:00:20. > :00:26.The government minister Grant Shapps has resigned over claims he failed
:00:27. > :00:31.to act against alleged bullying within the Conservative party.
:00:32. > :00:35.Mr Shapps is said to have ignored warnings while Party Chairman
:00:36. > :00:38.about the head of the youth wing, Mark Clarke, who was expelled
:00:39. > :00:40.earlier this month, after the apparent suicide of young activist.
:00:41. > :00:46.In his resignation letter to the Prime Minister, Grant Shapps
:00:47. > :00:49.said although he had no record of allegations reaching his office,
:00:50. > :00:56.Here's our Political Correspondent Carole Walker.
:00:57. > :01:03.As Conservative Party chairman, Grant Shapps was responsible for
:01:04. > :01:07.running the party machine and overseeing campaigns, including the
:01:08. > :01:11.successful general election battle earlier this year. Now he's resigned
:01:12. > :01:16.as a government minister over claims he fails to act on allegations about
:01:17. > :01:21.the behaviour of this man, Mark Clark, former candidate who ran a
:01:22. > :01:23.youth campaign group. Mr Clarke has been expelled from the Tory party
:01:24. > :01:28.but denies all the allegations against him. An internal
:01:29. > :01:34.investigation is under way into the death in September of Elliot
:01:35. > :01:38.Johnson, our young activists Britton a young activist who claimed he was
:01:39. > :01:42.bullied by Mark Clarke. Grant Shapps said though he could find no record
:01:43. > :01:45.of allegations of bullying, sexual abuse or blackmail referred to his
:01:46. > :02:03.office... the Prime Minister in Malta said his
:02:04. > :02:09.thoughts and prayers were with Elliot Johnson's family. What I'd
:02:10. > :02:13.say is that it is a tragic loss of a talented young life. It's not
:02:14. > :02:18.something any parent should have to go through. I feel for them deeply.
:02:19. > :02:22.What the Conservative Party must do, what it is doing, what I ensure it
:02:23. > :02:27.is happening, is that there is a proper investigation. Elliot
:02:28. > :02:31.Johnson, who was 21, was found dead on railway tracks on the 15th of
:02:32. > :02:35.September. His death is being investigated by the coroner. His
:02:36. > :02:40.father welcomed Mr Schaap 's's designation but told us questions
:02:41. > :02:44.remain over how the party dealt with his son's death. I'm pleased Mr
:02:45. > :02:49.Schaap 's has made this decision, it's taken an awful long time for
:02:50. > :02:55.him to make that decision, but I'm glad he has fallen on his own sword.
:02:56. > :02:59.We have to remember that Grant Shapps was only co-chairmen, there's
:03:00. > :03:01.another co-chairman who takes full responsibility for what's been
:03:02. > :03:07.happening in the organisation. Downing Street say the current
:03:08. > :03:10.chairman has the full confidence of the Prime Minister but Labour say
:03:11. > :03:12.the Conservative Party needs to come clean about who knew what and why no
:03:13. > :03:20.action was taken earlier. Carole Walker, does Grant Shapps's
:03:21. > :03:24.resignation draw a line under this affair? The difficulty for the
:03:25. > :03:27.Conservative Party is you've not just got his political opponents,
:03:28. > :03:31.but as you heard, the father of Elliot Johnson, saying he still
:03:32. > :03:36.feels others have questions to be answered. The Conservative Party are
:03:37. > :03:41.saying there is this investigation going on, it's being headed by an
:03:42. > :03:45.independent lawyer. And he will look at all of these things, all these
:03:46. > :03:50.questions about how the allegations were dealt with. I understand they
:03:51. > :03:55.are talking to some 40 witnesses, but that inquiry won't be concluded,
:03:56. > :03:58.no report published, until a separate investigation being carried
:03:59. > :04:02.out by a coroner into Elliot Johnson's death. It may be quite
:04:03. > :04:06.some time until all of this is resolved. This is clearly an
:04:07. > :04:10.unwarranted but serious distraction for David Cameron, as he's dealing
:04:11. > :04:14.with huge international issues, but he knows this has to be dealt with
:04:15. > :04:17.seriously and thoroughly if the party is to put it behind them.
:04:18. > :04:20.Government ministers are spending part of their weekend ringing
:04:21. > :04:23.Labour MPs to try to build support for British air strikes in Syria.
:04:24. > :04:26.The Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who is opposed to British
:04:27. > :04:28.involvement, is also asking party members for their views.
:04:29. > :04:34.Labour remains deeply divided over military action.
:04:35. > :04:36.A series of protests have taken place
:04:37. > :04:40.across the country today, opposing UK involvement in air strikes.
:04:41. > :04:43.A shooting at a clinic that carries out abortions in Colorado Springs
:04:44. > :04:46.in the US has left two civilians and a police officer dead, with
:04:47. > :04:54.Nine other people were injured during the standoff at the clinic,
:04:55. > :04:57.which lasted five hours, before the suspect surrendered.
:04:58. > :05:00.It's run by the group Planned Parenthood, which has
:05:01. > :05:06.Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says his country is
:05:07. > :05:09."truly saddened" by the downing of the Russian warplane and he said he
:05:10. > :05:18.It's the first expression of regret since Tuesday's incident
:05:19. > :05:21.in which an SU-24 was brought down by two Turkish fighter jets.
:05:22. > :05:24.Turkey claimed the bomber had violated its airspace.
:05:25. > :05:26.Russia's conducting extensive attacks on militant targets
:05:27. > :05:30.The Queen has completed a three day visit to Malta.
:05:31. > :05:33.At a banquet for leaders of Commonwealth countries, she
:05:34. > :05:36.joked that Canada's young new leader made her feel old, when he spoke
:05:37. > :05:44.Our Royal Correspondent Nicholas Witchell reports from Valletta.
:05:45. > :05:49.Thank you, Mr Prime Minister of Canada, for making me feel so old.
:05:50. > :05:55.LAUGHTER It was an unscripted aside to Commonwealth leaders.
:05:56. > :05:57.Elizabeth II, Queen, head of the Commonwealth, still doing her
:05:58. > :06:03.But with advancing years come questions about the future and, for
:06:04. > :06:10.The Princess and the Duke meet in the George Cross Island and pose
:06:11. > :06:15.Malta is the only country apart from Britain
:06:16. > :06:18.which has been her home, for nearly two years, in the early 1950s.
:06:19. > :06:22.Today, then, was a day for nostalgia.
:06:23. > :06:25.Visiting Malta is always very special for me, I remember happy
:06:26. > :06:28.days here with Prince Philip when we were first married.
:06:29. > :06:30.She gazed out again at Valletta harbour.
:06:31. > :06:33.A moment for reflection, perhaps, for someone who will never step
:06:34. > :06:36.back from her role as mono, but who is ready, it appears, to
:06:37. > :06:45.delegate more of her Commonwealth duties to her eldest son.
:06:46. > :06:53.She boarded a boat to take her across the harbour.
:06:54. > :06:55.The bells of Malta's capital city rang out.
:06:56. > :06:59.And there were cheers from the crew of HMS Bulwark, all in her honour.
:07:00. > :07:03.There's a very real sense of a wheel turning full circle,
:07:04. > :07:05.of at least the Commonwealth component of the Queen's duties
:07:06. > :07:19.The next Commonwealth summit will be in the United Kingdom in the spring
:07:20. > :07:22.of 2018, when the sense of transition from Elizabeth to Charles
:07:23. > :07:31.Tennis - and Great Britain are just a point away from lifting the
:07:32. > :07:34.Davis Cup for the first time in 79 years - after brothers Andy
:07:35. > :07:37.and Jamie Murray won their doubles match this afternoon in Belgium.
:07:38. > :07:39.Straight now to our Sports Correspondent, Joe Wilson,
:07:40. > :07:53.The spectators heading home, may be heading to a bar, might have felt
:07:54. > :07:59.they saw some decisive action in the Davis Cup final, Britain are 2-1 up
:08:00. > :08:03.with two matches and two points available tomorrow, the first to
:08:04. > :08:04.three wins it. The whole of British tennis has good reason to thank one
:08:05. > :08:07.Scottish family. The Murray brothers are individuals
:08:08. > :08:10.who grew up spurred on by a natural I think you're more shrewd with
:08:11. > :08:16.that, Yes, more of a loser often as well,
:08:17. > :08:28.unfortunately. Doubles is a team event, of course,
:08:29. > :08:31.but sometimes one player takes In the opening exchanges
:08:32. > :08:36.it was often Andy. That is what
:08:37. > :08:43.the Davis Cup can do to you. Britain came back down to earth
:08:44. > :08:46.in the second set when Jamie's serve was broken decisively
:08:47. > :08:49.and the experimental Belgian pair of The second set to Belgium
:08:50. > :09:02.and the noise in here reaches The home crowd's attempt to promote
:09:03. > :09:08.their men was undeniably impressive and a bit surreal, but one player
:09:09. > :09:11.really stood out in this match. In the third set,
:09:12. > :09:14.Andy Murray held his serve whilst The fourth set,
:09:15. > :09:23.Andy Murray's service game, love-30, under pressure,
:09:24. > :09:31.well here is a way to escape. The Belgian pair could not
:09:32. > :09:34.consistently compete at the Murrays' Darcis in particular making errors,
:09:35. > :09:36.including the final one. This victory puts Britain
:09:37. > :09:38.on the brink. To take the Davis Cup they must win
:09:39. > :09:53.one of the two singles matches you can see more on all of those
:09:54. > :09:54.stories