galloway! galloway! it is very much later than we expected _ it is very much later than we expected it to be. israel faces mounting international criticism over the deaths of more than 100 palestinians — killed while trying to get much needed aid in northern gaza. and supporters of alexei navalny defy police presence at moscow church — where the late russian opposition leader's funeral is being held. this is the scene live where people are gathering ahead of the commemorations taking place later. hello, i'm luxmy gopal,

welcome to the programme. here in the uk the left—wing maverick, george galloway has won the rochdale by—election. mr galloway — who won by almost 6,000 votes — made his support for the palestinian cause his dominant campaign theme in the constituency, which has a large asian muslim community. 0ur political correspondent peter saull reports from rochdale. i do hereby declare that george galloway is duly elected. george galloway is nothing if not persistent. 37 years after he was first elected as a labour mp, he is on his way back to parliament determined to be a thorn in his former party's side. this is going to spark a movement, a landslide, a shifting of the tectonic plates in scores of parliamentary constituencies, beginning here in the north—west.

in the west midlands, in london, from ilford to bethnal green and bow, labour is on notice that they have lost the confidence of millions of their voters. he's always divided opinion, though. george galloway! you want to burn our future! that protester hauled away after accusing rochdale's new mp of denying climate change. you are well aware that you're a divisive figure. what are you going to do to speak to those in rochdale who will be pretty concerned, frankly, that... when i look at the result, it doesn't look all that divisive. it looks like the great majority of voters tonight voted for me. he will face plenty more scrutiny in the coming weeks and months, but his supporters were jubilant and partied into the early hours of the morning. this was, though, a bizarre contest, thrown wide open after labour dropped its candidate over remarks

widely alleged to be anti—semitic. azhar ali had apologised but didn't turn up to the count. another extraordinary sub—plot was that of david tully, a local businessman who decided to run as an independent and came second, beating all of the main parties. the mainstream parties have been tried and tested, and that's what i wanted to stand up for. to voice, be a voice for the people. and there were angry recriminations about the campaign. this has been an extraordinary by—election campaign. we are in a situation where a parliamentary election, we have to ask serious questions, has this been genuinely a free and fair election? unfortunately the behaviour of certain candidates and their supporters raised serious doubts about that and they fall far short of our traditional democratic standards here in the uk. much like its new mp, this quiet corner of greater manchester has a fascinating political history.

in the 19th century, it was the birthplace of the cooperative movement. this morning, another chapter has been written and it provides a major headache for labour. peter saull, bbc news. for those of you unfamiliar with george galloway�*s long career in politics, here's a short timeline of his different roles over the years. he first became an mp in 1987 for the glasgow hillhead constituency, which later became glasgow kelvin, for the labour party. in 2004, he became a member of the left—wing respect party, and became the party's leader by late 2013 until it dissolved in 2016. he founded the workers party of britain in 2019, the party he's just won a parliamentary seat for in rochdale. he's been one of the most outspoken politicians here in the uk over the years, becoming one of the most prominent critics of the war in iraq and a supporter of the palestinian cause. those views have often been seen as controversial by some,

his comments on israel in particular have drawn accusations of anti—semitism. we're joined now by polling expert sirjohn curtice, professor of politics at the university of strathclyde. welcome. you have seen your fair share of by—elections. how remarkable is the outcome of this one? ., , , ., , one? the honest truth is that this is a truly remarkable _ one? the honest truth is that this is a truly remarkable outcome. i one? the honest truth is that this | is a truly remarkable outcome. let me just to give you a couple of statistics. this is now the second time that george galloway has managed to wind a by—election in a muslim constituency, representing a party that is not currently represented inside the house of commons. that has only happened on six occasions in the whole of the post—war period. george galloway is responsible for two of them. the second is that, of those are turned out, only one in five voted for either labour or the conservative

party. that's the two principal parties in the united kingdom. that is very easily an all—time low. so you can see that this is a very, very unusual result. the question we are really asking ourselves now is, well, is this our unique by—election result, in unique and unusual circumstances, or does it have potentially wider ramifications for the future of british politics as we head towards a general election, probably in the autumn? that was auoin to probably in the autumn? that was going to be _ probably in the autumn? that was going to be my— probably in the autumn? that was going to be my next _ probably in the autumn? that was going to be my next question, - probably in the autumn? that was going to be my next question, in l going to be my next question, in terms of what can we draw from this, in terms of what might happen in the next general election. john, you often have a note of caution about reading too much into by—election results? reading too much into by-election results? �* . . , reading too much into by-election results? �* . ., , , , reading too much into by-election results? �* . . , , , ., results? i've already suggested that one needs to _ results? i've already suggested that one needs to be _ results? i've already suggested that one needs to be particularly - results? i've already suggested that one needs to be particularly careful| one needs to be particularly careful about this by—election. george galloway has a unique ability to appeal to those from a muslim background. this is the third constituency he has managed to wind with a substantial muslim population

since he stopped being the labour mp for glasgow hillhead is. so he is a charismatic politician, very strong rhetorical ability, frankly unmatched by anybody else currently in british politics. that said, too things that we should take away, one is that we already know that there was unease inside sections of the labour party, particularly labour mps who represent constituencies with substantial muslim populations, about the fact that a sir keir starmer, the labour leader, has been relatively reluctant to criticise israel. he has been no more critical about israel and its involvement in gaza than the uk government or the us administration in washington. that has left labour mps with large muslim constituencies, muslim

populations, rather unhappy, because they are concerned that perhaps there will be other independent candidates standing against them at the general election. the truth is, most of these mps have large majorities, it's unlikely we are going to get candidates over the ability of george galloway standing elsewhere. but it is going to increase the tension inside the labour party. however, despite labour's difficulties, the conservative party vote fell by 19 percentage points in this constituency. that is the biggest fall in the conservative vote in a by—election in this parliament where labour are defending a seat. itjust underlines the message we have had from other by—elections in the uk in the last six months or so, including most recently in wellingborough, that the incumbent conservative government is still deeply unpopular. hitherto, in most by—elections that disgruntlement in

the british public has been reflected in large swings to labour. with labour having disowned their candidate in rochdale, and that was crucial, their vote as a result plummeted. so voters in rochdale sought other ways of expressing their disgruntlement, one for george galloway and the other, quite remarkably, for a local independent candidate. eur remarkably, for a local independent candidate. ,, . ., ~ candidate. surjohn curtice, thank ou for candidate. surjohn curtice, thank you for giving _ candidate. surjohn curtice, thank you for giving us _ candidate. surjohn curtice, thank you for giving us some _ candidate. surjohn curtice, thank you for giving us some context. i well ellie reeves is labour's deputy national campaign co—ordinator. speaking on the today programme in the last hour she said it would have been a different result had labour had a candidate in the race. let's take a listen. we regret not standing a candidate in the rochdale by—election. we apologise to the people of rochdale for that. apologise to the people of rochdale forthat. if apologise to the people of rochdale for that. if labour had stood, i don't believe george galloway would

have won. 0urjob is to select a labour candidate for the general election we are expecting this year, someone who can work with all of the communities and rochdale to rebuild trust. , , , trust. ellie reeves, the deputy cam aiun trust. ellie reeves, the deputy campaign coordinator - trust. ellie reeves, the deputy campaign coordinator for - trust. ellie reeves, the deputy i campaign coordinator for labour. live now to rochdale — and our political correspondent hannah miller. we heard labour saying if we had fielded a candidate, we would have won. is there any validity to that? i mean, it's impossible to know without running the whole election again, isn't it? i think there is some sense that may be the case. it's clearly the case that there were no labour campaign posters and placards, there was no chance for them going round of the doorsteps, countering any of the narrative that was coming from george galloway and that kind of ground operation in the election campaign which can help to

change voters minds. that said, it's not the first time george galloway has beaten the labour party. he did it previously in bradford west, and in a sense it is possible to raise an eyebrow, the party has struggled on the issue of israel and gaza, and there are mps that admit they have lost the trust of some muslim voters. in that sense, whether george galloway may have won even if labour had stood, it is something that we will never know. clearly, it is a convenient narrative for the labour party to be using this morning as they have tried to move away from the israel and gaza issue, and if united around that, and look ahead to a general election. hannah, thank ou. ahead to a general election. hannah, thank you- our _ ahead to a general election. hannah, thank you. our political _ thank you. our political correspondent hannah miller, live in rochdale. france is demanding an �*independent probe' into the deaths of more than 100 palestinians desperately seeking aid from a rare convoy in gaza city, after calling it "unjustifiable". the un says the last time aid was delivered to northern gaza was over a month ago, leading to starvation.

these drone pictures released by the idf show people swarming to the aid covoy. as international criticism mounts, israel has admitted that its soldiers had opened fire. the idf said they were concerned about security while most of the deaths happened in an ensuing crush. some palestinians say israeli troops fired directly at them. the un secretary—general, antonio guterres, said he was shocked to learn that over 100 people had been killed. he's called for an independent investigation to identify those responsible. president biden called the incident "tragic and alarming." he's also expressed concern that efforts to broker a temporary ceasefire between israel and hamas may now be in jeopardy. live now tojerusalem and our middle east correspondent yolande knell. are we any closer in establishing exactly what did happen? what

are we any closer in establishing exactly what did happen? what is ve clear exactly what did happen? what is very clear from _ exactly what did happen? what is very clear from the _ exactly what did happen? what is very clear from the pictures - exactly what did happen? what is very clear from the pictures that l exactly what did happen? what is l very clear from the pictures that we have seen is that these are completely desperate scenes, that people in north of gaza, as we have been told by the un repeatedly for weeks now, starving. there has been a huge shortage of aid getting through. 0nly a huge shortage of aid getting through. only this week, a few convoys have been allowed. this was a privately contracted convoy with aid coming into the gaza strip, with the israeli military overseeing proceedings there. we are told that people came from across the north of the strip, really making their way to this site on the coastal road, just south of gaza city, as an aid distribution point. there were chaotic scenes, as the aid arrived. still starkly contrasting accounts of what happened. when you hear from health officials in hospitals that dealt with the casualties, they were overwhelmed by the casualties in northern gaza. they say that many of

those they saw had gunshot wounds to the upper body and witnesses have said that lorries did run over people as well after israeli soldiers opened fire and people really began panicking. the israeli military has a very different story. it says most of those killed were crushed to death in a stampede as people were looting from the lorries, and that led to the lorries running some people over as well. they said that israeli soldiers fired only warning shots to try to drive back the crowds, and there was more than one incident that happened here. i think there are these calls for an independent investigation coming from the un. lots of calls from other international players for the facts to be made clear. people are shocked and appalled by the scenes, and most of all it underlines how much aid is desperately needed, and a plan to distribute aid, to get it through to the people who need it. the distribute aid, to get it through to the people who need it.— the people who need it. the us president. _ the people who need it. the us president, joe _ the people who need it. the us president, joe biden, _ the people who need it. the us| president, joe biden, expressed

concern that the incident would complicate efforts by mediators to broker a temporary ceasefire. do we know what effect it's had on the progress of that so far? welcome of course, progress of that so far? welcome of course. there _ progress of that so far? welcome of course, there are _ progress of that so far? welcome of course, there are these _ progress of that so far? welcome of course, there are these talks - progress of that so far? welcome of course, there are these talks taking | course, there are these talks taking place, indirectly in qatar, with qatar mediating between hamas and israel. more technical delegations that are present at the moment. the hope had been to try to get a longer term truce in place that would see the release of some of the remaining hostages held by hamas through the islamic holy month of ramadan. president biden, admitting the efforts have become more complicated because we also heard from a hamas official, saying they could potentially be derailed by what happened. the white house saying that mr biden had been speaking to qatar and egyptian mediators as well, the suggestion they are trying to keep things on track. fiur well, the suggestion they are trying to keep things on track.— to keep things on track. our middle east correspondent, _ to keep things on track. our middle east correspondent, yolande - to keep things on track. our middle east correspondent, yolande, - to keep things on track. our middle east correspondent, yolande, live i to keep things on track. our middle | east correspondent, yolande, live in

jerusalem. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news here in the uk... police forces are failing to record the ethnicity of many people reported missing, bbc analysis suggests. in almost a fifth of all missing persons incidents in england and wales in a 12—month period — there was either no ethnic group recorded or the individual�*s ethnicity was marked "unknown". the home office told bbc news it was funding a report into the issue. the government's announced that 19 cash—strapped english councils will be allowed to sell property and other assets to pay for services next year. councils are normally banned from selling assets to cover day—to—day spending. but the government's relaxing the rules for authorities in deep financial trouble — including birmingham and nottingham. a new species of sea slug has been discovered in uk waters. it was caught off the south—west of england from a research ship. the creature has been named pleurobranchaea britannica. it belongs to a group found in warmer waters — which could be migrating north due to climate change.

why can't go a very interesting looking creature there. those are your headlines. —— a very interesting looking creature there. you're live with bbc news. with less than two hours to go until alexei navalny�*s funeral, his team has said they continue to face difficulties in organising the farewell ceremony. his spokeswoman said they had been unable to find a hearse to drive the body to church nor a venue to hold a wake. she added that there was a heavy police presence around the church and cemetery. alexei navalny�*s supporters have accused president putin of ordering his murder in a siberian jail nearly two weeks ago. the kremlin says the accusations are unfounded. with more on this let's speak to vitaly shevchenko, russia editor at bbc monitoring. what are the risks that this could

become a flashpoint? that seems to become a flashpoint? that seems to be what the authorities are concerned about. ~ , ,., , �* concerned about. absolutely. but they would _ concerned about. absolutely. but they would also _ concerned about. absolutely. but they would also be _ concerned about. absolutely. but they would also be keen - concerned about. absolutely. but they would also be keen to - concerned about. absolutely. but they would also be keen to avoid| concerned about. absolutely. but| they would also be keen to avoid a scenario where the arrests of people attending the service would result in numerous detentions, that would be really bad optics for the kremlin. dozens, possibly hundreds of people are gathering outside the church where it is due to occur. there is a heavy police presence. steel barriers have been erected. while they don't block people from moving around, they make movement much more difficult. organising the service and the funeral has been difficult for the team of alexei navalny. the original plan was to hold it on thursday, but they were

not able to find a grave—digger for that day. also, associates of the late russian opposition leader, they have not been able to find a hall where people could say farewell to the opposition leader. right now, the opposition leader. right now, the concern is that the service and the concern is that the service and the funeral could be disrupted in some way. but so far we have not heard any reports of detentions in the southern part of moscow, where the southern part of moscow, where the events are due to start in just under two hours day. we had a line from reuters, according to alexei navalny a's spokesperson, his body has not been handed over to his relatives. this is hardl handed over to his relatives. t�*u 3 is hardly surprising if this is the case. the family of the late russian opposition leader and the supporters, they could not see the

body for nine days. so they are still claiming that the authorities are putting pressure on supporters of alexei navalny to try to minimise the publicity surrounding the event, and generally impede the proceedings. they have less than two hours to sort this out, and obviously is a situation that so many people within russia and abroad will be watching with much interest. in terms of the past couple of weeks, how much have the authorities in russia successfully contained any fallout and reaction after his death? ~ , ., fallout and reaction after his death? ~ ,, fallout and reaction after his death? ~ i. ., death? well, if you look at the kremlin's _ death? well, if you look at the kremlin's media _ death? well, if you look at the kremlin's media machine, - death? well, if you look at the | kremlin's media machine, what death? well, if you look at the i kremlin's media machine, what it death? well, if you look at the - kremlin's media machine, what it has been saying about relaxing the valley is very little. that is how —— alexei navalny. that is how they are trying to control the fallout, to your average russian tv viewer,

this just isn't happening. to your average russian tv viewer, thisjust isn't happening. in his state of the nation address yesterday, president vladimir putin did not mention alexei navalny either. but it is still possible to access independent media sources from within russia. it's difficult, you have to use various technical tricks. people within russia are still able to see is going on around the late opposition leader.- the late opposition leader. thank ou. our the late opposition leader. thank you. our russia _ the late opposition leader. thank you. our russia editor. _ let's speak to samuel ramani, an associate fellow at the rusi think—tank, and author of the book, �*putin's war on ukraine.�* what evidence do you think there is that mr navalny�*s support has been reinvigorated, and how much has been suppressed further by the

authorities?— suppressed further by the authorities? , , ., authorities? rush is not releasing much information _ authorities? rush is not releasing much information about - authorities? rush is not releasing much information about his - authorities? rush is not releasing| much information about his death, and his being framed on russian telegram channels, when he has talked about, as some kind of british or american intelligence agent who was trying to orchestrate regime trades in russia. if the authorities are talking about at all, they are trying to brand him as some kind of traitor. but there is a slice of the population who have followed his career for over a decade, may have participated in the 2012 protests against putin, and cheered on some of the scalps that he took from that, and they will be energised by that. do he took from that, and they will be energised by that.— he took from that, and they will be energised by that. do you think this funeral, energised by that. do you think this funeral. mr— energised by that. do you think this funeral, mr navalny's _ energised by that. do you think this funeral, mr navalny's funeral- energised by that. do you think this funeral, mr navalny's funeral and l funeral, mr navalny's funeral and the commemorations today, could become more of a flashpoint that the authorities are worried about? or do you think it would draw a line under it? because what could be next for

the opposition movement? weill. the opposition movement? well, definitely the _ the opposition movement? well, definitely the authorities - the opposition movement? well, definitely the authorities are - the opposition movement? h definitely the authorities are going to be worried about any mobilisation or support of navalny. i think that navalny obviously had all the more popular appeal than other assassinated dissidents like those associated with yeltsin, less popular, even though they were also killed. they would be more concerned about a rally around navalny's death. but i think in general, the kremlin want an incident free process in the lead up to the elections. they are not anticipating mass protests. even the laying of flowers, any kind of visual or commemoration of him could lead to a rest, as we have seen. as for the opposition, they are in dire straits. navalny is not the only one who has been killed, some are in jail and at much higher risk now, given what has happened. it's a very

bad situation.— bad situation. thank you for your anal sis. bad situation. thank you for your analysis. samuel— bad situation. thank you for your analysis. samuel ramani - bad situation. thank you for your i analysis. samuel ramani speaking bad situation. thank you for your - analysis. samuel ramani speaking to us. the government's plans to send migrants to rwanda will cost nearly £400 million, that's according to the national audit office. ministers say the scheme will reduce the number of migrants trying to enter the country illegally, but labour has described the cost as a "national scandal." our political correspondent, iain watsonjoins me now. iain, does this new figure come as a surprise? it was described as staggering by the mp5 campaigning to get this information from the government. dane diana johnson said that the whole scheme does not represent value for money, compared with housing migrants in very expensive hotel accommodation. that figure of £400 million is, of course, just part of the overall cost. there will also be a cost of £150,000 per migrant overfive years,

also be a cost of £150,000 per migrant over five years, if the government manages to beat off legal challenges and send any to rwanda at all. laboursaid challenges and send any to rwanda at all. labour said they would cancel the scheme if they take office. there would also be £120 million paid to rwanda with more than 300 migrants are sent there. the government maintained that the real cost of this would be much higher if they didn't have the scheme, because it should act as a deterrent effect, stopping people coming to the uk in small boats in the first place. iain watson, thank _ small boats in the first place. iain watson, thank you. well, february was mild on the whole and it was also very wet for many of us, particularly across east anglia, where some spots or as much as three times the average rainfall. as we head into march and the start of the meteorological spring, it's all about to turn colder. there will be some frosty nights and the possibility of some of that rain and

showers turning to snow over higher ground. mostly, any snow will be over 200 metres elevation. that does include the higher ground of northern ireland, the welsh mountains, the pennines and the cumbrian fells. some of that rain and snow will be pushing towards the southern uplands as we head towards the end of the day, where the snow levels could start to drop a little bit. there will be a lot of heavy rain as we head through the morning across england, wales and northern ireland. clearing its way northwards and eastwards. showers and brighter spells following behind for many of us. blustery wind up through the channel and the north sea facing coasts. some of the rain clearing away from northern ireland. it's going to be feeling cold, largely dry across much of scotland until we get to the end of the day, when we could start to see some snowjust reading its way in from the south and then gradually pushing northwards as we head through the night. snow level starting to drop. another cold night on friday into saturday. there will be forced out sheltered spots. temperatures down to low single figures. watch out for icy stretches as we start off the

weekend. on saturday, low pressure is very much centred right across the uk under the spiralling around all of the showers. there could be showers just about anywhere as we had throughout the day on saturday. still brisk, northerly wind blowing across the north—west of scotland, down through northern ireland. elsewhere, the wind will fall a little lighter. there will be some showers, wintry of the high ground. still feeling cold as well, with temperatures peaking only between seven and nine celsius. that's a little below the seasonal average. feeling cold and exposure to the wind and underneath the rain. the same on sunday, but it looks drier for most of us. if you are showers around. the showers we do see could turn wintry over the higher ground. the wind will be lighter as the rain tends to fail. as we head into the start of next week, another area of low pressure swings in from the south—west. again, it's looking wet and it's looking windy at times. but after we get to tuesday and wednesday, things will start to settle down and it could turn a bit milder. bye—bye.

we arejoined by we are joined by viewers, of bbc news. rochdale last night extraordinary circumstances of that

by—election, but one of the most extraordinary and divisive and highly skilled orators and powerful and skilled politician in terms of getting a message across. and coining a phrase. george galloway is back on the benches of the house of commons or will be next week. he says the tectonic plates are shifting and there will be a lot of people shifting on those benches as well. for many he is an uncomfortable figure but there are those who are you late and a door and that is what happened in rochdale last night. he said the victory was for gaza and rochdale. this extraordinary political streetfighter with undoubted charisma and political skills, why did he win. he has been accused of being