amid fears some are being targeted because of their views. an important ruling in northern ireland on plans to give an amnesty to suspects wanted for crimes during the troubles. alexei navalny, the russian opposition leader who died in prison, will be buried in moscow on friday. his widow had this message for the european parliament. putin killed my husband alexei navalny. on his orders, alexei was tortured for three years. and an exclusive report on the teams trying to preseve the wonders of the sistine chapel. and coming up on bbc news... two—time olympic champion andy murray tells the bbc he would like one last shot at further olympic glory before retirement. paris 2024 would be his fifth games.

good afternoon. prince harry has lost his high court challenge against the removal of his police protection when he visits the uk. the duke of sussex took legal action when the government downgraded his security status four years ago after he stopped being a working royal. but his lawyers claimed he'd been singled out and treated less favourably than other members of the royal family. in the last few minutes they have said they will appeal against today's ruling. sean dilley reports. from the moment he was born, prince harry has been surrounded by armed metropolitan police protection. they used to travel the world with him and go with him wherever he went. but that was when and because he was a working royal. when he stepped down and left the country in 2020, that routine taxpayer funded protection was downgraded.

government lawyers said armed security would still be provided but only when it was believed to be necessary and on a case—by—case basis. prince harry's case was that the decision made by the group, or the decision made by the group, or the executive committee for the protection of royalty and public figures, was one, unfairand unlawful. his lawyers pointed out that panel members had included senior members of the royal household at a time when tensions between prince harry and some senior members of the royal family itself were incredibly high. thejudge did not agree. the court has found that there has not been any unlawfulness in reaching the decision of the 28th of february 2020. it is a judgment that will have security implications for the king's younger son. while the government may insist that protection will be provided when justified, the ruling may dictate how closely prince harry feels he can be to his family. sean dilley, bbc news.

meanwhile, there is to be more personal security for mps to protect them from threats, harassment and even physical violence. the government says it will spend more than £30 million on increased security for elected politicians and that could include bodyguards. it comes amid fears that mps are being intimidated, particularly by demonstators angry about the war in gaza. our political correspondent iain watson has this report. ceasefire now! organisers say these pro-palestinian _ ceasefire now! organisers say these pro-palestinian protests _ ceasefire now! organisers say these pro-palestinian protests are - pro—palestinian protests are predominantly peaceful, and they argue that if anything there is too much of a police presence. but not all protests are the same. this took place not at parliament but outside the home of the conservative mp tobias ellwood, raising concerns about intimidation. today, £31 million has been made available, some of it for enhanced policing and some of it for enhanced policing and some of it for enhanced policing and some of it for improving mps'

safety. some of it for improving mps' safe . w some of it for improving mps' safe . ~ ., safety. each mp and in fact councillors _ safety. each mp and in fact councillors and _ safety. each mp and in fact councillors and elected - safety. each mp and in fact - councillors and elected mayors and crime commissioners need to be able to speak and vote as their conscience and their views dictate, without any kind of external intimidation. and that is why we are making this announcement today, it is £31 million of new money. we can't stand _ is £31 million of new money. we can't stand for intimidation and threats— can't stand for intimidation and threats in— can't stand for intimidation and threats in a democracy, we can't stand _ threats in a democracy, we can't stand for— threats in a democracy, we can't stand for that kind of security threat, — stand for that kind of security threat, so _ stand for that kind of security threat, so i think the governance is right— threat, so i think the governance is right to _ threat, so i think the governance is right to take measures to address security— right to take measures to address security threats in a democracy. and the home security threats in a democracy. fific the home secretary, security threats in a democracy. fific the home secretary, james security threats in a democracy. e"ic the home secretary, james kavanagh, is meeting police chiefs to discuss what else can be done. he said every mp would be given a dedicated police contact. some mps have faced death threats, some have had their constituency offices vandalised. spending on security has already increased by 20 times since the murder ofjo cox in 2016. and all of this is against a backdrop of rising tensions and threats to the wider public. there has been a substantial

increase in incidence motivated by anti—semitism and by islamophobia since the conflict in the middle east erupted. and for as long as that conflict continues, its profound effect on uk politics is likely to persist. but not everyone will agree on where exactly to strike the balance between security and the right to protest. iain watson, bbc news, westminster. and in the last hour, mps have been attending prime minister's questions in the comments. our chief political correspondent henry zeffman joins us now from parliament. and it has been pretty lively? it now from parliament. and it has been pretty lively?— pretty lively? it certainly was, ben. conservative _ pretty lively? it certainly was, ben. conservative mps - pretty lively? it certainly was, ben. conservative mps have l pretty lively? it certainly was, - ben. conservative mps have been divided over recent days about how the prime minister, the conservative party more generally, handled the comments by lee andersen, now suspended from the conservative whip, about sadiq khan, the labour mayor of london. today rishi sunak managed to unite conservative mps in raucous cheering about that very

issue, inevitably, sir keir starmer, the labour leader, asked rishi sunak about it, rishi sunak made a virtue of it, he argued that he had suspended lee andersen as quickly as was possible and tried to draw a contrast with sir keir starmer�*s own handling of the labour candidate in the rochdale by—election and the controversy there. sir keir starmer himself brought more punchy language that we have often seen from him, he talked about the conservatives being like the flat earth society, he criticised liz truss's comments about the so—called deep state, or rather not criticising comments about that from steve bannon, an american. he also talked about how liz truss had been there during exchanges in america about tommy robinson, calling tommy robinson a thug, so, keir starmer also robinson, calling tommy robinson a thug, so, keir starmeralso bringing more intense language. amid all of the intensity, the speaker of the house of commons, so lindsay hoyle, was strikingly almost absent. it was really noisy in there, in the commons chamber. ordinarily you would expect him to intervene two or

three times to calm mps down. he was silent. why? well, that is the clearest representation yet that the row about his decisions last week is still continuing. his row about his decisions last week is still continuing.— still continuing. his authority has trained for _ still continuing. his authority has trained for henry _ still continuing. his authority has trained for henry zeffman, - still continuing. his authority has trained for henry zeffman, thankj still continuing. his authority has - trained for henry zeffman, thank you very much indeed. -- his —— his authority has drained. there's been an important ruling in northern ireland on plans to give suspects conditional immunity from prosecution for crimes committed during the troubles. the high court in belfast has ruled that such amnesties would be in breach of the european convention on human rights. the amnesty proposal is part of government legislation passed last year but the judge said there's no evidence that it would help reconciliation in northern ireland. our ireland correspondent chris page is in belfast for us. chris, a very significant ruling? that's right, ben. thejudge began his statement here at the high court this morning by referring to the fact that more than 3700 people were killed in the conflict commonly

called the troubles. and that over those 30 years of violence, there remain many hundreds of unsolved killings, and the question of how those debts should be investigated has remained one of the most complex, contentious and emotive issues for northern ireland during the last few decades of relative peace. last year, the uk government passed legislation to set up a new commission to take over all investigations linked to the conflict and part of the plan was that suspects, both former paramilitaries and former members of the state forces, who cooperated, gave information to that commission, would be given a guarantee that they would be given a guarantee that they would not be prosecuted. nearly all victims�* groups were strongly opposed to that idea, a number of victims have taken this legal challenge, and today the judge, victims have taken this legal challenge, and today thejudge, mr justice dove ten, has issued a lengthyjudgment in which he has ruled that the provision for an amnesty is in breach of international law, specifically the european convention on human rights, which says, in essence, that the state has a duty to effectively

investigate all that. the judge also said a plan to end all civil cases, civil court cases related to the troubles, was unlawful, too. so, what now for the legislation known as the troubles legacy act? the northern ireland secretary chris heaton—harris has given his response in the house of commons. it is heaton-harris has given his response in the house of commons.— in the house of commons. it is a very complex — in the house of commons. it is a very complex case, _ in the house of commons. it is a very complex case, i _ in the house of commons. it is a very complex case, i am - in the house of commons. it is a very complex case, i am told - in the house of commons. it is aj very complex case, i am told the judgment — very complex case, i am told the judgment runs to over 200 pages and i am get _ judgment runs to over 200 pages and i am get to— judgment runs to over 200 pages and i am get to see. it will take some time _ i am get to see. it will take some time to— i am get to see. it will take some time to consider, but we will consider— time to consider, but we will consider mrjustice dove ten's consider mr justice dove ten's findings — consider mrjustice dove ten's findings very, very carefully but we do remain— findings very, very carefully but we do remain committed to preventing the legacy act. do remain committed to preventing the legacy act-— do remain committed to preventing the legacy act. well, the 'udge also said that in spite h the legacy act. well, the 'udge also said that in spite of _ the legacy act. well, the 'udge also said that in spite of his _ the legacy act. well, the judge also said that in spite of his ruling - the legacy act. well, the judge also said that in spite of his ruling on - said that in spite of his ruling on the amnesty measures, the new commission still have the powers to carry out investigations which were compliant with human rights law, and the commission has just issued a statement saying it has got to study the judgment but continue its work, aiming to get up and running by may

of this year. we are waiting to hear the reaction from the families who brought the case that they are still inside the building, about to come out and speak to reporters, but it is likely that the case will go to a higher court and eventually end up in the uk supreme court. ichris higher court and eventually end up in the uk supreme court. chris page, our ireland correspondent, _ in the uk supreme court. chris page, our ireland correspondent, many - our ireland correspondent, many thanks. the funeral of the russian opposition leader alexei navalny will be held in moscow on friday. mr navalny, who was a long—standing critic of the kremlin, died suddenly in a russian prison earlier this month. his team had been struggling to find a venue that would agree to hold the ceremony. this morning his widow, yulia, gave an emotional address to the the european parliament in strasbourg. she said her husband was murdered on president putin�*s orders. putin killed my husband, alexei navalny. on his orders, alexei was tortured for three years. he was starved in a tiny stone cell, cut off from the outside world and denied visits,

phone calls and then even letters. and then they killed him. our europe correspondent nick beake is in strasburg now. nick, what help did mr navalny�*s widow ask for from europe? and from the world? well, ben, this was a very direct _ and from the world? well, ben, this was a very direct message _ and from the world? well, ben, this was a very direct message to - and from the world? well, ben, this was a very direct message to the - was a very direct message to the politicians here in strasbourg and beyond. she thanked them for them support but also said that because they are dealing with a man like vladimir putin, there has to be a different approach. you can�*t treat him like a normal politician. and she said that he was being sustained ijy she said that he was being sustained by what she described as a mob, she said it was mafia money that underpinned his regime, and so as a result, europe and the americans and other people had to think differently, and that passing resolutions in buildings like this and also coming up with new sanctions would not really make a difference, so she said that you

can�*t be boring with vladimir putin, you need to think all the time if you need to think all the time if you are to defeat him. of course, the kremlin has said that it has nothing to do with the alexei navalny, and that he died from natural causes, but we heard there the word used by his widow was murder, she said her husband had been murdered, she said she was concerned about what would happen on friday when his funeral takes place in moscow, she said she did not know whether it would be a peaceful event or whether people who come to pay their respects and say goodbye to him, whether they are interfered with or they are arrested or detained by the authorities in some way. so, this was an impassioned plea, ben, from a woman who described herself, really, is a grieving widow, but also someone who has vowed to continue the work that her husband had started, and she said she would do her very best to try and realise his dream of creating a different russia, a beautiful russia.— creating a different russia, a beautiful russia. �* .~ ., ,, beautiful russia. nick beake, thank ou ve beautiful russia. nick beake, thank you very much _ beautiful russia. nick beake, thank you very much indeed, _ beautiful russia. nick beake, thank you very much indeed, our - beautiful russia. nick beake, thank you very much indeed, our europe i you very much indeed, our europe correspondent. thousands of welsh farmers

are expected to protest in cardiff against a change in farm subsidies, which they say threatens the industry. the sustainable farming scheme is due to start in 2025 and it will require all farms to allocate at least 10% of their land to trees and another 10% to natural habitats. our correspondent tomos morgan is in cardiff. real anger about this, tomos? massive anger here, we believe this is the biggest protest that has ever been seen outside the welsh parliament, the senedd. it goes to show the strength of feeling from the agricultural community at these current proposals, the sustainable farming scheme, under which 10% of land will have to have tree cover, and 10% will have to be designated for wildlife habitat. there is some way that you can mix both, if possible, but really, that is how things stand at the moment, those proposals are out for consultation but i have some of the farmers here

earlier and they have been going through with me why they believe the current proposals are unworkable. we've come here today to make a stand against what they are trying to implement in farming in wales. as to what they want to implement, it's a slow death, it's a strangulation of welsh farms. i�*ve got two young children that hopefully will follow in my footsteps. but right now with the state of agriculture, and the way we are looking in the future, we have just great concerns. i think the other thing that made people are saying, you heard it there, these farmers don�*t feel that they are being listened to by the welsh government. it is something i put to the rural affairs minister this morning, and she said the plans were out for consultation, they have time to put their views forward and when it finishes next week, they will be reviewed by whoever is the new first minister, which will be decided in the next two weeks. but i think the real big thing is, these discussions have been going on for

seven years already, the talks between the unions, the farmers and the welsh government. there has been three consultations, we are now on the third one and quite frankly you can see the support here from the farmers today, they don�*t seem to be any closer to a final decision on what the future funding scheme will look like. ., . , what the future funding scheme will look like. ., .,, a, ., what the future funding scheme will looklike. ., ., ., , look like. thomas morgan, tasha very much. the time is 13.15. our top story this afternoon. prince harry loses his high court challenge against the decision to remove his personal protection when he�*s in the uk. coming up — the councils battling to balance the books amid increasing financial pressure. coming up on bbc news. former england striker turned broadcaster eni aluko has criticised social media network x for allowing hatred to go unchecked. "tell us about yourself," is the sort of thing you might

expect to be asked at a job interview — but a review has found that questions like that can put autistic people at a disadvantage. the report commissioned by the government has recommendations to improve the work place for autistic staff including a greater understanding of their needs and the offer of better career progression. our disability correspondent nikki fox has been talking to people about the problems they�*ve faced. it�*s the lunchtime rush at this cafe in northampton. thanks, jack. but forjack and alfie, this is about more than just being top notch baristas. i�*ll do the washing up. they�*re best mates. and they�*re both autistic. cafe track has supported more than 120 people like jack and alfie into work or on a placement. and you�*ve been here for how long working? five years. i love it, yeah. i wouldn�*t change it for the world. it was set up by former teacher thomas. all we wanted to do when we set out was support one person to work. why?

because we knew that would be life changing. he also advises businesses on how to remove the barriers which make it impossible for autistic people to get a job and keep it. every business, there is a case for employing people who are autistic, because actually your customer base, the different opportunities you can get, you know we've got highly skilled people. it's not a nice thing to do to employ an autistic person, it's a good business choice. for alfie, this opportunity, thisjob has changed his life. what i was before, i was a shell of what i am now. like i was, i didn�*t have, like, any possibility of showing people the personality i did have. it was very much like showing as little as possible. whereas now i feel like this place has done a 360 on how i am as a person. not everyone has the same experience. adam is one of around 70% of autistic adults out of work. after spending more than 20 years supporting his son, he�*s now in a position to get a job. but it�*s been a struggle. thesejobs i�*m going for are specifically for autistic people,

and it feels sometimes that they don�*t want the autistic person to show up. somebody gave me feedback and said, well, we can�*t help everybody because all autistic people are different and we can�*t put reasonable adjustments in place for everybody. i don�*t accept that. so these are essentially cost centres... this company is made up of mostly autistic employees. it was one of a number of businesses that fed into today�*s report. this will always be a journey, but i think this is a really important step on thatjourney. we recognise the huge opportunity here for businesses, huge opportunity for more autistic people. it�*ll be a step change, i think. it�*s amazing what you�*re doing here... darcy has worked here for around two and a half years and says this place has helped her grow in confidence. i managed to find a way to communicate with the world. having reasonable adjustments can help me feel safe and valued and contribute to the company and to show them that i am more than just a woman with a disability.

i mean, there�*s more to me than you know. for now, this review is the first step in a process that will take time to create the kind of transformational change autistic people want and need to see. nikki fox, bbc news. we all rely on local councils for our roads, bin collections, leisure facilities and much more besides. but increasingly, they are in financial crisis, with some facing bankruptcy. more than half say they probably won�*t be able balance their books in the next five years. to save money, two—thirds of councils are planning to cut services — with parks, leisure, arts and culture at the top of the list. and — to generate more revenue — the vast majority will be also be putting up council tax for residents. well one local authority facing some very tough decisions is medway council in kent. from there, our political

correspondent alex forsyth reports. it�*s early evening and medway council has allowed us to film as they meet to discuss their budget. the council�*s finances are perilous. we have got roads full of potholes. food banks are now normal. they�*re already cutting things like free swimming for children, cancelling events and closing a visitor centre and art gallery. the discussions they are having are based on the hope that the government is going to let them borrow £30 million over the next two years. even if the government says yes, they�*re still going to have to make some pretty significant cuts to services. like other councils, the leader here says it�*s the rising cost of services like social care and housing, combined with a shortage of government funding, that is pushing some councils to the brink. this is really challenging. this is my home, my community, the street i live on. they will all be impacted by these decisions we�*ve got to take. it�*s not easy. a few days later, in the medway town of gillingham,

we caught up with him again, this time as he met parents and carers to explain the situation. we�*re in a really difficult financial place as a council. we�*re having to do some difficult stuff around some of the things we all enjoy. so really want to hear from yourself. these families have children with special educational needs and disabilities, one of the areas where services are under huge pressure. when you talk about obviously having to cut back on everything across the budget, as somebody that is sort of volunteering in the voluntary sector at the moment, running a children's charity, physically can't plug any more gaps in council budgets with what we're doing. if the resources aren�*t there, you know, there are some things which ultimately will cease to happen. and that pains me. i don�*t want that to be the case, but i�*ve got to balance the books. thank you for your time. i genuinely appreciate that. can ijust have a little chat with you just about what you�*ve heard and your thoughts on it, or if that�*s ok? i am a mum to two. i've got a 19—year—old and a 25—year—old, so he has quite a few additional needs.

when he was first diagnosed, i was just told, just leave him in the corner. he's not going to amount to much. this is maxie�*s son richard now. he�*s a keen baker and gardener with two computing qualifications. i met him the next day with his mum, who said that wouldn�*t have been possible without the support they get. your mum was saying yesterday she�*s pushed a lot to get you your support that she thinks you need, richard. yeah, she fought my corner and it's | been a bit hard and it always help. | and i love my carers, - they're amazing, they are. are you worried about the budget restraints in the areas of support that you rely on? yes. yeah, the support still needs to be there. and sometimes there could be improvement because of the support that's in place. so if you take the support away, then his needs are just going to deteriorate. increasingly, keeping the services that people like richard rely on going means councils are cutting back elsewhere.

with many councils sounding warning signs about a bleak outlook, the government has increased the amount they have to spend compared to last year, but in medway they say that�*s still not enough. yesterday i received a message from the council leader saying they�*re still waiting to hear whether they�*ll be allowed to borrow to balance their books. it�*s around a quarter to two monday night into tuesday morning. i just took you through the final budget processes for the council meeting on thursday. we�*ve also still not heard back from central government on exceptional financial support. so this community waits with an announcement expected tomorrow which will determine what happens to the services many here value. alex forsyth, bbc news, medway. now a look at some other stories making the news today. in the contest to become the next us president, donald trump and joe biden are projected to win their parties�* respective primaries

in the us state of michigan. the polls help determine who�*ll be selected as presidential candidate for the republicans and democrats. tens of thousands of people voted "uncommitted" in the michigan poll as part of a campaign protesting against mr biden�*s support for israel. customer service at hm revenue and customs has dropped to an all—time low, according to a group of mps. the public accounts committee has published figures suggesting that nearly two—thirds of callers were left on the line for more than ten minutes to speak to an adviser. hmrc says its digital services can provide answers for millions of people in need of assistance. and raye has been named the songwriter of the year by the brits, ahead of this saturday�*s awards ceremony. the 26—year—old said she was "honoured and blown away".

for decades now many countries have been worried about falling birth rates, and — as a result — ageing populations. well in south korea this has now become a crisis. the government there says the average birth rate was just 0.73 per woman. that�*s far below the 2.1 needed for a stable population. niger in west africa tops the list of highest birth rates, with an average of nearly seven children born to each woman. in comparison, the uk birth rate is 1.6. jean mackenzie reports from the south korean capital, seoul. this is a meeting of single minds. yajin and her friends don�*t plan to get married, or have children. instead, yajin wants to focus on herjob as a tv producer. it�*s competitive and the hours gruelling. it leaves no time to raise a child.

translation: the work culture is too hard here. | at the weekends sometimes i have an iv drip just to get enough energy to go back to work. with these notoriously long working hours, women in korea feel forced to choose between having a career and having a baby. the birth rate has been plummeting for years as more women like yajin choose theirjobs. jinyung is proof of this dilemma. she quit herjob to raise her children and is in what she calls a single parenting marriage because like many women, she�*s expected to do all of the childcare. three, two, one, go! translation: i had a very lonely parenting experience. _ my husband works a lot. i was angry i had to stay at home. i�*m just as educated, so it�*s been hard to accept. do you understand why women now are choosing not to have children?

this dearth of babies means korea�*s population is already aging fast. in 50 years�* time, there will be more people over the age of 65 than under. a frightening prospect for its economy, its health care system, and its pension reserves. politicians know they�*re grappling with a crisis. theyjust don�*t know how to fix it. yajin has decided to move to new zealand because it has better gender equality. these women know the birth rate is a problem. theyjust don�*t think it�*s theirs to solve. the next generation, ok. i believe, next generation. jean mckenzie, bbc news in seoul. extra attention is being paid to the world�*s most famous fresco as the vatican gets ready to celebrate thejubilee — a special year for catholics. up to seven million people visit the sistine chapel in vatican city every year to see

michaelangelo�*s masterpiece. but preserving and protecting the delicate pieces from contamination and damage is a painstaking and intricate task as our reporter sara monetta has been finding out. closer than most people would ever dream to get. experts are inspecting michelangelo�*s sistine chapel, looking for signs of deterioration. we have here some alterations, some light whitening. now we need to understand what caused it. this is one of the most visited museums in the world, with up to 25,000 tourists a day. but that comes at a price. the humidity increase, and also the carbon dioxide. and these react with the surface of the work of art. we may have condensation, dust deposit, because dust means dangerous compounds. after the last restoration 30 years ago, sensors and an air conditioning system were installed to keep

a stable environment in the chapel. but since then, the number of visitors has soared, requiring more intensive maintenance. so for a few weeks every year, after the last visitor is gone, experts get to work. fabian knows the frescoes as intimately as a doctor knows his patient. he shows us a fragment taken from a piece of cloth that was painted on a character after michelangelo�*s death to cover its nudity. translation: here you can see michelangelo's original plaster, l the original colour of the skin, and on top of it, in a lighter shade of pink with some black particles, is the clothes that was painted over. using extremely high resolution images, he and his team are now mapping sections of the chapel. at such high resolution, we can see down to the single pane crystal. and this allows us to see over time if there were any changes or deposits of dust. this year�*s maintenance has an added sense of urgency. the vatican�*s jubilee is starting in december,

and even more visitors are expected here. it�*s a fine line to ensure that present and future generations will still be able to gasp in awe every time they look up at michelangelo�*s masterpiece. sara monetta, bbc news, vatican city. time for a look at the weather. here�*s chris faulkes. nothing as spectacular of that, you would only need one colour to paint a picture today and that is grey. you can see extensive cloud on the satellite picture but there are some breaks in the cloud for north—east and eastern side of the pennines and for these areas you may get some glimpses of sunshine. it is also quite damp with some drizzle in the forecast this afternoon for west scotland, northern ireland and parts

of wales. none