this is bbc news. i'm martine croxall. the headlines at 7pm: david cameron hits back at criticism of his memoirs — saying it was right for former pms to explain their actions. the liberal democrats conference kicks off in bournemouth, with the party set to decide whether its policy should now be to scrap brexit — without holding another referendum. fears that global oil prices could be affected as two of saudi arabia's biggest oil facilities are attacked by drones. houthi rebels in yemen say they are responsible. african leaders pay their respects at the funeral of the former zimbabwean president, robert mugabe — who ruled over the country for four decades. at least five people have died, and thousands of properties are evacuated after flash flooding hits spain's east coast. a man has been arrested after a solid gold toilet

worth millions of pounds is stolen from blenheim palace. and coming up at 7.30pm on sportsday, a roundup of all the day's premier league action and the latest on the ashes. good evening. welcome to bbc news. the former prime minister david cameron has accused boris johnson and michael gove of trashing his government, with what he describes as their appalling behaviour during the brexit referendum. in his first major interview since leaving downing street three years ago, mr cameron told the times newspaper that the result of the referendum left him feeling depressed, and that he worries about it every day. our political correspondent chris mason's report contains flash photography. it's 2015.

the smiles of victory... are you glad to have won at last? david cameron wins the election for the conservatives, in which he promised an eu referendum. a year later, the smiles have gone. he backed remain in the referendum and lost, and resigned. i love this country, and ifeel honoured to have served it. and i will do everything i can in future to help this great country succeed. thank you very much. and now, for the first time since, he's talking about it. in his memoirs, the former prime minister says... sir craig oliver worked with david cameron in downing street. it's absolutely the case that

david cameron feels a real burden, a real sense of having made mistakes in the referendum campaign, having got quite a few things wrong, and says that he failed. what he doesn't think, though, is that he shouldn't have done it. and the the reason for that is, i think he thought it was almost inevitable. ukip were on the rise, doing extremely well. we were also in a situation where a huge number of conservative mps were rebelling all the time. the political pond, as you may well have noticed, is choppy enough as it is at the moment, and these memoirs represent another brick lopped in for good measure. but as extraordinary as our politics are at the moment, it's still quite something when a former resident here accuses the current one — from the same party — of having a rather casual attitude towards the truth. "leaving the truth at home" is the accusation mr cameron makes of how some of this government's most seniorfigures behaved as part of the leave campaign. did you leave the truth at home, sir? well, mr gove did leave home today

but wasn't leaving us with any insight into what he makes of his old boss. did you behave appallingly, sir? he and boris johnson will no doubt get other opportunities to tell us, though. we'll be seeing plenty of david cameron this week, and there are more revelations to come. chris mason, bbc news. the former conservative attorney general — dominic grieve — welcomed mr cameron's criticism of the prime minister's decision to remove the whip from him and some of his colleagues — and said the tory party is "going off the rails". i'm glad to hear him criticise the removal of the whip. it is an absolutely exceptional event. it has taken the whip from 22 conservative mps — and it's worth bearing in mind another three have left the party altogether. four, i think, we're now at. it shows the way in which my party, or the party i was a member of — i think i may still actually technically be a member despite having lost the whip — is going off the rails. its success has been dependent

on being a pragmatic party, on not having ideological differences and being a broad church that encompasses diverse views. and at the moment, it's in danger of turning into a sect — and sects do not win elections. when asked about how the culture secretary, nicky morgan, said she'd vote remain in another referendum — the labour leader, jeremy corbyn, said the conservative party is falling apart. what speaks volumes about the cabinet is the way it's falling apart, the way the conservative party is falling apart, and the way the prime minister is evading the scrutiny that governments must be put under in a democracy by closing down parliament. it's not acceptable. we live in a democracy. we should accept the democratic rules. the democratic rules are, you're open to questioning when you're in government. the labour leaderjeremy corbyn.

they... a british—australian woman detained in iran has been named as kylie moore—gilbert, a lecturer in middle east politics at melbourne university. it's thought she's been held for around ten months but the charges against her are unknown. this week, the australian government identified two others who are being detained. mark firkin and jolie king, who also holds a uk passport, are thought to have been arrested several weeks ago, near tehran. facebook has removed a conservative party advert which misrepresented a bbc news story. the ad featured the bbc logo with a headline saying "£11; billion pound cash boost for schools". however, the original story on the bbc website quoted a much lower amount — ofjust over £7 billion.

69 high streets in england are to get a share of £95 million, in an effort to help them compete with online retailers. ministers say they want to breathe new life into historic buildings. since the start of the year, an average of 16 shops on the uk's high streets have been closing every day. the united states and brazil have announced plans to support private sector investment and job development in the amazon, which they claim will help protect wildlife and reduce deforestation. it follows international criticism of brazil's handling of the forest‘s worst fires for two decades. the country's space agency says there are still more than 80,000 fires burning across the region. two of the world's most significant oil facilities have been set ablaze in a wave of drone strikes on saudi arabia. they were carried out by the houthis, the rebel group the saudis have been fighting in yemen since civil war broke out there four years ago. no information has been released about the extent of the damage — but unconfirmed reports suggest oil production has been halved. jon donnison reports. these were audacious attacks at the heart of the saudi oil industry. the abqaiq processing plant,

one of the world's largest, engulfed in flames after apparent drone strikes. the kingdom's second—largest oil field at khurais was also hit. on a houthi—owned tv channel, a military spokesperson for the group said it was behind the attacks. translation: this mission comes as part of our legitimate and natural right to react to the crimes, of the aggression and its continuous blockade on our country for the past five years. the war between a saudi—led coalition and iranian—backed houthi rebels in yemen began in 2015. saudi air strikes have left thousands dead and left millions on the brink of starvation. in recent months, houthis have responded by increasingly targeting saudi arabia's oil facilities with missiles and drones, but this weekend's latest attack appears to be among their most successful.

the kuhrais oilfield produces around i% of the world's oil. the abqaiq plant has the capacity to process 7% of global supply. it's not clear how extensive the damage is, but some reports say almost half of saudi arabia's entire oil supply could be affected. in a statement, the american ambassador in saudi arabia, john abizaid, said... and this weekend's attacks suggest the conflict fought out in and around yemen shows no sign of ending. jon donnison, bbc news. african leaders and thousands of others have gathered for the funeral of former zimbabwean president robert mugabe. however, the 60,000 capacity stadium was only a quarter full. the 95—year—old was in power

for almost a0 years, before being ousted in the 2017 coup after years of violence, economic chaos and corruption. our senior africa correspondent anne soy reports from the capital harare. a state farewell for robert mugabe — the highest honour in zimbabwe, a country he led to independence and ruled for close to four decades. family, including his wife grace, as well as current and former leaders from more than a dozen african countries, paid their last respects. they called him a pan—africanist and a comrade. a giant tree of africa has fallen. indeed, the bold, steadfast and resolute revolutionary, comrade robert gabriel mugabe,

is no more. to zimbabweans, he was a divisive figure. for many, a man to celebrate and today commemorate. but for many more, he was a man who oversaw the economic ruin of his country, which has been plagued with hyperinflation and social instability. zimbabwe was once a prosperous country. some called it the breadbasket of africa. but the controversial land reforms and the subsequent sanctions forced the economy into a tailspin, and even today many people are still suffering. because of this, many chose not to attend the funeral. take, take, take everything. so we have nothing. we are educated, but we live from day to day. life now is a bit difficult. for me, i can't blame mugabe or what, but we have to solve

the thing amongst ourselves. robert mugabe is honoured here as the country's founding father. he is celebrated for his progressive education policies. but for unleashing violence against his people and refusing to leave power before he was toppled, an indelible blot remains on his legacy. anne soy, bbc news, harare. hamza bin laden — a son of osama bin laden — has been killed in a us counter—terrorism operation. hamza — who was about 30 years old — was reported dead at the end ofjuly, but only now has that been confirmed by the white house. the us state department designated him a global terrorist two years ago and put a $1 million bounty on his head earlier this year. david willis reports from washington. the white house hasn't released details of the operation that brought about the death of

hamza bin laden or its timing. there have been various reports here in recent months suggesting that he had been killed, but this is the first time president trump has confirmed the news. the son of the man who masterminded the september 11 terrorist attacks, hamza bin laden had called for further attacks on the united states to avenge his father's killing. and earlier this year, the us state department offered a $1 million reward for information leading to his capture. president trump, in a brief statement, said that as well as the symbolic connection to his father, the loss of hamza bin laden deprived al-qaeda of important leadership skills — and undermined the operational activities of the group. david willis, bbc news, washington. the headlines on bbc news: david cameron hits back at criticism of his memoirs — saying it was right for former

prime ministers to explain their actions. the liberal democrats conference kicks off in bournemouth — with the party set to decide whether its policy should now be to scrap brexit without holding another referendum. fears that global oil prices could be affected as two of saudi arabia's biggest oil facilities are attacked by drones. houthi rebels in yemen say they are responsible. more now on the theft of an 18—carat gold toilet, worth nearly £5 million, from blenheim palace in oxfordshire. the toilet was actually an artwork on display — the chief executive of blenheim palace, dominic hare, explained that visitors could actually use the toilet. people could go online and book a short time slot. they weren't necessarily required to perform on the exhibit, but many people photographed themselves kind of in action, as it were, and that was very popular. the exhibit itself was designed to be a reflection on the american

dream, the idea of something ordinarily unobtainable in fact potentially being there in a way that could touch, and the choice of the toilet was designed to make that physical. in some ways, it's ironic that that's the piece that has gone, being briefly attainable for two days, in fact, before being snatched. the chief executive of blenheim palace. as cases of dementia continue to rise, experts have been looking at ways that new technology can help to make life easier for those living with the disease. virtual reality is one idea under consideration — as dougal shaw found out when he went to visit a care home in oxford. these days, bill tolly is usually to be found in the garden of his care home. but back in the ‘50s, his favourite place to be was the dance hall. now, thanks to virtual reality, he is going to relive that golden age again. if you look behind you, you will see people dancing. yodels

this is what's called virtual reality therapy. bill has dementia and the hope is this trip down memory lane will be a positive experience for him. can you remember what you were like at that time? i was raring to go everywhere! raring to go? mm. and in many ways, bill still is. the marston court care home in oxford has been trialling the technology and found it has had positive benefits for many residents. people like betty. that's the church where i was married. does that bring back memories of the day? yes, i can remember what everybody was like. many of them are no longer with us, of course. betty is a big fan of the technology. you think, how can you do that when i'm sitting here?

but it's beautiful. did it trigger memories? is that part of the fun of it? yes. that could be, but some people might have bad memories, mightn‘t they? so you've designed this to be comforting, but is there a danger residents will find it disconcerting, disorientating? a bit confusing? it's really important, when designing an immersive technology experience for people with dementia or elderly residents, that you are really tailoring it for their needs. we work closely with care teams and people within the nhs to make sure we are designing something very user centric and that can be comforting, rather than confusing. certainly, for one resident, it seemed a rejuvenating experience. dougal shaw, bbc news. now, what are the chances of this? in america, baby christina brown was born on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks this week — at 9:11pm in the evening — weighing 9 pounds, 11 ounces.

her parents say she's a "little miracle during such a sad time". you're watching bbc news. it's 7:17pm. five people have died in spain as heavy rain and flash—flooding continue to batter the south—east of the country, shutting down regional airports and schools. olivia crellin reports. a woman and her family are hauled to safety. one bag of possessions all they could take with them, as the water steadily rose around their home. these dramatic images of a landscape now underwater, and the urgent response to save those trapped by the deluge were recorded by spain's military emergency unit, now called out to help the thousands affected. just 48 hours after some areas saw their heaviest rainfall on record, swathes of spain's southern countryside were transformed. translation: i went out to buy bread

and then i saw the whole town centre filled with water and i was like, how did this happen? everything filled with water, the whole side over there. and there was a submerged car as well, people in the water — i don't know! the speed with which the floods hit shocked many and even proved fatal. of the handful of victims the floods have claimed so far, most perished in their cars when the water either flipped their vehicles or trapped them inside. worst hit are the regions of valencia and murcia, where the water has been sweeping anything in its path along with it, forcing hundreds of people to be evacuated while hundreds more are left stranded. this includes tourists. the two consecutive days of torrential rain has forced local airports, train networks and dozens of roads to close. but at alicante airport, the arrivals lounge kept filling with travellers, who had nowhere to go. nobody gets out here, everybody is stuck on the airport. and with us are five,

six planes coming in, so everyone has 200 passengers. there are more than thousands of people here stuck in this airport. they cannot pick up their hire car, the taxis have got the message from the police and the central not to drive because it is not safe. so the few taxis that are coming here, of course, for money, it is terrible. the line here are, i don't know, perhaps many hundreds. as many areas affected remain on red or orange alert, the authorities continue to recommend that citizens remain at home and avoid using their cars. but while the weather is reported to have stabilised, the extent of the damage it has caused is still unclear. and the numbers of displaced continue to grow. the new bbc one drama the capture delves into the shadowy world of so—called

big brother technologies, raising questions about the importance of fighting crime, over rights to privacy. facial recognition cameras are being trialled in some places, and those behind the technology say its benefits shouldn't be overlooked. our home affairs correspondent katharine carpenter reports. so you're not gonna run a facial rep for me, or shall i call ops room 2? send us the capture. surveillance cameras and facial recognition technology have starring roles in the current bbc one drama the capture. the programme questions whether their images can be trusted and who is controlling them. we are asking similar questions here in the real world, too. police trials of facial recognition have been scrutinised and the information commissioner is investigating after a private company used the technology in kings cross. but here in victoria, where the biometrics of my face are being analysed right now, they say we ignore the positives of facial recognition technology at our peril.

it will look for people on a watchlist and if one of those people walks past the camera, it will trigger an alert, it will recognise that person. if a person is not on the watchlist, then it will ignore them. clearly, london has a knife crime problem. if a technology such as this could be used in tandem with other front line policing tactics to take knives from the street, i think you would see a lot of public support for that. after ten controversial trials, the met says it is still considering how facial recognition might be used in the future. kenny long says pairing it with officers' body—worn cameras is an obvious next step, speeding up thejob he used to do as a super recogniser, trawling through cctv at scotland yard. the system will give you a list and you will say "right, fantastic," and a human sitting in a control room, or they could be sitting in a car, wherever you are based, would look at it and say "yes, is that the same person? yes or no?" but data protection and privacy concerns persist. it can be used to catch bad guys, certainly. it also makes mistakes. so it could be leading to misidentifications of completely

innocent people, it can also be used to chill public expression, to make people feel uncomfortable showing theirfaces in public. when i see myself on the screen with a box around my head identifying me, it does make me feel a little bit uneasy. what's really interesting is as you were seen by our facial recognition cameras, you had a smartphone. that smartphone knew exactly where you were, the data was being captured, it was being analysed. other platforms were understanding where you have been, where you're going, who you know, what you have bought. from my perspective, that's far a more pervasive intrusion into our privacy. but he does want clearer laws governing the use of facial recognition, as does the government's biometric commissioner, who says we all need to make choices about the future world we want to live in. katharine carpenter, bbc news. we are going to take you to bournemouth now. the liberal

democrats are holding a rally as pa rt democrats are holding a rally as part of their annual conference. you can see there. a very well—known figure from european union. we have been hearing all sorts of debates from the liberal democrats, talking about how the european union is more than just about how the european union is more thanjust trade. about how the european union is more than just trade. it's also about underpinning the civil liberties that we have come to enjoy in this country. that was jo swinson that we have come to enjoy in this country. that wasjo swinson talking about that, as herfirst country. that wasjo swinson talking about that, as her first conference asa about that, as her first conference as a leader of the liberal democrats. we arejoined by as a leader of the liberal democrats. we are joined by our political correspondent chris mason, who has just slid political correspondent chris mason, who hasjust slid in beside me. you've got some breaking news to tell us. an additional lib dem mp joining the ranks. they have been swelling by the weeks, the months. this is the fourth defect d. sam gyimah, conservative mp. lost the whip as part of defying the

government, defecting. has been an mp since 2010, very much seen as a rising star in the conservative folder, served as an education minister. the latest to joinjo swinson‘s team. and they're feeling buoyant. for so long come in the lib dems, particular after a coalition yea rs, dems, particular after a coalition years, you cannot find it with a smile. pummeled after the coalition yea rs, smile. pummeled after the coalition years, they were seen as marginal, irrelevant. and now, a very distinctive message on brexit, this idea of scrapping brexit if there was a win in the general election, arguing for many years for a general referendum. the labour party has remained quite muddled around brexit andjo remained quite muddled around brexit and jo swinson will be wearing a rather large smile. rumours for days there would be another defector, and

here is his twitter pages. the banner a few minutes ago went orange, so banner a few minutes ago went orange, so that kinda give it away for us. in comes the orange! i was talking to a liberal democrat counsellor, and to attract other conservative mp to the fold will just add to this. it gives them a sense of momentum. the big challenge is, do they stand any chance at a general election to fight the seats they were elected for? and that remains to be a big question. it's potentially possible of course. they could try and challenge another seat where the liberal democrats might change a better chance of winning. the nature of what is likely to be in the coming electing is what is or isn't a safe seat for

this party or that party could go out of the window. proxy for another referendum. we should emphasise, people switching sites in the house of commons is pretty rare, yet we have had this whole flurry of conservatives being thrown out as a result of how they voted a couple of weeks ago and then deliver democrats in particular proving pretty attractive to those from either former conservative mps or former labour mps who simply think they're old parties have drifted away —— the liberal democrats in particular. a lot of mps observing what has happened to their previous party, saying, i have not changed — the party has changed. the party have left me, rather than be leaving the party. sam gyimah the latestjoining the lib dems. jo swinson talking at the lib dems. jo swinson talking at the liberal democrats conference in bournemouth at the moment. she is talking about brexit, how she believes britain is in a pretty

dangerous place. it is a good time tojoin the liberal dangerous place. it is a good time to join the liberal democrat party. sam gyimah, for his part, he has been at odds for a while with his party. he stepped down over a year ago from his ministerial post. long departure, really, and something to turbo—charge by the arrival of borisjohnson something to turbo—charge by the arrival of boris johnson and something to turbo—charge by the arrival of borisjohnson and his real reluctance to be seen as embracing a new —— no—deal brexit. a prime minister who himself has rebelled several times on previous prime ministers brexit outlook, one where you're left with questioning where your political future lies because your own party has effectively kicked you out already. and told you you're not going to be able to stand for them at the next election. in that sense, i suppose, he didn't really have anywhere to go politically other

than to sign up for another party or walk away entirely, or hope that his old party might welcome him back into the phone. after that kind of experience, you can understand why he might have been inclined... i don't fancy hanging around even if they let me back in. let'sjust listen to jo they let me back in. let'sjust listen tojo swinson. she's been talking about her fears for the constitution, and unwritten constitution, and unwritten constitution, is being ripped up in her view —— her view. -- her view. we can have a real hope for the future. and tim said it when he said police don —— said believe is the real burst after victory. and people are starting to believe in the liberal democrats. applause we have seen it all over the last few months, first of all with

amazing local election results. let me tell you, i was in the television studio at the bbc, and i'm used to going in and doing these election programmes. if i'm honest, overthe la st programmes. if i'm honest, overthe last few years, is not always been quite so much fun. there was the particular election programme when i was doing it for scotland and i was getting these little notes — before whatsapp — and it was, we thickly hold onto orkney and shetland. that was the good note that night! i was thinking, if we get three figure gains, that would be amazing. on my brief, clearly we would hope our gain would be three figure gains. never did it suggest we would make 700 gains! applause

what you guys all did was phenomenal. and