:00:14. > :00:21.the last big stronghold of so-called Islamic State in Iraq.
:00:22. > :00:24.Iraqi forces and their allies - supported by the Royal Airforce -
:00:25. > :00:27.are trying to eject the militants, who took control two years ago.
:00:28. > :00:30.We're now at a distance of about 300 metres from the nearest
:00:31. > :00:32.IS positions, but this is really just the first stage
:00:33. > :00:35.of what is expected to be a long battle.
:00:36. > :00:38.And on another front, south of Mosul, we'll be reporting
:00:39. > :00:43.on the progress of Iraqi forces as they push forward.
:00:44. > :00:45.We'll have reports from the front line, as concerns grow
:00:46. > :00:48.for the thousands of civilians still trapped in Mosul.
:00:49. > :00:56.The Ukip MEP who ended up in hospital after a scuffle
:00:57. > :00:58.at the European Parliament, says he's leaving the party.
:00:59. > :01:00.There is something rotten at the heart of Ukip.
:01:01. > :01:03.I don't think that, at this stage, Ukip is governable.
:01:04. > :01:06.Police say Ben Needham, who disappeared 25 years ago
:01:07. > :01:13.ago on a Greek island, probably died in an accident.
:01:14. > :01:18.In Nigeria, 21 schoolgirls kidnapped two years ago
:01:19. > :01:19.by Islamist militants, have been reunited
:01:20. > :01:29.And - the Olympic and Paralympic heroes of Team GB have been honoured
:01:30. > :01:34.Coming up in Sportsday at 10:30pm on BBC News:
:01:35. > :01:38.Wayne Rooney is dropped again by Manchester United for one
:01:39. > :01:40.of the fixtures of the season, the trip to Anfield
:01:41. > :02:07.The last major Iraqi stronghold controlled by so-called
:02:08. > :02:09.Islamic State is under attack tonight from thousands
:02:10. > :02:14.The Iraqi Prime Minister has declared that the 'hour
:02:15. > :02:20.The troops are advancing on the city of Mosul,
:02:21. > :02:23.more than two years after IS forces took control there.
:02:24. > :02:26.But there are concerns for many thousands of civilians
:02:27. > :02:30.who are likely to flee the fighting, with no safe routes out of the city.
:02:31. > :02:33.Our correspondent Orla Guerin is with Kurdish forces,
:02:34. > :02:42.At first light, the advance on so-called Islamic State.
:02:43. > :02:46.Zero hour had finally come, bringing an offensive that
:02:47. > :02:49.could decide the fate of the extremists and,
:02:50. > :03:00.We joined Peshmerga fighters from the autonomous Kurdish region.
:03:01. > :03:03.Their name means "those who face death", and they were ready
:03:04. > :03:13.Well, the offensive is now well under way.
:03:14. > :03:16.The Kurdish forces have been moving forwards steadily, and we've been
:03:17. > :03:22.We are now at a distance of about 300 metres
:03:23. > :03:27.But this is really just the first stage of what is expected
:03:28. > :03:32.It could take months to drive the IS fighters
:03:33. > :03:44.First, they have to be flushed out of the villages up ahead.
:03:45. > :03:47.There were only a handful of IS remaining, but the Peshmerga
:03:48. > :03:54.Here's what happened when one attacker approached
:03:55. > :04:23.Before he could reach them, his vehicle exploded.
:04:24. > :04:30.ISO tempted at least three more attacks but they bomb.
:04:31. > :04:33.The Peshmerga say they are fighting a global battle.
:04:34. > :04:40.They are not just fighting the Kurds or the Shia", says this Colonel.
:04:41. > :04:52.We want to defeat them for everyone's sake."
:04:53. > :04:58.This is the territory they took from the enemy today, about 80 square
:04:59. > :05:03.miles. Any civilians were already long gone. There was little enough
:05:04. > :05:10.resistance hero, but it will be a very different picture inside Mosul.
:05:11. > :05:17.The Kurds are supposed to clear a path to the city, not go inside it.
:05:18. > :05:21.But as they drive out IS, they've been adding to their territory and
:05:22. > :05:25.what they've captured they intend to keep. Just one of the ways in which
:05:26. > :05:28.the battle for Mosul could spell the end of Iraq.
:05:29. > :05:35.The assault on Mosul is the biggest military operation
:05:36. > :05:38.in Iraq for several years, with different groups approaching
:05:39. > :05:45.Commanders say they have made good progress, but IS is also claiming
:05:46. > :05:47.to have destroyed armoured vehicles, using suicide bombers.
:05:48. > :05:50.Our defence correspondent Jonathan Beale is with Iraqi army
:05:51. > :05:56.The Iraqi army is throwing everything it has into this
:05:57. > :06:05.At night, tanks and armoured vehicles manoeuvred into position,
:06:06. > :06:14.This - day one of what could be a long campaign.
:06:15. > :06:20.Just before dawn they began their push forward.
:06:21. > :06:23.We travelled with them in a bullet ridden Humvee,
:06:24. > :06:26.our convoy tentatively moving forward in the tracks already
:06:27. > :06:36.Two years ago the Iraqi army fled from IS, but now, with Western help,
:06:37. > :06:46.At our first stop on Iraqi commander pointed out the position
:06:47. > :06:51.They'll have to clear about 80 villages before they reach
:06:52. > :07:00.But they tell me they're determined to defeat IS in the last
:07:01. > :07:01.major stronghold in Iraq, even though the
:07:02. > :07:09.We continued the move north, deeper into IS held territory,
:07:10. > :07:18.The first phase of this operation is slow and careful.
:07:19. > :07:20.We're travelling through desert and the Iraqi army are taking
:07:21. > :07:26.The main threats here are minefields, suicide truck bombs
:07:27. > :07:37.and mortars, and we're still about 30 miles from Mosul itself.
:07:38. > :07:42.A tank fired at a suicide truck bomb before it
:07:43. > :07:51.This, the aftermath of the massive explosion.
:07:52. > :07:55.They used a rocket when they spotted what they said was an IS convoy,
:07:56. > :07:59.about to make an escape from one of the outlying villages.
:08:00. > :08:03.But they say there are also being helped with intelligence,
:08:04. > :08:07.provided by Iraqi citizens still living under IS control.
:08:08. > :08:15.How they're scared, how many carry weapons or don't carry weapons,
:08:16. > :08:18.they have a motorcycle, they have heavy machine guns,
:08:19. > :08:21.they don't have it, they escape north, east, west...
:08:22. > :08:23.So you've got people inside who are passing
:08:24. > :08:30.The Iraqi army is among few of the forces that will be
:08:31. > :08:35.The majority of its troops are Shia, reflecting
:08:36. > :08:42.They still hope they'll be greeted as liberators,
:08:43. > :08:46.in a city mostly made up of Sunnis, but there are also fears
:08:47. > :08:49.this fight could end with a more divided country.
:08:50. > :08:54.Jonathan Beale, BBC News, on the road to Mosul.
:08:55. > :09:00.When so-called Islamic State took control of Mosul -
:09:01. > :09:03.Iraq's second biggest city - back in June 2014, it became a symbol
:09:04. > :09:07.of its growing power in the region, and the IS leadership chose the city
:09:08. > :09:10.As our world affairs editor John Simpson reports,
:09:11. > :09:13.liberating Mosul would have wider implications for the Middle East,
:09:14. > :09:15.though the battle itself could present a significant
:09:16. > :09:23.Back in June 2014, it was a stunning victory
:09:24. > :09:30.A small IS force drove a far larger garrison of Iraqi
:09:31. > :09:38.Since then, they've controlled the city with great brutality,
:09:39. > :09:40.and the inhabitants will be glad to get rid of them,
:09:41. > :09:47.Today, Kurdish Peshmerga troops fighting on the side of the Iraqi
:09:48. > :09:57.government were clearing out IS fighters from a number
:09:58. > :09:59.of villages, about 20 miles from Mosul, but they had
:10:00. > :10:08.How serious is this for so-called Islamic State?
:10:09. > :10:11.This was the area IS controlled at the start of last year.
:10:12. > :10:16.Now, 21 months later, it's in retreat almost everywhere.
:10:17. > :10:19.But the operation will be extremely sensitive -
:10:20. > :10:22.primarily because Mosul is Sunni-dominated.
:10:23. > :10:27.Kurdish troops make up a sizeable proportion of the attacking force.
:10:28. > :10:32.The Iraqi army is fighting alongside the Shia militia, and there's been
:10:33. > :10:34.a history of bitter hostility between the militia and the Sunnis
:10:35. > :10:41.The force is being backed by Western air strikes against IS positions.
:10:42. > :10:47.There are around 30,000 Iraqi and Kurdish troops altogether,
:10:48. > :10:55.against between 3,500 and 5,000 IS fighters.
:10:56. > :11:01.But the defenders have had time to prepare.
:11:02. > :11:05.They've dug networks of tunnels, they'll have planted plenty
:11:06. > :11:07.of booby-trap bombs, they may have chemical weapons.
:11:08. > :11:12.I know the Prime Minister said he'd like to wrap this up by the end
:11:13. > :11:17.We'd like to do this as quickly as possible,
:11:18. > :11:19.but this is going to be the Iraqi calendar, the Iraqi timeline.
:11:20. > :11:24.Britain's involved in the Mosul campaign, too.
:11:25. > :11:27.As recently as yesterday, our typhoons and unmanned aircraft
:11:28. > :11:34.were striking terrorist positions on the outskirts of Mosul,
:11:35. > :11:36.and our army has been helping to train the Iraqi
:11:37. > :11:38.and Peshmerga forces who will be doing the fighting.
:11:39. > :11:41.We're not putting combat troops on the ground into this operation.
:11:42. > :11:45.The real danger is that the attack on Mosul could result
:11:46. > :11:51.A million inhabitants may need food and shelter and be
:11:52. > :12:00.Whether this will be seen as a victory for the Iraqi
:12:01. > :12:03.government depends entirely on what happens to Mosul's civilians.
:12:04. > :12:05.A humanitarian disaster would rebound very badly
:12:06. > :12:18.A reminder - there's more on that story on our website,
:12:19. > :12:20.including further analysis and background about the fight
:12:21. > :12:29.against IS in Syria and Iraq - go to bbc.co.uk/news.
:12:30. > :12:33.The MEP Steven Woolfe, who at one time had ambitions of leading Ukip,
:12:34. > :12:36.has told the BBC that he's leaving the party, saying it's
:12:37. > :12:38.become ungovernable and in a death spiral.
:12:39. > :12:41.He said there was something rotten at the heart of Ukip.
:12:42. > :12:44.Mr Woolfe also revealed he'd made a police complaint following
:12:45. > :12:46.an altercation with a fellow Ukip MEP which led to him
:12:47. > :12:50.Mr Woolfe has been giving more details of the incident,
:12:51. > :12:53.as our political correspondent Alex Forsyth reports.
:12:54. > :12:56.This was Steven Woolfe ten days ago in hospital after an altercation
:12:57. > :13:01.Mr Woolfe says he ended up here after a
:13:02. > :13:04.meeting in the European Parliament became heated.
:13:05. > :13:07.He asked a colleague to step outside to talk man-to-man,
:13:08. > :13:10.but he told me he never meant for it to get physical.
:13:11. > :13:18.A blow to my face forced me back through the door.
:13:19. > :13:25.The point is I couldn't see whether it was a fist,
:13:26. > :13:29.The point is it impacted me in the face as the
:13:30. > :13:33.I was pushed back into the room, and it
:13:34. > :13:37.my back head against the back of one of the walls that was there.
:13:38. > :13:39.But the other MEP involved, Mike Hookem,
:13:40. > :13:42.has consistently denied assaulting Mr Woolfe,
:13:43. > :13:45.saying he didn't punch, hit or push him, he says he was
:13:46. > :13:53.I had had two seizures, one of three minutes,
:13:54. > :13:57.I'd been unconscious for quite some time and there was partial paralysis
:13:58. > :14:00.down the left-hand side and down my face, and they were
:14:01. > :14:03.You were in hospital for three to four days, what
:14:04. > :14:14.I think first and foremost, when your family have no idea what's
:14:15. > :14:16.happening to you and they see a picture like that,
:14:17. > :14:21.Prior to this incident, you were the first
:14:22. > :14:24.person to say you wanted to be Ukip's next leader, to declare your
:14:25. > :14:30.Well, there are no hopes as far as I'm concerned.
:14:31. > :14:33.I will be withdrawing my application to become leader of Ukip.
:14:34. > :14:34.I'm actually withdrawing myself from Ukip.
:14:35. > :14:42.I'm resigning with immediate effect, which to me fills
:14:43. > :14:46.Mr Woolfe said bitter infighting and opposing factions had made
:14:47. > :14:53.There is something rotten at the heart of Ukip.
:14:54. > :14:57.Somebody suggested it was a death spiral.
:14:58. > :15:05.I think unless someone very quickly can wrestle with the issues that
:15:06. > :15:08.they have got, then we will see the loss of something
:15:09. > :15:12.Yes, I think the loss of the party, their
:15:13. > :15:15.influence, the goodwill the British public have with them.
:15:16. > :15:20.They let them down, they let themselves down.
:15:21. > :15:30.Emotionally, and I think intellectually it has been an
:15:31. > :15:40.I had so much expectation, inspiration, to
:15:41. > :15:45.Tonight there was a Ukip meeting shortly before
:15:46. > :15:54.Some were surprised by Mr Woolfe's decision.
:15:55. > :15:56.Senior officials remain confident they will find a new leader who can
:15:57. > :16:00.Steven's resignation was very disappointing,
:16:01. > :16:02.obviously to lose someone of his ability.
:16:03. > :16:05.We've got tens of thousands of members now, I think we want to
:16:06. > :16:08.showcase our ability, the strength and depth of our talent
:16:09. > :16:10.in these coming weeks, and I'm very excited
:16:11. > :16:14.But, having lost one of the favourites to take over, Ukip is
:16:15. > :16:21.Eight men have been found guilty of sexually abusing three girls
:16:22. > :16:26.The court heard the men, all from the town, sexualised
:16:27. > :16:29.their victims who were as young as 13 when the offences took place.
:16:30. > :16:39.Police investigating the disappearance of Ben Needham,
:16:40. > :16:43.the little boy who disappeared 25 years ago on the
:16:44. > :16:46.say they now believe he was accidentally killed
:16:47. > :16:50.near the farmhouse that his family was renovating.
:16:51. > :16:53.The 21-month-old from Sheffield was last seen playing outside
:16:54. > :16:57.Detectives from South Yorkshire have completed a new search
:16:58. > :17:10.Our correspondent James Reynolds is on Kos.
:17:11. > :17:17.25 years ago, Ben Needham disappeared not far from this, his
:17:18. > :17:21.family's farmhouse, and the police now conclude that the little boy
:17:22. > :17:29.died near here on the very same day that he went missing.
:17:30. > :17:33.Ben Needham was 21 months old when he disappeared.
:17:34. > :17:35.For a quarter of a century, his family hoped he might return.
:17:36. > :17:38.But three weeks ago, the police began a search for his body.
:17:39. > :17:46.Ben may have been accidentally run over and killed by a digger
:17:47. > :17:49.driver, who then buried the boy's body nearby.
:17:50. > :17:53.It is my professional belief that Ben Needham died as a result
:17:54. > :17:56.of an accident near to the farmhouse, here in Iraklis,
:17:57. > :18:01.The digger driver himself died last year.
:18:02. > :18:03.His family insists he was innocent, but the police say they found
:18:04. > :18:11.an important item which backs up their conclusion.
:18:12. > :18:14.It is our initial understanding that this item was in Ben's
:18:15. > :18:18.possession at or around the time that he went missing.
:18:19. > :18:20.The recovery of this item and its location further adds
:18:21. > :18:23.to my belief that material was removed from the farmhouse
:18:24. > :18:30.on or shortly after the day that Ben disappeared.
:18:31. > :18:32.The last time that I saw Ben, he was playing just
:18:33. > :18:35.Ben Needham's grandfather spoke to reporters shortly
:18:36. > :18:42.For weeks, then years, his family searched for him.
:18:43. > :18:49.I've just got to keep that hope, for Ben's sake, because we love him
:18:50. > :18:56.The campaign took over Kerry Needham's life.
:18:57. > :19:00.She insisted that her son was still alive,
:19:01. > :19:03.but as this final search began, she came to accept that he
:19:04. > :19:10.I don't think the police would have given us this information if it
:19:11. > :19:19.The official search for Ben Needham began and has ended
:19:20. > :19:25.It finishes without a body for his family to bury,
:19:26. > :19:29.and so this farmhouse and these fields may have to serve
:19:30. > :19:32.as a memorial to a boy the police believed died more
:19:33. > :19:44.14 teenage boys who'd been living in the Calais camp known
:19:45. > :19:47.as the Jungle have arrived in the UK to be reunited with members
:19:48. > :19:53.The children, aged between 14 and 17, were taken to
:19:54. > :19:56.centre in Croydon where they were to be assessed before
:19:57. > :20:03.being reunited with relatives already in Britain.
:20:04. > :20:06.Russia has announced a pause in the bombing of Aleppo in Syria
:20:07. > :20:10.on Thursday to allow rebels and civilians to leave.
:20:11. > :20:15.condemned Moscow for causing what they described
:20:16. > :20:19.as untold suffering in the rebel-held east of the city.
:20:20. > :20:22.The ministers called for a ceasefire, but did not agree
:20:23. > :20:30.In her first interview as chair of the child sex abuse inquiry,
:20:31. > :20:33.Alexis Jay has told the BBC she has no intention of reducing
:20:34. > :20:38.She's the fourth chair to be appointed following the decision
:20:39. > :20:41.to launch a major investigation into claims that institutions
:20:42. > :20:45.in England and Wales failed the victims of child sex abuse.
:20:46. > :20:47.Alexis Jay has been speaking to our home affairs
:20:48. > :20:55.What went on here is one of the reasons for the public
:20:56. > :21:02.So this is what we are talking about?
:21:03. > :21:07.He grew up in one of the houses making up Saint Leonards children
:21:08. > :21:10.home in Essex, now occupied by families but not then.
:21:11. > :21:19.They used to obviously pay visits to the weaker children
:21:20. > :21:21.in dormitories and drag them out in the night.
:21:22. > :21:24.But he is pessimistic that the public inquiry will ever
:21:25. > :21:33.The way it is now, it's never going to come to its final
:21:34. > :21:38.You know, ten, 15 years' time, ?150 million of taxpayers' money?
:21:39. > :21:43.To find out that most of the people you are going after are now dead.
:21:44. > :21:47.Its chair, Professor Alexis Jay, is under pressure to reduce its scope.
:21:48. > :21:50.Today she gave her first interview in this job, and this response.
:21:51. > :21:57.We have no intention to propose that any aspect of the terms of reference
:21:58. > :22:00.has dropped, for example, we will not be doing that but we do
:22:01. > :22:03.intend to use different models and ways of working to deliver
:22:04. > :22:08.That means fewer public hearings, like this one in the
:22:09. > :22:18.More behind-the-scenes research, the details yet to come but it
:22:19. > :22:23.The inquiry occupies a floor of this London office block and is currently
:22:24. > :22:26.made up of 13 mini inquiries and reports covering
:22:27. > :22:28.all of these topics, from churches to children's homes.
:22:29. > :22:35.To do all of this, the inquiry has got to act a bit like a court,
:22:36. > :22:39.questioning witnesses and establishing facts,
:22:40. > :22:40.but also like a therapist, supporting victims
:22:41. > :22:45.And like a think tank, developing policies for the future.
:22:46. > :22:48.So much to do that some of its critics say it should
:22:49. > :22:53.concentrate just on the future and not the past.
:22:54. > :22:56.I treat with some scepticism the calls for us to forget the past
:22:57. > :23:00.because only by understanding the lessons we can learn from that
:23:01. > :23:03.and the possible failings and cover-ups that might have taken
:23:04. > :23:11.place in certain institutions will we go forward with confidence.
:23:12. > :23:13.But the past for the inquiry includes the sometimes
:23:14. > :23:16.of three chairwoman and its most senior lawyer.
:23:17. > :23:28.These have been overcome, and particularly in the last nine
:23:29. > :23:33.So I believe, if we can get on with our work without any more
:23:34. > :23:36.Tomorrow, MPs will be questioning her about
:23:37. > :23:41.the resignation of her predecessor, Dame Lowell Goddard.
:23:42. > :23:43.Tonight, the Prime Minister continued to offer strong
:23:44. > :23:47.This inquiry is saying we are listening, we recognise
:23:48. > :23:52.the horrific crimes that were committed against you.
:23:53. > :23:56.It is important that we find out why that was able to happen,
:23:57. > :23:59.Professor Jay hopes the end of the inquiry
:24:00. > :24:08.NatWest Bank is to close the accounts of Russia's
:24:09. > :24:14.The broadcaster, previously known as Russia Today,
:24:15. > :24:17.says the entire Royal Bank of Scotland Group, of which NatWest
:24:18. > :24:20.is part, is refusing to provide its services.
:24:21. > :24:23.An MP from Russia's ruling party has said its parliament will demand
:24:24. > :24:30.Theresa May is to allow a brief pause in making a decision
:24:31. > :24:33.on whether to approve a new runway at Heathrow so that Cabinet
:24:34. > :24:40.The BBC has been told that expanding Heathrow is the preferred option.
:24:41. > :24:43.But the Prime Minister has made it clear she wants
:24:44. > :24:51.to hear the wide-ranging opinions of colleagues.
:24:52. > :24:53.In Nigeria 21 schoolgirls kidnapped by Islamist militants in the town
:24:54. > :24:57.of Chibok have finally been reunited with their families.
:24:58. > :24:59.The girls were held for more than two years
:25:00. > :25:04.One girl said she had thought the day of her
:25:05. > :25:09.During a celebration in Abuja, Nigeria's Information Minister said
:25:10. > :25:11.negotiations were under way to get another 83 girls freed
:25:12. > :25:20.from captivity, as our correspondent Martin Patience reports.
:25:21. > :25:29.After two and a half years, they are free at last.
:25:30. > :25:33.Daughters reunited with their parents.
:25:34. > :25:43.It was a time for celebration, but also reflection.
:25:44. > :25:49.TRANSLATION: We are so excited, we never thought the day would come.
:25:50. > :25:53.These girls were among the 276 students abducted by the Islamist
:25:54. > :25:58.Speaking at an event to mark their release,
:25:59. > :26:06.one girl describes the horrors they endured.
:26:07. > :26:15.I never thought I would see you again.
:26:16. > :26:18.There was a day when a bomb dropped by jets exploded
:26:19. > :26:21.It is only by God's grace we survived.
:26:22. > :26:24.For 30 days we went without food but yet we are here.
:26:25. > :26:26.The parents wanted their daughters to get an education,
:26:27. > :26:29.but it was the choice they thought had cost them their children.
:26:30. > :26:31.I said to her, "Are you really alive?"
:26:32. > :26:42.What did she tell you about her time in captivity?
:26:43. > :26:44.They were told their parents are no longer alive,
:26:45. > :26:50.All they did was cry, they never imagined
:26:51. > :26:56.Officials say negotiations are continuing, but dozens
:26:57. > :26:58.of students reportedly don't want to come home after
:26:59. > :27:10.For now, these girls are celebrating their freedom,
:27:11. > :27:14.but recovering from the kidnapping won't be easy, especially when most
:27:15. > :27:18.of their schoolmates are still being held.
:27:19. > :27:27.Thousands of people have lined the streets of Manchester to pay
:27:28. > :27:29.tribute to Great Britain's Olympic and Paralympic teams and their
:27:30. > :27:35.Between them, the two teams won a record 214 medals, both
:27:36. > :27:41.of them coming second in their respective medal tables.
:27:42. > :27:43.Our sports editor Dan Roan watched the celebrations
:27:44. > :28:00.It was a city bursting with pride. Manchester, basking in gold today as
:28:01. > :28:07.more than 150,000 people gathered to celebrate sporting success the whole
:28:08. > :28:12.country shared in. For those who had starred in Rio, today's victory
:28:13. > :28:18.parade a moment to cherish. It's awesome that so many people clear to
:28:19. > :28:24.support us and to say thank you is an amazing opportunity. It hits home
:28:25. > :28:33.how much you have achieved? Yes, you are in a bubble at the Games and
:28:34. > :28:40.when you come back it is like wow, it has been awesome. The supporters
:28:41. > :28:44.have done their maps. Team GB beat all expectations, remarkably
:28:45. > :28:49.surpassing the London 2012 tally. Both sets of athletes defying the
:28:50. > :28:52.odds and coming second in their respective medal tables. It is
:28:53. > :28:57.really nice to see the number of people out on the streets today to
:28:58. > :29:02.welcome me and cheer you on. I will just have a quick word with your
:29:03. > :29:07.brother, Johnny. It is quite something, isn't it? It is
:29:08. > :29:13.incredible. In Rio you are in your own bubble so this is very special
:29:14. > :29:18.and thank you to everyone for coming out. Despite the occasional
:29:19. > :29:22.downpour, nothing was going to dampen spirits and those who braved
:29:23. > :29:25.the Manchester weather had this message for their heroes. They have
:29:26. > :29:33.been absolutely fabulous, we are so proud to be British. Go, Team GB!
:29:34. > :29:38.Amazing, and it got me out of school. The procession ended in a
:29:39. > :29:43.packed Albert Square where the athletes came onto the stage. Among
:29:44. > :29:47.them perhaps the most famous phrase, Jessica Ennis-Hill, this is a
:29:48. > :29:51.fitting farewell for the heptathlete after announcing her retirement last
:29:52. > :29:57.week. In my heart I knew it was the right decision and the right time to
:29:58. > :30:01.do it but it is still difficult to say it publicly. The messages and
:30:02. > :30:10.support I have had over the years is incredible so I cannot find you all
:30:11. > :30:13.enough. If Britain's Olympians and Paralympians wondered how much their
:30:14. > :30:21.remarkable achievement is meant to the millions watching back at home,
:30:22. > :30:26.this is the emphatic answer. And this was an occasion truly fit for
:30:27. > :30:31.heroes. These athletes have turned Great Britain into a sporting
:30:32. > :30:37.superpower. Today their efforts received due recognition.
:30:38. > :30:40.Newsnight's about to begin over on BBC Two in a few moments.
:30:41. > :30:43.Well, Steven Woolfe does not want to be leader of Ukip,
:30:44. > :30:46.we know that because he's resigned and said the party
:30:47. > :30:49.We will be getting reaction from a man who still
:30:50. > :31:05.Join me now on BBC Two, 11pm in Scotland.
:31:06. > :31:07.That's Newsnight, now on BBC One it is time for the news where you are.