today at six... tens of millions of britons face a massive 80% rise in energy bills from october, driven by a leap in the price of wholesale gas. the average annual bill for a household in england, wales and scotland is going up to £3,549, leaving many people fearing for the months ahead. i am terrified that when the winter comes we're not going to have enough for the bills, because if the electricity has already doubled now, what's it going to be in the winter? ministers promised help in the spring, but with prices shooting up since then what's on offer now? i accept that it is tough for people and we are doing everything we can to help. huge sums are being spent now and more sums will be spent in the months ahead. we've got two leadership candidates

who are fighting with each other about how appalling they've been in government and neither has come up with any plan to deal with this problem. unforgiveable. we'll be looking at where you can turn for help and what you can do to save energy. and our other main story tonight... as tributes continue to nine—year—old olivia pratt—korbel who was fatally shot in her own home, a man is arrested on suspicion of murder. tens of thousands of royal mail postal workers walk out on strike in a dispute over pay. and lost in nasa's archives until now — previously unseen space photos of the first missions to the moon. and coming up on the bbc news channel... ben stokes hits a magnificent century as england are in the driving seat against south africa, in the 2nd test at old trafford.

good evening. it's been confirmed that energy bills will soar by 80% in october for tens of millions of people in england, scotland and wales, causing real hardship for many who are already coping with a steep rise in the cost of living. it's the result of the regulator ofgem increasing its price cap — that is the maximum amount that people on a standard variable tariff can be charged per unit of energy. abby is a single mum living in ipswich. the energy price rise will hit her hard.

it is very sobering news for households across the country and in a moment will be looking at how you might be able to save energy and what additional help the government can offer. but first, here's our business editor simonjack. abby is a single mum living in ipswich. the energy price rise will hit her hard. she has a part—timejob which earns her £1000 a month, but her energy bill is going up from £80 to £250 in october, which she will struggle to find. is there anything you can cut? honestly. . . no. as she looks at her stretched budget, her primary concern is for her children. you don't want them to go without, so as long as they are fed, that's my main priority. as long as i fed them, i don't really mind. if i can sort them out, i'm happy with a bit of toast, that doesn't bother me. but you just know that they're going to end up going without. announcing the new prices this morning, the regulator said it

would fall to government to help households face this crisis. the truth is, this is beyond the capacity of the regulator and the industry to address. so, what we are saying today is we have ten days now until we have a new administration and we have a new prime minister and a new ministerial team. what i am clear about is the prime minister with his or her ministerial team will need to act urgently and decisively to address this. households in england, scotland and wales will get a £400 discount on bills, and people on qualifying benefits are eligible for an additional £650 from october under support already announced. there is a separate scheme for northern ireland. today, the prime minister said his successor would provide more. there is a pipeline of cash coming through over the next few months and through the autumn and winter, but that is clearly now going to be augmented, increased, by extra cash that the government is plainly going to be

announcing in september. while the labour leader said prices needed to be held where they are now. we need to have a freeze on those energy prices, do not let them go up to those levels, and pay for that in part by a windfall tax on the oil and gas companies on those excess profits. so, how on earth did we get here? well, this is how. this is the wholesale price of gas. it's not controlled by government or companies or regulators, it's driven by international supply and demand. you can see there, the russian invasion of ukraine, which sent it rocketing, and it soared again in recent weeks as countries scramble to buy up supplies of gas before the winter. and it's those wholesale prices driving our bills, that's a big chunk in blue there. now, liz truss has promised to suspend this little green bit down here, that's the social and environmental policy cost. rishi sunak says he will cut the yellow bit there, that's vat on fuel. so, little wonder there are calls for much more support than currently are on offer, especially as the industry experts who got today's number right have

been saying that bills could hit over £5,000 injanuary and over £6,000 in april. back in ipswich, people at a local community centre were shocked and angry. it's actually made me feel ill, physically ill, to hear that figure. it's even higher i think than we were expecting. it's a nightmare, and most people can't afford it. i think of families. i'm a pensionerand i've got a struggle. it's almost an unimaginable number, you know, the sort of price _ of bills we are going to be facing come january as well. _ have you contacted us before? at the local citizens advice, many are seeking help for the first time. i asked the chief executive nicky willshere how she felt about the winter ahead. terrifying. i mean, i'm really worried about families and households, whether they are single households or not. the cost of energy is unbearable now, without it going up. and, you know, i don't know how households are going to manage,

i can just see that demand on our services and other voluntary sector services are going to go through the roof. most people's heating isn't on yet, and there is every reason to postpone that moment as long as possible. simon jack, bbc news. the regulator ofgem has urged the government to take urgent action, but it's been made clear that no big decisions will be made until the new prime minister is declared on september 5th. borisjohnson promised today there will be "extra cash" to support households. but labour accused the two conservative leadership candidates — liz truss and rishi sunak — of having "almost nothing to say" on the issue. so what are the options for the next government? here's our economics editor faisal islam. a sense of scale is important when considering the size of the energy crisis now delivered to every household in the country. average gas and electric bills of £296 per month going into the winter will be unthinkable and unmanageable

for several million households and if, as some predictions suggest, they are north of £500 a month by next year, that's more than an average household's monthly income tax bill of £313. add all those bills up together and you get a giant dent in the economy, a significant political challenge for the new prime minister. who needs help, and who should pay? we aren't hearing much detailfrom either camp, but we can do some calculations. it would cost the government an additional £18 billion if it wants to be as generous at these prices in terms of help as it was in may in the last cost—of—living support package. if as expected it lasts across next year, you could expect to double that. but if, as the industry and the opposition suggests, the increase in the cap could be scrapped for everyone the costs would be £90 to £100 billion. a pandemic style support bill, again. you can certainly argue that once energy price rises are so big and the cost of those bills gets so high, that the best option is to go for something much more comprehensive,

much bigger, and just tolerate the fact that, yes, some people on high incomes, some people who don't need the support, will be getting that extra support. you might start to think that that's just better than a targeted approach, which inevitably will miss some of those that you do want to help. so who pays for that? one option suggested by the energy industry is customers pay over the next decade, which would limit average prices at £2,000 a year, but then leave them close to that, well into the 2030s, even if ukraine war ends. another is that for a second time there's a windfall tax levied on the profits of energy producers. but leadership front runner liz truss has said no. a more general tax rise has also been all but ruled out. so borrowing is likely to have to take the strain, but there are no easy options here. interest rates are rising as is inflation. so there is a significant choice, but a fundamentaljudgment too, whether to continue with the approach of targeting help,

or treating this situation the same as the pandemic, a type of war—footing to deal with this conflict—driven energy shock. the stakes are high for the economy, for government, and for every household in the country. our political correspondent iain watson is in westminster. millions of fear at having to pay designers, but they have to wait to get answers from the government? that is right. they will have to wait until the new prime minister is place and i am having to issue a spoiler alert straightaway because i cannot tell you the full extent of help that will be available from the two bets. liz truss is emphasising she wants to reverse rishi sunak�*s national insurance increase also says, in the words, there was the squeeze will get more support. there are ideas out there, including the temporary but substantial increase

universal credit, but are insisting she cannot commit to specific policies on she becomes prime minister until she sees the full facts. critics are saying why can't she see the full facts? she is a serving member of government and the chancellor was one of her supporters. as rishi sunak, he says he will cut vat on energy bills and it will below. but not say by how much. i understand the aim of his policies to ensure that the most vulnerable are exempt entirely from the extent of the country. i think at the moment the political pressure, just like our energy bills, can rise.— pressure, just like our energy bills, can rise. well, as we've been hearing, back in may the government promised £400 knocked off the bill for every household in england, scotland and wales from october. that will come in monthly instalments of more than £60 each month through the winter as part of its cost—of—living support. today, people in northern ireland were also offered similar help.

the government says there is more to come, but while households wait, our consumer affairs correspondent colletta smith has been looking at tips for saving money. with so much plugged in, turned on and fired up, it's never cheap keeping a busy house on the go. but now it's getting tougher. i last spoke to cheryl in the spring. she'd already made big cuts to her budget, so this new increase is a real blow. i feel i have done all the right things. i have made sure that i have no debts. i drive an old car that goes without paying. i've worked my way up to, you know, get a decent—paid role. but there are ways to keep bills down. according to utilita, under today's new prices, turning down your thermostat by one degree could save an estimated £321 a year. cooking in an electric oven for 20 minutes has

gone up from 46p to slip, but batch cooking could save you as much as £158 a year. one washing cycle has gone from 9p to 16p. but air drying clothes instead of using a tumble dryer could save an estimated £116 a year. although all of these tips will help to keep bills down, they're not going to cover the increase that we've heard today. and that's the frustration for a lot of households. feels like the burden is on them to solve a problem that isjust so much bigger. charities and campaigners say millions more households will now fall into fuel poverty. i am begging and praying and pleading that there is more government help for this winter so that people will not, and the poorest — and this is not catastrophising, it's a catastrophe — that people will not die because of this this winter. despite the heat of the summer months, at the spinners sports bar, lindsey's already had to arrange a payment plan with her supplier.

there's only so much we can pay, so it is going to be a case - of ringing up and saying, "that is my maximum."| she's not taking the kids on holiday this year, so popping to the club is their treat. i'm dreading it now. we've got to buy the uniforms i and the shoes and it's coming up to returning to school, - and ijust know where we're and ijust don't know where we're going to get all the money from, if i'm honest. - making little changes are helping keep many afloat, but that balancing act is becoming harder for millions of households. colletta smith, bbc news, in castleford. rising energy prices don't only affect households, but businesses too. they aren't covered by the price cap which has led to fears that their energy bills could surge drastically and unpredictably this autumn and winter. business groups say they've been urging the government to take steps for months to help and that if further support is not put in place, small and medium—sized firms could downsize or close their doors. our business correspondent caroline davies is in ipswich for us tonight.

this is a problem that is affecting the entire country, so the bbc has been travelling between cities and towns to see how they are doing and will revisit them over the course of the next few months. today we are in ipswich and i've been speaking to businesses who have been seeing their energy prices are rising and have no certainty about how high they could go. there's no way to weld without using energy. everyjob at this signmaking firm in ipswich adds to their energy bill, and that could go up by an extra £50,000 a year. it's horrendous, i mean absolutely horrendous. £1,000 a week. you can't plan for something that you've got really no idea how much it's going to be. we turn lights on and off, as we can, but when you're talking about £4,000 a month, turning the light off in the toilet is not going to change that much. many uk companies are starting to realise the full reality of energy costs, as they renegotiate their energy

bills this october. some experts predict they could increase by up to five times the current price. businesses are not covered by the energy price cap, and many of them are expecting very large bills and a lot of uncertainty this autumn and winter. that means they can either increase their prices or potentially reduce their investment, or maybe a mix of both. this is affecting businesses across the economy. having pulled through the pandemic, this salon had high hopes for 2022. but with their electricity bills increasing threefold, they are cutting back. we were going to take on another two trainees this september. but it looks more like we'll be taking on just the one. we were going to have a nice extension put on the back of the salon. that's been put on hold, i'm afraid. so, already within that month, we've had two massive changes. the fear is that while some businesses can cut back or dig into savings, others won't survive. and there's a push by business

groups to provide more support in the form of vat cuts, grants, or applying the energy price cap to smaller firms. if there isn't any support from the government soon to support small businesses, towns like ipswich could see a huge decimation of their high streets. the situation is that desperate for small businesses. they don't have the cash in the bank to weather this storm. the government has said... i think it's worse than 2008. but the fear among businesses is already real, and many do not feel supported. they're making decisions about their future — and they have no time to wait. we understand the treasury is also

looking at a wide range of options for potential support for businesses as well, to put forward to the new prime minister when they come into power. of course at the moment, all of these decisions as we heard will wait until the prime minister is appointed. wait until the prime minister is appointed-— there's more updates, news and analysis on bbc news online, that's bbc.co.uk/news, and by using the bbc news app. the time is 6:18. our top story this evening. the average annual energy bill for a household in england, wales and scotland is going up to more than £3,500 from october. ben stokes leads the way as england's cricketers build a dominant position in the second test against south africa. coming up in sportsday on the bbc news channel... we'll bring you up to date with british teams involved in the europa league and europa conference, after the draw was made earlier.

manchester united are among the teams involved with one of spain's top sides drawn in their group. a man has been arrested on suspicion of the murder of nine—year—old olivia pratt—korbel, who was fatally shot at her home in liverpool on monday. merseyside police are questioning the 36—year—old suspect, who is from the huyton area, and was detained in the city yesterday evening. our north of england correspondent danny savage reports. pictures from a police helicopter last night in liverpool. this is the operation to arrest the man suspected of firing the fatal shot on monday night. that arrest took place here in the huyton area of liverpool late last night. what neighbours are telling us is that armed police did seal off the street for a time. merseyside police are saying that they detained a 36—year—old man on suspicion of the murder of nine—year—old olivia and also on suspicion

of two attempted murders. olivia's mother cheryl korbel and 35—year—old joseph nee were both injured in the same incident. this is the audi 03 which police say took him to hospital that night. detectives want to know where it was in the days before the shooting and where it was seen afterwards. the killing of olivia pratt—korbel has horrified people in liverpool and beyond. a little girl adored by her family. the home secretary visited the scene today to see the area for herself. all our thoughts are with olivia and olivia's family at this really devastating and sad time. there's a lot of activity that's taken place. there's a lot of policing activity. there's also a lot of support. liverpool and everton football clubs also put flowers down close to olivia's home this morning. ian rush represented liverpool. ian snodin came for everton. our thoughts and prayers are with the family, and it's... i can't even imagine how it must feel. it's absolutely horrible.

the only true thing about it, and it's such a tragedy. if we can help in any kind, we will. that's clear. that must be clear. despite having a suspect in custody, there is still a lot of police work going on in the neighbourhood where the shooting happened. this is about gathering evidence and building a case. danny savage, bbc news, liverpool. as if to underline that point, in the last hour armed officers have raided another house half a mile away which we understand is in connection with what happened here earlier in the week. there is footage of the arrest, a picture of the car they want to know the whereabouts of. in the words of the senior officer, he says we need any information, as much as ever. they don't want people becoming complacent with coming forward just because i suspect is in custody.

around 115,000 royal mail postal workers have gone out on strike in a dispute over pay. today is the first of four days of industrial action, with walk—outs also taking place on 31the august, and the 8th and 9th of september. the postal service has warned letters won't be delivered, and parcels will be delayed. our correspondent duncan kennedy has sent this report from southampton. the letters kept coming, but few will have been delivered today, a 24—hour strike that severely affected royal mail. i don't blame them, to be honest, and i think we're going to get a lot more of it. the government needs to do more without a doubt, because people are going to struggle. i'm not surprised. everybody's on strike - at the moment, are they not? everybody wants more, more, more. what we want? peace of mind! picket lines have been in place across the country, this one in london. union leaders say they're only being offered a 2% pay rise and it's not enough.

we want a substantial pay rise that reflects the efforts _ that our members putl in during the pandemic to keep the company going, - to get those record profits and also that protects them againstl the current inflation levels. royal mail says its offer is more than 5% and that it also needs big changes to working practices as the business moves from letters to parcels. we did do a down payment of 2%. we've now got 5.5% on the table, but we need the change to pay for that. today's strikes come amid huge structural changes for royal mail. ten years ago when it was privatised, it was all about letters, more than 17 billion handled every year. that's now down to around 7 billion. these days, 60% of its earnings come from parcels. craig manship�*s business depends

on parcel sent via royal mail. he makes badges of football teams and other designs, but fears he'll lose customers if those badges don't arrive on time. we will end up with lots of volumes being returned, lots of refunds having to be issued, lots of unhappy customers. and ultimately we're the ones who get the bad reviews. there are due to be three more strikes, one next week and two in september. duncan kennedy, bbc news. talks have resumed today to try to resolve strikes that have left bins overflowing and piles of food—waste accumulating in scotland. workers in 20 council areas have nowjoined the dispute, which is over pay. the industrial action started in edinburgh last week, before affecting other areas, including aberdeen, dundee and glasgow. two british boys have died after being pulled from the lake in germany. the brothers aged seven and

nine were visiting when their parents reported them missing on thursday afternoon. rescue workers found the boys in the lake which is close to the border with belgium and they were taken to hospital, but they did not survive. covid infection levels have continued to fall across the uk. latest figures from the office for national statistics estimate one in 45 people tested positive for the week ending august 16th, with covid rates lowest among school—age children. the ons says it will "closely monitor" the numbers as children return to the classroom. it has been an excellent day for england's cricketers. england's batsmen have put the team in a dominant position in the second test against south africa. they finished their first innings on 415. joe wilson reports from old trafford. in the right hands, anything is possible. it's a craft to make one of these things, an art to use one. but try batting against anrich nortje. the south african is pretty much the world's fastest bowler and got

rid of england's bairstow and crawley when the day was still early. so, who will be the batters to extend england's leader? well, how about the captain? this was ben stokes unleashed, and perhaps unburdened. he had been talking about his life experiences, challenges, his well—being. ben stokes has undergone unique scrutiny. he has unique ability. south africa selected two spin bowlers. stokes enjoyed them. his first 100 as england captain took patience and passion, and he wasn't alone. ben foakes displayed all his skills to take england's lead way past 200, to surely take the match beyond south africa and to make his own century. that's what they make bats for. joe wilson, bbc news, old trafford. it is the first apollo moon landings — but not as we have known them. remastered photographs revealing extraordinary new details

of the first missions to the moon have been published for the first time. andy saunders left his dayjob to restore thousands of images of the apollo missions, which had been locked away in frozen nasa archives. our science editor rebecca morelle has the story. three, two, one, zero... lift—off. we choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things not because they are easy, but because they are hard. the voice of presidentjohn f kennedy on the apollo missions, which ushered in a golden era of human space exploration. tranquility base here. the eagle has landed. but now, the missions are being seen through a new lens, exposing some long—lost secrets. andy saunders has spent more than a decade trawling through 35,000 images held in nasa's archives, studying each one frame by frame. and even though some looked far

from promising, what they contained was extraordinary. so this was an image of interest. so on quite a simple level, first of all, we just look and we'll build up and start to stretch that contrast and pull out... oh, my goodness. ..what is actually in that frame. and lo and behold, there's commanderjim mcdivitt on apollo 9, in 1969. each image has been digitally restored and enhanced, pixel by pixel, to give us the clearest view we've ever had of the moon landings. from vistas of the cratered surface to the eagle lunar module, and a glimpse of what everyday life was really like for the astronauts. and they've even revealed the golf ball lost on the lunar surface five decades ago, as alan shepard took his hobby into space. only 12 people have ever walked on the moon. charlie duke was one of them. he's been on hand to check whether the restored pictures capture what the experience

was really like. it's a spectacular terrain and the beauty of it — sharp contrast between the blackness of space and the horizon of the moon. i'll never forget it. it was so dramatic. now others will soon get to see this for themselves. next week, nasa's new megarocket will attempt to launch for the first time. eventually, it will be returning humans to the moon. that's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. for 50 years, we've been captivated by the apollo missions — witnesses to history as it unfolds — but soon, the moon will be viewed through the eyes of a new generation. rebecca morelle, bbc news. time for a look at the weather. here's tomasz schafernaker.

it's going to be a fast re—entry to the earth's atmosphere. here it is, the earth's atmosphere. here it is, the view from space. thank goodness it stops. we've got a few clouds across the uk, on the whole not a bad one for most of us and the weekend is looking fairly promising, as this area of high pressure builds. around that we are going to see stiff winds from the north sea, so it will be a little on the cool side around coastal areas. but on the whole, we cool it a fine weekend with sunny spells and a scattering of showers. on to the forecast, saturday 7am, out for an early walk with the dog, temperatures of 16 in london, eight for glasgow. this weather system is going to brush the far north—west of the uk, so i think click a cloud for a time in northern ireland isles but the vast majority in for a fine day. you mightjust pick out beasts showers, your local

forecast will have more