at six — the blame game begins as more holiday flights are cancelled ahead of the jubilee weekend. long queues at heathrow as disruption continues at airports across the uk — around 150 more flights were cancelled. one minute, you're looking forward to getting _ one minute, you're looking forward to getting away, the next minute, you know. — to getting away, the next minute, you know, everything comes crashing down _ you know, everything comes crashing down around you. also on the programme tonight: russia accuses the united states of escalating the conflict in ukraine after president biden promises to send advanced rocket systems help ukrainian forces. borisjohnson says he considered questions over his future in the wake of partygate, but insists staying on was the right thing to do. and i'm here at buckingham palace, where major preparations are under way for a four—day celebration of the queen's platinum jubilee. the crowds are gathering

on the mall, including a group of stalwarts camping on the pavement, determined to get a good view of the royal events. and the town where even the cakes are decorated red, white and blue — we report on one community's preparations. and coming up on the bbc news channel, a bittersweet goodbye for paul pogba at manchester united. the french international will leave the club when his contract expires this month. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. travel disruption is continuing for thousands of people heading on holiday over thejubilee bank holiday weekend. around 150 more flights were cancelled as airlines try to cope with the number of travellers passing through the uk's airports.

almost 2 million people are scheduled to fly out from tomorrow. it's not yet known how many more flights could be cancelled. meanwhile, the blame game is underway. the transport secretary, grant shapps, is meeting top leaders from the travel industry this afternoon. yesterday he accused some companies of overselling flights and holidays. our transport correspondent katy austin has more. everything ready to go, but we have nowhere to go. steve was told at two o'clock this morning that his tui flights to cyprus was cancelled. my cyprus was cancelled. my wife has been working so hard for a long time, and this morning, she was in tears. a long time, and this morning, she was in team-— a long time, and this morning, she was in tears. thousands of people's tans have was in tears. thousands of people's plans have been — was in tears. thousands of people's plans have been left _ was in tears. thousands of people's plans have been left in _ was in tears. thousands of people's plans have been left in disarray - plans have been left in disarray after the tour operator tui cancelled hundreds of flights over the next month. some returning holiday—makers have also been affected. a group who had enjoyed a

break at this hotel in greece were told last night's flight home would not go ahead. the told last night's flight home would not go ahead-— told last night's flight home would not go ahead. the experience with tui, from not go ahead. the experience with tui. from the _ not go ahead. the experience with tui, from the airport _ not go ahead. the experience with | tui, from the airport at manchester until leaving, orwhat tui, from the airport at manchester until leaving, or what should have been, _ until leaving, or what should have been, yesterday, has been greatly disappointing, and the communication has been _ disappointing, and the communication has been far from acceptable. tui has been far from acceptable. it, has apologised but said most flights are running as planned. other airlines, including easyjet and british airways, have been making cancellations too. they say most people have been given advance notice. with the latest disruption to hit the travel industry as passenger numbers rise following the lifting of travel restrictions. aviation has struggled with issues including staff shortages in areas like baggage handling. they have again had long queues at some airports this week. ministers have accused operators of selling more flights and holidays than they can deliver and called on the industry to act on staffing. the deliver and called on the industry to act on staffing.— to act on staffing. the advice has been there _ to act on staffing. the advice has been there for— to act on staffing. the advice has been there for months _ to act on staffing. the advice has been there for months now - to act on staffing. the advice has been there for months now from | to act on staffing. the advice has . been there for months now from the transport secretary to deal with those recruitment issues, so fundamentally what i think i am

saying is, the responsibility is on them to get their capacity in place. the airline and tourjet operator two says it prepared early, but has suffered from the knock—on effect elsewhere. it's boss said the criticisms were on the whole unfair and businesses faced multiple hurdles trying to recruit. the airline industry _ hurdles trying to recruit. the airline industry has become quite an unattractive industry to work in. it was the _ unattractive industry to work in. it was the first to go into lockdown, the last— was the first to go into lockdown, the last to — was the first to go into lockdown, the last to come out of lockdown, and many— the last to come out of lockdown, and many people left the industry to pursue _ and many people left the industry to pursue otherjobs. brexit has taken hundreds— pursue otherjobs. brexit has taken hundreds of thousands, if not mittions— hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people come out of the employment market. as _ employment market. as the _ employment market. as the busyjubilee bank holiday weekend looms, there were also delays to eurostar today, blamed on an it issue of the french border. the aviation industry says it staffing picture is improving, but pressure is on to smooth out pressure is on to smooth out pressure in time for the busy summer

peak. and there has been something of a blame game going on. we have had this meeting this afternoon between the transport secretary grant shapps, and representatives of airlines, airports and others in aviation. i understand that meeting has recently finished. the image being sent out, though, over these cancellations and ongoing disruption will be of concern to the travel industry, because if there is one thing travel businesses have been craving over the past two years, it is for the return of consumers' confidence. thank you, katie austin. russia has accused the united states of adding fuel to the fire by providing ukraine with advanced rocket systems. the weapons, which have been described as game—changers, have a longer range than russia's. germany also says it has promised to send a state—of—the—art air defence system to ukraine, capable of defending an entire city against russian air strikes. russia has called the move a provocation. russian forces are now said to be in control of around 70% of the strategically important city of severodonetsk.

james waterhouse has the latest from kyiv. faces of anxiety. wives and mothers of ukrainian soldiers on the front line. brought together by frustration of their lack of support. translation: i support. translation: ., , support. translation: . , ., translation: i am very worried. i know he is— translation: i am very worried. i know he is sitting _ translation: i am very worried. i know he is sitting in _ translation: i am very worried. i know he is sitting in the _ translation: i am very worried. i know he is sitting in the trenches i know he is sitting in the trenches there. i know there are a wounded and killed. i believe if they receive proper weapons, they are real warriors and will fight for the sovereignty of ukraine, defend our country, and get our society back. olga's son was called up to fight two months ago. today is his 45th birthday. translation: it birthday. translation: , ,, translation: it is his birthday toda , but translation: it is his birthday today. but i _ translation: it is his birthday today, but i cannot _ translation: it is his birthday today, but i cannot even - today, but i cannot even congratulate him and tell him that i love him _ congratulate him and tell him that i love him and to wait for him.

456— love him and to wait for him. 456 mites _ love him and to wait for him. 456 miles to the east, a reflection of ukraine's loosening grip on the luhansk region. satellite images showing damage from shelling to severodonetsk and another town. russian soldiers now appear to move through its streets, and wonder into the state security service building. they are thought to be chechen fighters, with a reputation for being fierce. almost all of the luhansk region is in moscow's control. russia's gains are relatively small, but the cities they now occupy won't be easily retaken. that is why ukraine is asking for help to do more than simply be on the defensive. one wish has been granted by the us. precision guided missiles which can travel up to 45 miles, with a condition. travel up to 45 miles, with a condition-— travel up to 45 miles, with a condition. ~ . ., , ., condition. the ukrainians have given us assurances _ condition. the ukrainians have given us assurances that _ condition. the ukrainians have given us assurances that they _ condition. the ukrainians have given us assurances that they will - condition. the ukrainians have given us assurances that they will not - condition. the ukrainians have given us assurances that they will not use | us assurances that they will not use these systems against targets on

russian territory. there is a strong trust bond between ukraine and the united states, as well as with our allies and partners. the united states, as well as with our allies and partners.— united states, as well as with our allies and partners. the kremlin has described kyiv's _ allies and partners. the kremlin has described kyiv's requests _ allies and partners. the kremlin has described kyiv's requests for - described kyiv's requests for weapons as a provocation to bring the west into this war. ukraine has long seen them as crucial for its survival. james watt hours, bbc news, kyiv. borisjohnson says he has considered questions over his future following the fallout from lockdown parties in downing street but insisted that staying on as prime minister was the "responsible" approach. in an interview with the parenting website mumsnet, he said he was "taken aback" to be fined, and described the partygate affair as a "totally miserable experience" for those in government. damian grammaticas reports. on mumsnet today, punchy questions summing up the mood among the website's users. why should we believe anything you say when it has been proven you're a habitual liar? well, i... mrjohnson didn't agree with that, or that he should quit over the partygate affair.

ijust cannot see how, actually, it would be responsible right now, i have thought about all these questions a lot, as you can imagine. ijust cannot see how, actually, it would be responsible right now, given everything that is going on, simply to abandon, a, the project ijust cannot see how, actually, it would be responsible right now, on which i embarked to... i get that, but a lot of our users would say you've lost the trust of the people and your government has lost the trust, and you can't possibly be an effective prime minister. well, you know, let's see about that. yesterday, mrjohnson's ethics adviser pointed out that it is a prime minister's duty to uphold the law, but he has been fined for breaking the law. mrjohnson insisted it was inadvertent, but pressure is growing. tory mps know that they cannot trust a word that this man says, where nothing is being delivered and were far too many and where far too many people are struggling to keep their heads above water. we want tory mps to do the right thing and have the courage

and the backbone to stand up and say "enough is enough". cabinet ministers have been rallying. he's a great leader— and the country's lucky to have him. another accused ambitious mps of plotting. many are wrestling with what's best to do. well, i think the mood has changed a bit in the country since the publication of the sue gray report. mps will be going round their constituents. they will be listening carefully to what their constituents have to say, and then making up their mind whether or not to submit a letter. mrjohnson's behaviour has prompted at least 28 mps to call for him to go. 54 in total are needed to trigger a confidence vote. damian grammaticas, bbc news, westminster. france's interior minister has said he is "very sorry" for the "disproportionate" use of tear gas at saturday's champions league final in paris. the match was marred by chaotic scenes which delayed kick—off, as police used tear gas against liverpool fans struggling to get into the stadium. the west ham defender kurt zouma has been ordered to carry out 180

hours of community service after he admitted kicking and slapping his pet cat. he was also banned from keeping cats for five years after footage was posted online. the judge at thames magistrates' court described zouma's actions as "disgraceful and reprehensible". incidents of violence at gp surgeries and health centres have almost doubled in five years according to new figures. threatening behaviour and harassment have also increased, according to data collected by the british medicaljournal. the royal college of gps says abusing staff is entirely unacceptable and the real issue is the shortage of gps. the government says it is taking action to protect the workforce. here's our health editor, hugh pym. she sort ofjust launched at me and was strangling me, and then i managed to get sort of on top of her, and i phoned the police. laura, who's a gp in brighton, relives a violent attack by a patient with serious mental illness.

such assaults are thankfully very rare, but she says verbal abuse is becoming more common. i mean, this morning my practice manager's been in tears with someone who was threatening over the phone. it's a fairly common occurrence that i'll go into the kitchen and a receptionist will be crying because someone has been abusive or threatening to them. according to freedom of information requests to the uk's police forces, assaults in gp surgeries that resulted in an injury have almost doubled since 2017. all other types of assault saw an even sharper increase over the same period, whilst other incidents, including stalking and malicious communications, more than doubled in the five—year time period. this is really alarming. there's no doubt that patients are rightfully frustrated and often not getting the service they need, not being able to get the access to care they need. and, you know, what i think is the problem is there's been

a misportrayal of perhaps the role of the staff who are working flat out and the fact that there aren't enough of us to provide the care that patients need. greater awareness by the authorities of violence affecting general practice may have led to more reporting. but there are many incidents of aggression which are not recorded. since the pandemic, i think if you ask most staff, they would say that they feel that there has been an increase in the amount of abuse that they get from patients, mainly verbal and sometimes quite threatening. equally, you know, there are lots of people who are really lovely and very tolerant. laura believes there's more anxiety generally amongst patients, as well as irritation if they believe the nhs isn't delivering care promptly. hugh pym, bbc news, brighton.

the time is 6:13. our top story this evening: disruption continues at airports across the uk — around 150 more flights have been cancelled today. and been cancelled today. i'm live at hampden with all build—up and i'm live at hampden with all the build—up to an emotional match between scotland and ukraine. coming up in sportsday on the bbc news channel, england's new test captain, ben stokes, says the side have to acknowledge the scars of their poor run of form to improve, as they look to bounce back in the series against new zealand. the bunting's going up in streets across the country as final preparations are made ahead of four days of celebrations that start tomorrow for the queen's platinum jubilee. a host of events are planned nationwide, with many communities throwing their ownjubilee parties to mark the queen's 70 years on the throne. reeta chakrabarti is at buckingham palace. hello, reeta.

sophie, this whole area around buckingham palace is a hive of activity, with people preparing frantically for the official events. the upcoming celebration will be a chance to look back at some of the momentous occasions and changes that have taken place in the last 70 years. so let's have a look at what's coming up. thejubilee weekend begins tomorrow with trooping the colour, which celebrates the queen's birthday. then, after a parade down the mall to horse guards parade, the royal family will appear on the famous buckingham palace balcony. on friday, a special service of thanksgiving for the queen's reign will be held at st paul's cathedral, when england's largest church bell, great paul, will be rung for the service. and back here at buckingham palace, saturday night will see an open—air concert with performances from the likes of diana ross, duran duran and, straight out of eurovision, sam ryder. 22,000 people will be attending the party at the palace, and as you can see, the stage here is all set.

the weekend's finale is sunday afternoon's platinumjubilee pageant, which will be led by the gold state carriage. starting at whitehall, the pageant will process up the mall to buckingham palace. 0ur royal correspondent nicolas witchell reports on the build—up to the festivities. the final preparations are almost complete for a celebration that's been 70 years in the making. in the pre—dawn gloom of a rather damp capital city, the horse guards and others have been tracing the route to be taken by sunday's pageant. 0n horse guards parade, the footguards have been preparing for the event that will launch the jubilee, the first full—scale trooping the colour for three years. and outside buckingham palace, a huge stage has been under construction for saturday's bbc party at the palace. it is the platinum jubilee, an opportunity to step back briefly from everyday pressures to show appreciation

to a long—reigning monarch. it's the story of all our lives, as well as the story of her life, that we're celebrating. and i think particularly at the moment, with the way the world is, the way some people feel about politics in this country and around the world, the way people feel about putin and what is happening in ukraine, you look at the queen, and you see somebody who has been consistent, decent, dignified, and there, delivering the goods, delivering on her promises, for seven decades. quite how visible the queen will be at thisjubilee is unclear. it's hoped she'll be able to appear on the palace balcony. absent from the balcony will be the sussexes — harry and meghan — and the duke of york. this isn't the moment for reminders of family difficulties. it has been difficult, this period, and i think hard on the queen, really, to have these sort of family problems quite so much in the public limelight.

some die—hard royalists are already camping along the mall. however, their devotion is not universal. not everyone across the country will find this celebration to their taste — not everyone is a monarchist. but it is surely true that the overwhelming majority of people have deep respect for this monarch and her 70 years of service. no—one expects that there will be anotherjubilee in this reign. the next four days will be an opportunity for millions of people to say thank you for those 70 years of service. nicholas witchell, bbc news, at buckingham palace. thejubilee is a chance to reflect on some of the defining moments of the last 70 years across the uk, and they include the queen's role in the northern ireland peace process, which is being remembered on both sides of the irish border. her cousin lord mountbatten was murdered during the conflict, but she made hugely significant gestures

to rebuild relations between britain and ireland. 0ur correspondent chris page has been assessing her contribution. when we're defining the queen's place in history, the art of diplomacy will surely be paramount. to be on the throne and to witness that there was the opportunity for peace in ireland, i got the impression that that was incredibly important to her. her early visits to belfast seemed to generate euphoria, but beneath the devotion, there was tension. the conflict known as the troubles was largely about whether northern ireland should stay in the united kingdom. the first ever meeting between an irish president and a british monarch helped to create the climate for peace. it was a very big step when the queen invited me to come and have tea with her in buckingham palace. and the symbolism of that,

two heads of state, two women, equal in office, standing there, it meant a huge amount. and i mentioned that i would love if she could come and visit — how her eyes lit up! that wish was fulfilled 18 years later. the queen's state visit to ireland was laden with historic healing gestures. when the queen went to our garden of remembrance, which honours many who fought against the british empire and britain, when she bowed her head in that particular way, and she knew exactly what she was doing, it was very emotional, you know... ..because it comes symbolised that she profoundly understood that we needed to become good neighbours. the sovereign herself was touched by the tragedy of the troubles. her cousin lord mountbatten was killed in an ira bomb attack on his fishing boat. but 33 years on, the queen shook the hand

of a former commander in the paramilitary group. by then, martin mcguinness was northern ireland's deputy first minister. the man who stood next to them remembers the magnitude. even though it only lasted seconds, i think you could not help but have known that you were in a moment of significant history. i remember saying to myself, i was going to take time, almost in slow motion, to watch this happening. it was a demonstration of the cementing of the peace process. the queen's relationship with northern ireland reflects a story which is harrowing and hopeful. the local artist who painted this wanted to capture how she'd chosen to draw a line under a painful past. here was the british head of state, very aware that this was an irish painting of her. the queen who, having suffered personal loss through the troubles here, reached out the hand of friendship.

chris page there. cities, towns and villages are gearing up for a weekend of celebrations. community spirit is on full display as people organise events, and although not everyone wants to be involved, many are looking forward to partying after such a difficult two years. 0ur corrrespondent nikki fox has been to hitchin in hertfordshire to see how the town is preparing. 0k! in hitchin, even the cupcakes are red, white and blue. this is a town preparing for four solid days of celebrations. you're having a party for how many, 25? and what does it mean to you? itjust makes you really proud, doesn't it, to be british and to have a queen that has been constant in your life for such a long time? and i think it's great. the queen visited hitchin in 2012 for the diamond jubilee, and ten years on, it seems

the excitement hasn't dimmed. so far, we've put up 700 metres of bunting across the town, 60 flags from shops. do a lot of the businesses in hitchin really need thejubilee? when we first went into lockdown, the businesses were saying, "you know, once this is all over, we'll have a big party," and it never came because it hasn't really gone away, so thejubilee almost is this sort of unspoken party to sort of celebrate community and being able to be together and not have the restrictions. at this mexican restaurant, they're doing just that — prepping street food, including a royal take on this classic. i'm not really a royalist, i try to keep my head a bit out of it. would it be fair to say that for you this long weekend, it's more about people coming together? yeah, yeah, yeah, i suppose it's like you still have to go for the fact of, like, the only reason it's happening is cos we're celebrating the reign. but at the same time, we know we've had it really, really hard for a couple of years, but it's all about that

optimism of looking forward. the town celebrations will end with a big street party on the sunday. cafe ownerjames will be there. my kind of generation sees it as a celebration of, like, a bit of britishness. they've had a tough year of it, and i think she's everyone's favourite, so you've got to celebrate her! she's all we've ever known. she is, she's all i've ever known, the only royal i've ever loved. in the square, you could feel the excitement building. i purchased a jubilee celebratory biscuit tin! i mean, as a country, like, people all coming together, and think of the uk, think of us, you know, you've got british—born caribbean, you've got polish descent. yeah, it's about people coming together, and it's about celebrating the royal family. i feel bad eating all your biscuits from your royal tin. apparently we're getting another one later, so...! oh, yeah — god save the queen. god save the queen! shortbread does not last long in our house. not everyone will be hanging up the bunting, but there is a four—day holiday

for many of us to enjoy. nikki fox, bbc news, hitchin. well, the excitement here is building. we saw lots of people gathered on the mall during the day, watching the preparations, and some hardy royal supporters preparing to camp out. and this afternoon, buckingham palace confirmed that the queen is to lead the lighting of the principaljubilee beacon in a special ceremony at windsor castle tomorrow evening. the celebrations start in full tomorrow with the trooping the colour parade on bbc one at 10am, and we will of course bring you full coverage of all the weekend's events. and now back to you, sophie. reeta, thank you. football, and scotland take on ukraine at hampden park in just over an hour's time, as both teams push for a place in the world cup finals. it's a match loaded with political significance, with scotland fans acknowledging that victory would be bittersweet, with many people rooting for ukraine. 0ur sports correspondent

jane dougall reports. the flag of the opposing country emblazoned on a building in glasgow. a scottish take on the ukrainian national anthem. and this group of ukrainian children, orphaned by the war, but with a new home in scotland, making their way to watch the match. all highly unusual ahead of a football game between two countries, but these are exceptional circumstances. picking up her tickets at hampden is ukrainian national daria — and her parents, who fled the country last month. it's like a chance to distract a little bit from all the news which we are reading 24/7. we wake up, we read the news. we go to bed, we read the news. we read the news during the day. so it is a chance for us, like eurovision, eurovision was a big deal for us, because it was a chance to distract ourselves and to actually support the country, which was great, and it's the same with football, so yeah. ukrainians have travelled from all over britain

to unite behind their team and their country. the football itself may seem insignificant, but this is a chance to get a step closer to qualifying for the world cup. manchester city's 0leksandr zinchenko spoke emotionally ahead of the match. "some ukrainian kids don't understand what's happening," he says. "they have one dream — to stop the war." for months, all these players will have been able to think about is the situation in their country. now, somehow, they have to put that to one side and focus on a football match — and do it with the pressure from a broken nation willing them to win. i'm pretty sure that all ukraine who has this opportunity is going to wish us, and we are going to feel this support, that's100%. we can speak a lot, but we need to do on the pitch, so that's what we're going to try to do. for scotland, this is a difficult balance to strike.

they haven't been to a world cup since 1998 and are determined to win. but the tartan army is also aware of a humanitarian crisis and the importance of setting rivalries aside. well, you can see the numbers of ukrainian fans well, you can see the numbers of ukrainianfans are well, you can see the numbers of ukrainian fans are starting to build up ukrainian fans are starting to build up behind me, and injust overan hour, both sets of players will make their way down the tunnel for arguably one of the biggest games of their careers. for scotland, a must win match if they are to have any chance of qualifying for the world cup. for ukraine, the first time they have played a competitive match since the russian invasion. the winner of tonight's madge will play wales on sunday in cardiff, and the winner of that match gets the prize of going to the world cup. but there will be a particularly poignant moment when the national anthems are sung, particularly for the ukrainian fans and players, and there will be an english translation of the

ukrainian national anthem distributed inside the stadium so that the whole of hampden can sing it together. a big night ahead, thank you. chris fawkes has the weather, a look at the jubilee weather, a look at the jubilee weather for the next four days. ido i do not think we will stay entirely dry for the whole four days, enjoy the sunshine in the meantime, plenty of that in western areas today, lovely sunshine and bone marys in anglesey, showers fading away pretty quickly, and essentially we are looking at a dry night with clear spells. chilly forjune, down to 5-7 c spells. chilly forjune, down to 5—7 cfairly spells. chilly forjune, down to 5—7 c fairly widely, a cool start to tomorrow. pressure builds a little bit across the uk for tomorrow, then this feature from the atlantic affecting northern ireland, so the cloud will thicken, outbreaks of

rain, staying went into the afternoon. further eastwards, one or two showers of a high ground, especially scotland and northern england, but for many, dry, and feeling warmer, 18 in glasgow, the low 20s across england and wales. we still have showers in the forecast for friday, mostly across wales, north—west england, and you may escape them, and between the showers plenty of sunshine, the high teens or low 20s, about 22 in cardiff and london. into the weekend, the weather turns a bit more iffy across the south, although high pressure will keep areas in the north dry. thunderstorms moving up from the south on saturday, hit and miss, but by sunday a much greater chance of thundery outbreaks of rain moving

across england and wales. still a degree of uncertainty