this is bbc news. i'm rebecca jones, with the latest headlines. former chancellor rishi sunak confirms he's in the race to be in and british prime minister, the last few minutes it reported in the last few minutes it is reported that suella braverman, the last home secretary, will support his bid. speculation is still rife that the 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 have my views. i will not be imposing policy that i have just made up in a room, by myself.

labour leader, sir 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? elsewhere, headteachers in england say 9 in 10 schools will have run out of money by the next school year due to the cost of living crisis. good afternoon. rishi sunak has formally entered the contest to become the next conservative leader and prime minister. the former chancellor says he wants to lead the country with "integrity, "professionalism

and accountability". he already has the required backing of more than 100 fellow tory mps and more than double the number publically backing borisjohnson. in the last few minutes, it is reported that suella braverman, the former home secretary is endorsing rishi sunak�*s bed. mrjohnson has yet to declare his candidacy but held talks with mr sunak last night. penny mordaunt is also running but like mrjohnson has yet to achieve the required number of backers. here's our political correspondent helen catt. three potential prime ministers. two of them have officially said they want the job. the former chancellor rishi sunak has confirmed he is running, after getting more than the 100 backers he needs. in a tweet, he said he was standing because he wanted to fix the economy, unite the party and deliver for the country. penny mordaunt had already said she was in the race and is the only

contender so far to go in front of the cameras. but she wouldn't be drawn on the detail of the policy she would pursue. do you stand by what you said a couple of weeks ago? you are trying very hard, laura. she insisted she hasn't done any deals to drop out. i am very confident about the progress we are making and i will say to you that i am in this to win it. it is important for our party we have a contest and i am very confident about our numbers. the reason why i am doing this is because i think i am best placed to bring the party together. which just leaves borisjohnson to say what he plans to do. allies say he will run and insist he does have the numbers, despite the figure of public backers being just over half of what is needed. clearly, he's going to stand, there is a great deal of support for him.

the system is that some have made their names public, and people have a choice to make their names public are not. people have a choice whether to make their names public or not. but the people doing the numbers for boris�* campaign tell me they have the numbers, so the hundred that is necessary are there. another supporter said borisjohnson had promised to run a tighter ship if he went back to downing street. an investigation by mps is due to start soon about what he told parliament about the covid rule—breaking last time he was in charge. boris is an amazing figure in our party, an incredible campaigner, he lights up any room, and if he was in charge of the campaigning, he could be an incredible asset, but as prime minister, we would be absolutely shackled to somebody who was bound to bring us down. the labour leader again said there should be a general election to let the public decide. there are worries among tory mps that mr sunak would not be able to win votes in the same way as mrjohnson when the next election is called. but for now, he is the only declared

candidate who is certain of a place on the ballot tomorrow. helen catt, bbc news. rishi sunak is the second candidate to declare, following penny mordaunt, who announced her candicacy on friday. mr sunak held talks with borisjohnson last night, who has yet to publically declare that he'll be entering the race. the bbc�*s tally indicates that mr sunak has already received the backing of 144 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. and we can speak now to tobias ellwood mp, who claims he was rishi sunak�*s 100th backer. very good to have you with us. thank you forjoining us on bbc news. i want to start by asking you, what is the question to which your preferred

candidate, rishi sunak, is the answer? ., ., _ answer? let me get to that by beginning _ answer? let me get to that by beginning to _ answer? let me get to that by beginning to say _ answer? let me get to that by beginning to say that - answer? let me get to that by beginning to say that the - answer? let me get to that by l beginning to say that the gravity answer? let me get to that by - beginning to say that the gravity of the situation of what we're doing right now is not lost on all mps. we are selecting another prime minister after a difficult summer's leadership contest, all under the public eye. it is no necessary, though unprecedented, to revisit the economic leadership of the nation, and that is requiring an economic course correction which is under way already. the markets like where we are going, they also want political competence to. what we are seeing here is more wings of the party beginning to support rishi sunak, and i believe he is best placed with his experience, he is respected and so forth, to advance our economy forward, and the statecraft, the integrity that he spoke of, when our party is well wide we govern well as

well. that is what rishi sunak will do. in well. that is what rishi sunak will do. . , well. that is what rishi sunak will do. ., , , do. in the last few minutes we understand — do. in the last few minutes we understand that _ do. in the last few minutes we understand that suella - do. in the last few minutes we - understand that suella braverman, the former home secretary, has also endorsed rishi sunak. i will read a few lines that are being quoted in the daily telegraph who may not have seen that. someone who can meaningfully work with others, perhaps of a different shade of blue. i'm prepared to reach out to work with colleagues in the national interest, even if we have disagreed interest, even if we have disagreed in the past. hence they are of the fact that these two have not always seen eye to eye, how important you think your endorsement is? it is absolutely _ think your endorsement is? it is absolutely critical. _ think your endorsement is? it 3 absolutely critical. when you get people like myself and steve baker, kemi badenoch, suella braverman as well, all coming together to support rishi sunak, that shows the parties wishing to unite, recognising that if we are not united then we are divided. if we are divided, then as

i say, we don't govern well. this is the moment our party must come together. the numbers are clocking in, it is quite incredible to see more and more colleagues recognise how difficult a period this will be, and where we need to move forward. i really do encourage colleagues to see what we need to do, and what we need to do is get over the line in the next couple of days and get back to governing well. i would encourage people to think carefully, rishi sunak is the answer to where we need to go. indie sunak is the answer to where we need to no. ~ . sunak is the answer to where we need too. ~ ., ., sunak is the answer to where we need to o.~ ., ., ., sunak is the answer to where we need to o.. ., ., ., ., sunak is the answer to where we need too. ., ., ., ,, to go. we are also no hearing by the reuters news _ to go. we are also no hearing by the reuters news agency _ to go. we are also no hearing by the reuters news agency that _ to go. we are also no hearing by the reuters news agency that the - to go. we are also no hearing by the | reuters news agency that the foreign secretary, james cleverly, has become the latest cabinet minister to back borisjohnson in the tory leadership race. he says, and i quote, i know boris has learned lessons from his time in number ten and will focus on the needs of the country from day one. i will be supporting him to return to the role of pm. this is where it becomes very difficult, because on the one hand you and so many others are preaching unity, but clearly the party is

anything but? hat unity, but clearly the party is anything but?— unity, but clearly the party is an hin but? ., ., ., . ., anything but? not at all. we need to learn from our _ anything but? not at all. we need to learn from our mistakes, _ anything but? not at all. we need to learn from our mistakes, of - anything but? not at all. we need to learn from our mistakes, of course l learn from our mistakes, of course individuals will have different loyalties and so forth to reflect on, but what i would ask is that we must recognise the massive hurdle of regaining the trust of the british people. getting the economy right, providing stability and clarity on people's pensions, on benefits, and mortgages, tackling inflation, getting energy bills right, this is what rishi sunak does well, and this is why would encourage all colleagues to support him immediately. as i say, it then turns to the statecraft, running whitehall well as well, which is the thing again we have lost sight. we have a couple of years to turn this round, that the economy is absolutely critical. we saw on the campaign trail what an expert rishi sunak is. he called all the errors out that have now come to play. let's get back to governing, let's get back to running the economy well, let's get

back to britain.— running the economy well, let's get back to britain. how would you deal with the economic _ back to britain. how would you deal with the economic black— back to britain. how would you deal with the economic black hole - back to britain. how would you deal with the economic black hole that l with the economic black hole that has emerged since he was chancellor? if you present unfunded tax cuts thatis if you present unfunded tax cuts that is going to increase the cost of borrowing, if you increase the cost of borrowing that means interest rates go up, which has an impact on mortgages as well. the markets have responded in this way. rishi that out. we are halfway through that budgetary set, jeremy hunt is providing, we'll have to wait another week to see the answers to that. i can't provide those answers. what i would say is that the entire party needs to look back at the anchor that unites us all, and that is the 2019 conservative party manifesto. that's what brings us all together. ultimately, getting the economy right is critical now. we must leave it there, very good to talk to you. i spoke to tobias

ellwood about james cleverly becoming the latest to back boris johnson in the tory leadership race. he tweeted saying, the last few weeks show that being pm is tough and not the job weeks show that being pm is tough and not thejob in government is quite like it. with us is our political correspondent. within about the space of political correspondent. within about the space of ten political correspondent. within about the space of ten minutes political correspondent. within about the space of ten minutes we have had two high—profile figures within the conservative party, the former home secretary suella braverman endorsing rishi sunak, and the current foreign secretary, james cleverly, endorsing borisjohnson. cleverly, endorsing boris johnson. the cleverly, endorsing borisjohnson. the party is preaching unity, but it is anything but? it is the party is preaching unity, but it is anything but?— is anything but? it is a contest, so ou'd is anything but? it is a contest, so you'd exnect _ is anything but? it is a contest, so you'd exnect peeple _ is anything but? it is a contest, so you'd expect people to _ is anything but? it is a contest, so you'd expect people to come - is anything but? it is a contest, so you'd expect people to come out | you'd expect people to come out behind different candidates, but there is honestly a lot to do to unite the party behind whoever actually wins. at the moment we are at the stage where we are going to see figures coming out for different people, but some of the significance of it is who is coming out. boris

johnson has picked up some high—profile backers like james cleverly, the foreign secretary. the former foreign secretary priti patel has also endorsed borisjohnson. jacob rees—mogg is backing him too. there are people who it is thought might have lent to him who have not, and might have backed rishi sunak, and might have backed rishi sunak, and i think suella braverman is one of those. she comes from the right of those. she comes from the right of the party, but she has backed rishi sunak, which i think is interesting, and she is it whilst praising borisjohnson but praising boris johnson but suggesting praising borisjohnson but suggesting that it is not his time, that that time has passed. that is the same with kemi badenoch, and there are others like the former chief of staff, steve barclay, and lord frost, who have come out for rishi sunak who you might have expected to go for borisjohnson. the other thing is, there are simple maths at play here, and that is that as rishi sunak�*s total goes up, know

that he has hit that 100, everyone he picks up over the 100 makes it harderfor the other two he picks up over the 100 makes it harder for the other two candidates to hit the threshold to be on the ballot. it is worth watching those numbers, because at some point you will reach a point where it is possible you could reach a point where it is not possible for both of the others to get on the candidates list, and of mps have to start making decisions. we list, and of mps have to start making decisions.— list, and of mps have to start making decisions. we know penny mordaunt the _ making decisions. we know penny mordaunt the greater _ making decisions. we know penny mordaunt the greater intention . making decisions. we know penny mordaunt the greater intention to | mordaunt the greater intention to run on friday, rishi sunak has unsurprisingly declared his intention this morning. do you know why we are still waiting for boris johnson to declare? we why we are still waiting for boris johnson to declare?— why we are still waiting for boris johnson to declare? we do not. this rocess johnson to declare? we do not. this process has — johnson to declare? we do not. this process has been _ johnson to declare? we do not. this process has been done _ johnson to declare? we do not. this process has been done very - johnson to declare? we do not. this process has been done very much i process has been done very much behind closed doors, and this is all about the private conversations that candidates are having with mps about the meetings they are having with mps, so we do not know why mr johnson has not come out and said he will or will not run. his allies are saying that clearly they are expecting him to stand, they insist

they have the numbers, as public backers are about half what he would need, but insist there are others who have not been named who are backing him and he can get on the ballot if he chooses to. tomorrow is money where your mouth is day, by tomorrow, 2pm, that is when you have tomorrow, 2pm, that is when you have to put in those four nominations —— formal nominations. to put in those four nominations -- formal nominations.— formal nominations. what is your sense on whether _ formal nominations. what is your sense on whether or— formal nominations. what is your sense on whether or not - formal nominations. what is your sense on whether or not boris - sense on whether or not boris johnson has those 100 backers? certainly supporters of rishi sunak are very sceptical that he has 100. people i was speaking to earlier in the week or back borisjohnson have suggested that he certainly could get there, it was credible. whether he has got there, we don't know. his camp insist that he has, but again we will find out in the coming hours. there's not much longer left to find out if that is the case. just under 2a hours. i have no doubt be talking again.

well, whoever becomes the next conservative leader and prime minister will have the cost of living crisis at the top of their in tray. this morning there was a stark warning from the former governor of the bank of england, lord king about the size of the challenge they'll face. he said whoever is in power will need to impose public spending cuts or tax rises in order to tackle inflation. mervyn king said economists had got it wrong by suggesting printing money to support people during the pandemic. i think all central banks made the mistake during the lockdown period of thinking that they should print a lot of money to support the economy. whereas, with the economy contracting under lockdown, that was the wrong policy. and all central banks, not just ours, but the federal reserve, the european central bank are all facing now, very high inflation rates of close to 10%. head teachers in england say 9 out of 10 schools will have run out

of money by the next school year due to the cost—of—living crisis. the national association of head teachers says there could be a £2 billion shortfall by 2024 due mainly to increased energy costs and staff salaries. the teaching profession is calling on the government to stand by its 2019 election pledge to restore education spending to 2010 pre—austerity levels as kathryn stanczyszyn reports. an unprecedented funding crisis in education as the everyday gets more expensive. that's the warning from many who work in schools who say the reality is stark. a recent survey indicates the burden of rising energy costs as well as salary increases means nine out of ten schools could run out of money by next september. i know of one colleague who has been round his school and taken out all of the light bulbs that he doesn't think are essential. i have talked to school leaders that are not putting their heating on until absolutely necessary.

things like trips and visits and all the extra things that sometimes schools put on are not going to be happening this year. it comes as 13 education bodies have written an open letter to conservative mps urging them to put the issue at the forefront of their minds when choosing a new prime minister. they say current forecasts show a £2 billion black hole by 2024, a desperate situation that will severely impact the quality of education. steve chalke says energy costs for the 52 schools in his academy chain havejumped from £26,000 a year to just under 90,000. we are paying three times as much for our energy, even after government support, three times as much as we were this time last year. that means we are spending through our reserves so that the situation cannot continue forever. you cannot do that and survive.

the department for education says it is increasing budgets this year and that all schools will benefit from the government scheme to discount energy costs. the national association of head teachers has announced it is balloting members for strike action over funding for the first time in its 125—year history. as the cost of living crisis deepens, schools are finding their financial balancing acts even more precarious. kathryn stanczyszyn, bbc news. the headlines on bbc news. former chancellor rishi sunak confirms he's in the race to be the next conservative leader. in the 15 minutes it's reported suella braverman, the former home secretary, is endorsing his bid. speculation is still rife that the former prime minister borisjohnson will also enter the contest. business secretary jacob rees—mogg sastohnson will �*clearly�* stand. penny mordaunt is still

in the running — with 23 backers. she told the bbc she believes in cabinet led politics. labour leader, keir starmer, says his party hasn't got complacent — and repeats calls for a general election. ukrainian officials say more than 200,000 households remain without power across the country a day after a wave of russian airstrikes on the 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. engineers are working across the country to restore electricity in those places affected by the power cuts. wejust those places affected by the power cuts. we just had an update from the president's offers saying that electricity has now been restored to 1.2 million households across ukraine. around 200,000 households remain without power. work is under way to restore electricity in those

places. yesterday we saw a wave of attacks, russian air strikes targeting electricity infrastructure across the country. people in several regions, including here in kyiv however told that they could see blackouts today because of those attacks. engineers are working to stabilise the system, and residents have been told to reduce energy consumption as this is a system that is under a lot of pressure. more than a third of the country's power stations have been hit in recent weeks. they say that russia is trying to create a humanitarian crisis by attacking energy facilities ahead of winter. we heard from president zelensky yesterday, saying that these russian attacks targeting energies infrastructure are acts of terrorism, and that they would not stop the country's military as they go ahead with the

counteroffensive. vladimir putin has congratulated china's leader xi jinping on securing his third term in office. his position was ratified at the communist party's congress in beijing. his re—election breaks with a decades—long precedent that limits the service of chinese leaders to two terms as our china correspondent, stephen mcdonell, reports: applause. xijinping led out china's new leadership team in order of rank with him at the top. it confirmed one of the worst kept secrets in the world, that he'd remain in power into a third term and potentially for as long as he likes — barring some unknown upheaval in the future. translation: china is embarking on a long journey filled _ with glory and dreams, and the bugle has been sounded. again, there were no women on the seven person politburo standing committee, a group stacked with xi loyalists. the appointment of li keqiang as premier will concern some. he oversaw the disastrous months�* long shanghai lockdown

with significant food shortages. now mr li is in charge of managing the chinese economy. i think the appointment of li keqiang as the premier shows that xijinping is not principally interested in the economy. he's never really been interested in the economy except as a political tool. china's new leadership faces exploding youth unemployment and a massive property crisis. they also have to generate economic activity while implementing strict zero covid lockdowns. xijinping and his team have pledged to tackle these problems with ideological unity and nationalist zeal. well, many will wonder if that's going to be enough. crucially, there are no identifiable successors to mr xi in this group. yet another indication he could remain in powerfor a long time. stephen mcdonell, bbc news, beijing. food prices are currently rising

at their fastest rate in more than a0 years, with the cost of living crisis continuing to squeeze household budgets. 0ne community group in middlesbrough helping people to put food on the table, say they're busier than ever — but are concerned that public donations are beginning to dry up. stuart whincup reports. itwas 30 or

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glasgow in 1922 and served in the women's royal naval service or rents as they were better known. ruth celebrated her 100th birthday on friday. the cards, as i said, have been delivered hundreds of people across the uk. the founder of the red bull energy drinks empire dietrich mateschitz, has died at the age of 78. the austrian businessman discovered the drink in thailand in 198a. following the brand's success, he set up a formula one racing team, which has become one of the leading forces in the sport. jodie whittaker will make herfinal appearance as doctor who this evening, in a 90—minute special on bbc one. the actor made history in 2017 as the first woman to be cast in the role, and in tonight's episode she'll take on three of the doctor's best known enermies. nkuti gatwa will return

as the new time lord next year. let's have a look at the weather. there is heavy rain and thunder now sitting across northern ireland, northern england, clearing away from east anglia, starting to lose the... gusty winds along the channel coast, and this area rain continues to lift its way northwards through this evening. certainly a very mild afternoon, 1a to 18 celsius the top temperature. two areas of rain to look at, the first pushing its way into scotland and weakening, then we have these areas of showers, thundery showers, spiralling around the area of low pressure and pulling their way out into the north sea. there will be a few clear spells, certainly another mild night. tomorrow is a day of sunshine and

showers, more showers clearing into the rest later, and again a mild afternoon. hello this is bbc news. the headlines. the former chancellor rishi sunak confirms he is in the and is running and suella braverman is endorsing his bid. in the last half

hour, james cleverley the foreign secretary has endorsed borisjohnson although the former from it has yet to enter the race. penny mordaunt is still running with 22 backers, she told the bbc she believes in cabinet led politics. i told the bbc she believes in cabinet led olitics. . , told the bbc she believes in cabinet led olitics. ., , , told the bbc she believes in cabinet led olitics. . , , , led politics. i have my views, but i won't be imposing _ led politics. i have my views, but i won't be imposing policy - led politics. i have my views, but i won't be imposing policy that - led politics. i have my views, but i won't be imposing policy that i - led politics. i have my views, but i| won't be imposing policy that ijust made up in a room by myself. the labour leader _ made up in a room by myself. the labour leader keir starmer says that his party has not got complacent and repeat calls for a general election. in other news, head teachers in england say that nine in ten schools would have run out of money by next school year due to the cost of living crisis. now on bbc news we are england: farming england, trouble at sea it's been described as an ecological catastrophe that wiped out marine life across much of the north east

and north yorkshire coastline. we've seen crabs completely decimated. something catastrophic had gone wrong with the ecosystem. it's dying. in fact it's not dying, we're murdering it. i itjust left you with a sinking feeling that there's going to be no future in this job. it's a really complicated, difficult puzzle to try and piece together. everybody is treating the sea like it is a rubbish tip. it is mind blowing!