as well as democrats in the house and democrats in the senate, we are not defaulting. as the brics summit in south africa nears, questions over whether president putin will be allowed to attend. we're going to start with a bit of breaking news about with a bit of breaking news material demanded by�* inquiry about material demanded by an inquiry about the government's handling of the pandemic. boris johnson says he has sent all redacted whatsapp messages directly to the inquiry�*s chairwoman. in a letter to baroness hallett, he said he would like to do the same with material from a previous he would like to do the same with materialfrom a previous phone discarded due to security reasons. the inquiry is due to begin public hearings in two weeks.

live now to westminister and our political correpondent ione wells. a different response from boris johnson to the government in terms of the demands of the inquiry. that's right, and they have had different responses over the last week or so on this issue. the cabinet officejust week or so on this issue. the cabinet office just yesterday launched a judicial review, essentially a legal challenge, to the covid inquiry saying they don't feel it is right for them to hand over what they have described as unambiguously irrelevant material, for example, those containing conversations about personal or private matters of ministers or advisers or officials, so they have sought legal action against the covid inquiry. the covid inquiry has repeatedly said they think it is up to them to decide what materials relevant as part of their inquiry. the intervention by borisjohnson todayis the intervention by borisjohnson today is effectively him saying that

he is willing to hand over the unredacted whatsapp messages which the covid inquiry had asked for directly to the inquiry himself. he doesn't though have some of the notebooks, for example, which he'd given to the cabinet office which they are also hoping to see unredacted. he has asked the cabinet office to handle is over and says that if they don't, he would like them back so he can hand them over himself. these whatsapp messages aren't the full range of whatsapp messages that the inquiry wants to see and that's because messages on boris johnson's see and that's because messages on borisjohnson�*s phone until april boris johnson's phone until april 2021 borisjohnson�*s phone until april 2021 are not currently available, they are on an old phone of his which he had to stop using due to a security breach where his mobile number was made publicly available, meaning that he hasn't been able to turn on that phone since then. he has said in his letter to the inquiry he is hoping to get access to that phone and has asked the cabinet office for advice on this so

they would be able to also access some of those messages. this is all very tricky for the government, just the day after they launched this judicial review, there also hasn't been a huge amount of optimism about the government winning this legal challenge, only yesterday evening the science minister george freeman told the bbc�*s question time he thought courts would rule in the inquiry�*s favour. i think it'll clear up give people confidence, even if all this achieves is to make very clear that the inquiry will treat with absolute confidentiality anything private and we can get on with it but i think it's really important that the rules of this are made clear... george freeman also said it was actually worth testing if officials had a right to privacy because that's at the heart of it, isn't it? that's right, he feels that even though it's likely that courts won't rule in the government's favour,

it's worth testing whether the government could claim it has a right to privacy, to stop some of these unredacted messages being put out there to the inquiry. having spoken to some people within the cabinet office, they point to the fact that this is not to do with messages that are about decision making, but messages exchanged between colleagues and in some cases friends to do with personal matters like illness or people's children, which they fear being disclosed to the inquiry which has dozens of people working on it. some have made the point including borisjohnson that it could be handed over to the inquiry to look at and decide what is relevant. that wouldn't necessarily mean all of these messages would have to be published, but i think there is still a concern from the government's perspective that they feel that if their lawyers are saying some of this is irrelevant, they shouldn't have to disclose it in the first place stop this isn't a battle that seems to be going away anytime soon although we

could in the next couple of days or a week have an update on what the result of this challenges from the government and whether the inquiry will be able hand them over —— be able to demand they hand them over. one of the nation's best known presenters phillip schofield says he's "lost everything" after admitting to lying about an affair with a young colleague. the anchor, who hosted popular daytime show this morning, has been in the headlines in the uk after admitting to an "unwise but not illegal" relationship with a younger male colleague. let's take a closer look at what's happened so far in the last few weeks with the story. two weeks ago, schofield announced that he was leaving this morning after 20 years, suggesting resigning had not been his choice. in a statement he said, "i understand that itv has decided the current situation can't go on". a week later, he admitted

to the affair with the younger colleague and left itv completely. two days after that, his co—star, holly willoughby, gave her reaction, saying that she had asked schofield about the allegations when rumours emerged in 2020, but he had denied they were true. and earlier this week, reports started circulating that mps are to question itv executives over the developments to see how the issue had been handled by the organisation. in his first interview since resigning from itv, mr schofield says he desperately regrets the relationship, but insists it was consensual and he strenuously denies claims that he groomed the man. he's been speaking to the bbc�*s media editor amol rajan. phillip, come on in. good to see you. thank you. phillip schofield granted this interview because he wanted to say sorry, he wanted to show contrition, and he wanted to correct some of what he sees as the false narratives in the public domain over the past week. are you feeling ok to do this? you're feeling strong enough

to do this interview? yeah, i have to. schofield described the enormous toll that recent days have taken on him. and it is relentless. and it is day after day after day after day. and if you do that, if you don't think that that is going to have the most catastrophic effect on someone�*s mind... what do you... do you want me to die? because that's where i am. i have lost...everything. schofield says he is extremely concerned for the welfare of the young man with whom he had an extramarital affair. there is an innocent person here who didn't do anything wrong. who is...vulnerable... ..and probably feels like i do. and...

ijust have to say... ..stop with him. ok, with me. but stop with him. leave him alone now. on the central question of whether or not he groomed this young man, schofield is emphatic in his denial. it was a totally innocent picture, a totally innocent twitter follow — of which i follow 11,400 people — and...and then it was a completely innocent backwards—and—forwards over a period of time about a job, about careers. you know? i mean... you do that... what's wrong with that? what's wrong with talking to someone no matter, you know, what age they are? does that mean that if, you know, if you are... if you're following anyone on twitter that you absolutely don't talk to anybody else or you don't give advice? attention will now turn to the culture of this morning, and specifically whether or not itv bosses handled it appropriately. dame carolyn mccall, the boss of itv, is due to be

questioned by mps next week. amol rajan, bbc news. with more on this, i'm joined by our media and arts correspondent david sillito. this interview change how phillip schofield has emerged from all this? you recognise the impact, he is clearly a man in a very fragile state and wants this to come to an end in some way. he said that he has faced weeks and weeks of being front—page news, the toll on him and also the young man who he had a relationship which he described as unwise but not in —— not illegal, he is feeling remorse and guilt about

the impact it has had and wants to express that but the reason to do the interview is also to ask questions because mps will be questioning itv about what looks like a potential abuse of power, safeguarding issues and phillip schofield was asked about when did this all began, what was the first moment and it did begin with a school visit, the boy was 15 at the time, he said nothing happened, there was no meeting, but it was followed up by a twitter follow, a few bits of chitchat about a career and he said that ended up with work experience and then him getting a job at this morning but there will be more questions, was it as innocent as he was saying? and what did itv know? it said there were rumours that it investigated, that

at the end of 2019, beginning of 2020, i thought it was that investigation? phillip schofield says both of them were questioned, both denied it, he said what more could they have done? so he's not pointing the finger at itv in terms of culpability. so many rumours around when did they begin, where they investigated thoroughly, and you've got to remember he described the first sexual encounter is taking place in a dressing room, something taking place in a workplace with a colleague who even now he describes as vulnerable. white my preferred reaction from some of his former colleagues and were discussing the story on this morning, alison hammond was emotional. i'm just finding it really painful because obviously...

i loved phillip schofield and it's weird because i still love phillip schofield. however, what he has done is wrong. he's admitted it, he said sorry but i'm really... i mean, as a family we are all really struggling to process everything. that was the emotional response from his former colleague alison hammond. many of us will remember him as a children's presenter, he's been in the industry for years. he says it is unwise but not illegal, but this at the very least was naive, wasn't it? it at the very least was naive, wasn't it? ., , , ., , at the very least was naive, wasn't it? it raises many serious questions- _ it? it raises many serious questions. he _ it? it raises many serious questions. he said - it? it raises many serious questions. he said it - it? it raises many serious i questions. he said it would it? it raises many serious - questions. he said it would be different if it had been a young woman, he said there is homophobia in all of this, but essentially any story that begins with a story about a school visit does raise questions, raise uncomfortable questions about the power relationship, what actually took place in those messages. a0 years he's been on

television, more than 20 years at this morning and for the programme itself, a minute here, a minute and a half they are, this is the first time that they have addressed this on—air in any detail and discussed this, given that there has been so much alleged about what was happening behind the cameras, what the atmosphere was like, what people may or may not have known, so it's asking uncomfortable questions and for a programme that takes pride in being the place where people bare their souls and where these issues are discussed in public, it's an interesting moment for the programme at the moment. interesting moment for the programme at the moment-— at the moment. that's right, david, more questions _ at the moment. that's right, david, more questions raised _ at the moment. that's right, david, more questions raised in _ at the moment. that's right, david, more questions raised in more - more questions raised in more answers to come. thank you. if you've been affected by any of the issues raised in that interview with phillip schofield, there is a list of organisations which can provide

help. go to the bbc action line website. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. some other stories making the news in the uk. the rmt union says it regrets the inconvenience caused by the later strikes but says the dispute will continue until it has a fair pay deal. it means many operators will only have a limited service, and there's another strike by train drivers in the aslef union planned for tomorrow. ministers say they've made fair and reasonable pay offers. a local group say cheese rolling event puts a strain on emergency services. people suffered injuries during the event which attracts spectators from around the world.

farmers in northern ireland are warning crops are being affected by changing weather conditions. they planted earlier this year but now there has not been enough rain. last year there was a shortage of potatoes because of dry conditions across europe. you are live with bbc news. us secretary of state antony blinken has arrived in finland for an official visit, emphasizing the united states' commitment to strengthening alliances in the region. the visit comes approximately two months after finland joined nato as its newest member.secretary blinken also commented on the situation in ukraine, expressing disappointment in russia's failed attempts to bring

a resolution to the conflict. let us take a listen of some of the remarks he made just few minutes ago. today what i want to do is set out this and the many other ways poutine's war of aggression against ukraine has a strategic failure, greatly diminishing russia's power, its interests and its influence for years to come. and i'll also share our vision of the path to a just and lasting peace. when you look at president putin's long strategic aims and objectives, there is no question, russia is significantly worse off today than it was before its full—scale invasion of ukraine, militarily, economically, geopolitically. i am nowjoined by rafael loss, expert in european security for the european council on foreign relations. how do you think that speech will have gone down in finland? while a lot of it was addressing the world, especially at the beginning it was about reinforcing the ties with finland. , . ,., ., , finland. very much so, finland is the latest — finland. very much so, finland is the latest addition _ finland. very much so, finland is the latest addition to _ finland. very much so, finland is the latest addition to the - finland. very much so, finland is the latest addition to the nato i the latest addition to the nato alliance, submitted its application last year following russia's invasion of ukraine, so there has been an intense diplomatic effort by

the united states and other allies to integrate finland into the alliance and welcome it to this family that spans the atlantic ocean and provided european security for the last 70 years and support for ukraine for the past 16 months. how siunificant ukraine for the past 16 months. how significant was _ ukraine for the past 16 months. how significant was antony blinken's visit to finland?— visit to finland? antony blinken visited the _ visit to finland? antony blinken visited the nordic _ visit to finland? antony blinken visited the nordic countries - visit to finland? antony blinken visited the nordic countries thisj visited the nordic countries this week, he went to sweden, then norway and finally he made his way to finland. all of this is in preparation of a nato summit in vilnius about ties that the us is seeking to strengthen with these countries. he also discussed economic, diplomatic and military engagement with countries of the arctic circle, his visit is about strengthening transatlantic ties.

antony blinken reinforce the importance of those, he talked about it being a new era and he said it would be unthinkable before russia's invasion. how much do you think that was the case? it's interesting to look at finland's attitude towards nato before and after russia's invasion. ., ., ., ., , invasion. finland 'oining nato is unthinkable— invasion. finland joining nato is unthinkable before _ invasion. finland joining nato is unthinkable before this - invasion. finland joining nato isj unthinkable before this invasion invasion. finland joining nato is. unthinkable before this invasion by russia of ukraine and it was largely due to public pressure on the finnish government that finally the application was submitted so the war thatis application was submitted so the war that is happening in ukraine that russia started in ukraine nine years ago but intensified in february of 2022, has been part of european security discussions and one of the results is finland and hopefully soon sweden's membership of nato. fin soon sweden's membership of nato. on the subject of sweden, given that sweden is next tojoin, what difference do you think that will

make to the strength of european allies and the position of russia geopolitically? allies and the position of russia seepolitically?_ allies and the position of russia u-eooliticall ? ., ., ., ., geopolitically? prior to finland and sweden's application _ geopolitically? prior to finland and sweden's application to _ geopolitically? prior to finland and sweden's application to join - geopolitically? prior to finland and sweden's application to join the . sweden's application to join the nato alliance, it focused on securing the three baltic nations, estonia, latvia and lithuania from the prospect of russian military aggression. that's a difficult military problem to solve because there is only a small land bridge between eastern poland and the gap. with finland's accession, it encompasses more of the baltic sea which makes reinforcing front—line troops much easier than before and so from a russian perspective, it complicates the military picture in northern europe, a lot of russian ground forces are being sent to

ukraine to fight this war of aggression but we can certainly expect russia to posture its forces after the war ends at some point and to present a growing and sustained threat to european security order. thank you for your analysis. scientists say they're excited by the results of a trial of a blood test which can detect different types of cancers. a study led by oxford university found it was able to correctly detect 50 types of the disease and identify two—thirds of cancers among 5,000 people who went to their gp with suspected symptoms. our medical editor fergus walsh reports. a blood test which could detect cancer and rule it out with very high accuracy would be revolutionary. this test has been developed by californian company grail. it can detect tiny fragments

of cancerous dna in the bloodstream, which have broken off from a tumour. the trial involved more than 5,000 patients from england and wales who'd gone to their gp with suspected cancer symptoms. a positive blood test result meant the patient was likely to have cancer. tumours were confirmed 75% of the time. a negative test meant cancer was very unlikely, but did not rule it out completely. where cancer was correctly found, the test was able to pinpoint its origin in the body in 85% of cases. the oxford professor who led the trial, and is presenting the results at a conference in chicago, says the blood test is still a work in progress — but its ability to pinpoint the type of cancer is exciting. 85% of the time, when we found

a cancer, it told us where that cancer was. so in future we could use the test accurately to get the right invasive investigational scan first time and speed up diagnosis. you'll only know if you were in the test group if the test detects potential signs of cancer. often, cancer patients present with only vague symptoms like unexpected weight loss orabdominal pain — so the blood test could help spare them unnecessary investigations. a major trial of the grail test is under way across the nhs — 1a0,000 healthy volunteers are having annual blood tests to see whether it can detect potential signs of cancer. the first results are due next year. fergus walsh, bbc news. to washington, where the us senate has approved a bill to lift the upper limit

on government borrowing. it comes days before a potential, unprecedented default on the country's debt, which could have caused widespread disruption to the world's financial markets. the senate vote had a degree of bipartisan support — with 63 votes in favour, and 36 opposed — although most republicans voted against. it had already been approved in the house of representatives and will now be signed into law by president biden. he described it as a big win for the economy and the american people. here's how the leading democrat in the senate, chuck schumer, reacted to the vote. now, democrats are feeling very good tonight. we have saved the country from the scorch of default. —— scourge of default. even though there were some on the other side who wanted to fault, wanted to lead us to default. we may be a little tired, but we did it, so we're very, very happy. default was the giant sword hanging over america's head. senate majority leader, chuck schumer, there welcoming the outcome of the vote praising

the work of democrats. here's a reminder of what's in the deal. firstly, suspending the debt ceiling until 2025. that means the government can borrow more money to pay its bills for the next two years. there will also be a ten—year freeze on spending except for defence, whose budget will increase to $886 billion. unspent covid funds will be returned. the congressional budget office estimates that this will amount to the government recovering about $30 billion. welfare benefits will be slightly tinkered with, but there'll be no major overhaul. there will be funds to help the internal revenue service enforce the tax code on america's richest. and new rules will make it easier for both fossil fuel and renewable energy projects to get licences. the white house says president biden is fine after he fell over at a public event in colorado.

the white house later issued a statement saying mr biden was fine, and that he'd tripped over a sandbag which had been left on the stage. it happened at a graduation ceremony for the us air force academy, as you can see, the president was helped back to his feet, but returned to his seat unassisted. for a forafairfew of for a fairfew of you, it for a fair few of you, it was for a fairfew of you, it was a for a fair few of you, it was a cloudy start to summer, contrast to the last few years where high pressure has been to the east of us. we've dried on some pretty warm air. this time is to the west and it has been pushing over a cold season forming lots of cloud, especially through the north sea and on the edge of the high pressure, the strong winds have filtered the cloud and across many areas and kept it coming in, stopping it from breaking up coming in, stopping it from breaking up but a sudden change in wind direction today coming from norway is bringing these clear skies so the early cloud continues to break up at

the moment, a lot more sunshine around including the eastern coasts. there will be a bit of patchy cloud here and there and some of the coast of east anglia and the english channel might take a while to see some sunshine. bit of a small chance of a shower over the highlands of scotland but most will be dry, temperatures down a little bit in some western areas, up a bit towards the east even though it feels cool in the breeze. wherever you are, the sun will be strong overhead regardless of the temperature, temperatures in england and wales continuing to rise. clear skies into the evening means it will turn cool very quickly, there will be patchy low cloud, more to central and northern scotland, even drizzle around the western and northern isles potentially, but most will be clear and fog england and wales which saw temperatures of 9 celsius and 10 celsius last night, tomorrow morning could be 3 celsius or a celsius. saturday will be sunny for the majority. cloud to northern scotland, patchy cloud here and

there was eastern coasts but overall sunnier than we have had and the wind is coming down a little bit to the south and east which means it will feel warmer here, all of us seeing temperatures climbing a degree or two. sunday, seeing temperatures climbing a degree ortwo. sunday, high seeing temperatures climbing a degree or two. sunday, high pressure shift is a little bit putting the flow of air around the top of it back down the north sea into play again so we are likely to see the return of low cloud, especially in the morning across counties of scotland and eastern england. there will still be a lot of sunshine. a bit more cloud to the far west of scotland and pleasant in the sunshine. more than the way of sunshine. more than the way of sunshine towards eastern areas this coming week but with high pressure, it stays dry and certainly across many western areas it stays sunny. bye—bye.

food commodity prices hit their lowest level in two years so why are prices in our shops still climbing? and the us and taiwan signing a new trade deal sparking a fresh warning from china which considers taiwan part of its territory. hello and welcome to world business report,

i'm tadhg enright. food commodity