a former soldier is to be prosecuted over the bloody sunday shootings in londonderry, nearly five decades ago. the paratrooper is to be charged with the murders of james wray and william mckinney, as well as the attempted murder of four others. a decision has been taken to prosecute one former soldier, soldier f, for the murder ofjames wray and for the murder of william mckinney. 13 people were shot dead at a civil rights march on 30 january 1972. their relatives insist their campaign "is not finished yet". justice forjim, which i think is one thing, but my heart is broken. for the rest of the family, this has been a very black day for them. also this lunchtime....

another big brexit day here in westminster — as mps this time prepare to vote on seeking to delay the brexit process by a further two months. we'll be asking why and where would that leave theresa may. the number of people cautioned or prosecuted for carrying a knife in england and wales is at its highest level for ten years. and, limbering up, paisley park is the horse who nearly died — can he and his owner, deliver a cheltenham fairy tale? and in the sport on bbc news, a surprise omission from the england side to face scotland in the six nations, joe thockanagia doesn't event make the bench. good afternoon and welcome

to the bbc news at one. a former paratrooper, known only as soldier f, is to face two charges of murder and four charges of attempted murder, in connection with the events of one of the most notorious days of northern ireland's troubles in 1972. 13 civil rights demonstrators were shot dead in londonderry on what came to be known as bloody sunday. 16 other former soldiers and two alleged official ira members will not face prosecution. bloody sunday relatives were visibly upset after learning of the prosecution decisions. they've insisted their campaign is not finished yet. our ireland correspondent chris page is in londonderry. chris. yes, the killings on bloody sunday 47 years ago were one of the most significant, symbolic and controversial events in the long conflict here in northern ireland. 13 demonstrators at a civil rights march in this city were shot dead by

soldiers from the parachute regiment. they said they had been fired on first but nine years ago there was a public inquiry that found that none of those who had been killed had posed a threat and the shootings were unjustified. after that there was a police investigation, and for the last to yea rs prosecutors have investigation, and for the last to years prosecutors have been analysing 125,000 pages of evidence to decide if there's enough evidence to decide if there's enough evidence to bring charges in relation to bloody sunday. so here is my piece on this morning's events. 47 years after the match which ended in bloodshed, the families of those who died took to the streets. a show of unity and purpose to remember those who were killed on bloody sunday. 0n the 30th of january 1970 15,000

people took part in a civil rights march in londonderry. just after four o'clock in the afternoon, soldiers opened fire in the nationalist bogside area. half an hour later, 13 people were dead, seven of them teenagers. pictures like these captured the trauma and the tragedy. the paratroopers said they had been shot at first but nine yea rs they had been shot at first but nine years ago a public inquiry found no one who was killed had been posing a threat. prosecutors have been deciding whether to bring charges. decision has been taken to prosecute one former soldier, decision has been taken to prosecute one formersoldier, soldier decision has been taken to prosecute one former soldier, soldier f, for the murder of james wray one former soldier, soldier f, for the murder ofjames wray and for the murder of william mckinney. it's been a tense morning for the dozens of relatives who were waiting for the news. the families havejust met prosecutors and been told of the decision. it's almost half a century

since bloody sunday and after the long campaign they now know that one former soldier will be brought before the courts. he will be charged with murdering these men. james wray was 22, william mckinney 27. james wray‘s brother said his feelings were mixed. justice forjim is one thing, but my heart is broken. it's been a very black day for the family. william nash was 17 when he was killed. all we can do is keep going on keep doing what we are doing. i don't know legally within the law what we can do but we will pursue it and keep going. there is another perspective on the justice process , another perspective on the justice process, some army veterans have claimed investigators are putting an unfair focus claimed investigators are putting an unfairfocus on claimed investigators are putting an unfair focus on what the military did during the northern ireland conflict. this week the officer who commanded the soldiers on bloody sunday maintained his troops had

acted in self—defence. sunday maintained his troops had acted in self-defence. we thought in fa ct we acted in self-defence. we thought in fact we were under attack and we actually remain convinced of that until the end of our days. all of the paratroopers who were here in derry on bloody sunday are now in their 60s and 70s. prosecution lawyers say court proceedings against soldier f will begin soon. it isn't clear exactly when that court case will get under way but the government has said it will be paying the legal costs for soldier f. the defence secretary in a statement kevin williamson has said the government will urgently reform the government will urgently reform the system for investigating killings from the troubles honey said our serving personnel cannot live in constant fear of prosecution. — and he said. this remains one of the most complex and contentious in the city of derry and everywhere else in northern ireland.

chris, thank you very much indeed. it's another important day for brexit — let's get the latest from westminster. simon mccoy is there for us. kate, it's just hours before mps vote once again on brexit. this time on the issue of whether there should be a delay to the process — until the end ofjune — subject to approval from the eu and that may not be as simple as it sounds. after parliament's vote last night to rule out a no—deal, the prime minister could try for a third time to get her withdrawal deal through. but with the clock ticking until march 29th — which at the moment is still brexit day — she's running out of time. 0ur political correspondent alex forsyth reports. things looked pretty bleak in westminster this morning. what is happening with brexit is still unclear. and for many, frustration is growing. last night there were dramatic scenes in parliament, as mps rejected the idea of leaving the eu without a deal. some ministers

didn't support theresa may, but they are still in theirjobs. did you expect to be in the cabinet having not backed the prime minister last night? that has caused some anger and many are turning their minds to what happens now. today mps are discussing whether brexit should be delayed, given there is no deal in place and most don't want to leave without one. the government suggested a short extension could happen but only if there is a deal in sight. 0therwise happen but only if there is a deal in sight. otherwise a delay could be lengthy. if we haven't reached agreement, it is quite possible the european union will insist that we have a longer extension, that would involve running european parliament elections here. i think everybody agrees it is a suboptimal outcome and another reason why my colleagues who voted against the government a couple of days ago need to think very ha rd

couple of days ago need to think very hard about where we are heading. there are conversations are still taking place between the government and some of those who oppose theresa may's plans so far. crucially the dup. the prime minister is expected to bring her deal back to parliament next week, despite the fact it has been rejected twice, hoping to win the support of some brexiteers if the alternative is a long delay. the dup has confirmed it is still talking to the government. look, asi has confirmed it is still talking to the government. look, as i have often said, we want to get a deal but it has to be the right deal for northern ireland and the whole of the uk. but some brexiteers are clear, even if it means a delay, they won't back the prime minister's current deal. no, it's a very bad agreement and it would put the united kingdom in some sub—colonial status from which we cannot decide to leave. why on earth would we want to leave. why on earth would we want to be in that position? so expect

further turmoil in parliament this afternoon, as divided mps try to shape what happens next. 0ne afternoon, as divided mps try to shape what happens next. one thing we will know, whether the chance of brexit being delayed look ever more likely. alex forsyth, bbc news, westminster. in a moment, we will talk to damian grammaticas in brussels, but first our assistant political editor norman smith is in westminster. hours from the vote and the prime minister some say is in office but not in power. for weeks now we have been talking about parliament taking control of the brexit process. well today the party elders, senior mps in both parties moved to dojust that by tabling an amendment which would allow them to hold a so—called indicative vote next wednesday. what is that, you say? well, basically it would be a vote on the full gamut of different brexit options — another referendum, staying in the customs union, leaving without any deal —

and mps would vote on all of these options with the option of the least number of votes dropping out each time until you end up with one option and that would become parliament's preferred option and that would become pa rliament‘s preferred brexit policy. but before we get to then, mrs may's team have made it clear she will bring back her brexit deal for a third attempt early next week, convinced opposition to it is weakening and may be armed with new legal advice. meanwhile the brexiteers are once more on the war path after their favoured amendment this morning seeking to rule out entirely the option of another referendum was rejected by the speaker. it's a bit like one of those spaghetti westerns wherein the final five minutes you those spaghetti westerns wherein the finalfive minutes you get those spaghetti westerns wherein the final five minutes you get the showdown shoot out in the saloon bar and you wait for the smoke to clear to see who is still standing. visit mrs may? is it the brexiteers? 0r

to see who is still standing. visit mrs may? is it the brexiteers? or is it party elders? thank you very much. 0ur europe correspondent damian grammaticas is in brussels. if there is a vote for an extension, there is a big if as to whether the eu 27 will say yes? yes, they want a reasoned request as to how long and why the uk wants that, but interestingly this morning we are hearing suggestions the eu would be open to the possibility of a long extinction. donald tusk saying he will be touring european capitals in the next few days and he will be urging the leaders, he said, to be open to the possibility of a long extension if the uk needs to build a consensus around a strategy, so have a sort of debate. we heard the same thing from the irish foreign minister. donald tusk we understand could mean up to about a year, the

irish minister saying perhaps up to 21 months for a long period of reflection from the uk. so what's going on? you might say they are being generous, offering time, but it might be a way to bolster theresa may and put pressure on the relu cta nt may and put pressure on the reluctant brexiteers who don't like a deal if she brings it back again with this idea that brexit could be postponed up to the end of next year. during that time the uk would remaina year. during that time the uk would remain a member of the eu with all of its obligations. the uk government has put out a note about that today. and in that time, who knows what would happen to brexit? a referendum, an election, anything. the uk has to request it and the eu 27 leaders have to agree it unanimously. damian grammaticas in brussels and norman smith in westminster, thank you. well, what do voters make of these ever—more extraordinary events taking place in westminster? bradford voted leave

in the referendum, and our correspondentjohn maguire has been along to find out if there's more clarity there than from the politica ns about the best way forward. the alhambra theatre has brought comedy, tragedy and farce to the people of bradford for more than a century. now they're gripped by the drama of brexit being played out 200 miles away. we have watched two and half years now of, instead of a government working together to get a united deal with the european union, we've basically watched a parliament fight amongst itself. bradford voted to leave the european union in 2016 with a 54% share, above the level of the uk—wide vote. some here are concerned about the effect on local communities. i have seen in bradford a lot of the kinds of rhetoric around the divisions — you know, leave, remain, some of the unleashing of really, really racist and far—out views that

came out, that we saw surface during the referendum that haven't really been dealt with. dr amir khan, a gp, is worried about the impact no deal could have on the nhs. i really think no brexit, staying in the eu is the best thing, both for research into medicines and into clinical trials, access to medication for patients, cancer treatments and recruitment. there is a recruitment crisis already in the nhs. but despite the sense of pantomime, businesswoman teri king argues no deal won't mean no more trade with the eu. i would really prefer something along the lines of how it was when we first entered, you know, more around an economic trading community without any of the politics around there, about none of the integration, that's what i would prefer. but as the absolute bottom line, iwould prefer to leave on wto rules. so the uncertainty and unpredictability essential ingredients for any drama remain, despite calls from all quarters for some sense of certainty,

some idea of what happens next. as for a happy ending, again no one really knows whether that is achievable and when or if it will come along. john maguire reporting there from bradford. mps are already debating the government motion on whether or not to request an extension to article 50 and the uk's departure from the eu currently happening at the end of this month. the voting is due to start from 5pm, and from 4.45pm this afternoon there'll be a bbc news brexit vote special with huw edwards — that will be on the bbc news channel, bbc two and you can also hear any votes on bbc radio 5live. for now, from westminster, back to you, kate. simon, thank you. the number of people cautioned or convicted for carrying a knife has reached its highest level for ten years. the ministry ofjustice says nearly 21,500 offenders were dealt with in england and wales last year.

our home affairs correspondent danny shaw is here tell us more. talk us through these very troubling figures. yes, these are figures for last year, and they are for people who went through the criminal justice system, having been found with a knife or another banned weapon. and what they show is that 24 out of the 43 police forces reported year—on—year increases. the highest forces were powys, lancashire and gwent, and in total there were 21,484 of these offences, there were 21,484 of these offences, the highest level since 2009. now, when we look at who is carrying out these offences, this is what is particularly troubling, i think, for the government in particular, because an increasing number of offenders have committed these crimes before. 28% are repeat offenders, and that is a record proportion of offenders who have committed these crimes before. in terms of sentencing, there is no doubt over the last decade

sentencing has got tougher. the average prison term is over eight months now, 37% of offenders are sent to jail immediately, but that means that 63% of people caught carrying a knife or another offensive weapon did not go to prison. now the government has said that they are not looking at reviewing sentencing or strengthening it in anyway. they point out that repeat are more likely to go to jail, but even those offenders, repeat offenders, about a third, only a third still do not go to prison but have other sentences, like a community sentence, a fine or a caution instead. thank you. that is now 18 minutes past one. our top story this lunchtime. a former soldier is to be prosecuted over the bloody sunday shootings five decades ago in londonderry and charged with the murders ofjames wray and william mckinney — as well as the attempted murder of four others. and coming up, the special olympics opens in abu dhabi, more than 7000

athletes are taking part in a "celebration of participation". and in the sport, james cracknell returns to the water, the double 0lympic returns to the water, the double olympic champion is going to become the boat race's oldest competitor. the nhs in england has now missed its flagship cancer target for more than a thousand days. hospitals are meant to start treatment within 62 days of a gp referral — and have been set a target of achieving that for 85% of patients. but the last time it was actually achieved was december 2015. scotland, wales and northern ireland have also been missing their cancer targets. 0ur health correspondent john 0wen has more. the quicker a cancer diagnosis can be treated, the better a patient‘s chances of survival. after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer

last year, liz 0akley was quickly on the road to treatment, and she knows only too well how vital early intervention can be. i was told that ifi intervention can be. i was told that if i had left it two to three weeks later, there was nothing they could have done for me. fast treatment, fast diagnosis, fast surgery and also having radiotherapy and chemotherapy, without it i wouldn't be here today. but fast treatment after a cancer diagnosis is not the experience for everyone. the nhs in england is falling short on the length of time patients are left waiting for treatment, with figures published today showing waiting times at their worst level since comparison records began in 2009. the 85% of cancer patients are supposed to start treatment within 60 days of an urgent referral from a gp, but that target hasn't been met since december 2015. that means that 86,000 patients have waited longer than they should have for life—saving treatment. than they should have for life-saving treatment. we've got

more patients coming through for tests, and that a really good thing, because the more people you test, the more early stage you will start to diagnose cancers at, which is great because it gives people the best chance of cure. the problem is, although staff are working harder than before, there simply aren't enough people to do the test we need. meanwhile, scotland, wales and northern ireland all have a more ambitious target than england, but it hasn't been met in any of those countries for seven years. nhs england say they are investing an additional £10 million this year to treat extra people and the nhs long term plan includes measures to catch more cancers earlier. john 0wen, bbc news. scotland yard has taken the unusual step of releasing an "extremely distressing" 999 call made by a pensioner. maureen whale, who was 77, died from a heart attack after she was burgled. her family agreed to the recording being released, in the hope that it will help bring those responsible to justice. just a warning that this report from thomas magill includes some of the recording, which some viewers may find upsetting. polic, what's your emergency? i have just been burgled.

two young men have just come into the house and walked off with my handbag. the desperate 999 call from 77—year—old maureen, moments after these three men fled from her cottage in barnet, north london, last december. are you 0k? sorry. are you 0k? i'm shaking, i'm sorry. 0k. when paramedics arrived, they found maureen collapsed. the pensioner died in hospital the next morning, just days before her 78th birthday. police say the gang broke into two flats here, minutes before stealing tiffany jewellery and other items, before crossing this road, jumping over the gate and breaking into maureen's through a back door. they then made off up bells hill toward wood street. maureen had lived in her cottage all her life, but was widely travelled, having worked as an air hostess in the 605.

her family described her as fiercely independent and someone who loved to return to her north london home. she had been there from a little girl. the fact that somebody had broken in, you know, to somewhere that she felt secure is tragic. the police believe the burglary caused maureen's death and now a £20,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to a conviction. this could be your mum, your gran, a vulnerable old lady, in her house on her own. when you look at the pictures of her house, she had very little, maureen. she had an amazing life but she had very little in the end. she was happy in her world. for now, maureen's familyjust want this gang caught before they strike again. thomas magill, bbc news. facebook appears to be recovering, after a 14—hour disruption to all of its products, that left them mostly inaccessible across the world. the company says hackers are not to blame and that they are now

resolving the issue. it's the most severe outage in the company's history. our technology correspondent rory cellanjones is here — remind us what happened, and do we know what's behind it? about 4pm yesterday afternoon, people began to notice they could not post to facebook updates, they couldn't post instagram photos, instagram obviously owned by facebook, facebook messenger, that service was difficult to use, and some people, a few less i think, found trouble using whatsapp, also owned by facebook. so a huge problem, and it went on until about six o'clock this morning, i certainly noticed this morning it was working again. not the longest outage in facebook‘s history, it was down for about a day back in 2008, but then it was 100 million or so people on it, these days nearly 2.5 billion people around the world use these services. they are the sort of backbone of internet use for a lot of people. so it did have a big

effect. they've said very little about it, interestingly. i'vejust looked, it is 18 hours since they said we are focused on working to resolve the issue as soon as possible, but can confirm the issue is not related to a hacking attack. that ironically was posted on twitter. nothing since. so not very good at using social media to update the world, when it seems to be coming toa the world, when it seems to be coming to a close. we shall see if anything else emerges, thank you now. the special olympics starts this afternoon in abu dhabi. it's the first time the middle east has hosted the games. more than 7,000 athletes with intellectual disabilities from 190 countries are taking part. 0ur sports correspondent, joe wilson, has more. 3,500 miles from home, this is where sport can take you. abu dhabi is now home to 128 british competitors. preparation's almost complete. this was my dream to come here. i thought i had been everywhere representing my own country in my sport, and hopefully to win a gold medal.

how does it feel to be in abu dhabi? it feels so exciting. it's so nice to go to a different country. the special olympics seeks high profile figures to spread its message. good luck, special olympians. in total, 200 nations are part of this event, that's more than ever before. here at the football, it's bangladesh versus south korea. everyone everywhere is trying to win. but at the special olympics that doesn't mean everything. tim shriver carries the ideals of sport for those with intellectual disabilities. his mother was the special 0lympics' founder. his uncle was president kennedy. here, we're seeing something very exciting about the way human beings come together. it has nothing to do with medal counts. with who beats who. it has to do with giving your best. like we like to say in special olympics,

we' re not interested in who is the best, we're interested in what is your best. there's no lottery funding for great britain's special 0lympians, but with everything they've got, they're here. joe wilson, bbc news, abu dhabi. now we turn to this rather special horse, seven—year—old paisley park — a majorfavourite for today's big race at the cheltenham festival. this is a horse with a history — he has had a remarkablejourney as has his owner andrew gemmel. 0ur sports correspondent andy swiss is there for us. enlighten us further. yes, kate, welcome to a slightly blessed to we have had a bit of rain here this morning, but fingers crossed it is all now dried up for this afternoon's action. now, the big race of the day is the stayers hurdle, and as you say, it could produce one of the stories of the festival in the favourite paisley

park, and his owner andrew gemmel, my colleague kate gray has been to meet them. a racehorse is often a thing of beauty, bright eyes, shiny coat, and paisley park is no exception. but his own andrew gemmel sees none of that. but his owner andrew gemmel sees none of that. blind from birth, he relies on those around him, particularly his racing trainer, emma lavelle, who in 2015, he tasked with finding him a champion horse. i said to emma, she's got a certain amount of money to spend, and she really liked this horse, and brought him back to the yard, and the rest is history! andrew's absolutely brilliant, and will never let his blindness hinder his enjoyment of life. he has a great bond with the horses. he comes down, armed with polos, and wants to go and feed them all. paisley park has been unbeaten in his last four races, which means he goes into the cheltenham festival in the stayers hurdle as the favourite. an incredible feat, considering two years previous,

he had a health scare that almost ended his career forever. emma rang up to tell me that he was really ill, and he had colic, and he was touch and go whether he survived, in fact, but luckily he did, and he won his novice hurdle at the end of that year. a miraculous recovery, paisley park continue to improve, and won his first grade 1 race just before christmas. commentator: paisley park is driven out from west approach, and paisley park wins the jlt hurdles! and andrew, despite his lack of sight, has found his own way to enjoy the action. well, i'll be listening on the tannoy, on the course, mainly, at least with racing you can follow the commentary without having any need for additional earphone. i think it must be nearly 50 years since i went to my first cheltenham, i've always loved it, and you always think of having a winner, you never really think it's possible, but my goodness, who knows? so with final preparations complete, the dream of a cheltenham winner has never been closer. kate grey, bbc news, marlborough.

yes, what a story that would be, if paisley park wins the big race of the day, the stayers hurdle, at 3:30pm, and fairto the day, the stayers hurdle, at 3:30pm, and fair to say an awful lot of the 65,000 fans here will be cheering him on, kate. thank you very much indeed, andy. the 19605 supermodel twiggy, has received a damehood from the prince of wales. in a ceremony at buckingham palace, lesley "twiggy" lawson received the honour for services to fashion, the arts and charity. time for a look at the weather, here's darren bett. yes, not quite twiggy, more a tree that has fallen down today in bradford, because of the wind and rain, and there's more of that to come over the next few days. this is the sort of weather we are moving into today, sunshine and showers, and it follows the rain we had earlier on overnight and this

morning. that