emma vardy, and we will have more this evening.me here at dublin caso, i have the father from a diocese in the west of ireland and a former uk ambassador to the holy seed in the vatican. before we talk about what is happening in the park, can we talk about the day so far? —— dublin castle. your thoughts on what the pope had to say, expression on disappointment and going forward with concrete actions to tackle child abuse. that is in an realistic expectation, he has gone further than that ever before by specifically naming bishops who need to be held accountable for the mismanagement in the war of the cover—up of child sexual abuse. much more important than his words has been his gestures, i was struck by the meeting with the homeless people in the caption centre. 0ne the meeting with the homeless people in the caption centre. one of the interesting things there is the vulnerability of people in one of the things i noticed, none of them had mobile phones, people were taking selfies and these were people on the edge of society with h

martin bashir, bbc news, dublin. 0ur ireland correspondent emma vardy is in dublin. spoke movingly and passionately about the failures of the church. how do you think his words were received?” the church. how do you think his words were received? i think pope francis was under pressure this weekend, and we saw him condemning clerical abuse more repeatedly than ever before. a number of people we spoke to who turned out to greet him told us they feel very reassured that he is sincere and genuine about tackling this issue, but there are also many survivors of sexual abuse who were listening to his words over the weekend who say they still feel a lack of confidence in the vatican's own investigations, and some of those survivors spoke to pope francis directly and said they still came away from that meeting feeling that the church isn't going to be robust enough with members of its own clergy who have been involved in cover—ups, and they say thatis involved in cover—ups, and they say that is a culture within the church that is a culture within the church that will take ti

emma vardy, bbc news, omagh.secretary to change to the way that annual fare increases are calculated. the transport secretary, chris grayling, has suggested linking them to the lower rate of inflation — cpi — rather than rpi. the rmt union said it was an attempt to impose a pay cap on its members. our transport correspondent, tom burridge, has been getting reaction from those most affected — the passengers. people have accepted that they don't have a choice, and you feel exploited, to some extent. passengers are really frustrated. you can see today, i'm standing right next to the door. i could just about get into the train. commuters crammed into a rickety old carriage early this morning. i payjust over £1,000 a year. john has two kids and commutes from appley bridge, outside wigan, into manchester. it's just absolutely horrendous. sometimes one train turns up, sometimes they don't. now his season ticket could cost an extra £32 next year, in line with inflation. i don't know how they can justify that when they ca

emma vardy, bbc news.s important that allegations of sexual misconduct against her predecessor, alex salmond, are properly investigated and not just "swept aside". mr salmond, who strongly denies the accusations, resigned from the snp last night. he said he intends to rejoin the party once he's had an opportunity to clear his name. 0ur scotland correspondent lorna gordon sent this report. they've been side by side for decades. alex salmond and nicola sturgeon, an unbreakable political duo who made the snp the dominant force in scottish politics. now, the cracks are beginning to show. nicola sturgeon is leading a government which mr salmond is taking to court, and a party from which he has resigned. it follows allegations of sexual misconduct against mr salmond, which he denies. ms sturgeon left defending the complaints process he's facing, while trying to maintain party unity. amidst of all the focus on process and politics here, it's really important, in my view, that we don't lose sight of the fact that

emma vardy, bbc news, 0magh. the last year — taking the average salary to nearly £4 million. a study by the high pay centre and the chartered institute for personnel and development says the bosses of the top companies quoted on the london stock exchange were paid on average 145 times more than their employees. jonty bloom has the details. for the average bricklayer, a £4 million pay packet would feel like a lottery win. for the boss of one of the largest house—builders, it is small change. the chief executive of persimmon took home a massive £47 million in pay and bonuses last year. the latest figures show he is in good company with an 11% pay rise the average for top executives last year, taking home almost £4 million each on average, compared with a pay rise of just 2.7% each on average, compared with a pay rise ofjust 2.7% on the average british worker. in the late 1990s, the ftse100 ceo would be paid something like 60, 70 times the average uk worker and it is now more like 160 times. it is difficult to find

emma vardy, bbc news, omagh. verge of being broken. markjohnston, who's been training horses for more than 30 years, needs just four more victories to become the country's most successful trainer in terms of race wins. the current record of 4,193 victories is held by richard hannon. our sports correspondent andy swiss reports. at his training base in yorkshire, a man with history in his sights. markjohnston started out as a vet in his hometown of glasgow but switched his attention to racing with extraordinary results. this win on sunday was his 4,190th as a trainer, the brink of a new british record. west end charmer eventually coasts home. it has been some journey. johnston's first—ever winner was hinari video back in 1987 and three decades on, times have certainly changed since then. the most abiding memory of it is coming home and watching teletext all night, just putting the results on teletext and having nothing else on the television all night, because there were obviously no racing channels in those days.

emma vardy, bbc news, belfast.cond time following strong criticism that it was raised to full mast too soon after veteran senator john mccain's death at the weekend. the republican senator and president trump had clashed on many occasions, with mr mccain requesting donald trump not to attend his funeral. the president has now said he respects the senator's service to his country, and has signed a proclamation to fly the us flag at half—mast until the senator's burial. jon donnison reports. thank you very much. mr president, do you have any thoughts on john mccain? do you have any thoughts at all about mccain? at times over the weekend, getting president trump to say something nice about his long—time criticjohn mccain was painfully awkward. you don't need to be a body language expert to get the message. but the former vietnam vet and prisoner of war who survived torture is regarded by many americans as a hero. as criticism of the president's obvious reluctance to praise him intensified, mr trump stopped stonewallin

emma vardy, bbc news, belfast.een contacted by the regulator asking them to take extra care with staff members wanting to remove their funds. there has been a sharp rise in people cashing in valuable final salary retirement pots, and managing the money themselves. the pension regulator warns that overly generous payouts could damage the schemes' remaining funds. british gas has paid more than £2.5 million in refunds and compensation after overcharging thousands of customers who switched to new providers. 0fgem says more than 94,000 people were affected. the energy supplier has blamed a systems error. our personal finance correspondent simon gompertz is here. what was the impact on people affected ? what was the impact on people affected? when you are on a fixed rate tariff for gas and electricity, typically one or two years, and you come to the end of that period and start to look around and find another good dealfor start to look around and find another good deal for your energy supply so you do not lose out. rule

emma vardy, bbc news. our legal correspondent clive coleman is here.nce to thousands of bereaved parents? siobhan mclaughlin, having fought this long and hard this legal battle, the one thing she hasn't won isa battle, the one thing she hasn't won is a right to get this particular payment, but what she has won is a declaration from the highest court in the land that the law that stops asa in the land that the law that stops as a co—cavity from getting that money is incompatible with human rights law. the supreme court itself can't amend or scrap legislation, so it's over to parliament. does it mean parliament will change the law? no, parliament can decide whether or not it's going to change the law. the government has said. the good judgment, so some hope, but seems pretty bullish that the criteria for this payment will remain the same. if the law doesn't change for siobhan mclaughlin and the estimated 2000 families per year missing out on this payment, she could take a case to the european court of human rights, ratcheting up pressure on the governmen

emma vardy, bbc news, omagh. couple of minutes. now it's time for the weather with ben rich. after the exceptional weather early in the season we are now back to what is basically standard summer weather, with the bluest skies and the high averages towards the south and the east of the country. further north and west we have got some cloud, some outbreaks of rain copy because low pressure is pretty close by in northern parts, high pressure generally speaking is pretty close to the south of the uk. from time to time we do shift these were the jigsaw puzzle pieces around a little bit, on thursday the low pressure comes further south and we will get some rain even into south—eastern areas. to the midlands and the south—west of england, the day sta rts south—west of england, the day starts with a brain which will move into east anglia and the south—east. sunny skies, 50 showers into the north—west and because we will be bringing the weather in from the north—west, the temperatures head downwards, 16— 20 degrees. ther

emma vardy, bbc news, belfast. our business correspondent emma simpson joins me.s now? that is a good question. we have no real details tonight about what he is going to do and crucially how many stores mike ashley is going to keep. all he is saying is he wants to turn house of fraser into the harrods of the high street. a lot of people are wondering, has he bitten off more than he can chew? this is a big, complex business to run and dare i say it, it won't be long before the countdown to the crucial christmas trading, where department stores in particular have to be at the top of their game, particular have to be at the top of theirgame, and particular have to be at the top of their game, and house of fraser has suffered from chronic underinvestment for many years, lots of different owners. will this new owner really deliver? there are 17,500 jobs riding on it. emma, thank you. emma simpson. the england cricketer, ben stokes, has denied being very drunk and enraged when he got into a fight outside a nightclub in bristol last september. ben stokes has been giving

emma vardy, bbc news, at the giant's causeway.man to win the gruelling tour de france, and later this afternoon thousands of people are expected to line the streets of cardiff to welcome home geraint thomas. the first minister, carwynjones, has described thomas's triumph as the stand—out moment in welsh sporting history. our correspondent tomos morgan is in cardiff. well, it's already getting busy outside the castle in the city centre as the country gets ready to recognise someone centre as the country gets ready to recognise someone who was already a double olympic champion, a commonwealth champion, and a triple world champion, but no doubt last month's tour de france victory was the pinnacle of geraint thomas's career, and preparations are well under way as the capital, the home crowd and geraint thomas and self gets ready to celebrate his crowning achievement. never before has the welsh capital prepared to celebrate a cycling victory like this. only rugby and football have ever brought cardiff to a standstill in the past. roads

emma vardy, bbc news.as stressed the investigation into allegations of sexual miscounduct agianst her predecessor, alex salmond must been properly investigated and not ‘sweep aside‘. mr salmond, who strongly denies the allegations, resigned from the snp last night after more than 45 years as a party member. meanwhile, the 63—year—old has been criticised for launching a crowd—funding campaign to fight the allegations. nicola sturgeon said the enquiry must be fair to all parties involved. this is now about making sure that jew process is allowed, that any legal process, criminal or civil, is allowed to go to court —— court. and those who have put claims forward about alex, for justice those who have put claims forward about alex, forjustice and truth to prevail. that is more important than any of the focus on politics or personality or process, that many people from many different reasons would no gap referred to focus on. —— no doubt prefer. a finance manager for kensington and chelsea council has admitted

emma vardy, bbc news, belfast.amilies struggling with finances, it means the welcome return of free school meals after the long school holidays? our education correspondent elaine dunkley has been to st helens to find out how they've been coping since the end of term. this may look like any other play centre, but there is a difference. first of all we are going to have dinner and we have got some chicken pasta bake and... at this lunch club in st helens, many of the families who come here struggle to feed their children during the summer holidays. it's a chance for brendan, nicole, cara and jade to have a hot meal and play. we make friends and do painting, stuff like that. and we have lovely food. i do worry a lot about food. not being in the cupboards as much as he used to have. it's been very hard for mum, it's been very hard for my sisters and brothers. and mainly very hard for me to see mum struggle. fortheir mum sarah, the school holidays is a difficult time of year. she's on universal credit and changes to he

emma vardy, bbc news, belfast. i'm nowjoined by emma simpson.t happens next? good question. it is business as usual for now, but we have no detail about what mike ashley is going to do and, crucially, how many stores he's going to keep. all he's saying for 110w going to keep. all he's saying for now is he wants to to turn house of fraser into the harrods of the high street. hugely ambitious. many are wondering whether he's bitten off more than he can chew. this is a large, complex business, and it isn't long, dare i say it, before the countdown to the crucial christmas trading season, where department stores in particular have to be at the top of their game. house of fraser has suffered from chronic underinvestment for a long time, it's had a succession of owners, and mike ashley has written to the rescue today, but can he really deliver? their thousands jobs depended on it. emma simpson, thank you. warmer weather, the football world cup and the royal wedding all helped lift economic growth in the three months tojune. the office for national sta

emma vardy, bbc news, belfast. one man who knows more about retail than most in politics is lord randolphs after 120 years in 2015. earlier he spoke to me about what he thinks has changed for retailers. i think retailing and customers have changed at what they want and what they expect have changed but it has happened in such a rate that retailers have been slow to catch up with it. obviously, online has made the biggest and most dramatic effect i think on retailing. and certainly in department stores, the old idea of the grace bros, which we were often likened to, is no longer something that people actually enjoy, apart from, and you had it in your package, some of the older generation are not so keen on online shopping, not so keen on the new ways. they want a bit of service that unfortunately the old—fashioned type of stalls are being squeezed out. it is interesting. the sort of store you were running where you would have had lots of different products back in the end he work your rating if you like it seems to have vanished. the modern department stores basically seemed to be large sp

emma vardy, bbc news, belfast.her coffin at the african american museum from today. stevie wonder, chaka khan and jennifer hudson are all expected to perform at an outdoor tribute concert on thursday. now it's time for a look at the weather. here is simon king. thank you. we have got a lot of cloud around across the uk. but there will be some holes, there will be some sunny spells developing through this afternoon, particularly in southern areas. for the time being, at least in suffolk, there is quite cloudy skies. but this skies and rain moving its way into the west of scotland, west of northern ireland as well. to the east of higher ground in scotland, there is good spells of sunshine. sunny spells developing across southern areas. temperatures ranging from 18 to 20 celsius. showers drifting their way infor celsius. showers drifting their way in for the early part of wednesday morning. overnight temperatures not particularly low in the south but in northern and western areas turning chilly. wednesday, showers and

our ireland correspondent emma vardy is in dublin this morning.sit done anything to alleviate the negative impact of abuse by the catholic church in ireland? we heard pope francis yesterday speaking about the fact of how ashamed he was that the church had failed to deal with these crimes. what was particularly noted by people was the fact he did not alter his speech is to outline what he would take. survivors say it is not apologies or condemnation they want any more but action. the fact that he took the step of meeting survivors in person for an hour and a half was welcomed. he spoke with them at length and some of those in them at length and some of those in the meeting have told us that privately he gave reassurances that he would investigate any allegations of cover—ups within the vatican. he would insist any of those involved in any cover—up of clerical sexual abuse must resign. yesterday, we also saw the irish taoiseach lee overwrite kept taking the lead on this and telling the pope that there was a lot of work to do to bring about justice a

emma vardy, bbc news, 0magh.wing an incident an a nightclub injersey. police say the 30—year—old fly—half was arrested in the early hours of this morning in st helier. he's been charged with five offences, including assault and resisting arrest. he's due to appear atjersey magistrates‘ court tomorrow morning. eight people have been injured after a horsejumped over a fence into a crowd during a farming show in pembrokeshire. an air ambulance was called to help those hurt after the horse, which was taking part in a competition, threw off its rider and — in the words of an eye witness — went on a rampage. five people were taken to hospital including a twelve—year—old boy and an eighty—three—year—old man. a police force in england is catching gun—runners and kidnappers by paying them in bitcoin. the so—called crypto—currency are increasingly popular with legitimate investors. but peter goodman, who's derbyshire's chief constable, and the national police lead on cyber—crime, says more criminals are using them too. and

emma vardy, bbc news, at the giant‘s causeway. so beautiful, isn‘t it?‘s not write some of. for many of us, it is a sigh of relief. not everybody likes 30 celsius. this is the forecast. back to our classic mix of sunshine and showers. if you look at the atlantic, it is looking to psy—tu rvy. look at the atlantic, it is looking topsy—turvy. more weather systems are forming. more than we have had lately. you see this dip in the jet stream, when it dips, it cools and brings the cooler air from the north. that is what is over us right now. for some of us, it is quite fresh. 17 celsius in london. it is going to be nippy. if you are going to be in the garden at 9pm, it will feel quite cool. goodbye to the rainfall that we have had in the south—east as well. finally goodbye. we still need some rainfall. it is a nasty low pressure that is going to bring stormy conditions to some countries like denmark. we are in the week here where it is clear whether, showers but temperatures down to 11 celsius in central london early in the morning. some of us are down to five

emma vardy, bbc news.n. the supreme court did not have sent a clear signal to government that this issue very urgently needs to be looked at and it is discriminatory against unmarried couples, for them and particularly for their children, to be left without this in a fit when one of them dies. and this potentially affects a huge number of people around the country. potentially affects a huge number of people around the countrym potentially affects a huge number of people around the country. it does potentially affect a huge number of people. you have mentioned pete that this fix already, about 3.3 million cohabiting couples and about 2.5 million of those dependent with children. potentially there a lot of people will have been looking very closely at this today. there are of course wider issues. these are not just about, though this case was about bereavement benefits, it would say that the law needs to be reformed across the piece. there aren't death there are things such as rules which look at a harrah d

our ireland correspondent emma vardy reports.er control. staff and shoppers were evacuated. let‘s go! as the building began to give way. people watched in horror as the victorian landmark was destroyed. firefighters worked through the night. now bank buildings is a blackened shell. you can still smell the smoke in the air here today and firefighters have said that parts of the building are still collapsing. so for the safety of pedestrians this 45 metre cordon remains in place. that means many of the shops and businesses in the heart of belfast will have to remain closed. for city centre traders it‘s unclear how long this will last. for us august is the second busiest month in the trading calendar. so for us we need to get open as quickly as we can. an emergency meeting was held in belfast this morning for recovery plans to be put in place. initial inspections of the building by structural engineers have determined the exterior is intact but the site remains unsafe for pedestrians and shops nearby. i totally understand that they

huge open—air mass for half a million people at phoenix park in dublin. 0ur ireland correspondent emma vardy

martin bashir, bbc news, dublin. 0ur ireland correspondent emma vardy is in dublin.onate in his condemnation of abuse in the church. what is your assessment of how well his words went down with the crowd? i think we saw pope francis repeatedly underline his commitment to get justice for the victims of abuse. many people said they will leave from this weekend feeling reassured. but at the same time, for many survivors of sexual abuse, there is still a real lack of confidence in the vatican's own investigation and despite the pope's assurances, there are still discontinuing believed that the church won't be robust enough with members of its own clergy who have been involved in cover—ups and that will take much more than this weekend's visit to change. so pope francis leads ireland tonight with anger still high this issue andy will be waiting to see what action will be waiting to see what action will follow with their churches to repair its credibility. emma, thank you. the daughter ofjohn and susan cooper, the british couple who died at a hotel in egypt last week, has

our ireland correspondent emma vardy is there. huge logistical operation has gone into this event for the culmination of the pope's visit. thousands have been flocking here since early this morning to be part of the massive congregation. it will be seen as a sign of their enduring loyalty and affection for the pope but it has been his response to the scandal over abuse rather than the religious worship that has taken centre stage of the visit. papal rob spinney an overcoat, pope francis began the second leg of his visit in the irish rain one of the most holy sites in ireland, knock, where an apparition of the virgin mary was once said to have appeared. thousands came to see pope francis today in the flesh. good morning. cheering in his speech to sunday worshippers, pope francis once again addressed theissue pope francis once again addressed the issue of abuse but today going further, speaking about the need for justice. translation: none of us can fail to be moved by the stories of young people who have suffered abuse, robbed of t

emma vardy in dublin, thank you for that analysis.ancis is on his way to his next engagement. he has been speaking at dublin castle. it has emptied out now and he is moving to his next appointment. let's have a listen back to what the pope had to say, his response to the child abuse scandal. translation: i am very conscious of the circumstances of oui’ conscious of the circumstances of our most vulnerable brothers and sisters, i think especially of those women who in the past have endured particularly difficult situations, both women and children and those who were left as orphans. considering the most vulnerable, i cannot fail to acknowledge the great scandal caused in ireland by the abuse of young people by members of the church. we have been charged with responsibility for their protection and education. the failure of the ecclesiastical authorities, i can still remember the words said to me by the minister for youth, whom i thank. the failure of the ecclesiastical authorities, the bishops, the religious superiors, the priests and

emma vardy, bbc news. so this is the scene here at phoenix park in the centre of dublin. see the stage and alter. it was specially created for this occasion. you can see the grade as well that has been laid out for the crowd. it gives you the sense of the space that i was talking about. in the area that i am overlooking, it is pretty well full of people at the moment. battling through the windy and damp weather. they've all come to see the pope who is going to arrive here in the next 25 minutes oi’ arrive here in the next 25 minutes or $0. you are watching continuing coverage of the papal visit to ireland, almost at its conclusion. this event in phoenix park in dublin will be the event which brings to a close this 36 hour trip by pope francis to ireland. at least bringing the public part of it to a close. he will make a further speech to irish bishops before he leaves dublin to return to rome. but it has been a packed agenda in terms of the public engagements he has carried out. and of course, amongst those engagements, the private meeting with eight survivors of abuse, c

our ireland correspondent emma vardy is in ballymoney for us. ma? the petition opened at nine o'clock this morning, three petitions across the north antrim constituency. one of them is in this leisure centre. it has all been governed quite tightly because this is the first uk parliamentary history, the first time these rules have been enacted. there were brought in and of the recall of mps act in 2015 which essentially allows constituents to have a say, to vote on the future of an mp if they are found guilty of serious misconduct. this all came about because of the dup mp ian paisley and his luxury holidays that he took to sri lanka at the expense of vision and in government. he didn't declare those and was then found guilty of misconduct by the parliamentary standards committee. the way this will work is, that the petitions will work is, that the petitions will be open for six weeks, much to friday, 95, anyone on the electoral register in this constituency can find them. if at the end of those six weeks 10% of the electorate have signed this pet

emma vardy, bbc news, at the giant‘s causeway. one, there is no stronger reviewed the papers with me showers, senators guaranteed. eastern england, although there is rain in the forecasting the next few days, it is in the form of showers, senators guaranteed this is the massive cloud that brought today‘s rain, spilling its way across the east have quite a lot of cloud we have quite a lot of bit of a headache for the details on the weekend. at the moment we are in a cooler pool of weather, september to zaib kept away and by night, more co mforta ble zaib kept away and by night, more comfortable than it has been for a while tropical air and there, a bit ofa while tropical air and there, a bit of a headache for the details on the weekend. at the moment we are in a cooler pool of whether, september to resign depth away and by night, more co mforta ble resign depth away and by night, more comfortable than it has been for a while the wind either parts of the east of england, but the north sea will see gales for a time before it sta rts will see gales for a time before it starts to quite st

our ireland correspondent emma vardy reports.government collapsed before ministers could agree the funding. now northern ireland has been stripped of the chance to host the event. i was annoyed because it would have been a good opportunity for people here. i was quite shocked. how come we're not sticking together, not helping each other? as well as losing the games, £1—2 billion worth of infrastructure projects have now been put on hold. a new transport hub for belfast, a cruise ship terminal for the harbour, just a couple of the developments being left in limbo. the corridors of power remain empty at stormont, where northern ireland's government collapsed last year. a row over a mishandled renewable energy scheme caused the break—up and since then talks between the dup and sinn fein have repeatedly failed. it's being 589 days since northern ireland had a functioning assembly and civil servants say that while there's no cliff edge, what they are seeing is stagnation and a slow decay across public services. schools and health care

emma vardy has the latest.s mr paisley‘s constituency opened at nine o'clock this morning. they will be open for people to sign for the next six weeks. this is a first for a uk politics. it was all brought about by ian paisley‘s per year to deeply at the luxury holidays he went on paper by this alliance in government. he then later went on to lobby david cameron on behalf of sri lanka. when this came to light last year, the parliamentary standards committee ruled that he was guilty of serious misconduct. so, over the next six bees, if 10% of the electorate in northampton sign those recall petitions, it will force ian paisley to stand down and there will bea paisley to stand down and there will be a by—election. the dup's main rival, sensing, is going to be out campaigning against him, effectively, and began their bed this morning urging people to sign. the report concluded he was involved in serious misconduct, and the people of north antrim has six weeks to sign this petition, and i know the contact i have had

first this report from emma vardy.nding on dublin this morning, shepherd one, the papal plane. this is ireland's first visit from the pope in four decades. and welcoming the head of the catholic church has been a much anticipated moment. ireland was once known as the most catholic country in the world. but rocked by scandals, the church has fallen from grace. in dublin, pope francis spoke of the sexual abuse of children by catholic priests and the failure of the church to address it. translation: the failure of ecclesiastical authorities, bishops, religious superiors, priests and others adequately to address these repellent crimes has rightly given rise to outrage and remains a source of pain and shame for the catholic community. i myself share those sentiments. pope francis will meet with survivors of clerical abuse during his visit. some say his condemnation of these crimes is not enough. it has to be zero tolerance and that means every abusive priest, bishop and those who covered it up, be sacked and removed from th

sign the petition, which opened this morning, it will trigger a by—election. 0ur correspondent emma vardyed this morning, bringing us up it opened this morning, bringing us 7 it opened this morning, bringing us up today? at nine o'clock this morning, three recall positions open in the three main towns across north antrim. they will be open for the next six weeks. this is the first four uk politics. it was brought about because of ian paisley‘s failure to declare the hospitality he received from the sri lanka in government. it came to light last year he had been on two matri family holidays, paid for by sri lanka. he lobbied the then prime minister on the country's bihar. the parliamentary standards committee ruled he was guilty of serious misconduct. it will take 10% of the electorate to sign these petitions and trigger a by—election. sinn fein, a representative from that party were here this morning to encourage people to come and sign it. their message was, forget the party politics, this is about the standards we expect from mps in office. the report concluded he was involved in seriou

our ireland correspondent emma vardy is there.remain inside. parts of the building have been collapsing so it remains u nsafe have been collapsing so it remains unsafe which is why the cordon is in place and a lot of city centre shops and businesses around the site had to stay closed. you can smell the smoke in the air. thoughts now have turned to the recovery operation because the bank building has been a landmark, right in the heart of belfast, since the late 1800 ‘s and had just undergone a £30 million refurbishment. there are 400 staff who work at the site. primark staff have been told they will be paid for the next week at least, that staff say they are devastated by the loss of the store. there is a sense of sadness this has happened to belfast. a lot of people coming here to look in dismay at the blackened sheu to look in dismay at the blackened shell backed remains. we know engineers are trying to assess the extent of the damage to see whether any of this historic building can be saved. the british cyclist mark cavendish h

international airport and missed his flight to see his sick father. 0ur ireland correspondent, emma vardytional to london on the weekend, he was travelling to visit his father who has been seriously ill and he says he has travelled with the wheelchair repair kit many times before, it contains a couple of spanners and a wheel nut and he said it was essential to have it because he was going to need to use it to adjust the wheelchair to fit a hire carat it to adjust the wheelchair to fit a hire car at the other end. on this occasion, as he went through airport security, he was told by a member of staff there was no way he would be able to take it on the plane. so i asked if we could give them to cabin crew to hold and give them to me at the other end. that wasn't permitted either. he wasn't going to entertain that. he said, the only way you can do it is by checking your bag into checked luggage, but you now haven't got time to do that. i've realised that ijust can't get to gatwick, i'm stranded, there's no way i can carry on the journey, so i was gutted, frankly. i was really very upset. sin

murdered prison officer david black — says he's sickened by what happened. 0ur ireland correspondent emma vardyhe bogside area of londonderry. bonfires are traditional in some parts of ireland to mark the catholic feast of the assumption but the celebrations are often marred in sectarian controversy. last night, the name of murdered officer stephen carroll was placed on the bonfire along with three others. his widow told the bbc she was sickened. i am absolutely shocked and disappointed in londonderry, a city that hosted the city of culture so eloquently could allow people to take such a backward step into the past. the mayor of derry said this bonfire had been built against the wishes of the organisers of a community festival which was being held nearby. no one wa nts to which was being held nearby. no one wants to see that in our community and people have worked very hard and diligently in an attempt to convince those who were responsible for building the other bonfire here in bogside to stop that because it's really not sending out a message thatis really not sending out a message that is re

let's go to emma vardy in belfast. what is the picture there?008 and it was great fa nfa re ten years ago in 2008 and it was great fanfare when this store opens because it was also the launch of belfast‘s brand—new indoor shopping centre. that was in the ten years after the good friday agreement when belfast as a city was rebuilding and the peace process was developing importantly during that time. when big—name brands began to be attracted to belfast, it was seen as attracted to belfast, it was seen as a turning point. the way that the city was moving on from the conflicts of the past. people we have been speaking to this morning remember that very clearly and say that any uncertainty over the future of house of fraser here is a real problem for the city centre because it is such an integral part of the big indoor shopping centre here for sub as we had previously it was already announced that half of house of fraser stores across the uk were to close, some 3951 stores. belfast was not one of them to the delight of many shoppers that go to shop

emma vardy, bbc news, belfast. now, is the nation ready for this?it was really, really good -- there was a chocolate cake that i think was made last season. so many different characters. that's what i love to see. can't wait. i count down to watch it. it has to be paul. what is it he says? give me your handshake. if he shakes your hand, you'll be happy. what is it about paul? related humour. i bought his book and i follow through his recipes as well. oh, gosh. hard to say. i like them both. what is it about paul? if you are going to choose anyone i think it has to be mr blue eyes, definitely. canal street lots of you will be watching tonight. our family are street lots of you will be watching tonight. ourfamily are ready. —— and lots of you will be watching tonight. the children are obsessed with bake off. it is so good, isn't it? we will be talking about that tomorrow. time now to get the news, travel and weather where you are. good morning. the weather is going to remain mostly dry over the next few days and turn warm as we go into next week. this

emma vardy, bbc news, belfast.ishermen over scallops. theresa may visits nigeria — as part of her trade mission to boost ties with african countries after brexi. more than a fifth of 1a year old girls say they've self—harmed — a report says worries about physical appearance are contributing to unhappiness. here's your business headlines on afternoon live. british gas has paid £2.65m in refunds and compensation after wrongly overcharging more than 94,000 customers who switched to new providers. an ofgem investigation found the energy firm "failed" and "unfairly penalised" customers who were coming to the end of their fixed term contracts. british gas said those affected have been "refunded and paid an additional goodwill gesture". uk shop prices have risen for the first time in five years, according to the latest data from the british retail consortium. it's also warned that more price rises are to come, if the uk quits the european union without a trade deal. a stark warning from the pensions regulator — that gener

emma vardy, bbc news, belfast.ut where the rubbish is coming from. lorna gordon has been finding out more. taking to the skies in the war against litter. i am going on a flight with the volunteers pinpointing hotspots where plastic rubbish is washing in from the sea. this is a typical, sort of, patrol height and patrol speed. as you can see, things are moving past reasonably quickly. you can see in some of these inlets there are bits and pieces. there is a fishing net or something. absolutely, you can see it there. have you found it quite an eye opener? absolutely. from the east coast, the north, the south, the west, the volunteer crews have been methodically crisscrossing scotland's coastline. from the air, flying at heights ofjust a few hundred feet, you get a unique perspective of the plastic rubbish blighting our shores. from beautiful sandy beaches like this one, to more remote rocky inlets hard to reach by foot, thousands of miles of scotland's coastline are being photographed and surveyed. every photo, every

as emma vardy reports... this geological wonder attracted more than a million visitors last year.trust, although to walk down and see the giant's causeway is free. but some people believe the national trust signage is designed to make people think they have to pay. they are trying to mislead people into thinking that they have to go into the visitors' centre to see the giant's causeway. the giant's causeway is free. it belongs to the people of northern ireland. it's part of our heritage. there are no signs saying giant's causeway this way, which is through the tunnel behind me here, which is free. but there are plenty of signs here telling me to go through the visitors' centre, where at the moment you have to pay £11.50. signs to the visitors' centre emphasise the cost of guided tours. it is not immediately obvious where to go if you just want to take the public footpath, and it is small print like this that has got some people even more annoyed. this says access onto the giant's causeway stones is by permission of the national trust. we just came down here, but we wouldn't have k

our ireland correspondent emma vardy reports.ealth youth games in 2021 but the devolved government collapsed before ministers could agree the funding. now northern ireland has been stripped of the chance to host the event. i was annoyed that we're not going be able to do it because it would've been opportunity for people here. i'm quite shocked that they are not sticking together. not helping each other. as well as losing the games, £2 billion worth of infrastructure projects have been put on hold, a new transport hub for belfast, a cruise ship terminal, just some developments put on hold. the corridors of power remain empty at stormont where the northern irish government collapsed last year. a row over a mishandled renewable energy scheme caused the break—up and since then talks between the dup and since then talks between the dup and sinn fein have repeatedly failed. it has been 589 days since northern ireland had a functioning assembly and civil servants say while there is no cliff edge, what they are seeing is stagnation and

emma vardy has the latest. recall petitions across the constituency opened up at 9am this morning.out by ian paisley‘s failure to declare the luxury holidays that he went on paid for by the sri lankan government. he then went on to lobby the then prime minister david cameron on behalf of sri lanka. when this came to light last year, the parliamentary standards committee ruled that he was guilty of serious misconduct. over the next six weeks if 10% of the electorate in north antrim sign those recall petitions, it will force ian paisley to stand down and there will be a by—election. as you might expect, the dup's main rival sinn fein will be campaigning against him. they began their bid this morning, urging people to sign. the report concluded that he was involved in serious misconduct. and the people of north antrim have six weeks to sign this position. i know the contact that i have had with people over the last couple of weeks, want to do something. this is an issue government. this isn't a issue of nationalism versus... this is an issue about trust in your politician that they wi

our ireland correspondent, emma vardy is in omagh.en past three, people stood in silence. at the same time that that bomb was detonated 20 yea rs that that bomb was detonated 20 years ago. and of course back then this was a scene of such devastation there was such a loss of life because a bomb threat had been called in a0 minutes before but at the wrong location. therefore police inadvertently moved people done this and other high street not knowing they were moving people towards the spot where bomb was to go off. the horror of this day will be forever in the memory of those who survived. kevin skelton had been shopping in town with his wife. they each walked into different stores. this brief moment that separated them was fateful. the bomb went off. he found his wife lying in the rubble of the shop next door.|j he found his wife lying in the rubble of the shop next door. i took a wrong, i couldn't feel any pulse and knew she was dead. 29 people we re and knew she was dead. 29 people were killed by the car bomb including a woman who

emma vardy, bbc news, omagh. competition, threw off its rider and — in the words of an eye witness — "went on a rampage". five people were taken to hospital including a 12—year—old boy and an 83—year—old man. a police force in england is catching gun—runners and kidnappers by paying them in "bitcoin". the so—called "crypto—currencies" are increasingly popular with legitimate investors. but peter goodman, who‘s derbyshire‘s chief constable, and the national police lead on cyber—crime, says more criminals are using them too. and that‘s because they can‘t be traced through the banks. jeremy ball reports. they say money makes the world go round and this is the currency most of us use. but more and more people on converting pounds and pence into new digital currencies bitcoin. just look at this, in this newsagents in leicester, there is even a machine where you can change it automatically. you touch the screen to start and press the option. he installed this atm after he made money on bitcoin. investors who know how t

our ireland correspondent emma vardy reports.ond job to support their children. she was told the allowance is only paid to those that been married or in civil partnerships. today, the supreme court ruled that denying this benefit has breached their human rights. thejudge said their human rights. thejudge said the allowance was there to diminish the allowance was there to diminish the loss suffered by the children, the loss suffered by the children, the loss suffered by the children, the loss was the same regardless of whether they were married. children are innocent and have no voice, and it's sad that the government could see that two children could be treated so differently. to realise that, yes, there is only certain benefits you can claim as a, but you can't claim because you're not married, it is a minefield of the system. society is changing. while married couples are in the majority, figures show that there's been a huge increase in single habitation, one in five couples with children choosing not to walk up the aisle. wit

emma vardy reports. forget the last time i saw aden. he walked out of the kitchen and looked back and said, i won't be long. the kitchen and looked back and said, iwon't be long. michael gallagher's son had gone to town that day to buy a pair ofjeans. the sound of the bomb which detonated at ten past three could be heard for miles away. we could see smoke rising. you couldn't tell exactly where it was but it was in the town centre direction. the longer that we had no word from aden we got more concerned. he never returned home. he was one of 29 people killed that day, including a woman who was pregnant with twins. more than 200 we re pregnant with twins. more than 200 were injured. this afternoon, families will gatherfor were injured. this afternoon, families will gather for what will be the final official commemoration of the 0magh bomb. the attack was claimed at the time by the so—called real ira. despite thousands of hours of investigation, many arrests, there have never been any criminal convictions

emma vardy in belfast, thanks very much, at the start of the story.e it didn't do enough to sell online?” into this trouble because it didn't do enough to sell online? i think that would be too simplified view of what is going on right now on the high street. we know there is a huge transformation going on with higher online penetration, but also a changing consumer behaviour off—line as well. and i think our vision is to bring technologies and economies, with the more small independent shops, help them drive both on and off—line. it is not going anywhere, it is just changing dramatically, off—line, and we need to change our approach as retailers, how we work in that space as well as online. to do big, long established, historic businesses like house of fraser manage to adjust to the new economy? welcomer obviously with great difficulty. legacy businesses, they have a very big machine to turn around, a big ship. they know that they have to do it. some are working really ha rd they have to do it. some are working really hard and have tried, for example