this is bbc news. the headlines. there is continued focus on boris johnson's private life after he failed to answer questions about why police were called to his partner's flat following reports of a row. police were called to his partner's flat following reports of a rowm is always easier to get an a clinician. but i think again, the key thing is how to get onto the issues. we can't have it being a distraction. the united states reportedly launched a cyber attack ona reportedly launched a cyber attack on a reigning weapon systems on thursday as president from pulled out of weapons strikes against the country. neither iran or any other hostile actor should mistake us prudence and discretion for weakness. five people arrested over

alleged accountancy fraud at patisserie valerie. england will try to book the place in the women's world cup when they take on cameroon this evening. and the gay men breaking blood donation rules. that is on victoria derbyshire. 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 partner's flat following reports of a row. his supporters, including the cabinet minister liz truss say he should bejudged on his policies not his personal life. but detractors, like international trade 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 were called to the flat borisjohnson shares with his girlfriend, mrjohnson has been reluctant to explain. i don't think they want to hear about that kind of thing, er... applause. but this senior tory, who's backing mrjohnson‘s leadership rivaljeremy hunt, said an explanation would be sensible. it's always easier to just give an explanation, but i think the key thing is then how you get on the issues. what we can't have is it being a distraction from explanations about wider policy. mrjohnson‘s team say he has never answered questions about his private life and won't start now. his supporters say we should move on. 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's what the police said, and it's clearly a private incident, i wasn't there, you weren't there, i think we should just leave it at that. but 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 veil to letterboxes. boris johnson has made overtly racist comments, people who are prepared to make comments like that can't suddenly throw their hands up in horror when people call them out for it and say that they appear to be racist as a result of it. the first thing we need to do, you know what it is, we need to get brexit done. at the heart of the leadership contest are questions about brexit. both sides made their case at a hustings in birmingham yesterday. liam fox suggested some of borisjohnson‘s claims about what would happen if we leave without a deal are wrong. but mrjohnson‘s supporters say their man can deliver. we need a leader with

a determination to follow through, go through to the 31st of october, 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 eardley, bbc news. let's talk to and on the line. what do you make about how bonus has handled the stories?” do you make about how bonus has handled the stories? i think his view that it has been an entirely private matter and that the police we re private matter and that the police were happy there was nothing to take forward. the difficulty is that although a lot of people are using this as an excuse to go after boris johnson and show his unsuitability as they see it for office, i didn't

think it will be possible to get through this very intense period of hustings without that question coming up again and again. i think you will have to say something because he needs to separated, from his point of view, from the broader issue of character because character issue of character because character isa issue of character because character is a very reasonable thing to ask about. if someone is going to be the next prime minister and notjust leader of the conservative party but prime ministerfor all. it is probable not so reasonable to pick up probable not so reasonable to pick up on every lapse that borisjohnson makes. and i think that is something he needs to talk about if he doesn't, those will be continue to be aligned. the question of character is interesting because one of boris johnson's character is interesting because one of borisjohnson‘s strength has been in terms of political enemies scoring hits against him, he is light on his feet, politically. you can shift quite effectively when the subject shifts and some would say

adapt his position, which is an assetin adapt his position, which is an asset in politics. it leads to suggestions that he is not entirely honest about his politics. how much ofan honest about his politics. how much of an issue is that for him? because it seems to be a problem that has come up it seems to be a problem that has come up on a regular aces it seems to be a problem that has come up on a regular aces in nearly 15 years in public life. that is certainly true. i would say the question of character is important in the sense that he certainly has a character, often better, particularly in a reactive time in politics, to have character. theresa may was often criticised for not showing character in office. yes, he changes his mind, at best that is a flexibility and enables him to move across the political spectrum when he was mayor of london. this is a more difficult time in which to because of the brexit question

doesn't allow for quite so much budging. that is the question he has to answer. in fairness, if you look at the voting record of a lot of mps, a lot of aspirates, we have often change their minds about things. so we have to distinction between questions for borisjohnson to put him on the spot quite rightly and using him as target practice. long—standing journalist on the political right last week wrote that the decision of conservative mps to back mrjohnson for prime minister was a moment of awfulness. his reason was his criticism of boris johnson on exactly that ground. a lack of consistency, seeing for example the business of him doing everything to fight against heathrow and then managing to engineer a quite expensive for the taxpayer, trip to afghanistan so he did not have to vote in favour of it. in some ways, it is clever politics but

these things that have helped him in these things that have helped him in the past are the potential obstacle for holding the highest office in the land ? for holding the highest office in the land? he has been a politician who has ducked and weaved. he has a lot of sparring practice and that is an example you mentioned. in his case, he does it in a more brazen manner than others but we should not be under allusions that others do it to. ministers find reasons not to be sometimes at votes that they find highly and inconvenient to the position. i would like to draw a line if i could between that sort of behaviour when it is within the bounds of what politicians should do to get past awkward issue and i think the more important question is, what will borisjohnson actually do about brexitwe have heard this line that he much prefer to leave without a deal than to be —— and he is prepared to do so. i think what will happen is that pencil movement

—— pincer movement, by this stage, what will you have guaranteed or not guaranteed? what will you have guaranteed or not guaranteed ? we what will you have guaranteed or not guaranteed? we have not mentioned jeremy hunt, his competitor. you can feel his campaign a bit slow off the ground getting to that point where he is saying this is very serious, you are going to have to announce to the public what you intend to do, andi the public what you intend to do, and i think that is really the squeeze that is going to be put on borisjohnson squeeze that is going to be put on boris johnson and he squeeze that is going to be put on borisjohnson and he is giving a personal view here, i am giving a personal view here, i am giving a personal view here, i am giving a personal view here, i think that is more relevant. he has been in politics for a very long time, you're certainly going to find inconsistencies, and his case you can find more than many others. but you must remember there are reasons why borisjohnson has come through this race. mps were the ones who are supposed to not want borisjohnson but when push came to shove, they wa nted but when push came to shove, they wanted him. and that is he relies on. he may be coming to a point where he needs to be tested on that because he does notjust want to be

bodice warts and all, he wants to be prime minister. thank you very much. 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. let's get more from chris, our washington corresponded. the first question is why is this information become public, 2a hours after we learned that the president had moved away from a physical attack on iran? i think president trump and the administration are showing that they are ina administration are showing that they are in a position where they are taking action against iran and that is because there is a real feeling that there are mixed messages coming from some. i think that is a concern

inside the white house and that is partly because it seems like some of the president's team are on a different page to the president. we know, for example, there are reports that the national security adviser and secretary of state, and make payments were amongst those pushing for attacks. retaliation against iranians targets but the present decided not to go ahead with those drone strikes. some people have praised him for restraint but he seems to be becoming concerned that there are those in the republican party who feel he walked away and perhaps did not show strength. we got a tweet in the last 2a hours basically saying he did not back down and that he stopped the strikes, they suspended the sights, he could still go ahead at a future date. mike pence was on cnn just now

and he did not deny supporting the strikes but offered all the national security team their support to the president. you get the impression that there are some who are on a different page to the president at the moment and by putting out this idea that they have done something, these cyber attacks on a rainy and systems, it does show them at least doing something. it is often hard for people on the side of the atla ntic to for people on the side of the atlantic to appreciate quite how iran is regarded, particularly in republican circles but often wildly politically in the united states, not least those who support israel who worry about the impact on ran has on the impact of israeli security. how they can issue is iran for american politics? it is incredibly big and there are genuine, deep concerns. bear in mind

it was president trump who took the decision to walk away from the iran nuclear deal. the deal which limits their nuclear ambitions, which of course was a key policy and a key success as far as president obama was concerned during his time inside the white house. president trump also said as far as he was concerned it was a bad agreement and that perhaps gives you the idea that in republican circles, there was some concern that it was giving something to iran. that president obama had gone too far and president trump seemed determined to reel back from that. of course there are also consequences to that as well. within the next week, we are expecting care iran to breach some of the rules of that iran nuclear deal and bear in mind, america is not part of it, there are european countries which are, some of america's closest allies. we have said that they are going to stockpile more enriched uranium, that they are allowed on the deal. it gives you the sphere that potentially, the accord could

come apart. —— this fear. you could argue that iran are using this saying unless you get the us to ease the sanctions, that has caused such pain in the country, then frankly we are not going to deal with his agreement anymore. of course, at the moment, we are preparing for president trump to put on more sanctions and you can only imagine that relations between tehran and washington will deteriorate even more after that. thank you chris. the headlines on bbc news. there is continued focus on boris johnson's private life after reports ofa johnson's private life after reports of a row that is partner's flat. there are reports that the us launched cyber attacks on iranian defence systems. five people arrested at patisserie valerie. and

in sport, england will attempt to book their place against cameroon. australia's ashleigh barty is the new number one. living above naomi osaka. roger federer beat david go fan in straight sets. and lewis hamilton is leading the french grand prix bright around 11 seconds with mercedes team—mate second. sebastian vettel is down to fifth. more to come in the next hour. england take on cameroon in the last 16 of the women's world cup later this afternoon, with a place in the quarter—finals at stake.

it's live on bbc1 and radio 5 live from half past four. let's cross live to valenciennes where the match is taking place and speak to our reporterjane dougall. jane, good afternoon. lots of expectation, not least after the success that the england women have enjoyed in their group matches. as the atmosphere there? there is a lot of confidence around the england team, especially following the fact they topped the group, they had three wins from three. we spent some time with the squad training yesterday at their training base here in valenciennes. the mood was very relaxed. we have a fully fit squad which is a relief because their barcelona forward missed the first two matches because of a thigh injury. she has recovered to play in the third match and she has the

potential to play today as well. one of the issues today is potentially going to be the heat which might affect the players. it is forecast to be around 30 degrees which is going to be even hotter than their first match in nice against scotland. phil neville has spoken about that and said that the players are fitter than they have ever been and so they willjust have to deal with it. and if they get through to the semifinals, there will be even hotter weather then, so as i said, they are fitter than they have ever been so dealing with the heat is just one of the things they will have to cope with. he also said that going into this match, england are favourites. that puts some pressure on them, but he said that pressure is something that his players thrive from. as i said, they are pretty relax and expect to do well today. what sort of competition do cameroon represent for the england team? on

paper, cameroon are 43 places below england in the fifa rankings. so technically, on paper, this should be england's match but cameroon are a very physical side and they have done quite well so far. their position in the fifa rankings has not been an example of how they have played on the pitch and estimate. they managed to get through to the rock knockout rounds after beating new zealand. they are very physical, asi new zealand. they are very physical, as i say. the last time england players were involved in a match against camerons was in the 2012 olympics when team gb beat them 3—0. jill scott were involved in the match, and scored, i asked her about the physicality about the cameron tea m the physicality about the cameron team and she said yes we were very physical at that time and the expecting to be so again today. they are playing the number three in the world. this is a huge match for cameron. so they are going to throw everything at this match and have nothing to lose. there is a worry

that maybe reckless challenges and are worried that could be injuries hopefully not for england. phil neville said they were prepared for that. and a possibility a team from cameron might cope better with the heat and weather and humidity than england. what about the england support they are receiving? is the sign that people have made the effort to go along and support for this match was not —— this afternoon? this stadium has a capacity of 25000 and up to 18,000 tickets have been sold. generally, there has been quite a good support for the lionesses so far. we have not got out of second gear yet but they have not had to have the? three went from three, top of their group. there is a lot more to come from this team. phil neville was not happy with how they played against

scotla nd happy with how they played against scotland in the second half. and i think he knows they can do better than that. what will be interesting is if england win this match and they when their next match as well, which would be against norway, and if the usa when their next couple of matches, they would meet in the semifinals and that would be a fascinating match because the usa are the defending champions of the world, number one. and england would have to raise their game. a fan behind you giving us a lovely smell. thank you very much jane. and good luck to the lionesses. five people have been arrested as part of a fraud investigation following the collapse of patisserie valerie. the high street bakery chain folded in january, backin back in january they collapsed, following the discovery of a black hole in its accounts which was eventually valued at £911 million. before january, back in october,

somebody had already been arrested. this was the former finance director of patisserie valerie. he was arrested and released on bail. that was part of an investigation by the serious fraud office, into what happened, how patisserie valerie came to collapse in that way. it is worth noting that the chain has not appeared altogether. people can still see the shops, some are still trading, but others are closed up, so trading, but others are closed up, soa trading, but others are closed up, so a mixed picture? when the firm went into administration, some of them had already close, about 70 stores, so 900 people dead lose theirjobs. but a firm bought what was left. so does trade in another form. going back to this investigation into how it initially collapse. after that first arrest backin collapse. after that first arrest back in october, we have had had it confirmed that about five other people have been arrested. that happened on tuesday and we are told that was part of a joint operation with police in hertfordshire, esther

and in london. the serious fraud office have not said anything else about who they are and why they have been arrested. 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. the ethiopian prime minister's chief of staff has been shot dead during an attempted coup. seare mekonen was killed by a bodyguard at his home in the capital, addis ababa. three other officials were killed in two separate attacks.

jets to have said and disruptive passenger has forced the plane to return. millions of residents of turkey's biggest city, istanbul, are voting in a re—run of an election to choose a new mayor. the opposition candidate 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. from istanbul, our correspondent mark lowen told us the latest... this is much more thanjust a local election, it is a pivotal test for president erdogan, that key figure on the world stage, on everything from european security to syria. this is his home city, it is the city he once ran as mayor, and which propelled him to national power. whoever wins istanbul wins turkey, he has said. he may come to regret that statement because if the polls prove correct,

and if he loses tonight, and perhaps even by a larger margin than back in march, it would start to prompt talk of whether this is perhaps the beginning of the end for him, the end of his political rise over the last 25 years. the opposition has managed to tap in to the widespread desire among its supporters for change with a positive, optimistic message. make no mistake, this is a watershed moment for turkey, this crucial country, and its most powerful leader of modern times. thousands of runners and cyclists have taken part in a charity race in thailand, marking a year since a group of boys and their football coach became trapped in a cave complex. the team was eventually rescued 18 days later in a mission that caught the attention of the world. kathryn armstrong has more. the start of a race in remembrance of a rescue that captivated the world. these are some of the 12 boys who, a year ago, entered the vast tham luang cave system in northern thailand with their football coach to relax after training.

a trip that went horribly wrong. flash flooding left the teens trapped inside for more than two weeks with little food or water, before diving experts we re able to rescue them. the death of a former thai navy seal and rescue volunteer, who ran out of air while returning through the caves, highlighted just how perilous the mission was. a year later, and the boys have had their story chronicled in the books, documentaries, and a netflix production is also in the pipeline. translation: its indescribable, my life has changed a lot. translation: i feel thankful for all the officials who, on this day last year, spent their time to help me out and the boys are so that we got out safely. i thank you very much. also among those taking part in the charity race from the still closed caves to the village where the rescue took place were some of the experts involved. i think it's important we never forget what happened injune and july last year. it's just really about people coming

together and enjoying the day. it how the base will be an annual event, with the money raised going to the redevelopment of the cave complex. kathryn armstrong, bbc news. let's ta ke let's take a look at the weather for the afternoon and the days ahead. sarah is at the map. it has been a weekend of two halves, yesterday brought blue skies. today we see increasing amounts of cloud across the uk. rain in the south—west will push its way northwards so heavy bass for north wales, northern ireland and the midlands. northern ireland, there could be lying through the early lows in london of about 18 degrees. through the day we have some rain.

it will be dry for sunny spells but scattered showers. not everywhere seeing a shower but if you do catch one it could be pretty heavy with under and lightning. but he won for most of us. a little bit cooler across the north of scotland. the u nsettled across the north of scotland. the unsettled weather continues but it can admit looks like we will see some drier weather mid week onwards.

this is bbc news. the headlines: there's continued focus on borisjohnson's private life after he failed to answer questions about why police were called to his partner's flat following reports of a row. i think it's always easier to just give an explanation but i think that they key thing is learn how you get onto the issues. what we cannot have is it being a distraction. the united states reportedly launched a cyber—attack on iranian weapons systems on thursday as president trump pulled out of air strikes on the country. neither iran norany neither iran nor any other hostile

actor