this is bbc news, the headlines at 8pm... the labour leader sir keir starmer prepares to reshuffle his team after the party's disappointing performance in the elections. he's already removed his deputy, angela rayner, as campaigns chief. that's what you do in leadership — you take responsibility, you don't scapegoat goat and blame others, you take it on the chin. they are hard calls, but it is for him to choose the team he wants and get people in the positions he wants us in. some good news for labour, though, as tracy brabin is elected as the first mayor of west yorkshire. but she'll have to resign her westminster seat, triggering a by—election in batley and spen. scotland's first minister, nicola sturgeon, warns it would be "completely outrageous" for the westminster government to block a second independence referendum. the government is expected to end the advice against hugging each

other, as part of the relaxation of lockdown rules in england. the government is calling on the rail industry to fix disruption on some of britain's busiest rail lines, after small cracks were found in some high speed trains. good evening, and welcome to bbc news. the labour leader sir keir starmer is in the process of making changes to his top leadership team in the wake of results from the english local elections — sacking angela rayner from her campaigning roles for the party. she remains its deputy leader. sir keir is expected to announce a reshuffle after a series of disappointing results from english councils and the loss of the hartlepool constituency to the conservatives. but he's been accused of trying

to shift the blame for the results. our political editor laura kuenssberg has the latest. morning, mr starmer. tense and tight—lipped. is removing angela rayner as party chair you taking responsibility? no rest this sunday. is this the first of many changes, mr starmer? after some awful election results, keir starmer has edged out his deputy angela rayner as party chair, sparking a messy dispute — was she sacked, or offered a differentjob? — with no clarity from the leader's team. some labour mps around the country are baffled and angry. we need to know this is an individual that has a game plan for taking us forward. and at the moment, that isn't clear. so i think he needs to up his game. shadow ministers hanging by the phone to find out about their job. leaders do make those decisions. they're hard calls, but it's for keir to choose the team he wants and get people in the positions he wants us to be in. and others demanding much faster change.

we can'tjust saunter our way back into power. - we have to show the country - that we get the message we were told and act absolutely decisively. labour took a hammering in many areas they used to treat as their own, losing durham council for the first time in 100 years. but there were good results in wales — some celebration, with progress in west sussex, even areas like oxfordshire. but there seems to be bitterness, not this affection, at the party's top level. instead of making tories miserable, labour today has been clouded by this spat, the opening move of a reshuffle that's gone wrong. what public relations genius thought this was a good move — on the very day, actually, we were having successes? instead of strengthening their grip and power, up in the leader's office, keir starmer�*s team has been holed up for hours and hours, stuck over what to do, rather than making calls to announce a new and, they hope, improved shadow team.

these elections were the first for labour with keir starmer in charge, and the first since the party received a drubbing in 2019. there were some pockets of progress, but overall, the picture was still tough. so this shuffling and shifting of his top team was meant to be part of an effort to show he can change, and he's decisive and determined that the party can punch their way out of this slump. but instead, it's been a day, for labour, of delay and dispute. when what voters see is political parties scrapping with each other, the temptation can be just to turn away and block out the noise. laura kuenssberg, bbc news. well, in the past hour, there's been some good news for labour. tracy brabin has been elected as the first west yorkshire mayor. she beat her conservative opponent by 101,786 votes. she's labour's11th candidate to win a mayoral post after thursday's elections. her victory means she'll

have to stand down as mp for batley and spen — forcing a by—election — because her new role includes police and crime commissioner powers. let's speak to our political correspondent damian grammaticas. bittersweet for labour, isn't it, because there now will have to be a by election which could presumptively —— potentially proved tricky? presumptively -- potentially proved tric ? ~ , ., ., tricky? absolutely. on one hand, ou're tricky? absolutely. on one hand, you're right. _ tricky? absolutely. on one hand, you're right, taking _ tricky? absolutely. on one hand, you're right, taking this - tricky? absolutely. on one hand, you're right, taking this marrow i you're right, taking this marrow post for the first time, labour, they can add that and chalk that victory up, add it to others they've taken and done reasonably well in the mayoral elections. but, as you say, what this means is that there will have to be a by election. and after the bye election we had last week in hartlepool, where labour suffered that reversal, they will be

nervous. and this is a different sort of seat from hartlepool, but in some crucial aspects, it looks similar. so consider this — the last time in 2019, brabin won that seat with a 3500 vote majority over the conservative candidate. but there was a probe or exit candidate who took 6500 votes. pro brexit. those votes largely help to the tories win in hartlepool. so labour will be very anxious i think about how this will play out. but there will have to be a by election there. find will play out. but there will have to be a by election there. and while they consider _ to be a by election there. and while they consider how _ to be a by election there. and while they consider how this _ to be a by election there. and while they consider how this is _ to be a by election there. and while they consider how this is playing . they consider how this is playing out, we still waiting to hear about the labour reshuffle and what's happening? we the labour reshuffle and what's happening?— the labour reshuffle and what's hauenina? . ., ., ., the labour reshuffle and what's haueninu? . . ., . ~ happening? we all wait to hear. we

don't et happening? we all wait to hear. we don't yet know. _ happening? we all wait to hear. we don't yet know, but _ happening? we all wait to hear. we don't yet know, but we _ happening? we all wait to hear. we don't yet know, but we understand | happening? we all wait to hear. we l don't yet know, but we understand is that there may have been conversations going on, but nothing has emerged from that. so the labour leader, sir keir starmer, has been hunkered down all diony, no sign for him aside from early this morning when he left home. —— all day. when he moved it to remove his deputy, angela rayner, from her responsibility for coordinating campaigns from the party chair post, those are the ones he could do. she's elected as the deputy leader, and that he can't change. so how does he move forward from that and resolve it? we don't know. people close to him have come out and said that there's been a misunderstanding, this is about moving angela rayner to a more high—profile position where she can have a bigger public profile, but nothing has emerged and we wait to see. that indicates the difficulties

that the labour leader maybe has in responding to the election results, looking at how to shape up his team. but how does he do that and balance the needs of the personnel within his party, and trying to send a message about how he wants to move things forward when it's very clear that labour doesn't appear to have clear ideas about how to do that. damien, thank you very much. nicola sturgeon has told borisjohnson it's a matter of when, not if the scottish people get a chance to choose if they want independence. she made the comments in a phone call to the prime minister this afternoon after the snp's success in the holyrood elections. downing street says both leaders agreed to work together on the pandemic. here's our scotland editor sarah smith. nicola sturgeon congratulating some of her brand—new msps who will bolster the pro—independence majority in the next scottish parliament.

confident she has a strong mandate for an independence referendum, she still might face the hurdle of a legal challenge from a uk government. will you see them in court if you have to? the snp won the election on a commitment for a referendum when we are through the crisis and even that selection overwhelmingly and in any normal democracy, that would be expected. for now she is clear, her priority is dealing with the pandemic and she is to meet the prime minister for a covid summit. nicola sturgeon doesn't intend to take any steps towards a referendum in the near future. although she does plan to pass legislation through the scottish parliament to authorise another vote on independence. if the uk want to stop that, they may have to challenge in court, whether the scottish parliament has the legal authority to authorise that referendum. the uk minister, charged with keeping the kingdom united,

is in scotland swerving questions on a legal challenge to any referendum. the priority at the moment is not court cases, it is not independence legislation, it is recovery from the pandemic. to be fair to the first minister, during the course of this election campaign she said it was the single most important thing that we should all be concentrating on. we should work together as a team uk in order to deal with the pandemic. is scotland allowed to leave the uk? it is. through a legal referendum which would allow people to make that choice. votes cast on thursday appeared to show voters in scotland are split roughly 50—50 on the question of independence. anyone eager for another referendum will have to be patient. this result makes it more likely, but not imminent. i would like it to happen soon, but i am prepared to wait a few more years. everything has changed since 2014, with is being taken out of the eu

so i would like to see another independence referendum. maybe it is a case of hanging i on and getting ourselves sorted and when we are in a good place, then yes. _ but right now we are in a pandemic, no. l on that, there is widespread agreement, no referendum during a covid crisis. but in the months and years to come, a political and possibly legal battle over the future of the united kingdom is looming. sarah smith, bbc news. the favourite to become police and crime commissioner in wiltshire has been told he's unable to take up thejob, even if he wins monday's election count. the conservative candidate jonathon seed has an historical criminal conviction which makes him ineligible for thejob. bbc radio wiltshire's political reporter dan 0'brien has more. in wiltshire, it's an incredibly conservative county, so going into this election, the conservative is obviously

the favourite to win. however, we have learnt this afternoon that the conservative candidate, jonathan seed, has been told by conservative party headquarters that he has been disbarred from taking up this job, relating to a driving offence that dates back 30 years, an offence he says he did declare to the party when he put forward his candidacy for the job. he told us in a statement that the party considered this to be 0k and not something that would bar him from taking up the post. however, that situation has now changed and he tells me he has withdrawn his candidacy. those votes are going to be counted tomorrow here in wiltshire. when we expect to find the result. quite what happens then is a little unprecedented. hugging is likely to be officially allowed in england again, when the government makes

an announcement tomorrow on the next stage of lockdown easing from 17 may. the changes on household mixing will be most significant since the rules were introduced last year. but we're being urged to use "common sense" and keep close contact limited. here's our science editor david shukman. remember this, the comfort of a hug? well, for more than a year, we've been warned against it because of the risk of transmitting the virus. but now, with fewer infections and many more people vaccinated, it seems to be the moment for a cautious return. we've seen an absolutely extraordinary success of both the vaccine programme and also the suppression of cases as a result of this very prolonged lockdown which we've had, and so i think it is time — based on the very careful modeling that's been done — to start relaxing some of those restrictions. so will people rush to hug again or might they hold back? in newcastle this afternoon, we found a range of views.

it's brilliant. yeah, really looking forward to that. couldn't help but wanting to hug my friends here at the table. i've never been a big hugger myself. people know that about me, so i think it won't change much. i will be cautious, but i really am looking forward to hugging - the parents and the in—laws and stuff that we haven't i done for a long time. they need it as well, so, yeah, it'll be really nice. _ the prime minister is reported as saying that we need to use our common sense when it comes to hugging, so what exactly does that mean? well, an infected person can release the virus through their breath, so here's the scientific advice. limit the number of people you hug — just those who mean most to you, not everyone you meet — keep it short — that'll reduce the chances of the virus being passed on — and try to avoid being directly face—to—face. in any event, scientists say a lot depends on exactly who it is you're hugging. if you're a grandparent hugging a grandchild, and the grandparents are fully vaccinated, that's probably quite a low—risk activity most of the time.

but it would worry me if we were advocating we can hug all of our friends every time we meet again, because i think that's going to perpetuate an awful lot of additional close contact that could still spread the virus. the pandemic has meant new ways of behaving — elbow bumps, for example. but while life in the uk is now set to become a bit more normal, it's far too early for that in much of the rest of the world. david shukman, bbc news. joining me now from south london is the behavioural psychologist, jo hemmings. thanks forjoining us. how important is it to be able to have this human contact, especially if people who haven't been able to over the past year? some people are alone and it's been tough. it’s year? some people are alone and it's been tough-— been tough. it's been really tough. it even sounds _ been tough. it's been really tough. it even sounds so _ been tough. it's been really tough. it even sounds so odd _ been tough. it's been really tough. it even sounds so odd to _ been tough. it's been really tough. it even sounds so odd to feel- been tough. it's been really tough. it even sounds so odd to feel that l it even sounds so odd to feel that we can hug again, to legislate against people who can and cannot hug. hugging is such an incredibly

fundamental, almost innate behaviour to stop so we are hugged as babies, you know, that makes us feel secure and bonded. as adults, it makes us feel loved, valued and appreciated, and it's an exchange of wordless gesture that just and it's an exchange of wordless gesture thatjust means so much to people. and i think we had to get used to it, we had to stop doing it and remember not to do it. most of us have been pretty good, but i think in general, people who like hugging will literally be overwhelmed when they can hug again because they will flood our bodies with hormones like oxytocin and dopamine. i think people will get tearful, just from the sheer relief of hugging and the release of those hormones, and drops our stress levels quite hit the micro quickly

to hug someone we love. [30 levels quite hit the micro quickly to hug someone we love. do you think, to hug someone we love. do you think. over _ to hug someone we love. do you think, over the _ to hug someone we love. do you think, over the past _ to hug someone we love. do you think, over the past year - to hug someone we love. do you think, over the past year we've l to hug someone we love. do you - think, over the past year we've been social distancing, not hugging, it's been difficult and we've all got used to that not being close to other people? in fact, even when i watch movies and films with people close together or hugging, i flinch a bit. will be get over that? how quickly do you think we will if we do? ~ , ., ., , quickly do you think we will if we do? ~ , . ., , ~' do? with behaviours like hugging, we'll definitely _ do? with behaviours like hugging, we'll definitely go _ do? with behaviours like hugging, we'll definitely go back _ do? with behaviours like hugging, we'll definitely go back very - we'll definitely go back very quickly because it's a behaviour that most of us have grown up with. there are people who don't like hugs, they've never liked hugs and will probably never like hugs. but for those that do, it will come back very quickly. after that first hug, i think you will feel very overwhelming, that they lose of the hormones in a meeting of the hug. there will be tears shed possibly with those we are close to. but it will come back very quickly because it's something we do naturally and

we've had to unnaturally stop that behaviour. so i think within a few weeks at the most, we will hopefully be able to stay that way... it's a big element of normality for us for most of us. big element of normality for us for most of ne— most of us. there are probably --eole most of us. there are probably peeple who — most of us. there are probably people who thinking _ most of us. there are probably people who thinking they'd - most of us. there are probably i people who thinking they'd rather stay with things the way they are now? ., ., ., , ., , ., now? the hug avoidant people who 'ust don't now? the hug avoidant people who just don't like _ now? the hug avoidant people who just don't like it, _ now? the hug avoidant people who just don't like it, it's _ now? the hug avoidant people who just don't like it, it's either- just don't like it, it's either because they don't particularly come from a tactile background where their family can express their love for them in a touchy—feely way, or theyjust for them in a touchy—feely way, or they just felt it for them in a touchy—feely way, or theyjust felt it invaded their privacy — whatever it is, they won't like hugging any more, i think they'll be slightly miffed that people are going to hug them who never hug them before. but you can tell those that were desperate to

hug their loved ones and those that went really fast. but for the majority of people, touches important, but it makes you feel valued, loved, cared for — it has so many things going for it, and it is just an extraordinary expression of gratitude, really, and affection to somebody. unless you are not a hugger, things will probably go back to normal very quickly.— to normal very quickly. thanks for “oininu us to normal very quickly. thanks for joining us on _ to normal very quickly. thanks for joining us on bbc— to normal very quickly. thanks for joining us on bbc news. - the headlines on bbc news... the labour leader sir keir starmer prepares to reshuffle his team after the party's disappointing performance in the elections — he's already removed his deputy angela rayner, as campaigns chief some good news for labour though, as tracy brabin is elected as the first mayor of west yorkshire. but she'll have to resign her westminster seat, triggering a by—election

in batley and spen. scotland's first minister, nicola sturgeon, warns it would be "completely outrageous" for the westminster government to block a second independence referendum. the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, has defended the actions of police after a second night of violence in and around jerusalem's old city. tensions have been high with palestinians protesting against planned evictions from homes in eastjerusalem. last night's violence came after thousands had prayed at the al—aqsa mosque compound on the most holy night of ramadan. 0ur middle east correspondent yolande knell reports. 0n the most sacred night of ramadan, this is how prayers ended — with israeli police using stun grenades, palestinians throwing stones injerusalem's old city.

today, israel's prime minister blamed extremists. translation: we will enforce law and orderl decisively and responsibly. we will continue to ensure freedom of worship to all religions, but we will not allow violent unrest. it followed some of the worst violence in years on friday, with clashes right by the al—aqsa mosque bringing international condemnation. tensions have been running high for weeks, with nightly clashes in the eastjerusalem neighborhood of shaikh jarrah. palestinian families here are locked in a long—running legal battle to stop jewish settlers taking over their homes. it's become a rallying point for palestinians, with the militant group hamas warning israel it's ready to act. despite delays in that case, this week looks set to remain volatile. it's nowjerusalem day, when israel celebrates gaining control over the city.

they have a flag march which comes through the damascus gate, waving israeli flags, far—right nationalist israelis. that's always seen as a provocation, and there's fears that could lead to yet more violence. and what happens here matters. jerusalem is always at the heart of the israel—palestinian conflict. yolande knell, bbc news, jerusalem. taking you live tojerusalem, these are pictures we are getting in here on the bbc of the situation right now. these are life pictures as you can see, police are there, lots of members of the press gathering, tensions have been extremely high, two nights of clashes taking place around the mosque complex in jerusalem which is been a frequent flashpoint for violence in jerusalem. as you can imagine, the police presence there is extremely

high. we will bring you more on that as and when we get it here on bbc news, and there's more on that on our website. the first funerals for the victims of a bomb attack at a school in the afghan capital kabul have been held. more than 60 people — mainly young girls — died in the explosions that went off as they were walking out of the school gates. the victims are mainly from the shia hazara community who have been targeted by miliant groups in recent years. one man, ghulam hussain, spoke about his niece who was killed in the blast. translation: she was 15 years old and studying - class eight at school. she was very intelligent and didn't miss a single day of school. yesterday, her mother told her not to go to school. but she said, "no, mother. i will go today, but i will not go tomorrow." she told the truth — and we buried her here today. 0ur south asia correspondent, secunder kermani, described how badly affected the region has been over recent times.

so many places in afghanistan have endured so much pain, but this particular neighbourhood in the west of kabul has suffered repeated attacks by the islamic state group because it is from members of the shia hazara minority. is have attacked mosques, cultural centres, sports hall, tuition centres in the past. as you say, funerals have been held today so far at a hilltop cemetery overlooking kabul, and the majority of the victims were teenage girls, students at the school, from poorer backgrounds who whose families would have worked hard to give their daughters a better chance at life, and instead they were killed when a car bomb exploded outside the gates yesterday afternoon, followed

by two more blasts. the government has called on rail operators to "urgently set out a comprehensive plan" to resolve the ongoing disruption to services due to cracks found in some trains. services have been affected for a second day after 183 hitachi trains were taken out of service yesterday as a "precautionary measure" when the fault was found. great western railway and london north eastern railway say distruption is due to continue into the coming week. this evening, lner has issued a statement and says there will be some cancellations across the route from tomorrow and advising customers to check before they travel. 0ur correspondent, katy austin is outside king's cross station in london well, there are still some cancellations on lner services this afternoon, and disruption is likely to spill over into tomorrow, but great western railway is worst affected with over 90 of these

trains, and it could only run about a tenth of long distance services today. it is asking passengers not to travel tomorrow either, and we don't know how many days it will take before disruption comes to an end. we still don't know how many of these trains are going to need repairs. the government has said this afternoon it has asked hitachi to set out a longer term strategy for repairs. more than 400 athletes, including us athletejustin gatlin, are taking part in a test event at the olympic stadium in tokyo. it is hoped this will show everyone that the olympics can take place safely injuly, as they were cancelled last year due to the pandemic. but there are concerns, as parts ofjapan are under a recently extended state of emergency due to the number of coronavirus infections in the country. rachel stanton reports. on your marks, get set, and go. athletes here in tokyo are preparing for the upcoming 0lympics.

due to happen injuly, more than 11 test events have taken place to make sure the games can go ahead after they were cancelled last year as a result of the pandemic. translation: they had social distancing. - and every time we touched something, they sterilised it. i thought the organisers were being very attentive and had good anti—virus measures in place. but not everyone feels the same way. there are concerns about the games being given the green light. translation: honestly, we are all so scared - of getting the virus. we understand that we will not be able to take part in the race if we get infected here, so, to be frank, i am taking part in fear. athletes aren't the only ones to voice their concerns. "no 0lympics" — that is just one of the signs here outside the stadium. and more than 200,000 people have signed an online petition hoping the event will be called off.

|translation: covid-19 infections are important in tokyo and osaka, with many severe cases. so i would like the money from the games to be used in hospitals instead. despite opposition, world athletics president sebastian coe insists it can all be held safely. the covid protocols, particularly that world athletics have developed over the last year and a half by our health and science teams, who are extremely good at this, have consistently helped deliver events in a safe and secure environment. with daily cases topping 7,000 for the first time since the beginning of the year, the battle against the virus is far from over. but with covid restrictions in place across the country, the government is hoping to rein in the surge of infections and that, byjuly, the most famous international sports competition can bring back some normality to our lives. rachel stanton, bbc news.

bran castle in romania — long associated with count dracula — is offering visitors the chance to getjabbed. doctors and nurses with fang stickers on their scrubs have set up a coronavirus vaccination centre there. sightseers are offered a dose of the pfizerjab along with free entry to an exhibition of mediaeval torture instruments. staff hope the move will lure people back after several slow months during the pandemic. that is one interesting place to get your vaccination. now it's time for a look at the weather with nick miller. hello. a week of sunshine and showers to come, not as cold as last week, and no frost overnight. but temperatures only close to average for the time of year. 0vernight, some showers will continue, particularly across western areas, an area of rain pushing further east through england, along which there could well be some heavy and thundery bursts of rain to come. and temperatures, well, holding up in mainly the range of around 7—12 celsius.

into tomorrow, it may start with a bit of rain close to the north sea coast of england first thing before that clears away. it may well head towards the northern isles, especially shetland, later in the day, it turns very wet here. elsewhere, there will be some sunny spells. there will be quite a bit of cloud around. catch a shower, it could well be heavy, possibly thundery, there could be some hail in this as well. gusty winds around the showers, especially in england and wales. this is where it will be windiest, these average speeds could gust around 40—115 mph or so. temperatures mainly around 13—17 celsius, quite pleasant if you get to see some sunshine. actually, quite a lot that across east anglia and southeast england to end the day. hello this is bbc news. the headlines... the labour leader sir keir starmer prepares to reshuffle his team after the party's disappointing performance in the elections — he's already removed his deputy angela rayner, as campaigns chief.