�* more turning point. we will hear more from our medical editor fergus walsh. let's turn to one of those headline stories. on thursday, voters go to the polls in three constituencies across england in a series of by—elections which will provide a major test of rishi sunak�*s authority. the conservatives currently hold all three seats, but the prime minister faces the possibility of losing them all after their previous mps resigned from parliament. and over the next few days, we'll be in all three seats. today, it's the turn of selby and ainsty in north yorkshire. the seat was held by the former minister and conservative mp nigel adams, who quit in the wake of his ally borisjohnson�*s resignation as an mp last month. labour believe they can prize the seat away from the conservative party despite a 20,000 majority for the tories at the last election.

let's go live now to selby to my colleague luxmy gopal. yes, matthew, here against the backdrop of selby abbey, in a constituency of around 100,000 people, the two main political parties have been bringing out their big guns must of the prime minister rishi sunak andy leader of the opposition, labour's sir keir 0pposition, labour's sir keir starmer, have been personally involved in campaigning here, and on voters minds are local issues such as public transport, green spaces, and of course national issues. you will not be surprised to hear the issue of the cost—of—living crisis has been on peoples minds, according to candidates who have been doorknocking in the lead up to the by election. let's have a chat now to somebody who knows the community very well. it isjohn weetman, who is the vicar of selby abbey. think you forjoining us, john. is the vicar of selby abbey. think you forjoining us, john.— you for “oining us, john. hello. first of you forjoining us, john. hello. first of all. _ you forjoining us, john. hello. first of all, what _ you forjoining us, john. hello. first of all, what has _ you forjoining us, john. hello. first of all, what has it - you forjoining us, john. hello. first of all, what has it felt - you forjoining us, john. hello. i first of all, what has it felt like

being the focus of attention? you have had every politician here, every media organisation here. what has that been like?— has that been like? hopefully it is aood for has that been like? hopefully it is good for the _ has that been like? hopefully it is good for the town _ has that been like? hopefully it is good for the town and _ has that been like? hopefully it is good for the town and the - has that been like? hopefully it is good for the town and the abbey. | has that been like? hopefully it is i good for the town and the abbey. in some _ good for the town and the abbey. in some ways — good for the town and the abbey. in some ways we are overlooked by our larger— some ways we are overlooked by our larger neighbours, york and leeds, ed selby— larger neighbours, york and leeds, ed selby is — larger neighbours, york and leeds, ed selby is here. the abbey is an attractive — ed selby is here. the abbey is an attractive place to visit and, yes, it has_ attractive place to visit and, yes, it has put— attractive place to visit and, yes, it has put us_ attractive place to visit and, yes, it has put us on the map a bit. a lot of— it has put us on the map a bit. a lot of the — it has put us on the map a bit. a lot of the candidates have been visiting — lot of the candidates have been visiting around the town centre and the abbey— visiting around the town centre and the abbey is in the heart of the town, — the abbey is in the heart of the town, so, — the abbey is in the heart of the town, so, yeah, hopefully a bit of good _ town, so, yeah, hopefully a bit of good publicity from that point of view _ good publicity from that point of view. it— good publicity from that point of view. ., , ,., , good publicity from that point of view. ., , , , ., ., view. it absolutely is at the heart ofthe view. it absolutely is at the heart of the town _ view. it absolutely is at the heart of the town centre, _ view. it absolutely is at the heart of the town centre, because - view. it absolutely is at the heart| of the town centre, because what viewers will not see is just on that site is the market square and a lot of the shops there, so it is very much essential to it, so you must really get an idea of what is on peoples minds and what people's priorities are. what have people been saying? i priorities are. what have people been saying?— priorities are. what have people been sa in? ., ., , ., been saying? i have not been asking --eole been saying? i have not been asking peeple specifically — been saying? i have not been asking people specifically about _ been saying? i have not been asking people specifically about what - people specifically about what parties — people specifically about what parties they are looking for, but because — parties they are looking for, but because it — parties they are looking for, but because it is... the constituency

include — because it is... the constituency include small towns like selby and religions. — include small towns like selby and religions, a real mix of people of a mix of— religions, a real mix of people of a mix of occupations in that sense it is fairly— mix of occupations in that sense it is fairly reflective of the national mood, _ is fairly reflective of the national mood, and the concerns are the ones you mentioned, to do with public transport, — you mentioned, to do with public transport, nhs provision, access to the services, to do with energy and provision _ the services, to do with energy and provision of — the services, to do with energy and provision of housing, both of them, affordable _ provision of housing, both of them, affordable housing, but also people who have _ affordable housing, but also people who have got on the housing letter but cannot afford mortgages. things that reflect the national mood and concerns, — that reflect the national mood and concerns, and that is probably why there _ concerns, and that is probably why there has— concerns, and that is probably why there has been a lot of attention here, _ there has been a lot of attention here, because it does feel good to be one _ here, because it does feel good to be one of— here, because it does feel good to be one of those by elections which may be _ be one of those by elections which may be does give a sense of the national— may be does give a sense of the national picture.— may be does give a sense of the national picture. absolutely, and on that oint, national picture. absolutely, and on that point, thank _ national picture. absolutely, and on that point, thank you _ national picture. absolutely, and on that point, thank you for _ national picture. absolutely, and on that point, thank you for that. - national picture. absolutely, and on that point, thank you for that. it - that point, thank you for that. it was really lovely to speak to you. i am going to pick up on the point john made, because actually one of the interesting things here is that every time selby has changed its political allegiance, so has the country. the labour in 1997, to the

conservatives in 2010 and of course by elections are often considered a bit of a litmus test, aren't they, by the name legal parties? that is why on thursday, when voters go to the polls, the results will be watched very, very closely by the main political parties —— by the main political parties —— by the main political parties —— by the main political parties? if labour were to overturn that majority, it would be a record for them. 20,000 is no mean feat, it is a sizeable majority, and for rishi sunak it would be a devastating blow, not least because his own constituency is not far from least because his own constituency is not farfrom here least because his own constituency is not far from here about about 60 miles away. so as i say both political —— main political parties will be watching closely, but there are 30 candidates in all.— watching closely, but there are 30 candidates in all. luxmy, thank you very much- — there are a number of candidates standing in the selby and ainsty by—election. ijust want i just want to put that on the

screen. you can see the full list on the bbc website along with a video from each candidate outlining their pledges. eltonjohn has has been giving evidence — for the defence — at the sexual assault trial of the actor kevin spacey. appearing by video link at southwark crown court, the singer was asked about a charity event he hosted in the early 2000s which kevin spacey attended. the oscar—winning actor is accused of assaulting a driver on the way to the event. he denies all the charges against him. louisa pilbeam reports from southwark crown court in london. two very famous witnesses called to give evidence today — sir eltonjohn and his husband david furnish. they gave evidence via video link from monaco and they gave their evidence separately. sir elton was questioned about whether he remembers kevin spacey attending one of his white tie and tiara ball is that he held every year at his home in windsor. now, sir elton said

that he remembers kevin spacey attending the ball in 2001. now, this is important because kevin spacey is accused of assaulting one of the claimants on the way to the ball in 2002. sir elton says that he remembers kevin spacey wearing a white tie and coming fresh off of a private jet. this afternoon, we heard from several people giving character references, saying kevin spacey was a good man, he was a kind man, and kevin spacey actually got very emotional in the dock and started crying, and he denies all of the charges against him. louisa pilbeam. let me take you back to greece. those live pictures coming into us from an area east of the capital athens, and look at that plume of smoke, because the wildfires continue to burn. it is about four hours since we first heard word that wildfires had started and were spreading in that particular area, and since then, we

know of a large operation on the ground to battle with all those flames. it is worth just reminding you that the afp news agency reported only a short while ago reports from firefighters that one man had been arrested for suspicion of starting wildfires, but those pictures coming into us from that area of greece, and of course extreme heat being affected right across that area, we have had record temperatures through the course of the last few days, and those records expect to be broken in the next 48 hours. so those are some of the pictures which we are keeping an eye on them as well as any new detail thatis on them as well as any new detail that is coming in. terror attack survivors have condemned the uk's compensation scheme in a new report. support network survivors against terror called for change after it found more than half of those who responded to a survey, including the manchester arena bombing in 2017, think the process is unfair and unreasonable.

earlier, i wasjoined by paul price, who is a survivor of the manchester arena bombing, who started by explaining what happened to him at manchester. i was at manchester, dropping my daughter off to see the concert with a friend. me and my partner elaine dropped them off. it was the first concert they'd been to on their own. just said to them, we will meet you at the end. me and elaine went into manchester, had a meal and was waiting for them to come out when the bomb went off. i suffered minor injuries, spent eight months in hospital, and elaine, my partner, the love of my life, was killed. it the love of my life, was killed. it is absolutely tragic, and then in

terms of this process, this compensation scheme, i read out some of the details there — 68% of those survivors found the process unfair and unreasonable, 62% did not think they were treated with respect. was that your experience as well? absolutely. not unexpected. my personal experience of the compensation authority was awful. it added to my trauma. from the very early days, while i was still in hospital, the letters from them made me feel like i was on trial, that they did not believe me. every letter was worded... they constantly asked for medical evidence to back

of my claim. they even wanted photographic evidence. i had to get my solicitor to come into hospital, photographed me, and considering my injuries were had to to, —— head to toe... you think, where is this going, who is looking at them? they wanted more photographic evidence. because of my injuries being so extensive, i was consul he having further surgery, extensive, i was consul he having furthersurgery, even extensive, i was consul he having further surgery, even after i came out of hospital. many, many times, further surgery of and they constantly want updated medical records. again, ifelt constantly want updated medical records. again, i felt like constantly want updated medical records. again, ifelt like i was on trial. they did not believe me, and that in itself, considering what i was have to do with, added to my

trauma —— what i was having to deal with. trauma -- what i was having to deal with. �* ., ., ., ., , , with. brandon cox of course lost his wife, talked — with. brandon cox of course lost his wife, talked about _ with. brandon cox of course lost his wife, talked about the _ with. brandon cox of course lost his wife, talked about the system - with. brandon cox of course lost his wife, talked about the system in - wife, talked about the system in many respects there is similar to what you have just described is that it is broken, so what do you think should happen now? i it is broken, so what do you think should happen now?— should happen now? i think the system was _ should happen now? i think the system was set _ should happen now? i think the system was set up... _ should happen now? i think the system was set up... i'm - should happen now? i think thej system was set up... i'm sure a should happen now? i think the - system was set up... i'm sure a lot of instances, a crash, just normal crime. it is not set up to deal with victims of terrorism and the extent of the injuries people suffer from a terrorist attack, the bereavement. victims of terrorism are taking the hit. 0n victims of terrorism are taking the hit. on behalf of the state. the attack is not on us, it is on the

state, and we would expect the state to be looking after us, and it could not be further from the truth. again, ifeel like we not be further from the truth. again, i feel like we are on trial, they don't believe you, they are trying to pay as little as possible, and the process just adds to the trauma. i think they need to set up something different for terrorism, because the system is failing drastically. because the system is failing drastically-— because the system is failing drasticall. . , ., ., drastically. and it is not about mone , drastically. and it is not about money. even _ drastically. and it is not about money, even though - drastically. and it is not about money, even though people l drastically. and it is not about i money, even though people are drastically. and it is not about - money, even though people are put through everything you describe, to make a claim, but money is so important, isn't it, in terms of having to deal with everything you are dealing with, in terms of the way your life has changed? yeah. me and elaine had _ way your life has changed? yeah. me and elaine had really _ way your life has changed? yeah. me and elaine had really good _ way your life has changed? yeah. me and elaine had really good jobs. - and elaine had really good jobs. i've not worked since it happened. and everyone likes to talk about money, but the last six years, i've

been living off savings. you've been saving up to live happily ever after. that ever decreasing pot of money, you need this money. i cannot work. my injuries are bad... perhaps i will never be up to work again, but what we see from the scheme, what they offered and what they tried to pay out to me does not even cover a yea r�*s tried to pay out to me does not even cover a year's earnings combined from me and elaine, so i would struggle forever now. i am even thinking about, do i need to look for some sort of... i was so down in my life changed beyond recognition, and every day is a struggle, and the future very bad now. the devastating experiences — future very bad now. the devastating experiences of _ future very bad now. the devastating

experiences of paul _ future very bad now. the devastating experiences of paul price, _ future very bad now. the devastating experiences of paul price, talking - experiences of paul price, talking to me a little earlier on today's programme. it's been described as the most widespread miscarriage ofjustice in uk history — the wrongful convictions of hundreds of sub—postmasters, who were accused of stealing money when in fact a new it system was faulty. today, the head of the public inquiry has called for action to stop issues blocking compensation, describing the schemes as a "patchwork quilt with some holes in it". many of those wrongly convicted are yet to receive full compensation. a settlement in 2019 granted more than 500 postmasters £443 million, plus legalfees. but over the years, many were financially ruined and have described being shunned by their communities, while others died waiting for compensation. sir wyn williams, chair of the post office horizon it inquiry, said in his opening statement today that the government and the post office response is not sufficient.

what has emerged is a patchwork quilt of compensation schemes. and unfortunately, it is a patchwork quilt with some holes in it. i'm sure that if the government and the post office were setting out now to devise a scheme to deliver compensation to all those who have suffered losses, there would not be three different schemes but, rather, one comprehensive scheme, which would be capable of delivering appropriate compensation for all applicants. that is the chair of the inquiry. one of the victims, seema misra, has told the bbc that the way her case has been handled has sent her into poverty, despite the compensation. the interim payment is like an insult. so basically, instead of paying a lump sum, they're paying bits and pieces,

which is no good for us. by the time they can say, "oh, we paid this much amount of money," but with that figure, we can't even go out and buy the property, which... because of the post office, i'm homeless. office, i lost everything. just one of the victims, talking a little earlier to the bbc. now let's talk about artificial intelligence. we've heard so much about it recently, both the opportunities it presents, and the dangers it poses. now the uk's first—ever "ai tsar" has been appointed to manage those risk and rewards. his name is ian hogarth and he's been speaking to our technology editor zoe kleinman about the challenges ahead. the world is waking up to the potential and the dangers of the most advanced forms of artificial intelligence. across the globe, countries are racing to try to both harness and regulate this technology. here, ian hogarth, a tech entrepreneur, is the man appointed by the prime minister to lead the charge on al in the uk, to ensure that it's developed safely.

we've seen the results in terms of how powerful these systems are now. and so, the question is if we keep doing that, and we keep feeding these systems more and more computing resource, more and more data, and we keep having stronger and stronger incentives for the private sector to accelerate this stuff, when do we cross a line when these systems become dangerous in a new way? where they become, you know, closer to human intelligence or exceed human intelligence? and no one can tell you a definitive answer for when that's going to be. there's another threat, isn't there, which isjobs? there will be winners and losers on a kind of global basis in terms of where the jobs are as a result of ai. we've got to think about how to protect british jobs, and that's sort of one challenge. we're going to have to rethink a lot of these fundamental questions around work as we develop machines that are capable of doing more and more of the jobs that we currently do. artificial intelligence is developed in a computing system called neural networks,

inspired by the complex connections between the cells in human brains, which enable us to think. ai systems are rapidly improving, as they're trained on increasingly vast datasets, huge libraries of information which allow them to identify patterns and solve problems, and even learn from their own mistakes. it's got huge potential for good. for instance, in healthcare, spotting cancer and discovering new drugs. a couple of words to prompt it, and ai can create images, too. earlier this year, this image of the pope went viral when people thought it was real. it's not. and that's one of the biggest risks of ai — its potential for spreading false information, or simply getting its facts wrong, is huge. the big tech companies are in the driving seat for al. in northern ireland, emma has built her own generative marketing software. in less than two seconds, wally will custom develop the website.

but she's worried she won't be able to grow her start—up here without greater access to the computing power behind the tech. technology is advancing so quickly, and because people have more access to hardware and stuff, and the us offers more grants and funding than the uk does, it gets to the point where you have to take investment to exit. like, that's the only way you can go. so, if we have to take investment, then we're going to have to sell wally, and we're going to have to sell this engine. so realistically, you know, that's going to go to a big tech corporation, which will then put it into their product. and once again the uk will be reliant on big tech companies. it's a balancing act that the world can't get wrong — maximising the benefits and minimising the risks of ai, while ensuring that no single company, country or the tech itself, grows too powerful. zoe kleinman, bbc news.

more on the latest developments in the treatment of alzheimer's. the development of a new drug has been called "a turning point" in the fight against the disease, after the results of a major trial were published. the drug was found to slow cognitive decline by about a third among patients in the early stages of the disease. it still needs to be approved by regulators. our medical editor fergus walsh has been giving me more details about today's developments. patients on the drug were more likely to be able to continue with independent lives, to be able to drive, to do their shopping, handle theirfinances, than those who were on a dummy drug. now, it comes with potentially serious side effects. there were three treatment—related deaths among those taking the drug, because it can cause brain swelling and bleeding. so patients need to know the risk and also to be carefully monitored, which brings us on to scans.

you need a specialised type of scan called a pet scan to check whether you have this particular protein called amyloid, which the drug clears. it's a gunk that builds up in the brain of alzheimer's patients. the drug is very effective at clearing it, but at present, very few patients get access to pet scans, especially in the uk. they've got a comparatively low number of scanners and there's an acknowledgement that we need to build that base of scanners. so that potentially can hamper efforts here in the uk. but in terms of the fundamental implications, then, of this, take us through that. so these benefits are modest, but they're a start. i think it possibly is akin to where we were with cancer treatments coming in the 1970s. it heralded in an era of better treatment. and now we have breakthroughs in cancers, thankfully, all the time,

but we haven't had that. we've had decades of failed trials in alzheimer's. this is actually the second drug. the first that cleared amyloid, which reported last year, is called lecanemab. works in a very similar way. that is actually licensed in the us at a cost around $27,000 — £21,000. so that gives an idea of what it might cost if it's introduced in the uk. both those drugs could be licensed in the uk next year, but health services here and around the world will have to see if they move now to the era of treatment for alzheimer's. and because there are two drugs, the thought is that perhaps that creates competition, has an impact on cost as well. just a final twin thought. in terms of how quickly, potentially, then, patients could have access to this drug? and where do we think this takes us on the line to perhaps stopping it, as opposed to simply slowing it?

we're a long way off from stopping it. and alzheimer's is growing hugely, because we are an ageing population. first access will be in the us. i think we could start to get access in the uk next year, but wide access will be quite some way off. fergus walsh, let me bring you the very latest from vladimir putin, who has been talking about that attack on the kerch bridge between crimea and ukraine. he said repairs would begin immediately. he said, given two attacks, i want concrete proposals securing that bridge. the foreign minister would not comment on who is behind the explosion, but said the truth is, one broken russian bridge means fewer broken ukrainian lives. he also went on to talk about russia, and he said, they

need to stop playing hunger games, and that of course a reference to the cancellation of that drain deal brokered by the un. —— that grain deal deal. one more story to squeeze in before we go. now, you may know lizzo for many things — her music, her body positivity — but did you know she's also actually a classically trained flautist? at glastonbury, she cracked out her flute to play sample of mozart. and now the british flute society says the pop superstar has made the instrument cool again. it's called the lizzo effect. so what's all the fuss about? let's take a quick listen. this is her recreating the whole jazz flute scene from the film anchorman. she plays flute woo!

she plays flute isn't that fabulous? what about the lizzo effect? amina hussain is principal flautist at the manchester camerata. here she is talking about lizzo's influence. i literally think lizzo is amazing. there's no question — she's super cool, isn't she? i think, you know, she really does connect with people. you know, she's an excellent singer, rapper, creative person. and then she just happens to have this flute as well that she, you know, she has in her tool box, which is ace, you know, and there's a definite connection when there's an upsurge of interest as a result of someone's influence like that. can't argue with that. that's it from me. thank you for watching.

maryam is next. hello. the weather's very temperate across the uk right now, and many would say, "long may it last." and indeed the computer models are suggesting that for the next week to ten days, very little change is expected with, at times, unsettled weather as southern parts of europe endures that extreme heat wave. and here's a schematic of what's been happening. with the jet stream generally to the south of us, fresher air coming in from the north and that heat contracted to the south of all of that sunshine, whereas we get the weather systems. and this is the next one heading our way, bringing rain and wind for tomorrow. but let's concentrate on that heat. and it looks as though it will be the peak of the heat wave — for the central med, at least — on tuesday. in sardinia, temperatures could reach 46 degrees celsius, give or take. now, not completely unprecedented. these temperatures have happened before across the mediterranean and are becoming more frequent. the highest temperature ever recorded in europe, officially recognised by the world meteorological organization, is 48 degrees celsius in greece, in athens in 1977. but it's rather telling that in the 2000s, we're

getting those values of 47 and more, more frequently. so let's have a look at the forecast, then, for our neck of the woods through tonight and into tomorrow. clearer skies across some eastern areas of the uk, and then this low pressure swings in brings cloud and rain and freshening winds to some western areas of the uk. but i think some early sunshine for northern and eastern and southern parts of the country. now, it's quite a small area of low pressure propelled by that jet stream. you can just get a hint of it here. these wind arrows show that jet stream aloft, pushing this area of low pressure. quite a small low, but the rain will be persistent and quite heavy in some areas, from northern parts of wales, through lancashire, into the lake district and also south—western parts of scotland. maybe 20 or even 30 millimetres of rain in the fells. but either side of this weather system, it'll be much brighter and some sunshine — for example, in london, around 23 degrees. so the jet stream pushes the low pressure and its weather fronts

further towards the east on wednesday, and then the weather improves. the weather improves. not a completely dry day not a completely dry day on wednesday, because we on wednesday, because we will have some showers. will have some showers. and, again, it's that fresh north—westerly breeze with the jet stream generally to the south of us. and here we have it, those modest temperatures which many of us do enjoy. bye— bye.

scotland's western isles yesterday. at six — a new drug to treat alzheimer's, a turning point for those affected by the cruel disease. this is one of the scientists carrying out the global trials which showed the drug can significantly slow brain decline. this showed the drug can significantly slow brain decline.— slow brain decline. this is really significant. _ slow brain decline. this is really significant, this _ slow brain decline. this is really significant, this is _ slow brain decline. this is really significant, this is one - slow brain decline. this is really significant, this is one of - slow brain decline. this is really significant, this is one of the . significant, this is one of the biggest breakthroughs insomuch as this disease is a pandemic, it is getting more and more common. also on the programme: europe's extreme heatwave brings wildfires to greece, where thousands are evacuated, as high winds fan flames and temperatures soar. and temperatures soar. scientists try to work out why scientists try to work out why more than 50 pilot whales died more than 50 pilot whales died

after being beached in after being beached in scotland's western isles yesterday. and jet washing in wilshire, it's a bigjob.