live from london, this is bbc news. a scathing report concludes the police response to the uvalde school massacre in texas was a "failure". families of the victims have been giving their reaction. i think we're going to continue fighting, we're going to continue fighting that some type of change is made in honour of our kids. the bbc understands indian—owned tata steel is to push ahead with plans to close both blast furnaces at its port talbot works in south wales. the move is expected to lead to the loss of up to 3,000 jobs. pakistan carries out strikes on what it calls "terrorist hideouts" in iran's border province days after iranian attacks on pakistan.

hello to you. i am ben thompson. welcome to the programme. even by the standards of american school shootings, it was grim — 19 students and two teachers killed by a gunman. but what was also shocking about events at the robb elementary school in uvalde, texas, was the police�*s failure to take prompt action. in the last couple of hours, we have had the department ofjustice report into that failure. it says officers failed to accurately assess the situation. they say it took more than an hour to confront and kill the gunman despite the presence of dozens of law enforcement officials. the us attorney general merrick garland has been in uvalde, where he saw some of the murals that have been created in memory of those who died. he also met survivors and some of the families of those who lost their lives. afterwards, at a news conference, he had this message for the entire country. the law enforcement response at robb elementary school on may 2a,

2022, and in the hours and days after, was a failure that should not have happened. we hope to honour the victims and the survivors by working together to try to prevent anything like this from ever happening again, here or anywhere. our children deserve better than to grow up in a country where an 18—year—old has easy access to a weapon that belongs on the battlefield, not in the classroom. and communities across the country and the law enforcement officers who protect them deserve better than to be forced to respond to one horrific mass shooting after another, but that is the terrible reality that we face.

and so it was another deeply distressing day for the families of all those who were killed. let's hear from some of them who commented after seeing the report. for these officers to sit there and just not do anything, you know, and still be out here on the streets like nothing happened, you know, and my daughter's gone, it's hard. it's hard. i think we're going to continue fighting, we're going to continue fighting that some type of change is made in honour of our kids. a short time ago, i spoke to our north america correspondent emma vardy, who has been closely following family reaction to the report. it's going to be a very emotional day in uvalde and it'll be very emotional, no doubt, forfamilies

reading this report. there are hundreds of pages, as you say, many recommendations, and you just build up this picture of chaos and confusion on the scene that day as you read through the report's findings. one of the key parts of it really is, as you mentioned earlier, the gunman, the 18—year—old gunman who'd entered the school, well, initially, officers on the scene treated this as a subject who'd barricaded themselves in a classroom and they didn't follow the well—established procedures for tackling a gunman. and so therefore, they withdrew from classrooms rather than trying to enter them. there's a lot of criticism particularly for one of the local police chiefs who arrived on the scene. he was set up as the de facto commander there, amid the chaos and confusion, but he actually directed officers to pull back rather than enter the classroom. it's also said in the report that he left his radio behind in the vehicle, didn't bring it with him, didn't think it was necessary. so, failings upon failings, really. and then to compound that, something really frustrating was this misinformation, miscommunications that were put out at the time,

which meant that some families were told loved ones had survived when they hadn't, there was a lot of delay in being able to reunite families with survivors, so reallyjust adding to the emotion and frustration of that day. now, of course, there are lots of recommendations in this report — for better training, to re—establish procedures going forward — but as you heard there from families, that doesn't help them who are still dealing with the grief of this. they're intending to continue fighting. they are bringing some civil lawsuits against officers and they're calling for resignations. and i think they will feel very validated in their criticisms reading this report today. and they continue... they are going to continue fighting. but it really does, reading this report, lay bare in a very frustrating way the many missed opportunities there potentially were to stop the gunman and potentially save more lives. yeah, and emma, you talk about procedures there, and there is a tragic reality of this sort of gun violence in the united states

that police should be, one would assume, better trained in how they respond to crises like this. reading the report, broadly speaking, the protocol it describes is that if it is established you have an active shooter, as it's called, that the procedure is to go forward towards the threat, potentially officers putting themselves in harm's way, but in order to neutralise the threat, to take down the shooter themselves. that's very clearly described in this report. but that kind of procedure wasn't followed. there was initial praise — when this tragedy happened — for the first responders on the scene, but then gradually this picture emerged that it had taken an hour or so for them to go into classrooms, they waited back when they should have pushed forward, and eventually there were hundreds of police officers on the scene, that it took so, so long. and there was this immense criticism and frustration afterwards

that action wasn't taken sooner. and of already there with the latest as far as the response from the families of some of those caught up in that tragedy back in 2022 —— and of emma vardy. emma va rdy. what emma vardy. what should police have done? i put that question to dr pete blair. he is executive director of the advanced law enforcement rapid response training — also known as the alerrt center — at texas state university. he has been asked to do some work training police in texas schools in the wake of uvalde by the governor. i asked him what they did and what they should have done. training for any kind of event like this is not a one—shot deal, where you take a single class and you're prepared to deal with something that's as complex as what happened. the major concern that it seems like happened, there was confusion over whether it was a hostage barricade situation, such as somebody coming into a location, taking a bunch of kids hostage in a classroom where nobody�*s

been injured yet, or is it an active shooter situation where there is violence that has occurred or is ongoing and they need to stop that violence right away? and it seems from the report that there was substantial confusion about which situation the officers found themselves in. the first officers on scene arrived, they heard gunfire. they proceeded toward the classroom where the gunfire was coming from. then they took fire, they fell back and then they kind of lost momentum at that point. and then there was a lot of confusion about what was happening, were there actually kids that were injured in the classrooms? what was going on? and so many people thought it was a hostage barricade situation, despite the fact that there was more information coming in suggesting that it wasn't. yes. as opposed to being an active event, where they needed to get in there and stop the attacker from hurting more people, or if the attacker�*s keeping them from providing medical care to people who've been hurt, they need to go in and confront the attacker. and, pete, it's easy for us perhaps to look we're now able to see and given how this tragedy played out. but how difficult is it to determine all of those things you talk about in the heat of the moment when

it is an active shooter situation? sure, it's quite difficult, because it's a confusing situation, there's a lot of information flying around, especially for officers who are arriving later to the call, as opposed to those that were there hearing the gunfire at the outset. so it can absolutely be confusing. and part of the job of training is to help officers sort through what the signals are, what information they have, so they know what kind of situation they're in. pete blair, speaking to me a little earlier. thousands ofjobs hang in the balance in south wales tonight. the uk's largest steel works, owned by india's tata steel, in port talbot, is to push ahead with plans to close both blast furnaces at the site. it puts 3,000 jobs at risk, three quarters of the workforce. it's due to be formally announced tomorrow. but while the move means uncertainty for staff, it's part of wider bid by the industry to go green. around the world, steel making consumes vast quantities of energy, usually fuelled by coal and gas, producing vast quantities of co2 emissions. instead, newer electric furnaces are more environmentally friendly but require fewer workers.

with the latest from south wales, here's hywel griffith. forged by over a century of steel making, port talbot is a place dominated by one industry. the site sprawls over three miles. at its heart, two coal—fired blast furnaces, which produce liquid iron. both will be switched off — replaced eventually by one new electric furnace, which recycles scrap steel. it's a cleaner, greener way to make metal, that needs far fewer workers. sean fears his part of the plant will close. a lot of anger, frustration. disappointment is probably the biggest word. and disbelief. it's just been handled absolutely appallingly, in my opinion. but the news is out now, so we've just got to deal with it. britain's second biggest steelworks, in scunthorpe, is also going electric. it may mean the uk will no longer

produce its own so—called "virgin steel" from scratch. steel's important because it has a place in all our lives. from construction to cars, from coins to tin cans, it all starts here. but it's an industry with a pollution problem. this site in port talbot is one of the uk's biggest emitters of greenhouse gases, responsible for 2% of the uk's carbon emissions. tata has known for years it needs to clean up its act. electric arc furnaces are one way of doing that. so, an electric arc furnace should produce less than half the emissions of a blast furnace. there are a lot of things that will depend on, it will depend the material you put in the arc furnace, how much processing that material needs, and also where your electricity is coming from. getting enough renewable energy will be a challenge. trade unions say the plan is decarbonisation on the cheap and are unhappy that thousands of workers will lose theirjobs. at the local school, they fear what that will mean

for the next generation. they already run a food bank from here and expect demand to rise. i think, as a community, it's going to have a huge impact. because not only do a lot of our pupils�* parents and families work within tata, but the knock—on with the contractors as well. so demand, i'm presuming, isjust going to go up to threefold, really. tata's expected to make a formal announcement tomorrow and start closing posts in april. a move towards a greener future clearly coming at a cost. hywel griffith, bbc news, port talbot. let's speak to gareth davies, professor at swansea university's school of management. gareth, thank you forjoining us. a really difficult time, isn't it, for the 3000 or so staff who will be affected by this? as we said, expected to be officially announced tomorrow. but there is an economic reality too. we will come onto that

decarbonisation in a second, but the company say it is losing £1 million a day on its uk operations. something had to change, didn't it coachella thank you, ben. i something had to change, didn't it coachella thank you, ben.- coachella thank you, ben. i think this is been _ coachella thank you, ben. i think this is been a _ coachella thank you, ben. i think this is been a long-standing - this is been a long—standing challenge notjust this is been a long—standing challenge not just for this is been a long—standing challenge notjust for this site but the industry as a whole since the 2016 steel crisis which showed a lot of... it really is a dark day for port talbot and the communities, the individual workers, the families affected, but it is something in terms of strategic direction, that the carbonation you heard in the report is something, there is a change, questionable as to if... it is a particularly difficult transition.— is a particularly difficult transition. ~ . , transition. what people will find really confusing _ transition. what people will find really confusing about _ transition. what people will find really confusing about all- transition. what people will find really confusing about all of- transition. what people will find | really confusing about all of this, gareth, is that we are told that there are jobs in the green economy and that going green does not mean

jobs will not disappear. this is a perfect example of how going green means 3000 people lose theirjobs. like i said, in terms of this question of transition, in terms of decarbonisation, sustainable, that shift, lots of questions about the electric arc furnaces, a broader piece on the industrial strategy on these elements coming together, so we have heard as well about freeports, opportunities to develop around that in the port talbot region, but there is a question in terms of timing and that transition. also, some of the options, there is clearly a commercial imperative within robb —— there is clearly a commercial imperative within tata itself. there is a belief the strategy of government, that is where unfortunately here there is quite a

few thousand people, individuals and families, that are affected directly by this. families, that are affected directly b this. �* , , ., ~ by this. and interestingly, you talk there about _ by this. and interestingly, you talk there about government, - by this. and interestingly, you talk there about government, because | by this. and interestingly, you talk - there about government, because this is about plans to d carbonised, that race tonet zero, to reduce carbon emissions. the government put 5,000,000th £500 million of public money into macklin last year. there will be questions of whether that came with conditions attached, particularly around how many people would be employed at that site?— employed at that site? obviously that is a question _ employed at that site? obviously that is a question for _ employed at that site? obviously that is a question for tata - employed at that site? obviously that is a question for tata and . employed at that site? obviously| that is a question for tata and the government, in terms of what those negotiations are... that government, in terms of what those negotiations are. . ._ negotiations are... that betrays this differently. _ negotiations are... that betrays this differently. is _ negotiations are... that betrays this differently. is this - negotiations are... that betrays this differently. is this about. negotiations are... that betrays | this differently. is this about that money going towards an encouragement to go green, to reduce emissions, rather than what we have seen any past, where it is about retaining industry in south wales and retaining the jobs that go with it? in terms of retaining jobs, there is a question of continuity at the site, in terms of steel with the

electric arc furnace. that involves capital investment, significant investment, which is in that broader deal that trailed with tata and the government. and it is notjust tata as a site, there is what that means in terms of the supply, the local economy, and that effect, but also downstream, in terms of the customers of tata as well. so there is a real strategic question in terms of... it is notjust sustaining port talbot, this is about uk white industrial policy and the industrial landscape, so even though this is significant it self from the ramifications are wider as well. �* ., ,., from the ramifications are wider as well. �* ., ., , from the ramifications are wider as well. ., ., , , from the ramifications are wider as well. ., .,, ., well. and also does this speak to government _ well. and also does this speak to government policy _ well. and also does this speak to government policy that _ well. and also does this speak to government policy that needs - well. and also does this speak to government policy that needs to | well. and also does this speak to i government policy that needs to run much longer term? this is about big commitments over many, many years, this isjust commitments over many, many years, this is just not about a few quick here and there, and i wonder whether we have the sort of policy that is looking long term enough when it

comes to d carbonised and an encouraging green investments? i think that is a very good question. in terms of industrial strategy, what that green feature looks like, obviously there has to be a plan which brings these things together. tata will have their commercial perspective, there is obviously a strategic uk plc, so the government, as well as investments in infrastructure, have that responsibility to the communities, their well—being, so it is not as simple as just the investment in one element, there is the wider impact, but certainly what you describe with that shift to that greener economy of like offshore wind and so forth, come into this, but there are questions around the skills, the timing and everything else, how this comes together, which will be

different industries, different actors, some of which are still to emerge, but unfortunately the people caught in the middle of this or the workforces around, as you said in your report, notjust here, scunthorpe as well, so a dark day for port talbot, but really looking at what that trilogy is for the region and further afield. lots of auestions region and further afield. lots of questions -- _ region and further afield. lots of questions -- at _ region and further afield. lots of questions -- at what _ region and further afield. lots of questions -- at what the - region and further afield. lots of| questions -- at what the strategy questions —— at what the strategy is. does not feel like we get any answers any time soon. gareth davies, thank you for being with us. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. the independent 0ffice the independent office for police conduct is to investigate whether there were missed opportunities to check on a toddler and his father before they died. he is not to have starved to death in a house in skegness after his father kenneth had a heart attack. a man has been

arrested after the investigation into the alleged escape of daniel khalife last september. he was arrested on wednesday morning, on suspicion of assisting an offender. police said the man is not a member of staff at the prison. the consumer group which says its research suggests people can pay significantly more for train tickets at station vending machines in england compared with those bought online. it checked the prices of 75 different journeys. train company said they would continue to work with the government and the rail industry to achieve further changes to fares that would benefit customers. there's more on all those stories. you're live with bbc news. ijust want i just want to bring you ijust want to bring you more on our breaking news that the united states has announced new strikes on houthis in yemen. washington says all that in yemen. washington says all that in response to houthi attacks on vessels in the red sea. the us

saying it has hit two houthi mac anti—ship missiles that it claims were preparing to launch. victoria mitchell is a maritime analyst, at a global specialist risk consultancy. she told me what she made of the situation right now.— situation right now. these air strikes have _ situation right now. these air strikes have degraded - situation right now. these air strikes have degraded rather| situation right now. these air - strikes have degraded rather than eliminated the availability of weaponry to the houthis, who since november have stated a clear intent to target shipping, so both the intent and the capability of is retained, and it has in fact in recent days both increased its scope, to different this, between the uk and the us, and also its operating areas, so what we can see is that the presence of naval forces is that the presence of naval forces is having an impact, but it is not having a determinative impact on the

houthi mac movement's capacity to target commercial shipping running through this strategic route —— houthi. through this strategic route -- houthi. ~ ., , through this strategic route -- houthi. . . , ., through this strategic route -- houthi. ~ . , ., , houthi. what is the solution? is it siml houthi. what is the solution? is it simply more _ houthi. what is the solution? is it simply more targeted _ houthi. what is the solution? is it simply more targeted attacks - simply more targeted attacks on those positions or is this about maybe about proving the security of ships in that area? how does this problem get resolved? it is currently — problem get resolved? it is currently 40 _ problem get resolved? it is currently 40 industry - problem get resolved? it is currently 40 industry a - problem get resolved? it 3 currently 40 industry a wait and watch situation, it is a very volatile, evolving situation on a day—to—day basis, but traffic is continuing through the waters. he would get resolved is itself complex question —— how would get resolved. and the current approach of the naval forces, to operate both and the current approach of the navalforces, to operate both in defence of an offence of capacity, gives us some insight into the approaches they are making and they will be making to fanatic approach ongoing as well —— defensive and offensive. while the situation means

so uncertain and indeed much more volatile, operators across the shipping industry are making a decision and trying to manage the risk of using what is a faster route for a great deal of trade towards europe. for a great deal of trade towards euro e. �* for a great deal of trade towards euroe. �* . ., , ., europe. and clearly all the while, thou~h, europe. and clearly all the while, though. we _ europe. and clearly all the while, though, we know— europe. and clearly all the while, though, we know global- europe. and clearly all the while, though, we know global shipping| though, we know global shipping prices are rising, insurance costs are up and we know that many firms are up and we know that many firms are simply choosing to send their ships on different, longer, more costly, slower routes. it has huge implications for each and every one of us? it implications for each and every one of us? ., , u, implications for each and every one of us? ., , ., ., of us? it does, it can do, and it reall is of us? it does, it can do, and it really is a very _ of us? it does, it can do, and it really is a very nuanced - of us? it does, it can do, and it| really is a very nuanced picture. into the early days of january, traffic was knockdown as as maybe some of the heavens are suggesting, and it was in the container ship group segment, and that is the things we might see on the shelves in the shops, whether that is your trainers or mobile phone or laptop. that group of vessels that transport

those kind of goods had taken a decision across many major operators to undertake the diversion, with the implication you mentioned for delays, costs and increased logistical effort to get the goods to market, but in recent days, we have seen increased decisions to pause or to divert by other types of ships, so that is going to be things like your bulk cargoes that will carry grain or coal or tankers that are carrying gas, carrying oil to market, and that will change the supply chains and then also eventually, if this is a prolonged, continually prolonged, we will see price changes and likely price rises across those segments too. that the latest on the — across those segments too. that the latest on the situation _ across those segments too. that the latest on the situation as _ across those segments too. that the latest on the situation as far - across those segments too. that the latest on the situation as far as - latest on the situation as far as shipping in the red sea is

concerned, given those attacks that continue by houthi rebels. pakistan has launched missile strikes into iran two days after similar iranian air strikes on pakistan. pakistan claims its strikes hit "terrorist hideouts". iran state tv say that three women and four children were killed. the two countries share a border and they have long accused each other of having militant groups along the frontier. within the last few minutes, we've heard from the un secretary—general antonio guterres who is saying he is deeply concerned, quote, about the extended military strikes between, as we said, iran and pakistan. he has gone on to urge both countries to exercise maximum restraint to avoid a further escalation of tensions. that coming from the un's secretary—general. 0ur pakistan correspondent caroline davies has the very latest. rubble and dust. the aftermath of today's strike

by pakistan in iran. nine killed, say iran's state media, children and women among them. pakistan says this was about national security. pakistan undertook a series of highly coordinated, and specifically targeted, precision military strikes against terrorist hideouts in sistan and balochistan province of iran. this action is a manifestation of pakistan's unflinching resolve to protect and defend its national security against all threats. most are seeing pakistan's attack as a response to this — iran's missile strike inside pakistan two days ago, on what it claims was a terrorist base. pakistan says two children died. iran's justification is strikingly similar to pakistan's. translation: we won'tl allow them to play games with our national security. when it comes to the security of our country, we won't stand upon ceremony with terrorists in

pakistan — iran has been trying to show its strength in the region with strikes in syria and iraq, too. now it's seen a strike on its own soil and there are fears things could escalate. despite this strike, pakistan says it doesn't want a fight. and you can see the background to this. the economy here is weak. there's political instability. there's an election due in less than a month, and there are already difficult relations with india and neighbouring afghanistan. iran, too, has plenty occupying it, but there's real concern about how it might react. the hope is that they would use one of the many channels they have available to them, foreign office, the embassy in islamabad, the military channels that it has open to it, in order to reach out and try and de—escalate the situation. and there are some indications that that might actually be the case. but considering that the first strike itself was unprecedented, so what iran does next from a kinetic standpoint is anybody�*s guess. iran has condemned pakistan's attack. the question is, will that be all it does?

caroline davies, bbc news, islamabad. hello there. good evening. staying very cold again today across the uk, but things are about to change weather—wise into the weekend. now, england, wales and northern ireland woke up to the coldest morning so far this winter. lots of weak, wintry sunshine around for most, but blizzard—like conditions across northern scotland, with brisk northerly to north—westerly winds and heavy snow showers. the focus for those snow showers tomorrow will change slightly, more towards the west with more of a westerly wind, staying cold and then turning milder, wetter and very windy as we head through the weekend and the start of next week. now, overnight tonight, there'll still be some snow showers across these western hills in particular, perhaps driving further eastwards. icy stretches, brisk westerly winds blowing. a few wintry showers for northern areas of northern ireland, icy stretches certainly here. and there'll be some freezing fog patches forming,

most likely, i think, across the east midlands, perhaps into eastern areas of wales. a sharp widespread frost yet again, but not quite as cold for most as it was last night. and then tomorrow, we start to draw in more of a south—westerly wind. it'll start to feel a little less cold through the day. still plenty of snow showers through the morning across these north—western hills of scotland, but turning increasingly back to rain and sleet to lower levels. still some hill snow, though, as we go through the afternoon. a few wintry showers maybe for northern ireland, but for most, it will stay dry and temperatures more widely will rise to between 4 and 6 degrees celsius, turning windier towards those western coasts later on through the day. and then as we head through friday night, our high pressure starts to spill away towards the east, allowing for these weather fronts to approach from the atlantic. they're going to drive their way eastwards, bringing strong winds — look at the squeeze in the isobars — and some heavy downpours of rain as we head through the weekend, but also some much milder air. so, in a little more detail,

i think many of us will wake up to temperatures just slightly above freezing as we head through the day on saturday, perhaps a little bit below towards the south—east of england. there'll be some heavy rain, particularly out towards western coasts, and some strong, gusty winds at times, too, but temperatures starting to rise. we could even see double figures for western areas as we head through the afternoon on saturday potentially. here's the outlook for our capital cities. already, met office weather warnings in force for heavy rain, for strong, gusty winds through the day on sunday as another front pushes its way eastwards. but much milder conditions, 12 or 13 degrees celsius, later in the weekend.