at six — the boss of one of britain's biggest banks england's hospital consultants go on strike for the first time in more than a decade. empty operating theatres as the 48—hour strike causes severe disruption with most routine operations cancelled. if we want to have an nhs which is a world leading health service, we need to keep the doctors here and at the moment, they're leaving. the government said it 6% offer was final and urge them to think of the patients. the boss of one of britain's biggest banks apologises to nigel farage for the way closing his bank account was handled. he said the comments were deeply unfortunate. stop eating a burger a day —

that's the message to big meat eaters, from scientists who say it would reduce carbon dioxide emissions significantly. and the women's world cup gets under way as new zealand — co—hosting with australia — get their first ever world cup win. coming get their first ever world cup win. up at foil lake. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. in england have begun a 48—hour strike in a dispute over pay. it has meant that thousands of planned operations have been postponed. only emergency cover is being provided. consultants�* current basic pay is between £88,000 and £119,000 a year, but some consulants can earn more for on—call and out—of—hours work. the institute for fiscal studies says consultants in england have

seen a 17% drop in pay in real terms on average annual earnings since 2010. the health secretary steve barclay said the government's 6% offer was the final one and urged consultants to put patients first. here's our health editor hugh pym. empty operating theatres once again, with another doctor's strike in empty operating theatres once again, with another doctors strike in england causing widespread cancellations of planned operations. this time, though, it's senior doctors whose action has caused more disruption than the juniors�*. it's had a huge impact. over 90% of our operations have been cancelled. the boss of one leading hospital told me of his concern. every time this happens, more and more people suffer. more and more of our staff become dejected and upset. and it's all a challenge for us to rebuild and start again. appointments have been cancelled, too, at many hospitals. sally from surrey was due to meet a consultant to discuss a hip replacement and it's been pushed back.

the wait has doubled and then i don't know how long i have to wait after that. it was almost, i had a target, at least every day would be a step towards it whereas currently i feel i was going forwards and i've been knocked back. so, what's the strike all about? den is an a&e consultant from merseyside. she says pay has lagged well behind inflation and the 6% award simply isn't enough. compared to much of the rest of the population, consultants are pretty well paid. is it right to strike over pay? i accept that consultants are highly paid compared to a lot of people across the uk. there's no denying that. the truth of the matter is that there is currently an open market for doctors across the world. if we want to be leaders, if we want to have an nhs which, you know, is a world—leading health service, we need to keep doctors here. and at the moment, they're leaving.

0ne consultant said he wasn't striking because of the impact on the patients. they're waiting for clinical appointments, waiting for operations, waiting for investigations and that's having a real impact both on their quality of life and sometimes on their health. i didn't feel in good conscience that i could join a strike that would contribute to that. but i recognise the good intentions of all of those who are striking. as consultant members of the british medical association formed picket lines, ministers argued they had met demands on pension tax relief and made a fair pay award. it's now time to put patients first and for consultants to call off this strike and focus on patients. so, we have listened to the bma in terms of the changes we made to pension taxation and we also adopted in full the recommendations of the pay review body. there is no strike in scotland or

planned in wales. the government has said there will be no talks and there is no sign of the dispute being resolved any time soon. in fact the bma has called another two day consultant strike for the of august. solidarity to you all. and with the rail union leader offering support at a meeting of bma members this afternoon, there seem to for some doctors at least a desire to press on with their action. alison rose, the chief executive at natwest, says comments made about nigel farage were deeply inappropriate. mr farage said his account had been closed because his political views didn't align with the bank's values. tonight miss rose has repeated her offer of alternative banking arrangements for

him at natwest, which owns coutts. the government has announced banks will face tougher rules over closing customer accounts in a move designed to protect freedom of expression. ross atkins is here to explain. this is a story about banking and political beliefs, and it starts here. i had ihada i had a phone call a couple of months ago to say, we are closing your account. months ago to say, we are closing youraccount. i months ago to say, we are closing your account. i asked why and no reason was given. mr farage suggested it was politically motivated. that was late june. by earlyjuly, there was a twist. a bbc headline told us: "nigel farage bank account shut for falling below wealth limit." the bank in questions was coutts — a private bank you can only use with a high level of funds. the bbc story came from business editor simonjack. on twitter he quoted a source who "rejected the notion that the decision to close his coutts account was in any way political". "it was for commercial reasons, the source said. but what the source said wasn t accurate.

nor was the bbc headline. we know that because of this... after what's called a subject access request, nigel farage received details of coutts' decision, and released them. we see coutts noting mr farage 5 mortgage ending. and adding, "the relationship has been below commercial criteria for some time." and these commercial factors can trigger the closing of an account. but in the document, there 5 more. nigel farage is described as holding "xenophobic, chauvinistic and racist views". it says he s considered by many to be "a disingenuous grifter." and this is mr farage�*s view of that. this bank, behaving now are like a political campaigning organisation. for its part, the bank now says: "it is not coutts' policy to close customer accounts solely on the basis of legally held political and personal views." maybe not solely,

but the bbc�*s source said politics had nothing to do with it. we can see that it did. that coutts considered nigel farage 5 politics a reputational risk. and well as that, throughout its reporting of this, bbc news has highlighted that its heard from coutts customers who are below the financial threshold and who still have their accounts. and now tonight, dame alison rose, ceo of natwest — which owns coutts — has apologised to nigel farage for the "deeply inappropate comments about yourself in the now published papers." the letter also promises a "full review of the coutts process for how these decisions are made and communicated". also tonight, the government is proposing new rules to make sure that if a customer's account is closed, there's more opportunity to appeal and the bank must provide details of the reason why. let's get more on this story with chris mason in westminster. it is

chris mason in westminster. it is worth unpicking. _ chris mason in westminster. it 3 worth unpicking. nigel farage is a divisive figure. few would dispute that. but the issue that this has opened up does not divide opinion here at westminster. yes, those who have been willing to talk about it publicly have broadly been those who maybe sympathetic to some aspects of nigel farage's politics but in reality, talking to people privately come on all sides there's been a deep, deep concern that in the uk such a basic service as a bank account that millions of us rely on every day could be refused to somebody, apparently, for their legally held views. that's why we've seen this response from the government. that's why a treasury minister the other night wanted to speak and did speak to the chief executive of natwest. because there is that sense, shared by plenty of people privately on the opposition benches, that this is something that simply cannot be allowed to happen. i think it's in that context that

we've seen this apology from natwest. a final thought, at the heart of these discussions, coutts and natwest, were they trying to protect their reputation? the conclusion of this, the direct opposite. conclusion of this, the direct opposite-— conclusion of this, the direct o. osite, , ., ~' r, supermarkets have not been profiteering from the recent food price rises — that's the verdict of the competition and markets authority. the watchdog says the sharp rise in costs for supermarket shoppers is not down to weak competition. but it did say that supermarkets should be making more efforts to display prices more clearly — to help people find the best deals. our business correspondent emma simpson has the details. are grocery prices are higher than they should be? the regulator's been taking a look. its conclusion — soaring food inflation isn't down to a lack of competition, and it doesn't think retailers are passing on all their rising costs to consumers either. we haven't seen any evidence

that the supermarkets are profiteering on groceries. we do think it's important to keep this market under review, though. we have heard from some of the supermarkets, some of the retailers that they're looking for opportunities to rebuild their margins. and we are mindful that we would expect input costs to be falling over the coming months. so we want to make sure that that competitive pressure remains. but it wants to see government action on pricing. that's unit pricing, where supermarkets are required to display the unit cost of a product, for instance, the price per kilo of cheese. so it's easier for shoppers to compare costs. but the regulator says these labels aren't as clear as they should be and could be missing entirely on promotions. unit pricing is completely inconsistent. you might see a price per 100 grams, per kilo all on the same shelf. that is useless for consumers, but even worse, it's sometimes not there when you have promotions or loyalty discounts. that's why the government need

to step in and legislate. but even better, the supermarkets could fix this tomorrow. tesco's already promised to put the unit price on its clubcard promotions. shoppers welcome more clarity. you do have to do some maths in your head about is this are we comparing like with like? i definitely do pay attention to them as if i'm trying to get a good deal when i'm wandering around the supermarket, especially with like detergents and things like that. it's like reading the fine print. you don't it... it doesn't stand out. you have to pay attention to it. the watchdog says unit pricing provides critical information in this cost of living crisis, and the rules need improving to make sure shoppers get the best deals. emma simpson, bbc news. and you can get more information on the cost of living and ways to help on the tackling it together pages of the bbc news website or on the bbc news app. there's been more disruption for rail passengers today as up to 20,000 staff at 1a train companies in england walked out in a dispute

about working conditions, jobs and pay. it's the first of three strikes by the rmt this month. services to and from wales and scotland are also affected. the next strikes are on saturday 22nd and saturday 29th july. on top of that, train drivers from the aslef union are refusing to work overtime at 15 train companies until saturday — which could mean reduced timetables and last—minute cancellations. 0ur transport correspondent katy austin is at birmingham new street station for us. that's right, it's been another day of disruption. a mixed bag around the country. some places have had few or no trains moving. many services wound down for the day earlier than they normally would. with more strikes coming up, are we any closer to resolution? at the moment the answer looks like it is a no. in april the rmt rejected the

latest proposals from the 1a train companies who are backed by the government. that seemed to bring the national dispute to something of an impasse, both sides saying they would be happy to carry on talking. but there's been no indication that the offer would change. ministers and the industry keep on asking the rmt to put the existing offer to their members in a vote. some in the rmt have said they have not put prepared to do that. the union says the proposals that could see hundreds of tickets offices closed across england have added to anger among its members because of the impact onjobs. disability impact on jobs. disability campaigners impact onjobs. disability campaigners have also raised concerns about the proposals with some even saying they are prepared to take legal action. the industry has insisted it is listening to those concerns and maintains that the changes would see staff moved to help passengers around the station instead. 100,000 people have already responded to a public consultation around those ticket office changes

and that consultation lasts until wednesday. and that consultation lasts until wednesday-— scientists at oxford university say that if people who eat a lot of meat every day — like a big hamburger or steak — were to cut back, it could have a huge impact on carbon dioxide levels across the uk, the equivalent to taking eight million cars off the road. this new study has been looking at the impact of different diets on the environment. it's the first to give detailed figures on the difference between eating a lot of meat and having smaller portions. here's our science correspondent, pallab ghosh. this burger is half—beef, half—mushroom. it�*s ryan holmes�* recipe, whose catering firm helps its clients to reduce their carbon footprint. what we want to do is reduce our impact on the environment and our emissions. so, by reducing that by 50% without compromising on flavour or quality, it enables us to do that and drive towards net zero in an effective way. the firm also offers 100% beef,

as well as 100% plant—based burgers. they�*re working with researchers at oxford university who�*ve calculated exactly how much carbon dioxide, which accelerates global warming, different diets produce. new research shows that big, meaty diets of 100g or more a day, like thisjuicy burger, results in ten kilograms of c02. but if you halve your meat intake to 50g, the c02 levels are also halved to 5kg a day. and if you have a completely plant—based burger, it�*s down to 2.5. but scientists say you don�*t have to become a vegan to help save the planet. simply cutting back on meat can have a huge effect. so, if everyone in the uk who�*s currently a high meat eater moved down, just reduced the amount of meat that they consumed, then it would make a really big difference overall — about equivalent of taking about 8 million cars off the road.

professor scarborough surveyed the diets of 55,000 people to come to this conclusion, which has been published in the scientificjournal nature food. but the head of the uk�*s largest meat industry association says his experts tell him that such studies overstate the impact of producing meat. meat is a wonderful part of a balanced diet. now, that doesn�*t mean there aren�*t people in this country that are probably eating more meat than they need to eat. but equally, there�*s people that probably should eat a little bit more meat for health reasons. so it�*s a question of balance. and people need to look at their own diets and decide what is the best thing to do. britain has one of the most sustainable methods of meat production in the world, and the sector employs nearly 100,000 people, making £9.5 billion a year for the country. but the government�*s national food strategy says we�*ll all need to eat 30% less meat within ten years to meet our targets for reducing carbon emissions. pallab ghosh, bbc news.

the time is coming up to 6.20. our top story this evening. england�*s hospital consultants go on strike. and zach crawley hits 189 for england. and in 15 minutes... we�*ll be assessing the impact of the 48—hour strike by nhs consultants as part of their long—running pay dispute. and we speak to the guitar maker from sussex who�*s been working with some of the biggest names in music. 32 teams are taking part. new zealand had their first—ever win in the tournament in their match against norway. there was victory too for australia, as jane dougall reports from sydney.

blazing through the auckland night, fireworks punctuated the start of one of football�*s biggest sporting events. maori and first nation dancers underlined the cultural roots of co—hosts new zealand and australia. but as the players emerged, they paused to remember the victims of an unrelated shooting in auckland that morning, which had taken the lives of two innocent people. then a roar as new zealand got the 2023 women�*s world cup under way against norway. known as the football ferns, they had never before won a match at a world cup but a dream move, then a one—touch finish. it�*s wilkinson! that was sensational. hannah wilkinson with the first goal of the tournament, sparking incredible scenes in front of a record new zealand crowd. they went on to miss a penalty, but it didn�*t matter. it�*s history for the football ferns! an historic and poignant win for a defiant nation.

there are two countries hosting this world cup, and just a few hours later, australia got their first match under way against ireland. a minute�*s silence was held here too, but a very different atmosphere as a large irish ex—pat community helped pack out stadium australia here in sydney. and they bore witness to ireland women�*s first world cup match. the debutants proudly led out by captain katie mccabe. perhaps beginner�*s luck for them with the news that australia�*s star player, sam kerr, wasn�*t fit to play. but luck can change and a physical match brought a penalty for the hosts, which they calmly took. and sends the majority of the 80,000—plus inside stadium australia into rapture!

ireland rose up to attack, but just couldn�*t finish. and despite that scare, the matildas had their home victory. jane dougall, bbc news, sydney. we recently reported on concerns about do not resusicate forms used in hospitals — an end—of—life care decision that can be appropriate for some people. 0ur report led to dozens of people getting in touch with evidence that the system, particularly in england, has significant ongoing problems. families have told us that both patients and medics, including ambulance staff and doctors, are regularly confused by the process. 0ur social affairs correspondent michael buchanan has been hearing some of their stories. denise smith was diagnosed with terminal cancer last year. the 50—year—old had a do not resuscitate decision in place, so when her husband charlie felt her take her last breath, he called the ambulance service to certify her death. the call handler turned round and said, "well, you�*re going to have to perform cpr." "0k, just repeat this." she has the form. she went, "it doesn�*t mean anything." "you still have to go through it and do it." under pressure from the call handler, charlie, a trained first aider, started trying to resuscitate his wife.

i felt her ribs breaking below me as i was doing it. it was the most horrific thing i�*ve ever felt in my life. when the paramedics arrived, they read the form and immediately told charlie to stop. that�*s going to sit with me for ages, that i didn�*t need to do it. it�*s going to sit with the family for ages and it didn�*t need to happen. following a recent report on this bulletin, dozens of people got in touch with their poor experiences of the system. the blanket use of the forms. "as my father was being admitted to a&e, one of the doctors advised us that it was hospital policy that anyone being admitted who was over 65 years of age with comorbidities would not be resuscitated." "the pressure to comply. my partner has secondary progressive ms. on every occasion he goes to hospital, the doctors have been very quick to mention dnr. he loves life. i�*m absolutely fed up of the mention of dnr."

the form is signed but has no reasoning given. none of the boxes have been completed. 92—year—old dennis chilvers has spent much of the last year in kettering general hospital. injanuary, his nephew and next—of—kin dave perry discovered a do not attempt cpr form and his medical notes. in his medical notes. though signed by doctors, it was otherwise completely blank. the hospital has since apologised. the fact that the form wasn�*t discussed with him or me upsets me quite a lot because it�*s a very important step to take to say do not resuscitate someone. while england struggles with various do not resuscitate forms, in wales they believe they have a clearer system, having invested in educating both patients and doctors. when families are faced with severe... do not resuscitate, does that mean do not treat? and i think that�*s what people�*s basic fear is like. the fact we have a national policy in wales and we have had it for some time has meant there is better knowledge, better spread of knowledge, better education.

ministers in england say they�*re working to ensure guidance on do not attempt cpr is clear and properly understood, but in too many cases, it seems, there is much work to be done. michael buchanan, bbc news. wheat prices have risen sharply on global markets. our correspondent james waterhouse is in kyiv, tell us more. ~' . james waterhouse is in kyiv, tell us more. ~ ., ., , james waterhouse is in kyiv, tell us more. ~ ., , james waterhouse is in kyiv, tell us more, " ., ., , , " more. ukraine has responded in kind sa in: an more. ukraine has responded in kind saying any cargo _ more. ukraine has responded in kind saying any cargo ships _ more. ukraine has responded in kind saying any cargo ships it _ more. ukraine has responded in kind saying any cargo ships it sees - saying any cargo ships it sees docking on parts in occupied territory, it will assume they are military vessels and casinos targets, so i think this grain initiative is feeling very over at this point in time. this was an agreement that was far from perfect, but it worked. this time last year in a deal brokered by turkey and the united nations, russia agreed to

allow ukraine to export through the black sea, and it did so. more than 30 million tonnes, it was a third less than normal but it did function. russia has continually threatened to pull out over frustrations at getting agricultural parts imported, and its own ability to export goods too. and vladimir putin has now classed those as demands. he wants those addressed to bring them back to this deal. turkey is never the less optimistic, describing a positive atmosphere on whether the kremlin will return, but at the moment things are feeling hostile on ukraine�*s south coast. james, thank you. now a look at some other stories making the news today: russia is imposing new restrictions on british diplomats, requiring them to give at least five days�* notice before travelling beyond 75 miles. the announcement came as russia�*s foreign ministry criticised britain for supporting what it called ukraine�*s "terrorist actions". new figures show that the average mortgage rate has fallen for the first time in nearly two months.

the financial information service, moneyfacts, says that the average two—yearfixed rate mortgage has fallen slightly to 6.79%. that is according police in berlin are searching for an animal they believe is a lioness in the south—western outskirts of the city. a police spokeswoman said they received calls and a video alerting them to the wild animal at about midnight last night, and immediately began their search. the open golf championship got under way today. the world�*s best players are vying to win the oldest major in the sport. andy swiss has been watching the day�*s action. watching the day's action. welcome to ho lake watching the day's action. welcome to hoylake where _ watching the day's action. welcome to hoylake where we _ watching the day's action. welcome to hoylake where we have - watching the day's action. welcome to hoylake where we have had - to hoylake where we have had glorious conditions for the golfers as well as the thousands of fans who are still out there on the course. the open hasn�*t had an english winnerfor more than the open hasn�*t had an english winner for more than 30 years, but there is currently an englishman at

there is currently an englishman at the top of the leaderboard, and that is tommy fleetwood. fleetwood is something of a local hero. he comes from southport which is a few miles along the coast and he had a terrific round here today of five under par so he is currently in a share of the lead alongside the south african amateur chris dolan brecht who had an incredible day. as for rory mcilroy, he has had a frustrating round so far. he is currently seven shots off the pace. rory mcilroy won the open at hoylake in 2014 but he has already given himself a little bit of work to do. the other big talking point has been the weather because it�*s been glorious today but rain is forecast over the next few days, so the challenge here at hoylake could be about to get a lot tougher. andy, thank you. glorious weather for the cricket as well. it�*s been a great day for england at old

trafford on day two of the ashes test. the endless appeal of test match cricket is its ability to suddenly surprise. oh, well, what�*s this? fluent english batting. dominant english batting. first, a partnership of 121 between zak crawley and "mr adaptable, i�*ll bat at three," moeen ali. with no time to lose, under relatively cloudless skies, england needed to score quickly, but they do that naturally. look at zak crawley and look at the effect it has on the bowler. did he do that, there? it�*s hardly fair. it�*s what zak crawley does. and on good days, like this, it will take on all the way to 100. it�*s why the crowd rise to him it�*s why the crowd rise to him and exactly why england and exactly why england keep on selecting him. what next? justjoe root doing his thing. england scoring in every way, everywhere. crawley passed 150 and accelerating

and england were overtaking australia�*s first innings score. no one�*s catching that. crawley made 189. it became a vindication of his approach to batting, to england�*s approach to test cricket. they expect to do this, these days, and that�*s what�*s so striking. yes, and things are still moving on the scoreboard because england are still batting behind me. currently 381-4. that is still batting behind me. currently 381—4. that is a lead of 64 so far. i think england have done everything they can to try to establish a winning position and technically there are three days left in this test match, ages. in reality the weather, the weather, we have to reference the weather. if you ask what will happen next, the answer lies beyond us and above us in the manchester clouds. i have just the

manchester clouds. i havejust the man manchester clouds. i have just the man to tell you right now.