this is bbc news. the headlines: millions of people will see a steep rise in their energy bills from today — the largest in living memory. it the largest in living memory. is either feed them o house, it is either feed them or keep my house, or i do not eat and they eat, so yes, it is not great. over £300 more now. efforts continue to try to get people out of the besieged ukrainian city of mariupol, where tens of thousands are still trapped. russian officials say ukrainian helicopters have carried out a strike on a fuel storage facility in the west of russia. another record level of covid infections — nearly five million people across the uk are believed to have had the virus last week.

hello, good afternoon. the biggest rise in energy prices in living memory has come into effect in britain, just as millions of households face increases in other bills and national insurance payments. on average, gas and electricity bills will cost an extra £700 a year, a sum charities say millions of households will struggle to pay. the chancellor, rishi sunak, has previously pledged to "take the sting out" of the price rises. higher energy prices are not the only way households and businesses will feel a squeeze on their finances, as the cost of living increases. council tax bills are also on the rise across england, scotland and wales, with the majority of households

seeing total hikes of around 3%, an average of £67 a year. to offset energy price rises, the government is offering a £150 rebate for around 20 million households in england in bands a to d. water bills are also rising by an average of about £7 a year in england and wales. on the 6th of april, national insurance contributions will go up byi.25%, which the government says will help clear the nhs backlog and contribute towards social care costs. and for 2.5 million workers on the minimum wage, they'll see their income rise by 59 pence an hour, to £9.50. with more on the unprecedented rise in energy bills, here's our consumer affairs correspondent colletta smith. there's more chances of us going into debt with the rises of the electricity and water bill,

the council tax, everything is having a rise, plus the petrol. mum of three qurat is making small changes in the house to try and keep those energy bills under control. my washing, i normally do it throughout the week but now i'm doing it over the weekend. so it's a big wash. i've stopped using my hairdryer because it takes about 45 minutes to dry my hair. what the kids do is reach up to the heating, "mummy, we're cold, mummy, we're cold," so where are they supposed to go? at westminster primary on the other side of town, they already give food parcels to some families. but now they've started collecting blankets, dressing gowns and hot water bottles to give out as well. we are totally expecting that as the energy prices really bite that more of our families will be pushed into a poverty situation and therefore the children will be coming to us having maybe not eaten a warm meal every day, they may be coming from a cold home or not slept properly. and the impact on that then for

their education is quite extreme. the uk's biggest supplier is british gas. the boss says they make very little profit from customers, but their oil and gas extraction has made a lot more money. 80% of the additional profits have gone to the government. so i think the profits have gone up byjust over 500 million, and the tax bill has gone up byjust over 400. that is exactly right. i'm looking for no sympathy, that's how the system should work. and i'm very comfortable. the question is how government uses those additional funds. the government have already announced a couple of things to try and help with those energy price rises. they're taking £150 off most people's council tax bill in england, and from september, there will be £200 available to most households in england, scotland and wales, and that will be through your energy bill, but it's a loan so you have to pay it back. even if you qualify for both of those things, that will still only cover around half of the rise that we are seeing in a typical household's energy bills.

it's either feed them or heat my house. or i don't eat and they eat. so, yeah. it's not great, it's over £300 a month now. yeah, yeah, it's ridiculous, isn't it? it's ridiculous, the price of it now. got a text this morning, funnily enough, off british gas, asking me to send my reading in. must be preparing us for the worst. crazy. and with bills going up again in the autumn, people will keep trying to cut back where they can. people are really struggling. they bring their washing in, they normally leave it for washing and drying, but nowadays, they wash it at home and they leave it for dry, or they get it washed here and they take it home to dry. with qurat�*s energy bills going up by at least £30 a month, she doesn't think the government to help will cover the extra. it's not enough. £200, it won't make up to the months that we will be paying for. it's not going to help.

so in this home, their lights are going off to keep the bills down. coletta smith, bbc news, in bradford. so with huge pressures on household budgets, what more can the government do to alleviate the financial burden? here's our political correspondent helen catt. the price rises today are just the start of what is likely to be a long—running debate over how the government should help people with the higher cost of living. the measures already announced by the chancellor, rishi sunak, are worth billions of pounds. ministers say there have to be limits. it's going to be hard and we're all going to have to work together to get through it. i know that the chancellor of the exchequer is looking very closely, on an almost daily basis, at the impact it's having on individuals and theirfamilies, and across the economy, and trying to balance the assistance we give within the financial constraints we have got, with an economy, don't forget, that has just come out of a pandemic, having spent £400 billion keeping people going through two extremely tough years. but will those who are facing rising

bills find it's enough? the labour leader has been meeting people in dewsbury and he says not. the government response has been utterly pathetic, no real response to that, no comfort to people who are so worried. what we, the labour party, have said is look, the oil and gas companies in the north sea have made excess profits over and above what they expected because of the high level of pricing across the world. that windfall tax should be used to take up to £600 off people's bills. that would deter investment, says the government, at a time when it is also looking to the north sea to help secure energy supply. in hull, the liberal democrat leader said vat should be cut. we want to give extra help for people's energy bills if they are on benefits orstruggling, disabled and so on, and that would be hundreds of extra pounds. so, we have a very different policy from the conservatives who i think are letting people down and not taking the action that's needed in this cost of living emergency.

there are real worries in westminster, including among conservative mps, about what's going to happen as costs keep going up over the coming months. the impact of the national insurance rise, which starts next week, will be reduced injuly when further changes come into force, but then in the autumn it's also expected the energy price cap will rise again, so there is a pretty widespread expectation that the government is likely to have to offer more at some point. instead of offering a £200 loan, which the government plans to claw back in future bills, things like that need to be converted into grants and if the government can't do anything about the wholesale price of energy, which we accept oil and gas are internationally traded commodities, then it needs to be doing more to take the edge off people's bills and put money in people's pockets. and as bills keep increasing, so will the political heat. helen catt, bbc news, westminster. joining me now is george mycock who is a charity workerfrom london.

what kind of things are you hearing from people who come to your charity for help? it from people who come to your charity for hel ? , from people who come to your charity for hel? , ., ., ., . ., for help? it is around addiction, eatin: for help? it is around addiction, eating disorders, _ for help? it is around addiction, eating disorders, and _ for help? it is around addiction, eating disorders, and when - for help? it is around addiction, eating disorders, and when the| eating disorders, and when the energy bills are rising, i think a lot of people will be having cuts to how much money they can spend on food and people who already have an issue with food or heating, with it being so restricted it will be a problem. being so restricted it will be a roblem. ., . , ., ., problem. you recently moved to london, problem. you recently moved to london. what — problem. you recently moved to london, what kind _ problem. you recently moved to london, what kind of— problem. you recently moved to london, what kind of changes i problem. you recently moved to | london, what kind of changes are problem. you recently moved to - london, what kind of changes are you having to make? when you are using the biggest cost pressures? fine having to make? when you are using the biggest cost pressures? one huge chance i the biggest cost pressures? one huge change i have — the biggest cost pressures? one huge change i have had _ the biggest cost pressures? one huge change i have had to _ the biggest cost pressures? one huge change i have had to make _ the biggest cost pressures? one huge change i have had to make recently i change i have had to make recently as we have been given a 30 day notice to leave our house and find a new place, so having to deal with a deposit... i think the reason the landlord has taken it back is because of the energy crisis, three

of my flatmates will effectively be homeless, they will have to move back to their families and commute into london. i have managed to find some work but it looks like i will struggle to spend much money, probably £4 a day on food if i can. that really puts it in sharp focus. are you able to get help? as there enough support there? do you find there are schemes to assist you or how are you managing with that? hat how are you managing with that? not brilliant. how are you managing with that? iirrt brilliant. obviously, i have an eating disorder myself, and restriction around food has always been a problem for me and the fact that i am being forced to only eat very specific foods and a very specific amount is definitely increasing the stress for me. is for schemes, i am increasing the stress for me. is for schemes, iam not increasing the stress for me. is for schemes, i am not really finding too much. i have not really looked to be honest, i think the stress of it is

a bit too much at the moment, especially whilst having to try and find a house and steal with everything that is going on with the move, it isjust everything that is going on with the move, it is just a everything that is going on with the move, it isjust a lot everything that is going on with the move, it is just a lot going everything that is going on with the move, it isjust a lot going on and a bit much for me.— a bit much for me. specifically on the energy _ a bit much for me. specifically on the energy bills, _ a bit much for me. specifically on the energy bills, how— a bit much for me. specifically on the energy bills, how does - a bit much for me. specifically on the energy bills, how does that i a bit much for me. specifically on i the energy bills, how does that work in the kind of tenancy arrangement you are in now? do you pay a fixed sum? as it included in your rent? currently we have, i'm not quite sure the terminology, but we have a buffer and if it goes above that we have to pay the excess. we are not sure how it will work this time around. we are having to leave not this weekend, the weekend after, so we'll imagine we willjust get the excess added to our bill at the end. i'm not sure what will happen, but with my new house, we are paying bills by ourselves, so i'm having to figure that out pretty much immediately as a moving, so i do not know the person and we will immediately have to sit down and think how are we going to eat, live,

deal with this? and we do not really know. ~ ., ,., , deal with this? and we do not really know. ~ ., , ., deal with this? and we do not really know. ~ . , . ,., know. whereabouts are you living before london? _ know. whereabouts are you living before london? have _ know. whereabouts are you living before london? have you - know. whereabouts are you living - before london? have you experienced these kind of cost pressures before? because often when people renew a tenancy, they can be a bit ofjump in the rent or maybe council tax goes up a bit more steeply than it did before, but it isjust goes up a bit more steeply than it did before, but it is just this combination, have you ever experienced this many things going up experienced this many things going up in price at the same time? i have not myself- — up in price at the same time? i have not myself- i — up in price at the same time? i have not myself. i have _ up in price at the same time? i have not myself. i have only _ up in price at the same time? i have not myself. i have only recently - not myself. i have only recently moved out of my parents' house after doing a masters degree, so quite new to the housing. i have only been in this house for two months and not i am being kicked out, but speaking at being at home, come from stoke—on—trent and the estate where i lived on at home, i know there are people already struggling with food and i'm sure you have spoken to people today and it is all over the news, but there are people who are already struggling to feed their kids and families and their working all day, it is not like they are not

doing anything, and this willjust suddenly make them decide whether they feed themselves or their children and what are they going to do, so i'm in a privileged position. i can still eat, just cannot eat much. my housemates are technically homeless, but at least they have a family to go to. there are some people who do not have any of that, and i'm stressed, so it is horrible for other people. i and i'm stressed, so it is horrible for other people.— for other people. i 'ust want to ick u- for other people. i 'ust want to pick up on that — for other people. i just want to pick up on that point _ for other people. i just want to pick up on that point about - for other people. i just want to - pick up on that point about stress, because it is something a lot of people will be feeling when they see the amounts that are going out of their accounts. this is not something they can do without or count as luxuries, these are absolute essentials. we have just been through the pandemic, you have made the step of moving out from your parents to get your own pace, start building a life for yourself and under, the mental health impact of that must be quite unsettling when you are looking at potentially taking steps backwards?— when you are looking at potentially taking steps backwards? 10096, yes. one of the big _

taking steps backwards? 10096, yes. one of the big contributors - taking steps backwards? 10096, yes. one of the big contributors to - taking steps backwards? 10096, yes. one of the big contributors to all - one of the big contributors to all mental health is uncertainty and not having any stability in your life. this is just having any stability in your life. this isjust going having any stability in your life. this is just going to add that extra twist and with that money and with living issues around money, it is notjust living issues around money, it is not just that either, living issues around money, it is notjust that either, it is notjust that problem, it is something that knocks on everything else in your life. if you have things to do to help your mental health like socialising with friends, going to the gym or whatever it is, you might not be able to do it in the same way you normally would all have uncertainty of whether you can, and not only are you adding stress, but you're also potentially taking away the things that help people deal with stress. the things that help people deal with stress-_ the things that help people deal with stress. , , , , with stress. indeed, the pressures cominu with stress. indeed, the pressures coming from _ with stress. indeed, the pressures coming from both _ with stress. indeed, the pressures coming from both sides. _ with stress. indeed, the pressures coming from both sides. really . coming from both sides. really appreciate you talking to is about your experience. the headlines on bbc news: millions of people will see a steep rise in their energy bills from today — the largest in living memory. efforts continue to try to get

people out of the besieged ukrainian city of mariupol, where tens of thousands are still trapped. russian officials say ukrainian helicopters have carried out a strike on a fuel storage facility in the west of russia. a red cross convoy is travelling to the besieged ukrainian city of mariupol, after being given security guarantees by both sides in the conflict, in the hope of getting residents out of the city. tens of thousands of people are trapped there, following weeks of russian bombardment. previous attempts to establish humanitarian corridors in south—eastern ukraine haven't worked because ceasefires didn't hold. from lviv, anna foster sent this report. this is what weeks of shelling has done to mariupol, which is to be home to 400,000 people. the red cross says its convoy is moving closer to those

still trapped inside. but it didn't get permission to bring badly—needed humanitarian aid. victoria and her two children fled to this shelter in lviv from mariupol. they were hiding with hundreds of others in the theatre when it was bombed. her two—year—old daughter anastasia was buried under the rubble. how did you escape from mariupol? we were in a car with blown out windows. it was terrible to see dead bodies. i was really scared. and there was no city, no buildings. because they were destroyed. you could see parts of the bodies, a leg, an arm. we covered the eyes of the children because we didn't want them to see it.

so, this is the theatre and you can see the damage. you and the children were here. this is where most of the people were. victoria remembers the moment the bomb hit and her daughter vanished. some blankets fell on my daughter before the rubble. she fell facedown so she was protected. if the stones had fallen on her, she wouldn't have survived. it's like a gift from god. it's more than a miracle. now the family are safe in lviv and praying that more people can follow them out of mariupol.

russian officials say ukrainian helicopters have carried out a strike on a fuel storage facility in the west of russia. emergency services say 170 personnel are trying to put out a fire in belgorod. ukraine hasn't commented, but ukrainian aircraft haven't hit targets in russia before. the kremlin says the attack will hinder peace talks. let's get the latest from our moscow correspondentjenny hill. what more have the kremlin said, what more details have they given? not a great deal of detail actually, but as you say, this is the first time since the invasion began at that russia has reported a successful ukrainian attack on its territory. we have not been able to independently verify that this was indeed an attack. this came from the governor of the belgorod region this morning who said that overnight, two

ukrainian military helicopters carried out air strikes and hit this fuel depot, sparking this great fire which emergency services are still trying to put out. he said that two workers had been injured, but there were no other casualties was not as i say, there is no independent verification as yet, although there is footage, unverified, circulating in media and on social media, but i think is perhaps the most interesting feature of this development so far as the rather muted response we have had from moscow. the kremlin would usually seize any opportunity to cast ukraine as an aggressor and we are not really seeing that kind of belligerent language being used as yet. we did hearfrom belligerent language being used as yet. we did hear from the governor of the neighbouring region, which also borders ukraine, who said he was going to put his at security forces on high alert, but beyond that, really the language and tone has been somewhat muted. it is very tempting to speculate about the reasons for that. it may be that

moscow is simply trying to establish exactly what happened, but there is a possibility of course that having boasted of having achieved air superiority over ukraine, the russians are seeing this as a rather humiliating alleged attack on that territory. it is perhaps not something they really want to go into detail about. we will have to wait and see. the kremlin did say, as you mentioned, that this is not going to do the peace talks any good. again, the language that there is reasonably soft. a spokesman for the kremlin earlier said that the development will not create comfortable conditions for the continuation of those at negotiations, which are of course it going on this afternoon in an online format. i5 going on this afternoon in an online format. , ., ., ., ,~' going on this afternoon in an online format. , ., ., ., ., going on this afternoon in an online format. , ., ., . . . format. is going to ask about that, it is all very _ format. is going to ask about that, it is all very well _ format. is going to ask about that, it is all very well say _ format. is going to ask about that, it is all very well say the _ format. is going to ask about that, it is all very well say the attack - it is all very well say the attack will hinder peace talks, but why would are we up to with those? is the russia side engaging in those with serious intent, as things

stand? , , , ., stand? this is the question we come back to time — stand? this is the question we come back to time and _ stand? this is the question we come back to time and again, _ stand? this is the question we come back to time and again, because - stand? this is the question we come back to time and again, because the j back to time and again, because the argument runs where the russians to be really serious about those at negotiations, would they not be trying to put in place some kind of ceasefire? we saw when at negotiations concluded a couple of days ago, the russians saying that in order to foster mutual trust and enable the communications continuation of negotiations, they would reduce drastically the military activity around kyiv, but we have not really seen that happening straightaway and that was met with a great deal of scepticism, because at the same time, the russians said they were also going to intensify their efforts in the east of the country in order to in their words liberate the donbas region. so it is very hard to take any kind of message coming out of the kremlin that they want to reduce military activity in order to

maintain or create trust, when actually it looks as though it is simply a strategic decision, probably based as most western experts say upon the fact that attempts upon both of those cities have not gone as successfully as they would have liked and this might well be a chance for them to withdraw with some dignity or even regroup. so i think in terms of trust in the russian side, that of course is very low. we will have to wait and see what comes from these negotiations, but i suppose we come back to the point that russia is not offering any compromise at this stage. it is making a lot of demands on ukraine, but it is offering nothing in effect in return at this state. ., , nothing in effect in return at this state. . , . ., stage. ok, thanks very much for u -adatin stage. ok, thanks very much for updating us _ stage. ok, thanks very much for updating us on _ stage. ok, thanks very much for updating us on that. _ russian forces occupying the chernobyl nuclear plant have now handed control back to the ukrainians. the director general of the international atomic energy agency says it's a positive move. we see this of course as a step in

the right direction. we are going to be that very, very soon, because in chernobyl there is a lot of work to be done, so we hope to be able to start this technical work in these areas that i was addressing. let's get more now on covid, because we broke the news earlier that a record 4.9 million people in the uk are estimated to have had coronavirus in the week ending march 26th, up from 4.3 million in the previous week. our health correspondent jim reed is here. how does this compare to levels we have seen before, up till now in the pandemic? pretty significant increase. there art two main reasons why infection rates have been going up, one as we saw the last remaining covid restrictions being lifted at the end of february in england and staggered at times across the rest of united kingdom, as people mix

more, people do not wear masks on transport, as a testing is scaled back as well, you will see infections pick up, that is one reason. perhaps the more important reason. perhaps the more important reason is this new offshoot, as it is called, of the omicron variant, called ba.2, which is proving to be even more contagious and transmissible than the version we saw at the christmas. we are really seeing that feed through to now. we have this weekly survey every friday from the office for national statistics in the uk, one in every 13 people would have tested positive for the virus last week. that is a record since they started with this survey in april 2020. that is 5 million people who would have tested positive in a single week, so these are quite significant numbers we have seen coming through. and are quite significant numbers we have seen coming through. and when we look at to... _ have seen coming through. and when we look at to... you _ have seen coming through. and when we look at to... you mentioned - have seen coming through. and when we look at to... you mentioned the l we look at to... you mentioned the restrictions being relaxed and the effect that is having, is that any

talk of restricting coming back in, because it is no longer a legal requirement to isolate now if you test positive, it is down to individual discretion? is it likely to stay that way or what is the advice? , ~ , to stay that way or what is the advice? , ~' , ., , ., advice? very likely to stay that way and today's — advice? very likely to stay that way and today's the _ advice? very likely to stay that way and today's the day _ advice? very likely to stay that way and today's the day in _ advice? very likely to stay that way and today's the day in england - advice? very likely to stay that way and today's the day in england they are relaxing another important restriction, so from today, free testing for coronavirus in england is essentially scrapped for most people, in wales as well, most of testing is being lifted in scotland as it comes towards the end of april. instead of going to a testing centre or getting a free tester to take at home, you essentially have to buy one from a pharmacy for about £2 each and this is part of the common strategy of living with the virus, because even though we are talking about infections here, when you look at hospitalisations for covid, it is this slightly different story. there are about 20,000 people currently in hospital across the uk with covid, that number has been going up but no where near as quickly as the number of infections. when you look at it, about half of

that number are when you look at it, about half of that numberare in when you look at it, about half of that number are in hospital primarily because of covid, being treated for it. the other half it's about 10,000, treated for it. the other half it's about10,000, are treated for it. the other half it's about 10,000, are in hospital because they have gone in for another reason, could be a slipped disc or broken ankle, and they have tested positive when they are inside, so this is the thing the government is pointing to, even though we are seeing this increase in infections, we are not seeing a big increase in the people that are most sick with the disease. i5 big increase in the people that are most sick with the disease. is that a direct result _ most sick with the disease. is that a direct result of _ most sick with the disease. is that a direct result of the _ most sick with the disease. is that a direct result of the vaccinations. a direct result of the vaccinations that are semi—millions of people have had, that we have had, that we are seeing milder cases that potentially would have been more severe it had it not been for the vaccinations?— severe it had it not been for the vaccinations? , , ., ., vaccinations? exactly, combination of vaccination _ vaccinations? exactly, combination of vaccination and _ vaccinations? exactly, combination of vaccination and people - vaccinations? exactly, combination of vaccination and people being - of vaccination and people being infected and repeatedly infected with the virus. we saw some figures out this week showing that if you have omicron, you are ten times as delta to be infected again for a second or third time, because it can't break through that wall of immunity that you have, but that means overall, even though people are being affected, there immunity

or protection against severe disease is much higher than it would have been through vaccination and previous infection and that means people might be catching it but fewer people are ending up in intensive care for example. thanks very much- — just to bring you some breaking news, it has been announced that the insolvency service will carry out an investigation and launch formal criminal and civil investigations into p&o. this is a tweet from the business secretary saying he has written to the insolvency service last week and criminal and civil investigations into her p&o have now begun. this is all in connection with the 800 workers that were sacked by a video call and it resulted in a huge disruption to ferry services while agency workers were drafted in to replace them.

those 800 workers had not been given the required statutory notification period, the boss of a p&o appeared before a parliamentary committee and during that session omitted that the rules, the law, according to dealing with redundancy had not been followed. —— admitted that the rules. that was followed up and he wrote to the insolvency service asking them to investigate and this confirmation in the last few minutes of that formal criminal investigations have now begun. we will bring you more on that when we get it. most railway services in scotland are back in public ownership for the first time in 25 years, after abellio had its franchise ended early. the train operator is now being run by a company owned by the scottish government. the first minister nicola sturgeon has called it an historic moment, though critics claim the change will result in more expensive fares and cuts to services. passengers are being warned of longer than usual queues at airports over easter

due to staff shortages. the airport operators association said its members had been trying to hire for new roles following job losses and staff departing to other industries during the coronavirus pandemic. but it warned recruitment problems and covid—related staff absences could put operations at airports under strain. the environmental activist group extinction rebellion says it has blocked three oil terminals in a campaign against fossilfuels. two are in southampton and one is near heathrow in london. a spokesperson for the group said protesters have locked themselves to high tripods, while others were using locks and concrete to secure themselves in location. members of thejust stop oil group say they are protesting at seven other oil facilities around england. the government has reversed its decision to scrap plans for a ban on so—called conversion therapy for gay and bisexual people

in england and wales. the u—turn was announced just hours after downing street said it would drop the plans. it will now push ahead with proposals to make the practice illegal, but the new ban would not cover people with gender dysphoria. court documents show that prince andrew received a substantial sum of money from a turkish businessman, who's been accused of fraud. a turkish woman, nebahat isbilen, has alleged that selman turk told her she had to make a gift of three quarters of a million pounds for prince andrew's help to obtain a uk passport. the documents, from a high court civil claim, allege this was a ruse. newspaper reports say prince andrew has repaid the sum. he hasn't commented on the case. now it's time for a look at the weather with darren bett. hello, there. we're seeing a few more showers breaking out across england and wales, some of them of a wintry flavour as well. there's some wetter weather moving

its way down into northern ireland and bringing some rain, but some hill snow into western parts of scotland. the winds, though, are continuing to ease down and we'll see this wet weather moving into wales and the south west, that will bring some snow over the hills. elsewhere, though, it does tend to become drier, a lot of those showers fading away, skies will clear. keep some showers coming in around some north sea coastal areas, leading to some icy patches and a widespread frost in scotland and across england. but it's nowhere near as cold as it was last night for northern ireland and also for wales, where we'll see the back of that wet weather quickly in the morning and some lengthy spells of sunshine before the cloud increases, bubbles up and we get a few more showers breaking out, mainly across england and wales. it looks much drier, i think, for scotland and northern ireland. the winds will be quite light on saturday. temperatures getting up to nine or ten degrees and it may be a little bit milder as we head into the second half of the weekend. hello this is bbc news. the headlines:

millions of people will see a steep rise in their energy bills from today — the largest in living memory. it's either feed them or heat my house, or i don't eat and they eat. it's not great, it is over £300 a month now. efforts continue to try to get people out of the besieged ukrainian city of mariupol — where tens of thousands are still trapped. russian officials say ukrainian helicopters have carried out a strike on a fuel storage facility in the west of russia. another record level of covid infections — nearly five million people across the uk are believed to have had the virus last week. sport now, and for a full round—up,

from the bbc sport centre, here's louisa. good afternoon. we're just a few hours away from the start of the draw for the 2022 mens world cup in qatar. england are one of the seeded teams in pot one, so will avoid the likes of champions france. but could end up in a group with germany, senegal, who won the africa cup of nations, or ecuador. there's still a wait for two of the home nations. wales or scotland or ukraine will be at the world cup but they'll not know until the remaining european play—offs are completed injune. 29 of the 32 world cup teams are known and you can watch the draw live on bbc tv and online from quarter to five this evening. focus away from the controversy surrounding this event and qatar was awarded the right to stage it in

2010. instead they will move to the composition of football. teams will discover the route through to the final and it does feel surreal in just a few months' time, what will be a citystate, the first world cup to be staged in the middle east in the middle of next season and with no stadium within just a few miles of each other. the teams will discover which of those grounds they will be playing in and against whom. for the first time ever, the draw is not complete. there are still three slots to be decided. wales must wait until later this year to discover who come out of scotland or ukraine they will face, with a place at the world cup at stake. the usual favourites, brazil, spain and france, they are in the first group of seeds along with england, so they will avoid any of them, but they could be drawn to play at the giants, like germany or the netherlands. they will be desperate to avoid them. all will be decided

later on today. what won't lift, will be the scrutiny on the organisers. of all the controversy that still surrounds the treatment of the migrant workers who have been depended upon to build the stadium and the discrimination that exists in this country with homosexuality illegal leading to the fears and the safety and the welcome some fans might experience. well as dan was saying there, awarding the world cup to qatar has not been without it's controversy. the danish fa have been vocal in their criticism and speaking earlier to the bbc, their chief executive jakob jensen said they have been speaking with other nordic countries, about how to manage to situation. we do not think it was the correct decision to award qatar with the world cup. we did not take part in the vote. we would have voted for someone else if we could have. since it was awarded, we have been doing what we call a critical dialogue with all institutions and organisations who have an impact

on the human rights of migrant workers. conducting since 2015 and engaged in a very critical dialogue together with the other nordic football associations. we have been working on this for years in order to use our voice where we can use it to improve the human rights of migrant workers. from one world cup to another. englands anya shrubsole says she is full of confidence ahead of sundays cricket world cup final. the defending champions take on an australia side that are yet to be beaten in the tournament. england on the other hand lost their first three games but, shrubsole says they didnt have a great start at the last world cup, and went on to win it. obviously we lost the first game in 2017 but then we went on a pretty good run after that. like i said, we have taken the long run rang, made life pretty difficult for ourselves at times but the end result is the

same, we are in a world cup final and we are full of confidence after the semifinal.— that's all the sport for now. let's get more now on the efforts to evacuate civilians from the besieged city of mariupol in southern ukraine. our correspondent wyre davies is in zaporizhzhia, from where an international committee of the red cross convoy was due to leave to co—ordinate the evacuation. this is a reception centre in the town of zaporizhzhia. it is important to take over recent weeks and days, people have been making their way out of those russian —controlled areas like mariupol on their own in bomb damaged cars, sometimes in large numbers. but what is being attempted today is the first mass evacuation of mariupol itself. this morning a very small red cross convoy left here with the intent of getting into the city and

facilitating the evacuation of government provided buses and hundreds of people. but it was interesting that even though there has been a temporary ceasefire and those red cross vehicles are being allowed in, two trucks the red cross wanted to take in, laden with medical aid and food, that was not permitted to travel by the russians. so those three red cross vehicles with the staff on—board are trying to facilitate the evacuation of the city. in the last couple of hours we have heard from the mayor's office in mariupol, the city itself is still too dangerous for anybody to enter or leave. there is a expectation perhaps that red cross convoy will not make it to mariupol. having said that, there are areas in the russian —controlled south where there are still a lot of refugees and whether red cross and those government buses should be able to get to, so a point throughout the day to day, there are towns along

the coast where those vehicles, those buses should be accepting refugees, some of whom have escaped from mariupol and come here to this reception centre in zaporizhzhia. we do not know what the final situation will be but this is the first attempt to establish a humanitarian corridor into and out of mariupol. every time it has been tried in the past, the ceasefire or the agreement to stop firing has collapsed and vehicles have been attacked on the roads around mariupol. it has proved too dangerous in the past and it might prove the case again today. as long as the fight for mariupol continues, most of the city is controlled by russian troops but there is a part of the centre of the city which is still being defended by ukrainian troops. they are completely surrounded by land and by sea by russian forces. i don't think the russians will give ground too much on ceasefires and accepting aid in until they fully control the city. we know people inside mariupol

don't have food, they don't have water. people are drinking water from the pipes that feed radiators, they are drinking waste water. the conditions are terrible in mariupol, dead bodies are lying in the streets and people are trying to bury their neighbours by the road verges. the humanitarian crisis inside mariupol, there is no question about what is happening there but until aid agencies can get in and assess the situation, you can imagine only what the situation is like. we have seen the situation is like. we have seen the aerial photographs, the drone shots that show how much of the city has been devastated by this russian bombardment. earlier this week russia announced it would �*drastically reduce' military action around kyiv. but nato has warned that moscow is not sticking to its pledge. our chief international correspondent, lyse doucet, has been speaking to people still living in the ukrainian capital, and sent us this report.

singing. a little bit of life in streets steeped in war. vlada buchko brings back the sound of this city. maybe now for me, it's like a mission. first, it's about art. i want to show to people some...a little love. now we sing ukrainian songs — my songs are famous in ukraine songs — and try to show people we are together and we win. you're not scared here? no, i'm scary — it's normal! now, when you listen, "bah—back!" and "rah—ta—ta—ta—tah!" a lot of, of course i'm scary,

but it's my city and... i want to save my city. a little lift in a war which doesn't let up. i was happy now because every day we're feeling bad, sometimes, because all the time we listen... syre na, you know? air—raid siren? yes, 0k. there was one just just five minutes ago. yes, just now there was, yes. we hope that, very soon, that this war stops. kyiv still digs in — securing its splendid statues just in case. "i think everything will get better," danilo, a volunteer, tells me. "it'll be ok. we'rejust doing this in case it goes wrong." it went badly wrong this month in this neighbourhood in the north. apartments shattered by fragments of an intercepted

russian missile. nerves shattered, too. translation: there is an air-raid alert now. i we have to run to the bomb shelter. you don't feel safe here. translation: no, no safety, and it's so cold in my flat - it's impossible to live there. we will stay in the bomb shelter until it's over. this mp carries on, but with a gun at the ready. dmytro natalukha delivers medical equipment to kyiv�*s largest children's hospital — repurposed to care for casualties of war. he doesn't believe russia's promise to pull back from kyiv. of course, i would love to believe that, but i think it's just an attempt to save his face for his inside—russia audience, for his inner audience, because obviously the blitzkrieg plan has not succeeded. a yearning to carry a tune, not a gun.

this war may ebb in one area, intensify in another — but until it ends, this, too, is resistance. lyse doucet, bbc news, kyiv. let's return to the news into p and 0 let's return to the news into p and o ferries. let's return to news we broke within the last half an hour that britain's insolvency service has started formal criminal and civil investigations into p&o ferries. it follows the company's decision to fire hundreds of workers without notice last month. let's speak now with our transport correspondent katy austin. the day after the shock announcement that nearly 800 seafarers were sacked without notice, the business secretary wrote to peter hebble

thwaite, the boss of p&o ferries and he outlined there were rules and processes to follow are making huge amounts of people redundant, including consulting with trade union or employee representatives and notifying in advance, the secretary of state via the insolvency service and the redundancy payment service, sorry. in that letter it appeared that p&o ferries had failed to follow this process and the insolvency service had been asked to look at the notification and consider if further action was appropriate. we have had action was appropriate. we have had a number of other developments. the boss of p&o ferries has appeared before the select committee and said there was no doubt they were meant to consult in advance of making this decision and they had failed to do so. however, he insisted on more than one occasion a criminal offence had been committed. but today, there has been an update. the insolvency service has written back to the

business secretary after he asked for an update and i have a copy of the letter. it says, i can confirm this is the inspector general and chief executive from the insolvency service saying this in the letter, he said i can confirm that insolvency service has initiated both formal, criminaland insolvency service has initiated both formal, criminal and civil investigations into the circumstances surrounding the recent redundancy made by p&o ferries. not more details at this stage and p&o ferries currently isn't commenting in response to that letter that has come out but it is a significant development. although it does come just a day after the deadline is reached for those employees to respond to their redundancy offers they have received, engage with that process. we understand all but one of them has done so in time. i just of them has done so in time. i 'ust want to pick— of them has done so in time. i 'ust want to pick upfi of them has done so in time. i 'ust want to pick up on i of them has done so in time. i 'ust want to pick up on the i of them has done so in time. i 'ust want to pick up on the point i of them has done so in time. ijust want to pick up on the point about the workers, because criminal and civil investigation, it is all well and good, but does it mean any of

these people get theirjobs back or is that very unlikely? mi; is that very unlikely? my understanding _ is that very unlikely? iii understanding at the is that very unlikely? m1 understanding at the moment is it doesn't affect the progress of these proceedings. as we were saying, it doesn't mean these workers will get their old jobs back, absolutely not. actually, as i said, once they have engaged with the redundancy offer, we know hundreds of them had already signed settlement agreements. so we would be pretty much impossible to get back on that, as i understand it. i don't think this is about stopping the procedure of the big change p&o ferries said it was forced to make, it argued it was financial reasons and the different crewing model. i don't think it stops that but there could be potential repercussions in future, depending on the results of the insolvency service's investigations. katie austen, thank you very much.

hundreds of people in england who have type one diabetes are testing a potentially life—changing artificial pancreas. it uses a sensor under the skin to monitor blood sugar levels — which can mean better control of the condition, minimising the risks of high and low blood sugar levels that can lead to serious complications. our medical editor fergus walsh has the story. just want to pull this down, just do your height. six—year—old charlotte from lancashire is one of 400,000 people in the uk with type 1 diabetes. can i see? of course. her body can't make insulin, the hormone which regulates blood sugar levels. you can give me hand a bit of a squeeze on this side. as part of a trial she has a sensor on her arm which continuously monitors her blood glucose and sends readings to this pump, which automatically delivers the insulin she needs. it's had such a massive impact. prior to having the loop, everything was manual. we had to, we would be up all night,

some nights, you know, every hour, every two hours to do finger pricks, whereas now she can be the social child she was before, and that's, thatjust makes me so happy. what is the the best thing... it is known as a hybrid closed loop system, a sort of artificial pancreas. i don't have to do finger pricks or needles any more. and it keeps her blood sugar from going too high or too low. i think it's absolutely fantastic. i've been practising for 25 years in children's diabetes, and it is a game—changer. to be able to improve the quality of life, to be able to see that most of the blood glucose readings are within the target range is very exciting. so the sensor's on my arm and they loop back to each other. yasmin, from south london, is astounded how much her blood sugar levels have stabilised using the new technology. so it is liberating?

definitely. there is nothing i can't do, there is no situation now that makes me anxious or scared. i really feel like, before, i really could have been at risk of some of those long—terms, especially the kind of heart stuff and things like that, whereas now, i don't really see that happening. good boy, wallace. if blood sugar levels are not kept under control, diabetes patients risk long—term damage to their heart, kidneys, eyes and nerves. that is why this trial matters. if successful, it could mean patients like yasmin have longer and healthier lives. fergus walsh, bbc news. it's just over a week until the first round of the presidential elections in france, where the incumbent emmanuel macron is fighting against a field of 11 other candidates to try to win a second term.

the campaign's been overshadowed by the war in ukraine, candidate, marine le pen. the bbc�*s hugh schofield sent this report from the coastal town of fouras. he is the favourite but he hasn't been doing much campaigning. marine le pen, the other candidate is creeping up in the polls. he needs to get out more to show the french people he listens. because of the war in ukraine he has taken his eye of the elections. it feeds into a narrative of a president who is happier in the palace than among the people. this is him trying to push back to quash that negative image. it is not that the president lacks energy or empathy, but that he admitted to me, he is having to divide his time.—

divide his time. when you both reside and _ divide his time. when you both reside and campaign, - divide his time. when you both reside and campaign, you - divide his time. when you both reside and campaign, you havej divide his time. when you both i reside and campaign, you have to face both challenges. i think my duty was to deal with the war, to make maximum first to avoid the war and now to try to de—escalate and stop it. but at the same time, i have to campaign. fin stop it. but at the same time, i have to campaign.— stop it. but at the same time, i have to campaign. on the atlantic coast, it have to campaign. on the atlantic coast. it is — have to campaign. on the atlantic coast, it is favourable _ have to campaign. on the atlantic coast, it is favourable territory - coast, it is favourable territory for him, quite prosperous and plenty of affluent retirees. these are the people he is targeting, say election observers, because these people vote a lot. ~ . observers, because these people vote a lot. . . ,., observers, because these people vote alot. . ,., a lot. what the polls are showing for now is that _ a lot. what the polls are showing for now is that there _ a lot. what the polls are showing for now is that there is _ a lot. what the polls are showing for now is that there is a - a lot. what the polls are showing for now is that there is a silent i for now is that there is a silent majority in favour of him. upper—class people, retired people, educated people and those people are voting. they go to the voting booth. but oyster grower eric is worried about the economic backdrop to the election, fuel costs are shooting

up, he cannot pay his workers the money they deserve. oysters will not be a priority when shopping lists are hit by inflation. he is one of many who say they still don't know how they will vote. translation: i how they will vote. translation: , ., , , translation: i feel it is really up in the air. but _ translation: i feel it is really up in the air. but the _ translation: i feel it is really up in the air. but the last _ translation: i feel it is really up in the air. but the last election - in the air. but the last election five years ago, it was obvious, it was going to be macron against marine le pen in the second round and then he would win easily. at this time round there could be a surprise. this time round there could be a sur-rise. , . ., , ., , surprise. this election should be ilain surprise. this election should be plain sailing _ surprise. this election should be plain sailing for _ surprise. this election should be plain sailing for the _ surprise. this election should be plain sailing for the president. i plain sailing for the president. every pundit has been saying it is his for the taking. these last few days, a ripple of concern, it isn't over yet. hugh schofield, bbc news, france. half a century ago, on a wet friday in the lake district, a small bus company launched a service to reconnect communities after public transport routes were cut. today, the mountain goat minibus is still a familiar sight and the firm has marked its golden anniversary

with a nostalgicjourney. our reporterjudy hobson was on board. a day to celebrate a lake district icon. the mountain goat buses have been guiding tourists around this spectacular countryside for half a century. and today the fleet is recreating their first ever mountain goat route. it's the highest metalled road in the lake district. jim is our driver as we make our way over kirkstone pass to ullswater. i seem to be able to regurgitate odd facts which i didn't even know i knew. not put a lot of work in, really, i'm just interested in it, so it's not work. for the past eight years, the mountain goat company has run this pioneering service, carrying holiday— makers where the other bus services don't go. the buses were first launched to link rural communities isolated by cuts in services, but it soon became apparent that there was a big market for tourists. this was the most famous bus,

known as lil billy. the company's original mechanic still works for them now. they're much, much better today. everything has come in leaps and bounds to what it used to be. so back in the old days, you'd have been working on them all the time, really. oh, yeah. 80, 90 hours a week was just the norm. in 1980, this couple bought the 100,000th ticket. but they were not too sure about the price, a pair of goats. why have you decided you can't keep the goats? because they're too much of a tie i think, really. we've already a dog. it started with a single bus. now there are almost 30. as well as tourist routes, they still operate a public bus service including school runs. it's got to do many things, because it has to meet the needs of its local community and what takes place in the area as well at the same time. which is tourism. and it needs to be working 12 months of the year. the buses link up with other

forms of transport, and on board today, two regular mountain goat passengers. it's great because the drivers are all super, they're so knowledgeable, they know exactly everything about everywhere. a lot of different age groups use them. and they've been popular from what i remember for the last 20 years or so. at a time when we are all encouraged to be greener and use public transport, mountain goat buses are as relevant as ever. judy hobson, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with darren bett. hello there. i don't think this weekend will be quite as cold. we are still seeing wintry showers coming in, many feeding off the north sea into eastern parts of england. the cloudy weather and windy weather in the south east should move away. this cloud is moving down into northern ireland wringing wet weather and rain, but

also snow to the hills of western parts of scotland. elsewhere, sunshine and a scattering of showers, even developing inland for a while. those will tend to fade away this evening and we will see the wetter weather clearing away from northern ireland, pushing down into wales in the south—west where we will see snow over the hills of wales and over the moors. otherwise clear skies and fewer showers. those will continue around some eastern coasts of england and they could be icy patches, too. it looks frosty for much of england and also scotland, but nowhere near as cold as it was last night for northern ireland and wales. we will see the back of the wet weather for wales and the south—west of england, some sunny spells, cloud bubbling up in a scattering of showers coming in, particularly across england and wales. fewer showers for scotland and northern ireland, it may stay dry in most places he and those temperatures just creeping up to nine or 10 degrees. we are seeing fewer showers this weekend because this area of high pressure is building towards the uk. this is a

weather system that will push down from the north and that will increase the cloud on sunday. london northern ireland and bring with it some outbreaks of rain later as well. england and wales starts cold and frosty, plenty of sunshine and the cloud will build and spread out a bit and they could be one or two showers. but for many places, i think it will be dry. temperatures creeping up a bit more, ten or 11 degrees in the afternoon. heading into the start of next week and is weather front pushes down from the north, bringing with it some rain. in between those weather fronts is what we call a warm sector, warmer air, but cloudy and you can see on monday there will be a lot of cloud around and we have rain from time to time and a stronger wind as well, perhaps touching gale force in some parts of scotland. at those temperatures will be higher and we could start monday without a frost, which will probably make a nice change, but temperatures getting up to 13 or 14 degrees. the rest of the week is unsettled, rain at times but away from those in scotland, it shouldn't be as cold.

this is bbc news. i'm ben boulos. the headlines: millions of people will see a steep rise in their energy bills from today — the largest in living memory. it is either feed them or heat my house, or i do not eat and they eat, so yes, it is not great. it's over £300 more now. britain's insolvency service has started formal criminal and civil investigations into p&o ferries. it follows the company's decision to fire hundreds of workers without notice last month. efforts continue to try to get people out of the besieged ukrainian city of mariupol, where tens of thousands are still trapped. another record level of covid infections — nearly five million people across the uk are believed to have

had the virus last week. in football, england are among the top seeds for the world cup draw that takes place in doha today. wales and scotland are also included in the draw. the biggest rise in energy prices in living memory has come into effect in britain, just as millions of households face increases in other bills and national insurance payments. on average, gas and electricity bills will cost an extra £700 a year, a sum charities say millions of households will struggle to pay. the chancellor, rishi sunak, has previously pledged to "take the sting out" of the price rises. higher energy prices are not the only way households

and businesses will feel a squeeze on their finances, as the cost of living increases. council tax bills are also on the rise across england, scotland and wales, with the majority of households seeing total hikes of around 3%, an average of £67 a year. to offset energy price rises, the government is offering a £150 rebate for around 20 million households in england in bands a to d. water bills are also rising by an average of about £7 a year in england and wales. on the 6th of april, national insurance contributions will go up by1.25%, which the government says will help clear the nhs backlog and contribute towards social care costs. and for 2.5 million workers on the minimum wage, they'll see their income rise by 59 pence an hour, to £9.50. with more on the unprecedented

rise in energy bills, here's our consumer affairs correspondent colletta smith. there's more chances of us going into debt with the rises of the electricity and water bill, the council tax, everything is having a rise, plus the petrol. mum of three qurat ul ain is making small changes in the house to try and keep those energy bills under control. my washing, i normally do it throughout the week but now i'm doing it over the weekend. so it's a big wash. i've stopped using my hairdryer because it takes about 45 minutes to dry my hair. what the kids do is reach up to the heating, "mummy, we're cold, mummy, we're cold," so where are they supposed to go? at westminster primary on the other side of town, they already give food parcels to some families. but now they've started collecting blankets, dressing gowns and hot water bottles to give out as well. we are totally expecting that as the energy prices really bite that more of our families will be pushed into a poverty situation

and therefore the children will be coming to us having maybe not eaten a warm meal every day, they may be coming from a cold home or not slept properly. and the impact on that then for their education is quite extreme. the uk's biggest supplier is british gas. the boss says they make very little profit from customers, but their oil and gas extraction has made a lot more money. 80% of the additional profits have gone to the government. so i think the profits have gone up byjust over 500 million, and the tax bill has gone up byjust over 400. that is exactly right. i'm looking for no sympathy, that's how the system should work. and i'm very comfortable. the question is how government uses those additional funds. the government have already announced a couple of things to try and help with those energy price rises. they're taking £150 off most people's council tax bill in england, and from september, there will be £200 available to most households in england, scotland and wales, and that will be

through your energy bill, but it's a loan so you have to pay it back. even if you qualify for both of those things, that will still only cover around half of the rise that we are seeing in a typical household's energy bills. it's either feed them or heat my house. or i don't eat and they eat. so, yeah. it's not great, it's over £300 a month now. yeah, yeah, it's ridiculous, isn't it? it's ridiculous, the price of it now. got a text this morning, funnily enough, off british gas, asking me to send my reading in. must be preparing us for the worst. crazy. and with bills going up again in the autumn, people will keep trying to cut back where they can. people are really struggling. they bring their washing in, they normally leave it for washing and drying, but nowadays, they wash it at home and they leave it for dry, or they get it washed here and they take it home to dry. with qurat ul ain's energy bills going up by at least £30 a month, she doesn't think the government

help will cover the extra. it's not enough. £200, it won't make up to the months that we will be paying for. it's not going to help. so in this home, their lights are going off to keep the bills down. coletta smith, bbc news, in bradford. so with huge pressures on household budgets, what more can the government do to alleviate the financial burden? here's our political correspondent helen catt. the price rises today are just the start of what is likely to be a long—running debate over how the government should help people with the higher cost of living. the measures already announced by the chancellor, rishi sunak, are worth billions of pounds. ministers say there have to be limits. it's going to be hard and we're all going to have to work together to get through it. i know that the chancellor of the exchequer is looking very closely, on an almost daily basis, at the impact it's having on individuals and theirfamilies, and across the economy, and trying to balance the assistance we give within the financial constraints we have got, with an economy, don't forget, that

has just come out of a pandemic, having spent £400 billion keeping people going through two extremely tough years. but will those who are facing rising bills find it's enough? the labour leader has been meeting people in dewsbury and he says not. the government response has been utterly pathetic, no real response to that, no comfort to people who are so worried. what we, the labour party, have said is look, the oil and gas companies in the north sea have made excess profits over and above what they expected because of the high level of pricing across the world. that windfall tax should be used to take up to £600 off people's bills. that would deter investment, says the government, at a time when it is also looking to the north sea to help secure energy supply. in hull, the liberal democrat leader said vat should be cut. we want to give extra help for people's energy bills if they are on benefits orstruggling, disabled and so on, and that would be hundreds of extra pounds. so, we have a very different policy

from the conservatives who i think are letting people down and not taking the action that's needed in this cost of living emergency. there are real worries in westminster, including among conservative mps, about what's going to happen as costs keep going up over the coming months. the impact of the national insurance rise, which starts next week, will be reduced injuly when further changes come into force, but then in the autumn it's also expected the energy price cap will rise again, so there is a pretty widespread expectation that the government is likely to have to offer more at some point. instead of offering a £200 loan, which the government plans to claw back in future bills, things like that need to be converted into grants and if the government can't do anything about the wholesale price of energy, which we accept oil and gas are internationally traded commodities, then it needs to be doing more to take the edge off people's bills and put money in people's pockets. and as bills keep increasing, so will the political heat.

helen catt, bbc news, westminster. britain's insolvency service has started formal criminal and civil investigations in ferry company p&o after it announced it was firing around 800 staff without notice to replace them with agency staff. last week, the boss of the company which operates between the uk and neighbouring european countries, admitted the company had probably broken employment law by not informing unions that their workers were at risk of losing theirjobs. the transport secretary, grant shapps, has called on the ceo, peter hebblethwaite, to resign over the decision. our transport correspondent katy austin has been giving us more detail. the day after the shock announcement that nearly 800 seafarers were sacked without notice, the business secretary kwasi kwarteng rates to

peter hebblethwaite, the boss of sight, and in that letter he outlined there are clear rules employers that must follow, including consulting with a trade union or representatives, and notifying in advance the secretary of state via the insolvency service. in that letter he says it appears p&0 in that letter he says it appears p&o ferries has failed in that process and the insolvency service have been asked to look to see if it was appropriate. peter hebblethwaite appeared before the select committee and said there was no doubt they meant to consult in advance of making this decision and failed to do so, but also insisted on more than one occasion that no criminal offence had been committed. but today, there has been an update, insolvency service has written back to the business secretary after he

asked them for an update and i have asked them for an update and i have a copy of that letter in front of me. it says, i can confirm, this is the inspector general and chief executive from the insolvency service, saying this in the letter, i can confirm that the insolvency service has initiated both formal criminal and civil investigations into the circumstances surrounding the recent redundancies made by set. so not a lot more detail at this stage and p&o ferries currently is not commenting on response to that letter that has come up today, but it is obviously a significant development, although it does, just a day after the deadline was reached for those employees to respond to that redundancy offers that they received to engage with that process, and we understand that all but one of them has done so in time. and ijust want but one of them has done so in time. and i just want to pick but one of them has done so in time. and ijust want to pick up on that point about the workers, because a criminal and civil investigation, it is all well and good, but does it mean any of these people will get

theirjobs back or is that very unlikely? mi; theirjobs back or is that very unlikel ? g , ., ., unlikely? my understanding at the moment is it _ unlikely? my understanding at the moment is it does _ unlikely? my understanding at the moment is it does not _ unlikely? my understanding at the moment is it does not affect - unlikely? my understanding at the moment is it does not affect the l moment is it does not affect the progress of these proceedings, as you are just saying, does not mean all these workers will get their old jobs back, absolutely not, and actually, as i said, once they engaged with that redundancy offer, we know that hundreds of them had already signed settlement agreements, so it would be pretty much impossible as i understand to go back on. so i do not think this is about stopping the procedure and stopping that big change that p&o ferries has said it is forced to make, it argued for financial reasons, to complete the different recruiting model, i do not think it stops at, but it is about whether they could potentially be repercussions in the future, depending of course on the results of the insolvency service investigations. a red cross convoy is travelling to the besieged ukrainian city

of mariupol, after being given security guarantees by both sides in the conflict, in the hope of getting residents out of the city. tens of thousands of people are trapped there, following weeks of russian bombardment. previous attempts to establish humanitarian corridors in south—eastern ukraine haven't worked because ceasefires didn't hold. from lviv, anna foster sent this report. this is what weeks of shelling has done to mariupol, which used to be home to 400,000 people. the red cross says its convoy is moving closer to those still trapped inside. but it didn't get permission to bring badly—needed humanitarian aid. victoria and her two children fled to this shelter in lviv from mariupol. they were hiding with hundreds of others in the theatre there when it was bombed. her two—year—old daughter anastasia was buried under the rubble. how did you escape from mariupol? translation: we were in a car

with blown out windows. - it was terrible to see dead bodies. i was really scared. and there was no city, no buildings. because they were destroyed. you could see parts of the bodies, a leg, an arm. when we see the hole where they were shelled, we covered the eyes of the children because we didn't want them to see it. so, this is the theatre and you can see the damage. you and the children were here. this is where most of the people were. victoria remembers the moment the bomb hit and her daughter vanished. some blankets fell on my daughter before the rubble.

she fell facedown so she was protected. if the stones had fallen on her, she wouldn't have survived. it's like a gift from god. it's more than a miracle. now the family are safe in lviv and praying that more people can follow them out of mariupol. our correspondent wyre davies is in the city of zaporizhzhia, from where an international committee of the red cross convoy was due to leave to co—ordinate the evacuation of civilians from mariupol. this is a reception centre in the town of zaporizhzhia. it is important to say that over recent weeks and days, people have been

making their way out from those russian —controlled areas like mariupol on their own, in a bomb damaged cars, sometimes in large numbers, but what is being attempted todayis numbers, but what is being attempted today is the first real mass evacuation of mariupol itself and this morning, a very small red cross convoy left here bounce fur mariupol with the intended aim of getting into the city and facilitating the evacuation of buses of hundreds of thousands of people. even though there has been a temporary ceasefire and vehicles are allowed in, two tracks the red cross wanted to take in laden with medical aid and food aid, that was not permitted to travel by the russians, so those three red cross vehicles with the staff on board were trying to facilitate the evacuation of the city, but in the last couple of hours we have had from the mare's office in mariupol that the city itself is still too dangerous for

anyone to enter or leave. so there is a real expectation that perhaps that red cross convoy will not make it to mariupol. having said all of that, there are areas in the russian —controlled south where there are still a lot of refugees and where the red cross and those government buses that should be able to get to so at points throughout the day today, there are towns along the coast, one in particular where those buses should be accepting refugees, some of whom have escaped from mariupol and are coming here to this reception centre in a zaporizhzhia. we do not know what the final situation will be, but this is not the first attempt to establish a humanitarian corridor into and out of mariupol. every time it has been tried in the past, the ceasefire agreement to stop firing has collapsed and vehicles have been attacked on the road, so it has proved far too dangerous in the past i it might prove to be the case again today. i think as long as the fight in mariupol continues, most of

the city now is controlled by russian troops, but there is a part of the central city which is still being defended by ukrainian troops. they are complete this rounded by land and by sea by russian forces and i do not think the russians will give ground much on ceasefires and accept aid in until they fully control the city. we know people inside mariupol do not have food, water, people are drinking water from the pipes that feed radiators. they are drinking waste water, the conditions are terrible inside mariupol itself, dead bodies are lining the streets, people are trying to bury their neighbours by the road verges, so it is a humanitarian crisis inside mariupol, there is absolutely no question about what is happening there. but until aid agencies can get in, and is really assess the situation, you can only imagine what the situation is like. we have all seen those aerial photographs, those drain shots, which show how much of the

city has been devastated by this russian bombardment. the president of the european commission, ursula von der leyen, says china would suffer major reputational damage if it helped russia evade international sanctions. speaking after an online summit with the chinese leader, xi jinping, ms von der leyen also said it was in china's interest to see a quick end to the war in ukraine, because it was causing disruption to the world economy. china, asa china, as a permanent member of the un security council, has a very special responsibility. this is what we discussed in a very frank and open manner. we, the european union, are determined to support the multilateral order. together with our international partners, we have taken action, we have adopted massive sanctions that are

effective. more than 40 countries in total have joined these sanctions. so we also made very clear that china should, if not support, at least not interfere with our sanctions. well, anna savchuk arrived at luton airport from kyiv with her six—year—old son and after a tearful reunion with her university roommate tania and a good night's sleep — they join us now. tell us about what has happened since you arrived.— since you arrived. yesterday we arrived on _ since you arrived. yesterday we arrived on the _ since you arrived. yesterday we arrived on the isle _ since you arrived. yesterday we arrived on the isle of _ since you arrived. yesterday we arrived on the isle of wight - since you arrived. yesterday we | arrived on the isle of wight with since you arrived. yesterday we - arrived on the isle of wight with my six—year—old son and, ok, it is very difficult for me to talk about this, i am so sorry. difficult for me to talk about this, i am so sorry-—

i am so sorry. that is ok, you do not need — i am so sorry. that is ok, you do not need to _ i am so sorry. that is ok, you do not need to apologise, _ i am so sorry. that is ok, you do not need to apologise, it - i am so sorry. that is ok, you do not need to apologise, it is - i am so sorry. that is ok, you do not need to apologise, it is a - not need to apologise, it is a traumatic thing you have been through, take your time, traumatic thing you have been through, take yourtime, in traumatic thing you have been through, take your time, in your own words. ., , ., through, take your time, in your own words. . , ., ., words. ok, when the war started from the very beginning. — words. ok, when the war started from the very beginning, when _ words. ok, when the war started from the very beginning, when the - words. ok, when the war started from the very beginning, when the war- the very beginning, when the war began, we were on the 1st of march, we moved from kyiv to lviv and then from lviv to poland by train. we crossed the border and then we stayed for some time with a wonderful polish family. they gave us shelter and also clothes. they took care of us for some time, but unfortunately, i could not find a job in poland and my roommate, tanya, called me and told that she

is in the isle of wight and she proposed to move their to this place and take my son and go to this place. it and take my son and go to this lace. , , and take my son and go to this place, , , ., place. it must be a huge relief after arduous _ place. it must be a huge relief after arduous weeks _ place. it must be a huge relief after arduous weeks of - place. it must be a huge relief- after arduous weeks of travelling, of uncertainty, to finally reach where you are trying to get to. yes. where you are trying to get to. yes, and my husband, _ where you are trying to get to. yes, and my husband, here's... - where you are trying to get to. is: and my husband, here's... we left him in ukraine. ok, we left him in ukraine, he is a web designer. he has not served in the military, so he had to protect us and now he has

to fight and has to... it he had to protect us and now he has to fight and has to. . ._ to fight and has to... it must be so difficult to — to fight and has to... it must be so difficult to even _ to fight and has to... it must be so difficult to even think _ to fight and has to... it must be so difficult to even think about - to fight and has to... it must be so difficult to even think about it. - to fight and has to... it must be so difficult to even think about it. we | difficult to even think about it. we are difficult to even think about it. - are worried about him every day and we talk rarely, but i guess he is ok, he says so. he does not have any experience in a combat, but still he tries to do his best to protect us and now with my son, we are safe, we have a place and we are very thankful to the government of great britain for letting us have this possibility to move to such a place

and i also want to find a job here and i also want to find a job here and i also want to find a job here and i wanted my son to go to a local school and i hope it all will end soon and i will return back home. i just want to bring tania in as well, because a big thing i suppose is having a familiarface, because a big thing i suppose is having a familiar face, someone you know in the place that you have gone to. tania, ijust wonder how you came to be in the isle of wight, how easy was it for you to get there? how easy was it for you to help anna get there? 50. how easy was it for you to help anna iet there? ., ., «1 i. get there? so, hello, thank you. i arrived here _ get there? so, hello, thank you. i arrived here in _ get there? so, hello, thank you. i arrived here in the _ get there? so, hello, thank you. i arrived here in the isle _ get there? so, hello, thank you. i arrived here in the isle of- get there? so, hello, thank you. i arrived here in the isle of wight i arrived here in the isle of wight with my— arrived here in the isle of wight with my husband and my four month year old _ with my husband and my four month year old daughter. we fled ukraine

on the _ year old daughter. we fled ukraine on the second day of the war. it was hard to— on the second day of the war. it was hard to travel with such a small kid and it_ hard to travel with such a small kid and it was— hard to travel with such a small kid and it was unregulated how the trains— and it was unregulated how the trains were, the amount of people trying _ trains were, the amount of people trying to— trains were, the amount of people trying to get out. as soon as we arrived _ trying to get out. as soon as we arrived here, at first i am grateful that the _ arrived here, at first i am grateful that the isle of wight community are so open _ that the isle of wight community are so open to— that the isle of wight community are so open to help and not only they tried _ so open to help and not only they tried to _ so open to help and not only they tried to help us, they organised charities— tried to help us, they organised charities etc to help ukrainians. so my husband, with his friends, from the isle _ my husband, with his friends, from the isle of— my husband, with his friends, from the isle of wight and london, went to the _ the isle of wight and london, went to the border and helped ukrainians. later— to the border and helped ukrainians. later on _ to the border and helped ukrainians. later on i _ to the border and helped ukrainians. later on i found out about anna that she was— later on i found out about anna that she was in_ later on i found out about anna that she was in poland and looking for a 'ob, she was in poland and looking for a job, she _ she was in poland and looking for a job, she is — she was in poland and looking for a job, she is a — she was in poland and looking for a job, she is a baker, makes cakes etci _ job, she is a baker, makes cakes etc, and — job, she is a baker, makes cakes etc, and i— job, she is a baker, makes cakes etc, and i thought oh my god, we can bring _ etc, and i thought oh my god, we can bring her— etc, and i thought oh my god, we can bring her here in the isle of wight and she _ bring her here in the isle of wight and she can find job, she can give her child — and she can find job, she can give her child the school, and at least we are _ her child the school, and at least we are friends who know each other,

because _ we are friends who know each other, because her— we are friends who know each other, because her husband was mobilised to serve in _ because her husband was mobilised to serve in the _ because her husband was mobilised to serve in the army and he is with that— serve in the army and he is with that experience so of course she worries — that experience so of course she worries every day and i am glad i have _ worries every day and i am glad i have anna — worries every day and i am glad i have anna here with her son so at least _ have anna here with her son so at least i _ have anna here with her son so at least i feel— have anna here with her son so at least i feel that there is some sopport— least i feel that there is some support and hopefully other ukrainians will come and we will have _ ukrainians will come and we will have community. it is ukrainians will come and we will have community.— ukrainians will come and we will have community. it is a huge thing for anyone — have community. it is a huge thing for anyone to _ have community. it is a huge thing for anyone to take _ have community. it is a huge thing for anyone to take in _ have community. it is a huge thing for anyone to take in and - have community. it is a huge thing for anyone to take in and to - for anyone to take in and to understand and to come to terms with, uprooting your whole life so suddenly. you can only imagine how much more difficult it is for children to understand. how do you explain it to them? they must be asking you questions.— explain it to them? they must be asking you questions. yes, my son, ou asking you questions. yes, my son, you know. — asking you questions. yes, my son, you know. he _ asking you questions. yes, my son, you know, he experiences - asking you questions. yes, my son, you know, he experiences a - asking you questions. yes, my son, you know, he experiences a very i you know, he experiences a very difficult period in his life, because at this age, six years old,

he understands everything. he understands and at the very beginning, i tried to tell him that it is like a journey, we are travelling, it is like a trip and it will end soon, but you know, he has started to ask questions about the war, about military is, things that he saw... it war, about military is, things that he saw... , ., «1 he saw... it is ok, take your time. it is ok. he saw... it is ok, take your time. it is 0k- i'm _ he saw... it is ok, take your time. it is ok. i'm sorry. _ he saw... it is ok, take your time. it is ok. i'm sorry. and... - he saw... it is ok, take your time. it is ok. i'm sorry. and... we - he saw... it is ok, take your time. | it is ok. i'm sorry. and... we don't want to add — it is ok. i'm sorry. and... we don't want to add to _ it is ok. i'm sorry. and... we don't want to add to the _ it is ok. i'm sorry. and... we don't want to add to the pain _ it is ok. i'm sorry. and... we don't want to add to the pain you're - want to add to the pain you're clearly feeling. we cannot leave it

there, we appreciate you talking to us and wish you all the best. —— we can leave it there. thank you. us and wish you all the best. -- we can leave it there. thank you. thank ou. millions of people are counting the cost of unprecedented hikes in their energy bills. from today, the price cap goes up by more than 50%, meaning a household using an average amount of gas and elecricity could see a £700 increase. with council tax, water bills and car tax rising too, it's thought many people may struggle. with me now is yvonne de burgo, retired receptionist and pensioner who is very worried about the cost of living, as the higher costs will really effect her in a negative way as she has no means to gaining extra money. explain the impact it is having on you it a very worrying time. i am

feelini you it a very worrying time. i am feeling rather _ you it a very worrying time. i am feeling rather depressed - you it a very worrying time. i -h feeling rather depressed about it all, because i'm not a magician. i cannot conjure this extra money up out of thin air. i do get pension credit, which when i first got it gave me a better standard of life. now with all these rises, it has just wiped it out and i'm back to where i was before five years ago and ijust despair. at this age, 76, i should be enjoying life, not worrying about every penny and how i am going to heat my home. i am disabled and i have a condition, fibromyalgia, where i have to keep warm. if i do not, i am in so much pain, so whatare warm. if i do not, i am in so much pain, so what are my to do? and pain, so what are my to do? and presumably _ pain, so what are my to do? and presumably getting round, if you have a disability, you rely on

having a car and that is getting more expensive as well?- having a car and that is getting more expensive as well? yes, i am lucky enough _ more expensive as well? yes, i am lucky enough i _ more expensive as well? yes, i am lucky enough i have _ more expensive as well? yes, i am lucky enough i have a _ more expensive as well? yes, i am lucky enough i have a motor- more expensive as well? yes, i am lucky enough i have a motor ability| lucky enough i have a motor ability car, but it annoys me that the chancellor put it down around 5p, but where i live to study price before he put it down. they are quick to put prices up, but very slow to bring them down. so quick to put prices up, but very slow to bring them down. so you are not seeini slow to bring them down. so you are not seeing that _ slow to bring them down. so you are not seeing that 5p _ slow to bring them down. so you are not seeing that 5p cut _ slow to bring them down. so you are not seeing that 5p cut in _ slow to bring them down. so you are not seeing that 5p cut in fuel- slow to bring them down. so you are not seeing that 5p cut in fuel duty i not seeing that 5p cut in fuel duty being reflected in the price you pay at the pump? ila. being reflected in the price you pay at the pump?— being reflected in the price you pay at the pump? no, i am not. and i'm really annoyed _ at the pump? no, i am not. and i'm really annoyed about _ at the pump? no, i am not. and i'm really annoyed about that, - at the pump? no, i am not. and i'm really annoyed about that, because l at the pump? no, i am not. and i'mj really annoyed about that, because i need my car for hospital appointments, to get shopping, to go to doctors appointments, all these appointments i have to attend and i have to put fuel in my cart to be able to get the and the cost is just going through the roof. able to get the and the cost is 'ust going through the roofii able to get the and the cost is 'ust going through the roof. suppose when ou look at going through the roof. suppose when you look at what _ going through the roof. suppose when you look at what the _ going through the roof. suppose when you look at what the chancellor - you look at what the chancellor announced within the last couple of

weeks, within the spring statement, things like there was that 5p cut in fuel duty, we know that the pensions come up with inflation as it was a time ago, not the current rate of inflation, there is the council tax rebates to help with energy bills, does all of that make much of a difference to you? it does all of that make much of a difference to you?— does all of that make much of a difference to you? it does not make any difference _ difference to you? it does not make any difference at _ difference to you? it does not make any difference at all. _ difference to you? it does not make any difference at all. it _ difference to you? it does not make any difference at all. it is _ difference to you? it does not make any difference at all. it isjust - any difference at all. it is just nonsensical. why give that, that will be swallowed up by everything else? £150 of your council tax, how long will that last? not very long. it is like one week's income for pensioners, most pensioners, and it could continue on until october, so thatis could continue on until october, so that is a pittance and i really feel the government and ministers do not understand what it is like to live

on a fixed income and have all this going up in price. i bet they spend more on one meal dining out than i do on what i've got to live on for a week. and pay all my bills with. due to put this in context, some people cutting back may be foregoing a weekend break somewhere. but from what i understand, it is cutting back on little moments like going out for a coffee?— back on little moments like going out for a coffee? exactly. i haven't been on holiday _ out for a coffee? exactly. i haven't been on holiday for— out for a coffee? exactly. i haven't been on holiday for 23 _ out for a coffee? exactly. i haven't been on holiday for 23 years, - out for a coffee? exactly. i haven't been on holiday for 23 years, i - been on holiday for 23 years, i cannot afford to, not even a weekend break. the fact that i can't, you know, go out for a cup of coffee with friends and socialise, it is making my life very isolated. i have already been through the pandemic and had to isolate for 12 weeks at

the start and be very careful ever since. it isjust the start and be very careful ever since. it is just putting the start and be very careful ever since. it isjust putting me back there, my life isn't improving. i am getting to the point where i feel what the government wants us all to do is pop our clogs and we won't be a problem. it do is pop our clogs and we won't be a problem-— a problem. it is heartbreaking to hear that, _ a problem. it is heartbreaking to hear that, yvonne. _ a problem. it is heartbreaking to hear that, yvonne. that - a problem. it is heartbreaking to hear that, yvonne. that is - a problem. it is heartbreaking to hear that, yvonne. that is how l a problem. it is heartbreaking to hear that, yvonne. that is how i | hear that, yvonne. that is howl feel. it hear that, yvonne. that is howl feel- it is _ hear that, yvonne. that is howl feel. it is really _ hear that, yvonne. that is howl feel. it is really sad _ hear that, yvonne. that is howl feel. it is really sad to _ hear that, yvonne. that is howl feel. it is really sad to hear- hear that, yvonne. that is how i | feel. it is really sad to hear that. do ou feel. it is really sad to hear that. do you speak — feel. it is really sad to hear that. do you speak to _ feel. it is really sad to hear that. do you speak to your _ feel. it is really sad to hear that. do you speak to your friends - feel. it is really sad to hear that. l do you speak to your friends about how they are finding things? yes. do you speak to your friends about how they are finding things? yes, i am one of these _ how they are finding things? yes, i am one of these ladies, _ how they are finding things? yes, i am one of these ladies, all- how they are finding things? yes, i am one of these ladies, all my - am one of these ladies, all my friends are much younger than me but they all feeling the pinch, they have all got families, they have got somebody working but they are all struggling. it is the same across the board, for the ordinary working person, life is very hard. it takes me back to my childhood in the late 40s and, you know, i can remember how austere life was then and how i

always felt hungry as a child, because there wasn't enough to eat, there was for others. it takes me back to my childhood, i shouldn't be there, i have worked all my life since the age of 16 and now i am at the point where i am struggling to live and manage. ifeel that the point where i am struggling to live and manage. i feel that is highly unfairfor both live and manage. i feel that is highly unfair for both pensioners like myself and for other people with families.— with families. yvonne, purely because he — with families. yvonne, purely because he brought - with families. yvonne, purely because he brought up - with families. yvonne, purely because he brought up the i with families. yvonne, purely i because he brought up the years with families. yvonne, purely - because he brought up the years when you were a child, ifeel because he brought up the years when you were a child, i feel i because he brought up the years when you were a child, ifeel i can because he brought up the years when you were a child, i feel i can ask this, you lived through the difficulties of the 1970s, and people are saying this is the biggest squeeze on household income since the 1970s. how did the two compare in your mind? this since the 1970s. how did the two compare in your mind?— since the 1970s. how did the two compare in your mind? this is worse. much worse- — compare in your mind? this is worse. much worse. because _ compare in your mind? this is worse. much worse. because then, - compare in your mind? this is worse. much worse. because then, although| much worse. because then, although it was difficult, both my husband, my late husband and myself worked.

now i am on my own, i am on this fixed income and i have got no way of getting any other income. what do they want me to do? i mean, i have sold the jewellery that i had that was of any value, i have got nothing left to sell. was of any value, i have got nothing left to sell-— left to sell. yvonne, i don't know what to say _ left to sell. yvonne, i don't know what to say but _ left to sell. yvonne, i don't know what to say but thank _ left to sell. yvonne, i don't know what to say but thank you - left to sell. yvonne, i don't know what to say but thank you very i left to sell. yvonne, i don't know i what to say but thank you very much for speaking from the heart and explaining your situation to us on bbc news. ., 1' explaining your situation to us on bbc news. ., «1 , ., let's get the sport now. good afternoon. let's go straight to qatar where we are just a couple of hours away from the draw for the men's world cup. england will of course,

discover their opponents. 29 of the 32 world cup teams are known, with one of wales, scotland or ukraine also involved this november and december. but they won't know until the remaining european play—offs in june. let's go live now to doha where we can join bbc football reporter manijazzmi. mani, lots of excitement but controversy over the hosts remains? yes, welcome to the red carpet. coaches have been coming pass, the national team coaches going into the auditorium. roberto martinez was just here, the coach of france, the defending champions, came through. as you say, this tournament is one that has been dogged by controversy for more than a decade. allegations of corruption, human rights abuse. all denied by the organisers and the

qatari government. although there is controversies and they will continue to rage into the world cup as well, todayis to rage into the world cup as well, today is a day of talking about football. because this is the last milestone on the way to the world cup. after this point, the world cup starts to become real for the coaches and the fans. the coaches can start to prepare, the fans can buy their stickers and fill in wall charts. it becomes very real. england are in the top seed and if scotland or wales qualify, they will be in the bottom group of seeds. the three teams in the second part of seeds that england want to avoid are germany, netherlands and denmark. the top seed that everyone wants is qatar. they are the lowest ranked nation at the world cup but their status as hosts gives them the right to be one of the top seeds. this is

a country that has been dogged by controversy. there isn't actually much palpable excitement, there are no posters or banners saying the world cup is coming, but it is coming. the superstars of football are coming and as far as the football fans of qatar are concerned and around the world, they cannot wait. ., 1' and around the world, they cannot wait. . «1 , ., and around the world, they cannot wait. ., «1 , ., , and around the world, they cannot wait. . «1 i. , . elsewhere englands anya shrubsole says she is full of confidence ahead of sundays cricket world cup final. the defending champions take on an australia side that are yet to be beaten in the tournament. england on the other hand lost their first three games but, shrubsole says she's looking forward to it. iamjust i am just really excited to be here and have the opportunity to play in another world cup final. for me, they are the absolute pinnacle, they come around once every four years but because of covid, it is every

five. these are the games you want to be involved in, this is why you do everything, the sessions you don't want to do and it is to have the opportunity to play in a world cup final. i am really excited to have that opportunity. england scrum—half natasha hunt has been named in this weekend's england squad. it will be her first start for 17 months when they play italy, in the women's six nations on sunday. hunt "stepped back" from international rugby in 2021 because she was unhappy in the england camp. her inclusion this weekend means the 33—year—old can now fight for a place in october's world cup squad. that's all the sport for now. remember that world cup draw is live across the bbc from 4.45. i'll have more for you in the next hour. louisa, thank you very much. millions of people are counting the cost

of unprecedented hikes in their energy bills. from today, the price cap goes up by more than 50%. joining me now is the principal policy manager for the citizens advice bureau abbyjitendra. normally people would switch providers to find a good deal, but now you're talking about essentials, what people cannot do without? absolutely, what we are seeing is an unprecedented increase in our bills. overnight, most people's energy bill has gone up by £700 a year, which is incredibly unaffordable. we find that 5 million people will not be able to afford that. in october we are likely to see energy bills going up are likely to see energy bills going up again by £600, £700, that is going to get much worse. there are

things you can do, turning down the thermostat by1 degrees can make a difference in terms of how much you pay for your energy. but really, when we are looking at the scale of increases we do think that more will need to be done to make sure people can keep just the need to be done to make sure people can keepjust the heating on the lights on. figs can keep 'ust the heating on the liihts on. 1 , can keep 'ust the heating on the liihts on. a , ., lights on. as i understand it, in january you _ lights on. as i understand it, in january you had _ lights on. as i understand it, in january you had a _ lights on. as i understand it, in january you had a record - lights on. as i understand it, in | january you had a record number lights on. as i understand it, in - january you had a record number of people coming to you for help. that record was broken in february and thenit record was broken in february and then it was broken again in march were nearly 25,000 people seeking help are needed to be referred to food banks or charities. port. this is before the price cap rise kicks in! that can people do? what help is out there? 1 , �* in! that can people do? what help is out there? 1 , , �* ., ., , out there? absolutely, we're already breakini out there? absolutely, we're already breaking some _ out there? absolutely, we're already breaking some unwelcome _ out there? absolutely, we're already breaking some unwelcome records i out there? absolutely, we're already i breaking some unwelcome records and thatis breaking some unwelcome records and that is before we have seen the increase in energy. we are expecting it to get worse and we are hearing some worrying stories, people who are living in one room of their house to stay warm and not able to

turn their shower on all the hot water on, so having bats using the cattle. really, really challenging situations. —— cattle. there are support at there for people, 80% of people will receive £150 via the council tax accounts. is people will receive £150 via the council tax accounts.— council tax accounts. is that automatic — council tax accounts. is that automatic or _ council tax accounts. is that automatic or do _ council tax accounts. is that automatic or do they - council tax accounts. is that automatic or do they need l council tax accounts. is thatl automatic or do they need to council tax accounts. is that - automatic or do they need to apply for that? it automatic or do they need to apply for that? ., , for that? it for eligible households, _ for that? it for eligible households, if- for that? it for eligible households, if you - for that? it for eligible households, if you arej for that? it for eligible i households, if you are in for that? it for eligible - households, if you are in band a for that? it for eligible _ households, if you are in band a to d, and if you are a direct debit. if you are not on a direct debit your council will be working at plans on how that is paytee. but £150 in the face of a doubling of your energy bill over a year, it pales in comparison. i encourage people who are worried about paying their bill, to get in touch with their provider. they do have applications to offer

affordable debt repayment plans and emergency credit to top up your prepayment metre. if that doesn't work, get in touch with the citizens advice, we are here to offer impartial support and advice and help you find a way forward. but the reality is, for many people, the options are running out. it is reality is, for many people, the options are running out.- options are running out. it is a -oint options are running out. it is a point that _ options are running out. it is a point that occurred _ options are running out. it is a point that occurred to - options are running out. it is a point that occurred to me - options are running out. it is a point that occurred to me and | options are running out. it is a | point that occurred to me and i options are running out. it is a - point that occurred to me and i want to get your thoughts on it without wishing to add to the doom that is out there. this energy price rise kicks in from today. the next review is october and we could well see prices go up again. some of the support being offered is alone, £200, which has to stop being repaid in instalments from next year. so we have a situation where people could potentially face even higher bills next year, plus paying back some of the support they have received to help with this year. it looks as though down the line things could get worse rather than easing off? absolutely. experts, energy experts

predicted we will see something like a £600 increase, 500 to £600 increase in october and prices will stay well above what they were last month for a year. so you are right, a loan paid back during a time when energy prices are staying high as people's reserves are eaten up by the cost of living crisis is just not the right response. it is particularly difficult for people on prepayment metres. 4 million households, 2 million of whom are on automatic prepayment metres he will literally be sent fuel five cheers for that rebate to be put onto their metre. lots of risk of fraud and unclaimed support. a citizens advice, we think the government needs to look back at the supporter making the loan into a grand to reflect how high the costs are going

to be and look at groups who need even more support, people on low incomes and people who are disabled and make sure the support is there and make sure the support is there and it helps keep those people keep the heating and lights on. currently we have some really big concerns it will not be the case this winter. the really sad thing is, when people are in desperate situations they will people who prey on that and see an opportunity to exploit that, i just wonder if people are listening to this and are watching today and thinking, iam to this and are watching today and thinking, i am going to struggle to make these payments, someone is offering me a loan and the rate of interest is high, but i have no other option, it is the only way i can get the money to pay for this, what would you say to them? make sure they are _ what would you say to them? make sure they are signed _ what would you say to them? make sure they are signed up _ what would you say to them? make sure they are signed up to - what would you say to them? make sure they are signed up to all - what would you say to them? i—e sure they are signed up to all the support they can, make sure he was signed on to any benefits that you are eligible to, wait to see if you receive the £150 rebate and also there is local discretionary funding

you can get from your counsel. and then the reality is, people will definitely be looking for more support out there. we're already hearing of people using by now, pay later under the creditjust hearing of people using by now, pay later under the credit just to food. just the essentials and to buy clothes and other things that were not essentials, but we are in different times and difficult times so i would say, if it is something you are worried about get in touch with citizens advice and hopefully we can get you plugged into sort of support that is available.— we can get you plugged into sort of support that is available. thank you ve much support that is available. thank you very much for— support that is available. thank you very much for that _ support that is available. thank you very much for that advice. - the headlines on bbc news... millions of people will see a steep rise in their energy bills from today — the largest in living memory. britain's insolvency service has started formal criminal and civil investigations into p&o ferries. it follows the company's decision to fire hundreds of workers without notice last month.

efforts continue to try to get people out of the besieged ukrainian city of mariupol — where tens of thousands are still trapped. let's get more now on covid — we broke the news earlier that a record 4.9 million people in the uk are estimated to have had coronavirus in the week ending march 26th up from 4.3 million in the previous week. our health correspondent, jim reed told me how this wave of infections compares to previous peaks it is pretty significant increase, there are two main reasons why infection rates have been going up. we sought restrictions, the last remaining covid restrictions being lifted at the end of february in england and tag at times across the rest of the united kingdom. as people mix more and don't wear masks

on transport, as testing is scaled back he will see infections pick up. perhaps the more important reason is this new offshoot, as it is called of the omicron variant that is called ba—2. we are seeing that feed through into these infection rates. we get this weekly survey every friday from the office for national statistics in the uk. one in every 13 people would have tested positive for the virus last week. that is a record since they started with the survey in april 2020 as 5 million people who would have tested positive in a single week. these are significant numbers we have seen coming through.— significant numbers we have seen coming through. when we look at the restrictions being _ coming through. when we look at the restrictions being relaxed _ coming through. when we look at the restrictions being relaxed and - coming through. when we look at the restrictions being relaxed and the - restrictions being relaxed and the effect that is having, is there any talk of restrictions coming back in? it is no longer a legal requirement

to isolate if you test positive, it is down to individual discretion, is it likely to stay that way? isieri; it likely to stay that way? very likel to it likely to stay that way? very likely to stay _ it likely to stay that way? very likely to stay that _ it likely to stay that way? very likely to stay that way. - it likely to stay that way? very likely to stay that way. this i it likely to stay that way? - likely to stay that way. this is the day in england, free testing for coronavirus in england is essentially scrapped for most people. in wales as well, most testing has been lifted and in scotland and northern ireland it will come towards the end of april. instead of going to a testing centre or getting a free test to take at home, you have to buy one from a pharmacy for about £2 each. it is all part of the government's strategy of living with the virus. when you look at hospitalisations for covid it is a slightly different story. that is about 20,000 people currently in hospital across the uk with covid. that number has been going up but nowhere near as quickly as the number of infections has been going up. half of that number, half of the 20,000 are in hospital

primarily because of covid, being treated for it. the other half, are in hospital because they have gone in hospital because they have gone in for other reasons, it could be a slipped disc, broken ankle and they have tested positive inside. this is what the government is pointing to, even though we are seeing this increase in infections we are not seeing an increase in people who are sick with the disease. is seeing an increase in people who are sick with the disease.— sick with the disease. is that a direct result _ sick with the disease. is that a direct result of _ sick with the disease. is that a direct result of the _ sick with the disease. is that a direct result of the vaccination j direct result of the vaccination that millions of people have had that millions of people have had that we are seeing milder cases that would potentially have been more severe had it not been for the vaccinations?— severe had it not been for the vaccinations? , , ., ., vaccinations? exactly, combination of vaccinations _ vaccinations? exactly, combination of vaccinations and _ vaccinations? exactly, combination of vaccinations and people - vaccinations? exactly, combination of vaccinations and people being i of vaccinations and people being repeatedly infected with the virus. if you have had omicron, you are ten times as likely as delta to be infected again for a second or third time, because it can break through the wall of immunity you have got. that means overall, even though people will be infected, their protection against severe disease is much higher than it would have been

by through vaccination of previous infection. people are catching it but fewer are ending up in intensive care for example. england find out who they will face in qatar in november, as the fifa world cup draw takes place later this afternoon. scotland and wales will also discover their potential group in the competition, if they can make it through the play—offs injune. there has been criticism over the decision to stage the tournament in qatar because of concerns over the country's human rights record and how it's treating migrant workers building the stadiums. i'm joined by matt willis, from the football supporters association. it must be very exciting as we await the draw? , ., , . 1' , it must be very exciting as we await the draw? , .,, . «1 , .., the draw? yes, it has quickly come u on us. the draw? yes, it has quickly come upon us- it — the draw? yes, it has quickly come upon us- it is— the draw? yes, it has quickly come upon us- it is a _ the draw? yes, it has quickly come upon us. it is a little _ the draw? yes, it has quickly come upon us. it is a little bit— upon us. it is a little bit different, normally sat in the cold in december waiting for the draw to take place for the world cup in june. little bit different this

time, 1st of april for one taking place in november and december. there are controversies around qatar hosting the tournament, its laws on gay people, its treatment of these migrant workers who have it seems not been treated well as they have been building the stadium. do you think it was the right place, as the football supporters association, do you feel it was the right place for the tournament to be hosted? brute you feel it was the right place for the tournament to be hosted? we need to acknowledge — the tournament to be hosted? we need to acknowledge a _ the tournament to be hosted? we need to acknowledge a world _ the tournament to be hosted? we need to acknowledge a world cup _ the tournament to be hosted? we need to acknowledge a world cup should - the tournament to be hosted? we need to acknowledge a world cup should be l to acknowledge a world cup should be played around the world, it should provide opportunities to people in all six continents and it should be on the road and not played in the same nations here we see in football. the football powerhouse, however we want to label them. nonetheless, there should be minimum standards for a tournament and they should be in place. that is in relation to lgbt rights, human

rights, workers' rights. there are greater concerns with this world cup in the context it is very different to a world cup held in russia or brazil, in a country of that size compared to a country the size of qatar. if you wanted to go to russia or you wanted to go to brazil as a fan you could do it on a budget. you could get one flight in, travel by bus and travel by rail, you could travel by car. with how small qatar is and the accommodation situation, that limits you to being able to do it on a budget and do it as little as cost as possible. flights and accommodation are expensive and there is still not much known about how that looks. hopefully that will be cleared up in the coming days. it is still an expensive experience for fans. ., ., , , ., fans. you mention the expense of iiettin to fans. you mention the expense of getting to qatar— fans. you mention the expense of getting to qatar and _ fans. you mention the expense of getting to qatar and staying - fans. you mention the expense of getting to qatar and staying there and we have been talking throughout

our programmes today about the cost of living crisis that people are facing. in many cases, barely even able to meet the essentials, do you think we will see fewer people making the journey to go and support the side this year?— the side this year? there is a ieneral the side this year? there is a general pattern _ the side this year? there is a general pattern when - the side this year? there is a general pattern when it - the side this year? there is a l general pattern when it comes the side this year? there is a - general pattern when it comes to world cups. it tends to be a core group that will go to any england game regardless of where it is in the world. they will be there, as they were for the first game in russia. as the national team progress it tends to be more people will find a way to get there. if we find ourselves in the semifinal or final in december they will be an increased number of people going there. forthe increased number of people going there. for the group stages, the cost of being in qatar and the cost of being in qatarforfour cost of being in qatar and the cost of being in qatar for four weeks should be get to a final, is incredibly high. the accommodation, as i mentioned, it is high. my return flight, probably £1000 direct at the moment and that may increase.

we are hopeful they will be more flights added in due course, but there is no official confirmation yet. there is no official confirmation et. ., ., , 1 there is no official confirmation et. ., ., ,1 ., , there is no official confirmation et. ., ., ,1 ., yet. you mentioned lgbt fans who may have concerns — yet. you mentioned lgbt fans who may have concerns travelling _ yet. you mentioned lgbt fans who may have concerns travelling and _ yet. you mentioned lgbt fans who may have concerns travelling and there - have concerns travelling and there are groups like three lions pride, do you think they will want to go, are the steps they should take in terms of their safety? absolutely, we work closely _ terms of their safety? absolutely, we work closely with _ terms of their safety? absolutely, we work closely with them - terms of their safety? absolutely, we work closely with them and - terms of their safety? absolutely, we work closely with them and we j we work closely with them and we have released a statement with regards to the lack of cooperation or lack of guarantee of their safety and they cannot advise their members to travel. there are concerns there hasn't been any structured dialogue between fifa and the respective groups. that statement was signed by their counterparts in north america, it is signed by counterparts in germany, norway. there are major concerns when it comes to that and

we would urge there is dialogue as soon as possible. we will take it from there, but so far we keep being told this would be a world cup and it is inclusive and it is fine but there are no guarantees, which is a concern. ., there are no guarantees, which is a concern. . , _, , concern. the draw is coming up in less than an _ concern. the draw is coming up in less than an hour— concern. the draw is coming up in less than an hour from _ concern. the draw is coming up in less than an hour from now, - concern. the draw is coming up in less than an hour from now, i - concern. the draw is coming up in i less than an hour from now, i think. less than an hourfrom now, i think. what would a dream draw result be for england in your view? i what would a dream draw result be for england in your view?— for england in your view? i think that is a tricky _ for england in your view? i think that is a tricky question! - for england in your view? i think that is a tricky question! i - for england in your view? i think that is a tricky question! i thinkl that is a tricky question! i think if you can avoid germany or the netherlands in pot two, if you can avoid senegal, i think it is in pot three, they look pretty good and they had a good run in the africa cup of nations, and then tottenham before, i am cup of nations, and then tottenham before, iam not cup of nations, and then tottenham before, i am not sure if it would be brilliance of whether it would be best to avoid wales or scotland should they be able to get past ukraine. ~ ., ., ukraine. well, there we go. i have noted that — ukraine. well, there we go. i have noted that down, _ ukraine. well, there we go. i have noted that down, let _ ukraine. well, there we go. i have noted that down, let see - ukraine. well, there we go. i have noted that down, let see what -

noted that down, let see what happens at the draw. sorry to put you on the spot like that. thank you very much. now it's time for a look at the weather with darren bett. hello everyone. i don't think this weekend will be quite as cold and today the strong, cold winds are easing down but we still have some wintry showers coming in, many feeding of the north sea into eastern parts of england. the cloudy weather, windy weather we have got in the south—east should tend to move away. this cloud is moving down into northern ireland, bringing wet weather, rain and also snow to the hills of western parts of scotland. elsewhere some sunshine, scattering of showers and even developing inland for a while. those will tend to fade away this evening and we will see wetter weather clearing away from northern ireland, pushing down into wales in the south—west where we will see snow over the hills of wales and over the moors as well. otherwise clearer skies and fewer showers and those will continue around eastern coasts of england and there could be

icy patches. it looks frosty for much of england and also scotland, but nowhere near as cold as it was last night for northern ireland and wales. we will see the back of the wet weather for wales and the south west of england. sunny spells, cloud bubbling up and a scattering of showers coming in particularly across england and wales, fewer showers for scotland and northern ireland. it may stay dry in places here. is keeping up to nine or 10 degrees. fewershowers here. is keeping up to nine or 10 degrees. fewer showers this weekend because this area of high pressure is building towards the uk. this is a weather system that will push down from the north. that will increase the cloud on sunday for scotland and northern ireland and bring outbreaks of rain later as well. england and wales starts cold and frosty, plenty of sunshine, the cloud will build, spread out a bit and they could be one or two showers but for many places i think it will be dry. temperatures creeping up a bit more, ten or 11 degrees in the afternoon. heading into the start of next week

and is weather front begins to push down from the north, bringing with it some rain. in between those weather fronts is what we call a warm sector, warmer air but it is cloudy air and you can see on monday there will be a lot of cloud around. rain from time to time and a strong wind as well, perhaps touching gale force in some parts of scotland. there's temperatures will be higher and we could start monday with frost, which will probably make a nice change but temperatures getting up nice change but temperatures getting up to 13 or 14 degrees. the rest of the week does look unsubtle, rain at times but away from northern scotland it shouldn't as cold.

this is bbc news. i'm ben boulos. the headlines: millions of people will see a steep rise in their energy bills from today — the largest in living memory. it isa it is a very worrying time. in fact, it is a very worrying time. in fact, i am feeling rather depressed about it all because i am not a magician, i cannot conjure this extra money up out of thin air. britain's insolvency service has started formal criminal and civil investigations into p&o ferries. it follows the company's decision to fire hundreds of workers without notice last month. russian officials say ukrainian helicopters have carried out a strike on a fuel storage facility in the west of russia. the ukrainian foreign minister had this to say. ican i can neither confirm nor reject the

claim that ukraine was involved in this. in football, england are among the top seeds for the world cup draw that takes place in doha today. wales and scotland are also included in the draw. hello, a very good afternoon and welcome to the programme. the biggest rise in energy prices in living memory has come into effect in britain, just as millions of households face increases in other bills and national insurance payments. on average, gas and electricity bills will cost an extra £700 a year, a sum charities say millions of households will struggle to pay. the chancellor, rishi sunak,

has previously pledged to "take the sting out" of the price rises. higher energy prices are not the only way households and businesses will feel a squeeze on their finances, as the cost of living increases. council tax bills are also on the rise across england, scotland and wales, with the majority of households seeing total hikes of around 3%, an average of £67 a year. to offset energy price rises, the government is offering a £150 rebate for around 20 million households in england in bands a to d. water bills are also rising by an average of about £7 a year in england and wales. on the 6th of april, national insurance contributions will go up by1.25%, which the government says will help clear the nhs backlog and contribute towards social care costs. and for 2.5 million workers

on the minimum wage, they'll see their income rise by 59 pence an hour, to £9.50. with more on the unprecedented rise in energy bills, here's our consumer affairs correspondent colletta smith. there's more chances of us going into debt with the rises of the electricity and water bill, the council tax, everything is having a rise, plus the petrol. mum of three qurat ul ain is making small changes in the house to try and keep those energy bills under control. my washing, i normally do it throughout the week but now i'm doing it over the weekend. so it's a big wash. i've stopped using my hairdryer because it takes about 45 minutes to dry my hair. what the kids do is reach up to the heating, "mummy, we're cold, mummy, we're cold," so where are they supposed to go? at westminster primary on the other side of town, they already give food parcels to some families. but now they've started collecting blankets, dressing gowns and hot water bottles to give out as well.

we are totally expecting that as the energy prices really bite that more of our families will be pushed into a poverty situation and therefore the children will be coming to us having maybe not eaten a warm meal every day, they may be coming from a cold home or not slept properly. and the impact on that then for their education is quite extreme. the uk's biggest supplier is british gas. the boss says they make very little profit from customers, but their oil and gas extraction has made a lot more money. 80% of the additional profits have gone to the government. so i think the profits have gone up byjust over 500 million, and the tax bill has gone up byjust over 400. that is exactly right. i'm looking for no sympathy, that's how the system should work. and i'm very comfortable. the question is how government uses those additional funds. the government have already announced a couple of things to try and help with those energy price rises. they're taking £150 off most people's council

tax bill in england, and from september, there will be £200 available to most households in england, scotland and wales, and that will be through your energy bill, but it's a loan so you have to pay it back. even if you qualify for both of those things, that will still only cover around half of the rise that we are seeing in a typical household's energy bills. it's either feed them or heat my house. or i don't eat and they eat. so, yeah. it's not great, it's over £300 a month now. yeah, yeah, it's ridiculous, isn't it? it's ridiculous, the price of it now. got a text this morning, funnily enough, off british gas, asking me to send my reading in. must be preparing us for the worst. crazy. and with bills going up again in the autumn, people will keep trying to cut back where they can. people are really struggling. they bring their washing in, they normally leave it for washing and drying, but nowadays, they wash it at home and they leave it for dry,

or they get it washed here and they take it home to dry. with qurat ul ain's energy bills going up by at least £30 a month, she doesn't think the government help will cover the extra. it's not enough. £200, it won't make up to the months that we will be paying for. it's not going to help. so in this home, their lights are going off to keep the bills down. coletta smith, bbc news, in bradford. so with huge pressures on household budgets, what more can the government do to alleviate the financial burden? here's our political correspondent helen catt. the price rises today are just the start of what is likely to be a long—running debate over how the government should help people with the higher cost of living. the measures already announced by the chancellor, rishi sunak, are worth billions of pounds. ministers say there have to be limits. it's going to be hard and we're all going to have to work together to get through it. i know that the chancellor of the exchequer is looking very closely, on an almost daily basis, at the impact it's having

on individuals and theirfamilies, and across the economy, and trying to balance the assistance we give within the financial constraints we have got, with an economy, don't forget, that has just come out of a pandemic, having spent £400 billion keeping people going through two extremely tough years. but will those who are facing rising bills find it's enough? the labour leader has been meeting people in dewsbury and he says not. the government response has been utterly pathetic, no real response to that, no comfort to people who are so worried. what we, the labour party, have said is look, the oil and gas companies in the north sea have made excess profits over and above what they expected because of the high level of pricing across the world. that windfall tax should be used to take up to £600 off people's bills. that would deter investment, says the government, at a time when it is also looking to the north sea to help secure energy supply. in hull, the liberal democrat leader said vat should be cut. we want to give extra help for people's energy bills

if they are on benefits orstruggling, disabled and so on, and that would be hundreds of extra pounds. so, we have a very different policy from the conservatives who i think are letting people down and not taking the action that's needed in this cost of living emergency. there are real worries in westminster, including among conservative mps, about what's going to happen as costs keep going up over the coming months. the impact of the national insurance rise, which starts next week, will be reduced injuly when further changes come into force, but then in the autumn it's also expected the energy price cap will rise again, so there is a pretty widespread expectation that the government is likely to have to offer more at some point. instead of offering a £200 loan, which the government plans to claw back in future bills, things like that need to be converted into grants and if the government can't do anything about the wholesale price of energy, which we accept oil and gas are internationally traded commodities, then it needs to be doing more to take the edge off

people's bills and put money in people's pockets. and as bills keep increasing, so will the political heat. helen catt, bbc news, westminster. earlier we heard from george mycock, a charity workerfrom london. he had this to say on the cost of living crisis. with the energy bills rising, i think a lot of people will be having cuts to how much money they can spend on food and people who already have an issue with food or heating, with it being so restricted it will be a problem. you recently moved to london, what kind of changes are you having to make? where are you seeing the biggest cost pressures? one huge change i have had to make recently is we have been given a 30 day notice to leave our house

and find a new place, so having to deal with a deposit... i think the reason the landlord has taken it back is because of the energy crisis, three of my flatmates will technically be homeless, they will have to move back to theirfamilies and commute into london. i have managed to find somewhere but it looks like i will struggle to spend much money, probably £4 a day on food if i can. that really puts it in sharp focus. are you able to get help? is there enough support there? do you find there are schemes to assist you or how are you managing with that? not brilliant. obviously i have an eating disorder myself, and restriction around food has always been a problem for me and the fact that i am being forced to only eat very specific foods and a very specific amount is definitely increasing the stress for me. as for schemes, i am not really finding too much.

i have not really looked to be honest, i think the stress of it is a bit too much at the moment, especially whilst having to try and find a house and deal with everything that is going on with the move, it is just a lot going on and can feel a bit much for me. specifically on the energy bills, how does that work in the kind of tenancy arrangement you are in now? do you pay a fixed sum? is it included in your rent? currently we have, i'm not quite sure on the terminology, but we have an upper buffer and if it goes above that we have to pay the excess. we are not sure how it will work this time around. we are having to leave not this weekend, the weekend after, so i imagine we willjust get the excess added to our bill at the end. i'm not sure what will happen, but with my new house, we are paying bills by ourselves, so i'm having to figure that out

pretty much immediately when moving, so i do not know the person and we will immediately have to sit down and think how are we going to eat, live, deal with this? and we do not really know. whereabouts were you living before london? have you experienced these kind of cost pressures before? because often when people renew a tenancy, they can be a bit ofjump in the rent or maybe council tax goes up a bit more steeply than it did before, but it is just this combination, have you ever experienced this many things going up in price at the same time? i have not, myself. i have only recently moved out of my parents' house after doing a masters degree, so am quite new to the housing business. i have only been in this house for two months and not for two months and now i am being kicked out, but speaking at being at home, i come from stoke—on—trent and the estate where i lived

on at home, i know there are people already struggling with food and i'm sure you have spoken to people today and it is all over the news, but there are people who are already struggling to feed their kids and families and they are working all day, it is not like they are not doing anything, and this willjust suddenly make them decide whether they feed themselves or their children and what are they going to do? so i'm in a privileged position. i can still eat, just cannot eat much. my housemates are technically homeless, but at least they have a family to go to. there are some people who do not have any of that, and i'm stressed, so it is horrible for other people. britain's insolvency service has started formal criminal and civil investigations in ferry company p&o after it announced it was firing around 800 staff without notice to replace them with agency staff. last week, the boss of the company which operates between the uk and neighbouring european countries, admitted the company had probably broken employment law by not informing unions that their workers were at risk of losing theirjobs.

the transport secretary, grant shapps, has called on the ceo, peter hebblethwaite, to resign over the decision. our transport correspondent katy austin has been giving us more detail. the day after the shock announcement that nearly 800 seafarers were sacked without notice, the business secretary, kwasi kwarteng, wrote to peter hebblethwaite, the boss of p&o ferries, and in that letter he outlined there are clear rules employers must follow, including consulting with a trade union or representatives, and notifying in advance the secretary of state via the insolvency service. and the redundancy payment service. in that letter he says it appears p&o ferries has failed in that

process and the insolvency service have been asked to look to see if it was appropriate. peter hebblethwaite appeared before the select committee and said there was no doubt they were meant to consult in advance of making this decision and failed to do so, but also insisted on more than one occasion that no criminal offence had been committed. but today, there has been an update. the insolvency service has written back to the business secretary after he asked them for an update and i have a copy of that letter in front of me. it says, i can confirm, this is the inspector general and chief executive from the insolvency service saying this in the letter, i can confirm that the insolvency service has initiated both formal criminal and civil investigations into the circumstances surrounding the recent redundancies made by p&o ferries. so not a lot more detail at this stage and p&o ferries currently is not commenting in response to that letter that has come up today, but it is obviously a significant development,

although it does come just a day after the deadline was reached for those employees to respond to their redundancy offers that they received to engage with that process, and we understand that all but one of them has done so in time. and ijust want to pick up on that point about the workers, because a criminal and civil investigation, it is all well and good, but does it mean any of these people will get their jobs back or is that very unlikely? my understanding at the moment is it does not affect the progress of these proceedings, as you were just saying, it does not mean all these workers will get their old jobs back, absolutely not, and actually, as i said, once they engaged with that redundancy offer, we know that hundreds of them had already signed settlement agreements, so legally it would be pretty much impossible as i understand to go back on. so i do not think this is about stopping the procedure and stopping that big change that

p&o ferries has said it is forced to make, it argued for financial reasons, to a completely different crewing model, i do not think it stops at, but it is about whether they could potentially be repercussions in the future, depending of course on the results of the insolvency service investigations. our transport correspondent there. the headlines on bbc news: millions of people will see a steep rise in their energy bills from today — the largest in living memory. britain's insolvency service has started formal criminal and civil investigations into p&o ferries. it follows the company's decision to fire hundreds of workers without notice last month. russian officials say ukrainian helicopters have carried out a strike on a fuel storage facility in the west of russia. the ukrainian foreign minister had this to say.

we will try and bring you that statement from the ukrainian foreign minister a little later in the programme. russian officials say ukrainian helicopters have carried out a strike on a fuel storage facility in the west of russia. emergency services say 170 personnel are trying to put out a fire in belgorod. ukraine hasn't commented, but ukrainian aircraft haven't hit targets in russia before. the kremlin says the attack will hinder peace talks. our correspondent in moscowjenny hill gave us this update. this is the first time since the invasion began that russia has reported a successful ukrainian attack on its territory. we have not been able to independently verify that this was indeed an attack. this came from the governor of the belgorod region this morning who said that overnight, two ukrainian military helicopters carried out air strikes and hit this fuel depot, sparking this great fire which emergency services are still trying to put out.

he said that two workers had been injured, but there were no other casualties. as i say, there is no independent verification as yet, although there is footage, unverified, circulating in media and on social media, but i think what is perhaps the most interesting feature of this development so far is the rather muted response we have had from moscow. the kremlin would usually seize any opportunity to cast ukraine as an aggressor and we are not really seeing that kind of belligerent language being used as yet. we did hear from the governor of the neighbouring region, which also borders ukraine, who said he was going to put his security forces on high alert, but beyond that, really the language and tone has been somewhat muted. it is really tempting to speculate about the reasons for that. it may be that moscow is simply trying to establish exactly what happened, but there is the possibility of course that having boasted of having achieved air superiority over ukraine, the russians

are seeing this as a rather humiliating alleged attack on their territory. it is perhaps not something they really want to go into detail about. we will have to wait and see. the kremlin did say, as you mentioned, that this is not going to do the peace talks any good. again, the language there is reasonably soft. a spokesman for the kremlin earlier said that the development will not create comfortable conditions for the continuation of those negotiations, which are of course going on this afternoon in an online format. speaking in the last couple of hours, the ukrainian foreign minister had this to say when asked whether his country was behind the attack. ican i can neither confirm nor reject the

claim that ukraine was involved in this, simply because i do not possess all the military information. the metropolitan police say they are introducing a pilot scheme in the boroughs of hackney and tower hamlets that would the response follows hackney mayor philip glanville's calls for an urgent action plan following the case of child q. to tell us more, i'm joined by our correspondent, celestina olulode. what do the police say they will do? the met police will look at and review their policy into the intimate searches of underage teens. let's remind ourselves of some of the key details of this distressing case. it involves a 15—year—old girl who we know only for legal reasons as child q. she was strip searched, no appropriate adult was present when two female officers strip—searched her. her intimate body parts were exposed, she was on her period at the time and police told her to take off her sanitary

towel. she was wrongly suspected of carrying drugs and we note that a safeguarding review found that racism was likely to have been a factor in this case. bud racism was likely to have been a factor in this case.— racism was likely to have been a factor in this case. and since that happened. _ factor in this case. and since that happened. the — factor in this case. and since that happened, the met _ factor in this case. and since that happened, the met police - factor in this case. and since that happened, the met police have i happened, the met police have apologised, but what more have they said? , , ., ,. ., .,, said? this new pilot scheme that has been announced _ said? this new pilot scheme that has been announced will— said? this new pilot scheme that has been announced will mean _ said? this new pilot scheme that has been announced will mean in - said? this new pilot scheme that has| been announced will mean in hackney and tower hamlets, children under the age of 18 who undergo intimate searches, these searches will need to be authorised by an inspector. the force, the met police, it says its current position requires a conversation with a supervisor and the presence of an appropriate adult. training will also be offered to police on the front line, adult vacation we know it's a form of racial bias. the safeguarding review

found that was highly likely to have been a factor in this case. how are people responding? i attended two rallies, there are also questions are continuing over atjust how also questions are continuing over at just how this also questions are continuing over atjust how this case has been handled. we know the officers involved in this case removed from front—line duties on the 17th of march, three days after the publication of this safeguarding review and over 15 months after the incident took place in december 2020. ., «1 ,., incident took place in december 2020. ., «1 y., , incident took place in december 2020. ., 1 . we can turn to news on ukraine, actually... we will come back to ukraine later, let's turn our

attention to covid. we broke the news earlier that a record 4.9 million people in the uk are estimated to have had coronavirus in the week ending march 26th, up from 4.3 million in the previous week. our health correspondentjim reed told me how this wave of infections compares to previous peaks. there are two main reasons why infection rates have been going up, one is we saw the last remaining covid restrictions being lifted at the end of february in england and staggered times across the rest of united kingdom, but as people mix more, people do not wear masks on transport, as testing is scaled back as well, you will see infections pick up, that is one reason. perhaps the more important reason is this new offshoot, as it is called, of the omicron variant, called ba.2, which is proving to be even more contagious and transmissible than the version we saw at the christmas. we are really seeing that feed through to now. we have this weekly survey every

friday from the office for national statistics in the uk — one in every 13 people would have tested positive for the virus last week. that is a record since they started with this survey in april 2020. that is 5 million people who would have tested positive in a single week, so these are quite significant numbers we have seen coming through. and when we look at... you mentioned the restrictions being relaxed and the effect that is having, is there any talk of restrictions coming back in, because it is no longer a legal requirement to isolate now if you test positive, it is down to individual discretion? is it likely to stay that way or what is the advice? very likely to stay that way and today's the day in england they are relaxing another important restriction, so from today, free testing for coronavirus in england is essentially scrapped for most people, in wales as well, most testing is being lifted

in scotland and northern ireland it comes towards the end of april. instead of going to a testing centre or getting a free tester to take at home, you essentially have to buy one from a pharmacy for about £2 each and this is part of the government strategy of living with the virus, because even though we are talking about infections here, when you look at hospitalisations for covid, it is this slightly different story. there are about 20,000 people currently in hospital across the uk with covid, that number has been going up but no nowhere near as quickly as the number of infections. when you look at it, about half of that number are in hospital primarily because of covid, being treated for it. the other half, about 10,000, are in hospital because they have gone in for another reason, could be a slipped disc or broken ankle, and they have tested positive when they are inside, so this is the thing the government is pointing to, even though we are seeing this increase in infections, we are not seeing a big increase in the people that are most sick with the disease. is that a direct result of the vaccinations that so many millions of people have

had, that we have had, that we are seeing milder cases that potentially would have been more severe had it not been for the vaccinations? exactly, a combination of vaccination and people being infected and repeatedly infected with the virus. we saw some figures out this week showing that if you have omicron, you are ten times as likely as delta to be infected again for a second or third time, because it can break through that wall of immunity that you have, but that means overall, people are being infected, their immunity or protection against severe disease is much higher than it would have been through vaccination and previous infection and that means people might be catching it but fewer people are ending up in intensive care for example. now it's time for a look at the weather with darren bett. hello, there. we're seeing a few more showers breaking out across england and wales, some of them of a wintry flavour as well. there's some wetter weather moving its way down into northern ireland and bringing some rain, but some hill snow into western parts of scotland.

the winds, though, are continuing to ease down and we'll see this wet weather moving into wales and the south west, that will bring some snow over the hills. elsewhere, though, it does tend to become drier, a lot of those showers fading away, skies will clear. keep some showers coming in around some north sea coastal areas, leading to some icy patches and a widespread frost in scotland and across england. but it's nowhere near as cold as it was last night for northern ireland and also for wales, where we'll see the back of that wet weather quickly in the morning and some lengthy spells of sunshine before the cloud increases, bubbles up and we get a few more showers breaking out, mainly across england and wales. it looks much drier, i think, for scotland and northern ireland. the winds will be quite light on saturday. temperatures getting up to nine or ten degrees and it may be a little bit milder as we head into the second half of the weekend.

this is bbc news. i'm ben boulos.

the headlines: millions of people will see a steep rise in their energy bills from today — the largest in living memory. it's a very worrying time. in fact i am feeling very depressed about it all. i am not a am feeling very depressed about it all. iam nota magician, i cannot conjure up this extra money out of thin air. britain's insolvency service has started formal criminal and civil investigations into p&o ferries. it follows the company's decision to fire hundreds of workers without notice last month. russian officials say ukrainian helicopters have carried out a strike on a fuel storage facility in the west of russia. the ukrainian foreign minister had this to say. i can neither confirm nor reject the claim that ukraine was involved in this. in football, england are among the top seeds for the world cup draw

that takes place in doha today. wales and scotland are also included in the draw. sport and for a full round—up, from the bbc sport centre, here's louisa. good afternoon. in around an hour's time, the draw for the 2022 world cup will be getting under way — with a number of teams, including england — discovering who they'll face at this year's tournament. 29 of the 32 world cup teams are known, with one of wales, scotland or ukraine also involved this november and december. but they won't know until the remaining european play—offs in june. ourfootball reporter mani djazmi is in doha for us.

this tournament has been dogged with allegations of corruption for decades. human rights abuse and although those controversies will continue to rage and into the world cup as well, today is a day of talking about football because this is the last milestone on the way to the world cup. although there is controversies and they will continue to rage into the world cup as well, today is a day of talking about football. because this is the last milestone on the way to the world cup. after this point, the world cup starts to become real for the coaches and the fans. the coaches can start to prepare, the fans can buy their stickers and fill in wall charts. it becomes very real. well harry maguire will be expected to play a key role for england at this year's tournament — despite not impressing fans at wembley in midweek. the manchester united defender was booed by england fans just before kick off — an incident that england manager gareth southgate and captain

harry kane have both criticised. today, maguire has also received the full support of his club manager too. he has been a very valuable player and the captain of the team and the club. also my captain. i didn't understand what was going on at wembley, but i am pretty sure it will not happen in our stadium with the red army behind the team, the club and also behind the captain. for me, he is a very important player. to cricket and yorkshire's interim managing director darren gough says it's time for the club to move forward after structural reforms at the club were approved. thursday's changes mean yorkshire can host international matches again, having met criteria set out by the england and wales cricket board. the ecb suspended the club's right to stage england games over its handling of the azeem rafiq racism scandal. since i come into the club in january i thank the members of the club have been magnificent. i was

pretty confident that we would go ahead last night and it would be positive. it shows they are committed as members in making this a fantastic cricket club once again. from one world cup to another. englands anya shrubsole says she is full of confidence ahead of sundays cricket world cup final. the defending champions take on an australia side that are yet to be beaten in the tournament. england on the other hand lost their first three games but, shrubsole says they didnt have a great start at the last world cup, and went on to win it. obviously we lost the first game in 2017 but then we went on a pretty good run after that. like i said, we have taken the long run rang, made life pretty difficult for ourselves at times. but the end result is the same, we are in a world cup final and we are full of confidence after the

semifinal. england scrum—half natasha hunt has been named in this weekend's england squad. it will be her first start for 17 months when they play italy, in the women's six nations on sunday. hunt "stepped back" from international rugby in 2021 because she was unhappy in the england camp. her inclusion this weekend means the 33—year—old can now fight for a place in october's world cup squad. that's all the sport for now. the government says it will now go ahead with plans to ban so—called conversion therapy for gay and bisexual people in england and wales. downing street had said it would drop the proposals — but then did a u—turn just hours later after a strong backlash. it will make the practice illegal, but said the new ban would not cover people with gender dysphoria — that's when someone feels there is a mismatch between their biological sex and the gender they identify as. earlier we spoke to jane fae, director of advocacy group transactual therapy is about getting people to

explore and understand what they are feeling. there is this complete misrepresentation when referring to trans— children in telling them yes, they are right. it is not, it is about saying, we will not tell you you are wrong, which is a different thing. give them the space to explore and then move forward from that. with me now is dr david bell — a former consultant psychiatrist at the tavistock and portman nhs foundation. he was a whistleblower who raised concerns about the trust's gender identity development service. very good to have you here on bbc news. we have heard concerns about not including people with gender dysphoria in the protections offered by such a ban, do you agree it would leave them potentially open to the harm is that gay and bisexual people

would then be protected from? 50mg. would then be protected from? sorry, it is a rather— would then be protected from? sorry, it is a rather convoluted _ would then be protected from? sorry, it is a rather convoluted question, - it is a rather convoluted question, can i rephrase it slightly? are you asking me if the exclusion of transgender or children with gender dysphoria from this bill would mean that they were potentially open to damage by being excluded? correct. no, ithink damage by being excluded? correct. no, i think entirely _ damage by being excluded? correct. no, i think entirely the _ damage by being excluded? correct. no, i think entirely the opposite. - damage by being excluded? correct. no, i think entirely the opposite. i i no, i think entirely the opposite. i think it is... i am very pleased the government have listened to clinicians and listen to the concerns of the equalities office and equal rights, the human rights commission. there are grave problems about this legislation in confusing about this legislation in confusing a number of bishoo dellit —— different issues. the legislation was problematic. first of all it

seemed to be basing itself on evidence which really has very little foundation and has been roundly criticised and has been criticised by the government themselves in their bill, who recognise there is little evidence, if any evidence for conversion therapy in homosexual, lesbian or transgender people. one of the big problems of the bill is it co nflates. .. problems of the bill is it conflates. . ._ problems of the bill is it conflates. .. problems of the bill is it conflates... 1 conflates. .. are you saying it doesnt conflates. .. are you saying it doesn't go — conflates. .. are you saying it doesn't go on, _ conflates. .. are you saying it doesn't go on, it _ conflates. .. are you saying it doesn't go on, it doesn't - conflates. .. are you saying it - doesn't go on, it doesn't happen? i am not saying it doesn't happen at all because you cannot produce a complete negative, but i'm saying there is no evidence that any... all there is no evidence that any... all the psychotherapies exist under a...

why not strengthen that position in law and bring in a band that covers all of those things if you are saying they don't happen anyway? the law saying they don't happen anyway? tie: law gives saying they don't happen anyway? i1ie: law gives no definition saying they don't happen anyway? i“1ie: law gives no definition of saying they don't happen anyway? i1“ie: law gives no definition of what it means by conversion therapy. as you know, it conflates physical assault, including rape, exorcism and something equals talking therapies. these things are very, very different. as the equalities office pointed out, we already have legislation in terms of laws against harassment, laws against physical abuse and other various legislative frameworks. the ban for instance, exorcism carried out or someone being subjected to physical assault like rape to get the demon out of them. to conflate these things with

talking therapies and the ones i'm talking therapies and the ones i'm talking about are the ones registered within their own professional framework, registered within their own professionalframework, already have, within their framework, have, within theirframework, a prohibition. to introduce a law would produce great confusion here and i can explain why. do would produce great confusion here and i can explain why.— and i can explain why. do you think the ban on — and i can explain why. do you think the ban on conversion _ and i can explain why. do you think the ban on conversion therapy - the ban on conversion therapy shouldn't be brought in at all or it shouldn't be brought in at all or it shouldn't extend to transgender people, people with gender dysphoria? i people, people with gender dysphoria?— people, people with gender d s-horia? «1 . , ., dysphoria? i think... why am pausing. _ dysphoria? i think... why am pausing. it — dysphoria? i think... why am pausing. it is _ dysphoria? i think... why am pausing, it is difficult - dysphoria? i think... why am pausing, it is difficult to - dysphoria? i think... why am i pausing, it is difficult to answer. i don't really know what is being referred to by the term conversion therapy. let referred to by the term conversion thera . , . «1 , referred to by the term conversion thera . , , ., ., therapy. let me pick up on that -oint. .. therapy. let me pick up on that point... no. — therapy. let me pick up on that point... no, let— therapy. let me pick up on that point... no, let me _ therapy. let me pick up on that point... no, let me finish. - therapy. let me pick up on that point... no, let me finish. it i point... no, let me finish. it should be — point... no, let me finish. it should be illegal _ point... no, let me finish. it should be illegal for - point... no, let me finish. it should be illegal for people | point... no, let me finish. it i should be illegal for people to point... no, let me finish. it - should be illegal for people to be should be illegalfor people to be subjected, for example, to a kind of

brutal, psychological or physical assault in order to attempt to change their gender identity or sexual identity. when the law starts to come into the context of psychotherapy, it becomes much more complicated and maybe i need to explain why that is. i complicated and maybe i need to explain why that is.— explain why that is. i 'ust wondered, i explain why that is. i 'ust wondered, ii explain why that is. i 'ust wondered, i want i explain why that is. i 'ust wondered, i want to h explain why that is. i just wondered, i want to pick| explain why that is. i just i wondered, i want to pick up explain why that is. i just - wondered, i want to pick up on something you said, does it come down to the importance of getting the definitions right of what is permissible in terms of therapies that help people talk through their feelings and the correct outcome for them and define that in law? versus sort of more harmful approaches that could leave people feeling depressed, feeling like they are on validated in what they are feeling? you see, i think the problem here, we have to start where i started,

you introduced me as someone who was involved in what we could call whistle—blowing. the whistle—blowing was to do with the legit service in the nhs trust. the service has now been extensively criticised in various places, including various legal processes that have happened, but most recently in terms of a report that made it very clear it is the wrong model and the wrong structure and that these children need to have an entirely different kind of approach, to the affirmative approach which had been. the reason for this is, we are talking about very troubled young people. we are talking about over 4000% explosion in presentations of children with gender dysphoria, that is children who have that psychological disturbance in relation to their sexual body. there are a number of

pathways to this and there has been a great pressure to affirm these children as being trans, for example when they present, without appropriate exploration. 35% of these children are on the autistic spectrum. a large number of these children and that it has been acknowledged by the lgbt alliance, a large number of the children are gay and lesbian children who are suffering in relation to their sexual orientation and need to be helped to understand themselves better. so they have an internalised homophobia, they hate themselves, they hate their sexual body and they want to get out of it. what is really important in these instances is to recognise the terrible suffering of these children are not specifically labelled them as trans— and put them on the medical pathway which has irreversible consequences. the reason i say all that is because

there has been a tendency to interpret the memorandum of understanding, which is a professional framework, understanding, which is a professionalframework, as implying professional framework, as implying that professionalframework, as implying that children and young people who present with gender identity issues should be immediately affirmed. and it is this should be immediately affirmed. and newsmn should be immediately affirmed. and it is this that has caused damage. why the legislation is a problem is, there is no definition of visit, our great concern has been, if a clinician meets a child who has various disturbances such as internalised homophobia, such as 70% are girls and why are these girls are girls and why are these girls are presenting with hatred of the sexual bodies and wanting mastectomies and so on. this needs very careful thought and not precipitate an action. if a clinician explores this... sorry, i

need to just. .. _ clinician explores this... sorry, i need tojust... sorry, _ clinician explores this... sorry, i need tojust... sorry, i- clinician explores this... sorry, i need tojust... sorry, i need - clinician explores this... sorry, i need to just. .. sorry, i need to. need to “ust... sorry, i need to finish. need tojust... sorry, i need to finish- the _ need tojust... sorry, i need to finish. the important _ need tojust... sorry, i need to finish. the important thing - need tojust... sorry, i need to finish. the important thing is, | need to just. .. sorry, i need to i finish. the important thing is, this exploring is easily misunderstood as conversion. it is very difficult to see how legislation could be introduced here, into this area without causing very significant damage. i cannot see how such legislation could be defined. i}i(. i legislation could be defined. ok, i must sa , legislation could be defined. ok, i must say. you _ legislation could be defined. ok, i must say, you referred _ legislation could be defined. ok, i must say, you referred to - legislation could be defined. ok, i must say, you referred to the - must say, you referred to the tavistock and portman trust and they have said in a statement they will work with doctor hilary cass are carried out that review and nhs england and they remain focused on providing high—quality service to children and young people in the care of that trust. i hear what you say, but ijust wonder, how do you achieve a situation where you do not, as you put it, precipitously end up with children having irreversible surgery when that is

not the ideal outcome for them? yet, at the same time avoid a situation where, if that is the right outcome, children and young people do not feel they are being affirmed and recognised and supported in the true gender identity that they feel they fit within? i gender identity that they feel they fit within? ., gender identity that they feel they fit within? . , ., , gender identity that they feel they fit within? . , ., gender identity that they feel they fitwithin? . , ., ., fit within? i am pleased to hear the tavistock are _ fit within? i am pleased to hear the tavistock are going _ fit within? i am pleased to hear the tavistock are going to _ fit within? i am pleased to hear the tavistock are going to work - fit within? i am pleased to hear the tavistock are going to work with i tavistock are going to work with hilary cass, it has to be acknowledged that what hilary cass has found is that the model they have been using for a very long period of time, is the wrong model. this is something that i and many clinicians have raised over a long period of time, the clinicians that talk to me have raised with senior staff, directors in the trust and various other people, concerns that children were being motored through very quickly. particularly those children who had multiple other problems, such as serious trauma in

the past, internalised homophobia. a lot of damage has been done to those children who have been mooted through. i am children who have been mooted through. iam pleased children who have been mooted through. i am pleased they are prepared and going to work with hilary cass. the second question you askedis hilary cass. the second question you asked is very, very important. i cannot give a, this is a way to do it. what i can say is the duty of a clinician is to do no harm. given that we know, first of all, giving puberty blockers is a potentially harmful procedure and given we know 90%, 90% of children who go on puberty blockers, and this is acknowledged, go on to have irreversible consequences and lead to infertility apart from many other medical issues. given we know there is a growing population of the

transition as who have gone down this pathway and regret it and are now in considerable difficulties, we need to be careful. careful means adopting what we call a neutral stance. that means not to affirm and not to not affirm. provide time to explore the individual�*s problems. many of these children come with scripts. they have learnt a script, what to say in order to get the medication, they have learnt it online, learned it from tea groups and sometimes from parents. it takes time... and sometimes from parents. it takes time--- some. — and sometimes from parents. it takes time... some, but— and sometimes from parents. it takes time... some, but not _ and sometimes from parents. it takes time... some, but not all? _ and sometimes from parents. it takes time... some, but not all? of- and sometimes from parents. it takes time... some, but not all? of course | time... some, but not all? of course not all. time... some, but not all? of course not all- many — time... some, but not all? of course not all. many have _ time... some, but not all? of course not all. many have been _ time... some, but not all? of course not all. many have been online - time... some, but not all? of course not all. many have been online and i not all. many have been online and have been supported in this position is seen as a solution to the many problems they have. some of them are depressed, some of them are lost children, some of them have had family histories of sexual abuse.

i'm not saying they have been abused, but sexual abuse in the maternal line but the mother having great difficulties over a female daughter. various other problems. what i'm saying is these problems need time to explore. you need to get the trust of the child and that takes a long time.— get the trust of the child and that takes a long time. time is against us, ou takes a long time. time is against us. you for— takes a long time. time is against us, you for speaking _ takes a long time. time is against us, you for speaking to _ takes a long time. time is against us, you for speaking to us. - takes a long time. time is against us, you for speaking to us. thank| us, you for speaking to us. thank ou. the head of the un nuclear watchdog says he's gained permission for his agency's staff to be on—site at nuclearfacilities in ukraine. rafael grossi said he planned to visit the chernobyl nuclear plant very soon. he spoke to my colleague lewis vaughanjones earlier. there is a lot of work to be done in chernobyl. the radiation situation is something we need to confirm. there was, as he were reminding us, a slightly increase in the levels of radiation caused by the movement of

heavy armoured vehicles and military vehicles in general when the plant was occupied a few weeks ago. and now apparently there has been a similar situation perhaps in the layout of the plant and the exclusion zone, which we know is surrounding the facility itself. so one of the things we are going to be doing if we can get there next week is this work and many other things that we need to do... fin is this work and many other things that we need to do. . ._ is this work and many other things that we need to do... on the work to do there, that we need to do... on the work to do there. let — that we need to do... on the work to do there, let me _ that we need to do... on the work to do there, let me get _ that we need to do... on the work to do there, let me get a _ that we need to do... on the work to do there, let me get a quick - that we need to do... on the work to do there, let me get a quick idea - that we need to do... on the work to do there, let me get a quick idea on| do there, let me get a quick idea on what that is. we have a number of nuclear plant sites effectively in oval zone, nuclear plant sites effectively in ovalzone, how nuclear plant sites effectively in oval zone, how worried are you and what are you doing to try and keep them safe?— what are you doing to try and keep them safe? ., , , them safe? from the very beginning ofthe them safe? from the very beginning of the conflict _ them safe? from the very beginning of the conflict we _ them safe? from the very beginning of the conflict we have _ them safe? from the very beginning of the conflict we have been - them safe? from the very beginning of the conflict we have been saying i of the conflict we have been saying that we have to have a system of

protection, an ad hoc, if you want, system to protect these facilities. 15 nuclear reactors and four big sites and other associated facility scattered around the territory of one of the biggest countries in continental europe. so you can imagine, that poses a huge challenge. in the course of the past few weeks i have been consulting, negotiating with ukraine and also talking to russia because of the facts on the ground, on how to go about it. you were mentioning that i was in ukraine. in effect, i landed in vienna an hour ago for my trip there and also to russia. we agreed with my ukrainian colleagues to have a number of activities we are going to be performing at different facilities on the safety of this

plant and also on some inspection work we need to do to control the nuclear material that is in many of these facilities. hundreds of people in england who have type 1 diabetes are testing a potentially life—changing artificial pancreas. it uses a sensor under the skin to monitor blood sugar levels — which can mean better control of the condition, minimising the risks of high and low blood sugar levels that can lead to serious complications. our medical editor fergus walsh has the story. just want to pull this down, just do your height. six—year—old charlotte from lancashire is one of 400,000 people in the uk with type 1 diabetes. can i see? of course. her body can't make insulin, the hormone which regulates blood sugar levels. you can give me hand a bit of a squeeze on this side. as part of a trial she has a sensor on her arm which continuously monitors her blood glucose and sends readings to this pump,

which automatically delivers the insulin she needs. it's had such a massive impact. prior to having the loop, everything was manual. we had to, we would be up all night, some nights, you know, every hour, every two hours to do finger pricks, whereas now she can be the social child she was before, and that's, thatjust makes me so happy. what is the the best thing... it is known as a hybrid closed loop system, a sort of artificial pancreas. i don't have to do finger pricks or needles any more. and it keeps her blood sugar from going too high or too low. i think it's absolutely fantastic. i've been practising for 25 years in children's diabetes, and it is a game—changer. to be able to improve the quality of life, to be able to see that most of the blood glucose readings are within the target range is very exciting.

so the sensor's on my arm and they loop back to each other. yasmin, from south london, is astounded how much her blood sugar levels have stabilised using the new technology. so it is liberating? definitely. there is nothing i can't do, there is no situation now that makes me anxious or scared. i really feel like, before, i really could have been at risk of some of those long—terms, especially the kind of heart stuff and things like that, whereas now, i don't really see that happening. good boy, wallace. if blood sugar levels are not kept under control, diabetes patients risk long—term damage to their heart, kidneys, eyes and nerves. that is why this trial matters. if successful, it could mean patients like yasmin have longer and healthier lives. fergus walsh, bbc news.

the mountain goat minibus is still a familiar sight on the firm has marked its golden anniversary with a nostalgic journey. judy marked its golden anniversary with a nostalgicjourney. judy hobson was on board. a day to celebrate a lake district icon. the mountain goat buses have been guiding people around the spectacular countryside for half a century. today the fleet is recreating the first ever mountain goat route. jim is our driver as we make our way over caxton pass to ullswater. regurgitating up facts, but it didn't even know and you. i am interested in it, so it is not work. for the past eight years the

mountain goat company has run this pioneering _ mountain goat company has run this pioneering service carrying passengers where the other bus services — passengers where the other bus services don't go. the passengers where the other bus services don't go.— passengers where the other bus services don't go. the buses were first launched _ services don't go. the buses were first launched to _ services don't go. the buses were first launched to link— services don't go. the buses were first launched to link rural - first launched to link rural communities cut by services. but it was apparent there was a big market for taurus. this was the most famous bus. the company's original mechanic still works for them now. thear bus. the company's original mechanic still works for them now.— still works for them now. they are much better _ still works for them now. they are much better today. _ still works for them now. they are much better today. everything - still works for them now. they are j much better today. everything has come on leaps and bounds. so much better today. everything has come on leaps and bounds. so back in the old days — come on leaps and bounds. so back in the old days he _ come on leaps and bounds. so back in the old days he would _ come on leaps and bounds. so back in the old days he would have _ come on leaps and bounds. so back in the old days he would have been - the old days he would have been working on them all the time? yes. working on them all the time? yes, 80 or 90 hours _ working on them all the time? yes, 80 or 90 hours was _ working on them all the time? yes, 80 or 90 hours was the _ working on them all the time? 1913 80 or 90 hours was the normal. working on them all the time? yes, 80 or 90 hours was the normal. in | 80 or 90 hours was the normal. in the 805, this couple bought the the 80s, this couple bought the 1000th ticket. although they were not sure about the prize, a pair of goats. as well as tourist routes they still operate a public bus

service, including school runs. it service, including school run5. it has got to do many things because it has got to do many things because it has to meet the needs of the local community and what takes place in the area as well, at the same time, which is tourism. it needs to be working 12 months of the year. the buses link up _ working 12 months of the year. the bu5e5 link up with other forms of buses link up with other forms of transport and on—board today, two regular passengers. it is transport and on-board today, two regular passengers.— regular passengers. it is great because the — regular passengers. it is great because the drivers _ regular passengers. it is great because the drivers are - regular passengers. it is greatj because the drivers are super, regular passengers. it is great - because the drivers are super, they are so— because the drivers are super, they are so knowledgeable they know exactly _ are so knowledgeable they know exactly everything about everywhere. a lot of _ exactly everything about everywhere. a lot of different age groups u5e a lot of different age groups use them _ a lot of different age groups use them and — a lot of different age groups use them and they— a lot of different age groups use them and they have _ a lot of different age groups use them and they have been - a lot of different age groups u5e| them and they have been popular a lot of different age groups u5e - them and they have been popular from what i _ them and they have been popular from what i remember, _ them and they have been popular from what i remember, the _ them and they have been popular from what i remember, the last— them and they have been popular from what i remember, the last 20 - them and they have been popular from what i remember, the last 20 years . what i remember, the last 20 years or so _ what i remember, the last 20 years or so hit— what i remember, the last 20 years or so. 1 ., what i remember, the last 20 years or so. 1 . ., ., or so. at a time when we are all encouraged _ or so. at a time when we are all encouraged to _ or so. at a time when we are all encouraged to be _ or so. at a time when we are all encouraged to be green - or so. at a time when we are all encouraged to be green and - or so. at a time when we are all encouraged to be green and use public transport, mountain goat buses are as relevant as ever. judy hobson, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with darren. hello there. we are seeing if you mush hours breaking out across england and

wales, some of them wintry flavour. wet weather moving into northern ireland and bringing rain until snow into western parts of scotland. the winds are continuing to ease down and we will see the wet weather moving into wales in the south—west bring some snow over the hills. elsewhere it does tend to be dumb drier and a lot of those showers fading away, skies will clear. showers around north sea coastal areas leading to icy patches and a widespread frost in scotland and across england, but it is nowhere nearas across england, but it is nowhere near as cold as it was last night for northern ireland and wales where we will see the back of the wet weather quickly in the morning and lengthy spells of sunshine before the cloud increases, bubbles up and we get a few more showers breaking out. many across england and wales. it looks much driver scotland and northern ireland. the wins will be light on saturday, getting up to nine or 10 degrees and it could be milder as we head into the second half of the weekend.

today at 5pm: millions of people are seeing a steep rise in their energy bills from today — the largest in living memory. it's a very worrying time. in fact, you know, i'm feeling rather depressed about it all, because i am not a magician. i can't conjure this extra money up out of thin air. britain's insolvency service has started formal criminal and civil investigations into p&o ferries, after 800 workers were fired without notice last month. russian officials say ukrainian helicopters have carried out a strike on a fuel storage facility in the west of russia. the ukrainian foreign minister had this to say. i can neither confirm nor reject the claim that ukraine