he probably smothered helen bailey after drugging her over a long period with his sleeping pills. tive was money. he was set to benefit massively from her £4 million fortune. if helen had written a book of this story you wouldn't believe it. he probably planned it all from the day he met her. and in hindsight i don't think he loved her at all think he loved her at all but helen definitely loved him. this is ian stewart's late wife, diane. police are now re—examining her sudden death. she'd suffered from epilepsy and was said to have died from a fit. diane stewart died of natural causes in 2010, it would only be right and proper that we re—looked at what the causes might be but of course it would be part of our inquiries, moving forward from this conviction. at the family home in bassingbourn, in cambridgeshire, diane stewart collapsed suddenly. diane was a very fit and healthy person, the whole of bassingbourn was in shock, you could not believe it could have happened because there was no sign or prior knowledge that there was anything wrong with diane whatsoever. after his wife di

he probably smothered helen bailey after drugging her over a long period with his sleeping pills. ve was money. he was set to benefit massively from her £4 million fortune. if helen had written a book of this story, you wouldn't believe it. he probably planned it all from the day he met her. and in hindsight i don't think he loved her at all, but helen definitely loved him. this is ian stewart's late wife, diane. police are now re—examining her sudden death. she'd suffered from epilepsy and was said to have died from a fit. diane stewart died of natural causes in 2010, it would only be right and proper that we re—looked at what the causes might be. but, of course, it would be part of our enquiries, moving forward from this conviction. at the family home in bassingbourn, in cambridgeshire, diane stewart collapsed suddenly. diane was a very fit and healthy person. the whole of bassingbourn was in shock, i think. you could not believe it could have happened because there was no sign or prior knowledge that there was anything wrong with diane whatsoever. after his wife died, ian stewar

he probably smothered helen bailey after drugging her over a long period with his sleeping pills. money. he was set to benefit massively from her £4 million fortune. if helen had written a book of this story, you wouldn't believe it. he probably planned it all from the day he met her. in hindsight, i do think he loved her at all. but helen definitely loved him. this is ian stewart's late wife. with his criminal trial over, we can now report that the police are re—examining her sudden death, said to have been caused by an epileptic fit. at this stage, there's no indication of anything suspicious. i think it's only right that i consider what might have happened in ian stewart's past, to see whether there's anything i need to get involved in, whether there's any fresh evidence that might have come out from this trial. after his wife died, ian stewart was seen with other women before he began his predatory pursuit of helen bailey. as a writer, she was used to studying human behaviour. but she never learned the true character of the man who was closest to her and who she thought she kne

the fiance of the children's author helen bailey has been found guilty of murdering her and dumping her in a cesspit under their garage in hertfordshire. ian stewart, who's 56, drugged ms bailey over several weeks before smothering her in april last year in the hope of claiming a multi million pound inheritance. the couple had met through an online bereavement group. detectives are now re—examining the sudden death of stewart's wife in 2010. our homes affairs correspondent june kelly reports. police recorded ian stewart's arrest at his home. i'm arresting you on suspicion of the murder of helen bailey. you're joking! he was stunned he'd finally been caught out. for three months he'd been living with the body of his wealthy partner buried under the garage. my name's helen bailey and i'd like to introduce you to my new book, which is called when bad things happen in good bikinis. helen bailey was a successful author. as well as murdering her, stewart also killed her dachshund, boris, whom she doted on. ooh, that wasn't supposed to happen! after her husband's death, helen bailey began blog

he has lied to helen bailey's family. he lied to the colleagues and friends of helen bailey.ssida dick is appointed as the new metropolitan police commissioner, becoming the first woman in its 188 year history to run scotland yard. the appointment has been criticised by the family ofjean charles de menezes, the innocent man who was shot dead after the london bombings. a jury later found that ms dick, who was in charge on the day, had done nothing wrong. the brother of the british is fighter who carried out a suicide bombing in iraq describes how his family tried to prevent him from going to syria.

the fiance of the children's author, helen bailey, has been found guilty of murdering her and dumpingbody in a cesspit under their home in hertfordshire. ian stewart, who's 56, drugged ms bailey over several months, before smothering her in april last year in the hope of claiming a multi—million pound inheritance. detectives are now re—examining the death of stewart's previous partner — his wife, diane, who died suddenly in 2010. live to ben ando who's outside st albans crown court. this has been a seven week long trial and for three days in stewart stood in the witness box telling a tall stood in the witness box telling a ta ll tale stood in the witness box telling a tall tale about how helen bailey had been abducted by two shady business associates of her late husband, named joe and nick. but the jury saw through it and decided it was a pack of lies. it took six hours to reach their verdict, guilty on all the cou nts their verdict, guilty on all the counts against him, murder, preventing unlawful burial, fraud and three counts of perverting the course of justice. as jude and three c

he has lied to helen bailey's family. he lied to the colleagues and friends of helen bailey. a very wicked crime. one of the hardest and most challenging investigations i've dealt with. cressida dick is appointed as the new metropolitan police commissioner, becoming the first woman in its 188 year history to run scotland yard. the appointment has been criticised by the family ofjean charles de menezes, the innocent man who was shot dead after the london bombings. a jury later found that ms dick, who was in charge on the day, had done nothing wrong. the brother of the british is fighter who carried out a suicide bombing in iraq describes how his family tried to prevent him from going to syria. even his wife tried to stop him, you know, going over there and went over herself and got in trouble too. it has been hard for us, you know. the supreme court says income rules which prevent some people bringing a foreign spouse to the uk are lawful. the bbc is to launch a new television channel in scotland. it'll broadcast from autumn next year with an annual £30 million budget. and dia

the fiance of the children's author, helen bailey, has been found guilty of murdering her and dumpingr body in a cesspit under their home in hertfordshire. ian stewart, who's 56, drugged ms bailey over several months, before smothering her in april last year in the hope of claiming a multi—million pound inheritance. detectives are now re—examining the death of stewart's previous partner — his wife, diane, who died suddenly in 2010. our correspondent ben ando is at st albans crown court. yes, well this trial has lasted seven weeks. it took the jury just six hours to make a decision. the judge had told them when sending them out to consider their verdicts that they should take their time. but it seems quite clear they saw through ian stewart's elaborate story trying to explain what was in reality an overwhelming tide of evidence against him. evidence that he had killed helen bailey and disposed of her body. this is a tale of love, betrayal and murder as june kelly reports. police recorded ian stewart's arrest at his home. we're arresting you on suspicion of the murder of helen bailey. y

killing helen bailey. story is that she was her first husband after a freak accident, she became lonely and went on to social media, talking to various people and he was one of them. striking up a relationship. seemed to be terribly happy with him and suddenly appears that all of the time he was planning to get rid of her and get her money. she killed her. has it hasjust got so she killed her. has it hasjust got so many elements that people are going to be interested in. her celebrity, but also the sense of midsummer models. she was planning the wedding, he was planning the murder. facebook brought them together. so many interesting strands. but on the human level it isjust a terribly strands. but on the human level it is just a terribly sad story. strands. but on the human level it isjust a terribly sad story. and also looking into the death of his first wife. going to re—examine that. very sad. we can move to the guardian. a lot of newspapers covering cressida dick, becoming the first woman to run the me

the man accused of murdering the children's writer helen bailey at her home last year has told a juryd at their hertfordshire home last april. ben ando reports from st albans crown court. ian stewart was accused of drugging his fiancee, helen bailey, with sleeping tablets prescribed to him, then leaving her body with that of her beloved pet dachsund boris in a cesspit below the garage of the home they shared in royston, hertfordshire. the jury has already heard that forensics experts could not be sure that she was dead when she was put in the pit. for four weeks, ian stewart has listened silently in the dock as the prosecution outlined the case against him. today he arrived at court knowing it would be his turn to speak. as he took the stand in his own defence, he was asked directly by his barrister, simon russell flint, "it is alleged you murdered helen bailey, did you do so?" "no," he replied. mr russell flint continued, "did you play any part in her death?" "no," he replied. mr stewart also denied fraud, preventing lawful burial, and lying to the police. ian stewart broke down seve

absolutely, helen bailey was clearly a very, very well liked woman.ink, had given a lot of comfort to other people in similar positions. 0ne other people in similar positions. one of the tragedies of this is that she only met ian stewart through a bereavement website, set up to help grieving widows and widowers come to terms with their loss and certainly friends of hers who had given evidence had described in very moving terms in court how in ian stewart, who she referred to as the gorgeous, grey—haired widower, she felt she had met her soul mate, she felt she had met her soul mate, she felt she had met her soul mate, she felt she had met someone with whom she could build a new life after the death of her husband. of course one of the tragedies of this case is how she was absolutely deceived in this and how what she thought was a bright future together was simply him plotting on getting his hands on herfortune, on him plotting on getting his hands on her fortune, on her him plotting on getting his hands on herfortune, on her muddy, driving —— planning

the fiance of the children's author helen bailey has been found guilty of murdering her and dumping her under their home in hertfordshire. ian stewart, who's 56, drugged ms bailey over several months, before smothering her in the hope of claiming a multi—million pound inheritance. speaking outside court, a senior detective from hertfordshire police welcomed today's verdict, and told our reporter june kelly he would be looking into the circumstances around the death of ian stewart's previous partner seven years ago. my my opinion is that it is the right and correct verdict, however there are no winners in this. the family are no winners in this. the family are absolutely devastated at helen ‘s loss and jonathan fields family have been very upset with the way that their loved one has been used in courtand that their loved one has been used in court and of course ian stewart ‘s own family have been lied to and are extremely upset by the verdict and the lies that they had been told and the lies that they had been told and witnessed during the course of this trial. it was a very challenging

the onset of the children's author, helen bailey, have been convicted of murdering her to profit from her £4 million fortune. he suffocated her before hiding her body beneath their home in hertfordshire. seven x0 planets have been discovered beyond our solar system. the us space agency nasa that the planets circling an ultra—cool dwarf star 39 light—yea rs away from the sun. a political row has erupted over the compensation paid toa has erupted over the compensation paid to a british fighter with so—called islamic state. ronald fiddler was formerly a detainee at guantanamo bay andrews reported to have carried out a suicide bombing iraq. the trump administration is expected to revoke 0bama transgender bathroom bill, the federal guideline telling public schools to let transgender students use telling public schools to let tra nsgender students use bathrooms matching their chosen gender identity. cressida dick has been appointed at the metropolitan police commissioner, the first woman to head the met in its 188 year history. a convicted murderer is still on the run after armed men helped

ian stewart, 56, spent weeks poisoning helen bailey before smothering her.way. he said while helen bailey was excitedly planning your wedding you were planning to kill her. he said that she was at the height of her success when you brought her life to a cruel end. and dumped her beloved boris and her any foul smelling cesspit. as you say she was worth around £3 million and he said he was not content to share the wealth is a husband, he wanted it all for himself he said. the judge told him it was difficult to imaginea judge told him it was difficult to imagine a more heinous crime to plan the premedication. he went to considerable lengths to cover the bodies and he said he had told callis lies. sitting in court behind me wasjamie, ian callis lies. sitting in court behind me was jamie, ian stewart's sun and yesterday well the verdicts were read out he did not look at his father at all. today he just sat there motionless and behind him was john bailey, helen bailey's brother. the two sat there listening to the comments. ian stewart applied —— life to his family

ian stewart had lied to his family and helen bailey's family and to the police.ing to a close. he was sentenced to a minimum of 34 years and that means ian stewart will not be eligible for parole until he is 90. voters are going to the polls in two parliamentary by—elections — in cumbria and in staffordshire. it follows the resignations of labour mps jamie reed in copeland and tristram hunt in stoke on trent central. the polls are open until ten o'clock tonight, and the results are expected at around three o'clock tomorrow morning. eating ten portions of fruit and veg a day can help us live longer. a study by imperial college london shows that consuming small amounts has a health benefit, but more is better. however, public health england says that putting pressure on us to eat more fruit and veg creates an ‘unrealistic expectation‘. joining me earlier via webcam was professor tom sanders, emeritus professor of nutrition & dietetics at king‘s college london. i asked him what he thought about the recommended intake of ten a day. i think it is too much. the study a

the man accused of murdering the writer helen bailey has told a jury that he spoke to her four days afterwas abducted by two business associates of her late husband. let's cross to st albans crown court and our correspondent ben ando. ian stewart in the witness box for a third day. explain what's been told the jury. that's right. this morning he finished giving evidence in chief. when his barrister was questioning, he said helen bailey had been taken by two men, joe and nick he named them as. he said they made contact with him after she disappeared, told him not to tell the police, told him to take her phone to broadstairs in kent. that explains, he says, why her phone briefly connected with the wi—fi at that property on the 16th of april, five days after she had disappeared. under cross—examination the prosecutor stuart trimmer qc has focused on alterations and changes he made to his story between police interviews he gave last year and the evidence he gave in the witness box here in court. he talked about the sleeping drug zopiclone which had been prescribed to ian stewart, traces of wh

today, he sat there motionless and behind him wasjohn bailey, helen bailey's brother. lied to his family, to helen bailey's family and he had lied to the police. the families sitting through six weeks of harrowing evidence and today, finally, it is coming to a close. he was sentenced to a minimum of 3a yea rs. was sentenced to a minimum of 3a years. that means ian stewart won't be eligible for parole until he is 90. that is mike cartwright reporting from st albans. an investigation by the bbc has found there are nearly 10,000 drivers across the uk still on the roads despite having 12 or more points currently on their driving licence. official figures reveal that one driver has over 60 points on his licence, but has still been allowed to continue driving. we spoke to the specialist traffic defence lawyer nick freeman a short time ago — he explained why these cases don't always lead to lead to driving bans. we don't want people to lose their houses, their career, theirjobs, every one to suffer for what is a relatively trivial offence. the difficulty we have is we have on

he met helen bailey through an internet forum.e today he was asked his lawyer, it will be suggested that you killed her. no way, he replied. he said he‘d come to realise that helen bailey was the character electra brown from the well—known teenage novel. there were almost i‘ll —— autobiographical, he said. ian stewart continues to give evidence tomorrow. england is being promised a million new homes by 2020 under plans published by the government. the secretary of state for communities and local government, sajid javid, announced a number of measures to fix what he calls england‘s ‘broken‘ housing market with the government pledging a million new homes by 2020 — with extra help for first time buyers and more security for those who are renting. 0ur correspondent duncan kennedy reports from southampton. brownsite or greenbelt — just one of the grey areas in britain‘s complicated house—building mix. but how to fix what the government today calls a broken housing market? well, its white paper suggests the answers lie in getting the ri

ian stewart denies killing helen bailey. st albans crown court. this morning he finished giving his evidence and when his barrister was questioning him he said helen bailey had been taken by two men, joe and nick he named them as and said they made contact with him after she had disappeared, told him not to tell the police and told him to take her phone down to broadstairs in kent. he says, explains why her barrois phone briefly connected with the wi—fi about property on the 16th of april, five days after she had disappeared. under cross—examination the prosecutor has been focusing on alterations and changes he made to his story between police interviews he gave last year and the evidence he gave last year and the evidence he gave last year and the evidence he gave in the witness box here at court. he talks about a sleeping drug that had been prescribed to ian stewart but traces of which were found in helen bailey's. it is the prosecution's case he had been drugging her and then smothered her and put her them either cesspit

he met helen bailey through an internet forum. we just clicked, he told the jury. suave and sophisticated, he was not, he said. nonetheless, they clicked together. he was asked whether he would have killed her, and he said, absolutely no way. ben ando. in a moment, a summary of the business news this hour. but first, the headlines on bbc news: the government says both houses of parliament will get a vote on the final brexit deal — labour have described it as a huge and important concession. the lords speaker, lord fowler, has told peers he'd keep an "open mind" about any request by us president trump to address parliament. the government is setting out measures to help people rent or buy their own home in england, in a bid to fix what it calls the "broken" housing market. hello. the ftse 100 hello. the ftse100 looked like finishing —— looks like finishing the day in positive territory. sterling has sunk to its lowest in two weeks against the dollar. that is because of a stronger dollar after speculation about an interest rate rise in the united states. first group

i'm arresting you on suspicion of the murder of helen bailey. you're joking!s shocked response. he probably planned it all from the day he met her, and in hindsight, i don't think he loved her at all. but helen definitely loved him. now police have launched an investigation into the sudden death of stewart's wife seven years ago. also tonight. a political row about the compensation paid to the british so—called is fighter after he was detained at guantanamo. for the first time in its history, the metropolitan police give the top job to a woman. french politicians take the battle for the coming presidential

yes, and today his defence barrister took him back to april the 11th last year, the day when helen baileya doctors appointment in the morning, but mrs bailey had it fosters —— had come out flustered from her car, so he offered to walker and reschedule the doctor's appointment for the afternoon. when askedif appointment for the afternoon. when asked if there were any other visitors, he said, no, iwent u psta i rs visitors, he said, no, iwent upstairs for a doze, then he apologised to the jury and said there was a visitor, and when asked who it was he said it wasjo, a former business associate of helen's late husband, who had visited the house on two previous occasions. joe had arrived at the door and said to helen bailey, have you remembered our business? she then said, no, leave me alone. he then whispered something to wear that mr stewart did not hear before saying, think about it. he said he asked her what it was all about and she just said thatjoe was it was all about and she just said that joe was an it was all about and she just said thatjoe was an idiot. he said he then went upstair

the murderer of the children's author helen bailey has been sentenced to life in prison, after beingmurder. the judge said that ian stewart would have to spend at least 3a years behind bars, saying it was "difficult to imagine a more heinous crime". stewart drugged and suffocated helen bailey before throwing her body in a cesspit, hidden under the garage of their hertfordshire home. it's taken four years to get through parliament, but today the go—ahead will finally be given for work to begin on the first phase of the high speed rail link between london and birmingham. critics say the project is a waste of money, and will damage the environment. but supporters say it will boost the economy and the number of people be able to travel by rail. phase one is due to open in 2026, at a cost of more than £55 billion. ben thompson reports. more of us are using the railways than ever before. it means busier stations and busier trains, and so the government says hs2 is the answer. but is it? i'm taking a journey on the first stage of the route from london to birmingham, to see what impact it co

the murderer of the children's author helen bailey has been sentenced to life in prison, after beinghe judge said ian stewart would have to spend at least 3a years behind bars, saying it was "difficult to imagine a more heinous crime". stewart drugged and suffocated helen bailey, before throwing her body in a cesspit, hidden under the garage of their hertfordshire home. ministers are calling it the biggest reform of prisons in england and wales for a generation. for the first time, the government will state in black and white that a key purpose of prison is to reform offenders, as well as to punish them. at the heart of the changes will be dealing with drugs and violence in prisons, and also cutting re—offending rates. here's our home affairs correspondent, daniel sandford. the last year has been one of the worst for prisons since the 1990s. as the staff cuts from five years ago started to bite and phones and drugs flooded in, violence soared. at the heart of the changes will be dealing with drugs somejails have been close to crisis point. but there are prisons like hmp onley in warw

the fiance of the children's author helen bailey is found guilty of her murder — dumping her body inpe of inheriting millions of pounds. astronomers discover seven ea rth—sized planets orbiting a distant star — they could potentially harbour conditions to support life. a political row has broken out about the compensation paid to the british so—called is fighter after he was detained at guantanamo bay. the supreme court says income rules preventing some people bringing in foreign spices to the uk are lawful. also this our... the top job foreign spices to the uk are lawful. also this our... the topjob in policing goes to a woman. cressida dick is appointed as the metropolitan police commissioner, becoming the first woman in the job in its 188 year history. and who

i am chris rogers and these are the headlines — the fiance of the children's author helen bailey haseen found guilty of her murder. ian stewart dumped her body ina murder. ian stewart dumped her body in a cesspit in the hope of inheriting her £4 million fortune. astronomers have discovered seven birth size planets opposite a distant star which could potentially harbour conditions to support life. a political row has broken out over a british islamic state fighter who was freed from one can obey in 2004. he is alleged to have gone on to a suicide attack in iraq. let's update you on the markets. we will return to one of our main stories tonight. the family of a british suicide bomber who carried out an attack in iraq have denied he received £i out an attack in iraq have denied he received £1 million in compensation after being freed from guantanamo bay. it has been reported by the daily mail that jamal al—harith received the pay—out from the uk government after being freed from captivity in 2004. the family say that the figure was a group settle m e nt that the figure was a group settl

the sunday express has more details about the man who murdered the children's author helen bailey.icking off with the telegraph and the story about brexit, lord uniting potentially to soften brexit. that will pause consternation for some people? of course. it seems like this has been going on for ages, these debates around brexit, and we still haven't triggered article 50, the formal mechanism by which we leave the european union. the withdrawal from the eu bill has already been driven house of commons, it went through unamended and is now going through the house of lords, where the relationship is different and the arrangements about patronage, they will get voted out if they don't follow the will of the people as it were. it doesn't quite apply to the house of lords, so of course they are little bit freer to tinker with the legislation. they have put through a raft of amendments. one of them concerns the rights of europeans over here and one is about having a vote on the entire deal once we get there. these are the things the telegraph is telling us there will be some cross—party

the sunday express has more details about the man who murdered the children's author helen bailey.et us begin with the sunday telegraph, interesting story about the lords, really, and the "brexit" bill, saying the peers are uniting to soft "brexit", to soften "brexit", theresa may may not like this. mcilroy she was hanging over their shoulders, this. mcilroy she was hanging over theirshoulders, imploring this. mcilroy she was hanging over their shoulders, imploring them to do the right thing, and available of the people. unlike in the house of commons, where there were not any amendments put forward to the bill, and it passed through the house of commons, now there will be opportunities for peers to put down amendments and in fact they have, many of them, but the ones gaining the most support include one which promises to guarantee rights of eu citizens already living here, and also one which would give everyone in parliament an opportunity to sort of vote on the final deal when it is done. and it's interesting because if you think about the composition of the house of lords, they

this is the main picture with ian stewart and his wife helen bailey, convicted of her murder yesterdaywing definitely she is pregnant, if there was any doubt. she is part of an advertising campaign for a big cosmetics company and that is what she has chosen to show she has a baby on the way. that is the official news. some rugby stories took my eye in the times. germany wa nt took my eye in the times. germany want to be the next rugby superpower. they are funded by a marketing billionaire pouring money into them over the last decade. they wa nt into them over the last decade. they want tojoin into them over the last decade. they want to join the six nations one into them over the last decade. they want tojoin the six nations one day alongside george, romania, spain, russia, and germany, all pushing to be the next european superpower. —— georgia. another nice nice story about the england coach, eddie jones. he took his dog to the party is today. i am waiting for the day our boss says we is today. i am waiting for the day our boss says we can is today. i am waiting for the day our boss s

the sunday express has more details about the man who murdered the children's author helen bailey.rl died hours after a gp refused to see her because she turned up a few minutes late for an emergency appointment. and the sunday mirror reports that the fiancee of notorious prisoner charles bronson is also working as an escort. so, let's begin. we are starting with the observer newspaper and a big headline across the front. jeremy corbyn to take the blame, or we face disaster. that word disaster has been thrown around a lot in the last 2a hours. has been thrown around a lot in the last 24 hours. it has, and this is after labour won one of the by—election seat, but it lost copeland which it has held since 1935 and it is very unusual for a government to seize a by—election seat. we have now seen the deputy leader, tom watson, and keir starmer, labour's brexit spokesman, criticising jeremy corbyn, who when asked after the results who should be taking responsibility, was it him? he said no. there is increasing pressure from other members of the party for him to take some of the blame. an

the fiance of children's author helen bailey, who murdered her and dumped her body in a cesspit, hasrugging and suffocating ms bailey in a plot to inherit her money. her body was found under their garage in hertfordshire lastjuly. the judge said it was "difficult to imagine a more heinous crime". prisons in england and wales will expected to reform and rehabilitate offenders, as well as punish them, under new plans to overhaul the prisons system. other measures presented to parliament today include to clamp down on the use of drugs and mobile phones injail. thejustice secretary said the bill aims to reduce prison violence and cut re—offending. cctv images of the moment a convicted murderer escaped during a hospital visit have been released by police. shaun walmsley, 28, was getting into a cab with prison officers when he was sprung from custody by two armed men. walmsley is described as "highly dangerous". polls have closed and counting will get underway shortly in two by—elections. both were labour seats — copeland in cumbria and stoke—on—trent central. our deputy political editor,

the fiance of children's author helen bailey, who murdered her and dumped her body in a cesspit, hasconvicted of secretly drugging and suffocating ms bailey in a plot to inherit her money. her body was found under their garage in hertfordshire lastjuly. the judge said it was "difficult to imagine a more heinous crime". voters are at the polls today in two parliamentary by—elections in staffordshire and cumbria following the resignations of the labour mps in stoke on trent central and copeland. the polls are open until 10pm tonight. the results are expected around 3am tomorrow. iraqi security forces have made a breakthrough in their offensive against so—called islamic state in iraq's second city, mosul. they've taken the city's airport, a key staging point in the battle 0ur correspondent quentin sommerville was there as iraqi government troops fought their way in. before the attack came the hour strikes, rockets and artillery. —— the air strikes. it is the fifth day of the offensive to to rip the leg—mac retake westernmost all. slowly, the forces make their way past a suspected ids ca

the headlines at 7.45pm — the fiance of the children's author helen bailey, has been found guilty ofstronomers have discovered seven ea rth—sized planets orbiting a distant star, which could potentially harbour conditions to support life. a political row has broken out over a british is fighter who was freed from guantanamo bay in 200a. he is alleged to have gone on to commit a suicide attack in iraq. let's show you the markets. astronomers have detected seven ea rth—sized planets orbiting a single star. the researchers say that all seven could potentially support liquid water on the surface, depending on the other properties of those planets. but only three are within the conventional "habitable" zone where life is considered a possibility. in the last few hours nasa held a press conference about their findings — with one of the scientists saying the discovery meant that finding "a second earth" was "not a matter of if, but when". they have discovered other so—called planets like this before, that orbits the star in a similar position to the earth, but it is down to a few degrees di

the fiance of the author helen bailey, who's accused of her murder, has told a jury that his mind wasur correspondent ben ando is outside the court in st albans. what has the court been hearing today? this is the second day that iain stewart has faced cross—examination by the prosecutor. iain stewart is saying that when helen bailey disappeared last april she had been abducted by two shady former business associates of her late husband that he said were named joe and nick. they visited the house ona joe and nick. they visited the house on a couple of previous occasions and their manner had been threatening. after she disappeared he sent a series of text messages to her phone. the prosecution asked why her phone. the prosecution asked why he sent those messages to her if he knew she was in the hands of kidnappers, why did he urge her to contact the police when he presumably knew she could not, and he replied, you might not believe this but my mind was totally messed. he was asked why he sent a text message saying, i have respected your wishes. he said he thought that might bea your wis

he said no, they had a mat he willic bitter taste and helen bailey had an extraordinary good sense of said, i had no reason to kill her. our life was idyllic. i was extremely lucky. i had more money than i could spend. it wasn't him who had change that had standing order. the trial continues. the scriptwriter alan simpson has died at the age of 87 after a long battle with lung disease. his manager said he was famous for his writing partnership with ray galton. we've seen europe and the nhs debated at pmqs. now to westminster to get more. after prime minister's questions, it is back to debating brexit and the european union bill. the third day of debate and voting on that and the crucial vote this evening at about 8.00 on the final vote on the european union bill which will empower the prime minister and the government to formally begin the process of negotiating britain's withdrawal from the eu. if it goes through successfully in the house of commons it goes through to the lord's later this month. how do you see it going for the rest of the day here? so far, we've amendments to vote o

after the author helen bailey was murdered by a man she met while grieving for her first husband, we'llting new relationships. after victory in stoke and defeat in cumbria, we'll ask the shadow chancellorjohn mcdonnell what a mixed night for labour means for the party and jeremy corbyn's leadership. and they've been in decline for years, but we'll find out about a new plan to save the uk's last remaining red squirrels and how you can get involved. all that still to come. but now a summary of this morning's main news. the conservatives have won the cumbrian seat of copeland which had been in labour's hands for more than 80 years. in the night's other result labour held on to stoke central, with ukip leader paul nuttall finishing in second place. this report from our political correspondent tom bateman contains flash photography. harrison, trudy lynn, the conservative party candidate, 13,748. voters here had chosen a labour mp for the last 80 years. but all that changed in a dramatic night as the conservatives took copeland by 2000 votes. what has happened tonight is a truly historic even

stewart drugged and suffocated helen bailey before throwing her body into a cesspit hidden under thee. ministers are calling it the biggest reform of prisons in england and wales for a generation. for the first time, the government will state in black and white that a key purpose of prison is to reform offenders as well as to punish them. at the heart of the changes will be dealing with drugs and violence in prisons, and also cutting re—offending rates. here's our home affairs correspondent, daniel sandford. the last year has been one of the worse for prisons since the 1990s. as the staff cuts of five years ago started to bite and phones and drugs flooded in, violence soared.