today at six, the race to save the people of mariupol. more than 100,000 trapped in the ukrainian city under russian bombardment. in the latest attempt to get people out, the ukrainian government is sending dozens of buses to the city, while aid organisations wait to deliver more supplies. we are waiting basically for a green light from the parties to go in to be able, one, of course, to facilitate safe passage for the civilians in a convoy, and two, also bring humanitarian aid in. in russia, president putin tries to put pressure on the west by insisting on payment in roubles only for gas and oil supplies. we'll have the latest on the state of the conflict and on claims that president putin is being misled by his own intelligence services. also today... we talk to more victims of the failings in england's

maternity services. ministers are promising sweeping reforms. millions of households in england, wales and scotland will see their energy prices increase substantially from tomorrow. and the met office issues two weather warnings for snow and ice in several parts of the uk. and coming up on the bbc news channel... they've been one defeat away from going out forfive games, but now they're one win from the trophy. england will face australia in the women's cricket world cup final. good evening. we start with the story of the british and american intelligence

officials who have made a series of bold claims about the conflict in ukraine. they are claiming that president putin is not being given an accurate picture of events on the ground in ukraine. they allege that mr putin is being misled by his advisers, who are too scared to tell him how badly the war is going for russia. moscow has wasted no time today in dismissing all of the claims, saying the west clearly does not understand how decisions are made in the kremlin. 0ur security correspondent gordon corera reports. what's going on inside the kremlin? and does russia's leadership know what's really going on inside ukraine? western spies say they believe vladimir putin is not getting the full picture. his own advisers are afraid to tell russia's leader the truth, the head of gchq claimed today, saying that has led to mistakes. it's clear he's misjudged the resistance of the ukrainian people. he underestimated the strength of the coalition his actions would galvanise. he underplayed the economic

consequences of the sanctions regime, and he overestimated the abilities of his military to secure a rapid victory. russian morale was low, the spy chief said, troops sabotaging their equipment, and even accidentally shooting down their own aircraft. the head of britain's armed forces today said some had been misled into thinking they were going on exercise. it's shocking in a professional sense that russian officers might take people into combat, and those people don't even know that they're going into combat. it seems an insane thing to do professionally. western spies seem to have had real insight into the kremlin�*s plans, warning the invasion would take place and that putin was mistaken in how it would play out. and they think russia's leader is still not being told the full truth by those around him about why his strategy to sweep the whole of ukraine failed,

and the problems his military now faces. and that worries the spies, because of the risk putin might make further misjudgments about what to do next in his war, potentially even increasing the level of violence. russia's war may not have gone according to plan, but the kremlin does now look to be shifting strategy, still perhaps believing it can achieve some kind of military victory. gordon corera, bbc news. more than 100,000 people are still thought to be trapped in the ukrainian city of mariupol, which has been under heavy russian bombardment for weeks. the ukrainian government is sending dozens of buses to the city in a new attempt to bring people out and to deliver humanitarian aid. russia has declared a one—day ceasefire, but there is widespread scepticism about russian intentions. nato, the western defence alliance, says that russian units

are now being redeployed to fight in the east. 0ur correspondent wyre davies is in the town of zaporizhzhia, north—west of mariupol, and he sent this report. the latest footage from scenario pol shows a city in ruins, reminiscent of previous russian campaigns in syria and chechnya. —— the latest footage from mariupol. it is against this backdrop that aid agencies and luca hanni in government say there is a humanitarian crisis, tens of thousands of desperate people trapped with little food or water. after some success delivering aid to stricken cities elsewhere in the conflict, the red cross is now trying to coordinate an urgent mission to mariupol, and with the port city surrounded by russian troops, it won't be easy. we are waitin: troops, it won't be easy. we are waiting basically _ troops, it won't be easy. we are waiting basically for _ troops, it won't be easy. we are waiting basically for the - troops, it won't be easy. we are waiting basically for the green . waiting basically for the green light from the parties to go in, to be able, one, of course, to facilitate safe passage for the civilians in a convoy and two, also

to bring humanitarian aid in. so here we have two trucks which are loaded with very much needed supplies, medicine, food, water. in supplies, medicine, food, water. in recent days, hundreds of people have been able to flee mariupol, often in bomb damaged cars, through mind roads and russian checkpoints. but this will be the first mass evacuation of the city. there is a lack of clarity over where this conflict is heading. russia says it's want to focus its military efforts on the eastern donbas region but as attacks continue, even in the capital, kyiv, ukraine says moscow's words are worthless. translation: we words are worthless. translation: - do not believe any one. we do not trust any beautiful verbal constructions. there is a real situation on the battlefield and now this is the most important thing. we will not give up anything and we will not give up anything and we will fight for every inch of our land and for every person. while

ukrainian troops _ land and for every person. while ukrainian troops are _ land and for every person. while ukrainian troops are taking - land and for every person. while ukrainian troops are taking back ground in the north, it is a different story in mariupol. being pounded by russian artillery, and a population on its knees. but help, of sorts, may be on its way. translation: we of sorts, may be on its way. translation:— of sorts, may be on its way. translation: ~ ., ., translation: we are dog poor, standin: translation: we are dog poor, standing by _ translation: we are dog poor, standing by the _ translation: we are dog poor, standing by the fire, _ translation: we are dog poor, standing by the fire, homeless. i translation: we are dog poor, . standing by the fire, homeless. how long is it going to take? we have nowhere to take a shower. we are drinking water from god nowhere to take a shower. we are drinking waterfrom god knows nowhere to take a shower. we are drinking water from god knows where. this plan to get aid into an civilians out of mariupol has been put together hastily and there is no guarantee it will work but there is tremendous need. previous attempts to establish a humanitarian corridor have failed, either because the warring parties could integrate, or because vehicles were being attacked on the way out. —— warring parties could not agree. wrye davies, bbc news, zaporizhzhia. in russia, president vladimir putin has threatened to stop gas supplies to "unfriendly" countries if they don't pay in the russian currency.

he signed a decree stating that buyers must pay in roubles from tomorrow. the russian population is increasingly under the control of the regime in the kremlin, as they seek to quell dissent about the war in ukraine. protests since the conflict began have seen thousands of people arrested. our russia editor, steve rosenberg, reports from moscow. it is where vladimir putin likes to be. centre stage. and from the kremlin leader today, a threat to cut gas supplies to what he called unfriendly nations if they don't pay in roubles. translation: the financial system of western countries _ is being used as a weapon. western companies refused to fulfil contracts with russian banks. assets in dollars and euros are frozen so it makes no sense to use the currencies of these countries. europe relies heavily on russian gas. the demand for payment in roubles, not foreign currency,

may be designed to make putin look strong at home. in europe, they will be hoping energy supplies won't be interrupted. the west claims mr putin is taking decisions based on inaccurate information, but one of his supporters told me this. translation: i think putin has the most accurate information | from different sources, including from the intelligence services. he is probably the most well—informed person in russia. the kremlin insists the west is misreading putin. president putin's spokesman said the pentagon and the us state department simply don't understand what goes on in the kremlin. they don't understand president putin. and that was worrying, he said, because total misunderstanding can lead to wrong decisions and bad consequences. the kremlin continues to claim that attacking ukraine was the right decision. many russians agree.

but not everyone. lyudmila's son, sergei, is a police officer. theirfamily is originally from ukraine. a few days ago, sergei was arrested and charged under a new law, with spreading fake news about the russian army. he is suspected of criticising the russian offensive on the telephone. translation: this is a very heavy blow for me, for the family, - the little children. suddenly, their dad just disappeared. he never went to protests. he has no social media. hejust spoke to friends on the phone. i can't rule out that he said something like, "war is bad, people are dying, homes are being destroyed and that's bad". ludmila still can't believe this is happening to herfamily. and she is still struggling to understand why.

steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. some of the day's other menus. an former police sergeant has been cleared of failing to act on information supplied to him about child sexual exploitation in rotherham. detective sergeant david walker ran the unit investigation the unit investigating the allegations of abuse for four years until 2012. danny savage is in sheffield where a hearing into the allegations has been sitting. put this into some context for us. yes, operation lyndon investigated the place and their attitudes to child sexual exploitation in rotherham between 1997 and 2013. we know from previous reports that at least 11100 children, mainly teenage girls, suffered horrific abuse in the town and it was happening in plain sight. the social services were aware and the police were not giving it a priority at all. what has happened in the last four years as we have had this operation

looking into the attitudes of officers who were serving in rotherham at the time, it investigated 47 of them and found that 14 investigated 47 of them and found that 1a should face misconduct or gross misconduct inquiries, five of them were found to have not behaved properly and were given final written warnings or proceedings up until that point. the final hearing was today and that was the former sergeant david walker who was the final officer who was exonerated, described as a hard—working, diligent and professional officer, but the victims who came forward to give evidence, the people who were let down by all of this, say that no one has been held responsible and the local mp says a south yorkshire police failed those they had a duty to protect. a full report about this will be out in the next few weeks. many thanks. danny savage with the latest on that outcome in sheffield. the health secretary sajid javid says he's determined to pursue the people responsible for decades of problems with maternity services in shropshire. an official report stated that over 20 years, failings at shrewsbury and telford

nhs trust led to babies being stillborn, dying after birth, or being left severely brain—damaged. the trust has apologised, but sweeping changes to maternity services across england are now expected. our social affairs correspondent michael buchanan has been following the story from the outset. and a warning, his report contains some distressing details. # here we go round the mulberry bush, the mulberry bush...# - she still says, "i miss mummy." we do try and share some of the fun times her mum used to have. four—year—old ellie had just nine hours with her mother. becky wood, also known as boo or becks, died shortly after her daughter's birth in 2017. i mean, once she found out it was a little girl, that room was filled with so much love, you know? because the year before, she'd been told she couldn't have children. the 26—year—old fine arts student haemorrhaged blood after giving birth in a midwife—led unit in shrewsbury.

as she stepped up towards us, she glanced back and said, "that's a lot of blood." and i stepped forward and there was a lot of blood in that pool. not knowing what a pool birth is like, i had no idea. i glanced over to this midwife and she didn't seem to be bothered, wasn't looking. with no doctors present, she rapidly deteriorated. her arms were waving around, her eyes were rolling. i grabbed her, i said, "mum's here." and she was cold and clammy. i could tell she was in shock. becky died within hours. her family have significant concerns about her care and treatment. when i first lost her, i didn't know whether i wanted to be here or not. there was nothing there to live for, except for the little one. we had to grab her and hold onto her, and go forward. a push for vaginal births, poor basic skills and an unwillingness to investigate errors contributed to catastrophic failures at this trust. the review found nine of the 12 mothers who died might have survived with better maternity care. some of the meetings that i've

had with the families, - where they have suffered from a maternal death, l have been amongst the saddest days of my career. _ there were days when i simply went back to my hotel room and cried. i the trust have apologised for the failings, errors that ten chief executives over 20 years failed to tackle. she was lovely. stubborn as hell. she was... just quite a force of nature. susanna regan died in 2002, along with her baby, amelie. despite having a history of blood clots, her sister says susanna wasn't offered consultant care and was poorly monitored. when she was 32 weeks pregnant, susanna died of a blood clot. we went into the room. susanna was lying there. dead. with her babyjust cuddled up to

her, herside. baby dead as well. what has been the legacy for you of your sister's death? i have lived with that struggle for 20 years. emptiness, when we all get together as a family, is still so much very felt. michael buchanan, bbc news, shropshire. and if you've been affected by any of this, details of organisations offering information and support are available at bbc.co.uk/actionline, or you can call free of charge at any time to hear recorded information on 08000158 707. the time is 6:16pm. our top story this evening.

the race to save the people of mariupol. more than 100,000 trapped in the ukrainian city under russian bombardment. in the ukrainian city under and in the ukrainian city under the met office issues tn weather and the met office issues two weather warnings for snow and ice in several parts of the uk. coming up in sportsday on the bbc news channel... formula 1 will race under the saturday night lights of the las vegas strip from next year after the sport announced the nevada city will be the third in the us to host a grand prix. millions of households in england, wales and scotland will see their energy prices increase substantially from tomorrow. the cap on what suppliers can charge is being raised, and so bills for electricity and gas will go up by 5a%, or around £700 per year. some energy providers' websites crashed today, as customers try to submit meter

readings ahead of the rise. our business editor simonjack has more. give me that ball, you little rascal. good girl. a pinch and a punch for the first of the month, an old saying that aptly describes the impact of higher energy bills that will hit millions of households like this from tomorrow. construction manager dan cook has had to take on an extra evening job to make ends meet. we are living on a knife edge, we really are. it is very concerning. not only do i work full time from eight until six, but then having to go out three nights a week and try and bring in an extra income, it puts immense pressure on our marriage, and us as a family as well. a new energy price cap comes in tomorrow which will see the average household bill rise by nearly £700, to nearly £2000 per year, and it is expected to rise further in october, as the cost of gas and the electricity generated with gas has set records over the past three months. for nearly 50 years, most of the uk's gas has come from here, the north sea,

but the uk is not insulated from the forces buffeting international energy markets. out there in the north sea, dozens of platforms are producing oil and gas, and the gas comes in here in three pipelines. but as investment and production has dwindled, that is less than 40% of our gas. also coming right under my feet and popping out over there are pipelines from norway, which provide 40% of the uk's gas. we also get about 20% in liquefied form, and the price for all of that is set internationally. and that is where we have seen what can only be described as a perfect storm. wholesale gas prices are currently six times higher than they were last year and have recently hit peaks never seen before. why? well, as the world economy awoke from a covid induced coma, demand for energy surged. low levels of storage in europe and a lack of wind meant less renewable energy, so more reliance on gas. and then there's russia. the uk gets tiny amounts from there but europe relies

on it for 40% of its gas, and fears that supply would be cut off or boycotted have kept prices high. the thing about energy costs is that they work their way into everything else. businesses, for example, who are not protected by a price cap, see their costs soar and they have to put their prices up. you add to inflationary pressures and you end up with where we are now, the biggest hit to living standards since the 1970s. some help is coming. 80% of households will get a £150 council tax rebate this month and everyone will get £200 knocked off their bill in october, but that has to be repaid and the chancellor is under pressure to do much more. short—term, we need more gas. long—term, we need less. in the coming days, the government will announce how it intends to use nuclear, renewables and more domestic uk oil and gas to secure an energy supply at a price households can afford. simon jack, bbc news.

the first minister of scotland has defended a decision to award a contract for two ferries to a struggling shipyard on the clyde. the vessels being built at ferguson's marine in port glasgow are now years late and millions of pounds over budget, and nicola sturgeon is under pressure from her opponents to explain her decision. our scotland editorjames cook reports from glasgow. the clyde has a proud history of shipbuilding, but the fiasco at fergusons risks tarnishing it. work is under way on both ferries here in port glasgow, but getting to this stage has not been plain sailing. in august 2014, fergusons went into administration and the then first minister alex salmond persuaded the businessman jim mccoll to take it over. a year later, the yard won the contract to build two ships for the state on ferry network, calmac. they were due to be completed in may and july 2018, but the project ran into trouble, and in august 2019, under nicola sturgeon's government, the yard was nationalised.

more than two years on and these ferries are still far from finished. the scottish government is now promising to launch this one by next spring and the other by the end of next year, but that would make them five years late, and they're already around two and half times over budget. cheering. nicola sturgeon once celebrated the order to build the ferries with the workers it saved, but critics say the contract was a terrible deal for the taxpayer. i express, again, my deep, deep regret at the delays and the cost overrun in the construction of these ferries, and lessons are being learned, have been learned and will be learned. but i don't regret the fact that that shipyard still exists. her government struck a deal — on the balance of risks — that has been catastrophic for a scottish taxpayers. for scottish taxpayers. and any evidence as to why this call was made has mysteriously vanished. shocking and out of touch...

labour's anas sarwar highlighted the £2 million paid to a manager brought in to turnaround the shipyard. market rate, £3000 a day. were you signing lionel messi? and the absence of these ferries is keenly felt off the west coast of scotland. it impacts upon so many areas of island life. people struggling to get to hospital appointments on the mainland or guests for some of our many wonderful hotels and guest houses being unable to travel or even getting stuck on the island. will this affair change ministerial minds about public ownership? maybe not. tomorrow, scotland's rail services are being nationalised. james cook, bbc news, port glasgow.

labour leader keir starmer has launched their campaign for the english local elections in may. council votes are taking place in england, scotland, and wales, with assembly elections in northern ireland. sir keir said it was an important opportunity for voters to send a message to borisjohnson and the government on the sharply—rising cost of living. from bury in lancashire, our political correspondent alex forsyth reports. announcer: the leader- of the labour party, keir starmer. cheering. surrounded by supporters with placards aplenty, the labour leader made his pitch for elections he'll hope prove labour's fortunes are shifting. you know the reality, prices through the roof... and the key message is hard to miss. voting labour on may the 5th will send a message to the government they can't ignore, that britain deserves better than their pathetic response to the cost of living crisis. it is also a chance to vote for a party that's on your side, because labour is on your side. in towns and cities across england, these elections are a crucial test of public opinion, so expect the walkabouts,

the pavements pounded, in places like ramsbottom. labour's trying to prove it can make progress. i've got to get to you something from the north! not least in parts of the country it's recently struggled. there a reason keir starmer�*s come here. he knows if labour's going to find its way back to power, it has to win back voters in towns across the midlands and north of england that turned away from the party. towns like this. it caused quite a stir. keir starmer�*s here. who?! plenty did recognise who'd come to town, keen to chat about what's on their minds. anything you look at, broadband, everything... food. it all adds up. the cost of living, definitely. education. _ and childcare as well. what matters, of course, is who can convince voters that they have the answers. labour hopes it might be them but there is no easy

route back to power. they at least, though, have to be heading in the right direction. alex forsyth, bbc news, greater manchester. the ulster unionist party has launched their election campaign ahead of may's assembly election in northern ireland. their leader, doug beattie, said there would no united ireland in his children's lifetime. he urged the voters of northern ireland to concentrate on issues that affect their day—to—day lives. the state of qatar says it has nothing to apologise for in hosting the men's football world cup. the draw for december�*s tournament takes place tomorrow. the qataris say criticism by some players and managers has been "ill—informed". the country has been criticised for its human rights record, attitudes towards minorities, as well as workers' conditions. our sports editor dan roan reports from qatar. the first world cup in the middle east, the first in winter is looming into view. a flag—raising ceremony for the teams who have qualified as the count down here in doha continues. the world of football in town for the draw,

and despite all the controversy, the man in charge telling me it now feels very real. it brings it home. it brings it home, now for the next six months, i think it's a matter of preparing and, you know, ready to welcome the world. and with all eight stadia within a 35 mile radius, fans will be able to attend more than one match today. than one match a day. named after the number of shipping containers used in its construction, stadium 974 is the world's first transportable football arena, able to be dismantled and then reused somewhere else in the future. its design meant fewer building materials were used, but it's the controversy over the human cost of all the development here in qatar in recent years that continues to hang over this tournament. despite reforms, concerns persist over the treatment of labourers, especially on wider infrastructure projects. a football tournament in doha this week involving migrant workers,

one telling me more still needs to be done. our problem is our co—workers not working on the stadium. that's difficult, this situation. what's the conditions for them like, then? poor conditions, in one room, 12 people. 12, in one room? yes. england go into the draw among the favourites, having vowed to shine a light on discrimination in qatar, where homosexuality is also illegal. netherlands manager, louis van gaal, meanwhile recently described the choice of host as ridiculous. it's very important to perform the relevant research and to understand the issues, you know, as you speak. are you saying some haven't, then? i'm saying some people have made statements that, in my opinion, were ill—informed. we don't apologise for hosting the tournament. we aim for sustainable development on labour reforms, and other aspects as well that the world cup will allow to accelerate and develop. and there is always more work to be done. we've heard gareth southgate refer to the fact that he's concerned that some fans won't feel

comfortable coming here. we have always said everybody's welcome, and we will ensure it is a welcoming environment, everybody will come, everybody will feel safe. with teams set to learn their fate, the focus is now likely to shift towards the football. the scrutiny off the field, however, is unlikely to fade. dan roan, bbc news, doha. snow has been falling in parts of the uk. two met office weather warnings for snow and ice have been issued, it comes just a week after much of the country was basking in sunshine, as our midlands correspondent navtej johal reports. the yorkshire dales this morning, these pictures capture how the landscape turned from green to white overnight. snow was seen all over. somerset, stanmore in london... oh, my god. ..and suffolk. in the middle of the country, in leicestershire, enough of it to build a snowman. a stark contrast to just a week ago when shorts and summer dresses were the order of the day. to find out why we've seen this sudden change,

an explanation from the weather presenter with the perfect name for thejob. high pressure gave us the warmth because of how that was sitting across the country. and there now that has slipped away towards the south—east, it's kind of opened the floodgates for low pressure and a pool of very cold air coming down from the arctic so it's given us such a drastic temperature drop and that's why things have turned a bit more wintry again. it certainly caught this group by surprise. at nottinghamshire county cricket club's team photo shoot today, it wasn't just the players dressed in white. navteonhal, bbc news. time for a look at the weather. here's matt taylor. the lovely sara blissett mentioned the contrast we've had. in the last two weeks we have seen clear skies commonplace across the country. this afternoon the met office confirmed that provisionally it is the sunniest march on record for

scotland and northern ireland. in fact, just on