interest rate cuts are on concrete. interest rate cuts are on the way following today's decision leaving rates unchanged. and now for sport and for a full round—up, from the bbc sport centre. hello from the bbc sport centre. it's a big night for wales later — they face finland at the cardiff city stadium. in their crucial euro 2024 qualifying playoff semi—final. the winner will face poland or estonia next tuesday to decide who makes it to germany this summer. having failed to qualify for a major tournament between 1958 and 2016, wales are aiming to reach their third successive euros. and the pressure of playoff football is nothing new for the welsh, they beat austria and ukraine in 2022 en—route to qualifying for theirfirst world cup in 64 yea rs. rob page's side must now replicate those performances — he says they're moving in the right direction. we've in the right direction. qualified in 2016, the semifinals we've qualified in 2016, the semifinals because of the success of that it's enabled us to invest the

money and give us the opportunity to qualify for the next euros, which is what we did. i work in progress, where qualified at least all the odds for the world cup. again, it's stepping stones for that going forward to and back one from our performances in the world cup, we've learned from that. luxembourg are looking to qualify for a major tournament for the first time. they're tournament for the first time. they�* re currently tournament for the first time. they're currently playing george a couple goalless. george also try to make the euros for the first time. the winner of that will play either kazakhstan or greece. poland or estonia await the winner of that game. eisen and israel, eisen rather waiting for the positive either ukraine. this weekends women six nation opener against italy on sunday. showing her 100 for the side. the a0 230 forty road flagler

made her debut in 2008 and becomes only the seventh woman to reach the masters for that waning does slam last year for the six nation title in a row for the reward all return to the start. team gb paralympics wives had their paris cycling world championship. team gb paralympics husband and wife neil and lora fachie were mugged and had their silver medals stolen, after the opening day of the para—cycling track world championships in rio. the fachies also had their passports and money stolen. neil posted on x, formerly twitter: "we're all 0k, other than being shaken up. " he added: "a sad way to end the day. " the fachies and pilots corrine hall and matt rotherham took silver behind italy in the tandem team sprint yesterday. to tennis — and jannik sinner�*s told the bbc that he's embracing the scrutiny that comes with winning his first grand slam title. the italian won the australian open injanuary after beatting daniil medvedev in a five set thiller. sinner�*s preparing for his second round match agianst andrea vavassori at the miami open on thursday.

a little bit but in another way i haven't changed as a person because... is for sure grateful that i feel lucky to be in the because... is for sure grateful that ifeel lucky to be in the position. that's it. if you lose that match the next day you have to work. if you win the match you work anyway. you have to be very careful with opponents because they know you, they want to be you. i like to be in this position because it makes me a better player. ronnie 0'sullivan is out of the world open after a surprise defeat by hossein vafaei in the last 16 in china. the world number one took the match to a deciding frame, with a brilliant break of 125, but was beaten in the best of nine frame match. the iranian will play ding jinhui in the last eight. elsewhere, 2019 championjudd trump will take on kyren wilson in the quarterfinals after his 5—3 win against david lilley. and that's all the sport for now.

here in the uk. the governor of the bank of england has said �*we are on our way to an interest rate cut�*. the bank has announced that interest rates are to remain unchanged at five point two five %. it's the fifth time in a row they've been held, at what is a 16—year high. andrew bailey says there's encouraging news on inflation but warned there would need to be evidence this will be sustained. he's been speaking to our economics editor, faisal islam. inflation has come down. it's come down as we expected but we still have some way to go, particularly with what i call the more persistent bits of inflation, particularly the services element, that's about half the total basket of prices, that's still about 6%. we don't need to see it come all the way down to a sustainable level consistent with the target but we do need to see further progress. but i do want to give this message very strongly, we have had very encouraging and good news, so i think we can say we're on the way.

but not quite yet? not quite yet, we've got to see more evidence that this is sustained and particularly sustained across the whole mix of things that form the inflation basket, but it is good news. so i think we can say we're on the way. but not quite yet in terms of. because so we've got to see more evidence that this is sustained and particularly sustained across the you across across the whole sort of in a sense, mix of things that form the inflation basket. and you said that we don't need to have it come all the way. it's probably worth just clarifying what you mean by that. you mean the services element don't have to cut down? we don't have yeah, we don't have to actually get inflation all the way back to target sustainably to cut rates for instance, because what we have to do is be convinced that it is going to go there. we should act ahead of time in that sense

because we have to be forward looking. are you still convinced one of the reasons for caution that you've expressed before is that inflation will go below target, partly because of the energy gap, but then it will sort of bump back up again over the summer. now, the 0br don't predict that. do you still stand by that forecast? well, that's the forecast we made at the beginning of february. we'll make another one beginning of may. we did have that view back in february because we're going to see quite a i think quite a drop in inflation because when the next 0fgem price setting takes effect. so that will be the april number that comes out in may. now we did think back in february, yes, but that will that will that will come off as these sort of annual effects work out. we'll take another view on that in may markets pricing in two we'll take another view on that in may. markets pricing in two or three cuts this year, is that what people in home should expect? well, i'm not going to endorse the market curve, but i think it's reasonable that markets are taking that view, given the way inflation has performed. but that's not a prediction for me as to what's going to happen, either on timing oramount, but i am encouraged. prime minister has been talking about a turnaround in the economy, a bounce back, even engaging

with the concept of green shoots of recovery. is that where you see things? well, i think the pretty small technical recession that we appear to have seen at the end of second half of last year now appears to be going away. i think we've got a pretty consistent set of indicators coming out on the economy to suggest it's picking up. but obviously, there's a lot, a lot that we want and need to see in place. but i think there are reasons to believe that we're now seeing an end to that smallish technical recession that we saw last year. there's a lot of pressure still people are feeling, particularly on things like mortgage costs and borrowing costs. they see us as right now still in recession. they see it coming down to target and they're wondering why can't if you've got to cut in two or three months' time, why not just cut now? because we need to see consistent progress towards hitting the target. we've had good signs. i'm encouraged, but we do need to see that consistently on the way to the target. and i'm hopeful that that's what we'll see. i'm very hopeful, actually, at the moment. it's quite interesting looking at the mortgage markets. it could because you see the rates came down sharply injanuary, then went up again and then some of them are coming down again.

they're sort of anticipating what the bank will do and it's leading to a bit of uncertainty in the mortgage market. well, i think you're right that rates came down in tail end last year, early part of this year, as markets, i think, adjusted to the fact that around the world, actually, it's not just in this country, the path of rates was lower. they do move around a bit. mortgages are now set off market rates because we have predominantly fixed rate mortgages in this country. so they're set for two years, five years, and they're priced off market rates, not directly off our official rate. so they will move around a bit with markets. the governor of the bank of england speaking a little earlier. tens of thousands of children are at risk of being groomed and coerced into crime by organised gangs — according to a leading child protection expert. professor alexis jay, who revealed the extent of sexual exploitation in rotherham, is warning of an urgent but preventable crisis. following an inquiry for the charity action for children she's concluded there's no national strategy for dealing

with this type of crime. here's our home affairs correspondent tom symonds. if they knew you were talking to me right now, what would they do to you? i don't think i'd be alive. seriously. i genuinely think i would end up six feet under. that's why we're not revealing joe's identity, or the area where, as a child, worked for a criminal gang in scotland. if they wanted me to go and sell something for them, i had to go and do it. if i had to go and hit someone for them, i had to go and do it. or it was me that was paying the price. why are children being exploited and coerced into crime? professor alexis jay took evidence from 70 people and organisations in an inquiry commissioned by the charity action for children. a big factor in it appeared to be loneliness, isolation, the desire, and how good it felt, to be part of something, even though it was criminal activity. they controlled my life without me realising they were controlling my life.

what i found most shocking generally was the casual violence that was involved. knife crime, of course. but we also heard about the use of machetes, bats, and hammers and axes. it's driving a rise in violent youth crime. and she says the government — all parties — need to act. it needs a national focus and a national strategy. and equally importantly, it needs the introduction of a new offence of child criminal exploitation. you're saying there's no strategy at the moment? none. no. it's uncoordinated, fragmented, piecemeal. the home office is focused on fighting crime gangs who use dedicated phone lines to sell drugs. £5 million has been earmarked over three years to help exploited children and their families. butjoe's mum said she asked for help and, for years, no—one listened. i tried everything.

i tried phoning the police. i tried going to school. i tried social services. what happened ? they told me it was all in my head, like i was a bad parent. _ there was nothing wrong. she was left alone in a battle for the loyalty of her son against the gang. you want to kill - them, but you can't. you can't do anything. can't say nothing. but she clung on tojoe. and with the help of youth workers, he's now free of the gang. tom symonds, bbc news, glasgow. headteachers in england say they're missing out on vital funds to fix leaking roofs and outdated classrooms — after money was diverted to schools found to have crumbling concrete. some schools have been waiting decades for money for repairs, but those with the dangerous concrete known as raac, are now taking priority, as our education correspondent hazel shearing reports.

in 2005, 1a—year—old mark malloch appeared on tv campaigning for a new school building atjoseph leckie academy in walsall. nearly two decades later, we invited him back to talk with current students about what's changed and, more importantly, what hasn't now that the school has given up hope of getting the building replaced. has it ever flooded when you guys have been here? the entrance floods quite a lot when it rains. it's been so many years and still, like, so many| things have not improved. we have a music room and when it's raining the roof is leaking into the instruments and everything. it puts me off that i have to come to this building and work here. other lessons, in different buildings, makes it better, makes it better to learn. the school hall dates from the second world war and is too small to fit even one year group in, so assemblies are live streamed. this building still smells exactly the same. as soon as you get up those stairs,

you can smell the damp. the school applied to be rebuilt in 2022 but was rejected. now the final spots on the government's school rebuilding programme in england have been mostly taken up by schools with a specific type of crumbly concrete known as raac. this school doesn't have raac, does it? no, the school's got everything else wrong with it, but what it doesn't have, it doesn't have problems with raac. it feels really frustrating. it feels like we've reached a point where we've tried all avenues to get the funding for our building and we don't seem to fall into any of the categories. so, what about the schools that do have raac? scalby school in scarborough also applied in 2022, before it even knew it had problems with the concrete. it was turned down then, only to be added last month. this is a building that's tired. it's past its sell— by date. through the fabric of i those buildings, there's asbestos within them. it isn't good enough that students are having to put up with, - and it is put up with,

these facilities in - 21st—century britain. the department for education said it had identified raac and confirmed how its removal would be funded in a matter of months and had invested more than £15 billion to improve school buildings since 2015. atjoseph leckie, there have at least been some improvements over the past 20 years. this one works. but with a bigger group of year 7 students set to squeeze in from september, there's still much work to be done. this one works. all the taps are working! a lot�*s changed in 20 years. hazel shearing, bbc news. joining me now is james ludlow — the principal atjoseph leckie school in walsall. his school was turned down for a spot on the rebuilding programme in 2022 despite having a myriad of issues with the building. presumably you understand that raac became a priority because of danger

to peoples potentially. that is left schools like yours but the problem in that you've been bumped down the list. ,., ., in that you've been bumped down the list. ,. , ., list. good evening. the schools that have raac, — list. good evening. the schools that have raac. i've _ list. good evening. the schools that have raac, i've spoken _ list. good evening. the schools that have raac, i've spoken to - list. good evening. the schools that have raac, i've spoken to head - have raac, i've spoken to head teachers that have raac absolutely need the funding to sort out the issues so they can get people back into the classrooms willed up but i don't see that that should take priority over schools like ours where we've been waiting for over 20 years to get the facilities that we need for our students. back in 2005 the students put together the video you saw there was at the school was earmarked to be part of the building schools of the future program. that programme was scrapped and the school then had to bid for condition of funding for the it was successful, that led to the department for education visit to the school. they look at the state of the old buildings we're looking to refurbish and they said, you

can't refurbish those building, they are at the end of life you will need to do it in three stages and to bed via conditional of improvement funding for new blocks. 0ver via conditional of improvement funding for new blocks. over the next six to eight years as with the academy did. it paid successfully twice over about an eight year period. then we've come to the final part of the jigsaw, the demolition of the building and the building of the final block. that's where we've hit hidden buffers. that's where we find ourselves in a position where we can no longer bid for improvement because the cost of the project is gone above the limit of ea million. when the school rebuilding project came along in 2022 we saw that as our opportunity to finish that jigsaw, get the facilities that we need for our students and to get the building up to the standard that is needed. we put our bid and for that, we were really hopeful. in fact surveyors from the department for education visited and we took that

is a really good sign. in one of the first a00 schools, we were not. we still held out we might be part of the last 100. when they were announced in february we were not on that list either because in teepees of the school building it has got pretty much everything wrong with it that you can imagine. water comes in, leaks, etc but it does not have raac. we didn't qualify for the school rebuilding program. it leaves us in the position we're in, stop. just give us a sense... it seems you've had 20 years of theirs. a school is about his teachers, pupils, the staff but how important is the building and what impact do you think it's had on your pupils over those years and generations, actually? over those years and generations, actuall ? , , . ., , actually? pupils in the community are art actually? pupils in the community are part of — actually? pupils in the community are part of their _ actually? pupils in the community are part of their school. _ actually? pupils in the community are part of their school. it's - actually? pupils in the community are part of their school. it's gone | are part of their school. it's gone from strength to strength for that

we're often rated good and we're proud of those. we're in an area of high deprivation. we're trying to raise aspirations and trying to inspire our students to go on to achieve great things. i don't think you can do that very easily for that yes, you can upgrade teachers and have great staff but you can't do that easily and at a building that is tired, that's cold, that isn't watertight itjust looks terrible for that is one of the student said, they come to the building and it doesn't inspire them. to have a canteen that's old and not fit for purpose and a whole that doesn't take a whole year group for them if you have an outside speaker come in sometimes we have to go down the road to the football club and higher their suite at a great cost and expense because we haven't got a facility in the school to host any

kind of event like that it's really frustrating. 0ur six farmers don't have a good area. the classrooms we're using more of them because we took 300 students last september. we've grown in size so that we're really popular school with parents. we're having to use all of the classrooms that we should no longer be using because back in 2012 in the department for education came to visit they said, you can't refurbish this building, it's reach the end of their lives. mr this building, it's reach the end of their lives-— this building, it's reach the end of their lives. ~ ., ., , ., their lives. mr ludlow, we hear your frustration- — their lives. mr ludlow, we hear your frustration. i'm _ their lives. mr ludlow, we hear your frustration. i'm sure _ their lives. mr ludlow, we hear your frustration. i'm sure it _ their lives. mr ludlow, we hear your frustration. i'm sure it is _ their lives. mr ludlow, we hear your frustration. i'm sure it is shared - frustration. i'm sure it is shared by many other head teachers across england just waiting for that much needed money. thank you for speaking to us here on bbc news. a motherfrom durham who carried out a "campaign of cruelty" against her three—year—old son has been convicted of his murder. dwelaniyah robinson was killed by a fatal head injury caused by a forceful shaking at his home near durham in november 2022. christina robinson

had denied murder. she will be sentenced for her "sadistic cruelty" in may. joining me now is our reporter fiona trott. take us through the background of this case, please. it’s take us through the background of this case, please.— this case, please. it's hard to imaaine this case, please. it's hard to imagine how _ this case, please. it's hard to imagine how a _ this case, please. it's hard to imagine how a mugger - this case, please. it's hard to imagine how a mugger two . this case, please. it's hard to - imagine how a mugger two pregnant mother could inflict such injuries on her own boys. what we heard in court was athena robinson burned him with boiling water as a punishment for soiling himself. she came to him for soiling himself. she came to him for playing with his food and shook him so hard that it caused a fatal brain injury. she tried to explain most of this away in court. she said immersing him in hot water was an accident. instead she said he was a clumsy boy. and the reason why he stop reading that day was because he was choking on a cheese sandwich. their persecution said she was a liar. they described all this as

remorseless arrogance. what she didn't lie about was the use of the cane. she said she had hit him with it because at that time she was following her religious teachings. hearing details of how she murdered him is hard enough. also upsetting about this case is the fact that she didn't seek medical help for the wounds she had inflicted on him. they were over 60 of them. when he collapsed that day because he had stopped breathing she didn't call an ambulance for at least 20 minutes. today she showed no emotion when the verdicts were returned. and how different that was to the jury, three of them wept in court here today. it shows just how distressing this trial has been. christina robinson will return to court at a later date for sentencing. the conservative candidate in the greater manchester mayoral election has defected to reform uk.

dan barker says the tories have failed to provide any support for him. the conservative party say they will shortly begin a selection process for a new candidate. in reaction to his defection, a conservative party source has said: "the party received under 20% of the vote in manchester in 2021 and they have to be realistic about their prospects in this election. i think they think they can take people for granted. i think they've given up on greater manchester and the north of england. and what i see from inside the party and they treated me and treated other people. i think that they are just interested in saving the blue wall seats in the southeast west. i think the what left of conservativism, their centre party, more social democratic than conservative. i think the whole is reform uk. it’s

think the whole is reform uk. it's been ten years for the first in victor's games. since sent thousands have participated for wu jude, injured and sick military serviceman for the today hosting the games once again in birmingham. graham satchell hasa again in birmingham. graham satchell has a story of the games so far. for a decade now former service have competed in the in victor's game. warriors scarred by war and conflict in fierce competition. —— in victor's games. in victor's is the brainchild of prince harry, the duke of sussex. harry served two terms in afghanistan. of sussex. harry served two terms in afghanistan-— afghanistan. these games are not solely about _ afghanistan. these games are not solely about rebuttals _ afghanistan. these games are not solely about rebuttals or - afghanistan. these games are not solely about rebuttals or finishing | solely about rebuttals or finishing lines, they are about overcoming any and all perceptions that have held you back, especially those you placed on yourselves. the redemptive

ower of placed on yourselves. the redemptive power of the — placed on yourselves. the redemptive power of the games _ placed on yourselves. the redemptive power of the games has _ placed on yourselves. the redemptive power of the games has been - placed on yourselves. the redemptive power of the games has been really . power of the games has been really extraordinary. they've given injured personnel camaraderie come up purpose. personnel camaraderie come up --urose. , . ., purpose. invivtus came along. incited purpose. invivtus came along. incited out _ purpose. invivtus came along. incited out i _ purpose. invivtus came along. incited out i smile. _ purpose. invivtus came along. incited out i smile. it - purpose. invivtus came along. incited out i smile. itjust - purpose. invivtus came along. l incited out i smile. itjust brings a reel— incited out i smile. itjust brings a real smile, that real happiness back _ a real smile, that real happiness back that— a real smile, that real happiness back. that goes up to the families. fantastic — back. that goes up to the families. fantastic. the game started in london in 201a. a youthful look and harry was from the start for the we've had e—mails from america, uk, children, wives, husbands you've named it all over the place saying, wow, i literally given up all my life until i saw what you guys if it's cheese. that's what it's about. invivtus means on comparable. today bringing the games back to the uk to birmingham in 2027. that's almost it for me. now if you've ever dreamed

of striking gold, feast your eyes on this: the largest gold nugget everfound in england. it weighs 65 grams and was found by a metal detectorist in the shropshire hills last year. it's been put up for auction and is expected to fetch between £30,000 and £a0,000. thank you forjoining me. good evening. there have been mixed fortunes across the country once again today for much of central and southern england. it stayed largely fine and dry with glimpses of sunshine, in fact, in london. in fact, in london once again, we had temperatures into the mid—teens so you could get out and enjoy the beautiful cherry blossom that we've got at the moment. it was a different story, however, further north and west, the rain not too heavy, but it was a nuisance, as you can see from lancashire just a few hours ago. now, this weatherfront will continue to sink its way south and east, clearing the southeast during friday and then behind it under this influence of low pressure.

a cooler story is set to dominate, so it will be a rather murky start with some light, drizzly rain pushing its way southeast behind it somewhat brighter with a rash of showers and gale force gusts of winds to the far north. so, we could see that frontjust lingering across the kent coast during the afternoon. but a brighter story across england and wales, few isolated showers, but look at the difference in the temperature. notably cooler feel out there. further showers into northern ireland and scotland accompanied by gales, perhaps severe gales across the northern isle. so that really will make it feel quite chilly here. and some of those showers will start to turn quite wintry to higher ground. low pressure drifts its way steadily east. the winds remain tightly packed with those isobars for the start of saturday. and that weather front will continue to enhance the showers. so a chilly start to the weekend, low single figures in many rural spots and there will be some showers from the word go across scotland

and northern ireland. these will, yes, be of snow to higher ground and will then get to see some showers developing across england and wales. some of these heavy with some hail and maybe some thunder mixed in there as well. and temperatures will remain on the cool side. gusty winds, 35 to a5 miles an hour and temperatures down on where they should be really for this time of year. a brief ridge of high pressure for sunday quiets things down, but not for long. low pressure once again set to return into next week, keeping things again quite cool for this time of year and unsettled. so yes, sunday the better of the two days through the weekend, but there's further showers or longer spells of rain and temperatures a little bit below par as we head towards easter weekend.

at 6:00pm, the government's told to act swiftly and compensate millions of women born in the 1950s who lost out in changes to their pensions. campaigners say lives have been ruined with many women pushed into poverty because they weren't told about the rise in the state pension age. we're on the way to future interest rate cuts, says the bank of england, but not yet, as rates are again held at 5.25%. the uk sees the biggest rise in absolute poverty for 30 years due to the energy price crisis. how artificial intelligence is helping diagnose breast cancer cases that doctors would miss.

coming up on sports daily during the hour on bbc news, who can stop england's red roses? they name their team for the weekend as they prepared to start the defence of their six nations grand slam title. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. millions of women born in the 1950s who weren't properly informed about the rising pension age should be given compensation by the government. that's the recommendation from the parliamentary 0mbudsman which has been looking at the impact of bringing women's retirement age in line with men's. the campaign group women against state pension inequality —

or waspi — say many have suffered financially because of the changes.