ministers have made the offer to try to boost recruitment and keep workers at prisons under pressure from violence and staff shortages. but there'll be no extra pay for senior officers. here's our home affairs correspondent, june kelly. they're the front line in ourjails, but there aren't enough of them. the shortage of staff is seen as one of the key causes of the problems in prisons. in somejails, officers are struggling on a daily basis simply to maintain control. now the government is putting in place a £12 million pay package to try to retain existing staff and recruit new prison officers. this is wandsworth jail, in south london, and staff here will benefit. the offer is limited to prisons in the capital and the south east. ministers say they're under the greatest pressure. but this has been condemned as ‘divisive‘ by the prison officers' association. they maintain the pay package is tantamount to putting a plaster

over a gaping wound. we're welcoming the additional money for our members, of course we are. but we don't think this goes far enough to solving the present crisis. the prison crisis. we believe it needs to be a national issue. we weren't properly consulted on this either, so we believe that if the secretary of state wants to make these arbitrary decisions on pay, then she should consult us fully and we can point out the inconsistencies and problems that will arise as a result of this policy. the offer is for standard grade 3 prison officers, not for more senior supervisors or specialists. each will receive a pay hike of at least £3,000. for new recruits, the pay package will be boosted by 5,000. a sweetener to try to get people into thejob. the justice secretary, liz truss, has already announced plans to recruit 2,500 more prison officers, but it will be the end of 2018 before they're all in place. it's not something you can sort out in weeks or months, it takes time to recruit people,

it takes time to bring those people on. but i'm absolutely determined to deal with that. thejustice secretary rejects claims that as a country, we are locking up too many people. prison reform campaigners believe we are, and this is a fundamental part of the problem. she has to get the numbers down, at the same time as improving staff morale, pay, retention and training. she also has a problem with community sentences, which are also in a mess. the justice system has to work for victims, the taxpayers, the staff and for people in it. and at the moment, it's not working for anybody. while today's pay package announcement is about trying to bring new people in, those in the service said the challenge is not just recruiting staff, it is retaining them. jude kellie, bbc news. iraqi security forces have started a major new offensive against the so—called islamic state in mosul.

iraq's second—largest city was seized by the extremist group over two years ago, as they took control of northern and western iraq. last month, the eastern half of mosul was recaptured after a major offensive. but around three quarters of a million civilians remain in the west of the city, which is still controlled by is. earlier this morning, our middle east correspondent, quentin sommerville, who's with the iraqi forces, sent this update from the frontline. iraqi special forces police are now moving forward. they've breached their own defences and they‘ re heading towards the so—called islamic state, who lie just beyond that hill about two kilometres away. all morning here, coalition aircraft have been overhead, dropping very large bombs on those positions, softening them up so that these troops can then go in. there's no real element of surprise in modern warfare, and last night, the residents of western mosul, who are just over

there, were warned in leaflet drops to stay in their homes. these men, let'sjust spin round and we can show you, they're all lining up and getting ready for the battle. look, there's a tank coming in just up there. these men aren't expecting an easy time of it today because they know from drone footage that the islamic state have dug deep tunnels in the villages just south of western mosul and that they're waiting with car bombs and plenty of fighters, a hard—core of fighters remaining in western mosul, which of course is iraq's last city held by the islamic state. but the assault on that last redoubt of the islamic state is now under way. greater manchester police has launched a criminal investigation after claims that hundreds of forensic test results issued by a laboratory in manchester were "doctored". two men have been arrested on suspicion of perverting the course of justice. the company analyses samples of saliva, blood and hair, looking

for traces of drugs and alcohol. the boss of the supermarket chain sainsbury‘s has intervened in the row about the change in business rates, which takes effect in april. chief executive mike coupe said the current system was "archaic" and needed "fundamental reform", because it favoured online businesses. live now to our business correspondent, joe lynam. what more can you tell us? the vast majority of companies on this high—street in oxford street will be paying higher business rates, that is because business rates are a tax on the value of commercial property and property in london of course has soared over the last seven years since they were last rateable, assessed for value. the boss of supermarkets will say there needs to be wholesale reform of business rates because they are of very large abdi footprints as pay an awful lot more. the reality is that the vast

majority of companies in england will be paying less or the same, as they were before, because most people outside of london will not have seen those rate rises. it will not prevent the calls for the chancellor to look at the issue in next month's budget. thank you. president trump has made a strong defence of his first four weeks in office, and said a new spirit of optimism was sweeping the united states. addressing thousands of his supporters at a rally in florida, mr trump repeated his campaign pledges to create jobs and improve the nation's security. and he had further criticism of the media. here's our washington correspondent, laura bicker. if you thought the presidential campaign was over, then you would be wrong. afterjust four weeks in office, president trump is bidding forfour more years. but there is more to this rally in the swing state of florida. donald trump is trying to change the

subject of the headlines of chaos and controversy in his administration, he is back where he appears to be more on behind a campaign podium rather than a desk in the oval office. i am here because i want to be among my friends and among the people. this was a great movement, a movement like has never been seen before in oui’ like has never been seen before in our country or probably anywhere else. he enjoys an audience and he ta kes else. he enjoys an audience and he takes heart from his fans. 0ne even made it on stage after waiting since the early morning. when president trump during the election promised all these things that he was going to do for us, i knew he was going to do this for us! he also had tough words for some of his alleged enemies, the media. he has a new term for them, the enemy. these supporters are his people and this

is his message. a chance to appraise his first month in office, which he sees as a success. but what do his voters think? make america great again and that is what it is! that is what it is, just make america great, he will do, it is going to be great. he has kind of been up and down, i kind of feel like he is not 100% doing good but i want to give him more time, it has only been a month, i think he could turn things around. soa month, i think he could turn things around. so a bumpy start? yes, a lot of executive orders, he is not really talking to people like you should. there are a lot of differences nowadays and i believe that this man can bring more people together. you think donald trump is the man to unite america? yes, man. 0njanuary 20, the man to unite america? yes, man. on january 20, 2017, the man to unite america? yes, man. 0njanuary 20,2017, our presidency died. but unity seems a long way off, in new york, protesters held a fa ke off, in new york, protesters held a fake funeral for the presidency. off, in new york, protesters held a fake funeralfor the presidency. the

political ideals of america seem further apart than ever. this rally will be hugely popular with his voting base but it will not help him in washington. if president trump is to push through his campaign promises, he may need to take his message to capitol hill, rather than an adoring crowd. the next news on bbc one is at 5:35pm. good afternoon. you are watching the bbc news channel. more now on oui’ main story this lunchtime — that thousands of prison officers atjails in london and south—east england are to get a pay increase of between £3,000 and £5,000. earlier i spoke to frances crook, from the howard league for penal reform. she described it as a good start.

staff should be properly paid, they should be properly trained, so it's a good thing in principle. my worry is it's only part of the story, that we've seen over the past few months that prisons are in real crisis, and that's because there are simply too many prisoner, so putting a few extra staff in and paying them better is good, but it's not going to solve the problem. not everyone's getting this pay rise, are they? no, i think there are going to be anomalies. the devil will be in detail. it is a problem particularly in the south—east, but that is not exclusively in the south—east, recruitment and retention is a problem here. how do we compare to other countries in the way we approach securing prisons? we are a mess. other countries do things in a much more interesting way. for example in germany, the prison guards are literallyjust guards, and prisons are run by psychologists and teachers and professionals. in norway it is completely different. the prison officers are degree trained, so they are the experts.

we are sort of in the middle, where we expect very poorly paid, poorly trained prison staff to do a very complicated job. so this is a step in the right direction — better pay, retain people better. we also need more managers, because you need someone behind you to ask for advice, so staffing is part of the issue, but it's not going to solve the problems. you mentioned they're poorly trained, what do you mean by that? they only get a few weeks' training and that is simply not good enough. you don't have to have a single gcse to be a prison officer, whereas to be a police officer you are expected to have two good a levels. so we do need to educate and train prison staff, but as i say, that's one step in the right direction. in the end, i was in a prison this week, a busy london local prison, that's grossly overcrowded, two people to a cell

that the victorians designed for one person. it has a toilet in it and very little ventilation. there is very little activity going on in the prison, so there are just too many people in prison, and the staffing issue is only part of the problem. and from what you were saying, just putting money in there is not really the answer, you arejust giving more money to people who actually need perhaps more training, as you are suggesting, or something changing across the board. i think — i welcome what the government's doing. they say they will put extra training in, which is good. if it's only a day or two on how to deal with people with complex mental health needs, that's not going to be enough. so it's a whole package of change that needs. there is going to be legislation, introduced this week, we understand, i hope there is going to be fundamental change. prisons are not the answer to crime. we have to understand that prison can only be used for people who are serious offenders, who have committed violent offences, and then it has to be a useful experience, because they're all going to come out.

we have to make prison a useful experience, with properly trained and supported staff. let's return now to iraq and the children's charity, save the children, has warned that an estimated 350,000 children are trapped in western mosul, as iraqi forces launch an offensive on militants in the city. it's the last major is stronghold in iraq. government forces started their offensive in october — and last month secured the eastern part of the city after weeks of fierce fighting. the united nations has urged all parties in the conflict to do everything they can to ensure the safety of civilians. joining me now from irbil in iraq is aram shakaram, save the children's deputy country director. thank you very much forjoining us. give us an overview of what you believe to be the situation. thank you for having me on this programme.

we believe there are over 800,000 population trapped in western mosul. 0ver population trapped in western mosul. over 350,000 children who have been suffering since the beginning of the previous operation. also, under the control of isis for the last two yea rs. control of isis for the last two years. is escape for those people an option? at the moment there is no escape. we are happy to hear that the government of iraq has prioritised civilian protection in this operation and we hope that will be the case. at the moment, there are no escape routes. since the beginning of the operation this morning, we have not seen anybody that has made it to safety, to nearby places where we are present on the ground for support. what sort of coordination are you having with iraqi forces? we don't have any direct coordination, we are working through the humanitarian coordination body, led by the united

nations. so far, it has been working well. in terms of providing us access to the nearest possible location, where we are providing humanitarian assistance. people are trapped in their homes, what are they doing for things like food, water and medicine, if they need it? what we are hearing from people are that they have almost run out of supplies in western mosul. water is the most critical need that they have at the moment and there is a lot of fear. children, there is not much in terms of medicine and supplies. if escape routes are established and people start coming out, what can you offer them? we are providing life—saving assistance in the nearest place, nearly 20 kilometres to the nearest possible place that is safe for our teams and people. are you prepared for this

number of people? you said 800,000 people could come out of here. are you prepared for those numbers? we have some preparedness, but really, this is way above our capacity. we call on the international community to provide funding and support, to be able to support people that will be, once we reach them. what will happen to them? are you setting up camps? there are camps set up by un agencies, the government, and there are host communities where people are host communities where people are finding a space to stay. save the children is supporting in both places, internally displaced camps, as well as the host communities. you

mentioned more international help. do you need money or do you need equipment, tents? amalie money. the number of people in need of support is really huge, and our preparedness is really huge, and our preparedness is for a small number of beneficiaries. so far, this conflict has been continuing for quite a long time. whatever we have for the initial phase of people making it to safety, providing them with life—saving water and winter kits. but there is a lot of support needed to support the injured provide water and life—saving assistance. children that have been traumatised from this they need further assistance that we are there to provide. thank you. the headlines on bbc news: thousands of prison officers in london and the south east of england are to get an instant pay

increase of between three and five thousand pounds. ministers hope it'll ease the pressure on the service. save the children say that 350,000 children are trapped in western mosul as iraqi troops, supported by american air strikes, have begun their assault to recapture the city from islamic state militants. donald trump has defended the achievements of his presidency so far at a rally of his supporters in florida. mr trump also made another attack on the media. sport now, and a full round up from the bbc sport centre. non—league side lincoln city are in the fa cup quarterfinal draw at 6:30 today — its live on sportsday. it's the first time in over a century a team outside the football league has made it this far, and there's more fifth round action later today. alex gulrajani reports. lincoln have made history!

this is one of the great shocks of the competition. burnley, the latest team to be upset by national conference side lincoln city. a first fa cup quarterfinal for them awaits and it's all down to sean raggett. 89 minutes on the clock when he popped up to keep lincoln's fa cup dream well and truly alive. who next? i would like to be at home, or a really big club where there is a big capacity and we are able to take all the supporters we would like to take. joining them in the quarterfinal draw later today will be millwall. they added to leicester's woes. a last—minute winner from shaun cummings booking their place in the last eight. that is where huddersfield hope to be as well. they will have to do it all again against manchester city after holding pep guardiola's side to a goalless draw. fulham will be looking for inspiration from those results later this afternoon as they welcome

tottenham to craven cottage. the premier league side needed a last—minute goal of their own to beat wycombe in the last round. but fulham, pushing for a play—off spot in the championship, believe that they can cause an upset. we are a very confident team at home. hopefully against spurs it will be the same, try to dominate possession, dominate the ball. it's another level, a premiership team, but it doesn't change our play. blackburn rovers have more pressing issues in the league, with a battle to stay in the championship on their hands. they saw off blackpool in the last round. fa cup holders manchester united will provide a different test today. we are underdogs, it has everything to gain for us. it doesn't matter who they are going to play, they are going to be a well drilled outfit and we have to be on our mettle. hopefully they have an off day and, on the day, anything can happen. with lincoln and millwall pulling off shocks so far, maybe blackburn can stop this from happening again. coverage of today's games then...

fulham entertain tottenham — that's on bbc one at 2:00, while blackburn rovers welcome manchester united. tomorrow, non—league sutton united will try to emulate lincoln city to reach the last eight when they face arsenal — again that's on the bbc, or you can listen to all three games on 5live sport. in the scottish premiership today, aberdeen will be hoping to cut celtic‘s 27 point lead this afternoon when they go to kilmarnock. celtic beat motherwell 2—0 yesterday. rangers, who are in third place, play dundee. britain's dave ryding is in with a chance of a medal at the alpine world championships in st moritz in switzerland. after a strong opening run he's currently in fourth place in the men's slalom. no british man has ever won a world championship medal. bruce tasker and joel fearon

managed a medal in germany. there we re managed a medal in germany. there were 90 going into the final run, and couldn't improve on that. australian rugby union have confirmed this morning that former lock dan vickerman, who played for northampton saints in 2009, has died. he was just 37 years old. vickerman played 63 tests for australia and featured in three world cups. he passed away at his family home in sydney and is survived by wife, sarah and two sons. no details of the cause of death have been disclosed. 0n social media northampton said "our thoughts are with the family and friends of former saint dan vickerman, rest in peace". northampton play newcastle later today. the final of snooker‘s welsh 0pen starts at i o'clock, withjudd trump playing stuart bingham. trump beat scott donaldson

in the semi finals by six frames to three. a break of 60 in the 9th frame gave him the win. you can watch that live on bbc two in wales, on the red button and on the bbc sport website. stuart bingham, the 2015 world champion, was in destructive form last night — thrashing robert milkins 6—0. you can watch that live on bbc two in wales, on the red button and on the bbc sport website. that's all sport for now. if you want to see if dave ryding can win that historic skiing medal, you can watch how he gets on on the bbc sport website right now. malaysian police say they are seeking four more north korean suspects in connection with the death of kim jong—nam, the half brother of the north korean leader. police identified the four suspects, all men between the ages of 33 and 57, but say they have already left malaysia. police on saturday arrested a north korean man over the killing of mrjong—nam. he died shortly after being sprayed with a chemical

at kuala lumpur airport last week. 0ur correspondent kevin kim says this is another twist in the murder investigation. according to police, the four suspects all had north korean passports and boarded flights out of malaysia on monday. that was immediately after the killing took place. authorities say they are still waiting for the toxicology report that will confirm whether mr kim was poisoned. kim jong—nam was waiting at the check—in counter of the main airport in malaysia when two women approached him and sprayed him with the chemical. he sought medical help but fell unconscious and died hours later. the two women who were arrested told authorities that they were paid to take part in what they believed was a prank for a tv show. a 46—year—old man from north korea

is also under custody. what is being made of it in korea, north and south, can you tell us? the south korean government has expressed grave concern over the recklessness and brutality of the assassination. the government in seoul is now pointing fingers directly at kim jong—un himself. meanwhile, in malaysia, the north korean embassy have been trying very hard to gain access to the body of kim jong—nam, but authorities said mr kim's body would only be released to his family members. earlier, north korean diplomats expressed their disapproval for an autopsy and said the north would not recognise any future announcement of the results. the government in pyongyang has been silent but other officials

in the region will be waiting for the concrete evidence to back up their theory that the cause of death was poisoning and had been carried out by people with ties to north korea. time for the weather. it's going to be a dry afternoon for many, and or the mild side. we have probably had the best of the sunshine already, across eastern pa rt sunshine already, across eastern part of the country. this was the scene in eastern kent earlier today, in sunny skies. you can see the extent of the cloud further west. that is tending to move eastwards. 0ver that is tending to move eastwards. over the pennines, saddleworth, the sky is looking rather murky. some dampness around here, drizzle, misty over the tops of the hills as well. as we go through the rest of the afternoon, the thicker cloud is going to gradually push eastwards. it will tend to cloud over across

eastern england, eastern scotland. still occasional gaps in the cloud to the east of the pennines and eastern scotland. for wales in south—west england, quite murky conditions, with fog patches around the coast and hills. some light rain and drizzle. quite dumb for north—west england, particularly of the pennines. we will have drizzly conditions here, turning quite murky. northern ireland, cloudy with spots of rain. there will also be wet weather for western scotland. the east of scotland still having gaps in the cloud. for the football fixtures, the fifth round of the fa cup, probably dry at both matches. quite low cloud in blackburn, threatening skies, could get some drizzle from that cloud. 0vernight, it stays cloudy across all of the country. a band of rain trickling southwards. it will turn misty and murky around the coast and hills with fog patches setting in. look at the temperatures. 0vernight lows between nine and 11 degrees. that is warmer than it should be during this time. subtropical areas washing over

the shores of england and wales. for monday, it will turn quite windy for a time across northern england. particularly over the pennines and east of the pennines. gusty wind as a band of rain approaches. to the south of the band of rain, that is where the warmest air will be. we could see temperatures getting up to 14, 15, could see temperatures getting up to 1a, 15, maybe 16 celsius as we go through the afternoon. it depends how much sunshine we see breaking through the cloud. further north, it will be cooler than that. for tuesday, areas of rain affecting the united kingdom. the wettest weather to the north—west, april ten quite breezy. another mild day with highs of 30 degrees. set to get cooler in the days ahead and turning windy on wednesday. the headlines at 12.30. thousands of prison officers in london and the south east of england are to get an instant pay increase of between £3,000—£5,000. thejustice secretary responds to criticism that it " papers over the cracks". this will take time. it's not something you can sort out in weeks or months. it takes time to recruit people, it

takes time to bring those people on. save the children says there's around 350,000 children trapped in mosul, as iraqi troops have started an operation — backed by american air strikes — to recapture the city from islamic state militants. president trump has attacked the media again at a rally in florida, where he defended his record in office, and labelled the negative coverage about him as "fake news." police in malaysia have named four north korean suspects who left the country the same day as the half brother of the north korean leader was killed at kuala lumpur airport last week. now on bbc news, click.