i'm not particularly seen a considerable drop in anything, unfortunately. also on the programme this lunchtime... the actor hugh grant settles a privacy case against the publisher of the sun newspaper — he says for an enormous sum of money. explosions. a russian missile strike in ukraine kills at least 1a people — president zelensky blames his ——says it would not have happened if western allies had sent more air defences. the foreign secretary has been injerusalem meeting israeli government leaders as they decide on their response to iran's drone and missile attack. # didn't think i'd do # but now i see...# and the searchers then... ..and now. one of pop music's longest running bands are back on stage. and coming up on bbc news... after a dramatic night in the champions league yesterday, defending champions manchester city, as well as arsenal, now look to book

their places in the final four. good afternoon. inflation has fallen to its lowest level for two and a half years. the rate at which consumer prices rise was 3.2% last month, that's down from 3.4% in february. food prices were the main reason for the fall, which was slightly less than had been expected. inflation has been gradually coming down since its peak of ii% 18 months ago. this report from our chief economics correspondent, dharshini david. from the moment her day starts, higher prices are taking their toll on sam, who cares for adults with learning difficulties. water is 8% more expensive than a year ago.

energy bills are down 18%, long—awaited relief for many. food and drink, however, is up 4% overall. milk is cheaper, as you may have noticed, but that could be overshadowed by the likes of sugar, which is 14% dearer. sam has had pay rises, but she is forgoing things from haircuts to eye tests to make ends meet. i have thought about leaving for a better paid job. but i love myjob, i'm very passionate about myjob. and it's actually not a job, it's a vocation. which i feel that we need more people to come into this work but if they look at the pay, they wouldn't want to do this work. inflation has slowed considerably from its peak as weaker global food and energy costs and higher interest rates take effect. and a lower energy price cap in april will help

it fall to the bank of england's 2% target. but things remain more expensive. council tax especially. it'sjust shooting it's just shooting up. so it is getting more difficult every day. so i don't see any real changes. the most expensive thing is the accommodation - and the oil and petrol. and when petrol prices are increasing, - everything is increasing. i've not particularly seen a considerable drop in anything, unfortunately. but hopefully, fingers crossed, things will start to improve. for the prime minister, a sense things are getting better. after a tough couple of years, today's figures show that our economic plan is working and inflation continues to fall. having been 11% when i became prime minister, it's now fallen tojust over 3%, the lowest level in two and half years. i think that the reasons - for the falls in inflation are down to what is happening in some of the global markets. - but the truth is people are still worse off. -

worse off after 14 years - of conservative government. ready to hit the road, but only after sam has forked out a bigger insurance bill which, like many services, has seen more stubborn inflation, and to fill up — petrol prices could rise further if unrest in the middle east hits oil prices. which could mean more bumps in the road to lower inflation. economists still expect rates to start falling in the summer but we are not there yet. dharshini david, bbc news. and live now to our political correspondent ben wright at westminster, because the economy dominated prime minister's questions in the commons in the last hour? yes, it did, and clearly the economy will be a major battleground at the next election and i think there are two competing slogans, arguments that we will hear endlessly between now and then. rishi sunak and his team will say, we heard today, that

their plan for the economy is working and they will urge voters to stick with the conservatives, and clearly with inflation falling they feel there is no more positive story to tell for their part, i think labour will keep asking voters a simple question, do you feel better off than you did last time around? and they also won't waste any opportunity to mention the name liz truss when they can, and that's precisely what we heard at prime minister's questions today. the political ghost of liz truss really hovered over this session. she is plugging her book, of course. and the labour leader sir keir starmer said it was her unfunded tax cuts that crash the economy. the prime minister public response, i thought, was really striking, he said he had repeatedly warned that liz truss's economic policies would lead to disaster, he said, i was right then and i am right now, other i'm not sure that will settle the argument. thank you very much, ben wright, reporting from westminster. the actor hugh grant has settled his privacy case against the publisher of the sun newspaper.

according to court documents, mr grant claimed the sun used private investigators to tap his phone and burgle his house. the terms of the settlement have not been made public, but hugh grant says he's been offered quote �*an enormous sum of money'. a spokesman for news group newspapers says the sun does not accept liability or make any admissions to the allegations. sarah campbelljoins me now. sarah, talk us through the details of this. hugh grant, the actor, has been a prominent campaigner on press reform since the phone hacking scandal emerged more than a decade ago, and it had been expected that injanuary of next year, he would have his time in court. in this case, against news group newspapers, the publishers of the sun, and he is one of several individuals including, as you say, prince harry, suing the school for unlawful permission gathering —— publishers of the sun. in mr grant's case, he alleges tapping his landlines, burgling his house, using

blogging methods to access medical information, and he had been vocal about this, so it was somewhat of a surprise when at a court hearing this morning it emerged he had in fact settled his case. —— using blagging methods. he released a long thread on x, formerly known as critical explaining why. he said the publisher had offered him an enormous sum of money to get this matter out of court and went on that he did not want to accept it or settle as he wanted to see those allegations tested in court but his lawyers had advised him that if he went to court and won, if the damages he were offered were just a penny less than the settlement, he would have to pay the legal costs of both sides and he said that would amount to something like £10 million. news group newspapers had previously rejected allegations of any wrongdoing by staff at the sun and have settled more than 1000 cases without making any admission of liability, that is what has happened here. they had released a statement in relation to this case

saying, we reached an agreement to settle the case, this has been done without an admission of liability, it is in both parties' financial interests not to progress the trial and just to say, mr grant says he will use that money to boost groups like hacked off, which campaigns against what it sees as wrongdoing by the press. against what it sees as wrongdoing by the press-_ against what it sees as wrongdoing by the pres— against what it sees as wrongdoing by the press. in ukraine, a russian missile attack has killed at least 1a people in the city of chernihiv, according to officials there. dozens of other residents have been wounded, and the authorities have appealed urgently for blood donations. the missile strikes hit an eight—story building and others nearby. ukraine's president zelensky says it wouldn't have happened if western allies had supplied enough air defences. james waterhouse reports from kyiv. bus passengers dive for cover after two missiles hit nearby. what follows is the haunting sound of a third. explosion.

in chernihiv, air strikes happen with little notice. russia tried and failed to take this city, but with its border only 60 miles away, the skies bring a constant threat. "i was walking my dog," says maxim. "i heard a hit, then a second and a third. i thought it was air defence working." the explosions are followed by a familiar recovery routine, with the number of dead expected to rise. for ukrainians, there is no escape from russia's invasion and their leader keeps asking his allies for more air defences. translation: with our partners, we work to get more real help - to achieve true equality in the defence against terror, for the same rules to apply to us here in ukraine. with western military aid continuing to deplete, ukraine is increasingly fighting this war on its own. and james is live in kyiv now.

and, james, president zelensky clearly really angry today that the west is not supplying ukraine with more air defences, which he says could have stopped this. he is very frustrated leader _ could have stopped this. he is very frustrated leader at _ could have stopped this. he is very frustrated leader at the _ could have stopped this. he is very frustrated leader at the moment, l could have stopped this. he is very| frustrated leader at the moment, in a week where he has watched israel, another country which is not in the nato alliance, where he has watched its own allies unite unprotected from a wide scale, large—scale drone attack directly by iran, where you had british and american forces directly intercepting the drones' launch. the question he's asking is why that cannot be the same for ukraine for until now ukraine's allies, the same countries you mentioned there, has would not have said that the risk of escalation is too high. but you can be sure he will see this as an opportunity because the situation is becoming increasingly desperate for ukraine, to be frank. and so he will use this

to be frank. and so he will use this to politically leveraged his western allies, to try in some way to get them on the same hymn sheet. there is a big vote in the us on more military aid but it's becoming more and more pressing, with more russian air strikes. , ., , and more pressing, with more russian air strikes. , . , ., ~ and more pressing, with more russian air strikes. , . , . ~ , ., and more pressing, with more russian air strikes. , ., , . ~' ,, g. , air strikes. james, thank you. james waterhouse — air strikes. james, thank you. james waterhouse in _ air strikes. james, thank you. james waterhouse in kyiv. _ meanwhile the bbc has confirmed the deaths of 50,000 russian troops since the start of the full scale invasion of ukraine. more than 27,300 were killed in the second year of combat. the bbc, russian independent media and volunteers have been counting deaths from official reports, and counting the new graves of soldiers since february 2022. the actual death toll is thought to be far higher — nearer 100,000. you can see a full report on the bbc news app and the bbc website. the foreign secretary lord cameron has been injerusalem as the world waits to see how israel will respond to iran's drone and missile attacks last weekend.

lord cameron has had talks with the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. from jerusalem, our diplomatic correspondent, james landale. more than 300 drones and missiles were launched at israel from iran. an unprecedented attack that thrust an old war out of the shadows into the open. the men and women around this table have decided to retaliate. but it's not clear when or how. their allies are urging restraint. the message lord cameron reinforced when he met his counterpart injerusalem, asking israel to think about the future of the region. germany's foreign minister, also in town, urging israel to act wisely. israel is an independent sovereign country and gets to make these choices. we hope, continue to hope that as they do so, they do so in a way that is smart as well as tough but also does as little as possible

to escalate this conflict. lord cameron said he would also be raising the situation in gaza where humanitarian crisis is still dire. he said he would be asking israel to do more to let aid in. but also put pressure on hamas to release the israeli hostages and accept what he called the good ceasefire deal. in iran today, parades to celebrate the country's army and its stock of missiles. all in front of the president, who had a fresh warning against any retaliation by israel. translation: if the zionist regime makes the slightest move _ to violate our territory or harm the national interests of the islamic republic, they must understand they will face a severe and heavy response. israel has won new diplomatic support in the wake of iran's attack. and it wants to use that to put more

international pressure on tehran. and the west seems happy to do that. g7 ministers meeting in italy today are expected to discuss new sanctions on iran. there is more that we can do to show a united front, that iran is behind so much of the malign activity in this region. backing hamas, backing hezbollah, backing the houthis. they need to be given a clear, unequivocal message by the g7. much now depends on this man, the prime minister benjamin netanyahu, who lord cameron also met. he has welcomed britain's military support in the defence of israel at the weekend, but in this war, he has not always listened to britain's advice. james landale, bbc news, jerusalem. paedophiles who are convicted of the most serious offences could lose parental rights over their own children. it follows an amendment to a bill passing through parliament tabled by the labour mp, harriet harman. she was responding to a report

on the issue from our correspondent sanchia berg, whojoins me now. and, sanchia, it was your reporting from family courts that shone a spotlight on this? that is right, from last year certain family courts have allowed journalists to report in a much more meaningful and detailed way than before provided we keep people anonymous. so inkatha family court i followed the case of a young mother who was trying to remove parental rights from her former husband because he had recently been convicted of multiple serious paedophile offences. and while he was barred from any contact with other children he still had parental rights over his own child and that meant he had a say over her health, education, travel and also could in future when released from prison have contact with her. so that is why the mother supported by her own parents brought the case and it took many months and was gruelling at

times and cost over £30,000. but they got but they wanted, they did win and i followed they got but they wanted, they did win and ifollowed it they got but they wanted, they did win and i followed it all the way through and spoke to them at the end. and they were very pleased to do that to try to highlight this issue in the hope that something would change. so when i spoke to them they were very happy that this amendment is going forward. without reporting, people, politicians, policymakers, no one is aware of what's going on in family courts. and because this case was reported on, those issues were brought to a wider audience, those experts can actually weigh in and say, this isn't right. and that's why they could produce an amendment, because now they understand what the need was. it's a tremendous victory. as you were saying harriet harman heard my original reports and she decided then and there to try to change the law recognising where that gap was. and she explained to me exactly why she wanted to do that. although we've been protecting other people's children from . sex offenders since the 1990s, but we haven't challenged - the patriarchal right of fathers to have responsibility-

over their own children. but as soon as you see a case i and you realise how it's working, it's obvious that action needs to be taken. - so she told us and i confirmed this that the lord chancellor supports amendment and it is likely to go forward within the next few weeks. she has been assured that even if there is an election sooner than we currently anticipate it will go through. it would be very narrow initially in focus applying only to the very worst sexual offences. thank you very much. our top story this afternoon: inflation drops again — it's down to 3.2% largely thanks to falling food prices. gunshot. shouting. coming up: a campaign to bring a private prosecution over the death of pc yvonne fletcher, a0 years after she was shot outside the libyan embassy in london. coming up on bbc news...

we round up the latest action and discuss the biggest talking points of the date from the bbc sports centre. there are just 100 days until the start of the olympics in paris, the president of the organising committee has said he's "very satisfied" with preparations for the event. he's told the bbc there'll be an "unprecedented" security operation because of growing concerns about safety. our sports editor dan roan is in paris for us now. so, dan, the organisers confident they'll be ready. they seem to be confident. after all they have not faced the same infrastructure delivery challenges that the organisers of other games in recent years have done because

there is only one major venue that had to be built and that is the aquatic centre. most of the other infrastructure is already existing or temporary. infrastructure is already existing ortemporary. of infrastructure is already existing or temporary. of course this will be the first games for seven years in back of in front of full crowds. we spoke to the man in charge about the security challenge that the organisers face. a sneak preview of how paris 2024 will look this summer. we were granted access to one of the most spectacular sports venues being built for the games, preparations gathering pace with just 100 days to go. this will be the playing surface for the beach volleyball competition. this 13,000 seater arena, a temporary venue, is rapidly taking shape. and as you can see, the setting couldn't be any more iconic. with millions of tickets already sold, 250,000 more go on sale today, the man in charge telling me plans for paris are on track.

it's the biggest event that france has ever organised. the venues are ready, the budget is balanced. we know that in this kind of event anything can happen in the last stretch. but i'm very satisfied with where we stand at this moment. but at a time of high geopolitical tension and in a country that has seen extremist attacks, there are mounting safety concerns, especially over the unprecedented opening ceremony, with athletes set to sail along a stretch of the seine on barges. security is the top priority, from day one we put in place an unprecedented system. can you guarantee that an event that's open, on the river, is safe? yes. there is this expertise coming from the public authorities. i trust when they say we know how to deliver an opening ceremony on the river seine. despite such assurances, this week french president emmanuel macron admitted the opening ceremony may have to move from the river if the security risk is deemed too high.

organisers say the games will help to regenerate the suburb of saint—denis, home to the main stadium and athletes village, and one of the poorest and most diverse parts of the country. but some who live here have doubts about its legacy. it would be very complicated to travel. maybe for two months there will be some jobs, but it won't last. will it change the everyday life of the inhabitants? i don't think so. despite concerns over swimming events in the seine due to pollution levels, organisers are promising a sustainable games, with 95% of the infrastructure existing or temporary. paris starting to feel like an olympic city as the final countdown begins. dan roan, bbc news. a former post office investigator has said that he did not believe a challenge to the horizon it system in one case to be relevant to others. jon longman investigated seema misra, a sub—postmaster who was eventually jailed

while pregnant. he told the post office inquiry he had believed horizon was robust and at the time, had not been concerned about a growing number of challenges to the it system. our business editor simonjack is at the inquiry. the focus as you say on the investigator in the case of seema misra who was convicted and jailed in 2010 when she was a mother and also pregnant with their second child. now he made an important adjustment to his witness statement, he originally said he was not aware of any other cases where problems with the horizon system were identified as potential issues in what was going wrong. but he mended that because there was a series of evidence that not only was he aware of reports of other problems with horizon software but he actually worked in a case were challenged to

the integrity of horizon was the thing that made them abandon the case. he said as you say that he did not consider reports of horizon problems in one case is being particularly relevant to another case but today seem to change his tune. the thinking at the time was only cases where it had been identified needed to be disclosed. but i can see what you're saying now that yes, this should have been mentioned or presented to the defence so that obviously they could make their own inquiries or representations about this. and simon we are also hearing today that post office chief executive nick read has been "exonerated of all misconduct allegations" following a report into his behaviour. yes, this is not connected to this inquiry on the horizon problems but more bad around the break—up of whether the post office had been instructed by the government to go

slow on payments, something the government denied and there was a furious row with the chief executive and in that row it emerged that the conduct of nick reed was being investigated internally with some allegations of bullying. that report has now come back and nick read has been exonerated of misconduct. thank you very much. there's a memorial ceremony today for pc yvonne fletcher, a0 years after the young constable was shot and killed outside the libyan embassy in london in 1984. a campaign is also being launched to bring a private prosecution over her death. our home and legal correspondent, dominic casciani, reports. bagpipes play. for a0 years, the thin blue line of policing between serving the public and dying while protecting them, has been remembered at this spot. wpc yvonne fletcher was fatally shot on this day in 198a.

today, hundreds of former and serving officers turned out to honour her sacrifice. the 25—year—old died in a hail of bullets fired from inside libya's then embassy, controlled at the time by revolutionary followers of libya's colonel gaddafi. yvonne fletcher had been sent to control crowds and her death shocked the nation. after a ten day siege, the then prime minister margaret thatcher had no choice under diplomatic immunity laws but to let the shooters go. the police neverforgot, including john murray, who held wpc fletcher's hand as she lay dying. now, what i cannot understand and will never be able to understand is why our government, the uk government, has lost interest in the death of a colleague and friend. well, i can assure my government that i won't. this is why he says yvonne fletcher has been let down.

the crown prosecution service dropped a case against this man, saleh ibrahim mabrouk, the last surviving figure from inside the embassy. so mr murray sued for damages. mr mabrouk e—mailed from libya to say he'd done nothing wrong, but the judge ruled he was jointly liable for the shooting carried out by others. mr murray is using that ruling to try a rare private prosecution, funded by his supporters. private prosecutions are difficult and face many hurdles — this one perhaps more than many. but the gathering today is resolute. this is a policing family united in grief and wondering whyjohn murray has to go it alone. i should have been there on the day. you should have been there on the day? yeah, but i swapped, my colleague swapped. consecutive governments have been a disgrace. politicians are a disgrace. plays the last post. today, sadness, but in the weeks to come, hope.

john murray will askjudges to start an extraordinary murder trial and perhaps one last time, hope to see justice done. dominic casciani, bbc news, in central london. heavy rain has battered some gulf states, causing flash flooding across the region. several states recorded nearly a year's worth of rain in a day. flights into dubai airport — one of the world's busiest — were temporarily diverted and are still facing disruption. they've been called the longest running band in pop history. the searchers were formed way back in 1957 and had hits such as �*needles and pins' and �*sweets for my sweet'. well now they're in their 805 but, it seeems, they've got no intention of putting their feet up for a quiet life of retirement: in fact, they're on yet another tour. our arts correspondent david sillito has been to meet them.

thank you. welcome. # sweets for my sweet... #. we are the oldest band going, yeah. that's the merseybeat bands. i'm 82. 83 this year. i am a very proud 80. and i feel i'm 25. i have no mobility problems. we've all got a certain amount of time on this earth and i'm going to enjoy it while it's still there. the searchers, back on the road in their eighties. retirement seems to be a bit of a problem for us! well, they started out in the fifties and are still going strong. meet britain's oldest working rock and roll band. we're in chester's storyhouse, and the crowd are on their feet for some true rock and roll survivors. frank and john are now in the eighth decade of their playing careers.

john formed the band back in the fifties. over the years, there have been splits, two band members have died, more recently, john had a stroke and frank was hospitalised. but as they hit their eighties, they decided rock and roll was more fun than retirement. what's the crowd like these days? absolutely baffling. i mean, they come, they come every night! # sweets for my sweet. . .. #. and they come from everywhere. # every time that you walk in the room! #. would you recommend a life of rock and roll on the road for other 80—somethings? if you love it, i totally recommend it. yeah. and the secrets of your longevity is your...? moderation. moderation is the only thing i do to excess! you've not lived the rock and roll life, have you? i was completely debauch free!

there's no hint of you wanting to retire, is there? none. but on stage, you enjoy it? i love it. yeah, absolutely. yeah, but i'm an old hand like that, you know, ijust live for the applause. indeed. when you've got a crowd like this every night, rock and roll seems a pretty fun way to spend your eighties! david sillito, bbc news, chester. time for a look at the weather. here's louise lear. good afternoon. we have reverted to type with sunshine and showers in the last few days. for some quite pleasant out there but the wind direction has played its part. windy with some showers and if that is the case for you you will know about it and that is all to do with the position of high pressure which is

out to the west. and because the wind