an apology from theresa may after new figures reveal the pressure on the nhs this winter. from patients forced to wait in ambulances, a record number of calls to the helpline and cancelled operations. we will hope to ensure that those operations can be reinstated as soon as possible. i know it's difficult, i know it's frustrating, and i know it's disappointing for people and i apologise. the government and the nhs had been planning for months to deal with winter demand. so, what's gone wrong? also tonight... the london taxi driver believed to have raped and assaulted more than a hundred women is to be freed after ten years injail. now president trump tries to silence his former chief strategist by banning a book about goings on in the trump whitehouse. an exclusive report from inside the battle for yemen, where war has driven millions to the brink of starvation. a warning that, for children moving from primary to secondary school, social media can create an avalanche of pressure.

and hip problems force andy murray to pull out of the australian open. he's not played a competitive match since wimbledon last year. and coming up on sportsday on bbc news... all the action from tonight's premier league as spurs battle to remain within touching distance of the top four. what a shot! good evening. theresa may has apologised for the postponement of thousands of operations because of winter pressures. speaking on a visit to a hospital in surrey, the prime minister said she acknowledged the difficulty and frustration for patients. and new figures compiled by the bbc show that, for the last six weeks of 2017, more than 75,000 patients were left in ambulances for half an hour or more. that's one in every eight

patients enduring a delay. and last week was the busiest for the nhs iii helpline since it began. it received more than 480,000 calls. here's our health editor, hugh pym. we are in a queue with lots of other people who are clearly very sick. everybody‘s waiting to get in. a patient‘s eye view of the stress across the nhs. a queue of ambulances waiting to hand over patients at a hospital. leah was stuck for more than an hour in the ambulance with her mother, who was at that moment having a stroke. it's gobsmacking. it's gobsmacking and devastating. it feels like a sick feeling like a sickening feeling, that this is how bad it is. 0ne chief executive even tweeted a picture of ambulances at his hospital, wigan infirmary, a lovely fleet of 14 parked outside the door, he said. handover delays at hospitals are not good news for patients and they stop ambulances getting back

on the road again. the process at a&e units is supposed to take no more than 15 minutes. the latest figures for england show a sharp increase in the numbers waiting more than 30 minutes. bbc analysis shows that, across the system, since the end of november, one in eight have been held up more than half an hour. the north west and eastern regions saw some of the biggest numbers of long ambulance waits at hospitals. some of the best performers were in london and the west of england. the prime minister was asked again about the response of the government and nhs england to the extreme pressure in many hospitals, postponing a months worth of non—urgent operations. i recognise that it's difficult if somebody is delayed on their admission to hospital or if somebody has an operation postponed. and we will hope to ensure those operations can be reinstated as soon as possible. i know it's difficult, i know it's frustrating, i know it's disappointing for people and i apologise. there was an apology too from the welsh health secretary to

patients who had their operations cancelled, so emergency care could be prioritised. just wondered if you had any update for daddy. in northern ireland, meanwhile, karen's 86—year—old father, who had a chest infection and had to wait more than 26 hours for a hospital bed. there were people on the floor, there were people sitting on chairs. most of them were elderly. there was an elderly lady i remember very vividly who was slumped in the chair in her nightdress the whole night. no one came near her. no one even put a blanket around her. it was really very distressing. there were police everywhere, there were people with blood pouring out of them. it was just like a battlefield. official figures now show that flu is adding to the strain on the nhs. in scotland there are more than double the number of cases compared with the same time the year before and there have been warnings about the flu impact in england. what we are seeing is a significant increase in this particular week from the last week in terms of the numbers of

people being admitted to hospital and the numbers of people who are being admitted to intensive care. it is too soon to say how severe the flu season but it won't take much to add to the long waits and delays, as illustrated in these pictures, already evident across the nhs. 0ur health editor hugh pym is outside the royal free hospital in north london. this information gathered by the bbc about the number of patients being kept waiting in ambulances is symptomatic of more serious problems inside the hospital. yes, fiona. there are significant variations around the nhs but this hospital, the royal free, there around the nhs but this hospital, the royalfree, there were no around the nhs but this hospital, the royal free, there were no delays of 30 minutes or more from the arrival of an ambulance and the discharge of a patient in the weeks we have had so far in winter. at other hospitals it was nearer 50% of patients and ambulances which had to

wait that long. a real variation. it isa sign wait that long. a real variation. it is a sign of real stress in the health system when you have ambulances queueing up outside a&e. it's just the emergency department is under real stress, staff are struggling to find beds for new patients because they cannot discharge medically fit patients back home because of social care problems. today we had the first official confirmation of one of the factors behind all of this, a significant increase in the last week also influenced his admissions to hospital. gps are put out their own data showing an increase in the numbers coming into their surgeries with flu—like illnesses. you might say the nhs has to deal with flu every year, what is different? the a nswer is, yes, that is true. in recent yea rs is, yes, that is true. in recent years flu is, yes, that is true. in recent yea rs flu has is, yes, that is true. in recent years flu has been at relatively low levels and the nhs has been

stretched almost to the limit. no suggestion it is a trend but if it is its bell's recent problems in the months and weeks ahead. a london taxi driver who's believed to have carried out more than 100 rapes and sexual assaults on his female passengers is to be freed after serving ten years in jail. john worboys was convicted of 19 offences in 2009. now a parole board has approved his release with what it calls ‘stringent‘ licence conditions. some of his victims have told the bbc they are shocked and distressed that he is being freed and they haven't been told about it by the authorities. daniel sandford reports. for six years, john worboys cruised smart areas of london in his black cab, looking for women to drug and rape. when he was finally caught, thejudge said he'd serve a minimum of eight years in prison and said he wouldn't be released until he was no longer a threat to women. worboys would show young women he picked up in his cab large wads of cash, saying he'd recently won big at the casino. then he'd offer them champagne, which he'd spiked with sedatives, and rape them. thejudge gave him what's known as an indeterminate sentence, under which people are only freed once they're no longer

considered dangerous. but today the bbc discovered that the parole board has decided worboys will be released this month under supervision, after spending less than ten years in prison. i've spoken to one of my clients, who is absolutely horrified and really distressed, that nobody had the courtesy to inform her, so she's in the middle of cooking tea for her kids and she hears this on the radio, and feels absolutely sick to her stomach. the question does arise as to whether his real dangerousness has been considered, and the seriousness of his offences been properly taken into account. the organisation, rape crisis, said it was far too soon for worboys to be released. although police believed john worboys attacked over 100 women, he was only convicted of attacking 12. and only one of those convictions was for rape. and that's why his sentence was so short. all the same, under

the indeterminate sentence rules, the parole board will need to have assured themselves thatjohn worboys was no longer a risk as a sexual predator. daniel sandford, bbc news. the row between donald trump and his former top aide steve bannon has intensified, with lawyers for the president threatening legal action against mr bannon. it follows comments attributed to him in a controversial new book about the trump presidency, a book which mr trump's lawyers are trying to prevent being published. 0ur north america editorjon sopel is in washington for us tonight. some of the details in this book, the book president trump doesn't want us to see, are certainly intriguing. yes. and extraordinary, as you say, the white house looking at legal measures to stop the book from ever reaching the shelves. quite unprecedented. perhaps not surprising then that the publishers

are bringing forward the release date to tomorrow. at the briefing this afternoon with sarah sanders, the white house spokesman by perisic described the book as sad, pathetic, com plete fa ntasy, described the book as sad, pathetic, complete fantasy, tabloid gossip and a lot more besides. in focusing their fire a lot more besides. in focusing theirfire on the a lot more besides. in focusing their fire on the publication of this book, they are giving the marketing team the sort of publicity they could only dream of. hell hath no fury like a bannon scorned, it would seem. steve bannon, who was described as the brains behind donald trump, is now out in the washington cold after his extraordinary attack, the warm words of last summer but a distant memory. i like him, he's a good man. he is not a racist — i can tell you that. he's a good person. he actually gets a very unfair press in that regard. but we'll see what happens with mr bannon, but he's a good person, and i think the press treats him, frankly, very unfairly. but bannon was fired soon afterwards and has now had his revenge, rounding on the president's son

and son—in—law over a meeting they had with a kremlin—linked lawyer at trump tower during the campaign, saying: and that's provoked rage and fury in the white house, the president issuing this unprecedented statement about a close colleague: today at the white house, they‘ re lawyering up, orders to stephen bannon to cease and desist — threats to the publisher, too. and the response from mr bannon last night — why, to declare his unfailing support for the president. and that brought this response

from mr trump today. has steve bannon betrayed you, mr president? thank you very much. i don't know, he called me a great man last night, so he obviously changed his tune pretty quick. all right, thank you all very much. the white house is pushing back hard on the contents of this book, describing the author, michael wolff, as an unreliable witness and a fa ntasist. that despite him being given unprecedented access to the workings of the west wing and recording hours and hours of conversations. and even if only 50% of the book is accurate, it still paints a damning portrait of a white house that's dysfunctional and a president who's paranoid. no wonder donald trump is so angry. jon sopel, bbc news, washington. the environment secretary, michael gove, says subsidies

to british farmers, currently paid for by brussels, will be guaranteed by the government until the 2022 general election, with a proposed transition period afterwards. farmers would then receive payments in exchange for taking steps to protect the environment such as planting woodland or boosting wildlife. our business editor, simonjack, reports. farming is perhaps the industry most closely entwined with the eu. for 45 years, those who work on this green and pleasant land have been regulated, protected and paid by the eu. three billion a year in subsidies is paid out to farmers, determined by how much land they own. that will change, according to the environment secretary. and what i want to do is to move away from the current method of subsidy, which doesn't really reward efficiency, towards a method of agricultural support which makes sure that good farmers have new markets for their products, and at the same time that the natural environment is enhanced. under proposals announced today, the government would limit payments to the largest landowners.

it would reward environmental protection measures such as flood prevention and support high standards in animal welfare. well, we're very pleased with the gove announcement today, because it provides a level of certainty for farming... david exwood farms 2,000 acres in west sussex. he's grateful the uk government is promising to cover current payments till 202a. it's really important, it gives us a chance to sort of adjust our businesses, really study the impact of brexit and plan accordingly. farming's a really long—term business. the wheat i have in the ground, the cattle we have on the farm, many of them will not be sold until after we leave the eu, so any chance to plan ahead is really valuable to us. the government's offer seems ambitious, even speculative, given the next election is due in 2022. grain mountains, butter mountains — at times over the last 45 years the eu's common agricultural policy became associated with wasteful protectionism, but it also shielded farmers, including those in the uk, through bans or tariffs on products

from outside the bloc. for example, cut—prices chickens treated with chlorine from the us are banned in the eu. some fear that, in a rush to make new powerful trade partners, uk farmers, standards and prices will be undercut. some farmers say, "well, if that happens, we'lljust have to lower our standards to compete. " but that is a race to the bottom, and what will happen is, we will lose. ultimately, britain doesn't have the economies of scale to produce low—quality, low—welfare food more cheaply than other countries. there is perhaps no other sector where opinion is so divided between those who think brexit will be the making of and those who think brexit will be the breaking of an industry. can you make an agricultural policy tailor—made for britain's economy and environment, or are you taking a massive gamble by stepping outside the fence of subsidies and protection?

the farming landscape may change with brexit, but subsidies for farmers aren't going anywhere for six years — proof, perhaps, of how hard some habits are to break. simon jack, bbc news. one of the arab world's poorest countries, yemen, has been devastated by war, which has claimed thousands of lives, driven millions to the brink of starvation and seen the world's most deadly outbreak of cholera. the current crisis started three years ago, when houthi rebels — backed by iran — together with forces loyal to the former president, ali abdullah saleh, took control of territory around the capital, sana'a. they have been fighting government forces, backed by a saudi—led coalition who control the south and east of the country. however, last month, mr saleh was killed by the houthi forces who had earlier supported him, after suggestions he might do a deal with their enemy, saudi arabia. in the second of her exclusive reports inside yemen, nawal al—maghafi has more

from the capital, sana'a. the balance of power has shifted in yemen's civil war, from the saudi coalition to their bitter rivals, iran. for years, we've watched as this proxy war tore the nation apart, killing thousands and leaving millions homeless and starving. last month, a battle took place in the capital, sana'a, that may have also killed hopes for peace. allies turned into enemies, as houthi rebels fought the forces of former president ali abdullah saleh. civilians were caught in the middle. translation: they were firing across and into our house with rockets and with their ak—47s. it was the worst day of our lives. we were surrounded from all sides. that fighting eventually ended with the death of the former president. the houthis imposed a complete media blackout. no—one knew exactly what had

happened — until now. this exclusive footage, seen for the first time, shows the battle that changed the course of yemen's civil war. houthi soldiers surround saleh‘s complex, fighting barefoot. they blow the walls and enter. the chant goes up. "death to america. "death to israel. "curse the jews." and, "victory to islam." news of saleh‘s death spreads. translation: that's it, the show is over. saleh is dead. his guardsjust came out and told me the houthis have killed him. the houthis call saleh a traitor for wanting to negotiate with the saudi coalition. inside his huge complex,

the aftermath of the battle. the houthis are in charge now. the former president's men are their prisoners. but not all of saleh‘s men were captured. this man was one of saleh‘s closest aides, by his sidejust minutes before he died. his family are still in houthi territory and so we're protecting his identity. translation: he was defending his home, with his aides and nephews by his side. three orfour tanks surrounded his house. they began firing. the houthis have captured all of saleh‘s arms, but the former president's allies who fled took something potentially more valuable, their secrets. i ask his aide about the iranian support for the houthis — long suspected, but never proven. there are iranians by their side and they tell them exactly what to do.

i saw them with my own eyes. they give them weapons, but it's the information they give that is most important. i met the iranian advisers when i was with saleh. they were always beside the houthi leaders. three other well—placed sources confirm the existence of iranian advisers. in our time in sana'a, it was a city gripped with fear. most people were reluctant to speak on camera. translation: there is so much fear, even when you go out on the street and things are ok, but fear has spread. this woman was one of hundreds who took to the streets calling for saleh‘s body to be buried. the houthis retaliated. they chant. they hit us with wires and tear—gas canisters, electric rods. they would run after us and keep beating us. since that protest, hundreds

of the former president's supporters have been detained. the death of ali abdullah saleh — the only person the saudis could negotiate with — has undoubtedly swung this proxy war in favour of the iranians, for now. what happens next is unclear. the only certainty for the people of yemen is that their suffering will continue. nawal al—maghafi, bbc news, sana'a, yemen. a brief look at some of the day's other other news stories. tony blair says he believes labour should oppose the brexit deal, once the final terms are known. the party currently backs brexit and has ruled out a second referendum on the issue. the former prime minister warned that brexit would leave a labour government distracted, short of money and unable to deliver on its promises. australian authorities have recovered most of a seaplane that crashed near sydney on new year's eve, killing a british family. businessman richard cousins, four members of his family and the canadian pilot died

in the crash on sunday. it's emerged the plane had been involved in another fatal accident 20 years ago. tech firms are racing to fix bugs that could allow hackers to steal personal data from computer systems. researchers said there were "serious security flaws" in chips made by intel, amd and arm, affecting devices which use them. the industry has been aware of the problem for months and hoped to solve it before details were made public. the colmans' mustard factory, in norwich, is going to close. it's been made in the city for 160 years. owner unilever shares the site with britvic, which had already said it was closing its part of the site. the factory will shut at the end of 2019. pupils entering secondary school are ill—equipped to deal with the emotional demands of social media, according to the children's commissioner. anne longfield says social media can quickly become an avalanche of pressure for children. she's calling for more education

in primary schools and a greater awareness among pa rents. elaine dunkley reports. for many young people, social media is at the centre of their lives. following, sharing and posting, part of growing up in a digital age. but for some children, it's a steep and difficult learning curve. i made music, i posted it, i expressed how i felt, so i got a lot of hate and backlash from that. james was 12 when he first started posting images of himself online. negative comments have had a huge impact on his self—esteem. i wasn't like the average boy who played football every lunchtime. i learnt to dance, i love to sing and act, so i got a lot of backlash from that and loads of harsh comments in the section. how did that make you feel? trapped, alone. because i'm kind of like a confident person and i don't really like to tell people stuff, so i was kind of like suffering in silence for a long time. james is keen to share his experience and is now an anti—bullying campaigner. today's report, life in likes, highlights the way children use

social media changes as they go from primary schools to secondary. from playing games on family devices to often having their own phones. as their world expands, there is pressure to fit in. going into secondary school, you're surrounded by lots of new people you don't know and you want to impress them by showing them on social media how great you are and how good a person you are. my mum checks my phone quite regularly. she checks my instagram and my messages to see that i'm behaving myself. going from primary school to secondary school can be a huge transition, for a number of reasons, but today's report highlights the need to help young people cope with the realities of social media. i would like government to introduce compulsory digital literacy in all schools for year six and seven, the top of primary the top of primary school, the first year of secondary school, to help children anticipate what it means, to help their resilience

and help empower them to be more in control in their own social media accounts. most social media platforms have a minimum age of 13, but keeping up with changing apps and trends is a challenge for parents. just simple things like trying to get people round the table for dinner, the amount of times i have to call people down because they're all on their phones. these mums have started a project in primary schools in kent to make children understand it's ok not to be online. the possibility of feeling rejected is kind of there all the time, which is a really sad thing. at such a vulnerable age. today's report warns the challenges are many. increasing pressures to be popular needs early intervention, to ensure children are emotionally prepared for life online. the leader of the council in windsor is facing a backlash after calling for rough sleepers and beggars to be cleared before the royal wedding in may. simon dudley said some people begging were not in fact homeless, and had made what he called

a "voluntary choice" to live on the streets. campaigners say his comments are ‘misinformed'. adina campbell reports from windsor. it's been home to british kings and queens for nearly 1,000 years. windsor castle is a popular tourist destination, overlooking high—end shops, in one of the country's most affluent areas. but a stone's throw away is stewart's home — a bus shelter, where he's been living for the last four months. it's the royal borough, isn't it? so, you know, the queen lives right behind me, and the castle. and i think they're going to say that's the royal wedding coming up. they don't want us on the street. now people like stewart are being targeted by the local council. in a three—page letter to thames valley police, leader simon dudley says: "there's evidence that a large number of adults begging in windsor are not in fact homeless and if they are, they're chosing to reject all supporting services."

he goes on to say: "this is creating a concerning and hostile atmosphere for residents and the seven million tourists who come to windsor each year." but for those out in the cold, it's a different story. james has been homeless for the last 12 months. he says he never aggressively begs for money, but is grateful when people give him cash. the council has said that they have offered support accommodation to people like you. why haven't you taken that up? er, it's only over the christmas period, forfour days. and after the four days, you're kicked back out on the streets. windsor castle is one of the country's most popular tourist destinations and on may 19th, when prince harry marries meghan markle here, tens of thousands of people are expected. police and the local authorities will want to make sure everyone, from all different communities, are safe and secure. for years, windsor has been home

to the rich and poor, but some local businesses say begging is increasingly becoming a problem. there's been a large influence of these beggars coming in and, at the moment, it's becoming a little bit a nightmare. the thames valley police and crime commissioner says the homeless community should be treated with kindness, but today's letter has created more unease and uncertainty for those living here on the streets. adina campbell, bbc news. cricket, and two late wickets took the shine off a good opening day for england in the final ashes test in sydney. captain joe root went for 83, and johnny bairstow for 5, as england ended the day on 233—5. the second day's play begins in just over an hour's time. football, and in the premier league, the london derby between tottenham and west ham at wembley produced two outstanding goals. west ham took the lead midway through the second half with a stunning long—range strike from pedro obiang.

but with six minutes to go, son heung—min equalised for tottenham with a similarly spectacular long—range effort. andy murray has pulled out of the australian open after failing to recover from an ongoing hip injury. the three—time grand slam tennis champion hasn't played a competitive match since wimbledon last summer. and there's been more bad news in the women's game. british number one johanna konta was forced to retire from her brisbane open quarter—final, also because of a hip injury. here's our sports correspondent, joe wilson. andy murray in brisbane, departing. no australian open for him. he practised competitively — seemed all right, he told reporters, but the hip would not stand up to the pressure of a tournament. when murray limped to defeat at wimbledon last summer, we thought he'd be back. after all, he stands for resilience, whatever the state of his body. six months on, he's still not played another competitive match. today, murray — in his official statement — admitted he's not yet ready

to compete and he's flying home to assess all the options. that suggests surgery. so, does this look like the end? it is very sad when someone has to retire, and i'm assuming this is the end of his career, and it may not be. so, you know, forgive me, but i've got a new hip and it's just an awful long way back. it's a real uphill struggle from here. the australian open is busy promoting itself. tennis must go on. although it's a sport heavily reliant on over—30s for its marketing, and that's not a long—term solution. johanna konta will still carry british hopes at the australian open. well, perhaps. she withdrew from her match in brisbane overnight, with suspicions of — guess what? — a hip problem. more assessment on friday. low—grade strain, she suggests. just be fit forjune, wimbledon might well hope.