calls for borisjohnson to take action against one of his mps who's accused of groping two men. chris pincher has resigned as deputy chief whip after admitting he drank too much and embarrassed himself at a london club. one cabinet minister says the full facts need to be determined. it is so important that we allow the proper authorities to establish absolutely everything that has happened, so that we can decide properly what should happen. and with the victims first and foremost and uppermost in our minds. labour say it shows the tory party is mired in sleaze and that mr pincher should no longer be able to sit as a conservative mp. also this lunchtime: figures just out show a rise of more than 30% in the number of people

with covid in the uk in the last week — a total of 2.3 million had the virus. rousing music. china celebrates the 25th anniversary of taking hong kong back from britain — and claims the territory now has true democracy. half a century after the first pride march in london — a million people are expected to take to the streets of the capital. coming up, i am at wimbledon where heather watson and cam norrie are trying to reach the next round of a grand slam for the first time. coming up on the bbc news channel, a roaring return forjames anderson who is taking wickets for england in their delayed fifth test against

good afternoon. borisjohnson is facing calls to suspend from the conservative party one of his mps who's alleged to have groped two men. chris pincher resigned as deputy chief whip after admitting he had "drunk far too much", and embarrassed himself at the carlton club, the conservative party members�* club in london. labour have questioned why he's being allowed to sit as a tory mp. they say it shows the conservative party is "mired in sleaze and scandal". our political correspondent iain watson reports. are you drowning in sleaze? after striding the world stage boris johnson is in britain and the spotlight has moved on to problems in his party, one of his closest allies has resigned following serious allegations about his conduct. chris pincher worked hard to keep borisjohnson in office during partygate. he became deputy chief whip in february and was

responsible for party discipline. but his own lack of discipline on wednesday led to this resignation on thursday. last night, i drank far too much, he says. i embarrassed myself and other people which is the last thing i wanted to do and for that i apologise to you and those concerned. i think the right thing to do in the circumstances is for me to do in the circumstances is for me to resign as deputy chief whip. chris pincher was said by witnesses to be drinking heavily at a reception at this conservative private members�* club in central london. the more serious allegation is he groped two men. downing street does not believe that further action is necessary following the resignation and he can continue as mp but critics say he should be shown the door. government ministers insist the allegations are being taken seriously. all i want to say and i want to stress this is we take all of these things incredibly seriously. my first reaction when i heard this

last night was one of sadness and frustration that here we are again in this position. it is beholden on us to make sure that we do these things properly from the point of view of the victims. questions have been raised here at westminster about the prime minister�*s judgment. chris pincher had been cleared of allegations of misconduct back in 2017 following a conservative party inquiry. but the bbc has been told that further concerns about his behaviour were raised before he was appointed as a government whip back in february. and the liberal democrats and labour are now calling for an investigation. in relation to chris pincher, these are allegations at this point but he has apologised for what amounts to at the very least poor behaviour. i urge the conservative party to think about what it is doing to the reputation of parliament as a whole, to ensure if any adequate investigations are carried out, swiftly, and if necessary, consider

whether further sanctions should apply. two former conservative ministers have written to the chief whip calling for a policy of zero tolerance when any allegations of sexual misconduct are made and ensure a thorough investigation. they added, anyone being investigated should not be allowed to sit as a conservative mp. you can see why the prime minister might not want chris pincher to resign. his party lost the wakefield by—election to labour a week ago following the improvement of the previous conservative mp for sexual assault. and in tiverton the conservative mp resigned after viewing pornography in the house of commons. the prime minister has returned to another growing political storm at westminster. iain joins us live now. and iain, this has added significance because chris pincher has been a very close ally of the prime minister. how much pressure is borisjohnson

under? labour want to make this about boris johnson. they are saying boris johnson. they are saying boris johnson has presided over a series of scandals and he is responsible for deteriorating standards at westminster. before we get on to him, we need to speak about chris pincher, a close ally of the prime minister whose support for him when borisjohnson looked in danger after partygate, now borisjohnson wants to draw a line under this. chris pincher has resigned and boris johnson wants to move on. some of his own mps are not allowing him to do so. two former ministers have written to the chief whip today saying the serious reputational damage being done to the party over this and more generally, they are calling for a new code of conduct to be imposed on conservative mps. although the prime minister would

like to move on, questions are being raised about how he puts his own party in order. thank you. iain watson. the latest figures for covid—i9 in the uk show another big rise in infections in the last week — they�*re up by almost a third. our health editor hugh pym joins me now — hugh, a big jump in the numbers? that is right. this survey by the ons involves regular testing of households and is seen as the most authoritative guide. the headline is 2.3 million people in the uk had the virus last week, up 32% week on week. pretty significant but still only about half what it was in late march. scotland had the highest rate in the uk. hospital numbers, in england, this is the latest data, nearly 9000, up by 2500 just in a

week. we have to be clear some of these people, more than half, have gonein these people, more than half, have gone in with other health conditions and then tested positive. the number where covid was the primary reason for being there is rather less and that headline figure. it seems these sub—variants of 0micron are spreading more rapidly than previous sub—variants, that is fuelling this surge. but there is no evidence yet it causes more severe illness. there is more pressure on hospitals at a time when they could do without that. it is the case there will be more people off work, more staff absences which can affect the nhs and social care. but right now, it is a cautionary note from officials rather than ringing alarm bells at this stage. hugh pym, our health editor.

nurses and some pharmacists can now certify sick notes, to help reduce the pressure on gps. the documents — now called "fit notes" — provide evidence to employers about a patient�*s condition and ability to work. the new system applies to england, scotland and wales — with northern ireland expected to follow. it is 25 years since britain ended its rule in hong kong and handed the colony back to china. since that handover, critics have accused china of stifling freedom in hong kong and suppressing opposition. but china�*s president, xijinping, says his country has brought true democracy to the territory. he�*s been visiting hong kong to swear in its new leader. from there, martin yip reports. a day of celebration under bad weather. just like 25 years ago when britain returned hong kong to china.

beijing promised then to keep the one country, two systems principle for at least 50 years, after the i997 for at least 50 years, after the 1997 handover, meaning hong kong would remain part of china but be free to govern itself. lord patten was the last governor of hong kong and was at the handover ceremony in 1997. he told the bbc that china has broken its promise. the words i spoke then saying it was now hong kong�*s dester need to be run by the people of hong kong, have turned to ashes, because hong kong was once one of the freest, arguably the freest and most open society in asia. it has now been turned into a police state. in the past two years beijing has cracked down on dissent in hong kong, introducing a national security law in 2020 that critics say has stifled free speech. pro—democracy news outlets have also been shut down and a zero covid

policy makes life here and easy. there are those who are pro—beijing who are _ there are those who are pro—beijing who are happy. and those who are very. _ who are happy. and those who are very. very— who are happy. and those who are very, very angry and worried or even scared _ very, very angry and worried or even scared and — very, very angry and worried or even scared. and there are thousands of people _ scared. and there are thousands of people including members of my party, _ people including members of my party, in — people including members of my party, in prison. despite a recent overhaul of the election system, the incoming leader john lee was the only candidate to run in this race. the ceremony today marks president xi�*s first visit outside mainland china since the start of the pandemic. you can�*t quite control the weather, but in beijing�*s perspective, it is all about regaining control over hong kong, and about the great rejuvenation of the chinese race, and that is what president xi jinping has been talking about in his speech. translation: the practice of one country, two systems has achieved the success in hong kong recognised by all since its return to the

motherland. president xi will be hoping his visit convinces hong kong and the world that stability on these shores following his crackdown in hong kong, and that it will usher in a revival of the global financial centres�*s bruised economy. a man accused of murdering a woman in a street attack in east london has appeared at the old bailey. 35—year—old zara aleena was walking in ilford, ten minutes from her home, when she was attacked in the early hours of sunday. jon donnison reports. zara aleena, the latest young woman to be killed on the streets of london. all week people have been paying tribute to the 35—year—old law graduate, described by herfriends as soft, gentle and a lifeline to her family.

this morning they spoke publicly for the first time since she died. zara was incredibly giving, supportive, insightful as to what people needed around her, empathic and fearless. she had...the one word that would describe zara, if i had to use one word, i would say independent. that was what she valued more than anything, her independence. zara, heraunt said, was as happy as she�*d ever been, having just started a newjob at royal courts ofjustice in central london. she made herself at home wherever she was. so wherever zara walked, it was home, that was home for her, because she knew everybody.

hundreds of people that have come to our house, that have called us, that have sent a letter saying, you don�*t know me but we knew zara. police are continuing to appeal for any potential witnesses to come forward. this morning a 29—year—old man, jordan mcsweeney, from dagenham, was remanded in custody after a court hearing in london. he�*s been charged with the murder, attempted rape and robbery of zara aleena. jon donnison, bbc news. officials in southern ukraine say at least 19 people, including a child, have been killed in two russian missile strikes in and around the port of odesa. the missiles are thought to have been launched from russian war planes over the black sea, hitting an apartment block and a resort. moscow has fired dozens of missiles on ukrainian cities in the past few days. let�*s get the latest from our correspondent in kyiv, joe inwood. joe, russia says it doesn�*t target civilians, but once again, it�*s civilians who�*ve died in large numbers?

i think that will be difficult to hearfor the i think that will be difficult to hear for the people of odesa and the region. at 1am last night threw missiles hit a resort to the west of the black sea port and a nine story apartment building was destroyed, and a resort complex was hit. four people died there, 16 in the apartment block, and searches continue. all this has happened a matter of hours after russia was finally kicked off the snake island. people will remember this rocky outcrop in the black sea, at the start of the war, it was iconic, where ukrainian border guards told the flagship of the russian black sea fleet to go away in florid terms. since then it has been a key point symbolically and strategically. the russians have said they left voluntarily. ukrainians have released footage

that contradicts that showing the island under heavy bombardment, they say they destroyed many russian pieces of equipment and killed russian soldiers and russians left under fire. russian soldiers and russians left underfire. there had been hoped here the russians leaving snake island would have eased the danger on places like odesa. but last night that fear that these attacks would continue was realised. joe inwood, our ukraine correspondent in kyiv, thank you. our top story this lunchtime. borisjohnson is boris johnson is under borisjohnson is under pressure to expel an mp after allegedly groping men at a private members�* club. also coming up... the financial challenge for people taking on the children of relatives to keep them out of the care system. coming up on the bbc news channel... more from wimbledon, with british hopes falling to cameron norrie later. the men�*s number nine seed is on centre court

as he attempts to make the last 16 at the championships for the first time. it�*s day five of wimbledon, and while andy murray and emma raducanu may be out, four british players are still in the singles tournament and two of them are in action today. later on centre court, british number one cameron norrie will take on the american stevejohnson, but already under way on court one is heather watson. our sports correspondent laura scott is at wimbledon. yes, well, it�*s the start of a third round today and we have two british player is trying to reach the fourth round of a grand slam for the very first time. on number one court behind me at the moment is guernsey�*s heather watson. she�*s had a bit of a nightmare schedule this week, two of her matches have been held overnight, she is also trying to play in the doubles. today marks

a major opportunity for her because she�*s been coming here since 2010, she�*s been coming here since 2010, she�*s reached the third round three times before but has always come up against really difficult opponents in that round. she�*s been very open this week about how much she�*s struggled during the pandemic and she�*s enjoying what�*s already her best run at a major for five years. she is in action now against kaja juvan of slovenia. it�*s currently on serve early in the first set and at the end of the day on centre court we have the ninth seed and british ii we have the ninth seed and british 11 cameron norrie. he�*s up against the world number 93, stevejohnson, who already knocked out a bit this weekend is good on the grass. it�*s surprising that for a player who has gone into the top ten, has had as much success as cameron norrie has, he�*s never reached the last 16 of a grand slam. he says it�*s a priority to tick that box today. before him on centre court we have tunisia because my ons jabeur and six time winner novak djokovic and later in the day take two off the murray

williams mixed doubles match up as venus and jamie play together. quite a day, laura, thank you very much indeed. there�*s a warning today that the rising cost of living is hurting people who take in the children of relatives and keep them out of the care system. unlike foster carers, they get little or no financial support from the government in england and wales. as zoe conway reports, charities say it means some children are at risk of being put into care. wendy and her grandchildren have a very special bond. her daughter was unable to cope with looking after them. so they�*ve lived with wendy since they were babies. why do you call wendy "mum"? because she, like, does everything like a mum. what do you mean? like, she cooks me dinner. she washes my clothes. she just does everything. like many kinship carers, wendy was told by social services she could not work.

because they�*re often vulnerable, the expectation is that children need more time with carers. i had a nice office job and reasonably well paid, and overnight i've found myself without a job, not allowed to work, all of my pension rights gone and just a kinship carer. wendy gets by on donated food at this community centre. she�*s noticed the cost of everything going up. coffee, a jar of coffee, that's gone up by 50p from one week to the next. if she was a foster carer she�*d be entitled to £137 a week, but there�*s no such guarantee for kinship carers. kinship carers have been struggling financially for many, many years. they don�*t have the same rights as foster carers to a financial allowance, so many of them give up work. they don�*t get an allowance, and of course they are plunged into poverty.

what�*s worse now is there is a cost of living crisis, so it�*s more urgent than ever that the government steps in. laura was 27 when she got a call from social services, asking her to take in her half brother and half sister. their mother had died. it was really hard. i went from working 60—hour weeks ito working none and doing school. runs and doing hair in the morning. ok, let's go. laura was told by social workers to stop working. the last few years have been a financial struggle. she also now has her own five—year—old daughter. woo—hoo! my children are happy, they�*re healthy, if you were to meet them you wouldn�*t even know they were kinship children and they�*d probably say i�*m their mum, and we have enjoyed every moment of it and i wouldn�*t be anywhere else. an independent review of social care has recommended that kinship carers

are paid the same allowance as foster carers. the government says that later this year it will respond in full to the recommendations, including how to support kinship carers further. zoe conway, bbc news. a bulgarian woman has been placed on the fbi�*s top ten most wanted list for allegedly running a cryptocurrency scam. ruja ignatova, who became known as the "missing cryptoqueen", has been accused of defrauding victims out of more than £3.2 billion. she�*s been missing since 2017. police officers in scotland are preparing to "withdraw their goodwill" in a dispute about pay. they aren�*t allowed to go on strike. instead, the action, which will begin at five o�*clock this afternoon, will include not starting shifts early or taking radio equipment home. the scottish police federation described it as the "most overt demonstration of action" in more

than a century. police scotland says it�*s committed to seeking a settlement. more than a million people are expected to take to the streets of the capital this weekend for london pride — a celebration of the lgbt plus community. this year�*s event marks 50 years since the gay liberation front organised the uk�*s first ever pride march — paving the way for the gay rights movement. our lgbt and identity correspondent lauren moss has been speaking to some of the group�*s founding members. her report contains some flash photography. it's 1972. gay people regularly face arrest, and same—sex attraction is still classified as a mental illness. but in the basement of a london university a revolution is under way and making itself heard in protests across the capital. injuly, pride in the uk is born.

that first pride was about visibility. it was terrifying, daring. i wanted to change the world. to claim public space for queer people. we had a mass kiss—in. by the time we'd finished snogging each other one turned around and the police had completely disappeared. the glf lit a spark that would burn for the next five decades, but those years also saw huge trials. so don�*t die of ignorance. when aids came along the partners of the ones who'd died, the family would sweep in and throw them out of the flat or whatever. it was a time of real despair and bitterness. progression came later. steps towards righting the wrongs of the past, and equality. legally husband... cheering. # we marched for the right

to walk down the aisle #. pride has undergone many changes over the years. what started off as a protest of around 700 people is now a march of thousands. still today, a third of all lgbt+ people in britain been victims of homophobic, biphobic or transphobic violence. the only way you keep rights is by perpetually struggling to keep them. no victory is ever forever unless you make it forever. pride as a protest is what united them back them. a desire to keep it alive is what brings them together today. lauren moss, bbc news. britain�*s seven—time formula one world champion lewis hamilton has called for some "older voices" in the sport to be refused a platform. it comes after the former driver nelson piquet, who�*s 69, used a racially offensive term to refer to hamilton, the sport�*s only black driver. hamilton says some older people are trying to say negative things to bring him down.

he�*s been speaking ahead of this weekend�*s british grand prix. our sports correspondent natalie pirks is at silverstone. natalie. we should have been talking, of course, about potential record crowds here at silverstone, mercedes�* struggle or red bull dominance but as you say lewis hamilton has had to talk again about racism. nelson piquet, three—time world champion, used a racial slur twice in audio that has emerged this week in a podcast in his native brazil, speaking in portuguese. he has since apologised. he said that word is widely used back in brazil but a chorus of condemnation across motorsport and people in his own country and you could sense the exasperation of sir lewis hamilton last night. he was talking about this. he talks about the archaic narratives and negativity that he continues to face. the former

formula one boss, bernie ecclestone, suggested hamilton should just brush aside the comments. however, hamilton responded by saying that we, the media, need to do better at thinking aboutjust we, the media, need to do better at thinking about just who we, the media, need to do better at thinking aboutjust who we speak to. i don�*t know why we are continuing to give these older voices a platform, because they are speaking upon our sport and we are looking to go somewhere completely different, and it is not representative i think of who we are at a spot now and where we are planning to go. we need to look into the future and give the younger people a platform that is more representative of today�*s time. it is notjust about one individual. it is not just about that one use of that term, it is the bigger picture. hamilton has been at the forefront of trying to effect change at formula one. there is a partnership, ignite, to improve diversity in the

sport but he is frustrated by some in the sport who he says payslip service to the problem and are not putting their money where their mouth is. northamptonshire police haveissued mouth is. northamptonshire police have issued a warning to deter potential protesters ahead of the race on sunday, it says it�*s received intelligence that some protesters have been, could attempt to try and access the track is a form of protest. it�*s called this plan reckless and said that would jeopardise lives, so we�*ll bring you more on that if and when we get it. natalie pirks, thank you, our clock sports correspondent at silverstone. england�*s cricketers have begun the delayed fifth and final test against india. but it�*s been held up again, this time by rain at edgbaston. james anderson struck twice before the covers came on, leaving the tourists on 53—2. our correspondent andy swiss reports. some nine months after it was meant to happen, at last, england�*s series decider against india had to be postponed last september because of covid. finally, though, the visitors were back

and they clearly meant business. an early flurry of boundaries from shubman gill as england began brightly. —— as india began brightly. but since they last met, england have refound theirform. jimmy anderson with the breakthrough. gill gone for 17, snaffled by zak crawley. how they needed that. the celebration, though, soon turned to frustration. pujara was initially given out caught, the replays showed he is actually brushed his trouser pocket and the decision was overturned. there was soon another reprieve for india as england�*s catching let them down. hanuma vihari slipping through crawly�*s fingers but redemption wasn�*t far away. it�*s crawly's fingers but redemption wasn't far away.— wasn't far away. it's gone this time. no mistake this time from crawley. pujara finally gone, and you can sense the relief. but with india 53—2, the birmingham brollies went up. forcing this long—awaited match to waitjust a little bit longer. andy swiss, bbc news.

time for a look at the weather. here�*s matt taylor. a busy weekend of sport, how is the forecast? plenty of showers around as you�*ve just seen and heard from edgbaston, let�*s take you to wimbledon first because we�*ve got some showers very close by at the moment but then things should brighten up and we could get away tomorrow without any interruption —— without any interruptions until we head into the evening. the showers that edgbaston should clear and it will be brighter in the afternoon but more interruptions expected tomorrow morning and indeed for qualifying at silverstone we do expect some rain particularly during the middle part of the day and early afternoon. call forall, the middle part of the day and early afternoon. call for all, we�*ve got showers at the moment, heavy and thundery across the north and east of and, parts of scotland as well. if you wish south but bigger gaps between them, still will stay dry across southern and western parts of england and wales as we go through into the afternoon. temperatures not

impressive for