other main story this lunchtime: durham police confirmed they are not fining keir starmer and angela raynerver allegations they broke lockdown rules last year. the race is on to replace borisjohnson as conservative leader and britain's next prime minister — the first contenders throw their hats in the ring. another big rise in the number of people with covid in the uk — infections are up 18%. and i am at wimbledon where britain's cameron norrie will play the six time champion novak djokovic for a place in the men's final. and coming up on the bbc news channel: former fifa president sepp blatter expresses his relief as he and former uefa boss michel platini are both found not guilty of fraud following a trial in switzerland. good afternoon. world leaders have been expressing their shock and grief after the assassination of japan's former prime minister shinzo abe. he was shot while making a speech in the city of nara, and later died in hospital. mr abe was 67 and had beenjapan�*s longest serving prime minister. political violence is extremely rare injapan where gun ownership is strictly cont

angela rayner. about to hear that ar'un question. angela raynenh angela rayner.ds in public life. :, , . life. thank you very much. it's a leasure life. thank you very much. it's a pleasure to _ life. thank you very much. it's a pleasure to appear— life. thank you very much. it's a pleasure to appear before - life. thank you very much. it's a pleasure to appear before you i life. thank you very much. it's a l pleasure to appear before you and the spouse on this important matter. mr speaker, we are fortunate in this country to have a sophisticated and robust system for upholding public standards. and the system is multifaceted. it is made up of interlocking and complementary elements. it is of course founded on the principles of public life which have been in place for a quarter of a century. and which provide the overarching qualities and standards of behaviour as unexpected. mr speaker, i have some time to run through all of the mechanisms that underpin the seven principles but i will touch on something else first and that is this. it is something with regard to

the labour leader sir keir starmer and his deputy angela rayner have been cleared by durham police ofreaking lockdown rules. the force was looking into an event last april during election campaigning, when sir keir was pictured drinking a beer in the office of another labour mp. he'd promised to resign if he was fined. at the time, indoor socialising between different households was banned. but today, the police said there was no case to answer, because of an exemption to lockdown rules for "reasonably necessary work". our political editor chris mason is at westminster for us tonight. tonight we could have been talking about another leadership race here at westminster, the day after boris johnson announced his resignation we could have been reporting on sir keir starmer�*s resignation as well. but that won't be happening, courtesy of a decision in durham meaning sir keir will be sticking around. april of last year — sir keir starmer�*s having a beer and a curry. was this in breach of the covid rules at the time? durham constabulary looked into it and, today, said no. people said to me

let's go back to the news that keir starmer and angela rayner have been cleared of breaking lockdownice in april 2021. in a statement, the police said there was "no case to answer" citing an exemption to lockdown rules for "reasonably necessary work". there is political significance to this because both sir keir and his deputy had said that if they were fined, they would resign. we have had a tweet from sir keir starmer in reaction to that news. let's just show it to you. i have always said no rules were broken when i was in durham. the police have completed their investigation and agree there is no case to answer. for me, this was always a matter of principle. honesty and a integrity matter. you will always get that from me. that is sir keir starmer�*s reaction that he and his deputy have been cleared ijy he and his deputy have been cleared by durham police. another line of breaking news coming from canterbury crown court, which is that callum wheeler who is 22 has been handed a life sentence for the murder of 53—year—old pcso julia james. a life sentence with a minimum term of 37 y

durham police announce that sir keir starmer and his deputy angela rayner will not be fined for breaking lockdown rules while campaigning last year following its inquiry the so—called beergate gathering. the labour leader says he's pleased there is no case to answer and tweets that the public will always get honesty and integrity from him. and we're expecting to hear from him imminently — we'll bring his statement to you live here on bbc news channel. are you going to be the next prime minister? the battle to replace borisjohnson as conservative party leader begins. some mps remain tight—lipped over whether they will join the race or not. tributes pour in from around the world forjapan�*s former prime minister shinzo abe who has been assassinated while delivering a speech at a campaign event. translation: | pray that - somehow his life could be spared but unfortunately he passed away despite these prayers. this is truly unfortunate and i have no words to express how i feel. britain's cameron norrie is about to face serbia's 20—time grand slam champion novak djokovic in wimbledon�*s last

the labour leader, sir keir starmer, and his deputy, angela rayner, have been cleared by durham policeking lockdown rules. the force was looking into an event last april during election campaigning, when sir keir was pictured drinking from a bottle of beer in the office of another labour mp. he'd promised to resign if he was fined. at the time, indoor socialising between different households was banned. but today, the police said there was no case to answer because of an exemption to lockdown rules for "reasonably necessary work". our political editor chris mason is at westminster. april of last year — sir keir starmer is having a beer and a curry. was this in breach of the covid rules at the time? durham constabulary looked into it, and today said no. people said to me i was taking a risk by saying i would step down if i was fined, but it was never about that. for me, it was a matter of principle. it shouldn't be controversial to say that those who make the law can't break the law. have you heard from durham police, sir keir? any comment on their investigation? it was the day after th

or indeed anybody— starmer, angela rayner or indeed anybody else in that gathering that not. ,much from durham- — world leaders have been expressing their shock and grief after the assassination of japan's former prime minister, shinzo abe. he was shot while making a speech in the city of nara and later died in hospital. mr abe was 67 and had beenjapan's longest serving prime minister. political violence is rare injapan, where gun ownership is strictly controlled. this afternoon, the queen has issued a statement saying she was "deeply saddened" by the shooting. this report from caroline hawley contains flash photography. the last words of shinzo abe, who was giving a campaign speech for a colleague at an election rally. here, the suspected gunman, reported to be a man in his 40s, is tackled to the ground. he'd fired two shots at the former prime minister with what appears to be a home—made weapon. japan has some of the strictest gun control laws in the world, and the attack has come as a profound shock. beneath the blue sheet, shinzo abe is carried away for emergency treatment,

angela| rayner. that goes right to the childcare costs crisis? angela i rayner.remised upon a statement. we will hear shortly that government and the civil service will continue to function in the meantime. the business of the house statement will be made shortly and members can ask questions of the leader of the house of commons about the matter of the business of this place. but the house will continue to function and government business will continue to function. they can deal with things constitutionally and legally in necessary circumstances. michael ellis, the conservative _ necessary circumstances. michael ellis, the conservative mp, i ellis, the conservative mp, paymaster general trying to insist that the government can still function despite the fact that there are so many vacancies stop dozens of them in fact over the past 2a hours. as chris mason was telling us, we are expecting a list of the cabinet as it currently stands, given that there have been a quite a few prominent moves that there including the sacking of michael gove last night. if you'rejus

this has nothing to do with angela rayner, theyjust love to _ do with angela rayner, theyjust love tod more open than before in terms of fighting the conservative party. _ terms of fighting the conservative party, they score an own goal with this one _ party, they score an own goal with this one i— party, they score an own goal with this one. i also have to agree with keir starmer, he's in a difficult position. — keir starmer, he's in a difficult position, they are meant to be the partner of— position, they are meant to be the partner of the workers, and yet they also want _ partner of the workers, and yet they also want to— partner of the workers, and yet they also want to be on the side of the public— also want to be on the side of the public that— also want to be on the side of the public that find these strikes very difficult — public that find these strikes very difficult. it's difficult to have a clear— difficult. it's difficult to have a clear line _ difficult. it's difficult to have a clear line on this. i think he's made — clear line on this. i think he's made his— clear line

angela rayner, thank ou facing at the moment. angela rayner, thank you for— facing at the moment.ad. let's find out what is going on with the weather. hazy sunshine, it is about to break through in london. if people are opening their patterns, opening theirfront doors this opening their patterns, opening their front doors this morning and thinking, where is the sunshine? what is he on about? it is en route. we are going to the cloud in places. some lovely pictures coming in. this from paris, i do not know the name of the dog but he is very cute. you can see mist and fog in the valley with blue sky overhead. a lot of us are waking up this morning and seeing that. this weather front is draped across northern parts of the uk. scotland moving down into the north of england and northern ireland that will see what has to offer today. ireland that will see what has to offertoday. in ireland that will see what has to offer today. in the south high pressure is running the show giving us this sort of thing. easy across northern parts. the weatherfront producing thicker cloud and patchy rain

there will be no fines, nothing for keir starmer or his deputy angela rayner.k many tory mps will back it. there may be some, i don't think there will be all that many at all. it does just add to this real sense of crisis that there has been in british politics over the last few weeks. questions over the last few weeks. questions over the fit the prime minister's future which were answered yesterday when he said he would stand down. there have been, not as loud, but there have been, not as loud, but there have been, not as loud, but there have been questions in the background about whether sir keir starmer would have to resign as well. some conclusion on that today too and the answer is no. sir keir starmer won't have to resign. he has been cleared by police, so he will hope that over the next few weeks you can take the fight to the conservatives on the political front. durham police have looked into this twice, the initially concluded there was nothing to see here sort of thing and then it was only after pa rtygate started to emerge that some conservatives wen

gamble he took, had he been fined, he would have had no other option than to resign, along with angela raynero answer. he gave a press conference this afternoon. he was saying, let's have a snap election, which is a bit of a bold move when you consider the policy cupboard is pretty bare. they would have to come up pretty bare. they would have to come up with some policies pretty quickly. next week we expect labour to put a motion of no confidence in the government, assuming the tory leadership contest is going on until the autumn and borisjohnson will stay in place... it could potentially lead to a general election although i think that's highly unlikely. all oppositions say they are ready for a general election, but i'm not sure right now. i'm sure they will be in a couple of years. inaudible. well done, john, that is richly deserved! might be knocking on the door of his old friend in bristol! we could do with herjudgment... let's move on, martin, onto your beat, if we can put it like that. telegraph, the new mac deborahjames met police chief to put more bobbies on the beat. met police chief

the labour leader sir keir starmer and his deputy angela rayner have been cleared by durham police ofaking lockdown rules. the force was looking into an event last april during election campaigning, when sir keir was pictured drinking a beer in the office of another labour mp. he'd promised to resign if he was fined. at the time, indoor socialising between different households was banned but the police have said there was no case to answer, because of an exemption to lockdown rules for "reasonably necessary work". our political editor chris mason reports. april of last year, sir keir starmer�*s having a beer and a curry. was this in breach of the covid rules at the time? durham constabulary looked into it, and today said no. people said to me i was taking a risk by saying i would step down if i was fined, but it was never about that. for me, it was a matter of principle. it shouldn't be controversial to say that those who make the law can't break the law. have you heard from durham police, sir keir? any comment on their investigation? it was the day after the local elections in may th

durham police have announced that the labour leader, sir keir starmer, and his deputy, angela rayner,ockdown rules while campaigning last year. it follows a police inquiry into this meeting last april, the so—called "beergate" gathering. sir keir and his deputy had both said they would resign if they had been issued with a fixed penalty notice, but durham police have said there's no case to answer. sir keir has been giving his response. people said to me i was taking a risk by saying i would step down if i was fined, but it was never about that. for me, it was a matter of principle. it shouldn't be controversial to say that those who make the law can't break the law, but we have to set the bar far higher than that. our country is stuck in a dangerous rut. everywhere you look, things are broken and nothing gets fixed. people say to me when they look at those running the country, they see a group of people totally detached from reality, whose words mean nothing and who put their own interests first. who could blame them for concluding that politics doesn't matter and doesn't work? this

angela rayner, deputy leader, has called it a zombie government.ng responsibility for thejob, he should leave now," says labour. unsurprisingly, but the prime minister is in chequers this weekend and i understand he is going to be hosting a private party as well tomorrow at chequers, for some of his supporters. joining me now is alex apati from ladbroke�*s to give us an insight into the favourites for the top runners in in the conservative leadership race. we describe it as if it is a horse race, don't we? thank you for joining us on such a hot afternoon. tell is what the odds are for the various contenders.— tell is what the odds are for the various contenders. only one of the only peeple — various contenders. only one of the only peeple in _ various contenders. only one of the only people in the _ various contenders. only one of the only people in the uk _ various contenders. only one of the only people in the uk wearing - various contenders. only one of the only people in the uk wearing a - only people in the uk wearing a shirt. i have treated m

angela rayner has called it a zombie government.ty for thejob, government. he is not taking responsibility forthejob, he should leave now, says labour. unsurprisingly, but the prime minister is in chequers this weekend i understand, he is going to be hosting a private party as well. tomorrow at chequers for some of his supporters. three people have been killed and 15 others injured in the ukrainian city of dnipro, following a russian missile attack on the country's leading space rocket and satellite factory. ukraine says it needs urgent shipments of long—range artillery and other weapons to slow the advance of russian forces in the east of the country as our defence correspondent, jonathan beale, reports. 0n ukraine's eastern front, they're about to target russian positions. this time, using american—supplied howitzers and ammunition. ukraine, still vastly outgunned. these help, but they can't hang around. western weapons like this have given ukraine an advantage in terms of accuracy and range, but they've also become high—value tar

after that revelation labour's deputy leader angela rayner said the prime minister was either "negligentitical editor chris mason. what is playing out before us tonight is the potential collapse of the government. two cabinet resignations in the space of the last half are in sterling terms with resignation letters from the chancellor and health secretary saying they cannot in all good conscience continue to serve the government. and this matters because if these resignations continue it could make it very difficult for borisjohnson to carry on as prime minister. here is the story of the date that brought us to this moment. this is all about truth. can you believe what you hear from the prime minister and those who work for him? number ten has started inviting us into film the start of cabinet meetings. into film the start of cabinet meetings-— into film the start of cabinet meetinus. ~ . ., ,.,, ., into film the start of cabinet meetins. . ., . ., ., meetings. we are in a position to continue to _ meetings. we are in a position to continue to help _ meetings. we are in a position to cont

deputy leader angela rayner has called it a zombie government, he is not taking responsibility for thejobthejob, he should leave now, says labour. unsurprisingly. but the prime minister is in the checkers this weekend and i understand he will be hosting a private party as well tomorrow at chequers as well for some of his supporters. ben tomorrow at chequers as well for some of his supporters. tim bale is a professor of politics at queen mary university. he gave me his reaction to last night's debate. it was interesting to see the candidates put through their paces, because to be honest, many of us hadn't really seen a great deal of them before now on live television. and so, you know, there was something there, i think, particularly obviously for party members who are watching out there in the country, that may have swayed some of them. and of course, mps will have been doing so as well. and i think maybe, there might be some change after last night. so what's your assessment, then, of who was weakest and who was strongest? i think rishi sunak probably has done himself a favour there. he

follow his predecessors and stay in post as "caretaker" prime minister — but labour's deputy leader angela rayner. well, what we have said to the conservatives is they have to draw a line, now. and tell borisjohnson he has to go and he has to go immediately. but if he doesn't do that, then the labour party will bring a vote of no confidence forward before the house before we break up for recess to start that process, so that, you know, he has to go from being prime minister. i mean, he is a proven liar, now. he is somebody who cannot be trusted. 0k. and we cannot have him on for three months. the country is at a very difficult crossroads. we've got the cost—of—living crisis, the situation in europe and ukraine and the conservative party are just mirred in chaos and scandal. sir ed davey, leader of the liberal democrats, wants the conservative party to change the rules to replace boris johnson immediately. borisjohnson is unusual, i don't think we should look at precedent. he broke the law. it is clear to everyone that he lied and was dishonest on an industrial scale. and that he is incompetent. a

labour's deputy leader, angela rayner, told mps mrjohnson had been "either negligent or complicit".our political correspondent, ben wright. are we good? not according to the former top official at the foreign office. lord mcdonald's dynamite claim this morning came just before cabinet met. these days, the cameras are let in but there are no are let in, but there are no questions from reporters. it did not look like the jolliest meeting of ministers. there is a key question at the heart of all of this — what did borisjohnson know about chris pincher�*s alleged past behaviour when he was appointed deputy chief whip in february? number ten's line has shifted over recent days. i briefed the relevant senior official... and speaking this morning, lord mcdonald said it had made inaccurate claims. i think they need to come clean. i think that the language is ambiguous, it's sort of telling the truth and crossing your fingers at the same time and hoping people are not too forensic in their subsequent questioning, and i think that is not working. in an extraordinary letter to parliament's sta

labour's deputy leader, angela rayner, told mps mrjohnson had been "either negligent or complicit".rning, lord mcdonald said it had made inaccurate claims. i think they need to come clean. i think that the language is ambiguous, it's sort of telling the truth and crossing your fingers at the same time and hoping people are not too forensic in their subsequent questioning and i think that is not working. in an extraordinary letter to parliament's standards watchdog, lord mcdonald said contrary to claims by number ten, borisjohnson was briefed in person about the initiation and outcome of an investigation into chris pincher�*s behaviour in 2019, when he was a foreign office minister. he says there was a formal complaint and mr pincher was not exonerated. the deputy prime minister, dominic raab, was foreign secretary at the time. you don't believe, then, _ the word of lord mcdonald who said mrjohnson was briefed in person | about the initiation and outcome| of the investigation? so, that's news to me, i wasn't aware of that and it's not clear to me that is factually accurate. chris pin

and sir keir starmer mae, and it is a possibility, that is the reality, have to resign, as well angela rayneron _ eventuality. so there is no preparation because i eventuality. so there is no preparation because you l eventuality. so there is no - preparation because you don't see it happening? preparation because you don't see it ha enin: ? , preparation because you don't see it haueninu? , ., preparation because you don't see it ha enin: ? , ., ., happening? there is nothing to re are happening? there is nothing to prepare for _ happening? there is nothing to prepare for because _ happening? there is nothing to prepare for because there - happening? there is nothing to prepare for because there has l happening? there is nothing to - prepare for because there has been no action taken by durham police and i'm confident that because keir starmer is a man of decency and integrity that will be the conclusion found. bridget phillipson. _ conclusion found. bridget phillipson, thank - conclusion found. bridget phillipson, thank you - conclusion found. bridget | phillipson, thank you very conclusion

but unimpressed by this, labour deputy leader angela rayners is saying that he is preparing to party. was falling apart after the diagnosis. a new picture of the duchess of cornwall has been released to celebrate her 75th birthday. it was taken by the photographer chris jackson at the duchess's home in wiltshire. earlier this month, she marked her birthday by guest—editing country life magazine — an edition that featured pictures of her taken by the duchess of cambridge. just approaching 25 past eight. good morning. you with bbc news. the commonwealth games in birmingham are less than two weeks away — and the queen's baton will have travelled 90,000 miles across the globe by the time it reaches the opening ceremony. they actually reduced the journey length from the last time because of the carbon footprint. so it has not travelled quite as far. the baton began the english leg of its journey at the eden project in cornwall two weeks ago and our reporterjohn maguire found a dramatic way to get it going. three, two, one. this is pretty cool. three, two, one. this is pretty cool- for— thr

that's nicola sturgeon, we played you angela rayner a while ago.e last days of margaret thatcher about it. i certainly think boris johnson's days thatcher about it. i certainly think borisjohnson's days are numbered. the difficulty, of course, because there's no actual mechanism to get rid of him, we aren't quite sure the number of days he actually has left. but we've had the cabinet resignations, we've had cabinet coming out in support of him, liz truss, priti patel aren't going. so technically he could actually survive this. but you can see the support drifting away. the vice chair of the party has quit on live tv. you just mentioned another pps going, that's three so far this evening, a trade employer has quit. you can see the support within the party is drifting away. if there was a no—confidence vote now, there's no question borisjohnson would lose it. question boris johnson would lose it. �* ., ~ question boris johnson would lose it. but the thing on mrjohnson's side is, by _ it. but the thing on mrjohnson's side is, by the — it. but the thin

look at are dealing with angela rayner, i'm sure it is dylan dietrich. travel insurance is up 40% — from £35 to £52 — compared to june 2019. average airport parking prices last month were up almost 30%, compared to june 2019. but it's car hire that's seen the biggest increase, with rates more than doubling from £222 a week to nearly £500 a week — with the biggest rises in ireland, italy and portugal. she the pound has dropped in value, too, so we're getting a little less euros or dollars for our cash. great, thanks very much. just like at home, inflation is spiking across much of the world, and that means that the prices on the menus are increasing. at this cafe in benidorm, ashley is facing much higher costs, but trying desperately to keep his prices fixed. many of our plates of food, we've not put the prices up, because after such a couple of difficult years in the tourism industry, we're a bit too worried to put the prices up and to scare away the potential customers that we're hoping to gain. so instead, we're taking the hit. if we only put 50 cents

parliamentary aids, to keep the machinery of government going on a day—to—day basis and that is why angela raynerthe summer recess is at the end of the month and we hope will be that borisjohnson will be acting genuinely is a caretaker not try to come up with new initiatives of his own but that might be wishful thinking. —— as a caretaker and not try to come up with new initiatives. simon clarke is going on. mr clarke, should there be a caretaker prime minister? no response. i'm afraid. they are all gathering for a cabinet meeting which we think is going to begin at three o'clock. to pick up on nadim zahawi, he has careered all over the place in the last 24 hours, accepting a job as the replacement chancellor and then going on the radio and doing interviews and talking about his new vision, but then saying he privately told boris johnson time was up. the times says he has been working with lynton crosby on a tory leadership bid for months. is that too much manoeuvring and may be seen as a lack of judgment or all rather canny and wise? it judgment or all rather canny and wise? , , ,., judgment or