live from london. this is bbc news. ukraine's most senior security official tells the bbc the country is ready to launch its long—expected counter—offensive against russian forces. passengers flying into the uk face long delays after e—gate passport controls go down across the country. it's the final day of campaigning in turkey ahead of one of the country's most divisive presidential elections where the economy and immigration are key voter concerns. the british tv presenter phillip schofield resigns from itv after acknowledging he had an affair with a younger male colleague from his daytime show.

hello. i'm nancy kacungira. ukraine's most senior security official has said the country is ready to launch its long—expected counter—offensive against russian forces. in a rare interview, oleksiy danilov told the bbc the planned assault was an "historic opportunity" but the government had "no right to make a mistake" when making such an important decision. mr danilov has been speaking to our diplomatic correspondent, james landale. we have been talking about this counteroffensive for months, and during that time ukraine has been building up stockpiles of ammunition, it's been taking receipt of tanks and armoured vehicles from the west. receipt of tanks and armoured it's been training its troops as much as it can. so when we sat down with oleksiy danilov, the man who is at the heart of what is effectively ukraine's war cabinet, it was inevitable that we were going to talk about the circumstances around which this counteroffensive

may at some stage begin and this is what he told me. translation: we will figure out | when that will start so we can have that best result of that part of war. it could happen tomorrow, the day after tomorrow or in a week. it would be strange if i were to name dates or the start of that or another event. that cannot be done. but you are ready? translation: we are always ready. the same as we were ready to defend our country at any time. it is not a question of time. we have to understand that that historical opportunity that has been given to us by god to our country, we cannot lose, so we can truly become an independent big european country. what was really apparent from this interview was just how serious a decision this is for ukraine. oleksiy danilov said

it was a responsible decision, he said ukraine had no right to make a mistake because as he said in the clip there, it's just such a historic moment. it's notjust a question of whether or not ukraine can retake a little bit of territory that has been held by russian occupiers. this is the moment when ukraine will find out can it shift the dial, can it actually break the apparent deadlock that has gripped the military side of this conflict for so many months. and that matters notjust for the ukrainian government, the people of ukraine here, but also for its western backers, who are looking to see whether or not all of their support, all of their money, all of their military equipment, can make a difference on the battlefield. talking of the battlefield, it was inevitable that we spoke to mr danilov about the situation in bakhmut, the eastern city, where in eastern recent days, the wagner mercenary group claim they have been withdrawing. and i asked him about that and this is what he said. translation: we controlled us

a small part of the city - translation: we control 'ust a small part of the city i and we admit to that. but you have to keep in mind that bakhmut has played a big role in this war. it was a separate defence operation that played a big role today and in the future. are the wagner mercenaries withdrawing, as their leader says? translation: yes, that is happening. but it doesn't mean that they will stop fighting us. they're going to concentrate more on other fronts. our intelligence is following that. we understand where they will appear next. they are regrouping to other locations and we are following that. we hear there from mr danilov what is happening in bakhmut, butjames, when it comes to this wider offensive, this counteroffensive ukraine was planning, do we know how russia is preparing to respond? well, we know that russia is spending all of this time

preparing its defences. we have got evidence of that, bbc verify showed us some of the satellite imagery of some of the defences that have been built up along the front line, notjust trench placements that but big tank ditches, other things to do what it can to resist that offensive when it comes. the problem russia has got is this. this front line is well over 1000 kilometres long. its forces are thinly stretched out. i had a briefing with western defence officials recently where they said they see no evidence of russia having that crucial sort of division of soldiers and forces in reserve, ready to plug the gaps, wherever ukraine may try and punch through their lines. so, you know, russia has a stiff task ahead of it. but what is also true is this. whenever something like an offensive begins, attackers tend to lose more

people than defenders. when this offensive begins, casualty rates could be pretty high. and also there is a fear amongst some here within kyiv that it might not deliver results quick enough for some of the western allies out there, and there is a fear that perhaps support in the west might wobble a bit if there is not enough quick victories, enough progress, when this offensive comes. and that's one of the reasons why ukraine is making very, very sure that they choose the moment when they think it is right to go. james landale in kyiv. the uk's ministry of defence has tweeted this analysis of the situation in bakhmut. it says that both ukraine's military, and the head of the russian wagner group, which is employed by russia to take part in the fighting, have confirmed that wagner forces are being rotated out of the town. the statement suggests that

forces from the so—called donetsk people's republic, one of the ukrainian areas seized by russia, have now likely started to enter the city to start clearance operations. russian regular forces from the 31st airborne brigade have likely been moved to reinforce bakhmut�*s flanks. and it adds the reason for that, that ukrainian forces, had recaptured 20 square kilometres on the edges of bakhmut as of the start of last week. the home office says all electronic passport gates at airports across the uk are down. a spokesperson says the issue is affecting people arriving in the uk and they're trying to resolve the situation as quickly as possible, to minimise disruption for travellers. 0ur reporter david waddell has more on this.

thank you, yes, the e gates are affecting airports right across the country, not in northern ireland but england, scotland and northern —— and wales, all london airports, luton, stansted, gatwick, heathrow and london city, also edinburgh, glasgow and cardiff, several other english airports including birmingham, manchester, newcastle and others. it is also affecting eurostar terminals. these terminals are not in london but in paris and brussels where incoming travellers to the uk have passports checked. so who is affected? isn't affected people coming from all place, it affects people with british passports, if they have got the up—to—date smart passports, then it will affect travellers. they are able to use the automatic e—gates in the way in. they can still come into the way in. they can still come into the country but they will have to be checked manually. it affects people from the european union, the

european economic area in switzerland, travellers from australia, canada, japan, new zealand, singapore, south korea and the united states. people from of wide range of international places. increasing the usual chaos, according to this man, a kong mcgree said some pictures with the words poon said some pictures with the words poor, poor, poor. chris has landed at terminal five and says that this is a national e—gates outage, we know that, that is his experience. this is the situation at luton airport, two hours wait at the border, this one says, described as hell. this is the home office statement. we are aware of the

national border issue affecting people in the uk. we will try to get more reaction from different airports and locations across the country and we are pushing the home office for more information. that is all for now. thank you, david, those are some unpleasant —looking cues. we will have you back later on for an update. turks will go back to the polls on sunday in a presidential election run—off between the long—time authoritarian leader, recep tayyip erdogan and his main rival, the secular opposition leader, kemal kilicdaroglu. in the first round earlier this month, president erdogan won 49.5% of the vote, just over 4% more than his rival. both candidates are chasing support from nationalist voters. 0ur reporter 0nur erem from the bbc�*s turkish service has more on this. there is still enthusiasm, although it is the first time that this is a

second round, the participation rate was already very high in the first round. and both sides are trying to even further increase their participation rate, which was nearly 89%. and because two candidates have completely opposing policies, they are trying to show their support is that there is a lot at stake tomorrow. that there is a lot at stake tomorrow— that there is a lot at stake tomorrow. �* , ., ., tomorrow. and you have hinted there at the fact that _ tomorrow. and you have hinted there at the fact that these _ tomorrow. and you have hinted there at the fact that these are _ tomorrow. and you have hinted there at the fact that these are quite - at the fact that these are quite polar opposites in terms of the leaders. tell us about what the differences are in what they are offering to the issues that people are most concerned about. 50. offering to the issues that people are most concerned about. so, mr erdoaan's are most concerned about. so, mr erdogan's supporters _ are most concerned about. so, mr erdogan's supporters will - are most concerned about. so, mr erdogan's supporters will vote - are most concerned about. so, mr erdogan's supporters will vote for| erdogan's supporters will vote for keeping modern turkey's long as leaders in power. he is promising to develop the industrial military complex and make turkey a key player in the region. and on the economy he is prioritising growth over other

issues and keeping refugees in turkey. the position supporters want to get rid of the presidential system which has been in turkey for five years, they want to go back to a parliamentary system. their candidate, mr kemal kilicdaroglu said the system gave too much power to the president and they are promising to implement rule of law, accept the decisions of the european court of human rights and reboot the membership negotiations with the eu. they are prioritising lowering the inflation rate and getting foreign investment in the economy. and he wants to find a solution to the increasing number of refugees after turkey became the country with the highest number of refugees in the world. . , . highest number of refugees in the world. ., , ., , ., , . world. there was a small difference in oints world. there was a small difference in points between _ world. there was a small difference in points between the _ world. there was a small difference in points between the two - world. there was a small difference in points between the two men - world. there was a small difference in points between the two men the| in points between the two men the first round. 0r in points between the two men the first round. or will they be trying to convince to vote on their side this time?—

this time? -- who will they be t in: to this time? -- who will they be trying to convince? _ this time? -- who will they be trying to convince? mr - this time? -- who will they be| trying to convince? mr erdogan this time? -- who will they be - trying to convince? mr erdogan was less than i% away from a victory in the first round so he has a clear advantage but at the same time, mr kilicdaroglu will try to convince everyone who did not vote for mr erdogan, the majority in the first round, and both sides want to increase participation rate. they will try to convince their potential voters that this is in a very important election tomorrow and they will try to help them go to the polls if necessary.— will try to help them go to the polls if necessary. speaking to my colleaaue polls if necessary. speaking to my colleague from _ polls if necessary. speaking to my colleague from the _ polls if necessary. speaking to my colleague from the bbc's - polls if necessary. speaking to my colleague from the bbc's turkish l colleague from the bbc�*s turkish service. borisjohnson has insisted that there is nothing in his diary, from when he was prime minister, that showed further rule breaking during the covid pandemic. cabinet office officials referred mrjohnson to the police, after a review of documents for the covid inquiry. speaking to sky news, he said that was "absurd", and denied that any of the entries referred to socialising. here's our political correspondent, leila nathoo.

borisjohnson�*s behaviour during the pandemic is once again under scrutiny. a review of his ministerial diary as part of preparations for the covid inquiry prompted officials to alert police to potential further breaches of restrictions in addition to those already established. the cabinet office said they'd been obliged to disclose the documents under the civil service code. but in his first public comments on the matter to sky news, mrjohnson insisted his diary entries did not show any rule breaking. there are tens of thousands of entries in the prime ministerial diary. i've never seen these things before. i've looked through it. none of them constitute a breach of the rules during, during, covid, during... they weren't during lockdown. they were during other periods of the restrictions. none of them constitute a breach of the rules. none of them involve socialising.

it is total nonsense. police are now considering their next steps. a commons committee looking into whether mrjohnson misled parliament over covid rule—breaking was also notified of the new potential breaches. it's now waiting for his official response to the latest claims. leila nathoo, bbc news. the post office has apologised for using racist terms to describe sub—postmasters wrongly investigated as part of the horizon computer scandal. the faulty it system led to hundreds of wrongful prosecutions for theft and false accounting over 15 years. the papers show fraud investigators were asked to group suspects based on racial features. the british tv presenter phillip schofield has resigned from itv after acknowledging that he had an affair with a younger male colleague at this morning. in a statement, mr schofield said he had lied about the relationship to itv as well as to his agents, lawyers and family. he said the relationship was "unwise, but not illegal". itv said it felt deeply disappointed

by what it called his deceit. simonjones reports. welcome back. i'm holding the fort. holly's had to leave a bit early today because she is meeting his majesty the king. in the space ofjust a week, he's gone from being one of itv�*s biggest stars to seeing his career in ruins. as holly said on stage, we never take it for granted. never, ever, ever. phillip schofield has admitted he lied to colleagues, his employers, the media and the public about a relationship with a man whom he'd first met when the man was a teenager, helping him to get into television. after the man started to work on this morning, it became more than just a friendship. in a statement to the daily mail, phillip schofield said... he said he hadn't been truthful because he had

wanted to protect the man. that's all coming up. he insisted his decision last week to leave this morning was unrelated to the deceit. it's been widely reported there had been an off—air rift between him and his co—presenter, holly willoughby. this probably is the end of phillip schofield's careerfor the moment. i mean, if he has not been truthful with people and he's lied to everybody he said he's lied to, that's over. you need integrity, ithink, to present the type of television phillip schofield is known for. we've got all the buttons here, shall we try pressing them all? 0k, run vt! he's been a face on tv since the 1980s. in recent years, a presenter of some of itv�*s biggest shows. next tonight, it's the award for... he had been due to host the british soap awards next weekend. and he and holly willoughby had presented dancing on ice together. but he's now quit the network. this morning is filmed here at television centre. in a statement, itv said

it was deeply disappointed by what it called the admissions of deceit by phillip schofield. it said, "phillip made assurances to us, which he now acknowledges were untrue. we feel badly let down." this week began with phillip schofield's colleagues marking his departure from this morning. now we can't start today's show without paying tribute to the man who spent the last two decades sitting on this morning sofa, phillip schofield. the week ends with a dramatic fall from grace. simon jones, bbc news. a vigil has taken place in memory of two teenagers who were killed in an e—bike crash in cardiff. at least 800 people attended the vigil at the scene of the crash releasing ballons in memory of harvey evans and kyrees sullivan. their deaths sparked a riot in the city's ely suburb but the circumstances behind the accident still remain unclear.

police have released new cctv footage in connection with the attempted murder of a senior police officer in county tyrone. three vehicles believed to be used by the gunmen were spotted travelling in convoy hours before the attack. detective chief inspectorjohn caldwell was shot multiple times at a sports centre in 0magh in february. 11 people have been arrested. the chief executive of the association of british credit unions says more and more people applying for loans from his members already have multiple debts with buy now pay later companies. robert kelly says he's worried some customers don't understand the risks involved with having lots of repayment commitments. dan whitworth from bbc radio 4's money box programme has more on this and joins me now. why don't we start first of all, for those who are not familiar with by now, pay later, explain what had is and how popular it is. {iii

now, pay later, explain what had is and how popular it is.— and how popular it is. of course, nan . and how popular it is. of course, nancy- it — and how popular it is. of course, nancy- it does — and how popular it is. of course, nancy. it does what _ and how popular it is. of course, nancy. it does what it _ and how popular it is. of course, nancy. it does what it says - and how popular it is. of course, nancy. it does what it says on i and how popular it is. of course, | nancy. it does what it says on the tin, you buy now and you can pay later, usually over two, three, four months of instalments, usually at zero interest. in terms of how popular it is, certainly here in the uk and to an extent around the world, very popular. it started off a few years ago, tended to be online, but now it is pretty much you can buy anything with it, online or in a physical shop, and i have a couple of numbers for you. in 2020 in the uk the market quadrupled in size to be worth £2.7 billion, and forthcoming regulation of the industry here in the uk is expected to protect 10 million customers. it's almost ubiquitous now now in the uk, very popular indeed. it has crown the uk, very popular indeed. it has grown very — the uk, very popular indeed. it has grown very fast- — the uk, very popular indeed. it has grown very fast. so _ the uk, very popular indeed. it has grown very fast. so what _ the uk, very popular indeed. it has grown very fast. so what are - the uk, very popular indeed. it has grown very fast. so what are credit union is worried about?— union is worried about? robert kell , union is worried about? robert kelly. the _ union is worried about? robert kelly, the man _ union is worried about? robert kelly, the man you _ union is worried about? robert kelly, the man you mentioned| union is worried about? robert i kelly, the man you mentioned in union is worried about? robert - kelly, the man you mentioned in your introduction, has given an interview for me at radio four �*s money box in the uk and said he seen a growing

number of people apply to his credit unions, there are about 150 p of them in the uk, so he speaks with authenticity and experience, a growing number of people applying for help to credit unions for things like loans you already have multiple debts because they are using buy now pay later in his words too often, too much. the issue is not buy now pay later per se, he says that phil is a very good hole in the industry, good credit if it is used well, —— that fills a very good hole, but he says that too many people are finding it too easy to use it and there's multiple commitments made in there's multiple commitments made in the debts they have to pay back, some of those people applying to credit unions are struggling to meet repayment demands and pay those debts. it repayment demands and pay those debts. . ., , repayment demands and pay those debts. .., , ., repayment demands and pay those debts. , ., . ., debts. it could be a challenge the industry has _ debts. it could be a challenge the industry has to — debts. it could be a challenge the industry has to look _ debts. it could be a challenge the industry has to look out _ debts. it could be a challenge the industry has to look out for. - debts. it could be a challenge thej industry has to look out for. what has the industry said about it itself? , , has the industry said about it itself? _ ., _ has the industry said about it itself? _ ., ., itself? the by now pay later industry in _ itself? the by now pay later industry in the _ itself? the by now pay later industry in the uk _ itself? the by now pay later industry in the uk doesn't l itself? the by now pay later - industry in the uk doesn't really have a trade industry body, so i have a trade industry body, so i have spoken to some of the biggest names in the game and they have essentially told me they are

responsible lenders and have very low default rates, a very small proportion of their customers are struggling to repay their debts. and crucially that they welcome the forthcoming regulation that here in the uk will offer a lot more protection consumers who use by now, pay later, and the uk government treasury estimate 10 million people use that in the uk. so they will be afforded a lot more protection. thank you very much, thank you, dan, from radio four�*s money box. let's have more now on our breaking news this hour. the failure of the passport e—gates at the uk's major airports and at other points of entry which is creating long queues in arrival halls. 0ur correspondent david waddelljoins me again. what else can you tell us about this meltdown? aha, what else can you tell us about this meltdown? �* , ., what else can you tell us about this meltdown? ~ , ., ., what else can you tell us about this meltdown? ~ , ., ,, , meltdown? a bit of a crisis, this has been going _ meltdown? a bit of a crisis, this has been going on _ meltdown? a bit of a crisis, this has been going on since - meltdown? a bit of a crisis, this has been going on since about l meltdown? a bit of a crisis, this. has been going on since about 8p last night, well over 12 hours at this point. the home office has not

said very much at this stage, they say they are aware of a nationwide border issue affecting arrivals into the uk which they are working to resolve. they say they have got contingency plans in place for this kind of thing. it is creating considerable delays, there is some attention on social media, lots of tweets and pictures of long queues and people irritated coming back from holiday or being away from the country on business that they have to queue for a long time. it does not affect everyone but it does affect people from a number of different countries, we have close relationships of these countries... so people who would ordinarily have a faster entry?— a faster entry? precisely, british citizens, a faster entry? precisely, british citizens. eu. _ a faster entry? precisely, british citizens, eu, european - a faster entry? precisely, british j citizens, eu, european economic area, switzerland, us, australia, new zealand and some other countries. those are people who have these smart passports that would

allow them to transfer into the country by sliding their passport into a reader and then getting that automatic transmission through passport control. those people are using other methods to get through, being manually processed, and that is slowing them down. and it's also creating a sluggish output through the entire system. it creating a sluggish output through the entire system.— the entire system. it sounds from the entire system. it sounds from the statement _ the entire system. it sounds from the statement that _ the entire system. it sounds from the statement that there - the entire system. it sounds from the statement that there is - the entire system. it sounds from the statement that there is really | the statement that there is really no hint as to when this might be resolved? ., , ,., ~' no hint as to when this might be resolved? ., , ,., ~ ., ., resolved? no, i spoke to the home auo and resolved? no, i spoke to the home ago and asked _ resolved? no, i spoke to the home ago and asked for— resolved? no, i spoke to the home ago and asked for a _ resolved? no, i spoke to the home ago and asked for a ministerial- ago and asked for a ministerial response, they are not offering one at this time. they gave a short statement which was about 100 words long. and they had nothing further to say about the matter. we will be pushing them to get more clarity as precisely what has caused the problem, what measures are being taken to problem, what measures are being ta ken to resolve problem, what measures are being taken to resolve it and when we might get a decision. this taken to resolve it and when we might get a decision.— might get a decision. this is affectin: might get a decision. this is affecting other _ might get a decision. this is affecting other ports - might get a decision. this is affecting other ports of - might get a decision. this is i affecting other ports of entry. might get a decision. this is - affecting other ports of entry. how serious is it, does the level of

seriousness depend on where you are? we don't know, it's serious as far as we are having people's travel affected. there is not a deeper problem there in that respect. we assume it will be resolved at this point. seriousness was in terms of the queues and slowness of people through the system. it was affecting a large number of airports, all five london airports, edinburgh, glasgow, and cardiff, the spa as i can see, a furtherfive english and cardiff, the spa as i can see, a further five english airports, and cardiff, the spa as i can see, a furtherfive english airports, not affecting airport in northern ireland. they do not use the e passport at this stage. it is also affecting eurostar terminal is, not in london but in brussels and paris where travellers into london are processed. irate where travellers into london are processed-— where travellers into london are rocessed. ~ ., , ., ., processed. we are seeing on social media some _ processed. we are seeing on social media some less — processed. we are seeing on social media some less than _ processed. we are seeing on social media some less than generous . media some less than generous responses to this crisis. thank you very much for following that up, david. you can find all of the stories

online, you are watching bbc news, goodbye for now. it is certainly not going to stay completely sunny this bank holiday weekend, but there is a lot of dry and bright weather in the forecast. spells of warm sunshine. it is going to be dry for most but some areas of cloud in the mix as well. if we take a look at the earlier satellite picture, we can see this stripe of cloud which has been pushing its way into parts of northern scotland. that is bringing some bits and pieces of rain as it works southwards through this afternoon, eastern and southern parts of northern ireland and scotland, certainly seeing some patchy cloud and a small chance of a shower, and some spells of sunshine. for england and wales, and it's a bit of cloud close to the east coast. always a little bit chilly for some coast in

the south—east are fairly brisk breeze. with the centre and overhead, uv levels today will be moderate or high, the sun is strong at this time of year to protect yourself if you are out. into the night we will see this strip of cloud pushing south across the south—east of england, starting to roll in across western scotland and northern ireland. if the skies stay clear in the highlands, some spots could drop to freezing. not as cold further south. could drop to freezing. not as cold furthersouth. high could drop to freezing. not as cold further south. high pressure is with us tomorrow, an area of high pressure the weekend, and through the week ahead. some spells of sunshine, the odd spell of this testing. cloud in eastern parts of england and cloud across northern ireland and western scotland. higher temperatures are likely to be part of the midlands, north—west england, wales most especially the south—west at 23 degrees. cooler especially for

northern and eastern coasts. quite breezy in the south—east corner as it will be on monday. some areas of cloud around, but equally some spells of sunshine. a little bit cooler to some of us but 2a plymouth, liverpool, 21 in glasgow, western parts seeing the higher temperatures, and high pressure holding firm in the weekend, keeping was largely dry. things could turn a little bit warmer from was largely dry. things could turn a little bit warmerfrom mid week onwards, we could get up to middle 20s. onwards, we could get up to middle 205. a onwards, we could get up to middle 20s. a hefty shower in the southern uk later in the week is a chance but thatis uk later in the week is a chance but that is a long way off.

this is bbc news, the headlines. ukraine's most senior security official tells the bbc the country is ready to launch its long—expected counter—offensive against russian forces. in a rare interview, 0leksiy danilov describes the planned assault as an "historic opportunity". passegers flying into the uk face long delays after e gate passport controls go down across the country. the issue is affecting people arriving at uk airports, after the system went down last night. it's the final day of campaigning in turkey ahead of one of the country's most divisive presidential elections where the economy and immigration are key voter concerns. huge political rallies have been held to drum up support but they come as the turkish lira sank to an all—time low