tonight at ten, president putin is accused of blackmailing the west over supplies of russian gas. angered by western sanctions he says russia will only sell gas to hostile countries if they pay in russian currency. translation: the financial system of western countries is being used as a weapon. in ukraine new attempts are made to get aid delivered to thousands in mariupol after weeks of russian bombardment. we'll have the latest on the state of the conflict and the claims that president putin is being misled by his own intelligence services. also tonight, we talk to more victims of the failings in england's maternity services. ministers are promising sweeping reforms. millions over budget and they will be five years

late, the two ferries, prompting new questions for the scottish government. and millions of households in england, wales and scotland will see their energy prices increase substantially from tomorrow. coming up in the sport on the bbc news channel, arsenal are out of the women's champions league, beaten 3—1 on aggregate in their quarterfinal tie. good evening. president putin stands accused tonight of blackmailing european countries over supplies of russian gas. earlier today, mr putin threatened to stop supplying gas to what he called "unfriendly" countries if they weren't willing to deal in the russian currency. he signed a presidential decree stating that buyers of gas had to "open rouble accounts in russian banks" from tomorrow. germany, one of the main buyers of russian gas, says it won't tolerate any attempt

at "political blackmail". mr putin's ultimatum is an attempt to boost the russian currency, which has been hit by sanctions following the invasion of ukraine. our russia editor, steve rosenberg, reports from moscow. it's 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.

ludmila'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.

american and british intelligence officials have made a series of claims about the conflict in ukraine. they allege that president putin is not being given an accurate picture of events on the ground, and that mr putin is being misled by his advisers, who are too scared to tell him how badly the war is going for russia. as steve was telling us in his report. moscow has wasted no time in dismissing the claims, saying the west clearly does not understand how decisions are made in the kremlin. our 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 misjudgements 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 mariupol shows a city in ruins. the municipal theatre where ukraine says 300 people were killed in a russian airstrike among the buildings barely left intact. it's against this backdrop that aid agencies and the ukrainian government say there's a humanitarian crisis, tens of thousands of desperate people trapped with little food or water. 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're drinking water from god knows where. after some success delivering aid to stricken cities elsewhere in this conflict, the red cross is now trying to coordinate an urgent mission to mariupol,

but with the port city surrounded by russian troops, it won't be easy. we're 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 the convoy and two, also bring humanitarian aid in. so, here we have two trucks, which are loaded with very much needed supplies, medicine, food, water. in recent days, hundreds of people have been able to flee mariupol, often in bomb damaged cars, through mined roads and russian checkpoints. but with the ukrainian government saying it was sending more than a0 buses to the city, this would be the first mass evacuation of mariupol. the mission to bring relief to the besieged city is by no means guaranteed to happen. previous attempts have failed, and mariupol, a city damaged more than any other in this war, is still a dangerous place.

wyre davies, bbc news, zaporizhzhia. let's turn to some of the day's is a main news. 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 tried 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're living on a knife edge, we really are. it's 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 a year, and it's 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. 0ut 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 provides 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 aren't 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 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 or being severely brain damaged and nine avoidable maternal deaths. the trust has apologised but sweeping changes to maternity services across england are now expected. 0ur social affairs correspondent michael buchanan has been 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�*s 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.

susannah regan died in 2002, along with her baby, amily. despite having a history of blood clots, her sister says susannah wasn't offered consultant care and was poorly monitored. when she was 32 weeks pregnant, susannah died of a blood clot. we went into the room and susannah 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. detective sergeant walker was in charge of the unit investigating for four years until 2012. more than 1400 four years until 2012. more than 11100 children, mainly teenage girls, were abused over a 16 year period. 17 officers have had their conduct questioned, none of them has lost theirjob orfaced criminal

proceedings. the labour leader sir keir starmer has launched his party's campaign for the english local elections in may. council elections will also be taking place in 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 its election campaign ahead of may's assembly election in northern ireland. the uup leader doug beattie urged the voters of northern ireland to concentrate on issues affecting their day—to—day lives, and dismissed the prospect of a united ireland during his children's lifetime. the first minister of scotland has defended the decision to award a contract for new 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. 0ur scotland editorjames cook reports from port 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. 0ne one of the clear consequences of the conflict in ukraine is the reassessment of the defence of western countries. a comprehensive. seen by its founders as a guarantor of peace. one of the clear consequences of the conflict in ukraine is the reassessment of the defence needs of western countries. the military invasion has provoked a comprehensive reappraisal within nato, the defence alliance led by the usa,

and in the eu, seen by its founders as a guarantor of peace in europe. katya adler, our europe editor, has been investigating how the debate is shaping up. it's been a brutal wake—up call. russia's assault on ukraine has left all of europe feeling exposed. from here, it certainly feels like a historical moment. to boost european security, germany is saying goodbye to world war ii sensitivities. translation: germany has woken up with a bang. - the second world war was decades ago. we are now modernising our military. 0ur allies have waited too long to do our bit. save ukraine! protect europe! so, germans say they will fight as well as protest for peace. they know they'd relied too much on the us for security. germany can't act because we are not in danger yet! they're overly dependent on russia too for energy and trade. under pressure, berlin has promised change in the wider eu interest. it's about serenity within europe, and i think it's about when it comes to defence and security policies, but also when it comes to imports, when it comes to energy and independence. there will be no forgetting

what putin has done. or what he'll do next. in berlin, there's fear of a new cold war with the iron curtain falling further to the east. this is arguably europe's new berlin wall, this borderfence a dividing line between expansionist russia over there and eu and nato member latvia, over here. fire! nato has doubled its presence in latvia since russia invaded ukraine with an emphasis on joint training exercises like this one and defence of western territory and way of life. we are living in a new reality. we as forces spent 20 years in afghanistan and iraq. now our main focus is here.

how do we defend our freedom and our country? and it's the same thing happening within europe. latvia and its neighbours say they understand the kremlin more than most. they used to be in the soviet union. forget diplomacy, says latvia's prime minister, it's a show of force that counts. if putin is not stopped in ukraine, he will not stop. what about a european army, an eu army? goodidea? as long as we keep nato at the centre, the strengthening the european's military capabilities, this is something that we have been arguing for for years, and it now seems that finally everyone agrees this needs to be done. vladimir putin has brought large—scale death and destruction back to europe. the eu — a peace project by design — has been shocked out of complacency. action western allies take together now will affect all our safety and security for years to come. kathy adler, bbc news.

you could have been forgiven for thinking last week that spring had arrived, but this week has changed all that, with many areas covered in snow and the met office issuing two warnings for snow and ice. cricket whites took on a new meaning as nottinghamshire's cricketers were caught out by a sudden snowfall during their start—of—season team photo call. maybe time to get the covers back on. that's it. now on bbc one, time for the news where you are. have a very good night. hello there. we've seen lots of wintry showers around during the day, but overnight, now temperatures are starting to fall away. we'll see those showers turn back to snow across northern and eastern scotland, eastern areas of england, and some particularly heavy prolonged showers coming into kent. now for these areas, we are looking at the risk of some accumulations of snow, a few more centimetres

building in place overnight. and with a widespread frost, there will also be the risk of some icy stretches to take us into friday. now, friday is another day of sunshine and showers, broadly speaking, those showers quite prolonged still across parts of kent, and the weather front moves into highland — that'll be bringing some snow here. as that pushes southwards, it will tend to turn to rain and sleet as it works into northern ireland and southwest scotland late in the day. temperatures similar to those of thursday, but perhaps not feeling quite as cold given the winds won't be quite as strong across eastern areas. friday night — that weather front dive southwards. got a risk of some hill snow moving its way into wales. that's the latest.

hello and welcome to our look ahead to what the papers will be bringing us tomorrow. with me are martin bentham, home affairs editor at the evening standard, and broadcaster matthew stadlen. welcome to both of you. good to have you with us this evening. let me bring you up—to—date with the front pages as we have them so far this evening. the metro. as many rush to submit meter readings ahead of that energy price rise, it reports how providers websites crash trying to cope. the mirror leads with this, too, describing it as "april cruel day". water bills, council tax and national insurance — among others — all rise from tomorrow. on the i, the chancellor's colleagues accuse him of being "politically naive"

as his cost of living crisis hits homes across the country.