our other main story tonight. the scene from the skies of northern gaza, as people scramble for an aid delivery. scores of people were reportedly killed. and live in aberdeen where residents of hundreds of homes have been told they will have to move out due to concerns about raac concrete. the dramatic search for a five—year—old girl who'd wandered into a swamp, in florida. and we remember the tv chef dave myers, one half of the hairy bikers, who's died at the age of 66. and coming up on bbc news... sad, shocked and heartbroken — former manchester united play paul pogba reacts to being banned from football for four years for doping.

hello. good evening. wayne couzens, who abducted and murdered sarah everard while he was in the metropolitan police, should never have been given a job as a police officer. that is one of the stark findings of an independent inquiry. its chair, lady elish angiolini, said red flags about couzens had repeatedly been ignored by three police forces, and that without significant overhaul, she believed there's nothing to stop another couzens operating "in plain sight". the metropolitan police has responded that it must go further and faster to regain public trust. here's our home affairs correspondent, june kelly. he was a predatory sex offender in a police uniform. a criminal with state—sanctioned powers. wayne couzens should never have been

allowed to join the police, and constant flawed vetting meant he was able to continue in his role despite a series of red flags. these are the stark conclusions of today's inquiry report. the metropolitan police service told the inquiry in 2022 that it would still have recruited him if provided with the same information. i found this astonishing. without a significant overhaul, there is nothing to stop another wayne couzens operating in plain sight. the report describes how in 2004 and 2008, kent police turned down his application to join, but allowed him to work voluntary as a special constable. in 2011, another force, the civil nuclear constabulary, took him on — despite a recommendation that he shouldn't get through the vetting. in 2018, he transferred to the met. an indecent exposure allegation,

which was on the system, was missed. and by 2020, he was part of the parliamentary and diplomatic protection, and was carrying a gun. what this report lays bare, a very low base that we are starting from. and so whilst those improvements have started, we have a long way to go to build the high degree of resilience and strength to reduce to an absolute minimum the threat of anybody so horrific being within policing. couzens used his police powers to falsely arrest sarah everard in 2021, accusing her of breaking covid lockdown rules. he then raped and strangled her. today, everyone was aghast at even more shocking details in a case which has become synonymous with women's safety. anyone who is not fit to wear the uniform for whatever reason must be removed from policing, and every effort must be made to ensure that

similar people neverjoin. this report should be a watershed, but we said sarah everard's murder three years ago should be a watershed, and far too little has changed. how long must we go on and say the same things? a week after sarah everard's disappearance, wayne couzens was arrested. described as a man of "diverse and deviant sexual interests", he allegedly committed a very serious sexual assault against a young girl before he joined the police. at a mcdonald's drive—through in the days before he abducted sarah, he exposed himself to staff more than once. the report concludes there may be more couzens victims. he's also alleged to have had indecent images of children. the coming days will see the third anniversary of sarah everard's death. in the report, herfamily welcome its recommendations. they say the loss of sarah

pervades every part of their lives. that is from our home affairs correspondentjune kelly. and now our other main story here tonight. more than a hundred people are reported to have been killed as a convoy of food aid was being delivered to gaza. palestinian government officials said israeli forces opened fire on the crowds that had gathered. israel denied that, saying some shots were fired at civilians who they feared posed a threat, but that many died in the stampede. thousands surrounded the aid lorries. they said some of those killed were run over by the aid vehicles. from jerusalem, fergal keane sent this report, which you may find distressing. the hunger created by war made this tragedy. that is a fundamental fact of what happened today. the dead and wounded

were starving people... ..simply hoping to feed theirfamilies. "i am one of the wounded," this man says. "i was on al—rashid street. we were there all day, in order to get food for our children. they are liars. they said we brought aid, but we paid for that aid with our blood." thousands had gathered in the pre—dawn darkness. they'd heard trucks were coming with aid. there were farmers, mechanics, our bbc cameraman, teachers, doctors. an israeli drone filmed people crowding the aid trucks. it is a striking depiction of human desperation. israel says most of the casualties

were trampled or knocked over by trucks, as drivers tried to flee the chaos. but the military also says its troops opened fire when a crowd posed a threat to soldiers. it isn't yet possible to clarify how many of the dead were shot, how many crushed. watch this man, crawling along the ground, away from the food convoy. hospitals in northern gaza say they treated many gunshot wounds. translation: after they | stopped shooting, we went back to get our aid. this survivor was shot and run over. translation: by the time i got flour and some canned goods and took it i down from the truck, they'd shot at us. they shot at me, and the truck driver left and ran over my leg. this incident comes on a day when gaza marks a reported 30,000 deaths since the war began

overfour months ago. there is the dying that happens in the open and suddenly... ..and there is the hunger silently attacking life. go to the intensive care units in the hospitals of the north and there are babies with signs of severe malnutrition. translation: this child is suffering from severe dehydration _ due to lack of milk. his mum breast—feeds him, but she hasn't eaten, and there is no artificial milk. he was rescued from the rubble when he was one—month—old. he lost 2a members of his family. the child here died as our cameraman was filming — her already serious medical condition exacerbated by hunger. a baby girl born in war, died in war. and nearby, others struggle on. fergal keane, bbc news, jerusalem.

well, as we've heard, the hamas—run health authorities in gaza say more than 30,000 palestinians have been killed since israel started its military action in october. bbc verify has been examining how many of those killed were members of hamas, which is designated a terrorist organisation by the uk and other governments. here's frank gardner. bbc verify has been covering this war ever since the october the 7th raid on israel. it's a war that has ravaged one of the most densely populated places on earth — home to over 2 million people who can't leave. so, how has this 30,000 deaths figure been arrived at? it's based on the number of dead bodies brought to hospitals. the world health organization has previously endorsed gaza's health ministry casualty figures as credible. if anything, 30,000 could even be an underestimate, due to bodies

still buried under the rubble. so let's break this down. as you can see from this graph here, the vast majority of those killed have been women and children. today, the pentagon said more than 25,000 women and children have been killed in gaza. nearly half of gaza's population is under 18. separating civilian deaths from hamas fighters is not easy. those fighters tend to be embedded amongst the civilian population. some are in uniform, some are not. israel has accused hamas of using gaza's civilian population as human shields. but there is no question that those civilians are suffering the brunt of israel's military operation. so, how many hamas and other militant fighters have been killed? at the start of the war, it was widely assumed hamas had around 30,000 fighters. on february the 19th, hamas reportedly admitted 6,000 of theirfighters had been killed, but they later denied that.

as of today, the israeli army say they have killed at least 10,000 fighters. there are some clear discrepancies here between the israeli, the palestinian and pentagon figures. they don't all add up. but two things do stand out clearly — the civilian death toll in gaza is the highest of any israeli—palestinian conflict in recent history. and secondly, hamas — although severely damaged — still has an unknown number of unaccounted for fighters. frank gardner. the prince of wales has carried out his first public engagement since unexpectedly pulling out of a memorial service earlier this week, where he'd been due to give a reading. prince william visited a synagogue this morning, hearing about people's experiences of anti—semitism. 0ur royal correspondent daniella relph reports. it was meant to be a joint visit for the prince and princess of wales, but the prince was on his own today, as his wife continues her

recovery from surgery. a careful positioning of his kippah at this west london synagogue. he was here to learn more about anti—semitism. and for this group of students, there were stories to share. what, personally, do you feel when somebody, you know, does something like that? it's just constant and neverending, and definitely dehumanizing. it was a powerful conversation for all involved. both catherine and i, you know, are extremely concerned about the rise in anti—semitism that you guys have talked about so eloquently this morning. and i'm just so sorry that all of you had to experience that. it has no place and it shouldn't happen. he then met renee salt, a holocaust survivor. she talked of her fears for her family in the current climate. it's very bad at the moment and we hope it can only get better. is it the worst that you've known it? it's the worst since i've known it,

since the last war. last week, prince william had a video call with red cross workers in gaza. like today, it was an engagement designed to highlight human suffering. as he left, there were flowers for his wife, who continues her recovery in private in windsor. and daniela is here now. we saw prince willam today, but there are still questions about the princess of wales? yes, that's right. it may have escalated a little bit since prince william pulled out of that memorial service in windsor early in the week. if you had even a passing glance at social media or online searches in recent days, there has been an enormous amount of rumour and gossip about the princess of wales. it has been pretty wild in some places. kensington palace know this, but they have stressed nothing has changed here. they had always said that we wouldn't see the princess of wales until after easter and they say her recovery is going well. they are trying to do is protect her because they know full well when she does return to public

duties, there is going to be an intense scrutiny on her. it is different _ intense scrutiny on her. it is different at _ intense scrutiny on her. it is different at buckingham palace, they had been keen to show the king carrying out some duties during his cancer treatment and that is because he is the monarch, constitutionally, they want people to see him in action. but it is different for the princess of wales, it is a privity issue and there is no appetite for more detailed information. all right, thank you. our royal correspondent daniela relph. hundreds of people are being moved out of their homes in aberdeen, after they were found to contain potentially dangerous concrete panels. 0ur reporter ben philip is there. ben, what do we know, and how widespread could this be? we have heard a lot about raac, and experts now believe buildings that contain it could be at risk of

potential collapse. in this area of aberdeen it's thought that many properties contain it. today the local council has been delivering letters to many of its tenants in this area on the street behind me informing them that they will have to go into alternative accommodation. we have been told that engineers would like this to happen as soon as possible. this has been met with shock by many in the local community and i'm sure many in this area will be digesting this news, how much their lives will change in the weeks and months ahead. ben philip. our top story this evening@ an independent inquiry says sarah everard's killer, wayne couzens, should never have been given a job as a police officer, as it uncovers a litany of failings in three police forces. and find out why peter

the chimpanzee is moving to a new home after 30 years at this zoo. coming up in sport on bbc news... the new formula one season is underway — with lewis hamilton leading a mercedes one—two in practice ahead of this weekend's bahrain grand prix. parents who take their children out of school in england without permission are to face higher fines. the government says most penalties that are issued are for unauthorised term—time holidays. from september, the fine will rise to £80 per parent for each child. doubling to £160 if it isn't paid within three weeks. new figures show that in the autumn term of this school year, there were high levels of children missing a significant amount of school in england.

24% of pupils in secondary and 16% in primary were "persistently absent" — missing at least 10% of schooling. 0ur education editor branwen jeffreys reports from teeside. so if you're really ill but if you've just got a sniffle and you're feeling... or a little cough. ..a cough or something, then you can come in. schools are being told, consider fines after five missed days. the education secretary says there are too many term—time holidays. where in relation is the bay to the indian ocean? every lesson matters — that's what they tell pupils. schools are still filling the gaps left by covid, worried parents care less now about attendance. if your child comes home and says, "i got 90% in my maths test," i think you'd be pretty proud of them. you know, you'd give them an extra yorkshire pudding on a sunday if they get 90% on a maths test. "well done, fantastic," you get a grade nine for 90%. 90% attendance means you are half a day a week off.

the schools he runs have made progress. now he's advising ministers and told me it's going to take years. the arguments we used to use were, your children do better academically when they have high attendance. i'm not sure those messages land like they used to. but the messages around, its better for your child's mental health, or it's better for your child's friendships, those messages seem to hit home a bit more now. schools work with children and their families first to try to solve problems that are getting in the way of attendance. fines have always been a last resort. but these guidelines do set a much tougher tone. at a play centre in redcar, i asked families if higher fines would make a difference. when it comes to the price of planes and things like that during different times of the year, it's not going to make much of a difference at all. i think it's ridiculous. the cost of living and everything for people nowadays is tough enough

without them being fined. whether they go on holiday or if they are poorly, - they are still going to miss five days either way, - so they can't just say, "right, there's a finel for going on holiday." head teachers will have to weigh up the pressures on families and decide when fines are worth it. branwenjeffreys, bbc news, grimsby. russia's president vladimir putin has warned western governments not to send troops to ukraine, saying the consequences of doing so would be "tragic". in his annual state of the nation address in moscow, he claimed his forces were advancing confidently inside ukraine, two years after the invasion. 0ur russia editor steve rosenberg has more. it was president putin's 19 state of the nation address. it was president putin's 19th state of the nation address. and he used it to send this warning to western nations. "don't send your troops to ukraine." translation: they need to understand

once and for all that we have _ weapons, too, that can strike targets on their territory. and everything they think up and scare the world with risks a nuclear conflict and the end of civilisation. regarding russia, he pledged to reduce poverty, boost the birth rate and raise incomes. well, there is an election coming up. the kremlin clearly wanted russians to see this speech. it was shown live on billboards. even in some cinemas. although this moscow movie house wasn't exactly overflowing. putin and popcorn, not an obvious combo. this address was part campaign speech, part state of the nation, and state of the world as vladimir putin sees it, with warnings to the west and promises to his people that life here will get better if he stays in the kremlin.

as for the current wave of repression in russia and the intensifying crackdown on dissent, there was no mention of that. and the audience, russian mps and senators, had little to say about the death in prison of the country's most famous opposition leader. are you not concerned about the state of the nation or its reputation after the death of alexei navalny? who's that? i am ready to comment on the message which vladimir putin delivered but not on other issues, so thank you. the president, too, has stayed silent on mr navalny�*s death. alexei navalny is expected to be buried tomorrow at this moscow cemetery. his allies have accused the russian authorities of blocking their plans for a public memorial service for him. as for the kremlin, the choreography here sent a clear message —

that on russia's political stage, there is only room for one man. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. there's another insight today into the housing crisis in england, as new official figures show the number of families living in temporary accommodation has hit a record high, including more than 140,000 children. the number of people sleeping rough is also up. the increases come despite the government vowing to end rough sleeping by the end of this year. 0ur social affairs correspondent michael buchanan reports. station announcement: the train at platform four... for some people at london's paddington station, their train never departs. as many as 60 sleep in the station each night. here is, like, the warmest part of the station, really, that you can sleep in.

that's why you've got most of the people sleeping here. joseph has been rough sleeping since last year, the last few nights at paddington. his entire possessions in one bag. if you can get a clear space, then you're good, but apart from that they've got these railings, stuck in between, so it's not ideally comfortable. the people here are part of a surge in rough sleeping across england, up 27% on last year. most are uk nationals, male, and aged 26 years or older. ministers say they are spending over £0.5 billion tackling rough sleeping, but some councils say the problem has worsened since the official data was collected last autumn. this is manchester town hall, where up to 80 people a night have been sleeping in recent weeks. they are mainly refugees — a consequence of government efforts to tackle the immigration backlog. the people here are mainly from sudan, eritrea and ethiopia. all of them tell a familiar tale,

of being allowed to remain in the united kingdom but told to leave their home office—provided accommodation, and unable to find anywhere else to stay they've ended up on the streets of manchester. this iranian woman, who wants to remain anonymous, has been rough sleeping for 15 days. what do the council say to you about getting a property? they told me that i'm not their priority because i have no children and i'm not in the hospital. reducing rough sleeping involves building more affordable homes, often with additional support such as drug and alcohol treatment. it's worked here before and experts say it can again. michael buchanan, bbc news. he's been a fixture at twycross zoo in leicestershire for more than three decades. now, star attraction peter the chimpanzee is moving to a new home.

he's going to live in a safari park near stirling as part of its work to protect the endangered species. navtej johal has the story. it's moving day. peter, a 32—year—old chimpanzee, is leaving twycross zoo in leicestershire, the only home he's ever known, for a new life in scotland. he's a fun character. he's what i call a chimpy chimp. he likes to keep to himself. he's a very loyal ally to his fellow troop mates. chimpanzees are endangered in the wild. peter is leaving so that with fewer males and therefore less competition left in this zoo, it will hopefully make it easier to breed more chimpanzees here as part of a europe—wide breeding programme. peter is now off to blair drummond safari park near stirling. peter going to blair drummond in scotland gives us hope here that moving forward we'll be able to breed with our troop chimpanzees here.

he isn't recommended to breed with our troop, so he's moving elsewhere. he's in his crate and has a full lunch box with him, so he's got his favourite food in there, peppers, sweet potato and pellet. any tunes, what's he listening to in there? his own sound! no tunes, he'lljust be probably having a nice sleep on the way. health checks are complete, goodbyes have been said, and peter is ready. this is it, this is the moment. after spending his entire life, 32 years here, peter is off for a new life in scotland. i'll miss him. i miss all of them. he'll have a special place, you know, you work with them, you see them daily, you see them more than yourfamily, so it'll be sad to see him go but it's the best thing for him and us moving forward. a five—hourjourney lies ahead, and a new home. navteonhal, bbc news, twycross. remarkable footage has been released of the moment a missing five—year—old girl was found

in a swamp in florida. i'v e i've got her in the woods. us sheriff deputies used a helicopter and a thermal imaging camera to scour the area for the child, who wandered off from her family on monday evening. this is the moment they discovered her. she was uninjured and is now back with herfamily. dave myers, one half of the bbc tv cooking duo the hairy bikers, has died at the age of 66. he was diagnosed with cancer two years ago. lizo mzimba looks back at his life. biking and cooking — dave myers' two great passions. and his enthusiasm for food was infectious. we bought this at the market today. everything here isjust done so nicely, and with such a little bit of love. you know, you go down the market, you buy your bits and bobs. you just feel jolly

for the rest of the day. for two decades, he, along with si king, sought out quality cuisine, sometimes far away, sometimes closer to home. i mean, where else could you get a sausage bap, and some chinese dumplings? welcome to dancing, buddy! in 2013, he swapped fancy food for fancy footwork, taking part in strictly come dancing. # just to be the man who walks a thousand miles...# _ and later won admiration about the way he honestly spoke about his health struggles. i've been having treatment for cancer and it started in april. it's still ongoing. but i'm kind of doing all right. you know, like many people, it's something that one learns to live with. but i'm delighted with my hair.. fabulous hair. i've got thicker hair than i had before i had the chemo. today, his on—screen partner si king said,

for me to be back doing this means the world to me. it really does. his latest series is currently on bbc two, giving viewers a last chance to enjoy his passion for food. dave myers, who's died at the age of 66. time for a look at the weather. here's elizabeth rizzini. it's being yet another very soggy day here in cambridgeshire. a lot of heavy rain around yet again, and crunching the numbers together for the last day of the month we find that some spots in east anglia have seen three times their average february rainfall, and it has been especially wet across england and wales but also mild as well. that's about to change as we start the meteorological spring with things turning colder, frosty nights into the weekend and plenty of showers,

longer spells of rain, some are likely to turn wintry of a high ground. 0vernight tonight, reign overthe ground. 0vernight tonight, reign over the southeast will clear up with another developing area of low pressure swinging in from the south—west, heavy rain across wales and the south—west of england. likely to see snow across the high ground of northern ireland, through the welsh mountains and down through the welsh mountains and down through the moors. strong and gusty winds down through the channel and irish sea coasts. likely to see a frost develop in the north and east where we will see lots of clear spells with mist and fog around. tomorrow, more in the way of wintriness over higher ground, above 200 metres there will be snow, particularly the high ground of northern ireland, the cumbrian fells and pennines and welsh mountains with some snow pushing into the southern uplands as we had to the end of the day. this is more or less where we will see showers and longer spells of rain through the day. wintry of a high ground, strong and gusty winds towards the channel. largely dry across scotland during the day but

we could see snow in the south later. the