"it seems the news bulletins are becoming the laura kuenssberg show. her pieces to camera and the questioning of political figures are not the broad unbiased approach that one should expect from the bbc but come across as the presentation of personal opinion and approach. the bbc should be providing a broader approach with a considerably higher factual content." allegations of bias, as we've mentioned before in recent weeks, have been rife with some viewers feeling the bbc has given the lion's share of screen time and prominence to the labour party. tom and jan borland profess themselves, "bemused and somewhat annoyed, to say the least, by the total airtime given over to the labour party, and tojeremy corbyn in particular, who is the lead story every time you switch on the television news. this amount of press coverage is, to my mind, highly disproportionate, biased towards a single person and his party and not conducive to a level political playing field." for the majority of those contacting the bbc, though, the bias is in the other direction with ra

laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. well, as we've heard labour have suffered poor results in the elections. they have lost a number of key strongholds including lancashire, derbyshire and bridgend. but they have taken two of the metro mayoral contests in manchester and liverpool, from where our deputy political he doesn't look very happy, even a bit tense. those defeats and setbacks in the north and the midlands hard to take and then, you'd almost believe labour was having a good day — almost. we've had some difficult results overnight. some have been very good. labour liverpool picked a labour mayor, a moment of comfort for steve rotherham, former mp, his family and his leader and just now, jeremy corbyn could use a little comfort. well, in the light of the results we are seeing now, do you accept you need to raise your game before the general election, or is your campaign now as good as it gets? obviously we need to gain support and i tell you, compared to two years ago, we are doing our best, doing well. we've obv

on tuesday, the bbc‘s political editor laura kuenssberg try to nail that down with the prime minister on a campaign trip to cornwall. did juncker say brexit cannot be the success? i don't recall the account that is being given of the meeting that took place. i think a lot of this is brussels gossip. he said it to you or he did not. the account that i have seen, a lot of that is brussels gossip. later in the week, that line changed, the prime minister attacked european politicians and officials, who she said had issued threats the book against britain timed to affect the election result. at a press conference hosted by davis and hammond, laura kuenssberg tried again to get clarity on the state of discussions between the uk and eu. can i ask you not to hide behind the fact that there will be with negotiations, in this election, don't voters are allowed to know how much taxpayers‘ cash they are stumping up, is close to zero or 100 million or zero? the bbc‘s political editor faced questions from viewers. and one of you called jim asked: it's notjust the conservatives who have been und

many questions had been fobbed off with this answer, given to laura kuenssberg byjeremy corbyn on tuesday. well, you will have to wait for the manifesto for the details. you were expecting that answer.

on tuesday, the bbc‘s political editor laura kuenssberg try to nail that down with the prime minister on a campaign trip to cornwall. did juncker say brexit cannot be the success? i don't recall the account that is being given of the meeting that took place. i think a lot of this is brussels gossip. he said it to you or he did not. the account that i have seen, a lot of that is brussels gossip. later in the week, that line changed, the prime minister attacked european politicians and officials, who she said had issued threats the book against britain timed to affect the election result. at a press conference hosted by davis and hammond, laura kuenssberg tried again to get clarity on the state of discussions between the uk and eu. can i ask you not to hide behind the fact that there will be with negotiations, in this election, don't voters they are stumping up, is close to zero or 100 million is close to zero or 100 million or zero? the bbc‘s political editor faced questions from viewers. and one of you called jim asked: it's notjust the conservatives who have been under scrutiny in

we have seen a particularly vocal campaign online against laura kuenssberg alleging anti—labour bias. what's the bbc‘s response? laura kuenssberg is a first—class political editor who has worked incredibly hard to get herjob right. laura does the daily analysis of all of the political parties and, of course, no personal views are reflected in any sense on any party, and that's true notjust of laura but across the bbc. so laura's doing herjob and she's doing that brilliantly. more broadly, though, viewers do complain that there's too much personal commentary from political correspondents who are kind of filling airtime and it is not fact—based, it's not objective. wouldn't the bbc be better, as at least one of our viewers has suggested, just sticking to factual reporting? well, i think analysis is really important actually, as part of our coverage. certainly in elections, and as we saw in the referendum last year, parties and campaigns have their own positions to push and they will do that and they will give us figures. and really, an important part of ourjob is to try and analys

our political editor laura kuenssberg reporting there. hello, this is sport today, live from the bbc sport centre. coming up on this programme. preparing for the 2018 world cup but at what cost, as concerns over the exploitation of north korean workers plague russian organisers. we head to paris and trace the background of chelsea and france star n'golo kante. and tom dumoulin tightens his grip on the overall lead after stage 18 of the giro d'italia. hello and welcome to the programme where we start with news about the 2018 world cup in russia. when fans gather to watch the first semifinal at next year's tournament in the newly built stadium in st petersburg, to what extent did those who helped build it suffer? fifa have found evidence north koreans who worked on the site were subjected to appalling conditions. our sports news correspondent richard conway takes up the story. the heads of four nordic football associations wrote to the fifa president because they had been made aware of allegations,

laura kuenssberg, bbc news, halifax. president trump has declared that he‘s the victim of the ‘greatest political witch—hunt in us history‘. he was responding to the news that a special investigator has been appointed to look at claims of russian interference in the presidential election and of links between the trump team and russian officials. the man who‘ll lead the inquiry is robert mueller, a former director of the fbi. 0ur washington correspondent aleem maqbool reports the president‘s just not happy with the scrutiny he continues to come under over his links with russia. the entire thing has been a witch hunt. and there is no collusion between, certainly myself and my campaign. but i can only speak for myself and the russians, zero. i think it divides the country. i think we have a very divided country because of that and many other things. the major development of the last 2a hours is the appointment of a special prosecutor to oversee the prosecution. mueller is in respected by both sides of parliament

laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. a 20—year—old student has been found guilty of planting a home—made bomb on a london underground train. damon smith, who has asperger‘s syndrome, was caught on cctv last october leaving a bag filled with explosives in a carriage. the train was evacuated minutes before he had set the device to explode. our home affairs correspondent june kelly has the story. alone on a london underground platform, damon smith is caught on cctv priming his device to explode on the tube. it's inside a rucksack and he's timed it to go off just after iiam. surrounded by passengers, he feigns interest in his book. further down the line he gets off, but he's abandoned the rucksack in the carriage and left the device, packed with ball—bearings, to detonate. the rucksack was eventually spotted, north greenwich station was evacuated. although parts of the device were viable, it failed to explode. if it had detonated, it certainly would have endangered life. without a doubt, it would have caused mass c

laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. labour has taken a beating, losing control of its former stronghold of glasgow, amongst others. ukip‘s vote has collapsed, and the liberal democrats had varied fortunes. with all councils now declared, the conservatives have gained 319 seats in england. labour have lost 142 seats, the lib dems have lost 28, and ukip are down 143. in scotland, the snp have lost seven seats, the tories have gained 164, and labour have lost 133. in wales, labour have lost 107 seats, the tories have gained 80 seats, plaid cymru have also gained 33 seats. the lib dems have lost 11 seats. he doesn't look very happy, even a bit tense. those defeats and setbacks in the north and the midlands hard to take, and then, you'd almost believe labour was having a good day — almost. we've had some difficult results overnight. some have been very good. labour liverpool picked a labour mayor, a moment of comfort for steve rotherham, former mp, his family and his leader and just now, jeremy corbyn could use a little

laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. the bank of england has warned of a squeeze on household incomes this year, as the cost of living rises faster than wages. the bank's governor mark carney said he expected only moderate growth for the uk economy. and looking further ahead, he said better prospects depended on the government securing a "smooth" exit from the european union. our economics editor kamal ahmed has the details. wherever you live, a clear message from the bank. only 17, a year of squeezed incomes, high prices and slower growth. what better news could be coming. mark carney kicked off his mixed message on the uk economy with a warning. this is going to be a more challenging time for british households over the course of this year. real income growth, the user to demolish the —— terminology, will be negative. use theirs, it won't keep up with prices. consumers are split between the worried and those who seem more positives ahead. no matter what you buy in the shops these days, everything has gone up in pri

our political editor laura kuenssberg reports. serenely rolling along, it had seemed, with only a few noises off. but an antihunting protest was the last of the tories‘ problems today. the manifesto created a mess over social care that had to be cleared up. the original version of the tory plans were to be bundled away. it might not sound like it, but this is a big change to what theresa may had planned — introducing a limit, a cap, on how much people in england could have to pay. this manifesto says that we will come forward with a consultation paper, a government green paper, and that consultation will include an absolute limit on the amount people have to pay for their care costs. you have just announced a significant change to what was offered in your manifesto, saying there will now be the possibility of a cap on social care that was not in the plans that was announced just four days ago. that doesn't look so strong and stable, prime minister, it looks rather like panic in the face of opposition. our social care system wi

laura kuenssberg, bbc news, bradford. in wales, plaid cymru has launched its manifesto, telling voters that wales badly needs a ‘strong voice‘ during the brexit process to protect welsh industry and agriculture. the party leader leanne wood said she wanted to ensure that wales could continue to trade with europe without costly barriers. policies include scrapping business rates, creating a publicly—owned bank, and retaining the triple lock on pensions. the rate of inflation rose last month to its highest since september 2013. the office for national statistics says prices — as measured by the consumer price index — were 2.7% higher in april than the year before. it means the cost of living is now rising faster than wages. the white house has denied president trump compromised national security by revealing classified information to the russian government at a meeting last week. it follows the confirmation on twitter earlier today by the president that he had shared the information. the white house said it was �

laura kuenssberg, bbc news, cornwall. and over the coming weeks, we'll be speaking to all the main party leaders. 0n the day the labour party announced a new flagship policy of taking on 10,000 extra police officers in england and wales, the shadow home secretary appeared confused in a radio interview about how much it would all cost. diane abbott suggested a range of figures which varied by tens of millions of pounds. afterwards, ms abbott said she mis—spoke about labour's new policy and had got it correct in other interviews. the labour leader, jeremy corbyn, insisted he wasn't embarrassed by her difficulties with the numbers. here's our deputy political editor, john pienaar. there, over the road, you know him, the labour leader, promising to make the labour leader, promising to make the streets safer, 10,000 more police on the beat, catching criminals and paid for by the better off, using capital gains tax the tories plan to cut. what we are putting forward is a proposal to increase police numbers, we are putting 10,

we can talk once more to laura kuenssberg in westminster. tremendous set of results for the conservatives, less for the others. how will today's results affect how the parties will prepare for next month's election? i think it'll have a big impact on the psychology of the parties, fiona, it is a real barometer, real votes around the country, not just polls, barometer, real votes around the country, notjust polls, about how the public feels about the political choices they have and the tories have plenty of reasons to feel chipper. there is even a scare in some tory quarters that today's results might lead their supporters to feel complacent because it is all going to be easy but it seems the tories hope that ukip's vote would colla pse tories hope that ukip's vote would collapse on the right would be put back together given their support and that looks like a strategy that could pay off and come true for them. labour, on the other hand, have real reason to be worried from what they've seen today. they have four weeks to really pull their soc

laura kuenssberg, bbc news, cornwall. and over the coming weeks we'll be talking to other party leaders during the election campaign. the labour leaderjeremy corbyn says he backs diane abbot, the shadow home secretary, despite her difficulty explaining labour's plans for policing. labour's policy is to recruit an extra ten thousand officers in england and wales. ms abbot, during a radio interview, offered several versions of the projected cost. she said she had simply mis—spoken, but the conservatives said it raised new questions about labour's competence, as our deputy political editor john pienaar reports. there, over the road, you know him. labour's leader, promising to make the streets safer. 10,000 more police on the beat, catching more criminals and paid for by the better—off, using capital gains tax the tories plan to cut. what we are putting forward is a proposal to increase police numbers. the conservatives have cut them by 20,000 and we are putting 10,000 more police officers out there, because it is a quest

laura kuenssberg, bbc news, bath. 0ur political editor, laura kuenssberg, is with me. will it change anything, laura? well, sophie, ispoke will it change anything, laura? well, sophie, i spoke to some of the audience tonight after the end of the debate, including some tory voters, and a couple of them were clearly very frustrated that theresa may hadn't bothered to show and in reverse pleased that jeremy may hadn't bothered to show and in reverse pleased thatjeremy corbyn had made the effort to turn up and to debate the other parties here tonight. i think it's pretty clear that in terms of today at least jeremy corbyn has had a tactical win. he has been seen to seize the initiative and come along and take part. i think it's too early to say how that's going to play out with the wider electorate, those people who weren't following every twist and turn of tonight's debate, those people who hadn't necessarily paid much attention to what the line—up was going to be, who the political players were all going to be at this big major event. in the spin room tonight where mem

laura kuenssberg, bbc news, bradford. labour has said it will pay for its spending plans through a combination of extra borrowing and tax rises. at the same time, the manifesto commits the party to eliminating the deficit on day—to—day spending and to bringing down the amount of national debt, by 2022. 0ur economics editor kamal ahmed has been looking in more detail at labour's figures. it's labour's big offer to the voter. an extra £25.3 billion for education. enough to build 1,000 schools. 7.7 billion for the nhs, that's quite a few hospitals, and a £4 billion pay rise for the public sector. add in other commitments on policing and the minimum wage and the grand total of new spending, £48.6 billion. the question labour was asked today — how to pay for its promises. the bulk will come from new business taxes. corporation tax will be increased from 19% to 26%. labour says that will raise nearly £20 billion, although forecasts are often wrong. there will be a new levy on firms that pay employees over £330,000. l

laura kuenssberg, bbc news, halifax. as we‘ve heard — one of the ‘five giant challenges‘ outlined by mrs may was how to deal with an ageing society. she plans to reform the way social care in england is funded — by requiring more people to pay for home care. the value of their properties would be factored into the calculations — and anyone with a property worth more than £100,000 — would be liable. 0ur social affairs correspondent alison holt has been taking a closer look at the conservatives‘ social care plan. they light their own fire. so it‘s called burning daylight. at the heart of the crisis in social care that theresa may says she wants to fix, are real lives. people like andriani and her son alex. she has dementia. what type of flower has thorns? laughter. i don't know. roses. 0h, roses. it‘s a rose bush. this was 2014. andriani had sold her small house in london to pay for residential care, which was costing more than £60,000 a year. she was able to walk, she was able to hold a conversation,

laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. the independent think tank, the institute for fiscal studies, says labour's draft manifesto would significantly increase the size of the state. one proposal is a commitment to renationalise britain's train network. at the moment, train services in different parts of the country are operated by different companies. our transport correspondent richard westcott has been looking at what labour's plans would do for the railways. britain's railways are bitty and complex. most of the track, signals and stations are run by network rail. it's effectively a nationalised company, spending public money. the trains are in private hands. so what exactly is labour proposing? at the moment, different companies can bid to run different rail services for a limited number of years. it's called a franchise. what labour seems to be suggesting is that as each of those franchises runs out, rather than having a new bidding process, the government will take over those services instead. there are 18 franchises

laura kuenssberg, bbc news, wrexham. the idea of a cap, or limit, was first put forward in a government review, commissioned by david cameron when he was prime minister. it had been due to come into force last year but was then put off until 2020. 0ur social affairs correspondent, alison holt, examines how the conservatives intend to tackle the challenge of an ageing population. pensioner peter martin is fulltime career for his 88—year—old mother, doris. limited savings mean they qualify for council help, getting three visits a day. like some more tea? oh, i would love a tea. ok, i'll make you another cup of tea, then. peter has spent the last few days trying to work out what the conservative care plans would mean for them. he believes they'd lose local authority help because the value of their home would be included in calculations for the first time. at the moment, we're paying £68 a month. and if the new system came into effect tomorrow, we'd be paying £950 a month. he says he finds little reassurance in the pro

laura kuenssberg, bbc news, trafford. the energy industry is unhappy with theresa may's new policy of proposing a cap on domestic fuel bills if the conservatives win the election. one of the big suppliers, e.0n, said it was concerned the idea was being proposed for political reasons. mrs may said it was part of her efforts to support working families and she denied that she was simply copying an old labour policy which david cameron had described once as marxist. our deputy political editor jon pienaar reports. election pledges don't get closer to home, today's big offer — a promise from theresa may to cap your fuel bills, the standard tariff paid by millions if they're judged too high. energy firms don't like it. labour say it was their idea. applause. but this tory campaign is about her — her team, her way. policies like capping energy prices to support working families. some tories, some ministers had doubted this meddling in the market, but she's the boss and one report had said the big six energy firms charged el

laura kuenssberg, bbc news, halifax. one of the main aims of the conservative manifesto is to try to tackle the rising cost of social care in england. it says anyone with assets worth more than £100,000 — including the family home — should pay for their own social care, whether it be residential or at home. that payment would be deferred and then taken from the estate after they die. 0ur social affairs correspondent alison holt takes a look at the plans for social care. they are on fire, it's called burning daylight. at the heart of the crisis in social care that theresa may says she wants to fix, oui’ theresa may says she wants to fix, our real lives. people like this woman and her son alex. she has dementia. what type of flower has thorns? laughter i don't know! roses. it's a rose bush. this was 2014. she had sold her small house in london to pay for residential care that was costing more than £60,000 per year. she was able to walk, hold a conversation, she was able to enjoy a walk around the gardens. right, le

laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. one of the policies that labour believes will appeal to a broad section of the public is the plan to renationalise the railway network. in the draft manifesto document, the party talks of making a publicly—owned rail system "the backbone" of its transport policy. it would be a gradual process of taking over commercial agreements as they expired. labour is also proposing to freeze rail fares. our transport correspondent, richard westcott, has been looking at labour's rail plan and how it might work. britain's railways are bitty and complex. most of the tracks, signals and stations are run by network rail. it's effectively a nationalised company, spending public money. the trains are run by a mixture of private companies and foreign state railways, including france, germany, holland and hong kong. at the moment, different companies can bid to run different rail services for a limited number of years, it's called a franchise. what labour seems to be suggesting is that, as each of those

laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. stay with us on bbc news, still to come, a challenge to boeing and airbus — china's first commercial passenger jet makes its maiden flight. i, nelson rolihlahla mandela, do hereby serve to be faithful to the republic of south africa. after six years of construction and numerous delays, the channel tunnel has been formally opened by the queen and president mitterrand. the tunnel is still not yet ready for passengers and freight services to begin. for centuries, christianity and islam struggled for supremacy. now the pope's visit symbolises their willingness to coexist. roger bannister became the first man in the world to run a mile in under four minutes. memories of victory as the ve celebrations reach their climax. this night is dedicated to everyone who believes in a future of peace and freedom. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: as campaigning ends in the french presidential election, the centrist candidate emmanuel macron says he has been the victim of a massive hacking atta

laura kuenssberg, bbc news, halifax. when you think of the world's most dangerous creatures, snails may not necessarily come to mind. but the giant african snail is considered one of the most harmful exotic species on earth. and now in peru there's an infestation, hundreds of them in the northern region of ancash. the bbc‘s tim allman reports. cordoned off, at first sight, this appears to be a crime scene. but things are not what they seem. these are believed to be giant african snails, hundreds of them. brought here by heavy rains and flooding, the creatures can be deadly. harmless in themselves, but they are potential carriers of disease and infection. one conservation group has them listed in the top 100 most dangerous species. authorities are removing them as quickly as possible. translation: by habit, they like to be in the dirt. so that is where they become contaminated. and from there, they go on to transmit parasites and bacteria. so serious is the problem, government officials have launched an information camp

laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: a challenge to boeing and airbus: china's first commercial passenger jet makes its maiden voyage. i, nelson rolihlahla mandela, do hereby serve to be faithful to the republic of south africa. after six years of construction and numerous delays, the channel tunnel has been formally opened by the queen and president mitterrand. the tunnel is still not yet ready for passengers and freight services to begin. for centuries, christianity and islam struggled for supremacy. now the pope's visit symbolises their willingness to coexist. roger bannister became the first man in the world to run a mile in under four minutes. memories of victory as the ve celebrations reach their climax. this night is dedicated to everyone who believes in a future of peace and freedom. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: as campaigning ended in the french presidential election, the centrist candidate emmanuel macron says he has been the victim of a massive hacking attack

our political editor, laura kuenssberg, reports. manchester on everyone's minds. but ukip's manifesto was hardly a quiet affair, the party accusing theresa may of playing a part in creating the circumstances that led to monday's attack. the prime minister has, during her time in high office, presided over cuts to our police service and reductions in our armed forces too. it is also a dereliction of duty to allowjihadis to return to this country. he's promising thousands of extra police, soldiers and border guards. but his supporters jeered reporters questioning the party's claims. ask a sensible question. you're exploiting it. it sounds like you're nearest damit blaming the prime ministerfor this attack and the circumstances that led to it? crawl back down your hole. can i ask you - don't you understand english? stupid question. shouting. but as for blaming her personally for the attack, absolutely not, i'm not doing that. what i am saying is that the politicians in this country are too cowardly at the moment to actually face up to what the real issue is. yet the

laura kuenssberg, bbc news, bath. the debate will take pa rt news, bath. the debate will take part in the senate house in cambridge. john pienaar is here. the prospects of this debate have changed given the change of mind of jeremy corbyn? he pulled off a political ambush by turning up at the last minute unexpectedly, he has made theresa may look conspicuous by her absence and that is the idea. jeremy corbyn in this debate will start off trying to make theresa may looks scared, running scared, while he is the leader who will want to engage and get stuck in. whether he pulls this off depends because for a number of those reasons on the platform, they will be there to stop him. amber rudd is one of them, the home secretary deep in favour of theresa may, she says it is to and frustrate the labour party leader. this is one of the biggest debates, what is at stake? this debate, in particular, is as near as we will get to contact sport in this campaign. it has the potential to deliver a very big moment, maybe the defining moment. whether it delivers one of those

our political editor laura kuenssberg has more details. what was on her mind, with that raise the eyebrows? not just the formalities at the palace of revving up for an election — which she, remember, was not obliged to call. but theresa may seems determined to play the brexit card for all it's worth. setting her face against brussels, she wants you to believe she won't be messed around. whoever wins on the 8th ofjune will face one overriding task, to get the best possible deal for this united kingdom from brexit. and, in the last few days, we have seen just how tough these talks are likely to be. britain's negotiating position in europe has been misrepresented in the continental press. the european commission's negotiating stance has hardened. threats against britain have been issued by european politicians and officials. all of these acts have been deliberately timed to affect the result of the general election which will take place on the 8th ofjune. yes, she did just accuse some in the eu of interfering in our election. the events of

and what it means for them. 0ur political editor laura kuenssberg is with me. it is clear that voters are going to face a real choice. it is chalk and cheese in plenty of places, the biggest gap we have seen between the two parties for some time. today we have seen that is because ofjeremy corbyn's 21st—century version of old labour, more tax and more spending and more state control, nationalisation in four areas of industry, bold changes that he would like to introduce. his calculation is that the frustrations of britain in 2017 mean that in his view the electorate is ready, right and ready for something that is very different. he said to to me, look at the crowd to turn out to hear me speak, but there are two things with that, crowds that go to hear someone and necessarily representative of the whole voting general public. —— aren't necessarily. ed miliband moved a few inches to the left taking a couple of dainty steps and he lost by doing that. jeremy corbyn is taking one big strides to the left, so it is certainly a challenge for him. thanks forjoinin

laura kuenssberg is here now. both conservatives and labour returning to their main messages today but a bumpy ride forjeremy corbyn? it has not been an easy day for the labour leader. he had to apologise for the confusion caused by not having his numbers. we are at that stage where it has the faint jangling of tory nerves and the faintjangling of jangling of tory nerves and the faint jangling of labour opportunity, it is double or quits time. both parties will be doubling down on their main messages. theresa may is saying again and again, trust me on brexit. just in case you hadn't realised, trust me, not him. forjeremy corbyn the messages, give mea forjeremy corbyn the messages, give me a chance. think about public services and the strain there under, but give me a chance because i could be different. clearly, there has been a bit of a shift. we have seen since the sky—high tory poll leads, there has been a shift. on the doorstep it suggests it too. people are doorstep it suggests it too. people a re less door

laura kuenssberg, bbc news, cornwall. and there's much more on the brexit process and the various upcoming elections in the uk on our website. to find out more go to bbc.com/news. ten years ago, a british toddler went missing from her holiday home in portugal. the disappearance of madeline mccann sparked worldwide headlines. now, a decade on, one of the men questioned by scotland yard has been speaking for the first time. paulo ribeiro, who is no longer a suspect, was questioned in connection with a theory that she was taken during a burglary that went wrong. the three—year—old had been left by her parents in their holiday apartment while they dined at a restaurant nearby. the portuguese police have also given their first television interview about the case, as richard bilton, of bbc panorama, reports. for ten years, the holiday village of praia da luz has given up no answers. on the third may 2007, madeleine mccann went to bed, in apartment 5a, and was never seen again. it is the policia judiciaria's job to find her,

laura kuenssberg, bbc news. theresa may said today that she would oversee the biggest expansion of workers' rights by any conservative government — if her party won the general election. the conservative manifesto will promise to keep eu laws, which protect workers, and give people the right to a year's unpaid leave to care for a relative. labour said mrs may was taking working people for fools, as our economics editor, kamal ahmed, reports. it's certainly a different life. olga was a marketing executive who now cares for her 90—year—old mother, earning a fraction of the amount she enjoyed when work was full—time. she says today's proposals are welcome, up to a point. i've had to give up so much of my life, in order to be that carer. i think taking a year out to try and settle the caring needs, my needs, and my mum's needs, was something that would really have benefited me. what would also have benefited olga was being paid, and on that the tories were silent. good morning pixies! theresa may launched he

laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. well as we've heard labour have suffered poor results in these elections — they've lost a number of key strong holds including lancashire, darbyshire and bridgend. but they have taken two of the metro contests for mayor in manchester and liverpool from where our deputy political editorjohn pienaar reports. he doesn't look very happy, even a bit tense, those defeats and setbacks in the north and the midlands hard to take. and then, you'd almost believe labour was having a good day... almost. we've had some difficult results overnight. some have been very good. labour liverpool picked a labour mayor, a moment of comfort for steve rotherham, former mp, his family and his leader. and just now, jeremy corbyn could use a little comfort. well, in the light of the results we are seeing now, do you accept you need to raise your game before the general election, or is your campaign now as good as it gets? obviously we need to gain support. and i'll tell you, compared to two years ago, we're d

laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. well, as we've heard labour have suffered poor results in the elections, they've lost a number of key strong holds including lancashire, derbyshire and bridgend. but they have taken two of the metro contests for mayor in manchester and liverpool, from where our deputy political editorjohn pienaar reports. he doesn't look very happy, even a bit tense, those defeats and setbacks in the north and the midlands hard to take. and then, you'd almost believe labour was having a good day... almost. we've had some difficult results overnight. some have been very good. labour liverpool picked a labour mayor, a moment of comfort for steve rotherham, former mp, his family and his leader. and just now, jeremy corbyn could use a little comfort. well, in the light of the results we are seeing now, do you accept you need to raise your game before the general election, or is your campaign now as good as it gets? obviously we need to gain support. and i'll tell you, compared to two years ago, we're doin

here's our political editor laura kuenssberg. your road, everyone's avenue. it is on all our streets and that the doors where elections are decided. has a shaky few days for theresa may made much difference? has a shaky few days for theresa may made much difference ?|i has a shaky few days for theresa may made much difference? i wish she would make her mind up. i know it is a woman's privilege... but not in politics. on plenty of doorsteps, the perceptions of the two leaders could hardly be more far apart. everything she does is so proficient. i don't like that mr corbyn to be the head of the labour party, if they get in. i cannot see them getting in, can you?” party, if they get in. i cannot see them getting in, can you? i like theresa may, i think she is good. i don't like jeremy corbyn. theresa may wants to drive her hoped—for contrast home so after a tricky few days, our top contrast home so after a tricky few days, ourtop up contrast home so after a tricky few days, our top up of her main message, back onto brexit. to try to get away from accusations

laura kuenssberg, bbc news, cornwall. and over the coming weeks, we'll be talking to other party leaders during the election campaign. the labour leaderjeremy corbyn says he backs diane abbott, the shadow home secretary, despite her difficulty explaining labour's plans for policing. labour's policy is to recruit an extra 10,000 officers in england and wales. ms abbott, during a radio interview, offered several versions of the projected cost. she said she had simply "mis—spoken", but the conservatives said it raised new questions about labour's competence, as our deputy political editor john pienaar reports. there, over the road, you know him, labour's leader, promising to make the streets safer. 10,000 more police on the beat, catching more criminals and paid for by the better—off, using capital gains tax the tories plan to cut. what we are putting forward is a proposal to increase police numbers. the conservatives have cut them by 20,000 and we are putting 10,000 more police officers out there because it is a questio

laura kuenssberg was on hand with her analysis. this is her on thursday reporting on the conservatives proposals. remember, not so long ago, in 2015, ed miliband made a few little tiptoes to the left of where labour had been, and he lost that election. jeremy corbyn is making a much bigger step in the same direction. it isa bigger step in the same direction. it is a gamble as to whether the vote rs of it is a gamble as to whether the voters of england are ready for this policies which will be popular. the complications of rigs it means whatever else she is promising could be derailed by that becoming extremely difficult and not just ha rd extremely difficult and not just hard to deliver but potentially nasty. —— brexit. as with any political idea as well. a mainstream leader for the mainstream. some viewers object to what they see as a running commentary on what politicians are saying and doing through the campaign. she said this. allegations of bias, as we have mentioned before in recent weeks, have been rife, with some viewer

on tuesday, the bbc‘s political editor laura kuenssberg try to nail that down with the prime minister on a campaign trip to cornwall. did juncker say brexit cannot be the success? i don't recall the account that is being given of the meeting that took place. i think a lot of this is brussels gossip. he said it to you or he did not. the account that i have seen, a lot of that is brussels gossip. later in the week, that line changed, the prime minister attacked european politicians and officials, who she said had issued threats

many questions had been fobbed off with this answer, given to laura kuenssberg byjeremy corbyn on tuesday. well, you will have to wait for the manifesto for the details. you were expecting that answer. those manifestos will be officially unveiled next week, but on wednesday night we got a sneak preview of what labour's might contain. somehow, an earlier version had ended up in the hands of chris mason. i can't claim i've read it all, but here it is. stamped right through the middle of the document, about 20,000 words total, "draft: confidential" — in other words, they hadn't quite anticipated me waving it around on the telly. but i can do, because we've received this leaked draft. well, he could leave it around on the telly, but should he have done? tim grant was among several newswatch viewers who thought not, asking, if it's got confidential written on it, is it right to pasted all over the news? and david gregory elaborated on that. "one report explained how the word draft was on every page and that this report was not meant for public viewing." why, then, do the bbc take the opportu

what do you think of this line from theresa may, which she said to laura kuenssberg, political editor, yesterday. she said she could be bloody difficult to deal with et cetera. and what does that mean for the outcome and how this works out in terms of that bill? 0ne how this works out in terms of that bill? one of the elements of the article is paris and berlin have hardened their stance. labour have been arguing that it is not a bloody difficult woman. if it becomes a bitter divorce, will the bill go up? putting it into context, the uk is about to have a general election. the prime minister is not only talking to the 27 european nations and going through negotiations, she is talking to the electorate in her owfi is talking to the electorate in her own country. the decision the public faces is who they want as the chief negotiator in the coming years to ta ke negotiator in the coming years to take on the conversation. i think that comment of being a bloody—minded that comment of being a bloody— minded woman that comment of being a bloody—minded woman is aimed at people to say i

the bbc‘s political editor laura kuenssberg was on hand and on air with her analysis. here she is on thursday reporting on the manifestoes. conservatives‘ proposals, and first on tuesday reacting to labour's manifesto. and remember not so long ago in 2015 ed miliband made a few little tiptoes to the left of where labour had been and he lost that election. jeremy corbyn is making a much bigger step in the same direct of middle england are really ready for the policies that he believes will be popular. and, of course, the complications of brexit means whatever else she is promising could be derailed by that becoming extremely difficult, and notjust hard to deliver but also potentially very nasty. so, broadly, though, as with any political idea leader for the mainstream, easier to say than to prove. some viewers object to what they see as a running commentary on what politicians are saying and doing during the campaign, with david jowett putting it like this. allegations of bias, as we've mentioned before in recent weeks, have been rife with some viewers feeling the bbc

laura kuenssberg, bbc news, harrow. labour has promised to abolish parking charges at nhs hospitals in england if it wins the election. the party says the policy would cost around 162 million, which it would meet by raising the tax on private health insurance premiums from 12% to 20. the bbc has announced details of its general election debate programmes. there'll be two question time specials in which party leaders will face audience questions — the first will involve theresa may and jeremy corbyn. there will also be a seven—way debate with senior party figures and interviews with the main party leaders. the conservatives have made an election pledge to cap energy bills. critics say it's a policy that's been floated before — but not by the tories. 0ur political correspondent mark lobeljoins me from westminster. it was ed miliband who floated this a while ago? not this exact policy but something similar. theresa may is pledging for a maximum cost on the standard variable tariff. that's a tariff used by about two t

our political editor laura kuenssberg reports. manchester on everyone's minds, but ukip‘s manifesto was hardly a quiet affair. the party accusing theresa may of playing a part in creating the circumstances that led to monday's attack. the prime minister has, during her time in high office, presided over cuts to our police service and reductions in our armed forces too. it is also a dereliction of duty to allowjihadis to return to this country. he's promising thousands of extra police, soldiers and border guards. his supportersjeered reporters questioning the party's claims. ask a sensible question! it sounds like you are near as dammit blaming the prime minister for this attack and the circumstances that led to it. don't you understand english? stupid question! i am not blaming her, what i'm saying is the politicians in this country are too cowardly at the moment to face up to the real issue. yet the deputy chair did say theresa may must bear some responsibility. i think all politicians who voted for the reduction of spending in

many questions had been fobbed off with this answer, given to laura kuenssberg byjeremy corbyn on tuesday. well, you will have to wait for the manifesto for the details. you were expecting that answer. those manifestos will be officially unveiled next week, but on wednesday night we got a sneak preview of what labour's might contain. somehow, an earlier version had ended up in the hands of chris mason. i can't claim i've read it all, but here it is. stamped right through the middle of the document, about 20,000 words in total, draft, confidential. in other words, they hadn't quite anticipated me waving it around on the telly. but i can do, because we've received this leaked draft. well, he could leave it around on the telly, but should he have done? tim grant was among several newswatch viewers who thought not, asking, if it's got confidential written on it, is it right to pasted all over the news? and david gregory elaborated on that. one report explained how the word draft was on every page and that this report was not meant for public viewing. why, then, do the bbc take the opportunity

no knockout blows, but this fight is heating up with just one week to go. 0ur political editor, laura kuenssberg, has been gauging reaction to the party leaders' performance from the spin room in cambridge. i spoke to some of the audience here tonight after the end of the debate, including some tory voters. a couple of them were clearly very frustrated that theresa may hadn't bothered to show. and in reverse very pleased that jeremy corbyn had made the effort to turn up and debate the other parties here tonight. i think it's pretty clear that in terms of today at least jeremy corbyn has had a tactical win. he's been seen to seize the initiative and come along and take part. i think it's too early to say how that's going to play out with the wider electorate, people who weren't following every twist and turn of tonight's debate. those people who had necessarily paid much attention to what the line—up was going to be, who the political players were all going to be at this big, major event. and in the spin room tonight where members of the press were watching and senior politicians wer

mr corbyn has spoken exclusively to the bbc‘s political editor laura kuenssberg. jeremy corbyn, let's start with brexit. it is if you become prime minister it will be the biggest task in front of you. you have said today brexit is settled. does that mean, if you are prime minister, come hell or high water, whatever the deal on the table, we will be leaving the european union. no, there was a clear vote in the referendum a year ago, but there is now the negotiations which have already begun. i sent a letter to president macron last night congratulating him on his election, but also setting out in broad terms what our aims are in these negotiations. to have good relations with europe, of course, secondly to make sure there is a trade access, a tariff free trade access to the european markets. thirdly that we will, of course, protect the rights of eu nationals living in britain, which we will do straightaway, and that we will also ensure that the regulations that we have got from the european union, such as working directive and employment conditions will be defended

our political editor laura kuenssberg has more. the publication of any manifesto is a big dealfor a party leader, especially for theresa may. this is the first big document to come from the first big document to come from the conservative party since she has beenin the conservative party since she has been in charge. it is her decision to call the election and her calculation that the idea is that she and her team put forward will be enough to keep her on in downing street. one of the first messages is uncompromising on immigration. it is their calculation that there was a clear instruction from voters that immigration must come down. theresa may will say in her view immigration is too high and she will suggest in her view web immigration is too high it has consequences for society. the question of course is there and what she is going to do about it. don't forget, as home secretary in charge forget, as home secretary in charge for six years, she missed the target of bringing immigration down to under 100,000. tomorrow, though, of

many questions had been fobbed off with this answer, given to laura kuenssberg byjeremy corbyn on tuesday. well, you will have to wait for the manifesto for the details. you were expecting that answer. those manifestos will be officially unveiled next week, but on wednesday night we got a sneak preview of what labour's might contain. somehow, an earlier version had ended up in the hands of chris mason. i can't claim i've read it all, but here it is. stamped right through the middle of the document, about 20,000 words in total, draft, confidential. in other words, they hadn't quite anticipated me waving it around on the telly. but i can do, because we've received this leaked draft. well, he could wave it around on the telly, but should he have done? tim grant was among several newswatch viewers who thought not, asking, if it's got confidential written on it, is it right to paste it all over the news? and david gregory elaborated on that. one report explained how the word draft was on every page and that this report was not meant for public viewing. why, then, do the bbc not take the opport