staff brave heights of 135m to reach the glass pods on the iconic landmark. amazing pictures, as long as you don't have a fear of heights. we will see them in a bit. first, a hearing is taking place later at the high court in central london in a case which has been brought by the duke of sussex against the publisher of the sun — news group newspapers. let's speak to our correspondent sean dilley who is at the high court. hello. prince harry, the duke of sussex,is hello. prince harry, the duke of sussex, is involved in several court cases. it is sometimes hard to keep track so give us the details of this one. what do we know? film. track so give us the details of this one. what do we know?— one. what do we know? oh, my goodness. _ one. what do we know? oh, my goodness. you _ one. what do we know? oh, my goodness, you could _ one. what do we know? oh, my goodness, you could fill - one. what do we know? oh, my goodness, you could fill a - one. what do we know? oh, my i goodness, you could fill a calendar with them. some of the court cases have now been closed off, for

instance, back in december, he won £140,600 from mirror group newspapers for 15 unlawful instances of information gathering and he settled a further 115 two months later in february. that is not what this one is about. behind me at the high court, these photographers are not particularly expecting prince harry, norare not particularly expecting prince harry, nor are we, not particularly expecting prince harry, norare we, to not particularly expecting prince harry, nor are we, to turn up, but there are some high—profile celebrities involved in the general claim including hugh grant. what is today about? it is an amendment proceeding. remember, this is a civil case. the actual trial as to potentially whether there has been unlawful interceptions of information against harry would not be due to take place until next year. in this instance, we don't yet know until it is presented in court what the documents are going to say. but you would imagine that the prince's lawyers are going to ask

thejudge in this prince's lawyers are going to ask the judge in this case to look at the judge in this case to look at the scope or extent of the case that exists at the moment and just to underline that, it runs from 1995 right the way through to 2011 when it is alleged that unlawful methods were used to leak information, information that should not have been handed to the media, about for instance harry's time at sandhurst or his relationships in the past with chelsy davy. we are going to keep an eye, keep an eye on the app and the website as well as here and we will keep you to date throughout the morning. we will keep you to date throughout the morning-— the morning. thank you, we will, i susect if the morning. thank you, we will, i suspect if prince _ the morning. thank you, we will, i suspect if prince harry _ the morning. thank you, we will, i suspect if prince harry were - the morning. thank you, we will, i suspect if prince harry were due i the morning. thank you, we will, i| suspect if prince harry were due to turn up, there would be a lot more photographers outside the high court so that tells you something anyway. now another big story affecting the uk. uk inflation drops to lowest level in over two years — according to the new figures from the office for national statistics. consumer prices rose

by a less—than—expected at 3.4% in the year to february. nina warhurst has been talking to small business owners about the effect of the inflation. one of the most concerning things is the cost of products now. the produce isjust sky high. rent has gone up, electricity costs have gone up, wages have gone up. everything's gone up. high costs are taking a toll on businesses like anna's. she's been trading for around five years and it's not been an easy ride. it's a game ofjenga, just trying to balance everything. we don't want to put too much responsibility or price increases on the customer, because that will deter them from coming. we still want to offer good—value foods, but then we also have to be fair to our staff, as well. so we have to just balance everything as carefully as possible. but could today be a turning point? inflation — that's the rate at which prices rise — hit a peak of 11% in october 2022.

that was a 40—year high, driven by a surge in energy prices following the russian invasion of ukraine. the prime minister promised to halve it by the end of last year. for a number of reasons, that pledge was met, but prices are still high. for fritz and his business, it means thinking about other ways to increase those profit margins just to stay afloat. we've just been very creative. we've thought outside the box, we've gone down other avenues where we can, you know, sell ourfood. so retail, almost mini—wholesale, networking with other suppliers, with other companies. the bank of england has tried to tackle the problem by raising interest rates to a 15—year high of 5.25%. rates are expected to be cut this year, but not yet. while the direction for interest rates is down, what we're expecting is that,

by the end of the year, they will have maybe had three cuts to them. so we're not talking huge numbers here. and, actually, for someone sitting at home thinking about their mortgage costs, that will help a bit, but it's not going to have a huge, huge impact for lots of people. the government says the economy is turning, but many businesses are not feeling that way yet. we are hoping that our customers have a bit more of a disposable income, so far, because we all feel like we need to put our prices up, but no one can afford to come and eat if we do that. so, yeah, more disposable income for the general public. vaughan gething is due to be formally nominated as the new first minister of wales later today. he is taking overfrom mark drakeford, who has stepped down from the post after more than five years. 0ur wales correspondent

tomos morgan has the story. after five years in which covid and brexit dominated his time in charge, mark drakeford gave an emotional farewell yesterday, describing how this past year had been the hardest of his life as wales' first minister. for me personally, the last 12 months has been the hardest and the saddest of my life. i'm grateful to all those people who help. the colleagues here. i'm most grateful of all to the people that we are lucky enough to serve. applause. having already held two of the biggest ministerial portfolios in welsh politics — in health and the economy — this afternoon, vaughan gething will take on his toughest political role yet and, in doing so, becoming the first black man to lead a european nation. his campaign was dominated by the news a £200,000 donation was made to mr gething by a company

owned by a man with convictions for dumping illegal waste. but what will be the most burning issues in his in—tray? first thing first, he will be appointing a new cabinet tomorrow. how many of his supporters does he reward and what position does he give his rivalfor the leadership injeremy miles? attention will then turn to two issues that have received the biggest public backlash in recent times — speed limits and farmers. 0n the 20mph speed limit in urban areas, he's vowed not to roll back, but will review the guidance given to councils, making it easier for them to change some roads back to 30mph. and then after saying a proposal to ask farmers to plant 10% of trees on their land is the right policy, how will the balance be struck between climate change and paying agriculture fairly in wales? in promising to listen and not lecture the public as he begins his term as wales's new leader, he has pledged to be something different. tomos morgan, bbc news, cardiff.

we will of course have live coverage of vaughan we will of course have live coverage of vaughan getting we will of course have live coverage of vaughan getting due we will of course have live coverage of vaughan getting due to we will of course have live coverage of vaughan getting due to be formally nominated this afternoon. —— vaughan getting. around the world and across the uk — this is bbc news.

you're watching bbc news. now, to the story of wendyjones, a holiday—maker who died in 2019 after an air conditioning duct fell on her at a pontins resort in somerset. her family say they are still waiting for answers about what happened. pontins' owners described it as an "unfortunate accident", and they do not consider themselves at fault. but now, some former staff have told the bbc about concerns they raised about the ceiling before it collapsed. here's our special correspondent ed thomas.

i spent my mum's last birthday in an intensive care unit. with her slipping in and out of consciousness as they tried to stabilise her. it was all taken away because of that ceiling falling on her. just gone in an instant. february 2019 — there's chaos inside pontins brean sands. an air—conditioning duct has fallen onto guests, crushing wendyjones. she never recovered. this is mum with dexter and alice, my two children. you can see how happy she is. just those arms were made for hugging grandkids.

it's more than four years since wendy died. because of the impact of the ceiling falling on her, mum had punctured a lung and had fractured ribs, fractured collarbone, a femoral break. before she died, wendy spent six months in hospital. she never managed to come home from holiday. police told us the postmortem examination found a clear link between wendy's death and the injuries she sustained at pontins. one of the saddest things that i've experienced was mum waking up saying, "who are you?" because she didn't recognise who i was. the bbc filmed on the night of the collapse and spoke to guests. i was in there last night and i was sitting with my wife and my children and she looked up above and she saw that the roof wasn't right — it was bowed in.

the fire service said 40 metres of structural ducting and ceiling sections collapsed. 0n the floor, you can see the fallen air conditioning duct. insulation boards are packed around it. some were later scattered around pontins. wendy was crushed along with her mobility scooter. if your mum was here now, what would she be saying to you? it's part of why i'm talking to you. she'd say, "getjustice." for the first time, we can reveal safety concerns were raised inside pontins. my biggest fear was it would collapse eventually due to the sheer weight. mick forster was a general manager at pontins brean sands. in late 2015, he witnessed these insulation boards being placed on the ceiling and air conditioning duct. some of them are stacked four or five high. so when they asked me to sign it off, i refused to.

mick then says he demanded an inspection of the work. i don't think they ever could have sustained that weight. we've obtained a copy of that 2016 independent surveyor�*s report mick asked for and showed it to him. " executive summary. the recent insulation has not been safely or adequately installed, which could result in the collapse of the ceiling." the report, however, also stated it was not assessing safe load limits of the ceiling. who received that report? head office. was satisfactory remedial work carried out while you were there? no, no, no. what was your concern? eventual collapse. pontins' owners, a company called britanniajinkyjersey, dispute mick's version of events. it said the insulation was undertaken in 2015

by a specialist contractor. in reference to the surveyor report, britannia said the findings related solely to the ceiling grid over the dance floor, and the only concerns regarding the ventilation duct were that the rockwool installed was unsightly. additional ceiling supports, it added, were installed by the contractor, and a separate 2017 engineer's report raised no concerns in relation to the work, and no safety issues were raised to any senior manager prior to the collapse. it's devastating watching that. this has been on my mind since it collapsed. it's very, very sad. you know, she came to pontins. she didn't go home again. in response to our investigation and, for the first time, britannia hotels has given its version of why

the ventilation duct collapsed. it says some internal fixings, which could not be seen, failed. the death of wendyjones, britannia said, was an unfortunate accident that could not have been predicted. i don't like the word accident to describe this situation. i never have sat comfortably with it. avon and somerset police said it was open—minded about the cause of the ducting collapse and are continuing to look into the death of wendyjones. has anybody said sorry to you and picked up the phone? no. they have not reached out to see how we are, what's going on, what happened that night. and they could have — they could have shown some humility, some decency, some humanity.

that was ed thomas reporting. now, cleaning your house can sometimes feel a bit of a chore. but imagine doing it for a world—famous landmark. well, the annual spring clean is well under way at the london eye. lots of work goes into maintaining the fourth biggest ferris wheel in the world, which closed injanuary for annual maintenance. john maguire has been to find out how it's done. it became an immediate fixture among the icons on the silhouetted london skyline. the giant wheel was hoisted into place on the south bank of the river thames almost 25 years ago. the original plan for the millennium wheel was for a five—year life. but approaching its silver anniversary, the london eye, as it's now known, has carried more than 100 million visitors. its name has seen changes. so have many of the buildings that surround it. but the panoramic views from the 32

glass pods remain spectacular. each minute of the slow, half—hour—long rotation offers a different perspective. at 145 metres high, it's exposed to the elements. january's storm henk saw the attraction closed briefly after one of the pods�* rooftop hatches was blown open in the high winds. considering its size, maintenance is a major undertaking, with a programme of painting and cleaning running from january to june. the landmark views from the pods may be its major drawcard, but as it takes centre stage in london's new year's eve fireworks display, the views of it are beamed around the world every year.

what amazing pictures they are. we're going to take a look at a uk premiere of a documentary — commitment to life, that takes a look at how community action mobilised around aids in los angeles, with insight from everyday people as well as hollywood stars like elizabeth taylor. let's take a little look at a clip. tonight in los angeles, some of the biggest names in show business will host a widely publicised benefit for aids. ladies and gentlemen, miss elizabeth taylor. i applause. the emotions were so raw because everybody was personally affected by it. all we can do at this point is help our friends who have aids. and i'm pleased to say i'm joined byjeffrey schwarz, director and producer of commitment to life. thank you forjoining us. tell me

about the documentary. commitment to life is the story — about the documentary. commitment to life is the story of _ about the documentary. commitment to life is the story of the _ about the documentary. commitment to life is the story of the fight _ life is the story of the fight against aids in los angeles and particular hollywood and it is how an incredibly intrepid and brave group of people came together to change the course of the epidemic. in the mid—19 805, so taking us back to a snapshot of a time when aids was not as well known, it was becoming well—known and it was a small group of kind of normal people manage to break in hollywood celebrities who properly amplified it. ~ , ,., y y celebrities who properly amplified it. ~ , , . , celebrities who properly amplified it. absolutely, every city has its own aids story, _ it. absolutely, every city has its own aids story, i'm _ it. absolutely, every city has its own aids story, i'm sure - it. absolutely, every city has its. own aids story, i'm sure there is it. absolutely, every city has its - own aids story, i'm sure there is an incredible story to tell about london, there have been films about new york and san francisco but there has not been a film about lo5 has not been a film about los angeles. it was able to turn the attention of the world towards this issue and in the early 19805 when ade5 wa5 issue and in the early 19805 when ade5 was first becoming an issue, the people who had it were shunned by society. there was so much discolouration and fear and misinformation. a group called the aids project lo5 misinformation. a group called the aids project los angeles formed and they were a small group, not

activist5, ju5t they were a small group, not activist5, just friends who had friends who were suffering. they were in los angeles and they said, what do we have to offer that other cities don't? we have got movie stars. elizabeth taylor, who at the time was the biggest movie star in the world, there was not a person who did not know who she was, she was very loving and compassionate and had a lot of gay friends and she wanted to do something about aids and she connected with the project and she connected with the project and she connected with the project and she hosted the first major fundraising dinnerfor aids which fundraising dinner for aids which you fundraising dinnerfor aids which you saw in the clip. we fundraising dinner for aids which you saw in the clip.— you saw in the clip. we are 'ust auoin to you saw in the clip. we are 'ust going to say i you saw in the clip. we are 'ust going to say goodbye �* you saw in the clip. we are 'ust going to say goodbye to h you saw in the clip. we are just going to say goodbye to our - going to say goodbye to our international viewers. thank you for joining us. let's carry on because it is an fascinating story and tell us how you got involved and claim to want to tell the story. i us how you got involved and claim to want to tell the story.— want to tell the story. i have made a lot of films _ want to tell the story. i have made a lot of films about _ want to tell the story. i have made a lot of films about people - want to tell the story. i have made a lot of films about people from i want to tell the story. i have made| a lot of films about people from the lgbtq community, i const like divine but i was approached to make this film by the aids project los angeles who are now approaching their 40th anniversary and they started to realise that sony of the pioneers who really fought for people with aids were getting older and they

wanted to make sure that the story was told and so they decided to make a movie. we went to interview some of the long—term survivors. we interviewed people who work for hollywood studios. we interviewed activists and doctors. incredible people that i hope that people get to know and their work is appreciated. that is the film, commitment to life, which is having its uk premiere tonight. you commitment to life, which is having its uk premiere tonight.— its uk premiere tonight. you know a lot about the — its uk premiere tonight. you know a lot about the community _ its uk premiere tonight. you know a lot about the community and - its uk premiere tonight. you know a lot about the community and the - lot about the community and the issue and you live in hollywood. i am interested in what you found out that you did not know about that period. i that you did not know about that eriod. ., , ,., that you did not know about that eriod. ., , ., ,. ., that you did not know about that eriod. ., , . ,. . ., period. i was 'ust so fascinated to see period. i was 'ust so fascinated to regular — period. i wasjust so fascinated to see regular people _ period. i wasjust so fascinated to see regular people stand - period. i wasjust so fascinated to see regular people stand up - period. i wasjust so fascinated to see regular people stand up and i period. i wasjust so fascinated to . see regular people stand up and say, this is not right. we need to do something about this. when the president of the united states won't even acknowledge there is an epidemic raging and it is only really because of the people who were affected, this was primarily 93v were affected, this was primarily gay men, and other groups of course, but there was such a stigma still at the time. of course, now we have

openly gay people in the entertainment community but there was really nobody. it took somebody like elizabeth taylor to stand up. she had a very close friend, rock hudson, one of the biggest stars in the world and it was announced in 1985, that year, that he had aids and that was the first time people across america felt they knew somebody with aids. so she went and did these fundraising events and the fundraising events called commitment to life went on every year for a decade and some of the biggest stars in the world performed at them and it provided safety and a way for people to say, there is nothing to be afraid of, here. one of the people in ourfilm is be afraid of, here. one of the people in our film is the be afraid of, here. one of the people in ourfilm is the reverend steve peters, who passed away recently but was a long—term survivor and he was put forward by the project is somebody who could say, hey, there is nothing to be afraid of. yes, i have aids but i am here and we are going to get through this together. with; here and we are going to get through this together-— this together. why do you think the sto is this together. why do you think the story is still— this together. why do you think the story is still relevant _ this together. why do you think the story is still relevant today, - this together. why do you think the story is still relevant today, so - story is still relevant today, so many years on? we story is still relevant today, so many years on?— story is still relevant today, so man ears on? ~ , , . many years on? we 'ust experienced another pandemic _ many years on? we just experienced another pandemic and _ many years on? we just experienced another pandemic and when - many years on? we just experienced another pandemic and when we - many years on? we just experienced j another pandemic and when we were filming the movie, this was in

november 2020. we were interviewing all of these folks who survived this past epidemic and there were a lot of similarities, especially in the early days of covid when people did not know how it was spreading. that reminded us of the early days of aids when folks were suffering and they did not know how it was spread but their friends and family still got into bed with them, held them, told them that they were there for them. that bravery was incredible to see. i am so grateful that they were willing to sit down with us and share their stories. tell willing to sit down with us and share their stories.— willing to sit down with us and share their stories. tell me how eo - le share their stories. tell me how peeple can _ share their stories. tell me how people can watch _ share their stories. tell me how people can watch it, _ share their stories. tell me how people can watch it, it - share their stories. tell me how people can watch it, it is - share their stories. tell me how people can watch it, it is at - share their stories. tell me how people can watch it, it is at the | people can watch it, it is at the bfi flare film festival, tell us where people can go and sit. bfi flare is an _ where people can go and sit. bfi flare is an internationally recognised lgbt+ film festival, it has been around for many years and i've been lucky enough to have other films there. it has its premiere tonight and i hope people can go and see it and learn more about it. it is very special for us all to be a. what is next? there is always

something next?— what is next? there is always something next? what is next? there is always somethin: next? ., ., something next? tonight, the movie show: irls is something next? tonight, the movie showgirls is playing _ something next? tonight, the movie showgirls is playing in _ something next? tonight, the movie showgirls is playing in los _ something next? tonight, the movie showgirls is playing in los angeles i showgirls is playing in los angeles at the academy museum and i am working on a documentary about the making of that film so about as far away from that subject matter as you can imagine so if there are any fans out there, watch this space not like it has a cult following these days. lovely to see you. thank you for joining us. lovely to see you. thank you for joining us— lovely to see you. thank you for “oininu us. ., ., , joining us. commitment to life is showin: joining us. commitment to life is showing at _ joining us. commitment to life is showing at the — joining us. commitment to life is showing at the bfi _ joining us. commitment to life is showing at the bfi flare - joining us. commitment to life is showing at the bfi flare film - showing at the bfi flare film festival today. finally this half hour to one of the most read stories on the bbc news website. i want to take you to the remote scottish 0rkney islands — you can see them here on this map. there are 70 individual islands but only 20 are inhabited. one of those islands is called sanday — it has a population of around 500 people but a mix—up with an order has left the sinclair general stores with this problem — hundreds of easter eggs — far more than the

people living there. now this is embarrased shop owner dan. he only wanted 80 eggs, but mistakenly orders 80 cases — a total of 720 chocolate eggs. clearly, a lot more than the people who live there. he is now raffling off 100 of the eggs to one lucky winner, in aid of the royal national lifeboat institution. it said that it was "eggstremely grateful". not my words, apologies for the pun. but if you have not got enough chocolate in your life, you know where to look. now it's time for a look at the weather with carol kirkwood. hello again. it has been a pretty cloudy and wet start to the day. through the course of the day, you will find some of us will hang on to the cloud and also some rain, but it will brighten up and will continue to do so through the afternoon from the north and west. it is also going to be mild. this is what we have got left

of this morning's rain across parts of northern england, in towards the wash, the midlands, parts of wales and the south—west. to the north of that, brightening up with more sunshine developing. to the south, if we see more breaks in the cloud and more sunshine coming through, we could actually reach 18 degrees today, higher than you would expect at this time of year. through this evening and overnight, the dregs of that weather front clear the south. clear skies following on behind and an early frost in the north, before the next batch of rain arrives with strengthening winds. 0ur overnight lows tonight, 4—8 degrees, north to south. we pick up that band of rain tomorrow as it sinks southwards but clearer skies ahead of it. still the dregs of the weather front in the south producing some cloud and it is going to be windy, especially so across the northern half of the country and especially the far north of scotland. temperatures tomorrow, 9—16 degrees, so still relatively mild, particularly so in the south. but then things start to change, as this cold front sinks south,

taking rain with it. the wind changes direction and you can see from the squeeze on the isobars, it is going to be windy in the north, with gales across the north west. it will remain fairly cloudy for much of the day across southern counties but we are looking at a fair bit of sunshine but a lot of showers, especially in northern and western scotland and northern ireland, some of those heavy with hail, potentially thunder, and wintry on the hills. as we head into the weekend, look at the blue right the way across the country, indicating colder conditions coming our way until monday. the wind changing to more of a northerly. during the course of saturday, still a fair bit of dry weather around, some brightness and sunshine, but a lot of showers and significant wind chill. some of the showers will be wintry on the hills and at lower levels, once again, we are looking at a mixture of rain, some thunder and lightning, possibly even some sleet in the heavier downpours. into sunday, still some showers. the focus of those will be in the east.

live from london, this is bbc news. an investigation reportedly begins at the clinic which treated the princess of wales ever claims that staff tried to access her private medical records. there's been a further slowdown in the rate at which prices are increasing, with inflation dropping to the lowest level in over two years. the liberal democrats are about to launch their local election campaign. we will bring you sir ed davey�*s speech.

and the london eye gets its annual spring clean — with staff braving heights of 135m to reach the glass pods on the iconic landmark. hello. the local elections take place on may the 2nd and ahead of that, all the political parties will be launching their campaigns to try and get your vote. the first of those is this morning. shortly, the liberal democrat leader sir ed davey will set out his party's pitch to voters. this is the scene live in harpenden in hertfordshire, where the event will take place. you can see that the activists are already there, holding those orange lib dem signs we are used to seeing at liberal democrat launches. sir ed davey is expected to appear there shortly. there is normally some sort of stunt when the liberal democrats launch a policy, so we are wondering what is

behind that white