today at six, grenfell and the cladding controversy — angerfrom campaigners after a new law is passed. they say the fire safety law does nothing for leaseholders left with massive bills to pay. please listen to our cries for help, please just help us, because so many people... people can't hang on, people are facing these costs now, and we need help. ministers say the new law will make properties safer in the future. also tonight: "nothing to worry about" — borisjohnson on the row over his downing street renovations. there are three reviews under way. a hundred days into the biden presidency — is sleepyjoe turning into action man?

the staffordshire residents having to put up with a stink. they want action from the landfill operators. and coming up on the bbc news channel, tonight needs to be the night for arsenal — can the gunners turn their season around in the europa league? we'll also be live at old trafford. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. first came the grenfell tragedy, then the realisation that thousands of other buildings around the country had similar flammable cladding. a new fire—safety law comes into force today, but campaigners argue it does nothing to help leaseholders whose homes have dangerous cladding and are having to bear the huge cost

of removing it from properties they bought in good faith. the government has set up a £5 billion fund to help pay towards the costs but only for the tallest buildings — others are now being offered loans. tonight home secretary priti patel says the new law will make properties safer in the future. sarah corker reports. who should pay to fix britain's broken buildings? from london to leeds, merseyside to manchester, thousands of leaseholders are facing huge bills to remove dangerous cladding and to fix other fire safety faults. i have spent days and weeks crying about it, worrying about our future. in manchester, this was rachel and her partner's first home together. now they feel trapped. declaring bankruptcy at this age, you know, what does that do to us for our future? it decimates it. so, yeah, it's... yeah, it's terrifying. and these are real discussions about

bankruptcy that you're having now? yes. yeah, obviously it's not the wisest thing to do, but we have sat there at night and had conversations, "what would it mean?" the fire safety bill was introduced to strengthen building regulations following the grenfell tragedy. peers in the lords and some conservative backbench mps tried to make changes to the bill to protect flat owners from cladding costs, but those attempts failed and the bill became law today. the fire safety bill, which has received royal assent, will actually help to save lives by changing some of these awful regulations and guidelines that existed previously and this will help to save lives. and the prime minister previously made this pledge. we're determined that no leaseholder should have to pay for the unaffordable costs of fixing safety defects that they didn't cause and are no fault of their own. but today, cladding campaigners

say they feel betrayed. it is an unbelievable situation, i think_ it is an unbelievable situation, i think a — it is an unbelievable situation, i think a lot — it is an unbelievable situation, i think a lot of people don't believe this could — think a lot of people don't believe this could be happening in the uk, and that— this could be happening in the uk, and that the government will step into protect us. views echoed by some backbench tory mps. it's shameful, shameful what the government has done. i'm shocked, i'm astonished, you can tell i'm upset about it. we've fought, we've done everything we possibly can. the government has allocated £5 billion for the removal of dangerous cladding on the highest—risk blocks and there are also plans for a low—interest loan scheme for smaller buildings, but ministers have also repeatedly said that building owners have a responsibility to make sure their buildings are safe. this isn'tjust a problem about cladding. there is currently no funding to cover the costs of fixing other types of fire safety faults and, across britain, flat owners are facing tough choices about their futures.

at the heart of this debate is the question of who should pay to fix these buildings —— it is at the leaseholders, the building owners, the developers, the government? what started as a problem with cladding has become a much wider building safety crisis. safety inspections in the wake of the grenfell tower fire exposed notjust problems with cladding but other fire safety defects, defective insulation, flammable balconies, missing fire breaks, and the government said today that it has been clear throughout that building owners and the wider industry should make buildings safe without passing on those costs to leaseholders. it also said it felt the government's approach strikes the best balance in protecting leaseholders and also being fair to taxpayers. sarah, thank you very much. it's the political row that just won't go away.

borisjohnson insisted today there is nothing to see or worry about after the electoral watchdog launched an investigation into the renovation of his downing street flat. that's not labour's view — sir kier starmer says the lack of clarity over who paid and when is farcical. there are now at least three investigations into the matter. here's our political correspondent chris mason. the apparently simple can sometimes take a while to work out. borisjohnson was asked again today about his downing street flat and who initially paid for its makeover. he was repeatedly dismissive at what he described as a "farrago of nonsense". i don't think there's anything to see here or to worry about. i don't think that this is the number—one issue for the people of our country, indeed by several orders of magnitude. the prime minister insists he paid what he owed for sprucing up the living quarters here and will declare what he needs to. but he won't say if he borrowed the money, and if so from whom.

and all of this is meant to be published. the matter is keeping a lot of people busy. earlier this week, the country's top civil servant, simon case, told mps he was conducting a review at the request of the prime minister into how the refurb was paid for. the electoral commission, which regulates the money spent in politics, has launched a formal investigation, saying there were reasonable grounds to suspect that an offence or offences may have occurred. it has the power to issue fines or refer matters to the police. and it's the first big job for lord geidt, newly appointed as the independent adviser on ministers�* interests — he'll examine if the prime minister has received any donations he is required to declare. three separate inquiries into how the face—lift of the famous flat was funded. i think this is getting a bit farcical. i think the prime minister could actually deal with this very, very quickly.

all he's got to do is answer a very simple question, which is, "who paid initially for the redecoration of your flat?" and to furnish his point somewhat, sir keir decided to pay a visit to a home—improvement shop today — playing political games, claims the conservatives. lord geidt, the new independent adviser on ministers�* interests, spent ten years working for the queen. labour say he should have more power, such as being able to launch his own investigations, and notjust do ones asked for by the prime minister. he will publish his findings into borisjohnson, but mrjohnson has refused to say if he'll abide by those conclusions. there now could be a fourth investigation into what's going on. labour mps have asked the parliamentary commissioner for standards to look into it. there is every prospect there are more revelations to come. chris mason, bbc news, in downing street.

latest vaccination figures for england show that 70% of 45 to a9—year—olds have had their first dose. it comes as covid infection rates drop to their lowest weekly figure since the beginning of september last year. today, health secretary matt hancock, who is 42, received his first jab. our health editor, hugh pym, reports on the continued attempts to reach communities where the take—up is still low. his report contains flashing images. waiting to get on the bus, one with a difference. this is a vaccine bus being used by the london borough of brent. no prior booking is being needed, people can walk up. some are notified by text when the bus has arrived. their details — like age — are then checked by officials. and they get theirjabs. text message came through this morning, it was just around the corner and brilliant, it happened to work with my working day, so i could do it.

i came to see my friends here at the building. i saw this car waiting, and they offered me the vaccination. ijust decided to - come in here, do it. this is my area so i didn't have much trouble. - the council, working with local health teams, is using the bus to get to areas where take—up of the vaccines is known to be relatively low. it's also a way of being seen in local communities and answering people's questions. some people come to the bus, see the bus today, they may ask some questions and my colleagues will give them lots of help and support on health matters, mental health, lots of other issues, but they may come back tomorrow and we have seen that, they will come back next week and not only by themselves, that builds long lasting trust. it's more than just a vaccine. looking across the uk, 72% of adults in wales

have had a first dose of the vaccine. in england, it's 64%, and the same in northern ireland, in scotland, it's 63% of adults. one of the key players in the vaccine programmes is simon stevens, the head of nhs england, who has announced he will leave at the end ofjuly, because that happens to be the date when the government says all adults in the uk will have been offered a dose. sir simon had wanted to leave earlier but stayed on to lead nhs england through the pandemic. matt hancock is the lower stage for jabs among the general public in england. it won't be long before younger people are offered a first dose. hugh pym, bbc news. now let's look at some more government figures on coronavirus, which show there were just under 2,500 new infections in the latest 24—hour period, which means an average of 2,259

new cases per day in the last week. there are 1,553 people in hospital with coronavirus. 22 deaths were recorded in the last 2a hours. that's people who'd had a positive covid—i9 test within the previous 28 days. the average number of deaths per day in the past week is also 22. the total number of uk deaths is now 127,502. 0n vaccinations, a total of more than 3a million people have now had their firstjab, and the number who've had their second jab is more than ia million. the jailed russian opposition actvist alexei navalny, has made his first public appearance since going on a hunger strike, which he has recently abandoned. looking gaunt, mr navalny was appealing against conviction in a separate case. his appearance comes amid a new kremlin—inspired push against his anti—corruptuion organisation. 0ur moscow correspondent

sarah rainsford has the details. his head close—shaven and his face gaunt, this is the first glimpse of alexei navalny since his three—week hunger strike — the opposition politician transformed as a prisoner. but this video link to court is now his only platform. the one official camera will not fill in his speech, but audio does get out. and today he denounced vladimir putin as a president whose only care is clinging to power eternally. but since navalny�*s arrest, the pressure on his supporters has intensified. irina used to run his office in st petersburg. they have cleared out because the prosecutor now wants the whole navalny network banned as extremists. translation: the risks are high, because we just don't know how i this law will be applied,

how hard they want to crack down. destroying our movement is already a huge thing, but they can still come after whoever they want, and that's frightening. the door here is shuttered, the office is empty. it's as if alexei navalny�*s team were never even here. and it's the same story now right across this country, as a whole opposition movement, the most prominent and organised in russia, has suddenly vanished from sight. last august, alexei navalny nearly died on a flight from siberia, poisoned with a nerve agent. when he recovered and returned to russia defiant, he was arrested on arrival. since then, his offices have been raided constantly, team members targeted with searches and arrest. despite everything, crowds took to the streets throughout russia once again last week, demanding navalny�*s release. but the price of such dissent

is rising all the time — this is the man the kremlin wants silenced and forgotten, and any attempt to challenge that is obliterated. sarah rainsford, bbc news, st petersburg. the time is 6:15. our top story this evening: and go from cladding campaigners who say the new law does not do enough. the gene therapy giving hope to patients with a rare eye condition. coming up in sportsday on the bbc news channel, 1.2 million more inactive people — sport england's survey finds activity levels fell last year as the country was put into lockdown. during the presidential campaign last yearjoe biden had to endure the "sleepyjoe" jibes

from his opponents. now, 100 days into his presidency, a very different man is emerging. his legislative plans could mark him out as one of the most transformative presidents in modern history. in a speech last night mr biden called for a "once in a generation" investment plan. it's costly — $4 trillion — and he wants tax hikes to pay for it. the american families plan aims to cut child poverty and put a cap on childcare costs. he wants to create millions ofjobs through a massive programme of investment in infrastructure projects such as broadband and green energy. and he plans to address those two controversial issues — police reform and gun control. but his plans face a battle in congress, especially over higher taxes. our us editor, jon sopel, reports. the president of the united states. applause. because of covid and

social distancing, the audience was much smaller. but the pandemic has givenjoe biden the space to come up with a set of radical proposals that are a break with economic orthodoxy. the government, tax and spend are back. but one thing is totally new. madam speaker, madam vice president... applause. no president has ever said those words and it's about time. a lot of people thought the 78—year—old would be a transitional president. wrong. he's set on transformation. with his plans for european style welfare policies, a green agenda, and anything he kept on repeating last night — creating newjobs. that's why i propose the american jobs plan. a once in a generation investment in america

itself. this is the largestjob plan since world war ii. a lot of those jobs will be found in the construction industry. he wants to spend $2.1; trillion on a rebuild of america's motorways, airports and railways. there can be no argument that america's crumbling infrastructure is in urgent need of repair. butjoe biden�*s condition goes well beyond roads and bridges. it's about welfare, it's about the role of the state, but republicans say he's more interested in social engineering than in civil engineering. in congress, he spelt out who was going to have to foot the bill. those earning under $400,000 a year would be untouched. but the wealthiest would see their taxes rise. but it's time for corporate america and the wealthiest 1% of americans to begin to pay theirfair share. just theirfair share. i think you should be able to become a billionaire and a millionaire, but pay yourfair share.

this is the first major set piece in congress since the january 6th riots. but the president wanted to turn a page, exhorting americans to come together. folks, as i told every world leader i've ever met with over the years, it's never ever been a good bet to bet against america, and it still isn't. we're the united states of america. there's not a single thing, nothing, nothing beyond our capacity. joe biden also made a plea with lawmakers to work together to get things done. let's agree on what we can, he told them. fine words, but in divided america they are likely to fall on deaf ears. jon sopel, bbc news, washington. a judge has said the health secretary matt hancock must provide more information to a campaign group that's taking him to court over ppe contracts awarded during the pandemic. the good law project, which has taken action against mr hancock, said it was unable to fairly mount a challenge because "critical information" had not been disclosed

by the government. the government disputes that — and the case as a whole. new data released this afternoon by the environment agency has shown that excess levels of hydrogen sulphide are still being released from a landfill site in staffordshire. although public health england says it's unlikely to cause long—term health problems, it's making life a misery for people who live nearby. phil mackie reports. this is walley's quarry in silverdale. it's used as a landfill site, and here's the problem — it's right next door to hundreds of homes and is giving off a terrible smell. since it was allowed to increase the amount of waste it takes, the stink has got worse, and if you're downwind it's horrible. we obviously knew there was a landfill there when we moved in. the smell gets trapped in the house, and it gets trapped in your hair and your clothing, your carpets

and your cars, and your children's toys and all that, that all smell of landfill, and it ranges from a rotten—egg sort of smell to a chemically acrid smell as well, and that's quite foul. today shouldn't be so bad, because it's sunny and warm, and that should get rid of the hydrogen sulphide smell, that creates that rotten eggs—stink bomb odour that's really unpleasant. but, honestly, standing just across the road from it at the moment, oh, it's really unpleasant, and, actually, it's making me feel quite ill. there were more than 5,000 complaints last month and over 2,000 just last week. but there's been a big impact on mental health. it depresses you. it's the day on day, week on week attrition of living with it randomly that's really getting people down. the site's being closely monitored by the environment agency, which has ordered that improvements are made by the end of this week. the operator, red industries, has said that it was acutely aware of the community's concerns and it's capping an extensive area of the site. a few miles away, it's made learning very difficult for children like ruby, poppy and ben. you can't work and your minds just

set onto the landfill. it makes me feel sick, i have headaches all the time, it puts me off my work. it won't go away, like, _ no matter how many air fresheners you get, it won't go. chanting: stop the stink! hundreds joined another protest this week, demanding that something's done to stop the silverdale stink from overpowering the whole area. phil mackie, bbc news, newcastle—under—lyme. party leaders in wales will face each other in a 90—minute television debate this evening, with a week to go to the senedd election. the pandemic has cast a shadow over the campaigning so far. 0ur wales correspondent hywel griffith reports. connecting with voters, pressing the flesh, the usual campaign choreography has been constrained by the pandemic. the party leaders all say they can help wales recover but they will also need to tackle deep—rooted problems of poverty and poor health.

labour, led by mark drakeford, has been in power in wales for over two decades. he says they deserve more time. you are never going to tackle it over a short period. 22 years isn't enough? 22 years is certainly not enough. there are health inequalities in england and they have had a parliament since 1215. an extra five years, will you solve anything in five years? i never hear anybody say to them what's the point of having you, you haven't solved it in 1,000 years? plaid cymru argue independence would deliver change. it has governed with labour in coalition in the past. leaders keen to sidestep questions of doing another deal. what about a confidence—and—supply deal? well, i think that... be nice and clear so that voters know what they are voting for. we are absolutely clear that we are aiming to win this election. i have said we wouldn't want to be a junior partner. i have taken that option off the table and also of course there are no circumstances whatsoever that we would

enter into coalition with the conservatives. for their part the welsh tories will have been cheered by gains in the 2019 general election. but are the prime minister's current problems becoming a distraction? i was with the prime minister in north wales on monday. the prime minister obviously clearly denies any allegations that are levied against him and ultimately what i am focused on is making sure that the voters know the welsh conservatives are an ambitious party that will stand up for wales at every opportunity with an agenda to unlock wales' potential. for the lib dems, next week's vote is about trying to grow again. their only senedd member is standing down and they have no welsh mps. well, i'm not going to pretend that the last year or so hasn't been disappointing for the welsh liberal democrats. of course it has and we would have wanted to have done better but right now we are standing a full set of candidates across wales both in the regions and the constituencies, we are working hard, we are talking to people about our message of recovery first, the economy, mental

health and the planet. after a year of keeping our distance, parties hope voters are ready to re—engage and will want to hear what the leaders have to offer. hywel griffith, bbc news. viewers in wales can watch the leader's debate on bbc one at 8:30, and elsewhere you can see it at the same time on the bbc news channel. patients with a rare inherited eye condition which causes gradual loss of sight have said they're astonished and delighted by the success of a new form of gene therapy. the treatment is intended to halt further loss of sight but has actually improved their vision. 0ur medical editor fergus walsh has more — and just a warning — his report includes images of an operation. jake has been gradually losing his sight since birth but no longer — thanks to a ground—breaking gene therapy. i've just been able to see facial features on my own face. it's something that i never used to be able to do. jake, from county durham,

has a rare inherited condition which means his central vision is largely a blur. since his right eye was treated a year ago his peripheral vision has improved. i'm in the best place i've probably been in 2a years of life. last year for a lot of people was a dark and miserable year but for me it was probably the best year of my life. after a year's delay due to covid, jake has now had his other eye treated at moorfields eye hospital in london — which it is hoped may further stabilise and perhaps improve his vision. the one—off gene therapy, called luxturna, is delivered via injection. it costs £600,000 but the nhs has agreed a discounted price with the manufacturer novartis. the injection delivers working copies of a faulty gene, rpe65, into the retina at the back of the eye.

the dna is encased in a harmless virus which breaks into the retinal cells. once inside the nucleus the replacement gene kick—starts production of the rpe65 protein essential for healthy vision. this is really transformational. it provides an opportunity, hope for people, not only with this specific condition, but people with other similar conditions hope that they can protect their sight in the long term. i keep noticing subtle improvements. i noticed one today coming into this park. i noticed that there are railings above the entrance to the gate. matthew from london has the same rare inherited condition and has had one eye treated. the second operation is next month. aged a8, his vision had already deteriorated much further than jake's. i lost my central vision about ten years ago and it had a really severe impact on how i live and who i am. if the treatment means that it puts

off another decline like that then that's going to be amazing. matthew's wife has noticed he is more independent. he doesn't have to ask me every little thing. is this on the right setting? the washing machine, the coffee machine — you know — those things that are just everyday people take for granted matthew can now do himself. around a dozen people in the uk have received the gene therapy, including several children — who stand to benefit most, as it may halt their sight loss before permanent damage is done. fergus walsh, bbc news. the duke and duchess of cambridge are celebrating their tenth wedding anniversary. to mark the occassion they've released this glossy video showing the family at play. they tweeted that they were enormously grateful for the support they'd received over the last decade. time for a look at the weather —

here's stav danaos. it has been a chilly day today for the time of year with a nagging cold north—easterly breeze in the morning sunshine gave way to plenty of showers, some quite heavy, but some beautiful rainbow photographs taken by some of our weather watchers during the afternoon. he can see the cloud building up through the afternoon with the showers developing, the heavy ones across north—west england, the midlands and wales. some ideas stay dry with sunny spells. those showers will eventually fade away. a few continuing across scotland into the north—east of england but with the cold air mass in place, later went and clear skies it is the perfect recipe for another chilly night to come under morning frost across many rural areas but there will be a good deal of sunshine ran to greet us on friday morning and the cloud will

bubble up and the showers will develop again and if you could be heavy. some of their merging to produce longer spells of rain. disappointing temperatures. we could see 12 or 13 in the warmer sports across central southern england. through friday evening the showers fade away. that will leave a dry, clear and chilly night with a frost by around dawn and some mist and fog patches developing. as we head into the bank holiday weekend it is the more of the same with light winds and a chilly start. a chilly start for gardeners. you can see the pressure pattern is similar to a saturday and sunday and then into bank holiday monday a significant change to the weather, low pressure coming in through the course of the day and that will bring a spell of wet and windy weather. that's all from the bbc news at six, so it's goodbye from me and on bbc one we nowjoin the bbc�*s news teams where you are.