this is bbc news. the headlines at 6pm — the former chancellor, rishi sunak, enters the race to be the next leader of the conservative party and prime minister. durham police clear sir keir starmer of breaking lockdown rules. he'd pledged to resign if fined. the labour leader says his party is now ready for an election. if there was a general election, this government will fall. and we've got a plan for the country, we want that fresh start.

britain's former counter—terrorism police chief sir mark rowley is formally appointed as the new head of the metropolitan police in the wake of a string of failings which have compromised public trust. tributes pour in from around the world forjapan�*s former prime minister, shinzo abe, who has been assassinated while delivering a speech at a campaign event. six men have been found guilty for taking part in a string of robberies and burglaries, including the theft of a 5.5 million diamond—encrusted tiara. it is all overfor it is all over for cameron norrie after his afternoon against novak djokovic for a place in the wimbledon final. we'll have the latest from sw19 at 6:30pm.

good evening, and welcome to bbc news. wimbledon has delayed the six o'clock news with jane hill as britain's number one cameron norrie is currently taking on novak djokovic in the semifinals. as britain's number one cameron norrie is was taking on novak djokovic in the semifinals. the match finished at about four minutes to 6pm and they have been giving their responses to the result. but here we talk about the latest twist in the conservative leadership contest caused by the resignation of the now former prime minister borisjohnson. here, the former chancellor, rishi sunak, has confirmed he'll be standing in the contest to take on the leadership of the conservative party and the country.

mr sunak launched his leadership bid in the last hour. hejoins tom tugendhat and the attorney general for england and wales, suella braverman, in putting his hat in the ring. the announcement isn't a surprise. he's been tipped as a possible successorfor some time. mr sunak quit hisjob on tuesday evening, shortly after the health secretary, triggering a tsunami of resignations from boris johnson's government. that, of course, led to the prime minister announcing yesterday that he'd be stepping down. he has been suggested that by the time these pictures were filmed in the cabinet room that colleagues had already heard rumours that the health secretary and chancellor were about to quit. the former chancellor has already received the backing of one of the party's so—called red wall mps, jacob young, mp for redcar. here he explains why. i think you only need look at the measures that rishi's already implemented which helped working people up and down the country,

whether that's the changes he made to universal credit so people could keep more of their money there, whether that's the changes he's made to national insurance, which benefit the lowest well—off, whether it's the interventions he made on energy and giving people a discount if they lived in council tax bands a—d. all of his measures are focused on helping people who need help the most. i think that's been his record while he was chancellor, and i think that he'll continue to do that as prime minister as well. we spent £407 billion during a once—in—a—lifetime, once—in—100—years pandemic, putting our arms around the country, supporting people's livelihoods. through the furlough scheme, we saved 11 million jobs, we saved millions of businesses through the grants that we intervened with, so i think that rishi's proven himself to be someone who comes to support when it's required. he's the only candidate, i believe, who can restore trust, rebuild the economy, reunite the country and, crucially, win the next general election.

earlier, my colleague ben brown spoke to our political correspondent ione wells. certainly the candidates are starting to announce thick and fast with the former chancellor rishi sunak being the latest to announce publicly he will be bidding for the next conservative party leadership. he has released a pretty slick video on social media outlining his intentions, stressing integrity and determination rather than fairy tales as the thing which is going to drive his campaign to be the next conservative party leader. interestingly, he, a bit like some of the other candidates that are widely tipped to be putting forward a leadership bid, including steve baker and nadhim zahawi and the former health secretary sajid javid, talks about his upbringing. one of the things that tainted rishi sunak's brand when some

tipped him as an heir apparent, were some things about his wife's non—dom tax status and rishi sunak's own wealth which led people to fear he was out of touch especially during a cost—of—living crisis. in this video, he's keen to emphasise his grandmother immigrated to the uk and that his mother worked hard to become a pharmacist and alongside his nhs gp father worked to give both him and also his siblings opportunities that they could never dream of, so really interesting. a lot of candidates here are drawing on their personal are drawing on their personal experiences and childhood experiences as part of their leadership bid. he joins tom tugendhat and suella braverman who've publicly

put forward a bit but we do understand in the background, there are others who are seriously considering putting bids together, shoring up support among conservative mps, like the current chancellor, nadhim zahawi, and also the transport secretary grant shapps in the foreign secretary liz truss as well. durham police have announced that the labour leader, sir keir starmer, and his deputy, angela rayner, will not be fined for breaking lockdown rules while campaigning last year. it follows a police inquiry into this meeting last april, the so—called "beergate" gathering. sir keir and his deputy had both said they would resign if they had been issued with a fixed penalty notice, but durham police have said there's no case to answer. sir keir has been giving his response. people said to me i was taking a risk by saying i would step down if i was fined, but it was never about that. for me, it was a matter of principle. it shouldn't be controversial to say that those who make the law can't break the law, but we have to set the bar far higher than that. our country is stuck

in a dangerous rut. everywhere you look, things are broken and nothing gets fixed. people say to me when they look at those running the country, they see a group of people totally detached from reality, whose words mean nothing and who put their own interests first. who could blame them for concluding that politics doesn't matter and doesn't work? this is notjust about borisjohnson. this feeling that politics has failed hasn't emerged in the last few months. it's been bubbling away for years. and people have completely lost faith that this can be changed, that politics can be a force for good. the reason i made the promise that i did was to change their mind.

our correspondent danny savage spent today outside durham police station. i think durham police have been pretty well insulated by any external pressure by keir starmer saying he would resign if he received a fixed penalty notice. keir starmer, former head of the cps, knew exactly what he was doing when he said he would fall on his sword if he received such a fine. but he also probably knew like many of us who live and work up here that durham police haven't given out any retrospective fines in relation to the breaking of any covid regulations. not that keir starmer did that, not that dominic cummings did that in the eyes of county durham police. their investigations have cleared both from each side of the political divide over different matters.

let's look at the statement from durham police today saying a substantial amount of documentary and witness evidence was obtained which identified the 17 precipitants and their activities during that labour gathering here at the miners hall in durham in april last year. following the application of the evidential test, we concluded there was no case to answer for a contravention of the regulations due to the application of an exception, namely reasonably necessary work. there was an exception for gatherings at that time if it was a work event. durham police say accordingly they will not be issuing any fixed penalty notices in respect of the gathering, and so no further action will be taken. and they say the investigation has been thorough, detailed and proportionate. a lot of senior officers, it's my understanding, were working on the investigation. only two months ago since we were standing outside this police headquarters talking about the new investigation taking place, questionnaires were sent out to people who were there, detailed investigations were taking place by senior detectives. they have concluded that

no rules were broken. so, keir starmer has nothing to answer for, if you like. and he was always maintaining and always maintained his innocence, saying he did nothing wrong and that is what durham police have found as well. world leaders have been expressing their shock and grief after the assassination of japan's former prime minister, shinzo abe. mr abe was shot while making a speech in the city of nara and later died in hospital. he was 67 and had beenjapan�*s longest serving prime minister. political violence is rare injapan, where gun ownership is strictly controlled. this afternoon, the queen has issued a statement saying she was "deeply saddened" by the shooting. this report from caroline hawley contains flash photography. the last words of shinzo abe, who was giving a campaign speech for a colleague at an election rally. here, the suspected gunman, reported to be a man in his 40s, is tackled to the ground. he'd fired two shots at the former prime minister with what appears to be a home—made weapon.

japan has some of the strictest gun control laws in the world, and the attack has come as a profound shock. beneath the blue sheet, shinzo abe is carried away for emergency treatment, critically wounded with gunshots to the neck. and japan held its breath for its former prime minister. at hospital, shinzo abe was given surgery and a huge blood transfusion, but his heart was damaged and his injuries were too severe. translation: mr shinzo abe was taken in today at 12:20 i at the emergency care centre. he was in a state of cardiac arrest. he was given intensive care, but, unfortunately, he passed away today at 17:03. this is how news of his death was announced, the motive of his killer not yet known. and then a shaken prime minister came out to speak to the nation. translation: i prayed that, somehow, his life could be spared, but, _

unfortunately, he passed away despite those prayers. this is truly unfortunate, and i have no words to express how i feel. shinzo abe was a familiar face on the international stage. he'd served two terms as prime minister before stepping down in 2020 to seek treatment for a long—standing stomach illness. tributes have poured in from around the world. borisjohnson said his global leadership in uncharted times would be remembered by many. "the uk stands with you at this dark and sad time." the secretary general of the nato military alliance said the killing was heinous. "shinzo abe, a defender of democracy and a friend." shinzo abe came from a family of politicians. one of his grandfathers was also a prime minister, his father a foreign minister. he'll be remembered for helping shift japanese military policy. under his watch, japan's pacifist constitution was changed to allow japanese troops to serve abroad for the first time since

the second world war. he was a towering figure injapanese political life, one of the country's most influential modern leaders, a post no other politician injapan has held for as long as shinzo abe. police have now searched the house of his suspected killer, who had apparently served injapan�*s equivalent of the navy. they're reported to have found what they believe our explosives. but the suspect is also reported to have told police he had no political grudge against shinzo abe, whose killing in a country where violence is rare has left japan in disbelief. caroline hawley, bbc news. some breaking news in a moment. but first of all... sir mark rowley has been named as the new commissioner of the metropolitan police, taking over the role vacated by dame cressida dick.

he is himself a former look senior police officer. dame cressida stood down as commissioner in february following a series of scandals. there was a loss of confidence in her leadership from the mayor of london. earlier, the mayor of london, sadiq khan, commended the appointment of sir mark rowley and called the new met police chief a "reforming commissioner". well, sir mark hasn't in the police for the last four in the police for the last four years. that's really important. he brings an outside experience. he also knows the importance of a commissioner who is to win back the trust and confidence from so many communities in london he has have a plan to get the basics of policing rights and also carry on the success we've had in reducing violent crime in our city. just to bring a couple of government appointments have been announced. not great surprises because at least one of the people is back in the job

they were occupying before they resigned to fourscore boris johnson out. that is heather wheeler returns to her previous job as planetree secretary at the cabinet office. you may recall she was herself in the headlines a few weeks ago when she made reference to god awful places in connection with blackpool and manchester for which he apologised. guy opperman is back in government as the department for work and pensions secretary and julie marson will be in that department as well as well as assistant government with in those apartments announced by boris johnson's office. in those apartments announced by borisjohnson�*s office. one of the funny things as they resigned from his government and i have been reappointed by him because he has resigned himself. confused? well, that's politics. sepp blatter, the former president of football's world governing body fifa, and former vice—president michel platini have both been found not guilty after a trial for fraud in switzerland. they were accused over a payment of £1.5 million made by blatter to platini in 2011.

both men had denied any wrongdoing and said the money was a belated payment for platini's advisory work for fifa. let me bring you up—to—date with the headlines so far this hour. the former chancellor, rishi sunak, enters the race to be the next leader of the conservative party and prime minister. durham police clear sir keir starmer of breaking lockdown rules. he'd pledged to resign if fined. he said it was a meal necessary for his work on a campaign visit. the labour leader says his party is now ready for an election. tributes pour in from around the world forjapan�*s former prime minister, shinzo abe, who has been assassinated while delivering a speech at a campaign event. britain's former counter—terrorism police chief sir mark rowley is formally appointed as the new head of the metropolitan police in the wake of a string

of failings which have compromised public trust. in ukraine, russian forces are continuing their push in the east of the country a day after president putin told parliamentary leaders in moscow that his offensive was yet to begin in earnest. russia switched its focus to ukaine's eastern donbas in march after a failed bid to capture the capital, kyiv. it's since taken control of luhansk region and is now focusing efforts on the neighbouring donetsk region. russian air strikes and bombardments have killed at least eight people there in recent days. the city of slovyansk has found itself on the new front line, with its remaining residents living under constant shelling. our defence correspondent jonathan beale sent this report. near the front line, close to the city of slovyansk, ukrainian troops prepare to target russian positions. they know this next

battle will be crucial. i think that slovyansk is the next big aim for russia. do you think you can stop putin? sure. you can? we will, we will. blasts of artillery, the familiar sounds of this war but there is also a quieter, harder—to—see battle involving drones and electronic warfare, jamming and tracking signals. the russians have a lot of stuff for blocking the drones, for blocking the signal with remote control, with the camera and so on. it's also a dangerous game of hide—and—seek, as we soon found out. helicopter whirrs. we're just hearing some

sound of aircraft. they've told us, the ukrainian soldiers here, to take under the trees. russians are flying over these positions, trying to spot where they are. it's a... a russian's... they've been using drones, small, cheap ones to spot enemy positions and direct artillery. they've already lost five. but they believe they are getting results. back at base, they're even making their own bombs to target the russians. we have three or four motars, one tank, maybe up to 100 soldier and five or six ammunition. yeah, yeah. so, we have good results for the ten people! the russians aren'tjust tracking their drones, they're also trying to jam communications. but us technology's helping overcome that. at another secret location, they're using one of the thousands of starlink satellite units provided by elon musk.

elon musk. "russia, hello?" the other western name as popular among ukrainian troops is boris johnson. but even though he'll soon be gone, there's still hope that britain will continue to back ukraine. translation: now we're defending western values here. _ modernising our army and providing sufficient weapons will bring peace to your country, to you in britain. russia's already targeting the city of slovyansk. it still outguns ukraine and has the advantage in electronic warfare. home—grown ingenuity and western support is making a difference. but is it sufficient to halt the russian advance? jonathan beale, bbc news, the donbas.

a 22—year—old man has been handed a life sentence for the murder of 53—year—old police community support officerjulia james. callum wheeler will serve a minimum of 37 years behind bars. ms james was found dead from serious head injuries in akholt wood in april last year. us presidentjoe biden has made promises about the protection of abortion rights for women. he said there would be no national ban on abortion while he is president and is to sign an executive order to help safeguard women's access to contraception and abortion medication across the united states. it comes a month after the supreme court overturned the landmark roe v wade decision that made abortion legal. six men have been found guilty for their roles in a string of what the court heard were "ruthlessly executed" robberies and burglaries, including a 5.5 million diamond heist. a number of the gang were involved in the theft of the portland tiara in 2018, which has been described as a national treasure.

one of them was also found guilty of robbing former england footballer ashley cole at his home. navtej johal reports. with the help of a circular saw and helmets to cover their faces, this is the moment a gang of criminals stole a tiara worth £3.5 million. it was described in court as one of a series of ruthlessly executed burglaries and violent robberies. here's one of the gang. ashley cumberbatch. that's amazing! in august 2017, more than a year before the tiara was stolen, he visited the welbeck estate in nottinghamshire with a child in tow. he filmed the trip on a gopro camera as part of a reconnaissance exercise. footage that eventually led police to him. and this is what he had come to see. the tiara designed by cartier and worn by the duchess of portland at the coronation of edward vii in 1902.

cumberbatch returned here in november 2018. he and two others broke in and stole the portland tiara and a diamond encrusted brooch from the estate's harley gallery. they were in and out injust eight minutes. the items have never been recovered and are thought to have been broken up for the jewels. the audacious way that they conducted that burglary, the planning that went into it, the gopro footage we've dated well over a year prior to that showed that how long they've maybe been planning that for. and it became a mission for myself and the team that we were going to solve it. absolutely. the majority of the ten men on trial at nottingham crown court for the past few months have been accused of being involved in the burglary or converting the items stolen. but it wasn't the only high profile crime in which some of them were involved. one of them, kurtis dilks, was part of a gang of four who used a sledgehammer to smash their way

into the home of former england footballer ashley cole and threatened to torture him. mr cole told police that during the knife—point robbery injanuary 2020 he thought he was going to die. the home of another ex—england footballer, tom huddlestone, was also targeted. he was away playing a match when his wife was bound with cable ties. she told the court she feared she would be raped or killed. despite today's verdicts, police say they're still searching for some of the gang members involved. meanwhile, it's believed the portland tiara, described as a national treasure, will never be seen in its original state again. navteonhal, bbc news. iam back i am back at 7pm and of course i have a full half—hour discussion of the departure of borisjohnson and what lies ahead for the conservative party and the country under a new

prime minister on dateline london. we willjoin the team for sports day in a few minutes and now time for a look at the weather with nick. hello. the technical definition of a heat wave is for three consecutive days of temperatures above a certain threshold, which is different depending on where you are in the country. it does look as if some spots in wales, so not widely in wales, but more of england will reach that threshold and hit the heatwave criteria from the period sunday onto monday, before things cool down again. it will also be turning warmer for a time in scotland and northern ireland. that's as high pressure moves right across the uk this weekend, before slipping away into next week. of course, with high pressure, that means more dry weather around. this is the next five days of rainfall. and there will be very little, if any, rain hitting the driest parts of particularly wales and england, the areas that are going to see the highest temperatures as we go through the next several days. well, let's take each day in turn for the next five days, starting with saturday. the high pressure isn't right across the uk just yet, so there will still be some areas of cloud towards northern ireland, northern and western scotland,

where you won't notice it being particularly warm — certainly not in the northern and western isles — and the chance of some rain. still quite breezy. and actually, through wales and england, temperatures will take a few degrees of a step back compared with the readings we had on friday before. as the high pressure moves across us, they build back on sunday. and as the high pressure moves across, it deflects any of this rain—bearing cloud, more so towards the northern isles on sunday. there will be more sunshine around in scotland and northern ireland. it will be there widely into england and wales, and so temperatures are on the up, even in scotland and northern ireland but particularly so through parts of wales and a large area of england — getting close to the 30 celsius mark in the hottest parts. high pressure still right there monday, so the heat continues. and again, particularly through wales and england, but the warmest parts of northern ireland and scotland on monday will be around about the mid—20s celsius. some rain approaching, though, the very far northwest of scotland later in the day, with a freshening breeze. going to be a hot one, though, across a large part of england,

parts of wales, and temperatures into the low 30s in south east england. here's a change. from tuesday onwards, got low pressure well to the north of scotland, but it has a weather front which is trailing from it. it's a cold front. it has cloud and some outbreaks of rain. probably not very much rain, but there is some there, gradually making further progress out of scotland and northern ireland, into parts of northern england and eventually perhaps wales on tuesday. so, cooler behind that. ahead of that, this is where the heat continues from the other day, those heatwave conditions into the east and southeast of england. and then as we go on into wednesday, that pushes on through. we've got high pressure trying to build back in again from the west. we've got a breezier flow than across northern areas. and there will be a scattering of showers into scotland, northern england, northern ireland just seeing a few of those. and, well, after maybe a little bit of rain across southern areas but very briefly, you're back to dry weather here. and although it has cooled, it is still very warm, particularly across the southeast, whereas at this stage, scotland and northern ireland, temperatures at or even below average for the time of year. high pressure just keeping

southern areas largely dry for the remainder of the week, but weather systems running across the north of it will still bring some outbreaks of rain at times and a stiffer breeze across northern areas. so, the way next week pans out is, at the start, very warm to hot. there will be a heat wave in places to begin with. as we've established, it turns cooler from the north, and we're still watching after that. the following weekend, maybe into the start of the week after that, the potential for some heat to come back. maybe some extreme heat. it is far from guaranteed. it's still a long way off, and of course we will continue to watch that for you on weather for the week ahead. hello there and welcome to sportsday. i'm gavin ramjuan. heartbreak for cameron norrie. his wimbledon final dream ends after defeat to the reigning

champion novak djokovic. an incredible comeback for alfie hewett —