bye— bye. tonight at ten, a tough time for the tories. the conservatives lose almost 500 seats in local elections across britain as the liberal democrats make big gains in england. success for labour in london as they take three tory flagship councils, but elsewhere they fail to make significant gains. we've had a tough night in some parts of the country, but on the other hand, in other parts of the country you're still seeing conservatives going forward and making quite remarkable gains. cheering. believe you me, this is a big

turning point for us. from the depths of 2019, that general election, back on track. but labour's gains are marred by the news that sir keir starmer will now be investigated by durham police amid allegations he broke lockdown rules last year. meanwhile, the liberal democrats are jubilant as they win almost 200 seats in england, far more than any other party. the green party made big gains too. and in northern ireland the nationalist party sinn fein look to be on course to make history by winning the most seats at stormont. also tonight, as russia tightens its grip on mariupol, the families of ukrainian troops under siege in the azofstal steelplant plead for their safe passage. prince harry and meghan say they will attend the platinum jubilee celebrations, but the queen says they won't be appearing on the buckingham palace balcony. and coming up in the sport on the bbc news channel, ben stokes hits a record—breaking

161 for durham just a week after being named england captain. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at ten. the conservatives have lost nearly 500 council seats across britain after what the prime minister described as a "tough" night for the conservatives. labour took some of the tories�* flagship councils in london, but made few significant gains elsewhere. but it was a very different story for the liberal democrats who gained almost four times as many seats as labour in england. the green party had a good night too. counting is still going on in northern ireland, where the result could be historic and bring seismic change if sinn fein win the most seats. in scotland the snp have once again finished as the biggest party,

labour made signficant gains in wales and plaid cymru we'll have more on that in a moment, but first let's look at the results in england. as you can see, with most of the results now in, the conservatives have lost nearly 400 seats, but they've not all been picked up by labour. if local elections had been held everywhere in britain, this is the bbc�*s estimate of what the result would have been. labour as the largest party on 35% and the conservatives on 30%. here's our political editor laura kuenssberg. her report contains some flashing images. 0k, folks, this is going well. trademark optimism, a contrast with the facts. around 500 tory councillors have lost. but in the safety of a primary school classroom in his constituency, the prime minister did not seem downcast. that's a very good, that blue margin, there. what about some sort of baubles here? he lost iconic london councils, giving away comfortable

conservative ground. and what are we going to have when we have the party? - anger at downing street parties and concerned about making ends meet... there you go. ..yielded some terrible results, yet not disaster. mid—term and it is certainly a mixed set of results. we have had a tough night in some parts of the country but on the other hand, in other parts of the country, you are still seeing conservatives going forward and making quite remarkable gains. not in london, where his labour rival had big reasons to smile this morning, winning over territory held by the tories for decades. we've just done it! cheering. westminster! cheering. wandsworth! steps forward, but outside london, perhaps not big, bold strides labour needs. this is a massive turning point for the labour party. from the depths of 2019, we are back on track now for the general election, showing what the change that we have done, the hard to change

that we have done in the last two years, what a difference it has made. have you heard from - durham police, sir keir? any comment on their investigation? yet, as he travelled to celebrate success in cumbria, too, allegations over lockdown chased him there. the police will now investigate claims that the labour leader broke the rules, having beer and curry with colleagues. anything to say about - the investigation, sir keir? have you heard from durham police? questions he had to answer again. no party, no breach of the rules. the police obviously have got theirjob to do. we should let them get on with it. but i'm confident that no rules were broken. free of lockdown claims, voters' response to the lib dems was warm in many places, grabbing seats in cities, hulland birmingham. from the tories in kent, tunbridge wells, somerset and pockets of affluent london. the message from some green suburbs will cause tory nerves. they are saying they have had enough

of this prime minister, and i think the tectonic plates of british politics are shifting. and now it is up to conservative mps to shove the prime minister into the abyss. remember, your votes stitch together a giant patchwork, not a picture that is the same in every corner of the country. cheering. there was striking labour success in london that will hurt for the tories, who broadly fell back further in the south than in the north of england, their coalition fraying more at its traditional end. but labour's jubilation in the capital wasn't always matched by enthusiasm elsewhere. the greens picking up pace, too, with dozens of gains. but while results in england perhaps confirmed much of the status quo... the scene is set for a genuine moment of change

in northern ireland. cheering and applause. look at this — for the first time, voters seem poised to make sinn fein the biggest party. that would be a moment of history and a moment of challenge and uncertainty for the uk. i'm very grateful for all those people that came out and engaged in what was a very positive campaign. leaders whose dream is leaving the union for a united ireland would be in charge. that could shift the tone of political conversation in scotland, where the snp, who also want to leave the uk, saw more success and maintained their dominance. crucially, labour moves up into second place. the scottish tories in a slump. and labour grew in wales, too, the biggest party profiting at the expense of the tories. yet spin back a few weeks and many tories in there feared a complete calamity. they have had a terrible time in some parts of the country

but this hasn't been a wipe—out. and labour has moved forward but not far or fast enough to be sure of power. remember, these elections give us clues, not concrete convictions of what is coming next but it seems the two big parties are somehow locked in an uncomfortable status quo. that is very good. no dramatic breakthrough for his main rival, no total breakdown for the conservatives. borisjohnson has taken knocks today, but still stands to carry on. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. let's go to durham now and our north of england correspondent danny savage. sir keir starmer is now being investigated over allegations of breaking lockdown rules. yes, this focuses on events on april to 30th last year. the question is did sir keir starmer break lockdown rules during a visit here to durham

when he drank beer in the office of a local mp. both he and the labour party say no rules were broken and that was the initial assessment that durham police, who carried out an inquiry earlier this year, had established no further action should be taken. but an updated statement from them today says following receipt of significant new information a new investigation is now under way. what were those rules a year ago? they were that gathering indoors with people from your own household or support bubble was allowed. anybody else was not, but there was an exemption for work. the question durham police have now is whether labour officials eating and drinking together would have been reasonably necessary for work. at best, this is uncomfortable for sir keir starmer. at worst, he could prove to be a rule breakerjust like the prime minister and the chancellor and could face calls to resign. these are anxious times for the hierarchy of the labour party.

watch this space for updates on that investigation. watch this space for updates on that investigation. 0ur political editor laura kuenssberg is in westminster. clearly big challenges ahead for both labour and the conservatives? that is right and in different ways. both of the big parties here involved in that daily tug over who gets to run the country have got things to be a bit worried about tonight. first for the conservatives, a cabinet minister said to me today they thought it would not be armageddon but the tories would do badly but labour were not going to blow the socks off. it was not a total wipe—out for the conservatives and some insiders think frankly after the last few months, and the fact they are in midtown, it is not that bad for them to have lost the number of seats that they have. but by the time pretty much all the counting is done, those tallies have gone up from around 500 council seat losses to the conservatives and that is the upper end of what some people were expecting them to lose. to shrug

those results of an think, well, nothing really to see here, it is a bump on the road after a tricky time, there is a danger of the government tipping its complacency are not doing what their backbenchers want them to do and evidently what some of the voters want them to do, think more carefully about how really to meet the challenges that so many people are feeling right now, that real squeeze on people's wallets and purses. they have to answer those very difficult questions and how is borisjohnson going to manage whatever is left if the allegations come out about what was going on in downing street during a partygate. that takes us to the labour party who were relieved to make the kind of games they made today. maybe not cock—a—hoop, but pleased to see progress nonetheless. but in an incredible twist of timing, just as sir keir starmer was celebrating highlights of his gains, we then heard about durham police are now investigating him for an event during lockdown. sir keir starmer

has always said nothing was untoward and no rules were broken, but here is the political problem. labour has tried to and have indeed prospered from the pain they inflicted on the tory party over all these lockdown allegations, but now keir starmer finds himself caught up in the mire of it himself and he cannot be sure and his party cannot be sure exactly what will happen next. if he were to be fined or if he were to be further criticised, it would be hard to see how he would not have to take his own advice, which is telling the prime minister to resign. a lot to unfold, still a lot of uncertainty. local election results do not translate directly into general elections, but you can be sure it is worth paying attention and the political parties certainly do. for the last time. _ political parties certainly do. for the last time, i— political parties certainly do. for the last time, i am going to say laura kuenssberg, political editor, thank you, it is your last day, so thank you, it is your last day, so thank you, it is your last day, so thank you very much for seven years of very hard work.

years of very hard work. votes are still being counted for the northern ireland assembly, but sinn fein could be on course for an historic victory. the elections decide who will become the largest party at stormont. only about a third of the 90 seats have been declared so far but if sinn fein end up with the most seats, for the first time in its history of the devolved government a nationalist party would be entitled to the first minister role. 0ur ireland correspodent emma vardy has the latest. this report contains flashing images. this report contains flashing images. heading towards a new future. sinn fein are hoping this is the moment that marks an end to the domination of unionism in northern ireland for a century. today is a good day. it is about change, it is about progress and it is about partnership in what is, we believe, the election of a generation. sinn fein is known as the harder line nationalist party in the assembly, that ultimately wants to leave the uk and become a united ireland. kelly, gerry, sinn fein, 8300... but instead, the party fought

its campaign on the challenges facing working—class families. we have got very good results. we are very happy with them. we went to the people and as we have said before, this six—week campaign was on the issues. it's cost of living, it's health, it's all of that. but even if sinn fein win the most seats, they must share power at the top with the dup, who recently walked out of that arrangement. what if the dup won't go into government with you? this is a democratic election, so on the other side of it, we're saying very clearly that it needs everybody, including the dup. so the dup have the answer why they would be against that. even after all the votes are counted here, there is little chance of a properly functioning government. the dup has said it will block full power sharing unless there are changes to the brexit arrangements, that new trade border down the irish sea. i think you will see in the majority of our seats we will retain, that people want us to be in a government that works and they want to see good government in northern ireland.

so until the government and the european commission resolve the protocol, i'm afraid there is going to be an impact on the emergence or the reformation of an executive in the short—term. the elections brought success for the alliance party, neither unionist nor nationalist, showing an increasing number of people don't want to be dominated by the issue of whether northern ireland should remain part of the uk. but for now, a sinn fein victory would be a new milestone in the decades—old struggle over what northern ireland wants to be. the pain for the dup will have to last a bit longer because counting here is due to be paused overnight and they will resume tomorrow. what we know is that sinn fein has won the largest number of first preference votes and by quite some margin so most number crunches here now expect the party to be confirmed as the largest party tomorrow in what would be a momentous result.

emma vardy, thank you. the snp has emerged as the winner from the local elections in scotland, returning the highest number of councillors again. the labour party has recovered some of the ground it lost in 2017, retaking second place from the conservatives. the scottish conservative leader douglas ross blamed the so—called partygate for the losses suffered. here's our scotland editorjames cook. cheering. 15 years ago this week, the snp swept to power in scotland and nicola sturgeon�*s party is still going strong, gaining more new councillors than anyone else, strengthening its dominance of local government. we have increased our share of the vote, we have increased the number of councillors that we have returned, we are the largest party and we have more councils, i think, today than yesterday. so this is an astonishing result for the snp and an absolutely brutal rejection of borisjohnson and the conservatives. labour are also pretty pleased with their performance. five years ago, they were pushed

into third place by the tories, humiliating for a party which was once the dominant force in scottish politics. it's a good day for the scottish labour party. after almost a decade, we are seeing labour firmly back on the pitch, we are making gains across the country, we are firmly in a good, strong second—place. but let me be clear to people across scotland, i don't aspire for the labour party to be in second place. the scottish conservative leader, though, is seeking shelter from the storm. douglas ross had called for borisjohnson to resign before changing his mind when russia invaded ukraine. but he is still trying to pin the blame on number ten for losing more than 60 councillors. the public have been very clear, they have sent a message here in scotland and across the united kingdom that they are not happy with the prime minister, they are not happy with partygate and, as i say, many of them just stayed at home on thursday. it is not that they have switched parties, theyjust didn't come out to vote and we as a party across the united kingdom

will look at that. the greens almost doubled their tally, hailing a record result, while the lib dems also gained seats. the snp moved to majority control in dundee, while labour took charge in west dunbartonshire. but in most councils the coalition building and deal—making begins now. so, labour have made gains in scotland but the party remains a distant second to the snp in a country which remains deeply divided on the question which nicola sturgeon insists remains her key aim, independence. james cook, bbc news, glasgow. the first minister of wales mark drakeford says it has been a "good day for labour", who made the biggest gains in terms of seats. plaid cymru won control of three more councils. the welsh conservatives have lost control of the only council they held in wales — monmouthshire. it's the first time since 1995 that labour will have the largest group on the council. 0ur wales correspondent hywel griffith has this report.

steeped in labour history, wales' relationship with the party has wavered in recent years. but today, vows were renewed, from bridgend to monmouthshire. here in merthyr tydfil, too, voters who'd flirted with others in the past have returned to the fold. well, it has been a good day for labour here in wales. we have made gains in every part of wales and we have done especially well where it has been the conservatives who have been our main opponents, and for the next general election, that is very important indeed. where seats were traded, many fell into labour's hands out of conservative control. the tories lost their only welsh council and say they have paid the price for mistakes made in westminster. wherever you went, that national message was the message that was coming across on the doorsteps, that sadly was hitting home and was detrimental to local campaigning that was going on by our candidates.

for plaid cymru, this election was a difficult path to tread. tied into an agreement with labour in the senedd, some thought their message would be muted. but having picked up seats, they argue they have come out stronger. well, i mean, it has been an incredible and historic result for us. we have never had four plaid cymru councils outright before in our history. while some taste success, the picture is still mixed for most of wales. here in merthyr tydfil, like most councils, no one party is in overall control, and so there may be weeks of negotiations before everything is settled. hywel griffith, bbc news, merthyr tydfil. well, most of the results are in from england wales and scotland. here's reeta chakrabarti on what the numbers show so far. this is the state of the parties at the end of this election. only two councils left to declare in england and as you can see,

labour has gone ahead, picking up councillors. the conservatives have had a poor performance. they have lost several hundred in england. and if you factor in wales and scotland as well, they have lost nearly 500 councillors. it is a different story for the liberal democrats. they have had a very good night. and the greens, too, have done well, picking up many seats. let's take a look at some of the individual councils across the three nations. starting in london, where labour had a very good night at the expense of the conservatives. they gained westminster from the conservatives, that is a borough that had been tory since its inception. they also gained wandsworth and barnet from the tories, psychologically very positive for them. they have also gained seats from the conservatives in the south of england, so they have taken southampton from the conservatives. the tories lost the only council they were in control of in wales, monmouthshire in south wales.

that is a conservative loss. it is now in no overall control. the conservatives have also lost west 0xfordshire, that is now hung, where david cameron used to have his seat. and huntingdonshire, where john major used to have his seat. in bridgend in south wales, that is a labour gain from no overall control. but i can tell you that last time those seats were fought, it was the conservatives that went forward and labour that lost so that has essentially been reversed. in scotland, the snp remain pre—eminent and they have gained dundee from no overall control. and as i said, the liberal democrats had a very good night of it, particularly in the south of england and they have gained gosport from the conservatives. if you want to find out what has happened in your area, do go to the bbc news website where you can go to the postcode tracker. enter your postcode there to find out all the information. that is, as i say, on the website

or the bbc news app. reeta chakra barti, reeta chakrabarti, there. in ukraine, the united nations and the international red cross are trying to rescue more civilians from the besieged city of mariupol. but ukrainian forces have accused russia of breaching the latest ceasefire. around 200 civilians are still trapped in a huge steel factory complex, along with city's last ukrainian defenders. relatives of those soldiers are pleading for them to also be brought out alive. 0ur correspondent laura bicker has sent this report from dnipro. the russian attacks continue, despite promises of a ceasefire, according to this unverified footage released by the ukrainian azov unit. kremlin backed troops, still firing on this vast steel plant, according to uk intelligence, while ukrainian soldiers and hundreds of civilians shelter inside. they have been using the sprawling network of tunnels as a refuge for more than two months,

with very little food or water. around 100 women and children have already been rescued from the depths of the plant. there is a complex operation under way to free more civilians. but now comes a plea to save the troops who have used the steelworks to try and make one last stand for the city. svetlana's only son is there. she does not want to be identified to protect him. translation: it is horrible, horrible to know that your son is fighting and has nothing left to fight with, in a city that is completely razed to the ground and seized by the occupiers. i would give everything in exchange for him to survive, for everyone who is still there, under the bombardment, to survive. we beg, we beg all the world countries to help us and save our heroes. it is not them who are complaining and begging. it is us. svetlana was asked by her son to flee as the russian bombs levelled this once thriving port. ukrainian officials claim that more

than 20,000 people have been killed. the relatives of others still fighting can't bear to see these images. yaroslava's husband and her two sons—in—law are also in the ukrainian azov unit. translation: every image is a wound in my heart and in my soul, _ every time. my wish is that they will survive this. of course they will keep fighting. they are holding on. they are doing the impossible. they sing. 0utnumbered and outgunned, the small defending force has become a potent symbol for ukraine. they may never surrender, but their families are praying they will at least get a chance to leave alive. laura bicker, bbc news, dnipro. the convenience store chain mccoll�*s says its appointing administrators, putting 16,000 jobs at risk. tonight, there's hope of a rescue

deal being put together by the billionaire brothers who co—own asda. a teenager has been jailed for six and a half years for the manslaughter of 14—year—old dea—john reid in birmingham last year. the teen, who cannot be named due to his age, was cleared of murder last month. a statment read in court on behalf of dea—john�*s mother said her son had been chased down by a "lynch mob" before he was stabbed in the heart. covid infections have fallen across every nation of the uk. around two million people are estimated to have had the virus last week, according to the 0ns — that's a drop of almost a third. the number of people in hospital with covid has also fallen tojust over 10,000, the lowest number since the end of february. the duke and duchess of sussex have announced they will be attending celebrations for the queen's platinum jubilee next month with their children. but the queen has decided that prince harry and meghan, along with prince andrew, won't be allowed to appear on the balcony at buckingham palace. here's our royal correspondent nicholas witchell.

an appearance on the palace balcony is a centrepiece of any major royal celebration, but for the platinum jubilee, there are sensitivities around some family members. so, the queen has decided that only working royals willjoin her on the balcony. so, cancelled in balcony terms are the duke of york and the sussexes. harry and meghan say they are coming to thejubilee, but they won't be on the balcony. the big question, of course, is how visible will the queen be throughout the four days of the jubilee celebrations? it all begins on thursday the 2nd ofjune with trooping the colour, at the culmination of which the royal family makes that balcony appearance. according to the palace, the queen plans to attend trooping — but a final decision will be taken on the day. on friday the 3rd ofjune, there will be a service of thanksgiving at st paul's cathedral. again, all the palace will say is the queen plans to attend. on saturday the 11th ofjune, after the derby, there will be the platinum party at the palace

produced by the bbc — on a stage being built right in front of the palace. will the queen be there? it will be decided on the day. and then finally, on sunday the 5th ofjune, the gold state coach will be one of the main features in a jubilee pageant on the mall — though the queen will not be riding in it. so, it is clearly the queen's intention to be at trooping the colour and the service of thanksgiving — and at the other events if she can. nicholas witchell, bbc news. back now to our top story and the election results. we now have the verdict of most of the voters who cast their ballots yesterday. the conservatives have been punished in parts of england, the lib dems have had several successes, and labour say their results mark a "turning point". 0ur political correspondent ben wright has been speaking to voters. the party has also won westminster for the first time ever. _ but gains outside of london are not being seen... - in the south of england,

signs of tory discomfort. southampton council has flipped back to labour control. but even while stewart voted conservative yesterday, there is one issue on everyone's minds. with the last couple of months, all the energy prices coming in and the bills, i think everywhere will struggle, especially, basically, small businesses. this is a ward that now has a labour councillor for the first time in decades, a clear reversal of conservative fortunes. the cost of living is pushing us to the breadline. you know, i have a business and a home to support, and bills are just going up. so i have got two lots of bills to pay, my bills here and at home. everything is going up. at the cocktail bar he runs with his wife dorothy, prince told me why he had changed his vote. we need something that will help this industry to survive at this time. it's very urgent. so you have switched from the conservatives to labour in these local elections. i wonder how much the partygate saga

was part of your thinking? it did, it was part of it. it all added up. in all honesty, we had to vote labour this time, yeah. southampton has always been seen as a political weather vane, a south coast battleground between labour and the tories. after only a year in charge, the conservatives have been swiftly ejected here, and it is sir keir starmer�*s activists who are beaming today. further east along the coast, labour also took control of worthing and crawley, but the biggest political ripples in this part of england were felt in somerset. well done! i wasn't expecting that! winning a council that had been run by the conservatives for the last 13 years. i think people have just had enough of all the duplicity, and it is about time, really. i am delighted, absolutely delighted. i think it does send a message to central government that people, local people want to feel empowered and supported. the lib dems gained seats across southern tory heartlands,

as well as taking hull from labour in the north of england,