at 10pm... the culture secretary wants an urgent meeting with the bbc director—general over the handling of the case of huw edwards. the former news presenter pleads guilty to accessing indecent images of children as young as seven. the bbc admits it knew he'd been arrested back in november on suspicion of serious offences, yet for months he still received full pay. also tonight: unrest in hartlepool after last night's violence in southport. iam here i am here in southport, a town which is still grieving for three little girls, killed on monday, but where

there is also anger about the violence they saw on some of their streets this time last night. great britain's fifth gold! _ at the olympics, team gb�*s alex yee wins the men's triathlon in dramatic style, only pulling ahead in the dying moments of the race. it is neck and neck! it's gold, is it? it is! triumph too in the women's quadruple sculls, after a nail—biting photo—finish. and stay with us here on bbc news for continuing coverage and analysis from our team of correspondents in the uk and around the world. good evening. the culture secretary, lisa nandy, has tonight called for an urgent meeting with the bbc�*s director—general over the handling of the case of huw edwards.

earlier today, the former bbc news presenter pleaded guilty at westminster magistrates court to accessing indecent images of children as young as seven. the bbc says it knew he'd been arrested back in november on suspicion of serious offences. at the time, he'd been suspended from duties but was still being paid his full salary, and later received a pay rise. earlier this year, he resigned from the corporation, allowed to leave on his own terms. we'll have more on who knew what and when in the bbc with katie razzall, but first, here's lucy manning. the man who read the news headlines is now in them, in the middle of the jostling cameras and reporters who he would normally have worked alongside, facing serious charges that he accessed indecent photographs and videos of children, including a boy as young as seven to nine years old. no words outside court,

but three key ones inside. the former newsreader stood in the dock and, as the counts were read out, calmly, quietly, he replied, "guilty.". then again, "guilty," and for the third time, "guilty.". the court heard huw edwards had been in a whatsapp chat with a man he met online, who sent him pictures and videos. of the 377 sexual images, 41 were indecent images of children, mostly between 12 and 15 years old. but two of the most extreme images were videos of a child who could have been as young as seven. the court heard on two occasions he asked the man not to send underage or illegal pictures but, after the first time, he still accessed more that were sent, including the video of the young boy. mr edwards's lawyer said the former bbc newsreader hadn't kept any images or sent them to anyone else. in the last year, huw edwards has gone from the top of the bbc to suspension,

to resignation, and now pleading guilty to these serious offences. a downfall for a man who was at the pinnacle of his career. there are 650 mps... leading the bbc�*s election and royal coverage, the man entrusted to announce the death of the queen. good evening. the unrelenting pressure... the main presenter of news at ten, he left the bbc in the aftermath of separate allegations from the sun that he had paid for explicit photos. he left, but not before he'd received a £40,000 pay rise. in a statement, the bbc said, "the bbc is shocked to hear "the details which have emerged in court today. "there can be no place for such abhorrent behaviour, "and our thoughts are with all those affected. "in november 2023, while mr edwards was suspended, the bbc was made "aware in confidence

that he had been arrested "on suspicion of serious offences and released on bail. "at the time, no charges had been brought against mr edwards, "and the bbc had also been made aware of significant "risks to his health. "if, at any point during the period mr edwards was employed by the bbc, "he had been charged, the bbc had determined it would act "immediately to dismiss him. "in the end, at the point of charge, he was no longer "an employee of the bbc." the police revealed this afternoon that the man who shared the indecent images with huw edwards is convicted paedophile 25—year—old alex williams. they only began investigating the former newsreader after they seized a phone in an unconnected investigation and discovered the whatsapp messages. huw edwards now faces a possible jail sentence, which will be decided in september. he has accepted his guilt, but the man who was the face of bbc news, who was the watchword for reliability and trust, has forfeited all of that and so much more. lucy manning, bbc news.

well, the bbc says it knew huw edwards had been arrested back in november. to be clear, we here at bbc news are editorially independent when reporting on the corporation, and the news division only learnt of his arrest and the charges along with the rest of the media on monday. katie razzall is with me. huge questions for the bbc. yes, the bbc and director _ huge questions for the bbc. yes, the bbc and director general, _ huge questions for the bbc. yes, the bbc and director general, not - huge questions for the bbc. yes, the bbc and director general, not least . bbc and director general, not least by the bbc paid huw edwards for five months after it knew he had been arrested. because he was the third highest paid bbc presenter, that meant a total of more than £200,000 of public money from the licence fee going to him after the arrest. 0n the face of it, that looks hard to justify in hindsight, and the bbc said it was told in confidence about the arrest and decided it would act if you are charged and in the end he

left before that happened. there are also questions about why us was wasn't sacked in november but instead was given the space to resign, albeit without a payout. in mitigation, the bbc have a duty of care to an employee, he was likely getting hr advice that he needed to be in that contract, that he had serious health issues, but the optics are reputational difficult and there are questions about who in the bbc knew what when and in the end it comes down to difficult decisions that were made with a lot of competing advice by the most senior people in the bbc but, with the facts as we now have them, did they make the wrong judgment? plan come across and the culture secretary now wants to see tim davie, the director—general. lisa nandy has said she wants further clarity from bbc management about the case, and it's another sign that the decisions they took are under scrutiny. we understand she wants answers to important

questions, not least the issue of using public money in that way. she is talking about transparency and she wants to find out who made the decisions, when and what structures and safeguards are in place at the bbc. it was fairly common for previous conservative culture secretary is the core urgent meetings with the director—general when the bbc was facing questions, and lisa nandy soccer team are making clear she isn't politicising the bbc but it's in the public interest for questions be answered, but it adds the pressure on the people at the top of the organisation.— people at the top of the organisation. people at the top of the oruanisation. ., ~ , ., ., detectives investigating the multiple stabbings at a children's dance class in southport have been granted more time to question a 17—year—old boy. the teenager cannot be named for legal reasons. alice aguiar, bebe king and elsie dot stancombe died after being attacked on monday. more than 50 police officers and three police dogs were injured during violence which erupted in southport last night, after false information

spread about the suspect. well, jane hill is in southport for us now. thank you. even as we stand here, speaking to you, people continue to come to lay flowers. it is still very raw here after three little girls lost their life in that horrific attack on monday. there was violence here 2a hours ago. it is calm here, it appears calm this evening, but we are hearing that thatis evening, but we are hearing that that is not the case in some other parts of the country stop let's talk to daniel sandford, because he has been following this story throughout. daniel, first of all, in terms of southport, what is the latest? how much do we know about the investigation? because tomorrow it is now almost two and a half days since that horrendous event on the

street just since that horrendous event on the streetjust behind me, and the 17—year—old who was arrested at the scene is still being questioned by detectives. merseyside police have confirmed they asked a magistrate for an extension of the time they can keep him in custody beyond the usual 2a hours. normally, when those extensions are granted, they don't go beyond 96 hours, but i'd imagine those detectives, given the young age of the man they have in custody on suspicion of murder and attempted murder, will want to make a decision on charging before that, so i think thatis on charging before that, so i think that is the next significant moment in this investigation. what are you hearing about what else is happening in other places away from here?— from here? first of all, in southport. _ from here? first of all, in southport, police - from here? first of all, in southport, police have i from here? first of all, in i southport, police have given themselves extra powers for another day because of the very serious violence we saw just day because of the very serious violence we sawjust 300 metres away last night. that allows them to stop and search people in southport to

prevent further serious violence. there is no sign of anything tonight, but there is a lot of public order vans driving around in southport among the people having their dinner outside on the pub terraces. beyond this, we are seeing some quite serious disorder in hartlepool this evening. cleveland police have confirmed they have made arrests there. we have seen some quite angry scenes outside a migrant hostel in manchester. there doesn't seem to have been violence there from what we have seen, and there has also been arrests on whitehall, outside downing street, on what was reportedly a process, so suddenly that mix of latent anger, frustration is whipped up on social media and the terrible events here are meeting that police forces are having to be extra vigilant. thank you, daniel sandford. and

another man arrives today to lay flowers on the pilot close behind me. people really do keep coming to there is still huge grief here, and anger and sadness, depending who you talk to about the violence. it was just a couple of streets away this time last night. judith moritz has spent the day in southport setting the mood. when a knifeman walked into leanne lucas's dance class she showed incredible bravery, shielding the children from danger. her cousin has told bbc how she is doing now. all we know is she's still not out of the woods yet but she is definitely talking. we're not allowed to say too much. but she is a hero. the attack has devastated this community and made an impact far beyond here. nine—year—old alice aguiar,

elsie dot stancombe, aged seven, and bebe king, who wasjust six, were all killed. eight other children were hurt. jonathan hayes was stabbed in the leg as he tried to stop the knifeman and today from his hospital bed he told bbc he does not see himself as a hero and wishes he could have done more. in southport it is a time to hold your children tight. all over this town, parents are in turmoil. gemma's daughter was meant to be at the dance class but it was fully booked. i just want to keep them close to me. they've been in my bed every night since it happened, i do not want them to go anywhere. she is meant to be at preschool today and i would not let her go. last night things took a violent turn, rioting broke out and more than 50 officers and three police dogs were injured.

social media post suggested wrongly there was an islamist link. a mosque was targeted and a corner shop looted. today it was being boarded up by volunteers and its owner is worried about more trouble. they came just like a human flood inside and theyjust took all the cigarettes and valuable alcohol and smashed a couple of bottles. sweets and chocolates, just threw it everywhere. the chief constable of merseyside came to the streets where disorder flared to see the damage for herself. they were faced with that disgusting level of violence from people who do not represent our communities here in southport. do you feel that they came from outside the community? there were people who travelled into southport, people have attended then after the vigil for the purpose of mindless violence and thuggery and hooliganism. and they do not represent southport. do you worry about misinformation that circulates online,

is that providing a new challenge? it absolutely is in terms of there is a lot of misinformation out there, a lot of the speculation, and i would just urge people, we will give you the information when we can. though there is no sign of the rioters returning, the police are here in number. this place is putting itself back together. but it is one thing to mend the broken brick and repair the roads where fire caught hold. quite another to heal the hearts of people here who have seen the worst of humanity in their town. judith moritz, bbc news, southport. well, judith talking about those really very violent scenes that we saw this time last night. i spent this afternoon talking to people who live on those streets that were affected, right at the heart of the riots, people who run businesses

that the trip people told me of a very frightening few hours they experienced last night. i started at the mosque which was a focus for the rioters. but there is also hoped to take from this because the clean—up began very early this morning, volunteers arriving on those streets first thing this morning to offer their help and start the clean—up. brick by brick, this part of southport is rebuilding. volunteers have been repairing damage to this mosque, a focus for last night's rioters. we barricaded ourselves inside here. the chairman of the mosque invited us inside. so they spotted that all the glass had broken? they spotted it. and there's another one here which hasn't been done yet. he and seven others were trapped inside as rioters threw bricks and missiles through the windows. how scared were you? oh, very scared. the whole building was shaking. the whole building was shaking,

because they're not throwing small bricks or something, they were big bricks. and they were trying also to get in as well. you absolutely felt they were trying to get inside? oh, yes. 0h, definitely. people who came from outside southport have really done a disservice to the victims of monday's attack. because our thoughts, our prayers, our love should go towards them. roads are being patched up after fires melted the tarmac. the clean—up started first thing this morning. they are building a wall over there. the community is unbelievable, absolutely unbelievable, and this is what southport is. that's southport. we're a community, we all pull together. it's not a town that's full of idiots thatjust want to cause trouble. southport is a community town and everyone pulling together at the vigil yesterday shows what southport is really about, not the riots.

and that final comment there from anthony echoed what every single person i spoke to today said to me, even those who were too worn out, too drained after the night's events too drained after the night's events to speak on camera, they still wanted to impress upon me that sentiment there from anthony, but the violence they had seen through their streets simply, as far as they are concerned, did not represent the true southport. that is not who they are, and they said the speed at which people have leapt into helping to clean up was testament to that. that is from southport. clive, back to you. —— that is all from southport. jane, thank you. we now know that the violence in southport last night began after false rumours spread about the suspect and the stabbings.

here's merlyn thomas from bbc verify. we've been analysing social media posts about the southport riots. this poster started circulating on social media hours after the stabbing on monday. almost immediately after the incident, baseless rumours began spreading online that claimed without evidence that an "asylum seeker" who "arrived to the uk by boat last year" was responsible for the attack. an incorrect name for the suspect was also shared widely. this is despite merseyside police confirming that the 17—year—old suspect was born in cardiff and lived locally in southport and, so far as we know, the suspect has no known links to islam. other images like this have also been shared by social media influencer andrew tate, incorrectly identifying a man as the attacker and sharing a photo of an arrest that actually took place last year. but the damage was already done. these posts had already been viewed by millions and this misinformation,

along with the local shock and grief, was likely a contributing factor to the anger and violence. at around 7:45pm, a large group of protesters began to gather outside the mosque, and you can see them attacking police. some protesters on the streets of southport repeated false claims about the attacker and claimed that authorities were hiding information from the public. there were also chants against islam and in support of stephen yaxley—lennon, otherwise known as tommy robinson, the far—right activist. we also saw several people holding placards with messages like this, with anti—migrant and anti—refugee sentiment. our team also looked into how this information spread online. "islam", "muslim" and "terror" were among the most used words posted by people on x with the southport hashtag, even though the suspect has no known links to islam. now, it's worth noting that, just because posts might be using these keywords, it doesn't mean that they're all spreading misinformation. some have used these terms

to push back against false claims and racism. meanwhile, the misinformation continues online, and protests are continuing, as we saw earlier in hartlepool and also outside downing street in westminster. thank you. there've been protests in the occupied west bank after the killing of the political leader of hamas. the group, which is designated as a terrorist organisation by the uk government, says israel carried out the assassination, and the un secretary—general is now warning of a "dangerous escalation" of tensions across the middle east. ismail haniyeh was killed in an airstrike in iran, and hamas is vowing to avenge his death. israel hasn't claimed responsibility. however, hours earlier, israel did admit it was behind the killing of a senior commander of the hamas—supporting group hezbollah in neighbouring lebanon. benjamin netanyahu says crushing blows have been delivered to all israel's enemies in recent days. we'll get a report from

quentin sommerville in beirut, but first, paul adams has the latest from jerusalem. across the west bank this morning, a furious reaction to the news from tehran. they knew ismail haniyeh had a target on his back. and israel has assassinated many palestinian leaders before. but that doesn't lessen the shock. in ramallah, seat of the palestinian government, they gathered at noon, the palestinian authority declaring this a day of mourning. condemnation here from supporters, and opponents of hamas. israel has just committed a terrible criminal, politicalact by assassinating a political leader. they have assassinated the person they were negotiating with about a ceasefire. so this sends a very clear message to palestinians. israel doesn't want peace, israel doesn't want a ceasefire. all israel understands is only the language of force.

this city, ramallah, is not exactly a stronghold of hamas, and today's demonstration isn't huge, a few hundred people at most. but no—one should underestimate the strength of feeling, of dismay and anger, generated by the killing of ismail haniyeh. the hamas leader, seen here on the left, was in tehran for the new president's inauguration. iran backs hamas as well as the houthis in yemen and hezbollah in lebanon. for one former israeli national security adviser, this was a perfect opportunity. in a way, it's the best place to kill him because it shows a connection between tehran and hamas. and in tehran, no—one can complain about it because they made hamas, and now hamas is paying the price. but is there another price? has the torturous business of bringing israeli hostages home just got that much harder? daniel's elderly grandfather was taken by hamas gunmen

on october the 7th. it might hurt from one side of negotiations, from the other side, ismail haniyeh is responsible for the attacks of october the 7th, i think that assassinating someone like ismail haniyeh should not bother the negotiations. in gaza, the house where ismail haniyeh once lived, lies, like so much else, in ruins. but the war he watched from exile goes on. paul adams, bbc news, jerusalem. it was grief and defiance today at the beirut funeral for two children killed in last night's israeli air strike. but the threat of war hangs heavy here too. this is the moment the air strike hit, captured from a nearby sports club, where people escaped. in the aftermath. here,

israel killed the his leader they believed responsible for the attack on the golan heights. israel's previous attacks have been linked to the border. the iranian—backed group is more formidable and more heavily armed than hamas. in this neighbourhood in beirut, support for iran and hezbollah is strong. so is hatred for israel. today, they were burying ten—year—old hassan and his six—year—old sister. he never left her side, the family said. he played football too. his team were among the mourners. their mother, miriam, stood by, overcome with grief. there aren't, zainab, promised vengeance.

translation: —— there aren't. translation: -- there aren't. translation: ., , . ., , ., translation: the only criminals are israel and america. _ translation: the only criminals are israel and america. they _ translation: the only criminals are israel and america. they are - translation: the only criminals are israel and america. they are solely . israel and america. they are solely responsible for this act. in may all the martyrs rest in peace. my sun willjoin this has now claimed the lives of two more children were set up an unpredictable chain of events, and the fragile understandings which kept lebanon out of the war never looked more precarious. hezbollah�*s response and israel's too will decide whether a new war costing countless more lives will ignite here in lebanon. at the paris olympics, team gb's won two more gold medals, and both in dramatic fashion. great britain now lies fifth in the medals table, with six golds, and both victories today involved the river seine. laura scott reports.

all smiles from alex yee, having summoned something quite sensational. this wasn't a sight many thought we would see. but the seine deemed safe, in theyjumped, a day later than planned. but this race proved to be more than worth the wait. after a tight swim, how is this for selflessness? great britain's sam dickinson set the pace in the cycling, but it was all for yee's gain. he makes his way up the carpet... moving into the run, he bowed out. the 26—year—old from lewisham. running is the south londoner's strong suit, but new zealand's hayden wilde was the one to break clear. they are not as close as they might look. the brit looked to be running out of road. with one lap to go, alex yee is in second. he brought home a silver from tokyo. what has got left here in the tank in paris?

this was his answer. what a run from alex yee! a perfectly timed sprint finish, to send his fans into pure pandemonium. what an astonishing finish! i really wanted to give it one last go and cross the finish line with no regrets, and i feel like i did that. it was amazing i was able to achieve that, but never in my wildest dreams did i think i would get back there. goodness me! earlier in the rain, there had been drama in the women's event, but former physics teacher beth potter took a brave bronze. on a day that showcased britain's force in triathlon and the power of teamwork. laura scott, bbc news, paris. well, if you think that was dramatic, wait till you see what happened 15 minutes later after alex won. in rowing, team gb is usually a powerhouse, but results in tokyo three years ago were disappointing, with no gold medals.

but all that was ancient history today, with the women's quadruple scullers delivering victory. a warning natalie pirks' report contains flashing images. the tag of favourites can be a blessing or a curse. in the women's quadruple sculls, it looked as if it might be the latter. in fact, britain were behind for the entire final until the very last stroke. it is neck and neck! this how close it was. and it's been given to great britain, the olympic champions! well, no wonder they're hugging. these women were favourites coming into this race. they executed it to perfection and justified the tag. they've come away with the medal they wanted more than any. lola anderson wrote in her teenage diary that winning olympic gold would be her biggest dream. today she achieved it with a little help from herfriends. i can't really sum up how 13 years' worth of dreams feels when it comes to this sort of climax.

this is unreal. best moment of my life, and i'm so, so happy to be with these girls. ten metres up in the air, lois toulson and andrea spendolini—sirieix took a deep breath for theirfinal dive. yes, they saved the best until last! that perfect execution propelled them from fourth onto the podium, bronze bringing all the emotions for spendolini—sirieix and her famous father fred in their native france. it hasn't all gone swimmingly for team gb today, though. luke greenbank thought he was through to the semis of the 200 metre backstroke. but delight soon gave way to dismay. oh, no. oh, that hurts. as he was disqualified for swimming too long under water. but britain's rowers could breathe easy after no golds in tokyo. this was the epitome of never giving up. natalie pirks, bbc news, paris.