today at six: history's made by team gb cyclist laura kenny, becoming britain's most successful female olympian ever after taking gold in tokyo. alongside katie archibald, she wins in the madison event in the velodrome — her third gold in consecutive olympic games. just to have katie there the whole time, ijust feel like i'm racing with a sister, and i couldn't have done it if we hadn't had that relationship. and a stunning fightback from team gb's kate french sees her win in the modern pentathlon. but agony in the men's 4x100 metre relay, as britain's sprinters are pipped to gold in a photo finish. also on the programme: northern ireland becomes the first

of the home nations to begin vaccinating 16 and 17—year—olds. energy costs will rise for millions in october, as the price cap on some tariffs goes up. i know a lot of families, they're strictly on the line, aren't they? so even £20, it's a lot of money, isn't it? it's food for the week. wwildfires threaten the suburbs of athens. thousands have been forced to leave their homes. and, despite a huge petition, no reprieve for geronimo the alpaca, due to be put down after contracting bovine tb. and coming up on sportsday on the bbc news channel... still no atheltics golds for team gb, but relief for laura muir who has won herfirst outdoor global medal.

good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. the cyclist laura kenny has become britain's most successful female olympic athlete, after she and her team—mate, katie archibald, won the women's madison event in the velodrome. they dominated the 120—lap race, winning 10 of the 12 sprints. kenny has now taken gold in three consecutive olympic games. our sports correspondent, natalie pirks, now reports on a historic achievement. two special athletes who complemented each other beautifully. when nine years of brilliance culminates in one record—breaking moment. joy for katie archibald, history for laura kenny — the first british woman to win gold at three successive olympics. the madison was a new olympic event for women, requiring tactics, endurance and speed — something this dream team have in abundance. so, away we go... but this lengthy relay race, with a slingshot twist, is a game ofjeopardy.

a little bit caught in the traffic in the middle... oh, and the dutch are down, the dutch are down! britain, meanwhile, were sailing serenely, winning sprint after sprint. and with 20 laps left, it was britain's to lose. great britain, extraordinarily, claim maximum points yet again... winning ten out of 12 sprints with a 43 point margin, this wasn't merely a victory, it was an annihilation. they haven't put a foot wrong. they have dominated the race, from start to finish. gold in tokyo, the cherry on the top of the gold katie archibald won in rio. and for history maker kenny, a moment to think about the precious i feel like ifeel like i'm racing with a sister, and i could have done it if we didn't have that relationship. i have wanted to winnow race that badly in my life and that was the one. well, that gold here injapan makes laura kenny the most successful female cyclist of all time from any nation. and she joins sir steve redgrave and sir bradley wiggins on five golds. she's not done yet, though, and shall go for her sixth on sunday, to match sir chris hoy

and her husband, jason kenny. first, though, there is some time for reflection. gold medal is going to go to laura trott. when she burst on the scene as laura trott in 2012, it was hard to believe she'd been born six weeks prematurely with a collapsed lung. two golds in the omnium and the team pursuit in london were swiftly followed by two more in the same events in rio. laura trott became laura kenny when she married jason, shortly after rio. a year later, their son albee was born. through the beautiful chaos of becoming a mother, to delivering a masterclass in composure today. britain's most successful female olympian isn't going anywhere yet. she has a long, i think, long career ahead her still. you know, we are talking as if this is the end of her career, her last games. it's not, you know, she'll be in paris, she could even be in two or three games beyond now. jack carlin claims the bronze medal... bronze forjack carlin in the men's sprint made this a successful day for britain in the velodrome. and after 120 laps of biking bedlam, this now familiar step to the top of the podium became a coronation.

the madison�*s first female olympic champions, and perhaps ourfirst sight of dame laura kenny. natalie pirks, bbc news, tokyo. team gb�*s athletes on the track have had a good day. laura muir won silver in the 1500 metres, and there a silver in the men's 4x100 metre relay, with britian losing out in a photo finish to italy. and there was a bronze medal for the women in their sprint relay. our sports editor, dan roan, watched all the action, begining with team gb�*s kate french, who took gold in the modern pentathlon. one of the olympics' toughest and most curious events, the modern pentathlon features a variety of disciplines. sitting sixth after the fencing round, britain's kate french stayed in contention during the swimming and then excelled at the showjumping, with competitors asked to rise a horse selected at random and givenjust to rise a horse selected at random

and given just 20 minutes to to rise a horse selected at random and givenjust 20 minutes to become familiar with the animal. with that scuppering some rivals' chances, french sealed victory in the final round, a combination of running and shooting, becoming briton�*s secon libintjumping in the event. kate french, libintjumping in the event. kate french. the _ libintjumping in the event. kate french, the new _ libintjumping in the event. i—rr french, the new olympic champion here at tokyo 2021. i french, the new olympic champion here at tokyo 2021.— here at tokyo 2021. i don't know what “ust here at tokyo 2021. i don't know whatjust happened, _ here at tokyo 2021. i don't know whatjust happened, i _ here at tokyo 2021. i don't know whatjust happened, i can't - here at tokyo 2021. i don't know| whatjust happened, i can't really believe _ whatjust happened, i can't really believe it— whatjust happened, i can't really believe it right now. i knew i could do it _ believe it right now. i knew i could do it if_ believe it right now. i knew i could do it if i_ believe it right now. i knew i could do it if i focused on my shooting and ran— do it if i focused on my shooting and ran as — do it if i focused on my shooting and ran as hard as i could. yeah. that_ and ran as hard as i could. yeah. that was— and ran as hard as i could. yeah. that was team gb's 18th golden 55th that was team gb�*s18th golden 55th medal of what is becoming an increasingly successful games here increasingly successful games here in tokyo. but at this stage, their track and field athletes have only delivered two medals. here at the national stadium this evening, there was the prospect of some more. having chosen to focus purely on the 1500 metres here, laura muir knew this was her chance to meet the podium on such a stage for the first time. in the best performance of her

career, scott proved... no one was catching the defending champion but a brilliant run insured laura muir took silver and smashed the british record. the relief at ending her near decade—long quest for a major medal clear to see. i’ee near decade-long quest for a ma'or medal clear to seed medal clear to see. i've worked so hard! for so _ medal clear to see. i've worked so hard! for so long. _ medal clear to see. i've worked so hard! for so long. yeah, - medal clear to see. i've worked so hard! for so long. yeah, that - medal clear to see. i've worked so hard! for so long. yeah, that a - medal clear to see. i've worked so| hard! for so long. yeah, that a dot in the 4x100 metre british relay, the british quartet had high hopes after breaking a national record in the semifinals.— after breaking a national record in the semifinals. favourites jamaica dominated but _ the semifinals. favourites jamaica dominated but team _ the semifinals. favourites jamaica dominated but team gb _ the semifinals. favourites jamaica dominated but team gb managed| dominated but team gb managed bronze, a repeat of their performance in rio. but the most thrilling drama was still to come. richard kilt non—course for gold in the 4x100. but nethaneel mitchell—blake was overtaken on the line by italy puts mac. replays

showing team gb had been picked to go byjust 100th showing team gb had been picked to go byjust100th of a second. we showing team gb had been picked to go byjust100th of a second.- go byjust100th of a second. we are unluc , go byjust100th of a second. we are unlucky. but — go byjust100th of a second. we are unlucky. but we _ go byjust100th of a second. we are unlucky, but we are _ go byjust100th of a second. we are unlucky, but we are in _ go byjust100th of a second. we are unlucky, but we are in this _ go byjust100th of a second. we are unlucky, but we are in this togetherl unlucky, but we are in this together and we absolutely pulled it out as a quartet and everyone behind the quarter scene and in 20 years we will look back at this is one of the best of our lives. ida will look back at this is one of the best of our lives.— will look back at this is one of the best of our lives. no gold here but a successful— best of our lives. no gold here but a successful night _ best of our lives. no gold here but a successful night for _ best of our lives. no gold here but a successful night for britain - best of our lives. no gold here but a successful night for britain must| a successful night for britain must make athletes weather at middle distance of the sprints showing they can mix it with the best. dan roan, bbc news. there've been other standout performances by team gb today, and with this roundup, here's andy swiss. rarely has bronze been quite so brilliant. for the third games running, a medalfor britain's women's hockey team. but, my, they had to work for it. they had been trailing india, but in the nick of time they turned it round. yes, they've found the goal! grace balsdon�*s goal securing a 11—3 win. and after a difficult few years for the team, it was all the sweeter. if you'd asked me a couple of months ago, would we come away with olympic bronze, i think i would have laughed at you. i think this last cycle has been so tough, we have stuck

together and we've come out with an olympic bronze medal. in the boxing, meanwhile, former taxi driver lauren price is on route to glory after she battled through her middleweight semifinal. price, who has played football for wales, is now guaranteed at least silver, and just listen to what it meant. cheering. yes! come on! what's tom making now? elsewhere, the return of britain's most famous knitter. tom daley says it helps him stay sane, but there was nothing woolly about his diving as he eased into the individual semifinals. but heading in the other direction, the athlete dubbed "spiderwoman", polish speed climber aleksandra miroslaw, setting a new world record. she scaled a 15 metre fall in just 6.84 seconds. the race to the top just doesn't get any quicker. andy swiss, bbc news.

and at the end of day 1a, great britain has moved into fourth position in the medals table, with 18 golds. tomorrow is the penultimate day of the games, with 3a medals up for grabs, including the women's marathon. the number of daily coronavirus cases has gone up slightly again. there were nearly 32,000 new infections in the latest 24—hour period, but that makes an average of 26,500 new cases per day over the last seven days, so the longer term trend is still down. 92 deaths were recorded in the last 2a hours — that's an average of 85 a day in the past week. the number of people in hospital with covid is now 5,631. nearly 89% of adults in the uk have had theirfirstjab, and nearly 74% are now fully vaccinated.

the longer term trend for coronavirus infection rates has been down across the uk, except in northern ireland where case numbers are rising, according to the office for national statistics. whilst england has launched a new campaign, encouraging young adults to get theirjabs, northern ireland has now become the first of the home nations, to start vaccinating 16 and 17—year—olds. here's our health editor, hugh pym. a uk first — the start of vaccinations for all 16 and 17—year—olds. in northern ireland, teenagers in that age group came forward just two days after experts gave the go—ahead for the extension of the programme. yeah, ijust want everything back to normal and you're going to have to get it, so might as welljust get it now. at this theatre school in lincoln, those we spoke to said they were thinking hard about it. invitations to 16 and 17—year—olds to getjabbed in england, scotland and wales are going out from today. we talk about vaccine quite a lot, mainly because people are quite, like,

not sure whether to get it or not. i've seen things online and things like that, but at the end of the day, i think they know what's right and i'm happy to get it. say if i wanted to go on holiday with my mates, i will have - the vaccine. like, i'm not going to miss outjust because i haven't had _ the vaccine. "don't miss out" is the message in a new drive in england to boost take—up of the vaccine among 18 to 30—year—olds. with reminders that to get into nightclubs from late september, proof of being double jabbed will be required. the venues themselves will be promoting those messages. this central london nightclub, heaven, is even hosting a pop up vaccination site on sunday. it'll be open right through from 12 noon till nine in the evening. the aim's still to reduce the spread of the virus. the office for national statistics survey of community infections, which covers people with and without symptoms, showed the first fall in uk cases last week since early may.

in england, one in 75 people had the virus. in scotland, one in 120. in wales, one in 230, all of which were down. but in northern ireland, it was one in 55 — an increase — though experts say the delta variant spread later than elsewhere. rates are still relatively high in many parts of the country, but i would have to say that the evidence very much is on a decline everywhere. i'm expecting a continued decline, not incredibly steep, but i think we will see a continued decline. but he added things might change in september after the holiday season. public health experts say levels of the delta variant can remain high, even in people who are vaccinated while still offering strong protection against serious illness — another reminder there is still much to learn about covid and its spread. hugh pym, bbc news. the first minister of wales, mark drakeford, has confirmed most

coronavirus restrictions in the country will end tomorrow. but he warned the changes must not lead to a �*free for all�*. our correspondent hywel griffith, is in cardiff. case rates in wales have been falling for a while now, yet easing has been slow, why the caution? well, the welsh government has never had a freedom day and its diary, its approach throughout the last 17 months has been super cautious, some would say, slower than other administrations. and while the case rates here have been lower in the vaccination rates have been higher than other uk nations for a few months, even tomorrow's big change comes with a significant health warning. this pandemic is still far from over. month after month of measure after measure. finally the time has come in wales for life almost without limits. from tomorrow, this restaurant can go back to full capacity.

here, facemasks won't be mandatory, but carmine thinks it might take a while for his customers to feel comfortable with the old ways. people, they've lost their confidence, how to approach somebody else and may talk, shake their hand. something that, you know, they have been forbidden for so long. wales is moving to alert level zero, but that doesn't equal zero restrictions. masks will still be needed in shops and on public transport and a call for caution remains. alert level zero does not mean the end of coronavirus, and it very certainly does not mean a free for all here in wales. so the pandemic is still with us, but in wales, the "pingdemic" may be over. from tomorrow, adults who've had a double dose of vaccine and the under—18s no longer need to self—isolate if they have been in contact with someone who has tested positive for covid. so how to celebrate?

this nightclub can reopen tomorrow after a 17 month shut down. longer than venues over the border in england. all the businesses have suffered exactly the same, so why have england managed to be able to start making profits and moving again three weeks earlier than as? throughout the pandemic, wales has unlocked at its own pace. ministers hope people won't rush into using their new—found freedom. the time is 6.16 pm. our top story this evening: history's made by team gb cyclist laura kenny, becoming britain's most successful female olympian ever after winning gold in tokyo. another milestone for england'sjimmy anderson in the first test against india. coming up in sportsday in the next

15 minutes on the bbc news channel. manchester city have already bought jack grealish for 100 million pounds, they'll have to top that to land harry kane, but they say they are interested in signing the spurs striker. energy prices will rise for millions of people in october, after the regulator said the price cap for some energy tariffs must go up to cover suppliers' extra costs. it's the biggest ever increase to price cap since its introduction two years ago, and is set twice a year, affecting around 15 million households. the typical gas and electricity customer, on the standard variable rate, is likely to see their bill go up by £139, to £1,277 a year. here's our consumer affairs correspondent, colletta smith. the burton clan are letting their hair down. alison and ashley are here with their mum and nine of the kids. but days out don't come cheap. it costs you a fortune, yeah.

especially when you've got a big family as well. after spending extra for the summer holidays, things always get tight in the autumn. you live and you work to pay your bills, and that's how it goes. so the thought of even more on their energy bill is a scary one. you never hear any good news about it going down. we only ever hear about it going up. is that how it feels? yeah, it does. that is definitely how it feels. yeah. and that's what will be happening from the 1st of october. the regulator says it's only fair that energy companies are allowed to raise prices. this will impact everyone on prepayment metres all the default standard variable tariffs. that's half of all households in britain. the price cap was introduced to put a limit on those really expensive rates at the top end, to make sure that we're not being ripped off, but it hasn't brought prices down overall. there are still plenty of ups and downs and it's definitely not

the best deal on the market. but energy companies say it has shielded people from constant rises. the cost of gas globally has trebled in the last 12 months. if it weren't for the price cap, it might add as much as another 200, £300 to bills compared to where we are today. with plenty of people still expecting to be working from home in the autumn, fuel costs are going to start racking up. citizens advice say nearly two million households are already behind on their energy bills. we are particularly concerned for people on universal credit. the government is planning to cut their benefit by £20 a week in the autumn, so they are going to be facing a perfect storm of rising energy bills and a decrease in their universal credit payments. with another two months to go until prices go up, there is still time to shop around for a better deal. colletta smith, bbc news, in warrington. a severe heatwave has caused huge

wildfires in greece, with strong winds fanning the flames. thousands of people have been moved from their homes in the northern suburbs of athens. there's an extreme fire warning covering many areas, with the prime minister saying his country is in the midst of an unprecedented environmental crisis. our correspondent, bethany bell, is in athens for us now. how difficult is it for the authorities to get to grips with these fires? it's a very, very difficult situation. where i am here, there is a fire burning behind that mountain behind me, and the fear is that the wind is blowing in the wrong direction, and this suburb where we are now could face the flames quite soon. and since we've been here, we've seen emergency vehicles out warning people to leave their homes. people have packed up their cars to drive away from this area because the authorities have told them it's

too dangerous to remain. some people, though, we spoke to one greek orthodox priest, who said, where do we go? where are we supposed to go? has the government organised this properly? and at the moment, we see an aircraft overhead dropping waterfrom the moment, we see an aircraft overhead dropping water from the sky to try and quench the flames, but firefighters thought that they had controlled this particular blaze here a couple of days ago, but then it flared up again, and the air at the moment is quite full of acrid smoke and ash. they have been fired throughout mainland greece and on the island of evia, where several hundred people were evacuated and had to get to the beach after fire rushed through the forest there, and then they were taken to safety by boats, tourist boats and the coast guard. �* . , . ~ boats, tourist boats and the coast guard. �* ., , ., , . guard. bethany, thank you very much there, live guard. bethany, thank you very much there. live in — guard. bethany, thank you very much there, live in athens. _

a woman who left her daughter alone for six days, resulting in her starving to death has been jailed she admitted the murder of the youth, who she left alone in her flat in brighton, so she could go out to celebrate her birthday in december 2019. there are fears grade inflation in england could reach new heights, when a level results are published next week. teachers have been asked to submit assessments for pupils for a second year in a row, after this summer's exams were cancelled because of the pandemic. amid concerns to many could have top grades, ministers have now said they will pay for extra places at medical schools. here's our education editor, branwen jeffreys. quiet now, but next week, this college will fill with students. after months of anxious waiting.

these sixth former will get their a—level and btec results. they're full of hope, but for isabel, who wants to study medicine, there is extra pressure. so i have been really worried about if the university i want to go to, what if they have too many students, too many people got the right grades? because that might mean i have to take a gap year or something else. it's been stressful. exams cancelled, teachers marking work instead. in the back of my head, i know that i did everything i could to get the grade that i want and the grades that i need, but obviously, until i see the results, i will be nervous. being a btec, we do know what we have got compared to obviously a—levels. and worries about how their grades will be seen. if there is a big jump, as there is expected to be with our grades this year, that's really going to exacerbate the issue, that lots of people think that a—levels and gcses are too easy, and my experience is that they are not, really. this year, grades will be higher overall. that's because they are based

on teacher assessments of several pieces of work. it's completely different from a normal exam year, when some students will always have a bad day and do less well than expected. schools have been asked to make their own decisions... john colt was a top adviser on england's grading system, but he resigned. today, he told me his concerns about a—level grade inflation. last year, we know they went up a lot, about a quarter of a—level grades, a and a star in a normal year. last year, it was very nearly 40%. i think this year, we've been expecting it to be higher. i wouldn't be surprised if we saw 45—50% of a—level grades graded a to a�*. for teachers, working out grades has been a hugejob. the principal at this college says you have to accept it's different from exams. it will be slightly higher. i think it's about 4% higher here than last year. then, so be it. i think we need to be feeling

very positive about the grades that our young people are getting this year, and not knocking them somehow because they haven't done examinations. for each student, their grades are a passport to an apprenticeship or into university. but a way back to results as normal will have to be found after this year's extra places for those who want to be doctors. branwen jeffreys, bbc news. downing street says there are no plans to cancel a decision to put down an alpaca on a farm in gloucestershire that's twice tested positive for the infectious disease bovine tb. tens of thousands of people have signed a petition calling for a reprieve for the animal, called geronimo, but a high court judge has already ruled that he should be put down. the case has led to a debate about the testing methods used to identify bovine tb. with more, here's andrew plant. geronimo, in quarantine at this gloucestershire farm for the past four years, since he was imported

from new zealand. now, though, he's set to be destroyed after owner helen lost her fight against his positive tests for tb. just frustrating. anxiety, trauma, constant letters backwards and forwards, constant legal options of what do we do. it's taken over my life. all of this was avoidable. we've had four years ofjust trying to sit down and rationally discuss the science. the science is just not there. today, downing street said they understood how distressing it was to lose an animal, but said that everything needed to be done to tackle tb. if we get a positive, they're under a compulsory slaughter order. paul westaway has to test his 150 cows every six months. last year, two were infected among the 40,000 cold among the 40,000 culled because of tb that year. and what do you make of geronimo the alpaca's plight? i feel unbelievably sorry for the lady.

i feel really sorry for geronimo. but the law is the law, and geronimo, and alpaca cannot be more important than a cow. it's an animal, and every one of the owners of those 40,000 cows that had to have the same fate last year love them just as much, probably, as the lady loves geronimo, so i feel really, really sorry for her, but the law's the law. that law, defra says, is vital, and the decisive action that the uk needs to fight the disease. meanwhile, helen believes the tests and geronimo were flawed, on geronimo were flawed, and is still hoping there's some way her eight—year—old alpaca can be saved. andrew plant, bbc news. there's been rain, runs and wickets on the third day of england's test match with india in nottingham. when weather stopped play, england had reached 25 without loss, still 75 runs behind india's first—innings total. our sports correspondent, joe wilson was watching.

there are special techniques required for cricketers touring england. how to hide the back from drizzle. very useful this week. rishabh pant never keeps his powder dry for long. when he hits a ball to a field like this, it's a hugerelief. when he hits a ball to a field like this, it's a huge relief. one of five wickets in the innings for ollie robinson. now, you will always remember when you watched england's most successful bowler in history. i took you to trent bridge. with this wicket, james anderson moved to the bronze medal position in the all—time list of the world's bowlers, kl rahul gone finally for 84. but india were way ahead in the match. ravi jadeja saw to that. that's a six. what a shot that is! here comes a four. and there is a special way he celebrates getting to 50. wait for it... there. it is never bettered, although sometimes imitated. oh, good try. and india led by 95 and bowled again. england's second innings began cheekily. innings began shakily. india perhaps sensed that dom sibley was a little fortunate. there's been chat from both sides.

some people will always find a way and a place to play cricket. england were 70 behind when this happened. to pause with the three final words — rain stops play. joe wilson, bbc news. cricket and rain. very english! time for a look at the weather, here's louise lear. hi there. very frustrating, the forecast at the moment, not much changing into the weekend. at times beautiful today, changing into the weekend. at times beautifultoday, but changing into the weekend. at times beautiful today, but for many, really torrential downpours, so no alfresco dining, i'm afraid, in motherwell earlier today. in fact, most rain has been to the north and far west, and if we take a look at what to expect, most of the showers have been through scotland, northern england and across to northern ireland, with the best sunshine further south. ireland, with the best sunshine furthersouth. but ireland, with the best sunshine further south. but even here, just to keep us on our toes, just when we thought it was safe to go out without an umbrella, along came a sharp shower. that's because low

pressure is still with us. it will stay with us through the weekend, and this front could enhance showers through this evening out to the west. that means showers from the word go into western areas first thing tomorrow. these will gradually push steadily eastwards, blustery winds accompanying those showers. they will rattle throughout quite a pace, and could be heavy with rumbles of thunder. some eastern areas will dodge some showers, but i won't be too clever about it. pretty miserable day for some, top temperatures of 15—20. the low is weather centre sunday. it starts to drift eastwards and it is filling, meaning it is weakening, so hopefully, fingers crossed, fewer showers around on sunday. there will still be some, particularly to the north and west, but central and southern parts of england, may be the far north of scotland, escaping with sunshine and as a consequence hopefully a degree or so warmer as well. we may see temperatures up as high as 21, 75 well. we may see temperatures up as high as 21,75 fahrenheit. well. we may see temperatures up as high as 21, 75 fahrenheit. still disappointing for the time of year.