:00:20. > :00:23.The Tour de France has officially started from the grounds of Harewood
:00:24. > :00:26.House in Leeds, where the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince
:00:27. > :00:31.Hundreds of thousands of people gathered for the sporting spectacle.
:00:32. > :00:40.Our reporter has been following the action so far.
:00:41. > :00:48.Welcome to the Tour de France Yorkshire style. From early morning
:00:49. > :00:53.the proud crammed into Leeds city centre to have a chance to say, I
:00:54. > :00:58.was there. One of the world's biggest sporting events on their
:00:59. > :01:03.doorstep. Really excited. It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
:01:04. > :01:08.Brilliant. Great atmosphere. At least it is not raining. The
:01:09. > :01:18.nominal. I think the French are little bits taken are back. Before
:01:19. > :01:23.the racing, the procession. To a deafening roar of the 198 cyclists
:01:24. > :01:29.paraded through the streets of Leeds, the crowds cheering them all
:01:30. > :01:33.the way, to the stately home where they were greeted by thousands of
:01:34. > :01:38.fans. Yorkshire bathed in golden sunshine and a party atmosphere.
:01:39. > :01:44.Also there to meet them, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge joined by
:01:45. > :01:49.Prince Harry. The cyclists briefly paused for a moment of ceremony
:01:50. > :01:54.before some of them, including the defending champion, received a royal
:01:55. > :02:00.introduction. Moments later, with a little help from the Red Arrows, the
:02:01. > :02:06.sendoff was complete and the 101st Tour de France was officially under
:02:07. > :02:10.way. With that, the serious racing could begin. Nearly 120 miles
:02:11. > :02:13.through the towns and villages of Yorkshire. The organisers hope this
:02:14. > :02:18.will showcase the county to the world. With the streets and lanes
:02:19. > :02:25.lined with supporters the excitement and enthusiasm were plain to see. As
:02:26. > :02:29.many as 2 million people were expected to turn out. For cycling
:02:30. > :02:39.and Yorkshire, an unforgettable weekend seems guaranteed.
:02:40. > :02:53.This is where the official start happened. If the prediction of 2
:02:54. > :02:58.billion, perhaps even for -- 2 million, perhaps even 4 million
:02:59. > :03:02.people watching in the UK, you have huge numbers who have turned out for
:03:03. > :03:12.what is now called a cycling festival. We have seen over the last
:03:13. > :03:17.hour several examples of the enthusiasm for the Tour de France.
:03:18. > :03:24.Running through the Yorkshire Dales today. The organisers sound very
:03:25. > :03:29.confident. Then you get the middle-aged men in lycra and they
:03:30. > :03:34.are out in huge numbers. The enthusiasm is overwhelming for this
:03:35. > :03:39.first three days, getting off to a terrific start.
:03:40. > :03:41.The Shadow Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, has called for an
:03:42. > :03:43.over-arching review into historic allegations of child sex abuse.
:03:44. > :03:46.A senior civil servant has already been asked to find out what happened
:03:47. > :03:49.to a missing dossier on alleged paedophiles
:03:50. > :04:01.It is almost 30 years since Lord Brittan was Home Secretary.
:04:02. > :04:06.What happened in the mid-1980s has been brought into sharp focus.
:04:07. > :04:08.Then, Leon Brittan was given a dossier of claims about prominent
:04:09. > :04:14.He says he passed this onto officials and the Director of
:04:15. > :04:20.The dossier is missing and there are calls for a full inquiry.
:04:21. > :04:23.The public are very concerned about all of these allegations that
:04:24. > :04:26.We have had Jimmy Savile, Rolf Harris.
:04:27. > :04:30.People want to feel the government is taking action, looking at how to
:04:31. > :04:36.There has been growing pressure for a full inquiry since the Home Office
:04:37. > :04:41.held an independent review last year into how it handled these documents.
:04:42. > :04:43.It concluded that some of the material was passed
:04:44. > :04:48.on to the police but the dossier itself has not been found.
:04:49. > :04:52.More than 140 MPs have written to the Home Secretary calling
:04:53. > :04:55.for a full properly resourced investigation into the failure
:04:56. > :04:59.of the police to follow the evidence in a number of historical cases
:05:00. > :05:06.The contents of the dossier are of interest to those who believe
:05:07. > :05:10.that the late Liberal MP Cyril Smith was not the only powerful political
:05:11. > :05:17.figure to have abused children in the 70s and 80s.
:05:18. > :05:21.about the sex abuse allegations and he has now asked the top official
:05:22. > :05:28.at the Home Office to do everything he can to find all the answers.
:05:29. > :05:30.The Ukrainian government says its forces have entered the eastern
:05:31. > :05:35.city of Sloviansk, which has been occupied by pro-Russian insurgents
:05:36. > :05:40.It's unclear how much of the city the Ukrainians control.
:05:41. > :05:43.Ukraine's new president, Petro Poroshenko,
:05:44. > :05:49.has ordered the national flag to be raised at Sloviansk's city hall.
:05:50. > :05:51.?1 billion a year should be taken from
:05:52. > :05:55.the duty collected on fuel and used to fix Britain's crumbling roads.
:05:56. > :05:58.That's the view of the Local Government Association,
:05:59. > :06:01.which represents hundreds of councils in England and Wales.
:06:02. > :06:04.The government says billions are already being invested
:06:05. > :06:14.Dodging potholes, swerving around cracks and bumps.
:06:15. > :06:15.Motorists in parts of the country know
:06:16. > :06:21.Several extreme winters, some very cold, some very wet, have,
:06:22. > :06:26.say councils, followed years of underinvestment.
:06:27. > :06:29.The Local Government Association says there's now a ?12 billion
:06:30. > :06:35.Its plan is not to put up tax on petrol and diesel but take 2p
:06:36. > :06:39.per litre of existing fuel duty and use the money to increase road
:06:40. > :06:44.That would, say councils, bring roads back to
:06:45. > :06:50.The damage that's been caused by a succession of really bad
:06:51. > :06:54.winters has left a backlog of repairs that we need to catch up on.
:06:55. > :06:56.That's so important because it enables deliveries to take place,
:06:57. > :06:59.it enables people to get to work, it enables business to function.
:07:00. > :07:02.So we think this would be a really good value for money investment
:07:03. > :07:07.Councils say motorists pay a lot of tax to the government and deserve
:07:08. > :07:12.But the Treasury is reluctant to use specific taxes
:07:13. > :07:17.for specific purposes and seems unlikely to support this plan.
:07:18. > :07:20.The government also says that billions of pounds are also already
:07:21. > :07:23.going into road maintenance in the years ahead, with a new fund
:07:24. > :07:34.One of the biggest stars of the World Cup, the Brazilian
:07:35. > :07:37.He fractured a bone in his back after a challenge
:07:38. > :07:41.during his team's quarter-final victory over Colombia last night.
:07:42. > :07:44.His doctor says he doesn't need an operation, but will take four
:07:45. > :07:55.At Wimbledon, the women's final starts in just under an hour's time.
:07:56. > :07:57.The sixth seed, Petra Kvitova will try to win
:07:58. > :08:05.the title for the second time when she meets Eugenie Bouchard.
:08:06. > :08:10.Our Sports Correspondent is at Wimbledon now.
:08:11. > :08:14.Sunshine at the moment but there has been some
:08:15. > :08:16.Sunshine at the moment but there has this morning so it looks as if the
:08:17. > :08:24.women's final this morning so it looks as if the
:08:25. > :08:28.the roof. Petra Kvitova takes on the Canadian with the colour smile.
:08:29. > :08:33.Named after royalty, Eugenie Bouchard is the new Princess of
:08:34. > :08:36.Wimbledon. She has been a sensation this past fortnight. That is nothing
:08:37. > :08:42.compared to the headlines she has made back home. Breaking news from
:08:43. > :08:47.Wimbledon, Eugenie Bouchard is heading to the final. Despite the
:08:48. > :08:51.hype, she remains steely and determined which is why she is a
:08:52. > :08:53.contender for the title. I expect myself to do well and I put a lot of
:08:54. > :08:55.contender for the title. I expect pressure on myself to try to be as
:08:56. > :09:02.good as I can be so that is pressure on myself to try to be as
:09:03. > :09:07.am aiming to do. Her opponent has not shone as brightly as many would
:09:08. > :09:12.have hoped. Petra Kvitova won the title in 2011 but had had no repeat
:09:13. > :09:17.of that success. Our hunger looks to be back and today should be a
:09:18. > :09:21.compelling final. I like Eugenie Bouchard for character and how she
:09:22. > :09:26.expresses what she wants. I love Petra Kvitova because she is my
:09:27. > :09:33.friend and she is a really nice person and she won already before.
:09:34. > :09:37.It is going to be a beautiful champion. I will still be the
:09:38. > :09:41.champion forever. It is difficult to relinquish a Wimbledon crown but
:09:42. > :09:49.today a successor will step forward.
:09:50. > :09:53.Life will change for one of those players today. Taking their place
:09:54. > :09:59.among the elite ranks of those who have won multiple titles. It will be
:10:00. > :10:05.watched from the Royal box by Princess Eugenie.
:10:06. > :10:09.You can see more on all of today's stories on the BBC News Channel.
:10:10. > :10:11.The next news on BBC One is at 6:40pm.
:10:12. > :10:35.It was a soggy start this morning. Things have been improving. We are
:10:36. > :10:38.left with showers and a fresher feel that some sunshine as well. That is
:10:39. > :10:40.the case