documents. that was part of a deal to end his iii year legal battle over the leaking of vast amounts of secret us military information on the internet. the 52—year—old is now on his way home to australia following the hearing. and from where a southeast asia correspondent jonathan had sent this report. the last stage of a very long journey. julian assange walked into the courtroom on this remote pacific island to hear whether the agreement he'd struck with us prosecutors would stick. after two hours of very careful consideration by the judge, it did. he pleaded guilty, and she agreed to a sentence equal to the time he'd already served in britain. but his lawyers still insist his prosecution for breaking an espionage law was unjust. we firmly believed that mr assange never should have been charged under the espionage act, and engaged in exercise thatjournalists engage in every day. and we're thankful that they do. it is appropriate, though, for this fight to end and it is appropriate for thejudge, as she did today, to determine that no additional incarceration of mr assange would be fair, would be appropriate, and it is time for him to be reunited with his family. his decision to leak thousands of classified documents and videos like this one — showing a us military helicopter killing two journalists in iraq — infuriated the us, which said his actions endangered the lives of its soldiers. assange sought asylum in the ecuadorian embassy in london, after sexual—assault charges were filed against him in sweden, which were later dropped. and he stayed there seven years before being thrown out. by then, he was wanted in the us, and held in belmarsh high—security prison, awaiting extradition. pressure from activists and from his home country, australia — a close us ally — finally paved the way for a deal. so for his family, elation that all their campaigning has paid off. i mean, doing cartwheels is a good expression of the joy that one feels thatjulian is returned home — well, about to return home. after the verdict, there was a rush to getjulian assange back on his plane for the long flight home. this had been the briefest of stays in us territory, which he'd fought so long to avoid. but it did deliver perhaps the best possible outcome. so after an extraordinary ia—year—long saga, julian assange has left this courtroom on his way to australia a free man. the deal he had to make with the us government divides opinion — as will his legacy. he is still a hero of free speech to some, an unapologetic assailant on national security for others. jonathan head, bbc news, saipan. as she saw, his flight has left. you can see the flight is now over australian territory and it is, from my understanding, it is not very far, a couple of hours. let's go live to someone who does know about australia and its size, katy watson is live in canberra. it looks just a couple of hours left untiljulian assange lands?— couple of hours left untiljulian assanae lands? , ., ., ., assange lands? yes, about an hour and a half until— assange lands? yes, about an hour and a half until he _ assange lands? yes, about an hour and a half until he lands _ assange lands? yes, about an hour and a half until he lands at - and a half until he lands at canberra airport and his supporters and family are getting ready to greet him. his father, his wife, who arrived in australia just a few days ago. she has come to canberra and along with his father, they will be heading to greet him off the plane. there is a great deal of excitement amongst his supporters and family that he is finally returning to australian soil.— that he is finally returning to australian soil. . ~ ., australian soil. talk me through the role that the — australian soil. talk me through the role that the australian _ australian soil. talk me through the role that the australian governmentj role that the australian government played in this?— played in this? there has been a lot of raise played in this? there has been a lot of praise for — played in this? there has been a lot of praise for the _ played in this? there has been a lot of praise for the prime _ played in this? there has been a lot of praise for the prime minister, - of praise for the prime minister, anthony albanese. he has made it clear since he came to power that he wanted to seejulian assange back. it wasn't just a wanted to seejulian assange back. it wasn'tjust a campaign by one prime minister, he got cross party support. it was back in october he was at the white house and he brought up the issue ofjulian assange. priorto brought up the issue ofjulian assange. prior to that there was a cross—party parliamentary group who came to washington to lobby us lawmakers and the department of justice, to say they wanted to see julian assange back, enough was enough and the case had been going on too long. there was a huge amount of effort from the australian ambassador to the us, he has been alongsidejulian assange for the alongside julian assange for the next few days. there has been a huge amount of effort from the australian side to make this happen. it has happened much quicker than perhaps many expected, especially ahead of the us elections. but nevertheless this campaigning has really paid off for his supporters.— for his supporters. thank you very much indeed. _ for his supporters. thank you very much indeed, katy _ for his supporters. thank you very much indeed, katy watson - for his supporters. thank you very much indeed, katy watson in - much indeed, katy watson in canberra. if you want to read more about what is happening with the julian assange case, we are updating the live page minute by minute, both in australia and around the world, you can get the latest on his journey back to australia, the role the australian government paid and what he plans to do over the coming days and weeks. that is on the bbc website, where ever you are. let's come back to the election and just a week of campaigning left. rishi sunak and labour's sir keir starmer are preparing to go head—to—head in theirfinal are preparing to go head—to—head in their final debate are preparing to go head—to—head in theirfinal debate where are preparing to go head—to—head in their final debate where they will face questions from an audience in nottingham this evening. it is live on the bbc. it comes as members from both parties face difficult questions about betting allegations. a cabinet minister admitted placing three bets in the weeks before the election announcement and labour and the lib dems are talking about health in their campaigning, with labour promising to end the 80 am scramble for gp appointments. the second and final head—to—head clash between rishi sunak and the man he wants hisjob, keir starmer, takes place tonight on the bbc. it is worth a bet that one of the topics might involve gambling. a conservative campaign has been buffeted by allegations that the two candidates, two party officials and now a member of the welsh government battered on the date of the general election and are facing inquiries from the gambling watchdog. it is an independent — from the gambling watchdog. it is an independent process... _ from the gambling watchdog. it is an independent process... this - independent process... this candidate — independent process... this candidate and _ independent process... this candidate and aid _ independent process... this candidate and aid to - independent process... this candidate and aid to the prime minister, greg williams lost support of conservative hq yesterday after he admitted taking a flutter on the general election date. he is being investigated by the gambling commission and he said in a campaign video that he would clear his name. i admit an error ofjudgment, not an offence. he i admit an error of 'udgment, not an offence. ., ., ' i admit an error of 'udgment, not an offence. ., .,' ., offence. he turned down the offer of a bbc interview. _ offence. he turned down the offer of a bbc interview. laura _ offence. he turned down the offer of a bbc interview. laura saunders - offence. he turned down the offer of a bbc interview. laura saunders has| a bbc interview. laura saunders has also had support withdrawn from the conservatives and a russell george, conservatives and a russell george, conservative member of the welsh senate has stood down from a front bench role when the gambling commission told him he was being investigated. but labour are not immune from the attentions of the gambling watchdog. kevin craig was swiftly suspended by his party when it emerged he had placed a bet on the conservatives to win the seat he was contesting. he apologised, said he had no prior knowledge of the result and he would fully comply with the gambling commission investigation. it is expected at westminster more allegations could emerge. polling day is getting closer. out of government for iii years, labour needs to build support to win. the party is ahead in the poll so tonight rishi sunak will use this platform to convince voters he deserves to stay on in downing street. iain watson, bbc news. the conservatives are fighting a defensive election campaign with rishi sunak spending time in some of the safest tory seats in the country in recent days. the bbc has been looking at the areas visited by party leaders and the analysis is based on media visits and others covered online since the campaign began. here is nick eardley on that. hello, for weeks the leaders have been whizzing around the country campaigning to win votes. there are a variety of reasons for visiting a particular area. looking at where the leaders have been helps us build up the leaders have been helps us build up a picture of where the parties are putting resources in. bbc teams have been collecting information about where rishi sunak, keir starmer and ed davey have been. the map of constituencies has changed from 2019. we are going to be talking about notional majorities, which is what we calculate would have happened last time based on the new map. secondly, the picture in scotland, in yellow, is more complicated. the snp are a big part of the equation, but so are the leaders of the can scottish conservatives, labour and lib dem parties. northern ireland have different leaders, too. we will look atjust england and wales. with those caveats, let's dive in. rishi sunak, all of these areas highlighted in blue are places he has been since the start of the election campaign. what i think is really interesting about this is some of the areas where rishi sunak has chosen to spend time early in the campaign, sidmouth. the sort of area where the conservatives were comfortably ahead in 2019. it wasn't all like that, there is redcar with all like that, there is redcar with a notional majority, which is a lot less. but when you look at the last ten days, rishi sunak are spending valuable campaigning time in what should be rock—solid tory seat, like grantham and bourne in the east midlands. huge notional majority for the conservatives say, just about 22,400. it is one of the 50 safest seats in the uk based on the notional majority for the tories. another one, surridge in tavistock, down in the south—west. massive notional majority. the key thing this tells us is the evidence is that rishi sunak is fighting a highly defensive campaign, often in areas where the tories have won comfortably in the past. actually, keir starmer is focusing on conservative held constituencies, too. that is perhaps not that surprising given the conservatives want a comfortable majority last time and labour were third. but this is the map showing where keir starmer has been since the election was called. a few interesting examples for you. bassetlaw, where the conservatives again have a notional majority of around 12,500. stevenage, where the tories have had notional majority, 8500. but it gets bigger, reading west and mid berkshire where the conservatives have a notional majority ofjust under 17,000. this all paints a picture of labour parking tanks and conservative loans. finally, ed davey, the lib dems leader. again, the vast majority of his time has been spent in areas where the lib dems think they can take seats from the conservatives. some examples for you. eastleigh, down here. it is a conservative notional majority, 8600. dorking in holy, with a notional majority for the conservatives ofjust notional majority for the conservatives of just over notional majority for the conservatives ofjust over 10000 and it gets bigger, because ed davey has been to chichester where the conservatives have a notional majority, look at that, just under 20,000. 50 majority, look at that, just under 20,000. so all of that paints a picture about what the parties are focusing on. focusing the leaders' times, focusing the resources. it gives us an idea of what those battle buses driving round the country are really up to. that is nick eardley and the verify team. let's look ahead now at tonight's debate and talk through some of those issues we are talking about during the election with a cheap political correspondent henry seth man, who is in nottingham. we will talk about the betting scandal in a moment but i will ask you about the debate, a final chance for voters to watch the two leaders in action to put forward and set out their stall to us?— their stall to us? that is right. i am on the _ their stall to us? that is right. i am on the stage _ their stall to us? that is right. i am on the stage at _ their stall to us? that is right. i am on the stage at nottingham| their stall to us? that is right. i - am on the stage at nottingham trent university where this debate is going to take place between rishi sunak and sir keir starmer. they will be standing at the podium is behind me. i'm not sure which is going to be standing where, but it is a big moment. because any election debate is a big moment but this is practically the last set piece moment of this general election. when he woke up the stage about 9.30 this evening, it will be just over a week to go until polling day. a big moment for them to try to solidify the sense of where this campaign is going. in the case of keir starmer he wants to seal the deal. people i speak to in labour are more optimistic than ever that the 14 years in opposition is coming to an end. for rishi sunak, the incentives are different, he wants to seize the agenda of this campaign, shake up what we think might be going on. no toll order, right? we will see tonight if he can do that. let right? we will see tonight if he can do that. ., r' right? we will see tonight if he can do that. ., , ., right? we will see tonight if he can do that. . do that. let me ask you something about breaking _ do that. let me ask you something about breaking news _ do that. let me ask you something about breaking news we _ do that. let me ask you something about breaking news we have - do that. let me ask you something about breaking news we have had i do that. let me ask you something | about breaking news we have had in the last few minutes and that is a man has been arrested in connection with the westminster honey trap scandal, can you remind viewers what the honey trap scandal is what this is about? ., ., ., , ., ., is about? how long have you got? this was such _ is about? how long have you got? this was such a _ is about? how long have you got? this was such a strange _ is about? how long have you got? this was such a strange story. - is about? how long have you got? | this was such a strange story. back in april it emerged a string of men, mostly working in politics, almost all of whom we had some connection to the world of westminster had received unsolicited messages, mostly on whatsapp, from people calling themselves charlie, abbey and they were extremely fair at latest. it wasn't clear to what end they were seeking to gain in these extremely sexual flirtation. one empty admitted sending them compromising material and the colleagues phone numbers. it was very messy and strange. the met police announced it was conducting an investigation and this morning they arrested a man in islington, north london. we don't know the identity or even the age. they rested them on suspicion of offences both under the online safety, but also on suspicion of harassment. there is more on that story on the website. one more question before i let you go, the alleged betting scandal, just to play on play on and on, doesn't it? more news coming out today? it on, doesn't it? more news coming out toda ? , ., on, doesn't it? more news coming out toda ? ., .,, on, doesn't it? more news coming out toda? , today? it is a totally sprawling scandal, today? it is a totally sprawling scandal. saga. _ today? it is a totally sprawling scandal, saga, or— today? it is a totally sprawling scandal, saga, or whatever. today? it is a totally sprawling i scandal, saga, or whatever word today? it is a totally sprawling - scandal, saga, or whatever word you want to use. we have slightly different case is now. there is clearly a difference between the allegations facing the two conservative candidates. they are not conservative candidates any more after the decision by the conservative party to disown them yesterday. the accusation facing the former labour candidate disowned by labour yesterday, that is about betting on the outcome of potential outcome of the election in the constituency in which he was standing. all sorts of different threads, but what is common to them, people in politics betting on politics. and whether that ends up being a matterfor politics. and whether that ends up being a matter for the gambling commission orfor the being a matter for the gambling commission or for the law, being a matter for the gambling commission orfor the law, i think what this is increasingly is a matter for politics and politicians to consider whether the rules, i mean there aren't really any, on politicians betting on politics are in the right place. i think if this saga continues to develop over the next few days there will be growing pressure on the main parties to suggest new rules, new codes of practice, if you like, on how politicians should engage with political betting. henry, thank you. henry is there in nottingham. you can watch the election debate this evening on the bbc, the prime ministerial debate. mishal husain quizzes rishi sunak and sir keir starmer tonight at 8.15 on bbc one and bbc iplayer. let's now cross live and followed the liberal democrats and see what they are up to today. jenny hill is on the lib dems buzz. it is not moving, and i wonder what the plan is today? i think the lib dems are talking about health?— i think the lib dems are talking about health? , . , , , about health? they are in deep, yes. good morning- _ about health? they are in deep, yes. good morning. we _ about health? they are in deep, yes. good morning. we have _ about health? they are in deep, yes. good morning. we have pulled - about health? they are in deep, yes. good morning. we have pulled into l good morning. we have pulled into what looks like the car park of a supermarket in chelmsford. it is an interesting constituency, this one, for the lib dems. they are hoping they can take it, it is held by the conservatives. but after success at local level over recent years, they are pretty confident. you can get a full list of candidates in this particular seat our bbc website. so to health, you are right, ed davey wants to talk about plans to make sure that every cancer patient in england has a specialist nurse. in order to do that the lib dems say they would need to recruit 3400 more specialist nurses over the course of the next parliament. as always, these things come with a hefty price tag. they reckon 130 million of initial investment in training followed by £240 million a year. it is part of wider plans to tackle backlogs in the cancer treatment system and you will perhaps recall thatjust system and you will perhaps recall that just a week system and you will perhaps recall thatjust a week or so back, the lib dems said they would legally guarantee that anyone with an urgent cancer referral would start treatment within 62 days of that referral. all of that is part of a much wider health and social care package. which the lib dems say yes, is expensive, but they say it is fully costed and a lot of that money would come from reform of capital gains tax and also changes to tax breaks, which have been given to the banks. expect to hear a lot more about how today and ed davey has talked a very, very publicly, very openly about his own personal experiences with cancer. both of his parents died from the disease when he was young, he spent time as a teenager looking after his own mother while she was sick. in his words, this is very personal, cancer turned my life upside down. i cannot tell you too much about what we are about to see him doing, but as you know, mr davey is keen on the stunts for the cameras. i can give you a clue, you will see some pictures of this coming in the next half an hour, i am sure. this coming in the next half an hour, iam sure. i this coming in the next half an hour, i am sure. i think he is planning to try and breathe life into the lib dems campaign today. yes and i think one of the issues with ed davey, not an issue so much, tonight we have the leadership debate between keir starmer and rishi sunak, they can put forward to set their stall directly to viewers. this has to be something that's ed davey can do during the campaign and perhaps that is one of the reasons why they decide to do things that make the headlines, a bit different, a bit risky that make people talk about the lib dems more? i a bit risky that make people talk about the lib dems more? i think it is for several _ about the lib dems more? i think it is for several reasons _ about the lib dems more? i think it is for several reasons they - about the lib dems more? i think it. is for several reasons they embarked on this particular strategy. it does wind some people up, constantly saying mr davey out and about doing something that looks like fun but the tracks from his position as a serious politician, falling off paddle boards and so on. the campaign team want to achieve several things, they want a high—profile campaign and people like us like to take pictures of people doing silly things like falling off a paddle board. so it does give him some profile. it puts in front and centre of the campaign and that is crucial to the lib dems campaign. mr davey is a likeable person, the lib dems, like every other party know that trust is an important issue in this campaign. having someone like him front and centre of the campaign, speaking very openly about his own life expenses, about his experiences, for example as a carer for his son who has significant disabilities. i think it is reckoned by the press team that that will allow him to connect with voters. there is a lot of thinking behind all of this. it is interesting, though, because it does mean mr davey does face difficult questions about the seriousness of his particular position. is he someone who could lead the country? the lib dems are in a fortunate position in some ways. they know unless something dramatic happens, mr davey is not going to be the next prime minister. so they can perhaps afford to relax and enjoy the campaign a little bit more. nevertheless, he is often asked searching questions about whether or not his manifesto is simply something that has been thrown out there because he is unlikely to be held to account on his election promises? he said it is a fully costed, serious manifesto. in terms of trust, though, i think mr davey face a similar question to all of the other party leaders. he himself has been taken to task in particular, his party's position of the tuition fees. you will remember when they were in coalition with the conservative they had to back plan on their tuition fees. that haunts them to this day and the campaign trail. ., ~' , ., , them to this day and the campaign trail. ., ~ , ., , . them to this day and the campaign trail. . ~ i. , . �*, trail. thank you very much. let's brin: trail. thank you very much. let's bring you — trail. thank you very much. let's bring you some _ trail. thank you very much. let's bring you some breaking - trail. thank you very much. let's bring you some breaking news i trail. thank you very much. let's i bring you some breaking news from nato. nato allies have today selected the outgoing dutch prime minister, mark rutter as the next boss of nato. mark what i will be the next boss of nato after all 32 members of the alliance agreed that he will succeed jens stoltenberg. he will take over the job he will succeed jens stoltenberg. he will take over thejob on he will succeed jens stoltenberg. he will take over the job on october the 2nd. that is not long before the us elections, it is a critical time for the military alliance. particularly in light of the war in ukraine. there is a lot of uncertainty surrounding the united states future attitude to nato. his appointment has been confirmed today by the 32 member military alliance. that is mark rutter, the former dutch leader, the former dutch prime minister is now going to take over in october as nato's boss. now, let's talk a little bit about the football and let's start with the football and let's start with the positives, shall we? england are unbeaten, they have topped the group at the euros but there wasn't much else to cheer about last night as gareth southgate and his team were booed by some fans after their uninspiring goalless draw against slovenia. let's cross live and speak to john slovenia. let's cross live and speak tojohn watson, who is in cologne for us. john, does not seem a bit unfair, top of the group, we are three but there is still this aura of disappointment surrounding england's performance? yes. of disappointment surrounding england's performance? yes, it is very atmosphere. _ england's performance? yes, it is very atmosphere, strange - england's performance? yes, it is| very atmosphere, strange scenario england's performance? yes, it is i very atmosphere, strange scenario i guess, facing england at the moment. people were looking at that game with slovenia last night coming in's final group game thinking is this going to be the moment when england has 's tournament finally sparked into life? the performance england fans feel this team and the players are capable of producing. but in a word, no. it was a flat and uninspiring performance. you look at the positives, they have qualified top of the group, they will play in the last 16 and we will work out which of the teams they will face tonight. ultimately, there is still this feeling that england haven't been able to produce the performances they are capable of ensuring their frustration last night with some of those empty beer cups being thrown in gareth southgate's direction and boos ringing out when he went over to applaud the fans at the end of the goalless draw last night. andy swiss reports. as england applauded their fans after the match, not all the fans after the match, not all the fans were applauding them. there were boos and jeers from some after another lacklustre display. it was pathetic, it was england in the first two games onlyjust pathetic, it was england in the first two games only just as pathetic, it was england in the first two games onlyjust as bad. it wasn't the best. terrible, - first two games onlyjust as bad. it wasn't the best. terrible, that - first two games onlyjust as bad. it wasn't the best. terrible, that is i wasn't the best. terrible, that is what it was- _ wasn't the best. terrible, that is what it was. it _ wasn't the best. terrible, that is what it was. it wasn't _ wasn't the best. terrible, that is what it was. it wasn't the - wasn't the best. terrible, that is what it was. it wasn't the best. l wasn't the best. terrible, that is i what it was. it wasn't the best. be more attacking. — what it was. it wasn't the best. be more attacking, sideways - what it was. it wasn't the best. be more attacking, sideways all - what it was. it wasn't the best. be more attacking, sideways all the l more attacking, sideways all the time. ., more attacking, sideways all the time. . , ., ., ., time. flat performance all round, not aood time. flat performance all round, not good enough. _ time. flat performance all round, not good enough. they _ time. flat performance all round, not good enough. they were - time. flat performance all round, not good enough. they were in i time. flat performance all round, | not good enough. they were in the urou - , not good enough. they were in the u-rou, so not good enough. they were in the group. so it's— not good enough. they were in the group. so it's not— not good enough. they were in the group, so it's not too _ not good enough. they were in the group, so it's not too bad. - not good enough. they were in the group, so it's not too bad. england bean b group, so it's not too bad. england began by hoping _ group, so it's not too bad. england began by hoping for _ group, so it's not too bad. england began by hoping for not _ group, so it's not too bad. england began by hoping for notjust - group, so it's not too bad. england began by hoping for notjust a - group, so it's not too bad. england began by hoping for notjust a win | began by hoping for notjust a win but a morale boosting performance. the first half proved a familiar story. bukayo kyer suck up ball on the net, but it was offside and no goal. it was better after the break with introductions of youngsters, but england again seemed flat. they still qualify top of their group, but for their manager, who even had a few beer cups thrown at him, it didn't feel like it. i a few beer cups thrown at him, it didn't feel like it.— didn't feel like it. i understand it, i am didn't feel like it. i understand it. i am not— didn't feel like it. i understand it, i am not going _ didn't feel like it. i understand it, i am not going to _ didn't feel like it. i understand it, i am not going to back - didn't feel like it. i understand| it, i am not going to back away didn't feel like it. i understand - it, i am not going to back away from it. but it is creating an unusual environment to operate in. i have not seen any other team qualify and receive similar.— receive similar. another difficult ni . ht for receive similar. another difficult night for england _ receive similar. another difficult night for england then _ receive similar. another difficult night for england then and - receive similar. another difficult i night for england then and another frustrating one for their fans. night for england then and another frustrating one for theirfans. they now hadto gelsen kherson on sunday for the first knockout match. unless they improve, it might be their last. andy swiss, bbc news, cologne. it last. and swiss, bbc news, coloune. , andy swiss, bbc news, cologne. it is one of the andy swiss, bbc news, cologne. it 3 one of the best third placed teams that england will now face on sunday. we will know tonight when the group games this evening come to a conclusion, who that will be. worth pointing out it could be belgium, the netherlands but it is fair to say the draw, despite england's slightly below performances is opening up for them. on the other side of the drawer you have france, spain, you have got portugal. there is this feeling that if england can find some form and improve their performances, there is still a strong chance they can progress through the knockouts. it has been a very strange feeling amongst the england supporters and it appears at the moment they are in two camps. those who feel there is plenty to feel positive about, they are through to the last 16 and those who feel that the building and the frustration is simply part of it and they feel it is right and fair they can air their frustrations inside the stadium, as they did last night. what you feel if england can just get that one good performance that it will kind of unite the fan base behind this team. but at the moment they have not been able to produce that as of yet. they have not been able to produce that as of yet-— that as of yet. john, thank you very much for that. _ that as of yet. john, thank you very much for that. now _ that as of yet. john, thank you very much for that. now it _ that as of yet. john, thank you very much for that. now it is _ that as of yet. john, thank you very much for that. now it is time - that as of yet. john, thank you very much for that. now it is time for i that as of yet. john, thank you very much for that. now it is time for a l much for that. now it is time for a look at the weather with elizabeth ritt cini. cooler for northern ireland and scotland but across england and wales it was the warmest day of the year so far yesterday and we are likely to see similar temperatures today, pete and humidity hanging on until tomorrow for the vast majority of us, and then it will turn fresher on the north and west courtesy of this area of low pressure and cold front. the low is bringing some showery rain, across northern ireland and much of north west scotland, heavier showers breaking out across eastern scotland today and down through northern england perhaps but some sunny spells, the best of the sunshine for england and wales, temperatures in the mid— to high 20s. for some refreshment, head towards the coast, where it will be cool towards the coast, where it will be cool. overnight tonight the band of rain will be pushing further eastwards introducing slightly fresher conditions out towards the west but in general it is a mild, sticky night to follow, uncomfortable for sleeping partly in the of england. tomorrow, the fresher feeling air will filter in behind this cold front, low pressure out towards the north and the west, quite windy for north—western areas, some showers at times but the change will be this good about feeling air, remaining warm and humid for much of the day across east anglia and south east england, not much rain at all gojust a narrow east england, not much rain at all go just a narrow band east england, not much rain at all gojust a narrow band of east england, not much rain at all go just a narrow band of cloud heralding the fresh air feeling air. windy and showery from the north and the west but elsewhere it is largely dry with some sunshine including full eastern areas of scotland but by the end of the day, temperatures will be lower. down to the seasonal average, a more comfortable night's sleep for most of us on thursday into friday. on friday, low pressure still towards the north of scotland and it is here where there will be the strongest gusts of wind for the time of year there outbreaks of rain. elsewhere, iwould not rule out the possibility of a few showers, particularly towards the north and west, but also lots of dry weather, some spells of sunshine, the sunshine is strong at this time of the year, but the air is cooler temperatures now much closer to the seasonal average, which is where they will tend to stay as we head through the weekend, watch out for one showers. this is bbc news, the headlines: wikileaks founderjulian assange pleads guilty and walks free from a us court, ending his 14—year legal battle. a final head to head debate for rishi sunak and keir starmer, the last one before polling day next week. more politicians are being looked into for alleged betting on the general election. police say a man in islington has been arrested in the westminster honey trap case. # i want to spin and shout... and aiming to impress — shania twain on how she's preparing for glastonbury, where the festival gates have just opened. they are a pretty constant feature of election campaigns — but there are questions about the degree of influence that polls have on voters, politicians and the media. with just over a week to go until voting, our analysis editor ros atkins has been taking a look at how reliable polling might be. in this general election campaign, you can't have missed the polls. this is the bbc�*s poll tracker. for months, polling has shown a large lead for labour. but how reliable are polls and how influential are they? back in 2015, they were wrong — suggesting a hung parliament when, in fact, the conservatives won a majority. polling methodology has evolved since then — so has the amount of polling. in this campaign, the bbc tracker has used data from more than 80 polls. as a sort of seismic election, and that's driven one of the reasons for there being more polls, and that is that there are more media clients wanting to publish and, in most cases, pay for polls. that increased number of polls can help overall, because, when put together, there's a bigger data set from which to track voter sentiment. and this is how most polls work — between 1,000 and 3,000 people are asked how they'd vote if there was an election tomorrow. that data is then weighted to be representative of the country. there are also mrp polls. they interview tens of thousands of voters and, using a range of data models, they project a result for every constituency. and mrp polls are generating headlines. for example, this telegraph front page about a "tory wipe—out". but mrps don't follow a standard methodology. each of the polling companies have their own modelling assumptions. they're a bit more opaque. they kind of want to keep those a bit closer to their chest. but exactly what goes into their models and the assumptions they make make these differences, as well. this means different mrp polls are using different methodology and projecting different results. they can't all be right. a well—conducted mrp is a very, very powerful way of looking at how the election is affecting different places. but what is a well—conducted mrp? we'll have a really good idea onjuly the 5th. if that's mrps, overall polling is under scrutiny. here's the bbc�*s tracker again. it shows the average support for each party. but the true position for the conservatives and labour might be within five percentage points of our average. that's 5% above or below. and given the prominence of the polls, there are questions about their influence. labour's campaign chief is pat mcfadden. in a private memo to candidates, he talks of the danger of polls influencing voters and making them think the election is a done deal. there may also be other factors influencing voters. there is some evidence, in fact, that if the polls suggest a really, really clear result, that does have an effect on lowering turnout. but in this election, because there are so many people who are clearly fed up with the whole political process, it's quite likely we'd have a low turnout with no polls at all. experts say measuring the overall influence of polling is very hard to do, but some countries are cautious. in italy, publication of opinion polls is forbidden in the two weeks before an election. there are no plans for that in the uk. polls are a part of our election campaigns. they can and do inform us about the electorate, but a degree of caution is always advised. throughout the election, we're keeping a close eye on key constituencies. let's focus now on two more hotly contested seats. political reporterjo thewlis is in diss in the constituency of waveney valley this morning. and further north, bbc�*s north west tonight's political editor annabel tiffin is in buxton in the constituency of high peak. jo, jo, let's talk a bit about the boundary change and how that has impacted the constituency where you are? i impacted the constituency where you are? ., , impacted the constituency where you are? . , ., ., impacted the constituency where you are? . , ., . ~' , are? i am this morning in a key market town. _ are? i am this morning in a key market town, diss, _ are? i am this morning in a key market town, diss, it _ are? i am this morning in a key market town, diss, it is - are? i am this morning in a key market town, diss, it is about | market town, diss, it is about halfway between ipswich and norwich and it is at the heart of the new waveney valley constituency. it is being contested for the first time in this general election and it has been made up of different constituencies around north suffolk and south norfolk. all the constituencies i think could be described as conservative strongholds, for example, south norfolk, which has been held by the conservatives since 1950. the last time labour were in charge there was in 1945 at the end of the second world war. but it is interesting because there has been a small burgeoning of support here for the green party. last year they took over mid suffolk council, the first green party in the country to take over a council. they also won two by—elections here, one in south norfolk taking over the tory majority and pushing the council into an overall majority. it is why they are standing there co—leader adrian ramsay in the waveney valley constituency. he is hoping to be the first green mp in the is to england and he launched his campaign a couple of weeks ago here in diss so the greens are certainly hoping to do well. labour and the liberal democrats, reform and social democratic party also standing here. let's cross over to you, annabel. buxton, — let's cross over to you, annabel. buxton, where you are, is a famous spa. _ buxton, where you are, is a famous spa. bottled — buxton, where you are, is a famous spa, bottled water? obviously other bottled _ spa, bottled water? obviously other bottled waters are also available, what _ bottled waters are also available, what are — bottled waters are also available, what are the main issues that people are talking _ what are the main issues that people are talking about in buxton, what is importance — are talking about in buxton, what is importance to them? i are talking about in buxton, what is importance to them?— importance to them? i suppose the main issues — importance to them? i suppose the main issues here _ importance to them? i suppose the main issues here are _ importance to them? i suppose the main issues here are the _ importance to them? i suppose the main issues here are the main - importance to them? i suppose the i main issues here are the main issues anywhere. the constituency here is quite diverse, and what i mean by thatis quite diverse, and what i mean by that is geographically. so, you have very rural areas, we are in derbyshire, we have had to move into the car park because the signal is so bad, which you often get in rural areas, but there are also former industrial port in towns like glossop which are more labour voting and the rural areas are more conservative voting, buxton where i am now is quite divided. because of that, the issues, well, they are the same everywhere, things like housing, it is now a very big tourist area, we are surrounded by the magnificent peak district because of that there are a lot of second homes, so people cannot get on the market, a foot on the housing market. and then, you have things like transport. we have a lot of people live here, they work in greater manchester and the route that everyone takes their is the a6. i took it today to come here and i can tell you it is jaco both ways. people work in sheffield, and for that, they take the notorious snakes pass, which is great if you want to take a little sunday drive to see the beautiful peak district countryside, but if you want to get to work, 70 days of the year, it is out of action because it is covered with snow. and then there is help. recently, they applied for £10 million from the government to have a new health hub and that was turned down. other than that you have got things like cost—of—living, pretty much as you said the same as everywhere. much as you said the same as everywhere-— much as you said the same as eve here. , everywhere. the interesting thing actually and _ everywhere. the interesting thing actually and about _ everywhere. the interesting thing actually and about about - everywhere. the interesting thing actually and about about where i everywhere. the interesting thing i actually and about about where you are is, i am actually and about about where you are is, iam reading here, that it is one of those bellwether seats that whoever winds where you are, winds the election, generally, apart from one year, i think?— winds the election, generally, apart from one year, i think? yeah, that's riuht. as from one year, i think? yeah, that's right. as journalists _ from one year, i think? yeah, that's right. as journalists in _ from one year, i think? yeah, that's right. as journalists in elections - right. asjournalists in elections we talk about bellwether seats a lot, this is basically a bellwether seat, and as you said, whoever tends to win here, that party then goes into government. there was one exception, in 2017, but then the conservatives took it back in 2019. so it has gone with the government for as far back as anybody can remember. when i said it was diverse geographically, it is also diverse politically. as i mentioned you have got places like glossop that were former got in towns, which tend to vote labour, rural areas which tend to vote conservative, and so it is quite a hard one to call this time around. the incumbent is a conservative and he won with a very small majority ofjust 590. i was speaking to labour activists here the other day and they said even if we do win and even if labour have a huge landslide, it is quite unlikely that the labour candidate here could win with a huge majority. so, it is a really interesting one to win but it is one that labour want they held it is one that labour want they held it from 1997 to 2010 and i think it is third on their top target list of seats they want to win in the whole country. seats they want to win in the whole count . �* ., , seats they want to win in the whole count . �* . , ., ~ i. seats they want to win in the whole count . �* . , ., ,, i. ., country. annabel, thank you, going back to you. _ country. annabel, thank you, going back to you. jo. _ country. annabel, thank you, going back to you. jo. to _ country. annabel, thank you, going back to you, jo, to talk _ country. annabel, thank you, going back to you, jo, to talk a _ country. annabel, thank you, going back to you, jo, to talk a bit - country. annabel, thank you, going back to you, jo, to talk a bit more | back to you, jo, to talk a bit more about this norfolk constituency. tell me a bit more about the things that people are telling you on the doorsteps? i that people are telling you on the doorste s? ~ that people are telling you on the doorsteps?— doorsteps? i think here as with everywhere _ doorsteps? i think here as with everywhere else _ doorsteps? i think here as with everywhere else in _ doorsteps? i think here as with everywhere else in the - doorsteps? i think here as with everywhere else in the country| everywhere else in the country seeing — everywhere else in the country seeing some of the same issues, cost—of—living, it is very expensive, people are seeing food bills go— expensive, people are seeing food bills go up, affordable housing, some _ bills go up, affordable housing, some people i have spoken to here say their— some people i have spoken to here say their children or grandchildren can't _ say their children or grandchildren can't afford to buy houses in the places— can't afford to buy houses in the places where they have grown up, but ithink— places where they have grown up, but i think one _ places where they have grown up, but i think one of the overriding issues here that _ i think one of the overriding issues here that concerns people is access to gps, _ here that concerns people is access to gps, the — here that concerns people is access to gps, the nhs. one big problem is dentistry, _ to gps, the nhs. one big problem is dentistry, this part of the country is referred — dentistry, this part of the country is referred to sometimes as a dental desert, _ is referred to sometimes as a dental desert, we _ is referred to sometimes as a dental desert, we are hearing anecdotally that some — desert, we are hearing anecdotally that some practices have got waiting lists of— that some practices have got waiting lists of up— that some practices have got waiting lists of up to 6000 patients, we have _ lists of up to 6000 patients, we have heard of people pulling out their— have heard of people pulling out their own — have heard of people pulling out their own teeth because they cannot -et their own teeth because they cannot get access— their own teeth because they cannot get access to an nhs dentist. conservative richard browne is also contending that it, the former deputy— contending that it, the former deputy leader office suffolk county council _ deputy leader office suffolk county council and he is hoping to tackle some _ council and he is hoping to tackle some of— council and he is hoping to tackle some of these problems with establishing a new dental school and also to— establishing a new dental school and also to bring out a new form of politics. — also to bring out a new form of politics. he _ also to bring out a new form of politics, he says people want a fresh _ politics, he says people want a fresh approach from the conservatives, he says he lives here, _ conservatives, he says he lives here, knows the area and wants to represent — here, knows the area and wants to represent it~ — here, knows the area and wants to represent it. i think a lot of people _ represent it. i think a lot of people here feel that access to the gps, some — people here feel that access to the gps, some of the services they argue to do— gps, some of the services they argue to do accessing, is not there at the moment _ to do accessing, is not there at the moment. some people said they felt quite despondent and let down, who i spoke _ quite despondent and let down, who i spoke to, _ quite despondent and let down, who i spoke to, others feel optimistic and others _ spoke to, others feel optimistic and othersiust— spoke to, others feel optimistic and othersjust have not decided which way they— othersjust have not decided which way they are going to vote with just a week_ way they are going to vote with just a week to _ way they are going to vote with just a week to go until polling day. jo a week to go until polling day. thewlis a week to go until polling day. jif? thewlis and annabel tiffin, it is so good to have you both on bbc news bringing us details on those very important constituencies. thanks again. and you will be able to see you'll be able to see a list of all the candidates standing in the waveney valley constituency at this general election on your screen 110w. you'll be to see able to see a list of all the candidates standing in the waveney valley constituency at this general election on your screen 110w. and you can see a list of all the candidates standing in all the constituencies across the country on the bbc news website. and this is the list of the candidates standing in the high peak constituency. research for bbc wales suggests the imminent closure of the two blast furnaces could cost the local economy more than £200 billion a year. —— £200 million. the company says it still wants to build electric furnaces with promises of financial help from all main political parties though a deal has not yet been signed off. wyre davies has more. the steelworks at port talbot dominate the landscape. in an increasingly post—industrial world, a throwback to an era when steel and coal working. 20,000 people used to work here. the ovens which turn coal into a few have already fired their last, and the two huge blast furnaces will soon for silent. a consequence of losing £1 million a day, says tata steel, which has owned the site since 2007. me day, says tata steel, which has owned the site since 2007. we are haemorrhaging _ owned the site since 2007. we are haemorrhaging cash. _ owned the site since 2007. we are haemorrhaging cash. and - owned the site since 2007. we are haemorrhaging cash. and it's - owned the site since 2007. we are haemorrhaging cash. and it's not l haemorrhaging cash. and it's not because of the lack of effort of the people or the amount of money that we have spent, it's simply because we have spent, it's simply because we have spent, it's simply because we have a set of assets which are end—of—life. we have got to act now in order to make sure that you have a business in the nearfuture. aha, in order to make sure that you have a business in the nearfuture. $ij a business in the near future. a 'ob here is no — a business in the near future. a 'ob here is no longer �* a business in the near future. a 'ob here is no longer a d a business in the near future. a 'ob here is no longer a job i a business in the near future. a 'ob here is no longer a job for i a business in the near future. ajob here is no longer a job for life. owen is the third generation of his family to work at port talbot and perhaps the last. i’m family to work at port talbot and perhaps the last.— family to work at port talbot and perhaps the last. i'm training to be an operator— perhaps the last. i'm training to be an operator on _ perhaps the last. i'm training to be an operator on a _ perhaps the last. i'm training to be an operator on a furnace. - perhaps the last. i'm training to be an operator on a furnace. when - perhaps the last. i'm training to be j an operator on a furnace. when my two years— an operator on a furnace. when my two years is— an operator on a furnace. when my two years is up, i will be on a full-time _ two years is up, i will be on a full—time role, obviously with all this news, — full—time role, obviously with all this news, i am not sure what is going _ this news, i am not sure what is going to — this news, i am not sure what is going to happen. this news, i am not sure what is going to happen-— this news, i am not sure what is going to happen. there have been a lot of rumours _ going to happen. there have been a lot of rumours and _ going to happen. there have been a lot of rumours and murmurs, - going to happen. there have been a lot of rumours and murmurs, a - going to happen. there have been a| lot of rumours and murmurs, a place like this— lot of rumours and murmurs, a place like this with — lot of rumours and murmurs, a place like this with 3000 _ lot of rumours and murmurs, a place like this with 3000 jobs _ lot of rumours and murmurs, a place like this with 3000 jobs on _ lot of rumours and murmurs, a place like this with 3000 jobs on the - like this with 3000 jobs on the line. _ like this with 3000 jobs on the line. there _ like this with 3000 jobs on the line, there has— like this with 3000 jobs on the line, there has been _ like this with 3000 jobs on the line, there has been a - like this with 3000 jobs on the i line, there has been a steelworks here _ line, there has been a steelworks here since — line, there has been a steelworks here since before _ line, there has been a steelworks here since before the _ line, there has been a steelworks here since before the war, - line, there has been a steelworks here since before the war, since i line, there has been a steelworks i here since before the war, since the 20s and _ here since before the war, since the 20s and 30s, — here since before the war, since the 20s and 30s, and _ here since before the war, since the 20s and 30s, and since _ here since before the war, since the 20s and 30s, and since that- here since before the war, since the 20s and 30s, and since that one i here since before the war, since the i 20s and 30s, and since that one went up 20s and 30s, and since that one went up after— 20s and 30s, and since that one went up after the _ 20s and 30s, and since that one went up after the second _ 20s and 30s, and since that one went up after the second world _ 20s and 30s, and since that one went up after the second world war, - 20s and 30s, and since that one went up after the second world war, put i up after the second world war, put albert _ up after the second world war, put albert has— up after the second world war, put albert has become _ up after the second world war, put albert has become steel— up after the second world war, put albert has become steel and - up after the second world war, put albert has become steel and steell albert has become steel and steel has become — albert has become steel and steel has become port— albert has become steel and steel has become port talbot. - albert has become steel and steel has become port talbot.— albert has become steel and steel has become port talbot. research we have commissioned _ has become port talbot. research we have commissioned suggests - has become port talbot. research we have commissioned suggests that i has become port talbot. research we| have commissioned suggests that with the knock—on effects of so manyjob losses in the coming months, £200 million a year in local wages could disappear. million a year in local wages could disa ear. ., million a year in local wages could disa ear. . , million a year in local wages could disauear. . , :::: million a year in local wages could disa ear, ., , i1 i ., million a year in local wages could disa ear. ., , i1 i ., ., disappear. that is £200 million a ear one disappear. that is £200 million a year gone from — disappear. that is £200 million a year gone from the _ disappear. that is £200 million a year gone from the local- disappear. that is £200 million a | year gone from the local economy until we find newjobs or other employment comes in. in the same way as the miners' strike, and that was the end of the era for the valleys, this is the end of an era for industrial south wales. hat industrial south wales. not everything _ industrial south wales. not everything is _ industrial south wales. not everything is closing at port talbot. imported steel will still be rolled here, and if a £500 million deal with the current conservative government is signed off, a green, electric arc furnace will be built on the site. labour says it would offer a better deal, without giving details. but successive administrations have been accused of failing to plan for change.— failing to plan for change. we've not 'ust failing to plan for change. we've gotiust one _ failing to plan for change. we've gotiust one or— failing to plan for change. we've gotjust one or two _ failing to plan for change. we've gotjust one or two green - failing to plan for change. we've gotjust one or two green steel i gotjust one or two green steel projects in the pipeline, europe has around 40, and notjust europe, china, the us cover the rest of the world, is also looking at the future of steel and the uk can't afford to stand still, the rest of the world is moving and unless we move with it, unfortunately we might see more job losses. uk is playing catch—up, and the surrounding hills, the kind of green energy which could be powering new industries including well—paid jobs in green steel. but what role will template in that bright future?— what role will template in that bright future? what role will template in that briuht future? ., .. , ., bright future? you can see town of steel, bbc about _ bright future? you can see town of steel, bbc about investigates, i bright future? you can see town of steel, bbc about investigates, on i steel, bbc about investigates, on the bbc iplayer. specially trained dogs havejoined the search for the missing british teenagerjay slater on the spanish island of tenerife. the 19—year—old from lancashire has been missing for ten days after attending a music festival with friends. his family have travelled to the island to join the search. our correspondent fiona trott is in tenerife and told us how the search was going. i stopped one of the guardia civil yesterday evening, because we wanted to try and get a sense of how many police officers were working on this. because when had been upon the mountain — of course, this is important because that is where jay's last known phone signal was traced, they told us that around that village of masca, which is about 20 kilometres square, there would be around 20 or 30 police officers working there at any one time. now, this was important because we're trying to get an understanding of how they were operating. because when we have been there in recent days the search hadn't seemed as concentrated as it had before. but it is a vast area so we wanted to know if the searches had been scaled back or moved elsewhere. we wanted to know exactly how they were covering it because that national park area is vast. so when we spoke to the police about that on the telephone they explained to us, no, the searches had not been scaled back and as you mentioned there, specially trained sniffer dogs were arriving from madrid that are used to working in very large areas. we saw them arrive yesterday afternoon, working alongside mountain rescue teams. so in terms of numbers including those specialists, the police officers and the fire brigade, too, it's difficult for us to know how many numbers are working on this at the moment. but certainly it looks like they're working in different ways. there are so many questions about his disappearance. we know that he left that bar in the early hours of that monday morning, he was here for a three—day music festival. he left with two men to go to that very remote area up in the mountains — they took a 40 minute carjourney. that is no normal car journey, it's hazardous. you have to go over hairpin bends to get to that area around masca village. and then we spoke to a neighbour who said that she saw jay at a bus stop. he asked when the next bus would be. she said it would be two hours or so and then shortly afterwards she saw him walking further up the mountain in the opposite direction from where he wanted to go. so that is why there are so many questions, not, as you say people are interested in his disappearance in this disappearance and trying to understand it, most importantly for his friends and family that are still trying to piece things together. that is fiona trott, on the island of tenerife. now another problem for boeing's starliner spacecraft which was due to return to earth tomorrow. it's been delayed while engineers try to get to the bottom of helium leaks found in the vessel. the capsule has been beset by problems since its launch earlier this month with its astronauts stuck, waiting to return to earth. our science correspondent pallab ghosh has more. four, three, two, one. ignition. boeing's starliner set off to the international space station at the beginning of this month. it went up with engineers knowing that there was a small leak of helium gas in the propulsion system. they didn't think it was a problem. starliner holding steady in the 10m hold point. but during the flight, four more small helium leaks were identified. starliner at one—and—a—half metres away. just before docking with the space station, five manoeuvering thrusters failed, four of which restarted. the astronauts — suni williams, followed eventually by butch wilmore — were welcomed by the crew on the space station. lots of cheering here in the room. they were supposed to have stayed forjust eight days, but they're still on board as engineers find out what might have gone wrong with the helium leaks and thrusters. the problems we've seen in the last few weeks are not the kind of problems that we anticipated to be facing on the mission at this stage. so the whole point about this was putting astronauts in the loop of controlling a spacecraft, see how the spacecraft performs, all that kind of stuff. instead, we do seem to be dealing with rather more fundamental issues that really should have been ironed out by now. yeah, ijust want to say a big thanks to family and friends who've lived this. nasa has stressed that the astronauts are safe. they're not stranded and could come back on starliner if there's an emergency. but they want to get to the bottom of the problems before they bring butch and suni home. the root cause of the problem is not understood, or it's not been announced that it's understood. and so they're having to make a judgment about calling the return based on incomplete information. if you don't really understand the cause of any one failure, then you can't say for sure whether you've got a systematic problem that will affect both your prime system and your back—up and any further back—ups. nasa says it'll bejuly at the earliest before any return to earth. but when starliner comes back, questions will be asked about whether it should have been launched, knowing there was a small helium leak. pallab ghosh, bbc news. the gates of worthy farm have opened to more than 200,000 festival goers as this year's glastonbury gets under way. one of the most famous music festivals, headliners include dua lipa, coldplay and country music legend shania twain, who's been speaking to our entertainment correspondent colin patterson. # let's go, girls #. long before taylor swift, there was another female country singer who went pop and became a phenomenon. # i'm going out tonight. # i'm feeling all right. # gonna let it all hang out. shania twain's late '90s album come on over is one of the top—ten global best sellers of all time. this weekend, she follows the likes of lionel richie, dolly parton and kylie minogue by playing glastonbury�*s sunday teatime legends slot. i'm a little overwhelmed. so many stories, so many exciting, um, so much anticipation. bring my wellies. and now i'm thinking about which wellies should i bring? i've got several pairs at home. should i buy new ones? have you got rhinestone on your wellies? i don't, i don't. should i get some rhinestones? # ok, so you're brad pitt. # that don't impress me much. people who come to watch the legends, a lot of them will wear fancy dress of the act. ok, yeah. so let's go through some of the iconic shania looks. that don't impress me much? anything in leopard print and any colour of leopard print. pink, blue, green, black and white or a classic, you know,. or a classic, you know. it can be a scarf, a hat, sunglasses, leopard—print socks. although i wouldn't see your socks. that's probably not a good idea. gloves. that one's easy. # oh, oh, oh, totally crazy #. man! i feel like a woman. veil and top hat and the sun — is that going to work? a top hat would work. yeah. why not? right? you should bring a hat anyway. why not a top hat? and why not a top hat that, like, pops up so that it doesn't take up any space when you're not wearing it? i mean, they've got those. orjust a black tie over any white t—shirt works. pick one more shania outfit you'd like to see there in the crowd. denim on denim. any denim on denim. that works. that's the any man of mine video. denim on denim. # any man of mine better walk the line... when were you last in a tent? did you camp? are you a camper? i'm a big camper. right. i've done a lot of camping. i've done a lot of spending time out in the bush. what's your best putting—up—a—tent tip? sss... best putting—up. .. you know what? i believe in pop—up tents. all right — ease. honestly, out of all the camping i've done... don't be a hero. just... just get a pop —up! just something big enough to sleep in. that's my... that's my thing, you know? bring a plastic sheet so you can put it over the tent in case it rains. and bring lots of extra socks. # cos i wanna hear you. # wanna be near you. and glastonbury is on a farm. i believe you can talk to animals. explain about this. i love horses. mm—hm. i love all animals. but i'm going to go, obviously, see if there's a horse around i can borrow. maybe i can go riding. that would be awesome. would you bring a horse onto the stage? i could bring a horse to the stage! i don't know if i'm even allowed to do that. i'd have to find out... if it's allowed, i'll do it. i'd love to ride a horse to the stage. that might determine what i wear on the stage! # you're still the one i run to. # the one i belong to. # you're still the one i want for life... and finally, what kind of show are you going to deliver in the legends slot? i'd love to be able to...sing with everyone... ..sing along and be a part of the journey of the crowd. so i'm going to do everything familiar. i want to do the hits. i want to do what they know. shania twain, thank you very much for giving us your glastonbury preview to bbc breakfast. thank you so much. it is time now for the weather, with elizabeth. cooler for northern ireland and scotland but across england and wales it was the warmest day of the year so far yesterday and we are likely to see similar temperatures today, pete and humidity hanging on until tomorrow for the vast majority of us, and then it will turn fresher on the north and west courtesy of this area of low pressure and cold front. the low is bringing some showery rain, across northern ireland and much of north—west scotland, heavier showers breaking out across eastern scotland today and down through northern england perhaps but some sunny spells, the best of the sunshine for england and wales, temperatures in the mid— to high 20s. for some refreshment, head towards the coast, where it will be cooler. overnight tonight the band of rain will be pushing further eastwards introducing slightly fresher conditions out towards the west but in general it is a mild, sticky night to follow, uncomfortable for sleeping particularly in the south—east of england. tomorrow, the fresher—feeling air will filter in behind this cold front, low pressure out towards the north and the west, quite windy for north—western areas, some showers at times but the change will be this cooler—feeling air, remaining warm and humid for much of the day across east anglia and south—east england, not much rain at all go just a narrow band of cloud heralding the fresher—feeling air. windy and showery from the north and the west but elsewhere it is largely dry with some sunshine including full eastern areas of scotland but by the end of the day, temperatures will be lower. down to the seasonal average, a more comfortable night's sleep for most of us on thursday into friday. on friday, low pressure still towards the north of scotland and it's here where there will be the strongest gusts of wind for the time of year as well as outbreaks of rain. elsewhere, i would not rule out the possibility of a few showers, particularly towards the north and west, but also lots of dry weather, some spells of sunshine, the sunshine is strong at this time at this time of the year, but the air is cooler, temperatures now much closer to the seasonal average, which is where they will tend to stay as we head through the weekend — watch out for one or two showers. look at the weather with elizabeth ritt cini. live from london, this is bbc news: wikileaks founderjulian assange walks free from a us court after pleading guilty in his epic legal battle. we firmly believe that mr assange should never have been charged under the espionage act and engaged in exercise thatjournalists engage in everyday and we're thankful that they do. a final head to head debate for rishi sunak and keir starmer — as more politicians are being looked into for alleged betting on the general election. police say an islington man has been arrested in the westminster 'honey trap' case. departing dutch prime minister mark rutte becomes nato's new secretary general replacing jens stoltenberg. a former fujitsu engineer who helped design the faulty horizon it system appears before the post office inquiry for a second day. it's another underwhelming performance from england but they get the job done and go through to the knockout stage of the euros as group winners. and aiming to impress — shania twain on how she's preparing for glastonbury, where the festival gates have just opened. julian assange, is expected to touch down in australia in the next hour, after being freed from court on a remote us territory in the pacific. he pleaded guilty to one charge of espionage — for leaking thousands of classified american military documents through his wikileaks website. his departure from saipan, brings to an end a 14—year legal battle. from the island, our south—east asia correspondentjonathan head sent this report. the last stage of a very long journey. julian assange walked into the courtroom on this remote pacific island to hear whether the agreement he'd struck with us prosecutors would stick. after two hours of very careful consideration by the judge, it did. he pleaded guilty, and she agreed to a sentence equal to the time he'd already served in britain. but his lawyers still insist his prosecution for breaking an espionage law was unjust. we firmly believed that mr assange never should have been charged under the espionage act, and engaged in exercise thatjournalists engage in every day. and we're thankful that they do. it is appropriate, though, for this fight to end and it is appropriate for thejudge, as she did today, to determine that no additional incarceration of mr assange would be fair, would be appropriate, and it is time for him to be reunited with his family. his decision to leak thousands of classified documents and videos like this one — showing a us military helicopter killing two journalists in iraq — infuriated the us, which said his actions endangered the lives of its soldiers. assange sought asylum in the ecuadorian embassy in london, after sexual—assault charges were filed against him in sweden, which were later dropped. and he stayed there seven years before being thrown out. by then, he was wanted in the us, and held in belmarsh high—security prison, awaiting extradition. pressure from activists and from his home country, australia — a close us ally — finally paved the way for a deal. so for his family, elation that all their campaigning has paid off. i mean, doing cartwheels is a good expression of the joy that one feels thatjulian is returned home — well, about to return home. after the verdict, there was a rush to getjulian assange back on his plane for the long flight home. this had been the briefest of stays in us territory, which he'd fought so long to avoid. but it did deliver perhaps the best possible outcome. so after an extraordinary 14—year—long saga, julian assange has left this courtroom on his way to australia a free man. the deal he had to make with the us government divides opinion — as will his legacy. he is still a hero of free speech to some, an unapologetic assailant on national security for others. jonathan head, bbc news, saipan. katy watson has been developing proceedings from canberra and she explained the role this trailing government had in his release. there has been a lot of praise for prime minister anthony albanese. he made it clear since he came to power he wanted to seejulian assange back. he had cross—party support in this. in october he was at the white house and he brought up the issue of julian assange and a cross party parliamentary group came to washington to lobby us lawmakers and the department ofjustice, to say they wanted to see julian assange back, enough was enough and the case had been going on for too long. there was a huge amount of effort for the australian ambassador to the us, the former prime minister. he has been alongsidejulian assange for the last few days and is expected to can a company back him here. so there has been a huge effort from this trailing side to make this effort. it has been a quick turnaround, it has happened quicker than perhaps many expected, especially ahead of the us elections. but nevertheless, for his supporters, this campaigning has really paid off. that is katy watson. earlier we spoke tojulian assange' brother, who chaired the campaign to free him. i who chaired the campaign to free him. .. ., who chaired the campaign to free him. ., ,. , him. i cannot describe the feeling. i heard my — him. i cannot describe the feeling. i heard my dad _ him. i cannot describe the feeling. i heard my dad say _ him. i cannot describe the feeling. i heard my dad say he _ him. i cannot describe the feeling. i heard my dad say he is _ him. i cannot describe the feeling. i heard my dad say he is doing i i heard my dad say he is doing cartwheels. i think that sort of describes it, we are over the moon. he is home now after being in saipan and he is able to be back with his family. on australian soil. it is incredible. i haven't really spoken to julian incredible. i haven't really spoken tojulian about incredible. i haven't really spoken to julian about wikileaks incredible. i haven't really spoken tojulian about wikileaks and what's going to happen there. obviously it is an incredible, historical archive now of this information that was published. it is still online, it hasn't published anything for very long time, hasn't published anything for very longtime, though. i think if you look back in history, it has a very important place. some of those publications led to the end of the iraq war, exposed war crimes, torture in guantanamo bay. actually, some of the leaks exposed that they were children, 13—year—olds being keptin were children, 13—year—olds being kept in guantanamo. these are all parts of history now, i think it has earned its place in the records. we are going to campaign now for a pardon forjulian. we will be asking president biden for a pardon that can hopefully send a message to the press and to everyone that publishing isn't a crime and that journalism won't find you in prison for five years with a federal conviction. let's briefly watch the flight tracker, it is carrying him towards canberra. it doesn't have that far to go, possibly ten, 15 minutes. i am not entirely sure. but we are going to be there live. we are already there live, there is the camera position, to watch the flight landing. it has been along camera position, to watch the flight landing. it has been a long journey forjulian assange and he is due to land in his home country of australia, imminently. we will bring you that live here on bbc news. now, let's talk you through the election. withjust a week of campaigning left, the prime minister rishi sunak and labour's sir keir starmer are preparing to go head to head in their final leaders debate of the election. the leaders will face questions from an audience in nottingham this evening. the debate is live on the bbc. it comes as members of both main parties face more difficult questions about betting allegations. a cabinet minister has admitted placing three bets in the weeks before the electon announcement. the campaign continues for labour and the lib dems — they are both talking about health today with labour promising to end the '8am scramble' for a gp appointment. the second and final head—to—head clash between rishi sunak and the man who wants hisjob — keir starmer — takes place tonight on the bbc. and it's worth a bet that one of the topics might just involve gambling. the conservative campaign has been buffeted by allegations that two candidates, two party officials, and now a member of the welsh senedd had bet on the date of the general election, and were facing inquiries from the gambling watchdog. it's an independent process with the gambling commission now. this candidate and close aide to the prime minister, craig williams, lost the support of conservative hq yesterday, nearly two weeks after admitting he'd taken a flutter on the general election date. he's being investigated by the gambling commission and he said in a campaign video that he'd clear his name. i committed an error ofjudgment, not an offence. he turned down the offer of a bbc interview. this candidate, laura saunders, has also had support withdrawn by the conservatives. and now russell george — a conservative member of the welsh senedd — has stood down from a front—bench role when the gambling commission told him he was being investigated. but labour are not immune from the attentions of the gambling watchdog. i'm kevin craig. kevin craig was swiftly suspended by his party when it emerged that he'd placed a bet on the conservatives to win the seat he was contesting. he apologised, said he'd no prior knowledge of the result, and he'd fully comply with a gambling commission investigation. and it's widely expected at westminster that more allegations could emerge. polling day is getting ever closer. out of government for 14 years, labour needs to build support to win. the party's ahead in the polls, so tonight, rishi sunak will use this platform to try to convince voters he deserves to stay on in downing street. iain watson, bbc news. you can watch the election debate this evening here on the bbc. that's the prime ministerial debate. voters will have their final chance to watch keir starmer and rishi sunak set out their stall in a tv debate tonight in nottingham. with more on that here's our chief political correspondent henry zeffman. i'm here on the stage at nottingham trent university where this debate is going to take place tonight between rishi sunak and sir keir starmer. they'll be standing at the podiums behind me. i'm not sure which is going to be standing where yet, but it's a big moment because any election debate is a big moment. but this is practically the last set piece moment of this general election campaign. when they walk off this stage about 9.30 this evening, it will be just over a week to go until polling day. so, a big moment for them to try to solidify the sense of where this campaign is going. in the case of keir starmer, he wants to seal the deal. people i speak to in labour are more optimistic than ever that their 14 years in opposition might be coming to an end. but for rishi sunak, the incentives are completely different. he wants to find a way to seize the agenda of this campaign to shake up what we think might be going on. no tall order, right? but we'll see tonight whether he can do that. and let me just ask you something about a bit of breaking news that we've had in the last few minutes, henry, and that is that a man has been arrested in connection with the westminster honey trap scandal. can you just remind viewers what the honey trap scandal is and what this arrest is about? how long have you got? i mean, this was such a strange story. back in april, it emerged that a string of men, mostly working in politics, almost all of whom with some connection to the world of westminster, had received unsolicited messages, mostly on whatsapp, from people calling themselves charlie or abby. i mean, they were extremely flirtatious. it wasn't really clear to what end they were seeking to engage in these flirtatious communications, but in some cases, sexual messages were exchanged. one former mp admitted having sent them compromising material and the phone numbers for their colleagues. so it was all very messy and very strange. but then in april, early april, the metropolitan police announced that it was conducting an investigation. and this morning they arrested a man in islington in north london. we don't know the identity of that man or even their age, but they arrested them on suspicion of offences both under the online safety act, but also on suspicion of harassment. there's more on that story on the website. and one more question for you before i let you go. the alleged betting scandal, itjust continues to play on and on, doesn't it, with more news coming out today. it's a totally sprawling scandal, saga, whatever word you want to use now. and we've got sort of slightly different cases now. there is clearly a difference between the allegations facing the two conservative candidates. well, they're not conservative candidates any more, are they, after the decision by the conservative party to disown them yesterday. the accusation facing the former labour candidate disowned by labour yesterday is a slightly different one. that's about betting on the outcome or potential outcome of the election in the constituency in which he was standing. there's all sorts of different threads here, but what's common to them is people in politics betting on politics and whether that ends up being a matter for the gambling commission or indeed for the law, i think what this is increasingly is a matter for politics and politicians to consider whether the rules — i mean, there aren't really any — on politicians betting on politics are in the right place. i think if this saga continues to develop over the next few days, there'll be growing pressure on the main parties to suggest new rules, new codes of practice, if you like, on how politicians should engage with political betting. let's speak to our political correspondent damien grammaticas on the labour campaign bus. let's talk about what they are talking about gps, the eight o'clock in the morning appointments they are focusing on today? yes. in the morning appointments they are focusing on today?— focusing on today? yes, that is riuht. focusing on today? yes, that is right- sunny — focusing on today? yes, that is right. sunny day _ focusing on today? yes, that is right. sunny day in _ focusing on today? yes, that is right. sunny day in the - focusing on today? yes, that is right. sunny day in the east i right. sunny day in the east midlands. we are heading to a gp surgery where the labour leader keir starmer and the shadow health secretary, was treating, will be heading. this is a new, part of the manifesto they have been talking about. if you remember back to the labour missions, mission numberfive was building an nhs fit for the future and this is part of the detail of that. what they are talking about is a sort of modernising the booking system, so you don't have a 8am in the morning. the liberal democrats are talking about the same thing. talking about updating the technology, the nhs act, to do more through there. other parties are talking about that. moving services into the community pharmacists, paramedics and others can help deal with prescriptions and things. again, it is not something you need to labour, but keir starmer and frustrating will want to say that they want to bring a focus on this to say that you can have a named gp, you can have access to to bring back a family doctor. that will be done by incentivising doctors. we don't know what that means, may be some sort of payment. again, the liberal democrat saying they would do that for the over 70s. so that you could have a named gp. the other parties, the greens, promising to pump a lot of money, eye catching out into the nhs. everyone is fighting over this turf and we will hear a bit more and try to drill down a bit more later today for exactly what labour are offering. for exactly what labour are offerina. �* for exactly what labour are offering-— for exactly what labour are offerina. �* ., ., , offering. and tonight, we have been talkin: offering. and tonight, we have been talking about _ offering. and tonight, we have been talking about it, _ offering. and tonight, we have been talking about it, the _ offering. and tonight, we have been talking about it, the debate - offering. and tonight, we have been| talking about it, the debate between rishi sunak and keir starmer. the reno anything about how keir starmer is preparing this evening? he is known for _ is preparing this evening? he is known for taking _ is preparing this evening? he is known for taking time - is preparing this evening? he is known for taking time to - is preparing this evening? he: 3 known for taking time to prepare. this is the one campaign event. we are not that far away from nottingham where the debate will be happening. he is going to free up some time to be able to concentrate on preparation. we see all the party leaders doing that ahead of their debates and appearances. so very similar there. and of course, we will be considering how he can respond to some of those moving story. we were hearing about the betting story. i am sure that is one thing we will also try to ask sir keir starmer back on the action he has taken against the conservative candidate who labour have now suspended, so kevin craig in suffolk. we will want to know more about that decision. mr craig has admitted that he placed a bet on the outcome of the election in his constituency. didn't have prior marriage, he says, of the date of the election or when it might have been held. but be interesting to hear sir keir starmer�*s thoughts on that and on, what you heard from henry a few moments ago, the general approach to this whole issue, what would the labour leader want to see done about the broad issue of politicians betting on politics, evenif politicians betting on politics, even if it's not something they have direct sort of control over, as it were. what will he have to say about that? that is something he will be certainly questioned about in the debate and quite possibly when we get to talk to him.— debate and quite possibly when we get to talk to him. absolutely, both men, i'm get to talk to him. absolutely, both men. i'm sure. _ get to talk to him. absolutely, both men, i'm sure, answer— get to talk to him. absolutely, both men, i'm sure, answer questions i men, i'm sure, answer questions about betting. damian, thank you. they meet on the bus, going backwards. i am always impressed with correspondence moving backwards on a bus, i get really travel sick so thank you for your dedication on thejob. you can watch so thank you for your dedication on the job. you can watch the debate on bbc one and the iplayer. mark rutte has been formally nominated to become nato's next secretary—general. in a statement signed by the 32 member nations, they announced the appointment of the former dutch prime minister to the role where he will succeed jens stoltenberg on 1st october. stoltenberg had been due to step in down in october 2022 but agreed to stay in his post for an extra two years following the invasion of ukraine in february that year. in the last few minutes, ukraine has hailed the appointment of mark rutte, saying the role is crucial. he would become native chief about a month before the us elections. it is a difficult time for the nato alliance and if there will be another government in the us and what the attitude towards nato will be. a former engineerfor a former engineer for fujitsu will appear at the inquiry again today. formosa postmistress came to the inquiry because she wanted to come face—to—face with the man who helped put her in prison. i am face-to-face with the man who helped put her in prison-— put her in prison. i am here to hear from mrienkin. _ put her in prison. i am here to hear from mrjenkin, why _ put her in prison. i am here to hear from mrjenkin, why he _ put her in prison. i am here to hear from mrjenkin, why he did - put her in prison. i am here to hear from mrjenkin, why he did what i put her in prison. i am here to hearj from mrjenkin, why he did what he did. that is what i to hear.- did. that is what i to hear. gareth jenkins, did. that is what i to hear. gareth jenkins. a — did. that is what i to hear. gareth jenkins, a former _ did. that is what i to hear. gareth jenkins, a former fujitsu - did. that is what i to hear. garethj jenkins, a former fujitsu engineer gave evidence against her in 2010 on behalf of the post office. in his written statement to the inquiry he said, sorry. did written statement to the inquiry he said. sorry-— said, sorry. did not know she was reanant said, sorry. did not know she was pregnant at _ said, sorry. did not know she was pregnant at the — said, sorry. did not know she was pregnant at the time _ said, sorry. did not know she was pregnant at the time of— said, sorry. did not know she was pregnant at the time of her- pregnant at the time of her conviction. this makes what has happened even more tragic. i can only apologise again to her and her family for what has happened to her. but she's deal is traumatised by being imprisoned and on her release electronically tagged, did not accept his apology. he electronically tagged, did not accept his apology.— electronically tagged, did not accept his apology. he sent me to rison. accept his apology. he sent me to prison- five _ accept his apology. he sent me to prison. five years _ accept his apology. he sent me to prison. five years ago _ prison. five years ago sub- postmaster i prison. five years ago sub- postmaster is i prison. five years ago | sub-postmaster is one prison. five years ago i sub-postmaster is one that prison. five years ago _ sub-postmaster is one that stunning sub—postmaster is one that stunning victory against the post office at the high court. thejudge, mr justice fraser said, the problems with the horizon software could cause discrepancies in sub—postmaster is' accounts. gareth jenkins told the inquiry he didn't agree with thejudge. jenkins told the inquiry he didn't agree with the judge. bud jenkins told the inquiry he didn't agree with the judge.— jenkins told the inquiry he didn't agree with the judge. agree with the 'udge. and you don't acce -t his agree with the judge. and you don't accept his findings _ agree with the judge. and you don't accept his findings that _ agree with the judge. and you don't accept his findings that bugs, i accept his findings that bugs, errors and defects could result or cause discrepancies and shortfalls in branch accounts?— cause discrepancies and shortfalls in branch accounts? they could cause discrepancies — in branch accounts? they could cause discrepancies in _ in branch accounts? they could cause discrepancies in branch _ in branch accounts? they could cause discrepancies in branch accounts, i discrepancies in branch accounts, but not _ discrepancies in branch accounts, but not at — discrepancies in branch accounts, but not at the sort of levels that are being — but not at the sort of levels that are being talked about and in general, _ are being talked about and in general, the systems i believe were operating _ general, the systems i believe were operating as they should. dol general, the systems i believe were operating as they should.— operating as they should. do i take it that ou operating as they should. do i take it that you accept _ operating as they should. do i take it that you accept his _ operating as they should. do i take it that you accept his first - operating as they should. do i take it that you accept his first finding i it that you accept his first finding that legacy horizon was not remotely robust? i that legacy horizon was not remotely robust? ., �* ., .. , that legacy horizon was not remotely robust? ., �* , ., robust? i don't accept that finding. seema misra _ robust? i don't accept that finding. seema misra was _ robust? i don't accept that finding. seema misra was wrongly - robust? i don't accept that finding. | seema misra was wrongly convicted robust? i don't accept that finding. i seema misra was wrongly convicted of theft. at her trial gatherjenkins forgot to tell the court about a software bug that should have been disclosed. he says no one told him about his legal duties as an expert witness. bill about his legal duties as an expert witness. �* ., ., ., ., witness. all i thought i had to do is answer the _ witness. all i thought i had to do is answer the questions - witness. all i thought i had to do is answer the questions that i i witness. all i thought i had to do | is answer the questions that i was being _ is answer the questions that i was being asked to answer and obviously the answers had to be truthful. gareth — the answers had to be truthful. garethjenkins is the answers had to be truthful. gareth jenkins is considered the answers had to be truthful. garethjenkins is considered to be so central to this inquiry, that he is giving evidence for the next three days. zoe conway, bbc news. now, the football — and let's start with the positives, shall we? england are unbeaten and have topped their group at the euros. but there wasn't much else to cheer last night, as gareth southgate and his team were booed by some fans after their uninspiring goalless draw against slovenia. earlier we heard from sports correspondentjohn watson, who spoke about the cloud of dissapointment felt amongst the england fans, despite winning the group. yes, it's a very strange atmosphere, a strange scenario, i guess, facing england at the moment. people were looking at that game with slovenia last night, england's final group game thinking, is this going to be the moment when england's tournament finally sparked into life? the performance england fans feel this team and the players are capable of producing? but in a word, no, it wasn't. it was a flat and uninspiring performance. you look at the positives, they have qualified top of the group, they will play in the last 16 and we will work out which of the teams they will face tonight when the group is concluded. but ultimately, there is still this feeling that england haven't been able to produce the performances they are capable of and the fans showing their frustration last night with some of those empty beer cups being thrown in gareth southgate's direction and boos ringing out when he went over to applaud the fans at the end of the goalless draw last night. as andy swiss reports. as england applauded theirfans after the match, not all the fans were applauding them. there were boos and jeers from some after another lacklustre display. it was pathetic. it was england in the first two games onlyjust as bad. it wasn't the best. terrible, that is what it was. it wasn't the best. we struggled. be more attacking, more aggressive, everything's sideways all the time. it's really, really frustrating to watch. flat performance all round, it's not good enough. we won the group, so it's not too bad. england began hoping for notjust a win but a morale—boosting performance. the first half, though, proved a familiar story. bukayo saka putting the ball in the net, but it was offside and it was no goal. it was better after the break with introductions of youngsters kobbie mainoo and cole palmer, but england again seemed flat. they still qualify top of their group, but for their manager, who even had a few beer cups thrown at him, it didn't feel like it. i understand it, i'm not going to back away from it. but it is creating an unusual environment to operate in. i've not seen any other team qualify and receive similar. another difficult night for england, then, and another frustrating one for theirfans. they now head to gelsenkirchen on sunday for their first knockout match. unless they improve, it might be their last. andy swiss, bbc news, cologne. it is one of the best third—placed teams that england will now face on sunday in gelsenkirchen and we will know tonight when the group games this evening come to a conclusion, who that will be. worth pointing out it could be belgium, the netherlands, but it's fair to say the draw, despite england's slightly below—par performances is opening up for them. on the other side of the draw, you've got france, spain, portugal. so, there is this feeling that if england can find some form and improve their performances, then there's still a strong chance that they could progress through the knockouts. but it has been a very strange feeling amongst the england supporters here and it appears at the moment they are in two camps — those who feel there is plenty to feel positive about, they are through to the last 16 after topping the group, and those who feel that the booing and the frustration is simply part of it and they feel it's right and fair that they can air their frustrations inside the stadium, as they did last night. but you feel that if england can just get that one good performance, then it will kind of unite the fan base behind this team. but at the moment they have not been able to produce that as of yet. now it's time for a look at the weather with elizabeth rizzini. cooler for northern ireland and scotland but across england and wales it was the warmest day of the year so far yesterday and we are likely to see similar temperatures today, the heat and humidity hanging on until tomorrow for the vast majority of us, and then it will turn fresher from the north and west courtesy of this area of low pressure and cold front. the low is bringing some showery rain, across northern ireland and much of north—west scotland, heavier showers breaking out across eastern scotland today and down through northern england perhaps but some sunny spells, the best of the sunshine for england and wales, temperatures in the mid— to high 20s. for some refreshment, head towards the coast, where it will be cooler. overnight tonight the band of rain will be pushing further eastwards introducing slightly fresher conditions out towards the west but in general it is a mild, sticky night to follow, uncomfortable for sleeping particularly in the south—east of england. tomorrow, the fresher—feeling air will filter in behind this cold front, low pressure out towards the north and the west, quite windy for north—western areas, some showers at times but the change will be this cooler—feeling air, remaining warm and humid for much of the day across east anglia and south—east england, not much rain at all go just a narrow band of cloud heralding the fresher—feeling air. windy and showery for the north and the west but elsewhere it is largely dry with some sunshine including full eastern areas of scotland but by the end of the day, temperatures will be lower. down to the seasonal average, a more comfortable night's sleep for most of us on thursday into friday. on friday, low pressure still towards the north of scotland and it's here where there will be the strongest gusts of wind for the time of year as well as outbreaks of rain. elsewhere, i would not rule out the possibility of a few showers, particularly towards the north and west, but also lots of dry weather, some spells of sunshine, the sunshine is strong at this time of the year, but the air is cooler, temperatures now much closer to the seasonal average, which is where they will tend to stay as we head through the weekend — watch out for one or two showers. this is bbc news, the headlines... wikileaks founderjulian assange is due to back in australia shortly after walking free from a us court in a plea deal. a final head—to—head debate for rishi sunak and keir starmer, the last one before polling day next week. police say an islington man has been arrested in the westminster honey trap case. departing dutch prime minister mark rutte becomes nato's new secretary—general, replacing jens stoltenberg. a former fujitsu engineer who helped design the faulty horizon it system appears before the post office inquiry for a second day. it's another underwhelming performance from england but they get the job done and go through to the knockout stage of the euros as group winners. and aiming to impress — shania twain on how she's preparing for glastonbury, where the festival gates have just opened. they are a pretty constant feature of election campaigns, but there are questions about the degree of influence that polls have on voters, politicians and the media. with just over a week to go until voting, our analysis editor ros atkins has been taking a look at how reliable polling might be. in this general election campaign, you can't have missed the polls. this is the bbc�*s poll tracker. for months, polling has shown a large lead for labour. but how reliable are polls and how influential are they? back in 2015, they were wrong — suggesting a hung parliament when, in fact, the conservatives won a majority. polling methodology has evolved since then — so has the amount of polling. in this campaign, the bbc tracker has used data from more than 80 polls. as a sort of seismic election, and that's driven one of the reasons for there being more polls, and that is that there are more media clients wanting to publish and, in most cases, pay for polls. that increased number of polls can help overall, because, when put together, there's a bigger data set from which to track voter sentiment. and this is how most polls work — between 1,000 and 3,000 people are asked how they'd vote if there was an election tomorrow. that data is then weighted to be representative of the country. there are also mrp polls. they interview tens of thousands of voters and, using a range of data models, they project a result for every constituency. and mrp polls are generating headlines. for example, this telegraph front page about a "tory wipe—out". but mrps don't follow a standard methodology. each of the polling companies have their own modelling assumptions. they're a bit more opaque. they kind of want to keep those a bit closer to their chest. but exactly what goes into their models and the assumptions they make make these differences, as well. this means different mrp polls are using different methodology and projecting different results. they can't all be right. a well—conducted mrp is a very, very powerful way of looking at how the election is affecting different places. but what is a well—conducted mrp? we'll have a really good idea on 5thjuly. if that's mrps, overall polling is under scrutiny. here's the bbc�*s tracker again. it shows the average support for each party. but the true position for the conservatives and labour might be within five percentage points of our average. that's 5% above or below. and given the prominence of the polls, there are questions about their influence. labour's campaign chief is pat mcfadden. in a private memo to candidates, he talks of the danger of polls influencing voters and making them think the election is a done deal. there may also be other factors influencing voters. there is some evidence, in fact, that if the polls suggest a really, really clear result, that does have an effect on lowering turnout. but in this election, because there are so many people who are clearly fed up with the whole political process, it's quite likely we'd have a low turnout with no polls at all. experts say measuring the overall influence of polling is very hard to do, but some countries are cautious. in italy, publication of opinion polls is forbidden in the two weeks before an election. there are no plans for that in the uk. polls are a part of our election campaigns. they can and do inform us about the electorate, but a degree of caution is always advised. earlier we heard from political reporterjo thewlis and annabel tiffin. i started by asking jo how boundary changes in waveney valley would impact the area. i am this morning in a key market town, diss, it is about halfway between ipswich and norwich and it is at the heart of the new waveney valley constituency. it is being contested for the first time in this general election and it has been made up of different constituencies around north suffolk and south norfolk. all the constituencies i think could be described as conservative strongholds, for example, south norfolk, which has been held by the conservatives since 1950. the last time labour were in charge there was in 1945 at the end of the second world war. but it is interesting because there has been a small burgeoning of support here for the green party. last year they took over mid suffolk council, the first green party in the country to take over a council. they also won two by—elections here, one in south norfolk taking over the tory majority and pushing the council into "no overall majority". it is why they are standing there co—leader adrian ramsay in the waveney valley constituency. he is hoping to be the first green mp in the east of england and he launched his campaign a couple of weeks ago here in diss so the greens are certainly hoping to do well. labour and the liberal democrats, reform and the social democratic party also standing here. let's cross over to you, annabel. buxton, where you are, is a famous town, right, bottled water? obviously other bottled waters are also available. what are the main issues that people are talking that people are talking about in buxton, what is important to them? i suppose the main issues here are the main issues anywhere. the constituency here is quite diverse, and what i mean by that is geographically. so, you have very rural areas, we are in derbyshire, we have had to move into the car park because the signal is so bad, which you often get in rural areas, but there are also former industrial cotton towns like glossop which are more labour—voting and the rural areas are more conservative—voting — buxton where i am now is quite divided. because of that, the issues, well, they are the same everywhere, things like housing — it is now a very big tourist area, we are surrounded by the magnificent peak district and because of that there are a lot of second homes, so people cannot get on the market, a foot on the housing market. and then, you have things like transport. we have a lot of people live here, they work in greater manchester and the route that everyone takes there is the a6. i took it today to come here and i can tell you it is choca both ways. people work in sheffield, and for that, they take the notorious snake's pass, which is great if you want to take a little sunday drive to see the beautiful peak district countryside, but if you want to get to work, 70 days of the year, it is out of action because it is covered with snow. and then there is health. recently, they applied for £10 million from the government to have a new health hub and that was turned down. other than that you have got things like cost—of—living, pretty much as you said the same as everywhere. the interesting thing actually annabel about where you are is, i am reading here, that it is one of those bellwether seats that whoever wins where you are, wins the election, generally, apart from one year, i think? yeah, that's right. as journalists in elections we talk about bellwether seats a lot, this is basically a bellwether seat, and as you said, whoever tends to win here, that party then goes into government. there was one exception, in 2017, but then the conservatives took it back in 2019. so it has gone with the government for as far back as anybody can remember. when i said it was diverse geographically, it is also diverse politically. as i mentioned you have got places like glossop that were former cotton towns, which tend to vote labour, rural areas which tend to vote conservative, and so it is quite a hard one to call this time around. the incumbent is a conservative and he won with a very small majority of just 590. i was speaking to labour activists here the other day and they said even if we do win and even if labour have a huge landslide, it is quite unlikely that the labour candidate here could win with a huge majority. so, it is a really interesting one to win but it is one that labour so, it is a really interesting one to win but it is one that labour want — they held it from 1997 to 2010 and i think it is third on their top target list of seats they want to win in the whole country. breaking news, this is canberra, it is the evening there, about 20 to eight, i am told, local time, is the evening there, about 20 to eight, iam told, localtime, and this is the plane carrying the wikileaks founderjulian assange, wikileaks founder julian assange, who wikileaks founderjulian assange, who has walked free after a court deal. the plane landed just a few minutes ago. this is his home country, australia, once he comes off this plane, he is a free man, he already has a free man, he faces no further prison time following that short hearing in the northern mariana island, the us territory where it was agreed he would be flown to plead guilty in a deal now ends his legal battle. now, a bit of background to this case, of course we know thatjulian assange was pursued by us prosecutors for many years for leaking vast amounts of military information. he spent years in the ecuadorian embassy in london before then being arrested and spending further time in belmarsh prison. we are going to stay with these pictures live here at canberra airport, and also live at canberra airport, and also live at canberra airport is our correspondent katy watson, who has been there waiting for this moment, and katie, taught us through how we have come to this moment and how important this is in terms of thejulian assange case that we have been covering for many years? that we have been covering for many ears? ~ , ., , years? well, the engines have 'ust been switched i years? well, the engines have 'ust been switched off, i years? well, the engines have 'ust been switched off, he i years? well, the engines have 'ust been switched off, he has i years? well, the engines have 'ust been switched off, he hasjust i been switched off, he hasjust landed, it has been 14 years of a legal battle, this has been an epic and to a huge legal battle which saw and to a huge legal battle which saw a last dash across the world to a pacific island before landing here in australia. now, a this has been a longtime coming, there has been a lot of credit that has been given to prime minister anthony albanese, for his campaigning, for his diplomacy, just trying to getjulian assange backin just trying to getjulian assange back in australia. he has long maintained that enough was enough, that the case was going on for far too long. as you can see now, the plane has landed, he is finally back on australian soil, his wife and his father have come here to greet him, to take him off the plane. you can see now there is a group of people who are walking to the plane to see julian assange, but this is a really big moment, obviously, forjulian assange, for his family, his father has talked about this moment, this moment being a time forjulian assange now to return to his family, return to australia, to be able to feel the sand under his feet, and enjoy family life again, so it is certainly a big moment. it is also a big moment for anthony albanese you, after so much work that has gone on behind this to try and get him back on australian soil. you can see the steps are down now and they waiting forjulian assange to come off the plane. so, this is certainly a moment, the press is here, the media, there are supporters all coming to see this moment that many people thought would not happen, there would not be happening in the speed that we have seen take place. we are staying on close—up pictures of the plane so you are more than welcome to turnaround and watch it as well with us and talk us through what we are seeing. as we wait for the zurutuza out of the plane and onto australian soil, if you can, just remind viewers who may be tuning into this why he spent so many years in various forms of incarceration and what it has taken to get here? this incarceration and what it has taken to get here?— to get here? this started in 2010, he was the _ to get here? this started in 2010, he was the founder _ to get here? this started in 2010, he was the founder of _ to get here? this started in 2010, he was the founder of wikileaks, l he was the founder of wikileaks, which began in 26, and in 2010, a whole host of us classified documents were published, revealing the us dealings in iraq and afghanistan, there was very sensitive material that the us was very angry about, saying that it endangered people's lives, and that was where it started. he spent seven years in the ecuadorian embassy, you have charges of rape and sexual assault against him, those were later dropped, at that point he was also wanted by the us, and he spent five years in belmarsh. so, he has had a long journey in incarceration. he left belmarsh, it was just a few days ago, in a deal that he agreed, a plea deal, to plead guilty to one charge against the espionage act, and that is why we saw him fly where he pleaded guilty earlier, and that is what saw him then be able to walk free from that court and onto a plane that is finally here, landed in canberra. and it has landed at a military base which is just on the other side of canberra airport, it is not where the commercial flights would come in but it isjust is not where the commercial flights would come in but it is just across the runway, the runway i believe is shared. he has come here to canberra, the capital, the prime minister anthony albanese you will be giving a press conference later, wikileaks is also giving a press conference later. we are unclear weatherjulian assange himself will be speaking. that information we just don't have and i think a lot of people are in the dark with that, of course this is a man who has been imprisoned for several years, he has got on a plane and gone across the world and it has been a mad, epic few days, and certainly we will be getting more information as he now has landed in australia, meeting his wife, who flew into australia a few days ago, and i know his father has also come here to meet him off the plane. so, it's the end of an incredibly long journey forjulian assange, for his supporters who have fought for years, have been campaigning, to see this moment that he will be back on australian soil. as you mentioned, his wife is coming to meet him, members of his family, his children have also travelled to australia, do we have any idea what his plans are over the coming days, where is he going to live, what is he thinking of doing? it must be difficult to complement getting your life back after so many years in some form of incarceration. absolutely. and something that his wife stella also talked about, trying to get her head around exactly what the next steps were. she flew to australia, she said the children were excited about being in australia. but really, the next few days and months i think nobody knows, and that is what so many people here have great expectations about weather we will hear more from julian assange but for now, very little, wejust julian assange but for now, very little, we just know that he has finally got back here to australia, there will be press conferences, perhaps giving more detail, i know that prime minister albanese was very tightlipped about the process, especially because it was on us soil, the guilty plea, he did not want to talk about that whilst the process was ongoing. but now he is backin process was ongoing. but now he is back in australia and albanese has said that this is something that he had been pushing for, that the case had been pushing for, that the case had gone on too long, that further incarceration was not necessary, was not fair, and that is something that he has seen across the political spectrum, he's had support notjust from within his own party but across politics in australia, there were delegations, cross political delegations, cross political delegations, in washington visiting us lawmakers, visiting and lobbying the department ofjustice, to say thatjulian assange needed to return to australia. albanese went to the white house in october and brought his case up once again, and there has been a lot of lobbying, a lot of diplomacy behind closed doors. the australian ambassador to the us, kevin rudd, a former prime minister, was one of the key players in this, the us ambassador, there were people who were working on this case for a longtime, to try who were working on this case for a long time, to try and getjulian assange back here to australia. and now he has arrived, he is still not off the plane but there is a whole host of people waiting to see him step off that plane and onto australian soil. it step off that plane and onto australian soil.— step off that plane and onto australian soil. . , , ., ., australian soil. it has been a long 'ourne , australian soil. it has been a long journey. katy. — australian soil. it has been a long journey. katy. for— australian soil. it has been a long journey, katy, forjulian - australian soil. it has been a long j journey, katy, forjulian assange, he had to travel from the uk to those pacific islands, to the north marianna islands, and then from there onwards to canberra, so he has been travelling for an awful long time, i suspect he isjust freshening up and getting ready to make his way off the plane and onto australian soil. you talked about the role of the australian government, katy, and the prime minister, but what is the perception ofjulian assange in australia generally, what do people think about his case, about him and about his return? i about his case, about him and about his return? ~ ., , , about his case, about him and about his return? ~ . , , ., his return? i think it has been a case that _ his return? i think it has been a case that over _ his return? i think it has been a case that over the _ his return? i think it has been a case that over the years - his return? i think it has been a case that over the years has i his return? i think it has been a i case that over the years has divided opinion, seeing him as a whistleblower who revealed important information, other people who felt that there classified information that there classified information that was very sensitive. and certainly that is an opinion that has split people but over the years there has been an increasing amount of support forjulian assange, the fact that he was incarcerated, the fact that he was incarcerated, the fact that he was incarcerated, the fact that he was an australian citizen in the uk awaiting extradition to the us, i think public opinion moved and the general view was that he should come back here to australia and that was of course a view shared widely among politicians and among australians, of course, there will be people who disagree with what he did, but that is what albanese talked about, he said this is not aboutjulian assange or his activities, the fact is, this case has gone on too long, and he needs to return, and that has been the push, the driver, of albanese and his motivations for trying to getjulian assange back here on australian soil. so, that will be seen by albanese as a real win, especially as people were not expecting this to move so quickly, i don't think, ahead of the us elections, it was a difficult time to see weather something of such magnitude would actually happen, but the fact is, it is a win for albanese, who has been campaigning for this, the uk obviously no longer has a diplomatic headache with him in the uk, and in the us, this has been resolved, with a guilty plea. so, for many, those diplomatic headaches perhaps have gone away. it certainly was a stumbling block in an otherwise very strong relationship between australia and the us. so now, of course, seeing the us. so now, of course, seeing the plane that has landed here, so many people have been watching over the past few days, and seeing the progress and seeing the updates from his wife stella and from wikileaks, and across the world, this is a moment that a lot of the poor have been waiting for, 14 years of a legal battle, now to assange step back shortly on australian soil. this back shortly on australian soil. as we wait for him to step off the plane, a reminder to viewers who have been asking a lot of questions online, and we've been gauging what people are interested in and one question which people are asking is, how old isjulian assange? p is 52 years old, he was 38 years old when he first entered the ecuadorian embassy. he has two sons aged seven and five, i believe. he has a personal life, a story that really has been put on hold? absolutely. and his wife, _ has been put on hold? absolutely. and his wife, who _ has been put on hold? absolutely. and his wife, who was _ has been put on hold? absolutely. and his wife, who was a _ has been put on hold? absolutely. and his wife, who was a member i has been put on hold? absolutely. i and his wife, who was a member of his legal team, and has been campaigning relentlessly for his return here, she was staying that her children have only really known him within the walls of belmarsh on visits, so the fact that he has now come here back onto australian soil, she was saying how excited they were about being in australia but i don't think they had all the information about exactly what was happening, they are obviously still so young, and that is something that his father talked about, that the return of his son would mean that he would be able to enjoy australia, enjoy a normal family life, be able to enjoy australia, enjoy a normalfamily life, enjoy be able to enjoy australia, enjoy a normal family life, enjoy his children, and enjoy the australian beaches. that is something that he said in particular, this is a moment that his family have been waiting for, his wife has been waiting for, many people felt that maybe this is a moment that would never happen. so, seeing this and obviously seeing the interest that it has garnered, and people following every single last step, the plane, tracking the plane across the world can it has been an epic end to along battle you know, leaving the uk, going to a us island the middle of the pacific, where he entered a guilty plea, many people wonder, why there? he was nervous about stepping on the us mainland obviously had had years of threats of extradition, and the island was very close, the closest probably you could get to australia, that said, obviously australia is a long way from anywhere, it has been a long, long flight, even from the us courthouse earlier. but he has now obviously arrived, and it has been a big moment and of course julian assange, and speaking to the team around him, they want to see what state he is in as he comes off the plane and whether he will be talking. there is some movement and people coming off the plane right now. i people coming off the plane right now. .., , people coming off the plane right now. , ., ., , now. i can see someone in a hifi is cominu now. i can see someone in a hifi is coming off— now. i can see someone in a hifi is coming off the _ now. i can see someone in a hifi is coming off the plane, _ now. i can see someone in a hifi is coming off the plane, one - now. i can see someone in a hifi is coming off the plane, one of- now. i can see someone in a hifi is coming off the plane, one of the i coming off the plane, one of the airport staff. a couple of ladies coming out, and someone else. there is a hue coming out, and someone else. there is a huge team — coming out, and someone else. there is a huge team around _ coming out, and someone else. there is a huge team around him, _ coming out, and someone else. there is a huge team around him, it - coming out, and someone else. ire- is a huge team around him, it looks like there are some dignitaries, staff at the airport. i like there are some dignitaries, staff at the airport.— staff at the airport. i think something _ staff at the airport. i think something may _ staff at the airport. i think something may be - staff at the airport. i think something may be about i staff at the airport. i think. something may be about to staff at the airport. i think - something may be about to happen. this is probably the moment. we have seen a number— this is probably the moment. we have seen a number of _ this is probably the moment. we have seen a number of airport _ this is probably the moment. we have seen a number of airport staff, - seen a number of airport staff, someone wearing headphones, coming off the plane. we assume this means that something is about to happen. the plane landed about 10—15 minutes ago, taxied on the runway and came to a standstill, as katy described. he is off now, raised his hands! applause and cheering. applause and cheering. a lot of cheering here at the airport where his supporters are, he has finally made it onto australian soil. this is a moment that so many people... i am going to step back so you can see him. he is there, waving to the media and to the supporters who have come here to see him [and on australian soil. this is a big moment. three cheers forjulian! he is waving to everybody here, as he walks into the airport building. because, he is here, his family will be here, it looks like he is heading in, his family, who have come to see him, his father, his wife, who have come to the airport. and this is a moment that so many people just did not see, did not think, would ever happen, and finally, he is here... applause for his supporters, for the government, who had lobbied so hard to see him, he is now giving a big hug to his wife stella. applause we are a few seconds behind you on this pictures, so the hug is now happening right now. 50. this pictures, so the hug is now happening right now.— this pictures, so the hug is now happening right now. so, he is 'ust hu: tint happening right now. so, he is 'ust hugging his — happening right now. so, he is 'ust hugging his wife i happening right now. so, he is 'ust hugging his wife and i happening right now. so, he is 'ust hugging his wife and hugging i happening right now. so, he isjust hugging his wife and hugging his i hugging his wife and hugging his father, i believe. and now he is waving to the crowds, his hands are up. waving to the supporters who have come down here. and the press waiting. and he is giving another kiss to his wife. before he's heading into the building. that is the arrival of liz away. absolutely, ka , we the arrival of liz away. absolutely, katy. we can _ the arrival of liz away. absolutely, katy. we can see _ the arrival of liz away. absolutely, katy, we can see julian _ the arrival of liz away. absolutely, katy, we can see julian assange i katy, we can seejulian assange waving to the crowd one more time, and giving his wife another kiss, before waving once more and then heading into the building, where he will be able to be reunited with his family, with a bit more privacy. you heard there the cheering, clapping, from the crowds who have come to watch the event. injulian assange there has stepped, taken his first steps on australian soil, after many, many years in various forms of incarceration. katy, you described this as a moment his family had been waiting for, and a moment that many people felt would not happen? absolutely. delicate not believe it, she said earlier that she couldn't stop crying, his father says that i think he described it as doing cartwheels he was really excited about coming back here, being a dad and husband, experiencing australia, enjoying australia, the beaches of australia, and now of course he has come back here to see his family after a m year legal battle. and what was the last few days have been an epic dash across the world, from the uk to a small pacific islanders, and now here in canberra. he's finally made it back. we will see whether we will hear from him personally, but certainly he was waving to the crowds, he was far more demonstrative i think that he has been. he has obviously had to be very cautious ahead of his guilty plea that he is now back safe on australian territory. whether or not we will hear him speak in the next day or so, is anyone's gas, but mr albanese you, the prime minister, will be talking, and wikileaks will also be speaking. so, we will be getting more information about the last few days and perhaps exactly what led to this moment, a massive moment, helped by australian diplomacy, the us, all working together to try and get to this point where, after 14 years, this row is now back in australia. find row is now back in australia. and ka , we row is now back in australia. and katy. we know — row is now back in australia. and katy, we know that _ row is now back in australia. and katy, we know that there will be a press conference later on, wikileaks are giving it. julian assange will not be at that press conference — do we know what his involvement now is with wikileaks, whether he has distanced himself from wikileaks? he has been in belmarfor the last five years, it has been a a0 year legal battle. his involvement has been severely limited by the fact that he has been serving a prison sentence. again, we will hear it much more from wikileaks when they give a press conference later. what julian sanchez will say, people are still waiting to hear from julian sanchez will say, people are still waiting to hearfrom him. we do not know. it has been a long journey, he has been for years in a prison cell. just dealing with that, his wife said would be a big moment for him. it would be a big question of talking to him, seeing how ready he was. this is a man who has spoken out and has not been afraid to speak out and has not been afraid to speak out so no doubt we will speak to him soon. ., ., . , ., soon. now we are crossing life to anthony at _ soon. now we are crossing life to anthony at albanese. _ soon. now we are crossing life to anthony at albanese. let's - soon. now we are crossing life to anthony at albanese. let's have | soon. now we are crossing life to| anthony at albanese. let's have a listen. �* , ., , ., ., listen. because of the separation between the _ listen. because of the separation between the political _ between the political representatives and the judiciary, this was always going to be something that required discussion, with the department ofjustice. and certainly over that period of time that has been an issue as well, i have exchanged very directly with mr assange's lawyers, as have our diplomatic representatives. mr assange's lawyers, very determined to achieve an outcome. of course, the nature of his incarceration has meant that that communication had to then be got through our commissioners visiting on a number of occasions. the details of the plea deal were worked through over a period of time. what we have been focused on, very clearly and for some of the issues that have raised with me, it was the case that this was the only way that i could see a resolution being achieved. the objective here, was to conclude these matters. they have been concluded. they have been concluded in a way that has achieved the outcome that was sought. which is julian assange is now home, here in australia. d0 julian assange is now home, here in australia. , ., ., australia. do you plan to meet with mr assange — australia. do you plan to meet with mr assange in _ australia. do you plan to meet with mr assange in the _ australia. do you plan to meet with mr assange in the coming - australia. do you plan to meet with mr assange in the coming days? i l mr assange in the coming days? i will mr assange in the coming days? will be mr assange in the coming days? i will be here tomorrow. i am not going to assist, i am aware of mr assange's movements in the coming days, but i am not about to... his personal privacy, obviously, he has been through a considerable deal. it is up to him when he makes a statement. i was pleased to speak with him immediately upon the wheels touching the ground. i was quite pleased to be the first person here. who he spoke with, it was mutually worked out that that would occur. and while we are in this press conference, while some people are watching, and whether mr sanchez exited the plane, other people have been focused on kick—off. exited the plane, other people have been focused on kick-off.— exited the plane, other people have been focused on kick-off. how do ou think been focused on kick-off. how do you think this — been focused on kick-off. how do you think this result _ been focused on kick-off. how do you think this result will _ been focused on kick-off. how do you think this result will shake - been focused on kick-off. how do you think this result will shake the i you think this result will shake the us and _ you think this result will shake the us and australia relationship going forward? _ us and australia relationship going forward? we us and australia relationship going forward? ~ ., ., , forward? we have a very positive relationship _ forward? we have a very positive relationship with _ forward? we have a very positive relationship with the _ forward? we have a very positive relationship with the united - forward? we have a very positive i relationship with the united states. i regard president biden as a friend. i regard the relationship as being absolutely central, one of the three pillars of our foreign being absolutely central, one of the three pillars of ourforeign policy here. along with our relationship in the region and our support for... including that united nations. i engage, iam coming including that united nations. i engage, i am coming to press conferences to talk about the personal details and discussions i have. i personal details and discussions i have. . , personal details and discussions i have. ., ., .,.,~ have. i was going to ask whether there was a _ have. i was going to ask whether there was a breakthrough - have. i was going to ask whether i there was a breakthrough moment have. i was going to ask whether - there was a breakthrough moment at any point _ there was a breakthrough moment at any point in _ there was a breakthrough moment at any point in these negotiations when you realise _ any point in these negotiations when you realise that it would be possible. i you realise that it would be possible-— you realise that it would be possible. i think there were robabl possible. i think there were probably a _ possible. i think there were probably a range, - possible. i think there were probably a range, a - possible. i think there were | probably a range, a number possible. i think there were i probably a range, a number of possible. i think there were - probably a range, a number of steps along the way, to be frank. there were moments when this required a range of decisions to be made by the department ofjustice in the united states, which of course is not to subject to political influence. they are independent, if you look at the entire range of people who have been to the united states, i am surprised that some of it was missed by the people in this room. some of the visits, but it is not up to me to indicate that, go back and have a look at some diaries and who has travelled to united states in recent months. we wanted to be focused on an outcome, and these things do not come together until they all come together. you know, there are steps, it required. a plea deal, it requires a 2—sided agreement between the department ofjustice and julian assange. it requires, in this case, mr assange to receive advice from his legal team. and we have been in contact with his legal team over a period, he had a legal team in the uk. led by his longest legal adviser, gina robinson. who was a conduit for direct discussions with mr assange, conduit for direct discussions with mrassange, but conduit for direct discussions with mr assange, but he also had a very good at legal team in the united states. they have worked very hard, as did stephen smith, as did the department of foreign affairs and trade. as stated the attorney general, as did others as well. you talked a bit — general, as did others as well. you talked a bit about... you have personally— talked a bit about... you have personally been very engaged since before, _ personally been very engaged since before, can you tell us why so much is at stake _ before, can you tell us why so much is at stake in— before, can you tell us why so much is at stake in the us australia relationships? why was it so hard for this— relationships? why was it so hard for this outcome, as it divides the population... ?i for this outcome, as it divides the population- - -_ population... ? i believe in standing — population... ? i believe in standing no _ population... ? i believe in standing up for _ population... ? i believe in standing up for australian l population... ? i believe in - standing up for australian citizens. and i make that very clear. i made it clear from the beginning, and i make that very clear. i made it clearfrom the beginning, i had the same position as our opposition leader on all of these issues as i have had as prime minister. as prime minister of australia, you have an opportunity to make a difference. i have said repeatedly across a range of areas i am not here to occupy the space, i am of areas i am not here to occupy the space, iam not of areas i am not here to occupy the space, i am not here necessarily to ensure that people will always be supported by going through the details of what we are doing, as we are doing them. and some people have been very critical. that we were not doing enough. but we were doing exactly the right thing to achieve an outcome. i am an outcome based politician. i believe in making a difference. we can make a difference. we can make a difference. the united states are our friends, difference. the united states are ourfriends, the united states was of course in a position, though, where it because of the separation of powers, i believe in that as well, i have always understood that, due to their assistance... it was not as simple as sitting down with president biden or any other us elected representative. and achieving this outcome. diplomacy is something that must be patient, something that must be patient, something that must be patient, something that must be built on trust, something that works through stages. we have done that. and mr assange and i, this evening, as i have said, i have never met mr assange, i had a very warm discussion with him this evening. he was very generous, in his praise of the australian government's efforts. the australian government stands up for australian citizens, that is what we do. thank you very much. 50. what we do. thank you very much. so, that was the — what we do. thank you very much. so, that was the australian prime minister, anthony albanese. speaking at a press conference which he gave pretty much in the minutes after julian assange landed in australia. he talked about his appreciation to the us and the uk and efforts for freeing mr assange. he said, the us and the uk and efforts for freeing mrassange. he said, i the us and the uk and efforts for freeing mr assange. he said, i am very pleased this saga is over. he also confirmed he had spoken to julian assange to welcome him home. he did not give any details as to where it mr assange is headed over the next few days, his plans. he said that is really up to mr assange to inform people about if he chooses to inform people about if he chooses to do so. and that after the ordeal, and his words, that mr assange has suffered, it is his prerogative to give that information out. so there you have it. julian assange has landed in australia, on his home soilfor the first time landed in australia, on his home soil for the first time in many years. after that long legal battle. if you want any more information on whatjulian assange was incarcerated for, where he may be going over the coming weeks days and years, we have a life page which is being updated by our reporters, correspondents and journalists around the world. that is on the bbc�*s website wherever you are. now, just one week of campaigning left. rishi sunak and labour's sir keir starmer are preparing to go head—to—head in theirfinal preparing to go head—to—head in their final leader's debate. the leaders will face questions in nottingham this evening, in a live debate here on the bbc. it comes as members of both main parties face more difficult questions about betting allegations, a cabinet minister has admitted placing three bets in the weeks before the election announcement. the campaigning continues for the labour party and the lib dems, they are out and about today, talking about health with labour promising to end the 8am scramble for gps appointments. 0ur political correspondent has more. the second and final clash between rishi sunak and final clash between rishi sunak and keir starmer takes place tonight on the bbc, and it is worth a bet that one of the topics mightjust involve gambling. the conservative campaign has been buffered by allegations that members had bet on the date of the general election and were facing inquiries from the gambling watchdog. this candidate, a close aide to the prime minister, craig williams, lost the support of conservative hq yesterday after admitting he had taken aflutter on the general election date. he has been investigated by the gambling commission and he said in a campaign video that he would clear his name. i committed an error ofjudgment, not an offence... he i committed an error of 'udgment, not an offence. . .h i committed an error of 'udgment, not an offence... he turned down an offer for a — not an offence... he turned down an offer for a bbc _ not an offence... he turned down an offer for a bbc interview. _ not an offence... he turned down an offer for a bbc interview. this - offerfor a bbc interview. this candidate has also had to support withdrawn by the conservatives, and now it russell george, a conservative member of the welsh senate has stood down from a front bench rule with a gambling commission telling him he was being investigated. but labour are not immune from the attentions of the gambling watchdog. kevin craig was swiftly suspended by his party when it emerged that he had placed a bet on the conservatives to win the seat he was contesting. he apologised, said he had no prior knowledge of the results, and that he would fully comply with the gambling commission investigation. it is widely expected at westminster that more allegations could emerge. polling day is getting ever closer, out of government for ia years, labour needs to build support to win. the party is ahead in the polls, so tonight, rishi sunak will use this platform to try to convince voters that he deserves to convince voters that he deserves to stay on in downing street. so, that debate between the conservative and labour leaders takes place this evening. 0ur political correspondent is on the stage where they will be facing those questions. i am is on the stage where they will be facing those questions.— facing those questions. i am here from the stage — facing those questions. i am here from the stage at _ facing those questions. i am here from the stage at nottingham - facing those questions. i am here l from the stage at nottingham trent university where this event is going to take place tonight between rishi sunak and sir keir starmer. they will be standing at the podiums behind me, iam not sure will be standing at the podiums behind me, i am not sure which is going to be sending where yet. it is a big moment because any election debate is a big moment, but this is practically the last set piece moment of this general election campaign. when they walk off the stage at about 9:30 p:m., it will be just over one week to go until polling day. a big moment for them to try to solidify the sense of where this campaign is going, in the case of keir starmer, he wants to seal the deal. people i speak to in labour are more optimistic than ever, but ia years in opposition might be coming to an end. for rishi sunak the incentives are different, he wants to find a way to see the agenda of this campaign, to shake up what we think might be going on. no tall order, right? we will see tonight whether he can do that. we will indeed. meanwhile a man has been arrested on suspicion of harassment in connection with the westminster 'honeytrap' investigation. for more details on that scandal here's henry zeffman again. back in april, it emerged that a string of men mostly working in politics, almost all of whom with some connection to the world of westminster, had received unsolicited messages, mostly on whatsapp, from people calling themselves charlie or abby. i mean, they were extremely flirtatious. it wasn't really clear to what end they were seeking to engage in these flirtatious communications, but in some cases, sexual messages were exchanged. one former mp admitted, having sent them compromising material and the phone numbers for their colleagues. so it was all very messy and very strange. but then in april, early april, the metropolitan police announced that it was conducting an investigation and this morning they arrested a man in islington in north london. we don't know the identity of that man or even their age, but they arrested them on suspicion of offences both under the online safety act, but also on suspicion of harassment. that is our chief political correspondent. the leader of the liberal democrats, and the db, has told the bbc that he placed a bet on the outcome of the 2010 election, saying he had aflutter on how well his party would do. but then he lost that bet. ., _ his party would do. but then he lost that bet. ., ,. his party would do. but then he lost that bet. ., i. ., that bet. you say you have never laced a that bet. you say you have never placed a bet _ that bet. you say you have never placed a bet on _ that bet. you say you have never placed a bet on yourself, - that bet. you say you have never placed a bet on yourself, have i that bet. you say you have never. placed a bet on yourself, have you placed a bet on yourself, have you placed a bet on yourself, have you placed a bet on the results of an election or referendum? i placed a bet on the results of an election or referendum?- placed a bet on the results of an election or referendum? i made one or two bets — election or referendum? i made one or two bets over— election or referendum? i made one or two bets over the _ election or referendum? i made one or two bets over the years _ election or referendum? i made one or two bets over the years on - or two bets over the years on football — or two bets over the years on football and politics. i or two bets over the years on football and politics. lam not really— football and politics. lam not really a — football and politics. lam not really a betting person, i can say i am a _ really a betting person, i can say i am a serial— really a betting person, i can say i am a serial loser. but really a betting person, i can say i am a serial loser.— am a serial loser. but you have laced am a serial loser. but you have placed bets _ am a serial loser. but you have placed bets on _ am a serial loser. but you have placed bets on political - am a serial loser. but you have i placed bets on political subjects? elections? i particularly remember getting _ elections? i particularly remember getting very excited in 2010, i thought— getting very excited in 2010, i thought we might do quite well. i was wrong. sol thought we might do quite well. i was wrong. so i lost that bet. so ou was wrong. so i lost that bet. you placed a was wrong. so i lost that bet. sr you placed a bet on the outcome of the 2010 election? i you placed a bet on the outcome of the 2010 election?— the 2010 election? i said that i thouuht the 2010 election? i said that i thought we _ the 2010 election? i said that i thought we would do _ the 2010 election? i said that i thought we would do better i the 2010 election? i said that i thought we would do better as| the 2010 election? | said that l | thought we would do better as a party, _ thought we would do better as a party. the — thought we would do better as a party, the liberal democrats, i thought— party, the liberal democrats, i thought we would gain more seats. i was quite _ thought we would gain more seats. i was quite excited, i do not usually bets but _ was quite excited, i do not usually bets but i— was quite excited, i do not usually bets but i did on that occasion and i lost _ bets but i did on that occasion and i lost. do— bets but i did on that occasion and i lost. ,, ,, bets but i did on that occasion and i lost. i. ,, ., bets but i did on that occasion and ilost. ,, ., , i lost. do you think that people would judge — i lost. do you think that people would judge you _ i lost. do you think that people would judge you badly - i lost. do you think that people would judge you badly for- i lost. do you think that people i would judge you badly for having placed a bet on the outcome of an election? does that say something about how seriously you took your role and the party's role?- role and the party's role? people could judge _ role and the party's role? people could judge that, _ role and the party's role? people could judge that, but _ role and the party's role? people could judge that, but i _ role and the party's role? people could judge that, but i think - role and the party's role? people i could judge that, but i think people who get— could judge that, but i think people who get involved in football, sport, politics. _ who get involved in football, sport, politics, they get involved in many ways _ politics, they get involved in many ways i_ politics, they get involved in many ways i am — politics, they get involved in many ways. i am not a politics, they get involved in many ways. lam not a big better, to be frank. _ ways. lam not a big better, to be frank. it— ways. lam not a big better, to be frank. it is— ways. lam not a big better, to be frank, it is one reason i am calling for a _ frank, it is one reason i am calling for a review— frank, it is one reason i am calling for a review of the gambling regulation. for a review of the gambling regulation-— for a review of the gambling reuulation. ., ., . , regulation. now we are crossing live to jenny hale. _ regulation. now we are crossing live to jenny hale, who _ regulation. now we are crossing live to jenny hale, who is _ regulation. now we are crossing live to jenny hale, who is following - regulation. now we are crossing live to jenny hale, who is following the i tojenny hale, who is following the liberal democrats. jenny, an admission there about the 2010 election. is there a feeling that people are going to be upset by this, given all of the surrounding alerted betting scandals? iadieu. alerted betting scandals? well, potentially. _ alerted betting scandals? well, potentially. yes. _ alerted betting scandals? well, potentially, yes, hard _ alerted betting scandals? well, potentially, yes, hard to - alerted betting scandals? well, | potentially, yes, hard to predict. mr ed davey himself said that people will perhaps judge. mr ed davey himself said that people will perhapsjudge. he mr ed davey himself said that people will perhaps judge. he was very keen to draw a distinction between what he described as a harmless letter and those people who are being looked into by the gambling commission on the suspicion that they may have placed bets with some kind of inside knowledge. he says that what he did back in 2010 was a completely different thing. and i think he is already seeking to downplay that. of course, it is all fuelled the fire. there's a lot of talk around betting right now, that of course, as we approach the last week of campaigning, is really overshadowing a lot of what the party leaders would like to be talking about. not least mr ed davey himself, who today wants the focus to be on cancer. his pledge to increase the number of specialist cancer nurses available to people so that every cancer patient has a nurse. it is an ambitious pledge. instead of talking about that, the media is now talking about him placing a bet on how well his party would do back in 2010, when they went into coalition with the conservatives. so yes, of course thatis conservatives. so yes, of course that is the danger. and of course we will remember that in the last few days he has said he had heard about allegations on people placing bets potentially, although we know it is not yet proven, with some knowledge of the timing of the election. he would have suspended those candidates straightaway. he himself has been drawn into this flurry for at least a couple of weeks now. it is going to be very unwelcome to the campaign. is going to be very unwelcome to the cam aiun. , , is going to be very unwelcome to the camaian, , ., is going to be very unwelcome to the camaiun. , ., campaign. jenny, today the campaign continues for — campaign. jenny, today the campaign continues for the _ campaign. jenny, today the campaign continues for the lib _ campaign. jenny, today the campaign continues for the lib dems, _ campaign. jenny, today the campaign continues for the lib dems, and - campaign. jenny, today the campaign continues for the lib dems, and they| continues for the lib dems, and they are focusing very much on health. ed davey has been out and about, tell me a bit about what he has been up to today. this me a bit about what he has been up to toda . �* , me a bit about what he has been up totoda . r me a bit about what he has been up totoda . a me a bit about what he has been up totoda. , to today. as i was saying, he is very keen _ to today. as i was saying, he is very keen to — to today. as i was saying, he is very keen to focus _ to today. as i was saying, he is very keen to focus on _ to today. as i was saying, he is very keen to focus on cancer. very keen to focus on cancer treatment. he has got this rather ambitious plan to double the number of specialist cancer nurses available to patients. he wants to recruit some extra 3a00, he reckons that would double the number currently in existence. and he reckons that that would help to tackle backlogs in cancer treatment. it is an expensive pledge, some £130 million initially in terms of investment, then £2a0 million per year to keep that going. as part of a realfocus year to keep that going. as part of a real focus from the lib year to keep that going. as part of a realfocus from the lib dems year to keep that going. as part of a real focus from the lib dems on health and social care, they have got ambitious pledges around cancer treatment. a couple of weeks ago they were saying they would make a legal guarantee that anyone given an urgent cancer referral would start treatment within 62 days. it is an intensely personal subject for mr ed davey, who has talked quite openly about the deaths of both of his parents from the disease. he of course was a young carer, helping to look after his mother before she died. and as he said himself in one of the press releases that the lib dems have issued today, cancer turned his life upside down. it is personal. turned his life upside down. it is ersonal., , turned his life upside down. it is ersonal. , . ~ turned his life upside down. it is ersonal. , ., ,, , personal. jenny, thank you very much. personal. jenny, thank you very much- jenny — personal. jenny, thank you very much. jenny hill, _ personal. jenny, thank you very much. jenny hill, following - personal. jenny, thank you very much. jenny hill, following the | personal. jenny, thank you very i much. jenny hill, following the lib dems campaign. we are heading to scotland now, where the snp westminster leader is joining their candidate on the campaign trail. we are crossing live to our senior reporter in aberdeen sure. what exactly are the snp talking about today? exactly are the snp talking about toda ? , . , exactly are the snp talking about toda ? , ., , ,, today? they are bringing the snp cam aiun today? they are bringing the snp campaign message _ today? they are bringing the snp campaign message to _ today? they are bringing the snp campaign message to the - today? they are bringing the snp campaign message to the new. campaign message to the new constituency of gordon and buchan out here at a farm shop, the tractor behind me might be a bit of a giveaway. he has been talking about these betting revelations that we have been hearing today, asked very clearly if he had placed a bet on the outcome or the timing of this election. he simply said no. and on whether any snp candidate was being investigated by the party or at the gambling commission, he said he was not aware and spoke about the disappointment that it was, all of these revelations coming out. and about the disappointment and the concern coming out of westminster on this. he said, if there needed to be a tightening on the rules of politicians betting on political events or elections, he said he might be something he would be willing to look at and support. so, pretty clear they�* re on willing to look at and support. so, pretty clear they're on whether this was creating a lack of trust around politicians, think it was feeding into a perception that politicians are in it for themselves. pretty clear they are, it will be interesting to hear if other parties share that message that he is spreading today on the campaign, he said that this seat here is a fight between the snp and the conservatives, something other parties might disagree with. he said that this election is a chance to boot out the tories on issues such as austerity, brexit, and the cost of living. with one week to go until polling day, it does appear it is going to be a close fight this constituency. the snp, like other parties, certainly fighting for every boat. parties, certainly fighting for every boat-— parties, certainly fighting for eve boat. ., ,, , . parties, certainly fighting for eve boat. . ~ , . ., every boat. thank you very much for that. as always, _ every boat. thank you very much for that. as always, you _ every boat. thank you very much for that. as always, you can _ every boat. thank you very much for that. as always, you can see - every boat. thank you very much for that. as always, you can see the - that. as always, you can see the full list of candidates in gordon and buchan on the bbc�*s website. the full list of candidates for all of the constituencies you might be interested in are as always on the bbc website. now, international news. mark rutte has been formally nominated to become nato's next secretary—general. the outgoing dutch prime minister will succeed jens stoltenberg in october. mr stoltenberg had been due to step in down in october 2022 but agreed to stay in his post for an extra two years following the invasion of ukraine. now, football, and we start with the positives. but there wasn't much else to cheer last night, as gareth southgate and his team were booed by some fans — after their uninspiring goalless draw against slovenia. earlier we heard from sports correspondentjohn watson, who described the cloud of dissapointment hanging over england fans in germany. yes, it is a very strange atmosphere, a strange scenario, facing england at the moment. people were looking at that game with slovenia at last night, the final group game, thinking if this is going to be the moment when england's tournament finally sparks into life. the england fans feel this team is capable of producing... but in a word, it was not, it was a rather flat and but in a word, it was not, it was a ratherflat and uninspiring rather flat and uninspiring performance. ratherflat and uninspiring performance. but we look at the positives, they have qualified and will play in the last 16. we will work out which of the teams they will face tonight when the groups, when the group is concluded. but ultimately, there is still this feeling that england have not been able to produce the performances that they are capable of, and the fans are showing their frustration, last night with some ntb or cut ups being thrown at gareth southgate and as he was booed out after that 0—0 draw last night. as england applauded theirfans draw last night. as england applauded their fans after the match, not all the fans were applauding them. there were booths and jeers from some after another lackluster display. it and jeers from some after another lackluster display.— lackluster display. it was pathetic. it was england _ lackluster display. it was pathetic. it was england that _ lackluster display. it was pathetic. it was england that just _ lackluster display. it was pathetic. it was england that just like - lackluster display. it was pathetic. it was england thatjust like in - lackluster display. it was pathetic. it was england thatjust like in the | it was england thatjust like in the first two games onlyjust it was england thatjust like in the first two games only just as it was england thatjust like in the first two games onlyjust as bad. it was not the best. it was not the best _ was not the best. it was not the best. ~ , �* ., best. we struggled. be more attacking. — best. we struggled. be more attacking. it _ best. we struggled. be more attacking, it is _ best. we struggled. be more attacking, it isjust _ best. we struggled. be more attacking, it isjust really - attacking, it isjust really frustrating _ attacking, it isjust really frustrating to _ attacking, it isjust really frustrating to watch. - attacking, it isjust really frustrating to watch. flat performance _ frustrating to watch. flat performance all - frustrating to watch. flat performance all around, | frustrating to watch.- performance all around, not frustrating to watch— performance all around, not good enough _ performance all around, not good enouah. ~ , ., ., , enough. well, they wonder group, so not too bad- — enough. well, they wonder group, so not too bad. england _ enough. well, they wonder group, so not too bad. england began - enough. well, they wonder group, so not too bad. england began hoping i not too bad. england began hoping for not 'ust not too bad. england began hoping for notiust a _ not too bad. england began hoping for notjust a win _ not too bad. england began hoping for notjust a win but _ not too bad. england began hoping for notjust a win but morale - for notjust a win but morale boosting performance. the first half proved a familiar story, it was offside and it was no goal. it was better after the break, with introductions of youngsters but england again seemed flat. they still qualify top of their group, but for their manager, who even had a few beer cups thrown at him, it did not feel like it. i a few beer cups thrown at him, it did not feel like it.— did not feel like it. i understand it, i am did not feel like it. i understand it. i am not— did not feel like it. i understand it, i am not going _ did not feel like it. i understand it, i am not going to _ did not feel like it. i understand it, i am not going to back - did not feel like it. i understand it, i am not going to back away| did not feel like it. i understand - it, i am not going to back away from it. but it is creating an unusual environment to operate in. i have not seen any other team qualify and receive similar.— receive similar. another difficult ni . ht for receive similar. another difficult night for england _ receive similar. another difficult night for england and _ receive similar. another difficult night for england and another. night for england and another frustrating one for their fans. night for england and another frustrating one for theirfans. they now had to the next game on sunday for the first knockout match, unless they improve, it might be their last. and it is one of the best place teams that england will now face on sunday, we will know tonight when the group games this evening come to a conclusion who will that will be. worth pointing out it could be belgium or the netherlands. it is fair to say that the draw, despite england's slightly below part performances, is opening up for them on the other side of the draw you have got france, spain, portugal. so there is this feeling that if england can find some form and improve their performance, there is still a strong chance they could progress through the knockouts. but it has been a very strange feeling amongst the england supporters here, it appears that the moment they are certainly into camps, those who feel there is plenty to feel positive about, through to the last 16, and those who feel that the bullying and frustration is simply part of it. and they feel that it is right and fair that they can air their frustrations inside the stadium as they did last night. but you feel, don't you, that if england could just get that one good performance, thenit just get that one good performance, then it will unite the fan base behind this team. at the moment, it they have not been able to produce that as of yet. now, time for a look at the weather. cooler for northern ireland and scotland but across england and wales it was the warmest day of the year so far yesterday and we are likely to see similar temperatures today, heat and humidity hanging on until tomorrow for the vast majority of us, and then it will turn fresher on the north and west courtesy of this area of low pressure and cold front. the low is bringing some showery rain, across northern ireland and much of north—west scotland, heavier showers breaking out across eastern scotland today and down through northern england perhaps but some sunny spells, the best of the sunshine for england and wales, temperatures in the mid— to high 20s. for some refreshment, head towards the coast, where it will be cooler. overnight tonight the band of rain will be pushing further eastwards introducing slightly fresher conditions out towards the west but in general it is a mild, sticky night to follow, uncomfortable for sleeping particularly in the south—east of england. tomorrow, the fresher—feeling air will filter in behind this cold front, low pressure out towards the north and the west, quite windy for north—western areas, some showers at times but the change will be this cooler—feeling air, remaining warm and humid for much of the day across east anglia and south—east england, not much rain at all go just a narrow band of cloud heralding the fresher—feeling air. windy and showery from the north and the west but elsewhere it is largely dry with some sunshine including full eastern areas of scotland but by the end of the day, temperatures will be lower. down to the seasonal average, a more comfortable night's sleep for most of us on thursday into friday. on friday, low pressure still towards the north of scotland and it's here where there will be the strongest gusts of wind for the time of year as well as outbreaks of rain. elsewhere, i would not rule out the possibility of a few showers, particularly towards the north and west, but also lots of dry weather, some spells of sunshine, the sunshine is strong at this time of the year, but the air is cooler, temperatures now much closer to the seasonal average, which is where they will tend to stay as we head through the weekend — watch out for one or two showers. the wikileaks founder julian assange arrives back in australia a free man— reuniting with his family —after pleading guilty to espionage in a us court. the australian prime minister says he is pleased that the saga is over. the australian government stands up for its citizens. that is what we do. a final head to head debate for rishi sunak and keir starmer —the last one before polling day next week. a former fujitsu engineer, who helped design the faulty horizon it system , appears before the post office inquiry for a second day. it's another underwhelming performance from england but they get the job done. and go through to the knockout stage of the euros as group winners. and aiming to impress — shania twain on how she's preparing for glastonbury, where the festival gates have just opened. let's bring you up—to—date on our story. that is that ourjulian sands has been returned to australia. his privately chartered jet landed where journalists and camera crews were waiting. alien he reached a plea bargain with the american authorities ending a legal battle over the publication of a huge trove of classified documents. julian sons period pleaded guilty. the australian prime minister said he was very pleased by what he called the successful outcome. mr assange was greeted by his wife and his family at the airport and will now spend some private time with them before deciding what to do next. they are a familiar feature of election campaigns but there are questions about the degree of influence that polls have on voters, politicians and the media. with just over a week to go, our analysis editor ros atkins has been taking a closer look at how polling works — and what kind of accuracy we can expect in this general election campaign, you can't have missed the polls. this is the bbc�*s poll tracker. for months, polling has shown a large lead for labour. but how reliable are polls and how influential are they? back in 2015, they were wrong — suggesting a hung parliament when, in fact, the conservatives won a majority. polling methodology has evolved since then — so has the amount of polling. in this campaign, the bbc tracker has used data from more than 80 polls. as a sort of seismic election, and that's driven one of the reasons for there being more polls, and that is that there are more media clients wanting to publish and, in most cases, pay for polls. that increased number of polls can help overall, because, when put together, there's a bigger data set from which to track voter sentiment. and this is how most polls work — between 1,000 and 3,000 people are asked how they'd vote if there was an election tomorrow. that data is then weighted to be representative of the country. there are also mrp polls. they interview tens of thousands of voters and, using a range of data models, they project a result for every constituency. and mrp polls are generating headlines. for example, this telegraph front page about a tory wipe—out. but mrps don't follow a standard methodology. each of the polling companies have their own modelling assumptions. they're a bit more opaque. they kind of want to keep those a bit closer to their chest. but exactly what goes into their models and the assumptions they make make these differences, as well. this means different mrp polls are using different methodology and projecting different results. they can't all be right. a well—conducted mrp is a very, very powerful way of looking at how the election is affecting different places. but what is a well—conducted mrp? we'll have a really good idea onjuly the 5th. if that's mrps, overall polling is under scrutiny. here's the bbc�*s tracker again. it shows the average support for each party. but the true position for the conservatives and labour might be within five percentage points of our average. that's 5% above or below. and given the prominence of the polls, there are questions about their influence. labour's campaign chief is pat mcfadden. in a private memo to candidates, he talks of the danger of polls influencing voters and making them think the election is a done deal. there may also be other factors influencing voters. there is some evidence, in fact, that if the polls suggest a really, really clear result, that does have an effect on lowering turnout. but in this election, because there are so many people who are clearly fed up with the whole political process, it's quite likely we'd have a low turnout with no polls at all. experts say measuring the overall influence of polling is very hard to do, but some countries are cautious. in italy, publication of opinion polls is forbidden in the two weeks before an election. there are no plans for that in the uk. polls are a part of our election campaigns. they can and do inform us about the electorate, but a degree of caution is always advised. good advice there as always from our correspondent. good advice there as always from our correspondent. throughout the election, we're keeping a close eye on key constituencies. let's focus now on two hotly contested seats. a little earlier we heard from political reporter jo thewlis. she was in diss mear in the constituency of waveney valley. and further north, bbc�*s north west tonight's political editor annabel tiffin who was in buxton in the constituency of high peak. i started by asking jo how boundary changes in waveney valley will impact the area. iam in lamina iam ina key i am in a key market town halfway between ipswich and norwich and it is at the heart of the new waveney valley constituency and is being tested for the first time in this general election and is made up of different constituencies around nor suffolk and south norfolk. shill different constituencies around nor suffolk and south norfolk. qiigi suffolk and south norfolk. all of them can be _ suffolk and south norfolk. all of them can be described - suffolk and south norfolk. all of them can be described as - them can be described as conservative strongholds. south norfolk which is a bit north of here has been held by the conservative party since 1950. the last time labour was in charge there was 19a5 at the end of the second world war. there has been burgeoning support here for the green party. last year they took over mid suffolk council, they took over mid suffolk council, the first green party in the council to take in the country to take over a council. there was one in south norfolk which took over the council. they are standing there co—leader in the waveney valley constituency. he is hoping to be the first green mp in the east of england. he launched his campaign a couple of weeks ago here stop the greens are certainly hoping to do well. labour are standing here too as are the liberal democrats, reform and the social democratic party.— democrats, reform and the social democratic party. lets cross over to ou democratic party. lets cross over to you annabel. — democratic party. lets cross over to you annabel, buxton, _ democratic party. lets cross over to you annabel, buxton, where - democratic party. lets cross over to you annabel, buxton, where you i democratic party. lets cross over to | you annabel, buxton, where you are is a famous spa town. other —— bottled water. what are the issues that people are talking about in buxton? i that people are talking about in buxton? , , ,.,, ., that people are talking about in buxton? , ., ,, , buxton? i suppose the main issues here are the _ buxton? i suppose the main issues here are the main _ buxton? i suppose the main issues here are the main issues _ buxton? i suppose the main issues| here are the main issues anywhere. the constituency here is quite diverse — the constituency here is quite diverse and what i mean by that is geographically. you have a very rural— geographically. you have a very rural areas, we are geographically. you have a very ruralareas, we are in geographically. you have a very rural areas, we are in derbyshire stop— rural areas, we are in derbyshire stop we — rural areas, we are in derbyshire stop we had _ rural areas, we are in derbyshire stop we had to move into the car park— stop we had to move into the car park because the signal is so bad, which _ park because the signal is so bad, which often — park because the signal is so bad, which often get in rural areas. there — which often get in rural areas. there are _ which often get in rural areas. there are formal industrial cotton towns _ there are formal industrial cotton towns like — there are formal industrial cotton towns like glossop, that are more labour _ towns like glossop, that are more labour voting and the rural areas are more — labour voting and the rural areas are more conservative voting. buxton is quite _ are more conservative voting. buxton is quite divided. because of that, the issues — is quite divided. because of that, the issues are the same as everywhere. the issues are housing for example, this is a big tourist area, _ for example, this is a big tourist area, surrounded by the magnificent peak district and so there are a lot of second — peak district and so there are a lot of second homes and people can't get their foot _ of second homes and people can't get their foot on the housing ladder. you have — their foot on the housing ladder. you have things like transport. we have _ you have things like transport. we have a _ you have things like transport. we have a lot — you have things like transport. we have a lot of people live here, they work _ have a lot of people live here, they work in _ have a lot of people live here, they work in greater manchester and the route _ work in greater manchester and the route that _ work in greater manchester and the route that everyone takes there is the ad _ route that everyone takes there is the ad i— route that everyone takes there is the a6. i took it to come here today and it— the a6. i took it to come here today and it is— the a6. i took it to come here today and it is very— the a6. i took it to come here today and it is very busy. people work in sheffield and they take the notorious snakes pass. it is great for a _ notorious snakes pass. it is great for a sunday drive to see the peak district _ for a sunday drive to see the peak district but — for a sunday drive to see the peak district but if you want to get to work, _ district but if you want to get to work. 70 — district but if you want to get to work, 70 days of the year it is out of action— work, 70 days of the year it is out of action because it is covered with snow _ of action because it is covered with snow there — of action because it is covered with snow. there is also health. recently they applied to the government for £10 million for a new health hub and that was— £10 million for a new health hub and that was turned down. there is also the cost _ that was turned down. there is also the cost of— that was turned down. there is also the cost of living crisis, the same as everywhere. the the cost of living crisis, the same as everywhere-— the cost of living crisis, the same as everywhere. the interesting thing about we where _ as everywhere. the interesting thing about we where you _ as everywhere. the interesting thing about we where you are. _ as everywhere. the interesting thing about we where you are. whoever i as everywhere. the interesting thing i about we where you are. whoever wins where you are, wins the election, apart from one year. this where you are, wins the election, apart from one year.— apart from one year. this is a bellwether — apart from one year. this is a bellwether seat, _ apart from one year. this is a bellwether seat, which - apart from one year. this is a bellwether seat, which we i apart from one year. this is a l bellwether seat, which we talk apart from one year. this is a - bellwether seat, which we talk about a lot _ bellwether seat, which we talk about a lot. whoever tends to win here, the party— a lot. whoever tends to win here, the party then goes into government. there _ the party then goes into government. there was— the party then goes into government. there was one exception in 2017 but then the _ there was one exception in 2017 but then the conservative party to get back _ then the conservative party to get back. when i said it was diverse geographically, it is also diverse politically. you have got places like glossop, former cotton towns that tend — like glossop, former cotton towns that tend to vote labour. there are rural— that tend to vote labour. there are rural areas — that tend to vote labour. there are rural areas that vote conservative. it is hard _ rural areas that vote conservative. it is hard to — rural areas that vote conservative. it is hard to call this time. the incumbent _ it is hard to call this time. the incumbent is a conservative. he won with a _ incumbent is a conservative. he won with a very— incumbent is a conservative. he won with a very small majority of 590. i was speaking to labour activists and they said _ was speaking to labour activists and they said even if we win with a huge landslide. _ they said even if we win with a huge landslide. it— they said even if we win with a huge landslide, it is unlikely that the labour— landslide, it is unlikely that the labour candidate could win with a huge _ labour candidate could win with a huge majority. it is a really interesting one but it is one that labour— interesting one but it is one that labour wants, they held it to 19 97 - 2010~ _ labour wants, they held it to 19 97 - 2010 it— labour wants, they held it to 19 97 - 2010 it is— labour wants, they held it to 19 97 - 2010. it is third labour wants, they held it to 19 97 — 2010. it is third on their top targets— — 2010. it is third on their top targets to _ — 2010. it is third on their top targets to win. - 2010. it is third on their top targets to win.— - 2010. it is third on their top targets to win. - 2010. it is third on their top taruets to win. 3 ., . ,, ., ,, targets to win. let's go back to you and talk more _ targets to win. let's go back to you and talk more about _ targets to win. let's go back to you and talk more about this _ targets to win. let's go back to you and talk more about this norfolk i and talk more about this norfolk constituency. tell me i about the things that people are telling you about on your on the doorsteps. affordable housing. people say they can't afford to buy housing access to gps and the nhs. this part of the country is referred to sometimes as a dental desert. referred to sometimes as a dental desert, , .,. , referred to sometimes as a dental desert. , , ., ., desert. some places have waiting lists of 6000 _ desert. some places have waiting lists of 6000 patients. _ desert. some places have waiting lists of 6000 patients. some - desert. some places have waiting i lists of 6000 patients. some people are pulling out their own teeth because they can't get access to an nhs dentist. the conservative richard rout is also contending the seat, he is the former deputy leader of suffolk county council and hoping to tackle some of these problems by establishing a dental school. he wants a new form of politics with a fresh approach from the conservative. he lives here and knows the area and want to represent it. a lot of people here feel that access to the gps and some of the services they are used to accessing isn't there. some of the voters i have spoken to said they felt quite despondent and let down. others feel optimistic and somejust despondent and let down. others feel optimistic and some just haven't decided which way they're going to vote with just a week to go. vote with 'ust a week to go. thanks to our vote with just a week to go. thanks to our correspondence _ vote with just a week to go. thanks to our correspondence there. i vote with just a week to go. thanks to our correspondence there. can i vote with just a week to go. thanks i to our correspondence there. can see you'll be can see able to see a list of all the candidates standing in the waveney valley constituency at this general election on your screen now. and you can see a list of all the candidates standing in all the constituencies across the country on the bbc news website. and this is the list of the candidates standing in the high peak constituency. the former fujitsu engineer will return to give evidence to the post office inquiry. he played a pivotal role in defending the software in court including the trial of the pregnant sub—postmistress who was jailed in 2010. former sub—postmistress came to the inquiry because she wanted to come face—to—face with the man who helped put her in prison. i am here to hear from mrjenkins, why he did what he did on a mac that's what i wanted to hear. ~ . , ., did on a mac that's what i wanted to hear. ~ ., i. , he did on a mac that's what i wanted to hear-— he gavel hear. what your message? he gave evidence against _ hear. what your message? he gave evidence against her— hear. what your message? he gave evidence against her in _ hear. what your message? he gave evidence against her in 2010 - hear. what your message? he gave evidence against her in 2010 on i evidence against her in 2010 on behalf of the post office. in his written statement to the inquiry he said sorry. i written statement to the inquiry he said sor . ., ,, ., ., , said sorry. i did not know that she was pregnant _ said sorry. i did not know that she was pregnant at — said sorry. i did not know that she was pregnant at the _ said sorry. i did not know that she was pregnant at the time - said sorry. i did not know that she was pregnant at the time of- said sorry. i did not know that she was pregnant at the time of her. was pregnant at the time of her conviction. this makes what has happened even more tragic. i can only apologise again to her and her family for what has happened to her. but still traumatised by being in prison and on her release electronically tagged did not accept his apology. i electronically tagged did not accept his aoloa . .,,, electronically tagged did not accept hisaolo: . , ., electronically tagged did not accept hisaholo _ , .,, his apology. i was sent to prison. i was the one _ his apology. i was sent to prison. i was the one who _ his apology. i was sent to prison. i was the one who was _ his apology. i was sent to prison. i was the one who was there - his apology. i was sent to prison. i was the one who was there for i his apology. i was sent to prison. i | was the one who was there for four months. , . , was the one who was there for four months. , ., , ., ., months. five years ago sub- postmaster - months. five years ago sub- postmaster is i months. five years ago sub-postmaster is one | months. five years ago i sub-postmaster is one their months. five years ago _ sub-postmaster is one their victory sub—postmaster is one their victory against the post office in the high court. thejudge said, the problems with the horizon software could cause discrepancies in sub—postmaster is accounts. gareth jenkins said he did not agree with thejudge. bind jenkins said he did not agree with the we . i. ., �* jenkins said he did not agree with the 'ude. . .,�* , jenkins said he did not agree with the'udae.�* .,�* , , the judge. and you don't accept his findinus the judge. and you don't accept his findings that _ the judge. and you don't accept his findings that the _ the judge. and you don't accept his findings that the bugs _ the judge. and you don't accept his findings that the bugs could - findings that the bugs could cause discrepancies and shortfalls? like they could cause discrepancies in branch— they could cause discrepancies in branch accounts but not at the levels — branch accounts but not at the levels that are being talked about and i_ levels that are being talked about and i believe the systems were operating as they should. dol and i believe the systems were operating as they should. do i take it that ou operating as they should. do i take it that you accept _ operating as they should. do i take it that you accept his _ operating as they should. do i take it that you accept his first - operating as they should. do i take it that you accept his first finding i it that you accept his first finding that legacy horizon was not robust? wing i don't accept that finding. seema misra was wrongly convicted did of theft. garethjenkins seema misra was wrongly convicted did of theft. gareth jenkins failed to tell the court about a software bug that should have been disclosed. he says no one told him about his legal duties about an expert witness. i legal duties about an expert witness. ., ., ., ., , witness. i thought i had to answer the question _ witness. i thought i had to answer the question that _ witness. i thought i had to answer the question that i _ witness. i thought i had to answer the question that i was _ witness. i thought i had to answer the question that i was being i witness. i thought i had to answer. the question that i was being asked to answer and that the answers had to answer and that the answers had to be truthful.— to be truthful. gareth jenkins is considered _ to be truthful. gareth jenkins is considered to _ to be truthful. gareth jenkins is considered to be _ to be truthful. gareth jenkins is considered to be so _ to be truthful. gareth jenkins is considered to be so central- to be truthful. gareth jenkins is considered to be so central to i to be truthful. gareth jenkins is i considered to be so central to this inquiry that he is giving evidence for the next three days. research for bbc wales suggests that the imminent closure of the two blast furnaces at the tata steelworks in port talbot could cost the local economy more than £200 million a year. the company says it still wants to build a new electric furnace, with promises of financial help from all main political parties, although a deal has not yet been signed off. wyre davies reports. the steelworks at port talbot dominate the landscape in an increasingly post—industrial world, a throwback to an era when steel and coal were king. 20,000 people used to work here. the ovens, which turned coal into coke, have already fired their last. and the two huge blast furnaces will soon fall silent. the consequence of losing £1 million a day, says tata steel, which has owned the site since 2007. we are haemorrhaging cash. and it's not because of the lack of efforts of the people or the amount of money that we have spent in. it's simply because we have a set of assets which are end of life. we've got to act now in order to make sure that you have a business in the near future. ajob here is no longer a job for life. owen is the third generation of his family to work at port talbot and perhaps the last. i'm training to become an operator. number four furnace. when my two years is up there, i'll be on a full time role. obviously with all this news. i'm not sure what's going to happen then. there's been a lot of rumours, a lot of rumors, as you can imagine, in a place like this, especially with 3000 jobs on the line. there's been a steelworksj here since before the war, since the 20s and 30s, i and since that one went up after the second world war. port talbot has become steel- and steel has become port talbot. research we've commissioned suggests that with the knock on effects of so manyjob losses in coming months, £200 million a year in local wages could disappear. that's £200 million a year gone from the local economy until those people find newjobs or other employment comes in, in the same way as the miners strike. and thereafter, it was the end of the year for the valleys. this is the end of an era for industrial south wales. not everything is closing at port talbot. imported steel will still be rolled here. and if a £500 million deal with the current conservative government is signed off, a green electric arc furnace will be built on the site. labour says it would offer a better deal without giving details, but successive administrations have been accused of failing to plan for change. we've gotjust one or two green steel projects in the pipeline. europe has around a0. and it's notjust europe, china, the us. the rest of the world is also looking at the future of steel and the uk can't really afford to stand still. the rest of the world is moving and unless we move with it, unfortunately we might see more job losses. the uk is playing catch up on the surrounding hills, the kind of green energy that could be powering new industries, including well—paid jobs in green steel. but what role will port talbot play in that bright new future? specially trained dogs have joined the search for the missing british teenagerjay slater on the spanish island of tenerife. the 19—year—old from lancashire has been missing for 10 days after attending a music festival with friends. his family have travelled to the island tojoin the search. our correspondent fiona trott is in tenerife and told us how the search was going. i stopped one of the guardia civil yesterday evening because we want to try and get a sense of how many police officers were working on this, because when we had been up on the mountain and of course, this is important because that's where jay's last known phone signal was traced, they told us that around that village of mashego, which is about 20 kilometers square, there would be around 20 or 30 police officers working there at any one time. now, this is important because we're trying to get an understanding of how they were operating, because when we have been there in recent days, the search hadn't seem as concentrated as it had before. but it is a vast area. so we wanted to know if the searches had been scaled back or moved elsewhere. we wanted to know exactly how they were covering it because that national park area is is vast. so when we spoke to the police about that on the telephone, they explained to us that, no, the searches had not been scaled back. and as you mentioned, specially trained sniffer dogs were arriving from madrid that are used to working in very large areas. we saw them arrive yesterday afternoon working alongside mountain rescue teams. so in terms of numbers, including those specialists, the police officers, the fire brigade, too. it's difficult for us to know how many numbers are working on this at the moment, but certainly it looks like they're working in different ways. the gates of worthy farm have opened to more than 200,000 festivalgoers as this year's glastonbury gets under way. one of the most famous music festivals, headliners include dua lipa, coldplay and country music legend shania twain — who's been speaking to our entertainment correspondent colin patterson. # let's go, girls #. long before taylor swift, there was another female country singer who went pop and became a phenomenon. # i'm going out tonight. # i'm feeling all right. # gonna let it all hang out. shania twain's late '905 album come on over is one of the top—ten global best sellers of all time. this weekend, she follows the likes of lionel richie, dolly parton and kylie minogue by playing glastonbury�*s sunday teatime legends slot. i'm a little overwhelmed. so many stories, so many exciting, um, so much anticipation. bring my wellies. and now i'm thinking about which wellies should i bring? i've got several pairs at home. should i buy new ones? have you got rhinestone on your wellies? i don't, i don't. should i get some rhinestones? # ok, so you're brad pitt. # that don't impress me much. people who come to watch the legends, a lot of them will wear fancy dress of the act. ok, yeah. so let's go through some of the iconic shania looks. that don't impress me much? anything in leopard print and any colour of leopard print. pink, blue, green, black and white or a classic, you know,. it can be a scarf, a hat, sunglasses, leopard—print socks. although i wouldn't see your socks. that's probably not a good idea. gloves. that one's easy. # oh, oh, oh, totally crazy #. man! i feel like a woman. veil and top hat and the sun — is that going to work? a top hat would work. yeah. why not? right? you should bring a hat anyway. why not a top hat? and why not a top hat that, like, pops up so that it doesn't take up any space when you're not wearing it? i mean, they've got those. orjust a black tie over any white t shirt works. pick one more shania outfit you'd like to see there in the crowd. denim on denim. any denim on denim. that works. that's the any man of mine video. denim on denim. # any man of mine better walk the line... when were you last in a tent? did you camp? are you a camper? i'm a big camper. right. i've done a lot of camping. i've done a lot of spending time out in the bush. what's your best putting—up—a—tent tip? sss... best putting—up. .. you know what? i believe in pop—up tents. all right — ease. honestly, out of all the camping i've done... don't be a hero. just... just get a pop—up! just something big enough to sleep in. that's my... that's my thing, you know? bring a plastic sheet so you can put it over the tent in case it rains. and bring lots of extra socks. # cos i wanna hear you. # wanna be near you. and glastonbury is on a farm. i believe you can talk to animals. explain about this. i love horses. mm—hm. i love all animals. but i'm going to go, obviously, see if there's a horse around i can borrow. maybe i can go riding. that would be awesome. would you bring a horse onto the stage? i could bring a horse to the stage! i don't know if i'm even allowed to do that. i'd have to find out... if it's allowed, i'll do it. i'd love to ride a horse to the stage. that might determine what i wear on the stage! # you're still the one i run to. # the one i belong to. # you're still the one i want for life... and finally, what kind of show are you going to deliver in the legends slot? i'd love to be able to...sing with everyone... ..sing along and be a part of the journey of the crowd. so i'm going to do everything familiar. i want to do the hits. i want to do what they know. shania twain, thank you very much for giving us your glastonbury preview to bbc breakfast. thank you so much. now it's time for a look at the weather. cooler for northern ireland and scotland but across england and wales it was the warmest day of the year so far yesterday and we are likely to see similar temperatures today, heat and humidity hanging on until tomorrow for the vast majority of us, and then it will turn fresher on the north and west courtesy of this area of low pressure and cold front. the low is bringing some showery rain, across northern ireland and much of north—west scotland, heavier showers breaking out across eastern scotland today and down through northern england perhaps but some sunny spells, the best of the sunshine for england and wales, temperatures in the mid— to high 20s. for some refreshment, head towards the coast, where it will be cooler. overnight tonight the band of rain will be pushing further eastwards introducing slightly fresher conditions out towards the west but in general it is a mild, sticky night to follow, uncomfortable for sleeping particularly in the south—east of england. tomorrow, the fresher—feeling air will filter in behind this cold front, low pressure out towards the north and the west, quite windy for north—western areas, some showers at times but the change will be this cooler—feeling air, remaining warm and humid for much of the day across east anglia and south—east england, not much rain at all go just a narrow band of cloud heralding the fresher—feeling air. windy and showery from the north and the west but elsewhere it is largely dry with some sunshine including full eastern areas of scotland but by the end of the day, temperatures will be lower. down to the seasonal average, a more comfortable night's sleep for most of us on thursday into friday. on friday, low pressure still towards the north of scotland and it's here where there will be the strongest gusts of wind for the time of year as well as outbreaks of rain. elsewhere, i would not rule out the possibility of a few showers, particularly towards the north and west, but also lots of dry weather, some spells of sunshine, the sunshine is strong at this time of the year, but the air is cooler, temperatures now much closer to the seasonal average, which is where they will tend to stay as we head through the weekend — watch out for one or two showers. live from london, this is bbc news. the wikileaks founder julian assange arrives back in australia a free man— reuniting withhis family —after pleading guilty to espionage in a us court. these to espionage in a us court. matters, they have bee concluded, these matters, they have been concluded, they have been concluded in a way that has achieved the outcome that was sought, which is julian assange is now home here in australia. ., ., ., ., australia. the final head-to-head debate for rishi _ australia. the final head-to-head debate for rishi sunak _ australia. the final head-to-head debate for rishi sunak and - australia. the final head-to-head debate for rishi sunak and keir i debate for rishi sunak and keir starmer, the last one before polling day next week. i starmer, the last one before polling day next week-— day next week. i am live here at nottingham _ day next week. i am live here at nottingham trent _ day next week. i am live here at nottingham trent university, i day next week. i am live here at nottingham trent university, in| day next week. i am live here at i nottingham trent university, in the building behind me that tv debate will take place later tonight life on the bbc. the final set piece event of this general election campaign. event of this general election campaign-— event of this general election cam-rain. ., . ., , ., campaign. police say an islington man has been — campaign. police say an islington man has been arrested _ campaign. police say an islington man has been arrested in - campaign. police say an islington i man has been arrested in westminster in the honey trap case. more politicians are being looked into for allegedly betting on the general election. and aiming to impress, shania twain on how she is preparing for glastonbury, where the festival dates have open. hello. a very warm welcome to bbc news. the wikileaks founder has arrived home in australia after being freed by a us court in a remote pacific ocean territory. it brings to an end a 1a year legal battle, settled with a deal where he admitted one in charge of espionage for publishing the classified documents via his website. we are expecting a wikileaks media conference shortly, but this was the moment wherejulian conference shortly, but this was the moment where julian assange conference shortly, but this was the moment wherejulian assange stepped off the plane. a lot of cheering here at the airport where his supporters are are, he has finally made it into australian soil. a moment that so many people, i am going to step back so you can see him... he is there, waving to the media and to the supporters who have come here to see him [and on australian soil. this is a big moment. three cheers forjulian. he is waving to everybody here. as he walks into the airport building. of course, he is here and his family will be here. it looks like he is heading in, his family have come to see him, his father, his wife, who have come to the airport. this is a moment that so many people just did not see, did not think would ever happen, and finally, he is here. for his supporters, for the government who have lobbied so hard to see him. now giving a big hug to his wife, stella. just to let you know we are a few seconds behind you on these pictures. the hug isjust happening right now for us, viewing this. hun tint right now for us, viewing this. hugging his _ right now for us, viewing this. hugging his wife and his father, i believe. and now he is waving to the crowd, his hands are up, waving to the supporters who have come down here. and the press, who is waiting. he is giving another kiss to his wife. , ., ., wife. he is heading into the building- — wife. he is heading into the building. that _ wife. he is heading into the building. that was - wife. he is heading into the building. that was our i wife. he is heading into the - building. that was our correspondent katie watson talking to me at that moment happened. the australian prime minister had this to say after mr assange landed. the details of the plead deal have been worked on over a period of time. some issues that have been raised with me, it was a case that this was the only way that i could see a resolution being achieved. in the objective here, was to conclude these matters. they have been concluded, they have been concluded in a way that has achieved the outcome that was sought, which is julian assange is now home, here in australia. the julian assange is now home, here in australia. ., ,, , . ., ., australia. the former us director of national intelligence _ australia. the former us director of national intelligence and _ australia. the former us director of national intelligence and spoke i australia. the former us director of national intelligence and spoke to i national intelligence and spoke to the bbc on the today programme on radio four. , ., ., , radio four. first, what he did was wron: radio four. first, what he did was wrong and _ radio four. first, what he did was wrong and illegal. _ radio four. first, what he did was wrong and illegal. one _ radio four. first, what he did was wrong and illegal. one of- radio four. first, what he did was wrong and illegal. one of our- wrong and illegal. one of our federal... to indict him on 18 charges of espionage related charges. and of course, the concern that we have in the government at the time, the potential indemnity and compromise of assets of afghans who are helping us. i imagine there are some people, because they were identified as having helped us and they were doing that on a clandestine basis, when they were outed, i imagine some of them lost their lives. i do not know that, given the situation in afghanistan. so what do you say to people who think— so what do you say to people who think he _ so what do you say to people who think he is— so what do you say to people who think he is a hero? i do so what do you say to people who think he is a hero?— think he is a hero? i do not agree with that at _ think he is a hero? i do not agree with that at all, _ think he is a hero? i do not agree with that at all, | _ think he is a hero? i do not agree with that at all, i think— think he is a hero? i do not agree with that at all, i think he - think he is a hero? i do not agree with that at all, i think he did i with that at all, i think he did some serious damage. but i also have to acknowledge that he spent five years in a hard time, in a ukjail. in london. and before that, seven years of confined in the ecuadorian embassy. $5 years of confined in the ecuadorian embass. a. years of confined in the ecuadorian embass. ., embassy. as always, you can get more on the julian — embassy. as always, you can get more on the julian assange _ embassy. as always, you can get more on the julian assange story _ embassy. as always, you can get more on the julian assange story on - embassy. as always, you can get more on the julian assange story on what i on thejulian assange story on what has happened on the bbc�*s website, there is a life page, it has been updated on what happened this morning in the airport and also, of course, the entire case over the last 1a years. now we are moving onto the election campaign. it is just under one week of campaigning left. rishi sunak and keir starmer are preparing to go head—to—head tonight in theirfinal are preparing to go head—to—head tonight in their final debate. they will face questions from an audience in nottingham. it will be live on bbc news. the backdrop, for labour and the conservatives, more allegations around betting. the cabinet minister has admitted to placing three bets before the election was announced but insists he did nothing wrong. the liberal democrats leader has called for a tightening of the rules. he says he cast and bet on the outcome of the 2010 election. the campaigning has continued, labourand 2010 election. the campaigning has continued, labour and the lib dems are talking health come out with labour promising to end the 8am scramble for gp appointments. here's our correspondent. the second and final head—to—head clash between rishi sunak and the man who wants hisjob — keir starmer — takes place tonight on the bbc. and it's worth a bet that one of the topics might just involve gambling. the conservative campaign has been buffeted by allegations that two candidates, two party officials, and now a member of the welsh senedd had bet on the date of the general election, and were facing inquiries from the gambling watchdog. it's an independent process with the gambling commission now. this candidate and close aide to the prime minister, craig williams, lost the support of conservative hq yesterday, nearly two weeks after admitting he'd taken a flutter on the general election date. he's being investigated by the gambling commission and he said in a campaign video that he'd clear his name. i committed an error ofjudgement, not an offence. he turned down the offer of a bbc interview. this candidate, laura saunders, has also had support withdrawn by the conservatives. and now russell george — a conservative member of the welsh senedd — has stood down from a front—bench role when the gambling commission told him he was being investigated. but labour are not immune from the attentions of the gambling watchdog. i'm kevin craig. kevin craig was swiftly suspended by his party when it emerged that he'd placed a bet on the conservatives to win the seat he was contesting. he apologised, said he'd no prior knowledge of the result, and he'd fully comply with a gambling commission investigation. and it's widely expected at westminster that more allegations could emerge. polling day is getting ever closer. out of government for 1a years, labour needs to win the trust. rishi sunak will try to convince the voters that he deserves to stay on in downing street. that debate between the conservative and labour leader takes place this evening. our chief political correspondent has been on the stage where they will be facing their questions. i am here on stage where the debate between rishi sunak and keir starmer will take place. they will be here on the podium is behind me. it is a big moment, because any election debate is a big moment. this is practically the last set piece moment of this general election campaign. when they walk off the stage at about 9:30 p:m., it will bejust walk off the stage at about 9:30 p:m., it will be just over one week to go until polling day. so, a big moment for them to try to solidify the sense of where this campaign is going, in the case of keir starmer, he wants to seal the deal. people i speak to in labour are more optimistic than ever that there 1a years in opposition might be coming to an end. for rishi sunak the incentives are different, he wants to find a way to seize the agenda of this campaign to shake up what we think might be going on. no tall order. we will see tonight whether he can do that. meanwhile, a man has been arrested on suspicion of harassment in connection with the westminster honey trap investigation. for more details on that scandal, here is henry again. backin that scandal, here is henry again. back in april it emerged that a string of men, mostly working in politics, almost all of whom with some connection to the world of westminster had received unsolicited messages, mostly on what's up, from people calling themselves charlie or abby. they were extremely flirtatious, it was not really clear toward what end they were seeking to engage in these flirtatious communications. but in some cases, sexual messages were exchanged, one form np admitted having sent them compromising material and the phone numbers for their colleagues. it was all very messy and strange. in early april, the metropolitan police announced it was conducting an investigation. this morning they arrested a man in islington, north london. we do not know his identity or his age, but he was arrested on suspicion of offences both under the online safety act and on suspicion of harassment. let's take you to scotland, where the snp westminster leader, is in aberdeenshire. a reporter was there. stephen flynn, the westminster leader has been campaigning in gordon and buchan today at a farm shop, perhaps the tractor behind me, a bit of a giveaway there. this constituency, a new constituency that takes in much of the old gordon area. stephen flynn today talking about these revelations that we have been hearing allegations of candidates being suspended or are under investigation for betting on the timing or the outcome of the election. when i spoke to stephen flynn a little earlier on, i asked him very simply if he had placed a bet on the timing or outcome of the general election. i bet on the timing or outcome of the general election.— general election. i am not aware of any circumstances _ general election. i am not aware of any circumstances within _ general election. i am not aware of any circumstances within which i general election. i am not aware of any circumstances within which an l any circumstances within which an snp candidate has placed a bet, concerned with... you are the first person tara asked me this question, i have not placed any bets as i have made very clear to you. i have concerns as i'm sure the public does, of what is coming out of westminster at the moment. we have got prospective candidates betting on themselves to make a quick buck, and tory mps apparently betting on the election time, i don't think that paints politicians in a good light. ithink that paints politicians in a good light. i think the public will look very unkindly upon it. 50. light. i think the public will look very unkindly upon it.— very unkindly upon it. so, very clear on where _ very unkindly upon it. so, very clear on where he _ very unkindly upon it. so, very clear on where he stands i very unkindly upon it. so, very clear on where he stands on i clear on where he stands on politicians betting on elections or other democratic events. talking about potentially supporting a change in the rules if he thinks thatis change in the rules if he thinks that is necessary. also talking about how this constituency here, in his view, is a fight between the snp or the conservatives, something i think most of the other parties would disagree with. but talking about how he feels this election is about how he feels this election is a chance for the tories to be booted out of government, in his words, over issues like austerity, brexit, and the cost of living. the indication is that this constituency and others like it in the northeast of scotland is going to be a close fight. after polling day, just over one week away, it is clear that every vote in this area will count. and a full list of all the candidates in each constituency is available on the bbc website. as well as all the other information on the general election campaign. mark rutte has been nominated to become the next secretary—general of nato. the previous one, mr stoltenberg, had been wanting to step down since october 2022 but had stayed in his post for an extra two years following the invasion of ukraine. now, look at the football. we start with the positives. england were unbeaten, they have topped their group at the euros but there was not much else to cheer about last night as gareth southgate and his team were booed by some fans after their uninspiring draw against slovenia. earlierwe after their uninspiring draw against slovenia. earlier we heard from our correspondent, who described the cloud of disappointment hanging over england france and germany. yes, it's a very strange atmosphere, a strange scenario, i guess, facing england at the moment. people were looking at that game with slovenia last night, england's final group game thinking, is this going to be the moment when england's tournament finally sparked into life? the performance england fans feel this team and the players are capable of producing? but in a word, no, it wasn't. it was a flat and uninspiring performance. you look at the positives, they have qualified top of the group, they will play in the last 16 and we will work out which of the teams they will face tonight when the group is concluded. but ultimately, there is still this feeling that england haven't been able to produce the performances they are capable of and the fans showing their frustration last night with some of those empty beer cups being thrown in gareth southgate's direction and boos ringing out when he went over to applaud the fans at the end of the goalless draw last night. as andy swiss reports. as england applauded theirfans after the match, not all the fans were applauding them. there were boos and jeers from some after another lacklustre display. it was pathetic. it was england in the first two games onlyjust as bad. it wasn't the best. terrible, that is what it was. it wasn't the best. we struggled. be more attacking, more aggressive, everything's sideways all the time. it's really, really frustrating to watch. flat performance all round, it's not good enough. we won the group, so it's not too bad. england began hoping for notjust a win but a morale—boosting performance. the first half, though, proved a familiar story. bukayo saka putting the ball in the net, but it was offside and it was no goal.