we re a were a party conversations that you were a party to, all of the letters that you wrote, all of the e—mail exchanges that you had with everyone at the post office from alice perkins, paula vennells down? about such problems with convictions? ma. were problems with convictions? no. were there any convicted sub—postmasters within it at that time? yes. i read it was about _ within it at that time? yes. i read it was about a _ within it at that time? yes. i read it was about a third _ within it at that time? yes. i read it was about a third of— within it at that time? yes. i read it was about a third of them, and that must vary over the course of time. what was the proportion? ba; time. what was the proportion? by the time we got to the] and o, the time we got to the] and 0, about_ the time we got to the] and 0, about 60 — the time we got to the] and 0, about 60 of them, about 10%, roughlx — about 60 of them, about 10%, roughly. in fact, that had been the issue _ roughly. in fact, that had been the issue that — roughly. in fact, that had been the issue that had caused problems with the original lawyers that were

supporting us, in 2010, it is because _ supporting us, in 2010, it is because they could not obtain insurance _ because they could not obtain insurance because we had convictions.— insurance because we had convictions. ~ ., ., , ., convictions. winding forward is a bit before the _ convictions. winding forward is a bit before the break, _ convictions. winding forward is a bit before the break, that - convictions. winding forward is a bit before the break, that cohort| convictions. winding forward is a i bit before the break, that cohort of people, i have said it was about a third at this time, and it changed in number by the time by the time of the glo, are what approach did the post office take to that group of people, the convicted sub—postmasters, in terms of whether they could take their claims to the mediation scheme or have their claims adjudicated within a mediation?— claims adjudicated within a mediation? , ., , ., , mediation? they actually agreed they could no mediation? they actually agreed they could go forward _ mediation? they actually agreed they could go forward into _ mediation? they actually agreed they could go forward into the _ mediation? they actually agreed they could go forward into the mediation l could go forward into the mediation scheme _ could go forward into the mediation scheme. �* . . could go forward into the mediation scheme. . , . , scheme. and were such claims adjudicated — scheme. and were such claims adjudicated upon _ scheme. and were such claims adjudicated upon in _ scheme. and were such claims adjudicated upon in the - scheme. and were such claims - adjudicated upon in the mediation? i

don't recall specifically on that basis — don't recall specifically on that basis i— don't recall specifically on that basis. i mean, that is a whole other discussion! — basis. i mean, that is a whole other discussion!— basis. i mean, that is a whole other discussion! ., _, , . , discussion! one of the consequences, indeed one of— discussion! one of the consequences, indeed one of the _ discussion! one of the consequences, indeed one of the only _ discussion! one of the consequences, indeed one of the only substantial - indeed one of the only substantial consequences of the interim report was the setting up of the initial complaint and review and mediation scheme, sometimes gully —— sometimes called the mediation scheme, can we look at page 45 of your witness statement, please. paragraph 133, at the bottom. you

say the purpose of the mediation scheme was to address sub—postmaster complaints and individual cases so there could be an exploration into there could be an exploration into the way they had been treated with a view to finding a solution for the sub—postmasters which was likely to involve compensation and it was also set up to establish what had been the truth behind the circumstances. is that a complete summary, essentially, of your? it is that a complete summary, essentially, of your?- is that a complete summary, essentially, of your? it is a fair comment. _ essentially, of your? it is a fair comment, yes. _ essentially, of your? it is a fair comment, yes. if— essentially, of your? it is a fair comment, yes. if we _ essentially, of your? it is a fair comment, yes. if we go - essentially, of your? it is a fair comment, yes. if we go over. essentially, of your? it is a fair i comment, yes. if we go over the nae. comment, yes. if we go over the page- you _ comment, yes. if we go over the page- you say — comment, yes. if we go over the page- you say in _ comment, yes. if we go over the page. you say in 134, _ comment, yes. if we go over the page. you say in 134, that - comment, yes. if we go over the page. you say in 134, that at - comment, yes. if we go over the page. you say in 134, that at the j page. you say in 134, that at the outset you thought the mediation scheme it might achieve the aims it had set out provided that the post office would enter it in good faith. we entered into this process because we did not have any viable alternative at this time. paragraph 137, over the page, alternative at this time. paragraph 137, overthe page, please. alternative at this time. paragraph 137, over the page, please. you say, and we can read it here...

at this time, the setting up of the mediation scheme, did you know of the existence of project sparrow? no. the existence of pro'ect sparrow? no. .. ~' , ., the existence of pro'ect sparrow? no. ., ,. , ., ., the existence of pro'ect sparrow? no. ., ,. y., ., , the existence of pro'ect sparrow? no. ., ,. ., , ., the existence of pro'ect sparrow? no. ., ,. ., no. thank you, that is a convenient moment and _ no. thank you, that is a convenient moment and i _ no. thank you, that is a convenient moment and i wonder _ no. thank you, that is a convenient moment and i wonder if _ no. thank you, that is a convenient moment and i wonder if we - no. thank you, that is a convenient moment and i wonder if we could . moment and i wonder if we could break untilfive past, please? yen; break untilfive past, please? very well. studio: you have been listening to the post office horizon it scandal, listening to alan bates, the former sub—postmaster who has been leading the campaign against the post office

stop more than 900 sub—postmasters were convicted, because of the fa u lty faulty it system and ever since then there has been legislation which has been introduced to overturn those convictions and kevin hollinrake said it stands at about 100. the next phase of the post office inquiry is seeking to establish exactly what went wrong and who knew what and when and that is why you haven't seen it so much correspondence between alan bates and the post office —— that is why you have seen. we have seen letters from alan bates to the post office, he was sub—postmaster for around five years, flagging the issues he is having and having no response and he says the attitude of the post office has constantly been that they are right and everyone else is wrong, the horizon it system has been robust, and he said it was only

once second sight, the forensic accountants who were hired to help investigate the issue, he felt after they were hired some progress was being made but that the post office were still not cooperating fully. at this time, the inquiry will continue hearing not only from alan bates but in the coming weeks we will also hearfrom some of in the coming weeks we will also hear from some of the people who held the most powerful positions at the post office at the time, including paula vennells, who was the former chief executive of the post office for much of the scandal, and we also did see during the last few minutes of the inquiry, some of the correspondence that alan bates had with paula vennells. he did think that there could be some progress and paula vennells herself said she met alan bates twice with the forensic accountants, second sight, and it seemed that progress was being made, but as alan bates

explained, the trust broke down quite quickly. remember, this has been a decades long battle for many of the victims here and the stakes and consequences have been very high. we are talking about bankruptcy, losing homes, mental health issues, several suicides have been linked to the scandal. many of these people have been, these victims, have been shunned by their communities, neighbours who no longer wanted to speak to them because they were accused of theft and fraud. during these breaks i have been speaking to some of the victims and some of them have travelled from across the country and they have woken up early this morning and they seek to keep coming to hear the inquiry and to hear the evidence come out but they generally feel that after so much time it is hard to believe that there will be true accountability, despite the vast efforts of the inquiry counsel.

we will continue with this coverage as soon as the inquiry resumes but for now we can go back to the studio for now we can go back to the studio for the other stories of the day. studio: thank you. detectives have arrested a 25—year—old man in aylesbury in buckinghamshire. the man will be questioned about the attack when a woman was pushing a baby in a pram. our correspondent has got the latest. his image has been everywhere for days, but habibur masum has now been detained. he was arrested in aylesbury in buckinghamshire after a nationwide appeal to find him. his last known location was near a park in bradford

on saturday afternoon, after a woman had been fatally stabbed in the city centre. on saturday the 6th of april, shortly before 3:20pm, kulsuma akter was walking in bradford city centre. kulsuma was with her young baby at this time and was walking along westgate when she was stabbed, attacked and stabbed multiple times. kulsuma akter was attacked on the side of a busy road. the 27—year—old was pushing her baby in a pram at the time. the child was unharmed. we now know mr masum was bailed by magistrates in november after being charged with assaulting and threatening to kill ms akter — offences which he had denied. it's understood his bail conditions said he must not contact her. police had previously said they were known to each other. both the west yorkshire and greater manchester forces have referred themselves to the independent office for police conduct because of previous contact they had with the victim. habibur masum, who is 25 years old, will now be brought up from buckinghamshire to west yorkshire for questioning. a mode investigation is under way after woman was found dead in her

home in westminster in central london. she had several stab wounds. please forced entry into the property and no arrests have yet been made —— police. police officers are trying to contact her next of kin. simon harris has been formally elected as the republic of ireland's youngest ever prime minister. nominates _ youngest ever prime minister. nominates simon harris as the new prime minister.— prime minister. applause simon harris _ prime minister. applause simon harris is _ prime minister. applause simon harris is 37 - prime minister. applause simon harris is 37 and - prime minister. applause simon harris is 37 and will| prime minister. applause - simon harris is 37 and will take overin simon harris is 37 and will take over in the irish parliament. he was elected after leo varadkar stepped down after personal and political reasons. gale force winds and heavy rain have battered large parts of the uk with more than hundred people

having to be rescued overnight and a major incident was declared in west sussex after a river burst its banks. more than 200 homes and businesses across hampshire and dorset lost power and there are 54 flood warnings in england and 194 flood warnings in england and 194 flood alerts in place and also flood warnings in parts of scotland. we now have this report. both ambulance and fire service staff were called to the park, holidays cut short in the most dramatic way by terrible weather. it was a miserable night for the residents, which meant the emergency services were busy. some people were

taken out on boats. others were able to make their way on foot with a little help. the flight affecting both the elderly and the very young. —— the flood. there is likely to be more flooding in the coming hours according to the fire services. irate according to the fire services. we are according to the fire services. , are experiencing high tides at the moment and the next one is due around lunchtime and it is slightly higher than the one we had overnight. ouradvice higher than the one we had overnight. our advice to anybody who is trapped is to stay on high ground and contact the emergency services by dialling 999. and contact the emergency services by dialling bbb-— by dialling 999. other parts of the country have _ by dialling 999. other parts of the country have also _ by dialling 999. other parts of the country have also been _ by dialling 999. other parts of the country have also been affected, i country have also been affected, this is the isle of wight, and there are weather warnings in place for the west coast of wales and large parts of scotland. spring this year has so far proven to be wet, wild and windy. last month was the hottest march ever recorded according to the eu's climate change service copernicus.

see —— sea surface ten which it was even more dramatic. last week, the president of zimbabwe declared a national disaster because of a deep drought in the country. low rainfall has slashed crop yields, driving up food prices and putting an estimated 2.7 million people at risk of hunger. it is just one example of a pattern of heat and drought affecting countries as far afield as southern europe and southeast asia. this graph shows how march continued the world's run of record—breaking monthly temperatures. this extreme heat has got many climate scientists worried. the reality is that we can quantify a large proportion of the extra heat that's causing these records, but not all of it. so there needs to be a lot more science, and there will be much more science coming out over the next weeks and months to try

and understand what's happening to our climate system, and are we in a new phase? scientists agree what is causing climate change — it is the vast quantities of planet—warming gases humanity has been pumping into the atmosphere. and in recent months, a recurring weather event known as el nino has been adding an extra blast of heat into the air. that is weakening now, so temperatures should begin to fall back later in the year. the problem is, sea temperatures remain extremely high, hitting many of the world's coral reefs hard. that suggests global temperatures might not fall back as expected — a sign, fear some scientists, that the world could be entering a new phase of more rapid climate change. ]ustin rowlatt, bbc news.

hamas has said israel's threat to attack the city of rafah in southern gaza raises questions about the purpose of any further talks on a ceasefire in exchange for the release of israeli hostages. a hamas spokesman says, the group was reviewing new proposals presented by mediators in egypt. the us hasjoined international calls against any such offensive. yesterday, benjamin netanyhu said a date had been set for the military operation in rafah, although he didn't make that public. the convoy of eight trucks is the most to reach gaza in one day since october. the commissioner general talked about the devastation.

we have