another major announcement today — the prime minister's plan to crackdown on smoking and stamp it out completely. we'll be explaining how. also tonight, a murder investigation is launched after a man is attacked and killed in sunderland by what's thought to be an american xl bully dog. here is gascoigne. brilliant! and remember this? are the euros coming home again in 2028? the uk and ireland look set to host. coming up on bbc news — newcastle state paris saint—germain in the champions lead after two decades to play in front of their own fans. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. hs2 has been one of the government's flagship projects for more than a decade. unveiled in 2009, it was an ambitious project to link london

with the north of england and the east midlands. but costs spiralled and it was scaled back. the eastern leg of h52 was cancelled two years ago. now birmingham to manchester has also been scrapped, as well as the line to east midlands parkway. we'll be getting reaction from all along the network tonight. our transport correspondent katy austin is in birmingham, our north of england correspondent danny savage is in leeds, but first let's go to our political editor chris mason in manchester. sophie, for at least three weeks the plug has been poised to be pulled on a big chunk of hs2. today, it was yanked out. the prime minister acknowledged it was a controversial decision, but he insisted it was the right call, even though there are plenty, including in his own party, who think it is a huge mistake. and all of this on a day of big

announcements from rishi sunak. manchester this lunchtime, and the prime minister's warm—up. rishi and i are each other�*s best friends, and i couldn't being anywhere else to —— and i couldn't imagine being anywhere else to show my support to him. rishi sunak began by thanking her, his daughters, his parents as he drew a link between himself and margaret thatcher. this conservative party, the party of the grocer's daughter and the pharmacist's son, will always be the party of enterprise, the party of small business. he said he has taken a look at how government works since he became prime minister, and not liked what he has seen. it isn't anger, it's an exhaustion with politics. we have had 30 years of a political system which incentivises the easy decision, not the right one.

as for taxes, they will come down, he claimed, but didn't say when. and then it was to the crux of this speech, the proposed high—speed rail line between manchester and birmingham, scrapped. i am ending this long—running saga. i am cancelling the rest of the h52 project. and in its place, we will reinvest every single penny, £36 billion, in hundreds of new transport projects in the north and the midlands across the country. this means £36 billion of investment in the projects that will make a real difference across our nation. this would include, he promised, an extension to the west midlands metro, building a tram system in leeds, electrifying the main rail line in north wales and upgrading... the a1, the a2, the m5, the m6!

but there is more. and there was, but not necessarily popular, even in his own party. some conservatives hate the idea of banning things. rishi sunak wants to ban smoking for the next generation. i propose that in future, we raise the smoking age by one year every year. the debate over trans rights prompts strong feelings. the prime minister's view got one of his biggest cheers here. we shouldn't get bullied into believing that people can be any sex they want to be. they can't. a man is a man and a woman is a woman, that's just common sense. the final big policy idea in this speech was about post 16 education in england. we will introduce the new rigorous knowledge—rich advanced british standard, which will bring together a—levels and t—levels into a new single qualification for our school leavers.

as the speech drew towards a conclusion, there was a return to personal reflection. rishi sunak said the uk was not racist. now, i am proud to be the first british asian prime minister, but you know what? i'm even prouder that it's just not a big deal. this was a speech in which the fifth prime minister in so far 13 year run in office for the conservatives made an audacious bid to be seen as the face of change. we will be bold. we will be radical. we will face resistance, and we will meet it. be in no doubt, it is time for a change, and we are it. thank you. this was an attempt by the prime minister to revitalise, to reenergise his premiership, the grab politics by the scruff of the neck.

the big question now for him is, will it improve his political prospects? last roll of the dice? well, look, we know that there is going to be a general election coming up in the fairly nearfuture. this is a statement of intent. are we seeing rishi sunak unleashed? yes. he came in at a difficult time and he's been showing the country how serious and how focused he is. watching from his hotel room next door, this man, the conservative mayor of the west midlands, who had pleaded to save hs2. 0bviously, i'm very disappointed that he announced that today. as you know, ifought for it to be maintained. and you've lost. i have lost. where does that leave you politically? will you carry on as mayor? i will carry on as mayor, because i do think it is right that you should stand up, particularly when something is really important to your region. this wasn't a speech of instant crowd pleasers, but instead, ideas that will divide and provoke.

it is, then, a gamble. chris mason, bbc news, in manchester. the decision on the high—speed rail line has certainly divided opinion. the ambition was big. but so — as it turned out — was the cost. 0ur transport correspondent katy austin is in birmingham. yes, sophie, four years hs2 was the country's flagship transport infrastructure project, albeit one infrastructure project, albeit one in which projected cost had more than tripled since it was first proposed. today, a huge change of emphasis, of priorities. birmingham will still get its new high—speed link with london. the rest of the project is shelved, with the money going elsewhere. the hs2 story has involved predictions of economic benefits, ambitious engineering, but also ballooning costs, delays and changing plans. the latest chapter is the most dramatic yet.

an alternative which in place of one delayed and overrunning project, will now begin hundreds upon hundreds of new projects, large and small. road and rail, bus and train, covering the whole country. the london to birmingham leg currently being built will be completed, with services initially ending in west london before a euston terminus comes later. it has a price tag of at least £16 billion in 2019 prices, with more than 22 billion spent so far. the stretch to crewe was due to cost up to £7 billion, with around i billion already spent, and the line onto manchester would have cost 19 billion, again in 2019 prices, with a smaller amount spent so far. both of those are now scrapped. hs2 trains would instead get to and from manchester on existing track from just north of lichfield. it means the journey time between manchester and euston would be cut from just over two hours now around one hour

and a0 minutes, not the one hour and 11 minutes, had the rest of hs2 been built. it also means no extra space for passenger services or freight to ease pressure on the congested west coast main line. 0ne former hs2 chairman said the uk would lose connectivity and credibility. do leaders like yourself bear some responsibility for letting it get so overbudget? could it have been done more effectively? yes, but the government also bears a significant amount of responsibility for decisions taking far too long. construction has really got going on the second parts of hs2, —— construction hasn't really got going on the second parts of hs2, but there has already been an impact. more than 400 properties have already been bought up between birmingham and manchester. in staffordshire, this farmer has been forced to sell land his family have tended for generations. it makes you cry. it's very difficult, emotionally. yeah. in the local tea room,

other residents told us damage had already been done. i had to make a decision with my wife, do we sell up and go? many people locally have done that. i am struggling to find the words about what hs2 has been like, dealing with for an awful lot of people. for me, it's like a corridor. of sadness that follows hsz. some will argue it was never the right plan, and not worth the huge cost. but many businesses and northern leaders say an opportunity has been squandered. katy austin, bbc news. so, the prime minister says the money saved will be poured into transport links in the north of england — the new network north as he called it — with every single one of the new projects being delivered faster than hs2. so, better rail links between manchester and liverpool, a tram service for leeds, and upgrades for roads such as the ai and the m6. well, let's go to leeds now and our north of england

correspondent danny savage. sophie, for people living in northern england, some of what was patch day does sound very familiar. a tram in leeds has been talked about for more than 25 years, but it really finally happen now? boosting and cutting journeys across the pennines east to west has been a familiar talk for people here. but the figures pledged today by the prime minister a very impressive, but do not hold your breath waiting for them. trains in the north, plenty of people use them. in leeds, the idea of hs2 coming to town was axed a while ago. but for those pushing for better economic hope for the north, losing the manchester leg is devastating. people here in the north of england and £8,000 a year —— people here in the north of england earn £8,000 a year less than their counterparts in london and the south—east, and

that's because we have lower productivity and unreliability as well as long journey times frequency, which is a significant issue for the north's economy. the dream was that hs2 would link a much improved east—west link across the pennines. so what's the reality today? this was my experience last week. monday evening, been working in manchester or day—to—day. —— monday evening, been working in manchester all day today. we were going to get the 6.30 train across the pennines, but that was cancelled, so we got the next one, which has now broken down midway between manchester and huddersfield. so, thoughts on hs2's demise from those on the platform? it should always have gone from birmingham to manchester and then do the east—west part, manchester to leeds. the difference in travel when you come up north is so different to how it is down south. 364 quid a month to go from leeds to manchester. do you get value for money? not at all. but what's the other option? i drive and get stuck on the 62 for three hours if there is a crash? the government is pledging what it calls network

north, and the prime minister says journey times from manchester to bradford will be reduced to 30 minutes. sheffield to manchester will be 42 minutes, and less than an hour and a half across to hull. people hearing that will think, good, but what is the reality? the reality is that these promises are years away from being delivered. and i don't get the sense that you can actually trust the current government to deliver its promises, having just seen them ditch a project they have been developing for 15 years. the suburbs of sheffield are to benefit from the opening of a new line in the don valley. for me as a business owner travelling around the north of england, i think having an east—west connectivity and better interconnectivity within towns and cities in the north is probably more of a priority for us than an hour or half an hour quick to london. northern leaders tried to stop the demise of hs2 to the north to save the bigger picture. to have a line that was

meant to be north to central london that doesn't go to the north really is a failure of what it initially set out. in my view, it's the final nail in the coffin for levelling up. road improvement schemes have been promised too. lots of pledges were made today, but this is a very long game. it could be a decade or more before anyone sees the benefits. danny savage, bbc news, leeds. rishi sunak announced big plans too for cracking down on smoking. he wants to stamp it out altogether. and the way he's proposing to do that is by 2027 the legal age —— and the way he's proposing to do that is by increasing the legal age at which people can buy cigarettes in england will increase every year by one year. at the moment you have to be 18. so, in practice, it would mean that anyone aged 1a or under now will never be able to buy a cigarette legally. here's our health editor hugh pym.

smokers out today, but the government wants to cut the number under a radical new plan, the legal age for buying cigarettes and tobacco will rise by one year every year from 18. there will be varying impacts and there are varying views on bridgwater in somerset today. probably a good idea, to be fair. why do you think it might be a good idea? . , why do you think it might be a good idea? ., , ., �* , ., ., idea? cigarettes aren't very good for peeple- _ idea? cigarettes aren't very good for people. either _ idea? cigarettes aren't very good for people. either bring - idea? cigarettes aren't very good for people. either bring it - idea? cigarettes aren't very good for people. either bring it to - for people. either bring it to nobody smokes _ for people. either bring it to nobody smokes or— for people. either bring it to nobody smokes or let - for people. either bring it to - nobody smokes or let everybody be equah _ nobody smokes or let everybody be equah i _ nobody smokes or let everybody be e . ual. ~ ., nobody smokes or let everybody be e . ual. ~' ., , ., nobody smokes or let everybody be eaual. ~' ., , ., , ._ equal. i think the agent should stay at 18, it should _ equal. i think the agent should stay at 18, it should be _ equal. i think the agent should stay at18, it should be legal— equal. i think the agent should stay at18, it should be legal for- equal. i think the agent should stay at 18, it should be legal for people | at 18, it should be legal for people to at18, it should be legal for people to buy— at 18, it should be legal for people to buy cigarettes, _ at 18, it should be legal for people to buy cigarettes, disease - at 18, it should be legal for people to buy cigarettes, disease stress. to buy cigarettes, disease stress relief _ to buy cigarettes, disease stress relief it — to buy cigarettes, disease stress relief it is— to buy cigarettes, disease stress relief. it is better— to buy cigarettes, disease stress relief. it is better than _ to buy cigarettes, disease stress relief. it is better than people i relief. it is better than people buying — relief. it is better than people buying illegal— relief. it is better than people buying illegal substances. - relief. it is better than people buying illegal substances. smoking rates have come _ buying illegal substances. smoking rates have come down _ buying illegal substances. smoking rates have come down a _ buying illegal substances. smoking rates have come down a lot - buying illegal substances. smoking rates have come down a lot with i rates have come down a lot with things like the ban in public places full stop back in 1980, 40% smoked. in recent years, it is less than half of that. medical experts say there is still a serious health problem. around one in four cancer deaths in the uk are linked to tobacco usage. and the annual cost of smoking to the nhs and social care in england has been put at £3

billion. there are taxes on cigarettes. billion. there are taxes on cigarettes-_ billion. there are taxes on ciuarettes. ., ., ., , ., cigarettes. the great ma'ority of --eole cigarettes. the great ma'ority of people who i cigarettes. the great ma'ority of people who smoke _ cigarettes. the great ma'ority of people who smoke do _ cigarettes. the great majority of people who smoke do not - cigarettes. the great majority of people who smoke do not want, | cigarettes. the great majority of - people who smoke do not want, wish they had not started. they are doing this now because they are addicted in their younger lives. this means that they are trapped in a situation that they are trapped in a situation thatis that they are trapped in a situation that is causing them ill—health and will eventually in many cases sadly kill them. . , ., ., kill them. critics argue that raising the _ kill them. critics argue that raising the legal _ kill them. critics argue that raising the legal age - kill them. critics argue that raising the legal age for. kill them. critics argue thatl raising the legal age for sale kill them. critics argue that - raising the legal age for sale of cigarettes each year will not have the intended result of cutting smoking rates.— the intended result of cutting smoking rates. the intended result of cutting smokin: rates. ., ' , ., , ., smoking rates. ten or 15 years down the line, rather— smoking rates. ten or 15 years down the line, rather be _ smoking rates. ten or 15 years down the line, rather be 33-year-olds - the line, rather be 33—year—olds able _ the line, rather be 33—year—olds able to— the line, rather be 33—year—olds able to buy— the line, rather be 33—year—olds able to buy cigarettes and 32—year—old cannot? straightaway you will have _ 32—year—old cannot? straightaway you will have a _ 32—year—old cannot? straightaway you will have a fairly large informal market — will have a fairly large informal market of— will have a fairly large informal market of smokers who are old enough to buy— market of smokers who are old enough to buy cigarettes selling cigarettes to buy cigarettes selling cigarettes to people who are not old enough. smokers _ to people who are not old enough. smokers are encouraged to switch to e—cigarettes to help quit tobacco, but there is increasing concern about under 18s vaping. the government will consult on restricting flavourings and disposable vapes, though teachers

and parents say action is urgently needed. children who've just started primary school in england won't be taking a—levels or t—levels by the time they reach 18 under the plans set out by the prime minister today. instead, they will study for a new qualification called the advanced british standard — or the abs. 0ur education editor branwenjeffreys is here. and what will this mean and how likely is it to actually happen? well, it tells you something about the scale of change proposed that it is set for 2033, two elections away, which creates a lot of uncertainty. by which creates a lot of uncertainty. by that time, the idea is that both academic a—levels and the very new t—levels that are still being introduced would both be scrapped. students would be able to choose from a mix of academic and vocational subjects, but they would be expected to study maths and english up to 18, and to study more subjects, so perhaps five, for example, instead of three. more

hours of teaching, more subjects also means more teachers, and that potentially is the biggest challenge for these plans.— for these plans. branwen jeffreys, thank yom — let's get the final word on today's speech from our political editor chris mason. give us your assessment of all this. was it the beginning of the conservative manifesto, and how did it go down with the party faithful? it certainly was, as far as that build—up to the next election and the conservative manifesto is concerned, sophie. what was striking today was that it was, yes, out with mr study, today was that it was, yes, out with mrstudy, but today was that it was, yes, out with mr study, but still in with mr sirius. party leaders often like to throw around a fewjokes, however hopeless. there was barely any of that from mr sunak today. in those three big policy areas, hs2, smoking and post—16 education in england, they are not cat places and they will divide and provoke and force a response from labour. to give you a sense of how much they divide, two

farmers prime ministers were not liking chunks of what we heard today. liz truss doesn't like the idea of banning smoking for young people. david cameron hates what he has heard today about hs2. so, what is going on here? this is rishi sunak trying to say this is the real him, that he is setting out what he really believes in, and that includes being willing to take on rings that are difficult. but some are sceptical. 0ne former conservative cabinet minister rang me up and said, it's a little bit rich for this guy to be saying loads of previous leaders have been hopeless, when he became prime minister without even securing the support of conservative party members, let alone the electorate. then there is the question of believability. if you are in the business of scrapping stuff, will people believe that you are going to deliver stuff, particularly given the timeframe is, as we have been hearing, and the election is getting close? so what is the overall strategy from rishi sunak? right

now, if you look at the opinion polls, he is going to lose the election, so he had to do something different. he says this is the real him, and there will be more to come. 0ur political editor chris mason in manchester, thank you. a murder investigation has been launched after a man was attacked and killed in sunderland by what police believe to be an american xl bully dog. the man who died has been named as 54—year—old ian langley. a 44—year—old man has been arrested. police say the dog has been destroyed to protect the public. 0ur correspondent fiona trott reports from sunderland. a community, shocked by a dog attacked just metres from their own front door. the animal was destroyed shortly afterwards to protect the public. another dog, also believed to be an xl bully breed, was taken away. this is what excel bully dog look like. last month the government announced a ban. existing owners will have to register them and

ensure they are neutered and muzzled when out on a lead. this is a quite housing estate, and their lives have been turned upside down. there are three areas here that have been cordoned off and are being manned by the police. they are knocking on doors, asking for information. and most importantly this. there are people here who are coping with what they saw or heard yesterday, and some of them have lost a friend. he was a some of them have lost a friend. he: was a great person. he was a people person. that is the sad thing, that he died without getting help after the help he gave to the community. we all have characters in all our villages — we all have characters in all our villages. some people like them, some _ villages. some people like them, some don't. i villages. some people like them, some don't-— villages. some people like them, some don't. ., ., some don't. i found him great. the man they remember _ some don't. i found him great. the man they remember fondly - some don't. i found him great. the man they remember fondly has - man they remember fondly has now been and named by the police as ian langley. his family are being supported by specially trained officers. fiona trott, matt bbc news, sunderland. cheshire police have confirmed

they have begun a corporate manslaughter investigation into the hospital which employed the convicted neonatal nurse lucy letby. she was jailed in august for murdering seven babies and attempting to murder six more. 0fficers said they'll be looking at the senior leadership at the countess of chester hospital and their decision making. the leader of the reclaim party laurence fox was arrested earlier this morning. he released this video on social media as police searched his house. in a statement, the metropolitan police said a 45—year—old man had been arrested "on suspicion of conspiring to commit criminal damage to ulez cameras." in a separate incident, gb news also confirmed today that they've sacked fox following his comments denigrating journalist ava evans last week. an army investigation has found that a soldier who died at larkhill barracks in wiltshire in 2021 probably took her own life. the bbc has seen a service inquiry report on the death of 19—year—old gunnerjaysley beck, which suggests relentless sexual harassment from her boss may have contributed. our home affairs correspondent june kelly reports.

jaysley beck, filmed by her family at the start of her army career. she joined up when she was just 16, finishing her training in 2020. she'd be dressed in her combat gear... her mum lianne and cousin lois with jaysley�*s army cap and trousers, remembering the day she was on parade, when she finished her training. it's a massive achievement. and as a parent, to see your child happy is the best feeling in the whole wide world. butjust before christmas in 2021, the exuberant young soldier, with no history of mental health issues, was found dead. an army investigation has concluded that she probably took her own life. an inquest, yet to be held, will decide officially. the army investigation found that one of the reasons forjaysley beck's death at larkhill

camp was the sustained sexual harassment she suffered from her immediate boss. in october 2021, jaysley received over a thousand whatsapp messages and voicemails from him. the following month, this increased to more than 3,500. she were always down. she were fed up of his behaviour. itjust started ruining her enjoyment of a job that she really enjoyed doing. jaysley feared he was watching her and tracking her movements via her mobile phone. her mum and dad and older sister emily knew she was reluctant to report what was happening. she was saying, "what's the point, mum? you don't get listened to." they say this was because of an earlier episode involving another of her seniors a few months before. that officer sexually assaulted her. jaysley was shocked when he was merely told to send her a letter of apology. the army investigation concluded that family issues, including a bereavement, were also partly responsible

forjaysley�*s death. the family are questioning this. an army spokesperson said, "our thoughts and sympathies remain with jaysley beck's family and friends at this difficult time." june kelly, bbc news. fifa has confirmed that the 2030 world cup is set to be held across six countries in three continents. spain, portugal and morocco are the co—hosts, with the opening three matches taking place in uruguay, argentina and paraguay. it will follow the 2026 world cup, which is also being staged in multiple countries — canada, mexico and the united states. and staying with football tournaments, let me take you back to 1996. remember this? # it's coming home, it's coming home. england football fans in trafalgar square during euro �*96 —

the last time the whole tournament was hosted on british soil. now, it could be back after turkey withdrew its bid to host euro 2028 — leaving the uk and republic of ireland as the only contenders. stjames' park is one of the stadiums that would be used. 0ur correspondent ben croucher is there in newcastle. there is a pretty big game happening this evening. european champions league football returns to newcastle for the first time in 20 years since march 2003. this club has seen plenty of lows and highs. they have had two relegations, changes of ownership. this time two years ago, they hadn't even won a game. but now they hadn't even won a game. but now they are welcoming paris saint—germain, one of european football's biggest clubs, and kylian mbappe, one of world football's superstar players. the fans have had to be very patient. they are buzzing on the concourse is beneath me. this game, as you can imagine, is a

sell—out. european international football could be coming here as well in 2028 after uk and ireland were confirmed as the sole bidder is for the european championships. wembley is expected to host the final. as you might imagine, it should be confirmed in black and white on tuesday. time for a look at the weather. here's chris fawkes. it's been a mixed picture today. we have seen some heavy and persistent rain across some western areas of scotland, like here in east ayrshire, whereas across the south of the uk, there has been brighter and brighter

but that strengthening ridge of high pressure pushes a rain northwards, so we will see for rain at times her western areas of scotland. temperatures climbing into the low 20s, and that is a sign of things to come. as we head into this weekend, the area of high pressure becomes much more extensive and influences our weather. well above average. we could see highs of 27 celsius. that compares to averages this time of year around 16. that should be around 16. some 10—11 above average. it is quite commonplace for temperatures during october to reach the low 20s, but to

see them on to the high to mid 20s, thatis see them on to the high to mid 20s, that is very rare. we are not likely to see the record which was set 12 years ago at 29.9. thanks, chris. and that's the bbc news at six. you can keep up with all the latest developments on the bbc website. hello and welcome to sportsday. i'm jane dougall. a world cup across three continents. fifa's controvertial decision for the men's 2030 tournament. we'll look into how that will work. a first in front of their fans for two decades — newcastle host paris saint—germain in the champions league. klopp calls for a replay after the var fiasco which saw liverpool lose out on a point in their match against tottenham.

something in their match against tottenham. like that, as far remember, something like that, as far as i can remember, never happened, that is why i think a replay would be the right thing. why i think a replay would be the right thing. also coming up on sportsday: 0n the eve of the cricket world cup, england could begin the defence of their title without ben stokes. she's already made history and simone biles will now help america attempt to win its seventh consecutive world title in antwerp. welcome to the programme. we start with the extraordinary news that fifa have announced the 2030 men's world cup will be hosted across three continents. not countries — continents. africa, europe and south america

will combine to welcome 48 nations for the tournament.