ofjustice in uk history. and today, at the inquiry that's trying to understand what went wrong, two former post office ministers gave evidence — pat mcfadden who is now a cabinet minister — and sir ed davey, the leader of the liberal democrats. well sir ed davey apologised to the campaigner alan bates — the central charachter in the tv drama that highlighted the injustice suffered. lets you listen to what he had to say. i lets you listen to what he had to sa . . lets you listen to what he had to sa. . .,, ., lets you listen to what he had to sa. . , ., say. i have apologised and repeat that apology _ say. i have apologised and repeat that apology for _ say. i have apologised and repeat that apology for not _ say. i have apologised and repeat that apology for not meeting - say. i have apologised and repeati that apology for not meeting alan bates on the basis of his first letter. ., , ., , , letter. you tell in your witness statement _ letter. you tell in your witness statement about _ letter. you tell in your witness statement about the _ letter. you tell in your witness statement about the letter, i letter. you tell in your witness l statement about the letter, that letter. you tell in your witness - statement about the letter, that we are looking at, it was drafted for you by— are looking at, it was drafted for you by officials. it is accurate? yea _ you by officials. it is accurate? yea turn _ you by officials. it is accurate? yea turn it _ you by officials. it is accurate? yes. turn it was approved and signed by you. 5. ion yes. turn it was approved and signed b ou. s. . , ., yes. turn it was approved and signed b ou. s. ., , ., , yes. turn it was approved and signed b ou.s. . , yes. turn it was approved and signed b ou. s. ., , ., by you. 5. can you help is? you sent a by you. 5. can you help is? you spent a lot— by you. 5. can you help is? you spent a lot of— by you. 5. can you help is? you spent a lot of time _ by you. 5. can you help is? you spent a lot of time in _ by you. 5. can you help is? you spent a lot of time in your - by you. 5. can you help is? you i spent a lot of time in your witness statement — spent a lot of time in your witness statement explaining the administration of ministerial

correspondence. if this was one of those _ correspondence. if this was one of those occasions where you got the letter _ those occasions where you got the letter in _ those occasions where you got the letter in and the draft reply out, like the — letter in and the draft reply out, like the document we are looking at at the _ like the document we are looking at at the moment, how would you judge whether_ at the moment, how would you judge whether the right approach was being taken? _ whether the right approach was being taken? if_ whether the right approach was being taken? if you just got those two bits taken? if you just got those two hits of— taken? if you just got those two bits of paper? the taken? if you 'ust got those two bits of paper?— bits of paper? the way that it worked is _ bits of paper? the way that it worked is that _ bits of paper? the way that it worked is that he _ bits of paper? the way that it worked is that he would - bits of paper? the way that it worked is that he would have | bits of paper? the way that it - worked is that he would have your red box which she would look at with all of the different pieces of policy paper, i explained this in my written statement. you would be dealing with a lot of issues and any red box... ., . ., ., red box... can i cut through a little bit? _ red box... can i cut through a little bit? i— red box... can i cut through a little bit? i accept _ red box... can i cut through a little bit? i accept the - red box... can i cut through a| little bit? i accept the breadth red box... can i cut through a - little bit? i accept the breadth and volume _ little bit? i accept the breadth and volume of— little bit? i accept the breadth and volume of the work, i am asking if this was_ volume of the work, i am asking if this was one — volume of the work, i am asking if this was one of the occasions when you got— this was one of the occasions when you got the — this was one of the occasions when you got the letter in and the letter out? _ you got the letter in and the letter out? those — you got the letter in and the letter out? those are the only two bits of paper— out? those are the only two bits of paper that — out? those are the only two bits of paper that you have got. how would you charge — paper that you have got. how would you charge if the lessee have been

asked _ you charge if the lessee have been asked to _ you charge if the lessee have been asked to sign at the appropriate one? _ asked to sign at the appropriate one? if— asked to sign at the appropriate one? ., ,., , , one? ifi had both letters in my letter file _ one? ifi had both letters in my letter file and _ one? ifi had both letters in my letter file and in _ one? ifi had both letters in my letter file and in my _ one? ifi had both letters in my letter file and in my inbox, - one? ifi had both letters in my letter file and in my inbox, i i one? ifi had both letters in my. letter file and in my inbox, i would letterfile and in my inbox, i would have read both of them. i would have had to make a judgment when i was signing the different letters in that letter file about whether or not this was an appropriate response to that letter. what i don't recall, and i apologise for this, is whether or not in my letter file there wares both of the original letter and the response. there may have been, but i don't recall it. i think that i would have done, given the nature of what sir alan bates was writing. 50. what sir alan bates was writing. so, it ma be what sir alan bates was writing. so, it may be you _ what sir alan bates was writing. so, it may be you didn't even see the letter— it may be you didn't even see the letter in? — it may be you didn't even see the letter in? it— it may be you didn't even see the letter in? it may be the only thing that you _ letter in? it may be the only thing that you saw was this letter? and he signed _ that you saw was this letter? and he signed it _ that you saw was this letter? and he sitned it. ., ., , signed it. that may have been the case. i signed it. that may have been the case- i am — signed it. that may have been the case- i am sorry — signed it. that may have been the case. i am sorry i _ signed it. that may have been the case. i am sorry i can't _ signed it. that may have been the case. i am sorry i can't be - signed it. that may have been the case. i am sorry i can't be more . case. i am sorry i can't be more definite, we are talking about a long time ago. i had just started my post, and i was signing a huge number of letters. i was reliant on

the advice of officials. i apologise if that was not the case, and i had read it and i read this as reply, because it is terse.— read it and i read this as reply, because it is terse. some of those exchanges — because it is terse. some of those exchanges are _ because it is terse. some of those exchanges are there _ because it is terse. some of those exchanges are there at _ because it is terse. some of those exchanges are there at the - because it is terse. some of those exchanges are there at the post i exchanges are there at the post office inquiry. earlier in the day,... earlier in the day, pat mcfadden, who held the same job from 2007—2009, said politicians were "very reliant" on others telling them the truth — as they made decisions about horizon it failures. ido i do think that the government had a role in making sure that the social element of the post office network was there, and the way that they implemented that objective was by subsidising the network to make sure that it would be a lot bigger than would have been the case if it was only run like a bank. let would have been the case if it was only run like a bank.—

only run like a bank. let me put that question _ only run like a bank. let me put that question another _ only run like a bank. let me put that question another way: - only run like a bank. let me put that question another way: do l only run like a bank. let me put. that question another way: do you think— that question another way: do you think it _ that question another way: do you think it was — that question another way: do you think it was a policy objective of the government to see that sub—postmaster is involved in the delivery— sub—postmaster is involved in the delivery of. — sub—postmaster is involved in the delivery of, as you say, this social purpose. — delivery of, as you say, this social purpose, was it a policy objective for sub—postmaster centre post for sub— postmaster centre post office _ for sub— postmaster centre post office staff for sub—postmaster centre post office staff to be treated fairly by the post— office staff to be treated fairly by the post office?— office staff to be treated fairly by the post office? well, we wouldn't have been drawn _ the post office? well, we wouldn't have been drawn into _ the post office? well, we wouldn't have been drawn into contractual i have been drawn into contractual disputes between individual sub—postmasters and the post office. i think that would have been viewed as an operational matter for the post office. and certainly, in my time as minister, whether it was on the horizon disputes or sometimes there were other disputes about what there were other disputes about what the post office could sell and things like that, these were dealt with by the post office themselves. that was pat mcfadden speaking at the post office inquiry. more on that in the next hour from the post

office inquiry. let me give you an idea of what is coming up in the next little while. let me take you back to blenheim palace and show the live pictures there. what a wonderful backdrop that is for this european gathering chaired by sir keir starmer. in the last hour or so we have seen king charles arrived there, he was welcomed by the new british prime minister. we heard that king charles, amongst today's meetings, will have a one meeting with president zelensky. so, all of thatis with president zelensky. so, all of that is going on currently at blenheim palace. a reminder that we are expecting in the next little while a news conference with the new uk prime minister to discuss some of those conversations are the big issues of air at blenheim palace. as soon as we get those pictures from that news conference venue and when it begins, we will obviously carry and live here on bbc news.

the justice secretary thejustice secretary is calling for the chair of chairof criminal chair of criminal cases review commission to step down after an independent review into the case of andrew malkinson who was wrongly convicted of rape and spent 17 years in jail. the justice secretary said the report showed that helen pitcher is unfit to fulfil her duties and says she has begun the process to replace her. our legal correspondent dominic casciani reports. this was the scene when andy malkinson won his campaign to be exonerated. jailed in 2004 for a rape he never committed, his case was quashed after compelling evidence that the case was untenable from top to bottom. his innocence proven, but his battle for the full truth has continued. today, an independent report has revealed majorfailings by the criminal cases review commission, the body that investigates wrongful convictions. in 2007, forensic scientists found

dna on the victim's vest top that had to be from the true attacker. by 2009, greater manchester police prosecutors and the ccrc all knew of its importance. but the miscarriages body rejected the first of three appeals by andy malkinson for help. five years into my imprisonment they knew about another man's dna, they knew. the cps knew and greater manchester police knew. and ccrc knew. but they did nothing. today, the report author said that his plight exposed failings throughout criminal justice and specifically by the miscarriages body. there was a complete failure to understand the evidence at the time of the first application, and the significance of the new dna evidence was completely missed. the second application, the approach to that was too rigid. even at the time of the third application, when everything had been made clear, the heavy lifting had

been done by the charity representing mr malkinson. in a statement, the chair apologised to mr malkinson, but he says it's too little, too late. get rid of the decision—makers at the ccrc, get a whole new bunch and retrain them in a way that is not sycophantic to the appeal courtjudges. you know? because i think that is what is going on as well. they are too afraid, too timid and fearful of upsetting high courtjudges. and they shouldn't be. they should be absolutely fearless. a wider review into alleged failings by greater manchester police is still under way. today, andy malkinson begins his fight for compensation, but that could take years.

the uk lifestyle and fashion magazine, sheerluxe, has been criticised after it launched an �*ai journalist�* on its media page — describing her as a �*new member�* of the team. sheerluxe said the move came from a desire to "experiment with al, not to replace a human role." 0ur reporter emily brown has been looking into this. this has been met by a backlash with fans saying _ this has been met by a backlash with fans saying that _ this has been met by a backlash with fans saying that this _ this has been met by a backlash with fans saying that this will - with fans saying that this will deprive human genus of theirjobs and they were frustrated by what they described as unachievable beauty standards. now, sheerluxe didn't specify the ai editor boss mike agnes essie daley ethnicity, but some people speculated that she

was of middle eastern heritage, reem being a least a name. —— are middle eastern name. sheerluxe said: we wanted to stay at the forefront, it is clear we didn't explain it properly, and we are sorry. reem was born entirely from our deductive dine design and was created in partnership with an ai imagery created from the middle east, and thatis created from the middle east, and that is reflected in her likeness. there have been many responses to this, not all negative, it is worth saying. some said it was a particularly innovative move. the daily mail also described the brand is having 467,000 followers earlier this week. when i looked last night that has gone down slightly and again, today, that also dropped. admittedlyjust by again, today, that also dropped. admittedly just by a again, today, that also dropped. admittedlyjust by a few again, today, that also dropped. admittedly just by a few thousand, but it may reflect the reaction from some fans. it also opens up wider

questions about the role of ai in journalism, and also the impact of artificial intelligence on jobs. we return to blenheim palace. what a wonderful backdrop we have in these pictures. we had inside where the scene is set for the news conference i was telling you about from sir keir starmer. that is due to kick off in the next little while. as soon as it begins we will obviously carry it here on bbc news. it hasn't started yet so we will have the weather now with ben. hello. if you're a fan of warmer summer weather, this summer has certainly made you wait for it. the next few days will be probably to your liking. tomorrow, some places getting 31 degrees. hot for some of us, pretty humid for just about all of us. the jet stream, the wind high in the atmosphere steering weather systems around the globe bending to the north of our shores and allowing us to draw this very warm and humid air up from the south. feeling the effects of that this

afternoon across england and wales where we are seeing some sunshine, more cloud and rain for northern ireland and the west of scotland. in the north—east of scotland, some brightness, low 20s in temperatures. in the south of england and wales, into the middle 20s. those of above the average for the time of year. 27—28 for the south—east corner. really humid tonight, misty and murky for coasts and hills in the west. 0vernight lows of 13—17 . a pretty warm start tomorrow morning. we see that sunshine across many parts of england and wales and those temperatures will really respond through the day. misty and murky for the western coast. cloud generally for northern ireland and scotland. rain into the western isles where it will turn breezy. for many spots, pretty warm, 21—22 from belfast and glasgow. 30 degrees in london. some places could get 31 degrees. it probably won't last all that long. this frontal system pushing

in from the west is bringing some outbreaks of rain. if that front moves slowly enough, it may bring eastern parts of england warm air. another pretty warm one across eastern parts where we see sunshine, although some showers and thunderstorms could erupt. further west, a band of heavy rain moving slowly and cooling things off. 16 for belfast, 18 for plymouth, still the mid—high 20s across parts of central and eastern england. however, through saturday and into sunday, that rain will slide northwards and eastwards, sweeping the heat and humidity away. a cooler day for all of us on sunday, not a bad day weather wise, spells of sunshine, one or two showers, top temperatures north—south15—22 .

live from london. this is bbc news. king charles arrives at a major european summit in the uk, where the new prime minister keir starmer will soon make remarks. he has come of the last couple of hours have seen 50 european leaders talking about things like the war in ukraine. we will get a sense of what has happened when we hear from the uk prime minister potentially in the next few minutes. this uk prime minister potentially in the next few minutes.— next few minutes. as soon as that news conference _ next few minutes. as soon as that news conference starts, _ next few minutes. as soon as that news conference starts, we - next few minutes. as soon as that news conference starts, we will. news conference starts, we will bring it to you live. 0ur news conference starts, we will bring it to you live. our other headlines... the uk covid inquiry delivers a damning first report, saying the last government "failed citizens" with flawed pandemic plans. in reality, the uk was ill—prepared for dealing with the whole system civil emergency of a pandemic,

let alone the coronavirus pandemic that actually struck.