:00:00. > :00:00.Government minister Grant Shapps resigns over claims he failed to act
:00:07. > :00:11.over the alleged bullying of young Conservative Party volunteers.
:00:12. > :00:14.Mr Shapps says the "buck should stop with me" - as investigations
:00:15. > :00:19.continue into the apparent suicide of a young Tory activist.
:00:20. > :00:22.After the fatal shooting of three people at a Colorado abortion
:00:23. > :00:25.clinic, President Obama calls again for tighter gun controls.
:00:26. > :00:30.And magic from the Murrays puts Great Britain
:00:31. > :00:51.on the verge of its first Davis Cup victory in nearly 80 years.
:00:52. > :00:57.The Government minister, Grant Shapps,
:00:58. > :00:59.has resigned over claims he failed to act against alleged bullying
:01:00. > :01:04.Mr Shapps was co-party chairman at the time.
:01:05. > :01:06.The allegations concern the behaviour
:01:07. > :01:09.of the head a youth campaign, Mark Clarke, who was expelled earlier
:01:10. > :01:13.this month, after the apparent suicide of a young activist.
:01:14. > :01:19.In his resignation letter to the Prime Minister, Grant Shapps
:01:20. > :01:22.said that although he had no record of allegations reaching his office,
:01:23. > :01:33.Here's our political correspondent, Carole Walker.
:01:34. > :01:38.As Conservative Party chairman, Grant Shapps was responsible for
:01:39. > :01:43.running the party machine and overseeing its campaigns. Now he's
:01:44. > :01:49.resigned as a Government minister, over claims that he failed to act on
:01:50. > :01:53.allegations about the behaviour of this man, Mark Clarke, a former
:01:54. > :01:56.candidate, who faces several accusations of bullying and
:01:57. > :02:02.intimidation. He ran a youth campaign group at the last election,
:02:03. > :02:06.taking activists around the country. He met the Prime Minister. Are you
:02:07. > :02:08.going to be part of this... He was expelled from the party after the
:02:09. > :02:13.death of one of them. Elliott Johnson, who claimed he was bullied
:02:14. > :02:19.by Mark Clarke. Grant Shapps was full of praise for the young
:02:20. > :02:23.activists. Elliott Johnson had a place on the platform at last year's
:02:24. > :02:27.party conference. So did Mark Clarke. He has denied the
:02:28. > :02:31.allegations against him. The party has launched an investigation headed
:02:32. > :02:35.by a lawyer. Grant Shapps said though he could find no allegations
:02:36. > :02:39.of bullying, sexual abuse or bloom mail referred to his office, "I
:02:40. > :02:43.firmly believe whatever the rights and wrongs of a serious case like
:02:44. > :02:47.this, responsibility should rest somewhere. Over the past few weeks,
:02:48. > :02:50.as individual algagss have come to -- allegations have come to light,
:02:51. > :02:54.I've come to the conclusion that the buck should stop with me." The Prime
:02:55. > :02:59.Minister in Malta says his thoughts and prayers were with Elliott
:03:00. > :03:04.Johnson's family. What I'd say is that it is a tragic loss of a
:03:05. > :03:07.talented, young life. It's not something that any parent should
:03:08. > :03:12.have to go through. I feel for them deeply. What the Conservative Party
:03:13. > :03:17.must do and what it is doing and what I've ensured is happening is
:03:18. > :03:21.that there's a proper investigation. Elliott Johnson, who was 21, was
:03:22. > :03:26.found dead on railway tracks on September 15. His death is being
:03:27. > :03:29.investigated by the Coroner. His father welcomed Mr Shapps
:03:30. > :03:34.resignation, but told us questions remain over how the party dealt with
:03:35. > :03:38.his son's death. I'm pleased that Mr Shapps has made
:03:39. > :03:42.this decision. It's taken an awful long time to make that decision. But
:03:43. > :03:50.I'm glad now he has done and fallen on his sword. He have to remember
:03:51. > :03:53.that Grant Shapps is a cochairman. There's a cochairman who takes full
:03:54. > :03:58.responsibility of that organisation. Downing Street say the current
:03:59. > :04:00.chairman Lord Feldman has the full confidence of the Prime Minister.
:04:01. > :04:05.Labour say the Conservative Party needs to come clean about who knew
:04:06. > :04:07.what and why no action was taken earlier.
:04:08. > :04:17.Does Grant Shapps' resignation draw a line under this affair? The
:04:18. > :04:22.difficulty for the party is that you have not just Labour party
:04:23. > :04:25.officials, but also the family of Elliott Johnson saying that they
:04:26. > :04:28.feel there are others who have questions to ask about why these
:04:29. > :04:33.allegations weren't treated more seriously, more quickly, in
:04:34. > :04:37.particular, Lord Feldman, now the cochair of the Conservative Party.
:04:38. > :04:41.Party officials say they have got this inquiry by an independent
:04:42. > :04:45.lawyer, that he will look into all these matters about who was told
:04:46. > :04:50.what and what action was taken. By the other problem is that Elliott
:04:51. > :04:54.Johnson's father feels that inquiry is too close to Conservative central
:04:55. > :04:59.office. He would rather it was much more open and independent of the
:05:00. > :05:03.party. For David Cameron, of course, all this is an unwanted distraction
:05:04. > :05:06.from those important issues he's trying to deal with on the
:05:07. > :05:10.international stage, not least the possibility of air strikes over
:05:11. > :05:15.Syria. But it is a serious question. He knows that unless this inquiry is
:05:16. > :05:19.seen to be thorough and detailed, then those questions about how his
:05:20. > :05:21.party is run will not end. Carole, thank you.
:05:22. > :05:23.Government ministers have been phoning Labour MPs
:05:24. > :05:26.in a bid to build support for British air strikes in Syria.
:05:27. > :05:28.There were demonstrations around the country today protesting
:05:29. > :05:34.The Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, who's opposed to further military
:05:35. > :05:37.action, has asked party members for their views.
:05:38. > :05:41.Labour remains divided over the issue.
:05:42. > :05:44.President Obama has made another call for tighter gun control,
:05:45. > :05:47.following the shooting at an abortion clinic in Colorado,
:05:48. > :05:53.Police say the gunman was a 57-year-old man, who gave himself
:05:54. > :06:03.Our North America correspondent, James Cook, reports.
:06:04. > :06:10.In a parking lot, somebody is shooting. Plaque Friday in Colorado
:06:11. > :06:15.Springs, the busiest shopping day of the year. Police are taking a flurry
:06:16. > :06:19.of calls reporting gunfire. The gunman was in a car park outside a
:06:20. > :06:32.medical clinic, as police arrived, he turned his fire on them. We're
:06:33. > :06:38.taking fire. We have two hits. He was in front of me and aiming at me.
:06:39. > :06:43.I just hit the gas. He started shooting. I was looking at his face.
:06:44. > :06:46.I think I had continue seconds, five to ten seconds to look at him, to
:06:47. > :06:51.remember who he was and why he was doing that or whatever. Then the
:06:52. > :06:58.shots came through the glass. Then I started bleeding. It was another
:06:59. > :07:00.fiver hours before 57-year-old Robert Dear surrendered to police,
:07:01. > :07:07.by which time three people were dead. Among them, Garrett Swayze, 44
:07:08. > :07:11.years old, a former ice dancing champion, married with two children.
:07:12. > :07:17.Five of his fellow police officers were hurt. Today amid tears and
:07:18. > :07:20.tributes, the clinic's operators, already under pressure from
:07:21. > :07:28.opponents of abortion, vowed to carry on. Our staff walk past these
:07:29. > :07:34.protesters every single day and they hear the threats and they take the
:07:35. > :07:40.abuse. Yet they work with love every day for those people. Police are not
:07:41. > :07:45.saying whether this clinic was deliberately targeted. But already,
:07:46. > :07:49.Planned Parenthood is talking about a poisonous environment feeding
:07:50. > :07:53.domestic terrorism. Whatever the truth, this shooting has again
:07:54. > :07:58.highlighted deep divisions in these United States. James Cook, BBC News,
:07:59. > :08:00.Colorado Springs. Russia's announced economic
:08:01. > :08:02.sanctions against Turkey in response to the shooting down
:08:03. > :08:05.of a Russian warplane on Tuesday. The incident sparked
:08:06. > :08:08.a major diplomatic crisis Earlier today,
:08:09. > :08:14.Turkey's President Erdogan said his country was "truly saddened"
:08:15. > :08:19.by the downing of the plane The Queen finished her
:08:20. > :08:22.three-day trip to Malta today. At a banquet for leaders of
:08:23. > :08:24.Commonwealth countries, she joked that Canada's new prime minister
:08:25. > :08:27.made her feel old, when he spoke Our royal correspondent,
:08:28. > :08:31.Nicholas Witchell, Thank you, Mr Prime Minister of
:08:32. > :08:36.Canada, for making me feel so old. It was an unscripted aside
:08:37. > :08:42.to Commonwealth leaders. Elizabeth II, Queen, head
:08:43. > :08:46.of the Commonwealth, still doing her But with advancing years come
:08:47. > :08:53.questions about the future and, for The Princess and the Duke meet
:08:54. > :09:01.in the George Cross Island and pose Malta is the only country apart
:09:02. > :09:05.from Britain which has been her home, for nearly
:09:06. > :09:09.two years, in the early 1950s. Today, then,
:09:10. > :09:11.was a day for nostalgia. Visiting Malta is always very
:09:12. > :09:14.special for me, I remember happy days here with Prince Philip
:09:15. > :09:16.when we were first married. She gazed out again at Valletta
:09:17. > :09:19.harbour. A moment for reflection, perhaps,
:09:20. > :09:22.for someone who will never step back from her role as monarch,
:09:23. > :09:26.but who is ready, it appears, to delegate more of her Commonwealth
:09:27. > :09:33.duties to her eldest son. She boarded a boat to take
:09:34. > :09:35.her across the harbour. The bells of Malta's
:09:36. > :09:38.capital city rang out... And there were cheers from the crew
:09:39. > :09:44.of HMS Bulwark, all in her honour. There's a very real sense
:09:45. > :09:49.of a wheel turning full circle, of at least the Commonwealth
:09:50. > :09:52.component of the Queen's duties The next Commonwealth summit will be
:09:53. > :10:02.in the United Kingdom in the spring of 2018, when the sense of
:10:03. > :10:05.transition from Elizabeth to Charles Pope Francis arrives in the
:10:06. > :10:16.Central African Republic tomorrow, the last stop on
:10:17. > :10:19.his three-country visit to Africa. Since 2013,
:10:20. > :10:22.the former French colony has been hit by serious violence between
:10:23. > :10:25.Christian and Muslim militias Despite the presence of UN
:10:26. > :10:30.peacekeepers, Our Africa correspondent,
:10:31. > :10:47.Alistair Leithead, reports now This capital city is where armoured
:10:48. > :10:55.cars are the own safe way to travel, where gunfire and grenades ring out
:10:56. > :10:59.every day. It's a country divided on largely religious grounds. That's
:11:00. > :11:05.perhaps why Pope Francis has added the Central African Republic to his
:11:06. > :11:10.itinerary. By air is the only safe way to leave the capital. We
:11:11. > :11:15.travelled with the deputy head of the UN mission here. Three years
:11:16. > :11:19.ago, a group of mostly Muslim rebels took power, travelling from the
:11:20. > :11:23.north, attacking churches and Christian communities on their way.
:11:24. > :11:28.The Christians organised and hit back. Now hundreds of thousands of
:11:29. > :11:33.people are living in enclaves. It's a festering sore, if you like. It's
:11:34. > :11:38.also a lot of it is ungoverned space at the moment. That leaves the
:11:39. > :11:43.terrain open for all sorts of people to come in here, if they wanted to.
:11:44. > :11:49.This Christian camp was attacked a week ago. Their shelters burnt to
:11:50. > :11:55.the ground. This is a Muslim quarter, the violence between armed
:11:56. > :12:01.factions of the two has been vicious. "The security situation has
:12:02. > :12:05.improved, Imam said. But all the Muslims in town are now living in
:12:06. > :12:09.this one place." Walking through the ruins of this town's grand mosque,
:12:10. > :12:14.seeing the enclaves of Christians and Muslims, it's easy to presume
:12:15. > :12:17.this is a religious conflict, but in all the years this country's been at
:12:18. > :12:21.war, it's not been about that. People say it's about power, it's
:12:22. > :12:27.about politics and it's about control of the gold and the diamond
:12:28. > :12:30.mines. They're rehearsing for the Pope's mass in the cathedral. But
:12:31. > :12:33.he's also meeting the leaders of other faiths. It's about rebuilding
:12:34. > :12:39.trust and inspiring peace. Now experts think they may have
:12:40. > :12:42.discovered the final resting place Officials say there's evidence
:12:43. > :12:47.of a hidden chamber in one of the country's most famous sites,
:12:48. > :12:50.the tomb of King Tutankhamun. Archaeologists are 90% sure that
:12:51. > :12:53.scans indicate the presence of a secret chamber
:12:54. > :13:00.in the 3,000-year-old tomb. With all the sport,
:13:01. > :13:02.here's Lizzie Greenwood Hughes Thanks very much.
:13:03. > :13:06.Good evening. Great Britain are on the verge of
:13:07. > :13:09.winning the Davis Cup for the first time in nearly 80 years. They're now
:13:10. > :13:13.2-1 up in the final against Belgium, after the Murray brothers - Andy and
:13:14. > :13:15.Jamie - won the doubles. Our sports correspondent, Joe
:13:16. > :13:27.Wilson, reports from Ghent. The Murray brothers are individuals
:13:28. > :13:33.who grew up spurred on by a natural rivalry, which persists today. Just
:13:34. > :13:38.mention snooker for example. I think you're more into the old safety
:13:39. > :13:42.battles. I'm more of a potter, aren't I? Yeah. But more of a loser,
:13:43. > :13:47.often as well. LAUGHTER.
:13:48. > :13:50.Doubles is a team event of course. Sometimes one player takes the
:13:51. > :13:55.ascendency. In the opening exchanges, it was often Andy. How
:13:56. > :14:00.about this for a set point? That's what the Davis Cup can do to you.
:14:01. > :14:05.Britain came back down to earth in the second set, when Jamie's serve
:14:06. > :14:09.was broken decisively. The experimental pair of Goffin and
:14:10. > :14:16.Darcis held it together. The second set to Belgium. The noise in here
:14:17. > :14:21.reaches a new level; a new crescendo. It feels a long way from
:14:22. > :14:27.Wimbledon. The home crowd's attempt to promote their men was undeniably
:14:28. > :14:31.impressive and surreal. One player really stood out. In the third set
:14:32. > :14:36.Andy Murray held his serve, whilst everyone else was losing theirs. So
:14:37. > :14:40.Britain took it 6-3. Fourth set, Andy Murray's service game, 0-30,
:14:41. > :14:49.under pressure, well here's a way to escape. A mis-hit from Darcis
:14:50. > :14:56.completed Britain's victory. It's good to be up 2-1. We would have
:14:57. > :15:01.taken that at the start of the tie. Hopefully we can go and do it
:15:02. > :15:04.tomorrow. Sunday's singles begins with Andy against Goffin. If that's
:15:05. > :15:06.a British win, then the rest is history.
:15:07. > :15:08.It's been a busy day in the Premier League,
:15:09. > :15:13.So if you want to wait for Match of the Day - which follows
:15:14. > :15:18.Jamie Vardy has become the first player to score in 11
:15:19. > :15:22.The England striker broke the record in Leicester's 1-1 home
:15:23. > :15:43.It drops Leicester to second in the league.
:15:44. > :15:45.Aberdeen are now second in the Scottish Premiership,
:15:46. > :15:51.There were also wins for Hamilton and Partick Thistle.
:15:52. > :15:53.In a few minutes, Britain could have a new Heavyweight boxing
:15:54. > :15:58.Unbeaten Tyson Fury is set for the biggest fight of his career,
:15:59. > :16:01.challenging Ukraine's Vladimir Klitckho in Dusseldorf in Germany.
:16:02. > :16:09.Alex South is ringside and sent us this report earlier.
:16:10. > :16:14.The build up to this fight has always been a little strange. We
:16:15. > :16:20.should have expected last minute drama. It all centred around that
:16:21. > :16:23.ring down there in the middle of the arena here in Dusseldorf. What was
:16:24. > :16:27.underneath the ring actually. Tyson Fury trained on it earlier. He said
:16:28. > :16:31.that it was too soft. Even threatened to pull out of the fight
:16:32. > :16:35.because he felt that it affected his fighting style too much. To make
:16:36. > :16:39.sure that didn't happen. Vladimir Klitschko and promotors here made
:16:40. > :16:43.sure that it was ripped up and the canvas relaid. So not the best
:16:44. > :16:47.preparation then for Tyson Fury, who looks to become the first person in
:16:48. > :16:52.11 years to defeat Vladimir Klitschko. Both fighters are now in
:16:53. > :16:55.the ring. Follow it on BBC Radio 5 Live. That's all the sport.
:16:56. > :16:58.You can see more on all of today's stories on the BBC News Channel.
:16:59. > :17:13.Good evening. No let up tomorrow to the turbulent weather we're seeing.
:17:14. > :17:15.A bit of snow across Scottish hills.