started... do you not read papers? this interview pretty much ended his time as director general at the bbc. have you ever regretted going too far? yes, many times. have you ever said sorry afterwards? yes, interrupting is fine, inevitable, u nless interrupting is fine, inevitable, unless you want a party political broadcast. but you get angry, which i have done once or twice, and i mean only once oi’ i have done once or twice, and i mean only once or twice, that is absolutely unforgivable. he has over the years upset politicians and divided listeners, but at the end, a glimpse of the softer side ofjohn humphrys. iam more humphrys. i am more proud than i can say that you have put up with me for so long, thank you and that is it from me. good morning. applause david sillito, bbc news. now look at

the weather. clear blue skies for many, i want to move to north wales. the scene in north wales earlier this morning. not a cloud in the sky, the weight for most parts of the uk. in scotland, thicker areas of cloud. some has been quite low. earlier today in argyll, thicker cloud, bringing drizzle. the cloud for most of mainland scotland clearing out of the way, some sunshine coming through, should brighten up in the hebrides. for orkney and shetland, thicker cloud even threatening drizzle. still in the sunshine for most of us. with the sunshine for most of us. with the wind light, very pleasant afternoon. overnight, clear skies, light winds, mist and fog patches forming, turning the key for a time in north—west england, northern ireland, scotland well —— turning

murky. temperatures in the towns and cities between seven and ten, called in the countryside, potentially down to low single figures, chilly start to low single figures, chilly start to friday. once we have lost the mist and fog, looking like another glorious day, dry and sonny for the vast majority. we could see sunny skies reaching into shipment but not before the afternoon. temperatures higher, into the low 20s. —— into shetland. when south—easterly direction, dragging in warmer air from france boosting the temperatures. mist and fog patch around first thing, but for most, slightly breezy and more sunshine to come as well. perhaps she was working into the west of the uk late on in the day. —— perhaps showers. feeling warm for the time of year. around eastern coast of scotland and

england, onshore winds kept cooler and fresher here. change effort on sunday. for many, starting dry and sonny, outbreaks of rain working in from the south—west, a degree of uncertainty exactly how far the north—east the band of rain will get but still in the best of the sunshine and temperatures up to 22, 23. that is the latest weather. a reminder of our top story... john major says the reasons given by borisjohnson for proroguing parliament cannot be true and that he was motivated by political interest. that's all from the bbc news at one. so it's goodbye from me and on bbc one we nowjoin the bbc‘s good afternoon, i'm gavin ramjaun and this is your latest sports news.

harry kane says tottenham are making the same mistakes in the champions league as they were five years ago. spurs were 2—0 up against olympiakos in athens. thanks to a kane penalty then this strike from lucas moura. but the greeks were the better side on the night, and came back to level the match. it finished 2—2 and kane says he can see why manager mauricio pochettino is frustrated. it was a much more straight—forward night for manchester city. they beat shakhtar donetsk 3—0 in ukraine, a welcome result for pep guardiola's side, after their shock defeat to norwich in the premier league last weekend. it was a really bad night for real madrid as they lost 3—0 to paris saint germain. real failed to muster a single shot on target. the first time that's happened in 167 champions league matches. the rugby world cup is less than 2a hours away — it all kicks off tomorrow morning with hosts japan playing russia. all the home nations play

in the opening few days, and england start their tournament on sunday. they play tonga, in sapporo, right in the north ofjapan, from where andy swiss reports. will there be a fog of gold at the end of england's rainbow? decidedly autumnal conditions as they trained for a tournament which they are starting as one of the favourites. four years ago, similarly high hopes ended in humiliation and an early exit. but will this time be a different story? the excitement is building every day. obviously like i said, it is really kicking off now. england's tournament starts here, which is normally a baseball field but can be transformed into a grass surface. this should be a simple enough start for england,

they will emerge here against tonga as the overwhelming favourites. but for all their undoubted quality, there are still some questions. their main dilemma is in the backs, who plays at centre? will it be captain owen farrell, or will it be henry slade? ready after recovering from a knee injury. you can never really tell. we like to try different combinations and all we can do is keep spurring each other on as players and keep driving each other to keep improving and whoever gets picked, gets picked. remember the last time an england team played a world cup match here? it was when david beckham's penalty famously beat argentina in 2002. fast forward 17 years, the sport might be different, but they will be hoping for a similar result. andy swiss, bbc news. europe's solheim cup winning captain catriona matthew, says golf‘s governing bodies need

to do more to combat slow play. team europe beat the usa by the finest of margins at gleneagles, but there's been criticism over the pace of play, with some third round matches lasting six hours. rory mcilroy was amonsgt the critics, saying he found it hard to not get frustrated. slow play is a problem in men's and lady's golf but i think really, i am a quick player so it frustrates me no end. the only solution is for the referees to stamp down on it, they have to start giving out a few penalties and players will speed up. that's all the sport for now. but you can find more on those stories and the latest from the first day of bmw pga championship event at wentworth on the bbc sport website. england's matt wallace is the man to catch. but world number 2, rory mcilroy is having a shocker. that's bbc.co.uk/sport. there is a global shortage of antivenoms to treat snakebites, according to the world health organization.

the anti—venoms that do exist are often not very effective and extremely expensive. it's estimated that around 120,000 people die after being bitten by a snake every year, many more lose limbs and consequently their livelihoods. as part of our special reports looking at this neglected area of global health, our global health correspondent tulip mazumdar has been to visit east africa's first snakebite research facility, in kenya. this is joffrey, this isjoffrey, one of can you's leading snake handlers and this is the green man but he's about to extra ct the green man but he's about to extract venom from. good, nice. the toxins in this deadly liquid are the same to create the antidote for some snake bites. it is such a beautiful snake bites. it is such a beautiful snake isn't it, but this one can kill you quite quickly? yes, a little bit of this venom can kill you within an hour. different types

of snake bites from different areas of snake bites from different areas of the world need different types of antivenom to treat them. this particular vendor mixture is for vipers and puff at the. scientists are using venom from poisonous kenyan snakes to try and develop new, more effective treatments for snakebite victims in sub saharan africa. the antivenom we currently have are mostly produced from then on from indian snakes and so they don't work as effectively in our population here. so what we are trying to address with experiments we are running now is to get safer, more affordable antivenom is produced from venom from our snakes. 200 kilometres away in this hospital, three—year—old carol is recovering from a snake bite. she

was bitten on her head as she waited to greet her grandmother at her front door. translation: at first we didn't realise she had been bitten by a snake, but then she started vomiting. by the morning, her whole face had swollen. that is when she was rushed to hospital. carol was given antivenom, but she needed four doses at a cost of around $200. her father, needed four doses at a cost of around $200. herfather, a builder, doesn't know how he will pay for it. the antivenom used to treat a carol is kept under lock and key in the hospital pharmacy. researchers from nairobi and from liverpool in the uk, are working with hospital staff to log how many people are being treated for snake bites and they will be assessing how effective current antivenom is our. there is very little data out there from

snakebite cases in people where they have been treated with antivenom that tell us which products someone should be given in any particular pa rt should be given in any particular part of the world. that is a real issue because that is not the way a regulated medicine should be being used and it certainly isn't for other diseased conditions. back with george and his team of scientists in nairobi, they are working at a nearby farm in their hunt for better antivenom is. as well as trying to develop treatments for this region, they are also trying to come up with antivenom that would work on many different snake bites, from different snake bites, from different parts of the world. today, they are looking at cows are reacting to a weakened cocktail of snake toxins. these cows were injected with snake venom a few days ago. that say it doesn't harm the animals but it does trigger an immune response. researchers harvest the antibodies fighting against the venom the antibodies fighting against the venom from the blood in these

animals and they are used to develop new antivenom is for humans. if their work here is a success, this will be the first antivenom of its kind protecting against 12 different groups of snakes in both sub—saharan africa and south asia. it is extremely early days, but it is hoped less of the drug would be needed so it would be more affordable. we can think of this cobra and black member. meanwhile, they are out on the hunt for more snakes they are out on the hunt for more s na kes to they are out on the hunt for more sna kes to ta ke they are out on the hunt for more snakes to take back to the nairobi research centre. it is a painstaking work, but they are hopeful they will find better cures for snakebite in kenya and save many more lives worldwide. donald trump has announced he'll stop the state of california setting its own emissions standards on cars. the president claimed in a tweet that the move would allow

manufacturers to make cheaper, safer cars and create jobs. the governor of california has described the president's claim as "factually inaccurate," and the state has begun a legal challenge, as gareth barlow reports. los angeles — america's second largest city is known for its sweeping skyline, hollywood sign, and, in the past, smog. in the 1970s, as cars choked the streets and their emissions choked the air, the state was allowed to set its own tough environmental standards. now, though, donald trump has reversed that. in a series of tweets he said... the president also claimed the move

would lead to the manufacture of more cars and create more jobs. the governor of california, gavin newsom, disagreed. it's about the oil industry. period. full—stop. it's not about the car manufacturer, it's not about consumers, it's not about the health, it's not about our economy. it's about oil companies. over a dozen other states have adopted california's stricter standards and the democratic state has already taken steps to block the efforts of the republican president. our communities are screaming for help to address the climate crisis. unlike the trump administration, we don't run scared. and so whether it is climate change or an administration recalcitrant in taking on its responsibilities, we are prepared to lead, we'll prepare to fight. until the court cases have been completed, there is no knowing if donald trump's efforts will blow over or if the environmentally progressive state will have to take a new course. gareth barlow, bbc news.

in a moment we'll have all the business news, but first the headlines on bbc news... the supreme court hears from lawyers for former prime minister sirjohn major who is challenging borisjohnson's decision to suspend parliament. britain has submitted some proposals to the eu in writing about brexit which are described as a "series of confidential technical non—papers". and david cameron reveals he was so worried about scotland voting to break away from the uk, he asked for help from the queen. now, let's get the business news. the bank of england has left uk interest rates on hold, at 0.75%. all nine policymakers were unanimous in the decision and signalled that prolonged brexit uncertainty will keep interest rates lower for longer. we'll have more

on this in just a mo. retail sales fell in august, that's according to the office for national statistics. british shoppers bought fewer goods than in july, defying expectations of zero growth in a worrying sign for the uk economy. the high street giant next has published strong results for the first sixth months of the year. sales were up 4.3% and pre—tax profits were also up 2.7%. but the boss warned about the growing problem of high street rental costs which could lead to more store closures. hello there. when the bank of england released it's widely expected rate decision a little under an hour ago, it signalled that prolonged brexit uncertainty will keep interest rates lower for longer. it's policymakers said the uk would avoid falling into recession this year, but warned that brexit and trade worries were weighing on the economy. as this graph shows, ever since the 2009 economic crash, rates have been stubbonrly low

and the bank has now left rates totally on hold for 13 months running, since raising them from 0.5% to 0.75% in august 2018. george buckley, chief uk economist at nomura joins me now. the bank's monetary policy committee warned about what a no—deal brexit could do to the economy, fall in the pound, but if we move towards a smooth brexit the bank expects demand to ride leading to higher interest rates. usual or unusual for the bank to feel the need to signal a direction of travel with regard to interest rates due to what it termed political reasons? they have said for quite some time now they will be thinking about raising interest rates, albeit at a very gradual pace

toa rates, albeit at a very gradual pace to a limited degree in the event the brexit news is positive, we get some sort of deal. very recently they revised their expectations, or at least their assumptions about how bad the brexit situation could get. they said gdp could fall by 5.5%. in relatively short order as well, we are talking about a short quarter, not over many years but a short period. that could require a response of the bank to raise interest rates, they have said. i doubt that would happen. in the event there was a hard brexit we would see inflation rise because of things like lower sterling and possibly higher tariffs and we could wea ken possibly higher tariffs and we could weaken significantly and the response of the bank of england could cut interest rates and go down the route of asset purchases. elsewhere, central banks elsewhere, the us choosing to cut rates earlier

on wednesday, on balance where do you see the bank of england going with regards rates further down the line? it depends upon what happens to brexit, but as you say there has been a number of central banks we have heard from over the last few days. the european central bank last week, told us they were doing a package of measures to support the economy, including cutting interest rates. the federal reserve cut interest rates in the us by a quarter of a point and the two things they have told us, which would be conditions which they would need to see if we were to see interest rates increased in the future, our number one, brexit being resolved in a positive way and number two, some improvement in the global economy. we would need to see both of those happen. if we do, we are not talking about those percentage point increases in interest rates, just maybe a quarter ofa interest rates, just maybe a quarter of a percentage point over a whole

year so it is not a vast and sizeable rise in interest rates at all. the economy contracted in the first three months to june all. the economy contracted in the first three months tojune but all. the economy contracted in the first three months to june but the bank does expect expansion in the third quarter of this year although less that many had, but still the uk avoids a technical recession. consumer spending is still robust, a lot of us are staying at home on vacations, boosting the economy? retail sales were growing between two and 3% relatively to a year ago. certainly they are still growing and the consumer has been one of those areas that has ridden out the storm reasonably well. one of the reasons is wages are going up, inflation, as we saw yesterday, has come down. back below the bank of england's target rate, which means wages are rising and that has supported the

consumer. what is being hit is the other part of private sector domestic demand which is business investment. that has taken a hit because of the uncertainty which we have seen as a result of the whole brexit process. there is that word, uncertainty. george, thank you very much. as we've mentioned, retailer next has reported strong sales and profits for the first sixth months of the year. but shares are down. we spoke to natalie berg, retail analyst. on the whole, next remains one of the few bright spots on the high street. they continue to defy the doom and gloom because they have a unique business model. it has hundreds of stores across the uk, they have a presence on most high streets but the majority of their sales ta ke streets but the majority of their sales take place online. i think next has recognised the role of the store has to evolve and it's no longer purely about the transaction, it is no longer about generating

sales within those four walls. but if they are to continue to grow e—commerce sales in a sustainable way, as contradictory as it sounds, they need their stores because we wa nt to they need their stores because we want to click and collect, ease of return so i think next has done a greatjob of repurposing the physical space to stay relevant to shoppers. as i was saying, their share price is down and that is how the markets are reacting to that not surprising announcement from the bank of england earlier today to keep rates on hold. that is the business for this hour. let's return now to the supreme court, where eleven judges will soon resume the final fews hours of two appeals to decide whether boris johnson's suspension of parliament in the run—up to brexit was lawful. my colleague ben brown has been following events at the supreme court today — and we can cross live to him now.

this afternoon, what we are going to haveis this afternoon, what we are going to have is the closing submissions from both sides of the argument, lord keen and another lord replying to some of the points made over the last three days, a final attempt to persuade the ii last three days, a final attempt to persuade the 11 supreme court justices as to their point of view. essentially what all this is about, to remind viewers, the question of whether boris johnson to remind viewers, the question of whether borisjohnson the prime minister acted unlawfully or lawfully when he advised the queen to suspend or prorogue parliament for five weeks. earlier on today, just after midday, we had some extraordinary arguments really from lord garnier qc, representing sir john major, a former conservative prime minister, he was attacking the current prime minister mrjohnson and effectively saying, he had failed to tell the truth about his reasons for suspending parliament. you are unique in this case for

having put in a witness statement concerning evidence about the power in question is actually exercised and you will see that in sirjohn's statement. we said significant for two reasons. first, because it constitutes the unchallenged evidence of a former prime minister and the long serving parliamentarian, as to what the purpose the power of prorogation serves, how it is generally exercised and what considerations might have a bearing on its use. in particular, as to the period of the prorogation. secondly, because it contains clear and unambiguous allegations and evidence and supported by evidence, that the reasons set out in the documents put before the court by the prime minister, cannot be true and didn't give reasons for the decision. in the introductory section of the statement on paragraph five, just

the last few lines, where sirjohn says the inescapable inference to be drawn is that the prorogation is to prevent parliament from exercising its right to disagree with the government. that was lord garnier, representing sirjohn major. let's ta ke representing sirjohn major. let's take over what was said and our legal correspondent clive coleman is with me. it was pretty expensive, the fact we have this former prime minister effectively saying the current prime minister hasn't been telling the truth? there is an air of disbelief descending on this place. if this was a tv drama and one of the writers says, we will have the plot line with the former prime minister comes to the highest court in the land and infers the current prime minister has lied to parliament. you are absolutely right, it was extraordinary. lord garnier went as far as he could using legal language without directly saying the prime minister

borisjohnson lied. directly saying the prime minister boris johnson lied. but directly saying the prime minister borisjohnson lied. but there you have it. it was a full on attack by the former prime minister on the current prime minister. two main areas sir edwin was concerned with, this point we have been discussing weeks on whether this is a matter the courts can deal with. lord garnier has said, if the court doesn't bite on this, if they don't engage with this you can have a prime minister who could pretty much do anything, he's prorogation to disband the army all use and its confidence advice in the house of commons. we have been through the constitutional looking gas and you have to bite on that issue. secondly, looking at this issue of improper purpose and looking at the documentation in the case, the point that there has been no affidavit all sworn witness statement from the prime minister, anyone on the government side, no one in the civil

service has said this is the true reason for prorogation. we have public statements made by the prime minister to media and parliament saying it was in order of course, to clear the decks, have a clean speech and the new agenda. but nothing in the court proceedings where you would normally expect a witness statement in the circumstances.” don't know when we will get the judgment but assuming as a hypothesis, the court to say boris johnson acted unlawfully, what does it also say? does it say you have to recall parliament, you're prorogue parliament is unlawful so therefore mps have to do all come back? parliament is unlawful so therefore mps have to do all come back7m depends what we get. if we get an order that basically quashes the original order to prorogue, then arguably, mps are free to come back. the mechanics of how that would be done are extraordinary because we are in uncharted times. an interesting twist, we have had a

letter we have been shown from the government legal service. this was a letter written to the court to help the court to devise a declaration, should they prove that the prime minister has acted unlawfully. it is there to help the court, but if you look at it, said james eadie qc makes the point that in certain circumstances, it might be open to the prime minister to prorogue again. do it all again. 0k, clive coleman, thank you very much. let's get more analysis and joining me on the line is the law professor richard ekins from oxford university. he heads thejudicial power project in the centre—right think tank, policy exchange. thank you for being here. your position is, this whole issue of the suspension, perrot king of parliament is not something for the courts to rule on? yes, a political question and the high court recognise that below. in our law, the prerogative to prorogue

parliament is a question for the prime minister, for which he is accountable for the house of commons and eventually the electorate. there is no need forjudicial intervention and the law does not permit them to intervene. that is what has been debated over the last three days, i am sure you have been following it. but one of the justices has said, what if the prime minister wants to prorogue parliament for a year? what ifa prorogue parliament for a year? what if a prime minister wants to effectively disband the army by prorogue parliament. that kind of thing, those are hypothetical exa m ples thing, those are hypothetical examples but they are important?m isafamiliarline examples but they are important?m is a familiar line of argument but it fails to recognise that in our constitution we rely on the book of controls to prevent a great many pieces. it would be political suicide for a prime minister or a government to dispense with parliament for an extended period of time and would run into enormous

difficulty in terms of securing changes in the law and support for taxation and spending, which would be needed to govern. as well as the fa ct be needed to govern. as well as the fact they would be destroyed in the coming election. the political controls are an essential part of our constitution, they control foreign policy, waging war, dissolution of parliament before 2011 and prorogation. but the central argument here is that parliament, because of being prorogue, because of being suspended was deprived the opportunity to scrutinise the executive at an absolutely critical, political time in the history of this country? it's a good political argument and the house of commons had an opportunity to withdraw confidence from the government if it chose to. it could have brought about dissolution and election on that basis and decided not to.” dissolution and election on that basis and decided not to. i hear