tonight at 10pm, we're in belfast, at a time of growing uncertainty for the people of northern ireland. we talk to local firms about the state of the economy, as inflation across the uk reaches levels not seen for a decade. i've been in this business 29 years and i've never experienced this, not the sustained price increases. i don't see any end to it at the minute. the cost of living is rising sharply, due to higher fuel and energy prices, the cost of second—hand cars and eating out. we'll be asking whether rising inflation is likely to lead to a jump in interest rates. also today... borisjohnson admits he made mistakes in handling the tory lobbying scandal,

but he doesn't apologise. the committee will agree that i've accepted that it was a mistake and that it was my mistake. everybody else has apologised for him, but he won't apologise for himself. a coward, not a leader! we talk to the former yorkshire cricketer azeem rafiq about racist abuse, and what he hopes to achieve by going public. and a year in the life of northern ireland — we ask people to share their experiences, in a changing landscape. and coming up in the sport on the bbc news channel... a big night of action in the women's champions league — arsenal are looking to take a big step towards the knockouts with a win over danish side koge.

welcome to bbc news at ten, which comes tonight from the heart of belfast at a critical time in the history of northern ireland. there's growing uncertainty here about the future of trading arrangements with the rest of the united kingdom, not to mention the links with its close neighbour, the republic of ireland, and the european union. today we'll be looking at all the day's news at home and abroad, as usual, but we'll also be looking more closely at some of the bigger questions facing the people of northern ireland. today's very sharp rise in the cost of living is a problem affecting people right across the uk. inflation is at its highest level in a decade. it rose to 4.2% last month, mainly due to higher fuel and energy prices, as well as the cost of second—hand cars and eating out. it means the current rate is more than double the bank of england's official target of 2%. our economics editor, faisal islam, is here in belfast and this is his report.

here at harlequin, a fuel and waste tank manufacturer in moira, county down, it's notjust that energy prices have nearly doubled. inflation is everywhere, from the plastic raw materials prices, up 50%, freight prices, up 12% that morning, and worker wages having to go up well over 4%. if we just stand still, it will cost us an extra £2 million next year to manufacture the same product. exactly the same thing. exactly the same product, same levels, £2 million. and that's the cost of energy and... energy, labour, transport, raw materials. it's just unsustainable. i've been in this business 29 years and i've never experienced this, not the sustained price increases. i don't see any end to it at the minute. in homes across the uk, energy prices are already biting. with fears now that mortgage costs will also have to go up,

self—employed mum of three susie grazier from hartlepool says it's hard to make ends meet. our energy bills have shot up. they've probably more than doubled in the last year. you know, the cost of fuel for the car, i noticed only last week, normally where i would fill the car i'd put £40 in and it didn't even half fill it. and the shopping, the cost of the weekly shop has probably gone up by 20 to 30% compared to this time last year. massive rises in fuel costs mean many households are unable to switch suppliers right now. the energy price cap is protected british households from most of this, but last month's hike in the cap was responsible for half of today's increase in the inflation rate. so inflation is higher than expected, but the period of rising prices is also lasting longer than expected. the essential question is, just how much longer? and the risk is this could become

a kind of self—fulfilling prophecy, where businesses expecting prices to rise put them up in advance. the critical question here is what happens to workers' wages. wages are going up significantly at big supermarkets to account for competition for workers. lidl is hiking starter pay by over 6%. it is a challenge, absolutely. we are competing for talent with all the other retailers and, indeed, other industries, and part of the reason for today's announcement is to secure our staff who are with us, to retain them as far as possible, but also to attract anyone else who would like to come and join this fantastic team. wages going up in sectors with worker shortages, such as retail or haulage, is to be expected, but if this happens across the entire economy the bank of england's festive gift to the nation might have to be a pre—christmas interest rate rise, to try to keep price rises under control. faisal is with me now.

you have been talking to lots of people today. just on this business of rising inflation, we were told before this would be a temporary thing, a bit of a before this would be a temporary thing, a bit ofa blip. is before this would be a temporary thing, a bit of a blip. is that what it looks like now?— thing, a bit of a blip. is that what it looks like now? when is it going to end, the _ it looks like now? when is it going to end, the crucial _ it looks like now? when is it going to end, the crucial question - it looks like now? when is it going to end, the crucial question for. to end, the crucial question for households trying to plan their budgets and the bank of england trying to plan where interest rates will go, and the bad news is it's going to get worse for it gets better, because global energy prices have already baked in increases, further increases in domestic energy prices next year, including a rise in the energy cap for great britain early next year, which will take inflation up to around 5%. what happens after that is interesting. the nature of this inflation is quite freakish. it's about the rebound from pandemic lockdowns around the world. you have seen demand rebound much faster than expected, supply, the ability to

produce things in the economy, as like that, and the difference is the inflation. so with that you would expect it to fall back again in the second half of next year. that's the expectation. we are beginning to see some signs of that in the real economy put up used car prices, the third biggest contributor today's inflation rise, comes from the fact new cars are not being produced because of a shortage of microchips. some signs from east asia that that microchip shortage is being sorted out, but that could take time, and the pressure on household budgets will be very real over this winter. the crucial question is whether wages will rise to compensate for it. , u, . wages will rise to compensate for it. , . , , ., it. lets catch up with events at westminster. _ the house of commons voted this evening to limit the ability of mps to take on a second job. but labour, whose own proposals for improving standards were defeated, described the government's plans as "warm words" rather than a plan of action. earlier, borisjohnson had admitted making a mistake in the way he handled the controversy over

owen paterson, the former conservative mp who broke the rules on lobbying. the government's measures would prevent mps from having second jobs as paid consultants in relation to parliament. and it also wants to introduce limits to how many hours mps can spend on externaljobs. but labour wants to ban all second jobs, except for those in public services. our political editor, laura kuenssberg, has the latest. has he boxed himself in? another u—turn, prime minister? after a fortnight of claims of bad behaviour being chucked around this place, boris johnson finally conceded yesterday the rules for mps have to change. but he hasn't untangled a political mess, on display today at several times, in several ways. we now come to prime minister's questions. l keir starmer. everybody else has apologised for him, but he won't apologise for himself.

a coward, not a leader. yesterday, a screeching, last—minute u—turn to avoid defeat on labour's plan to ban mps from dodgy second contracts, but waving one white flag won't be enough to restore trust. howls of protest began when number 10 tried to change the rules to protect a former cabinet minister who'd broken them — rules borisjohnson only now says have to change. what i think we need to do is to work together on the basis of the independent report by the committee on standards in public life. the prime minister, though, also seems to have concluded the best form of defence is attack... the right honourable gentleman is now trying to prosecute others for exactly the course of action that he took himself. ..questioning keir starmer�*s earnings as a lawyer when an mp but before he was leader. this kind of telling off does not happen every day. order! prime minister, sit down.

i'm not going to be challenged. you may be the prime minister of this country, but in this house, i'm in charge. downing street wants to stop this saga sliding into a full—blown emergency, but mps on all sides are angry about how the case of owen paterson unfolded, and they want to take the time to show it... and, prime minister, i request that you give us your customary extra time. ..even if he looked like he'd rather be anywhere but here. i will do my best as ever to oblige you as ever, sir bernard. i've got quite a lot on. the danger is that you've just tarred the whole of the house with the same brush, and yourself, haven't you? the intention genuinely was not to exonerate anybody. the intention was to see whether there was some way in which, on a cross—party basis, we could improve the system. you have a responsibility to go above and beyond, j to go further than everybody should expect and to actually establish - much higher standards.

i do, yes. yes, i think it was a total mistake not to see that owen's breach of the rules, the former member of north shropshire's breach of the rules, made any discussion about anything else impossible. sometimes, westminster loves nothing more than a row about itself, but this shambles matters because it's shaken the tory confidence in number 10, given the opposition plenty of ammunition and, fairly or unfairly, it does taint the image of this place. as a frantic day drew to a close, labour's effort to change the rules failed. order, order... ..but government mps backed borisjohnson�*s proposal to limit some outside earnings in future. but listen... the ayes to the right, 297, the noes to the left, zero. | less than half of the commons backed it. the chance of settling this saga

amicably is slim indeed. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. here in belfast, there's intense interest in the latest talks held between lord frost, the government's brexit negotiator, and political and business leaders in northern ireland. lord frost said today a deal can be done with the european union over the future of trading links in the wake of the brexit agreement. the northern ireland protocol, signed by the uk and the eu, is designed to avoid the re—emergence of a hard border between northern ireland and the republic. but the uk wants the protocol rewritten, and is threatening to trigger what's called article 16 unless things change. we want to reach an agreement, if we can. it's got to be in agreement that does the job, changes the situation, not an agreement for its own sake. if we can't get to that, then obviously article 16 is a possibility. and a very real possibility.

but it will be determined on the basis of whether we have reached an agreement or not. and that's what we are really trying very hard to do. lord frost, speaking earlier today in belfast. our northern ireland economics editor, john campbell, is with me now. what is the latest on the state of these talks? people come in fairness, probably have difficulty keeping up with them, and they are rather complex. what is your understanding? the rather complex. what is your understanding?— rather complex. what is your understanding? the protocol is causing real — understanding? the protocol is causing real difficulties - understanding? the protocol is causing real difficulties for - causing real difficulties for businesses in northern ireland, when they try to bring goods and from the rest of the uk. so they have come up with a package of measures which they say should ease the situation. it's fair to say the government is fairly sceptical about whether they will work. tonight we learn the chairman of marks & spencers has written to the government to say he is also sceptical about the eu

proposals. nonetheless, the two sides are still talking. however, lord frost on the prime minister are clear that if these talks don't produce the results they want, they will use article 16, basically a safeguard measure that allows either side to say, listen, this deal is causing serious difficulties, they are liable to persist, so therefore we have the right to suspend part of the deal which are causing the problems. the government says it is completely legitimate to do that. what the eu is concerned about is that the government could use article 16 as a pretext to effectively walk away from pretty much everything they agreed on northern ireland just two years ago. in the most extreme circumstances, they could retaliate by suspending they could retaliate by suspending the broader brexit deal. but we will have a better sense of where these talks are going when lord frost meets his eu counterparts in brussels on friday.— meets his eu counterparts in brussels on friday. many thanks for the update. — brussels on friday. many thanks for the update. john — brussels on friday. many thanks for the update, john campbell - brussels on friday. many thanks for the update, john campbell with - brussels on friday. many thanks for the update, john campbell with the| the update, john campbell with the latest on the state of those talks. police have revealed that the man who detonated a bomb in a liverpool taxi had been buying components for his device for several months. detectives say emad al swealmeen, who was originally from iraq, had suffered periods

of mental illness. he died when the improvised device he built exploded in the taxi on remembrance sunday. our special correspondent, ed thomas, has been speaking to a couple who were just metres away from the blast. explosions just went off. and it shook the hospital building. and then i go closer to the car, and i can smell the smoke. and i could see the man in the back. the moments liam and stephanie will neverforget. as david perry's taxi rolls in, they were just metres away. so, that's my car, there, with my girlfriend, steph, inside. and the explosion happens. and you'll see steph, steph gets out the car, i grab her and push her to the side. so she goes to reception, where she's safe. what are your emotions in these moments? i was just on pure adrenaline. my biggest fear

was her getting hurt. everyone was, like, "oh, my god, is there a baby on the back?" i think that's why i had come running back out. i was, like, "is there a baby in the back?" and obviously we did find out there was a passenger. so everyone was screaming, like, "999," that there was a passenger. liam runs back towards the car. he sees the driver, david perry, is out and safe. he pauses, before returning to try and save the life of the bomber, emad al—swealmeen. and then i go closer to the car and i can smell the smoke. i could see the man in the back. and as i tried to grab... i went to grab him, but the flames became... he engulfed in flames very quickly. and i couldn't reach hold of him without setting myself on fire. steph is 20. liam, 2i. both are now struggling to cope with what happened. it does cause me to feel sick, and my head hurts when i think

about it, and the adrenaline, just because i'm losing that sleep. it's obviously, like, just replaying in your mind, the whole situation. and when you finally go off to sleep, it's in your dreams. so, you can't really escape it, in a sense. and today, police revealed the man responsible, emad al—swealmeen, planned this since april, and rented a property here as a base to build the bomb. during seven years in the uk, his repeated asylum applications had been refused. in that time, he had suffered periods of mental illness. once you found out this was now a terrorism investigation, what was your reaction to that? you wouldn't think anyone would ever want to harm... particularly babies and children, more than anything. of all hospitals, a babies' hospital, really, you just don't think that. i was just in disbelief. it's scary to think about how things could have been different, to be honest. you do struggle with...

is it ever going to happen again, am i going to get over this? obviously i've said to myself and my family, i'm not going to let it affect me, it's not going to have a hold on me or my life. there was definitely someone watching over me that day. yeah. definitely someone watching over the both of us. but i do feel very lucky. lucky to be alive. that was liam spencer ending ed thomas's report there. an investigation has been launched after a british military fighterjet crashed soon after take—off into the mediterranean. the ministry of defence confirmed the pilot on board the f—35jet ejected from the aircraft before it crashed and is safe. the f—35s, estimated to be worth around £100 million each, are based on board the hms queen elizabeth aircraft carrier. the former yorkshire cricketer azeem rafiq has said his evidence to mps yesterday about racism in the sport was more powerful than anything he could have done on the pitch.

he gave details to a westminster committee about the racial abuse he'd suffered as a player. mr rafiq says he's determined that this will be the moment that sport and much of society as a whole moves in a different direction. he's been talking to our sports editor dan roan. he's gone from county cricketer to game—changing whistle—blower and, a day after taking his allegations of institutional racism to westminster, azeem rafiq told me he'd been overwhelmed by the response he'd received. i'm incredibly relieved. it felt like a massive weight off my shoulders. i spoke to my dad last night. what did he say? he was just really proud of me and he said, look, no runs or wickets could have done what i did yesterday and i should be really proud of myself. rafiq's harrowing testimony to mps laid bare the racism he suffered at his former club. i'm very determined that this is going to be looked back as the moment where not only sport, but society as a whole,

went in a different direction to where it's been going. it's really important that we don't let this moment go and try and use this moment as real watershed moment for the future. the ecb has been criticised for their handling of the crisis. chief executive tom harrison admitting to the committee that the sport he runs was facing an emergency over diversity. he's probably got a few months where we need to see some tangible changes, and i think if there's not something that changes in the next few months, then i think the patience is going to run out. on a chastening day for cricket, several high—profile names, including two former yorkshire stars, matthew hoggard and tim bresnan, both of whom have apologised to rafiq, were dragged into the scandal. tonight, ex—england batsman alex hales categorically denied any racial connotation in naming his dog, as alleged by rafiq yesterday.

former england captain and now top pundit michael vaughan had already denied rafiq's claim that he made a racist remark to a group of asian players in 2009, so what does the whistle—blower think should now happen to his old yorkshire team—mates? people who apologise, they deserve a second chance. people in denial, unfortunately, i think there's got to be a level of accountability there and it's for their employers to send out a message whether they are going to give the green light to racism or they're going to stamp it out. with the crisis engulfing yorkshire, more than 1,000 people have contacted an independent commission for equity in cricket since it was launched last week. you're going to be heard, and whether anyone else stands by you or not, i'll stand by you. many hope this episode proves a wake—up call for the game's authorities, but regaining trust will not be easy. dan roan, bbc news.

two men convicted of the murder of the american civil rights leader malcolm x are set to be exonerated. he was shot dead in new york in 1965 as he prepared to give a speech. the manhattan district attorney said muhammad al aziz and khalil islam did not get the justice they deserved. the conviction of a third man, thomas hagan, has not been overturned. poland's border force say around 1,000 migrants are still gathered at the frontier with belarus, as the european union stepped up its efforts to resolve the crisis. tensions increased yesterday after polish forces used tear gas and water cannon to stop migrants trying to enter the country. our correspondent, jenny hill, sent his report from the polish side of the border, and a warning, it does contain flashing images. fury, frustration at the gateway to europe. polish border guards

released this footage. night after night, they say, belarusian troops force migrants to try and reach the border. that's what sagvan told us, too. and say, "go, go, go." "every people must go." he tell you, "if you come back i'll shoot you, i'll kill you." sagvan and his family are now recovering in a polish hospital. they paid more than $10,000 to get to the border, spent more than two weeks trapped there, in the cold, with almost no food or water. you don't know what's happening there. it's so difficult. you see a child, asking you for bread. the polish government would prefer you not to see the human tragedy unfolding in what is one of the most beautiful parts of this country.

this is tourist terrain. but visitors, journalists, aid workers are now banned from the forests which line the border. this is a special place, yes. slawek�*s bike hire business is in the exclusion zone. like others here, he tells us it's commonplace to see migrants hiding in the woods, afraid polish guards will push them back. translation: we are not going to change it by building fences. l it's up to us to manage it so tourism can go on. but it should happen in a humanitarian way. it's unacceptable that someone freezes to death 100 metres my house. at least 80 people have died on the polish side. ——at least 8 people have died on the polish side. in six weeks, at the small local hospital, they've treated nearly 200 migrants. translation: it's extremely difficult when we are faced i with this suffering, when you have to tell a husband that his wife isn't going to survive, or when we see a family

being separated, because the father is taken away by the border guard, and the mother and child stay at the hospital. it's starting to get dark now, and the temperature is beginning to drop. tonight, as they do every night, people will try to get across the border, make it to these forests. this is testing the fundamental values of this community, this country, the eu itself. but for the people who end up in this woodland, this is simply about survival. jenny hill, bbc news, bialowieza forest. the queen has held herfirst official engagement at windsor castle since she missed sunday's remembrance service at the cenotaph. her majesty met the outgoing chief of the defence staff, general sir nick carter, days after she cancelled her attendance at the cenotaph for the remembrance service on sunday. the queen was said to have sprained her back. the prince of wales, during his trip tojordan,

was asked how about her majesty's condition. she's all right, thank you very much, thank you. is she ok? would you send our best wishes? once you get to 95, you know, it's not quite as easy as it used to be. bad enough at 73! the prince of wales, speaking on a visit tojordan the prince of wales, speaking on a visit to jordan today. let's the prince of wales, speaking on a visit tojordan today. let's look the prince of wales, speaking on a visit to jordan today. let's look at the latest figures on the pandemic throughout the uk. there were 38,263 new infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period, which means on average, there were 38,980 new cases reported per day in the last week. 201 deaths were recorded, that's of people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—19 test. on average in the past week, 146 related deaths were recorded every day. almost 13.5 million people have now had their booster injection.

lets stay on the theme of the pandemic, notably in northern ireland. earlier this evening, ministers here in northern ireland have approved the use of vaccine passports for hospitality venues and large gatherings. our ireland correspondent emma vardy is with me. let's have a sense of what the reaction is likely to be.- reaction is likely to be. well, there is resentment - reaction is likely to be. well, there is resentment from - there is resentment from the hospitality industry. because lots of pubs and restaurants feel they have already had to deal with the toughest rules for the longest. they are saying to ministers, thanks a lot, you have lumped all of this honour is again, and many believe that covid passports will be difficult to police on the ground. but all the parties in northern ireland back to this measure today, apart from the dup. one dup assembly member swearing he would never hold a covid passport in his hand. it brings up some really strong feelings. but ministers were presented with stark modelling today. they were told of something isn't done in the next few weeks we will be going back to stricter restrictions. and we have had a pretty grim year of that here

already. nightclub only opened a fortnight ago. and i've been looking back on what has been a really significant year of challenges for communities in northern ireland. not only in terms of the pandemic, but also the economy, and, of course, the politics of brexit. this place is used to struggles, but the past year has tested northern ireland in ways no—one foresaw. we fully appreciate that this will be a difficult and worrying news. we are past the point of warnings, this is real and it's happening now. while life—saving medical teams faced unprecedented strain, calls for help in communities increased as northern ireland edured coronavirus restrictions for longer than any other part of the uk. and volunteers like victor, who himself had previously been homeless, were suddenly on the front line. just that interaction with people on the door. children needing stuff, mummies, daddies, people who probably for the first time have ever had to ask for something. "we can't pay our mortgage, we need food." this belfast food bank says

the pandemic led to greater collaboration between different communities than ever before. for an often divided part of the uk, the pandemic brought a short—lived sense of unity. but, as lockdown eased, old divisions returned. the disorder last night was at a scale that we have not seen in recent years. protests in loyalist areas over brexit and other issues turned to violence. rioters on both sides of these peace walls were mainly young people and teenagers, and street disorder has begun to flare up again in recent weeks. i've come to meet a group on the nationalist side of this peace wall that have got together to try to intervene. we're a group of young men. the last thing we want to see is kids getting hurt, kids getting arrested. how is the issue of brexit and the protests around that, isuppose, helped to exacerbate any tensions? these kids don't understand brexit, they don't understand the protocol, they don't understand the intricacies of the political situation here. but they are listening to the people

that are older than them, they're listening to their parents and, at the end of the day, this is a post—conflict society. and this has been the focal point of a year of political tension. new checks on goods crossing the irish sea, the northern ireland protocol, which many businesses say they want to make work to their advantage. but it's viewed in loyalist communities as a betrayal of their place in the uk. if we do not kill this protocol, it will kill the union. - but step beyond the politics of this island and it's also been a year when people rediscovered what is on their doorstep. this was a place i came all the time when nothing else was open and a lot of people had the same idea. people needed to have a bit of a routine of some sort. this past year saw the hills over belfast become packed with walkers. after vivian lost hisjob during the pandemic, he started up his own group. i really appreciated the things that we have, rather than the things that we don't have. has the past year changed us? definitely, you see people out

walking that you would never have seen out walking before.