£20,000 will be on offer in so—called dental deserts, but the profession says the government plans need to go much further. we'll ask whether the proposals will mean people will be able to find an nhs dentist. also on the programme: prince william carries out his first public engagement since the king's cancer diagnosis. the river wye has turned green, say campaigners, because of chicken manure, and they're taking the government to court because of it. and, let sleeping bears lie. we look at some beautiful images from the wildlife photographer of the year competition. and coming up on bbc news: the fa cup fifth—round replays continue, with leeds united awaiting the winners of tonight's match between chelsea and villa, after their victory at plymouth.

good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. dentists are to be offered a £20,000 bonus if they set up practice in areas of england with the poorest access to nhs dental care. there will also be incentives to treat patients who haven't been seen for at least two years, and to get dental services into schools. the health secretary, victoria atkins, said the plan would bring immediate and long—term solutions. but the british dental association warned that fundamental change is needed. here's our health editor, hugh pym. long queues outside a new dental practice in bristol highlighted the increasing frustration about the lack of nhs treatment. some areas have been branded dental deserts.

and this morning, nicky campbell's 5live phone—in was full of calls about problems finding an nhs dentist appointment. i had ihad an i had an appointment before christmas and i got a letterfrom the dentist saying it had been cancelled. they explained how they weren't offering nhs appointments at the moment. so i rang the dentist and they said, well, we can certainly see you, - but we don't know if we can see you on the nhs. - a new government and nhs plan for england has been unveiled today. this will involve two and a half million more appointments over 12 months and a new patient premium for dentists to treat around i million new patients who haven't seen a dentist for at least two years. nhs fees for dentists paid by the government will rise, and around 240 dentists will be offered payments of up to £20,000 to work in underserved areas for up to three years. i hope it will be welcomed by both patients and dentists, the dentists profession alike, because this really is a step change in how we're tackling nhs dentistry in this country.

but dentists' representatives say the £200 million of funding isn't new. it's come because of previous underspending on dentistry. how are you funding it? are you funding it via an underspend in the budget? we are spending £3 billion a year on nhs dentistry. this is an addition. is that an underspend? an additional 200 million. research by bbc news in 2022 found that nine out of ten dental practices in the uk offering nhs care were not taking on any new adult patients for treatment. i've extracted 13 of my own teeth. some patients were found to be driving hundreds of miles in search of treatment and even pulling out their own teeth. the research led to a parliamentary inquiry. the government have come out with a series of temporary measures, in the hope that that will buy them some time to the other side of the election. but frankly, after 14 years, they've had plenty of time.

their time is up and the longer the conservatives are in power, whether it's dentistry or gps or operations, the longer patients will wait. dentists have told us today of gaps in their local areas for provision of nhs treatment. i mean, in greater manchester alone, there is only enough money to cover 60% of the population. the budget only goes as far as 60% access, so that's 40% who will not get access to nhs dentistry. and scenes like this are still evident in some communities. the latest government measures are unlikely to cut the queues any time soon. and hugh is with me. so the big question, will all of this announced today touch the sides? will it make it easierfor anyone to find an nhs dentist? weill. anyone to find an nhs dentist? well, i think the volume _ anyone to find an nhs dentist? well, i think the volume of _ anyone to find an nhs dentist? -ii i think the volume of people who have been in touch with the bbc this morning and i'm sure many other outlets as well just illustrates

just how much concern there is still out there. many people have stories theyjust out there. many people have stories they just cannot find out there. many people have stories theyjust cannot find nhs treatment, theyjust cannot find nhs treatment, they are having to travel a long way. they know of other people who have had to result to desperate measures to deal with their own dental problems. and i don't think there is any quick solution to this. the government will argue it is at least putting more money into get to dentists to encourage them to get hold of people or find people who have not had nhs treatment in the last two years and there will be a big advertising campaign to try and encourage people to come forward who may have lost a bit of faith in the system in england. but labour's argument is, it has been 14 years of this government, conservatives involved in government and we are still in this position. nhs dentistry has been a talking point for several years. dentistry has been a talking point forseveralyears. it dentistry has been a talking point for several years. it goes back before the pandemic. 0f for several years. it goes back before the pandemic. of course, the pandemic made a difference is dentistry had to close down to a large extent and there have been issues with people being reluctant to come back in. that certainly is

the case. it was all being discussed in the commons at prime minister's questions today and remains a very big talking point. but i think the answer is there is a long way to go to try to restore nhs dentistry. and an indication of one bit of it, £20,000 to get dentists in england to go to underserved areas, scotland is already running a scheme like this and offering more.- is already running a scheme like this and offering more. thank you for now, this and offering more. thank you for now. hugh _ this and offering more. thank you for now, hugh pym. _ the prince of wales has taken part in his first public engagement since it was announced that the king has been diagnosed with cancer. prince william had taken a break from formal duties while his wife catherine recuperates from abdominal surgery but, this morning, he performed an investiture ceremony at windsor castle. the king, meanwhile, spent the night at sandringham, after beginning his treatment on monday. helena wilkinson reports. back to work, prince william carrying out public duties at windsor castle today. he's been handing out honours to those who've made

a difference to public life. ellen, mrs convery, for services to association football. ellen white — the england women's football team's record goal—scorer, who was key to their euros victory in 2022 — was one of those receiving her award. it must be a difficult time for the heir to the throne. not only will he be worrying about catherine, his wife, but also now his father. yesterday, the king was pictured for the first time since his cancer diagnosis was announced, with the queen, being driven to buckingham palace. later, he was flown by helicopter to the sandringham estate in norfolk, where he'll spend time following the start of his cancer treatment. while the king was in london yesterday, he saw his younger son harry, who had flown in from california. they spent around 45 minutes together. the last time harry saw his father in person was at the coronation last year.

there are no plans, though, for a meeting between harry and his brother william, whose relationship remains strained. while the king undergoes treatment for cancer, other members of the royal family — including prince william and princess anne — will need to step in and take on public duties on his behalf. the family will be supporting the king both publicly and privately, as he gets through his treatment. helena wilkinson, bbc news, windsor. 0ur reporter charlotte gallagher is at windsor. what more are you hearing this lunchtime, charlotte? we what more are you hearing this lunchtime, charlotte?— lunchtime, charlotte? we have actuallyjust — lunchtime, charlotte? we have actuallyjust heard _ lunchtime, charlotte? we have actuallyjust heard in _ lunchtime, charlotte? we have actuallyjust heard in the - lunchtime, charlotte? we have actuallyjust heard in the last i lunchtime, charlotte? we have l actuallyjust heard in the last few minutes that the king will hold his weekly audience with prime minister rishi sunak over the phone, rather than in person. the king of courses resting at his sandringham estate in norfolk, after recuperating from his first round of cancer treatment.

todayit first round of cancer treatment. today it was prince william's first day back at work since the king's diagnosis and also since his wife underwent surgery. he has been here at windsor castle at a ceremony for people being made mbe, 0b and cbo —— cbe. ellen white said it was a thrilling day for her and she said she passed on her best wishes to prince william, his father and his wife, the princess of wales. another day, another event for him today, he will be going to london for an event for the air ambulance, a gala dinner, and we will see a lot of that in the coming weeks and months. more senior members of the royal family doing those public engagements while the king is recuperating at home. charlotte, thank yom _ recuperating at home. charlotte, thank you. charlotte _ recuperating at home. charlotte, thank you. charlotte gallagher. l at least 28 people have been killed and a0 injured in two separate explosions in pakistan. it's thought the attacks in the balochistan province were targeting political candidates — a day before the country's general election. ukraine says large—scale russian

drone and missile attacks have killed at least four people. in kyiv, three people died and 21 were injured when two high—rise blocks of flats were badly damaged. parts of the capital are without electricity. the us secretary of state antony blinken is having talks with israeli and palestinian officials to try to negotiate a ceasefire in gaza. hamas says it has given its response to a framework proposal. israel and the united states are said to be reviewing it. it is four months now since the attacks on israel by hamas, in which 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 were taken hostage. in a meeting with the british prime minister, british families of some of those still being held captive there have urged him to do more to secure their release from hamas, which is designated a terrorist organisation by the uk government. greg mckenzie reports. with every day that passed,

the chances of all the hostages, the chances of my father, reduces. holding back tears, the british families of hostages, elie sherabi and 0ded lifshitz, speaking publicly, calling for the immediate release of their loved ones. the daughter of 0ded said that she is devastated. my father, 0ded, is 83—years—old, has complex medical needs and is really not built for the conditions of being a hostage. the delegation have met with the british prime minister and a number of qatari officials. the meeting comesjust a day after israel confirmed that 31 of the 136 remaining hostages in gaza have been killed. when i was a child, i was scared of the dark. i was scared of the monsters in my wardrobe and the monsters under my bed. so i slept with a light

on until i was eight or nine years old. since the 7th of october, i slept with a light on again. because when i was a child, i thought there were monsters in the world. 0n the 7th of october, i found out there were monsters in the world. the conflict in gaza was triggered by an unprecedented cross—border attack by hamas gunmen on the 7th of october, in which about 1,300 people were killed and 250 others taken hostage. since then, more than 27,000 people have been killed in gaza, according to the hamas—run health ministry. a new deal to release more hostages — much like those released in november in exchange for palestinian prisoners — has stalled, with hamas responding this week to a new proposal which could include a six—week truce.

israel and the uk have both said they are reviewing hamas's response, but the family say they feel time is running out. greg mckenzie, bbc news. in prime minister's questions, rishi sunak was criticised after attempting to mock sir keir starmer�*s stance on "defining a woman". the commons had earlier heard that the mother of the murdered transgender teenager brianna ghey was expected in the public gallery today. 0ur political correspondent leila nathoo is at westminster. what was said? well, pmqs took an unexpected turn today. the prime minister rishi sunakfound himself today. the prime minister rishi sunak found himself in today. the prime minister rishi sunakfound himself in an uncomfortable position after he attempted to ridicule keir starmer for his position on defining what a woman was. 0n the day that esther ghey, the mother of the murdered

teenager at brianna ghey, was in parliament. she is here in westminster today to listen to a commons debate about mindfulness in schools led by her local mp, that is an issue she is now campaigning on. but this is how it all started when rishi sunak began listing issues in which he said keir starmer had changed his mind on. pensions, planning. _ changed his mind on. pensions, planning, peerages, _ changed his mind on. pensions, planning, peerages, public- changed his mind on. pensions, i planning, peerages, public sector pay, tuition these, childcare, a second — pay, tuition these, childcare, a second referendums. defining a woman — second referendums. defining a woman. although in fairness, that was only— woman. although in fairness, that was only 99% of a u—turn! gf woman. although in fairness, that was only 99% of a u-turn!- woman. although in fairness, that was only 99% of a u-turn! of all the weeks to say — was only 99% of a u-turn! of all the weeks to say that, _ was only 99% of a u-turn! of all the weeks to say that, when _ was only 99% of a u-turn! of all the weeks to say that, when brianna's i weeks to say that, when brianna's mother— weeks to say that, when brianna's mother is— weeks to say that, when brianna's mother is in— weeks to say that, when brianna's mother is in this _ weeks to say that, when brianna's mother is in this chamber, - weeks to say that, when brianna's| mother is in this chamber, shame! parading _ mother is in this chamber, shame! parading as— mother is in this chamber, shame! parading as a — mother is in this chamber, shame! parading as a man _ mother is in this chamber, shame! parading as a man of— mother is in this chamber, shame! parading as a man of integrity- mother is in this chamber, shame! i parading as a man of integrity when he has _ parading as a man of integrity when he has got — parading as a man of integrity when he has got absolutely _ parading as a man of integrity when he has got absolutely no _ he has got absolutely no responsibility. _

he has got absolutely no responsibility.— he has got absolutely no resonsibili . ~ , , ., responsibility. absolute shame. well, it didn't — responsibility. absolute shame. well, it didn't end _ responsibility. absolute shame. well, it didn't end there - responsibility. absolute shame. | well, it didn't end there because rishi sunak was later asked by another labour mp to apologise for his remarks to esther ghey and he ignored the request. he did at the end of the session praise herfor showing what he called the very best of humanity. she had not actually beenin of humanity. she had not actually been in the gallery for that initial exchange, but did hear his subsequent comments. in the last few minutes, the press secretary of the prime minister has defended his comments about sir keir starmer�*s position on the definition of a woman as legitimate, but i think this will be seen as a misstep for rishi sunak and is one of the difficulties arising from prime minister's questions which can be a staged interaction where the leaders come with preprepared scripts. but this is a week when rishi sunak has had to defend himself for making a £1000 bet in the middle of a tv interview on his rwanda policy can hit leaves him vulnerable to an attack line that labour repeatedly deploy and the prime minister can at times seem tone deaf.—

leila nathoo. about 20,000 babies in the uk were born with disabilities after their mothers were prescribed the anti—epilepsy drug sodium valproate. now the patient safety commissioner for england says the families affected should be entitled to urgent financial assistance. dr henrietta hughes has published a report which also looks at the problems faced by about 10,000 women harmed by pelvic mesh implants. the government says it is considering her recommendations. 0ur health correspondent sophie hutchinson has all the details. i first filmed with andy seven years ago. hello! how lovely to see you. he is now 25, but will never live independently. he has severe learning disabilities and autism, caused by the epilepsy drug sodium valproate that his mum emma was on when she was pregnant. oh, you did drama today? i was the big bad wolf today! i am the big bad wolf!

today they arrived at parliament for the publication of the first redress scheme in england proposing financial help for them. i'm really pleased that it is a step in the right direction. you know, it is proper acknowledgement that we have been harmed. the current system is not adequate. that redress should have been discussed decades ago, basically. the scheme is also for 10,000 women left in debilitating pain by pelvic mesh, now banned, but previously used to treat incontinence and prolapse. it is a really good first step and it needs to be seen as that. the government are yet to approve it. it is good that women's stories and harrowing experience of pelvic mesh have been validated and recognised. it is great that the patient commissioner has seen that women have been lied to and gas lit. you know, that messaging is really important. however, i do have to say on the page women are quite upset that the first payment has been set disappointingly low at £20,000.

that £20,000 is part of the patient safety commissioner's proposal for a 2—stage redress scheme, an interim payment due next year for those directly harmed, £20,000 for victims of mesh, and £100,000 for sodium valproate. followed by a main scheme offering further financial and non—financial help tailored to families' needs. the commissioner has compared the number of children harmed by it sodium valproate to thalidomide, the most notorious birth defect story in history. this is a scandal that is bigger than thalidomide. these families were not listened to by a system that really turned its back and dismissed and fobbed them off with information that led to them not only being harmed but thousands of others being harmed. but will the government give this scheme the green light? in a previous role here in parliament, the chancellorjeremy hunt said that valproate victims had faced the most egregious injustice and that it was time the british state faced up to its

responsibilities. the question now for mr hunt is whether he considers it his responsibility to offer financial assistance for all these families. so far, ministers have simply said they are considering the scheme. the first to propose financial redress for these families who have suffered for so many years. sophie hutchinson, bbc news. the time is 13:19. our top story this afternoon. dentists are to be offered a cash bonus to set up practice in parts of england with poor access to nhs care. and coming up, the story of two sisters caught up in the post office horizon scandal — and their fight forjustice. coming up in sport on bbc news. it's been called the taylor swift super bowl. we'll tell you how one of the world's biggest pop stars

is turbo charging interest in american football's biggest game. we've reported many times on the damage caused to our seas and rivers by leaks of raw sewage — but human waste isn't the only problem. there's also the issue of chicken manure — which gets spread onto fields as fertiliser, and then washes into our waterways. campaigners say it's turned the river wye green — and they're taking the government to court, accusing it of not doing enough to tackle the problem. here's our environment correspondentjonah fisher. for years, they've watched the health of the wye decline. the nation's favorite river is dying in front of our eyes. now at a high court hearing in central cardiff,

campaigners and ageing rock stars demanded change. here we are, slowly poisoning, slowly strangling that river that has given life to all of us. that is an outrage and it has to stop. at the heart of the case is the impact of chicken farming in the river wye catchment area. these are a breed called ros 308. this farm in herefordshire produces birds that sell for about a fiver in the supermarkets. there are 28,000 chickens in this single shed. they arrived at a day old and will spend their entire lives, that's 36 days, inside. i guess this is the reality of people wanting affordable, cheap chicken in their supermarkets. correct. during their short lives, the chickens that live in this shed will all together produce about a0

tonnes of chicken poo. just to put that in context, there are about 20 million chickens being raised here in the river wye catchment area at any one time. that's an awful lot of chicken poo. chicken poo is full of nitrogen and phosphorus, which are powerful fertilisers. so the farmers around the wye have been spreading it on their fields. but if there's too much chicken poo and rain, the fertiliser ends up in the river. the fertiliser ends up in the river wye and the rapidly expanding chicken industry has been blamed for turning it green. there are rules already in place which state that fertilisers like chicken poo shouldn't be spread on farmers' fields if the land can't properly absorb it. but campaigners say those rules haven't been enforced, and that's contributed to the decline of this once great river. and that's why the environment

agency is taking part in a judicial review. accused of turning a blind eye to rule breaking farmers. we are basically saying that we believe that the government and its agency, the environment agency, have acted unlawfully by deliberately not enforcing the critical regulation that, had it been enforced, would have prevented the contamination of the wye catchment. the environment agency says anyone caught breaching environmental laws faces enforcement action, including prosecution. campaigners say if the court rules in their favour, it could be transformational for both the health of the river wye and the way chickens are farmed. this morning the campaign group river action that brought the case have been presenting their case in court talking about the declining status of the river and the level of

phosphates in the water. then we will hear from the environment agency most likely also from the national farmers' union as far most clearly have an interest in the case and also possibly from the department of food and rural affairs. then it will be up to the judge to rule in this particular case. the complainers are certainly hoping this will prove to be a pivotal moment in the recovery of the river wye. the convicted paedophile and former pop star gary glitter has failed in a parole board attempt to be freed from prison. the 79—year—old was jailed in 2015 for 16 years, for sexually abusing three schoolgirls. he was released in february last year, but returned to prison less than six weeks later after breaching his licence. it's now more than a month since the post office horizon it scandal was brought into sharp focus by an itv drama series — and still the individual stories of suffering are emerging. including that of two

sisters who were pursued by post office investigators — even after a criminal trial against them was ruled out. mark daly has the story. straight through the door there. it was a dark place, and it's the guilt. i knew i hadn't taken the money. i would say that i'm a strong woman. the post office took that away from me. sisters rose and jacquie used to run this post office in the gorbals area of glasgow. it's just sad, how things went. in 2012, auditors told them the horizon system was showing up £34,000 short. i actually almost slid down the wall. it's almost like the blood drained from me. the post office wanted to take the sisters to a criminal trial over the shortfall. but a glasgow prosecutor killed the case stone dead, citing issues with the horizon evidence. despite this, the post office threatened the family with debt collectors if they didn't pay up.

they went to mediation, but the post office didn't tell the family why its criminal case had collapsed. i went into that mediation still feeling like the accused. ultimately we paid the post office £10,000. they go into a mediation in good faith without that key— piece of information, _ and the post office end up bullying ten grand out of them. that's theft. that's fraud by misrepresentation. the post office said it would not be appropriate to comment on the allegations, but said it fully supported the ongoing public inquiry�*s aims to get to the truth of what happened. more than 3000 horizon victims are now entitled to apply for compensation. this time it's jacquie and rose's turn to pursue the post office. you can watch the documentary �*scotland's post office scandal�* now on the bbc iplayer. and if you're in scotland, it will be broadcast tonight on bbc1 at 8pm.

you ll be well aware by now that it's an election year in the uk. this month will see parties start to gather for their spring conferences and consider their political direction. with rishi sunak under pressure from some on the right of his party, particularly over tax cuts and immigration, reform uk — the successor to the brexit party — is climbing in the polls. alex forsyth spent the day in dudley, where the party's been campaigning, to consider what impact they could have. reform uk. have you heard of us? do you want to? oh, no. on a drizzly day in dudley, activists from reform uk are trying to get people to engage. have you heard of reform uk? no. this party has been around for a few years, but it's struggled to get traction. recently though, it's been creeping, up in the polls. i voted for you. thank you very much. it's trying to tap into disillusionment with the political mainstream. i wouldn't say i'm a conservative because i'm not. and i wouldn't say i support labour because i don't support labour. so it's the other option. i think we do need another option. i'm going to vote for them this year. i think the reform needs a chance. the party says it's aiming at conservative and labour voters,

but it's some on the tory right that are concerned, not least about its focus on levels of immigration and tax. here though, there is scepticism. but for me there are questionable issues that on a moral front i would have difficulty in actually voting for. i wouldn't vote reform because you'd just be getting ultra conservatives. we need change. we don't need that kind of change. this still small party has made a big promise — to stand in every seat in britain at the next election. but without the brexit branding of its predecessor and with uncertainty about the role of its president, nigel farage, recognition is a challenge. as a new party, especially if you are considered right of centre, people will treat you with a bit of skepticism. we're getting great responses. 20% of people know about us, and we're polling at 13%. imagine how high we can poll when more people know about us. so far, they haven't had much success at the ballot box, but even without winning seats at the election, they could take

votes, particularly from the conservatives. the nightmare scenario that the conservatives are worried about is that is that reform slice off 5%, 10% of their vote at one end, they lose another 5%, 10%, 15% at the other end to labour or the liberal democrats. put those two sums together and you've got an awful lot of conservative mps out of a job on election night. so back in dudley, how worried are local conservatives? i think a lot of it is hype. we have some good policies on immigration. the economy seems to be doing well and recovering from post—covid. so i would say to colleagues in westminster, hold your nerve. but at an evening event for reform supporters at a local rugby club, there was clear discontent with the status quo. i liked what i heard. i've always voted tory. i just can't bring myself to do it in 202a. what is it in particular that's turned you off the tories, if i can put it that way? it's rishi. it's the not fulfilling the promise with the small

boats and the immigrants. it's basically the infighting. but the question is why? it's just a snapshot of some views, but it's this sentiment that's causing nerves for some conservatives. alex forsyth, bbc news, dudley. a stunning image of a young polar bear asleep on an iceberg, has won the �*wildlife photographer of the year�* people's choice award. british amateur photographer nima sarikhani captured this breath—taking picture after three days searching for polar bears off norway's svalbard archipelago. let's also look at the other finalists: this is a balkan pond turtle — that was walking in shallow water when a dragonfly landed on its nose. these starlings were captured in the suburbs of rome. suddenly the flock swirled into the shape of a giant bird. this image is from kenya — after two lionesses came back from an unsuccessful hunting mission, they called the cubs out to the open grassland and began grooming.