the bbc discovers a report that shows the post office spent £100 million of public money fighting postmasters in court despite knowing their defence was untrue. we have an exclusive investigation. judges order israel to take all necessary action to make sure aid reaches the palestinian population in gaza. the former billionaire crypto boss — sam bankman freed — who was convicted for one of the biggest financial crimes in us history — is about to be sentenced. and a special message from the king marking maundy thursday. we need and benefit greatly from those who extend the hand of friendship to us, especially in a time of need.

hello, i'm matthew amroliwala, welcome to verified live, welcome to verified live. it's been described as the uk's most widespread miscarriage ofjustice — the post office scandal, where hundreds of sub—postmasters and postmistresses were prosecuted for stealing money because of incorrect information provided by a computer system called horizon. the scandal has made headlines across the world — and now, a draft report uncovered by the bbc shows the post office spent 100 million pounds of public money fighting sub—postmasters in court despite knowing its defence was untrue. the document reveals the post office was shown evidence by 2017 that losses could be due to errors in the horizon it system or remote tampering. but it kept arguing until 2019 in the bates v post office ltd trial that theft or mistakes by sub—postmasters must be to blame. the case was portrayed in the recent itv drama mr bates vs the post office. the lead barrister for the sub—postmasters in the case said the bbc�*s findings were shocking, and that the report shows that the case need not

have happened at all. zoe conway has this exclusive report. in mid wales there is something missing. for years this house was the village post office but not any more. hello. hi joan, nice to meet you. there was a counter that went from that wall there, all the way across. this was all part of the shop, and then the post office was at the end. customers used to sit down and have a cup of tea with us. joan and her husband had to give up thejobs they loved after being accused of stealing thousands of pounds. in the beginning, joan blamed herself for the shortfall. tell me about the scale of the losses. in total i worked it it was roughly about £110,000. i was thinking, well,

it must be me that's doing something wrong. you blamed yourself? yes. yes i did. but she came to realise the horizon system was at fault. how else to explain that the numbers on her computer screen dramatically changed overnight? we were in bed. nobody else can get in the house. and itjust didn't make sense. when they were suspended from running the post office, some villagers assumed they had stolen the money. we were just pariahs. to be thought of as a thief and somebody you can't trust, you know, we always worked hard. itjust seemed wrong we should be treated this way. whatjoan couldn't have known, and what this secret 2017 report makes clear, is that her account could be accessed remotely

without her knowledge. commissioned by the post office, it said employees had the ability to amend or delete transactions entered by branch staff. the system wouldn't flag up to a postmaster a change had been made, and those changes could cause a shortfall in branch accounts. it also said a malicious actor could potentially change data. ron warmington was hired by the post office to investigate concerns about the horizon system. when he started uncovering problems, he was sacked. why does this report matter? it is unbelievably damning. every person has been hoodwinked into believing that nobody else was meddling with that person's numbers, and this report shows that yes, it was happening on an industrial scale. going to law will force the post office to open their files. so finally, we will get to know everything the post office knows. the truth.

the sub—postmasters took the post office to court in 2018. by then, post office management, lawyers and investigators knew about findings within the report. but instead of coming clean, they kept it secret. despite knowing their defence was false, they continued to discredit the postmasters. i am shocked. i really am shocked. the barrister who acted for the sub—postmasters has never seen the report before. this is exactly the sort of thing that we would have wanted the sub—postmasters took the post office to court in 2018. by then, post office management, lawyers and investigators knew about findings within the report. but instead of coming clean, they kept it secret. despite knowing their defence was false, they continued to discredit the postmasters. i am shocked. i really am shocked. the barrister who acted for the sub—postmasters has never seen the report before. this is exactly the sort of thing that we would have wanted to have and to analyse, and put in front of the judge. it is them admitting they could do in 2017, something they were still denying, that they could do in 2019.

the case dragged on for two years. it cost the taxpayer more than £100 million. i don't think the case should have happened. it should have been settled. and it is a great shame some of the people have died since then, without having their names cleared, it's tragic, and very very sad. it is an absolutely astonishing victory. patrick green as portrayed in the itv drama. when victory came, it was bitter—sweet. the vast majority of the postmasters�* compensation was swallowed up in legal fees. in a statement, the post office said it was deeply sorry for the impact the scandal has had on people, and told the bbc the public inquiry�*s next phase would look at the issues raised. fujitsu said it regards this matter where the utmost seriousness

and offered its deepest apologies so the sup postmasters and their families. and offered its deepest apologies so the sun postmasters it is disgusting. disgusting. joan, along with many of the other postmasters is still fighting for compensation. butjustice is about so much more than money. dignity is something you can't buy, with any amount of money, it has to be there for people to think, i've got my dignity back now. i'm not going to be called a liar any more. zoe conway, bbc news, wales. later we will get reaction to that, a member of the horizon composition advisory board who oversees compensation related to that post office horizon scandal so that in

important interview coming up in about 15 minutes�* time. more breaking news this hour because the international court ofjustice has just ordered israel to take all necessary action to ensure basic food supplies reach the palestinian population in gaza. thejudges at the hague said famine was taken hold in gaza, the ruling follows a request lodged by south africa which accuses israel of stately genocide in gaza. israel is vehemently denied its military campaign aimed at hamas is illegal and has blamed the un for causing delays in the delivery of aid. earlier on the programme... james elderfrom the un children's agency, unicef. he's in gaza right now. we get asked so constantly about, "do people still have hope?" and i often refer to, "yes, mothers will explain that is all they've got left." and then we have spoken to teenage

girls who are so utterly exhausted and depressed by this, remembering things like there are 3,500 people to a shower for an adolescent girl, and some of these adolescent girls have said they wish they were killed, they are so exhausted by this nightmare that they have said they want it to be over and they want to be hit by a bomb. and the horrendous reality is that you hear things here all the time that you shouldn't normally hear, and you hear them time and again, matthew, whether it's that or whether it's talking to a child who has lost their entire family. and, yes, when the bombardments are intense, as they often are, particularly they seem to be intense since the security council resolution on monday, when you're lying in bed because there is no protection here, or certainly for everyone else, you lie there just waiting. and you think it does feel like a coffin, a bit like a coffin, and you think of those children who have done that every single night for 5.5 months. it's why a ceasefire is a game—changer — get hostages home and allow a child and their mother to go to bed knowing with full knowledge that they'll wake up. they haven't had that for a long time.

those are extraordinary descriptions, james. just talk me through in terms of some of those comments from the un and the response we've had from the israeli spokespeople, in terms of aid, is it being blocked? i think the easiest thing for me to do isjust to share numbers — just hard facts, matthew. in the first three weeks of march, one quarter of requests for aid convoys were denied. we have to take aid from the south. it's on a very busy coastal road. tens of thousands of people there. we need an access point in the north. when i've been in the north and i see of people hand to mouth, that universal symbol for, "please, hunger," when people in the north just say to me, "food, food, food." and it's very revealing why they say that. they say that because they assume the world doesn't know, because if the world knew, how would they be in that position? of course, the world does know.

so when i see those people, or mothers hunched over paper—thin babies, given the nutritional crisis, there is an access point, a crossing 15 minutes away. when unicef has a convoy from our warehouse to when it reaches people, we have two load and unload trucks four times. so it is monumentally difficult, it is unnecessarily so, i guess if you want to be really optimistic this man—made imminent famine can be turned around if there is a willingness to make the right decisions, decisions for civilians here. that was james elder from unicef talking to me in the last hour. here in the uk, mps and peers have signed a letter urging the government to ban arms sales to israel. signed by more than 130 parliamentarians it mentions actions taken by other countries, most recently canada, which announced last week it would bring all arms exports to israel, to an end. i spoke to the mp zarah sultana, who coordinated the letter,

about why parliamentarians have signed it. well, 32,000 palestinians have died — 70% of those women and children. 80% of infrastructure, civilian infrastructure in gaza, including schools, universities and hospitals has been destroyed by the brutal bombardment of israel in gaza, and what we are seeing also is starvation being used as a weapon of war. now famine is a reality in gaza, children are dying of hunger, so we are seeing flagrant violations of international law, and unless our government acts, we are complicit in that through our arms deals with israel. so you're in no doubt, in your mind, that you support what the un was saying to the bbc, about the use of food, starvation, as a tactic of war, no doubt in your mind — you will have heard what the israelis have said in response, dismissing that, blaming it in part on the united nations and others, talking about hamas interfering with the distribution of aid — no doubt, though, in your mind? numerous aid agencies

have reported this. even david cameron, lord cameron has admitted it too, that israel is stopping the aid deliveries from being spread out throughout gaza. we know that famine is prevalent in the area right now, and we are hearing that from people who are living there, who are working there. what we see, as parliamentarians, is government complicity. we are not impartial, we have an active role in what is going on, and we can play a role in stopping this. so when we look at the violations of international law, and we look at the icj's interim ruling, which said there is a plausible risk of genocide, we have to do everything that we can, and at the moment we are simply not doing enough. line of breaking news in the uk because we are just hearing that more than 600 border force officers

at heathrow airport or to take four days of strike action from april the 11th in a dispute over shifts coming from the union. so heathrow airport will be hit with four days of industrial action from april the 11th, more than 600 orderforce officers likely to be involved. so a significant breaking news for heathrow airport. as we get more will obviously return to that. let's turn to new york. where samuel bankman—fried once dubbed the �*crypto king' has been sentenced to 25 years for what's been called, one of the biggest financial crimes in us history. the 32—year—old founded the crypto currency exchange ftx, which made him a billionaire, before it collapsed in spectacularfashion. he was found guilty of fraud and money laundering last year. let's speak to our new york business correspondent, erin delmore,

erin delmore. everyone was on tender hooks coming after a lengthy preamble in the courthouse talking about sam bankman—fried's actions into his behaviours. pointing not only to the crimes that a jury decided sam bankman—fried had committed during the trial which they did five months ago but also talking about bankman—fried's demeanour, his likelihood of re—committing crimes if you were released early or with a smaller prison sentence. in talking about his lack of contrition, showing that while bankman—fried would say something like, and mistakes were made, he would not take responsibility and the judge said that continued up until this day. in said that continued up until this da . , ., ., , said that continued up until this da . , ., . , ~' , day. in terms of what is likely to ha en, day. in terms of what is likely to happen. is _ day. in terms of what is likely to happen, is there _ day. in terms of what is likely to happen, is there any _ day. in terms of what is likely to happen, is there any sort - day. in terms of what is likely to happen, is there any sort of - happen, is there any sort of indication from his defence team of any sort of appeal?— any sort of appeal? what we know ri . ht any sort of appeal? what we know riaht now any sort of appeal? what we know right now is _ any sort of appeal? what we know right now is a _ any sort of appeal? what we know right now is a sentence _ any sort of appeal? what we know right now is a sentence of - any sort of appeal? what we knowj right now is a sentence of 25 years has been handed down by thejudge including some years of supervised

re—release and part of what the judge set amounted to that sentence was, losses that totalled more than $11 billion, he said. this is how he calculated his decision. as you know, the defence have been asking for far less, just 5—6 years. so we are waiting to see what action they will take further, but for today, thatis will take further, but for today, that is the number handed down by thejudge. that is the number handed down by the we ., , the judge. remind our reviewers, because we _ the judge. remind our reviewers, because we are _ the judge. remind our reviewers, because we are talking _ the judge. remind our reviewers, because we are talking about - the judge. remind our reviewers, because we are talking about the | because we are talking about the liens of dollars, take us through what this meant actually did in terms of the fraud and money laundering —— billions of dollars. sam bankman—fried was the crypto golden boy, founder of ftx exchange where customers could trade dollars and pounds for crypto currency and he assured those customers, as his ftx was collapsing was safe but when customers went to withdraw funds in november 2022 they were not there in the jury had found that it had been

moved to an investment fund and that sam bankman—fried used that money to enrich himself and his inner circle to make political donations in charitable contributions and buy luxury real estate. so when customers went to pull their money out, it was not there. £311" out, it was not there. our correspondent _ out, it was not there. our correspondent in - out, it was not there. our correspondent in new - out, it was not there. our correspondent in new york there. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news.

this is bbc news. in india, deepening religious polarisation and increasing islamophobia have marked narendra modi's second term in power. ahead of the general election, which is due to begin next month, people from the muslim community, which constitutes india's largest minority, have told the bbc they feel they are being marginalised and suppressed. the government denies the allegations. our south asia correspondent yogita limaye reports from northern india — a warning that her report contains images that some viewers may find distressing.

out on the streets of the capital, delhi, a policeman assaulted muslims offering prayers. just outside goa, a muslim man was beaten by a mob, forced to chant the name of a hindu deity. and injaipur in the north—west, a family devastated by perhaps the most chilling incident of violence against muslims in india. umesa begum's husband, the father of their five children, mohammed asgar ali, was among three muslim passengers shot dead by a railway policeman on a train. "if his killer was a muslim, he would have been hanged by now, "but that won't happen, because he's a hindu," asgar�*s daughter, amina, said.

"no—one can return my father to us." the constable filmed here, standing with a foot on asgar�*s bloodied body. a man who's meant to protect people issues a threat, seemingly to india's muslims. "we know your masters are in pakistan, "but if you want to live here, vote for prime minister modi." the policeman is being tried for murder, but it's rattled the community. india is home to one of the largest muslim populations in the world, and while religious fault lines have often stoked tensions, the sense of anxiety within the muslim minority has rarely ever been as deep as it is now under mr modi's government. evidence that points to a pattern of persecution is often found in rubble.

human rights groups have recently raised concerns about what they say are illegal demolitions, targeted specifically at muslim homes, businesses and places of worship in different parts of india. behind me here is the debris of a mosque in south delhi. next to it, there was a muslim religious school. now, historians have said that this mosque was at least 600 years old. the government, however, says these were illegal structures and destroyed it all. the school was home to dozens of children, most of them orphans, seen in these videos filmed by their teachers before the demolition. they're now scattered. we met 12—year—old mohammad zeeshan, temporarily housed at another islamic school.

"i feel fear whenever i think of that moment," he said of bulldozers and policemen. "they forced us out and didn't allow us to take even our shoes. "it was a cold winter morning." the indian government didn't respond to the bbc�*s questions. but we met zafar islam, a muslim spokesman from the prime minister's party. it is the opposition parties who are using muslim community as a shield. they're feeling the heat. muslim community is absolutely comfortable. they're happy. but some people have told us this. we have recorded this. ordinary people, not political parties. if one or two people say such a thing, it cannot be true for the entire community. the ruling party doesn't have a single mp from the country's largest minority. just one more factor that contributes to the unease we found on the ground. there is a very major sense of insecurity here, right? for example, if you take your mic and you walk around here, there won't be many people who would be looking to talk to you.

translation: the most beautiful thing about india is its diversity, i but that is now being crushed - and the main victims are muslims. critics see the upcoming election as an inflection point for india's long—cherished secular ideals. yogita limaye, bbc news, delhi. king charles with great sadness missing, missing public events while in treatment from cancer. more than a thousand people break the cold to greet the queen today many have been waiting hours to grab the best spots. many have been waiting hours to grab the best spots-— the best spots. does been the customs of — the best spots. does been the customs of the _ the best spots. does been the customs of the of _ the best spots. does been the customs of the of queen - the best spots. does been the - customs of the of queen elizabeth to give thanks. the customs of the of queen elizabeth to cive thanks. ., ., , , customs of the of queen elizabeth to give thanks-— give thanks. the annual serves as an entry tradition _ give thanks. the annual serves as an entry tradition starkly _ give thanks. the annual serves as an entry tradition starkly taking - give thanks. the annual serves as an entry tradition starkly taking place i entry tradition starkly taking place in or near london. queen elizabeth

change that and during her reign it was held around the country. this the last time it happened here. the crowds they may have been slightly bigger than today, but that may have been down to the absence of the king. the news about the cancer treatment that both the king and princess katherine are receiving is very much on the minds of the people who have turned up to see the queen today. it who have turned up to see the queen toda . , . , , , . today. it is incredibly difficult and i today. it is incredibly difficult and i think— today. it is incredibly difficult and i think more _ today. it is incredibly difficult and i think more important. today. it is incredibly difficult i and i think more important than today. it is incredibly difficult - and i think more important than ever we support— and i think more important than ever we support the royal family at this time its— we support the royal family at this time it's is— we support the royal family at this time it's is a great way to show it. it is important to show support for the crown in these difficult times. they are stoic and they are true to their_ they are stoic and they are true to their country. _ they are stoic and they are true to their country, true _ they are stoic and they are true to their country, true to _ they are stoic and they are true to their country, true to their- they are stoic and they are true to their country, true to their people | their country, true to their people and we _ their country, true to their people and we need _ their country, true to their people and we need be _ their country, true to their people and we need be true _ their country, true to their people and we need be true to— their country, true to their people and we need be true to them. - and we need be true to them. although _ and we need be true to them. although the _ and we need be true to them. although the king _ and we need be true to them. although the king said - and we need be true to them. although the king said his. and we need be true to them. - although the king said his absence had called caused greats great ideas he set a recorded message. in had called caused greats great ideas he set a recorded message.- he set a recorded message. in this country we — he set a recorded message. in this country we are _ he set a recorded message. in this country we are blessed _ he set a recorded message. in this country we are blessed by - he set a recorded message. in this country we are blessed by all- he set a recorded message. in this country we are blessed by all of. he set a recorded message. in this| country we are blessed by all of the different services that exist for our welfare. different services that exist for ourwelfare. but different services that exist for our welfare. but over and above these organisations and their selfless start, we need and benefit greatly from those who extend the

hand of friendship to us. especially in a time of need.— hand of friendship to us. especially in a time of need._ john i hand of friendship to us. especially i in a time of need._ john has in a time of need. welcome. john has devoted his — in a time of need. welcome. john has devoted his life _ in a time of need. welcome. john has devoted his life to _ in a time of need. welcome. john has devoted his life to the _ in a time of need. welcome. john has devoted his life to the church - in a time of need. welcome. john has devoted his life to the church and - devoted his life to the church and service in his parish in worcester. among the hundred 50 people who were given maundy money today. than given maundy money today. an enormous sense of honour really never _ enormous sense of honour really never expected anything like that to happen— never expected anything like that to happen to _ never expected anything like that to happen to me. it�*s never expected anything like that to happen to me— happen to me. it's what will you do with the money? _ happen to me. it's what will you do with the money? keep _ happen to me. it's what will you do with the money? keep it _ happen to me. it's what will you do with the money? keep it and - happen to me. it's what will you do i with the money? keep it and treasure it. kee it with the money? keep it and treasure it- keep it and — with the money? keep it and treasure it. keep it and show _ with the money? keep it and treasure it. keep it and show it _ with the money? keep it and treasure it. keep it and show it off. _ with the money? keep it and treasure it. keep it and show it off. there - it. keep it and show it off. there was a small— it. keep it and show it off. there was a small but _ it. keep it and show it off. there was a small but noisy _ was a small but noisy anti—monarchist protest outside, but it was drowned out by well—wishers. and the queen rewarded them for their patience as she left the cathedral. those are our main stories here on bbc news.

hello there, good afternoon. it won't be completely dry this weekend. there's always a chance of some further showers, longer spells of rain, but a lot of dry weather around. today though, blustery showers pushing northwards, longer spells of rain at times, and coastal gales. towards the south coast of england and across the channel islands, there could be some gusts of around 60 to 65 miles an hour. a deep area of low pressure descending, the showers and the rain spiralling around it. we're seeing some particularly heavy downpours of rain across eastern areas of northern ireland. but here the rain should largely clear as we head through the rest of the afternoon, some showers arriving, perhaps again by the time we get to the end of the day. this rain will be pushing into central, eventually northern areas of scotland. otherwise, these thundery showers just pushing northward, squally gusts of wind in association with those showers, perhaps some hail at times. temperatures for most in double figures, but cooler across northern ireland and also eastern scotland, with quite a brisk easterly blowing here. now, as we head through this evening and overnight, a lot of showers around. watch out for some icy stretches as the skies clear across northern ireland. and there could be some longer

spells of rain perhaps edging into north—western scotland as well. some clearer spells, too, across the midlands, into north wales and perhaps for northern england into tomorrow morning. now, tomorrow, a much simpler day of weather in that most of us will be seeing sunshine and showers. that rain will clear away from north—west scotland, the western isles as we head through the afternoon. and temperatures will be just that a little bit higher. just watch out for some thunder, some hail in some of those showers. it's still going to be quite blustery as well, with a brisk south—westerly wind blowing across england and wales. but the winds will lighten as we head through the easter weekend, as that low pressure pushes a little further westwards. and we'll be between low pressure systems. but there could possibly be some rain grazing the south—east of england, east anglia, as we head through saturday. certainly a bit more cloud here, but some sunshine elsewhere. the focus for any showers will tend to be in the north and the west. temperatures climbing, so widely in double figures, 12 to 15 celsius. the air will feel milder and the winds will be lighter. and it's the same again, really, as we head into easter sunday. so we're likely to see some showers

perhaps across south—west england, up through western wales, northern ireland and maybe into northern england. but many parts of scotland could stay largely dry. dry, too, across east anglia and central southern england. bye— bye.

this is bbc news, the headlines. the bbc at a covers a report showing the post office spent £100 million of public money fighting postmasters in court despite knowing their defence was untrue. sir keir starmer watches election campaigns with hope to politics with him he's been talking to the bbc. despite it being a decade since a same—sex marriages were allowed in england and wales 93)’ were allowed in england and wales gay weddings can only be held in 3% of all religious settings. we have a special report. now sport and a full round up from the bbc sport centre. hello from the bbc sport centre. newcastle new united with misconduct