this is bbc news. the headlines: borisjohnson is to be investigated by mps into whether he misled parliament over lockdown parties, with the plans approved without the need for a formal vote. the prime minister, who is on a trade mission to india, says he wants to focus on other issues i don't want to have any absence of scrutiny. i think we should wait until the conclusion of the inquiry. but i want to focus on the stuff that i think really matters to the future of the country. this that i think really matters to the future of the country.— that i think really matters to the future of the country. this is about hones , future of the country. this is about honesty. integrity. _ future of the country. this is about honesty, integrity, and _ future of the country. this is about honesty, integrity, and telling - future of the country. this is about honesty, integrity, and telling the | honesty, integrity, and telling the truth _ honesty, integrity, and telling the truth in _ honesty, integrity, and telling the truth in this place. and it's important principle and it's one we all share — president putin tells his troops to seal off

a steel plant in mariupol — while president biden promises another 600 millions pounds of military help for ukraine. three people have been found guilty of murder. his body was dumped in the river after he was killed last july. amanda has been found guilty of murdering ricky in 1994. the killer was just 13 of murdering ricky in 1994. the killer wasjust 13 at the of murdering ricky in 1994. the killer was just 13 at the time. erik ten hag from the dutch club ajax. the prime minister is under increasing political pressure today, after being forced to face another investigation over lockdown parties in downing street.

it will be led by mps to look at whether boris johnson deliberately misled parliament, by denying covid rules had been broken in whitehall and downing street. the government was planning to try to delay the decision on an investigation but abandoned plans to do so at the last minute. this new investigation by a parliamentary committee won't begin until after the metropolitan police have completed theirs. keir starmer said the "political mood changed today" as the prime minister "lost the confidence of his mp�*s". borisjohnson said he had nothing to hide and is keen for every possible form of scrutiny. our deputy political editor vicki young has been following the day's events. right now, being 5,000 miles from westminster might be a relief for boris johnson. he's been wrapped up in a scandal about lockdown parties

and whether he told the truth about them, but he wants to talk about other things. i don't want to have any absence of scrutiny. and i mean this humbly and sincerely, if the opposition want to focus on this and to talk about this a lot more, that's fine. i think we should wait until the conclusion of the inquiry. but i want to focus on the stuff that i think really matters to the future of the country. back home, opponents were putting the prime minister's behaviour under the spotlight, insisting standards in public life matter. this is about honesty, integrity and telling the truth in this place. and it's an important principle and it's one we all share. as i say, i'm not claiming this as a labour party principle, it is a principle that we all share because we know the importance of it. that's why it's a matter for the house to consider. but it is a principle under attack. usually there are things mps aren't allowed to say about each other in the commons chamber. not today.

there is one thing - that needs to be said. one thing that needs to be heard. and it's the very reason that we all need to act. | and the reason is this. that the prime minister- of the united kingdom is a liar. it wasn't just the fact that the prime minister broke his own laws. it's that he thought he could get away with it by taking the british people for fools. he stood at that dispatch box and told this house and the country repeatedly that there was no party. knowingly misleading parliament is a serious matter. the ministerial code says it's a resigning offence. the committee investigating all this will be able to demand documents, including photos. no wonder yesterday ministers were saying such an inquiry would be a terrible distraction. the way all this has unfolded has been chaotic. downing street were originally confident they could kill

the whole idea of an inquiry, but under pressure from their own mps they decided the decision should be delayed. then, at the last minute, all those plans had to be ditched. they had completely underestimated the anger amongst conservative mps, many of them simply unwilling to publicly defend their leader. i have to say, i'm sorry, that for not obeying the letter and the spirit, and i think we have heard that the prime minister did know what the letter was. the prime minister now should be long gone. madam deputy speaker, i will certainly vote for this motion, but really the prime minister should just know the gig's up. it is utterly depressing to be asked to defend the indefensible. each time, part of us withers. mrjohnson still enjoys the support of many tory mps, but it's impossible to escape questions about his leadership. we had mark harper, a very senior tory mp, earlier this week

saying you had to go. steve baker, fellow brexiteer like you, senior tory, said this afternoon you should resign. you are losing credibility in your parliamentary party. well, that's what you say. that's what he says! and my point... that's what you just said. my point is that, i think, you know, we've got to... we had two hours on this on, i think it was tuesday. we had quite a lot on wednesday. i don't think there's much more i can say on it. what he does say in his defence is that he was repeatedly assured by advisers that have no covid rules had been broken. today's twists and turns means an official inquiry will now decide whether that explanation is enough. 0ur political correspondent, helen catt is at westminster. what this investigation means is that more information and photographic evidence potentially could become public and there is a

lot of speculation stare about what might be out there? there is. the one thing this guarantees is this is not going to be over. party gate as it's known when the police investigation concludes and a senior civil servant publishes her support that sent this investigation will start and as you said it will have the power to ask for documents and the power to ask for documents and the committee will produce the report deciding whether or not the prime minister did deliberately mislead parliament. if it decides that he did, and it also has the power to recommend sanctions that can be things like an admonishment and they can suspend mmp for an amount of time from the commons and that goes to a port of all mps to be enacted and it means this discussion and the rows about party gates will continue for some time to come and it's created another potential moment ofjeopardy for the prime minister even if he gets through the

police inquiries and this agreement port complication. and if he's found to have misled parliament deliberately.— to have misled parliament deliberatel. �* , deliberately. and he said basically the prime minister _ deliberately. and he said basically the prime minister lost _ deliberately. and he said basically the prime minister lost the - deliberately. and he said basically| the prime minister lost the support of the mps. it's rumoured to be that's why they pulled the boat in the and and that's why the mood has changed. that's a really big question because it was fascinating to see someone make steve and long—time borisjohnson loyalist come out against him and he's written saying he thinks the cabinet should now act. it’s written saying he thinks the cabinet should now act.— should now act. it's when you start that peeple — should now act. it's when you start that peeple who — should now act. it's when you start that people who aren't _ should now act. it's when you start that people who aren't on - should now act. it's when you start that people who aren't on boris - that people who aren't on boris johnson's side saying he agrees with borisjohnson and has done a good job on something that another time has to go but i they're going to be more of those and it's worth saying it's only a small number of conservative mps will come out publicly to say taking the prime minister should go. there is

certainly unease in the party and today showed that as you heard in keys piece the original government plan was to try and delay base to push this down the road and delay making decision on this inquiry to get the increase to do that and they could not get it through and this government has a majority that is large enough that it should be able to do quite a lot of what it wants to. that does suggest downing street is really struggling to muster support amongst all of its mps and there are plenty who still support there are plenty who still support the prime minister but there are plenty who feel very uneasy at the moment and we have seen this over time these dips and weeks of momentum where it seems to be more people are coming out against them and it seems that perhaps what he was doing in ukraine was calming things for a while and suddenly it's come back around again so it's a very unpredictable thing to how it's going to play out.

very unpredictable thing to how it's going to play out-— going to play out. local elections cominu going to play out. local elections coming uo _ going to play out. local elections coming uo very — going to play out. local elections coming up very soon. _ going to play out. local elections coming up very soon. thank - going to play out. local elections coming up very soon. thank you. president putin has declared victory for russia in the besieged city of mariupol in south—eastern ukraine and ordered his forces to blockade — rather than attack — the last pocket of ukrainian resistance. the russians say there are two—thousand people inside a massive steel plant with underground tunnels; ukraine says half of them are civilians. mariupol has been under attack since the russians invaded in late february, with just a small area remaining under ukrainian control. some civilians have been able to leave, but thousands have been left behind. 0ur correspondent catherine bea—ru hanga reports from zaporizhizhia where a number of refugees from mariupol have been taken. after a 24—hourjourney, they finally reached safety. from mariupol, one of the worst hit cities in this war. only 80 people escaped in this convoy. iryna is gently helped off the bus by her daughter, tatiana.

translation: i couldn'tj leave at first because my mum can barely walk. there is no way i would have left her behind. . there was constant shelling, even as we were leaving - the city there was firing. and what of the people they have left behind? 100,000 civilians are believed to be trapped. there are food shortages, no running water or electricity. translation: it was a miracle that we found a radio wave - where we heard about the evacuation. that helped us to get out. there are pro—russian separatist vehicles that pull over— but they are not saying - anything about evacuations. i think many people could have got out if they knew _ there was an evacuation planned. after days of negotiations, only a few dozen people have made it out of mariupol, a drop in the ocean in terms of the numbers of those needing help. and this is what they are fleeing.

a full—scale russian assault to capture the donbas region in the east. mariupol, devastated by bombardments. hundreds of civilians are believed to be trapped, alongside the last ukrainian forces at the azovstal steelworks. its bunkers and tunnels stretch for miles. tapping his feet as he listened to his defence minister hail what he called the liberation of the city, president putin ordered a halt to the attack on the industrial plant. translation: i consider the proposed storming. of the industrial zone unnecessary. i order you to cancel it. this is a case where we must think about preserving - the lives and health - of our soldiers and officers. there is no need to climb into these catacombs and crawl underground . through these industrial facilities. block off this industrial area - so that a fly cannot pass through.

for those who have escaped severe fighting and a humanitarian crisis, perhaps an opportunity to rebuild their lives. but the fear is more ukrainians will face a similar fate as this war spreads to more villages and cities. catherine byaruhanga, bbc news, zaporizhzhia. 0ur russia editor steve rosenberg has been telling us what he made of president putin's appearance today. this is a kremlin leader who has grown increasingly impatient. vladimir putin wants military success and he wants victories on the battlefield that he can announce that his people so russian believes this special military operation that he calls it which he launched is going according to plan and that is why he said to get —— today that it

has been liberated and the military operation has gone according to plan and there is a success even though we know some ukrainian fighters are still at the steel works. president putin will be acutely aware that coming up in russia into one half weeks at the annual victory day celebration a big national holiday here where russia marks the defeat of nazi germany in world war ii and by may the 9th he will want to be in a position to declare a major victory in ukraine or at least in eastern ukraine whether he would be in the position to do that is another matter entirely and certainly america is trying to make sure he will be in a position to do that. today, president biden announced the us is sending another $800 million in military assistance to help ukraine defend itself against russia.

he whined without my help a risk of world hunger and continued violence and economic damage around the world. we and economic damage around the world. ~ , , ., ., , world. we must use all our strength so that russia _ world. we must use all our strength so that russia feels _ world. we must use all our strength so that russia feels they _ world. we must use all our strength so that russia feels they would - world. we must use all our strength so that russia feels they would be l so that russia feels they would be punished for this war and also feel how big they need to bring back including for russia itself so by helping us we are helping to stabilise the world and fix market problems including beginning with the food market and your support with your financial support we will quickly rebuild our nation and that means new opportunities for other countries and notjust economic growth but also this would be specific proof that global financial institutions are capable to work in

the interest of rank—and—file people and mankind in general. iwould the interest of rank—and—file people and mankind in general. i would like one of our next meetings to take place in ukraine in one of our cities that were rebuilt with your support. joining me now is dr patrick bury senior lecturer in security at the university of bath and former british army captain and nato analyst. thank you forjoining us. how significant is the move on my apple even though there does seem to be some resistance? i even though there does seem to be some resistance?— some resistance? i think it significant _ some resistance? i think it significant in _ some resistance? i think it significant in terms - some resistance? i think it significant in terms of - some resistance? i think it significant in terms of a i some resistance? i think it| significant in terms of a few things. firstly as putin can claim most of the city has fallen and this is not going to be able to come to attack as it's been cut off for medical supplies that he can claim now i have a bridge between them based on the east and crimea and the

parts in the south and logistically it's important because you can move forces down to those areas as well and i think i stevejust said he can set it back to the population as this is a win—win for me. in terms of the later campaign the russians have committed about 12 battalion tactical groups and what they were desired to do is get as many of them they can refit fitted and reorganised and try to send van noy to attack the done best from the south and judging from the north around to the area and in the south and the ideal russian plan will be for them to try and have that pocket closed and capture or force the ukrainians in that area were in good defensive positions and some of the best units that they have been forced into retreat so that's the wider strategy of what they hope to

do whether they actually put it off as another thing entirely. and if they were successful in that strategy, click back in your view provide any moment at all for any kind of successful negotiation because at some point everyone wants to stand. it's a good question. my reading of the negotiations really start and become more substantial from day two and they saw in the last few weeks there was some coalescence around zelensky government staying in charge and ukraine not being in nato and a small ukrainian army, these kinds of things but the one where there was no acquiescence was over what was going to be the extent of russian territorial gains are not in ukraine. i think this next phase about what we are seeing in a limited offensive attacks and heavy

bombardments in some places basically they're trying to work out can we get through and is there a weak point to these defences. this next date is all about that and solving that issue when it comes to negotiations but it could take a long time to actually be decided on the battlefield especially given the amount of weapons you see coming in to the ukrainian forces and expecting to be exactly the stuff they've been asking for. heavy weapons, artillery which they need to counter russian advances and they have a lot of artillery and attacks so i think we could be begging him for another phase which will take quite a long time a for decision. when you look at the outcomes you russia has warned against the west arming ukrainians, how likely is it that russia will strike out further and the worry is a beyond the ukrainian borders and equally on the other side is ukraine strong enough with western support to completely

repel this military attack by russia? does it have that capacity? i think what ukraine has proved as it has the collegian and that's crucial but the human component they have and they are willing to fight and they put up fantastic resistance so that is really important. and i think the fact that they are getting, the us announced another 800 billion military assistance. this includes almost as far as i know 70 or 80 guns which is almost like a division with lots of shells, it significant but the interesting thing for me is the us are telling and announcing exactly what they are giving. normally in wires of this kind people tend to be circumspect —— that significant in terms of the wider picture because are they trying to tell the russians this is what we are giving and this is how connected we are an ideal way that putin is not understanding how much

information is not going back to them and how much it might it is. for the russians if they can take the done as they will probably be happy with a negotiating settlement that recognised that by taking personally the fighting will go on. thanks forjoining us. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, erik ten hag says he is �*hugely excited by the challenge ahead' following his apointment as the new manager of manchester united. the dutchman will take over from interim boss ralf rangnick at the end of this season on a three—year deal which can be extended by a year. in a statement, ten hag said: it is a great honour to be appointed manager of manchester united and i am hugely excited by the challenge ahead. i know the history of this great club and the passion of the fans, and i am absolutely determined to develop a team capable of

delivering the success they deserve. well ten hag has a huge task on his hands. after tuesday's chastening 4—0 league defeat by liverpool, interim manager rangnick said the club might need as many as 10 new players this summer. here's united fanjoe smith from the podcast the �*stretford paddock�* what he has to do is go to the people that don't want to be here and the people that are out of contract and try to improve the rest of them while supplementing that with new players because realistically we are not going to send to new first—team players in the summer so we have to directly certain extent with what we have got and hopefully his history of rebuilding squads and rebuilding the team and maintain success while doing it if they think that got him thejob in the doing it if they think that got him the job in the first place. elswhere police have searched the home of manchester united defender harry maguire after he received a bomb threat.

it is not known who made the threat or in what form it was made. a spokesperson for harry maguire said he received the threat in the last 24 hours and took it seriously. he reported it to the police who are looking into the matter. times rrunning out for burnley if they are to preserve their premier league status this season. before this evening's match they were three points behind fourth from bottom everton, having played a game more than the me full coverage will be on the sprint website. meanwhile, there could be some well known investors looking to buy chelsea. seven time formula one world champion sir lewis hamilton and former tennis world number one serena williams are both understood to be supporting the bid by potential new owner sir martin broughton.

a decision about a preferred bidder is unlikely though this week. russian world number eight andrey rublev said wimbledon's ban on russian and belarusian players is "complete discrimination" and "illogical". rublev — who earlier made it through to the quarter fianls of the serbia 0pen — is one of three top—10 players — along with fellow russian daniil medvedev and aryna sabalenka of belarus — who cannot play in south west london this summer. wimbledon made the decision to ban russian and belarusian players because of the invasion of ukraine. the men's world number one novak djokovic thinks the decision to ban the players is �*crazy�* i will always condemn all war and i will never support war myself being a child of war. i know how much trauma it leaves. in serbia we know what happened in 1999. in the balkans we had many worries in history and ordinary people suffer most but i cannot support the

decision of wimbledon. i think it's crazy. tennis players and sportspeople have got nothing to do with that. politics interferes with sports the result is not good. that's all the sport for now. you can find more on all those stories on the bbc sport website. that's bbc. co. uk/sport. well, let's get more now on the announcement today by manchester united on their new manager, erik ten hag. he's currently in charge of the dutch side, ajax. united fans will be hoping he'll be able to change the fortunes of the club, who are currently 6th in the premier league and have never replicated the success enjoyed under sir alex ferguson.we can speak now to andy mitten, author and editor of the united we stand magazine. he joins us from manchester. (0s) he joins us from manchester. thank you for your time tonight. sunderland on the 15 had just beaten manchester united under 15 in a very

undetermined —— entertaining game. the big news is eric being appointed as manchester united manager. it's confirmed this morning and i think manchester united fans greeted the announcement with positiveness and it's been a really bad week for manchester united but most notably tuesday evening and united fans need something to grasp to hope for a brighterfuture. it's been a disappointing underwhelming season for united. to make matters worse the rivals liverpool and manchester city and chelsea are all doing so well. �* ., ., ., ., ., well. i'm more of a fan of watching my children _ well. i'm more of a fan of watching my children football _ well. i'm more of a fan of watching my children football match - well. i'm more of a fan of watching my children football match a - my children football match a standard big stuff but i know days a different level of parities for the local fans and the massive international fans? local fans and the massive internationalfans? it’s local fans and the massive international fans?- local fans and the massive international fans? it's a good oint. international fans? it's a good point- you _ international fans? it's a good point. you make _ international fans? it's a good point. you make it _ international fans? it's a good point. you make it have - international fans? it's a good point. you make it have got . international fans? it's a good i point. you make it have got such international fans? it's a good - point. you make it have got such a vast global demographic and each of those groups want something slightly different for manchester united. they all want united to be

successful just as global fans they all want united to be successfuljust as global fans at liverpool or barcelona or around madrid do as well but i see some friends obsessed with new transfer signings and he said manchester a united fans, it's a football city, i've been a part of manchester here and it's a lot of football fans. a lot of manchester city fans as well and they watch local teams like stratford where i am now. united fans had really bad time of it in recent years. nobody is feeling sorry for united fans because the team are so successful for so long and dominated but they have fallen a long way from where united where and that's why fans hope that eric can improve and can make it better again and i'm a little bit circumspect. he played a hugejob and i'm a little bit circumspect. he played a huge job to do. and i'm a little bit circumspect. he played a hugejob to do. and and i'm a little bit circumspect. he played a huge job to do. and you can'tjust bridge those gaps immediately. they will need to move players on and get players and and put his style of football he wants

to introduce at united. he will get a lot of support inside the ground from the players hopefully getting them on site and also from the club as well but it still a very difficultjob with a lot of pressure. manchester united i1 of the biggest football clubs in the world. ., ., ., i. the biggest football clubs in the world. ., ., ., y., 4' the biggest football clubs in the world. ., ., ., i. ,, .,, world. how long do you think he has not to world. how long do you think he has got to prove — world. how long do you think he has got to prove himself? _ world. how long do you think he has got to prove himself? will _ world. how long do you think he has got to prove himself? will he - world. how long do you think he has got to prove himself? will he find i got to prove himself? will he find the newspaper at the interest for example pretty intense? it the newspaper at the interest for example pretty intense?- the newspaper at the interest for example pretty intense? it will be intense. it will— example pretty intense? it will be intense. it will be _ example pretty intense? it will be intense. it will be minimum - intense. it will be minimum requirements. if manchester united are 50 and by december alarm bells will start ringing. if united are top of the league that will be a surprise. he has got to improve united from the very low bar where the team are at the moment. it has been a disappointing season. united finished second last season and he brought cristiano ronaldo and and everybody thought it would be a favourite grip and that did not happen. the opposite has happened. if the team starts swinging more and

playing with a style where fans think this is the manager, this is working, then they would be patient and support him but we need see continual improvement and that's happening and it fell apart in the autumn and lost hisjob in the interim manager has not worked and united start again and it will take time and it will be patient and it will need money as well. i a good evenina. will need money as well. i a good evening. thank _ will need money as well. i a good evening. thank you. _ the government is to introduce a new law to stop the health service in england using goods and services. the measure would prevent the nhs from procuring billions of pounds of equipment from parts of china but have long been claims that forced labour used in supply chains. here is james landale. this sounds potentially huge? it’s is james landale. this sounds potentially huge? is james landale. this sounds otentiall hue? �*, potentially huge? it's something the issue has been _ potentially huge? it's something the issue has been apparent _ potentially huge? it's something the issue has been apparent for- potentially huge? it's something the issue has been apparent for some i

issue has been apparent for some time particularly in recent years because of the pandemic. the nhs which is this massive organisation with a lot of cash has been going around the world buying up huge chunks of personal protective equipment and lateralflow chunks of personal protective equipment and lateral flow tests and all of these things have been huge demand and that there has been is that some of this rush to get this equipment has meant that some blind eyes have been turned to where it's been coming from. it been concern that some of this material and equipment has come from places where forced labour issues, slavery, human trafficking and things like that. there's been pressure on the government saying you need tighten up government saying you need tighten up the rules. as a response to that pressure the government has now started to act. the health secretary tomorrow will table a new amendment tomorrow will table a new amendment to the health and care there. this says he will set out new regulations that eradicate slavery from the supply chains of the nhs, teams had

tjy supply chains of the nhs, teams had by slavery and human trafficking. that regulations will set out the process that managers in the nhs need to go through when they are looking for supplies and equipment to say we cannot take anything from you legacy think there is something dodgy the supply chain. some campaigners tonight from the campaigners tonight from the campaign grip which campaigns against slavery from iain duncan smith in the former conservative leader who has been campaigning on this they are all very happy about this they are all very happy about this but they want the rest of the government to go there. so other parts of government which has big pockets and big whites patient adopt these roles as well. we pockets and big whites patient adopt these roles as well.— these roles as well. we buy so much 'ust from these roles as well. we buy so much just from china. _ these roles as well. we buy so much just from china. if _ these roles as well. we buy so much just from china. if the _ these roles as well. we buy so much just from china. if the nhs - these roles as well. we buy so much just from china. if the nhs going i these roles as well. we buy so much just from china. if the nhs going to | just from china. if the nhs going to be able to get hold of what it needs in terms of the huge amount of equipment. because of the pandemic with masks and also checking the sourcing is not easy is it? it’s sourcing is not easy is it? it's very hard- — sourcing is not easy is it? it's very hard. one _ sourcing is not easy is it? it's very hard. one of— sourcing is not easy is it? it�*s very hard. one of those ones where there is never going to be 100%

success because he will never know everything about every single bit of the food chain without excessive cost. this is saying let's do even the basic checks to make sure we go through a process to say now there's an uncertainty over that. there's a risk and let us look elsewhere. the hope is in future when there's less of a panic as there was covid—19 with a lot of these checks and balances disappearing in the rush to get the equipment the hope is in the future notjust for ppe but also infrastructure, security equipment. hospitals need cameras and things to check stuff and a lot of that technology comes from china as well. is something we have seen in the states and does it seem workable to you? states and does it seem workable to ou? ., ., , . ., , you? there are other “urisdictions that have different i you? there are otherjurisdictions that have different rules - you? there are otherjurisdictions that have different rules and i you? there are otherjurisdictions that have different rules and they| that have different rules and they are actually tighter in the us, they have full blacklists of companies

where they don't do any business with these ones, so the uk is having to catch up with otherjurisdictions in a sense, but again it is another focus of particularly parts of the us and china, where there are seriously some concerns. thanks very much for coming _ seriously some concerns. thanks very much for coming in, _ seriously some concerns. thanks very much for coming in, james _ seriously some concerns. thanks very much for coming in, james langdale. | almost 30 years after he died, a man has been found guilty of murdering six—year—old rikki neave. the schoolboy was strangled and found naked in woods near his home in peterborough in 1994. james watson — who is now 41 — was 13 years old at the time of rikki's death. his conviction follows a cold case review and advances in dna technology, which helped solve the case, asjo black reports. 0n the 28th of november, 1994, ruth neave reports her son rikki hasn't returned home from school, but in fact he never made it to class. he'd left home alone that morning on peterborough's welland estate. hours later, he was dead. his body was discovered the next day in woods, a few minutes' walk from his home.

this is the woodland where rikki's body was found. he'd been strangled, stripped naked, and he had been posed in a star shape. his school uniform was found in a wheelie bin and at the time, detectives believed rikki's mother, ruth, had murdered him. she was cleared of this at trial but did admit child cruelty, and was jailed for seven years. we now know james watson, who was 13 at the time and used to live on the estate, killed rikki. rikki's sisters, who were one and three when he was killed, went on to be adopted. they say today's verdict doesn't ease the pain of losing their brother. that's not humane. that's not normal for someone to be out on the street and to be able to get access to a child like that and abuse him in that way. i just...it�*s so upsetting. i think what's so tragic as well is the fact that he was just so small and so vulnerable, and he came from such a bad home. when the case reopened, advances in dna testing linked james watson

to rikki's school uniform. watson claimed there was contact because he lifted rikki up to look at diggers over a fence. police proved that fence didn't exist at the time. we would say there's lessons that have been learned since the 1994 investigation. you know, we've certainly learned them during this trial, you know. but i have to say, you know, 1994 to 2015, when we opened this investigation, very different eras. for rikki's family, this has been a near 30—year wait for justice. watson will be sentenced next month. jo black, bbc news. a mother, stepfather and a 14—year—old boy have been found guilty of murdering five—year—old logan mwangi, and and dumping his body in a riverjust a few hundred metres from their home

near bridgend last year. 0ur social affairs editor, alison holt, explained that five—year—old logan was already known to the authorities. do you love bleep? um... no. you just said you love bleep. do you love bleep? yes! a playful, kind, caring little boy. logan mwangi's life was cut short by the violence and rage of those who were meant to protect him. his mother, angharad williamson, and stepfather, john cole, punished the five—year—old with slaps and punches. he was denied food and forced to do press—ups. injuly last year, logan had to self—isolate after catching covid. he was trapped inside the family home and there his mother, stepfather and a 14—year—old boy inflicted the fatal injuries so severe they would normally be seen after a car crash. to avoid blame, logan's body was moved in the middle of the night before the police were called to claim he was missing.

this is where logan's body was taken, a few hundred metres from the house. he was left in the cold water to make it look like an accident. a few hours later he was spotted by a policewoman, who ran down and tried to resuscitate him, but his body was lifeless. he had been dead for several hours. during the trial, williamson and cole tried to throw blame on to one another, each claiming they were asleep when logan died, but the jury found them and the 14—year—old guilty of his murder. their actions have caused grief and anger, and also leave questions over whether anything could have been done to protect logan. he was known to social services, but a visit days before his death was postponed because his mother said he had covid. it is clear that logan endured horrific abuse in the weeks and months before he died. and what is really concerning is that he wasn't really

able to tell anyone about it, it sounds like. it sounds like he would have been going through this on his own, which is really distressing to hear. a child practice review of logan's death is expected. those found guilty of the little boy's murder will be brought back before the court for sentencing. hywel griffith, bbc news. well, as i was saying, our social affairs editor, alison holt, explained earlier that five—year—old logan was known to the authorities already. there were a number of incidents. nearly a year before he was murdered, he was taken to hospital with a broken arm. that led to a safeguarding alert made by medics, so they were concerned, they let the authorities know that there was something they were worried about. the stepfather was known to have a violent past and the teenager was known to be troubled and violent. logan was on the child protection register, so that meant

that a social worker was keeping checks on him and the family, but about a month before he died he was removed from that register, which suggests that at that point in time they felt that there was not a significant risk of harm. you have then got covid restrictions, which creates a pressure cooker situation forfamilies and it is harder to keep checks on what is going on in a child's life. but he had lost weight and his stammer had increased. now, the decisions that were made will be scrutinised now in a child practice review. we expect that to report back — at the earliest — this autumn. alison holt therefore us. there are just two weeks to go until you get the chance to vote in local elections — in england, wales, and scotland it's your opportuntiy to pick who you want to run services that affect your lives where you live. if you're in northern ireland you're

choosing your government. ahead of the vote we will be profiling some of the key contests in the uk's four nations. today we're in glasgow and shaun ley has been in the govan, an area of the city. he's been with the bbc scotland editor, james cook, to discuss the likelihood of the same candidates remaining in power after the results of the local elections. now, if you are watching coverage of the local election results the day after polling day, which i hope you will be doing here on bbc news, you may be a little disappointed by the scotland result because the chances are they are going to end up with the words "no change" written on the screen. but you would be forgiven for thinking that means there hasn't been a shift in power or that there is no possibility of a shift in power. in fact, for the last five years no council in scotland — and there are 32 of them — has been run in a majority by a single party. but that doesn't mean a party or parties haven't been in charge and decisions haven't been made. let's find out more from james cook, who is the scotland editor.

james cook, let's talk first of all about that. partly a product of the voting system, isn't it? yes, largely a product of the voting system, sean, which — without getting into too much detail — is not a first past the post system such as we have at westminster, it is a single transferable vote system, that is to say, a proportional system. you rank the candidates, you rank as many of them as you like — one, two, three, four, five, orjust one, if you like. and that means that what we tend to end up with after the election is, as you suggest, horse trading and arguments and minority administrations and strange sometimes coalitions with unusual bedfellows and that is the situation we have at the moment, but the largest party in terms of the number of councillors in scotland at the moment — and all 1,200 are up for election this time — is the scottish national party. labour in third place at the moment, which is a big change from the long sweep of history in this country, and so, they will be looking to try to improve on that and people will be looking to see if the snp can hang onto this position, but they are way out in front at the moment.

they are way out in front at the moment. they have got i think, was it 22% of first preferences five years ago, when these elections were last contested? and of course all of that was messed around by covid and lockdown and the impact of that. what would you say are the prospects, looking at the political picture? it is a huge country — we have to keep reminding people who don't know scotland, this is a vast country and you have got local authorities, some of which are responsible for relatively self—contained areas like the city of edinburgh, others which stretch for miles and miles, often around territory where there aren't actually that many people. yeah, don't forget, scotland is a third of the landmass of great britain. it is a big part of the country and 790 islands, i think, off the coast. so... those are not all occupied, of course, inhabited. no. but it is a big country, there is a lot of diversity. the snp, with 32 councils, as you suggest, the snp have the say in running roughly half of them, labour the same and the other parties a bit less, quite a bit less. so the question is

what are going to be the defining outcomes of this election, what are going to be the deciding factors? a lot of them i think might be local issues, sean. i have been around this city in the last few days and talking about potholes and talking about library services, talking about the advance, as the supporters of the council here would have it, of the green agenda after cop26 — the big environmental summit was hosted here. so there are some local issues that will be hotly debated and then in the background you have these big wider themes. you have the theme of independence, which you just can't really get away from in scotland, you have the effect potentially of the downing street parties — will that affect the conservative vote? and this big question about labour. can they stage a revival? and for keir starmer, that is really important. if he wants to get to downing street, 0k, he doesn't need councillors, but he needs a base upon which to build in scotland, which labour had for so long. this is red clydeside, they used to call it, and it has not changed so much.

it is hard to imagine, isn't it, how much the cities have changed in the last 25 years or so? and even in much less, ever since the end of new labour, really, and the weakness of labour in scotland has been a big issue for labour across the uk. let me ask you about that question of independence. how much does it get in the way of talking about not issues even at scottish parliament level, but particularly issues of council, city council level? well, it is a matter of how you, whether you feel it gets in the way or when you feel it should be in the way, to be fair, isn't it? because for lots of opponents of the scottish national party, it absolutely gets in the way, although the striking thing i have noticed about this election — and i have been getting leaflets through my door — is that for all you hear particularly the labour party and also the conservatives saying, "this shouldn't be about independence," i had a labour leaflet through the door that was all about independence — in a negative sense, saying that, "we don't want to talk about independence and therefore a vote for us would move the debate on." the snp, of course,

would point to independence as being an opportunity for scotland to gain more levers of power and control and that gets to the heart of some of the arguments of the funding arguments and there are very complex and bitter arguments about whether budgets for local government are sufficient at the moment in scotland. certainly they were falling in the years before the pandemic, a big bump during the pandemic and now a big argument about how they are being distributed and how much control the snp is taking in edinburgh because it insists that some areas are ring fenced. education, teacher numbers and so on, so it is really complex, but independence does play into it and it is the background for a lot of voters in the country. in a positive way for many and in a negative way for many. let me ask you finally, what would you be looking out for the day after polling day, when the voting begins and the

have electronic counting, so hoping it will be relatively quick, but what are the things you will be wanting to spot? yes, it will be interesting to see whether the snp has maintained its position or even advanced somewhat and that, arguably, will give energy to the continuing campaign for independence, which in some ways has been in stasis, partly because of the pandemic. here in glasgow it will certainly be interesting for keir starmer, no doubt he will be keeping a very close eye on whether his party has made progress. but also there are other parties in this election as well and it will be interesting for them to see has partygate made a difference? but also, have any of the other smaller parties advanced ? the alba party, we do also have the lib dems and the greens, major parties, and the scottish... and there are all these different options and because as you said at the very start, because of the way you rank them all it could be quite a complex outcome, but it will be interesting to keep an eye on it and of course people can get all those details on our website of who is standing in their area. just as well, it is a lot to remember. james cook, scotland editor, thank you very much.

shaun ley and james cook there. waiting times at accident and emergency departments in wales have hit a record high, with more than 10—thousand patients waiting longer than 12 hours to be treated last month. the welsh nhs confederation has warned that covid case rates continue to have an impact on the delivery of services. the welsh government says high staff sickness rates and issues around the discharging of patients are adding to delays. a murder investigation has begun in buckinghamshire after three bodies were found at a sheltered accommodation scheme. a man and a woman, in their 60s, and man, in his 50s, were found dead in bourne end on tuesday. police say it was a targeted attack — the victims were known to each other and they weren't looking for anyone else in connection with the incident. sonja jessup has been giving us the latest from the scene. well, there are indeed lots of questions about exactly what happened here, but what we do know is that someone called the police just before 10pm on tuesday night, saying there was a disturbance and when officers arrived they found the

bodies of three people inside one at the flats here. they were a man and a woman in their 60s mist too. they have not been formally identified by the police, but they have been named locally as susan and jeffrey ference. also the body of a man in his 50s from haslemere in nearby high wycombe and police say they all knew each other, this is a murder investigation, yet they are not looking for anyone else in connection with their deaths. bourne end is a quiet village, close to the river thames and 0rchard end is a quiet village, close to the river thames and orchard house here is sheltered accommodation for people over the age of 60 and naturally residents are shocked by what has happened. 0ne naturally residents are shocked by what has happened. one of them, eve, has been speaking to the bbc and said that her husband had heard two men arguing on tuesday evening and then the police arrived. it is men arguing on tuesday evening and then the police arrived.— then the police arrived. it is not a nice place — then the police arrived. it is not a nice place to _ then the police arrived. it is not a nice place to live _ then the police arrived. it is not a nice place to live any _ then the police arrived. it is not a nice place to live any more, i then the police arrived. it is not a nice place to live any more, with | nice place to live any more, with what has just happened. you begin to think about your own security and things. it was frightening because we did not know what was happening,

going on, nobody was telling us anything. and... you don't see armed police very often in your life. that was happening and they came in your flat. ., , ., flat. red kite housing association, which runs orchard _ flat. red kite housing association, which runs orchard house, - flat. red kite housing association, which runs orchard house, says. flat. red kite housing association, i which runs orchard house, says that it is trying to reassure residents, it is trying to reassure residents, it wants them to feel safe and it says it will be offering them support, as well as cooperating with the police investigation. you can still see the officers here behind me, there is a cordon in place that we are told it could remain that way for a few days, as police say this is a complex inquiry. they want anyone who saw or heard anything suspicious on tuesday evening to come forward. sonia jess of reporting. the bbc s discovered evidence a major tory party donor was a director of a company secretly owned by a russian oligarch close to president putin. suleiman kerimov — who s since been sanctioned by the eu and the uk —

has previously denied any connection with lubov chernukhin. mrs chernukhin says she does not recall consenting in writing to being a director of the company. 0ur economics correspondent andy verity reports. lubov chernukhin has donated large sums to the conservatives, to play tennis with david cameron and borisjohnson, and £135,000 for a night out with theresa may and members of the cabinet. she's reportedly on a secret advisory board of ultra—wealthy tory donors with access to party leaders. her husband, vladimir chernukhin, is a businessman and former deputy finance minister who fled russia after being dismissed by president putin in 2004. two years ago, we revealed how he had been secretly funded with $8 million by a russian oligarch from putin's inner circle. that oligarch, now subject to uk, us and eu sanctions, is suleiman kerimov. he denied having any dealings

with mrs chernukhin whatsoever. now, in a leak of documents to the bbc and the international consortium of investigativejournalists, new information has come to light which raises questions about that. it's to do with the purchase of a property in north london, now under new ownership, bought back in 2005. we've seen leaked documents showing how secretive offshore companies hid the people involved in the purchase of this house back then. they appear to show that mrs chernukhin, as she now is, became a director of a company called radlett estates limited, and we've seen another leaked document which shows the owner of that company was the russian oligarch, suleiman kerimov. mrs chernukhin became a director after the property was bought. 0ne leaked document is signed lubov golubeva — her name before she married vladimir in 2007. lubov chernukhin first said through her lawyers:

then, when we said we had seen the document, she said: is forgery a possibility? we asked an anti—money—laundering expert. well, it might be conceivable, but i think in this particular case we have documents that show that she was present at a meeting where her continued directorship was being discussed and at that meeting, she resigned as a director, so i think it stretches the imagination to suggest that her identity was stolen. campaigners say it underlines why the system of political donations has to be much more transparent. any politician or political party should, well, they ought, to have a clear understanding of the nature of their benefactors. that means conducting due diligence over those who sponsor their activities, not just looking at whether the funds they receive are lawful, but ensuring, you know,

that they're exercising good judgment in receiving them in the first place. mr kerimov didn't respond to questions about the property and his relationship to the chernukhins. the conservative party said all donations are properly and transparently declared to the electoral commission and comply fully with the law. andy verity, bbc news. sir david attenborough has been named champion of the earth" by the united nations environment programme. the award is in recognition of the 95—year—old's lifelong efforts to protect and restore nature. sir david, who began working on natural history programmes in the 1950s, warned that the world must take action now to protect the planet. and as he accepted the award he offered hope that change really is possible. we must feel that we are all citizens of this one planet, because unless we do, we won't solve the problem. the message is that the natural world has more resources

than we can possibly imagine. we have worked out how to kill them. now we could give them a chance for them to come back and save themselves and save us. and we have had successes after all. i mean, the success of the whales. whales were on the very, very edge of extinction worldwide, and now there are more whales in the sea than anybody alive as human beings, has ever seen before. it's a wonderful success story. if we can do it with whales, we can surely do it with many other things too. i'm truly, truly extremely honoured. sir david attenborough speaking after he was named champion of the earth. the queen is celebrating her 96th birthday today at her sandringham estate in norfolk. this photograph has been released to mark the occasion. it was taken at windsor castle

earlier this year and shows the queen with two of her fell ponies. today her family paid tribute to her, as our royal correspondent, nicholas witchell, reports. happy birthday plays in the spring sunshine at windsor castle, a birthday greeting. happy 96th birthday, your majesty, from the band of the coldstream guards. a message repeated in different ways in different locations. in hyde park in central london, the king's troop royal horse artillery fired a 41—gun salute in tribute to the head of state. in scotland, the gun salute was fired from the ramparts of edinburgh castle. and what of the recipient

of so many birthday wishes? the queen spent the day quietly at sandringham. she was seen being driven around the estate looking relaxed. reflecting perhaps that ahead lie number of planned public appearances for her platinum jubilee. from buckingham palace, a photograph of her at the age of two was republished. then, she was princess elizabeth and few imagined she would one day be queen. and this, the official birthday photograph to mark the 96th birthday of the nation's longest living and longest serving monarch, elizabeth ii. nicholas witchell, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with darren bett. it's been a lovely day for it. let's have a quick look. hello there. it has been another lovely spring day across many parts of the country today, certainly warm in the sunshine. we saw some of the highest temperatures in hampshire, with

highs of 19 celsius in the afternoon. quite a contrast with the cooler weather we are seeing along north sea coasts, particularly in north—east england, where it has been a bit grey and cloudy temperatures only around 9 degrees. similar temperature contrasts in the next days, with strong easterly winds continuing through the weekend, always warmer in the west and again not much rain in the forecast. forthe and again not much rain in the forecast. for the first part of the night we will be dry and clear, but as the night goes on cloud heads away, particularly across much of england, heading towards wales and further north and east we will have clearer skies, temperatures dipping to 4 or 5 degrees there. friday starts with much more cloud for england and wales. through the morning that cloud becomes confined more to south wales and southern england, where we could see showers developing. elsewhere it looks drier and there will be more sunshine coming through, away from that misty cloud, which is more likely in the far north of scotland. there will be a brisk easterly wind again tomorrow, so cooler along the north

sea coasts, warmerfurther tomorrow, so cooler along the north sea coasts, warmer further west where it is more sheltered and western scotland could see temperatures of 18 or 19 degrees and they could be some high tree pollen levels across parts of scotland. they are falling a little bit across parts of england and wales, with that cloud for a while and stronger winds as well. we could start the weekend with some cloud as well. still the same weather pattern this weekend, high—pressure to the north of the uk, low—pressure to the south, bringing some rain into europe and that run of easterly winds across our shores. brisk easterly winds again, more cloud coming in, especially for england and wales pushing some showers towards the west. as it turned sunnier more widely during the afternoon. again, cooler along north sea coasts, further west inland temperatures 16 or 17 degrees. the second half of the weekend sees no showers moving away and we should have much more sunshine for england and wales, perhaps northern ireland, with some more cloud coming down into scotland. that is certainly going to be dropping the temperatures here in the north, but where we do have the sunshine here in england and wales, 16 or 17

degrees. early next week it doesn't look quite as windy, but that cooler cloudy weather that is in the north looks like it is moving southwards.

hello, i'm christian fraser. you're watching the context on bbc news. pressure builds on the prime minister — as mps vote in favour of a parliamentary investigation. did the prime minister �*knowingly�* mislead the house over the downing street parties? and how many on his own side, have lost faith. if he was a secretary of state, and if he was a minister of state or parliamentary under secretary, activity general, if he was a chief executive of a private company or board director he would be long gone. the relief of ukrainians who escaped the besieged port of mariupol — president putin says the city is his — despite the extraordinary resistance of the ukrainian fighters. and later in the programme — we'll be speaking to the two pilots attempting aviation history — as they swap planes — yes —

swap planes — in mid—air.