tonight at ten, the british army spy who cost more lives than he saved during northern ireland's troubles. a new investigation links the agent known as stakeknife to numerous murders and abductions. five people are reported killed when aid is dropped into gaza by parachute as countries agree a new humanitarian sea corridor. fergal keane tells the story of one young boy shot dead in the west bank — amr najjar, another victim of the conflict in the region. a london fertility clinic has its operating licence suspended because of "significant concerns" about the unit. desperate parents gather at a primary school in nigeria from where more than 200 children have been kidnapped. the issue facing our nation how old

we are, is how old are our ideas? president biden tackles critics of his advancing years in his state of the union address. and with the oscars this weekend, i'm behind the scenes at the studio that made barbie to meet one of the most powerful women in hollywood. and coming up on bbc london at 10:30... the uk's armed forces shrinking and short of the kit they need in a dangerous world. a report today lays bare the military�*s problem — a multi—billion pound black hole. good evening. his actions cost more lives than they saved — the conclusion of a report into a british spy who operated at the highest levels of the ira during northern ireland's troubles. violent conflict lasted for 30 years between loyalists,

who wanted to remain part of the uk, and republicans, who wanted a united ireland. the ira killed people suspected of leaking secrets to the security forces. the troubles ended with the good friday agreement in 1998. an investigation called 0peration kenova has been examining the activities of freddie scappaticci — codenamed stakeknife — who worked inside an ira unit tasked with identifying british agents, like him. he was reputed to have prevented hundreds of deaths — but today's findings put the figure far lower, and link him to the murder of more than a dozen people. mr scappaticci, who died last year, always denied he was stakeknife — as our correspondent sara girvin reports. don't take any more photos of this house, i'm telling you now! because if you do, 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 conflict in northern ireland.

pictured here during the troubles, he was the ira's chief interrogator, trusted to find informers inside the group. it was a role that saw him linked to numerous murders. but despite his seniority in the ira, incredibly, he himself was a british agent, codename — stakeknife. findings from an interim report into his actions were revealed today. 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 stakeknife case, but no charges have been brought due to what's been described as insufficient evidence. that decision has caused frustration. freddie scappaticci should have been prosecuted for offences, and he was not prosecuted. and in my view, that is something that for ever, victims, certain victims, will be regretful about. today's report had ten recommendations. two called for apologies to be made, from the government for failing to stop preventable deaths and from the republican leadership for the ira's abduction, torture and murder of those it suspected of being informers. sinn fein was the political wing of the ira throughout the troubles. i am sorry for all the lives lost during the conflict, without exception. regrettably, the past cannot be changed or cannot be undone. neither can the suffering, the hurt or the political violence

of conflict be disowned by republicans or indeed by any other party to the conflict. the northern ireland secretary, chris heaton—harris, said it wouldn't be right for the government to comment at this time. families whose loved ones were murdered by the ira because they were suspected informers didn't want to appear on camera. a solicitor acting for several of them explained why. the stigma for the tout or informant runs very deep in irish history. that stigma extends to the next of kin and the next generation. indeed, if proof were needed of that, we need only look around this room today. there aren't any families. questions around state involvement in troubles deaths have haunted the government for decades. 0peration kenova investigated one

of the murkiest periods of time in northern ireland's history, but it's a time that may never truly see the light. well, the story of aged stakeknife, or freddie scappaticci, has become synonymous with the complexities of the so—called dirty war between the ira and the state during the troubles. today's report has raised a lot of questions about the morality and legality of what was going on back then and most importantly, who knew what about it. but realistically, those are questions we may never get full answers to. questions we may never get full answers tw— questions we may never get full answers te— questions we may never get full answers to. ., , ., ~ , ., a new maritime corridor has been agreed to get humanitarian aid into gaza — britain, the eu, the us and the united arab emirates have all signed up to support it. the shipping route would bring supplies via cyprus — it's hoped the first shipment will leave from there within days. the un says a quarter of gaza's population is on the brink of famine. israel welcomed the plan, but said the aid would be subject to security checks.

aid has been coming in by road and also via airdrops — and there are reports tonight that a number of people were killed by an airdrop. let's get more on this from our senior international correspondent, 0rla guerin, who is in tel aviv. what do we know, 0rla? this appears to have been — what do we know, 0rla? this appears to have been a _ what do we know, 0rla? this appears to have been a tragic _ what do we know, 0rla? this appears to have been a tragic case _ what do we know, 0rla? this appears to have been a tragic case where - what do we know, 0rla? this appears to have been a tragic case where aid i to have been a tragic case where aid which was intended to save lives has actually taken them. there was an air drop that was being carried out north of gaza city, jane. it seems that most of the pallets of food supplies came to the ground with parachutes as intended, but at least one load of aid, the parachute malfunctioned and plunged to the ground. hospital officials in gaza are saying that 5 people have been killed. all of this comes as an announcement has been made by the eu, the uk, the us and cyprus about the opening of what they are calling a maritime corridor. they say this

would allow ships to sail from cyprus to gaza. 0ne ship is already loaded, we are told, with 300 tonnes of aid. they say it will be a complex operation. that sounds like an understatement. we don't know how the aid will be unloaded, who will protect it and how there will be an opportunity for the desperate people of gaza to reach that aid without the kind of crush and loss of life we saw last week.— violence in the occupied west bank has surged since the start of the conflict last october. according to the united nations, a16 palestinians have been killed in that time, as israeli forces search for militants. 15 israelis have been killed in that same period. the un says children account for a quarter of the palestinians killed. our special correspondent fergal keane reports now on the case of 10—year—old amr najjar, shot dead in the village of burin on monday as he went shopping with his family. you may find his report distressing.

they knew him from the beginning. long before he was made into a symbol of angry times. ten—year—old amr najjar, wrapped in the colours of hamas. but he was just a schoolboy killed going shopping with his dad. because he was killed by israeli troops, the factions celebrated him as a martyr. the plo, the marxist—leninists, hamas. all bore him to his grave, enveloped by their flags. this is a story about the killing of a child, not a symbol. amr najjar was one of three children. a good student.

on march 4th, he was being driven by his father, mohammed, with his younger brother through burin when they encountered an israeli patrol. they stopped near this shop on the corner. the army had been in burin since earlier in the afternoon. this image was captured by a local at around 3pm. the military said they'd been stoned by youths. a local told us it was quiet when mohammed najjar�*s minibus arrived sometime between 4:30 and 5pm. then, a shot was fired directly through the windscreen, where amr, his father and brother were sitting.

all of this was witnessed by amr�*s younger brother, sitting beside him here. violence has surged across the west bank since october the 7th. over 400 palestinians have been killed by israeli forces and jewish settlers — one quarter of them aged between ten and 17, according to the un. 15 israelis have been killed by palestinians. burin has long been a flashpoint.

0verlooked byjewish settlements, whose residents have been filmed attacking villagers, destroying their property. bleep. in burin, villagers say the army sides with the settlers and fails to protect them. creating what amr najjar�*s mother says is a living nightmare. human rights groups in israel and the west bank accuse the army of disregard for palestinian lives, including children. the israel defence force rejects this. they told us they'd faced a surge in terrorist attacks since october the 7th. that they do not target non—combatants, including children. and that live fire was only used after all other options had been utilised.

this human rights lawyer says soldiers will not be held accountable by israel and should be prosecuted by the international criminal court. there is no accountability. nobody will hold them accountable. they are protected even. so i believe that if there is an international accountability system in force, i'm sure they will change their mind. i'm not sure that all of them, they will stop, but at least i know that there will be something different than now. the family of amr najjar do not expectjustice. and while the israeli military says it's investigating the circumstances of his death, there's a hunger to fight back. they're angry and they're afraid. a generation trapped.

fergal keane, bbc news, the west bank. president biden has said donald trump represents the biggest threat to the american people's freedom since the 19th century. in his last state of the union address before november's election, mr biden suggested his republican opponent would "bow down" to russia, and again infefred that he had incited the capitol hill riot. sarah smith reports. good evening! if i were smart, i'd go home now! the smart move was to deliver a punchy, powerful performance, laying into donald trump without ever actually using his name. now my predecessor, a former republican president, tells putin, quote, "do whatever the hell you want." bowing down to a russian leader, i think it's outrageous, it's dangerous, and it's unacceptable. casting mrtrump, and his claims

of electoral fraud, as a threat to democracy is a major theme of his re—election campaign. this is a moment to speak the truth and to bury the lies. here's the simple truth. you can't love your country only when you win! protesters disrupting the president's route to congress will have been disappointed he didn't call for a permanent ceasefire in gaza. he did have this message for the israeli government. to the leadership of israel, i say this — humanitarian assistance cannot be a secondary consideration or a bargaining chip. protecting and saving innocent lives has to be priority. mr biden waded straight into the contentious immigration crisis, blaming republicans for killing a bill that would have strengthened border security. oh, you don't like that bill, huh?! that conservatives got together and said it was a good bill? i'll be darned, that's amazing! and he couldn't ignore the concerns about his age. i know i may not look like it,

but i've been around a while. the issue facing our nation isn't how old we are, it's how old are our ideas. hate, anger, revenge, retribution are the oldest of ideas. but you can't lead america with ancient ideas that only take us back. to lead america, the land of possibilities, you need a vision for the future and what can and should be done. there is criticism of the president for being too amped up, too overtly political, and inside the white house they are delighted, confident this joe biden can easily defeat donald trump in november, as long as he can keep it up all the way to the election. sarah smith, bbc news, washington. a fertility clinic in london has had its licence to operate suspended, because of "significant concerns" about the unit. the regulator says it's ordered the homerton fertility centre to halt any new procedures while investigations continue. 0ur health editor hugh pym is there.

how much more do we know tonight? the trust running the fertility centre ten health care trust has said in a statement there were three separate incidents involving errors in freezing processes. a tragic small number of cases embryos either didn't survive orjust became undetectable. what that means in practice is an embryo stored in frozen solution after the process of thawing could not be found and one woman has told bbc news today she came in for treatment here and was told on the day that one of embryos couldn't be found and she was distraught and emotionally drained. the trust says it has tightened up security, insisted that staff work in pairs in the centre, and are supervised two health care professionals, and has reported the situation to the regulator, the

hfea, as well as bringing in external investigators. the regulator said in its statement that there are significant concerns here and that the licence has been suspended for new patients, although those with ongoing treatment will continue. the metropolitan police in a statement tonight has said that officers came to the clinic today after these concerns were raised, but that there is no current, ongoing police investigation. hugh ' m. the police officer accused of shooting dead chris kaba in streatham in south london has been named publically. martyn blake has pleaded not guilty to murdering the 2a year old, following a police stop of a car he was driving 18 months ago. our home affairs correspondent tom symonds has this report. in september 2022, a car driven by a 24—year—old man was followed and surrounded by police vehicles. seconds later, a shot was fired. chris kaba, at the wheel, was hit in the head and killed. as is normal, the police watchdog

began investigating, and then a firearms officer involved in the incident was charged with murder. he's appeared in court several times but has never been named — until today. martyn blake, a ao—year—old police firearms officer, stood in the dock and confirmed the name that has until now been restricted information. he entered a plea of not guilty to murder. thejudge has previously considered intelligence suggesting a threat to the officer's safety, but he decided that publishing his name was justified. chris kaba's family were at court today. a statement read by a campaigner who's supporting them. in any other murder trial, the accused be publicly named. the accused would be publicly named. this case should be no different. in 2005, police followed, stopped and shot dead another man in london, azelle rodney. a police officer was also charged with murder, also named in court,

but eventually cleared. gunshots. but since then, attitudes have hardened among police officers who volunteer for this sort of training and to carry guns. they are some very, very good, honest, high—integrity police officers out there who do not feel they are getting the backing, who are being hung out to dry by the system, whoever that system is, and they've had enough. the money is not good enough, it's not worth the risk, for their families or themselves, and a lot of them are just getting out, and they can't wait. the risk of the police running short of armed officers is real, and the government is currently reviewing the accountability they face on the extremely rare occasions when they have to pull the trigger. martyn blake, who is on bail, will go on trial this october. tom symonds, bbc news, at the old bailey. more than 280 children have been kidnapped from a primary school in nigeria by heavily—armed gunmen. it's the second mass abduction

in recent days and it has shocked a country where kidnapping for ransom has become a deadly business. last year, at least 3,600 people were seized by nigeria s armed gangs. this latest attack took place in kuriga. and a week ago, hundreds of people, mostly women and children, were kidnapped near ngala in the lawless north—east, where boko haram and otherjihadist groups have terrorised civilians for years. 0ur west africa correspondent mayenijones reports. this has become an all—too—familiar site, desperate parents begging the authorities for help. 280 children, some as young as eight, were dragged out of their morning school assembly by armed men and were taken into a nearby forest. some managed to escape but hundreds are still missing, their parents are beside themselves. "please come and help us," this mother says, "where is the president? where is the governor?

our school children were taken away, seven children from one family were all kidnapped." this latest attack has shocked the community of kuriga, so many taken, so young. translation: we are ordinary civilians, what can we do? - they are treating us like we are worthless. we plead with you in the name of god, do something to secure the release of our children. the local governor is promising to bring every child back home. we are sending a strong message to the mothers and we made it clear to them that one of the most important roles of the government is to ensure that we protect the lives and properties of our citizens. but many say nigeria's government is failing to do this, it is the second mass abduction in less than a week. across the country in the north—east the residents of the state of borno have been terrorised by islamist militants for 15 years.

2 million have fled their homes to live in camps and fortified towns that are protected by the army and beyond the gates the gunmen are in control. 150 kilometres down this road in the region of ngala dozens of internally displaced women and children were abducted last week. we can't get there because the area still has a heavy presence of boko haram militants. although the authorities have worked hard to make this area a lot safer than it was ten years ago, large swathes of borno are still too dangerous to access. in april 2014, boko haram abducted 276 schoolgirls from the town of chibok. the group said it was against western education. many of the girls were forced to marry their captors. now boko haram is splintered and weakened. these days kidnappings of children in nigeria are often motivated by money, with ransom demands for their release. abduction, kidnapping, became a way of getting money. even in the capital now we have up

to three kidnappings per weekjust to have quick access to money. no word yet on the fate of the children now in the hands of the armed gangs and there is little sign that the government here has the power to rescue them or to bring their captors to justice. myenijones, bbc news. the former prime minister theresa may is to step down as a conservative mp at the next election. mrs may said it had been a difficult decision, but she was now dedicating time to causes such as tackling modern slavery. here's our deputy political editor vicki young. music: dancing queen by abba. some accused theresa may of being a robotic politician with no flair. but friends always insisted she had a fun side, even though she took herjob very seriously. forging a career as a conservative female mp in the �*90s was no joke. she was determined to stand out in a man's world and as party chairman, wasn't afraid to tell it straight.

you know what some people call us? the nasty party. david cameron made her home secretary, a post she held for longer than anyone else in modern times. she's got a string of great achievements to her name, championing modern slavery legislation, making sure more women got involved in politics. and, of course, serving as prime minister as well, she can hold her head high. she became prime minister at one of the most turbulent periods in british political history. brexit means brexit, and we're going to make a success of it. a simple slogan, but a promise she couldn't fulfil. mrs may had gambled on a general election, but lost the conservatives their majority. attempts to reassert her authority didn't always go according to plan, her message during this conference speech lost amid a catalogue of interruptions, a prankster, a faulty set and persistent cough. excuse me. she 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. 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. former prime ministers don't usually criticise successors, but mrs may made an exception for borisjohnson's behaviour during covid lockdowns. either my right honourable friend had not read the rules or didn't understand what they meant, and others around him, or they didn't think the rules applied to number ten. which was it? it's no surprise that theresa may chose her local newspaper here in maidenhead to announce that she's standing down. she's been the mp here for 27 years, and colleagues today praised her decency, dedication and sense of public duty.

theresa may will leave the commons for the last time when the general election is called, and says she'll concentrate on her campaign against modern slavery. vicki young, bbc news, maidenhead. at the oscars this weekend, the film 0ppenheimer has the most nominations, but it is barbie that's arguably the people's favourite, as the highest grossing film of last year. it's made by warner brothers, whose chief executive pam abdy has been speaking exclusively to our culture editor katie razzall, in los angeles about oscar snubs, and the state of the film industry. we are in full production right now... i'm on a behind—the—scenes tour on the lot at warner brothers. casablanca. casablanca ? casablanca was filmed right here. we see rick and ilsa sitting outside a parisian cafe. these are some of hollywood's most famous streets. well, my work is done here. the dream house is in there.

ken's mojo dojo casa house was inside there. this is where i live... barbie was the biggest—grossing film of the year, but greta gerwig wasn't nominated for a best director 0scar... what happened here? and margot robbie isn't up for best actress, which has got to hurt if you're pam abdy, one of hollywood's most powerful women. of course it does. you know, of course i want to see all of them get recognised. they deserve it. do you think the academy voters are sexist? i don't want to say that they're sexist. we're really grateful that it ignited audiences around the world, and it made $1.4 billion and has smashed so many records. margot robbie now has a key to the lot, an old warner tradition revived by abdy and co—chair michael deluca. he found a couple of the old keys on ebay, actually, and we bought them. and margot�*s is actually marilyn monroe's key. wow. i love it. i love walking around the lot.

abdy and deluca were hired two years ago with a mission to restore the studio to its glory days. warner brothers hasn't won a best picture 0scar since argo in 2013. that's a while ago. it is. what are you going to do to change that? pick some movies and hopefully win best picture! is that always the aim? you know, it's the academy. it's like the dream. this year's 0scar favourite is 0ppenheimer. its director christopher nolan spent most of his career at warner brothers, but walked away in 2020, furious at the decision to put movies straight onto the studio's streaming service. did you think warner got that wrong when it came to christopher nolan? i can'tjudge what they were doing. we were in the middle of a global pandemic. but they lost their biggest star. yes. they've lured some big names like tom cruise, and abdy insists they're committed to giving films cinema time before streaming them.

but for many, there's only one question. are we going to get a barbie 2? i mean, we'd love to. are you talking to greta about barbie 2? yeah, we're always talking about it. i think right now, we're just so happy this week to be celebrating barbie's success. 0scar night success for barbie looks uncertain — a surer bet that these streets, this lot, will be coming soon to a cinema near you. katie razzall, bbc news, los angeles. and you can listen to katie s full interview with pam abdy on the media show, on bbc sounds. time for a look at the weather. here's chris fawkes. todayit today it was a largely a dry day, although the amount of cloud varied from place to place. 12 degrees in hampshire and 13 in parts of sussex, but for the north sea coast a lot of clout and for the most of the day temperature struggled around 6 degrees. the uk has a helmet wind

and it is blowing at