tonight at ten — the �*culture of cover—up' which led to hundreds of children in south london suffering cruelty and sexual abuse over four decades. they were in the care of lambeth council — an independent report says the abuse happened on a scale that was difficult to comprehend. the report is scathing about the culture of the council in the 1980s, and now, a0 years on, the council's apology does not impress the victims. i don't care what lambeth have apologised for — their apologies are meaningless. it doesn't mean anything,

because if they meant what they said, then they would have sorted this out and they would have got this done a long time ago. the independent report focuses on five of lambeth�*s care homes from the late 60s. we'll have the details. also tonight... as the vaccination roll out continues, the latest figures show the number of covid infections across the uk has fallen for the seventh day in a row. in the pool in tokyo, olympic gold and silverfor team gb with a fitting reponse from families back home. wild cheering we visit tom dean's home town of maidenhead — as they celebrate a gold—medal performance. and, simone biles, the greatest us gymnast of all time, withdraws from the team competition, saying she needs to focus on her mental health. and coming up in the sport, on the bbc news channel... there's a first medal in the women's

gymnastics team event for 93 years with bronze for team gb in tokyo. good evening. hundreds of vulnerable children, in the care of lambeth council in south london, were victims of sustained cruelty and sexual abuse over several decades, according to the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse. it concluded that the abuse happened on a scale that was "hard to comprehend" and that the true scale was likely to be far higher. more than 700 former residents complained about abuse at five children's homes in the borough from the 1960s onwards. over a period of a0 years, just one senior employee was disciplined for their part in the abuse. the inquiry says the local authority

was distracted by political divisions and the children were treated as if they were worthless. lambeth council has made an unreserved apology to the victims. our home editor mark easton has been studying the findings. a chance conversation between a music producer and a friend he knew from a south london children's home was what led to the worst child sexual abuse scandal in british history being uncovered. this video features some of hundreds of survivors from care homes and fosterfamilies in lambeth, people who, according to today's inquiry report, suffered almost incomprehensible cruelty from dozens of abusers over four decades. i felt dirty, i felt ashamed. and ifelt like i had nobody to listen to me. i've got eight siblings, and all of us have been through the care system, through lambeth. each and every one of them has gone through horrific abuse. i can't forgive lambeth

for what they've done to me or my family. and no amount of money that they've paid out is going to put right what they've done wrong. today's report identifies a culture of cover—up. police failed to follow up evidence, leads, in particular links between perpetrators. lambeth council gave known abusers unimpeded access to children. despite 33 council and police investigations into child despite 33 council and police abuse involving lambeth, there have been only six convictions, and only one senior council employee has ever been disciplined. the report says that children in the care of lambeth council were treated as worthless, they were pawns in a toxic power game with central government that inspired a vicious culture that left sex offenders feeling untouchable and children as captive victims. there was such a culture of cover—up that you need to look at the whole environment to make sure that you really get to the heart of why this happened, and that is our role, to get to the heart of why this happened, and to do that,

you need to poke in every corner, and every corner we poked in here, we found something wrong. this used to be our music production office. do you remember? and we turned it into an investigations room. it is a measure of the establishment's failure that it took the abuse survivors themselves to piece together the full scale and horror of what had happened. these are care records. so, we've got 1,600 care records... raymond stevenson, himself abused at the now notorious shirley 0aks children's home, turned his music production office into an incident room. an equal number of case files and references... the shirley 0aks survivors association has helped hundreds of victims claim more than £75 million in compensation from lambeth council, and there are many more. how dare you? we have worked out the paedophile ring from day dot... this afternoon, dozens of survivors assembled to give their verdict on the inquiry report. this is a missed opportunity. the failure to identify the police involvement in this cover—up isjust horrendous, and actually leaves

the public exposed. in a statement today, the metropolitan police apologised for letting children in care down in lambeth, accepting they missed opportunities and some behaviour towards children was unacceptable. this afternoon, lambeth council also reiterated their apology for what had happened, an apology the inquiry suggested had come far too late. and mark is here. so many distressing and disturbing elements in this report. not least the way in which it came to a head and the fact a lot of it was down to the victims themselves. absolutely. when ou the victims themselves. absolutely. when you have _ the victims themselves. absolutely. when you have got _ the victims themselves. absolutely. when you have got child _ the victims themselves. absolutely. when you have got child abuse - the victims themselves. absolutely. when you have got child abuse on . the victims themselves. absolutely. i when you have got child abuse on the scale, all these police investigations and council enquiries would have come up with it, but no, it was down to the survivors and victims, and raymond stevenson, i first met him seven years ago, i went to the office where those files are, and there were just a few photographs in those days on the

wall, they had silhouettes of people they were trying to identify as child abusers. now hundreds of files and they are helping hundreds of survivors try and get compensation, many of them successfully, from lambeth council. the establishment failed and failed again but this is notjust failed and failed again but this is not just about the past. failed and failed again but this is notjust about the past. lambeth say they have now implemented recommendations from this report, publishing a new action plan detailing their response, better training for councillors, a review of vetting procedures, but the inquiry is also calling on scotland yard to look at opening a criminal investigation, a new criminal investigation, a new criminal investigation into why allegations of sexual abuse made by a boy later found dead at the shirley 0aks care home in lambeth were not passed on to the coroner by lambeth council in 1977. lessons still need to be learned. mark easton, thanks very much. let's turn to the day's other news.

it's been another successful day for team gb at the olympic games in tokyo. in the pool, tom dean from maidenhead won the men's 200 metre freestyle with team—mate duncan scott taking silver. it is the first time since 1908 that two male british swimmers have appeared on the olympic podium together. but tom dean's path to the games wasn't straightforward — after twice contracting covid. this report by our sports editor dan roan contains some flashing images. a century has passed since a british man last won an individual freestyle event in the olympics, but today came two contenders. the hope was that tom dean might make the podium, but having qualified fastest for the 200—metre final, the focus was on duncan scott. commentator: a long hold from the start, - and nerves really jangling. .. keep your eye on the two red caps. in the centre, the favourite

initially trailed his younger team—mate, but soon, there was nothing between them. duncan scott is going to come back, i wouldn't write scott off in the middle. having won two silvers in rio, scott was aiming to go one better, but dean, despite twice recovering from covid in the last year, was proving more than a worthy match — this the thrilling finale. tom dean and duncan scott looking really good at the moment, and they've got 15 metres to go. tom dean in six, duncan scott in four, and we could get two medals. and can they be gold and silver? can they be gold and silver? yes! tom dean is olympic champion in the 200 metres freestyle, and duncan scott's got the silver! but if the celebrations in tokyo were joyous, just watch what it meant to dean's family and friends back home in maidenhead, watching on in the early hours as the drama unfolded. wild cheering

and then a chance to listen to the two medallists. i just want to say thanks so much to everyone back home. my mum, my family, my girlfriend. i'm just lost for words. all the boys back in maidenhead, thanks for staying up. we've come on so far in the last 18 months, it's a pleasure to watch. it's great to be able to say he's a good mate out of the pool... announcer: tom dean! what a moment this is. you'd have been forgiven for thinking that british swimming was all about adam peaty at the olympics, but tom dean and duncan scott have changed all that, their remarkable one—two continuing what is becoming a phenomenal time for team gb here in the pool. these are the first british male swimmers to share a podium at the games since 1908.

later, dean telling me his take on the closing stages in the race of his life. i couldn't even see duncan, i was breathing to the right, and he was just closing down the competitors to my right. so it was going to be tight, four hundredths in it, that's how 0lympic races come down to it. but, i mean, two brits on the podium going silver, gold, that's unheard of. roommates in the athletes' village, this pair now also share a piece of history, and with the prospect of more medals to come, team gb�*s swimmers could be set for their most successful games in decades. dan roan, bbc news, tokyo. with 13 medals won so far, it's been the best—ever start for team gb at this stage of the olympic games. 0ther successes included georgia taylor—brown taking silver in the women's triathlon — a remarkable result considering she'd been injured and was on crutches just 12 weeks ago. and there were bronze medals for bianca walkden in taekwondo,

for the women's gymastics team, and the team dressage. 0ur sports correspondent natalie pirks has all the details. a lot of spray coming off the wheels... all that heat training at home only to fly 6,000 miles and end up with british conditions. in the wind and the rain, triathlon victory was hard—fought by bermuda's flora duffy. flora duffy wins the tokyo olympic triathlon. an historic first gold for her nation. but for georgia taylor—brown, a sensational silver was reason to smile. 12 weeks ago, she'd been on crutches. silver medal today. later in the afternoon, once the weather had improved, she told me where this medal ranks in her career. the biggest achievement i've ever got, and it's even more special, because it's something i've dreamed of as a ten—year—old child, and my parents have dreamed of. i just want to get home to everyone now and just share the moment with them. so here we go, the swim is done. britain looked strong coming out of the water,

withjess learmonth leading and georgia not far behind. she had stuck with the leaders on the 40k bike ride, but the elements weren't all she was battling. i think georgia taylor—brown has got a flat tyre. _ it's everyone's worst nightmare, really. i did panic at first, but then i thought, "well, there's nothing i can do, i can't really control this right now, i can only do my best." there was nothing she could do about flora duffy's commanding 10k, but it soon dawned on her she was going to come second. there was a lot of emotion coming down that finishing chute, and i cried, and ifinished on the floor, and it took a lot out of me mentally and physically. now it's, i guess, on to paris. so an early start, then, here in 0daiba bay, but elsewhere was still a packed day of sport forteam gb, including plenty of medal chances. in the dressage team final, britain's double olympic gold medallist charlotte dujardin was last to go on newcomer gio, affectionately known as pumpkin. but his performance wasn't

a patch on germany's, who danced to gold again, with usa snatching silver at the last, bronze for britain. and if these 0lympics have taught us anything, it's that taekwondo can be cruel. bianca walkden was denied a place in the final with a kick to the head in the last second of her semi. but in the bronze medal match, a flurry of punches, a two—point kick, and a composed ending meant she matched her efforts in rio. and it will be great britain's bianca walkden taking home the olympic bronze medal. not the medal she wanted, but paris is just three years away. natalie pirks, bbc news, tokyo. elsewhere at the games, there were some major upsets. simone biles, the four—time gold medallist, and the most successful us gymnast of all time, pulled out of the women's team final, saying that she had to focus on her mental health. she said athletes had to protect their minds and their bodies, and notjust go out and do

what the world wanted them to do. as for the remaining competitions, she said her approach would be "one day at a time". with more on that and news of some other big names, here's our sports correspondent, andy swiss. commentator: all attentions turn to simone biles. - she's become synonymous with sporting perfection. simone biles starting off for usa in the women's team final, but her customary precision wasn't there. a big stumble, a low score, and it seemed something wasn't right. soon after, she left the arena with her coach, only to return a few minutes later, and after speaking with her team—mates, it was announced she was withdrawing from the rest of the final for what was described as "a medical issue." biles stayed on to offer her support, but without her, the usa could only manage silver behind the russian olympic committee. and afterwards, she said she needed to focus on her mental health. put mental health first because if you don't then you're not

going to enjoy your sport and you're not going to succeed as much as you want to, so it's ok sometimes to even sit out the big competitions to focus on yourself because it shows how strong of a competitor and a person that you really are. few athletes are under such global scrutiny. on sunday, biles had posted a message on social media. "i truly do feel like i have the weight of the world "on my shoulders at times," she said. her next event is on thursday, but she says she's taking it one day at a time. the level of skill that she is doing is so incredibly difficult. the eyes of the world are on her, so it's really nice to see her opening up about that. forteam gb, meanwhile, there was an historic bronze — their first medal in the event for some 93 years, and just look what it meant. without each and every single one of us working hard and just doing the performances we did, it would have been impossible, and i'm so thankfulfor all of you guys and so proud of all of you! i'm going to cry again! elsewhere, perhaps the biggest

shock came in the tennis, marketa vondrousova knocking out japan's biggest star, naomi osaka. and on a day of stormy conditions, brazil's italo ferreira claimed surfing's first—ever olympic gold. and if you ever wondered just what that means, well, here's your answer... wild cheering andy swiss, bbc news. let's have a look at the latest let's have a look at the latest position on the pandemic. the latest government figures show covid infections across the uk have fallen for the seventh day in a row. there were just over 23,500 new cases in the latest 24—hour period. it means on average there were 32,833 per day in the last week. 131 deaths were recorded in the past 2a hours, meaning, on average, 69 deaths were recorded per day in the past week. there are now more than 5,900

patients in hospital with covid—19. more than 88% of uk adults have now had theirfirstjab. and nearly 71% are now fully vaccinated. our health correspondent sophie hutchinson is here. lots of people looking at these figures will see a sustained fall over certain days of new cases and will fairly conclude we are on the right track?— right track? they are tantalising, these figures. _ right track? they are tantalising, these figures. are _ right track? they are tantalising, these figures. are they - right track? they are tantalising, these figures. are they a - right track? they are tantalising, these figures. are they a blip? . right track? they are tantalising, i these figures. are they a blip? that is the big question. is it because of the warmer weather, because fewer people are not being tested or deleting the nhs up? are we about to see a big rise in cases again because of last week's on locking which hasn't shown up in the figures ya? or is something else at play? scientists have been really surprised that after a recent surge in infections thought to be linked to the football fans meeting to see the euro is that there has been a

sharp decline. that is what they are trying to explain. it is as though the virus was not able to get a foothold. some scientists are very, very cautiously optimistic that this may signal that we are close to a change in the pandemic, that the widespread immunity there is from vaccinations and people who have recovered from the virus as well may be having a real effect, weakening the virus' power over us. it is a glimpse at a world where we might start living alongside the virus without risking the major disruption and heartache and national crises that we have had. but it is still very early days. huge amounts can change in this time. the prime minister has said we mustn't be complacent about these figures. public health england is saying that there are rising deaths still, as high as they were back in march but we are still in the pandemic. but those deaths relate to the surge of

a few weeks ago. what is certain is that all eyes will be on these daily infection figures, to see whether we really are at a turning point or not. really are at a turning point or not, , really are at a turning point or not. , ., , ., not. indeed, sophie, many thanks. sohie not. indeed, sophie, many thanks. sophie hutchinson, _ not. indeed, sophie, many thanks. sophie hutchinson, our— not. indeed, sophie, many thanks. sophie hutchinson, our health - sophie hutchinson, our health correspondence. police officers who tried to prevent donald trump's supporters from storming the us capitol building injanuary have given dramatic evidence at the start of an inquiry into what happened. the panel will look at the reasons for the riot, which happened as lawmakers gathered to certify president biden's election victory. but the inquiry is already undermined by partisan divisions, with many republicans refusing to take part. our correspondent barbara plett usher reports from washington. do you swear or affirm that the testimony you are about to give... police officers who defended the capitoljust months ago formed a steady blue line as they prepared to testify. it was a sharp contrast to the chaos injanuary, when they were overrun by a mob of trump supporters trying

to overturn the results of an election that he'd lost. this is now officially a riot. the committee replayed the shocking images, reminding americans of what's at stake in the investigation of how and why this happened. i could feel myself losing oxygen, and recall thinking to myself, "this is how i'm going to die, defending this entrance." i heard chanting from some of the crowd, "get his gun "and kill him with his own gun." everyone was reliving that dark day, convinced this inquiry was needed to prevent another attack on the peaceful transfer of power. there was also anger at republicans accused of downplaying what unfolded. the indifference shown to my colleagues is disgraceful! for democrats, suspect number one is donald trump. they blame him for inciting the rioters, something he denies. only two republican lawmakers agreed to sit on the committee, saying issues much bigger than party politics are in play.

you know, democracies are not defined by our bad days. the republican leadership is trying to send a different message from a much smaller platform. speaker pelosi will only pick- on people on to the committee that will ask the questions she wants asked. - that becomes a failed committee and a failed report, _ a sham that no one can believe. the man at the heart of this investigation is not at the hearing, and probably won't be making an appearance, but donald trump continues to loom large over the republican party and over american politics. as do the divisions he left in his wake, in congress and the country. the investigation is unlikely to fix that. barbara plett—usher, bbc news, washington. some children in bradford "remain unprotected" from sex exploitation, according to a new report looking into abuse over two decades. the independent review of five cases in the bradford district since 2001

has found that "children suffered abuse that no child should have to experience". authorities in bradford, including police and council leaders, have apologised for failing to protect victims. the inquiry into the contaminated blood scandal of the 1970s and �*80s has been hearing from lord clarke, who served as both health minister and health secretary during the 1980s. so far, around 3,000 people are thought to have died, after being given blood treatments containing hiv and hepatitis—c. our health correspondent jim reed has more details. jason evans is 31—years—old. his father was the same age when he died, after being given a treatment he thought would transform his life. there are very few home videos i have where he is actually on camera, especially because, you know, he was aware that he'd lost a lot of weight, you know,

what aids does to the body. thousands more of haemophiliacs were infected with hiv and hepatitis after being given contaminated blood products. their relatives have been looking for answers ever since. how did it happened, why did it happen, who is responsible, why hasn't anyone been held to account? and one of those people that i personally feel is to blame is ken clarke. lord clarke was the minister responsible for health in the 1980s, just as aids emerged. a0 years on, he took the stand at the inquiry into what's been called the worst medical disaster in nhs history. blood products were something that hardly ever came across my desk. imean, i... obviously, as the problem, the tragedy with the haemophiliacs began to develop, i was aware it was there and, as you know, i, from time to time, usually at my own instigation, got on the edge of it, but i never... i didn't call meetings on... i was never the minister directly

responsible for blood products. later, lord clarke appeared irritated at some of the questioning. what. . .what. . .why. .. why do we have to go into such meticulous detail? it's interesting, no doubt but pretty pointless. jason watched the inquiry in person today, there to see a senior minister at the time give evidence. what i think most of us regard as the obvious truth is that there was a lot that could and should have been done differently, and the question, i suppose, is will he accept that? decades ago, thousands like jason's father were infected by nhs treatment. it may still take many more forfamilies to piece together the events that led to that disaster. jim reed, bbc news. before we go, another taste of olympic triumph — this time in maidenhead in berkshire, the home town of the british

swimmer tom dean. eleanor roper reports. it's an all—nighter, but not like any other. tom's family this morning, having still not been to bed. wild cheering this was the scene last night as tom swam his way to olympic gold. hours later, and his family still can't believe it. i can't even put it into words. it'sjust, like, the most amazing thing... oh, i'm going to cry, this isn't good! ..that�*s ever happened. it's just like it makes everything worth it. and this is him at nationals, getting ready. tom is one of five children who are all keen swimmers. his youngest brother william shows us tom in his goggles when he was barely old enough to walk, but it's mum jacquie that has spent years driving everyone to the pool. i've taken tom to every one of his training sessions since he was a baby. i got him in the water when he was a few weeks old. i've taken him to all his events,

counties, regionals, nationals, and all the open meets, and i've followed him around the world. you know, it's galling to not be there at the big one. making it to the olympics is an enormous challenge for anyone, but for tom, this achievement is all the more amazing for the fact he's had coronavirus twice in the last year. i'm so thrilled to see the journey go as far as you can imagine it could go. there is nowhere else to go, and i am so thrilled for him. you know, he's having the best time of his life. tom is now preparing for the final of the 4x200m freestyle relay, as he looks to add another medal to his already impressive collection. eleanor roper, bbc news. that's it. now on bbc one, time for the news where you are. have a very good night.

this is bbc news. the headlines — police on duty during january's storming of the us capitol building by donald trump supporters have told a congressional inquiry what happened was an attempted coup. one officer described being beaten, tasered and called a traitor as rioters broke through windows and doors. the us gymnast simone biles is to be monitored daily by medics after pulling out of the final few events of the team gymnastics contest. biles won four gold medals in rio in 2016. two people have died and three others are missing after an explosion at an industrial park in the western german city of leverkusen. the former king of spain, juan carlos, is being sued by his ex—lover, who accuses him of having used the spanish intelligence service to spy on her. corinna zu sayn—wittgenstein alleges he put her under surveillance and hacked her phone.