the british government at that time was putting a broadcasting ban on sinn fein, a travel ban on sinn a series of anti—terror legislations which were not really doing anything to bring about fair convictions. remember, i was also the constituency mp for one of the guildford four, paul hill, who was the first person arrested under the prevention of terrorism act, and eventually was freed. but that doesn't mean you had to speak at over 70 hardline republican movements. now you may not have heard of or dealt with shaun o'callaghan but you will have heard of and met the highly respected sheamus mallon. he was one of the architects of the peace process. he was at the heart of it along with john hume. sheamus mallon says quote: "he never heard anyone mention corbyn at all in the peace process but you very clearly took the side of the ira and that was incompatible with working with peace." sheamus mallon. he never said that to me in parliament. he said it. i don't doubt he said it at some point. i was happy to talk with him. happy to work with him and john hume and others in parliament, and

to activities in the falklands, and his previous connections and support allegedly of the ira and sinn feinross reasonably well and the guardian certainly... it is interesting because this is a verbatim response of the question and answers. there is no editorial assessment. there is not much spin at the moment. you paid quite a lot of attention to the debate. i mustn't call it a debate. it was a couple of interviews. the reason we are not having the bases because theresa may did not want to debate jeremy corbyn. the more you see of heard the more you understand why. the leadership she was professed to have and the popularity that the polls reflected that she had seems to be based on a thin veneer and the more contact she has with the public, the more this veneer cracks and crumbles and disappears. what about the content with jeremy paxman? she did not do too great with him either. she looked nervous and did not look like leadership material. my impression of people's response to the debates was that they were pleasantly surprised by jeremy corbyn and unpleasantly surprised and quite disappo

i never met the ira. 0bviously did meet from sinn fein.ct its citizens is likely to be high on the agenda for the rest of this election campaign. vicki young, bbc news, westminster. all of those who died in monday's attack have now been named. the 22nd victim was 15—year—old megan hurley — she was from halewood in merseyside. danny savage reports from manchester now on a community grieving for lost family and friends. in central manchester today, people queued to buy flowers in remembrance of strangers. many are at a loss about what's happened — but have to do something. it was inconceivable to try and understand how the families are feeling, especially of the children. it's just shocking. i've been a coronation street superfan my entire life. 29—year—old martyn hett was one of those murdered on monday night. the outgoing coronation street superfan was well—known online. as these possibilities got less and less and less, you still had some hope there would be something. and when you actually got the call that actually confirmed that he had

sinn fein has launched its general election manifesto, which is calling for a referendum on whether northernreland should leave the uk and become part of the irish republic. the party wants the vote to be held within five years. sinn fein‘s leader in northern ireland, michelle o'neill, said the only way of securing a future in the european union was to end partition with the republic. so this is very much an opportunity to tell both the tories and the dup, again, in the strongest possible terms that we reject brexit, that we reject any border, that we reject any attempt to put limits on our freedom of movement, we reject barriers to trade and agriculture. and we absolutely reject tory cuts, that we stand for rights, for equality and for irish unity. one of the most recognised and imitated images in the world, known as the great wave, was originally a woodblock print created by the japanese artist katsushika hokusai almost 200 years ago. it is the centrepiece of a show, that opens this week at the british museum, looking at the last decades of the artist's long life, when he produced some of

this is a man who repeatedly gave positive publicity to senior figures in sinn fein ira.ot meeting loyalist terrorist connie was basically a cheerleader for republicanism,, and not just republicanism,, and not just republicanism but violent republicanism. he is trying to spin it as if he was involved in the peace process, which is disingenuous at best. people like mo mowlam argued with murderers without bodyguards. now that party is led by a man who evades answers when asked directly to criticise terrorism and terrorists. these were people who, when he was supporting them, they we re when he was supporting them, they were murdering people live in the streets of the city he represented. and for you, there's nothing in the fa ct and for you, there's nothing in the fact that it be standing on a platform with them, he is trying to engage with them? absolutely not, he believed in ira victory, he believes they can impose a military solution, drive the brits out, drive the brits out of northern ireland. you wonder for how many people this... although we all lived through it, and

our main opponents in this election are the dup who will be the cheerleaders for theresa may, and sinn feinrd argument to make to people. people understand you've got to be there, even with a few seats, it's very important that you turn up and make your voice heard. you also say you're offering prosperity not austerity and i wondered what you we re austerity and i wondered what you were planning to spend your money on and how that will be paid for? we like to see the northern ireland executive up and running straightaway. we have a period of negotiations after this election. we've been given a number of short weeks to get that back up and running. we've put in plans for what we think could be done in terms of investing in high education, infrastructure, making sure the large parts of northern ireland that have been left behind by other government get a fair share. but all of this won't happen if we don't have the dup and sinn fein, if for example they don't get together and listen to the advice the rest of us are giving them, but we need to have an assembly up and running and we need to tac

sinn fein's leader claims the party is heading for another "ground—breaking" election next month.ew political era is opening up in irish politics." joining me now from belfast is the sinn fein politician john o'dowd, who was minister for education in the stormont executive from 2011 to 2016 and the member of the northern ireland assembly for upper bann. thank you forjoining us. 0f thank you forjoining us. of course, in northern ireland particularly, there are so many unique issues, but in what way do you feel that this is a ground—breaking campaign? you feel that this is a ground-breaking campaign? well, the assembly election which was called in march set a new agenda in politics in this part of the island. at the centre of it was corruption at the heart of government, but in the background was brexit and as we enter this westminster election, brexit remains at the heart of politics here because it is probably the biggest constitutional change on the biggest constitutional change on the island of ireland since partition. and how would you see or how would you propose that that bor

sinn fein have also launched their election manifesto, which proposed a referendum on irish unity within also calling for northern ireland to be given a special status within the european union and says it's working to re—establish the stormont power—sharing executive which collapsed injanuary. so this is very much an opportunity to tell both the tories and the dup again, in the strongest possible terms, that we reject brexit, that we reject any border, that we reject any attempt to put limits on our freedom of movement, we reject barriers to trade and agriculture, and we absolutely reject tory cuts. that we stand for, rights, for equality, and for irish unity. so what will tomorrow morning's front pages make of all the top stories? we will tell you tonight at 10:40pm. 0ur guestsjoining me tonight are pauljohnson, deputy editor of the guardian, and the former conservative mp and director of bell pottinger, tim collins. let's move away from the election now. donald trump has arrived in israel on the second leg of his tour of the middle east and europe. he's meeting with israeli leaders to

i obviously did meet people from sinn fein.. vicki young, bbc news, westminster. britain‘s top counter—terrorism officer says they‘ve captured ‘a large part‘ of the network involved in the manchester arena attack. the egyptian president says the military have attacked a jihadist training camp in libya — following the deadly ambush of a bus carrying coptic christians. leaders of the world's leading industrial nations — the g7 — have agreed on new action to counter terrorism. at a summit in italy they called on internet companies to do more to stop the spread of hateful extremist content online. but the leaders were unable to reach an agreement on climate change — with differences remaining between president trump and the rest of the group. the bbc‘s james landale is at the summit. at this summit, in an ancient town on the coast of sicily, there has been some harmony between the g7 leaders, above all on the need to do more to tackle global terrorism. but there have also been some dramatic and discordant notes on trade and climate

the leader of sinn fein, gerry adams, says first of all he fears that taking, this is a direct quote, ireland out of the eu could destroy the peace agreement in northern ireland. second, he says, look, now is clearly the time, given the possibility that the island of ireland may find a solution, particularly to this customs problem, by some sort of integrationist approach. he says the time is coming where we need to ballot the people of the north on whether in fact the time has come to consider unification of the island of ireland. how do you feel about that? that time is not now. i don't believe we should conflate the issue of the unification of ireland with the withdrawal of the uk from the eu. but a clear majority of the people in northern ireland voted to stay in the eu. is that for you, in the irish government, that has been committed to the long—term vision of uniting the island of ireland, is it not a wonderful opportunity for you to say to the people of the north, think about it? think about having a vote on joining us, because then you can stay in the eu, all of these problem

people, but he's also been fending off questions about his own past, in particular his support for sinn feinend to single out the ira for condemnation. he was today again as do unequivocally condemn the actions during the troubles. again as do unequivocally condemn the actions during the troubleslj condemn the actions during the troubles.” condemn all acts of violence in northern ireland, from wherever they came. i spent the whole of the 1980s representing a constituency with a large number of irish people in it, we wa nted large number of irish people in it, we wanted peace, justice, a solution. and then jeremy corbyn was on to his neck to rally in scarborough, a seat with a big tory majority for labour to overturn, but his supporters here, young and old, do not doubt him. ben wright, bbc news, hull. our top story this evening... theresa may has defended herself against accusations of a u—turn over social care policy. and still to come — the chelsea flower show blooms again. we get a sneak preview. and coming up in the sport on bbc news, russia's given a final warning to address doping or f

sinn fein has unveiled its election manifesto.ve years, called for a special designated status for northern ireland within the eu and proposals to install an irish language act. their stormont leader michelle o'neill said that they were seeing the beginnings of a 'new political era'. so this is very much an opportunity to tell both the tories and the dup again, in the strongest possible terms, that we reject brexit, that we would reject any border, that we reject any attempt to put limits on our freedom of movement, we reject barriers to trade and agriculture, and we absolutely reject tory cuts. that we stand for rights, for equality, and for irish unity. so, what have the snp been up to today? well, they've been cooking up pledges and policies for their manifesto launch tomorrow. nicola sturgeon was getting in the mood today, meeting out a few tasters as to what we can expect, and giving the voters in scotland some food for thought. well, a peanut butter cupcake for breakfast is perhaps not the healthiest option, but it was absol

didn't meet the ira, i obviously did meet people from sinn fein.ns is now likely to be on the agenda for the rest of the campaign. at the g7 summit in sicily, theresa may accused jeremy corbyn of making excuses for terrorism. earlier, she told world leaders that more needs to be done to tackle foreign fighters returning from conflicts in the middle east, and called for pressure on technology companies to remove extremist material from the internet. from sicily, our deputy political editorjohn pienaar reports. stagey affairs, these summits. beautiful settings, big stars. some loving the spotlight — britain's leader, keen to use it. hard to move, let alone grab attention here. you could just see mrs may behind donald trump. but after the manchester attack, she was keen to lead the line against terrorism. mrs may urged leaders to do more against online extremism, to get web companies to identify and block harmful content, to alert authorities. she wanted action against terrorists stepped up. today, g7 leaders havejoined britain in condemning this barb

he wasn't rattled by the potentially difficult questions, around his past relationship with sinn fein oi’ hamas, for instance or how he would or would not use the nuclear deterrent. on domestic issues. he said he would like to see immigration come down but wouldn't give a number. theresa may's turn after that. it wasn't, as alex said, after that. it wasn't, as alex said, a harder encounterfor after that. it wasn't, as alex said, a harder encounter for the prime minister, perhaps not surprisingly because the tories have been in government for seven years, so there isa government for seven years, so there is a record to interrogate. she was asked about school funding, about police numbers. it wasn't always ease yr for her. nor was —— easy for her. nor was she thrown off course. she was asked about brexit. she wouldn't give a number in terms of how much to pay in terms of the divorce bill. she restated her view that no deal would be better than a bad deal, without explaining exactly what no deal would look like. as they leave here, they'll both be pretty pleased. it didn't do either of t

would keep the idea of a vote about a united ireland — a policy proposed by their political rivals sinn feinm she outlined the party's key commitments. onjune the 8th i'm asking people to get northern ireland back on the right track. to vote to get the best deal for northern ireland. to strengthen our hand in the upcoming negotiation. to get the assembly back up and running. to protect our place within the united kingdom. and to unite behind one strong unionist voice. after months of speculation, arsenal have confirmed that manager arsene wenger has signed a new two year contract with the club. the team finished 5th in the premier league this season — the first time they've finished outside the top four since wenger took over in 1996. our sports correspondent, david ornstein, is outside the stadium. we perhaps had expected this but it has been a long time coming. we perhaps had expected this but it has been a long time comingm we perhaps had expected this but it has been a long time coming. it is no great surprise, arsene wenger and arsenal agreed the deal in principle many months ago but it

i obviously did meet people from sinn fein and i met people from other organisations.e a dialogue and peace process. that interview, in its entirety, is on bbc iplayer. you might remember the prime minister was interviewed by andrew neil earlier in the week. lots of other party leaders being interviewed by him in the coming days. thank you very much. you can also see andrew neil's full interview with jeremy corbyn here on bbc news at 12.30. and we'll find out how this story — and many others — are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:40 this evening in the papers. 0ur guestsjoining me tonight are the journalist james rampton and lucy fisher, senior political correspondent at the times. the headline is: can the head of the national counter terrorism unit says police have taken hold of a large part of the manchester terror network but that more arrests are likely. the 41—year—old man has been arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences. with the security level at critical, armed police patrol trains for the first time, ahead of the bank holiday weekend. labour leaderj

sinn fein's leader claims the party is heading for another "ground—breaking" election next month.veiled the party's election manifesto — which proposed a referendum on irish unity within five years, called for a special designated status for northern ireland within the eu and proposed the introduction of an irish language act. speaking at the event in dungannon she said "the new certainties are gone and a new political era is opening up in irish politics." so this is very much an opportunity to tell both the tories and the dup again, in the strongest possible terms, that we reject brexit, that we would reject any border, that we reject any attempt to put limits on our freedom of movement, we reject barriers to trade and agriculture, and we absolutely reject tory cuts. that we stand for, rights, for equality, and for irish unity. and coming up in the programme atjust after 5.30 we'll hear from a panel of three student voters about their thoughts on the election and the issues affecting them. and tonight, as part of his ongoing series of interviews with all the main party leaders, a

his approach in northern ireland where he was the at the forefront of mps advocating dialogue with sinn fein it did require negotiations to end the conflict. this doesn't track from the fact this is extraordinarily sensitive to rain in the middle of a general election. i have no doubt he will face significant criticism from his opponents. thank you, norman smith. and jeremy corbyn will be the latest leader in the hot seat talking to andrew neil — you can see that at seven o'clock this evening on bbc one. so let's get the latest on the investigation into the terror attack in manchester in which 22 people were killed. in the last short while, police have given more details about the arrests they've made. jane hill is in manchester for us now. hello again. another stunningly beautiful day in st ann's square, people coming all the time and there was no letup of people coming. some of them still laying flowers, standing quietly alongside the flowers here to read the cards and m essa g es flowers here to read the cards and messages remembering the 22 people who died. many more are in hospital but

sinn fein, as dlp, they are standing everywhere. with they are standing everywhere. other in the north. i think in the end we will find that there was a lot more speculation about pacts then we see in practice from get the full list of nominations. 0k, john, thank you. we are halfway through to the big night. humid. here we have the details from the roof of the bbc. good morning to you all. something else in the air, the lovely scent of wet ground. it is called. we have rain in the forecast. many gardeners and farmers will be rejoicing. yesterday we had showers with heavy thunder later. let's look at the details then because we have the air coming up from iberia and france. bands of cloud are sweeping the rain northwards. that band you can see stretching into wales and midlands is where we have rain. raining on and off at through the next few hours. brightening up towards the south after overnight rain but the rain will continue to edge northwards into north—west england in south—west scotland later. northern ireland sunshine and showers on. scotland should be largel