jeremy corbyn launches labour's election manifesto, calling it the most ambitious plan in decades to transform britain. the party promises to build 100,000 new council homes a year, and a windfall tax on oil companies. votes for this manifesto of hope. it is time for real change. thank you. we'll be assessing labour's promises, and whether they‘ re affordable. also this lunchtime... prince andrew in windsor this morning, amid growing calls for him to talk to american investigators. alex salmond appears in court accused of sexual offences while he was first minister of scotland.

—— most of them while. iam innocent, and i will defend my position vigorously. a tidal wave of flames. almost 200 bushfires now raging in australia with a code red warning in the state of victoria. chris martin, here we are here in jordan. why have you taken us here? and coldplay tell us they won't be touring because it's bad for the planet and coming up on bbc news... an unbeaten 67 for ben stokes, as he holds england to a comfortable 241—4 on day one of their first test against new zealand. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one.

labour has launched its election manifesto — promising a radical agenda with a hugely expanded role for the state which they say will transform lives. the manifesto includes plans to build 100,000 council homes a year by the end of the new parliament. labour also says there'd be a windfall tax on oil companies. and the party promises to create a million ‘greenjobs‘, although it's watered down a party conference pledge to make the uk produce net zero carbon by 2030. 0ur political correspondent iain watson reports. they say it is better to travel hopefully than arrive. labour are lagging in the polls butjamie corbyn believed it was a radical ma nifesto corbyn believed it was a radical manifesto that boosted his ratings at the last election and he thinks a new set of policies could kick start this campaign as well. he began by

setting out clear dividing lines with his opponents and told voters he would stand up to the establishment. they are going to tell you that everything in this ma nifesto tell you that everything in this manifesto is impossible, that it is too much for you because they do not wa nt too much for you because they do not want real change in this country. why would they? the system is working just fine for them. it is rigged in theirfavour. working just fine for them. it is rigged in their favour. he set up plans to increase the size and scope for the state, bringing rail and the water industry back into public ownership. if labour wins it will be a big increase in palatable national and local government met more say over the running of schools and an ambitious house—building programme. we will launch the biggest house—building programme since the 19605 house—building programme since the 1960s and pap rents. unveiling policies to appeal across the

generations. repeating he would abolish tuition fees in england. his pa rty‘s grassroots wanted abolish tuition fees in england. his party's grassroots wanted a guarantee a labour government would guarantee a labour government would guarantee net zero carbon emissions by 2030. they did not get that but there were radical green policies. we can no longer deny the climate emergency. we can see it all around us. emergency. we can see it all around us. as it says in our manifesto, labour will create 1 million new greenjobs as part labour will create 1 million new green jobs as part of our green industrial revolution. how it is all this going to be paid for? the oil business will face a new levy. labour government will ensure that the oil and gas corporations that profit from heating up our planet will shoulder the burden and pay theirfair

will shoulder the burden and pay their fair share will shoulder the burden and pay theirfair share through will shoulder the burden and pay their fair share through a just transition tax. boris johnson has tweeted the pledge asking is he going to back remain or leave? the neighbour crowd reacted most positively but he warned any boris johnson post—brexit trade deal could harm the health service. the prime minister has denied this and jeremy corbett made a firm commitment to the nhs. labour will never, ever use our national health service as a bargaining chip in trade talks. —— corbyn. we will never let donald trump get his hands on our nhs. thank you. as ever, the audience has got ahead of me. let's be clear about it, our nhs is not for sale. labour insiders say they have

created a few sparks in this campaign that it has not really ignited. jeremy corbyn was at times burning with passion but he may need to do more to fire up the voters. 0ur assistant political editor norman smith is in birmingham. you've had a chance to look through the manifesto. what do you make of it? to be honest, i have probably read far too many manifestos that are good for me. this is, without doubt, the most ambitious and also the most costly i had ever seen. radical it absolutely is, not just costly i had ever seen. radical it absolutely is, notjust because of the plans for sweeping nationalisation, and a million new jobs, hundreds of thousands of additional council houses but almost every page you turn as a giveaway for someone. public sector workers are promised a 5% pay rise. pensioners get free personal care, the state pension age will not go up

beyond 66. the sick get free prescriptions, students get free tuition fees, will services get bus services back on and on and on. the question is, is it credible and affordable? labour says it is by higher taxes on the wealthy, on big business and banks and by borrowing a lot more. we live in a globalised era when the wealthy can move their money around. so why would they leave their cash in a labour britain that was going to tax them more? on borrowing, why would the bond markets and the city treatjeremy corbyn with kid gloves and treat interest rates so lo knowing that he will want to borrow more. isjeremy corbyn then needed to deliver this, given that he is still when not a nswer given that he is still when not answer the most basic fundamental political question of our time which

is, are you for or against brexit? thank you. and our reality check correspondent chris morris is here to look at labour's manifesto in more detail. chris. there's an awful lot in any manifesto but one of labour's big offers is on housing — a pledge to build 100,000 council houses a year in england by the end of a five year parliament, and at least 50,000 affordable homes through housing associations. the last time more than 100,000 council homes were built was 1977, and to achieve it again would mean the most rapid increase in housebuilding by the state since reconstruction after the second world war. there are the obvious cost implications — £15 billion a year to be spent on housing, but also practical implications — who's going to build all these new houses? labour is also promising to upgrade huge numbers of existing houses

as part of its green new deal, and there are already labour shortages in the construction sector. around 60% of the federation of master builders are struggling to hire brick layers with similar numbers struggling to hire carpenters. with the changes to immigration we need to make sure the construction industry is not facing a cliff edge in terms of skilled labour coming a cliff edge in terms of skilled labourcoming in a cliff edge in terms of skilled labour coming in from the eu while it is training our domestic workforce. labour says it is down to training domestic workers to do newjobs, but there won't be enough of them. so that begs a question about labour's immigration policy? it would need to import huge numbers of workers from abroad to keep its promises. and on that labour says that even if the uk leaves the eu, it will "seek to protect the social and economic benefits" that free movement has created, for both uk and eu citizens. on another issue, education, the big pledge is to abolish tuition fees for students and restore

maintenance grants, meaning a net £7.2 billion a year will have to be found to fund it. the controversial party conference proposal of abolishing private schools has been kicked into the long grass, but private school fees would be subject to vat under a labour government. another announcement already during considerable comment, a windfall tax on oil and gas companies. labour hopes it would raise £11 billion a year to ease the transition to a green economy but it has raised concern among labour supporters who fear it could have an adverse impact on future investment in the north sea oil industry. 0ur economics correspondent dharshini david is here with me. what are the implications for the economy? when you look at the

ma nifestos, economy? when you look at the manifestos, it becomes quite clear that this party is united in some of the priority areas, be it the living wage or putting more money into the public sector. in terms of the living wage, labour wants to go further and faster than the conservatives, which will be welcome news to many voters. when it comes to spending on the public sector, labour seems to go further than the other parties. we have totted up the figures. roughly speaking we are looking at an extra 700 billion or so over the next five years on day—to—day spending and investment spending as well and that is part of the labour idea that the state should have greater involvement by particular when it comes to providing things like roads and it comes to building houses, as we have been hearing because they believe it could bring assets which bring a decent return to society and because interest rates are so low it is a good time to borrow. and they do

this in square the circle when it comes to financial management? labour has said it can keep interest payments down. it comes as day—to—day spending pledges like free dentistry and abolishing tuition fees, it would match those of the taxes on higher earners. as with any pledge and any costings, it isa with any pledge and any costings, it is a gamble. the economy takes a different path and their wills are easily broken. thank you. throughout the election campaign, we are looking closely at the places where the final result could be won and lost, and asking people in those places what questions they may have. tomorrow, we will be reporting from norwich all day on tv, radio and online, starting with bbc breakfast, and radio 5live. lawyers for women, who say they were sexually assaulted byjeffrey epstein, have urged prince andrew to give a sworn legal statement about his links to the financier. it comes after the prince announced he was withdrawing from public duties for the foreseeable future and said that he is willing

to help with investigations into mr epstein, if required. sarah campbell reports. for the queen and wider royal family, this morning's headlines will have made for painful reading. never, during her long reign, has such a senior member of the royal family felt there was no option but to retreat from public life. he had agreed to an in depth, no holds barred interview with the bbc‘s newsnight programme. it was meant to draw a line under an issue that had dogged him for years — his friendship with a convicted sex offender. it didn't. his statement, released last night after discussion with the queen and prince charles, said he was stepping down from royal duties for the foreseeable future. the queen had given her permission. in a marked change of tone from his television interview, he said he unequivocally regrets his ill—judged association

with jeffrey epstein. he said, "i deeply sympathise with everyone who has been affected and wants some form of closure. i can only hope that in time they will be able to rebuild their lives. of course, he added, i am willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency with their investigations, if required." we do think it's a good, positive step that he says he's going to cooperate with law enforcement but we'd like to see that happen. is he going to fly to the united states and voluntarily meet with our fbi? will he sit for depositions in the civil cases? will he submit evidence like e—mails and calendars and travelogues, that all of us would like to see as part of our investigations? prince andrew will not be resigning from the many patronages or positions he holds, but he will no longer be involved, and the palace said it appreciates those organisations may wish to find new patrons. his highest profile venture in recent years has been pitch@palace, a networking forum

for aspiring entrepreneurs. prince andrew will continue to support it privately. its supporters hope other royals might step in to be its public face. perhaps we have a lot of royals there, wills and kate, harry and meghan, younger people, edward. whoever it might be — now, if you're going to continue the pitch@palace in the royal environment where you have an infrastructure which is paid for, i think, in part by the taxpayer, it would be an extraordinary shame that the palace don't see the opportunity in continuing this initiative that has created £1 billion worth of economic activity. although he is stepping back from public duties, it is understood he will still be present at royal family events, such as the service of remembrance at the cenotaph. leaving his home in windsor this morning, a wave from prince andrew as he departs public life, in his words, for the foreseeable future.

and sarah is here. what more do we know about how he reached this decision to step back? as we know, every day since the interview was aired on saturday, there have been revelations, there have been apparently consistency is talked about in what prince andrew had said. a bbc panorama was due to be broadcast in the next few weeks, and combined with organisations and companies looking to distance themselves from the prince. 0n tuesday he was photographed leaving buckingham palace. there had been a meeting with the queen, with key advisers and prince charles, presumably on speaker phone because he is on tour in new zealand at the moment. yesterday more companies distanced themselves, and of course it had been mentioned during the leaders debate. for the monarchy, it is so important they cannot be seen to be interfering or being a

distraction during a democratic process that is an election. so yesterday there seemed to be a sense of inevitability that this would —— this action would have to be taken. thank you. alex salmond has appeared in court charged with carrying out a series of sexual offences against ten women — most of them while he was first minister of scotland. mr salmond faces a total of 1a charges, including one of attempted rape. he denies all the charges against him. lorna gordon is in edinburgh. yes, this was a short hearing in a packed court. it lasted just 15 minutes. during it mr salmond sat in the dock flanked by two security officers. because it was a preliminary hearing, it dealt primarily with procedural matters it is the first time we have learned the details of the charges mr

salmond is facing. alex salmond is one of the best—known figures in scottish politics, today he was hearing in court to face allegations against ten women, offences it's alleged he carried out while serving as first minister. the charges include one attempted rape, one attempted to rape, ten accounts of sexual assault and two of indecent assault. the alleged incidents are said to have happened here in edinburghjust before the referendum on scottish independence. mr salmond was alleged to have pushed a woman against a wall, to have removed her clothes before pushing her onto a bed and lying naked on top of her. he is also alleged to have intended to rape another woman at bute house the previous year. other alleged sexual assaults are said to have happened here in glasgow, at a nightclub in edinburgh, ina here in glasgow, at a nightclub in edinburgh, in a car, at the scottish

parliament and at stirling castle. speaking outside court, mr salmond denied all the charges he is facing. iam denied all the charges he is facing. i am innocent and i will defend my position vigorously, but the only place, the only proper place to a nswer place, the only proper place to answer criminal charges is in this court and that is exactly what we intend to do next spring. mr salmond is now into his second year of court actions. he took the government he used to lead to court over its handling of an inquiry against sexual harassment claims against him. the scottish government later conceded it had been floored and paid out legal costs. there was considerable media interest in the former first minister's appearance in court today, a taste perhaps of what is to come when the trial sta rts what is to come when the trial starts in march. that trial will begin here in edinburgh on march the 9th, it is

expected to last four weeks. lorna, many thanks indeed. lorna gordon. our top story this lunchtime: jeremy corbyn launches labour's election manifesto, calling it the most ambitious plan in decades to transform britain. and on top down under — england make a good start in the opening test against new zealand. coming up on bbc news... all smiles from jose — we'll hear from the new tottenham manager this afternoon, as mourinho holds his first news conference since being appointed at the club. australia's bushfires show no signs of abating, with emergency crews now fighting almost 200 blazes across the country. for the first time in almost a decade, a code red warning — the highest fire alert level — has been issued for the state of victoria, and a thick layer to smoke is still engulfing

australia's biggest city, sydney, as phil mercer reports. for the first time in almost a decade, a code red warning was issued in the australian state of victoria. record—breaking spring temperatures and strong winds have conspired to raise the alert to its highest level. residents in the danger zone were told it was too late to leave as large fires burnt out of control. at the moment, we've got more than 60 fires that have happened across the state. it's important to point out at this particular point in time that we still have a long way to go. there were apocalyptic scenes in the city of mildura when a huge dust storm combined with thick smoke andturned the sky a ghastly shade of orange. in south australia, changing weather conditions are allowing firefighters to slowly contain a blaze that's engulfed several homes on the yorke peninsula. a sea of flames has raced down a field north of adelaide.

the impact on wildlife may never be known. we're finding a lot of birds and snakes and koalas that are burnt. in some of the areas the heat was so intense that all the big eucalypt trees, like the ones you see around me, were literally incinerated. in new south wales, six people have died in the fires in recent weeks and more than 600 homes have been destroyed. about 60 blazes are burning in the nation's most populous states. half are uncontained. smoke from the bushfires has again blanketed sydney with a toxic haze. authorities in australia's biggest city have also announced the toughest water restrictions in ten years, as a long drought worsens and reservoir levels continue to fall. it started here. as the flames rage, so does the debate about the impact of climate change. scientists say the proof

is there for all to see. phil mercer, bbc news, sydney. a senior us diplomat has told the donald trump impeachment inquiry that he followed the president's orders to put pressure on ukraine to investigate his democratic rival, joe biden. there are more televised hearings today. chris buckler is in washington. what can we expect today? yesterday's testimony was the most damaging yet for the president and that came from god and sunderland, a man appointed us ambassador to the eu by the president and was a donor to the president's inauguration committee, of $1 million. he talked about this idea that under the president's orders pushed this idea of trying to find the president's own personal agenda in asking ukraine for investigations into his

political rivals as opposed to pursuing the us‘s own interests, and he and he said he involved the president's personal attorney in terms of really trying to push that idea. you can expect today to hear more about rudy giuliani because one of those giving evidence is a former white house official, fiona hill, who is someone who comes from county durham and has said already in testimony that officials were concerned that rudy giuliani was a hand grenade that was going to blow up. the president has been watching this and furiously tweeting this morning, already saying that never in his wildest dreams did he think his name would be in any way associated with the ugly word impeachment. well, it is, and you can be sure the democrats are pushing forward with that impeachment process. thank you. england have made a promising

start to the first test in new zealand, ending the first day on a respectable 241 for four. joe wilson reports. new zealand's mount maunganui is hosting its first ever test match, england's dom sibley is playing his first and he was welcomed traditionally. well, he's here to bat. 0n the money, and he's away. the first ball sibley faced went 0k. in fact, it went for four. sibley open the innings with rory burns — they're old mates, and they got england past 50. sibley sadly departed for 22. ross taylor takes a beauty... but he is just 2a, and with a stubborn approach he could go far. this ground is a grassy oval on the bay of plenty. 52 for rory burns was enough to keep england steady to keep the ball rolling. but new zealand got rid of england's captain cheaply. joe root, out for two, and new zealand felt the significance of that. but joe denly prevailed. at 33, denly‘s certainly determined to make the most of his winter.

this one's gone further. it's gone all the way to six. and then ben stokes. up and over. enough said. now, this partnership was concluding the day england's way, but denly, on 7a, a diving watling, and new zealand had their man. yes, but not the man. the chance to get rid of ben stokes was missed. taken — no, down. he'll begin day two on 67 with england, 241 for four, and this moment lingering in the minds of both sides. joe wilson, bbc news. they're one of the uk's biggest bands, selling out huge venues around the world for the past two decades. but now coldplay have decided not to go on tour to promote their new album because they're worried about climate change. their lead singer chris martin has been talking exclusively to our entertainment correspondent, colin paterson. chris martin, here we are.

hello. at the amman citadel here injordan. why have you taken us here? we wanted to basically pick somewhere in what we consider the middle of the world, and in the middle of the biggest area where we normally don't get to play, and bands like us don't come here very often. and also, it's just so beautiful and makes me fizzle with excitement. how difficult is it for bands who believe in environmental issues to go on world tours at the moment? well, that is a great question. we're not touring this album. we're taking time over the next year or two to work out how can...not only our tour be sustainable, but how can it be actively beneficial? how can we harness the resources that our tour creates and make

it have a positive impact? the hardest thing is the flying side of things. but for example, our dream is to have a show with no single use plastic, to have it be largely solar powered. glastonbury. you are so part of that festival now. you cropped up a couple of times on the main stage last year. it's been announced paul mccartney is going to headline here next year. any chance of coldplay joining him on the bill? no. why not? i did pop up on stage last year and i loved doing so. stormzy, kylie. and then i saw a tweet afterwards that said, "you can always rely on him to come on in a tracksuit and ruin everything." so i thought, you know what? a, i should work on my trousers and b, i shouldn't be online, and c, maybejust go and watch glastonbury for a year or so. did that hurt you?

sometimes these things hurt me, yeah. cos i'm human. does it ever hurt you that critics have never taken to coldplay in the same way that fans have? no. chris martin speaking to colin paterson there. nearly half of uk adults are willing to fa ke nearly half of uk adults are willing to fake an illness to get a day off work. the office for national statistics says the average worker ta kes statistics says the average worker takes around four six days a year but official data does not include fa ke but official data does not include fake illnesses.

time for a look at the weather. here's chris fawkes. it looks like the weather fronts haven't taken a single day off either, it has been so wet, with more rain to come today as well. on the satellite picture it is this stripe of cloud you can see working its way in bringing the rain. it will tend to pivot away from northern ireland as we go through the rest of the afternoon, with the weather becoming drier but there will be a lot of cloud around. that will be a lot of cloud around. that will spread in a southern wales where we already have damp weather, probably reaching dorset, hampshire, perhaps the isle of wight. becoming drier in northern ireland but wherever you are today it will feel chilly with a cold wind that continues to blow. 0vernight rain pushes across england and wales, accompanied with heavy showers. you might even hear the odd crack