in 201? the uncertain terms. in 2017 the conservative party's investigating panel determined that pincher had not breached the code of conduct, so things came to a halt then. but then injune 2022, he resigned as a government deputy chief whip, saying he had drunk far too much the night at the carlton club at st james he had drunk far too much the night at the carlton club at stjames in london, which is for the high rollers and by all accounts a very swish and exclusive. he said he had embarrassed himself and other people. there the allegation was that he had sexually assaulted two men. then the 3rd ofjuly 2022, six new allegations emerged and on the

5th ofjuly, two days after that, borisjohnson said he had appointed mr pincher to a government position and had been told about a misconduct complaint against him. mrjohnson said he made a bad mistake and we, the chief whip said he should be suspended for eight weeks. we will hear more from our political correspondent. borisjohnson said at the time he had made a bad mistake and there was a lot of fury about the way mrjohnson had handled this. the report says the perception that mps can engage in such conduct with impunity does significantly impact public perception of the house and its members and we therefore recommend that mr pincher should be suspended from the service of the

house for eight weeks. that is indeed a long suspension. we will get full clarification of it and anything else that is in a report from our political correspondent in just a moment or two. but this whole notion that this was part of the beginning of the end, part of the demise of borisjohnson is very significant in all this because he had appointed chris pincher to this government position having previously been told about the misconduct complaint against him. there was a notorious quote at the time attributed to mrjohnson, talking about mr pincher, inch by name, pincher by nature, which some people reckon has a ring of truth about it, given the colourful turn of phrase. mrjohnson described this all as a... you're watching bbc news. i'm celia hatton with some breaking news. parliament's standards committee has

just published a report this morning on the former government whip, chris pincher. the mp resigned last year after allegations of groping. the findings could lead to a by—election in mr pincher�*s tamworth constituency. live to westminster and our political correspondent, ione wells. what more can you tell us? this re ort what more can you tell us? this report has _ what more can you tell us? this report hasiust _ what more can you tell us? ti 3 report hasjust dropped in what more can you tell us? t1 1 report hasjust dropped in the last report has just dropped in the last couple of minutes. we are still going through it, quite a long report but this was a report that the standards commissioner was producing into whether chris pincher the former government deputy chief whip had brought the house of commons into disrepute. this was after about this time last year. he faced gripping allegations against two young men at a private members club which triggered him to resign as the government deputy chief whip at the time. we are going through the report but we can tell you that

the report but we can tell you that the recommendation of this report is that chris pincher be suspended from the house of commons for eight weeks. that is a long suspension, any suspension over 10 days triggers what is known as a recall petition, the chance for constituents of an mp to have a say over whether or not they want that mp to continue in post. the chances are if this recall petition is triggered that could then lead to a by—election in his tamworth seat. that is probably now a pretty likely outcome. the question really will be for chris pincher whether he decides to stay or not given the length of the suspension. i think this is problematic as well not least for the current government who are already facing a number of other by—elections in the coming months. can you tell us about that tamworth constituency? this can you tell us about that tamworth constituency?— constituency? this is a seat that has been held _ constituency? this is a seat that has been held by _ constituency? this is a seat that has been held by chris - constituency? this is a seat that has been held by chris pincher l constituency? this is a seat that i has been held by chris pincher for has been held by chris pincherfor quite some time. it is interesting

from this potential by—election�*s perspective because another conservative mp, former housing minister eddie hughes, who currently is an mp in a seat called also has been selected to be the conservative party candidate for this tamworth seat at the next general election so there is now a big question for the conservative party about what happens to the seat, does eddie hughes decide to run in this seat in any by—election now or do they pick another candidate to run in it now and save that for him for the next general election? these are questions conservative party headquarters will have to grapple with if a by—election is called but the first step before we get there is that mps in the house of commons would have to approve the findings of this report and that recommended eight week's action that it has outlined. ~ ., eight week's action that it has outlined. ~ . ., , . outlined. what about chris pincher himself? is _ outlined. what about chris pincher himself? is he _ outlined. what about chris pincher himself? is he given _ outlined. what about chris pincher himself? is he given the _ outlined. what about chris pincher. himself? is he given the opportunity to appeal the findings of the report? he

to appeal the findings of the re ort? . ., to appeal the findings of the reort? ., , to appeal the findings of the reort? ., _,, ., report? he could potentially appeal. i think it is probably _ report? he could potentially appeal. i think it is probably unlikely - report? he could potentially appeal. i think it is probably unlikely that. i think it is probably unlikely that he will do that but he certainly has the potential opportunity. he has repeatedly denied allegations of wrongdoing although he did admit to being drunk when those allegations of groping were made against him last year. he apologised for embarrassment he had caused to what he described as himself and others at the time, but he has repeatedly denied allegations of wrongdoing. it will be interesting to see today whether either he makes any kind of statement in response to this report or whether any of his allies come out to make any kind of statement in his defence. but i think the big question now is what happens next after mps potentially are given the opportunity to endorse this report and the sanction it has recommended. you mention that sanction, eight weeks is significant, anything over

10 days triggers a recall petition. can you put that eight weeks into context for us, have we seen similar sanctions in the past? we context for us, have we seen similar sanctions in the past?— sanctions in the past? we have certainly seen _ sanctions in the past? we have certainly seen similar- sanctions in the past? we havej certainly seen similar sanctions before. it is a long one but for example, when the mp rob roberts was found to have sexually harassed a member of staff in the house of commons he received a six—week suspension. at the time that didn't trigger a recall petition and by—election because at the time mps who were suspended by parliament's independent complaints and proven scheme process couldn't face a by—election. that rule has now been changed, now they can. this however is a report that was made by the standards commissioner, it has been published by the standards committee, so it is an automatic recall petition that is likely to be triggered by this recommended eight week suspension if that suspension is approved by mps. you

week suspension if that suspension is approved by mps.— week suspension if that suspension is approved by mps. you have already mentioned that _ is approved by mps. you have already mentioned that the _ is approved by mps. you have already mentioned that the conservative - mentioned that the conservative party is already facing a number of by—elections in other states. when are those by—elections going to be held and how hard—fought will those campaigns be? it is held and how hard-fought will those campaigns be?— campaigns be? it is a tense time at the moment— campaigns be? it is a tense time at the moment for _ campaigns be? it is a tense time at the moment for the _ campaigns be? it is a tense time at the moment for the conservative i the moment for the conservative party, because of facing by—elections in a number of different areas. the first batch that we have are on the 20th of july. there is the by—election happening in uxbridge, the former seat of borisjohnson, the selby seat, the seat of a close personal is an ally, nigel adams, also in somerton. labourare is an ally, nigel adams, also in somerton. labour are hoping to try and make gains in uxbridge, also trying if they can to challenge the tories in selby, i think the liberal democrats have their eyes on the ones in somerton. the other one that

is a big question about at the moment which hasn't yet been triggered but could potentially be is the seat of mid—bedfordshire where nadine dorries is currently the mp. she had of course it a few weeks ago that she would be resigning as an mp with immediate effect. howevershe resigning as an mp with immediate effect. however she hasn't actually resigned yet, meaning there isn't actually a date or possible by—election that we have for that seat yet, so if mps endorse this report and the sanction of it. that would probably trigger another by—election in tamworth. the conservatives would certainly feel the heat on this particularly because of the background of how we got here as outlined in this report. thank you. we will let you go, i know you have a lot of report reading ahead of you. i should say just looking at our bbc news website, it isjust just looking at our bbc news website, it is just being reported on the website that the report says chris pincher has now been suspended from the house of commons for eight weeks, for deeply inappropriate and shameful behaviour, the report says.

the website was on to say it means a by—election in tamworth is now highly likely. it isjust by—election in tamworth is now highly likely. it is just a recommendation at this stage. let's cross now to jon recommendation at this stage. let's cross now tojon tonge, a professor of politics at the university of liverpool. your response to the release of this report and the findings of a recommendation of an eight—week suspension. the findings of a recommendation of an eight-week suspension.— findings of a recommendation of an eight-week suspension. the bad news 'ust kee -s eight-week suspension. the bad news just keeps on — eight-week suspension. the bad news just keeps on coming _ eight-week suspension. the bad news just keeps on coming for— eight-week suspension. the bad news just keeps on coming for rishi - eight-week suspension. the bad news just keeps on coming for rishi sunakl just keeps on coming for rishi sunak as prime minister because this certainly will trigger a by—election. there are two stages to go now before we get to a by—election, firstly the house of commons has to approve this report, i think that is a formality, it will be interesting to see whether any conservative mps at all other voting against this, i suspect not, the house may not even divide on this, thenit house may not even divide on this, then it goes to a recall petition, basically that is played before the constituents, chris pincher�*s

constituency of tamworth, for six weeks, if10% constituency of tamworth, for six weeks, if 10% or more of those constituents sign a petition that triggers the by—election. there has only been one case, from a limited number of cases where the recall of mps act has not triggered, that was ian paisley in north antrim, only 9.9% of conceptual signed it, but the likelihood is in this case the threshold of 10% will come to be be exceeded and then under the law there has to be a by—election. it ought to be a safe conservative seat, if there is such a thing these days. there is a majority of 20,000 in tamworth, it is fair to say chris pincher how to build that majority. he increased the conservative vote in the constituency at every election since 2010, but it will still be a tough defence if you look at current polling for the conservatives, so rishi sunak must be wondering when the bad news is going to end for his party, i think

he needs his members of parliament to act in an angelic fashion from here on up until the next general election, otherwise he will continue to have his majority eroded and continue to have to fight difficult by—elections. irate continue to have to fight difficult bit-elections— continue to have to fight difficult by-elections. we should note that chris pincher _ by-elections. we should note that chris pincher resigned, _ by-elections. we should note that chris pincher resigned, he - by-elections. we should note that chris pincher resigned, he has - by-elections. we should note that. chris pincher resigned, he has lost, he resigned as the deputy chief whip last summer. he then lost the tory whip and is now sitting in the comments as an independent, so what do you think the conservatives, how do you think the conservatives, how do you think they will try to position their candidate if you do move ahead to a by—election, what do you think they will do, will they try to move another relatively popular tory in to try to fight a collection?— collection? they already have someone _ collection? they already have someone in — collection? they already have someone in place _ collection? they already have someone in place to - collection? they already have someone in place to fight - collection? they already have someone in place to fight the | collection? they already have - someone in place to fight the next general election, and they will probably be front—loaded to the by—election but the conservatives could do without this, they are fighting on so many fronts now, the uxbridge and south right by—election to fight which is a semi—marginal

constituency notwithstanding it was held by borisjohnson, they have selby to fight which ought to be a very safe conservative seat, and probably could remain conservative but it still could be very close, the somerton by—election and this one, so he can't afford to be seen to be losing by—elections in what is becoming now the run up to a general election, so it is difficult and i think the problem with this is it again puts the spotlight upon the conduct of conservative mps that he may have resigned but it is still seen as having been conservative mps and i think the eight—week suspension for chris pincher is probably above what many people might have expected, pretty severe by house of commons standards. anything above 10 days triggers a by—election but it is very unusual for suspensions to be 30 days or more and eight weeks is a very damning indictment from the

standards committee. it is also worth pointing out that there is a number of conservative mps are set on that standards committee but also a number of lay people from beyond the house of commons, and it is a unanimous and very damning report which pulls no punches in that they feel that chris pincher betrayed the integrity of the house of commons by his conduct at a reception that evening. there have been a lot of questions as well as the white chris pincher was appointed as deputy chief whip because i have been a lot of rumours surfacing beforehand, so the questions marks over a point—blank thejudgment the questions marks over a point—blank the judgment of the opposition but what the conservatives will try do now is hope we limit the damage from their point of view and of course they do have potential to hold the seat and in that sense it would be some sort of triumph from the current disaster of triumph from the current disaster of the conservative party but this report represents.— report represents. thank you for takin: us report represents. thank you for taking us through _ report represents. thank you for

taking us through that. - report represents. thank you for taking us through that. i - report represents. thank you for taking us through that. i will. report represents. thank you for i taking us through that. i will bring in some reaction right now, we are getting from the opposition labour party. the deputy labour leader angela rayner has called on chris pincher to resign as an mp. she said chris pincher�*s actions are shocking but what is even worse is the way the conservative party protected him, even promoting him despite a previous investigation into his conduct, angela rayner continues saying chris pincher should now do the decent thing and resign as an mp, the people of tamworth and the surrounding villages deserve more from their parliamentary representative. let's cross back now to our political correspondent ione wells, who is in our newsroom. you have been reading more of the report, what more can you tell us? what is interesting is for the first time we have more public details of

what actually happened that night at the carlton club, that private members club where it was alleged chris pincher had grouped two young men which prodded him to resign as deputy chief whip. this section of the report outlines a bit more about what happened. detail that it gives us is how mr pincher when giving evidence to this inquiry said he recalls feeling what i'm saying to someone, i am all right or i will be all right, but he says he does not remember any other details about the evening or how he got home. that seems to be his defence there. then if we scroll down we get to some of the evidence that was given by the complainants themselves. it says here the complainant in this case was an employee in the house of lords at the time of the incident who had never met or spoken to mr pincher before but knew some of mr pincher�*s previous staff members. he told the commissioner that at around midnight on the evening in question mr pincher approached him in the bar

area of the carlton club at first grabbed his four holding it for longer than necessary which made him feel uncomfortable, leading him to remove mr pincher bills like arm and secondly it says mr pincher went on to stroke his neck and he again went to stroke his neck and he again went to remove mr pincher because i can't and after a short interval during which mr pincher moved to a different part of the bar area mr pincher returned and squeeze the complainant's bottom. the complaint describes the incident as having been traumatic and impacted his well—being. we also have testimony here about further witness in the investigation told witness three who was a civil servant and a member of the carlton club who was present to socialise that evening with his former employer. again it says he had not met submitter pincher before. this man told the commissioner that he was introduced to mr pincher, spoke to him and others in a group and mr pincher then bought them a round of drinks. following a break in the conversation mr pincher moved away

from this group, returned and again touched this witness's bottom before moving his hand to touch and squeeze the witness's testicles which lasted for a few seconds. this was witnessed, the commission says, by other members and users of the club. some of the evidence that the commission seems to have judged for this particular incident as well is that this person involved immediately texted a friend about mr pincher�*s behaviour and provided a copy of his message to the commissioner. again what we have seen here is a bit more information about the impact that this had on the individuals involved, it says the individuals involved, it says the witness told the commission is in fact affected his health and well—being and him concern for his future work prospects. this is the first time that we have really seen in this much detail what the nature of these allegations were because at the time these allegations were first reported by the sun newspaper, chris pincher himself then resigned as deputy chief whip, and he said that he had caused embarrassment to

himself and others but he attributed that embarrassment to just being drug. what we hadn't seen previously was detailed of what some of those allegations were. just being drunk. now we have seen the spelt out it potentially explains like the suspension that he has been recommended to have, a suspension of eight weeks from the house of commons which is a very long suspension, one that could have the potential to trigger a by—election in his tamworth seat. potential to trigger a by-election in his tamworth seat.— potential to trigger a by-election in his tamworth seat. thank you for takin: us in his tamworth seat. thank you for taking us through _ in his tamworth seat. thank you for taking us through that. _ in his tamworth seat. thank you for taking us through that. i _ in his tamworth seat. thank you for taking us through that. i am - in his tamworth seat. thank you for taking us through that. i am sure i in his tamworth seat. thank you for| taking us through that. i am sure we will come back to you in due time. for now let's speak to doctor kate maltby, journalist and academic and a columnist for the eye newspaper, also a campaigner against sexual harassment in politics. thank you forjoining us, we havejust been hearing from our correspondent ione wells, a very detailed description of what witnesses say happened that evening. what goes through your mind

when you are hearing the words from the report? i when you are hearing the words from the re ort? ., �* ~' when you are hearing the words from the reort? ., �* ,, ., , when you are hearing the words from the reort? ., �* ~ ., , ., , the report? i don't think any of us are surprised _ the report? i don't think any of us are surprised that _ the report? i don't think any of us are surprised that sexual - the report? i don't think any of us i are surprised that sexual harassment continues to be an issue in westminster. what is new here, surprising to us is that we are seeing a serious report from the standards committee which is laying down the law and ethics appear to be backin down the law and ethics appear to be back in westminster. the very least consequences for ethics. but i think the story here for many of us and of course your correspondent already alluded to this, is the very serious evidence that borisjohnson was well aware of this peintre's pattern of behaviour when he appointed him to that incredibly powerful role of deputy chief whip. we have already had a very senior civil servant who came out in public decide that the prime minister as he then was, boris johnson, was aware of an official complaint alleging very serious behaviour are still gave him that

job. what goes through my mind which is might your question when you hear about an event in the carlton club like that, it may not be what go through all your viewers' mines because i am not sure if you are in westminster you might not fully appreciate that if you don't live in this particular cycle and world, is how much power a man like you deputy chief whip wheels and the power that he exudes in a room like the carlton club when he is also putting his hand on people's bottoms. johnson himself has been quoted by a very senior aide as saying if we suspended everybody who touched someone's bottom we went i think, paraphrase, run out of people, the words where i would have to suspend the whole party which tells you more about the current state of the parliamentary party than it does about basic standards but i think a lot of people to think that touching someone on the bottom were being a bit handsy at a party is something that happens in the normal sphere of life and what really i think needs

to be understood is when it is the deputy chief whip doing it and you are receiving it, you don't know how much more he is going to do and what the consequences are for your career because of the central issue which is the power imbalance and boris johnson knew that and knew that about his behaviour when he gave him that powerfuljob. is it about his behaviour when he gave him that powerfuljob-_ that powerful 'ob. is it possible to an ue that that powerfuljob. is it possible to argue that the _ that powerfuljob. is it possible to argue that the complaints - that powerfuljob. is it possible toj argue that the complaints process that powerfuljob. is it possible to i argue that the complaints process at westminster is functioning effectively if a formerly powerful man like chris pincher could now be facing a possible eight week suspension and has been the subject of quite a detailed report that has just come out? i of quite a detailed report that has just come out?— of quite a detailed report that has just come out? i think it is getting better and i— just come out? i think it is getting better and i am _ just come out? i think it is getting better and i am optimistic - just come out? i think it is getting better and i am optimistic and - just come out? i think it is getting better and i am optimistic and i i better and i am optimistic and i think campaigners like myself can say we have actually made some changes in the last few years but you have to remember this is only really happening after the fall of borisjohnson who was someone who protected this man for long time. and when it comes to ethics and culture you can have the best possible systems but leadership is

what matters. i would also point out thatjust what matters. i would also point out that just last week we were dealing with another sexual harassment scandal in politics, the allegation made against one of the potential candidates for mayor of london from the conservative party, daniel korski, what really depressed me was there were many things, about that story that depressed me, not least as a sense of personal betrayal about some of the behaviour that emerged, but what daisy goodwin, who is a very credible witness made very clear in her complaint was three then attempted to complain to the conservative party's visual systems and couldn't find the right number or e—mail address on the website and when she e—mailed in it she didn't get a response from any kind of complaint system until she complained in public. we are looking at parliamentary systems that are improving and i think the committee report we have had here is evidence that if you complain about someone in the parliamentary building you might get a bit further than you did

before but the political parties have their own systems which are separate and those tend to look at things that happen for example people who are very senior in politics but aren't mps like advisers, people who work in downing street, and frankly i think that is the next front because those systems are still not fit for purpose. i are still not fit for purpose. i hope you can stay with this, i want to talk to you more about what you think might need to change but i want to cross back now and again to our political correspondent ione wells, i understand you have been looking through the report, you have more to tell us. fine looking through the report, you have more to tell us.— more to tell us. one of the interesting _ more to tell us. one of the interesting things - more to tell us. one of the interesting things i - more to tell us. one of the interesting things i have i more to tell us. one of the l interesting things i have just more to tell us. one of the - interesting things i have just come across is the commission is saying that as part of this inquiry into chris pincher�*s behaviour he was unable to interview mr pincher but the commissioner has said he is satisfied that chris pincher has had a fair opportunity to respond to the investigation and the allegations that this report has outlined.

interestingly it says mr pincher claims in his final commission submission to the commissioner that he has not had the opportunity to respond to the allegations made by witness three. these are the allegations we discussed previously made by a senior civil servant who allege that chris pincher had roped him both on the bottom but also on his testicles at that night, at the carlton club, he says mr pincher claimed he had not had the opportunity to respond to the allegations, the commissioner noted that allegations made by witness three relate to the same substantive allegation, namely whether mr pincher had breached that code of conduct that mps have to follow. and says that mr pincher has had access to that with the statement since january. it seems to be a bit of dispute between chris pincher and the commissioner there about what allegations he has had the ability to respond to. the key findings are also set out in terms of what the commissioner has said are matters of fact he has

established as a result of the inquiry. to quickly run through these, he says the bar area of the carlton club that evening was occupied by a mix of club members and guests and he says chris pincher had groped two individuals as part of his visit to the club that night. he touched the first individual on his arm and neck and then groped his bottom. he groped a second person on his bottom before groping his testicles. these are the two allegations the commission has outlined in his report. it says his physical contact with the individuals was unwarranted, upsetting and caused them to both feel hurt by what happened to them and fear for their career prospects as a result of this. it says chris pincher was intoxicated at the time of the events. it also says his behaviour was witnessed by at least one other user of the club and likely witnessed by others too. some pretty damning facts the commissioner has outlined in the findings of the report and he has

found this is enough to justify that eight week recommended suspension from the house of commons for bringing the house of commons into disrepute for the allegations he has outlined here. just disrepute for the allegations he has outlined here.— outlined here. just to reaffirm, chris pincher _ outlined here. just to reaffirm, chris pincher does _ outlined here. just to reaffirm, chris pincher does have - outlined here. just to reaffirm, chris pincher does have the i outlined here. just to reaffirm, i chris pincher does have the ability to appeal against the findings of this report? i to appeal against the findings of this report?— to appeal against the findings of this report? i think he does have the ability to _ this report? i think he does have the ability to appeal _ this report? i think he does have the ability to appeal but - this report? i think he does have the ability to appeal but it - this report? i think he does have the ability to appeal but it does i the ability to appeal but it does seem from what the commissioner has outlined here like he has already had a very long period to push back at some of the allegations that have been made and as the commissioner outlines, he hasn't already taken the opportunity to be interviewed as part of this process or to respond to some of the particular allegations. the commissioner says he has had some of the allegations since january and has not so far taken the opportunity to respond further to them. i think the question now for chris pincher is, what is his next move, does he decide to accept the findings of a

report? if he does, is he willing to go through with the full process of a recall petition in his seat which can potentially trigger a by—election or will he decide just to resign upfront which will in itself automatically trigger a by—election? lots of questions today for chris pincher and the opposition parties today are calling for him to just resign. labour say he needs to go immediately. opposition parties already pointing to what we knew already pointing to what we knew already about the allegations last year, which is that the handling of them was a big problem at the time for borisjohnson. i think labour have reiterated that they feel given the nature of the allegations more action should have been taken against chris pincher at the time by the government after he resigned from that position of deputy chief whip. i think there are questions for chris pincher about what his next move will be in the days to come. �* , , ., ., come. briefly before we let you go, the carlton — come. briefly before we let you go, the carlton club _ come. briefly before we let you go, the carlton club has _ come. briefly before we let you go, the carlton club has been _ come. briefly before we let you go, l the carlton club has been mentioned quite frequently throughout the

report will stop can you tell us a bit about the carlton club? that's riuht. the bit about the carlton club? that's right. the carlton _ bit about the carlton club? that's right. the carlton club _ bit about the carlton club? that's right. the carlton club is - bit about the carlton club? that's right. the carlton club is a - bit about the carlton club? that's| right. the carlton club is a private members club which is attended by typically conservatives, it hosts a number of events and is usually a gathering place for conservative mps and colleagues to socialise but also somewhere where events are often held. in this particular case it seems like there had been a gathering earlier in the evening for conservative friends of cyprus, which chris pincher had attended for some time. that's why there had been other mps, staff members and civil servants they're socialising that evening. what the report outlines is that he left that particular gathering and later came back. i think that's one of the findings of the commissioner, that he seemed to come back to see if there were still people there to socialise with but clearly as the report outlines and as he has mentioned in his

resignation letter, he was very intoxicated on the night this took place. intoxicated on the night this took lace. ., ~ , ., ~' intoxicated on the night this took lace. ., 1 , ., ,, intoxicated on the night this took lace. ., ~ , ., ,, ., place. ione wells, thank you for takin: us place. ione wells, thank you for taking us through _ place. ione wells, thank you for taking us through that. - place. ione wells, thank you for taking us through that. very i taking us through that. very helpful. to repeat the news that a report from the parliamentary standards watchdog has recommended an eight week suspension for the now independent mp chris pincher. that could possibly trigger a by—election. for more on by—elections we can cross back now to jon tonge. by—elections we can cross back now tojon tonge. as we are getting information through, we are getting a response from labour calling on chris pincher to resign as an mp. do you expect the opposition parties to make more of this? yes. you expect the opposition parties to make more of this? yes, undoubtedly, liven what make more of this? yes, undoubtedly, given what has — make more of this? yes, undoubtedly, given what has happened, _ make more of this? yes, undoubtedly, given what has happened, the - make more of this? yes, undoubtedly, given what has happened, the nature i given what has happened, the nature of the report is very damning. there are questions as to why chris pincher was promoted within the

conservative party and questions as to why he made it to privy counsellors. he has right honourable before his name. in terms of the politics of it, i think it is unlikely chris pincher will appeal but it is possible. i suspect the report will be upheld. i would be surprised if the house of commons divides on the issue, so it should sail through that. and then we go to this recall petition. the recall petitions are quite interesting. it requires 10% of chris pincher�*s time with constituents to sign the petition to generate a by—election. a by—election is not automatic and has to get 10% of signatures was that there is a six—week period during which the signatures have to be obtained. during the course of six weeks, the returning officer, the electoral officer for tamworth constituency, is not allowed to comment on the progress of the petition lest it influenced the outcome. in the three cases we have had so far you have an average of

18% of constituents signing a petition. in two cases there were enough signatures and in one case there wasn't. the expectation would be that there would be enough signatures on a recall petition to trigger a by—election. signatures on a recall petition to triggera by—election. i signatures on a recall petition to trigger a by—election. ithink signatures on a recall petition to trigger a by—election. i think it is unlikely chris pincher would contest the by—election. there has only been one case so far under the recall of mps act 2015 where a conservative mp has decided to fight on, that was in brecon and radnorshire in 2019, the conservative mp had been suspended for 30 days from the house of commons and contested the by—election and the seat was lost by the conservatives to the liberal democrats. that is a gloomy portent for the conservatives in that respect. i suspect there will be a new conservative candidate if and when there is a by—election and it will be interesting to see how the electorate votes within tamworth in that by—election. lets electorate votes within tamworth in that by-election._ electorate votes within tamworth in that by-election. lets assume there will be a by-election _ that by-election. lets assume there will be a by-election for _ that by-election. lets assume there will be a by-election for argument's| will be a by—election for argument's site in tamworth. if you look across

the by—elections that are upcoming that you mentioned, where do you think the opposition, labour, the lib dems, will try to focus their resources? will some races be tighter than others?— resources? will some races be tighter than others? yeah, most definitel . tighter than others? yeah, most definitely. the _ tighter than others? yeah, most definitely. the interesting - tighter than others? yeah, most definitely. the interesting thing| definitely. the interesting thing about the by—elections, you have a north, south and midlands aspects to them. i think uxbridge and south ruislip will be a top labour target. borisjohnson never had a safe majority there, notwithstanding that he is a former prime minister. a majority of 7500 is certainly vulnerable and labour will be licking their lips at the prospect of possibly taking the seat. selby and ainsty ought to be a classic conservative hold, it is a very safe conservative hold, it is a very safe conservative seat in many ways with a 17,000 majority. in normal political circumstances the conservatives would comfortably expect to hold it but the polling

lead that labour currently enjoy over the conservatives suggest it could be in play. the liberal democrats are looking at the somerton by—election. and at tamworth, it was a labour seat until chris pincher won it in 2010, so if there is a by—election, chris pincher built up the conservative majority in the constituency. it was a marginal in 2010 before becoming a safe conservative seat with a majority of 20,000 but it goes back to the problem, is there a safe conservative seat on current polling and given the current circumstances under which that by—election has to be fought, the electorate might not take kindly to the conduct of their mp. this is excoriating report that has come from the standards committee. many of us did not expect an eight week suspension but it pulls no punches and also says it cannot become be compartmentalised,

the private mp from the public face. the report argues that chris pincher straddled the divide and therefore his suspension from the house of commons is appropriate. it is difficult to see, without anticipating too much, any conservative mp actually voting against this report. it's possible but it might be doubtful. brute against this report. it's possible but it might be doubtful. we will have to watch _ but it might be doubtful. we will have to watch and _ but it might be doubtful. we will have to watch and see. - but it might be doubtful. we will| have to watch and see. professor but it might be doubtful. we will. have to watch and see. professor of politics jon have to watch and see. professor of politichon tonge, from the university of liverpool, thank you. we can cross now to another professor of politics at strathclyde university, sirjohn curtice. thank you forjoining us. what's your reaction to the news of this report and the recommendation of an eight week suspension for chris pincher? as you have been discussing, it opens up the prospect at least that there will be another by—election in what we might normally think of as a safe conservative seat but the question is how safe will it be in

current circumstances. i think first of all there is a big picture point to make about this. perhaps not everybody has remembered. it was the events surrounding chris pincher that was the subject of this report that was the subject of this report that eventually led to the downfall of borisjohnson. because boris johnson failed to admit that in fact he had previously been advised when he had previously been advised when he was foreign secretary of previous allegations against mr pincher and his behaviour. and the fact mr johnson hadn't been upfront about this, that was eventually the straw that broke the camel's back with conservative mps not allowing him to remain in office. jon tonge has been saying that he doesn't think it will be the subject of controversy in the house of commons. i think it may not even be the subject of a vote. it will give the conservative party some opportunity to indicate that

the allegations surrounding the downfall of borisjohnson have a degree of merit to them. in the end much of the conservative party decided not to vote on mrjohnson's suspension and it has not done the conservatives any good in the opinion polls since. here are some opportunity perhaps for the conservatives to claw back some of their credibility in the eyes of the public in what we might call the ethics problem facing the conservative party. the other problem that this potentially could create for the conservatives, unless mr pincher decides to resign as mr johnson did, then we do, asjon tonge was explaining, have a six week process where the by—election petition is being run. if you work through the dates that effectively means that perhaps the earliest the conservative whips could call the

by—election is the end of september. but what goes on there? it's the party conference season, including the other conservative party conference and that's probably not when they want it to happen. there may be a by—election that doesn't happen until well into the autumn. whether the conservatives will be in a better position in opinion polls by the autumn, who knows? it is actually slightly safer seat for the conservatives than selby and ainsty but it is also a constituency where backin but it is also a constituency where back in 1996 in the form of south—east staffordshire, the labour party then recorded the kind of 20% swing to gain the seat from the conservatives that will be required for tamworth to four male and in that sense it provides potentially a totemic target for sir keir starmer. can he compete in this constituency and achieve the kind of victory tony blair achieved not long before the 1997 general election that labour won handsomely. you

1997 general election that labour won handsomely.— 1997 general election that labour won handsomel . ., ., ., won handsomely. you have mentioned the oinion won handsomely. you have mentioned the opinion polls. _ won handsomely. you have mentioned the opinion polls, what _ won handsomely. you have mentioned the opinion polls, what are _ won handsomely. you have mentioned the opinion polls, what are they - the opinion polls, what are they telling us about the uk electorate's interest in the behaviour of tory mps, past tory mps? is it seen as being a very important issue in comparison to the cost of living concerns for example? the central issue of the _ concerns for example? the central issue of the ethical _ concerns for example? the central issue of the ethical issue _ concerns for example? the central issue of the ethical issue is - concerns for example? the central issue of the ethical issue is the i issue of the ethical issue is the question of partygate and the fact that as the house of commons committee adjudicated, the point that mrjohnson, the former prime minister, misled the house of commons. beyond that more broadly there is the question of whether or not private behaviour corresponds with public utterance and mr pincher certainly falls under that wider remit. i would certainly falls under that wider remit. iwould point certainly falls under that wider remit. i would point out that until partygate remit. i would point out that until pa rtygate first remit. i would point out that until partygate first emerged in the news in december 2021, the conservatives had never previously been behind the

labour party consistently in the polls and have never been back in the lead since. looking at what has happened in the last couple of weeks since the report on mrjohnson was published, the labour lead over the conservatives has grown from 15 points to around 18 points. the fact the conservatives have not seemingly adequately grasp this issue is still seemingly, despite as you rightly say, the economy is the biggest problem facing the conservatives, despite the weight of that problem, this is still an issue, a nettle the conservatives need to grasp and trying to put behind them. sirjohn curtice, trying to put behind them. sirjohn curtice. thank— trying to put behind them. sirjohn curtice, thank you _ trying to put behind them. sirjohn curtice, thank you for _ trying to put behind them. sirjohn curtice, thank you for speaking i trying to put behind them. sirjohn curtice, thank you for speaking to | curtice, thank you for speaking to us from strathclyde university. a reminder of the breaking news, the parliamentary standards watchdog has recommended an eight week suspension for the mp chris pincher. we can cross back now to ione wells in our bbc newsroom. i know you have been

going through that very lengthy report. what more have you unearthed?— report. what more have you unearthed? , . ., unearthed? there is a section here that is interesting _ unearthed? there is a section here that is interesting about _ unearthed? there is a section here that is interesting about what - unearthed? there is a section here that is interesting about what chris pincher�*s position on this always. it says in respect of the fact of the case which the commission outlined which as we have discussed before it involved groping allegations against two men at the carlton club, it says that mr pincher has apologised to the parties involved saying he is conscious of the effect of the evening and the subsequent coverage that this had and he is aware that —— aware of the affected would have had on the men and theirfamilies. he apologises to the mall and he says he did so on the day he resigned from government as well. he does dispute some of what the commissioner has found. the commissioner has found. the commissioner was specifically looking into his report, not necessarilyjust looking into his report, not necessarily just the groping allegations but whether he brought the house of commons into disrepute. it says here that mr pincher denies

his conduct had essentially broken the code of conduct that mps have to follow. it says that while he accepts his conduct had damaged his own reputation and the reputation of the government, because remember borisjohnson's handling of this affair was pretty instrumental in bringing down borisjohnson, he denies that he has caused significant damage to the reputation of the house of commons and of mps generally. that is contradicting what the commissioner himself has found. he says the behaviour of mr pincher did bring the house of commons into disrepute and also affected the reputation of mps generally. and what the public might expect and think about mps on the whole as a result of mr pincher�*s behaviour. it also says in his correspondence with the commissioner and written submission to the standards committee, mr pincher drew attention to what he described as inconsistencies, anomalies and gaps inconsistencies, anomalies and gaps in the evidence which he argues don't present a complete picture. what's interesting about that is

that it raises the question of will mr pincher tried to appeal some of these findings? ifound out mr pincher tried to appeal some of these findings? i found out a mr pincher tried to appeal some of these findings? ifound out a bit more information about what grounds he would have too used to appeal if anything. it says an appeal can only be brought if he can prove the investigation was in some way materially flawed or procedurally flawed or whether the decision of the committee was seen to be unreasonable or disproportionate or if credible fresh evidence became available which could not have been presented to the committee. it does say in this appeal process, an appeal can't be based simply on disagreement with the findings of fact. as we know, the findings of fact. as we know, the findings of fact in this report being that he did grope two people who were present at the carlton club that evening. and it does seem to suggest here that he couldn't appealjust on the grounds that he disagrees with the grounds that he disagrees with the findings. he would have to appeal if he wanted on one of the

other grounds. is still a big question mark over chris pincher and his future, what he decides to do, whether he decides to appeal. if he doesn't, the fact an eight week suspension has been recommended suggests a by—election in his tamworth seat is looking increasingly likely today. i tamworth seat is looking increasingly likely today. i only was, increasingly likely today. i only was. thank _ increasingly likely today. i only was, thank you _ increasingly likely today. i only was, thank you for _ increasingly likely today. i only was, thank you for taking - increasingly likely today. i only was, thank you for taking us i increasingly likely today. i only was, thank you for taking us through that. we can talk to william atkinson, the assistant editor of conservative home, a right—leaning blog that supports the conservative party. what's your reaction to the news from the parliamentary watchdog, the recommendation of an eight week suspension for chris pincher. iam hardly i am hardly surprised and personally believe he should have resigned a year ago when he was forced to step down from his position and was first suspended from the conservative party. i think it has been a tragedy for the people of tamworth that they are representative has been suspended from the whip like this for a year and they have been in limbo. i think the sooner chris

pincher does the honourable thing and gives them the opportunity to find and elect a new mp, the better. chris pincher has already said he will not run in the next general election. so you are backing labour's calls for chris pincher to step down. i labour's calls for chris pincher to step down-— labour's calls for chris pincher to ste down. , , ., ., , step down. i suggest that would be the honourable _ step down. i suggest that would be the honourable thing. _ step down. i suggest that would be the honourable thing. the - step down. i suggest that would be the honourable thing. the more i the honourable thing. the more interesting thing from a conservative perspective is that already we have got a candidate for the next general election for tamworth, eddie hughes, who is already a sitting mp. so it looks like the labour and conservative party in tamworth will have to restage that election but eddie hughes might have to find another seat because his seat is being chopped and changed in the boundary review is another intriguing question and it's another headache for rishi sunak and cchq. haifa question and it's another headache for rishi sunak and cchq.- question and it's another headache for rishi sunak and cchq. how do you exect for rishi sunak and cchq. how do you expect rishi — for rishi sunak and cchq. how do you expect rishi sunak— for rishi sunak and cchq. how do you expect rishi sunak to _ for rishi sunak and cchq. how do you expect rishi sunak to respond - for rishi sunak and cchq. how do you expect rishi sunak to respond to - for rishi sunak and cchq. how do you expect rishi sunak to respond to the i expect rishi sunak to respond to the report today? the details are quite explicit in terms of what happened

at the carlton club that night. i think rishi sunak is stuck between a rock and a hard place. this is yet another example of tory sleaze we have seen in recent months but only further dents the moral credibility of the government. it's a return to the days of borisjohnson, which is the days of borisjohnson, which is the last thing rishi sunak needs when he is dealing with attempts to reach his five pledges. i think it will be difficult for him to openly call for chris pincher to resign but the suggestion in the argument that cchq might make is that it's for the people of tamworth to decide whether or not they want to sign the recall petition and have a by—election. abs petition and have a by—election. as you say, i'm looking at the bbc news website that has updated, the live page, we have the liberal democrats saying that they are calling on rishi sunak to vote to suspend chris

pincher. they say the commons will have to vote on whether or not to endorse the chris pincher report and make it official. the lib dems are setting it up as a test for rishi sunak. william atkinson, to come back to you, how do you think rishi sunak can spin this? will he simply declined to vote on this report as he has done with past reports? thinking for example of the report into boris johnson's thinking for example of the report into borisjohnson's behaviour. rishi sunak was happily absent from the vote when it took place. whether that will be possible to repeat the same trick, if he will be able to come i don't think it would be a good look. this is also very different because you are dealing with the behaviour of a previous prime minister and something that was more of a contentious issue within both the conservative parliamentary party and the wider

party as a whole. whereas i think the behaviour of chris pincher, as the behaviour of chris pincher, as the report suggests, it is pretty appalling and rishi sunak is a man of high moral rectitude himself, and would surely want to vote against this and see another unfortunate by—election. brute this and see another unfortunate by-election-_ this and see another unfortunate by-election. we wait to see what ha--ens by-election. we wait to see what happens with _ by-election. we wait to see what happens with rishi _ by-election. we wait to see what happens with rishi sunak's - by-election. we wait to see what i happens with rishi sunak's decision on whether to vote on it or not. thank you to william atkinson, the assistant editor of conservative home, a right—leaning blog supporting the conservative party. we can go back to ione wells who has far more interesting things embedded in the report. as we have been discussing in the last hour or so, this report finally gives us some information about the nature of some of the allegations involved, those two groping allegations made against chris pincher. we have the first hint of actual testimony on record from some of the complainants who made the allegations. there was an interview here from witness three, a civil

servant who was present at the carlton club that evening. there is a transcript here of an interview that the parliament independent complaints and grievances scheme has carried out with the individual. he talks about how chris pincher brought his hand around and grabbed where his testicles were and squeezed at that point, touching him there for a couple of seconds. it is also interesting, some of the evidence the commissioner has gathered to back—up the testimony. for example, witness three, the man who made the allegation, had also provided the commissioner with a text message he sent this evening. it was sent around 12.40 in the morning saying, oh my god, chris pincherjust groped me. he sent that to a friend. the friend replied, horrible, don't accept it with some sad face emojis. he was asked if he was ok to which the witness said it was ok to which the witness said it was a full on grope but i'm ok. clearly what the commissioner has outlined in the report is that these

events had a significant emotional impact on both complainants who made the allegations. iahe impact on both complainants who made the allegations-— the allegations. ione wells, thank ou for the allegations. ione wells, thank you for taking _ the allegations. ione wells, thank you for taking us _ the allegations. ione wells, thank you for taking us through - the allegations. ione wells, thank you for taking us through that i the allegations. ione wells, thank you for taking us through that and getting more details coming out of report. joining me now is dr kate maltby, a journalist, academic and columnist for the i newspaper. she is also a campaigner against sexual harassment in politics. we spoke a few moments ago and we had been talking about how the complaints process functions at westminster. you had said you saw some positive changes but i want to come back to you and say, what more needs to change? has i come back to you and say, what more needs to change?— needs to change? as i said on this programme _ needs to change? as i said on this programme earlier, _ needs to change? as i said on this programme earlier, the _ needs to change? as i said on this programme earlier, the real - needs to change? as i said on this i programme earlier, the real failings programme earlier, the realfailings and weaknesses are still in the party political systems which assess complaints against people who are not necessarily mps but who are senior in the parties. i would also say here that this was clearlyjust the latest scandal in a major ethics

crisis for the conservative party. and it is part of the long tail of borisjohnson and the complete failure of leadership on ethics that we saw during his premiership. but i have been listening to a lot of the other parliamentary parties coming in and giving you comments. the lib dems calling for his resignation i think it was. well, the lib dems still have chris rennard in the house of lords, sitting there with their whip despite a serious investigation many years ago which found broadly credible evidence of serious complaints of misconduct. there are a number of investigations live into the labour party. we have had republic reports into them in recent weeks. —— we have had public reports into them in recent weeks. but i'm clear that it is the conservative party that has brought us to this nadir in public life where the prime minster is looking the other way on sexual harassment. i think it is a cross—party

political problem, it's about the culture in westminster as a whole and it's about the other party being careful that they are cleaning up their act if they are throwing stones at this particular political glasshouse. stones at this particular political glasshouse-— glasshouse. thank you to kate maltb , glasshouse. thank you to kate maltby, journalist _ glasshouse. thank you to kate maltby, journalist and - glasshouse. thank you to kate i maltby, journalist and campaigner. glasshouse. thank you to kate - maltby, journalist and campaigner. a reminder of the breaking news. parliament's standards watchdog has recommended an eight week suspension for the mp, chris pincher. the weather is quite mixed today but we have some heavy and persistent rain coming our way across northern ireland and western scotland later courtesy of this area of low pressure. we are also under the influence of this area of high pressure further south. here is where we have the driest conditions across the south and south—east. there are still going to be some scattered showers even into the afternoon ahead of the rain moving in across northern ireland and eventually into western scotland. western areas will also be quite windy, especially through the irish

sea. these are the temperatures, 15-22. if sea. these are the temperatures, 15—22. if you are going to wimbledon today, there is only a very low chance of a shower. a much higher chance of a shower. a much higher chanceit chance of a shower. a much higher chance it will stay dry. dry tomorrow and humid and as we head into saturday it will turn a bit more unsettled. back to this evening, the rain continues across northern ireland, scotland, gets into northern england and parts of wales. south of that, some clear skies. still winding through the irish sea and a fresh night for most of us. into tomorrow, we start off with the rain across northern ireland and also scotland, northern england, courtesy of these weather fronts. but we start to scoop up all of this humid and hot airfrom the near continent, notjust into the south of england but more or less across the board. friday, we start with the rain in scotland and northern ireland, and it pushes back out towards the atlantic, replaced by sunshine and showers, some of which could be heavy, but a lot of dry weather and sunny conditions for

england and wales but turning more humid. 28 or29 england and wales but turning more humid. 28 or 29 in the south. widely the mid 20s and in the moray firth we could see 25. on saturday the humid air is still in place but we have a complication of another weather front coming in have a complication of another weatherfront coming in bringing some rain. on saturday, almost anywhere could catch a thunderstorm but we all want. in between there could be some sunshine around. it will still feel quite humid but temperatures will not be quite as high as we expect them to be on friday unless you hang on to the sunshine for a fair amount of time and then they could at least be as high. into the weekend, sunday and monday we are looking at a mixture of weather once again, still unsettled and if anything the temperatures are slipping a little bit more. live from london,

this bbc news. yevgeny prigozhin, founder of the wagner mercenary group, has left belarus and is back in russia, according to the belarusian president. four people are killed in a russian rocket attack on an apartment building in the ukrainian city of lviv. meta has officially launched �*threads', a potential rival to elon musk�*s twitter. hello, i'm lucy grey. we start with a new storyjust in. the belarusian leader alexander lukashenko has claimed that the wagner group's boss, evgeny prigozhin, is no longer in belarus but in the russian city of st petersburg. mr prigozhin had recently led a dramatic mutiny in russia, and was offered to "bed down"

in belarus for a while by mr lukashenko. onjune 27th he confirmed the mercenary group leader had arrived in the country, as part of a deal to end the rebellion. ina in a press conference lukashenko said he was going to discuss evgeny prigozhin with vladimir putin and said putin would not wipe out... in ukraine, a russian rocket has hit an apartment building overnight in the western city of lviv, killing at least four people. the mayor of lviv says the attack has left more than 30 people injured — one seriously. he says more than fifty flats have been damaged. these aerial images show the scale of the attack. the top floors of the apartment building have been devastated by the force of the explosion. emergency workers are still at the scene, amid fears more people could be trapped under the rubble. the attack is being described as the largest on lviv's civilian infrastructure since the start of the full—scale invasion. the city is hundreds of kilometres from the frontlines. some residents say they've

been left with nothing. translation: we are at home. at niuht i translation: we are at home. at night i woke _ translation: we are at home. at night i woke up _ translation: we are at home. at night i woke up from _ translation: we are at home. at night i woke up from the _ translation: we are at home. at night i woke up from the first - night i woke up from the first explosion but we didn't have time to leave the apartment. there was a second explosion, the ceiling started to fall. my mother was immediately hit. ijumped out. i was covered in rubble only about knee deep. i tried to reach my mother but i couldn't. ifound out my mother had died. my neighbours had died. at this point it seems i was the only one who survived from the fourth floor. it is a miracle. translation: if it wasn't floor. it is a miracle. translation: if it wasn't for _ floor. it is a miracle. translation: if it wasn't for the _ floor. it is a miracle. translation: if it wasn't for the rescuers - floor. it is a miracle. translation: if it wasn't for the rescuers we - if it wasn't for the rescuers we wouldn't have left the apartment. rescuers broke down door and that is out. i am left without an apartment, without anything. i heard screams from the neighbours. i think they were being pulled out of the rubble. opposite me there were terrifying screams, they must have been pulling

people out of the rubble, now i don't see my neighbours on the street any more. let's cross live now to our security corrispondent in kyiv, gordon corera. this is miles away from the front lines, this western city of the vivre. a lot of people had gone here to try and get away from the fighting so i suspect some surprise that it has been hit so badly. —— there has been shot that lviv has been hit, it has been shot before but not as often as the front line. four dead, pretty severe damage to the building as well. rescue work on going to see if there is anyone trapped in the rubble. there have been a number of missile strikes in recent days which have killed civilians, 13 people were killed last week at a pizzeria restaurant. a lot of concern and president zelensky has said there will be a response although he hasn't specified what that will be.

meanwhile the counteroffensive continues. can you talk us through what you expect his response might be considering this is ongoing and talk us through how widespread or spread out i suppose i should say this counteroffensive is. the counteroffensive _ this counteroffensive is. the counteroffensive is - this counteroffensive is. tie: counteroffensive is involving the ukrainian forces probing at a number of points. the very stern and stiff defences the russians have picked up across the front, that is a very long front, the ukrainians are really looking for a place where they might then be able to concentrate their forces and break through. they are trying to put pressure on the russians but it has certainly been slow going on they would have liked. they have acknowledged that. they have said it has been hard getting through things like minefields which are there on the front lines. so there is a caution here i think and a desire to be patient and the counteroffensive as it starts to gather pace but realising it will not be straightforward and will not involve fast taking of large amounts of

territory, in the immediate future. a lot of attention on the summit next week in lithuania with ukraine continuing to press for more weapons and ammunition as well as longer—term security guarantees which it says it needs in order to be able to take this fight to the russians. . . ~ be able to take this fight to the russians. ., ., ,, ., , ., ., russians. can i talk to you about the news that _ russians. can i talk to you about the news that has _ russians. can i talk to you about the news that has broken - russians. can i talk to you about the news that has broken that i russians. can i talk to you about the news that has broken that is| the news that has broken that is broken in the last hour about evgeny prigozhin, who is said to no longer be in belarus and is instant st petersburg. be in belarus and is instant st petersburg— be in belarus and is instant st petersburu. ., , ., , , , ., petersburg. that it is a surprise to many people _ petersburg. that it is a surprise to many people because _ petersburg. that it is a surprise to many people because the - petersburg. that it is a surprise to i many people because the expectation was evgeny prigozhin had gone to belarus after all it was a probation leader who had organised and negotiated on that day of the armed mutiny, for it to end in apparently and it was said evgeny prigozhin to go with his forces to belarus, it looks like some of the forces are there in belarus, alexander lukashenko has said they are looking to work out exactly where they will

be based, there have been satellite imagery showing some gas being built but this idea that evgeny prigozhin is now back in st petersburg, it appears, and that is i think quite surprising and his future is clearly unknown because we haven't seen him, there has been some audio, so i think what happens next is not clear, russian media have released some images which are said to be from its headquarters or a house in st petersburg showing gold bars and wigs, but his exact location hasn't been clear since that mutiny a couple of weeks ago when he led his wagon forces towards moscow with the threat to try and topple at least russia's military leadership. thank ou. some news breaking in the last hour here in the uk — parliament's standards watchdog has recommended an eight week suspension for the mp chris pincher, a former government whip, over

allegations of groping. it emerged the prime minister at the time, borisjohnson, he resigned from government injune last year after claims he drunkenly assaulted two men at the exclusive carlton club in london. mr pincher later apologised for "drinking far too much" and embarrassing "himself and other people". that led to a wave of ministers quitting and the downfall of the johnson government. with more on this, our political correspondent ione wells. talk us through what the report says. talk us through what the report sa 5. , , ., , , talk us through what the report sas. ,, ._ , says. essentially this report outlines for _ says. essentially this report outlines for the _ says. essentially this report outlines for the first - says. essentially this report outlines for the first time i says. essentially this report i outlines for the first time just a level of detail about some of these allegations that were made against chris pincher around this time last year. we have had details of what the allegations were, made by two different complainants, two young men at the carlton club, what the commissioner has found in this

report is that mr pincher grouped to individuals and touch the first individual, one complainant on his arm and neck before groping his bottom. mr pincher then grabbed a second person on his bottom and testicles it says, what the report has recommended is that chris pincher should receive an eight—week suspension from the house of commons. this is a long enough suspension that this good if approved trigger a by—election in his seat in tamworth which would add to the now multiple by—elections that the conservative party are facing after a number of mps have resigned, including the former prime minister borisjohnson. there are still questions about what will now happen next. mps will first have to approve the recommendation of this eight week suspension for that to become official. but i think there are big questions now about what mr pincher does next. he says while he has apologised for his conduct and

apologise to those involved, as denied bringing the house of commons into disrepute which was one of the things which the commissioner was investigating, the commissioner says he did bring the house and the reputation of both himself but also fellow mps into disrepute. that is something mr pincher denies and it'll be interesting to see whether he does try and challenge as a result the findings of this report. thank you. to china now and us treasury secretary janet yellen is due to arrive in beijing shortly for a four—day visit aimed at at easing tensions and restoring ties between the world's two economic superpowers. ms yellen has stressed the need for cooperation with beijing and warned against de—coupling their economies. she's the latest high—level us official to hold talks in china, following last month's visit by the secretary of state antony blinken. let's make now to isabel hilton, founder and editor of china

dialogue, an independent nonprofit organisation, based in london, beijing and san francisco. thank you forjoining us. what do you think both sides are trying to get out of this meeting? i both sides are trying to get out of this meeting?— this meeting? i think the bare minimum _ this meeting? i think the bare minimum they _ this meeting? i think the bare minimum they are _ this meeting? i think the bare minimum they are trying - this meeting? i think the bare minimum they are trying to i this meeting? i think the bare. minimum they are trying to get this meeting? i think the bare - minimum they are trying to get out of the meeting is some improvement in the atmosphere between the world's in the atmosphere between the worlds to biggest economic powers. at present things are very dense, relations are acknowledged to have reached low points and these visits are an attempt to re—establish communications after three very difficult years which included a pandemic in which nobody met anybody but also too many rather robust exchanges on politics which have affected trade. so on the chinese side, they would hope that the united states would drop its so—called 301 investigation which was initiated by donald trump to investigate unfair trade practices

and resulted in tariffs on the imports of chinese goods, the chinese would like those removed or reduced, that is not likely to happen. on the american side, they are looking for a resumption of the kind of exchange that was pretty much routine in the past, but they are trying to make it work at a very difficult moment when they are trying to get china to behave more like a market economy where china is increasingly behaving less like a market economy, which means the united states heals itself obliged to pull out what it calls unfair trade practices. so in this context i think the fact they are talking, if they can establish any follow—up mechanisms so that lower—level officials can continue to talk about these problems, that would count as a success. , ., , . these problems, that would count as asuccess. ., , . ., y a success. china's domestic economy has been showing _ a success. china's domestic economy has been showing signs _ a success. china's domestic economy has been showing signs of _ a success. china's domestic economy has been showing signs of slowing i has been showing signs of slowing recently. in terms of your website this is more important, what is your assessment on that front? i

this is more important, what is your assessment on that front?— assessment on that front? i think that is pretty _ assessment on that front? i think that is pretty hard _ assessment on that front? i think that is pretty hard to _ assessment on that front? i think that is pretty hard to judge. - that is pretty hard to judge. certainly the chinese economy is not doing well. there were hopes of a rebound after covid, that has pretty much fizzled out. the chinese instituted a policy of what they called dual circulation some years back which was intended to reduce the dependence on exports. and to increase domestic consumption. and thatis increase domestic consumption. and that is not going well. there are a series of measures china could do to assist that process for structural reasons they find it very hard to do, so they remain dependent on the global economy. on the other hand, the united states is also very dependent on trade with china and if you look at the figures despite all the rhetoric trade continues, to rise. there are certain sectors where the tensions are focused and certainly on the american side the

restrictions on the experts of high—level chip technology to try to slow china's advance in advanced technologies, those are pretty important and china doesn't like those but in retaliation just two days before yellen's visit china imposed license restrictions, export licences on two key minerals which everybody needs us both sides have a lot at stake here white thank you. thank you very much for your thoughts. antony blinken did the visitor about a month ago and when he got back president biden overheard calling present shejinping a dictator so that visit didn't end very well but maybe this will be more successful. yellen is landing in a few hours' time so we will see how that goes. you're watching bbc news here with

me. any library with a twist. instead of books this is a library of things. full of electronics like this popular carpet cleaner. expertly maintained by technical specialist turned librarianjamie, responsible turned librarian jamie, responsible for looking turned librarianjamie, responsible for looking after the collections of a dozen such libraries across london. . london. renting and needing accommodation, _ london. renting and needing accommodation, they - london. renting and needing accommodation, they come i london. renting and needingl accommodation, they come to london. renting and needing i accommodation, they come to get london. renting and needing - accommodation, they come to get the carpets— accommodation, they come to get the carpets cleaned, before moving out and it— carpets cleaned, before moving out and it is— carpets cleaned, before moving out and it is quite expensive to pay some _ and it is quite expensive to pay some of— and it is quite expensive to pay some of the that as a service, but it is £22_ some of the that as a service, but it is £22 50 — some of the that as a service, but it is £22 50 a _ some of the that as a service, but it is £22 50 a day.— it is £22 50 a day. electronic libraries within _ it is £22 50 a day. electronic libraries within regular - it is £22 50 a day. electronic i libraries within regular literature libraries within regular literature libraries like this one in suffolk. an operation recently voted one of the country's top 100 social enterprises. southwark is one of the london public most populated boroughs, the council has backed the

initiative in part to curb the 400 tonnes of electric waste that has generated here every year. you're live with bbc news. the authorities in south africa say at least 17 people, including three children, have died from inhaling toxic gas in an informal settlement near the town of boksburg, east ofjohannesburg. the emergency services say they believe the nitrate, which leaked from a gas cylinder stored in a yard in the squatter camp, is linked to illegal gold mining in the area. the gauteng provincial chairman of the economic freedom fighters party spoke to reporters at the scene. definitely came from a gas leak, potentially from what you referred to as illegal miners, zama—zamas, a dwelling of the zama—zamas. and that leakage actually was inhaled by members of the community. what is absolutely said, what we must state is that we have members of the community who have been saying that they have been calling saps particularly since six

o'clock, prior to even the tragedy, to state that there is a foul smell that is going on in the place and they would really generally like assistance. and they don't receive it until casualties actually were now found lying in the streets and lying on our roads. our correspondent in johannesburg, nomsa maseko told me more about how events unfolded. there was a foul smell at the angelo informal settlement at around 6pm last night. and people started suspecting that there could possibly be a gas leak because that informal settlement, some of the shacks that are there are rented by illegal gold miners who are known here as zama—zamas. and it did indeed turn out that where the gas leak actually took place was an area or shack where there were gas canisters inside and those are the kind

of areas where illegal miners went out to extract gold from soil that they would have stolen from abandoned mine shafts all around this area here in eastern johannesburg. but chaos then started when members of the community went to the shack where they had seen that there was a smell coming from it. and that's when people started collapsing and officials so far say that 17 people have died. 15 others are still in hospital and three of those that are in hospital remain in a critical condition at this stage. we were hearing from the politician, people complaining i didn't get enough response when they reported that foul smell. this enough response when they reported that foul smell.— that foul smell. this is unfortunately - that foul smell. this is unfortunately the - that foul smell. this is i unfortunately the tragedy that foul smell. this is - unfortunately the tragedy when that foul smell. this is _ unfortunately the tragedy when it comes to south african black communities, to be specific, because

even though they call for help its it only comes when it is late. what happened there last night as it is no surprise that emergency services officials only arrived at the scene once casualties started to be reported. in fact the bbc did speak to one women whose husband also died at the scene. she was not there at the time because she was at work but she did manage to tell us that she received a call from her neighbours, saying that her husband was one of the people that had collapsed in the area and most of those people it appears the people that had collapsed or even died were within a 100 metre radius of where the gas canisters were found, so you will be seeing a lot of politicians and officials all over the place, yesterday, in fact today, when none

of them were there to even help or even ensure that this situation is the necessary attention it deserves. some pictures from beijing because as you were just talking janet yellen the us treasury secretary has just arrived and touched down in beijing for that four day visit to china, the visit aimed at easing tensions and restoring ties between the two countries, so she has just touched down and we were bringing any details we get from that visit over the next four days. the social media giant, meta, which owns facebook and instagram, has officially launched its new app, threads. according to mark zuckerberg there's already been 10 million sign ups in the first seven hours. the app will be linked to instagram and is widely seen as a potential rival to twitter. meta describes it as a "text based conversation app". users will be able to post up to 500 characters of text, and five minutes of video and pictures. it will not be available in the european union

because of regulatory concerns. our north america technology correspondent james clayton reports. last month, these two titans of tech challenged each other to a physical fight. it wasn't clear if they were joking. but meta's new app — called threads — is deadly serious for twitter. it's been branded the twitter—killer. these were my thoughts just after the app went live. so, first thoughts — this is just very similar to twitter. very similar. only looks like there's one feed here. in terms of optics, though...identical. ok, what's this? can you re... can you retwee... oh, repost, not retweet. i'm going to... this is an article by a friend of mine, so i'm going to repost this. add to story. so this is different — so you can directly add a story... he chuckles. ..to your instagram.

yeah, this is just so clearly directed as a direct competitor on twitter. i mean, it doesn't take a genius to work that out. however, although this is essentially a copy of twitter, experts say it's a pretty good copy — and one that could be a problem for elon musk. i think he should be worried. i think he should be very concerned because this is a real challenge to his platform now. and there hasn't been a real challenge of platform until today. and it's only going to get better, i think, so i think that he will be concerned about how many people are talking about it and how many people are starting to use it. mark zuckerberg said he wanted the app to be used by a billion people, and that twitter had had the opportunity to expand, but hadn't nailed it. but for some, it's a little odd that people frustrated with how twitter is run might be going to a meta—run platform. meta is no stranger to controversy. last year, whistle—blower frances haugen said the company had put profits over safety.

mr musk tweeted after the launch... "it is infinitely preferable to be attacked by strangers on twitter, than indulge in the false happiness of hide—the—pain instagram." but if this was a fight, it does look like mark zuckerberg has had a good first round. i spoke earlier to the bbc�*s technology editor, zoe kleinman. i was quite surprised by how much activity there was. there has been a real buzz around this app. mark zuckerberg says a 10 million people have signed up in a for seven hours of its launch. to give you a comparison there is an alternative text based social network called mastodon which had a big increase in followers last year after elon musk first bought twitter. i wrote an article about that for the bbc at the time i said it had registered 230,000 new users in one week. now we have 10 million people signing up in seven hours. it is busy and

buzzing. that is good news for fledging social network. it needs engagement, people soon get bored if there is nothing going on. there is plenty going on, i had to leave my phonein plenty going on, i had to leave my phone in another room because the notifications were driving me mad in the end. there is so much enthusiasm for this and i think meta has played a really clever trick by tying in so closely with instagram because it makes the onboarding process is really simple. if you have an instagram account you just need to click it three times and you have a profile set up on threads and you're ready to go which i think makes it very easy for people to join in the conversation. will it work? i think it might turn out to be twitter because my greatest rival so far. as james said it is certainly very similar in design, pretty instinctive views, there are some issues, people are complaining a bit about the timeline because in addition to the people you follow which tends to be the people you have been following on instagram already there are also random things thrown in, these random people have been decided by an algorithm that asks people you might be interested in, a lot of people say they want

that to go and meta says that it was lunch thing to try to build communities, but it already has its ready—made community of 2 billion people on instagram who it is now mobilising on this new platform, i think it might work. the mobilising on this new platform, i think it might work.— think it might work. the timing of it is genius. _ think it might work. the timing of it is genius. i— think it might work. the timing of it is genius, i don't _ think it might work. the timing of it is genius, i don't know - think it might work. the timing of it is genius, i don't know if - think it might work. the timing of it is genius, i don't know if it i think it might work. the timing of it is genius, i don't know if it is i it is genius, i don't know if it is luck, but people are getting fed up with twitter and all the changes that elon musk has brought in and the restrictions they have recently had as well in terms of what they can see and having to pay, so it has come as a difficult time as opposed for elon musk. it come as a difficult time as opposed for elon musk.— for elon musk. it has been a roller-coaster, _ for elon musk. it has been a roller-coaster, twitter, i for elon musk. it has been a roller-coaster, twitter, in l for elon musk. it has been a i roller-coaster, twitter, in recent roller—coaster, twitter, in recent months. elon musk is a problem. he has to make money from that platform and he says it is not making money, he says when he took over it was losing $4 million a day. no business can afford to do that for very long. his solution is to really push people to subscribe but he is getting a lot of pushback from those who are signing up and saying actually i not really noticing much difference here. a lot of them don't have many followers, they don't have much engagement. so they are walking away and there are others who

fundamentally disagree with some of the changes he has made a moderation which they say have increased the amount of hate that has appeared on the platform. he disputes out and says it is free speech and anyone should be able to say whatever they want. other people are not so sure about that. people don't tend to vote with their feet very readily. you think they would just walk away en masse but they don't because it is quite difficult to kiss up in a new social network and start from the beginning. especially if you have an account and community you like and you are happy where you are, even if you don't like the people running it, people tend to stick around but met are also controversial, lots of people don't like the way in which it gathers and harvests and uses data, but it does have this enormous army of people who are already on it. it is not starting from the beginning. stay with us here on bbc news. that is all for me for now. thanks for watching.

you are watching bbc news. hello. very shortly we are expecting the labour leader sur keir starmer to outline his plans for education. this is the scene live at kent couegein this is the scene live at kent college in gillingham where keir starmer will deliver his speech but as we wait for sir keir starmer to begin speaking let's cross live to our political correspondentjonathan our political correspondent jonathan blake. this our political correspondentjonathan blake. this is expected to be a major speech on education. have we been given any indication what he might say? we been given any indication what he miaht sa ? ~ . been given any indication what he miaht sa ?~ ., ., been given any indication what he miahtsa ?~ ., ., , , might say? we have and this is absurd keir— might say? we have and this is absurd keir starmer's - might say? we have and this is absurd keir starmer's fifth i might say? we have and this is absurd keir starmer's fifth of i might say? we have and this is l absurd keir starmer's fifth of five missions as he describes them. —— sir keir starmer. they are there to set out the priorities borrow labour government if his party would win powerfor government if his party would win power for the next election, government if his party would win powerfor the next election, he has already talked about growing the economy, focusing on green energy and his plans for the nhs and today

we will hear about education. circular will describe this as his core purpose and personal goals and at the centre of what he will say is the idea that someone's prospects in life shouldn't be determined by whether they come from and the life which they are born into, he will talk about a pernicious sense that working—class children often face that something isn't for them. he will talk about putting academic along with vocational studies on an equal footing and he will talk about smashing what some people describe as the ceiling. so it is not a hugely new or radical idea and it is what you might expect sir keir starmer to stay to appeal to a large base of the labour party's supporters, historically, but it is an important moment for him to talk in some detail about his plans for reforming the education system, the westminster government has

responsibility for that largely in england as opposed to the rest of the uk. but we will hear today some pretty broad priorities set out from sir keir starmer rather than specific policy edges, aside from what he will say in terms of the early years children, hitting attainment targets, he was a see more of that, he will talk about my teachers being recruited and retained and more of an emphasis on creative subjects as well. has retained and more of an emphasis on creative subjects as well.— creative sub'ects as well. as you are creative subjects as well. as you are speaking _ creative subjects as well. as you are speaking we _ creative subjects as well. as you are speaking we are _ creative subjects as well. as you are speaking we are also - creative subjects as well. as you are speaking we are also able i creative subjects as well. as you are speaking we are also able toi creative subjects as well. as you i are speaking we are also able to see what is going on in gillingham. we can see the bridget phillipson shadow education secretary is on stage at the moment, she is speaking to the crowd, when she ventures we expect sir keir starmer will begin his own speech. to cross back what we are expecting, he has already been managing expectations today, already said no to free school meals for all primary children, which is

what some in his party have been pushing for. what some in his party have been pushing for-— pushing for. that is one area of several where _ pushing for. that is one area of several where labour _ pushing for. that is one area of several where labour have i pushing for. that is one area of severalwhere labour have had| pushing for. that is one area of. several where labour have had to scale back their ambition and their plans for government in the face of what they say are very difficult and challenging economic conditions, laying the blame for that largely at the conservative government who have beenin the conservative government who have been in powerfor more than the conservative government who have been in power for more than a the conservative government who have been in powerfor more than a decade now. but in the face of that the conservatives and other opponents of labour have accused them of you turning, backtracking, and of flip—flopping on ideas rather than making specific pledges and sticking to them. that is one thing which sir keir starmer continues to face and will probably hear more of the doubt from his opponents, given the broad as his critics say vague nature of these pledges we are hearing with these pledges we are hearing with these five missions and his reticence to commit to specific policy plans at this point. as you

point out with free school meals are another example is the investment in green energy that labour have said they are going to build up to overtime rather than committing to at the first year of a potential labour government, so it difficult for sir keir starmer, he knows he has to be seen to be economically responsible and not posing things he can't deliver but on the other hand there is an issue with him having to roll back and in some cases ditch previous policies he had signed up to in the face of a very difficult and challenging economic situation. he is speaking at a time when it is quite difficult to cross the education front. we have teachers striking and just today he has declined, he hasn't committed to an exact pay rise for teachers. he is also trying to hold back from committing to something on that front as well.— front as well. yes, it is all very well saying _ front as well. yes, it is all very well saying we _ front as well. yes, it is all very well saying we want _ front as well. yes, it is all very

well saying we want to - front as well. yes, it is all very| well saying we want to improve standards in schools and improve opportunity for children but if you're not going to be able to recruit and retain enough teachers to do that and to pay them enough of a ways to attract more people into the profession, then it will be very difficult for any government to achieve that. that's one of the criticisms that has come labour's way this morning for the p has talked about a promise to recruit 6500 more teachers but as you suggest, he hasn't committed to paying whatever the independent pay review body recommends for teachers and there are of course strikes across the education sector that we have seen more recently and keir starmer has talked about negotiating a way through those and ending the strikes, but he hasn't put a firm figure on what his government would be prepared to pay teachers. those are very difficult questions he will face again today in the question and answer session we expect after this speech. and in the face of these

broad aims there will be a call for more detail and for more explanation of how sir keir plans to pay for these promises. that's something teaching unions have raised as well, broadly supporting the plans but saying you have to invest to make them happen. saying you have to invest to make them happen-— saying you have to invest to make them haen.“, ., ., , them happen. jonathan pie, stay with us. to them happen. jonathan pie, stay with us- to remind — them happen. jonathan pie, stay with us. to remind our— them happen. jonathan pie, stay with us. to remind our audience, - them happen. jonathan pie, stay with us. to remind our audience, we i them happen. jonathan pie, stay with us. to remind our audience, we are i us. to remind our audience, we are looking at bridget phillipson, we are looking at the shadow education secretary, delivering an opening speech on stage at the moment ahead of keir starmer's major speech on education. ——jonathan blake, stay with us. you mentioned labour's five missions and keir starmer's setting out of broad visions for the labour party. do you think those messages are getting across to voters? is there an awareness of these missions and how have they landed so far? i think by labour's own admission

think by labour�*s own admission these five missions are not yet if you like part of the national conversation or part of the consciousness of the electorate at large. i think if you stop people on the street and ask them to name all five of keir starmer's missions for a better britain than most of us would probably struggle. i had to remind myself of them this morning. but he has talked about the nhs, security and safer streets, economic growth and labour�*s focus on green energy as well. i growth and labour's focus on green energy as well-— energy as well. i will 'ust interrupt i energy as well. i will 'ust interrupt you i energy as well. i willjust interrupt you because i energy as well. i willjust interrupt you because we energy as well. i willjust i interrupt you because we have energy as well. i willjust - interrupt you because we have sir keir starmer coming onto the stage and we can listen in. applause thank you, bridget, for those words and everything you have done on this mission, which is so important to you personally. thank you. and thank

you personally. thank you. and thank you to mid kent college for hosting us, for being here.— us, for being here. applause it is fantastic _ us, for being here. applause it is fantastic to _ us, for being here. applause it is fantastic to be _ us, for being here. applause it is fantastic to be able i us, for being here. applause it is fantastic to be able to - us, for being here. applause . it is fantastic to be able to launch a mission that so many of you have devoted your lives to so thank you very much for that. one of the things i learned from my teachers is that persuasive argument depends on clear objectives. so let me say that this speech should demonstrate two things. one, that labour has a plan to tear down the barriers to opportunity that hold this country and its people back. two, that i see this mission as our core purpose and my personal cause, to fight at every stage for every child the pernicious idea that background equals destiny. that your circumstances, who you are, where you come from, who you

know, might shape your life more than your talent, your effort and your enterprise.— your enterprise. applause no. breaking _ your enterprise. applause no. breaking that - your enterprise. applause no. breaking that link, - your enterprise. applause l no. breaking that link, that's your enterprise. applause - no. breaking that link, that's what labour is for. i have always felt that. and it runs very deep for me. i grew up in a small town in southern england. we had a semi detached house, pebble dashed, as i think i may have mentioned previously!— previously! laughter with mum, _ previously! laughter with mum, dad, - previously! laughter with mum, dad, four| previously! laughter - with mum, dad, four kids, four previously! laughter _ with mum, dad, four kids, four dogs and a blue ford cortina outside. this was the 19705. i'm not pleading poverty, not at all. but that's just how life was. but i do look back now and think i've been on a journey, to go from an ordinary working—class background to leading the crown

prosecution service and now the labour party. ifeel prosecution service and now the labour party. i feel both privileged and proud. but over the last year or so i have been thinking more and more about it because there is more than a touch of the 19705 about our economic situation right now. like them, we face a cost of living cri5i5 them, we face a cost of living crisis that gnaws away at our ability to move forward. so i think about what it felt like to get on during that period. about the fact i did see plenty of people from my background go on to achieve their aspirations. and i don't think i'm being too sentimental to say that i grew up surrounded by hope. we took it for granted. a sense that enterprise, hard work and imagination would be rewarded in britain. that even in tough times this would see us through, that things would get better for families like ours. my parents didn'tjust

believe this, they were comforted by it. it is what everybody wants for their family. it. it is what everybody wants for theirfamily. more than it. it is what everybody wants for their family. more than the british value, a story we still tell to our children, work hard and you can achieve anything. work hard and you will get a fair chance in britain. the question is, do we still believe it? do you look around our country today and believe with the certainty you deserve that britain will be better for you or your children? because you should. that's something we should be able to trust, all of us. an unwritten contract, a bond of hope between citizen and country, generation and generation. i promise you this, whatever the obstacles to opportunity, wherever the barriers to hope, my labour government will tear them down.—

and as with all our missions, we will do so spurred on by clear and measurable goals, that we will change britain, break the link between where you start in life and where you end up. we can measure that. the earnings of our children should not be determined by those of their parents. and make no mistake, from where we are now, that is an ambitious target. but it is also urgent. this is the world of artificial intelligence, of technologies that stretch the boundaries of our imagination. we have got to meet with an open mind as we look to our children's future and make sure we are preparing them for life and work in their britain. a5 are preparing them for life and work in their britain. as i said in leith

recently, the industries of tomorrow and come to our shores, but the rest of the world is pushing forward as well. the race for the future is unforgiving. so we have got to move fast. we must unlock the potential thatis fast. we must unlock the potential that is in every community. the talents of every child. that means we have to get to the bottom of a challenge with a long history. the roots of this are deep. in part it is about security, and especially the diminishing access to affordable homes. when i think back to the 19705, to the cost of living crisis we face then, that pebble dashed semi my parents owned, that was my springboard, the secure foundation that gave us stability as the world beyond our front door became that gave us stability as the world beyond ourfront door became more uncertain. it's about community as well. fora uncertain. it's about community as well. for a long time now to many people have had to leave there is to

find success, had to get out to get on. and when talented young people start to leave a town it becomes hard to break free from that dynamic. it is a vicious cycle. it leads to communities, far too many in this country, where the onlyjobs on offer are low paid and insecure. and insecurity is the enemy of opportunity. it places barriers... can we reinstate the pledge for them — can we reinstate the pledge for the... , , ., ., the... on the mission on the green lan the... on the mission on the green [an we the... on the mission on the green plan we did — the... on the mission on the green plan we did that — the... on the mission on the green plan we did that last _ the... on the mission on the green plan we did that last month. - the... on the mission on the green plan we did that last month. we i the... on the mission on the green i plan we did that last month. we have done that one. plan we did that last month. we have done that one-— done that one. which side are the labour party _ done that one. which side are the labour party on — done that one. which side are the labour party on question - done that one. which side are the labour party on question yellow l done that one. which side are the l labour party on question yellow we are on_ labour party on question yellow we are on the — labour party on question yellow we are on the side _ labour party on question yellow we are on the side of— labour party on question yellow we are on the side of economic - labour party on question yellow we l are on the side of economic growth. will you _ are on the side of economic growth. will you let — are on the side of economic growth. will you let me _ are on the side of economic growth. will you let me get— are on the side of economic growth. will you let me get on— are on the side of economic growth. will you let me get on with - are on the side of economic growth. will you let me get on with this. - will you let me get on with this. stop— will you let me get on with this. stop making _ will you let me get on with this. stop making u—turns. _ will you let me get on with this. stop making u—turns. leit- will you let me get on with this. stop making u-turns._ will you let me get on with this. stop making u-turns. let me finish this and i will— stop making u-turns. let me finish this and i will talk— stop making u-turns. let me finish this and i will talk to _ stop making u-turns. let me finish this and i will talk to you _ stop making u-turns. let me finish this and i will talk to you about - this and i will talk to you about it. �* �* this and i will talk to you about it. . . .

it. all talk at once we need _ it. all talk at once we need a _ it. all talk at once we need a green - it. all talk at once j we need a green new it. all talk at once - we need a green new deal it. all talk at once _ we need a green new deal right now. my last_ we need a green new deal right now. my last speech was about this. there are lots of people who want to hear this. please don't drown them out. thank you very much.— thank you very much. applause all talk at _ thank you very much. applause all talk at once _ i think they may have missed the fact that the last mission i launched was clean power by 2030, the single most effective way to get the single most effective way to get the green future that they and many others want. the green future that they and many others want-— let me continue about insecurity. it places barriers, notjust economic barriers, but subtle barriers in the minds of working people. it chips away at the stability of family

life. the reservoirs of confidence that people from less privileged backgrounds need to get on. i'm sorry to say it, but that's what the cost of living crisis is doing right now. what the tory mortgage bombshell is doing. what the total collapse of house building is doing. but there is something more pernicious here. a pervasive idea, a barrier in our collective mind that narrows our ambitions for working class children and says, sometimes recruit more teachers in shortage subje children} recruit more teachers in shortage subje children and with subtlety and sometimes to your face, this isn't for you. some people call it the class ceiling, and that's a good name for it. yes, economic insecurity, structural and racial injustice are part of it, of course they are. but it is also about a fundamental lack of respect.

a snobbery that too often extends into adulthood, raising its ugly head when it comes to inequalities at work in pay, promotions, opportunities. take my dad. he will a toolmaker, and a good one. highly skilled, proud of his work. but back in the 19805 the tories made it quite clear that people like him were not valued, that actually they didn't see the point of our country making things. that his skills were not part of their future. this hurt him. whenever anyone asked the old question, what do you do for a living, i could see him visibly pull away. he felt looked down on and disrespected. it chipped away at his esteem. i'm not going to pretend the thatcher government invented this kind of snobbery. in truth it has always been there. but what happened back then is that our economy fundamentally changed the stop the

complacency that we didn't need to educate all our children because they could just leave school at 16 and get a good job in their community, that was exposed almost overnight. and this cultural bruise is still with us. and we have to confront it. the last labour government had the best record on education in the history of our country without question. we expanded higher education, fundamentally raised school standards, gave millions of working—class children, children of all backgrounds, the tools to thrive in a knowledge economy. we arejust we are just interrupting that speech buys sir keir starmer, some breaking news is coming into us. information from scotland yard, news of a vehicle crashing into a school in

wimbledon in south london. the police say they were called just before 10am today, thursday, two reports of a land rover vehicle having collided with a primary school building in sw19, in wimbledon. officers and the london ambulance service are at the scene. scotland yard says. they and they are aware of several casualties and we await further updates regarding injuries. we will go back to sir keir starmer's speech now butjust to repeat keir starmer's speech now but 'ust to re -ea- ., , ., to repeat hold them in your mind. if to repeat hold them in your mind- if they — to repeat hold them in your mind. if they were _ to repeat hold them in your mind. if they were a _ to repeat hold them in your mind. if they were a rumble i to repeat hold them in your mind. if they were a rumble of| mind. if they were a rumble of concern 30 years ago, they are a deafening roar now. rishi sunak has given up on education reform. he is not interested in our children's

future. if you think that's unfair then let me remind you what happened during the pandemic when he was chancellor cancelled the national recovery plan. after our children and working class children in particular gave up so much for the greater good. so for his tory party to turn around afterwards and repay their sacrifice with nothing, to sit there twiddling their thumbs as teachers leave in their droves, school buildings start to crumble and absenteeism goes through the roof, that is shameful. and this is what the tories don't get. those two questions, remember them? can we prepare all our children for the future? will we confront the divides that maintain the class ceiling, they are one and

the class ceiling, they are one and the same. i'm serious, the mentality that has always been in english education, the academic for my kids, vocational for your education, the academic for my kids, vocationalfor your kids education, the academic for my kids, vocational for your kids snobbery. it has no place in modern society. it has no place in modern society. it has no connection to the jobs of the future. no, for our children to succeed they need to be grounded in both. we need knowledge and skills. practical problem—solving and academic rigour. curiosity and a love of learning, that has always been critical. but now is the future rushes towards us, we also need a greater emphasis on creativity on resilience, on emotional intelligence, and the ability to adapt. all of the attributes, to put it starkly, that make us human, that distinguish us from learning machines, make our communities and lives so rich and rewarding.

honestly, we have got to get this into our heads. it isn't the case that the status quo only fails children outside the academic route. without modernising education we are also failing the children who do go down that route, preparing them all for a world that is receding into the past. sojust as i will for a world that is receding into the past. so just as i will bulldoze through planning laws to reignite the dream of home ownership, just as i will take the tough decisions necessary to win the race for the jobs of the future, safer streets, the cheap and clean electricity, the nhs fit for the future, sustained growth in every community, so too will i introduce a curriculum fit for the digital age. so too will i fight for vocational training to be respected as much as university education. so too will i drag our education. so too will i drag our education system into the future and shatter the class ceiling.—

shatter the class ceiling. applause thank ou. so let me set out five areas where a reformed education system can be the game—changer. five barriers that taken together we must tear down to prepare our children for the future. barrier one. the insecurity that right now is destabilising family life. education is part of our response, part of the strong foundation our children need to get on. most of all in the early years, which we all know from all the evidence are so crucial to lifelong flourishing. let me tell you about a constituent of mine in camden. he she started attending a community centre while sleeping on her mum's

floor suffering from depression and poverty. thanks to the work of children's community centre kept open by a labour council, she has got on herfeet, a open by a labour council, she has got on her feet, a flat of her own, tailored support for her son diagnosed with autism on his language of element and a place for him at university. she is now a parent stamping in the community, a life turned around. but now, after the wreckage of the past 13 years her story is becoming more rare. i will not mince my words, rebuilding these services will be difficult but we can start thatjourney these services will be difficult but we can start that journey with a clear target, to boost child development with half a million more children hitting their early language targets by 2030. and we will set out the first steps.

thousands more health visitors in the community. expanding mental health access for new parents and working with local authorities to boost capacity in our childcare system. raise standards in early education, stop the growing number of nurseries that right now are subjects, being forced to shut their doors for good. the second barrier, confidence. it sounds simple but all the teachers here will know how important it is in every class there are kids with so much ability and talent but who struggle to find within themselves the confidence to express it, the belief their ideas matter, the voice to speak up. this is a subtle and significant layer of the class ceiling. don't doubt that. the inability to speak fluently is one of the biggest barriers to

opportunity. and also it's a massive challenge left behind by the pandemic to kira leat in early language development. think for a moment how sad that is. watching those first playful steps towards expression, that has to be one of the greatestjoys of parenting, of life, even. but it must also be one of the greatest anxiety is if your child is struggling. so let's take this on, raise the importance of speaking skills, or receive as some academics call it, because these skills are critical for our children's future success. first and foremost for academic attainment, talking through your ideas before putting them on a page improves writing. the structured classroom discussion deep thinking. but it's notjust a skill for learning. it's also a skill for life. notjust for the workplace but also working out

who you are, for overcoming shyness or disaffection, anxiety or doubt. or even just or disaffection, anxiety or doubt. or evenjust for opening or disaffection, anxiety or doubt. or even just for opening more to our friends and family. we don't do enough of that as a society and i am as guilty as anyone. but wouldn't that be something precious for our children to aim for? i think so. confident speaking gives you a steely core, an inner belief to make your case in any environment, whether that's persuading your mum to buy some new trainers, a sceptical public to hear your argument, or even your daughter to let go of the iphone. it's not foolproof, but we do need to nurture it early, in the early years in primary school. so today i can announce we will give every primary school new funding, paid for by removing tax breaks on private schools that will let them invest in world—class early language intervention and help our children

find their voice.— barrier three, an outdated curriculum. the mentality that cleaves to a comfort zone, a conservatism, that refuses to examine whether what we teach our children should keep pace with the world outside. i say in no uncertain terms that it should. because the race is on. all around the world the best in class are rethinking their curriculum and everyone of them is putting greater creativity front and centre, including countries like estonia and singapore. so today we start to capture. we will update the progress performance measure and use it to get children studying a creative arts subject or sport until

they are 16. but we will also go further. we will weave oracy through a new national curriculum that closes the gap between learning and life, academic achievement in schools and work. we will crack the code on digital skills. we have to address this. the old way, learning out of date it on 20—year—old computers doesn't work. but neither does the new fashion that every kid should be a coda when artificial intelligence will blow that future away. the basic truth is this. to prepare our children for theirfuture we have this. to prepare our children for their future we have to use every opportunity in every classroom to nurture digital skills. taking a one

subject, one lesson a week box simply will not work any more so the next labour government will review the national curriculum and today we will set out the principles of our review. how we must deliver high standards for every child, how we must crack the code on digital skills, starting thatjourney early in primary school, and how we need every young person, whatever their background, to see themselves in the curriculum, with role models and stories that can inspire them to do great things. and look, i know people have been arguing about this for a long time and i salute those teachers who over the past few years have taken their subject and developed a rich curriculum, a flowing knowledge of deep conceptual understanding. let me be clear, labour will build on that, but this debate about the relative importance of knowledge and skills, people

outside the education world are baffled by it. and they are right. everyone with their feet on the ground in the real world knows you need both. and these old arguments, old practices and divides, they are holding our children back. most of all on barrio four, this country's attitude towards vocational education. make no mistake, this is one of the deepest roots, and we can't rip it out by ourselves. this has to be a shared undertaking. it's notjust businesses, colleges and parents. it's the whole of society. we have all been shaped by the class ceiling. we have to remove it. and there are steps we can take today. first, a practical goal that will drive us forward, to give more people than ever access to the best

quality post 19 training. next, a proper national skills plan led by a new body, skills england, that will work hand in glove with our industrial policy and make sure we can compete in the race for the jobs of the future. and finally, a new growth and skills levy that doubles down on apprenticeships, high quality apprenticeships and that looks again at the full breadth of formal training available. identifies the best options and gives businesses greater flexibility to invest in them. whether it's the tech boot camps that can train ai experts in a week, the technical courses that can prepare young people for the engineering jobs they needin people for the engineering jobs they need in clean energy, or the traineeships that can give kids a footin traineeships that can give kids a foot in the door in the first place. finally, five. the soft bigotry of low expectations. an old barrier but one that always needs more work. before anyone says it, i know that

is something michael gove said. i didn't agree with everything he did in education, clearly. but when he said that, it was an important strike against the class ceiling. an acknowledgement that school standards are the most fundamental front line in the battle for more opportunity. and whatever else you thought about education in that period, the tories simply don't care any more. they are not interested in raising school standards. how can they be when the number of teachers leaving the profession is at record highs. when in parts of the country, adverts for a maths or science teacher get no applicants. we have got to turn this around urgently. that's why we will tackle the retention crisis by rewarding great new teachers who commit to a career in the classroom. why we will recruit more teachers in shortage