let's go to jonathan blake. he is in firm with — whim? let's go to jonathan blake.go to jonathan blake. he is in firm with the lib _ whim? let's go to jonathan blake. he is in firm with the lib dems _ whim? let's go to jonathan blake. he is in firm with the lib dems have - is in firm with the lib dems have secured a huge win overnight from the and frome constituency. we saw sir ed davies celebrating. this is huge for the party put up talk about the significance of that and how big a blow it is to the conservatives. it is a blow for the conservatives it's a big win for the liberal democrats undoubtedly. they raise expectations over the last couple of years or so, really in terms of how well they are going to do in these by elections that crop up in areas where they are seen as the main challenger to the tories. this is the ford centre 2019 election that the ford centre 2019 election that the lib dems have taken from the conservatives. they were company from the start for that the only question was how big the win was going to be, how much they would be able to overtu

you _ payment into this area. jonathan blake, welcome.oke to i payment into this area. jonathan | blake, welcome. you spoke to ed davey a short time ago. clearly delighted at the huge win for his party with an 11,000 seat majority. a big win for the liberal democrats. no doubt about it. 0vernight here at somerton and frome. they were confident at the start of this campaign, the only question was how much they would win by, and how far there would be able to overturn that a sizeable majority that the tories had in the seat. and, they campaigned hard throughout, claiming to have knocked on thousands of dos apps across this vast rural constituency here in somerset. it came good for them overnight. they claimed victory before midnight, talked about romping home, and the conservative vote being in freefall. that was borne out by the result we eventually saw in the early hours of this morning. no doubt, the lib dems arejubilant. they will this morning. no doubt, the lib dems are jubilant. they will have this morning. no doubt, the lib dems arej

thank you jonathan blake _ required criteria. thank you jonathan blake are - required criteria.litical correspondent in westminster. the bbc has been told that the former brexit party leader nigel farage had his bank accounts at the prestigious private bank coutts closed because they fell below the financial threshold required for customers. our business editor, simonjack has the story. nigel farage posted a statement that is a bank was going to close the comments because it was a politically exposed person, his profile made him controversial. eventually it was found that the bank was coots, which caters to the very rich and people are familiar with the situation said the decision to drop and was a customer was not a political decision but a commercial decision and pointed us towards the thresholds posted on their website about how much money needed to be a coots customer for something needs to borrow or invest £1000 with the bank or have 3 million bones in saving. they also said they offered nigel farage a plain vanilla high street bank account, which actually owns coots, mr fa

thank you, chi chi izundu in uxbridge, jonathan blake - less.o ardell in selby. -- tim —— tim iredale in selby. let's go to westminster now for the thoughts of our chief political correspondent, nick eardley. sum up for us where we are after this dramatic night. it isa it is a more complicated picture than most people were expecting. that result in uxbridge which chi chi wasjust talking that result in uxbridge which chi chi was just talking about is a softening of the blow for rishi sunak, but it is still below. and we have got a bit of a pattern emerging now because in the past 18 months, the conservatives have now lost six constituencies, which in 2019, they won pretty comfortably. that is what we have seen overnight in selby, with the labour again and that is what we have seen overnight in somerton with the lib dem gain. all of that will worry conservative mps this lunchtime. there are still outstanding questions. what is the enthusiasm for the labour party actually like? is this about conservative voters not turning out? and faced with a gen

our political correspondent, jonathan blake, is there for us now.this take me through the decision, the ruling itself, first of all.— ruling itself, first of all. this is a decision _ ruling itself, first of all. this is a decision which _ ruling itself, first of all. this is a decision which ruled - ruling itself, first of all. this is a decision which ruled that - ruling itself, first of all. this is a decision which ruled that the j a decision which ruled that the government's practice, which has been going on for a couple of years orso been going on for a couple of years or so now, of housing unaccompanied children, who have come to the uk attempting to claim asylum, in hotels for periods of time, it is, as you said in the introduction, unlawful, and this was action brought by a child trafficking charity, along with two local authorities in the south of england. they argued that the practice was not fit for purpose. the high courts ultimately agreed. mrjustice chamberlain, thejudge looking at this in his findings said that this should only happe

jonathan blake in westminster and rebecca curran in aberdeen, thank you.a thrilling victory over australia at the final test at the oval mean england have levelled the ashes series 2—2. australia were bowled out for 334, handing england a 49—run win. stuart broad — in his final match before retirement — took the last two wickets in front of a packed crowd. 0ur sports correspondentjoe wilson was watching the action. perfect endings are beautifully rare, so let's trace the tale of how stuart broad reached this one. it began with another bowler, chris woakes, with early wickets at the oval to give england belief. but australia had their goal, they were aiming for 384 to win the match. with steve smith and with travis head, it certainly seemed reachable. they were 264—3. england had serious work to do. so did the ground staff. for hours we watched the rain and reflected. and then, mayhem. moeen ali wasn't really fit. he got rid of head for a3. smith made 5a and no more. chris woakes's role pivotal. still two more to take. who's that young man? yeah, pretty goo

thank you, jonathan blake and _ concerns of londoners. thank you, jonathan blake and westminster.? i suppose that depends which side you _ expected decision? i suppose that depends which side you are - expected decision? i suppose that depends which side you are on - expected decision? i suppose that| depends which side you are on that we havejust had depends which side you are on that we have just had the judgment depends which side you are on that we havejust had thejudgment inside the high court a few moments ago, in the high court a few moments ago, in the last ten or 15 minutes or so. the high court read the ruling this morning we expect 10am that we got on the expanded ultralow emission zone and you heard, five conservative councils had argued the london mayor had acted unlawfully to expand the ulez zone, he had exceeded his powers within this scheme. we saw some of those people in court today that were making that challenge not very pleased with the outcome because they have failed in that claim and the high court has indeed dismissed it, meaning that from a month tomorrow

now let's take you to jonathan blake. hi, a big i you tojonathan blake.ries and a huge win for the lib dems. it was a huge win. the only question _ for the lib dems. it was a huge win. the only question for _ for the lib dems. it was a huge win. the only question for the _ for the lib dems. it was a huge win. the only question for the lib - for the lib dems. it was a huge win. the only question for the lib dems. the only question for the lib dems in the only question for the lib dems to this— the only question for the lib dems in this campaign— the only question for the lib dems in this campaign was _ the only question for the lib dems in this campaign was how - the only question for the lib dems in this campaign was how big - the only question for the lib dems in this campaign was how big the l the only question for the lib dems . in this campaign was how big the win was going _ in this campaign was how big the win was going to — in this campaign was how big the win was going to he _ in this campaign was how big the win was going to be. they— in this cam

the issue has dominated the build—up to the visit. jonathan blake reports. mr president, thank you.d offer an opportunity to do business. good afternoon. joe biden arrives in the uk a month after he and the prime minister signed a new agreement to strengthen the longstanding relationship between the uk and the us. the president of the - united states, joe biden. downing street sees the president's visit as an opportunity to take stock of progress on the so—called atlantic declaration. ahead ofjoe biden�*s arrival, rishi sunak said the us was the uk's most important trade, defence and diplomatic partner, and the alliance was part of the foundation of britain's strength and security. but that alliance is being tested on the issue of cluster bombs, which the us is supplying to ukraine. the uk is one of many countries to have banned the weapons with a record of killing civilians. and yesterday, the prime minister said the uk discouraged their use. the uk is a signatory to a convention which prohibits the use of cluster munitions and will continue to do our part to support ukraine agains

jonathan blake, bbc news. a prisoner swap. the men were captured over a year ago, during the fierce and prolonged battle for control of the azovstal steel plant in mariupol. russia has condemed their return, saying it breaks the terms of a prisoner swap agreement. here's lee milner. ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky welcoming home five commanders of ukraine's former garrison in mariupol at a ceremony in lviv. they were brought home by the president after a visit to turkey. translation: they were fighting for ukraine. - they survived russian captivity. they spent over 300 days in turkey. it is time for them to be home. reunited with family and friends, the five commanders — hailed as heroes in ukraine — led last year's defence of the southern port of mariupol, the biggest city russia has captured in its invasion. the ukrainian defenders who held out in tunnels and bunkers under a steel plant were finally ordered by kyiv to surrender in may last year. translation: from today onwards, we will continue | the

jonathan blake, bbc news.ry, janet yellen, is leaving china after a visit to try to strengthen economic ties, saying she believes the two countries can have a healthy relationship. while in china, ms yellen held 10 hours of talks with senior chinese officials — saying the meetings had put relations between the 2 countries on a "surerfooting" — after a long period of tensions over trade and other issues. here�*s ms yellen speaking at a press conference earlier. us and china have significant disagreements. those disagreements need to be communicated clearly and directly. but president biden and i do not see the relationship between the us and china through the frame of great power conflict. we believe that the world is big enough for both of our countries to thrive. both nations have an obligation to responsibly manage this relationship, to find a way to live together and share in global prosperity. 0ur correspondent rupert wingfield hayes has been following the story from bangkok — and he gave us this analysis

jonathan blake, bbc news.r, nigel farage, over its report about the reason why his account at private bank coutts was closed. our media editor, katie razzall, joins me now. how did we get here? nigel farah said the private bank closed his account for political reasons. then earlier this month, bbc news reported that the decision had been a commercial one because it said mr farage had fallen below the bank's wealth limit. that story was based on information from someone that their journalist behind based on information from someone that theirjournalist behind it today called a trusted and senior source, but the story was wrong. after the report, mr farage acquired a dossier, and internal coutts dossier that showed that the bank, which is owned by natwest, consider him to have a xenophobic and racist views that didn't align with those values. the head of natwest apologised and then today in a letter made public by mr farage, the ceo of bbc news has also said sorry because, as she put it, the inaccurate story con

let's go live now to our political correspondent, jonathan blake, who's at westminster.en so controversial. what does this court ruling mean for the political debate about green policies? the expansion of ulez in london has become something of a flashpoint for that wider debate about green policy, and although sadiq khan says it is about keen —— clean and, there is broader discussion. labour blamed the loss of the uxbridge and south ruislip by—election on this policy and keir starmer urged the london mayor of london to reflect on it. i am told that it's still his position and conversations are ongoing, but sadiq khan seems adamant he will press ahead as planned so it is awkward for labour later keir starmer, who has to answer to critics in his own party who do not like this policy and do not want it replicated elsewhere. shadow chancellor rachel reeves says it is wrong that motorists are being clobbered by ulez. for conservatives, it is interesting because they oppose the policy and after they won the by—election last week rishi sunak was very quick to try to reassure vo

that was our political correspondent, jonathan blake on the political developments that have happenedecretary andy director—general the bbc, tim davie. we will bring any developments on the story as and when we get them. you can follow things on the live page on the bbc news website and the bbc news app as well. let's look at some other news now. this the us president, joe biden, is on his way to the uk, travelling from the dover air force base in delaware en route to london ahead of a meeting with the prime minister, rishi sunak in downing street on monday morning. he'll then meet with king charles. the us and uk have disagreed in public over the decision to send american cluster bombs to ukraine. the issue has dominated the build—up to the visit. to discuss this visit, i am joined by sir kim darroch, british ambassador to the usa between 2016 and 2019. thank you very much forjoining us. firstly, some people might not know why these cluster munitions are controversial. can you just explain to us why they are such an issue for so many? i to us why they are such an issue for so man ? .

jonathan blake, bbc news.o live to a former chief of staff, and a former chief of staff, and a former us marine stationed in europe. what was your initial reaction when you heard this news that the us was sending the cluster bombs to ukraine? good to be with you. initial reaction is that i was not surprised. both the ukrainians and the russians have been using these weapons on the battlefield, really, since the start of the invasion. and this delivery that the president has announced is as a result of a ukrainian request. so, that poses a moral dilemma to some of the countries that are signatories and the united states is not a signatory to the 2008 convention. precisely because they themselves have asked to use it on their own territory, knowing full well the implications of its use, in terms of really a terrible weapon. there's no way around it. minds are all. like when is a terrible, could you describe to us, you must seen this firsthand for yourself. just how terrible _ firsthand for yourself. just how ter

welcomed the latest offers, but others say they're not enough, as our political correspondent jonathan blakerikes is the government's hope. but afterjunior doctors in england began another walkout yesterday, they said the 6% rise they'd been offered was not enough. appointments and operations cancelled again, adding to a mounting backlog for the nhs. and, as ministers urged unions to say yes to the increases offered, they warned there could be more to come. i think there will be a new wave of strikes in the nhs and what really needs to happen is the government needs to come to the table, pay a proper pay rise to these workers. i think everybody wants that to happen. and let's get these people back to work in a proper way, in a secure way that means they're not having to come back out again. this is not finished by a long chalk and that is really because of the government's actions. the prime minister has ruled out borrowing or higher taxes to pay for these pay rises, which will cost billions more than planned. this is a fair and final settlement. an increase for some doctors in training of a

jonathan blake, bbc news.ustice system despite some of the biggest demonstrations in the country's history. furious protestors have called it an attack on democracy and are continuing to throng the streets ofjerusalem hours after compromise talks broke down. the new law will limit the power of the supreme court to challenge the government. israel'sjustice minister said it will ensure the will of voters is respected. the bbc has apologised to the former ukip leader nigel farage over a report about the reason why his account at the private bank coutts was closed. 0ur media editor katie razzall can tell us more. the head of natwest, which owns coutts bank, has already apologised to mr farage. now the head of bbc news has written to him to say sorry and the journalist behind the story has tweeted an apology, because earlier this month, the bbc reported that a private bank had closed the former uk played a's account for financial reasons. he had always said it was a political decision, and after the report, mr fara

jonathan blake speaking from westminster.says its forces are making steady progress in a counterattack against russian troops on the southeastern front line. western officials say a major thrust is under way, though reports indicate that ukrainian advances are relatively minor. in a video published by president zelensky, ukrainian troops said they had taken the village of staromaiorske. the village, which is 150km east of zaporizhzhia city, was taken under intense artillery fire and airstrikes, according to the army. russian president vladimir putin said ukraine's attacks had "significantly" intensified. 0ur correspondentjames waterhouse has the latest. for weeks, we've had ukraine probe for russian weaknesses whilst keeping the bulk of its forces in reserve. and we've seen russia pretty much do the same. and now if you look at some corners of the west, we've had some us officials describe today as being the start of a major thrust. there is a lot of excitement, but ukraine isn't using the same kind of language. in terms of w

our political correspondent, jonathan blake, is there for us now. court, what was the decision? it was, as you say, that the government's use of hotels to house children who have come to the uk seeking asylum unaccompanied is in fact unlawful. this was legal action brought by two local authorities in the south of england, kent county council and brighton and hove council, along with the child trafficking charity. figures show that this is happening quite a lot, about 3000 under 18 is in the year to october 2022 spent some time in hotel accommodation and the charity and the local authorities have argued that that was not fit for purpose. in issuing a ruling at the high court today, mrjustice chamberlain said that children should only be housed in hotels in emergencies and for short periods of time. but it had become systemic and routine, he said. and overseeing that practice, the home secretary suella braverman, had exceeded the proper limits of her powers, he ruled. going on to say that ensuring the welfare of children with no aduu the welfare of ch

our correspondent jonathan blake crowd there. course, is a different thing entirely-— entirely. i thought it was interesting _ entirely. i thought it was interesting how - entirely. i thought it was interesting how he - entirely. i thought it was - interesting how he referenced lifelong conservative voters switching to them and also lifelong labour voters, who he said it lent us their support, and that could be really significant, because will they do that when it comes to a general election?— they do that when it comes to a general election? that's right, and that's a big — general election? that's right, and that's a big question _ general election? that's right, and that's a big question for— general election? that's right, and that's a big question for the - general election? that's right, and that's a big question for the party. | that�*s a big question for the party. they have proved their track record, winning by—elections, four of them in this parliament, another in tiverton and holliston, north shropshire, chesham and ame

jonathan blake is there. sir keir starmer they are firmly sitting on the fence?w different ways not to answer a _ fence? finding a few different ways not to answer a question. - fence? finding a few different ways not to answer a question. this - fence? finding a few different ways not to answer a question. this is i fence? finding a few different ways not to answer a question. this is a | not to answer a question. this is a tricky issue for labour. the ultra low emission zone means that people who drive vehicles of a certain age have to pay £12.50 a time and will receive a fine if they don't. it's a very divisive one and outer parts of london now, where the labour mayor of london wants to extend the zone. as a potentially decisive issue and that by—election in uxbridge and south rice lake. where you now have a look labour candidate who says no. what you heard is that the labour leader is not going to tell us. will it be an issue in the future? as sir keir starmer makes a big play to take action on the environment and invest in green industries and green energies

our political correspondent jonathan blake is at westminster. of a blow for the government, jonathan? , , ., ., , , ., jonathan? figures show last year 3000 under _ jonathan? figures show last year 3000 under 18-year-olds - jonathan? figures show last year| 3000 under 18-year-olds seeking 3000 under i8—year—olds seeking asylum were housed in hotels for any period of time and many hundreds of those have sometime gone missing. and the practice, as you say, was described by campaigners in two local authorities is not fit for purpose. it has been ruled by the high court today as unlawful and mr justice chamberlain said it should only happen in emergencies for very short periods of time, but it becomes systematic and routine. and in overseeing that, he said the home secretary had exceeded the proper limits of her powers. campaigners who brought this case have welcomed the ruling but described it as a scandal that the practice has been used as so many children housed in that way have since gone missing. the government had argued this was only being us

jonathan blake, bbc news.ubject we have been talking about on this programme a lot is the difficulty in getting a dentist appointment on the nhs. charlie, you are going to be talking about this. absolutely. people are resorting to diy dentistry, such as pulling out their own teeth, because they're unable to see an nhs dentist — that's according to a new report. mps on the health and social care committee described the lack of access to dental care as "totally unacceptable". celestina olulode reports. excruciating pain caused by gum disease and no access to an nhs dentist led danielle to desperate measures. i've extracted 13 of my own teeth. last year, she told the bbc about her struggle. there are no dentists. i'd love to be able to bring a dentist up and say, "my teeth are falling out, i need help." but every time i do, it's like, "sorry, we're not taking on nhs patients any more." and i, like a lot of other people, cannot afford to go and get this treatment done privately. in the end, she relied on the kindn

with the prime minister in downing street, the president will meet the king at windsor castle. jonathan blakett lucas, professor of us and international politics, university college dublin. this is going to be a brief visit and as we heard from our correspondent, the cluster bomb situation will be top of the agenda. rishi sunak said were signed up to the treaty which does not allow the uk to produce them but he did not criticise president biden for sending them?— criticise president biden for sending them? criticise president biden for sendin: them? �*, , .,~ , ., sending them? let's break this down. the first level — sending them? let's break this down. the first level is _ sending them? let's break this down. the first level is the _ sending them? let's break this down. the first level is the uk _ sending them? let's break this down. the first level is the uk like _ sending them? let's break this down. the first level is the uk like 122 - the first level is the uk like 122 other countries is a signatory to a 2008 convention which is the prime minister mentioned pledges not to produce or use

jonathan blake, bbc news.t zelensky says he's returned home from a visit to turkey with five ukrainian commanders who were captured by russia last year. the commanders had been sent to turkey in september, under a prisoner swap deal, which obliged them to stay there. the kremlin said ukraine and turkey had violated the terms of the agreement. nearly 700 migrants arrived in the uk after crossing the channel, in the highest number on a single day so far this year. 686 people were recorded on friday, according to the home office. the previous daily high for this year was on the 11th ofjune, when 549 people made the trip. the environmental campaign group, just stop 0il, are believed staged a protest at the wedding of the former chancellor, george osborne, and his partner, in somerset yesterday. a woman approached the couple as they left the church and threw orange confetti over them. cows could be given special suppliments to help limit the amount of methane they produce, after pioneering research found that extra

he has talked jonathan blake. we campaigned really hard. we had a fantastic candidate in sarah.at they felt the conservatives were out of touch, both nationally and locally. they felt they'd been let down by their previous conservative mp and the conservative government wasn't speaking up for them. and whether it was the inability to get gp appointments, nhs dentists for the kids, the cost of living, people felt it was time for a change and they liked what the liberal democrats were saying. i am gratefulfor the labour voters and green voters who got behind sarah as the person who was able to defeat the conservatives. it sends a very powerful message and we are back in the west country, the liberal democrats are back across the west country wil. across the west country. you are undoubtedly very confident, you claimed victory before midnight in this contest last night. and, as you say, you claim to be back in the west country, but there's a long way to go for you to recover the level of support at the number of mps that you had in this part of the uk. is there a danger that you ar

let's get the latest on this from our political correspondent, jonathan blake, now. ere illegally. morning, it certainly does- _ who come here illegally. morning, it certainly does. we _ who come here illegally. morning, it certainly does. we understand - who come here illegally. morning, it| certainly does. we understand tents, marquees, have been bought by the home office. as to where and when they will be used, that is not clear this morning. we do know the government has been spending large amounts of money, up to £7 million a day, housing migrants in hotels. that is not sustainable in the longer term and they have been looking for alternatives. holiday camps have been largely willed out. former military bases in lincolnshire and essex and the stockholm barge down in dorset. this may well be part of that approach. rishi sunak has of course made stopping the boats coming across the channel one of his political priorities. it is proving difficult to achieve in practice. numbers for june were the highest for that month on record. just yesterday the government faced a

jonathan blake on bbc news.ame time as the government was offering those pay rises, britain's spending watchdog was issuing a warning on the state of the country's finances. the office for budget responsibility says the uk's finances are in a "very risky" period, after a triple shock from the pandemic, the war in ukraine and the cost—of—living crisis. uk government debt has grown to more than 100% of annual gdp, for the first time since 1961, and the obr says that could soar to 300% in the coming decades, if action is not taken. the government's pledging to bring debt levels down, but soaring interest rates are making thatjob harder. joshua mahoney is chief market analyst at scope markets, here in london. thank you forjoining us. so the first thing that people will probably be thinking about is how are these pay rises being funded? it was touched on a little bit in the report but what's your take on that? yeah, that's the _ what's your take on that? yeah, that's the big — what's your take on that? yeah, that's t

——jonathan blake, stay with us.r part of the consciousness of the electorate at large. i think if you stop people on the street and ask them to name all five of keir starmer's missions for a better britain than most of us would probably struggle. i had to remind myself of them this morning. but he has talked about the nhs, security and safer streets, economic growth and labour�*s focus on green energy as well. i growth and labour's focus on green energy as well-— energy as well. i will 'ust interrupt i energy as well. i will 'ust interrupt you i energy as well. i willjust interrupt you because i energy as well. i willjust interrupt you because we energy as well. i willjust i interrupt you because we have energy as well. i willjust - interrupt you because we have sir keir starmer coming onto the stage and we can listen in. applause thank you, bridget, for those words and everything you have done on this mission, which is so important to you personally. thank you. and thank you personally. thank you. and thank you to

blake. hi there, jonathan, so just talk us through exactly what we know.date from police tonight. firstly, let's take that event which you just show the video of at conservative party headquarters, on the 14th of december back in 2020. it was a party held in honour of shaun bailey, then the conservative candidate for mayor of london, in honour of his campaign. he has since been made a member of the house of lords, in borisjohnson�*s lords, in boris johnson's resignation lords, in borisjohnson�*s resignation honours list, and activists were invited to come as you say, jingle and mingle. please had looked into it, they were photos which has surfaced a wire will go, but there was no further action taken. in light of that video, the police have not said they are going to reopen their investigation and so that event is now once again being looked at by the metropolitan police. as is another event, into which there is a new investigation, we have learned this evening. this was held in the houses of parliament here at westminster on the 8th of december 2020. here