tonight at ten, another blow to britain's high streets, as motherca re plans to call in administrators for its uk business. the move puts 2,500 jobs at risk, experts say its 79 uk stores are ‘not capable‘, of achieving a sufficient level of profitability. their shoppers have really changed because now they are serving really young shoppers who are completely internet savvy and want to be able to get things straightaway. the stores will continue to trade as normalfor the time being, as some customers express their concerns for the future. now i'll be going to do my shopping online more, which is a shame because it's a good place to go with the kids as well. we'll have the details and reaction as mothercare becomes the latest big high—street name to get into difficulties. also tonight...

the commons elects a new speaker, dragged to the chair in line with tradition. it's sir lindsay hoyle, who's already promising a new start. this house will change, but it will change for the better. thank you. cheering doctors and health leaders in england warn politicians against using the nhs as a "political weapon" during the election campaign. we have a special report on the fate of children who go missing from care across england and wales. and we meet one of the greatest statesmen of the last century, who shares his concerns about the future of the globe. and coming up on sportsday on bbc news, could west brom go top of the championship this evening after matt phillips put them ahead early on against stoke?

good evening. in yet another sign of the economic fragility of britain's high streets, the baby goods and maternity retailer mothercare is warning it's on the brink of collapse in the uk. the iconic brand once boasted 425 stores, but is now appointing administrators for its british business, putting some 2,500 jobs at risk. the company has been struggling for some time, losing £36 million last year, as our business correspondent emma simpson explains. it is big business, all this baby kit, from prams and toys to clothes. mothercare is the uk's best known one stop shop. but it has lost its appeal for new mums and dads.

at this baby and toddler group today, they say the retail picture has changed. more options to choose from for starters. everybody is trying to compete with each other and the shops are getting cheaper and cheaper. and so the stores that charge a premium, unfortunately they are being hit and people will shop elsewhere. h&m, primark, you've got the cheaper option. baby things, we probably tend to shop around, go online, things that are more local to us, to be honest. back in the 70s, mothercare was the go to place for baby essentials. you could get a pram for six quid. but after serving generations of new parents, the business lost its way. the big problem for mothercare is that everything they sell, whether it is baby shampoo through to prams, someone else sells it as well. sells it better, cheaper, and can get it to you quicker. and their shoppers have really changed because now they are serving really young shoppers who are completely internet savvy

and want to be able to get things straightaway. mothercare‘s uk business has been losing money for years. today the company said it could no longer see a return to profitability and called it a day. at its peak in 2008, mothercare had 425 shops including early learning centres but by last year it was down to just 79 mothercare outlets after a major restructuring to close shops and cut costs. the plan did not work. now 500 full—time jobs and 2000 part—time roles are at risk. another blow to the high street, already in turmoil as the all—important christmas trading season gets under way. it is getting really hard for traditional bricks and mortar shops. costs like business rates are going up as shoppers spend more online. conditions are pretty brutal for many right now, leaving weaker players like mothercare unable to adapt.

inevitably, there will be more casualties ahead. the stores continue to trade as normal, for now. mothercare‘s profitable international business is not affected. but tonight its long—term physical presence here on uk high streets is far from clear. emma simpson, bbc news. our business editor, simonjack, is with me. we have discussed many times the economic vulnerability of the high street so should we be that surprised by this news? frankly, no. mothercare has been in trouble for over a decade so no real surprise that it over a decade so no real surprise thatitis over a decade so no real surprise that it is down to 79 stores and now looking like it is near the end. still a shock i think for many grandparents or parents who are watching who would say, reminding their children, i bought yourfirst rattle or pram or buggy their. for many people it was a brand that was almost like a support network for

young parents. but i'm reminded of when woolworths went bust over a decade ago and people said they were learnt to mean its demise, a lot of affection for the brand but at the same time admitting they had not been there for a while. that's the point, when people say what are these dark external forces doing, putting companies out of business, it is us! it is not going to the physical stores enough. the uk consumer is much more likely to buy online that almost any other country in the world. young parents with kids, even more likely. and what is interesting is the international business is doing 0k, it is a franchise business which means they supply the product and the research and intellectual property. they don't have the bricks and mortar, the business rates to pay which have so the business rates to pay which have so saddled some businesses. that is doing well. there is a uk structural problem. mothercare is still a loved brand i might survive may be at an online only brand but it looks tonight like it's very unlikely to survive in the form we know it, is a

high—street brand product simon jack, our business editor, thank you. the official uk threat level from terror attacks has been has been downgraded from ‘severe' to ‘substa ntial‘ — its lowest since august 2014. the home secretary, priti patel, said that the uk was still at "a high level of threat" and that an attack could happen "without further warning". the terror threat level for northern ireland, however, is staying at ‘severe'. the house of commons has elected sir lindsay hoyle as its new speaker, succeeding john bercow a few days before the official election campaign gets under way on wednesday. sir lindsay, originally a labour mp, was formerly deputy speaker and he secured a significant majority in the final round of voting a couple of hours ago. the speaker's role has been crucial in recent years, as parliament has struggled to deal with the brexit crisis, as our chief political correspondent vicki young reports. we are going to be hearing a lot more of this man's voice in the

coming months as he oversees the next chapter in these tumultuous political times. according to parliamentary tradition, sir lindsay hoyle parliamentary tradition, sir lindsay h oyle ha d parliamentary tradition, sir lindsay hoyle had to be dragged to the speaker's chair where hoyle had to be dragged to the spea ker‘s chair where he hoyle had to be dragged to the speaker's chair where he made this promise. i will be neutral, speaker's chair where he made this promise. iwill be neutral, iwill be transparent, i think this house, we can do more to ensure that that transparency continues. his family we re transparency continues. his family were watching from the public gallery and he spoke of their heartache over the death of his 28—year—old daughter. heartache over the death of his 28-year-old daughter. my daughter natalie, i wish she would have been here. we all miss her as a family, none more so than her mum. i've got to say, she was everything to all of us, she will always be missed but a lwa ys us, she will always be missed but always be in our thoughts. lindsay hoyle was elected the labour mp for chorley in 1997 and he has been deputy speakerfor chorley in 1997 and he has been deputy speaker for nine years. he is steeped in politics, his dad also an mp. his pets are named afterfamous politicians, a dog called gordon,

taught us named maggie, a parrot named boris. i'm now going to call, for the first time, the prime minister. the kindliness of the speaker is absolutely critical to out speaker is absolutely critical to our confidence and the way we behave and over the years, i have observed that you have many good qualities. people are put under enormous stress, both staff and members of this house. i know you take your response abilities in that area very seriously. the speaker's appearance might have changed over the years but their role in keeping order in the commons is as crucial as ever. they can influence what gets debated, and some thoughtjohn bercow went too far, bending the rules to side with anti brexit mps pandit sir lindsay hoyle's supporters say he will adopt a down to earth, calm approach when he swa ps to earth, calm approach when he swaps his lancastrian home for the grand spea ker‘s swaps his lancastrian home for the grand speaker's resident in the palace of westminster. this speaker is unlikely to be as controversial as the last. vicki young, bbc news.

doctors and health service leaders in england have warned party leaders against using the nhs as a "political weapon" during doctors and health service leaders in england have warned party leaders against using the nhs as a "political weapon" during the general election campaign. nhs providers, which represents hospitals and other health trusts, says spending promises made in the heat of election battle risk creating unrealistic expectations among voters, as our health editor, hugh pym, reports. a nice big bus! it is a familiar story at elections down the decades. i've had sufficient physiotherapy in my time to know... political party leaders visiting hospitals. it is possible for me to get... yes. it's the same once again. borisjohnson is in a hospital almost daily, while labour today also focused on the health service. but there is a warning the debate has now got out of hand. we would ask our politicians to exercise a bit of self—control and to make sure that the debate

we are going to have is evidence—based, mature, and not just political punch and judy. health leaders say it's all the more important to have a considered debate about the future of the nhs because it is under immense strain right now. they say they are worried about the level of pressure, even before winter has really set in. so, how does this hospital chief executive see things? we've been very busy over the summer here at milton keynes. it is really important that we have the right staff available to us. we're going to see some real peaks in demand. staffing is a problem. there are 107,000 vacancies across the nhs in england and all this as demand is rising, with nearly 4% more emergency hospital admissions over a year. what about gp practices? 0ne doctor gave her perspective. all winters are the same, or similar. as gps we expect to be working a little bit harder, longer hours, seeing a few more patients.

the latest figures show there were 4.4 million people waiting for routine surgery in england, a record high. and nearly 65,000 in september had to wait more than four hours for a bed after being admitted to a&e. we asked patients and visitors outside a london hospital this evening about their experiences. the student has been waiting in a&e with her friend. what sort of atmosphere is there in there? people seem to be in quite a lot of pain. people keep going up to the desk asking when they will be seen next. so people feel quite impatient. this woman says she and her children have been well cared for. basically, on the whole, we were seen quickly and i think it's a fantastic service, i'm very grateful for the nhs. the westminster election nhs debate is mainly about england. the devolved administrations run their own health systems. though there is no doubting the passion for the nhs right across the uk.

hugh pym, bbc news. in the day's other election news... nigel farage has unveiled the brexit party's 600 election candidates, though he isn't one of the them, saying he believes the party is more of a danger tojeremy corbyn than to boris johnson because he says 5 million labour supporters voted to leave the eu in the 2016 referendum. the liberal democrats are taking legal advice over itv‘s decision to exclude them from its forthcoming tv debate between borisjohnson and jeremy corbyn. the lib dem leader, jo swinson, claimed hers is the true party of remain and she is the only female leader with a shot at becoming prime minister. the leader of plaid cymru, adam price, launched the party's general election campaign in ynys mon, anglesey. he accused both labour and the conservatives of having failed wales and said the country's future should be as an independent nation. the commons intelligence

and security committee report into possible russian interference in uk elections will not be published before the general election. the committee chair, the former conservative but now independent mp dominic grieve, said number ten was being ‘disingenuous and misleading' by claiming there wasn't enough time to publish it. the report has received security clearance and the bbc understands there's no administrative reason for it not to be made public. the leader of the snp, nicola sturgeon, has accused boris johnson of treating scottish voters with contempt after he ruled out allowing a second referendum on independence. the snp have made another referendum a key feature of their election campaign. of the 13 conservative seats in scotland, over half are considered marginal. that means a swing of 5% or less could see a change as our scotland editor, sarah smith, reports. in stirling the fight is as tight as it gets. the tories won by less than 150 votes when they took the seat

from the snp in the last election. no wonder voters are fortifying themselves, ready for a campaign in which the divisive question of independence is likely to dominate. i think it's going to be independence related, so if all of scotland is covered with snp members of parliament, then that clearly shows something important. i think independence will be a big issue, but there are other aspects to look at as well. that you think we should be looking at? i think we should be, yes. the yes movement, gathered en masse in glasgow's george square this weekend, believe this election could be the next step towards an independent scotland, especially now the snp have put it at the very heart of their campaign. for everyone here who is impatient to see an independent scotland, they know this general election could be crucial. a good result for the snp will make it that bit harder for westminster to refuse to allow

another independence referendum. so do you see this election essentially as a referendum on whether or not scotland should be allowed to have an independence referendum? that is certainly, you know, the big issue at the heart of this election in scotland. do we want our future determined for us by the likes of boris johnson, or do we want to take the future into our own hands and determine the path we take and the kind of country we want to be? the tories are looking to spread the same message. independence is a much easier topic for them than brexit in a marginal seat like 0chil in south perthshire. they love it every time nicola sturgeon talks about another referendum. what do you think? i think, yippee! because every time nicola goes on the television and bangs on about independence, we get more votes. are you sure? absolutely! so when nicola sturgeon says she is making this campaign about independence, do you think that's good for tories? fantastic news. really? yes. the conservatives want to position themselves as the only reliable defenders of the union.

even though the lib dems promise that they too will protect the uk. voters may be confused by labour's position. they say they don't want another referendum but would not block one. and the snp are hoping that by making the demand for another referendum so central, that will make it difficult for the next prime minister to say no. sarah smith, bbc news. all political parties have stepped up their campaigns on social media in recent days. political advertising on platforms such as facebook has been the source of great controversy in the past few years, with concerns about personal data falling into the wrong hands. but as our media editor amol rajan reports, that hasn't stopped campaigners looking to digital channels as a powerful tool to reach voters. election campaigns are ultimately a branch of the marketing industry. in the 21st century that means they've shifted online. this weekend saw a significant

escalation of political ads in our facebook and other social media feeds. but tactics varied across the parties. conservatives focused on brexit and targeted marginal constituencies such as colne valley with a message thatjust a few hundred votes could be decisive. labour looked to policy beyond brexit with an nhs add that linked to a guardian article. the lib dems tweaked their attack ad againstjeremy corbyn for different audiences. 0ne claimed he was a brexiteer at heart, another questioned his leadership credentials. but how exactly do digital marketers, political and otherwise, target us? the industry is seeing exponential growth, this british firm doesn't work for political parties but helps brands reach their target audience. every single action that people take online almost is tracked as a data point that we can use to inform our targeting and that is whether they've taken a certain amount of time dwelling on a page, whether they've expressed an interest in something, joined a group, almost purchased

something but not purchased something, every single one of these is a signal. so how narrowly can you focus your target? you will be blown away by how specific we can be in terms of targeting individual people. we could, for example, within newcastle—under—lyme, choose a nurse who's recently qualified within a certain income bracket who is interested in fitness and wellness and then under behaviours has recently returned from travel within the last one or two weeks, that's how specific we can get. what, then, is the appeal of social media to political campaigns? first, it's very quick, it is also a cheaper medium, you can pay sometimes as little as £100 to reach thousands of swing voters. the other reason, of course, is that you're allowed to advertise. british political parties are not allowed to advertise on tv or on radio, unlike their counterparts in america. this is the age of data, all around us is an infinite swell of personal information which you and i add to every time we browse, swipe, like or click.

and farfrom the madding crowd, political marketers, mavericks and miscreants are plundering those innocent digital ticks to capture our attention and persuade us to give them a hearing. and a vote. recent plebiscites show campaigners tend to save most of the digital budgets for the climax ofa campaign. the best, and the worst, is yet to come. amol rajan, bbc news. and for more coverage of the general election you can go online where there's a simple but extensive guide to the election — the issues — and the state of the parties — going into the december the 12th vote. that's at bbc.co.uk or on the bbc news app. a bbc investigation has found that more and more young people are going missing from accommodation provided to support those in care. a freedom of information request indicates the number missing from unregulated homes has more than doubled in england and wales in the past three years. it's also been revealed that more

than 60 children were found by councils to have been sexually assaulted or exploited once they returned. our special correspondent ed thomas has this exclusive report. i was in a care home, at a semi—independent place, and a car come up and the driver, i didn't know who it was, a bag got put over my head, i got flung in the boot. got taken to a random house out in the country, i got flannels put over my face, got waterboarded, got stripped, got beaten. i was stabbed once in my shoulder and twice in my leg. when i got let go, i was laying on the road, dying. kidnapped while in care. he is 17 and has been in care since the age of five. for the past two years, he has been living in unregulated homes. most weeks, he goes missing, often to sell drugs. i was going missing every day for, like, months on end.

did the unregulated home have your phone number? yeah. were they ringing you? no. how easy was it for you to get involved in county lines drug dealing? easy. he was repeatedly exploited by drug gangs. i'd be at one place, they'd take me to another place. to sell heroin and crack cocaine? yeah. why didn't you say no? they said, "if you say no, you're going to get killed or your family's getting killed." 0urfigures indicate the number of times young people have gone missing from unregulated homes has more than doubled in the last three years. all the money i got from doing it, i was using it to get home. this teenager was sent hundreds of miles away to north wales. there was no family around me, i had no friends. everyone was coming up to me, because they know i weren't from the area — can you do this for us? can you do that? two months being there, i lost my mum. when i lost my mum, they didn't try and arrange to go to the funeral,

so i didn't get to go to my mum's funeral. the care system made me, social services and the government made mejust feel like i didn't want to be around no more. did you try and take your life? yeah, i've tried a couple of times. what was going through your mind? that i want to see my mum for a last time and i could get out of this world where no one cares about me. i was on the top of the most reported missing list. i was going missing every day. these times it was either me crashing at my mates' or i would be in the next county, hundreds of miles away, just sitting in a crack den, doing life all wrong, bro, doing life all wrong. we have estimated last year police forces spent at least £50 million searching for missing children in care. this child is 16. after years in care, he moved into unregulated homes. some were surrounded by drugs and violence. at the one i was at before, there was constant drug use.

my whole road was a drug hotspot so surrounded by nitties and crackheads all day long. you want to come home to a safe place, you want to be comfortable in your home, innit? you don't want to be sitting at home thinking bleep i'm going to get robbed. it ruined me mentally because it put me out on the roadside. i was in brighton, up in ipswich, everybody knows about ipswich, southampton, aylesbury, i've been everywhere, bro. he says he now sells drugs across the country. i'm not like other people. i was making just enough to scrape by. if i can give my mum a little piece here and there... those men who were sending you all over the country, why don't you say no to them? if i say no, i'm going to have nothing to eat when i get home, i'm going have no credits to call my mum. if i say no to these people, they can find another youth in a care home who's going to do exactly what they want them to do. it's not a problem for them. we have been told these pictures show young people in unregulated homes with weapons and drugs. we found out more than 50 people were sexually abused or exploited after going missing last year. 0ur information request also revealed that around one in six missing episodes features a young person already known to be at risk

of child sexual exploitation. what should happen to these homes? they need to be watched more, they need to have inspectors and professional people who actually know what they're doing going in there and checking there and regulating the thing. it's like you could be running a full on crack operation in a care home and no one would know anything. i thought being in care would give me some sort of childhood. they are saying that they are there to support you. it's a lie. it's a recruiting game. they're going to put kids into homes, theyre going to get recruited. the same stuff's going to keep going on. there are more than 5000 vulnerable children and young people living in unregulated homes across england and wales. tonight, on average, 30 will go missing, often unseen and unheard. ed thomas, bbc news. police today discovered 41 migrants alive in a refrigerated lorry in northern greece. most of the men are from afghanistan — and were in reasonable health —

though several of them were treated for breathing problems. the driver was arrested. ten days ago 39 vietnamese nationals were found dead in a similar vehicle in essex. the chief executive of mcdonald's — steve easterbrook — has been sacked for having a relationship with one of his employees. the firm says that while the relationship was consensual, mr easterbrook had ‘violated company policy‘ and showed ‘poor judgement‘. 0ur consumer affairs correspondent colletta smith has more. we want to be the best burger business out there. steve easterbrook has worked his way up from london store manager to the very top of the mcdonald‘s empire. making big updates to the menu, the stores, and the ingredients, he‘s doubled the value of the company. but now he‘s been fired after admitting dating an employee. kieran was a mcdonald‘s store managerfor ten years. he says everyone knows the rules. when i was working there

you weren‘t allowed to fraternise with colleagues. and do you think that‘s a reasonable rule? yes, i don‘t think you should, really. when you work there it can go a bit... but not everyone agrees. i don't think there should be rules against it. you spend most of your time with people you work with. you're going to meet someone there, aren't you? i mean, i knowa lot of people who date in an office and they are fine. no problems at all. you can't help who you fall in love with, can you? in recent years mcdonald‘s have faced hundreds of complaints about sexual harassment at work. since the #metoo movement they and other big companies are keen to stamp out the idea of workplace harassment. i think there is a motivation from employers to put this in place because somehow it shows that they are doing everything they can be seen to be doing in order to protect their staff, particularly women and more junior members of staff. so despite steve easterbrook‘s business success, his fate has been signed, sealed and delivered.

this is a thorny issue for any company to try to navigate and sparked much debate today. big employers in the uk like the nhs, tesco and google now have relationship policies, rules or at least guidance on the topic but plenty within business including the boss of rya nair michael plenty within business including the boss of ryanair michael 0‘leary think that employees and their love lives should remain private and staff should be treated as grown—ups. mcdonnell say this particular relationship was consensual but it is a matter of fairness because a rule that applies toa fairness because a rule that applies to a store manager here has to apply to a store manager here has to apply to the chief executive as well. the last leader of the soviet union — mikhail gorbachev — has warned that tension between russia and the west is putting the world in ‘colossal danger‘ because of the threat of nuclear weapons.

mr gorbachev — who‘s now 88 — negotiated with president reagan to reduce the nuclear arsenals of the two world superpowers in the late 1980s. he‘s been speaking with our moscow correspondent steve rosenberg to mark 30 years since the fall of the berlin wall. at the age of 88, mikhail gorbachev rarely goes on camera. but the man who helped end the cold war has decided to speak out, fearing his legacy is under threat. the arms race he thought he‘d stopped has reignited amid growing tension between moscow and the west. how dangerous do you think the current confrontation is between russia and the west? translation: 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. mikhail gorbachev says that preventing war became his priority when the soviet public began sharing their fears of conflict. translation: everyone used to say to me, mr gorbachev, don‘t worry about the food shortages or our other problems, we will manage. just make sure there is no war. it showed in the last war how much my countrymen had suffered. in the past we used to talk about the cold war. how would you describe the current stand—off between russia and the west?