our deputy political editor, john pienaar, is in westminster for us tonight. an we draw on the state of the election campaign, and beyond? labour can count on the votes of a lot of people who say, "let's have better services and make the better off pay for it by paying more taxes". they may also look at diane abbott and say that we all make m ista kes abbott and say that we all make mistakes but we're not all the shadow home secretary at election time i'm guessing diane abbott may wish you could rewind today and play it with a different ending. labour does not have enough trust in the bank to be able to squander it in the way she and her party risked doing today. as for to reason make we don't really know how she would use a fresh mandate if she got one. we will know more when the tories publish their manifesto in a week or two. right now, theresa may is trying to build trust and turn it into votes so she wins big enough to have the commons behind her when the time comes for unpopular decisions on tax, spending, maybe pensions and an brexit. some people look at

john pienaar, bbc news.e other stories making the news this evening. a former newcastle united youth team football coach, george ormond, has been charged with 29 historical sexual offences, alleged to have taken place between 1973 and 1998. mr ormond, who is 61, is due to appear before magistrates next month. a man has beenjailed for more than nine years for a hit—and—run crash which killed a four year old girl. aidan mcateer lost control of the stolen car at st helens on merseyside. violet grace youens was killed. her grandmother who was carrying her at the time suffered serious injuries. greater manchester police say moors murderer ian brady's body shouldn't be cremated in the city or surrounding area where he carried out his crimes out of respect to his victims' families. brady died in prison on monday. voting has finally ended tonight in iran's presidential elections after polling stations had to be kept open much longer than they were meant to be because of an unexpectedly high turnout. long queues form

john pienaar, bbc news, southampton.d liberal democrat leader, nick clegg, has said that ordinary people will pay the price of a hard brexit and warned people not to allow the conservatives to rule unopposed. in a campaign speech, mr clegg accused theresa may of seeking to pull the wool over voters‘ eyes about the damage brexit was already doing, and urged people to vote for a real oppositon in the liberal democrats. in scotland, the first minister nicola sturgeon has urged young people to back the snp, claiming that younger generations are being let down by the conservative government. she claimed that by the time they reach their early 30s, the wealth accumulated by young people born in the 1980s will be half that of those born in the 1970s. the green party say they will offer voters the chance of a second referendum on brexit with an option to remain in the eu. the party's election manifesto will include a pledge for a ‘ratification referendum' to be held after the eu has agreed the terms of brexit if the majority of

john pienaar reports from there.sa may, straight from the british front in the struggle against terrorism. here to build alliances with partners and repair them with the biggest one of all. she wanted more co—operation against terrorism and no more damage to investigations, like the leaks of intelligence by american officials after the manchester attack. we have a special relationship with the usa, it is our deepest defence and security partnership that we have. of course, that partnership is built on trust, and part of that trust is knowing that intelligence can be shared confidently. i will be making clear to president trump today that intelligence that is shared between law—enforcement agencies must remain secure. thank you. these images of bomb debris after the blast were leaked to us media by american officials, so was the bomber‘s identity. british officials were furious by the leaks and the story dogged the president. reporter: can the british trust the americans with intelligence? no answer yet, but at a cere

john pienaar, there., the crowd is gathering and the audience has arrived to make their way into the senate house. a great airof way into the senate house. a great air of excitement. and a quick reminder that tonight's bbc election debate, featuring seven party representatives and chaired by my colleague, mishal husein, will be on bbc one and the bbc news channel at 7.30pm. but for now, from cambridge, it's back to george. a breast surgeon has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for carrying out needless and life—changing operations on patients. ian paterson, who's 59, was convicted of 17 counts of wounding with intent and three of unlawful wounding at a trial last month. jurors were told he exaggerated the risk of cancer to persuade his patients to consent to surgery. though the case related to ten patients, it's thought many more could have been affected. our health editor, hugh pym, reports. a rogue surgeon who thought he was untouchable. he had the total trust of vulnerable patients, but he maimed an

john pienaar, bbc news, southampton.former liberal democrat leader, nick clegg, has said that "ordinary people" will pay the price of a "hard brexit" and warned people not to follow the conservatives to rule unopposed. in a campaign speech, mr clegg accused theresa may of seeking to "pull the wool" over voters' eyes about the damage brexit was already doing and urged people to vote for a "real opposition" — the liberal democrats. first minister nicola sturgeon has urged young people to back the snp so they can have a strong voice in westminster. speaking at a rally in edinburgh, she said younger generations are being let down by the tory government. the green party say they will offer voters the chance of a second referendum with an option to remain in the eu. the party's election manifesto will include a pledge for a " ratification referendum" to be held after the eu has agreed the terms of brexit, if the majority of the electorate are unhappy with the final deal. well, let's go back to our political editor, laura kuens

john pienaar, bbc news, brussels. 0ur north america editorjon sopel is in brussels. let me take you backspending. let me take you back to the argument over nato defence spendingm let me take you back to the argument over nato defence spending. it was an extraordinary lecture from donald trump. it was extraordinary i suppose, except by the standards of donald trump who came to the summit with the idea of reading the riot act. it would not have been a co mforta ble act. it would not have been a comfortable listen for those leaders, and yet the relationship between them and donald trump is not quite as cordial as it might appear at events like this. meanwhile nato will offer more cooperation to the organisation is going on against islamic state in iraq and syria to help with such things as mid air refuelling of combat flight. britain will be committing more forces to training on the ground in afghanistan. as far as the argument over information being leaked, british ministers will hope they can believe american reassurances that will stop in future. hope is all they can do, and when you loo

john pienaar, bbc news, southampton.s final stages with the run—off between emanuel macron and marine le pen just four days away. on monday, both candidates gave fiery speeches at rallies in paris. a day later, parts of marine le pen's speech are trending on social media — but not for the reasons she intended. marine le pen stands accused of plagiarism. her campaign manager, david rachline, has played down the incident saying "it was a nod and a wink to the speech. i'm sure it was appreciated, including by all of mr fillon's supporters." gavin lee was at an event in paris which marine le pen attended. this is as up close and personal as it gets. marine le pen is addressing the african civil society in paris. iam the african civil society in paris. i am whispering because i am probably talking louder than marine le pen. the situation is, she needs every single vote every single she le pen. the situation is, she needs every single she can get. she just referred to her speech, she said, ultimately, doing this, the world wou

john pienaar, bbc news.d for life last year after he killed four men. their bodies were all found outside his flat or in a churchyard nearby. yet their deaths were not initially treated as murder, and detectives missed a number of chances to catch the killer. now the families of the victims say they're dismayed by the slow progress of an inquiry into why police took so long to catch him. here's our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford. the graveyard in barking that was stephen port‘s dumping ground for three of the bodies of the four men he killed with the date—rape drug ghb. his first victim was 23—year—old anthony walgate, the last 25—year—old jack taylor. theirfamilies have been waiting for an investigation by the independent police complaints commission into why detectives failed to spot that there was a serial killer at work for so long. but this week, they told me their patience has run out. i don't feel that the ipcc are in control of the investigation at all. i think it's the police dictating t

here's our deputy political editor, john pienaar. guess who came after all — and what an entrance.rbyn left it late, but how could he resist trying to show up theresa may, who stayed away? this was his chance — and look at him. he meant to take it if he could. she came to stop him. her leader's favoured, amber rudd. a single mission — take down jeremy corbyn. wherever theresa may was, she wanted this, the nearest thing this election has to a contact sport, to go her way. amber rudd was straight into the attack after mr corbyn criticised treatment of those on disability benefits. you're not credible! jeremy, jeremy, i know there this no extra payment you don't want to add to. no tax you don't want to rise. but the fact is we have to concentrate our resources on the people who need it most, and we have to stop thinking, as you do, that there is a magic money tree. you have to be accountable. i'd like to bring in some of the other parties... it has already a personal confrontation. the labour leader counterattacking on poverty. i would just say this — since amber rudd seem so confiden

john pienaar, bbc news, southampton.of greater manchester police, sir peter fahy. it's good to see you. thanks for being with us. hello. over four yea rs, being with us. hello. over four years, 10,000 police officers, £300 million, does that make sense to you, which is the costing that the labour party have put out? that sounds like the costs for one year. it depends how that is spread over four years. then there are a lot of additional costs beyond salary, things like equipment and training and the recruitment costs. so i think probably 300 million is quite a low figure. yeah, the suggestion is that if you do add in all those other things that you mentioned, the cost of cs spray, police radios, body—worn cameras, tasers, uniforms, it's an extra cost of £130 million. that's right. but i think overall you've got to question whether this would be the best use of this money. policing is facing a number of challenges, particularly the growth in internet fraud, huge increase in the number of sexual offences, including histori

john pienaar, bbc news.ur voters. and as mr corbyn was outlining labour‘s foreign policy plans, mrs may accused him of deserting proud and patriotic working class people. here‘s our political editor laura kuenssberg. labour for the many, not the few. what the tories might expect, a raw reception in much of the north—east of england. the tories will ruin our environment. will the conservatives win around here? no. it is a small selection of people canvassing for the tories, we have a huge following for the labour. but inside, theresa may believes she can swell these polite ranks of her supporters, trying to stir up national pride with talk of security and defence, while slamming her labour opponents, who have been in charge around here for a long time. proud and patriotically working—class people in towns and cities across britain have not deserted the labour party, jeremy corbyn has deserted them. we respect that parents and grandparents taught their children and grandchildren that labour was a party that sh

john pienaar, bbc news, york. we have heard mr corbyn say this has been carefully costed.f the manifesto. what do you make of the political challenges? you have a lwa ys the political challenges? you have always seen, idea by idea, there is always seen, idea by idea, there is a lot in this plan which is potentially popular, which are people and corporations pay more in tax. hard—pressed schools and hospitals getting more money getting more money after seven long years of austerity. never imagine these ideas are there simply because they may be vote catchers. jeremy corbyn believes deeply that society is unfair. that markets have failed that the deck has been stacked by and for the house and they have not. his belief is socialism which is unsha keable and he his belief is socialism which is unshakeable and he will carry on believing whatever happens in this election. the challenge is to convince the unconvince these plans are practicable and affordable. there is still more we want to see in that. how much will higher earners have it pay in tax. what about wealth and propert

john pienaar, bbc news. hassan rouhani is on course for a victory in iran.led to polling being extended by six hours. with me to discuss is a reporter from hours. with me to discuss is a reporterfrom our hours. with me to discuss is a reporter from our persian service. we are expecting results from the interior ministry at 7am in iran. expectations are that hassan rouhani will win. high turnout has changed that? yes. what are the differences between the hard line and the moderate, hassan rouhani. relations with the outside world. social freedoms. the state of the economy. the conservative conservative camp has always been arguing the government has mismanaged the country and they did not reap the benefits of the iran nuclear deal. they promised three times more benefits than the people are getting. they appealed to the poor who have not received the benefits of what was promised from the iran nuclear deal. on the other hand, hassan rouhani promises better relations with the west. he promises social freedoms and so on. he also promised to reduce the biting im

john pienaar, bbc news.aiming a victory after swedish prosecutors decided to drop their investigation into claims he carried out a sexual assault. but he remains in the ecuadorean embassy in london where he took refuge five years ago. british police say if he was to leave they would still arrest him for failing to attend court. caroline hawley reports. out into the fresh air. cheering. on the balcony of the ecuadorian embassy, julian assange emerged this afternoon to have his say on the end of the swedish investigation against him. today is an important victory, for me and for the un human rights system. seven years without charge, why my children grew up without me. that is not something that i can forgive. it is not something that i can forget. but the prosecutor in sweden hasn't cleared julian assange. she said that, in his absence, she simply couldn't pursue the case any further. translation: the decision to discontinue the investigation is not based on an assessment of the evidence but because we don't

john pienaar, bbc news, liverpool.t its future after winning just one of the council seats it was contesting. it's lost all 13 councillors in lincolnshire where its leader, paul nuttall, is running in the general election. he says the party is a victim of its own success. the former ukip mp douglas carswell says it's all over for ukip. 0ur political correspondent alex forsyth reports from boston in lincolnshire. this lincolnshire market town has been ripe ukip turf. boston has seen a surge in migration from eastern europe. more people here backed brexit than anywhere else in britain. but, last night, voters abandoned ukip. they were there for a purpose. they got us a referendum, and we're getting us out. so i think they did what they set out to do. they're a spent force. i don't think they'll do much now. most of ukip's support here, and almost all of the county council seats, went to the tories. it's not a local issue, but some say they are the party to deliver brexit. i don't think ukip had any idea of how to do it.

from sicily, john pienaar reports. stagey affairs, these summits.tars, some loving the spotlight. britain's leader, keen to use it. sometimes it is hard to move, let alone grab attention here, all with those watching at home. you canjust attention here, all with those watching at home. you can just see theresa may behind donald trump. but after the outrage in manchester, she was keen to lead the line against terrorism. she urged leaders to do more against online extremism, to get web companies to identify and block harmful content, to alert authorities. she wanted action against terrorists stepped up. the threat of terrorism on all of our countries face. and now more than ever, we must strengthen our resolve to ove rco m e ever, we must strengthen our resolve to overcome this threat together and stand firm against those who want to destroy our precious values and way of life. no one imagines there are easy a nswe rs of life. no one imagines there are easy answers to terrorism, here at the summit, or anywhere else. as party campaigning resumes, the d

john pienaar, bbc news, westminster. the energy industry have criticised the plans to cap prices arguing the move would stifle competition and hurt customers. our business editor simon jack is here to look at what effect a price cap could have. the stubborn problem is people could pay less if they shopped around but for some reason they don't and they end up paying far too much. two thirds of people, 17 million households are still on the standard tariff, that's usually the most expensive. people like the broughtons. adam and margaret from eccles near manchester have been with the same supplier for 30 years so why haven't they switched? it's just impossible to compare like with like because the tariffs are all so confusing deliberately so, you know, so people can't make an informed choice. after about two hours ploughing through, ijust gave up and thought better the devil i know, get a bill, go and pay it at the bank. i know i have paid it. now competition authorities reckon the non—switchers are collectively being overc

more on the conservatives in a moment but first here's our deputy political editor john pienaar.annot fall too far behind. more free childcare might play well with voters. some say don't play with children. itjeremy corbyn knows what looks and sounds good. ought to know. look at these wonderful children here, they all need a childcare place, so ours is a universal provision so every child gets a place of at least 30 hours a week from 22 aged four. playtime over, onto women's hour, what could go wrong. how much will it will it be to provide childcare for 1.3 million children. it will cost a lot to do so. i presume you have the figures? yes i do. so how much will it cost? i will give you the figures ina minute. it cost? i will give you the figures in a minute. you are logging into youripad in a minute. you are logging into your ipad in a minute. can i give your ipad in a minute. can i give you the exact figure in a minute. your ipad in a minute. can i give you the exact figure in a minutem this an issue with people in the labour party which came up under gordon brown, we cannot tru

john pienaar, bbc news. it was not labour's policies but the competence of its leader that was the focus of their fire today. in a speech about brexit the prime minister questioned jeremy corbyn‘s fitness to conduct talks with the eu. but labour says theresa may's negotiating position so far had made britain a laughing stock in europe. here's our political editor laura kuenssberg. your road, everyone's avenue. it's on all our streets and on the doors where elections are really decided. has a shakier few days for theresa may made much difference? ijust wish she'd make her mind up and stick to it. i mean, i know it's a woman's privilege... but they shouldn't do it in politics. turned against pensioners, hasn't she? but on plenty of doorsteps, the perceptions of the two leaders could hardly be more far apart. oh, i like her. well, everything she does is so proficient. i don't like that mr corbyn to be the head of the labour party, if they get in. i can't see them getting in, can you? i like theresa may, i think

john pienaar, bbc news, westminster. has criticised the plans to cap prices, arguing the move would stifle competition and hurt customers. we've asked our business editor simon jack to look at the likely impact of a price cap. adam and margaret from eccles, near manchester, have been with the same energy supplier for 30 years. and when their bill arrives every three months, they go to the bank to pay it in full. they could pay less if they shopped around. so why haven't they? it is just impossible to compare like with like because the tariffs are so confusing, deliberately so, so people can't make an informed choice. after two hours ploughing through i gave up and thought better the devil i know, get a bill, go and pay it at the bank, i know i've paid it. the conservative plan for a cap on energy bills, like the old labour plan before it, is aimed squarely at adam and margaret and millions like them. according to the regulator 0fgem, two thirds of all energy customers, that is 17 million households, are on standard varia

0ur deputy political editor john pienaar has talking to voters in bradford. spread the word. is this manifesto a vote winner, an election winner? yes, it is. it's proved to be extremely popular, even when it was leaked, it was popular. now they've seen more detail, it's even more popular. is it a winner, what do you think? of course, it's a winner. we're going to save the nhs, we're going to reverse the cuts to schools. 23 days, one purpose for these shadow ministers now. hit the road. just a shortjog from labour's big launch, in this bradford gym club it's clear labour has ground to cover. labour underjeremy corbyn, what do you think? i quite like his policies, but i don't think they're doable. what do you think? i agree, i don't think they're doable. why not? i just don't think they are. this is where the election‘s being decided, here where millions of us make up our minds before june 8. not many, maybe not enough of us, comb through detailed policy. but voters will decide should the state own and do more of what we need? can the country afford it? can we?

john pienaar, bbc news, the g7 in sicily. police numbers and their ability to keep us safe. and this week's bombing has again raised questions about government strategy, and whether it has the right powers to deal with those who pose a potential risk. our home editor mark easton reports. the murder of lee rigby in woolwich, 2013, prompted david cameron to reshape his counterterrorism strategy. will be absolutely resolute in its stand against violent extremism... the focus was on home grown extremism, with public sector workers becoming legally obliged to inform police if they thought someone was displaying extremist behaviour. the government set up an extremism task force and proposed a counter—extremism bill, with tough powers against anyone deemed to be an extremist. but the legislation now looks unlikely ever to happen because ministers struggled to define extremism, and concerns the approach fosters suspicion and distrust in largely law—abiding muslim communities. the terror attacks in paris in 2015 sent a shockwave acros

john pienaar, bbc news, halifax.n the context of theresa may‘s talk about main stream government? well, saying she wants to bea government? well, saying she wants to be a main stream government for the main stream, it sounds rather a clever if, rather a potentially meaningless slogan, what does she meaningless slogan, what does she mean by it? the first thing to say about theresa may is she does not see herself as a grand philosopher. not because he is without ideas but because she believes that is not the type of politicians she wants to be 01’ type of politicians she wants to be or that it is not what the voters wa nt or that it is not what the voters want either. and it also means she doesn‘t wand want to feel tied to a strand of tory thinking. we have seen that today. she is happy to distance herself from the really untrammelled free are markets of the past. happy to bring back controversial, rather old fashioned—sounding ideas like the grammar schools, and happy to risk pulling back benefits for the older voters

john pienaar, bbc news.ll the party's policies on childcare on the bbc website — bbc. co. uk/election2oi7. for the conservatives it was not labour's policies but the competence of its leader that was the focus of their fire today. in a speech about brexit, the prime minister questioned jeremy corbyn‘s fitness to conduct talks with the eu. but labour says mrs may's negotiating position so far had made britain a laughing stock in europe. here's our political editor laura kuenssberg. your road, everyone‘s avenue. it's on all our streets and on the doors where elections are really decided. has a shakier few days for theresa may made much difference? ijust wish she'd make her mind up and stick to it. i mean, i know it's a woman's privilege... but they shouldn't do it in politics. turned against pensioners, hasn't she? but on plenty of doorsteps, the perceptions of the two leaders could hardly be more far apart. oh, i like her. well, everything she does is so proficient. i don't like that mr corbyn to be the head

john pienaar, bbc news.ay was campaigning in the north—east today, in an attempt to win over labour voters. and as mr corbyn was outlining labour's foreign—policy plans, mrs may accused him of deserting proud and patriotic working—class people. here is laura kuenssberg. labour for the many, not the few. what the tories might expect, a raw reception in much of the north—east of england. the tories will ruin our environment. will the conservatives win around here? no. it is a small selection of people canvassing for the tories, we have a huge following for the labour. but inside, theresa may believes she can swell these polite ranks of her supporters, trying to stir up national pride with talk of security and defence, while slamming her labour opponents, who have been in charge around here for a long time. proud and patriotically working—class people in towns and cities across britain have not deserted the labour party, jeremy corbyn has deserted them. we respect that parents and grandparents taught their chil

the metro mayoral contests in manchester and liverpool, from where our deputy political editor, john pienaar you fit to lead the labour party? he does not look happy, even a bit tense, defeats and setbacks in the north and the midlands hard to take. and then, you would almost believe that labour was having a good day. almost. we have had some difficult results overnight. some have been very good. labour liverpool picked a labour mayor, a moment of comfort for steve rotherham, former mp, just now, jeremy corbyn could use a little comfort. in light of the results we are seeing, do you accept you need to raise your game before the general election, or is your campaign now as good as it gets? obviously we need to gain support. compared to two—year ‘s ago we are doing our best, doing well. we have further to go, everybody understands that, but there are a large number of people who did not vote in local elections and a very large number who have still yet to register to vote, and i hope they will register by may the 22nd. labour loyalty runs deep on merseyside, reliable as the mersey ferry, the c

john pienaar, bbc news.e would never ordered its use, either first or in clear he would never ordered its use, eitherfirst or in retaliation. what you say to supporters of british military power, when it's not clear in what circumstances you would ever order forces into battle, in or out of nato, and including strikes against islamic state. rachel younger from itv news. you say military action in some circumstances is necessary. you posted in both kosovo and sierra leone. in retrospect, where those interventions the right thing to do? in four weeks' interventions the right thing to do? in fourweeks' time, interventions the right thing to do? in four weeks' time, you could be prime minister and commanders in chief. when you think about the enormity of the office, is that the pa rt of enormity of the office, is that the part of the job that scares you most? he mentioned the problem of the vetoes. how else would you seek legitimacy for action, and what is your reaction to responsibility to protect in a humanita