well, as i said, the national audit office has said, the national audit office has said it is mega— expensivef implementing this benefit. last week, one of my constituents, she had lots of other issues as well, but this inability to get money prom ptly but this inability to get money promptly tipped her over and she was sectioned. now, i know that is a really extreme case, but this was a benefit that actually destroys her. we then see what happens to her two children, who picks up that tap? once you have been sectioned, the difficulties are in coping thereafter. that is much more difficult. that is an extreme case, but many hundreds of thousands of families are going hungry, are facing eviction, are on the brink of destitution because of this so—called new welfare state. the welfare state which all of us grew up welfare state which all of us grew up in was to actually give us a hand up, to help us on our way. this one is tipping us, throwing us into destitution and the government ought to heed this report. we will now have debates in parliament today, for goodness' sake, is there not one of y

the national audit office says people are suffering delays in receiving universal credit and not being treated sensitively. the former army sergeant who tried to kill his wife by tampering with her parachute is jailed for life. happy christmas. and dirty den — otherwise known as leslie grantham — the villain of eastenders, has died aged 71. coming up later in the hour on bbc news... sportsday will be coming live from moscow as we look at the matches on day two at the world cup, including a late winner for uruguay against egypt. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. the government has been severely criticised in an official report on its flagship benefit reform — universal credit. the national audit office has accused ministers of being in denial over the financial hardship it causes to some claimants. it says £2 billion have been spent introducing the benefit so far. it could prove more expensive than the system it's replacing. of the million people who currently receive the new, combined benefit, 20% experience delays in receiving their first payment — some lasting months.

let me get this clear, the national audit office says universal credit is too expensive, poor value fornd not causing financial hardship so who are we supposed to believe? talking to the department for work and pensions over the last couple of days about universal credit has been like talking to some sort of flat earth movement, they simply refuse to accept that the benefit is causing hardship for a significant minority of people on the benefit, that is despite not just the evidence in today boston report but their own research. last week they published research commissioned by claimants of universal credit and in the findings of that survey was the suggestion that 40% of claimants are struggling financially, not just in that 40% of claimants are struggling financially, notjust in the initial stages of universal credit but many months later. the government‘s argument is we have made changes in the last few months with universal credit, speeded up payments and advances are more generous than they we re advances are more generous than they were and we relaxed the rules around the housing

despite that, the national audit office says the department or pensions does not accept that the benefitts fit for the 21st century and will make improvements to the delivery of universal credit. michael buchanan, bbc news. coming up at six o'clock on breakfast — jon kay and naga munchetty will have all the day's news and business. they'll also have more from russia and day 2 of the world cup. after the hosts' fantastic start, our team in moscow will have a preview of the three games today. stay with us here on bbc news. this is the briefing from bbc news. the latest headlines: a report from the us department ofjustice says former fbi boss james comey made mistakes in his investigation of hillary clinton before the 2016 election, but was not politically biased. the state of new york is suing the trump foundation and asking for it to be dissolved. president trump himself and three of his children also face legal charges. humanitarian supplies in yemen are at risk as saudi—led forces attack a port held by rebel fighters. now it is time look at the stories that are making the headlines in m

the government says it's a flexible system for the 21st century, but the national audit office accuses ministers of being in denial. good morning. it's friday the 15th ofjune. also this morning: a warning millions could be deprived of food and medicines in yemen as rebels and government forces battle over a key port. upskirting, the act of taking intrusive photographs under a person's clothes without permission, is to become a criminal offence. in sport, a five—star opening to the world cup. the hosts, russia, stun saudi arabia in the first match, and the pick of their five goals is already a contender for goal of the tournament. this is the scene over the surrey countryside this morning. matt's there with the weekend weather forecast. it looks glorious. definitely. good morning. storms yesterday. very calm now. we are here ahead of an artwork to celebrate 800 years of the magna ca rta . to celebrate 800 years of the magna carta. it will be less windy with a few showers this weekend. join me for the full forecasts in 15 minutes. thank you. -- forecast. good morning. first, our main sto

. —— national audit office.ministers say they've made significant improvements, but today's report says some claimants have been forced to rely on foodbanks. yemen's foreign minister says an offensive by the saudi—led coalition to recapture the port of hudaydah from houthi rebels has been put on hold. he was speaking hours after the un security council failed to agree on a statement calling for a halt to the entire military campaign, which has seen humanitarian supplies hit after a spate of attacks on the port which is held by houthi rebel fighters. upskirting — or secretly taking photographs up skirts or dresses — is set to become a specific criminal offence, with a punishment of up to two years in prison. it's been an offence in scotland since 2010 when it was listed under the broader definiton of voyeurism. labour has won the parliamentary by—election in lewisham east in south london — but with a greatly reduced majority on a low turnout. its candidate, janet da by, was elected with a majority of more than 5,

the national audit office says the use of food banks and rent arrears rose when universal credit cameimeliness of payments have gone up. i would say to everyone who is listening, come and talk to us, come and talk to the jobcentres. despite the problems that alex and others have had with universal credit, the troubled benefit will continue, given the time and money ready spent on it, today‘s report says scrapping it is not a viable option. michael buchanan, bbc news. frank field is a labour mp and chairs the work and pensions committee, he joins you from westminster. we have this horrible paradox. nobody would suggest that the government is run by people who want to do terrible things and yet they are doing terrible things. and they keep being given scripts which are not truthful, and continue this horror story. and if i could just emphasise one point of that news report, what the national audit office says, that if the government scrap it it‘s going to cost money but if they go forward with it, with all the human suffering involved in that, it‘s also going to cost taxpayers huge sums

despite that, the national audit office says the department for work and pensions does not accept thatship. ministers say they're building a flexible benefit fit for the 21st century and that they're making significant improvements to the delivery of universal credit. ed boyd is a former special advisor at the department for work and pensions with a focus on reforming welfare. he's now managing director at the thinktank, the centre for socialjustice. hejoins me now from our central london studio. good morning. so, this benefit system has been too slow to roll out, is causing hardship and isn't delivering value for money according to the national audit office. a pretty damning report. what is your response to it? quite a few things packed in there. one thing to add into this picture, some very helpful stuff in this report that shows how volu nta ry stuff in this report that shows how voluntary organisation should be working more closely with government to tackle the root causes of why people are being stuck out of work and making sure they get the support they need but the one thing whi

the national audit office says the use of food banks and red arrears rose when universal credit camethe timeliness of payments have gone up. i would say to everyone who is listening, come and talk to us, come and talk to the jobcentres. despite the problems that alex and others have had with universal credit, the troubled benefit will continue, given the time and money spent on it, today‘s report says scrapping it is not a viable option. the headlines on bbc news: a bill to make upskirting, the act of secretly taking photos under a skirt, a sexual offence has been blocked by a single conservative mp. donald trump announces the us will be putting a 25% trade tariff on more than 50 billion dollars worth of chinese imports. two teenage moped riders are jailed for life after they stabbed and killed a charity youth worker during a violent robbery spree. sport now, and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here‘s azi farni. hey. thank you. there have been two late winners in the two the world cup matches played, we‘ll get to those in a moment but first there‘s a huge match going

the national audit office said universal credit was slow, expensive and had caused hardship.bey, alongside charles darwin and sir isaac newton. sport now on afternoon live with hugh. we are talking egypt, and mo salah? yes. you might remember that mohamed salah's world cup was thrown into doubt a few weeks ago when he was injured in the champions league final. that was a shoulder problem. it healed well and he was fit enough to be named in the squad for the opener today against uruguay. but he did not look overly pleased as he was only named on the bench. we are still waiting to see if his manager will bring him on for the game. he might be keen to protect his star man because the liverpool forward will be needed for some winnable games for egypt against morocco and iran. the match itself has not been a classic. former liverpool star luis suarez started and should have scored, missing what was by far the best chance of an uneventful 45 minutes. suarez was in again after the break, but was denied by the egypt keeper full stop the egyptians have held their own so far, even with

the national audit office has accused ministers of being in denial over the financial hardship it causesefit so far. it could prove more expensive than the system its replacing. of the million people who currently receive the new, combined benefit, 20% experience delays in receiving theirfirst payments, some lasting months. and it costs nearly £700 to administer each claim — that's four times higher than originally intended. but the government insists it's good value for money. michael buchanan reports. my name is alex tipton and i have been on universal credit since november. alex is 30 and has a range of visible and psychiatric problems. for two weeks last month he tweeted daily what was like to survive on universal credit, in his case £95 a fortnight. day one, update of the universal credit sufferer. by day five, after buying bread and cheese, he's left with £3.30. by day 11, all his money is gone. can i get an advance of £30? i have no food. we sat and looked through his universal credit journal. no advance is available to you for those reasons. . . alex took out an advance to help h

anybody on the government side would stand up and they say that they do not agree with the national audit officeey audit things! this is their role. i cannot believe what i'm hearing from the government, mr deputy speaker. they are in absolute denial, not just about this report. over the last six months, there have been not one, not two but three high court decisions or tribunal rulings which have said the government's actions with regard to pip, and most recently in relation to severely disabled people transitioning onto uc, are discriminatory and unlawful. now after president donald trump signed an executive order seeking to end the separation of migrant children from their parents at the us border, the issue of refugees has once again come into the spotlight. in the commons, mps were debating the importance of reuniting refugee families. the debate was led by the snp's angus macneil, who said there were 22 and a half million refugees in the world and half of them are under 18. when you drill down with the public — despite what some in the media would like to say — but when you drill down with

the government says it's a flexible system for the 21st century, but the national audit office accusesl. good morning. it's friday the 15th ofjune. also this morning: a warning millions could be deprived of food and medicines in yemen as rebels and government forces battle over a key port.

the national audit office says people are suffering delays in receiving universal credit and not beinger army sergeant who tried to kill his wife by tampering with her parachute is jailed for life. hgppy happy christmas. and dirty den — otherwise known as leslie grantham — the villain of eastenders, has died aged 71. coming up later in the hour on bbc news... sportsday will be coming live from moscow as we look at the matches on day two at the world cup, including a late winner for uruguay against egypt.

the national audit office says there is no other practical choice but to carry on with this roll—outs. kathryn stanczyszyn bbc news. some of the other stories making bbc news at five. two teenage moped riders have beenjailed for more than 20 years after stabbing a charity worker to death. nathan gilmaney, on the left and troy thomas went on a violent robbery spree on october 16th last year. they killed 28—year—old abdul samad for his iphone as they drove around west london on their mopeds. two fairground workers have beenjailed for 3 years, after a bouncy castle blew away killing a 7—year—old girl. summer grant died after a gust of wind lifted the inflatable into the air and sent it cartwheeling 300 metres down a hill in harlow, essex. william and shelby thurston, a married couple, were both found guilty of gross negligence for not securing the bouncy castle adequately. in an impromptu live interview, president trump claims he has largely solved the problem of north korea's nuclear programme. after a flurry of early morning tweets, he sent one saying he could see an american news cha

problems and various aspects of it but tomorrow, there's going to be a big reports from the national audit officeies a bit more weight because it's meant to be an objective organisation. and it really sticks the knife in to universal credit. it says there's major delays in the roll—out and that is going to cost more than the systems it's meant to be replacing and this is a really critical one but actually we're never going to know if it's actually infected and or a government that is all about measurement by results that's a big blow. katie, still on government financed, the nhs getting all sorts of speculation about what the nhs is going to get in terms of a long—term kind of a financially. this is putting a figure on it. this lead story in the telegraph saying it's going to be £4 billion a year, partly as a brexit dividend. now, will somebody like jeremy the secretary who's been asking for more cash, would he be happy with that? yes, this is a spectator come recently, which did reveal this idea that they are considering a 3% funding increase. and... the telegraph makes your story is that what y

the first thing is that our national audit office says our new custom declaration services going to be brexit. that is the first admission, if you like. hmrc says it can clear 95% of the remaining 5% it can do another 5% in five hours. that is a lot quicker than people were thinking. goods and services exports are at an all—time high. also where our goods and services, including outside the eu, more than 30% up. the government is starting to position properly as you showed in a negotiation. we might go either way. we might have a deal or might not. —— as you would. either way. we might have a deal or might not. -- as you would. people, when a get—together at chequers next week, it is a crisis meeting in which the hard brexiteers will fight it out with those who want to at least exit the eu some orderly fashion. if what you have been saying is exactly correct, maybe thatis saying is exactly correct, maybe that is possible. you create a picture of things working out and the national press is saying, you have left out iain duncan smith's article in the daily mail this week. ido want artic

the national audit office said delays in transferring people over to universal credit caused hardship. at least 18 years in jail for the former army sergeant who tried to kill his wife in a gas explosion and by tampering with her parachute. emilie cilliers hoped he would benefit from his wife's life insurance policy. a bid to make upskirting a sexual offence has been blocked by a single conservative mp. sir christopher chope called a halt to the bill to prohibit the taking of photos under someone‘s clothes — even though the move had government support. the boss of troubled rail company govia thameslink resigns. hundreds of trains on the line were cancelled after a new timetable was introduced, causing travel chaos for thousands. in a moment it will be time for sportsday but first a look at what else is coming up this evening on bbc news. following his death of eastenders star leslie grantham, who played pub landlord dirty den, we'll be speaking to a tv critic who says den and his onscreen wife angie were thejr and sue ellen of british soap. donald trump has today announced a 25% tarif

the national audit office said delays in transferring people over to universal credit caused hardshipelcome to our look ahead to what the the papers will be bringing us tomorrow. with me are lynn davidson, whitehall correspondent at the sun, and martin bentham, who's the home editor of the london evening standard. many of tomorrow's front pages are already in. starting with the times, who lead on the case of a 12—year—old boy, who's been admitted to hospital after his cannabis oil medication was confiscated by the home office. "purge of the middle classes" leads the telegraph, as companies in britain ask their staff whether they went to public school as part of a government drive to improve diversity. the daily mail says grieving families face losing thousands of pound after their relatives were sold "rip off" wills. the guardian leads with cuts of £16 million facing the charity oxfam. a plan to to cut bed blocking in the nhs leads the daily express. the paper says it costs the health service £3 billion a year. the ft says that china will hit back after president trump imposed tariffs

the collapse of construction giant carillion will cost uk taxpayers an estimated £1a8m, the national audit office customers, staff, the supply chain and creditors according to the report. house price rises in the uk slowed in the year to the end of may — increasing by 1.9%. according to the halifax, part of lloyds banking group, the change reflected "a relatively subdued" housing market. it also said that while detached and semi—detached homes were the most common purchases, flats had seen bigger price gains over the past five years. there's been another high profile casualty on the high street house of fraser, the department store chain says is to close 31 of its 59 shops, affecting 6,000 jobs, as part of a rescue deal. if the plan is approved, 2,000 house of fraserjobs will go, along with 4,000 brand and concession roles. so will this drastic action help turn the retailer's fortunes around? the boss — says there was no other option and this was a plan for survival — he's been speaking to my colleague emma simpson. so, yes i would agree it's a very robust dever house of fraser in terms of the sc

the collapse will cost uk taxpayers an estimated £148 million, according to the national audit officeing business live. let's take a look at how markets are faring in europe. we have had a statement from the london stock exchange in the last minute or so london stock exchange in the last minute orso and london stock exchange in the last minute or so and they say as we have been telling you, the stock exchange has not opened for business this morning, it was due to open at 8am but it is saying that you do a technical issue, the opening auction was delayed but trading is scheduled to begin at 9am. as you can see, the london market still showing the figure at which it closed yesterday. in about 13 minutes, trading will begin in london. let your watches, for those who need to know. and now let's get the inside track on how to equip girls with leadership skills and the confidence to pursue careers in tech. renee la londe is one of silicon valley's most passionate campaigners for women to be better represented within the tech sector and, in particular, within leadership positions. she is th

collapse of construction giant carillion will cost uk taxpayers an estimated £1118 million, the national audit officein the year to the end of may — increasing by 1.9%. according to the halifax, part of lloyds banking group, the change reflected "a relatively subdued" housing market. it also said that while detached and semi—detached homes were the most common purchases, flats had seen bigger price gains over the past five years. what is the latest of the house of fraser? house of fraser due to close 31 out of its 59 stores across the uk and ireland as part of what it terms of survival plan. it is not restructuring but to survive. the planned it closures including the flagship 0xford planned it closures including the flagship oxford street store, as pa rt flagship oxford street store, as part of a cva, and insolvency procedure by struggling retailers. if this plan is approved, 2000 house of fraser jobs if this plan is approved, 2000 house of fraserjobs will be lost, around with 4000 rand and concession worms. the store will stay open until 2019. this is what the boss had to say about this. this is br

a report from the national audit office said the cost of providing public services after the firm's liquidationis wound down — and the final figure could climb higher. carillion had around 420 uk public sector contracts when it went into administration in january with debts of £1.5 million. new figures suggest that 1.5 million people in the uk were destitute last year. the findings have been published in a report by the charity, thejoseph rowntree foundation, which funds research into social policy. the government is now being urged to reform the welfare system, to ensure that fewer people are living in destitution. ministers insist that work is the best route out of poverty. one of the world's most active volcanoes — kilauea on hawaii — is still erupting. a wall of lava has engulfed two entire seaside housing developments at the eastern tip of the big island, an area where nearly 280 homes once stood. but despite the almost constant eruptions, hawaii has seen no fatalities. that's a summary of the latest bbc news — more at 9.30. thank you very much. do get in touch with us throughout the morni

collapse of construction giant carillion will cost uk taxpayers an estimated £148 million, the national audit officece rises in the uk slowed in the year to the end of may — increasing by 1.9%. according to the halifax, part of lloyds banking group, the change reflected "a relatively subdued" housing market. it also said that while detached and semi—detached homes were the most common purchases, flats had seen bigger price gains over the past five years. department store chain house of fraser is to close 31 of its 59 shops, affecting 6,000 jobs, as part of a rescue deal. if the plan is approved, 2,000 house of fraserjobs will go, along with 4,000 brand and concession roles. joining us now is samantha dover, senior retail analyst at mintel what's the goal. give us some background into why the house of fraser has found itself in so house of fraser has found itself in so much trouble. i think a big factor has been the growth in online meaning it's easier for consumers to shop around and on top of that online means a broad range of products is no longer a unique selling point for retailers like departme

national audit 0ffice accuses ministers of being in denial. we'll speak to the one of the architects of the policy. also ahead, the prison officerrofessor stephen hawking's ashes will be buried alongside charles darwin and sir isaac newton at a memorial service later today.