and coming up on bbc news... keeley hodgkinson cruises into tomorrow night's 800m final in rome as she hopes to defend her european championship title. hello and welcome to the bbc news at one. rishi sunak has promised to scrap the main rate of national insurance for the self—employed over five years, end stamp duty payments for most first—time buyers, and recruit thousands more police officers if the conservatives are re—elected to power next month. the prime minister launched the party's manifesto this morning at silverstone — home of the british grand prix — hoping to pull voters minds back to policies after recent setbacks on the campaign trail. our political correspondent leila nathoo reports. he needs this to be the moment his campaign motored ahead. rishi sunak knows that after a series of missteps, he now needs to get on the front foot. today, his chance to set out what five further years of conservative government would bring. but amid the promises of the future, a nod to recent setbacks. i’m but amid the promises of the future, a nod to recent setbacks.— a nod to recent setbacks. i'm not blind to the _ a nod to recent setbacks. i'm not blind to the fact _ a nod to recent setbacks. i'm not blind to the fact that _ a nod to recent setbacks. i'm not blind to the fact that people - blind to the fact that people are frustrated with our party and frustrated with our party and frustrated with our party and frustrated with me. things have not always been easy and we have not got everything right. but we are the only party in this election with the big idea is to make our country a better place to live. the conservatives _ better place to live. the conservatives are - better place to live. the conservatives are betting on tax cuts to entice voters. at a cost of £17 billion by the end of next parliament. we £17 billion by the end of next parliament.— £17 billion by the end of next parliament. ~ . . ., , ., parliament. we are cutting taxes for workers, parliament. we are cutting taxes for workers. for — parliament. we are cutting taxes for workers, for parents, _ parliament. we are cutting taxes for workers, for parents, workers - parliament. we are cutting taxes for workers, for parents, workers and i workers, for parents, workers and pensioners. we are the party of margaret thatcher and nigel lawson. a party, unlike labour, that believes in sound money. today's plans, and you would expect nothing less from jeremy and me, are fully funded. we will pay for permanent reductions in taxation by controlling the unsustainable rise in working age welfare that has taken off since the pandemic. rishi sunak made _ taken off since the pandemic. rishi sunak made a _ taken off since the pandemic. rishi sunak made a big _ taken off since the pandemic. rishi sunak made a big commitment on house—building. in sunak made a big commitment on house-building.— house-building. in the last five ears, house-building. in the last five years. we _ house-building. in the last five years. we have _ house-building. in the last five years, we have delivered - house-building. in the last five years, we have delivered 1 - house-building. in the last five i years, we have delivered1 million years, we have delivered 1 million new homes. in the next parliament, we will go even further. delivering 1.6 million new homes by speeding up planning on brownfield land in our inner cities and by scrapping defective eu laws. applause the conservative manifesto pledges a further 2p cut to employee national insurance. on housing, a cut to stamp duty for some first—time buyers and a new government backed help to buy scheme. a rise in the tax—free allowance for pensioners, to allow high earners to give more child benefit, a year of national service for 18—year—olds and a promise to cut immigration by introducing an annual cap on visas granted. with 76 pages of policies, can he satisfy those on his own side, energise voters and when the country pop support? fiur side, energise voters and when the country pep sumo?— side, energise voters and when the country pop support? our entry needs bold action, _ country pop support? our entry needs bold action. a — country pop support? our entry needs bold action, a secure _ country pop support? our entry needs bold action, a secure future, - country pop support? our entry needs bold action, a secure future, and - country pop support? our entry needs bold action, a secure future, and it. bold action, a secure future, and it is this conservative manifesto that will deliver it.— will deliver it. with 'ust over three weeks h will deliver it. with 'ust over three weeks to _ will deliver it. with 'ust over three weeks to go _ will deliver it. with just over three weeks to go until- will deliver it. with just over i three weeks to go until polling will deliver it. with just over - three weeks to go until polling day, we will soon find out if voters agree. our chief political correspondent henry zeffmanjoins us now from silverstone. henry, the conservative electoral campaign has been a bumpy ride so far. will today's launch help to put them back on track? d—day was not mentioned once at this event, i'm sure as far as the conservative campaign are concerned, thatis conservative campaign are concerned, that is progress. we will hear from all the main parties over the coming days as they launch their manifestos. today was the conservatives turn. there are all sorts of policies in this document. not a lot that will have surprised people, though. there was a new announcement that the self—employed rate of national insurance will be abolished over the next parliament if the conservatives win. but all of the other policies were generally ones we have heard over the course of this general election campaign. that's partly perhaps the result of a tactical decision to front—load the campaign with policies. that was designed to seize the momentum, get the campaign on the front foot. it didn't necessarily turn out that way. one other thing worth noting, i think there will be some frustration from rishi sunak�*s internal critics on the right of the conservative party that tax cuts were focused on national insurance, rather than things like inheritance tax, which some wanted to see abolished, and also that he has not hardened his position on the european convention on human rights. this is a distinctively sunakian document, if you can turn the election around, watch as he gets the credit. if he doesn't, watch how the tory opponents he has a pile all the blame on him. the conservatives are claiming the manifesto contains tax cuts worth £17 billion before the final year of the next parliament. our chief economics correspondent dharshini david has been looking at the numbers. dharshini, where are these proposed cuts coming from? well, that choice of venue, silverstone, was no accident, clearly intended to remind the public that the conservatives like to say they have turned the corner on the economy. also that they are going to be the tax—cutting party. you had those cuts proposed to national insurance, also the self—employed national insurance contribution as well, plans to abolish that too. also stamp duty, raising the tax—free allowance for pensioners, for example. all of those things, add them up, £17 billion by 2030, per year. two questions we need to ask, how are they funding that, but also, are these really tax cuts for the population as a whole? on the first of those, there are all sorts of measures in there, largely savings to the welfare bill. they are hoping to the welfare bill. they are hoping to save £12 billion by 2030, compared to the welfare bill expected, by transforming the system. it is easier said than done. if you talk to specialists, they say that previous attempts to bring down those bills have not been successful, particularly looking at things like disability. we have new figures showing that long—term sickness is at a new record high. and cutting down on the number of people who are underpaying their tax, that too is pretty hard. alongside that, in the background, on that second point, we have the rise of thresholds which have been frozen, which means more and more people are paying more tax on their incomes. that is set to continue for the next three years. while this might look like tax—cutting plans, there are tax rises still baked in in the background, and that is the sting in the tail. labour says it will stop children under the age of 16 from buying highly caffeinated energy drinks, if it wins the election. the party says the idea — which would apply to drinks with more than 150 milligrams of caffeine per litre — was created in consultation with parents and teachers. in terms of the enforcement of this measure, which is a ban on sales to under—16, trading standards will enforce that in the way they do with things like underage sales of alcohol or tobacco. so if retailers are caught selling to children, then they will face fines. if they end up in front of a magistrate court, they could end up with even heftier fines than a fixed penalty notice. and, of course, if people flout the law then they can lose their licenses, too. so we are taking this seriously. is there any safe measure of caffeine that seniors can bring? it is brands like rock star, monster, red bull, there were plans under theresa may's government to do exactly this. they didn't survive. the snp tried to introduce this after consultation and drop the plans last year. it is not as simple as it seems. labour says it will take action in england only, because it is a devolved power, and they have heard concerns from parents, teachers, health professionals, about the effect of these drinks have on sleep, on concentration levels and behaviour in schools. we have heard wes streeting describing children turning up at school wired, because they have so much caffeine coursing around their bodies. but it's notjust caffeine in drinks, people are very concerned about sugar. we heard from the lib dems, they want to extend the soft drink levy to fruit —based and milk —based drinks that contain lots of sugar, and the snp have also announced back in february that they want to try to ban the sale of fizzy drinks as part of supermarket meal deals. there is lots of concerns about fizzy drinks and highly caffeinated drinks. interesting, thank you. the liberal democrats are calling for a new fund to support doctors' surgeries in rural and remote areas of the country. they say it forms part of their £1 billion package to improve services and give patients a legal right to see a gp within a week. nigel farage has posted a video on social media in which a man appears to throw objects at his campaign bus in barnsley. mr farage thanked south yorkshire police after they arrested a 28—year—old man. the leader of the reform party said he will "not be bullied or cowed". the snp's westminster leader has said any new drilling licenses for oil and gas need to meet a climate test, contribute to energy security and allow net zero goals to be met. stephen flynn went on to say that labour don't believe in new licenses and that the conservatives had adopted a climate denial position. later in the programme the bbc verify team will be taking a look at some of the figures behind those conservative pledges. and the leaders of five scottish parties will take part in a televised debate this evening. you can watch it on bbc one scotland at eight o'clock, and it'll be available on the bbc iplayer. the us secretary of state antony blinken has repeated his calls for hamas to accept the terms of a ceasefire deal in gaza. the plan — proposed by president biden — would see more hostages released, and was backed last night by the united nations security council. mr blinken was speaking on a visit to israel after meeting relatives of some of the us hostages still being held. everyone's vote is in except for one vote, and that's hamas. and that's what we wait for. it is on hamas to move forward with this proposal or not. our middle east correspondent yolande knell is injerusalem. yolande, what's the likelihood of all parties agreeing to the deal? imean, i mean, diplomatically what we can say in the past 2a hours is that there has been progress on that. but we are still a long way away from a breakthrough. antony blinken, when he was referring to a hamas statement that was put out welcoming the un security council vote, he said that was a hopeful sign. but the onus was really on a hamas leader he described as hiding ten stories underground in gaza. and what hamas are continuing to demand our really guarantees that any deal they sign up to will lead to a full withdrawal of israeli troops from gaza, will lead to a full end to the war. as much as this is really being presented by the americans as an israeli initiative, you can't ignore the fact that when the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, talks about it, he sounds publicly very sceptical. you got a lot of the israeli media this lunchtime quoting an unnamed senior political source who says clearly that israel will not end the war in gaza until its objectives are met, reiterating that those are to eliminate hamas militarily and governmentally in gaza, to bring home the hostages to remove what sees as the threat towards it. all of that leaves a lot of work still to be done for international diplomacy. the former pop star gary glitter has been ordered to pay more than £500,000 to a woman he sexually abused when she was 12 years old. the woman brought her claim after glitter — whose real name is paul gadd — was convicted of abusing her and two other young people between 1975 and 1980. singapore airlines has offered compensation to passengers who were injured on a flight from london that encountered severe turbulence over myanmar last month. the firm will payjust under £8,000 to those with minor injuries and nearly £20,000 for passengers who were more seriously hurt. the technology giant apple has announced plans to upgrade its iphone and mac systems using the artificial intelligence model chatgpt. the firm says the new partnership will help users navigate their devices and apps more seamlessly, and create a chattier version of the voice assistant siri. the uk's unemployment rate has unexpectedly risen to its highest level for two and a half years. the office for national statistics puts the figure at a.4% for february to april this year — which is slightly up from the previous three months. our correspondent andy verityjoins us from the london newsroom. andy, most experts weren't expecting that figure to go up, were they? no, they were expecting it to stay the same. they were expecting earnings, wage inflation to rise a little, but not unemployment. up to 4.4%, still quite low by historic standards. if you look at what has happened over the last ten or 15 years, there was a big jump in unemployment after the financial crisis of 2008. it subsided and kept subsiding, and it is then rose in the pandemic, and has been subsiding ever since. this is an uptick, a very modest uptick, but it does show that we are no longer adding jobs. that is backed up, if you look at the payroll data. the payroll data records what employees that employers are employing, and vacancies were also down. quite a few signs of a slowdown. earnings held steady at 6.0%. it might make some of the people on the bank of england monetary policy commission worried about wage inflation relax a little bit, so they will go ahead with an interest rate cut sometime this summer. the time is 1:15pm. our top story this afternoon... the conservatives launch their election manifesto, with pledges on national insurance and stamp duty. and football fakery. fans are warned not buy counterfeit shirts in the run—up to the euros. coming up on bbc news, withjust 45 days to go until the start of the olympic games in paris, we hearfrom one of team gb�*s best medal hopes, breath shriver, who looks to defend her bmx gold. —— beth. the parents of a student who went missing after a night out in bristol 100 days ago have lodged a formal complaint over the police's handling of the case. jack o'sullivan�*s family say they've lost all faith in officers at the avon and somerset force. it said its staff are determined to do everything they possibly can. laura jones reports. it is hell. it's, you know, daily it's a challenge to get up and get through the day. another morning without jack. we have to somehow keep going and find the strength to... to get to the bottom of this. it's now 100 days since the bristol student went out to a party and didn't come home. despite frantic efforts to find him, there's no trace, and jack's parents and older brother ben now say they've lost all faith in those tasked with investigating his disappearance. i wouldn't want anyone on earth to be faced with what we've dealt with in the last hundred days, because it is horrific. you're saying that the police have made it worse. that's what i feel. jack's family say they believe mistakes were made early on in the search for their son. they say cctv footage of jack was originally missed by the police and only spotted whenjack�*s mum, catherine, asked to view the footage for herself. to have footage of my son in their possession the day after he was missing, and for someone not to see that is...is just ludicrous. the family was also shocked to find out recently that an error meant jack hadn't been added to a national missing person's register until he'd been gone for two months. the family say that that, on top of everything else, was the final straw, and has resulted in them submitting this four—page formal complaint to the police. but they say despite handing this in nearly two weeks ago, they've still had no response. in a statement, avon and somerset police say the family's complaint has been recorded, and will now be thoroughly assessed by a trained investigator. they say detectives have carried out an extensive investigation over the past 100 days, but that, sadly, they haven't been able to find jack. forjack�*s family, though, the anguish about where he is and what's happened to him goes on. laura jones, bbc news, in bristol. the bbc has announced it will air a special tribute programme to michael mosley on friday evening. the tv presenter�*s body was found on the greek island of symi on sunday — four days after he went missing. an initial postmortem concluded he died of natural causes. a us jury will continue its deliberations today over president biden�*s son, who is facing gun charges. hunter biden is accused of lying about his drug use on a federal form while buying a weapon in 2018, and of illegally possessing a firearm while he was allegedly a drug user. the 54—year—old didn't testify but his defence team said he was in recovery — and not using drugs at the time. if convicted, he could face up 25 years in prison. the pressure on public services is a key election issue — and to understand the challenges authorities are facing, we've been looking at the town of telford. today, we're focusing on social care, as demand for support has soared in recent years, particularly from people under the age of 65. here's our social affairs correspondent michael buchanan. club 17 is a group for people with disabilities and support needs to meet and mingle. or maybe something more. you'vejust got engaged! yes, i have. so when are you going to get married? er, i don't know yet. how did you propose to her? i got down on one knee. did you? yeah. fantastic. and she said yes. yeah, she did. the room is full of the hopes and fears of any young people — though, in their cases, the struggles can be greater. well, i had to leave the town that i was born and grew up in because there was no supported accommodation provision. a