tonight at ten — victims of the serial sex attacker john worboys are given permission to challenge the decision to release him. the fulljudicial review hearing will take place in the high court on the 13th of march, and worboys will stay in prison until then. he's served less than 10 years, and last month, the parole board was criticised when it announced he would be freed. we'll have the latest on worboys‘ appearance in court today, and the next stages of the legal process. also tonight... a report from the syrian region under intense bombardment from government forces, and the extent of the human suffering there. what was the outcome of today's talks around the cabinet table on the next stage of the brexit process? tesco could face a bill of £4 billion, as hundreds of thousands of female employees make a claim for equal pay. i think tesco‘s are just one of many companies that really aren't addressing the fact that women seem to still be paid less. and a look at team gb's preparations

for the winter olympics, due to start in south korea. coming up in sportsday, the last of the fa cup fourth—round replay is as ta ke the fa cup fourth—round replay is as take on newport county at wembley. good evening. some victims of the serial sex attacker, john worboys, have been given permission to challenge the decision to release him from jail. the fulljudicial review hearing will take place in the high court on the 13th of march, and worboys will stay in prison until then. last month, the parole board

was criticised when it announced he would be freed after less than ten years in prison. police believe he may have carried out more than 100 rapes and sexual assaults. he is serving a life sentence now, because that is the way it was put across to us. so we never thought for one second that he would be eligible for parole.

however, today there he was, behind the bars in the dock, but potentially just weeks from being freed. sir bian leveson had ordered thatjohn worboys should be present in person, because he didn't trust the reliability of the court's video link system. thejudge had been told that worboys‘ victims were unhappy at the prospect of seeing him again. "i am sorry about that," sir brian said, "but i'm sure you will appreciate why it would not be possible sensibly to conduct this hearing without him being present in some way." the women's lawyer said her clients only discovered late last night that worboys would be there in person, and described what it was like for one of them to see him again. it was very, very difficult, but she felt it was really necessary to be there, and to say she wasn't going to be frightened of him being there, and to challenge, you know, challenge his power, essentially. but obviously it is hard to see him there in the flesh after all this time.

in court, the women's barrister said the parole board's failure to give reasons for freeing worboys was unlawful. "that kind of blanket secrecy is something that is contrary to a fundamental principle of our law, which is thatjustice is administered in the open," philippa kaufmann qc said. talking to mps at the same time, the chair of the parole board said he too would like the rules to be changed. i think one of the things we should look at is victims getting — victims who want to get one — getting a summary of the parole board's decisions. thejudges then agreed they would hear the victims' legal challenge to worboys' release in five weeks' time, and that until then, he should remain in prison. daniel sandford, bbc news at the royal courts ofjustice. human rights groups say more than 25 people have died today , including at least 12 children, after syrian government forces carried out air strikes

on eastern ghouta. the region, to the east of the capital damascus, is one of the last remaining areas controlled by rebels fighting president assad's forces. it's home to an estimated 400,000 people, and is now at the centre of what the united nations is calling a humanitarian emergency. medical supplies and food haven't been allowed in since late last year. quentin sommerville‘s report contains some images you may find distressing. syria's war isn't ending, it's getting worse. in eastern ghouta, near damascus, they're overwhelmed. death comes daily from the skies. more than 150 civilians have been killed here this month already. the rescuers have to move fast. here, they follow the sound of a child crying. and a boy is removed alive from the rubble. hundreds have been left

injured in eastern ghouta and in the last week, more than a0 children have been killed. yesterday rescue worker saeed al—masri was called to an emergency, the baby in his arms is his own. translation: as we were approaching, i realised it was my house that had been hit. i heard a baby's cry and saw my son was wounded. i went inside and my children had been injured and my cousins too. my house was destroyed. three month old ibrahim is doing fine, but the family wonders when the next attack will come. regimejets drop unguided bombs, they fall haphazardly and bring devastation. rebel shelling has killed a dozen people in government areas.

there's a new ferocity to the conflict. it should look different here, this is part of a de—escalation zone, where suffering should be diminishing, but the opposite is happening. here and elsewhere, the conflict is intensifying. basic medical supplies are running low, the region's under siege, but there's also a sense of hopelessness that the world has stopped caring. translation: we are completely drained. the roads are closed and we can't get new supplies. we've stopped believing that anyone will help us. we've given up on the international media and the un. we hoped they would help us, but they've done nothing. east ghouta is nearing exhaustion, at least 31 people were killed today. the bombing has stopped for now, but everyone here knows that this

new surge of bloodshed is far from over. this is a problem of false expectations, false expectations that the war in syria is coming to an end, that the regime is winning that war, and as a result of the violence in syria will continue to diminish. to use the preferred diplomatic language, it will de—escalate. that is not happening. president assad and his allies are mounting multiple offensives against their enemies and they are using those false expectations as cover to attack civilians, to kill women and children. there is a sense in syria, a disappointment that the world is also buying into that false narrative, that it wants to turn its back on syria. it is so desperate for this conflict to end, that it

will ignore what is happening, just as the conflict there reaches a horrible new intensity. quentin, thank you for the latest. quentin, thank you for the latest. quentin somerville in beirut. the government's assessments predicting the possible economic impact of brexit, suggest that growth will be hit hardest in those regions where the leave vote was strongest. the analysis, drawn up for the department for exiting the eu, looked at scenarios ranging from leaving with no deal, to remaining within the eu single market. theresa may has met senior ministers today, to try to agree the government's approach to the next stage of the brexit talks, as laura kuenssberg reports. cloistered in the commons, ministers' cars parked up gave away the private meeting in the prime minister's office. the cabinet trying reach a compromise, continually pushed by brexiteers to take a tough line towards the eu. would she be good enough to be very robust when discussing these matters in the brexit committee, as i'm sure she will be,

in order to ensure we repudiate any of these eu threats? we will hear all sorts of things being said about positions being taken. what matters are the positions we take in the negotiations as we negotiate the best deal. we have shown we can do that, we did it in december and we are going to do it again. one number 10 insider told me the problem is that everybody always wants something. but the prime minister must broker a deal within her own party before she can get on with the negotiations. today the brexit committee was discussing how to avoid bringing back the border between northern and southern ireland without keeping the current customs arrangements that the prime minister has ruled out. what kind of immigration deal should be done with the eu that controls the numbers but gives business the staff they need. tomorrow the discussion will move on to how we do business in future. why are ministers still squirrelled away in your having these conversations when we voted to leave in the summer of 2016?

the referendum didn't dictate exactly the relationship we would have with the european union after brexit. so for months, the tories have been in a tug—of—war. should we stay closely intertwined with brussels after we go, or make a more dramatic break? the eu and business are running out of patience as the uk takes its time to decide. it demonstrates to the world the united kingdom is not leaving europe as we leave the eu. tory remain rebels lined up this morning to put against the idea of a lurch away from the eu. they are outspoken, but a minority in their party, their fears the country will be worse off. it is abundantly clear to me that there is no model which will satisfy all sections of the british public. and i believe, and i've said many times before, i believe a no deal scenario would be bad for our economy. mps have now seen the government's forecasts of what could happen to different parts of the country

if there is no deal. over 15 years the economy in london is forecast to be 3.5% smaller. in the west midlands, that voted to leave, it would be 13% smaller. and in the north—east, which also chose brexit, hypothetically it is the worst affected. the economy potentially 16% smaller than it is otherwise expected to be. forecasts often turn out to be wrong. very wrong. but the government is preparing to make big choices right now that will, for better or worse, affect us all. laura kuenssberg, bbc news. the brexit process will be heavily influenced by the outcome of the coalition talks in germany, where a long period of political deadlock is set to be resolved. chancellor merkel‘s conservatives have agreed a deal with the centre—left social democrats. to discuss that, we're joined by our europe editor katya adler. and to examine the brexit process

here in britain, our political editor, laura kuenssberg. lawro, lots of calls again today, including from business, for clarity around the next stage. will they get that? not any time soon. the message is, don't hold your breath. the brexit committee were locked away in talks today and they will again tomorrow. i'm told the conversations we re tomorrow. i'm told the conversations were productive, they went through all the potential options, the ways they foresee solving the issue around the northern irish border. but tonight there is not suddenly white smoke drifting across number 10 with, here is the government's true desire for brexit. it may be another few weeks before we get that. there is talk of some kind of government away day, potentially at chequers, and then, only then, will they get towards their opening pitch towards the eu. we have to remember

this is not a standard government decision—making process. yes, the frustration levels in business and in brussels, and parliament, arising in terms of what they see as a delay in terms of what they see as a delay in terms of what they see as a delay in terms of making these decisions. this is a difficult and complicated process with divisions of the tory party that have been there for many yea rs, party that have been there for many years, not just since party that have been there for many years, notjust since the referendum. can we talk about another factor in this process, the outcome of the coalition talks in germany? how will the new coalition affect this brexit process ? the new coalition affect this brexit process? first we have to see this as almost a done deal when it comes to the coalition. the social democrats have to vote for it yet. it will probably go ahead. don't expect a big change from germany on brexit. i've been told by somebody close to the german chancellor this afternoon. she has stuck close to france, demanding the uk observe all eu rules in a deal. if you think also who is the head of her coalition party, he is the former president of the european

parliament, a real europhile. if we think of any one personality in the eu who would have pushed for pragmatism in that brexit deal, that would've been angela merkel in her former guise as queen of europe. but she has been weakened by the selections at home and abroad, and she cannot find any wriggle room. she will provide stability in this comment for the short—term for the eu and in germany. but this coalition was very unpopular in germany before the elections. the thought is it is grey and woolly and uninspiring. this could lead to more support for the nationalists far right. thank you. the day's other news. one of the killers of the toddler james bulger, the two—year—old who was murdered in 1993, has been sent to jail again, this time for three years, after admitting possessing indecent images of children. the judge said there was no guaranteejon venables would be released after serving his sentence. a spokesman forjames bulger‘s mother, denise fergus, called the sentence a "farce."

the supermarket giant tesco is facing a possible bill of up to £4 billion following britain's biggest ever equal pay claim. lawyers say women who work in the company's stores earn less than men employed in its warehouses, even though the work is comparable. up to 200,000 women could be entitled to back—pay, if the legal challenge is successful. the supermarket says all its staff are paid fairly, whatever their gender. kamal ahmed reports. who is worth more? warehouse workers, mostly men, loading and unloading lorries, or store staff, mostly women, loading shelves and dealing with customers? this is a very different type of pay dispute. not equal pay for the same job, but equal pay for differentjobs that, lawyers in this case argue, have the same value. i think the role has changed slightly over time. kim and pam have worked in tesco

supermarkets for over 20 years. their rates of pay are up to £3 an hour lower than warehouse staff. we think we have equal rights. there are times where there are such discrepancies that you can't explain them. i think tesco's are just one of many companies that really aren't addressing the fact that women seem to still be paid less. obviously the jobs are slightly different, but to put it bluntly, they're of equal value. we deal with customers. they don't have to deal with customers. we take the stock and we load the stock. they load it off the lorry and we load it onto the shelves. it's a debate that goes back decades. we are on strike until the 27th june. here are women workers for ford in the 1960s, arguing that theirjob, sewing car seat covers, was comparable with the men who built the engines. they won after years of expensive battles. so how do you test whether a job is of equal value? first, you score how much

training and skill does it need to do the job. second, how difficult is the job and how much responsibility does it carry? third, what are the physical and emotional demands? for example, is customer interaction a key part of the role? if the scores are similar, then the jobs are comparable. i asked the lawyer leading the case whether warehouse work was really the same as working in tesco supermarkets. a man in distribution may score higher on a physical test, but then the woman may score higher on the emotional content of the job or dealing with the customers. so if the law has been there since 1984, that you can compare with a different job, that's 3a years to get your house in order. in a statment, tesco said: for pam and kim, maybe £20,000 each if their legal battle is successful.

but this is not about the money. you'rejust asking for fairness, aren't you — that's what the claim's about? absolutely, no more, no less. exactly. kamal ahmed, bbc news. a report into the performance of an nhs trust in liverpool has found that patients suffered unnecessary harm because of pressure to cut costs. a review of the activities of liverpool community health, which has been seen by bbc news, found a management team that was seriously out of its depth, presiding over severe staff shortages and bullying. our social affairs correspondent, michael buchanan, has this exclusive report. personally, it destroyed me. i was suicidal. i was held against my will by a patient's relative at knife—point and sexually assaulted. our decision was overruled and the lady died six hours after she was admitted to our ward. around three quarters of a million people in merseyside relied on liverpool community health nhs trust, but they put costs before care, between 2010 and 2014,

according to a report we've seen. the trust, which is based in this building, was found to be dysfunctional from the outset. its leadership team is described as being "out of its depth." they set "infeasible financial targets that damaged patient services." we suddenly were taking patients with heart failure, with lung cancers. patients who were very, very medically unstable and unwell and we had no piped oxygen. these nurses were at the sharp end, trying to protect patients. as they did so, they were being constantly bullied. it wasn't about how we can learn and how we can move forward. it was, how can we blame you. people were frightened to raise their concerns. this district nurse, who wants to remain anonymous, was sexually assaulted on a home visit, having been sent out without a personal protection alarm. i should have been able to alert

someone to where i was and get the help to me straightaway. so i would have been out within minutes rather than being subjected to a horrendous time for over an hour. the worst failings were arguably at liverpool prison, where the trust provided health care services. the review says they didn't know how to manage it safely, inmates died unnecessarily. simon mcbride killed himself he was convicted of drug offences. he wrote two letters asking for help. his suicide could have been avoided if a proper, diligent and competent, effective system had been in place. the trust was led throughout by bernie cuthel, pictured here in 2014. the chief executive was focused on cutting costs so they could achieve foundation status, giving them more autonomy. twice we asked her for an interview, she didn't respond, so we approached her.

excuse me. bernie cuthel? yeah. bbc news. we'd like to talk to you about liverpool community health. we just want to ask you a couple of questions. are you a bully, miss cuthel? are you a bully? and as you can see, bernie cuthel didn't want to answer any questions. she resigned from liverpool in 2014 to work at a trust in manchester. we've learned miss cuthel‘s newjob, which maintained her six—figure salary, was arranged by an nhs regulator. labour mp rosie cooper, whose own father was let down by the trust, is appalled. i don't understand why anybody would want to keep a failed chief executive and/or any other members of the board. if they fail that badly, they should have been disciplined and fired. liverpool community health is now providing good services to the people of merseyside, a significant improvement on its troubled past.

michael buchanan, bbc news, liverpool. the chief constable of police scotland, who was facing a series of allegations of gross misconduct, has resigned. phil gormley, who had been in the job forjust over two years, had been under investigation since last september. he's always denied any wrongdoing. he's leaving 10 months before the end of his contract and will not receive a financial pay—off. our scotland editor, sarah smith, reports. phil gormley was brought in to steady the ship at police scotland just two years ago, but he's not been at work for the last six months while allegations of bullying were being investigated, while still receiving full pay. mr gormley was cleared to go back to work by the scottish police authority back in november, but that decision was then reversed when thejustice secretary intervened. he was worried there weren't adequate safeguards in place for the serving police officers who'd made accusations against the chief constable. mr gormley said in a statement...

thank you presiding officer. raising questions today about whether police scotland is fit for purpose. we'll soon be on our third chief constable and we're on our third chair and third chief executive. surely the justice secretary has to start asking himself whether there's something else going on? perhaps it's the structure that is the root of the problem here. i believe that a single police force is still the appropriate model for delivering policing in scotland. and the reality is, had we not moved to a single police force in scotland, that we would have found ourselves having to make significant cuts to front—line policing. police scotland has had a turbulent time since eight forces were merged into one. the last chief constable stood down early, after controversies over armed officers turning up to routine incidents and delayed responses to 999 calls, including one in which a couple lay

undiscovered in a crashed car for three days near the m9. and there's more trouble at the top, an assistant chief constable and another senior officer are currently suspended, accused of illegally using a police firing range for unauthorised purposes. police scotland now has to look for its third chief constable in five years. a safe pair of hands will be an essential job requirement. sarah smith, bbc news, glasgow. scientists say they now know what the first modern briton looked like, some 10,000 years ago, and it's something of a revelation. they believe that so—called cheddar man, who lived in south—west england, had skin that was dark to black and blue eyes. researchers have used groundbreaking dna analysis to examine his skeleton, which was discovered in somerset back in 1903. our correspondent, jon kay, reports. he lay here, undisturbed for 10,000 years. in the caves beneath cheddar gorge,

a replica of cheddar man. but now, 21st century science means we can put flesh on these bones. 1. 1, 2, 1,2, 3... at the natural history museum, cheddar man finally revealed. by extracting dna from his bones and scanning his skull, experts believe they've recreated his face in unprecedented detail, and he looks very different from what they expected. the hair, the eyes, the face, that combination of blue eyes and dark skin, really very striking, something we wouldn't have imagined and to also get from the dna details of his biology. the fact that he couldn't digest milk as an adult. that came with the advent of farming. 10,000 years ago people didn't have that. look how he's changed.

this is what scientists used to think he looked like. a reconstruction from 20 years ago when dna analysis was nowhere near as developed. cheddar man and i share a common female relative. this is modern day cheddar man, adrian targett lives in the same village and shares dna with the skeleton found in the gorge. so, time to meet his ancestor. do you want to see your great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather? yes. and... oh my! what do you think? it's remarkable, isn't it? i think there is probably some resemblance. but, yes, i think there are certainly other members in my family who he bears a resemblance to. yes. some of my cousins. you can see that in there, can you? yes. i think my eyes are blue. let's have a look. they are blue. yes, they are blue. his hair is not quite as grey as mine is. or my beard!

so 10,000 years after he died, 100 years after he was found, finally, a face to fit the name of adrian's ancestor. john kay, bbc news, cheddar, in somerset. the winter olympics open officially in south korea on friday and hopes are high for team gb. our sports correspondent, andy swiss, is in pyeongchang and he has been watching their preparations. ready for liftoff, britain's snowboarders spring into action this morning. the temperature a bracing 15 minus 15, but pyeongchang is offering the warmest of welcomes. temperatures are forecast to rise, but keeping out the chill is some challenge. we don't normally have to wear so many layers. especially in the morning, we're real stiff riding. but, i mean, once it warmed up a little bit.. luckily, the sun's out. if the sun wasn't out,

it'll be baltic. but, yeah, you just deal with it. you know, we're snowboarders, so we've just got to get on with it, haven't we? trying to keep her cool, though, is britain's biggest hope. commentator: 0h, they've gone down! four years ago, skater elise christie's olympic dreams came tumbling down. she crashed out of all her events, received death threats and considered quitting. but now she's back as a triple world champion and she told me she wants that gold for those who persuaded her to carry on. i don't think that i would have been here today or kept going because, for me, i didn't want to skate for me any more. you know, skating had broken my heart. so as much as for me i want a gold medal because i blooming train so hard every day and i push my limits. i can't sleep at night because i'm so sore, this is as much for everyone who did support me through that as it is for me. well, the british team are hoping the games here in pyeongchang can propel them to new heights.

but while the focus here might be on the athletes, the olympic movement itself is also under scrutiny. the reason — russia. the country is banned from these games because of doping and yet more than 160 of their athletes have been allowed to compete under a neutralflag, as oars — olympic athletes from russia — and more could still be admitted leaving rivals, including britain, frustrated. the uncertainty, it can be really challenging, quite tricky and i think both the ioc and the court of arbitration for sport is involved now as well and those decisions will be happening we think right up until possibly the starting point of the games. it's a bit of a mess, isn't it? it's certainly a truly confusing situation and one i don't think anybody in sport would want. and this is no time for distractions. after their success in sochi, led by lizzie yarnold's gold,