. he has quite a short fuse, quite a temper. is that relevant? if you are at the prime minister trying to renegotiate our brexit deal in brussels, with that come into play? i wouldn't read read too much into that. gordon brown had a furious temper, it wouldn't disqualify you from being prime minister. for boris johnson, this isjust one of from being prime minister. for boris johnson, this is just one of a whole host of issues that have opened up the question as to whether he has the question as to whether he has the capability, the personality to handle thejob the capability, the personality to handle the job of prime minister. i work with margaret thatcher and john

major, they didn't have much in common, but one thing they did was the ability to absorb vast amounts of information, to work incredibly ha rd of information, to work incredibly hard supervising not just of information, to work incredibly hard supervising notjust one government department but the whole spectrum of government, knowing what was going on, providing leadership, providing strategic direction and thatis providing strategic direction and that is what i look for in a prime minister and i think the country does as well. some people have suggested that boris might be more ofa suggested that boris might be more of a nonexecutive chairman with able people around him. the last thing we wa nt people around him. the last thing we want is a nonexecutive chairman, we wa nt want is a nonexecutive chairman, we want a leader, who will provide leadership notjust by having speeches, but having clear control of what is going on at their own government and being able to speak to other prime ministers on equal terms and have them respecting what you have to say. will this row make much difference in term of the campaign, the battle of the

leadership —— for the leadership? he is widely loved not to say adored by many of the party membership you will be voting. they knew a lot about his colourful personal life. it has been well documented.“ about his colourful personal life. it has been well documented. if it is just it has been well documented. if it isjust a it has been well documented. if it is just a colourful personal life, that in itself may not be an issue. lord george had a very colourful personal life but he was a damn good prime minister because he had other good qualities. i don't know whether these stories will damage over the next few weeks, but i know that the conservative party, the party members making the decisions, they are serious people, not frivolous. they like boris and would like to be persuaded he is the right person for prime minister, but there will be asking themselves, notjust words he make us feel better on a bleak monday morning if he had thejob, but will he have the qualities required for the never ceasing huge burden, day after day, week after

week, looking up the minutiae of policy, not just making week, looking up the minutiae of policy, notjust making it up as you go along. these are the qualities they will be looking to see. does he have the capability of developing into a first—class prime minister? i think thejury is into a first—class prime minister? i think the jury is out. the global learning xprize, at it was named, was the brainchild of elon musk. its aim was to teach children maths and literacy in their own language that would deliver results at least as good as it would have been if they had the chance to go to class.