i'm in singapore where officials are discussing the top security challenges. the main subject is the tension between the us and china. speaking in finland, the latest country to join nato, us secretary of state antony blinken calls russia's invasion of ukraine "a strategic failure". hello, i'm ben thompson. welcome to bbc news now, three hours of live news, interviews and reaction. we begin in the uk where 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 the popular daytime show this morning — has been in the headlines after admitting to an "unwise but not illegal" relationship with a younger male colleague.

but this is also a story about the workplace culture at britain's biggest commercial broadcaster. so let's take a look at what's happened so far. two weeks ago, schofield announced he was leaving this morning after 20 years. he suggested 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 issued a statement, saying she had asked schofield about the allegations when rumours emerged in 2020, but he had denied they were true. and now we understand that next week 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 0k 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. there any chance phillip schofield might return to tv? 0ur media and arts correspondent david sillito gave us his assessment. watch for the first two minutes of the interview and you can't imagine him working in television again from this particular position he's in at the moment. he lied to his family, he lied to his employers, he lied to his agents. the initial moment when

he said, "i'm going to step down from this morning," was because he said he had become the headline but when he reveals the relationship with a much younger man, itv brought the relationship to an end, he will not be presenting the british soap awards, he will not be presenting any more prime tv programmes with them. he is probably accurate when he says that his tv career is over. it's very hard to see where he comes back from now. this is not over as a story. meanwhile, the programme phillip schofield used to present — this morning — continues on the network. after showing the bbc�*s interview to viewers, his former colleague alison hammond was emotional.

i'm finding it difficult because i love phillip schofield and i still love phillip schofield and i still love him — love phillip schofield and i still love him but it's difficult because what _ love him but it's difficult because what he's — love him but it's difficult because what he's done is wrong. we are struggling — what he's done is wrong. we are struggling to process everything. there are some difficult things to hearin there are some difficult things to hear in that interview. if you've been affected by any of the issues raised, there is a list of organisations that can provide help. it's on the bbc action line website. some breaking news here in the uk about material demanded by an inquiry into the government's handling of covid—i9. former prime minister borisjohnson says he has sent "all unredacted whatsapp" messages directly to the inquiry�*s chairwoman. in a letter to baroness hallet, he also says he'd like to do the same with material from a previous phone discarded due to security reasons. the inquiry is due to begin public hearings in two weeks' time.

0ur political correpondent ione wells has the latest. the cabinet office just yesterday launched a judicial review, essentially a legal challenge to the covid inquiry saying they do not feel it is right for them to hand over what they have described as unambiguously irrelevant material. like those containing personal or private matters of ministers or officials so they have sought legal action against the covid inquiry. the covid inquiry has repeatedly said they think it's up to them to decide what materials relevant as part of their inquiry. 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 it directly to the inquiry himself. he doesn't however have some of the notebooks which he had given to the cabinet

office which they are also hoping to see in an unredacted form. he has asked the cabinet office to hand those 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. that's because messages on 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 and since then. he has said in his letter to the inquiry he is hoping to get access again to that phone and has asked the cabinet office for advice on this so that 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. 0nly yesterday evening, the science minister george freeman told the bbc�*s question time he thought courts would rule any inquiry�*s favour. let's turn to international affairs. the tense relationship between the us and china are taking centre stage at age's biggest annual security summit. it's known as the shangri la summit — named after the hotel which hosts the event. 0ur correspondent is there for us. it's not a formal summit, it's just a gathering, a weekend of speeches, backroom dealings, delicate diplomacy, but we all know that's where the real work gets done, isn't it? it where the real work gets done, isn't it? , ., �* , ., ., .,

it? it is and we've seen a lot of handshaking — it? it is and we've seen a lot of handshaking and _ it? it is and we've seen a lot of handshaking and pats - it? it is and we've seen a lot of handshaking and pats on - it? it is and we've seen a lot of handshaking and pats on the l it? it is and we've seen a lot of. handshaking and pats on the back it? it is and we've seen a lot of- handshaking and pats on the back and cocktails happening, this is where the deals get ironed out before the big ministers arrive. china's general li has declined an offer to meet with us secretary of defence lloyd austin. that's something they hoped they would see and a sign that some of the tensions between the us and china but it seems they are far apart on taiwan and trade.- apart on taiwan and trade. that's the elephant _ apart on taiwan and trade. that's the elephant in _ apart on taiwan and trade. that's the elephant in the _ apart on taiwan and trade. that's the elephant in the room, - apart on taiwan and trade. that's the elephant in the room, the - the elephant in the room, the growing tensions between the us and china and it's one of the things people there will be discussing. indeed. that is something we were discussing. it was said that the countries represented in this region

find themselves very vulnerable to the tension between these two superpowers and really not wanting to take sides, like the devil and the deep blue sea. we are looking for signs here to see any meetings that are taking place, the keynote speaker is is's minister anthony albanese psy, he's probably expected to talk about that more later tonight but we are looking for mid level meetings to take place between the us and china and there is hope that they could iron something out for presidentjobe —— presidentjoe biden and xijinping to meet later this year. it’s biden and xi jinping to meet later this ear. �* , , ., this year. it's interesting what we are seeing. _ this year. it's interesting what we are seeing, these _ this year. it's interesting what we are seeing, these alliances - this year. it's interesting what we are seeing, these alliances going | this year. it's interesting what we i are seeing, these alliances going on over the world, nothing new, but the rhetoric that comes out of it is about these groupings trying to wield more power on an international

stage. it's interesting, china accusing the west of lingering cold war mentality, they are relating to the five eyes security sharing summit. but they say that is a legacy of the past.— summit. but they say that is a legacy of the past. they do and it's hard to see — legacy of the past. they do and it's hard to see how— legacy of the past. they do and it's hard to see how they _ legacy of the past. they do and it's hard to see how they will _ legacy of the past. they do and it's| hard to see how they will overcome this. one interesting stock that secretary austin made before he came here was to japan —— one interesting stop. he arrived a day after north korea had tried to launch a satellite. it did it unsuccessfully but there is no a much stronger alliance between south korea and japan and the us in terms of what they share in real time in terms of intelligence but it shows you how important these relationships are until something happens, some sort of resolution happens, and sometimes they do happen at meetings like

this. it might not be the big message we get this weekend but it might be a start for something we do see down the road.— see down the road. monica, thank ou, live see down the road. monica, thank you. live from _ see down the road. monica, thank you, live from that _ see down the road. monica, thank you, live from that summit - see down the road. monica, thank you, live from that summit in - you, live from that summit in singapore. some to some other stories making news in the uk. a teenagerfrom essex is due to be sentenced in court today after pleading guilty to planning terror attacks. 19—year—old matthew king admitted carrying out surveillance at police stations, railway stations, and an british army barracks in london. the rmt union says it regrets the inconvenience caused by its latest round of strikes, but it says the dispute will continue until it has a fair pay deal. many operators have a limited service today and there's another strikes planned by train drivers in the aslef union planned for tomorrow. the government says it's made fair and reasonable pay offers. a local safety group says a cheese rolling event puts a strain on emergency services.

hundreds of competitors chased a cheese down coopers hill, near gloucester, on monday. some people suffered serious injuries during the annual event. the tewkesbury borough safety group says emergency services will no longer staff the event until organisers came up with a safety plan. you're live with bbc news. antony blinken — america's top diplomat — has described president putin's invasion of ukraine as a strategic failure for russia. his comments came as the us secretary of state arrived in finland, months after it became nato's newest member. mr blinken also insisted that a strong ukraine — in control of its own territory — was a prerequisite for talks with russia, warning against fake peace through a ceasefire. let's have a listen at some of what he had to say. 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. ukraine's president zelensky has threatened potential prosecutions of local officials if there is any repeat of the failure to open air raid shelters which contributed to the deaths of three people on wednesday evening. a nine—year—old girl, her mother and another woman died, after trying to use a shelter during a russian missile strike, only to find it was closed. mr zelensky said the shelters had

to be available and accessible 2a hours a day. ukraine says there were more russian air strikes overnight, which triggered countrywide alerts. these pictures show people taking shelter in a subway station. the ukrainian government says more than 30 drones and missiles were shot down. live now to kyiv and our correspondent james waterhouse. this is the force attack this week, isn't it? 17 attacks launched on the capital this month but ukraine keen to point out that the defences are working. to point out that the defences are workinu. , ., , ., ., , working. they are, there is no doubt about that- — working. they are, there is no doubt about that- a _ working. they are, there is no doubt about that. a colleague _ working. they are, there is no doubt about that. a colleague filmed - working. they are, there is no doubtj about that. a colleague filmed some of the air defences last night and it's almost a bazaar fireworks display —— bizarre fireworks display where you can see projectiles lighting up the sky in deep orange at times. this is the kind of

cocktail people are trying to sleep with that night, air raid sirens followed by explosions, is a disturbing night for so many people where they are urged to go down to shelters and it seems yesterday that three people died because of a public air raid shelter being locked. president zelensky didn't hold back in his criticism of vitali klitschko, the mayor of kyiv. they are not political allies, they are different beasts with different loyalties and priorities. president zelensky said we thought we had russia, but it turns out we have internal enemies as well. vitali klitschko has just responded, internal enemies as well. vitali klitschko hasjust responded, in short saying, yes i'm responsible, but it's the president who installed the district officials who are responsible for the air raid shelter, so yes, i'm responsible, but it's not my fault was the crux of his response. it was quite a bit

of his response. it was quite a bit of ugly political fallout from what was a deeply tragic incident where three people including a mother and her nine—year—old daughter were killed from falling debris as they tried to take cover. russia seems to be sticking with... seem to be relentless with its strategy of targeting ukrainian cities and there is always the danger for people that they get used to the sirens but there are times when innocent people find themselves on the sharp end of this destruction.— this destruction. particularly if some of those _ this destruction. particularly if some of those attacks - this destruction. particularly if some of those attacks come i this destruction. particularly if - some of those attacks come during daylight hours. what do you make of what we heard from america's top diplomat antony blinken speaking in finland, he said a strong ukraine in control of its own territory really has to be a prerequisite for any sort of talks with russia? he has

warned against compromise, the idea that there might be a fake settlement, a fake peace deal or a fake ceasefire. how is that being viewed where you are? i fake ceasefire. how is that being viewed where you are?— fake ceasefire. how is that being viewed where you are? i think that's an emphasis. _ viewed where you are? i think that's an emphasis, emphasising - viewed where you are? i think that's an emphasis, emphasising of - an emphasis, emphasising of ukraine's long—standing position. what president zelensky believes is that if you make any kind of territorial concession to russia, there are no guarantees that vladimir putin. just there. it essentially rewards the illegal invasion of ukraine. and if russia has any kind of physical foothold in ukraine, it gives likelihood to the chance of further aggression down the line. it's a stance that kyiv hasn't really moved on but there are also military realities here. there is a counteroffensive that is getting much talked about, much

anticipated, much hoped for, but the chances of ukraine repelling russia completely as it would dearly love to do remain slim at this moment in time for the simple reason it is still the underdog and russia has extensively dug in in anticipation of such a ukrainian attack. i think what ukrainian forces will be hoping to do is put moscow in a difficult enough position that it may well make some kind of concession. the path to any kind of compromise and any kind of deal as of the last 15 months is still unclear but i still don't think we are going to see a change in the official stance of ukraine of surrendering any kind of territory because what president zelensky wants to do is notjust win this war and repel russia completely, but also securing ukraine's long—term security on issues ofjoining the nato alliance or the european union but he has failed to get any kind of concrete

guarantees are from platitudes such as ukraine belongs in these blocks but we are not going to say when. james, thank you for your thoughts, live in kyiv. 0ne james, thank you for your thoughts, live in kyiv. one line to bring you relating to international diplomacy, we have just had an update thatjens stoltenberg, the head of nato, will head to turkey on saturday. that for the inauguration of president erdogan. the election that was finally found in favour of president erdogan after a tight run—off. he will begin his new term in office, but inauguration beginning on saturday. there was a lot of controversy around how tight that vote was and whether president erdogan had the power of the media on his side and visibility given that he will begin his third term. president erdogan�*s inauguration on

saturday, we are told thatjens stoltenberg, the head of nato, will visit for that. also i like to bring you relating to the bbc, this after the chairman richard sharpe resigned from the corporation earlier this year. that was relating to a report finding that he breached government code for public appointments relating to whether he facilitated alone for the then prime minister borisjohnson. news coming in that dame closs stephens has been appointed as the acting chair of the bbc. there was a lot of controversy around this, whether the government should be in a position to appoint an acting chair of the bbc, but we are told that this lady, dame closs stephens has been appointed as the acting chairfor stephens has been appointed as the acting chair for replacing stephens has been appointed as the acting chairfor replacing richard sharpe who resigned from his position earlier this year. the

government has said that a government has said that a government process will begin for a full appointment. we know that richard sharpe will step down later this month. more on that for you as we get it. let's turn to events in the united states. chuck schumer and celebrated the deal that stops america defaulting on its debts onjune the 5th. so what is in that deal? it suspends the debt ceiling until 2025, meaning the debt ceiling until 2025, meaning 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. the budget will increase to $886 billion, up by 3%. unspent covid funds will be returned with one estimate suggesting the government will recover around $30 billion. welfare benefits will be tinkered with but there will be no major overhaul. there will also be

some funds to help the internal revenue service and enforce the tax code on america's richest. it will be made easierfor code on america's richest. it will be made easier for renewable projects to get licenses. there was a sigh of relief from central banks around the world after the senate approved that bill to lift... days before defaulting would have caused disruption to financial markets. 36 voted against, most of them republicans. it has already been up proved in the house of representatives and will be signed into law by president biden —— been approved in house of representatives. he described it as a big win for the american people. it is what the leading democrat chuck schumer had to say. now, democrats are feeling very good tonight. we have saved the country from the scourge of default. even though there were some on the other side who wanted default, 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. more headlines coming up for you in a moment. you're watching bbc news now. hello, 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 had some pretty warm air. this time is to the west and it has been pushing over cold seas and forming lots of cloud, especially through the north sea and on the edge of the high pressure, the strong winds have filtered the cloud across many areas and kept it coming in, stopping it from breaking up, but a 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 coasts 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, pollen levels 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, especially central and northern scotland, even drizzle around the western and northern isles potentially, but most will be clear and for england and wales which saw temperatures of 9 and 10 celsius last night, tomorrow morning could be 3 or 4 celsius. saturday will be sunny for the majority. cloud to northern scotland, patchy cloud here and

there, close to 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. into sunday, high pressure shifts 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. one or two will hold onto that, but 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 towards eastern areas this coming week but with high pressure, it stays dry and certainly across many western areas it stays sunny. bye— bye.

this is bbc news. the headlines. former tv star, philip schofield, says he feels nothing but sadness and regret. after admitting to lying about an affair with a younger colleague. after admitting to lying about an affair with a younger colleague. borisjohnson says he wants to send all communications requested from the covid inquiry — after the government appealed to a judge to halt it