Well look at all those pledges both lib dem and tory and do the sums. Also tonight Prince Andrew announces tonight he is stepping back from public duties for the foreseeable future, following his interview about his friendship with jeffrey following his interview about his friendship withJeffrey Epstein. The charity that usually offers dental care in poor countries, now offering its services here. Jose mourinho is appointed manager at spurs. Has the self styled special one still got what it takes . Later in the hour, we will have sportsday with all the latest reports, results, interviews and features from the bbc sports centre. Good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. We will bring you all the election news in just we will bring you all the election news injust a we will bring you all the election news in just a few moments, but literally in the last few minutes, Prince Andrew has announced that he is stepping back from public duties. Lets go straight to our royal correspondent, nicolas witchell. Ive got the statement, the barest details, Prince Andrew says he has asked to step back from public duties for the foreseeable future. Yes, a statement from Buckingham Palace within the last few moments. And it says that it has become clear to me over the last few days that the circumstances relating to my former association with Jeffrey Epstein has become a major disruption to my familys work. Therefore, i have asked her majesty ifi therefore, i have asked her majesty if i may step back from public duties for the foreseeable future and she has given her permission. Now, i think it is clear that his position was becoming more and more untenable, with Major Companies are stepping back from support for his various initiatives. Bt the latest. And in his statement, that is, i think, a real attempt to appear contrite in this statement from Prince Andrew. He says, i continue to unequivocally regret my ill judged association withJeffrey Epstein. I deeply sympathise with eve ryo ne epstein. I deeply sympathise with everyone who has been affected and he wants some form of closure. I can only hope that in time, they will be able to rebuild their lives. And significantly, of course, i am willing to help any appropriate Law Enforcement agency with their investigations, if required. And thatis investigations, if required. And that is a question he has been asked, people have been asking of him. And they have been equivocating, even up until last night, Buckingham Palace was saying any request would be considered. So know they have finally perhaps and rather belatedly seen what i think just about everyone else has seen as inevitable and necessary, that he will agree to answer questions, whether it be from the fbi or to give sworn deposition. But this unprecedented step for a major Senior Member of the royal family, to step back from public duties for the foreseeable future, who judges how long that period is likely to last . We will have to see. Thank you for bringing us up to date and we will bring you back if there is more on that. Borisjohnson has proposed major changes to National Insurance contributions they will amount to a multi billion pound tax cut over the course of the next parliament, if the conservatives win the election. The current threshold sees workers paying National Insurance contributions once they earn £8,628 a year. In his first budget, the threshold will rise to £9,500 a saving of around £85 a year for every worker. And over the course of the next parliament, that threshold will rise to £12,500 thats a saving of more than £450. 0ur deputy political editor, john piennar, looks at the implications of this announcement. Borisjohnson has a big job in this election. When round the hard hat vote, the working class support he needs on polling day. 0ut campaigning today promising lower taxes wasnt enough. You said low tax, do you mean low tax for people like you on low tax for People Like Us . I mean low tax for people, for working people. We are going to be cutting National Insurance up to £12,000. A taste, then, of tax cuts for all, including lower earners, but the £12,500 starting rate for National Insurance would be phased in over the years. There would be an immediate increase to 9,500, with £100 a yearfrom immediate increase to 9,500, with £100 a year from next april. immediate increase to 9,500, with £100 a year from next april. If the conservatives were to raise the National Insurance threshold this far, it wouldnt leave them with much space at all really for additional spending increases or tax cuts elsewhere. They have said they wa nt to cuts elsewhere. They have said they want to balance the current budget, this would use up all of the headroom that they have got. Boris johnsons tax promise echoed a pledge made during his Party Leadership campaign. His opponents, as you would expect, were not impressed. Boris johnson is throwing around spending pledges and tax cuts like it is confetti but he not telling you how hes going to pay for it. And given that his proposals for it. And given that his proposals for brexit will undermine our economy reduce growth, these pledges are completely unbelievable. Labour hasissued are completely unbelievable. Labour has issued a statement saying the tory pledge failed to make up for what it called ten cruel years of cuts. The giveaway keeps coming. Mr johnson has also promised more tax cuts for higher earners as well recently, the signs are that will have to wait. Either way, so far, this election has been about ending austerity and pleasing voters. Worrying about how to pay for those promises, that comes later. But the Prime Minister, head of the tory ma nifesto, Prime Minister, head of the tory manifesto, said he was helping those who needed it the most. Our ambition is to go up to £12,500 threshold for National Insurance contributions, that would reproduce the burden of taxation vertically and people on low incomes and on all incomes. The reason we want to do that is to help with the cost of living. And that is one of the reasons we do things like increasing the living wage, by the biggest ever amount. We want to help people with the cost of living. The Prime Minister has been good at grabbing attention, but attention and trust are not the same thing. Borisjohnson and trust are not the same thing. Boris johnson wants and and trust are not the same thing. Borisjohnson wants and needs both. And our economics editor, faisal islam, is here. Looking at that report, Boris Johnson with workers, it looked as though this announcement came in a rather unscripted way. Yes, i am not sure he meant to pull it out today. And if it had occurred all in one day, it would be very expensive as we head in the report, about £10 billion, it would be a great tax reform because it would put the point at which you start to pay National Insurance, it would equalise it with the point at which you start to pay income tax and some see a benefit in that. But that is not the policy that will be in a ma nifesto. Not the policy that will be in a manifesto. I am told we will get a down payment on that 12,500 number of about £1000 increase in that so it isnt quite everything. And certainly when the Prime Minister says it is 500 and everyones pocket, when you look at what is actually going to be promised in the ma nifesto, actually going to be promised in the manifesto, it is about £85 so a down payment on an ambition that would be a big policy, but for the minutes, relatively modest tax cut of about £2 billion. All right, faisal, thanks very much. The liberal democrat leader, jo swinson, has launched her partys election manifesto with a a promise to stop brexit, and build a new future for the uk inside the European Union. The party claims that staying in the eu will give a £50 billion boost to spend on public services. And on climate change, theyre setting a target of generating 80 of our electricity from renewables by 2030. Heres our political editor, laura kuenssberg. It contains some flashing images. The voice of remain, jo swinson she wants to make a big entrance onto the national stage, why she believes the lib dems matter. We are the only party that can win a significant number of seats from the conservatives and deprive them of the majority. Applause. But while the nightclub is different enough to the other parties, can stopping brexit at all costs really appeal . The manifesto calls brexit a national humiliation, is that a way to describe what was a democratic decision . is that a way to describe what was a democratic decision . I do believe it has become a National Embarrassment for our country. When you speak to people in other countries looking at us, and they look at us with puzzlement. But what message do you think that sends to a leave voter, who might have just heard you say that . Very candidly, seeking to overturn what was a narrow but clear decision taken by the majority of voters in this country. So, i recognise that the vote in 2016 had that result. The people who want brexit dont know what brexit looks like and that concerns me that i dont think there isa concerns me that i dont think there is a majority in this country for any specific form of brexit and that is why i think it is very worrying to embark on a path that the governments analysis says will make us poorer governments analysis says will make us poorer if we dont even have confidence that is what the majority of the population want. A few weeks ago, you said youre a candidate to be Prime Minister, do you say now thatis be Prime Minister, do you say now that is still the case . I am the liberal democrat candidate to beat Prime Minister, not a single vote has been cast in this election, people still have a genuine choice. I recognise that is a big step to ta ke i recognise that is a big step to take from where the pills look like they are right now. I am not going be deterred from my vision for our country. Can you levelwith people now and admit that it is extremely unlikely unless something very odd happens in this campaign . M unlikely unless something very odd happens in this campaign . It is certainly possible. And politics is about trying to achieve change. there is no majority, you could have an extremely influential role in the morning of friday the 13th of december. Now, at the moment, as things stand, would you countenance working in any way with a government led byJeremy Corbyn, yes or no . Working in any way with a government led by Jeremy Corbyn, yes or no . We are not putting Jeremy Corbyn into number 10 with liberal democrat votes, nor will we put borisjohnson into another ten with liberal democrat votes. It is one thing to say liberal democrat mps would not vote for a government grant of Boris JohnsonJeremy Corbyn, would you block eitherJeremy Corbyn or Boris Johnson from forming a government . Yes, ido johnson from forming a government . Yes, i do not want to see either of them forming a government. But what iam them forming a government. But what i am saying to you is i think we should be more imaginative about what happens. You have mps in those two main parties who do not necessarily lend themselves agree with their own Party Leadership. You are suggesting there could be a government of National Unity the morning after if there is no majority . I dont rule that out as an option. You are doing times tables beyond brexit, it is an ambitious and expensive manifesto. An extra £10 billion a yearfor schools in england, thousands of extra teachers, stretching target and cutting emissions and a special tax to be spent on health and care for the elderly. The lib dems are still controversial. Now, you cant be sure these numbers will add up. There is wide agreement that our economy will be bigger if we remain in the European Union and we have taken a cautious and of those estimates to calculate our remain bonus and we are being honest about the need to raise more money through taxation, whether that is on corporation tax, putting that up to 20 , or whether that is 1p on income tax for the nhs, to fund our spending promises, too. A few weeks ago, it felt the lib dems could be heading for a much bigger platform. Her role, though, may ultimately be not about what she would do, instead, he or she would choose. Laura kuenssberg, bbc news, london. Lets look at some of the other pledges. Theres Free Childcare for working parents from nine months old. Plans to recruit 20,000 more teachers, and theyre promising to transform Mental Health services. 0ur chief political correspondent, vicki young, reports from cornwall, where the lib dems face key election battles. This cornish brewery is proud of its ale and sells it to pubs all over the country. The business is doing well, but the owner is worried about the economy slowing down after years of uncertainty over their brexit. So, how is the lib dems main pro eu message going down here in truro . I voted for remain for the very reasons that i wanted stability. Now im not so sure, because ijust think we need to get out. Upstairs in the office, most think this election will be dominated by brexit. The lib dems, theyve got a very clear message on brexit. Do you know what that message is and is it something that appeals to you . Yeah. They will revoke article 50. I get that, they need a usp, thats their usp. Whether people believe it, i think its too little too late for them. I dont want another referendum, i think thats totally wrong. We voted once, thats the way we should go. I think that we would be better off remaining. And they have a very strong message on that, the liberal democrats. They do, but i dont know how much i trust them. But they are. And i dont know how much power they have got to be able to make that change. The liberal democrats are confident of making progress in cornwall and the rest of the south west, but they do face a tough challenge in many areas. There was a time when every single seat in cornwall had a liberal democrat mp. Today, theyre all conservative. Plus, labour has performed far better in recent general elections, which means the lib dems need a spectacular turnaround to gain seats like truro back again. At this warehouse, theres a whole range of cornish produce being packed up for sale across the uk. The companys boss has always been a lib dem voter. And what do you think aboutjo swinson, as a relatively new leader of a party . Yeah, i think shes good. I think its really hard as a woman in a leadership role. It can be easy for people to accuse you of being maybe slightly aggressive, but i think shes doing a good job. Shes trying to have simple messages. But for me, it would be a case of if they could get together and say, actually, this one person is the person to vote for to stop brexit. Thats who i would vote for. Tonight, last minute preparations are under way for the city of lights parade, when hundreds of handcrafted lanterns will light up the streets. Volunteers here are weighing up their options. I think theres more to the country thanjust brexit, and i think other things need to be considered. Education, im a teacher, or an ex teacher, but also, the lack of funding in education and the nhs. For me, brexit is important. I feel it very sad that were turning our back on europe. The lib dem strategy depends on voters deciding to use this election to register their anger over brexit. Vicki young, bbc news, truro. The liberal democrats are, on the face of it, planning to take the strictest approach to borrowing of all the major parties. 0ur economics editor faisal islam has been taking a look at their manifesto, to see if the sums add up. Hello again. Thank you, george. The liberal democrats have set out fairly significant plans to change spending and taxation over the next parliament. Uniquely, theyre aiming to tax more than they spend day to day tighter than both labour and the conservatives. That message underlies all these numbers and is one reason why, for example, the lib dems will be the only major party promising a one pence rise in income tax, including the basic rate, raising £8 billion a year. Theres over £15 billion business tax rises on corporation and Capital Gains tax. Now, this ones interesting £5 billion extra from air passenger duty. It raises only 3. 5 billion right now, but the party plans to make it cheaper for most holiday makers, meaning massive rises of hundreds of pounds per flight for some frequent fliers. The lib dems once again say £1. 5 billion can be raised from legalizing and taxing cannabis. But heres something you dont often see. Almost all these revenue increases are connected in the manifesto with specific spending rises. That last tax on cannabis goes to the police. The air passenger rise is connected to funding the fight against climate change. Business taxes on extending childcare and free school meals, and the income tax hike is for the funding pressures on health and social care. The message being that prudence has a purpose. Perhaps painful politically, but the lib dems think the public want honesty about the inevitable costs of funding pressures from, say, an ageing society for things like health and social care. The biggest source of extra revenue is from stopping brexit, the remain bonus. Thats tax revenues arising from a prediction of a larger economy. Thats 50 billion over five years that goes to 20,000 extra teachers and welfare support. But how would such ring fencing work . Fewer teachers from a smaller remain bonus . Less Police Support if cannabis revenues fall short . In practice, this is an attempt at making significant tax rises more palatable, it couldnt actually be earmarked, as the lib dems have said. As well as this sort of day to day spending, the lib dems, like all parties, are planning to invest much more £130 billion, in its case in big green projects such as rail electrification, and also further education colleges. Less than labour, more than the conservatives. Its a manifesto that retains some of the tough austerity message, at a time when others are parking that concern. Its a bet that the public prefers hard truths to easy promises. George. Faisal, thank you. Lets try and put all of this into some sort of context with our political editor, laura kuenssberg, whojoins us from north london. What can i say, a very big day on the campaign trail . Yes, it has been. There is a lot going on, not least the lib dems manifesto launch here in north london. They are certainly the only party to have their manifesto event in aid nightclub and the only party wants to be known for that big headline message of they are stopping brexit at all costs. Their priority beyond everything. I think we are starting to see a bit of a shift in the lib dems approach. A few weeks ago they we re dems approach. A few weeks ago they were quite starry eyed at the beginning of the campaign and saw huge potential. We saw beginning of the campaign and saw huge potential. We sano swinson talk again and again about wanting to be the Prime Minister does not now they are pivoting to a slightly different appeal to the public, that they are the party who believes they can stop Boris Johnson they are the party who believes they can stop borisjohnson getting a majority. The implications for all of that, about there may be being a hung parliament, we had from jo swinson tonight, she is not com pletely swinson tonight, she is not completely clear about exactly what she would do in that circumstance and she didnt want to say she would actually block borisjohnson or Jeremy Corbyn from getting the keys to number ten Jeremy Corbyn from getting the keys to numberten in Jeremy Corbyn from getting the keys to number ten in the event of a hung parliament. As far as borisjohnson is concerned, we had a big promise from him today on cutting National Insurance contributions for workers in the future. Thats the kind of thing the tories will be shouting from the rooftops in the next few weeks. The labour manifesto launch is tomorrow and it feels after may bea is tomorrow and it feels after may be a stuttering week last week, we are getting into the big decisive daysin are getting into the big decisive days in this campaign. Laura, thank you. There is are that election news. Lets have a look. The snp leader said today it illustrates why scotland needs to be in charge of its own future. The Electoral Commission is urging parties to campaign responsibly, after twitter accused the conservatives of misleading the public. It comes after a tory Party Press Office account on social media was rebranded during last nights Election Debate as a Fact Checking service. Millions of people are going without dental care in england, according to bbc analysis of nhs figures. This includes 1. 5 Million People whove been unable to get an nhs appointment. Nhs england says steps are being taken to tackle the problem. Our Health CorrespondentDominic Hughes reports on how some people are now relying on a charity. Desperately needed emergency dentistry. Being carried out in a van outside dewsbury town hall. The Dentaid Charity normally works in developing countries. But today, its helping people like basir afsal, whos had to live with excruciating tooth pain for months. I was in too much pain, nobody could help me. Nobody could help me. None of these nhs services, nobody would help me at all. Basir is far from alone. During this visit, dentaid staff saw 50 patients and extracted 20 teeth. Any pain there . No. All day, this charity van has been busy seeing people who are in real pain because of tooth decay. But for all those patients, this is the only way they can access emergency nhs dental care here in dewsbury. People like lindsay, in toothache, cant find someone to deal with. The 111 service is who they phone, theyre usually kept on the phone for hours and usually offered an appointment a couple of weeks down the line. Well, if youre in acute pain, cant sleep, need the tooth out, thats why we come. Using data from the independent gp survey, the bbc has drawn up this map, showing where the most people are missing out on nhs dental care. The blue areas are better than average. Yellow, average and the red areas, worse than average and include much of london and the south east, devon and cornwall and parts of east anglia. Youre doing really well. The British Dental Association says there are similar issues in wales. In Northern Ireland and scotland, where checkups are free, its less of a problem. This is a crisis. Weve been saying its been a crisis for a long while and weve been ignored. Sadly at the moment, we see a situation where people are expecting more for less and, really, we cant carry on like that. If we carry on with more for less, we will eventually see the complete demise of the nhs, as far as dentistry goes. But for many in dewsbury, this kind of emergency treatment is all thats available. A charity filling the gaps left by the nhs. Dominic hughes, bbc news, dewsbury. Tottenham hotspur have appointed Jose Mourinho as their new manager. One of the most successful figures in world football, he replaces mauricio pochettino, who was sacked last night. Heres our Sports Editor dan roan. He brings trophies but often trouble, too. For almost a year, Jose Mourinhos been on the sidelines, but now, in a move that surprised many, one of footballs most divisive figures is back. Tottenham hotspur today unveiling the portuguese coach as their new manager. I always told about the club potential, i always told about the qualities of the players, i always told the magnificent work the club was doing. I really like this squad, and looking to the young players. Mourinhos appointment came less than 12 hours after the sacking of mauricio pochettino. In his five and a half years at the club, the hugely popular argentinian had transformed spurs into genuine contenders. Unforgettably propelling them to the Champions League final, despite limited spending on players. But amid an alarming dip in form this year and with the club languishing in 14th place in the premier league, chairman daniel levy decided to act. It was a big shock. Hes been amazing to work with for the last five years and a shame to see him go. Spurs stunned players arrived for training this afternoon with their new manager already waiting for them. This is why hes been hired. Mourinhos won trophies with every club hes been at, 25 of them, in fact, including the Champions League at porto, three premier League Titles in two spells at chelsea, la liga at real madrid and the Europa League at manchester united. But there, the fans grew weary of his style of play and by the time he was sacked, mourinho had become a sullen figure. Hes a dated manager. You know, the way he plays his football, its from a time gone past. The way he plays his football, i dont think its the tottenham way. The reason why we are allowed to dream the way we are is because of pochettino. So, to diminish that and completely disregard everything hes done in the last five and a half years is quite disrespectful. Never before had spurs hired a manager as demanding or as confrontational as Jose Mourinho. It doesnt feel a natural fit, but with this £1 billion new stadium and a talented squad, theyll hope that he can harness their ambition and deliver the trophies they crave but it is a gamble. Dan roan, bbc news, at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium. That brings us to the weather. Heres sarah keith lucas. It has been a largely dry day today, good news for places like doncaster. River levels starting to return to normal in many places but still flood warnings in force across parts of northern and eastern england, the West Midlands as well. The reason things have been so dry is we have low pressure trying to move in from the west but it is bumping into a vast area of low pressure which is sitting across russia. That is blocking our weather, so keeping weather fronts at bay, mostly stalling towards the south west. More rain to come for the south west of england, particular corn will this evening and overnight. A few spots of rain for Northern Ireland and also northern and eastern parts of scotla nd and also northern and eastern parts of scotland are dry elsewhere. For most places, looking at a largely frost free night but those temperatures will dip below freezing and a few more rural spot. A touch of brass, particularly scotland and Northern England first thing. Tomorrow looks like another largely dry day. A lot of cloud so any sunshine will be quite hazy. Best of the brightness in northern scotland. Still some rain for the south west of england which will slowly creep north eastwards later in the day. Temperatures still on the cool side for the time of year, somewhere between 6 10 on thursday. As we look further ahead to the end of the week, an unsettled picture into friday. Some showery rain moving up from the south west pushing northwards and eastwards but those temperatures will move back into double figures for some of us, particular towards the south. Looking at about 10 degrees for southern parts of england and wales, only 8 9 further north. The u nsettled only 8 9 further north. The unsettled story continues into the weekend. Some uncertainty about the detail but a couple of areas of low pressure moving in and those isobars tightening into some day as well. More rain on the cards for some of us more rain on the cards for some of us through the course of the weekend and also turning quite breezy. It wont be raining all the time, there will be a little brightness in between those showers, george. Thank you, sarah. A reminder of our top story, in the last half an hour Prince Andrew has announced he is stepping back from public duties for the foreseeable future following about his friendship with convicted sex offenderJeffrey Epstein. The duke of york says hes willing to help Law Enforcement agencies their investigations. Thats all from the bbc news at six, so its goodbye from me and on bbc one, we nowjoin the bbcs news teams where you are. Hello this is bbc news. The headlines. Prince andrew announces he will step back from public duties for the foreseeable future, following a bbc interview about his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein. Borisjohnson says hell raise the point at which workers start to pay National Insurance if his party wins the general election lowering taxes for working people. Imean i mean low tax for people, the working people. We are going to be cutting National Insurance up to 12,000