an inquiry gets underway into what's been called "the worst treatment scandal in the history of the nhs". thousands of people with haemophilia were infected with hepatitis c or hiv in the 1970s and 80s — more than 2,000 are thought to have died. i was told that i was hiv positive. i was told i had about a year to live. and i was told not to tell anybody. we'll be getting the latest, live, as the two—year inquiry gets underway. also this lunchtime.... police launch a new criminal investigation into the deaths of hundreds of patients who died after being given painkillers at gosport war memorial hospital. violence on the streets, as venezuela's opposition leader says he's started the "final phase" of his plan to oust president nicolas maduro,

the end of an era injapan, as emperor akihito declares his abdication in a historic ceremony, paving the way for crown prince naruhito to ascend the throne tomorrow. and it's rodney as you've never seen him before. actor nicholas lyndhurst talks about his life as del boy's brother, and his new role in song. and coming up on bbc news, tottenham hotspur daring to dream ahead of their champions league semifinal with ajax. mauricio pochettino says rhey must reach for infinity and beyond. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. it's been called "the worst treatment scandal in

the history of the nhs" — and today, a public inquiry gets under way into how thousands of haemophiliacs were infected with hepatitis c and hiv during nhs treatment in the 1970s and 80s. richard lister reports. when they told me what they'd done, i stood on a bridge tojump off it. ifeel we have been treated very badly. nobody has listened to us over the years. successive governments have failed to live up to their responsibility, of what they done to us, of what they done to my family. and what have they done to my life. just some of the victims of the biggest medical disaster in nhs history, telling their stories on video at the start of the enquiry last year. now it begins its next phase, to understand the impact of this tragedy and how it happened. although it will never be

possible to hear orally from everyone who would wish to be heard, those affected and infected will come first and last in the enquiry. in the 1970s and 80s, the nhs imported blood products from the united states. some were made with donated blood from prisoners and even drug addicts at high risk of carrying viruses. no one knows how many patients the nhs treated with infected blood. estimates suggest around 5000 were treated for haemophilia and other diseases. but there could be as many as 30,000 others who received blood transfusions, contaminated with hepatitis and hiv. derek martindale was the first to give evidence today. he recalled finding out he had been infected with hiv at the age of 23. i went at lunchtime to get the result and i was told that i was hiv positive. i was told i had

about a year to live. i was told not to tell anybody. including, excuse me, including my family and my parents. the enquiry team have scoured the country for official files. there are millions of documents to be reviewed in the search for answers. not least to the question, was there a cover—up? documents have been destroyed. we know that for certain. and so there is a question of how much we will be able to reveal. but for the first time this enquiry has teeth, it will be able to summon two witnesses and compel people to give evidence, which is hugely important. the road to justice has evidence, which is hugely important. the road tojustice has been evidence, which is hugely important. the road to justice has been a evidence, which is hugely important. the road tojustice has been a long one. it is likely to take several yea rs one. it is likely to take several years to complete. the campaigners say another victim dies from infected blood every four days. richard lister, bbc news. let's speak to our health correspondent, sophie hutchinson, who is that inquiry.

raw emotion on show today. particularly given the length of time this enquiry is taking? absolutely. this is a hugely significant day for the victims of this scandal and their loved ones. some have waited almost 30 years or more for a public enquiry to come. it is their first chance to tell their stories, give their accounts and help them put on official record just how much they have suffered. their evidence is, as the chair said today, harrowing incredibly moving. he also described some of the accou nts he also described some of the accounts is chilling. it is the start of what is expected to be 11 weeks of evidence between now and 0ctober. each day we'll see about three witnesses give their testimonies. and today we have already heard from two witnesses about the distress caused by being

infected, about doctors telling them to keep their infection a secret, been told they only had a year left to live, but the sufferings and the symptoms of hepatitis and hiv. this is hard evidence to hear about so much harderfor those is hard evidence to hear about so much harder for those caught up is hard evidence to hear about so much harderfor those caught up in what is believed to be the worst scandal in nhs history for treatment. sophie hutchinson. victims of anti—social behaviour are being left to suffer in silence. so says the victims commissioner for england and wales, baroness newlove, who warns anti—social behaviour is being played down as a petty, low—level crime or ignored by the authorities. police chiefs and the local government association said they have been taking the crime seriously but their resources are under strain. peter cooke reports. vandalism, street drinking and prostitution. just some of the anti—social behaviour which this report says leaves victims suffering in silence and living a nightmare. it says the problem is still being ignored by authorities

across england and wales, who are downplaying the harm it causes. this is the final report by baroness newlove, who was appointed victims commissioner in 2012. her husband, gary, was murdered in 2007. she says little has changed. we have got to address the issue of cuts to be public services and policing. but also the fact that in 2007 there was better funding for policing and there still was no action. gary newlove was attacked outside his home in warrington when he tried to stop a gang vandalising his car. three teenagers involved in the attack were jailed for life. this report says the police and local councils often treat incidents in isolation and ignore the underlying causes. we haven't got any neighbourhood policing, we haven't got any neighbourhood housing. and i'm sorry, austerity made everybody go away, but i think now the time is to fund and to help people and have the confidence to report, and have the confidence to live where there are, knowing they are going to be protected. recommendations include giving those

affected by anti—social behaviour the same entitlement to support as other crime victims, and making it a legal requirement for those in authority to more actively promote what is called the community trigger process. the trigger can be activated if a person reports three separate incidents within six months. it is designed to ensure cases are reviewed if there has been an inadequate response. we have been working quite hard nationally to understand why the community trigger isn't getting used as much as it should. certainly from a policing perspective we recognise that it is perhaps not publicised as widely as it should be. the local government association says councils took their role in tackling the problem extremely seriously, and tried to ensure that any action was quick and effective. peter cooke, bbc news. a new police investigation has been announced into the deaths of hundreds of patients at gosport war memorial hospital in hampshire between 1987 and 2001.

a report published last summer, found more than a50 lives were shortened as a result of over—prescribing of opiates. families were told of the decision at a meeting in fareham shortly before the announcement was made. let's speak to duncan kennedy, who is in fareham. simon, this is a story that goes back more than 30 years and it does concern the deaths of hundreds of millions of people —— and of people at this hospital in gosport through painkillers given for no reason. the family suffered for a full police investigation for several years. today they were told they would get one. the families were given news about a new police investigation at a meeting this morning. among those here were gillian mackenzie, the first to allow police in 1988 after the death of her mother. and bridget reeves lost a close relative as

well. debbie mackay and cindy grant also came, following the death of their father. whilst ian sanford lost hers —— his wife hazel. he welcomed the enquiry but has concerns about the evidence. they can only keep a certain amount of evidence in the files and after ten yea rs i evidence in the files and after ten years i understand it gets chopped off. there are people in there who have been fighting for 20 years. that is as far as i wanted to go. an independent enquiry last year found that more than a50 patients at the gosport war memorial hospital probably died because they were given strong painkillers for no medical reason. many patients were injected using syringe drivers like these. the report felt there was an institutionalised practice at the hospital of sorting lives. today the assista nt hospital of sorting lives. today the assistant chief constable of kent

police said the families of those affected by events at the hospital are at the heart of everything we do. drjane barton was responsible for prescribing painkillers at the hospital in the 1990s. 0ther for prescribing painkillers at the hospital in the 1990s. other staff we re hospital in the 1990s. other staff were also involved. in 2010, she was found guilty of serious professional misconduct by the general medical council and was disciplined. the crown prosecution service later said there was insufficient evidence for a prosecution. since 1987, there have been three police inquiries and one inquest into the deaths at gosport war memorial hospital. but the families have always believed they have not been listened to and that some —— someone must be held accountable. those families are themselves getting older and they say they want the new process to be over and done with as quickly as possible. the police have said this morning they

will be needing to interview people ona will be needing to interview people on a one—to—one basis. this new enquiry could take many months. duncan kennedy, thank you. venezuelan security forces have fired tear gas at the opposition leaderjuan guaido as he gathered with a group of men in military uniform outside an air force base. mr guaido, who declared himself as interim president injanuary, said he had the support of the troops to begin the final phase to oust nicolas maduro. venezuela's government has denounced guaido for launching a coup. let's speak to guillermo moreno in caracas. is this the start of a coup that many had predicted? well, it's very early to say that yet, but what is clear is that it is an expected move. juan guaido has managed to reach a goal he has helped for

years,... so now they are standing around the air base, which is a strategic facility, claiming that it's time to put an end to president maduro's rule. it seems that many of the supporters are joining in. what we don't know so far is whether they have called for members of the military to support mr guaido and ta ke military to support mr guaido and take the final step, as he calls it, to topple president maduro. that is something we don't know yet. thank you very much. labour's ruling national executive committee is holding a crucial meeting today, to finalise the party's manifesto for next month's european elections. labour's leader, jeremy corbyn, is facing pressure to commit to a referendum on any final brexit deal. deputy leader tom watson said the party must listen to the members, who support a public vote on any brexit deal. the welsh health minister has ordered a health boards maternity services to be put into special

measures, after dozens of serious incidents at the royal glamorgan and prince charles hospitals. a major independent review has found there was a blame culture, which meant staff found it difficult to raise concerns. sian lloyd reports. macie western was born at one of the maternity units identified in today's report as providing poor care and now placed in special measures. she died just 19 days following complications with her breathing. her motherjessica has questions about what happened during the birth and about the care macie received. very understaffed. because i was induced, we were all on a ward being induced, and they were inducing women, and the women were going into labour too fast. there is not enough staff to deal with that. 0ne lady actually gave birth next to me on the induction ward because there was just no staff and no delivery ward. cwm taf health board provides care out the royal glamorgan hospital in llantrisant and at the prince charles hospital in merthyr tydfil. today's report found a number

of serious failings, described as taking place from the board to the ward. some women received poor care which did not meet the standard expected, there were significant staff shortages, and some staff did not behave as they should have towards patients. deep—rooted cultural failings in leadership were identified, and systemic failings in the investigation and reporting of serious incidents. a3 cases will be reinvestigated to consider whether women and babies were harmed, and the welsh health minister says incidents as far back as 2010 will also be looked at. i do think the board recognised the seriousness of this report and the fact they need to rebuild trust and confidence within their organisation, with their staff and, crucially, with the public that they serve. the challenge for me is whether the board can lead the organisation for a change in culture and practice that is plainly required. cwm taf health board today apologised for its failings. it's said it has made some changes,

but recognises that more needs to be done. macie's family have welcomed the report, but still have questions they'd like answered. sian lloyd, bbc news. the time is 13:15. our top story this lunchtime: the worst treatment scandal in the history of the nhs — an inquiry begins hearing evidence of how thousands of patients were given contaminated blood. and still to come: the british short track speed skater elise christie speaks to the bbc about her struggle with mental health. coming up on bbc news, we'll have the latest from the first couple of quarterfinals of the world snooker championship, where two—time finalist ali carter has begun brightly against gary wilson. it's the end of an era injapan. this morning emperor akihito formally declared his abdication — and delivered his last public address as emperor.

the 85—year—old is the first japanese monarch to stand down in more than 200 years. oxford—educated crown prince naruhito will ascend the thrown tomorrow. —— will send the throne. laura bicker reports. japanese emperors are supposed to die on the throne, but this is a man who has redefined what it means to be a monarch. emperor akihito has come to the imperial palace trying to ask his dead ancestors' permission to abdicate. in truth, he's pleaded with his people and the government for years to allow him to step down. after 30 years on the chrysanthemum throne, his health is failing and it's time to say farewell. translation: we sincerely hope the prosperity and peace of new era, and i wishjapan and the world peace and prosperity. the ceremony is taking place behind closed doors in the imperial palace. it's only ten minutes long. no one is going to see anything out

here, and yet still they have gathered in the rain, because they want to pay respects to an emperor who won their hearts. when akihito ascended to the throne, he was crowned emperor of a country that many believed would become a new superpower. a year later, the economy crashed. then came further disaster, and earthquake in kobe in 1995. a more powerful quake and tsunami hit the north—west in 2011, leaving almost 16,000 people dead. emperor akihito and his wife addressed those suffering, and sat with them. royals injapan were once seen as descendants of the gods. to see him kneeling made him human, and they loved him for it. he was also the first to marry a common, empress michiko, his constant companion. as pacifists, they travelled the world to help heal japan's wartime reputation.

their son, the crown prince naruhito, will become emperor at midnight, leading the country into a new era which many hope will build on his father's legacy. laura bicker, bbc news, in tokyo. the body which represents rail operators has suggested major changes to the way train services are run — including scrapping the franchise system and taking control away from the government. in a government—appointed review, the rail delivery group also proposed allowing firms to compete on long—distance routes. but unions have said such changes could lead to fare increases and a lack of accountability. ben thompson reports. it's been called the biggest change to our railways in a generation. from tickets to timetables, competition to control. the government wants to overhaul the way that our trains run. today the companies themselves submit their proposals, and they include major structural reforms. this williams review gives us a once

in a generation opportunity to change the structures fundamentally, to end franchising as it currently works and replace it with a much more agile system that builds in innovation for customers, whether those passengers be commuters in the day—to—day grind or students going to visit theirfamily. we need structural change, not short—term fixes. so what would change? well, they say a new, independent body should be created to oversee the industry. different firms would run trains on long—distance routes, designed to introduce more competition to keep prices down and improve service. and busy city routes would be run by local bodies like the one in london to integrate trains with other public transport, like buses and trams. the changes would come with targets for train companies, and fines if they failed to meet them. the passenger group say they don't go far enough.

—— boat passenger groups say they don't go far enough. we need to have a fare system that is fairer, more affordable and more flexible, and we also need services that are reliable and are accessible. trains where people are, stations where people live. getting those basics right is what matters to passengers. with record numbers of passengers, our railways are struggling to cope. after a year of rising prices, long delays, failed franchises and a botched new timetable, passengers are losing patience. but are these proposals the answer? the government will decide in the autumn. ben thompson, bbc news, in birmingham. voters will be heading to polling stations across england and northern ireland for local elections this thursday. in england, 2a8 local councils will be contested — one of them is goldington in bedford, which is currently split between three different parties. graham satchell went to find out how preparations are coming along. bedford is divided. the river great 0use cuts it in half.

the council here is split three ways between the conservatives, labour and the lib dems. and over europe, bedford voted 52—a8 to lead. —— leave. split down the middle. for the conservatives, divisions over brexit will play a big part this week. you are going to get punished, aren't you, on thursday? erm... wait and see. it's a situation which is difficult for us, i agree, which is a never—ending argument on europe which is going for a0 or 50 years within the party, and it's not helping us at all and i just... hopefully one day they'll sort it out. hello. my name'sjade, i'm one of your local labour borough councillors. the local elections should be an opportunity for the labour party, and on the ground, candidates like jade uko are confident. but labour is also divided over brexit. 0n the biggest issue of the day, which is brexit, the labour party looks confused. is labour a party of remain or leave? ithink labour... labour accept the referendum result,

and they are continuing negotiations currently with the tory leadership about brexit, and we are committed to finding a sustainable and workable way forward on the issue of brexit. bedford has a labour mp, but the mayor, who leads the council, is a lib dem. the liberal democrats are doing their best to concentrate on local issues. what's happened to the liberal democrats on the national stage? because it feels a bit like the party has become irrelevant. well, they are not irrelevant in bedford, as i say. we run the council and in terms of the national picture, what you do hear our party talking about are the things that affect people, so affordable housing, funding for the police, funding for schools and health. what about the smaller parties? the greens and ukip currently have no councillors at all in bedford. isn't the difficulty with the green party that it's so narrowly focused on one issue that it will never have broad appeal? well, i do get that, yes, i absolutely do see that people do

see us as a one trick pony. we aren't. 0bviously, yes, we are very much focused on the environment, but when there aren't any other parties that are, then it's down to us to, you know, focus on areas like that. is there any point in voting ukip anymore now that nigel farage has his new brexit party? it's a shame that he's done that and broken away from ukip for that, because i think it is going to split the vote, but although they declared themselves a political party, they're really a pressure movement rather than an actually electable force. and we are still a proper political party with ground roots. if elections are meant to bring renewal and certainty, the likelihood is that bedford will be just as divided after thursday as it is now. graham satchell, bbc news. the british speed skater elise christie has spoken about her struggle with mental health after her disappointments at the sochi

and pyeongchang winter olympics. the triple world champion revealed that she had suffered with depression and anxiety for two years, but is now feeling well again. 0ur 0lympic sports reporter david mcdaid has been to speak to her in nottingham. she's an athlete we've seen experience the joy of becoming world champion, as well as the despair of olympic heartbreak. through it all, what has been unseen — until this social media post — has been her struggle with anxiety and depression. the reason behind the post, so the motivation for it that day was the fact that there's a lot of other athletes going through this, there's a lot of normal humans, day—to—day people, going through the same thing, and i wanted to show that, firstly, it's ok to feel like that and it's fine to be on the medication, but also that there is points where i felt that i was never going to get off themm i was never gonna feel better, and here i am, you know? i feel like myself. the 28—year—old says anxiety,

which began after receiving death threats at the 201a winter games, began to steadily deteriorate. the depression kind of, like, became quite debilitating, i was in bed a lot, i was struggling to keep up with any, like, normal life. i hit a really massive low after i got injured 0lympic season, and there was stuff going on behind the scenes and ijust ended up broken, i guess. commentator: away they go. and christie goes down before they reach the very first corner! elise says anti—depression medication helped her get through to last year's winter olympics, but the disappointment of coming home empty—handed, as well as the breakup of her relationship, took her to her lowest ebb. at my lowest moments, i was self—harming, but not badly, but i was still doing it because i did not know how to cope without it, i did not know how to get rid of the feelings i was having without doing it, and i would never have shared that and i would not

have wanted anyone to know that, and that is the point, is you can get to these points and you can get right out of it, because i have. from those lows, elise is now well again, and she hopes that by sharing her story, she can inspire strenth in others, too. david mcdaid, bbc news, nottingham. and if you've been affected by any of the issues in that report, there are a number of organisations and websites that can offer advice and support. you can find them listed on the bbc‘s actionline website at bbc.co.uk/actionline. he's been a household name in britain for nearly a0 years — and been part of some of the most memorable comedy moments on british television, but nicholas lyndhurst, who played rodney trotter in only fools and horses, has been shy of tv interviews. until now. he's about to appear on stage in a west end musical called man of la mancha, a story based on the man who wrote don quixote. tim muffett went along to meet him. nicholas, lovely to see you. thank you. here we are on stage at the coliseum in london. man of la mancha. tell us about your performance

in this, because it is kind of about don quixote, but not quite? it... it is about don quixote. it's actually about a gentleman called cervantes, miguel de cervantes, a very popular spanish writer. he wrote don quixote. he's a real person. he was thrown into prison. he was a contemporary of shakespeare, around the same time. we've got some footage from one of the early sing—throughs. # hail, knight of the woeful countenance. # knight of the woeful countenance #. i was really impressed. i haven't heard you sing before. no, no, no, my voice can make a noise! i can make a noise with my throat, but... fortunately, we've got some really, really good singers in here as well, including mrgrammer. # i am i, don quixote. # the lord of la mancha #. i consider kelsey grammer to be... this astoundingly famous actor, and i'mjust, sort of, like, sitting there next to him... i love it! had he seen only fools and horses? yes! yes, because he's married to an english girl, and she... she got him onto it, apparently. i'm looking around

at the coliseum, here. i am seeing some chandeliers, so i'm wondering, maybe they need a clean? no comment. no comment! right. now, brace yourself, rodney, brace yourself. laughter. that's a true story. that happened tojohn sullivan's father during the war. wow. the only thing i was terrified of was laughing when the chandelier went down, because i'd been told i would be fired if i laughed, and he meant it. um, so i didn't laugh! would that be made today in the same way? no, it wouldn't be made at all. why? um... well, i think they would probably look at the precis of it and go, "well, it's two people just fighting each other all the time." tell her uncle albert drank it!

i can't tell her that, can i? it's just one thing after another, innit? comedy is about, "i'm glad that didn't happen to me. look at him. he fell down that hole." chaplin knew all about it, and we laughed at chaplin because it wasn't us falling down the hole. 0r through a bar. 0r through a bar! play it nice and cool, son, nice and cool, you know what i mean? laughter. nicholas lyndhurst speaking to tim muffett. helen willetts has the weather. todayis today is a day of two hubs. you may have woken up misty, mild and grey but the sun has come out, but further west we have cloud and rain. this is how it looks in the sunshine. beautifulfor this is how it looks in the sunshine. beautiful for many parts of england and east wales, the east of england and east wales, the east of scotland. but it grabs the eye,

the weather front, it has been raining on and