this is bbc news. i'm martine croxall. the headlines at 8pm — a discredited government investigation into thousands of allegations of abuse by iraq war veterans is shut down. this will be a huge relief to hundreds of british troops who have had these quite unfair allegations hanging over them. they're now being freed of that. the health secretaryjeremy hunt concedes that the problems facing the nhs are completely unacceptable — but says there is a plan to help hospitals cope. overall, there are positive things as well as negative things, and there is huge commitments in the nhs to sort out those negative things. cocaine with a street value of £50 million has been washed up on the norfolk coast. scottish power raises its energy prices while british gas announces a price freeze until august. also in the next hour — the desperate efforts to save whales that washed up on the shores of new zealand. volunteers are trying to rescue more

than 400 pilot whales — one of the largest mass strandings ever seen in the country. and coming up in sport — a look ahead to the second weekend of six nations fixtures. good evening and welcome to bbc news. a £34 million government investigation into allegations of abuse by iraq war veterans is to be shut down. it follows a report by mps which called the work of the iraq historic allegations team an unmitigated failure. thousands of cases have been investigated but without a single prosecution. around 90% of misconduct cases involving british troops who served in afghanistan are also being dropped. caroline hawley has more. it is almost 14 years

since british troops invaded iraq and the legacy of the war is still causing controversy. in the aftermath of the occupation thousands of allegations of abuse were made against british soldiers. and a special team called ihat was set up to investigate them. the human—rights lawyer phil shiner brought most of the claims but last week he was struck off after he had been found to be dishonest and to have paid agents to drum up business. now the ministry of defence is wrapping up the investigation early. this will be a huge relief to hundreds of british troops who have had these quite unfair allegations hanging over them. they are now being freed of that and we will put in place new measures to ensure that this never happens again, that there are proper safeguards to prevent completely malicious and unfounded allegations being made against our brave servicemen and women. there is no doubt that some abuses did happen in iraq, these were detainees being beaten

in basra in 2003 and over the past few years the ministry of defence has paid out millions in compensation. but the ihat investigation has been criticised for getting out of hand. it was set up seven years ago and it has had to examine more than 3,000 claims. it has cost over £34 million. ihat and its work has always been controversial in the military but the downfall of phil shiner and mounting concern over the toll it was taking on former soldiers and their families has led the mod to act. i think this is something important, it will make a big statement to the army and most importantly it shows that the government is foursquare behind supporting the army and providing it with the appropriate framework in which our soldiers can deal with those very difficult operational decisions that they have to deal with. of all the allegations made over the course of britain's long involvement in iraq, the ministry of defence now says that by the summer only about 20 will be left to be investigated.

well a little earlier, i spoke to colonel richard kemp, former head of the british army. he served in iraq during the first gulf war and again in iraq between 2004 and 2006. he welcomed the decision to disband ihat. it was opened up because a previous british government was terrified to being signed up to the international report and was terrified our soldiers would be put into the dog and so went overboard with investigations and allowed spurious charges to be brought against our troops. it should never have happened and it has been really damaging for the morale of our soldiers and the reputation of the british army. i am very pleased theresa may and michael fallon have made the decision to shut it down. what impact did it have on those

individuals that have been subject to this kind of scrutiny?” individuals that have been subject to this kind of scrutiny? i know several of them do know some that have been investigated for over a decade, a series of investigations, found not guilty in one investigation, hauled up again in another and it has just gone on. these people have experienced some horrific events, they have seen their friends bonaparte and things none of us want to witness and then they are forced to relive it all. theirfamilies have they are forced to relive it all. their families have been they are forced to relive it all. theirfamilies have been put under pressure. some of them have been close to suicide, they have great depression, some have lost their jobs, their lives have been wrecked. it is not just jobs, their lives have been wrecked. it is notjust about jobs, their lives have been wrecked. it is not just about a jobs, their lives have been wrecked. it is notjust about a breed of lawyers, it is also a political campaign against our troops and i am pleased it is stopped and we need to make sure it doesn't happen again. how well do the senior officers in the army, how well are they met their duty of care to these

soldiers? not well at all. the current generation of senior officers have played their role. general carter has probably had his role in bringing this to an end. previously, some of the generals had not served the army well. notjust the army but the members of the armed forces also. the forces require loyalty, loyalty upwards and downwards and generals should look after their men, making sure they know and are not abused in this way. they should form their own swords if need be. they should resign or at least threaten resignation unless they're concerned are met. watt i know many generals in the past have had deep concerns over this process. if things go wrong, how can allegations be properly investigated in an independent manner if not

through an investigation at the one we have seen? traditionally, investigations of allegations have been investigated through a system that has been long established and is overseen by the attorney general himself as well as a purely independent militaryjustice system. that is the correct method of investigation which now michael fallon has said will be investigating the residual cases. and we'll find out how this story — and many others — are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10.40pm this evening in the papers — our guestsjoining me tonight are rosamund urwin, columnist at the london evening standard and martin lipton, deputy head of sport at the sun. the health secretary, jeremy hunt, says it's "completely unacceptable" that some patients in england are waiting up to 13 hours in a&e. figures show that waiting times in casualty units are worse than at any time in the last decade. and the number of operations cancelled at the last minute hit

a 15—year high last year. mr hunt insists he does have an improvement plan — though didn't reveal it — and he admits it will take time. he was talking to our health editor hugh pym. the worst monthly a&e figures in more than a decade. we have corridor nurses now as well. times are very desperate. images like this across bbc news. no—one would want it for members of their own family. it has been a difficult few days for the health secretary and he has now come out and acknowledged that some of what is happening in the hospitals in england is unacceptable. the bbc has shown images from royal blackburn of people waiting 13 hours, mothers and babies sitting in the corridor, aren't you embarrassed ? it is incredibly frustrating for me. i am doing thisjob because i want nhs care to be the safest and best in the world. that kind of care is completely unacceptable, no—one would want it

for members of their own family. iris sibley‘s story featured on bbc news this week. she had to wait six months in hospital before a care—home place was available. what did jeremy hunt have to say to her family? i don't want to make any kind of excuses. it is totally unacceptable. it is terrible for mrs sibley but also very bad for the nhs... it is not the only case of its kind. no. there are no excuses. it is completely unacceptable. her son said he was pleased that jeremy hunt had recognised that his mother was let down but he had this message for the health secretary. what i would like to say tojeremy hunt is to admit, to have the guts to admit, that the system of social funding is broken. if we have to pay more, i would say tojeremy hunt, i am prepared to pay more tax and i am sure most of the country would be as well, because our old people are worth it. and the state of social care was something i raised withjeremy hunt.

the prime minister has been very clear. we recognise the pressure is there. we recognise there is a problem about the sustainability of the social care system and that has to be addressed and we will do that. there have been calls for more funding for the nhs in england, including from an american health expert who advised david cameron and jeremy hunt — he thinks the current spending plans of the government are set too low. i have serious doubts as to whether you can have the healthcare that is universal, not rationed, and responsive to needs at that target level. so i am concerned. but others say it is notjust about money and getting the nhs to be more efficient is important, with new ways of working the real priority. mr hunt says that change is needed on many fronts. i think it is wrong to suggest to people that these profound challenges such as we face with an ageing population are ones where there is a silver bullet that you can solve the problem overnight.

we also need the help of the public, because we know that a number of the people seen in a&e could actually have their needs dealt with in another part of the nhs. new figures show last—minute cancelled operations in england were up 16% last year, whether it is a&e, routine surgery or community care, the pressure is clear across the nhs. and you can see all our special reports on the state of the nhs at our website bbc.co.uk/health. cocaine, with a street value of £50 million, has washed up on two beaches in norfolk. the national crime agency, which is investigating, said the loss of the drugs would "represent a major blow to the organised criminals involved". part of the 360—kilogramme haul was found on hopton beach near great yarmouth — and the rest on the coast near caister, as our reporter debbie tubby explains. it is thought some people walking

their dog yesterday found the cocaine ina their dog yesterday found the cocaine in a sports holdall and they reported it to norfolk police. today, authorities have spent the day searching i4 today, authorities have spent the day searching 14 miles of the coastline looking for further bags they have found more. those bags we re they have found more. those bags were tied by a rope to big and green plastic containers to stop the class a drug from sinking in the water. it is thought the experts have now found 360 kilos. if it was cut and sold on the streets, it would be worth £50 million. the national crime agency says it is investigating why those drugs were washed up peer in norfolk. they don't think it was here, the intended destination was expected to be and they say tonight this is a huge blow to the criminals involved. let's take a look at some of the other stories making

the news this afternoon. police in manchester say a man and a woman have died in a house fire in withington — four children are in hospital. the children, aged between 10 and 17, are being treated for their injuries. another man is in a serious condition. scottish power has become the latest of the big six energy companies to raise its prices. it's increasing the cost of electricity by almost 11% and gas by nearly 5%. however, british gas has said it's freezing prices until august. british airways cabin crew are to stage another four—day strike in their long running dispute over pay. members of the unite union working for the airline's so—called mixed fleet will walk out on february 17th. president trump has reacted defiantly to the decision by the appeals court which has refused to reinstate his ban on travellers from seven mainly muslim countries. "see you in court" was his response — made via twitter of course. the controversial immigration reform was suspended last week. but the president appears determined to continue the legal battle. today the president has been meeting the japanese prime minister shinzo abe to discuss future trade between the countries.

during a press conference after that meeting, president trump hinted at further policy announcements surrounding security arrangements in the us. we are going to keep our country safe, we are going to do whatever is necessary to keep the our country safe. we had a decision which we think we will be very successful with, it shouldn't have taken this much time because safety is one of the primary reasons i am standing here today, the security of our country, voters thought i would give the best security. you will be seeing something next week as regards the security of our country. pete mcgrath we will continue to go to the court process and —— we will continue to go to the court process. ultimately i have no doubt that we will win that particular case. his options are to return to the

courts and retweeted see you in courts and retweeted see you in court last night. he said he intends to return to court. it is a question of how he does it. does he go back to the federal appeals court which ruled last night to keep the stay on his travel ban? that was just three judges, he could extend it to all 11 or he could try to go to the us supreme court. they usually like to have a body of decision—making before they will look at the case. exactly what the root of his problem, we don't know. it is clearly hugely important to him that he wins this. just three weeks into his presidency, having a muslim ban, as his aides described it, perhaps unhelpfully for the court case, is something that people who voted for him very much wanted to see and this band, polls suggest it had public support. he wants to try to get it back on the books but he is locked ina court back on the books but he is locked in a court battle which is draining energy from the white house at this

time. let's look at this meeting with the japanese prime minister xin joe aid, everyone was terribly polite and overlooked the fact that mrtrump said how polite and overlooked the fact that mr trump said how difficult it was to sell american cars injapan? mr trump said how difficult it was to sell american cars in japan? that is all in the past. the japanese we re very is all in the past. the japanese were very anxious that because president trump is unpredictable, they had a visit from the us defence secretary in recent works to reassure them of the state of the alliance but they were still anxious about this press conference. it went beautifully. they got an unswerving commitment to the alliance, underpinning japan's security and economic strength since the end of the second world war. japan is the only country to have a nuclear weapons used against it, a nuclear weapons used against it, a nuclear weapon the american president ordered to be used against it. since then, there has been a security agreement in which the us has guaranteed the security ofjapan.

donald trump today talked about how committed he was to that but also he said the security alliance extends to areas under japan's said the security alliance extends to areas underjapan's control. that refers to the disputed islands in the east china seat which the chinese say there's japan says are theirs and donald trump weighs in on theirs and donald trump weighs in on the side of the japanese, something the side of the japanese, something the prime minster of japan the side of the japanese, something the prime minster ofjapan will very pleased to have heard. the headlines on bbc news — a discredited government investigation into thousands of allegations of abuse by a rock war vetera ns allegations of abuse by a rock war veterans is shut down. the health secretaryjeremy veterans is shut down. the health secretary jeremy hunt concedes veterans is shut down. the health secretaryjeremy hunt concedes that the problems facing the nhs are com pletely u na cce pta ble the problems facing the nhs are completely unacceptable but says there is a plan to help hospitals cope. cocaine with a street value of £50 million have been washed up on the norfolk coast. a full round—up from the bbc sports

centre now with john. the russian athlete mariya savinova, who won olympic gold metres at london 2012 has been stripped of her medal and retrospectively banned from competing. savinova, who beat caster semenya to gold in london has been found guilty of doping offences by the court of arbitartion for sport. all of her results from july 2010 through to august 2013 have been wiped from her record. by savinova at the 2010 european championships where she won bronze. a mixture of elation that i will hopefully be upgraded in the medal but also sadness and disappointment. what she did on the track was absolutely fantastic so i feel really disappointed and cheated as a fan as well, that what we saw wasn't u nfortu nately fan as well, that what we saw wasn't unfortunately believable. scotland will make one change to the side that beat ireland as rugby union's six nations

championship continues this weekend. flankerjohn barclay replaces the injured ryan wilson in the back row. scotland haven't beaten france in paris since 1999. bath hoping to cement their place in the top four against northampton at the top four against northampton at the wreck. both sides without a number of first team regulars who are away on six nations duty. bottom of the table bristol are up against harlequins. tom varndell has just broken the premiership's all—time scoring record, 91 tries for him, beating the previous record. sale ta ke beating the previous record. sale take on newcastle, that much just getting underway. four games in the pro 12 tonight. ulster have come from behind to take charge of their

game against edinburgh. they already have a bonus point, currently leading 24—10. top of the table glasgow trailing against scarlets. munster as well up against newport gwent dragons, leading 24—3. zebre, bottom of the table, up against ospreys, trailing ten points to 26. the new super league season is already underway and tonight, the turn of castleford tigers. they are up turn of castleford tigers. they are up against newly promoted leads centurions. —— lee centurions. widnes lead zinc huddersfield —— leading huddersfield 6—0. 0ne game in the championship tonight, sheffield wednesday, chasing a play—off place, taking on birmingham city. the home side are ahead thanks toa city. the home side are ahead thanks to a goal inside ten minutes from

new signing jordan rhodes. it is his first goalfor the new signing jordan rhodes. it is his first goal for the owls after joining from middlesbrough on loan. he celebrated with his dad, the goalkeeping coach. the football association of wales will appeal against sanctions imposed by fifa for displaying poppies during a world cup qualifier. they were fined over £15,000 following, oration prior to their match against serbia in november. fever took action because fans wore poppies in the stands and the armed forces held bunches of poppies at the side of the pitch. tiger woods has withdrawn from the next two events on the pga tour with ongoing back spasms. he pulled out of the dubai desert classic this month before the second round with the injury. he only returned to action in december after two back operations. great britain will face second seeds croatia in the fed cup

promotion play—off tomorrow. their place was sealed after lativa beat portugal in britain's group which meant gb will top group c having won all of three ties under new captain anne keothavong 3—0. turkey were the latest team to be defeated with laura robson and jocelyn rae rounding off the whitewash in the doubles after singles victories for heather watson and johanna konta. britain's entire fleet of royal navy's attack submarines is currently out of operation due to repairs and maintenance work. seven nuclear—powered subs are classed as non—operational, including three new astute class vessels. they are the most powerful attack submarines ever operated by the royal navy costing over a billion pounds each. 0ur diplomatic correspondent james landale reports. they're known as hunter killers, the attack submarines armed with torpedoes and cruise missiles that the royal navy uses to project force anywhere in the world. normally, at least one is always at sea on active duty,

but it's now emerged that none is currently deployed on operations. if none of them are operational, it is very serious. the submarines are needed for our security vis—a—vis russia, who at the moment is sabre rattling. they are good to ease tension because they are so capable, and the russians know that, and they can give us indicators and warnings. they are very important in the middle east, around the persian gulf and areas like that. their intelligence capability is quite amazing. there are currently seven royal navy attack submarines in service, all nuclear—powered. four are ageing trafalgar—class boats that were designed in the 1980s. they are to be withdrawn from service from next year. the other three, the astute class, are the navy's latest attack submarines. four more are due to enter service by 2024. the bbc understands that the navy's

struggling to maintain the trafalgar submarines, and the bigger astute class have suffered teething problems. 0ne submarine has been repaired after colliding with a merchant vessel off gibraltar last year. after being repaired. the ministry of defence said it would not comment on specific submarine operations, but said the royal navy continues to meet all of its operational tasking, deploying globally on operations, and protecting our national interests. an mod source insisted that there were attack submarines that were operationally capable and ready, but where they might be was clearly sensitive operational information that the mod would not comment on. but not having one on active operations will raise fresh questions about the effectiveness of britain's naval fleet. more than 400 whales have beached on the coast of new zealand, one of the worst whale strandings ever seen in the country. volunteers in the community

of farewell spit are racing to save and refloat them — but around 300 have already died and time is running out for the rest. stranded, distressed and barely alive. volunteers have come from far and wide to save the whales beached in new zealand overnight. this is the third—largest mass stranding that we've recorded in our history and so it's a very large one, logistically it's a massive undertaking. the whales started stranding last night, round about ten o'clock last night. we were notified of that, and then this morning when they went out and checked on them, most of the whales were already dead. i've never experienced death like this before. you know, it's... for such a majestic animal it's really strange to see them doing this. there's a lot of death here, eh, which is a

sad, sad thing, but, hey, if we can get some of them out it's got to be a good thing. scientists don't know exactly why whales beach themselves. it can be due to sickness or injury. anybody that doesn't have a sheet over the whale, make sure those sheets are really nice and wet, not covering the blowhole... rescuers tried to re—float some of the whales at high tide, but some just turned straight back to shore. whale strandings in new zealand are common. just two years earlier 200 whales beached here. but this is one of the country's worst mass strandings. the hollywood film star george clooney and his wife amal are expecting twins — with reports suggesting that they are due thisjune. the news was confirmed by george clooney‘s fellow actor and close friend matt damon, who said he was "thrilled for the pair" and that they were going to be "awesome parents." david sillito reports. congratulations are in order.

the news was broken by entertainment tonight. it is twins. it is confirmed the 55—year—old superstar and his 39—year—old attorney wife, are expecting twins. at 55, george clooney has hung back a bit before taking on fatherhood, but matt damon has no doubts as to how suited he will be to his new role. he is a good man, incredibly smart, loving, funny guy, married to a spectacular woman who will be an amazing mother. again, those kids will be incredibly lucky. they will be fine. eligible bachelors. this news has brought congratulations. in a little echo beyonce's famous

photo, posted to announce she was expecting twins, ellen degeneres posted this version of the famous picture. amal clooney, human rights lawyer has worked on the case ofjulian assange and the campaign to return the elgin marbles to greece. she is the president of the clooney foundation forjustice. her twins are expected injune. the demands and pleasures of raising a family, now to add to hers and her actor's husband full and political life. let's ta ke let's take a look at the weather forecast. if you got a sledger christmas, not sure if you will be able to use it but you might be to throw a few snowballs 0leon. bath early on. the

eastern half of the uk likely to see the snow. some accumulation that lower levels through the night and during nearly half of saturday morning. it will be a cold start in sheltered, western areas and a touch of frost as well. some early morning snow showers, likely to turn back to rain as we go through the day. those showers might drift westwards through the day. favoured spots the dryer and brighter weather, the north of scotland and northern ireland, feeling cold. a lot of cloud around, turning windy on sunday. the snow will turn back to rain.