he had no idea his company was responsibile for prosecuting sub—postmasters. once you get into the corridors they have made sort of makeshift tents out of sheets and cardboard. the british plastic surgeon who's just returned from working in gaza. she's been filming for us what life is like in the hospital there. i've woken up late because the bombing was really loud last night and shook the walls of the room. a coroner ruled that the kingsmill attack in 1976 was an overtly sectarian attack by the ira. the farmers struggling to grow their crops after one of the wettest winters on record — and warnings it could affect food production. and the moving story behind kitty's hope — one of tomorrow's grand national hopefuls. and coming up on bbc news... who will make the cut

heading into the weekend — we'll bring you the latest on day two of the masters golf at augusta national. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. police are investigating claims labour's deputy leader, angela rayner, may have broken electoral law over information she gave about where she was living 10 years ago. it follows a complaint by a deputy chairman of the conservative party over whether or not she paid the correct level of tax on the sale of her council house in 2015. she strongly denies she's done anything wrong. in the last few minutes a criminal offence she would do the right thing and step down. —— she has said that if she has committed a criminal

offence. a standout campaigner, with a striking personal history. angela rayner, one of labour's boost well—known figures, now under police investigation as to whether she broke electoral law by giving false information about where she used to live. the inquiry centres here, vicarage road in stockport, where angela rayner bought a property in 2007, eight years before she became an mp. in 2010, she married mark rayner, who owned his own home about two miles away, and appears to have registered a child at his address. but, on the electoral register, she continued to be listed as living at hers, creating confusion as to where she legally lived. the law says that a married couple who each have their own property can only choose one to be their main home at any one time. as well as facing an investigation about whether she really lived here on vicarage road, angela rayner continues to face questions about whether she should have paid capital gains tax when she sold her house just before she became an mp.

the amounts of money at stake are relatively small. tax experts have estimated up to £3500. but the conservatives are pursuing this because they think that the political cost to labour could be much more significant. angela rayner has always said she has done nothing wrong and will hand over any information she is asked for. the labour leader continues to stand by her. we welcome this investigation because it will allow a line to be drawn in relation to this matter. i am fully confident that angela rayner has not broken the rules. she will cooperate with the investigation as you would expect, and it is really a matter for the police. greater manchester police confirmed that the complaint had originally come from a conservative mp, and the party is digging in. i think the double standards have been extraordinary. angela rayner herself has spent her political career calling people out for exactly the thing that she seems to be doing now. it is not acceptable to ignore it.

angela rayner has previously described of her life as "difficult" and said there was never any question of deceit. as a woman at the heart of labour's general election hopes, this is one campaign she is prepared to tough out. in the last few minutes angela rayner has released a statement saying she makes no apologies for having held conservative ministers to account over some other issues in the past. she emphasises that she sees this as a political attack of the kind that we have seen the poor. she says the conservative party reporting political opponents to the police during election campaigns to distract from their record. at the very least, the story is inconvenient for labour because here we are talking about it on a day when they wanted to be talking instead about their policies around defence. i think the mood in the party is reasonably confident tonight, that this will be the beginning of the end of a story that

has rambled on and on. the conservatives, of course, hoping that it conservatives, of course, hoping thatitis conservatives, of course, hoping that it is the start of a much bigger problem. hannah, thank you. the public inquiry into the post office horizon scandal has been hearing from two of the most senior managers in charge. adam crozier was chief executive of royal mail, which at that time owned the post office. he said he wasn't aware of what he called the "tragic situation" facing sub—postmasters. earlier, the former managing director of the post office, alan cook, told the inquiry he didn't realise the post office itself had been bringing prosecutions against sub—postmasters, hundreds of whom were wrongly accused of theft and fraud. here's zoe conway. adam crozier is one of the uk's significant business figures, he was the chief executive of advertising agency saatchi & saatchi before becoming the boss of the faa, from the outer royal mail, then itv, and

now chairman of bt, but it is time at royal mail that is under scrutiny today. on his watch, hundreds of sub—postmasters were prosecuted, but he says he was not aware of what was happening. i he says he was not aware of what was haueninu. ~ ,., he says he was not aware of what was haueninu. ~ _, ., he says he was not aware of what was ha eninu. ~ , . . ., happening. i think is a matter of real regret _ happening. i think is a matter of real regret that _ happening. i think is a matter of real regret that all— happening. i think is a matter of real regret that all of _ happening. i think is a matter of real regret that all of those - real regret that all of those checks and balances, the governing systems in both countries —— companies, fail. in both countries -- companies, fail. ., ., , ., ., " ' ' fail. horizon is rolled out in 1999, the first prosecution _ fail. horizon is rolled out in 1999, the first prosecution swallowed i the first prosecution swallowed shortly after. adam crozier then joined royal mail in 2003 and at this time it owned the post office. in 2009, problems with horizon first appeared in the press. by now hundreds of sub—postmasters had been prosecuted. alan cooke had been giving evidence. he was the post office managing directorfrom office managing director from 2006-2010. office managing directorfrom 2006-2010. when office managing directorfrom 2006—2010. when alan cooke was managing director of the post office, sub—postmasters went to

prison. yet he hasjust office, sub—postmasters went to prison. yet he has just told the inquiry that he did not know that the company he ran was directly responsible for prosecuting them. you think you should have known that the post office was making those decisions? i the post office was making those decisions? ~ , ., , , decisions? i thinki should, yes. janet decisions? ithinki should, yes. janet skinner— decisions? i thinki should, yes. janet skinner was _ decisions? i thinki should, yes. janet skinner was one _ decisions? i thinki should, yes. janet skinner was one of - decisions? i thinki should, yes. janet skinner was one of the - janet skinner was one of the sub—postmasters wrongly imprisoned when alan cooke was the boss. today he apologised to her. this when alan cooke was the boss. today he apologised to her.— he apologised to her. this will be with ou he apologised to her. this will be with you for _ he apologised to her. this will be with you for the _ he apologised to her. this will be with you for the rest _ he apologised to her. this will be with you for the rest of _ he apologised to her. this will be with you for the rest of your- he apologised to her. this will be with you for the rest of your life, | with you for the rest of your life, and with me for the rest of my life. after the hearing they met and this is what she told him.— is what she told him. people have lost their lives, _ is what she told him. people have lost their lives, people _ is what she told him. people have lost their lives, people have - is what she told him. people have lost their lives, people have lost i lost their lives, people have lost families, reputations, and for what reason? to protect a computer system that didn't work and to protect a brand that is just not fit for purpose any more. the cap today it was revealed nobody at the top of the company took responsibility for the company took responsibility for

the prosecutions.— the company took responsibility for the prosecutions. adam crozier said he was not proud _ the prosecutions. adam crozier said he was not proud of _ the prosecutions. adam crozier said he was not proud of this. _ the prosecutions. adam crozier said he was not proud of this. this - the prosecutions. adam crozier said he was not proud of this. this week| he was not proud of this. this week we heard from the leader of the sub—postmasters, alan bates. we also heard from several former senior managers including adam crozier and what has really come across is how little they seem to understand about the plight of the sub—postmasters. there is so much that we still don't understand about how this scandal could possibly have happened. this winter has been one of the wettest on record in the uk. and water—logged fields are causing all kinds of problems for britain's farmers, who've been unable to plant crops and whose livestock have nowhere to graze. now there are warnings that it could affect food production this year. lucy vladev has been to a farm in studley in warwickshire. it's been a hard time for farmers.

this field isn't going to have anything in it this year. there is no way you can get a crop in that. we've been putting on little coats on some of the newborn lambs to help protect them from the rain. most fields haven't dried out since last year as the uk experienced its wettest 18 months on record. you really do question why you do it. bizza walters is a young farmer in warwickshire. these guys will stay in here probably until the end of the month, normally, and then they will go out to the field, but it's just too wet at the moment. facing a year of failed crops and lambs stuck inside, her family's farm is suffering. it's just soul destroying when you are checking your livestock and you are picking up, quite frankly, dead lambs because they've not made it through the night because it's rained so much, or you've got crops that are sinking and they are rotting in the ground. you dojust think, why are we doing this? it's a similar picture at rachel's farm here in north wales. there's a good girl. hey? how is your tummy? are you nice and full?

when you literally haven't got anywhere for the animals to go, or you're really trying to shift them around the farm, it has a massive impact. the mental health burden is pretty colossal. and at this farm in gloucestershire, debbie wilkins�* crops have been underwater for more than three months. it will have a financial implication, yes, definitely. and there's also the implications from actually when the floods were high and they knocked fences down. they destroyed crops that we are going to have to reseed. there is rubbish that i'm going to have to pick up on the fields. it comes as this week the government announced details of its compensation scheme forfarmers in england affected by flooding this winter, but unions warn the payments on offer are simply not enough, even after the government adjusted the criteria last night. we won't necessarily see shortages of food tomorrow, but next winter, the year after that, then we will see impacts, and that's what we've got to focus on. that's what we've got to worry about. ministers say they are looking

to expand support for those worst affected. the need to get seeds in the soil, vital for us all. that soil health is really important, as you can see here, by the field is left barren and waterlogged by recent floods stop climate change is expected to bring even wetter weather. the met office is predicting that in the next 50 years, winters in the uk will be 30% wetter than they were 30 years ago, with more intense rainfall that that is of course a problem for farmers in places like this but also poses questions about how we all adapt. sophie, thank you. that wet weather has also been affecting the uk economy. it grew by the smallest of margins in february, up byjust 0.1 per cent. but it did grow, and that's being seen as another sign that the economy has been working its way out of recession. here's dharshini david.

one of the wettest februaries on record may have been a wash—out for construction, but that can quickly bounce back, and the weather failed to dampen other bigger sectors. this producer of metal components managed to shake off earlier challenges as custom picked up. overall for us, it was very successful, so we did see growth. we saw growth in a number of our key markets, and because we operate in so many markets globally, we are able to really balance out. when one area's performing very well, we are able to kind of pivot to that area, and when we see some markets that are not performing so well, we can kind of step back a little bit. so, a recovery across manufacturing and services such as transport more than compensated for a soggy performance on the high street and building sites, so that overall activity, gdp, rose by 0.1% compared to january. that's not sparkling. nor was the growth of 0.3% injanuary.

but economists say that unless we had a disastrous march, say, output falling by more than 1%, these figures may be enough to say that last year's recession is behind us. but after inflation and population growth, we may still be about £260 each worse off than two years ago. for our performance in recent years has been and remains lacklustre, growth a fraction of what it was on average prior to 2008's financial crisis. this used car dealer in crewe has noticed customers slipping into a more cautious gear. there's not many people coming in now at all wanting to swap just for pleasure. they come in because they have to swap their car. so, for example, a failed mot, car crash, divorce, change ofjob, all those different reasons, but not for, "oh, ijust fancy a change." thatjust seems to be off the table at the moment. many consumer—facing services remain smaller than prior to the pandemic.

they may get a boost if, as analysts expect, interest rates start to fall over the summer. but it may take more work to return to a more rewarding pace of growth and avoid being short—changed. dharshini david, bbc news. a coroner has ruled that the infamous mass shooting the minimum age limit for children using whatsapp has been lowered from 16 to 13. the technology company, meta, which owns it says it's bringing the uk in line with the us and australia. but campaigners have called it a "highly irresponsible" approach to child safety. it comes as a bbc investigation has found that children as young as ten are being added to whatsapp groups containing inappropriate material. here's martin lindsay. i noticed a real personality change in our 12—year—old. after some coaxing, she told me she'd been added to a whatsapp group. i immediately removed my child from the group and deleted it. this is one mum's story,

and a real feel for many parents. ——and a real fear for many parents. i was shocked to see inappropriate sexual images, racism and swearing among the messages. we've got someone else to voice her words so we don't identify her or her child. her daughter, who is 12, was added to this whatsapp group, and we've seen some of the content, which included sexual images, pictures of mutilated bodies, and racist comments. screenshots we've seen showed it had more than 900 members, and it also meant children's phone numbers were in the hands of strangers. she also told me a boy had called her as a result of getting her number from the group, and had invited his cousin to talk to her too. thankfully, she was savvy enough to end the call and replied to their text messages saying she was not prepared to give them her surname or tell them where she went to school. it's an incredibly disturbing case to have heard about, and the fact that primary school—age

children have been added to this group ,and seeing such dangerous content that they don't want to see and they don't want to be exposed to is incredibly upsetting. it comes as an urgent message was sent to parents from tyneside schools which warned of another whatsapp group encouraging self—harm. it said 500 children had been added and it was targeting year 6 pupils, which is ten or 11—year—olds. the question of who set up the group and for what purpose is now the subject of a police investigation. meta, which owns whatsapp, says, we give all users options to control who can add them to groups, and the first time you receive a message from an unknown number, you can block or report it. i felt sick to my stomach. she's only 12 and now i'm worried about her using her phone. i find it absolutely terrifying. martin lindsay, bbc news, tyneside. the time is 6:17. our top story this evening: police have launched an investigation into claims that labour's deputy leader, angela rayner, broke electoral law. and coming up: a bbc

investigation finds that children as young as nine are being added to whatsapp groups which promote self—harm, sexual violence and racism. coming up in sport on bbc news... a dissapointing start for great britain in their billie jean king cup qualifier against france — as katie boulter is blown away in the opening tie. after six months of war, essential medical services in gaza have almost collapsed. the european gaza hospital in the city of khan younis is one of the last functioning health care facilities there. a handful of british doctors — a dozen or so — have been allowed in to help. dr victoria rose is one of them. she's a consultant plastic surgeon at guy's and st thomas's hospital in london. she's just spent the last two weeks there. much of her work was on children under the age of 16. she filmed for us to show

what life is like there. so, here we are, we've made it across the border. the day's been pretty long, actually. we left cairo this morning with the un convoy. i was last here in 2020, and it's completely different. it's like a different entity. inside, they've tried to keep the sort of working areas very clean. the floors are very clean. there's somebody sweeping all the time. but once you get into the corridors, it's full of people in tents. they've made sort of makeshift tents out of sheets and carpets. and it's not clean, and outside it'sjust mayhem. it's like a massive village. it stinks. it's raw sewage. it's unacceptable for people to live like this.

she's sleeping by the bedside. so we were operating until last night at midnight. we finished our last case but the general surgeons have been going all night. you can hear the drones again. this is my first case. he is a young boy who's been hit by a car, got a scalp laceration and de—gloving. he was taken to theatre last week and his scalp was closed, but unfortunately, now some of the skin has died, so we are going to take him back to theatre and see if we can sort out his scalp. we've had a bit of a delayed start because there's been quite a lot of bombing this evening. so we've. .. we've got quite a lot more work coming to us tomorrow. and i'm kind of in

that situation now where ijust, ijust want a ceasefire so that we can catch up. so, this is the field hospital. there's four wards that were all built during covid. it's tuesday the 2nd of april, and the drones are back. so, i'm walking back to theatre on my own, which is something that the boys don't really like me doing. i don't know whether you can see, i have like a group of children constantly following me and saying hello. hello. and then they will ask me for money or they'll ask me for chocolate. money? yeah. i haven't got money. just walking through the hospital again. i've got three days of operating left and i'm already panicking about the fact

that we are not going to get through everybody that we need to get through before i go. it is, i know now, it's going to be very difficult to leave, and i'm not looking forward to it. but i've now... i'm now out of all my vac sponge dressings. i've just got canisters. oh, i wish i'd brought more. i really wish i'd brought more. i've just been round to the girls�* room, where the female medical students live. this is the best team i've ever worked on in my entire life. thank you. and i've had the best two weeks ever. thank you for your help. i hope they all get to qualify. i don't know, i don't know how...that�*s going to happen. i think they'll all make really good doctors, and god knows,

gaza needs some doctors right now. dr victoria rose speaking there. she is already planning to go back. us officials are warning that iran has completed preparations for a major attack on israel and that it could happen soon. it follows an airstrike in syria last week on an iranian diplomatic compound in damascus that killed several military advisors, including a top general. our diplomatic correspondentjames landale is injerusalem for us. james, the us is saying the threat from iran is viable and real. yes, that's right, sophie. four days the americans have warned about the threat of an iranian attack on israel. now, as you say, unnamed officials are saying that attack could be imminent and could involve hundreds of cruise missiles and

drones, and at the same time, us officials are saying on the record that it officials are saying on the record thatitis officials are saying on the record that it is a viable and credible threat. it could be that these officials are correctly forecasting and predicting the future. but i think they may also be trying to deter or at least minimise any potential uranium response by talking up the threat so publicly. it may also be that they are trying to shake expectations so that any response is seen as less escalator re. it has been said that our response is necessary but equally iran does not wish to expand the scope of the war. the mood in israel is calm but israel is on alert while the world watches and waits to see what tehran does next. james, thank you. a coroner has ruled that the infamous mass shooting of ten protestant workmen in county armagh in 1976 was an "overtly sectarian attack by the ira." the textile workers

were on their way home when they were shot dead at kingsmill. our ireland correspondent sara girvin has the story. ten murders so horrific they became known as a massacre. ira gunmen lined each of these men up against their work van and opened fire. they shot them again, one by one, following an order to finish them off. there was a sole survivor of the horror, this man, alan black. he was shot 18 times. one bullet grazed his head. he survived by pretending to be dead. following an inquest lasting eight years, today a coroner said the ira attack had been overtly sectarian. he said the victims were killed because they were protestants and for no other reason. the coroner said the police investigation had not been perfect and added that there had been a lack of disclosure from those responsible for the deaths. in remarks clearly aimed at sinn fein, he said there has been no

recognition by political representatives of those involved to the otter wrongness of the ira attack. alan black and the victims�* families say that questions remain. they believe the only way they can get answers is through a public inquiry. i get answers is through a public inuui . . , get answers is through a public inuui . ., , , ., inquiry. i am still searching for the truth and _ inquiry. i am still searching for the truth and i _ inquiry. i am still searching for the truth and i am _ inquiry. i am still searching for the truth and i am so - inquiry. i am still searching for- the truth and i am so disappointed with this. at every turn, they have hidden behind national security. what on earth? it hidden behind national security. what on earth?— what on earth? it 'ust beggars belief. the h what on earth? itjust beggars belief. the government's - what on earth? itjust beggars l belief. the government's legacy what on earth? itjust beggars - belief. the government's legacy act belief. the government�*s legacy act comes into force next month and will stop new inquests into killings during the troubles and instead set “p during the troubles and instead set up a new fact—finding bodies. families of those who have been killed said act robs them of the

chance to get truth. the government says the act draws a line under the troubles. forthose says the act draws a line under the troubles. for those dealing with decades of trauma and loss while still searching for answers, drawing a line is easier said than done. it�*s the grand national tomorrow,= ——it�*s the grand national tomorrow, one of the highlights of the horse—racing calender. one of the hot contenders in the iconic race at aintree is kitty 5 light, a horse trained by formerjockey christian williams. he has been telling our correspondent laura scott why winning would be extra special for his family. the grand national is a race where everyone looks for a bit of luck, a chink of light. none more so than trainer christian williams, who is hoping kitty�*s light can fulfil his dreams after the nightmare of his daughter, betsy, being diagnosed with leukaemia last year. i don�*t think any parent, you know, to say your child�*s got cancer was obviously a big shock to all the family, and to see what the drugs did to betsy mentally was tough for us all.

but things are, seeing a bit of light now at the end of the tunnel. tomorrow might pose a unique test, but april tends to be when kitty�*s light shines. this was him winning the scottish national last year, providing moments of cheer when they were needed most. he�*s been a wonderful horse and never let us down on the big days. he seems to thrive on his racing. he�*s like a different horse when he goes racing. he just seems to grow in stature, and he takes in the big crowds and relishes the big fields. he was great last year during the tough time, and notjust for us, for all the other families that we�*ve met since betsy got diagnosed. so he�*s been a great horse and hopefully the journey�*s still, still not over. to make the trip to liverpool even more exciting, betsy and her sister, tilly, were invited tojudge the style awards on ladies�* day today. training on the beach, like the legendary red rum, kitty�*s light is

bidding to become the first welsh winner of the race since 1905. wouldn�*t it be great if he was in contention at the second—last and then finishing in the first six, you know, trying his best? it would be great to watch him do that. but it would be our wildest dream for him to win. there won�*t be a dry eye in the house if he does it, but it could come at a high price. oh, bets, what did i say will happen if he wins? i would get a swimming pool in the garden. a swimming pool! a real—life one, a real—life one! tomorrow, this family will simply be celebrating being together. their ordeal has made them see everything in a different light. laura scott, bbc news, aintree. wouldn�*t that be a poignant win tomorrow? kitty�*s light is one of

only a few british runners, such is the dominance of irish racers. the owner of another horse told me she is fully behind a number of changes to the grand national to make it safer, including changing the number of runners to 3a and imposing a standing start. given that two horses have died today at aintree, the scrutiny of equine welfare will have only heightened. laura, thank you. time for a look at the weather. here�*s chris. today�*s top ten —— top temperature... as we look at the forecast for tomorrow, a cold front is set to bring colder conditions to the north of the uk. in scotland, it

has been a one day. temperatures in aberdeen reached 19 celsius. tomorrow�*s temperatures will be significantly lower across scotland and northern ireland, by five or six celsius. you will notice the change. evernote, patch of brain push south. —— overnight, patches of brain push south. tomorrow, for scotland and northern ireland, this rain is pushing through. it will be blustery, gusts up to 45 mph. as the rain clears, showers will follow. there could be patchy rain from northern england and wales, but it is the coolness of the air you will notice across scotland and northern ireland, coupled with strong winds, feelings colder here. for england and wales, another warm day, the last one, temperatures of 21 or 22 celsius. that colder air sinks south

as we had through saturday. we are