the former labour and change uk mp chuka umunna joins the liberal democrats.been made to feel very welcome. the bbc says it regrets any offence caused by a joke made by comedianjo brand about throwing battery acid at politicians. president trump reveals that his press secretary sarah sanders is to leave herjob at the end of the month. she has been a fierce defender of the president. hello and welcome to our look ahead to what the the papers will be bringing us tomorrow. with me are guardian columnist, dawn foster and defence correspondent at the times, lucy fisher. many of tomorrow's front pages are already in. the metro suggests that borisjohnson is on the verge of becoming prime minister after he beat his rivals in the first round of tory leadership votes today. the ft also leads on borisjohnson‘s victory claiming he has won support from across the tory brexit divide. the daily telegraph reports on comments from borisjohnson‘s supporters who have called on "vanity candidates" to drop out of the race to speed up the process of selecting the next prime ministe

he and a number of colleagues left the labour party and teamed up with the three conservative mps who left the tory party. they formed change ukseem to take off and it didn't garner as much of the vote as it might have hoped, and a number of people left change uk including chuka umunna and this evening he has announced that he is joining the liberal democrats. evening he has announced that he is joining the liberal democratslj evening he has announced that he is joining the liberal democrats. i got the press release here. chuka umunna joining the liberal democrats because he says it is at the forefront of a renewed progressive and internationalist movement in british politics. he says labour and the tories are committed to facilitating brexit. it's not a massive surprise i would say that his done this. the liberal democrats view on brexit does match with his own. some people have been wondering where he might go after he left and of course, it's a big coup for him but others will criticise chuka umunna for having jumped across a number of parties over the last few months so we will see how it all plays out in the morning but c

the former labour and change uk mp chuka umunna joins the liberal democrats president trump reveals thatb at the end of the month. she has been a fierce defender of the president. the bbc says it regrets any offence caused by a joke made

meanwhile, former labour and change uk mp chuka umunna announced at the end of the week that he wasjoiningen wrong to think millions of politically homeless people wanted a new option on the ballot paper. he was one of six change uk mps to quit after it won only 3.4% of the vote in the european elections. greenhouse gas emissions in the uk are to be cut to almost zero by 2050, under a new plan to tackle climate change. the business secretary said ministers would legislate to meet the target. there are many issues in this house on which we passionately disagree but there are moments when we can act together, to take on long—term decisions that will shape the future of the world ‘s but we leave to our children and our grandchildren. just over one decade ago, i was the shadow secretary of state for energy and climate change when the right honourable member for doncaster north secured royal assent for the landmark 2008 climate change act. and i was proud on behalf of my party to speak in support of the first law of its kind in the world, setting a legally binding targets to reduce greenhouse g

the former labour and change uk mp chuka umunna has joined the liberal democrats.p has told the bbc he'd been "wrong" to think "millions of politically homeless people" wanted a new party. he was one of six change uk mps to quit last week, following the party's poor performance in the european elections. the number of abortions carried out in england and wales is at its highest level, with older women and mothers behind the rise. data published by the department of health and social care shows there were more than 200,000 abortions in 2018, up 4% on the previous year. the rise is being blamed on poor access to services and a cap on benefits. the comedianjo brand has reportedly apologised for a joke about throwing acid. she said, on a bbc radio 4 show, that people who throw milkshakes at what she described as "unpleasant characters" were pathetic — as they could use battery acid instead. yesterday, the metropolitan police said it was assessing the comment following an allegation of incitement to violence. a ban on adverts featuring harmful or offensive gender stereo

the former labour mp and founder of the party change uk, chuka umunna, has joined the liberal democratsof it since christmas, labour mp to independent group and then macro very uk and then joining group and then macro very uk and thenjoining the liberal group and then macro very uk and then joining the liberal democrats. it doesn't happen that often. —— change uk. he said he underestimated how hard it would be to set up a new party and how valuable the infrastructure of the existing party is. seven ‘s cable, the outgoing leader of the liberal democrats is welcomed chuka umunna to the fold. he is the 12th liberal democrats mp. the uk has agreed with america's assessment that iran was behind attacks on two oil tankers in the gulf of oman yesterday. the us military is sending a warship to the scene of the explosions, which caused oil prices to rise. iran says it "categorically rejects" the claims. the comedianjo brand has reportedly apologised for a joke about throwing acid. according to the sun, she told an audience at her book launch, "i'm sorry. i'm a human, i make mistakes." the commen

and leaving it is massive. chuka umunna left the labour party a few months ago and then there was change uk and then there was auka umunna has signed up with the liberal democrats and will hold an event with vince cable at lunchtime today. he has concluded that he was wrong to believe that there was a desperate yearning amongst the electorate for a new political party. he says he recognises that the structure and infrastructure of political parties are important and if you set up a new outfit you do not have that and political brands are important that voters have an attachment to and they have a sense of what they stand for. chuka umunna is signing up with the liberal democrats and becomes the 12 member of parliament. televised debates involving the remaining leadership contenders for the conservative party who will become the next prime minister. the leadership contender michael gold has been talking about the subject. he said he was delighted to be going through to the next round and is looking forward to debating his collea g u es looking forward to debating his colleagues in the coming days. are you lookin

and they have only a tiny majority. there is another by—election coming. have only a tiny majority. there is another by-election coming. former labour mps have gone to change ukm won't fancy losing their jobs. the mathematics is very tight. i'm not saying it won't happen but some of the suggestions of a dozen conservative mps might turn out to bea conservative mps might turn out to be a little bit. wattage you make of boris johnson's be a little bit. wattage you make of borisjohnson‘s interview on that, would he live with the new deal exit? —— what did you think of. he said it is definitely not what he wa nts. said it is definitely not what he wants. he could still ask for an extension. he says he won't but he could. we are talking about these 12 mps could. we are talking about these 12 mp5 on one side who were threatening to bring him down. another group on the other side of the party, the hardline eurosceptics, are holding his feet to the fire over the 31st of october. they are as determined as the soft brexiteer is on the other side. it is not inconceivable that they would bring him down. we welcome back to this and much more in an hour. thanks very much i

and criticisms from some. that is about his flip flopping from the labour party to change uk to the liberal democrats. or saw it in the past, with the austerity programme. chuka umunna has clearly taken a decision, as he was exploding there, that it was far too difficult, far more difficult than he envisaged to gain any kind of momentum or electoral success with a new party. then in fact he was wrong about people wanting that because they clearly don't if the result of they clearly don't if the result of the european elections and local elections were to go on. he is much better off as part of the liberal democrats movement and party with its existing infrastructure. vince cable welcoming him, interesting to seejo cable welcoming him, interesting to see jo swinson cable welcoming him, interesting to seejo swinson the current deputy leader and candidate for the leadership of the party also welcoming him and are saying that it isa welcoming him and are saying that it is a good thing he has chosen to join. will be interesting to see, is one of the liberal democrat mps in parliament, which now number 12,

labour. and is it clear that they are abandoning the main parties and wanting to go for alternative options because obviously, we saw a change uknd yet the lib dems are getting more support. so it is pretty complicated, isn't it? are getting more support. so it is pretty complicated, isn't mm are getting more support. so it is pretty complicated, isn't it? it is extremely complicated but i have a lwa ys extremely complicated but i have always said that of any opinion poll is only a snapshot of public opinion at the moment. that is also true for by elections european elections. everything is being judged in terms of brexit and a lot of these events are what is in effect a proxy referendum on brexit. and so we have indeed, the media and commentators in terms of the main parties and leaf parties. wherever that may be, whether it is an autumn or next year or in the years after. it may very well be that brexit has been the result, in one way or another, it might‘ve been resolved very badly, but it will not be the situation of uncertainty that we have at the moment and how the public response to that, and terms, could have a huge imp

and it was in the same week, of course, that labour had all those defections to what is now change uksm, split on brexit, they don't know whether they are a leave or remain party, there is pressure to get borisjohnson to party, there is pressure to get boris johnson to change his party, there is pressure to get borisjohnson to change his mind, because unite haven't done it, len mccluskey hasn't done it, and the other ones should be going gangbusters to beat the tories. it is all there for them. there needs to bea is all there for them. there needs to be a stronger response, though, than just to be a stronger response, though, thanjust a to be a stronger response, though, than just a letter. to be a stronger response, though, thanjust a letter. only to be a stronger response, though, than just a letter. only a couple of yea rs than just a letter. only a couple of years ago it was 40 odd labour mps and labour wrote a letter tojeremy corbyn demanding that he sought out his supporters when it came to sexism and rape threats. where are they going to go? are they going to go to change? are

change uk? the independent group to give it its full title? a group of mps that left the conservatives and labourange uk shouldn‘t carry here‘s a blog post from him — he says change uk shouldn‘t carry on in its current form, and going forward he‘ll continue to battle brexit. christian fraser. this is reasonably farcical, isn‘t it? it has been a difficult time for change uk. they launched as a european campaign got under way, they could not get their name right, their branding right and then the lead candidate in scotland then defected to the liberal democrats and they somewhat fell between the stools, really between labour and the liberal democrats, doing so well in the european election and so, there have been difficulties within there have been difficulties within the group because they come from labour and the conservatives they find it difficult to find a united message, a difference between those who are in the group and six of them walked away which leads to five and a former conservative mp still in charge, but she is deeply disappointed by developments and i guess there will be some hand

and notjust with change uk. people approaching us from the conservative party in particular, labour people, to and particularly one old dividing lines are not there. the liberal democrats have an central role in all of that and i wa nt to central role in all of that and i want to play that and a positive way. if anyone of them said i want tojoin the liberal way. if anyone of them said i want to join the liberal democrats, way. if anyone of them said i want tojoin the liberal democrats, would you suggested then that that would mean they should go through a violation? not not necessarily. that. but if it really happened. not necessary. they have won election to parliament, they have taken a break stamp in breaking away from the labour party or the tory party and they will think their own plans through interns the next election but certainly there is no need to pursue a violation. not a bad legacy, if you leave the election having whipped a few extra mps in those closing moments. lots of good things have happened in the last month and i think there are more good things to come. this is not the end of it by any means

otherjewish labour mps have decided this is beyond the pale for them, beyond their threshold of acceptability. i'm thinking of luciana berger, for example. she went off to join another party, change uk, andonclude that you've stayed inside the party because you achieve desire as, it has to be said, a blairite mp, is to use this issue — to consistently use it to beat jeremy corbyn over the head, to undermine his leadership, and to change the labour party. and you know the person who believes that more than any other is one of the key figures inside the party, len mccluskey, leader of the unite union, who talks about the way corbyn is being smeared, and how anti—semitism as an issue is being contrived to hurt corbyn. let me say two things. first of all, i do want to say about luciana berger, i completely understand why she took that decision. she also faced intolerable abuse. i believe that, at this point in time, it is much better to fight from the inside. will i feel that tomorrow? i don't know. now, is this about undermining jeremy corbyn? ijust put it to you. jeremy corbyn, when this started to emerge, 18 months ago, two years ago, could easily, easily have stamped it out. strong, clea

include your name and contact number if you're interested in asking it live on the night from your local bbc studio. chuka umunna, who left labour earlier this year to help form the change ukjoined the liberal democrats. the former shadow business secretary said he was "absolutely delighted" by the move. earlier, the streatham mp admitted he had "massively underestimated" the difficulty of setting up a new party. a church service has been held to mark the second anniversary of the grenfell tower fire, in which 72 people died. this evening, survivors and bereaved families will also lay a wreath at the foot of the tower in west london. the public inquiry into the fire heard evidence that the cladding on the outside of the building was the primary cause of the spread of the blaze. two years on, three quarters of tall buildings in england with similar cladding still haven't had it removed or modified. our special correspondent lucy manning has the story. # ijust lift my head up to the sky and say # help me to be strong # ijust can't give up now... in the shadow of grenfell, a community that fire ripped apart came together. but, if we're honest, not much seems to have changed.

and incredibly hurtful. we know the whole anti—semitism row is one of the motivations behind those labour mps who left the party to set up this new party, change ukhese allegations, but he has a role he has now declined —— falconer. he had this to say... do not leave the party, keep fighting, keep making it clear that it is time for the labour party to improve its position. if we leave then you end up in a position where the major opposition party will not change in this critical respect. so i repudiate the suggestion that you're making, but i completely agree that something needs to be done. and done, notjust talked about. well, that is something. some labour mps say there should be an independent complaints procedure at with the party, but the prospect of that happening anytime soon it seems pretty remote because we have had that investigation by the equalities and human rights commission going on and human rights commission going on and that, frankly, is likely to take quite a long time, may be more than six months. the idea that anything is going to be done or changed in the near future seems pretty remote. thank you, norman. an air india pla

change uk and the wider political landscape? a massive blow for them they launched back in february with four months ago, defections from the labour to make and they were really hoping to make an impactand and they were really hoping to make an impact and change the way politics work and coalescing of the idea of a second referendum on brexit and campaigning to stay and, but they just were not able to break through and has partly because the liberal democrats did so on the local elections that he gave them for the european elections of boost, and about 2% of the vote, so they needed that momentum to carry them forward in order to encourage others to come to the party, it hasn't happened and i think there is been criticisms of each other for things that went wrong, there logo was not very clear about how that was going to work, their name was confusing, and seem to change several times and now you end up with the new leader thatis now you end up with the new leader that is a firmer conservative —— former conservative mp and a former labourmp, so it former conservative mp and a former labour mp, so it is going to be very difficult f

change uk. that didn't take long, did it? you just think back to the launch, the fanfare, the exuberance, the optimism that there was just four months ago when they had defections from labour ando break the mould of british politics, as they say, trying to get away from that 2— party system. it just went wrong so quickly for them. in terms of superficial things like their name, their logo, nothing went right for them. then in the european elections, they just right for them. then in the european elections, theyjust didn't make an impact. partly, of course, because of the liberal democrats' good showing, they were able to make any kind of impact at all. it now seems to have imploded pretty quickly and we are left with a situation where anna soubry, the former conservative mp, is leading a parliamentary party which has former labour mps in it. i think it means that any kind of second wave of defections from labour or the conservatives now simply isn't going to happen. the big question for those who have gone back to being independents, is whether they throw their lot in with the lib dems. some people think they will. the lib dems are making the right noises are saying they have

in second place and join him on the ballot, but make sure he doesn't do anything to lose the lead that he has. chuka umunna, who left labour earlier this year to help form the change ukss secretary said he was "absolutely delighted" to have joined the party. earlier he admitted he had "massively underestimated" the difficulty of setting a new party up. a couple have been found guilty of murdering a vulnerable young woman in inverclyde more than 18 years ago. one of them was also found guilty of fraudulently collecting her benefits, worth £182,000. a jury at the high court in glasgow convicted edward cairney and avriljones of killing 19—year—old margaret fleming between december 1999 and january 2000. margaret's body has never been found. lorna gordon reports. edward cairney and avriljones. the supposed carers of a vulnerable young woman, who instead became her killers. in a bbc interview before the were charged, they denied margaret fleming had been harmed. tell us, did either of you harm margaret? no. far from it. so margaret is alive and well, and she has come to no harm? that's right. no harm, unless she has got harmed in the last couple of weeks. but margaret, a

and they are labour values, too. last week the prime minister theresa may announced that the uk is aiming to be carbon neutral by 2050 — which would mean big changes carbon dioxide they produce, with some households doing what's known as going off—grid. reporter mike cowan went along to meet the watkinson family who gave up their dayjobs to live a simpler life in wales. we're in pembrokeshire, in the far west of wales, to meet the watkinson family now. now, they've lived completely off grid for two years now. matthew and his wife used to be vets, until they gave it up to live here. it's basicallyjunk. took me through it. the first thing that i got up here. was the old horse lorry. we have also got the camper van. that's our bedroom. with the family going, we got two great big huge trailers, and slid them in behind, and then build the little cabin on top. wales has one of the most progressive policies in the uk, when it comes to living off grid, thanks to the decades—old one planet development scheme. soa so a bio digester basically means you are creating gas from your food waste. so these are our solar panels. i don't think we have reduced our ele

labour mps did when they went to form change uk. there did not see an obvious route to challenge the decision, and they were wondering what they should go direct to jeremy corbyn decided to take route one and go direct tojeremy corbyn and say decided to take route one and go direct to jeremy corbyn and say to him, this is so damaging to the labour party, especially at a time when it is under investigation by the equalities and human rights commission, that he personally needs to ta ke commission, that he personally needs to take charge of the process and withdraw the whip from chris williamson. that is a massive call because not least chris williamson has been one ofjeremy corbyn's biggest and most vocal and most pugnacious backers in parliament, so forjeremy corbyn to decide he will ta ke forjeremy corbyn to decide he will take action would be a massive move. what happens next?” take action would be a massive move. what happens next? i suspect, the response will be to say disciplinary process entirely independent of the leadership, and he cannot and should not get involved because that would be political interference in the process.