with the former chairman over compensation for wrongly accused subpostmasters. also tonight, members of the royal family attend a memorialfor the late king of greece — but prince william pulls out because of what is described as a personal matter. the owners of britain's wonkiest pub are ordered to rebuild it — after it was demolished following a suspected arson attack. and trying to find somewhere to swim where the water isn't polluted — plans for 27 designated inland bathing sites. and coming up on bbc news... can newcastle edge closer to ending their long wait for a major trophy, or will it be blackburn's night in the fa cup?

good evening. the chaos at the top of the post office was laid bare today, as both its chief executive and former chairman gave contradictory evidence to mps about the scandal which has engulfed the organisation. the former chairman henry staunton said he's been the victim ofa smear campaign, after claiming he was told to stall compensation for wrongly accused subpostmasters. meanwhile the leader of the subpostmasters, alan bates, told the mps the post office is now a dead duck that should be sold off for a pound. our business editor simonjack watched the hearing. victims of the post office scandal arrived in westminster today to answer questions from mps on whether they thought the compensation had been full, fair and fast. no, no, no, was the answer from three victims, starting with alan bates whose campaign

was dramatised by itv. pay people. there's a lot of distractions, a lot of other things were brought up, thrown up all the time. butjust get on and pay people. we were not believed, it was as though we were making this up. you know, this happened to us. they did this. and they admitted it on paper, but when it comes to it, they're not bothered. i don't want interims or steps, i want to be able to not worry about the post office and not think about it nearly every day. i want to put it behind me and move on with my life. this whole issue of the speediness of compensation payments exploded into a furious row when the now sacked chairman of the post office said a senior civil servant had told him to go slow on compensation payments until the next election. allegations which were fiercely rejected by both the business secretary and the civil servant in question. i swear by almighty god... and the post office chief executive literally swore he never got or understood any instruction to go slow on compensation. i can categorically say that nobody

in my team or myself has received any instruction from the government to slow down compensation. an independent board member said staunton had been sacked because of his conduct. there were a number of concerns, the most significant of which were that mr staunton was obstructing investigations and particularly the investigation into him, the whistle—blowing investigation into him. and he had taken steps to circumvent the shareholders position in relation to the appointment of my replacement. but this afternoon sacked chairman mr staunton under oath, stuck to his guns. so you stand by what you've said in public about the message you received from a senior civil servant that compensation payments should be slowed down to minimise the financial viability? the financial liability? yes, i do. he told mps the chief executive nick reedmy conduct had also been investigated, a fact confirmed tonight

by the department for business. and added this. i've spoken up on matters of genuine public concern, have been fired and now subject to a smear campaign. alan bates said the real drama is the scandal postmasters continue to face. let's keep the focus on getting the money out to the victims sooner rather than later and not get distracted by all this nonsense. but today's evidence exposed recent and deep divisions at the top of what was once one of the most trusted institutions in the uk. simon jack, bbc news. prince william has unexpectedly pulled out of a memorial service for his late godfather, king constantine of greece. he had been due to give a reading at the service, at windsor castle. kensington palace said his absence was because of what it called a "personal matter" but didn't elaborate. here's our royal correspondent, daniela relph. leading the royal family walk to st

george's chapel, the duke of york no longer a working royal, and his former wife sarah at the duchess of york. this is the royal family whose numbers are down. queen camilla was officially leading the family at the thanksgiving service for the life of king constantine for that the prince of wales was due to deliver an address, the king was his godfather. but he unexpectedly pulled out around an hour before it was due to start because of an undisclosed personal matter. when i saw the family together on christmas day at sandringham. although his team have not disclosed why he could not attend the service in windsor they have reiterated that the princess of wales continues to be doing well. after the illness of his wife prince william is easing his way back into royal engagements including here at the baftas when he hinted at the recent family pressures. the absence

of prince william here shows just how unstable a time it is for the royal family. there is a nervousness and unpredictability around every public event that they currently do. the queen was holding the fort today. she has had to step up to the unsettled start to this year. the bbc has apologised for the way it handled a complaint about the presenter huw edwards. allegations about his behaviour were made in may of last year but did not reach senior managers until the 6thjuly. the corporation said the complaint was not "escalated quickly enough" and that it has now changed its processes. our culture editor, katie razzall, is here. katie, remind us of the background to this. this was a story that dominated the headlines, reports at the time that an unnamed bbc presenter allegedly had paid thousands of pounds to

someone for sexually explicit photographs. that presenter was then named by his wife as huw edwards, the much loved high—profile face of bbc news. two investigations were launched and it is important to say that this review is not being investigating the truth or otherwise of the allegations but it is about processes because complaints processes, because the family of the young person allegedly involved had said they felt let down by the way the bbc had acted or not acted. because we find out today what happened was that it made the family complained in cardiff and that complaint was passed on but did not reach senior managers for several weeks and the bbc apologised for that and changed processes. there are two investigations going on and the other one is confidential and ongoing and it is the internal hr investigation into what happened. huw edwards we believe remain suspended on full pay and at the

time his wife said he was suffering from serious mental health issues and had been hospitalised. katie, thank you. birmingham city council is facing a financial crisis which means its leaders are proposing £300 million worth of cuts over the next two years — and a 21% rise in council tax over the same period. the cuts would mean a reduction in arts funding and bin collections and the dimming of street lights. our midlands correspondent, phil mackie, reports. harry, who has down�*s syndrome, loves bollywood music. he also loves going to school. but like hundreds of others with special educational needs in birmingham, he relies on council funding to get there, and that's likely to be cut. he's going to grow up to be a learning disabled young person, young man, and adult services are being cut as well. so, you know, i'm thinking about what's happening now, but i know his future doesn't look great under birmingham

city council cuts. today, the city council cabinet met to discuss the details of the proposed cuts. arts aren't a luxury. they are actually what makes life worth living in this city, and they are a reason to keep going. so i personally, i'm really devastated about that. but i know we've got to get through and set the budget. the council's finances are in a mess and the scale of its debts are eyewatering. it's wasted over £100 million on the botched introduction of a new finance and payroll system. it's already paid out more than a billion pounds on equal pay claims, and its liabilities are projected to be 867 million more. and it has two years to repay a £1.25 billion government loan. the youth service budget is under particular threat. all the council run youth clubs were told they couldn't speak to us. this one lost its council funding

ages ago, but is still going. however, with others likely to close, its going to suffer a significant impact. it's stretched as it is. it's really hard to get funding as a youth worker for the provisions that we provide. so if they're bidding for the same funding that we're bidding for, it's going to make it really hard for us. everyone will notice a difference. to save money, street lights will be dimmed. it'll take longer to get things fixed, and bins and waste collections will be less frequent. every aspect of city life is going to be affected by these cuts. in fact, the list is so long we don't have time to mention everything. but let's just take the culture budget, that's going to be wiped out within two years. and this is in a city with hundreds of art projects, with half a dozen theatres, a ballet company, and a symphony orchestra. the cbso will survive, but it'll have to tighten its belt as it loses all of its council grant. they've got to balance the books. they've got to find the money from somewhere. but you can't help but question whether these are short sighted decisions that are going to cost the city even more in the long run. britain's second city has never seen a financial crisis like it. phil mackey, bbc news, birmingham.

us presidentjoe biden says there could be a truce — to stop the fighting in gaza — as early as next monday. the draft ceasefire, negotiated in paris, would see a a0 day pause in all military operations over the muslim holy month of ramadan. some israeli hostages would be exchanged for palestinian prisoners. and 500 aid trucks a day would be allowed into gaza. let's talk to paul adams who's injerusalem for us. paul, mr biden seems pretty optimistic about this happening next week? i thinkjoe biden is keen to force the pace on this. clearly the americans want a deal in place before the start of ramadan in less than two weeks. but there are still significant differences that must be overcome and qatar which played a key role in brokering these talks says there is nothing to announce

yet. at least publicly, as i sticking to its position that it wants to see a total end to the war and the complete withdrawal of israeli troops from the gaza strip. israeli troops from the gaza strip. israel absolutely will not agree to any of that. there are also issues to do with how many palestinian prisoners will be released for each israeli hostage and will palestinians be allowed to return to some of their homes in the northern part of the gaza strip. any one of theseissues part of the gaza strip. any one of these issues could wreck the whole process. but the bottom line is that israel wants its hostages back, hamas which is being slowly annihilated once the war to end. if this is going to work it will be because each side get something of what it needs. more than four months into the war, civilians in gaza are still living with acute hunger and the constant fear of bombardment. the bbc has been following a day

in the life of the territory through three of its citizens — one of them from rafah in the south — where there are 1.5 million displaced people — one from deir al balah in the centre of gaza and one from a hospital in gaza city in the north. a warning that there are distressing images and details from the start of this report from fergal keane. on the 143i’d night of the war, eight people were reported killed here. among them, a seven—year—old girl. in an area hosting five times its normal population, israel hunts for the hamas attackers who killed and kidnapped its citizens. and for civilians in rafah, grief follows. pushed from place to place, always losing.

today as talks grow of an imminent cease fire, we followed the lives of three people across the devastated landscape of the gaza strip. malak al dabi heard the bomb that killed the seven year old girl in rafah. but today as every day she was up early to start work. her mom and brother have a lung disease. they use a little of their flour to make crisps, which malik sells to buy the medicine. there are different

kinds of desperation. for samira neuralgia, aged 65, it is a quiet kind. when we first filmed her back in november, she was taking care of nine grandchildren and her husband. with no medicine, her husband died lying on the ground in the refugee camp. but now samir�*s days are spent hiding herfear. we are constantly terrified. like in a movie. every night we sleep in fear, trying to assure our children, telling them not to be scared. i'm talking to you. and the drone is flying above us. in gaza, there are the suffering. the boy holding the saline drip above his father. and there are the healers.

dr mohamed el—sheikh says he's only left the hospital twice since the war began four months ago. we're working 2a seven. we don't go to our homes, says dr mohammed. we're disconnected from our families. all the volunteers and medical staff stay in the same room. as far as food goes, only a few items are available. we provide whatever we can. in another ward under dr mohammed's care, three—year—old jude, who lost his leg in a blast. adam, age nine, whose leg was amputated after becoming infected with gangrene. while beyond the border of the siege, there was talk of a cease fire. fergal keane, bbc news, jerusalem. the bbc is bringing you a detailed insight on life inside gaza in a special day of coverage. you can find more on the website — that's bbc.co.uk/news — and by using the bbc news app.

the time is 6:17pm. our top story this evening. division and disunity at the heart of the post office. mps hear contradictory accounts from its bosses. still to come... the tiny fish capable of making a big noise. and coming up in sport on bbc news... heartbreak for scotland in the pinatar cup as they miss out on the trophy — beaten 5—4 on penalties in the final by finland. community launderette in east london. now it was famously known as britain's wonkiest pub, but its owners have been ordered to rebuild it to just how it was before the suspected arson attack that destroyed it last year.

south staffordshire council says it's served an enforcement notice on the owners of the crooked house. they have 30 days to appeal and the notice must be complied with within three years. navtej johal is at the site of the pub near dudley. when this place was destroyed six months ago, it wasn'tjust a building that was razed to the ground, but a piece of history, a piece of the identity of the people round here. as you say, the owners have three years to rebuild it on the campaigners who have worked so hard to get it to this point will do everything they can to make sure that happens. this was the moment that centuries of black country history went up in flames in a suspected arson attack. but there was worse to come. less than 48 hours later,

the crooked house, known as britain's wonkiest inn... you just watch this. ..and a west midlands landmark, was demolished. it was taken from us. just... just ripped apart. one of those places you just thought would be here for the rest of our lives. and then suddenly it was gone. the public outcry over the fire and what the local authority has called an unauthorised demolition has barely died down in six months. but today came the news many were hoping for. ijust can't believe it. just can't believe it. the owners of this much—loved pub have been ordered by south staffordshire council to rebuild it back to what it was before the fire. we're alljust so elated and so excited and just so looking forward to what the future's going to bring. we've worked hard. we've kept this as much as possible in the news. we've kept on and kept the momentum going. are you confident that the crooked house will be restored are you confident that the crooked house will be restored

to its former glory? i have always been confident, always said it must be. - you've heard the way in which the public i society's come together. six people have been arrested and remain on conditional bail in connection with the fire here, but no one has been charged and investigations are still ongoing. but today could be the day that this place begins to rise again from the ashes. navteonhal, bbc news, in himley. one of russia's best known human rights campaigners has been jailed for two and a half years by a court in moscow. oleg orlov, who's 70, was found guilty of discrediting the russian army. our russia editor, steve rosenberg, sent this report from moscow. he knew very well he could be about to go to prison. but oleg orlov, one of russia's most prominent human rights campaigners, had no intention of staying silent. my first trial and now this retrial

and all the other people on trial for similar so—called crimes, they show that russia has become a totalitarian state. he'd been charged with repeatedly discrediting the russian army. that's one of several laws brought in to punish public criticism of the war in ukraine. a show of support from foreign ambassadors in the gallery and from his lawyer as they sat waiting for the verdict. guilty, said thejudge. he was sent to prison for two and a half years. seconds later, on went the handcuffs. then oleg orlov, the co—chair of a human rights group that once won the nobel peace prize, was taken away and locked in a cage. when oleg orlov was convicted on these charges last year, he was fined. too lenient, said prosecutors. hence the retrial and the tougher punishment today. in court this week,

mr orlov said russia was sinking ever deeper into darkness with the death in prison of alexei navalny and judicial reprisals against government critics. freedom, he said, was being suffocated. across town, russians were remembering boris nemtsov, a fierce critic of vladimir putin. he was shot dead near the kremlin nine years ago today. the authorities deny any connection to his murder, just like they deny any involvement in the death of alexei navalny. in court, oleg orlov had quoted alexei navalny�*s slogan "don't give up", and then sent his own message to russians. "don't lose heart." steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. the uk covid inquiry has begun its hearings in wales. the inquiry, which has already taken evidence in edinburgh and london, will focus on decisions made by the welsh government.

our health editor hugh pym has been at the hearing in cardiff today. hugh? yes, the issue of the uk's devolved system and how it performed during the pandemic is central to the inquiry with health a devolved issue and the inquiry kc asked today if the welsh government might have done more and been earlier in the early weeks of the pandemic and why did the welsh ministers not have a formal meeting over covid a month over the equivalent of the uk in february quest but what about a rugby international in march being due to go ahead in the middle of march, only called off in the last moment by the local authorities, not the government. and what more might the government. and what more might the treasury have done to be receptive to requests for support and funding from the devolved nations, and we will hear more about whatsapp messages, some involving the leading politicians, mark drakeford and vaughan gething. few.

drakeford and vaughan gething. few, thank ou drakeford and vaughan gething. few, thank you very — drakeford and vaughan gething. few, thank you very much. _ the video sharing app tiktok says it has started removing many songs from its platform. it comes after the world's biggest record label, universal music, withdrew permission for them to be used on tiktok, in a row over money. the video sharing app tiktok says it has started removing many withdrew permission for them to be used on tiktok, in a row over money. our music correspondent, mark savage, has the details. music this is all about the business end of the music business. if your company wants to use a song that's owned by a record label, you have to pay them. and universal music says tiktok isn't paying enough. as a result, earlier this month, songs by universal�*s biggest artists including taylor swift, the beatles and billie eilish were all muted on the app. some estimates say 80% of the songs on tiktok could vanish.

the app argues that the figure is closer to 30%. in a statement, universal said it was taking this action because tiktok is building a business based on music without paying fair value. in response, tiktok accused the company of putting their own greed above the interests of their artists and songwriters. now, tiktok is also having to remove music by songwriters signed to universal, and that could affect artists on other labels, the likes of adele, beyonce and harry styles, who frequently work with universal�*s writers. music mark savage, bbc news. amid growing public anger at the pollution of britain's waterways, there are plans to designate 27 new clean sites for bathing in england. they'll be in rivers and lakes, and regularly monitored for pollution. people who use them hope this official designation will keep them clean as our north of england correspondent, danny savage, reports

from one of those new sites. it's an idyllic—looking spot, a large area of open water popular with hardy souls who like a dip. huge mental health benefits. huge physical health benefits. it gets your blood flowing. but if you search swimming in the river nidd in knaresborough online, lots comes up about sewage pollution and even people getting sick after being in the water around here. we'll all agree we won't put our faces, our heads in the water and we'll try not to ever swallow any water. lucy has four sons. three out of the four have had a case of nidd belly. is that what you call it? yeah, belly puking, diarrhoea. sadly, they go under the water, they swallow the water and they are ill. i would say eight times out of ten. it doesn't put them off. they always come back for another turn. do you think designating this as a bathing site will improve that situation? i would hope that in time, maybe

for my children, my grandchildren, the river will be a cleaner and safer river to swim in, to fish in, to live close to. if officially designated, this and the other sites will be regularly monitored by the environment agency. they will then identify any sources of pollution and steps to be taken. in other words, there will be clear data to showjust how clean or polluted the water is. pop cans, bottles. just got a couple of tennis balls. simon comes down here regularly to fish out rubbish and keep the lido area looking clean. would you swim in here? probably not, no. how confident are you that the authorities can sort this out and make it clean? anything that involves authorities takes too long. everything is being considered and being thought about and consulted on and surveyed. and nothing ever happens.

but government figures show that last year, 96% of bathing waters in england met minimum annual standards and 90% were rated as good or excellent. danny savage, bbc news, knaresborough. it's one of the smallest fish in the world, barely the size of a fingernail — but the danionella cerebrum can produce noise that reaches 140 decibels in water. that's about as loud as a firecracker being set off, and it could be the noisiest fish for its size. our environment correspondent matt mcgrath reports. this fleet, yet fragile fish has long been cherished for its transparency. but scientists have now discovered there's far more to danionella cerebrum than meets the eye. squawking. intrigued by the squawking chatter coming from their fish tanks

in their lab, researchers in berlin quickly recognized this see—through species was no small fry when it comes to making noise. squawk slowed down. this is the slowed—down sound produced by this fish. up close in the water, its as loud as a gunshot. when these muscles contract, they pull on the rib. the rib then creates tension with this piece of cartilage. and then suddenly the tension is released, and the cartilage strikes on the swim bladder. and this striking is like a drum. so it hits the swim bladder, and then the vibration makes a very short, sharp, pulse sound. while there are larger and louder fish around the world among the smaller species, this glass—like little drummer is truly off the scale. matt mcgrath, bbc news. time for a look at the weather. here's sarah keith—lucas. it's been a day of mixed fortunes today. forsome it's been a day of mixed fortunes today. for some of us we have had grey skies, cloudy conditions and outbreaks of rain. this was the

picture early on, but there has been blue sky and sunshine around. this was the view over the water of leith earlier. it's looking the same, some forecast rain coming on cloud clearing away from southern and eastern england and there will be missed on far behind that and the next diary of rain moves into northern ireland through the early hours but quite a chilly night and some of the searing temperatures down to freezing and fast —— mist and fog clears. in the next band of rain pushes in across scotland and heavy bersin england and wales, but much of it stays dry for a good part of the day and you will notice it feels milder, so temperature in double figures of about 13 for the likes of belfast. but that wench of milder air does not stay put for very long with a brisk winds from the south but they will clear away

from the west to east and a