in addition to its own internal investigation. president biden is flying to the uk to strengthen ties that have frayed over northern ireland. and could the ashes fightback be on? england win the third test — australia lead the series 2—1. hello, i'm rich preston. welcome to the programme. the bbc says an unnamed male presenter who is alleged to have paid thousands of pounds to a teenager in exchange for explicit sexual images has been suspended. bbc news impartially covers stories about the corporation and, like other news organisations, is seeking further clarification. these are the key details we have so far. the male presenter who is accused of paying a teenager for sexually explicit photographs

has been suspended. the bbc says it became aware of a complaint in may. the statement adds that the bbc investigations team has been "looking into this since it was raised and have been actively following up". according to the bbc statement, new allegations "of a different nature" were put to the corporation on thursday. this the bbc says it is in touch with "external authorities" — which are understood to be the police — over the matter, in addition to its own enquiries. and the director—general says the bbc is in contact with the family referenced in media reports. helena wilkinson has more. the bbc has this afternoon confirmed one of its presenters, accused of paying a teenager tens of thousands of pounds for sexually explicit photos, has been suspended. it's understood the bbc has also been in touch with the police. these developments follow further serious allegations today about an unnamed

high—profile bbc presenter. in new claims, the youngster�*s mother told the sun on sunday the presenter was pictured in his underwear, ready for her child to perform for him. in an email to staff this afternoon, the director—general, tim davie, said they became aware of a complaint in may and the bbc investigations team have been looking into it since it was raised and have been actively following it up. the bbc said they were alerted to new allegations of a different nature on thursday. there's been mounting pressure on the corporation to act. today culture secretary lucy frazer held urgent talks with the bbc director—general, tim davie, and said she was assured the corporation was investigating swiftly and sensitively. the allegations first emerged in the sun yesterday. the paper isn't naming

the presenter for legal reasons. it's claimed the bbc star paid around £35,000 to a 17—year—old over a three—year period in return 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 sun they complained to the bbc about the presenter in may, but became frustrated that the star remained on air. earlier a government minister urged the bbc to move quickly. these are very, very serious allegations and the bbc needs to act swiftly. it needs to follow its procedures that it says it has in place. but i'm a former minister for safeguarding and i worked for 20 years in the criminaljustice system and so in all of this and in our conversations about it, we have to remember that there is a person, a young person at the centre of this. there's been pressure, too,

from politicians on all sides. the bbc do need to speed up their processes. it looks like these issues were raised in may, and we're now injuly and the presenter stayed on air. 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 the allegations had been made? and should the investigation have been more thorough? the bbc�*s director—general said he was taking the allegations incredibly seriously and that they were in touch with the family who have made the complaint. mr davie added that they would ensure the process is handled fairly and with care. helena wilkinson, bbc news. live now to news correspondent charlotte gallagher who's

outside broadcasting house. what is the very latest we are hearing on this? the what is the very latest we are hearing on this?— what is the very latest we are hearing on this? the van at key oints hearing on this? the van at key points on _ hearing on this? the van at key points on this, _ hearing on this? the van at key points on this, richard, - hearing on this? the van at key points on this, richard, firstly i points on this, richard, firstly that female presenter —— two key points, that the male presenter has been suspended. the bbc director—general tim davie has released a statement saying the allegations were first made in may. since that point, the bbc�*s investigation team have been looking into those allegations. however, he says accusations of a different nature are put to the corporation on thursday. they were different, he says. he also says that the bbc is in touch with the family have made any claims against this presenter. the other key point is that the bbc has been in touch with the police. how critical it is for the bbcif

these are true, it could be seen as a abuse of power and trust —— trust? and other male presenter paying a teenager for explicit sexual photos. if serious allegations are made against a member of staff, why were they not suspended immediately. there are so many questions the bbc needs to answer to the family that made these claims, its staff, and also licensee players. == made these claims, its staff, and also licensee players.— also licensee players. -- licence fee payers- _ also licensee players. -- licence fee payers- the _ also licensee players. -- licence fee payers. the bbc— also licensee players. -- licence fee payers. the bbc is - also licensee players. -- licence fee payers. the bbc is an - fee payers. the bbc is an organisation known around the world, what has been the reaction to this? politicians have been quick to react to this. labour's shadow chancellor called for the bbc to get its house in order, the former home secretary priti patel called eilidh bbc�*s response to these allegations derisory, surreal condemnation

coming from all sides of the political spectrum. and also you have at the situation where other bbc mill presenters have felt forced... i bbc mill presenters have felt forced... ~ . bbc mill presenters have felt forced... ~' ., .,, ., forced... i think we have lost a shallot forced. .. i think we have lost a shallot of— forced... i think we have lost a shallot of their _ forced... i think we have lost a shallot of their outside - shallot of their outside broadcasting hirsch —— bbc male presenters. live now to our legal correspondent, dominic casciani, in the newsroom. talk us through the legal issues involved here because the presenter has not been named, but as we have been reporting, the police have been contacted. . , . contacted. that is right, rich. effectively. — contacted. that is right, rich. effectively. if _ contacted. that is right, rich. effectively, if you _ contacted. that is right, rich. effectively, if you go - contacted. that is right, rich. effectively, if you go on - contacted. that is right, rich. i effectively, if you go on social media this week, there have been to burning questions, firstly, has there been a crime committed? and secondly, why hasn't this individual be named? let's go through these. if these allegations turn out to be true, it is a fairly straightforward issue in terms of the criminal justice system and what it says

about the alleged incident. the presenter is accused of paying for sexually explicit photographs. there photographs are said to have come from somebody who was a 17 years old at the time it began. that individual, that teenager would have been over the age of consent, which is 16, but in terms of actually making these images, it is a crime, sorry, i beg your pardon, a child, anyone under the age of 18 cannot consent to making those images, so it is a crime to possess what is called an indecent image and it is a very serious offence and can lead up to ten years in prison. cases such as this are prosecuted around the country all the time in the crown courts. the second question is perhaps at the harder one for the public to understand and i think this is where a lot of the speculation has been on social media, which is why the media is not naming the presenter. journalists

have a legal right to investigate and uncover scandals, but the situation like this, there are currently more questions than answers and that is where the law begins to divide. demonic laws in particular, the first is deformation, which is the law that everyone's personal reputation —— two laws in particular. you have a right to having that protected from highly damaging lies. if i said something on the air about you, for example, you could sue me for damages if i could not substantiate that later. those damages can be at absolutely financially catastrophically person responsible for the liar untruths, so journalists will be very, very careful about what they publish, what they broadcast, what they put on social media. they have to be very, very clear of their facts and they have a defence to what they have said. it does notjust up with journalists as well. people on social media, they are basically

under the same law as well. people do not really understand this, but anybody who is tweeting and speculating about names tonight could also be sued. that is the first law which effectively acts as a brake on your dreams because people do not know the facts are unsure about the facts, it prevents them from broadcasting —— a break on newsrooms. there have been more and more privacy cases before our courts, one of the most famous was sir cliff richard suing the bbc for reporting that the police searched his home, the allegation was false that they were looking into, but the damage had been done to his private life, so the courts awarded in the case against the bbc. so privacy is in their as well as deformation. the two laws ta ken in their as well as deformation. the two laws taken together, they do not effectively preventjournalists two laws taken together, they do not effectively prevent journalists from undertaking investigations and exposing scandal, but they do act

effectively as a means of preventing trial by media at the earliest stage of cases, which is where we seem to be at the moment with an investigation going, a lack of clarity about facts, and it is in that kind of context that very few newsrooms would be prepared to name an individual. newsrooms would be prepared to name an individual-— an individual. dominic casciani, a leual an individual. dominic casciani, a legal correspondent, _ joining us from the newsroom. we will bring any development on the story as we get them. you can follow things on the live page on the bbc news website and the bbc news app as well. let's move on. the us president, joe biden, is on his way to the uk, travelling from the dover air force base in delaware en route to london ahead of a meeting with the prime minister, rishi sunak in downing street on monday morning. he'll then meet with king charles. the us and uk have disagreed in public over the decision to send american cluster bombs to ukraine.

the issue has dominated the build—up to the visit. live now to dr leslie vinjamuri, director of the us and americas programme at chatham house. thank you very much for being with us. what does president biden want to get out of this visit? i us. what does president biden want to get out of this visit?— to get out of this visit? i think it is very clear _ to get out of this visit? i think it is very clear that _ to get out of this visit? i think it is very clear that for _ to get out of this visit? i think it is very clear that for starters, i is very clear that for starters, really demonstrating the importance of this partnership, this alliance in the run—up to the nato summit, which will be a difficult summit because there are some very big issues on the table, which not all nato members are agreed. 0f issues on the table, which not all nato members are agreed. of course, we are thinking here about sweden's membership bid to be a full member of nato, which turkey has held up. and there is a very significant question about what terms and conditions will be agreed for the prospect of ukraine's membership in nato. a very difficult issues. not the only ones, and of course as you mentioned, this meeting, president biden�*s trip to the uk, will be critical in demonstrating that despite the announcement that the us

will provide cluster munitions to ukraine, that the us and uk remain aligned as they travel to that nato summit. ., ., , ., ~' aligned as they travel to that nato summit. ., ., ,., ~ , ,, summit. how do you think this issue of cluster bombs _ summit. how do you think this issue of cluster bombs will _ summit. how do you think this issue of cluster bombs will be _ summit. how do you think this issue of cluster bombs will be addressed l of cluster bombs will be addressed by the two leaders when they meet face—to—face? i by the two leaders when they meet face-to-face?_ face-to-face? i think the public conversation _ face-to-face? i think the public conversation will _ face-to-face? i think the public conversation will be _ face-to-face? i think the public conversation will be precisely . face-to-face? i think the public i conversation will be precisely what it has already been in, with rishi sunak very clearly stating that the united kingdom is a signatory to the convention that bans the use of these weapons, but not going much further. in other words, these weapons, but not going much further. in otherwords, i these weapons, but not going much further. in other words, i think there will have been a very clear awareness of the debate in the united states, of the reasons for that very difficult, very contentious decision having been taken, but i do not think you will see the prime minister saying much more. in large part that is because the stakes are so high for ukraine right now and there is, as we know,

a very serious problem with getting sufficient artillery and ammunition to ukraine. the decision was made at a time—limited decision in the lead up a time—limited decision in the lead up to what the us and others hope will be an ability to supply more artillery. and it is also one that has been made with conditions about how the ukrainians can use these weapons, it is facing a lot of backlash, but i don't think we will see that coming from the prime minister. �* ., ., ., , minister. and northern ireland has been a key — minister. and northern ireland has been a key bone _ minister. and northern ireland has been a key bone of _ minister. and northern ireland has been a key bone of contention - been a key bone of contention between the us and uk and at the last year or so. what is the us position on that? i last year or so. what is the us position on that?— last year or so. what is the us position on that? i think president biden has been _ position on that? i think president biden has been very _ position on that? i think president biden has been very clear- position on that? i think president biden has been very clear about . position on that? i think presidentl biden has been very clear about his commitment to the good friday agreement, but his expectation that at the uk will do everything that it can to secure the sanctity of that agreement and that border, which is seen to be and is so critical for peace between northern ireland and

ireland, but i think again in recent months, president biden and prime minister singh act have both worked very hard not only —— prime minister singh act sunak have been working past what has undoubtedly been a very difficult period through the brexit years, through the transition and upheaval domestically here in the uk in september and october and i think since we have seen several meetings, prime minister sunak travelling to san diego for the announcement of the aukus deal, his recent visit to washington and the announcement of the atlantic declaration, and now it is very... it is a very significant trip to have a us president take the time on their way to a nato summit packed with very serious issues to stop in london to meet with the prime

minister and everything. fiifi london to meet with the prime minister and everything. 0k, dr leshe minister and everything. 0k, dr leslie vinjamuri, _ minister and everything. 0k, dr leslie vinjamuri, at _ minister and everything. 0k, dr leslie vinjamuri, at chatham i minister and everything. 0k, dr- leslie vinjamuri, at chatham house, thank you very much. ukraine has welcomed home five army commanders captured by russia, who were being held in turkey after a prisoner swap. the men had been detained for over a year following the fierce and prolonged battle for control of the azovstal steel plant in mariupol. moscow has condemned their release, saying the move breaks the terms, of the prisoner swap deal. gordon corera has more from kyiv. ukraine's president welcoming home five commanders at a ceremony in the city of lviv. 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. the returning men were greeted by their families.

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. the five had spent three months defending the vast azovstal steel plant in the city of mariupol, holed up in bunkers and tunnels, keeping the russians at bay. finally, the men had been ordered to surrender. under a prisoner swap deal, they were later freed but were supposed to remain in turkey. the men's return has been widely celebrated here in ukraine, but an angry russia has said it was not informed and that ukraine and turkey had gone against the terms of the deal. the release came after president zelensky met with president erdogan in turkey ahead of an upcoming nato summit. turkey's leader saying ukraine deserved to be invited into the alliance. president zelensky returned home not

just with that endorsement, but also five military heroes by his side. gordon carried out there. —— gordon corera there. let's get some of the day's other news now. the ukrainian and polish presidents have gathered to commemorate the volhynia massacres which took place between 1943 and 19115. they honoured victims in a church ceremony in an ukrainian city of lutsk. the massacres, in which 100,000 civilians died, are regarded by some poles as genocide, but ukrainians feel they were a persecuted minority and the subject has been a source of tension between the two countries ever since. france has banned the sale, possession and transport of all fireworks and pyrotechnics to protect the public during the upcoming bastille day festivities. the prime minister said it was to prevent the risk of serious disturbances after rioting sparked by the killing of a teenager last month by police. pope francis has announced the names

of 21 churchmen who will be elevated to the ranks of cardinals. the new cardinals will come from various countries, including the united states, south africa, switzerland, south sudan and poland. they will be officially installed in a ceremony to be held in september. and they'll be able to enter the conclave that will choose the next pope. the us treasury secretary, janet yellen, is leaving china after a visit to try and 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 2 countries on a "surerfooting" — 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. bats are known to be super—incubators for thousands of different viruses. since the covid—19 pandemic, there's been growing interest in the flying mammals and the role they can play in so—called "zoonotic spillover" events — whereby diseases jump to humans. our global health correspondent, naomi grimley, has been given special access to a scientific research project in ghana which monitors bats. dusk is the witching hour at accra zoo. it's the best time for this group of scientists to test these bats

for different viruses and even superbugs. what we try to test for are resistant antimicrobials in the poo of the bats. so that's what we are trying to do. so the question is, is the bacteria in the poo resistant to antibiotics? exactly. that is the question. yeah! 0k, got it. bats are a mystery because they can carry all these different pathogens, including coronaviruses, but not get sick themselves. this is actually an adult female and i think it's even pregnant. kofi amponsah mensah is a conservationist at the university of ghana. he's worried that human activity is forcing bats to change their normal behaviour. it's increasingly becoming difficult for bats to live in their natural habitat, because we've encroached in it so much, we have modified it so much. thus there is constant

contact with these bats. so maybe bats are not to be blamed for all the troubles we are having. we are currently on our way... next stop on ourjourney, and kofi is leading me down a disused railway to a bushmeat market in accra. you can see some species on display... following the covid—19 pandemic, there's been renewed interest in the whole idea of bushmeat. clearly, bushmeat markets are a pinch point where wild animals like bats come into real contact with people. this creates a risk scientists want to pre—empt. bushmeat and the trade in bushmeat is something that has been going on for thousands of years. it's entrenched in people's cultures, people's histories, right? it's important to understand these complexities, right? rather than calling forjust a blanket ban. as you can you can see from where we are, the trade is dominated mostly by women, and for a lot of these women, this is the only trade they know

because it's been handed down from their grandparents to their mothers and now they are in the trade as well. the bat droppings we saw earlier are tested here at this high security lab. it's all helping to expand knowledge about so—called zoonotic diseases. so since covid, we have now, i mean, we have kind of a broader understanding about viruses in terms of how they cause infections, how they manifest on humans and all that. so, yes, recently we started having other outbreaks — mentioned marburg outbreak in ghana. we had lassa. before that we had yellow fever. so some of these, the systems that were set in place helped us to kind of go out there, do the investigations and stop the spread. there's still so much we don't know about bats and their immune systems, but research into them is being turbocharged around the world. and here in ghana, they're doing their bit. naomi grimley, bbc news.

england have won the third ashes test against australia by three wickets in a dramatic day at headingley. it was a day that was left to bowlers chris woakes and mark wood to drag the hosts over the line in pursuit of 251. england's win makes the series 2—1 to australia with two tests to play. there's a nine—day break before the fourth test at old trafford starts on wednesday, 19thjuly. just before we go, a reminder of our top story this hour. the bbc has confirmed that one of its male presenters has been suspended while an investigation is carried out into allegations that he paid a teenager for sexually explicit images. the corporation said it was working as quickly as possible to establish the facts and the appropriate next steps. the claims that the unnamed

star paid some £35,000 — the equivalent of $45,000 — to the youth over three years were first reported by a tabloid newspaper. in an email to staff, the director—general, tim davie, said the bbc was taking the allegations "incredibly seriously". in the past few minutes, the metroplitan police has issued a statement, saying, "the met has received initial contact from the bbc in relation to this matter but no formal referral or allegation has been made. we will require additional information before determining what further action should follow. there is much more on this story on the bbc news website or, of course, the bbc news website or, of course, the bbc news app. we will bring you much more on this when we have it, when it comes into us in the newsroom here. i do stick with us on bbc news. hello. showers and thunderstorms this evening — not as extensive or as widespread as we saw through saturday evening. but through the week ahead, we're never going to properly escape the rain. a fairly changeable week in store —

showers, longer spells of rain. it means rainfall amounts going to vary quite widely from one place to the next. it will feel cooler and, at times, a little bit windier as well. not particularly cold for the next few days. this evening, low pressure still to the south—west, so the general wind flow is from a southerly direction. the band of cloud and rain that was affecting 0rkney pushes across shetland during the first part of the night, before clearing. the showers we've got elsewhere fade away. by and large, most will end up dry through the end of the night. and as we start monday morning, temperatures in rural parts could be down to single figures, most places double figures, but it does represent a bit of a drop to what we've seen on recent mornings. a fine commute, though, for most of you — dry, sunny spells quite widely, but quickly the cloud thickening up in the south—west and wales. the breeze picking up too. outbreaks of rain becoming extensive during the second half of the morning into lunchtime. thunderstorms breaking out in northern ireland and scotland, particularly to the north—east of scotland and then the north and west midlands through the afternoon, and northern england turning increasingly wet. some of that rain will be heavy, persistent and thundery.

to the south and east, though, some will stay dry. bit breezier than we saw on sunday, but that breeze still coming in from a southerly direction. 23 to 2a degrees here. temperatures in the high teens, low 20s to the north. now, as we go through monday evening, showers and thunderstorms become a bit more fragmented across the north of the country. but parts of wales, central and southern england, a band of heavier, more persistent rain will sweep its way from west to east, which on tuesday may take a while to clear east anglia and the south—east. away from that, it's sunshine and showers once again. showers heaviest, most frequent and thundery in parts of northern england, scotland and northern ireland. bit breezier through england and wales, too, on tuesday, and temperatures dropping a little bit more once again, but still high teens, low 20s — around where we should be for this stage injuly. it's as we go through wednesday and beyond, we start to see temperatures drop a bit more. low pressure becomes centred, then, to the west of norway and we bring the winds in from an increasingly north—westerly direction for a while. still going to see plenty of showers around. those most frequent close to that low pressure system in the north

where temperatures will only be around 13 to 16 degrees at times. further south, temperatures still in low 20s, fewer showers, greater chance of staying drier for longer.

this is bbc news. the headlines...

the us treasury secretary has ended a trip to beijing with an upbeat assessment of the state of ties with china. janet yellen told reporters they were moving towards a surer footing