this is bbc news. i'm rebecca jones. the headlines: the high court rules that government policies on discharging patients from hospitals to care homes at the start of the pandemic were �*unlawful�* my my dad worked all of his life to the age of 75, paid national insurance and had a right to life and they had and had a right to life and they had a duty of care and he was failed. russian energy giant gazprom cuts gas supplies to poland and bulgaria for refusing to pay in roubles. five police officers face gross misconduct proceedings over the stop and search of team gb athlete bianca williams. a conservative mp has reportedly been caught watching pornography while sitting in the chamber.

and we meet the uk's new hope for eurovision song contest. two women whose fathers died from covid—i9 have won a high court challenge against the government over policies on discharging patients to care homes in england at the outset of the pandemic. cathy gardner and fay harris partially succeeded in their claims against the health secretary and public health england. in a ruling today, judges concluded that policies contained in documents

released in march and early april 2020 were unlawful because they failed to take into account the risk to elderly and vulnerable residents from non—symptomatic transmission of the virus. our social affairs editor, alison holt, has this report. emerging from the high court, two women who argued the government failed to protect their fathers at the start of the pandemic. both men lived in care homes. today, the court concluded the government decision to discharge hospital patients into care homes was unlawful and irrational. i believed all along that my father and other residents of care homes were neglected and let down by the government. at that time, the government said it was ok to admit people into care homes, without recommending isolation. it effectively ceded covid into the care homes. that is what fay harris believes happened with her father, don.

he was larger—than—life, he had a fantastic character, great fun. wicked sense of humour. he was living in a hampshire nursing home when the pandemic started. the 89—year—old was doing well but, within a month, he had died with covid. his daughter believes this was after the home tucked in hospital patients who developed the virus. i just think they were totally expendable. i don't think they were regarded at all. my dad worked all of his life, to the age of 75, paid national insurance. he had a right to life and they had a duty of care. and he was failed. the last time that i was able to see my father was about 24 hours before he died. doctor cathy gardner's father michael gibson died in an oxfordshire care home in early april 2020. he was in a ground—floor room

so i was able to see him through a window. i was lucky that i could do that because i know many families, they couldn't see their loved at all. doctor gardner's background is in the study of viruses and she was shocked when hospital patients moved into her father's home without clear guidance on infection control. she believes early in the pandemic, care homes largely had to fend for themselves. i believe that lives could have been saved in care homes if the government had acted differently, if they had pursued a policy involving quarantine, testing, propertraining on infection control and ppe, all of those things, they could have saved lives. and it is important to remember that it wasn't just the old and vulnerable that died, that care home staff died, too. i want to remind - the house of what an incredibly difficult time that was. short time ago, the prime minister gave his response to the judgment. the thing that we didn't know| in mr speaker, was that covid could beat transmitted i

a symptomatically in the way that it was. and that was somethingl that i wish we had known more about at the time. the government says that each death during the pandemic was a tragedy, but it insists it works tirelessly to protect people and that billions of pounds were poured into supporting care services, including with protective equipment and infection control. joining us now from the high court is our correspondent gareth barlow. tell us a little bit more about what the high court has had to say and the high court has had to say and the significance of this ruling. it is a hugely significant ruling. the high court found that the claims were partially successful and, in particular, they focused on a radio interview on the 13th of march 2020 interview on the 13th of march 2020 in which he highlighted the risk of asymptomatic transmission. and what the judges asymptomatic transmission. and what thejudges said was asymptomatic transmission. and what the judges said was that the policies in the days and weeks after

that interview and other key messages made by health officials, they didn't take into account the risk to elderly and vulnerable patients and residents in care homes of asymptomatic transmission and thus, those policies were unlawful. now, reacting to that the health secretary said that ministers had been cleared of wrongdoing. they had acted responsibly and it was public health england that had failed to tell ministers about the risks of asymptomatic transmission. we heard there as well from the prime minister speaking at pm cues saying that they wish they knew more at the time and the government spokesperson said the vast majority of the judgment was in their favour. but in contrast to that the labour shadow health secretary said that ministers had ignored warnings. but they can't claim to have acted to save lives and that they had broken the law and that people had died. like i say this is a hugely significant ruling partially in favour of the claimant

but they say that it vindicates their belief that the government did not do enough to protect their loved ones. i'd back this case was brought by two women whose fathers died of covid—i9 but what are the wider implications of the hundreds if not thousands of families who also lost loved ones during the pandemic in care homes. those two women spoke of the fact that they felt vindicated that their beliefs were true in regard to their fathers who are 88 and 89 and they say they are but two cases of thousands of people in care homes who lost their lives as a result of the pandemic, during the pandemic that continues to this day in those early decisions contributed to those deaths. in many families now will surely be looking at this ruling and pondering what it meant for their loved ones and for them to this day. for their loved ones and for them to this da . ~ . , for their loved ones and for them to thisda. ., ., ., many thanks for that. russia has been accused of escalating the war in ukraine by cutting off gas supplies to two

european countries — poland and bulgaria — which moscow describes as �*unfriendly�* states. both of them are nato countries and get most of their gas from russia, but they've refused the kremlin�*s demand that they pay for their energy in russian roubles. the government in kyiv says president putin is trying to break the unity of its allies by using economic blackmail. our moscow correspondent, jenny hill, reports. russia's turned off the taps and state tv is enjoying the moment. gazprom announced this morning it would cut supplies to poland and bulgaria. both countries have refused to pay in roubles. not that the polish prime minister was concerned.

his country, he said, was ready to cut itself off from russian energy. translation: our gas storages are 7696 full. | this is a high level. much higher than in most european countries. vladimir putin knows many other european countries — germany, in particular — rely on his energy supplies, but he needs their custom. in january alone, it's estimated that what he calls "unfriendly countries", most of europe, paid russia $6 billion for gas. and that's why, even though he's demanded countries pay in roubles, the reality is more complex. they can pay in euros or dollars, but only if they open russian bank accounts, which then exchange the currency, then make the final payment. it's believed, though not confirmed, that some european countries have opened those accounts. a few very big, key contracts are expiring. the german and italian, as i said so often, and some others. in end of may, during june, what will happen then? because then they will have to decide, will they pay according to this new mechanism or not? and most politicians in germany

and in other parts of the eu have so far been leaning towards, you know, saying that, no, we will not do this and this is unacceptable. but, yeah, it will come up, it's crunch time. and this is putin's way of shooting across the bow. neither sanctions, threats, not appeals have stopped vladimir putin and his war. the gulf between the russian president and the west grows ever wider. the european union has described russia's decision to cut off gas supplies to poland and bulgaria as "blackmail". this is what the european commission president ursula von der leyen had to say a short while ago about the issue and russia's demand that countries pay in roubles for their gas. our guidance he was very clear. to pay in roubles, if this is not foreseen in the contract, paying in roubles is a breach of our

sanctions. we have found about 97% of all contracts that explicitly stipulate payments in euros or dollars so it is very clear on the request from the russian side to pay in roubles is a unilateral decision and not according to the contracts. companies with such contracts should not give in to russian demands. this would be a breach of the sanctions under high risk for the companies. our correspondent, adam easton has been following the story and hejoins me now from the polish capital warsaw. what is the polish reaction to this move by the russians?— what is the polish reaction to this move by the russians? polen's prime minister has — move by the russians? polen's prime minister has been _ move by the russians? polen's prime minister has been speaking _ move by the russians? polen's prime minister has been speaking in - move by the russians? polen's prime minister has been speaking in the - minister has been speaking in the last few hours to the parliament in that essentially rush a's decision to turn off gas is a direct attack against poland in retaliation for the sanctions poland announced on tuesday against 50 russian individuals and companies, gazprom among them who have ties to vladimir

putin's regime. on the other hand, he also said this is a message directly to polish consumers, of course, don't worry, this decision will not affect you when you go to the stove and turn on the gas it will still fire and it will still be there for your cooking purposes and heating purposes. which is true, in a way, because it is fortuitous timing for countries like poland and bulgaria because we are in spring and we are coming up to summer and gas demand is low in countries like poland, at least, have had the foresight to actually inject a lot of gas into the underground storage already and it is three quarters full so that should see them through the immediate future. as the weeks go the immediate future. as the weeks 9° by the immediate future. as the weeks go by in the months go by until the end of the year there will be significant challenges for poland and bulgaria to meet the needs of

their customers and they will need support from other european markets as well. if support from other european markets as well. , ., _, as well. if things do continue in the way that — as well. if things do continue in the way that you _ as well. if things do continue in the way that you are _ as well. if things do continue in the way that you are outlining, | as well. if things do continue in - the way that you are outlining, how long can poland and bulgaria manage without russian gas, do you think? well, the minister in charge estimates that poland can manage for a few months, perhaps three months. the problem for poland is that its main tool to replace russian gas is its building this pipeline to norway which will allow it to bring norwegian gas director poland and completely replace all the volumes of russian gas. now, that is great, but this pipeline does not come online and to the end of october and would be fully operational in to the end of the year so the question, of course, is what happens until the end of the year? where you going to get all these alternative sources of

gas especially the rest of europe are seeking gas as well. seeking gas thatis are seeking gas as well. seeking gas that is not russian so there are significant challenges and it is unclear at this stage how long countries like poland and especially bulgaria, which rely so heavily on russian gas, can last without russian gas, can last without russian gas, can last without russian gas supplies.- russian gas, can last without russian gas supplies. adam, many thanks for that. _ the foreign secretary, liz truss, is calling for the uk and other western powers to give warplanes to ukraine as part of long—term military support. in a major speech in london this evening, ms truss is expected to say the west must prepare for the "long haul" to ensure russia is defeated. moscow has accused nato of fighting a proxy war. our diplomatic correspondent james landale is with me. this coal that we understand liz truss is going to make four more warplanes to be sent to ukraine, this has been a bit of a thorny

issue so how much support as she got for that? , , ., , issue so how much support as she got forthat? , , ., , , , for that? yes, it is thorny because, at the moment. — for that? yes, it is thorny because, at the moment, according - for that? yes, it is thorny because, at the moment, according to - for that? yes, it is thorny because, at the moment, according to the i at the moment, according to the pentagon last week, no entire aircraft had been delivered to ukraine by any western nation since this war began. an awful lot of parts have been sent to ukraine to allow ukraine to keep its own fleets going but aircraft have not been given. some countries have said we are prepared to do this but the deal to make that happen fell through. they said they had soviet—era fighters that ukrainian pilots are familiar with, why don't they have some of those? but the polls did not want to do that all by themselves forfear want to do that all by themselves for fear of retaliation by russia so they said, why can we get back to they said, why can we get back to the americans and the americans can give it to ukraine under the nato auspices? anyway, that dealfell through so that is why liz truss's call for more aeroplanes to be delivered to ukraine stand out, is unusual. now, what she is saying is not, lessen some raf tornadoes and

at 35 is tomorrow. essentially she sang, look, the west is gradually ratcheting up its support, its military support for ukraine and thatis military support for ukraine and that is something that is going to have to be for the long term. this conflict. and therefore we should notjust be thinking about long—range artillery and things like that but ultimately some kind of mechanism should be found to get aircraft to ukraine as and when. she does not spell out how.— does not spell out how. ukraine has been calling for— been calling for these heavy armament since russia invaded so why haven't they had them up till now? i appreciate what you are saying about bits of aircraft but we have not sent them up till now. mas bits of aircraft but we have not sent them up till now. was that this would be seen _ sent them up till now. was that this would be seen as _ sent them up till now. was that this would be seen as a _ sent them up till now. was that this would be seen as a provocative - sent them up till now. was that this would be seen as a provocative as i would be seen as a provocative as glittery out by the russians step too far. it's one thing them some hand—helds, that you know, anti—tank weapons. the problem is that scale of support getting bigger and bigger and bigger. the americans havejust designed a drone specifically for

the ukrainian theatre so if you're reaching that point, what is the difference with aircraft, you might ask? at the moment it is the view of western countries that they are very reluctant to deliver entire aircraft forfear reluctant to deliver entire aircraft for fear of provoking russia. reluctant to deliver entire aircraft forfear of provoking russia. is reluctant to deliver entire aircraft for fear of provoking russia. is the government _ for fear of provoking russia. is the government on _ for fear of provoking russia. is the government on the _ for fear of provoking russia. is the government on the same - for fear of provoking russia. is the government on the same page - for fear of provoking russia. is the government on the same page with that? our other cabinet ministers behind liz truss's cole? the? that? our other cabinet ministers behind liz truss's cole? they have not been shouting _ behind liz truss's cole? they have not been shouting the _ behind liz truss's cole? they have not been shouting the support - behind liz truss's cole? they have. not been shouting the support from the rooftops this morning not least because it is not really a debate that i think anybody wanted to have at the moment. and so, i think, not every single western nation will want to start engaging in a debate and what they're talking about now is what can they do to support ukraine specifically in the donbas, in the east, and that means artillery, that means radar that can spot russian artillery so the moment is the russian fired artillery the ukrainians can hit them back. is that kind of mechanism and weaponry that kind of mechanism and weaponry that they are looking at now that is the step up from the initial anti—tank weapons that were so

effective in the first part of the conflict. ,., ., ., ., ~ effective in the first part of the conflict. ., ., ~ ., good to talk to you. we can cross live to kyiv now and ben brown: tomorrow the un secretary—general is coming to curve. is there any prospect of him being able to broker any kind of a deal or an agreement? it does not look like you made a lot of progress when he went the russian foreign minister and president putin. in fact, the ukrainians were pretty cross that he went there first. they thought he should have came here first and they are worried he is sort of being played by moscow, played by the kremlin and played by president putin is i don't think they have any great that there is going to be a huge breakthrough. they are hoping that the un can

establish more humanitarian corridors. for now, though, the war goes on especially in the east, of course. it is slow progress but some evidence that the russians are making some progress the and we have been hearing from the head of the un's nuclear watchdog. he is director general of the international atomic energy agency. he has been here in ukraine visiting chernobyl which you may remember russian troops came to back in february when they first invaded. they set up a base at chernobyl under was huge international concern that the russian forces were there and the head of the eye a ea was telling me how worried he was when the russians were there at chernobyl when of course there was that nuclear accident, such a disaster backin nuclear accident, such a disaster back in 1986. we havejust had

nuclear accident, such a disaster back in 1986. we have just had the 36th anniversary of that. indie back in 1986. we have just had the 36th anniversary of that.— 36th anniversary of that. we had never been _ 36th anniversary of that. we had never been in _ 36th anniversary of that. we had never been in a _ 36th anniversary of that. we had never been in a situation - 36th anniversary of that. we had never been in a situation like - 36th anniversary of that. we had | never been in a situation like this where _ never been in a situation like this where a — never been in a situation like this where a nuclear facility is suddenly falling _ where a nuclear facility is suddenly falling into the control of another state _ falling into the control of another state so — falling into the control of another state. so all the agreements, all the protocols, all the procedures that we _ the protocols, all the procedures that we have were being questioned. in that we have were being questioned. in this _ that we have were being questioned. in this situation evolved but not without — in this situation evolved but not without some additional problems like, without some additional problems like. for— without some additional problems like, for example, the loss of external— like, for example, the loss of external power that the site experienced for quite a prolonged period _ experienced for quite a prolonged period of— experienced for quite a prolonged period of time. we were able to muddle — period of time. we were able to muddle through, if i could describe it like _ muddle through, if i could describe it like that — muddle through, if i could describe it like that. but, of course, the concerns — it like that. but, of course, the concerns were there and we are just now: _ concerns were there and we are just now. and _ concerns were there and we are just now, and this is one of the reasons i now, and this is one of the reasons lam _ now, and this is one of the reasons lam here, — now, and this is one of the reasons lam here, there now, and this is one of the reasons i am here, there are now, and this is one of the reasons lam here, there are many now, and this is one of the reasons i am here, there are many reasons but one _ i am here, there are many reasons but one of— i am here, there are many reasons but one of the reasons we are here is that— but one of the reasons we are here is that we — but one of the reasons we are here is that we are starting the repair work— is that we are starting the repair work of— is that we are starting the repair work of all— is that we are starting the repair work of all of that, regaining all those _ work of all of that, regaining all those capabilities and helping to

stabilise, so to speak, chernobyl. how dangerous was it, do you think, when the russians were in control of chernobyl? it when the russians were in control of chernob l? .., when the russians were in control of chernob l? , ., , when the russians were in control of chernob l? , ., ., , chernobyl? it can be as dangerous as any situation — chernobyl? it can be as dangerous as any situation where _ chernobyl? it can be as dangerous as any situation where you _ chernobyl? it can be as dangerous as any situation where you lose - chernobyl? it can be as dangerous as any situation where you lose control. any situation where you lose control and information of what is going on and information of what is going on and especially with an ongoing war, conflict, _ and especially with an ongoing war, conflict, armed conflict, never knowing — conflict, armed conflict, never knowing whether the functionalities, the safety _ knowing whether the functionalities, the safety and security functionality that you have in any nuclear _ functionality that you have in any nuclear facilities, which are manyfold, could be lost with the possibility of an accident. that didn't— possibility of an accident. that didn't happen, thank god, but the danger— didn't happen, thank god, but the danger was very dated and was very real~ _ danger was very dated and was very real. �* , ., ., , ., real. but you are telling us that chernobyl _ real. but you are telling us that chernobyl is — real. but you are telling us that chernobyl is completely - real. but you are telling us that chernobyl is completely safe i real. but you are telling us that i chernobyl is completely safe now, the russians have gone, there is no concern? ~ ., concern? well, i would say, until there is peace — concern? well, i would say, until there is peace in _ concern? well, i would say, until there is peace in this _ concern? well, i would say, until there is peace in this country, i there is peace in this country, concern — there is peace in this country, concern will be there but we have been _ concern will be there but we have been able — concern will be there but we have been able to stabilise chernobyl and we will_ been able to stabilise chernobyl and we will continue doing this. that

been able to stabilise chernobyl and we will continue doing this.- we will continue doing this. that is the head of— we will continue doing this. that is the head of the _ we will continue doing this. that is the head of the un's _ we will continue doing this. that is the head of the un's nuclear- the head of the un's nuclear watchdog and, by the way, rebecca, he is also saying to me is pretty worried about this war in ukraine because there are other nuclear plants in this country, one in particular where russian forces are in the vicinity and he is really worried about that one as well so much more from us throughout the day but back now to you, rebecca, in the studio. many thanks, ben, good to talk to you. many thanks, ben, good to talk to you. and — a quick reminder — we'll be taking your questions on the war in ukraine, tomorrow at 12:30 bst. we'll have guests able to answer a range of questions about the war — from the battle raging in the east of the country; the consequences for civilians, and what more western countries could or should be doing to stop russia. you can get in touch on twitter using the hashtag bbc your questions — and you can email us on yourquestions@bbc.co.uk

the conservative party is investigating reports that a tory mp watched porn on his mobile phone while sitting next to a female minister in the commons chamber. the bbc understands that the female minister made the complaint at a regular meeting with female mps and the chief whip last night. (dtl next) let's speak to our political correspondent, nick eardley. there correspondent, nick eardley. was a meeting last n female there was a meeting last night of female tory mps. it is quite a regular meeting that they have with senior figures regular meeting that they have with seniorfigures in regular meeting that they have with senior figures in the government and a female minister raised this accusation that a male mp had been watching or looking at pornography in the commons chamber. that account was backed up by anotherfemale mp who was at that meeting last night and in response, the chief the man

who is in charge of discipline of conservative mps has launched an investigation, a spokeswoman for him has said that this is totally unacceptable and it will be looked into. we don't know who these accusations are against so we can't put any of them to them but a name has been given to the chief whip so he can look into these allegations that have come, as i say, from a couple of conservative mps last night. and chatting to mps around parliament this afternoon i think that there is a lot of disgust, frankly, that someone would potentially do that. a lot of people are disbelieving of the idea that anyone would actually watch pornography or look at pornography in the commons chamber when they are supposed to be working or taking part in debates. we have had a bit of reaction to these claims is well over the course of the day on the bbc. have a listen to what was set

on politics live this afternoon. the chief whi - on politics live this afternoon. tue: chief whip and on politics live this afternoon. tte: chief whip and i on politics live this afternoon. t"'te: chief whip and i was on politics live this afternoon. t'te: chief whip and i was looking on politics live this afternoon. t“te: chief whip and i was looking into this. it is unacceptable and action will be taken. i know no more than that but that seems to be pretty clear that the chief whip and self is investigating.— clear that the chief whip and self is investigating. should the web be withdrawn from _ is investigating. should the web be withdrawn from anyone _ is investigating. should the web be withdrawn from anyone found - is investigating. should the web be - withdrawn from anyone found watching pawn in the chamber? t’m withdrawn from anyone found watching pawn in the chamber?— pawn in the chamber? i'm not even auoin to pawn in the chamber? i'm not even going to defend _ pawn in the chamber? i'm not even going to defend that. _ pawn in the chamber? i'm not even going to defend that. are _ pawn in the chamber? i'm not even going to defend that. are not - pawn in the chamber? i'm not even| going to defend that. are not asking ou to going to defend that. are not asking you to defend _ going to defend that. are not asking you to defend it,. _ going to defend that. are not asking you to defend it,. if— going to defend that. are not asking you to defend it,. if the _ going to defend that. are not asking you to defend it,. if the facts - going to defend that. are not asking you to defend it,. if the facts are i you to defend it,. if the facts are established _ you to defend it,. if the facts are established action _ you to defend it,. if the facts are established action should - you to defend it,. if the facts are established action should be - you to defend it,. if the facts are i established action should be taken decisively. established action should be taken decisivel . ,, ,, , ., ~ established action should be taken decisivel. ,, ,, ~ ., decisively. suspension kicking out and it strikes _ decisively. suspension kicking out and it strikes me, _ decisively. suspension kicking out and it strikes me, thinking - decisively. suspension kicking out and it strikes me, thinking aboutl and it strikes me, thinking about all the _ and it strikes me, thinking about all the stories that we have had in recent— all the stories that we have had in recent days is we seem to be caught at time _ recent days is we seem to be caught at time of— recent days is we seem to be caught at time of war. times have changed. women _ at time of war. times have changed. women today are not going to put up with the _ women today are not going to put up with the kind of language and attitudes that would have been common— attitudes that would have been common years or decades ago. that sense of entitlement _ common years or decades ago. that sense of entitlement that people have on — sense of entitlement that people have on the _ sense of entitlement that people have on the level— sense of entitlement that people have on the level of _ sense of entitlement that people have on the level of entitlementl sense of entitlement that people . have on the level of entitlement you had to— have on the level of entitlement you had to sit— have on the level of entitlement you had to sit in— have on the level of entitlement you

had to sit in the _ have on the level of entitlement you had to sit in the chamber— have on the level of entitlement you had to sit in the chamber and - have on the level of entitlement you had to sit in the chamber and watchl had to sit in the chamber and watch pawn. _ had to sit in the chamber and watch pawn. i_ had to sit in the chamber and watch pawn. i mean. _ had to sit in the chamber and watch pawn, i mean, that— had to sit in the chamber and watch pawn, i mean, that is... _ had to sit in the chamber and watch pawn, i mean, that is... that- had to sit in the chamber and watch pawn, i mean, that is... that is - pawn, i mean, that is... that is taking _ pawn, i mean, that is... that is taking everything _ pawn, i mean, that is... that is taking everything for— pawn, i mean, that is... that is taking everything for granted. i| taking everything for granted. i mean. — taking everything for granted. i mean. they— taking everything for granted. i mean, they have _ taking everything for granted. i mean, they have been - taking everything for granted. i mean, they have been elected i taking everything for granted. i. mean, they have been elected to represent — mean, they have been elected to represent their— mean, they have been elected to represent their constituents, - mean, they have been elected to represent their constituents, not| mean, they have been elected to. represent their constituents, not to sit in _ represent their constituents, not to sit in the _ represent their constituents, not to sit in the chamber— represent their constituents, not to sit in the chamber and _ represent their constituents, not to sit in the chamber and watch- represent their constituents, not to sit in the chamber and watch pawn. j represent their constituents, not to i sit in the chamber and watch pawn. i don't _ sit in the chamber and watch pawn. i don't how— sit in the chamber and watch pawn. i don't how you — sit in the chamber and watch pawn. i don't how you can— sit in the chamber and watch pawn. i don't how you can adequately- don't how you can adequately represent _ don't how you can adequately represent relate _ don't how you can adequately represent relate to _ don't how you can adequately represent relate to your - represent relate to your constituents _ represent relate to your constituents if - represent relate to your constituents if you - represent relate to your constituents if you are i represent relate to your i constituents if you are the represent relate to your - constituents if you are the kind of person _ constituents if you are the kind of person who — constituents if you are the kind of person who does _ constituents if you are the kind of person who does that. _ constituents if you are the kind of person who does that.— constituents if you are the kind of person who does that. some of the reaction that _ person who does that. some of the reaction that his _ person who does that. some of the reaction that his claims. _ person who does that. some of the reaction that his claims. as - person who does that. some of the reaction that his claims. as i - person who does that. some of the reaction that his claims. as i say, i reaction that his claims. as i say, the chief whip has been given a name and is looking into this so we should get some finality to it at some point. what that might be would be purely speculative but the chief whip, spokesperson has said this behaviour is wholly unacceptable and action will be taken so we wait to see what that action might be. i suppose, rebecca, the bigger thing thatis suppose, rebecca, the bigger thing that is also going on here is we have had the story at the weekend about angela rayner and an anonymous mp saying some mps believe that she

crossed and uncrossed her legs to put borisjohnson off, something that has been roundly criticised in this place. but i think a lot of mps are frustrated at the stories keep coming up because, as you had pat mcfadden say on politics live there, it creates this impression that parliament just it creates this impression that parliamentjust hasn't moved on, that there are big issues with sexism which some would argue that clearly are but which many mps are deeply frustrated by. good to talk to you, nick, many thanks for that. a bill making child marriage illegal in england and wales is set to become law today. the minimum age for marriage is to become 18 — compared with 16 — with a parent's consent — until now. campaigners hope the new law could help spur changes in other countries, including scotland, where under—18s are still allowed to marry. joining us now is natasha rattu who is the ceo of the charity karma nirvana.

it'll have you with us. i wonder first of all what is your reaction to this change in the law? we are absolutely delighted. _ to this change in the law? we are absolutely delighted. this - to this change in the law? we are absolutely delighted. this is - to this change in the law? we are j absolutely delighted. this is been to this change in the law? we are i absolutely delighted. this is been a ten year long campaign. working alongside some incredible campaigners, trying to close a legal loophole that enabled the facilitation of child marriage so to be here today, to such a great feeling to know that we are now there, we are ready to give that absolute protection the children need. d0 absolute protection the children need. , ., absolute protection the children need. ,, . absolute protection the children need. ., ., , absolute protection the children need. ., ., i, , ., ., need. do you have any sense of how many teenagers _ need. do you have any sense of how many teenagers have _ need. do you have any sense of how many teenagers have been - need. do you have any sense of how many teenagers have been coercedl need. do you have any sense of how. many teenagers have been coerced or groomed or persuaded into marriage? the challenge numbers and data is that this is a real hidden issue but the charity deliver the home office commissioned national honour —based helpline and we have supported 52 cases in england and wales but that doesn't even scratch the surface with how much this is actually

happening because it is such an invisible issue but what we're really hoping is now that we have this law in place we will have greater visibility or have more people coming forward but more professionals also, equipped with the protections that they need to safeguard children in these situations.— safeguard children in these situations. ., ~' situations. how easy do you think it will be for teenagers _ situations. how easy do you think it will be for teenagers to _ situations. how easy do you think it will be for teenagers to come - will be for teenagers to come forward? i suppose what i wonder is, what will it mean for teenagers who perhaps are facing pressure to marry. perhaps are facing pressure to mar . ~ , ., , marry. well, it is really challenging. _ marry. well, it is really challenging. i- marry. well, it is really challenging. ithink- marry. well, it is really challenging. i think it i marry. well, it is really| challenging. i think it is exceptionally hard to come forward because currently, the law requires children to come forward and say that they have been forced to marry but the whole purpose of this law is that actually, that owners will be taken away. no longer will children have to come forward and prove they have to come forward and prove they have been forced. the fact that you have been forced. the fact that you have a child that is married in itself is now recognised as a forced marriage. what is really important here about the lawyers that the professionals will be equipped to support children better. you'rejust

not seeing that happening at the moment because it is not a crime. it is not against the law but when that change happens, professionals will now be able to do that so we hope, to the law, that we will have better identification notjust relying on the children but the people around them to bring, you know, such cases to the attention of authorities that need to protect and safeguard them. my need to protect and safeguard them. my understanding is this new law will make it a crime to organise child marriage. how much oversight will there be of that? what difference will that make? we already have statutory guidance on forced marriage, so already for those cases there is accountability through that guidance. we have clear law. so the fact we are including children now means we are really strengthening that ability to see how often really this is happening.

natasha, we must leave it there but really good to talk to you. thank you for your time and joining us on bbc news. i want to just take you to saint petersburg and bring you some live pictures of the russian president vladimir putin. he has travelled there from moscow to address a gathering of the council of legislators at the federal assembly of the russian federation. the event coincides with the day of russian parliamentarian is. we know he was in moscow yesterday because we saw him sitting at the now rather long famous table opposite the un secretary—general, antonio guterres, but he has travelled from moscow today to address parliamentarians in saint petersburg. time now for a look at the weather with susan

powell. hello. all parts of the uk are coming up short in terms of rainfall and there is little sign of addressing that before the end of the month. there is an area of low pressure pushing in on saturday but these highs can be very stubborn so actually it could be short lived or we might not get that much rain. overnight into thursday, some thicker cloud may give the odd spot of light drizzle. it will hold up the temperatures for eastern counties. further west clear skies and light winds, and a frost first thing on thursday. a fine start with a lot of sunshine, always more cloud though towards the east streaming in of the north sea. that will pushing across england and wales through the day and we will see cloud growing across scotland and northern ireland with may be the odd light shower. warmer than

wednesday, still breezy towards the south. hello, this is bbc news with rebecca jones. the headlines: the high court rules that government policies on discharging patients from hospitals to care homes at the start of the pandemic were �*unlawful�*. my dad worked all of his life to the age of 75, paid national insurance and had a right to life and they had a duty of care and he was failed. russian energy giant gazprom cuts gas supplies to poland and bulgaria because they're refusing to pay in roubles. government whips are investigating claims that a conservative mp watched pornography on his phone in the house of commons chamber. five police officers face gross misconduct proceedings over the stop and search of team gb athlete bianca williams.

and now for a full round—up from the bbc sport centre. good afternoon, rebecca. liverpool's chase for an unprecedented quadruple continues later when they take on villareal in the champions league semifinal at anfield. they've got the league cup, they're into the fa cup final and a point seperates them and city at the top of the premier league. jurgen klopp looks pretty relaxed there but they've got a big challenge ahead of them. villareal knocked out the much—fancied bayern munich in the last round. we can only hope they can match the brilliance of last night's game between manchester city and real madrid. but the liverpool boss is cherishing the opportunity of playing in a third champions league semifinal in five season. semifinal in five seasons. this is absolutely special to be part of the semifinal. it's crazy, it's crazy, really. it's a massive game. so many coaches, so many players out there try and work their socks off their whole life and have no chance to be close to a semifinal. we are there, so we have to cherish

it, we have to appreciate it, of course, but we have to enjoy it as well. ronnie o'sullivan is the first man into the semi—finals at the world snooker championship. he made it look easy in the end as he finshed with a 126 break to beat scotland's stephen maguire13—5. if o'sullivan wins the title, it'll be his seventh, which will take him level with stephen hendry as the most successful player in the tournament's history. o'sullivan spoke to the bbc alongside hendry after the match. we all aspire to be like stephen, he set the benchmark for everybody. davis did but he took it to another level. vou— it to another level. you — it to another level. took it you it to another level. took it to another level. we are alljust trying to be like him, all—time legend greatest player, he was the tiger woods of snooker dominating the sport. it would be an honour for me to share seven because he has taken it to a new level. the other match is a real battle between two former champions,

judd trump and stuart bingham. trump led 5—3 overnight but bingham won the first four frames this morning to take a 7—5 lead. however, the second half of the session went trump's way and it's now 8—all. they resume at seven o'clock. there's coverage from sheffield throughout the afternoon on bbc two, as well as the bbc sport website and app. promoter barry hearn says he doesn't believe tyson fury will retire. he expects him to fight the winner of the anthonyjoshua — oleksandr usyk�*s rematch, which is happening injuly. hearn says a fury—joshua match—up would be an incredible fight and the prize money on offer would be too much for fury to refuse. have you any idea how much money there is on that fight? there's like 100 million plus. i don't care how much money you've got, it is one more fight to make sure your family are protected forever. he's a great entertainer, he deserves everything he gets and he is a difficult guy to fight. there's only one way to beat tyson fury, and that is you have to

attack a man knock him out. ifjosh uses the changed tactics, it's the same result. usyk against tyson fury is not as big as usyk against joshua, that is on a different planet. and in tennis, world number one iga swiatek has pulled out of the madrid open with a shoulder injury. she has been in fine form, and won her fourth consecutive title at the stuttgart open on saturday. she's won 23 games in a row but the 20—year old said her body needs a rest. that's all the sport for now. thank you. five metropolitan police officers will face disciplinary charges in a gross misconduct hearing over the stop and search of the team gb sprinter bianca williams and her partner in london two years ago. it follows an investigation by the police watchdog, the independent office of police conduct. our community affairs correspondent adina campbell is at scotland yard.

i think it is worth you reminding us about this because this dates back to the summer of 2020 when bianca williams and her partner and their three—month—old baby were stopped in a car. three-month-old baby were stopped in a car. ., h three-month-old baby were stopped in acar. ., , a car. that's right. bianca williams who is 28. — a car. that's right. bianca williams who is 28. she _ a car. that's right. bianca williams who is 28, she is _ a car. that's right. bianca williams who is 28, she is the _ a car. that's right. bianca williams i who is 28, she is the commonwealth games gold medallist. she and her partner ricardo dos santos were stopped in maida vale in west london backin stopped in maida vale in west london back injuly 2020. you may remember footage of the search which was widely shared on social media. at the time of the search, their three—month—old baby son was in the back of the car while they were separated from him and handcuffed by police. they say they were targeted and racially profiled because they are black, and also because of the type of car they were in at the time which was a mercedes. shortly after that video was posted, the

metropolitan police apologised and today we now know the independent office of police conduct investigation has now confirmed there is a case to answer. the five police officers, who are an acting sergeant and four police constables, they will face gross conduct proceedings if those allegations are proven could be sacked, and we are expecting those hearings to take place by the end of this year. we have had a statement from bianca williams, she says she welcomes the decision and says this opens the doorfor the met to decision and says this opens the door for the met to be decision and says this opens the doorfor the met to be more open, honest and reflective about the culture of racism. and also the london mayor sadiq khan has welcomed the decision today and says he hopes the decision today and says he hopes the proceedings are no longer further delayed.— the proceedings are no longer further delayed. what exactly will the independent _ further delayed. what exactly will the independent office _ further delayed. what exactly will the independent office of - further delayed. what exactly will the independent office of police i the independent office of police conduct be doing? thea;r the independent office of police conduct be doing?— conduct be doing? they will be assessing. _ conduct be doing? they will be assessing, looking _ conduct be doing? they will be assessing, looking at _ conduct be doing? they will be assessing, looking at the - conduct be doing? they will be i assessing, looking at the evidence about what happened during that search, and there are a number of

allegations these officers are facing. they vary from weather reasonable force was used against the couple at the time, they will be assessing that, why their car was stopped in the first place, and also looking at whether the couple were treated less favourably because of their race, and that is something their race, and that is something the couple believed it happen. they say they were racially profiled and they believe they were targeted because of the colour of their skin, because of the colour of their skin, because they are black, and also because they are black, and also because they are driving a mercedes, a nice car, and they say they were unfairly treated by police. the police have apologised, they say they are fully cooperating with the independent office of police conduct investigation. those hearings are expected to happen by the end of this year. expected to happen by the end of this ear. ., ~ expected to happen by the end of this ear. ., ,, , ., expected to happen by the end of this ear. ., ~' , ., .., , this year. thank you. our community affairs correspondent _ this year. thank you. our community affairs correspondent adina - this year. thank you. our community| affairs correspondent adina campbell there. have you heard of a vampire device? they're those electronic items such as tvs, computers and smart devices that sap power

when on standby, wasting energy. british gas has estimated that as much as £147 per household could be saved by switching devices — like microwaves and games consoles — off at the wall. estimates by some other organisations are lower, but the fact remains that leaving things on unnecessarily is costing us money and harming the environment. joining me with more on this dr tara shirvani, an academic and expert on sustainability, innovation and green infrastructure. welcome to bbc news. i would like to start if i may with this figure from british gas that we would say £147 by switching off all our devices. does that figure sound about right to you? does that figure sound about right to ou? . , ., , does that figure sound about right to ou? . , ., to you? the ranges of estimates are all va in: to you? the ranges of estimates are all varying between _ to you? the ranges of estimates are all varying between high _ to you? the ranges of estimates are all varying between high and - to you? the ranges of estimates are all varying between high and low- all varying between high and low scenario but this is more or less within the range. it's about 23% of our electrical usage that we can put

down to these vampire energy consuming devices, which means that actually are quite huge national cost to the government, around $2.2 billion, euros, pounds. share cost to the government, around $2.2 billion, euros, pounds.— billion, euros, pounds. are there some devices _ billion, euros, pounds. are there some devices or _ billion, euros, pounds. are there some devices or electrical- billion, euros, pounds. are there - some devices or electrical equipment that are better to turn off than others because they drain particularly large amount of power? yes, it's all a question of how much are you willing to give up the handy part of modern technology. things such as built—in clocks and remote control quick start features of some of your devices. some of your devices, mostly around tv consoles and new hybrid working from home set “p and new hybrid working from home set up are the ones that consume the most amount of power, so whether it is for your music station, or whether it is once you set up two screens and a laptop at your home

desk station, and if you are really going to unplug those every time you finish working. those are some of the biggest amounts of energy draining devices, and they are at the top of the list so to speak. t the top of the list so to speak. i have been told that turning things back on can sometimes use more power than leaving them on standby, is that true or is itjust a myth? t that true or is itjust a myth? i think it depends on the that true or is itjust a myth? t think it depends on the device, and it also depends on how long it takes for you to really get the system up and running again. so example, if you think about turning off your wi—fi system, turning off your whole tv console system and it takes quite a lot of time to reboot the whole system, it could take more energy consumption to reboot it, but mostly first and foremost it's also a matter and a question about whether one is patient enough to wait for the system to reboot, and that can

take a different amount of time depending on the system that you have at home.— have at home. exactly. that is chanauin have at home. exactly. that is changing consumer _ have at home. exactly. that is changing consumer culture, i have at home. exactly. that is i changing consumer culture, isn't have at home. exactly. that is - changing consumer culture, isn't it? i know a phrase that crops up a lot in your work i know a phrase that crops up a lot in yourwork and i know a phrase that crops up a lot in your work and i have heard it as well, is circular economy, and i just wondered if you could explain what that means in this context. tt what that means in this context. tt is a good question and an important point because all of these considerations around vampire energy consuming devices, this isjust the beginning of a big transformation that we have to take in the way we consume things, we live and run our households. moving towards a circular economy is really a way of thinking about it, and a circle economy is a way of thinking about how we consume away from take, make and throw away things, and rather moving towards a system where we eliminate waste and use resources as

frequently and as a resource efficiently as possible, because the most important thing, and i think when you take a step back and start to think about how we can best tackle our current cost of living crisis while having an environmentally friendly lifestyle, you really have to think about it and yet we only have 30 months left to get greenhouse gas emissions are falling. that is what the ipcc report has said. beyond 30 months from now, we have missed our chance of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees heating, so this is really the epicentre of all of it, and we have to start thinking about a whole new way of living and running our households ultimately if we want to achieve that goal. the households ultimately if we want to achieve that goal.— achieve that goal. the cheeky final ruestion if achieve that goal. the cheeky final question if i _ achieve that goal. the cheeky final question if i may, _ achieve that goal. the cheeky final question if i may, do _ achieve that goal. the cheeky final question if i may, do you - achieve that goal. the cheeky final question if i may, do you practice | question if i may, do you practice what you preach or are there times when you leave things on standby, perhaps charging your phone overnight for example? tt is

perhaps charging your phone overnight for example? it is very funny that _ overnight for example? it is very funny that you — overnight for example? it is very funny that you mention. - overnight for example? it is very i funny that you mention. yesterday i had this conversation with my husband because the reality is how much are we willing to personally take of convenient keeping technology on at night? we were thinking, do i have to go downstairs and unplug the washing machine? it is so much effort to move that washing machine so we didn't do it unfortunately, but this is one of those examples of the extreme discipline it will take for us really if we wanted to implement these changes, and ultimately may not be just much more effective if we change the way we think about running the household as a whole. dr tara shirvani, thank you for your honesty and all your thoughts and insight. it's been really good to talk to you, thank you.- insight. it's been really good to talk to you, thank you. britons wanting to apply for a new passport are being warned not to leave it until the last minute. the passport office says the delays are because of a large backlog after brexit and covid.

the prime minister is warning the service could be privatised if things do not improve. the shadow home secretary raised the issue of passport delays with an urgent question in the house of commons this afternoon. my my constituents fear their honeymoon may now be wrecked because their passports haven't arrived even though they applied in plenty of time. we have had cases of people cancelling jobs, parents trying to get holiday for a sick child waiting since january, get holiday for a sick child waiting sincejanuary, huge get holiday for a sick child waiting since january, huge long delays by the passport office and by the contractor tnt. the message today on the one week fast track service says "system busy, please try again later", and the online premium service has no appointment anywhere in the country, so people can't get the urge and travel such as to go to funerals or urgent events. the minister has said more passports are being processed and that is clearly welcome but it is not enough. this was totally predictable. the home

office was asked in 2020 and 2021 what it was doing to plan but people are already losing holidays, trips to see loved ones and thousands of pounds that they have spent in good faith because of the lack of planning at the passport office and at the home office which is in danger of becoming a stay at home office instead for people this summer. ~ ., office instead for people this summer. . . ., , office instead for people this summer. . . ,, ., ., summer. well, that was the shadow home secretary- _ the home office minister, kevin foster, says the government is taking action to improve the issues. as of the 1st of april, there are over 4000 staff in passport production roles. we are in the process of recruiting another 700. i would also again make the point that 90% of applications were completed within six weeks, and the service standard is ten weeks. my advice to anyone who is looking to go on holiday this summer is exactly what i said the other day, which is to get your application in now. so we

are making a range of efforts, staff are making a range of efforts, staff are working weekends, incentivising over time, and certainly we are confident that we will not need to change the ten week target. but as i have made the point, this is a record level of demand and a record output. far in excess of what we have seen before. for those who have compelling and compassionate reasons to travel such as funerals or family ill—health, we will expedite their applications. ill-health, we will expedite their applications-— applications. that was the home office minister. _ the prison service in england and wales is failing to recognise the dangers of islamist gangs injails, according to report published today. the independent reviewer of terrorist legislation has urged officials to pay more attention to the influence of convicted terrorists on other inmates. our home affairs correspondent, daniel sandford, reports.

usman khan running from the scene of the fishmonger�*s hall attack. he'd just stabbed two people to death. tackled to the ground and then shot, he'd only recently been released from prison. his attack, in which saskia jones and jack merritt died, was the first of four attacks in just seven months committed by serving prisoners or prisoners who'd just been released. an official report said today that too often islamist gangs had been able to exercise control on prison wings, deciding which officers could attend prayers, even setting up sharia courts and ordering inmates to be flogged and this increased the chances of terrorist attacks. the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, jonathan hall qc, said... allahu akbar! this week, we went inside woodhill prison to see what's now being done to tackle the threat.

we filmed for the first time inside the separation centre — one of only three in england. here, key terrorist radicalisers are incarerated to reduce their pernicious influence. these separation centres are prisons within prisons, where the most ideologically dangerous inmates can be isolated, so that they can't radicalise other prisoners. to complete their isolation, they even have their own separate exercise yard and gym. but the separation centres are underused. so far, only 15 inmates have ever been in one. the system for referring men here is too complex and sometimes dogged by challenges under the human rights act. thejustice secretary, dominic raab, says he wants to make it easier to send inmates to the centres, and claims his proposed changes to human rights legislation will help. this is about making

sure that those that would taint the well, poison the well, inside prisons, radicalise more people, recruit more people to terrorist ranks, cannot do so. it's a very austere regime. it's different from what any other prisoner would experience in general population. it's very resource intensive, but it's absolutely the right thing to do to safeguard the public. behind these doors, where we weren't allowed to film for safety reasons, is an ultra—secure close supervision centre. here, the most violent inmates are held — including michael adebolajo, who killed lee rigby. ministers now plan to increase the number of cells in units like this. daniel sandford, bbc news, in woodhill prison. let's switch focus now. the eurovision song contest will soon be upon us and this year it takes place in italy. it's been 13 years since the uk finished in the top ten —

but hoping to change that is the essex singer sam ryder. our music correspondent, mark savage, went to meet him before he heads to turin. # up in space, man! # up in space, man. sam ryder, welcome to bbc breakfast. thank you so much for having me. are you ok? yeah, i'm good. what about you, though? it's two weeks to go. mm-hm. what is still on your mental checklist before you go to italy? you know what? ifeel good. touch wood. yep. i feeljust focused, calm, i'm just ready to soak it all in and be there and be present for the experience. for people who don't know the sam ryder story, tell us about... tell us about growing up. i grew up in a house of music, not that my parents were musicians, but theyjust loved music. records playing constantly. earth, wind and fire, beautiful south, queen. and even now, they listen to the same records, like, full blast. i mean, full blast, when they're like cleaning the house or mowing the lawn.

my neighbours will know. the records will be playing so loud, so they can still hear it over the lawnmower. tell me aboutjoining tiktok and posting covers. what inspired you to do that? well, i'd been working in construction for years and years, and then sort of started singing at weddings. it took, you know, lockdown to happen for the weddings to be cancelled, all of us to be stuck indoors for me to sort of think "i don't want to stop singing, just because i can't sing at people's weddings now. but how am i going to do that?" it was, i guess, kind of a digital way of me flicking through a record collection. the first video was hit me baby one more time by britney spears. i sang it as high as i could in my mum's kitchen. and it all started snowballing from there. # lose my mind! # so give me a sign. # hit me baby one more time. and alicia keys? yeah.

i thought it was deep fake stuff, like someone was messing with me. and like someone has figured out, i don't know, how to be alicia keys. # but everything means nothing. beautiful soul, beautiful person. and they don't have to do that, you know? like, kind of encourage someone who is just an emerging artist coming through the ranks. it changes everything for that artist. on tiktok, up until ed sheeran joined last year, you were the most streamed british artist on the platform. how much do you hate him now? oh, mate, you can't stop ed. ed is a force. if ever there's a silver medal that i want, i'll take this one. of course, there's an ed sheeran connection to space man. yes. because amy wadge, who wrote thinking out loud, is a co—writer on your song.

yeah, both an amazing team. ed is a genius, so is amy. you've taken the song all the way across europe in the last couple of weeks. you've performed in madrid, in germany, you've been in serbia. what's been the highlight? you know what? actually, in all the cities we've been to, we've tried to do a green lamp session. so this isn't the original green lamp, but, in lockdown, when i was filming in the corner of my shed, there just so happened to be one of these in the corner. so i've started doing something called the green lamp sessions where, when we have time and we're in a new city, we'lljust drop like a 15—minute warning on instagram, like, hey, come and meet us here and we'll sing a couple of songs. and that has been an amazing highlight. # up in space, man. that was mark savage talking to sam ryder, let's wish him well.

now it's time for a look at the weather with susan powell. hello. think of april weather in the uk and you probably think of april showers. april 2022, though, that has not really been the case. a lot of images being sent to us by weather watchers that look like these — arid ground. gardeners and growers are certainly struggling to get things going. we've had a rainfall deficit across the uk so far this april, but it's southern counties of england that have suffered, particularly with some around 70% down on the rainfall totals they would normally see. and it doesn't look like we're going to redress that balance through the rest of the month either. high pressure will sit across the uk. various weather systems will try and trickle in a bit thicker cloud now and then, squeeze out the odd shower, but there's no significant rain to come across the uk as a whole through the remainder of this april. saturday, we may see some rain eventually getting into scotland and northern ireland. for the remainder of wednesday, some thicker cloud across eastern counties. we may see a little bit of drizzle out of that. further west, clear skies overnight,

light winds and, yes, it's getting late in the season but we're still talking about the possibility of a frost. another challenge for gardeners. chilly start to thursday, perhaps more in the way of sunshine generally through the day. but eastern counties of england are always going to struggle with that feed of cloud in off the north sea, and it will push its way westwards during the day, i think as far west as wales and the southwest. cloud bubbling up across scotland and northern ireland may produce the odd light shower. but overall we're dry — if anything, just a shade warmer than today, quite breezy towards the south, particularly through the channel. friday, same story — high pressure, still very quiet, a little bit breezier to the south, cloud coming in from the east across england and wales. maybe the odd shower for scotland, certainly across central regions, but up to 17 degrees with some brightness for glasgow. and then we look to the weekend and the possibility of this area of low pressure getting into the northwest, and we're a way out yet, and often these highs can be more stubborn

than our models recognise. so at the moment we're talking about rain on saturday for scotland and northern ireland, but there is a possibility, i think, that that may not come off. certainly looking further ahead into our forecast now, we're going into the start of may and you can see high pressure is always keen to stay close. the tail end of a low perhaps coming into play briefly through the first week. but by the end of the week we're back under a high and it still looks dry.

this is bbc news. the headlines: the high court have ruled government policies on discharging patients from hospitals to care homes at the start of the pandemic were �*unlawful�*. my dad worked all of his life to the age of 75, paid national insurance and he had a right to life and they had a duty of care and he was failed. russian energy giant gazprom cuts gas supplies to poland and bulgaria for refusing to pay in roubles. a conservative mp has reportedly been caught watching pornography while sitting in the chamber. five police officers face gross misconduct proceedings over the stop and search of team gb athlete bianca williams. and we meet sam ryder,

the uk's new hope for this year's eurovision song contest. two women whose fathers died from covid—19 have won a high court challenge against the government over policies on discharging patients to care homes in england at the outset of the pandemic. cathy gardner and fay harris partially succeeded in their claims against the health secretary and public health england. in a ruling today, judges concluded that policies contained in documents released in march and early april 2020 were unlawful because they failed to take into account the risk to elderly and vulnerable residents from non—symptomatic transmission of the virus. our social affairs editor,

alison holt, has this report. emerging from the high court, two women who argued the government failed to protect their fathers at the start of the pandemic. both men lived in care homes. today, the court concluded the government decision to discharge hospital patients into care homes was unlawful and irrational. i believed all along that my father and other residents of care homes were neglected and let down by the government. at that time, the government said it was ok to admit people into care homes, without recommending isolation. it effectively ceded covid into the care homes. that is what fay harris believes happened with her father, don.

he was larger—than—life, he had a fantastic character, great fun. wicked sense of humour. he was living in a hampshire nursing home when the pandemic started. the 89—year—old was doing well but, within a month, he had died with covid. his daughter believes this was after the home tucked in hospital patients who developed the virus. i just think they were totally expendable. i don't think they were regarded at all. my dad worked all of his life, to the age of 75, paid national insurance. he had a right to life and they had a duty of care. and he was failed. the last time that i was able to see my father was about 24 hours before he died. doctor cathy gardner's father michael gibson died in an oxfordshire care home in early april 2020. he was in a ground—floor room

so i was able to see him through a window. i was lucky that i could do that because i know many families, they couldn't see their loved at all. doctor gardner's background is in the study of viruses and she was shocked when hospital patients moved into her father's home without clear guidance on infection control. she believes early in the pandemic, care homes largely had to fend for themselves. i believe that lives could have been saved in care homes if the government had acted differently, if they had pursued a policy involving quarantine, testing, propertraining on infection control and ppe, all of those things, they could have saved lives. and it is important to remember that it wasn't just the old and vulnerable that died, that care home staff died, too. i want to remind - the house of what an incredibly difficult time that was. short time ago, the prime minister gave his response to the judgment. the thing that we didn't know| in mr speaker, was that covid could beat transmitted i a symptomatically in the way that it was. and that was somethingl that i wish we had known more about at the time.

the government says that each death during the pandemic was a tragedy, but it insists it works tirelessly to protect people and that billions of pounds were poured into supporting care services, including with protective equipment and infection control. joining us now from the high court is our correspondent gareth barlow. talk as to exactly how significant it is. , , . ., talk as to exactly how significant it is. , , .. ., it is. very significant for the families of _ it is. very significant for the families of those _ it is. very significant for the families of those affected, l it is. very significant for the i families of those affected, not it is. very significant for the - families of those affected, notjust the claimants but the thousands of people who died in care homes during the course of the pandemic. their families, too, would have been watching this closely. like we have been saying, this was a partially successful ruling but a significant one nonetheless and they focused in

one nonetheless and they focused in on this issue around asymptomatic transmission and whether the government policies adequately protected vulnerable and people in care homes and they said they didn't. they highlighted a radio interview on the 13th of march 2020 interview on the 13th of march 2020 in which he specifically identified the risk of asymptomatic transmission but policy is drawn up in the days following and in the weeks following that were not altered until the april of 2020 allowed patients to be transferred from hospitals and care homes without being tested. did not contain, it is argued, enough safeguarding for isolation of patients within homes themselves. a spokesman for matt hancock said ministers were cleared of wrong doing and it was public health england who failed to properly briefed ministers. we had from the prime minister saying he was apologetic for what had happened but just not enough was known at that point in time with regard to this point in time with regard to this point with the labour shadow health

secretary says ministers failed to do enough. that they ignored the that were made to them and they cannot claim to have acted to save lives. a hugely significant point in this process and of course we know that next year a public inquiry to learn lessons is due to begin. that next year a public inquiry to learn lessons is due to begin. joining us now is mike padgham, chairman of the indepedent care group. very good to have you with us. what is your response to this ruling? well, i am surprised at the ruling but i am pleased that the outcome in terms of what it will provide in terms of what it will provide in terms of what it will provide in terms of lessons learned so that we never repeat this again so i'm pleased and i want to extend my sympathy to all those who lost loved ones in care homes or anywhere because it has been a dreadful couple of years.— couple of years. why are you

concerned? _ couple of years. why are you concerned? the _ couple of years. why are you concerned? the governmentj couple of years. why are you i concerned? the government is couple of years. why are you - concerned? the government is strong at lobb in: concerned? the government is strong at lobbying and _ concerned? the government is strong at lobbying and i— concerned? the government is strong at lobbying and i thought _ concerned? the government is strong at lobbying and i thought perhaps - concerned? the government is strong at lobbying and i thought perhaps it i at lobbying and i thought perhaps it would find in favour of the government and i am pleased, i suppose, we never seemed to get listened to. we made many points in the past and that is why i was surprised and pleased at the outcome. surprised and pleased at the outcome-— surprised and pleased at the outcome. . ,, , ., ., outcome. perhaps it is an unfair ruestion outcome. perhaps it is an unfair question but — outcome. perhaps it is an unfair question but i — outcome. perhaps it is an unfair question but i will— outcome. perhaps it is an unfair question but i will ask _ outcome. perhaps it is an unfair question but i will ask you, - question but i will ask you, following on from that, therefore, do you blame the government for some of the early deaths that occurred in care homes during the pandemic? t care homes during the pandemic? i think they have to take some responsibility but i would just make the point that successive governments of different colours over the past 20 years of so have failed and social care so we were already on our knees and ill—prepared so it is a shared blame. ill-prepared so it is a shared blame. , . , ., ., ill-prepared so it is a shared blame. , . , ., . ill-prepared so it is a shared blame. ,~ ., ., blame. every custom made back to ve earl blame. every custom made back to very early days _ blame. every custom made back to very early days of _ blame. every custom made back to very early days of the _ blame. every custom made back to very early days of the pandemic- blame. every custom made back to very early days of the pandemic it i very early days of the pandemic it was not known about the extent of asymptomatic transmission right at

the very beginning, was it? the government i suppose might say that it had to balance the demands of trying not to overwhelm the nhs. it had to balance competing harms, if you like, to understand that? $5 you like, to understand that? as man you like, to understand that? is many people observed, what is happening in europe in the early part of the pandemic and people dying in care homes and we could see what was coming and i and other colleagues locked our homes down before the government said because we could see what was happening. it contradicted itself at times. we can get the ppe. we cannot get the testing and in fact some patients were admitted without the testing in place but we should have known, the government should have known earlier what was to happen in the trouble is all the resources went to the nhs first and social care staff battled through this without any protection in the early days.— in the early days. what does the government _ in the early days. what does the government need _ in the early days. what does the government need to _ in the early days. what does the government need to do - in the early days. what does the government need to do now- in the early days. what does the government need to do now in i in the early days. what does the i government need to do now in your

opinion? government need to do now in your oinion? ~ , , government need to do now in your oinion? . , , , opinion? well, the biggest thing is lessons learned, _ opinion? well, the biggest thing is lessons learned, isn't _ opinion? well, the biggest thing is lessons learned, isn't it? - opinion? well, the biggest thing is lessons learned, isn't it? i - opinion? well, the biggest thing is lessons learned, isn't it? i do- lessons learned, isn't it? i do think it has not learned his lesson because in the way to the prime minister social care is still not fixed. they have not fully started the fixing and they have got to turn this around in my view is in the new health and social care the bulk of that funding must go to social cannot the nhs so that we can reward staff and get it fully staffed because the problem today as there is a big backlog in the nhs but social care is on its knees unfairly because we cannot support people in the community. this because we cannot support people in the community-— the community. this is what the government _ the community. this is what the government would _ the community. this is what the government would say. - the community. this is what the government would say. the - the community. this is what the | government would say. the say, the community. this is what the - government would say. the say, well, it is for this extra money on national insurance. there is going to be this levy and that is going towards sorting out social care so they would argue that they had gone quite a long way to try to sort this out, wouldn't they?— quite a long way to try to sort this out, wouldn't they? well, they have made a step- _ out, wouldn't they? well, they have made a step. credit _ out, wouldn't they? well, they have made a step. credit where - out, wouldn't they? well, they have made a step. credit where credit i out, wouldn't they? well, they have made a step. credit where credit is| made a step. credit where credit is due. but the bulk of the money is going, three years before money goes to social care. social care staff need support with better terms and conditions and renumeration in that

way people can be looked after in the community to free up hospital beds but the nhs gets the priority and it is the wrong way round in my view. , , ., , and it is the wrong way round in my view. . , . , . and it is the wrong way round in my view. , ., . ., view. just as a concluding thought, rive us a view. just as a concluding thought, give us a sense _ view. just as a concluding thought, give us a sense of— view. just as a concluding thought, give us a sense of what _ view. just as a concluding thought, give us a sense of what the - give us a sense of what the situation is now in care homes because covid has not gone away, has it? ~ because covid has not gone away, has it? . ., , because covid has not gone away, has it? ~ ., , ., because covid has not gone away, has it? ~ ., , s, s, because covid has not gone away, has it? . s, s, ., because covid has not gone away, has it? s, s, s, s, it? well, it has not gone away, no. i. it? well, it has not gone away, no. i, for it? well, it has not gone away, no. i. for example. _ it? well, it has not gone away, no. i, for example, in _ it? well, it has not gone away, no. i, for example, in our— it? well, it has not gone away, no. i, for example, in our own - it? well, it has not gone away, no. i, for example, in our own homes | it? well, it has not gone away, no. i i, for example, in our own homes are still asking visitors to test because the transmission rates are still high. staff are exhausted. they wait for two years through this. we are having to isolate staff now we are still contracting it for five days so we are running on empty. having to get a dentist to have any which is not ideal. the biggest thing is we want to pay staff better. they should be on a parity with the nhs and that about the government is to do is look at addressing the shortfall because 160,000 vacancies in england and social minute. we need to plug that gap- social minute. we need to plug that i a . _ , ., ., social minute. we need to plug that tan ., ., ~' social minute. we need to plug that gap. good to talk to you. thank you for our gap. good to talk to you. thank you for yourtime- _ thank you for your time. russia has been accused of escalating the war in ukraine by cutting off gas supplies to two

european countries — poland and bulgaria — which moscow describes as �*unfriendly�* states. both of them are nato countries and get much of their gas from russia, but they've refused the kremlin's demand that they pay for their energy in russian roubles. the government in kyiv says president putin is trying to break the unity of its allies by using economic blackmail. from moscow, our correspondent, jenny hill, sent this report. russia's turned off the taps and state tv is enjoying the moment. gazprom announced this morning it would cut supplies to poland and bulgaria. both countries have refused to pay in roubles. not that the polish prime minister was concerned. his country, he said, was ready to cut itself off from russian energy. translation: our gas storages are 7696 full. | this is a high level. much higher than in most

european countries. vladimir putin knows many other european countries — germany, in particular — rely on his energy supplies, but he needs their custom. in january alone, it's estimated that what he calls "unfriendly countries", most of europe, paid russia $6 billion for gas. and that's why, even though he's demanded countries pay in roubles, the reality is more complex. they can pay in euros or dollars, but only if they open russian bank accounts, which then exchange the currency, then make the final payment. it's believed, though not confirmed, that some european countries have opened those accounts. a few very big, key contracts are expiring. the german and italian, as i said so often, and some others. in end of may, during june, what will happen then? because then they will have to decide, will they pay according

to this new mechanism or not? and most politicians in germany and in other parts of the eu have so far been leaning towards, you know, saying that, no, we will not do this and this is unacceptable. but, yeah, it will come up, it's crunch time. and this is putin's way of shooting across the bow. neither sanctions, threats, not appeals have stopped vladimir putin and his war. the gulf between the russian president and the west grows ever wider. the european union has described russia's decision to cut off gas supplies to poland and bulgaria as "blackmail". this is what the european commission president ursula von der leyen had to say a short while ago. our guidance here is very clear. to pay in roubles, if this is not foreseen in the contract, paying in roubles is a breach of our sanctions. we have round about 97%

of all contracts that explicitly stipulate payments in euros or dollars, a so it is very clear and the aso it is very clear and the request from the russian side to pay in roubles is a unilateral decision and not according to the contracts. companies with such contracts should not give in to russian demands. this would be a breach of the sanctions under high risk for the companies. our correspondent in warsaw adam easton told us how russia's move is being seen there: pearl in's prime minister has been speaking in last few hours to the parliament sale is actually the russia's decision to turn off the gas is a direct attack against poland in retaliation for the sanctions poland announced on tuesday against 50 russian individuals and companies, gazprom among them who have ties to vladimir

putin's regime. {lin among them who have ties to vladimir putin's regime-— putin's regime. on the other hand, he also said — putin's regime. on the other hand, he also said this _ putin's regime. on the other hand, he also said this is _ putin's regime. on the other hand, he also said this is a _ putin's regime. on the other hand, he also said this is a message - he also said this is a message directly speaking to polish consumers, of course, don't worry, this decision will not affect you when you go to the stove and turn on the gas, it will still fire and it will still be there for your cooking purposes and heating purposes, which is true, in a way, because it is fortuitous timing for countries like poland and bulgaria because we are in spring and we are coming up to summerand gas demand in spring and we are coming up to summer and gas demand is low and countries like poland, at least, have had the foresight to actually inject a lot of gas into the underground storage already and it is three quarters full so that should see them through the immediate future. as the weeks go by in the months go by until the end of the year there will be significant challenges, though, for poland and bulgaria to meet the needs of their customers and they will need support from other european markets as well.

if things do continue in the way that you are outlining, adam, how long can poland and bulgaria manage without russian gas, do you think? well, the minister in charge of energy and poland estimates that poland can manage for a few months, perhaps three months. the problem for poland is that its main tool to replace russian gas is it is building this pipeline to norway which will allow it to bring norwegian gas direct to poland and completely replace all the volumes of russian gas it receives. now, thatis of russian gas it receives. now, that is great but this pipeline does not, nine and to the end of october and will be fully operational until the end of year and so the question of course is what happens until the end of the rest of europe are

seeking gas and seeking gas that is not russian. and there are challenges and it is unclear at this stage how long countries like poland and especially bulgaria which rely so heavily on russian gas can last without russian gas supplies. that was adam easton _ without russian gas supplies. that was adam easton in _ without russian gas supplies. that was adam easton in warsaw. that was adam easton in warsaw. we can cross live to brussels and our correspondent there jessica parker: interesting adam outlining the polish response also interesting i thought what the european commission president had to say describing russia's decision to cut off gas supplies to poland and bulgaria as blackmail. very strong words but how concerned is the european union? t concerned is the european union? i think the european union is concerned and has been concern for quite some time. conversations about getting of russian energy supplies and trying to be more energy independent for europe predates,

actually, the russian invasion foot of the russian invasion of ukraine really force this issue notjust because russia, as has been proven today, it was thought can't be viewed as a reliable supplier of energy as well but also the frankly pretty embarrassing fact and difficult fact that europe is paying vast sums of money to russia, that it is feared they are going into the kremlin's offers for these energy payments and that has been used to finance the war in ukraine. to put it put it mildly, it is not a good look for the eu as it tries to support ukraine so this conversation about getting off russian fossil fuels whether it is coal, oil or gas has really dominated discussions here. they did agree to an embargo on russian coal that does kick in later in the summer. they're struggling a bit on oil in some countries are saying on gas that is really not realistic in any immediate sense. they have some broader plans to try to be free of russian fossil fuels well before

2013 and cut russian gas supplies by two thirds by the end of this year but the move by president putin overnight while, has been outlined, it might be an effort to divide member states, certainly, again, it might be an effort to divide memberstates, certainly, again, i think highlights the officials and leaders here, the agency, trying to wean themselves off russian as possible. wean themselves off russian as ossible. ,., ., wean themselves off russian as ossible. ,., s, s, wean themselves off russian as ossible. s, ., ,, ., wean themselves off russian as ossible. s, ., ,, s, more now on the allegations of sexual misconduct against the dj, tim westwood. chi chi izundu is here. developments within the last few moments? . , ., s, , developments within the last few moments? . , , ., moments? tim westwood, 'ust to remind people. i moments? tim westwood, 'ust to remind people, hast moments? tim westwood, 'ust to remind people, has a h moments? tim westwood, 'ust to remind people, has a show_ moments? tim westwood, just to remind people, has a show on - moments? tim westwood, just to i remind people, has a show on capital extra which is owned by global on saturday evenings. global have just issued a statement which says, and i

shall be that, following the claims that have recently come to light, tim westwood has stepped down from the show until further notice. so just to reiterate, southern women came forward with seven separate allegations of unexpected and unwanted sexual behaviour against tim westwood which he strenuously denied. all of the accusations in their entirety. as part of our investigation with the guardian newspaper into his movements. t newspaper into his movements. i think it is worth perhaps for viewers who were not watching or don't know so much about tim westwood, he's obviously stepped down from this show on capital extra. but tell is a little bit more about him because he was at the bbc for what? 20 years? tie about him because he was at the bbc for what? 20 years?— for what? 20 years? he started his career in the _ for what? 20 years? he started his career in the clubs _ for what? 20 years? he started his career in the clubs as _ for what? 20 years? he started his career in the clubs as a _ for what? 20 years? he started his career in the clubs as a dj - for what? 20 years? he started his career in the clubs as a dj and - for what? 20 years? he started his career in the clubs as a dj and he i career in the clubs as a dj and he also started in pirate radio and then was poached to work in capital.

capital was just a local london radio station. you then post from that work at a bbc radio 1 to launch than national rap show. that happened in 1994 and to continue to work at the bbc for 20 years. and then he left in 2013, he moved back to capital extra where he has been since, he is one of the biggest names in black music. it has been known to champion black music, particularly hip—hop and rap. he is interviewed or been associated with a number of huge wrappers, we're talking eminem, kanye west, drake, jc, talking eminem, kanye west, drake, jc, that calibre of artist. normally would seek him out to do interviews on his programme such was his reputation. he is 64 now, he stood as club nights, he still does venues up as club nights, he still does venues up and down the country and in other parts of the world. we find out earlier today that at least two of those mates that had been planned, the venues had cancelled them. as i

said, he strenuously denied all the allegations, as you have told us, he has now stepped down from his show until further notice, has now stepped down from his show untilfurther notice, has he has now stepped down from his show until further notice, has he said anything else?— until further notice, has he said anything else? has there been any other comment _ anything else? has there been any other comment from _ anything else? has there been any other comment from him? - anything else? has there been any other comment from him? there'sj anything else? has there been any - other comment from him? there's been no other comment _ other comment from him? there's been no other comment other _ other comment from him? there's been no other comment other than _ other comment from him? there's been no other comment other than from - other comment from him? there's been no other comment other than from a i no other comment other than from a spokesperson who said he is a successful and well respected dj and that he does completely, entirely, deny all of the allegations in our documentary. deny all of the allegations in our documentary-— deny all of the allegations in our documenta . . s, ., ., documentary. worth reiterating that the news just _ documentary. worth reiterating that the newsjust botched _ documentary. worth reiterating that the newsjust botched was - documentary. worth reiterating that the news just botched was that - documentary. worth reiterating that the news just botched was that the l the news just botched was that the dj tim westwood following the claims that have recently come to light your steps down from the show on capital extra for further notice. thank you for that update. thanks. back now to the conflict in ukraine. the foreign secretary, liz truss, is calling for the uk and other western powers to give warplanes to ukraine as part of long—term military support.

in a major speech in london this evening, ms truss is expected to say the west must prepare for the "long haul" to ensure russia is defeated. moscow has accused nato of fighting a proxy war. our diplomatic correspondent james landale told me the foreign secretary's appeal for warplanes is a thorny issue: at the moment elite according to the pentagon last week no entire aircraft have been delivered to ukraine by any western nation since this war began. an awful lot of parts have been sent to ukraine to allow ukraine to keep its own fleet is going but actually, whole aircraft have not been given. some countries have said we are prepared to do this but the deal to make that happen fell through. the poll said we have got some old soviet era fighters that ukrainian pilots are familiar with. fighters that ukrainian pilots are familiarwith. i fighters that ukrainian pilots are familiar with. i don't they have some of those with the post and want to do that all by themselves for fear of retaliation by russia so they said, why can't we give that to they said, why can't we give that to the americans and the americans can give it to ukraine auspices and anyway, that deal fell through so thatis

anyway, that deal fell through so that is why liz truss's call for aeroplanes to be delivered to ukraine stands out. it is unusual. now, what she is saying is not less and some raf tornadoes and have 35 tomorrow. essentially she is saying, look, the west is gradually ratcheting up its support, its military support for ukraine and thatis military support for ukraine and that is something that is going to have to be for the long term. beyond this conflict. and therefore we should notjust be thinking about longer range artillery in things like that but ultimately, some kind of mechanism should be found to get aircraft to ukraine as and when but she doesn't how. the aircraft to ukraine as and when but she doesn't how.— she doesn't how. the thing is, ukraine has _ she doesn't how. the thing is, ukraine has been _ she doesn't how. the thing is, ukraine has been calling - she doesn't how. the thing is, ukraine has been calling for i she doesn't how. the thing is, - ukraine has been calling for these kind of heavy armament since russia invaded so why haven't they had them up invaded so why haven't they had them up until now? i appreciate what saying about bits of aircraft but we have not sent them up till now, have we? nor have other nato countries? the fear as this would be seen as a provocative esca literary act by the russians and it would be a step too

far. it's one thing to give them some hand—helds, anti—tank weapons, the problem is that that scale of support getting bigger and bigger and bigger. the americans, for example, just designed a drain specifically for the ukrainian theatre. so in other words if you are reaching that point what is the difference with aircraft, you might ask? at the moment it is the view of western countries that they are very reluctant to deliver entire aircraft forfear reluctant to deliver entire aircraft for fear of provoking russia. we can cross live to kyiv now and ben brown: thank you very much indeed. we have been talking to the international atomic energy agency who have been here in ukraine because to enable it to the north of here was occupied at the very beginning of the russian invasion by russian troops, you may remember, back in february. there

was global concern, really, but the state of occupying it and the head of the international atomic energy agency has been here and has been inspecting chernobyl, talking about what happened that back in february and i've been talking to him here in kyiv today. saying that we had never beenin kyiv today. saying that we had never been in a situation like this where a nuclearfacility been in a situation like this where a nuclear facility is suddenly falling into the control of another state. so all the agreements, all the protocols, all the procedures that we have had been in question. then the situation evolved but not without some additional problems like, for example, the loss of external power, that the site experienced for quite a long period of time. we were able to muddle through if i can describe it like that but of course and this is one

of the reasons i'm here, there are many reasons but one of the reasons we are here is that we are starting the repair work, regaining others capabilities and helping to stabilise, so to speak, chernobyl. how dangerous was it, do you think? when the russians were in control of chernobyl. when the russians were in control of chernob l. . _, when the russians were in control of chernob l. . , chernobyl. welcome it can be as dangerous _ chernobyl. welcome it can be as dangerous as — chernobyl. welcome it can be as dangerous as any _ chernobyl. welcome it can be as dangerous as any situation - chernobyl. welcome it can be as| dangerous as any situation where chernobyl. welcome it can be as - dangerous as any situation where you lose control and information of what is going on and especially with an ongoing war, conflict never knowing whether the functionalities, the safety and security is that you have which are manyfold with the possibility of an accident. that didn't happen but the danger was very vivid and was very veal. i'd make your telling us it is safe now,

the russians have gone, there is no concern? i would say, until there is peace in this country concerned will be there but we happen able to stabilise chernobyl and we will continue doing this. that stabilise chernobyl and we will continue doing this.— stabilise chernobyl and we will continue doing this. that is head of the international _ continue doing this. that is head of the international atomic _ continue doing this. that is head of the international atomic energy i the international atomic energy agency, the new and nuclear watchdog who has been here with his team in ukraine, checking on chernobyl but he was also telling me, rebecca, by the way, that there are other nuclear plants in this country and he is worried that the longer this war goes on, you know, that there could be further problems ahead. he is particularly worried about the plant where russian troops are in the vicinity. meanwhile, the un secretary general is due here in care of tomorrow. he was in moscow, you are remember, yesterday, talking to vladimir putin, trying to see whether he can get any kind of peace agreement to end this war or a

temporary ceasefire or the very least some humanitarian corridors to help besieged civilians get out of places like mariupol. it does not look like he had a huge amount of success in moscow and in fact, human ukraine, they are pretty angry here in kyiv that he went to moscow festival. they think you should have come here first but anyway, he is coming here tomorrow. he is going to talk to president zelensky and we'll see if he makes progress towards trying to achieve a wider piece. rebecca. good to talk to you, many thanks for that. thanks. and — a quick reminder — we'll be taking your questions on the war in ukraine, tomorrow at 12:30 bst. we'll have guests able to answer a range of questions about the war — from the battle raging in the east of the country, the consequences for civilians, and what more western countries could or should be doing to stop russia. you can get in touch on twitter using the hashtag your questions, and you can email us

on yourquestions@bbc.co.uk. now it's time for a look at the weather with susan powell. hello. all parts of the uk are coming up short at the moment in terms of april average rainfall, and there is little sign of us redressing that before the end of the month. perhaps some rain for scotland and northern ireland arriving on saturday as an area of low pressure tries to push in, but these highs can be stubborn so it might be short lived though we might not get that much rain here. overnight into thursday, some thicker cloud into the east may give the odd spot of light drizzle. it will hold up the temperature far eastern counties. we are talking about a frost first thing on thursday. a fine start with a lot of sunshine, always more cloud though towards the east are streaming in off the north sea, that will push west through the day. we will see some cloud growing across ireland

and maybe the odd light shower. hello, this is bbc news with rebecca jones. the headlines: the high court rules that government policies on discharging patients from hospitals to care homes at the start of the pandemic were unlawful. my dad worked all of his life to the age of 75, paid national insurance and had a right to life and they had a duty of care and he was failed. dj tim westwood has stepped down from his show on capital xtra until further notice, following sexual misconduct claims made by seven women, which he has denied. russian energy giant gazprom cuts gas supplies to poland and bulgaria because they're refusing to pay in roubles. government whips are investigating claims that a conservative mp watched pornography on his phone

in the house of commons chamber. five police officers face gross misconduct proceedings over the stop and search of team gb athlete bianca williams. and we meet sam ryder, the uk's new hope for this year's eurovision song contest. sport now, and a full round—up from the bbc sport centre. isaac, hello. good afternoon. liverpool's chase for an unprecedented quadruple continues later when they take on villareal in the champions league semifinal at anfield. they've got the league cup, they're into the fa cup final and a point separates them and city at the top of the premier league. jurgen klopp looks pretty relaxed here but they've got a big challenge ahead of them. villareal knocked out the much—fancied bayern munich in the last round.

we can only hope they can match the brilliance of last night's game between city and real madrid. but the liverpool boss is cherishing the opportunity of playing in a third champions league semifinal in five years. this is absolutely special to be part of the semifinal. it's crazy, it's crazy, really. it's a massive game. so many coaches, so many players out there try and work their socks off their whole life and have no chance to be close to a semifinal. we are there, so we have to cherish it, we have to appreciate it, of course, but we have to enjoy it as well. and yes, we face a very difficult opponent, that is true. they are made for this competition. the way they set it up, it is really good. england's women will finish their preparation for their home european championships with a match against switzerland in zurich. the game will take place on the 30th june as part of a five—day overseas training camp. the lionesses will also play belgium and the netherlands before opening

the tournament at a sold—out old trafford on the sixth july against austria. play continues at the world snooker championships in sheffield this afternoon. china's yan bingtao took the first two frames of the session against mark williams, but williams has just struck back with a break of 135. yan leads 10—9. and on the other table, it's close between four—time championjohn higgins and number 14 seed jack lisowski. lisowski just won the tenth frame, but higgins still leads 6—4. first to 13 wins. earlier, ronnie o'sullivan was the first to book his place in the semi—finals. he made it look easy in the end as he finished with a 126 break to beat scotland's stephen maguire13—5. if o'sullivan wins the title, it'll be his seventh, which will take him level with stephen hendry as the most successful player in the tournament's history. o'sullivan spoke to the bbc alongside hendry after the match. we all aspire to be like stephen,

he set the benchmark for everybody. davis did but he took it to another level. you took it to another level. stephen grow is an all—time legend. he was the tiger woods of snooker dominating the sport. it would be an honour for me to share seven because he has taken it to a new level. former england hooker tom youngs has retired from professional rugby with immediate effect at the age of 35. the leicester tigers veteran has been on leave since october to care for his sick wife, tiffany. he played 215 times for leicester, won 28 england caps and featured for the british and irish lions. youngs said he "always planned this season being my last" and he has had no regrets. tigers fans will get to say their goodbyes on saturday — he'll lead the team out ahead of their premiership game with bristol. and in tennis, world number one

iga swiatek has pulled out of the madrid open with a shoulder injury. she has been in fine form, and won her fourth consecutive title at the stuttgart open on saturday. she's won 23 games in a row but the 20—year old said her body needs a rest. that's all the sport for now. i will see you in a bit, rebecca. we will, thank you. the conservative party is investigating reports that a tory mp watched porn on his mobile phone while sitting next to a female minister in the commons chamber. the bbc understands that the female minister made the complaint at a regular meeting with female mps and the chief whip last night. let's speak to our political correspondent, nick eardley. what else do we know about this? do we know who made the allegation, and indeed who might have been watching porn on the phone?— porn on the phone? certainly no names at the — porn on the phone? certainly no names at the moment, - porn on the phone? certainly no | names at the moment, rebecca. porn on the phone? certainly no - names at the moment, rebecca. nobody

around westminster really seems to know who this refers to apart from those who are involved in those discussions. just to recap what we do know, there was a meeting last night of conservative mps at which a female minister raised these allegations that a male colleague had been seen looking at pornography on his mobile phone in the house of commons chamber. anotherfemale on his mobile phone in the house of commons chamber. another female mp corroborated that account and said they had seen something similar. the chief whip is now looking into those allegations. his spokeswoman has said that it would be completely unacceptable and would not be tolerated. but at the moment we don't know much more than that in terms of how that investigation is progressing and what potential action would be taken if someone was found to have been watching pornography in the house of commons chamber. chatting to mps around here, many are horrified by the

stories. they are extremely worried by this account. some quite frankly think it is unbelievable that that would ever happen. have a listen to some of the mps we have heard from on camera this afternoon who were chatting to politics live this afternoon. the chief whip himself is looking into this. it is unacceptable and that action will be taken. i know no more than that, but that seems to be pretty clear that the chief whip himself is investigating. should the whip be withdrawn? should the whip be withdrawn from anyone found watching porn in the chamber? so i'm not even attempt to defend that. the chief whip whose job is to establish the facts. and if facts are established, then action should be taken decisively. thinking about all these stories

that we've had in recent days i is we seem to be being caught in a time warp. | times have changed. women today are not going to put up with the kind of language _ and attitudes that would have been common years or decades - ago. that sense of entitlement that people have, and the level of entitlement that you have to sit in the chamber and watch porn. i mean, that is, like...that is taking everything for granted. i mean, they've been elected to represent their constituents, not to sit in that chamber and watch porn. i don't know how you can adequately represent or relate to your constituents if you're the kind of person that does that. so some of the reaction there to this story — so some of the reaction there to this story i_ so some of the reaction there to this story. i suppose it is part of that bigger cultural question that was asked earlier this week after the reports emerged in the mail on sunday— the reports emerged in the mail on sunday newspaper about labour's deputy _ sunday newspaper about labour's deputy leader. you will remember they published a story quoting an anonymous conservative mp suggesting that angela rayner had tried to put off boris— that angela rayner had tried to put off borisjohnson at

that angela rayner had tried to put off boris johnson at prime minister's questions by crossing and uncrossing _ minister's questions by crossing and uncrossing her legs. that was roundly— uncrossing her legs. that was roundly criticised around this place — roundly criticised around this place. the prime minister was among those _ place. the prime minister was among those who— place. the prime minister was among those who have called it completely misogynistic and unacceptable. angela — misogynistic and unacceptable. angela rayner herself said she was mortified — angela rayner herself said she was mortified. both of these stories coming — mortified. both of these stories coming in — mortified. both of these stories coming in the same week have just raised _ coming in the same week have just raised really uncomfortable questions for the house of commons, for parliament in general and for mps about the culture around here. speaking _ mps about the culture around here. speaking to many mps this afternoon, ithink— speaking to many mps this afternoon, i think many really hope the conservative party whips can get to the bottom of this to try and address— the bottom of this to try and address the issue.— the bottom of this to try and address the issue. nick, many thanks. nick— address the issue. nick, many thanks. nick eardley, - address the issue. nick, many thanks. nick eardley, our - address the issue. nick, many - thanks. nick eardley, our political correspondent at westminster. five metropolitan police officers will face disciplinary charges in a gross misconduct hearing over the stop and search of the team gb sprinter bianca williams and her partner in london two years ago. it follows an investigation by the police watchdog, the independent office of police conduct.

our correspondent adina campbell is following the case. that's right. bianca williams, who is 28, she is the commonwealth games gold medallist. she and her partner, ricardo dos santos, were stopped in maida vale in west london back injuly 2020. you may rememberfootage of the search, which was widely shared on social media. at the time of the search, their three—month—old baby son was in the back of the car while they were separated from him and handcuffed by police. they say they were targeted and racially profiled because they are black, and also because of the type of car they were in at the time, which was a mercedes. shortly after that video was posted, the metropolitan police apologised and today we now know the independent office of police conduct investigation has now confirmed there is a case to answer. the five police officers, who are an acting sergeant and four police constables,

they will face gross conduct proceedings. if those allegations are proven, they could be sacked, and we are expecting those hearings to take place by the end of this year. we have had a statement from bianca williams, she says she welcomes today's decision and says this opens the door for the met to be more open, honest and reflective about the culture of racism. and also the london mayor, sadiq khan, has welcomed the decision today and says he hopes the proceedings are no longer further delayed. what exactly will the independent office of police conduct be doing? they will be assessing, looking at the evidence about what happened during that search, and there are a number of allegations these officers are facing. they vary from whether reasonable force was used against the couple at the time, they will be assessing that, why their car was stopped in the first place, and also looking

at whether the couple were treated less favourably because of their race, and that is something the couple believe did happen. they say they were racially profiled and they believe they were targeted because of the colour of their skin, because they are black, and also because they were driving a mercedes, a nice car, and they say they were unfairly treated by police. the police have apologised, they say they are fully cooperating with the independent office of police conduct investigation. those hearings are expected to happen by the end of this year. adina campbell there. britons wanting to apply for a new passport are being warned not to leave it until the last minute. the passport office says the delays are because of a large backlog after brexit and covid. the prime minister is warning the service could be privatised if things do not improve. the shadow home secretary raised the issue of passport delays with an urgent question in the house of commons this afternoon. my constituents fear

their honeymoon may now be wrecked because their passports haven't arrived even though they applied in plenty of time. we have had cases of people cancelling jobs, parents trying to get holiday for a sick child, waiting since january, huge, long delays by the passport office and by the contractor tnt. the message today on the one—week fast track service says "system busy, please try again later", and the online premium service has no appointments anywhere in the country. so people can't get urgent travel such as to go to funerals or urgent events. the minister has said more passports are being processed and that is clearly welcome, but it is not enough. the demand this year was totally predictable. the home office was asked in 2020 and 2021 what it was doing to plan, but people are already losing holidays, trips to see loved ones and thousands of pounds that they have spent in good faith.

because of the lack of planning at the passport office and at the home office, which is in danger of becoming a stay at home office instead for people this summer. well, that was the shadow home secretary. the home office minister, kevin foster, says the government is taking action to improve the issues. as of the 1st of april, there are over 4,000 staff in passport production roles. we are in the process of recruiting another 700. i would also again make the point that 90% of applications were completed within six weeks, and the service standard is ten weeks. my advice to anyone who is looking to go on holiday this summer is exactly what i said the other day, which is to get your application in now. so we are making a range of efforts — staff are working weekends, incentivising over time, and certainly we are confident that we will not need to change the ten—week target.

but, as i have made the point, this is a record level of demand and a record output. far in excess of what we have seen before. for those who have compelling and compassionate reasons to travel, such as funerals or family ill—health, we will expedite their applications. that was the home office minister. the headlines on bbc news... the high court rules that government policies on discharging patients from hospitals to care homes at the start of the pandemic were unlawful. dj tim westwood has stepped down from his show on capital xtra until further notice, following sexual misconduct claims made by seven women, which he has denied. russia has stopped supplies of gas to poland and bulgaria because they're both refusing to pay in roubles as demanded by moscow.

the prison service in england and wales is failing to recognise the dangers of islamist gangs injails, according to a report published today. the independent reviewer of terrorist legislation has urged officials to pay more attention to the influence of convicted terrorists on other inmates. our home affairs correspondent, daniel sandford, reports. usman khan running from the scene of the fishmonger�*s hall attack. he'd just stabbed two people to death. tackled to the ground and then shot, he'd only recently been released from prison. his attack, in which saskia jones and jack merritt died, was the first of four attacks in just seven months committed by serving prisoners or prisoners who'd just been released. an official report said today that too often islamist gangs had been able to exercise control on prison wings, deciding which officers could attend prayers,

even setting up sharia courts and ordering inmates to be flogged and this increased the chances of terrorist attacks. the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, jonathan hall qc, said... allahu akbar! this week, we went inside woodhill prison to see what's now being done to tackle the threat. we filmed for the first time inside the separation centre — one of only three in england. here, key terrorist radicalisers are incarerated to reduce their pernicious influence. these separation centres are prisons within prisons, where the most ideologically dangerous inmates can be isolated so that they can't radicalise other prisoners.

to complete their isolation, they even have their own separate exercise yard and gym. but the separation centres are underused. so far, only 15 inmates have ever been in one. the system for referring men here is too complex and sometimes dogged by challenges under the human rights act. thejustice secretary, dominic raab, says he wants to make it easier to send inmates to the centres, and claims his proposed changes to human rights legislation will help. this is about making sure that those that would taint the well, poison the well, inside prisons, radicalise more people, recruit more people to terrorist ranks, cannot do so. it's a very austere regime. it's different from what any other prisoner would experience in general population. it's very resource—intensive, but it's absolutely the right thing to do to safeguard the public. behind these doors, where we weren't allowed to film for safety reasons, is an ultra—secure close supervision centre.

here, the most violent inmates are held — including michael adebolajo, who killed lee rigby. ministers now plan to increase the number of cells in units like this. daniel sandford, bbc news, in woodhill prison. the reality tv star and former glamour model katie price has appeared before magistrates in crawley charged with breaching a restraining order. the 43—year—old is accused of breaching a restraining order against ex—husband kieran hayler�*s fiancee, michelle penticost, injanuary. ms price, from west sussex, pleaded not guilty and requested a crown court trial. the eurovision song contest will soon be upon us and this year it takes place in italy. it's been 13 years since the uk finished in the top ten, but hoping to change that is the essex singer sam ryder. our music correspondent, mark savage, went to meet him before he heads to turin.

the uk's track record at the eurovision song contest has been pretty miserable. in 2019 and 2021 we took last place but that seems set to change this year. the song spacemen is favourite to win. for people who don't know the sam ryder story, tell us about... tell us about growing up. i grew up in a house of music, not that my parents were musicians, but theyjust loved music. records playing constantly. earth, wind and fire, beautiful south, queen. and even now, they listen to the same records, like, full blast. i mean, full blast, when they're like cleaning the house or mowing the lawn. my neighbours will know. the records will be playing so loud, so they can still hear it over the lawnmower. sam came to fame during lockdown

after he posted cover versions on tiktok. i'd been working in construction for years and years, and then sort of started singing at weddings. it took, you know, lockdown to happen for the weddings to be cancelled, all of us to be stuck indoors, for me to sort of think, "i don't want to stop singing, just because i can't sing at people's weddings now. but how am i going to do that?" it was, i guess, kind of a digital way of me flicking through a record collection. the first video was hit me baby one more time by britney spears. i sang it as high as i could in my mum's kitchen. and it all started snowballing from there. # lose my mind! # so give me a sign. # hit me baby one more time. and alicia keys? yeah. i thought it was deep fake stuff, like someone was messing with me. and like someone has figured out, i don't know, how to be alicia keys. # but everything means nothing.

beautiful soul, beautiful person. and they don't have to do that, you know? like, kind of encourage someone who is just an emerging artist coming through the ranks. it changes everything for that artist. the last two times the uk has been to eurovision, we came in last place. does that give you complete freedom? tt place. does that give you complete freedom? , s, , s, , place. does that give you complete freedom? m m , n freedom? if you tell yourself you have not freedom? if you tell yourself you have got pressure, _ freedom? if you tell yourself you have got pressure, with - freedom? if you tell yourself you have got pressure, with my - have got pressure, with my personality i think you are starting off on the wrong fort. singing and songwriting, performing it shouldn't be about a scoreboard. mark savage,

bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with susan powell. hello. think of april weather in the uk and you probably think of april showers. april 2022, though, that has not really been the case. a lot of images being sent to us by weather watchers that look like these — arid ground. gardeners and growers are certainly struggling to get things going. we've had a rainfall deficit across the uk so far this april, but it's southern counties of england that have suffered, particularly with some around 70% down on the rainfall totals they would normally see. and it doesn't look like we're going to redress that balance through the rest of the month either. high pressure will sit across the uk. various weather systems will try and trickle in a bit thicker cloud now and then, squeeze out the odd shower, but there's no significant rain to come across the uk as a whole through the remainder of this april. saturday, we may see some rain eventually getting into scotland and northern ireland. for the remainder of wednesday, some thicker cloud across eastern counties. we may see a little bit of drizzle out of that. further west, clear skies overnight, light winds and, yes,

it's getting late in the season but we're still talking about the possibility of a frost. another challenge for gardeners. chilly start to thursday, perhaps more in the way of sunshine generally through the day. but eastern counties of england are always going to struggle with that feed of cloud in off the north sea, and it will push its way westwards during the day, i think as far west as wales and the southwest. cloud bubbling up across scotland and northern ireland may produce the odd light shower. but overall we're dry — if anything, just a shade warmer than today, quite breezy towards the south, particularly through the channel. friday, same story — high pressure, still very quiet, a little bit breezier to the south, cloud coming in from the east across england and wales. maybe the odd shower for scotland, certainly across central regions, but up to 17 degrees with some brightness for glasgow. and then we look to the weekend and the possibility of this area of low pressure getting into the northwest, and we're a way out yet, and often these highs can be more stubborn than our models recognise. so at the moment we're talking about rain on saturday for scotland

and northern ireland, but there is a possibility, i think, that that may not come off. certainly looking further ahead into our forecast now, we're going into the start of may and you can see high pressure is always keen to stay close. the tail end of a low perhaps coming into play briefly through the first week. but by the end of the week we're back under a high and it still looks dry.

this is bbc news. the headlines: the high court rules that government policies on discharging patients from hospitals to care homes at the start of the pandemic were �*unlawful�* my dad worked all of his life to the age of 75, paid national insurance and he had a right to life and they had a duty of care and he was failed. russian energy giant gazprom cuts gas supplies to poland and bulgaria because they're refusing to pay in roubles dj tim weswood has stepped down from his show on capital xtra until further notice, following sexual misconduct claims made by seven women which he has denied. government whips are investigating claims that a conservative mp watched pornography on his phone

in the house of commons chamber. five police officers face gross misconduct proceedings over the stop and search of team gb athlete bianca williams. two women whose fathers died from covid—19 have won a high court challenge against the government over policies on discharging

patients to care homes in england at the outset of the pandemic. cathy gardner and fay harris partially succeeded in their claims against the health secretary and public health england. in a ruling today, judges concluded that policies contained in documents released in march and early april 2020 were unlawful because they failed to take into account the risk to elderly and vulnerable residents from non—symptomatic transmission of the virus. our social affairs editor, alison holt, has this report. emerging from the high court, two women who argued the government failed to protect their fathers at the start of the pandemic. both men lived in care homes. today, the court concluded the government decision to discharge hospital patients into care homes was unlawful and irrational. i believed all along that my father and other residents of care homes were neglected and let down by the government. at that time, the government

said it was ok to admit people into care homes, without recommending isolation. it effectively ceded covid into the care homes. that is what fay harris believes happened with her father, don. he was larger—than—life, he had a fantastic character, great fun. wicked sense of humour. he was living in a hampshire nursing home when the pandemic started. the 89—year—old was doing well but, within a month, he had died with covid. his daughter believes this was after the home tucked in hospital patients who developed the virus. i just think they were totally expendable. i don't think they were regarded at all. my dad worked all of his life, to the age of 75, paid national insurance. he had a right to life and they had a duty of care. and he was failed.

the last time that i was able to see my father was about 24 hours before he died. doctor cathy gardner's father michael gibson died in an oxfordshire care home in early april 2020. he was in a ground—floor room so i was able to see him through a window. i was lucky that i could do that because i know many families, they couldn't see their loved at all. doctor gardner's background is in the study of viruses and she was shocked when hospital patients moved into her father's home without clear guidance on infection control. she believes early in the pandemic, care homes largely had to fend for themselves. i believe that lives could have been saved in care homes if the government had acted differently, if they had pursued a policy involving quarantine, testing, propertraining on infection control and ppe, all of those things, they could have saved lives. and it is important to remember that it wasn't just the old and vulnerable that died, that care home staff died, too. i want to remind - the house of what an incredibly difficult time that was.

short time ago, the prime minister gave his response to the judgment. the thing that we didn't know| in mr speaker, was that covid could beat transmitted i a symptomatically in the way that it was. and that was somethingl that i wish we had known more about at the time. the government says that each death during the pandemic was a tragedy, but it insists it works tirelessly to protect people and that billions of pounds were poured into supporting care services, including with protective equipment and infection control. earlier today, i spoke to mike padgham, chairman of the indepedent care group who welcomed the court ruling. iam i am surprised that the ruling went against the government but i am pleased that it will provide lessons learned so that we never ever repeat

this again in this country so what happened and i want to extend my simply to all those who lost loved ones in care homes or anywhere because it has been a dreadful couple of years.— because it has been a dreadful couleof ears. . , , , couple of years. where you surprised the rulin: couple of years. where you surprised the ruling went _ couple of years. where you surprised the ruling went against _ couple of years. where you surprised the ruling went against the _ the ruling went against the government? you like the government is obvious the very strong at lobbying and a thought perhaps a refund in favour of the government but i'm pleased, and have been in social care a long time and we never seem to get this into. we have made many points on the part that social care have been failed that is why i am surprised but pleased at the outcome. i'mjust am surprised but pleased at the outcome. i'm just sorry so many people had to lose their lives. perhaps an unfair question but i will ask you following on from that, therefore, do you blame the government for some of the early death that occurred in care homes during the pandemic? t death that occurred in care homes during the pandemic?— during the pandemic? i think they have to take _ during the pandemic? i think they have to take some _ during the pandemic? i think they have to take some responsibility i during the pandemic? i think they i have to take some responsibility but i would just make the point that successive governments of different colours over the past years have failed social care so we were already on our knees in the pandemic along so it is a shared blame but i hope that social care will get

further up the rest of priorities in the future to prevent something like this happening again. the future to prevent something like this happening again. the dj tim westwood has stepped down this radio show on capital xtra until further notice, amid allegations of sexual misconduct claims. ajoint investigation by the bbc and the guardian featured the accounts of seven women relating to alleged incidents between 1992 and 2017. the 64—year—old strenuously denies the claims. i spoke to our correspondent chi chi izundu earlier — she had the statement from the dj's employer, global. global have just issued a statement which says, and i shall read it, following the claims that have recently come to light, tim westwood has stepped down from his show until further notice. sojust has stepped down from his show until further notice. so just to reiterate, seven women came forward with southern separate allegations of unexpected and unwanted sexual behaviour against tim westwood and

he strenuously denied all the accusations in their entirety. as part of our investigation with the guardian newspaper into his movements. i think it is worth perhaps for viewers who were not watching or don't know so about tim westwood, he is obviously stepped down from this show on capital extra but tell us a little bit more about him, because he was at the bbc for what? 20 years?— what? 20 years? indeed, sir tim westwood _ what? 20 years? indeed, sir tim westwood started _ what? 20 years? indeed, sir tim westwood started his _ what? 20 years? indeed, sir tim westwood started his career- what? 20 years? indeed, sir tim westwood started his career in i what? 20 years? indeed, sir tim i westwood started his career in the clubs as a dj and then he also started in pirate radio and then got poached or working capital and capital was just a local london radio station. he was then poached from there to work at bbc radio 1, to launch the national rap show. that happened in 1994 continue to work at the bbc for 20 years and then he left in 2013, he moved back

to capital for he has then he left in 2013, he moved back to capitalfor he has been then he left in 2013, he moved back to capital for he has been since. then he left in 2013, he moved back to capitalfor he has been since. he is one of the biggest names in black music. he has been known to champion black music, particularly hip—hop unripe. he has interviewed have been associated with a number of huge wrappers. it of king eminem, kanye west, that calibre of artists. normally would seek him out to do interviews on his programme such was his reputation. he is 64 now. he is still doing club nights. he still does then use up and down this country and in other parts of the world. we found out earlier today that some of those club nights planned, the venues have cancelled them. this planned, the venues have cancelled them. �* . planned, the venues have cancelled them. a , ., _ them. as i said, he strenuously denied all _ them. as i said, he strenuously denied all the _ them. as i said, he strenuously denied all the allegations. - them. as i said, he strenuously denied all the allegations. as i them. as i said, he strenuously i denied all the allegations. as you have told us, he has now stepped down from his show until further notice. as he said anything else? has there been any other comment from him? element there's been no other comment from him other than his spokesperson who said he is a

successful and well respected dj and that he does completely, entirely deny all of the allegations in our documentary. vladimir putin has warned that if any other country intervenes in moscow's military operation in ukraine, russia will launch a quick—fire military response. speaking to lawmakers in st petersburg he said that "if anyone sets out to intervene in the current events from the outside and creates unacceptable threats for us that are strategic in nature, they should know that our response... will be lightning—fast". he added — in what appeared to be a refeence to nuclear weapons — that russia would not hesitate to use the most modern weaponry. adding "we have all the tools for this, that no one else can boast of having. we won't boast about it: we'll use them, if needed. and i want everyone to know that," russia has been accused of escalating the war in ukraine by cutting off gas supplies to two

european countries — poland and bulgaria — which moscow describes as �*unfriendly�* states. both of them are nato countries and get much of their gas from russia, but they've refused the kremlin's demand that they pay for their energy in russian roubles. the government in kyiv says president putin is trying to break the unity of its allies by using economic blackmail. from moscow, our correspondent, jenny hill, sent this report. russia's turned off the taps and state tv is enjoying the moment. gazprom announced this morning it would cut supplies to poland and bulgaria. both countries have refused to pay in roubles. not that the polish prime minister was concerned. his country, he said, was ready to cut itself off from russian energy. translation: our gas storages are 7696 full. | this is a high level.

much higher than in most european countries. vladimir putin knows many other european countries — germany, in particular — rely on his energy supplies, but he needs their custom. in january alone, it's estimated that what he calls "unfriendly countries", most of europe, paid russia $6 billion for gas. and that's why, even though he's demanded countries pay in roubles, the reality is more complex. they can pay in euros or dollars, but only if they open russian bank accounts, which then exchange the currency, then make the final payment. it's believed, though not confirmed, that some european countries have opened those accounts. a few very big, key contracts are expiring. the german and italian, as i said so often, and some others. in end of may, during june, what will happen then? because then they will have to decide, will they pay according

to this new mechanism or not? and most politicians in germany and in other parts of the eu have so far been leaning towards, you know, saying that, no, we will not do this and this is unacceptable. but, yeah, it will come up, it's crunch time. and this is putin's way of shooting across the bow. neither sanctions, threats, not appeals have stopped vladimir putin and his war. the gulf between the russian president and the west grows ever wider. poland's president has been speaking. he said his country would take decisive action following gazprom's decision to turn off its gas supplies to poland. obviously, polish companies that have gas contracts with russia which are defective breached by russia which all fundamental principles have been totally violated.

we will take appropriate legal steps, i firmly believe in enforcing appropriate compensation from the russian side, from gazprom, for violations of the provisions of the contract. we will lean on well—known principles in international trade law. i don't have any doubt that appropriate steps our correspondent in warsaw adam easton told us how russia's move is being seen there: polling's prime minister has been speaking in the last few hours to the parliament, that essentially russia's decision to turn off the gas as a direct attack against poland in retaliation, he said, for the sanctions poland announced tuesday against 50 russian individuals and companies, gazprom among them, who have ties to vladimir putin's regime. on the other hand, he also said, this is a message directly speaking to polish

consumers, of course, don't worry. this decision will not affect you when you go to the stove and turn on the gas. it will still fire and it will still be there for your cooking purposes and heating purposes because, which is to come in a way, because, which is to come in a way, because it is fortuitous timing for countries like poland and bulgaria because we are in spring and we are coming up to summer and gas demand is low and countries like poland, at least, have had the foresight to actually inject a lot of gas into their underground storage already and it full and that should see them through the immediate future. as the weeks go by in the months go by until the end of the year there will be significant challenges for poland and bulgaria to meet the needs of their customers and they will need support from other european markets as well. tt support from other european markets as well. . support from other european markets as well. , ., support from other european markets as well. , s, _, as well. if things do continue in the way that — as well. if things do continue in the way that you _ as well. if things do continue in the way that you are _ as well. if things do continue in the way that you are outlining, | as well. if things do continue in - the way that you are outlining, how long can poland and bulgaria manage without russian gas, do you think?

well, the minister in charge of energy and poland estimates that poland can manage for a few months, perhaps three months without russian gas. the problem for poland is that its main tool to replace russian gas is it is building this pipeline to norway which will allow it to bring norwegian gas direct to poland and completely replace all the volumes of russian gas it receives. now, thatis of russian gas it receives. now, that is great but this pipeline does not come online until the end of october and won't be fully operational until the end of the year so the question of what happens until the end of the year? where are you going to get all these alternative sources of gas especially with the rest of europe seeking gas as well in seeking gas thatis seeking gas as well in seeking gas that is not russian so there are significant challenges and it is unclear, at this stage, how long

countries like poland and especially bulgaria which rely so heavily on russian gas, can last without russian gas, can last without russian gas, can last without russian gas supplies.- russian gas, can last without russian gas supplies. adam easton in warsaw. adam easton in warsaw. we can cross live to kyiv now and ben brown: we just wejust had we just had the air wejust had the air raid we just had the air raid sirens going, actually, the last few minutes. let mejust going, actually, the last few minutes. let me just tell you that in ukraine they are waiting for the un secretary—general to come tomorrow to talk to president zelensky of ukraine and talking about whether there is any possible framework for a possible end to the fighting, ceasefire, peace agreement oras fighting, ceasefire, peace agreement or as a bare minimum to talk about humanitarian aid corridor is to get desperate civilians out of besieged places like mariupol in particular so that will be an important moment tomorrow. on the ground, there have been some russian advances in the

east of ukraine but ukrainian forces are putting up pretty dogged resistance. and i have been talking to the head of the un's nuclear watchdog, the international atomic and agency. they have been here at chernobyl, the nuclear plant there which you may remember the very start of the invasion it was occupied by russian troops at the very beginning in february when those russian troops came across the border and that caused international concern. well, experts from the international atomic energy agency have been to chernobyl checking out whether there has been any damage there and i spoke to its director—general. taste there and i spoke to its director-general. there and i spoke to its director-reneral. ~ . , director-general. we had never been in a situation — director-general. we had never been in a situation like _ director-general. we had never been in a situation like this _ director-general. we had never been in a situation like this where - director-general. we had never been in a situation like this where a - in a situation like this where a nuclear— in a situation like this where a nuclear facility is suddenly falling into the _ nuclear facility is suddenly falling into the control of another state. so all _ into the control of another state. so all the — into the control of another state. so all the agreements, older protocols, all the procedures that we have _ protocols, all the procedures that we have were being questioned. then

the situation evolved but not without — the situation evolved but not without some additional problems like, without some additional problems like. for— without some additional problems like, for example, the loss of external— like, for example, the loss of external power. that the site experience, for quite a long period of time _ experience, for quite a long period of time we — experience, for quite a long period of time. we were able to muddle through. — of time. we were able to muddle through. if— of time. we were able to muddle through, if i can describe it like that but— through, if i can describe it like that but of— through, if i can describe it like that but of course, the concerns were _ that but of course, the concerns were there _ that but of course, the concerns were there and we are just now, and this is— were there and we are just now, and this is one _ were there and we are just now, and this is one of— were there and we are just now, and this is one of the reasons i am here, — this is one of the reasons i am here, there _ this is one of the reasons i am here, there are many reasons, but one of— here, there are many reasons, but one of the — here, there are many reasons, but one of the reasons we are here is that we _ one of the reasons we are here is that we are — one of the reasons we are here is that we are starting the repair work of all— that we are starting the repair work of all of— that we are starting the repair work of all of that, regaining all those capabilities and helping to stabilise, so to speak, chernobyl. how dangerous was it, do you think, when the russians were in control of chernobyl? when the russians were in control of chernob i? ~ when the russians were in control of chernob l? . , ., , chernobyl? well, it can be as dangerous — chernobyl? well, it can be as dangerous as _ chernobyl? well, it can be as dangerous as any _ chernobyl? well, it can be as dangerous as any situation i chernobyl? well, it can be as - dangerous as any situation where you lose control _ dangerous as any situation where you lose control and information of what is going _ lose control and information of what is going on — lose control and information of what is going on. especially with an ongoing — is going on. especially with an ongoing war, conflict, armed conflict, _ ongoing war, conflict, armed conflict, never knowing whether the

functionalities, the safety and security— functionalities, the safety and security is functionalities that have — security is functionalities that have any— security is functionalities that have any nuclear facility, which are manyfold, — have any nuclear facility, which are manyfold, could be lost with the possibility of an accident. that didn't— possibility of an accident. that didn't happen, thank god, but the danger— didn't happen, thank god, but the danger was very vivid and was very real~ _ danger was very vivid and was very real. ., . , danger was very vivid and was very real. ., ., , ., real. you are telling us that chernobyl _ real. you are telling us that chernobyl is _ real. you are telling us that chernobyl is completely - real. you are telling us that | chernobyl is completely safe real. you are telling us that - chernobyl is completely safe now. the russians have gone, there is no concern. t the russians have gone, there is no concern. ., , concern. iwould say, untilthere is eace in concern. iwould say, untilthere is peace in this _ concern. iwould say, untilthere is peace in this country, _ concern. iwould say, untilthere is peace in this country, concern - concern. iwould say, untilthere is peace in this country, concern will| peace in this country, concern will be the _ peace in this country, concern will be the but — peace in this country, concern will be the but we have been able to stabilise — be the but we have been able to stabilise chernobyl and we will continue — stabilise chernobyl and we will continue doing this. that stabilise chernobyl and we will continue doing this.— stabilise chernobyl and we will continue doing this. that is the director of _ continue doing this. that is the director of the _ continue doing this. that is the director of the international i continue doing this. that is the - director of the international atomic energy agency talking to me a little bit earlier on when the russians were in charge. also saying he's worried about other nuclear plants in ukraine and what will happen to them during the course of this wire which could have many more months to

run. i have also been talking to some ukrainian politicians about the decision by russia to cut of gas supplies. they were saying that russia is essentiallyjust using gases as a weapon as a form of blackmail, trying to divide the western alliance against russia over the war here in ukraine but those same politicians here in kyiv were delighted, i have to say, by the response that there has been in terms of supplies of weapons. we had that meeting in germany yesterday. some 40 countries coming together under the leadership of the united states in particular and the defence secretary and promising to coordinate better and to get more weapons including heavy weapons into ukraine. that is exactly what the ukrainian government wants to hear is this what goes on.— is this what goes on. many thanks for that update. _ many thanks for that update.

we will have guests able to answer a range of questions about the war. and what my western countries could or should be doing to stop russia. you can get in touch on twitter or e—mail us. the conservative party is investigating reports that a tory mp watched porn on his mobile phone while sitting next to a female minister in the commons chamber. the bbc understands that the female minister made the complaint at a regular meeting with female mps and the chief whip last night. let's speak to our political correspondent, nick eardley. details have been sketchy in the previous hours that we have been talking. any more details have emerged? you might let me tell you

what we do know. there was a meeting last night of conservative mps in which concerns were raised. she said she had seen one of the conservative colleagues sitting looking at pornography in the commons chamber. that was then backed up by another female mp who said they had had a similar experience. now, we don't know who it is, that person's team has not been made public so we cannot ask them what happened but we do know the chief whip, the man in charge of discipline for the conservative party and government is looking into it. a spokeswoman has said that is completely unacceptable and won't be tolerated. exactly where this goes next is not completely clear because i suppose the question is what happens with that investigation and does it lead to something. three mps have told

bbc this afternoon. you make the chief whip himself is looking into this. it is unacceptable and that action will be taken. i know no more than that but that seems to be pretty clear that the chief whip himself is investigating. should the work to be withdrawn from anyone found watching pawn in the chamber? i'm not even going to attempt to defend that. tim i'm not even going to attempt to defend that-— i'm not even going to attempt to defend that. i'm not asking you to defend that. i'm not asking you to defend it. the _ defend that. i'm not asking you to defend it. the chief _ defend that. i'm not asking you to defend it. the chief whipjob - defend that. i'm not asking you to defend it. the chief whipjob is - defend that. i'm not asking you to defend it. the chief whipjob is to | defend it. the chief whip'ob is to establish the h defend it. the chief whip'ob is to establish the fact h defend it. the chief whip'ob is to establish the fact end h defend it. the chief whip'ob is to establish the fact end of h defend it. the chief whipjob is to establish the fact end of step - defend it. the chief whipjob is to i establish the fact end of step backs are established then action should be taken decisively full stops i am at the sense of entitlement that people have. the level of entitlement that you have to sit in and watch pawn. i mean, that is... like, that is... taking everything for granted. i mean, they have been elected to represent their constituents. not to sit in the chamber and watch pawn. i don't how you can adequately represent a relate to constituents if you're the kind of person who does that. the whi - 's kind of person who does that. the whip's office _ kind of person who does that. the whip's office have said that they are going to look into it but it

does raise a question after some of the stories we had earlier this week about angela rayner, that story in the mail on sunday about an anonymous mp suggesting she crossed and uncrossed her legs to distract the prime minister has raise questions. let's chat this over. what is your sense?— questions. let's chat this over. what is your sense? mps watching pornography _ what is your sense? mps watching pornography in _ what is your sense? mps watching pornography in the _ what is your sense? mps watching pornography in the house - what is your sense? mps watching pornography in the house of - what is your sense? mps watching - pornography in the house of commons. i'm shocked but not surprised because there is a culture of sexism there is a culture of sexism in wider society but be in parliament should aspire to higher than that. we should stick to the code of conduct requiring us to treat each other with respect and treat our office with respect to my office i mean being a member of parliament was that this, in my view, does neither of those things. think there

is a case here for this member of parliament to be, obviously they are being investigated by the government chief whip and they may well be a case, that likely to me, the standards commission to be looking into it because it looks to me like a breach of the code of conduct. i've made you want other people to look into these claims question at what i would actually buy because the government voted for labour's move to make misogyny eight crime which would have set a good ten for this sort of thing. i would like these claims attentive, urgently. i understand that the government chief whip is doing that and that is the right thing to do but there are people who know who this person is and we hope that this action will be taken and we hope that this action will be ta ken swiftly and we hope that this action will be taken swiftly but it is a stain on parliament. it is a stain on democracy. to come into place of work and debate where we make laws and watch pornography that is disrespectful to constituents. tt disrespectful to constituents. if this is found to be correct would

you expect this person to lose the conservative whip, to be thrown out of party? t conservative whip, to be thrown out of -a ? ., conservative whip, to be thrown out of -a ? s, , . of party? i would expect the standards — of party? i would expect the standards committee - of party? i would expect the standards committee to - of party? i would expect the| standards committee to take of party? i would expect the - standards committee to take action than they would take actions. it is “p than they would take actions. it is up to the chief whip as to whether they keep the whip. i'd made you think they should? in that i don't see how the conservative party can possibly accept this on their own ranks. it seems to me completely and wholly unacceptable and i think any political party would not want the sort of behaviour in their own ranks. they should at least be a suspension of the whip. in terms of the parliamentary process, there are processes for a standard for enforcement of the code of conduct which have to be followed vigorously, they will come at a cross—party committee, the commission is quite right the. they will make a recommendation if they investigate and i hope that is what happened, and comes to a determination as to whether this member of parliament should be expeued member of parliament should be expelled from the house of commons which is ultimately a sanction available. ~ �* . which is ultimately a sanction available-— which is ultimately a sanction available. . �* , ., ,, ., available. we've been talking a issue of misogyny _ available. we've been talking a issue of misogyny in _ available. we've been talking a issue of misogyny in those - available. we've been talking a i issue of misogyny in those reports about angela rayner and some furious

reaction to that store in the mail on sunday. to think this has been a bad week for parliament? can it shake the sort of thing off? you make a mixed week for parliament because actually, what we have seen as some tory mp, sinful thinking it shows the leader and a good light to say that they are easily distracted by a flash of female flesh. first out the office they have not looked very carefully at where the dispatch boxes. if she were standing on one side and borisjohnson on the other, he cannot see her legs but it is so offensive to demean a strong politician of any party, to reduce them to our body parts. i feel really angry and i do think it is letting down parliament. thusly, however, we saw parliament at its best writing are wrong, making a good move to say, if there is an allegation of lying, in this case against the prime minister, that should be inferred to the proper committee and properly investigated so it has been a mixed week for parliament. i can tell you're angry

with some of your responses. t parliament. i can tell you're angry with some of your responses. i am. i'd a lot with some of your responses. i am. m a lot of— with some of your responses. i am. m a lot of your— with some of your responses. i am. i'd a lot of your colleagues - with some of your responses. i am. i'd a lot of your colleagues are - i'd a lot of your colleagues are angry as well. i suppose apart from these two specific cases what can be done to address some of the issues that you think are currently at play in parliament and can it clean up its act? i would later see something which i saw in my previous work and i was working to challenge male violence against women and i was also working with men who had been very violent physically and sexually to try to change the behaviour and key part of that was male colleagues calling at all. not living it women to say up with this we will not put. i have to say, this would be her female ollie is coming forward to say this is not ok and i want them to carry on doing that and i want them to go further. i want them to challenge male sexism and misogyny and i want them to say to the colleagues were about as a close friend or not, that is not a cable duct that is not acceptable. it undermines democracy when you do that. so i would like to see men step up that i also like to see women supported to make use of the

independent reports agree the system if that is it appropriate for the experiences they have had another like us to champion the highest possible values we should put up your parliament. we should be the best, not the lowest. no really want to see that happening this week. thank you very much for coming to talk to us about that. as you can see, there is a lot of anger in parliament about this. there was a lot of frustration and we will probably hear from some other mps over the next couple of hours about that as well. clearly, there are many who think that parliament needs to have a rethink about all of this. before you go, as you are staying stories of misogyny have been dominating the news this week, but before that we had the chancellor of the exchequer�*s rishi sunak�*s tax affairs under scrutiny, and we have just had an update on that? yes. affairs under scrutiny, and we have just had an update on that? yes, you will know they _ just had an update on that? yes, you will know they were _ just had an update on that? yes, you will know they were all _ just had an update on that? yes, you will know they were all the _ will know they were all the questions over the business dealings of rishi sunak�*s family, in

particular his wife who had shares in some companies that had been trading in russia after the embargo was put on a lot of russian business. there were lots of questions about his family well, where it came from, whether it had all been declared properly, and in particular there was also that question about the non—dom status of his wife as well, which she has now given up. you might remember that at the time, rishi sunak said he was going to refer himself to the independent adviser on the ministerial code, a man called lord guide. he has this afternoon cleared rishi sunak and said he's happy all of this has been done in with the ministerial code, that everything that needed to be declared was declared properly. you will remember that a lot of opposition parties had raised questions about that at the time, so that will be a relief for

mr sunak. a not wholly surprising because when these questions were being asked weeks ago, the treasury always said that lord geidt, the man who advises ministers on their interests, had always said mr sunak�*s interests interests, had always said mr suna k�*s interests were interests, had always said mr sunak�*s interests were fine, so he has been formally cleared but a lot of people thought that was inevitable.— of people thought that was inevitable. ., ., ,, ., inevitable. good to talk to you, thanks. the serious fraud office has raided the offices of sanjeev gupta's liberty steel. it comes almost a year after an investigation was launched into suspected fraud and money laundering by parent firm gfg alliance, which has thousands of staff in the uk. our business editor simonjack is here. this is complicated, just remind us of the background. fit< this is complicated, 'ust remind us of the background._ of the background. ok so gfg alliance runs _ of the background. ok so gfg alliance runs liberty - of the background. ok so gfg

alliance runs liberty steel. i of the background. ok so gfg. alliance runs liberty steel. you of the background. ok so gfg - alliance runs liberty steel. you may remember david cameron was formally working for greensill which spectacularly went bust in march last year which threatened the future of this company and thousands ofjobs. eversince future of this company and thousands ofjobs. ever since may of last year, there's been a serious fraud office investigation into the financing of that company and today what we have learned is that various premises of the gfg alliance were visited, paraded, they didn't knock the door down but said if you don't hand this stuff over now you are in breach of the law, so you can choose whether that is a or not, and they are stepping up their investigations. separately the company has issued a statement to its own employees saying we understand this is unsettling, but they continue to deny wrongdoing. this comes 24 hours after offices in paris and in france were raided, of the wider global group, so again it puts questions over a company which employs thousands of people and is a

very important strategic asset. sanjeev gupta asked for a bailout loan from the government last year. the government said we don't want to do that because we think your business affairs are too opaque, so they are trying to make it i guess less opaque. sis they are trying to make it i guess less opaque-— they are trying to make it i guess less opaque. as the sfo talked in an more less opaque. as the sfo talked in any more detail— less opaque. as the sfo talked in any more detail about _ less opaque. as the sfo talked in any more detail about what - less opaque. as the sfo talked in any more detail about what it - less opaque. as the sfo talked in any more detail about what it is i any more detail about what it is hoping to achieve?— any more detail about what it is hoping to achieve? they have visited vafious hoping to achieve? they have visited various premises, _ hoping to achieve? they have visited various premises, they _ hoping to achieve? they have visited various premises, they said - hoping to achieve? they have visited various premises, they said they - various premises, they said they will not comment any further, which you would expect with a serious fraud office investigation. in the meantime liberty steel is trying to raise additional money to invest and keep its empire going. the government is prepared to let him have a go and try to sort out his own issues, but when you have a serious fraud office investigation in parallel that is much harder when you have the cloud of suspicion over you. you have the cloud of suspicion over ou. ,, ., you have the cloud of suspicion over ou, ,, ., .~ . ~' you have the cloud of suspicion over ou. ,, ., .~ . ~ ., ~ you have the cloud of suspicion over

ou. ,, s, ., ~ you have the cloud of suspicion over you. simon jack, thank you. let's catch u- you. simon jack, thank you. let's catch up with _ you. simon jack, thank you. let's catch up with all _ you. simon jack, thank you. let's catch up with all the _ you. simon jack, thank you. let's catch up with all the sports - you. simon jack, thank you. let's catch up with all the sports news| catch up with all the sports news now with isaac. liverpool bossjurgen klopp says �*each game should feel like a final�* ahead of his side's champions league semifinal first leg against villareal later today. the reds are still in the mix to win four titles this season. they've got a big challenge ahead of them to get to their third champions league final in five seasons. last year's europa league winner, villareal have knocked out both bayern munich and juventus on their way to anfield tonight. but the liverpool boss is relishing the opportunity tonight presents. this is absolutely special to be part of the semifinal. it's crazy, it's crazy, really. it's a massive game. so many coaches, so many players out there try and work their socks off their whole life and have no chance to be close to a semifinal. we are there, so we have to cherish it, we have to appreciate it, of course, but we have to enjoy

it as well. and yes, we face a very difficult opponent, that is true. they are made for this competition. the way they set it up, it is really good. england's women will finish their preparation for their home european championships with a match against switzerland in zurich. the game will take place on the 30th june as part of a five—day overseas training camp. the lionesses will also play belgium and the netherlands before opening the tournament at a sold—out old trafford on the sixth ofjuly against austria. the quarterfinals continue at the world snooker championship in sheffield this afternoon. china's yan bingtao and mark williams of wales are locked at ten frames all. yan won the first two frames of the session, but williams won the next two to level things up. 13 frames needed to win. and on the other table, it's close between four—time championjohn higgins and number 14 seed jack lisowski. lisowski just won the 12th frame, but higgins leads 7—5. earlier, ronnie o'sullivan was the first to book his place

in the semi—finals. he made it look easy in the end as he finished with a 126 break to beat scotland's stephen maguire13—5. if o'sullivan wins the title it'll be his seventh, which will take him level with stephen hendry as the most successful player in the tournament's history. o'sullivan spoke to the bbc alongside hendry after the match. we all aspire to be like stephen, he set the benchmark for everybody. davis did but he took it to another level. we are alljust trying to be like stephen was. you took it to another level. stephen was an all time legend for me. he was the tiger woods of snooker dominating the sport. it would be an honour for me to share seven because he has taken it to a new level. promoter barry hearn says he doesn't believe tyson fury will retire. he expects him to fight the winner of the anthonyjoshua — oleksandr usyk rematch, which is happening injuly. hearn says a fury—joshua match—up

would be an incredible fight and the prize money on offer would be too much for fury to refuse. have you any idea how much money there is on that fight? it's like 100 million plus. i don't care how much money you've got, it's one more fight to make sure your family are protected forever. he's a great entertainer, tyson, he deserves everything he gets and he is a difficult guy to fight. there's only one way to beat tyson fury, and that is you have to attack him and knock him out. if the joshua turns up if thejoshua turns up against usyk they did last time and uses the same tactics, it's the same result. usyk against tyson fury not as big as tyson fury against aj. that is on another planet. former england hooker tom youngs has retired from professional rugby with immediate effect at the age of 35. the leicester tigers veteran has

been on leave since october to care for his sick wife, tiffany. he played 215 times for leicester, won 28 england caps and featured for the british and irish lions. youngs said he "always planned this season being my last" and he "had no regrets". tigers fans will get to say their goodbyes on saturday — he'll lead the team out ahead of their premiership game with bristol. that's all the sport for now. thanks, isaac. let's go back to one of our top stories — the conservative party is investigating reports that a tory mp watched porn on his mobile phone while sitting next to a female minister in the commons chamber. let's go back to our political correspondent nick eardley who joins us now. correspondent nick eardley who “oins us now. ., , . us now. thanks, rebecca. we were 'ust us now. thanks, rebecca. we were just chatting _ us now. thanks, rebecca. we were just chatting about _ us now. thanks, rebecca. we were just chatting about this _ us now. thanks, rebecca. we were just chatting about this story - us now. thanks, rebecca. we were just chatting about this story with i just chatting about this story with a labour mp who said she was angry and wanted to see it resolved. i have a conservative mp with me now, pauline latham. thanks for speaking to us. if the bell starts ringing we

will let you go, but do you know what is going on? we had a lot of accounts from this meeting last night. btu! accounts from this meeting last niuht. �* ~' ., , accounts from this meeting last niuht.�* ~ ., , . , night. all i know is the chief whip addressed a _ night. all i know is the chief whip addressed a private _ night. all i know is the chief whip addressed a private meeting - night. all i know is the chief whip addressed a private meeting and | night. all i know is the chief whip - addressed a private meeting and they were men— addressed a private meeting and they were men and women there, and he explained _ were men and women there, and he explained he was investigating this case _ explained he was investigating this case. many people came out totally shell—shocked, they couldn't believe that something like that could happen— that something like that could happen in what is really a professional place. he is investigating and we will have to wait that — investigating and we will have to wait that investigation. i don't believe — wait that investigation. i don't believe anybody knows who it is other— believe anybody knows who it is other than obviously the perpetrator who was _ other than obviously the perpetrator who was looking at the porn. the person _ who was looking at the porn. the person who — who was looking at the porn. the person who reported whoever it was and the _ person who reported whoever it was and the chief whip. no names have been _ and the chief whip. no names have been going — and the chief whip. no names have been going round at all. i can't imagine — been going round at all. i can't imagine who it would be but it is shocking — imagine who it would be but it is shockina. �* ., ., imagine who it would be but it is shockina. �* ., s, , ., imagine who it would be but it is shockina. �* ., s, ~' imagine who it would be but it is shockina. �* ., s, ~ ., shocking. and what would you like to ha en to shocking. and what would you like to happen to this _ shocking. and what would you like to happen to this person? _ shocking. and what would you like to happen to this person? we _ shocking. and what would you like to happen to this person? we know- shocking. and what would you like to happen to this person? we know the| happen to this person? we know the chief whip is looking into it, we know they want to assess whatever information they can get. what do

you think the punishment should be? i think once it's been decided one way or— i think once it's been decided one way or the — i think once it's been decided one way or the other, if the person is innocent — way or the other, if the person is innocent they are innocent, but if they are — innocent they are innocent, but if they are guilty of genuinely looking at porn— they are guilty of genuinely looking at porn on— they are guilty of genuinely looking at porn on the front bench when they are supposed to be working, they need _ are supposed to be working, they need sacking. i don't have any need sacking. idon't have any qualms— need sacking. i don't have any qualms about that because they are professionals. we are supposed to set an— professionals. we are supposed to set an example in this place, and that is— set an example in this place, and that is absolutely appalling. and i am totally shocked by what has happened and ijust want... if it is true, _ happened and ijust want... if it is true, that— happened and ijust want... if it is true, that person gone. can happened and ijust want. .. if it is true, that person gone.— true, that person gone. can i ask what ou true, that person gone. can i ask what you mean — true, that person gone. can i ask what you mean by _ true, that person gone. can i ask what you mean by sacking? - true, that person gone. can i ask. what you mean by sacking? should they be thrown out of the party or potentially out of parliament? thea;r potentially out of parliament? they can't be thrown _ potentially out of parliament? they can't be thrown out _ potentially out of parliament? they can't be thrown out of _ potentially out of parliament? they can't be thrown out of parliament because — can't be thrown out of parliament because they have been elected so i think they— because they have been elected so i think they should lose theirjob and they should definitely have the whip withdrawn, unless there's any extenuating circumstances which i can't _ extenuating circumstances which i can't believe there are. you extenuating circumstances which i can't believe there are.— extenuating circumstances which i

can't believe there are. you need to vote in a second, _ can't believe there are. you need to vote in a second, that _ can't believe there are. you need to vote in a second, that is _ can't believe there are. you need to vote in a second, that is why - can't believe there are. you need to vote in a second, that is why the i vote in a second, that is why the bells are ringing behind us. before you do, we have had a wider debate after the stories at the weekend about angela rayner, a lot of concern about misogyny in this place. as a woman working in parliament, do you think it has a problem? t parliament, do you think it has a roblem? ., , , problem? i have never witnessed it, i have problem? i have never witnessed it, i have never— problem? i have never witnessed it, i have never been _ problem? i have never witnessed it, i have never been abused _ problem? i have never witnessed it, i have never been abused by - problem? i have never witnessed it, i have never been abused by it. - problem? i have never witnessed it, i have never been abused by it. the | i have never been abused by it. the only thing _ i have never been abused by it. the only thing i— i have never been abused by it. the only thing i would say is there are some _ only thing i would say is there are some ageist people here because i'm much _ some ageist people here because i'm much older— some ageist people here because i'm much older than most female members of parliament in the conservative party. _ of parliament in the conservative party. and — of parliament in the conservative party, and there is some ageism certainly — party, and there is some ageism certainly. whatever ism there is needs— certainly. whatever ism there is needs sorting out. we are all equal, we have _ needs sorting out. we are all equal, we have all— needs sorting out. we are all equal, we have all been elected by constituents and we should be treated — constituents and we should be treated equally and people should respect _ treated equally and people should respect the equality of what we are doing _ respect the equality of what we are doing here. ithink respect the equality of what we are doing here. i think we respect the equality of what we are doing here. ithink we need respect the equality of what we are doing here. i think we need to get on a much more professional basis and we _ on a much more professional basis and we really do need to kick this out of— and we really do need to kick this out of the — and we really do need to kick this out of the window, and get on and treat— out of the window, and get on and treat people with respect. all

riaht, treat people with respect. itt right, pauline latham, conservative mp, thank you. i will let you go and vote. it's a busy afternoon, there's lots of bells being rung. there's been a lot of talk about what did and didn't go on, this accusation that an mp was watching porn in the commons chamber will lead to action. and as you heard there, there are some senior conservative mps who think that if that is the case and if the chief whip finds that one of the conservative mps was watching porn in parliament, in the commons chamber, that they should be thrown out of the party. tlick chamber, that they should be thrown out of the party-— out of the party. nick eardley, thank you- _ five metropolitan police officers will face disciplinary charges in a gross misconduct hearing over the stop and search of the team gb sprinter bianca williams

and her partner in london two years ago. it follows an investigation by the police watchdog, the independent office of police conduct. our correspondent adina campbell is following the case. that's right. bianca williams, who is 28, she is the commonwealth games gold medallist. she and her partner, ricardo dos santos, were stopped in maida vale in west london back injuly 2020. you may rememberfootage of the search, which was widely shared on social media. at the time of the search, their three—month—old baby son was in the back of the car while they were separated from him and handcuffed by police. they say they were targeted and racially profiled because they are black, and also because of the type of car they were in at the time, which was a mercedes. shortly after that video was posted, the metropolitan police apologised and today we now know

the independent office of police conduct investigation has now confirmed there is a case to answer. the five police officers, who are an acting sergeant and four police constables, they will face gross conduct proceedings. if those allegations are proven, they could be sacked, and we are expecting those hearings to take place by the end of this year. we have had a statement from bianca williams, she says she welcomes today's decision and says this opens the door for the met to be more open, honest and reflective about the culture of racism. and also the london mayor, sadiq khan, has welcomed the decision today and says he hopes the proceedings are no longer further delayed. what exactly will the independent office of police conduct be doing? they will be assessing, looking at the evidence about what happened during that search, and there are a number of allegations these officers are facing. they vary from whether reasonable force was used against the couple at the time,

they will be assessing that, why their car was stopped in the first place, and also looking at whether the couple were treated less favourably because of their race, and that is something the couple believe did happen. they say they were racially profiled and they believe they were targeted because of the colour of their skin, because they are black, and also because they were driving a mercedes, a nice car, and they say they were unfairly treated by police. the police have apologised, they say they are fully cooperating with the independent office of police conduct investigation. those hearings are expected to happen by the end of this year. adina campbell there. britons wanting to apply for a new passport are being warned not to leave it until the last minute. the passport office says the delays are because of a large backlog after brexit and covid. the prime minister is warning the service could be privatised if things do not improve. the shadow home secretary raised

the issue of passport delays with an urgent question in the house of commons this afternoon. my constituents fear their honeymoon may now be wrecked because their passports haven't arrived, even though they applied in plenty of time. we have had cases of people cancelling jobs, parents trying to get holiday for a sick child, waiting since january, huge, long delays by the passport office and by the contractor, tnt. the message today on the one—week fast track service says "system busy, please try again later", and the online premium service has no appointments anywhere in the country. so people can't get urgent travel such as to go to funerals or urgent events. the minister has said more passports are being processed and that is clearly welcome, but it is not enough. the demand this year was totally predictable. the home office was asked in 2020 and 2021 what it was doing to plan, but people are already losing holidays, trips to see loved ones and thousands of pounds

that they have spent in good faith. because of the lack of planning at the passport office and at the home office, which is in danger of becoming a stay at home office instead for people this summer. yvette cooper there. the home office minister, kevin foster, says the government is taking action to improve the issues. as of the 1st of april, there are over 4,000 staff in passport production roles. we are in the process of recruiting another 700. i would also again make the point that 90% of applications were completed within six weeks, and the service standard is ten weeks. my advice to anyone who is looking to go on holiday this summer is exactly what i said the other day, which is to get your application in now. so we are making a range of efforts — staff are working weekends,

incentivising overtime, and certainly we are confident that we will not need to change the ten—week target. but, as i have made the point, this is a record level of demand and a record output. far in excess of what we have seen before. for those who have compelling and compassionate reasons to travel, such as funerals or family ill—health, we will expedite their applications. kevin foster. the prison service in england and wales is failing to recognise the dangers of islamist gangs injails, according to a report published today. the independent reviewer of terrorist legislation has urged officials to pay more attention to the influence of convicted terrorists on other inmates. our home affairs correspondent, daniel sandford, reports. usman khan running from the scene of the fishmonger�*s hall attack. he'd just stabbed two people to death. tackled to the ground and then shot, he'd only recently been released from prison.

his attack, in which saskia jones and jack merritt died, was the first of four attacks in just seven months committed by serving prisoners or prisoners who'd just been released. an official report said today that too often islamist gangs had been able to exercise control on prison wings, deciding which officers could attend prayers, even setting up sharia courts and ordering inmates to be flogged and this increased the chances of terrorist attacks. the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, jonathan hall qc, said... allahu akbar! this week, we went inside woodhill prison to see what's now being done to tackle the threat. we filmed for the first time inside the separation centre —

one of only three in england. here, key terrorist radicalisers are incarerated to reduce their pernicious influence. these separation centres are prisons within prisons, where the most ideologically dangerous inmates can be isolated so that they can't radicalise other prisoners. to complete their isolation, they even have their own separate exercise yard and gym. but the separation centres are underused. so far, only 15 inmates have ever been in one. the system for referring men here is too complex and sometimes dogged by challenges under the human rights act. thejustice secretary, dominic raab, says he wants to make it easier to send inmates to the centres, and claims his proposed changes to human rights legislation will help. this is about making sure that those that would taint the well, poison the well, inside prisons, radicalise more people, recruit more people to terrorist ranks, cannot do so. it's a very austere regime.

it's different from what any other prisoner would experience in general population. it's very resource—intensive, but it's absolutely the right thing to do to safeguard the public. behind these doors, where we weren't allowed to film for safety reasons, is an ultra—secure close supervision centre. here, the most violent inmates are held — including michael adebolajo, who killed lee rigby. ministers now plan to increase the number of cells in units like this. daniel sandford, bbc news, in woodhill prison. the reality tv star and former glamour model katie price has appeared before magistrates in crawley charged with breaching a restraining order. the 43—year—old is accused of breaching a restraining order against ex—husband kieran hayler�*s fiancee, michelle penticost, injanuary. ms price, from west sussex, pleaded not guilty and requested a crown court trial.

the eurovision song contest will soon be upon us and this year it takes place in italy. it's been 13 years since the uk finished in the top ten, but hoping to change that is the essex singer sam ryder. our music correspondent, mark savage, went to meet him before he heads to turin. the uk's track record at the eurovision song contest has been pretty miserable. in 2019 and 2021, we took last place but that seems set to change this year. sam ryder�*s song spacemen is favourite to win. for people who don't know the sam ryder story, tell us about... tell us about growing up. i grew up in a house of music, not that my parents were musicians, but theyjust loved music. records playing constantly. earth, wind and fire, beautiful south, queen. and even now, they listen to

the same records, like, full blast. i mean, full blast, when they're like cleaning the house or mowing the lawn. my neighbours will know. the records will be playing so loud, so they can still hear it over the lawnmower. sam came to fame during lockdown after he posted cover versions on tiktok. it's been working in construction for years and years, and then sort of started singing at weddings. it took, you know, lockdown to happen for the weddings to be cancelled, all of us to be stuck indoors, for me to sort of think, "i don't want to stop singing, just because i can't sing at people's weddings now. but how am i going to do that?" it was, i guess, kind of a digital way of me flicking through a record collection. the first video was hit me baby one more time by britney spears. i sang it as high as i could in my mum's kitchen. and it all started snowballing from there. # lose my mind! # so give me a sign.

# hit me baby one more time. and alicia keys? yeah. not even got to alicia, yeah! i thought it was deep fake stuff, like someone was messing with me. and like someone has figured out, i don't know, how to be alicia keys. # but everything means nothing. beautiful soul, beautiful person. and they don't have to do that, you know? like, kind of encourage someone who is just an emerging artist coming through the ranks. it changes everything for that artist. the last two times the uk has been to eurovision, we came in last place. does that give you complete freedom? m m , n that either puts more pressure on you or give you complete freedom because you can't do any worse, so where do you fall on that scale?

if you tell yourself you have got pressure, with my personality i think you are starting off on the wrong foot. singing and songwriting, performing it shouldn't be about a scoreboard. mark savage, bbc news. martin will be here to take you through at five o'clock but first let's catch up with the weather. here is susan powell. that's a nice picture, where is that?— picture, where is that? afternoon, rachel. i have _ picture, where is that? afternoon, rachel. i have a _ picture, where is that? afternoon, rachel. i have a dusty _ picture, where is that? afternoon, rachel. i have a dusty field - picture, where is that? afternoon, rachel. i have a dusty field for- rachel. i have a dusty field for you. it's been a very dry april so far across england and wales. scotland hasjust far across england and wales. scotland has just about levelled off in terms of rainfall after some wetter weather at the weekend, but the fields still look relatively dry. the thing you might have noticed, and the difference between the photos is the cloud. here is the latest satellite picture. there's been a lot of cloud pushing in central and eastern areas of

england, elsewhere a lot of sunshine and that is the biggest difference in our picture overnight. where we have the cloud, temperatures should stay above freezing, but for a large swathe of central and western britain, clearskies swathe of central and western britain, clear skies and light winds, we are talking about the frost. we are nearly in may so that is something that can catch out gardeners with young plants out. this is the high pressure we have been talking about. it is still stretching out across the uk for thursday, so it will be a bit of a repeat of today basically. pulling on cloud from the north sea, feeding it westwards through the day with skies becoming overcast perhaps for the midlands and parts of wales by the midlands and parts of wales by the afternoon. there could be the odd spot of rain, some brighter spells developing in the east, more cloud building up through the day for scotland and northern ireland with some shower is possible here. the shade warmer, but still chilly easterly wind across southern counties. the same on friday, the wind pulling the cloud westwards

from the north sea. perhaps brighter for scotland and northern ireland, but the chance of a shower across central scotland through friday. up to 17 degrees from glasgow and cardiff. finally on saturday some movement, a little area of low pressure running into the north—west of the uk. the highs can be stubborn this low may struggle. england and wales still very dry, temperatures coming up a little along the north sea coast as we lose the easterly wind. over the second half of the bank holiday weekend, this low pushes south but the high starts to build again, tapering off any significant rain across england and wales. the bank holiday monday, it looks like the high will be sitting fairly firmly in place meaning a lot of dry weather. sunday some showers are possible across england and wales, bank holiday monday at the moment is looking like a fine story for the majority of the uk. and with

a switch round in wind direction to a switch round in wind direction to a more westerly airstream, it looks like our temperatures will push up a touch as well.

this is bbc news. i'm martine croxall. the headlines: government policies on discharging patients from hospital to care homes at the start of the pandemic is ruled unlawful my dad worked all of his life, to the age of 75, paid national insurance. he had a right to life and they had a duty of care, and he was failed. tim weswood steps down from his show on capital xtra until further notice, following sexual misconduct claims made by seven women which he denies. the eu has accused russia of blackmail — after it cut off gas supplies to bulgaria and poland. both refused moscow's demand to pay for gas in roubles. an investigation is under way into claims a conservative mp watched pornography on his mobile phone in the house of commons five police officers face gross misconduct proceedings over the stop and search of team gb athlete bianca williams.