confidentiality agreements are under scrutiny as the owner of topshop, sir philip green, ends his legal case against the daily telegraph. the billionaire has condemned allegations in the paper and denies unlawful sexual and racist behaviour and gross misconduct. some of his alleged victims still can't speak out. i really genuinely think he thought he could get this lawsuit with the telegraph and win, and again, by and push his way through silencing people. and tonight, there are further allegations about sir philip's behaviour towards employees. also tonight. the greeting was warm, but how were their talks, as mrs may and ireland's leo varadkar discuss her brexit deal. after the death of four children in a house fire in stafford, two people are arrested on suspicion of manslaughter by gross negligence. now six horses from the same stables in cheshire have been diagnosed with equine flu. the world's richest man, the founder of amazon, jeff bezos,

accuses the owners of an american celebrity magazine of extortion and blackmail. i take a tip from the fishes. never bite unless the bait's good. acclaimed as "one of our greatest actors", albert finney has died. he was 82. he just was a breath of fresh air and a tower of strength and a great guy. and coming up on bbc news, britain take the lead against hungary in their must win fed cup tie, as they bid for a world group play—off place. good evening. the use of confidentiality, or non—disclosure, agreements is in the spotlight again tonight,

after sir philip green's legal action against the daily telegraph newspaper was formally ended by a high courtjudge. the owner of topshop, who denies claims of unlawful sexual and racist behaviour and allegations of gross misconduct, has condemned the telegraph's reporting, accusing it of a "vendetta" against him. however, his alleged victims are still prevented from speaking out because they signed non—disclosure agreements. tonight, there are further allegations about sir philip's behaviour towards employees. here's our special correspondent lucy manning. sir philip green has the yacht, the business empire and the knighthood, but his reputation has been damaged by allegations from former employees. he tried to block the telegraph publishing them, but today dropped his injunction against the paper. but the five ex—staff members alleging sexual harassment and racial abuse are still gagged. the paper failed to get their nondisclosure agreements, ndas, overturned. auna irvine is one who was not

prevented from speaking out. she worked for sir philip in his las vegas store and claims he sexually harassed her on numerous occasions. i really, genuinely think he thought he could kind of get this lawsuit with the telegraph and win and again, kind of buy and push his way through, silencing people. and, you know, it didn't work out in his favour. i absolutely think that the former or current employees that have been restrained by uk ndas should be able to speak out. the telegraph's editor had been warned by sir philip the paper might end up bankrupt if it printed the allegations about him. sir philip has described these allegations as no more than banter. now, if that is so, then he could very easily lift those ndas and allow them to speak freely. that is what we urge him to do. what do you want the government to do? i would like parliament, the government to take up this issue. i would like mrs may to act.

she has spoken about being uneasy about the use of ndas, after we have identified how they have been misused. but so far, she has only really spoken about reviews. i would like to see action. the topshop owner has always denied any allegations of unlawful sexual or racist behaviour. but his lawyers conceded in court he was hot—headed, made comments about people's clothes and weight, and had put his arms around them in a nonsexual way. sir philip green, in a statement, accused the telegraph of pursuing a vendetta against him, his company, and of harassing staff. he called on the paper to do the decent thing and to respect the ndas, otherwise, he warned of potential legal and financial consequences for his ex—employees. his statement added:. sir philip's view on confidentiality agreements is that those who signed

them did so willingly after getting legal advice, but some mps think change is overdue. it cannot be right that wealthy, powerful businesses can use the law to silence victims. we have to make sure that we have got better protections in place and i think the court ruling today has shown that parliament needs to look at this and look at it quickly. the businessman decided to drop his court case against the telegraph, calling it "pointless", after his identity was revealed in the house of lords by peter hain. the fact that sir philip green withdrew his injunction, and refused to proceed with it, is a vindication of what i did. some of sir philip's former workers are still silenced, but the telegraph no longer is, so the businessman will be back on the front page tomorrow. lucy, tonight, further allegations

against sir philip? that's right, more details in the telegraph, claiming that sir philip had to pay out a female executive more than £1 million after she claimed that he had slapped her on the bottom and tried to kiss her on the face. and claims in the paper that he also had to pay out two other female collea g u es to pay out two other female colleagues hundreds of thousands of pounds and an allegation against him that a male colleague, who was black, was paid out after suggestions that sir philip was alleged to have said, "you are still throwing spears in the jungle". the telegraph alleged some of these incidents were witnessed by others and some were reported to hr. sir philip has denied acting in any unlawful way or anything that amounts to gross misconduct. the feeling very much from inside his close circle is that anybody signing a confidentiality agreement got advice and knew what they were

signing, they got the money and therefore, they have to keep to the obligations in that agreement. the judge didn't overturn those nondisclosure agreements. he said they should stay. the judge also pointed to the fact that originally, four of the former employees did not wa nt four of the former employees did not want any of this information becoming public. ndas are used by businesses for keeping commercial secrets but what this has done is reignite the debate about whether they are being used in the right way. lucy manning, thank you. the family of the cardiff city footballer, emiliano sala, say they can now begin to mourn his death, after police confirmed his body was found in the wreckage of a plane in the english channel. the 28—year—old argentinian striker was flying to cardiff last month when his aircraft disappeared in the english channel. the pilot, david ibbotson, is still missing. detectives investigating the disappearance of a 21—year—old woman in hull have been granted an extra 36 hours to question a man. libby squire went missing just over a week ago. she was last seen outside her home,

less than a mile from the suspect‘s house. theresa may is in dublin tonight, holding talks with the irish prime minister leo varadkar. it's her latest attempt to resolve issues over the so—called irish "backstop", the mechanism to prevent a hard border between northern ireland and the republic after brexit. mr varadkar was himself in belfast earlier today, urging political leaders at stormont to restore the power—sharing executive, which collapsed more than two years ago. our ireland correspondent emma vardy has this report. the neighbours, coming over for dinner. two countries, in the most difficult of times, trying to stay friends. at ireland's official state guest house, theresa may and the irish taoiseach, leo varadkar, discussed brexit over a private meal. earlier today, mr varadkar called in on his neighbours, too. northern ireland has been without a government since the parties fell out two years ago.

but the tussle over the most controversial part of the brexit deal took centre stage. the decision that we have made as a european union is that the withdrawal agreement and the backstop are not up for negotiation. but we can talk about the joint political declaration and what changes might be made to that. theresa may's partners in government are demanding more than ireland is willing to give. the important thing is that the backstop is the problem in the withdrawal agreement for most people in the house of commons who voted against it by an overwhelming majority, and it is that that has got to be addressed. so no sign of any quick resolution, here. ticket to dublin, please. next stop for leo varadkar was on down to dublin. the shuttle diplomacy continues. this train calls at dublin connolly. you'd hardly know you are crossing what will become the new eu frontier. the backstop's a last—ditch

measure to ensure no return to border checks in ireland. but both sides today showed they are still far from reaching a new compromise. i would congratulate varadkar on his stance. he isjust standing up for irish interests, both north and south. who do you think should give way? i think london should, really, because we want peace to continue. with theresa may in dublin, over dinner, the two prime ministers once again tried to find common ground, knowing it could affect so many livelihoods if they don't. we rely heavily on the uk. an awful lot of products from around the world, especially in this business, come through the uk into ireland. we are quite a small market so we rely on our larger neighbour. how do you think people in ireland will view theresa may's visit here? diplomacy. is there anything that can come of it? probably not. both sides have agreed to keep on talking, but hope for the concessions theresa may needs is in danger of being snuffed out.

tonight's dinner was not part of official negotiations because they can only take place between britain and the whole of the eu. but it was and the whole of the eu. but it was an opportunity for theresa may to emphasise the legally binding changes to the withdrawal agreement she needs to get her deal through parliament. the very latest in from leo varadkar is that he still believes a deal can get over the line, but with positions still so dark in, it may be some weeks yet before we see where any final compromise may come. mr vardy, there, in dublin, thank you. —— emma vardy. moves to hold a vote of no confidence in a labour mp, who's criticised the party's approach to anti—semitism, have been withdrawn. luciana berger faced the challange in her the challenge in her liverpool wavertree constituency. but there's been considerable pressure throughout the day

for the local party to abandon the vote. tonight, deputy leader tom watson wrote to labour's general secretary, asking her to suspend the constituency party for "bullying." two people have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter by gross negligence, after the deaths of four children in a house fire in staffordshire. our correspondent sima kotecha is in stafford for us tonight. just fill us in on the background to the case. just to remind you, this fire happened in the early hours of tuesday morning at around 2:40am. four children were killed, aged between three and eight. today, staffordshi re between three and eight. today, staffordshire police say they have arrested two people in connection with the fire, a 24—year—old woman and a 28—year—old man. in a statement, the police say they were arrested at around 1:30pm today on suspicion of manslaughter by gross negligence. the statement goes on to say that the police are urging people not to speculate as to what

happened on that morning. the fire has hit this community incredibly hard. just to convey some of the outpouring of support that has come from the community, thejust giving page raising money for the children's funeral today reach the £29,000 mark. thank you forjoining us. the first lorries carrying us humanitarian aid for venezuela have arrived at the colombian border, but venezuelan troops are blocking their entry. president nicolas maduro, who has the support of the army, says he won't allow what he called the "cheap show" of false humanitarian aid, and he repeated his accusation that the lorries were part of an american "intervention" plot aimed at ousting him through a coup. the opposition leader, juan guaido, who has declared himself interim president, is warning that many venezuelans are in danger of dying without international aid. this report from our correspondent orla guerin contains some flashing images. a convoy that could save lives.

lorries full of desperately needed humanitarian aid, headed for venezuela at the request of the opposition. they didn't get far, thanks to these containers on the venezuelan side of the border. president maduro insists there's no humanitarian crisis and no need for foreign help. so the spectacle of venezuelan troops blocking the aid, even as some of their countrymen gathered nearby, begging for help. translation: i'm not hoping for food or anything else for me. i want this aid to get in because people are dying. mr president, we are dying. families are dying. despite the roadblock at the border, the us is promising a great flood of aid. this is a down payment. this isjust a beginning.

it's important, it's significant. it will be distributed to venezuelans in venezuela. but it is an effort to respond to 20 years of mismanagement, of corruption. but among president maduro's supporters, no changing the tune. the refrain here is about hugo chavez and the great socialist past. they queued up to sign a petition, refusing aid from the hated us. and from their president, no hint of compromise. "these are historic days," he says, "that could decide between war and peace. we demand the end of us aggression and threats of military intervention". for him, the greatest threat may be hunger among his people. the political landscape could change fast if the opposition manages

to get aid into the sprawling slums of caracas. for years now, in areas like this, the poorest have been relying on the government for their survival. they depend on monthly rations. president maduro is putting food on the table and that ensures a certain loyalty, and the distribution of aid is very tightly controlled. we saw the system in action. it's in the hands of colectivos — local committees loyal to the president. we've been told that maduro supporters are guaranteed basic supplies, but opponents can go empty—handed. nelson diaz stands by the president and is grateful for his government aid. this proud nationalist wants no help from washington. "i don't think we should take it," he says, "because it comes

with bad intentions. if they really wanted to help us, they wouldn't interfere with our economy. they want a silent invasion." aid is much needed here, but it has become a weapon between the government and the opposition, between president maduro and president trump, who is keen to remove him. orla guerin, bbc news, caracas. the world's richest man, jeff bezos, has accused the owners of the american celebrity magazine the national enquirer of extortion and blackmail. mr bezos, who founded the online retailer amazon, says the magazine's owners demanded he stop an investigation into how the national enquirer, obtained private messages between him and a woman he was having an affair with. our north america editor jon sopel has the story. when the celebrity mag national enquirer published intimate texts and photographs between the owner of amazon, jeff bezos, and his lover, it looked like a classic tabloid sting against the world's richest man.

i sell about $1 billion a year of amazon stock. but bezos — someone who never needs to use the sentence "i wonder if i can afford this" — launched his own counter investigation into how the magazine got hold of them. this seems to have panicked the national enquirer. they now stand accused of trying to blackmail bezos into dropping his investigation. but the amazon owner didn't blink. last night he called their bluff, publishing himself what the threat was. the magazine has deeply personal and embarrassing photos of him and his lover in their possession. mr bezos wrote about the magazine's owners, ami... whatjeff is doing is he's taking matters into his own hands and he's

trying to control the narrative here, which is somewhat embarrassing to him, but in this case he looks like a hero in doing so, because he's pushing back on a nefarious publication that always takes advantage of its subjects. and this is where it gets murky. jeff bezos is also the owner of the washington post, whose political coverage has infuriated donald trump. the owner of the national enquirer is david pecker, a close personalfriend of the president, who has done special ops for him in the past. so was this just a tabloid story, or was it a political hit job on a trump enemy? just before the election, a former playboy model, karen mcdougal, wanted to go public with allegations that she'd had a long—standing affair with donald trump. the national enquirer bought the exclusive rights to her story for $150,000, and her silence, but never published it.

a policy known as "catch and kill". ami have said they'll launch a thorough investigation into mr bezos‘ claims. this famous magazine is on the defensive in a way it's not been before. it looks like they picked a fight with the wrong man. jon sopel, bbc news, washington. three more horses have been confirmed with the equine flu virus, that's led to the cancellation of all race meetings across britain until at least next wednesday. they're from the same yard as three horses already diagnosed. here's our sports editor dan roan. it's a sport at a standstill. this is the scene at yards up and down the country, as racing tries to get a grip of a worsening crisis. stockton hall farm in cheshire. the a0 horses here are being tested for symptoms of the equine flu that has forced this and many other stables into lockdown, and the trainer faces a nervous wait. if they come out positive, then that is, makes it even more of a nightmare, just logistically, here.

we have to obviously clear the whole yard out, all the bedding, all the equipment. would that be the end of your season, in effect? it could be, because the problem with the virus is containing it. it is probably, in the time we have found out it's got it, it has probably spread to another horse. yesterday, we learned that three horses at trainer donald mccain's yard had the highly contagious virus. one of those ran in this race, the 3:35pm at ayr on wednesday, which also featured one of two horses in the meeting trained by greenall. these two horses are the ones from these stables that ran at ayr on wednesday. as a result, they are being kept in isolation, well away from the rest of the yard. the problem is that this virus appears to be spreading. just this afternoon, the british horse racing authority have confirmed a further three positive tests, all at the original stables where this outbreak began, just six miles away from here. a suspicious but as yet unconfirmed case has also been identified

with another trainer. every horse here was today vaccinated. at the moment, it can go one of two ways. what we hope is that all the movement restrictions we have done will stop it like this, and keep it to small numbers. if it doesn't, then there is definitely the potential for it to really explode outwards from here. five of these horses were meant to be racing at nearby bangor today. instead, they had to stay here, as the sport reels from the outbreak. well, it's affecting us quite badly, really, because obviously, we need... i know we do it for the love of the sport, but obviously, it pays the bills as well. and with it being the main season, it's... a lot of rides are getting missed. with all meetings called off until wednesday at the earliest, it is estimated the racing industry is losing millions of pounds each day. and with cheltenham only just over a month away, containing this disease is a race against time. but with a total of 174

stables now in lockdown, the crisis is escalating. dan roan, bbc news, stockton hall farm in cheshire. described as "one of our greatest actors", albert finney has died after a short illness. he was 82. he began his career at the royal shakespeare company, before forging a reputation as one of britain's leading screen stars in films such as saturday night and sunday morning, tom jones, and erin brockovich. will gompertz looks back at his life. don't let the bastards grind you down — that's one thing i've learned. albert finney was one of the original angry young men, appearing in a raft of kitchen—sink dramas depicting the everyday realities and frustrations of working—class life. i could get through in half the time if i went like a bull, but they'd only slash my wages — so they can get stuffed. he helped redefine british film and theatre in the early 1960s and leaves a lasting legacy. he's the godfather of us all. he's the person who made me believe i could do it because he was from salford, my parents knew his family.

my dad told me, you know, his dad was a bookie in salford, my dad probably had a bet. by 1963, he was being talked about as the next laurence olivier, to whom he would allude when playing the role of a fading actor manager in the dresser and parody when among friends. we were all walking around as sir lawrence walked around in the film, with a limp and a hump, and a kind of deformed strange left hand. and we used to be pressing the elevator button to get to your class, saying, as 0livier/richard iii: i must take the lift... to fencing! i feel awake for the first time, madam. he turned down the opportunity to play the lead in the film lawrence of arabia, choosing instead the title role in tom jones, an 18th—century romantic adventure. albert finney had arrived. an international star of stage and screen with an eye for the ladies and the talent to take on a wide range of roles. don't be so daft, lottie. from directing and starring

in charlie bubbles, to playing agatha christie's hercule poirot. we now come to my own reconstruction of the night of the murder. when people look back at the gallery of his roles in the movies, people will always celebrate the versatility, the power, the humour, the humanity. a0 years after his film career began, a new generation of film directors discovered his remarkable screen charisma, casting him as a gruff lawyer in erin brockovich... and you and me are going to make them pay for it. ..and an even gruffer churchill in the gathering storm. at 35, i was home secretary. at 37, first lord of the admiralty, and at 50, chancellor of the exchequer. doing pretty well. not bad. now look at me. albert finney never forgot his roots. he refused a knighthood because he considered it "snobby". above all though, he was a serious actor. a rare performer, such that, if he was in something, you would pay attention.

albert finney, who's died at the age of 82. that's it. here on bbc one, time for the news where you are. have a very good night. good evening and welcome to bbc london news with me, louisa preston. the future of one of the mayors key cycling schemes is in doubt, following a court battle over the legal basis for the project. the cycle superhighway 11 was aimed at creating a safe route in and out hello and welcome to sportsday — i'm lizzie greenwood—hughes, the headlines tonight... horse racing's crisis deepens as 3 more runners test positive for equine flu and one more from a seperate yard is suspected of having the disease. great britain's fed cup team remain on course for a shot at the world group play—offs.

and ben foakes is dropped for england's final test against west indies tomorrow. we're starting with the crisis in uk racing... the lockdown has been increased after more cases of equine flu were confirmed today. currently racing is cancelled until at least wednesday, prompting concern overjump racing's biggest event — the cheltenham festival, which is just 32 days away. our sports news correspondent richard conway gave me an update earlier. so three additional cases of equine flu now confirmed by the british horse racing authority. that brings the total to six at donald mccain's yard in cheshire. in addition, the vha is saying that there is one suspected

case at separate yard. in total, it means 174 training yards across the country are now lockdown, and the reason for this is because the vha is wanting to contain this equine flu as much as possible. there will be no racing until wednesday at the earliest. we will get an update on monday from the bha as to whether the racing can go ahead. they want to make sure that this is a short—term pain for long—term gain. they want to see what they have in times of equine flu and make sure there is no spread of the virus beyond what they already know about for the test taking place over the weekend, and we will find out on monday, the exact position as much as that bha can tell. to know whether racing can't proceed. that long—term gain, it is the most

lucrative and cheltenham festival is an 32 days' time. until cheltenham festival begins, the biggest race, at the jockeys come at the ferry us, the bookmakers, and the ponchos, eve ryo ne the bookmakers, and the ponchos, everyone who wants to enjoy, they are all missing out and that is a huge industry that is effectively on hold until this issue is resolved. every player in this weekend's premier league and football league fixtures will wear a black armband as a mark of respect for emiliano sala. the body of the argentine footballer was identified yesterday after being found in the wreckage of the plane he was travelling—in after signing for cardiff city. there will also be a minute's silence at cardiff's game at southampton tomorrow. he was a scruffy, a scruffy type of player that would, for me, score 10, 15 goals a year. he was top level. notjust that, but part as a team

player, just fits the criteria really of what i look for in a player... somebody who can do something special but, at the same time, is a very good lad, really nice lad. that would be my memory of him. the president of the brazilian football club flamengo, where1o people were killed and three injured in an academy fire, has described it as the worst tragedy in their history. rodolfo landim visited the site of the flamengo club academy with relatives earlier today. the fire broke out in the sleeping quarters in the early hours of this morning. no one has been named yet, but the victims are thought to include young players. sheffield united just missed out on giong top of the championship table after an extraordinary game at aston villa tonight. united were winning 3 nil with less than ten minutes to go after a billy sharp hat trick, but then incredibly they fell apart letting villa come back into the game, and after two goals