this is bbc news. i'm shaun ley. the headlines at 11: two british men accused of carrying out beheadings for the so—called islamic state have complained that they won't get a fair trial after losing their citizenship. the un calls for an independent investigation as 16 palestinians are killed in clashes with israeli forces on the gaza border. russia announces further measures against uk diplomats — expulsions of officials from 23 other countries are also announced. the uk is considering letting russia have access to yulia skripal — who was poisoned alongside her father sergei in salisbury. creative subjects such as art and drama are being cut by schools to save money. that's the verdict of the national education union at its annual conference in brighton more tears and further apologies in the wake of australia's cricket scandal. former vice—captain david warner says he knows he might never again play for the national team. right now it is hard to know what comes next,

but first and foremost... sobbing ..is the well-being of my family. and in half an hour, dateline london will be talking about those clashes on the gaza—israeli border — where more than a dozen palestinian protestors have been killed. good morning and welcome to bbc news. two british men believed to have been members of the notorious islamic state cell known as "the beatles" — have complained they can't have a fair trial because the uk government has stripped them of their citizenship. alexanda kotey and el shafee elsheikh, whose group is thought to have murdered more than 20 hostages, spoke to reporters in northern syria after being detained.

james waterhouse reports. alexanda kotey and el shafee elsheikh became part of the most infamous gang of foreign fighters within the islamic state group. along with fellow londoners mohammed emwazi — the killer nicknamed jihadi john — who was killed in an american air strike, and aine davis, who was jailed in turkey, the pair are links to a string of hostage murders in iraq and syria during the militants‘ bloody uprising. they include alan henning, the driver and aid worker from eccles, and david haines, a long—time aid workerfrom perth. speaking to the associated press from a cell in northern syria, alexanda kotey describes the executions as something that was regrettable, as he didn't see any benefit. the pair also claimed the illegal taking of their citizenships left them vulnerable to interrogation and torture. the two men were captured in the country by the american—backed syrian democratic forces, the kurdish—led militia. the home office hasn't commented on whether the pair have been stripped of their citizenship. last month the home secretary amber rudd said she was "absolutely convinced and committed to the idea

of them facing justice." the defence secretary gavin williamson, however, said the men should not return to britain because they "turned their backs on british values." their interview comes a day after a uk soldier, embedded with us forces, was killed by a roadside bomb in a counterterrorism operation against the militants — making him the first british member of the armed forces killed in combat fighting is. james waterhouse, bbc news. britain's most senior police officer, the metropolitan commissioner cressida dick, has suggested that social media is partly to blame for some violent crime, including a rising number of knife attacks. in an interview with the times, ms dick said the websites were being used by gangs to glamorise violence and allowed trivial disputes to escalate quickly. the commissioner says she sees a connection between incredibly abusive language used in social media meaning that it makes it "more likely, faster, and harder for people to cool down." she goes on to say that social media allows people to show off

and she is "sure it does rev people up." in the article the commissioner also announced a new task force of about 100 officers to tackle violent crime in london. the funerals are expected to take place later today of some of the 16 palestinians killed on friday in clashes with israeli soldiers. hundreds more were injured when violence flared on the border with gaza, on the first day of a planned six—week protest over the right of palestinian refugees to return to their homes in what is now israel. the israeli army accuses the protesters of hurling stones and fire bombs. in new york, the un security council condemned the violence but could not agree on a statement. addressing the council, the un's deputy political affairs chief, taye—brook zerihoun, called for an investigation into the deaths. taye—brook zerihoun, called for an investigation into the deaths. israel must uphold its responsibility under international human rights and humanitarian law. greater force should only be used

as a last resort and any resulting fatalities properly investigated by the authorities. we will therefore also continue to urge israeli security forces to exercise maximum restraint to avoid casualties. we are deeply saddened by the loss of life today. we urge those involved to take steps to lower tensions and reduce the risk of clashes. bad actors use protests as a cover to incite violence and endanger innocent lives. these peaceful demonstrators posed no threat whatsoever to israel or its heavily armed soldiers. yet its trigger—happy soldiers used live ammunition, tear gas and rubber bullets, to shoot indiscriminately at those non—violent protesters who were demonstrating inside the gaza strip

near their side of the well—fortified barrier that separates them from israel. more than 100 flights from stansted airport were cancelled last night after a shuttle bus caught fire outside the terminal building. no one was injured but thousands of passengers were told to leave the airport and rebook their flights. a normal service is expected to resume this morning. 0ur correspondent anisa kadri joins us from stansted airport. anisa, there were reports of passengers saying that having been told to leave the terminal and evacuate, they couldn't get out because the doors were locked. can the airport for an explanation for that? well, what we do know is that a lot of people in their say that there was a lot confusion and chaos. what sta nsted there was a lot confusion and chaos. what stansted airport... loss of sound. it was confusing for

people... i'm sorry, we will have to interrupt you. we are having some problems with your microphone at the moment so we will have to leave it there for now. thank you very much. anisa kadri at stansted airport. apologies for that. it worked perfectly well and i recall, the i°ys perfectly well and i recall, the joys of live television. —— perfectly well one hour ago. from tomorrow some specially trained paramedics will be able to prescribe medicines to patients who don't need to go to hospital. the change in the law aims to improve care and allow treatment to start more quickly. 0ur health correspondent, catherine burns reports. gemma walsh is already an advanced paramedic but she wants this extra responsibility. first though, duty calls. there you go. so we are on oui’ way to a 62—year—old who has query food poisoning. gemma mainly does urgent care cases like this. in other words, not emergencies, but still genuine illnesses. two thirds of her patients do not need taking to hospital. but she says she has to call gps every day to organise prescriptions. after training, she will be able to do that herself.

the patient did not want us filming so we're waiting outside to see if this is one of those situations where in the future, paramedics like gemma might be able to give extra help, not life or death situations, but less serious cases where the patient may need drugs but could avoid a trip to hospital or the gp. gemma decided this patient did not require extra treatment. eventually she will be able to prescribe everything from antibiotics for infections to steroids for asthma and a whole lot more. that will obviously then mean the patient does not have to leave their home. it is a nicer experience for the patient. it is quicker. i feel it would complete the care i'm able to give that patient and provide realjob satisfaction. the aim is to train up 700 prescribing

paramedics across the uk. it is thought the first ones will be doing the job by the autumn. nhs england is calling it a win—win. nhs england is calling it win—win—win. this is one of the many steps to helping improve the nhs cope with the pressures it is under. this will reduce some of the demand on general practice because paramedics being able to write prescriptions will help them. it will also reduce the number of patients we hope that we need to convey to hospitaljust to get a prescription. patients groups say this could save lives and the new law has been widely welcomed. just one proviso, some medics point out that although this will help, it will not deal with all the funding and staffing problems the nhs is dealing with. catherine burns, bbc news. teaching unions have warned that creative subjects, such as art and drama, are being axed to save money. the national education union says it's also concerned

about a reduction in the number of support staff while class sizes continue to rise. the warnings come as teachers gather in brighton for the union's annual conference. marc ashdown reports. like schools across england and wales, the cupboard at dobcroft infants in sheffield is bare. the head has spent years cutting back on resources, and has written to parents explaining just how desperate the situation is. when i look at a school like ours, it's going to have to make 118,000, there will be a difference in two years' time. there's no way i can make the kind of cuts and still keep the wider on education. —— the emphasis on education. in nearly 18 years as a head, and i've never known a time when things have been as bad looking forward. a survey by the national education union of 900 teachers found 94% of them are pessimistic about their school budget over the next few years. 55% have seen class sizes rise and 80% have seen teaching assistant posts cut. teachers are also working longer hours with three quarters asks saying they are regularly asked to

teach subjects they are not qualified for. along with seeing resources for books cut, it is no normal to ask parents for moneyjust to buy the basics. —— it is now normal. my concern is this generation of children are losing out. previous generations had arts, dance, drama. maybe future generations will, but this generation are missing out. their class sizes are going up, their opportunities are being cut back. and whoever caused the economic crisis, it wasn't this generation of children and they shouldn't be — they are the future of the country. the department for education says by 2020 core funding will have risen by 50% per pupil compared to the year 2000. and extra support is being given to schools which are struggling with budgets. but the mood music among teachers at conference this weekend is for even more urgency. marc ashdown, bbc news. it is 12 minutes past 11. let's look at the headlines so far... two british men believed to have been members

of the islamic state cell known as "the beatles" complain they can't get a fair trial after losing their citizenship. the head of the un calls for an investigation into the deaths of at least sixteen palestinians during clashes with the israeli army on the gaza border. the government is considering letting russia have access to yulia skripal — who was poisoned alongside her father sergei in salisbury let's stay with that story. russia is said to be further letting go embassy staff... the uk is considering letting russian consular access to visit the daughter of sergei skripal, who was poisoned in salisbury along with her father earlier this month.

yulia skripal is recovering in a salisbury hospital. 0ur correspondent simonjones joins us from salisbury. lets talk of this consular access. there was talk of this a while ago but both skripals were unconscious at the time. this is a bit of a dilemma for the foreign office? the foreign office says it is considering the formal request for access to her, and under international law if someone from abroad gets in trouble, they do have the right to see consular staff from their own country. that can either be in person or in written form. on thursday we got news that the condition of yulia skripal had improved significantly. the bbc understands that in hospital she is conscious and talking and is no longer in a critical condition. then the russian embassy said it welcomed that news but said it insisted on the right to see her, and made that formal request. it actually also

opposed 27 questions of the british authorities that it said it wanted a nswe rs authorities that it said it wanted a nswers to, authorities that it said it wanted answers to, it wanted to know why her condition had improved significantly, how she was being treated, while herfather‘s condition did not appear to be improving. bizarrely, they then even asked for photographs to prove the pair were asked for photographs to prove the pairwere in asked for photographs to prove the pair were in hospital and still alive. we haven't got answers to all those 27 questions but the foreign office has said this morning it is considering that request for access to her in relation to international law. but it said it will also consider what yulia skripal herself once. as opposed as you say it is a matter for once. as opposed as you say it is a matterfor her, once. as opposed as you say it is a matter for her, because she can request consular access and presumably she is free to say no if she doesn't want it as well. what about the expulsions? this is something where we thought

we had an idea of the figure, where we had an idea of the figure, where we we re we had an idea of the figure, where we were going, but now it looks like that number may be rising? yes, we are getting more clarification this morning. we knew earlier that 23 diplomats were being thrown out of russia and back to britain but we understand this morning now the total number of diplomats and staff is going to be 50. we had the ambassador to russia called on to moscow yesterday, told about these expulsions, and now we have that figure. we have not had any response yet from the foreign office here as to what they are going to do next, but of course these have been tit—for—tat expulsions and retaliations, so we may see a spiralling of this, but at the moment no comment from the foreign office here. simon jones, in salisbury, thank you. meanwhile here, russia says it wants an official explanation after uk border force and customs officers searched a passengerflight from moscow at heathrow airport yesterday. the embassy claimed the officials refused to give a written explanation for their actions on board the aeroflot flight, and called the search a "blata nt provocation". there hasn't been a response from the british government as yet.

the labour deputy leader tom watson has said the senior official accused of antisemitism, christine shawcroft, should "explore her own conscience" and make the "right decision" about whether to resign from the party's ruling committee. our political correspondent jonathan blake is here. as we say, christine shawcroft, a member of the nec, so presumably she is elected, and it is up to her whether or not she stands in these elections, but tom watson trying to push out the door, it seems. yes, as you say christine shawcroft has been at the centre of this row over anti—semitism in the labour party over the last couple of days. she has a place on labour's ruling body, the national executive committee, and also was chair of the party's disputes panel looking after disciplinary matters among members. she has stood down from that position but is still in place on the national executive committee and says when her term comes to an end

in the summer she will not seek re—election. as it stands she will not be there for much longer but there are a group of labour mps and peers, more than 40, who have written to jeremy corbyn peers, more than 40, who have written tojeremy corbyn saying it is unacceptable that she remains in her post. also now, as you mention, the labour deputy leader tom watson calling for her to step aside. the labour deputy leader tom watson calling for her to step asidem is, located, isn't it? one thing people looking from the outside might not be aware of, christine shawcroft, no disrespect, but she is not a big name shawcroft, no disrespect, but she is nota big name in shawcroft, no disrespect, but she is not a big name in general news terms, but she is a very long terming activist in the labour party, very well—known in labour party, very well—known in labour party circles, someone on the left of the party, a long—standing critic of the party, a long—standing critic of tony blair when he was labour leader and a lot of what new labour stood for, and seen as somebody, a supporter ofjeremy corbyn. is there a danger people like tom watson and others who are critical of this, that actually it becomes a proxy for an argument about the left and the position of the labour party rather than specifically about the argument

on anti—semitism? than specifically about the argument on anti-semitism? well, i think we have seen that played out to an extent in the last few days in this argument about in anti—semitism and whetherjeremy corbyn and party leadership have taken a tough enough sta nce leadership have taken a tough enough stance on it. there are those who are saying it is being exaggerated and used as a way to attackjeremy corbyn, and destabilise him. that is of course quite an inventory charge to make because it might suggest, to some, that some people in the labour party are not fully aware of or don't fully appreciate where anti—semitism exists and how offensive and damaging it can be. in fa ct, offensive and damaging it can be. in fact, christine shawcroft herself posted on facebook last night, in a posted on facebook last night, in a post that has now since been deleted, that this row had been whipped up, i she put it, deleted, that this row had been whipped up, i she put it, to whipped up, as she put it, to criticise jeremy corbyn. whipped up, as she put it, to criticisejeremy corbyn. she has since deleted that post and herself denounced anti—semitism, as she has throughout this. but at the time suggesting her view may not be out

of line with the view of, well, it suggests, the majority of labour members, ina suggests, the majority of labour members, in a survey... yes, i yougov poll more than 1000 labour party members suggested the majority in fact, according to that poll, they do think the problem of anti—semitism has been exaggerated, but there are a significant number of people, as i mentioned, more than 40 signatories to a letter tojeremy corbyn, who clearly don't believe he has gone far enough, and has said a lot about anti—semitism, but as they would put it, they wanting to see action, so as we heard tom watson this morning adding for the calls to christine shawcroft to step aside from the ruling body. jonathan blake, thanks very much. the funeral of professor stephen hawking will take place in cambridge this afternoon. family, friends and colleagues will gather to pay their respects to the physicist who died earlier this month at the age of 76. professor hawking's ashes will be interred next to the grave of sir isaac newton at westminster abbey in june. sport now, and for a full round up,

from the bbc sport centre, here'sjohn watson. the ball tampering scandal is just not going away. yes, that is where we will start this morning. david warner, the australian cricket captain, speaking publicly for the first time on that scandal, saying he takes full responsibility for his actions in a tearful news conference. he is resigned to the fa ct conference. he is resigned to the fact he may never play for australia again. in the back of my mind, i suppose there is a tiny ray of hope. that i may one day be given the privilege of playing for my country again, buti privilege of playing for my country again, but i am resigned to the fact that that may never happen. but in the coming weeks and months, i'm going to look at how this has

happened and who i am as a man. to be honest, i'm not sure right now how i will do this. i will seek out advice and expertise to help me make serious changes. he was asked in that press conference is anyone else was involved in the scandal but he didn't directly answer the question. he took to social media, though, afterward and said... i'm sure from that we will hear more to come, from that investigation from cricket australia. after an excellent start, england's bowlers we re excellent start, england's bowlers were left frustrated by the batsmen

in the second test in christchurch. jonny bairstow reaching his fifth test century at the start of the second day. england all out and he was the last man out for 101, but he wasn't straight back into the action, taking a catch off stuart broad to dismiss tom lees, with new zealand getting off the mark. they we re zealand getting off the mark. they were not at that point, a great start for england's bowlers, 36 for five, but not able to capitalise on the start as the host finished on 192 for six. england well beaten in the final of the women's england well beaten in the final of the women‘s tri— england well beaten in the final of the women's tri— series by australia this morning. australia recording the highest total in women's 2020 internationals. losing always hurts, and it is not your game, but we had two aims on this tour, to have players try new things, and hopefully to win. we got to the final but were not good enough on the day. as you say, well beaten, but we hung on for enough of the time to stay in the game at the

halfway point of the chase, just about level, but that partnership between them was outstanding and it took the game away from us. the former england captain ray wilkins is in hospital afterfalling ill. he is seen here scoring for manchester united in the 1983 fa cup final. he is reported to be in a critical condition after suffering a cardiac arrest. two wins all that is needed for manchester city to wrap up the premier league title and they can get the first one against everton later which means they could win the title against manchester united next weekend. then the champions league quarterfinals to come as well, against liverpool, on wednesday.” talk about everton as the most important game to play. my decision is to win against everton. not thinking about the guys to play against liverpool, that would be a big mistake on my side. anthony joshua facesjoseph parker in the world unification bout. joshua is

lighter than he has been in his four previous fights, weighing in at 17 stone four pounds. he hopes to claim the new zealander wbo belt later on. and that is all the sport for now. time for the weather. hello. good friday wet for many parts of the uk and it will be wet again through the rest of the day but hopefully not quite as wet as it has been. there are still rivers on flood warning at the moment. this picture sent an earlier from north yorkshire on the north sea coast. the breeze aravind throwing in those waves and more rain. snow still falling over the higher ground and the best of the brightness today will be over the north and west of scotla nd will be over the north and west of scotland and northern ireland but with sunshine and very few showers we may see, as that system slowly trundles eastwards, some brighter and drier skies materialising on the

western fringes of england and wales but for most the hills, the spray and standing water, further rain to come. even though it is easing it will still be quite a damp day, not wet. cold air blowing in off the north sea. the drying up process continues, and some sunshine promised tomorrow. ahead of that, as slight frost, probably quite hard and widespread. because it has been so damp, we will have to clear that first thing at the start of april, and we are sandwiched between systems, this one approaching from the south and west, and we still have the cold air with us, salt easter day looks like the dry state. still the remnants in eastern areas but it will continue to fragment. perhaps some sunshine and a few showers, snow showers for scotland. good sunshine for northern ireland and initially in the south and west. through the afternoon the approach

of the next system will blanket sunshine and bring with it some rain throughout the second half of the afternoon. in the easter monday that process and weather system continues northwards, butting into our cold air, turning the store, mostly over the hills. several centimetres piling up, the peak district, the pennines —— turning to snow. it turns milder with heavy showers in the south through the course of the day so we have that contrast in weather, but clearly very easter monday when potentially many people returning along the roads, the risk of destructive snow, so there are warnings out there on the website. goodbye. hello, i'm shaun ley and this is dateline uk — the programme where journalists from abroad who report on events here for the folks back home debate the big stories of the moment with their peers from the uk. there'll be much talk of peace, as western christians are marking easter. asi as i say, journalists from abroad will debate that with them.

on the border between gaza and israel, friday's violence raises again the question of how to create a plan for peace between israel and the palestina ns. with a papal visit to ireland planned for later this year, we'll be discussing the unfinished business of brexit — establishing a border that doesn't reawa ken old hostilities. and with pope francis delivering the traditional easter message, i'll be asking our panel for messages of their own. with me — brian o'connell, a broadcaster who's reported from both sides of the border on the island of ireland. eunice goes, a journalist and academic from portugal. catherine pepinster, a former editor of the tablet, a newspaper which was founded by a convert to catholicism. and greg katz, from the united states, who runs the london bureau of the news agency ap. we begin with gaza. the killing of more than a dozen palestinian protestors on the border between israel and the gaza strip makes friday the deadliest day in the conflict in four years. it was the day when jews mark the start of passover, commemorating their liberation from egypt.

the protests are part of a six week campaign palestinians are calling ‘the great march of return‘, demanding that they should be allowed to return to homes lost when the modern state of israel was founded 70 years ago. it was a dreadful day, the worst in some years and i don't think there isa some years and i don't think there is a reasonable hope that the un security council or the united states as a broker that is now seen as closely allied with israel, i do not see the outside world stopping this. all we can hope for is there is no excavation in the coming hours over the holidays. the idea of peaceful protest is invaluable but it obviously went sour yesterday and ina way it obviously went sour yesterday and in a way we can do is hope because onceit in a way we can do is hope because once it spreads it will get worse and worse. catherine, the suggestion has been that the choice of time to have this protest was particularly provocative? i think it was because

of the marking of passover, the greatjewish feast. that was all aboutjewish greatjewish feast. that was all about jewish liberation and greatjewish feast. that was all aboutjewish liberation and freeing themselves from the egyptians so it is provocative. but i think it also equally