because it goes through my head. there's a lot of questions of why and what happened, why it wasn't dealt with, right, or whatever. the police should have dealt with it, because it wasn't like it was a secret. i told everybody. i didn't hide it from anybody. and ijust feel like i was let down. we asked rochdale council to come on the show tonight but they said no. they gave us a statement. "we are deeply sorry that the people who were at rochdale council during the period 2004 to 2013, like many other areas of the country, did not recognise or acknowledge what was happening and failed to take the necessary action to protect children from abuse. far more rigorous practices are in place today and we are determined to ensure these terrible failures do not happen again." greater manchester police said they continue to be deeply sorry for how they failed victims.

they added... "how we now prevent and respond to cse is vastly different, particularly in how we work with partner agencies to identify and safeguard vulnerable young people, relentlessly pursue criminals, and care for victims." if you want or need to talk to someone about similar experiences, then please do go to the bbc actionline, where there are resources that can help. the row between the former post office chair henry staunton and the government took another dramatic twist today as mr staunton released a note of a meeting injanuary 2023 which he claims showed that that the former top civil servant at the business department, sarah munby, was asking him to delay compensation to postmasters to help ministers "hobble" to the next election. tonight ms munby has denied this is what she said, or meant, at the meeting. but mr staunton in his sunday times

interview at the weekend also sought to blow the whistle on an organisation involved in this affair called uk government investments. who are they? and what does he claim they have done? here's ben. its become a very personal war of words between the sacked post office chair, henry staunton, and the business secretary kemi badenoch. and also today between henry staunton and the former business department permanent secretary sarah munby. yet is there something that's in danger of being overlooked here? something more institutional than personal? let's talk about the role of a body called uk government investments, or ukgi. this is a quango directly owned by the uk treasury, charged with overseeing the government's stakes in commercial bodies such as natwest and channel 4. and that includes oversight of the publicly—owned post office. a ukgi representative sits on the post office's board. in an interview at the weekend mr staunton alleged ukgi was behind a letter written by post office's nick read injanuary

2024 to the lord chancellor alex chalk claiming that 300 of the prosecutions of postmasters were legally sound. now this letter is not yet in the public domain, but its existence has not been denied by either the government or the post office. and crucially, mr staunton argues ukgi were trying to influence the standing of postmasters in respect to compensation. in staunton�*s words to the sunday times: newsnight also understands that mr staunton has concerns about the broader role of ukgi on the post office board. what's the wider significance of this? well, given ukgi is controlled by the treasury, it potentially implicates the treasury, notjust the business department, in this affair. now, everything that mr staunton has said on record about ukgi is very firmly denied by the body. here's their statement:

the treasury declined to comment. yet, for some mps, there remain questions about the role of ukgi — whose chief executive is charles donald — on the post office board. prior to this row breaking out, i did ask charles donald, who appeared before us, at what time and when, what papers he saw as a board member, about the post office convictions being overturned and he was quite vague in his answers. so at the end of the questioning, i asked him to send us a letter

detailing that in much more detail than he had been able to. and let's not lose sight of the broader context — postmasters still awaiting compensation. all my clients without exception are people _ all my clients without exception are people who are extremely damaged and seriously— people who are extremely damaged and seriously injured as a result of the consequences of their experience at the hands _ consequences of their experience at the hands of the post office. it is a widespread experience that the payment — a widespread experience that the payment of compensation is both slow and very— payment of compensation is both slow and very limited when it comes. mr staunton will give public testimony to parliament's business committee next tuesday, along with the post office ceo, nick read. expect the role of ukgi — this hitherto anonymous quango — to be very much in the spotlight. that's all from us tonight. faisal�*s here tomorrow. until then, goodnight.

charts in hand, germany's economy minister also pointed to acute labour shortages as he talked of troubled waters but better times to come. in germany, global shocks have combined with longer term problems. we fell — especially under the government of angela merkel, i have to say — we fell a bit asleep and we were very comfortable in general. so i think we have to catch up. i think we had, like, bigger dreams and we thought we were going to be able to live bigger lives and more financially free. but now the reality hits us and it's not as good as we thought is going to be. forecasts vary, but look at this — germany's lagging behind among g7 major economies, though european countries, including the uk, also look set

for lacklustre growth. the sluggish growth in germany is certainly also going to affect our neighbours and our trading partners worldwide. the german economy is running the risk of not being the growth engine of europe anymore, but rather slowing growth down. back on the building site, 16 new apartments will eventually stand here. a substantial task — but lifting up the german economy will be a mammoth one. jessica parker, bbc news, in berlin. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. a two—year—old boy reported to have fallen into a river in leicester has been named as xielo maruziva. he fell into the river soar at aylestone on sunday. his family have described him as a "cheeky, funny" boy who is "a bundle ofjoy". they thanked everyone involved in the ongoing search and said they were "heartbroken at what happened".

the government is implementing one of the key recommendations of the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse — by making it a �*legal requirement�* for many people who work with children in england and wales to report evidence of abuse. those who fail to comply with the mandatory reporting duty could be barred from working with young people, while covering up abuse could result in a prison sentence. actor ewen macintosh, best known for playing keith in the classic british comedy the office, has died at the age of 50. the series co—creator ricky gervais has paid tribute to macintosh, writing on social media that he was "an absolute original." you're live with bbc news. the foreign secretary, lord cameron has tonight insisted that the uk's nuclear deterrent is effective. it has emerged that a test firing of an unarmed trident missile failed for the second time in a row.

0ur defence correspondent, jonathan beale has the story. it's britain's weapon of last resort. the nuclear missiles carried on these royal navy submarines meant to deter any aggressor. trident is the us—made ballistic missile on board, and this is what is supposed to happen. but in the most recent test it didn't get this far — itjust plopped into the ocean, and it's now the uk's second test fire fail. this test actually took place injanuary, but only now have details been revealed. the missile was launched from britain's hms vanguard off the coast of florida. it was supposed to fly about 3,700 miles and land harmlessly in the sea off west africa. instead, the unarmed test missile hit the water close to the launch site. so what do we know about the missile itself? its us manufacturer says it has

a range of more than 4,500 miles and can carry multiple nuclear warheads, each of which can be directed towards different targets. there have been 191 successful test launches, most carried out by the us, just a dozen by the uk. and the last two of those uk tests have gone wrong. of course, when the launch is announced in advance and the defence secretary is on board, it doesn't look good. and of course, it's not good, i think, for the morale of the crew, which now goes on patrol, and morale across the submarine service, you know, to have this kind of scrutiny. malfunctions like this one in the �*80s, the early days of trident, are relatively rare. but in 2016, another uk test missile also veered off course. the mod still insists the system is safe, secure, and effective.

the defence secretary, who was on board the submarine, watching these kinds of drills before the missile prematurely plummeted, called it an anomaly. he insisted the weapon worked — as did the foreign secretary tonight. i've got nothing to add to the statement that's been made, but i am absolutely clear that our independent nuclear deterrent is effective. this won't change policy. labour, too, is committed to trident. but for the public, it might raise doubts — and britain's adversaries will also take note. jonathan beale, bbc news. king charles has revealed he has been reduced to tears by the messages of support since he was diagnosed with cancer. he was speaking to the prime minister in his first face to face audience since his diagnosis was made public. here's royal correspondent, daniela relph. the prime minister, your majesty. good evening, your majesty. they usually meet

every week, but it has been a disrupted start to the year. wonderful to see you looking so well. well, it's all done by mirrors, you know. well, we are all behind you. the country is behind you. you are kind. i know, because i have had so many wonderful messages and cards. ican imagine. it has reduced me to tears most of the time. clearly moved by the public�*s good wishes, this was a hint of normal royal business for the king. the audience with the prime minister has been an important moment, a sign that the king is coping well with his cancer treatment and can still do those core duties. it is now three weeks since the king left hospital after treatment for a prostate condition. it was during his stay here that his cancer was discovered. he is not expected to return to a full schedule of engagements for several months. the audience lasted around 45 minutes, during which the king also recognised how going public with his diagnosis had highlighted the work

of cancer charities, many of which have him as a patron. daniela relph, bbc news, buckingham palace. the new manchester united co—owner, sirjim ratcliffe, has told the bbc it's his boyhood dream to be involved with united. he says, it's the greatest challenge to restore the club, and his "preference" — is to build a new stadium for the north of england. sirjim ratcliffe was talking exclusively to our sports editor — dan roan. how does it feel to be co—owner of the club you've supported most of your life? well, it's. .. i mean, i suppose it's a very proud, proud moment. and i'm sort of very honoured to be in this position where i can influence the future of manchester united. there's not something, of course, i would ever have contemplated in my younger years, but here we are. i mean, you know, you do have to pinch yourself, really, because it is a sort of a boyhood dream, but they never come true, not really. this is the exception to the rule, and it's a nice one for me. how determined are you to restore

this club to its former glories? the only reason i've got involved in manchester united is because i want to see manchester united restored to where it should be in football. it's the biggest club in the world. i mean, maybe i'm slightly biased, but i think it's the biggest club. it's the most well known club in the world. it has the greatest history in the world, and it should be playing the greatest football in the world, which it has been from time to time. so it should always be challenging for the premiership and it should always be challenging for the champions. a pioneering satellite — first launched in 1995 — is due to fall to earth at any moment. the ers—two — known as the grandfather satellite— was one of two that were launched by the european space agency to help scientists monitor the earth's activity. as it re—enters the earth's atmosphere most of the device will burn off, but any fragments that survive will most likely fall into the ocean. a couple who won a £61 million share of a euromillions jackpot have

said at first they mistakenly thought they had only won £2.60. richard and debbie nuttall from colne, in lancashire, scooped the prize last month , and found out while on holiday in fuerteventura celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary. when you dream about winning the lottery, you're thinking, "i will do this and i will do that and i will be super calm". but when you actually do win the lottery, you're in such a daze because the numbers are so huge. we will have nicer things and we will do nicer things, but we'll still be the same people. still be us. we'll have our friends and family around us, they will help to keep us sane. yes keeping same with all that money is very much a key priority. good luck to them with that and thanks for your company here in bbc news. bye—bye for now. —— keeping sane.

hello there. it looks like it's going to be very wet for the next 2a hours, particularly across england and wales. and that could exacerbate already existing flooding problems there. by the end of the week, as well, as be pulling colder air behind the low pressure on thursday, things will be turning colder for all areas in any showers. we'll have wintry elements of them across northern and western hills for friday and into the weekend. now this deepening area of low pressure will move across the country, particularly england and wales, during the course of thursday, squeezing the isobars, indicating gales for a time. and then you'll see the blue colours invading the whole of the uk behind the system. so it turns colder for all but through the morning. there could be some issues with standing water. localised flooding as this rain could be heavy, squally, as it spreads across the midlands, southern and eastern england.

maybe some rumbles of thunder on it. strong and gusty winds with that too. but even as we move out of the morning, into the afternoon, you could see another round of heavy rain spreading across central, southern and eastern england. it'll take its time to clear. elsewhere, it's a bright day, sunshine, blustery showers, particularly across northern ireland and western scotland. and there will be some snow falling over the hills, even down to moderate levels across scotland through the course of the day. a blustery day for all areas, very windy with gales across the southeast. by the end of the day, that cold air will be pretty much across the whole of the uk. so we're looking at 4— 8 celsius the high. so we've gone above those double figure values that we've had over the past couple of weeks. it has been very mild indeed. now as we head through thursday night, it looks like it'll stay cold. there'll be further blustery showers, wintry on the hills in the north and the west, and a touch of frost in places, particularly where skies are clear. so much colder night to come and a colder start to friday. we hold on to westerly winds, a few troughs, enhancing the shower a few troughs enhancing the shower activity across northern and western areas. so plenty of showers rattling

into scotland, northern ireland, western england and wales, a few getting in towards the east, but a lot of sunshine here. a blustery day to come for all. there'll be further snow on the hills in northern and western areas. top temperatures again, ranging from around 7—9 degrees for most. it looks like we keep hold of a ridge of high pressure through the course of saturday and sunday. low pressure just skirts past the south west. so a bit of a question mark on that. but i think generally saturday and sunday, quite a bit of dry weather around some sunshine, a few showers which will be wintry over hills. nights will be cold with a touch of frost and mist and fog.

welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. when donald trump said he would let russia do whatever the hell it wanted in nato member states that were not prepared to pay their defence bills, he set alarm bells ringing right across europe. add to that the politicking in washington, which is blocking further us assistance to ukraine, and there is a growing, urgent sense that europe needs to get serious about its own security. my guest is bulgaria's prime minister, nikolai denkov. is the eu's poorest nation, where pro—russian sentiment is significant, one of europe's weakest links?