tonight at ten — buckingham palace announces that king charles has been diagnosed with cancer. it was discovered during tests when the king was being treated in hospital last week for an enlarged prostate. senior royals, in particular prince william, are to carry out the king's public duties while he undergoes treatment. prince harry has spoken to his father and is to fly to the uk to be with him in the coming days. the king is staying overnight in london after his first day of cancer treatment. buckingham palace says he's feeling positive and looking forward to returning royal duty. our other top stories tonight... a new image of the man suspected of carrying out a corrosive chemical attack on a woman and her daughters — police still don't know his wherabouts. don't tell him, pike! and private pike — otherwise known as ian lavender from the much loved dad's army —

has died aged 77. and on bbc london — we hear from the daughter of a londoner killed in a dog attack in essex who says her death could have been prevented. good evening. king charles has been diagnosed with cancer. buckingham palace made the announcement earlier this evening, saying that while the king was in hospital being treated for an enlarged prostate, tests revealed he also has cancer, though the palace is not saying what kind. the king won't be performing his usual duties in public for now, though he will carry out state business and paperwork as usual. the statement adds the king is wholly positive about his treatment and looks forward to returning to full duties

as soon as possible. other members of the royal family are expected to fill the breach, in particular prince william and queen camilla. prince harry is due to fly to the uk to see his father in the coming days. our royal correspondent daniela relph is at buckingham palace. the king is staying overnight in london after his first day of cancer treatment. the news of his diagnosis came as a shock to the king himself but also to the wider royal family, many of whom will now have to step up many of whom will now have to step up as demonic steps back from royal duty. there was little sign yesterday of the announcement about to be made. the king was pictured on the sandringham estate in norfolk walking to church with queen camilla. it was thought to be recovering after a hospital stay. exactly a week ago today, the king left a private hospital in central london, where he had spent three nights being treated for an enlarged prostate, and we now know during his stay here cancer was discovered. in

a statement, released at six o'clock this evening, buckingham palace said... although open about his diagnosis, buckingham palace says the form of cancer of the king has will be kept private. as will the nature of his treatment. all of his public engagements have been cancelled. last week the queen was asked how her husband was recovering from his prostate condition, during a visit to a new cancer support centre at a north london hospital. she said he was doing his best. the king's

condition means royal duties will have to be picked up elsewhere. with the prince of wales and others taking on some of the engagements. prince william himself has been away from royal duty for three weeks, following the state of his wife in hospital for surgery, following the state of his wife in hospitalfor surgery, but following the state of his wife in hospital for surgery, but he following the state of his wife in hospitalfor surgery, but he returns to work this wednesday. —— the stay of his wife. to work this wednesday. -- the stay of his wife-— of his wife. queen camilla is central to — of his wife. queen camilla is central to this _ of his wife. queen camilla is central to this and _ of his wife. queen camilla is central to this and also - of his wife. queen camilla is central to this and also the l central to this and also the princess royal is crucial, and the duke and duchess of edinburgh will be stepping up. it is a slimmed down monarchy but it is a team and it will have to regroup and adapt. the kin: will will have to regroup and adapt. the king will have a visitor this week as well. it is understood the duke of sussex will be travelling to the uk from his home in california to see his father who contacted him personally with news of his diagnosis. it is the first time prince harry has seen the king since the coronation. this is a testing time for the king and the wider

royal family. time for the king and the wider royalfamily. as they time for the king and the wider royal family. as they balance personal, private challenges, with the need to continue with the public duties. in the past, british monarchs tended not to share the diagnosis of any serious illness with the public. any constitutional issues that have arisen have been discussed behind closed doors. king charles has broken with that tradition but made it clear he intends to continue working on affairs of state as much as possible. here's our royal correspondent nicholas witchell. he is 75 years of age and like anyone receiving a diagnosis of cancer, irrespective of their position, he is having to deal with a sharp reminder of his own mortality. in terms of his constitutional role as head of state, notjust of the uk but of 14 other nations as well, that is unaffected, so long as he is not physically incapacitated and there is no suggestion of that. though it

appears he will disappear from public view, he will continue to deal with the red boxes, the state papers which come to him every day. there are a multitude of documents from parliamentary bills to a host of other things which require his attention and his signature. if he were to become incapacitated, then other members of the royal family would step forward as counsellors of state, his wife, his siblings, and his sons are all counsellors of state, but there is an acceptance that neither andrew or the absent prince harry could beat seem to perform such a role. —— the absent harry could be seen to perform such a role. in the early 1950s charles's grandfather king george vi had been diagnosed with lung cancer, and he underwent an operation at buckingham palace to remove one lung and other members of the family including his wife could have fulfilled his constitutional role while he was

incapacitated. however, there is nothing to suggest such an arrangement will be required in the case of charles. if arrangement will be required in the case of charles.— case of charles. if things change, then a decision _ case of charles. if things change, then a decision would _ case of charles. if things change, then a decision would have - case of charles. if things change, then a decision would have to - case of charles. if things change, then a decision would have to be | then a decision would have to be made for counsellors of state to be appointed and the king would have to sign the letters patented effectively springing the council of the state —— counsellors of state into life and two of them would have to act, effectively deputising for the king. to act, effectively deputising for the kinu. ., ., , to act, effectively deputising for the kinu. . ., , ., the king. sofa king charles, a fit 75-year-old _ the king. sofa king charles, a fit 75-year-old who _ the king. sofa king charles, a fit 75-year-old who has _ the king. sofa king charles, a fit 75-year-old who has generally l the king. sofa king charles, a fit- 75-year-old who has generally capped 75—year—old who has generally capped with life with resilience and humour, there is now the challenge of dealing with the levelling impact of dealing with the levelling impact of cancer. though the prognosis appears to be good, it would be a considerable and often solitary test. nicholas witchell, bbc news. it's a week since the king left hospital after undergoing a procedure for an enlarged prostrate. our medical editor fergus walsh is outside the london clinic

where king charles had his treatment and, fergus, this is where doctors diagnosed his cancer? that is right. he spent three nights here and it was during that time that he had diagnostic tests that picked up the cancer and the palace is not saying what form of cancer the king has but we know it is not prostate concert and they are not saying how early it was caught. —— prostate cancer. these are vital things in assessing how serious the outcome could be and clearly the palace does not want to invite speculation. they said he began today a series of scheduled regular treatments for the cancer and he is being treated as an outpatient and most cancer therapy these days is given as outpatient therapy, most commonly things like chemotherapy, drug treatment, to kill cancer cells, and radiotherapy. chemotherapy, so many different forms it can be given, most normally

as an infusion into a vein in the arm but also in the form of tablets and sometimes direct into the cancer, the affected organ itself. all of those things come with side effects but that varies on the type of treatment. age is the number one risk factor of course for most cancers andy king is 75 and just over a third of all cancers diagnosed in people 75 and over —— and the king. he is one of around 1000 people per day in the uk who are diagnosed with cancer and senior doctors have praised him tonight for mentioning his cancer and highlighting the indiscriminate nature of this disease.- highlighting the indiscriminate nature of this disease. thanks for “oininu nature of this disease. thanks for joining us- _ there've been many messages and good wishes from political leaders here and abroad wishing the king a speedy recovery. 0ur political editor chris mason is in belfast. when you examine the wiring of the

british state, the core connection exists between monarch and government, between buckingham palace and westminster and while we will see less of the king in the coming weeks and months as he undergoes his treatment, in public, our understanding is he will continue with his private work, the state —based work nick referred to a few moments ago. he will receive the red boxes, the daily paperwork that arrives and flows between the palace and westminster, and he will still continue with his weekly audiences with the prime minister and our understanding is they will be face—to—face unless the doctors working with the king advised him that perhaps he should limit in—person contact and how many people he sees face—to—face. politicians around the world and around the uk have been sending their best wishes and the prime minister and the labour leader and other party leaders and also the

first ministers of northern ireland, scotland and wales. the speaker of the house of commons lindsay hoyle offered these reflections in the chamber a few hours ago. i wish to make a short statement. i know the whole house will wish tojoin me in expressing our sympathies with his majesty the king following the news announcement this evening. our thoughts are, of course, with his majesty and his family, and we all wish to send him our very best wishes for the successful treatment and a speedy recovery following tonight's news. reaction as well from political leaders around the world. the prime minister is in australia and canada of course and from president biden in the us who told reporters he is concerned about him and he just heard about his diagnosis and i will be talking to him god willing, he

said. thanks, chris, and we'll be hearing from you in belfast a little later on in the programme about the return the northern ireland executive at stormont. let's take a look at our other main stories today, and police investigating the attack using a corrosive chemical in south london say they have arrested a 22—year—old man on suspicion of assisting an offender. officers are still looking for abdul shokoor ezedi following the attack on a woman and her two young daughters last wednesday. our home editor mark easton has the latest. a new picture of the afghan refugee who fled the scene of the clapham corrosive chemical attack five days ago. abdul shokoor ezedi identified on london's southwark bridge at 9:50 on wednesday night, but since then, nothing. ezedi's car, recovered from the scene, has been minutely examined by a forensics team. inside the vehicle, officers found ezedi's mobile phone, but while that helps provide evidence, it also means police are much more

reliant on cctv footage to track their target's movements. it takes a long time to track cctv because you have to work out which way he's gone, hundreds and hundreds of hours of cctv painstakingly gone through. we've got support and assistance from our counterterrorism fugitive teams, who are experts in this, along with our experts in specialist crime, so we are tracking him down and we will continue to do so. will you get him? i'm as confident as i can be, mark, that we well, yes. police are trying to work out the relationship between ezedi and the woman he attacked. she suffered serious burns from a powerful corrosive alkali. still critically ill in hospital, unable to communicate, she has life—changing injuries to her face and is at risk of losing sight in her right eye. the two children are now out of hospital and being cared for, but the trail of their attacker has gone cold. in one of the most surveilled cities in the world, a man with a serious facial injury,

whose picture has been all over the media, and apparently without access to a mobile phone or cash, well, he's simply vanished. a 22—year—old has been arrested on suspicion of helping ezedi evade capture, but the met�*s specialist manhunt team says if he's alive and being supported, it could be sometime before they finally get their man. mark easton, bbc news, scotland yard. rishi sunak and the taoiseach of the irish republic, leo varadkar, have visited stormont to mark the return of power—sharing in northern ireland. they met the first minister michelle o'neill and deputy first minister emma little—pengelly. mr sunak said the return of the assembly was a cause for optimism, but ministers in northern ireland are calling for urgent talks about long term funding for public services. from belfast, here's our political editor chris mason. the pleasantries are routine, but this is something we have never seen before. a british prime minister greeting a nationalist first minister

of northern ireland. the deputy first minister and northern ireland secretary, there too. rishi sunak was here to see northern ireland's new executive. today isn't the end — it's the beginning. and actually, the real work starts now. and this was a day of two prime ministers, notjust one. the taoiseach, leo varadkar, had swapped dublin for belfast. glad to be here today. there are various times over the past year or two where i didn't think this day would happen. from a round table to a classroom table... you guys munch into that! the prime minister went next to a primary school just outside belfast. he wants to emphasise day to day stuff on this trip, not just highfalutin politics. he dispensed snacks... who wants a cracker? ..and took questions. what would your advice be for going into big school next year? oh, wow. what would my advice be? first of all, i would be excited about it. are you excited? yeah.

prime minister, this must be a moment of pride. it's one of the biggest achievements of your term as prime minister, getting devolution up and running again here. well, lots of people thought that this wouldn't ever be possible so i actually i think it's an enormous cause for optimism that we've got to this place. northern ireland's health service is widely seen as in crisis, and many schools are struggling for funding. prime minister, you've met the first minister this morning. we've met her as well. and they're talking about money, aren't they, the people at stormont? i'lljust play you a little clip of the first minister's conversation with us. this place isn't funded properly. as a local executive, the tories for over 12 years now have starved our public services... they're sending you £3 billion, aren't they? i know, but that doesn't even make up for the money that they robbed from the public services. clearly, they're saying they want more. are you saying, "that's it"? "look, you've got a lot of money and that's it." 0bviously, there's always conversations that can happen between the treasury and the executive. that's right and proper, of course. those conversations will happen... so maybe? those are always processes and conversations that happen.

the new first minister has also talked about her belief that within ten years there could be a referendum on northern ireland's future and, she would hope, a united ireland. what would you say to that? well, i'm a proud unionist, but i also... do you feel it's secure? well, i deeply respect that whilst i'm a proud unionist, that not everyone shares that view. a nationalist on the left, a unionist on the right. the first and deputy first ministers have equal legal powers. emma and i stand in front of today as first and deputy first minister. we are trying to do our best to get to grips with some of these issues that we have. that's what the public expect of us. they want us to do our best to fix our public services and to create a sustainable future for northern ireland. so, devolved government begins again — an assembly, an executive and an expectant public, wanting its politicians to deliver. chris mason, bbc news in belfast. the government has published

its disability action plan, with 32 measures it says will make the uk the most accessible place in the world for disabled people to live and work. parts of the plan have been welcomed by charities but there are concerns that the government has abandoned some its previous commitments. nikki fox has more. this isn'tjust any playground. it's a brand—new fully—accessible, inclusive playground in north london. with funding from barnet council, mums natalie and deborah also raised money to get this project off the ground. and deborah knows just how hard it is to find these kinds of places for young people like her son zac. to will be sitting here now, with it existing, and i can come now. when i am thinking at the weekends, "what am i going to do with him?", i can come to the park here. it's a joy, and to see other people in the same way, happily coming in, children of all abilities playing together, its a marvellous thing. sadly this shouldn't be a marvellous thing, this should just be. for winnie, it opens

up a whole new world. we could get winnie's mainstream kindergarten friends and her disability play group friends all together, and have them all play here for a birthday party for her, and no problems. it's playgrounds like this that the government wants to see more of in today's disability action plan. it really will matter in disabled people's daily lives, but it is one pillar of a huge body of work which will make sure this country is the best place to be a disabled person. here, in hertfordshire, the purple all stars are practising their next routine. this group of people with learning disabilities are passionate about helping others understand how to look after their health, and it's important, because people with a learning disability are more likely to die from avoidable causes. access by doctors or look after my health. they know what they want the action plan to tackle. both: we can be equal- and together in our community. to get myself a job, i need to try and build more

confidence in myself, to try and, like, deal with the public. working out how much we've got to spend, and how much is coming in, and how much is coming out. ijust want everyone - to be inclusive, and look at us differently, _ like we are like anyone else. these are just some of the issues why charities want to see a more drastic plan. for disabled people who are going through a lot of challenges at the moment, whether that's the cost of living crisis, difficulties in employment, crippling social care charges, we wanted to see something a bit more transformational. the government says it wants to tackle the barriers that prevent people from getting on in life, and today, labour has announced plans which will ensure equal pay for disabled people. nikki fox, bbc news. the us secretary of state antony blinken has arrived in saudi arabia on his fifth visit to the middle east since

the attack by hamas on israel and the subsequent war in gaza. the hamas—run health ministry says nearly 27,500 people have been killed in gaza in nearly four months of conflict. 0ur correspondent lucy williamson has been looking into the story of one six—year—old girl who fled the fighting in gaza city with her uncle's family. she was last heard from in a desperate call to the emergency services. i should warn you, you may find some of lucy's report distressing. alone and underfire, six—year—old hind rajab called for help. surrounded by the bodies of her relatives, she begged paramedics and her mother to come and get her. they tried. a week on, hind's mother still doesn't know what happened to her daughter. the ambulance sent to rescue her is missing, too. she waits every day at a nearby hospital, hoping her daughter will be brought in.

translation: every time i hear the sound of an ambulance, - i think maybe it's her. every sound, every gunshot, every falling missile, every bomb, i wonder if it's heading for my daughter, if she is being hit. hind was in a car with her uncle's family as they fled the fighting in gaza city. at the fares petrol station, their car appears to have come under fire. hind's cousin layan told the palestinian red crescent that she and hind were the only ones left alive. rapid gunfire. the call ended with heavy gunfire. when operators called back, it was hind who answered.

siren wails. it took several hours for israel's army to allow an ambulance to reach hind, trapped inside an active combat zone. hours that operator rana stayed talking to hind on the phone. translation: she kept i saying, "come and get me. if you can't come," she said, "send someone else." she even asked me how far my house was. it shows how she was holding onto hope — the last hope of us talking to her. it was very painful for us. siren wails. as the ambulance approached the area, all connections were lost. since then, there's been no sign of hind or the paramedics who went to save her. we asked the israeli army for information. they said they were checking.

hidden somewhere in gaza is the unfinished story of six—year—old hind rajab, waiting for the fighting to end. lucy williamson, bbc news, jerusalem. rishi sunak has declined to give his backing to calls by the mother of the murdered teenager brianna ghey for under 16s not to have mobile phones that can access social media apps. esther ghey is also campaigning for any online searches for inappropriate material to be flagged to parents. the prime minister said tough new powers were already in force, under online safety legislation. angus crawford reports. funny, witty and fearless, is how brianna was seen by her family. scarlett, you are under arrest. but for scarlettjenkinson and eddie ratcliffe, here being arrested, she was a target, and jenkinson, fed by extreme online content,

they used messaging apps to plan her murder. it is such a simple solution. brianna's mother wants a change in the law. so if you are over 16 you can have an adult phone, but then under the age of 16 you can have a children's phone, which will not have all of the social media apps that are out there now. and also, to have software that's automatically downloaded on a parent's phone which links to the children's phone, and it can highlight key words, so if a child is searching the kind of words that scarlett and eddie were searching, it would then flag up on the adults', the parents' phone. brianna's murder has terrible echoes. breck bednar, just 14, killed by a man he met online gaming. 0lly stephens, stabbed to death by children who shared fantasies about knives and killing on social media. at the heart of this issue, a conflict between parents, like brianna's mother, wanting to know more

about what children are doing and seeing online, and the power of the tech companies, chasing the exclusive clicks of young users. in the middle, the government, trying to find a balance between the two. bye, guys. today, while visiting belfast, rishi sunak said parliament had already taken action. the regulator now has tough new powers to control what is exposed to children online, and if the big social media companies don't comply with that, the regulator is able to levy significant fines on them. the 0nline safety bill... the 0nline safety act, years in the making, now law. the tech companies must have systems to protect children from harmful content, and robust age verification. but we are still waiting for the regulator 0fcom to finalise its powers. also in the pipeline, government guidance on banning mobile phones in english schools. new laws, future bans,

offer hope for parents, but come too late for brianna and herfamily. angus crawford, bbc news. women's football is enjoying a surge in popularity, but the chelsea manager emma hayes says the low number of female coaches is a big issue. as one of only four female managers in the women's super league, she wants to see more creative ways of encouraging them into the professional game. emma hayes has been speaking to our sports editor dan roan. she's one of the most successful coaches in world football. but after a trophy—laden decade in charge of champions chelsea women, manager emma hayes is heading stateside at the end of the season. she told me just how much it would mean to bow out with even more silverware. it'd be incredible, i think. to keep winning like we have done for so many years is a real challenge in itself. but to do it in the backdrop, knowing that there's change coming at the end of the year would be

a real credit and a testament to the players. despite a surge in playing numbers in recent years, hayes is one of only four female coaches in the women's super league and one ofjust 21 across the country with a pro licence. she's also an ambassador for fun football, a programme tackling under—representation in the sport. i think it's a massive issue. i think we've got a lot of work to do to close that gap. the cost of it as a starting point, it's about £10,000 to do a pro licence. and the wages in the women's game are, you know, insignificant compared to the men's game, most importantly in clubs to be in position so that they have minimum standards in place to hire women into the game, albeit at assistant coach or head coaching level, but doing that is a challenge. four times world cup winners, the us national women's team underperformed in last year's tournament and have turned to hayes, making the londoner the game's highest paid female coach, and herfirst major tournament

in the newjob will be this summer's paris 0lympics. can you believe what lies in front of you? no, but of course, i'll be excited. it'll be a massive, proud moment for me and my family. and, you know, come the summer, i'm sure i'll pinch myself a few times, cos it's the stuff that dreams are made of. and with hayes set to become one of the highest—profile coaches in us sport, there's no shortage of inspiration for women hoping to follow in her footsteps. dan roan, bbc news. ian lavender, the actor best known for playing private pike in dad's army, has died at the age of 77. the much—loved and long—running comedy series, about the home guard during world war ii, was a huge success for the bbc in the late 1960s and much of the �*70s. ian lavender was the last surviving regular cast member. 0ur arts correspondent david sillito looks back at his life. # who do you think you are kidding, mr hitler? sirens. ah, going home, are they? july 1968, and episode one of dad's army.

0h, byjove, these things are heavy. oh, that's the sand being wet, sir. if you'd waited for the tide to go out, it would have been twice as easy. ian lavender, a 22—year—old actorfrom birmingham, was the fresh new face amongst a cast of comic veterans. you know, these are people i'd been watching on the screen, on big screen, small screen, in the theatre. and suddenly i was working with them. terrifying. what's that supposed to be, boy? the character was pike, the mummy�*s boy who never quite twigged that sergeant wilson, his uncle arthur, may have been more than just an uncle. what's your name, lad? well, you should know by now, you've been a friend of my mum's since before i was born. laughter. and over the next nine years, he helped create a comedy classic that was still being shown more than a0 years later. after his years with the walmington—on—sea home guard, he appeared in comedies such as yes, minister, as well as roles in film and theatre and...albert square.