them in to me doesn't make me see them in the bright _ to me doesn't make me see them in the bright light. 30 to me doesn't make me see them in the bright light-— the bright light. 50 you say there is a the bright light. so you say there is a difference _ the bright light. so you say there is a difference between - the bright light. so you say there is a difference between the - the bright light. so you say there i is a difference between the words, the rhetoric and actually what's going on with some people. absolutely, absolutely. let me... where are — absolutely, absolutely. let me... where are you — absolutely, absolutely. let me... where are you there? _ absolutely, absolutely. let me... where are you there? let - absolutely, absolutely. let me... where are you there? let me - where are you there? let me introduce now a conservative peer and former mp, lord james arbuthnot, who you will know if you watch the drama, he has been campaigning on this issue for over decades and many of his constituents will know he has been campaigning after his constituent postmistress jo been campaigning after his constituent postmistressjo hamilton came to him for help in 2009 9p is a clip from the drama. 50 came to him for help in 2009 9p is a clip from the drama.— clip from the drama. so now if you re-declare — clip from the drama. so now if you re-declare everything _ clip from the drama. so now if you re-declare everything it _ clip from the drama. so now if you re-declare everything it will - re—declare everything it will bounce, 0k? re-declare everything it will bounce, 0k?— re-declare everything it will bounce, 0k? , , ., , bounce, ok? this is so healthy, thank yom _ bounce, ok? this is so healthy, thank you. don't _ bounce, ok? this is so healthy, thank you. don't go _ bounce, ok? this is so healthy, thank you. don't go away, - bounce, ok? this is so healthy, thank you. don't go away, stay| bounce, ok? this is so healthy, - thank you. don't go away, stay with me until— thank you. don't go away, stay with me until i _ thank you. don't go away, stay with me until i have done it. —— this is so heipfui — me until i have done it. —— this is so heipfui i_ me until i have done it. —— this is so helpful. i got, it'sjust doubled right— so helpful. i got, it'sjust doubled right irr— so helpful. i got, it'sjust doubled right in front of my eyes. now it says— right in front of my eyes. now it says i_ right in front of my eyes. now it says i am — right in front of my eyes. now it says i am £4000 down. and that literally happen. _ says i am £4000 down. and that literally happen. lord _ says i am £4000 down. and that literally happen. lord arbuthnot, thank you for talking to us this

evening. i wonder if i can ask you first of all, how would you describe the length of time it has taken to get to this point? frankly terrible. we could have resolved this entire issue when ron warmington and iain henderson went in in the first place, if the post office had not tried to cover everything up and to protect the brand at the expense of the sub—postmasters. —— ron warmington and ian henderson pulled up so it's terrible. d0 and ian henderson pulled up so it's terrible. , ., . and ian henderson pulled up so it's terrible. . . , terrible. do you have any reservations _ terrible. do you have any reservations about - terrible. do you have any reservations about mps l terrible. do you have any| reservations about mps of terrible. do you have any _ reservations about mps of returning convictions handed out by the courts? �* . convictions handed out by the courts? �* , ,., . convictions handed out by the courts? �*, ,., . , courts? it's something that is... it makes one — courts? it's something that is... it makes one feel _ courts? it's something that is... it makes one feel uncomfortable. i courts? it's something that is... it| makes one feel uncomfortable. but there is no other option here. because sub—postmasters for entirely understandable reasons were not coming forward to go through the

tortuous process of having their convictions overturned. and we were only overturning about 10% of the convictions that had happened. and that was, a, far too slow, and b, not likely to complete itself at all. so the only option, really, is to do it by legislation. it does make one feel uncomfortable because there is meant to be a separation of powers in this country, so the courts do one thing and the legislature do another. at there was no choice, i think, in this case and it's a very, very... its unprecedented. it's a very, very. .. its unprecedented.- it's a very, very... its unprecedented. it's a very, very... its unrecedented. �* ., , . . unprecedented. but it does mean that in the future. — unprecedented. but it does mean that in the future, theoretically, _ unprecedented. but it does mean that in the future, theoretically, mps - in the future, theoretically, mps could overturn other convictions that they didn't agree with. or indeed passed laws to find people who have been found innocent by the courts guilty.

who have been found innocent by the courts guilty-— courts guilty. theoretically, it means that. _ courts guilty. theoretically, it means that. but _ courts guilty. theoretically, it means that. but if _ courts guilty. theoretically, it means that. but if mps - courts guilty. theoretically, it means that. but if mps are i courts guilty. theoretically, it - means that. but if mps are minded to do that sometime in the future, i don't think they will be that much affected by whether there is a president or not. i think they will just be behaving extremely badly. —— whether there is a precedent. in this case we are trying to behave as well as we can to people who have suffered so much the sub—postmasters. but there is that lack of comfort in this process. i acknowledge that. and the judges will acknowledge that. but we cannot see a better solution.— see a better solution. thank you very much _ see a better solution. thank you very much for— see a better solution. thank you very much for talking _ see a better solution. thank you very much for talking to - see a better solution. thank you very much for talking to our- very much for talking to our audience tonight and being with us alongside the former sub—postmasters. we appreciate your time, thank you. we have very little time, thank you. we have very little time left. i will ask you very briefly... what do you want to see happen now? briefly. .. what do you want to see happen now?—

briefly... what do you want to see ha en now? ., �*, happen now? from me, it's the three fs, so full. — happen now? from me, it's the three fs. so full. fair. _ happen now? from me, it's the three fs, so full, fair, final, _ happen now? from me, it's the three fs, so full, fair, final, financial- fs, so full, fair, final, financial redress. that is what i want to see. and their apologies are most welcome, victoria, but they do not pay the bills. welcome, victoria, but they do not pay the bills-— welcome, victoria, but they do not pay the bills- i— welcome, victoria, but they do not pay the bills.- i totally - pay the bills. briefly? i totally auree pay the bills. briefly? i totally agree with — pay the bills. briefly? i totally agree with shazia. _ pay the bills. briefly? i totally agree with shazia. in - pay the bills. briefly? i totally agree with shazia. in what - pay the bills. briefly? i totally| agree with shazia. in what she pay the bills. briefly? i totally - agree with shazia. in what she said. and their— agree with shazia. in what she said. and their apologies don't pay our bills _ and their apologies don't pay our bills we — and their apologies don't pay our bills. we still have to work extremely hard. we still have to take suffering from our community tom _ take suffering from our community tom of_ take suffering from our community to... of what happened back then. we -et to... of what happened back then. we get questioned on it everyday. i am still in _ get questioned on it everyday. i am still in the — get questioned on it everyday. i am still in the same community, still in the _ still in the same community, still in the same post office. i get asked about— in the same post office. i get asked about it _ in the same post office. i get asked about it every day. bal, in the same post office. i get asked about it every day.— about it every day. bal, briefly? yes, absolutely, _ about it every day. bal, briefly? yes, absolutely, i— about it every day. bal, briefly? yes, absolutely, ijust- about it every day. bal, briefly? yes, absolutely, ijust follow. about it every day. bal, briefly? yes, absolutely, ijust follow on from _ yes, absolutely, ijust follow on from the — yes, absolutely, ijust follow on from the things _ yes, absolutely, ijust follow on from the things they _ yes, absolutely, ijust follow on from the things they have - yes, absolutely, ijust follow on from the things they have said, | from the things they have said, thank— from the things they have said, thank you _ from the things they have said, thank you i— from the things they have said, thank you-— from the things they have said, thank you. i believe i would like them to look— thank you. i believe i would like them to look into _ thank you. i believe i would like them to look into my _ thank you. i believe i would like them to look into my case - thank you. i believe i would like them to look into my case as i thank you. i believe i would like i them to look into my case as well thank you. i believe i would like - them to look into my case as well as them to look into my case as well as the other for public interest, and remove the labelling, because i think it's slandering and it's

re—victimising us. by, think it's slandering and it's re-victimisinu us. �* . , re-victimising us. a re-victimising ou. re-victimising us. a re-victimising you- yes- — re-victimising us. a re-victimising you- yes- i— re-victimising us. a re-victimising you. yes. i know _ re-victimising us. a re-victimising you. yes. i know it's _ re-victimising us. a re-victimising you. yes. i know it's a _ re-victimising us. a re-victimising you. yes. i know it's a cliche - re-victimising us. a re-victimising you. yes. i know it's a cliche but l you. yes. i know it's a cliche but actions speak— you. yes. i know it's a cliche but actions speak louder _ you. yes. i know it's a cliche but actions speak louder than - you. yes. i know it's a cliche but| actions speak louder than words. yes _ actions speak louder than words. yes ron — actions speak louder than words. yes. ron warmington? | actions speak louder than words. yes. ron warmington?— actions speak louder than words. yes. ron warmington? i would like to 'ust sun est yes. ron warmington? i would like to just suggest we _ yes. ron warmington? i would like to just suggest we don't _ yes. ron warmington? i would like to just suggest we don't forget _ yes. ron warmington? i would like to just suggest we don't forget the - just suggest we don't forget the plight _ just suggest we don't forget the plight of— just suggest we don't forget the plight of the _ just suggest we don't forget the plight of the business _ just suggest we don't forget the plight of the business people, l just suggest we don't forget thei plight of the business people, all of these — plight of the business people, all of these people _ plight of the business people, all of these people are _ plight of the business people, all of these people are business - plight of the business people, all- of these people are business people, they weren't — of these people are business people, they weren't employees, _ of these people are business people, they weren't employees, they - they weren't employees, they invested — they weren't employees, they invested huge _ they weren't employees, they invested huge amounts - they weren't employees, they invested huge amounts of- they weren't employees, they - invested huge amounts of money, hence _ invested huge amounts of money, hence the — invested huge amounts of money, hence the big _ invested huge amounts of money, hence the big losses. _ invested huge amounts of money, hence the big losses. the - invested huge amounts of money, hence the big losses. the peoplel hence the big losses. the people we've _ hence the big losses. the people we've got— hence the big losses. the people we've got to _ hence the big losses. the people we've got to remember- hence the big losses. the people we've got to remember other- hence the big losses. the people - we've got to remember other people that are _ we've got to remember other people that are now— we've got to remember other people that are now running _ we've got to remember other people that are now running the _ we've got to remember other people that are now running the branches, i that are now running the branches, the last— that are now running the branches, the last thing — that are now running the branches, the last thing we _ that are now running the branches, the last thing we want _ that are now running the branches, the last thing we want is— that are now running the branches, the last thing we want is people . that are now running the branches, the last thing we want is people to| the last thing we want is people to boycott _ the last thing we want is people to boycott the — the last thing we want is people to boycott the post _ the last thing we want is people to boycott the post office, _ the last thing we want is people to boycott the post office, thinking . boycott the post office, thinking they are — boycott the post office, thinking they are punishing _ boycott the post office, thinking they are punishing the _ boycott the post office, thinking they are punishing the people i boycott the post office, thinking they are punishing the people at boycott the post office, thinking i they are punishing the people at the top when _ they are punishing the people at the top when they— they are punishing the people at the top when they are _ they are punishing the people at the top when they are actually _ they are punishing the people at the j top when they are actually punishing the business — top when they are actually punishing the business people _ top when they are actually punishing the business people that _ top when they are actually punishing the business people that are - top when they are actually punishing the business people that are really. the business people that are really are the _ the business people that are really are the face — the business people that are really are the face of— the business people that are really are the face of the _ the business people that are really are the face of the post _ the business people that are really are the face of the post office. i are the face of the post office. thank— are the face of the post office. thank you _ are the face of the post office. thank you all— are the face of the post office. thank you all so _ are the face of the post office. thank you all so much, - are the face of the post office. thank you all so much, thanki are the face of the post office. i thank you all so much, thank you are the face of the post office. - thank you all so much, thank you for being with us and thank you for giving us your reaction today, thank you for travelling all over the place we really appreciated, thank you. if you've got a story to share, do email us at newsnight@bbc.co.uk. it is what we are here for. i'm back tomorrow. goodnight.

breaking news from around the world, 24 hours a day. this is bbc news. you're live with bbc news. taiwan will choose a new president this coming weekend, in an election that china has called a choice between peace and war. china considers taiwan part of its own territory and it's been accused of interfering in the vote. but 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 centre of taipei. the centre 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 translation: idon'ti 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. 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. police figures show that young people taking nude pictures are contributing to a rise in sexual offences committed by children in england and wales. more than half of all reports of child abuse cases named someone under 18 as a perpetrator. tom symonds reports. this website, created by students in 2021, was a turning point, police say.

he blackmailed me into sending him nude pictures. school children began revealing the sexual pressure they face from other children... ..including to appear nude. but these accounts aren't from two years ago. they're from the last few months, and the stories keep coming. the result is that reported abuse of children by children is growing and concerning, and it often involves phones and photos. it's a crime for anybody to take, to make, to share or distribute an indecent image of a child that is under 18, whether that's in a consensual relationship or not. and it's really important that young people understand that, and the consequences of that, because whilst they may be in that consenting relationship at that time, once that image is shared or uploaded onto a platform, it's lost.

it can be shared among children. it can be used to blackmail or embarrass. senior officers say the ideas behind this abusive behaviour, most of it by boys, often come from violence and abusive online porn, available with just a few clicks. they want the government to back stricter controls. they know they have to use their discretion when assessing low—level offences by children because convictions can severely damage their future prospects, and they know they can't be parents. the message — we all need to have that uncomfortable conversation with our kids. tom symonds, bbc news. the european union is calling for alleged polling irregularities in bangladesh to be investigated after parliamentary elections went ahead without the lead opposition parties' participation. the election on sunday saw prime minister sheikh hasina handed a new term. yasmin khatun dewan has more.

groups and human rights campaigners with a turnout ofjust some 40%. prime minister sheikh hasina has of course been in power now for more than 15 years and in herfirst interview, following the win, she said the election was free and fair. now, the main opposition group, the bangladesh nationalist party — also known as the bnp — who boycotted the polls, called the election a sham. they, of course, prior to the election, said they wouldn't participate unless a neutral caretaker government was installed. and this, of course, is a concerns over fairness and how the election would be conducted. now, the eu havejoined the uk and the us with concern over the legitimacy of the elections over the weekend. the uk foreign office said the lack of participation from all political parties meant the people of bangladesh did not have

a full range of voting options, with the us state department adding they remain concerned by the arrest of thousands of political opposition members and by reports of irregularities on election day. the eu are just the latest to add to those concerns. we have of course heard from human rights groups in the run—up to this election. human rights watch mentioned arbitrary arrest of opposition opposition leaders and activists and their report, and they have, of course, expressed human rights concerns over the last few years and a clampdown on opposition voices in bangladesh. researchers say they've discovered that sperm whales live in human—like clans, with distinctive cultures and even dialects. the scientists used underwater microphones and drones, microphones and drones to examine the sounds and behaviour of the animals. jon donnison has that story. low-pitched clicking. the clicks and clacks of a sperm whale. and, as you might expect from the creature with the biggest brain on the planet, their chitchat has more

to it than meets the ear. this latest research, published in the royal society open science journal, found there are at least seven separate clans of sperm whales in the pacific ocean, each with its own distinct culture and vocal dialect. while the sperm whales sound very simple, their patterns of clicks is a bit like morse code. the two clans we discovered this on, one sounds click—click—click—click and the other sounds click—click—click. . . click. the study also showed the whales use their distinct dialects to communicate and make democratic consensual decisions about where to go. one example saw them take an hour and a half to decide whether or not to make a 90—degree turn, and what the researchers called a slow and messy process. jon donnison, bbc news.

an austrian heiress is setting up a group of citizens to decide how to give away much of her fortune. marlene engelhorn has sent out invitations to 10,000 members of the public. 50 will be chosen to help work out how more than $21 million should be redistributed. ms engelhorn is a descendant of the founder of the german chemical company, basf, and inherited millions when her grandmother died. that's it for the show. thanks for watching. hello there. it's been another very cold day wherever you are, whether you've had sunshine or whether you've had cloud, 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 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 southeast 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 could be down to —7 celsius. we'll see the lowest 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 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.

across more central and southern parts of the country. we hold onto the cold weather into next week as well. so stay tuned to the forecast — some uncertainty on this.

this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines at the top of the hour as newsday continues, straight after hardtalk.

welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. politicians in the west scanning the 2024 horizon see storm clouds gathering. war in the middle east could easily escalate. putin's determination to crush ukraine's resistance is undimmed. taiwan's coming election adds to fears of china's intentions. and in america, democracy itself is going to be tested in the presidential race. my guest is alicia kearns, conservative mp and chair of the uk house of commons foreign affairs select committee. is the weakness and vulnerability of liberal democracy about to be exposed?