start recording with her mobile phone when a man attacked her. start recording with her mobile phone when a man attacked herli switch the recording on my phone and the light as well, and i thought, if he sees i am recording, i said, i am recording you, i am recording you, he will run off, it would scare him off, and he wouldn't want to get caught. but he didn't care at all. we will hear from 19—year—old lilyanne. it is an incredible story. hello. welcome to the programme, we're live until i! this morning. also — do you think music festivals should provide drug testing facilities to allow people taking illegal drugs to check whether those drugs are safe? if you take drugs, if you go to festivals — let me know what you think. our top story today. seven weeks after a general election was called, polling stations across the uk have opened for millions of people to cast their vote. police forces say there is increased security in some areas following the recent terror attacks in manchester and london. the first election results are expected at around midnight. gary o'donoghue reports. election day 2017, just two years after the last one, and three years earlier than we were expecting. 68 different parties are vying for your votes this time around, with a total field of more than 3,300 candidates. we'll elect mps from 650 constituencies across the uk, 533 in england, a0 in wales, 59 in scotland, and 18 in northern ireland. around 47 million people are eligible to vote, and we'll be casting our ballots at 41,000 polling stations the length and breadth of the land, as well as by post. the party leader with the most mps will be invited by the queen to form a government, with mps due back here next tuesday. so, after seven weeks of campaigning, the time has come to choose who will end up on those green benches across the road. 11 days from now, the queen will arrive here in a scaled—down ceremony, wearing a hat, not a crown, driven in a car, not a royal coach, to present the new government's plan for the next parliamentary session. gary 0'donoghue, bbc news, westminster. and you can we watch all the results coming in throughout the night. mishal husain, david dimbleby, laura kuenssberg and emily maitlis will have your coverage. at ten o'clock you will get the exit poll, which often gives you a good indication of the outcome of the election. that's at 9:55pm on bbc one. jeremy vine will no doubt be there with some crazy graphics. so do tuning tonight. let's bring you the rest of the morning's news with annita. thank you, victoria. good morning. claire the former fbi director sacked by donald trump will give evidence to a senate committee today. james comey claims the us president tried to influence his investigation into links between members of the trump team and russia. 0ur north america correspondent rajini vaidya nathan reports. oh, and there's james. he's become more famous than me. there was a time when president trump had nothing but praise forjames comey, but a firm grip in january turned into a firing in may. the president sacked the fbi director, reportedly calling him a nutjob and more. he's a showboat, he's a grandstander. the fbi has been in turmoil. you know that, i know that, everybody knows that. most people know the president's version of events. nowjames comey will go public before the senate with his. 0n the eve of his appearance before the senate, james comey released a written statement. he said the president isn't being investigated by the fbi as part of the russia inquiry. mr comey says over a private dinner injanuary he was asked by the president for his unwavering support. "i need loyalty, i expect loyalty", he says the president told him. the white house has denied this. but how far did the president expect that loyalty to go? mr comey says he was asked to drop the investigation into ties between the president's former national security adviser michael flynn and the russians. there is no suggestion that the president asked for an end to the wider written inquiry but james comey says mr trump told him it was a cloud over him. it's notjust congress which is looking into the trump campaign's ties to russia, there is also an ongoing fbi investigation. in the saga that is washington politics, james comey‘s testimony is a must—see moment but it's just one act what's becoming a long and drawn—out political drama. three men have been arrested on suspicion of terror offences after armed officers carried out a series of raids in east london this morning. two men aged 3a and 37 were arrested at separate addresses in newham and a 33—year—old man was arrested in waltham forest. police say the arrests are not connected to the london bridge attack. military officials in myanmar say wreckage from an air force transport plane which disappeared over the andaman sea on wednesday has been found. ten bodies, including those of a child, were discovered about 35 kilometres south of the town of launglon. the chinese—made aircraft was carrying 122 passengers and crew, most of them soldiers and their families. scientists at the university of bath have developed biodegradable cellulose microbeads that could replace harmful tiny pieces of plastic that pollute the ocean. microbeads are tiny spheres of plastic which are added to products such as face wash, sunscreen and toothpaste to give them a smooth texture. experts warn they end up in rivers and oceans, where they are ingested by birds, fish and other marine life. a japanese fugitive who has been on the run for 45 years has been arrested. he allegedly said an officer on fire. same—sex couples in the uk could be allowed to get married in anglican churches for the first time. later the scottish episcopal church will vote on whether to change its definition of marriage. a positive vote would mean that same—sex couples from all over the uk can marry in anglican churches in scotland. 0ur correspondent michael buchanan reports. at the centre of what we celebrate here today is the love between these two men. a gay marriage in an anglican church. this one is in the united states. but later today, this scene could become legal in scotland. the episcopal church, the anglican church in scotland, will vote this afternoon on whether to allow gay weddings. the very rev kelvin holdsworth is strongly in favour. so many people now know gay couples who want to be married in church and stand up in front of their friends and in front of god and declare their love for one another. gay marriage has split anglicans. the churches in england and wales don't allow saame sex couples to marry. but if the vote in edinburgh is passed today, it would allow gay couples from the rest of the uk to be married in scotland to the fury of anglican traditionalists. it's a question of the authority of the bible who runs the church. 0ur belief is the bible is the supreme authority that jesus christ runs the church using the bible. when something like this happens, it is not so much about the sex element, it is about the authority of the bible that matters. attitudes to gay marriage are one of the defining divisions among anglicans. supporters say acceptance of the move is inevitable over time. today's vote could bring that future a step closer. michael buchanan, bbc news, edinburgh. a diamond ring bought for £10 at a car—boot sale has been sold for more than £650,000 at auction in london. the 26—carat cushion—shaped diamond sold for almost double its estimate. the owner bought the ring in the 1980s and was unaware of its real value, wearing it every day for thirty years. that's quite something! that's a summary of the latest bbc news — more at 9.30. thank you very much. in a moment we will be talking about what is being done to keep you safe from internet scammers who try to trick unsuspecting people out of money. it has happened to so many people. have you been a victim of that kind of fraud yourself? we'd love to hear your experiences. do get in touch with us throughout the morning — use the hashtag victoria live and if you text, you will be charged let's bring you some sport now. our chelsea really going to get rid of a star player? it seems so, and it is pretty surprising, it involves diego costa. if you are a fan of one of the other big clubs, you will be happy to hear this, but the chelsea fans, not at all. it has been claimed he has been told he can leave the champions via a text message from the manager, antonio co nte. message from the manager, antonio conte. he scored 26 goals last season, still only 26 years old, he was speaking after his country's game last night. he is stirred chelsea player but is looking for a new club because it is clear that the new coach does not count on me and does not want me there. that is and does not want me there. that is a real development. he is a cult hero at chelsea, his team—mates seemed to like him and he is well—known for his histrionics, and having a smile on his face as well. it seems chelsea are favourites to sign romelu lukaku from everton as a replacement, and that could make cost a fantastic deal for one of the big clubs in europe. and there is this big game coming up england and scotland, but england need a new captain. who will it be? a world cup qualifier, and england without wayne rooney, he is lacking inform. his without wayne rooney, he is lacking in form. his long—term international future looks bleak as well, questions being asked about who his replacement will be. atjust 23, the premier league's top scorer last season, harry kane, thinks he is ready to step up. i have grown up as a footballer, everyone grows up with dreams of being england captain one day, i dreams of being england captain one day, lam dreams of being england captain one day, i am no different, dreams of being england captain one day, lam no different, but dreams of being england captain one day, i am no different, but it is down to gareth. we have a lot of leaders in this team, and that is what we need to get across, that whoever is captain is captain, but there are plenty of other leaders that can talk and help each other out on the pitch, and that is the main focus for us. gareth southgate was a bit more quiet on who the long—term replacement for wayne rooney might be, but harry kane is being compared alan shearer, and we all know what a great captain he was. and the lions tour of new zealand hasn't got off to the best of starts. getting any closer to a test line—up? of starts. getting any closer to a test line-up? we should be, but once again, warren gatland has completely changed his starting line—up of they are now into the third match of the tour, we would expect to see what we would think would be the test line—up, but they do have a match this saturday, wales lock alun wyn is going to captain the side against the canterbury crusaders. sean 0'brien, conor murray, george north, they will all make their first appearances of the tour. the lions opponents have named eight all blacks in their team. saturday's match will be far more daunting, it isa match will be far more daunting, it is a big step up in quality because the crusaders have a perfect 14 wins from 14 so far this season. thank you very much. more from hugh throughout the morning. polling day, as you know, delighted to see one of the great register additions is continuing on this general election day, which is #dogsatpollingstations. we would very much like to end the programme today with pictures of your dog at the polling station. a picture of your dog, where you are at the uk, and obviously the name of your dog. we have this picture, u nfortu nately your dog. we have this picture, unfortunately richard hasn't given us unfortunately richard hasn't given us the name of this dog, which i'm guessing is a cockerpoo, but i might be wrong. not the most glamorous polling station, but certainly the most glamorous dog, he says! do send us most glamorous dog, he says! do send us your pictures and we would be delighted to end the programme with photographs of dogs from all around the uk. but first this morning. most of us have received a scam e—mail in our inbox — someone wanting to transfer thousands of dollars into your account, or asking you to cash cheques and send them money. you might have ignored it, but thousands don't and fall victim to this kind of online fraud, losing a lot of money in the process. the criminals rarely get caught, because they are usually operating from outside the uk, which makes it harder for police here to catch them. but networks of volunteers are fighting back, trying to beat the fraudsters at their own game. they call themselves scam baiters. 0ur reporter hannah morrison has been to meet some of them.. every year, tens of thousands of people are conned by online scammers. but it is not only the authorities taking action. it is just a bad element on the planet and something we could do without. what we do is we waste their time and resources. and we make them believe that they are not as good a scammer as they think they are. there are always going to be there, but if we can take them down a peg, ta ke but if we can take them down a peg, take a victim away from them any time we can. you have all received the e—mails. you have all received the e—mails. you have all received the e—mails. you have won a lottery you didn't know you have signed up for. a long lost relative has left you inheritance. but there is always a catch. you need to send money first. behind those e—mails are scammers who cheat people out of money, and the internet offers them a safe haven. the england and wales crime survey estimates there are 100,000 cases of this fraud each year. the police admit it is harder to catch criminals working from overseas, but a global network of volunteers is trying to stop them. some of them don't want to reveal their identities were obvious reasons, but we have three of them online now. can you explain what you do? as far as baiting, i pretend to be a perfect victim for a scammer, the idea is to collect all of their information, whether it it be faked documents, phone numbers, photographs, anything they are trying to use to scam victims with. getting the scammers victims up online so people can be warned about them or messing with a scammer to ta ke them or messing with a scammer to take up his time and keep them away from victims. as a victim warner, i am sending out text messages or making actual phone calls to scam victims to warn them that they are being scammed by joe victims to warn them that they are being scammed byjoe scammer and that they need to protect themselves. why do you do it? my mother got caught up in what they call the grandparent scam. she didn't lose any money and that was morejust blind luck, but i know didn't lose any money and that was more just blind luck, but i know to this day that my mother would still fall for this scam because she was so convinced that this was reality. she had $5,000 cash, and it was a western union employee that actually stopped her. it affected me deeply. so what kind of technology are you using? is there something special you need to do the dues to do scam baiting? a pretty simple setup, i can give you a location and i will show you how it's done. that sounds perfect. wayne has agreed to meet us, not at his house but at a secret location. an empty hall in south wales. he doesn't want the room run the risk of the scammers knowing where he lives. how are you? nice to meet you. the website he runs puts up meet you. the website he runs puts up details they acquire from conversations with scammers. photos, phone numbers, e—mails. victims can use it to check whether they are being conned. wayne says police and other authorities use the data too. we have dealt with the police, the fbi, western union. so we do work with police, with authorities, but it is almost always when they come to us, rather than us going to look to us, rather than us going to look to work with them. the police's nationalfraud and to work with them. the police's national fraud and cyber crime agency couldn't tell us whether they work with baiters like wayne or not, as they don't comment on individual groups. but their advice to victims is to call action fraud. this is a conversation between you and someone who i am assuming is not called sarah. no. do you make stuff up to make you see more vulnerable? more like somebody who a scammer would think they will get a success from? 0n think they will get a success from? on this one, never married, just split up a while back with my ex. wayne and his friends have successfully gathered pages of information on scammers, but it rarely leads to arrest because so many are based abroad. so they find other ways to get to them, by wasting their time and money, and this is where the baiters have a bit more fun. 0k, this is where the baiters have a bit more fun. ok, so we havejust been to see wayne. we have now come to a different location in the uk to meet someone else from the group, who is chewed to do some scam baiting this evening. she has invited us along to see exactly how it stand. you are going to try and bait someone, nothing we also going to try and get when involved as well? we will see what we can do. we are not random find a random person on the end of a phone, this is somebody who has e—mailed and we know them. phone, this is somebody who has e-mailed and we know them. gel and wayne carry out a lot of baiting together. they always wait to be approached, but that happens a lot because their details are on so—called sucker lists, data bases compiled by scammers who have fallen victim to scams like this before. hello, wayne, are you getting involved again? pretending to be husband—and—wife, they are going to make a phone call to someone who has contacted jill saying that she has w011 contacted jill saying that she has won a lottery of $1.2 million in africa. the idea is to waste his time by arguing about which one of them gets the money. hello. hello. i have my wife with me. we received youre—mail, and have my wife with me. we received your e—mail, and we would both love to hear more. are you people the winners of the 2017 lottery? we are, yes. is this for your wife or for you? it would be for both of us. if you? it would be for both of us. if you need to talk to my wife i can get on the other line, i will do that. can you take the other line? hello. hello, how are you? hello, it is lovely to hear from you. i hear that i have won the lottery. yes, yes! you need to send information to me to process your file. i am an agent for the promotion. the payment department agent assigned to your payment. the call goes on and on as jilland payment. the call goes on and on as jill and wayne want to keep on talking as long as possible. the more time he chats, the less it has to focus on other potential victims. the continues to ask for their personal details. just send the information to me, then i will deal with you via the e—mail that you put, your mobile number. they continue to waste the time. my e—mail address, continue to waste the time. my e—mailaddress, i continue to waste the time. my e—mail address, i get the my e—mail address, i get the money. you do not get the money, it is my e—mail address! you do not get the money, it is my e-mail address! he persists, so do they. he is not getting a penny of that money! eventually wayne and jill end the call. 0k that money! eventually wayne and jill end the call. ok then, goodbye. iam assuming jill end the call. ok then, goodbye. i am assuming that would have gone on normally, we had to cut it short, how long would it go on for? we would carry on as long as it wasted their time, as long as it confused their time, as long as it confused the scammer. what is your motivation? we challenge them, and we make them believe that they are not as good a scammer as they think they are. so we get under their skin. what about your personal safety, is it worth it? you have kids. i do, however i take great ca re kids. i do, however i take great care in protecting my online persona. i bait with e—mail addresses that are not traceable. i don't use any of my real—life information. if you want to catch them out, why notjust report them to the police straightaway? them out, why notjust report them to the police straightaway7m them out, why notjust report them to the police straightaway? it would be brilliant if we could get them arrested. law enforcement in our country could advise, they do give a lot of advice on how to prevent it from happening, but they can't really affect proper arrests and control overseas. it is just not possible, there are just too many of them. the police's fraud bureau say that although criminals working abroad are harder to catch, a lot of resources in the uk are going into preventing scams and raising awareness of them. in the meantime, jill, wayne and many others will continue scam baiting, passing any information they find on the victims and the police. we will talk to two experts injust a moment but and the police. we will talk to two experts in just a moment but as and the police. we will talk to two experts injust a moment but as it is polling day, theresa may hasjust voted in her maidenhead constituency. these are the pictures of her casting her vote in selling their reading. —— casting her vote near reading. going in and coming out. it means theresa may has voted. a little earlier, this was the scotland first minister, nicola sturgeon, casting her vote in glasgow. we will show a picture of her going in and then coming out. can you do it again? laughter you can vote until 10pm tonight. general election coverage on bbc one sta rts general election coverage on bbc one starts at five to ten. we will get the exit poll at ten o'clock will be published across all the broadcasters at ten o'clock, it usually gives you a very good indication of the outcome of the election, but results released at coming in about midnight, although sunderland like to do it at about 11. don't always manage it but they do their best. back to those scam baiters, the people challenging the scammers around the world. let's talk to brian lord, he has his own cyber security company. and tony neate, who's from advice service get safe 0nline. good morning to you both. brian lord, there are a small minority of scam baiters and a huge number of scammers around the world. they will never really disrupt more than a handful, are they? no, they are not. they believe they are doing the right thing, as long as they stay on the right side of the law, itjust plays a tiny little part in addressing what is a wider issue. and as long as they make the information available to those organisations who can promulgate that information as part of a wider awareness campaign, the better. because the key thing about this, the way that you stop this kind of thing is awareness. it is confidence trekking in the 20% true, that is all. it is simply educating people how not to fall for it. tony neate, how not to fall for it. tony neate, how do you think about what the baiters are doing? it is good sport. something that has been around 20 years now. it used to be called for 19 fraud, which was the penal code in west africa but i would give a little bit of caution. you have to remember that these are disrupting criminals, serious and organised crime and there is a risk in relation to it. anyone who thinks this is good sport, i will have a go, you have to remember to protect yourselves, there are ip addresses we have to make sure we don't display, and remember a we have to make sure we don't display, and remembera lot we have to make sure we don't display, and remember a lot of these people have been threatened with violence, even with murder. i would say yes, it is great if we can take one person off—line doing this, that is great, but we have to be careful. but do you accept that these networks of scambaiters arrived because they are surface treated that more is not being done to catch the con artists? as the security expertjust said, there are literally hundreds of thousands of criminals doing this type of thing. it is very difficult to catch them. 0ne it is very difficult to catch them. one of the reasons is they use a non—isas, these lists are available on the darkwa —— the 0nana my is themselves. —— available on the dark web. —— they anonymise themselves. i have been frustrated. i followed it along, certainly on telephone calls i have had. the best thing to do is to put the necessary precautions in so you don't get these e—mails in the first place. i will ask you about that in the moment. brian lord, some people watching will be thinking, how does anyone fall for this rubbish, it is so obvious when you get an e—mail saying you have $1 million on a lottery but can you send 500 quid first before you get the million. but people do and they should not be ashamed or embarrassed to speed up about it —— speak up about it because it to awareness of others. that is a really good point. people react to things for a lot of reasons, quite a lot based on their personal circumstances, how they are feeling, a sense of four is confidence in the internet and e—mailfor people confidence in the internet and e—mail for people who don't understand that kind of thing. but they become in barrister when it becomes a case but also once they have made one or two payments, they are already into it, and the only way out is to create this false confidence that it is actually real, and they end up paying more and more. so yes, i think more people fall foul of it than you would think and everyone should feel confident about speaking out and saying, actually, yes, i did fall victim of something similar, but the key thing is to still make the information available to action fraud. because although there is a huge amount of frustration about how effective the uk police can operate internationally, they do operate internationally, they do operate internationally, cross—border, and the more information they have, actually, the more effective they can make their limited capability. tony neate cameo advice to our audience about how they can block getting these scam e—mails in the first place? first of all make sure you have good security on your computers and new mobile phones. update the operating system, the applications, make sure you have strong spam software on your machine to stop that happening, go to the get safe online. all website to get more automation. when something comes through and you think it might be genuine, get someone else to have a look at it. what sounds too good to be true probably is but getting someone else to look at it without rose tinted glasses on and can save you a lot of money —— go to the getsafeonline.org website. thanks both of you, tony neate from getsafeonline. org, both of you, tony neate from getsafeonline.org, and brian lord from a cyber security programme. time for the latest headlines. polling stations are open for millions of people to cast their vote in the general election. police forces say there'll be increased security in some areas following the recent terror attacks in manchester and london. voting will go on until ten o'clock tonight, with the first results are expected at around midnight. and in the last half hour party leaders have begun casting their votes. seven weeks after calling the general election, theresa may visited a polling station in her maidenhead constituency while the snp leader nicola sturgeon went to a ballot box in glasgow. you can watch all the results coming in throughout the night — the election 2017 special will be with david dimbleby. that's on bbc one and the bbc news channel from 9.55pm tonight. the former fbi director sacked by donald trump will give evidence to a senate committee today. james comey claims the us president tried to influence his investigation into links between members of the trump team and russia. the white house denies the allegations. three men have been arrested on suspicion of terror offences after armed officers carried out a series of raids in east london this morning. two men aged 34 and 37 were arrested at separate addresses in newham and a 33—year—old man was arrested in waltham forest. police say the arrests are not connected to the london bridge attack. the anglican church in scotland could become the first in the uk to offer same—sex marriage. the move is opposed by some traditional anglicans. a diamond ring bought for £10 at a car—boot sale has been sold for more than £650,000 at auction in london. the 26 carat cushion shaped diamond sold for almost double its estimate. the owner bought the ring in the 1980s and was unaware of its real value, wearing it everyday 30 yea rs. and that is a summary of the latest news. back to you, victoria. now here is the latest sport. chelsea striker diego costa could be on his way out of stamford bridge this summer despite helping the club to last season's premier league title, scoring 20 goals on the way. costa claims he was told in a text message that he is no longer in the club's plans. the club is absolutely flying in super rugby, so after winning their first game and losing yesterday, it isa first game and losing yesterday, it is a real challenge for the lions. for the fourth year in a row, andy murray is through to the semifinals of the french open. he had to fight for his place, coming from a set down against kay nishikori, and will face down against kay nishikori, and will fa ce sta n down against kay nishikori, and will face stan wawrinka next in a repeat of last yea r‘s face stan wawrinka next in a repeat of last year's semifinal which murray won. and if you were worried about sir ben ainslie's progress in the america's cup, the hasn't been any. the day's racing was called off due to heavy winds in bermuda. that is all the sport for now, we're back with more just after ten o'clock. 19—year—old lillian constantine was making her way home from an evening out, when a man — ashraf miah — attempted to rape her. as she was being attacked, lillian managed to switch on her phone and record what happened. it led to his conviction and last month he was jailed for thirteen and a half years. lilian has waived her right to anonymity to encourage victims of rape and serious sexual assault to come forward and also — where they can — to use modern technology to help capture their attackers. in her first broadcast interview, lillian and her mother karen spoke to the today programme'sjustin webb and described the moment of the attack. as soon as the attacker put his hand on me, i knew something was up, because when i'm out and it's late, it is common for people to talk to you randomly, it is friendly chat, sometimes they can be drunk, but as soon as he put his hand on me, i knew that it was an invasion of my personal space, and that was when i knew something was wrong. and did you think at first but he was going to mug you? i did. i had no idea of what else was going to happen, but initially i did think it was going to bea initially i did think it was going to be a mugging. what went through your mind when that happened? first of all i flipped the video recording on my phone, and i turned the light on my phone, and i turned the light on as well, because it was pitch black where i was, and i thought, if he sees that i am recording, and i screamed at him, i said, i am recording you, i thought it would scare him off, and he wouldn't want to get caught, but he didn't care at all. but your phone was on by then? yes, it was on and the light, i was trying my best to shine the light in his face, but he was using all of his face, but he was using all of his limbs to trip me up and get me onto the floor and pushed me down. and he managed to do that because he was bigger than you? yes. and how long did the attack last? about two minutes, but it felt like a lifetime. can you remember what you we re lifetime. can you remember what you were thinking as it was happening?” think i was actually so shocked at the fact that i was screaming at him, swearing at him, screaming for help, and i just him, swearing at him, screaming for help, and ijust thought, this must be an absolute maniac, for someone. . . be an absolute maniac, for someone... it was completely barbaric. i am someone... it was completely barbaric. iam personally someone... it was completely barbaric. i am personally quite compassionate, and it is the com plete compassionate, and it is the complete binary opposite of something that i would do or anyone i know would do. how did it end? did he just i know would do. how did it end? did hejust run i know would do. how did it end? did he just run off? i believe that some people nearby heard me screaming, woke up and their lights went on, and that scared him away. so he jumped off and left me there. i didn't look back, i was just on a mission to get home, which was about one minute and 40 seconds away. and when she got home, karen, what state did you find her in? she was in a dreadful state, she stumbled in through the bedroom door, and as we woke up, we were in a deep sleep, but we put the lights on, we could see she was incredibly distressed, distraught. i could see immediately that something terrible had happened. her make—up, the crying, she was in coherent, clothes were all over the place, and it was your worst nightmare coming true, actually. can you remember what you said to her? my instinct was to take hold of her and to pull her close to me and set her down and try to get her to breathe regularly. and i asked her if she had been attacked and she said she had. i called for my husband to call the police immediately. did you realise immediately. did you realise immediately that it had been an attempted rape? i felt, the state that she was in, that it could have only been something so awful as that. and i asked her, and she was incoherent, and soon she talked about the film that she had taken, and when we viewed the film, it was absolutely crystal clear what a vicious attack had taken place against her. and then, as a parent, you must be torn between just wanting to hold her and comfort her and actually also wanting to catch this person and to get hold of the police. our instinct wasjust our arms around herand police. our instinct wasjust our arms around her and sit and let her sob and cry, and to try and get her to feel safe and secure in her own home again. there was no conflict about that, and i suppose at the same time, my husband was calling the police, so i was holding her and he was speaking to the police. and when the police came, that also is a pretty horrible process that you then have to go through? it wasn't pleasant. i had to bag up the clothes i was wearing, hand them over. it was very unnatural, the whole thing, and having to explain what had happened again and again and again to a multitude of different people at different times. but initially it was pretty horrible. and they put you on medication as well? they put me on hiv preventing medication, i was so sick from it and i had to have wee kly sick from it and i had to have weekly blood tests to check if my liver was still functioning because of the potency of these tablets. and then because of your quick thinking infilming then because of your quick thinking in filming this attack, the police found the man. they found dna on me but they couldn't find a match on the system, and they went through the system, and they went through the film frame by frame, got a clear image of his face which allowed them to tracking down and catch him. so just to be clear, it may well be that without that film, he would still be walking around free?” believe so. and is that part of the reason at least why you have decided to waive your right to anonymity and say what you have been saying to us? a lot of young people get a bit of grief from being on their phones all the time, but when you think about it, we're walking around with small devices that could do so much good. extraordinary. lillian constantine and her mother karen talking to justin webb from radio 4's today programme. encouraging other people who are victims of sexual assault to come forward. still to come: there are calls for festivals to offer free testing of illegal drugs to check their contents and potency — we'll be getting reaction from one mother whose son was a heroin addict if you use illegal drugs or go to festivals, is this something you would welcome, or do you think it normalises illegal drug—taking ? we're talking about that in the next 15 minutes, so your own personal experiences are pertinent to that conversation. this week has seen a growing diplomatic crisis in the middle east as saudi arabia, the united arab emirates, bahrain, egypt and yemen announced they were to cut diplomatic ties with qatar and accused them of supporting terrorism. so why is a crisis so far from our borders important to the uk? ina in a moment, we are going to talk to an ambassador, the uae‘s top diplomat to russia, about white uae amongst others is ostracising qatar in the way it is. we are expecting the leader of the labour party, jeremy corbyn, to vote in islington north. not yet, obviously, that is why there is a picture of the gate. so we will show you that as soon mr corbyn arrives. 0k, so we will show you that as soon mr corbyn arrives. ok, let's talk to ambassador 0mar. can you explain to our audience what exactly you are accusing qatar of? basically, we have had ongoing discussions for yea rs have had ongoing discussions for years about their promotion of extremist rhetoric through primarily there television station al—jazeera. this has become common knowledge outside of the arab world as well. their support of the muslim brotherhood, which we regard as a terrorist organisation, and that we see as being the integrator for all kinds of violent extremists in the arab world. and we have an issue with the fact that they want to be pa rt with the fact that they want to be part of the golf team, the gulf arab team, yet they are undermining us from within by funding radical organisations within our countries. and you have evidence for that funding that you say is happening? just a very recent example is qatari hostages in iraq, and the qatari government paid al-qaeda $300 million and $700 million to various groups. this is very straightforward. what about other countries in your golf club, if you like, if! countries in your golf club, if you like, if i can put it like that, who are accused of funding extremism, for example saudi arabia? this is an important question, you are right, this is something that has been talked about, and there are rumours. there are two different ways in which extremism is funded as far as we can tell in the arab world. you have private individuals who are independently wealthy, and they pass cash to extremists, and that is the government threw back of the region are working with each other to tackle, so we are working with unisys... tackle, so we are working with unisys. .. i'm tackle, so we are working with unisys... i'm so sorry, we'rejust going to pause for a moment to bring our audience pictures ofjeremy corbyn arriving to vote in north london. theresa may has already voted off the conservatives. nicola sturgeon of the snp has cast her vote already. now it is the turn of the leader of the labour party. that will do a thing for the moment. let's continue our commerce ocean with the ambassador, the uae‘s top diplomat to russia. we have been talking about accusations of saudi arabia's links the funding of extremism, and why for example you from the uae haven't cut them off. there are two different kinds of funding that takes place, a funding that we know about and we are monitoring as well as possible, funding by private individuals, and this is people who are independently wealthy and have some kind of ideological agenda and they will be passing cash to extremists in the area perhaps further abroad. the rich saudi businessmen for example? someone with money. this is something that has happened in the past, we know about it, and prosecuted. there is legislation being implemented to prevent this pa rt being implemented to prevent this part of the reason trump came to the reason “— part of the reason trump came to the reason —— to the region was to monitor of these —— set up a centre to monitor all of these transactions to monitor all of these transactions to identify who is passing money to extremists. rather than mess happening in an organic manner which can be brought back, this is a government that looks to find extremists in the region from north africa all the way to bangladesh. actually identifies them and then begins to fund them, in order to achieve their own political foreign policy goals. this is something that has to be tackled. what is the motivation for the state of qatar to be funding extremists? that is the question we have been putting to them for a very long time. it is a question we have put them for a long time. if we find that our, they will become the paymasters of the ideological war within the middle east. we believe we have come to the end of the line with the qataris because they are undermining the regional stability of countries in the arab world. what they are doing is they are funding for example militias and they are tearing these company ‘s apart. we are saying we can't take this any longer. qatar says this is absolutely not true. i wa nt to says this is absolutely not true. i want to ask you why the uae yesterday warned its own citizens that if they showed any seb with qatar publicly they could face —— showed any sympathy with qatar publicly they could face up to 15 yea rs publicly they could face up to 15 years injail. this publicly they could face up to 15 years in jail. this is not law committed the expression of one individual, admittedly within the security services. he is focusing on specific groups of provocateurs within the emirate, who we know we'll be trying to provoke more tension between our countries. it is very interesting also. not all of the gulf states have taken this stand against qatar. reason that is the case, even though we agreed, we still need to leave a door open. we like dialogue, absolutely. the ruler of cool weight is engaged in dialogue in mediation, so to have provocateu rs dialogue in mediation, so to have provocateurs coming and now muddy the waters even further, there is going to be a problem. just to give you an example, the turkish decision to send troops to qatar really doesn't help the situation whatsoever. briefly, what would constitute showing sympathy, what summary have to do to be jailed for 15 years? it would require denouncing the emirates and perhaps saying that the qataris are god's gift to the world, and i doubt that anyone... you think it is right to go to 15 years jail the saying that? i doubt very much that would happen. you can't absolutely rule it out.” can say very clearly that we have a system in place that would satisfy very stringent standards. i don't think anyone will go to jail for that. music festivals are being encouraged to provide drug safety tests so festival—goers can find out the content and strength of what illegal drugs they're about to take. the royal society for public health, an independent charity dedicated it says to the ‘improvement of the public‘s health and wellbeing', claims this will help minimise the risks of taking drugs at festivals. a pilot last yearfound one in five people ditching their drugs when they knew what was in them. but critics say drugs shouldn't be part of the festival culture to begin with, and such tests could normalise that behaviour. let's talk to shirley cramer. lets talk to shirley cramer, chief executive of the royal society for public health, fiona measham, director of the loop, providing the drug safety testing facilities, and elizabeth burton—philips, who set up the charity drugfam in memory of her son nicholas, a heroin addict. welcome all of you, hello. shirley cramer, good morning to you. tell us why you are encouraging festivals to provide drug testing facilities? the primary reason is to have a harm reduction plan, because in 2010 we had ten young people die of drug illness or drug—related activity, and that was with ecstasy. and in 2015, we had 57. so we have seen this rapid growth in deaths related to ecstasy, which is the most prevalent drug at festivals and clu bs. prevalent drug at festivals and clubs. the people taking the drugs are 16 to 24—year—olds, mostly casual drug users. and your argument is if you knew exactly what was in it, you wouldn't take it? so the strength and content of the drug is not known. when they buy the drug. and what we are trying to do, in a pragmatic way, is awareness and education of these casual drug users to say, actually, they are not that safe. because in the 1990s, mdma, which is in ecstasy, would have been around 50 mg or 80 mg of mdma. it is now about 125 mg on average, so there is more of that active substance. in some of it they have found really toxic substances as well. but in the pilot, if you people decided not to take the drugs but most did not ditch the drugs. but they did get a good intervention from someone who knows about substance misuse. and achieved what? so they are told for example by ka nte calf so they are told for example by kante calf the drug or a quarter of the drug, and they can take them a two or three hour intervals. so i think we need to do more to educate festivalgoers. this is the season for it. we need to explain there is a danger here. elizabeth, do you think festivalgoers taking illegal drugs don't know there is a danger or they don't think about it?” think it is the mindset of that group of people who have begun to see this as the norm. and awareness is the greatest agent for change. i can understand the logical thinking and the process behind here, but also there is if you like almost a hidden message that it is acceptable to go and get bladdered, get off your face, to go and get bladdered, get off yourface, in to go and get bladdered, get off your face, in particular to go and get bladdered, get off yourface, in particular using ecstasy, mdma. 0ne yourface, in particular using ecstasy, mdma. one of the things i feel quite strongly about, particularly working as a charity with the families whose lives are completely blown apart by these kind of experiences is that perhaps one of experiences is that perhaps one of the things that could be considered at festivals is having the screens with those who have passed as a result of using drugs at this festivals, going back to the days of leah betts, showing images. fiona measham, director of the loop, you are providing the drug safety facilities. elizabeth raises a pertinent point, it is normalising illegal drug—taking. pertinent point, it is normalising illegal drug-taking. in fact, drug use will happen anyway and this is a pragmatic harm reduction response in relation to that. one of the things we found, to go back to the point of one in five disposing of their drugs, is that also other people we re drugs, is that also other people were coming to us after they had taken the drugs, and they had had a bad experience they wanted find out what had caused it. we found that was a what had caused it. we found that was a valuable educational tool, if you like. the forensic tests could then be linked to a harm reduction. so then people could respond appropriately. but it was interesting people were engaging productively and wanted to know after they had consumed the drugs what was in the drugs. people were not necessarily coming to us before they were planning to take the drugs. jack has tweeted to say i don't do drugs but i see the effects the state —— the stations have, they save lives. if you can't stop them, save lives. if you can't stop them, save them. lena tweets that you could not possibly normalise drug taking in festivals any more than it normally is —— already is, elizabeth, how do you respond to that? i think all the time we are trying to reach the mindset of society, and the mindset of the clubbers and the festivalgoers. to help them to understand the fallout that can happen. you cannot guarantee what you put into your body when it is an illegal drug is not going to have some kind of reaction on new anyway, even when it has been tested. and sol reaction on new anyway, even when it has been tested. and so i think raising levels of awareness is critical here, absolutely critical. this e—mail says i have been attending festivals since the 80s, i now work at several events. i have a teenage daughter who accompanies me, she doesn't use drugs. testing of drugs at event has been commonplace in countries like holland for many yea rs was in countries like holland for many years was that with all the new designer drugs available it has become impossible to know how harmful they could be. teenagers will experiment with drugs, always have, surely testing them can only make our children saved —— safer. have, surely testing them can only make our children saved —— safetm fa ct, make our children saved —— safetm fact, that sentiment is what we heard from 1300 festivalgoers. we did a survey at the royal society for public health and we asked festivalgoers do you think this would be really useful service for you, and 95% said yes, it would indeed. but that is kind of no surprise, is it? i am pleased to hear it, because people think it could be stigmatising, they might not have used it but that isn't the a nswer we not have used it but that isn't the answer we are hearing. so i think it isa answer we are hearing. so i think it is a very positive thing, that they wa nt to is a very positive thing, that they want to be part of it. elizabeth, you are trying to raise awareness of the harm that can be done when you ta ke the harm that can be done when you take illegal drugs and the ripple effect of how it destroys families, friends, networks. when you are 19, when you are 25, you think you are invincible, don't you? and you think this won't be me because i am young, iam this won't be me because i am young, i am invincible. that is right and sadly it is connecting the actions and the consequences, helping the young people to understand that decision to take drugs can change their lives, their families lives forever. part of the work we do is to visit the bereaved families and when you listen to family members who have got a son or daughter in the mid—205, 305, and they have gone out and taken a tablet and they are dead, the devastation. what is in5ide those 5troke5, illegal, even paracetamol can kill. 0k. carol says if the drugs were legally available, the quality would be controlled. simple. and think of the tax revenues. conor tweets this commute shouldn't be taking illegal drugs a nyway shouldn't be taking illegal drugs anyway and testing makes drug—taking normal. thank you very much, all of you for coming on the programme. coming up to ten o'clock. we will bring you the latest news and sport ina bring you the latest news and sport in a moment before love that, the latest weather. some rain in the forecast for many of that, it has already been falling overnight across parts of wales, south—west england, happy in places and through the rest are they able slowly push its way northwards. not everyone seeing the rain. some parts of central and eastern england staying largely dry but the rain becoming quite persistent for a time across parts of northern ireland and arriving in the scotland later in the day. a brisk south—westerly wind across the rest of the country, pushing a few sharp showers across this afternoon, 19 is the high end the sunshine, 15 or 16 underneath the sunshine, 15 or 16 underneath the rain. the rain eventually clears from northern ireland, still pushing northwards through scotland, behind it if you showers, especially across western areas but a mild night the most. for tomorrow, a showery day. the rain eventually clearing from northern scotland. behind its showers, shop at times across western areas, as they push eastwards they will weaken and in many places they could be largely dry for central and eastern england. here the best of the temperature is 21 or 22 celsius. hello, good morning, it is ten o'clock it is their stay, iambic tory adoption. theresa may, jeremy corbyn and nicola sturgeon have already cast their votes, and the other party leaders will be doing so shortly. that was an image of the sacked fbi directorjames comey. later today he will testify live on television that the president did ask him to drop an investigation into links between his former national security adviser and russia. we'll get reaction from the us injust a moment. 12 staff at two private care homes in north devon have been found guilty of abusing adults with learning difficulties. 0ne guilty of abusing adults with learning difficulties. one of them was ben. his family tell us how he was ben. his family tell us how he was treated. he told us he used to be dragged into the quiet room and he was told to mind the rats or spiders don't eat you. he would be naked, he said he was hungry, and it was just horrendous. here's annita in the bbc newsroom with a summary of today's news. thank you, victoria. good morning. polling stations are open for millions of people to cast their vote in the general election. police forces say there'll be increased security in some areas following the recent terror attacks in manchester and london. voting will go on until ten o'clock tonight, with the first results expected at around midnight. and in the last hour, party leaders have begun casting their votes. seven weeks after calling the general election, theresa may visited a polling station in her maidenhead constituency, while labour leaderjeremy corbyn went to a ballot box in north london. and a reminder that you can watch all the results coming in throughout the night. the election 2017 special will be with david dimbleby. that's on bbc one and the bbc news channel from 9.55pm tonight. the former fbi director sacked by donald trump will give evidence to a senate committee today. james comey claims the us president tried to influence his investigation into links between members of the trump team and russia. the white house denies the allegations. three men have been arrested on suspicion of terror offences after armed officers carried out a series of raids in east london this morning. two men aged 34 and 37 were arrested at separate addresses in newham and a 33—year—old man was arrested in waltham forest. police say the arrests are not connected to the london bridge attack. the anglican church in scotland could be the first in the uk to allow same—sex marriage is. a vote by the scottish episcopal church this afternoon will determine if their definition of marriage should be altered to afford gay couples the same rights to marry. the move is opposed by some traditional anglicans. a diamond ring bought for £10 at a car—boot sale has been sold for more than £650,000 at auction in london. the 26—carat cushion—shaped diamond sold for almost double its estimate. the owner bought the ring in the 1980s and was unaware of its real value, wearing it every day for thirty years. and that's a summary of the latest bbc news. more from me at 10:30am. thank you very much. thank you for your fabulous photos of dogs from polling stations. i'm not sure where lauren is or what our dog is called, but what a beautiful hound, i love it, and this is from the. he isjust five months old. he is an ancient multisensory breed of dog from portugal. it can see, hear, smell and bark! it is divided into three sizes of categories, small, medium and large. a tweet from michael, look at that westie! that is phoebe, not at all happy, says michael, after being joined from —— banned from joining daddy in the polling station. next, this is lola off toa polling station. next, this is lola off to a polling station in warrington. this is in shrewsbury town, this is champ, his humans as next year he will be old enough to vote. do get in touch with us throughout the morning. use the hashtag #victorialive, and if you text, you'll be charged at the standard network rate. here is the latest sport from huw. chelsea striker diego costa claims his manager antonio conte told him ina his manager antonio conte told him in a text message that he is not pa rt in a text message that he is not part of his plans at the club. diego costa 5 po ke part of his plans at the club. diego costa spoke to supporters last night after a game for spain. he says he is still a chelsea player but they don't want him. he helped them to the premier league title last season scoring 28 goals. england will be without wayne rooney for the world cup qualifier against scotla nd for the world cup qualifier against scotland this weekend, and the premier league's top scorer last season, harry kane, thinks he is stepped up to take up the armband despite being just 23. any player growing up as a footballer dreams of being england captain one day, and i am no different, but it is down to gareth, he is the manager. we have a lot of leaders in this team, and thati5 lot of leaders in this team, and that is important, whoever is captain i5 captain, but there are ple nty of captain i5 captain, but there are plenty of other leaders that contort and help each other out on the pitch. there is a rare event in english football today, a national side standsjust english football today, a national side stands just 90 minutes from a world cup final. england play italy at the under 20 world cup in south korea, and despite missing some of their best talent, their former manager believes they have excelled. the fact that we can send an england tea m the fact that we can send an england team there that is without tammy abraham is, izzy brown, pat roberts, who were regulars in that team, and go and perform as well as what they have, and are in the top four and a chance of getting to a final and winning it, ithink chance of getting to a final and winning it, i think is a remarkable achievement. alun wyn-jones has been named captain of the british and irish lions for saturday's match against the crusaders as warren gatland attempts to get their tour of new zealand back on track. the wales skipper will lead another com pletely wales skipper will lead another completely new starting line—up following their defeat to auckland blues yesterday. jonathan davies, conor murray, george north and sean 0'brien will all make their first appearances of the tour. andy murray used his frustration to good effect to reach the semifinals of the french open, where he will play stan wawrinka. he lost the first set against kei nishikori. he missed his ball toss, and the umpire said he was playing too slowly, giving the point to nishikori. there was an exchange of views, but murray went on to win the match in four sets. for a couple of points after that i was, i was fired up a cos i was frustrated at that moment. it felt to me like it was a strange decision. i have never seen someone get a warning after they have missed the ball toss. i have never seen that. after the defending champion novak djokovic was knocked out, the seven time grand slam winnerjohn mcenroe suggested he had lost his desire. djokovic was beaten in straight sets by dominic thiem. he lost the third set to love, the first time that has happened to djokovic in a grand slam for 12 yea rs. djokovic in a grand slam for 12 years. and that is also now. we are back with more later on. a couple of e—mails on drug facilities at festivals. brent and david cross about this. they say, don't make it easier for people to ta ke don't make it easier for people to take drugs. everyone should know street drugs are laced with poisons. besides, the poisonous drug itself. the phrase teenagers will experiment is tosh, millions have more sense than to do this. and david says, this is an appalling move, to normalise drug—taking, why not have sniffer dogs to detect drugs. if you have no drugs, you get in. if you have no drugs, you get in. if you have drugs, you face prosecution and a criminal record to go with your university degree. thank you for those, do keep them coming in. s "i need loyalty, i expect loyalty." that's what the former director of the fbi james comey says he was told by president trump in meetings shortly before he was sacked. he'll be testifying before congress today and last night his opening statement was released. in it he suggests the president asked him to drop an inquiry into mike flynn, the national security adviser who was fired for misrepresenting his meetings with the russian ambassador. some people are saying this will be bad news for the white house. but how did we get here? absolutely explosive new5... fbi directorjames comey has been fired. last month president trump sacked the director of the fbi. james, he's become more famous than me. later today that man james comey will be asked questions on live tv in a senate hearing. it's got all of washington talking. capitol hill congre55 back to work tonight after a break... here are three questions he's bound to be asked and why they are important. president trump sacked the fbi director last month. at the time he said he was angry at the way an investigation into his opponent in last year's election hillary clinton was handled. because he wasn't doing a good job, very simply. he was not doing a good job. others think he was really fired because the fbi was looking into possible links between the current campaign and russia. i was going to fire comey, my decision... you had made the decision before they came... i was going to fire comey. what the former director thinks will be key here, does he suspect there was a cover—up, a political reason to get rid of him? this is the biggest question hanging over washington these days. some suspect russia tried to influence last year's presidential election by hacking e—mails and even paying staff to change foreign policy. these are alljust allegations, but is there anything more concrete linking russia with trump's top team? director comey was very unpopular with most people. this is the one single question that could cause most problems for the president. did donald trump ask the then director of the fbi to go easy on this man, michael flynn, who was then his national security adviser? at the time, the fbi was looking into his links with russia. the new york times has reported that president trump asked james comey to let this go, something the white house has denied. if it's true though and comey can prove it, it could be seen as obstruction ofjustice, a criminal offence and that could be very damaging indeed for the president. lets talk to professor inderjeet parmar from city university, and in washington anneke green who writes for real clear politics, and was a speech writer for president george w bush and mara rudman, former national security advisor for president 0bama. welcome, all of you. what do you ta ke welcome, all of you. what do you take from james comey‘s opening statement? it suggests that the drama we have been witnessing for several months is going to continue. it doesn't appear that anything much has changed in the story he has been telling about his interactions with president trump, and it looks as if that isn't going to be any in between —— independent evidence. so i suspect this hearing will not give us very much which is new. it will meana us very much which is new. it will mean a continuation of this drama further forward. the key mean a continuation of this drama furtherforward. the key issue is that there has always been missing any kind of smoking gun about actual collusion of russia with the trump campaign, and actual evidence of anything of that type actually happening. so despite all the hearings and people who have given testimony including the statement that james comey made yesterday, it doesn't appear that there is going to be any kind of fall stop today, it is going to be perhaps a comma. how accurate weather notes made at the time, by james how accurate weather notes made at the time, byjames comey, we don't know that, do we? one thing that is interesting, is that as a member of the fbi, the notes and just action5 of interviews ha5 the fbi, the notes and just action5 of interviews has a greater red ability in court. not that he thought he was going to be testifying in a court when he made the5e testifying in a court when he made these notes, but it does 5peak testifying in a court when he made these notes, but it does speak to a habit and an assumption that he had that he would at some point need to remember each one of these meetings, and these notes that he made, it was and these notes that he made, it was a little more than that. they have been described as memos, and they need to be released. do you agree with that, they need to be released? i was nodding my head, not too much that they need to be released, but i think it is a very good point about the legal probity. the5e memos that jame5 comey made, and the fact that he felt it was important enough that he felt it was important enough that he makes these memos and make them ina he makes these memos and make them in a virtually real—time. he made thi5 in a virtually real—time. he made this point in his written testimony which has been released a day before he was testifying that even from the very first meeting he had with then president—elect trump, he was so seized by that meeting that he came out and immediately started drafting a memo in the van, the fbi van, after he left the meeting. that had not been his practice in his previous meetings, he had two with president 0bama over his 40 years service, but he had nine meetings in four months with president trump, and he made these real—time demo recordings of everything that happened in those meetings. and can you explain for those who want to learn more why if donald trump asked his fbi directorjames comey to go easy on mike flynn, former national security adviser at the time that the fbi was looking at my clinic is linked to the russians, why that would be so terrible? it would be an attempt to obstruct an ongoing investigation. the role of the fbi is to investigate any kinds of misdemeanour or misconduct, so a president asking a director to drop an investigation or to budget on hold or anything like that could be seen as an obstruction ofjustice. it could be seen as an attempt to prevent an investigation into something where perhaps the investigation could lead to a smoking gun which could implicate the presidency, or the campaign or whatever, and thereby derail it. and possibly then lead to impeachment hearings. anneka green, how damaging is this for the president? it could put into headlines the issue of russian implication. there has not beena russian implication. there has not been a smoking gun, so it is a pesky story that people are pursuing that will possibly distract from what he is trying to accomplish for the nation. i would say, though, is trying to accomplish for the nation. iwould say, though, it is trying to accomplish for the nation. i would say, though, it is not unusual for presidents to have an easy relationship with the fbi. they are very fierce about their independence, which was set up under j edgar hoover, who was through many presidents the sort of person that they wanted to keep close, and keep within the tent, and by firing james cronin me, that was something can't actually ignored, and by getting rid of him —— james comey, stopped being able to claim executive privilege over what otherwise would have been an employee of his. mara rudman, donald trump has hinted that there might be taped recordings of the conversations he had with james comey. as a former national security adviser for comey. as a former national security adviserfor president comey. as a former national security adviser for president 0bama, with that happen? a president or a president's aid would record those private conversations? first, iwas a deputy to president 0bama, just a quick correction on that. on the question of tape recordings, obviously the famous ones are those of president nixon, and the practices of what is recorded and not within the oval office have changed over time. sol not within the oval office have changed over time. so i can't say with specificity whether there are actually recordings, as president trump hinted at in this case, but i can tell you that this is something the independent counsel will obviously be able to pursue and will undoubtedly pursue. it is something that congress has certainly asked about in their separate investigations. but where it will absolutely be pursued to finality would be with the independent councillor. thank you very much all of you. still to come: yesterday we learned 13 people had been convicted because of organised and systematic abuse at two devon ca re and systematic abuse at two devon care homes for adults with learning disabilities. one young man with learning difficulties who was abused when he was living at the winterbourne view care home, which the bbc panorama did and expose a on five years ago, was also caught up in this abuse when he moved to a home in devon. we will speak to his mum and sister about how he was treated, and it really is quite shopping, that isjust treated, and it really is quite shopping, that is just after half past ten. before that, the taliban — a hardline islamic movement in afghanistan and pakistan. they emerged in the early 1990s, promising to restore peace and security and enforce their own austere version of sharia, or islamic law, once in power. in both countries, they introduced or supported islamic punishments, such as public executions of convicted murderers and adulterers, and amputations of those found guilty of theft. men were required to grow beards, and women had to wear the all—covering burqa. the taliban banned television, music and cinema, and disapproved of girls aged ten and over from going to school. they were also accused of protecting osama bin laden, the man behind the twin tower attacks in 2001. the fight to drive the taliban out of afghanistan immediately after 9/11 cost the lives of hundreds of british, american and other coalition soldiers. many of them died fighting in helmand province in the south of the country. well, two years ago, shortly after the troops came home, the taliban took back many of the areas that british soldiers died to liberate. since then, little has been known of what life is like under the taliban. until now. aulia atrafi from the bbc‘s afghan service got exclusive access to their "capital", effectively their capital — a place called musa qala — to see if they have changed — and what legacy the british presence there left. it's a road no journalist has taken for a long time. ever since taliban fighters overrun most of helmand province two years ago, life under their rule has been hidden from view. until now. we just entered taliban territory. we didn't have to travel far, all we had to do was get off the main road and we were in. the thing about the taliban is you can travel here for miles without seeing an armed person, it's more the idea of the taliban rather than their presence. the road takes us through the once bustling town of sangin, more than 100 british soldiers died here, now it is just rubble guarded by taliban fighters. we push on, we are heading for their capital, musa qala. this river, the river helmand is what separates sangin district from musa qala district over there. one of the most important centres for the taliban, the heartland, in other words the taliban's kabul. we are here for four days. the first international journalists in years to see life under their rule. our ever—present taliban minder drives just ahead of us. as we enter town, the weekly travelling bazaar is taking place. on the surface, it could be a bustling market anywhere in afghanistan, but there are some tell—tale signs we are in taliban territory. the men are all wearing traditional clothes, their beards grown long. the women are nowhere to be seen. and there are some stalls you would only find here. these ammunition captured from the national army, 25 cents each, ak—47, 25 cents each and supply and demand here in the bazaar, this russian machine gun bullet, each used to cost 40 cents, now dropped to 15 cents because the shopkeeper says the talibani have captured lots of them. from the afghan national security forces. we leave the market and drive across town to the local high school. as we arrive, the students, all boys, are doing religious studies. our minder tells us they also study maths and science. and have no problem with girls getting an education, although none do in this school. it is here we first encounter the strange new compromise on the ground. the school is run by the taliban, but still funded by the national government. the teachers say there are small changes in the way these subjects are taught in school, but from the time when these schools were burnt by the taliban, to now, where taliban encourage the running of these schools is a big step forward for these children here. in the playground, the main attraction seems to be our cameras. most of the children have never seen anything like them, it is a reminderjust how isolated these communities are. the boys that get an education say they appreciate it. we prepare to leave the school. for some pupils, the novelty of our visit is obviously wearing off. the drive across musa qala feels strangely normal. our destination is the local hospital, like the school it is funded by the government but run by the taliban. it is supposed to look after 120,000 people but lacks basic facilities. there is no female doctor or child specialist, you can't even have a chest x—ray here. and now, the surgeon is leaving too, because he hasn't been paid in the past six months. he didn't want to appear on camera, but told us how bad things have got. do you think the system where government hospitals are run in taliban areas, do you think this system is a failure? yes. do you think the system where government hospitals are run in taliban areas, do you think this system is a failure? yes. the next day we meet the taliban spokesman, this is the closest view anyone has had of how they run their territory in years. they remain a deeply controversial organisation in afghanistan, responsible for many deaths. but they claim their approach to governance has changed. that evening, we are taken to see what passes for nightlife in musa qala. since the end of the taliban's bloody campaign some security has returned to the district but freedoms are limited. away from the minders, one teenager tells me he got 40 lashes for watching a bollywood film. mobile phones are banned for ordinary people, as is filming and playing instruments. but many rules are not enforced. this man is open about being an opium dealer. after four nights, it's finally time to leave taliban occupied helmand. the taliban proved very effective, in terms of fighting, now they have captured huge territories in helmand and now they have to govern them and that's the next challenge for them. how much they willjoin the modern world and how much they will reject. this region where so many british soldiers fought and died is now mostly under the control of theirformer enemies. women are nowhere to be seen. but you can feel a legacy here, the idea that a government should provide public services, education, hospitals, is now expected by the people of helmand and becoming accepted by the taliban. absolutely fascinating, and also chilling. let's speak now to auliya atrafi, who made that film. how did you get them to agree to filming in the first place? we worked on this for more than a year, twice we were close to going there and something would come up and we we re and something would come up and we were unable to go, and third time lucky. where you chaperoned the whole time? did you feel that you we re whole time? did you feel that you were being manipulated by them? absolutely, there were one vehicle, sometimes two vehicles. the immediate team was there and they had an english—speaking who is a lwa ys had an english—speaking who is always saying what i was saying, and they were gently manipulative. they didn't want us to film anything to do with opium. why? because they see themselves now as a legitimate government, because they have these are vast areas under their control, so they want to be treated with respect, they are craving legitimacy, but they know that in international level, if your economy is based on opium, you won't get much legitimacy. they have become image and media conscious. where you ever scared? i was, to be fair the taliban were very gentle with us, but it was just the idea of roaming around with guys who don't mind dying, so you think, what if they suddenly decide to hurt you? what would be there to stop them? so when icame would be there to stop them? so when i came back to lashkar gah, i had nightmares. so many things strike me from that film. the lack of girls and women. the fact that people are not free. they can't have mobiles, play instruments or watch olly woodburn is. —— bollywood films. but people do feel secure. that is right, there is an analysis that the taliban success is not due to them being very good, it is due to the governance being poor, especially in rural areas, poor areas to say the least, and that gives the taliban the edge. and also policies such as not stopping the poppy harvest, it makes people comfortable, it is in their interests that the taliban are there rather than the government because the government could eradicate the poppy harvest. because the government could eradicate the poppy harvestm because the government could eradicate the poppy harvest. if you had to sum up the changes from what you have seen this time and say the last time you were there, what would you say? striking. only a few years ago, my teacher in helmand province was killed because he ignored the warnings to stop his school, so schools were destroyed in my district. but now the taliban are encouraging schools, and sometimes building extensions to hospitals with their own money. it is a striking difference. but i think they will face difficulties when it comes to whether people take these things for granted, and they want liberties, and these liberties, the taliban will struggle to give, because that is where they will lose their legitimacy if they open their doors entirely to modernity, so it is this big to be or not to be dilemma for the taliban, how much modernity should they open up to? thank you very much. still to come in the last half an hour: after 12 staff at two private ca re hour: after 12 staff at two private care homes in devon have been found guilty of abusing patients, we here for the family one of the victims. and the anglican church in scotland holds a historic vote later on whether to allow gay couples to marry in church. we will speak to campaigners for and against. and obviously more dogs at polling stations. but first the headlines with anita. thank you, good morning. polling stations are open for millions to cast their votes at the general election. police forces say there will be increased security in some areas following recent terror attacks in some areas manchester and london. the first results are expected around midnight. party leaders have begun casting their votes. seven weeks after calling a general election, theresa may visited a polling station in her maidenhead constituency, while the labour leaderjeremy corbyn went to a ballot box in north london. and a reminder that you can watch all the results coming in throughout the night, joined david dimbleby and the tea m night, joined david dimbleby and the team tonight on bbc one and the bbc news channel 4 election 2017. that coverage starts at 9:55pm. the former fbi director sacked by donald trump will give evidence to a senate committee today. james comey claims the us president tried to influence his investigation into alleged links between members of the trump team and russia. the white house denies the allegations. three men have been arrested on suspicion of terror offences after armed officers carried out raids this morning. police say the arrests are not connected to the london bridge attack. a diamond ring bought the £10 of the car—boot sale has been sold for more than £650,000 at auction in london. the 26—carat cushion—shaped diamond sold for almost double its estimate. the owner bought the ring in the 1980s and was unaware of its real value, wearing it every day for thirty years. that's a summary of the latest news, join me for bbc newsroom live at 11 o'clock. after the sport we will show you footage obtained by the times of the three london attackers' days before the attack, laughing and joking before they carried out the attack on saturday night. let's get the latest sport. chelsea striker diego costa could be on his way out of stamford bridge despite helping the club to last season's premier league title scoring 20 goals in the process. he claimed he was told via text message from his boss that he is no longer in the club's plans. there is an all—new lions line—up for their third tour of new zealand. alun wyn—jones will be the captain in christchurch on saturday. the lions are facing a big challenge. for the fourth year in a row andy murray is through to the semifinals of the french open. he had to fight for his place, coming from a set down against kei nishikori. he faces stan wawrinka next in a repeat of last year's; which murray won. and if you we re year's; which murray won. and if you were wondering about sir ben ainslie's progress in the america's cup, there hasn't been any, today's racing was called off due to high winds in bermuda. better conditions hope for tomorrow. thank you. the three men who carried out the london bridge terror attack were filmed laughing and joking in the days before they killed eight people and injured scores more. the times newspaper has obtained footage of khuram butt, rachid redouane and youssef zagba outside a gym in barking, east london. the three london bridge attackers days before carrying out their murderous assault on completely innocent british people and people from around the world. a few moments ago the liberal democrat leader tim farron arrived at his constituency in kendal in cumbria. mr farron has actually already voted by post but has still gone along to a polling station this morning. polls are open until ten o'clock this evening with first results expected to come in after midnight. the election 2017 special will be with david dimbleby. that's on bbc one and the bbc news channel from 9.55pm tonight. you will get the exit poll at five to ten, published jointly by the broadcasters exactly at ten o'clock, so tune in at 52, and you can watch mishal husain, jeremy vine, david dimbleby, emily maitlis, laura kuenssberg and our correspondents up and down the uk to bring you the latest results. twelve staff at two private care homes in north devon have now been convicted of the "organised and systemic" abuse of adults with learning disabilities. they often punished those they were supposed to be caring for by putting them in an empty room with no food, heating or even a toilet. one of those affected was 25—year—old ben. he had been moved to the home after being abused at winterbourne view, the home exposed by bbc panorama in 2011. ben's sister emma garrod and his mum claire spoke to me earlier. first of all, tell us a little bit about ben. ben is a very sensitive, fun loving, polite person. he is just a really, really nice person, and yes. i think he's a joy to be around, and with the right support and the right care, he gives back so much more than is ever put into him. and he had been at winterbourne view ca re and he had been at winterbourne view care home, where he had been mistreated. tell us about that. he had his jaw fractured at winterbourne view, and he lost his front teeth. so we were quite disgusted with that. and to be in this position again isjust unbelievable. what happened when he moved to the place in devon? the place in devon, they picked him up from winterbourne, and they told us we wouldn't be able to see him for two weeks, and we didn't see him for five. they made every excuse under the sun to stop us from seeing him. we did see him on occasion and we had a lovely time, but he always looked really terrified when he had to go back. so when you were not able to see him for the first two weeks and then it turned out to be five, what did you think was going on? straightaway, alarm bells were ringing, and it was clear that everything they promised wasn't going to happen. and when you say you eventually did get to see him and he looked terrified, tell us more. he was a lot quieter than he had been for a long time. he was really pleased to see us, but he didn't tell us anything at that stage. hejust enjoyed his home visits. but when they came to pick him up, he wasjust visits. but when they came to pick him up, he was just terrified. visits. but when they came to pick him up, he wasjust terrified. and was that when you started to think, we need to get him out? yes. when they stopped us seeing him for five weeks, i already knew that something was terribly wrong. how long did it take? it took us over a year, and then they gave him 28 days notice, but the investigation started so he didn't serve those 28 days, and he went to a farmers and emergency placement. which you were happy with, i think, placement. which you were happy with, ithink, when placement. which you were happy with, i think, when to? we were, yes. and when did it become clear, when was he able to let you know how he had been treated? ben didn't say anything for a long time, he was so traumatised, and he let us know through a song. he was listening to emeli sande, and it said something about staring through the glass, and it just poured out. about staring through the glass, and itjust poured out. it was a credible. what did he tell you? he told us that he used to be dragged into the quiet room. he used to be kicked and told mind the rats or spiders don't eat you. he used to be naked. he said he was hungry. it was horrendous. he said he slept on an air bed, but he said it was burst, and he said there was nothing to do. how did you respond when he finally revealed this to you? to be honest, i was sat typing everything he said, obviously ready to send it to the police, but i had to do almost something that i don't think it is possible for many people to do, because how i didn't start crying, i don't know, but i think he was testing me as well to make sure he could trust me. and how did you respond, emma? what did you think when you heard what had happened to ben? i think a big part of me was just totally disgusted by the fact that this could happen again, and that this could happen again, and that once more the duty of care had been failed so dramatically. but a big part of me just didn't want to believe it, and i think wasjust kind of scared for the future as well in terms of ben lives and exists within the system, and he will have to do that for the rest of his life, and being utterly terrified for what comes next, because we needed him to be settled and happy, and he had been failed too many times. is he still damaged now, then, by that experience? incredibly. he has really bad flashbacks, and he will say, why did ido flashbacks, and he will say, why did i do that? he is really remorseful, obviously to me he has ptsd off the scale. but it is really bad. i am not just his scale. but it is really bad. i am notjust his mother, i am his psychiatrist, it is terrible. i can get many calls, day or night, my phone is never off, i can't go for a holiday, but as his mother, it is my duty to be there for him. there have now been convictions, you saw the defendants in court, some will never be able to work with vulnerable people again. what was the court process like for you and then? then was protected because he didn't know anything was going on. but what i heard in court was not him. they we re heard in court was not him. they were just not describing him. heard in court was not him. they werejust not describing him. none of it was him. he isjust such a lovely person, and it was one—sided. it was gruelling. i sat there for 14 weeks every day through two trials, but devon and cornwall police, they did a sterling job, and ifelt but devon and cornwall police, they did a sterling job, and i felt very cared for, and some of the learning disability charities came and sat with me, and when it got really tough, but it was very difficult not tough, but it was very difficult not to stand up and scream, because that was not ben brown. wattage you think about the way your brother was portrayed when he wasn't on trial? it was unbelievable that was the way it went from the start of the trial. he wasn't on trial, like you said. he wasn't on trial, like you said. he wasn't on trial, like you said. he was the victim in this case, and one of a few victims, and he deserved his opportunity to have a voice and that courtroom. unfortunately he was denied that boys and he was vilified, instead. thank you both very much for talking to us, we really appreciate your time, player and emma gareth. thank you very much. thank you. thank you. the garrett family have been supported by the charity mencap. i don't understand how adults who are there to care for people who are really vulnerable, so many adults, can mistreat them in such a vile disgusting way. how does it happen? these were isolated care homes. the judge of the case made it clear that he thought a culture of abuse developed their lead from people at the top of the organisation. families, as claire said, were blocked from visiting often, so they we re blocked from visiting often, so they were not able to see what went on in the care home. when you put those things together, with concerns not putting together, those concerns we re putting together, those concerns were not acted quickly enough. when you put those on, it could be not tackled and shut down. if you are relatives of somebody like ben garratt, who is being cared for 20 47, most weeks, and they block you, as relatives from going to visit, what should you do? ring the police? altar if you think that the person in an establishment is in immediate danger, then yes. what if you are not sure but you just think, that is so weird, they won't let me visit my son? you should immediately safeguard. you should call the police. i would like to pay tribute to ben, all the people with learning disabilities, their families, who have been involved with this trial, which is taken six years to come to court. to be able to tell their story about what happened i think is incredibly important now. that we work with the families to learn lessons from what happened during the court. claire said she felt it was likely people with learning disabilities themselves were on trial, which is extraordinary. we think we have learned when it comes to sexual exploitation cases, when young girls felt they were on trial when they were the victims. we think we have learned there but not people with learning abilities, i'd —— disabilities, i don't know. the juries were never told when people we re juries were never told when people were being supported themselves now, which was in the community, people we re which was in the community, people were being portrayed as being wilfully violent. of course living with the shocking legacy of what their experience there. ok, and really sad to hear from ben garratt buzz like mother, claire, the impact of what happened to him five years ago —— ben garrod's mother, claire. the still living with it. there is support for the ball out there like ben, who have enjoyed huge, and coping with that, and for their families have enjoyed huge, and coping with that, and for theirfamilies —— huge trauma. they need to be supported through that time. thank you very much. the scottish episcopal church, the anglican church in scotland, is holding an historic vote today on whether to allow same—sex marriage in church. they vote in favour would make them the first part of the anglican church in the uk to allow 93v anglican church in the uk to allow gay marriage, and would put them at odds with traditionalists. let's talk to our correspondent. our correspondent michael buchanan joins us now from edinburgh to explain more. talk our audience through this because reversal issue. morning, yes. this vote is expected to be passed. it will take place at the synod of the scottish episcopal church later on this afternoon in edinburgh. for the church to change the rules to allow gay marriage, there will have to be a two thirds majority in all three houses of the sin not, the bishops, the clergy and lay members. there was an initial boat. they needed a simple majority but they did get a two thirds majority. there is still an expectation by both supporters and opponents of this measure that this boat will be passed today. the consequence of that is that gay ambush can couples in scotland —— 93v ambush can couples in scotland —— gay anglican couples in scotland will also be put get married in churches but sobel gay couples from england to —— so we'll gay couples from england. they are planning on announcing later today after this vote, they are planning on announcing that a missionary bishop will be appointed to take care of congregations across europe, who feel that they can't support gay marriage, can't support the line that the scottish episcopal church will probably take this afternoon, and will therefore have somebody else they can turn to for spiritual guidance. guevara much, michael buchanan. joining me now is jayne ozanne, a prominent campaigner on lgbt issues in the anglican church, and a member of its synod, and susie leafe, director of reform, a network of conservative evangelicals within the church of england. susie leafe, it looks like this will be passed. what do you think?” think it will be a very sad day, in some way is, for the scottish episcopal church. i think if they pass this motion, they know that they are doing that against the wishes of the wider anglican community, and what they will do will cause problems, strain and distance in relationships worldwide. why are you against it? why am i against it? well, jesus was asked about marriage, and he chose to define marriage as between one man and one woman for life, he chose to submit himself to the scriptures, and what is good enough forjesus is good enough for me. ok, let me bring injane. i saw you raise your eyebrows a little as susie was explaining her views when it came to jesus and marriage. how do you a nswer jesus and marriage. how do you answer what she says? well, i think the important thing to remember here is that we read scripture differently, and that is what the scottish episcopal church is recognising today, which i think is extraordinarily courageous and important, that they know different people look at scripture differently. i passionately believe in scripture butjesus differently. i passionately believe in scripture but jesus was answering a question about divorce at that point, and he was emphasising it was one man and one woman. interestingly, a lot of african bishops are married to many women and they don't seem to decide to listen tojesus and they don't seem to decide to listen to jesus at that point. could you name one? i can't actually. i know that the lambeth conference is preparing and has had to prepare in the past for bishops to bring their second wives. i can't susie at the moment, but i know it to be true and you know it to be true.” moment, but i know it to be true and you know it to be true. i don't know any african bishops. who are married to more than one woman.” any african bishops. who are married to more than one woman. i don't know thatis to more than one woman. i don't know that is important but we all know that is important but we all know that polygamy exists, and the important thing is that we believe love is to be celebrated, and jesus actually talked an awful lot about love. and the important thing here is that we have a church who recognises the integrity of people who hold different points of view, and has created a conscience clause to enable that to happen. i think thatis to enable that to happen. i think that is what has happened. susie leafe, show a bit of love to gay people who want to get married in a church. i would love to show love to all gay people. not if they want to get married in a church. we seem to believe that the only loving thing to do the beetle is to affirm them in whatever decision they choose to make. jesus didn't do that. he was one of the most loving people in the world ever to live. he was god incarnate, and he welcomed everyone. there is no doubt. everyone is welcome in our churches in this country. but if we really love people, we want to show them what god says about the way in which we can be forgiven, we can be loved, and we can be transformed, to live according to the ways in which god wa nts according to the ways in which god wants us to live. jayne, if jesus was around, would he let gay couples get married in the anglican church? of course it would. how can you say that? because that is exactly how he talks to me, how he embraces me, how he wants to celebrate the god—given love he has given me. i appreciate you don't believe that, susy, and luckily you are straight so you don't have to believe that about anything else but i believe that jesus passionately wants to embrace all. we did a survey last year that most of the lgbt community thinks the church rejects them. the important thing is that god loves and he celebrates love and he wants us to have the god—given desire confirmed in marriage in church. susie leafe, if this vote is passed and according to our correspondence michael buchanan, it will be, what will you do? i am in england but one of the great things your correspondent mentioned was this idea of a missionary bishop. we want to get on with both in england and scotla nd to get on with both in england and scotland with telling people about the great offer thatjesus gives the people, whether straight or gay, whether young or old, and i believe that a missionary bishop who upholds what the bible teaches will mean that the kind of churches which are growing and thriving in this church will have a spiritual leadership. the kinds of churches that are declining, and the scottish episcopal church is a tiny church and has been shrinking for some time, those churches, everyone is free to make a decision as they like. but i am really looking forward to the idea of having a missionary bishop who longs to see more and more people come to know the lord jesus christ. and very briefly, jayne, in seconds, if this goes through, how will you celebrate? we will be extremely happy and! celebrate? we will be extremely happy and i think it is very disingenuous to talk about missionary bishops, every bishop is a missionary bishop, she has one already in maidstone. the important thing is that gay people can be affirmed, accepted and celebrate the love that they have and it is a wonderful thing to celebrate. thank you both. before we leave you, here are some more pics of your dogs at polling stations. skippy‘s first election. she did not have a brush this morning. she's a wondrous five—month—old high—malt — a westie and maltese cross three—and—a—half—leg rescue dog. this is winston the warrior at lockerley polling station in romsey in hampshire. he's a bull mastiff. glenn birrell says our border terriers george, 17 weeks, and harry, who's two years old. we were first to vote in hebburn north. sidney the cockerdor — half lab and half cocker — in purley in surrey. thank you very much for those. kira helping out with voting — she's a 12—year—old german pointer. thank you so much for humouring me. have a great day, don't forget to vote. bbc one, five to ten for the general election 2017 and bbc newsroom live is next. afair bit a fair bit of rain in the forecast currently affecting parts of south—west england, in the parts of wales, north—west england, now in the southern scotland and northern ireland as well. it continues pushing the way northwards through the rest of the day. heavy at times and eventually easing from south—west england. then for much of england and wales for dry conditions but some sharp showers following on behind. some parts of central and eastern england could well stay largely dry for much of the day. here, the highest averages 18 or 19, a kornfeil, 14 or 15 underneath the band of rain. clearing from northern ireland through this evening and overnight, lingering across northern parts of scotland as the night wears on. elsewhere, clearspells but parts of scotland as the night wears on. elsewhere, clear spells but also sharp showers developing. it will be a mild night, temperatures not much lower than 11 or 12. still some showers forecast tomorrow especially across western area through the morning, quickly on a brisk wind. the rain eventually removing from scotla nd the rain eventually removing from scotland through the afternoon, some good spells of sunshine through the afternoon as the showers ease with highs of 22. this is bbc news and these are the top stories developing at 11am — polling stations around the country are open as millions of people vote in the general election. three men have been arrested in raids in ilford in east london by police investigating the london bridge attack. sacked fbi chiefjames comey will testify before congress today and say that president trump asked him to drop an investigation into an links between the former white house national security adviser and russia. the scottish episcopal church will decide later whether to become the first anglicans in the uk to allow same—sex marriage. also in the next hour — a major re—think on the development of the human species. fossils found in africa suggest humans walked the earth more