Has temporarily stepped down following claims that he helped secure an honourfor a major donor. The sunday times and the Mail On Sunday allege that Michael Fawcett used his influence to assist a saudi businessman. Mr fawcett was until 2003 the princes valet. Heres our correspondent simonjones. And a warning, his report contains some flashing images. He was once one of Prince Charles� closest aides, but now Michael Fawcett is facing questions about his conduct. Good morning, Mr Fawcett. Did you secure honours for cash . Any comment on the allegations in the Newspapers Today . Three years ago, he became Chief Executive of the Princes Foundation, an Umbrella Group for a number of Prince Charles� s charitable interests. Newspaper reports allege that Mr Fawcett offered to assist a wealthy saudi national and major donor to the Princes Foundation with citizenship and with an honour. Mahfouz Marei Mubarak Bin Mahfouz received an honorary cbe in late 2016. 0ne Former Government Minister who has written a book on royal finances once a Police Investigation into the allegations. Finances wants a Police Investigation into the allegations. In 2013, Mr Fawcett resigned from a previous job with the royal family after an internal report criticised the running of the royal household. Michael fawcett has been forced to resign twice already. Both times, under cover of darkness, almost, he was reinstated by Prince Charles when the hoohah died down. So Prince Charles is very, very closely linked with this man. And im sure that whatever Michael Fawcett did would have been done with the full support of Prince Charles. Prince charles needs to answer questions about this, not Michael Fawcett. The met has not commented. The Princes Foundation, based at dumfries house, offers Education And Training programmes for more than 15,000 people each year, helping them to find work or start their own businesses. In a statement, it said. It added that Mr Fawcett will assist the investigation in every way. A spokesman for dr Bin Mahfouz said that he had not expected any reward for his charitable donations. Simon jones, Bbc News. The former conservative Chancellor Lord Hammond has warned that the suggestion the government might increase National Insurance to fund Social Care in england could provoke a very significant backlash. Borisjohnson and senior ministers have been discussing details this weekend on how to overhaul the care system, before an announcement this week. 0ur Political Correspondent Chris Mason reports. It is probably the biggest domestic social Policy Challenge Borisjohnson inherited when he became prime minister. Sorting out Social Care in england. In the next few days, it looks like he will set out his plan. The government is not denying National Insurance, a tax on earnings, will go up to pay for it. Today, the former chancellor, lord hammond, said that was a bad idea. The issue is, an increase in National Insurance contributions is asking young working people, some of whom will never inherit a property, to subsidise older people who have accumulated wealth during their lifetime and have a property and on any basis, that has got to be wrong. This morning, this minister refused to elaborate on the governments plans, but did say. We will work with national partners, with local partners and those with lived experience of the social Care Sector to get this right and get it right as we are determined to do. Currently in england, people have to meet some of their Care Costs if they have assets over £14,250, and above the level of £23,250, they have to pay the Care Bill in full. Many want to see a lifetime cap on how much people have to pay but that comes with a big cost to the taxpayer. Labour wants a new system, too, but dont think raising National Insurance is the solution. We are sceptical about the idea of loading the entire burden of the social Care Crisis onto the Supermarket Workers and Delivery Drivers who are already dealing with really high housing costs, childCare Costs and others. The government had hoped to find a consensus on this issue. That does not look likely. They also promised not to put up National Insurance, a policy, it appears, they are willing to shred, too. Chris mason, Bbc News. The Closing Ceremony for the Paralympic Games is under way in tokyo. Great britain won two more medals on the final day, taking their tally to 124, 41 of them gold. They finished second in the table behind china. 0ur Sports Correspondent Andy Swiss has more. Last but definitely not least. Britains final medal of the games was one of its most emotional, as Krysten Coombs took bronze in the badminton. The teams 124th medal but to coombs, it meant more than any of them. It was, he said, a dream come true. It was a glittering end to what has been a glittering games for paralympicsgb. Earlier, there had also been bronze in the wheelchair basketball. Yet another celebration here in tokyo, and there have been a lot of them. Britain finished second in the overall table. Of recent games, only rio has been better, and after such a difficult build up, the head of the british team is full of praise. How would you sum up what this team have achieved . Um, history making. They have ripped up the sort of, the stats and we have put a marker down in terms of the depth of talent and we are very proud of what we have achieved out here in tokyo. And so to The End of what has been an unprecedented paralympics. Delayed for a year but finally finishing amid a colourful ceremony. For the hosts, japan, it has been the toughest of challenges. Like the olympics, these games have been held amid a pandemic and amid tight restrictions. But despite concerns, the warmth of their welcome has been universally praised. And so to the parade of the athletes, including afghanistans two competitors, who were evacuated from kabul to take part here, while the british flag was brought in by Boccia Gold Medallist david smith. A memorable end to what has been an extraordinary games. The ceremony is still very much under way here in tokyo, but the next hour or so, then the games will officially draw to a close. What the games have been four paralympic gb. They were set a target of between 100 and 140 medals, and with 125, they have hit that. It has been an unprecedented and paralympics, held during a pandemic. Some athletes feared they might never happen, that they have, they have gone smoothly and finally reaching the finish line. Thank you very much. More than 8,000 Chain Stores disappeared from our High Streets and Shopping Centres in the first six months of this year. New research suggests City Centres have suffered the most, as footfall has yet to recover to pre pandemic levels. Our business correspondent, emma simpson, reports. Its the most famous Shopping Street in london but now one of the most hardest hit. Oxford street, littered with boarded up shops. City centres have suffered the most this year, as Chain Stores continue to close. There is quite a lot closed down, weve noticed, thats what weve noticed walking along. Its not as crowded as it used to be. Its quite unexpected coming to Central London and actually seeing how affected they are from the pandemic. Its the same in brighton, loads of shops have gone. New figures show the scale of upheaval. In the first half of this year, 3488 Chain Stores opened. These include everything from gyms and cafes to banks and bars. But more than 8700 of them closed. Meaning a net loss of more than 5200 outlets. These figures are stark, but theyre not quite as bad as this time last year. Out of all of the locations across Great Britain, its retail parks and out of Town Shopping that have fared best. So is this a permanent shift . Over the next few months, City Centres will start to liven up again as people start to go back to work, as schools go back and people spend more time in cities. However, i dont think youre going to get the same level of footfall in City Centres as before. This Bakery Chain definitely prefers the High Street. Its just opening its latest store here in the London Suburb of kew, one of four new branches. Opening the extra stores, you know, and being able to expand at a time where rents are low and there is opportunity for us to rethink even what a bakery is. Tempting people back in is the big challenge now for so many of our towns and City Centres which are still struggling to fully recover from the pandemic. Emma simpson, Bbc News, Central London. You can see more on all of todays stories on the Bbc News channel. The next news on Bbc One is at 6. 35pm, bye for now. It has been another successful games for Great Britain overall, finishing once again in second place. Rachel is in tokyo for us. No golds on the final day for Great Britain but it has been a very good 12 days. Yes. Has been a very good 12 days. Yes, the wheelchair has been a very good 12 days. Yes the wheelchair basketball. They beat spain in a bronze Medal Match. 68 58 in The End. That is the sixth time they have won a bronze. But after they have won a bronze. But after the match they said they are already looking forward to the gold Medal Match in paris 2024. David weir pushed fifth in the Marathon Today and said he was looking for a Bronze Medal but he did go faster than he has done since 2017. The final medal of these games were Great Britain was in badminton. This was the first time weve seen badminton and Paralympic Games and she has been competing for 14 years. He said it was finally generally wanted was a medal and he is going home with one. The closing ceremonies going ahead as we speak. David smith was selected to carry the flag for Great Britain. Paralympics Gb Study showed resilience coming back from behind to win a gold. Lets just reflect in the last 12 days. We have seen 124 medals in sports by Great Britain. 41 of them were gold and they finished in second place behind china. The Paralympic Games is not just about sport. It is about sparking change, it is about empowering the next generation of people with disabilities it is about changing perception of people with disabilities and these games really propelled the paralympic movement forward. ~. , propelled the paralympic movement forward. ,. , forward. Many thanks indeed. Enclands forward. Many thanks indeed. Englands cricketers forward. Many thanks indeed. Englands cricketers have forward. Many thanks indeed. L Englands Cricketers have taken important wickets in the Morning Session as they try to paid India Backin Session as they try to paid india back in the fourth test at the oval. The fourth Days Play has been able to go ahead. Some are self isolating and the india players returned negative lateral flow tests so could take to the field. The captain cut it. And read of 230. England will not want to chase anything which more than 300. Still five sessions to go. Emma is in the last 16 of the open. The british teenager reached the same stage at wimbledon this summer and dropped just one game in her third round match. Summer and dropped just one game in herthird round match. In summer and dropped just one game in her third round match. In her run to the fourth round at Wimbledon Emma showed promise, showed potential. Another level. This was about power. Spains player is ranked 41 in the world. She struggled to appoint little in a game against the british teenager. She ranked 150 in the world and took the first set. She had a Match Point for a faultless double. She responded the very next game to close out a six love, 6 1 win. She was not expecting the excitement of the last 16 match but the australian loss to americas Shelby Rogers who could barely believe what she had achieved. Something she can relate to. A new story shining in new york. This has been the Opening Weekend of the womens super league. Arsenal took an early lead against the champions, chelsea. Chelsea just equalised in the last couple of minutes. Brighton take on West Ham later. Europe have a three Point Lead over the usa heading into the second day of the cup in ohio. Europe dominated the opening. The defending champions won three out of the four matches. They went on to win their afternoon as well. The second day is just getting going in ohio. Europe are up in two of those early matches and you can follow that on the Bbc Sport Website and we will have updates to the rest of the day. Thank you very much indeed. Thank you very much indeed. Economic and social uncertainty is growing in afghanistan, as the country still awaits an announcement of the new taliban government. It had been expected earlier this week but no reason has been given for the apparent delay. Meanwhile taliban fighters have been accused of using pepper spray, tear Gas And Violence to break up a demonstration in kabul, held by a group of women demanding rights under the new regime. Courtney bembridge reports. Women in kabul demanding rights and a voice in government say they were met with violence. Translation the taliban hit women. With electric tasers and they used i Tear Gas against women. They also hit women on the head with guns and the women were bleeding. There was no one to ask why. Its the latest of several protests in Kabul And Herat from women who fear a return to the way they were treated the last time the taliban was in power. The taliban have said women can be involved in government, but not hold ministerial positions. Afghans have watched on as remnants of their old lives are erased. The taliban says this is just cleaning and decorating, but as the wait for a new government drags on, there is growing uncertainty. Translation security is good all over the country, the people are happy, but the lack of work and the Non Announcement of the government is worrying people. Everyone is confused and people dont know what the future of the homeland will be because, well, everyones confused. Long lines have formed outside the banks for weeks now. Translation currently, there are economic problems. Prices have increased in the market. The cost of food and ingredients has rocketed. The people pouring in here dont know if their money is in the bank. People think their money has been emptied from the banks. Afghanistans economy is heavily dependent on cash and this weekend the countrys largest Money Exchange Market reopened after a 20 day closure. There are other signs of normality too. A Cricket Match was held in kabul this week with taliban commanders in the stands. A stark contrast to the last time the taliban were in power and most sports were banned. But the taliban doesnt yet control the whole country. In the panjshir valley, north of kabul, fighting continues. Its the last area holding out against taliban rule and the resistance maintains it wont surrender. At least 15 members of Iraqs Security forces have been killed in two separate attacks, by suspected Islamic State militants. Both attacks happened near major cities in the north of the country a former stronghold of the group. The biggest took place at a Police Checkpoint in a Village Near Kirkuk leaving 12 Police Officers dead. The militants are reported to have used Roadside Bombs to hold back reinforcements during almost two hours of shooting. The second happened near mosul at least three soldiers are reported to have been killed. The city had been occupied by the group calling itself islamic before the iraqi military drove it out four years ago. The government says it accepts that huge queues at Immigration Desks at Heathrow Airport are unacceptable. A large number of brits were among those delayed for several hours on friday. The airport says the lack of Border Force Staff manning the positions was to blame. Long queues and fed up passengers these have been the scenes at Heathrow Airport this weekend, with Waiting Times of several hours to get through passport control. Travellers took to Social Media to vent their anger at the situation, describing overcrowding and poor ventilation, even claiming some had fainted. The end of the School Holidays means extra pressure at airports. This weekend is the busiest of the year for returning passengers, many with young children who cant use the electronic passport gates. But heathrow has criticised Border Force over the unacceptable during times, putting it down to simply not enough staff on duty, particularly due to the extra checks being made due to coronavirus. In a statement, the airport apologised for the delays. It said Border Force were its aware of extra demand and that it was very disappointed that they didnt provide sufficient resource. It also said it was drafting in more workers to help manage the queues and provide passenger welfare, but that at peak times, all Immigration Desks should be manned. The Home Office has admitted that the long waits are unacceptable and said borderforce was now rapidly reviewing its rosters and deploying more staff across the airport to improve Waiting Times. Kathryn stanczyszyn, Bbc News. The Vaccines Minister has hinted the government could introduce Vaccine Passports for large venues. Speaking this morning, Nadhim Zahawi said that checking Peoples Vaccination Status was right thing to do to ensure the whole economy remained open. He said the worst case would be a strategy where a spike in infections at a venue would mean it having to shut and the only way to avoid that was being able to check the Vaccine Status of the people entering it. In australia, the first few hundred thousand doses of the Pfizer Vaccine that the uk agreed to supply to the country, have arrived in sydney. Australia says its secured an extra Four Million doses of the Pfizer Vaccine from the uk in a swap deal. The Delta Variant continues to surge with around half of the Australias Population currently in Lockdown Due to outbreaks in sydney, melbourne and canberra. New zealands prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has revealed that the countrys Immigration Agency had been trying for years to deport an islamic State Supporter who stabbed seven people in a supermarket in auckland on friday. Sri lankan Ahamed Samsudeen had spent three years in prison in New Zealand awaiting trial for possessing Islamic State group propaganda. Mrs ardern revealed that samsudeen had been served a Deportation Notice in 2019, after it was discovered his Refugee Status was fraudulently obtained. But on appeal, he was released on a Supervision Oder injuly. Lets get more now in the news that in the first 6 months of this year, more than 8,000 Chain Stores disappeared from High Streets, Shopping Centres and retail parks across britain. Lisa hooker is the leader of industry for Consumer Markets at Price Waterhouse cooper. Thank you very much for being with us. Are you surprised by these figures . It seems a many Chain Stores are disappearing every week from our High Streets . Essen stores are disappearing every week from our High Streets . From our High Streets . Even before covid this was from our High Streets . Even before covid this was a from our High Streets . Even before covid this was a trend from our High Streets . Even before covid this was a trend we from our High Streets . Even before covid this was a trend we were covid this was a trend we were seeing. As we are all shopping so much more online there is not the same Footfall And Need for as many shops in the uk than there was in the past and in a sense, covid accelerated this trend as we saw a spike in online shopping when people found it difficult to shop during lockdown. Not a surprise. The only good thing is that actually, it has stabilised compared to last year. We thought it may get worse but actually it has been more stable partly due to the support that the government has been giving to the industry. I5 government has been giving to the indust. ,. ,. Government has been giving to the indust. ,. , industry. Is it a decline that is reversible. Industry. Is it a decline that is reversible, do industry. Is it a decline that is reversible, do you industry. Is it a decline that is reversible, do you think . Industry. Is it a decline that is reversible, do you think . I. Industry. Is it a decline that is i reversible, do you think . I dont think it is reversible, do you think . I dont think it is reversible reversible, do you think . I dont think it is reversible because reversible, do you think . I dont think it is reversible because all| think it is reversible because all the predictions are we are going to continue to shop more and more online in the future so that means a lot of Chain Stores just need less stores to actually get to their consumer because we have now off line and online. I think it will continue, particularly for the Chain Stores. There is a bit of positive news around some of the independence who are Finding Vents lower and easier to come onto the High Street so there are openings around services and leisure which will allow some of that but i do think the trend will continue to be one of Net Closures. We the trend will continue to be one of Net Closures Net Closures. We have double standards Net Closures. We have double standards as Net Closures. We have double standards as consumers Net Closures. We have double i standards as consumers because Net Closures. We have double standards as consumers because we want our High Streets to be vibrant but at the same time seem to want to. Would prefer to shop is right. We all know the convenience of online and it was the saviour of us all during lockdown so you can appreciate that. More and more people got comfortable with buying online and what people really want is a vibrant High Street but we just need less of the High Street dedicated to retail and the need to be dedicated to housing, local offices, services and leisure so think we need to continue to reshape our High Street. I suppose things like pathways, restaurants and so on, taking more space in the High Street perhaps rather than Retail Shops. I street perhaps rather than retail Sho S. ~. , street perhaps rather than Retail Sho 5, ~. ,. , ~ street perhaps rather than Retail Shos. ~. ,. ,. , shops. I think that is right. Take a wa s shops. I think that is right. Take a ways have shops. I think that is right. Take a ways have been shops. I think that is right. Take a ways have been very shops. I think that is right. Take a ways have been very popular shops. I think that is right. Take a. Ways have been very popular recently and they are continuing to grow in numbers. Restaurants will come back. There was an over Expansion Pique that so we did see closures but there will be new chains coming onto there will be new chains coming onto The Street and taking advantage of The Street and taking advantage of the vacant slot so we will also see things like services, things like y93 things like services, things like Yoga Studios and gyms. You will see the High Street evolving in line with customer demand. The High Street evolving in line with customer demand. Thank you. The perilous state of the Planets Wildlife is being laid bare at the worlds largest biodiversity summit. The International Union For Conservation Of Nature has released its revised � red list� of endangered species. Thers� s some good news for tuna, but the fate of many other animals still hangs in the balance. Gail maclellan reports. Weighing in at 150kgs, the Komodo Dragon is the worlds largest living lizard. They are notorious hunters with deadly venom and no predators, so it is hard to imagine that they are under threat, but the reptile has just been added to The Endangered species list. Theyre only found in a handful of Indonesian Islands and their habitat is shrinking rapidly. Because of Global Warming and climate change, rising sea levels, that species will lose 30 of its habitat in the next 30 to 40 years. Heres another animal that may not conjure up an image of vulnerability, but conservationists. Say two in five sharks are at risk of extinction, and rays are facing a similar threat. 0cean species tend to be neglected because theyre under the water, people dont really pay attention to what is happening to them. But there is some good news. Scientists say that Tuna Populations aree starting to recover after years of overfishing. It clearly demonstrates what can be done when regions and fisheries and management teams work together because these are massively wide ranging species. Obviously, all the regions have to coordinate and it is finally paying off. The report was released at a global Conservation Summit in france, bringing together thousands of scientists, Conservation Experts and campaigners, Including The Actor harrison ford. The conference was officially opened by french president emmanuel macron. Translation the battle for the climate against Climate Disruption is twinned with the battle to preserve and restore biodiversity. There was a warning about the economic impacts of inaction. Translation theres no economic I Stability and financial stability i without respect for nature and without Natures Contribution of nature because our economies are dependent on nature, because our economies are dependent on the resilience that biodiversity brings. Experts have assessed more than 130,000 species and found that more than a quarter are at risk of extinction. Conservationists say it should be a Clarion Call for nature to be placed at the heart of all Decision Making at the united nations climate Change Conference at glasgow later this year. In berlin, the city has been holding its annual festival of lights. Its one of the most popular light festivals in the world, attracting over Two Million visitors every year. Artists from all corners of the Globe Create projections and installations across the city. This year the theme was building a more sustainable future. All powered, we trust, by renewable energy. They say you should never work with children or animals well perhaps someone should have explained that to turkeys president. Mr erdogan was taking part in a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for the opening of a Road Tunnel in the northeast of the country when he was somewhat upstaged by a Young Boy Whojumped The Gun and decided to cut the ribbon a little bit early. After the president administered a Light Tap on the head in punishment the ceremony was restaged and the tunnel was officially opened. Now its time for a look at the weather with darren bett. Are you going to promise as late sunshine . Yes. I can promise you a brief spell of very warm, if not hot weather. It starts really today. We are tapping into some warm, dry air coming infrom are tapping into some warm, dry air coming in from Continental Europe and seeing more sunshine across england and wales though it is still a bit misty in the five South West. Scotland and Northern Ireland has more cloud. And Weather Front brings rain to the North West but that is still quite warm across eastern parts of scotland and as you are downed with the midlands and South East Of England temperatures will reach 25, may be 26. As we had ever night we will find it turning on this feel with some fog in the South West of england, south wales. Rain across scotland, Northern Ireland into the far north of england overnight and cloud around scotland. It will be warmer than last night