we'll be looking at what this means for rishi sunak�*s asylum policy — and how exposed this leaves him politically. also on the programme tonight... we should have twigged it much sooner. i should we should have twigged it much sooner. ishould have we should have twigged it much sooner. i should have twigged. borisjohnson says he underestimated the scale of the challenge, as he gave evidence to the covid inquiry. we have a special report from south korea about conditions in the north from a family who managed to flee, despite the border being sealed. and new balls for golf�*s biggest hitters — to stop them from travelling so far. on bbc london: tributes to lianne gordon — on newsnight at10:30pm, on newsnight at 10:30pm, we go deeper behind the headlines and talk to key players from today's major stories. plus a first look at today's major papers.

in a major blow to the prime minister tonight, the minister responsible for immigration, robertjenrick, has resigned — at the very moment legislation on asylum seekers was being announced to the commons. his resignation came over a bill attempting to enable the government's policy of sending some migrants to rwanda to go ahead after the supreme court ruled it unlawful. mrjenrick said it didn't go far enough and it would not end what he called "the merry go round of legal challenges which risked paralysing the scheme." our political editor chris mason is here. a huge embarrassment this for rishi sunak? it this for rishi sunak? is a huge embarrassment. bu quite it is a huge embarrassment. but quite the thing to do so in the very week that you are attempting a reset on, yes, you guessed it, immigration

policy. on monday we had government plans to cut legal immigration adjuster the home secretary james cleverly went to rwanda to set out part of the approach on illegal immigration. i went along to report on it and as day trips go it is quite thejourney on it and as day trips go it is quite the journey but as that trip was under way the immigration minister, of all people, was seeing the prime minister he had concluded the prime minister he had concluded the reworked rwanda plan was closely hopeless. here is our political correspondent, leila nathoo. in downing street on tuesday, robertjenrick seemed uncertain about the future of his flagship policy. reporter: can the | flights now take off? tonight he quit as immigration minister, saying a new law designed to ensure some asylum seekers could be sent to rwanda didn't go far enough. in his resignation letter to the prime minister, mrjenrick says, "a bill of the kind you are proposing is a triumph "of hope over experience. "the stakes for the country are too high for us not to pursue

"the stronger protections required to end the merry—go—round "of legal challenges." he goes on to say, "i refuse to be yet another politician who makes "promises on immigration to the british public but does not keep them." public statement, the home secretary. in the commons, meanwhile, his former boss was selling the government's revised plan to stop the boats. it is a bill which is lawful, it is fair and it is necessary. because people will only stop coming here illegally when they know that they cannot stay here, and that they will be detained and quickly removed to a safe third country. the new legislation aims to declare rwanda a safe country, and to prevent removals being stopped by the courts. sections of existing uk human rights law won't apply, routes to individual legal challenges will be limited

and ministers would be able to override any rulings from the european court of human rights. some tory mps have called for all international legal obligations to be disregarded. you will he confirm that the provisions in this bill are sufficient to resist individual challenges from those who might be sent to rwanda, and the interest groups and the deluded dodgy lawyers labour said the government was in chaos. this is the desperate dying days of a party ripping itself apart, are clearly totally out of ideas, lost any sense of leadership or direction. rishi sunak has been trying to balance the competing demands of different wings of his party while trying to rescue the policy at the heart of his promise to stop channel crossings. in trying to bolster the rwanda plan, he's lost the very minister who's been in charge of it, who now says the scheme as it stands won't work and warned the fortunes of the conservative party are now at stake.

we'll hearfrom chris again injust a moment, but first we're joined by our legal correspondent dominic casciani — dom, talk us through what the government wants to do with this bill. it is not a very long bill but it is complicated and a lot of it is unprecedented in the direction it is going. the most important statement within that is where it says every decision—maker from the secretary of state to the home secretary through to everyjudge must conclusively treat rwanda as a safe country. in legal terms critics of the government are saying that given the evidence that rwanda is not a safe country when it comes to the treatment of asylum seekers, that is the equivalent of saying that two plus two equals five and they say that in those terms, this is heading for an enormous legal battle. the important issue and what is concerning a lot of people tonight is that the bill makes clear that they should go ahead,

notwithstanding the fact that there are other british laws which stand in the right of the rwanda plan. two of those being the refugee convention which sets out minimum standards for the treatment of refugees and the other being the un convention against torture. if this bill tellsjudges to convention against torture. if this bill tells judges to effectively ignore those two laws that potentially set up a clash in the supreme court may eventually say this is an car —— incompatible with humanlike rights law that could end “p humanlike rights law that could end up in strasbourg and you can see how political that is going to get and thatis political that is going to get and that is why tonight you have a lot of critics, a lot of lawyers saying, why are the home secretary and the attorney general still supporting this legislation. and chris, how dangerous a moment is this for rishi sunak? it is dangerous because of the policy— it is dangerous because of the policy itself. we have seen a letter from _ policy itself. we have seen a letter from rishi — policy itself. we have seen a letter from rishi sunak to mrjenrick claiming — from rishi sunak to mrjenrick claiming that this is the past ——

toughest — claiming that this is the past —— toughest piece of illegal migration legislation passed by a uk government and they could not have .one government and they could not have gone for— government and they could not have gone for -- — government and they could not have gone for —— further because they did not, gone for —— further because they did not. the _ gone for —— further because they did not, the rwandan government did not want the _ not, the rwandan government did not want the uk government to go further, _ want the uk government to go further, rwanda has said tonight that anything the uk does has to be compatible with international law, and they— compatible with international law, and they are trying to find a navigable path that works legally, practically and politically, to try and progress the rwanda policy, and they are _ and progress the rwanda policy, and they are struggling. then there is they are struggling. then there is the bigger picture. hundreds of conservative mps and millions of voters _ conservative mps and millions of voters want to see things done on migration — voters want to see things done on migration. that is why you have seen these _ migration. that is why you have seen these policy— migration. that is why you have seen these policy announcements from the prime _ these policy announcements from the prime minister. the prime minister's bil prime minister. the prime minister's big setting _ prime minister. the prime minister's big selling point to his party and the country was that they would put a cork_ the country was that they would put a cork on_ the country was that they would put a cork on the chaos of what had gone before _ a cork on the chaos of what had gone before with _ a cork on the chaos of what had gone before with boris johnson and before with borisjohnson and liz truss _ before with borisjohnson and liz truss that — before with borisjohnson and liz truss. that feels like it is whizzing _ truss. that feels like it is whizzing over the garden fence when it feels— whizzing over the garden fence when it feels like the events of the night — it feels like the events of the night happens. one conservative mps are to _ night happens. one conservative mps are to me _ night happens. one conservative mps are to me tonight, i did not think

that rishi — are to me tonight, i did not think that rishi sunak would lose a vote of confidence but i would not be surprised — of confidence but i would not be surprised if there was one. and another— surprised if there was one. and another said there are loads of conservative mps who feel that they have got _ conservative mps who feel that they have got nothing to lose so they are willing _ have got nothing to lose so they are willing to _ have got nothing to lose so they are willing to contemplate any option and he _ willing to contemplate any option and he also thought that a confidence vote could happen by accident — confidence vote could happen by accident. there is often loads of talk of— accident. there is often loads of talk of this— accident. there is often loads of talk of this kind of thing and it never comes to something, but it is a measure — never comes to something, but it is a measure of— never comes to something, but it is a measure of the mood and the mood in the _ a measure of the mood and the mood in the conservative party is bleak. chris. _ in the conservative party is bleak. chris, dominic, thank you both very much. borisjohnson has apologised at the covid inquiry for the way the government handled the pandemic, saying it had underestimated the challenge. during around six hours of evidence, he admitted he should have realised sooner how serious the situation was, and said he was sorry for the pain, loss and suffering of victims and families. much of today focused on the start of the pandemic and the timing of covid measures. the uk announced a lockdown on march 23rd, 2020 — that first lockdown stayed in place untiljune. borisjohnson then put england into a second full lockdown

in november of the same year, as well as a third full lockdown in january 2021. our deputy political editor, vicki young, sent this report. a lot has been said by a lot of people about borisjohnson�*s time in number ten. he was confronted by the biggest challenge to face a prime minister in peacetime — notjust a health crisis, but an economic one too. he's been accused of acting too late and of lying about what went on here. ..the whole truth and nothing but the truth. this was mrjohnson�*s chance to give his side of the story and he began with an apology. can ijust say how glad i am to be here at this inquiry and how sorry i am for the pain and the loss and the suffering... sit down. ..of the covid victims. please, sit down. right, ushers, please could you ask them to leave. these were the four women

thrown out for interrupting. they said they'd never accept mrjohnson�*s apology. 11 municipalities in italy... back inside, questions about february 2020. coronavirus had spread to italy and the cabinet had discussed what plans were in place here. i look at all this stuff in which we seemed so oblivious with horror now. we should have twigged, we should have collectively twigged much sooner, i should have twigged. when the seriousness of the virus was understood, it led to this, lockdown. several former colleagues described mrjohnson as indecisive. he says he was weighing up all the difficult options. i've got the chancellor of the exchequer with me saying that there's a risk to the uk bond markets, and our ability to raise sovereign debt. this matters massively to people in this country. i had to go through the arguments,

and that is what i was doing. did you consider the argument against lockdown? i'm afraid to say at that stage i gave it pretty short shrift because i thought that myjob was to protect human life. i had no other... i had no other tool, literally nothing else. there were some uncomfortable questions about the culture in number ten. former chief adviser dominic cummings wrote sweary messages criticising colleagues, including his boss. i knew that some people were difficult. i didn't know how difficult they were, clearly, but i thought it was better on the whole for the country to have a disputatious culture in number ten than one that was quietly acquiescent. that was certainly a positive spin on a workplace atmosphere many described as toxic. and borisjohnson seemed emotional as he reflected on

the first year of the pandemic. we have to be realistic about 2020. the whole year, that whole tragic, tragic year... we did lock down... ..but then it bounced back after we'd unlocked. today borisjohnson denied that he failed to show leadership during the pandemic. he said it wasn't indecisiveness, he was simply weighing up options that all had terrible downsides. he did admit that mistakes were made, but said it was a collective failure — scientists, politicians and officials all underestimating how serious the pandemic was. borisjohnson will be back here tomorrow to give further evidence. vicki young, bbc news, westminster. there were families and campaigners inside and outside the inquiry today. our health editor hugh pym spoke to some of them i have cognitive issues,

i find it difficult to walk very far without having to rest or i collapse, but today is so important. i've come from south london today. i am here primarily for my dad. jean and anthony, both at the inquiry today, have lost so much in different ways because of covid—i9. jean's father died in april 2020 in a care home after getting the virus. anthony was a war correspondent but now because of long covid every day is a struggle. he can no longer work. outside the inquiry they met others who have lost loved ones or suffered with the lasting consequences of the virus. boris johnson: the scene from italy really rattled me. ata distancejim, who is a consultant, is watching the inquiry in breaks from his hospital shift. if we look at our icu, there are two non—corona patients... working in intensive care in the first wave of covid,

he had to help manage the surge of seriously ill patients. listening to borisjohnson, that build—up period, you know, from my perspective we were desperate for the lockdown. we were terrified that we were going to be overrun with patients and we would be put in the most awful ethical situation. was it matt hancock last week? having heard borisjohnson, jean was sceptical of the explanations of decisions on lockdowns. he made reference to the scientists quite a few times. well, they didn't say anything. behavioural fatigue and bounce back, and that is why they delayed locking down, so it's almost pushing the blame on to the scientists and absolving himself of that responsibility as prime minister to make those decisions. anthony and his wife are both living with the continuing symptoms of long covid.

it has taken everything we hold dear us from us. we have lost everything, we exist now on benefits for all of our income. so what did he make of borisjohnson�*s apology? they're words, aren't they? it makes a headline, "boris says sorry," but what does it change? there is no doubt this is a highly significant day for campaigners, but there'll be more to come when the inquiry in its later stages looks at more detail at the response of the nhs to the covid crisis, and what happened in care homes. jean will be coming back when rishi sunak gives evidence. for anthony, the physical effort of getting there may be too much. hugh pym, bbc news. the government has stopped short of giving hillsborough campaigners the law they want, as it finally published its response to a report about the disaster in 1989. 97 liverpool fans died following a crush in what was britain's worst sporting tragedy. the government won't introduce one

of the key recommendations — —— at the government admitted its response to the report produced six years ago took too long but it will not introduce one of the key recommendations. a so—called hillsborough law, which would have forced all public servants to co—operate with inquiries. judith moritz reports. well, this is not the scene we wanted to see on semifinal day. hillsborough is a disaster which is still going on. it is nearly 35 years after the crush which claimed 97 lives. but ask survivors and families of those who died, and they will tell you they continue to feel let down. the former bishop of liverpool, jamesjones, wrote a report about their experiences six years ago. today the government published its response, butjenny, debbie and diana, who lost relatives at hillsborough, all say it's too little, too late. it doesn't go far enough. there are too many recommendations, too many consultations still to come and not enough legal statutory duty.

to me, it's like, "oh, gosh, we are getting criticised about not having the response out there already and the length of time is taken," and they've copied it together. —— and they've just coupled to it together. it needs to be statute law, really. whne they're talking about duty of candour with the police, it's notjust the police, it's everybody. i've lost count of the number of home secretaries that bishopjames's report has passed the desk of, between all of them, this is the best they can come up with? the sorry state of affairs is if hillsborough happened again tomorrow, families involved in it would have to go through exactly the same thing we have, so they have failed. the government hasn't endorsed a hillsborough law, which would make it illegal for all public officials to withhold information, arguing that elements of the legislation already exist. it says it will consult on improving financial support for families' legal costs at inquests, and it has signed a voluntary hillsborough charter.

other signatories of the charter include the national police chiefs' council on behalf of all 43 police forces, the college of policing, the crown prosecution service, the national fire chiefs council and others. we want this charter to become part of the culture of what it means to be a public servant in britain. the time it has taken for the government to respond has become as much a feature of the exercise as the response itself. today ministers accepted the delay has compounded the hillsborough families' agony. given that the very purpose of the bishop's original report was to prevent further suffering, that might be seen as particularly u nfortu nate. although the government statement falls short of the hopes of the hillsborough families, it is a serious and substantial response to my report. i welcome the government's decision to sign the charter for those bereaved through public tragedy. it now puts the rights

of the bereaved above public authorities protecting their own reputations. the bishop has urged the government to extend its report to include a hillsborough law and bereaved families and survivors say they will continue to campaign for it is a legacy after years of struggle. judith moritz, bbc news, liverpool. the un's human rights chief says palestinians are living in �*utter, deepening horror�*. the un says 600,000 people are under evacuation orders in southern gaza but "there is nowhere to go". israel has carried out more heavy aerial bombardment across gaza in its fight against hamas, designated a terrorist organisation by the uk. and the fighting on the ground has intensified in the south — particuarly around the city of khan younis. our international editor jeremy bowen reports now on the growing humanitarian crisis.

more palestinian civilians fled south towards the egyptian border after israel declared a brief pause in combat operations. almost two million gazans have fled their homes. israel says it is killing fewer civilians, as the us has requested. the un says nowhere in this tiny territory is safe. this person offers people lifts. he says he has seen casualties in the street with legs or heads blown off, and no—one can reach them. the stream of misery entering the hospital in khan younis does not stop, and neither is growing condemnation from international relief agencies of the pain and death israel is inflicting on gaza's civilians. it's one of the worst assaults on any civilian population in our time and age, according to the norwegian

refugee council. as israel's forces push south, their leaders reject that outright. the damage and death, they say, is the fault of hamas for starting this war. israel has given out video of captured weapons it says were found near schools and clinics — more proof, the army insists, that hamas uses civilians as human shields. injerusalem, lynn hastings, a senior un official, said hamas attacks on israel were horrific and atrocious, but now israel has obligations. there are allegations that the un isn't doing enough, but it's up to the government of israel to let us do enough. and right now, the conditions inside of gaza are not permitting us to do ourjob and to deliver humanitarian assistance. should the israelis examine their conscience? i think we should all be examining our consciences in terms what's going on in gaza. and you will have heard many people say,

"have we actually lost our humanity in this crisis?" do you think we have? i think some of us have, maybe, yeah. i think the world is not doing enough to end this. israel could end it tomorrow. they could indeed. and in gaza, another dead child gets a last kiss. the bbc freelance who filmed this mass funeral reported it followed an israeli strike on deir al balah which killed 47, including 15 children. nine people are still under the rubble. israel says only force will destroy hamas and save its hostages, but the americans have warned israel that fighting the war this way, killing so many civilians, risks driving palestinians into the arms of hamas — and for israel, that would be a strategic defeat. jeremy bowen, bbc news, jerusalem. this is the bbc�*s adnan el—bursh —

one of the few journalists left in gaza still reporting for an international news organisation. he has been telling us about life there now and the terrible dilemmas he is facing. adnan is writing regular updates for bbc news online — you can read them and follow the latest developments on the israel—gaza war on the bbc news website.

a north korean family has told the bbc there has been "a great deal of suffering" since the country sealed its borders at the start of the pandemic. defections, which were once fairly common, have become almost impossible. this family fled by sea, and is the first to have escaped this year and made it to the south. one family member spoke to our correspondent in seoul, jean mackenzie. we've re—voiced his words and are not using his full name to help protect the family. although we cannot independently verify all of his account, some of the details are in line with what we have been told by other sources. every escape from north korea is remarkable. but mr kim took a stomach churning risk. with the borders sealed because of the pandemic, he fled by sea with his entire family on board this ship. his wife pregnant. his brother's young children hidden below the deck. translation: we put the children

to sleep with sleeping pills and hid| them in grain sacks. i was almost paralysed by fear. i knew my entire family could be executed if i made one mistake. the boat was very loud, but all i could hear was my heartbeat. the family crossed into south korean waters undetected and were rescued by the navy. with defections now at a trickle, they pulled off the seemingly impossible. this is the sea between north and south korea, where mr kim's family crossed. it is so unusual for escapees to come this way, directly to south korea. most go through china, meaning mr kim and his family are the first to have escaped this year and made it here. and so their testimony is so important because it's some of the most up—to—date information we have about what's happening in the country. the border closures have brought immense suffering, he told me. two farmers he knew starved to death as food prices soared, while the pandemic restrictions made

life more desperate. translation: when there were cases of covid, - everyone would be locked up and the entire area sealed off. the people inside had little or nothing to eat. after they had starved for a while, the government would bring in truckloads of supplies to sell so people would praise them. it's like starving your baby, then giving it a small amount so it would thank you. people started asking whether this was the state's plan to profit from the pandemic. now safely in seoul, and these streets aren't as unfamiliar as they should be. mr kim grew up watching south korean television in secret. this, like for so many, was his source of enlightenment. but now, he says, the authorities are ruthlessly cracking down on anyone caught watching it. translation: people started calling | the crackdown officials mosquitoes, | like vampires sucking out our blood. they're ruthless.

they'll shoot you, kill you, or send you to a labour camp. last year, they publicly executed a 22—year—old man for listening to south korean songs and sharing them with his friends. they said they were punishing him harshly to set the right precedent. everyone is afraid. in south korea, the government has criticised its neighbourfor violating its people's human rights. but with pyongyang shunning diplomacy, there's little seoul or anyone can do. this new freedom hasn't quenched mr kim's fear. he worries about repercussions for speaking out. his baby daughter is only a month old. she gave mr kim the final push to escape, to free her from what he calls the hellhole. jean mckenzie, bbc news in seoul. golf balls are set to be modified to stop them from travelling so far when hit.

the new rules will be introduced from 2028 because courses are too short to cope with the long distances golfers are increasingly hitting. natalie pirks has been finding out more. nice hit. steve and his cousin leon are battling the morning mist in bromley. they've been playing together for years and admit they're no tiger woods. stop, stop, stop. but new rules unveiled today will affect all players, no matter their level. from 2028 onwards, balls will gradually be swapped to new ones which travel around 15 yards less for pros, but a mere five yards less for amateurs. we don't hit anything like bryson dechambeau or rory mcilroy. and i think it's a good choice because it will make their golf more realistic. in terms of watching the top professionals and the really good amateur players hit the ball a long way, i think that's always going to be an attraction.

on a cold, rain soaked day, america retains the ryder cup. back in the day, golf courses were designed to challenge. but as golfers and technology got better, balls flew further. in 1980, only six professional golfers could hit the ball 270 yards from a tee shot. this year, rory mcilroy�*s record average was more than 326 yards. to keep challenging those big hitters, courses need extending. but that's expensive, not to mention environmentally damaging. so after five years of grappling with these issues, the rule makers say it's a case of new balls, please. not everyone is happy. ball manufacturers are miffed, and some pros have called the governing body out of touch. but speaking to me on his phone, three—time major winner padraig harrington said he agrees with the new rules. so if you're at the top, you never want to change. you want to keep it where it is. your winning formula genuinely helps the golf course.

new and old, it really helps them — both in terms of cost, sustainability, maintenance, safety. so change is coming no matter which side of the debate golfers land. natalie pirks, bbc news. time for a look at the weather. here's simon king. we had some freezing fog in inverness airport, cold air is still in place, elsewhere rain is spreading in bed as it bumps into colder air in the north—east we see a bit of snow, particularly over higher ground, but through tonight there could be significant snow in central and northern scotland, more confined to the higher ground through the night as the rain spreads north and east, patchy into the early hours of tomorrow. frost free for many of us, we have not

seen that widely across the uk