to get this bill passed, i but if you look at the way financial markets have been trading over the last two days there is - still a little bit of _ scepticism among investors. welcome to the programme. presidentjoe biden and house speaker kevin mccarthy's debt ceiling deal is set to face its biggest test — a vote in the house of representatives. we are expecting it to come in the next few hours. also tonight, an exclusive report from ukraine. kyiv claims around 19,000 children have been taken by russia. 0ur correspondent sarah rainsford has the story of the mothers going behind enemy lines to rescue them. more trouble on the trains. with more strike disruption across the uk today, and more to come this weekend, unions continue their push for better pay and conditions. and could the humble

pea be the answer to deforestation in the rainforest? scientists say they've found a way to eliminate the taste of peas — so they can be used instead of soya beans in plant based products. but will consumers be convinced? but first — in the us, a deal on the country's debt ceiling took a step closer last night — clearing its first procedural hurdle, despite a revolt from hard—line conservatives. tonight it goes to a vote — a �*make or break�* vote on the deal. without agreement, the us would hit its borrowing limit on monday. that would mean defaulting on its $31.4 trillion dollars' worth of debt. in turn, that would mean federal and military workers would stop being paid, and the economy could fall into chaos. jordan weissman, who is washington editor of the political newsletter semafor. thank you for being with us. last night, _

thank you for being with us. last night, that— thank you for being with us. last night, that deal— thank you for being with us. last night, that deal cleared - thank you for being with us. last night, that deal cleared bike - thank you for being with us. last night, that deal cleared bike a i night, that deal cleared bike a major hurdle _ night, that deal cleared bike a major hurdle but _ night, that deal cleared bike a major hurdle but the - night, that deal cleared bike a major hurdle but the real- night, that deal cleared bike a major hurdle but the real test| night, that deal cleared bike a - major hurdle but the real test comes tonight, doesnt— major hurdle but the real test comes tonight, doesn't it? _ major hurdle but the real test comes tonight, doesn't it? [it— major hurdle but the real test comes tonight, doesn't it?— tonight, doesn't it? it does but it's looking _ tonight, doesn't it? it does but it's looking pretty _ tonight, doesn't it? it does but it's looking pretty good - tonight, doesn't it? it does but it's looking pretty good for- tonight, doesn't it? it does but it's looking pretty good for the | it's looking pretty good for the build consensus in washington right now is that there are some last—minute procedural fights going on, but most people believe this is probably going to pass. henge on, but most people believe this is probably going to pass.— probably going to pass. have the numbers to _ probably going to pass. have the numbers to do _ probably going to pass. have the numbers to do that _ probably going to pass. have the numbers to do that and - probably going to pass. have the numbers to do that and we - probably going to pass. have the| numbers to do that and we heard those clips in the headline, this is not a perfect deal, but it is the one that is most palatable. remind us of as some of these compromises because there are compromises on both sides. , . , ., because there are compromises on both sides-— both sides. this was a pretty epic clash or seems _ both sides. this was a pretty epic clash or seems like _ both sides. this was a pretty epic clash or seems like it _ both sides. this was a pretty epic clash or seems like it was - both sides. this was a pretty epic clash or seems like it was going l both sides. this was a pretty epicl clash or seems like it was going to be. republicans went into this fight passing a party line bill that essentially demanded thatjoe biden make massive cuts to the annual budget and repeal his signature climate legislation among other things. things that were almost certainly never going to fly with democrats in the summit or with the white house. joe biden said he was

not going to negotiate all he was accusing republicans of using hostage tactics in sinkhole things legitimate and saying that they should just pass a clean debt ceiling height in the end what seems to have happen is the two sides come together and negotiate and what you got was sort of a normal budget deal. it was a little bit better than what you would ordinarily expect, the party out of power to get in a budget negotiation, but it was not far off from the norm. so you are getting a temporary freeze on certain kinds of federal spending. you, the white house accepted that it was going to cut some investment in the irs and the tax authority that it had pass which had been a big deal. and there are some new work requirements on one of our major safety net programmes. but again this is not apocalyptic. democrats were mostly willing to swallow it. ~ ., , . ., ., swallow it. willing to swallow it of course the big _ swallow it. willing to swallow it of course the big question _ swallow it. willing to swallow it of course the big question is - swallow it. willing to swallow it of course the big question is can - swallow it. willing to swallow it of| course the big question is can they do so before that deadline. we know the so—called

assuming a deal is done tonight is that enough time to do all the paperwork required? i that enough time to do all the paperwork required?— that enough time to do all the paperwork required? i think yes, aaain paperwork required? i think yes, again there _ paperwork required? i think yes, again there are _ paperwork required? i think yes, again there are always _ paperwork required? i think yes, i again there are always last-minute again there are always last—minute hiccups that can come up but even in the senate it seems like they are preparing to try and move through this pretty quickly. it does not look like anyone is going to delay the process just to give us report or something to write about. always will be talk about _ or something to write about. always will be talk about these _ or something to write about. always will be talk about these sorts - or something to write about. always will be talk about these sorts of - will be talk about these sorts of things it is the big question is whether it is about economics in spending or it isjust whether it is about economics in spending or it is just about the politics and what it does is throw the spotlight on some of that fragmentation. what does it tell us about the rather frayed fragmentation. what does it tell us about the ratherfrayed relations right now in the house amongst republicans that they cannot come to any sort of consensus on whether this deal is a goodman or not. i would say that they are little less fractured than they may look at

first glance. there is a hard—line contingent in the house of representatives, they go by the house of freedom caucus, they want to do everything to stop the original party line bill that they wanted the moon, some would say in they have not been really willing to compromise. it looks like the majority of house republicans are going to go along with this bill. they are willing to take half of a loaf here because it should yield some substantial budget savings. and they are relatively happy with what speaker mccarthy has given them. but at the same time, yes, some of the hardliners have been denouncing this legislation as a betrayal and some have murmured a bit about trying to oust mccarthy although talk of that has down —— and tie down quickly. the main music is good markets are, expecting a deal will be done but we know the showdown has acid months for some there have been weeks of painstaking negotiations. that has

lasted for months. if the deal does not go through is there any sort of wiggle room where is the negotiation and compromise coming from? if the deal were to — and compromise coming from? if the deal were to collapse _ and compromise coming from? if the deal were to collapse at _ and compromise coming from? if true: deal were to collapse at the last minute for some reason, i think everyone agrees that would be rather bad. i'm not sure if there is a plan b at this point other than the white house may be trying to having some unilateral action that some people have talked on like the 14th amendment ruling that the debt is unconstitutional. but... i hesitate to worry too much about that although i do realise it will be really unpleasant as a global audience to essentially watch the united states have a budget negotiation that could accidentally blow up the entire global economy if someone just goes wrong at the last minute. i understand the fear but it seems like things are heading in the right direction.— right direction. given what is at stake let's _ right direction. given what is at stake let's hope _ right direction. given what is at stake let's hope so. _ right direction. given what is at stake let's hope so. but - right direction. given what is at stake let's hope so. but good l right direction. given what is at| stake let's hope so. but good to have you with us. the washington editor of the political newsletter,.

some breaking his last few minutes news on the 2024 presidential race. us media is reporting that former vice president mike pence plans to announce next wednesday that he is running for the republican nomination for president in 2024. that officially puts him in direct competition with his former boss donald trump for the republican nomination. that news there, mike pence will launch his bid for the white house in 2024. we will talk on that sum or a little later. here in the uk... borisjohnson has handed over his diaries and whatsapp messages in full to the government and says they should be given to the official covid inquiry. the government has so far resisted handing over what it's called "unambiguiously irrelevant" sections of the material. the head of the inquiry has threatened to sue the government if it doesn't hand it all over.

live now to westminster and our political correspondent lone wells. just explain for us what is going on here because there is towing and farming on what the documents may contain, what exactly could they reveal? ., , , contain, what exactly could they reveal? . , , ., �* ,, ., reveal? the answer is we don't know what is summoned _ reveal? the answer is we don't know what is summoned this _ reveal? the answer is we don't know what is summoned this material- reveal? the answer is we don't know what is summoned this material but| what is summoned this material but we do know is that the covid inquiry say that they think they need to see it. they need access to the full unredacted copies of whatsapp messages, diaries and notebooks that were held by the former prime minister, borisjohnson if they are to properly conduct their inquiries is what of this investigation. essentially the rows that have been going on are twofold. there is one that has been between the cabinet office, the government and the inquiry itself. the inquiry as i have mentioned has demanded that the

government hand over the full unredacted versions of these documents. the cabinet office in the government have argued that they do not think it would be appropriate to hand over, as you say, anything that they deem to be unambiguously relevant to the inquiry. i am told that this could for example include sensitive personal information or private matters which the government fears could set a whirring president in terms of future policymaking and also politicians rights to privacy. separately there has been an ongoing sort of back and forth on what material of borisjohnson's was held by the government. borisjohnson has said that he has handed over all of his material to the government and says that the government could now hand that to the inquiry if they wanted to. borisjohnson could also choose independently to head over all of his material to the inquiry if he wanted to. his spokesperson has said that if he is asked to, he will. he claims that the cabinet office and has had access to this material for months but sources in the time in office are saying is

that effectively, since boris johnson stopped using lawyers that were employed by the government, they have not had access to some of they have not had access to some of the material that the inquiry wanted. today has been a lot of back—and—forth but fundamentally the government position still stands that they do not think it would be appropriate to hand over some of this material. which means tomorrow when inquiry has set the deadline for them to do that there could be quite a big standoff between the inquiry and the government itself. i know you will follow it closely for us. lots of going and there. now — to an update on another major story here in the uk. britains biggest commercial broadcaster itv has announced it has asked a barrister to carry out an external review of events at its flagship show this morning after the controversy surrounding the sudden departure of its star presenter phillip schofield. he stood down after it emerged he'd had an affair with a much younger member of staff and lied about it to colleagues.

with more on this our correspondent nicky schiller. itv has been under pressure, has it not, to act on this?— not, to act on this? absolutely. ever since _ not, to act on this? absolutely. ever since phillip _ not, to act on this? absolutely. ever since phillip schofield - not, to act on this? absolutely. l ever since phillip schofield made his statement on friday, admitting that he had lied about having an affair with a younger male employee at itv, the company itself has been under increasingly media pressure to say something about it and a number of former employees came out over the weekend and in the last couple of days to say that the bosses must have known about it. so today we had this letter from the boss. that is dean carolyn mccall, sent to a number of people including the culture secretary here in the uk and the regulator ofcom, a separate note was also sent to employees at itv will step in it he says that, they carried out a review of what they knew over the weekend, she says in this that they, rumours of this

relationship circulated in late 2019-2020 and relationship circulated in late 2019—2020 and they didn't investigate them, but both parties, phillip schofield and the other employee involved denied categorically, they say and repeatedly, the rumours. so now what we have is them saying that they appointed a barrister to carry out an independent external review and they go to say it, this will establish the facts, she will review the records and talk to people involved. the work will consider what they say, our relevant processes and policies are and whether we need to change or strengthen any of them. they say will share the outcome of the review. pa. will share the outcome of the review. �* ., ., will share the outcome of the review. . ., ., , , review. a lot of people will be lookin: review. a lot of people will be looking at _ review. a lot of people will be looking at that _ review. a lot of people will be looking at that very _ review. a lot of people will be looking at that very closely i review. a lot of people will be l looking at that very closely and review. a lot of people will be - looking at that very closely and the outcome of that review. what else have they set about the show and perhaps its future?— perhaps its future? interestingly the state meant _ perhaps its future? interestingly the state meant also _ perhaps its future? interestingly the state meant also talks - perhaps its future? interestinglyj the state meant also talks about what they talked about inaccuracy on the reporting of the scandal over the reporting of the scandal over the weekend, they set out what they call some facts, saying that the employee first did work experience

when he was 19 at this morning in 2015 and he was 20 when he applied in successfully secured a job as a runner. there have been reports that he was 18, itv saying that he was 20 and also that he subsequently applied for and was successfully secured a promotion —— promotion in 2019. again speculation that he had been moved on from they are saying that he a promotion and got a promotion in 2021. they go on to say that the scripture specials from your scrutiny of them has been critical and have offered support through the period and continue to do so. as for the programme itself it is still on air. the key question on monday, holly willoughby is due to return on the programme after a half term school break which has been going on here in the uk and everybody will be watching to see if she does appear on monday and

indeed, what she says if anything about the scandal involving i, her co—presenter for over 13 years. goad co-presenter for over 13 years. good to talk to and _ co-presenter for over 13 years. good to talk to and thank _ co-presenter for over 13 years. good to talk to and thank you _ co-presenter for over 13 years. good to talk to and thank you for- co—presenter for over 13 years. good to talk to and thank you for that update. to talk to and thank you for that u date. ., , update. -- involving phillip schofield. _ around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at some of the other stories making headlines today... a british man has died reportedly after being struck by lightning as he was paddleboarding in the sea off greece. scott seddon, from liverpool, was taking part in water sports off the island of rhodes when a strike hit on tuesday, according to local reports. the foreign office said it was supporting his family and was in contact with the local authorities. parents on universal credit in england, scotland and wales will be able to claim hundreds of pounds more, to cover childcare costs from the end ofjune. the government says anyone receiving the benefit will be able to claim back £951 for one child and £1,630 for two or more children — that's a 47% increase.

the president of the cbi is to step down earlier than planned as part of an overhaul of the leadership of the embattled business lobby group. brian mcbride is to start the search for his successor, with the handover due to take place in the new year. the organisation has been rocked by allegations of rape and sexual assault against staff. let's return to one of the other stories we are following today. here in the uk, rail workers are out on strike again. members of the train drivers' union aslef are striking over pay and conditions. they're also going to walk out on saturday 3rd june. that's the day of the football fa cup final. members of the separate rmt union will strike on friday. the uk government has accused the unions of co—ordinating the walk—outs to disrupt major events. here's our transport correspondent katy austin. manchester piccadilly this morning. no rush—hour crowds, just a trickle of passengers. at london bridge station,

no trains at all. and workers out on picket lines again, like these in birmingham and newcastle. for rail users, frustration. just terrible. inconveniences everyone. i've had to catch a completely different train, to get up early. i don't know the ins and outs of it all, i don't know how much they get paid. i don't like the striking in general. i think it's entitled. get a newjob. i do think it's important for them |to strike but i think in situations| like this it can be quite - frustrating for passengers, especially when the rail prices are constantly going up. - train drivers say this dispute is not only about pay but protecting their working conditions and there are no signs at the moment that their dispute is close to being over. these strikes come after their union, aslef, rejected the latest proposals from the train companies. the offer involved a 4% pay rise for one year, dependent on changes designed to make driver training quicker, and another 4% a rise for next year, if changes to ways of working are agreed with individual

operators, for example a contractual commitment to work sunday shifts and giving employers full control of staff rotas. that's fair and reasonable, insist the rail industry and the government, adding it would take the average driver's salary to £65,000. the union argues the deal contains things it could never accept. travel to big events including the fa cup final and epsom derby will be disrupted by saturday's strike. aslef insists it hasn't deliberately targeted them. under the legislation we have to give a minimum 14 days' notice. so we gave the bare minimum of 14 days' notice for the first action. subsequent actions are then based around not hitting the same people twice, about roster patterns and what's best for our members. in their separate dispute, train guards and station staff in the rmt will walk out again on friday. many rail commuters have got used to working from home on strike days, but leisure passengers and hospitality businesses have felt the impact.

both sides say they want to resolve this but right now it looks like a deal is notjust around the corner. katie austin, bbc news. allegations of institutional racism within the police are among most challenging issues facing forces around the country. there is now what's called a "police race action plan" — aimed at building better relations with black communities and eliminating racism within the police — but now that race action plan is itself facing allegations of discrimination, as newsnight�*s uk editor — sima kotecha — reports. police officers have been bombarded by claims of racism in recent years. but now the very plan set up to tackle this is at the centre of fresh claims of racism. ijoined the programme to share my lived and professional experience, as well as my knowledge and working in the police. the police race action plan, published last year, aims to build trust with black communities.

one person who worked on the programme told us they had this experience... they want to remain anonymous because of their current role. i was treated differently to my white colleagues, by a lack of support being offered when the workload increased. it was openly questioned if black people were even needed to work on the plan. i increasingly felt my voice, and at times my lived and professional experience, were being ignored. they're just one of several people of colour who've raised serious concerns about discrimination at the unit, with some saying that their experiences were belittled and ignored. we've also seen documentation outlining other complaints from people of colour, with some raising serious questions about the credibility and the true intentions of the programme. the members that we've supported have outlined areas where they have been marginalised within the plan. they've been sidelined, at times they've almost been gaslit as well around some of the issues and almost saying that black people are sometimes

the problem and that they are loud and challenging. the national police chief council's chair told us, "we will be issuing a refreshed plan that i am confident will deliver the change our workforce and the communities we serve, need and deserve. i'm not aware of any official complaints or allegations relating to racism. however, i'm deeply saddened to hear of the experiences expressed in this report. anyone who carries toxic attitudes, be that racist, misogynist, homophobic or discriminatory, does not belong in policing." these latest allegations paint a picture of a body beset by problems, at a time when trust in policing amongst people of colour is a critical issue. the entire process left me completely disillusioned. black staff, in my opinion, were seen as troublemakers or difficult for providing a perspective from black people. sima kotecha, bbc news.

joining me now is shabnam chaudhri — former detective superintendent. thank you for being with us on the programme. it's astonishing the initiative that was designed to tackle racism actually accused of racist behaviour itself. if anything, thisjust racist behaviour itself. if anything, this just serves to underline quite how big a challenge this is. it’s underline quite how big a challenge this is. �* , . . ., underline quite how big a challenge this is. �*, . . . �*, this is. it's a huge challenge, it's really. really _ this is. it's a huge challenge, it's really, really frustrating, - really, really frustrating, disappointing, it comes at absolutely no surprise whatsoever. listening to the gentleman who wished to remain anonymous, it is the same feelings and emotions for black and asian officers are feeling and express consistently certainly throughout the 30 years that i served within policing. the same labels that you get, you are difficult, you are undermined and what we are trying to do here. and

this is a real opportunity for policing across the whole of the uk to actually come together to get this right and very disappointing. am i right in saying that you were initially approached to form some sort of part of this review, they asked for your contributions and later rescinded the offer stop why you believe that was the case? probably because they don't like the sound of my voice, the fact is i speak out, i will say exactly how it is in the problem with policing is that they are so arrogant. they think they know best. they don't listen to what people are actually telling them because actually what we say is not about causing trouble is actually about to ensure policing can use these —— communities are betterfor can use these —— communities are better for everyone and can can use these —— communities are betterfor everyone and can improve trust and confidence. i was approached, i was looking for to be part and parcel of the process and then for whatever reason the decision was made not to include me which was very disappointing because

i think i have a huge amount to bring to the people. and i think that whatever people are saying now clearly is not being listened to. and that is the issue, isn't it? the and pcc, said that we except policing still contains racism discrimination and bias in says we are ashamed of those traits and we apologise for them and are determined to change them. so this one big attempt to change them and you are saying at the moment is failing at the first hurdle. i5 you are saying at the moment is failing at the first hurdle.- failing at the first hurdle. is not helful, i failing at the first hurdle. is not helpful, i don't _ failing at the first hurdle. is not helpful, i don't think _ failing at the first hurdle. is not helpful, i don't think and - failing at the first hurdle. is not helpful, i don't think and i - failing at the first hurdle. is not helpful, i don't think and i do . helpful, i don't think and i do believe genuinely that they really want to make a change. they do want to make a difference. to policing internally as well to the external communities. but the problem they actually have got our these are senior leaders sitting around the table that are actually not listening to what they are being told and if they are not listening, then the rank and file are not going to listen. i think that the fact that the chief constable of police scotland came out very recently and

had finally admitted that his force is institutionally racist. i think thatis is institutionally racist. i think that is a good example to set for policing across the uk and i would hope the other forces will follow through because it actually is a first step in the right direction. one thing that is often raised that when we talk on the sort of challenges is that the people who are currently in those roles may find it very difficult to speak out. how do you overcome that challenge, should they be speaking to you may be former officers, people like yourself who have first—hand experience on what it is like, but perhaps have nothing to lose. you are not reliant on them for a job in the future with mike i spoke out when i was in policing 25 years ago so i am not scared to speak out now. i totally get why those within policing do not wish to speak out. they are scared they have become subjected to performance issues, isolation and intimidation and i think actually approach that external former officers who have either experienced, that have those lived experience, to speak to them,

to actually get a view on what they can do to support them to make changes is a really good move. but clearly that is not happening. the officers that they are using are not actual us into them and that is really hard for them to take. 50 really hard for them to take. so good to talk to you and thank you for sharing some of your insight there. former detective superintendent. had lines up for you next. hello there. we've had two types of weather across the uk today. blue, sunny skies like these and it was warm to where temperatures reached the mid 20s, parts of west scotland and western counties of northern ireland. or the second type of weather — cloud. we've had a lot of that across england, even into parts of east wales. indeed, parts of the midlands and eastern england only had temperatures about 11 degrees underneath the heart of this cloud through the afternoon. so extensive clouds been working in with these winds. and because the cloud has been about three times thicker than it was, for example, on tuesday, that's why it's been much more

reluctant to break up today. now, overnight tonight, the cloud willjust re—thicken and move back inland. indeed, as temperatures drop below ten degrees celsius as they will do underneath this cloud sheet, we're going to start to get quite extensive drizzle. so you might find some patches of drizzle across parts of east scotland, central and eastern areas of england, maybe even getting all the way across to east wales. so, for some, it is likely to be a damp start to the morning, thursday morning. the drizzle lasting for the first couple of hours, then it becomes drier later in the morning. much greater chance of seeing the cloud break up across western areas of the uk where if you do start cloudy, keep the faith, you'll get some sunshine. whereas across east scotland, eastern areas of england, particularly towards the north sea, you may well keep that cloud even into the afternoon. if that happens, it would be another cool day where thejune sunshine pops out. first day of summer. it's going to feel warm. temperatures quite widely getting into the 20s. now on friday, high pressure is still with us, but it looks like the clouds are going to be much thinner than recent days. and so you've got much better chance

of seeing sunny skies as we go through the day on friday. quite a cool breeze for east anglia, quite gusty winds towards the headlands of southern england. but in thejune sunshine, i think for most of us it's going to feel quite pleasant, quite a fresh feel to the day. temperatures again into the low 20s. on into the weekend, the high pressure is still with us to the north—west of the uk. like recent days, that high will be dragging in some clouds from the north atlantic and shoving it down the north sea. and so this weekend is probably going to be something of an east west split with the weather. western areas having the best of the sunshine and the highest temperatures getting into the low to mid 20s, again it will feel warm. whereas across eastern areas of the uk you are likely to come into some slightly thicker cloud at times and temperatures rather than being in the 20s, more likely to be in the teens. but still not bad where the sunshine pops out.

hello, i'm ben thompson. you're watching the context on bbc news. behind enemy lines— we speak to a ukrainian woman who crossed into russian—occupied territory to save her son. one of 19,000 children to have gone missing from ukraine. more on that story shortly, but first its time for sport, and for a full round—up, from the bbc sport centre,

here's marc edwards.