andy gill reports.y was in full swing. gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people from all over europe getting together to celebrate who they are. 50 years ago this would not be allowed so it is a great way to celebrate this. we can celebrate what those people have done for us and it's a great achievement and we still have a long way to go. everyone has different issues through the year. it is one chance to relax a bit. out of this world. it is the only one to talk about. if you want to do pride, it has to be manchester pride. the organiser is promising a four—day feast of fun. it is a fantastic celebration. we still face discrimination and pride events like this are key to show we can all stand together united as one to work towards eradicating discrimination. there is a serious side to the pride this year. police say there is no specific intelligence of a terrorist threat to the lgbt community or greater manchester, but after the attack in may and more recent atrocities in europe, they have review

andy gill at the dog in liverpool.rs but over the next coming days, that amateur starts to rise and that is because the system approaching today has embedded in it some warm, tropical air. approaching today has embedded in it some warm, tropicalair. it approaching today has embedded in it some warm, tropical air. it is the re m na nts of some warm, tropical air. it is the remnants of ex—hurricane geert de vos which has come across the atlantic. ahead of this system, you can see some sunshine and a good pa rt can see some sunshine and a good part of the country, however, further west, that rainer settling in and this was the scene in weston—super—mare. this carries on through the afternoon. across south—west england and south wales, pushing northwards into northern ireland but the head of that, good spells of sunshine and a much improved deeper northern england and scotla nd improved deeper northern england and scotland get heard yesterday. the best of the sun xiang, highs of between 18—20. the rain pushes its way eastw

andy gill, bbc news, lancashire. our top story this lunchtime... child abuse could have been caught years earlier if a key witness had been believed. and still to come... in less than 12 hours, harvey will hit the sourthern united states and is set to be the worst hurricane since katrina. coming up in sport, we'll bring you the latest from the europa league draw. everton are in the pot after this brilliant goal from gylffi sigurdsson. arsenal are also in the pot. it's a week since the terror attacks in barcelona and on the costa brava which killed 15 people. the initial unity between the spanish government in madrid and the autonomous government in catalonia, which wants to hold a referendum on independence in a month's time, has been replaced with finger—pointing over which police force missed information about the terrorist plot. tom burridge reports from catalonia. still bustling. tourists and locals on las ramblas paying their respects. in the town where the attackers lived, a father, brahim aallaa, insisting he never saw any sign that two of h

andy gill, bbc news, lancashire.m her sixth album. dropping it onto itunes and sharing platforms last night. it's inspired by a rather unlikely british it from the 1990s. have a listen and see if you can work out which one. well, if you thought you might have heard that tune before, you'd be right. in what might be a puzzling departure for some of her younger fans, taylor swift has interpolated the riff from i'm too sexy, the 1991 hit by british pop duo right said fred. let's have a look at the brothers performing their classic on top of the pops. at number12, this is right said fred. i'm too sexy for my love, for my love, my love love's going to leave me. # i'm too sexy for my shirt # my shirt, too sexy it hurts...# there he was then. we can speak to richard fair brass from the group from his home in windsor right now. it's like yesterday, richard. is it really? yes. i do remember. i do remember ourfirst top really? yes. i do remember. i do remember our first top of the pops. i remember that quite well. very strange

andy gill, bbc news, lancashire.ulage association. thank you forjoining us. what is the association's take on this? very cautious about this. motorways are britain's safest roads and we want to keep them that way. the danger with this, it could be the opposite. they are setting out to say it will reduce congestion and it will make the air cleaner. but actually, it could create worse trafficjams, more congestion and therefore create more congestion and therefore create more pollutants. so that is one of many reservations we have. from what you have read into this, what do you think the evidence is for the claim it will reduce congestion and make the air cleaner? they have looked at what happens in scandinavia and america and thought it is a great idea. but the big difference between motorways there and here, motorways there are more or less empty and you can put together huge convoys of lorries and move them very efficiently with no disruption to traffic. 0ur motorways are very, very busy and what effectively we could

andy gill, bbc news, lancashire.e harvey — which could be the worst storm to hit the us mainland in 12 years. the category—three storm is expected to make landfall along the state's central coast tonight. there are concerns that torrential rain could bring life—threatening flooding to some parts. the big concern is the strengthening storm off the coast here in texas. harvey is still a category two storm right now, but is on the verge of becoming a major hurricane, a category three storm. it would be the first hurricane to make landfall here along the texas gulf coast in nine years. take a look behind me. the waves here here at the corpus christi bay are already whipping up, but we are seeing some wind and rain, but this is really just a taste of what is ahead. not only over the course of the next few hours, but over the course of the next few days. harvey will be a long duration storm in this region. flooding is a very big concern here. places here could see up to 30 inches of rain by the end of the storm. the storm

andy gill is there for us this morning. and some of those participants are there with him.taking part in the opening ceremony. there is music, fireworks, they are being introduced to the people lining the albert dock along here. later this morning they will be sailing out of the albert dock into another part of the albert dock into another part of the system and then into the river mersey 41230 one the round the world race begins, 40,000 nautical miles, 11 months facing all of the seven seas. we will have more in about 20 to nine from liverpool. now back to you to. thank you, andy. that is quite the challenge. stay with us. headlines coming up. hello, this is breakfast, with ben thompson and tina daheley. coming up before nine, matt will be here with the weather. but first, a summary of this morning's main news. the in the next half—hour, the king and queen of spain are due to arrive ata and queen of spain are due to arrive at a memorial service for the victims of the barcelona terror attack. the mass will take place inside goudie's famous sagrada familia cathedral. the kin

andy gill, bbc news, lancashire.he police watchdog has said that the paedophile ian watkins could have been arrested nearly four years earlier if south wales police had investigated numerous tip—offs. passengers have been warned by rail operators to expect delays over the bank holiday weekend due to engineering works, with roadworks also affecting some journeys. at least 1a people have been killed in violent protests over the rape conviction of a controversial religious leader in north india. the headlines on bbc news: in sport... england lead the series at headingley1—0. the hosts are currently 147—5. real madrid's gareth bale is back after serving a one match ban. chelsea's amadou has also made the team for the first time. megan jones will search also made the team for the first time. meganjones will search the by time. meganjones will search the rugby cup final against new zealand. with emily scarratt moving to full—back. more on those stories just after 2:30pm. —— 3:30pm. texas is preparing itself for hurricane h

andy gill, bbc news, lancashire. the headlines.ail operators to expect delays over the bank holiday weekend due to engineering works with roadworks also affecting some journeys. police in india say at least 28 people have been killed in violent protests over the rape conviction of a controversial religious leader in the north of the country. here the police watchdog has said that the paedophile ian watkins could have been arrested nearly four years earlier if south wales police had investigated numerous tip—offs. in sport, england's cricketers steady the ship at headingley. ben stokes has passed his 50. england's captain joe root was out for 59 earlier. england lead that series 1—0. the hosts are currently 178—6. lewis hamilton set the pace ahead of this weekend's belgian grand prix. he was comfortably quickest in the afternoon session. and nearly half a second ahead of the championship leader sebastian vettel. real madrid's gareth bale is back in the wales squad for the world cup qualifiers after serving a one—match ban. chelsea's

our correspondent andy gill was at the docks as the teams prepared to set off and said not all of thean sailing before. of course, they have been trained. with me is the founder of the race. why do people put themselves through this? i think there is a sense of adventure in people. they want to do something a bit different, a bit special with their lives. they want to do something and say, i've done that, and be proud. you were the first man to sail solo, non—stop around the world. when you see them go out, do you have a hankering to think, i want to do that again? yes, but of course, i did it on my own. they have all this crew here, it's slightly different! i see them and think, yes, i would quite like to be going. when they go through the training, do you ever find that people who put themselves forward, do you think, actually, they are not going to make it? yes, we do. it usually turns up in the first week of training. normally they would discover it for themselves, and they say, this isn't for me. there may be the odd person who you have to say to them, best drop out now. what do

the first leg of the race is a 35 day voyage across the atlantic to uruguay. 0ur correspondent andy gillsail. about 40% of the people on the crews have never done any ocean sailing bevel. 0f have never done any ocean sailing bevel. of course, they have been trained. whitney is the founder of the race will stop why do people put themselves through this?” the race will stop why do people put themselves through this? i think there is a sense of adventure in people. they want to do something a bit different, a bit special with their lives. they want to do something and say, i'd done that, and be proud. you were the first line to sail solo, nonstop around the world. when you see them go out, do you have a hampering to think, i wa nt to do you have a hampering to think, i want to do that again? yes, because idid it want to do that again? yes, because i did it on my own. they have all this crude year, it's slightly different! i see them and think, yes, i would quite like to be going. when they go through the training, do you find that people who put themselves forward, it do you think actually,

in a 40,000 nautical mile race, featuring 700 participants over eight stages. 0ur correspondent andy gillng now! not long at all. you can see the yachts lining up on the start shortly. the first leg takes them from liverpool all the way across the atlantic to uruguay, a journey ofa the atlantic to uruguay, a journey of a month or possibly more. many of the crew have no experience of oceangoing yachting. the race director here is mark like. you have just given the ten minute warning, what does that mean the crews will be doing on—board? what does that mean the crews will be doing on-board? they are doing final checks now, very close to the race start. they are checking the lines are rigged ready and setting position. they are raring to go. yourjob is race director. what does that mean? i manage all be on the water operations all around the world. i manage the skippers and the boats and i'm lucky enough to follow the fleet around the world on an aeroplane, not on the water! have you sealed yourself?” aeroplane, not on the water! have you sealed yourself? i am a professional sailor and i hav

andy gill, bbc news, lancashire.ntary group on social integration warns that the immigration debate has become polarised. it's renewing calls for the government to make english lessons compulsory. the home office says it already funds community cohesion projects, including some focused on language. us officials say that the number of american embassy staff affected by hearing loss while working in cuba, has risen to at least 16, after what they believe was a series of deliberate covert attacks. the state department is probing several incidents dating back to september last year in which diplomats are thought to have been hit with a mystery sonic weapon. cuba has denied any involvement. four out of five businesses have seen the cost of employing staff rise over the last year according to the british chambers of commerce. the companies say the increases are because of changes to employment legislation which is aimed at boosting prospects for workers — things like the apprenticeship levy, pensions auto—enrolment and the

in a 40,000 nautical mile race, featuring 700 participants over eight stages. 0ur correspondent andy gillwill be amazing. at the moment there is a ceremony called flipping there is a ceremony called flipping the lines, this yacht will be the next one to go out, to go to another pa rt next one to go out, to go to another part of the albert dock and then onto the river mersey. the race begins at 1230. the first leg, at 35 day voyage all the way across the atla ntic to day voyage all the way across the atlantic to uruguay. about 40% of the people on the crew has never done any ocean sailing before. of course they have been trained. with me is the founder of the race, sir robin knoxjohnston. me is the founder of the race, sir robin knox johnston. why me is the founder of the race, sir robin knoxjohnston. why do people put themselves through this?l robin knoxjohnston. why do people put themselves through this? a sense of adventure in people. they want to do something a bit different, a bit special with their lives. they want to do something they can turn around and say i've done that and be pr

in a 40,000 nautical mile race, featuring 700 participants over eight stages. 0ur correspondent andy gillke a beautiful day. it looks like a beautiful daym is, a bit chilly, though. you can see the thousands of people who've come down to the albert dock in liverpool to what this race. the mersey is where the race will start ina mersey is where the race will start in a couple of hours' time. the first leg of 35 days of voyaging right across the atlantic from liverpool to uruguay. 0ne right across the atlantic from liverpool to uruguay. one of the important things about the race is a lot of the crew on a 40%, have never done any kind of ocean racing before. with me is michelle porter. she was a crew member on the last race, 2013—14. you did the whole circuit of the globe. why did you wa nt to circuit of the globe. why did you want to do it? it has the right time for me, good chance to take a career break. i gave everything up and headed off on the adventure of a lifetime. did you know what you are letting yourself in for? no, the training does not prepare you but there is great preparation

in a 40,000 nautical mile race, featuring 700 participants over eight stages. 0ur correspondent andy gillhis morning. the race begins at 1230, the first leg of a 35 day voyage all the way across the atlantic to uruguay. about 40% of the people on the crews have never done any ocean sailing before. of course, they have been trained. with me is the founder of the clipper race, sir robert knox— johnson. sir robin, why do people put themselves through this?” johnson. sir robin, why do people put themselves through this? i think there is a sense of adventure in people and they want to do something a bit different, that special with their lives. they want to do something they can turn round and say, i have done that and i'm proud. you are the first man to sail solo nonstop around the world. when you see them going out, do you have a hankering to think, i want to do it ain? hankering to think, i want to do it again? yes, but of course i did it on my own. you have all this great year so it's a slightly different thing. watching them sail away, i sort of feel... yes, i would quite like to be going

our reporter andy gill is at albert dock for us this morning. it's getting busy down there? start of the first leg, all the way across the first leg, all the way across the atlantic to uruguay. you've never done anything like this before? know i haven't, never done anything like this before? knowl haven't, it is all new. why are you doing it? it is a new. why are you doing it? it is a new adventure, something different. it is different to normal, it is a really exciting experience. the people are great, bring it on. and your marketing manager, do you bring those skills to the boat? we will be doing communications back to the clipper race and to our friends and family. ican clipper race and to our friends and family. i can bring in some skills. 0k, what does that involve? family. i can bring in some skills. ok, what does that involve?|j family. i can bring in some skills. ok, what does that involve? i also have to provide all the food, we are stored for leg one and i really hope we don't run out. do you have to do the cooking as well? no, we take it in turns. everybody gets a

our reporter, andy gill, is at albert dock for us this morning. quite a challenge.aining have had no experience going sailing at all. —— crews. we are at albert dock this morning. these are the 12 yachts that will take part in the 11th round the world journey. this nice boat is nicknamed the pink panther. most of the people, half of them, have not been sailing before. this is one of them. you are doing the whole circumnavigation around the world. that is correct. you have a remarkable story about what you went through as a child. part of your brain was sticking through your skull into your spinal column. tell us skull into your spinal column. tell us about that. it is the cerebellar tonsil, part of the back of the brain. it herniated into the spine. the result of that is that it caused bobbling of the spinal fluid, causing the bones to be pushed out of shape. it meant you had to spend yea rs of shape. it meant you had to spend years in plaster after an operation. after age 6—7, it was seven years in plaster from hips to shoulders 22 hours a day. and i had the muscle

andy gill reports.y call it platooning, trucks travelling in wi—fi connected convoy with much less space between them than normal. this dutch project is with two vehicles. a trial just announced here will be with three. it would be more efficient, take up less space on the network, improve fuel efficiency and hopefully help improve costs and savings to the consumer. each lorry has a driver, but the lead cab has control. to think about how three trucks can travel down a road in a platoon, imagine that the lead truck is a giant wi—fi hub, sending out signals on the precise distances and speeds the two need to travel at. and the wi—fi on the trailing two trucks can react much more quickly to signals than a human being can. the funding announcement was made at a lancashire truck factory. researchers say because vehicles in platoon are in each other‘s slipstream, fuel consumption and pollution fall. but one road user's body is sceptical. uk motorways are the most congested in europe. we have more entrances a