this is bbc news. i'm annita mcveigh. these are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world. finland anounces its intention to apply to join nato — abandoning its traditionally neutral stance following russia's invasion of ukraine. britain's economy grew at the slowest pace for a year at the start of 2022 with mounting fears that the cost—of—living crisis may plunge the uk into recession. i know these are difficult times, but i want people to be reassured i stand ready to do more, i talk to people _ i stand ready to do more, i talk to people across the country. doctors and paramedics say that long waits for ambulances across the uk are having a "dangerous impact" on patient safety. it's the first time i've ever had to phone for an ambulance

in my whole entire life. and i've got four children. and so, when i really needed it, it wasn't there to help. and it should be. figures show more than 1 million people have now died from covid in the us — crossing a once—unthinkable milestone for the country. and winging it, the passenger who landed a plane after his pilot passed out, despite telling air traffic controllers he had no idea how to fly it. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. finland's leaders have announced their intention tojoin nato, abandoning its traditionally neutral stance. support for such a move has grown sharply in finland and neighbouring sweden since russia

launched its invasion of ukraine. moscow has threatened unspecified measures if the governments in helsinki and stockholm abandon their longstanding policy of military non—alignment. a short while ago, finland's foreign minister explained the decision to the european parliament. russia has said three or four things. — russia has said three or four things, that the decision is for finland — things, that the decision is for finland and sweden to make, if these countries _ finland and sweden to make, if these countriesjoin nato this finland and sweden to make, if these countries join nato this will have a political— countries join nato this will have a political military in the baltic sea area and — political military in the baltic sea area and russia has to respond to theirs _ area and russia has to respond to theirs our— area and russia has to respond to theirs. our understanding of this response — theirs. our understanding of this response is that russia will have more _ response is that russia will have more military equipment on the border, — more military equipment on the border, this would be a nato border then and _ border, this would be a nato border then and russia would regard it in

another— then and russia would regard it in another way than previously, and the other— another way than previously, and the other announcement who said that the baltic sea _ other announcement who said that the baltic sea would not be a nuclear free area — baltic sea would not be a nuclear free area. but of course we have also _ free area. but of course we have also seen — free area. but of course we have also seen the missiles and nuclear warheads— also seen the missiles and nuclear warheads can be used, so the nuclear risks have _ warheads can be used, so the nuclear risks have been there always. jussi halla—aho is the chair of the finnish foreign affairs committee. he says the war in ukraine made joining nato the best option. it seems that until the 24th of february, we had a slightly naive and wrong impression of what kind of and wrong impression of what kind of a country russia is. we now know that russia is prepared and willing to use reckless brutal military force against its non—alliance neighbours without provocation to

further its expansionist imperialist agenda. this is the new reality with which we have to cope and it has forced us to reassess or reconsider some of our long held traditional ways of thinking. our europe editor, katya adler, is in helsinki. this is a country that has had a huge about—turn since russia invaded ukraine. if you have a look at public opinion. that is what is driving the political change. before russia's invasion, there was a 20 to 30% support for joining nato. the latest opinion polls suggest 76% of finns want to join the military alliance. why? because they have seen russia's aggression in ukraine, its expansionist zeal and even though vladimir putin has threatened retaliation, if finland and swedenjoin nato, it is felt here by the people

that it will make them safer because of nato's policy of all for one and one for all. so an attack against one will be seen as an attack against all. don't forget, finland has a 1300 kilometre long border that it shares with russia, so it feels particularly exposed. it also would suggest an even worse miscalculation by vladimir putin as one commentator was putting it in the last couple of hours, it would make the baltic sea seem like an inner lake for nato. that's right, you could say since vladimir putin is threatening retaliation if finland and sweden join, well, doesn't it actually expose everybody more? what is in it for nato? what is in it for europe? well, a lot, if finland and sweden join nato it will be a massive bolstering of the eastern flank. you will have estonia, latvia and lithuania,

the baltic countries feeling a lot safer. norway as well. and, yes, nato will have its presence there in the baltic sea. this is, of course, something that vladimir putin wants to avoid. he has always seen nato's expansion eastwards as a threat. this is more menacing for russia in vladimir putin's eyes, but, again, we already heard from finalnd's'president yesterday, applying for nato membership from the finnish point of view it would be about defence, not offence. james reynolds is in lappeenranta, on the border between finland and russia. than, ways of thinking changing rapidly we heard a moment ago. do you think public opinion really matches this change? has public thinking changed dramatically because of what is happening on the

borders of ukraine and russia? yes. borders of ukraine and russia? yes, it has, as borders of ukraine and russia? yes, it has. as was _ borders of ukraine and russia? yes, it has, as was said _ borders of ukraine and russia? use: it has, as was said previously, support for nato was 20% and now it is up to 70%. if you look around me here, if you stop people in the street, one of two people has changed their mind and has decided it is saferfor this changed their mind and has decided it is safer for this country and border region to stay inside the tent of nato and the promise of collective security than to try to deal with russia individually which is what penland has tried to do for many years. this country has been on the threshold of nato, it has been a member of nato's partnership programme since 1994, there has been intelligence sharing and joint exercises, but finland always thought it was best to deal with its neighbour through constant dialogue and through preparation through dialogue. things will now change. this border region in particular becomes the front line for nato.

nato adds 800 long border to its territory, doubling the length of the nato russia border. from the perspective of vladimir putin it changes the perspective of things here in the baltic region, he has a longer border, his own city of saint petersburg is a two or three hour drive from nato territory here in finland as well. the uk economy shrank in march as households began to feel the impact of rising prices and cut down on spending. the latest gdp figures — released this morning — are a measure of all the activity of companies, governments and individuals in an economy. gdp helps government decide how much it can spend on public services and how much it needs to raise in taxes. although the figures show the economy contracted in march, it grew by 0.8% overall in the first three months of the year, we can compare that to the growth

of 1.3% we saw in the final three months of 2021. the bank of england has warned the uk faces a "sharp economic slowdown" and forecasts prices rise could reach more than 10% by the end of the year. let's hear from the uk chancellor rishi sunak. what i'd say is i'm completely aware of what the challenges that people are facing are. but...are you really taking action right now that's needed by so many millions of households? we've taken significant action already. but what i've always said is i stand ready to do more, and every week that has gone on since the spring statement, we are learning more about what is going on in the economy... you've got enough information now, chancellor. with energy prices in particular, it's important that people remember that energy prices are capped at this level through to the autumn. but people's direct debits are already going up. and that's why we've provided £9 billion to support them with that increase in the energy price. but look, this is really important, i've always said i stand ready to do

more as we learn more about the situation. i'm out every single week, talking to people across the country. ipswich, teesside, stoke today. i'm back in darlington this afternoon. derby last week. hearing what people are facing to figure out what the right way for us to help them is. that's something we spending a lot of time thinking about. and as i've said, we continue to learn more and that will help us get the decisions right. as you learn more, are you looking again at the case for a windfall tax on the oil and energy companies? look, i'm not naturally attracted to windfall taxes in general. i find there are two camps of people, actually. there are some people who think windfall taxes can never be the answer, and then there are other people who think windfall taxes are an easy, quick, simple answer to solve any problem. i'm not in either of those schools of thought. i'm pragmatic about it. as i said, i'm not naturally attracted to the idea of them but what i do know is that these companies are making very elevated prices. what i want to see is a significant investment back into the uk economy to supportjobs,

to support energy security. and if that doesn't happen, then no options are off the table. speaking to the chancellor was our economics editor faisal islam. the first thing to say is they will be struck the economy fell back a bit. ticket items, the office for national statistics said they could see in the statistics that people facing very large fuel bills had cut back onjourneys. these are signs that the economy is slowing. and we have had forecasts from the bank of england saying we could be in recession territory

by the end of the year next year, this shows a weak economy before the full impact of the russian invasion of ukraine on energy prices and food prices has been hitting home. there are many forecasters who are worried about this quarter — between april and june — particularly because we have got an extra bank holiday, but also because the price impact is hitting home hard in terms of the energy bills going up by so much. you have a sense in which the squeeze is harder and sooner than expected, and that is why i put those questions to the chancellor. he said that he would not repeat the concerns or warnings about a possible consumer—led recession, obviously happy that the rebound from the pandemic has been completed. on a quarterly basis, the economy now bigger than it was at the end of 2019. so that process has finished. but we now face pressures from the cost of living. and a different tone, i thought,

from the chancellor, although he would not be pinned down on specifics in terms of these extra measures that may be coming at some point, stressing the measures the government has already taken. he did say that they are watching very carefully. he understood from meeting ordinary members of the publicjust how much pressure they were under. he is under pressure to do more more quickly, because some of those pressures will not wait until the energy bills come through in autumn — they are happening right now in monthly direct debits. i also detected a change of tone in the interview on the concept of windfall tax being pushed by the opposition. some corporate leaders outside energy companies think there should be a windfall tax. the chancellor said he is not naturally attracted to the policy and has suggested in the past it is not a good idea. he stressed elevated profits were being made right now by the energy companies at this time of high prices and that no option is off the table,

if the investment that he wants to see in jobs and security of our energy supply is not forthcoming. a change of tone, doesn't guarantee that we'll get one, but it certainly means the energy companies have to think very carefully about their next move. and if it is being turned round on this policy, this is what it would look like. a chancellor that has to face a slow economy, glad that the pandemic is over, but concerns, and looks like policy shifting on support of the potential windfall tax too. joining me now is nick eardley, our political correspondent to talk about the state of the economy during the cost of living crisis. 0n on what the cabinet does about growing the economy during a cost—of—living crisis, how much pressure is on the chancellor over windfall taxes? we know in the

interview he is not naturally inclined to do that, but pressure is building. i inclined to do that, but pressure is buildinu. ~' , ,, , building. i think the pressure is buildin: building. i think the pressure is building in _ building. i think the pressure is building in general, _ building. i think the pressure isj building in general, absolutely, because we had the queen's speech earlier this week, a generalfeeling amongst opposition parties and tory mps that there was not enough in there when it came to the cost of living and figures like the ones we are seeing today are just going to add to that pressure on the government to rethink. windfall taxes, one of the options, something the labour party have been calling forfor the labour party have been calling for for a long the labour party have been calling forfor a long time, increasingly tory backbenchers are prepared to entertain that idea. you will notice it has not been taken off the table by the government although the prime minister and the chancellor say instinctively it is not what they want to do, they are keeping it as a potential stick for the big energy companies. the characters to see invest more in the economy, more

money to your workers, help us grow the economy and if you don't, the windfall tax is still on the table. there will be a lot of pressure in the building behind me today to come up the building behind me today to come up with some concrete ideas from the cabinet. we know there are tory mps who think borisjohnson is increasingly open to an income tax cut sooner rather than later although the prime minister has not committed to that yet. there are others wanting to look at ideas like adding to benefits, some economists argue an income tax cut would not get to the right places and actually you need to concentrate on giving support to the poorest in society to make sure they have some support with the cost of living. the other thing that we heard a couple of weeks ago from cabinet and i would not be surprised if we heard more today as ideas about how you cut red tape to cut the cost of living in certain areas, potentially, things like reducing child care costs,

reducing how often you need an mot, took out because they are. there is a lot of pressure on the government to come up with concrete ideas, so far, critics would say they have been tinkering at the edges and they need a big intervention to help people with cost of living. we have breaking — with cost of living. we have breaking news. _ the metropolitan police says it has now asked for more than 100 fixed penalty notices to be issued as part of operation hillman, its investigation into breaches of covid—19 regulations in whitehall and downing street. let's talk to our political correspondent iain watson what more can you tell us? the osition what more can you tell us? the position the _ what more can you tell us? tie: position the metropolitan police said they would not update while the local elections campaign by running, we did expect an update after the elections, the last one was one

month ago on april the 12th, at that stage, they said they had issued 50 fixed penalty notice for partygate, people breaching the covid—19 regulations, now that number has more than doubled. in the space of one month, more than 100, they say, fixed penalty notices will be issued. the scale of effectively rule breaking at the heart of government is growing. last time round they said the investigation was continuing at speed, this time, they say the investigation is still live. in terms of the scale of this, we were expecting more details when the full report by the senior civil servant is published. she cannot do that until the metropolitan police finish their inquiries. it was told by her team that the investigation would be complete by the end of this month, and pretty soon afterwards we would get the full report, the report that many conservative mps are waiting for to decide on what

they think about the prime minister, future. given this is still live and the scale of it, we will have to wait longer for the report. the other thing the metropolitan police do not tell you is who they are giving the fines two and downing street has said they will tell us if the prime minister or the cabinet secretary is find. from downing street this morning, no sense at all that either of them have received a fixed penalty notice. as you know, borisjohnson was fixed penalty notice. as you know, boris johnson was fined fixed penalty notice. as you know, borisjohnson was fined for attending a birthday party but he attended other events including a party or a gathering as they call it in his own garden during the first lockdown. so far, no additional fixed penalty notices have been issued. people are considering his future, that is something they will bearin future, that is something they will bear in mind. the prime minister not amongst the 100 new, sorry, 50 new

fines but amongst the hundred in total that had been issued. the 100 refers to fines _ total that had been issued. the 100 refers to fines we _ total that had been issued. the 100 refers to fines we already _ total that had been issued. the 100 refers to fines we already know - refers to fines we already know about plus a new number, so 50 on top of what we already knew about. the number has more than doubled, the said last time 50 and now this in more than 100. not hugely more than 100, but twice as many than were issued at this stage last month on april the 12th when they had the last metropolitan police update. thank you very much. ambulance services across the uk are in crisis because they can't guarantee reaching a patient in good time. that's the verdict of the president of the royal college of emergency medicine. it comes after bbc research revealed that the number of serious safety incidents involving ambulances in england — many of them linked to waiting times — rose by nearly 80 % compared to before the pandemic. the 999 system is also under severe pressure in scotland, wales and northern ireland. 0ur health correspondent jim reed has this report.

i rememberjust lying down on my mum's lap, like, we needed to go to the hospital as soon as possible. ten—year—old willow spent four nights in hospital last october, after falling off her bike on a country path. i said, "help, i can't breathe. that's all i said. that's all that came into my mind. yeah, she was screaming for help. we didn't know what had happened. and we couldn't really move her, because she was in a real mess, like a car accident rather than a bike accident. but when a passer—by called an ambulance, they were told it would be a ten hour wait for help, well above the two hour target for an accident like this. the family had to make their own way to hospital. we kept getting told by consultants that we should not have moved her, because her back and her neck injuries could have been quite severe. it's the first time i've ever had to phone for an ambulance in my whole entire life, and i've got four children. and so, when i really needed it, it wasn't there to help. and it should be. the ambulance service said

it was under significant pressure that day because of high demand. it apologised and said willow should have been assessed differently, and paramedics assigned more quickly. across the uk, ambulance response times have been rising sharply over the last year. in england, the most serious, life—threatening cases should be seen within seven minutes. in march, the average was a record nine and a half minutes. for so—called category 2 emergencies, like strokes or heart attacks, the target is 18 minutes. the average is now over an hour. in wales, scotland and northern ireland, services are under similar pressure, with near record wait times. we've always been able to get ambulances to people, to bring them in. we may have had crowding in emergency departments. it's worse now. but we've always been able to get ambulances. and i think the fact that we are struggling to guarantee somebody an ambulance in a timely way, moves us into a whole new territory of patient safety issue. 23 ambulances... this is a big part of the problem.

hospitals are extremely busy, so paramedics are often having to queue outside, before they can drop off patients. all this comes at a time when the number of 999 calls has been rising to record levels. if ambulances have to queue outside hospitals like this, it might mean they can't get out quickly to the next person on the line who needs help. and the concern is that could have a knock on effect on patient safety. in the year before the pandemic, ambulance staff logged 312 serious safety incidents, where a patient could have died or been permanently injured. over the past year, that has risen to 551 reports. i took one step, and was actually falling towards the shed. 81—year—old carol took a tumble here in her front garden last year. again, an ambulance should have arrived within two hours. it took almost twice as long as that. if we hadn't been here, and she was an elderly person living on her own,

she would have laid face down on a concrete floor in agony for hours, waiting for an ambulance, which isjust... the one thing that has done this completely knocked my confidence. i'm frightened to walk around to tesco's on my own. ijust can't do it. so it's interfered with my life completely. nhs england says record demand means the last few months have been some of the toughest ever for its staff. it says safety is its absolute priority, and hospitals, ambulance trusts and care homes are working together to see more patients as quickly as possible. jim read, bbc news. earlier i spoke to paul kellett — his mum had a fall and broke her hip last week and had to wait more than six hours for an ambulance. when the ambulance crew came, i think it was 6.5 hours, this happened in preston, but the ambulance crew had to come from burnley. they were great, once they

took them to hospital, again, it was not a massively great experience because she was ten hours in accident and emergency and on a trolley before getting into the world, but it is a knock—on effect. we have not got enough front line people to be able to do this, there are too many back—office people being paid horrendous sums of money when nurses are being paid not that much, they need more money add more funding and being paid for a job well done. let's speak now to jonathan street — london representative of the college of paramedics paul was very sympathetic towards your situation. the pressure must be huge right now. it is your situation. the pressure must be huge right nova-— huge right now. it is heartbreaking to hear those _ huge right now. it is heartbreaking to hear those stories, _ huge right now. it is heartbreaking to hear those stories, to _ huge right now. it is heartbreaking to hear those stories, to be - huge right now. it is heartbreaking l to hear those stories, to be honest, the families. there is a huge amount

of pressure and it is becoming a slow burn. the rush of the pandemic seems to be behind us, but actually paramedics like myself all over the country are dealing with frustration and difficulty about the fact that we know we can't see patients as effectively and efficiently as we'd like. despite working very hard. it really is a very difficult situation particularly handing over patients and not being able to respond to other patients.— other patients. looking at it from the paramedic — other patients. looking at it from the paramedic perspective, - other patients. looking at it from the paramedic perspective, you l other patients. looking at it from . the paramedic perspective, you have a healthy process, from your perspective, what is the problem? 0r perspective, what is the problem? or what are the solutions?— what are the solutions? ambulances outside the hospitals _ what are the solutions? ambulances outside the hospitals is _ what are the solutions? ambulances outside the hospitals is nothing - outside the hospitals is nothing new. people have dealt with that before covid—19. but mostly in the winter. there are lots of issues in

terms of being understaffed, people leaving rules for various reasons, like stress, less capacity in the system as a whole. covid—19 has chipped away at the problems which already existed, and now we have got even more patients who have done their bit, stayed away from health care during the pandemic, and we have got very unwell or chronically ill people, people with cancer, horrible issues which have not been assessed now coming forward and that creates extra pressure for paramedics to go and see these people and also for the hospitals. when we take these patients, these unwell people who justifiably need help, to an accident and emergency department, there is not the flow through the system. there seems to be a real backlog and it is telling that the backlog is now moving from

accident and emergency itself moving outside of the hospital to the ambulance service as well. there are not many other places for it to go unfortunately. a big problem is, as for the solution, is our social care system, so many vulnerable patients and the community, like carroll, her story is not unusual, it is upsetting to hear, we cannot look after these people in the community before they become unwell, very effectively, and if they need to be discharged, there does not seem to be the funding or the facility to look after people effectively to be safely discharge and go back to their friends and family safely at home. so it really is a huge system problem. and one that is really heartbreaking and frustrating because this is not what we signed up because this is not what we signed up for. we want to see more than a couple of patients per shift and we want to get to these people early. it as it as bad as that? seeing a

couple of patients on one shift? absolutely. it varies around the country. absolutely. it varies around the count . ~ ., ., , ., ., country. what would be the norm for a shift if everything _ country. what would be the norm for a shift if everything was _ country. what would be the norm for a shift if everything was working - a shift if everything was working well? ., ' ' ., , , well? pre-covid 19, we would see six or ei . ht well? pre-covid 19, we would see six or eight patients _ well? pre-covid 19, we would see six or eight patients a _ well? pre-covid19, we would see six or eight patients a day, _ well? pre-covid19, we would see six or eight patients a day, it _ well? pre-covid19, we would see six or eight patients a day, it depends i or eight patients a day, it depends what part of the country you are in. but now lots of my friends and colleagues are saying that they only saw one patient or a couple of patients. it boils down to six hours or longer with one patient in a hospital corridor waiting to hand over to already overstretched staff. that patient may already have waited several hours for the ambulance. you can imagine that it's very upsetting for the patient and the clinician, and it does not seem like it is going to improve any time soon. if your radio keeps going, there is someone out there who has a problem,

have we got anyone to send? it is heartbreaking to say that you can't get your vehicle rollover to help that person because you have already got your hands full essentially. it got your hands full essentially. it goes against all your instincts. it is very interesting to hear from you. the latest monthly figures for nhs performance in england shows that numbers on hospital waiting lists hit 6.36 million in march, an increase on the previous month. data also showed continued pressure on the emergency care system. 0ur health correspondent, nick triggle, is with us in the studio. as we just heard, pressure everywhere. there is, and the new data this morning covers the months of march and april so this is springtime, when generally, the winter pressures have started to ease, even ended. but what we are seeing with today's data is there is

huge pressure across the system, as we have been hearing. the numbers of people waiting for hospital treatment, routine treatment like hip and knee replacements, have hit 6.36 million, the highest on record. more than one in nine people is waiting for hospital treatment, nearly 5% of those have been waiting over a year. ministers have said we should expect these figures to keep going up and it may be 2024 before the numbers start coming down. we have also got data for cancer care. cancer services. they show a small sign of improvement. but performance is still well below target. 85% of patients who are referred for urgent treatment and then to stop that treatment and then to stop that treatment within two months, but the data for march shows just 67% did start that treatment. and as we have been discussing, the emergency care system, huge pressures in a&e, more

than a quarter of patients waiting four hours to be seen, and i think that partly explains why we are seeing ambulances having to queue up outside and those paramedics not getting on the road, a&e departments are so, so busy. getting on the road, a&e departments are so. so busy-— are so, so busy. thank you very much, are so, so busy. thank you very much. nick _ are so, so busy. thank you very much, nick triggle. _ are so, so busy. thank you very much, nick triggle. liz - are so, so busy. thank you very| much, nick triggle. liz johnson, are so, so busy. thank you very i much, nick triggle. linohnson, a viewer, she was in touch earlier to say, my mother—in—law had a stroke last week, my father phoned the ambulance at 11pm and they didn't arrive until 5am. she is now in colchester hospital on many different machines and the hospital has an outbreak of covid so no—one is allowed to visit. thank you for getting in touch and if you want to let me know about that ambulance wait story and how it is impacting you or your loved ones, you can get in touch on twitter. the death toll from covid in the united states has now surpassed one million people, according to records from johns hopkins university. the world health organization believes the true number of fatalities could be even higher.

the us has the world's highest recorded death toll. this grim milestone — once unthinkable — comes 26 months after the country's first recorded case in new york, the scene of us�*s first major outbreak. from there, nada tawfik reports. more than a million lives cut short across america — this, the only way to visit them now. laura's father alfredo caught covid—19 while in a nursing and rehabilitation facilityjust as the pandemic was ripping through new york. for three weeks, he battled to stay alive, but the virus proved too tough an opponent. my dad is leaning in and holding my hand, just about to blow out birthday candles. laura had to say goodbye wearing a hazmat suit. two years later, she says she misses hisjokes and pranks and hasn't healed from his sudden death. i feel like i don't want to. like i'm pretending that he's still around. because his presence was so ginormous that i still feel it, it is hard to accept

that he is actually not here. more than 40,000 people have died in the city, the scene of the first major outbreak in the states. during the scariest months, morgues couldn't keep up with the fatalities. bodies were buried in mass graves. nothing ever paralysed the city in this way. new york is looking more like its old self, but it has not completely recovered. and while it is possible to try and count the death toll from covid, it is impossible to know how many lives have been forever changed by the loss of a loved one orfriend. this used to be my bed for almost a year during the covid, because i didn't want to get my family sick. this nurse was acutely aware of the risks of herjob. it hit home harder after her close colleague became the first nurse to die in new york's public hospitals from covid—19. she says even though covid cases are now manageable, they are facing another crisis,

a shortage of staff. we are supposed to have one or two patients, we're taking care of five patients. in an intensive care unit, it's unheard—of. i've been a nurse for over 35 years, and i've never, ever seen that in my lifetime. covid's tragic legacy will be felt for generations. 1 million dead is an incomprehensible number, but will it be a catalyst for change to prepare the us for the next outbreak? president biden has released a statement in response to this news, calling it a tragic milestone. 1 million american lives lost to covid. he said, as a nation, we must not go numb to such sorrow, we must remain vigilant against this pandemic and do every thing we can

to save as many lives as possible, as we have with more testing, vaccines and treatments. president biden calls on congress to sustain these resources in the coming months. the us has called for a thorough investigation into the killing of a palestinian—american journalist in the occupied west bank. shireen abu akleh, who had worked for aljazeera for 25 years, was shot dead while she was covering an israeli army raid. at the time, she was wearing a jacket marked "press". herfuneral will take place tomorrow morning. —— her funeral is —— herfuneral is taking place. in sri lanka, a nationwide curfew that shut shops and businesses has been briefly lifted to allow people to buy essential supplies. there's been violent demonstrations throughout the country over the government's handling of an economic crisis which has lead to a spiralling cost of living. for the latest, i'm joined now by our correspondent, anbarasan ethirajan, who's in colombo.

tell us the latest from there. the curfew was briefly lifted for seven hours today so that people can buy their essentials. because on monday, when violence between pro—and anti—government supporters started, the curfew was enforced all of a sudden, which meant people could not go out to buy their essential items and the violence was spreading to other parts of the country. the government feels that the situation has come to some sort of stable condition at the moment and that is why they briefly lifted and they said they would monitor the situation and if required, they would lift the curfew. i was at a market earlier in the day where i could see people rushing. there was panic buying because they were not sure how long this curfew would continue. all of this is happening in the backdrop of the cost—of—living crisis, as many other countries are facing around the world. but in sri lanka, there is also a political crisis. the prime

minister of the country, mahinda rajapaksa, resigned on monday, following the violence here. and protesters demanded the government step down because of what they say is the mismanagement of the economy are also asking president gotabaya rajapaksa to are also asking president gotabaya rajapa ksa to step are also asking president gotabaya rajapaksa to step down. he says he will stay in power and he is now trying to form an interim government.— trying to form an interim government. trying to form an interim covernment. ., ,, , ., , . government. thank you very much. from colombo, _ government. thank you very much. from colombo, is _ government. thank you very much. from colombo, is that _ government. thank you very much. from colombo, is that nationwide i from colombo, is that nationwide curfew has been briefly lifted in sri lanka to allow people to buy essential supplies. north korea has confirmed its first official covid infections — and ordered a strict national lockdown. state media is reporting an outbreak in the capital, pyongyang, but hasn't confirmed the number of cases. the country has no vaccination programme — despite being offered astrazeneca jabs and china's sinovac vaccine. earlier, i spoke to our correspondent in south korea, jean mackenzie, about what we know about covid infections in north korea.

i mean, knowing what is happening really in north korea is always impossible. all we have really to do is go off what they say and what they tell us, and what they've said this morning is that they have these cases that were identified four days ago in the capital — so on sunday — and that they believe they're 0micron, but we don't know how many. we just know that it's enough for them to order a national lockdown, which is something they haven't done before. but, you know, up until this point in the pandemic, they've claimed not to have a single case, which is very difficult to believe, given what we know about how this virus has spread, particularly at the beginning of the pandemic. so that begs the question really now, why are they admitting that they have this outbreak? the possibility is that this is just too serious an outbreak for them to be able to hide, that they know now that they need to be able to control the spread of it and that, in order to do that, they need to have a national lockdown. and of course, you can't lock down a country without telling people. yeah, and how big a problem is it going to be to tackle this within north korea, given the lack of vaccination programme, given the health

infrastructure there? yeah, if this virus is spreading and is spreading seriously, it is a dangerous situation for north korean people because, as you say, none of them are vaccinated, there is no vaccination programme. the authorities have rejected vaccines on a number of occasions, both from the chinese, they've also rejected astrazeneca vaccines from the un. you have a very poor health care system, you have people who, a large number of them will be severely malnourished so, of course, that puts them at risk, and there is no mass testing or tracing programme, which is what also we know helps control the spread of this virus. so what we're seeing is the authorities reverting to a lockdown, which is what many countries around the world were doing at the very start of this pandemic when we didn't have those other tools available to us, and it worked sufficiently to begin with, but we're seeing now — with variants such as 0micron, which are far more transmissible —

that they don't work as well. i mean, if you look at what's happening in shanghai, lockdowns do not offer the kind of bullet—proof solution any more. jean mackenzie reporting. let's turn to the world's biggest entertainment company — because shares in walt disney have been on the rise after some better—than expected numbers. disney managed to sign up almost 8 million new subscribers to its disney plus streaming service in the first three months of the year. that was a lot more than investors were expecting, particularly after rival netflix revealed it had lost subscribers over the same period, and forecast more people would ditch the service in the coming months. disney plus added 7.9 million subscribers in the last three months, beating wall street expectations for its video—streaming operation. now, disney has 205 million paid subscribers across all of its services globally. it shows how quickly it is closing in on rival netflix, which still

leads with 221 million subscribers. but it disappointed investors last month when it announced its numbers were falling. it may have what it takes to come out on top in the extreme the competitive streaming market and mosh customers are showing up to disney's amusement parks, that segment took in $6.7 billion of revenue in three months. in any case, disney's management seems pleased with the company's performance, with the ceo declaring, we are in a league of our own. michelle fleury. thousands of precious items from cambodia's once glorious kingdoms, some dating back to the ninth century, have been smuggled out of the country and now phnom penh is fighting to get them back. to cambodians, these items aren't just decorative, they're spiritual. they believe the gods need to come home. 0ur asia pacific editor celia hatton has been to cambodia and has this report. cambodia's most famous

temple, angkor wat. this is one of asia's poorest countries but, even so, most cambodians will spend what they can to travel here at least once in their lives. these statues are more than just stone. they're thought to be living gods. but look closely and you'll realise something's wrong. angkor wat's been emptied. the head's been taken off. a hand's been taken off. you canjust imagine a looter would cut that, take it, smuggle it across a border, probably into thailand, and then on into some auction house. we simply don't know where this has gone. angkor was looted over 100 years ago, but thousands of other temples in cambodia were pillaged just in the last few decades. investigators are tracing the looters who carried out this modern antiquities heist. the former looters — who've become government witnesses — have all been given code names to try to protect their identities.

right now, we're on our way to see a man they call red horse. he leads me to the remains of an 11th—century temple. wow! these dead vines are covered in really sharp thorns. oh, and there are hornets too. red horse says he unearthed a statue in the 1970s. "this is the exact location," he tells me. "we dug and lifted it out, two people on each side." oh, i see, there's a few things... cambodian investigators are confident the statue red horse says he found... this thing? this is what you...? this is what you took? took it from inside there? ..is now in the british museum. using targeted archaeological digs, coupled with newly discovered emails and shipping records, the authorities are tracking

thousands of missing statues. their conclusion? many of cambodia's treasures were sold off during three decades of civil war and genocide, through to the late—1990s. in the remains of what was once cambodia's biggest temple complex, we meet another looter, the iron princess. translation: if we found something, we would stay until 5pm and come - back at seven or eight in the morning. back then, there was no other work besides looting. iron princess recognises items that are now in the victoria & albert museum. investigators are still looking into her claims. the cambodian authorities have tracked vast numbers of objects into the uk. this is a time of conflict. large museums like the british museum or v&a, they shouldn't have accepted these pieces. they should have done

proper due diligence. and they should have known that it was very questionable that these pieces were coming out. both museums told us they're transparent about the heritage of objects in their collections and that it's integral to them to confirm their provenance. few visit the temple where iron princess did most of her looting. anything worth seeing has been traded away. i'm sad because those statues are part of our heritage. they belong to cambodians. if i can help in bringing them back, i will do so for my country. many here have decided — they want their gods to return home. celia hatton, bbc news, cambodia. let's talk to brad gordon, head of the cambodian investigative team

and chief legal counsel for the cambodian ministry of culture. it is good to have you with us. i guess there are knowns and unknowns in the situation in terms of items that have been taken out of cambodia over the years. that have been taken out of cambodia over the years-— over the years. yes, we are in the middle of — over the years. yes, we are in the middle of tracking _ over the years. yes, we are in the middle of tracking thousands - over the years. yes, we are in the middle of tracking thousands of i middle of tracking thousands of looted statues that have spread all over the world. and we are gathering evidence, i mean, we have been fortunate to speak to a number of former looters and we can find out exactly where the statues came from. and then we also have in addition to that an enormous amount of e—mail traffic and shipping records and so on. so we have a lot of information, but it is a huge puzzle that we have to solve and it is multiple crime sites. edi to solve and it is multiple crime sites. . ., , to solve and it is multiple crime sites. .., , ,., ._ to solve and it is multiple crime sites. , ., sites. of course, something may have been moved — sites. of course, something may have been moved out _ sites. of course, something may have been moved out of _ sites. of course, something may have been moved out of cambodia - sites. of course, something may have been moved out of cambodia to - sites. of course, something may have been moved out of cambodia to an . been moved out of cambodia to an initial destination and potentially

changed hands many times. so what is the process of trying to solve that puzzle as you describe it? 50. the process of trying to solve that puzzle as you describe it? so, our main key position _ puzzle as you describe it? so, our main key position is _ puzzle as you describe it? so, our main key position is that - puzzle as you describe it? so, our main key position is that the - main key position is that the cambodian government has never given any sort of export permits we are aware of. so the possessors have to prove they have a right to possession. so that is our main thinking when we are looking at these different statues and who has them. but at the same time, we are gathering specific evidence. we are speaking to looters, we are taking down their memories we are visiting the sites that were looted. and then at the same time, we are getting experts to look at specific statues and give their opinions, and we are also looking at a number of e—mails and other correspondence we have. and briefly, what is your success rate? ~ . ., . ,

rate? we have had some incredible success, especially _ rate? we have had some incredible success, especially over _ rate? we have had some incredible success, especially over the - rate? we have had some incredible success, especially over the last. success, especially over the last year or two. with a lead taken by the us government, they have been very effective in getting returns. and we have for example one billionaire in the states who is giving back more than 20 statues. but it is a massive task in front of us and it is many, many statues we are looking at. us and it is many, many statues we are looking at— are looking at. brad gordon, chief leual are looking at. brad gordon, chief legal council— are looking at. brad gordon, chief legal council for _ are looking at. brad gordon, chief legal council for the _ are looking at. brad gordon, chief legal council for the cambodian i legal council for the cambodian ministry of culture, thank you very much. today is international nurses day — and the first global nursing awards are taking place. recognising the very best nursing talent, following a period of crisis for healthcare systems around the world, the awards look to celebrate the extraordinary contribution of the world's nursing community over the last few years. 0verall, more than 23,000 applications were received for nurses from more than 184 countries, with the winner taking

home the prize of 250,000 us dollars. let's speak now to francis michael fernando, who is a uk finalist at the awards. congratulations on getting to the final. any wins to tell us about? good afternoon. thank you. my good friend anna won the award, she is from kenya. she is the first recipient of the global national award 2022. after being included in the ten finalists is a winner already for me. because out of more than 24,000 applicants from 184 countries, they shortlisted us to ten. . , ,., , countries, they shortlisted us to ten. . , , ., countries, they shortlisted us to ten. absolutely, to be a runner up amonust ten. absolutely, to be a runner up amongst such _ ten. absolutely, to be a runner up amongst such a — ten. absolutely, to be a runner up amongst such a huge _ ten. absolutely, to be a runner up amongst such a huge number- ten. absolutely, to be a runner up amongst such a huge number is i amongst such a huge number is clearly a great accolade and very well deserved. why do you think this first global nursing awards needs to happen? it sounds like an obvious

question because there are so many people who have paid tribute to nurses and other medical staff throughout the pandemic, why is it important we have these awards? 50 important we have these awards? 5r it is very important that we have this award purely because we have millions of shortages of nurses globally and as you know and as we know, nurses are always at the front line of health care delivery. throughout the different systems in the world. especially in the last two years, when we faced the pandemic which is covid—19. so it is a way of recognising the phenomenal contribution of nurses globally. so i am very grateful for the doctor who initiated this great awards for nurses. d0 who initiated this great awards for nurses. ,, who initiated this great awards for nurses. ., , , . ., ., nurses. do you feel appreciated, do our nurses. do you feel appreciated, do your colleagues _ nurses. do you feel appreciated, do your colleagues feel _ nurses. do you feel appreciated, do your colleagues feel appreciated? l your colleagues feel appreciated ? because that your colleagues feel appreciated? because that is very important, especially when you are looking to talk to people who might be

interested in coming to this profession when you are looking to recruit the best people. yes. profession when you are looking to recruit the best people.— recruit the best people. yes. i feel appreciated _ recruit the best people. yes. i feel appreciated in _ recruit the best people. yes. i feel appreciated in my _ recruit the best people. yes. i feel appreciated in my current - recruit the best people. yes. i feel appreciated in my current work i recruit the best people. yes. i feel appreciated in my current work is i appreciated in my current work is associate director of nursing in the nhs trust, i am very fortunate my chief nurse and all those who work for the trust have appreciated the nurses. not only myself, all the nurses. not only myself, all the nurses and health care workers working for the trust through different benefits that they give us, plus also the fact that they are celebrating international nurses day today. and there are a lot of benefits working for this particular nhs trust, so we feel appreciated, i feel appreciated personally. congratulations on being in the final. francis michael fernando, uk finalist at the global nursing awards. it's a nightmare thought that most of us try and shut out of our minds as we board a plane.

you're mid—air and your pilot falls ill, unable to fly. that's what happened to one american air passenger, with no flying training whatsoever, who had to step up to land the plane to save his life. but how? mark lobel has this incredible story. when the pilot of this florida—bound single engine cessna 208 suddenly got ill mid—air, he fell against the controls, sending the aircraft into a nosedive and sharp turn — leaving passenger darren harrison on a wing and a prayer, 2,750 metres high. but despite having no experience of piloting a plane, he pulled it out of its nosedive and radioed air traffic control.

with just the florida coast for reference, mr harrison was then given step—by—step instructions of what to do next. at this point, formerflight instructor robert morgan was pulled off his break to help guide the plane down. when somebodyjust drops that bomb on you, you know, you're not expecting, here's the situation, it wasjust, like, whoa! ifelt like i was in a movie. but he wasn't. morgan'sjob now, to keep the passenger—turned—pilot calm and point him to a longer runway, so he could land safely. he was calm all the way in, how am i looking? your altitude is good, you're 1,000 feet, you're 600 feet, you're 300 feet. and then, he disappeared

off the radar so i was kind of like, uh—oh, what i do now? so i'm just like, hey, i don't see you any more on my radar. i just want to make sure you're still there. can you still hear me? yes, i can still hear you. after a bouncy landing, the plane was towed away. the man who brought the plane down safely hugged his unexpected instructor on the tarmac, before rushing home to see his pregnant wife. the original pilot was taken to hospital, his condition remains unknown. mark lobel, bbc news. let's bring you some live pictures now from ramallah, where the palestinian government is holding the state funeral for the aljazeera journalist shireen abu akleh, who was killed on wednesday. she was shot dead while covering an israeli army raid in the occupied west bank. at the time, she was wearing a flak jacket marked "press". palestinians and aljazeera claim ms abu akleh was shot by an israeli sniper,

but israel's prime minister, naftali bennett, said it was likely that she was killed by palestinian gunfire. the un secretary general, antonio guterres, has called for an independent investigation. you are watching bbc news. cloud amounts may be increasing across the uk at the moment but for the vast majority, it stays dry with sunny spells. 0ne the vast majority, it stays dry with sunny spells. one or two show as possible. mainly to the north and west, linked into an area of low pressure passing to the north. extending a bit more cloud down, extra moisture and depth to the cloud is helping to produce those spots of rain. showers most frequent and probably length the ones across the far north and west of scotland. 0ther showers in western and central scotland, northern ireland and may be western fringes of england and. for most committees stay dry, not quite as sunny as this morning, but the afternoon would be pleasant. 18 degrees, warmer than yesterday in the south east corner, fresher

towards the north and west where the breeze is very noticeable. that picks up further tonight. tonight, rain erratically pushes southwards, northern england, north wales, north midlands could get the odd splash before it clears. rain on and off across the highlands and islands. temperatures not as low as last night, slightly milder with some in double figures for tomorrow morning's rush hour. another sunny start for england and wales tomorrow, less cloud, most stay dry. more cloud for scotland and northern ireland producing showers, chiefly northern scotland, dry day for most and windier. winds off up to gale force in northern —— western parts of scotland. that keeps the temperatures pegged back from 18 degrees in northern ireland, warmer than today, 20 or 21 in east anglia and the south east. warmer potentially for the weekend. high pressure on the charts, but low pressure on the charts, but low pressure could slip up from spain through france and towards our shores causing a blip in the forecast in the middle part of the weekend. to start saturday, a lot of dry and sunny weather around, dry

across much of scotland, showers very few and far between. a lot more sunshine. and it will feel warmer, temperatures more widely into the high teens and low 20s. if you are having an outside barbecue or event, keep an eye on the skies because the potential for thunderstorms rumbling northwards that go on through saturday into sunday morning. 0n saturday into sunday morning. on sunday, it does mean there will be more cloud for england and parts of wales with a chance of further heavy showers. but a lot of dry weather across northern and western parts, especially here where we see the highest temperatures on sunday into the high teens and low 20s once again. goodbye for now.

this is bbc news. i'm joanna gosling. these are the headlines at 11... police say they've now issued more than 100 "partygate" fines, following investigations into breaches of covid—19 regulations in downing street and whitehall. britain's economy grew at the slowest pace for a year at the start of 2022 with mounting fears that the cost—of—living crisis may plunge the uk into recession. i stand yesterdayy to do more. i am out every week talking to people across the country doctors and paramedics say that long waits for ambulances across the uk are having a "dangerous impact" on patient safety. it's the first time i've ever had to phone for an ambulance in my whole entire life.

and i've got four children. and so, when i really needed it, it wasn't there to help. and it should be. finland's leaders have said their country mustjoin nato without delay following the russian invasion of ukraine — russia calls the move a definite threat. a gallop through history. the first major event in the queen's platinum jubilee celebrations will get under way involving one of the her favourite animals — horses. actually 500 of them! and — winging it. the passenger who landed a plane after his pilot passed out despite telling air traffic controllers he had no idea how to fly it.

ready to do in the past hour, the metropolitan police says more than 100 fixed penalty notices have now been issued as a result of the investigation into lockdown breaches in whitehall and downing street. the number has doubled since the last update was given in april. it's not known who has received the fixed penalty notices. the force says inquiries are continuing. let's talk to our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford. it is 100 so far, and no news on who has had them. the it is 100 so far, and no news on who has had them-— has had them. the met say it is still live. it — has had them. the met say it is still live. it has _ has had them. the met say it is still live. it has been _ has had them. the met say it is still live. it has been going i has had them. the met say it is still live. it has been going for. still live. it has been going for three—and—a—half months so you would hope it is starting to get towards a close. you will remember they said

they wouldn't give updates during they wouldn't give updates during the election campaign. they said they had more than 50 fixed penalty notices, today one month on they are saying it is more than 100 issued. downing street has said if the prime minister or the cabinet secretary simon case were to get a fixed penalty notice they would tell us. we have been told about boris johnson getting one, we have not been told about any more, so unless it has happened in the last few hours it seem he has only be issued one. his wife has been issued one and rishi sunak has been issued with one, those are the three high profile people we know who has received them. those are one wednesday knew about before now, these extra won't have been issued today, it would have been issued over the course of the last month. it looks like he hasn't received is another one. share it looks like he hasn't received is another one-— it looks like he hasn't received is

another one. �* , ., ., another one. are they going through the arties another one. are they going through the parties in _ another one. are they going through the parties in a _ another one. are they going through the parties in a particulared - another one. are they going through the parties in a particulared or, i the parties in a particulared or, are they known how they are approaching it are they known how they are approaching i— are they known how they are approaching it they are 'ust not tellin: approaching it they are 'ust not telling people * approaching it they are 'ust not telling people how i approaching it they are 'ust not telling people how theyi approaching it they are just not telling people how they are i approaching it they are just not l telling people how they are doing it. it seems as if it is being done party by party but we are not sure if it is in date order or order of how clear the breaches were, you have to go back and remember what cressida dick said when she announced the investigation in january. she said the people would beissued january. she said the people would be issued fines are people that should have known what they were doing was an offence, by not investigateling would undermine the legitimacy of the law and there was little ambiguity about whether they had a defence, so people who should have known it was the rule, they have known it was the rule, they have no defence and by not fining them you undermine the legitimacy of them you undermine the legitimacy of the law, so those are the parameter thrace using, but we don't know at this stage how far they have got through the process, the only thing thatis through the process, the only thing that is worth saying, is there has been rumblings from sue gray who

hasn't been able to public her full report. she was hoping to do that by the end of this month. if that timetable is still running, then the met might be getting towards the end of the issuing of fines but i should stress that is not something they have said behind their hands, is coming, we don't know how far they have got through it.— have got through it. thank you daniel. (pres) let's talk to our political correspondent iain watson. downing street have said they would tell us if borisjohnson had received one. so, we are told that there is no update on that front, in other words we can assume that he is not among the one hundred sthun that have been issued with fixed penalty notice, and the same goes for the most senior civil servant in the country, the cabinet secretary, simon case, we were told we would be

informed if he received a fine, doesn't look as though he has yet. . however, although again, there is no official commitment to tell us about carriejohnson, i understand that she is not among the 100 people to have been issued, at least 100 fines issued by the metropolitan police either. and one former official i was speaking to was expressing concern that perhaps there was a morejunior concern that perhaps there was a more junior officials concern that perhaps there was a morejunior officials in concern that perhaps there was a more junior officials in the firing listen line. one source said they believe the latest batch is related at least in part to a christmas party at which the prime minister did not attend in december 2020, it was that christmas party that started off the whole partygate affair. the daily mirror reported that at the time. there was obviously a good bit of inquiry into the events surrounding that, believe perhaps 30—40 people attended it, and of course, in the end, the number of gatherings and events

increased and the metropolitan police decided to investigate 12 of them. so fines have been issued for a range of them, so far including a couple of leaving dos for example, including what they regarded as a birthday celebration for the prime minister as well, when he was issued with a fine, but, the the moment we think certainly the numbers have gone from 50 to more than 100, at least in part, because of that christmas party and those who attended it, in december 2020. thank ou ian. the uk economy shrank in march as households began to feel the impact of rising prices and cut down on spending. the latest gdp figures — released this morning — are a measure of all the activity of companies, governments and individuals in an economy. gdp helps government decide how much it can spend on public services and how much it needs to raise in taxes. although the figures show the economy contracted in march, it grew by 0.8% overall in the first three months of the year,

we can compare that to the growth of 1.3% we saw in the final three months of 2021. the bank of england has warned the uk faces a "sharp economic slowdown" and forecasts prices rise could reach more than 10% by the end of the year. let's hear from the uk chancellor rishi sunak. what i'd say is i'm completely aware of what the challenges that people are facing are. but...are you really taking action right now that's needed by so many millions of households? we've taken significant action already. but what i've always said is i stand ready to do more, and every week that has gone on since the spring statement, we are learning more about what is going on in the economy... you've got enough information now, chancellor. with energy prices in particular, it's important that people remember that energy prices are capped at this level through to the autumn. but people's direct debits are already going up. and that's why we've provided £9 billion to support them with that increase in the energy price.

but look, this is really important, i've always said i stand ready to do more as we learn more about the situation. i'm out every single week, talking to people across the country. ipswich, teesside, stoke today. i'm back in darlington this afternoon. derby last week. hearing what people are facing to figure out what the right way for us to help them is. that's something we spending a lot of time thinking about. and as i've said, we continue to learn more and that will help us get the decisions right. as you learn more, are you looking again at the case for a windfall tax on the oil and energy companies? look, i'm not naturally attracted to windfall taxes in general. i find there are two camps of people, actually. there are some people who think windfall taxes can never be the answer, and then there are other people who think windfall taxes are an easy, quick, simple answer to solve any problem. i'm not in either of those schools of thought. i'm pragmatic about it. as i said, i'm not naturally attracted to the idea of them but what i do know is that these companies are making a significant amount of profit at the moment because of these very elevated prices.

what i want to see is a significant investment back into the uk economy to supportjobs, to support energy security. and i want to see that investment soon. and if that doesn't happen, then no options are off the table. speaking to the chancellor was our economics editor faisal islam. earlier we asked him how the government could grow the economy in a cost of living crisis? the first thing to say is they will be struck by these gdp figures, although they show growth of 0.8% in the first three months, and we will take any growth we can get right now given the global situation, in march we saw the economy fell back a bit. and you can understand a lot of that on the expected weakness of the consumer, particularly buying big ticket items, the office for national statistics said they could see in the statistics that people facing very large fuel bills had cut back onjourneys.

these are signs that the economy is slowing. and we have had forecasts from the bank of england saying we could be in recession territory by the end of the year next year, this shows a weak economy before the full impact of the russian invasion of ukraine on energy prices and food prices has been hitting home. there are many forecasters who are worried about this quarter — between april and june — particularly because we have got an extra bank holiday, but also because the price impact is hitting home hard in terms of the energy bills going up by so much. you have a sense in which the squeeze is harder joining me now is nick eardley, our political correspondent who's in staffordshire where the cabinet are meeting this morning. prime minister as well, when he was issued with a fine, but, the the moment we think certainly the numbers have gone from 50 to more than 100, at least in part, because of that christmas party and those who attended it, in december 2020. thank you ian. nick, are they discussing doing more to help where the cost of living crisis? t to help where the cost of living crisis? ., ., ., ~' to help where the cost of living crisis? ., ., ., ,, ., to help where the cost of living crisis? ., ., , crisis? i mean, look, that is where all the pressure _ crisis? i mean, look, that is where all the pressure is, _ crisis? i mean, look, that is where all the pressure is, isn't _ crisis? i mean, look, that is where all the pressure is, isn't it- all the pressure is, isn't it joanna, we are told cost of living is going to be a big issue that is

discussed, you the probably see maybe just new the background some cabinet ministers arriving. it is interesting though, the big argument we heard from the government in the queen's speech on tuesday was they want to grow the economy, to take the burden off households when it comes to the cost of living. these figures showjust how challenging growing the economy is going to be, and there is that pressure, real pressure, on the government to come up pressure, on the government to come up with some more concrete proposals, that will help people particularly from the poorest households with the cost of living. so there is some pressure in cabinet for things like tax cut, some tory mps are hopeful that borisjohnson is moving towards potentially cutting income tax, jacob rees—mogg, the brexit 0pportunities minister was wandering in there, he is one of those who in the past has argued at cabinet for tax cuts. there are some economists who would argue that is not the best way to do it and you need to look at things like the

benefit system instead to provide that targeted support to the households who need it the most. but one of the things that keeps happening at cabinet, happened a couple of weeks ago, it might happen again today, that ministers are discussing what they can do in their particular portfolios, to come up with immediate answer, which would maybe not sound like huge plans but the idea it would be cut some small cost, so you might remember a couple of weeks ago, some ministers were talking about the idea of trying to reduce childcare costs but reducing how many staff there have to be in nurseries in england, there was that idea of cutting how often your car needs an mot to every two years rather than a year, which would give people a bit off their household bills, maybe not that much though, and i suspect the big question that the prime minister is going to keep being asked, the chancellor was being asked, the chancellor was being asked, the chancellor was being asked by faisal today, are you

preparing a bigger package of support to help people with bills. the treasury keeps saying it wants to have a better idea of what is happening with the price of energy i what happens with energy cap in the autumn, but look, as things stand, i am not sure that is going to cut it. the government is under pressure to come up with more.— ambulance services across the uk are in crisis because they can't guarantee reaching a patient in good time. that's the verdict of the president of the royal college of emergency medicine. it comes after bbc research revealed that the number of serious safety incidents involving ambulances in england — many of them linked to waiting times — rose by nearly 80 % compared rose by nearly 80% compared to before the pandemic. the 999 system is also under severe pressure in scotland, wales and northern ireland. 0ur health correspondent jim reed has this report. i rememberjust lying down on my mum's lap, like, we needed to go to the hospital as soon as possible. ten—year—old willow spent four nights in hospital last october,

after falling off her bike on a country path. i said, "help, i can't breathe. that's all i said. that's all that came into my mind. yeah, she was screaming for help. we didn't know what had happened. and we couldn't really move her, because she was in a real mess, like a car accident rather than a bike accident. but when a passer—by called an ambulance, they were told it would be a ten hour wait for help, well above the two hour target for an accident like this. the family had to make their own way to hospital. we kept getting told by consultants that we should not have moved her, because her back and her neck injuries could have been quite severe. it's the first time i've ever had to phone for an ambulance in my whole entire life, and i've got four children. and so, when i really needed it, it wasn't there to help. and it should be. the ambulance service said it was under significant pressure that day because of high demand. it apologised and said willow should have been assessed differently, and paramedics assigned more quickly.

across the uk, ambulance response times have been rising sharply over the last year. in england, the most serious, life—threatening cases should be seen within seven minutes. in march, the average was a record nine and a half minutes. for so—called category 2 emergencies, like strokes or heart attacks, the target is 18 minutes. the average is now over an hour. in wales, scotland and northern ireland, services are under similar pressure, with near record wait times. we've always been able to get ambulances to people, to bring them in. we may have had crowding in emergency departments. it's worse now. but we've always been able to get ambulances. and i think the fact that we are struggling to guarantee somebody an ambulance in a timely way, moves us into a whole new territory of patient safety issue. 23 ambulances... this is a big part of the problem. hospitals are extremely busy, so paramedics are often having to queue outside, before they can drop off patients. all this comes at a time when the number of 999 calls has been rising to record levels.

if ambulances have to queue outside hospitals like this, it might mean they can't get out quickly to the next person on the line who needs help. and the concern is that could have a knock on effect on patient safety. in the year before the pandemic, ambulance staff logged 312 serious safety incidents, where a patient could have died or been permanently injured. over the past year, that has risen to 551 reports. i took one step, and was actually falling towards the shed. 81—year—old carol took a tumble here in her front garden last year. again, an ambulance should have arrived within two hours. it took almost twice as long as that. if we hadn't been here, and she was an elderly person living on her own, she would have laid face down on a concrete floor in agony for hours, waiting for an ambulance, which isjust... the one thing that has done this

completely knocked my confidence. i'm frightened to walk around to tesco's on my own. ijust can't do it. so it's interfered with my life completely. nhs england says record demand means the last few months have been some of the toughest ever for its staff. it says safety is its absolute priority, and hospitals, ambulance trusts and care homes are working together to see more patients as quickly as possible. jim read, bbc news. paul kellett�*s mum had a fall and broke her hip last week and had to wait more than six hours for an ambulance. when the ambulance crew came, i think it was 6.5 hours, this happened in preston, but the ambulance crew had to come from burnley. they were great, once they took them to hospital, again, it was not a massively great experience because she was ten hours in accident and emergency and on a trolley before getting into the world, but it is a knock—on effect. we have not got enough front line people to be able to do this, there

are too many back—office people being paid horrendous sums of money when nurses are being paid not that much, they need more money add more funding and being paid for a job well done. let's speak now to glenn carrington — senior paramedic and chair of unison's east of england branch. welcome, thank you forjoining us. welcome, thank you forjoining us. we have heard a number of examples there, of people having to wait very long times for an ambulance and in one case, in the case of willow, the parents ended up taking her to hospital and we are told they shouldn't have moved her. are these particularly stand out extreme examples? i particularly stand out extreme examples?— examples? i don't want to be alarmist or— examples? i don't want to be alarmist or be _ examples? i don't want to be alarmist or be negative i examples? i don't want to be alarmist or be negative bun l alarmist or be negative bun fortunately this is the new reality, we do not have the resources and the

infrastructure to deal with what is coming, what is happening now. 50. coming, what is happening now. so, in our coming, what is happening now. so, in your experience, are you having to not, unable to show up to calls quickly enough, what are you seeing on the ground in your area? mr; on the ground in your area? tj�*i experience is on the ground in your area? ti1: experience is the on the ground in your area? ti1 experience is the same on the ground in your area? ti1: experience is the same as on the ground in your area? ti1 experience is the same as everybody else's, what's been stated. we are not talking about the elephant in the room here, the nhs was on its knees before theed pandemic hit, we have gone through 12 years, 12 years of austerity. 0n have gone through 12 years, 12 years of austerity. on a very quickly, by brexit,er and we lost people that we, people we lost nurse, doctor, we lost social work —— social care worker that we need to keep hold of. then we got hit by the pandemic, we didn't have the infrastructure, nor the resourceses to deal with that, the resourceses to deal with that, the only way we dealt with that is by turning round and neglecting other parts of the service, then we

were followed by covid and we have a third of staff off, with covid, with suffering from long covid as well and staff burn out, so, and actually people have had a bad couple of years and people are voting with their feet, years and people are voting with theirfeet, we don't years and people are voting with their feet, we don't have the resources like we used to have. to to resources like we used to have. to go back to the figure, when you say we have got a third of our staff off t is that now?— we have got a third of our staff off t is that now? yes. with long covid, covid, we finished _ t is that now? yes. with long covid, covid, we finished with _ t is that now? yes. with long covid, covid, we finished with covid - t is that now? yes. with long covid, covid, we finished with covid but i covid, we finished with covid but covid, we finished with covid but covid has not finished with us, this new variant is killing people like it used to, it is killing some people. it is making people really poorly they are being left with stuff like long covid. 50. poorly they are being left with stuff like long covid.— poorly they are being left with stuff like long covid. so, if all of those, i mean _ stuff like long covid. so, if all of those, i mean obviously, - stuff like long covid. so, if all of those, i mean obviously, you i stuff like long covid. so, if all of i those, i mean obviously, you know, as you say, they are often sick, they are not able to go to work, a third of staff currently off, that is an extraordinary high number, and that clearly will have an impact, are there temporary workers able to come in behind them? unfortunately

that is the reality, _ come in behind them? unfortunately that is the reality, the, _ come in behind them? unfortunately that is the reality, the, like - come in behind them? unfortunately that is the reality, the, like i - that is the reality, the, like i said, they have been hit with the covid and long covid, long covid you have lots of stuff with long covid and staff burn out. we have had a really bad couple of years and staff are burning out. some are saying i have had enough of that and voting with their feet and going, working for iceland delivering food. that is reality. for iceland delivering food. that is reali . . , for iceland delivering food. that is reali. . , ., , , reality. have you seen many people in our reality. have you seen many people in your direct _ reality. have you seen many people in your direct experience _ reality. have you seen many people in your direct experience deciding i in your direct experience deciding to leave because of pressures? load. to leave because of pressures? load, loads, to leave because of pressures? load, loads. loads- — to leave because of pressures? load, loads, loads. loads. _ to leave because of pressures? load, loads, loads. loads. they— to leave because of pressures? load, loads, loads. loads. they are - to leave because of pressures? iij—f. loads, loads. loads. they are voting with their feet. we loads, loads. loads. they are voting with theirfeet. we have had loads, loads. loads. they are voting with their feet. we have had a loads, loads. loads. they are voting with theirfeet. we have had a real challenge, everybody in the nhs have had a real challenging couple of years, and you can only do that for a certain am of time before you want to do something else.— to do something else. obviously --eole no to do something else. obviously people go into — to do something else. obviously people go into that _ to do something else. obviously people go into that to _ to do something else. obviously people go into that to help i to do something else. obviously i people go into that to help people, i imagine it is quite stressful knowing that carls are coming in from people who need an ambulance and 19 are not able to get one

quickly enough. we and 19 are not able to get one quickly enough.— and 19 are not able to get one quickly enough. we do the 'ob because we �* quickly enough. we do the 'ob because we care, i quickly enough. we do the 'ob because we care, we i quickly enough. we do the 'ob because we care, we do i quickly enough. we do the 'ob because we care, we do it i quickly enough. we do the job i because we care, we do it because quickly enough. we do the job - because we care, we do it because we love ourjob and we love helping people, and when we can't do that, it really, really really upsets us and frustrates us. i mean i i have been doing thisjob and frustrates us. i mean i i have been doing this job for 36 year and seeing the things i have seen in the last couple of years it is really upsetting. upsetting. really upsetting. upsetting. really upsetting. d0 upsetting. upsetting. really u-asettin. upsetting. upsetting. really upsetting— upsetting. upsetting. really u-asettin. ,, upsetting. do you think you will sta this upsetting. do you think you will stay this is _ upsetting. do you think you will stay this is |, — upsetting. do you think you will stay this is i, well, _ upsetting. do you think you will stay this is i, well, yes, - upsetting. do you think you will stay this is i, well, yes, i i upsetting. do you think you will stay this is i, well, yes, i can'tl stay this is i, well, yes, i can't do anything — stay this is i, well, yes, i can't do anything else, _ stay this is i, well, yes, i can't do anything else, i _ stay this is i, well, yes, i can't do anything else, i am - stay this is i, well, yes, i can't do anything else, i am here i stay this is i, well, yes, i can't do anything else, i am here toj stay this is i, well, yes, i can't i do anything else, i am here to help people. but i have had the, i look at the people who are joining now, the young faced people and i mean they are not going to do the 30 years like i have done, the workload is relentless, and the challenges are relentless, and deserving, you can't, you can't, we try to help people, when we can't do ourjob and see people in front of our eye, it leaves us with something. it is not just us, it is nurses and doctors

the and social care worker, it is upsetting. and in my view i think we are seeing the structure of the nhs as we know it in my view. and i think that is a political choice s glen carrington, senior paramedic, thank you. the latest monthly figures for nhs performance in england show that numbers on hospital waiting lists hit 6.36m in march — up from 6.18m the month before. cancer waiting times are showing signs of improvement, but performance is still well below target. the data also showed continued pressure on the emergency care system, with more than a quarter of patients waiting over four hours in a&e in april. the foreign secretary liz truss has told her eu counterpart maros sefcovic that london would have "no choice but to act" on the northern ireland protocol

if the eu did not show "requisite it comes as the uk government's chief law officer suella braverman has received legal advice that it would be lawful to override parts of the post—brexit treaty for northern ireland — without the approval of the eu, paving the way for new legislation scrapping checks on goods going from britain to northern ireland. joining me now is sean kelly, mep for ireland south and vice chair of the delegation to the eu—uk parliamentary partnership assembly, which is meeting this afternoon. welcome, thank you very much for joining us. welcome, thank you very much for “oininu us. ., ~ welcome, thank you very much for “oininu us. . ,, ,., welcome, thank you very much for “oininu us. ., ~' . ., welcome, thank you very much forj joining us-— after joining us. thank you joanna. after that conversation _ joining us. thank you joanna. after that conversation between - joining us. thank you joanna. after that conversation between the i that conversation between the foreign secretary and the vice president, the foreign secretary is said to have outlined that the uk's overriding priority is is to protect peace and stability in northern ireland, the northern ireland protocol has become the greatest obstacle to forming a northern ireland executive. she noted the current situation is causing

unacceptable disruption to trade, and has created two tier system where people in northern ireland are not being treated the same as everyone else in the uk. is that justification for unilateral suspension of the protocol. trio justification for unilateral suspension of the protocol. no it is not the way — suspension of the protocol. no it is not the way for _ suspension of the protocol. no it is not the way for democracies i suspension of the protocol. no it is not the way for democracies to i suspension of the protocol. no it is l not the way for democracies to work, particularly when the government negotiates a deal and it sells the deal as wonderful deal, is elected on that basis and tries to change it subsequently. also it has to be remembered, that the whole purpose of the protocol and the withdrawal agreement was to provide a —— avoid a hard border on the ireland of ireland, and that has been delivered and it is a significant that in the elections to the northern ireland assembly, the majority of the mlas who were electeded are in favour of the protocol remaining, obviously with any alterations that can make

trade easier, that is something that we would be in much in favour of but not eliminating it unilaterally by the british government. obviously ou are the british government. obviously you are absolutely _ the british government. obviously you are absolutely right, - the british government. obviously you are absolutely right, when i the british government. obviously| you are absolutely right, when you say it was negotiated, it was signed off, if though, the reality testing only actually happens once something has been agreed, and it shines a light on things that perhaps hadn't been considered, at the time of a deal being negotiated it is —— is it right to look at it again? look deal being negotiated it is -- is it right to look at it again?- right to look at it again? look at the working _ right to look at it again? look at the working of— right to look at it again? look at the working of it _ right to look at it again? look at the working of it in _ right to look at it again? look at the working of it in practise i right to look at it again? look at l the working of it in practise again, and that is what i would be hoping on this particular section tomorrow, the whole question of the protocol will be discussed, if there are practical solutions then obviously we must look at them, because there is no point in having checks if they are not necessary, but at the same

time, you have to remember that northern ireland has the advantage of being in the uk market, but also in the european single market. and there needs to be some control and checks if that is to continue. [30 checks if that is to continue. do ou checks if that is to continue. do you accept that there are problems arises from the system as it is being implemented currently? currently? being implemented currently? currentl ? , ., being implemented currently? currently?— being implemented currently? currentl ? , ., ., , ., currently? yes, and from the start of there were _ currently? yes, and from the start of there were problems _ currently? yes, and from the start of there were problems and i currently? yes, and from the start of there were problems and in i of there were problems and in fairness to the european commission, especially maros sefcovic. he went to northern ireland, listened and proposed changes that were greatly appreciated in northern ireland, also much progress was made in the medical area, so if there are other areas where progress can be made without impacting on the single market, then of course we have an obligation to be flexible, but the way do this is to sit round the table, discuss it and not be making threats from afar.— threats from afar. inevitably when somethin: threats from afar. inevitably when something difficult _ threats from afar. inevitably when something difficult is _ threats from afar. inevitably when

something difficult is being i something difficult is being discussed, threats get made and there is grandstanding, but obviously, the uk is threatening that unilateral suspension and on the reaction from the eu is to say it is a serious concern and there are threats coming back the other way, talking about the wider impact on the brexit agreement, and possibly trade tariffs, what would you think about sort, tit—for—tat in this? you think about sort, tit-for-tat in this? ~ you think about sort, tit-for-tat in this? . ., ., ., you think about sort, tit-for-tat in this? . . ., ., ., ., this? we are a long way from that et, this? we are a long way from that yet. because _ this? we are a long way from that yet, because even _ this? we are a long way from that yet, because even if— this? we are a long way from that yet, because even if the _ this? we are a long way from that yet, because even if the uk i yet, because even if the uk government were to take unilateral action that will have to go through the house of commons, the house of lords, be implement and then there would have to be reaction from the european union side. hopefully, especially now discussions now, the first to take place post—brexit between elected members from the uk, and from the eu, that we can avert such situation, and i know from speaking to the chair of the united

kingdom side, the very fine sir 0liver heeled that he wants to make progress and work things out diplomatically, that is what i want as well and hopefully maybe this might be just as you say, grandstanding which won't lead to a calamitous situation at the end of the day. thank you very much forjoining us, we will talk to you again as things progress, sean kelly, thank you. we continue to have the chance of a few showers. quite cloudy at times. low pressure passing to the north. showers are land—based across the highlands and islands. doubts elsewhere. as cloud built up the could be the odd shower in the west. temperatures are higher than

yesterday tempered by the breeze. the coolest of the conditions will be across scotland. as we go into tonight when at times to scotland. some could spread into north wales in the north midlands for a short while before things turned violator. the odd mist or fog patch. temperature sticking in double figures for many. more rain to the north—west of scotland as we go through friday. the odd shower elsewhere but fewer showers on friday and staying sunnier for longer. fairweather friday and staying sunnier for longer. fair weather cloud building. a very windy day across scotland. hello, this is bbc news. i'm joanna gosling. theses are the headlines. police say they've now issued more than 100 �*partygate' fines following investigations into breaches of covid—19 regulations in downing street and whitehall. britain's economy grew at the slowest pace for a year

at the start of 2022 with mounting fears that the cost—of—living crisis may plunge the uk into recession. doctors and paramedics say that long waits for ambulances across the uk are having a "dangerous impact" on patient safety. finland's leaders have said their country mustjoin nato without delay following the russian invasion of ukraine — russia calls the move a definite threat. a gallop through history. the first major event in the queen's platinum jubilee celebrations will get under way involving one of the her favourite animals — horses — actually 500 of them! and, winging it — the passenger who landed a plane after his pilot passed out despite telling air traffic controllers he had no idea how to fly it. are sport and for a full round up, from the bbc

sport centre. celtic are champions of scotland once again. they got the point they needed against dundee united. it's the hoops 52nd league title and they celebrated in style in front of thousands of fans at tannardice. what a turn around it's been for them, they were 25 points behind rangers last season. but australian ange postecglou has come in and won in his first season. they'll get to lift the trophy at home on saturday against motherwell. the starting point was a fair way back and the way this group of players and staff and everyone involved hasjust players and staff and everyone involved has just risen to the challenge, ijust could not be more proud of this group of people. thea;r proud of this group of people. they backed me all _ proud of this group of people. they backed me all the _ proud of this group of people. tiez1 backed me all the way proud of this group of people. t'iez1 backed me all the way and proud of this group of people. tiez1 backed me all the way and what it means fibre supporters is just unbelievable. means fibre supporters is just unbelievable. later on we might have one of the biggest north london derbies in recent memory as arsenal

head to tottenham. the gunners are 4 points clear of spurs in the race for the final champions league spot. mikel arteta knows that a win for his side would all but seal a return to europe's elite. now the message is clear that we win against them, you don't need any more motivation. the opportunity is there and we are going to play and go through a wasted because this is how we have come into this position and that is how going to approach it. ~ and that is how going to approach it. . ., ., ~ and that is how going to approach it. we are talking about an important _ it. we are talking about an important game _ it. we are talking about an important game for - it. we are talking about an important game for many. | it. we are talking about an | important game for many. i it. we are talking about an i important game for many. i think it. we are talking about an _ important game for many. i think the most _ important game for many. i think the most important thing that we are playing _ most important thing that we are playing this game for a place in the champions — playing this game for a place in the champions league and i think this has to— champions league and i think this has to be — champions league and i think this has to be the first thing to win in

this game — has to be the first thing to win in this game. manchester city sent out a massive message to liverpoool in the race for the premier title thrashing wolves 5—1 at molineux. and incredibly, kevin de broiner, scored 4 goals, including a first—half hat—trick, to send city 3 points clear of liverpool. pep guardiola's side now need only four points from their final two matches to confirm their 4th title in five seasons. the case are generous. prolific to score _ the case are generous. prolific to score a _ the case are generous. prolific to score a goal— the case are generous. prolific to score a goal is. won the game in chelsea — score a goal is. won the game in chelsea he _ score a goal is. won the game in chelsea. he scored a goal against madrid _ chelsea. he scored a goal against madrid and has been decisive scoring goals _ goals. there were a couple of huge games in the fight for premeir league surival and leeds united are in deep trouble, after a 3—0

defeat at home to chelsea. for the second game running, leeds had a man sent off in the first half and looked rather helpless. romelu lukaku, slamming in the 3rd goal. leeds didn't manage a shot on target and their survival hopes, are out of their hands. they stay in the bottom 3, level on points with burnley, who have a game in hand. it's looking better for everton, who were held to a goalless draw, at already relegated watford. frank lampard's side move 2 points clear of the relegation zone, and have three games left to play. and two goals from jamie vardy helped leicester city beat already relegated norwich 3—0, to end their 7 game winless run in the premier league and take them up to 10th in the table. andriy yarmolenko is set to leave west ham at the end of the season. yarmolenko was the subject of huge attention when he scored goals for the hammers against aston villa and sevilla immediately after his return after being given time off to deal with issues arising out of the invasion of ukraine.

his contract is due to run out at the end of the season, and as one of west ham's highest earners, manager david moyes has made the decision to let yarmolenko go. that's all the sport for now. finland's leaders say they want to join nato "without delay", abandoning the country's traditionally neutral stance. public support for membership has grown rapidly since the start of the war in ukraine. nato has said this morning they'd be warmly welcomed — and could join quickly. but russia has responded by saying finland joining nato is a threat — and expanding the military alliance would not make europe — or the world — more stable. the chair of the finnish foreign affairs committee. he says the war in ukraine madejoining nato the best option. it seems like until the 24th of february we had a slightly naive and wrong impression of what kind of a

country russia is. we now know that russia is prepared and willing to use reckless brutal military force against its non—allied neighbours. without provocation. to further its expansion and imperialist agenda. this is the new reality with which we have to cope and it has forced us to reassess or reconsider some of our long held traditional ways of thinking. let's bring you an update from downing street about the penalty notices for party gate. we were saying we did not think the prime minister had had a second penalty notice and he has not. we have 'ust penalty notice and he has not. we have just had that confirmed. the news coming through from our

correspondent says neither the prime minister nor his wife had yet received new fixed penalty notices as of today. the most senior civil servant cabinet secretary has also not received one. a source familiar with the event has told the bbc they believe the vines recently issued our in part for those who attended a christmas party on the 18th of december 2020. the prime minister did not attend that event. so that is just an update on those vines that we have been reporting this morning. 0verthe that we have been reporting this morning. over the past month, the number of fines issued has gone up from 50 to around 100. james reynolds is on the border between finland and russia. what happens now? essentially, finn then uts what happens now? essentially, finn then puts forward _ what happens now? essentially, finn then puts forward its _ what happens now? essentially, finn then puts forward its application i then puts forward its application but the application is not the right

word. it is intention tojoin nato and then in the end ofjune there will be a nato summit meeting where that intention tojoin will be a nato summit meeting where that intention to join would go forward. and then there might be a period before the 30 members of nato ratify fenland and actually also sweden was my decision to join nato. in particular, finland and its neighbour sweden had been a bit worried about that interim period so thatis worried about that interim period so that is by borisjohnson went to both countries yesterday to offer security guarantees in between to make sure those two countries receive protection after they say they are are joining but until they are formal members. it could take a months but the most recent country, macedonia, to 12 months. all months but the most recent country, macedonia, to 12 months.— macedonia, to 12 months. all eyes and ears on _ macedonia, to 12 months. all eyes and ears on how— macedonia, to 12 months. all eyes and ears on how russia _ macedonia, to 12 months. all eyes and ears on how russia will i macedonia, to 12 months. all eyes and ears on how russia will react i macedonia, to 12 months. all eyes. and ears on how russia will react to this. , , , ., , and ears on how russia will react to this. , , , .,, ., and ears on how russia will react to this. , , , ., , this. yes. finnish people have been a bit nervous _ this. yes. finnish people have been a bit nervous about _ this. yes. finnish people have been a bit nervous about this. _ this. yes. finnish people have been a bit nervous about this. about i this. yes. finnish people have been| a bit nervous about this. about what its neighbour might do given the fact that there is an 800 mile long border between the two and the fact

that finland's own military is dwarfed by russia's military. no one is expecting any kind of invasion but they are expecting the possibility to prepare to defend themselves from cyber attacks or potential airspace violations but they are looking forward to nato essentially providing them a protection of 30 countries other than a single country protection that they themselves have been able to offer up until now. the turnaround _ to offer up until now. the turnaround in _ to offer up until now. the turnaround in public i to offer up until now. the turnaround in public opinion in finland since the war has been quite extraordinary, hasn't it? it finland since the war has been quite extraordinary, hasn't it?— extraordinary, hasn't it? it almost ha--ened extraordinary, hasn't it? it almost happened in _ extraordinary, hasn't it? it almost happened in minutes. _ extraordinary, hasn't it? it almost happened in minutes. you - extraordinary, hasn't it? it almost happened in minutes. you could i extraordinary, hasn't it? it almost i happened in minutes. you could point that two 5am on the 24th of february when russia crossed the border and invaded ukraine. that is when finnish people say to us that they changed their minds. up until then they had been engaged in the decades long process of having a strong military themselves but having a strong dialogue. strong

communication with their neighbour, russia. the 24th of february blue that away. they decided that their dialogue with russia did not really work and that there are strong military needs the back—up of other militaries and that is why so many people have changed their minds. 0pinion polls before the invasion of ukraine suggested only one in five people he wanted to join nato. ukraine suggested only one in five people he wanted tojoin nato. now that figure may be as high as three orfourin that figure may be as high as three orfour in five. that figure may be as high as three or four in five.— thank you. the us has called for a thorough investigation into the killing of a palestinian—american journalist in the occupied west bank. shireen abu akleh — who had worked for al jazeera for 25 years — was shot dead while she was covering an israeli army raid. at the time, she was wearing a jacket marked "press". herfuneral will take place tomorrow morning. the uk serial killer, levi bellfield, is engaged and is applying to marry in prison. he'll need permission from the governor at hmp frankland in county durham to marry. he's serving two whole—life sentences for the murders of milly dowler, marsha mcdonnell

and amelie delagrange. now — can you think of anything worse? you're mid air and your pilot falls ill — unable to fly. that's what happened to one american air passenger — with no flying training whatsoever — who had no option but to try and land the plane himself. mark lobel has this incredible story. when the pilot of this florida—bound single engine cessna 208 suddenly got ill mid—air, he fell against the controls sending the aircraft into a nosedive and sharp turn, leaving passenger darren harrison on a wing and a prayer 2,750 metres high. but despite having no experience of piloting a plane, he pulled it out of its nosedive and radioed air traffic control.

with just the florida coast for reference, mr harrison was then given step—by—step instructions of what to do next. at this point, formerflight instructor robert morgan was pulled off his break to help guide the plane down. when somebodyjust drops that bomb on you, you know, that you're not expecting, here's the situation, it wasjust, like, whoa, ifelt like i was in a movie. but he wasn't. morgan'sjob now, to keep the passenger—turned—pilot calm and point him to a longer runway, so he could land safely. he was calm all the way in, how am i looking? your altitude is good, you're 1,000 feet, you're 600 feet, you're 300 feet. and then he disappeared off

the radar, so i was kind of like, uh—oh, what do i do now? so i'm just like, hey, i don't see you any more on my radar. i just want to make sure you're still there. can you still hear me? yes, i can still hear you. after a bouncy landing, the plane was towed away. the man who brought the plane down safely hugged his unexpected instructor on the tarmac, before rushing home to see his pregnant wife. the original pilot was taken to hospital, his condition remains unknown. mark lobel, bbc news. to give us a better understanding of how tricky this manouvre would have been, lets now speak with alastair rosenchein — a former boeing 747 pilot and flying instructor. welcome. thank you forjoining us. i mean, knowing that he did land the plane safely kind of might give an impression that it is not that difficult. how difficult is it? good

morninu. difficult. how difficult is it? good morning. well, _ difficult. how difficult is it? good morning. well, the _ difficult. how difficult is it? good morning. well, the scenario i difficult. how difficult is it? (limp. morning. well, the scenario that your colleague has outlined was correct then this would have been amazing. because, you know, if the aircraft had gone into a dive and into a spiral dive, to recover, that is outstanding if this chap had never handled the controls. if, however, took control of an aircraft in stable flight that has a chance of being successful. it is amazing. and i take my hat off to this fellow. b. and i take my hat off to this fellow. �* . and i take my hat off to this fellow. . . ., , ., ., fellow. a direct quote is i have no idea how to _ fellow. a direct quote is i have no idea how to stop _ fellow. a direct quote is i have no idea how to stop the _ fellow. a direct quote is i have no idea how to stop the aeroplane. l fellow. a direct quote is i have no idea how to stop the aeroplane. i | idea how to stop the aeroplane. i don't know how to do anything. sound like he had no experience. weill. like he had no experience. well, that sounds _ like he had no experience. well, that sounds like, _ like he had no experience. well, that sounds like, you _ like he had no experience. well, that sounds like, you know, i like he had no experience. well, that sounds like, you know, it i like he had no experience. well, that sounds like, you know, it is| that sounds like, you know, it is just amazing. in those first few seconds when a non—pilot takes control of an aircraft they are very likely to over control it and the

aircraft can become unstable very, very rapidly. and that irrecoverable. but this fellow seems to have got it right. now, i have no idea whether he had ever played on one of these microsoft simulators of anything on his computer which would give them a running chance at least of recognising the instruments above the horizon should look like but this involved an air traffic controller, flying instructor. a very cool passenger at the controls and i believe there was another passenger on board who was also helping. passenger on board who was also helinu. ~ , ., passenger on board who was also helina.~ ., , passenger on board who was also helina.~ ., _.,. helping. when you say a very cool passenger- _ helping. when you say a very cool passenger. that _ helping. when you say a very cool passenger. that was _ helping. when you say a very cool passenger. that was also - helping. when you say a very cool passenger. that was also a i helping. when you say a very cool passenger. that was also a key i helping. when you say a very cool. passenger. that was also a key part of it, wasn't my heart was racing just hearing you describe how easily things could have gone catastrophically wrong. they are in the plane, not knowing what to do and there is someone on the ground, the really important part was that all of them remained calm.- all of them remained calm. well, certainl , all of them remained calm. well, certainly. the _ all of them remained calm. well, certainly, the instructor- all of them remained calm. well, certainly, the instructor on i all of them remained calm. well, certainly, the instructor on the i certainly, the instructor on the ground in the air traffic controller will remain calm. as for the passenger taking control of it has heart rate is probably through the

roof but his voice, i have listened to the recording, was definitely calm. but he also had some idea of what to do. when i was teaching people to fly they are divided into various groups. somewhere, you know, fairly inept and others didn't do too badly. and, you know, occasionally you find the odd student who was able to fly the aircraft straight to level more or less correctly before receiving any further instruction. this chap definitely falls into the category of a superb first learner. ads, definitely falls into the category of a superb first learner. a hero? undoubtably. _ of a superb first learner. a hero? undoubtably, yes. _ of a superb first learner. a hero? undoubtably, yes. right- of a superb first learner. a hero? undoubtably, yes. right but i of a superb first learner. a hero? undoubtably, yes. right but he l undoubtably, yes. right but he sounds cool customer in that when he got off the plane apparently, i don't know, i think the might of hugged and shook hands, he then said, ijust need to go home and see my pregnant wife nowjust said, ijust need to go home and see my pregnant wife now just walked off. yes, a cool customer. there are very few people who would remain cool in that circumstance and it is

quite something. this aircraft, it is a little two seater. this was an 11 seater aircraft. it has a turboprop engine which means it is powered with a jet engine and is capable of 200 miles an hour. fortunately, it had a fixed undercarriage which means he did not have to worry about lowering the gear. as of the video of his landing it was a pretty damn good landing. an instructor would be very pleased with their student if they did that for the first landing. i with their student if they did that for the first landing.— for the first landing. i really want to talk to him. _ for the first landing. i really want to talk to him. thank _ for the first landing. i really want to talk to him. thank you - for the first landing. i really want to talk to him. thank you so i for the first landing. i really want l to talk to him. thank you so much. it has been great to talk to you about it. the first major event of the queen's platinum jubilee celebrations gets under way today. and it involves one of her majesty's favourite things — horses. fi lamdin is in the grounds of windsor castle to tell us more. yes. windsor castle is just yes. windsor castle isjust behind the trees. the showjumping has just had a little pause. there will be a

lot more throughout the next couple of days but there is royal windsor horse show has been on for 79 years. have been taking a little look back at its history. after months of planning, the celebrations for her majesty's platinum jubilee officially begin today. in the private grounds and gardens of windsor castle. it is the royal windsor castle. it is the royal windsor horse show, now in its 79th year. the queen went to the first one with her family and has year. the queen went to the first one with herfamily and has been year. the queen went to the first one with her family and has been a regular ever since. one with her family and has been a regular eversince. back one with her family and has been a regular ever since. back then, one with her family and has been a regular eversince. back then, it helped raise mated by typhoon fighters for the second world war. always a keen horsewoman the queen won the pony class when she was 17. and over the years it has grown. there is no showjumping, dressage and the duke of edinburgh was not the love that carriage driving. the queen is expected to come to the show and this is where she will set in the middle of the royal box. her majesty has been showing horses here for the last seven decades. this

year she 40. that is the most she has ever had. and this year, beneath the lit ramparts of windsor castle, 500 horses and over 1000 performers will put on a special show. it will take the queen and the audience on a gallop through history showing five centuries of kings and queens. among the military displays, musicians and stunt acts performing tonight are 50 dancers from a bollywood group in london. i dancers from a bollywood group in london. , ., dancers from a bollywood group in london. , . ., . dancers from a bollywood group in london. , . . . ., , london. i started dancing when i was seven and l — london. i started dancing when i was seven and i started _ london. i started dancing when i was seven and i started learning - seven and i started learning traditional folk dance from punjab in india which is one of the dances we are going to be doing here today to represent india. and it is a happy dance. it is a celebration of the harvest and, yeah, it isjust happy dance. it is a celebration of the harvest and, yeah, it is just a very happy vibe and done so, yeah, it makes me happy.— very happy vibe and done so, yeah, it makes me happy. other questions have been made _ it makes me happy. other questions have been made in _ it makes me happy. other questions have been made in india _ it makes me happy. other questions have been made in india and - it makes me happy. other questions have been made in india and arrived | have been made in india and arrived just a few days ago. they make a

working investment banking so canary wharf is normally a very different pace of life and this is something completely different, essentially, a hobby started when i was five years old, started dancing and gave it up and i went to school and university and i went to school and university and then we found that the week before the global pandemic started and did not ever expect be performing for the queen on such a big scale and to see my favourite dance in front of the queen is just insane. the queen is the first british monarch to rein for 70 years. tonight will honour all she has done during her many years of service. applause. well, simon has beenin service. applause. well, simon has been in charge of the show here for the last 25 years. what you love about it? ~ , .., the last 25 years. what you love about it? ~ , ,., about it? well, where else can you come to for— about it? well, where else can you come to for five _ about it? well, where else can you come to for five days _ about it? well, where else can you come to for five days a _ about it? well, where else can you come to for five days a year - about it? well, where else can you come to for five days a year in i about it? well, where else can you come to for five days a year in the | come to for five days a year in the queen's back garden. that is all here. we are tremendously privileged. it is a beautiful

setting for an event like this. do ou setting for an event like this. do you expect her majesty to come this year, she has never missed a show, has she? no, she hasn't. the queen is only 200 yards away from us as we speak now and, you know, it is an easy event, informal, private. angie has over 41 entries in the breed classes this year over the four days so we are very much hoping to see the queen. there is a very wonderful story about how the first year of the show happening, a lecture stole a piece of chicken from the king's lunch plate and the committee was so embarrassed they said, that is it, we are never having dogs here again until this year. to mark the special platinum jubilee celebration these huskies are in the show in the evening. good morning to you. so you have three here. you have nine back on the trailer and you have got 43 at home. ., , on the trailer and you have got 43 at home. . , ., , , on the trailer and you have got 43 athome. . . at home. that is absolutely correct. rather a lot — at home. that is absolutely correct. rather a lot of _ at home. that is absolutely correct. rather a lot of them. _ at home. that is absolutely correct. rather a lot of them. we _ at home. that is absolutely correct. rather a lot of them. we keep i at home. that is absolutely correct. | rather a lot of them. we keep them to their whole life so we've got

young, six months old and we have some 15—year—olds as well so, yes. i admit i was at the dress rehearsal last night and i saw you with the dogs. talk as to what happened. you put a harness on and they pull you into the stage? irate put a harness on and they pull you into the stage?— into the stage? we are part of the exlorer into the stage? we are part of the explorer segment _ into the stage? we are part of the explorer segment of _ into the stage? we are part of the explorer segment of the _ into the stage? we are part of the i explorer segment of the performance and we _ explorer segment of the performance and we have six dogs pulling the sled into — and we have six dogs pulling the sled into the arena. find and we have six dogs pulling the sled into the arena.— sled into the arena. and who is auoin to sled into the arena. and who is going to be _ sled into the arena. and who is going to be leading _ sled into the arena. and who is going to be leading tonight? i sled into the arena. and who is i going to be leading tonight? they have all had _ going to be leading tonight? they have all had a _ going to be leading tonight? they have all had a turn _ going to be leading tonight? they have all had a turn at bleeding but he is _ have all had a turn at bleeding but he is going — have all had a turn at bleeding but he is going to lead. the}r have all had a turn at bleeding but he is going to lead.— he is going to lead. they love readina , he is going to lead. they love reading. how _ he is going to lead. they love reading, how do _ he is going to lead. they love reading, how do they - he is going to lead. they love reading, how do they react i he is going to lead. they love i reading, how do they react when he is going to lead. they love - reading, how do they react when you put the harness on and they know they are in charge?— put the harness on and they know they are in charge? they suddenly feel special- _ they are in charge? they suddenly feel special. in _ they are in charge? they suddenly feel special. in the _ they are in charge? they suddenly feel special. in the quietest i they are in charge? they suddenly feel special. in the quietest of- feel special. in the quietest of dogs — feel special. in the quietest of dogs will— feel special. in the quietest of dogs will suddenly become really confident and look forward to what they have — confident and look forward to what they have to do.— confident and look forward to what they have to do. what happens when, when ou they have to do. what happens when, when you swap _ they have to do. what happens when, when you swap around, _ they have to do. what happens when, when you swap around, what - they have to do. what happens when, when you swap around, what happens when you swap around, what happens when they don't lead, how did they react? ~ f , , ' react? well, they're pretty miffed if the 're

react? well, they're pretty miffed if they're not _ react? well, they're pretty miffed if they're not running _ react? well, they're pretty miffed if they're not running and - react? well, they're pretty miffed if they're not running and the i react? well, they're pretty miffed| if they're not running and the ones who are the love to run and lead. so if you drop them back they then try that much harder, feel that much harder to get up front so it is a really good psychological way to get the dogs to give you that extra little bit of oomph in harness. find little bit of oomph in harness. and what are the _ little bit of oomph in harness. and what are the commands, how did they know? g0 what are the commands, how did they know? , ., what are the commands, how did they know? ,., , ., ., what are the commands, how did they know? , ., ., ., know? go it is for them to go forward- _ know? go it is for them to go forward. and _ know? go it is for them to go forward. and woe _ know? go it is for them to go forward. and woe which i know? go it is for them to go forward. and woe which in i know? go it is for them to go | forward. and woe which in any know? go it is for them to go - forward. and woe which in any limey to storm _ forward. and woe which in any limey to storm we— forward. and woe which in any limey to sto -. ~ ., forward. and woe which in any limey to sto.~ ., . , forward. and woe which in any limey tosto.~ ., ., i. ., , to stop. we do any or are they read ? to stop. we do any or are they ready? they — to stop. we do any or are they ready? they are _ to stop. we do any or are they ready? they are ready. - to stop. we do any or are they ready? they are ready. it - to stop. we do any or are they. ready? they are ready. it would to stop. we do any or are they - ready? they are ready. it would just ready? they are ready. it would 'ust be the performance. i ready? they are ready. it would 'ust be the performance. we've �* ready? they are ready. it would 'ust be the performance. we've got h ready? they are ready. it would just be the performance. we've got a . be the performance. we've got a coule of be the performance. we've got a couple of hours _ be the performance. we've got a couple of hours was _ be the performance. we've got a couple of hours was that - be the performance. we've got a couple of hours was that the - be the performance. we've got a l couple of hours was that the show was not to this evening but they are clearly desperate to get in their harnesses. they are so keen to go. what we do with them today? element they're going to be relaxing in a compound that they have created for us. we are under the tree so they will be playing and mooching around. laying around and around and sunbathing and generally having a nice chilled out day until this evening and then when it starts to

cool down this evening and they hear music styles than they are going to start getting excited. the image of three is gorgeous. can you imagine having 43 of these. i wish we could see all of them. this pack will be performing tonight in the arena behind me and it is hoped very much her majesty the queen will be at the show at some point over the weekend to see not only these dogs but also all these wonderful horses. now it's time for a look at the weather with matt. because demand is increasing across much of the uk at the moment but for the vast majority it stays dry with some sunny spells. one or two showers are possible. it is all linked into an area of low pressure passing to the north of us. it is extending a bit more. depth to the cloud is what is helping to produce those spots of rain every now and again. the showers are most frequent and some lengthy ones across the far north and west of scotland. central

scotland, northern ireland and the odd one into england and wales but for most you stay dry. maybe not quite as funny from any of you is this morning but the afternoon will be a pleasant one. 18 degrees. a fresher feel towards the north and west by the breeze is very noticeable. that breeze will pick up further through tonight. we'll see tonight's rain pushing southwards. we could get the odd splash before that clears out. we will continue to see rain on and off to the highlands and islands and temperature is not as low as last night. a milder night with some in double figures for tomorrow morning's rush hour. tomorrow a sunny start for england and wales. up. most will stay dry as well. cloud for scotland and ireland. a dry day for most but a windy day. we could see those gusts around gale force in western scotland and that will keep the temperature is back here. 18 degrees in northern ireland. 21, 22 in east anglia and the south—east. warmer for the weekend and while high pressure is on the chart we have an

area of low pressure just dipping its way up from spain through france the shore is. that will cause a little bit of a blip towards the middle part of the weekend. to start saturday a lot of dry and sunny weather around. saturday a lot of dry and sunny weatheraround. dry saturday a lot of dry and sunny weather around. dry day across much of scotland. showers few and far between. accordingly it will feel warmer. temperatures widely into the high teens in their 20s but a few have an outside barbecue keep an eye on the sky is late in the day towards the england and wales because for some thunderstorms rumbling they will go on. on sunday itself it does mean there will be cloud. the chance of a few further heavy showers but a lot of dry weather, too, especially licks at this stage we will see the height of the temperatures on sunday into the high teens although 20s once again. goodbye for now.

this is bbc news. i'm joanna gosling. these are the latest headlines. britain's economy grew at the slowest pace for a year at the start of 2022 with mounting fears that the cost—of—living crisis may plunge the uk into recession. well, it's really important, i've always said i stand ready to do more as we learn more about the situation, i'm out every single week, talking to people across the country. police say they've now issued more than 100 "partygate" fines following investigations into breaches of covid—19 regulations in downing street and whitehall. doctors and paramedics say that long waits for ambulances across the uk are having a "dangerous impact" on patient safety. the work load is relentless, and the challenges are relentless and disturbing.

you can't, you can't — we try to help people. when we can't do ourjob and we see people deteriorating in front of our eyes, it leave us with something. finland's leaders have said their country mustjoin nato without delay following the russian invasion of ukraine — russia calls the move a definite threat. and — winging it. the passenger who landed a plane after his pilot passed out despite telling air traffic controllers he had no idea how to fly it. the uk economy shrank in march as households began to feel the impact of rising prices and cut down on spending. the latest gdp figures — released this morning — are a measure of all the activity of companies, governments and individuals in an economy. gdp helps government decide how much

it can spend on public services and how much it needs to raise in taxes. although the figures show the economy contracted in march, it grew by 0.8% overall in the first three months of the year, we can compare that to the growth of 1.3% we saw in the final three months of 2021. the bank of england has warned the uk faces a "sharp economic slowdown" and forecasts price rises could reach more than 10% by the end of the year. let's hear from the chancellor rishi sunak. what i'd say is i completely aware of what the challenges that people people are facing are. can you take the action right now? we have taken significant action already. i stand ready to do more and every week since the spring statement we are learning more about what is going

on in the economy — well, with energy prices in particular, it is important for people to remember that energy prices are capped through to the autumn. but as we learn more — and that is why we have provided £9 billion to support with the increase in energy price. this is really important, i stand ready to do more as we learn more about the situation. i am out every week talking to people across the country, ipswich, teesside, darlington, derby last week, hearing what people are facing to figure out what the right way for us to help them is. we spent a lot of time thinking about that. we continue to learn more and that will help us get the decisions right. are you looking again at... i'm not naturally attracted to windfall tax in general. there are two kinds of people, some people think it went full tax there are two kinds of people,

some people think it windfall tax could never be the answer and other people think windfall tax is the simple answer to every problem. i am not in either of those schools of thought, i am pragmatic, i am not naturally attracted to them, but these companies are making a significant amount of profit at the moment because of elevated prices. i want to see significant investment back into the uk economy to supportjobs, energy security and i want to see that investment soon. if it does not happen, then no options are off the table. speaking to the chancellor was our economics editor faisal islam. earlier we asked him how the government could grow the economy in a cost of living crisis? they will be struck by the gdp figures which although they show growth of 0.8% and we will take any growth of 0.8% and we will take any growth we can right now, given the global situation, growth we can right now, given the globalsituation, is growth we can right now, given the global situation, is in march, we saw that the economy fell back a bit, and you can pin a lot of that on the understandable expected weaks on the understandable expected weeks on the understandable expected weeks on testify consires buying big

ticket items. people facing very large petrol fuel bills had cutback on some of theirjourneys too, so these are some of the signs the economy is slow, although we had forecast from the bank of england we could be in sort of recessionary territory into next year, by the end of the year, in showses a weak economy, everyone before the full impact of the russia invasion on ukraine on energy prices and food prices has been pitting home. so there are many forecasters worried about this quarter, so between april and june, particularly because we have an extra bank holiday but also because that is hitting home hard, in terms of testify energy bills going up by so much, so, you have you a sense in which the squeeze is harder and sooner than expected, thatis harder and sooner than expected, that is why i put those questions to the chancellor, he said that you know, he wouldn't repeat the concerns or the warnings about a possible consumer led recession,

obviously happy that the rebound from the pandemic has been complete, on a quarterly basis the economy now bigger than it was at the end of 2019, so that process has finished, but we now face pressures from the cost of living and a different tone i thought from the chancellor, although he wouldn't be pinned down on specifics in terms of his extra measures that may be coming at some point, stressing the measures that this government has taken, he did say that they were watching carefully, he understood from meeting ordinary members of the publicjust how much pressure they were under, he is under pressure to do more, more quickly, because some of those pressure, they don't wait until the energy bills come through in autumn, they are happening right now in monthly direct debits but i also detected that change of tone, you heard that in the interview on this concept of a windfall tax, pushed by the opposition, some corporate leaders outside of the energy companies think there should

be a windfall tax, the chancellor is not naturally attracted to a policy he said, he suggested it isn't a goodideain he said, he suggested it isn't a good idea in the past, stressed they were elevated profits being made right now by the energy companies at this time of high prices and no option is off the table. if the tin verstappenment that he wants to see injobs, in security verstappenment that he wants to see in jobs, in security of the energy supply isn't forthcoming, so a change of tone, doesn't guarantee we will get one but certainly means the energy companieses have to think very carefully about their next move, and if the tank is being turned round on this policy, this is what it would look like, so a chancellor that has to face a slowing economy, glad that the pandemic, economic hit seems to be done now but with concerns and it looks like policies is shifting, on, on support and potential windfall taxes too. let us go to nick eardley in

staffordshire where the cabinet are meeting today. so nothing is off the table, what are they discussing, is add windfall tax potentially looking more possible than it was? 14541431111. more possible than it was? well, look, more possible than it was? well, look. mine _ more possible than it was? well, look. mine it _ more possible than it was? well, look, mine it is _ more possible than it was? well, look, mine it is interesting, - look, mine it is interesting, joanna, because when you speak to people round the cabinet table, people round the cabinet table, people close to the process, the thing that they keep talking about is trying to ease unnecessary burdens on people. and that is basically trying to reduce the costs that we all have, we know the government's weighing up ideas like trying to bring childcare costs down in england by reducing how many adults have to be in nursery, we know they are talking about ideas like reducing how often you have to get an mot on your car, but when it comes to the big interventions, the big economic things that the opposition parties and some tory mps are calling for, they are still coy about it. let us take the different options of ten table. windfall tax. something labour have been calling

forfor something labour have been calling for for a something labour have been calling forfor a while. yes, this government is saying it is still on the table but we have heard both the prime minister and the chancellor say they want to avoid it if they can, basically they are trying to say to the big energy companies spend some more money, invest more money, otherwise we have the option of this windfall tax, so it is not something at the moment is imminent, it is not something that is being ruled out. something else tory mps have been talking a lot about is income tax cut, that people will have more money to spend, that will ease the cost of living. now that is something that some tory mps think that the prime minister is attracted to. however, again, the government is coming back and saying we have not made our mind up on that, the chancellor for example, when not made our mind up on that, the chancellorfor example, when he chancellor for example, when he delivered chancellorfor example, when he delivered his spring statement said the economic circumstances would have to be right and he doesn't think they are at the moment, so, income tax is an option but it is not one that is being ruled in at the moment. it all leaves that

question, i think, the moment. it all leaves that question, ithink, about the moment. it all leaves that question, i think, about whether the government is prepared to make a significant economic intervention before the autumn. the autumn is the point at which we get the new energy price cap. the expectation at the moment, is that could be more bad news, but wejust moment, is that could be more bad news, but we just don't know for sure, there are some who say let's wait, let us see what the bigger picture is before we make that big intervention 5 all the while, though, johanna, the calls for more people for people are grow, and i am not all that certain at the moment, that the prime minister will be able to resist doing something to help particularly those on the lowest incomes, with the cost of living. and so just briefly, would you say that the attitude is changing, within cabinet though on this? because, until now and you say obviously there was the spring statement, the message has been, you know, we look at what we have done, and ruling out other things, like

for instance at windfall tax? look, there is definitely _ for instance at windfall tax? look, there is definitely some _ for instance at windfall tax? look, there is definitely some pressure l there is definitely some pressure within cabinet, particularly on income tax, there has been for a while, windfall tax i think is a bit more complicated, there are some tories who don't want it, there are some who think it is necessary at the moment, but in terms of that kind of big picture, there is still a feeling within number ten you can'tjust spend this way out of your, this crisis, you need to come up your, this crisis, you need to come up with some measures to grow the economy, but what did today's gdp figures remind us, the growing economy isn't particularly easy either so definitely more pressure coming, the big question is what it leads to. we coming, the big question is what it leads to. ~ , ., leads to. we saw people heading off to cabinet behind _ leads to. we saw people heading off to cabinet behind you, _ leads to. we saw people heading off to cabinet behind you, and - leads to. we saw people heading off to cabinet behind you, and people . to cabinet behind you, and people watching on the wall as well. quite interesting. i watching on the wall as well. quite interestinu. , , ., watching on the wall as well. quite interesting-— interesting. i missed who it was. thank yon _ the metropolitan police says more than 100 fixed penalty notices have now been issued as a result of the investigation into lockdown breaches in whitehall and downing street.

the number has doubled since the last update was given, in april. it's not known who has received the fixed penalty notices. the force says inquiries are continuing. downing street said they would make it clear if the prime minister received another fixed penalty notice, he has one for that birthday party during the first lockdown in spring 2020. so we are now told that there is no update on that front, in other words we can assume he is not among the 100 that have been issued with fixed penalty notices, and the same goes for the most senior civil servant in the country. the cabinet secretary simon case. we were told he would be informed if he received a fine, doesn't look as though he has been yet. again, there is no official commitment to tell us about carriejohnson, i understand that she is not among the 100, at least

100 fines issued by the metropolitan police either. and one former official i was speaking to was expressing concern there was a more junior officials in the firing line. one source tells me they believe that the latest batch is related, at least in part, to a christmas party at which the prime minister did not attend in december 2020. it was that christmas party that started off the whole so—called partygate affair if you remember, the daily mirror reported that, at the time, there was obviously a good bit inquiry into the events surrounding that, believe perhaps 30—40 people attended it, and of course, in the end, the number of gatherings and events increased and the metropolitan police decided to investigate 12 of them, so fines have been issued for a range of them, so far including a couple of leaving dos for example including what they regarded certainly as a birthday celebration for the prime

minister as well, when he was issued with a fine, but at the moment we think certainly the numbers have gone from 50 to more than 100, at least in part because of that christmas party and those who attended it, in december 2020. iain watson on the politics. and daniel sandford fave us the latest. the last we had on 12th april. that point they said they had more than 50 fixed penalty notices issued. one month on they are saying it is 100. downing street has always said if the prime minister or the cabinet secretary simon case were to get a fixed penalty notice, they would tell us, we have been told about borisjohnson getting one, we have not been told about any more, so unless it has happened in the last few hours, it seems like he is still

only been issued one. carriejohnson has been issued one and we know that rishi sunak has been issued with one, those are the three high profile people that we know who have received then, but those are ones we knew about before now, and don't forget these extra 50 fixed penalty notices won't have been issued just today, it would have been issued over the course of the last month. so at this stage it looks like he hasn't received another one. so what is the process? _ hasn't received another one. so what is the process? are _ hasn't received another one. so what is the process? are they _ hasn't received another one. so what is the process? are they going - is the process? are they going through the parties in a particular order, is it known how they a are approaching it?— approaching it? they are being o-raue approaching it? they are being opaque about _ approaching it? they are being opaque about it. _ approaching it? they are being opaque about it. they - approaching it? they are being opaque about it. they are - approaching it? they are being opaque about it. they are not| opaque about it. they are not telling people how they are doing it. it seems as if it is been done party by party but we don't know whether it is in date order or order how clear the breaches were, you have to go back and remember what cressida dick said when she announceded the investigation back in january, announceded the investigation back injanuary, she said that the people would be issued fines would be people who should have known what they were doing was an offence, by

not investigating would undermine the legitimacy of the law and there was little ambiguity about whether they had a defence, so generally it is people who should have known it was the rule. they have no defence and by not fining them you somehow undermine the legitimacy of the law, so those are the parameters they are using, but we don't know at this stage how far they are got through the process, think the only thing thatis the process, think the only thing that is worth saying is that there has been rumblings from sue gray who hasn't been able to publish her full report, that he was hoping to do that by the end of the month, so if that by the end of the month, so if that timetable is still running, then the met might be getting towards the end of the issuing of fines but i should stress that is not something they have said behind their hands, is coming, we simply don't know how far they have got through it.

good afternoon. celtic manager ange postocoglou says winning the scottish premiership title has taken every ounce of him, as he celebates winning the league in his first season in charge their draw at dundee united ensured their 52nd league title and they got to enjoy it in front of thousands of fans at tannardice. what a turn around it's been for them, they were 25 points behind rangers last season. they'll get to lift the trophy at home on saturday against motherwell. the starting point was a few way back, and you known, the way this group of players and staff and everyone involved has just risen to the challenge, i couldn't be more proud of this group of people, you know, they backed me all the way, and, you know, what it means for our supporters is unbelievable later on we might have one of the biggest north london derbies in recent memory as arsenal head to tottenham. arsenal are four points clear of spurs in the race for the final

champions league spot. mikel arteta knows that a win for his side would seal a return to europe's elite. now the message is clear, if we win, against them we are in the champions league next season. you don't need any more motivation, the opportunity is there and we are going to play and go for it like we always do, because it is how we have come into this position, and that is how we will approach it. we are talking about an important game. _ we are talking about an important game, an— we are talking about an important game, an important game for many... different— game, an important game for many... different situation, the first, the most _ different situation, the first, the most important thing, that we are, we are _ most important thing, that we are, we are playing this game for... for an important— we are playing this game for... for an important target, and a place in the champions league, i think that this has— the champions league, i think that this has to — the champions league, i think that this has to be the first thing to, to try— this has to be the first thing to, to try to— this has to be the first thing to, to try to win there, to win this

game — pep guardiola's described kevin de bruyne as beyond perfect as manchester city took another big step, towards winning the premier league title after they thrashed wolves 5—1 at molyneux. de bruyne scored four goals, including a first—half hat—trick, to send city three points clear of liverpool, with just two games to go. they only need only four points, from their final two games to [and their fourth title in five seasons. he is so generous, have the sense to make, but this season has the sense prolific to score a goal. he won if game against chelsea, scored a goal against madrid, and have been decisive scoring goals, this is made the greatest. england have been confirmed as the host for the women's rugby world cup in 2025, australia will host the men's event in 2027, for more on that go to the bbc sport website, but from me all is all the sport for

now. the foreign secretary liz truss has told her eu counterpart maros sefcovic that london would have "no choice but to act" on the northern ireland protocol if the eu did not show "requisite flexibility." vice president sefcovic has confirmed that there is no room to expand the eu negotiating mandate or introduce new proposals to reduce the overall level of trade friction. our chief political correspondent, adam fleming, says all this comes as the government's chief law officer, suella braverman, has received legal advice that it would be lawful to override parts of the post—brexit treaty for northern ireland — without the approval of the eu. and this could pave the way for new legislation scrapping checks on goods going from britain to northern ireland. you can't get any details out of her department, or out of her herself, so, this is all happening behind the scenes and it is half—baked, whispered, not clear what is go on, what it does tell us there is another person in the cabinet who

seems to be in favour of gung—ho accuse shunning, perhaps the uk acting unilaterally and suspending bits of the protocol if there is no negotiated solution with the eu. the government sounds like they are closer to taking that action, i am detecting a bit of weariness about people in government who will have to do the negotiations with the eu, in the words of one adviser, that mad brexiteers, their words not mine, arejeopardising the government's approach here, because actually at the end of the day, the government's position is it wants to be able to agree some changes to the protocol with the eu, what this is about is just building protocol with the eu, what this is about isjust building up protocol with the eu, what this is about is just building up the alternative, so they can present to the eu and say look, guys in brussels, this is what we would dough if we can't reach an negotiated settlement with you, and the reason it has got such urgency is that a power—sharing government in northern ireland cannot be established because the dup who would be half of the power—sharing

want the protocol to be scrapped. that is such an extreme position, can anything be done that will please them? that is what makes me think we will end up going down the route of the uk taking unilateral action because that is the on the thing that could get the dup lured backin thing that could get the dup lured back in to government. with me now is simon usherwood, professor of politics & international studies at the open university. welcome, thanks for joining welcome, thanks forjoining us. what do you see as the options here? well, i think the options are are not very good for the uk, as was just being said. said. the possibility of making some kind of easement with the commission, is something that the british government seems to have closed down, is talking now about trying to step away from all or part of the protocol, but, that is already clear that the eu is going to have a very strong response to that, whether thatis strong response to that, whether that is in terms of legal procedure,

or, in terms of trade penalties that it might apply, so, for the uk, to be starting to do this, this particular time, be starting to do this, this particulartime, i be starting to do this, this particular time, i think really points to a lack of constructive ideas, because at the end of the day, this is about getting the eu to the negotiating table, the commissioners said it wants to try and negotiate but within the framework, and even that first step seems to have been passed by, by london, 50 seems to have been passed by, by london, ., ., ., , london, so in the information put out b a london, so in the information put out by a foreign _ london, so in the information put out by a foreign office _ london, so in the information put. out by a foreign office spokesperson between the two of them this morning, it said the foreign secretary reiterated that the uk's proposals to fix the protocol including green and red channel arrangements backed up by a bespoke data sharing system would ensure the removal of trade barriers between great britain and northern ireland while protecting the eu single market. what do you think about that? it market. what do you think about that? ., , ., ~ market. what do you think about that? ., , ., ,, market. what do you think about that? ., ,, , that? it has talked act those but the have that? it has talked act those but they have not — that? it has talked act those but

they have not been _ that? it has talked act those but they have not been fleshed - that? it has talked act those but they have not been fleshed out| that? it has talked act those but. they have not been fleshed out in any great detail and they were discussed when the protocol was first negotiated several years ago, so, in terms of finding something thatis so, in terms of finding something that is workable for both sides, that is workable for both sides, that was not seen as a productive way forward, there is always been talk about using technology as a way of removing the need for border check, but uk is yet to demonstrate that technology that is viable, actually exists in any kind of timescale. actually exists in any kind of timescale-— actually exists in any kind of timescale. , ., u, ., , actually exists in any kind of timescale. , ., timescale. sorry to come in, as you sa , that timescale. sorry to come in, as you say. that is — timescale. sorry to come in, as you say, that is something _ timescale. sorry to come in, as you say, that is something that - timescale. sorry to come in, as you say, that is something that was - say, that is something that was discussed at the time of the agreement, and it was always sort of, the neck yes wouldn't work so it was brushed aside. to get a proper understanding of what the technology would need to do, and why it is, it has been sort of brushed aside, as not effectively viable. can you explain in basic terms? in very basic terms — explain in basic terms? in very basic terms it _ explain in basic terms? in very basic terms it is _ explain in basic terms? in very basic terms it is trying - explain in basic terms? in very basic terms it is trying to - explain in basic terms? in very basic terms it is trying to have |

explain in basic terms? in very. basic terms it is trying to have a system that allows you to track individual goods, so this is where the technology really falls down but while you can put a tracking device on a lorry or a pallet as a whole, that might be moving between the uk, between great britain, northern ireland, and the republic, of ireland, and the republic, of ireland, that actually, the contents of a lorry can be split up very easily, and so the concern was that while you might be able to do big macro things like tracking lorries or having trusted traders that you still would have significant leakage of goods through either criminal organisations but also just through the complexity of the supply chains that are there. so, the difficulty is turning something which has kind of an intuitive alappeal into practicality and the negotiators at the time felt that wasn't viable, and again, the problem we have now

is that while the foreign office is talking about this as a proposal, hasn't advanced a detailed way of operationalising that, this is one of missed opportunities because the commissioner has put forward proposals back in the autumn and again in february, which the uk hasn't responded to in detail, and we have seen that in the commission statement this morning, so both sides coming up with idea bus they not talking to each otherment we could talk for a very long time and there would still be more to talk about. for now we are out of time. we will keep talking another time, thank you. it's a nightmare thought that most of us try and shut out of our minds as we board a plane. you're mid air and your pilot falls ill — unable to fly. that's what happened to one american air passenger — with no flying training whatsoever — who had to step up to land the plane to save his life.

but how? mark lobel has this incredible story. when the pilot of this florida—bound single engine cessna 208 suddenly got ill mid—air, he fell against the controls sending the aircraft into a nosedive and sharp turn, leaving passenger darren harrison on a wing and a prayer 2,750 metres high. but despite having no experience of piloting a plane, he pulled it out of its nosedive and radioed air traffic control. with just the florida coast for reference, mr harrison was then given step—by—step instructions of what to do next.

at this point, formerflight instructor robert morgan was pulled off his break to help guide the plane down. when somebodyjust drops that bomb on you, you know, that you're not expecting, here's the situation, it wasjust, like, whoa, ifelt like i was in a movie. but he wasn't. morgan'sjob now, to keep the passenger—turned—pilot calm and point him to a longer runway, so he could [and safely. he was calm all the way in, how am i looking? your altitude is good, you're 1,000 feet, you're 600 feet, you're 300 feet. and then he disappeared off the radar, so i was kind of like, uh—oh, what do i do now? so i'm just like, hey, i don't see you any more on my radar. i just want to make sure you're still there. can you still hear me? yes, i can still hear you. after a bouncy landing, the plane was towed away. the man who brought the plane down safely hugged his unexpected

instructor on the tarmac, before rushing home to see his pregnant wife. the original pilot was taken to hospital, his condition remains unknown. mark lobel, bbc news. i spoke to alistair a former boeing pilot and i asked how the passenger managed to take control. well, if the scenario that your colleague has outlined was correct, then this would have been amazing, because you know, if the aircraft had gone into a dive, and shortly to enter a spiral dive, to recover, thatis enter a spiral dive, to recover, that is outstanding, if this chap had never handled the control, if however he took control of an aircraft that was in stable flight, you are in with a running chance of being successful, but, you know, it is amazing, and you know, i would take my hat off to this fellow.

dive, to recover, that is outstanding, if this chap had never handled the control, if however he took control of an aircraft that was in stable flight, you are in with a running chance of being successful, but, you know, it is amazing, and you know, i would take my hat off to this fellow. a direct quote is "i have no idea how to stop the aeroplane, i don't know how to do anything. " sounds like he had never had any experience? experience?. that sounds like, you know, it is just amazing. in those first few second, when a non—pilot takes control of an aircraft, they are very likely to overcontrol it and the aircraft can become unstable very very rapidly, and then irrecoverable, this fellow seems to have got it right. i have no idea whether he has played on a simulator or anything on his computer that would give him a running chance of recognising the instrument and what the horizon should look like. —— complete. this involved a air traffic controller, and i believe there was another passenger onboard who was also helping. yes. there was another passenger onboard who was also helping.— who was also helping. yes, when you sa a ve who was also helping. yes, when you say a very cool— who was also helping. yes, when you say a very cool passenger, _ who was also helping. yes, when you say a very cool passenger, that - who was also helping. yes, when you say a very cool passenger, that was l say a very cool passenger, that was also a key part of it, because my heart is racing hearing you describe

how ease things could have gone catastrophically wrong, they are in the plane, not knowing what to do, and there is someone on the ground and there is someone on the ground and there is someone on the ground and the really important part was that all of them remained calm. well, certainly the instructor on the ground and the air traffic controller will remain calm. as for the passenger taking control his heart rate was probably through the roof. his voice, i have listened to the recording, was definitely calm, but he had some idea what to do, when i was teaching people to fly, they divide id to various groups and some were you know fairlient initially and others didn't do too badly, and you know, occasionally you would find the odd student who was able to fly the aircraft straight and level more or less correctly, before receiving any further instruction. this chap definitely falls into the category of a superb fast learner. aha, definitely falls into the category

of a superb fast learner. a hero? 0h, undoubtedly, _ of a superb fast learner. a hero? 0h, undoubtedly, yes. _ of a superb fast learner. a hero? 0h, undoubtedly, yes. and - of a superb fast learner. a hero? 0h, undoubtedly, yes. and he i of a superb fast learner. a hero? i ch, undoubtedly, yes. and he does 0h, undoubtedly, yes. and he does sound like a — oh, undoubtedly, yes. and he does sound like a cool— oh, undoubtedly, yes. and he does sound like a cool customer- 0h, undoubtedly, yes. and he does sound like a cool customer in - 0h, undoubtedly, yes. and he does sound like a cool customer in when| sound like a cool customer in when he got off the plane, an marriagely, i don't know they might have hugged, shook hands, he said ijust need to go home and see my pregnant wife and just walked off. yes, cool customer. you know, there are very few people who would remain cool in their circumstances is, and you know, it is quite something, this aircraft, it was a high powered aircraft, it is not like a little two seater, this was an 11 seater aircraft. it has a turboprop engine, it handled a jet engine, capable of 200 mph, it had a fixed undercarriage which men he didn't have to worrying the gear, when i saw the video of the landing it was a pretty damn good landing, you know, any instructor would be pleased with their student if they did that as their first landing.

it comes after bbc researcher revealed the number of serious safety instances rose by nearly 80% compared to before the pandemic. the 999 system is also under severe pressure in scotland, wales and northern ireland. our health correspondent has this report. i rememberjust lying down on my mum's lap. we needed to go to the hospital as soon as possible. ten—year—old willow spent four nights in hospital last year after falling off her bike. isaid, "help! i can't breathe!" that's all i said, that's what came to my mind. yeah, she was screaming for help and we couldn't really move her because she was in a real mess, like a car accident rather

than a bike accident. but when a passer—by called an ambulance, they were told it would be a ten—hour wait for help, well above the two hour target for an accident like this. the family had to make their own way to hospital. we kept getting told by consultants that we should not have moved her because her back and her neck injuries could have been quite severe. it's the first time i've ever had to phone for an ambulance. when i really needed it, it wasn't there to help and it should be. the ambulance service said it was under significant pressure that day because of high demand. it apologised and said willow should have been assessed differently and paramedics assigned more quickly. ambulance response times have been rising sharply over the last year. in england the most serious life—threatening cases should be seen within seven minutes. in april the average was more than nine minutes. for so—called category two emergencies, like strokes or heart attacks, the target is 18 minutes.

the average is now more than twice that. in other parts of the uk, services are under similar pressure. we may have had crowding in emergency departments, it's worse now, but we've always been able to get ambulances and i think the fact that we are struggling to guarantee somebody an ambulance in a timely way moves us into a whole new territory of patient safety issues. hospitals are extremely busy for this time of year as doctors continue to deal with a backlog of health problems caused by the pandemic. that means ambulances are often having to queue outside, sometimes for hours, before they can drop off patients. all this comes at a time when the number of 999 calls has been rising to record levels. if ambulances have to queue outside hospitals like this, it might mean they can't get out quickly to the next person on the line who needs help and the concern is that could have a knock—on effect on patient safety. in the year before the pandemic, ambulance staff logged 312 serious safety incidents where a patient

could have died or permanently injured. over the past year that has risen to 551 reports. an ambulance should have arrived within two hours. it took more than twice as long as that. if within two hours. it took more than twice as long as that.— twice as long as that. if she was the elderly _ twice as long as that. if she was the elderly person _ twice as long as that. if she was the elderly person lying - twice as long as that. if she was the elderly person lying on - twice as long as that. if she was the elderly person lying on her. twice as long as that. if she was i the elderly person lying on her own she was lying face down a concrete floor for hours waiting on an ambulance. floor for hours waiting on an ambulance-— floor for hours waiting on an ambulance. ., ., , ., , ambulance. the one it has done is completely _ ambulance. the one it has done is completely knocked _ ambulance. the one it has done is completely knocked my _ ambulance. the one it has done is. completely knocked my confidence. i'm frightened to walk to tesco on my own _ i'm frightened to walk to tesco on my own i— i'm frightened to walk to tesco on my own. i can't do it. so it has interfered _ my own. i can't do it. so it has interfered with my life completely. nhs england says record demand means the last few months been tough as

neverfor the last few months been tough as never for a start. the last few months been tough as neverfor a start. it the last few months been tough as never for a start. it says safety is its absolute priority and hospitals, ambulance staff in care homes working together to see more patients as quickly as possible. the ambulance crew had to come from burnley. they were great. once they took them into hospital. again, it was not a massively great experience because she was ten hours in a&e on a trolley before getting to the ward but it is just a knock—on effect. you know, we have not got enough front—line people to be able to do this. there are too many back—office people being paid horrendous sums of money when nurses are being paid not that much. they need more money and more funding and to be paid for a job well done.

jonathan street — london representative of the college of paramedics says that stories like paul's are 'unfortu nately not uncommon' the rush of the pandemic seems to be behind us but what we are dealing with his real frustration and difficulty about the fact that we know that we can't see patients as effectively and efficiently as we would like. despite working very hard. it really is a very difficult situation particularly when it comes to handing over patients and then being unable to respond to other patients. glenn carrington — senior paramedic and chair of unison's east of england branch says that staff are 'voting with their feet�* and opting to leave, because the job is 'relentless' we've got a third of our staff off with covid. they're suffering from

lung covid as well and were suffering from staff burn—out so actually, people have had a real bad couple of years. people are voting with their feet. couple of years. people are voting with theirfeet. if couple of years. people are voting with their feet. if you look at the people droning now, they're not going to do 30 years like i have done. the workload is relentless. and the challenges are relentless and you can't, you can't, we have tried to help people. and we can't do ourjob and we see people it leaves us with something. and it is notjust leaves us with something. and it is not just eyes. leaves us with something. and it is notjust eyes. it is no scissors by doctors as well and social care workers as well. the latest monthly figures for nhs performance in england show that numbers on hospital waiting lists hit 6.36m in march — up from 6.18m the month before. cancer waiting times are showing signs of improvement, but performance is still well below target. the data also showed continued pressure on the emergency care system, with more than a quarter of patients waiting over 4 hours in a and e in april.

finland's leaders say they want to join nato "without delay", abandoning the country's traditionally neutral stance. let's return to the metropolitan police saying that more than 100 fixed penalty notices have now been issued as a result of the investigation into lockdown breaches in whitehall and downing street. the number has doubled since the last update was given, in april. let's return to the metropolitan police saying that more than 100 fixed penalty notices have now been issued as a result of the investigation into lockdown breaches in whitehall and downing street. the number has doubled since the last update was given, in april. it's not known who has received the fixed penalty notices. the force says inquiries are continuing. joining me now is dave penman, general secretary of the first division association, the top civil servants union. welcome. thank you forjoining us. what is your reaction to news of more fines being handed out? more --eole are more fines being handed out? more people are surprised _ more fines being handed out? more people are surprised us _ more fines being handed out? me people are surprised us that the scale of it. given the number of incidences that are being investigated by the police and sue gray and the nature of those it should not come as a surprise given the number of them were leaving

parties and there will be lots of stuff who have attended and i think still anyone looking at this and seeing the met investigation is not over yet and with that 100 finds it is going to be a shockjust because of the scale. it is going to be a shock 'ust because of the scare.— of the scale. it is all hidden who is ttettin of the scale. it is all hidden who is getting the — of the scale. it is all hidden who is getting the fines _ of the scale. it is all hidden who is getting the fines other- of the scale. it is all hidden who is getting the fines other than . of the scale. it is all hidden who i is getting the fines other than the very high profile people, obviously, the prime minister. we know that his wife previously had a fine. if the cabinet secretary is fined we will know about it. what do you think about the opaqueness of all of it. civil servants and those in this process are not being treated any differently from members of the public because the met have confirmed that actually handing out equivalent fines elsewhere they have not named the people who had been fined. civil servant should be treated like everyone else's by the met and that means that their names would not be made public routinely around this but clearly there are an issue for those in the most senior positions in them prime minister where there is an overriding public

interest around it. i think this could be quitejunior interest around it. i think this could be quite junior civil servant we're talking about. not everybody number ten is a senior civil servant and it is right that treated the same as members of the public eye. i imagining it should have implications forjobs and what is the threshold on that? like any employee at the civil service, once this is overweight and once you grey�*s report has published will have to look at the conduct of individuals, the investigation when it started made that clear that that will be an internal matter for the civil service to make decisions about whether, as a result of the evidence they have got whether there is further disciplinary action that should be taken so ultimately, that is what the civil service will need to do. civil servants will be held accountable for their actions because there is processes for dealing with that. ministers can only be held accountable for the ministerial code and as the prime minister shown time and again he is not really interested in that being

an independent process that will hold ministers to account for the conduct of civil servants are actually going to be held to a higher bar here than politicians well. ., .. higher bar here than politicians well. ., ,, , ., higher bar here than politicians well. . ~' , ., , higher bar here than politicians well. ., ,, i. , . finland's leaders say they want to join nato "without delay", abandoning the country's traditionally neutral stance. public support for membership has grown rapidly since the start of the war in ukraine. nato has said this morning they'd be warmly welcomed — and could join quickly. but russia has responded by saying finland joining nato is a threat — and expanding the military alliance would not make europe — or the world — more stable. the chair of the finnish foreign affairs committee. he says the war in ukraine madejoining nato the best option. it seems like until the 24th of february we had a slightly naive and wrong impression of what kind of a country russia is. we now know that russia

is prepared and willing to use reckless brutal military force against its non—allied neighbours. without provocation. to further its expansion and imperialist agenda. this is the new reality with which we have to cope and it has forced us to reassess or reconsider some of our long held traditional ways of thinking. our correspondentjames reynolds is on the border between finland and russia. he told me what happens next. essentially, finland puts forward its application but even, they say, applications not really the right word. its intention tojoin nato. thenin word. its intention tojoin nato. then in the end ofjune there will be a nato summit meeting with that intention to join would go forward. and then there might be a period

before the 30 members of nato ratify finland and actually also sweden's decision tojoin finland and actually also sweden's decision to join nato. finland and actually also sweden's decision tojoin nato. and in particular, finland and its neighbour sweden have been a bit worried about that interim period so thatis worried about that interim period so that is why borisjohnson went to both countries yesterday to offer security guarantees in between. to make sure that those two countries do receive protection after they said they have joined but until they are formal members. it could take four months in the most recent country, north macedonia, took 12 months. of course, all eyes and ears on how russia will react to this. yes. and finnish people have been a bit nervous about this. a bit nervous about what its neighbour might do given the fact that there is an 800 mile long border between the two, given the fact that finland's own military is of course taught by russia's own military. no one is expecting any kind of invasion but they are expecting the

possibility to prepare to defend themselves from cyber attacks or from potential airspace violations but they are looking forward to nato, essentially, providing them the protection of 30 countries as opposed to the single country protection that they themselves have been able to offer up until now. the turnaround — been able to offer up until now. the turnaround in public opinion in finland since the war has been quite extraordinary, doesn't it? it finland since the war has been quite extraordinary, doesn't it?— extraordinary, doesn't it? it almost hat-ened extraordinary, doesn't it? it almost happened in _ extraordinary, doesn't it? it almost happened in minutes. _ extraordinary, doesn't it? it almost happened in minutes. you - extraordinary, doesn't it? it almost happened in minutes. you can - extraordinary, doesn't it? it almost happened in minutes. you can .30| extraordinary, doesn't it? it almost - happened in minutes. you can .30 5am on the 24th of february when russia crossed the border and invaded ukraine. that is when finnish people say to us that they changed their minds. up until then, say to us that they changed their minds. up untilthen, they say to us that they changed their minds. up until then, they had been engaged in that decades long process of having a strong military themselves but having a strong dialogue. strong communication with their neighbour, russia. the 24th of february blue that away. they decided that their dialogue with russia did not really work and that the strong military needed the

back—up of other militaries and that is why so many people have changed their minds. opinion polls before their minds. opinion polls before the invasion of ukraine suggested only one in five people here want to join nato anotherfigure may be only one in five people here want to join nato another figure may be as high as three or four and five. let me 'ust high as three or four and five. let me just bring you some breaking news. it is on the public inquiry into covid—19. the chair of that inquiry has recommended that changes he made to the scope of the inquiry. be made to the scope of the inquiry. that is after a four week consultation with bereaved families, representatives from different sector in the public and they received more than 20,000 responses on what the inquiry should look at and how it should go about its work and how it should go about its work and as a result of that, she is now recommending some changes to the v met so that me just tell you what they are. they will need to be confirmed by the prime minister so it isjust a confirmed by the prime minister so it is just a recommendation this point. it would be to include the impact of the pandemic and the

lockdown is on children. their mental health and education. also the impact on mental health of the uk population and inequalities in the impact of the pandemic. the unequal impact of the pandemic was apparently a theme that strongly came through and responses to the consultation. and she has recommended that the terms of reference be reframed to put inequalities at its forefront so that the investigation into the unequal impacts of the pandemic once the whole inquiry. so it now we need to go than to the prime minister to approve that. and if that happens the inquiry will be established with full powers under the 2005 inquiries act. the statement as saying the inquiry hopes the prime minister will accept the recommended changes

in full quickly so that the inquiry can begin its formal work. we have heard of the total number of covid deaths in europe has gone above 2 million. the death toll globally of covid in terms of the number of excess deaths over that period was 15 million. the first major event of the queen's platinum jubilee celebrations gets under way today. and it involves one of her majesty's favourite things — horses. fi lamdin has been in the grounds of windsor castle to tell us more. after months of planning, the celebrations for her majesty's platinum jubilee officially begin today in the private grounds and gardens of windsor castle. it is the royal windsor horse show now in its 79th year. the queen went to the first one

with herfamily and has been a regular ever since. back then, it helped raise money to buy typhoon fighters for the second world war. always a keen horsewoman, the queen won the pony and dogcart class when she was 17. and over the years, it has grown. there is now showjumping, dressage and the duke of edinburgh's beloved carriage driving. the queen is expected to come to the show and this is where she will sit in the middle of the royal box. her majesty has been showing horses here for the last seven decades. this year, she has got 40, that is the most she has ever had. and this year beneath the lit ramparts of windsor castle, 500 horses and over ,1000 performers will put on a special show. it will take the queen and the audience on a gallop through history, showing five centuries of kings and queens.

among the military displays, musicians and stunt acts performing tonight, are 50 dancers from a bollywood group in london. i started dancing when i was seven. and i started learning bhangra, the traditional folk dance from the punjab in india which is one of the dances we are going to be doing today to represent india. it is a happy dance, the celebration of the harvest. yeah, it'sjust a really happy vibrant dance, so, yeah, it makes me happy. all their costumes have been made in india and arrived just a few days ago. i work in investment banking and technology, on canary wharf normally, a different place in life and this is something completely different. it's a hobby that i started when i was about five years old, i started dancing, and i gave it up when i went to school and university and then re—found it the week before the global pandemic started. i didn't ever expect to be performing for the queen on such a big scale. and to see my favourite style of dance, bhangra, in front of the queen

isjust insane. the queen is the first british monarch to reign for 70 yea rs. tonight will honour all she has done during her many years of service. lake mead — on the nevada—arizona state border in the us — supplies drinking water to 20 million people. but a drought there has seen water levels plunge to their lowest in history. emily brown reports. like a scene from mars, this is the largest man—made reservoir in the united states. the reservoir supplies drinking water to millions of people. it's filled from the colorado river. the snow melts from the mountains. 20 years ago, it was at 97% capacity. it's now only 30% full. i moved to the las vegas valley in 1999 and, as you can see, these walkways out here, the water was up to just below

the bottom of those walkways. now, it's down 150 feet. it's quite shocking. you can see where it was. i mean, that was water. you could walk past, there was water. you can see the water running out. so, it's different. it's resulted in some surprising discoveries. human remains have been found — including a body in a barrel, stuck in the mud of the receding shoreline. police warn more bodies could be found, as the water level drops further. the local water authority says it has prepared for this drought. we knew we had to make i an investment for our water supply to be resilient, and this is that investment. the ability to pump water even when water cannot i be released downstream - to california, arizona and mexico. not every drought is down to climate change, but experts say excess heat

in the atmosphere draws moisture out of the air, making droughts like these worse. emily brown, bbc news. things are warming up this weekend. we should see increasing amounts of sunshine and temperatures creeping into the low 20s across central and southern areas but were still in the rather cool and breezier mass at the moment and today is going to be one of those quite windy across the north with plenty of showers here. some good sunny spells further south closer to an area of high pressure which will continue to build across the new continent. for the west of the new continent. for the west of the afternoon it looks dry for many. more sunshine around across england and wales. variable amounts of cloud. most showery are so rain across northern ireland in the north—west of scotland where it will be quite windy. low teens have admitted to high teens further

south. to this evening and overnight stays dry for much of will be further patchy rain and showers across part of the country. quite breezy for all but especially in the north. temperature wise at the close of 8-11 north. temperature wise at the close of 8—11 may be a degree or so milder than what we had the previous night. provided it is going to be quite windy across the northern half of the country. gales and exposure across the west of scotland. showers here and longer spells of rain the further south that you are it will be breezy. not quite as windy and we should see increasing amounts of sunshine and temperatures creeping up sunshine and temperatures creeping up further. 2122 across the south—east. 14—16 in the north. if it is, this building area of high pressure. into the weekend starts to drop warmth and humid airfrom the south and that could bring the chance of some thundery showers with it later on saturday and into sunday. saturday itself does not look too bad. that area of high pressure building into the winter will be lighter. a good feel of

sunshine around so most places be warmer but particularly so across southern areas where we could see temperatures up to 23 degrees. signs of a thundery plume just getting into southern areas. a bit of uncertainty to this area of showers and move up from but it could be anywhere along the south coast and then pushing towards the midlands, then pushing towards the midlands, the south—east into the early hours of sunday. there will be some thunderstorms mist in as well. through sunday that plume of showers moves a little bit further northwards. essentially does a lot of dry weather around on sunday with temperatures again into the low 20s in the warmest parts and feeling a bit humid.

today at one... warnings that higher prices are really beginning to bite as the economy shrank in march. people are spending less as the cost of living rises, but the chancellor says the economy is still resilient and there may be more help for those stuggling. but, look, this is really important. i have always said i stand ready to do more as we learn more about the situation. i'm out every single week, talking to people across the country. in our other main story today — police issue around 50 more fines for lockdown—breaking parties in downing street and whitehall. also in the programme... doctors and paramedics tell the bbc long waits for ambulances are having a "dangerous impact" on patient safety. cambodia calls on the british government to return statues that it says were stolen from its temples.