falling behind on paying for energy — households owe more money to their energy supplier than ever before. and that's before bills are due to rise even further in october. i can afford to pay them £95 a month. i will pay them £95 a month. and no more. if that doesn't cover what the fuel costs are, then, for the first time, in my life, other than student loans, i am going to be going into debt. also this lunchtime... all children aged between one to nine in london are to be offered a booster dose of polio vaccine to try to prevent the spread of the virus. salmon, kingfishers and otters — wildlife threatened because some rivers in england are drying up. leaked figures seen by the bbc

suggest that long waits for cancer treatment are growing. when i first found the lump, it was only pea—sized, but by the time i got to see the consultant, it was the size of a tangerine. # we're walking in the air...# and raymond briggs, who wrote and illustrated the children's classic, the snowman, has died at the age of 88. coming up on the bbc news channel, serena williams prepares for her second round match in the canadian open. could it be one of the last competitive matches of her career? good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one.

many families are falling behind on their gas and electricity bills, with the total owed by consumers to energy suppliers tripling since last september. a survey of 2,000 people for u—switch suggests almost a quarter of households owe an average of more than £200 to their provider. it comes as ministers are due to hold talks with the energy companies tomorrow about the impact of sharply rising bills. yesterday, experts predicted the average household energy bill would reach £4,200 a year by january. caroline davies reports. even before we turn on heating in the cold months, fears about energy bills are already building. idietitian the cold months, fears about energy bills are already building.— bills are already building. when it is workin: bills are already building. when it is working you — bills are already building. when it is working you press _ bills are already building. when it is working you press this - bills are already building. when it is working you press this button, | is working you press this button, and it has three heat settings. some, like hannah, a phd student, are feeling a sense of rising panic was up an electric heating jacket to

cut down on their energy bills this winter. ., ., ~ ., ., , winter. cannot think of what else i can do. winter. cannot think of what else i can d0- all— winter. cannot think of what else i can d0- all of— winter. cannot think of what else i can do. all of my _ winter. cannot think of what else i can do. all of my options - winter. cannot think of what else i can do. all of my options are - winter. cannot think of what else i l can do. all of my options are ended. this ridiculous situation to find myself in. this ridiculous situation to find m self in. ., ., this ridiculous situation to find myself im— this ridiculous situation to find m self in. ., ., ., ., , myself in. the amount of money ener: myself in. the amount of money energy companies _ myself in. the amount of money energy companies are _ myself in. the amount of money energy companies are allowed . myself in. the amount of money| energy companies are allowed to charge the average household, the price cap, has rocketed. experts estimate price cap could exceed £3500 a year in october, and more than £4200, byjanuary. the pressure is building on the government to commit to a plan to provide help this autumn and winter. tory leadership candidate rishi sunak said he will provide more money targeted at the most vulnerable, to help with their energy bills, and said the amount would extend on the size of the energy price rises. hat size of the energy price rises. not matter how _ size of the energy price rises. iirrt matter how hard they what they cannot come up with that cash, and thatis cannot come up with that cash, and that is how support should be targeted, not on massive tax cuts for very wealthy people, it should

be targeted at the people we most need it and if we don't do that not only will millions of people suffer, we will get hammered when it comes to an election. his we will get hammered when it comes to an election-— to an election. his rival to be leader, to an election. his rival to be leader. liz — to an election. his rival to be leader, liz truss, _ to an election. his rival to be leader, liz truss, is - to an election. his rival to be leader, liz truss, is focusing| to an election. his rival to be i leader, liz truss, is focusing on tax cuts. i leader, liz truss, is focusing on tax cuts. , , ., , tax cuts. i believe in people keein: tax cuts. i believe in people keeping their _ tax cuts. i believe in people keeping their own _ tax cuts. i believe in people keeping their own money i tax cuts. i believe in people i keeping their own money and tax cuts. i believe in people - keeping their own money and in a low tax economy, that is the way that we are going to drive growth. i am not going to announce the contents of a budget in the future at this stage in august but, i can assure people i will do all i can, to make sure that energy is affordable, and that we get through this winter. she energy is affordable, and that we get through this winter.— get through this winter. she has dismissed calls _ get through this winter. she has dismissed calls to _ get through this winter. she has dismissed calls to agree - get through this winter. she has i dismissed calls to agree immediate plans, saying that now is not a time to pre—empt those decisions, what others say that a plan is needed now stop others say that a plan is needed now sto ; , , others say that a plan is needed now sto_ , , ., others say that a plan is needed now sto ; , , ., ,., others say that a plan is needed now sto_ , , ., ., stop this is not something that can wait. we stop this is not something that can wait- we need _ stop this is not something that can wait. we need to _ stop this is not something that can wait. we need to get _ stop this is not something that can wait. we need to get decisions i wait. we need to get decisions coming from the key parties. rishi sunak needs to see more detail of what he will do and liz truss needs to say more on what she will do, if it isjust a to say more on what she will do, if it is just a tax cuts and the green levy, then we are going to leave

millions of destitute and in danger this winter. ~ , , ., millions of destitute and in danger this winter-— this winter. ministers are due to hold talks with _ this winter. ministers are due to hold talks with a _ this winter. ministers are due to hold talks with a big _ this winter. ministers are due to hold talks with a big energy i hold talks with a big energy companies tomorrow, to discuss ways to ease the cost of living and the price rises that many are dreading. caroline davies, bbc news. our business correspondnet noor nanji is here. what can people do? we all advised to shot around, _ what can people do? we all advised to shot around, as _ what can people do? we all advised to shot around, as per— what can people do? we all advised to shot around, as per the _ what can people do? we all advised to shot around, as per the old i to shot around, as per the old advice, doesn't apply any more because the default price cap is the best rate available right now, but that does not mean that there are not other options available. if you find that you are falling behind on your payments, the first thing you should do is phone your supplier and speak to them and let them know that you are struggling. that is not always the easiest call to make, but it will have —— it will help and thatis it will have —— it will help and that is likely to be the best protection for yourself and your household this winter. that is because there was an extra layer of legal help for people unable to pay,

and essentially this forces suppliers to work through the different options with customers. those different options could include a different payment plan or a arranging payments directly through benefits but crucially, making the call early on to the supplier to let them know you are struggling means that they cannot simply just struggling means that they cannot simplyjust cut struggling means that they cannot simply just cut you struggling means that they cannot simplyjust cut you off.— struggling means that they cannot simplyjust cut you off. simply 'ust cut you off. thank you, noor simplyjust cut you off. thank you, noor nanji- _ well, as we heard earlier, government ministers, including the chancellor, are due to meet with energy companies tomorrow about what more can be done to help households. our political correspondent nick eardley is at westminster. will more support be announced? i don't think so, is the simple answer, because the government at the moment is adamant it cannot make big decisions until the new prime minister is in place in a month's time. treasury ministers are saying, yes, they are developing plans for more support, but it will be for whoever gets the keys to number ten to decide exactly what they want to do. what are they saying? liz truss

has been pushed a lot in the last 24 hours, on whether she is open to further grants, to help people with energy bills. quite likely, she does not want to answer the question. she is avoiding it. she says she is not ruling anything out, but it is for an emergency budget next month to decide that. no answer from her, yet. what she has done is pour cold water on the idea of extending the windfall tax and profits of oil and gas companies. she says that new taxes are not the answer. rishi sunak�*s team say that her plans are clear as mud, but the truth is, they have some clarification to make as well, because they are saying that yes, we are open to more support, we are developing plans, we will announce them when we get the next energy cap, but we do not know exactly how much money is going to be involved, nor do we know exactly who is going to qualify for more help, under rishi sunak�*s plans.

remember, this is all taking place in this conservative leadership contest, which is decided by tory members, so that immediate help which some are calling for, looks really unlikely for the next four weeks or so, because the debate about what it should be is taking place in the conservative party. your weight thank you very much, nick. almost a million children aged one to nine in london are to be offered a booster dose of polio vaccine — to try to prevent the spread of the virus. health officials warned there has been "some transmission" of the virus in the capital after detecting poliovirus in sewage samples. our medical editor fergus walshjoins me now. how worried or not should parents be? , , ., how worried or not should parents be? ., how worried or not should parents be? , ., be? this is a precautionary measure, and all children _ be? this is a precautionary measure, and all children aged _ be? this is a precautionary measure, and all children aged 1-9, _ be? this is a precautionary measure, and all children aged 1-9, about i and all children aged 1—9, about 100,000 children, in greater london, will be offered a top up, a booster dose, and even if they are fully

immunised, parents are told they should bring them forward, if they are fully immunised the level of risk is very low, but we have seen, in new york, that an unvaccinated man there last month suffered paralysis, after contracting polio, and there are genetic similarities between the virus that was found there and the virus that has been found in london, and in over 100 samples they have tested positive, for polio, and a few of those have been mutated into a form that could potentially cause paralysis in the unvaccinated all the under vaccinated.— unvaccinated all the under vaccinated. ., , , ., vaccinated. there has been no new case of polio _ vaccinated. there has been no new case of polio detected _ vaccinated. there has been no new case of polio detected thus - vaccinated. there has been no new case of polio detected thus far- vaccinated. there has been no new case of polio detected thus far in l case of polio detected thus far in london. . , case of polio detected thus far in london. ., , ., , ., case of polio detected thus far in london. .,, ., , ., ..,, london. there has not been a case. there clearly _ london. there has not been a case. there clearly are _ london. there has not been a case. there clearly are probably - london. there has not been a case. there clearly are probably some i there clearly are probably some youngsters who have not such good hygiene levels, who are spreading

it, and it seems to be in eight boroughs, in north and east london, which also correspond with some of the areas in london that have the lowest vaccine levels, so hopefully, this vaccine should protect children and also boost levels in the community, but it is also worth saying that any adult who is not fully vaccinated for polio should also go and get the job. fully vaccinated for polio should also go and get thejob. —— jab. from midnight tomorrow a four day extreme heat warning will come into force across parts of england wales, meaning vulnerable people's health could be impacted and travel could be disrupted. it applies to southern and central england and parts of wales and will last until sunday. our correspondent matt mcgrath has this report. after weeks of warm weather, another unsettling bout of very high temperatures is fast approaching. as the heat starts to rise to unpleasant levels, people are having to queue to cool off.

the next few days will also put extra pressure on already diminished water resources. scientists are warning that river levels in southern england may remain exceptionally low until october. some have already dried up. i never thought i'd see it in my lifetime. when running water stops flowing, it's going to be the end of the world as we know it. everything is going to go stagnant and that's it. you've got to have running water. the uk health security agency says, in the coming days, vulnerable people should stay hydrated, keep cool and take steps to prevent their homes from overheating. making things more uncomfortable will be the lack of respite at night. temperatures in some areas in the south won't drop below 20 celsius. for farmers already suffering from months of dry conditions, the impacts are not confined to the immediate future. they are increasingly worried about the long term. i can't grow my crops for next season at the moment, you i can't plant them. there's no moisture in the ground. we're starting to the effects rolling into next year. thanks

last winter we were planting lots of hedges and trees to improve the biodiversity on our farm landscape. much of that has died, we haven't been able to keep them watered. this is going to have real, long—term effects to our farming businesses. these dramatic impacts of hot weather, supercharged by climate change, are not confined to parts of the uk. drought in france is damaging crops, rivers are drying out, wildfires are already taking a heavy toll. the risk of fire in the uk is also growing. emergency services are urging people not to light bonfires or barbecues. with scattered thunderstorms predicted by sunday, there may be some relief. but, as global warming exerts a growing influence in the years ahead, these difficult heatwave conditions will likely become our new normal. matt mcgrath, bbc news. environmental groups say the dry weather in much of england is having a serious impact on wildlife in rivers. they're particularly concerned about chalk rivers and streams which support species like salmon, kingfisher and otter. some are starting to dry up.

water companies say hosepipe bans are put in place to help protect river habitats. helen briggs reports. you can normally swim in this part of the river anton, but now water levels are so low, you can wade across. and you can tell from the cool, clear water, we're in a chalk river — a rare and beautiful place that's home to wildlife such as trout, otters and kingfishers. how precious is this habitat, and how do we better protect this river and the wildlife in it? this habitat is really precious, and that's because it has been filtered through this chalk, and then comes out very cool and clear. we see these beautiful river ecosystems. we've seen some trout today. i've also seen grayling here. there are salmon in some of our chalk streams, as well.

this is our barrier reef or our amazon rainforest. the wildlife here is already stressed as a result of the hotter temperatures, and their habitat is shrinking, as the water levels are getting lower and lower. we don't want them to go any lower than they are now. at this nature reserve in winchester, on the banks of the river itchen, wildlife is already feeling the impact of the dry, hot weather and low river flows. less water means vegetation suffers, and that's a food source for things. the invertebrate communities then suffer, and then everything above that suffers. so your food resources just really are getting lower and lower. the fish, they're affected by the invertebrates and the loss of them, and then you've got things like the otter, which are going to struggle as well if they can't find food, or if they don't have deep water to fish in. the water company southern water, which supplies parts of hampshire,

says the hosepipe ban is designed to protect rivers, such as the itchen, where it extracts water. but the rivers trust says we need to think more strategically about how to cope when dry, hot summers become the norm. we want to see government and the water companies responding in a coordinated way. this hot spell, and this prolonged dry period is a pressure test for us now to get ready for the long haul, because we're going to be seeing many more summers like this in years to come. and with no end to the dry weather in sight, the pressure on britain's chalk rivers is likely to worsen. helen briggs, bbc news, hampshire. the time is quarter past one. our top story this lunchtime. falling behind on paying for energy — households owe more money to their energy supplier than ever before and that's before bills are set to rise even further in october. and the beluga whale rescued

from the river seine in northern france earlier has now died despite a huge mission to try to save the animal. and coming up on the bbc news channel, chris eubankjunior and conor benn will fight at london's o2 arena in october, emulating the iconic rivalry of their fathers in the 1990s. leaked figures seen by the bbc suggest that long waits for cancer treatment are growing. the government had promised to get cancer care back on track by next march, but data suggests the nhs in england is struggling to return such care to pre—pandemic levels. nearly 330,000 people are on the national cancer waiting list. these unpublished, leaked figures show thatjust over 10,000 of them have been waiting longer than 104 days — more than three months — to start treatment.

this has doubled since lastjune. pre—covid, the nhs had a "zero tolerance" of such delays. our correspondent david grossman has the story. relaxing. relaxing. get a nice walk i in. yeah, it's all flat, isn't it? i caroline bolton is on the right, out walking with her partner, wendy. caroline has stage four breast cancer. that means the disease has spread to other parts of her body. it's all the more heartbreaking for caroline and her family because, had she received swift treatment, statistics suggest she could have expected a far better outcome. when i first found the lump, it was only a pea size. by the time i got to see the consultant, it was the size of a tangerine. caroline believes that routine screening would have picked up her condition. i had my mammogram booked in for the end of march 2020, and obviously covid lockdown

happened and it got cancelled. i then had it rescheduled for november 2020. again, the second lockdown happened, the mammogram got cancelled again. i kept trying to rebook and couldn't even get through the telephone line to even rebook it. she believes the nhs never caught up with her fast—growing cancer. it's delays, delays, delays. and the thing with cancer, it needs to be immediate. no european country tolerates a two—month delay knowing you have cancer to start treatment. in the states, you'd start suing people if you were made to wait two months routinely. so something's got to change there. this is the worst cancer crisis of my lifetime. and as the figures are going to show, the waits for cancer treatment are the worst they've ever been, and they're getting worse.

and there's no real way that we can catch up. but behind those figures, of course, are individual patients and their families, for whom every day of delay is torture. even if, as in caroline's case, the treatment target was hit. you're living with — this cancer is spreading, and you're waiting for results and then you get to a result, and then they're not doing anything more. you're stuck waiting for another scan and another result, and you're not getting any treatment or help. i shouldn't be, now, stage four with given two years left to live. the actual treatment itself... so what should we do now? the government responded in february, promising a new ten—year cancer plan. we need a new national war on cancer. this is a key weapon in any such war. a state—of—the—art

radiotherapy machine. it can target a precise beam of radiation on a tumour as small as half a millimetre across. according to those who run britain's radiotherapy departments, not nearly enough nhs patients have access to treatment from machines like this. we need investment and we need more workforce, and we need to give the workforce the tools they need and get rid of bureaucracy. and this is an absolute crisis. for patients like caroline, targets mean little now. not finding out she had cancer early enough to make a difference, she says, has robbed her of herfuture. david grossman reporting. and you can find support and information about cancer and about charities that can help you at bbc.co.uk/actionline, or you can call for free at any time to hear recorded information on 08000 560190.

the former us vice—president, mike pence, has become the latest senior republican to express concern about the fbi raid on donald trump's home in florida on monday. it was reportedly linked to an investigation into the removal of documents from the white house during mr trump's presidency. our north america correspondent gary o'donoghue is in washington for us. what is mike pence saying? he is “oininu a what is mike pence saying? he is joining a whole — what is mike pence saying? he is joining a whole raft _ what is mike pence saying? he is joining a whole raft of _ what is mike pence saying? he is joining a whole raft of other- what is mike pence saying? he: 3 joining a whole raft of other senior republicans who in many ways are being brought back inside the trumpet tend to defend him. this is the upside for donald trump of this raid if you like and it strengthens his position if he chooses to remain again. having said all that, he is facing other legaljeopardy is as well. today he will be questioned by the attorney general of new york state in a civil investigation in which she is looking at whether or

not the trump foundation and trump companies inflated and understated the value of their companies for loans and insurance purposes. that won't end up in any kind ofjail term if he is found guilty but it could be a hefty fine. add to all that investigations in georgia and the wider look atjanuary that investigations in georgia and the wider look at january the 6th and the attempted insurrection on the capital, and in a sense whichever way donald trump turns his facing the lawyers. all of that for him is great publicity. he sees that as a shot in the arm as he considers whether or not to run again in 2024. thank you very much, gary. hundreds of people using sham marriages to stay in the uk have not been prosecuted and remain in the country. bbc news has obtained figures showing 365 couples have tried to fraudulently exploit a post—brexit scheme giving eu citizens and their spouses the right to remain in the uk. nobody in a sham marriage has been removed in the past two years, and the last prosecution was four years ago.

more than 500,000 learner drivers are waiting to take their driving test, according to new figures from the driver and vehicle standards agency. it means the average waiting time for a test slot is 14 weeks because of the backlog caused by the pandemic, with reports of learners waiting up to six months in some areas. the interest rate on student loans in england and wales is to be capped at 6.3% from september. right now it's 4.5%, but had been due to rise to 7.3%. ministers say the smaller rise is to "provide support" amid the rising cost of living. the change won't affect graduates' monthly repayments, but will have an impact on the total amount they owe. ryan gigg's ex—girlfriend has told a court she became "a slave to his every need and every demand".

the former manchester united star is on trial accused of controlling behaviour and assaulting kate greville and her younger sister emma. he denies the charges. our correspondent laura scott is outside court. victoria, this morning thejury heard that kate greville, ryan giggs' ex—girlfriend, had given a witness statement on sunday in which she said she felt like she had become a slave to his every need and every demand. under cross—examination, she was asked if she meant that in the literal sense to which she replied, "when ryan said do something, i would do it, and there was some resistance sometimes but he made me feel i had to do everything he said, otherwise there were consequences." she agreed that for the majority of their on—off relationship over six years, giggs was nice to her but there were injections of abuse and towards the

end he was relentlessly awful. qc said her portrayal of how the relationship had started was fiction. kate greville was asked about an alleged incident in dubai in 2017 when she accused giggs of dragging her by her wrist causing a bruise, and that he dragged her out of her hotel room naked with her belongings. he said her account was manufactured. read out a message she had sent giggs saying the bruise was called by sex. giggs denies all the charges against him.— a beluga whale that swam up the river seine in northern france has died, despite the efforts of a big rescue operation to save the animal. the 800—kilo whale was lifted from the river using a crane and net, and hoisted onto a barge but developed breathing difficulties. sarah campbell reports.

stranded i8 stranded 18 miles inland from the english channel, making its way slowly along the seine towards paris. millions of people in france and around the world watched as the whale became weaker, stopped eating and it became clear that, however risky, a rescue attempt would have to be made. a team of 80 including police and divers spent six hours painstakingly catching and winching the 800 kilo whale out of the river. translation: the moment when we got the beluga out of the water _ was stressful and extremely intense. he was surprised and moving about, and we thought he would escape from the net. it was quite astonishing but he's alive and on the barge. the plan had been to transport the whale in a refrigerated lorry to be released back into the open sea off the northern french coast, but it became clear during the journey that

the wail was becoming increasingly unwell. this morning at a press conference, the rescue team revealed it had died. translation: ., ., �* , it had died. translation: ., ., �*, , ., translation: the animal's breathing was sufficient- — translation: the animal's breathing was sufficient. we _ translation: the animal's breathing was sufficient. we decided _ translation: the animal's breathing was sufficient. we decided it - translation: the animal's breathing was sufficient. we decided it was i was sufficient. we decided it was not pertinent to release it so we proceeded with its euthanasia. for a few da s, proceeded with its euthanasia. for a few days. the _ proceeded with its euthanasia. for a few days, the whale _ proceeded with its euthanasia. for a few days, the whale captured the hearts of many but sadly could not be saved. tributes have been paid to the author and illustrator raymond briggs, who has died at the age of 88. he's best known for the 1978 classic the snowman, as well as creating children's books including father christmas, fungus the bogeyman and when the wind blows. our correspondent david sillito looks back at his life. it's become part of christmas — the story of a snowman who comes to life. magical, heart—warming, and at the end, the snowman melts. # we're walking in the air #

a very raymond briggs twist. he was a children's author who was never writing for children. a strip cartoon, raymond briggs, children's department. that's been the attitude in england — a strip cartoon, children's book. but we're growing out of that a bit now. i don't think about what children want. you get an idea and you just do it. you don't think, "oh, children of ten won't want this," or...you don't think like that at all. you don't think about the audience. couldn't possibly. you've just got this idea in your head and you could do it how you want it. it was his father christmas that was raymond briggs' breakthrough, but this was no jovial gift—bearer. this father christmas moaned, swore and drankjust a bit too much. what i normally do with most of my things is have something that's fantastical, like father christmas, like fungus, and imagine it to be wholly real and follow it through logically from there.

it's a fouljob, out all night on your own, flying about in icy temperatures, landing on rooftops, going down filthy chimneys. can you imagine climbing down the chimney? not once, but hundreds of times. he's going to be fed up with it. the bogeymen are stirring in their beds... and then fungus — a gloriously disgusting story of a bogeyman having a midlife crisis. nice cold, filthy water! good head of scum on it this morning. raymond briggs studied at the slade school of art. he'd worked in advertising, and hated it. he illustrated children's books, but he didn't like the saccharine stories. he was much happier with cartoons that had a little darkness to them. take when the wind blows — a story of a couple's attempts to follow government advice in a nuclear attack. i never heard such language in all my life. for god's sake, shut up!

oh dear, i've left the oven on. get in, get in, get in! the cake will be burnt! lie down. when he began, his comic art was frowned on by his art teachers. by the end, raymond briggs had done much to change attitudes with those charming drawings and their slightly subversive stories. raymond briggs, who has died at the age of 88. time for a look at the weather now with elizabeth.— time for a look at the weather now with elizabeth. hello. far away from those snowy — with elizabeth. hello. far away from those snowy scenes, _ with elizabeth. hello. far away from those snowy scenes, the _ with elizabeth. hello. far away from those snowy scenes, the heatwave l with elizabeth. hello. far away from| those snowy scenes, the heatwave is set to continue across much of the uk. there is a met office and the weather warning in force, the second highest level of alert for extreme heat, that is for thursday through to the end of the day on sunday for most of england and eastern wales. temperatures could reach 37 celsius, not the record—breaking heat we saw

in july, not the record—breaking heat we saw injuly, more a sustained period of