this is bbc news. i'm shaun ley. the headlines at 9.003m: please confirm that you are not intending to violate international law by unlawfully attempting to board. dramatic audio reveals how a british warship warned iranian forces not to seize a uk—registered oil tanker in the gulf. meanwhile, iran's ambassador to the uk says increasing tension between britain and iran is ‘quite dangerous and unwise at a sensitive time in the region.‘ the justice secretary david gauke says he will resign on wednesday if borisjohnson becomes prime minister. all british airways flights to the egyptian capital, cairo, remain

suspended for at least the next six days as a security "precaution". we were travelling first to attend my sisters wedding. now i don't know what to do. now i don't know what to do. manchester police launch an urgent appeal after seven newborn puppies are stolen by machete—wielding burglars. our sunday morning edition of the papers is at 9.35am. this morning's reviewers are james millar and dave wooding. a recording has emerged of dramatic radio exchanges between a royal navy warship and iran's revolutionary guard, moments before a british—based oil tanker was seized in the gulf. stena impero was boarded on friday

in the strait of hormuz — a key shipping route. the foreign secretary, jeremy hunt, has urged iran to release the vessel and its crew. and in the last few minutes, iran's ambassador to the uk has tweeted — warning the uk government against escalating tension — saying it would be "quite dangerous and unwise" at a sensitive time in the region. this report from ramzan karmali. the seizing of a british flag tanker, the stena impero, by the iranian revolutionary guard. iran says it was breaking maritime rules. the owners of the tanker insist it was obeying international law. the british government has condemned iran's actions. we are calling on iran to reverse this illegal act, we are looking for ways to de—escalate the situation but we will do what it takes to ensure the security and safety of british and international shipping. the tanker was intercepted as it made its way through the strait of hormuz in omani waters.

it made a sharp turn towards iran. if you obey you will be safe. alter your course. that was the message from iran to the stena impero, and dramatic footage has emerged that appeared to show the hms montrose trying to stop the siege of the tanker, but it was too far away to intervene. skinner imperial, this is a british warship foxtrot 236. as you are conducting transit passage in an international straight, under international straight, under international law your progress must not be hampered. please confirm... confirm... please confirm that you are not intending to violate international law by unlawfully attempting to board. the foreign secretary will update mps on monday what further measures the government will take,

the threat level has been raised to the highest level of alert. our middle east correspondent tom bateman joins us now live from fujairah in the united arab emirates. tom, how is this stand—off between the british and iranians going down in the region? i think it is leading to increased anxiety here. you can hearin to increased anxiety here. you can hear in that tape, the radio exchanges between the royal navy frigate and they albanian patrol boat out in the waters here, just how tense these moments have become. the british warship was racing towards trying to defend the tanker but unable to reach it in time. i think there is a sense of concern that continues among seafarers here. what we have now is that crew of 23, they were expecting a routine voyage

west, now due to spend their second full day of the coast of orion in the opposite direction with yet another day of uncertainty about their fates. in terms of trying to provide protection for commercial vessels while the situation continues, there has been talk of a multinational naval operation. is there any sign that will happen? not yet. there is a call for a surveillance fleet and also one that can offer military protection to battlefield. the americans are due to ta ke battlefield. the americans are due to take part in a conference in bahrain in the coming weeks that is due to look at ways to try and achieve this naval mission, but there have been some pretty mixed

m essa 9 es there have been some pretty mixed messages coming from the white house in the last few weeks. at one point, donald trump was then that it should be the asian nations to pay for their own protection because most of their own protection because most of the oil goes east to countries like china and japan. at the same time, the americans have demanded freedom of navigation here. meanwhile, you have a lively debate going on in the uk about whether the royal navy has the resources to protect british flagships here because there is currently only one operational vessel of significant size, the frigate that is trying to do that job. there is more on the way, but the question is whether it is adequate. now you have the uk government advising british shipping to stay away. tom, this all follows a series of incidents which have been attributed to a ram but which have not been proved to be by around

involving attacks on tankers. is there a sense that even if the situation is resolved with britain, that the wider dispute means that we can expect more problems of this kind through the straits of hormuz? yes, of course, because in the space of six weeks to sort the sabotage of six different tankers out here in this particular part of the gulf. they were widely attributed to a ram, but they iranians denied every single one of those. what is going on here, you have to remember the underlying context of this is the 2015 nuclear deal, the americans pulled out of that last year and imposed crippling sanctions that have affected the iranian economy. iran is trying to prove that it can strike back economically, and impounding oil tankers is one way of doing that. they regard this as

retaliation for british royal marines stopping a tanker earlier this month. they really and said that was illegal because the oil wasn't due for syria, and even if it was, the eu sanctions wouldn't have covered what the british and gibraltar authorities did in that case. they are demanding the release of that tanker. meanwhile, they hold this british flagged vessel and its crew of 23. john bateman, thank you very much. thejustice secretary, david gauke, has warned he will quit the government if borisjohnson becomes prime minister. mr gauke has told the sunday times he could not serve under a leader who plans to persue a no—deal brexit. theresa may's successor will be announced on tuesday. our political correspondent nick eardley is here.

in one sense, no great surprise, but quite a lot of surprise the way this campaign is being conducted. people are quite openly criticising the man who is yet to even become prime minister. we still have in theory 72 hours left of this leadership... sorry, 48 hours left. if you speak to anybody in westminster they are all preparing for borisjohnson entering number ten. that is why david gauke has come out this morning. he is getting in there before he can be sacked. we know that david gauke and a bunch of current serving ministers have real concerns that borisjohnson has said end of october, no matter what, we will get out of the european union. they think leaving without the deal would be bad for the country and the

economy. although david gauke is the first of them, i suspect he would be the last. in terms of what this means for boris johnson's the last. in terms of what this means for borisjohnson‘s ability to build the governments that encompasses both enthusiastic brexiteers back in his campaign and those either in favour of the soft brexit or those who wish brexit wasn't happening at all, does it suggest he will be seeking to reach out? it suggest that he would have many of the same problems theresa may had, which is a party that is bitterly split on the issue, with some people prepared to do whatever they need to make sure that the thing they are most concerned about doesn't happen. in the end, it was the brexiteers that brought down theresa may, the 25 or so that under no circumstances would back the deal she came back with. we know that borisjohnson she came back with. we know that boris johnson probably has she came back with. we know that borisjohnson probably has a similar number of conservative mps really

concerned about his plan to leave without a deal. it shows he will face real problems, even if he tries to unite the party after taking over, assuming that is what happens. notjust on the home front, we are seeing it internationally, as well. his big plan is to go back to europe and get rid of the backstop, or relief without a deal. the irish foreign minister this morning in the sunday times saying we want to work with whoever the new prime minister is, we don't want the backstop to happen, but the fundamentals are the same. simon coveney is also warning that although there might be a new prime minister, the withdrawal agreement will not change. in terms of what is in the withdrawal agreement and the reluctance of the european union and the irish government to reopen this, the stress and trauma of getting something agreed, in those circumstances, britain leaves on the

31st of october. presumably the numbers at westminster make it hard to see a situation where that could easily be changed unless the prime minister were to stand up and say, i've decided we need an extension. welcome to the big unknown at this whole process. there is an almighty parliamentary battle coming, it might make some of the things you have seen in the past few months chicken feed. the big battle if there is no brexit deal will be whether or not parliament can block new deal. we saw in the last few days parliament has created a window of opportunity where we expect it will try to pass legislation which would amend the withdrawal act, meaning that the uk government can sign up to no deal. the problem there is twofold. the prime minister needs to go to brussels and asked foran needs to go to brussels and asked for an extension and borisjohnson will do that unless he has to. secondly, europe needs to say yes.

there are some in brussels then, why are we still doing this, why are we still having these conversations every few months? let's get on with it. it is another extension the best thing that could be done? tuesday, wednesday, we will get clarity on the new occupant of number ten. next week we will get a lot of hints as to how they will precede the first few months in power. in terms of clarity and certainty, you wouldn't bet on it. thank you. british airways flights between london and cairo remain suspended until at least friday because of what the airline has described as a safety precaution. no further details have been given. the german carrier lufthansa also abruptly cancelled flights to cairo yesterday, but its services are expected to resume today. the last—minute cancellation of the flight to cairo caused anger and confusion. one passenger, due to fly to her sister's wedding with her husband and two children, says she now faces a huge bill to rebook.

i don't know what to do, i can't even tell my sister the flight is cancelled, my kids are feeling disappointed, very, very disappointed. i had to tell them the truth that we are not going. it may be very inconvenient for some travellers, but this plane crash is the spectre that looms behind the cancellations. in 2015, a russianjet plunged into the sinai desert, killing all 222 passengers on board. britain was one of the first countries to warn it was most likely a terrorist attack. other nations followed the uk in stopping flights out of sharm el—sheikh. it is now thought it was blown up by a bomb smuggled on board at the airport. so far, the cancellations only affect ba flights to cairo, other destinations in

egypt are not affected. the foreign office has updated its travel advice, saying there is a heightened risk of terrorism against aviation. it‘ says extra security measures are in place for british planes leaving egypt. i'm joined now from heathrow airport by simon calder, presenter of the bbc‘s travel show and travel editor of the independent. good morning, simon. this is not the most terrible thing that could have happened, but presumably it will be pretty disruptive at the start of the school holidays. yes, it is. here we are at your‘s busiest airport, a perfectly normal sunday morning, except that british airways flight 154, due to land around noon today, is not operating because the flight last night was cancelled. other flights between because the flight last night was cancelled. otherflights between the uk and egypt are going ahead

perfectly normally. 30 minutes ago, the egypt flight to heathrow took off. it is currently over the south is due to arrive about 1:30pm this afternoon. egypt air is putting on bigger planes hoping it will be able to pick up some of the passengers left stranded by to share ways.“ left stranded by to share waysm there any indication as to what has prompted the airline to react in this way? well, we've hearing about the terrible fatal crash of october 2015 and there has been intense sensitivity about security at the egyptian airport since, particularly by the foreign office. that is why the uk remains the one country worth flights are bands from the main egyptian resort of sharm el shaq. there have been reports that british officials on wednesday and thursday we re officials on wednesday and thursday were looking closely at security arrangements at cairo airport. on

friday afternoon, the foreign office turned round and said we are concerned about heightened threats to aviation and quite abruptly yesterday afternoon british airways that we are cancelling flights for a week. if you want to book a flight for this time next sunday, you cannot british airways. i've never quite seen anything like this, where it is one specific airline on one specific route cancelled for a very specific route cancelled for a very specific length of time. it is baffling. it is not all the airlines acting in unison. if it is something that will only affect one airline, why was lufthansa involved?” that will only affect one airline, why was lufthansa involved? i have spoken to thomas cook and easyjet, who will be operating their flights normally, for example today from birmingham and manchester from thomas cook to egypt. they believe

they can conduct those operations perfectly safely. there will be some thousands of people who are due to travel to egypt in the coming weeks on holiday who may now be thinking i'm not too sure about going. at the moment, because the foreign office says it is ok to go but we are concerned about aviation, there is no grounds upon which you can change or cancel your trip without losing some or all of your money. if you we re some or all of your money. if you were planning to go to cairo, what would be your advice or good alternatives that will give you a similar experience, if you have the luxury to do that? british airways is rebooking people on other airlines. egypt air is pretty much full until tuesday. there will be opportunities to travel via amsterdam, paris, frankfurtand opportunities to travel via amsterdam, paris, frankfurt and so on. lufthansa cancelled their flights, but only the departures

last night from frankfurt and munich and the return flights this morning. they said they counsel them just as a caution as they were assessing the situation. this time of year, most flights are full so there are relatively few seats available for people who need to get to egypt. simon calder, thank you. the headlines on bbc news: nato joins international criticism of iran for seizing a british—flagged oil tanker in the gulf. the justice secretary, david gauke, says he'll resign on wednesday if borisjohnson becomes prime minister. all british airways flights to the egyptian capital, cairo, are suspended for at least the next six days — as a security new legislation will make it illegal for companies to use gagging orders to prevent staff from reporting wrongdoing to the police or their doctor. the government proposals aim to tackle the misuse of non—disclosure agreements

in the workplace to cover up sexual harassment, racial discrimination or assault. here's our business correspondent, katy austin. when someone leaves a job, signing a nondisclosure agreement sometimes nicknamed a gagging clause means what they know can be used against their old employer. often it involves a payment that prevents them from discussing allegations publicly. nondisclosure agreements have a range of uses. it can apply to commercially sensitive details such as inventions, but there has been growing concern, including from mps, about their use to cover up allegations of harassment or discrimination in the workplace. last year, theresa may promised reforms to prevent their misuse. not the department for business as changes to the law. them being used to prevent people talking to police or other services about their allegations and make sure people fully understand what they are

signing and their rights. it is also promising new measures to take action where the nondisclosure agreements don't follow the rules. in law who has been calling for reform says this is a stopper doesn't go far enough. you can tell the police, talk to your doctor, go toa the police, talk to your doctor, go to a lawyer, you can even talk to your priest. the problems are very many people in the real world will wa nt to many people in the real world will want to talk to their nearest and dearest and this reform doesn't allow them to do that. the police,, talk to your doctor, go to a lawyer, you can even talk to your priest. the problems are very many people in the real world will want to talk to their nearest and dearest and this reform doesn't allow them to do that. the represents hr professionals welcomes the proposals but culture changes needed to prevent discrimination in the that will police say they are concerned about the welfare of a litter of newborn puppies that were stolen in manchester by

machete—wielding burlgars. they were taken by two men who managed to get access to a flat in the north of the city. when their mother tried to defend them, she was slashed in the face. officers fear the five—week—old dogs may not survive without their mother. let's bring you some live pictures now from hong kong, where thousands are gathering for pro—democracy protests, calling for the suspended extradition bill to be completely withdrawn. the new global commitment parliamentary time allows. it is unclear parliamentary time allows. it is u nclear exactly parliamentary time allows. it is unclear exactly when that hong kong, which would allow people arrested there to be extradited to mainland china. this is the measure that the chief executive tried to introduce in hong kong, which would allow people arrested there to be extradited to there were there have been cases where people have disappeared and turned up in china some time labour, this has caused a lot of anxiety. yesterday, there we re lot of anxiety. yesterday, there were government protests. to deal with one of those protesters, who was disrupting his broadcast, you may have seen it. it is on the bbc

news website. all very calm and relaxed at the moment, but many of these protests start that way because people are merging into the other civilians, people out shopping, just enjoying the day because they don't want to draw attention to themselves before they act. the security services are particularly nervous in hong kong at the moment. we will bring you more on this story throughout the day. we will bring you more on this story throughout the day. the polls have opened in ukraine for a parliamentary election. it was called by the country's new president in the hope of securing a stronger mandate for reform. our correspondent steve rosenberg's covering the vote for us in kiev. this is school 49 in the centre of kiev, which has been set up as one of the polling stations for this parliamentary election. when people come on, before they cast their votes, take a look at these posters on the wall. here we have details of

all the political parties, political blocs taking part in the selection. there are more than 20 of them, but it is not only a handful of these will get enough votes to make it into the new parliament. it is up to the ukrainian voters to decide who will be their mps. that decision ta kes pla ce will be their mps. that decision takes place on here in the polling booths, which are tastefully decorated in the colour of the uk flag. this is a snap election, called by the new president. he is hoping to capitalise on his popularity, hoping that his party, servant of the people, will get a commanding share of the new parliament. all the opinion polls leading up to the election suggest thatis leading up to the election suggest that is what will happen. that is important for him because he needs the support of parliament in order to appoint a government and pushed the world the kind of reforms he wa nts to. the world the kind of reforms he wants to. voting isn't taking place in all parts of ukraine today, there is no voting in crimea, the

peninsulas that russia annexed from the ukraine back in 2014, and no voting in the donbass region, areas controlled by separatists backed by russia. events have been taking place in the united states overnight to celebrate 50 years since man stepped on the moon for the very first time. at washington's air and space museum, a special ceremony marked the exact moment that neil armstrong stepped out of the lunar module. nada tawfik was there and sent us this report. counting down the final seconds to man's first steps on the moon, 50 years later. americans gathered at the national air and space museum in washington, dc to relive the historic moment. the journey was dramatic. after two computer alarms, and with just 30 seconds worth of fuel, astronaut neil armstrong manually piloted the eagle down to the sea of tranquility on the lunar surface.

more than a billion people around the world watched as armstrong stepped off the ladder and spoke those famous words that travelled hundreds of thousands of miles back to earth. it's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. edwin ‘buzz‘ aldrin followed him, and together they planted the american flag, but this was an achievement for all of mankind. this anniversary has been marked with events around the world, reminding people of a time when anything seemed possible. the apollo 11 astronauts propelled the world into a new era of space exploration. 50 years later they are inspiring the next generation to discover new frontiers. it isn'tjust the smoke from cigarettes which can damage the environment. 4.5 trillion cigarette butts are dropped across the world every year and can take decades to break down.

new research from anglia ruskin university shows that plant growth can become stunted because of the plastic found in cigarette filters. louise hubball can explain. they are the most common form of litter on the planet and it seems they are notably bad for the environment when they are lit. now new research at anglia ruskin university is looking at the impact they have when people throw them down onto the soil. there is a team at anglia ruskin university leading the study, the first of its kind. in a series of experiments, they studied how cigarette butts prevent plants from growing properly and by using a piece of wood as a test, showed it wasn'tjust the weight holding back shoots. by extracting the chlorophyll from the plants and shining a light through it, you can see how healthy the plant is. and by testing all different brands of cigarettes including menthol ones and even un—smoked ones, they came to the conclusion it was the plastic filter that was causing the problem.

cigarette butts can decrease plant growth, they can decrease germination and the length of those plants in the short—term. the cigarette filter itself is made from a bio—based plastic called cellulose acetate and this on its own, separately, in a different form, has been found to reduce plant growth. we need to raise awareness that cigarette butts are not made of paper. they don't degrade quickly in the environment and they can have toxic effects on plants and animals. the plants tested were rye—grass and clover, most commonly found in urban spaces, which has big implications for us all. rye—grass is a very important crop, especially for cattle who feed on it, they graze. clover is a nitrogen fixing plant, so they aid in the fertilisation of grass. they also add to the nutrient content of the food. if you pollute plants and the soils in the environment they are in, then we ultimately actually are polluting ourselves. when they are tossed aside,

cigarette butts can take up to a decade to break down. scientists now want to carry out further research to see if the plants recover after initial exposure to the plastics hidden inside. we'll be taking an in—depth look at the papers with our reviewers, political commentatorjames millar and dave wooding, who is the political editor of the sun on sunday. that's coming up after the latest headlines and a full sport update. now it's time for a look at the weather with nick miller. it isa it is a fine start to sunday across much of the uk. there are a few light showers in the west weather is wet weather on the way. just starting to move into the western side of northern ireland now, it moves side of northern ireland now, it m oves a cross side of northern ireland now, it moves across northern ireland and into western scotland. the rain will turn heavier, stronger winds, as

well. the eastern side of scotland, much of england and wales and much of the day is going to be dry with hazy sunshine. it is a wet night through northern ireland and much of scotland, northern england and north wales. it will be a warmer night to come, but the further south and south—east you are it will stay dry. the room tomorrow will retreat northwards into north—west scotland. elsewhere, we will see a lot of luke wright around to start the day. it may linger on the coast. near 30 degrees in eastern england, and it gets hotter still for some of us as the week goes on. hello this is bbc news with shaun ley. the headlines... please confirm that you are not intending to violate international law, by unlawfully attempting to board. dramatic audio reveals how a british warship warned iranian forces not