politicians are warned not to use the heath service as a political weapon during the election. nhs bosses in england say there's already a danger of empty promises — creating unrealistic expectations. let's try and avoid getting into cheap political slogans and trying to weaponise the service as a means of fighting a party political battle. we'll be live with our health editor — also this lunchtime. another big name could be about to disappear from the high street — mothercare calls in the administrators. millions of people told to stay indoors to avoid delhi's toxic smog. the boss of mcdonald's — fired for having a relationship with one of his employees. order, order!

and who will follow bercow? the commons elects its new speaker this afternoon. and coming up on bbc news, on top of the world — lewis hamilton becomes a six—time f1 champion, but says reaching the all—time record of seven is not something he can comprehend. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. health service leaders in england are warning politicians not to use the nhs as a weapon in the general election campaign. nhs providers, which represents hospitals and other health trusts, warns all the parties against making "empty promises" and creating "unrealistic expectations". the future of the health

service will be a key election battle ground, with the parties already promising billions of pounds of extra spending. our health correspondent dominic hughes reports. the state of the health service is always a key election issue but this time votes will be cast as the nhs enters its most testing time of year. preparations for winter are well under way and the pressures are greater than ever. the nhs has already featured prominently in the election campaign — but there is a warning that politicians need to be straight and clear with voters. we thought it was sensible at the beginning of the campaign to basically urge politicians to be honest and open and realistic and clear about the promises that they make. let's try and avoid getting into cheap political slogans and trying to weaponise the service as a means of fighting a party political battle. to illustrate the scale of the challenge, nhs providers say...

so far, much of the argument has been about in whose hands the nhs is safest, with labour blaming the conservatives for cancelled operations and longer waiting lists. i think they are right, it shouldn't be weaponised but we need to have an honest debate about it. that's why i've been meeting with nhs staff to hear what they've got to say. some of the evidence they are presenting does worry us all and should worry us does worry us all and should worry us all and the message from them, we need more respect, more resources and we want to end the privatisation of the nhs. but the conservatives pointed to the money they've already committed to the nhs, saying their management of the economy is the best guarantee of future funding. that's why we had this record investment and ongoing investment, with a long—term plan for the nhs. we've increased capital spending

in order to make sure we get new equipment, new buildings, which help make sure that patients come first in the nhs and are supported by the conservative government. that's only possible with a strong economy and making sure that we can fulfil the financial requirements in order to provide that care. recruiting more staff, managing growing demand from patients, improving the quality of care. these are the questions health service leaders want politicians to focus on. that may be a forlorn hope in the heat of an election. dominic hughes, bbc news. our health editor hugh pym is here. the health service is always an election issue, why are leaders making this intervention now? you might say, what's wrong with the debate about the nhs at election time? that's what the public expect and it happens every time because of the importance of the health service. what nhs providers is sane,

and it's the same message from medical royal college leaders, is it needs to be a sensible, mature debate and they feel that after just a few days of campaigning it has got out of hand. they think there is a danger of it being weaponised, we've had labour accusing the conservatives of planning privatisation and a us trade deal would open the door to american corporations. we've had the conservatives talking about record amounts of money and more hospitals being built. in the view of these health leaders, it's getting a bit out of hand. what they say specifically is there should be no double counting when it comes to promises on money. they want clarity on whether it really is extra funding and what the public are being offered. they say that this is no good for voters and staff, in the case of staff they say endless repetition of how badly the nhs is doing is not helpful in their view. that being said, nhs providers goes

on to make the point the nhs is under a lot of pressure right now and in their view winter is coming early, even in october and now into november there is extreme pressure on hospitals. they say that needs to be addressed both as a debate and in terms of working out where the health service goes from here. thank you. the brexit party leader nigel farage has criticised eurosceptic conservative mps for backing the prime minister's deal with the eu. mr farage says they've fallen into line like "good little boys". our assistant political editor norman smith is in westminster. a bit of a war of words between the brexit party and the conservatives. it's more than a war of words, this isa it's more than a war of words, this is a real eye gouging, shin kicking bust up amongst the big cheeses of brexit. it matters because it could have profound ramifications for the outcome of this election. the fear of tea m outcome of this election. the fear of team johnson is that if nigel farage carries through on his threat to stand back to party candidates in

every seat, that could split the leave vote paving the way for a jeremy corbyn victory. which is why some of nigel farage's former friends are pleading with him not to do this. jacob rees—mogg this morning saying, you've won the battle, now is time to retire from the field. another, steve baker, saying he risks throwing away brexit. some brexit party members uneasy, their candidate in dudley south standing aside. we know nigel farage is a man who would cross the street in a false ten blizzard to have a row about europe. he is accused them of being little boys, just doing what borisjohnson tells them, chickening out from opposing a deal which he says isn't that different from theresa may's. there is maybe a little glimpse which might suggest this is bluff and brinkmanship because nigel farage himself isn't standing in this election and he's given boris

johnson a two—week deadline to meet his demand to drop his deal. maybe this is all bluff, if it isn't, then this is all bluff, if it isn't, then this clash amongst the brexiteers could yet shape the outcome of this election. thank you. the leader of plaid cymru, adam price, says he's consulting his members about an electoral alliance with other remain—supporting parties. launching his pa rty‘s campaign this morning, mr price said wales is being "held back by westminster". plaid hopes to deny the conservatives a majority and stop brexit by working together in some constituencies with the liberal democrats and the greens. we've got huge problems that we need to fix in wales — rising child poverty, life expectancy falling, a creaking transport infrastructure. but you know, how do we solve those problems? we don't solve them by simply putting jeremy corbyn or boris johnson into downing street, we solve them by actually having the strongest ever welsh voice at westminster, contrast the way wales is often

ignored, compare that to scotland where for over a decade now, the people of scotland have been voting for their party and that's forced scotland right into the top of the political agenda and that's what we need to do for wales. if you want to know about why the election has been called, and the issues that voters care about, see our really simple guide to the general election, at bbc.co.uk/news or on the bbc news app. well, the election campaign doesn't formally start until wednesday, when parliament is dissolved. and throughout the campaign, the parties will be using digital and social media more than ever to target voters. our correspondentjoe tidy is here to explain more. thanks, ben. the weekend saw the conservatives properly begin their online ad campaign — with 58 new adverts on facebook and instagram. they're all hyper local and mainly targeted at marginal seats like this one. these ones with a swing—o—meter seem to be targeted slightly more at 35—44—year—old women.

there are another set that have pictures of individual conservative candidates — these ones are aimed at younger voters. labour still has a large presence now with a total of 57 ads — like this one — a new video about fracking. this went up on saturday after the debate around the issue re—surfaced. the lib dems have also launched new ads. they have around the same number of messages as the other parties but far more ads tailored to very specific audiences — 321 in fact. their latest ads attack boris johnson and jeremy corbyn. interestingly, the ads showing jeremy corbyn are seemingly more targeted at men. and the ads showing jo swinson — are aimed at getting female voters onside. in terms of spending, here's how things stand at the moment — labour have spent £25,000. the lib dems have spent about the same. and at £9,500, the conservatives' spending looks lower at the moment, but that's because those figures

haven't come in yet. we think the conservatives' spending might overtake the others because their ads are so targeted. generally speaking the more targeted the ads, the more they cost. let's take a quick look at how this targeting works. facebook allows you to select the gender, the location, age and even other characteristics, such as whether the person you want to see your ad has children. this is the first election where we have had this level of detailed information — it's going to be interesting seeing how these online campaigns develop. mps will vote this afternoon to electjohn bercow‘s successor as speaker of the house of commons. the seven candidates will make their pitch before a series of secret ballots. order, order! john bercow stood down as speaker of the house of commons last week after ten years in the hot seat. thank you, order. as well as pomp and regalia,

what exactly does the job involve? we march on our way. well, probably the best—known role of the speaker is keeping order in the house. and ensuring parliamentary rules are upheld. mps don't have an automatic right to speak during debates, it's the speaker who decides who gets to make their point. the speaker also decides which amendments to bills or motions can be debated and voted on. he or she can force ministers to the dispatch box by allowing urgent questions or emergency debates. one rarely used power is casting the deciding vote in the event of a tied vote. so, what can we expect from whoever follows john bercow? john bercow came in off the back of the expenses scandal, he felt there was a job to do to rehabilitate the house at that point, the person who comes in after today will be also reacting

to the wayjohn bercow did the job and responding to that. i think the job will also be massively shaped in the short term by the outcome of the election, if we see another minority government or a coalition or something like that, the job will be more significant, there will be more focus on them than if we get a majority government. so, these are the candidates that mps will be choosing from this afternoon. whoever is elected in the secret ballot will be expected to resign from their party and will not campaign for a seat in the forthcoming general election. whatever happens, they will be taking up a very important job at a crucial time in the history of parliament. our chief political correspondent vicki young is in westminster. talk us through the main contenders. this is very interesting because i think most of them are framing themselves very much in comparison to the wayjohn bercow went about thejob. he was to the wayjohn bercow went about the job. he was very controversial speaker, some felt he was way too

political. particularly over the issue of brexit. the other candidates are saying they will go back to more of a traditional role. i think the favourite according to most mps is so lindsay hoyle. he has the advantage of having been deputy speaker of the nine years. it means he has been beyond party politics because as deputies because you don't vote either. eleanor laing is also standing and she is a conservative mp. the other names are harriet harman, the longest serving female mp. their pitch is to say that they are on the side of mps, on the side of the house of commons to give them a say rather than the government. they will all make speeches in the commons, it's a secret ballot and they will hold those rounds of voting until one of them reaches 50% of the vote. last time round the whole process took several hours so it could be quite a long afternoon. thank you.

another big name on the high street is on the brink of collapse this lunchtime. mothercare is calling in administrators, putting two and a half thousand jobs at risk. the company has 79 stores across the uk, which will continue to trade as normal for the time being. here's our business correspondent ramzan karmali. what has gone wrong with mothercare? it's no surprise to a lot of a nalysts it's no surprise to a lot of analysts and experts that mothercare has made this announcement, it's been struggling for some time. in june 2018 it applied for a company volu nta ry june 2018 it applied for a company voluntary agreement which saw 65 of its stores close. in march it sold off the earning learning centre to its rival the entertainer. this administration put 2500 jobs at risk. only 500 of those jobs are full—timejobs. this will only affect the uk business and not the overseas arm which is quite profitable. the

reasons behind this are basically competition come online, on the high street, is being squeezed quite heavily and on top of all of that, it's the fact the high streets are suffering. the amount of indie shops at the moment in the uk is at a record high and this is down to business rates. and they're not the only company struggling recently. many others have put in requests with landlords for restructuring, the likes of carpet right, new look for example and last year we saw the demise of toys "r" us and maplin. a really difficult time on the high street at the moment. thank you very much. the time is 60 minutes past one. “— much. the time is 60 minutes past one. —— 16 minutes past one. our top story this lunchtime. health leaders in england warn politicians not to use the nhs as a political weapon during the election and coming up — can lewis hamilton become formula one's greatest ever driver? coming up on bbc news, everton's portuguese midfielder andre gomes is to undergo surgery today after a horrific ankle break during their draw with tottenham hotspur yesterday in the premier league.

the former soviet leader mikhail gorbachev has warned that the current tensions between russia and the west are endangering the world. speaking to the bbc in an interview to mark the 30th anniversary of the fall of the berlin wall, mr gorbachev called for all countries to declare that nuclear weapons should be destroyed. he was speaking to our moscow correspondent steve rosenberg. these days, it's rare to see mikhail gorbachev in front of a camera. aged 88, he avoids the limelight. i'm slowing down, he tells me. i can barely stand up! but the man who helped to end the cold war has a message for the world. that his achievements are at risk.

and one of his greatest achievements was ending the arms race between the soviet union and america. his diplomatic double act with ronald reagan slashed the two superpowers nuclear arsenals. but the arms race has reignited. there is a new tension. and fierce rivalry between moscow and the west. how dangerous do you think the current confrontation is between russia and the west? as long as weapons of mass destruction exist, nuclear weapons, the danger is colossal. all nations should declare, all nations, nuclear weapons must be destroyed. to save ourselves and our

planet. in the past, we used to talk about the cold war. how would you describe the current stand—off between russia and the west? translation: it's chilly but still a war! look at what's happening in different places, there are skirmishes, there is shooting, ships and aircraft have been sent here, there and everywhere. this is a situation we don't need. from iron curtains to iron ladies. he famously hit it off with margaret thatcher. but what does gorbachev make of brexit? translation: you can figure that out yourselves, you british are clever clogs! i won't give you advice, you decide!

so, not only a president, but a true diplomat! steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. millions of people in the indian capital delhi are being urged to stay indoors because of a toxic smog. it's the worst pollution there for years. some of the city's 20 million residents have been finding it hard to breathe and their eyes have been itching and burning. other emergency measures include many schools being closed and a traffic restriction scheme, where people can only drive their cars every other day. from delhi, pratiksha ghildial reports. it's a real public health emergency. the air here is poisonous. by many accounts, this is the worst pollution in years. many are choosing to stay indoors and those who do go out are experiencing health complications. because of this pollution level you have so many symptoms, i have headache every day i wake up and then it's suffocating

to breathe sometimes, i get inflammation in the nostrils and the eyes also. like it kind of burns. for the last few days delhi has barely seen any sunlight because a thick layer of toxic smog hangs over it. delhi residents continue to breathe highly toxic air as pollution levels remain severely high, even today. the government says it is doing what it can, it is doing what it can, private vehicles on the roads are being restricted and schools remain shut. but critics say when pollution levels are so high, delhi needs more drastic policy measures. delhi city government is restricting the use of private vehicles on the capital's roads. from today until the 15th of november only cars with either odd or even numberplates will be allowed on the roads each day. but many are sceptical as this system has been used before. but it's not clear if it actually

helps bring down pollution. of course it's ineffective in dealing with air pollution as an issue, you know. if air pollution was solely due to the vehicular traffic then this would be a solution, right now it cannot be a solution because motorised, private transport has a very small share in the whole pie. another major cause of the high pollution levels is farmers in neighbouring states burning crop stubble to clear their fields because they lack modern machinery. campaigners say there isn't enough political will to combat the problem. and until that happens, delhi will continue to choke. pratiksha ghildial, bbc news, delhi. the chief executive of mcdonald's has been sacked for having a relationship with an employee. the fast food company says steve easterbrook, who's british, had shown poorjudgement. our consumer affairs correspondent colletta smith is in salford —

tell us more about the why he's been fired? the board met on friday. when reviewing their own policies, their own rules, decided that steve easterbrook had indeed broken those rules by having a relationship with someone who is a subordinate and obviously, when you are the boss, the ceo of a company, everyone is your subordinate so that basically rules out any kind of workplace relationship. mr easterbrook then said given the values of the company he said he agreed with the board and that it was time for him to move on. he admitted the consensual relationship and said that it had been a mistake. this is a man who started his career as a branch manager in london back in 93, worked his way up through the company with a little jaunt at pizza express back in 2015 to become the global ceo of

mcdonald's, arguably one of the uk ‘s most successful ceos. the share price of mcdonald's has doubled under his tenure but despite that, lots of people within the metre movement are particularly pleased to see a company of this size taking this issue seriously and with companies applying this kind of policy. thank you. the bbc has found that hundreds of minicab drivers may be working fraudulently after buying qualifications for cash. drivers in london have to sit mandatory exams to get a licence to work. but an undercover investigation has exposed colleges cheating the required tests. london's licencing authority tfl now says it's put on hold nearly 2,000 applications. guy lynn reports. it's supposed to be a btec under strict exam conditions. this is the reality. eight wannabe cab drivers at this college, vista training solutions, get fed the answers for an assessment.

they are told to get a few wrong, to make the fraud more convincing. all minicab drivers in london must now pass exams in english and map reading and topography which prove they are safe and qualified to get their badge from transport for london or tfl, to work. bring her slowly and carefully down. the mandatory exams are usually sat at tfl testing centres but private colleges such as this reputable one offer btecs in taxi training. the btecs prove the aspiring cabbies have been trained and rigorously assessed so tfl accept them too. but other colleges are just cheating those btecs for cash. gerti is a manager at vista training solutions.

our researcher is told to come at the end of the day, check out how many others this place is cheating btecs for. everybody signs are fake registers to dupe the authorities and examining bodies that they've attended the mandatory three days of training. and then, we just pay. this man and gerti will later cheat the rest of the btec online exam pretending to be the real candidates. two weeks later, our researcher gets his btec and guess what? it's a pass. our cheated btec can now be sent to tfl to get that cab driver licensed. and according to these vista managers, hundreds have been. but how widespread is this? we heard reports of similar fraud in other places. and tfl now say that as a direct result of bbc

london's investigation, 1,667 applications are now on hold. vista training solutions said they were shocked and are launching an internal investigation. they said managers gerti, kamili and abdalla who ignored us when we got in contact aren't working for them any more. the question is, how many other fraudulently obtained licenses are out there? guy lynn, bbc news. and viewers in the capital can see more on this story tonight on bbc london news at 6.30 on bbc one. and for viewers across the uk — the full inside out investigation will be available on the iplayer later this evening. britain's lewis hamilton says he's ‘flying super—high' after closing in on an all time f1 record. he sealed his sixth world drivers' title with second place in the united states grand prix. it moves him to within one championship of all—time record—holder michael schumacher. our sports correspondent

joe wilson reports. radio: get in there, lewis! when lewis hamilton crossed the line last night, his team told him what he knew. champion of the world! it took a while for the driver to respond. well, it's easy to wave flags, to hail him as he emerges from the car, champion of the world. but ultimately, only lewis hamilton knows what it takes to make it happen. it's been, i think, our toughest championship that we've had to try and win. and also, you've got to remember, we won the championship last year, for example. it is not easy to stay in the lead. it is not easy to stay hungry, shoot it and try and raise the bar that you've created. the us grand prix was typical hamilton. needing to finish eighth to secure the championship, he battled his own mercedes team—mate to try to win the race. only losing the lead in the closing stages. hamilton works incredibly hard to make it seem easy,

as other drivers know. he's almost been too dominant this year, to get the plaudits that he should get. if he won it with a dramatic race in the abu dhabi finale, i'm sure he'd get a lot more praise than he does, actually winning more races earlier on. and winning it with two races to go. it's become, to the outsider, a bit boring. that'sjust how good he is, really. so, the numbers. in world titles, lewis hamilton is now only behind michael schumacher. the same applies for grand prix victories and no one has ever secured more pole positions. as lewis hamilton soaked up the applause in texas, we can trace his story back to his birthplace. the roundabouts of stevenage. the hertfordshire new town hamilton has not always remembered fondly. but these are the streets where i met karen thorman, working with teenagers who need role models. and she believes hamilton's star quality could light up his hometown. i think it would be really nice for him to... to inspire the young people. but also, i think it would be really

nice for him to come and meet some of the young people, so that they can hear his journey. from stevenage and all the hurdles that he's had to go through, to get where he is today. formula 1 still presents its champions as champagne drenched showmen. well, last night, hamilton was ready for a rest. i'm getting old! ijust want to go and put my feet up and chill and watch a movie. lewis hamilton's racing story may well feature more world titles. and then there will be more to life. time for a look at the weather. here's ben rich. thank you and good afternoon. many of us had a lot of wind and rain over the weekend. it started on a pretty darn node for some of us today, there is more rain on the forecast for the next few days. not all the time, at times there will be some outbreaks of rain, i think the

main thing you will notice this week as things