�* says the �*says the air mm 5mm says the air strikes were le al, says the air strikes were leal, limited — says the air strikes were legal, limited and| — says the air - strikes were legal, limited and were proportionate, but the big question tonight was this, will they make the situation better or worse? also tonight — has the post office underpaid £100 million in tax while overpaying top executives? the legendary dj annie nightingale has died at the age of 83 — the first and for years only woman on radio 1. eventually i think they thought, "we'll have to have one. who do we know?" and the brutalist 1960s housing estate in sheffield that's inspired a west end musical. on newsnight at 10:30 p:m., another missile attack on shipping after dozens of bombs from british and americanjets on the dozens of bombs from british and american jets on the houthis dozens of bombs from british and americanjets on the houthis in yemen. a step towards escalation?

good evening. the us says tonight that it is not interested in a war with yemen — just hours after american and british missiles hit houthi rebel positions there. five people were killed and six wounded — but a white house spokesman said president biden�*s actions were about preventing any escalation of conflict. the joint military strikes were in response to nearly two months of attacks by the iran—backed houthi movement on cargo ships in the red sea, disrupting commercial shipping and the global economy. the houthis say they're targeting western support for israel. a coalition of countries were involved in last night's military operation — to destroy houthi military infrastructure and munitions. some of the targets were in the yemeni capital sana'a. the houthis, who control much of yemen, retaliated by firing one ballistic missile today,

which failed to hit a target — and they warned that britain and the us "will pay a heavy price, for their aggression". here's our international editorjeremy bowen. in sana�*a, the yemeni capital, a huge rally against the air strikes and in support of palestinians filled the city's broadest boulevard. it was organised — the houthis do not allow unauthorised protests — but without question, millions in yemen and across the arab world are appalled by israel's conduct in the gaza war and regard the american and british air strikes as an escalation on israel's behalf. during the night, the americans launched their attack from a carrier battle group in the red sea. like britain, they had warned the houthis this was coming if they did not stop hitting shipping. the air strikes were intended to show that western red lines will not turn pink under pressure

but if anything, the houthis will be even more determined to carry on. yahya sarea, a houthi military spokesman, said the americans and british were responsible for criminal aggression which would be answered with attacks on all hostile targets on land and sea. the raf released video of its jet taking off for yemen from the british base in cyprus. the british are trying to distance airstrikes aimed at opening the red sea from the war in gaza. it's clear this type of behaviour cannot be met without a response, we need to send a strong signal that this breach of international law is wrong and people cannot act like this with impunity and that is why together with allies we have decided to take this action. even more emphatically, an american military spokesman told cbs news in the us that the strikes were nothing to do with gaza. it is important to differentiate between what's happening

between israel and hamas what's happening in the red sea. you have the houthi rebels, that are conducting indiscriminate attacks against international shipping, over 50 countries have been affected by this, affecting the economic prosperity of multiple nations. but the houthis, whose commanders captured a ship in the red sea in december, say their attacks are to support palestinians in gaza and hit israel's allies. iran provides the houthis training and weapons and the houthis say these attacks will go on until the fighting in gaza stops. britain and the us oppose an immediate ceasefire in the war. the air strikes — this was the raf raid — are only partly about freedom of navigation in the red sea. the reality is that they are also directly linked to events in gaza and represent an escalation in the crisis that is gripping the middle east. jeremy bowen, bbc news. rishi sunak has

described the strikes as "necessary and proportionate" to protect global shipping. it's the first time he's launched any kind of significant military operation since becoming prime minister. the labour leader, sir keir starmer, said he supported the action but called on the prime minister to make a statement to parliament as soon as possible. our political editor chris mason reports. the early hours of this morning, back at their base in cyprus, the britishjets involved in air strikes on yemen. good evening, mr speaker, should parliament be recalled, sir? i don't even know what it would be recalled for. last night, the decision already taken by the prime minister, the speaker of the house of commons was called in for a briefing. will labour be supporting the government? so too were senior labour figures — keir starmerjoined remotely. on a visit to greater manchester today, the labour leader said the air strikes were justified because of the actions of the houthis. they are putting civilian lives

at risk and disrupting that traffic through the red sea, traffic that is vital for the world economy. so we support the action the government has taken. of course it is for the government to make a statement about it but the principle is an important one. 20 years ago, tony blair held a vote in parliament before the iraq war. this is the time for this house, not just this government or indeed this prime minister, but for this house to give a lead... he won the vote. technically, governments don't need to do this but the iraq war was so controversial ministers have come under pressure to do so ever since. a decade later, in 2013, david cameron wanted british air strikes on syria. the nos have it, the nos have it. but the commons rejected the idea. the british parliament, reflecting the views of the british people, does not want to see british military action. i get that and the government will act accordingly.

back to today, the scottish national party condemned the houthis but said the prime minister should have consulted more widely beforehand. parliament should have been recalled, the evidence basis laid out, the legal basis laid out in house of commons for mps to scrutinise, for the issue to be debated and then of course for a decision to then be taken. what sort ofjam is it? strawberry jam. strawberry! the liberal democrat leader, visiting a school in stockport, said he sympathised with the government's desire to act but... i think it is really important that parliament, whenever we use our military forces, has a saw _ i'm not saying we would not support it but i think it's reasonable and i think the public would expect there to be a provision of information from the government to make that case. the prime minister said his approach wasjustified. what we have done here is take limited and necessary action in response to a specific threat, in self—defence, and if you look at similar situations in 2015

and 2018, a statement was made to parliament after the action. rishi sunak will be here on monday to face questions about what has happened. and the crux of his argument will be that these air strikes were legitimate and appropriate, because of the threat to shipping in the red sea, such a crucial artery in the world economy and that sense from the uk, from the us and others, that there had to be a response to those attacks. but where does that leave the prospect of a wider conflict? there are so many questions the prime minister will face here on monday. was this strictly necessary? what might provoke further air strikes? what would count as a success? and where does this all end?

thank you very much, chris mason reporting. well, the strikes on cargo ships by the houthis have already had a major impact on international trade. our chief economics correspondent dharshini david is here with more. from furniture to energy, the billions of pounds of goods arriving on our shores are key to our lives. but it's that trade that makes us vulnerable to shocks thousands of miles away, from covid to the war in ukraine. could the escalation in the red sea be the latest threat to prosperity? the red sea shipping route typically looks like this — one of the busiest, transporting 15% of traded goods, largely from east to west. but as vessels faced attack, as this latest map of activity shows, many major shipping firms have diverted around the cape of good hope. it takes 10 days longer, adding $1 million to the average container ship's fuel costs. but one shipping boss warns the impact could linger. having to re—route all of these cargo now south of the cape

of good hope is going to create significant disruptions to the global supply chain for the duration in which we have to do that and probably a few months more as we have to get back into normal. in europe, tesla has halted some production as components are held up, as has volvo. on the high street, next and ikea have warned of delays. but this is happening after the christmas rush — consumers will notice less disruption, and even if costs are passed on, the impact should be relatively small. yet a fifth of oil also travels through an area near where a tanker was seized. the price of crude rose to over $80 in the wake of the overnight assault, reflecting concerns about potential issues, but it remains below where it was last autumn. however, if the conflict escalates, there are worries about potential interruptions to shipments of liquid gas from qatar. but we are currently well stocked —

most of our supply is from europe, and any impact on bills would not be felt for several months. but the economy's already fragile, with growth figures suggesting that while activity picked up in november, the risk of recession remains. events in the red sea aren't hitting us yet, but if it is prolonged, and spreads, it could threaten to derail growth and declining inflation, just as we're trying to get back on our feet. the houthis have been fighting a civil war against the yemeni government since 2014. when the war in gaza began, they declared their support for hamas and said they would target any ship travelling to israel. frank gardner looks now at whether today's military action will deter them. proudly independent, wary of outsiders and also staunchly anti—western and anti—israel. the houthis are a tough mountain tribe who seized power

in yemen ten years ago. today, the us—led air strikes seem only to have emboldened them and their supporters. translation: we condemn the criminal terrorist strikes | on the yemeni people by israel, america and britain. we have been at war for eight years. these strikes do not frighten us and do not worry a hair on our head. we will support our brothers in palestine and gaza and we are with them. the houthis have already endured nearly eight years of airstrikes as saudi arabia, armed with western weapons, sought to reverse their takeover and restore the legitimate government. it failed. the houthis are in firm control of most of the populated parts of yemen. that's the purple bits here, including the capital sana'a, and, crucially, most of the red sea coast. and they're backed by iran, which trains them, arms them and provides them with intelligence — which it denies. this has enabled the houthis to build up a powerful arsenal of drones and missiles.

now, the houthis have effectively entered the gaza war on the side of hamas. they've demanded a ceasefire and they say they're targeting any ship linked to israel — but they've also attacked plenty of vessels that aren't. the capabilities the iranians have provided the houthis have included cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and also the capability to manufacture home—grown uavs, drones, which can be used as a cheap way to attack both shipping at sea and targets on the land. houthi patience may outlast america's and britain's in this crisis. their drones cost a fraction of what it cost to shoot them down. they've vowed to keep attacking shipping and to exact revenge for last night's air strikes. frank gardner, bbc news. and for more on this story you can listen to the global story podcast: why are the us and uk attacking

the houthis in yemen? available now on bbc sounds. jeremy bowen is with me. the americans are saying these strikes against the houthis are about preventing an escalation of conflict — how realistic is that? well, i think the strikes actually make an escalation more possible. i think they are escalator in in themselves. the americans and the brits are trying to draw a distinction between what is happening in the war in gaza and what they have done in yemen, saying it is actually about the freedom of navigation, it's about the world economic crisis that may result from a stretch of water being blocked. well, yes, it's partly about that. but it's also about the war in gaza. the houthis say they are doing this because they are in the war, on the side of the palestinians and they want to hit israel, they want to hit israel's allies. you can't get

clearer than that. so, israel's allies. you can't get clearerthan that. so, in israel's allies. you can't get clearer than that. so, in a sense, it is america's truth trying to spin it is america's truth trying to spin it that way, but what this represents is an escalation of the war. and there has been a lot of talk about let's try and do everything we can, the americans particularly, to avoid a regional war. at a regional war is happening. if you look at the list of countries, it is affecting notjust israel and palestinians, it's affecting lebanon, iraq, syria, yemen, so now the question is, how do you contain it? and, at the moment, outside gaza itself, it is relatively low level. so maybe it is possible to do that? certainly let's hope so, because a fully blown war would be a really terrible thing. but we have to say, i was talking about this on this programme this time last night, and i think it is now harder to contain it than it was then, because of the strikes.

the uk is to send another £2.5 billion of military aid to ukraine over the next year. the announcement came on a trip to kyiv by rishi sunak. james landale was travelling with the prime minister. the train to kyiv, snowy, secure, but even here there is no escaping what ukraine wants. rishi sunak came to offer just that, military and, yes, moral support too, for a country under fresh attack. prime minister, when you come here and you see the sheer scale of this devastation, how does it make you feel? i was here a year ago, talking to people who were impacted by what was happening, and doing the same thing again today is incredibly moving, reminds us why it is so important that we continue to support ukraine. but is the purpose of this military aid to help ukraine defeat russia orjust to survive the year? no, the purpose of this military aid is to make sure that ukraine can first and foremost keep its people safe and regain its freedom and its sovereignty.

the prime minister saw the devastation of russia's latest strikes, meeting one woman who lost family, seeing first—hand the impact of ukraine's weakening air defences, something he hopes £2.5 billion of military aid can address. we are one of ukraine's most significant supporters, particularly when it comes to providing military aid. i am pleased to be here today to announce an increase in the aid we are providing. we are not going anywhere, i am here with one clear message — the united kingdom stands with ukraine. rishi sunak has come here notjust to see the devastation for himself but also promise ukraine more support, to try and show a little bit of british leadership while america and europe hesitate. but the new money is only for one year and has been promised later than some mps wanted. but mr sunak�*s host was happy, notjust with the new money, but also the sheer fact of the prime minister's presence,

the first world leader to visit this year. they signed a new agreement committing britain to support ukraine's security in the long term. mr sunak spoke of a new hundred year partnership. but in a speech to ukrainian mps... i come from the world's oldest parliament to address the world's bravest. amid the solidarity there was a warning too. we meet today at a difficult moment in the struggle for ukraine's freedom. as always, during conflict, there will be difficult moments. but we must prepare for this to be a long war. and that is the reality these two men face. mr zelensky needs allies and ammunition, mr sunak needs time and money. and neither has enough of either. james landale, bbc news, kyiv. the dj annie nightingale, who was radio 1's first female presenter and who became its longest—serving host, has died at the age of 83.

her family said she was a "pioneer, trailblazer and an inspiration to many." our culture editor, katie razzall, looks back at her life. annie nightingale. bbc radio 1. radio 1 launched in 1967, with no women presenters. it's 2:00 in the morning, in a club in bristol... annie nightingale refused to accept the all—male remit, and three years later, blazed a trail on to the station and into the history books. i think they thought "we'll have to have one. "who do we know?" so i became the token woman. the first female presenter on radio 1, she stayed for more than 50 years, her passion for music undiminished. it's fatboy slim live! she said, people never say to sir david attenborough, like, "0h, are you going to stop being interested in wildlife now, and conservation? " because she isjust, "why would i?" she is always going to be passionate about music.

she always knew what the coolest tune was. she was 17 when she decided to become a journalist, she got a job on the brighton argus and got to interview the beatles. she became one of the first music journalists on fleet street, a pioneer in the largely all—male world of rock. and as the first female presenter on the old grey whistle test, ushered in punk, new wave and a new era. the first time i saw buzzcocks was when they toured with the clash in their early days. she obviously had great things to say about the buzzcocks. she welcomed that new spirit and breeze that came in. and she recognised that, and played the records and stood by it. a powerful character. an inspirational character. they don't make them like that any more. the damned! i love you so. even in her 80s, her taste in music didn't age.

the champion of the new, the undiscovered, from day one annie nightingale said "i chose the records i wanted to play and stuck to it ever since." annie nightingale, who's died at the age of 83. the post office may have underpaid over £100 million in tax while overpaying its senior executives, according to leading tax experts. our business editor, simonjack, is here. and this is linked to payments the post office made to victims of the horizon it scandal? that's exactly right, yes. what they have been doing is deducting compensation due to victims of the scandal from that reported profits, thereby lowering and in some cases wiping out their tax bill. tax experts have told us that may be a breach of tax law, that you're not normally allowed to deduct fines or compensation for unlawful acts from your profits, they are non—tax—deductible, and as a result,

the post office might owe over £100 million in unpaid tax. in effect, government will have to step in and support it as it has in the past but there is another dimension to this point whereas they have included those payments out when it comes to reporting profits, they have stripped them out when it comes to executive pay and bonuses, ignoring those payments which means they have been boosting the salary and bonuses of those executives opened a leading lawyer said to me, he from tax policy associates, said, if a public company had done this, or a private plc had done this, the shareholders would be asking for the heads of their senior executives on a platter. their senior executives on a latter. . ., their senior executives on a latter. ,, ., ., ~ , ., ,, ., platter. 0k, simon, thank you, simon jack. a woman and her former partner have been given life sentences for the murder of her 18—month—old son. alfie philips died in a caravan in kent during lockdown in 2020 with more than 50 injuries, and traces of cocaine in his body. sian hedges, seen here being arrested, will spend

at least 19 years injail, while jack benham, also being arrested here, won't be considered for release for 23 years. israel has called on judges at the international court ofjustice to throw out a case brought by south africa, alleging it's committing genocide in gaza in its war against hamas. lawyers acting for israel argue that the case lacks any merit and that the truth is being distorted. south africa is also asking the court to order israel to stop its military offensive. here's paul adams. in khan younis this morning, the terrible, familiar story of this war unfolding yet again. members of this family, killed by israeli air strikes, prepared for burial. israel's military campaign in gaza is now more than three months old. the killing, the destruction, have not stopped. far away at the hague, israel stands accused

by south africa of genocide. today, a chance to defend itself. but is there a reason these people are unworthy of protection? and remind the world how this war started, with murder and the taking of hostages. the absurd upshot of south africa's argument is this — under the guise of the allegation against israel of genocide, this court is asked to call for an end to operations against the ongoing attacks of an organisation that pursues an actual genocidal agenda. the court was shown evidence which israel said proved hamas was using schools and hospitals as cover for its operations, and that israel was doing what it could to ease the suffering. here you can see the idf�*s arabic twitter account, providing information for civilians to evacuate specific areas. yet the applicant, astonishingly, claims that these efforts

are in themselves genocidal. israel says its military operation could last for many more months. it says the court has no legal basis on which to order a halt and that the whole case against israel is fundamentally flawed. there is no genocidal intent here. this is no genocide. back in khan younis, a narrow escape for a team of rescue workers. no one doubts the horror of the past three months, but is this just war or something worse? paul adams, bbc news. in his first major speech as leader of the snp, and with a general election expected this year, humza yousaf says 2024 marks a "huge opportunity for scotland." he says votes for labour are effectively votes against scottish independence, and that he aims to "wipe the tories from scotland's electoral map."

we didn't vote for this tory government. austerity and cuts. we didn't vote for brexit. we didn't vote to leave the world's largest trading bloc. we didn't vote for the disastrous mini budget. constant attacks on social security. we didn't vote for the hostile environment on immigration. yet every single one of these disastrous decisions and more has weakened scotland's economy, damaged our public services, and led to the cost of living going through the roof. the world health organisation has declared cape verde free of malaria — the first sub—saharan african country to achieve this in 50 years. it was granted the status after going more than three years without a single case of local transmission. malaria is a huge killer elsewhere on the continent, with 580,000 people dying from the disease last year. a musical set on an iconic housing estate in sheffield is set to take

the west end by storm. standing on the sky's edge explores the power of community. it covers six decades, charting the political upheaval and unrest in britain from the 1960s to the present day. our arts correspondent david sillito has been taking a look. park hill, sheffield. in the �*60s, coach trips would come to marvel at the streets in the sky. # after the rains have gone, something inside me, i know... it's like being in heaven up here. three mornings, decades apart. and now, 60 years on, its story of hope, long decline and now rebirth is about to open on london's west end. and it's why the cast of standing at the sky's edge went to meet the people of park hill. next to the greeny—bluey door, that were our kitchen. mickjones moved here in the �*60s.

he has already seen the show three times and today, a chance to meet one of its stars, rachel wooding. and i tell you, when we moved on here, it was amazing, it was just... it was like you'd won the lottery. and i know what that means, to have your story told and be heard and be seen. i was in tears, because it was so beautiful. we really are standing at the sky's edge here, aren't we? yeah, pretty much. here, the man behind it all, richard hawley. standing at the sky's edge... cheering _ what started as a little project in sheffield has already won an olivier but this was not about trying to create a west end hit. what would you want people to take away from it? learn from history. and don't repeat the story again, you know, because there were awful things that happened here, awful. and it's that kind of systemic neglect, we need to avoid that. and it's notjust sheffield — it's everywhere. # after the rains have gone,

# something inside me i know is dying for you # after the pain has gone, i finally open my eyes. # not crying any more. tens of thousands have passed along these concrete walkways. this, an attempt to tell something of the truth of those many lives. david sillito, bbc news, park hill, sheffield. time for a look at the weather. here's elizabeth rizzini. thank you. some really pretty wintry scenes across parts of scotland today including here in perth and kinross but the severe frost will become more widespread across the uk heading into next week, possibly some disruptive snow so brace yourself for so much colder feeling air and here it comes. are sinking southwards from northern scotland heading through sunday and that opens the floodgates for this chilly

arctic air to push further south across the whole of the uk with really cold and brisk northerly winds. there is a weak weather front fizzling out as it pushes southwards overnight, not as cold as last night but still a touch of frost out there where we see the clear spells and may be a bit of localised mist and fog also but not a huge problem. tomorrow, the weather front gives a few spots of rain in northern areas of northern ireland, northern wales and north—west england were further north in scotland, some winter sunshine, showers in the north by the end the date and further south had a flat front, brighter in england and wales than today, some bright spells but variable cloud. temperatures of 5—8 and windy in the northern isles put it but look at sunday, here comes the colder air across northern scotland, snow even possibly at lower levels by the end of the day and that wind picking up particular on north sea coast but still mild in the south, seven or 8 degrees. but already some