tonight at ten — students scramble for university places after the government's u—turn over a level and gcse grades. trying to trade up — universities are fielding thousands of calls from pupils initially downgraded — who missed out on their preferred place? i am very pleased about the u—turn the government has made because i feel a lot more secure now in my future. however, it has been a very stressful couple of days, because i thought i had not got into university. as ministers today offered to help universities who fear they don't have room for all potential students — we'll be asking whether this government has failed its own a—level test. also tonight... 7000 jobs to go at marks and spencer, as the pandemic makes customers move from shopping in—store to online. a huge bomb which killed lebanon's former prime minister — 15 years later, one member

of the militant group hezbollah is found guilty. the widow of pc andrew harper tells the bbc of her heartbreak over the sentences handed out to her husband's killers. you know, he is never coming back. we are never going to have him back. but at the very least, we wanted some kind ofjustice for him. and an unwelcome spotlight on the us chat show hosted by ellen de generes — as three top producers are fired for misconduct. and coming up in the sport and bbc news... the champions league final awaits, but will it be paris saint—germain or rb leipzig who claim the first place? good evening.

tens of thousands of students, who've now got higher a level grades after the government's u—turn yesterday, have spent the day scrambling for university places. with many courses already full, some students remain unsure about their academic futures. the government has said it will help universities to find places for them. ministers were forced to abandon the exam regulator 0fqual‘s computer modelling for a level and gcse results, after an outcry when 40% of entries were downgraded. wales and northern ireland also reversed their policies. 0ur education editor, branwenjeffreys, has the latest. natasha wants to study medicine, she's got top grades from her teachers but still hasn't got a place after being rejected on last week's results. i'm really pleased about the u—turn the government has made, because i feel a lot more secure now in my future. however, it's been a very stressful couple of days because i thought i hadn't got into university and i've been working for this for a very long time. trying to keep calm and focused,

but medicine courses are full. good afternoon, your through to manchester metropolitan university clearing line. all universities were taking calls today — students checking they still have a place. this university says it will honor offers made last week and those for students who now have the grades. the legal situation, i don't think, is entirely clear, but my understanding is if you were made an offer and you'd met that offer, the university will be obliged to admit those students. that is right, fair and proper, and that is certainly what we are doing at manchester met. i think it's more challenging if you haven't had an offer but you want to apply now through clearing on the basis of the teacher assessed grades. i think that situation is less certain. he says students need to weigh up their options. talked to your school or college, talk to the universities, but, really, do we really want students to put their life on hold you know? they've been through a lot

over the last months. universities say they'd like to be more flexible, but they need the government's help. here, they'd like to offer more places for teachers to train, at other universities, more places for medicine. but even if they get some extra leeway, it's far from clear that every student that wants their first choice place will be able to have it this year. since results day, there have been fears for some. bright students in poorer areas were downgraded, they might not be able to afford to wait a year or have anyone in their family to advise. today — a warning — they must not be the losers. this is a serious risk, and i think all of us are determined to try and prevent these unprecedented circumstances from having the most impact on the students who can least afford to navigate their way through it and the least able to navigate their way through it.

while universities work out how to fit more in, ministers said they weren't to blame for the chaos, insisting they acted as soon as possible. the last few days, it has risen and really been highlighted both locally to me as an mp, but also nationally as a minister that there are a number of anomalies in that algorithm. i think we made the right decision yesterday because, actually, students come first and we can't carry on with a system that is grossly unfair. it's just a few weeks until students arrive, but the political fallout from this year's grades fiasco could last much longer. branwen jeffries, bbc news. as branwen sa'rdthere7i questions have been swirling aboutjust who is responsible for the situation — with the education secretary, gavin williamson, today sidestepping questions about whether he will resign.

0ur chief political correspondent vicki young is in westminster. is the blame for this being shifted around? i think it is. what we have had todayis i think it is. what we have had today is a lot of apologies but that is little comfort for those trying to deal with the fallout from all of this. the education secretary is trying to work out why it all went so wrong trying to work out why it all went so wrong and is pinning it on the exa m so wrong and is pinning it on the exam regulator for what he calls an unfair system. labour say he should have seen trouble was coming some time ago. they point to a report from a committee mp several weeks ago, flagging up some of these issues. and listing some of the problems universities are facing, is a reminder that governing at the moment is a lot like firefighting. they deal with one problem, dealing with the grades people were unhappy about that is it throwing up lots of issues that could last for some time. as for gavin williamson, he is

staying in hisjob. it shouldn't be too much of a surprise, this government has shown it does like to hang on to its ministers and advisers, even when they are under tremendous pressure. i think the criticism from tory mps had subsided since the u—turn, but many think if a reshuffle or where to come along anytime soon, then gavin williamson could be in trouble. vicki young westminster, thank you. marks and spencer is planning to cut 7000 staff by the end of the year, after a slump in sales during the coronavirus pandemic. the cuts, on top of 950 already announced, amount to about a tenth of the overall work force. the company is the latest to announce major losses, as our business correspondent emma simpson reports. you do not see this often, a new storejust opened after lockdown. it is close to nottingham and pulling in the shoppers. it helps being out of town. it's a different in many city centres.

this is oxford street in london and much quieter than it should be. not good if you rely on footfall for sales. this was the first floor at marble arch this lunchtime, one of m&s‘ key london stores for marks & spencer and today the company said there had been a material shift in trade and it had to act. these new figures show the challenge. in the two months since reopening, clothing and home sales at its stores down 40% compared to last year but online sales up 39%. this pandemic has driven a rapid change in shopping habits. with more people buying online fewer workers are needed in stores. marks & spencers was already making big changes before the pandemic and they have been speeding up those changes now. 7000 jobs to go today, the biggest cuts this retailer has ever made. awful news for the people involved but i'm afraid rather inevitable

as shops like this are expensive to run, the cost don't go down if fewer people turn up to shop and that is what is happening. sooner or later you have to align your cost with revenue and that is what m&s is doing today. they're not the only ones? they're not and we will see i'm afraid a lot more. just look at the last seven days, 2500 more job losses at debenhams, a business on the brink. 350 to go at river island and new look trying to cut rent to survive. jigsaw could be cutting stores too. now m&s is taking drastic action to cut costs,