this is bbc world news, the headlines: president biden is holding talks with crown prince mohammed bin salman, the de facto ruler of saudi arabia — a country he once described as a pariah. among the topics raised were human rights and increasing oil output. fires are continuing to burn out of control in parts of europe. in france, thousands of people remain evacuated from their homes, four days after the fires broke out. in portugal the entire country has been put on alert. russia has denied targeting civilians in a missile attack that hit a city southwest of kyiv, hundreds of kilometers far from the front—line. at least twenty—three people — three of them children — died in the strike. a court in sri lanka has barred the former prime minister, mahinda rajapaksa, and his brother basil from leaving the country. it comes after their brother, president gotabaya rajapaksa,

fled sri lanka after weeks of mass protests. at ten o'clock we will be here with a full round up of the day's news. first, newscast. hello. hello, it is victoria in the studio. chris in the studio. one of the other things we have been doing on newscast is, for the tory leadership contest, getting big bbc brands and smashing them into the tory leadership contest, so today please listen tojohn briggs, whom you may recognise as the voice of the weakest link. after the second round of voting, rishi sunak has banked the most. as the former chancellor he would, wouldn't he? he has 101 votes, making him the strongest link.

according to the bookies, penny mordaunt is the favourite to win, despite trailing on 83 votes. her initials are already pm, but will the conservative party agree? liz truss looked a little lost at her launch this morning, but she is ploughing forwards, with 64 votes. as part of her bid, kemi badenoch has taken aim at the online safety bill, but is she playing a dangerous game, withjust 49 mps behind her? the statistics revealed tom tugendhat scraped through, with 32 votes. is his game almost over? attorney—general suella braverman may feel she didn't get a fair hearing from her colleagues, who gave herjust 27 votes, making her the weakest link. suella braverman, you are the weakest link — goodbye. it seems quite harsh, saying that! chris, liz truss launched a campaign today, what's it

like? it was the final of the big launches, after rishi sunak a couple of days ago, penny mordaunt yesterday. i don't know if it is because there have been two launches every day this week, but it seemed to have a bit less zip than the other two. also, because of where she decided, or the timing of her launch, we could put to her, "well, you came third yesterday", and of course she is still third after today, whereas the others were spared that, so there was more scrutiny for her, from the outset. clearly, the challenge she has now, having had two rounds of voting, and came third on both occasions, and the gap has widened to penny mordaunt, is, can she make the case that she should get the kind of second golden ticket, because the assumption is rishi sunak will be one of the two that goes to the membership, who will be the other one? their argument, team truss, they think, as it was put to me, that their natural ceiling of support within the parliamentary party, they argue, maybe they would say this, wouldn't they, is higher than penny mordaunt's, when you see the redistribution of all the other votes that you get to, when you have a battle

between three, because that is the point that it matters, to actually claim that second—place ticket. penny mordaunt's team making the claim they have the proper clean start. clearly, she has a story to tell about who on earth she is, because nobody outside of westminster knows that, other than in portsmouth, where she has a seat. and viewers of splash, that diving show. absolutely, but she is the least of the candidates' front runners to be able to do that. now we have the tv debates, big moments, because you can crash and burn in tv debates, and you can also shine. the next one coming on monday, and potentially tuesday and wednesday. if you were watching liz truss launching her campaign on thursday morning on tv, you would see the amazing sight of her not knowing how to get out of the room, and then an aide had to sort of yank her back. she had to do a bit of a u—turn, so herfirst u—turn of the campaign. it is. i was talking to david davis yesterday, former candidate for the tory leadership, and iain duncan smith, who became conservative leader, who both said the whole

business, and as it should be, but the whole business of running to be party leader and prime minister is flipping scary. little things like that, you finish your speech, walk with purpose and direction off stage, then, oh, actually... where is the door? ..where is the door? there will be plenty more of those moments to come. let's talk about how this is going with our guest, matt hancock, former health secretary. hello. and backer of rishi sunak. yes. when did you take on that moniker, was it when he launched the sign up for his website last year? no, after boris resigned, we needed to... - it was definitely after? we needed to make a choice, there were 11 runners at thatl point, i looked at them all, i know them all well. - i was on the phone to gina, - she said, "who will be the best prime minister?", and i said "rishi sunak", . and i backed him. ijust said it, - without blinking. i have worked with them all, i think all five would make .

an excellent prime minister, but i think rishi sunak- is the best for the job. i have worked incredibly . closely with him, especially during the pandemic, - and he has what it takes. what do you make of the fact that the early skirmishes of this campaign have been pretty much all the candidates gunning directly for him, and gunning for him on tax, describing him as a socialist, effectively as a labour chancellor? it is quite something. it is a small number of voices. i have actually found, - inside the parliamentary party, this has been a really positive campaign. i i know that is not what it looks like in the media, i i get that, but what happens in the media is a couple - of negative noises, - and they absolutely fly. amongst the 360 of us, - everyone has been really nice to each other, not least because if somebody's i candidate drops out... you want to try to get them onto

your— you want to try to get them onto your side. _ you want to try to get them onto your side. i so it has been a really, - really cheerful and pleasant week, inside the parliamentary party, and then you walk out. of the tea room, or you go to the newspaper stand, . and it looks - completely different. i thought there were smears going backwards and forwards on whatsapp? i have literally seen - absolutely none of that, none at all. you must�*ve heard what lord frost said about penny mordaunt? of course, i read the media, i saw what lord frost said, i but i'm saying within the body of the kirk, within the 360 - of us who make the decision on the final two. _ rishi sunak is making a big thing about how he has a plan to get the country through the next difficult few months, potentially years, with high inflation and the cost of living. what actually is that plan? the plan is really clear. the first thing is we have to get inflation down. - how? the number one thing is, don't make it worse, - because if you loosen fiscal policy at a time of high - inflation, that risks making it worse. i tax cuts, you mean?

whether it's tax cuts l or spending increases, obviously the big - debate is on tax cuts. you have to not make it worse. you have to get inflation down. how? the first is not to make it worse, the second i is energy price rises. we have seen the oil price come down off its highs, i and that hasn't yet come through at petrol prices, i but i hope that it will. but how can he get energy prices down? i mean, he can't. no, i am saying that is - happening, and the second thing to stop inflation is making. sure that, through monetary policy, which obviously isn't the preserve of the next - prime minister, because they all believe in independence . of the bank of england, or at least i hope — - i haven't even asked, - it is self—evident that they should — is making sure that. monetary policy does its work, and that is not easy. because interest rates... so rishi sunak can't get inflation down? yes, he can. but you haven't explained how? i have, i have explained energy

prices have already come - off their peaks, it should ensure that they come . off their peak. but the critical thing - is a one—off increase in prices leads to inflation for a year. what we must avoid is thatl getting embedded, and that comes down to what isi the response of wages? we have a whole series - of debates about public sector p5y~ making sure we don't end up in a cycle where you end up. putting up, wages go up, and then you have higher prices. that is what happened, 30, 40 years ago. - there is no policymakers now who were there at the time, i but what we must do - is learn from our history. did you get a call last week, by the way, from borisjohnson, asking you to come back? i didn't. and have you discussed with rishi sunak when he decided to resign? i haven't talked about that. i haven't talked to him aboutjobs, either. -

it might sound really boring, ijust thought he was going i to be the best prime minister, and that i thought i would - just back him. call me old—fashioned. you must've been able to offer useful advice, because you have been around politics for longer than him. what about him as a communicator? his critics will say he is a bit wooden, he doesn't get across his sort of "human—ness" enough. does he need to loosen up? i think is pretty charismatic. do we hear that? if you look at the campaign video they put together, i in 24 hours, - or whatever it was... it wasn't! it was! you don't believe that? if you look at the shots of rishi in it, it is all. with a black backdrop, - they shot it in a hotel room that is easy to do in a couple of hours, and alli the rest is b—roll. of course, they had been picking up a lot of shots. of rishi meeting people, and doing various things|

to have on the laptop ready to go, and a combination i of shooting somebody doing... ready to go for what? to promote the work- he was doing in the treasury, i'm sure! laughter just in case it was needed, - but the video was put together in 24 hours. you know that for a fact? i do. but the point i was making, in that video he talks - about his upbringing. he was born in a pharmacy... well, born into a family who ran a pharmacy, in| southampton. i don't think he was actually born in a pharmacy, - though his dad was a gp, - so i'm sure it would have been helpful to have him on hand! but you know, and when he talks about his background, _ his upbringing, you know, the values he learnt - from his parents, i think it is very powerful. - he is a story of a young lad come good, you know? - but in his recent record, he is a tax—raising, covid—lawbreaking politician.

yeah, he did get fined, yeah. we have seen the pictures of him, though, when- he was fined. he didn't want to be at that party. - he turned up five minutes early. i he has broken the law, he was fined. he has apologised for that. so that's ok? nobody thinks that rishi - is anything other than a man of great integrity. even those who disagree with his policies of this l campaign, no one is- challenging his integrity. well, going back, then, why did he stick with the prime minister as long as he did, through wallpapergate, partygate, through a bit of the chris pincher affair? because he is a team player. and actually sajid talked about this as well, - when he resigned, he talked about struggling with - the balance of being a team player. - we're having this debate in westminster, there'sl still a grave situation out in the country for people| trying to make ends meet, and he is the chancellor. of the exchequer.

he struggled with that duty against what he felt - he needed to do. and also, remember, - for those of us who have been through this extraordinary period in government, - through the pandemic, you do become close to the people i you work with. it is notable for instance, - that dom raab is also backing rishi. dom raab, me, rishi, you know, boris, we worked so closely - during that period, and, i you know, we are human. we have affection. i have great affection for borisjohnson. . but you must have argued with rishi sunak a lot, because he was always saying, "let's open the economy up quicker", and you were always portrayed as saying, "let's be more cautious" — is that how it panned out? not always, there were times - when we agreed with each other, where we put different proposals forward. - i always have respect for the integrity withl

which he put his argument. he said what he believed to be the best answer. to the situation, i said - what i believed, and then boris made the call, and sometimes. boris sided with me on balance, and sometimes sided with rishi on balance, but i come back- to this point about integrity. and in fact, and i have saidi this to rishi, when you back somebody to be prime minister, and you are an mp, and part- of the team, you need i to back somebody who, not only do you agree with,| obviously, in the large part, direction, strategy, - approach to life, but you also need to be able to trust them, that when you disagree, - that they have taken your point of view into account, right? - they've listened. where they have thought about things essentially. from broadly the same value i set, and then even if they come up with a different decision, you respect the decision, i because you respect the person, and that was true during these l covid times, and it is why both

rishi and i feel very strongly . about this idea of- collective responsibility. there are some things . i know he argued against, but he feels a sense - of collective responsibility to explain why he supportedl them in public, and you have to do that. people might say, but you can't run a government without that. collective - responsibility first. what about the argument that says, given what has happened in this colossal loss of belief in borisjohnson, from you guys as conservative mps, and opinion polls would suggest in the country, as well, that proper way to renew an office is a clean slate, they go for someone like a penny mordaunt, who is not very widely known, would be the most unknown prime minister, on assuming office, in our lifetimes, probably, but would be undeniably a completely clean slate? whereas your guy was stood there right alongside boris johnson, was fined, as victoria mentions, and is kind of, you know, part of the previous administration, not a clean start at all?

the reason borisjohnson left office was not down i to a policy dispute. it wasn't like when theresa may left. i it was not down to that. while rishi has delivered a whole load of the borisi johnson agenda as hisl chancellor, he is a very different character. my view is that we can have that renewal in office, - if you like, with rishi sunak. we would undoubtedly have it with penny, - but a very different character. you really do need to have been in high office to be prime - minister. can i ask what it's like, running to be leader and prime minister? you did it last time. idid. what did you think? i absolutely loved running. and this time i loved i being able to observe it with a bit of... distance? ..a perspective. before you backed rishi sunak, did your phone go bonkers, saying, "would you join us?"

i thought you were going. to say, "would you be prime minister"! how gently would i have to let you down? - laughter. i did have a couple of people. but no. do you know how phones work? no, no. why did you love it? you said you loved it! number one thing is, i when you are in office, you abide by this collectivel responsibility we are talking about, and suddenly it all falls away. - now at the same time... meaning you can say what you really think? and more importantly, you have to dig deep . into what you really believe, and ask yourself and sort - of try to peel back, because, i for years, you've been saying x on a particular issue, - and quite quickly coming to the conclusion you wanti to say something different, you have to dig deep and say what do i really think- is the best thing for the country? and answer this question. for instance, one thingl i enjoyed most is i gave

a foreign policy speech. i'd never been in a foreign policyjob in government, | so had literally never given a speech on foreign policy, i but i've got views on it, | and observed it closely, and have done significant. international work, but not on foreign policy. the way you described that is so interesting, and it will confirm for those people who say politicians never tell us what they really think, they are not honest, they are not straight, and you've just confirmed that. if you could only say what you always only really think, people might respect that! there is the question i as to whether collective responsibility, and the extent to which it works, especially. in such a disaggregation of media, in a world - when it was basically the bbc and the big newspapers, - and so there were maybe eight different ways - of public, it is...

it isa it is a different question, as to when — it is a different question, as to when there _ it is a different question, as to when there is _ it is a different question, as to when there is many— it is a different question, as to when there is many different l it is a different question, as to - when there is many different ways of communicating — when there is many different ways of communicating with _ when there is many different ways of communicating with the _ when there is many different ways of communicating with the public - when there is many different ways of communicating with the public as - communicating with the public as there _ communicating with the public as there is_ communicating with the public as there is the — communicating with the public as there is the public. _ you know, we could look at ourselves as well. what people tend to do, if they really disagree i with something, is go silent. and if you really disagree with it, you resign. - can we ask about your old brief in the department of health? there are lots of indicators on the nhs dashboard that seem to be flashing, whether it's ambulance waiting times, covid admissions, are you quite worried about the state of the nhs tonight? there are some big challenges. there is this backlog l which grew up not just

because of operations that - were cancelled but because then people didn't come forward j with a problem, with lumps and bumps, and we put a lot| of effort during the pandemic to say still come - forward if you need to. but the number of appointments that didn't happen during - the pandemic is very significant, very big, and i know this is a huge focus of sajid's when he was in postl so there is very - significant pressure. there is also more people i in the nhs than ever before. it'll only be solvedl by the full embrace of the use of technology to make - things more efficient and we showed that in the pandemic at times. but people are waiting for ten hours in anambulance now and when will the technology come to fix that? tomorrow? no!

it needs to be done, . long—term it's the only sustainable solution. when you went to get a vaccine, how long did you wait? - hardly at all. why? we put in the data backbone, essentially, to underpin - who was called at what moment and we put that in first - and built the systems on top| of it, whereas the nhs exists and they're trying to put i the systems underneath it. it's a very difficult job. it's the job of a generation. but not if you're lying in the back of an ambulance outside a hospital tonight because you can't get in and you have to wait for another 10 hours, it doesn't matter how quick your vaccine is. i get that. we have a record number of nurses in the nhs. - in 2019 i said 50,000 more i nurses, there are 30,000 up, three fifths - of the way through. where is it relative to when you got into office? it's higher. it's a record number of doctors as well. i of course we need more people

and the government are hiring i more people but what i'm trying to emphasise is that it's not - just about throwing more people at the problem, l it's about having the system work more efficiently - and we have shown it can bej done but it's incredibly hard. 0k. the 40 new hospitals in england, the word new is questioned by a lot of people... and the word 40. ..by the national audit office. are you happy with how you describe that programme? yes, i'll give you an example. before you do, it wasn't 40 new hospitals. yes, because... that can be defined as a new wing or a refurbished hospital. there weren't 40. take my local example, . the west suffolk hospital, built in a, with an- architecture, that means it is in urgent need _ of updating, and there will be a new hospital in west suffolk, replacing the one that needs i replacing. it's still a new hospital. are they knocking down the old one?

effectively. let's go through the 39 of them. that's a new hospital. one example. we aren't going through all of them. i know them inside out! cambridge cancer hospital, you might say that's only a wing. it is not a wing, a new cancer hospital in cambridge. - yes, 40 new hospitals. all of them properly new with a new sign on a new bit of land that wasn't there before? even the department of health released guidance last year saying the new can mean a new hospital like your one, it could mean wing, it could simply mean a bit of upgrading. no. no, that is true. that is true, they released it in august after you left last year. 40 new hospitals. one last thing. you, like all of us,

must have been obsessed with every twist of turn of covid and change of the genome. can you still keep an eye on what's happening with the virus? yes, and i stay in touch- with some clinicians i worked closely with and i am pretty, l at the moment, it's endemic. | it would have to be essentially| a new disease for us to be back into pandemic territory. you can never rule out- a new disease and there will be more in our lifetimes. that's for sure. have you ever considered if your covid rule—breaking contributed in any way to borisjohnson�*s downfall? i don't think so. no? i don't think so. you know, i resigned - and the question is different when it comes to a prime minister because there i are so many other things| like the war, for instance, i wasn't corralling i

the west to stand up to an evil, aggressive killer. looking back on handling of covid, is there anything you regret? oh, my god. that's a whole new newscast. obviously, endless. when you are making big decisions, you hope that| you get the vast - majority of them right. no human being getsj all the decisions right and what you need to do . is constantly update them. we were often accused of u—turns but often i it was we made this - decision because we thought it was the best call. in the circumstances, and the way it panned out - was not accurate or we didn't, we have got new information. i have talked before about how the rules out there interpretedj around funerals was that - sometimes parents didn't go to their child's funeral, - that's not what we intended. i massively regret that we got, | the way those rules panned out on the ground was not-

what was intended and terrible, and we changed it. and then there were a whole load of science as well. - this question of asymptomatic transmission, the scientific- advice at the start was tests don't work if you don't have | symptoms so you shouldn't test. people who don't have symptoms. turns out that wasn't right - in this case but had been truth for all previous coronavirusj so i don't blame scientists, science is about learning more as you understand more, - so it's a sort of, it's normal, ironically, to come back- to collective responsibility, | it's normal in politics to say no, i got everything right, . of course, i defend every bit of what government has done. of course, you learn. thank you, matt hancock. thank you, thank you. that's all for this episode of newscast. thanks for listening. you might expect me

to mention ukrainecast. please download it — it's there three times a week. from all of us, goodbye. the met office have issued an unprecedented red heat warming. with

wide impacts to the health and infrastructure. the red warning covers many of england's largest cities, although there is a broader amber warning that covers all parts of england and wales and some parts of england and wales and some parts of southern scotland too. with some temperatures expected to hit 40 degrees, this would smash the all—time uk temperature record, which currently stands at 37.8 degrees celsius. —— 38.7 celsius. temperatures overnight drifting between nine and 11 degrees, open the windows, and let all the cool air end, then shut all the windows. it will start to get very warm across england and wales, the widely in the mid to high 20s. a few showers for northern scotland, and it will be sunny across parts of the uk.

tonight at ten — a national emergency and a risk to life — warnings as britain faces its hottest day ever recorded next week. temperatures are set to soar to 40 degrees — and a met office red warning is issued for parts of england. red warnings are really rare, and this is the first one we've ever put out for heat, but what that means is danger to life and widespread infrastructure impacts. the weather due here has led to wild in southern europe caused by the searing temperatures and tinder dry conditions. here, there are warnings that the extreme heat will affect travel early next week. also on the programme... the five candidates for the tory

leadership and