the children abused in care in nottinghamshire, a report finds five decades of failings. foster homes and care homes, vulnerable children we re and care homes, vulnerable children were threatened, physically harmed and sexually assaulted.” were threatened, physically harmed and sexually assaulted. ijust wa nted and sexually assaulted. ijust wanted to go home and that is all i kept on focusing on, thinking someone was kept on focusing on, thinking someone was going to come and fetch me and take me home. the report says repeated mistakes by the local council put more children in danger. also tonight... heavy rain brings flash flooding to large parts of the north of england, with some areas underwater. in north yorkshire, roads have been badly affected and more rain is on the way. boris

johnson visits northern ireland, urging its politicians to share power once again. and hearing concern about brexit and the border. the often hidden effect of alcohol abuse on the brain — we have a special report. and they're ready, england's cricketers gear up for the start of the ashes tomorrow. coming up start of the ashes tomorrow. coming up on sportsday — a dream debut as england close out a disappointing ashes campaign with victory over australia. good evening. hundreds of vulnerable children were physically and sexually abused over a period of decades in nottinghamshire by people who were supposed to be caring for them. the finding by the independent

inquiry into child sexual abuse came after it received 350 complaints relating to care homes and foster carers in nottingham and the surrounding area. the report says the true scale of the abuse could be higher. both the city council and cou nty higher. both the city council and county council were found to have failed in their duty to protect children, with concerns they still haven't fully learned from their mistakes. sima kotecha reports. for some, it was here where the nightmares began, at beechwood children's home in nottingham, where vulnerable people who were to be protected were instead abused. i was petrified. i was absolutely... in all fairness, there was a few times i'd actually peed myself in fear. claire was one of them. she was 11 at the time. i still suffer flashbacks. i'm 42 now. my children have witnessed me sleeping and fighting in my sleep. i've never been able

to cuddle my children at night when they've been ill because if i fall asleep and i have one of my nightmares, i can't risk them being there. so... no, it's not any easier. and having no help to try and see to it, to try and get over what happened isn't any easier, because there isn't anything, there still isn't anything. today's report says that from the late 19705 to earlier this year, 16 staff were convicted of sexually abusing children. this report makes clear that child abuse was widespread in residential and foster care in the 19705, ‘80s and ‘90s. children were repeatedly raped, sexually assaulted and sometimes beaten. it says abusers were allowed to flourish and in one home, every single child was abused over a i2—month period. i think this was probably,

in terms of scale, the most shocking that we've seen. and actually if you think about it, we're not talking here about one individual that either blocked or actively participated in the sexual abuse of children, we're just talking about a regime that, over many years, just didn't recognise what they needed to do to protect children. 350 people told the inquiry about sexual abuse, some dating back almost 60 years. the true scale is likely to be considerably higher. the report said perpetrators were allowed to carry on working with children even though there were doubts about their conduct. both councils have apologised. it causes me professional embarrassment, yeah. we can see from the report that children and young people in our care were failed by the county council and other agencies over a long period of time. of course, that causes me embarrassment. but the chair of the inquiry has said that neither of the councils have learned from their mistakes,

despite more than 30 years of evidence of failure to protect children in care. i think the people that were in charge need to be held accountable. they knew, and they hid it. this isn't the first report on child abuse and it certainly won't be the last. many people this evening are asking what procedures are in place in ourcare asking what procedures are in place in our care homes to keep children safe. somebody we spoke to today who helped in collating this report said that he could not guarantee this evening that children were not at risk. and that is deeply worrying. mishal. there is major disruption tonight for roads and rail services in the north of england as well as home is being flooded as intense rain affects many areas. a major incident has been declared in cheshire, while parts of north yorkshire had a month's worth of

rain injust toffee hours. judith moritz reports. using inflatable dinghies to get to flooded homes, rescue crews helped 11 people and four dogs to safety this evening in bramall, south of manchester. with force enough to pick up this bin, water in the area has been raging all afternoon. in nearby cheadle hume the flood moved along roads, across driveways and into back gardens. in poynton a major incident was declared as people grabbed whatever they could to bail out the water. the last 2a hours in north yorkshire have been atrocious, this toddler carried out of the torrent, his family in their car when rescuers reached them. in the end they came around the field and waded through to the back of our car and rescued us and a few other people from the boot of the car. from the boot of the car? from the boot of the car, yes,

i guess we were on a slope and it is where the water seemed the slowest and the lowest that way. hailstones hammer down on this housing estate in leyburn. you couldn't believe what you were filming? no. allison lawes was in disbelief as she videoed the storm on her phone. today she was left to clean up and reflect on the speed with which the flood took hold. there was a carpet of hailstones across everywhere, it was like winter, it was like it had snowed. the next thing i heard was gurgling up my plug hole in the bathroom which i had never heard before, and the rain started. i went downstairs to make a cup of tea and realised the water was coming through the door. there has been disruption to travel across the north today. the settle to carlisle train line suffered a landslip and will stay closed until tomorrow. this new bypass road near manchester airport has been blocked for hours. and this part of buxton in derbyshire was a no through route. with so many roads blocked some

commuters got creative, urban canoeing the most effective way to get across town. there has been a sense of disbelief here today, not at the experience of flooding, because they've had that before, but at the speed and ferocity of the deluge. it was a real flash flood in the truest sense of the word. there is relief that the rain is currently holding off but we're not home and dry. this evening there are 19 flood warnings across england and there has been flash flooding in scotland as well. hard to believe that a week ago, we we re hard to believe that a week ago, we were basking in the hottest temperatures on record. the environment agency has said that what we're seeing is a shift in weather patterns because climate change. judith moritz, thank you very much. let's get the latest now on the major incident which has been

declared in cheshire. 0ur correspondent is in bramall in greater manchester. how acute is the situation there? well, there have been some pretty dramatic scenes here since around teatime, asjudith was saying, the real shock here is the amount of rainfall, the speed at which it came down and the number of small streams and rivers that broke their banks pretty quickly. just five miles away from here is the small town of poynton where a number of homes have been evacuated as the water came through the homes from the back to the front, straight out into the roads. here, a number of members of the fire service have been rescuing individuals from their homes and cars, as people got stranded because of the sudden deluge of water. things have definitely improved within the last hour or definitely improved within the last hourorso, definitely improved within the last hour or so, the water level around here has dropped pretty dramatically. but it is only tomorrow that we will really see the damage, particularly in people's homes, and that cleanup operation can really begin. and there is more rain forecast for the north—west tomorrow. so, people are very much

on tenterhooks. colletta smith, thank you very much. boris johnson has urged northern ireland's politicians to step up their efforts to restore devolved government, more than two and a half years after it was suspended. the prime minister met the five main parties at stormont today, and also reaffirmed his commitment to leave the eu on october the 31st, come what may. 0ur ireland correspondent emma vardy reports. finding middle ground here is hard. borisjohnson hopes to unite bitterly divided parties but progress to restore power sharing has been slow. clearly the people of northern ireland have been without a government, without stormont, for two years and six months so my prime focus this morning is to do everything i can to help that get up and running again. you wouldn't come to us, boris, we've come to you. there is a cacophony of issues to resolve. a row over the irish language has become the biggest dispute. the democratic unionists

were the only party to dine with borisjohnson last night. they welcome his plans to ditch the so—called backstop which could have kept northern ireland tied to eu rules to avoid checks on the irish border. what we want to see is a sensible way forward that recognises that the whole of the united kingdom are leaving the european union, the republic of ireland are staying in the single market and therefore we have to find a way of dealing with that. we can do that, i believe firmly we can do that, but there has to be a willingness on both sides to be able to achieve that. borisjohnson's cosiness with the dup has deepened the divide with sinn fein. he tells us he will act with absolute impartiality. we've told him that nobody believes that. nobody believes that because there are no grounds to believe that there is any kind of impartiality, much less strict impartiality. there was no breakthrough in the talks today and many feel borisjohnson leaves this island

with its economic future in his hands. the relationship between the uk and ireland is now under strain, the chasm between their positions deepening. the potential severing of trading links because of no deal is predicted to bring 50,000 job losses to the irish republic alone, with boris johnson treading a new, harder line. a hard border, no deal, no backstop. no, no, no. naughty, naughty boy. i would like to put him on that island and leave him there. you've got to give the guy a chance, haven't you? i'm a dairy farmer from southern ireland, i would be concerned about what the outcome will be. so, important steps ahead then? a bit like us right now. big steps ahead and we don't want to make a false one. for any prime minister at the best of times northern ireland is tricky ground and with a promise to leave the eu in october come what may,

there are crucial months ahead. emma vardy, bbc news, county antrim. how the irish border is handled after brexit continues to be a major sticking point. the eu is committed to the backstop, an insurance policy to the backstop, an insurance policy to avoid a hard border, and it would mean close relationship between the eu uk and eu pending anyone which was agreed in a future trade deal. borisjohnson has said the backstop has to go. if neither side is willing to budge, the uk leaves the eu without a deal at the end of 0ctober. 0ur europe correspondent adam fleming has been considering what that might mean for ireland. ireland's blooming economy will bloom a lot less if there is no deal. i think the relationship already is strained. boris only yesterday made contact with the taoiseach of ireland. we are only

defending our interest and the british are defending theirs, so i would not want to blame anyone. hopefully it will not come to that, we can sort something out. what do you think of brexit? if something is not sorted out, farmers like raymond will be hardest hit. most of his beef goes to the uk. he is worried there will be a further fall in the value of the pan and tariffs, the tax is charged on imports by the uk. both would make his beef more expensive. in the unthinkable event ofa expensive. in the unthinkable event of a crash out brexit, this farm will have to seize farming and we will have to seize farming and we will have to do something else with ourland. will have to do something else with our land. disruption to transport is another potential problem because lots of irish products go to the continent by britain via a land bridge. today the central bank of ireland ward of lost growth, lost jobs and a hole in the government

finances. there is a huge amount of work going into our budget and we have two budget is prepared, one in the event of a deal and the other in the event of a deal and the other in the event of no deal. we have already put specific funding measures in place for the agriculture, and food and drink sectors. what will the relationship be like with northern ireland on a range of issues, especially on the border, which will be an external frontier of the eu like:‘s or latvia's. but there has been a in one area. right now british and irish people can cross the irish sea and work in other‘s countries because of the common travel area. both governments have agreed that will continue no matter what happens with brexit. a bit of certainty before a possible dive into the unknown. adam fleming, bbc news, dublin. adam fleming, bbc news, dublin. ryanair boss michael 0'leary has warned staff to prepare forjob cuts in the coming weeks,

saying the airline has 900 too many pilots and cabin crew. he said redundancies would be announced by the end of august. mr 0'leary blamed planned cuts to flights due to the grounding of its boeing 737 max fleet, falling profits, higher oil prices and brexit uncertainty. police are investigating the sale of class a drugs in essex after six people died in what are thought to be drug related deaths. 20—year—old cian daly is among three men and three women to have died all within three days of each other. police are trying to establish exactly what they took. more than a million people were admitted to hospital in england last year with alcohol related problems. some had been drinking heavily for such a long time that they had alcohol—related brain damage which can affect balance and memory. 0ne charity says the condition is poorly understood, under diagnosed and often unrecognised. in his second report looking at the harm alcohol can cause, here's our social affairs correspondent michael buchanan.

i was in a coma at the hospital. they told my family, "he's not going to make it, he's not going to wake up." i was in hospitalfor six months. i couldn't walk, i was in a wheelchair, i had forgotten everything basically. by the time roy realised he had a drink problem it was too late. his daily intake for several years, eight cans of cider and a bottle of vodka, left him unable to recall the most simple details. i didn't know me mum, i didn't know me sister. i was disappointed in myself, ashamed of myself, how it ashamed of myself, how it affected all the people. this is what a healthy brain looks like. but look what happens to the same brain after the person has spent several years drinking heavily. there are more white areas, gaps where the brain has shrunk. it means this will definitely affect their ability to function on a

day—to—day basis around things such as planning, organising, sequencing tasks, making decisions. organising, sequencing tasks, making decisions. doctor cecil says another consequence of the brain injury is that the patient sometimes can't remember being told that continuing to drink could kill them. people with alcohol—related brain injuries suffer a particular difficulty not being able to understand information, useful and helpful information, that is being relayed to them. having drunk up to 12 pints a day for years, christopher is in danger of developing a brain injury. we wa nt we want to make sure your brain is as healthy as it should be. we want to make sure your brain is as healthy as it should be. at the royal liverpool hospital they have adapted a test for dementia for problem drinkers. 0ne, one, a, a, two and follow on the logical order. one, a, a, two and follow on the logical order. christopher starts well, but then begins to struggle. but his brain is fine, he has cut down to about five pints daily. just tallying up your score, 0k?

there is nothing to worry about. last year, however, this hospital treated 79 people with an alcohol—related brain injury. although the effect on each person varies, there is a common thread, there is not enough help for them when they leave hospital. unfortunately at the moment the patients can be excluded from certain services and equally the services are not specialised, so they might not look at alcohol addiction in relation to how someone is going to function or their health. 0ne consequence for roy is that he forgot how to cook, but two years of rehab have helped the 43—year—old improve some lost skills, but there is more hard work ahead of him. i feel perfectly ok, but... obviously i wouldn't be in the brain damage unit or getting sent to another brain damage unit if i was perfectly 0k. so i don't know how bad i am. his fervent wish now is that others recognise the damage that alcohol can cause.

michael buchanan, bbc news, liverpool. america's central bank the federal reserve has cut interest rates this evening for the first time in more than a decade. the last cut was in 2008, amid the global financial crisis. 0ur north america business correspondent michelle fleury is in washington, why have they chosen to do this? the federal reserve is looking at international matters rather than domestic concerns and making this decision. but the last time those inside this building cut interest rates it was in the depths of the financial crisis. since then, america has enjoyed its longest period ever of uninterrupted growth. but the fed felt it was necessary to act now to cut rates by a quarter of act now to cut rates by a quarter of a percentage point because of trade tensions and also a weakening, global, economic picture. explaining

the decision wasjerome powell, the chairman, and he talked about a mid—cycle adjustment. that is how he characterised today's decision. it is like a bit of an outpatient procedure rather than full surgery. but that disappointed the financial markets and donald trump who wanted to see more aggressive action by those here. michelle, thank you. michelle, thank you. boris johnson faces his first electoral test for a parliamentary constituency tomorrow when voters go to the polls in the brecon and radnorshire by election. it was triggered after a recall petition unseated the conservative mp chris davies after he was convicted of a false expenses claim. 0ur political correspondent alex forsyth reports. it's got all the signs of a standard by—election. good morning. hi, chris davies, good to see you. candidates vying for every vote. but the outcome of this contest could have consequences well beyond this constituency. the tories last held the seat,

but the liberal democrats, always strong here, are hoping for a win now. if i'm elected, the first thing i would do is demand that no—deal brexit is taken off the table. to give the lib dems the best chance plaid cymru and the green party aren't standing here, a remain alliance test where the majority voted to leave. lots of people voted remain as well and people have changed their minds in three years and for us a no—deal brexit is what the focus should be. but in this brexit—backing area the tories hope to capitalise on their party's new firm line. what this constituency needs is a deal delivered but we must not take no deal off the table and not use that as a good bargaining chip. this by—election was triggered after chris davies was convicted for a false expenses claim. he was chosen to stand again for the conservatives. i will feel responsible if this seat isn't properly represented. this is where i live, this is where i'm from, this is where my children go to school. clearly the people of brecon and radnorshire who voted

out want me to support the new prime minister who will deliver brexit. in any by—election local issues play a part but the result here will be seen as an important first test of boris johnson's do or die brexit policy. and if the conservatives don't win, the new prime minister's working majority in westminster will be down to one. the brexit party is hoping for exactly that outcome. they polled well here in the recent european elections and although ukip is standing, they are keen to hold the brexit ground. the conservative government now is taking a very firm line on brexit. he is already softening his line in the last day or so. he is talking about maybe two years staying in with some sort of theresa may type deal, maybe slightly changed. people want convincing and i don't think they are convinced. labour, meanwhile, is convinced it is wider issues that matter on the doorstep. it's not all about brexit, as much as people tried to paint it that way at the start

of the campaign. the momentum has shifted to the real issues, such as austerity and everything that comes with it. tomorrow the people of this constituency will make their choice. the ripples could be felt well beyond mid wales. alex forsyth, bbc news. and here are all six of the candidates who'll be standing in the brecon and radnorshire by—election tomorrow. fresh from their world cup triumph, england's cricketers are preparing to face australia in the ashes. the 71st series begins at edgbaston tomorrow. as our sports editor, dan roan, reports hopes are high with england unbeaten since 2001 in a home ashes series. the world cup is theirs, now england have the chance to get their hands on the ashes as well, cricket was my old est on the ashes as well, cricket was my oldest rivalry about to resume. on the ashes as well, cricket was my oldest rivalry about to resumem is an opportunity for everyone involved to further that and to make

it as good as you can imagine in terms of a summer of cricket. 0ther players are excited and we are hours away and we want to get things going. the hosts' first ever world cup win was england's biggest moment since 2005, when ashley giles was pa rt since 2005, when ashley giles was part of a team that finally regained the ashes. now the md he told me this summer could be even bigger.l world cup and the ashes together was 40 world cup and the ashes together was a0 yea rs world cup and the ashes together was a0 years ago or something like that, so it would be a magnificent achievement. it is great to see a love of cricket again out there and if we win the ashes, that would help. that was certainly the case at the national finals day. help. that was certainly the case at the nationalfinals day. it is hoped they can help reverse a decade of decline in playing and watching the sport. eventually i feel it will peter out. so if the ashes success can be achieved, that will keep it going into the winter months.“

england can now also regain the ashes it will surely go down as the greatest year in their history at what is a pivotal moment for the sport here. but standing in their way are their arch rivals australia, who will need no extra motivation. they have not won an ashes series here in england for 18 long years. australia is still recovering from his gravest controversy, the three players banned for last year's ball tampering scandal are back and one former captain believes the overhaul in culture could be a strength. there has been a lot of australian cricket, but we have pushed the reset button and this is a huge opportunity to showcase to the rest of the world this is a really good australian cricket side. pace bowler joffre archer's test debut will have to wait, left out as he recovers from injury. but having been thrashed in australia in the last series, the hosts will be desperate for a good start and what could be

the end to a dream summer.

hello and welcome to sportsday. angling begin their bid to become ashes from australia but can they com plete ashes from australia but can they complete the perfect summer of cricket? england when then close out a disappointing ashes campaign with the victory at last over australia. ahead of the british up and we hear from the defending champion on how she will fare in front of the home cloud. hello and welcome to sportsday. 0n the eve of the ashes — a surprise omission england bid to regain that bid from

australia. they had lost since 2001 and haven't lost to any site in 11 yea rs, and haven't lost to any site in 11 years, but there was a surprise omission from the starting line—up. jofra archer who starred during the world cup — will have to wait a little longer for his introduction to the red ball format. from edgebaston, joe wilson has the latest. cricket history lesson one, ashes equals ultimate, not the smallest prize and l size, holding it, but biggest insignificance. he smiled. except this time england had already achieved their goal, making history. joe proved how the world cup. so i asked him has that leave the ashes less significant? if you speak to anyone who has captain and been on the verge of the series to say it does not mean as much as any other event, i don't think any of them would agree with that. it's huge. it's a great opportunity i think that i could get in this country is an all—time high and has an interest

like that that it hasn't had for a long time, and we had an opportunity asa long time, and we had an opportunity as a team to make this a memorable one. so could it be a friendly series? australian captain says they have been motivated from insured to behaviour never lies. bear in mind, and the squad we smith, warner, anne bancroft, all three of the men who we re bancroft, all three of the men who were banned for their part and the ball tampering scandal, so if you fa ncy ball tampering scandal, so if you fancy billing from the scans, there will be many chances. the potential to unsettle will be many chances. the potential to u nsettle a nyone will be many chances. the potential to unsettle anyone they are human beings they had feelings like eve ryo ne beings they had feelings like everyone else, so what we spoke about is we believe it'll go up a notch. he said he could think of 15 grounds more intimidating than this wise, and england were going to win here often, that's why they are starting the ashes here. it's a fantastic support from the fans here, the 0zzie said when they

played