that was sir michael fallon talking to andrew marr.o on the programme and said his party was ready to fight another election and was rewarded for a successful campaign. the conservatives, he said, are in turmoil. we have a chaotic situation with the government re—election on the basis of having a bigger mandate and majority to bring stability to british politics, and what have begot? a minority government relying on the dup to try to get business through the house of commons when they have no agreed positions on most issues, it seems to me. i think it is chaotic. we are ready and able to put forward a serious programme which obviously has massive support in this country. remember, this election campaign turned around a great deal on the basis of an awful lot of people rejecting the politics of fear and instead embracing the politics of hope, that we can challenge austerity and we can start sharing the wealth out in this country a bit better. in terms of raw, brute numbers and the way the system works, they got more votes and they got m

this morning, the defence secretary sir michael fallon backed theresa may, but said she would have topport of her cabinet, rather than listening to advisors. but criticism of her leadership style has continued, with former chancellor george osborne calling her a "dead woman walking", following the general election result. here is our political correspondent leila nathoo.

the defence secretary, sir michael fallon, told the daily telegraph that the party was not in the businessf punishing people for getting on. our political correspondent leila nathoo is in westminster for us this morning. is this a deliberate change of policy or clarification of policy or signal, what do we read into it?” think it's a clarification. there was no mention of this in the conservative manifesto. the only thing mentioned on tax in the tory ma nifesto thing mentioned on tax in the tory manifesto was not raising vat so that left room, left the door open for rises in national insurance and income tax. you will remember david cameron under the conservatives under him had promised not to raise any of them, vat, income tax or national insurance. but theresa may had left that out from her ma nifesto, had left that out from her manifesto, perhaps to give the conservatives some flexibility on taxation as the chancellor philip hammond had suggested but obviously the uncertainty about whether income tax would be raised for higher earners, the core tory support base, was troubling for the c

the manifesto makes no commitment towards income tax but both the defence secretary, sir michael fallond the foreign secretary, borisjohnson, said the tax would not rise if the tories won the election. with more, our political correspondent iain watson. senior conservatives, including the defence secretary and foreign secretary, have been sending out a strong message to their core voters. they suggest that income tax would not rise if they were elected. the conservative manifesto does not reflect that. our position on tax has not changed. we have set it out in the manifesto. what people will know when they've vote on thursday, it is the conservative party who always has and is a low tax party. it is our intention to reduce taxes for ordinary working families. what does the conservative manifesto say on tax? at the last election david cameron promised not to increase income tax, national insurance or vat. in the 2017 manifesto, only the pledge on vat remains. if theresa may is returned to downing street, she has the prospect of tough brexit talks but she is not boxing on tax. 0ur colleag

we heard in the weekend, people like sir michael fallon saying he had been in to tell that things havechange. she has got rid of too close advisers, they we re got rid of too close advisers, they were accused of not consulting, not speaking to others. there was talk in the room to write about that disastrous social care policy, disastrous social care policy, disastrous in the sense that it had not been talked about. it had not been consulted, tory mps did not know it was coming and then they we re know it was coming and then they were expected to go and spend it on the doorsteps. that's will not happen again, theresa may says, i think we will have a lot more of the cabinet being involved in what is going on. the liaison with backbenchers, there was a huge round of applause and cheering for gavin ba rwell. of applause and cheering for gavin barwell. he is a former conservative mp who lost his seat in croydon on thursday, he has been brought in as her chief of staff, he is a very popular figure her chief of staff, he is a very popularfigure among her chief of staff, he is a very popular

this morning, the defence secretary sir michael fallon backed theresa may, but said she would have to start governing with the support of her cabinet, rather than listening to advisors. but criticism of her leadership style has continued, with former chancellor george osborne calling her a "dead woman walking", following the general election result. here is our political correspondent leila nathoo. deal a loan deal. confusion over an announcement last night whether the dup had already come to an agreement with the conservative party. today, clarification that talks were still ongoing. we have had very good discussions with the conservative party about how we could help forming a national government to bring stability to the government. these discussions continue. but we have made good progress. no news on what the medium and on return, but their social conservative views may conflict with conservatives wishing to modernise. this will be a supply arrangement. certain things like voting for the queen's speech, making sure the budget goes through and issues of the fence. it will be and i

does not include a promise on income tax, but in a newspaper interview the defence secretary, sir michael fallon only way people could be sure of not paying more tax was to vote conservative. meanwhile, the labour leader jeremy corbyn has accused the conservatives of being in chaos over their tax plans. our political correspondent leila nathoo reports the last push to win over undecided voters and shore up support among the tory base. theresa may forced to clarify the conservatives‘ tax policy this morning after senior cabinet members suggested income tax rises would be off the table. our position on tax hasn‘t changed. we‘ve set that out in the manifesto. what people will know when they go to vote on thursday is that it is the conservative party that always has been, is and always will be, a low tax party, and it is ourfirm intention to reduce taxes for ordinary working families. her manifesto only ruled out increasing vat, claiming the conservatives‘ intention was to keep taxes as low as possible. but with no firm promise on income tax, the defence secretary used a newspaper interview to signa

the conservative manifesto did not rule out an increase but the defence secretary, sir michael fallon the daily telegraph that the party was "not in the business of punishing people for getting on". our political correspondent leila nathoo is in westminster for us this morning. is this another reversal in policy? i think it is a signal. because there has not been clarity on this issue of whether the conservatives would raise income tax. as you say it was not explicit in their ma nifesto. it was not explicit in their manifesto. their only manifesto pledge was to not raise vat. previously, the conservatives under david cameron had promised not to raise national insurance in contact oi’ raise national insurance in contact or vat so the tax triple lock, as it was called. theresa may, i think now sending a signal, really, to her core supporters to try and ensure that they turn out and to reassure them that actually she is not going to raise income tax for higher earners. labour says this is not as explicit for lower and middle—income earners. they say that only the lower and middle income

the defence secretary, sir michael fallon, told the daily telegraph that the party was not in the businesspunishing people for getting on. our political correspondent leila nathoo is in westminster for us this morning. let's talk about tax first, is this a change in policy from the ma nifesto for a change in policy from the manifesto for the tories?|j a change in policy from the manifesto for the tories? i think it's more of an appendix, but not a firm promise, pledge, commitment, not there in black and white. theresa may had scrapped david cameron's previous promise not to raise income tax, vat, or national insurance, the only mention of tax in the conservative manifesto was a promise to try to keep taxes low and not to raise vat. so that left the door open for rises in income tax and national insurance. now i think these comments from sir michael falline and from borisjohnson last night saying there are no plans to raise income tax, this is a signal really to the core tory support base to try to shore up the vote in these final days. labour are saying there's still no guarantees of no in

the defence secretary, sir michael fallon, told the daily telegraph the party was "not in the businessnishing people for getting on". labour has already said it would increase income tax rates to 45 pence in the pound for those earning more than £80,000. the singer ariana grande has visited fans in hospital who were injured in the terror attack at her manchester concert. the star spent time with youngsters at the royal manchester children's hospital in a surprise appearance ahead of a benefit concert in the city tomorrow. simonjones reports. the smiles say it all. fans like this eight—year—old girl who was still recovering from her injuries in hospital, reading the singer who means so much to them. the children had been getting ready for bed when the star arrived unexpectedly, bringing gifts and signing autographs. there were thanks as well for the nurses. and tomorrow she will perform at a concert to raise funds for the victims and theirfamilies. the raise funds for the victims and their families. the 22 lives are lost have been at saint ann ‘s square which has become the focal point

probably the result of an interview that sir michael fallon, defence secretary, gave in the telegraph newspaper today, he said they will not put up tax for higher earners, but that seemed to go further than the party manifesto which makes no commitment on any tax rates, except saying broadly it is a party of low taxation. the prime minister was asked about it by our political correspondent in dewsbury and interestingly she said "we set it out in the manifesto". in a later a nswer to it out in the manifesto". in a later answer to itv, she said it was their firm intention to keep taxes low or ordinary working families, and reduced taxes on ordinary working families. it sounds like a rebuff for some michael's position, that the parties will not raise income tax. not that it will do that but it is not prepared to rule it out. i'm sure whoever is chancellor of the exchequer, if there is another conservative government after the 8th ofjune, will be grateful for that flexibility. the present chancellor philip hammond says he wa nts chancellor philip hammond says he wants more of that rather

does not include a promise on income tax, but in a newspaper interview, the defence secretary, sir michael fallonnservative. our political correspondent leila nathoo reports. the last push to win over undecided voters and shore up support among the tory base. theresa

i think the british reaction should be supportive, as i think sir michael fallon said, it should be proportionated be there in support. i think the key thing here, and it's nice to see a bit of statesmanship or state craft at work, is that they don't really want to do it. what they are saying is, we are happy to work with you against isis, but don't, for goodness‘ sake, make the mistake of using chemical weapons again, because all bets are then off. and if we felt the intelligence was adequate, would you think we should actuallyjoin in, for example, punishment attacks on assad? yes, i do. at a time when the relationship with america is probably more important than ever for us, certainly no less important than it has been than at other critical times in our history, i think it's very important that we are alongside america if they ask us and they want us to be there. beyond the moral imperative to demonstrate to the man, he is not going to use chemical weapons and get away with it. there has been a dilemma in our foreign policy, in american foreign policy about which of the two objectives defeatin

joined by jeremy corbyn fresh from his extraordinary campaign of the government i am joined by sir michael fallonand all of that. i have lord heseltine covering the same area from a different perspective. i have a leading and important player in the european parliament on the basis of what they see emerging from all this in london. and, finally, helping me to review the papers, and newspaperman called george osborne. quite a busy programme at nine o'clock. go and prepare, andrew, you have much to get through. the headlines are up next to your brea kfast. headlines are up next to your breakfast. —— here on bbc breakfast. hello. this is breakfast, with rachel burden and ben thompson. coming up before 8am, john has a round—up of the sports news and phil will be here with the weather. but first, a summary of this morning's main news. the dup says it has had "positive talks" over a possible deal to support a conservative minority government, but that no final agreement has yet been reached. discussions are set to continue later this week. our correspondent, john campbell, is in belfast. can you bring

it was clear listening to sir michael fallon yesterday, the defence secretary. into theresa may and he said he went into theresa may and he said he went into theresa may and he said he and others have said to her that things will have to change. so a different kind of decision—making and the fact that of course her authority has been damaged. she did not deliver that huge victory that many of these conservatives were hoping for. that means she is going to speak to them, she will have to make decisions alongside them as well. so i can imagine there will be a bigger team, cabinet well. so i can imagine there will be a biggerteam, cabinet having much more stay on things. people like nicola sturgeon, the first minister of scotland, saying when it comes to brexit, there needs to be a deal by all four nations of the uk. now is time they behind the government and the brexit talks, but they have some kind of agreement. that is just so unlikely because there are many who think they should stay in the single market, that is what nicola sturgeon wa nts. market, that is wha

sir michael farnham... of labour. a different account from sirmichael farnham... —— of labour. a different account from sir michael farnham... —— sur michael fallon.ective from nicola sturgeon, he scottish first minister, who very much back to the remain campaign. she wants a spores in the brexit process. —— a pause. -- a pause. i think the approach the government was taking is dead in the water and i government was taking is dead in the waterand i am government was taking is dead in the water and i am calling for a process opened up to include more voices that all parties and all four nations of the uk and an approach that has continued membership of the single market at its heart. the prime minister has to recognise she asked for a strengthened mandate for asked for a strengthened mandate for a hard brexit and voters across the country refused to give that and she cannot simply carry on as if nothing has changed. jackie davis is anne aly list based in brussels and an expert in the eu —— and analyst. i wa nted expert in the eu —— and analyst. i wanted to know if leaders in brussels were clear on what the uk wa nts. brussels were clear on what the

the idea of any arrangement according to sir michael fallon would be about brexit and the economy, ite about things about social policy and the like. with me is the conservative mp for stratford on avon nadhim zahawi. a grim few days for you? humbling that the people of stratford decided to wa nt that the people of stratford decided to want me as their member of parliament, but also with a resounding endorsement for the work that myself and my team have done for the past seven years, so i'm humbled and grateful and shall never forget who brought me to this place yet again. are you angry? no. i'm not angry. let's not forget, we are the largest party and with an agreement with the dup, we will have agreement with the dup, we will have a working majority. last time we we re a working majority. last time we were in this position, it took a lot longer to get to a place where we could have a queen's speech and so i think the prime minister has acted very firmly. she's already named her cabinet. inspired appointments with michael gove being brought back in. but hang on, she's had to delay th

austerity although interestingly this morning, the defence secretary sir michael fallonjust this morning, the defence secretary sir michael fallon listen. that's. .. and that is obviously a huge question. it is partially a matter for at the review bodies but it is also, you know, involves a force cast of where inflation is going to be. i think we expect inflation to start falling back again from the autumn onwards which is something we have to consider not only for the army but across the private sector as a whole. i am nowjoined by the shadow cabinet memberjohn cricket. everyone is tired of austerity but we have a deficit of more than £50 billion. how do you pay for it if you end austerity? let's be clear, austerity is failing on its own terms. the more you cut, the more debt for the country seems to grow. we are now at 1.7 trillion and rights. our view is that you cannot cut your way into growth, you have to invest and we have made it clear that we would borrow to invest but not borrow to pay for day—to—day expenditure. by doing so, you will kick—start the economy again, create realjobs and kick—start the economy again, create

we will have more on that later on, speaking to sir michael fallon at 8:30am this morning.t we have had rain across northern ireland, scotland, northern england and wales. some of that is heavy in the next three or four hours we could see 40 millimetres of rainfall so a lot of surface water and spray on the roads, possibly some localised flooding. at this stage, at 8am, the rain not yet across northern scotland. a chilly start with rain arriving later. for northern ireland rain continuing to push away but you will see a return to sunshine and showers and through the afternoon some of the showers will be heavy and thundery. heavy rain moving across northern england, especially around cumbria, and that rain extends into wales. a secondary band across the midlands over in the direction of the wash, and as he comes out, quite a bit of cloud with a little bit of sunshine. through the day the rain continues to drift north eastwards, heading across all of scotland. it turns more patchy nature and a little bit lighter across northern england. sunshine and showers for northern irela