king charles has carried out his first state opening of parliament as monarch. the speech, written by the government, has set out the plans for year ahead. proposed laws include tougher sentences for some crimes, a phased ban on smoking and more licensing for oil and gas fields in the north sea. our political correspondent helen catt has more. just before 11.15, the royal carriage drew into the sovereign entrance, carrying for the first time in seven decades, the king, to formally open parliament. while the monarch had changed, the pageantry remained the same. as is tradition, black rod went to the commons and had the door slammed shut against her by mps. before she summoned them to the lords. on the way, the prime minister and the leader of the opposition appeared to be having a friendly chat but this speech, written by the government, was in part about drawing dividing lines between them ahead of an election. but first, the king acknowledged the significance of this moment
challenges for customers to earn bonus points could be pushing people to spend more than they can afford. that s the warning from consumer groups. i ll be taking a look. in sport it s the start of a new adventure for emma hayes. we hear how she s settling in to her new manager role in the united states as she prepares to lead them into the olympics this summer. to lead them into the quite to lead them into the a cloudy start this morning. some quite a cloudy start this morning. some outbreaks of rain out there, but things should brighten up. a bit of sunshine developing in the afternoon. all of the details shortly. it s thursday 30th may. our main story. the conservatives and labour have both ruled out increasing vat if they are elected in five weeks time. the promises have raised questions about how the parties will fund their spending plans, and deliver on their commitments if they win the elction. our political correspondent damian grammaticas has this report. midnight