this is bbc news. a new video emerges of tory activists partying during the uk's lockdown — the metropolitan police says it's "aware" of the footage. it was almost like one rule for them and anotherfor it was almost like one rule for them and another for the rest of the country, and its upsetting. a day of national mourning to clout in pakistan for those who died in a boat off the coast of greece. the us secretary of state begins talks with his chinese counterpart in beijing — amid tensions between the superpowers. "i'm certain i've done nothing wrong" — scotland's former first minister, nicola sturgeon, responds after being arrested and released without charge in connection with the snp finances inevestigation

hello i'm vishala sri—pathma. the levelling up and housing secretary michael gove has apologised on behalf of the government for the �*partygate' video which has emerged. it shows conservative party staff enjoying drinks and dancing at a christmas gathering at their headquarters in december 2020 — a time when social distancing restrictions were in place. london's metropolitan police service has said it is "aware of" and "considering" the footage. mr gove said the event was �*indefensible' and apologised �*unreservedly�* as helen catt reports. 2020 was the year we saw this, and this, as people accepted strict curbs on their daily lives that the government said were necessary to keep them safe. but in december in a basement in conservative party headquarters, this... a christmas party, note the festive jumper, dancing and booze. socialising indoors with anyone except your own household or support bubble was banned, some at the party seemed worried that their event might

be caught on camera. instagram live! the levelling up secretary said he was sorry it had happened. as we all know, there have been police investigations into what happened in downing street, but putting that to one side, on a personal level, i would like to apologise to people for this behaviour, it is unacceptable and indefensible. in december 2020, andrew newton was shielding with his daughter who has cerebral palsy. this video that has come out today is a kick in the teeth for those of us that have been fighting for our children and our people we are caring for that don't have a voice and then to hear that these people in the party have been elevated now to a position in the house of lords, where they make decisions, shows that they are actually even further away from us. the party was organised by the campaign team for then london

mayoral candidate shaun bailey who hasjust been made a peer in borisjohnson�*s resignation honours. when a photo of it appeared two years ago he apologised. he is not in the video but his campaign manager ben mallet is. he also received an honour, and there are calls for both of them to lose them. there also seems to be a mocking of the rules that is going on in the video, where people up and down the country were making sacrifices to follow the rules that were imposed, and yet again you get this one rule it seems for those who were in government and another for everybody else. the metropolitian police previously investigated this event and decided not to take any further action. a spokesperson from the force said they were aware of the footage and were considering it. the conservatives say disciplinary action was taken against four people. the government wants to move on from partygate, this video shows how difficult that may still be. lots of reaction to this story today.

a little earlier i spoke to charlotte hodge whose husband died with covid in 2021. it was me and my husband and our two children who were aged two and 11 at the time. and my husband was classed as extremely vulnerable, he had a genetic disorder, so he had emphysema. we did everything by the book, we had to leave my mum on her own, spent about 16 weeks just completely in the house on our own. we did everything the government told us to do that they didn't do. did that impact your contact with your husband during that time and when he fell ill? no, because we were really, really strict over what we did so we basically didn't see anyone,

we had no contact with anyone. we were just confined to the house and the garden, just the four of us. this video that has now emerged of these tory activists partying, it would seem by this video, how does that make you feel? disgusted. these were their rules, they brought these rules in and blatantly disregarded them. they made a mockery of them, it was almost like one rule for them and another for the rest of the country. it's upsetting and it makes me angry. it is ok for them to say sorry, it is just words. it's a word, it is not going to bring anyone back. the whole thing was just handled

so badly from day one. and hundreds of thousands of people now, if you go to london, you look at all the names on the covid memorial wall, my husband, his name is on there, with over 200,000 other people and that should never ever have happened. barrister adam wagner explained to us how the legal process will play out in the coming weeks. it is difficult to know because it depends what they have done already, if they have already taken statements, it is possible whether anybody who was there gave a no comment statement at which case they would have been left with only the photograph which might not be enough to give a fixed penalty notice. alternatively they gave misleading statements like i don't know. a lot will depend on what has happened

already. everstart will depend on what has happened already. ever start an investigation afresh i would have thought they would send them questionnaires because that is how they dealt with the downing street practice and then they will decide whether to give a fixed penalty notice which would be in the region of £200, something like that. i very much doubt there will be prosecutions unless people do not pay their fixed penalty notices because that is not how the met have been dealing with these cases. pakistan's prime minister, shehbaz sharif, has called for immediate action against people traffickers after the boat disaster on wednesday off southern greece. nearly 80 bodies have been found so far and hundreds of migrants, including pakistanis, remain missing, syrians and egyptians are also among those unaccounted for. pakistani officials say they have arrested several people, including an alleged smuggler, from pakistani—administered kashmir. with more on this with anbarasan ethirajan, south asia regional editor. thank you forjoining us, it is

going to be hard for the pakistani authorities to clamp down on the smugglers, how are they getting on? pakistani officials say they have arrested several people including one of what they described as a mastermind of this human smuggling operation and he was believed to have sent some people on this boat, but of course it is a very difficult task for the pakistani government itself because this is an international network and they operate in different forms, for example one father whose son was on the boat who was missing, he said the boat who was missing, he said the agent promised a good job in europe but then they ended up on this overcrowded trawler that sank off the coast of greece on wednesday. pakistan is going to observe a day of mourning on monday for the victims of this greek boat tragedy. this shows they are observing a day of mourning, it shows the severity of the problem itself, even though there is no

official confirmation on the number official confirmation on the number of pakistanis on board the boat or those who have died, and now many local media are reporting that hundreds of people on board, it is yet to be confirmed, but now pakistan is determined to crack down on this human smuggling rings. it is not a new problem for pakistan, lots of migrants have tried to leave the country over the last few years and unfortunately perished in the process doing so. why is it that this specific disaster has their attention?— this specific disaster has their attention? ., attention? thousands of young pakistanis have _ attention? thousands of young pakistanis have been _ attention? thousands of young pakistanis have been going - attention? thousands of young pakistanis have been going to l attention? thousands of young - pakistanis have been going to europe in search of a better life over the years and we have seen a number of them in greece and other countries, it all comes down to basically what is the economic situation in pakistan itself due to the lack of job opportunities and they are facing their worst economic crisis in decades. that is forcing many

young people to travel abroad, looking for work or looking for better opportunities but they are following an illegal route and that is where they fell into the victims of this human smuggling ring and thatis of this human smuggling ring and that is where international cooperation is required because these agents may be one of the local agents, by the end route may be when they travel through iran or greece or turkey or libya, then the other human smugglers take over. pakistan also needs cooperation from other countries so that they can contain this problem, find out the root cause and how they can stop this human smuggling.— very much for that update. to nottingham here in the uk now — and church services have been held across the city this morning for the three people who were killed in knife attacks there last tuesday. 0ur reporter, victoria hick was at one of those services and sent this report. prayers have been said across the city for those affected by the tragic events on tuesday. from friday prayers at one

of the city's mosques to today's service here at st peter's in the heart of the city centre. places of worship have opened their doors to provide a space for people to reflect and to pay tribute to the three lives lost, the two university students, 19—year—old barnaby webber and grace 0'malley—kumar and 65—year—old ian coates, who was a caretaker. now, this church opened its doors on tuesday for a vigil. hundreds of people came, many of them students, to light a candle and to lay floral tributes. today's sunday service was led by dr richard davey. he asked the congregation on father's day to think of the two families who had both lost a child and to hold them in their hearts. he also asked the congregation to think of the three sons of ian coates, who had lost a beloved father. and the bishop of nottingham,

paul williams described nottingham as a tear—filled city since tuesday. nowjust a stone's throw from here is the old market square in nottingham, where a huge vigil was held on thursday. thousands of people came to that and on the council house steps there are hundreds of floral tributes. people are still coming today to leave tributes and to read messages of support and sympathy. meanwhile, a 31—year—old man has appeared before magistrates in nottingham yesterday. he is charged with three counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder after a van was used to drive through pedestrians. he's now been remanded into custody and will appear at nottingham crown court on tuesday. the us secretary of state, antony blinken, is said to have held "candid, substantive and constructive" talks with china's foreign minister in beijing. it's the highest—profile visit to china by a us official since president biden took office.

tensions remain high between the two nations over issues such as trade, technology and foreign policy. the us state department says mr blinken emphasised the importance of maintaining open channels of communication to reduce the risk of misperception and miscalculation. and china's has agreed to a washington visit, according to us officials. lynette 0ng?is a professor of political science at the the university of toronto. it isa it is a significant milestone that we should temper our expectations because there is a great deal of distrust between the two countries right now. the bilateral relations is apparently at a historical low point so i think the expectations of all is fairly low, so you correspond has said earlier that the visit was derailed by the spy balloon sag earlier this year. 0verall, derailed by the spy balloon sag earlier this year. overall, the state is high but the purpose is

about dispelling misconceptions and signalling the intent to converts and listen, which are very important to stabilising the bilateral relations.— to stabilising the bilateral relations. �* u, , to stabilising the bilateral relations. ~ , relations. the americans will say this visit shows _ relations. the americans will say this visit shows they _ relations. the americans will say this visit shows they are - relations. the americans will say this visit shows they are serious | this visit shows they are serious about preparing relations —— repairing relationships and talking about a new floor, so relations do not spiral further. about a new floor, so relations do not spiralfurther. how about a new floor, so relations do not spiral further. how can the chinese show they are serious? i think the chinese are cautious in worrying up to the united states because the chinese leadership has been selling to its domestic audiences and citizens that the us is to blame for the spiralling down of the relationship. i think president xi will want to continue playing the nationalism card further and given domestic economic challenges, they will want to look tough on the number of reasons. but i think overall, important issues,

on the top of the us mind, is whether beijing is supplying weapons to russia. secretary blinken wants to russia. secretary blinken wants to get reassurance from beijing it is not doing at. d0 to get reassurance from bei'ing it is not doing atfi is not doing at. do you think you will aet is not doing at. do you think you will get that _ is not doing at. do you think you will get that reassurance? - is not doing at. do you think you will get that reassurance? qin . is not doing at. do you think you i will get that reassurance? qin gang has said last _ will get that reassurance? qin gang has said last month _ will get that reassurance? qin gang has said last month it _ will get that reassurance? qin gang has said last month it is _ will get that reassurance? qin gang has said last month it is not - has said last month it is not supplying weapons, i think beijing will continue to maintain that position. in will continue to maintain that osition. , ., ., ., position. in terms of other topics, clearly trade. _ position. in terms of other topics, clearly trade, technology, - position. in terms of other topics, clearly trade, technology, huge i position. in terms of other topics, | clearly trade, technology, huge hot contentious topics between the two countries. if they are going to form relations, it is counter—productive to have them in the room talking about them in some ways? sure, but this could open _ about them in some ways? sure, but this could open the _ about them in some ways? sure, but this could open the door— about them in some ways? sure, but this could open the door and - about them in some ways? sure, but this could open the door and could i this could open the door and could pave the way for further high—level visits from scattering and possibly inside meeting between president xi and president biden at the apec

summit in san francisco in november. this is the beginning of many good things to come in the coming months and in the coming years. in that way, it is highly symbolic and important for that reason. antony bfinken important for that reason. antony blinken likely _ important for that reason. antony blinken likely to _ important for that reason. antony blinken likely to meet _ important for that reason. antony blinken likely to meet the - blinken likely to meet the president? there is toxic might do at some point in this trip. that would show a significant gesture towards the americans, if that was a case. —— there is some talk. it is towards the americans, if that was a case. -- there is some talk.- case. -- there is some talk. it is a little mixed. _ case. -- there is some talk. it is a little mixed, people _ case. -- there is some talk. it is a little mixed, people are _ case. -- there is some talk. it is a little mixed, people are talking i case. -- there is some talk. it is a little mixed, people are talking on social media that was no red carpet on the airport welcoming him and there was no visible smile between him and qin gang. 0verall, there was no visible smile between him and qin gang. overall, i am quite hopeful that things will come out from this visit. —— good things. now it's time for a look at today's sport with gavin.

the weather continues to affect the third day of the first ashes first — england wickets tumbled, after the first delay following lunch — australia removing both openers — ben duckett, and zak crawley. england now 28 for two at edgbaston, leading by 35 runs — as rain halts play again in the second innings.... after getting usman khawaja out — who made a brilliant mi for the tourists — england skipped through the lower order. australia losing their last four wickets for ia runs in 21 balls.... andy murray has claimed his second title in as many weeks. (00v)the british player beat france's arthur cazaux the british player beat france's arthur cazaux in straight sets, his 10th win in a row, as the two—time wimbledon champion continues his strong form ahead of this year's championship — murray will return to the world's top a0 on monday — and will seek more wins at queen's to gain enough ranking points to be one of 32 seeds at wimbledon. my my family have been unbelievably supportive of me continuing with my career, when they could easily have told me to stop. i really appreciate

them still supporting me and trying to get me to keep going, also all of my team over there, i need all of them for all of their help they give me in keeping me motivated and hopefully i will see you again next year. and katie boulter claimed her first wta title — after beating jodie burrage in the final at nottingham — in all british encounter this afternoon. it was a first all—british tour—level final in 46 years. and boulter sealed the win quickly in straight sets, 6—3, 6—3. she remains the british number one, and will move up to a new career high of 77 in the world rankings. i dreamt of this moment at this tournament since i was a little girl that was training here when i was four or five years old, coming that was training here when i was four orfive years old, coming here as a fan and coming here as a player and dreaming big and somehow found a way to win it today, it means more than everything to me. americans rickie fowler and wyndham clark will head into the final round of the us open — with a one shot lead over

the rest of the field. fowler could have had the outright lead but three putted his final hole, meaning he had to settle for an even par round of 70. in contrast, clark produced a sublime approach at the eighteenth to set up his fourth birdie of the day, and a one under par round of 69. fowler and clark are on ten under for the tournament. just one shot behind them is northern ireland's rory mcilroy, who won the last of his four majors back in 2014. play gets under way in the next hour. max verstappen will start sunday's canadian grand prix from pole after coming out on top, in a rain affected qualifying session in montreal. the world champion timed his run to perfection in the final session, clocking the quickest time, just before 0scar piastri crashed his mclaren... which suspended qualifying. the rain worsened before the re—start, which meant none of the drivers could improve their times. nico hulkenberg initially qualified second, but was given a three—place grid penalty for exceeding the speed limit under red—flag conditions. aston martin's fernado alonso will now start second, and britain's lewis hamilton third. wolverhampton wanderers captain ruben neves is the latest big name player to head to saudi arabia. wolves have agreed a 47 million

pound deal from al hilal. neves had a year left on his wolves contract. the 26—year—old had been linked with multiple clubs in recent transfer windows, including barcelona. the portugal midfielder scored six goals for wolves last season. and the final of the nations league takes place later. spain against croatia — which kicks off in the netherlands in just over three hours' time. the 3rd/4th place playoff has just finished — and italy held on to win 3—2 against the host nation. federico chiesa's third proving the difference, after gini wijnaldum pulled one back for the netherlands, during the ten mins of stoppage time. and that's all the sport for now. the ugandan army is continuing its hunt for the militants who attacked a school on friday night, killing at least a0 people, many of them children. the pope, has today condemned the attack, describing it as brutal, and saying that he was praying

for the victims. the rebels responsible for the atrocity are from an islamist extremist group known as the adf. they also kidnapped six students before escaping back across the border into the democratic republic of the congo. 0ur correspondent dorcas wangira in nairobi and following developments. there has been very little information trickling from the army, however from the last update from an official, that was the major general dick 0lum, who is the major general in charge of the mountain division and also the operation shujaa, he said that after 2a hours the army would have the results since saturday. we have been waiting and they have not been able yet to rescue the six abducted students or capture the rebels. however he has been giving different accounts, like for example he was saying there had been intelligence reports that adf insurgents were present in kasese for two days and there had been a lapse in security. it is quite unfortunate,

authorities are still trying to understand what went wrong but residents are saying this is coming in too little too late. because likevar infections have agreed to a new 72 hour ceasefire. according to the sudanese health minister, on behalf of the capital khartoum's hundred and 30 hospitals were operating and all of them in the state were out of service, at least 17 people including five children were killed on saturday after an air strike children were killed on saturday afteran airstrike in children were killed on saturday after an air strike in the south of the capital. voters in switzerland have backed government proposals designed to cut fossil fuel use and reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050. 59% approved the measures in a referendum. the government says switzerland needs to protect its energy security

and the environment, with glaciers rapidly melting. but opponents had argued the measures would push up energy prices. under the plans, more than 3.5 billion dollars will be invested to help households and businesses switch away from oil and gas to renewable sources. scotland's former first minister, nicola sturgeon, says she's certain she's done "nothing wrong", after being questioned by police investigating her party's finances. speaking publicly for the first time since she was arrested and released without charge last weekend, ms sturgeon said she would return to the scottish parliament on monday. here she is speaking outside her house. you know i can't say very much just now. what i will say is... reiterate the statement i issued last sunday. i am certain that i have done nothing wrong. i intend to be back in parliament in the early part of the week. i'll make myself available for questions then. 0bviously, within the constraints that i'm referring to right now. for now, i intend to go home, catch up with some family.

i know i'm a public figure, i accept what comes with that, but i'm also a human being that's entitled to a bit of privacy, and my neighbours are also entitled to a bit of privacy as well. so thank you very much just now. have you considered stepping back from the snp? i've done nothing wrong, and that is the only thing i'm going to assert today. have there been conditions placed on your arrest? - no. after your arrest. no, and i'm not going to get into anything other than that. would nicola sturgeon have suspended nicola sturgeon? look, i've done nothing wrong. it's for others to comment as they see fit, but that's my position and i'm entitled to take it. i'm going to go in to my house now. thank you. here's the assessment of our scotland correspondent, jamie mcivor. asa as a lawyer by education nicola sturgeon is well aware of how restricted she is and what she can say at this point in a life police

investigation. however, she is certainly defiant in as she is adamant that she has done nothing wrong, that she is innocent. what she said this afternoon outside her house didn't go much further than what she had said in a statement last sunday, after she was arrested and questioned but still she would have been aware herself ofjust how powerful it would be for people to actually hear her state those words for herself. ., , ., for herself. that is our correspondent - for herself. that is our correspondent jamie l for herself. that is our- correspondent jamie mcivor. before we go — let's leave you with these pictures. a giant bronze head emerging from the water isn't what you expect to see on a trip to the british seaside. the striking sculpture is the centre piece of an arts festival this weekend. the 1.8m piece of work is on show — right on the sand — in suffolk. stay with us here on bbc news.

hello. a lot of energy pent up in the atmosphere, thunderstorms are forming, many of us are going to appreciate the rain, parks, gardens and wildlife as well, we do not necessarily want an awful lot of rain in a short space of time because that leads to flash flooding. let's have a look at the picture through the rest of today, at risk of thunderstorms, many areas of england, wales and northern ireland. initially these potent storms will be forming in distinct areas, distinctive thunderclouds or cells, and this will produce a lot of rainfall. there will be a lot of run—off, many parts of the country still dry, and that is going to lead to flash flooding. we could see 30 millimetres of rain in an hour, maybe as much as 80 millimetres of rain spread over a few hours, on top of that, hail and some strong gusty winds and frequent lightning. away from that plenty of sunshine

around, so not everybody is going to get the storms today. this is what it looks like at the end of the afternoon, fine weather across parts of northern and eastern scotland with sunshine, but these storms later on in the afternoon will merge into a more coherent longer spell of rain and that will travel northwards across northern england and into parts of scotland as well, and here there could be a lot of rain through this evening and into tomorrow. this is what it looks like early in the morning tomorrow, the worse will have gone through, england and wales at this stage, most of the rain is across parts of scotland and then tomorrow in the wake of this weather front, we will see sunny spells and again one or two showers developing. possibly one or two thunderstorms but on the whole it is going to be a much calmer day for most of us tomorrow, compared to sunday. as we head into next week and monday into tuesday,

we will see these showers again returning to parts of southern and central britain, some of these could bring thunderstorms and it stays on the warm side but perhaps not as warm as it has been of late. temperatures typically in the low 20s but there is an indication as we head towards the end of the week, it starts to turn warmer once again.