tonight at ten — we're live in belfast, as 100,000 people take part in the biggest strikes in northern ireland for 50 years. what do we want? fair pay. when do we want it? now. health care workers, bus drivers, road gritters, teachers — they are among those who have walked out in a dispute over pay. we're not looking at a fortune of money, so we are, but £1 an hour, £1.50 an hour would be huge and it would keep me on thejob i love. union leaders say workers are being used as pawns in negotiations with westminster about restoring power—sharing at stormont. also tonight... 3,000 jobs are at risk at tata steel, which plans to shut

two blast furnaces in south wales. iran says nine people have died in a pakistani missile strike, amid worsening cross—border tensions. after his aborted adventure in saudi arabia, england midfielder jordan henderson signs for dutch side ajax. and spotted off shetland — a rare beluga whale, miles from its usual home in the arctic. 0n newsnight at10.30... after baroness michelle mone and her husband doug barrowman�*s involvement in a multi—million pound ppe scandal, experts argue that a firm link with mr barrowman should be investigated for fraud. good evening from belfast, on the day that northern ireland has been facing the biggest day of strike action for 50 years.

more than 100,000 public sector workers went out on strike this morning at the start of a 24—hour dispute about pay. schools have been closed and health services and public transport badly affected. the dispute has been complicated by the fact that there's been no functioning government here now for two years. union leaders say workers are being used as pawns, in negotiations with westminster about restoring power sharing. we'll be talking to our northern ireland political editor enda mcclafferty in londonderry about that, and our political editor chris mason, who's in westminster, but first our ireland correspondent sara girvin has this report from belfast, about the impact of today's strike action. public transport stopped. announcement: due to industrial action there - will be no trains today. schools closed. the gritting of icy roads

finished at midnight. it's been a day of disruption and demonstrations across northern ireland and it all comes down to public sector pay increases — and the lack of one in northern ireland. the devolved government hasn't been sitting for nearly two years. it collapsed when the dup walked out in protest over post—brexit trading arrangements. the uk government has offered a financial package which would include provisions on pay, with the caveat that devolution must be restored — which hasn't happened. the secretary of state for northern ireland, chris heaton—harris, has said that public sector pay is a devolved matter. he added he was deeply disappointed the funding offer hasn't been taken up by stormont parties. 16 unions came together for today's strike action. the biggest rally was in belfast city centre. those taking part in the mass walk—out say the decision wasn't an easy one, but they believe it was the right one. make no mistake about it,

we will win this fight. cheering. we are facing a massive recruitment and retention crisis. nobody wants to be a teacher any more. none of my colleagues want bei on a picket line but you just feel they have no other option. why should we be paid any different to our counterpart doing the same job, looking after the same patients on a daily basis? ronan is a teacher in lurgan. so a beginning teacher's wage here in northern ireland is £24,137. that's before deductions. and my counterparts in education are looking at teachers in england saying why is a teacher in england worth £5,500 more than me? why is a teacher in scotland worth approximately £8,500 more than me? greg has been driving a school bus for 15 years. at times at night i'm wondering, ican i afford to put heating on? i that's the position i'm in. i've had to take a second job- as well, just to make ends meet.

we're not looking at a fortune - of money, so we are, but £1 an hour, £1.50 an hour would be huge and it would keep me in the job i love. i kerry has been nursing for a decade. please support the nurses. we're here striking for our patients and people might think that we're making the patients suffer on strike day but there is 364 other days in the year. we are short—staffed. the government need to sort things out here, not the nurses. while today was a joint strike, there has been individual union action in northern ireland for months now and that's caused disruption for those who rely on public services the most. like thousands of others, breast cancer patient caroline has had medical appointments cancelled due to the strike. just in this weather it's not great to be making extra trips when you don't need to, but having said that i fully support nurses going out on strike because of the job they do and they are entitled to equal pay as the rest of the uk.

but parents of children with special educational needs say strikes hit their families especially hard. days like today, i can't get them out, i can't get them tired out, so bedtime will be a lot more difficult for me and probably midday i will be facing a lot more challenging behaviour. today saw the biggest strike northern ireland has seen in five decades and it also brought a warning from unions. if issues around public—sector pay are not sorted out soon, there will be more to come. tonight, public service pay is frozen while stormont is in the deep freeze. sara girvin, bbc news. we'll be talking to our political editor chris mason in westminster. but first, our northern ireland political editor enda mcclafferty is in londonderry. just to be clear, how much of today's mass strike action is to do with the situation at stormont, the fact there's been no functioning

government here for two years? weill. government here for two years? well, sohie, at government here for two years? well, sophie. at the — government here for two years? well, sophie, at the heart _ government here for two years? well, sophie, at the heart of _ government here for two years? well, sophie, at the heart of this _ government here for two years? -ii sophie, at the heart of this pay dispute as a political stand—off between the government and the dup. the party walked out of the power—sharing executive at stormont two years ago in protest at the post—brexit trading arrangements, the so—called irish sea border, insisting that it diminished northern ireland's place within the uk. just before christmas the government put a £3 billion financial package on the table, including £600 million for public sector pay, to try and tempt the dup back into government, but so far it hasn't worked and the government is now in a tricky position that having waved that £600 million cheque at public sector workers it's refusing to hand over until the executive is restored. now, waiting in the wings, watching closely, is sinn fein, who if the executive is restored will hold the post of first minister for the very first time, so you can see how the political and financial stakes are pretty high in northern

ireland right now but there is so many strands to this stand—off, it's difficult to see how it's going to be easily resolved.— difficult to see how it's going to be easily resolved. ende, thank you, and chris mason _ be easily resolved. ende, thank you, and chris mason in _ be easily resolved. ende, thank you, and chris mason in westminster, - and chris mason in westminster, could the scale of today's walk—outs bring about a change? could the scale of today's walk-outs bring about a change?— bring about a change? they've been very visible. — bring about a change? they've been very visible. angry _ bring about a change? they've been very visible, angry and _ bring about a change? they've been very visible, angry and noisy, - bring about a change? they've been very visible, angry and noisy, an - very visible, angry and noisy, an indicator of the present stalemate. northern ireland is used to devolution, the handing away of power away from here being less stable than scotland and wales, periods of deadlock and suspension and stalemate that this has been going on two years and it's a year almost since the signing of that wins a framework, the new northern ireland brexit deal, which was seen as a diplomatic breakthrough but the icing on the cake of that was always meant to be the restoration of parish hiring —— power—sharing and that has not happened. when you speak to labour, interestingly they make the argument that if they find themselves in government after the

uk general election, they are not interested in looking again at that wind is a framework, there will be no significant change there if there were to be a change in government here. as far as the government tonight is concerned, they say they acknowledge that people have been deeply disadvantaged and put out of their way by the strikes. i speak to folk and they say it's still in play that devolution might be restored eventually. 0thers though much more sceptical. the impasse continues and the consequences are clear for all to see. , ., the consequences are clear for all tosee. , ., to see. chris mason, our political editor, to see. chris mason, our political editor. thank _ to see. chris mason, our political editor, thank you. _ that's it for now from belfast, but later i will be meeting the stonemasons in the mourne mountains, repairing an historic wall that was built by their grandfather. all that to come from belfast and sophie, thank you. the firm, tata steel, is to go ahead with plans

to close both blast furnaces at its port talbot factory in south wales. up to 3,000 jobs could go, with a formal announcement expected tomorrow. the company is due to replace the furnaces with an electric version, which is more environmentally friendly, but needs fewer workers. hywel griffith has the story. 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 on 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. a new freeport has been promised for port talbot. there are plans for a jet fuel plant. but all are years away. at the school's food bank, they know demand will rise. they are not aligning in terms of the timing, so some of these are not going to be implemented for three, five, ten years' time, but people are losing theirjobs today, so where do they go? where do they work? tata's expected to make its formal announcement tomorrow. many here already know they'll need to retrain and seek work elsewhere. for them, a greenerfuture is also an uncertain one. hywel griffith, bbc news, port talbot. iran has condemned a missile attack on its territory, from neighbouring pakistan. state television says nine people were killed.

it comes two days after iran ordered its own strikes across the border, which are thought to have killed two children and focused world attention on the troubled frontier region between the two countries known as balochistan. militant groups on both sides are thought to be based there in the mountains — an area also rife with crossborder drug trafficking. both sides claim they've been targetting militants in their recent strikes, resulting in an increasingly strained relationship, between the two countries. in a moment we ll hear from the bbc�*s, farhatjaved, who's in balochistan. but first, caroline davies has the latest, from the pakistani capital, islamabad. 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—baluchestan 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 hasfopenztorit, 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.

well, the remote province of balochistan is located in the far south west corner of pakistan and bordering iran, and farhatjaved from the bbc�*s urdu service is there and sent us this update. timing is very important. this escalation has occurred just days before a general election in pakistan, where an interim government is in place and election campaign is in full swing. for many here this is an almost unprecedented incident between the two nations that otherwise boast of historical brotherly ties, but this also is a fact, that both iran and pakistan have long been accusing each other of harbouring militant groups. speaking of the public sentiment here in balochistan, we see that people are supporting pakistan's response. they do acknowledge that it could mean...it could raise escalation between the two countries, but they also think that this was needed to bring both the countries...to get both

the countries to step back from the brink. the chancellor, jeremy hunt, has told the bbc that the money will be found "more quickly" to compensate victims of the post office scandal. he said there should be no more waiting for people like betty brown, in county durham, who at the age of 91 is thought to be the oldest of the sub—postmasters and mistresses, wrongly blamed for financial losses because of a faulty computer system. emma simpson has been to meet her. absolutely destroyed my whole life. betty brown's post office was a roaring success before the horizon computer system came along. she says she was hounded out in 2003 and still has the letter from the post office blaming her for the losses, which were increasing by at least £1,500 a week. she had to use her retirement savings to balance the books.

so, you felt so ashamed about this? oh, yes. you only told your wider family last week? yes. but she's not holding back now. when you would get to bed at night, you didn't sleep. so, you felt so ashamed about this? oh, yes. i would lie shaking, and all of it was funny, all your face used to tremble. your teeth were chattering. it changed me from being a happy, outgoing person into someone who is absolutely tied up in knots inside. what would you like to say to them now? how could you? why? just why? why? her husband, 0swald, died a year after she was forced out. she believes the stress pushed him to an early grave. he worked for the post office too. think all the years that he has worked,

all the years i have worked, and this is what we get — a kick up the backside, a kick in the teeth. we got the lickings of a dog. this was her post office and she's never been back — forced to sell up, hugely out of pocket. it's 21 years now i have been waiting. it's not compensation. it's repayment. it's repayment — they have stolen all that money from me. they've stolen it. and i want it back. just how quickly do they need to sort out the compensation for you ? well, today would be fine. yeah. now. emma simpson, bbc news, county durham. marc ashdown is with me, our business correspondent. tomorrow could be a big day in the inquiry into this appalling scandal.

yes, it is the end of a big week, fujitsu week if you like. we have been hearing from members of staff tomorrow, topped off by the big european boss, paul patter sovn. paterson. the focus will be on the defects with this it system and who knew what and what action was taken. 0ne topic that emerged was something called remote access and it seems fujitsu could get into computers from afar and that could have caused some of the financial inconsistencies and why did the company give support and documents and witness statements to the post awe office to help prosecute innocent people. we saw paul paterson giving evidence to mps. he thinks the company has a moral

obligation to contribute to compensation. that bill could top a billion pounds and fujitsu has been awarded a hundred government contracts in the fast last four years and today they said they would not bid for any more until this is sorted out. not bid for any more until this is sorted out-— the england midfielder, jordan henderson, hasjust signed for the dutch club ajax. the former liverpool player had been in saudi arabia, but cut short his contract. his move to the middle east was controversial and condemned by some lgbt and human rights campaigners, and he later apologised. natalie pirks has more details from amsterdam. it was all smiles in the beginning, but a mere six months afterjoining the lucrative saudi pro league, it looks as if the dream has turned sourforjordan henderson. he's had a medical this afternoon, with the expectation he'll soon sign for dutch club ajax. he said leaving saudi arabia managed

by steven gerrard wasn't an easy decision. but one i feel is best for me and my family. he thanked the club and fans for showing the love from day one. but the love wasn't universal. henderson has always been a vocal lgbtq+ ally, but angered the community by moving to a country where homosexuality is illegal, and punishable by death. this was jake daniels, currently england's only out professional footballer, last november. henderson messaged me when i came out. i have the dm on my phone, you know? he was backing me the whole way. he was, like, we're proud of what you've done. and then seeing him move to saudi, it's kind of like... slapped me in my face, really, haven't you? henderson has always denied the reason forjoining was the reported £350,000 weekly wage. he apologised for any hurt he caused, but defended the move, saying he thought he could help grow the league into one of the best in the world. by by joining byjoining ajax for less money he is

hoping to restore a reputation that has taken a battering and breathe life into a giant that has been struggling. ajax's biggest wage packet for a top player over the years has been five million. we understand that ajax are breaking the bank and they will make him the best paid player ever in the eredivisie and at ajax. and that shows how much ajax want him. saudi arabia is making huge moves in the world of sport, having invested millions in the likes of sailing, boxing, formula 1 and golf. some of the biggest stars in world football have joined the pro league. but low attendances are a would away from the adoration henderson had liverpool. but life in saudi was a world away from the adoration henderson enjoyed at anfield,

attendances are far lower and al—ettifaq haven't won a match since october. he also wants to make the england squad for the euros this summer. the film 0ppenheimer leads the nominations for this year's bafta film awards. christopher nolan's epic about the creation of the atomic bomb is up for 13 gongs, including best film and best director. its big summer box office rival, barbie, received five nominations. here's our culture editor, katie razzall. detonators charged! discharged and preparing for glory. is this the year director christopher nolan wins his first ever bafta? we're in a race against the nazis. 0ppenheimer has 13 nominations, including best actor for cillian murphy as the theoretical physicist behind the atomic bomb. it's the best day ever. it is the best day ever. maybe not the best day for barbie, with just five chances of a bafta win next month. the most popular movie across the world last year, but not in the running for best film, though its producer, margot robbie, is up for best actress. why don't you come home with me? come to saltburn. the gothic romance saltburn also has five nominations, including 0utstanding british film, with acting nods for barry keoghan,

jacob elordi and rosamund pike. it's given me goose bumps. its writer director is emerald fennell. saltburn is an entirely british crew. we were over 50% women on our cast and crew as well, which meant a great deal to us. and so something like bafta means the world to us. this is bella. the fantastical coming of age comedy poor things is also riding high, with 11 nominations. and the heart—warming 1970s drama the holdovers is up for seven awards... i heard you got stuck - with baby—sitting duties. ..including for paul giamatti as a curmudgeonly teacher and da'vinejoy randolph as a grieving mother. it really means a lot. i used to always call it when i was younger, the british 0scars. so, to me it feels like ijust got nominated for an oscar today. but amongst bafta's omissions, martin scorsese isn't on the best directing list for killers of the flower moon. his true crime story about the murders of native americans

is up for best film. what was that? but neither leonardo dicaprio nor co—star lily gladstone are nominated. this would be a suicide. though oscar winner robert de niro is, it would be his first ever bafta win. katie razzall, bbc news. now, let's return to sophie, in belfast. i'm going to take you up the mourne mountains in a moment, but first we're heading to shetland. because yesterday the bbc�*s correspondent based there told us about a huge story on the island. a beluga whale had been spotted. it's normally only found in arctic waters. so we asked jothohnston to spend today trying to track down the whale and to talk to the people who had already seen it. with shetland shivering in freezing conditions, perhaps it was no surprise that a visitor well used to arctic temperatures would choose to venture into nearby waters.

this lone beluga whale was spotted off the coast of hillswick, to the delight of seasoned local whale watchers. we arrived to a beautiful big bay, but in absolutely freezing arctic conditions, and we were there for maybe five minutes looking out on what was really dark water and suddenly this incredible ivory coloured whale surfaced in front of us. it was just the most magical moment. david attenbourough: elsewhere in the arctic, belugas are gathering in their thousands. it's not unusual to see other whales off the coast of shetland, but the beluga is more often found around the arctic circle, as it was here in david attenborough's blue planet. this latest confirmed sighting was just the sixth in scottish waters. the earliest sighting was back in 1976. so you're looking at six sightings over the course of many years. so this is an extra special treat for anybody who is a whale and dolphin, orjust a wildlife enthusiast.

and with temperatures set to remain very cold until the weekend, it's likely to feel at home for some days to come. jothohnston, bbc news, lerwick harbour. i hiked up into the mourne mountains this morning — about a0 miles away from here — to meet the stonemastons who are rebuilding parts of a vast dry stone wall. they've been climbing those mountains for years now — whatever the weather. it's called the mourne wall and their grandfather helped build it 100 years ago. in subzero temperatures and a biting wind, it is a long hikejust to reach the part of the wall the stonemasons are working on. it can be treacherous up here — the weather changes in an instant. we've walked for about half an hour and there they are, finally, repairing this part of the mourne wall. what a commute! up here, are andrew

and brian rooney, fifth generation stonemasons. these mountains run through their blood. good morning. i cannot believe you do this every single day. it's an iconic wall and our grandfather worked on it. and that makes it so special for us to be back on it 100 years later, knowing that they worked, our relations, worked on this wall like and yeah it's a privilege to be working on it. the mourne wall crosses 15 mountains, it's 22 miles long, every bit of it was built by hand. it was constructed to keep cattle off the land, so they didn't contaminate the reservoir below. as you can see from here, when you look inside there, you can see what a balancing act the whole thing is, isn't it? it is, yep. and as you see the two skins and then you have your three stone that ties these two skins together. they've repaired around 900 sections of this wall since they started back in 2017, all of it using the same

techniques as their grandfather. now their work here is nearly done. what is it you love about doing this job? i love everything about it, i like where it's at, we always say our office is, you can't beat it, it's just beautiful up here all weathers. and even today is a gorgeous day. in the summertime, you've got the heat and the scenery and just everything about it. and especially getting the wall back to the original state, knowing it's going to be there, hopefully another hundred years. it was spectacular up there. and a wonderful bit time for a look at the weather, here's sarah keith—lucas. it looked