tonight at ten, a court convicts for the first time a serving british police officer of terrorism offences. benjamin hannam, who's 22, a probationary officer in the metropolitan police, was a member of the banned far right neo—nazi group, national action. why did you join a terrorist organisation, thenjoin why did you join a terrorist organisation, then join the why did you join a terrorist organisation, thenjoin the police? he was also found guilty of fraud, for lying on his police application form. never before has a serving police officer been prosecuted for being the member of a terrorist group. the case raises serious questions over vetting procedures at britain's biggest police force. also tonight... a warning from the head of nhs england before the bank holiday weekend — people must remain cautious, as covid lockdown restrictions ease.

the founder of liberty steel admits the company owes billions of pounds, but insists it can survive. there you go, your paperwork, everything is ok. we have a special report on brexit trade across the irish sea, with costs rocketing to get goods from britain to northern ireland. on all occasions to perform against me and spurn my dull revenge. and a seasoned hamlet — sir ian mckellen takes on the role of the prince of denmark, aged 81. and coming up in the sport on the bbc news channel — super league champions st helens are looking to make it two wins from two against hull kr. good evening. a metropolitan police officer has been found guilty of belonging

to a banned neo—nazi terror group, and possessing extremist material. the 22—year—old is the first serving british police officer to be convicted of a terror offence. benjamin hannam was a member of the far right extremist group, nationalaction, which was banned in 2016. he lied about his past when applying to join the met. our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford has the story. pc ben hannam, 22 years old, who today became the first police officer in britain to be convicted of terrorism. although he faces a certain jail term, he was released on bail until the sentence is passed. we had to chase him to talk to him because he ran from a side door of the court. why did you join a terrorist organisation and then join the police? ben, ben... his father, keeping me from asking questions, and whisking him away in a taxi. he'll be sentenced in three weeks. at his passing out parade three years ago, it was cressida dick,

the head of the metropolitan police, who oversaw the ceremony and walked right past him as she welcomed the new recruits. just two years earlier, here he was taking part in propaganda for the banned neo—nazi terrorist group national action. let's go. doing fight training in the woods. and daubing a nazi torch on a wall in swindon. traces of the graffiti ben hannam sprayed on that trip are still visible in swindon to this day. when he did it, he was still an active member of a banned neo—nazi terrorist organisation. within weeks of doing it, he was applying to join london's metropolitan police. the propaganda video from the trip was posted on the internetjust days before he put in his application. this was the police raiding his home to seize phones and computers. it had taken two years to realise they had a nazi in the ranks.

i've got... just point them out, don't touch them, if you can try and avoid it. yeah, yeah. no, it's fine. that phone, this apple watch... they only found him because the membership list of a neo—nazi internet forum had been leaked. on his bedroom wall, he still had pictures of german soldiers from world war ii. police also found indecent images of children. this is a unique case, and never before has a serving police officer been prosecuted for being the member of a terrorist group. when we identified the person we were looking at was a police officer, it was of course a shock, but we then moved very quickly to arrest ben hannam. in a diary, pc hannam noted that hejoined national action — or na — in 2015, left in 2017, and joined the metropolitan police service — the mps - in 2018. other former national action members includejack renshaw, who admitted plotting to kill his mp. zack davies, who was found

guilty of attempting to behead an asian dentist, and jack coulson, who made a pipe bomb. it seems incredible that a man who's been part of a group that has been banned as a terrorist organisation can go on and join the police, and the police not know anything about his background. we're not talking about a huge number of people here. seen here doing a nazi salute in a propaganda video, ben hannam had just ticked a box on two police forms... hey, good accuracy! ..saying he'd never been a member of the bnp. the force never took a reference from the school he'd just left, where one teacher had been shocked by his racism. daniel sandford, bbc news. our home editor mark easton is here. this is the latest in a series of controversies that have dogged the met police in the last few weeks. it really has been a very difficult month or so for the met, the charging of one of their officers with the murder of sarah everard,

another officer under investigation for allegedly raping two of his female colleagues and now the conviction of an officer for membership of a neo—nazi terrorist organisation. individually these are all very unusual or unprecedented and i think it really is a bit of a coincidence that they have kind of hit the front pages in quick succession. they also come amid an ongoing debate about the way scotland yard has been policing protests during the pandemic, not least the vigil for protests during the pandemic, not least the vigilfor sarah protests during the pandemic, not least the vigil for sarah everard on clapham common. the question though i think is whether there is an underlying problem in terms of public trust in the met and while the situation is not disastrous, the data collected by the greater london authority suggests that things have been deteriorating. overall, victim satisfaction down from 77% to 64%. the proportion of londoners who say police are doing a good job in the local area down from 68% to 56% and

the proportion who agree that the police relied upon —— can be relied upon to be there when needed also down, 76, down to 77%. —— 66%. public trust is the drop of policing by consent that we have in this country and that is why however unusual these incidents are the recent rash of negative publicity at the met actually matters. qm. recent rash of negative publicity at the met actually matters. 0k, mark easton, the met actually matters. 0k, mark easton. our — the met actually matters. 0k, mark easton, our home _ the met actually matters. 0k, mark easton, our home editor, _ the met actually matters. 0k, mark easton, our home editor, many - easton, our home editor, many thanks. the head of nhs england, sir simon stevens, has warned people to take the easing of coronavirus restrictions "one step at a time", and not to squander the progress made on beating the virus. the latest survey from the office for national statistics has found the number of infections has fallen in england and scotland, but it's not clear whether they're rising orfalling in wales and northern ireland. our health editor hugh pym has more. as people enjoy time outdoors, there's more encouraging news from the latest ons survey — in much of the uk, cases haven't gone up, even with schools open.

but there's a warning ahead of the easter weekend that people should stick to the rules. you only have to look across the channel, to the very high covid pressures in france and other parts of the continent right now, to realise that we mustn't squander the huge progress that we've made. the head of nhs england is now looking ahead and believes useful lessons have been learned during the pandemic. the way in which the nhs has mobilised, not only for the successful vaccination campaign, but also hospitals working together to make sure that patients get the intensive care they needed, better working with community services and local government. that sets the blueprint for what the next phase of our nhs needs to be. that blueprint includes schemes run by local nhs groups, like this one at skipton in north yorkshire. like the vaccination roll—out, they are reaching out to patients who might be vulnerable, and helping them cut the risk of ill health.

ray was 18 stone and struggling to walk for more than 15 minutes. but he's lost three and a half stone after being put on a local nhs plan called healthy hearts, involving regular blood pressure checks and a course to give lifestyle and diet advice. i feel very much a different person. i don't have any major health problems at all now. i have a far more active life. and i think also, i have a greater self—esteem. this is all about the nhs in local areas notjust waiting for patients to come to them when they're unwell, but reaching out into their communities to identify those who might be at risk, and helping them prevent future ill—health. that can involve what's known as social prescribing, helping people find the best support services to head off future problems, for example in mental health. particularly post—covid, i think we may see more of that, and i think that's why social prescribing will play a vital role

in just supporting people to adapt to a normal life, whatever that will look like after covid. getting back to normal could take time. a study today suggests more than1 million people in the uk still had symptoms four weeks or more after a covid infection. yet another challenge for the nhs. hugh pym, bbc news, skipton. the latest government figures show there were 4,479 new coronavirus infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period, meaning on average 11,570 new cases were reported per day in the last week. that's down by around a third on this time last week. there are 3,957 patients in hospital with covid—19. 51 deaths were reported in the latest 24—hour period — that's of people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—19 test. on average in the past week 46 deaths were announced every day, taking the total number to 126,764.

on vaccinations, almost 242,000 people have had theirfirstjab in the latest 24—hour period, bringing the total to just over 31.1 million. and more than 4.5 million people have now had two doses. the founder of liberty steel has insisted that none of its plants in the uk will shut "on his watch", despite revealing the company owes "many billions" of pounds. sanjeev gupta is seeking to refinance the business, after the collapse of its main financial backer, greensill capital. liberty steel employs around 3000 people at various sites in england, scotland and wales. our business editor simonjack has the latest. 12 steel plants across the uk are facing an uncertain future after the government rejected a request for a taxpayer bailout from the man once known as the saviour of steel. but today, sanjeev gupta was in was in defiant mood.

it's still a tough journey ahead. the us has many disadvantages. uk steel industry has been decimated for the last few decades. we still have a lot of work to do, i'm not going to give up on the uk. as long as i'm in charge, my plants will stay open. but a lot of people think that with you in charge that will be in impediment to government support. all our steel operations in the uk, one after another was in process of shutting. it's our hard work which means they have a viable future. i believe in the future of my steel business. i'm guessing that you personally are worth 170 million. why don't you put your own money in? i've always done so and some of that is happening as we speak. gupta bought up plants that others had given up on, saving the livelihoods of workers who remain loyal to him. sanjay has been a good employer as far as far as i'm concerned. so far we've had no problems with him. wages are always regular, we're not missing dates. everything seems to be all right, not too bad. he says he's going to get through this.

i hope he does. gupta built his empire by using tomorrow's money to pay today's bills. he sold invoices due for future payment to a company run by this australian banker, lex greensill, who would buy them at a discount for ready cash and sell them on to investors. but in early march, greensill went bust, despite efforts from former prime minister and greensill employee david cameron, who personally lobbied the chancellor on greensill�*s behalf. behind this unremarkable door is the london home of the remarkable middleman that funnelled billions in investor cash into mr gupta's empire. now investors who got burned when greensill went bust are going directly after mr gupta's assets, surely making it harder for him to find the new money he needs to keep liberty steel afloat. the prime minister today insisted the uk needs strategic industries like steel. we've learned during the pandemic that it's not a good idea to be excessively reliant in times of trouble on imports for critical things.

we saw that with ppe, for instance. so we're going to need a strong steel industry. i'm very hopeful that we'll get a solution. the finances are complicated, but simple industrial and political logic means the government is ready to intervene if necessary. simon jack, bbc news. the girlfriend of george floyd, whose death in minneapolis last year sparked protests across the world, took the stand today in the trial of derek chauvin — the police officer accused of his murder. courtney ross cried as she talked about how she first met mr floyd and described their struggle with opioid addiction. derek chauvin has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and one of manslaughter. let's get more from our correspondent lebo diseko, who's live in minneapolis. lebo. yeah, clive, today's testimony was a

mixture of both the personal and shocking. we heard from george floyd's girlfriend and the paramedics who attended the scene. just a warning that viewers may find the footage that was played in court and you are about see distressing. a man who enjoyed food, exercise and taking dad selfies — george floyd's girlfriend of three years painting a picture of the man she loved. she told the court about the life that they'd shared, including their addiction. our story is... it's a classic story of how many people get addicted to opioids. we got addicted and tried really hard to break that addiction, many times. the prosecution wanted to show mr floyd's addiction was not a reflection on his character, but the issue is central to mr chauvin�*s defence. for the majority of the time, mr floyd was clean, right? yes. and it was your belief that mr floyd started using again

about two weeks prior to his death, correct? i noticed a change in his behaviour, yes. the court heard that mr floyd had previously overdosed and that both friends with him on the day he died had sold him drugs before. next on the stand, the paramedics who'd been called out to the scene. both testified that mr floyd was unresponsive when they arrived. in a living person, there should be a pulse there. i did not feel one — i suspected this patient to be dead. and at the moment that you're checking for this carotid pulse, j are the officers still positioned on top of mr floyd? _ yes. for the first time, we heard medical evidence that suggested george floyd died at this spot, and while that was less emotional than the testimony heard at the start of the day, it was no less impactful. lebo diseko, bbc news, minneapolis. the prime minister's senior adviser on ethnic minorities, samuel kasumu, is to stand down.

news of his departure comes the day after the publication of a government—commissioned report on race that has been heavily criticised by campaigners. downing street has denied his exit is linked to the report's findings, and borisjohnson says he doesn't agree with "absolutely everything" in the report. a man has been convicted of murdering a 32—year—old woman last year who went missing after a night out with friends in exeter. lorraine cox was last seen in the early hours of the morning and was followed by 24—year—old azam mangori, who lured her back to his room before killing her and dismembering her body. five weeks from today, voters in scotland will go to the polls to elect a new parliament to holyrood. the coronavirus pandemic and the nhs, education and climate change are all issues at the forefront of voters' minds but can sometimes be obscured by the fierce debate over independence. here's our scotland editor, sarah smith. as lockdown eases a little,

some sports can restart, and the first covid election gets under way. will the virus define how people decide to vote? and what are voters now thinking matters most to them? i think, like, one of the things that's really key is how we support the nhs right now. they've been amazing, and to be honest, i feel like they've been asset—stripped for the past decade. i think this time round, certainly the nhs and who's investing most there. but also looking at scottish independence, and i think kind of the majority of the population are still looking for independence, and i think that will be a big deciding factor. the doorstep daffodils are likely to remain undisturbed by politicians who have to conduct the first socially distanced campaigns, so expect more digital messaging from the parties. the snp are firmly committed to having an independence referendum in the next few years. the tories concentrate on independence too — they think it motivates unionists

to vote for them. labour would much rather talk about issues like health or poverty. the scottish greens support independence and want another referendum, while the lib dems firmly want to remain in the uk. throughout the campaign, there will be debates about health, education, poverty and the environment. but it seems there is one overarching issue in scotland. if you actually look at what voters say they are going to do, at least as to whether or not they are going to vote for the snp, independence seems to be central. independence is certainly a crucial dividing line that is going to have a major impact on which way people vote in this election. if independence is the battlefield, then many voters already know whether they're on the yes side or no. the result of this election could determine whether there's could determine whether there's another referendum on scottish independence, and the outcome would be very uncertain. over the last year, polls have suggested about half of scottish voters support leaving the uk. i feel that scotland has become more about if people want to be independent or not, compared to if they're

left or right wing. and will you only vote for a party that agrees with you on independence? yes, yeah, on my view, yeah, what i think is best for the country. i fully believe it's going to be a split, either yes or no. - this election will not decide whether scotland becomes independent, but it could determine the direction of travel. sarah smith, bbc news, glasgow. the ferry operator stena line says brexit is causing significant distortion to trade across the irish sea, three months after the uk's separation from the eu. one of the most contentious aspects of the withdrawal agreement was the introduction of new checks between great britain and northern ireland. figures obtained by the bbc show that exporting goods over the irish sea now costs up to £350 more per pallet and the additional paperwork adds up to an extra four hours' turnaround time for every single lorry. our ireland correspondent emma vardy made the journey to see what impact the new arrangements are having.

this is where the real brexit is happening on the ground. and these are the people having to get their heads around a whole new way of doing things. at fortec distribution hub near leicester, they're getting goods ready to be shipped over the irish sea. and we're coming along, because what's happening could have implications for the very unity of the uk and, some believe, for the peace and stability of northern ireland. so we're three months into all this. how's it going? at the beginning, it was a struggle. some members were geared up better than others. some businesses dealt with it better than others. ultimately, we still have a few issues where paperwork is not done correctly and freight still ends up sitting on the floor. if the paperwork�*s not right, it can't leave here? if it's not right, it can't leave here. exactly that. sending goods to northern ireland

used to be largely paperwork free. there you go, - there's your paperwork. 0k, brilliant. fully loaded. everything is ok. but now the journey our driver graham has been doing for 20 years involves a lot more red tape. this is the compromise borisjohnson agreed with the eu to avoid having checks over the sensitive land border with the irish republic. we have some wine, then we have pet food. pet food? yeah. ok, thanks, mate. some products involve more checks than others. obviously, the pet food, at the minute, because it's animal origins, has caused a few problems. so we have four pallets sealed on the back of the lorry. that is why we are going to customs as soon as we get back to belfast. new veterinary inspectors will be awaiting us in the morning. but for now the lights of liverpool bid us farewell. 6:30am in northern ireland.

well, we'vejust arrived in belfast. we're still in the uk. but this is now where we effectively enter the eu single market. we are just about to go through one of the new border control posts. and it's what happens here that is still a source of much tension between the uk and the eu. the first two weeks of january were quite chaotic. you know, things werejust, like, what has just happened? stena line say brexit�*s led to a big distortion in volumes of freight on different routes. did anyone expect this amount of change to the way goods were travelling? no, no—one expected the level of difficulties and challenges that we have had. and we've seen that industry hasn't been as well prepared as one would have hoped. but flows will go back, and i think what will happen is it'lljust take more time. this is only the start of a journey. this is only the start of the process. this could take a number of years before things become easier. time for our cameras to see what this new border in the uk is like. hi, mate.

whatever you've got, just park over on the left, so i can see you. 0k, thank you. at the first border post, graham's lorry is escorted to a second location for physical inspections to take place. but there is a hiccup. they've got a shed that the trailer doesn't fit into to do the checks. we need a customs load of measuring tapes! there's obvious teething issues. work was supposed to begin on building new border posts. but amid political rows, the northern ireland minister in charge has halted the work. i haven't much room here to spin round. we're directed to a third location, where there is nervousness among border officials, who tell us they are still concerned about safety following recent threats against staff. we stop filming while the checks are finally completed. we're going into this depot now. we've cleared customs. the vet is happy that everything is sealed. we're through, but it's a process graham says

often adds an hour or two on tojourneys. and you don't have to look far to see the rising resentment among unionists. the anger that i have saw in my community is far beyond anything i have seen before. people really do feel like their equal citizenship and their british citizenship is really under threat. why do you think it affects any sense of identity? because it's effectively a border within the middle of the united kingdom. when there was talk of a hard border on the island of ireland, nobody would stand for it. so why all of a sudden is it ok for a border within the united kingdom? and this border is set to become even more prominent, with increased paperwork in the months to come. sometimes you feel a little helpless. what was a very straightforward process before brexit now isn't straightforward. maybe more people in transport should have been asked more questions about the best way to do things. hopefully things will improve in the future. there's still a bit of a way to go to get things running more smoothly. for those on the front line, the

brexitjourney has onlyjust begun. emma vardy, bbc news, belfast. disturbing videos which appear to show the killing of unarmed civilians in northern ethiopia by people apparently dressed in ethiopian army uniform have been obtained by the bbc. in november, the government launched a military campaign in the region of tigray, following an attack on an army base thought to have been carried out by the rebel tigray people's liberation front. there have been accusations of serious abuses by all sides in the conflict. our africa correspondent leila nathoo's report contains images that some will find very disturbing. armed men in uniform, leading a group towards a cliff edge. bodies appear strewn across the ground.

a man is urged to throw one off the cliff. these graphic videos and others like it were passed to the bbc and began circulating on social media last month. we have been able to match elements of the landscape shown to features visible on satellite images to identify the location. it's in ethiopian�*s northern tigray region. in november 2020, following an attack on a military base, the ethiopian army began an offensive in the region against the tigray people's liberation front, or tplf. they are challenging central government rule. troops from eritrea are also involved, backing the ethiopian government. the conflict has largely been hidden from view, as access has been severely limited. the un is currently investigating numerous

allegations of atrocities committed by all sides. we can't say for sure when these videos were filmed, but the armed men are wearing uniforms that match those used by the ethiopian national defence force, or endf. they are heard speaking one of ethiopian�*s official languages. the victims are dressed in civilian clothing and i heard speaking the language of the tigray region. for those trying to piece together what is happening on the ground, this is more evidence of shocking violence. since the beginning of the conflict in the tigray region we have documented the whole magnitude of very serious abuses, including extrajudicial executions by ethiopian government forces and their allies and this is absolutely an incident which will require further investigation because what we are seeing here in the video could amount to war crimes.

we put the videos and claims to the ethiopian government, who said they were open to independent investigations in the tigray region and said social media posts and claims could not be taken as evidence. they added that investigations into allegations were welcome for remedial action and accountability. after months of darkness, slowly a horrifying picture is beginning to emerge of the blood events that have occurred there over the past five months. northern ireland's deputy first minister, michelle o'neill, has apologised to bereaved families for attending the mass funeral of an ira leader in belfast lastjune, despite strict covid restrictions. the sinn fein politician offered "a heartfelt and unreserved" apology for the hurt caused to those who'd lost loved ones in the pandemic but couldn't attend their funerals. at the age of 81, the celebrated actor sir ian mckellen is taking on one of the toughest roles in theatre. he's playing hamlet, half a century after first appearing as the danish prince. the curtain should go up injune, when restrictions on theatres are finally eased.

our arts editor, will gompertz, has been talking to sir ian, during rehearsals at the theatre royal in windsor. of all occasions to inform against me and spur my dull revenge! the mode, these days, of casting people who don't necessarily look the part, because it's the inner person you're going after, and if i can rake around inside and discover the young man in me, then hopefully it'll be all right. it strikes me that the biggest challenge is the physicality, is the movement. well, what am i to do? i can't pretend i'm 20. no—one's going to believe it. but i can feel that i'm 20. it is going to be an 80—year—old man playing a man 50 years younger. i have played gandalf, who was over 7,000 years old. no—one said i was too young! you shall not pass! i think it's fair to say, or true to say, at least, you first played hamlet as a child when you had your toy theatre, didn't you?

yes, yes, i'd be about10 or11.