a court finds ali harbi ali guilty of the murder of conservative mp sir david amess. sir david, who was member of parliament for southend west, was killed in leigh—on—sea in october last year. he has been found guilty of two counts engaging in conduct from preparation of a terrorist act and the murder of sir david amess the 69—year—old mp for southend west. more in a moment. also on the programme. two visions for france, as emmanuel macron and marine le pen make it through to the second round of the presidential election. president zelensky is warning people they must prepare for "even larger military operations in the east", as russian forces focus their efforts, on the donbas region.

a rise in the state pension and various benefits from today, but charities warn it fails to tackle the cost of living crisis. iam making, like, tremendous decisions as to how to get by for my and my family. there it is! and world number one scottie scheffler wins the masters and his first major. and coming up on the bbc news channel, a new marathon is launched to honour rugby league legend rob burrow. it will take place in leeds in may 2023, with the money raised going towards fighting motor neurone disease. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. within the last few minutes a jury

at the old bailey has found 26—year—old ali harbi ali guilty of murdering the mp sir david amess and preparing acts of terrorism. the islamic state group fanatic carried out the "cold and calculating" murder at the veteran conservative backbencher�*s constituency surgery in leigh—on—sea, in essex last october. this report from our home affairs corrrespondent daniel sandford contains flashing images. emergency. police, please, quick now, the emergency. police, please, quick now. the man — emergency. police, please, quick now, the man is _ emergency. police, please, quick now, the man is wielding - emergency. police, please, quick now, the man is wielding a - emergency. police, please, quick now, the man is wielding a knife. emergency. police, please, quick. now, the man is wielding a knife. he has killed sir david amess. it is the 15th october last year and in the 15th october last year and in the leafy suburbs of leigh on sea a man has murdered an mp. he wants to be a hero. within minutes the first two

officers arrive. they don't have gun just batons of. cautiously, they move in. just batons of. cautiousl,the move in. . cautiously, they move in. can you show us. cautiously, they move in. can you show us- stay _ cautiously, they move in. can you show us. stay back, _ cautiously, they move in. can you show us. stay back, yeah. - cautiously, they move in. can you show us. stay back, yeah. to - cautiously, they move in. can you l show us. stay back, yeah. to tackle the knife man. _ show us. stay back, yeah. to tackle the knife man. they— show us. stay back, yeah. to tackle the knife man. they have _ show us. stay back, yeah. to tackle the knife man. they have no - show us. stay back, yeah. to tackle the knife man. they have no stab i the knife man. they have no stab vests. no other protective clothing. drop the knife. vests. no other protective clothing. map the knife-— drop the knife. drop the knife now. on the floor- _ drop the knife. drop the knife now. on the floor. expletive. _ on the floor. expletive. get — on the floor. expletive. get him _ on the floor. expletive. get him down.— on the floor. expletive. get him down. search him. at the moment _ get him down. search him. at the moment you - get him down. search him. at the moment you are - get him down. search him. i at the moment you are under get him down. search him. - at the moment you are under arrest for murder, all right. that at the moment you are under arrest for murder, all right.— for murder, all right. at southend olice for murder, all right. at southend police station _ for murder, all right. at southend police station the _ for murder, all right. at southend police station the killer _ for murder, all right. at southend police station the killer blurted i police station the killer blurted out his motivation.— police station the killer blurted out his motivation. terror, terror. is that terrorist _ out his motivation. terror, terror. is that terrorist attack _ out his motivation. terror, terror. is that terrorist attack mr - out his motivation. terror, terror. is that terrorist attack mr ali. ? it | is that terrorist attack mr ali. ? it is, yeah, killed an mp, and i done it. �* is, yeah, killed an mp, and i done it. ~ ., , ~ is, yeah, killed an mp, and i done it. ~ . , ~ , it. ali harbi ali grew up in croydon. _ it. ali harbi ali grew up in croydon. he _ it. ali harbi ali grew up in croydon, he was - it. ali harbi ali grew up in croydon, he was clever, l it. ali harbi ali grew up in - croydon, he was clever, hoped to train as a doctor, but he became

radicalised in his late teens by the islamic state group's propaganda. at first, he considered killing michael gove, then, carrying a knife, he started making trips to westminster, looking for other mps. going started making trips to westminster, looking for other mps.— looking for other mps. going to the houses of parliament, _ looking for other mps. going to the houses of parliament, trying - looking for other mps. going to the houses of parliament, trying to - looking for other mps. going to the | houses of parliament, trying to spot where they come out of, what they are doing but obviously because of the the attacks, the police are armed to the teeth. this the the attacks, the police are armed to the teeth.— the the attacks, the police are armed to the teeth. this was an individual who _ armed to the teeth. this was an individual who had _ armed to the teeth. this was an individualwho had not- armed to the teeth. this was an individualwho had notjust - individual who had notjust committed atrocious murder in southend, but who had crossed the line into criminality and serious preparation for terrorism. a couple of years ago. ali settled on sir david amess as his victim almost by chance as the mp for southend west had advertised his surgery on twitter. on october 15th, had advertised his surgery on twitter. on october15th, he had advertised his surgery on twitter. on october 15th, he set out from his north london home, taking the train to leigh—on—sea and calmly walking to the church, to murder the

much loved local mp. the murder here at the methodist church rocked british politics, sir david amess was the second mp to be killed, in just over five years. his assassination and that ofjo cox risked undermining a fundamental principle of british politics, that mps should be easily available to those they represent. daniel sandford, bbc news, leigh—on—sea. matt, tell us what happened in court? a , matt, tell us what happened in court? , ., ., court? martine, the “my heard how 27-year-old _ court? martine, the “my heard how 27-year-old au — court? martine, thejury heard how 27-year-old ali harbi _ court? martine, thejury heard how 27-year-old ali harbi ali _ court? martine, thejury heard how 27-year-old ali harbi ali had - court? martine, thejury heard how 27-year-old ali harbi ali had been | 27—year—old ali harbi ali had been looking for a victim to send a message and although it was sir david amess who tragically died on 15th october, he was by no means the first mp on that list. we heard there how michael gove was targeted and other mps on the list, including jess philip, and dominic raab. now,

we had two counts, that the jury were deciding on, engaging in conduct in preparation for terrorist act, this went on for a number of years and the murder of sir david amess, and thejury years and the murder of sir david amess, and the jury tookjust 18 minutes martine, to return a verdict of guilty on both, and thejudge, judgejustin sweeney will be sentencing him on wednesday. thank ou matt. emmanuel macron and marine le pen are beginning a fortnight of campaigning, after reaching the second round of the french presidential election last night. mr macron won more than 27% of the votes, with ms le pen, who leads the far—right national rally, four points behind. opinion polls suggest the run—off could be much closer. our europe correspondent, jessica parker, reports from paris. time to get to glad—handing.

emmanuel macron has been accused of failing to get stuck into this campaign. today, he headed to a stronghold area of his opponent in northern france. the centrist, pro—eu politician with an eye for economic reform, under pressure to widen his appeal, but alain in paris is already convinced. mr macron is very sensitive to economy, but marine le pen has a gun on the head, you know, so, really, it's no—choice situation. you will be voting macron? yes, of course. far right candidate marine le pen enjoyed a recent rise in the polls. she wants to ban the muslim headscarf in public places, cut immigration, but her campaign has also zoned in on france's cost of living crunch. she was good all along, she was close to the people, she wasn't too much on the tv, she was more with us, on the field, in the series, she did everything right. today's front pages, and, as expected, it's macron v le pen.

now, for the next two weeks, they will fight it out to try and win over voters who maybe chose someone else in the first round or perhaps didn't vote at all. there was lots of choice, but 12 is now down to two. the far—left candidate, who came third, took nearly 22% of the vote. before heading to the polls, anna ruby told me she was voting green, but in a macron—le pen run—off, she would be voting blank. for no—one. politicians must change now. they must be more intelligent, and if we vote against le pen or zemmour, they won't change. they will never change. if the campaigns seemed relatively serene so far, it is now warming up, a head—to—head between two people who want to lead france in very different directions. jessica joins us from paris now.

ten candidates have now dropped out of the race, so it's a question of what happens to their votes? yes, that is a huge question over the next two weeks, as france faces a big choice, notjust for france but one which will have implications beyond their borderers so the eu, emmanuel macron driving the block forwards, marine le pen a different prospect. less talk these days round here about the idea of frexit, she wants to change the eu to replace it. then there is her ties with russia, in 2017 she visited vladimir putin, in 2014 her party took out a loan from a russian bank, she has condemned russia's invasion of ukraine, buta condemned russia's invasion of ukraine, but a marine le pen presidency would raise questions about the western alliance and its response to the invasion of ukraine.

this campaign entering its final stretch, the candidates faced each other last time round in 2017 when macron beat marine le pen comfortably but polls suggest things are looking a lot tighter. thank you jess. for all the latest on the war in ukraine, let's cross to my colleague, clive myrie, who's in the capital, kyiv. martine, thank you. president volodymyr zelensky is warning ukrainians they must prepare for "even larger operations in the east," as russian forces focus their war effort on the donbas region. satellite images show an eight mile long column of russian armoured vehicles, heading towards the area, redeployed from here in the north. consequently, the authorities have stepped up their efforts to evacuate people. nine humanitarian corridors have been agreed between ukrainian and russian officials, along with half a dozen trains

scheduled to ferry people to safety. the fear is a repeat of alledged human rights violations against civilians in the east, as happened in areas to the north of the capital here, that were formerly under russian control. the world was horrified by the pictures of civilian killings in the bucha district, and our correspondent, anna foster, is there for us live now. anna, that is the big concern now, similar treatment of civilians in the east, as happened where you are. you are right, clive. it is a huge concern because people saw those images that came out of here, and they see no reason why they wouldn't be repeated perhaps on a larger scale in the east, in places like kharkiv for exam, and mariupol in the south. what you see is destruction like this, this is the road to the bridge which was blown up road to the bridge which was blown up to try and stop the russians

coming in, this pile of twisted cars, you see cars round here, there is one riddled with bullet holes and a child's car seat in the back. gives you an idea of the devastation and fear people had when they were fleeing here. what is interesting is people coming back, a huge line of cars for a trafficjam, people waiting to return to their homes to see what is left of them. now, i have to say, it is still not safe in areas like this, just over here, there is some unexploded ordnance, a mortar which has fallen into the ground and somebody has covered round it so people don't walk past, as they come back and try and find what is left of their cars but people want to come back here, they want to try and rebuild their house, they want to try and rebuild their lives. even as people are fleeing from the east of the country, we have heard today, six, seven, eight new humanitarian corridor, out of places in the east, we could well see another movement of people from east, to west, as the next phase of

this war continues. indeed. a lot of refugee humanitarian traffic heading out of the east. president zelensky has told the south korean parliament that he fears tens of thousands of people are likely to have been killed in russia's assault, on the south—eastern city of mariupol. some civilians have managed to escape, heading north to the relative safety of the city of zaporishia, where they've been telling our correspondent tom bateman about their treatment at the hands of russian troops. mariupol is a city of survivors, forced to live underground. people say they scavenge for food or walk miles for water. amid the siege, it is the elderly and disabled most trapped in the line of fire.

80—year—old valentina has just been evacuated further north. she is blind and was in her kitchen when a shell exploded. translation: it's a good thing that my children were home, i they picked meet up, carried me outside and we left immediately. i don't know what happened to my house, if it burned down or anything, we don't have any communications. the calls are no longer going through. here, they're bringing in the wounded from all over the south. wasil was doing all he could to help his fellow villagers under fire. ferrying bread, sugar and medicines to the elderly. but moscow's war reached him at the roadside, and he rages at president putin. translation: we stopped, | i saw a bullet hit my window. as i wasjumping out of the car, i got blown up by a mine. we werejust living like normal people, we didn't ask anyone to come here. we didn't want this.

what kind of liberty is he on about? because of him, i lost my leg. i lost everything. in towns even further north of here, there are now calls to evacuate. now, these people can feel some safety here, for now. but it might not be for long. and they know how merciless the russian assault is. thousands more have fled the fighting. they arrive at the aid shelters with nothing but the trauma of war. serhei's village was caught in the crossfire. he says the russian soldiers forced him into his home, demanding vodka, stealing his money, his phone, even his shoes. he says one put a gun to his chest. translation: he cocked his weapon and pulled the trigger, _ but the weapon had a stoppage. me and my wife were holding our hands together, we thought that's it for us. and we said our goodbyes with our eyes.

but the round jammed, i pick up that bullet later and gave it to my godson as a memory of us managing to stay alive. he says he's sure he will go back home soon. ukrainians believe they've won the first stage of this war. but as russia pours troops into the east, they know the next phase will be decisive. tom bateman, bbc news, zaporizhzhia, in south—east ukraine. the austrian chancellor will later today become the first eu leader to meet president putin face—to—face since russia's invasion of ukraine. it comes as russia defaults on its foreign debt. let's speak tojenny hill in moscow. jenny, internationalsanctions, then, are beginning to really bite into the russian economy?

yes, although the technicalities and complexities of its payments to foreign investors mean that actually, in terms of that default, we won't really see any real significant impact. time yet, perhaps of greater import, really, is the visit of the austrian chancellor today, is the visit of the austrian chancellortoday, he is the visit of the austrian chancellor today, he and vladimir putin are meeting round about now. but i don't think anyone holds out great expectations of this meeting. the austrian chancellor has said he wants to talk about potential ceasefires, humanitarian corridors, he has also described this as a war of russian aggression, which he has demanded must stop. let's look at the evidence, so far, neither sanctions nor threats nor appeals have stopped vladimir putin. in the last couple of hours his foreign minister has said there will be no pause in the special military operation, as they call it here, before the next round of official peace talks. there is no doubt that this invasion has not gone according to vladimir putin's plan, but as we've seen, russian troops do appear to be intensifying their efforts in eastern ukraine, they want to take

the bonbas region, many experts say they want to do that in time for the 9th of may, a big day here in russia, when russians commemorate the anniversary of the second world war, soviet victory over nazi germany. and the thinking goes that vladimir putin could save face by presenting some kind of territorial gain in eastern ukraine as a historic win to the russian people. it begs two questions. first of all, do his troops have the capability to take and hold that territory? and secondly, if they do, will that be enough for vladimir putin? will it stop the war or will it simply embolden him to try and have another go at the rest of ukraine? jenni; go at the rest of ukraine? jenny hill there. _ go at the rest of ukraine? jenny hill there, live _ go at the rest of ukraine? jenny hill there, live in _ go at the rest of ukraine? jenny hill there, live in moscow, - go at the rest of ukraine? jenny| hill there, live in moscow, thank you. it's nearly eight weeks since russia invaded ukraine, forcing around four million people to flee the country. so far only 12,000 have reached the uk, partly down to delays in granting visas. jayne mccubbin has visited aberfeldy in the scottish highlands, in the scottish highlands,

which is ready to welcome dozens of ukrainians, but the visa backlog is causing growing frustration. aberfeldy waits. this is the town which wants to open its hearts and homes to ukrainian refugees. we're getting mary and mike. she's actually mariana and he's mikela. everybody here is sponsoring a family — 22 families in all, over 55 ukrainians. do they have their visas yet? she has hers. but almost a month after the homes for ukraine scheme launched, not a single refugee has arrived. no, and getting a bit fed up waiting. oksana is the lady we will be hosting, with her three—year—old daughter. have you got a visa? no. we have the lovely maria and two little boys, and her two little boys, who are living in one of these shelters and sleeping on the floor, so fingers crossed they will be over soon.

these are frustrations their local council is acutely aware of. there are a couple of key checks that we have to do and those are disclosure checks, and then the accommodation checks. however, we absolutely recognise that the visa process has taken a bit of time. residents will be arriving, guests will be arriving, quite soon, and if we haven't managed to get these done that won't hold us back. we will do them after the residents arrive here in aberfeldy. more than four million people have left ukraine looking for refuge. you still haven't had your visa. no, nothing still. in linda's house we catch up with tatiana, the first to apply for a visa almost a month ago. you can't stay where you are any more, can you? of course, not. well, it has been a month. i mean, people here were more than generous, they let us live here for the whole month. that is the last day and tomorrow we are moving out. the not knowing must be the worst. exactly, yeah. this tatiana is the first aberfeldy refugee to be granted a visa.

she, herfriend maria and their two children left their town just north of mariupol after it was bombed. translation: so we had no electricity and no heating, i no water, we had nothing at all, no even glass in the window, and we just couldn't stay there any longer. the government say the aim is to process applications in two to three days. on friday, priti patel apologised for delays. this is where they want to be. so far, only five of the 55 aberfeldy visa applications have been granted, so tatiana's young family and the town continue to wait. jane mccubbin, bbc news. so we have an intensification of the war in eastern ukraine, and another flood of refugees trying

to escape the fighting. president zelensky�*s recents calls for more heavy artillery, anti—tank weapons and longer—range missiles, is an acknowledgement that the fighting in the east will be much more difficult for ukrainian forces than their hit and run tactics, which have been so successful in battles here in the north. the terrain is wide and open and flat in the donbas region, perfect for heavy armour and tanks. prepare to see the kind of land warfare the continent of europe has not witnessed since the second world war. that's it from me and the team in kyiv. now back to martine, in the studio in london. our top story this lunchtime. a court finds ali harbi ali guilty of the murder of conservative mp sir david amess. and still to come... pensions and benefits go up to day but charities say the increase will not be enough.

coming up on the bbc news channel... a late charge from rory mcilroy sees him equal the lowest final round score at augusta. he ends up three shots off the eventual winner scottie scheffler, who secured his first masters title. the number of people living in extreme poverty in northern ireland could increase by two thirds because of the cost of living crisis, according to a think—tank that predicts it will be worse affected than any other part of the uk. with just over three weeks until elections to the northern ireland assembly, all parties are now facing questions about how they'll help people with rising costs. the devolved government all but collapsed in february when the democratic unionist first minister resigned in protest over brexit trading arrangements. our ireland correspondent chris page reports from north belfast. party politics here is very different to england, scotland and wales, but the issues affecting communities are often very similar. hello!

hi, kerry. people are turning to charities for the first time, as they face financial emergencies. and you're managing with your electricity and your heating? still struggling with the gas and electric that's the main thing. well, we have some more for you today to keep you going. thank you. not at all, it's a pleasure. it's a pleasure, kerry. that'll keep us going for a wee while, bubba, won't it? it's actually, hard being stuck in this. you don't want to ask for the help, but you actually do need to. kerry's caring for two sons, studying for a psychology degree and wrestling with dreadful choices. i've had to, like, determine whether it's energy orfood i'm picking. so that's why i've had to seek help, because you can'tjust pick one or the other, you need to heat your home. iam making, like, tremendous decisions as to how to get by for me and my family.

the voluntary organisation working with kerry has seen a five—fold increase in requests for help. sometimes the people who have been are our donors are now asking for help, and that's very difficult for people. i would like to see government focusing on people's needs, and coming up to the election now, i think they need to, and people will want them to. they will be asking questions. in northern ireland, the areas which are most economically deprived tend to be the places which also suffered the worst violence during the conflict. where signs of sectarian division are still very visible, such as these barriers between communities, known as peace walls. although politics has delivered a largely successful peace process, many people say there hasn't been anywhere near enough progress towards dealing with poverty. there's no energy price cap in this part of the uk. regulation's different because the market is. more oil, less gas. ministers have given an extra £200

to people on certain benefits, but families at the sharp end of rocketing bills say the devolved government must be fully restored. need to allocate that money and get back in power, in order to help northern ireland citizens survive. issues of identity can make this feel like a political place apart. but in this election, money matters are gaining ground. chris page, bbc news, belfast. the state pension and a number of means—tested benefits go up by 3.1% from today. the increase matches the rate of inflation last september, which was much lower than it is now. kevin peachey is with me. how is this rise worked out?— this rise worked out? state benefits. — this rise worked out? state benefits, things _ this rise worked out? state benefits, things like - this rise worked out? state i benefits, things like universal credit, disability benefits, it is linked, as normal, to the rate of inflation, the rising prices from last september. hence this 3.1% rise

today. the problem is that as of now, prices are rising at twice that speed, and so, that is what is causing the squeeze on the cost of living and so on. what you get in pounds and pence depends on your particular circumstances. with a state pension, it is slightly different, normally we get the triple lock, that links the rise to rising inflation, earnings or 2.5%, whichever is highest. and this time, they have taken out the earnings level, because it is skewed by covid, and so what might have been an 8% rise in the state pension is now actually a 3.1% rise. an 8% rise in the state pension is now actually a 3.196 rise.- an 896 rise in the state pension is now actually a 3.196 rise. what has the reaction _ now actually a 3.196 rise. what has the reaction been? _ now actually a 3.196 rise. what has the reaction been? charities- now actually a 3.196 rise. what has the reaction been? charities are i the reaction been? charities are sa inc, the reaction been? charities are saying. actually. _ the reaction been? charities are saying, actually, this _ the reaction been? charities are saying, actually, this does - the reaction been? charities are saying, actually, this does little | saying, actually, this does little to tackle the cost of living crisis faced by people who are on low incomes, who are on fixed incomes, and what someone like citizens advice is saying is that there should be an increase now which

matches the current rate of inflation. the government says that ignores all the support they have put in, things like helping with council tax bills, but if the rate stays high, the inflation rate stays high, then we will see that next april, we may have quite a big rise in benefits and state pension. keein in benefits and state pension. kevin peache , in benefits and state pension. kevin peachey. thank _ in benefits and state pension. kevin peachey, thank you _ in benefits and state pension. kevin peachey, thank you very _ in benefits and state pension. kevin peachey, thank you very much. - the production of cars and computer goods has fallen in the uk as economic growth slowed to 0.1% in february. the office for national statistics says that was down from 0.8% in the previous month. there was a rise in some other sectors such as tourism and travel. golf, and world number one scottie scheffler has cemented his place as the dominant force in the men's game by winning the masters and clinching his first major. despite a late surge from rory mcilroy, the 25—year—old american won in augusta by three shots. our sports correspondent andy swiss reports. cheering and applause. he's the world number one, and now he's the masters champion.

for scottie scheffler, golf at the moment is about as good as it gets. but only after seeing off a quite remarkable challenge. rory mcilroy have begun the day some ten shots behind, no chance, surely. but mcilroy conjured one of the rounds of his life, saving the very best until last. just watch this, on the final hole, he needed something special, and boy did he get it? commentator: how is the pace? come on, then, around you come, get in there... mcilroy! applause and cheering. it was the stuff of golfing dreams, a remarkable round of 64 mcavoy, suddenly he was scheffler�*s nearest rival. and the american still had to play his closing holes. would he falter? well, not a bit of it. as scheffler kept his cool and pulled clear. he was able to walk down the 18th with victory assured, and despite a few nerves as he twice missed a short putt... ..finally, it was third time lucky.

there it is! cheering. triumph for the 25—year—old texan, then, after an unforgettable day. for scheffler, a first major title, and on this showing, it's unlikely to be his last. andy swiss, bbc news. while we have been on air, pakistan's parliament have elected shehbaz sharif as the new prime minister after imran khan lost a no—confidence vote at the weekend. imran khan had been blamed by coalition partners for the country's crumbling economy, but he says he is the victim of a us led conspiracy to oust him. time for a look at the weather. here's ben rich. a beautiful picture from the channel islands? , , , islands? yes, indeed, this is guernsey. — islands? yes, indeed, this is guernsey, and _ islands? yes, indeed, this is guernsey, and a _ islands? yes, indeed, this is guernsey, and a promising l islands? yes, indeed, this is. guernsey, and a promising start islands? yes, indeed, this is- guernsey, and a promising start to the week. the frosts have been replaced by something warmer, but

warmer does not always mean