good afternoon. the education secretary nadhim zahawi says he doesn't believe boris johnson's meeting with the senior civil servant preparing to publish the "partygate" report this week will have had any influence on what's in it. there is still confusion as to who called the meeting between the prime minister and sue gray — said to have taken place last month. she's given civil servants she wants to name in her report until 5pm today to respond if they object.

our political correspondentjonathan blake has the latest. borisjohnson, the boris johnson, the prime borisjohnson, the prime minister his politicalfate could rest borisjohnson, the prime minister his political fate could rest on the findings of a report by the senior civil servant sue gray. weeks ago at the two held a meeting who called it and what was discussed depends on who you ask. one cabinet minister says it does not matter, sue gray has complete control over her inquiry and the prime minister would never interfere. i do inquiry and the prime minister would never interfere.— never interfere. i do not know why the had never interfere. i do not know why they had that _ never interfere. i do not know why they had that meeting _ never interfere. i do not know why they had that meeting all- never interfere. i do not know why they had that meeting all i - never interfere. i do not know why they had that meeting all i can - never interfere. i do not know whyl they had that meeting all i can say, i do not believe it is material to the outcome of the investigation. let me tell you why. the prime minister always said sue gray can take the report whenever the evidence takes her. sue gray is doing this independently. more than 500 photos have been gathered as evidence bite sue gray's team investigating how widely rules were broken on borisjohnson�*s watch. some argue it all should be published to show the public inquiry has done itsjob. sue published to show the public inquiry has done its job.— has done its 'ob. sue gray makes that has done its job. sue gray makes that decision, _ has done its job. sue gray makes that decision, sue _ has done its job. sue gray makes that decision, sue gray _ has done its job. sue gray makes

that decision, sue gray has - has done its job. sue gray makes - that decision, sue gray has complete control over this. that decision, sue gray has complete control overthis. i've that decision, sue gray has complete control over this. i've not seen the report. she will publish that report... but you would welcome it? absolutely. it’s report... but you would welcome it? absolutely-— absolutely. it's the right thing to do. absolutely. it's the right thing to d0- labour _ absolutely. it's the right thing to do. labour are _ absolutely. it's the right thing to do. labour are leading _ absolutely. it's the right thing to do. labour are leading calls - absolutely. it's the right thing to do. labour are leading calls for l absolutely. it's the right thing to l do. labour are leading calls for all evidence to be put out in the open. sir keir starmer is under police investigation himself or possibly breaking lockdown rules but his supporters say it cannot be compared to what went on in whitehall. the statement he _ to what went on in whitehall. tue: statement he made to what went on in whitehall. tte: statement he made the to what went on in whitehall. tt2 statement he made the other week showed real integrity and leadership. he is a former director of public prosecutions, he takes adherence to the law extremely seriously and if you contrast that to the culture that has been exposed both by what the met has uncovered and what we're likely to see in sue gray's report, you see the culture comes from the top. the gray's report, you see the culture comes from the top.— gray's report, you see the culture comes from the top. the most senior civil servant — comes from the top. the most senior civil servant cabinet _ comes from the top. the most senior civil servant cabinet secretary - civil servant cabinet secretary simon case, had to step back from leading the government inquiry after reports of a christmas party in his office. officials expected to be

named in the report have until this evening to challenge its findings, which could delay its publication. if not, it will be released for all to see within days. jonathan blake, bbc news. the ukrainian government says it won't agree to any ceasefire or peace deal with moscow that would involve giving up terrority. a senior adviser to president zelensky says making any concessions would backfire because russia would only escalate attacks in the future. from kyiv, joe inwood has the latest. in the donbas, diplomacy feels a distant prospect. russian forces are advancing towards the strategic city of severodonetsk, trying to encircle the ukrainian defenders. heavy artillery and overwhelming force, which eventually won them the ruins of mariupol, still their tactic. a senior adviser to ukraine's president says only force of arms will end this conflict. translation: russia sells nothing but war. | it's only interested in expansion.

today it attacks ukraine, tomorrow it could attack any other country on the perimeter — georgia, moldova and so on. there is no otherformula but to subdue russia today, to an end to the war on ukraine's terms. but for the last few days, at least, it is the russians who have been getting their way. in the south of the country, the occupation administration there was keen to show off the hydropower dam they now control. and water has played a role in the build—up to this conflict. for eight years, the annexed crimean peninsula was denied an important supply of it. russia's invasion has got that flowing again. translation: the north crimea canal, the part of it that supplies water - to crimea, has been blocked for years, but since the beginning of march we've been supplying water to crimea. here in the capital, despite russian gains on the battlefield,

the mood remains defiant. now, that is in no small part due to the horrors that have emerged from areas retaken from the russians. places like irpin, where two thirds of buildings were destroyed. or moschun, once a village, now a wasteland. back in the donbas, even amid the horror, people seem to find a moment to reflect and maybe pray for a peace that seems as far away as ever. joe inwood, bbc news, kyiv. australia's new prime minister anthony albanese will be sworn in tomorrow despite his labour party still not having an outright majority in parliament. postal votes are still being counted to determine the outcome in some seats. a short while ago our correspondent shaima khalil told us about the challenges mr albanese will face. australians have woken up to a new leadership but also

to a huge shift in the political landscape of their country. this was a bruising defeat for scott morrison and his governing liberal national coalition. with voters, especially women, turning their backs on them. the independent candidates did really well in this election, and this is an indication of how frustrated voters have become with the two major party politics. the new leader, anthony albanese, wasted no time in saying that climate action, climate policies, are going to take centre stage for his government. in his acceptance speech, he said that australia could be a renewable energy superpower. it could be a leader in that field. and whether or not he forms a majority or minority government with a coalition, he will have to work with green mps and independents who have put climate action at the centre of theircampaigning. but this is not going to be an easy task. remember, australia is a country that has been on the frontline

of climate disasters, whether that be the bush fires of 2019—202, or the catastrophic floods that happened a couple of months ago. but it is also a country that is still very much economically wedded to fossil fuels. so to convince people, especially in the mining industry in regional australia, that have been economically dependent on this industry, is going to be difficult, but anthony albanese has called for change, has called for safe change, and i think it was a message for those areas as well that this is not going to happen overnight, there is going to be a plan to phase out fossil fuels. a day of remembrance is taking place in manchester to mark five years since the arena terror attack. applause. at the start of the great manchester run, thousands of racers and spectators applauded the victims. today's commemorations will also include church bells tolling

at 10.31 this evening — the time a bomb was detonated at the ariana grande concert, killing 16 adults and six children. football, and the premier league title will be decided this afternoon. it's manchester city's title to lose, as they currently top the table. andy swiss is at the etihad stadium, where they take on aston villa this afternoon. andy. yes, as you say the title race is going right to that wire with both manchester city and liverpool in with a chance. it is manchester city with a chance. it is manchester city with the slight advantage, they lead the table by one point so if they beat aston villa this afternoon they will be the champions but they know if they slip up then liverpool could clinch the title if they beat wolves at anfield. nearly all 2.4 for both teams, so much at stake, for manchester city a chance to win their fourth macro league title in their fourth macro league title in the last five seasons while for

liverpool the chance to take another step to what could be an incredible quadruple of trophies. they've already won the carabao cup, fa cup and into the champions league final next weekend. it should be a dramatic day both matches kick off at four o'clock. a nerve—racking afternoon for the fans is about the only guarantee. afternoon for the fans is about the only guarantee-— afternoon for the fans is about the onl auarantee. ., ~ i. , . prince charles and the duchess of cornwall are to appear in a specialjubilee episode of eastenders. they visited the set of the bbc soap in march, and it's emerged that's when they filmed their appearance. the episode will be broadcast onjune 2nd, as rhaya barton reports. eastenders theme tune when tv royalty meets real life royalty. this was the duke and duchess of cornwall visiting albert square back in march. but it wasn't just a social visit. we now know the royal couple will be

starring in a specialjubilee episode of eastenders to celebrate the queen spending 70 years on the throne. they won't be tangling with the mitchells or setting up on the market, though. they'll be dropping in on a street party celebration, as themselves. it's one of the best days of my life, honestly. and i mean, i'm such a royalist anyway, personally. so, yeah, it was just wonderful. we're quite used to filming two months ahead, so for us we are often pretending it's summer when it's not summer. yeah. if you get some shots. of the trees, you'll see that the leaves are stapled on. it's not the first time royalty has graced the square. back in 2001, the queen paid a visit to the queen vic. i was lucky enough to meet her majesty the last time she was here. it was by accident. i'd met the prince, prince philip, up at the arches. and then i legged it round to the queen vic to see her majesty. and i accidentally came out

of the tunnel and bumped into her as barbara windsor was bringing her behind the bar. the duke and duchess will be making their starring role onjune 2nd at the start of the long bank holiday weekend. rhaya barton, bbc news. that's it for now. the next news on bbc one is at 5.30, bye for now.

you're watching the bbc news channel. a uk government medical adviser says more cases of monkeypox are being detected in the uk on a daily basis. the latest number of confirmed

cases in the uk is 20. the disease is mostly mild and doesn't spread easily. dr susan hopkins, chief medical adviser of the health security agency, gave this assessment. clearly this is a new infectious disease spreading in our community that we have not seen our communities before. therefore we will need to learn a lot about it in here and other countries over the coming weeks. we do know from reporting africa where this disease has certainly did for many years that there are certain individuals who are much more at risk of severe disease, especially immunosuppressed individuals and young children. in adults, we think it is relatively mild but again, we will learn more. the risk to the general population remains extremely low at the moment. i think people need to be alert to it, we really want clinicians to be alert to it and send the tests if they are concerned. from the point of view of the general operation, if you are feeling unwell, stay at home and avoid contact with others, if you develop a rash, immediately seek medical care, either by calling your gpo calling

a sexual health clinic, whichever is more convenient for you. we are saying to people, if you have got symptoms, avoid close contact with others and seek medical attention. more than £75,000 has been raised for an 11—year—old boy who had to have his finger amputated after being injured while reportedly escaping bullies. raheem bailey's mother, shantal, said her son had experienced racial and physical abuse at his secondary school in south wales, as rebecca john reports. 11—year—old raheem in happier times. his mother, shantal bailey, says he was attacked by a group of children at school in abertillery on tuesday, who kicked him while he was on the floor. this is raheem in hospital later that day. his mother says he caught his finger and seriously injured it while climbing a school fence to escape the ordeal. and after six hours of surgery, it had to be amputated. shantal bailey and her four children

moved to abertillery last year. she says raheem has received racist abuse at school at abertillery learning community, and has also been bullied because he is small for his age. he is now recovering from the surgery, but is struggling to understand what has happened, sometimes thinking it was a bad dream. ms bailey says she hasn't been contacted by the school. abertillery learning community says it is working closely with gwent police and the local authority to establish the full details of the incident. it says:. the welsh government has also responded, saying that it condemns bullying and racial harassment in any form and expects allegations and incidents of bullying and racism to be fully investigated by schools, with appropriate action taken. since the incident, shantal bailey has set up a fundraising page

to raise money for a prosthetic fingerfor raheem. it has already exceeded its £10,000 target many times over. rebecca john with that report. let's get more now on ukraine. the ukraine war has highlighted the dangers of relying on a few globally—traded crops, like wheat. with russia blocking ports, ukraine's wheat is unable to reach its destinations and that impact is being felt across the world. earlier i spoke to rhiannon phillips, a risk adviser specialising in the middle east and north africa and i asked her about the dependency on russian and ukrainian exports. at the moment, we are seeing the second and third ripple effects in the aftermath of the conflict. and as you have said, russia and ukraine together account for a very large percentage of the world wheat imports and in my region

specifically, upwards of 70 to 80% dependency. these are in places that are already economically deprived. depleted reserves and kind of rising global prices have prompted these governments to impairment short—term subsidies. it is crucial, these are not sustainable. they are already comically deprived and face rising inflation prices —— economically deprived. this inevitably will further the impact on economic growth in industry. whilst i have stated economic —— lebanon hunting easier, there are also more affluent states such as kuwait. the government had to impairment a ban on frozen chicken and cereal grains as well. , , ., ,., on frozen chicken and cereal grains as well.�* , . ,., ., on frozen chicken and cereal grains

as well. , , ., ,., ., ., on frozen chicken and cereal grains as well. , ., ., ., ., as well. just a sort of drill down a bit more into _ as well. just a sort of drill down a bit more into the _ as well. just a sort of drill down a bit more into the examples - as well. just a sort of drill down a bit more into the examples you i as well. just a sort of drill down a i bit more into the examples you are giving us where these countries are sort of between 70 and 80% dependent on grain supplies from ukraine and russia, it is clearly having a big impact already and it could go on for much longer. when you talk about subsidies being in place currently, thatis subsidies being in place currently, that is only going to go so far as the shortages get worse and worse? exactly. i think the main concern not only for domestic elements but also regional governments at the moment is that these kind of countries are in a catch—22 where for example we saw last week the elections in lebanon and that has not provided any tangible meaningful change and we are yet to see the formation of a government but what we are seeing is that relief is kind of a long—term relief away, the political instability is blocking this third—party monetary relief from the imf and actually regional

governments as well. we have seen more affluent gulf states actually implement in blockades, they are not happy with little situation. and the major concern is for domestic and regional that we see a return to kind of what we saw before the arab spring in 2011, food insecurity and rising global prices was one of the main primary key drivers of this movement and so there is major concern that the rise in civil unrest and violence and critical instability is associated with this food insecurity will not be a short—term issue, that will be a long—term issue that could result in wider regional instability and kind of larger widescale violence. you have very articulately linked food insecurity with political instability but over how long a period does it need to go on for before people... there is unrest?

this is a really interesting issue. we so that people were having to choose already between kind of wages and meals on the table. we saw bouts of civil unrest but if something goes on for longer, and issues are not addressed, and there is not monetary relief or subsidies, the government cannot withstand and depleted reserves, we are seeing a forecast in the next three to six months justin kind forecast in the next three to six monthsjustin kind of conjunction with referendums and brutal instability, the next three to six months ago to be crucial for the region, just in terms of movements we are seeing and this increase in government oppression, which is important to note as well. as governments feel there is rising frustration and public dissent, linked to their critical institution, we will see this potential backlash. tunisia is the

primary example of this, and egypt, we see this increase in element oppression and censorship and it makes it more difficult for companies to operate in these areas as well. five people were injured when parts of spectator stands collapsed at a trooping the colour rehearsal in central london yesterday. the incident happened at horse guards parade, two weeks before the queen is due to attend the live event. the army say they are investigating what happened. a ballot of 40,000 rail workers — which could result in union members voting for a national strike next month — is taking place over the next few days. the rmt union says the action is about pay, conditions and planned job cuts — but network rail says it needs to modernise the railways and has contingency plans in place if a strike goes ahead. meanwhile in scotland, changes to timetables begin tomorrow because of a pay dispute between scotrail and the aslef union, which has led to a driver shortage. no let up in the heatwave which is affecting

spain and portugal — with temperatures 16 degrees celsius higher than the average for may. heat warnings have already been issued in ten spanish 10 regions and officials say there is an increased risk of wildfires. the unseasonably warm spring weather is a result of hot air coming from north africa. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre. we are just hours away from the climax of the premier league season, with all remaining matches kicking off at four o'clock. the destination of the title is still to be decided, manchester city or liverpool could be champions. it's in city's hands. they lead their rivals by a point and have a superior goal difference, so liverpool must beat wolves and hope city slip up against aston villa. at the bottom of the table either burnley or leeds will be relegated. here's patrick gearey. it has come to this. up and down the country at the top and bottom it is all stacked on the final match. don't blink now. manchester city and liverpool have

been racing above the clouds. for weeks city have sat nearest the sun. they will win the title if they beat aston villa and their manager will want to keep it that simple. just don't give up and do exactly what you have done the last month, with all the games we have played at home and away and go for it. after if we are going to win, it isjust a game. but the season finale reintroduces an old character. steven gerrard forever a liverpool legend, now villa manager. as a player he couldn't win the league but as a manager he could help deliver it tojurgen klopp. but only if liverpool see off wolves. last weekend they won the fa cup, the second of a possible four trophies this season. any tension it seems has lifted. we have no pressure. we have pressure to win a football

game but we have that since a while, but not about what if, we don't have that. full throttle, give it a try, let's see the outcome. it is far darker lower down. burnley sit above leeds only on goal difference. one of them will be relegated. burnley host newcastle while leeds go to brentford. each will nervously be checking the score of the other while suffering through their own match. hold on tight. it is in our own hands and that is all you can do. i think we can beat newcastle. i think we can do what is needed to be done. i am hoping and praying. if we win it still might not be enough but as long - as we better their results - there is life in the old dog yet. fingers crossed we can get a result. come on, leeds. so the hopes, dreams and schemes of more than 40 weeks are judged over 90 odd minutes. breathe deep, don't miss a beat.

there's already been an upset on the first day of the french open at roland garros. the women's number six seed ons jabeur has been knocked out by poland's madga linette, the tunisian losing by 2 sets to one. there's no british interest in the singles until tomorrow. lewis hamilton admits he's really struggling with his mercedes after another difficult qualifying session left him sixth for this afternoon's spanish grand prix. he's two places behind teammate george russell and says he's lacking confidence in their new car for this season. championship leader charles leclerc will start on pole, ahead of world champion max verstappen. england's matt fitzpatrick heads into this evening's final round of the us pga championship just three shots off the lead in oklahoma. a few days ago fitzpatrick said the southern hills course was not really his cup of tea, but he sits joint second overnight on six under. thats behind the surprise leader, chile's mito pereira, who is playing injust his second major championship. it sets up a fascinating final day with none of the current top six having won a major title. that's all the sport for now.

you can keep find more on all those stories on the bbc sport website. now it's time for a look at the weather with susan. hello, sunshine on the way for many parts of the uk this afternoon, but for some it will be accompanied by a serving of showers. driest, brightest closest to this area of high pressure, so across southern and eastern most counties of england. low pressure to the northwest feeding in more in the way of cloud. the sun is going to have a pretty good go at breaking that cloud up in many areas, but it is likely to produce some showers i think across western wales and northern england into the afternoon and potentially some thunderstorms for southern scotland and northern ireland. up to 23 degrees, though, in the sunshine towards the southeast. just 13 or 14 where we have a band of more persistent rain across northwestern scotland stretching up to the northern isles. and more rain to come out of that

through the course of the night for northern—most scotland. elsewhere, we are looking at an essentially dry night and a mild night, with temperatures widely in double figures. for monday, it's a bit of a two—pronged attack in terms of our weather. we've got weather fronts trying to push down from the north and we've got an area of low pressure trying to push in from the south. the theme, really, for the week ahead is that it's going to be unsettled and it will also turn cooler. this area of low pressure could make for some pretty intense rain across eastern—most counties of england through monday and then fronts heading south i think will start to produce some showers that lump together into longer spells of rain, particularly for wales and the south west come monday afternoon. we are having some questions around exactly where this rain sits across eastern england through monday and how heavy it is. so just keep that in the back of your mind through the course of the day. but cooler as you can see for everyone. temperatures no longer in the low 20s, mid—teens very typically. tuesday, low pressure

to the east of the uk means i think many eastern areas will see some quite heavy showers. there'll be strong winds along the length of the north sea and some of this rain could also be fairly persistent before the low drifts away. towards the west, a very different story, actually. light winds, sunshine and a pretty pleasant and quiet day. but by midweek we've got an area of low pressure coming in from the atlantic and all areas that will turn it windy and bring a chance of showers just about anywhere. it does look like things will start to settle down, though, again towards the end of the week and we might see some warmth creeping back in by then, too.

hello, this is bbc news. the headlines... deadline day for the report into lockdown breaches in downing street — those named have until 5pm to respond ahead of its long awaited publication. the education secretary nadhim zahawi insists the report is independent lad civil servant is independent in their investigation and has the highest level of professionalism and integrity. the prime minister has made it clear he would never seek to interfere with the investigation.

the ukrainian government says it won't agree to a ceasefire