, andi business today, at 6pm, to ofgem, and i will have cited that.we have had so far, obviously we haven't completed them, but nothing suggest there was any foul play. i think it was one of those freak accidents. we have had unusual weather, and that sort of thing. we need to find out more about the reasons for this.” thing. we need to find out more about the reasons for this. i spoke to the national grid last week and one of the things that so many people are surprised about and shocked about is, when you talk about the knock—on effects, there we re about the knock—on effects, there were hospitals without power. so people in our thinking, ok, well, the national grid may submit this report. you can't and the national grid can't guarantee that this won't happen again. people's safety is being put at risk. look, i think we have a very strong and well secured system. we have to look at what went wrong. none of us is happy about what happened last week. i think you are absolutely right. the public deserved to have answers and they deserved to have answer

the regulator, ofgem, has demanded an urgent report into what went wrong.housands of train passengers stranded, homes up and down the country without electricity, and ipswich hospital lost power when back up generators failed. here's ben ando. it was the biggest and most disruptive power failure for over a decade. major stations in chaos, passengers stranded or trapped, traffic controls inactive and a large nhs hospital without power. one of the many caught on electric trains that went dead was lily winin. the power cut off and i was sat in a carriage by myself and the storm had started outside, so all of the rain was coming onto the windows and it was pitch black. we all started to sit together to try and piece together what was going on, because no one could really understand and the announcements were failing because of the lack of power. and then we all had to walk to the very end of the carriage in the pitch black, going through a tunnel. after four hours, lily and her fellow passengers were led along the tracks to the nearest station. at ipswich hospi

need to do a detailed technical examination of the event, and we will send that report through to ofgemhat analysis in the coming days and weeks as we review it. then from that, i'm sure we will learn lessons and want to review how this worked to avoid some of those significant impacts in future. the consequences were widespread — some traffic lights went out, newcastle airport experienced power issues, and at ipswich hospital the back—up generator failed. even once power was restored, many great northern trains remain stuck because the drivers could not restart them and had to wait for specialist engineers. the national grid has ruled out a cyber attack for the failure, but if the regulator is not happy with its explanations, it could be fined 10% of its annual turnover. simon jones, bbc news. services in and out of london's king cross stations were severely disrupted yesterday with some knock on effects today. our reporter greg mckenzie has been there all day talking to passengers. so normal services have resumed here at king's cross this afternoon, and that started about midday, trai

said it has asked foran regulator ofgem said it has asked for an urgent, detailed report from national what went wrong and decide what further steps need to be taken. that could include enforcement action. thank you forjoining us. for the first time in six and half years, the uk economy has shrunk, falling in the three months tojune by 0.2%. the contraction in gdp, or the total value of goods and services made and sold by all sectors of the economy, was worse than some had expected. but the chancellor sajid javid says the "fundamentals of the economy remain resilient and strong," and he's not expecting a recession. our economics editor faisal islam reports. this is a stockpile, reams of printing material, labels, plastics, inks shipped into this leicester food labelling company to beat the last brexit deadline. this across tens of thousands of british warehouses boosted the economy before march and took away from it between april and june, helping leave the british economy shrinking for the first time in years. for now it isn't generally expected the uk is in its first formal recession

the regulator ofgem has demanded an urgent report into what went wrong. thousands of train passengers were stranded, ipswich hospital lost power and homes throughout the country were plunged into darkness. simon jones has more. plunged into darkness but now the uk energy regulator is demanding that the national grid shed some light on what went wrong. described as an incredibly rare event, it caused chaos especially on the railway network. this was the message for passengers on a train that finally got into king's cross at two o'clock this morning. for many it was a waiting game. the storm had started outside and it was pitch black and we tried to sit together to piece together what was going on. the announcements failed because of the lack of power and then we had to walk to the end of the carriage on the pitch black. four and half hours later one of the guides came to open the door and we just jumped later one of the guides came to open the door and wejustjumped out later one of the guides came to open the door and we justjumped out onto the door and we

ofgem sets maximum prices that can be charged for gas and electricity to those who have not switchedriffs. the new cap could see these households typically pay £75 less a year. the bidding process to operate rail services between london, kent and parts of east sussex has been cancelled. the government says the current operator, southeastern, has been given a five—month extension to run the route until april 2020. it says continuing the bidding process would have incurred extra costs for taxpayers. uk farming exports are an important part of the uk economy. around 70% of everything produced here gets exported to eu. it comes as no surprise then, that the national farmers union supported staying within the eu but didn't actively campaign during the referendum. they're now on the record now as saying that any sort of brexit needs to be smooth and orderly. they've claimed that a no deal scenario will be a disaster for the thousands of farmers. minette batters is the president of the national farmers union. why would it be such a disaster then? it is reallyjust about how we leave. i mean,

we needed a detailed technical examination of the event, we will be sending that report through to ofgemview it. off that, i am sure we well—known lessons and want to review how this worked to avoid some of those impacts in future. yesterday, a quote from the national grid says the events were out with their control. that could worry a lot of people. are you in control? absolutely, and when we say that what we mean is that the simultaneous loss of those two power stations is very rare and sits outside the normal standards we would work to, to make sure people have all the power they need 21w. that level of extreme event meant we went into those secondary protection systems which caused the disruption that we saw yesterday evening. let me refer back to something you were explaining to is earlier in this interview, that you chose to deliver a cut power to certain services, signals, trains, hospitals. how is that logical? that is something we want to look at. those are open automatic protection systems on the local networks around the country, and those protection systems, this event happen

it makes me wonder what they have been doing up to this point in time that ofgem can make this changeate contract, usually available for one or two years. and some worry that people will not bother to shop around like this if they know there is a maximum anyway. i think people should not be distracted by that and not believe that this is great and they can just do nothing about it. this is a saving of £75 but switching in the market can save £250, £300 below that price, so that is what the consumer should be doing. the cut will not make much difference before christmas. it is worth less than £1.50 per week on average, it will be well into the autumn when it kicks in. but any help with energy bills will be welcome. simon gompertz, bbc news. the british food industry calls for competition laws to be relaxed to prevent food shortages in the event of a no—deal brexit. derbyshire police say it's now safe for residents to return to their homes in whaley bridge, after the town was evacuated due to flooding fears last week. hundreds of british airways flights are cancelled and delayed, as the

ofgem sets maximum prices that can be charged for gas and electricity to those who have not switchedutheastern, has been given a five—month extension to run the route until april 2020. it says continuing the bidding process would have incurred extra costs for taxpayers. good morning. let's follow the news ofa good morning. let's follow the news of a no—deal brexit and what companies are doing to contend with some of the risks. the uk food industry has asked the government to waive aspects of competition law to allow firms to co—ordinate and direct supplies with each other after a no—deal brexit. the food and drink federation said it repeatedly asked ministers for clarity on a no—deal scenario. existing rules prohibit suppliers and retailers discussing supply or pricing. the industry says leaving in the autumn could pose more supply problems than the original brexit date last march. nicole sykes is head of eu negotiations. this is one example, thatis negotiations. this is one example, that is the food and drink industry saying it needs clarity, all business says it needs clarity but t

the regulator ofgem has demanded an urgent report into what went wrong.ry were

the energy regulator ofgem has called for an investigation after nearly a million people were affectedrge areas of england and wales. problems with one offshore wind and one gas generator are understood to have been to blame. katy austin reports. commuters navigating clapham junction station in darkness. this evening's power cuts did not last long but the impact affected more than a million people. including thousands of train passengers across the country, some unable to board. i am going to hang around and see if they put the trains back on and fix the issue but if not, i'm going to have to find somewhere to stay tonight and get a train tomorrow. no—one has come over and spoken to me. no—one seems to know what is going on. if you go and ask for help, no—one really knows what is going on at all. while some were stuck on trains. i was on a train to edinburgh through to london, we stopped in the countryside for an hour and a half with no information. we were starting to conserve water but now they are sending us back to peterborough station where we are just going to have to be, i presu

to do a detailed technical examination of the event and we will be sending that report through to ofgems as we review it. and then, off that, i'm sure we will learn lessons and want to review how this works to avoid some of those significant impacts in future. there are also concerned that although the power came back quite quickly, the railways were in chaos for hours. questions are being asked about the performance of some of the new trains now in use. they are electric, the air conditioning wouldn't work and it became hot and stuffy very quickly because windows can't be opened. also, even when power was restored, they couldn't be restarted by the drivers who had to wait for engineers to come along. that massively added to the delays. national grid could now face a fine of up to 10% of its annual turnover. but some argue that years of underinvestment by successive governments is partly to blame, leaving the uk with a power network that works fine, most of the time, but is exposed when the unexpected happens. ben ando, bbc news. plenty of high temperatures across europe so far this sum

a report on last week's electricity blackout is due to be delivered to energy regulator ofgem by theextremely unlikely" that another blackout of this magnitude will happen again and said that the international energy agency called great britain's energy infrastructure and network "exemplary". and we can just have a quick look at the markets. they havejust recovered from the problems this morning, technical problems. ted baker, it has been saying it is no longer going to be using debenhams but will be using next in order to be able... as its outlet. the pound strengthened a little bit. and the pound against the euro, a little bit stronger as well. if i had sent that one point and had been strong a while ago you wouldn't have believed me expect —— one point ten. the parents of twins born weighing the same amount as half—a—bag of sugar have been reunited with the medical staff who saved their lives. the youngest premature twin boys to survive in britain — at 22 weeks — celebrate their first birthday tomorrow. denis nightingale reports. not the first time they have been in this rescue he

the energy regulator ofgem is investigating national grid and other energy companies after a mass powered huge disruption in england and wales. national grid say the blackout was caused by a lightning strike, followed by the failure of two power stations. our business correspondent emma simpson reports. lights out, chaos and confusion. it was the biggest blackout in a decade. hundreds of trains cancelled, passengers stranded. traffic lights not working. a large nhs hospital affected, and newcastle airport too. today, more detail on what caused the power cut. at a:52pm, there was a lightning strike north of london, hitting a transmission line. immediately, hornsea offshore wind farm lost power. it shouldn't happen with lightning. at the same time, little barford gas power station in bedfordshire also tripped, with two large generators failing. there wasn't enough reserve power to instantly bridge the gap so the emergency system kicked in to prevent a wider shutdown. 5% of the country's electricity demand was taken out. it meant 1.1 million customers lost power. shortly after 5pm, the sys

ofgem lowered the price cap on standard tariffs by £75.ers can charge you per unit of energy. the average bill for the 11 million homes on standard tariffs is £1,254 a year. that will now fall to £1,179. let's take a look at some of today's other stories. plans to reform pension rules for senior nhs staff in england and wales have been proposed after many doctors were landed with big tax bills after working extra shifts. the current rules have been blamed for making it difficult to fill staffing rotas and bring down waiting lists. british viewers are rapidly switching from traditional broadcast tv to streaming services such as netflix, according to the media regulator, ofcom. although traditional viewing still accounts for most tv watching, viewing of streaming services is now catching up. the regulator is calling for a national debate about the future of public service broadcasting. the number of same—sex couples recorded as living together in the uk rose by more than 50% in the three years to 2018, official statistics show. the figures a

energy regulator ofgem has now launched a formal investigation into the power cuts which left thousandstal temporarily without power. after weeks of protests, hong kong's chief executive says it's time to talk. carrie lam's comments come after the uk foreign office expressed concern over reports that a hong kong consulate employee has been detained at the chinese border since august the 8th. simon cheng, who is thought to be from hong kong, is believed to have gone missing on his return from shenzhen. local news outlet hkfp reports that mr cheng is a trade and investment officer at the scottish development local news outlet hkfp reports that mr cheng is a trade international section of the consulate. the bbc‘s stephen mcdonell is monitoring developments. simon cheng is a trade and investment officer at the british consulate here and he was returning to hong kong from the chinese mainland. we sent a message to his girlfriend as he was on board the high—speed train. there seems to be some concern in that, they said something along the lines of prey for me or something like that when he me

ofgem has warned it could take enforcement action following the blackouts, which caused huge disruptionrail network and cut electricity to hundreds of thousands of homes. some rail passengers were stuck on trains until the early hours of the morning, as andy moore reports. darkness at clapham station. the lights went out, the display boards died, even the ticket machines were completely dead. after four hours on a train outside saint pancras, this passenger was glad to see help arrived. the people on board were offloaded and escorted to a nearby station where water bottles were waiting. others weren't so lucky. this was the message for travellers stuck on a train that finally got into king's cross just before two o'clock in the morning. they tried to provide taxis but the weight was about a0 minutes. which meant i wouldn't have got home until even later, so i would have had to pay out of pocket again for an uber, which cost me £40. —— wait. national grid has given little details about what caused the power cuts, but industry experts say that out for 50 8pm the gas—fired plant at little

the regulator, ofgem, has announced it's lowering its price caps for people on standard variable tariffs meters. the new cap could see these households typically pay £75 less a year. the food industry has asked the government to waive aspects of competition law if the uk crashes out of the european union without a deal. leading retailers want to be able to coordinate food supplies in the event of a no—deal. currently strict rules prevent rival businesses from discussing supply or pricing. the industry says leaving in the autumn could pose more supply problems than the original brexit date last march. the lawyer for a british woman accused in cyprus of making a false rape claim has resigned from the case, citing a serious disagreement with his client. the 19—year—old british woman claimed she had been raped by 12 israeli men injuly. the case has been adjourned and the woman remanded in custody. the shadow chancellor, john mcdonnell, has said a future labour government would not block a second independence referendum in scotland. speaking in edinburgh, he said it would be up to the scottis

ofgem sets maximum prices that can be charged for gas and electricity to those who have not switchedtion we get. the number of reported crimes involving children attacking parents has doubled in the last three years. police forces in england, wales and the channel islands recorded more than 1a,000 incidents in 2018, as emma glasbey reports. spitting, hitting, shouting. tables picked up, threatening to hit you with scissors, threatening to hit you with knives, everything. helen has had to call police out to her home three times. the abuser was her 11—year—old daughter, lashing out after a traumatic few years. it's hard because you don't want them to get a criminal record, but then there's no support. we've been given exclusive access to the "getting on" course run by doncaster children's services trust. is there people you can talk to do you think about how you're feeling, people at school, people at home...? these teenagers are here getting help because they've been abusive towards their mums. so, i'm going to pop it just to know when. .. they're taking part in an exercise where they

energy regulator ofgem has now launched a formal investigation into the power cuts which left thousandss on student loans in england are being held by the government, according to researchers. it‘s the result of cases in which repayments continued to be taken even though loans had been completely paid off. the student loans company says it has tried to contact anyone who has been over—charged to arrange a refund. a gunman who held hostage as many as 37 passengers on a bus in the brazillian city of rio de janiero has been shot dead by police, according to local media reports. the hijacking was ended several hours after the bus was commandeered by the gunman on a bridge connecting rio with the neighboring city of niteroi. armed police surrounded the vehicle and at one point were negotiating with the suspect. after spending almost every day together since they got married 60 years ago, derek and ayre—win oliver have been forced apart by illness. when his wife moved into a care home with dementia, derek continued to visit her daily until earlier this year when he became bed bound from a ter