this is bbc news — the headlines at 6pm: former girls aloud singer sarah harding has died at the age of 39, after being diagnosed with breast cancer last year. she was a girl next door that had got it all. she was identifiable by the audience that were going to buy her records. that was the beauty of sarah. the head of one of prince charles�* charities temporarily steps down after claims he helped secure an honourfor a major donor. relatives of a female police officer in the ghor province of afghanistan have told the bbc that she has been killed by the taliban. killed by gun men believed tt the —— killed by gun men believed to be the taliban. plans to overhaul england's social care system are likely to be unveiled this week — amidst warnings that a rise

in national insurance could provoke a "very significant backlash". and as the paralympics come to a close with fireworks, the queen congratulates great britain's paralympians — who return home with 124 medals, including 41 golds. good evening and welcome to bbc news. the former girls aloud singer sarah harding has died of cancer aged 39. she was part of one of the most successful all—girl bands this century — which was formed on the itv show, popstars: the rivals. her mum marie announced her death on instagram — saying the 39—year—old had been treated for cancer and slipped away peacefully this morning. our entertainment correspondent lizo mzimba looks

back at sarah's life. the last member of the band is... after three months of competition, the moment her dream came true. ..sarah. cheering. but sarah harding could scarcely have imagined the success that would follow. every one of their first 16 singles a top ten hit. thanks to a collection of irresistibly catchy songs, they were soon selling thousands of singles... # sound of the underground...# ..and performing to sold—out audiences. # if i had a promise from you... # sarah brought powerful vocals and a willingness to be portrayed... # makes me wanna break the rules! # ..as the band's most outrageous personality, the headline—grabbing party girl. we're off to the club to boogie! everything's winding down now.

eventually... so i think we're going to move on to another club. ..it all led to a short stint in rehab. outside the group, she, like the others, took time to try new challenges. so you're focused more not so much on the music as the acting, it seems to me. would that be a fair thing to say? it is, yeah, yeah. i mean, we've all chosen different avenues, and i'm not completely saying i don't want to sing any more, but the acting is something that i've always wanted to pursue since i was little, as well. there were small parts in bbc financial crash drama freefall... oh, my god! ..coronation street... actually, i don't suppose by any chance you know a tracy barlow? ..and the second of the st trinian�*s movies... # i predict a riot, i predict a riot! #i # did you tell her? no, no, no. # none of it, though, overshadowed her success with the all—conquering girls aloud. # i'm just a love machine, feeding my fantasy... # when many were writing off pop

in favour of different styles of music, they were the group who proved it could still be fresh and invigorating. sarah and the other four members went their separate ways in 2013... #jump! for my love. jump in... # ..but not before they'd entertained fans for the best part of a decade. their success the result of undeniable talent, and a closeness that all could see was genuine, true, friendship. # one, two, three, four! # sarah harding, a woman who achieved so much in a life cut short at such a young age. # you're gonna make me, make me love you... # sarah harding, who has died today at the age of 39. some postings on social media

throughout the afternoon, likely to continue through the evening. oritse williams from jls tweeted to say... the pop dquedward called her a music icon. and davina mccall, who presented popstars: the rivals, which launched sarah's career tweeted to say... and the model and tv personality katie price has posted on instagram to say, "sarah harding was always such a genuine and honest person," and that she'd always remember the laughs they had together. earlier i spoke to the record producer pete waterman — who was a judge on the 2002 music reality series popstars: the rivals. he said that sarah harding was everything you could want in a singer. she was an incredible person and i think that, you know,

the people that paid the tribute are absolutely right. i think davina mccall was absolutely spot—on when she said she was also fragile. and i remember going and hiding round the corner when i went to tell her, you know, she had been picked for the finals, and she was so excited she ran upstairs and jumped up and down on the bed! and her mum and i went up and joined her. you know, it was... they were different times. they were so exciting. you know, just to see what this did to kids was amazing. and, you know, they went on to be just enormous, really. but i never forgot that moment because it was just a sort of spontaneous combustion of energy and excitement that she'd got through, and i neverforgot that. it was... whenever i saw her i always reminded her, you know, if somebody had told me i'd just won, you know, a pop competition,

i'd do exactly the same. yes, and in a sense that kind of authenticity and the idea that this wasn't studied, she wasn't performing, she kind of seemed to hold on to that sense of still being a real person who was, kind of, a bit surprised where she was but still quite excited about it. once you meet her mum you understand why, and i think it really is that mancunian thing ofjust, like, keep your feet on the ground. to be honest, i don't think sometimes they could believe that it was as successful as it was. it was a phenomenon. as you said, when you look at the achievements, 20 consecutive top ten singles including four number ones. i mean, we'll brush over how many years and how many decades you've been involved in the music industry, but do you want to nail this canard that we often hear these days when people go, "oh, well, of course it's easy to sell music nowadays, "you don't have to sell as many as you did."

i mean, that is a heck of an achievement in any year, isn't it? oh, listen, we're talking about a time when, you know, people had to go to the shops to buy this music! you couldn't buy this...you couldn't download it. this was still, you know, when you went with the money to the store to buy it. that was a phenomenon of this period. now you could stream 500 million times and never leave your chair, but to buy a million records by girls aloud you physically had to go out to do that and that is an achievement. getting the general public to go out and purchase your product is the hardest thing in the world. we didn't have technology like we have today that did it all for you. you had to do it — that was the excitement. that's what girls aloud did — they got people excited. now, when you were on thatjudges panel if you can recall — you know, you didn't know her, as such, then — what was it, you know, the objective talent, what was it about her that you saw as the potential which then, obviously, the members of the public then picked up

on in the public vote? oh, she was what every record community, a&r talent and record company wished for. she was a girl next door that had got it all. she was identifiable by the audience that were going to buy her records. that was the beauty of sarah. i mean, you know, anybody could have believed that they were going to be sarah harding. that in itself is a real talent. now, the combination of those girls together, those women together, just to, kind of... because i'm obviously not of the right generation, but getting the right names, cheryl tweedy, nadine coyle, nicola roberts, kimberley walsh and sarah harding, what made them, kind of, gel? what made them appeal? what was it about the performance? because it...the influence remains, doesn't it? i went to see six: the musical a few months ago, and that was transparently inspired by girls aloud and the spice girls. yeah, i mean, the thing was,

you know, it's very easy here, to be honest, now, sitting and talking at this distance in time to say this was exactly what we planned. that would be very clever of me — and very untrue. you know, this was organic. it happened when cheryl walked in. i mean, all these things, we did not plan. we certainly didn't plan to find a sarah harding. it happens, and when the camera's there and it happens properly and honestly, the public buy into it — they get it! that series was a huge, huge success. you know, i had number one, two and three that christmas with the cheeky girls, girls aloud and one true voice. nothing like that happens any more. doesn't happen like that any more. what memory will you take with you, apart from that momentjumping

up and down on the bed with her and her mum? oh, no, that's the best moment. that, sorry, that to me is what pop music is all about, when you've changed somebody�*s life and they're excited about it. that's the moment — nothing can beat that. it is like when you see... when you buy somebody a lovely birthday present and you see it's something they have always wanted. it's the greatest moment in your life. it doesn't get any better than that. the record producer pete waterman. the chief executive of one of prince charles�* charities — the prince's foundation — has temporarily stepped down following claims that he helped secure an honourfor a major donor. the sunday times and the mail on sunday allege that michael fawcett used his influence to assist a saudi businessman. mr fawcett was — until 2003 — the prince's valet. here's our correspondent simonjones. and a warning — his report contains some flashing images.

he was once one of prince charles�* closest aides, but now michael fawcett is facing questions about his conduct. good morning, mr fawcett. did you secure honours for cash? any comment on the allegations in the newspapers today? three years ago, he became chief executive of the prince�*s foundation, an umbrella group for a number of prince charles�*s charitable interests. newspaper reports allege that mr fawcett offered to assist a wealthy saudi national and major donor to the prince�*s foundation with citizenship and with an honour. mahfouz marei mubarak bin mahfouz received an honorary cbe in late 2016. one former government minister who�*s written books on royal finances wants a police investigation into the allegations. in 2013, mr fawcett resigned from a previous job with the royal family after an internal report criticised the running of the royal household. -- in 2003. now, michael fawcett�*s been forced to resign twice already, and both times, under cover of darkness, almost, he was reinstated by prince charles when the hoo—hah died down.

so, prince charles is very, very closely linked with this man, and i�*m sure that whatever michael fawcett did would have been done with the full support of prince charles. prince charles needs to answer questions about this, not michael fawcett. the met says it�*s aware of media reports. the prince�*s foundation, based at dumfries house, offers education and training programmes to more than 15,000 people each year, helping them to find work or start their own businesses. in a statement, it said... it added that mr fawcett will assist the investigation in every way. a spokesman for dr bin mahfouz said he had not expected any reward for his charitable donations. simon jones, bbc news. earlier i spoke to our royal correspondent, jonny dymond. he said the allegations

were serious. they are effectively suggesting that honours are up for sale and that the prince or the prince�*s organisation, the prince�*s foundation, was going to support an application for citizenship in exchange for donations. the critical person in the midst of this is michael fawcett because, you know, you introduced him, he said he is the former valet to the prince. that is absolutely true, he left in 2003, but this is a man who was at the prince�*s side literally and metaphorically for decades. he laid out his clothes, organised his private life, sorted out who sat next to him at the big dinners and things like that. this is a right—hand man in every sense of the word. it is notjust someone who used to work for him. the palace stresses he no longer works directly for the prince and that is the case and we know he has also stepped down while this investigation happen

but it is the proximity and the friendship with the prince that is so damaging and makes this rather different from other suggestions of what�*s been called cash for access that have been made in the past. in a sense, if this were a political party we were talking about this would be a major constitutional row brewing and a big political scandal. this is a difficulty. it is difficult to say where it sits on the embarrassment scale but this is a real difficulty. this is not what people expect of the royal family. obviously they are allegations, they�*re being investigated and the palace, as i say, says, look, michael fawcett doesn�*t work for the prince. and there is no suggestion in the story that the prince was aware of a transactional relationship between, if you give the money you get the honour. absolutely not. in that sense, this is about somebody who has worked for him and been close to him for a long time and not about the man himself.

yes, but it is obviously also worth pointing out that for several decades there have been allegations and criticisms of so—called cash for access, that in return for large donations people got access to prince charles. that is part of the world of royal charities. people said that prince charles skated too close to the edge. this is another allegation that that kind of thing has been going on and it is an embarrassment. mr fawcett has stepped down. what sort of investigations follow from this? for example, are the charities involved looking at their relationship? the prince�*s foundation is an umbrella group for a number of different charities and it at the moment is remarkably tight—lipped about what is going on. i put a number of allegations to them late last night and got one single response about michael fawcett because there were allegations in the newspapers about other people connected to the charities too. so we don�*t quite know what the nature of the investigation is,

we will have to wait until that comes out in the wash. parliament is coming back this week. this is the kind of subject some mps take a particular interest in, isn�*t it, what the royal family�*s role is in public life and whether that has influence beyond the strictly ceremonial? this is the heir to the throne. this is not a so—called minor royal going off and doing in advertisement for something or sitting in on something in exchange for something, this is prince charles so this is a political issue, a constitutional issue, it isa it is a difficult issue, simply to say, look, nothing to do with us. it is 17 minutes past six. the headlines on bbc news... former girls aloud singer sarah harding has died at the age of 39, after being diagnosed with breast cancer last year. the head of one of prince charles�* charities temporarily steps down after claims he helped secure an honour for a major donor. relatives of a female police officer in the ghor province

of afghanistan have told the bbc that she has been killed by the taliban. _by —— by gun men believed to be from the taliban. a female police officer in central afghanistan has been shot dead by armed men inside her home. banu negar�*s family told the bbc the gunmen tied them up and searched the house before killing her. she was heavily pregnant. her family couldn�*t confirm if the taliban was responsible but a local journalist said he witnessed the attack and that it was the taliban. they have denied all involvement. earlier, pakistan chaired a virtual meeting on afghanistan, bringing together neighbouring countries, including china and iran. an official statement said they�*d agreed that peace in afghanistan was crucial to the region�*s security. well, earlier i spoke to danjohnson, who gave me the latest from delhi. we have reliable accounts that three gunmen went to the home of that female police officer last night,

tied her up as they searched her home, and then shot her in front of her husband and children. exactly who those gunmen were remains unclear. the family say they can�*t confirm whether that was taliban, is or perhaps some other group, but some witnesses with knowledge of the situation there in that city say that was an attack carried out by the taliban and it was in response to an action earlier in the day that the police woman had been involved in where a taliban flag was taken down from the streets of that provincial capital. we don�*t know if she was working in her official capacity as a police officer, because the afghan national police has effectively been in chaos since the taliban took over control of so many provinces in the rest of the country. we don�*t know if she was actually on duty as a police officer or if that was something she was involved in in a personal

capacity, but she was known to have been previously part of the police force, so that perhaps was why she has been targeted. her family have actually denied she was part of that — perhaps they are just trying to maintain her innocence. so, a really unclear situation. but what you can take from it, even though the taliban has said it will investigate this and find out who the killers were, it shows that even people who were previously in positions of authority are not safe in cities across afghanistan, something that has been warned about for the weeks since the taliban started taking control. and that, potentially, if this was carried out by militants, that there are reprisals, that there are attacks on people who are seen to have either broken the rules or gone against the regime. what we know about this virtual meeting that pakistan convened of afghanistan�*s neighbours? yeah, that�*s a security discussion, in the main, involving the nearest neighbours of afghanistan.

they all want to see peace in that region, in that country, they say, they will cooperate and work together to pursue that. the refugee situation will be of prime concern of those countries because they are the ones taking the immediate burden in terms of the numbers of people crossing the border. but the fact that pakistan chaired it will underline once again the level of pakistani influence that looks to be exerted now in the future of afghanistan. we saw the head of pakistani intelligence in kabul yesterday for meetings, and for some in india, critics of pakistan, there is evidence of pakistani closeness to the taliban, the fact that they are able to have those meetings, those talks and that access, and they will potentially to some degree determine the future of afghanistan, and particularly its government in power structures which the taliban is still discussing and trying to negotiate and put in place.

the former conservative chancellor, lord hammond, has warned that the suggestion the government might increase national insurance, to fund social care in england could provoke a "very significant backlash". borisjohnson and senior ministers have been discussing details this weekend on how to overhaul the care system, before an announcement this week. it is something the prime minister promised when he returned to downing street in 2019. our political correspondent chris mason reports. it�*s probably the biggest domestic social policy challenge borisjohnson inherited when he became prime minister — sorting out social care in england. in the next few days, it looks like he�*ll set out his plan. the government�*s not denying national insurance, a tax on earnings, will go up to pay for it. today, the former chancellor, lord hammond, said that was a bad idea. the issue is, an increase in national insurance contributions is asking young working people, some of whom will never inherit

a property, to subsidise older people who have accumulated wealth during their lifetime and have a property, and on any basis, that has got to be wrong. this morning, this minister refused to elaborate on the government�*s plans, but did say... we'll work with national partners, with local partners and those with lived experience of the social care sector to get this right and get it right as we are determined to do. currently in england, people have to meet some of their care costs if they have assets over £14,250, and above the level of £23,250 they have to pay the care bill in full. many want to see a lifetime cap on how much people have to pay but that comes with a big cost to the taxpayer. labour wants a new system, too, but don�*t think raising national insurance is the solution. we�*re sceptical about the idea of loading the entire burden of the social care crisis onto the supermarket workers and delivery

drivers who are already dealing with really high housing costs, childcare costs and others. the government had hoped to find a consensus on this issue. that doesn�*t look likely. they also promised not to put up national insurance — a policy, it appears, they�*re willing to shred, too. chris mason, bbc news. grenfell tower looks set to be demolished after the fire four years ago that killed 72 people. structural engineers employed by the government have decided that the building should be carefully taken down once the currently safety works are completed next year. the government says it�*s considering the independent safety advice, and is engaging closely with the community before a decision is taken — but survivors groups say they have not been consulted. plans to introduce vaccines passports in nightclubs and other indoor venues in england will go ahead this month, the vaccines minister has confirmed. nadhim zahawi said it was the right time to introduce the certificates, as all over—18s will have been offered two jabs

by the end of september. the scheme requiring people to show covid vaccination proof has been criticised by venues and some mps. the scottish labour leader, anas sarwar, says he�*s not supporting plans to bring in covid vaccination passports for nightclubs and large events like football matches and festivals. the scottish government wants msps to approve the plans in a bid to increase vaccine take—up in the younger generation. our correspondent in glasgowjamie mcivor has more. we now have two of the three opposition parties in the scottish parliament saying they won�*t back the scheme. labour confirming today that they won�*t vote for the scheme. they say they have serious concerns. indeed, their concern is that rather than encouraging younger people to get vaccinated, anything that could start to look like a form of compulsion could actually end up being counter—productive and entrench vaccine hesitancy rather than help it.

we already knew that the scottish liberal democrats were opposed to the idea. they came out straightaway with their opposition, describing it as a deeply illiberal idea. the scottish conservatives have got serious concerns, though they are still to confirm just how they plan to vote this week. and, yes, there are concerns, too, in the business community. one major business organisation, scottish chambers of commerce, calling for urgent clarity on just what businesses are going to be affected by this. there was a bit of a debate, bit of a concern among some in the hospitality industry in scotland aboutjust which businesses will be classed as nightclubs rather than pubs. the scottish professional football league, they have got concerns, too. large sporting events with more than 10,000 people in attendance, so some top—flight football matches such as maybe a rangers—celtic game or an international game, they could be affected and others that would be affected by the scheme, well, any unseated event with more

than 500 people indoors or 4000 outdoors. so certainly debate growing, opposition growing. let�*s take a look at the latest covid data for the uk. a further 37,011 infections have been recorded in the past 2a hours, as well as 68 deaths — that�*s those who�*ve died within 28 days of a positive covid test. 79.8% of all over—16s in the uk have now been fully vaccinated. more on our top story — and the former girls aloud singer sarah harding, who had breast cancer, has died aged 39. i�*ve been speaking to radio1 newsbeat reporter daniel rosney who�*s also presented a girls aloud podcast. i asked him how sarah harding would be best remembered. i think, as a woman who loved being a pop star, she was given a huge opportunity in 2002 to be part of girls aloud. she won the tv talent show popstars: the rivals, and throughout her career she just loved what the opportunity gave her.

she loved belting out the bangers when they were on tour, and she kind of... i saw girls aloud live a couple of times and she kind of got the crowd going, she was kind of the hype girl of the five. she loved the fame aspect of it. she loved being in her 20s. girls aloud formed when she was 21, and she kind of lived her 20s and her early 30s in the spotlight. and i think that the legacy that girls aloud leave behind is really ringing true. this year at the brit awards, little mix won a brit award, and they thanked girls aloud, amongst other girl bands, for their contribution to music. and i think when fans of girls aloud will be listening to the radio and a girls aloud song will come on, they will be thinking of sarah harding for many years to come. there is a long history of kind of created bands, going back to the monkees in the 60s, but this one was created by the audience.

controversial at the time when she actually got selected, as you will recall, but nonetheless, in a sense she is perhaps one of the big standout personalities from that line—up, isn�*t she? i mean, they are all terrifically talented in their own rights, but she had that bit of extra that made her kind of announce herself to the world. i think that is probably why they had such a long career, because as you say, the public created girls aloud. each week, for those who do not remember, for younger viewers, there were ten girls in each week, the public voted and one girl left until there were five remaining and that was the girl band, so the public felt that they kind of knew the girls and they watched them grow. what we see now with younger girl bands is that lots of them are media trained and girls aloud weren�*t, they were just five women who were not from london, they were from very working class backgrounds, sarah is from stockport, and they kind of had such a long career because they were feisty, you knew when they were in the room.

there were elements of them that were a little bit spice girls—esque in that you would always know that sarah was there first because you could always hear her laugh, but i think she will be remembered for much more than just being the loud one of the group. in the video tape we just watched, she dabbled in acting, she was in coronation street for a couple of episodes, she went on a few reality tv shows once girls aloud kind of separated. she won celebrity big brother in 2017 and as well as having 21 top ten singles with girls aloud, she wrote her own music and she released an ep herself. there is a thing that fans will kind of remember which is because even though the public loved girls aloud from the beginning and helped them get 21 top tens, there was a bit of i think snobbery in the music industry. early on they would struggle to get a brit award and in 2009 when they finally got the brit

award, she came onstage and she said, can ijust say it is about time? and i think for pop music fans of the noughties, she really spoke volumes, because at the time, the music industry was really saturated with indie bands and girls aloud were kind of the only pop band that kept pop going and their unique collaboration with xenomania, who produced all of their music, allowed them to be the success that they were. more on that and all the other day�*s news and international news. jane hill is coming up with a full roundup of the day�*s news. but now the weather with darren. hello there. more of us are going to get a taste of summer. today, with more sunshine across south—eastern parts of england, we are seeing temperatures

into the mid—20s, but the far south—west, we have had some stubborn areas of mist and low cloud keeping temperatures a little bit lower, but the sunshine and the warmth is coming in from continental europe. we are tapping in to some very warm and dry earth stopped was the west of the uk, more cloud coming to scotland and northern ireland which is reducing some rain which will push further down across scotland, still affecting northern ireland and just trickling into the far north of england. with more cloud in scotland, it will certainly be warmer than it was last night and it will be a pretty warm night across the board, 1a or 15 degrees, but we will see more mist and fog developing in the south—west of england and south wales. that will gradually burn off through the morning. still have some pockets of light and drizzle affecting southern scotland, northern england, perhaps northern ireland, that tendering to peter out. generally the far north of england authors will be more cloudy. because we have this southerly breeze rather than a breeze of the north sea, we are seeing a drier, sunnier weather

across much of england and wales. temperature is continuing to rise, coming up to 27 degrees in the south—east of england. and we still have high pressure that is shipping our weather at the moment. the centre of the highest drifting way, allowing this low pressure to come in. what that does is reinforce this south—easterly breeze that we will be picking up on tuesday, dragging in all the warmth from continental europe and pushing away the cloud as well so we will see more sunshine coming out across northern ireland, the southern half of scotland. lots of sunshine for england and wales. there is a temperatures continuing to rise so it will be a warmer day everywhere and those at temperatures could be 29 degrees in the midlands, hotter than anytime last month. more sunshine for much of the country on wednesday but it was the south—west, times have changed. may be a fewer thundery showers arriving late in the day, but attempt is continuing to climb, pushing the heat up in scotland for top 25 degrees in the central belt and 28 of 29 across parts of england and wales. for the

next few days, it will be getting much warmer. lots of sunshine and then from thursday onwards, we changed to something a little cooler with some rain.

the girls aloud singer sarah harding has died of breast cancer at the age of 39. girls aloud had 21 top ten hits over the course of a decade. stars and producers have been paying tribute. she was the girl next door that had got it all. she was identifiable by the audience that were going to buy her records. that was the beauty of sarah. there�*s a growing backlash among conservatives to suggestions of a national insurance increase to pay for social care in england. the head of one of prince charles�* charities has stood down following allegations he helped secure an honour for a wealthy donor. and dancing and fireworks bring the paralympics to a close in tokyo.

britain�*s athletes have finished second in the medals table. good evening. the girls aloud singer sarah harding has died at the age of 39. she was diagnosed with breast cancer last year. she was part of one of the most successful british female bands of all time. formed on an itv reality show, they went on to have 21 top ten hits. sarah harding�*s mother, marie, described her as a "bright shining star" and her band—mate nadine coyle said she was "absolutely devastated". our entertainment correspondent, lizo mzimba, looks back at her life. his report contains

some flashing images. after three months of competition, the moment her dream came true. ..sarah. cheering. but sarah harding could scarcely have imagined the success that would follow. every one of their first 16 singles a top ten hit. thanks to a collection of irresistibly catchy songs, they were soon selling thousands of singles... # sound of the underground...# ..and performing to sold—out audiences. # if i had a promise from you... # sarah brought powerful vocals and a willingness to be portrayed... # makes me wanna break the rules! # ..as the band�*s most outrageous personality, the headline—grabbing party girl. actually, i don�*t suppose by any

chance you know a tracy barlow? ..and the second of the st trinian�*s movies... # i predict a riot, i predict a riot! #j it has been great fun, we have a real giggle in between takes but we really are naughty schoolgirls. we have to be kept getting told, girls, shut up! have to be kept getting told, girls, shut u! ., shut up! nadine coyle led the tributes, saying _ shut up! nadine coyle led the tributes, saying she - shut up! nadine coyle led the tributes, saying she was - shut up! nadine coyle led the - tributes, saying she was absolutely devastated. i can�*t think of words that express how i feel about this girl and what she means to me. i know so many of you will be feeling this way. and pop stars judge know so many of you will be feeling this way. and pop starsjudge pete waterman paid his tribute this afternoon. waterman paid his tribute this afternoon-— waterman paid his tribute this afternoon. ,, ., , ., afternoon. she was a girl next door who had got _ afternoon. she was a girl next door who had got it _ afternoon. she was a girl next door who had got it all. _ afternoon. she was a girl next door who had got it all. she _ afternoon. she was a girl next door who had got it all. she was - who had got it all. she was identifiable by the audience are going to buy her records. that identifiable by the audience are going to buy her records. that was a beauty officer- _ going to buy her records. that was a beauty officer. when _ going to buy her records. that was a beauty officer. when the _ going to buy her records. that was a beauty officer. when the singer- beauty officer. when the singer discovered an enlarged lymph node just before covid began, the pandemic was a factor in her delaying seeking treatment. breast cancer is a very _ delaying seeking treatment. breast cancer is a very curable _ delaying seeking treatment. breast cancer is a very curable illness - delaying seeking treatment. breast cancer is a very curable illness if. cancer is a very curable illness if diagnosed early. the unfortunate thing in sarah�*s case is she was

diagnosed with stage four breast cancer and that had already spread to her body. you can only survive for as long as the treatments are helping and stopping the breast cancer from helping and stopping the breast cancerfrom spreading helping and stopping the breast cancer from spreading further. sarah and the other— cancer from spreading further. sarah and the other four _ cancer from spreading further. sarah and the other four members - cancer from spreading further. sarah and the other four members of girls aloud went their separate ways in 2013, but not before they had entertained fans for the best part of a decade. sarah harding was a crucial part of the group. a woman who achieved so much in a life cut short at such a young age. sarah harding was diagnosed with breast cancer last year, when she was 38. our health correspondent catherine burns is with me. how common is it in younger women? sarah harding was very unlucky to get this at such a young age, only 4% of cases diagnosed in women are under a0 and a% of cases diagnosed in women are under a0 and it is seen as a bigger

risk when you are over 50. she was also unlucky in that the first symptoms, pain in her breast, is not seen by itself normally is a sign of cancer. but if there is a pain that does not go away, you should get it checked out. the other reason she was unlucky is she started to get sick during lockdown in the pandemic and she says she delayed going to the doctor because of that. she was not alone in that. the charity breast cancer now says a number of referrals for suspected breast cancer in england between march and december last year fell by 90,000. women said they were worried about catching covid during appointments. so a little bit of context about breast cancer, it is the most common cancer in the uk and one in seven women will get diagnosed at some stage but the vast majority, 85%, have really good survival rates. the earlier diagnosed, the better the chances of recovery so if anyone is worried about any lumps or changes in their breasts, the advice is to get it checked out.— in their breasts, the advice is to get it checked out. catherine burns, thank ou.

there�*s a growing backlash in the conservative party to suggestions of increasing national insurance contributions in order to fund social care in england. the former chancellor, lord hammond, has warned borisjohnson he�*ll damage the party if he adopts the policy, which would break a manifesto commitment. our political correspondent damian grammaticas reports. this is kate visiting her mother, carolyn, who is 75, and a care home with dementia. kate is selling her mother�*s flat to pay for the care. £7,000 every month and it has risen fast. the stress of, will you be able to afford it? we heard about these astronomical care home prices and they are, the fees are not sustainable, certainly with mum�*s fees going up in six years, should i ever need to go into a care home and i dread to think what the price would be. i dread to think what the price would be—

i dread to think what the price would be. _ , , would be. the care system is in crisis. would be. the care system is in crisis- some — would be. the care system is in crisis. some pay _ would be. the care system is in crisis. some pay all— would be. the care system is in crisis. some pay all of - would be. the care system is in crisis. some pay all of their- would be. the care system is in i crisis. some pay all of their costs if they have assets, others rely on local authorities who struggle to fund adequate provision. and battered by the pandemic, it is short on staff.— battered by the pandemic, it is short on staff. there is 100,000 vacancies- _ short on staff. there is 100,000 vacancies. we _ short on staff. there is 100,000 vacancies. we work _ short on staff. there is 100,000 vacancies. we work with - short on staff. there is 100,000| vacancies. we work with national short on staff. there is 100,000 - vacancies. we work with national and local partners and those who have lived experience of the social care sector to get this right and get it right as we are determined to do. we will fix the crisis in social care once — will fix the crisis in social care once and _ will fix the crisis in social care once and for all.— will fix the crisis in social care once and for all. boris johnson on his first day _ once and for all. boris johnson on his first day as — once and for all. boris johnson on his first day as prime _ once and for all. boris johnson on his first day as prime minister- his first day as prime minister promised to fix this crisis, but that will cost billions each year, and he also pledged no increase in major taxes, a pledge he is considering breaking. it�*s thought the government is looking at raising national insurance contributions. some conservative mps, though, don�*t want taxes to go up at all. others think this would be a deeply unfair way to fix the problem. and labour doesn�*t think it�*s the right solution. the issue is, an increase in

national insurance contributions is asking young working people, some of whom will never inherit the property, to subsidise older people who have accumulated wealth during their lifetime and have a property. and on any basis, that has got to be wrong. we and on any basis, that has got to be wronu. ~ . and on any basis, that has got to be wron~.~ . ,. , ., wrong. we are sceptical about the idea of loading _ wrong. we are sceptical about the idea of loading the _ wrong. we are sceptical about the idea of loading the entire - wrong. we are sceptical about the idea of loading the entire burdenl wrong. we are sceptical about the l idea of loading the entire burden of the social— idea of loading the entire burden of the social care crisis onto the supermarket workers and delivery drivers _ supermarket workers and delivery drivers who are already dealing with really _ drivers who are already dealing with really high _ drivers who are already dealing with really high housing costs, childcare costs _ really high housing costs, childcare costs and _ really high housing costs, childcare costs and others. this really high housing costs, childcare costs and others.— costs and others. this is a huge test for boris _ costs and others. this is a huge test for boris johnson. - costs and others. this is a huge test for boris johnson. as - costs and others. this is a huge test for boris johnson. as much costs and others. this is a huge i test for boris johnson. as much as test for borisjohnson. as much as money, far reaching reform is required and you have to get it through his own party as well as through his own party as well as through parliament. damian grammaticas, bbc news, westminster. the vaccines minister, nadhim zahawi, has confirmed that proof of vaccination will be required to get into nightclubs and other large indoor events in england from the end of this month. he said that�*s the right time to introduce vaccine certificates because all over—18s will have been offered two jabs by then. the scheme has been criticised by venues and some mps.

let�*s take a look at the latest uk coronavirus figures. there were 37,011 new infections recorded in the latest 2a—hour period, which means an average ofjust over 35,500 cases per day in the last week. the figures also show there were just over 7,500 people in hospital being treated for coronavirus three days ago. 68 deaths were reported in the latest 2a hour period —— that�*s people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—19 test. that takes the average number of deaths per day to 113 over the last week. on vaccinations, nearly 89% of people over the age of 16 have had their firstjab and nearly 80% percent of people over 16 have had both doses. the chief executive of one of prince charles�* charities, the prince�*s foundation, has temporarily stepped down from the role following claims that he helped secure an honour for a major donor.

michael fawcett is accused of helping a saudi businessman receive an honourary cbe. here�*s our royal correspondent, jonny dymond. for decades, michael fawcett was the aide with the answers to the prince�*s problems. mr fawcett, did you secure honopurs for cash? any comment on the allegations in the newspapers this morning? is the sunday times story true? this morning he wasn�*t taking questions. he�*s accused of promising to help this wealthy saudi businessman — mahfouz marei mubarak bin mahfouz — to get british citizenship and an honour in exchange for donations to the prince�*s charities. he was the prince�*s valet until 2003 — but he was more than just a servant. a controversial figure at the palace, he won the loyalty of prince charles. twice he left the prince. twice he came back. until yesterday, the chief executive of the prince�*s foundation.

today, a former minister said there were questions to answer. well, michael fawcett has been forced to resign twice already. and both times — under cover of darkness, almost — he was reinstated by prince charles when the hoo—ha had died down. so prince charles is very, very closely linked with this man and i�*m sure that whatever michael fawcett did would have been done with the full support of prince charles. prince charles needs to answer questions about this, not michael fawcett. the foundation said it takes very seriously the allegations that had recently been brought to its attention and the matter is currently under investigation. mr bin mahfouz said he expected no reward for his charitable donations. a source close to the prince told the bbc that prince charles was not aware of any link between donations to his charities and honours or british citizenship. michael fawcett has temporarily stepped down from his position. jonny dymond, bbc news.

a ceremony of lights, fireworks and dancing has closed the paralympic games injapan. great britain�*s athletes finished second in the medal table, winning 12a medals — including a1 golds. andy swiss reports from tokyo. last but definitely not least. britain�*s final medal of the games was one of its most emotional. a badminton bronze for a tearful krysten coombs. earlier there had also been bronze in the wheelchair basketball. the british team finished with 12a medals across a record 18 sports — and with their leader full of praise. how would you sum up what this team have achieved? history—making. they�*ve ripped up the stats and we put a marker down in terms of the depth of talent. and we are very, very proud of what we�*ve achieved out here in tokyo. and so the end of a successful games for britain and an unprecedented one for the paralympics.

despite being postponed for a year and held during the pandemic, tokyo 2020 has finally reached the finish line. amid a colourful closing ceremony, the british flag was brought in by boccia gold medallist david smith, while afghanistan�*s two athletes also paraded after being evacuated from kabul to take part. for all the competitors, this was a games they feared might never happen, so their gratitude to the hosts was clear. together, against the odds, we did it. the tokyo 2020 paralympic games have notjust been historic — they have been fantastic. to the people of japan — you made this possible. and after 12 dazzling days, the paralympic flame was extinguished. paris now awaits in just three years — a reminder of the struggles these games have faced. but they�*ve happened. forjapan and for sport, the end

of a truly extraordinary summer. andy swiss, bbc news, tokyo. now, with the rest of the day�*s sport, here�*sjohn watson at the bbc sport centre. good evening. england are leading andorra in this evening�*s world cup qualifier at wembley. earlier, gareth bale rescued wales with a hat—trick as they beat belarus — the match played at a neutral venue and the win keeping their hopes alive of competing in qatar next year. ben croucher reports. 2000 miles from home to play belarus in russia. a long, complexjourney but not so bad when you have a man as well travelled as wales do. gareth bale arrived with a bomb. the perfect welcome gift inside five minutes. the game can change on the points of the ball and the lifting of the foot. wales left high and dry. then powell said ko had the

freedom of the welsh penalty area. injury and visa problems left wales without 13 players for this qualifier, an opportunity for johnson to seize. almost. so it came down to their top scorer again. gareth bale on the spot. 2—2. still, a long way to go forjust one point. so in stoppage time... a long way to go forjust one point. so in stoppage time. . .— a long way to go forjust one point. so in stoppage time... gareth bale, it is in! reaching _ so in stoppage time. .. gareth bale, it is in! reaching qatar— so in stoppage time... gareth bale, it is in! reaching qatar next - so in stoppage time... gareth bale, it is in! reaching qatar next year. it is in! reaching qatar next year when he does not feel quite so far away after all. ben croucher, bbc news. red bull�*s max verstappen has regained the lead in the formula one drivers�* championship. the 17th win of the dutchman�*s career came in front ofjubilant home support in zandvoort, finishing ahead of world champion lewis hamilton, who he now leads by three points. the mercedes of valtteri bottas was third. england need to produce their highest successful run chase if they�*re to win the fourth test after india set a huge target of 368 at the oval. 171 runs ahead at the start of the day, shardul thakur contributed 60 more before india were out for a66.

england — yet to lose a wicket — will look to bat through tomorrow�*s final day for a draw and set up a series decider in the final test at old trafford. and reigning champions chelsea were beaten in their first match of the women�*s super league season. they only lost once in their title—winning campaign but two second—half goals from beth mead handed arsenal a 3—2 win in front of 8,000 fans at the emirates. in the day�*s other game, brighton beat west ham 2—0. over on the bbc sport website, the latest from the solheim cup, where the united states are trailing europe by a point. and dan evans isjust about to get underway in the last 16 of the us open tennis against the second seed, daniil medvedev. that�*s all for me. you can see more on all today�*s stories throughout the evening on the bbc news channel. i�*ll be back with the late news at 10pm.

you�*re watching bbc news. we will take a look at a view of the other stories around here today. the government has admitted that long queues at immigration desks at heathrow, one of the world�*s biggest airports, are unacceptable. some passengers were delayed for several hours on friday. the airport says the lack of border force immigration staff was to blame. kathryn stanczyszyn reports. long queues and fed—up passengers — these have been the scenes at heathrow airport this weekend, with waiting times of several hours to get through passport control. travellers took to social media to vent their anger at the situation, describing overcrowding and poor ventilation, even claiming some had fainted. the end of the school holidays means extra pressure at airports. this weekend is the busiest of the year for returning passengers, many with young children who can�*t use the electronic passport gates. but heathrow has criticised border

force over the unacceptable queueing times, putting it down to simply not enough staff on duty, particularly with the extra checks being made due to coronavirus. in a statement, the airport apologised for the delays. it said border force were aware of extra demand and that it was very disappointed that they didn�*t provide sufficient resource. it also said it was drafting in more workers to help manage the queues and provide passenger welfare, but that at peak times, all immigration desks should be manned. the home office has admitted that the long waits are unacceptable and said border force was now rapidly reviewing its rosters and deploying more staff across the airport to improve waiting times. kathryn stanczyszyn, bbc news. more than 8,000 chain stores disappeared from our high streets and shopping centres in the first six months of this year. new research suggests city centres have suffered the most, as footfall has yet to recover to pre—pandemic levels. our business correspondent

emma simpson reports. it is the most famous shopping street in london, but now one of the hardest hit. oxford street littered with boarded up shops. city centres have suffered the most this year as chain stores continue to close. there is quite a lot closed down, we�*ve noticed. that�*s what we�*ve noticed walking all along. it�*s not as crowded as it used to be. it is quite unexpected to come into central london and actually see how effected they are by the pandemic. it's the same in brighton, | loads of shops have gone. new figures show the scale of upheaval. in the first part of this year, 3,a88 chain stores opened. these include everything from gyms and cafes to banks and bars — but more than 8,700 of them closed, meaning a net loss of more than 5,200 outlets. these figures are stark, they are not quite as bad as this time last year. out of all the locations across great britain,

it�*s retail parks and out—of—town shopping that have fared best. so, is this a permanent shift? over the next few months, city centres will start to liven up again as people start to go back to work, as schools go back and people spend more time in cities. however, i don�*t think you�*re going to get the same level of footfall in city centres as before. this bakery chain definitely prefers the high street. it�*s just opening its latest store here in the london suburb of kew, one of four new branches. opening the extra stores, you know, and being able to expand at a time when rents are low and there is opportunity for us to rethink even what a bakery is. tempting people back in is the big challenge now for so many of our towns and city centres, which are still struggling to fully recover from the pandemic. emma simpson, bbc news, central london.

much more coming up on all today�*s stories. ben boulos is coming up at 7pm. time for a look at the weather with darren. hello there. it is really going to be warming up over the next few days. belatedly, more of us are going to get a taste of summer. today, with more sunshine across south—eastern parts of england, we have seen temperatures into the mid—20s, but for the far south—west, we have had some stubborn areas of mist and low cloud keeping temperatures a little bit lower. but the sunshine and the warmth is coming in from continental europe. we are tapping in to some very warm and dry air. towards the north—west of the uk, we have seen more cloud coming in to scotland and northern ireland which is producing some rain which will push further down across scotland, still affecting northern ireland through the night and just trickling into the far north of england. with more cloud in scotland, it will certainly be warmer than it was last night and it will be a pretty warm night across the board, 1a or 15 degrees typically, but we will see more mist and fog developing in the south—west of england and south wales. that will gradually burn off through the morning. still have some pockets

of light rain and drizzle affecting southern scotland, northern england, perhaps northern ireland, that tendering to peter out. we may well get a bit of sunshine across eastern parts of scotland, but generally the far north of england northwards will be more cloudy. because we have this southerly breeze rather than a breeze off the north sea, we are seeing drier, sunnier weather coming in across much of england and wales. those temperatures continuing to rise, getting up to 27 degrees in the south—east of england. and we still have high pressure that is shaping our weather at the moment. the centre of the high is drifting way, allowing this low pressure to come into biscay. what that does is reinforces this south—easterly breeze that we will be picking up on tuesday, dragging in all the warmth from continental europe and pushing away a lot of the cloud as well so we will see more sunshine coming out across northern ireland, the southern half of scotland. lots of sunshine for england and wales. those temperatures continuing to rise so it will be a warmer day everywhere and those temperatures could make 29 degrees in the midlands, south—east england, hotter than anytime last month. more sunshine to come for much

of the country on wednesday but towards the far south—west, signs of change. may be a fewer thundery showers arriving latee in the day, but ahead of that, temperatures continuing to climb, pushing the heat up into scotland, 25 degrees in the central belt, and again 28 of 29 across parts of england and wales. for the next few days, it will be getting much, much warmer. lots of sunshine and then from thursday onwards, we change to something a little cooler with some rain.

this is bbc news — the headlines at seven: former girls aloud singer sarah harding has died at the age of 39, after being diagnosed with breast cancer last year. she was a girl next door that had got it all. she was identifiable by the audience that were going to buy her records. that was the beauty of sarah. the head of one of prince charles�* charities temporarily steps down after claims he helped secure an honourfor a major donor. relatives of a female police officer in the ghor province of afghanistan have told the bbc that she has been killed by the taliban. plans to overhaul england�*s social care system are likely to be unveiled this week — amidst warnings that a rise in national insurance could provoke a "very significant backlash".

and as the paralympics come to a close with fireworks,