the government is told the claims will be investigated swiftly and sensitively. joe biden will arrive in the uk later, flying into a disagreement over sending cluster bombs to ukraine. and a hero's welcome — five ukrainian army commanders return from turkey — after being released in a prisoner swap. hello, i'm vishala sri pathma. the culture secretary lucy frazer says she is assured that the bbc is investigating allegations against one of its presenters "swiftly and sensitively" after urgent talks with the corporation's director general. the sun newspaper reports the unnamed male presenter was pictured in his underwear, on a video call to the young person. it comes after earlier allegations that the presenter was accused

of paying a teenager £35,000 for sexually explicit photos — beginning when they were 17. bbc news impartiality covers stories about the wider corporation and like other news organisations is seeking further clarification from the corporation on the story. helena wilkinson reports. today's front pages contain new serious allegations against a top bbc presenter. the star is accused of allegedly paying a teenager thousands of pounds in exchange for explicit photos. in new claims today, the individual�*s mother told the sun on sunday the presenter was pictured in his underwear, ready for her child to perform for him. the allegations first emerged in the sun yesterday. the paper isn't naming the presenter for legal reasons. it's claimed the man paid around £35,000 to a 17—year—old over a three—year period for explicit photos. the young person's mother told

the paper her child, now 20, used the money to fund a crack cocaine habit. the family told the newspaper they complained to the bbc in may, but are said to have become frustrated that the star remained on air. there's growing pressure on the bbc to explain their actions. the culture secretary added,... pressure on the bbc to act as coming from politicians on all sides. the

bbc needs _ from politicians on all sides. the bbc needs to — from politicians on all sides. tue: bbc needs to speed from politicians on all sides. tte: bbc needs to speed up from politicians on all sides. tt9 bbc needs to speed up its processes. it looks like these issues were raised in may, the presenter stayed on air and that's not good enough. there is no doubt the bbc is in a serious crisis. the corporation has many questions to answer including what investigations went on when the family contacted the bbc in may. was the presenter made aware of the allegations? i'm sure the investigation had been more thorough? the bbc said... the bbc has not explained itself. well, the question is why hasn't the bbc explained itself? 0ne, because it's worried about the legal issues of any kind of detail which might point to identity or any other potential offence in its trying to get

through the process. the problem is it looks evasive. it doesn't look, in the jargon of the hour, transparent. 0ther bbc presenters, unconnected to the allegations who are themselves facing false rumours, have been forced to publicly deny they are the star in question, including jeremy vine, nicky campbell and gary lineker. the bbc says the presenter isn't due on air in the nearfuture, but the pressure for the corporation to explain how it's handling this crisis is continuing. helena wilkinson, bbc news. live now to graham satchell whojoins me now from outside the bbc headquarters in central london. pressure is mounting on the bbc. tit really is. from all political sides, this morning in particular, we have seen most notably the culture secretary liz fraser put out a

statement first thing this morning saying the allegations were deeply concerning and that she wanted this to be investigated urgently and within the last hour or so, she has publicly said that she has now had a phone call with the bbc director—general where she says that she has been assured that the bbc is investigating this and it needs to be given the space to conduct its investigation and establish the facts. we can see that this moving and we have also seen pressure from labour, the shadow chancellor also using this phrase that the allegations are deeply concerning. and saying this question, why was this presenter, who still remains unnamed, not suspended immediately? i have to say, we have a lot more questions than answers at the moment and there are serious significant questions for the bbc, particularly

in how it has handled this crisis. those events that you are detailing there, they followed more allegations in the papers today? that's right, today's the sun newspaper carries this allegation that the presenter in question was photographed in his underwear sitting on a sofa at home waiting for a video performance, and the word of the sun. the most serious allegations repaired in the day before on saturday which alleged that there is bbc presenter paid for explicit images of this person over a three—year period but starting when they were 17. that age is critical because anything under the age of 18 falls under the protection of children act, it is a criminal offence to make, distribute, show or possess indecent images of a child and you are a child until you are 18 in law. who knew about this

complaint? who dealt with it? and why was it not out with the police? there are allegations of criminality here. , , :, there are allegations of criminality here. , :, , :, ,, there are allegations of criminality here. :, , :, ,, there are allegations of criminality here. , :, , :, ,, in here. just how serious is this? in the first instance, _ here. just how serious is this? in the first instance, it _ here. just how serious is this? in the first instance, it is _ the first instance, it is particularly serious for whoever the bbc male presenter is because they allegation is a serious one. it involves criminal, potentially the allegation is one of criminal activity. so if in any way, this is activity. so if in any way, this is a huge if, if this is true, it is about doubt the end of his career. it is potentially for the reputation of the bbc because what it looks like at the moment is that significant action has been taken because it has been reported in the sun and that will be, it may not be

the truth. we don't know exactly how the truth. we don't know exactly how the complaint was made, who dealt with it, by the presenter spoken to. but certainly the ambience around this is serious reputation lay for the bbc and it is serious for other male presenters who you will have seen on social media because there is as well of speculation of who this presenter is. other presenters have gone on to social media to say it isn't them. have gone on to social media to say it isn't them-— it isn't them. thank you very much for that update. _ let's speak to our political correspondent, peter saull. this turned political where we had lucy frazer a couple of times a day. bring us up—to—date on that? iiit a bring us up-to-date on that? in a wa , the bring us up-to-date on that? in a way, the political _ bring us up—to—date on that? t�*t —. way, the political pressure has abated for now. just a few hours

ago, we had a statement stressing how concerning the allegations were. a phone conversation and happen between the director—general and the culture secretary swiftly after that, she put out a tweet saying she was pretty happy that the bbc were investigating these allegations and would do so swiftly and sensitively and actually now, the message from government is to allow the government is to allow the government —— bbc two carry on with their investigation. the shadow chancellor, stressing how deeply concerned she was, the former home secretary priti patel saying there were serious questions for the bbc to answer. saying that there were plenty of questions that need answering from the bbc soap we will wait and see what more the corporation has a say about this in

the coming hours and days. so many loose ends that need to tie up here, not least the identity of the individual in question. i think for now, politicians will continue to talk about it, no doubt about that. the bbc has been through quite a few difficult issues in its recent past. the gary lineker affair where he tweeted criticism of the government's asylum policy, we had the appointment of the bbc chairman which was a big controversy. if you speak to politicians around westminster, they are talking about bbc local radio stations, politicians don't waste any opportunity to criticise the bbc when they have had opportunity but it is operationally independent from the government. it is interesting to note the way that the culture secretary has rather stepped back

from this affair to allow the bbc to get on with sorting it out. tit from this affair to allow the bbc to get on with sorting it out.- get on with sorting it out. in terms ofthe get on with sorting it out. in terms of the scale _ get on with sorting it out. in terms of the scale of _ get on with sorting it out. in terms of the scale of seriousness, - get on with sorting it out. in terms of the scale of seriousness, in - of the scale of seriousness, in terms of politically, how significant is it for the department of culture and media, for example? the bbc is a separate body but the first statement that we had from dcms is that the bbc is publicly funded, the licence fee settlement was decided a couple years ago. it is not up for review again until 2027 which takes us beyond the next general election but whatever the bbc does is heavily scrutinised by lawmakers and they will continue to do that, they want to make sure that the bbc provides value for money for licence fee payers. 0ften, the bbc provides value for money for licence fee payers. often, it is news coverage that comes under

scrutiny. the bbc often finds itself under pressure from all sides of the political step —— spectrum. the bbc will have very serious conversations about the potential reputational damage this could have to the organisation. for more on this story, you can go to the bbc news website with all the latest developments. the us president, joe biden, will arrive in the uk this evening, ahead of a meeting with the prime minister, rishi sunak. the two allies have disagreed in public over the us decision to send controversial cluster bombs to ukraine. the issue has dominated the build—up to the visit. jonathan blake reports. mr president, thank you. a presidential visit will always focus minds and offer an opportunity to do business. good afternoon. joe biden arrives in the uk a month

after he and the prime minister signed a new agreement to strengthen the longstanding relationship between the uk and the us. the president of the - united states, joe biden. downing street sees the president's visit as an opportunity to take stock of progress on the so—called atlantic declaration. ahead ofjoe biden�*s arrival, rishi sunak said the us was the uk's most important trade, defence and diplomatic partner, and the alliance was part of the foundation of britain's strength and security. but that alliance is being tested on the issue of cluster bombs, which the us is supplying to ukraine. the uk is one of many countries to have banned the weapons with a record of killing civilians. and yesterday, the prime minister said the uk discouraged their use. the uk is a signatory to a convention which prohibits the use of cluster munitions

and will continue to do our part to support ukraine against the illegal and unprovoked russian invasion. a sensitive subject and difference of opinion on the crucial issue of support for ukraine in response to the russian invasion. but there will be ceremony as well as substance to this visit. after talks with the prime minister in downing street, the president will meet the king at windsor castle. jonathan blake, bbc news. ukraine has welcomed home five army commanders who were being held in turkey, after a prisoner swap. the men were captured over a year ago, during the fierce and prolonged battle for control of the azovstal steel plant in mariupol. russia has condemed their return, saying it breaks the terms of a prisoner swap agreement. here's lee milner. ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky welcoming home five commanders of ukraine's former garrison in mariupol

at a ceremony in lviv. they were brought home by the president after a visit to turkey. translation: they were fighting for ukraine. - they survived russian captivity. they spent over 300 days in turkey. it is time for them to be home. reunited with family and friends, the five commanders — hailed as heroes in ukraine — led last year's defence of the southern port of mariupol, the biggest city russia has captured in its invasion. the ukrainian defenders who held out in tunnels and bunkers under a steel plant were finally ordered by kyiv to surrender in may last year. translation: from today onwards, we will continue | the fight together with you. we will definitely have our say in the battle. with each day passing, we are advancing, destroying the enemy. russia says this latest move by president zelensky violates

the terms of a prisoner exchange deal made last year, which meant the men had to remain in turkey. it's not yet known how or why the commanders were returned home. in a televised press conference yesterday, turkey's president recep tayyip erdogan supported ukraine's bid tojoin naito, something which mr zelensky said he was happy to hear after spending a week trying to rally support from other naito countries ahead of a two—day summit next week. lee milner, bbc news. now it's time for a look at today's sport with hugh ferris. the third ashes test is on a knife edge as england and australia both hunt down a victory at headingley. what the home side definitely know is that their captain ben stokes won't be providing any heroics this time. he's just been caught behind. leaving australia needing five more

wickets to win the test. england's target is 251. so they need 81 runs to stop that from happening. australia needing just format the more wickets. the first places in the wimbledon quarter finals are being won today at the all england club. both men's defending champion novak djokovic and women's number one seed iga swiatek will hope to win their spot in the last 8 today. chethan pathak is there for us. iga swiatek is. the 16—year—old russian, only a second grand slam is through to the fourth round. i can

tell you the american who has been so torqued up after these championships, beat rafael nadal at last year's american open, has gone out. he has been knocked out in straight sets. everyone else, fourth stage, playing for a place. jessica pegula is on the brink of the quarterfinal place, she is a set and five up. we have got one match on the way on centre court for andrey rublev against alexander bublik. 0ne rublev against alexander bublik. one that rublev against alexander bublik. 0ne thatis rublev against alexander bublik. one that is one of the favourites here, playing belinda bencic. she says she

is more confident than ever. last year, still doubt in her mind. we see have very much as a clay—court specialist but here on the grass, a formerjunior champion feels more former junior champion feels more confident. formerjunior champion feels more confident. she will be playing belinda bencic this time but he will expect iga swiatek to go deep in these championships. the expect iga swiatek to go deep in these championships.— expect iga swiatek to go deep in these championships. the other big sto in the these championships. the other big story in the day. — these championships. the other big story in the day, novak _ these championships. the other big story in the day, novak djokovic - story in the day, novak djokovic reaches 100 matches at wimbledon today? tie reaches 100 matches at wimbledon toda ? , , , today? he will be playing hubert hurkacz. today? he will be playing hubert hurkaa- the _ today? he will be playing hubert hurkacz. the man _ today? he will be playing hubert hurkacz. the man who _ today? he will be playing hubert hurkacz. the man who knocked l today? he will be playing hubert i hurkacz. the man who knocked out today? he will be playing hubert - hurkacz. the man who knocked out rob joe —— roger federer. we saw how quickly got rid of the free time. who can stop novak djokovic, that is

the question. thank you very much. mark cavendish's team, astana-qazaqstan, have offered him the chance to ride the tour de france next year, and possibly break the record for number of stage victories at the race, even though he plans to retire at the end of this season. the 38—year—old returned from hospital to the team hotel to say goodbye to his team—mates after a broken collarbone suffered during saturday's stage 8 ruled him out of the rest of this year's tour. he'll fly home to have surgery with his team manager telling l'equipe, "we want mark to go on to 2024 and race his 15th tour de france to win his 35th stage." england need 80, australia need four more wickets. for more on these and other sports stories, you can go to our website.

the united states' treasury secretary, janet yellen, is leaving china after a visit to try to strengthen economic ties, saying she believes the two countries can have a healthy relationship. while in china, ms yellen held ten hours of talks with senior chinese officials, saying the meetings had put relations between the two countries on a "surer footing" after a long period of tensions over trade and other issues. here's ms yellen speaking at a press conference earlier. the us and china have significant disagreements. those disagreements need to be communicated clearly and directly. but president biden and i do not see the relationship between the us and china through the frame of great power conflict. we believe that the world is big enough for both of our countries to thrive. both nations have an obligation to responsibly manage this relationship, to find a way to live together and share in global prosperity.

0ur correspondent rupert wingfield—hayes has been following the story from bangkok, and he gave us this analysis of ms yellen�*s visit to china. very broadly speaking, i think this trip has gone as well as anyone could have expected. firstly, janet yellen said she had managed to reestablish direct, face—to—face, respectful communications between china and the united states. and that's something that's been missing for really a very long time. secondly, she was able to meet face—to—face with china's new new team, particularly in the economy. and that means she really, referring to yesterday, on saturday, she spent most of the day with he lifeng, vice premier and the man in charge of china's economy, very close to president xijinping, a very key figure in the new chinese administration. you know, no—one from the us administration has done that before, so that's important. the other thing janet yellen went

to great lengths to do during this trip is to try and convince the chinese leadership that the biden administration, unlike the previous trump administration, is not openly hostile to china. she said they do not view the relationship through the prism of big power conflict and that america was not going to decouple its economy from china. whether chinese officials believe that or not, we do not know and we haven't had a readout from them yet. ithink, in conclusion, i mean, i think this shows that dialogue is happening again. more dialogue will come in the next few months. there will be more visits by us officials and chinese officials the other way. but you know, most experts you talk to say this is now a very difficult relationship and one that is going to need careful management in the long term if it is going to remain stable, and that this progress made in the last few days is good, but it is fragile.

we can now cross we can now cross over we can now cross over to the us to pictures of the president of the united states joe pictures of the president of the united statesjoe biden�*s form of transport to depart to the uk. he will meet king charles and rishi sunak in a short visit to the uk. the white house says this will strengthen further close relation between the countries. you can see thatis between the countries. you can see that is about to depart from delaware and arrive in the uk later on today. it's a year since thousands of protestors in sri lanka stormed the residence of the president, demanding that he resign. demonstrators from all over the country marched on colombo, protesting against the mismanagement of the country's economic crisis. extraordinary images were seen all around the world, including protesters taking a dip

in the presidential swimming pool. in the 12 months since that day, the country has suffered desperate shortages of essentials after the government ran out of foreign currency. let's bring back to our main story, and the culture secretary, lucy frazer, has held urgent talks with the bbc�*s director general, tim davie, after an unnamed presenter has been accused of paying a teenager £35,000 for sexually explicit photos. the culture sectretary tweeted. .. stay with us here on bbc news. hello.

storm clouds bubbling up. not as many as we saw through yesterday. and still pleasant enough in the sunshine. but through the week ahead, even in the sunny moments, it will start to feel a bit cooler out there. all of us will still see some rain at times, some more than others, admittedly, and it will be a little bit breezier. and that's because we've got low pressure out towards the west at the moment. circulation of cloud here, which will transfer its way northwards in eastwards. this band of cloud is what brought the rain early in the day across east anglia southeast and will linger across 0rkney into the evening. elsewhere, as i said, more sunshine this evening. a few showers particularly through wales, northern england, northern ireland, some of those heavy and thundery. but even this evening, temperatures still in the low twenties. showers for a time through tonight, but they will gradually fade away. heavy rain in shetland clearing too, and tonight will be a little bit fresher again compared with last night. some rural spots down into single figures, but most places still in double figures as we start the monday morning commute. and it will be a sunny one for the vast majority, and wales, outbreaks of heavy

but quickly clouding over south west england and wales, outbreaks of heavy and potentially thundery rain pushing in here as we go through the morning. a few showers breaking out through scotland, northern ireland. again, some of those thundery, especially to the northeast of scotland. but longer spells of rain that's in wales will gradually transfer north west midlands and in the afternoon into parts of northern england and it could have a big impact. of course, if a cricket is still going. certainly winds freshening up a little bit. but whilst you've got the sunshine out and fewer showers, east anglia south east could see temperatures higher than today. elsewhere, roughly on paths, we're feeling cooler where that rain is falling. the rain fizzles into more showery conditions through monday night to the north. but in the south, more persistent rain returns wales and across central and southern england to take us into tuesday. that may be slow to clear the south east corner on tuesday. other than that, it's back to sunshine, heavy and thundery showers, most frequent during the afternoon in scotland, northern ireland and the north of england. bit of sunshine in between, but temperatures starting to drop, winds going more west to north westerly and that temperature drop will continue further through the second half of the week as our low pressure pushes its way off towards norway. winds going to a more north

or north westerly direction, especially for scotland for a time. so temperatures will drop here. further north you are, showers most frequent, heaviest for the south, you are fewer showers at times. temperatures still in the low 20s here and temperatures in the north of scotland, only the mid—teens at highest.

sexually explicit images. this is bbc news. this is bbc news. the headlines... the headlines... the bbc director—general has spoken the bbc director—general has spoken with the uk culture secretary with the uk culture secretary over allegations a presenter over allegations a presenter at the corporation had at the corporation had paid a teenagerfor paid a teenagerfor

sexually explicit images. in a tweet, lucy frazer said she had been assured by tim davie that the bbc was investigating the claims swiftly and sensitively. president biden will arrive in the uk this evening, ahead of a meeting with the prime minister, rishi sunak. the two allies have disagreed in public over the us decision to send controversial cluster bombs to ukraine. the issue has dominated the buildup to the visit.