they destroyed my life, they didn't hesitate sending me to jail, - took my money off of me, make me go bankrupt, . i think it is time for somebody on the post office side - to have the same thing done. some justice at last. compensation and exoneration for the postmasters as the government reacts to public rage. we will get legal reaction to the package of measures announced today. and one of sub—postmasters who was part of the group litigation. also tonight meta announces new safeguards to protect teenagers on line. and we will look at the proposed changes to the draft in ukraine. where does kyiv find half a million new soldiers for the front line? good evening, rishi sunak says

the government is preparing a new law to swiftly exonerate and compensate post office branch managers who were convicted over horizon it scandal. over a 15—year period until 2015, more than 700 people were wrongfully convicted of fraud, theft or false accounting, because the it system had produced shortfalls in their accounts. so far, only 93 have had their convictions overturned. mr sunak said it was the biggest miscarriage in british history and government would quickly right the wrongs of the past. here's our political editor chris mason. four nights of drama on the telly after two decades of injustice. and, just one week later... we come to questions for the prime minister. the most high profile moment of the week at westminster. the start of prime minister's question time. and rishi sunak said... mr speaker this is one of the greatest miscarriages ofjustice in our nation's history.

today i can announce that we will introduce new primary legislation, to make sure that those convicted as a result of the horizon scannedle are swiftly exonerated and compensated. this is the story of westminster transfixed like never before, about a scandal over 20 years in the making. it is a huge injustice, people lost their lives, their liberty, and their livelihood, and they have been waiting far too long for the truth forjustice and for compensation. yes, compensation. yes, justice. itv�*s drama last week is what has preevoked what you have seen in the commons. have you been in there before? watching westminster�*s drama today the director of the series. tell me about this last week,

look at what you have done. it is astonishing we thought we would hopefully raise awareness and get the story out there and the story of the victims to a wider audience but no—one ever thought we would get this sort of reaction and response and to be here today to see them announce, the overturning of the criminal convictions is mind—blowing. back inside parliament, the beginnings of the detail and scrutiny for the government. too many victims want nothing to do with the britishjustice system, nothing do with the post office, nothing do with government. they have had enough. we need to keep on the momentum the itv series, absolutely engenders, in press, here, everywhere, i think we also still need to listen to the victims. in terms of those who had their convictions overturned, who have died,

will their estates be able to access compensation? yes, the government says their family also get the money. ministers acknowledge it has big consequence, including the prospect some people who are actually guilty are no paid more than £500,000. but they believe it is the right call. we have been faced with the dilemma accept the problem of people carrying conviction an or accept an unknown number of people who have stolen will be exonerated or perhaps even compensated. constitutionally, politically, practically, financially, this is a big moment. for the victim, the prospect after so, so long, justice, repayment, clarity. chris mason, bbc news, westminster. in april2016, a high court claim was issued against the post office by a group of these postmasters. a group litigation order a process

for managing claims by people with similar or shared grievances, was issued by the court two years later. there are around 555 claimants give or take a few that belong to that glo. and they have been promised today a 75,000 pound upfront payment. but that will be a fraction of the costs many of these people have incurred. quite apart from the court costs in appealing their cases, which for many this payment would not cover anyway, many of them have lost their, their livelihoods, their homes, their liberty, their pensions. we spoke on monday to the former post—mistress sally stringer who wasn't convicted, but she still suffered significant financial losses. making up the shortfalls in the accounts which were generated by the it system. she is back with us. good evening, sally. were you part of the glo and is the £75,000 payment go far enough to mitigate what people in this class action invested in their appeals? it is interesting question because...

yes, i am is interesting question because... yes, lam part is interesting question because... yes, i am part but it is a mixed bunch of people with mixed problems. some fall into they were prosecuted, some were not and i was not prosecuted. the interim payment that the government were announcing today of £75,000 is a start for those that have lost everything. and i mean everything. but i don't know when the government are actually planning to start to pay it because the prime minister said, to start to pay it because the prime ministersaid, it to start to pay it because the prime minister said, it was going to be sorted out and then the post office minister said, sorted out and then the post office ministersaid, it sorted out and then the post office minister said, it could take a bit of time so there has to be clarity. the devil of course is in the detail. the group have spent over £40 million on litigation so you do some simple maths here for the 555 times 75,000 it barely covers it and

by all accounts there may be 300 or so in this group who have been going at it for some while who will be out of pocket by far more than that. that is exactly what had just said but the fact of the matter is that it is moving forward as a result of the media and i am hugely grateful to the bbc and itv and any other media company because you have highlighted an issue that nobody has been able to get hold of. the ministers are all squirming around like rats in a bloodied cage, sorry about my french, and at the end of the day we need to have dates and times to go to the end of the inquiry which could be the end of 2024 possibly into 2025 if the post office manages to deal with the delay that they are trying to play at the moment, at tomorrow. it's not

good enough and the election will be over and there will be a new government and a new set of players and god knows what else. we want clarity. this is an election issue at the end of the day. just clarity. this is an election issue at the end of the day.— clarity. this is an election issue at the end of the day. just in terms of how things _ at the end of the day. just in terms of how things go — at the end of the day. just in terms of how things go forward _ at the end of the day. just in terms of how things go forward from - at the end of the day. just in terms | of how things go forward from here, presumably you will be sent a form attesting to your innocence and then what? how does that change things for you personally? me what? how does that change things for you personally?— for you personally? me personally i was not convicted _ for you personally? me personally i was not convicted so _ for you personally? me personally i was not convicted so therefore... i was not convicted so therefore... required to get some money? i will have to prove _ required to get some money? i will have to prove losses. _ required to get some money? iw ii. have to prove losses. and i have done that. i have done that through my lawyers and people have done the same. we are all in the same game at this moment. we can all prove that we have lost money through the years. some not brilliantly because

they have actually got rid of documents and am not surprised because having buckets full of post office documents is torturous, absolutely torturous. just office documents is torturous, absolutely torturous.— office documents is torturous, absolutely torturous. just one last thin. we absolutely torturous. just one last thing- we have — absolutely torturous. just one last thing. we have talked _ absolutely torturous. just one last thing. we have talked before - absolutely torturous. just one last thing. we have talked before and| absolutely torturous. just one last. thing. we have talked before and you had some harsh things to say about the lid dem leader sir ed davey who has been quick to call for others to resign in the past who was in charge of the post office back in 2010. he was not at pmqs today when the prime minister announced this, should he have been? fih minister announced this, should he have been?— have been? oh god yes. he's the leader of a _ have been? oh god yes. he's the leader of a political _ have been? oh god yes. he's the leader of a political party - have been? oh god yes. he's the leader of a political party for - have been? oh god yes. he's the leader of a political party for his i leader of a political party for his country, for gosh sake. he has a duty and i was many centuries ago a liberal counsellor and he has a duty to appear in parliament to represent the constituents that he represents it also the people that will vote

for liberals. now i am done with them but that is by the by. he cannot run away from this. he is complicit in so many things. he is very good at telling people, you have to resign and go on, but the book is on the other foot now and he doesn't like it very much as the boot is on the other food with vince cable. they have not done the job that they were supposed to properly. and for goodness' sake, say sorry. it's not difficult.— it's not difficult. sadly, people leave it there. _ it's not difficult. sadly, people leave it there. thank - it's not difficult. sadly, people leave it there. thank you - it's not difficult. sadly, people leave it there. thank you very | it's not difficult. sadly, people - leave it there. thank you very much for that. the government always had two options to consider in quashing these convictions. one was to agree some expedited procedures with the court of appeal, the other was to draft the legislation they are proposing,

which will exonerate everyone, including those who might have been guilty of fraud. instead of an unjustified convictions, it is likely that among them there will be unjust acquittals. which raises important issues of constitutional principle. so lets get a view on that. let's speak to richard moorhead, a professor of law and ethics at exeter university, who has dedicated his research to the legal failings around the post office scandal. good to have you on the programme. can you think of a precedent like this where the government, en masse, has quashed convictions and gone around the courts?— has quashed convictions and gone around the courts? know i think this is a totally unique _ around the courts? know i think this is a totally unique situation. - around the courts? know i think this is a totally unique situation. the - is a totally unique situation. the post office, through their behaviours and investigations and prosecutions stretching back 20 years, have put the government in the courts in a invidious position. they have chosen this process and the way of solving the problem and i think it probably is the only solution that will tackle the injustice for the hundreds of people affected. but injustice for the hundreds of people affected. �* , ., ., ., affected. but you will have heard the law lord's _

affected. but you will have heard the law lord's who _ affected. but you will have heard the law lord's who have - affected. but you will have heard the law lord's who have been i the law lord's who have been interviewed on this and what they are saying is that once the president is made it is no telling how it may be used in the future, do you have any concerns that constitutionally, this is much bigger than it might look today on first reading? i bigger than it might look today on first reading?— first reading? i think it is not a precedent _ first reading? i think it is not a precedent in — first reading? i think it is not a precedent in the _ first reading? i think it is not a precedent in the legal - first reading? i think it is not a precedent in the legal sense, l first reading? i think it is not a | precedent in the legal sense, it is a political precedent if anything. the situation is totally unique. the facts of the case are extraordinary, the number of people affected is extraordinary. the level of agreement across both houses is extraordinary. and the government are mindful of some of the constitutional problems and putting in process to try and deal with the risk of, if you'd like, unjust acquittals which is really pretty low because we will simply never know which people are... which people might be guilty because the way the post office handle the cases. they made such a terrible mess of the cases that the courts cannot... , , ., .,

cannot... the system focuses more on rotectin: cannot... the system focuses more on protecting the — cannot... the system focuses more on protecting the innocent _ cannot... the system focuses more on protecting the innocent and _ cannot... the system focuses more on protecting the innocent and that - cannot... the system focuses more on protecting the innocent and that is - protecting the innocent and that is why we have a criminal standard of proof beyond reasonable doubt that this is probably the best way around to do it. the postmaster, you have just heard from sally who says it is a good first step, what elements would you like to see in the draught legislation when it is presented? irate legislation when it is presented? - need to see a process that is going to work for the sub—postmaster victims. those of the source of details which i as a member of the horizon composition advisory board will be continuing to work with the ministers on. so a process that works that protect the interests of the sub—postmasters and everybody else involved. that is the key thing for me because these people have been waiting for upwards of 20 years, some forjustice.- been waiting for upwards of 20 years, some forjustice. years, some for 'ustice. what about the years, some forjustice. what about the nondisclosure _ years, some forjustice. what about the nondisclosure agreements - years, some forjustice. what about l the nondisclosure agreements crafted by lawyers which prevented victims from finding out about each other. if we are putting all of our cards

on the table getting to the bottom of this is an important that those are weeds? mr; of this is an important that those are weeds?— of this is an important that those are weeds? ~ , , ., , ., are weeds? my understanding is that the have are weeds? my understanding is that they have been _ are weeds? my understanding is that they have been waived _ are weeds? my understanding is that they have been waived for— they have been waived for the inquiries so that they have been and any postmaster who wants to breach their nondisclosure agreement i would encourage them to talk to the lawyers that are representing them because i do not think there will be a problem. but if there is any doubt about that than the post office can clarify. it raises the bigger question of why these agreements are used generally in the government needs to think about that question in the coming months as well. irate in the coming months as well. we should point out that this is legislation only for england and wales. scotland and northern ireland will have to look at their own legislation on this. do you foresee any problems in scotland when there are only handles cases in northern ireland but you see a bigger problem in scotland? == ireland but you see a bigger problem in scotland? ., ., ireland but you see a bigger problem in scotland?— in scotland? -- handful. i am not a scotch legal— in scotland? -- handful. i am not a scotch legal experts _ in scotland? -- handful. i am not a scotch legal experts i _ in scotland? -- handful. i am not a scotch legal experts i cannot - in scotland? -- handful. i am not a scotch legal experts i cannot speakj scotch legal experts i cannot speak to the detail of that but noises from scotland and the minister looking promising for a similar kind of solution is what i have picked up from probably the same stories that you will of heard of. so it sounds

encouraging, but we have to wait and see because of through the legal system is different there. izierr; see because of through the legal system is different there. very good to talk to you _ system is different there. very good to talk to you and _ system is different there. very good to talk to you and thank— system is different there. very good to talk to you and thank you - system is different there. very good to talk to you and thank you for - to talk to you and thank you for coming onto the programme. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. the london to birmingham stretch of the now—truncated hs2 railway could cost as much as 66 billion pounds alone. that's almost twice as much as the original estimate for the entire project. the hs2 ltd executive chair said reasons for the cost increase include original budgets being too low, changes to scope, poor delivery and inflation. the parents of a british tourist who died after a helicopter crash in the grand canyon are to receive a 79 million pound payout. 31—year—old jonathan oodall was one of five britons, including his new wife, who died after the aircraft crashed and burst into flames in february 2018. a lawsuit brought by his parents said he could have survived had

the helicopter been fitted with systems to help prevent the fire. the actor, stephen fry, has called for an end to the use of real fur in the bearskin caps worn by the king's guard on duties such as guarding buckingham palace. he is backing an animal welfare campaign calling for them to be made with artificial fur instead. you're live with bbc news. taiwan will elect a new president this coming weekend in an election that china has called a choice between peace and war. taiwan's separation from china is seen in beijing as an aberration — a "left over" from china's civil war. in 1949, the victorious communists drove china's nationalist leader chang kai shek from power. he fled to taiwan, setting up a rival government there. but today, taiwan is a democracy, and its people are free to choose the government they want. our asia correspondent rupert wingfield—hayes reports.

there was a time when statues of chang kai shek greeted you wherever you went on this island. today, the generalissimo is a rare sight. hundreds of his statues have been stashed away here at this riverside park, south of taipei. 94—year—old fan shinjong isn't happy about what's being done to the legacy of his former leader. as a young soldier, fan fled china with chang in 1949, but he has never stopped feeling chinese. translation: taiwan is a province. it is still a part of china. slowly, the differences between us will narrow until we are the same. then we can achieve unification. chang kai shek tried to turn taiwan into a mini version of the china he left behind. people here were taught there was no such thing as being taiwanese. this enormous memorial to chang kai shek still dominates the center of taipei. but his project to turn taiwanese

people into citizens of china ultimately failed. today, around 70% of people here say they are taiwanese, not chinese. 86—year—old zhang chen is one of them. he spent ten years in this prison for supporting taiwan independence. in all, around 140,000 taiwanese were locked up for opposing chang kai shek�*s rule. zhang says he always felt taiwanese and his years in prison only strengthened that belief. translation: idon't. consider myself chinese. taiwan is already a great country, but due to the influence of the chinese communist party, we can't declare independence. that's how i see it. it's election time and people here are again facing those questions — who are they and what relationship should they have with china? but today no one, not even chang kai shek�*s old nationalist party is campaigning

for unification taiwan. translation: yeah, i'm taiwanese, | but my ancestors come from china. | we have the same blood. translation: and what about unification? i want us to be good friends. we can both make money together. taiwan is very different from china. it has dozens of political parties and noisy, energetic elections. people are free to choose who they are and how to live, and the vast majority don't want that to change. rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news in taipei. the election on saturday the 13th will bring you all the news and reaction to the result. meta says it is adding new safety features to protect teenagers on facebook and instagram. all teens will now be placed automatically in the most restrictive content control settings on the apps and additional search terms will be limited on instagram.

it should make it more difficult for teens to come across sensitive content such as suicide, self—harm and eating disorders when they use the search features. there has of course been fierce scrutiny of what teenagers have access to on these sites. the company said the measures, expected to roll out over the coming weeks, would help deliver a more "age—appropriate" experience. live now to dr fiona scott, lecturer in digital literacies at the university of sheffield. good to have you with us. significant? it good to have you with us. significant?— good to have you with us. significant? good to have you with us. sianificant? , ., , , ., significant? it is absolutely a ositive significant? it is absolutely a positive step _ significant? it is absolutely a positive step forward, - significant? it is absolutely a positive step forward, yes. i | significant? it is absolutely a - positive step forward, yes. i think there has been increasing scrutiny for organisations like meta, recently. there has been a highly publicised whistle—blowers, lawsuits and a lot of media and public debate so i think it is a really important step that there is some movement. i know you but a lot of focus on education when it comes to the use of social media, one element that

they have announced is that they will direct teams to more resources to further help functions if they are posting about this particular content —— teenagers, is that useful? content -- teenagers, is that useful? ~ , , , content -- teenagers, is that useful? ~ , , ., useful? absolutely. they have announced _ useful? absolutely. they have announced measures - useful? absolutely. they have announced measures to - useful? absolutely. they have announced measures to block| announced measures to block searching certain terms in content but the real key here it is also that it but the real key here it is also thatitis but the real key here it is also that it is notjust the children and teenagers should be banned from discussing orfinding information about certain topics, it is more about certain topics, it is more about directing them to the right quality of material. as you say, education is really important. there is also the need for critical digital and media literacy skills. when it comes to directing them to the right material, that is very much dependent, is it not, on the algorithms? i much dependent, is it not, on the algorithms?— much dependent, is it not, on the algorithms? i think this is another thin that algorithms? i think this is another thing that is _ algorithms? i think this is another thing that is a _ algorithms? i think this is another thing that is a brilliant _ algorithms? i think this is another thing that is a brilliant step - algorithms? i think this is another thing that is a brilliant step today| thing that is a brilliant step today but at the same time i think a huge amount of the population, child, teenager and i don't fully do not understand the complexity of these algorithms and how they are working

to direct us in certain ways. certainly, in terms of putting content in front of us that is contentious that may encourage debate but also encourage harm through being very emotionally and causes dispute between people. thea;r causes dispute between people. they will be ut causes dispute between people. they will be put automatically into the most restrictive content controls, but as we know, often children will lie about their age when they sign up lie about their age when they sign up to the social media sites. has there been enough work done on verifying who is on these sites and what their age really is? absolutely. we know children and young people do this. on the other hand, the focus is not so much on verifying that, but on making sure that we are making the experience of social media, broadly speaking, safer and less harmful for everyone who is engaging with it. so that

comes down to some of the things you're talking about. not using the algorithms for every user in ways that are quite damaging.- that are quite damaging. every arent that are quite damaging. every parent you _ that are quite damaging. every parent you speak _ that are quite damaging. every parent you speak to _ that are quite damaging. every parent you speak to will - that are quite damaging. every parent you speak to will tell. that are quite damaging. every l parent you speak to will tell you, mine included, there teenagers spend an enormous time on snap chat, instagram, tiktok, what is the relationship between social media and the mental health of our children? ~ . and the mental health of our children?— and the mental health of our children? ~ ., , ., , , . children? what is really difficult about this is _ children? what is really difficult about this is as _ children? what is really difficult about this is as always - children? what is really difficult about this is as always these i about this is as always these messages are very diluted. at the end of the day there are really positive things about social media and negative ones in terms of the mental health of children and young people. and a step like this today, whilst important, ignores some of the nuance of that. it is a really big job to really support children and young people, notjust in terms of the content they can access, but

helping them half critical skills that will enable them to make sense of that material. what is a valid source, how do i respond to this, who can i speak to in real life if i need support with this. because, will of course, _ need support with this. because, will of course, we _ need support with this. because, will of course, we know- need support with this. because, will of course, we know we - need support with this. because, will of course, we know we see l need support with this. because, l will of course, we know we see the effects in extreme cases in children who have lost lives and it is not by accident that this is come along right now, there is federal legislation pending in the united states which could go even further than this. i know you advise governments sometimes, do you think this will satisfy politicians and it doesn't go as far they want the companies to go?— doesn't go as far they want the companies to go? absolutely not. i think it is a — companies to go? absolutely not. i think it is a positive _ companies to go? absolutely not. i think it is a positive step _ companies to go? absolutely not. i think it is a positive step and - companies to go? absolutely not. i think it is a positive step and some| think it is a positive step and some of the things that have been mentioned about suicide and self—harm and eating disorders, these are things that are clearly, really emotional issues and things that people will be happy to hear about but at the same time they are

just the tip of the iceberg in terms of potential risks. i think companies like meta to have a responsibility to address those more broadly. responsibility to address those more broadl . ., ., ., ~ responsibility to address those more broadl. ., ., ~ responsibility to address those more broadl . ., ., ., ~ ., broadly. doctor scott, thank you for cominu broadly. doctor scott, thank you for coming onto — broadly. doctor scott, thank you for coming onto the _ broadly. doctor scott, thank you for coming onto the programme. - broadly. doctor scott, thank you for coming onto the programme. we i broadly. doctor scott, thank you for. coming onto the programme. we will take a short break, on the other side of the break we will talk about a really important issue in ukraine which is not often addressed in western media and that is the draught. who do they send to the front line, how many people can they find and how do they protect the people on the front lines when they get there? we will discuss after the break, stay with us. hello there. it's been another very cold day wherever you are, whether you've had sunshine or whether you've had clouds and it looks pretty similar for the next few days, could see a bit more cloud around. generally, it will stay dry thanks to high pressure. and there will be some sunshine around, particularly towards southern and western areas. this area of high pressure has been feeding in quite a bit of cloud to eastern scotland, also eastern parts of england, the odd patch

of drizzle at times too. the breeze is still a feature along north sea coast, but not as strong across southern areas as we head through this evening and overnight. where we have the clear skies it's going to be a cold one. central northern western scotland, southern england could be down to —3 to —5 celsius here, but a little less cold where we have the cloud. so tomorrow then we start off with some cloud across some eastern areas. again, eastern england seeing most of that cloud, it could run a little bit further southwards into south east england into the afternoon. so the best of the sunshine towards this southwest corner, maybe northern ireland and plenty of sunshine across scotland after a cold start there with some early mist and fog. temperatures maybe up a degree, eight degrees, but it certainly won't feel like that. then as we move through thursday nights, we see plenty of cloud feeding into england and wales, clearer spells across scotland, northern ireland. so it's here where we'll see the lowest. the temperatures could be down to minus seven celsius. and there's also a threat of some dense fog patches developing as the winds will be lighter here, but less cold further south

where we have the cloud. area of high pressure shifts a little bit a bit further westwards. it does allow a lot of cloud around for central, southern and eastern parts of the country. certainly rather cloudy for england. wales could be quite gloomy all day in places best the sunshine scotland, maybe northern ireland, far north of england later in the day, maybe parts of wales too. but cold here after the very cold start, a little less cold further south and east because of more cloud cover. then as we head into the weekend, although southern areas will see quite a bit of sunshine, we'll start to open the floodgate to an arctic northerly and that will start to feed in plenty of snow showers to the northern half of scotland. accumulations really mounting up by the end of the weekend here, but it'll be largely dry, i think, cold with some sunshine across most central and southern parts of the country. we hold onto the cold weather into next week as well. further snow showers in the north and there's just the chance of some more widespread snow developing across central and southern areas around the middle part of the week. so stay tuned to the forecast of uncertainty on this.

you hello, i'm christian fraser. you're watching the context on bbc news. soldiers are out on the streets and transportation network of ecuador, after the president declared a crackdown on drug trafficking gangs.

sport and for a full round—up, from the bbc sport centre, here's gavin ra mjaun. let's start with the footbal, and matches across on wednesday and matches across europe on wednesday starting with the second of the league cup semi—finals in england with liverpool hosting fulham, in an all premier league clash. fulham1—0 up there at anfield in the first leg. willian with the goal after a virgil van dijk mistakejust over half an hour in. liverpool, undefeated in their last 23 matches at home in all competitions, on the hunt for a record—extending tenth league cup crown. liverpool's rivals everton have paid tribute to their former chairman peterjohnson who's family have announced his passing. he bought a controlling stake in the club in 1994 before selling it to bill kenwright five years later. peterjohnson who has died aged 84.

lazio are into the semi—finals of the coppa italia after a narrow