colletta smith, bbc news. this sunday, mo farah will try to win his first london marathon.mbroiled in a row with the ethiopian former distance runner, haile gebrselassie. sir mo said he‘d been robbed at a hotel owned the ethiopian. gebrasalasi immediately hit back by alleging "multiple reports of disgraceful conduct" which mo farah denies. our sports correspondent joe wilson reports. mo farah‘s opponent is the man he‘s nose—to—nose with here, that‘s the way the london marathon‘s planned it. farah traded mock blows with world record holder eliud kipchoge for the cameras by the thames yesterday. they race on sunday. but farah has been fixed on another rival. he crossed paths with the great haile gebrselassie as a runner, and farah prepared in ethiopia at one of gebrselassie‘s hotels. there, farah says, he was the victim of a crime. farah used yesterday‘s marathon media conference to tell the world about it. someone in the hotel got into my bag, opened my bag, took my money, took my nice watch my wife bought me as a present, and just, to be honest, it is haile who owns the hot

colletta smith, bbc news, in norwich. workers will now see more of their wages automatically diverted into a pension, from today. the minimum contribution is going up from 3% to 5%. employers will also have to increase their contributions. here's our personal finance correspondent simon gompertz. this is a tale of two hairdressers. one, chloe, full—time and ready to have 5% clipped off her wage for her work pension after today's increase. i just think that a little bit of money that i don't see, you know, it goes straight out of my wages before i even see it, and ijust think, well, for the future you may need it. cos you won't be working. and you'll need to top up for your old age and enjoy doing things as you get older. and this is taneika, who's been blown out of the pension scheme after having a baby and coming back part—time. pensions are tricky for new parents to afford. i think once you've a baby you are kind of put to the side and that's how it is. you don't really have much say. it's like you've had a baby, you do

colletta smith, bbc news, in salford.e kent coast earlier today. confirmation from border force. it was in the early hours of the morning and 11 adult males were picked up. they identified themselves as iranian and iraqi and we re themselves as iranian and iraqi and were taken to dover. the second incident was later this morning and the boat contained 15 people, and they were taken to dungeness. the third incident a short while later, borderforce third incident a short while later, border force patrols picked third incident a short while later, borderforce patrols picked up ten adults and they were also taken to dover. none of the nationalities have been confirmed. so 36 migrants intercepted in three small boats off the kent coast this morning. the queen's 93rd birthday has been marked with gun salutes in central london. a 41 gun salute took place in hyde park at midday. and within the last half hour a 62 gun salute was performed at the tower of london. although her actual birthday was yesterday, tradition dictates that t

colletta smith, bbc news, manchester.net sensation. he creates digital collages, commenting on political issues of the day. theresa may, borisjohnson and donald trump all feature, as well as stars from the world of entertainment. colin paterson caught up with him as he created his latest work — with the help of teenagers. cold war steve started making digital collages on his mobile phone during his daily bus ride to hisjob in the probation service. it started as a coping mechanism for me and then the fact that it has become popular is fantastic. but overriding, i want it to be funny and amusing more than anything. he now has more than 160,000 online followers and produces a new work about life in brexit—dominated britain almost every day, normally featuring a mixture of global leaders, sport stars and figures from the entertainment world. and he has even used a topless dan walker. one character who appears in every montage is the actor steve mcfadden, phil mitchell in east enders. he's used with complete reverence, really

colletta smith, bbc news, manchester.nd while the chief executive of the project said he was confident they could meet the new deadline, he admitted there were no guarantees. tom edwards reports. totte n ha m tottenham court road is the crossrail station nearest completion. it is huge and impressive. but passengers won't be able to use it until october 2020 at the earliest. you come from there, down here, straight in. today, the man who has had to rescue the project told us why he announced another delay. so, it is about how you bring the train, the door and the signalling system all into synchronisation. it has got to be at the very highest standards of safety, and that is why there can be no margin of error. that is why we have a window of uncertainty. the main issue now was integrating different software systems. main issue now was integrating different software systemsm main issue now was integrating different software systems. it is a challenge. you know, the trains are very advanced, the signalling system is very ad

colletta smith, bbc news, in norwich.your webcam is steve turner from the joining us for your webcam is steve turnerfrom the home builders federation. thank you for being with us on federation. thank you for being with us on bbc news. when you hear the decision that the persimmon has made, do you think that reflects well on the industry badly?” made, do you think that reflects well on the industry badly? i think it isa well on the industry badly? i think it is a very positive move from persimmon, to acknowledge that it had been heavily criticised in recent yea rs, had been heavily criticised in recent years, and they have made a clear statement they will address it. i think the rest of the industry is overwhelmingly delivering a very high quality homes already. there is a clear intent to go further. the industry is absolutely committed to working with the government to put an ombudsman in place, but as i say, overwhelmingly, buyers with new—build homes are happy. overwhelmingly, buyers with new-build homes are happy. prod

our consumer affairs correspondent colletta smith reports.out at home at the moment. because she is doing more to help her mum stop the show. sharon ‘s mum has dementia which means that apparent her siblings are in charge of the finances. following the diagnosis we had an appointment with the memory clinic and they said, what are you doing about benefits? survey told me about the council tax exception which i had no idea existed. it's thought that tens of thousands of people across the uk don't realise they should be paying —— shouldn't be paying tax. that's why they have decided to advertise exemption more to just have one standardised form and to give people the money back right up to the point that they were first diagnosed. sharon managed to get help but her mum ‘s local citizens advice. they say a lot of people are put up by the term severe mental impairment. it's not a nice term really, that's something we discuss a people when they're talking about whether they may qualify, whether they may be eligible to make the claim. under this sys

colletta smith reports. unpaid council tax is a growing problem.—— citizens advice with worries about debt. after there was more than £3 billion of outstanding bills. mps and the national audit office have criticised local councils for the way they try to get the money back, through aggressive bailiffs and external companies. citizens advice as the rules for how the debt calculated need to change to subject smiling. if someone misses a payment they become wild for the cost of the rest of the years bill within a fortnight. at this point in the financial year, an average missed payment of 106 to £7 results in a bill for the full year ‘s charge, plus court costs and other fees. within a few months people could be facing debts of more than £2000. citizens advice says that debt can be crippling. last year around £500 million of additional fees and charges were added onto people ‘s council tax debt. for an average person that looks like about £300 of fees and charges which doesn't have the person repay the debt. it doesn't help the council because of mon

colletta smith, bbc news, in salford.grassroots campaigners. more than 70 local chairmen, angry at the government's handling of brexit, have called for an extraordinary general meeting to discuss theresa may's leadership. 0ur political correspondent nick eardley is here. how much trouble could she be in? westminster returns tomorrow but many of the tensions will feel familiar. there are conservatives furious about the brexit plan from the premise —— and that she is working with labour which is why this group of activists is forcing a no—confidence vote. they will take that to the body which represents tory volu nteers that to the body which represents tory volunteers and it is likely to ta ke tory volunteers and it is likely to take place in the next few weeks. evenif take place in the next few weeks. even if it did pass it would not bind the prime minister and force her to quit, it would be an indication of their displeasure. it isa indication of their displeasure. it is a real sign of the tension and pressure on the pri

here's our consumer affairs correspondent, colletta smith. to be justin's dream home. door bell rings. he'd saved up for a new build... good morning. we've got zero insulation. ..thinking he wouldn't need to do any work to it. we've moved out twice. every ceiling in the entire property has been removed. taylor wimpey, under the help to buy scheme. it's well below standard, and trying to negotiate insulation issues, damp issues, cold—bridging issues. a couple of doors up, lynn lives in an identical home with her partner and three daughters. this is not isolated to this particular property or this estate. it's got to be national. the developer taylor wimpey say they sincerely apologise to justin and lynn and have taken action to put things right. more generally, they say... at this solicitors‘, timothy takes new calls nearly every day from people battling against a host of different developers right across the country. he thinks the problems with new builds are down to lack of skills in the workforce. people are making mistakes, potentially bec

payments they can become liable for the whole year‘s bill. 0ur consumer affairs correspondent colletta smithffairs correspondent colletta smith has more. now citizens advice say the rules for how the debts are calculated needs to change to stop debt spiralling. in england and wales, if someone misses a payment they become liable for the cost of the rest of the year‘s bill within a fortnight. at this point in the financial year, an average missed payment of £167 results in a bill for the full year‘s charge, plus court costs and bailiff fees. within a few months, people could be facing debts of more than £2000. citizens advice say that debt can be crippling. last year, around £500 million of additional fees and charges were added on people‘s council tax debt. and for an average person who does fall behind, that looks like about £300 in fees and charges, which doesn‘t help the person repay their debt and actually doesn‘t help the council, because that money will have to be recovered as well as the arrears that they owe. government say they expect councils to be sympathetic to those in genuine h

colletta smith, bbc news, in norwich. having spent all that money. let's have a look at the papers, we begin with the guardian, talking about brexit. they are reporting complaints that the government is not offering anything more than the previous offers. "brexit betrayal" says the telegraph, it says this is the week pm risked everything and achieve nothing. another picture there from aintree. the daily mail claims cannabis users are being let off because police officers don't wa nt to off because police officers don't want to harm their life chances. the sun leads with a big cat on the loose in cornwall. the paper says five pet cats are dead and a deer is missing, amid sightings of a black panther. and they have some pictures inside, as well. those pictures are fascinating. did you say... often it turns out not to be a panther, we we re turns out not to be a panther, we were saying, there have been some people who are vehement that there are panthers people who are vehement that there are pa nthers out people who are veh

colletta smith, bbc news, in norwich.ate to that, i would have thought. it's amazing, that you should spend so much money and have so many problems! now for the weather. quite a messy weather picture across the uk this weekend, much drier than the uk this weekend, much drier than the days we have had this week, showers pulling away to the south. it will leave us with quite a bit of a cloudy picture and it could be ha rd to a cloudy picture and it could be hard to pin down where some of the thickest of the cloud is. here is the heart of the low pressure system pushing down into the bay of biscay. a little weather front to the north that will probably introduce some more wet weather to scotland through the course of the day today, whereas towards the south there should be some brighter spells. we pick up an easterly breeze, which will feed in some moisture and cloud. cloud across much of scotland, with quite persistent rain times, but the northern highlands and northern isles should do quite well. the north—west of england,

our consumer affairs correspondent colletta smith is at manchester airport. 19 million of us are duein the world with thomas cook over the next year, a company that has struggled over the last 12 months or so in terms of bookings, and a large part of that they are blaming on brexit uncertainty, saying they are changing the way we choose holidays. less tha n changing the way we choose holidays. less than half of all the bookings are now to destinations outside of the european union. that is an increase of 10% over the same period last year, and in terms of the places we are picking, spain and greece are in the top three, but turkey has lea pfrogged greece are in the top three, but turkey has leapfrogged their way into number two, not just turkey has leapfrogged their way into number two, notjust outside the eu but outside the eurozone and that means holiday—makers get a little bit more for their money if they are changing it into turkish lira. we have been asking other holiday companies if they see something similar, skyscanner have said they see an increase in bookings too long desti

colletta smith, bbc news, in denbigh.on, because taking a picture of them is so difficult as they don't emit or reflect any light. but a network of telescopes around the world have been pointed at two black holes — and it's hoped they can produce a clear image which will be unveiled later today. there are six news conferences taking place simultaneously around the world. two o'clock our time. but seven minutes passed. they will reveal this picture. seven minutes passed. they will revealthis picture. do seven minutes passed. they will reveal this picture. do you know why that is? i imagine i do not know why. they might do an introduction. it is not for a specific reason or anything? you know how you're always look at the moon and you see it is amazing and you look at it when you ta ke amazing and you look at it when you take it on your phone, it looks horrendous. as far as i understand it, because not one telescope can get a clear picture, they have a few around the world all taking the jurors and then they put those pictu

colletta smith reports. hi, thomas. what's for tea tonight?e at the moment, because she's doing more to help her mum. we just need to add the sweet potatoes. sian's mum pat has dementia, which means sharon and her siblings are in charge of her finances. following her diagnosis, we had a visit with the memory clinic in north wales, and they said, what are you doing about benefits? so they told me about the council tax exemption, which i had no idea existed. it's thought that tens of thousands of people across the uk don't realise that they shouldn't be paying council tax. that's why, here in denbigh and across wales, they have decided to advertise the exemption more, to just have one standardised form, and to give people their money back right up to the point that they were first diagnosed. sian managed to get help here at her mum's local citizens advice. they say a lot of people are put off by the term "severe mental impairment". it's not a nice term, and that's something that we discuss with people when we are talking about whether they may q

payments they can become liable for the whole year's bill. 0ur consumer affairs correspondent colletta smithhe biggest issue for people contacting citizens advice with worries about debt, and last year there was more than £3 billion of outstanding bills. mps and the national audit office have criticised local councils for the way they try and get that money back, through aggressive bailiffs and external companies. now citizens advice say the rules for how the debts are calculated needs to change to stop debt spiralling. in england and wales, if someone misses a payment they become liable for the cost of the rest of the year's bill within a fortnight. at this point in the financial year, an average missed payment of £167 results in a bill for the full year's charge, plus court costs and bailiff fees. within a few months, people could be facing debts of more than £2000. citizens advice say that debt can be crippling. last year, around £500 million of additional fees and charges were added on people's council tax debt. and for an average person who does fall behind, that looks like about £300 i

let's get all the details from our consumer affairs correspondent colletta smith who's at manchesterhe airport runway itself. this side of the gates is the headquarters of thomas cook. as you say, one of the uk's biggest tour operators. 19 million of us will be taking a thomas cook flight at some point during this year to a holiday destination. they are a company that have been struggling over the last year. they have not had brilliant results, they have not had the kind of bookings they were hoping for. they are largely blaming brexit uncertainty for that. the kind of bookings that they are seeing have been changing this year, with nearly half of all of their bookings now going to outside of the eu as a final destination. that is an increase of 10% on the same figures from last year. in terms of the destinations that we are actually flying two, spain is number one. we cannot kick that spanish habit in the uk. but the second choice destination is now turkey, leapfrogging destination is now turkey, lea pfrogging above greece. destination is now turkey, leapfrogging above greece. it is

our consumer affairs correspondent colletta smith reports. hi, thomas, what's for tea tonight? salad? yeah, we just need to add the sweet potato and onion to it. sian's mum, pat, has dementia, which means sian and her siblings are now in charge of her finances. following her diagnosis, we had a visit with the memory clinic in ruthin, north wales. they kind of said, well, what are you doing about benefits? they told me about the council tax exemption, which i had no idea existed. it's thought that tens of thousands of people across the uk don't realise that they shouldn't be paying council tax. that's why here in denbigh, and across wales, they've decided to advertise the exemption more, to just have one standardised form and give people their money back, right up to the point they were first diagnosed. sian managed to get help here, at her mum's local citizens advice. they say a lot of people are put off by the term severe mental impairment. it's not a nice term, really, and that's something we discussed with people when we are talking about whether they may qualify, whether th

payments they can become liable for the whole year's bill. 0ur consumer affairs correspondent colletta smith biggest issue for people contacting citizens advice with worries about debt, and last year there was more than £3 billion of outstanding bills. mps and the national audit office have criticised local councils for the way they try and get that money back, through aggressive bailiffs and external companies. now citizens advice say the rules for how the debts are calculated needs to change to stop debt spiralling. in england and wales, if someone misses a payment they become liable for the cost of the rest of the year's bill within a fortnight. at this point in the financial year, an average missed payment of £167 results in a bill for the full year's charge, plus court costs and bailiff fees. within a few months, people could be facing debts of more than £2000. citizens advice say that debt can be crippling. last year, around £500 million of additional fees and charges were added on people's council tax debt. and for an average person who does fall behind, that looks like about £300 in

here's our consumer affairs correspondent, colletta smith.as been a rise in the number of customers reporting snags to 99% in 2018. earier i spoke to benjamin derbyshire, president of the royal institute of british architects, riba. i asked him what he would say to the housing minister on this issue. my message would be, we need to provide adequate resources and we need to invest as a nation in housing — invest public resources in housing — as it were infrastructure, to enable people to live well and affordably. and until such time as the government moves to that position, i think the private sector will struggle to deliver to everyone‘s satisfaction. the housing kit minister malthouse joins me now. thank you for speaking to bbc news. what do you think of what benjamin darbyshire had to say, his message to you about resources and investment? i obviously welcome this news from persimmon. i've dealt with a significant number of problems with persimmon developments in my own patch. this comes off the back of them being the first large house buil

our consumer affairs correspondent colletta smith reports. hi, thomas. what's for tea tonight?, we had a visit with the memory clinic in north wales, and they said, "what are you doing about benefits?" so they told me about the council tax exemption, which i had no idea existed. it's thought that tens of thousands of people across the uk don't realise that they shouldn't be paying council tax. that's why, here in denbigh and across wales, they have decided to advertise the exemption more, to just have one standardised form, and to give people their money back, right up to the point that they were first diagnosed. sian managed to get help here, at her mum's local citizens advice. they say a lot of people are put off by the term "severe mental impairment". it's not a nice term, really, and that's something that we discuss with people when we are talking about whether they may qualify or be eligible, to encourage them to make the claim. after a long campaign about the differences between councils, money—saving experts are now calling for england and scotland to follow the example