the british prime minister, rishi sunak, has confirmed that britain — like several other nato countries — is signed up to a convention that bans their use. on friday, president biden made what he called "the difficult decision" to send cluster munitions to ukraine. he arrives in the uk on sunday. rishi sunak is playing down any differences. kurt volker is a former us ambassador to nato. he was also the us special representative for ukraine. he's been telling me why he backs the move. ukraine is facing brutal attacks from russia, genocidal war crimes, including the use by russia of cluster munitions and we need to do everything we can to give ukraine the equipment that they need in order to fight back and push the russians out of their territory. many would say, two wrongs don't make a right. the us has previously criticised russian forces for sending what it described as "exceptionally

lethal weaponry" to ukraine, including cluster munitions. why is it ok for the us to do this? well, because russia is the aggressor and they should not be doing it, and it is only fair and right for ukraine to be in a position to defend itself. it is a fundamentally different position that ukraine is in, as compared with russia. what difference will these weapons make to ukraine on the ground? well, ukraine, as we have seen, has been able to advance on the battlefield, but only very slowly, and that's because of the minefields and the trenches that have been put in place by the russians as defensive measures to prevent the ukrainians from advancing. using these types of munitions will substitute for single—shot artillery shells. they will cover more ground and they will force the russians to have to withdraw their personnel to avoid these types of weapons, which will make it more feasible for the ukrainians to advance more quickly. there are many americans who, of course, support president biden�*s assisting ukraine in its efforts. one of the things ukraine has asked for is fighterjets. couldn't america have given fighterjets instead? could have and should

have and still must do. there's a decision made that f—16s will go to ukraine and a consortium of countries, including the uk and the netherlands and denmark, are working to make that happen, but that requires american support, as it's an american system. and we only made the decision to go forward with this just a little over a month ago. this could have been done a year ago and ukraine would already have those things. and now, it's still going to take well into next year for these planes to be ready. one of the issues with cluster munitions is, of course, the long—term implications of their use. america's willing to send them now, rightly or wrongly. is america going to be willing to stump up the cash in the years to come, in the clean—up operation, which will be inevitable? yes, we're faced with this already. there are areas of ukraine that have suffered an inordinate amount of unexploded ordnance and debris from the war and mines, minefields, that now need to be cleaned up.

all these things caused by russia's aggression against ukraine. the sooner we can end russia's aggression, the sooner ukraine can get its territory back and make its people safe again. then we can start the clean—up effort, and i think it's going to take a large international programme to clean up areas where these munitions will have been used. one of the big issues here is, of course, the feeling amongst nato allies of the united states. we heard rishi sunak talking about that a little earlier on. not many countries happy with america sending these weapons. is that going to cause issues at this nato meeting in lithuania this week? first, i wouldn't say that's quite the case. most countries in nato, as prime minister sunak said, are parties to this convention and so are not in a position to provide these munitions themselves or to use them. that does not mean that they are opposing the us doing so, because they see what russia has been doing in ukraine, including with its use of these types of weapons, and that needs to be stopped.

and as far as this goes with the nato meeting, i don't think it's a significant issue for nato at all. as you know, nato as an alliance is not doing much to support ukraine at all. it is all individual allies making their own efforts in a variety of different ways and coordinated through this process that secretary of defense austin leads. so it's not really something that is a nato issue at this point. what i do think the issue will be at nato is what to say about ukraine's aspirations to become a member. i think it's important that the alliance go further than it has done in the past. former us ambassador to nato, kurt volker. and you can get more information on the story online on the bbc news website. or the bbc news app. much more is up there on the website, do have a look at this story.

beginning when they were 17. the claims in the sun newspaper allege the unnamed male presenter paid the teenager tens of thousands of pounds. and there are questions tonight over the bbc�*s handling of the allegations. also on the programme... rishi sunak says britain discourages the use of cluster bombs, after washington decides to send the weapons to the ukrainian military. the uk is signatory to a convention which prohibits the production or use of cluster munitions and discourages their use. we will continue to do our part to support ukraine. the family of the eight—year—old girl killed when a car crashed into her school say she was adored and loved by everyone. and british hope katie boulter is knocked out of wimbledon by defending champion elena rybakina.

good evening. there are new allegations tonight concerning a bbc presenter accused of paying a teenager for sexually explicit photographs, beginning when they were 17. the claims in the sun newspaper allege the unnamed male presenter paid the teenager tens of thousands of pounds. it's understood the corporation is investigating the allegations, and the star is currently not scheduled to be on air in the coming days. our special correspondent, lucy manning, is here. fill us in on what we know about the story. we fill us in on what we know about the sto . ~ ., fill us in on what we know about the sto .~ ., ., ., .,, story. we had some new allegations from the sun —

story. we had some new allegations from the sun newspaper _ story. we had some new allegations from the sun newspaper tonight - story. we had some new allegations l from the sun newspaper tonight which will appear in the paper tomorrow but let's start with what the sun has reported in the paper this morning. they allege that an unnamed bbc presenter was paying money to a 17—year—old for over a three—year period, so that person is 20 years old, money of £235,000 in return for explicit photos. the family of that person had spoken to the sun and say that the money received was being used for crack cocaine —— money of “p used for crack cocaine —— money of up to £35,000. the family say they complained in may and the allegation is that bbc did not properly investigate. the new allegations in the sun tamara cohen said the unnamed presenter, they claim is there was a picture of the presenter that the family of the teenager had seen with the presenter in his underwear —— the new allegations at the sun tomorrow said the unnamed

presenter. the family do not believe there were proper investigations into the allegations. the bbc had said in a statement it takes the allegations very seriously, it attempts to speak to anyone contacting them to get further details but pointed out if it gets no reply or received no further contact it can limit its ability to progress things, but that does not mean the inquiries stop. the presenter — mean the inquiries stop. the presenter is _ mean the inquiries stop. the presenter is unnamed but some bbc stars have felt compelled to come out and say it is not them who are involved. . ~ , out and say it is not them who are involved. ., ~ , ., , , ., involved. frankly it has been a social media _ involved. frankly it has been a social media frenzy, _ involved. frankly it has been a social media frenzy, with - involved. frankly it has been a l social media frenzy, with people involved. frankly it has been a - social media frenzy, with people on social media frenzy, with people on social media frenzy, with people on social media trying to guess and make false allegations. some presenters have felt the need to say it is not to me. we have had rylan, jeremy vine, both saying it ain't me. gary lineker also said it wasn't

him, nicky campbell and jeremy vine threatening people who had been tweeting about it with legal action. it must be extremely disconcerting for other bbc presenters to have themselves connected to something they are just not involved in. you they are 'ust not involved in. you have they are just not involved in. you have alluded _ they are just not involved in. you have alluded to _ they are just not involved in. you have alluded to this but there are questions for the way the bbc handled the allegations? absolutely, i think this handled the allegations? absolutely, i think this is — handled the allegations? absolutely, i think this is very _ handled the allegations? absolutely, i think this is very serious _ handled the allegations? absolutely, i think this is very serious for - handled the allegations? absolutely, i think this is very serious for the - i think this is very serious for the bbc, let's make no bones about it. the understanding of the presenter is not due on air in the near future, we have not been told by the bbc whether there has or has not been a formal suspension. the bbc will need to answer if the investigation should have happened sooner, if it should have been more thorough and if it is fair that other presenters are unconnected to this that their names are now in the headlines. the sun tomorrow says there will be a probe by a senior bbc person, they have already spoken

to the family, the head of corporate investigations. the bbc has not confirmed that to us but says it will follow internal procedures. caroline signage, the head of the culture select committee, says the bbc clearly has some questions to answer, the pressure is on its hr department and i think this really has the potential to severely dented the bbc�*s reputation. fiur has the potential to severely dented the bbc's reputation.— the bbc's reputation. our special correspondent, _ the bbc's reputation. our special correspondent, lucy _ the bbc's reputation. our special correspondent, lucy manning, i the bbc's reputation. our special- correspondent, lucy manning, thank you. rishi sunak says the uk discourages the use of cluster bombs but will continue to play its part in supporting ukraine. the prime minister was speaking after washington decided to send the weapons to the ukrainian military to help in their fight against russia. the uk is one of 123 countries that have banned the controversial weapons. our security correspondent, frank gardner, has more. explosion cluster bombs. devastating when they explode on the ground, still dangerous when they don't. they're highly effective

against infantry in the open. but so many later end up killing and maiming civilians they are banned in most countries, including britain. the uk is signatory to a convention which prohibits the production or use of cluster munitions and discourages their use. we will continue to do our part to support ukraine against russia's illegal and unprovoked invasion, we've done that by providing heavy battle tanks and most recently long range weapons. president biden is said to have agonised for months over whether to agree to ukraine's request to send it cluster munitions. now he's given it the green light and that puts the us at odds with its nato allies. this video appears to show a russian cluster bomb attack on kharkiv and this was the aftermath of an attack on civilians in kramatorsk. both russia and ukraine already use cluster munitions, but the us decision has been widely criticised. but some military analysts see them as a necessary stopgap before ukraine gets a resupply of artillery rounds.

to those allies, nato allies, who are complaining or criticising president biden�*s timely decision to give these munitions to ukraine, ukraine has been crying out for ammunition for months, and if what ukraine had wanted and ukraine needed had been given right from the start, instead of the incremental drip, drip, drip approach that has characterised so much of the provision of capability, ukraine might not be in the same position. today president zelensky marked the 500th day since the full—scale russian invasion by visiting the recaptured snake island. he has vowed to regain all land seized by russia. but ukraine's counteroffensive is going slower than expected. the fighting is intense but the map has barely changed. ukraine needs to find a way through the russian minefields and it's hoping that america's controversial cluster munitions will be part of the answer. frank gardner, bbc news.

gordon corera is in the ukrainian capital, kyiv. gorton, these weapons are controversial, but are the ukrainians saying we need all the help we can get if we are to win this war? , , ,., ~ ., ., ., this war? yes, i spoke to one of president _ this war? yes, i spoke to one of president zelensky's _ this war? yes, i spoke to one of president zelensky's top - this war? yes, i spoke to one of| president zelensky's top advisers today and he said ukraine needs all the tools it can get for its counteroffensive. he said close to munitions are one of those tools and could help significantly on the front lines. there is no doubt this is tricky for ukraine's allies, especially the uk, which has been at the forefront of sending weapons to ukraine, because it might complicate making the case for that, as well as the wider k—stew try to restrict cluster munitions. russia is trying to take advantage by saying that russia's need for them as a sign of its weakness. but there have been

patients for months to try to get hold of these cluster munitions and they said they provide written evidence to the us about how they would be used to restrict the potential risk to civilians. thank ou, potential risk to civilians. thank you. gordon — potential risk to civilians. thank you, gordon corera _ potential risk to civilians. thank you, gordon corera in _ potential risk to civilians. thank you, gordon corera in kyiv. - the family of an eight—year—old girl who was killed when a car crashed through the fence of her school in wimbledon on thursday have said she was "adored and loved by everyone." selena lau died and several others were taken to hospital after the incident in the grounds of the study preparatory school. an eight—year—old girl and a woman in herforties remain in a critical condition. aru na iyengar reports. all day long in the sun and rain, people have been coming. local people laying flowers, reading the messages, trying to make sense of what happened. we know the school, we pass by it every day. we see the children go in and out of the school, see all their happy faces, and it is such a tragic incident that happened. and it's so unfortunate.

selena lau was just eight years old, described as intelligent and cheeky by her family. she was at an end of year party with her school friends on the grass lawn in front of her school. at around 9:30 on thursday a land rover burst through the school fence, injuring 16. selena was killed, another eight—year—old is seriously injured, along with a woman in her 40s. 16 people were taken to hospital. a 46—year—old woman has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving. she's been released on bail until latejuly. the study school is known for its nurturing atmosphere, it's well known in the community. everyone here either has had children here or knows people who have children here or have had children here. my own daughter many years ago did some summer work here before she went to university, looking after the girls. so we all had some kind of connection here. among the flowers, messages

from other schools, church groups, families and fellow pupils. the school says it is profoundly shocked by thursday's events. the families affected are being supported by police liaison officers. police have asked the public not to speculate on the cause of the incident. aruna iyengar, bbc news. the prime minister insists any public sector pay rises have to be "fair, affordable and responsible." rishi sunak says tackling inflation involves taking "difficult decisions" to benefit the country, and agreeing to excessive pay rises, would be short—sighted. he's reported to be under pressure from members of the cabinet to accept the recommendations of pay review bodies for salary increases of around 6%. now, with the day's sport, here's olly foster at the bbc sport centre.

we'll start at wimbledon where the last british player in the singles draw, katie boulter, has been knocked out. she lost to the reigning champion elena rybakina in the third round. here's our sports correspondent andy swiss. who is for some late night drama? it was almost nine o'clock by the time katie boulter strode on to centre court for the challenge of her katie boulter strode on to centre court for the challenge of her life. across the net, defending champion elena rybakina, but if boulter was nervous, at first she did not show it. repacking is not the world number three for nothing and it was not long before she seized the initiative. she raced to the first set 6—1. boulter�*s uphill task now even steeper. amid the struggle, there were moments to smile about. a beaming boulter showing what she can

do. but it was not nearly enough, as rybakina wrapped up an emphatic victory. disappointment for boulter and for british tennis, with just the first week on, their hopes in the first week on, their hopes in the men's and women's singles are already over. andy swiss, bbc news, wimbledon. it's been a good day for england's men and women in their ashes series. the first two sessions at headingley were a wash—out on the third day of the third test but england's men still had time to put themselves in a strong position against australia. here's our sports correspondentjoe wilson. hours and hours just watching the clouds. covers on, covers off, patience. it was worth it. past 5pm, the first wicket of the day. the dangerous mitchell marsh gloved it to the wicketkeeper. chris woakes has enjoyed the resumption of his england career. the crowd especially appreciated the dismissal of alex carey for five. they still don't like him much. 0k.

travis head defied england's bowlers with some brave and brutal batting that could only remind you of one person. england's captain was watching, just hoping that head would find a fielder. he did eventually but he'd made 77 and australia's second innings was done. well, check the sky. there is evening sun. we are playing on. check the score, 251 for england to win. confident start from zak crawley and rewards for those who had remained in the stands. you know those outfits are so carefully planned. ben duckett is still there too. 224 more to win. we think the sun will come out tomorrow. joe wilson, bbc news, headingley. england's women have kept their ashes series alive, they won at lord's in the third t20 and now trail australia six points to four in the multi—format series. chasing a revised target of 119 off 1a overs because of rain, they won by five wickets. the teams will now play three one—dayers.

mark cavendish is out of his final tour de france after crashing on stage eight. the 38—year—old broke his collarbone about 50 miles from the finish. he is retiring from the sport at the end of the year, which means that he won't now be able to break the all—time tour record for stage wins. he's level on 3a with eddie merckx. it's the british grand prix tomorrow and world champion max verstappen will start on pole for the fifth f1 race in a row, but the biggest cheer at silverstone was for british driver lando norris. he was quickest in his mclaren before being pipped by verstappen in the final seconds of qualifying. george russell and lewis hamilton will be sixth and seventh on the grid. england's footballers have won the european under—21 championship for the first time in 39 years. they beat spain 1—0 in georgia. manchester city's cole palmer scored the first half winner but burnley�*s james trafford was the hero. spain had a penalty deep into injury time, but the england keeper pulled off a double save to secure the win. they are also the first team

to not concede a single goal in the tournament. and that's all the sport for now. thank you, olly foster. before we go, let's have a quick look at what's coming up tomorrow, on sunday with laura kuenssberg. i've come to london's bustling west end to speak to the happy valley star james norton about his latest project that's soon to hit cinema screens. and with the economy looking increasingly choppy, we'll talk to the woman who wants to be labour's next chancellor, rachel reeves. hope to see you at nine tomorrow morning, right here on bbc one. that's it. you can see more on all of today's stories on the bbc news channel. but from me and the team, have a very good night.

you're watching bbc news. more now on president biden's decision to send cluster munitions to ukraine. reporter yasmin khatun dewan is in the newsroom with more. the use of cluster bombs is controversial, because of the indiscriminate way in which they operate. they detonate as soon as they hit the ground so anyone in the surrounding area is very likely to be killed or seriously injured. beyond that, almost 40% failed to detonate immediately, meaning they become de—facto land and cause a longer term risk. become de—facto land and cause a longerterm risk. in become de—facto land and cause a longer term risk. in 2008, 120 countries came together to sign a treaty, the convention on cluster munitions, countries that included france, germany and the united kingdom are more than 20 nato member states. the convention includes the prohibition of the use of cluster munitions bombs, the production and transfer and stockpile, the required destruction of any stockpiles, the

clearance of contaminated areas and victim support. since 20 —— since 2008, 90 9% of global stockpiles have been destroyed. countries who oppose the treaty include russia, china and the us. and we have reported most recently seeing the use of these bombs in the war in ukraine by russia as well as ukrainian forces and we also saw the use of cluster munitions forces in syria, yemen, afghanistan and iraq. prime minister rishi sunak said he would discourage the use of cluster munitions and he of course will be meeting president biden this week. that was yasmin khatun dewan in our newsroom. the dutch prime minister has been meeting with the country's king to discuss the formation of a caretaker administration, after the collapse of his coalition government. mark rutte left the palace after talks with king willem—alexander. mr rutte announced late on friday that his entire cabinet had resigned, after it failed to agree on stricter immigration policies. new elections are not expected to be

held before mid—november. so mark rutte met king willem—alexander here in the hague to explain what had happened and discuss forming a caretaker administration. the chat lasted about an hour and a half. and afterwards, mark rutte came out, he told reporters it had been good, but he wouldn't give any further details because he said they were confidential. so no indication as to when that caretaker government may be formed. what happened ? well, the coalition collapsed because of a disagreement, irreconcilable differences, mark rutte said, between the four coalition parties over different rules for different asylum—seekers on when they should be allowed to bring family members into the country. so family reunifications. and according to reports, mark rutte wanted to place a cap on the number of people war refugees could bring to the netherlands

at 200 per month. other parties, including the family—focused christian union and the liberal d66, were opposed. so what happens next? well, the dutch electoral commission has said the earliest elections can take place is november due to electoral rules, the summer holidays and the need to give parties time to campaign. before that, though, mark rutte will address parliament monday morning, first thing, 10.15am local time, after which, we are expecting a pretty heated debate. anna holligan from the netherlands. and there is much more on all these stories on the bbc news website. to stick with us here on bbc news. hello, thundery start the weekend across the west midlands into

north—west england and storm spread northwards into scotland during the overnight period. part two of the weekend looks better, sunny spells around. but further showers, weekend looks better, sunny spells around. but furthershowers, low pressure always close by in these weather fronts continue to generate the showers and thunderstorms. we start sunday in a bright note with plenty of sunshine, that is the overnight rain, thunder in places, clearing altered so it could be quite wet in orkney all day. an area frame, some of its country, could affect east anglia and the south east and that clears into the afternoon. —— an area frame. then it is sunny spells. a cooler and fresher day across the board, top temperatures, 23 degrees in the south east. we could have disruption at wimbledon for the early rain. into the early afternoon, conditions will improve with increasing sunshine. so into sunday evening, most of the showers fade away. not completely, but most will. lengthy clearer skies. completely, but most will. lengthy clearerskies. but completely, but most will. lengthy clearer skies. but across the south

west, we will see clouds thickening with increasing breeze. temperatures lower, fresher than what we have had over the last few nights. ranging from ten to 12 degrees, cooler out of towns and cities. this area of low pressure throws up further weather fronts on to the south west. this area of cloud they further, outbreaks of rain, strengthening winds, south west england into wales, into the midlands, some of it can be quite heavy. elsewhere, sunny spells and scattered showers. up to 24 spells and scattered showers. up to 2a degrees in the south east with plenty of sunshine, lower further north. monday to tuesday, the sarri of low pressure sits on top of the uk. the really unsettled day on tuesday —— this area. quite breezy, sunny spells in between, but showers or longer spells of rain and some could turn heavy and thundery in places. pretty much anywhere could catch a shower and temperatures will be lower, 16 to 21 or 22 degrees, thatis be lower, 16 to 21 or 22 degrees, that is below par for the time of year. temperatures full further deep into the week. this low pressure

pushes towards the north of the uk bringing cooler air on north—westerly winds. it stays unsettled for much of this upcoming week, with temperatures below par for the time of year. there will still be some sunshine in between the showers.

them to ukraine. this is bbc news. the headlines: rishi sunak says the uk

"discourages" the use of cluster bombs, as the us says it will supply to a menu near you?