losing in razzmatazz, as labour _ losing in i razzmatazz, as labour try losing in razzmatazz, as labourt and razzmatazz, as labour try and maintain momentum, grab attention in what is likely to be a long countdown to polling day. also tonight — bottled water as 16,000 households in south devon are told to boil their tap water after an outbreak of a waterborne disease. it's just been horrendous. i mean, you know, everyone�*s all up in arms about it all. you just don't know where you stand, do you know what i mean? like, drinking the water and things like that. band plays the red carpet rolled out in china for russia's president putin, as the two countries pledge a new era of partnership. and the royal images taken decades ago going on display for the first time at buckingham palace. coming up on sportsday later in the hour on bbc news, those celtic celebrations — scottish champions for a third time in a row, now they're eyeing up the double.

good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. this is what sir keir starmer handed out at an event in essex today — what he says are the �*first steps' he would take as prime minister. the labour leader unveiled the six point plan to take to voters ahead of a general election expected later this year. he rejected suggestions that his party was scaling back its ambitions and said the plans were fully costed and would be delivered in the first term of a labour government. labour will also soon unveil separate sets of priorities for scotland and wales. the conservatives called his speech �*another relaunch�*. 0ur political editor chris mason reports. flashing red, the morning commute in purfleet in essex today. the commuters,

the people who want to run the country before the year is out. they were heading for a film studio of all places — promises, pamphlets, pledges and no shortage of razzmatazz. and this stuff does not happen by accident. keir starmer minus a jacket and tie, sleeves rolled up. these are our first steps. they enable us, if you like, to look the public in the eye and say this is our down payment on change. these are the first shoots of the change that you deserve to see. first steps that are ready to go, fully costed and fully funded. they�*re making promises on schools, borders, anti—social behaviour, security, energy, the economy, and an extra 40,000 appointments in the nhs in england every week. 0ne card, six steps, in your hand a plan to change the country.

thank you all so much. labour are remarkably good, let�*s put it bluntly here, at losing general elections. do you find yourself getting jittery, getting nervous that you might throw it away? we are never, ever going to be complacent about this coming general election. was this is for a large venue for summer election that has not happened? we are going to be ready. for an election whenever it comes. we would have been it ready in may if the prime minister had _ is it a bit like being in an anxiety dream for you? election campaign starting, labour seemingly on a path... is a kind of relief that is not me. it�*s not him now. it�*s this man. keir starmer, you want 40,000 more appointments a week in the nhs in england. can you be specific? by when? i think we can start on this straightaway, without getting ahead of ourselves. i do know we�*ve got to be ready, and that�*s why we are already having discussions with nhs staff about how we would operate this model. so i think we can do that pretty swiftly. there are other changes i�*ve

set out this morning... it�*s quite vague, though, is it not really a promise if you cannot actually put a timeframe on it? yes, it is. from day one, minute one, we will be working on this to deliver itjust as quickly as possible. and here�*s some more evidence an election is not far off. i've done a lot of things in this job, but being here is probably on the more intimidating end... the prime minister spent his lunch time on loose women. i'm focused on that election, right? i focused on the choice at that election because we've been through a lot but i do think actually the things that we are doing is starting to make a difference. who can deliver a secure future for you and your family? come back and tell us - when the election is over... ata latertime. and, yes, there will be plenty more appointments on tv sets and film sets, an industry of political persuasion before polling day wanders along. and yes, it was quite a quick presentation today, with the

graphics and the screens and the endorsements from everybody from the boss of boots, the high street chain, to a man dying of cancer. but to be on the theatre of today, there is a wider strategy labour is trying to employ here and that is to have lines they can articulate, stuff that they can say between now and the general election campaign proper starting. 0ne the general election campaign proper starting. one final thought, you can see in the labour party right now tattooed across it psychology four consecutive general election defeats. you look back in history and history tells you labour lose far more general elections than the conservatives do. that is why they are doing what they are doing to try and turn things around from their perspective this time around. chris, thank you. tens of thousands of people living in south devon have been told not to drink tap water without boiling it first after the outbreak of a waterborne disease. around 16,000 homes and businesses

in the brixham area are affected. they�*re being warned the outbreak of cryptosporidium could last for at least a week. 0ur south of england correspondent jenny kumah is in brixham. anger has been growing here. there have been 22 confirmed cases so far, hundreds more reporting symptoms of diarrhoea and sickness. this afternoon, a statement from number 10 about the outbreak, saying it must be thoroughly investigated and action taken if any breaches or failings are found. this primary school playground should be full of kids. instead, pupils are at home. the head closed the school because it had not had any bottled water delivered. try to protect the children from obviously still becoming quite sick with it all. jessica is at home with her four children as well as looking after herfriend�*s.

she�*s not impressed that southwest water is offering compensation of £115. it's not just the cost of bottled water or having to boil the kettle. all people have had to take days off work. people are already struggling due to the cost of living, and this is inadequate for families. there�*s widespread anger here. for days, people have been falling ill. many blamed the tap water. on monday, south west water said their test showed it was safe to drink. yesterday, they said they found traces of cryptosporidium in a part of brixham and after overnight monitoring. you�*re offering people £115 in compensation. is that really enough? we appreciate that we've had - a significant impact on customers lives and health — that does not compensate for the impact. - but we are working as hard as we can. | more than 128,000 bottles of water have been delivered, but some say they�*re struggling to get what they need. this local businessman decided to help.

he spent £400 buying this water to provide it forfree. i come from one country here on a bus. now it is my pleasure. so this has cost you money. you spent money on this? yes, this cost money, but i like it from my heart to help people. today, news that a potential source of the outbreak has been found, a damaged air valve in a field close to this reservoir site in the affected area. some progress in this difficult situation, but it could be a week before the tap water is back to normal. jenny kumah, bbc news, devon. a 71—year—old man has been charged with the attempted murder of slovakia�*s prime minister. robert fico remains in a critical condition in hospital after he was shot five times at close range yesterday. it was the first major assassination attempt on a european political leader for more than 20 years. ministers say they believe

the gunman acted alone, describing the attack as politically motivated. 0ur eastern europe correspondent sarah rainsford is in handlova, where the attack took place. this is a small former mining town, not a place used to major political drama but that is what happened right here on the central square yesterday, when the prime minister robert fico was shot and left fighting for his life. this was an attempted assassination and it has left slovakia asking some very deep questions. just a warning that this report contains images of the actual shooting itself. at the spot where a man tried to kill a prime minister, there is a hole where a bullet hit a tree and a faint stain of blood. small traces of a gaint moment that has shocked slovakia deeply. it was early afternoon when robert fico strode out of a meeting and towards a group

of supporters, but on the edges of the crowd was the gunman. he looks the other way at first, then abruptly pulls out a gun, points at the prime minister and fires five times. gunshots. by the third shot, he is being tackled by security officers as the prime minister tumbles to the floor. mr fico is then dragged to his car and rushed to hospital. the gunman detained and handcuffed. dana was reporting on the prime minister�*s visit to her town. she says the gunman did not stand out at all until he attacked. nothing special. he stay and was, looked normal. a man waiting for the prime minister. robert fico had come from this event, offering support for a small—town economy. but on the big stage,

he is a populist who opposes sending arms to ukraine and will block its entry to nato. he also thinks vladimir putin has been demonised. his government claims these issues infuriated the gunman and drove him to this attack. the interior minister describes him as a lone wolf but the government is accusing the opposition here and the media of whipping up tension and hatred. given that mr fico himself often uses very confrontational language, inflammatory language himself, would you agree that he is at least, or the government is at least partially to blame for the tensions in slovak society right now? translation: robert fico won elections for the fifth time. - then a frustrated part of the political spectrum and the media started a six—month hunt which has ended like this. i�*m not pointing fingers at you phrased a question to divert attention from the real reasons

that led to this. the prime minister is still in intensive care but his life is no longer at risk. after an attack that has exposed huge divisions here and there danger. sarah rainsford, bbc news, bratislava. a five—year—old boy has died after falling from a block of flats in east london. emergency services were called at around six o�*clock this morning. police say the death is being treated as unexpected and are working to "establish the full circumstances". paul hawkins reports. processing what happened here has barely begun. the five—year—old boy falling from what police describe as the upper floor of the jacobs house tower block in the early hours of the morning. neighbours and paramedics rushed to help but the boy died at the scene. 0ne eyewitness said the boy�*s father was inconsolable, his mother distraught. he was only six, so, yeah, i�*m really very sad for their parents, for his parents and for his relatives.

it�*s very upsetting. my husband woke up this morning and he heard the screams after six and he said something terrible must have happened. he drove by afterwards and he saw the ambulance and the police. yeah. yeah, and then this is what we woke up to, which is very sad. we spoke to one woman who said the boy�*s family had told her that he�*d fallen from a broken window of their 15th floor flat, which is right at the top. but newham council, who own the block, but not necessarily the flat, say they�*re trying to establish the full facts of what they call a devastating incident. no arrests have been made but police enquiries are ongoing and so too is the grieving. paul hawkins, bbc news. the russian president vladimir putin has travelled to beijing for talks with china�*s president xi jinping and pledged a new era of partnership between their two countries. china has rolled out the red carpet for president putin, on his first foreign trip since being sworn in for

a fifth presidential term. the two leaders have vowed to work together against what they called "destructive and hostile" us policies. 0ur china correspondent laura bicker reports from beijing. band plays. in the west, he�*s seen as a pariah. but in china, president putin is a key partner, as beijing seeks a new world order. 0ne not led by the united states. the red carpet was rolled out complete with a red army band welcome, as they walked together in a show of defiance against western pressure. mr putin needs china — it�*s become an economic lifeline for an isolated and heavily sanctioned russia. translation: china will always be | a good neighbour and good friend | of mutual trust with russia.

mr putin said he would inform president xi about the situation in ukraine and he said he would welcome china�*s role as peacemaker. beijing put forward a 12—point peace plan more than a year ago, but it received a lukewarm welcome from both ukraine and russia. but while mr xi is trying to play peacemaker, he�*s also accused of helping to fuel russia�*s war. if the west wants to stop russia�*s advances in ukraine, they know here is one place they can do that. now, beijing is not supplying moscow with weapons but the west believes it is supplying russia with components that it can use in its war machine. the us has a raft of new sanctions at the ready — this time to target chinese banks — so president xi has a decision to make. beijing does need moscow — russia supplies it with cheap oil and gas. this soaring trade also helps shield

mr putin from western sanctions. beijing is not likely to make any policy shifts. instead, the two pledged to deepen their partnership. but mr xi will be calculating just how much he is willing to pay for mr putin�*s war. laura bicker, bbc news, beijing. the time is 16 minutes past six. our top story this evening... sir keir starmer sets out his "first steps" if labour were to win the general election. still to come, the northern lights — or are they? coming up on sportsday in the next 15 minutes on bbc news, we�*ll get the latest from valhalla and the us pga championship, where rory mcilroy�*s looking to roll back the years to when he won his last major there. he was dubbed britain�*s kindest plumber, for helping

vulnerable people for free, but a bbc investigation has found that james anderson�*s business in fact faked stories that helped raise millions of pounds in donations. his plumbing and heating company, depher, has used photos of people on social media without their consent, and in some cases, made untrue claims about the elderly people who were featured. mr anderson has defended himself against some of the allegations, but admitted mistakes were made. 0ur uk editor ed thomas has the story. now, you won't meet. people more remarkable than the plumberjames anderson. james anderson�*s acts of kindness moved the nation. his name isjames anderson. he's a plumber who couldn't stand seeing people getting cold because they didn't have enough money for boiler repairs. we put a shout out on social media. we�*ve analysed those social media accounts, many linked to fundraising appeals... known as britain'sl kindest plumber... ..uncovering misleading,

false posts... so far, he's helped over 2 million people across the country. ..allegations vulnerable people have been exploited. even catching the attention of actor hugh grant. one of the most shocking was this — posted injune 2022. an elderly woman covered with an emoji, upset and desperate. it says, "when i got there, she had a noose ready to commit suicide." the truth is that her name wasjoyce, and she died years before the story ofjames anderson saving her life. we tracked down joyce�*s daughter, andrea. joyce�*s kitchen. she had no idea her mother�*s image was being used by depher. "when i got there... "she had a nurse ready to commit suicide." —— she had a noose ready.

how would you describe that post? a lie, it�*s a complete lie. this image of a noose was also posted, linked to fundraising pages. how do you sleep at night? it�*s like vulnerable people, like my mother, is their moneymaking machine. james anderson has helped many people with free boilers, gas and electricity payments. but we found multiple examples of misleading posts. this one claims the woman with the hidden face died from carbon monoxide. we later learned the story was fake. hey, you all right. hi, ed from bbc news. james anderson agreed to speak to us about his company�*s use of social media... really appreciate you speaking to us and... starting with this story, aboutjoyce and thoughts of suicide. i didn�*t put that on. that�*s from depher�*s account. is that post true? that post is not true, no. the family has said that is a lie. what do you want to say to that family? i�*ve just said, i apologise to the family, but i will have

to look further into that, onto the old account. and the carbon monoxide death story. it�*s depher�*s post but how it got onto depher�*s account, i don�*t know. that�*s a disgusting, leading, misleading post, yeah. and i apologise from the bottom of my heart. is that is a lie? that is a lie, whoever put that on, yeah. here we are today. we also found this serious safeguarding failure, a video posted onjames anderson�*s facebook page. 0k. just doing a little video. we�*ve blurred his image. but anderson asks the elderly man if he�*s 0k to be filmed. are you 0k to be on this video or do you not want to be on it? oh, god, no. no, 0k, nota problem. "oh, god, no." no, 0k, nota problem. but his image was posted repeatedly for years and linked to fundraising pages worth £270,000. are you 0k to be on this video? the man is clearly filmed saying no. right, ok, i accept that. will you return this money? i�*ll return what funding is connected to that if the people who have donated it want

that money back. we also wanted clarity on how much money depher has spent. we�*ve spent over £3 million, 0k... it�*s £3 million, correct? yes or no? i don�*t know. you don�*t know? i don�*t know. 0k. we�*ve helped over 2 million people. 2,150,000, to be exact. that�*s exact? that�*s... yeah, they�*re made up figures. they�*re guesstimates. they�*re guesstimates, yeah. they�*re guesstimates. yeah, guesstimates. if i have to get on my knees and apologise for the rest of my life, i will. butjames anderson also said he was a victim of online trolls. he now faces an investigation by the fundraising regulator. ed thomas, bbc news, burnley. donald trump�*s former lawyer michael cohen is back for a third day of testimony at a new york court in the former—president�*s hush money trial. mr trump is accused of covering up payments to the porn star stormy daniels ahead of the 2016 election to silence her claim she had sex with him, which he denies. 0ur north america correspondentjohn sudworth is outside the court.

donald trump�*s former lawyer still on the stand with the defence continued to try to paint him as a liar and a man motivated by revenge. the jury heard liar and a man motivated by revenge. thejury heard audio liar and a man motivated by revenge. the jury heard audio from one of mr coe in pellagra podcast in which he said he wants to see mr trump go to jailand said he wants to see mr trump go to jail and rot said he wants to see mr trump go to jailand rot —— said he wants to see mr trump go to jail and rot —— michael cohen�*s podcast. he is crucial because his evident ties mr trump directly to knowledge those payments were improperly covered up in order to influence the 2016 election. the case of the defence is he simply cannot be trusted but the prosecution admit that mr cohen himself eventually went to jail for his actions but they say that�*s the point, that his criminality and lying are all done in the service and the direction of his former boss. what thejury and the direction of his former boss. what the jury make of this, we simply don�*t know of course, but

with the trial now speeding along, they could be asked to make their decision as early as next week in a case that will have huge implications for this election and arguably, for the future of american democracy. arguably, for the future of american democra . g ., ., ~ arguably, for the future of american democra ., ., ., ~' , ., it�*s estimated that thousands of people in prison have conditions like autism, adhd or learning difficulties. now a prison in north london has set up a special unit that brings together prisoners with complex needs. and staff at pentonville prison say it�*s working — there�*s less violence, less self—harm and fewer staff are going sick. the bbc�*s lucy watkinson has been given exclusive access. birdsong. birdsong and bright leds. so this is the sensory room. this prison cell has had a spectacular makeover. this helps if people are having a major crisis. it�*s a place used by some to decompress. we had one guy — he would go mad, he would start trying to fight staff. we put him in here — within 20 minutes, half

an hour, back to normal. staff here think they�*re on to something. we have the proof here that it�*s working. this room and our landing, it�*s amazing. if you think back to that last interaction we had, and then, like... i'm not banging the door, | screaming and shouting... stephen�*s a regular user of the sensory room. he has adhd, dyslexia, learning difficulties, and a heroin addiction. for 20 years, he�*s been on a constant rinse and repeat cycle, in and out of prison, for mostly commercial burglary to fund his drug addiction, but says being on the unit has made him want to change. nothing has caught my attention so much that it's made me - want to do the work, to help me change. this work needs to be done i so that the next 20 years ain't like the first 20 years. it's such a challenging environment to be in. keys... doors... gates... the best way to get everyone's attention is to shout because there's so many people

in such a confined space. for those who struggle with sensory needs, it can be absolutely overwhelming. you used to be that naughty child. you know, the one that got- detention, the one who got kicked out of class because they thought you was being disruptive - or abusive or aggressive. now, they've seen, actually, - he's got something wrong with him. if we do something in a different- way, we might get different results. these prisoners will be the ones in the cells on normal location who are being violent, smashing cells and self harming. so the actual landing itself... so tucked away in the basement, they�*re putting people like stephen with complex needs together and treating them differently. we knock on the door, they have earplugs, we have fidget toys if they need them. there�*s more prison staff, men don�*t share cells, and there�*s access for stephen to groups like this. there�*s a lot of boredom, isn�*t there? and a lot of people get on different drugs from that. like spice... a lot of bang up. a lot of bang up, yeah.

outside, i'm 100 miles an hour and 100 milesl an hour on drugs as well. so it's double trouble. in here, i'm drug free. i've seen, overtime, how their behaviour has completely changed — when they're away from certain influences. it's amazing what just more time and more, like, investment from staff can do. you can't just lock people away and throw away the key. i can imagine people looking at this will say, why should prisoners have a space like this? a lot of the people that have got a neurodiverse issue are committing real petty crimes that is keeping them to come back to prison, back to prison. if they can have a sense of being, a sense of worth by being in here and we can try and help them with that, then... ..put a sensory room in every single prison in the country, as far as i�*m concerned. lucy watkinson, bbc news, pentonville prison. this photograph of the late queen in 1968 has never been shown in public before. it is one of many that have just

gone on display for the first time at the king�*s gallery in buckingham palace. cecil beaton also took this — a different view of his famous portrait of queen elizabeth on her coronation day. this shows four royal mothers — the late queen, princess margaret, princess alexandra and the duchess of kent in 1964. princess anne and king charles were photographed on his eighth birthday. this, a very relaxed shot from catherine and william�*s wedding day in 2011. and also displayed will be this striking picture of the princess of wales for her 40th birthday. did you see what is coming next? i missed it! many people across the uk were lucky enough to see the northern lights last friday — the spectacular display, the best for decades. two friends in norwich were walking home when the sky lit up in purple. but as karim akhtar and sully laurent explain, all was not quite as it seemed. oh, my god!

so when walked round the corner, we was actually looking up at the sky, and we thought, "wow, it�*s the northern lights!" when i was saw it, i was ready to cry aloud i so happy. so we've actually gone to iceland to see the lights, and we didn't see it the whole time we was there. so we thought, "no way, we finally seen it." that can't be it. like this has to be it. "i don't know if it's meant to be looking like that." i'm thinking, "i'm not sure if the northern lights come in that colour. i'm not sure if it's meant to be that shape." that was the northern lights, yeah! so the moment we realised, yeah, we thought, "nah, this is a prank. it has to be a prank." there�*s definitely a camera somewhere cos there�*s no way we believe that the northern... like, this hotel has never made light like this before, so why is it doing it tonight? tell me we�*ve been catfished. i was walking round, i was head down, facing the ground, i didn�*t want to speak to no—one. i thought, "there�*s no way i�*ve missed it and i�*ve been catfished by premier inn." time for a look at the weather. here�*s chris fawkes. i saw that for the first time on the

10th of may when it arrived, a once—in—a—lifetime spirit, once an eight night time for those hotel lights, i�*m sure they�*ll be back tonight! today we had plenty of sunshine in scotland and temperatures as high as 25 degrees but not like that everywhere with a raft of showers, thunderstorms and heavy rain across northern ireland, england and wales and for many it has been quite a wet day. confirmation of that here in staffordshire with some localised flooding. 0vernight, the rain we still have at the moment will push westwards before clearing. there could be a few more patches of light rain or drizzle around parts of northern england and some north sea coast where it is likely to turn a rather misty and foggy. temperatures similar to recent nights. tomorrow, overall, a better kind of day. certainly a lot of lunch at the start in england and wales apart from northern ringwood where it will stay quite cloudy. scotland and northern ireland have some fine

spells of sunshine and although there will be a few showers popping up there will be a few showers popping up across the uk in the afternoon, not so many around so a good chance of dodging the downpours and for many it will feel warm in the sunshine with temperatures pushing into the 20s. 0n sunshine with temperatures pushing into the 20s. on saturday, the chance of a bit of rain in south—east england as we head through the day. again, it could be quite cloudy there but for north, plenty of sunshine coming through in the morning and the afternoon, again, a scattering of showers but the majority in england and wales. scotland and northern ireland are more likely to keep the dry weather but wherever you are, pleasantly warm with high teen is too low to mid 20s in the warmest spots. for the second part of the weekend, more cloud coming into the north—west of the uk and with that, temperatures easing back a little. england and wales, plenty of sunshine and those temperatures, still above average for the time of year, 23 in glasgow is warm, 19 or 20 in england and wales so overall, not bad weather coming up over the next few days, a

few showers to dodge but many