baking britian — the hottestjuly day on record, as temperatures hit new highs across parts of the uk. the thermometer hit 37.9 degrees celsius here in kew gardens this afternoon, but cambridge was the hottest, at 38.1, making it the second hottest day ever in britain. across the uk, thousands of people headed to the beach to cool down and make the most of the sunshine. but the heat has caused major problems on the railways. passengers are rescued from stranded trains, as overhead power lines are affected. and records are falling across europe too. paris has had its hottest day ever — more than 42 degrees. with scientists making a clear link between extreme weather and climate change,

we'll be asking if this weather is a sign of things to come. also tonight: after the cull, the prime minister's new—look cabinet meets for the first time, as borisjohnson gets down to business. our mission is to deliver brexit on the 31st of october, for the purpose of uniting and re—energising our great united kingdom. and england attempt to fight back in the test match against ireland at lord's. and coming up on bbc news... geraint thomas drops to third in the tour de france. the defending champion is still a long way behind the leader, with two meaningful stages to go.

good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six, from kew gardens, in west london, one of the hottest places in the uk today, where temperatures hit 37.9 degrees celsius. but it was cambridge that sweltered the most, hitting 38.1 — making it the hottestjuly day since records began and the second hottest day ever recorded in the uk. just to give you an idea, it is a good 10 degrees hotter out here than it is in the palm house behind me. here than it is in the palm house behind me. the intense heat was enough to send thousands of people to beaches across the uk. but the sunshine brought with it major problems on the rail network, with overhead powerlines affected and concerns that the rail tracks could buckle. services have been delayed, others have been cancelled. we will have the latest on all that shortly. first, tom burridge reports. scorchio.

across the country. but how to steer in the south of england. it has been lovely. you can see i have been sunbathing down the beach everyday! it has been lovely, a bit too hot for the babies but i have been enjoying it, i do like the heat. cooling down, larking around. sensible to be scantily dressed. we don't get it very often as you know, so don't get it very often as you know, so when it is there, you have to use it and come to this lovely seaside because you forget what you have. so, making the most of it. the coast, slightly cooler, is the place to be, especially for those from hotter parts of the world. it is nothing compared to what happens in argentina in the summer. at home in argentina in the summer. at home in argentina much hotter than this? yes, 47 degrees. 50. so this is like heaven for me! but it wasn't fun if your train broke down. like here, at the euston. services were cancelled all over the country. as things

heated up, rail lines closed. the infrastructure to date simply couldn't cope. and as fires broke out near london's saint pancreas, people were evacuated from nearby trains. this is not quite, but it is almost unprecedented so i have been working on the railway for ten yea rs, working on the railway for ten years, i have never encountered temperatures like this. heathrow today a scissoring 36.9 celsius. —— scissoring. but cambridge hit 37, the hottest temperature ever recorded injuly. the hottest temperature ever recorded in july. it the hottest temperature ever recorded injuly. it was kicking backin recorded injuly. it was kicking back in newcastle. kids playing in birmingham. everybody kept cool at the royal welsh show. umbrellas in the royal welsh show. umbrellas in the summer rarely this useful. it was cooler on the beach in fife than in london. central london, late morning, 30 degrees. so, lado is like in hampstead heath were packed.

but there were heat health warnings for much of the country. so, drink ple nty of for much of the country. so, drink plenty of water, you cannot drink too much water. try and avoid alcohol in this weather. 0r too much water. try and avoid alcohol in this weather. or if you do, be moderate in your intake. many we re do, be moderate in your intake. many were lucky enough to get away and hit the coast. a world away from the trouble caused by the heat many of the commuters have not been enjoying the heat. danjohnson is at st pancras station, in central london. how bad is it this evening? i am afraid the disruption here is particularly intense this evening. there are not many people enjoying their journey there are not many people enjoying theirjourney home, in fact, they can't make the journey home. you can see the crowd of people in the station staring up at the departure board. iam

station staring up at the departure board. i am afraid most of the signs say trains are cancelled, especially heading north out of here. it is because of the fires that have affected services on root heading north out of st pancras and king's cross as well. and that has led to severe disruption on almost all the services on the midland and east coast main line which are expected to be cancelled for probably the rest of this evening and there are serious disruptions and delays on the west coast main line to manchester as well. so passengers really are facing a difficult time. after what had already been a difficult day. there were cancellations and restrictions put in place this morning because of the heat, posing a risk that the rail lines would buckle and trains could derail. that risk didn't seem to materialise in the day but it had already disrupted services and then, with the further expansion of the metal involved in the overhead wires, that seems to have got tangled in the equipment on the top of the chains and brought the wires down, caused those fires and resulted in even more disruption this evening. so the only person

that looks like he is remotely enjoying himself here is the ice cream man who has set up around the corner. dan johnson, at st pancras, thank you. the heatwave has also peaked, with records falling across continental europe today. there've been record high temperatures across belguim, netherlands and germany. in paris, the mercury hit 42.6 degrees celsius — the highest ever recorded in the french capital. 0ur correspondent lucy williamson reports. the city of light has become the city of heat. 42 degrees — just bearable if you're mostly underwater. the government has repeatedly warned people not to stay out in the sun, but with offices and schools closing early, and most homes without air conditioning, not everyone's listening. it's difficult to enjoy it. here we are in this most amazing city in the world and, you know, it's tough to want to go and do much. it's very hot!

er, the summer in brazil is not like this. it's hot too but, here, it's too much. this is a short, sharp spike in temperatures, but what a spike it is! the heat unremitting now for several days and nights. and in a city not built for this kind of weather, for many people, air—conditioned shops or public fountains are the only place they can find respite. the hot weather is putting pressure on farmers, already facing a drought. luc smessaert says the grass his cows should be eating has died in the field. he's using up his stock of winter feed to keep them alive. translation: our fields have become as dry as doormats. we've never seen anything like it. it's like the south of france. we have longer periods without water. we're running at a 50% loss. we'll have to adapt and find solutions.

the heatwave broke temperature records across europeyesterday, and then broke them again today. germany soared towards 41 degrees. in belgium, temperatures topped 40, a historic record. and in the netherlands, the hottest day for more than 70 years saw the red cross handing out emergency water supplies to the homeless. this is the second heatwave to hit europe in a month. in paris, where streets and monuments have weathered centuries of change, some wonder if the weather itself is changing. lucy williamson, bbc news, paris. thunder over us here at kew gardens and we have seen lightning, i am not sure the heat today will be with us tomorrow. this weather has been driven by high pressure and the jet stream. dragging tropical continental airfrom north africa.

scientists point to the link between extreme weather events and climate change. 0ur science correspondent, victoria gill, has spent the day here in kew, looking at what we know about that connection. temperatures were amongst the highest in the uk today here at kew gardens. 37.7 degrees. so those who braved the sunshine came prepared. and climate scientists are now confident that heatwave is like the one the uk is currently sweltering ina more one the uk is currently sweltering in a more likely and more extreme because of climate change. the fact that we have seen these temperature rises, the baseline temperature has increased by about 1 rises, the baseline temperature has increased by about! degrees globally since preindustrial times and it is that level thatjust means in normal conditions, we would see heatwave conditions and temperatures around kind of just heatwave conditions and temperatures around kind ofjust above average, but adding the extra layer of heat, thatis but adding the extra layer of heat, that is when we start to break those records. and globally over the last century, the trend is clear. it has been heating up. the last four years

with the warmest ever recorded. for the future, the temperature increase depends on global carbon emissions. current targets the governments have set —— signed up to to limit emissions will see a rise of around 3.3 degrees by 2100. under the paris climate agreement, the more ambitious deal signed up to buy almost 200 countries in 2016, the aim is to keep that below 1.5 degrees. today of all days, we have come to the hottest glasshouse in kew gardens where the desert adapted pla nts kew gardens where the desert adapted plants live and even for these plants, they have opened all the windows to get ventilation in here. according to my thermometer, it is 110w according to my thermometer, it is now more than 39 degrees in here. and these plants are adapted to the hottest, driest conditions on earth. it is those adaptations that scientists here are studying in order to work out how we might grow more drought resistant plants in the future. these plants are called succulent plants because they have

devolved over millions of years to have specialised water storing tissue. the part in the middle is where the specialised what is stirring tissue is located and you can see how much water there is in there. while the collection is here look exotic, they contain plants that could eventually become familiar food crops. days like today tell us that if we carry on doing exactly what we have done in the past, then that is not going to work. so we are going to have to adapt what we do and potentially adapt what we do and potentially adapt the crops we grow and so we need to be exploring, we need to be researching, we need to understand out researching, we need to understand our options, so that we can change as climate begins to bite. with the gardens baking in the sun today, the preparation continues for a warmer, more uncertain climate in the future. record temperatures today, thunder, lightning and now the rain is starting. let's go back for the rest of the news knelt to the

studio. sophie, thank you. at westminster today, borisjohnson promised a new "golden age" during his first statement to the house of commons as prime minister. he repeated his commitment for the uk to leave the eu by october the 31st and said although he would work flat—out to try to get a deal, the withdrawal agreement negotiated by theresa may was dead. the labour leader, jeremy corbyn, questioned whether borisjohnson overestimated his abilities as prime minister. the labour leader, jeremy corbyn, questioned whether borisjohnson overestimated his abilities as prime minister. here's our political editor, laura kuenssberg. quite the occasion. the government more 01’ quite the occasion. the government more or less created overnight a cabinet ina more or less created overnight a cabinet in a rush. good morning, secretary of state, looking forward to your first secretary of state, looking forward to yourfirst big secretary of state, looking forward to your first big meeting? secretary of state, looking forward to yourfirst big meeting? so eager to yourfirst big meeting? so eager to get to the table, there was almost a traffic jam to get to the table, there was almost a trafficjam in number 10. it is just before 8am and the cabinet is already gathering for their first meeting. this cabinet is already gathering for theirfirst meeting. this is a new government that wants to show they really m ea n government that wants to show they really mean business. and there he is. in the chair he has coveted for

so is. in the chair he has coveted for so long. boris johnson, is. in the chair he has coveted for so long. borisjohnson, a politician who divides, trying to pull a government, a party and country together. it is wonderful to cbs new teen roof assembled here, reflecting the depth and breadth of talent in oui’ the depth and breadth of talent in our extraordinary party —— it is wonderful to see this new team assembled here. we are a lot less to this show —— we are a lot less used to the show of unity. brexit the number one task. brexiteers in plum jobs. 0h, number one task. brexiteers in plum jobs. oh, it is a very positive, united cabinet, fully supporting the prime minister. the promise of even less tha n prime minister. the promise of even less than 100 days the task. well, we have had an excellent cabinet meeting, very positive, very enthusiastic and we are ready to go now, ready to work. leaving without a formal deal in place if need be. very good. yet no prime minister can be master of a government without mastering the commons. he has arrived for big moments before, but never like this. relishing making an

entrance? statement, the prime minister. our mission is to deliver brexit on october 31st. for the purpose of uniting and re—energising our great united kingdom. he wants to leave the eu at hallowe'en, but he wants it his way. the way to the deal goes by way of the abolition of the backstop. he wants to make that guarantee against a hard border in ireland disappear, precisely what the eu says it will never do.|j ireland disappear, precisely what the eu says it will never do. i hope that they will rethink their current refusal to make any changes. and get used to seeing this. even the sceptics and doubters. pointing the finger already. the country is deeply worried that the new prime minister overestimates himself. the

dynamic between best pair the core of our politics now. -- this pair. 0ur of our politics now. -- this pair. our country does not need arm waving bluster, but competence, seriousness. and after a decade of divisive policies for the few, to focus for once on the interests of the many! there will be plenty more jess. we are the party of the many and they are the party of the few. we will take this country forward, fay, mr speaker will take it backwards! today, tory mps delighted that —— at borisjohnson the bulldozer. just hear their rules. but much of the country might take a different view. he wants to drive us off the cliff edge and he does not even know the impact of the damage it will cause. will he bring back any brexit plan and put it to this house, then put it to the people? no to that, but the allies he needs

on—board for now. to that, but the allies he needs on-board for now. we need to deliver brexit with a deal. but we must be prepared for no—deal if necessary. not her pub in any more, watching a different, more straightforward game today. former colleagues in tow. theresa may at the cricket, able to laugh now. the movers on their way into ta ke laugh now. the movers on their way into take her belongings out. her successor speed again at the back. downing street is firmly home for borisjohnson downing street is firmly home for boris johnson now. laura downing street is firmly home for borisjohnson now. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. one of mrjohnson's first acts was to guarentee acts was to guarantee the rights of eu citizens living in the uk, but that's already caused problems within his own party, with some insisting it requires a change in the law, something borisjohnson's team disputes. the new prime minister says he's also considering an australian—style points—based immigration system, as our home editor, mark easton, explains. with politics are volatile, many eu nationals living in the uk watch on anxiously.

today, borisjohnson offered an unequivocal guarantee that they would be allowed to remain, even in the event of a no—deal. but a conservative mp who's been campaigning on the issue is worried there are no plans to make it the law. some member states like spain have already passed legislation to protect british citizens living, working, studying and retired there, but it's entirely contingent on our passing first legislation to protect their citizens. is it not time we took back control of our immigration policy? controlling immigration was one of borisjohnson's battle cries during the brexit referendum. but hold on, australian style points system ? but hold on, australian style points system? haven't we heard that

before? everyone coming to work in britain will need the right amount of points to prove they have something to give. in 2007 and australian style system was announced for non—eu migrants coming to the uk and workers still need to satisfy a point system to get a beazer. 0nce out of the european union, the conservatives' immigration proposals would extend those rules to all nationals. the biggest challenge is that because they are more centrally planned, the government has to know things like how many migrants the economy needs and what kind ofjobs most need migrant workers and in practice that is difficult for economists to work out. mrjohnson wants to sound tough and conciliatory at the same time, appealing to both sides on the debate, to those from the brexit party and those in business and public services who argue britain needs a reliable source of foreign

labour. what does he really think? you need to see the small print. that is a view echoed by many who say so far the prime minister is offering rhetoric but little in the way of real detail. mark easton, bbc news. borisjohnson told parliament we must turbo—charge preparations for leaving the eu without a deal to make sure there's as little disruption as possible to national life. how realistic is that prospect? 0ur economics correspondent, dharshini david, looks at the possible consequences of a no—deal brexit and how prepared businesses are for that outcome. here at this luxury bed manufacturers, they have been watching the new prime minister closely. talk of a no deal might just be a negotiation technique, but having to ship in the steel from spain, timberfrom having to ship in the steel from spain, timber from latvia having to ship in the steel from spain, timberfrom latvia and horse hair that has been processed in switzerland means being prepared is a priority. and that has been frustrating. we are helpless, we

don't know what will happen and no one can tell us. we spent quarter of £1 million building up stock for march, we have then had to maintain that going forward and that is all we can do for october. that is everything, but the trouble is it has tied up this money for the best pa rt has tied up this money for the best part of nine months. how prepared businesses have been for a no deal has varied. big ones from manufacturers to the nhs have better resources to do so manufacturers to the nhs have better resources to do so than small ones. however, byjune the bank of england found 90% of companies overall had put in place contingency plans at some point. that was up from 30% last autumn, but you cannot stop it forever, especially perishable goods. the bank also found only half have maintained their contingency plans. and how prepared firms are will matter hugely to the wider economy. i think there is an

assumption that a no deal is going to bea assumption that a no deal is going to be a complete disaster. i think thatis to be a complete disaster. i think that is a possibility but the fact some businesses have done quite a lot of preparations, are a lot of businesses have at least on some, suggest the worst—case scenario is not likely to happen. but some things cannot be prepared for. in the event of a no deal goods crossing borders could face delays and incur extra charges. the government has already said it won't add those to most european imports but they still apply in some areas, adding 10% to the price of a typical family car. then there is the reaction of the market. regardless of tariffs a weaker pound makes imported goods from food to clothes more costly. at $1 25, sterling has been hovering close to its lowest level against the dollar far around two years. the disruptive no deal could push it down even further, say a nalysts. could push it down even further, say analysts. finally the big unknown,

how households and businesses will react to a no deal and any disruption. a blow to confidence could hurt spending, investment and jobs and so hurt economic wellbeing. already there are signs some may be suffering a few restless nights as the 31st of october approaches. the new government has been trying to inject more optimism about prospects. talk of a no deal may be just that but even words can have a cost. —— jeannie david, just that but even words can have a cost. ——jeannie david, bbc news. well that prospect of a no—deal brexit is clearly one that brussels will want to avoid. but any attempt by borisjohnson to radically change the withdrawal agreement were described by the eu's chief brexit negotiator as unacceptable. 0ur europe correspondent damian grammaticas is in brussels for us. damian, what else did mr barnier have to say? the eu appears totally unmoved. this was a private briefing from michel barnier after hearing what boris johnson said the parliament and it

was designed for eu leaders. in it, he said the talk of no deal was partly he believed a uk tactic to try to fracture the unity of the eu's 27 countries and went on to say mrjohnson's remarks that the only way to get the deal was by eliminating the backstop was unacceptable, and that has been repeated importantly by the irish prime minister, who said today that without a backstop there would be no deal, and without it too there would be no future trade agreement until the irish border is resolved. the eu does not want to be blamed for this. it believes it is a uk choice. brexit is a uk choice, the form of brexit is a uk choice, the form of brexit repeated by mrjohnson today is another choice, and a further choice insisted on by mrjohnson todayis choice insisted on by mrjohnson today is that there is no backstop. the eu doesn't want that plane landing on its shoulders so in the last hour and a half we have seen jean—claude juncker calling mr

johnson and giving him his personal phone number, essentially saying when you have a solution to these numbers, call us and we will talk about it. damian grammaticas, thank you. let's take a look at some of today's other news. the japanese car maker nissan has announced it will cut 12,500 jobs from its global workforce over the next three years, and reduce production capacity by 10%. its quarterly net profits have plummeted. the firm has not said where the cuts will fall, but it's not expected to affect the sunderland car plant. four teenage boys have been charged with a hate crime after a lesbian couple were subjected to a homophobic attack on a london bus. they were treated for facial injuries. the boys are due to a —— appear in court next month. the nominations for this year's mercury music prize for best album by a british or irish act have been announced. the 12 shortlisted out of 200 entries include rappers dave, little simz and rock bands fontaines dc and idles. the judges include former nominees

stormzy and jorja smith. england attempted to stage a fight back on the second day of the test match against ireland at lords. after yesterday's batting collapse, a short time ago they were 303 for 9 in their second innings. our sports correspondentjoe wilson has been watching today's action. 35 degrees, a pair of glasses, and a helmet. it's a tough combination. jack leach had to try to bat english cricket back to respectability. he grasped the occasion. leach was only sent in to stick around to protect the proper batsmen. the humble nightwatchman isn't supposed to score 50 runs, but leach did, and now everyone with england could remember that cricket is supposed to be fun. jason roy is supposed to make big scores... first test match 50... england overcame the deficit,

lead in the match. and, as the clock ticked past lunch, ireland's bowlers seemed out of ideas. well, england first played a test match in 1877; ireland in 2018. but any team there's ever been soon learns that in test cricket, at times, you must just stay patient. and look — roy dismissed for 72, then leach on 92, so close to his 100. gone, but the crowd knew what they had seen. there is still a place in test cricket for the stoical hero. now for the comedy. england contrived to ensure that joe denley was run out. just when they started to feel safe they were plunged back into jeopardy. jonny bairstow, nought in the first innings, out for nought again. and where was the leach spirit? moeen ali out next and england were six wickets down. and the captain? joe root gone, ireland inspired, england collapsing. when woakes went with england's lead

still slender, ireland had the sweetest scent of victory. joe wilson, bbc news, at lord's. and let's see how long these hot temperatures are going to last — sarah keith—lucas is in the studio. it has been a hot, humid day out there today. this was the picture in cambridge are taken by one of our weather watchers earlier on. just south of that was the hottest place today with temperatures of 38.1 celsius and that makes it the hottest july celsius and that makes it the hottestjuly day on record in the uk. we were just 0.4 degrees shy of beating the all—time temperature record which stands at 38.5 set in 2003 in kent. the heat and humidity have been building, it has been uncomfortable out there and they have been sparking off heavy showers and thunderstorms. 0ver have been sparking off heavy showers and thunderstorms. over the last couple of hours we have seen those thunderstorms across parts of north—west england, and a rash of heavy storms pushing into the south—east of england at the moment

and bm. through this evening and overnight it stays hot and humid, and we have those thundery downpours to contend with too. squally winds associated with some of these showers and thunderstorms, particularly across eastern england and eastern scotland through tonight. further west, not and eastern scotland through tonight. furtherwest, not as and eastern scotland through tonight. further west, not as many showers, breezy and cloudy but wherever you are we are in for another sticky night. if you are not another sticky night. if you are not afan of another sticky night. if you are not a fan of the heat and humidity, you won't be a fan of these temperatures overnight. but things are changing through tomorrow, we have a cold front moving west to east which will introduce fresher conditions at last. we could see some of those heavy showers continuing to linger into friday morning with rumbles of thunder likely, then like patchy rain and that cooler and fresher atla ntic rain and that cooler and fresher atlantic air moving in. temperatures will be about 10 degrees cooler than they have been today and the cooling trend continues. the weekend looks fresher than it has been and it will

turn more comfortable for sleeping over the next few days. good news. thank you. that's all from the bbc news at six so it's goodbye from me and on bbc one we nowjoin the bbc‘s news teams where you are.