the biggest rail strike for a generation is under way as workers stage the first of three 24—hour walkouts. the vast majority of britain's trains are at a standstill, while many stations are virtually empty as millions of travellers face disruption. the prime minister calls on travellers to �*stay the course�* during the strikes — many have had to drive, cycle or even walk to their destinations. our company employs 50 drivers and today, it's a disaster, thanks to them. i think they deserve it but can we afford to give everybody a raise? striking workers are picketing stations, with no signs of a compromise to the dispute between rail management and unions. i don't think sunday will be the end of it,

from what i can see. if we can negotiate a deal this week, it can be, but otherwise we'll have to look at what campaigns we are going to put on going forward, and we think that other unions are going tojoin us in this dispute on the railway, and more broadly in society. it wasn't the employers that called the strike action. we wanted rmt. .. we wanted to do reform earlier. they have been discussing it with us, but they have not came forward with meaningful reform. london euston is practically deserted compared to a typical day. it has been the same at many other stations as strike action hits the entire rail network. we'll be live with our correspondents around the country, assessing the scale of the disruption...also this lunchtime... ukraine on the verge losing control of the key city of severodonetsk — its troops have been pushed back to just one factory there.

one, two, three, four. dance music plays. star dj fatboy slim holds a music workshop to help people with mental health problems. and it's a big birthday for prince william — he turns a0 today. and coming up in sport on the bbc news channel... international rugby league bans transgender players from womens international matches but advocacy group said the policy violates human rights. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. deserted stations, empty tracks, and millions of frustrated passengers — the biggest rail strike in a generation is under way,

crippling services across england, scotland and wales. only a fifth of trains are running today, and there's more chaos in the capital with separate industrial action on the london underground. today's rail strike will be followed by two more on thursday and saturday. network rail says passengers should only travel by train if absolutely necessary. the red lines on this map shows where limited services will operate, but whole swathes of the country — where there are no lines — have no services at all. the dispute is between the rail, maritime and transport workers union and the companies which run britain's railways. it's centred on pay, job losses and changes to workers' terms and conditions. our business correspondent colletta smith has this report. it's been the quietest of starts at stations across britain with services starting late, if at all. from tiny commuter platforms

to the biggest station concourses, puzzled passengers faced a skeleton timetable in some areas, while north of edinburgh, much of wales and many coastal towns have no service at all. i should have been on a train but i've had to get a national express now. so i'm on trains every day of the week for myjob, so i don't support it at all, no. while stations may be quiet inside, there's plenty happening outside. the rail union rmt are striking over pay and redundancies, and have plans for more to come. i don't think sunday will be the end of it from what i can see. if we can negotiate a deal this week, it can be, but otherwise we will have to look at what campaigns we're going to put on going forward, and we think that other unions are going to join to this dispute on the railway. the government could have made a move to settle this dispute but instead they are escalating it. the lies that they are telling about railway workers and the railway industry are outrageous, but they can't resist it because this is a government that's a stranger to the truth. more than 40,000 union members from network rail and 13 train firms have walked out in the dispute.

they say the government is the hidden hand blocking negotiations. the mood music from the cabinet this morning shows little hope of a deal soon. we need to get ready to stay the course, to stay the course, because these reforms, these improvements in the way we run our railways are in the interests of the travelling public. they will help to cut costs for fare payers up and down the country, but they are also in the interests of the railways, of railway workers and their families. train operators say big technical and practical changes are needed across the industry. things have changed from how people travelled in the 1970s, '80s, '90s, where sunday was never seen as a busy travelling day for the public. it's now the opposite, it's one of the busiest days we have. we've got working practices that say that staff can just volunteer to come out on a sunday. that makes it very difficult

to run a train service. of the few trains that are running today, most are broadly on time, though some have been impacted by delays, already, like this one. if your train has been cancelled or rearranged, you are entitled to some money back through the delay repay scheme, whether it is a season ticket or you havejust bought a one—off. on the london underground, there's a separate strike, with busy buses taking extra passengers as lots of tube lines run a limited service. in many parts of yorkshire, a strike on arriva buses is also adding to commuters' woes. with further rail strikes planned on thursday and saturday, it seems most passengers are sticking to official advice and going nowhere unless they have to. coletta smith, bbc news. we have correspondents around the country, in a moment we'll talk to lorna gordon in glasgow and mark hutchings in cardiff. but first to tim muffett

at euston station in london and we can see behind you tim some passengers are there, trying to catch a train? that is right, typically london euston is one of the busiest railway stations. today, though, it has been anything but. but there has been a steady stream of passengers, around about 200 are on the concourse to try and catch those few trains which are leaving, fewer than a fifth bun you would typically expect. i have speaking to some of them, asking why when we have been dissuaded from travelling today, they are actually here? most of them have said they are essential, one family is travelling to a wedding, another to a degree ceremony and another say the journey they were about to make is something they couldn't miss. most of them were forewarned about the strike so i didn't detect much angen the strike so i didn't detect much anger, just a weary resignation. however, most people i have been

speaking to, that where these strikes to go on more than this week, then their patients could snap. week, then their patients could sna -. ~ ' . ~' week, then their patients could sna. ~ ' ., ., snap. tim muffet, thank you and let's no snap. tim muffet, thank you and let's go to _ snap. tim muffet, thank you and let's go to lorna _ snap. tim muffet, thank you and let's go to lorna gordon - snap. tim muffet, thank you and let's go to lorna gordon in - snap. tim muffet, thank you and i let's go to lorna gordon in glasgow central station. and scotland really badly affected by this strike today? yes, about 150,000 people passed through the station, but few trains operating. the last one to england goesin operating. the last one to england goes in just over operating. the last one to england goes injust over an hour. just operating. the last one to england goes in just over an hour. just five routes operating in the central belt, no trains north to cities to perth, dundee, aberdeen and inverness. scotrail says it is operating just 10% of the normal services, down from 2000 trains on a normal timetable to less than 200 today. scotrail staff are not on strike but they rely on network rail to operate the signal boxes and maintain the track. scotland's transport minister has said she has

written to the uk government, urging them to do more to settle this dispute, saying modernisation must not come at any cost and calling for a full devolution of all rail powers. a full devolution of all rail owers. a full devolution of all rail powers-— a full devolution of all rail owers. . ~ , ., y a full devolution of all rail owers. . ~ ,, y . to wales now, and mark hutchings is at cardiff central station — mark, what's the picture there? pretty much, not many trains are not many people on them is a fair assessment of the welsh rail network today. down to less than 10% of normal services. complete wipe—out in north, mid and west wales. there are some trains running out of cardiff into a few of the valley towns, and that is because they are on track owned and managed by transport for wales, who aren't directly involved in this dispute. it is pretty much about the links between cardiff and london and a reduced rate, just one train an hour today and wrapping up by teatime.

the welsh government, like the scottish government criticising ministers in the uk and they said the uk government had chosen to promote conflict. denied by the uk ministers. as for normal rates, it is only about 3% of the watch commuting public travel by train on a normal day. clearly less but not today, people have made alternative arrangements, it is one of those days if you can find a train, you can probably find a seat. indeed! thank ou can probably find a seat. indeed! thank you very — can probably find a seat. indeed! thank you very much. _ can probably find a seat. indeed! thank you very much. thanks - can probably find a seat. indeed! | thank you very much. thanks also can probably find a seat. indeed! - thank you very much. thanks also to lorna gordon in glasgow and tim muffet at london, euston station. well, let's take a look now at how the disruption today has been affecting people's lives — this report by richard galpin. earlier this morning, the impact of the strike late bare. no rush of commuters in search of coffee and tea at this cafe farncombe in surrey. for the cafe owner, it distressing.

he's onlyjust now getting his business back up and running after covid. for us, itjust feels disastrous. we got a big hit from thejubilee, people weren't travelling, it was a very long weekend. you know, 70% of our business is from commuters and if we haven't got that then literally, as you can see, you know, we are making coffee for ourselves and twiddling our thumbs a little bit. trains across the country are now stationary and this could continue for several days. for many, the disruption caused a big blow. i was going to penzance to paint somebody�*s house, and now it looks like i won't be going all week, so, yeah, that's really kind of screwed me up. it is ridiculous. i work for the nhs, i have to be there on time and... i know, i get it, things are tough right now but i don't think... i think we should all fulfil our duty and do our role, right? as tourists we can't - actually go anywhere other than where we can walk to. it's a bit tricky to get around. while all this is causing

disruption for many people, there are plenty of others who are not affected at all because they work from home and are very happy to do so. my working life changed forever. the pandemic forced my company to take steps to actually make it possible for me to work from home, which simply wasn't on the cards before. my company have said that they would prefer me to work from home during strike days. this is going to save me money, it's going to save me time, and i think i will be a more productive employee. for those planning social events it will be more difficult and expensive without the trains running. a couple of years ago we booked to see the dreamgirls in leeds. we are a group of wonderful theatre ladies, let's say. our passion is to go and watch the theatre as often as we can. the matinee will fall on this thursday, which happens to be my big, big birthday. we always go by train,

it's far easier to come into bradford, to the theatres there, or to go into leeds. plan b is taxis, and adding on extra expense, really. and there is no sign the disruption will end any time soon, with more strikes planned for thursday and saturday. richard galpin, bbc news. let's go live to our political correspondent iain watson. we heard from the prime minister at today's cabinet meeting, condeming the rail strikes — what are the political implications of this industrial action? i think that depends on whether the travelling public ends up blaming the government for not sorting it out, the unions for going on strike of the opposition party for being too close to the unions. it didn't sound like we were close to a resolution to this dispute this morning because of the cabinet meeting, borisjohnson made a point of saying on camera, that we had to stay the course. that could mean we

could see the prospect of further industrial action beyond this weekend. the government wants to keep a distance to some extent, perhaps politically astute of them, saying it is down to the employees, train operating companies, network rail to sort out the negotiations with the unions. but in new contracts signed with those companies, the government may be behind—the—scenes, but not very far behind—the—scenes, but not very far behind the scenes. one contract reads the train operating companies handling of the industrial action will be subject to the secretary of state's direction. in other words, it is grant shapps, secretary of state for transport who has to say how the industrial action and counter industrial action is conducted. there is a political fallout here for labour as well. keir starmer can see there could be damaged to appear too close to a union on strike and doesn't form links with labour party in any case.

he has told his ministers, stay off the picket lines. two of them have defied that picket line ban. most surprisingly, the labour party leader in scotland, usually an ally of keir starmer has treated a picture of himself on the picket lines expressing solidarity with the workforce. at the very least, embarrassing for labour. iain watson, thank _ embarrassing for labour. iain watson, thank you. - our business editor simonjack is here. simon, we have soaring inflation, and it's notjust the railway workers who are looking for pay rises to keep up with rising prices? iam i am looking down the list of the different types of professions which are waiting for their pay review. school teachers, police, nhs, all of these people are waiting to see what they will be offered. teachers already saying if we don't get an inflation matching pay rise, which is currently at 9%, heading to 11%, they will ballot their members for action. this dispute is an acid test

and is being watched by lots of other bodies. these battle lines are being drawn which shows this summer of dispute could just be getting started. what about workers in the private sector? they are getting more money than the people in the public sector on average. a couple of companies have come out and given people one—off payments. last week it was lloyd's giving 59,000 workers a one—off £1000 payment. rolls—royce said they would give their workforce £2000 one—off payment on top of a 4% pay rise. quite clever, because you are offering a below inflation pay rise with a one—off payment, which means you don't have to do it next year, in total it is worth 9%. but quite an interesting approach from companies giving one—off payments, perhaps they don't have to bake in higher wages in a year.— perhaps they don't have to bake in higher wages in a year. simon, thank ou ve higher wages in a year. simon, thank you very much- _ and you can keep up to date with all the latest on this week's rail strikes at bbc.co.uk/news.

it is1:16 p it is 1:16 p m. our top story this lunchtime... the biggest rail strike for a generation is under way as workers stage the first of three 2a hour walkouts. and coming up — the meerkat rescued from the sea after it went overboard off cornwall on its way to a zoo. and coming up in sport on the bbc news channel: serena's return — the 23 time grand slam champion begins warming up for wimbledon today. she'll play her first competitive tennis in a year in the doubles at eastbourne. the governor of ukraine's eastern luhansk region says russian forces have almost captured the key city of severodonetsk. ukrainian troops are now said to be holding onto just one factory, where hundreds of civilians have been sheltering in recent weeks. heavy casualties have been reported on both sides.

the city has been the main focus of russia's recent offensive in the east of ukraine, as our correspondent joe inwood reports. explosions. this is the battle for severodonetsk, but from the russian side. in the distance is the azot chemical plant, said to be the last holdout of ukrainian forces. a team from chinese state television joined chechen fighters as they tried to capture the destroyed city. "we are very close to the industrial zone of the plant," the commander says, "and we are confident that we will take control of it." but the ukrainians say they are still fighting and have not given up on severodonetsk yet. that's despite massive artillery barrages that have turned a once bustling city into a wasteland. translation: the last day and night before were very hard. _ this night was relatively calm.

but it is the calm before the storm. in fact, yesterday the russian army carried out defensive operations in several directions with lots of equipment and personnel. one of those directions was toshkivka, just to the south of severodonetsk but the other side of the river siverskyi donets. these are russian forces rolling through what is left of the town. the battle in the east is looking increasingly difficult for the ukrainians, who say they urgently need more western military aid. but they need diplomatic support as well, and that came from a rather unlikely source here in the capital. hello, nice to meet you. really nice to meet you. hollywood actor ben stiller, also a un goodwill ambassador, in town to meet president zelensky, was trying to keep this conflict in the public eye. our news cycle goes so quickly that

it's really hard to keep attention on these issues that maybe don't affect us directly, but they do have an effect on us overall. all the while, the destruction continues. this war is far from over, but there will be difficult days ahead. joe inwood, bbc news, kyiv. meanwhile a russian journalist has raised more than £80 million to help children displaced by the war in ukraine by auctioning off his nobel peace prize. dmitry muratov founded an independent newspaper which was often critical of the russian government and was recognised last year for his efforts protecting free speech. he said he would keep a copy of the medal which was made of chocolate. a famous floating restaurant in hong kong has sunk, days after it was towed away from the harbour where it operated for nearly 50 years. the owners of thejumbo say it capsized in the south china sea

after encountering adverse conditions. the queen, tom cruise and richard branson are among the guests who have eaten there. he's a world—renowned dj, best known for performing for tens of thousands of fans at festivals around the world — but in recent days fatboy slim has been staging a home—town gig with a difference. as part of an nhs project to help people with severe mental health problems, he's been hosting a music workshop in hove. annabel rackham has been finding out more. one, two, three, four. dance music plays. is music the key to helping your mental health? at this workshop in brighton, norman cook, better known as fatboy slim, is teaching dj first timers about the difference music can make. that's it, bang on. music has helped me tremendously during my own mental health journey.

as a dj, what i try and do is help people escape, and sometimes it's good to escape your life or your stress for a couple of hours. and i've always done that for a living but then at times in my life when things have been falling apart, ifind that i'm doing it to myself as much as everybody. i need those two hours where ijust lose myself to music and dance and flashing lights. it's a very powerful kind of therapy for me. everyone here is recovering from severe mental health problems and have spent a lot of time in hospital. i'm jess, i'm a drummer, and i'm from brighton. i'm amber, i'm 26, i'm _ from eastbourne, and i love to sing. i've been in dark places, pre and post—covid. i think there is a lot of stigma attached to mental health, it needs to not be there so much. i've been in psychiatric hospitals at parts of my life, but i don't think it's something to be ashamed of any more. oh, right, that was bang on.

i was already on there and he came over. - how you doing? i'm good, thank you. at first i wasjust doing the fading in and out, i then he got me on the reverb and changing the pitch. - doing something like this, . itjust proves to me i can step outside of my everyday routine, even though before i even got l to the door i stopped — _ "amber, can you actually do this?" anxiety just overtook. the feeling i feel now will mean. that i will push myself next time. it wasjoyous being involved in this workshop because the people hadn't ever seen or touched decks before. i kind of take it for granted because they are the tools of my trade, but seeing someone go, "ooh, you can do that," it's a beautiful thing. there's a lot to it, isn't there? i know, yeah! the organisers hope other mental health services in the uk can find funding for more music workshops like this. you hear that too? brilliant. and what about the chance to work with one of the world's best djs? it'sjust incredible, -

it's like a dream come true. it's now pushed me to get myself a dj deck. annabel rackham, bbc news, brighton. the duke of cambridge is celebrating his 40th birthday today. it comes at a time of increasing responsibility for prince william — as our royal correspondent, daniela relph, reports. the duke of cambridge out selling the big issue a couple of weeks ago. these aren't the traditional royal portraits released to celebrate a royal birthday, but this is how prince william wanted his 40th officially marked. it's an insight into what comes next for him. homelessness will be a key campaigning issue. back in 2009, william slept out on the streets of london for a night, with the centrepoint chief executive seyi obakin, and he's still actively involved. he's invested in the problem, and he's invested in trying to find a solution for those who are affected by the problem. and long may it continue,

is what i say. on a personal level, marriage to kate and fatherhood have suited him. their children were some of the stars of the show over the platinum jubilee weekend. and his focus on his family will see a big move this summer when the cambridges leave london to set up home in windsor. the move here has been driven by personal reasons. behind the castle walls, there is greater freedom for the family than they currently have in london. the children will go to school nearby. but it also puts william closer to his grandmother, at a time when he is stepping up his official duties. one unresolved issue is the fallout with his brother, prince harry. i do know from sources very close to william that he is still very hurt about some of the things that his brother and his sister—in—law have said and done. there's not the closeness there once was, and i think there's probably quite a few bridges to be rebuilt before they get to that stage. the years ahead will be filled with significant change. but for now, at 40, the once

cautious, contained prince has become a more open, confident future king. daniela relph, bbc news. a mischievous meerkat has had a lucky escape after he was plucked from the sea by the captain of a cargo ship after going overboard. the meerkat went into the sea off cornwall after he and another meerkat escaped from a caged box when they were being transported from the scilly isles to a zoo in devon. his rescuer spoke to the bbc. she was in a cat box and they'd managed to push the lid up enough, well, push the top of it up enough to get the gate out, and broke out that way. and they were just running around, hiding under everything, really. and we managed to catch one and then the other one, off he went along the side of the ship, here, right over the side. got into my swimming shorts and jumped in after him, really. i was quite worried he would drown, because i think they are not

known for their swimming. the traditional man overboard drill, you don't go jumping in yourself. but, again, it was a bit rescue drill. and the meerkats are now safely at the axe valley zoo in axminster, settling into their new home. well, back now to our main story this lunchtime — the biggest rail strike in a generation across england, scotland and wales. in a moment we'll get the latest on the situation on the roads with phil mackie, but first lets talk to andrew plant at bristol temple meads station. and, andrew, problems for so many —— and andrew, you can see the pickets behind you? it -- and andrew, you can see the pickets behind you?— pickets behind you? it has been very hot, ve pickets behind you? it has been very hot. very busy _ pickets behind you? it has been very hot. very busy and — pickets behind you? it has been very hot, very busy and noisy _ pickets behind you? it has been very hot, very busy and noisy this - hot, very busy and noisy this morning, the picket line has been out since about six o'clock this morning right next to a busy main road in bristol, lots of honking is because go past. they are quite a

long way, about 200 metres, from the entrance of temple meads, which is almost deserted, it is probably the easiestjourney i have had to the train station this morning. you can get some places from temple meads, you can get to cardiff, to london paddington via swindon but that is about it, almost all of gloucestershire has no rail services and corbel has none, that is because they are stopping the trains that are running with managers, they don't have enough to go around and tourism bosses say this week is essentially a right out in terms of trade tourism, notjust today but thursday and saturday. but there is one very big event to take into account in the west country, the glastonbury festival, 200,000 people travelling from all over the country trying to get to somerset over the next couple of days, mostly travelling tomorrow at the next day. that will cause problems, there are still trains running but not as many as there were, putting extra

pressure on what is left of the public transport system. thank you, andrew. phil mackie is at the national traffic operations centre for highways england in birmingham. what is the situation on the roads? obviously lots of people being forced onto the roads because of the strike? hat forced onto the roads because of the strike? ., . , forced onto the roads because of the strike? ., ., , ., , forced onto the roads because of the strike? ., .,, ., , .,, forced onto the roads because of the strike? ., ., . , ., ., strike? not as many as we thought, it has been — strike? not as many as we thought, it has been quite _ strike? not as many as we thought, it has been quite quiet, _ strike? not as many as we thought, it has been quite quiet, there - strike? not as many as we thought, it has been quite quiet, there was i strike? not as many as we thought, it has been quite quiet, there was a | it has been quite quiet, there was a peak at about nine o'clock, as there often would be on a tuesday. you can see this big bank of screens showing around the country, the top is of the busiest areas, the m4 me at bristol, the middle one is near leeds and the next one is near birmingham. ithink leeds and the next one is near birmingham. i think a lot of people have heeded the warnings and stayed at home, they have a plan b these days of working from home which would not have happened two or three years ago and if this had happened then there would have been more chaos on the roads. there is a danger of people watching and they

think it is not so bad, they will get in their cars and go out and if everybody did that we would see problems on the roads, another reason people might not have taken to the cars today is the cost of petrol might have put them off and encouraged them to work from home. things not as bad as they could have been but they are concerned about how bad they will get, particularly towards the edge of the week. thank ou, phil towards the edge of the week. thank you, phil mackie. _ thousands of people have gathered at stonehenge to celebrate the summer solstice. sunrise at the ancient stones was just before ten to five this morning. this year was the first time members of the public have been allowed to attend the solstice in person since 2019 because of the pandemic. time for a look at the weather — here's darren bett. hello, a beautiful sunrise this morning but differing fortunes for today. a sunny summer solstice

across england and wales and