tonight at ten — after weeks of diplomatic tension in the gulf, iran seizes two vessels, one of them a british flagged tanker. the stena impero, bound for saudi arabia, has 23 people on board. its owners say they've lost contact. the vessel was tracked moving radically off course this afternoon, its owners said it was "heading north towards iran". with the navy patrolling in the gulf, britain has described iran's move as unacceptable. the united states offered its support. we have a lot of ships there that are warships, and we'll talk to the uk, and we have no written agreement, but we have an agreement. they've been a very great ally of ours. the foreign office says the crews of the two vessels are from several countries, but it's thought there are no british citizens on board either ship.

also tonight... up to a million public sector workers look set for an above inflation pay rise, but there are questions about who foots the bill. five people crammed into a one—bedroom flat — we speak to two single mothers about the uk's housing crisis. despite a brave late fight, rory mcilroy is out of the open at royal portrush. and america lights up the washington monument to mark the 50th anniversary of the apollo moon landings. you want to go to the moon? yes. do you think you will ever get there? i don't know. and coming up on sportsday on bbc news — julian alaphilippe extends his lead over geraint thomas after a stunning time trial win on stage 13 of the tour de france.

good evening. in a dramatic escalation of ongoing tensions, iran has tonight seized two vessels in the gulf — a british flagged oil tanker and a liberian flagged ship. it's operated by a british company. the former, the stena impero, was bound for saudi arabia, but was tracked moving dramatically off course this afternoon. its owners say they have been unable to contact the vessel and that it was "heading north towards iran". the tanker was in the strait of hormuz when its owners say it was approached by "unidentified small crafts and a helicopter". there are 23 personnel on board, none thought to be british. tonight in westminster, the government's crisis committee cobra is meeting to discuss how to respond. the foreign secretaryjeremy hunt said he was "extremely concerned" and that the seizures were "unacceptable". here's our diplomatic

correspondent, james robbins. this is stena impero, built only last year, british flagged, 183 metres long, now in the hands of iran, together with her 23 crew. routine satellite tracking of the tanker shows her under way from the emirates of fujairah, around midday, heading north, staying well inside international waters of the gulf, until this happened. just after three o'clock, the 30,000 tonne tanker diverts seriously off course. her last known movement was around four o'clock, inside iranian waters. the owners, stena bulk and northern marine management, say in a statement, stena impero was approached by unidentified small craft and a helicopter during transit of hormuz while the vessel was in international waters. we are presently unable to contact the vessel, which is now heading north, towards iran. there are 23 seafarers

aboard. they have been no reported injuries and their safety is of primary concern to both owners and managers. and then news tonight that a second ship had been seized, the mesdar, liberian registered. the foreign secretary jeremy mesdar, liberian registered. the foreign secretaryjeremy hunt has condemned the seizures as an a cce pta ble condemned the seizures as an acceptable and said he was extremely concerned. we don't have many tankers but we have a lot of ships there that are warships and we'll talk to the uk and we have no written agreement, but we have an agreement. they've been a very great ally of ours so we heard about it, we heard it was one, we heard it was two, and we'll be working with the uk. these are pictures released by iran, said to show boats of the islamic revolution guards corps circling another vessel in recent days. the guard corps appear to use these armed boats and sometimes helicopters to force ships into their waters. their efforts to seize

british vessels were intensified after royal marines and gibraltar police boarded and seized a tanker, grace won. it was carrying iranian oil in gibraltar waters, suspected of heading for syria, in defiance of eu sanctions. iran called this piracy, but that's dismissed as nonsense by britain. that was followed by an incident in the gulf, when the british frigate moved in to protect the tanker british heritage in the gulf, but the threat to british vessels was spelt out earlier this week by iran ‘s supreme leader. translation: evil britain commits piracy and steals our ship. it's an act of piracy. of course the islamic republic will not leave such evil deeds unanswered. there will be an appropriate response —— there will bea appropriate response —— there will be a response at the appropriate time and place. so the iranian guard corps will consider today's features a significant victory in a crisis which has been escalating for months. the former head of the royal

navy, lord west, says britain simply has too few ships to provide escorts for merchant vessels. my biggest concern i have to say is i find it extraordinary that reddish flagged ships in the tank is particularly, are steaming on their own into this area of danger —— british flagged ships. we should be trying to de—escalate but you can't allow thugs and criminal actions by a nation against your nation. with american warships the dominant naval force in the gulf, british co—operation with washington will be key if protection of a vital trade route is to be improved, but for now the immediate focus will be on getting iran to free both seized vessels and their crews. and james is here now. this takes the entire crisis to a new level. it really does. i mean, we know the crews of both vessels are apparently safe and in reasonable health, but nevertheless

they are effectively being held prisoner, they are any rainier hands and their vessels too. jeremy hunt, the foreign secretary, has gone into a meeting of the cabinet office emergency committee cobra on his way there he issued a statement and he said, we are going to review what we know and what we can do to swiftly secure the release of the two vessels, the british flagged vessel under liberian let liberian flagged vessel but both have british connections. their crews comprise a range of nationalities but we understand there are no british citizens on board. he says it's unacceptable, its essential freedom of navigation is maintained and all ships can move safely and freely in the region. it's clear all shapes cannot move safely and freely in the region and this comes at a time of course of maximum pressure on all sides, a time i have to say of tension too with the united states over its iran policy. iran is capable of exploiting that, seems to be exploiting it and therefore i think the negotiation to get these crews and the ships released will be

a long and torturous one. 0k, james, thank you. around a million public sector workers, including teachers in england, police officers in england and wales, and members of the armed forces across the uk, are set to get a pay rise above the rate of inflation. the treasury is expected to confirm on monday details of what's thought to be the biggest public sector pay rise for six years, before theresa may steps down as prime minister. but with suggestions the rise will come from existing budgets, labour has dismissed the offer as insulting. our political correspondent alex forsyth has this report. in recent years, some of the country's key workers have had their pay frozen or rises limited, all part of the government's austerity programme. but now thousands of public sector employees are in line fora pay bump, most above the rate of inflation. ready for the last few minutes of the shift? for some, it's a mixed blessing. head teachers will have to find the money to pay their staff more

if there's no new government funding, and many say budgets are already at breaking point. it is a no—win situation. we want to reward the staff, they deserve the pay rise 100%. but we've now got to find that money from somewhere and it is impossible if the government aren't giving us money to say, this is for the teacher pay rise. so in effect, they are cutting our budget. nonetheless, on monday the treasury is expected to say teachers and school staff will get a 2.75% pay rise. for the armed forces it is 2.5% across the board, with some soldiers expected to get more. police officers and dentists are in line for a 2.5% rise and senior civil servants 2%, with details for other sectors expected next week. good afternoon, mr hanson. pay for public workers has lagged behind the private sector in recent years, and take a look at this graph. public sector wages, marked in red, have fallen short of

inflation too. and this year's deal will only go so far. the pay rise being suggested is actually similar to what was offered last year. it's not out of line with what we might expect. it's a little bit ahead of inflation but it's probably the minimum you would think was reasonable, given where we are with private sector pay and pay and recruitment and retention issues, particularly among teachers. it's thought government departments will have to fund this from existing budgets with no new money, so the pay rise comes with a price tag. today, the home secretary seemed confident that for the police, it could be managed. i know, for example, that if that was for the police force, a 2.5% pay rise, police forces can fund it from their budgets because when we set budgets, we try to take into account what might happen further down the line. some unions, though, say their members have been short—changed over pay for some time and the public sector needs more investment.

without that money and investment in terms of their pay and the balance of terms and conditions, then we're going to see a slow decline in people wanting to come into the civil service, but also to stay. in making this decision now, the chancellor, philip hammond, has posed something of a challenge for whoever takes over from theresa may. do they make cuts elsewhere to fund this pay rise, or put more into budgets, possibly increasing borrowing? the binding choices made by ministers now can create difficult decisions for whoever comes next. so what seems good news for public sector workers, comes with a political sting in the tailfor the next prime minister — how to meet spending commitments and still balance the books. alex forsyth, bbc news, westminster. donald trump has said he's looking forward to working with borisjohnson, the frontrunner to be britain's next prime minister, saying he is going to do a "great job" in the role. our north america correspondent gary o'donoghue reports. music: god save the queen.

the so—called special relationship, on full display during president trump's recent state visit to britain. but even then, he was looking beyond the conservative party leadership contest, saying boris johnson would make an excellent prime minister. but it hasn't always been as warm as this meeting at the un two years ago. in the past, they have clashed over donald trump's description of no—go areas in london and over attempts to ban people from some muslim countries. however, at the white house today, nothing but praise. i like borisjohnson, i always have. he's a different kind of a guy, but they say i'm a different kind of a guy too. we get along well. i think we'll have a very good relationship. it won't have escaped the president's notice that the resignation of the british ambassador to the us was prompted by boris johnson's failure to fully back sir kim darroch after it

emerged that the diplomat called the trump administration clumsy and inept in leaked diplomatic cables. and while mrjohnson called the president's controversial tweets this week totally unacceptable, he didn't go as far as others in branding them racist. if you're the leader of a great multiracial, multicultural society, you simply cannot use that kind of language about sending people back to where they came from. boris johnson is undoubtedly feeling the love from the trump administration right now, but he will know, as many other world leaders already do, that with this president, a love—in can turn into a falling out in the blink of an eye. gary o'donoghue, bbc news, washington. an activist who supports brexit has pleaded guilty to causing alarm and distress by using threatening or abusive language to the mp anna soubry outside

the houses of parliament. 29—year—old james goddard was accused of shouting abuse at the mp for broxtowe, who supports another referendum, in two incidents last december and january. angus crawford reports. soubry! anger and intimidation in the shadow of westminster. an mp trying to make her voice heard, drowned out by those who brand her a traitor. crowd chants: soubry's a liar. earlier, she was even forced to break off a live tv interview. i do object to being called a nazi, actually. crowd chants: soubry is a nazi. right, well, apologies to you if you're offended by what you're listening to. sorry, ijust think this is astonishing. leading the protest, filming the mp on his phone, james goddard, wearing a yellow vest, aping the gilets jaunes demonstrators in france. alongside him, brian phillips, shouting in herface, blocking the way.

finally, anna soubry has to force her way into the commons and even then the abuse continues. crowd chant: scab, scab, scab! goddard, in the blue shirt, arriving at court today, his supporters with him, later noisily filling the public gallery. after several hours of legal argument, both he and phillips pleaded guilty to a charge of harassment. goddard also admitted racially abusing a police officer. they'll be sentenced on monday. in a victim impact statement, anna soubry said she found the chants of "nazi" deeply offensive. it was highly unpleasant, leaving her shaken and very angry. the whole experience, she said, was really intimidating. fake news, fake news. "fake news," one of goddard's supporters says. in a divided country, lawful protest can too easily become personal abuse. angus crawford, bbc news.

17 people were injured — two seriously — after two cars collided and then crashed into spectators at a charity motor event in stevenage last night. hertfordshire police say they've identified the drivers of both cars involved, and that they've been interviewed. sarah campbell reports. fast cars being driven at speed along public roads. hundreds had gathered to watch from the verges and central reservation. the danger appears obvious, the outcome almost inevitable. a car pulls out, collides with another and both plough into the watching crowds. so there were people standing all there and there? kim chowdhary, a nurse, was watching from the roadside and immediately went to help. someone said they thought she'd, like, flipped in the air so ijust grabbed her head, and yeah, ijust felt under her head and she had a massive — i got blood on my hands, so i knew

she'd smashed her head. you're a nurse, you're used to seeing injured people, but even so, how bad was it? ijust burst into tears after it because it wasjust, i think obviously when i had my adrenaline going, but it was just horrific and i've actually never been involved in anything like that before. the emergency services were quickly on the scene. despite attending previous events, hertfordshire police said they weren't aware last night's meet was happening. what i would say is not to attend these type of events and i think what happened last night shows what could happen when you've got such large numbers in the road and cars perhaps committing offences. this has become an issue for the police and councils across the country. road racing is banned by high court injunction in the birmingham area, but as shown last weekend, crowds still gather. the meets in stevenage are held weekly, organised by local car enthusiasts via social media. do you feel at all responsible for what happened last night?

i do, but i don't at the same time, because we told everyone it's a static meet. and that means the car is parked? the car is parked in a car park, that is a static meet. it's difficult because we don't want people to race, we don't promote the racing, but the racing is out of our control. unable to stop people racing, the organisers have said there will be no repeat events. sarah campbell, bbc news, stevenage. it's 100 years this month since the idea of council houses was first raised in britain — the minister of health at the time called them "homes fit for heroes" — designed for those who'd fought and survived the great war. but today, there's a shortage. the national housing federation has calculated that for every new social home built in england, there are eight families who need it. our home editor mark easton spoke to two women in just such a situation — and a warning, his report contains some flashing images.

the landlady of the property knocked on my door and was like, "you owe me £6,000 rent." my mouthjust dropped. the local housing authority deemed me intentionally homeless due to rent arrears, and that was it. case closed. two women — londoners, single mums with three kids. homeless. what was your first lesson today? lavine sleeps on a sofa in her mum's one—bed councilflat in dagenham. her children share with grandma. i feel lost for words on what it is. five, six, seven, eight, nine. it's our lives, and this is how we live every single day. i think it started off with the fear of being homeless, first of all. i think that's where the mental health was starting to go down. unable to find any private rented home she could afford locally, barking council told ashleigh

and lavine they should consider moving out of the borough — to yorkshire. i'd never heard of yorkshire. it's too far. i can't do it. i heard of bedford. i hadn't heard of bradford. emmerdale is the image i have. my heart did not want to say yes, but i felt like i just... i was forced, in a way, to say yes. having reluctantly agreed to move her whole family 200 miles north, matters moved very quickly. "have your things ready in 2a hours, transportation's coming to get you at 11 o'clock in the morning." 2a hours? 2a hours. and this was at quarter to nine in the morning, whilst i'm walking my kids to school. after i got off the phone, i had to tell my two sons, "you're going to have to say goodbye to your friends today, because today's your last day at school." and they didn't take it too well. so you just had 2a hours to decide to go and move your whole life to yorkshire?

yeah. i wiped my face, my tears away, and, yeah, off we went. the government has said placing homeless families away from their local area should only be a last resort. but in 2018, it was, it seems, a last resort 23,150 times — as english councils shipped their homelessness problem somewhere else. ashleigh‘s council — barking and dagenham — say there's just not enough social housing in london to meet demand. so she and her three children made the journey to a town they'd never seen. they arrived at 7pm on a friday night. there was just one guy from the housing association. he gave me a food parcel and was about to go on his way, and i started breaking down crying as he was leaving. i was like, "what am i supposed to do? i don't have no money, i don't have no duvets, i don't know where the local shops are," and ijust cried and i cried and i cried.

you have to make more properties, or make them cheaper. it's pretty tormenting, especially when you walk to school and then you see new flats being built. as lovely as the designs are, but then i come back to here. just doesn't make sense. this is my meditation spot. so, every day, i will come here and i will say my prayers. it's now a year since ashleigh arrived in halifax. she can now afford her rent and is starting to put down roots. if you were offered a house in barking now, would you go back? ooh! that's a sticky one. if it was in the first six months when i moved here, i would have said yes, without hesitation. but now, i see the benefits of being here. i'm still half—london,

half—yorkshire, but i'm starting to plant myself more in yorkshire. yorkshire has started to become my home. when she can, ashleigh does go back to east london. she's started a support group — mums on a mission — and has met lavine. together, they want to fight back against a precarious housing market that leaves too many families without a home they can afford. mark easton, bbc news. aid agencies are calling on the world to speed up the response to the ebola emergency in the democratic republic of the congo — after the world health organisation declared an international public health emergency — that's its highest warning level for an infectious disease. the outbreak of the deadly virus in the central african country has already killed more than 1700

people. and this week, the first case was detected in the capital, goma, home to more than a million. our africa correspondent anne soy is there, and has sent this report. goma, in the east of the drc. a bustling transit city, home to more than 2 million, mostly traders who are constantly on the move. an outbreak of ebola here could be devastating. as they trudged on up north, the city prepared. last weekend, its health systems were put to the test. these brothers say their uncle drove the bus on which an ebola patient travelled. the uncle later paid them a visit. now they have come here to be vaccinated. they told us that this vaccine don't prevent you 100% from ebola. that's why i am still afraid a little bit. people who have been in contact with patients and those around them are advised to get the jab.

so far in the democratic republic of congo, more than 165,000 people have been vaccinated. this is still an experimental vaccine, but experts believe that it has played a big role in preventing the further spread of the disease. rwanda, just beyond this gate, is on alert. the conditions here showjust how bad things could get if a bigger outbreak hit the city. the livelihoods of all these people depend on cross—border trade. and the world health organization has advised against closing borders because in any case, it doesn't stop the spread of ebola. experts say it could even make an already complex outbreak worse. it would hurt the congolese people who, if they can't move in a formal way over formal border crossings, will find informal ways, which will make detection of contact much harder if they cross. and of course, it will make the movement of goods and health care workers and humanitarian aid

workers much harder as well. aid agencies say they need more funds to help keep notjust these people safe from ebola, but also many others around the region. as long as there is an outbreak in the drc, trade and travel means it could spread to neighbouring countries and beyond. anne soy, bbc news, goma. it's day two of the open golf championship, which is being held for the first time in 68 years in northern ireland. local boy rory mcilroy has agonisingly missed out on the cup, but ireland's shane lowry has taken a share of the lead. andy swiss now reports. portrush, looking picture perfect. a photo op with a giant claretjug — for the fans, a chance to say, "i was there". but this showcase event for northern ireland saw a masterclass from the republic of ireland as shane lowry set

about raising the decibel level. cheered on by a huge following, lowry was inspired. he now leads the way, alongside america's jb holmes. has he? he has! but once again, the biggest drama involved rory mcilroy. he's got this one as well. as after his first—round meltdown, he launched a remarkable recovery. if he had holed this, he would have made the halfway cut, but it wasn't to be. despite a round of 65, 1a shots better than yesterday, his hopes are over. unbelievably proud of how i handled myself today, coming back after what was a very challenging day yesterday. and just full of gratitude towards every single one of the people that followed me to the very end and was willing me on. as well as rory mcilroy, plenty of other big names won't be here this weekend, including darren clarke and tiger woods.

but others are rising to the occasion, including two of england's leading hopes. just one shot off the lead, lee westwood and tommy fleetwood. exciting shirt, exciting chance. it'll be great. it's the open at the end of the day, the biggest event in the world, and it's our home event and it's very exciting. but for the day's ultimate pinpoint precision... how about this from canada's adam hadwin, making this trickiest of sports look oh so simple. andy swiss, bbc news, royal portrush. tomorrow marks 50 years since man first set foot on the moon. some 650 million people around the world watched the historic landing onjuly 20, 1969, and heard astronaut neil armstrong say it was "one giant leap for mankind." celebrations have been taking place all week. nick bryant has been looking back

at that moon mission, and what it meant for america. his report contains flashing images. in a week that's highlighted the deep divisions in washington and america, a gigantic reminder of a unifying national mission. apollo 11, projected onto the washington monument for this back—to—the—future celebration. and at ground level, a coming together of the american generations. i want to be an astronaut one day. you want to go to the moon? yes. do you think you'll ever get there? i don't know. it's been pretty cool to see it through youtube. so to be here and be alive, it's brand—new to me. to me, it'sjust as exciting as when we did it the first time. it was beyond remarkable. it was almost the type of thing that you didn't think could possibly come to be. liftoff! we have liftoff. conquering new frontiers has always been an essential part of the american spirit.

but it was conquering the soviet union that made the space race such an urgent national priority. in those cold war years, soviet cosmonauts had outpaced american astronauts. the moon mission was also about a global ideological battle. the space race was all about the cold war. the whole reason for the race to the moon was to beat the soviet union and prove that the western capitalist model of government was better than the soviet model. and that was a serious issue in the early ‘60s. but the united states beats the soviet union to the moon in 1969, tremendously undercuts the legitimacy of the soviet union both internally and externally, and i think contributes to the collapse of the soviet union 30 years later. taking the stars and stripes to the moon was, surprisingly, something of an afterthought. it was purchased from a local hardware shop. as you talk to us from the sea of tranquillity... and though the moon mission was launched byjohn f kennedy, it was his one—time rival richard nixon who was president at the time. for every american, this has to be the proudest day of our lives.