today at one. a british army agent who was their top ira spy cost more lives that he saved. a new £40 million investigation links the agent known as "stakeknife" to numerous murders and abductions. the metropolitan police firearms officer charged with the murder of 24—year—old chris kaba is named in court for the first time. theresa may announces she'll stand down as an mp at the next election, nearly five years after resigning as prime minister. baby crying. paternity leave rules become more flexible, but campaigners say the changes still don't go far enough. and the grandaughter of england legend ian wright pulls on her boots for the biggest girls�* football session ever. and coming up on bbc news.

india's dominance on day two of the final test against england has given them a substantial lead as they look for their fourth win in the series. good afternoon. a major independent report into stakeknife — the british army's top agent inside the ira's internal security unit — has concluded that his work probably resulted in more lives being lost than saved. the seven—year investigation — called operation kenova — examined the activities of freddie scappaticci during the troubles in northern ireland. he's suspected of involvement in numerous murders. the police service of northern ireland's chief constable called on the uk government to apologise to the families affected, and said the ira needs to acknowledge its actions. sara girvinjoins us

live from belfast. after seven yea rs, after seven years, nearly £40 million, and just over 200 pages, today we had the findings from 0peration kenova's interim report and it has found an army agent operating at the heart of the ira during the 30 years of violence in northern ireland known as the troubles probably cost more lives than he saved. don't take any more photos of this house, i'm telling you now. because if you, i'll come out and i'll- do you. - this is freddie scappaticci. his double life personified the so—called dirty war between the ira and the british state during the troubles in northern ireland. on one hand, he was the ira's chief interrogator, tasked with identifying informers inside the terrorist group, a role that saw him linked to numerous murders. 0n the other, he was himself a british agent codenamed sta keknife.

the investigation into his actions delivered the findings of its interim report today. while stakeknife was undoubtedly a valuable asset who provided intelligence about the ira at considerable risk to himself, claims that he was responsible for saving countless or hundreds of lives are hugely exaggerated. most importantly, these claims belie the fact that stakeknife was himself involved in very serious and wholly unjustifiable criminality whilst operating as an agent, including murders. 32 people were considered for prosecution in connection with the agent stakeknife case, on charges that range from murder to misconduct in a public office. those questioned included ira members, former military personnel, including the agent's handlers,

and a former police officer. but the public prosecution service says no—one will be charged due to what it calls insufficient evidence. that's a decision that has frustrated some. it might tell the relatives how their loved ones died, but that seems to be about the height of it. if no—one's going to be charged, then it's a whitewash. former ira members who knew scappaticci described him as a traitor. he was a disgusting human being. in any army, in any organisation, the person who gives away the organisation's secret is a very, very unsavoury character, a character that no—one likes. those involved in intelligence gathering during the troubles say there was no other option. there's no perfect solution. and intelligence is far from perfect. but it was — in the circumstances, it's as good as it gets.

i would say if this happened again, we'd actually do precisely the same again. it would be intelligence—led and it would be, who are the people within these organisations who you can talk to to give you information to try and stop these organisations? 0peration kenova has investigated one of the murkiest periods of time in northern ireland's history, a time that may never truly see the light. sara girvin, bbc news. sara joins us now. so, what happens now? that is the big question. we should say this is an interim report today. we are expecting individual reports to be given to the family members of those people who are identified as a supposed informers, and killed by the ira. and there will be a more detailed report issued later this year. then, there are the recommendations, ten of those in here. one of them is a recommendation that both the

government and the ira should both apologise for their part in what happened all those decades ago. we have heard from the government today in the form of the northern ireland secretary chris heaton—harris who said it would be inappropriate for the government to comment at this time. no indication there if there will be an apology to follow some time in the future. what we certainly do know is the actions of agent at stakeknife and his interactions with the british state during what was one of the most murky periods in northern ireland's history, those ripples will continue to be felt in this case all those decades on. a metropolitan police firearms officer named for the first time as martyn blake has pleaded not guilty to murdering chris kaba. mr kaba, who was 24, was shot in streatham in south london after a car he was driving was stopped by police in september 2022. our home affairs correspondent tom

symonds is at the old bailey for us. what happened in court this morning? we now know the name of this officer, finally, martyn blake, a 40—year—old police firearms officer stood up at the old bailey this morning, confirmed his name for the first time, and entered a plea of not guilty to the murder of chris kaba in september 2022. the incident involved the police following mr kaba, the car he was driving, and stopping it in a residential street in streatham, and then a single gunshot was fired through the windscreen of the car, it hit chris cavett in the head and he was killed. the charge of murder against this police officer martyn blake then followed, and we have had some weeks in court where mr blake's legal team has attempted to maintain this anonymity around his name

because of a threat that the judge considered had been made against martyn blake's safety. thejudge had to decide whether to keep his name secret or to allow the reporting of it. he decided there was a case for the reporting of the name, the principle of open justice, cases have to be heard in public. but he said the risk did not allow any pictures of the police officer or his address to be published. there was a response this morning from the inquest group which campaigns for people who are involved in these sorts of cases, they said that the police cannot and should not be above the law. in any other murder trial of the accused would be publicly named. but there has been on the other side of the argument a response from former firearms officers who say this lunchtime this is a very bad decision to name him and it might mean people who carry

weapons for the police are less willing to come in the future, if they do end up in court, and that is always a possibility, and if they are named. tom symonds. president biden has used his final state of the union address before november's us election to attack his likely rival donald trump. mr biden accused him of "bowing down" to russia and criticised him over the capitol riot. the atmosphere in the house chamber was raucous, with loud cheering from democrats and heckling from republicans. they said joe biden was presiding over an america in decline, but he insisted america faced the biggest threat to its freedom since abraham lincoln was president in the 1860s. 0ur north america correspondent nomia iqbal reports. this was president biden�*s make—or—break moment to show americans why he should be re—elected. no pressure. good evening. if i were smart, i'd go home now. it was a more fiery speech

than usual as the 81—year—old tried to prove he's not too old for office. the speech turned quickly into campaign mode. what makes our moment rare is freedom and democracy are under attack both at home and overseas at the very same time. though he never referred to his election rival by name. now my predecessor, a former republican president, tells putin, quote, "do whatever the hell you want." but donald trump was on his mind. he reminded america of what happened in this very building onjanuary the 6th, three years ago. many of you were here on that darkest of days. we all saw with our own eyes. the insurrectionists were not patriots. there were some heckles and boos by his republican opponents. he touched on issues that voters care about — immigration, the economy and reproductive rights. many of you in this chamber and my predecessor are promising to pass a national ban

on reproductive freedom. my god, what freedom else would you take away? chanting: fight like hell for the living. i but the journey to get here wasn't straightforward. chanting: people want a ceasefire! protesters are gathered here, blocking the main road from the white house to the capitol. president biden ended up taking a longer route to make his address on time. but his handling of the war in the middle east is proving to be one of the biggest issues he's facing ahead of the election. i think he's already lost votes from many people, from younger voters, from arab and muslim voters, from jewish voters. the war wasn't ignored in the speech, he paid tribute to the families of israeli hostages who were invited to the address. mr biden said he was also working to help deliver aid to palestinians. i'm directing the us military to lead an emergency mission to establish a temporary pier in the mediterranean on the coast of gaza that can receive large shipments carrying food, water, medicine and temporary shelter. chanting: four more years!

the state of the union was mr biden�*s big opportunity to get some fresh momentum ahead of the election. if he loses in november, it would be the last one he delivers. nomia iqbal, bbc news, washington. the eu has announced that a maritime aid corridorfrom cyprus to gaza should begin operating in the next few days. it's being billed as another way to get much—needed humanitarian help into gaza from the sea. let's speak live to our middle east correspondent yolande knell who's injerusalem. yolande, how much detail do we know about this plan — and will it work? with a lot of frustration about the slow pace of aid getting into gaza we have previously had the uk and cyprus and others meeting this idea of opening up a sea route, even talking about using israeli ports although there has been israeli resistance to that. now we have with this deepening humanitarian

situation in gaza, we have the us and european union, along with the united arab emirates and britain all talking about getting this project going very quickly. we are expecting the maritime corridor to open up over this weekend, that is what we are told. initially there will be israeli security checks in the ports in cyprus, and they will be using amphibious vehicles to bring aid to shore. the white house says in the weeks to come we will have this offshore platform built as well as a causeway to bring aid shore. israel has welcomed the announcement of what it is calling the snippet initiative. but even as he announced british involvement, david cameron reiterated the message israel needs to do more to let lorries into gaza, he says this remains the fastest way to get aid to those who really need it.

yolande knell. the former conservative prime minister theresa may has announced that she will stand down as an mp at the next election. she told her local newspaper in maidenhead she was leaving the commons because she could no longer represent her constituents with the commitment they deserved. around 60 tory mps — including former ministers — have already said they won't stand for re—election. here's our deputy political editor, vicki young theresa may rose to the top job after the uk vote to leave the european union, one of the most turbulent periods in british political history. brexit was the backdrop to everything her government did. brexit means brexit, and we are going to make a success of it. mrs may has been an mp since 1997. when she became conservative party chairman she called for modernisation and offended some colleagues. you know what some people call us? the nasty party. david cameron unb=expectedly

promoted her to home secretary, a post she held for longer than anyone else in modern times. but as prime minister she faced an even tougher challenge steering the uk and her party through brexit, this most cautious of politicians became one of westminster�*s biggest risk takers. and she called an election... big ben chimes. and lost the conservatives their majority. she was still in power but her authority was weakened. after months of negotiations with brussels mrs may agreed a withdrawal deal but could not persuade enough mps to back it. the ayes to the right, 202, the noes to the left, 432. mrs may was forced to ask the eu for a delay to brexit, and after months of pressure from her own mps, she decided to step down. i do so with no ill will. but with enormous and enduring gratitude to have had the opportunity to serve the country i love. in the end of her primeministership was of course dominated by brexit.

she could not get her deal through the conservative party, and i think the country and indeed the conservative party would be in a better place today if it had gone with her deal, and we would have had much calmer times. as a backbencher, mrs may hasn't shied away from criticising her successes. this was her view on borisjohnson�*s behaviour during covid lockdowns. either my right honourable friend had not read the rules, or did not understand what they meant, and others around him, or did not think the rules applied to number 10. which was it? theresa may displayed a steely determination to become britain's second female prime minister. today, friends have praised her decency, dedication and sense of public duty. she says she will now concentrate on her campaigns against modern slavery and human trafficking. vicki young, bbc news, westminster. a bbc investigation has found that coroners in england and wales wrote more than 100 warning letters last year linked to pressure on the health service. long waiting times, staff shortages

and a lack of resources were just some of the problems that they were highlighting. and the numbers have risen — the research suggests coroners issued twice as many warnings as they did before the pandemic. the department of health in england says it's investing to shorten waits and train more nhs staff. jim reed reports. the only way to describe it — i've worked in elderly care since i was 16. i know what a heart attack looks like. shaun just kept saying, "it's getting worse, it's getting worse, it's getting worse." just over a year ago, karen's husband was taken to doncaster hospital with chest pains. shaun had a long wait, first in a&e and then another three hours for an ambulance to transfer him to sheffield. he died that same day. my exact words were, to the coroner, "i could have got him there faster in the car." and she said, "well, no, because he needed an ambulance." well, if he needed the ambulance, why wasn't the ambulance there? i got him to the hospital in time.

voice breaks: i got him to the hospital in time. l i got there when i needed to get there. after his inquest, west yorkshire icb, which commissions ambulance services, said it is now investing in more vehicles and staff. shaun's case was the subject of one of hundreds of prevention—of—death reports since last year. these are effectively warning letters sent by a coroner to the government or the health authorities after an inquest, to try to prevent a similar death in the future. we identified more than 100 — that's two a week — last year, which referred to a long wait for nhs treatment, a shortage of staff, or a lack of nhs resources. that's double the number compared to the two years before the pandemic. it includes the case of william gray, who died in 2021 after a series of asthma attacks. at his inquest, the coroner warned about under resourcing

of the local nhs asthma service, where staffing levels were described as "ridiculous". his mother says she struggled to get the right assessments. to leave a parent, you know... ..just with no help or support is just... it's very hard, having to do that all by yourself, and panicking. i don't think no mother should be left feeling that way. you know, when you've watched your child stop breathing and having to give them cpr at home. it'sjust not good enough. since his death, william's nhs trust in south—east essex said it has now recruited three more asthma nurses. these documents paint a picture not just of lives lost, but of chances missed, as the health service has come under growing pressure. the government says it learns from every one of these reports and it is investing billions to train more staff and cut waiting times.

jim reed, bbc news. the time is1.20. our top story this afternoon: an investigation into a british army spy embedded in the ira has concluded more lives were probably lost than saved by his involvement. high sea temperatures cause extensive damage to australia's iconic great barrier reef. coming up on bbc news: we'll be off to saudi arabia, where more and more sporting events are heading, including anthonyjoshua's fight with francis ngannou tonight, as part of a big weekend of sport there. new rules on paternity leave come into place in england, scotland and wales today. for babies arriving after the 6th of april, dads and partners will be entitled to take their two weeks leave in separate one—week chunks — if they like — and there'll be

a small increase in statutory pay. the government says the changes give families greater flexibility, but for parental rights campaigners, they don't go far enough. 0ur reporter kristianjohnson has been looking into it ready? slidey home! 0h, slidey! good girl, well done! heidi's nine—months—old, and so is isla. she grizzles. from today, new paternity leave rules come into place for dads like sean. he was only entitled to statutory paternity leave, two weeks of 90% of average earnings or £172.48 a week, whichever is lower. but he couldn't afford this drop in wages and had to take annual leave instead. it's not even two shifts a week. i wouldn't be able to afford my rent. this is... this is where she's safe. this is a safe space. today's changes mean dads and secondary parents can take their paternity leave in two separate one—week chunks, rather than a single block. but, crucially, the pay is only going up by £12 a week.

pointless. couldn't take it then. and even now, i still couldn't take it. parenting charity pregnant then screwed is calling for the government to rethink paternity rules. it wants six weeks' leave as standard for all new dads, at 90% of their average earnings. dads who return to work earlier than their full entitlement — 70% of those said that cost was the key reason why they had to return. the government says today's changes provide greater flexibility for families and dads can use shared parental leave to take even longer off work. some companies offer enhanced paternity leave policies of their own. kisses. kisses for bunny. tom's employer, monzo, is one of them. so i get 13 weeks off, - which i can use within the first year of having heidi. i certainly feel much more confident

| having had that solid space of time. j i feel like it's given me _ the opportunity to be a better dad. it's notjust dads who benefit. if that paternity leave can be increased to to six weeks and at a good, like, healthy pay rate — like, women willjust feel so much more supported in those early days. campaign groups want this six weeks' leave as standard. what would it have done for your relationship with isla? everything. it would be... a little bit sad, to be honest, i'm getting. micro would mean everything for new dads. despite the initial outlay, supporters say the benefits for dads would mean it's a drop in the ocean. kristian johnson, bbc news. in a world first, abortion has become a constitutional right in france.

applause. it was sealed during a ceremony in paris after both houses of parliament voted to revise the country's 1958 constitution. abortion has been legal in france since 1975 but president macron pledged to better protect the right. it followed changes in the us, when the supreme court revoked a constitutional right to abortion in 2022. a coroner has highlighted systemic failures in the way high risk—prisoners are managed after they are released from prison. it was at the conclusion of the inquest into the death ofjacob billington in birmingham in 2020, who was stabbed during a night out with friends. phil mackie is in birmingham for us. yes, this all happened back in september 2020 in birmingham, when jacob billington, who was 23, a university librarian, a talented musician, had come to the city for a night out with friends. in the early hours of the morning, he was one of eight victims of a paranoid

schizophrenic who stabbed those people in the city centre over a 90 minute period. jacob died, his best friend michael callaghan suffered life changing injuries. today, we have the conclusion of the inquest into jacob billington. in which the coroner louise hunt highlighted lots of failures, lots of systemic failures in the release and management of the man when he came out of prison in wales earlier in april, 2020 and he was effectively lost in the system. he should have been carefully monitored because he was considered a high—risk offender who was a danger to the public but forfour who was a danger to the public but for four months they didn't know where he was. he popped up in birmingham just about a month or so before he carried out those attacks but their system had failed and she said she would send one of those letters of recommendation, a prevention of future death report. she said things must be much more

joined up in the future. the conclusion we had from jacob's mum, she said the systemic failings had happened and they looked like there had been no changes since then because if you are thinking there are similarities between this case and that which happened at nottingham last summer, then yes, there are. also, and callaghan, michael's mum, said it was a depressing sling seeing the lack of communication and information sharing and the lack of information is frightening. sharing and the lack of information is frightening-— the creator of dragon ball, an influentialjapanese manga comic, has died aged 68. akira toriyama's manga art is hugely popular around the world and the comic series also exists as cartoons, films and even video games. fans have been paying tribute to the artist who created characters they say have become a part of their childhood. officials in australia say the great barrier reef is going through another mass bleaching because the sea temperatures in the last few

weeks have been so high. bleaching happens when heat—stressed corals expel the algae that gives them life and colour. it's the fifth time in eight years widespread damage has been detected at the unesco world heritage site. before 2016, only two mass bleaching events had been recorded. scientists say urgent climate action is needed for the reef to survive. now, three generations of footballing talent are supporting a plan to get even more girls to get their boots on. over 460,000 girls in schools across england are taking part in what's being called �*the biggest football session ever�*. and the granddaughter of england legend ian wright is one of them, as mike bushell reports. three generations of a footballing dynasty. granddad, ian, dad, shaun, and now the latest to shine, ten—year—old granddaughter raphy.

granddad ian and family have been sharing videos of raphy�*s silky skills to raise awareness of how much more accessible girls football is now at grassroots. and dad and granddad were impressed by what they saw this week as raphy played in a school tournament, scoring a superb solo goal, followed by a celebration they seemed to recognise. i remember saying i like football because my daddy does it. aw! commentator: and shaun wright-phillips. .. _ i watched some of the videos. my mum showed them to me. they were amazing. and some of granddad. what, they've even got an archive of granddad?! they laugh. who's got the best skills out of the three of you, then? mm...granddad. he didn't do any skills, he just put the ball in the back of the net. she knows! she's the wise one here. it's just amazing because they're all supportive and itjust gives me a little boost to play football.

i'm just proud simply— because she wants to play and she's got such a love and energy, and just enthusiastic- about the game. the first time i realised she was very sporty is when i took her to the beach and there was slides and stuff like that around and she wanted me to lift her up so she can go on the pull up bars instead of going on a slide. from then she'sjust grown into the game and to see her move forward the way she is and the amount of work she puts in and sacrifices. if she keeps going that way, then she's going in the right direction. the family announcing raphy and other girls getting the same india dominant day two of the fifth test, leaving england's chances of a consolation win extremely slim. there's a big weekend of sport ahead in saudi arabia, including anthonyjoshua's fight with francis ngannou tonight. and on international women's day, we see how netball is helping female refugees and asylum seekers.

welcome to the programme. it's been another miserable day for england in the final test of their series with india, one they've already lost. despite a couple of quick wickets after lunch, india rallied to put up a lead of 255 at the close of play. patrick gearey was watching. of 255 at the close of play. in of 255 at the close of play. dharamsala, india's nat magnificence in dharamsala, india's national magnificence is inescapable, especially if you look up words. shubman gill spent the morning aiming for everest, smashing india beyond england and still climbing. his captain rohit sharma was calmer but nudged to a century first, followed by gale with the more theatrical follow—up flourish. in such moments, ben stokes likes to take responsibility, injury and surgery are stopped him from bowling since some. first ball back... india's skipper out. for him, this is normal, for everyone else, it's