today at five — a big increase in drug deaths in england and wales. they soar to the highest level since records began 25 years ago with heroin and crack cocaine as the main killers. over the last five years, one third of residential rehab have closed which is a really striking statistic. we know residential rehab isa statistic. we know residential rehab is a vital resource to help save lives. with nearly 3,000 deaths — we'll be asking whether government policies are to blame. the other main stories on bbc news at 5. a seized iranian tanker held in gibraltar is to be released, despite a last—minute plea by the us authorities. jeremy corbyn‘s proposal for a caretaker government to stop a no—deal brexit meets a mixed

response — some party leaders say they'll talk to him but the lib dems reject the idea. i hope that they will all support the motion of no confidence that i will put and that will ensure that this government can then not continue with this headlong pursuit of no—deal brexit. continue with this headlong pursuit of no-deal brexit. there is no way he can unite rebel conservatives and independents to stop boris johnson. it is not even certain he would secure it is not even certain he would secure all the votes of labour mps. the proportion of a—level students getting the top grades has dropped to a 12 year low. and coming up, missionjurassic — we'll be talking to one of the dinosaur hunters behind one of the biggest finds in decades.

it's five o'clock — our top story. drug—related deaths in england and wales are the highest they've been since records began more than a quarter of a century ago. figures from the office for national statistics show there were more than 4,300 deaths from drug poisoning recorded in 2018. two thirds of those deaths were due to the use of illegal drugs. our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford reports. the number of people dying from drugs misuse has been climbing almost without stop for six years now. the largest number of deaths are from heroin and morphine, but cocaine deaths are becoming more prominent, as are deaths from drugs like spice — what were known as legal highs before they were made illegal. last year a record a559 people died from drugs poisoning.

two thirds of those deaths, almost 3,000, were from drugs misuse — also a record. that figure went up by i7% since 2017, the highest increase in a single year. there are several reasons why drug—related deaths are increasing, including increased supply of both heroin and cocaine to the uk, but that's very hard for the government to control. one of the things the government could control is the amount of money it spends on drug treatment services, and we know those services save lives. not only do they save people's lives, they actually save money because they reduce the cost to the nhs and also the amount of crime that is done in drug markets. statistics for deaths from drug misuse were first collected in 1993 and rose until 2001. they then stabilised for more than a decade, but have been climbing again since 2012. the worst region for deaths from drugs misuse is the north—east,

where the rate is 96.3 per million people. the best figures are in southern england. in london the rate is 34.9 per million people. those who work with addicts say continuing austerity and cuts are contributing to the number of deaths. over the last five years a third of residential rehabs have closed, which is a really striking statistic because we know that residential rehab is a vital resource to help save lives, change lives and save lives, and to see that these units have closed over the last five years really concerns me. last month figures in scotland showed that drug deaths there were also at a record high. daniel sandford, bbc news. our home editor mark easton is here — we heard there in daniel's report government cuts to services are responsible for these deaths. are they right?

i think there is actually a bigger disagreement, a bigger argument that lies behind the simple question of whether the cuts are causing the deaths, and that is disagreement about the whole approach of drugs policy. essentially, should it be driven as a law enforcement approach. you ban these substances and use the law to stop people using them, or whether you make it a public health approach and say we wa nt to public health approach and say we want to do whatever we can to reduce the harm. that is the difference that lies really behind all this. three years ago the advisory council, the statutory body that advises the home office, published its own paper and what it said could be done to reduce deaths from opiates, and heroin is one of the big causes behind the figures today, and they said a number of things. they said don't cut treatment, but also what about, we know this works on the evidence is strong, that if you have somebody who is on heroin and substitution therapy doesn't

work, give them heroin and save their lives that way, and also suggested consumption rooms, medically supervised, where people could come and take street but drugs safely but without the fear of prosecution. they say both those measures would save lives but for the government that goes completely against their message which is drugs are bad, don't use them, so the other huge argument is around decriminalisation and legalisation, and this whole debate, you will find many people who have lost loved ones to drugs, will say, why can't we do this? why can't we regulate the supply? again, the government has this independent review into drugs policy but it has already explicitly ruled out any thought that we might decriminalise our legalised drugs. that is not going to be part of the review. critics will say that is exactly the reason why we are not considering the evidence—based possibilities for actually reducing

these drug deaths. and coming up later in the programme we'll have more on this with the leader of a drug and alcohol addiction charity and with the head of research at the office for national statistics. the authorities in gibraltar have released the iranian tanker seized by royal marines last month on suspicion of supplying oil to syria in breach of eu sanctions. the government of gibraltar says it's received written assurances from iran that the grace one won't discharge its cargo at a syrian refinery. the decision comes despite a last—minute attempt by the us department ofjustice to stop the tanker from being allowed to sail. tensions between iran and both the uk and the us have been ramping up over recent months. in may, four tankers were hit by blasts in the gulf of oman. iran denied us accusations that its forces had planted mines on the vessels. on the 11th ofjuly the iranian oil

tanker grace one was seized by british royal marines near gibraltar. a fortnight later iran's revolutionary guard seized the british—flagged oil tanker stena impero in the strait of hormuz — that ship is still being held. let's talk to our defence & diplomatic correspondent jonathan marcus. it isa it is a predictably murky picture and some confusion over what has been actually going on in gibraltar this afternoon. can you clarify? for all intents and purposes it looks as though the authorities have said the ship can be released. how soon it can get under way we don't know but in essence there was a legal hearing. the gibraltar authorities told the court they had received a written assurance from the iranians, you mentioned a moment ago, that the cargo would not go to a sanctioned entity in syria thus there was no longer any reason to hold the ship

under eu sanctions against syria. remember it is sanctions on syria that were the apparent reason for holding the ship. nothing to do with iran itself, so there was that muddying of the waters, the last—minute us attempt which appears to have been an attempt to get the court to hand they shipped over to the us authorities. it is not clear what legal grounds the americans we re what legal grounds the americans were claiming for that. it looks as though no legal papers were presented to the court in gibraltar and thus the judge said, in effect, there is nothing stopping me from following the course set by the government and allowing the ship to leave. and do we have anything from the british government at this point? we do it. they have noted the government of gibraltar‘s assurances that it has received from iran. they are insisting nothing can be done that would allow the breaking of

vital eu sanctions. once again, the big sanction is what will happen to the stena impero, the ship a p pa re ntly the stena impero, the ship apparently seized in response to the ca ptu re apparently seized in response to the capture of the grace one. the british are saying there is no comparison their linkage between the illegal seizure and the enforcement of eu sanctions that was carried out by the government of gibraltar. they can say it as chalk and cheese as much as they like but any rational person would presumably think that the release of one ship must in some way have some sort of bearing, or one would imagine, on the potential future release of the other.|j one would imagine, on the potential future release of the other. i am sure many hope so, thank you. jeremy corbyn's suggestion that he should lead a caretaker government to prevent britain leaving the eu without a deal has exposed divisions among remain mps who want block brexit. the liberal democrat leader, jo swinson, dismissed the idea as "nonsense" but the snp, plaid cymru and some tory rebel mps have said they will talk to labour

to discuss of stop a no—deal brexit. downing street said mr corbyn would overule the result of the referendum if he became prime minister. our political correspondent tom barton reports. could he be the next prime minister? the man to bring parliament together to oppose and no—deal brexit? jeremy corbyn certainly thinks it is possible. writing to opposition party leaders and rebel conservative mps to say he wants to seek the confidence of the house of commons with the aim of calling a general election and securing an extension to the brexit departure date. i hope they will support the vote of no confidence i will put and that will make sure the government cannot continue this headlong pursuit of a no—deal brexit. that would mean a caretaker government led by labour which would be a government in order to prevent a no—deal brexit

and bring about a general election so the people of this country can decide theirfuture. there are plenty of mps inside parliament who are opposed to a no—deal brexit. quite how they achieve that though is farfrom clear. jeremy corbyn's idea of holding a vote of no confidence could see borisjohnson setting an election date for after britain has left the eu unless mps can agree an alternative government and prime minister within a couple of weeks. that could be harder thanjeremy corbyn hopes. the lib dems leader today dismissing the idea of him as prime minister as nonsense. she would like mps to come together to pass a law to stop a no—deal brexit, otherwise she says a backbencher should be installed in number ten. there is no way he can unite rebel conservatives

and independents to stop borisjohnson. it's not even sure that he would secure all of the votes of labour mps. this is about having a plan that works. the scottish nationalists and plaid cymru have given jeremy corbyn's letter a cautious welcome while rebel conservatives have said they are willing to talk tojeremy corbyn about how to stop no deal. their colleagues in government have accused the labour leader of trying to overturn the referendum result. any conservative could think very, very ha rd any conservative could think very, very hard about this. it presents a clear choice. jeremy corbyn is prime minister overturning the result of the referendum or borisjohnson respecting the referendum on putting more money into the nhs and police to keep us safe. if a vote of no confidence was called, it would need a majority of mps to pass it but if they did

borisjohnson are an alternative government would have 1a days to pass a new motion of confidence and avoid an election. the second vote though can only be held if borisjohnson resigns as prime minister, and some experts say he could refuse. he could say, particularly if this is a temporary caretaker government led byjeremy corbyn that doesn't say anything about what it will do, he could say i don't recognise that as a government. iam i am still the prime minister. it is clear all the mps who received the letter, and plenty more, are determined to stop no—deal brexit. getting them to agree on how to do it is a different matter altogether though. tom barton, bbc news, westminster. our political correspondent nick eardley is in westminster. a different matter altogether, we hear, but i suppose a crucial one. it isa hear, but i suppose a crucial one. it is a numbers game. how do you

assess the arithmetic forjeremy corbyn at this point? at this point it looks like a struggle. he doesn't have the numbers as things stand for this plant to work. mightjust be enough to potentially bring down borisjohnson in a no—confidence vote but getting jeremy corbyn over the line as prime minister afterwards as much harder. what is interesting as there are some opening the door to this conversation. the snp, plaid cymru, some conservatives saying they are prepared to get round the table but others far more reluctant. even those conservatives who might be prepared to speak tojeremy corbyn arendt necessarily ready to sign up to his plan. there is more of a sign that they want to open the door and have a conversation and see if they can figure something else out. one person from the conservative party who is urging his colleagues to think seriously about putting jeremy corbyn into number ten is utopian.

thank you very much. some confusion there! ian blackford is the snp leader in the house of commons and joins us now from our glasgow newsroom. thank you forjoining us. are you going to help jeremy thank you forjoining us. are you going to helpjeremy corbyn get over the line? what is the most important thing is the crisis that we face because it is important to remember that as things stand we will be leaving the european union at the end of october and more than likely ona no end of october and more than likely on a no deal basis, and i am appealing to parliamentarians to get around the table and talk about the options that we have, so at least if there is an invitation to meet with jeremy and others i will be taking that up, but what i want to stress tojeremy is that up, but what i want to stress to jeremy is that there is a majority against no deal in parliament and i believe it is possibly a sizeable majority and we need to look at the options of taking no deal of the table. that is

the first priority and i believe we can do that when we return to parliament in the first week of september. we should be looking at a standing order 24 application to allow us to bring forward a motion to take control of the agenda of parliament and bring forward the necessary legislation that will block no deal. that will be the first stage and then we can talk about the other matters but i would wa nt about the other matters but i would want to see a referendum where we can have remaining on the ballot paper but i am also happy and comfortable about an election. we just need to agree the timescales and mechanisms to do this but we all as parliamentarians have a responsibility to do what is right andl responsibility to do what is right and i have to say the economic consequences for all of us of a no—deal brexit would be pretty horrific, and i am asking all parliamentarians to recognise the damage this would do to all nations of the united kingdom and to work together to stop that. and of course, if that means the ending of borisjohnson and course, if that means the ending of boris johnson and his course, if that means the ending of borisjohnson and his premiership thenl borisjohnson and his premiership then i would fully support that. but

thatis then i would fully support that. but that is collateral damage in your view rather than the primary objective? your primary objective is to get legislation changed so that you can extend article 50? extending article 50 is the beginning of the process and then we need to see where there is agreement of what the next steps are, but i would simply say tojeremy next steps are, but i would simply say to jeremy and others, of course i support a motion of no confidence but we have to be careful that we don't as a consequence of that crash out of the european union on a no deal basis in the interim. the first thing we have to do is take away the cliff edge, to stop the economic self— harm cliff edge, to stop the economic self—harm in the interim. the first thing we have to do is take away the cliff edge, stop the economic self— harm and the cliff edge, stop the economic self—harm and the disaster we would have in terms of the implications for food shipments, medicine shipments, even perhaps water quality, so let's protect our constituents from no deal first, and then look at what we can do to re move then look at what we can do to remove borisjohnson. then look at what we can do to remove boris johnson. i then look at what we can do to remove borisjohnson. iwant then look at what we can do to remove borisjohnson. i want to then look at what we can do to remove boris johnson. i want to work with everybody to make sure that we can protect us from a heart brexit and of course i don't want brexit to

happen at all. we have a mandate from the people of scotland who voted to remain and i want to make sure the people of scotland also have the opportunity to determine our own destiny so there are a numberof our own destiny so there are a number of things we need to do and i certainly signal that the snp will work constructively not just with jeremy corbyn but others, to make sure that we get away from this catastrophic no—deal brexit scenario. and one final question on your response to what we have heard from the liberal democrat leaderjo swinson today complaining that jeremy corbyn cannot unite his own party and the rebels behind him, that if there was a caretaker government it would be better led by a backbencher with some authority, the father of the house, the mother of the house. i want to appeal to everybody to recognise the crisis that we face and the fact we are weeks away from crashing out of the european union. that is the priority andl european union. that is the priority and i want everyone to work together in all our national interests. that is the priority rather than focusing

on the individual is in office in the short term. thanks so much for joining us. just want to bring you some breaking news from the information commissioner. an investigation has been launched into the use of facial recognition that the king's cross development. elizabeth denham has said the technology is a potential threat to privacy that should concern us threat to privacy that should concern us all. the statement goes on, scanning people's faces as they lawfully go about their everyday lives in order to identify them as a potential threat to privacy. it should concern us all and is especially the case if it is done without knowledge or understanding. we support keeping people safe but new technology and new uses of sensitive personal data must always be balanced against people's legal rights. so an investigation under way enter that and that will be an interesting test case and we will

keep you posted as it goes on over the coming weeks. about 300,000 students in england, wales and northern ireland have spent the day digesting their a—level results. the proportion of students achieving the top grades at a—level has fallen to its lowest level for more than a decade. and for the first time, there were more entries for a—level science subjects from girls than from boys. chi chi izundu has been with students at a college in blackpool as they received their results. elated, relieved, gobsmacked. that is how some of the students here at the blackpool sixth form college describing getting their a—level results. and of course there were tears. but mostly parents are proud, like ellie and her mum. my mum is really happy because i literally thought i would fail maths and i got into uni, the one i wanted to go to. so i'm just so happy. i've never seen anything like the commitment she has put in.

she just deserved it. if effort was to be rewarded, it would be a‘, a‘, a‘. she just really deserve that. but despite this happiness, this year across england and wales and northern ireland, 25.5% of students got as and as. that is actually the lowest level since 2007. the figures released by the joint council for qualifications also show for the first time the number of girls taking sciences has overtaken boys at 50.3%. and while maths remains the most popular subject, there has been a decline in the number of entries for english literature, a fall of 7.8%. i got an a in english literature, b in history and c in music. and are you happy with those results? iam, yes. three a*s in physics, maths and computer science. wow, congratulations! what you plan for your future? i am hoping to go to, well, i will be going to st andrews to study physics. pass rates of those getting top grades have increased in northern ireland and wales. this year clearing into universities

is expected to be busier than ever. that is partly down to the fact that students do not have to wait for their unique to release them to enter claim. they can simply head online and decline their place and pick somewhere else to go. the government however, has expressed concern over the rise in unconditional offers — that is where students are guaranteed a place regardless of the grades they get. there is something like 8% of offers for unconditional this year. that is compared to under half a percentjust six years ago. we need to make sure that the admissions systems into universities is geared to delivering what is in the best interest of students and not simply fillin places at universities. filling places at universities. whilst the number of those accepted on to university courses has dipped slightly, it is still a dream for those who didn't believe they would get there. i am gobsmacked to be honest. i don't know what to do. they said i would never be able to college, and i've done it so... i'm clearly trying. so you're really over the moon? yeah! the result of the college

are exceptional. were so pleased and we have got more high grades in a—levels, which obviously bucks the national trend, so we are delighted. and so they should be. for some it is back to work. whilst others are jumping into celebrating. one, two, three... chi chi izundu, bbc news. congratulations to all of them. more now on our top political story. jeremy corbyn has said he will call a vote of no confidence and urged the leaders of the other opposition parties and tory rebels to install him as caretaker pm, in order to stop a no—deal brexit. well, to discuss this more — i am joined by bronwen maddox — the director of the institute for government. we saw ewan tom's report earlier but let's talk in a little bit more detail about the jeremy corbyn let's talk in a little bit more detail about thejeremy corbyn plan. what is the likelihood of succeeding? i think it is tough to see it going very far, not because it isn't supported, and your report

was talking about how the snp and others, even among the tories, want the things that the plan is trying to deliver, which is an ability to ta ke to deliver, which is an ability to take control of it, get an extension, and get a general election within the period we are still in the eu so voters can vote on that, but what many of those people don't want is putting jeremy corbyn into number ten and it is marvellously undefined the way he has crafted this letter. he says time—limited but doesn't say what the limit might be, doesn't say what powers he might have or any others, so there is a lot of suspicion that others might have about him. where that takes us is what those mps who really wa nt that takes us is what those mps who really want those objectives, of an extension, while either urge the government to get another deal or a general election, what do they do? we are beginning to hear an offer a lot more, as people use these august

days, to try to go the other route, which asjo swinson was saying, try to get hold of the parliamentary process , to get hold of the parliamentary process, to try to pass legislation in force the government to ask for an extension. so in force the government to ask for an extension. 50 are in force the government to ask for an extension. so are they not on holiday or talking to their constituents at all? pretty much. westminster is astonishingly full of people plotting, in offices and car phase and so on. some must be on holiday but it doesn't feel like it. and they are plotting, what, the idea that we heard from ian blackford, that you grab hold of the legislative agenda in parliament in early september? yes, they are trying to get together the numbers to support one of several ways to get hold of the business of the commons, and this is quite difficult to do because the government in normality controls the business of the commons so they have to use one of several devices. such as calling

foran of several devices. such as calling for an emergency debate and trying to bring a private members bill, but those things wouldn't normally be binding, and turn these mechanisms into something binding on the government. they are probably going to need not only the support of the speaker but also to break with some conventions, so it would feel like quite a big thing to do. and what about the government, while everybody else is plotting in corners, what is the government doing? are they waiting to see whether these endeavours succeed or fail before going back to the eu and saying we are approaching the cliff edge? they are not on holiday either and are certainly planning for no deal. they are running what seems like an election great. a week of justice announcements, may be one on a week of education announcements, so big announcements with a lot of money behind it. they intend to keep that going for the first half of september but they have these eyes on parliamentary procedures as well.

whether they turn around and say, we are whether they turn around and say, we a re really whether they turn around and say, we are really trying with the eu but all of this isjust are really trying with the eu but all of this is just to strengthen our hand, i don't know, because one area there doesn't seem a lot of activity is actually negotiating with the eu. doesn't sound as if you can with the eu. doesn't sound as if you ca n afford with the eu. doesn't sound as if you can afford a summer holiday? sorry for you! thank you. whilst we've been hearing about the sharp rise in drug—related deaths in england and wales, throughout this week we've been reporting on the ferocious supply of crack—cocaine to towns across britain, the phenomenon known as ‘county lines‘. tonight, we'll hear from the police force that say they cannot protect the children caught up in this. our special correspondent ed thomas has more. as heroin deaths reach record highs, for three months we have investigated the rise in county line drug dealing. exploited teenage drug runners, vulnerable long—term users.

with heroin and crack cocaine trafficked hundreds of miles every week. having watched that footage, it is quite distressing because it is bringing home the reality. you cannot not be shocked. as a police officer of 25 years experience that is the harsh reality of what is happening in towns and cities across our country. we showed our reports to assista nt our country. we showed our reports to assistant chief concert chris green and to child safeguarding head sarah o'brien. at times during filming the flow of teenage drug mules between merseyside and north wales seems relentless. this is not just a saint helens problem. wales seems relentless. this is not just a saint helens problemm wales seems relentless. this is not just a saint helens problem. it is a national problem. there are children on the street today who have gone missing and who we cannot keep safe. there are children today who are in the type of houses that you featured in yourfilm. the type of houses that you featured in your film. they are at risk. we

cannot keep all of them safe at the moment. so at the moment in saint helens we have three... we discovered a network of children's homes in saint helens targeted by cou nty homes in saint helens targeted by county lines gangs. it is chaos. if it gets bigger then there is just not enough of us. criminal exploitation is a crisis and i think the funding is a crisis. mental health services are at breaking point, schools are at breaking point, schools are at breaking point, social care is at breaking point, social care is at breaking point, social care is at breaking point, so we need more resources put in the. as we filmed in north wales, one officer told us he no longer arrested heroin and crack cocaine users for personal possession. his priority was to protect and safeguard child dealers. if you ask any of the users if i have ever knock them up for having personal... i can absolutely

understand somebody making a decision to say, i need to get into that house to make sure that people are safe, that house to make sure that people a re safe, to that house to make sure that people are safe, to make sure there are no children and their from elsewhere who are vulnerable. officers provided this footage showing a young child being arrested. they said the child had slipped into crisis after being exploited by criminals. probably in that moment he was absolutely terrified. and he is somebody‘s child, and we collectively own society especially for these vulnerable people who are in care for whatever reason, we need to protect them. quite often it is absolutely right that a young person needs to be arrested, it is justified, it is reasonable and it is lawful. it doesn't make good watching. nobody comes into work wanting to go out and arrest

children, no one. as a nation, are we failing to protect our children? yes, from criminal exploitation. drugs gangs, grooming thousands of vulnerable children. record drug deaths, county lines, one of the most complex policing challenges of the 21st century. now it's time for a look at the weather with alina jenkins. some sunshine around but more rain to come. the cloud will build outbreaks of rain extending into northern ireland and scotland, and western fringes of england and wales by the end of the night, so the temperature not much lower than 13 or 14. could get down to it are nine. quite a deep area of low

pressure but also quite windy, the isobars very close together cloud building all the while. rain across northern ireland in western fringes of england and wales, south and dispersed through the day. blustery showers across scotland and northern ireland and the far north of england but it is a windy day, costs could hit 45 mph where we have the rain lingering across england and wales. further north sunshine and the temperature up to around 21. this is bbc news. the headlines. drug deaths in england and wales soar to their highest level since records began 25 years ago. a seized iranian tanker held in gibraltar is to be released, despite a last—minute plea by the us authorities. jeremy corbyn's proposal for a caretaker government to stop a no—deal brexit meets a mixed response. some party leaders say

they'll talk to him, but the lib dems reject the idea. a—level results are out. the number of students getting the top grade drops to its lowest for more than a decade. the use of facial recognition software at the king's cross rail development is to be investigated by the information commissioner. and coming up, missionjurassic. we'll be talking to one of the dinosaur hunters behind one of the biggest finds in decades. before that let's catch up with all the support and we are joined by sarah. good afternoon. thank you very much. let's start with the cricket. australia are well on top against england in the second ashes test at lords. they put the hosts into bat and have taken wickets steadily all day. the best resistance came from opener rory burns, who made a 50. jonny bairstow has also made some runs down the order.

he hasjust made his half a century. no weather delays today, but play will be extended to make up for the loss of the first day's play through rain. england trail 1—0 in the five—match series. they are currently 240—8 and you can follow that on the bbc sport website and test match special. arsenal manager unai emery is 100% confident mesut ozil and sead kolasinac are "mentally ready" to play against burnley on saturday. he was talking at the club's press conference today, ahead of that match. the pair were victims of an attempted car—jacking injuly. and were left out of the gunners' season—opening win over newcastle because of "further security fears". two men were arrested last week, outside the north london home of ozil, and charged with a public order offence. emery said they are going to wait until tomorrow, their last training session, to take a decision on whether they will play.

the mentality is now focused for us. really the focus is positive i think. they are 100% with their mind here. i want to help them to be with us here. i want to help them to be with us training, thinking about football. taking the focus for each match. three weeks into the new english football league season and we have news of the first managerial departure. sol campbell is leaving macclesfield town by mutual consent after eight months in charge. the 44—year—old took over in november last year with the silkmen bottom of league 2 and managed to keep them in the football league. thanks to a run ofjust two defeats in their final 10 games. the club is struggling off—field with financial issues. wing ruaridh mcconnochie will make his england debut against wales on saturday. mcconnochie was named in the starting 15 last weekend before pulling out with injury. but he will now win his first cap

in cardiff in the week he was a shock call—up to england's world cup squad. maro itoje returns as eddiejones makes three changes to the starting side. centrejonathan davies will be joined by his younger brotherjames for the first time in a wales shirt when they take on england. they're the first brothers to play alongside each other since 2006. coach warren gatland also bring in dan biggar to replaced injured fly half gareth anscombe. we'll have more for you in sportsday at 6.30. see you then. thanks, sarah. let's bring you a line of breaking news from joe swenson, the leader of the lib dems. she has tweeted "i have offered to meet jeremy lib dems. she has tweeted "i have offered to meetjeremy corbyn to discuss how we can work together on what she calls a deliverable plan no deal including the option of uniting behind an mp who can command a

majority in the house". earlier the lib dems were talking about ken clark the tory mp who is the father of the house or harriet harman the labourmp, the of the house or harriet harman the labour mp, the mother of the house. so, more political developments there this evening on thejeremy corbyn proposal for a caretaker government. now we will go back to drugs though. new figures suggest the number of people who died from drugs poisoning in england and wales last year was the highest since records began. 4,359 people died from drugs poisoning in 2,917 of them from drugs misuse. -- in 2018. that figure has gone up by 17% in a single year, a record increase. let's talk more on this now. ben humberstone, head of health analysis at the office for national statistics who's in titchfield.

thanks forjoining us. i read out the headline figures but it is you who provided them. you must be as shocked as we are. but we have published today shows that the number of deaths from drug use registered and take macro in england and wales in 2018 is the highest we have recorded since records began in 1993. it is a 16% increase on 2017 which is the largest increase we have ever seen which is the largest increase we have ever seen year on year. which is the largest increase we have ever seen year on year. the reason we produce these figures is to provide an evidence base so that governments, local authorities, and the third sector in charities have got a basis on which to make good decisions about how to provide services to those that most risk of death from drug poisoning and drug misuse. one of the things you look at is the situation in other

countries and i know scotland, we had those figures recently equally terrifying. there is a lot of accusations going on today about what is responsible or explanations as well as accusations. as a statistician, what is your view? well, we have seen some patterns here that help explain the increase. so, for example, it is driven predominantly by men. male deaths from drug use have increased from about 90 per million population to about 90 per million population to about 105 per million population between 2017—18. and we know that there are a couple of age groups that are particularly affected by that. the 20-29 that are particularly affected by that. the 20—29 —year—old males and 40-49 that. the 20—29 —year—old males and 40—49 —year—old males. we suspect the so—called generation x, those in their 40s now are starting to see

their 40s now are starting to see the impact of long—term drug use. we know there is an upturn in the use of heroin back in the 80s and 90s and that combined with failing health and other risk factors like smoking and drinking will be starting to have an impact now. thank you for much for those insights. let's talk now to mike dixon. chief executive of drug and alcohol charity @ action. thank you for coming in. do you have anything to add on the statistics for pop —— responsible? the figures are bleak, there is no two ways about it. we we re there is no two ways about it. we were shocked by the size of the rise that we have seen. we have worked with a lot of people that have died this year. it is a tremendously sad day for those working drug services. and what do you think is behind it? we heard some of the expedition there in terms of long—term drug use responsible for that 40—49 age

group. why is it predominately men and this age group 20—29?|j group. why is it predominately men and this age group 20-29? i think it is very hard to say. we know there are somethings that have happened to the kind of drugs coming into the country. heroin and cocaine particularly have computer and the last few years and that has meant it is harder tojudge how much you are taking and so for people who do use that drugs it can be more dangerous to ta ke that drugs it can be more dangerous to take them. and we also know that if you are... it is harderfor people to get in treatment at the moment and it is harderfor us as treatment providers to reach eve ryo ne we treatment providers to reach everyone we need to. i think the really sad thing here is we know what works, we know how to prevent this. we're just what works, we know how to prevent this. we'rejust on what works, we know how to prevent this. we're just on doing what works, we know how to prevent this. we'rejust on doing it what works, we know how to prevent this. we're just on doing it well enough as a country at the moment and therefore a lot of people are dying that really just and therefore a lot of people are dying that reallyjust don't need to be. is thatjust a question of resources or a question of putting tools of —— into the hands of different people? cuts have been most ha rd different people? cuts have been most hard and drug deaths have gone

up most hard and drug deaths have gone up in those areas. but even with the amount of money we have we could be doing things quite differently. we need to be reaching out much more into communities to make it easier to get into drug services and also for lots of people they see drug service as the thing you only do when you are in real crisis. whereas we know if you come in early into drug service and make it a more normal thing, that helps and getting up normal thing, that helps and getting up earlier makes a difference. then there is a drug called knocks on. what about this drug? there is a relatively new drug that comes out which reverses an opiate overdose. so if you see someone that is... not what —— not many people know what an overdose looks like. that was my next question, how would you know? if you see someone is overdosing particular from if you see someone is overdosing particularfrom heroin, they look unconscious, that is easy to tell. they will be normally making raspy noises kind of like snoring or raspy

breathing. very small pupils come so pinpoint pupils and lips go blue which is the real sign that you can tell and if you see someone in that state on the street or wherever you are, if you have naloxone, use it. very briefly. call an ambulance tell me into sentences where it is and how we can get it if we wanted to help someone in the situation? naloxone is a nasal spray you can get from drug services. if you see someone get from drug services. if you see someone overdosing and sprayed them with naloxone, it will grow —— reverse the heroin overdose and we see that happening a lot. it is very important we get into more people's hanse. thank you for much for coming into tells that and to give us the rest of your intelligence on the subject. thank you very much mike dixon. now some of the other main stories on bbc news this hour. police investigating the death of 15—year—old nora quoirin in malaysia say they've found no evidence of violence. the teenagerfrom london was found dead ten days

after she disappeared while on holiday. a postmortem examination found that she died from internal bleeding probably caused by hunger and stress. the son of a british woman who died after reportedly being set on fire in barbados has thanked people for the messages of support his family has received. natalie crichlow, who's 44 and from colindale in north london, was on the island taking care of her disabled brother when she was attacked by an intruder last month. she suffered 75% burns and died in hospital last week. at least three soldiers have been killed in an exchange of fire between pakistani and indian military forces along the line of control which divides the disputed territory of kashmir. tensions in the region have been escalating since india revoked the semi—autonomous status of the part of kashmir it controls, placing heavy restrictions on the movement of much of the population there.

china's ambassador to the uk has said china will "use its power" to stop the protests in hong kong if the situation deteriorates. the territory has seen weeks of unrest, sparked by opposition to an extradition bill, and beijing has referred to some of the unrest as terrorism. should the situation in hong kong deteriorate further into unrest, uncontrollable for the government of the hong kong special administrative region, the central government would not sit on its hands and watch. we have enough solutions and enough power within the limits of basic law to quell any unrest swiftly. the ambassador in london. with me now is vincent nee

from the bbc‘s china service based in london. what does he mean by talking about having the resources to quell the unrest? part of what the ambassador just said was for domestic consumption to show to the mass audience that government is absolutely in control for everything. i also think if we go back to 2014, the umbrella movement, china said the same thing. china has the control over the situation and also china at the time as was this time accused foreign forces of being behind the scenes. they have accused america calling them the black hands behind all these protests. and they are also accusing british government as well as other international media of the stirring trouble. part of thatis of the stirring trouble. part of that is the standard chinese diplomatic language. if the language and the kind of veiled threats are

standard, what are they actually amounting to? you mention 2014. on that occasion the chinese government waited it out, 79 days those stu d e nts waited it out, 79 days those students were camped in the centre of hong kong and finally they got tired and went home. of hong kong and finally they got tired and went homelj of hong kong and finally they got tired and went home. i think waiting there doing nothing certainly or visibly doing nothing. it is still a strategy that china can use and we know september one is coming up, a lot of the students will go back to school. things might quite down and beijing might be waiting for this to happen. but also i think from beijing pensee perspective, their thinking the fundamental cause of this process is economic. the hong kong finance chiefjust dished out what we call sweeteners, giving money to the young and poor to address some of the concerns. and some of the concerns are real. property pricing in hong kong is

really u nafforda ble property pricing in hong kong is really unaffordable to a 20—year—old young graduate. they are trying to address the issues like this. but the question is for the political question, who is going to step out to say, "we are going to take a look at these demands from protesters". some of them before beijing is quite unreasonable universal suffrage. vincent we have to leave it there. thanks for that. one of the biggest dinosaur graveyards in the world is being excavated in wyoming in the united states. the dig, which has been dubbed "mission jurassic", has already discovered more than a dozen fossils and footprints, and researchers think there may be more than 100 dinosaurs buried, including new species. the team says the site is so rich in bones it will keep them busy for at least 20 years. our science correspondent rebecca morelle reports. a hot, dusty landscape extending for miles. but imagine from this barren terrain a dinosaur graveyard where the bones

of some of the biggest creatures ever to roam the earth are being discovered. where does this fit on this mass? that slot's straight in here. so, you found the pelvis? yeah, it's brilliant. that's amazing! the dig is called missionjurassic. what is fantastic about this site, there's multiple bones from at least a dozen individuals already poking out of the ground. when you realise we have only really scratched a corner of this square mile, there is going to be dozens if not 100 plus dinosaurs lurking in the rocks of thejurassic here. this dinosaur drowned in a flash flood, and was then caught up in a logjam. the tree trunk it was crushed up against is still preserved millions of years later. these are just some of the amazing bones that are being discovered at this site. right here, you have an arm bone. next to it, a giant shoulder blade. and then you can just begin to see the backbone starting to emerge. and standing here, you really get a sense

of the size of this creature. it's a type of sauropod which from nose to tail measured 30 metres long. and scientists think it might even be a species that's new to science. there are so many dinosaurs here. excavating each bone is a painstaking process. so, it takes people power. but how do you tell bone from rock? try licking it. 0k. quite sticky? yeah. because it's porous, and it's sucking onto your tongue. so that's. .. rock doesn't do that but bone does. the rocks are from thejurassic period 150 million years ago. a golden age when dinosaurs exploded in shape and size. dinosaurs are getting really, really, really big and there are loads of them. there are loads of different types and they are all walking around on these flood plains eating presumably huge forests. and that is a really good question actually. where were all these huge forests and how did

they get enough food to eat? the dig is like going back in time. a meat—eating allosaurus has been found here and herds of plant—eating diplodocus also grazed on this landscape. before that, there was a vast inland sea. marine reptiles called ichthyosaurs were abundant in these waters. this dinosaur dig is expected to last 20 years but the team says the efforts will be worth it to unlock the secrets of the jurassic past. rebecca morelle, bbc news, wyoming. let's talk now to professor phil manning who's at the dig site and joins us via webcam now. we saw you in that report. can i ask how many bones or stones you have been licking today? as you can see, it is not always hot weather in the middle of nowhere wyoming. we have a weather front coming through today i have licked plenty of dinosaur bones in the last few weeks. we have no excavated close to 400 bones of

different dinosaurs and it is keeping us extremely busy out here. and quite a lot of your team, i understand you are the dick wheat which is quite a good title, isn't that? yes, every child would dream of digging up dinosaurs. all of my cause of the university of manchester especially my students love to come out here digging dinosaurs with us. we have collea g u es dinosaurs with us. we have colleagues from the netherlands, thales from london from the natural history museum but the lead is the children's museum history museum but the lead is the child ren's museum of history museum but the lead is the children's museum of indianapolis who have given us access to this incredible square—mile of dinosaurs. it's interesting that we are not allowed to say exactly where you are. is that because dinosaur thieves mike work —— might lurk? are. is that because dinosaur thieves mike work -- might lurk? we like to keep it vague because the site is so spectacular. we're trying to recover as much as possible for science was up to recover as much as possible for science was up some to recover as much as possible for science was up some folks can get greedy if they spot such bones in the ground. let's just say we are in

the ground. let's just say we are in the middle of nowhere, about at the edge of the world. and about at the edge of the world. and about at the edge of the world. and about at the edge of your imagination i guess if there is 20 years worth of dinosaur bones you to dig. i never thought i would say as a parent touches there are too many bones. it is like pick—up sticks when you see a mashup bones washed together or in the oversight at a pond there are what seems to be dozens of skeletons now appearing. it is a real problem. i have a problem, i have too many dinosaurs. to much of a good thing phil manning, things are joining dinosaurs. to much of a good thing phil manning, things arejoining us. you have fun. wood think you very much. —— you have fun. wood think you very much. -- thank you very much. 50 years ago this month two of the world's most iconic music festivals took place. while hundreds of thousands of people gathered in woodstock in new york state its most famous resident, bob dylan, wasn't there. he was instead performing in a field on the isle of wight as part of one of the biggest music festivals britain had ever seen. david sillito looks back. newsreel: here come the hippies,

the advanced guard of an invasion force expected to number between 100,000 and 200,000 from all over britain and the continent. 1969, the isle of wight and one of the moments of the ‘60s. on stage, dylan. in the audience, john lennon, george harrison and ringo starr, and at the press conference that launched it all, sitting here on the right of dylan, a slightly stunned 23—year—old ray foulk, who'd asked his idol to come to his little event, never expecting him to say yes. this is the field, this was the arena. 50 years on, we met at the site and the big question — why did dylan come here, and not woodstock, which was, after all, where he lived? the fact that woodstock was taking place in his back garden annoyed him no end. he was in a reclusive situation

in an artist retreat. it was peaceful and quiet, nobody knew about. suddenly the woodstock festival is dumped on it. he resented it enormously. it compares to woodstock favourably, because we had the biggest star. they didn't get their prize. we got their big star and that amounted to all the other stars put together, as far as i was concerned. and the organisers were a bunch of friends just out of school. peter harigan here was in charge of press. so this was just a sea of people. yes, absolutely, and so was the road coming down here. a sea of people. and all you lot were in charge. how old were you? iwas 20. did you know what you were doing? no — we were making it up as we went along. newsreel: on the edge of the 16—acre arena, where the concerts are being staged, fans queue for tickets at £2 and ten shillings for the two days. and they did rather well but it was all a bit mind blowing.

especially for chris colley, who was told he was going to be bob dylan's driver. it was overwhelming. everywhere you looked, there was something new. gallons of foam suddenly appearing and people swimming about in the foam. and as they prepare for their anniversary concert, it's a chance to reflect on a moment, a shared spirit that was reflected both here and in woodstock. # we are stardust...# it was about more than just music, wasn't it? oh, absolutely, yes. it was about other ways to make this world work. the counterculture being people who were coming on pilgrimages to the isle of wight festival. believing that there was a better world to be found. # back to the garden.# david sillito, bbc news,

the isle of wight. the weather worked all right on that occasion. but see what it is doing this time around. now it's time for a look at the weather with alina jenkins. not too bad for much of the uk today. some spells of sunshine around but there is rain in the forecast. while we start this evening dry, some of the cloud will increasing as the night goes on and rain piling in scotland, western fringes of england and wales. not much lower than 14—15d —— 14—15 degrees. notice how the isobars are close together. so it is notjust wet. it is windy as well. rain across scotland and western fringes of england and wales, citing south and eastwards through the day. eastern england that rain will arrive through the morning. dry for the afternoon and part for northern ireland, england and scotland. but

for blustery showers it is a wintry day. —— a windy day. southern and... in the south a bit more where we have sunshine in the north.

today at six — drug deaths soar. nearly 3,000 people died last year — the highest on record. heroin and cocaine are the main killers, and children in england and wales are caught up in this deadly trade. they are at risk. they're at risk of violence, they're at risk of criminality, they're at risk of many things. can we keep all of them safe at the moment? no, we can't. we'll be asking whether government policies are to blame. also on the programme... signed, sealed, but not yet delivered. jeremy corbyn's plan to prevent a no—deal brexit is opposed by key politicians. a—level results are out — the number of students getting the top grade drops to its lowest for more than a decade. arsenal say their star players are ready to play, but after the recent carjack attempt security is still an issue.