the mayor of the dangers of al. the mayor of london says deep fake audio of him supposedly making inflammatory remarks almost caused serious disorder. we start today's programme with reports coming from gaza that the israeli military has ordered palestinians to evacuate the nasser hospital in the southern city of khan younis, where hundreds of people have taken refuge. an announcement was made on a speaker attached to a drone, with a crowd of people seeming to leave the hospital compound. rafa h rafah has become a symbol of man �*s inhumanity to man. there are 1.5 million people and rising living in makeshift shelters and many don't even have that. they don't have access to sanitation, two toilets,

to water, to food, medicine. what we are seeing is what martin griffiths quoted, this is the climax of an unprecedentedly barbaric assault. i say that president biden needs to stop talking about this. and mr netanyahu going over the top need to see a massive humanitarian mobilisation of protection of pallet testing —— palestinians. if the americans can get warships to the eastern mediterranean for military purposes. 20,000 us service personnel were mobilised with floating ships, with helicopters and they are on ships to evacuate the sick and wounded and dying. that is the kind of humanitarian response we need. the safe area, in inverted commas that israel has designated, is a six square miles, which is not enough for 1.5 million people even

to stand up in. let's speak now to the military correspondence from the times of israel. you speak to a lot of people who are high up in the israeli military. what is the thinking in this sense of what will happen in rafah, from where you are. for the army to operate in rafah, and it eventually will, the palestinian population of 1.5 million civilians currently sheltering in the area will need to be moved to another area. as mentioned a moment ago, there is a zone that israel declared as the humanitarian zone, but i don't think it is going to be large enough to actually how's a large number of civilians. there will need to be a different solution to move these palestinians elsewhere in the gaza

strip. there were reports that along the coast they would set up tent camps for the palestinians. i asked whether the palestinians will be allowed to return to northern gaza, where the civilians were evacuated from the beginning of the ground offensive and they responded that at this stage they cannot allow palestinians to return to northern gaza because of hamas activity in the area and they will not allow them to return to there. so they will need to be some other solution. and do you think that solution will be found? we are hearing from the un warning that any israeli assault on rafah could lead to slaughter, so huge concerns from the united nations. will any of that, do you think, be taken into the allocations of the israeli military?— of the israeli military? definitely it will be. the — of the israeli military? definitely it will be. the army _ of the israeli military? definitely it will be. the army chief - of the israeli military? definitely

it will be. the army chief as - of the israeli military? definitely it will be. the army chief as welli it will be. the army chief as well said in a conference that israel does not want to operate in an area where there are loads of civilians. it is more difficult for the army to differentiate between hamas fighters and civilians when they are so mixed up, so they will need to move a large number of the civilian population out of the area. and of course the army does not want to cause civilian casualties, it's trying to avoid them as much as possible. it is a difficult challenge and there is international pressure on israel to find a solution, to evacuate the civilians before launching its offensive there. i think israel will not begin a major ground offensive in rafah until a significant amount of the publishing is moved out, or at least only operate in areas where it can begin to move civilians out. it has also been small operations in rafah, like the hostage rescue that occurred two nights ago. that was a very small operation and even so, there are reports that civilians were killed in the israeli strikes

that occurred during this hostage rescue. so it is a difficult situation for israel, and it will need to find a solution. you say there that _ need to find a solution. you say there that the _ need to find a solution. you say there that the israeli _ need to find a solution. you say there that the israeli army - need to find a solution. you say there that the israeli army want need to find a solution. you say i there that the israeli army want to avoid civilian casualties but of course we have seen tens of thousands of civilians killed in that conflict. it thousands of civilians killed in that conflict.— thousands of civilians killed in that conflict. . . that conflict. it is true, there are a lane that conflict. it is true, there are a large number— that conflict. it is true, there are a large number of _ that conflict. it is true, there are a large number of civilian - a large number of civilian casualties from the conflict. and as well, more than 10,000 hamas operatives have been killed, according to the estimates of the army, and that really is just the reality of the fighting in the gaza strip. hamas is very embedded within the civilian population, within the infrastructure there. many of their rocket launching sites have been from within schools and hospitals, and the army needs to basically respond and remove all this infrastructure and kill the hamas operatives. at the same time, there is a civilian population in the area and that's why the army has been

evacuating civilians from the north of gaza, from central gaza, and even from khan younis and now we are left with this last parcel of gaza, rafah, and the army will need to move them out of that area as well. emanuel fabian, from the times of israel military correspondence there, thank you very much. it is worth noting that there are differences in the number of civilian casualties emanuel —— saying that the army believes it is 10,000 in that figure are members of hamas and others, including aid agencies, who believe that the extent of the civilian casualties is much higher, and the number of casualties related to hamas is lower. this is bbc news. let's move to another story. here in the uk, the leader of the opposition labour party is facing growing pressure over the culture within his party. sir keir starmer is facing a

deepening row about anti—semitism and his handling of the suspension of two election candidates, both of whom were at a meeting when anti—israel comments were made. after the party withdrew support for its candidate for the rochdale by—election, azhar ali, for apparent antisemitic remarks, a second candidate is facing an investigation. graham jones, who's the former labour mp for hyndburn, was at the same meeting. let's speak to our political correspondent, hannah miller, who's in westminster for us. just tell us what the latest is on this now. two candidates who have effectively lost the support of the labour party over this growing row over anti—semitism in the party. yes, and the very latest is actually that a third politician has been called in for a meeting, the leader of labour on hyndburn borough council. it is understood that he was at the meeting. there is no evidence at the moment to suggest that he said anything that would be perceived as anti—semitic or

anti—israel and he has not been cement elite macro suspended, but he has been spoken to by the party. there have been cold this morning from the jewish there have been cold this morning from thejewish labour movement for all those elected politicians who were present to be suspended —— calls. they were at a meeting where anti—semitic comments were apparently made, and they don't appear to have been reported at the time when it happened, back in october. as for graham jones, he time when it happened, back in october. as for grahamjones, he has 0ctober. as for grahamjones, he has suggested in this meeting, he apparently suggested thatjewish apparently suggested that jewish people apparently suggested thatjewish people should not be fighting for israel. that is clearly anti—israel, and again, it is the issue of being and again, it is the issue of being a bystander there, which may prove to be a problem for him as the labour party seeks to suggest that it has eradicated anti—semitism from the party, a key pledge for keir starmer. it is uncomfortable for

them to be seen to have these kind of candidate, and they are insisting that they are doing due diligence on all their candidates for the election. many thanks. here in the uk — inflation has remained at 4% the same as in december — according to the latest figures which have just been released. while it's better than the forecast of 4.2% inflation remains double the the bank of england's target set by the govermnent of 2%. the biggest upward factor was rising gas and electricity costs — the biggest downward factor was furniture and food — on a monthly basis, food prices fell in january for the first time since september 2021. to discuss this in more detail i'm joined by the bbc�*s business reporter peter ruddick. better than expected, but still high. yes, very high and double the target by the government of 2%. the rising at 4% means things are 4% more

expensive than they were a year ago, and that comes on top of lots of other price rises that we have had over the past couple of years. at first glance, no change in the headline figure. you might think it is a non—story, but as you were saying there was real concern that essentially the way we measure the speed of the rising cost of living would head in the wrong direction today in terms of the figures in january and that did not happen. it is true to say there will be some relief in downing street that that did not happen. but as we were saying, prices are still increasing, evenif saying, prices are still increasing, even if the rate of those increases has not moved. it is making life incredibly difficult for households and businesses, as i say, on top of lots of other price rises that we have had over the past couple of years. one greengrocer we spoke to said basically he is surviving as a business, not driving. hoping to kind of make it through. with food, there is some good news for people struggling with the weekly shop because food prices fell some of the month for the first time in two

years, helped by lower prices for cream crackers, chocolate biscuits and sponge cakes are good news if you are throwing a tea party, perhaps. and the other good news is what is keeping inflation static and thatis what is keeping inflation static and that is gas and electric bills and that's because the energy price cut went up slightly injanuary, hence inflation staying at this 4% level, but those same bills are predicted to come down in april, so there is a good chance that inflation will come a lot closer to that 2% target. the chancellorjeremy hunt said today that these figures show the battle against inflation is a difficult battle, but it is being won. however, there were also some little devils in the detail that will concern economists and the bank of england. essentially, untilwe get to that 2% target, until we get it sustained for a while, it seems unlikely the bank of england will choose to cut interest rates from their current level. peter, thank you. this is bbc news.

alexandra moved in to put that her parents home a year ago and in that time it has been damaged by vehicles four times. this was the damage most recently and i havejust had this has completely refurbished. find and i have just had this has completely refurbished. and this is what has happened. _ completely refurbished. and this is what has happened. three - completely refurbished. and this is what has happened. three of- completely refurbished. and this isj what has happened. three of those times has been buses reversing into the bollard her mum had installed 15 years ago because the house kept being damaged even then. i’m years ago because the house kept being damaged even then.- years ago because the house kept being damaged even then. i'm in a constant anxiety _ being damaged even then. i'm in a constant anxiety state. _ being damaged even then. i'm in a constant anxiety state. i'm - constant anxiety state. i'm co nsta ntly just constant anxiety state. i'm constantly just sitting there waiting for it to happen again. i can't relax. neighbours said they saw this recent damage happening when a bus backed up to try to get round the corner. the bus company said they could find no evidence of this from their ct tv. cornwall council says it is open to discussing any potential practical solutions beyond the measures that are already in place here.

this is bbc news. protesting indian farmers have clashed with the police after resuming their march towards the capital, delhi. there were scenes of chaos at the shambhu border between the northern states of punjab where the farmers were stopped on tuesday. the farmers are demanding minimum guaranteed prices for a range of crops, debt relief and a withdrawal of cases registered against some of them during previous agitation. let's speak to our correspondent nitin srivastava, who's in delhi for us. good to talk to you. we saw farmers protesting a couple of years ago. i was down at the border along with you so why have they started up again? you so why have they started up auain? ~ . . you so why have they started up auain? ~ ., , ., you so why have they started up

auain? ~ . , ., ., ., again? well, the demands are more or less the same — again? well, the demands are more or less the same as _ again? well, the demands are more or less the same as they _ again? well, the demands are more or less the same as they were _ again? well, the demands are more or less the same as they were two - again? well, the demands are more or less the same as they were two years i less the same as they were two years back. as you said, the farmers really want something substantial from the government in terms of loan waivers and they want the government to guarantee them a minimum support price for their crops. farmers say that because of frequent climate change and unforeseen circumstances, the weather patterns have changed and the crop yield has also changed and the crop yield has also changed and the crop yield has also changed and the government has practically done nothing in terms of the welfare of farmers. and india, farmers are demanding this again. the administration and the government apparently fear a repeat of what happened in 2020 and 2021, when the protests went on for almost a year and more than a dozen people died, and more than a dozen people died, and life in the capital of india, delhi, came to a standstill. thank you very much.

in a year of major elections around the world and including india and the world and including india and the us and likely the us, —— uk, there is concern about the way artificial intelligence and deep fake could be used to spread misinformation. infact, it fake could be used to spread misinformation. in fact, it has already happened. last year, a clip of sadiq khan was shared online. the clip was so convincing that it inflamed protests in the real world. 0ur disinformation and social media correspondent marianna spring has more on this. i think that this is one of the most shocking cases of ai generated content i have looked into regarding the london meier, sadik khan. a lot of the content i have seen has tended not to have real—world consequences. people think of the

popein consequences. people think of the pope in a pufferjacket, or other examples or videos where somebody has got seven thinkers and it's quite easy to spot that it's been made using technology but this recording spread last november, purported to be a secret recording, it seemed like they caught sadik khan was saying something he should not have said but it turned out that it was ai generated. it came at a time when there were heightened tensions around the war unfolding in israel and gaza and there were lots of pro—palestinian much is happening, and there was a debate about whether a march should happen on the same day as an armistice day remembrance ceremony for victims of war, and this clip was thrown into the mix around that, falsely suggesting the mayor wanted to move armistice day considerations in order to accommodate the protest. i really wanted to get to the bottom of where this has come from. it was just very convincing, notjust of where this has come from. it was just very convincing, not just that, it seemed to inflame tensions off—line where there were counter protests about that pro—palestinian rally, including arrests and

confrontations with police, and more. as part of this podcast series doing, i tracked down the supposedly creator of this deep fake, the person who shared it first, and it really was quite an interesting experience talking to him. you have done a little — experience talking to him. you have done a little report _ experience talking to him. you have done a little report on _ experience talking to him. you have done a little report on this, - experience talking to him. you have done a little report on this, so - done a little report on this, so let's have a watch. last november, sadiq khan was the target of a deepfake audio recording. i control the met police. they will do, as the mayor of london tells them and obey orders. it was deliberately made to give the impression that i'd said what i hadn't said, but it looked and sounded so authentic. you know, we did get concerned very quickly about what impression it may create. the timing explains why the clip went viral. whether or not a pro—palestinian march should take place on saturday, the 11th of november, armistice day, was a source of political tension. the march went ahead, but there were concerns the faked clip fanned tensions at a counter—protest.

we almost had serious disorder at that weekend. as it was, there were elements of the far right there, police officers were injured, arrests were made. butjust imagine in a different scenario where there's more toxicity or, for example, in a close election, close referenda, times where there's disharmony in a community, the impact a deepfake audio, an ai generated audio video could have. i hunted down the suspected creator of this deepfake, an account named hjb news. the man behind the profile, henry, called me on the phone. he refused a recorded interview, but he did allow his words to be voiced up by an actor based on my notes. all of the evidence i've found on social media suggests you were the first person who posted it, and if you weren't the first, then at least you were one of the very first. no comment. i'm trying to report just real news. well, except for the fake clip of sadiq khan. well, yeah, but it's

not all fake clips. it's not all fake clips. we post news that could be real with a sense of humour. other social media users who played a part in making the clip go viral did show remorse, though. foolishly, and to my. detriment, you know, and shame, i put it out. what was the reaction when you first shared it? well, within an hour, - 200,000 people had seen it. the metropolitan police, who initially said they were investigating the case, dropped it, stating that the faked audio does not constitute a criminal offense. a clip like this one has both a personal impact and wider repercussions. you've got friends and family who see this stuff and it's deeply upsetting to you. i've got two, two daughters, i've got a wife. it's far too easy now for people to use technology to cause problems. and i criticise my profession for not evolving fast

enough to address some of the challenges that this brings. the current laws we have around copyright, ip, the criminal law aren't fit for purpose. and that will be the worry of some politicians as elections unfold across the world this year. how ai technology can be easily manipulated to spread something you never even said. for more, let's speak to our disinformation and social media correspondent marianna spring. i wanted to ask you, what can be done to prevent these being created. i have had this happen and it is quite scary and terrifying to see this, but what can be done in terms of legislation?— of legislation? that's a really good cuestion, of legislation? that's a really good question. and _ of legislation? that's a really good question, and one _ of legislation? that's a really good question, and one that _ of legislation? that's a really good question, and one that a _ of legislation? that's a really good question, and one that a lot - of legislation? that's a really good question, and one that a lot of - question, and one that a lot of people are asking, including politicians like the london mayor. there are different people with responsibility here, and it is my job to hold them to account. you think about the social media companies and new measures that they are working on or introducing, particularly to label content that

is al generated so that people are quickly aware that that content is false, or that it's not real in some way. they are coming under huge amounts of pressure, particularly in this big election year all over the world, to proactively deal with that kind of content. a lot of people are worried and certainly expert in the fields are worried that this kind of content can go viral, and then it's only subsequently that we realise it was ai but then people who wanted to believe it have already shared it. when it comes to the law, there are different legislation in different places, but in the uk we have an act which does allow you to deal with some kinds of hateful content, but ultimately it is quite difficult to prove the intent that someone has deliberately aimed to cause distress, and it does not specifically tackle this ai generated content. so at the moment in the uk there is not specific legislation to tackle this. there's also the responsible tee of the police and what they can do, which does depend to some extent on the law. 0ne does depend to some extent on the law. one of the most shocking bits of this was seeing how the person

who was suspected of creating the clip had actually replied to a comment from the police saying, that's a relief when they realise they were not being investigated. there is a podcast on this particular interview with sadik khan. if you want to listen to that, you can find it where you normally find your podcast, or the bbc, great sounds at. tributes continued to pour in for one of britain �*s best loved and best—known broadcasters. dj steve wright, who died at the age of 69. steve wright's career spanned more than four decades — he was much loved by listeners of radio 2 and before that, radio 1. his final programme, a special valentine's day edition of his love songs programme, was broadcast on sunday. david sillito looks back at his life. steve wright! # steve wright in the afternoon #. all right, now, just after two o'clock.

now, today, have we got a lot of stuff for you! steve wright in the afternoon, a programme that spanned more than a0 years of radio history. stand by, studios. action! it was only over a year ago that it came to an end, but this afternoon, radio 2 was the bearer of some sad news. it's really hard to know - what to say about the news of steve wright's passing, except we are all - absolutely devastated. it is a shock. it was only days ago listeners heard this sign—off from his sunday love songs. and i'm back for more love songs next sunday. is he really? are you a milkman? 0h, great! and for those who've worked with him over his years at radios 1 and 2, he was more than just another dj. from my personal experience, he was a very warm, genuine man who was concerned about the people he worked with. but an extraordinarily creative presenter. i mean, he was a real one—off. there was no—one else who sounded like steve wright. a lot of us tried to be as good

as steve wright, but no—one, no—one was that good. # steve wright!# that style, the posse, mr angry, voice—over man — it was zany, funny and, at its peak, it had 7 million listeners a day. and the bride is 107. all: yes, yes, yes! i think it was just because it was something different. it was slightly subversive. there was a little bit of satire in there and it wasn't like, "there you go, that's the great sound of..." behind the fun and laughter was a radio perfectionist. he wasn't necessarily the character you heard on the radio — _ full of life and effervescent - and this frantic, frenetic delivery. he was a quieter person. i would say almost - an introvert, quite shy. and that meant that when you felt you were friends with him, - it was very, very real. this cacophony of sound that was his show was so, so full of life. - i think that's why we're all finding it so hard, . because we can't believe that that life has gone _

hello, good evening and welcome to top of the pops. he did present top of the pops and a few tv shows but his home and where he shone was behind the microphone. steve wright — professional, slick, funny and a master of the art of radio. the life of steve wright and so many of us have more memories of listening to him on the airwaves. to stay with us here on bbc news. there was a great view of the northern lights across parts of scotland, helped by the clear skies. a lot milder elsewhere, but we still have a lot of cloud around today, and over the hills in particular it is grey, misty and murky. 0n the chilly side across parts of mainland scotland with the cloud but mild elsewhere.

but we still have a lot of cloud, still some rain and drizzle. nothing particularly heavy so far, but after dark i think it may well get wetter, the rain becoming more persistent and heavier and moving northwards into scotland, so getting much wetter here and it will lift the temperatures here as well. otherwise, those temperatures not really changing very much at all overnight. it will be a very mild start to thursday. that milder air is coming in on that southerly breeze, that is ahead of this weather front here which will start to take some rain eastwards through the day on thursday. we've still got the overnight rain in scotland, a wet start here in the morning, that rain pushes northwards, the rain clears northern ireland, heads back into scotland but we could see some heavier rain coming into the south—west of england and the midlands. but ahead of that further east may well brighten up, there should be some sunshine coming through as well. 0ur average maximum temperatures at this time of the year are around about 8 or 9 degrees, but tomorrow it could be even milder than today, particularly across eastern parts of england —15, 16, maybe 17 degrees if the sunshine does come out. it will probably feel a little bit more like spring.

but we have some way to go to beat the all—time february record, that was set in 2019. that weather front does take some rain eastwards on thursday night, there are more weather fronts in the atlantic. that one is going to fade away. this one, though, will bring some rain in from the west over the weekend. but after the overnight rain clears away from east anglia and the south—east, we're left with some sunshine here and there, a few showers becoming more confined to england and wales. a lot of places will be dry, though, on friday. temperatures not quite as high but still on the mild side, 12 in the central belt of scotland and 1a in the south—east of england. quickly onto saturday, a fair bit of cloud around, it could be misty and murky to begin with. some sunshine for eastern areas. 0ut towards the west, our band of rain on that weather front arrives, so turning wetter here, but ahead of that, the air is still quite mild for this time of the year.

today at one, inflation remains at 4% — despite the cost of our energy bills going up. for the first time in two years, there's been a monthly fall in food prices, especially on things like chocolate biscuits and sponge cake. we'll be looking at what all of that might mean for interest rates. also on the programme: ukraine's armed forces say they've sunk a russian landing ship off the coast of crimea. shoplifting doubles in a year, with violent attacks on staff now at more than 1,300

a day, say retailers. and closing a road, to save the toads. the community doing everything it can to help them breed safely. and coming up on bbc news: bayern munich — and harry kane — look to bounce back in the champions league later, as they look to put bundesliga disppoinment behind them. dispapoinment behind them. good afternoon. inflation — the rate at which prices are rising — remained unchanged last month at 4%, despite an increase in the energy price cap. the figures from the office of national statistics show that prices are still going up month on month, but at exactly the same rate as december. a fall in the cost of things like food, furniture and household goods helped to offset the higher price of energy. our business reporter peter ruddick reports.