this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. former chancellor rishi sunak confirms he's in the race to be the next conservative party leader and british prime minister. speculation is still rife that former prime minister borisjohnson will also enter the contest. a close ally is confident he will. yes, i have been speaking to borisjohnson and clearly, he's going to stand. there's a great deal of support for him, as you will have seen. penny mordaunt is still in the running with 23 backers. she told the bbc she believes in cabinet led

politics. i the bbc she believes in cabinet led olitics. ., , the bbc she believes in cabinet led olitics. . , , , politics. i have my views but i will not be imposing _ politics. i have my views but i will not be imposing policy _ politics. i have my views but i will not be imposing policy i _ politics. i have my views but i will not be imposing policy i have - politics. i have my views but i will not be imposing policy i have just| not be imposing policy i havejust made up in a room by myself. labour leader, keir starmer, says his party hasn't got complacent — and repeats calls for a general election. these people are so fed up. they are entitled, they want a say in this. there is a choice to be made. we need a general election. let the public in to decide. do they want to continue with this utter chaos? in other news — xijinping has a third term as china's leader, after being in power for a decade already. ukrainian president zelensky says renewed russian strikes won't stop a ukrainian military advance.

hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. rishi sunak has announced on twitter that he'll run to be the next uk prime minister. his tweet says that he wants to "fix our economy", "unite the (conservative) party" and "deliver for our country". in the letter posted on twitter, rishi sunak says that the country faces a "profound economic crisis" and that he served as chancellor to "help steer our economy through the toughest of times". he goes on to say that his government would have "integrity, professionalism and accountability". he asks for "the opportunity to help fix our problems". he is the second candidate to declare following penny mordaunt, who announced her candidacy on friday.

mr sunak held talks with borisjohnson last night, who has yet to publicly declare he is to enter the race. the bbc�*s tally indicates that mr sunak has already received the backing of 133 mps. that's significantly more than the 100 needed to enter the ballot. borisjohnson has 56 and penny mordaunt, the other declared candidate, has 23. with me is our political correspondentjonathan blake. jonathan, i had the tally there. those numbers are slowly climbing. are those numbers of public or anonymous declarations, could you explain the difference and does it matter? it explain the difference and does it matter? ., , ., ., , ,

matter? it does matter. our tally is based on public _ matter? it does matter. our tally is based on public declarations, - matter? it does matter. our tally is based on public declarations, mps i based on public declarations, mps who have either tweeted or posted on facebook or other social media that support for a candidate, or they have told us in an interview, or another broadcaster, made their allegiance publicly clear. the reason why some of the campaign to have a different tally running is that some of them may have assured them privately that they will back their preferred candidate, but are not prepared for whatever reason to do that publicly. for some, it may be because they have jobs in government. for others, that isn't an issue. in the case of boris johnson, there is a big discrepancy between the support the campaign so that it has, 100 plus mps, which he would need to enter the first stage of the contest, and the 50 odd who have publicly backed him. so that leads to questions and scepticism about whether they do have the support required. big developments in the race this morning. as you say, rishi sunak has confirmed his candidacy. no surprise, that was a case of when, not if. he is the frontrunner among mps, but big question is also now about boris

johnson and whether he has the support he needs and whether he will enter the race. his supporters say he is poised to, and we have heard from one of the first government figures to back him after liz truss's resignation, jacob rees—mogg, the business secretary, speaking to laura kuenssberg earlier. yes, i have been speaking. to borisjohnson, and clearly, he's going to stand. |there's a great deal of support for him, as you will have seen. the system is that the proposer and |seconders' names are made public. | other people have a choice - as to whether to make their names public or not, but the people who are doing the numbers i for boris's campaign tell me | that they have the numbers, so the 100 that is necessary - of members of parliament are there. so the party waits to hear from borisjohnson so the party waits to hear from boris johnson himself. so the party waits to hear from borisjohnson himself. we know he held a conversation with rishi sunak yesterday. we don't know the upshot of that. one of mr sunak�*s backers dominic raab, the former deputy prime minister, was this morning talking about there not being any

deals done, but the two men were discussing the importance of unity. we are yet to see how the relationship between them will unfold and what if anything is established. the other confirmed candidate in the race is of course penny mordaunt, leader of the house of commons. she stood last time and finished third behind liz truss and rishi sunak. she has by far the lowest number of mps supporting her and it looks as if she will struggle to make that 100 threshold at the moment, but she insists she is not doing deals with any other candidates and is to win it, she said this morning, but not being drawn on what she would do in government. laura kuenssberg asked her this morning about what she would do on benefits rising with inflation, spending, the nhs and other crucial policy areas that a prime minister will need to tackle as soon as she took office. but she would not be drawn on any of it. i believe in evidence—based

policymaking. i also believe in cabinet collective responsibility, and one of the differences you'll see if i'm prime minister is that that is how i will take decisions. i won't be imposing. i have my views, but i won't be imposing policy that i've just made up in a room by myself. penny mordaunt, pledging to have a collective approach to government, which is one way of avoiding questions about her specific policies. as with whoever emerges as the winner in this race, she will inherit a difficult situation economically, given the way liz truss's premiership chaotically unfolded and ultimately came to an end. it's been a boost for rishi sunak�*s campaign this morning. he received the backing of the northern ireland minister steve baker, a key figure on the right of the party, staunch brexiteer, a real organiser in parliament and you would think that with his endorsement may come others from that section of the party who will be crucial to rishi

sunak if he is to find unity and hope to bring the party together in parliament, deeply factionalised as it is. mr baker explained his reasons for backing rishi sunak with a stinging criticism of boris johnson's prospecting power. there was a lot of love out there for boris — there was a lot of love out there for borisjohnson, but unfortunately, with the privileges vote, _ unfortunately, with the privileges vote, his — unfortunately, with the privileges vote, his premiership would be a nailed _ vote, his premiership would be a nailed on — vote, his premiership would be a nailed on disaster. too many mps would _ nailed on disaster. too many mps would vote — nailed on disaster. too many mps would vote against him because they would _ would vote against him because they would not _ would vote against him because they would not be willing to lay down their_ would not be willing to lay down their integrity because they, as they— their integrity because they, as they think, lose their seats and have _ they think, lose their seats and have to — they think, lose their seats and have to make their will be living out there — have to make their will be living out there in the real world so i'm afraid _ out there in the real world so i'm afraid boris— out there in the real world so i'm afraid boris is a guaranteed disaslen _ and another name throwing his weight behind rishi sunak today, grant shapps also tweeting that he is backing rishi sunak, pointing to the fact that he has proven economic

importance in challenging times and thatis importance in challenging times and that is why i am backing him in the conservative leadership contest. borisjohnson has until monday, is that right? monday at two o'clock is when nominations closed for the first stage of the contest. at that point, each of the candidates will need to demonstrate that they have 100 supporters as well as somebody nominating and seconding their nomination when that process begins. so between now and then, a lot of phone calls, a lot of conversations, a lot of attempts to assure, reassure, promise even, between the candidates and the mps they are trying to get so far on board. but so far, only one, publicly at least, has enough support to get through to that stage when the contest formally begins. that stage when the contest formally beains. , ., ., ., �* ., ~ ., ~ that stage when the contest formally be.ins_ �* ., ., ., �* ., ~' ., ~' a, begins. jonathan blake, thank you very much- _ well, jonathan was just laying out what we are expecting to happen over

the next few hours or weeks. each candidate needs at least 100 nominations. if only one manager is that, they will be declared prime minister on monday afternoon. if there are three candidates with 100 nominations, the vote goes to mps to narrow the choice to two. from that two, there is then an indicative vote on those two finalists before the choice is handed to the conservative party membership across the country. they will be voting online. if that happens, the new party leader and prime minister will be declared on friday the 28th. so

two deadlines. either monday if we have one clear winner, at two o'clock. friday the 28th if there are two or more. we are going to speak now to a political correspondent at the financial times. jasmine, thank you for joining us on bbc news. gosh, what is your take on the latest developments today? well, it's an extraordinary _ developments today? well, it's an extraordinary situation. _ developments today? well, it's an extraordinary situation. it - developments today? well, it's an extraordinary situation. it is - developments today? well, it's an extraordinary situation. it is quite | extraordinary situation. it is quite noticeable, the number of quite senior tory mps that are coming out behind rishi sunak. his campaign seems to be building. a lot of momentum. if you think back to the summer leadership race, this shouldn't be surprising. we know rishi sunak was popular among backbench mps, but it is striking that you have people like steve baker this morning. we have heard

from david frost and kemi badenoch was writing in the times. they are all rallying behind rishi sunak. that is because actually, the coffin premiership vindicated rishi sunak. he was quiet throughout the whole process. he didn't come out and say, i told you so, but a lot of things he predicted would happen to the economy in terms of rising interest rates and concerns about runaway inflation actually did come under the truss premiership, so a lot of people are looking to him as an authoritative figure, someone who could calm the markets. at the moment, it seems like it is his to lose. is moment, it seems like it is his to lose. , . , moment, it seems like it is his to lose. , ., , . ., ~ ., lose. is there any particular mp who hasn't publicly _ lose. is there any particular mp who hasn't publicly spoken _ lose. is there any particular mp who hasn't publicly spoken yet _ lose. is there any particular mp who hasn't publicly spoken yet in - lose. is there any particular mp who hasn't publicly spoken yet in terms | hasn't publicly spoken yet in terms of who they are supporting that you would like to hearfrom, or you have your eye on? it would like to hear from, or you have your eye on?— your eye on? it will be interesting to see someone _ your eye on? it will be interesting to see someone like _ your eye on? it will be interesting to see someone like suella - to see someone like suella braverman. she quit in quite a dramatic fashion. it was her resignation that started the spiralling of the truss premiership.

it will be interesting to see where these figures to the right of the party where they start to move towards. it will also be interesting towards. it will also be interesting to see, if it isn'tjohnson, where a lot of his backers choose to go, whether they will hold their nose and rally behind rishi sunak or whether they will start to rally behind penny mordaunt, which could behind penny mordaunt, which could be a huge win for her premiership campaign. be a huge win for her premiership cam aiun. ~ , be a huge win for her premiership camaiun.~ , ., , ., be a huge win for her premiership cam-iain, . , ., , ., ., campaign. why would they have to hold their nose, _ campaign. why would they have to hold their nose, jasmine? - campaign. why would they have to hold their nose, jasmine? i - campaign. why would they have to hold their nose, jasmine? i mean, j hold their nose, jasmine? i mean, they have worked together. sunak was boris johnson's they have worked together. sunak was borisjohnson�*s chancellor. what is it about the two men that divides them or divide their supporters? there is much love lost between the two of them. many ofjohnson�*s supporters looked to sunak and argue that it was his resignation that triggered the string of resignations that ended johnson's premiership. 0n the flip side, rishi sunak�*s supporters argue thatjohnson�*s premiership was toxic and should

never be repeated. so there is tension between the two, but we know there were talks last night. it doesn't seem like anything has emerged from that, but i think of the two will need to continue those talks and get on the same page there is to be any unity in the conservative party going forward. economically, let's say we go ahead with all three and we have to wait until friday for the official winner to be named, which of the three would the markets prefer? i to be named, which of the three would the markets prefer? i suspect the markets — would the markets prefer? i suspect the markets would _ would the markets prefer? i suspect the markets would be _ would the markets prefer? i suspect the markets would be more - would the markets prefer? i suspect i the markets would be more reassured by rishi sunak and his experience as chancellor and as i said, some of his warnings during the leadership race that effectively came true. he provides a reassuring figure. what's interesting about penny mordaunt is that although she is positioning herself as a clean slate candidates, arguing that she doesn't have any of the political toxicity thatjohnson

and rishi sunak have, she is a relatively unknown figure to the markets. she has very little cabinet experience. she has not been tried and tested and there is an argument that this is a moment where experience is needed, where people want stability and they want to know the person in charge knows what they are doing. johnson, it is not clear. he is a politician who is comfortable chopping and changing a new turning depending on what he feels is popular. perhaps that instability isn't what the markets are looking for at the moment. we have had grant shapps throw his support behind rishi sunak. we also know that chloe smith, the work and pensions secretary, has been tweeting saying, i spoke to rishi sunak about his hopes for our country and i have been listening to my local members. i intend to back where she to be prime minister acting in the national interest and achieving stability and opportunity that our nation needs. borisjohnson

does not have a clear path to a premiership, does he? he has still got the privileges committee inquiry to face. ihis got the privileges committee inquiry toface. ,, , , got the privileges committee inquiry toface. ,, , to face. his supporters are briefing that he has — to face. his supporters are briefing that he has hit _ to face. his supporters are briefing that he has hit the _ to face. his supporters are briefing that he has hit the 100 _ to face. his supporters are briefing that he has hit the 100 threshold l that he has hit the 100 threshold that he has hit the 100 threshold thatis that he has hit the 100 threshold that is needed. publicly, only around 50 mps have been backing him. it is interesting because his supporters will argue that he is a vote winner, he got this huge majority in the 2019 general election. they argue that he is still popular with tory members, but there is a big question mark in the minds of many tory mps about his credibility. as you say, we have the privileges committee hanging over him. there are concerns about whether he would be the right individual to unify the party. we know there are some who have said if johnson becomes leader, they will stand as independents. so if people want stability, there are questions over whetherjohnson can provide over whether johnson can provide that.

over whetherjohnson can provide that. g . , over whetherjohnson can provide that. g ., , ., over whetherjohnson can provide that. g ., over whetherjohnson can provide that. , .,, ., i. , , that. jasmine, do you get the sense that. jasmine, do you get the sense that a lot of — that. jasmine, do you get the sense that a lot of boris _ that. jasmine, do you get the sense that a lot of boris johnson's - that a lot of borisjohnson�*s backers are slightly tweaking history? is his fan base different when it comes to the british public? there were so much anger and pain when we think back to partygate. i when we think back to partygate. i remember when when we think back to partygate. i rememberwhen i was when we think back to partygate. i remember when i was out in westminster doing reporting amid the partygate saga, there was a lot of anger towardsjohnson but partygate saga, there was a lot of anger towards johnson but when partygate saga, there was a lot of anger towardsjohnson but when you spoke to tory voters, there was a more sympathetic view. they argue that he got the vaccines and brexit done and was dealt a hard set of cards. but i do think it's important that the next election that matters is the next general election and a lot of tory mps are looking at the poles and thinking, is a divisive figure likejohnson the person to lead us into the next elections, evenif lead us into the next elections, even if he is relatively welcome among tory members? the general

public, worried about bills and mortgages and the general direction of the country, do they want someone who has already been tried and tested and the verdict was that he wasn't suitable for leadership? jasmine cameron—chileshe, thank you for your time. jasminejoins jasmine cameron—chileshe, thank you for your time. jasmine joins us from the financial times this morning. xijinping has secured a third term as china's leader, at the end of a week—long congress that reinforced his control over the ruling communist party. he's been re—confirmed as the party general secretary — which means he's almost certain to be re—elected president in march. mr xi appeared in the great hall of the people in beijing alongside other members of the politburo standing committee — the top decision—making body. in brief remarks, he said the communist party would remain the strong backbone of the chinese people. translation: china cannot develop without the world, | and the world also needs china.

after more than a0 years of unremitting efforts in reform and opening up, we have created two miracles of rapid economic development and long—term social stability. 0ur china correspondent stephen mcdonell has the latest from beijing. i don't think many people would have seriously considered that this communist party congress would have done anything but reinforced xi jinping as the leader of china, and that's exactly what's happened. he's now moved into his historic third term, and can now stay in powerfor as long as he likes, barring some unforeseen political upheaval in the future. now, when xijinping revealed the new politburo standing committee today, the top leadership team of the country, it was stacked with xi loyalists and,

most significantly, he's made li keqiang the new number two leader, therefore the person in charge of the economy and now he's put the man who was in charge of the disastrous shanghai lockdown, a lockdown in which tens of millions of people were confined to their homes for months on end, with significant food shortages, that's the person who has been placed in charge of the economy. it's hard to imagine that you can't find somebody in this enormous party a bit better qualified to manage this huge, significant economy, and yet, there you have it. i think analysts will see this as an example of loyalty to xijinping trumping proven ability. the communist party, for all of its other faults, had in the past said it was a meritocracy. and you wonder how you could stack up that appointment as an example of genuine meritocracy.

again, no women in the politburo standing committee. there has never been a woman on that top committee in china apart from, i suppose, madam mao, she was in the power mix as part of the gang of four, but not really an official politburo standing committee appointment, and women will be scratching their heads and wondering, what's it going to take for a woman to be appointed to that committee? so there you have it, in short, xijinping in power possibly for ever, as long as he likes. a politburo standing committee very loyal to him and big questions over the commitment that this government really has to economic management. certainly, prioritising the economy over politics, i think many will think that it has been left wanting.

ukrainian officials say electricity has already been restored in some areas of the country, a day after russia launched a wave of airstrikes targeting electricity infrastructure. president volodymyr zelensky said the attacks had struck on a very wide scale, but that they would not break ukraine's determination to resist. hugo bachega has the latest from kyiv. work is under way to restore electricity to parts of the country without power, following those russian air strikes that targeted energy facilities across ukraine. the ukrainian authorities said 1.5 million households across the country were left without power after saturday's attacks and they say this is russia's strategy as it faces military setbacks on the battlefield. it is targeting electricity infrastructure ahead of winter, inflicting pain on civilians living in cities away from the front lines.

a top adviser to president zelensky has accused russia of trying to create a new refugee crisis by targeting energy facilities in the country. last night president zelensky said russia's attacks were acts of terrorism, and he said it would not stop the progress of the ukrainian army. in the south, the russian appointed officials in the city of kherson have urged civilians to leave immediately, describing the situation as "tense" and they say ukrainian forces are making advances along the dnipro river and are preparing a major offensive to retake the city. kherson was captured in the early days of the war, and it is one of the largest ukrainian cities under russian occupation. back to our top story, a reminder that rishi sunak has announced this morning that he is going to be standing in the conservative leadership contest. kevin hollenbeck as an mp who is backing the former chancellor and hejoins me now. good

morning. how do you feel about the fact that rishi sunak, your man, is now in the race? did you ever doubt that? ~ 4' now in the race? did you ever doubt that? ~ ~ �* , ., now in the race? did you ever doubt that? ~ 2 ., m that? well, i think it's a difficult decision always _ that? well, i think it's a difficult decision always to _ that? well, i think it's a difficult decision always to decide - that? well, i think it's a difficult | decision always to decide whether that? well, i think it's a difficult - decision always to decide whether to run for prime minister, particularly in these troubled times, but i'm delighted he has decided to put his name forward. he is the right person to lead the country. he has a calm competence in terms of everything he does not least when he was in charge of the treasury as chancellor. so i am delighted he has. he isjust the person in need. we have had crisis and now we need calm competence and i think rishi will bring that to the job. did i think rishi will bring that to the “ob. , , ., i think rishi will bring that to the 'ob., job. did you back him in the previous — job. did you back him in the previous leadership - job. did you back him in the| previous leadership contest? job. did you back him in the - previous leadership contest? yes, i did. previous leadership contest? yes, i did- again. — previous leadership contest? yes, i did- again. i— previous leadership contest? yes, i did. again, i thought _ previous leadership contest? yes, i did. again, i thought he _ previous leadership contest? yes, i did. again, i thought he was - previous leadership contest? yes, i did. again, i thought he was the . did. again, i thought he was the right person then as well. i have always been a supporter of rishi.

personally as well as professionally, he is an extremely decent person as well as incredibly competent and intelligent, but his heart is in the right place, which is at least as important as having the ability to get things done. what the ability to get things done. what do ou the ability to get things done. what do you make _ the ability to get things done. what do you make of _ the ability to get things done. what do you make of your— the ability to get things done. what do you make of your colleagues within the conservative party who are currently backing borisjohnson despite his legacy? i are currently backing boris johnson despite his legacy?— despite his legacy? i don't understand _ despite his legacy? i don't understand -- _ despite his legacy? i don't understand -- i— despite his legacy? i don'tl understand -- i understand despite his legacy? i don't - understand -- i understand it, boris understand —— i understand it, boris has many attributes. but it's the wrong time for boris to be leading the country. if we cast our minds back only a few months ago when he had to resign, he had had a succession of problems. we lost three by—elections, he had a no—confidence vote of 148, conservative mps saying they didn't have confidence in him. then the ongoing issues with partygate and then the chris pincher issues. many

of those things are still a problem for borisjohnson and he is facing this commons privilege inquiry. i apologise for interrupting, kevin, don't go anywhere because i'm coming back to you. for now, we need to say goodbye to our bbc world viewers. you join us here on bbc news with the main development this morning in the main development this morning in the world of politics, and that is that former chancellor rishi sunak has formally declared that he is entering the race to be the leader of the conservative party and also prime minister of great britain. his colleaguejoins us now, kevin hollinrake is an mp and he has announced his backing of rishi sunak and has also backed mr sunak in the previous race to be leader of the conservative party and prime

minister, won by liz truss, who stepped down. what did you make of liz truss's very short time in office? ~ . , liz truss's very short time in office? ~ ., , ,., ., office? well, i am very sad for liz herself. office? well, i am very sad for liz herself- she _ office? well, i am very sad for liz herself. she was _ office? well, i am very sad for liz herself. she was committed - office? well, i am very sad for liz herself. she was committed to i office? well, i am very sad for liz | herself. she was committed to the job and i think her intentions were good, but her economic strategy was floored. i don't think you can spend billions of pounds more than we were going to spend any more time like this. it's bad for the economy, bad for inflation and it is unaffordable. that was the judgment of the markets and the judgment of parliament and the public. her position was not tenable and therefore, she had to resign. but i think we have got to move on. and the right person to help us move on is rishi sunak, because he has a deep understanding of the economy.

but it's notjust the economy with the conservative party, is it? is he able to unite the party as well? you're right, there are a lot of other challenges as well as the economy. there is immigration and lots of other things, and i think rishi will be able to bring something to those issues and help provide solutions. as a party, we have been divided in the past. we need unity. again, rishi has support from different corners of the party. he has got people like steve baker and lord frost and people from the centre of the party. grant shapps has declared for him, so he appears to different areas of the party, which is what we need.- to different areas of the party, which is what we need. kevin, i 'ust need a quick— which is what we need. kevin, i 'ust need a quick yes i which is what we need. kevin, i 'ust need a quick yes mi which is what we need. kevin, i 'ust need a quick yes or no i which is what we need. kevin, i 'ust need a quick yes or no answer. h which is what we need. kevin, ijust need a quick yes or no answer. you | need a quick yes or no answer. you say he appeals to all members — can he work withjeremy say he appeals to all members — can he work with jeremy yes, definitely. jeremy hunt supported him in the

last contest. jeremy hunt supported him in the last contest-— jeremy hunt supported him in the last contest. ., ,, , ., , . last contest. thank you very much, kevin hollinrake, _ last contest. thank you very much, kevin hollinrake, conservative - last contest. thank you very much, kevin hollinrake, conservative mp| kevin hollinrake, conservative mp backing rishi sunak in this race. we will probably hear who the winner is tomorrow, otherwise on friday. before we find out how the weather is looking, the very first birthday cards from the king and the queen consort have been delivered to hundreds of people celebrating their 100th and 105th birthdays across the uk. the queen consort has been delivering those cards to hundreds of people celebrating that key birthday. there have been several veterans of the second world war and they have been receiving their cards including ruth pat pearson, born in glasgow in 1922, who also served in the women's royal naval service or the women's royal naval service or the wrens, as they were better known. ritz elevated her 100th birthday on friday. now it's time for a look

at the weather with ben rich. hello there. sunday morning got off to a turbulent start for some parts of the uk, with some heavy thundery downpours and some of those will continue through the rest of the day, although there will be some spells of sunshine around as well. still some rain into the afternoon. some heavy bursts at times. rain moving through the far north of england, into southern and central parts of scotland. northern scotland seeing a little bit of sunshine. some sunshine developing across england and wales. 14—18 . some sunshine developing across england and wales. 14—18. more thunderstorms creeping into southern counties. they will continue overnight with a strengthening wind. really gusty winds across southern england and east anglia. it will be a mild night. temperatures between 10-13 , a mild night. temperatures between 10—13 , and even a warmer weekend ahead. temperatures in the south likely to get to 20 or 21 degrees. rather unsettled with showers or longer spells of rain at times.