this is bbc news i'm ben brown. the headlines downing street insists borisjohnson is still in control —after another tory mp calls on him to go — and the resignation of a fifth downing st adviser. a cabinet colleague came to his defence. i believe that the best thing for the country is for the prime minister to continue and i think he is doing a greatjob. a spectacle in beijing to mark the opening of the winter olympics — but fewer world leaders attend because of claims of human rights abuses by president xi's government. china and russia's presidents meet as the two countries move closer in the face of western pressure and pledge to oppose further nato expansions. a court orders checks on food and agricultural goods from britain to northern ireland

must continue for now. a former labour peer lord ahmed is jailed for sexually abusing two children in the 1970s uk energery regulator ofgem says it may start reviewing the energy price cap every three months, ratherthan the current six. coming up on his watch, bbc three is back on tv. timex new show they catch—up persuade young adults back into watching the news bulletins? join us tonight at 8:45pm on bbc news. good evening. the conservative backbench mp aaron bell has become the latest to confirm that he has submitted a letter of no confidence

in the prime minister. it comes as an embattled borisjohnson saw a fifth adviser from resign today from downing street, after the departure of four others yesterday. downing st said the resignations were not a sign the prime minister was losing control. as well as being under pressure over lockdown parties in downing st, mrjohnson has come in for particular criticism over a false claim made in the commons that the labour leader sir keir starmer had failed to prosecute the child sex offender jimmy savile when he was director of public prosecutions. one senior tory told mrjohnson to �*shape up or ship out,�* but the cabinet minister michael gove said he believed �*the best thing' for the country was for mrjohnson to continue. our political correspondent iain watson reports. are the normal rules of politics being turned on their head? boris johnson delivered an 80—seat majority yet some of his own mps are openly talking about whether he should be leaving downing street for good.

she's a fighter and a quitter — elena narozanski has represented england at boxing. today she dealt the prime a blow by resigning from his policy unit. she is a close ally of mirza, the number 10 policy chief who left yesterday, one boris johnson's closest aides who had worked for him for a decade. both resignations were unforeseen in government and ministers had to put a brave face on the downing street departures. the people going are distinguished public servants but the prime minister wanted change and he said there would be change, and we are seeing that change now. the chief of staff at number 10 dan rosenfield, seen on the left, communications directorjack doyle and senior civil martin reynolds are also leaving number 10. they were expected to go in response to the initial report from sue gray on lockdown gatherings. the remaining staff

in downing street attended another gathering today, a pep talk from the prime minister. i am told he quoted from the lion king saying "change is good". some sceptical mps suggested either the prime minister himself would need to change or they might need to change the prime minister. we want this to work but i think, for myself, i am deeply troubled by what is going on and we all know if a prime minister does not ship up they have to shape out, and that is what happened when this prime minister took over. another mp, aaron bell, confirmed he had submitted a letter of no confidence in the prime minister saying the breach of trust makes his position untenable. for some tory mps it is not a matter of if but when they will call for a vote of no—confidence. it takes only 5a to trigger the vote but 180 win. some of the prime minister's long—standing critics are wary about rushing in because under party rules if they fail to oust borisjohnson, he cannot be challenged for another year. in politics, as in comedy,

timing is everything. another factor holding some mps back from pushing borisjohnson out of number 10 is a question of who would move in. next—door—neighbour rishi sunak distanced himself from downing street gatherings and the controversial comments about keir starmer, but his allies say that does not mean he has given the nod to a leadership contest. borisjohnson has written to all tory mps promising to work more closely with them and, in a sign he wants to stay at number 10, he declares, "we will deliver together". joining me now is mo hussein, former conservative special adviser to amber rudd, and chief press officer at number 10 under david cameron. what do you think about what has been going on at number ten? a lot of departures but the spin is that some of them were part of a clear

out and that borisjohnson wanted it to happen after the party gate allegations. i to happen after the party gate allegations-— to happen after the party gate allegations. i think this is very much part _ allegations. i think this is very much part of— allegations. i think this is very much part of the _ allegations. i think this is very much part of the change - allegations. i think this is very . much part of the change narrative that the government and allies of the prime minister are trying to put forward that he is in control was that this was all planned and all going to happen anyway and evidence of that may be right in that some of the people who have left were implicated in party gate and two are probably being investigated and would have had to go when part two of this is great report came out a way mid—30s came up to their investigation but this is not the full picture. the departure and the very public reasoning for doing so where she was unhappy about their prime minister's claims against keir starmer were not part of the plan. i think it's quite difficult and very positive spin people try to put on this and it's difficult to see this

as a number ten in control where it looks and feels very chaotic right now. ., ., ., . " looks and feels very chaotic right now. . . ., . ~ _ now. that attack by the prime minister. _ now. that attack by the prime minister, he _ now. that attack by the prime minister, he has _ now. that attack by the prime minister, he has since - now. that attack by the prime | minister, he has since clarified now. that attack by the prime i minister, he has since clarified it although he has not apologised for it. do you think in many ways that was a goal. make an unforced error? it's part of a pattern because there's been a serious of unenforced errors from number ten going back three orfour months errors from number ten going back three or four months now starting with the ellen patterson allegations but this attack was very much a deliberate strategy the strategy where you are under scrutiny and being asked questions and you don't want focus to be on you so you say something so incredulous that people focus on that instead and the heat is taking away from you and the problem is when you have it you have to make sure it's not going to come back and bite and it has in this case because what the prime minister

said was a low blow and really has hurt and offended a lot of people including on the conservative benches so it's something i think now there is a consequence for and we are seeing that in someone who was so close to him and leo adviser for 14 years or so that this pressure of this and was not happy with it and has now walked. idietitian with it and has now walked. when --eole with it and has now walked. when peeple talk _ with it and has now walked. when people talk about _ with it and has now walked. when people talk about a _ with it and has now walked. when people talk about a strategy - with it and has now walked. when people talk about a strategy in downing street they get a bit worried. what about tory mps? what do you think they are thinking at the moment? and crucially in terms of that is of no confidence.- of that is of no confidence. there is a steady _ of that is of no confidence. there is a steady trickle _ of that is of no confidence. there is a steady trickle of _ of that is of no confidence. there is a steady trickle of letters - of that is of no confidence. there is a steady trickle of letters that l is a steady trickle of letters that have been going in and it's hard to tell and is a lot of people are not going to say whether they put one in or not and some people may say the opposite of what they've actually done but this was meant to be there we set and you have to trying to get onto the domestic agenda with the white paper and showing some

presents on the international stage and mps wanted to see some reassurance from that but yet again we are still talking about number ten and departures and lack of control and aching mps will be worried that these are senior people who were in the room with the prime minister who had his ear who are leaving and someone who had good relationships with the party is very much seeing as a policy brain of number ten and her departure will lead people to think what is the policy platform going forward, what are we as the party going to talk about beyond just talking about it we've got brexit done a few years ago and on the success of the ten to 19 in actions or the strategy going forward and i think that will concern mps as well and led to not before the metropolitan police to come back but i think you will see an increase in the number going in

and we may not even know about one of them,. , ., and we may not even know about one of them,. ., ., ~ ., _, and we'll find out how this story and many others are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:30 and 11:30 this evening in the papers. our guestsjoining me tonight are susie boniface, who's a columnist at the daily mirror, and ali miraj a columnist for the article. zero the winter olympics in beijing are now officially underway, with 3,000 athletes from 91 nations taking part — 50 of them competing for team gb. beijing is the first city to hold both a summer and a winter games — but they're being staged against a backdrop of covid, and tensions over claims of human rights abuses. our sports correspondent laura scott reports from beijing.

after a contentious build—up, the opening to a games that will carve out a new chapter in sporting history. back in the bird's nest, beijing tonight celebrating becoming the first city to host the summer and winter games. this was a far cry from the summer of 2008. sub—zero temperatures accompanied snow and ice which appeared to crystallise on the stadium floor. covid meant a capacity crowd wasn't possible. but the selected spectators were captivated by impactful moments. despite the frosty theme, there was a warm greeting from international olympic committee president thomas bach and china's president xi, keen to promote the theme of one world, one family, with russia's leader vladimir putin watching on from the stands.

but there was significance in the absence of other world leaders. china has been frozen out by several countries, including the uk and the us, who are staging diplomatic boycotts over alleged human rights abuses by china. there are no signs of athlete boycotts, though, with hundreds parading tonight. slalom skier dave ryding and curling skip eve muirhead leading out members of team gb. a great moment for them. some dressed for the weather better than others. last of the 91 nations, the unsurprising crowd favourite — team china. amid criticism over its choice of host, the ioc has always stressed its neutrality, but the man in charge had this message. this is the mission of the olympic games — bringing us together in peaceful competition, always building bridges, never erecting walls.

i appeal to all political authorities across the world, give peace a chance. finally, time for the games to be declared open. from high—tech drama to a more simple flame lighting, ending a ceremony that sought to present a scene of purity, peace and unity to the watching world. laura scott, beijing. ahead of the olympics ceremony, china and russia put on a united front when president xijinping met vladimir putin in beijing. mr putin hailed what he called the �*unprecedented' ties between the two countries,

as china backed russia's security and foreign policy aims — including demands that the western alliance nato halt expansion. with me now is the director of the asia programme at the german mashall fund in washington — bonnie glaser. china and russia apparently i'm sitting down side by side. yes. i believe this _ sitting down side by side. yes. i believe this is _ sitting down side by side. yes. i believe this is the _ sitting down side by side. yes. i believe this is the 30th - sitting down side by side. yes. i believe this is the 30th time - sitting down side by side. yes. i | believe this is the 30th time that xi jinping believe this is the 30th time that xijinping has met with believe this is the 30th time that xi jinping has met with vladimir putin and they signed a very lengthy joint statement and these are two countries that share a wide range of interests but most importantly an interests but most importantly an interest in undermining us global leadership and western democracy and driving ledges in our alliances. does it make it harderfor driving ledges in our alliances. does it make it harder for the last and for the united states, and for nato to see russia and china standing side by side? i nato to see russia and china standing side by side? i think this is something _ standing side by side? i think this is something that _ standing side by side? i think this is something that has _ standing side by side? i think this

is something that has been - standing side by side? i think this is something that has been in - standing side by side? i think this is something that has been in the j is something that has been in the works and developing and expanding for years. they had been some people who claim that the differences between the two countries would ultimately overwhelm their shared interests. but i think that has been proven wrong and we can see that they are increasingly cooperating in various ways. but that being said, i don't think china has an interest in seeing russia use force in ukraine, in any nation, i think that would be harmful to chinese interests. it would damage its global reputation. china would be seen as guilty by association. i see beijing is taking some risks here. haifa association. i see bei'ing is taking some risks here.— association. i see bei'ing is taking some risks here. how do you think china is using _ some risks here. how do you think china is using these _ some risks here. how do you think china is using these winter - china is using these winter olympics? in terms of a global strategy, what's it trying to achieve? . strategy, what's it trying to achieve? , ., ., , , achieve? there is no doubt these ol mics achieve? there is no doubt these olympics are _ achieve? there is no doubt these olympics are not _ achieve? there is no doubt these olympics are not a _ achieve? there is no doubt these olympics are not a success - achieve? there is no doubt these olympics are not a success story| olympics are not a success story that china hoped when they first put in there baby. do you covid—19 and

the dramatic boycotts and the criticism of human rights, nonetheless china wants to present itself as a world leader, a country thatis itself as a world leader, a country that is setting up new standards for the world and that is going to introduce its values, its norms, its advanced technology into the international order and it wants to show that the united states is in the rear—view mirror and that china is in the bmw. the rear-view mirror and that china is in the bmw-— is in the bmw. thank you for your anal sis. the high court in northern ireland has ruled that post—brexit checks on goods arriving from the rest of the uk must continue, pending the outcome of legal challenges. the ruling comes two days after the dup

minister edwin poots suspended the process in protest at the northern ireland protocol, which is designed to allow free movement of trade across the irish border after brexit. the first minister paul givan resigned yesterday, saying the agreement had weakened northern ireland's links with the rest of the uk. earlier this evening, the former northern ireland secreary, shaun woodward, told bbc news that the onus was now on borisjohnson to show political leadership: (sot) political leadership: what's interesting is the absence of the prime minister. this is not about that it's about recognising that gordon brown as prime minister and tony blair as prime minister and before thatjohn major as prime minister. all of them knew that at least sorts of moments it's the prime minister who has to go into bact and it's a prime minister who should quite clearly be a in northern ireland right now and that the european union representatives because fundamentally this is not about the dup. it's not about that

first minister. about the couple together protocol that put a border down the irish sea or a border across ireland, northern ireland and the republic of ireland and this was not property results. the prime minister is the only person who can do this and of course the prime minister cannot do anything at the moment because he's lost his authority and he's totally consumed with trying to rescue his personal position as prime minister in downing street. well, we can speak now to the bbc�*s former ireland correspondent, denis murray, who joins us live from our belfast studio. it has been a turbulent week end northern ireland what is going on underneath the surface. what northern ireland what is going on underneath the surface.— underneath the surface. what a cuestion. underneath the surface. what a question- at — underneath the surface. what a question. at the _ underneath the surface. what a question. at the heart - underneath the surface. what a question. at the heart of - underneath the surface. what a question. at the heart of this i underneath the surface. what a question. at the heart of this is j question. at the heart of this is the protocol obviously which means at the heart of it is brexit and

this is the one bit of brexit that is yet to be resolved satisfactorily. jeffrey donaldson, the leader of the democratic union and the largest unionist party gave and the largest unionist party gave a list of financial consequences for northern ireland and today in the wake of that chambers of commerce and confederation and instances of directors and so on and so forth have all said what they are concerned about it —— is lack of stability. how will you persuade someone to come and invest in northern ireland when it does not have a proper government. it has faced in outfitting where the ministers are still working by the executive which has set to pass on the decisions, the executive cannot do anything while the first and deputy first ministers are out of place. it's not really the economics in my view. the economics are

something to consider but when you take them pandemic and the overall consequences of brexit for all parts of the united kingdom it's difficult to work out what the consequences are and it's the political side of it that is crucial. you can understand why unionists feel the union has been weekend by what they see as a border down the irish sea. they have always been concerned that the union is likely to be under threat and moments of crisis and beefier that this does put the union under threat. they don't want to see and all ireland and economy where trade between northern and the republic of ireland has gone up as a the protocol came in. this is what is really getting is that this thing is pushing them further out of the union and i think you can have some sympathy with them for that. at the same time, everybody feels what jeffrey donaldson is doing is trying

to get his party out of the serious problem which is this. it has the support into different directions. i did one direction to the right where much more hard—line unionists are saying we should never have gone into this assembly sharing parts of sinn fein in this first place and the dup don't forget was very much the dup don't forget was very much the party of ian paisley and limit the party of ian paisley and limit the time when it was a small party it was very much based around his free presbyterian church. it has values that will be very familiar to voters and some of the seven states and the united states for instance a very bible based and very christian with a c and there are a lot of unionists who are not comfortable with that. when he became the main unionist party attempting a lot of people who don't see, for instance why gay people should not get married. and a lot of these social

issues itself a report of by the more extreme elements of the bed —— democratic union ex parte in the is at this election that has to be come what may because it was the cycle of the assembly, the five—year cycle and all sinn fein has to do is hold what it has at the moment and it's almost certainly going to be denied ex parte which means they will be a sinn fein first minister. jeffrey donaldson did not become leader of the democratic unionist party to be deputy first minister. he became leader to be first minister of northern ireland. that's one thing that's greatly worrying unionists and what he's trying to do is write and what he's trying to do is write a unionists behind the democratic unionist party and don't vote for the other unionist parties, come back to your natural home of the dup and whether it's going to work or not it's a very high risk strategy because there are 28 pieces of legislation that would did to be completed before the end of this assembly. that's not going to

happen. it might goodness knows how they will do it but that might have a backlash from the public and i also wonder isjeffrey donaldson hoping that there will be an agreement between the uk and the european union that will make the deal acceptable and that he can claim credit for it because he is the one who was the muscular unionist. you don't need any more questions from me. thank you so much. a former member of the house of lords has beenjailed for five and a half years for child sex offences. lord ahmed of rotherham carried out the assaults on two children in the 1970s when he was a teenager. there are now calls for him to be stripped of his title. the 64 year old was tried under his real name, nazir ahmed. from south yorkshire, tom ingall reports. once he sat on the comfortable red benches of the house.

but the big house he is headed to will not be so convivial. lord ahmed was inobled for his service to his community and he was the pride of rotherham but he was hiding in awful truth. in the early 1970s he had sexually abused a boy and a girl. one of them, his voice played by an actor told the bbc his position of power made speaking out even harder. ever since the abuse all i try to do is bury it. you try and lead a normal life. but you can never lead a normal life. i was quite worried in terms of the consequences of going and making a complaint against him in terms of what he might be able to do to me and i have no doubts if he was not found guilty he would make sure that my life was not worth living. he was a child when he committed these offences.

that and the fact they took place so long ago when sentencing guidelines were very different in the early 1970s made, said thejudge, sentencing today very complex. he did refer several times to the vulnerability of its victims and how long the decades they had to leave with the consequences of the abuse. the disgraced peer has been sentenced to five and a half years. he will serve half of that in prison before being released on licence. despite resigning from the lords two years ago, he is able to retain his title. a campaign has begun for the law to be changed so he can be stripped of it. people don't know his background. a title given from the best people we have in our country and they're saying we're happy for someone like that as someone convicted of child abuse hold such a great title but he still uses the title in everyday conversation. we know that. he uses it on his twitter handle and he uses it for influence.

i want him to be stripped of that and send a message to other child abusers that we will not tolerate any child abuse at all. today the girl he abused described him as a paedophile who feels no personal shame. but she added in her statement the court all tyrants fall. the voice of two abuse survivors ensuring his fall from the highest echelons is complete. the auschwitz memorial and groups representing the traveller community have reacted with anger to a netflix show with jimmy carr. in the programme the comedian said that a "positive" of the holocaust was that gypsies were murdered. historians estimate that between 220,000 and half a million roma and sinti people were killed by the nazis. netflix , which has been urged to remove the show,has declined to comment. with me now is our

correspondent charlotte gallagher: tell us more about whatjimmy said. jimmy, one of the best—known known faces in british comedy, he works with a lot of the major broadcasters like channel 4, he was given a netflix special and he started it by saying i have written some potentially career ending jokes, his words, until the live audience to strap themselves in. and then he said, as you mentioned, he started talking about the holocaust and in his words he said no one talks about the positive about gypsies being murdered and this was greeted with laughter, applause, cheers and the audience. it went down very well at the time. since then, many people who have watched the show have found it incredibly offensive. tell who have watched the show have found it incredibly offensive.— it incredibly offensive. tell us more about — it incredibly offensive. tell us more about the _ it incredibly offensive. tell us more about the reaction - it incredibly offensive. tell us more about the reaction that| it incredibly offensive. tell us . more about the reaction that has been. ., . , more about the reaction that has been. ., ., , ~ ., .,

more about the reaction that has been. ., , ~ ., ., been. the holocaust memorial day trust that it's _ been. the holocaust memorial day trust that it's absolutely _ been. the holocaust memorial day trust that it's absolutely appalled i trust that it's absolutely appalled and called the joke a trust that it's absolutely appalled and called thejoke a parent trust that it's absolutely appalled and called the joke a parent and the holocaust educational trust said mass murder is not a laughing matter. the auschwitz memorial which he mentioned, they maintain the site of the former death camp in poland, they said it's defiled the memories of the tragedy and a lot of people. we have learned the labour and be who was called on that to remove this programme and she wants the government to step in because of the momentous netflix and streaming sites are not regulated by off come in the way and is and she said that really needs to happen. but he's not receiving any support for this joke. people are so critical and upset and stressed up of people ended roma community. now it's time for a look at the weather with helen willetts good evening. it's felt much colder for most today, despite the sunshine,

and wintry showers will continue as we go through this evening and overnight, particularly across scotland, potentially even at lower levels here. the wind eases off for a time, but under the clearing skies, a widespread frost will develop. and that frost after the rain and the sleet of the morning and the showers mean the risk of ice is high. there's some warnings out, particularly in the north. but by morning, we're starting to see the approach of a weather front, which will initially give some more snowfall. but then it's milder air coming in off the atlantic on a strengthening wind, gales in the north, and that will push that cold air out of the way. driest and brightest for longest in southern and eastern areas, perhaps until after dark here. brightening up with a few wintry showers towards the north. but temperatures, they are a little higher than those of today, but i still think it'll feel cold because of the cloud, the rain and that wind, which will again be a feature of the weather on sunday, eventually blowing the rain out of the way in the south, but plenty more showers will follow.

hello, this is bbc news with ben brown. the headlines... downing street insists borisjohnson is still in control after another tory mp calls on him to go, and the resignation of a fifth downing sreet adviser. a cabinet colleague came to his defence. i believe that the best thing for the country is for the prime minister to continue, and i think he is doing a greatjob. a spectacle in beijing to mark the opening of the winter olympics — but fewer world leaders attend because of claims of human rights abuses by president xi's government china and russia's presidents meet as the two countries move closer in the face of western pressure and pledge to oppose further nato expansions. a court orders checks on food and agricultural goods from britain to northern ireland must continue for now. a former labour peer, lord ahmed, is jailed for sexually abusing two

children in the 1970s. uk energery regulator ofgem says it may start reviewing the energy price cap every three months, rather than the current six. let's return to our top story — and the troubles facing the prime minister, following the departure of several key aides and calls for his resignation from back benchers. let's speak to jill rutter, who's a senior fellow at the institute for government and a former civil servant. well, melt down and downing street was one of the headlines in the papers today. do you think it's that bad? some of borisjohnson's allies are saying actually, part of this is are saying actually, part of this is a clear out post party gate clear out of advisers from number ten. i think it's quite bad. it was clear the prime minister didn't intend —

the prime minister didn't intend — the head of his policy unit wasn't expected to go yesterday, as a result of him slurring jimmy seibel, as she saw it. the other three who went yesterday were probably in line to go sooner rather than later because they were all imbricated in some way. so i don't think the fact that they left as any surprise, but the way they went simultaneously was. we don't know whether there there was any continuity there, whether replacements have been found or they've all been told to clear their desks and ijust left, and there are now a lot of vacant desks in what is a quite small operation. and those were the top people, they were the top of the press office, private office, and the overall person and charge, dan rosenfield. now he's got to get a new team together. and your experience, how easyis together. and your experience, how easy is it to get that quickly and

get them to jail?— get them to “ail? first of all, these — get them to jail? first of all, these are not _ get them to jail? first of all, these are not great - get them to jail? first of all, - these are not great circumstances to be going into number ten because it looks rather unattractive at the moment. there may be somebody who is spirited enough to think to do that, but others will see the prime minister has been quite willing to throw his staff under the bus to save himself. that doesn't make it a terribly attractive proposition, the prime minister may not be around for long. you might get people, but even when you do identify people and number ten can pull people out of other roles pretty quickly if they are asking,, even if you get people, that means they will take over very, gated dossiers i need to get used to working with the prime minister. may not be the easiest person to adapt to working with, and they need to build a whole network of relationships who is a meat and

drink of how you work at number ten. so that's all located stuff. normally you would faze these things, so one key person would leave but you would keep the other post in place to ensure there is some continuity in smooth lists dashed smoothness. the prime minister is _ dashed smoothness. the prime minister is trying _ dashed smoothness. the prime minister is trying to _ dashed smoothness. the prime minister is trying to move - dashed smoothness. the prime minister is trying to move away| dashed smoothness. the prime - minister is trying to move away from partygate, going to ukraine to address that global crisis. but for example, that attack at keir starmer overjimmy savile, was that a self—inflicted wound? he can't seem to get away from his problems at downing street. it’s to get away from his problems at downing street.— downing street. it's looking like that. it appears _ downing street. it's looking like that. it appears that _ downing street. it's looking like that. it appears that there - downing street. it's looking like that. it appears that there are i that. it appears that there are stories on the day that he'd been advised against saying that, so it was premeditated and his advisers said no, it was very clear from the letter yesterday that she told him she thought he should have

apologised, and his refusal to take her advice was the reason she decided to quit. and i think that's another reason why, moving into downing street, looks unattractive. frankly, there's no point in going in as an adviser if you know that the prime minister is not looking for advice and not willing to take it, even from people who have worked with him for the 1a years that she had worked with him. so i think a really difficult environment there, but i do think the prime minister's problem is that he manages to start off ok when he's making these apologies, but his more natural, combative self justifying apologies, but his more natural, combative selfjustifying mode gets out and then he gets himself into trouble again. i out and then he gets himself into trouble again.— out and then he gets himself into trouble aaain. , , ,.,, trouble again. i suppose in the end, it's not really _ trouble again. i suppose in the end, it's not really about _ trouble again. i suppose in the end, it's not really about his _ trouble again. i suppose in the end, it's not really about his advisers, . it's not really about his advisers, but tory mps and how many of them have sent in their letters of no confidence to graham brady and the 1922 committee. {line confidence to graham brady and the 1922 committee.— 1922 committee. one of the things that the reorganisation _ 1922 committee. one of the things that the reorganisation of - 1922 committee. one of the things that the reorganisation of at - 1922 committee. one of the things l that the reorganisation of at number ten was supposed to do was to signal to tory mps that the prime minister

knew their concerns, knew he needed a better operation and downing street, particularly a better parliamentary operation, because we'd seen a whole series of prime entry missteps. but the trouble is the way that yesterday unfolded, you have all this bad news coming out of people quitting, it looked like quite a few people were jumping ship, and he didn't have a lot of names to bring in to be able to name to say to people, "look, you didn't like that lot but this lot will actually make my number ten operation much more effective and much more accessible." i don't think it has achieved that much for the prime minister yet. jill. it has achieved that much for the prime minister yet.— prime minister yet. jill, great to talk to you _ prime minister yet. jill, great to talk to you again. _ the government's £9 billion move this week to shore up household finances in the face of a sharp rise in energy bills was a major intervention, adding up to help of £350 a year for the majority of families. but what difference will that sum

make to people struggling with the rise in the cost of living — and will it get to those who need help the most? our business editor simonjack reports. george is one of many for whom a 54% rise in the energy cap will force choices they've never had to make before. i'm going to have to start pulling back on certain things, so i might have to shut down my business or, at least, reduce some of the costs that i have on it. i might have to stop using some of the things i used to help myself mentally, like socialising with friends or going to the gym, and also food is going to be difficult to even eat what i want to eat. i'm going to have to randomly select stuff that's cheap. the impact is broad and, for some, it's very deep. you could say we're all in the same storm, but we're definitely not all in the same boat. at this food bank, energy costs are making for tough conversations. increasingly, we are asking everyone, can you afford to heat the food that we give?

it's often tinned food. and so often the answer, sadly, is no, so we'll adapt what we give. these measures will not stop millions falling into fuel stress — defined as household spending more than 10% of their income on energy. currently, there are two million households in that situation. the price cap rise will have seen that rise to six million. these measures bring that down to five million — one million less, but still more than double the current level. the treasury argue because everyone eligible gets the same amount, it'll mean proportionally more to those on lower incomes. and they say they're expanding the warm home discount to cover three million people, who will get £150 as a one—off payment, but remember, prices are already rising faster than wages and the government is determined to push through a £6 billion tax hike, and these measures won't change the harsh reality that households are facing the biggest drop in living standards since comparable records began 32 years ago.

the governor of the bank of england angered unions yesterday when he suggested workers shouldn't ask for inflationary pay rises. the uk's biggest energy boss, who employs 30,000 people, said he could see both sides. if this is a temporary spike in inflation and wages rise to meet that temporary spike, then, the people paying those wages have to pass on that cost, and that is when you get into the wage—inflation spiral. but by the same token, if you are trying to figure out how to pay for your groceries at aldi, then it's not enough to sit and say, "well, i'm not going to do this because it will cause some spiral in the economy" — you're worried about paying your bills, you're worried about feeding your family, you're worried about heating your home. he described the government help with bills as welcome and necessary, but knows it won't be sufficient to relieve painful income squeeze. simon jack, bbc news. this sunday, the queen will become the first british monarch to celebrate a platinum jubilee,

marking a 70—year reign. a series of events to mark the occasion will take place throughout the year. for the queen, sunday — accession day — is always spent in quiet reflection. it is the day her father, george vi, passed away — and she acceded immediately to the throne. our royal correspondent nicholas witchell reports. the letters, the newest one. she's nearly 96 now, not quite as robust physically as before. a monarch looking back over 70 years and three previous jubilees. simple, but ingenious. they've been decades during which she's given much, but one thing above all. stability in times of war and peace, in times of social calm and social disruption. stability in times of pandemic. and increasingly, across the world, she has become, i think, a world symbol of stability and strength.

and according to the archbishop of canterbury, she has provided leadership by example. at the funeral of her husband of 70—something years, she sat alone. that was leadership. it was doing the right thing, it was duty. it set an example. from the earliest moments of her reign, doing the right thing has been instinctive. for all the grandeur of her position, she's understood that respect has to be earned. her ultimate quality has been humility. i think the most successful royals nowadays are the humble ones who understand that they're part of something bigger than them. archive: her majesty moves to king edward's chair, - over which a splendid canopy... elizabeth's reign began the moment her father died, but it was at the coronation

when she sat on king edward's throne, that she became the anointed sovereign, set apart on the path of duty for the remainder of her life. the britain to whose throne elizabeth ascended, on that february day in 1952, was a very different country to the one of today. yet britain's core, then as now, was the monarchy. and the young woman who was crowned on this ancient throne has done her utmost to uphold both, crown and country. you'd never have said in �*52 that in 70 years, the monarchy would actually be, in many ways, more successful and more of a centre of national attention than ever. and the fact that it is, i think, is down to her. the past year has been difficult for her. there has been personal sadness and family pain. now, a milestone no other british

monarch has achieved. by most, she is loved. by almost all of the rest, she is profoundly respected. and around the world, she has lived a life that has made a difference. nicholas witchell, bbc news. over 100 years ago, the antarctic explorer sir ernest shackleton and his team made a daring escape from their ship, the endurance, as it sank in freezing waters. the endurance is believed to be nearly two miles below sea level, but it's never been found. this weekend, an expedition is setting off in the hope of solving the mystery and finding the wreck. our science editor rebecca morelle has been to meet them. the final moments of the endurance.

this 100—year—old footage, restored and released by the bfi, shows sir ernest shackleton's famous ship as it was lost to the antarctic ice. there's the endurance. now a new expedition is attempting to locate the ship. the endurance is the... the most unreachable wreck in the world, and the big challenge is the ice. it's opening, it's clenching. it's a really vicious, lethal environment. this was shackleton's third expedition to antarctica. endurance set off from south georgia in december 1914, but it was a bad yearfor sea ice and by mid—january, the ship had become frozen fast. it drifted for months with the crew on board, but eventually, an order was given to abandon the ship after it became crushed by the weight of the ice. endurance finally sank on the 21st of november 1915.

its exact location, though, was recorded, and this is where the search will begin. the agulhas ii is the icebreaker taking on that challenge. underwater robots kitted out with sonar and cameras will hunt for the wreck 3,000 metres down. the hope is it's well preserved by the icy water. shackleton's expedition diary was saved before the endurance sank. "she went today, 5pm. she went down by the head. the stern, the cause of all the trouble, was the last to go underwater. i cannot write about it." you can read about how it was creaking. they talk to her, talk about her as a personality. there's this real kind of sense of how crushed they were when the ship was crushed and sank as well. the endurance crew travelled for hundreds of miles to get to safety. miraculously, they all survived. but the ship that had been their home is still silently

waiting to be discovered. rebecca morelle, bbc news.