jeffrey donaldson resigns as the leader of northern ireland's democratic unionist party, after being charged with what bbc news understands to be rape and multiple other sexual offences. we'll talk live on the programme to the bbc�*s political editor. and — reports of long queues at dover as the easter getaway begins. and actorjohn boyega speaks for the first time about how the killing of his childhood friend, damilola taylor, shaped his life. all of that is coming in the next few minutes, let's head to the bbc sport centre, hugh ferris is there. leicester city's dismal run the championship has continued this afternoon with a 1—0 defeat at bristol city, they were runaway at bristol city, they were runaway

league leader earlier in the season butjust one win in six means, although they're still second, they face a real fight to make one of the two automatic promotion places. joe lynskey reports. springtime in the second tier where two games over easter it can make or break a season. at one stage, lester's lead this league by ten points. they looked set since august for a top—flight return. atjust the wrong time they've gone out of form. premier league winners are still in this team, but they faced bristol city with one win from five. still, jamie vardy had chances to put this match out of sight.— match out of sight. well, can you believe it? _ match out of sight. well, can you believe it? this _ match out of sight. well, can you believe it? this has _ match out of sight. well, can you believe it? this has been - match out of sight. well, can you believe it? this has been a - match out of sight. well, can you believe it? this has been a weekl match out of sight. well, can you i believe it? this has been a week of overspending _ believe it? this has been a week of overspending allegations _ believe it? this has been a week of overspending allegations and - overspending allegations and sanction still to come. on the field, the home side were about to make it worse. film. field, the home side were about to make it worse-— field, the home side were about to make it worse. oh, what a beautiful strike! a goal— make it worse. oh, what a beautiful strike! a goal that _ make it worse. oh, what a beautiful strike! a goal that meant _ make it worse. oh, what a beautiful strike! a goal that meant as - make it worse. oh, what a beautiful

strike! a goal that meant as much l make it worse. oh, what a beautiful| strike! a goal that meant as much in bristol as it — strike! a goal that meant as much in bristol as it did _ strike! a goal that meant as much in bristol as it did to _ strike! a goal that meant as much in bristol as it did to lester's _ strike! a goal that meant as much in bristol as it did to lester's writer - bristol as it did to lester's writer goals. if switch could be the top two, lester go on to easter monday and need to start their spring revival, joe linsky, bbc news. elsewhere a 90th minute equaliser for middlesbrough has further damaged southampton�*s chances of automatic promotion. they're in fourth — eight points off the top. while at the bottom qpr won with a 92nd minute goal — it takes them four points above the relegation zone, but it's still tight — only five points separate 16th to 23rd. xabi alonso says he is going to stay at bayer leverkusen next season. he's arguably the most wanted coach in football, with leverkusen unbeaten in all competitions this season. heading for the bundelsiga title and also still in the german cup and europa league. liverpool were one of the clubs linked to alonso, as they seek to replace the departing jurgen klopp at the end of the season. i had a similar situation and pretty much the same, if you want. and i and i never regretted it. so that is pretty much

everything i can see, he is doing an incredible job there. leverkusen has a good team, probably keep the team together i think, that is possible this year as well so it is not every year is like that. so i understand that he wants to do that. st helens have gone top of the super league after two late tries saw them beat wigan warriors 12-4. wigan were narrowly in—front on the hour mark when liam byrne was shown a straight red card for a high tackle. saints took full advantage of their extra man with tries from tommy makinson and konrad hurrell turning the game around in the final ten minutes. the home side remain third, two points off st helens. elsewhere... six first half tries helped hull kr to a 34—10 victory against rivals hull fc. joe burgess crossed twice as the home side held a 28 point lead at the break. kelepi tanginoa added rovers' final

score to lift them up to fifth... but the pressure remains on tony smith as hull remain tenth with one win from their first six games. england's women had already sealed the t20 series against new zealand but signed off with victroy by five wickets in the final match nat sciver—brunt and captain heather knight's partnership of 57 nat sciver—brunt and captain heather knight's partnership of 57 was key in wellington as they chased down 137. both lost their wickets but england reached their target with an over to spare to take the series 4—1. they now play three one—dayers with the first on sunday. and that's all the sport for now. let's start with that stunning development in northern ireland — news thatjeffrey donaldson — the leader of the democratic unionist party — has been charged with historical sexual offences and has quit as leader. the dup says mr donaldson, who has been in politics for almost ito—years,

has had his membership suspended pending the outcome of a judicial process. two women came forward, his resignation letter to the du p says he will strongly contest the charges. the dep says mr donaldson who is been in politics almost a0 years to have his mentorship suspended pending the outcome of judicial process. joining me is enda mcclafferty, the bbc�*s northern ireland political editor. it has been quite an extraordinary day, it hasn't it? it it has been quite an extraordinary day, it hasn't it?— day, it hasn't it? it would take something _ day, it hasn't it? it would take something to _ day, it hasn't it? it would take something to shake _ day, it hasn't it? it would take something to shake the - day, it hasn't it? it would take something to shake the battlej something to shake the battle hardened political landscape in ireland, it has set the du p back, but the future of power in northern ireland. it was very much in the honeymoon phase, it was only restored back in early february and it is facing big challenges around

the corner but nobody predicted the challenge would come in the form that has come today with the du p leader sirjeffrey donaldson stepping down from politics following these allegations and leaving his deputy with the charge of the dup and leaving him in charge of the dup and leaving him in charge of a very tricky crisis.— of a very tricky crisis. where do ou of a very tricky crisis. where do you hearing _ of a very tricky crisis. where do you hearing from _ of a very tricky crisis. where do you hearing from the _ of a very tricky crisis. where do you hearing from the first - of a very tricky crisis. where do - you hearing from the first minister, what are you hearing from the various different factions, perhaps overstates it, but within the dup itself, there are tensions, are there? around going back into power—sharing. what are you hearing from different sections within the party? from different sections within the .a ? ., , ., ~' , from different sections within the party? that is a key concern for the dup, we party? that is a key concern for the dup. we know _ party? that is a key concern for the dup, we know donaldson _ party? that is a key concern for the dup, we know donaldson with - party? that is a key concern for the dup, we know donaldson with the l dup, we know donaldson with the return of vermont, despite opposition within his party from some of his peers in the house of lords so there is a sense now perhaps at some of those voices may well be energised, the fact that sir

jeffrey donaldson has now moved on, we may see some of those cracks that start to resurface, it was interesting hearing from other political leaders in northern ireland choosing their words very carefully, but they are aware this is knowledge alive judicial case, making it very clear that the priority needs to be on delivering for the people of northern ireland and we cannot afford to be concerned by what might go on there or what might flow within the du p. —— dup. this broker early in the day, give me a sense of what people were saying to you. we've heard a lot of analysts, we've heard a lot from politicians but what are people saying to you when you talk about this to them? indie saying to you when you talk about this to them?— saying to you when you talk about this to them? we are well used two dramatic moments _ this to them? we are well used two dramatic moments but _ this to them? we are well used two dramatic moments but not - this to them? we are well used two dramatic moments but not quite . this to them? we are well used two dramatic moments but not quite on j dramatic moments but not quite on this particular scale. there are a lot of people out there in northern ireland that are trying to protest this essentially. what is going to mean for sirjeffrey donaldson personally and what it's going to

mean for his party, let's not forget we have a westminster election on the horizon, sirjeffrey donaldson of course northern ireland's longest—serving mp, big? whether he was going to stand again in westminster, that now might appear to be unlikely and that could change the whole arithmetic when it comes to representation in northern ireland but i think the key concern is what it's going to mean for the power—sharing institutions? they've been starved of government here for the best part of two years, public services have suffered during that time and there's a real concern now that the focus might not be where it needs to be on trying to meet the many challenges northern ireland faces, instead be faced in other directions as the difficulties within the dup start to re—emerge. and that is exactly why i suspect the first minister chose the words she used earlier in the day, we've been seeing as you've been talking a whole variety over the decades of pictures ofjeffrey donaldson pictures of jeffrey donaldson because pictures ofjeffrey donaldson because it's been quite an extraordinaryjourney from the nes, walking out of that party, joining

the dup, the changes of his political position over the years. he is no stranger to making headlines in northern ireland, he has been a pretty dominant figure over the course of 30 years, he worked alongside the mp, the time he was in the ulster unionist party, and those strains when the good friday agreement was being aggressive, he made clear his petition to that deal, he walked away from the unionist party at a critical time and then joined to the dup, and within that party ian paisley�*s party, it was a pretty centralfigure, not paisley�*s party, it was a pretty central figure, not least during the brexit years, sirjeffrey donaldson was at the heart of the negotiations around that, and when borisjohnson came into number ten, sirjeffrey donaldson was front and centre once more whenever unionists felt that they were very much out in the cold, they were very much out in the cold, they were very much out in the cold, they were frozen out of the process and they were left with what they

regard as a border. he tried to undo some of that damage to the unionists in northern ireland, and he was the man across the table. at the height of his political powers right now because he did manage to steer the dup back into the power—sharing institutions but he didn't expect to be in this position today where he is no longer party leader and indeed his membership of the party has been a part of since 2003 is now in suspension pending the outcome of this case. bud suspension pending the outcome of this case. �* , ., ., ., this case. and 'ust a final thought because we — this case. and just a final thought because we heard _ this case. and just a final thought because we heard julian - this case. and just a final thought because we heard julian smith, . because we heard julian smith, former secretary of state, he was pretty sure in his assessment the momentum around power—sharing wouldn't change as a result of what we've seen today. others within the du p that we've talked to perhaps much more undecided, unsure about that nervous about that implications for power—sharing. what do you think is going to be the first real test so we can gauge which way the dup may actually tilt on this?—

may actually tilt on this? i think that's why _ may actually tilt on this? i think that's why we — may actually tilt on this? i think that's why we are _ may actually tilt on this? i think that's why we are hearing - may actually tilt on this? i think that's why we are hearing from | that's why we are hearing from people like julian that's why we are hearing from people likejulian smith today that there is that genuine concern in northern ireland in belfast about the implications for power—sharing. we know that our mla are on easter recess, they are due week after next skirmish they have a very busy entry and they were enough to focus on without reflecting on the journey that the dup is now on. i think the focus very much will be trying to ensure that they can study the ship as opposed to seeing anything happen that may destabilise politics in northern ireland once more. of course it gavin robinson the interim leader of the dup trying to bring stability to his own party while at the same time keeping the focus very much on ensuring the power steering remains intact and on course. thanks so much for— remains intact and on course. thanks so much for that _ remains intact and on course. thanks so much for that analysis. _ remains intact and on course. thanks so much for that analysis. let - remains intact and on course. thanks so much for that analysis. let me - so much for that analysis. let me point you to the bbc news website, you can read his analysis in more detail, do head there because there is his headline story, the dup in

disarray after the news breaking earlier in the day. so plenty of information there on the bbc news website. being honoured for his business strategy and political service, last year he gave £5 million at the time, his party's donation, labour... the political office he should feel privileged to hold. a senior mp has called for a police investigation, after secret papers — seen by the bbc — showed the post office continued to fight compensation claims brought by sub postmasters, despite knowing its defence was false. labour's kevan jones, who sits on the horizon

compensation advisory board, has called the post office's actions "an abusive use of public cash against innocent people" — and said there would be no justice until someone was brought before the courts. here's our business correspondent, marc ashdown. it's the latest twist in this ongoing drama and now there are calls for the police to widen its investigation into the horizon scandal. the computer system designed by fujitsu and used by subpostmasters to tally their accounts was central to hundreds of wrongful prosecutions. now a secret draft report from 2017 uncovered by the bbc shows the post office spent £100 million fighting court cases even though it knew its defence was untrue. commissioned by the post office, the bramble report by deloitte found that fujitsu employees had the ability to amend or delete transactions entered by branch staff. there would be no flag to a postmaster if 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,

although there was no evidence this actually happened. janet skinner, a former subpostmistress from hull, lost herjob and was sent to prison in 2007. they could have prevented that court case. you know, the 555 of us that went to that court case, they could have prevented that and they could have saved a lot of time, money and tears. the labour mp kevanjones who sits on the horizon compensation board is calling on the police to widen its investigation. i do now think the police need to start looking at this. more will obviously come out at the public inquiry, but there is enough out there now i think to start looking. the metropolitan police first started looking into the post office and fujitsu back injanuary 2020. an investigation into potential offences of perjury and perverting the course ofjustice is ongoing. and the met told us today it continues to monitor the evidence being heard by the public inquiry. the post office said it is deeply

sorry for the impact the scandal has had on people and told us the next phase of the public inquiry would look at the issues we raised. fujitsu group said it regards the matter with the utmost seriousness and offers its deepest apologies to sub—postmasters and their families. a group of more than 500 sub—postmasters and mistresses won their first court case against the post office back in 2019. earlier this year, every person wrongfully prosecuted was exonerated. but their long fight for full compensation and justice goes on. marc ashdown, bbc news. let's turn to the middle east, news just coming into us. we are told that the uk has airdropped food supplies into gaza for the second time. the royal air force parachuting more than ten tonnes of aid including rice flour, oil, and baby food to gaza civilians today on good friday. the raf plane

flying from oman, the defence secretary saying the uk is doing all he can to get as much food into gaza as soon as possible, this is the second time the uk has airdropped food supplies into gaza. let's stay with the middle east, because with a separate strand, the uk's eurovision contestant, olly alexander, has rejected calls for him to boycott this year's competition in sweden. the artist released a statement expressing his wish for peace, but saying he believes in the unifying power of music, and hopes it can inspire greater compassion. there have been calls for a boycott. our culture reporter, noor nanji, told us more. yeah. so this was an open letter that was posted on instagram by a group calling themselves queers for palestine, and it was addressed directly to olly alexander, and it urged him to pull out of the eurovision song contest, which is taking place in may of this year, in solidarity with the palestinian people. now, it said that israel is committing apartheid and genocide.

it said that israel's inclusion in eurovision would enable and cover up its war crimes. now, the letter had more than a50 signatories, and as i say, it was sent yesterday. and in terms of response from olly alexander? yeah. so olly alexander has responded directly to the group queers for palestine. he's also posted his response on social media. and in that message, he said that he wholeheartedly supports action to demand an immediate and permanent ceasefire in gaza, as well as the release of all the hostages. but he said that he's deliberated on what to do and his current belief is that pulling out of the contest right now would not help. he said that he's talked to his fellow contestants and they agree that by taking part, they can use their platform to try and call for peace. now, in terms of further reaction on social media, some fans have expressed sympathy for olly alexander, saying that he's in a tough position. others have been disappointed and called on him to go further. the european broadcasting union said that they firmly believe

the eurovision song contest is a platform that should always transcend politics and bring people together. the bbc says that olly�*s post was his own views. he's not speaking for the bbc and they do not breach bbc guidelines. finally, the big easter getaway is under way, with two point six million car journeys expected to be made today — but there have been reports of long queues of motorists waiting to board ferries at dover, and rail travellers are also being urged to check their plans in advance. our transport correspondent katy austin reports. it's the busiest time of the year so far for travel, including forferries. queues built up at the port of dover earlier this morning with drivers reporting two—hour waits. some airports expect to get back to pre—pandemic numbers. manchester airport expects to handle 320,000 passengers over the next few days, and they expect it to be their biggest ever easter getaway.

cape verde for my grandma's birthday. grandma sheila? yes. is it a big birthday? it's a very big birthday, i was 80 on tuesday, and we're all going off with the family to cape verde. congratulations. 2018 was the last one. so, you haven't been on holiday since 2018? no. not outside the uk. so... wow, so, looking forward to it? very much so. definitely. bit of sun, bit of warmth, leave the rain behind for a few days! after a very tricky few years, airports and airlines want to make the most of high demand. they and the main air traffic control provider nats say they've worked hard to make sure things go smoothly. we're working very closely with all of the airlines and with national air—traffic control services just to make sure that we're all reallyjoined—up and of course we have on—site our team of 100 people in the resilience team ready to respond to any issues. travel agents say easter holiday bookings are well up on last year despite prices rising

and cost—of—living pressures. more people are booking late and more are choosing all—inclusive. people staying in the uk but taking to the roads today can expect major routes to clog up. while engineering works mean some rail disruption — for example, london euston station is mostly closed until monday. damage the overhead wires caused problems for the stansted express, serving sta nsted airport. however you're getting about, the best advice, as ever, is to plan ahead and leave plenty of time. katy austin, bbc news. now to one of the most read stories on the bbc news website so far today. and it involves temu. the chinese e—retailer has significantly changed the terms of a cash giveaway after customers expressed concerns. participants in the promotion receive up to £50, but had to agree to permanently hand over considerable amounts of personal data. pierre—antoine denis has

more from the newsroom. it has been nicknamed amazon on steroids. i'm talking about the chinese owned online marketplace on the rise, emerging as the third largest retail online, mainly because it beats all competitions price—wise, and its slogan, very catchy. shop like a billionaire. and when we think about it, that giveaway campaign is basically giving customers free money. if the product of do's free it probably means that you and your data are a product. social media users were very quick to point this very fact. when we look at the very first terms and conditions of that giveaway, it states that participation in the programme...

but it does not end there. because all of this data can be used... and that was the cause of the backlash on social media. with users saying that this was essentially not worth it. and it prompted temu to react. a new statement came back saying... and also the name and profile picture will be used for rewards in the future, but as temu is becoming a leader in online marketplace, many more questions will be asked towards the chinese company as how to handle the chinese company as how to handle the deity date of the consumers.

actorjohn boyega has spoken publicly for the first time about the impact of childhood friend damilola taylor's killing, calling it "life—changing". he's told the bbc that the recent death of damilola's father, campaigner richard taylor, had "motivated" him to speak about his experience. the star wars actor says the tragedy has "shaped me through the years". he was one of the last people to see 10—year—old damilola alive before the fatal stabbing in south london in 2000. he's spoken tojohn wilson from radio a's last word podcast. ijust remember damilola with a silverjacket... he laughs ..running through the playground of oliver goldsmith primary school, already sweating as if he just had to run a marathon. and it's near enough 9am in the morning, drinking from the water fountains, flirting with my bloody sister. they laugh and just being around us and cracking jokes and being flamboyant and charismatic.

and ijust remember him being a big personality. i mean, it was such a short time, but everybody knew he was this new kid in school and he came straight from nigeria. so there was something about that energy that, you know, in the nigerian community, especially in the yoruba community, is like, protect this guy and make sure he's good, that's your brother. that was kind of a language that was used at the time. i don't think you've really ever spoken publicly about your relationship with damilola. no, i haven'tand, you know, on purpose too. i'm quite private in general, but on richard taylor's passing, ijust was so kind of motivated to speak up because now he's gone, if i don't speak out now, when am i ever going to speak up? myself and my sister was one of the last people that was with damilola taylor on the very day. and ijust think from the hours we left him in peckham to the hours when i went home and then the police was at our door was definitely life—changing for me. he had been at the library, i think, before heading home. were you with him there? we were literallyjust with him right before he went to the library.

it was me, grace and damilola, and damilola basically went one route and so we kind of split paths. and once i got home a few hours from then, the police was at our door. and what was your reaction when you heard? i was so young, but ijust remember thinking i didn't know that mortality worked that swiftly. that the days kind ofjust went on and then somebody was gone instantly. somebody that i just saw, somebody that i just spoke to. but it was definitely hard. we talk on the memories, we talk on the trauma, you know, and try and get over it, because to be involved in that way, even in passing, it makes you feel like you're inches away from something so tragic, but also to keep the memory of damilola taylor alive, because that was a funny, very energetic guy that everybody really, really loved in the community. a fascinating interview there, that's it for me, thanks for watching, see you next time.

hello there, good evening. it's been a day of sunshine and showers. some of the showers heavy and thundery, even some hail mixed in at times, too. some beautiful rainbows, though, spotted by our weather watchers from across the uk. and for the rest of the bank holiday weekend, still sunny spells and showers, but fewer showers than we saw today. and it will feel warmer, more sunshine and lighter winds. but watch out for some more rain towards the south as we head through bank holiday monday. i'll have more on that injust a moment. now, overnight tonight, still breezy for a while across england and wales, but the winds will ease down. we'll see a scattering of the showers out towards the west, perhaps a bit more cloud for eastern coastal areas, but with clearing skies, there'll be some patches of frost around and maybe a bit of mist and fog into tomorrow morning. so a cold start to the day on saturday. now, our area of low pressure is gradually pulling away towards the west, so the wind is lightening, but it does allow for this weather front to graze parts of east anglia and kent, as well, as we head into saturday morning. so maybe a little bit of patchy rain here and probably more cloud, but it will brighten up as we head through the afternoon. there will be a lot of dry weather

around on saturday and plenty of sunshine as well, but more showers could develop through the afternoon. they're most likely out towards the north and the west. it will feel a bit warmer. highs of around 12—1a celsius, locally i think we'll probably see 15, too. as we head through saturday night and into sunday morning, don't forget the clocks spring forward, so we'll see some dark mornings for a while, but much lighter evenings of course. into sunday morning, and we could start off with some patches of mist and fog from the midlands up to the vale of york. a lot of dry weather around and plenty of sunshine on sunday, but cloudier and cooler with more of an easterly breeze blowing towards north sea—facing coasts. again possibly some more showers for western wales and down through the south—west of england. temperatures again 12—1a degrees celsius, but then we look towards the south as we head into bank holiday monday to see this area of low pressure bring some outbreaks of rain across england and wales. now still some uncertainty in the forecast, so do keep checking. but it could be quite wet for england and wales on bank holiday monday,

but drierfurther north, with the best of the brightness perhaps across parts of western scotland and northern ireland. again, it's cloudier and it's cooler with that easterly wind for north sea coasts. bye— bye.

sirjeffrey donaldson, the leader of the democratic unionist party, resigns after being charged with rape and other

historical sexual offences. he's been leader of the dup since 2021 and is northern ireland's longest—serving westminster mp. also tonight... an uneasy calm injerusalem over easter and ramadan while conditions remain desperate in gaza. the great bank holiday getaway — and it's been slow progress for many by road, rail and ferry. and the world of mammals — the latest david attenborough series looks at how many species are adapting. good evening. politics in northern ireland have been thrown into turmoil with the news that the leader of the democratic unionist party, sirjeffrey donaldson, has resigned after being charged with rape and other historical sexual offences.

he was arrested yesterday along with a 57—year—old woman who has