this is bbc news and these are the headlines... 11 candidates in the running so farand headlines... 11 candidates in the running so far and the rules for the conservatives leadership contest will be announced later. boris johnson says he will not be backing any of those who want his job. there's a contest under way, and that must happen. i wouldn't want to damage anybody�*s chances by offering my support. we'll bring you the latest. we will be talking to one of the contenders in the next few minutes. as temperatures in parts of the uk head for 33 degrees celsius today, a heat health alert is issued. the president of sri lanka says he will resign,

after thousands of demonstrators stormed his official residence in protest at the state of the economy. the former formula 1 boss bernie ecclestone has been charged with fraud by false representation. the big birth control plan to control the the number of grey squirrels — and save the native red squirrel. a warm welcome to bbc news. good to have your company on a busy afternoon, not least in the conservative leadership contest which is where we begin this hour. borisjohnson says in his final few

weeks as prime minister, he's determined to deliver what he promised when elected in 2019. in his first public appearance since resigning as conservative leader, he also said he wouldn't want to damage any of his colleagues�*s chances of getting his job by offering them his support. conservative mps will meet later to draw up the timetable and rules to replace him as the next party leader and prime minister. we can hear from we can hearfrom ben brown. we can hear from ben brown. the weather is — we can hear from ben brown. tie weather is heating we can hear from ben brown. tte weather is heating up we can hear from ben brown. ttj: weather is heating up and so is the leadership contest. this afternoon in about one hour we have the beginning of the 1922 committee meeting, the conservative backbenchers are going to be assessing the rules for this leadership contest. they are going to whittle down the size of the field in the next few days. many of the 11 hopefuls so far have been setting out there competing tax plans as a core element of their

promises to fellow tory mps and the wider conservative party membership who will make the final decision. the current crop of contenders will be whittled down to two by the end of next week and that is where parliament breaks up for the summer and then the wider tory party membership get their vote. we won't know the result and the new leader of the party and the next prime minister until early september. our political correspondent, david wallace lockhart, reports. 11 candidates fighting for one vacancy. last night, foreign secretary liz truss became the latest cabinet minister to enter the race. in a video posted on social media this morning, she promises low taxes and economic growth. i want the best for us all, and i am the person to deliver that. some less prominent candidates are going for a more home—made approach when it comes to campaign launches — such as junior minister rehman chishti. hi, everyone, it's rehman, the member of parliament for gillingham and rainham.

tax and spend is the bread and butter of this contest. chancellor nadhim zahawi told sky news that claims he's being investigated over his financial affairs are a smear. he wants to cut taxes and the size of government. so, you are saying 20% cut in every department? well, that's what i want to make sure we get to. that will give me the headroom to be able to deliver tax cuts, which i want to deliver. one of his leadership rivals, tom tugendhat, also wants to see lower taxes. i didn't vote for the national insurance rise. i think i was one of a few conservative mps who did not vote for the national insurance rise, because we realised, i realised, it was a tax on jobs. given that we had just come out of the two years of covid that really hurt so many people around the world, what we really need to be doing is going for growth. one candidate notable for their lack of any tax cut pledges is former chancellor rishi sunak. he's not been interviewed on camera yet, but his allies say this

is a responsible position. i do think you have got to be very cautious about promising entirely unfunded tax cuts in the heat of a conservative leadership election. which, as you said, i think quite rightly, has been in part caused by a loss of trust. rishi sunak�*s position doesn't seem to have damaged his start to the campaign. of these 11 declared candidates so far, he has the most mps publicly backing him at this point. a decision on a leadership bid is still expected from home secretary priti patel. there may be a lot of candidates right now, but it's possible the numbers could come down fairly rapidly. today, senior conservative mps will meet to establish the rules of this contest. it's possible any candidate could need as many as 20 fellow mps backing them, just to get into the first round of voting. mps are then expected to swiftly whittle the candidates down to a final two. former health secretary sajid javid remains bullish.

are you confident in your leadership bid? of course, of course. good morning, it's good to see you. we could have a new leader very soon. until then, he stays in the top job — with a visit to a london research centre today. he's not revealing who he wants to take over. there's a contest under way, and that must happen. i wouldn't want to damage anybody�*s chances by offering my support. ijust have to get on in the last few days and weeks. the constitutional function of the prime minister, in this situation, is to discharge the mandate, to continue to discharge the mandate, and that's what i'm doing. we'll have more clarity on the timescale for succession shortly. david wallace lockhart, bbc news, westminster. we are going to talk to one of the contenders, rehman chishti. one of the new contenders to enter the tory

leadership race. it is fair to say you are not exactly a household name, and it is quite a leap from being a newly appointed minister, just appointed in the last few days, to prime minister of this country, how can you make that leap? for me it is about being _ how can you make that leap? for me it is about being frank— how can you make that leap? for me it is about being frank with _ how can you make that leap? for me it is about being frank with the - it is about being frank with the british public, many people haven't heard about me but what is important is to set out as our country moves forward with this transition, and as we look for change, to put forward individuals across the conservative party who have diverse ranges of experience, as individuals, amongst equals, and then to say, what can they offer our great country in these challenging and difficult times ahead. what drives politicians. i have been honest, i have not been planning a leadership contest for a year, i have not been planning one at all, and for the last 12 years as an mp, when i first came here at the age of 31, was about getting on with the job and

coming up with creative ideas, private members bill on mental health, which matters to the people. i bring fresh ideas. you health, which matters to the people. i bring fresh ideas.— i bring fresh ideas. you have only been a minister _ i bring fresh ideas. you have only been a minister for _ i bring fresh ideas. you have only been a minister for a _ i bring fresh ideas. you have only been a minister for a few- i bring fresh ideas. you have only been a minister for a few days . i bring fresh ideas. you have only| been a minister for a few days and you don't bring experience, and that was when so many other ministers resign from the government. what was when so many other ministers resign from the government. what i brin: it resign from the government. what i bring it about _ resign from the government. what i bring it about values _ resign from the government. what i bring it about values and _ resign from the government. what i bring it about values and a - resign from the government. what i bring it about values and a vision i bring it about values and a vision and also about what the great british public stand for, hard work, determination, perseverance, self belief. i came to our country at the age of six and did not speak a single word of english, and i was the first in my family to go to university, and then i came to parliament at 31. it was about hard work, just like this campaign. i don't have many people working on my campaign but it is about self belief and determination and what i have done as a parliamentarian is about creative ideas and if i was to be elected the leader of the party and to be the next prime minister, it would be having the brightest and the best people on a merit system

working and delivering for the country. working and delivering for the count . �* ., , working and delivering for the count . working and delivering for the country. boris johnson has been widely criticised _ country. boris johnson has been widely criticised for _ country. boris johnson has been widely criticised for breaching i widely criticised for breaching ethical and moral standards but you were one of his main supporters when he was elected? i were one of his main supporters when he was elected?— he was elected? i also stepped down from government _ he was elected? i also stepped down from government in _ he was elected? i also stepped down from government in 2020 _ he was elected? i also stepped down from government in 2020 is - he was elected? i also stepped down from government in 2020 is a - he was elected? i also stepped down | from government in 2020 is a former special envoy for the prime minister as the foreign office because i did not agree with the government regarding its policy on the internal market built so as a politician... what about his behaviour in number ten? would you like to see a change from that kind of behaviour? i would want to see — from that kind of behaviour? i would want to see the _ from that kind of behaviour? i would want to see the behaviour— from that kind of behaviour? i would want to see the behaviour i - from that kind of behaviour? i would want to see the behaviour i stand i from that kind of behaviour? i would want to see the behaviour i stand up for which is integrity, decency, fair play, and what happened at number ten is unacceptable and i have got to let people know about the values that drive me, honesty, integrity, decency, fair play, aspiration and hard work and that reflects the british people. ta)»:

aspiration and hard work and that reflects the british people.- reflects the british people. tax is the oli reflects the british people. tax is the policy that — reflects the british people. tax is the policy that is _ reflects the british people. tax is the policy that is most _ reflects the british people. tax is the policy that is most being - the policy that is most being discussed at the moment by all the contenders. it’s discussed at the moment by all the contenders— contenders. it's about aspirational conservatism. _ contenders. it's about aspirational conservatism, if— contenders. it's about aspirational conservatism, if you _ contenders. it's about aspirational conservatism, if you do _ contenders. it's about aspirational conservatism, if you do the - contenders. it's about aspirational conservatism, if you do the right l conservatism, if you do the right thing and persevere, and i saw this as a young barrister in london, if you work hard and do the right thing to what you want to keep more of your money, so it would be about lower taxation and keeping more of your money but what i can't do today and i won't do and it would be irresponsible is to set out a detailed economic policy because i have not seen the book, but what i can assure you is that we have the brightest and the best people serving the government across the board coming together in the national interest making those decisions for our country. rehman chishti, thanks — decisions for our country. rehman chishti, thanks for _ decisions for our country. rehman chishti, thanks forjoining - decisions for our country. rehman chishti, thanks forjoining us. - chishti, thanks forjoining us. there is a man behind us with a megaphone, being rather noisy, but thatis megaphone, being rather noisy, but that is democracy for you! we can

out discuss the leadership now. —— we can now discuss what up one of the concerns is to get the leadership race up and running very quickly, tim? fine leadership race up and running very quickly. tim?— leadership race up and running very quickly, tim? one of the ways to do that is to increase _ quickly, tim? one of the ways to do that is to increase the _ quickly, tim? one of the ways to do that is to increase the threshold - quickly, tim? one of the ways to do that is to increase the threshold of l that is to increase the threshold of nominations for anybody to stand and in 2019 they made changes to try and whittle down the field and they did get rid of a few people before voting started but we still had five rounds of parliamentary voting before we came up with the final two so it will be a tight squeeze and that will make it more difficult to stand this time around the last time around. ., ., i. , , around. how do you see it playing around. how do you see it playing around over— around. how do you see it playing around over the _ around. how do you see it playing around over the next _ around. how do you see it playing around over the next few - around. how do you see it playing around over the next few weeks? | around. how do you see it playing i around over the next few weeks? it will be a long summer and the mps have got to have their say and then of course it is the wider conservative party membership who will vote on the final two and that

could be absolutely fascinating, depending on who they are. it could be fascinating. _ depending on who they are. it could be fascinating. in _ depending on who they are. it could be fascinating. in 2019 _ depending on who they are. it could be fascinating. in 2019 it _ depending on who they are. it could be fascinating. in 2019 it wasn't - be fascinating. in 2019 it wasn't fascinating because it was very obvious borisjohnson was going to win right from the start but it will be interesting to see this time if we have a truly competitive race onceit we have a truly competitive race once it goes to the membership ballot. it doesn't look so far as if anybody is as far ahead as boris johnson was, so let's see about that. it is such a crowded field, it is really difficult to see who is going to come through. aha, is really difficult to see who is going to come through.- is really difficult to see who is going to come through. a lot of --eole going to come through. a lot of people think — going to come through. a lot of people think rishi _ going to come through. a lot of people think rishi sunak - going to come through. a lot of people think rishi sunak is - going to come through. a lot of. people think rishi sunak is going going to come through. a lot of - people think rishi sunak is going to be the candidate of the sensor and then —— of the centre, and there may be up against somebody like liz truss from the right. you be up against somebody like liz truss from the right.— be up against somebody like liz truss from the right. you would have to have a strange _ truss from the right. you would have to have a strange definition - truss from the right. you would have to have a strange definition of- truss from the right. you would have to have a strange definition of what l to have a strange definition of what is centrist to call rishi sunak a

centrist and i think they are both thoroughgoing thatcherite tour but the difference between them is that liz truss favours more borrowing —— thatcherites will so so it is really a competition between different strains of thatcherism rather than sensor versus right, to be honest. but on tax, rishi sunak _ versus right, to be honest. but on tax, rishi sunak is _ versus right, to be honest. but on tax, rishi sunak is saying - versus right, to be honest. but on tax, rishi sunak is saying he - tax, rishi sunak is saying he doesn't want to cut tax by all the others say they do want to cut tax. —— about all the others. he says cutting tax is a ferret out so that is the main policy divide at the moment between the contenders —— cutting tax is a fairy tale. yes. moment between the contenders -- cutting tax is a fairy tale.— cutting tax is a fairy tale. yes, to be honest. _ cutting tax is a fairy tale. yes, to be honest, norman _ cutting tax is a fairy tale. yes, to be honest, norman lamont, - cutting tax is a fairy tale. yes, to be honest, norman lamont, if. cutting tax is a fairy tale. yes, to i be honest, norman lamont, if you heard him this lunchtime, rishi sunak is the more realistic person when it comes to tax policy and public spending policy than the other candidates and i fear what is

going to happen is we will get into an auction of tax without any sense of the consequences for public services and there are some people suggesting cutting departments by huge amounts, that no other government has been able to do, and amounts that i think most voters would be very worried about. we already have a crisis in the nhs and i don't think any prime minister wants to make that any worse by cutting finance to the nhs. thanks for 'oinin: cutting finance to the nhs. thanks forjoining us- _ cutting finance to the nhs. thanks forjoining us. we _ cutting finance to the nhs. thanks forjoining us. we are _ cutting finance to the nhs. thanks forjoining us. we are now- cutting finance to the nhs. thanks forjoining us. we are now being i forjoining us. we are now being drowned out by blasting music across couege drowned out by blasting music across college green outside the palace of westminster by the same protesters who were shouting earlier. but that is democracy. i will hand you back to the studio. studio: thanks for joining us. a cappella himself but with accompaniment!

we can now talk through the numbers. tens of billions of pounds of tax cuts. the extraordinary thing about that is not a conservative leadership candidate will want to cut taxes, that's quite natural for them, but we have seen these taxes just go up in the past few months. so it's the grand old duke of york kind of description of how these will go up and potentially come down if a certain prime minister comes in. what you have here, in the backdrop to this, in order to meet the borrowing targets in the conservative manifesto, there is about £30 billion, 1% of the worth of our economy, of room for manoeuvre. normally, you want to keep that in tact for a rainy day. but this is essentially being spent. that's the difference between the 3% rise in taxation and the 2% that has

been spent on extra public services, things like social care and those nhs waiting lists we are trying to deal with. what we are not getting is how that will be cut back. very few explanations of that. they say it will all be done by efficiency savings, but that raises the question as to what the current government, the same government, is spending the money on right now. lots of promises of really quite massive tax cuts. we have just had tax rises. not much explanation of where spending might be cut. at the moment, they don't say the borrowing rules are going to change. we can now speak to corston bell who used to work for the labour party and is now with the resolution foundation. what are your concerns about these tax cut promises and what questions are you not hearing the conservative candidates are being asked about in this kind of

leadership race? it is being asked about in this kind of leadership race?— leadership race? it is up to the media to ask _ leadership race? it is up to the media to ask the _ leadership race? it is up to the media to ask the right - leadership race? it is up to the i media to ask the right questions leadership race? it is up to the - media to ask the right questions but what i would do is step back and say, looking at the contest so far, there isn't any question to which there isn't any question to which the answer hasn't been just very large tax cuts, that is the only thing being discussed. there are other margins and political choices governments need to make about the right level of taxes and that is reasonable, but these huge tax cuts, in terms of being very large for individuals but also promises that run across several taxes like corporation tax and national insurance, fuel duty, vat, tax after tax after tax, those things are so large as to be veering into the totally implausible to deliver, given what that you would mean in terms of trade—offs for the public finances or the public services people rely on like the nhs or the

ministry of defence and the army which people in the tory party, many of them would like to see growth. norman lamont thought that nadim zahawi's suggestion for 20% spending cuts was completely realistic but made a broader point which was about the need for clear messages and the danger of moves like this having an impact on the pan. i suppose everybody knows unrealistic promises will be made because that is the nature of a contest of this kind —— impact on the pound. does it matter? i'm sure there's a lot in what you are saying and people do make promises in election campaign and if you look back to the last conservative election campaign it involved big promises of tax cuts but the prime minister actually put up but the prime minister actually put up tax cuts. the scale of what is

being discussed now is of a different order of magnitude and the focus of the debate purely on the tax cuts has put those things up in lights and does raise questions about how serious about delivering those promises people making them are. ~ , ., ., those promises people making them are. ., are. whether you are politically on the left or right, _ are. whether you are politically on the left or right, people _ are. whether you are politically on the left or right, people should - are. whether you are politically on the left or right, people should be | the left or right, people should be worried about the degree of taxation that comes out of an economy because if government takes a bigger chunk it reduces the chunk that could be in the private sector and produced and the economy growing, that is one of the arguments that has been made. you come from a different political space at the resolution foundation, the impact it has on people from low incomes in particular, so what impact is it having on the moment, the level of taxation that we currently have which we are told is the highest since the 1950s? we are

a oliticall the highest since the 1950s? we are a politically independent _ the highest since the 1950s? we are a politically independent charity - a politically independent charity with a conservative peer as one of our presidents and we focus on what our presidents and we focus on what our research and analysis of shows and we share that with the public. a lot of conservative leadership candidates are raising the point that the tax burden is at a high level then we have been used to in recent decades, although not high then we see in similar countries but high than we have been used to in the recent past. the reason that is happening is because this is a slow—growing economy, growing slower than other comparable economies and we are an ageing society and so there is more pressure on some areas of public spending and that is because some of us have been dying younger than we were hoping a few years ago, some of those costs aren't as big as we were fearing about the general direction of taxes is because of slow growth and an ageing society and we want somethings to be dealt with like net

zero. there is upward pressure on taxes and then the question really is what is the right way to deal with those precious, you can try to resist them, which means cutting back bits of the nhs —— deal with those pressures. you can have other techniques to control welfare spending, and historically that has meant cutting back the defence budget which fell hugely after the second world war through to the 19905 second world war through to the 1990s and it is that budget falling which allow education and health spending to increase without big increases in taxation and i don't think that is what the government wants to do today which is what has been hinted at but there are not other areas which are easy to cut so thatis other areas which are easy to cut so that is why you end up being a high—tech society and we do need to talk about how we have the right taxes and better taxes, notjust about promising to get them lower when that is unlikely to be where we are in the 20 20s. when you look at low and middle income households, tax cuts are not the answer for them

in terms of facing up to a cost of level crisis —— cost of living crisis because they don't pay income taxes to the same extent and there is a reason why the chancellor, the former chancellor, rishi sunak, attempted to provide through national insurance cuts as a way of helping the cost of living crisis but then had to give support in may and he had used benefit system to make those payments because that is how you target those who are worst affected by the cost of living crisis. ., ., ., , the labour leader, sir keir starmer, has attacked what he calls an "arms race of fantasy economics" by the conservative leadership hopefuls. sir keir accused them of making unfunded tax promises and says some are now opposing tax increases they approved while serving in boris johnson's government. the tory leadership race hasn't even officially begun yet, but the arms race of fantasy economics is well under way.

over the weekend, the contenders have made more than £200 billion worth of unfunded spending commitments. 200 billion. let that sink in. that is more than the annual budget of the nhs, splurged onto the pages of the sunday papers, without a word on how it will be paid for. alex forsyth spoke about this earlier. well, this was meant to be about labour's vision for the economy and public services, but with the noise around the conservative leadership contest threatening to drown out every thing else, keir starmer weighed in. he accused the contenders of making wild spending commitments.

he said labour would not make unfunded pledges. he would not be drawn on the specifics of labour's tax policy. i asked him repeatedly if labour would reverse the increases in national insurance, he didn't say. he did not spell out plans for income tax or corporation tax. bear in mind, he has called for an early general election. he said he wouldn't write labour's manifesto during a course of interviews. but remember, sir keir starmer has often defined himself as a leader against borisjohnson, and there are some in his party, and some in the country, looking at him and saying, "what would you do if you were elected to government?" we have some breaking news. it is regarding the charges filed against bernie ecclestone the former boss of formula 1. the chief crown prosecutor at the crown prosecution service said it had authorised a chance against bernie ecclestone of fraud by false representation in respect of his failure to declare to

the revenue the existence of assets held overseas believed to be worth in excess of £400 million. simon yorke of revenue and customs said the investigation into benny exton had been complex and worldwide —— bernie ecclestone. he is accused of concealing these assets from the taxman, essentially. the case will be heard at westminster magistrates�* court on the 22nd of august and it is not clear if bernie ecclestone who is 91 will be required to attend that hearing. another bit of breaking news, a court case you may recall, a terrible incident, 12—year—old ava white was fatally stabbed in liverpool city centre on the 25th of november last year. a15—year—old boy has been given a life sentence and the minimum he will serve for killing ava white is

30 years. you may remember ava white�*s family expressing the terrible grief they are growing through —— going through. so a 15—year—old boy who was convicted at liverpool crown court has been given a life sentence with a minimum recommendation that he will serve 13 years in prison. sri lanka�*s president has confirmed that he intends to resign in two days�* time. the parliamentary speaker said the president had left the country after fleeing huge crowds which stormed his palace to protest against rising prices, and shortages of food and fuel. but he insisted the president would return by wednesday. our south asia editor is in the capital colombo.

a historic moment for many sri lankans. they want to cherish it and capture it. thousands have been coming to see the office of president gota rajapaksa that was stormed by huge crowds on saturday. a culmination of months long process against the president, accusing him of mismanaging the economy. sri lanka is bankrupt. it is struggling to import essential items. the situation is so bad. we are here to throw away this bad politics. so, i am happy to stay here today. why did you come here, to see this place? we have to stay together in the situation. so, that�*s why i�*m here. kilometre long queues outside a petrol station are a common sight. without fuel, the economy has come to a standstill. public transport, severely disrupted.

the desperation is unlikely to change, even if there is a new government. amidst all this political crisis, sri lanka is still facing a crippling shortage of fuel. and look at this, three wheelers, auto rickshaws, motorbikes, they are more than two kilometres long. the auto driver here says he has been waiting in the queue for more than a day. and that reflects the ground reality. unless the government gets their act together, the international community will not come forward to help them. in the meantime, sri lankans are curious to know how the president lived. they are aware this sprawling compound will soon be occupied by his successor. sri lanka�*s political leaders say they are working to form a new government. now colombo is running from pillar to post for loans. an immediate change in government helps. but a new government that

comes in by popular vote, through an election, will help even more, i think, in converting the goodwill of the international community to support sri lanka in the way forward. sri lanka is a classic case of a country that was living beyond its means. the protesters say, at least for now, they have achieved what they wanted by removing mr rajapaksa from power. but they are also aware economic misery will not be solved any time soon. anbarasan ethirajan, bbc news, colombo. the hot weather will continue for the rest of the week. temperatures are forecast to reach up to 33 celsius today in southern england — with a heat health alert being issued in some parts of the uk. scotland and northern ireland had their hottest days of the year so far on sunday. the met offce has issued a level 3 alert for southern england and the east midlands. people are being advised to stay indoors during the middle of the day, drink plenty of fluids

and take extra care people are being advised to stay indoors in the middle of the day, drink lots of fluids, not alcohol and look out for older members of family. john maguire is in teignmouth, in devon. what exactly does level 3 mean? there are four classifications of these health care warnings, four is national emergency, one down, three, amber warning. the idea is to warn social care and health care professionals that there will be extremely high temperatures, we are talking today something like 33 celsius. also the overnight temperatures will not drop either,

so people do not get the chance to recover from the heat. so people do not get the chance to recoverfrom the heat. it so people do not get the chance to recover from the heat. it is that warning for people to look out and take extra care of those people who they look after, more vulnerable members of our society. we have already seen the plans are starting to swing into action. do you mind if i put a hat on you, my lovely? because the sun is very hot. we may spend much of our time complaining about the lack of sun, but the advice this week is to avoid it. would you like an ice lolly? yes, please. here, at the aptly named summer court care home in teignmouth, the order of the day is sun cream, shade and a sedentary pace of life. i don�*t like it too hot, i must admit. i don�*t like it that hot. on the other hand, i don�*t like it too cold, either. it affects us all, but especially older people. all the more reason, as i say, we try to keep the house really cool. we've got fans on. you know, the windows are open,

but we try and keep the curtains drawn as well, so we keep places shaded. and just do as much as we can to, you know, as i say, hydration i think is one of the most important things. and at the met office in exeter, they are predicting higher temperatures as the week goes on. heat—health alerts are in place across much of england - throughout this week, - we've got level two and level three alerts in place. this is to basically alert health carers that the weather- is going to be extreme, i particularly temperatures are going to be highj by day and by night. and this can have - serious health impacts. let�*s go! go walkies! no mad dogs at the rspca�*s little valley animal sanctuary. keith�*s walkies are strictly in the morning or the evening, and there are several ways to keep hot dogs cool. we�*ll soak some towels in cold water, and we�*ll leave it flat out in the kennel for them so they can lie on it.

itjust cools them down a bit. expect to see plenty of dogs panting this week, as they struggle to regulate their body temperature. if you imagine that you're wearing a jacket indoors in the heat, you're going to sweat. dogs haven't got the luxury of unzipping that fur and taking it off. so they need to regulate their temperature by sticking their tongue out and panting, and keeping their pads cool. so it's all about that, really. making sure they've got a cool area to lay down, get their tummy cooler, obviously plenty of water. the flip side, of course, is that many people will be taking their coats off, and much more, soaking up the sun, lying on the sand, and swimming in the sea. summer — with all its pros and cons — is definitely here. here on the south devon coast, you can see quite a few people on the beach, not school holidays and yet so not as busy as it will be later this summer and there is a cool

breeze blowing in off the sea so not as hot as it will be inland during the remainder of the week. experts have said, with these high temperatures becoming increasingly frequent as the climate changes, we may need to adapt the way we live. we are very good at keeping warm in the uk but perhaps we might need to learn how to keep ourselves cool and adopt more of a mediterranean lifestyle. as we heard in the report, keeping windows closed, or keeping curtains closed to stop the sun rays getting into rooms, hydration, and seeing out —— staying out of the midday sun if you possibly can. good advice, get to the coast if you possibly can. chris from the bbc weather centre is with us. these are a very odd times for us, we still getting used to the idea of having a serious heatwave.

that�*s right. just in the past ten minutes the met office have put out an extreme heat warning, that�*s an amber weather warning in force across england and wales for exceptional high temperatures and they have lots of different effects. it can cause problems with people with underlying health conditions, the 2003 heatwave that affected western europe tens of thousands of people died as a result. whereas a lot of people think it is hot and sunny i�*m going to go out and enjoy it. there is a really serious side to these extreme heat waves that we see from time to time. infrastructure can be affected, railways expand and so often you see speed restrictions so it can affect travel and sometimes energy supplies. it is one of the thing we�*re going to have to start thinking about in future years, heat resilience in the way we build things and how we conduct our daily lives.— conduct our daily lives. that's ri . ht. conduct our daily lives. that's right- there _ conduct our daily lives. that's right. there are _ conduct our daily lives. that's right. there are some - conduct our daily lives. that's right. there are some steps i conduct our daily lives. that's i right. there are some steps you conduct our daily lives. that's - right. there are some steps you can take. to make the economy more

resilient. of course, that costs money and as far as the heat warnings are concerned, it is these areas. sunday perhaps monday, not sure how long it will last but these areas we will see the temperatures. today, it is also very hot, we�*ve seen temperatures of 32 celsius already, 32.7 is the highest this year so far, this is under threat within the next few hours. you can seek the maximum temperature at this time of year at about five o�*clock in the afternoon. so notjust midday, temperatures can continue to rise. if you look at this week, although today is very hot temperatures dip, that is the wrong word. 28 celsius is still hot but it is into next weekend in the early part of next week will see temperatures surge. air gets heated from spain portugal where temperatures in weston, eastern portugal could hit 48 degrees or so.

some of that hot air starts to get pulled up the western side of this area of high pressure and that causes our temperatures to surge. shalt we look at the weather picture for the rest of our afternoon here? the uk record is 38.7 which could be under threat. today loads of hot weather for england and wales. scotland and northern ireland, more cloud, not quite as hot. still 2324 celsius, still feeling warm but higher temperatures today, 33 celsius, decent shout for the hottest day of the year so far. beyond that, this evening, after such a hot day that heat builds up in the towns and cities and is slow to ebb away. stopping the forecast at ten o�*clock tonight and look at these temperatures in towns and cities. we are looking at temperatures around 25 celsius in

birmingham, 26 in london. this will be an uncomfortable night for sleeping. tomorrow, a cold front coming across the and bring some spots of rain for scotland and northern ireland and turning sunnier into the afternoon and behind that it is cooler and fresher. more cloud, sunshine is more hazy across england and wales. but still very hot. east anglia and south—east england i suspect again similar temperatures. around 33 celsius. it will stay very hot for some.

hello this is bbc news. the headlines: with 11 candidates in the running so far, the rules of the tory leadership contest will be decided this afternoon. the prime minister says he won�*t be backing any of the those who want his job. there is a contest under way and that must happen and i would not want to damage anybody�*s chances by offering my support. as temperatures in parts of the uk head for 33 degrees celcius today — a heat—health alert is issued. the president of sri lanka says he will resign — after thousands of demonstrators

stormed his official residence in protest at the state of the economy. the former formula one boss bernie ecclestone has been charged the big birth control plan to control the the number of grey squirrels — and save the native red squirrel. then brown is live at westminster for us. they will be setting the rules tonight with the 1922 committee of backbenchers meeting here and they will start meeting very shortly. and what they will try and do is whittle that field, almost like the grand national with 11 contenders so far, maybe more by the end of today. if priti patel throws her hat into the ring. they will try and whittle down

the number of candidates and by the end of next week down to two. those two would go before the wider conservative party membership which is around 180,000 men and women. they will choose between the final two contenders on decide who should be the next tory leader, next prime minister of this country. we can get more on all of that now with david wallace lockhart, our political correspondent who joins wallace lockhart, our political correspondent whojoins me now. it sounds quite dry and technical, the 1922 committee meeting on the rules but the rules will be crucial as part of the process of discovering who our next prime minister is. that�*s right. when we hear what these rules are going to be what seems like quite a large and potentially unwieldy amount of candidates, live and and priti patel still potentially to throw her hat in the rink that could become smaller quite swiftly because one of the first key decisions they will make is about a threshold to get

into the contest. in the last leadership election they decided any mp had to have eight fellow conservative mps backing them to get through to the first round of voting. the conservatives have a lot more mps than they did at that point because of the 2019 election. there is talk of that going up as high as 20 fellow mps backing you just to get into a neat first round of voting. the idea is you would have to essentially prove you have a base of support within the mps and within the parliamentary party, you don�*t constituency, in order to get into the first round. once we know those rules, the initial threshold is quite high, all of a sudden some candidates might not meet that threshold and they could be out very soon. that is people, with great respect we spoke to rehman chishti, one of the contenders. we spoke to him a few minutes ago, not exactly a household name, running to be prime

minister, the sort of person who might be weeded out by this process. yeah, notjust him, there are others who perhaps currently hold even more prominent positions who may struggle even to meet the threshold if it goes as high as 20... it even to meet the threshold if it goes as high as 20. . ._ even to meet the threshold if it goes as high as 20. .. it does not sound like _ goes as high as 20. .. it does not sound like a _ goes as high as 20. .. it does not sound like a lot _ goes as high as 20. .. it does not sound like a lot of _ goes as high as 20. .. it does not sound like a lot of mps - goes as high as 20. .. it does not sound like a lot of mps to - goes as high as 20. .. it does not sound like a lot of mps to get. goes as high as 20. .. it does not| sound like a lot of mps to get the support of, 20, but it is? the thing is so many — support of, 20, but it is? the thing is so many mps _ support of, 20, but it is? the thing is so many mps throw— support of, 20, but it is? the thing is so many mps throw their - support of, 20, but it is? the thing is so many mps throw their weight| is so many mps throw their weight behind who they think is best placed regardless of how many voters they already have backing them. it is not like they spread themselves out amongst all the candidates, if they believe one of the candidates is best placed date will throw their lot in with them and that takes their backing away from someone else. it is possible there will be a lot of lobbying going on at the moment and discussions happening in parliament�*s tea rooms and people like rehman chishti saying give me your support to get into the forefront of voting and give me the opportunity lay out my stall to be the next prime minister and i will show why it should be me. one thing

we know about conservative leadership contest is they can be quite unpredictable and quite often people who were never thought to be really strong candidates at the start, such as david cameron when he ran. these are people who at the start do not seem like fun and all of a sudden the narrative changes and it goes in their favour. meanwhile, they are up and running with the campaign already. talking about tax a lot. some contenders have events on today. tax seems to be the dominant issue in these very early stages. most of the candidates talking about cutting tax but rishi sunak saying all of that is a fairy tale. ,., . sunak saying all of that is a fairy tale. , ., , tale. the battle lines are being drawn. certainly _ tale. the battle lines are being drawn. certainly it _ tale. the battle lines are being drawn. certainly it is _ tale. the battle lines are being drawn. certainly it is going - tale. the battle lines are being drawn. certainly it is going to i tale. the battle lines are being i drawn. certainly it is going to be an issue that dominates throughout this campaign. some of the candidates promising immediate and quite significant tax cuts in many areas. other candidates likejeremy hunt perhaps finding a middle ground. he is talking about wanting

to see personal tax cuts for everyone but he will begin by focusing cutting corporation tax and some business rates and making it easier, he says, to kick—start the economy and get businesses more profitable and employ more people and growing the economy. then we have rishi sunak, who of course cannot really know about promising tax cuts because until last week he was the chancellor and he has always said he wants to see low taxes but has felt he had to put them up to deal with notjust run a virus but the war in ukraine as well. his supporters are saying, look, it is not fair to talk about cutting taxes at a point when the economy isn�*t in at a point when the economy isn�*t in a good position. that is not being straight with people. and this is an election we are trying to restore trust in the conservative party and therefore we need to be realistic about that. it feels like a bit of a divide forming over the in this contest between rishi sunak and everyone else who wants to run. lats everyone else who wants to run. lots of promises — everyone else who wants to run. lots of promises being thrown around. david wallace lockhart, thank you.

i�*v e i�*ve been talking to bob blackman, joint executive of the 1922 committee and asked him what rule changes could be set out. i suspect nominations will open this evening and closed tomorrow evening and there will be a threshold, at the moment a candidate will need a proposer, second and possibly 18 supporters, so 28 conservative mps are entitled to get on the ballot. that number may increase because colleagues may decide we need a higher threshold. there is also likely to be a ballot on wednesday which will almost certainly have a threshold of 10% of the membership of the parliamentary party to get through to the second ballot. that means basically mps will start to

have to require 20 mps to get on the ballot paper, and 36 to get through to the second round. obviously we have to present two candidates for the party at large by a week on thursday. we will have a series of ballots until that time until we got down to that level and then the last two will go to a vote of the party membership at large. the party board will meet this evening as well and i think that will, if it doesn�*t set the rules it�*ll set the parameters for the rules for the contest across the country. there is a threshold you mentioned, they are higher than in previous races. is the idea of that to whittle down the quite large field we have at the moment and in the end make the whole race a bit quicker? we�*ve got a timeframe. we got to complete our process by a week on thursday. we want to get down to

serious candidates as fast as possible. and we�*ve got to come as you quite rightly say, 11, 12, i�*ve heard of other colleagues casting around to see if they can get the support of mps to stand for the leadership. clearly we want to be in a position where we got the list down quickly so the candidates can be tested properly both at hustings, in interviews and are probably over next weekend, so that mps can come to theirfinal choice next weekend, so that mps can come to their final choice next week in an orderly fashion. they threshold are higher but then we�*ve got a lot more mps than we�*ve had for a long time. is there any chance of completing that whole process this week as opposed to it next week, or is that just too much of a rush? that opposed to it next week, or is that just too much of a rush?— opposed to it next week, or is that just too much of a rush? that is too much of a — just too much of a rush? that is too much of a rush. _ just too much of a rush? that is too much of a rush. we _ just too much of a rush? that is too much of a rush. we want _ just too much of a rush? that is too much of a rush. we want time - just too much of a rush? that is too much of a rush. we want time to i just too much of a rush? that is too i much of a rush. we want time to test the candidates both at the ballot box and also at hustings sessions. various sets of people are arranging

hustings sessions, to interview candidates and hear what they�*ve got to say. and what policies they will pursue and what their principles are in becoming prime minister. we have to remember we are electing notjust a party leader but also the prime minister of this country. it needs to be done seriously and properly but the aim is to have the new leader in place by the 5th of september, which is when parliament returns after the summer recess. that�*s bob blackman, from the 1922 committee, which is looking at the rules for this leadership contest today. we will get the parameters of the contest today and paul bristow is mp for peterborough and he joins me now outside parliament. do you wanted to be a quick race, a contest over pretty soon? lots of people saying to have borisjohnson in number 10 downing st for too much

longer may be is not very healthy because effectively he�*s a lame duck caretaker prime minister. i don�*t subscribe to that view because we�*ve got a caretaker prime minister, borisjohnson has been the prime ministerfor the minister, borisjohnson has been the prime minister for the past two and a half years so that is a settled view now. what is really important is all those contenders promised now should they reach the final two they will not withdraw and put up some sort of backroom deal and the membership have a vote on who becomes leader of the party. lots of the members are feeling pretty bruised by this whole process and if you want to put the party back together... you want to put the party back together- - -_ you want to put the party back touether...~ ,~ , j . you want to put the party back touether... ~ , . , �* . fl together... why are they bruce? a lot of them — together. .. why are they bruce? a lot of them still— together... why are they bruce? a lot of them still support _ together... why are they bruce? a lot of them still support boris i lot of them still support boris johnson. my constituency association in peter brook was still very much supporting borisjohnson. d0 in peter brook was still very much supporting boris johnson.- supporting boris johnson. do you still support _ supporting boris johnson. do you still support boris _ supporting boris johnson. do you still support boris johnson i supporting boris johnson. do you still support boris johnson -- i supporting boris johnson. do you still support boris johnson -- --| supporting boris johnson. do you i still support boris johnson -- -- my still support borisjohnson —— —— my constituency association in peterborough. i did support boris johnson until the end. despite the partygate and a pincher affair? that

was then and _ partygate and a pincher affair? that was then and this _ partygate and a pincher affair? ’tjngt was then and this is i think boris johnson will be remembered as a significant prime minister for this country. that is then, this is now. would you still like him to be prime minister? t would you still like him to be prime minister? ., ., ., ., ., ., minister? i am not going to go into this. it is important _ minister? i am not going to go into this. it is important new— minister? i am not going to go into this. it is important new members| this. it is important new members have their choice on who becomes leader. that is something all contenders should do today. promise that should dig it into the final two they will not withdraw and we allow members to have —— promise that should they get into the final two. ~ ., ., , ., that should they get into the final two. ~ ., ., iam that should they get into the final two. . ., ., iam back two. who are you backing? i am back in grant shapps- _ two. who are you backing? i am back in grant shapps. grant _ two. who are you backing? i am back in grant shapps. grant shapps i two. who are you backing? i am back in grant shapps. grant shapps is i two. who are you backing? i am back in grant shapps. grant shapps is a i in grant shapps. grant shapps is a formidable communicator and served in the cabinet and is a great campaigner. my majority is 2518 in peterborough, i want to retain my seat. i want a conservative government and we will not have one unless people like me retain our seats and that�*s why i think grant shapps is the best person to lead

our country and ensure we went the next election. see our country and ensure we went the next election-— next election. see the best vote winner? his— next election. see the best vote winner? his critics _ next election. see the best vote winner? his critics say - next election. see the best vote winner? his critics say he i next election. see the best vote i winner? his critics say he presided over transport chaos in this country. over transport chaos in this count . ., , over transport chaos in this country-— over transport chaos in this count . ., , ~ ., country. rail strikes after rail strikes. grant _ country. rail strikes after rail strikes. grant shapps - country. rail strikes after rail strikes. grant shapps is i country. rail strikes after rail strikes. grant shapps is a i country. rail strikes after rail l strikes. grant shapps is a great communicator, he�*s got a great personality... communicator, he's got a great personality- - -— communicator, he's got a great personality... communicator, he's got a great ersonali ., ., ,, ., .,, personality... you talk about him as a communicator, _ personality. .. you talk about him as a communicator, i— personality... you talk about him as a communicator, i am _ personality... you talk about him as a communicator, i am talking i personality... you talk about him as a communicator, i am talking about| a communicator, i am talking about him in office. he a communicator, i am talking about him in office-— him in office. he had a record for delivery as— him in office. he had a record for delivery as well. _ him in office. he had a record for delivery as well. if _ him in office. he had a record for delivery as well. if you _ him in office. he had a record for delivery as well. if you look i him in office. he had a record for delivery as well. if you look at i delivery as well. if you look at some of the things he�*s done, the great campaign to get gb rail new headquarters, that has been shortlisted to a few places. i wish peterborough was in that! i think grant shapps and got the track record in government, track record as a communicator and above all else he is a campaigner. tax. as a communicator and above all else he is a campaigner.— he is a campaigner. tax cuts or no tax cuts? — he is a campaigner. tax cuts or no tax cuts? rishi _ he is a campaigner. tax cuts or no tax cuts? rishi sunak _ he is a campaigner. tax cuts or no tax cuts? rishi sunak is _ he is a campaigner. tax cuts or no tax cuts? rishi sunak is a - he is a campaigner. tax cuts or no tax cuts? rishi sunak is a saying i tax cuts? rishi sunak is a saying that the idea of tax cuts now is a fairy tale. t that the idea of tax cuts now is a fai tale. ., , that the idea of tax cuts now is a fai tale. .,, ., fairy tale. i disagree. he has got lots of animal _ fairy tale. i disagree. he has got lots of animal qualities - fairy tale. i disagree. he has got lots of animal qualities but i we tax cuts now in order to —— rishi

sunak has lots of admirable qualities. i believe we need tax cuts now. the conservative way is to reduce taxes and give more people money in their pockets through work. more money into their pockets add to inflationary pressures. itirui’hat more money into their pockets add to inflationary pressures.— inflationary pressures. what the key is to crow inflationary pressures. what the key is to grow the _ inflationary pressures. what the key is to grow the economy _ inflationary pressures. what the key is to grow the economy and - inflationary pressures. what the key is to grow the economy and get i inflationary pressures. what the key| is to grow the economy and get more people into work. there are record numbers of vacancies now in the private sector but we�*ve still got unemployed people although it is the lowest it has been since 1974. we need to try and engage those people and get them into work. paul bristol, and get them into work. paul bristol. mp _ and get them into work. paul bristol, mp for _ and get them into work. paul bristol, mp for peterborough, thank you for your time this afternoon. we will see what happens. we will get those rules announce later on by the 1922 committee and if there are any developments in terms of the number of contenders in this race we�*ll bring that to you. still waiting to hear from we�*ll bring that to you. still waiting to hearfrom priti patel on whether she is going to make the 11

runners into 12 and whether anyone else throws their hat into the ring. not a lot of time left for them to do so. we�*ll bring you all the latest live from westminster, in the meantime back the studio. let me bring you more in that court case in liverpool, a 15—year—old boy has been given a life sentence for the murder of a white. she was 12 years old when she was stabbed to death in the city centre on the 25th of november. our reporter it�*s at liverpool crown court. you are inside for the sentencing, what reaction was there as the sentence was delivered? tt reaction was there as the sentence was delivered?— was delivered? it was a packed ublic was delivered? it was a packed public gallery _ was delivered? it was a packed public gallery with _ was delivered? it was a packed public gallery with members i was delivered? it was a packed public gallery with members ofj was delivered? it was a packed i public gallery with members of ava white�*s friends and family to watch proceedings. there were gasps and sobs when the sentence was handed down. she described it as a tragic case and how in a set of freak

circumstances ava white had been on out with her friends to watch the christmas lights switch on in liverpool city centre when a chance encounter might she come into contact with the dent 14—year—old boy. he and his friends had been filming ava on their phone and uploaded the video to snapchat and ava objected to this and this led to a concentration in their back to the crown court where ava shoved the boy who pulled out a knife and stabbed her in the neck was a blade three inches long and she died later from her injuries. initially the boy denied even being at the scene and it was only when cctv footage was shown to him to prove he was there he admitted to being at the scene of the crime. today he was sentenced to life sentence with a minimum of 13 years. this morning we heard a victim impact statements from members of ava�*s family and you got a sense of the devastation and ongoing agony and anguish in this

case has caused. herfather said how his reason for living was taken away. "when i wake up i think for a split second she still here. i loser every morning and i will for the rest of my life." —— and i lose her. one of the sisters of ava said she never goes out any more, burley. very emotional scenes here today with the sentence being handed down. some very hot weather over the next few days. today is a decent shout of upping the hottest of the date so far, the temperature up of the date so far, the temperature up to beat is 32.7. today we could

get 33 or maybe even 34. notjust one day we will see these temperatures, it is throughout the week across the south—east with some extreme heat building through the weekend and perhaps into monday. more on that in the moment. today will be hot enough across england and wales, high 20s, low 30s. scotland and northern ireland caught more cloud than yesterday so not as high but still warm. we could see 33 or 34 in two parts of east anglia. cambridge could be one of those hotspots. this evening, those temperatures have been slow to fall away after such a hot day and as you are thinking of heading to bed, around ten o�*clock or so, those temperatures will be still at 26 celsius in birmingham and london. highest temperatures in those bigger towns and cities. in the countryside temperatures fall away slightly quicker but an uncomfortable night

ahead nevertheless. tuesday, a weak cold front bringing an odd spot of rain while pushing southwards. just an area of cloud. more sunshine behind that for scotland and northern ireland. fresh air working in. highest temperatures into southern and eastern wales and across the bulk of england with highs well into the 30s. that fresher and slightly less hot air starts to seep into the south on wednesday and with temperatures still around 28 celsius any other time you�*d call this a hot day. pressure conditions across the north and the west. thursday and friday more fine weather for most with more spells of sunshine. into the weekend we can start to see some extreme heat building across parts of the uk and in particular parts of the south. we get this very hot air building across spain and portugal, these deeper oranges get pulled northwards and into southern uk and thatis northwards and into southern uk and that is boosting the temperatures

and it could beat the all—time uk temperature record is under threat as we head into the weekend.

this is bbc news. the headlines: with 11 candidates in the running so far — the rules of the tory leadership contest will be decided this afternoon. the prime minister says he won�*t be backing any of the those who want his job. there�*s a contest under way, and that must happen. i wouldn�*t want to damage anybody�*s chances by offering my support. we�*ll bring you the latest.

as temperatures in parts of the uk head for 33 degrees celcius today — a heat—health alert is issued. the president of sri lanka says he will resign, after thousands of demonstrators stormed his official residence in protest at the state of the economy. the former formula one boss bernie ecclestone has been charged with fraud by false representation. borisjohnson says in his final few weeks as prime minister, he�*s "determined" to

deliver what he promised when elected in 2019. in his first public appearance since resigning as conservative leader, he also said he wouldn�*t want to damage any of his colleagues�*s chances of getting his job by offering them his support. conservative mps will meet later to draw up the timetable and rules to replace him as the next party leader and prime minister. my colleague ben brown is in westminster for us. there is new the house of commons? —— there is news of a leak, warring —— water pouring through the ceiling of the house of commons? tt is of the house of commons? it is sizzlin: of the house of commons? it is sizzling hot _ of the house of commons? it is sizzling hot here _ of the house of commons? it is sizzling hot here at _ of the house of commons? tit 3 sizzling hot here at westminster and so is the tory leadership race hotting up. we have 11 contenders and we could have 12 patel throws

her hat into the ring later. we will have to wait and see. —— we could have to wait and see. —— we could have 12 if priti patel throws her hat into the ring. there�*s a meeting of the 1922 committee later. conservative backbenchers will be meeting today to decide the election rules — with measures to reduce the size of the field likely. many of the 11 leadership hopefuls have set out competing tax plans as a core element of their proposals. it�*s thought the current crop of contenders will be whittled down to two by the end of next week when parliament breaks up for the summer — with the final result not known until early september. leadership hopefuls have been setting out there

competing tax plans. here�*s our political correspondent — david wallace lockhart. 11 candidates fighting for one vacancy. last night, foreign secretary liz truss became the latest cabinet minister to enter the race. in a video posted on social media this morning, she promises low taxes and economic growth. i want the best for us all, and i am the person to deliver that. some less prominent candidates are going for a more home—made approach when it comes to campaign launches — such as junior minister rehman chishti. tax and spend is the bread and butter of this contest. chancellor nadhim zahawi told sky news that claims he�*s being investigated over his financial affairs are a smear. he wants to cut taxes and the size of government. so, you are saying 20% cut in every department? well, that's what i want to make sure we get to. that will give me the headroom to be able to deliver tax cuts, which i want to deliver. one of his leadership

rivals, tom tugendhat, also wants to see lower taxes. i didn�*t vote for the national insurance rise. i think i was one of a few conservative mps who did not vote for the national insurance rise, because we realised, i realised, it was a tax on jobs. given that we had just come out of the two years of covid that really hurt so many people around the world, what we really need to be doing is going for growth. one candidate notable for their lack of any tax cut pledges is former chancellor rishi sunak. he�*s not been interviewed on camera yet, but his allies say this is a responsible position. i do think you have got to be very cautious about promising entirely unfunded tax cuts in the heat of a conservative leadership election. which, as you said, i think quite rightly, has been in part caused by a loss of trust. rishi sunak�*s position doesn�*t seem to have damaged his start to the campaign. of these 11 declared candidates so far, he has the most mps publicly backing him at this point. a decision on a leadership bid is still expected from home secretary priti patel.

even candidates who are not household names think they could bring something to the table. tt is bring something to the table. it is about values _ bring something to the table. tit 3 about values and having a vision and it is also about what the great british public stand for, perseverance and self belief, and i came to our great country at the age of six not speaking a word of english, but i went to university, to fight forjustice, english, but i went to university, to fight for justice, and english, but i went to university, to fight forjustice, and now i have come to parliament. there may be a lot of candidates right now, but it�*s possible the numbers could come down fairly rapidly. today, senior conservative mps will meet to establish the rules of this contest. it�*s possible any candidate could need as many as 20 fellow mps backing them, just to get into the first round of voting. mps are then expected to swiftly whittle the candidates down to a final two. former health secretary sajid javid remains bullish. are you confident in your leadership bid? of course, of course. good morning, it's good to see you. we could have a new leader very soon. until then, he stays in the top job

— with a visit to a london research centre today. he�*s not revealing who he wants to take over. there�*s a contest under way, and that must happen. i wouldn�*t want to damage anybody�*s chances by offering my support. ijust have to get on in the last few days and weeks. the constitutional function of the prime minister, in this situation, is to discharge the mandate, to continue to discharge the mandate, and that�*s what i�*m doing. we�*ll have more clarity on the timescale for succession shortly. david wallace lockhart, bbc news, westminster. borisjohnson boris johnson says borisjohnson says he won�*t endorse any of the candidates so far because he doesn�*t want to damage their chances. we can speak to matthew goodwin, what are your thoughts on this race? it is strange for people who don�*t know the ins and outs of a

tory leadership race because there is the conservative mps who choose the two who then go to the other electorate which is the conservative party members in the country. that is correct. and _ party members in the country. that is correct. and for _ party members in the country. ’tjngit is correct. and for many voters they won�*t be included in this contest and they will be looking on at an internal conservative battle but i do think the battle is significant beyond deciding who will be the country, and one reason is this is the first time since 2005 that the conservative party have had a big leadership election about what kind of party do they want to be. we had two leadership elections after brexit but they were all about brexit but they were all about brexit but they were all about brexit but this is important for the conservative party, what is the conservative party, what is the conservative party, what is the conservative party and where does it want to go? and the second is, this is the most diverse leadership race in the history of british politics, coming after the most diverse

cabinet, in the most diverse parliament in british politics, and thatis parliament in british politics, and that is a really significant moment for the country. we have lots of mps coming forward who represent modern britain and i think that is a really good thing. the britain and i think that is a really good thing-— britain and i think that is a really uuoodthin. , ., .,, good thing. the last couple of tory leadership contest _ good thing. the last couple of tory leadership contest were _ good thing. the last couple of tory leadership contest were all - good thing. the last couple of tory leadership contest were all about i leadership contest were all about brexit but this one so far, is all about taxation.— brexit but this one so far, is all about taxation. that is right. the first line in _ about taxation. that is right. the first line in the _ about taxation. that is right. the first line in the battle _ about taxation. that is right. the first line in the battle is - about taxation. that is right. the first line in the battle is over- about taxation. that is right. the j first line in the battle is over who can go lowest on taxation, and this is clearly a pitch to conservative party members and activists and mps, and i suspect in the coming days we will move beyond the question of tax and start to hopefully get to the bigger questions that are facing the country and i suspect many viewers want to get to, how can we reform the nhs and social care, everybody has a story about how that is not working at the moment. how can we deliver long—term economic growth for the country and revive

productivity which is still nowhere near where it should be for an advanced mature democracy and how can we make sure that lots of people in british society have representation in politics and all kinds of institutions, these are big issues for the country and hopefully we will begin to get to those as the scrutiny of the media debate and public debate begins to zoom down on these candidates. lats public debate begins to zoom down on these candidates.— these candidates. lots of big beasts like rishi sunak _ these candidates. lots of big beasts like rishi sunak and _ these candidates. lots of big beasts like rishi sunak and liz _ these candidates. lots of big beasts like rishi sunak and liz truss i these candidates. lots of big beasts like rishi sunak and liz truss but i like rishi sunak and liz truss but also people who may be the viewers have not heard of, who have not even been ministers, like tom tugendhat, is there any chance for an outsider to break through and win this? it is to break through and win this? it is hard to to break through and win this? tit 3 hard to predict what is going to happen in british politics and we thought the volatility was over with brexit but anybody could win this contest. there will be an instinctive reaction to go for

experience and somebody who can bring the party together and who can bring the party together and who can bring stability after borisjohnson but at the same time it what you have noticed in the last 48 hours is a lot of recognition in the party about the fact that young candidates are coming into the contest and they have a lot of interesting things to say. whether it is suella braverman or tom tugendhat, there are mps coming forward who want to talk about issues we have not really talked about as a country seriously before, and i suspect actually, this contest is going to be very broad. a lot of interesting perspectives and hopefully for the country, it delivers somebody that can actually deal with those long—term challenges. deal with those long-term challenges.— challenges. quite a lot of mudslinging _ challenges. quite a lot of mudslinging i _ challenges. quite a lot of mudslinging i suppose i challenges. quite a lot of| mudslinging i suppose we challenges. quite a lot of i mudslinging i suppose we could challenges. quite a lot of _ mudslinging i suppose we could call it, smearing, even blood—letting, is that inevitable in any party ship leadership —— party leadership contest?

leadership -- party leadership contest? ., , ., , ., , contest? the conservative brand is already damage. — contest? the conservative brand is already damage, no _ contest? the conservative brand is already damage, no mistake i contest? the conservative brand is already damage, no mistake about that, the conservative party is seen as a divided party, trailing in the polls by 12 points which puts labour in majority territory and the conservatives have got to repair their relationship with their 29 voters and working class voters and leave voters and the to do list for the new leader is very big —— 2019 voters. we have seen attacks coming from the right of the party on rishi sunak but also attacks going the other way from the more one nation liberal conservatives, attacking their right—wing counterparts for different reasons, and that will escalate over the next week and we will see that in the coming days, but gradually, hopefully as we turn back to those conservative members might be final two going through the campaign in august will begin to actually get to the substance that should be getting pushed to the forefront of this debate. where do

they want to take the country and what are they going to do on the big issues? ~ . what are they going to do on the big issues? a, ,., ., ., ., issues? matthew goodwin, thanks for 'oinin: us. issues? matthew goodwin, thanks for joining us. matthew— issues? matthew goodwin, thanks for joining us. matthew with _ issues? matthew goodwin, thanks for joining us. matthew with his - joining us. matthew with his analysis from kent university. the 1922 committee meeting now and they are going to talk about wrote the rules, what is the threshold for the 11 contenders —— going to talk about the rules. if it is something like 20 or 30, that is needed to support the contenders, then some of them will struggle to get through the first round of the contest. now back to the studio. studio: thanks for joining us. update regarding the leak in the commons chamber and a spokesperson says the league has been resolved. —— the leak. he house of commons will be sitting from 330,

an hour later than normal. most of the 11 candidates in the conservative leadership race are promising big tax cuts — but some aren�*t being clear about how they�*d fund them — and what impact they could have on public spending. earlier our economics editor, faisal islam, talked through the numbers tens of billions of pounds worth of tax cuts. the extraordinary thing about that is not a conservative leadership candidate will want to cut taxes, that�*s quite natural for them, but we have seen these taxes just go up in the past few months. so it�*s the grand old duke of york type of description of how these will go up and potentially come down if a certain prime minister comes in. what you have here, in the backdrop to this, in order to meet the borrowing targets in the conservative manifesto, there is about £30 billion, 1% of the worth of our economy, of room for manoeuvre. normally, you want to keep that in tact for a rainy day. but this is essentially being spent.

that�*s the difference between the 3% rise in taxation and the 2% that has been spent on extra public services, things like social care and those nhs waiting lists we are trying to deal with. what we are not getting is how that will be cut back. very few explanations of that. they say it will all be done by efficiency savings, but that raises the question as to what the current government, the same government, is spending the money on right now. lots of promises of really quite massive tax cuts. we have just had tax rises. not much explanation of where spending might be cut. at the moment, they don�*t say the borrowing rules are going to change. the labour leader, sir keir starmer, has attacked what he calls an "arms race of fantasy economics" by the conservative leadership hopefuls. sir keir accused them of making unfunded tax promises — and says some are now opposing tax increases they approved while serving in boris johnson�*s government. the tory leadership race hasn�*t even officially begun yet,

but the arms race of fantasy economics is well under way. over the weekend, the contenders have made more than £200 billion worth of unfunded spending commitments. 200 billion. let that sink in. that is more than the annual budget of the nhs, splurged onto the pages of the sunday papers, without a word on how it will be paid for. the labour leader was speaking on a visit to gateshead — from where our political correspondent, alex forsyth, spoke to us earlier. well, this was meant to be about labour�*s vision for the economy and public services, but with the noise around the conservative leadership contest threatening to drown out every thing else, sir keirweighed in. he accused the contenders of making wild spending commitments. he said labour would not make unfunded pledges. he would not be drawn on the specifics of labour�*s tax policy.

i asked him repeatedly if labour would reverse the increases in national insurance, he didn�*t say. he did not spell out plans for income tax or corporation tax. bear in mind, he has called for an early general election. he said he wouldn�*t write labour�*s manifesto during a course of interviews. but remember, sir keir starmer has often defined himself as a leader against borisjohnson, and there are some in his party, and some in the country, looking at him and saying, "what would you do if you were elected to government?" the hot weather is expected

to continue this week. temperatures are forecast to reach up to 31 celsius today in southern england — with a heat health alert being issued in some parts of the uk. scotland and northern ireland had their hottest days of the year so far on sunday. the met offce has issued a level three alert for southern england and the east midlands. people are being advised to stay indoors during the middle of the day, drink plenty of fluids and take extra care of young children. john maguire was in teignmouth in devon. he explained how the warnings are categorised. there are four levels of health each warning. level four is a red warning, the most serious, classified as a national emergency. we are one down from that at level three, which is heat wave action, it is described as, an amberwarning. the idea is to warn health care workers, social care workers, that there could be a risk to the health of some of the most vulnerable people, the people they look after. and we have seen that some people are already taking heed of the warnings. it is the warning for people to take extra care of those people who they look after, the more vulnerable members of our society. the plan is starting to swing into action

already. do you mind if i put a hat on you, my lovely? because the sun is very hot. we may spend much of our time complaining about the lack of sun, but the advice this week is to avoid it. would you like an ice lolly? yes, please. here, at the aptly named summer court care home in teignmouth, the order of the day is sun cream, shade and a sedentary pace of life. i don�*t like it too hot, i must admit. i don�*t like it that hot. on the other hand, i don�*t like it too cold, either. it affects us all, but especially older people. all the more reason, as i say, we try to keep the house really cool. we've got fans on. you know, the windows are open, but we try and keep the curtains drawn as well, so we keep places shaded. and just do as much as we can to, you know, as i say, hydration is one of the most important things. and at the met office in exeter, they are predicting higher temperatures as the week goes on.

heat—health alerts are in place across much of england throughout this week, we�*ve got level two and level three alerts in place. this is to basically alert health carers that the weather is going to be extreme, particularly temperatures are going to be high by day and by night. and this can have serious health impacts. let's go! go walkies! no mad dogs at the rspca�*s little valley animal sanctuary. keith�*s walkies are strictly in the morning or the evening, and there are several ways to keep hot dogs cool. we'll soak some towels in cold water, and we'll leave it flat out in the kennel for them so they can lie on it _ it just cools them down a bit. expect to see plenty of dogs panting this week, as they struggle to regulate their body temperature. if you imagine that you�*re wearing a jacket indoors in the heat, you�*re going to sweat. dogs haven�*t got the luxury of unzipping that fur

and taking it off. so, they need to regulate their temperature by sticking their tongue out and panting, and keeping their pads cool. so, it�*s all about that, really. making sure they�*ve got a cool area to lay down, get their tummy cooler, obviously plenty of water. the flip side, of course, is that many people will be taking their coats off, and much more, soaking up the sun, lying on the sand, and swimming in the sea. summer — with all its pros and cons — is definitely here. quite a few people are out here on the beach and there is a cool breeze but so not as hot as it will be inland during the remainder of the week. experts say that with these high temperature is becoming increasingly frequent as the climate changes, we may need to adapt the way we live, and we are very good at

keeping ourselves warm in the uk but maybe we might need to adopt more of a mediterranean lifestyle and learn how to keep ourselves cool, so keeping windows closed, windows closed, curtains closed, hydration, of course, and staying out of the midday sun if you possibly can. joining us now from glasgow — professor mike tipton one of the uk�*s leading experts on the effects of high temperatures on the human body. he�*s from the university of portsmouth�*s extreme environments laboratory. you have to be very careful about the effect of getting sunburned, like myself, can we talk about that? a lot of people put on quite weak sun cream on their skin, exposed

part of their body, because the temperatures have never got to the levels that we are now told we are going to start experiencing quite regularly, so what are the risks? nice to be with you. the uv is very high at the moment and sunburn is a burn and once you get more than about 5% of the surface area of the skin burn it starts to impact your ability to regulate the temperature, and it is likely that accident and emergency departments, if they are going to fill up with anything, it is likely to be people with bad sunburn, so we could do everyone a favour by trying to avoid that by seeking shade and using a high factor sunscreen. the long—term consequences of sunburn are not good either. it is definitely one of the many things to avoid as we get more and more of these heatwaves. itruihat

and more of these heatwaves. what does the heat _ and more of these heatwaves. what does the heat through _ and more of these heatwaves. what does the heat through the —— due to the body? the does the heat through the -- due to the bod ? . does the heat through the -- due to the bod ? , ,., , the body? the first thing the body does is send _ the body? the first thing the body does is send more _ the body? the first thing the body does is send more blood - the body? the first thing the body does is send more blood to i the body? the first thing the body does is send more blood to the i the body? the first thing the body i does is send more blood to the skin in an effort to off—load the heat thatis in an effort to off—load the heat that is inside the body and associated with that is the production of sweat, and the sweat production of sweat, and the sweat production does not cool you, in itself, you need it to evaporate. if itself, you need it to evaporate. if itjust itself, you need it to evaporate. if it just falls of the body itself, you need it to evaporate. if itjust falls of the body it is just dehydrating it. the increase in blood flow is may be two, three litres per minute, that puts an extra strain on the cardiovascular system, the heart, and in itself it is a challenge, especially for older people, so once we see air temperatures going up above about 25, 26, we start to see an increased number of deaths because of the heat. they are largely in the 65 plus age group and then mostly to do with the cardiovascular stress and

the cardiac problems, blood clotting, compounded by dehydration that comes with it. otherwise what you find, especially with exercise, people become heat exhausted as they become dehydrated and they lose their blood salts and once the temperature goes from 37 which is about normal up to about 41, 42 and above, you start to suffer with heatstroke, so this is a serious medical condition.— heatstroke, so this is a serious medical condition. presumably there are a lot of things _ medical condition. presumably there are a lot of things we _ medical condition. presumably there are a lot of things we may _ medical condition. presumably there are a lot of things we may have i medical condition. presumably there are a lot of things we may have to i are a lot of things we may have to change in how we conduct our life and how we design the built environment around us if we are going to get these kinds of summers more regularly. the met office says we are 30 times more likely to have heatwaves now and the heatwaves will be more intense that we have. that is riuht. be more intense that we have. that is right- they _ be more intense that we have. that is right. they are _ be more intense that we have. ’tjngit is right. they are likely to be of longer duration and more frequent and intense, and there are several

levels in which we can do this. at the individual level we can use our physiology with an understanding of how the body works to keep cool and we have heard lots of good ideas in the items preceding me, but also body sending blood to the extremities to cool, but in your hand in cold water is a good way of cooling the body, having tippett showers, not cold, but tepid, that allows the body to deliver heat to the body, that is a good way, and establishing natural drafts, that is what we can do at the macro level and we are going to have to change the way we design houses and try to maximise the cooling capabilities and minimise their heat absorption capabilities. this is going back almost to the roman times, anybody who has been to rome, to tivoli, it is a green area with waterfalls, these are the considerations we are going to have to engage with if we

are going to avoid what is going to be the norm in the not too distant future. in be the norm in the not too distant future. . be the norm in the not too distant future. , ., ., ., , , ., future. in terms of our ability to deal with these _ future. in terms of our ability to deal with these temperatures, i future. in terms of our ability to i deal with these temperatures, are you relatively confident that humans can cope with this? with a bit of common sense?— can cope with this? with a bit of common sense? , _, ., , , common sense? there is common sense to avoid the acute _ common sense? there is common sense to avoid the acute problems _ common sense? there is common sense to avoid the acute problems and - to avoid the acute problems and humans do have an ability physiologically to adapt to the heat but not to an enormous amount. the big steps in the right direction will come from the collaboration between technology, physiology, medicine, and design, in terms of architecture and urban development. these are the kinds of collaborations we will need to maximise our chances of making life tolerable. at an individual level in the short term, being sensible, doing the right things in terms of keeping the body cool and having

activity early in the day when it is cool and moving to a mediterranean lifestyle, these are the kind of things which will make life bearable. things which will make life bearable-— things which will make life bearable. ., ., , ., bearable. professor, 'oining us from glasaow, bearable. professor, 'oining us from glasgow, normally i bearable. professor, joining us from glasgow, normally at _ bearable. professor, joining us from glasgow, normally at the _ bearable. professor, joining us from glasgow, normally at the university| glasgow, normally at the university of portsmouth, thanks forjoining us. the conservative mpjamie wallis who had pleaded not guilty to a series of motoring charges has been found not guilty of failing to stop and report an accident after crashing his car in the early hours of the morning, this was in november last year. he has been found guilty of leaving his car in a dangerous position. it was cleared of the charge of driving without due care and attention and we will wait to see what his sentences. we also have copy from scotrail drivers who have accepted with the union aslef, they

have voted to accept an improved 5% pay increase so services across scotland were on a reduced timetable for almost two months over the course of the dispute but scotrail say if the drivers start working overtime again a full—time tame time —— full—time timetable can be restored over the coming days. a couple of bits of breaking news for you. a14—year—old boy who stabbed a schoolgirl in an argument over a snapchat video has been sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 13 years to be served for her murder. ava white was 12 when she was fatally stabbed in liverpool city centre after she had attended a christmas lights switch on ceremony in november. it was a case that received a lot of publicity at the time and early i spoke to our correspondence who described how everybody had been affected as the

court sentence was delivered. it was court sentence was delivered. it was a acked court sentence was delivered. it was a packed public— court sentence was delivered. it was a packed public gallery _ court sentence was delivered. it was a packed public gallery with - court sentence was delivered. tit m3 a packed public gallery with members of ava white�*s family and friends there and there were gasps and sobs from the public gallery when the sentence was handed down. the justice described it as a tragic case and how in a set of freak circumstances ava white had been out on a night out with her friends to watch the christmas lights being switched on in liverpool city centre when she came into contact with the then 14—year—old boy at the centre of the case and he and his friends had been filming ava white and her friends and uploading the video to snapchat and ava objected to this and this ended up in a confrontation which happens not farfrom where i�*m standing where the 14—year—old was shoved and then he pulled out a knife and stabbed ava in the neck. she died later from knife and stabbed ava in the neck. she died laterfrom her injuries. the boy denied initially being at the scene and it was only when cctv footage was shown that proved he was

there that he did actually admit to being at the scene of the crime. today he was sentenced to a life sentence with a minimum of 13 years. this morning we heard a victim impact statements from members of ava white�*s family and you got a sense of the devastation and ongoing anguish that the case has caused. her father said anguish that the case has caused. herfather said his reason for living had been taken away when she was killed, when i wake up, i think for a split second she is still here and i loose every morning and we�*ll for the rest of my life, he said —— and i lose her every morning. another one said she barely goes out any more and she rarely speaks to herfriends and that any more and she rarely speaks to her friends and that she has a photograph of ava that she kisses every night, but that she should be able to kiss her baby sister. a very emotional day. doctors treating a 12—year—old boy at the centre of a life support dispute say he is "unresponsive"

and will not recover. last month, a high courtjudge ruled that archie battersbee, was "brain—stem dead" after being found unconscious at home, and said his treatment could stop. his parents were given the right to appeal against this decision and a new hearing is currently under way at the high court. archie has not regained consciousness since being found at home on seven april. now time for a look at the weather. we�*ve got a lot of hot weather over the next few days and this afternoon has a decent shout propping hottest day of the year so far. 32.7 is the mark to beat and we could do that across east anglia with 33 or 34 is on the cards. the highest temperatures across england and wales, slightly fresher air for scotland and northern ireland. still pleasantly warm. after such a hot day temperatures are slow to following this evening to perhaps when you�*re heading to bed, ten

o�*clock tonight, 25 in birmingham. tomorrow, weak weather front pushing southwards bringing spots of rain for northern ireland and scotland and perhaps northern england but not much, really. sunshine following for scotland and northern ireland with that fresher air and the hottest weather is confined to parts of england with high temperatures running well the 30s. hello this is bbc news. the headlines: with 11 candidates in the running so far the rules of the tory leadership contest will be decided this afternoon. the prime minister says he won�*t be backing any of the those who want his job. there is a contest under way and i

wouldn�*t want to damage anybody�*s chances by offering my support. the met office has issued an weather warning for the hot weather this week. the killer of a white sentenced to life, with a minimum of 13 years in prison. former boss of formula 1 bernie ecclestone has been charged with fraud by false representation. the big birth control plan to limit the number of grey squirrels and save the native red squirrel. sport and for a full

round—up, from the bbc sport centre. how do you follow wimbledon, rebecca? how do you? i�*ll tell you, you pick up how do you? i�*ll tell you, you pick up with the euros. it�*s very exciting. euro 2022 moves in to its second round of group fixtures later. england will take on one of the tournament favourites — norway — knowing a win will keep them top of group a. but first northern ireland will play austria in southampton — kick off is at five o�*clock. it�*s the third time the sides have met in eight months — and for northern ireland a loss will all but end their hopes of making it out of the group stages. our reporterjane dougall is at st mary�*s for us. jane, a big night ahead then for northern ireland? it is such an important match for northern ireland against austria. what a beautiful day, the fans have started to filter into st mary�*s and unfortunately northern ireland�*s midfielder megan bell was injured and not included in the squad but

that means she can speak to us. welcome. first of all they lost 4—1 against norway in their opening match, it was a nervy start, will they settle down into the second match? i think the norway match was a game of two _ i think the norway match was a game of two halves, and the first—half we are nervous— of two halves, and the first—half we are nervous and may be the occasion -ot are nervous and may be the occasion got to— are nervous and may be the occasion got to us— are nervous and may be the occasion got to us but— are nervous and may be the occasion got to us but in the second half the team _ got to us but in the second half the team settled into the game and played — team settled into the game and played more like ourselves and we started _ played more like ourselves and we started to — played more like ourselves and we started to get higher up the pitch. ithink_ started to get higher up the pitch. i think if— started to get higher up the pitch. i think if we can take the positives from _ i think if we can take the positives from the — i think if we can take the positives from the second half we will put in a really— from the second half we will put in a really good performance tonight. the other— a really good performance tonight. the other positive is you've played the other positive is you�*ve played austria twice in the last eight months, one loss, one draw. hagar austria twice in the last eight months, one loss, one draw. how will that hel ? months, one loss, one draw. how will that help? you _ months, one loss, one draw. how will that help? you could _ months, one loss, one draw. how will that help? you could look— months, one loss, one draw. how will that help? you could look at - months, one loss, one draw. how will that help? you could look at that i months, one loss, one draw. how will that help? you could look at that as l that help? you could look at that as either— that help? you could look at that as either positive or negative. we know them _ either positive or negative. we know them very— either positive or negative. we know them very well and know their strengths and their weaknesses but at the _ strengths and their weaknesses but at the same time as they know us very well. — at the same time as they know us very well, too. when you play a team you've _ very well, too. when you play a team you've played in quick succession before. _ you've played in quick succession before, you know each other very

well. _ before, you know each other very well. i_ before, you know each other very well. i note — before, you know each other very well, i note there will be lots of analysis— well, i note there will be lots of analysis going into the game and the staff are _ analysis going into the game and the staff are great at looking at austria's weaknesses so if we can capitalise — austria's weaknesses so if we can capitalise on that and play to our strength— capitalise on that and play to our strength we will do really well. what _ strength we will do really well. what do — strength we will do really well. what do northern ireland have to do in this match kicking off injust under 90 minutes, what do they have to do it that they did not do against norway? as i said, if we take depositors from the norway game and start to take our chances and get higher the pitch —— take the positives from the norway game. looking back to the world cup qualifier at home against austria, we were leading until the last minute of extra time and that almost felt like a defeat to more than a draw because of the nature of the game and the second half. and that tells you so much about where we�*ve come from, that we are actually disappointed with a draw with a nation ranked very highly above us. what is your score prediction?

northern ireland, 2—0. love the positivity. megan bell, thank you. don�*t forget, northern ireland are the lowest ranked country in this tournament. they must win this or at least get one point to keep their hopes alive, and they also still have to face england on friday. jane, thank you. looks like a lovely evening in southampton. the former formula one boss bernie ecclestone has been charged with fraud by false representation for failing to declare assests of more than £400 million, following an hmrc investigation. the crown prosecution service says the "complex and worldwide investigation into the 91 year old�*s overseas assets showed no one was beyond its reach. there�*s been no comment yet from mr ecclestone. the first of three odis in multi—format seriesseries

south africa won the toss and chose to bat and are currently 88—4 at the county ground in northampton. the series is level at 2—2 and they also play t20 as part of that series. that�*s all the sport for now. can get all the latest on our website. i think you follow wimbledon brilliantly. rebecca, thank you very much. more now on the contest to be the next conservative party leader. i think there are probably more contestants that at the start of big brother or strictly come dancing. we�*ll find out the rules under which this contest will be conducted. but speak to the conservative chairman of the maidstone and weald thank you very much forjoining us and for your patience. this stone is not going to go away anytime quickly.

not least because of the number of candidates. are you a bit surprised by how many have appeared so far? in one way but in the other it the strength of the mps in the conservative party that were able to field quite so many. it is quite a lot and although i am quite sure it�*ll be whittled fairly quickly. if you are looking, i am not going to ask you to say, particularly as it is far too early to make up your mind, iwould hope, because you it is far too early to make up your mind, i would hope, because you want to see what the colour of their money is, as it were. are there particular thing you are looking for to follow boris johnson, may particular thing you are looking for to follow borisjohnson, may be as a contrast, commonly beat continuity, what are the things you will be listening out for —— maybe as a contrast or maybe as continuity? i will want to take my time and read all the policies and manifestos of

the candidates. we only get to vote as members, just the final two. but i will be taking a lot of time and if it started doing quite a lot of background research and so on but of course if you are looking at attributes and everybody is mentioning the integrity that is so important, some think that is high on my list is somebody who is a very relatable. i want somebody to really understand how difficult it is, life is, how hard life can be fought many in our society. not from an outward looking in but from somebody who really gets it, some empathy with our country at the moment. and i don�*t care where they�*ve come from, and by that i mean background, not at all, it is where they�*ve come to. and what the value added they have

brought to the party. if and what the value added they have brought to the party.— brought to the party. if you like. let's be candid, _ brought to the party. if you like. let's be candid, it's _ brought to the party. if you like. let's be candid, it's a _ brought to the party. if you like. let's be candid, it's a difficult i let�*s be candid, it�*s a difficult time to take on the leadership, isn�*t it? time to take on the leadership, isn't it? ~ ,,., , j time to take on the leadership, isn't it? j ,,., , j , time to take on the leadership, isn't it? j , , j , ., isn't it? absolutely. and it is to the credit _ isn't it? absolutely. and it is to the credit of— isn't it? absolutely. and it is to the credit of the _ isn't it? absolutely. and it is to the credit of the 11 _ isn't it? absolutely. and it is to the credit of the 11 so _ isn't it? absolutely. and it is to the credit of the 11 so far i isn't it? absolutely. and it is to the credit of the 11 so far who i isn't it? absolutely. and it is to i the credit of the 11 so far who have said they are going to put their name in the hat. it is... it must be one of the most difficultjobs in the world, any leadership requires incredible skills and a wide range of skills. there are 358 conservative mps at the moments out to be able to be our leader for all of those and inspire them and have the vision, to be outcome focused, to have at integrity, but almost as important is to have that win ability and there is no doubt boris had that in spades, witnessed the general election result. it�*ll be very hard to find somebody with that

sort of charisma and maybe we don�*t want anybody with the same sort of charisma but you have to have somebody able to win and inspire people in the red wall, blue wall, people in the red wall, blue wall, people all over the country. and it is a huge ask for anybody. it is. you said there are 358 conservative mps, that would mean there are 360 just a month or so ago. indeed! eight seat i know it well as tiverton and i was there at the morning after, as it were, your mp has a majority of 21,000, pretty similar to neil parish�*s majority. i wonder what your feelings work went back seat when the liberal democrat and how difficult this period politically has become for the liberal democrat —— i wonder what your feelings were when that seat went liberal democrats. network�*s this

—— there were particular circumstances for that seat. maidstone has been solidly conserving that for decades and decades. ann widdecombe, sirjohn, helen grant now. that was also true of tiverton. it helen grant now. that was also true of tiverton-— of tiverton. it was but he sadly fell from grace _ of tiverton. it was but he sadly fell from grace and _ of tiverton. it was but he sadly fell from grace and that - of tiverton. it was but he sadly fell from grace and that had i of tiverton. it was but he sadly fell from grace and that had al of tiverton. it was but he sadly i fell from grace and that had a huge bearing on it. added to the fact we had the boris situation and so on. of course there were extra problems with that. i think where we are in maidstone we have a very good constituency mp. of course i�*m going to say that but she is. she doesn�*t listen and works hard for me and my colleagues and she was particularly supportive, speaking personally, of me and my family during covid when we had some real challenges with our business. so i can�*t praise her personally high enough. is that enough? it is going to be a slog for

everybody. but the thing about us conservatives, most of us, as we see the end game. and for me personally, it is country first. and i believe very strongly that the conservative party is going to be the best thing for the country. so i will still be out there, so well so many of my team, and the association and the members and we will still be doing at the foot slog that we�*ve done for ever. i think —— nothing will stop that. ever. i think -- nothing will stop that. ., , ., ., ., �* that. one more question on that, i'm sor to that. one more question on that, i'm sorry to be political but _ that. one more question on that, i'm sorry to be political but we _ that. one more question on that, i'm sorry to be political but we are in i sorry to be political but we are in a very important time in this respect, don�*t you think mp last week were putting the country first our party first? there were people going through some incredible and turnabout of opinion in quite short time. people who defended the prime

minister and his behaviour, suddenly it was saying he has got to go almost en masse. you heard what he said in his speech, he felt like there was a herd instinct at play and people were not making a rationaljudgment. i and people were not making a rationaljudgment.— and people were not making a rationaljudgment. rational 'udgment. i can give you two rationaljudgment. i can give you two examples — rationaljudgment. i can give you two examples of _ rationaljudgment. i can give you two examples of two _ rationaljudgment. i can give you two examples of two members i rationaljudgment. i can give you | two examples of two members of rationaljudgment. i can give you i two examples of two members of the cabinet i think did put the country first. one of them ruled himself out of the contest, ben wallace. liz truss, i am of the contest, ben wallace. liz truss, iam not of the contest, ben wallace. liz truss, i am not saying i am going to be supporting her but as an example, she felt and thank goodness, her role was more important than anything. she should be there is a continuity secretary of state, ensuring britain�*s best interests are kept at the heart of government. so she did not get involved with all of that, not to any great degree at all, shejust got of that, not to any great degree at all, she just got on with the job which frankly she has been doing for two or three years now, not least in

the extraordinary successful work she has done making arrangements and trade agreements and things around the world. shejust trade agreements and things around the world. she just has got on and done that. i think that�*s a real example of putting the country first. and, well, that you are. sally and march, chairman of the maidstone and we�*ll conservative association. hopefully we can speak again once the numbers are more whittled down. we are going to hearfrom one of them now, sajid javid, who is addressing his campaign launch at westminster. let�*s hear what he has to say. while we have an oppressive field, there is little time for the public to get to know the candidates. and polling suggest there are only two candidates that are both already known to them and regarded as good

potential prime ministers. people want to see who is ready to take on these crises at home and abroad, as well as the next election campaign, of course. it is right people and ideas are tested and forged in the fire of the contest and i fully support having tv debates to help with that. yes to scrutiny in the short time that we have, let�*s also come out of this in one piece, as one team. i won�*t call for one of those gimmicky clean campaign pledge cards but i am calling on the best instincts of those that are putting themselves forward to show what is needed. times have changed and crisis tend to bring out the best in people but sometimes also the worst —— times of change and crisis. i�*m sorry to say that looking at some of the stories from the weekend press

it has not been a good start, poisonous gossip and attack memos and allegations been thrown around. some people say you have to play the game. i refused to accept that. this is not the house of cards or game of thrones and the people who are here just because they enjoy the game are in the wrong place. this is a time for pulling together, not a part. this contest is already showing we do have talent and they are already coming through and i have the confidence to bring that talent to the top table, great point ministers, like all great bosses, they surround themselves with people that are smarter than men and people who can challenge their thinking. now one is the full package. i know i am not. now one is the full package. i know iam not. but now one is the full package. i know i am not. but if we can get back to seeing thisjob as i am not. but if we can get back to seeing this job as the first among equals, we can transition from a team of rivals to an unrivalled

team. that�*s the only way we can win the next election, are fifth in a row, we have to avoid the entrenched tribalism we see any labour party and we have to unite our best people and we have to unite our best people and best idea is to focus on the issues that matter. because actually, i think after the last several years, the public want to see less personalities and politics and more good government and just plain old getting on with the job. we won�*t be rewarded at the next election for the things we have done, whether that�*s the roll out of booster vaccines or onlyjobs across the country, we will be judged on what we will do about the great challenges of our time, whether that is finding ways to ease the cost of living or confronting the invasion of a european nation by a brutal dictator. i am

of a european nation by a brutal dictator. iam happy of a european nation by a brutal dictator. i am happy to take questions after this on any policy on any government policy area and i will sit out more detail on my agenda in the coming days. when i think about the challenges that we face i am especially concerned about growing divisions in our society and how it is harder than ever before for people to just get by and get ahead. today i�*m launching my new conservative economic plan. can i have a copy, please? might new conservative economic plan. it�*s in your hands in this room and being published online right now. and while i said this campaign is not about me, there is a big picture of me on the front. seriously, this is a substantive document. this is the kind of con that candidates should be focusing on. because if we can�*t grow our economy, we can�*t get a hearing on any other issue. it�*s as

simple as that. improving our productivity is the most important issue of our times. we cannot improve living standards, we cannot fund our public services and we cannot provide security without it. and there is no social mobility or socialjustice and there is no social mobility or social justice without and there is no social mobility or socialjustice without productivity growth. it cannot happen, it�*s as simple as that. i�*ve always believed in the free enterprise and low taxation and sensible regulation as the necessary conditions for growth and levelling up across the country. some say you can�*t have tax cuts until you have growth. i say no. it's until you have growth. i say no. it�*s the other way around! we need tax cuts to kick—start growth. of course, i am tax cuts to kick—start growth. of course, iam not tax cuts to kick—start growth. of course, i am not saying tax cuts alone are enough. a new conservative economic plan must also drive the infrastructure revolution that we

started in 2019, from bus networks to new nuclear power. a new conservative economic plan must have the skills and social mobility at its heart. we must show the same radicalism to reform for their education, adult education, childcare and early years we�*ve had four academies and free schools 12 years ago. we must build more houses. let me say again, you heard it right, we must build more houses. beautiful new garden villages and new towns with community support. the vaccine task force, that also showed what is possible with the covid vaccine and we can now apply those same lesson using that task force approach to cancer and dementia and mental health. the effects on our growth and health will be transformative. studio: will leave sajid javid at their core addressing mps at westminster, they will decide whether or not he is —— sajid javid

addressing mps. the first ballot is likely to be held possibly as soon as thursday. previous practice in a previous contest was every other day and that the numbers were whittled down to two. the problem this time is a bodice�*s resignation has come so late in the parliamentary term that they�*ve only got this week and “p that they�*ve only got this week and up to and including thursday of next week before the house rises for the summer recess so they might have to consider ballots every day between, say, thursday and next thursday to eliminate the numbers unless they can get the numbers down from the first stage by increasing the number of mps required for somebody to be eligible to be put on that ballot. sajid javid this stop in case you�*re wondering why we are showing sajid javid, of all the candidates

announced he is the only one who have had a campaign launch. others have had a campaign launch. others have put out videos online, others put out statements and interviews but this is the first formal launch of a campaign which couldn�*t even start until thursday because there was not a vacancy. sri lanka�*s president has confirmed that he intends to resign in two days�* time. the parliamentary speaker said the president had left the country after fleeing huge crowds which stormed his palace to protest against rising prices, and shortages of food and fuel. but he insisted the president would return by wednesday. our south asia editor anbarasan ethirajan, is in the capital colombo. a historic moment for many sri lankans. they want to cherish it and capture it. thousands have been coming to see the office of president gotobaya rajapaksa

that was stormed by huge crowds on saturday. a culmination of months long process against the president, accusing him of mismanaging the economy. sri lanka is bankrupt. it is struggling to import essential items. the situation is so bad. we are here to come, we are here to throw away this bad politics. so, i am happy to stay here today. why did you come here, to see this place? we have to stay together in this situation. so that�*s why i�*m here. kilometre—long queues outside a petrol station are a common sight. without fuel, the economy has come to a standstill. public transport, severely disrupted. the desperation is unlikely to change, even if there is a new government. amidst all this political crisis, sri lanka is still facing a crippling shortage of fuel. and look at this, three

wheelers, auto rickshaws, motorbikes, they are more than two kilometres long. the auto driver here says he has been waiting in the queue for more than a day. and that reflects the ground reality. unless the government get their act together, the international community will not come forward to help them. in the meantime, sri lankans are curious to know how the president lived. they are aware this sprawling compound will soon be occupied by his successor. sri lanka�*s political leaders say they are working to form a new government. now colombo is running from pillar to post for loans. an immediate change in government helps. but a new government that comes in by popular vote, through an election, will help even more, i think, in converting the goodwill of the international community to support sri lanka in the way forward. sri lanka is a classic case of a country that was living beyond its means.

the protesters say, at least for now, they have achieved what they wanted by removing mr rajapaksa from power. but they are also aware this economic misery will not be solved any time soon. anbarasan ethirajan, bbc news, colombo. some of the protesters were jumping into the presidential swimming pool at the weekend and given the temperatures here you might want to try something similar. lots of hot weather to come and today has a good chance of being the hottest day of the year so far. 33 celsius on the cards in east anglia. the highest temperatures across parts of england and wales and slightly fresher air into the scotland and northern ireland where it�*ll still be pleasantly warm. after such a hot day temperatures slow to fall away

this evening. around ten o�*clock tonight when you�*re thinking of heading to bed, 25 in birmingham and 26 in london, following a weight more quickly out in the countryside. tomorrow, week with a front pushing southwards bringing a spot of rain for scotland and northern ireland and perhaps northern england but nothing much. sunshine follows what scotland and northern ireland with fresher air. scotland and northern ireland with fresherair. hottest scotland and northern ireland with fresher air. hottest weather confined to parts of england with highs well into the 30s. that�*s it.

this is bbc news. i�*m shaun ley. the headlines at 4: with 11 candidates in the running so far — the rules of the tory leadership contest will be decided this afternoon. the prime minister says he won�*t be backing any of those who want his job. there�*s a contest under way, and that must happen. i wouldn�*t want to damage anybody�*s chances by offering my support. and i�*m ros atkins — live in westminster — with the latest on that conservative party leadership battle. the met office has issued an amber weather warning for extreme heat across a large part of the uk ahead of further soaring temperatures this week. the murder of liverpool

schoolgirl ava white — a teenage boy is sentenced to life with a minimum of 13 years. the president of sri lanka says he will resign — after thousands of demonstrators stormed his official residence in protest at the state of the economy. the former formula one boss bernie ecclestone has been charged with fraud by false representation. the big birth control plan to control the the number of grey squirrels — and save the native red squirrel. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. borisjohnson says in his final few

weeks as prime minister, he�*s "determined" to deliver what he promised when elected in 2019. in his first public appearance since resigning as conservative leader, he also said he wouldn�*t want to damage any of his colleagues�* chances of getting his job by offering them his support. conservative mps will meet later to draw up the timetable and rules to replace him as the next party leader and prime minister. my colleague ros atkins is in westminster for us. good afternoon. important meeting coming up? this good afternoon. important meeting cominu u? . . good afternoon. important meeting cominu u? , _, ., , coming up? this is a really important _ coming up? this is a really important meeting - coming up? this is a really| important meeting because coming up? this is a really- important meeting because we have talked a lot about the 1922 committee, the committee that represents backbench mps within the conservative party and it has a couple of important decisions today. the first is to elect a new executive committee, a leadership

committee of the and then after that they will set out the rules by which they will set out the rules by which the leadership contest will be conducted because we are in the strange situation in that once boris johnson said he would be standing down, last thursday, eversince johnson said he would be standing down, last thursday, ever since we have effectively been in a tory party leadership contest but we don�*t know precisely how it will work. we know the sketch of how it will work because we have seen this before, not least in 2019, but each time it is slightly different. so we are waiting to hear when will all these candidates be whittled down to two and when will the party membership get to vote on who becomes their next leader and the new prime minister. at the moment we have 11 leadership hopefuls and they are busy setting out their stall and one thing they are keen to talk about are their tax plans and it looks like this is going to be one of the main issues on which they all say to the electorate, the mps and then the tory party members, this is

how they will approach it. and as they do that, along with other important policies of course, that is how they will be judged, initially by those mps, and then whittled down to two by next week, and then parliament will break up for the summer, we think there will be a vote amongst conservative party members up the end of august, early september, but we wait to find if thatis september, but we wait to find if that is confirmed. here�*s our political correspondent — david wallace lockhart. 11 candidates fighting for one vacancy. last night, foreign secretary liz truss became the latest cabinet minister to enter the race. in a video posted on social media this morning, she promises low taxes and economic growth. i want the best for us all, and i am the person to deliver that. tax and spend is the bread and butter of this contest. chancellor nadhim zahawi told sky news that claims he�*s being investigated over his financial affairs are a smear. he wants to cut taxes and the size of government.

so, you are saying 20% cut in every department? well, that's what i want to make sure we get to. that will give me the headroom to be able to deliver tax cuts, which i want to deliver. one of his leadership rivals, tom tugendhat, also wants to see lower taxes. i didn�*t vote for the national insurance rise. i think i was one of a few conservative mps who did not vote for the national insurance rise, because we realised, i realised, it was a tax on jobs. given that we had just come out of the two years of covid that really hurt so many people around the world, what we really need to be doing is going for growth. one candidate notable for their lack of any tax cut pledges is former chancellor rishi sunak. he�*s not been interviewed on camera yet, but his allies say this is a responsible position. i do think you have got to be very cautious about promising entirely unfunded tax cuts in the heat of a conservative leadership election. which, as you said, i think quite rightly, has been in part caused

by a loss of trust. rishi sunak�*s position doesn�*t seem to have damaged his start to the campaign. of these 11 declared candidates so far, he has the most mps publicly backing him at this point. a decision on a leadership bid is still expected from home secretary priti patel. even candidates who are not household names think they could bring something to the table. it is about values and having a vision and it is also about what the great british public stand for, hard work, perseverance and self belief. i came to our great country at the age of six, not speaking a word of english, but i was the first member of my family to go to university, i became a lawyer to fight forjustice, and then aged 31 i came to parliament. there may be a lot of candidates right now, but it�*s possible the numbers could come down fairly rapidly. today, senior conservative mps will meet to establish

the rules of this contest. it�*s possible any candidate could need as many as 20 fellow mps backing them, just to get into the first round of voting. mps are then expected to swiftly whittle the candidates down to a final two. former health secretary sajid javid remains bullish. are you confident in your leadership bid? of course, of course. good morning, it's good to see you. we could have a new leader very soon. until then, he stays in the top job — with a visit to a london research centre today. he�*s not revealing who he wants to take over. there�*s a contest under way, and that must happen. i wouldn�*t want to damage anybody�*s chances by offering my support. ijust have to get on in the last few days and weeks. the constitutional function of the prime minister, in this situation, is to discharge the mandate, to continue to discharge the mandate, and that�*s what i�*m doing. we�*ll have more clarity on the timescale for succession shortly. david wallace lockhart, bbc news, westminster.

sajid javid has launched his leadership campaign and we can hear from him now and some of what he said. . . . from him now and some of what he said. , , ., ., , said. this is a time for putting to . ether said. this is a time for putting together and _ said. this is a time for putting together and not _ said. this is a time for putting together and not apart, i said. this is a time for putting together and not apart, this i said. this is a time for putting i together and not apart, this contest is already showing that we do have talents and they are already coming through. i have the confidence to bring that talent to the top table, great prime minister is like all great prime minister is like all great bosses, they surround themselves with people who are smarter than them and who can challenge their thinking. no one is the full package. i know i�*m not. but if we can get back to seeing thisjob as the but if we can get back to seeing this job as the first amongst equals, we can transition from a team of rivals to an unrivalled team. let�*s speak to ben houchen, the conservative tees valley mayor. it�*s an area that takes in middlesbrough, stockton—on—tees, redcar and cleveland,

hartlepool and darlington. these are areas of great importance to the conservative party. thanks forjoining us. borisjohnson in 2019 made progress in the north—east of england. which of these candidates is best positioned to continue that progress? you are riaht, continue that progress? you are right. boris _ continue that progress? you are right, boris johnson _ continue that progress? you are right, boris johnson made i continue that progress? you are right, boris johnson made huge| right, borisjohnson made huge progress — right, borisjohnson made huge progress going from just one mp in the tees_ progress going from just one mp in the tees valley region, up to seven of the _ the tees valley region, up to seven of the night, so absolutely this is going _ of the night, so absolutely this is going to — of the night, so absolutely this is going to be crucial to the next general— going to be crucial to the next general election —— seven of the nine _ general election —— seven of the nine i_ general election —— seven of the nine i need _ general election —— seven of the nine. i need to hear from the candidates to find out what their commitment is to levelling up which has been _ commitment is to levelling up which has been tragically absent from the conversation so far because actually apart— conversation so far because actually apart from _ conversation so far because actually apart from brexit, levelling up was the policy— apart from brexit, levelling up was the policy which got a number of people _ the policy which got a number of people voting conservative at the first time — people voting conservative at the first time in 2019, lifelong labour voter— first time in 2019, lifelong labour voter is— first time in 2019, lifelong labour voter is now voting conservative, and if _ voter is now voting conservative, and if we — voter is now voting conservative, and if we are not careful, and we don't _ and if we are not careful, and we don't have — and if we are not careful, and we don't have a _ and if we are not careful, and we don't have a plan for levelling up after— don't have a plan for levelling up after boris — don't have a plan for levelling up after borisjohnson who don't have a plan for levelling up after boris johnson who was the architect— after boris johnson who was the architect of it we will find

ourselves in trouble, so i don't know_ ourselves in trouble, so i don't know who _ ourselves in trouble, so i don't know who i'm going to support because — know who i'm going to support because i— know who i'm going to support because i have written to them and asked _ because i have written to them and asked their— because i have written to them and asked their position and i'm still to find _ asked their position and i'm still to find out— asked their position and i'm still to find out because nobody has written — to find out because nobody has written back to me. fire to find out because nobody has written back to me.— written back to me. are you concerned _ written back to me. are you concerned how _ written back to me. are you concerned how many - written back to me. are you concerned how many of- written back to me. are you concerned how many of the | written back to me. are you _ concerned how many of the candidates are talking about tax cuts which could lead to less coming into the government unless the government to spend and levelling up costs money? i have no problem with the tax cuts and people talking about that but the issue — and people talking about that but the issue is how can you talk about tax cuts _ the issue is how can you talk about tax cuts or— the issue is how can you talk about tax cuts or raising taxes if you have — tax cuts or raising taxes if you have not— tax cuts or raising taxes if you have not set out your policy platform _ have not set out your policy platform in which informs the spending you need to have. if the spending — spending you need to have. if the spending is you are going to cut government spending by 20%, then you don't have _ government spending by 20%, then you don't have to worry about cutting taxes. _ don't have to worry about cutting taxes. so — don't have to worry about cutting taxes. so i — don't have to worry about cutting taxes, so i need to find out what the policy— taxes, so i need to find out what the policy is and we are talking about— the policy is and we are talking about taxes at the moment because that seems to be the zeitgeist but we need _ that seems to be the zeitgeist but we need much more than that and levelling _ we need much more than that and levelling up should be central to that and — levelling up should be central to that and i'm a big believer that for us to— that and i'm a big believer that for us to close — that and i'm a big believer that for us to close the north—south divide, that will— us to close the north—south divide, that will require money from central

government and the government helping _ government and the government helping those left behind areas and that will— helping those left behind areas and that will require some spending. depending on the plans that come forward _ depending on the plans that come forward from the contenders, that will have _ forward from the contenders, that will have an impact on how much headroom — will have an impact on how much headroom they have to keep taxes as they are _ headroom they have to keep taxes as they are or— headroom they have to keep taxes as they are or reduce them and that is without— they are or reduce them and that is without getting onto the conversation about the cost of living — conversation about the cost of living crisis.— conversation about the cost of living crisis. boris johnson has been prime — living crisis. boris johnson has been prime minister _ living crisis. boris johnson has been prime minister since - living crisis. boris johnson has been prime minister since he l living crisis. boris johnson has . been prime minister since he won living crisis. boris johnson has - been prime minister since he won the election in 2019 and he has a we had a long time to pursue the levelling up a long time to pursue the levelling up agenda, are you convinced the conservatives are serious about it? —— he has had a long time. conservatives are serious about it? -- he has had a long time. teesside is doinu -- he has had a long time. teesside is doing well— -- he has had a long time. teesside is doing well out _ -- he has had a long time. teesside is doing well out of— -- he has had a long time. teesside is doing well out of levelling - -- he has had a long time. teesside is doing well out of levelling up - is doing well out of levelling up and we — is doing well out of levelling up and we have the largest brownfield site and _ and we have the largest brownfield site and the first and largest freeport— site and the first and largest freeport at the treasury coming to dartington — freeport at the treasury coming to darlington and we are seeing huge infrastructure investment across the public _ infrastructure investment across the public transport services which has not been _ public transport services which has not been rolled out to other parts of the _ not been rolled out to other parts of the country and if we were fed to the government we have had a couple of years _ the government we have had a couple of years of— the government we have had a couple of years of a _ the government we have had a couple of years of a global pandemic —— if we were _ of years of a global pandemic —— if we were fair~ _ of years of a global pandemic —— if we were fair. we have also had the

turmoil— we were fair. we have also had the turmoil the — we were fair. we have also had the turmoil the prime minister was going for himself— turmoil the prime minister was going for himself and then the conflict in ukraine _ for himself and then the conflict in ukraine so— for himself and then the conflict in ukraine so i think the prime minister— ukraine so i think the prime minister has done as much as he can given— minister has done as much as he can given what— minister has done as much as he can given what he has inherited but this is only— given what he has inherited but this is onty the — given what he has inherited but this is only the start and if you speak to mps— is only the start and if you speak to mps in— is only the start and if you speak to mps in the north this is notjust a three—year policy, this is a ten, 15, 20 _ a three—year policy, this is a ten, 15, 20 year— a three—year policy, this is a ten, 15, 20 year plan to raise a three—year policy, this is a ten, 15,20 year plan to raise the a three—year policy, this is a ten, 15, 20 year plan to raise the living standards — 15, 20 year plan to raise the living standards and the wages and the opportunities or areas across the country— opportunities or areas across the country and we are at risk if we are not careful— country and we are at risk if we are not careful of contenders ignoring this agenda i'm finding that we have made _ this agenda i'm finding that we have made a _ this agenda i'm finding that we have made a great start but we go back to square _ made a great start but we go back to square one _ made a great start but we go back to square one when it was placed on the sidelines _ square one when it was placed on the sidelines. a , ., , square one when it was placed on the sidelines. a, , ., , .. . , sidelines. many of these candidates are pointing — sidelines. many of these candidates are pointing to _ sidelines. many of these candidates are pointing to the _ sidelines. many of these candidates are pointing to the need _ sidelines. many of these candidates are pointing to the need for- sidelines. many of these candidates are pointing to the need for the - are pointing to the need for the conservative party to be seen as acting with integrity and honesty and they clearly believe trust is an issue after borisjohnson's leadership but some of these candidates are served in his government and if few of them didn't, does that matter to you, whether they work with him or not? —— work. whether they work with him or not? -- work. ., . . , , whether they work with him or not? -- work. ., ., ., , , ., -- work. no, what matters is what the lan -- work. no, what matters is what they plan to _ -- work. no, what matters is what

they plan to do _ -- work. no, what matters is what they plan to do for _ -- work. no, what matters is what they plan to do for the _ -- work. no, what matters is what they plan to do for the country - -- work. no, what matters is what they plan to do for the country and at the _ they plan to do for the country and at the moment some of that is quite thin on— at the moment some of that is quite thin on the _ at the moment some of that is quite thin on the ground and lots about tax cuts _ thin on the ground and lots about tax cuts but there is a lot more to running _ tax cuts but there is a lot more to running a — tax cuts but there is a lot more to running a government apart from that, _ running a government apart from that, so— running a government apart from that, so what are we going to see on the cost _ that, so what are we going to see on the cost of— that, so what are we going to see on the cost of living crisis and around levelling _ the cost of living crisis and around levelling up and how we bridge the north—south divide? let's talk about crime _ north—south divide? let's talk about crime and _ north—south divide? let's talk about crime and disorder. this should be informed _ crime and disorder. this should be informed before wednesday because mps have _ informed before wednesday because mps have a duty to look at the platform — mps have a duty to look at the platform policies for these contenders before they start voting in the _ contenders before they start voting in the first — contenders before they start voting in the first round which is not very far away — in the first round which is not very far away i — in the first round which is not very far awa . . . in the first round which is not very far awa . u, , . in the first round which is not very farawa . , . far away. i can understand your desire to hear _ far away. i can understand your desire to hear what _ far away. i can understand your desire to hear what they - far away. i can understand your desire to hear what they have l far away. i can understand your| desire to hear what they have to far away. i can understand your- desire to hear what they have to say on policy and many conservative mps do but the primary reason it boris johnson is stopping being prime minister is not because of policy differences but because of how he has conducted himself in number ten and that is notjust a short—term thing because there's been criticism of him for good while and a of these candidates supported mrjohnson staying in power —— and a lot of these candidates. is that not a

problem for you as the conservative party tries to serve the country and say they can be trusted? fin party tries to serve the country and say they can be trusted?— say they can be trusted? on the important _ say they can be trusted? on the important policy _ say they can be trusted? on the important policy decisions - say they can be trusted? on the important policy decisions the i important policy decisions the government have done incredibly well through— government have done incredibly well through covid and supporting people financially with the furlough scheme and the _ financially with the furlough scheme and the levelling up agenda which we have started even though the pandemic interfered, and actually the government has got it right. the thln- the government has got it right. the thing that— the government has got it right. the thing that has caused the downfall of boris _ thing that has caused the downfall of borisjohnson is not anything to do with— of borisjohnson is not anything to do with policy and this is the problem _ do with policy and this is the problem. let's not talk about personalities and the nonsense that has gone _ personalities and the nonsense that has gone on, that is a sideshow, let's— has gone on, that is a sideshow, let's talk— has gone on, that is a sideshow, let's talk about the things that would — let's talk about the things that would change the country and what we are hearing _ would change the country and what we are hearing at the moment is very li-ht are hearing at the moment is very light on— are hearing at the moment is very light on that substance and that is notjust— light on that substance and that is notjust what members light on that substance and that is not just what members of the conservative party want to hear about _ conservative party want to hear about what the country wants to hear _ about what the country wants to hear. choosing the next prime minister— hear. choosing the next prime minister affects everybody in the uk and that— minister affects everybody in the uk and that is— minister affects everybody in the uk and that is the most important thing — and that is the most important thing we _ and that is the most important thing. we need to hear more about

the policy— thing. we need to hear more about the policy platforms before next wednesday otherwise we will be limited — wednesday otherwise we will be limited in how we choose the next person _ limited in how we choose the next erson. , , ., . person. very interesting to hear from you- _ person. very interesting to hear from you- you _ person. very interesting to hear from you. you want _ person. very interesting to hear from you. you want to - person. very interesting to hear from you. you want to hear- person. very interesting to hear from you. you want to hear the | from you. you want to hear the policy platforms from all of the contenders between now and the —— and next week. thank you very much. that is the challenge, as we consider these contenders, they did not know borisjohnson was going to go until thursday, but we think the candidates will be whittled down to just two so they don't have much time to lay down what they stand for and what policy details they want to commit to. one more detail. rishi sunak currently has far more mps declaring their support for him with 38. penny

mordaunt is second with 21, but also many tory mps have not put their cards on the table so we should not read too much into that.— read too much into that. thanks for 'oinin: read too much into that. thanks for joining us- — jamie wallis has been found guilty of reporting to stop and report an accident after he crashed his car in the early hours of the morning in november last year. the mpjamie wallis denied the charges? he november last year. the mp jamie wallis denied the charges? he was char: ed wallis denied the charges? he was charged with _ wallis denied the charges? he was charged with four _ wallis denied the charges? he was charged with four different - wallis denied the charges? he was | charged with four different offences and he was cleared of driving without due care and attention but found guilty on all three others. it happened in the early hours of one sunday last november when he crashed into a lamp post and after the crash two eyewitnesses came to try and help him but instead of responding to them he started to walk and run

away, and those witnesses reported seeing him wearing a leather mini skirt and high heels and a necklace and we should remember thatjamie wallis is the first westminster mp to come out as transgender. in his defence, given as the reason for fleeing the scene, he spoke about the trauma with his identity and a traumatic event last year when he was raped. his defence barrister said he suffered from ptsd and in the aftermath of the crash in november he was unable to make rational decisions and he fled in fear of his safety. the district judge said he did not find the evidence credible on those issues and he found him guilty and he has sentenced him to disqualification from driving for six months and finding him a total of £2500. —— fining.

most of the 11 candidates in the conservative leadership race are promising big tax cuts — but some aren't being clear about how they'd fund them — and what impact they could have on public spending. earlier our economics editor, faisal islam, talked through the numbers tens of billions of pounds of tax cuts. the extraordinary thing about that is not that a conservative leadership candidate would want to cut taxes, that's quite natural for them, but we have seen these taxes just go up in the past few months. so it's the grand old duke of york kind of description of how these will go up and potentially come down if a certain prime minister comes in. what you have here, in the backdrop to this, in order to meet the borrowing targets in the conservative manifesto, there is about £30 billion, i% of the worth of our economy, of room for manoeuvre. normally, you want to keep that in tact for a rainy day. but this is essentially being spent. that's the difference between the 3% rise in taxation and the 2% that has been spent on extra public services, things like social care and those nhs waiting lists

we are trying to deal with. what we are not getting is how that will be cut back. very few explanations of that. they say it will all be done by efficiency savings, but that raises the question as to what the current government, the same government, is spending the money on right now. lots of promises of really quite massive tax cuts. we have just had tax rises. not much explanation of where spending might be cut. at the moment, they don't say the borrowing rules are going to change. the labour leader, sir keir starmer, has attacked what he calls an "arms race of fantasy economics" by the conservative leadership hopefuls. sir keir accused them of making unfunded tax promises — and says some are now opposing tax increases they approved while serving in boris johnson's government. the tory leadership race hasn't even officially begun yet,

but the arms race of fantasy economics is well under way. over the weekend, the contenders have made more than £200 billion worth of unfunded spending commitments. 200 billion. let that sink in. that is more than the annual budget of the nhs, splurged onto the pages of the sunday papers, without a word on how it will be paid for. the labour leader was speaking on a visit to gateshead — from where our political correspondent, alex forsyth, spoke to us earlier. well, this was meant to be about labour's vision for the economy and public services, but with all the noise around the conservative leadership contest threatening to drown out every thing else, sir keirweighed in. he accused the contenders of making wild spending commitments. he said labour would not make unfunded pledges. but he would not be drawn on the specifics of labour's tax policy. i asked him repeatedly if labour would reverse the increases

in national insurance, he wouldn't say. he did not spell out plans for income tax or corporation tax. bear in mind, he has called for an early general election. he said he wouldn't write labour's manifesto during a course of interviews. but remember, sir keir starmer has often defined himself as a leader against borisjohnson, and there are some in his party, and some in the country now, looking at him and saying, "what would you do if you were elected to government?" a teenage boy who stabbed a12—year old schoolgirl in a row over a snapchat video has been sentenced to life, with a minumum of 13 years for her murder. the boy, who was iii at the time and is now 15, cannot be named for legal reasons. earlier i spoke to our correspondent, rowan bridge who was at liverpool crown court. it was a packed public gallery with members of ava white's family and friends there to watch.

there were gasps and sobs from the public gallery when the sentence was handed down. thejustice described it as a tragic case and how in a set of freak circumstances ava had been out on a night out with her friends to watch the christmas lights being switched on in liverpool city centre when she came into contact with the then 14—year—old boy at the centre of the case. he and his friends had been filming ava and her friends and uploading the video to snapchat. ava objected to this and this ended up in a confrontation which happened not far from where i'm standing where the 14—year—old was shoved by ava and then he pulled out a knife and stabbed ava in the neck. she died laterfrom her injuries. the boy denied, initially, being at the scene and it was only when cctv footage was shown that proved he was there that he did actually admit to being at the scene of the crime. today he was sentenced to a life sentence with a minimum of 13 years. this morning we heard victim impact statements from members of ava's family and you got a sense of the devastation and ongoing

anguish that the case has caused. herfather said his reason for living had been taken away when she was killed. "when i wake up, i think for a split second she is still here and i lose her every morning and will for the rest of my life." one of ava's sisters said she barely goes out any more and she rarely speaks to her friends and that she has a photograph of ava that she kisses every night, but that she should be able to kiss her baby sister. a very emotional day. the hot weather is expected to continue this week. temperatures are forecast to reach up to 33 celsius today in southern england — with a heat health alert being issued in some parts of the uk. scotland and northern ireland had their hottest days of the year so far on sunday. the met offce has

issued a level 3 alert for southern england and the east midlands. people are being advised to stay indoors during the middle of the day, drink plenty of fluids and take extra care of young children. let's join alex deakin who is a meteorologist from the met office. lovely to talk to you again. you are in devon, the best place to be during the summer. how significant are the temperatures we are seeing at the moment? it isa it is a lovely day here. these temperatures are pretty significant. not especially at the moment, it is hot and hotter than normal but nothing that unusual for a hot spell in july. at the nothing that unusual for a hot spell injuly. at the weekend is where we

are concerned where we see temperatures going up, in the middle of the week, but then ramping up as we go to the weekend. we are concerned about sunday and into monday where temperatures could get into the extreme category, and we are talking made and possibly even high 30s which would be very unusual and possibly even cause serious health issues. it is hot at the moment i'm not especially present for some of us but to bridges will drop off a little bit but then it is towards the weekend we are concerned —— but temperatures will drop off. at least at a coastal county you can get somewhere a bit cooler by the sea but in terms of the kind of impact of this we can, what, assuming nothing changes at the temperatures reach over 30, what precautions should people think about because the natural instinct is that it is lovely out there and people are going to get out or put a bit more sun cream on and wear a hat but i want to be out on it, people

will think?— but i want to be out on it, people will think? . , . , i. will think? those are the basics you have covered. _ will think? those are the basics you have covered. if _ will think? those are the basics you have covered. if you _ will think? those are the basics you have covered. if you are _ will think? those are the basics you have covered. if you are going - will think? those are the basics you have covered. if you are going to i will think? those are the basics you| have covered. if you are going to go out between 11 and three, make sure you are wearing a hat and suncream, that goes for the rest of the week, where damages will be above average, but dropping off over the next couple of weeks —— where temperatures will be above average. but there could be health issues are notjust but there could be health issues are not just for the vulnerable but there could be health issues are notjust for the vulnerable and the elderly, but which it might do at this stage, but by the time we get to the weekend, all members of the public could see some problems with health if we see these temperatures in the mid to high 30s. if you are doing any kind of exercise, limit of that and plan your day around the temperatures peaking in the middle of the day so if you have got to do any exercise make sure you do it early in the morning or late in the evening when tim just might be a bit lower and try to avoid the peak temperatures —— when temperatures might be a bit lower. keep curtains closed through the day and make sure you are not opening windows in the

day because often it is hotter outside than it is inside and all you are doing is letting in the heat so there is good advice about keeping cool and the met office website has plenty on that. one other question, _ website has plenty on that. one other question, i _ website has plenty on that. one other question, i know the uk meteorological office does a lot of work with companies and government, about what we should be doing, so how much thinking is going in longer term to how we adapt our built environment and our lifestyle to more frequent extreme temperatures? good question. i work at the met office headquarters where we have tens if not hundreds of climate scientists who are looking at these projections all the time and we are feeding that directly into government. orthe feeding that directly into government. or the greatest scientists and some of the best brains in the world on climate science —— all the greatest scientists. they are feeding the information into government so we can make plans for the future. this

hot spell, after it, we will do a study to work out how much more likely these hot spells are because of human induced climate change and we are increasingly likely to see temperatures getting into the high 30s and possibly even break the a0 barrier in the years to come, even if we don't break it during this current hot spell.— if we don't break it during this current hot spell. alex in exeter, make sure _ current hot spell. alex in exeter, make sure you — current hot spell. alex in exeter, make sure you get _ current hot spell. alex in exeter, make sure you get down - current hot spell. alex in exeter, make sure you get down to - current hot spell. alex in exeter, - make sure you get down to lynmouth if you can, great place for an ice cream! train drivers have voted to strike in a dispute over pay with few more ballots being countered with their union as left. —— four more ballots being countered. now we have the weather forecast. this has a decent chance for being the hottest day of the year so far and we could do this in parts of

east anglia, 33 degrees on the cloud c, maybe even 3a, and the heat really, we have the fresh air pushing into scotland and northern ireland where it will still be pleasantly warm. ireland where it will still be leasantl warm. , . , ., pleasantly warm. temperatures are slow to fold — pleasantly warm. temperatures are slow to fold away _ pleasantly warm. temperatures are slow to fold away this _ pleasantly warm. temperatures are slow to fold away this evening - pleasantly warm. temperatures are slow to fold away this evening so i slow to fold away this evening so maybe if you are thinking of heading to bed, ten o'clock, 25 in birmingham and 26 in london, although the term just will fall away out in the countryside —— although the temperatures will fall away. tomorrow, the odd spot of rain in scotland and northern ireland but nothing much. sunshine follows for scotland and northern ireland at the hottest weather starts to get confined to parts of england with highs running well into the 30s. that is it.

hello this is bbc news. the headlines: with 11 candidates in the running so far, the rules of the tory leadership contest will be decided this afternoon. the prime minister says he won't be backing any of the those who want his job. there is a contest under way and i

wouldn't want to damage in a bid eight�*s chances by offering —— wouldn't want to damage anybody�*s chances. the met office has issued an amber weather warning for extreme heat across a large part of the uk ahead of further soaring temperatures this week. the murder of liverpool schoolgirl ava white — a teenage boy is sentenced to life with a minimum of 13 years. the president of sri lanka says he will resign, after thousands of demonstrators stormed his official residence in protest at the state of the economy. the former formula one boss bernie ecclestone has been charged with fraud by false representation. the big birth control plan to control the the number of grey squirrels —

and save the native red squirrel. let me remind you of something i was mentioning before the headlines, train drivers of four rail companies are voted to strike in a dispute over pay. ballots for four other companies are still being counted. and we will have more on that with carrie davis who has the details. before all that we are going to go to the sport and rebecca would again. good afternoon. it's half an hour until kick off at southampton where northern ireland will play austria in their second group game of the competition. a loss will all but end their hopes of making it out of the group stages. manager kenny shiels has made four changes to the side that lost to norway last week. captain marissa callaghan replaces the injured midfielder nadene caldwell. kirsty mcguinness will also start up

front, with rebecca mckenna and rebecca holloway also coming in to the side. it is such an important match for northern ireland against austria. what a beautiful day, the fans have started to filter into the st mary's and northern ireland midfielder megan bell was unfortunately injured are not included in the squad but that means she can speak to us. welcome. first of all they lost 4—1 against norway in their opening match, it was a nervy start, will they settle down for the second match? i they settle down for the second match? ~ . they settle down for the second match? ,, . ., ._ . . , match? i think that norway game was a name of match? i think that norway game was a game of two — match? i think that norway game was a game of two halves, _ match? i think that norway game was a game of two halves, in _ match? i think that norway game was a game of two halves, in the - match? i think that norway game was a game of two halves, in the first - a game of two halves, in the first half we _ a game of two halves, in the first half we were maybe nervous and the game _ half we were maybe nervous and the game got _ half we were maybe nervous and the game got to us but in the second half the — game got to us but in the second half the team settled into it a lot more _ half the team settled into it a lot more and — half the team settled into it a lot more and we started to play like ourselves — more and we started to play like ourselves and get higher up the pitch _ ourselves and get higher up the pitch if— ourselves and get higher up the pitch. if we can take the positives from _ pitch. if we can take the positives from the — pitch. if we can take the positives from the second half we will be putting — from the second half we will be putting in— from the second half we will be putting in a very good performance tonight~ _ putting in a very good performance tonight. the putting in a very good performance toniaht. ., ,.,, , i. tonight. the other positive is you have ut tonight. the other positive is you have put austria _ tonight. the other positive is you have put austria twice _ tonight. the other positive is you have put austria twice in - tonight. the other positive is you have put austria twice in the - tonight. the other positive is you | have put austria twice in the past

eight months with one loss and one draw. ., . ., _, draw. how will that help? you could look at it as — draw. how will that help? you could look at it as a _ draw. how will that help? you could look at it as a positive _ draw. how will that help? you could look at it as a positive or _ look at it as a positive or negative, we know their strengths and their— negative, we know their strengths and theirareas of negative, we know their strengths and their areas of weakness to exploit — and their areas of weakness to exploit but they know us very well, too. exploit but they know us very well, too that _ exploit but they know us very well, too that is — exploit but they know us very well, too. that is the thing when you play a team _ too. that is the thing when you play a team that — too. that is the thing when you play a team that you've played before in quick— a team that you've played before in quick succession and we know each other— quick succession and we know each other very— quick succession and we know each other very well. there will be a lot of analysis— other very well. there will be a lot of analysis going into the game and the staff— of analysis going into the game and the staff are great at looking austria's _ the staff are great at looking austria's weaknesses. if we can capitalise — austria's weaknesses. if we can capitalise on that and play to our strengths — capitalise on that and play to our strengths we will do really well. meanwhile in brighton, england will play their second game against norway. our reporter olly foster is at the amex stadium for us — olly, a tough challenge for england ahead then? a really tough challenge. by the time that northern ireland match finishes england will know what they have to do, if northern ireland are beaten by austria, if england win against norway here then they will qualify for the quarterfinals with a

game to spare. that'll be a really big ask, the england head coach says they will have to bring that best game against norwegians because it was a rather flat opening performance from england. a winning start, yes, all important against the austrians at old trafford, perhaps they were affected by nerves, they were affected by nerves, they were affected by nerves, they were affected by nerves, the norwegian coach planting that seed of doubt when we spoke to him yesterday saying he thought england were underperforming and it was all getting to them, the atmosphere, going to be another sell—out, less raucous at the amex stadium but close to 30,000 the majority of whom will be cheering on england but she knows it, they need to be more clinical and she wants more goals from her team. ellen white has not scored since april and we will see if she still leads the line. , ., , ., . line. the question is how good are norwa ?

line. the question is how good are norway? they _ line. the question is how good are norway? they are _ line. the question is how good are norway? they are fantastic, - line. the question is how good are norway? they are fantastic, theyl norway? they are fantastic, they beat northern _ norway? they are fantastic, they beat northern ireland _ norway? they are fantastic, they beat northern ireland 4-1. - norway? they are fantastic, they. beat northern ireland 4-1. they've beat northern ireland 4—1. they've got players from chelsea, scored a cracking free kick against northern ireland and carolyn and graham hanson has had a wonderful tournament and playing at the top of her game. these players pitch themselves as the underdogs against england. both sets of players know each other so well and many come up against each other every week in the wsl. we are really looking forward to this one. across the bbc, kicked off at eight o'clock.— off at eight o'clock. thank you, certainly a _ off at eight o'clock. thank you, certainly a game _ off at eight o'clock. thank you, certainly a game to _ off at eight o'clock. thank you, certainly a game to savour. - england women are playing south africa in the first of three one day international�*s of their multi—format series. south africa won the toss and chose to bat. they are currently 169—5 at the county ground in northampton. katherine brunt and sophie ecclestone currently with two wickets each. the series is currently level

at 2—2, they will also play t20 as part of the series. that's all the sport for now. make sure you check out bbc sport website. all, she says! an embarrassment of riches. have a lovely evening. sri lanka's president has confirmed that he intends to resign in two days' time. the parliamentary speaker said the president had left the country after fleeing huge crowds which stormed his palace to protest against rising prices, and shortages of food and fuel. but he insisted the president would return by wednesday. our south asia editor anbarasan ethirajan is in the capital colombo. a historic moment for many sri lankans. they want to cherish it and capture it. thousands have been coming to see the office of president gotobaya rajapaksa that was stormed by huge crowds on saturday.

a culmination of months long process against the president, accusing him of mismanaging the economy. sri lanka is bankrupt. it is struggling to import essential items. the situation is so bad. we are here to come, we are here to throw away this bad politics. so, i am happy to stay here today. why did you come here, to see this place? we have to stay together in this situation. so that's why i'm here. kilometre—long queues outside a petrol station are a common sight. without fuel, the economy has come to a standstill. public transport, severely disrupted. the desperation is unlikely to change, even if there is a new government. amidst all this political crisis, sri lanka is still facing a crippling shortage of fuel. and look at this, three wheelers, auto rickshaws,

motorbikes, they are more than two kilometres long. the auto driver here says he has been waiting in the queue for more than a day. and that reflects the ground reality. unless the government get their act together, the international community will not come forward to help them. in the meantime, sri lankans are curious to know how the president lived. they are aware this sprawling compound will soon be occupied by his successor. sri lanka's political leaders say they are working to form a new government. now colombo is running from pillar to post for loans. an immediate change in government helps. but a new government that comes in by popular vote, through an election, will help even more, i think, in converting the goodwill of the international community to support sri lanka in the way forward. sri lanka is a classic case of a country that was living beyond its means.

the protesters say, at least for now, they have achieved what they wanted by removing mr rajapaksa from power. but they are also aware this economic misery will not be solved any time soon. anbarasan ethirajan, bbc news, colombo. a leak of documents has shown how uber secretly lobbied uk politicians to help change transport policy in london. in meetings that were never declared, uber�*s lobbyists met george osborne when he was conservative chancellor and a number of other ministers. the documents were leaked to the guardian newspaper and shared with the international consortium of investigative journalists and the bbc. uber denies its lobbying was secret and the ministers say rules were followed. richard bilton reports. when uber arrived in london, there was chaos. black cab drivers weren't happy and blockaded the capital. the then london mayor, borisjohnson, set up a review that could have limited uber�*s expansion in the capital.

the leaked documents show uber was on a secret offensive, a concerted campaign to influence policy. george osborne, the then chancellor, went to a private dinner in california with uber�*s chief exec, travis kalanick. an internal uber e—mail says, "it's better than a meeting in london, because this is a much more private affair, with no hanger—on officials or staffers". the meeting was never declared. what should our viewers make of the fact that he chose not to declare that meeting? well, i think they should be very disturbed, frankly. it perfectly encapsulates the problem with lobbying and how vested interests capture ministers and decision—making. the documents say there were more meetings with ministers, including sajid javid, matt hancock, michael gove and priti patel.

they weren't declared. meetings between ministers and companies where business is discussed should be declared. but the guidelines are so vague, it is hard to be sure if politicians are breaking the rules. the leaked documents show uber felt it got what it wanted. they describe george osborne as a "strong advocate," who would "take up our cause when needed". and they boast that then prime minister david cameron's senior staff are "very with us". it looks like all that lobbying worked. proposals that would have limited uber�*s expansion in london were dropped. it was scandalous, what went on. i still can't believe that it happened in this country. more to the point, nothing has ever been done about it. we just accept that's what happened. "ok, yeah, the chancellor and the prime minister lobbied for one of their mates,

fine, that's all right, move on." uber says new management has transformed every aspect of how the company operates and its engagements with government are legal and transparent. the ministers say they properly complied with the declaration rules and george osborne says it was public policy to meet and persuade tech companies to invest in britain. richard bilton, bbc news. and panorama — taking us for a ride: the uber files is on bbc two at 8pm tonight and on iplayer. a vigil has begun at a buddhist temple injapan's capital to remember the country's former prime minister, shinzo abe, who was assassinated on friday. mr abe was shot while speaking at an election campaign event. police say a 41—year—old man has admitted shooting mr abe with a homemade gun. our correspondent, mariko oi, is in tokyo. i am standing outside the temple where mr abe's vigil was taking place,

even though it was a family event there were hundreds of visitors, including the british ambassador, we also saw the russian ambassador who called mr abe a great politician. we also had the current japanese prime minister fumio kishida, all the ministers as well as the lawmakers from the ruling liberal democratic party ofjapan, which just had that resounding victory in the upper house elections on sunday. now the ruling party along with its coalition partner have more than two thirds of seats in parliament which means they have the ability to change japan's pacifist constitution, something mr abe has been very passionate about. all the lawmakers were saying they wanted to dedicate yesterday's victory mr abe. this temple is where his funeral will also be taking place tomorrow. we don't have too many details about who will be attending but we know it will start at noon local time. thank you.

the headlines on bbc news... with 11 candidates in the running so far — the rules of the tory leadership contest will be decided this afternoon. the prime minister says he won't be backing any of the those who want his job. the met office has issued an amber weather warning for extreme heat across a large part of the uk ahead of further soaring temperatures this week. the murder of liverpool schoolgirl ava white — a teenage boy is sentenced to life with a minimum of 13 years. an update on the market numbers for you — here's how london's and frankfurt ended the day. and in the the united states this is how the dow and the nasdaq are getting on. let's return to the news train drivers union has announced members

at eight companies have voted to strike over a dispute over pay. in terms of the implications we've already had industrial action going on on the railways. will this expand the scale of it significantly? the first bi the scale of it significantly? the: first big question is the scale of it significantly? ti9: first big question is whether the scale of it significantly? ti9 first big question is whether the strikes go ahead, the first thing is these are eight train drivers from eight companies which are arrive, northern, south—eastern, transpennine express and west midlands. they all voted today according to aslef overwhelmingly in favour of strike action in order to negotiate on that page. the next step is whether the strikes go ahead. aslef will sit back and see whether or not they are offered more things by the operators and whether there is further negotiation. if aslef at the site strike action is required, the next step is to find out when that strike action might

happen. train drivers do not regularly strike, it's quite a major event when this happens. it is very highly disruptive. one person i spoke to who is senior in the rail industry explain this to me and said when you have other strike action for other unions, often they are able more easily to get built to replace them even in the case of the signals when the rmt strike we had injune, that was signals when the rmt strike we had in june, that was obviously very destructive but by 20% of trains were able to operate. you destructive but by 20% of trains were able to operate. you cannot run an trains were able to operate. you cannot run any trains without _ were able to operate. you cannot run any trains without signals _ were able to operate. you cannot run any trains without signals but - were able to operate. you cannot run any trains without signals but they i any trains without signals but they were able to get some signals in, but 10% capacity. the were able to get some signals in, but 10% capacity-— were able to get some signals in, but 10% capacity. the big problem is t in: to but 10% capacity. the big problem is trying to get — but 10% capacity. the big problem is trying to get train — but 10% capacity. the big problem is trying to get train drivers _ but 10% capacity. the big problem is trying to get train drivers to - trying to get train drivers to replace those on strike. so many drivers are members of aslef that if they go on strike it is very difficult to find people who are not in difficult to find people with the skill set to replace them.- skill set to replace them. that's potentially _ skill set to replace them. that's potentially incredibly _ skill set to replace them. that's| potentially incredibly disruptive. scotrail, where the dispute has been settled, management were saying the

reason we hope to get a decent service back—up as we hope our drivers. the overtime again, basically there are not enough drivers at the moment and unless they do over time, that immediately led to huge number of trains being cancelled. in these other companies, i know some, the ballots are still being counted for some others, this could on its ownjust being counted for some others, this could on its own just the drivers going out good prizmic trip up the network if they choose to take action. ——just network if they choose to take action. —— just the drivers going out could cripple the network. we talked about these eight companies, if they all strike on the same day, that could be incredibly disruptive and even individually that could still be very disruptive. we don't know yet dates if they choose to go ahead but how much notice to the have to give because it used to beat you could almost go immediately and now you have to give a notice period. it’s

immediately and now you have to give a notice period-— a notice period. it's a two week notice period. _ a notice period. it's a two week notice period. it _ a notice period. it's a two week notice period. it depends i a notice period. it's a two week notice period. it depends on i a notice period. it's a two week. notice period. it depends on how quickly aslef at the site if they are going to take strike action. it's going to be —— depends on how quickly aslef decide they are going to take strike action. it’ll quickly aslef decide they are going to take strike action.— to take strike action. it'll be interesting _ to take strike action. it'll be interesting to _ to take strike action. it'll be interesting to see _ to take strike action. it'll be interesting to see whether. to take strike action. it'll be i interesting to see whether they decide to go ahead are aware that this will encourage a fresh round of negotiations. thank you very much. an investigation is under way after a woman was killed at a bus stop in manchester city centre. two other people were injured — one seriously — after a bus mounted the pavement in piccadilly gardens. the driver was detained at the scene — from where yunus mulla has sent this. whatever the time of day, this area of piccadilly is busy. it was around 9:30 last night when we understand that a bus mounted the kerb and went straight into this bus shelter and in footage filmed in the second and minutes after you could see the lengths people went to to try and help,

including trying to move the bus out of the way. but a woman in her 50s was killed. another is receiving treatment. this area was quite busy at the time, football was being shown in piccadilly gardens here, and what police want to piece together is what happened and why the bus mounted the kerb. and we know that a bus driver stayed here to help police with their investigations. and what greater manchester police need is footage of any kind that may help them with the investigations, and what we are seeing currently is that this bus shelter is being dismantled to make the area safe.

government scientists have come up with an unusual way of controlling the grey squirrel population. they plan to spike hazelnut paste with oral contraceptives to reduce the birth rate. they've told the bbc the research is progressing well and hope to be able to begin using it in the wild within two years. it could help protect the remaining red squirrel populations and woodland ecosystems, including forests planted to help tackle climate change. our climate editor, justin rowlatt has the story. the uk's native red squirrel has been driven almost to extinction. they only survive in a few isolated populations, like here in the yorkshire dales national park. the reason, grey squirrels. they were first brought to the uk from north america in the late 19th century, and have spread across the country. as well as muscling out red

squirrels, grey squirrels are responsible for killing and maiming tens of thousands of young trees every year. the traditional way of disposing of pests is by shooting. but most people don't like the idea of squirrels being shot. it is only ever a temporary solution. grey squirrels breed rapidly, and populations can recover quickly, which is why government scientists are exploring a more humane alternative. you won't be surprised to hear that squirrels just love this. it's a kind of hazelnut butter. they find it irresistible. and what the scientists are doing is dosing this with contraceptives. now, the idea is the squirrels will be unaffected, except, of course, they won't be able to produce any young. so how do you ensure that only grey squirrels eat it? well, the scientists have come up with a cunning plan. so, it has a weighted door

at the front that an animal has to push open to access the bait. and this is the bait, here? so, that's that paste. yeah. it has a metal case to keep out larger animals, and we raise it up on a stand so that small animals can't access it. but where do you get squirrel contraceptives? the team are investigating two long—lasting birth control treatments. the lead scientist says progress has been good. she hopes it will be ready to roll out in the wild within two years. you could reduce them significantly, like bring them to the brink of local extinction, or even eradicate them from some areas, provided that you can do a coordinated control over large areas. reducing the population of grey squirrels should help protect the remaining red. it could save the timber industry millions of pounds a year and should also help tackle climate change by reducing damage to the vast

new forests the government has promised to plant to soak up carbon dioxide emissions. so, it looks like the only loser is the grey squirrel. justin rowlatt, bbc news, the yorkshire dales national park. the tian shan mountains in kyrgyzstan are some of the most photographed in the world. but when a british tourist started taking pictures of the incredible view, he had no idea he would capture footage of a huge avalanche just moments later. harry shimmin was mountain trekking with some friends when he dedied to break away from the group to with some friends

a huge flow of ice begins to roll down a rocky valley, much like a tsunami. the wall of white begins to crash over the sides, sending up huge plumes of white snow. we willjoin victoria in a moment for the five o'clock news, thank you for the five o'clock news, thank you for your campaign this afternoon. here is chris with the weather. lots of hot weather to come and today has a good chance of being the hottest day of the year so far. 33 celsius on the cards in east anglia. staying hot throughout the week across the south—east of england with extreme heat building through the weekend and perhaps into monday. today will be hot enough across england and wales, high 20s, low

30s. more cloud than yesterday in scotland and northern ireland so not as high temperatures isjust scotland and northern ireland so not as high temperatures is just a scotland and northern ireland so not as high temperatures isjust a bit but still feeling warm. 3334 possible in east anglia and cambridge could be one of the hot spots. this evening, those temperatures will be slow to fall away. perhaps as you are thinking going to bed around ten o'clock, those temperatures will still be up at 25 celsius for birmingham and for london. the highest temperatures will be in the bigger towns and cities. in the countryside temperatures fall away quicker but an uncomfortable night's sleep ahead. tuesday, we have a weak cold front pushing south and bring the odd spot of rain, just an area of cloud drifting southwards. more sunshine behind that, fresher air continuing to work in here, highest temperatures getting confined to parts of southern and eastern wales and across the bulk of england where we have highs running well into the

30s. fresh and slightly less hot air start to seep into the south on wednesday and with temperatures still around 28 celsius any other time we would call this a hot day. pressure conditions across the north and west. beyond that through thursday and friday, more fine weather for most with more spells of sunshine. enterat weather for most with more spells of sunshine. enter at the weekend we could start to see some extreme heat building across parts of the uk and particularly the south. we get this hot air building across spain and portugal, deep oranges get pulled northwards and into wards southern uk and that boost the temperatures and it could be the ultimate uk temperature record is under threat as we head into their weekend. —— all—time record.

hello, welcome to bbc news. i'm victoria derbyshire. here are your headlines at 5 o'clock. 11 candidates so far are in the running to become your next prime minister. as conservative mps meet to set out the rules for the party's leadership contest this evening, borisjohnson says he won't be backing any of the contenders. there's a contest under way and i just wouldn't want to damage anybody�*s chances by offering support. and i'm ros atkins, live in westminster, with the latest on that conservative party leadership contest. a 15—year—old boy has been given a life sentence with a minimum of 13 years for the murder of the schoolgirl ava white. extreme heat across large parts of the uk is expected to last into early next week. the met office issues an amber weather warning.