today at six: the beginning of 2024 saw the uk economy growing more than expected after it shrank in the second half of last year. it means stronger sales for some, but is this the start of a real recovery? it does feel like, yeah, things are getting busier and picking up again. i would disagree that we are coming out of recession. i would say we're just sort of teetering. the murder of pc sharon beshenivsky in 2005 — a 75—year—old man is jailed for life. labour sets out its policy on dealing with small boats, saying they'd scrap the rwanda plan straightaway if they took power. prince william on a visit to the scilly isles tells well—wishers about kate's health. while prince harry begins his

own walkabout with wife meghan on a visit in nigeria. and why classes across the uk are being cancelled and schools closed because of cyber attacks. on sportsday later in the hour on bbc news, firm favourites in the old firm match, but can rangers beat celtic for the first time this season to send the title race to the final weekend? good evening. the economy grew more strongly than expected at the start of 202a. it means the uk is out of recession — that's when the economy shrinks for two three—month periods in a row, as it did towards the end of last year, when people faced higher prices in shops and higher interest rates. the prime minister said the uk economy has "real momentum," but admitted there is "more work to do". with more, here's our economics

editor, faisal islam. the recession is now over, because the economy, all the goods and services we buy and sell, was officially growing by 0.6% in the first three months of the year. that's the highest, alongside canada, in the g7 advanced nations, higher even than the us. and it is quite impressive by the sluggish standards of the last few years, but is what you might call normal growth. overall, we still haven't had much in the past two years, but you can see here in red that recession, a mild, shallow recession, so is this is very much mild growth too. i went to the west country to see how people were feeling. where better than rollquick in bristol to see a turn up in the economic cycle, the end of recession? it has been extreme boom and bust in the bike market since the pandemic, with changes

in consumer demand, supply us, and some retailers going bust. but now, like the economy in general, the brakes are coming off. so, from what you can see in this shop, does it feel like coming out of recession? it's beginning to. right now, it does feel like, yeah, things are getting busier and picking up again. from bristol's bikes to its butchers — better news from less bad news on the prices of everyday staples. no, it seems to be ok. it seems to have plateaued a bit, so fingers crossed it shouldn't, we hope, go up any more. ijust hope that prices will stay as they are, to be honest with you, because it's been a tough few years for a lot of people. visiting a new investment in mri scanners in oxford, the pm says a better than expected economy offers some vindication for his own plan. so, look, it is going to take time for people to really feel better, but i'm confident that today's figures show that we now have momentum. the economy has real momentum. it's hard to argue with that.

there are some arguing you are being delusional, that you are gaslighting the british public on the economy. all i'd say is, that typical from the labour party. it's just being incredibly negative about the country, negative about the economy, talking it down when this isn'tjust me saying that. this is the bank of england governor yesterday saying that we've turned a corner. this is the office for national statistics, independently, who has put out figures that show we have the joint fast highest growth rate in the g7. both main parties say they want to fight the general election on the economy. this is the first parliament on record where living standards will be lower at the end than they were at the beginning. this is no cause for celebration, no cause for a victory lap. my ambitions for britain are so much greater than merelyjust coming out of recession, which is all that rishi sunak and jeremy hunt have achieved. hi, john. hi, how are you doing? back in bristol, on the longest street of independent shops in the country, it's the carpet shop that could really show its

confidence is returning. people are thinking twice. when you tell them the full price, they go, ok, maybe just have three rooms and not the stairs. so it's not like it was. it's a much harder environment at the moment. i would disagree that we are coming out of recession. i would say we are just sort of teetering. across the economy as a whole, the brief recession is now over, so normal growth is back, but up and down the nation, households and businesses aren't yet fully healed from the economic scars of a tough few years. are we out of the woods? it can both be true that — are we out of the woods? it can both be true that we _ are we out of the woods? it can both be true that we are _ are we out of the woods? it can both be true that we are at _ are we out of the woods? it can both be true that we are at a _ are we out of the woods? it can both be true that we are at a turning - be true that we are at a turning point, and that is clear in these gdp figures, 0.6% growth is clearly better than having been negative for two gdp figures, 0.6% growth is clearly better than having been negative for two waters gdp figures, 0.6% growth is clearly better than having been negative for two waters in gdp figures, 0.6% growth is clearly better than having been negative for two waters in the gdp figures, 0.6% growth is clearly better than having been negative for two waters in the last gdp figures, 0.6% growth is clearly better than having been negative for two waters in the last half gdp figures, 0.6% growth is clearly better than having been negative for two waters in the last half of gdp figures, 0.6% growth is clearly better than having been negative for two waters in the last half of last year. it can also be true that we have some way to go to catch up from

what we lost over the past couple of years. in terms of how people feel that, it will be in the level of prices in the shops. inflation is also due to come down, but i think there is a way to go yet.— also due to come down, but i think there is a way to go yet. thank you very much- — piran ditta khan, who was found guilty last month of the 2005 murder of the police officer sharon beshenivsky has been jailed for life. the mother—of—three was shot dead as she and her colleague responded to a break—in at a travel agent's in bradford. thejudge said that pc beshenivsky�*s "courage and commitment to her duty that day cost her life". danny savage was in court. he was the man who fled the country to avoid arrest for the murder of a police officer. in 2006, he got on a plane from heathrow to islamabad. butjustice eventually caught up with piran ditta khan. he was deported from pakistan and today given a ao—year minimum sentence for the murder of pc sharon beshenivsky, a mother and stepmum killed

on her daughter's fourth birthday. police constable sharon beshenivsky�*s courage and commitment to her duty that day cost her her life. the sentence i pass is no measure of the value of the life that has been lost. that is beyond measure. and no sentence i pass can put right what you have done. this was the scene on that awful day in 2005. pc beshenivsky had been responding to reports of a panic alarm at a travel agent with her colleague, pc teresa milburn, when she was shot dead just after getting out of their patrol car. the 18th of november 2005 is a date that will remain etched in our memories forever. what started as a happy, special day, to celebrate lydia's fourth birthday, was a day that ended with devastating and sad consequences due to the callous actions of piran ditta khan

and his associates. since then, the 18th of november is no longer a birthday celebration for lydia and all of us, but now a day of remembrance and memorial. the court also heard a victim impact statement from lydia beshenivsky. she says, since the age of four, there has always been a void in her life and she remembers her mum as a hero. all those years ago, two mums set out to work, two ordinary people doing extraordinary work for the public, protecting them and keeping them safe. one didn't return home and one didn't return home in the same way. in the minutes before she died, she was talking about the birthday party later that day for her little girl. the man responsible for her murder will never see freedom again. danny savage, bbc news, leeds.

sir keir starmer says a labour government would scrap the government's one dot straightaway. he refused to commit to stopping the boats, saying he would not put false numbers on his plans. new figures from the home office show more than 9,000 people have crossed the channel in small boats this year. that's a rise of 35% on the same period last year. our political editor chris mason is in dover. the politics of illegal migration, on authorised migration, asylum seekers, people who have applied for refugee status and who are awaiting a decision, even the terminology here of this topic is contested. today i saw in cure starmer i don't think i've seen before. perhaps

those local election results in the defection of yet another conservative mp to labour benches has something to do with that. but confidence alone won't solve the profound problems here in the channel, that plenty of leaders have been grappling with for long time. dover this morning. the latest arrivals picked up by border force in the english channel. the ambulance a reminder of the perils of a crossing. a few miles away, the man who thinks he has a solution. and just look who's following in keir starmer�*s footsteps. the local mp, natalie elphicke, who walked into this week as a conservative mp and ends it sitting with labour. sir keir�*s main idea is this... border security command will bring together hundreds of specialist investigators — the best of the best — from the national crime agency, the border force, immigration enforcement, the crown prosecution

service, and, yes, mi5. listening, responding — the prime minister. and as far as i can tell, all the things they're talking about today are all things that we're already doing. crunching through the backlog, having more law enforcement officers do more. that's all happening already. we announced all of that more than a year ago. there is then a battle of ideas and a tussle over sounding tough. these vile people smugglers are no better than terrorists. they're a threat to our national security and a threat to life. that means new powers that will allow us to shut off internet access, close their bank accounts. labour want to use counter—terrorism laws "to smash people smuggling gangs", as they put it. but how much difference would this make? so i think there's an open question here about what precisely these anti—terrorism powers will amount to, whether it will make it considerably easier to police smuggling gangs and ultimately whether it will have a material

impact on getting small boat arrivals down. next then, time to scrutinise labour's ideas. keir starmer, you say that you want what you call a border security command. the prime minister's set up a small boat operational command. what, in practical terms, is the difference? well, let me tell you. the prime minister's operation, which is good, is a processing operation here, coordinating with those in france about the boats that are actually coming across. but i want something much more ambitious than that, which is to set up a command that will take down the gangs that are putting people in the boats in the first place. how can you be certain that the government's rwanda scheme won't be a deterrent? maybe, just maybe, it'll work. i think it's a gimmick. i think it's an extremely expensive gimmick. £600 million to remove just a few hundred people, less than i% of those that arrive via small boat. maybe it will act as a deterrent.

i do not think it's going to work. i'm not going to come into government, if we're privileged enough to do so, and flog a dead horse at great expense to the taxpayer. a deeply complex issue over which keir starmer and rishi sunak grapple for credibility and long for solutions — as partial as they may prove to be. chris mason, bbc news, in dover. in ukraine, president zelensky says a fierce battle is under way after russian forces launched a surprise cross—border attack in the kharkiv region. russian forces are reported to have advanced into ukrainian territory. the city of kharkiv lies just 25 miles from the russian border in the north—east of ukraine. our defence correspondent jonathan beale is there. the time is 6:13. our top story this evening:

the uk has come out of recession after figures show the economy grew at the start of this year. celtic and rangers go head—to—head tomorrow in the old firm derby. and coming up on sportsday in the next 15 minutes on bbc news, a new name on the trophy and a wembley sell—out on sunday. we'll look ahead to the women's fa cup final between manchester united and tottenham. prince william has said his wife catherine is "doing well" following her cancer diagnosis. he made the remarks while visiting a hospital on the isles of scilly. the princess of wales revealed in march that she was receiving "preventative chemotherapy" after abdominal surgery injanuary. our south west england correspondent jenny kumah reports. sailing into st mary's harbour on a sunny day to a warm welcome. the prince back at work, but there was still time for a pasty. it means a lot because it's showing that he's still here for the community.

the scillies are said to be a favourite place for prince william. he's visited many times — as a child with his parents, then as a husband and father with his own family. today, it was noticeable that the prince was here on his own as his wife continues her cancer treatment, with many people he met here wishing the prince and his family well. and local businesses gearing up for the summer season seems glad he was here. i think it shows his strength of character, integrity that he wants to continue his duty. from the harbour to the local community hospital, where he was asked about his wife. may i ask how princess kate is doing? she's doing well. lovely. and the children as well? the children are very jealous that i'm here. he appreciated the inquiry, and i did wish him well and said that perhaps they needed a little break over here, which he said they might very well be doing. and the matron handed the prince a letterfrom her granddaughter. digging the ground

for a new health unit. the prince headed home with a promise to return. jenny kumah, bbc news, st mary's. meanwhile, prince harry has said it's been great to be back in the uk, at the end of his three—day visit from america to mark the 10th anniversary of the invictus games, the sporting event for injured personnel which he founded. during a charity event in central london last night, the bbc�*s royal correspondent, daniela relph, was given exclusive access to the duke of sussex as hejoined a children's party. it's nice to have you back. how is it being here? it's great. just as the lights turned on. perfect timing. it's great, it's amazing. what scotty's is doing with these kids is absolutely incredible and very needed as well. and the more opportunity we get to do these kinds of events, the more that families and kids up and down the country actually know that scotty's exists, which is really the most important thing. is it nice to be back in the uk? yeah, it's great. nice to see you.

well, earlier today the duke and duchess of sussex landed in nigeria on a three—day visit, hosted by the country's defence chief. simijolaosho is in the nigerian city of abuja for us now. well, it has been a lively day here in abuja for the duke and duchess of sussex. this is the first time they have visited nigeria and abuja. prince harry has always had a special affinity with africa but nigeria in particular is close to meghan�*s heart. this visit actually stems from a conversation that prince harry had with the nigerian military chief during the in victors games last year but today was all about highlighting mental health, they visited a school where they were enthusiastically greeted by schoolchildren, some of whom told me that they were left really inspired

by the couple. serenaded with traditional music and enthusiastic dances. greeted by rose of adoring schoolchildren. some the same age as the children, lilibet and archie. the purpose of the visit was to open a mental health centre. but not before more performances from the students. we acknowledge those from the students. we acknowledge these amazing _ from the students. we acknowledge those amazing dance _ from the students. we acknowledge those amazing dance moves! - those amazing dance moves! cheering prince harry encouraged the children to look out for friends who might be struggling. just to look out for friends who might be stru: calin, , ~ ., ., to look out for friends who might be stru~lin~. , ~ ., ., ., struggling. just know that mental health affects _ struggling. just know that mental health affects every _ struggling. just know that mental health affects every single - struggling. just know that mentalj health affects every single person in the entire world and the more you talk about it, the more you can kick

stigma away, far, far away into the long grass. for stigma away, far, far away into the long gram— stigma away, far, far away into the long grass-— long grass. for meghan, who discovered — long grass. for meghan, who discovered she _ long grass. for meghan, who discovered she is _ long grass. for meghan, who discovered she is 4396 - long grass. for meghan, who i discovered she is 4396 nigerian long grass. for meghan, who - discovered she is 4396 nigerian tax discovered she is 43% nigerian tax to a genealogy test, this trip is personal. she feels an affinity to those here. figs personal. she feels an affinity to those here-— personal. she feels an affinity to those here. as i look around this room, i those here. as i look around this room. i see _ those here. as i look around this room, i see myself— those here. as i look around this room, i see myself in _ those here. as i look around this room, i see myself in all- those here. as i look around this room, i see myself in all of- those here. as i look around this. room, i see myself in all of you as well. what might this is one ofjust a few international tours that the duke and duchess of sussex have partaken in since stepping down as senior working members of the royal family. senior working members of the royal famil . , , . , senior working members of the royal famil. , , ._ senior working members of the royal famil. , , ., , , family. this trip has really focused on the issue. _ family. this trip has really focused on the issue, the _ family. this trip has really focused on the issue, the topics _ family. this trip has really focused on the issue, the topics that - on the issue, the topics that they are passionate about. and that passion has resonated with students here. ~ , ., , ~' passion has resonated with students here. ~ , .,, ,, .., passion has resonated with students here. ~ , .,, ,, _, ., here. when people like them come to a school like — here. when people like them come to a school like this _ here. when people like them come to a school like this and _ here. when people like them come to a school like this and talk— here. when people like them come to a school like this and talk about - a school like this and talk about mental— a school like this and talk about mental health, the children realise it's a _ mental health, the children realise it's a normal feeling to have. these are emotions that are valid. it is really important _ are emotions that are valid. it is really important to _ are emotions that are valid. it 3 really important to me, especially as i suffer with things like depression and anxiety from time to time, and it was really nice that they came up and spoke about it and

they came up and spoke about it and they mentioned it's ok not to be ok. so it was really inspirational. this is a first of _ so it was really inspirational. this is a first of three _ so it was really inspirational. this is a first of three days the couple spent in nigeria. tomorrow another cause near to their heart, helping wounded and injured soldiers. simi jolaosho, bbc news, abuja. joining me now is our royal correspondentjonny dymond. the pictures today suggest two official royal walkabouts by princes william and harry, but they're not, are they? they are not. it really is a reminder of what might have been. two very popular members of the royalfamily doing what two very popular members of the royal family doing what looks suspiciously like to make royal tours. prince william during the day job, doing that tour of the isles of scilly by himself remember, kate is recovering from cancer, preventative treatment there. butjust look recovering from cancer, preventative treatment there. but just look at those pictures of harry! at one point in nigeria, he carried out what looks like a military review of the defence department, it really

did look like a royal tour. two things gave the game away, one i think as he was dressed a bit informally for a royal tour but the other one was that he was visibly enjoying himself and i am afraid he just didn't look like that when he was doing thejob just didn't look like that when he was doing the job and that is one of the reasons he got out of it. the question of course is how are things with the family? he was happy to tell the bbc that he was grateful to be back in the uk but on relations with the relations, on that he wouldn't be drawn. johnny, many thanks. a man released from prison five days before stabbing an elderly mobility scooter rider to death in west london in august 2022, has been detained indefinitely in a psychiatric hospital. 87—year—old thomas o'halloran, who used to busk to raise money for ukraine, was murdered in greenford. lee byer, who's 45, was suffering from paranoid delusions when he attacked the pensioner. a manslaughter plea

was accepted on the grounds of diminished responsibility. further disruption is expected this weekend with drivers on the m25 want only to use it if necessary. it will be shut between junctions nine and ten from 9pm this evening to 6am on monday morning. cyber attacks on uk schools have caused cancelled lessons and weeks of disruption, according to new figures. hackers are increasingly targeting schools because they hold a wealth of sensitive data but have limited budgets to spend on software and security. the education and childcare sector reported 347 cyber—incidents to the information commissioner's office in 2023. that's an increase of 55% on the previous year. some incidents have even forced schools to temporarily close. here's our education correspondent elaine dunkley. could literally see the cursor

moving on their screen remotely. across the country, the cyber scammers are targeting schools. the whole thing feels very sinister, actually. international gangs stealing sensitive data about pupils and parents and demanding money. they're constantly trying to barrage and find ways of getting into your system. this is brockington college in leicestershire. it has over 1,000 pupils. hackers got into the system during the easter break. every aspect of school life — from safeguarding to school dinners — has been disrupted. door locks, cctv around the schools, the management systems for registers — there are so many systems that are part of schools with technology. in every possible way, the impact is tremendous. schools hold a wealth of information, but often have limited resources to stop the hackers. it feels that as a school system, you've been violated, you know? there are people accessing your records, your pupil and staff data. of course, the biggest question is what have they done with anything that they've taken?

or indeed, have they taken anything? once the criminals get into the school's system, they demand a ransom with threats of publishing sensitive data on the dark web. we're cracking on with all of the changes that we need to do to the network... granville academy in derby had to close for a day this term due to a cyber attack. it could have been a lot worse. the school regularly does practice runs to prepare staff who were quick to respond. we didn't have any ransomware, for example, that was put into the system. we had to shut the internet down and we had to make sure people's devices...had their passwords reset. you've got to be aware of so many risks, and you've got to be in the space that you can think, "it could happen to us." what kind of character. do you think romeo is? in this age of digital technology, resorting to just pens and paper is difficult for pupils and teachers. homework and resources are mainly on devices. we use resources on the board.

we use videos from, like, national geographic to learn. so then we've had to move to textbooks in geography and we're not getting the level of content that we can have. passwords not working because of course, they'd stolen it and so it had to all be reset. since the start of the cyber attack, i'm still unable to do some of the homework now. the department for education says it's provided a range of support for schools who are victims of cyber crime, including a dedicated team who are on hand to provide advice in response to incidents. for schools learning to deal with criminals hiding behind screens, there are many challenges. headteachers are warning more investment is needed or schools will continue to pay a high price. elaine dunkley, bbc news. a motorbike rider who's in northern ireland preparing for the annual north west 200 race has had a lucky escape after his bike collided with a crash barrier, catapulting him into the air.

the incident happened when paul cassidy, from the isle of man, was practising ahead of the competition. everything sort of slows down, you know. i don't know why it is, everything sort of went into slow motion. everything sort of slows down, you know. i don't know why it is, everything sort of went into slow motion. i tried to think, well, do i go up the road? and then i knew i was going too fast, so i couldn't do that, and then ijust sort of looked at the brick wall, with the cladding on it, and i thought, well, that's where we're going. we are going to hit that. it's just a case of trying to miss that and not following the bike in. so, yeah, i hit it and sort ofjumped off the seat, and then that's what then sprung me in the air. got to thank the medical staff, the marshals, the whole team around the north west did fantastic. people are amazed by it, how are you still alive, you are walking, you walked away. people have fell off the second rung of the ladder and bust their hip badly. i went iwent up i went up in the air and landed on a car bonnet, walked away, figure that one out. the old firm derby between celtic and rangers takes place

in glasgow tomorrow lunchtime. the rivals top the scottish premiership table with just a few games left, although it is hosts celtic that have a three—point advantage and a superior goal difference. chris mclaughlin reports. commentator: in for harald brattbakk! - some title run—ins are seared into the memory. when a season can't separate, it's final day delight or despair. in scotland, it's been a while, though. what happens here tomorrow could determine whether or not we get that again. for the first time in a long time, it's close. very close. with three games to go, just three points is the difference. a win for celtic and they're all but there. a win for rangers and it's all square. can he get a goal—scoring opportunity? yes, he can! this was the last time they met. 3—3 in the end — a thrilling game for a thrilling season. those are the games when you are a small boy that you want to play. if you see those things on television or in a stadium, you want to be on that pitch.

i think with only three games to go, then of course, it's going to be significant. so... but for us, it's about making the performance that we want. and if we can do that, we know it gives us a great chance to get the result. now we need to go at celtic park and win. just like celtic at ibrox last time, rangers must play this one with no away fans allowed. the one thing that unites supporters, though, is the view that there's no bigger derby in the world. don't think there's any argument about it, and i think people that don't say it is haven't experienced it. there's a few derbies around the world that are massive, to be fair, right... but it's different here. it's not just about football. it's like it can ruin your whole week. they say the biggest old firm game is the next one. this one in particular, though, could be huge. chris mclaughlin, bbc news. time for a look at the weather. here's elizabeth rizzini.

summer is finally here but you have something us to celebrate? i do. summer is finally here but you have something us to celebrate?- something us to celebrate? i do. it has been all _ something us to celebrate? i do. it has been all about the _ something us to celebrate? i do. it has been all about the sunshine . has been all about the sunshine today. a really stunning day of weather across all format nations but the sun has also been sending out some strong solar flares and you may have heard there is a geomagnetic storm on the way. what does that mean for us? the good chance of seeing the aurora, the northern lights, almost anywhere across the united kingdom tonight and tomorrow. the signal is particularly strong towards the north and conditions are good because the skies will be largely clear so i will have more on that in just a moment. lots of sunshine today, ten bridges across the nations rising into the 20s in celsius. what it last? the warmth will and still drive most of us as we head through saturday. however, the threat of heavy thundery showers particularly in the westjust to ruin your sunday afternoon barbecue although it will be drier further east. if we take a look at tonight, you can see a lot of clear skies

around to enjoy the northern lights in, hopefully, but sea mist and fog rolling in from the north sea into parts of south—east england, east anglia and up through the lincolnshire coast line as well. for most of us, a sunny, bright start to the day, mild out there as well. lots of sunshine as we head through the morning and for the vast majority, it is going to be a dry day but if we zoom into scotland here. you can see we have a scattering of showers developing across the south of scotland, pushing further northwards, they could even be a rumble or two of thunder but it is still warm, still 24 celsius in glasgow, chance of a shower, too, breaking out across north—western areas of northern ireland but still warm. lots of sunshine further south, chance of showers across north wales, a little cooler across the north sea coastline with cloud threatening to lap on shore but 25 or 26 celsius across the south—east of england and then the change happens, high pressure keeping us dry slowly moving away. low pressure rolling in

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