this is bbc news, the headlines — police say they have now issued more than 100 partygate finds following investigations into breaches of covid—19 regulations at 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 will plunge the uk into recession.— into recession. this is really important. _ into recession. this is really important. i _ into recession. this is really important, i have _ into recession. this is really important, i have always . into recession. this is really. important, i have always said into recession. this is really i important, i have always said i stand ready to do more as we learn more about the situation. i am out every single week talking to people across the country.— across the country. finland's leaders have _ across the country. finland's leaders have said _ across the country. finland's leaders have said their- across the country. finland's l leaders have said their country across the country. finland's - leaders have said their country must join nato without delay, following the russian invasion of ukraine. russia calls the move a definite threat. doctors and paramedics say

that long rates for angles is across the uk are having a dangerous impact on patient safety —— long waits. hello, thanks for joining hello, thanks forjoining us. the metropolitan police have issued more than 50 new fines for breaches of covid rules are in downing street and other government buildings. these are in addition to more than 50 fixed penalty notices handed out last months, including to boris johnson and rishi sunak. neither mr johnson and rishi sunak. neither mr johnson know his wife carriejohnson are among those to be found at this time. ben wright reports. fire are among those to be found at this time. ben wright reports.— time. ben wright reports. are you shocked at — time. ben wright reports. are you shocked at the _ time. ben wright reports. are you shocked at the scale _ time. ben wright reports. are you shocked at the scale of— time. ben wright reports. are you | shocked at the scale of lawbreaking in the number ten, prime minister? how could you let that happen under your watch? the

how could you let that happen under your watch?— your watch? the fallout from whitehall _ your watch? the fallout from whitehall real _ your watch? the fallout from whitehall real braking - your watch? the fallout from whitehall real braking has i your watch? the fallout from - whitehall real braking has followed the prime minister to stoke, for a cabinet away they also attended by the uk's top civil servant. can cabinet away they also attended by the uk's top civil servant.— the uk's top civil servant. can you confirm whether _ the uk's top civil servant. can you confirm whether you _ the uk's top civil servant. can you confirm whether you have - the uk's top civil servant. can you confirm whether you have been i the uk's top civil servant. can you i confirm whether you have been fined by the police? the confirm whether you have been fined by the police?— by the police? the police have now should more _ by the police? the police have now should more than _ by the police? the police have now should more than 100 _ by the police? the police have now should more than 100 fines - by the police? the police have now should more than 100 fines to - should more than 100 fines to people who parted during number ten and government offices during lockdown. the met says it will not name those who have been fined as it investigates a dozen events that happened when covid restrictions are enforced. we know that boris johnson, his wife carriejohnson and chancellor rishi sunak were given fixed penalty notices last month of a birthday party held for the prime minister at number ten injune 2020. the building and list of party fines means tory mps cannot escape the scandal. ~ , ., , ., scandal. the prime minister was not resent at scandal. the prime minister was not present at this _ scandal. the prime minister was not present at this event, _ scandal. the prime minister was not present at this event, this _ scandal. the prime minister was not present at this event, this latest - present at this event, this latest event, _ present at this event, this latest event, that we are hearing about, but it _ event, that we are hearing about, but it is_ event, that we are hearing about, but it is quite clear that the prime minister_ but it is quite clear that the prime minister has apologised, he has already— minister has apologised, he has already changed a lot of senior staff— already changed a lot of senior staff at— already changed a lot of senior staff at downing street, i think that is— staff at downing street, i think that is absolutely what is needed to happen, _ that is absolutely what is needed to happen, and i am glad that culture

shift has _ happen, and i am glad that culture shift has happened. this fictional -a was shift has happened. this fictional party was a _ shift has happened. this fictional party was a business _ shift has happened. this fictional party was a business meeting. i shift has happened. this fictional i party was a business meeting. and shift has happened. this fictional - party was a business meeting. and it was not socially distanced. the leaked video _ was not socially distanced. the leaked video of _ was not socially distanced. the leaked video of the prime minister's then secretary talking about a party because they scandal, and fines were given to some of the people who attended the do in december 2020. the co—minister was not at it, but labour wants to keep the pressure on him. , ., ., . ~ labour wants to keep the pressure on him. , ., ., . ,, , ., him. they have racked up more fined than any other— him. they have racked up more fined than any other location _ him. they have racked up more fined than any other location in _ than any other location in britain, yet he refuses to do the decent thing. i think that is quite extraordinary given that he made the rules, then broke the rules, on a record scale. flit rules, then broke the rules, on a record scale-— rules, then broke the rules, on a record scale. of course, a labour event is also _ record scale. of course, a labour event is also being _ record scale. of course, a labour event is also being investigated l record scale. of course, a labour. event is also being investigated by the durham police, and the party's leader sir keir starmer has said he will resign if he receives a fixed penalty notice. unlike the prime minister, who has swatted away calls to quit. this morning, number ten said neither borisjohnson nor the

cabinet secretary had received fines today, but this remains a live police investigation, and a smouldering politicalfuse. mps will investigate whether borisjohnson misled parliament about all this, and a full report will eventually be published by the civil servant sue gray. judging by the number of fines now issued, that is likely to be a long and incendiary read. ben wright, bbc news, westminster. daniel sanford is at new scotland yard with another batch of 50 fines announced today, where are we in this process? daniel, a lot of people wondering why this has taken so long? we know there was a pause for the local elections in terms of any announcements, but how long before this process is completed? do we have any idea? the before this process is completed? do we have any idea?— we have any idea? the police are sa in: we have any idea? the police are saying very _ we have any idea? the police are saying very little _ we have any idea? the police are saying very little about _ we have any idea? the police are saying very little about the - saying very little about the progress of the investigation, even an officially or informally, and thatis an officially or informally, and that is of course because of the political sensitivity involved, and

also because in the end it is an investigation into breaches of health regulations, it is not a murder inquiry or a counterterrorism inquiry where they are seeking the public�*s assistance. so we really are being told very little about it, and we are having to piece things together. in many ways, the people being investigated are telling us more than the people who are doing the investigating. we still think it is probably a dozen events that are being investigated by the police, though it might have crept up a bit. we know of at least four events where people seem to have been given of these fixed penalty notices, but again it could be more of those. we were reduced to looking through the press notices that have been released, the one a month ago talked about there being a significant amount of materialfor about there being a significant amount of material for investigators to go through. today, the press release said this is a live investigation, and said no more, which might suggest they are starting to get towards the end of this. but of course, as you investigate things, new things get

thrown up, so there's no guarantee of when the process will be over. there certainly was a hope that this would be done by the end of the month and sue gray's full report could be published at that point. i don't know, reading between the lines at the moment, if we are necessarily going to hit that informal deadline. really in the end, the one thing that we do know is that more than 100 fines have been issued to people who attended gatherings at downing street in cabinet office in breach of those covid—19 health regulations that have been made by those same staff in downing street and the cabinet office. d0 in downing street and the cabinet office. ~ ., ., ., , office. do we know how many officers are workin: office. do we know how many officers are working on _ office. do we know how many officers are working on this _ office. do we know how many officers are working on this and _ office. do we know how many officers are working on this and who _ office. do we know how many officers are working on this and who makes i are working on this and who makes the final decisions? it is are working on this and who makes the final decisions?— the final decisions? it is a specialist _ the final decisions? it is a specialist team, - the final decisions? it is a specialist team, i - the final decisions? it is a specialist team, i think i the final decisions? it is a l specialist team, i think the the final decisions? it is a - specialist team, i think the team has been flexed up and down according to how much work has been done, at times it has not been a huge number of officers, and other times it has been up in a few dozen.

but in the end, it is not actually a huge amount of work where people are having to scour through the grounds and search through the undergrowth, this is a set of detectives who have been selected because they are very good detectives working on a very sensitive inquiry, but it is not a huge number of people. {lilia sensitive inquiry, but it is not a huge number of people. ok, daniel, thank ou. this issue of finesjust this issue of fines just throws this issue of finesjust throws back into the _ this issue of finesjust throws back into the spotlight something that has been really comfortable for downing — has been really comfortable for downing street four months. yes, the prime _ downing street four months. yes, the prime minister and his wife are not among _ prime minister and his wife are not among those being fined again at the moment, _ among those being fined again at the moment, and that will be invalid, i think. _ moment, and that will be invalid, i think. to _ moment, and that will be invalid, i think, to numberten, but moment, and that will be invalid, i think, to number ten, but this process— think, to number ten, but this process goes on. there are more events— process goes on. there are more events being looked at, there's the potential— events being looked at, there's the potential of more fines to come, and

that second — potential of more fines to come, and that second sue gray report, which is widely— that second sue gray report, which is widely expected to be highly critical— is widely expected to be highly critical of what was going on in downing — critical of what was going on in downing street, so it is extremely uncomfortable still for the prime minister~ — uncomfortable still for the prime minister. what is also uncomfortable for the _ minister. what is also uncomfortable for the prime minister is the pressure _ for the prime minister is the pressure he is under to come up with more _ pressure he is under to come up with more answers on the cost of living. the cabinet — more answers on the cost of living. the cabinet is discussing how to ease _ the cabinet is discussing how to ease the — the cabinet is discussing how to ease the burden, they want to do things— ease the burden, they want to do things like — ease the burden, they want to do things like remove red tape and listen _ things like remove red tape and listen some rules to try to get rid of some — listen some rules to try to get rid of some costs that families and households are facing. —— loosen some _ households are facing. —— loosen some rules _ households are facing. —— loosen some rules. but they are under huge pressure _ some rules. but they are under huge pressure to— some rules. but they are under huge pressure to do more. the uk economy shrank by 0.1% in march, as households began to feel the impact of rising prices and cut back on spending. the office for national statistics says although the economy grew by 0.8% in the first three months of the year, growth stalled in february, and the latest figures show the cost of living is "beginning to bite." 0ur economics correspondent

andy verity reports. at cheshire market in buckinghamshire, danny is hoping the upcoming jubilee celebrations will give sales a lift. the bunting's going up in more ways than one. every day he talks to his wholesaler and gets the same message. everything has gone up, everything. everything i sell has gone up in price, everything. give us an example. what about these dog beds, for example? that dog bed there, i was selling it for 19.99 at christmas. it's now 29.99. with their own wages not keeping up with prices, customers are not spending like they used to. this market survived the internet and the pandemic, but in the last six months, with pricesjumping and business down an estimated 30%, nearly half the traders have walked away. the cost of living has gone up everywhere, all these people are self—employed, they have obviously got to earn a living and their stock has gone up like my stock has gone up, and i think people are having it hard. even in a relatively prosperous commuter town like chesham, there is now a toxic combination of soaring prices and stagnating activity.

stagflation is causing real economic pain. food banks are more in demand now than they were at the start of the pandemic, even though this is only a slow down and that back then was the biggest recession in 300 years. it's not in that crisis but in its aftermath and in the shadow of war that ordinary households are feeling the pinch most. while the economy did grow by 0.7% injanuary, official estimates say there was no growth in february, and activity unexpectedly shrank in march. and that's before consumers were hit by higher taxes and bills at the start of april. since then, consumers have cut back sharply on nonessential spending. stricken small businesses are demanding government action. injanuary, our businesses were telling us that despite increasing costs, their order books were strong. in the last month they have seen those order books decline and that is what we are really worried about. we are worried that we are at a tipping point in terms of going into recession,

and that is why we need to see the government act now with three key measures — reversing national insurance increases, decreasing vat on energy bills, and bringing in free covid testing for businesses. today, the bbc�*s economics editor asked the chancellor why he wasn't doing more and treating this as an emergency. what i would say is i am completely aware of what the challenges that people are facing are. are you really taking the action right now that is needed by so many millions? we have taken action already but what i have always said is i stand ready to do more. labour is now demanding an emergency budget to tackle a crisis that is only likely to worsen in the coming months. with the economy already shrinking, the risk of a full—blown recession this year is on the rise. andy verity, bbc news, cheshire.

joining me now to talk about how their business has been affected during the cost of living crisis is liz williams, co—owner of cave valley kitchens. tell us how your business has been affected in recent weeks and months. it was literally an overnight change. we had started up another new business in march, that was going really well, it was performing over what we expected, and the 1st of april, our business just slashed by about 50%. whether that was through the fear of what was to come, whether was conscientious decisions by customers to cut back their spending in preparation, make their spending in preparation, make the savings they needed to to deal with what was going on at home. just tell us how your business works. you are a corporate catering company, is that right? we are a corporate catering company, is that riuht? ~ ., , ., , , that right? we have several strings to the business. _ that right? we have several strings to the business. so _ that right? we have several strings to the business. so we _ that right? we have several strings

to the business. so we do - that right? we have several strings to the business. so we do take - that right? we have several strings l to the business. so we do take away, it started during covid as a response to not being able to go out and do festivals, weddings and corporate events, so the delivery side of it. so the delivery side is at the lower earning income bracket, that sort of demographic, and that was the immediate response, 50% reduction overnight. the corporate side of the business is still on the up, it is increasing, but what we is where previously the buyers might be saying ten to £15 per person or per head for the organisation, they are now looking to get the same for maybe £7 £10 per person. then with the side of the business, the demographic that is aimed is more sort of middle class, and we are finding that the spending is the same, but the footfall is down, so

the event which might have had 5500 people through the gate, they have lost £1000 this year, so whether thatis lost £1000 this year, so whether that is again people making the conscientious decision not to spend, or whether it is, you know, just that fear of going out post—disease—mac. but on the winning side of the business, we are fully booked for next year and already looking to get bookings for next year. looking to get bookings for next ear. �* ., ., ,., i. looking to get bookings for next ear. �* ., ~ year. and what about your costs? all the substances _ year. and what about your costs? all the substances you _ year. and what about your costs? all the substances you have _ year. and what about your costs? all the substances you have to - year. and what about your costs? all the substances you have to buy, - year. and what about your costs? all the substances you have to buy, the| the substances you have to buy, the foods, the amount of your paying staff? ~ , , staff? well, this is the hardest thin for staff? well, this is the hardest thing for us. — staff? well, this is the hardest thing for us, and _ staff? well, this is the hardest thing for us, and what - staff? well, this is the hardest| thing for us, and what happens staff? well, this is the hardest i thing for us, and what happens in the market as far as consumers are concerned, every single one of our costs has risen. so one really heartbreaking example as there was an article in the guardian about

tesco's pre—tax profits in april, they have went from 1.1 billion to 2.2 billion in the last 12 months. now, tesco bought out bookers, which is where we can buy in bulk, the hospitality industry. i did a costing one week, and the following week, the costing had gone up by £80 on one simple shop. that has a knock—on effect as far as our product prices increase, our packaging increases, and we are looking now where we used to get deliveries for our products from these big wholesalers, many of us are now going to supermarkets, to aldi. their prices have not risen likely wholesalers' have risen. it

is heartbreaking, if tesco, who own booker, can record these huge profits, why are they not passing it on to us, to their own customers, and to the corporate customers? {lilia and to the corporate customers? ok, liz williams, — and to the corporate customers? 0k, liz williams, lots of talk about, very good to get a picture of how your business is being affected at the moment. you very much indeed for sharing that with us.— 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 to its national security — and it will take steps of a "military—technical" nature in response. jussi halla—aho is the

chair of the finnish foreign affairs committee. he says the war in ukraine madejoining nato the best option. it seems that in february we had a naive and slightly wrong impression of what kind of country russia is. we now know they are willing to use reckless brutal military force against its non—allied 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 long held traditional ways of thinkina. , . , our long held traditional ways of thinkin. , , ., , , our long held traditional ways of thinkin. , , ., , thinking. james reynolds is on the border between _ thinking. james reynolds is on the border between finland _ thinking. james reynolds is on the border between finland and - thinking. james reynolds is on the l border between finland and russia. james, what is the sense there of the announcement? it has been expected, hasn't it? the

the announcement? it has been expected, hasn't it?— the announcement? it has been expected, hasn't it? the sense i find here speaking _ expected, hasn't it? the sense i find here speaking to _ expected, hasn't it? the sense i find here speaking to people - expected, hasn't it? the sense i| find here speaking to people has been one of quiet understanding. there has been little opposition to it, norany there has been little opposition to it, nor any particular tune in for it. they are what the decision through over several months, and i think the government has come to the same conclusion as most people have they need more help in order to defend themselves from their neighbour russia, just a short drive from here. for many years, someone had a of self—reliance, it calls up its older men for reserve duty. people have bomb shelters, they are very well—prepared, because of their of russian invasion, so it invasion in 1939 and 1940. however, fenlon has now decided that self defence, self—reliance, is not enough. they need help from others, the 30 states of nato, in order to protect their border, in order to protect their

country. that border is 800 miles long, and what it does now, when finland joined nato, as it will do, it doubles the length of the nato russia border. so from russia's point of view, transformed the security situation in the baltic and also in the arctic as well, and it would put the nato borderjust two or three hours drive, this region, from vladimir putin's home city of st petersburg. from vladimir putin's home city of st petersburg— from vladimir putin's home city of st petersbur. , , ., , ., ,, st petersburg. james reynolds, thank ou ve st petersburg. james reynolds, thank you very much — st petersburg. james reynolds, thank you very much indeed _ st petersburg. james reynolds, thank you very much indeed for _ st petersburg. james reynolds, thank you very much indeed for that - you very much indeed for that update. we'rejoined now by you very much indeed for that update. we're joined now by michael clarke, professor of war studies at king's college london, thank you for joining us. there has been quite a shift in public opinion, hasn't there, in finland on the question of joining nato? as we have seen the events in ukraine and fold. how does this change the political landscape of europe, and is this going to be seen, really, is a huge provocation to russia, or not? it seen, really, is a huge provocation to russia, or not?— to russia, or not? it certainly chances to russia, or not? it certainly changes the _ to russia, or not? it certainly changes the military - to russia, or not? it certainly. changes the military landscape to russia, or not? it certainly - changes the military landscape in europe, and also the political

landscape. finland and sweden are two very important big, physically big and economically important, north european countries. i mean, nato's new members of the last few years have all been at the small states. the last two states to join work montenegro and north macedonia, which, you know, with respect, bring absolutely nothing to nato's military posture. however, finland and almost certainly swimwear —— sweden, give an enormous boost to nato, notjust with what sweden, give an enormous boost to nato, not just with what they can provide, but also with their territory, the fact they are physically big territories. and the involvement of sweden and finland in nato makes the baltic states, estonia, latvia, lithuania, small states otherwise out on a limb, it makes them very defensible. it

basically makes the baltic sea, a need to see, not something nato has to compete over, that becomes a link for nato states. add in terms of russia, they are absolutely furious about it, but they created themselves, and there's almost nothing they can do. you themselves, and there's almost nothing they can do.— themselves, and there's almost nothing they can do. you say nothing the can nothing they can do. you say nothing they can do. — nothing they can do. you say nothing they can do. people _ nothing they can do. you say nothing they can do, people have _ nothing they can do. you say nothing they can do, people have talked - they can do, people have talked about the cyber risk now going forward, what sort of retaliation might we see it from moscow? weill. might we see it from moscow? well, the russians — might we see it from moscow? well, the russians could _ might we see it from moscow? well, the russians could close _ might we see it from moscow? well, the russians could close the - might we see it from moscow? h the russians could close the canal that runs from the southern lakes of finland into viborg, which used to be a finnish city before the russians took it in the 1940. they could close the canal and inconvenience finland in terms of getting fertiliser, timber, and cement to the outside world, they could initiate cyber attacks. we already have. and the west is already have. and the west is already coping with those. but

essentially, russia's choices are between a bit of inconvenience and starting world war iii. there's not much in between. so we can either do a little bit and half in prof all they like, or they can massively overreact, take nato one, start world war iii, and lose.- overreact, take nato one, start world war iii, and lose. given nato are still holding _ world war iii, and lose. given nato are still holding back, _ world war iii, and lose. given nato are still holding back, obviously - world war iii, and lose. given nato are still holding back, obviously in. are still holding back, obviously in terms of full engagement in ukraine, expanding nato's boulders like this does carry risk for existing members, doesn't it? everything carries risk- _ members, doesn't it? everything carries risk. since _ members, doesn't it? everything carries risk. since the _ members, doesn't it? everything carries risk. since the 24th - members, doesn't it? everything carries risk. since the 24th of- carries risk. since the 24th of february, as the finnish committee chair was saying, since the 24th of february, everything has changed. europe is in a much more delicate and dangerous state because president putin's russia, it is now manifestly a threat to the security of all of europe. it is now clear that russia is trying to recreate the russia of catherine the great. so what president putin is looking for is a russia that includes

ukraine, moldova, belarus, and quite likely putting pressure on the baltic states and the scandinavian countries. he wants to recreate that 18th—century influence that russia had other what everybody else in europe, suddenly north—western europe, suddenly north—western europe, was able to do. so that is the nature of the threat he poses, so we live in dangerous times. but there's no point in being too frightened to do everything. everything we do will carry risk, so i think western states people are being pretty good at the moment, it is easy for me to talk in glib terms, but i do not represent anything, iam terms, but i do not represent anything, i am just an analyst. if i were a politician, i would be speaking and much more measured tones than i do, because we have to take this carefully and cautiously. but in fact, nato is in a very good position, and in terms of finland and sweden arejoining nato, that is and sweden arejoining nato, that is a benefit to nato. nato is considerably stronger because european security is better off for it, and there is nothing practically that russia can do about it.

professor michael clarke, thank you very much for your time. doctors and paramedics say long waits for ambulances across the uk are having a "dangerous impact" on patient safety. bbc research found the number of serious safety incidents involving ambulances in england rose by 77% over the past year, compared to before the pandemic. 0ur health correspondent jim reed reports. 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 been permanently injured. over the past year, that has risen to 551 reports. the nhs says it is working hard to free up hospital beds to see patients quickly. the government says it is providing billions of pounds to tackle the treatment backlog in england. doctors, though, say too many people who need emergency care are still left waiting. jim reed, bbc news. the united states has become the first country to the born 1 million deaths from covid. doesn't biden said it was a tragic milestone, and the us must remain vigilant. it is the us must remain vigilant. it is the highest total in the world, although the world health organization says the true death 0rganization says the true death toll may be much higher elsewhere. rebecca vardy is giving evidence for the third day at the high court where she is being questioned about allegedly leaking stories to the sun newspaper. she is suing coleen

rooney for libel after rooney accused vardy of selling private studies. rebecca vardy arrived at court without her husband. this morning was all about killing the new�*s legal team trying to establish links between rebecca vardy and paparazzi photographers and journalists at the son newspaper. we had about a famous photograph from the 2018 world cup, when the so—called wags were photographed outside a restaurant in st petersburg. rebecca vardy denied orchestrating it, but in court was accused of lying under oath when she said she couldn't remember much about the evening because she had been drinking. we then heard about examples of newspaper stories which and ends up in the sun, including some about coleen rooney. crucial to others as a mobile phone belonging to the vardy�*s agent, which ended up in the north sea. coleen rooney's by

the staff expresses frustration about this, saying it was with david jones' locker. rebecca vardy�*s lawyer replied, who is david jones? we will be back with the story this weekend. now it's time for a look at the weather. today, sunny spells and scattered showers, mostly across the northern half of the uk, was a point when they across scotland. less windy further south and should stay dry with more sunshine around. through this evening on overnight, showers continue across more northern areas, staying dry further south. more of a breeze around, i think, tonight, some maybe not quite as chilly as the previous night, loads of eight to 11 celsius. friday, largely dry for england and wales, plenty of sunshine here. breezy for all, but sunshine here. breezy forall, but when sunshine here. breezy for all, but when the across the north, particularly in scotland, where we will see showers are longer spells

of rain. temperatures around the mid teens in the north, we could see 21 or 22 across some south—eastern areas. warming up into the weekend, plenty of sunshine around, chance of some thundery showers across southern areas late on saturday into sunday, feeling a bit cooler along north sea coast on sunday. this is bbc news. i'm geeta guru—murthy. these are the latest headlines. police say they have now issued more than 100 partygate finds following investigations into breaches of covid—19 investigations are from downing street and whitehall. britain's economy grows slowest for a year in the start of 2022 with the mounting fears the cost of living crisis will plunge the uk into recession. fellon's leaders have said that their country mustjoin nato without delay following the invasion of ukraine. —— finland's leaders. doctors and paramedics it's

a long waits for ambulances across the uk are having a dangerous impact on patient safety. sport now, and a full round—up from the bbc sport centre. brendon mccullum has been appointed england men's test cricket head coach. he joins from ipl side kolkotta knight riders. 0ur correspondent andy swiss is here, andy tell us more. 0n the face of it, this is a very 0n the face of it, this is a very bold choice by england. on the face of it, this is a very bold choice b encland. �* ., ., ., bold choice by england. brandon made his name is an — bold choice by england. brandon made his name is an exciting _ bold choice by england. brandon made his name is an exciting batsmen - his name is an exciting batsmen evert new zealand, but more importantly is an exciting captain, he really transformed the mood and culture around the new zealand team. he began the resurgence that ultimately led to them winning the test championship last year. there is one caveat perhaps, he has only ever coached in limited overs cricket, not any more traditional

form of the game, in that sense is it is a bit of a gamble but england need to shake things up because at the moment they are bottom of the test standings. rob key, the new managing director has issued a statement and said brendan has a recent history of changing cricket culture and environments for the better. i believe in brendan and ben stokes, a formidable coach and partnership and time for us all to back up and get ready for the ride. england certainly believe this is an exciting appointment and set�*s first series in charge will be against his homeland new zealand next month. thank you. and e there on the news of england's new test cricket camped in. —— captain. we've got the north london derby tonight as tottenham host arsenal in what could be one

of the most important derbies in recent years. they're fighting it out for a place in the champions league. the gunners are in the driving seat. they're four points clear of spurs and mikel arteta knows that a win for his side would be huge step towards qualification. now it is clear if we win against them we are in the champions league and the opportunity is there and we're going to play and go for it like we always do, because it is how we have come into this position and thatis we have come into this position and that is how we are going to approach it. it looks like andriy yarmolenko is going to leave west ham at the end of the season. the ukrainian 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 his home country. 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. england have been named

hosts of the 2025 women's world cup. the rfu have said they want 2025 to be the best attended women's world cup and aims to fill twickenham's 82,000 seats for the final. in the men's game, australia were unanimously voted the men's hosts for 2027, and it'll be a debut for the united states as they get set to host the 2031 tournament for the first time. it's been announced that bt sport and eurosport will merge, as part of a new venture between bt and warner bros discovery. the companies have struck a joint deal which could bring big changes to the uk tv sports market, and can see events such as the olympics, premier league football and cycling grand tours broadcast on one platform. the deal is subject to regulatory review and is expected to go through by the end of the year. former world darts champion

ted hankey has been jailed for two years for a sexual assault act caught on camera. the darts player was the bdo world champion in 2000 and 2009. he was sentenced at chester crown court today, where hankey plead guilty at an earlier hearing to the attack on 10th september in crewe. that's all the sport for now. i will have a little bit more later on. thank you very much. a black hole is usually a place in space where no light exists, making it all but impossible to capture on film. despite this, a team of astrophysicists have managed to photograph a black hole in our galaxy, the milky way, for the first time. pallab ghosh reports. for decades, astronomers have been on a quest searching the skies and into the very heart of our galaxy for a mysterious and elusive black hole. now, they've found it, and taken this picture. the black hole is at

the centre of the image. it is revealed by swirling hot matter pulled in by powerful gravitational forces. ziri younsi is among the 300 scientists involved in the project. i think it's really cool and amazing that we can even see a black hole. it's extremely far away, and it's dark, you're not meant to see a black hole, it traps light, and yet here we are capturing something that's meant to be invisible, seeing at the literal edge of space and time, i think that's truly remarkable. a black hole is created by a dead star collapsing in on itself. it has such strong gravity, not even light can escape its incredible pull. the blackhole is the glue which binds our galaxy together, it's part of the evolution of our galaxy, it explains where we came from, it will explain where we're going to. more than half a million computer simulations have been run and compared to the actual image. scientists believe that this

video reconstruction is the closest to what the blackhole in our galaxy looks like. no single telescope can see the object, so, several have been linked together to create a giant observatory on earth. here, high in the mountains of southern spain, scientists have been part of that search. we're in the heart of a telescope that's 40 years old. inside is the man who came up with the idea of photographing a blackhole when he was a student in the 1990s. he was told by his professors that it would be impossible. it's the fulfilment of a dream and the beginning of a new chapter, actually. studying black holes in great detail. it is no longer fantasy, we can test all our understanding and our models, we can do precision astrophysics. how does it make you feel now that you've finally produced this image? it's, you know, it's wonderful! you know, it's. .. it's a dream come true,

after 25, 30 years. for researchers, this is just the beginning. theory has now become reality. and they can now kick on to find out how this black hole really works, and even how our own galaxy came to be. pallab ghosh, bbc news. joining me now is dr ziri younsi, who is an astrophysicist. we saw him in that report, thank you forjoining us. when did you just see this first image? we have just had a press conference that revealed more images. we had a press conference that revealed more images-— more images. we all saw this image late last year _ more images. we all saw this image late last year so _ more images. we all saw this image late last year so have _ more images. we all saw this image late last year so have been - more images. we all saw this image late last year so have been working | late last year so have been working on this for some time, five years in fact, but it is only now we felt we were ready to publish it, because we know for sure this is what it looks like. ~ , ., , , ., know for sure this is what it looks like. ~ i. , , ., ., like. when you see this image we are

showin: on like. when you see this image we are showing on the _ like. when you see this image we are showing on the screen, _ like. when you see this image we are showing on the screen, can _ like. when you see this image we are showing on the screen, can you - showing on the screen, can you explain what it is a? absolutely. what ou explain what it is a? absolutely. what you are — explain what it is a? absolutely. what you are seeing _ explain what it is a? absolutely. what you are seeing here - explain what it is a? absolutely. what you are seeing here is - explain what it is a? absolutely. what you are seeing here is a i explain what it is a? absolutely. - what you are seeing here is a bright ring and that ring is actually matter that is orbiting the black hole and moving inwards and it is travelling almost at the speed of light, extremely luminous and that is how we are able to detect it with radio waves and there is a dark centre and that is called the black hole shadow and that is where the black hole resides. bhd hole shadow and that is where the black hole resides.— black hole resides. and what is it? the black hole _ black hole resides. and what is it? the black hole itself _ black hole resides. and what is it? the black hole itself is _ black hole resides. and what is it? the black hole itself is a _ black hole resides. and what is it? the black hole itself is a very - the black hole itself is a very compact region of space, so you can think of it as an object with a gravitational field that is so strong that nothing can escape it at a certain boundary that we call the event horizon and that defines the edge of the black hole so it traps everything, including light. it will everything, including light. it will not tra- everything, including light. it will not trap as? _ everything, including light. it will not trap as? no, _ everything, including light. it will not trap as? no, we _ everything, including light. it will not trap as? no, we are - everything, including light. it will not trap as? no, we are far - everything, including light. it will. not trap as? no, we are far enough awa . not trap as? no, we are far enough away. completely? _ not trap as? no, we are far enough away. completely? we _ not trap as? no, we are far enough away. completely? we can - not trap as? no, we are far enough away. completely? we can never. not trap as? no, we are far enough i away. completely? we can never say 100%, but away. completely? we can never say 10096. but for _ away. completely? we can never say 100%, but for the _ away. completely? we can never say 10096, but for the next _ away. completely? we can never say 10096, but for the next few _ away. completely? we can never say 10096, but for the next few million i 100%, but for the next few million years at least we are ok. {lilia 10096, but for the next few million years at least we are ok.- 10096, but for the next few million years at least we are ok. ok, and in terms of what _ years at least we are ok. ok, and in terms of what this _ years at least we are ok. ok, and in terms of what this will _ years at least we are ok. ok, and in terms of what this will tell _ years at least we are ok. ok, and in

terms of what this will tell us - years at least we are ok. ok, and in terms of what this will tell us now i terms of what this will tell us now of where we are coming from and where we are going to commit what questions might this answer? that so questions might this answer? at so many because _ questions might this answer? at so many because the _ questions might this answer? at so many because the centre _ questions might this answer? at so many because the centre of - questions might this answer? git sr many because the centre of the universe is studied across the electromagnetic spectrum but now we spatially resolved the core of the galaxy, we call it the central engine, we believe every galaxy has a supermassive black hole, so in time we will see how it feeds on matter in real time, we will understand questions like why do we not see a large scale jet in our galaxy like we see and many others? there was a violent past in our galaxy, we see a lot of observations that indicate enormous bubbles for example above and below the plane, but we do not see much activity today and the question really is why? so these sorts of observations, and there will be many more to come, have higher and higher resolution, will tell us where to look and give us an indication of why that is the case and perhaps even where we are going and what the possible state of our galaxy will be in the future. and when you say where we are going,

can you describe what the options are there? ., ., ,., , ., are there? there are all sorts of possibilities, _ are there? there are all sorts of possibilities, but _ are there? there are all sorts of possibilities, but it _ are there? there are all sorts of possibilities, but it might - are there? there are all sorts of possibilities, but it might be - are there? there are all sorts of| possibilities, but it might be that one day the jet switches on and then what will happen when an enormous jet that is larger than the scale of our galaxy, it would take million is obvious for that to propagate, but what happens when it switches on? so it is kind of like looking at the sun in a way, we study the sun it so well in such detail that we can use it to predict weather and so on, we observe it all the time. they will become a point where i think one day we are studying our galactic centre black hole regularly and we will understand how it connects with what is happening at different scales in our galaxy and this is important because a black holes on the gravitational glue which holds galaxies together, so understanding how they are connected and they are connected very much intimately with the galaxy, tells us a lot about how we came to be. there is a reason, and being speculative, but the thing is they are at the centre of our understanding of galaxies, the

evolution of the universe and the sorts of observations are very important because they give us a handle on trying to address those sorts of questions. it is sorts of questions. it is fascinating, i— sorts of questions. it is fascinating, i have - sorts of questions. it is | fascinating, i have more questions and i'm trying to remember my a—level science as you speak, but thank you very much for coming in today. thank you very much for coming in toda . . ~ thank you very much for coming in toda . ., ,, i. a sri lankan court has banned the former prime minister, mahinda rajapaksa, his son and fifteen of their allies from leaving the country. mr rajapaksa resigned on monday after his supporters attacked anti—government protesters, leading to hundreds of people being injured. meanwhile, a nationwide curfew has come back into effect, after it was temporarily lifted to allow people to buy essentials. 0ur correspondent anbarasan ethirajan is in colombo. this is a marketing columbo, one of the main markets in the city. the government has it briefly lifted the curfew and people have been coming here and buying things and i can see a grocery shop ever, electronic and

mobile phone shop and people are rushing in outback because the curfew ends soon. i see a busy shop owner here selling electric bulbs. the government lifted this a curfew to allow people to come and buy essential items because the country was shut down since monday evening because of violence between pro—government and anti—government supporters. this is all happening at a time of political crisis in this country. on the one hand, many people say they were not able to stock enough essential items and they were in real difficulty, now they were in real difficulty, now the business owners and shop owners here say it because the shops were shut for three days, they lost their income. brute shut for three days, they lost their income. ~ ., ., , ., shut for three days, they lost their income. ., ., , , ,, income. we had to shut our business because of the _ income. we had to shut our business because of the curfew _ income. we had to shut our business because of the curfew for _ income. we had to shut our business because of the curfew for the - income. we had to shut our business because of the curfew for the past i because of the curfew for the past four days. i usually earn around $7—$8 four days. i usually earn around $7-$8 a four days. i usually earn around $7—$8 a day, now i have lost that income. i have three children, how can i manage? the income. i have three children, how can i manage?—

can i manage? the cost of living crisis is already _ can i manage? the cost of living crisis is already having - can i manage? the cost of living crisis is already having a - can i manage? the cost of living crisis is already having a huge i crisis is already having a huge impact on this country and that is what led it to these protests against the government. now, president rajapaksa is trying to form an interim government, he gave an address to the nation last night and then he it said this week the government will be formed and that is what people are expecting, because political stability is very key for this country to obtain loans. police say they have now issued more than 100 fines for partygate following investigations into breaches of covid—19 regulations in downing street and whitehall. britain's economy group say the slowest growth for a year at the start of 2022 could plunge at the uk into recession. for lunch's leaders have said that their country must join nato without delay following

the invasion of ukraine. russia because they move a definite threat. the eurovision song contest has brought countries together to celebrate the power of music. one of the favourites to win at this year is ukraine who qualified for the final on tuesday with their song. the band won the vote to represent the country two days before russia invaded ukraine and since then, many figures havejoined the invaded ukraine and since then, many figures have joined the army. joining us is a saying that now serving in the ukrainian army. thank you very much forjoining us. i'm sure you cannot tell us what you are, but you have seen huge seismic change in your country going from music to military service, how do you feel about the eurovision song contest? what will it mean to people

where you are now?— where you are now? hello everybody and thank you _ where you are now? hello everybody and thank you for _ where you are now? hello everybody and thank you for calling _ where you are now? hello everybody and thank you for calling and - where you are now? hello everybody and thank you for calling and of - and thank you for calling and of course ukraine is essential to talk to the world through the cultural tools and eurovision is a very popular song contest and of course when we try to tell to the world what is happening here in ukraine, we must use creative tools like this, so our ukrainian musician band kalush that is representative on this song contest, it is a band that we are proud of and of course it is very good that a lot of people like

their song and their gig, that it was maybe two days ago and they are in the final of this contest, they will do their best to get the victory or even knots, i saw how the people congratulated them, how they applaud them, it is very pleasing for us, the ukrainians, it is like a kind of support to ukraine when people who are watching eurovision song contest are showing their support, screaming, making loud during our band playing. it is very

nice, it is very pleasing for us. you have managed to keep your own music going too, tell us about that. it was a simple decision because it before the war, we were popular in ukraine and still have been popular in ukraine, but when somebody tries to defeat your country, try to take your country and attacks your country... sorry, yes, you should detect your country and do your best to resist, so i decided to do like we do and become a part of territorial defence forces and it was normal for us just to fight, to

stay here in ukraine and fight with our brothers till we get the victory of course. . ,, , our brothers till we get the victory of course. ., i. , ., , ., of course. have you been able to make some _ of course. have you been able to make some music— of course. have you been able to make some music though - of course. have you been able to make some music though in - of course. have you been able to l make some music though in recent weeks or not? it is make some music though in recent weeks or not?— weeks or not? it is not so easy to create music— weeks or not? it is not so easy to create music in — weeks or not? it is not so easy to create music in this _ weeks or not? it is not so easy to create music in this situation - create music in this situation during the war, but when ed sheeran proposed to us to do the remix and collaborate with him, of course we said yes and did all that we can to make it happen. 0f said yes and did all that we can to make it happen. of course. itruiith said yes and did all that we can to make it happen. of course. with ed sheeran, make it happen. of course. with ed sheeran. yes- _ make it happen. of course. with ed sheeran, yes. and _ make it happen. of course. with ed sheeran, yes. and looking - make it happen. of course. with ed sheeran, yes. and looking at - make it happen. of course. with ed sheeran, yes. and looking at the i sheeran, yes. and looking at the eurovision contest that is going to go ahead in the next few days, what do you think it will mean to people there if ukraine does win a? because obviously people are facing real horror, are they able to even think about this sort of mass entertainment programme that is going on so far away? i

entertainment programme that is going on so far away?— going on so far away? i hope that ukraine will— going on so far away? i hope that ukraine will get _ going on so far away? i hope that ukraine will get the _ going on so far away? i hope that ukraine will get the victory, - going on so far away? i hope that ukraine will get the victory, but l ukraine will get the victory, but first of all, for us it is very important to get the victory here on the battlefield and to defeat russia, but i think it will be great, but it is a little bit difficult to organise the next eurovision song contest in ukraine, but if ukraine will get the victory in this contest, we will do everything to make it happen next yearin everything to make it happen next year in kyiv, so first of all we just need to push out russian troops and then of course it would be great to celebrate this song contest in ukraine in kyiv, but even knots,

evenif ukraine in kyiv, but even knots, even if ukraine do not get the victory, it is ok, because there huge support that we have seen two days ago in the eurovision song contest is already a great pleasure for us that european people support ukraine and show to us that love of course. . . , ukraine and show to us that love of course. ., .,, ., ,., ., ukraine and show to us that love of course. ., .,, ., ., ., ~ i. course. ok, taras topolia, thank you ve much course. ok, taras topolia, thank you very much indeed _ course. ok, taras topolia, thank you very much indeed for— course. ok, taras topolia, thank you very much indeed for spending - course. ok, taras topolia, thank you very much indeed for spending the i very much indeed for spending the time to talk to us, thank you. thank ou, time to talk to us, thank you. thank you. goodbye- _ just some news coming into us from the police in bristol. they have said that the 15—year—old girl who was missing for over two weeks has now been found. they say they are treating it as a child abduction rather than a missing persons case

and madison, known as maddy, disappeared from her foster home and madison, known as maddy, disappeared from herfoster home in the afternoon of april the 26 and the afternoon of april the 26 and the police have said that at 12:45pm today she had been found at an address in bristol and three men at the party have been arrested on suspicion of child abduction. —— at the property. we also hear maddie's foster family have been informed and the police said they were delighted that she had been found. they are grateful to the public this 8—foot all the support they have had in the search for this teenager and she is now being provided with all the care and support she needs. one in ten ambulances waited almost an hour and a half outside a&e departments to drop off patients in scotland last week. latest figures give an insight into the pressure the service is under at the moment.

and, the long waits outside hospitals have a knock—on effect on how quickly teams can get back on the road. bbc scotland's health correspondent, lisa summers, has spent a shift with one crew based in edinburgh. is the feeling in your chest... is it pain, or...? is it pain in your chest? we are getting the help there to you as quickly as we can. they're coming as the highest priority. what we don't know at this point is how far she's fallen. another clearly stroke, with - a patient who's now unconscious. this is now a red call. we are on our way to a 75—year—old lady at the ocean terminal shopping centre. she's got a leg injury and head injury. i'lljust lift your ankle up a wee bit, and then we'lljust feed this underneath. incidents like this are the type of everyday cases that paramedics moira shaw and blair paul deal with. it's not a life—threatening injury, but their patient needs to be seen at hospital. but so far, there's no room at a&e. have you got any idea how long you're going to be here?

not really. so this is really pretty much an everyday occurrence now. so it's that sort of domino effect that patients are waiting to move to other areas, a&e gets clogged up, so we have to wait in the ambulance when we arrive until there is a space to take them in. ambulance turnaround times are one of the main reasons for delays getting to calls. last week, one in ten ambulances in scotland waited almost an hour and a half outside and emergency department to drop off patients. all of that has a knock—on effect on how long it takes to get back on the road. i just worry about the people who are waiting hours and hours and hours for the ambulances. and from what can be quite a lower queue call when it comes in, these people are waiting nine, ten hours before they get an ambulance. and actually, these are the sickest people. we do think, had we been able to get there earlier, could that have made a difference? and i would say definitely, in some cases, it would have. since october last year, the ambulance service has been at a critical alert level.

just this week, it's been lowered, a sign that things are slowly improving. hello, it's ambulance control, how can i help you? _ staff at the control centre say it's been really difficult to deal with some of the calls when they didn't get the help quickly enough. it's heartbreaking when we see that, it genuinely is, particularly if it is repeat call after repeat call after repeat call when you're telling them the same things, that we're sorry we haven't got an ambulance to you. for the crew on the road, another call comes in. this is what the paramedics want to do, they want to be out on the road, getting to help their patients. they're on their way now to a category red call. it's somebody who's unconscious, with a suspected stroke. this patient is 98 and needs urgent attention. feeling sick? and have you got any pain? the paramedics are getting her to hospital as quickly as possible. itjust went a bit mad tonight. so we've just taken in a lady

who might have been having a stroke. there's been a cardiac arrest coming and there's also been a stabbing, who's just self—presented. like other parts of the health service, paramedics say they're seeing sicker patients, as well as some who feel they've nowhere else to turn for help. maybe theyjust haven't been able to get through to their gp and they phoned 999. while we're attending somebody that doesn't necessarily need an ambulance, somebody who really does either waits a lot longer or, you know, sometimes, we're just too late. another busy shift is almost over and some respite may lie ahead, but covid has hit the whole of the nhs hard, with no clear route to getting back on track. lisa summers reporting. things are warming up this weekend, high pressure will be building and we should see increasing amounts of sunshine as temperatures creeping

into the low 20s, particularly across the central and southern areas. are still in the rather cool and breezy air mass at the moment. todayis and breezy air mass at the moment. today is going to be certainly one of those quite windy across the north with plenty of showers here, but good sunny spells further south closer to an area of high pressure which will continue to build across the near continent. for the rest of the near continent. for the rest of the afternoon, looks are dry for many, more sunshine an amount across england and wales where we had yesterday, shower around but most across scotland, northern ireland, especially the north—west of scotland where it will be quite windy. low teens here but could see mid to high teens south. through this evening and overnight it stays dry for much of england and wales. there will be further patchy rain showers across the northern half of the country and again it will remain quite breezy for all, but especially in the north. temperature —wise i think lows of eight to 11 degrees, maybe a degree or so milder than the previous night. for friday, quite windy across the northern half of the country, even the gales in

exposure across north and west of scotland, plenty of showers here, longer spells of rain. the further south you are, it will be breezy, not quite as windy and we should see increasing amounts of sunshine and the temperatures creeping up further, 21 or 22 degrees across the south—east, 14 to 16 degrees in the north. inhibitors, this building area of high pressure into the weekend it starts to draw up warm, humid airfrom the weekend it starts to draw up warm, humid air from the south and that could even bring the chance of thundery showers with it late on saturday into sunday. saturday itself does not look too bad, that area of high pressure building and so the winds will be lighter, should see a good deal of sunshine around so most places will be warmer, but particularly so across southern areas where we could see 22, 20 three degrees. signs of thundery plume atjust getting in to southern areas, bit of uncertainty to wear this area of showers will move up from bed could be much anywhere across the south coast and then pushing into the south—east into the early hours of sunday. there will be thunderstorms as well. through

sunday, that plume of showers moves a little bit further northwards, but actually there will be a lot of dry weather around on sunday with temperatures again into the low 20s in the warm up spots and feeling a bit humid.

this is bbc news. i'm geeta guru—murthy. these are the latest 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. this is really important. i have always said i stand ready to do more as we learn more about the situation. i am out every single week talking to people across the country. finland's leaders have said their country mustjoin nato without delay following the russian invasion of ukraine — russia calls the move a definite threat.

that is an unalloyed benefit to nata — that is an unalloyed benefit to nato. nato is considerably stronger because _ nato. nato is considerably stronger because european security is better off for— because european security is better off for it. _ because european security is better off for it, and there is nothing practically that notion can do about it. practically that notion can do about it -- _ practically that notion can do about it -- on _ doctors and paramedics say that long waits for ambulances across the uk are having a "dangerous impact" on patient safety. and the enormous black hole living at the centre of our galaxy is pictured for the very first time, despite being around 26,000 light—years from earth. good afternoon. the metropolitan police have issued

more than 50 new fines for breaches of covid rules in downing street and other government buildings. these fixed penalty notices are in addition to more than 50 handed out last month, including to borisjohnson and chancellor rishi sunak. neither mrjohnson nor his wife carriejohnson are among those to be fined this time. 0ur political correspondent ben wright reports. are you shocked at the scale of lawbreaking in number ten, prime minister? how could you let that happen under your watch? the fallout from whitehall rule—braking has followed the prime minister to stoke, for a cabinet away day also attended by the uk's top civil servant. cabinet secretary, can you confirm whether you have been fined by the police? the police have now issued more than 100 fines to people who partied during number ten and government offices during lockdown. the met says it will not name those

who have been fined as it investigates a dozen events that happened when covid restrictions were in force. we know that boris johnson, his wife carriejohnson and chancellor rishi sunak were given fixed penalty notices last month over a birthday party held for the prime minister at number ten injune 2020. the ballooning list of party fines means tory mps cannot escape the scandal. the prime minister was not present at this event, this latest event, that we are hearing about, but it is quite clear that the prime minister has apologised, he has already changed a lot of senior staff at downing street, i think that is absolutely what is needed to happen, and i am glad that culture shift has happened. this fictional party was a business meeting. and it was not socially distanced. the leaked video of the prime minister's then press secretary joking about a party ignited the scandal, and fines were given to some of the people who attended the do in december 2020.

the prime minister was not at it, but labour wants to keep the pressure on him. they have racked up more fines than any other location in britain, yet he refuses to do the decent thing. i think that is quite extraordinary given that he made the rules, then broke the rules, on a record scale. of course, a labour event is also being investigated by durham police, and the party's leader sir keir starmer has said he will resign if he receives a fixed penalty notice. unlike the prime minister, who has swatted away calls to quit. this morning, number ten said neither borisjohnson nor the cabinet secretary had received fines today, but this remains a live police investigation, and a smouldering political fuse. mps will investigate whether borisjohnson misled parliament about all this, and a full report will eventually be published by the civil servant sue gray. judging by the number of fines now issued, that is likely to be a long and incendiary read. ben wright, bbc news, westminster.

0ur political correspondent nick eardley says it's a story that won't go away for the government, and the public will be expecting westminster to act on big issues like the cost of living. this issue of finesjust throws back into the spotlight something that has been really comfortable for downing street four months. yes, the prime minister and his wife are not among those being fined again at the moment, and that will be a relief, i think, to number ten, but this process goes on. there are more events being looked at, there's the potential of more fines to come, and that second sue gray report, which is widely expected to be highly critical of what was going on in downing street, so it is extremely uncomfortable still for the prime minister~ — what is also uncomfortable for the prime minister is the pressure he is under to come up with more answers on the cost of living. the cabinet is discussing how to ease the burden, they want to do things like remove red tape and loosen some rules to try to get rid of some costs that families and households are facing.

but they are under huge pressure to do more. the uk economy shrank by 0.1% in march, as households began to feel the impact of rising prices and cut back on spending. the office for national statistics says although the economy grew by 0.8% in the first three months of the year, growth stalled in february, and the latest figures show the cost of living is "beginning to bite." 0ur economics correspondent andy verity reports. at chesham market in buckinghamshire, danny is hoping the upcoming jubilee celebrations will give sales a lift. the bunting's going up in more ways than one. every day he talks to his wholesaler and gets the same message. everything has gone up, everything. everything i sell has gone up in price, everything. give us an example. what about these dog beds, for example? that dog bed there, i was selling it for 19.99 at christmas. it's now 29.99.

with their own wages not keeping up with prices, customers are not spending like they used to. this market survived the internet and the pandemic, but in the last six months, with pricesjumping and business down an estimated 30%, nearly half the traders have walked away. the cost of living has gone up everywhere, all these people are self—employed, they have obviously got to earn a living, and their stock has gone up like my stock has gone up, and i think people are having it hard. even in a relatively prosperous commuter town like chesham, there is now a toxic combination of soaring prices and stagnating activity. stagflation is causing real economic pain. food banks are more in demand now than they were at the start of the pandemic, even though this is only a slow down and that back then was the biggest recession in 300 years. it's not in that crisis but in its aftermath and in the shadow of war that ordinary households are feeling the pinch most. while the economy did grow by 0.7% injanuary, official estimates say there was no

growth in february, and activity unexpectedly shrank in march. and that's before consumers were hit by higher taxes and bills at the start of april. since then, consumers have cut back sharply on nonessential spending. stricken small businesses are demanding government action. injanuary, our businesses were telling us that despite increasing costs, their order books were strong. in the last month, they have seen those order books decline, and that is what we are really worried about. we are worried that we are at a tipping point in terms of going into recession, and that is why we need to see the government act now with three key measures — reversing national insurance increases, decreasing vat on energy bills, and bringing in free covid testing for businesses. today, the bbc�*s economics editor asked the chancellor why he wasn't doing more and treating this as an emergency. what i would say is i am completely aware of what the challenges that people are facing are. you say you're aware, but are you really taking the action right now that is needed by so many millions? we have taken action already,

but what i have always said is i stand ready to do more. labour is now demanding an emergency budget to tackle a crisis that is only likely to worsen in the coming months. with the economy already shrinking, the risk of a full—blown recession this year is on the rise. andy verity, bbc news, chesham. earlier i spoke to liz williams, co—owner of cave valley kitchens, about how the cost of living crisis has affected her business. it was literally an overnight change. we had started up another new business in march, that was going really well, it was performing over what we expected, and the 1st of april, our business just slashed by about 50%. whether that was through the fear of what was to come, or whether it was conscientious decisions by customers to cut back their spending in preparation, make the savings they needed to

to deal with what was going on at home. just tell us how your business works. you are a corporate catering company, is that right? we have several strings to the business. so we do takeaway, it started during covid as a response to not being able to go out and do festivals, weddings and corporate events, so the delivery side of it. is at the lower earning income bracket, that sort of demographic, and that was that immediate response, 50% reduction overnight. the corporate side of the business is still on the up, it is increasing, but what we is where previously saying £10 to £15 per person or per head for the organisation, they are now looking to get the same

for maybe £7 or £10 per person. then with the festival side of the business, the demographic that is aimed is more sort of middle class, and we are finding that the spending is the same, but the footfall is down, so an event which might have had 5,500 people through the gate, they have lost £1,000 this year, so whether that is again people making the conscientious decision not to spend, or whether it is, you know, just that fear of going out post—covid. but on the wedding side of the business, we are fully booked for this year and already looking to get bookings for next year. and what about your costs? all the substances you have to buy, the foods, the amount you're paying staff? well, this is the hardest thing for us, and what happens in

the market as far as consumers are concerned, every single one of our costs has risen. so one really heartbreaking example is there was an article in the guardian about tesco's pre—tax profits in april, they have went from 1.1 billion to 2.2 billion in the last 12 months. now, tesco bought out booker, which is where we can buy in bulk, the hospitality industry. i did a costing one week, and the following week, the costing had gone up by £80 on one simple shop. that has a knock—on effect as far as our product prices increase, our packaging increases, and we are looking now where we used to get deliveries for our products from these big wholesalers, many of us are now going to supermarkets, to aldi.

their prices have not risen like the wholesalers' have risen. it is heartbreaking, if tesco, who own booker, can record these huge profits, why are they not passing it on to us, to their own customers, and to the corporate customers? 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 to its national security,

and it will take steps of a "military—technical" nature in response. jussi halla—aho is the chair of the finnish foreign affairs committee. he says the war in ukraine madejoining nato the best option. it seems that in february we had a naive and slightly wrong impression of what kind of country russia is. we now know they are willing to use reckless brutal military force against its non—allied 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.

james reynolds is on the border between finland and russia. the sense i find here speaking to people has been one of quiet understanding. there has been little opposition to it, nor any particular cheering for it. they have worked the decision through over several months, and i think the government has come to the same conclusion as most people have — they need more help in order to defend themselves from their neighbour russia, just a short drive from here. for many years, finland had a doctrine of self—reliance, it calls up its older men for reserve duty. people have bomb shelters, they are very well—prepared, because of their

history of soviet invasion in 1939 and 1940. however, finland has now decided that self defence, self—reliance, is not enough. they need help from others, the 30 states of nato, in order to protect their border, in order to protect their country. finland joins nato, as it will do, it doubles the length of the nato—russia border. so from russia's point of view, it transforms the security situation in the baltic and also in the arctic as well, and it would put the nato borderjust two or three hours' drive, this region, from vladimir putin's home city of st petersburg. i spoke to michael clarke, professor of war studies at king's college london. i asked if this would be seen as a provocation to russia. it certainly changes

the military landscape in europe, and also the political landscape. finland and sweden are two very important big, physically big and economically important, north european countries. i mean, nato's new members of the last few years have all been the small states. the last two states to join were montenegro and north macedonia, which, you know, with respect, bring absolutely nothing to nato's military posture. however, finland and almost certainly sweden, give an enormous boost to nato, notjust with what they can provide in terms of military establishment, but also with their territory, the fact they are physically big territories. and the involvement of sweden and finland in nato makes the baltic states, estonia, latvia, lithuania, small states otherwise out on a limb, it makes them very defensible.

it basically makes the baltic sea a nato sea, not something nato has to compete over, that becomes a link for nato states. and in terms of russia, they are absolutely furious about it, but they created themselves, and there's almost nothing they can do. iamjoined by i am joined by tony from ireland's national broadcaster, rte. the legal advice the government says it has got, will it be accepted? hat advice the government says it has got, will it be accepted?— got, will it be accepted? not at all. we got, will it be accepted? not at all- we have — got, will it be accepted? not at all. we have not _ got, will it be accepted? not at all. we have not seen - got, will it be accepted? not at all. we have not seen the - got, will it be accepted? not at all. we have not seen the legal advice in detail, but the bottom line for the european union and the irish government is that the legal position is the treaty which was negotiated between the uk and the

european union in 2019. the eu regards this as an internationally binding treaty, which was agreed by both sides, so the idea that one party will introduce legislation to overturn that treaty, or overturn part of that treaty, will be seen as a very serious development. having said that, we are waiting to see what this legislation looks like before deciding how to respond. but certainly the war of words between london and brussels is heating up quite a lot today.— quite a lot today. what are all sides briefing _ quite a lot today. what are all sides briefing about _ quite a lot today. what are all sides briefing about the - quite a lot today. what are all| sides briefing about the phone quite a lot today. what are all - sides briefing about the phone call between liz truss and the chief negotiator of the eu? liz between liz truss and the chief negotiator of the eu?— between liz truss and the chief negotiator of the eu? liz truss is sa in: negotiator of the eu? liz truss is saying that _ negotiator of the eu? liz truss is saying that she — negotiator of the eu? liz truss is saying that she has _ negotiator of the eu? liz truss is saying that she has told - negotiator of the eu? liz truss is saying that she has told the - negotiator of the eu? liz truss is saying that she has told the eu i negotiator of the eu? liz truss is i saying that she has told the eu that the situation in northern ireland where we have just had an election a matter of the peace and security of the united kingdom, that if the eu

did not act more flexibly on the application of the northern ireland protocol, which is part of the treaty, than the uk would have no choice but to act, and by that we understand that she means that they will introduce legislation probably next week. maros sefcovic, for his part, responded by saying doing this unilaterally it was simply unacceptable, and that it could undermine northern ireland's place in the eu single market. because the nature of the protocol means northern ireland stays in the single market while the rest of the uk leaves. but that means checks and controls on goods going from england, scotland and wales over the irish sea into northern ireland, and thatis irish sea into northern ireland, and that is what this row is about. so if borisjohnson and that is what this row is about. so if boris johnson and his government if borisjohnson and his government choose to unravel a treaty that they designed, negotiated, fought an election on, what are the options for the eu to retaliate? i

election on, what are the options for the eu to retaliate?— for the eu to retaliate? i think they would — for the eu to retaliate? i think they would wait _ for the eu to retaliate? i think they would wait to _ for the eu to retaliate? i think they would wait to see - for the eu to retaliate? i think they would wait to see what i for the eu to retaliate? i think - they would wait to see what exactly is proposed by way of legislation. then we have to see how it evolves, because legislation has to go through the machinery of westminster, through the house of commons, through the house of lords, where it would face some opposition, and it could take quite a long time for this to happen. there's also a suspicion in brussels and other national capitals that this is really about boris johnson shoring really about borisjohnson shoring up really about borisjohnson shoring up his own really about boris johnson shoring up his own political position with his own... this narrative may have some twists and turns yet to go, but ultimately, if they do press ahead and make this actual binding law in the uk, then there would be very serious trade retaliatory measures, no doubt. �* ., ., , ., , , no doubt. and if that does happen, how will that _ no doubt. and if that does happen, how will that affect _ no doubt. and if that does happen, how will that affect people - no doubt. and if that does happen, how will that affect people in - no doubt. and if that does happen, how will that affect people in the l how will that affect people in the uk in terms of costs on businesses?

and how much is brexit affecting brexit and the integrity of the uk? if there is a trade war between the uk and you'd european union, then there would be tariffs on goods. what happens at the moment as it had a free trade agreement meaning there are no tariffs on most goods coming straight in from the european union to the uk, and vice versa. if there was a trade war then there would be tariffs, and they could be quite punitive for the manufacturing sector, for the food sector, and it would certainly not the good news for the uk chancellor, who is already worried about the cost of living crisis. but again, as you say, this would be damaging the reputation week for the united kingdom, having signed a treaty only a couple of years ago are now to be breaking it already, in order to

support essentially one political party or one political community in northern ireland, i think this would go down quite badly, and really, i think thejoe biden administration would have a strong view on this, so that could also be quite decisive. and just finally, they local elections here don't seem to show that the brexit effect that the tories have benefited from his waning. we are looking at a general election here, is this process going to basically run all the way up to a general election? what is your subtle political assessment as to whether this is going to renew those brexit arguments? 0r whether this is going to renew those brexit arguments? or is it too complex for people to really grasp hold of? it complex for people to really grasp hold of? . . , complex for people to really grasp hold of? . ., , , complex for people to really grasp holdof? . ., i, , hold of? it certainly is complex, and i hold of? it certainly is complex, and i guess _ hold of? it certainly is complex, and i guess you _ hold of? it certainly is complex, and i guess you are _ hold of? it certainly is complex, and i guess you are right - hold of? it certainly is complex, and i guess you are right in - and i guess you are right in the sense that borisjohnson came to power with a very healthy majority on the basis that the slogan he got brexit done. this clearly shows that brexit done. this clearly shows that brexit is not a complete unfinished

project, the northern ireland protocol and relations with the european union have been a running sore ever since his election, and by bringing this legislation forward, this will really antagonise relations between the uk and the european union, and potentially the united states, and this will run for quite a while, potentially, as you say, up to the next election. tony, thank you very much for your time today. thank you very much for your time toda . ~ . thank you very much for your time toda. ~. thank you very much for your time toda. .,~ thank you very much for your time toda. ., borisjohnson has said he will take measures to help with the cost of living crisis, but did not elaborate on what those would be. the police have announced _ on what those would be. the police have announced another _ on what those would be. the police have announced another 50 - have announced another 50 frames. you again? your wife?

have announced another 50 frames. you again? yourwife? trio. have announced another 50 frames. you again? your wife?— have announced another 50 frames. you again? your wife? no, but when we have more _ you again? your wife? no, but when we have more to _ you again? your wife? no, but when we have more to say _ you again? your wife? no, but when we have more to say about _ you again? your wife? no, but when we have more to say about that, - you again? your wife? no, but when we have more to say about that, youj we have more to say about that, you will be _ we have more to say about that, you will be amongst _ we have more to say about that, you will be amongst the _ we have more to say about that, you will be amongst the very— we have more to say about that, you will be amongst the very first - will be amongst the very first to know _ will be amongst the very first to know. , ., , ., ., , ., will be amongst the very first to know. , ., , ., ., y., know. only five months ago, you said no rules were — know. only five months ago, you said no rules were ever _ know. only five months ago, you said no rules were ever broken. _ know. only five months ago, you said no rules were ever broken. what - know. only five months ago, you said no rules were ever broken. what do l no rules were ever broken. what do you say to people who find it difficult to believe you have really thought this was true? this difficult to believe you have really thought this was true?— difficult to believe you have really thought this was true? as soon as i have any more _ thought this was true? as soon as i have any more to _ thought this was true? as soon as i have any more to say _ thought this was true? as soon as i have any more to say about - thought this was true? as soon as i have any more to say about that, i have any more to say about that, you will be _ have any more to say about that, you will be amongst — have any more to say about that, you will be amongst the _ have any more to say about that, you will be amongst the first _ have any more to say about that, you will be amongst the first to _ have any more to say about that, you will be amongst the first to know. - will be amongst the first to know. but what — will be amongst the first to know. but what we're _ will be amongst the first to know. but what we're doing _ will be amongst the first to know. but what we're doing in _ will be amongst the first to know. but what we're doing in stoke... i will be amongst the first to know. i but what we're doing in stoke... fire but what we're doing in stoke... are ruestions, but what we're doing in stoke... questions, feminist. keir starmer has said he will resign if he is found guilty of breaking the law. why do you think you did that? —— our questions, prime minister. is it a question of honour? this our questions, prime minister. is it a question of honour?— a question of honour? as soon as i have any more _ a question of honour? as soon as i have any more to _ a question of honour? as soon as i have any more to say _ a question of honour? as soon as i have any more to say on _ a question of honour? as soon as i have any more to say on this - have any more to say on this subject. _ have any more to say on this subject. i_ have any more to say on this subject, iwill— have any more to say on this subject, i will make - have any more to say on this subject, i will make sure - have any more to say on this| subject, i will make sure that have any more to say on this - subject, i will make sure that you are the _ subject, i will make sure that you are the first — subject, i will make sure that you are the first to _ subject, i will make sure that you are the first to know. _ subject, i will make sure that you are the first to know. but - subject, i will make sure that you are the first to know. but what i. subject, i will make sure that you i are the first to know. but what i am doing _ are the first to know. but what i am doing in_ are the first to know. but what i am doing in stoke — are the first to know. but what i am doing in stoke is _ are the first to know. but what i am doing in stoke is making _ are the first to know. but what i am doing in stoke is making sure - are the first to know. but what i am doing in stoke is making sure that. doing in stoke is making sure that we'll focus— doing in stoke is making sure that we'll focus on _ doing in stoke is making sure that we'll focus on the _ doing in stoke is making sure that we'll focus on the thing _ doing in stoke is making sure that we'll focus on the thing that - we'll focus on the thing that matters, _ we'll focus on the thing that matters, most _ we'll focus on the thing that matters, most to _ we'll focus on the thing that matters, most to the - we'll focus on the thing that| matters, most to the people we'll focus on the thing that. matters, most to the people of this country— matters, most to the people of this country right — matters, most to the people of this country right now, _ matters, most to the people of this country right now, getting - matters, most to the people of this country right now, getting us- matters, most to the people of this country right now, getting us to - matters, most to the people of thisj country right now, getting us to the post-covid — country right now, getting us to the post—covid after—shocks, _ country right now, getting us to the post—covid after—shocks, making i country right now, getting us to the i post—covid after—shocks, making sure we not _

post—covid after—shocks, making sure we not only— post—covid after—shocks, making sure we not only help — post—covid after—shocks, making sure we not only help people _ post—covid after—shocks, making sure we not only help people with - post—covid after—shocks, making sure we not only help people with the - we not only help people with the cost of _ we not only help people with the cost of living _ we not only help people with the cost of living right _ we not only help people with the cost of living right now, - we not only help people with the cost of living right now, with - we not only help people with the cost of living right now, with all. cost of living right now, with all the things— cost of living right now, with all the things that _ cost of living right now, with all the things that we _ cost of living right now, with all the things that we are - cost of living right now, with all the things that we are doing - cost of living right now, with all| the things that we are doing and continuing — the things that we are doing and continuing to _ the things that we are doing and continuing to apply _ the things that we are doing and continuing to apply maximum i continuing to apply maximum ingenuity— continuing to apply maximum ingenuity to— continuing to apply maximum ingenuity to dealing - continuing to apply maximum ingenuity to dealing with - continuing to apply maximum ingenuity to dealing with it, i continuing to apply maximum l ingenuity to dealing with it, but also take — ingenuity to dealing with it, but also take the _ ingenuity to dealing with it, but also take the steps _ ingenuity to dealing with it, but also take the steps that - ingenuity to dealing with it, but also take the steps that are - also take the steps that are necessary _ also take the steps that are necessary to _ also take the steps that are necessary to deal— also take the steps that are necessary to deal with - also take the steps that arei necessary to deal with some also take the steps that are . necessary to deal with some of also take the steps that are - necessary to deal with some of the supply— necessary to deal with some of the supply side — necessary to deal with some of the supply side problems. _ necessary to deal with some of the supply side problems. but - supply side problems. but particularly _ supply side problems. but particularly on _ supply side problems. but particularly on cost - supply side problems. but particularly on cost of - supply side problems. but - particularly on cost of energy, cost of housing, — particularly on cost of energy, cost of housing, cost— of housing, cost of transport, cost of housing, cost of transport, cost of childcare, and look _ of housing, cost of transport, cost of childcare, and look at _ of housing, cost of transport, cost of childcare, and look at what - of housing, cost of transport, cost of childcare, and look at what we. of childcare, and look at what we are doing — of childcare, and look at what we are doing in _ of childcare, and look at what we are doing in the _ of childcare, and look at what we are doing in the queen's- of childcare, and look at what we are doing in the queen's speech. are doing in the queen's speech and beyond _ are doing in the queen's speech and beyond and — are doing in the queen's speech and beyond. and you _ are doing in the queen's speech and beyond. and you have _ are doing in the queen's speech and beyond. and you have got _ are doing in the queen's speech and beyond. and you have got the - are doing in the queen's speech and beyond. and you have got the bills. beyond. and you have got the bills that are _ beyond. and you have got the bills that are going _ beyond. and you have got the bills that are going to _ beyond. and you have got the bills that are going to be _ beyond. and you have got the bills that are going to be necessary- beyond. and you have got the bills that are going to be necessary to i that are going to be necessary to help us— that are going to be necessary to help us through _ that are going to be necessary to help us through. the _ that are going to be necessary to help us through. the british - that are going to be necessary to i help us through. the british energy security— help us through. the british energy security strategy _ help us through. the british energy security strategy is _ help us through. the british energy security strategy is there _ help us through. the british energy security strategy is there to - help us through. the british energy security strategy is there to help i security strategy is there to help particularly — security strategy is there to help particularly with _ security strategy is there to help particularly with our— security strategy is there to help particularly with our basic - particularly with our basic strategic— particularly with our basic strategic failure - particularly with our basic strategic failure over- particularly with our basic strategic failure over the. particularly with our basic . strategic failure over the last particularly with our basic - strategic failure over the last few decades— strategic failure over the last few decades to — strategic failure over the last few decades to make _ strategic failure over the last few decades to make sure _ strategic failure over the last few decades to make sure we - strategic failure over the last few decades to make sure we have i decades to make sure we have dependable _ decades to make sure we have dependable resources - decades to make sure we have i dependable resources ourselves. decades to make sure we have - dependable resources ourselves. i was speaking _ dependable resources ourselves. i was speaking to _ dependable resources ourselves. i was speaking to a _ dependable resources ourselves. i was speaking to a fantastic- dependable resources ourselves. i. was speaking to a fantastic business here in_ was speaking to a fantastic business here in stoke, — was speaking to a fantastic business here in stoke, where _ was speaking to a fantastic business here in stoke, where they— was speaking to a fantastic business here in stoke, where they are - here in stoke, where they are growing. _ here in stoke, where they are growing. they— here in stoke, where they are growing, they are _ here in stoke, where they are growing, they are putting - here in stoke, where they are growing, they are putting on. here in stoke, where they are - growing, they are putting on sales around _ growing, they are putting on sales around europe, _ growing, they are putting on sales around europe, but— growing, they are putting on sales around europe, but they _ growing, they are putting on sales around europe, but they are - growing, they are putting on salesj around europe, but they are hiring more _ around europe, but they are hiring more and — around europe, but they are hiring more and more _ around europe, but they are hiring more and more people. _

around europe, but they are hiring more and more people. but - around europe, but they are hiring more and more people. but they. around europe, but they are hiring - more and more people. but they need to have _ more and more people. but they need to have secure — more and more people. but they need to have secure dependable _ to have secure dependable energy supplies — to have secure dependable energy supplies. that— to have secure dependable energy supplies. that is— to have secure dependable energy supplies. that is why _ to have secure dependable energy supplies. that is why we - to have secure dependable energy supplies. that is why we are - to have secure dependable energy. supplies. that is why we are adding new nuclear— supplies. that is why we are adding new nuclear reactor— supplies. that is why we are adding new nuclear reactor every - supplies. that is why we are adding new nuclear reactor every year, - new nuclear reactor every year, while _ new nuclear reactor every year, while we — new nuclear reactor every year, while we are _ new nuclear reactor every year, while we are going _ new nuclear reactor every year, while we are going to— new nuclear reactor every year, while we are going to 50 - new nuclear reactor every year, i while we are going to 50 gigawatts of wind _ while we are going to 50 gigawatts of wind by— while we are going to 50 gigawatts of wind by 2030 _ while we are going to 50 gigawatts of wind by 2030. what— while we are going to 50 gigawatts of wind by 2030.— while we are going to 50 gigawatts of wind by 2030. what are you to do next? there — of wind by 2030. what are you to do next? there are _ of wind by 2030. what are you to do next? there are a _ of wind by 2030. what are you to do next? there are a number— of wind by 2030. what are you to do next? there are a number of - of wind by 2030. what are you to do | next? there are a number of options you can raise. what do you think of income tax cuts, a windfall tax, getting rid of levies, and do you think we need help basically on the scale of the covid rescue package, as some of your mps are saying? which of those options are you leaning towards? brute which of those options are you leaning towards?— which of those options are you leaning towards? which of those options are you leanin: towards? ~ ., leaning towards? we will continue to use all the ingenuity _ leaning towards? we will continue to use all the ingenuity and _ leaning towards? we will continue to use all the ingenuity and compassion that we _ use all the ingenuity and compassion that we showed — use all the ingenuity and compassion that we showed during _ use all the ingenuity and compassion that we showed during the _ use all the ingenuity and compassion that we showed during the covid - that we showed during the covid pandemic, — that we showed during the covid pandemic, and— that we showed during the covid pandemic, and what— that we showed during the covid pandemic, and what we - that we showed during the covid pandemic, and what we are - that we showed during the covid i pandemic, and what we are already doing. _ pandemic, and what we are already doing. as _ pandemic, and what we are already doing. as you — pandemic, and what we are already doing, as you know, _ pandemic, and what we are already doing, as you know, is _ pandemic, and what we are already doing, as you know, is helping - doing, as you know, is helping people — doing, as you know, is helping people with _ doing, as you know, is helping people with the _ doing, as you know, is helping people with the cost _ doing, as you know, is helping people with the cost of - doing, as you know, is helpingl people with the cost of energy, doing, as you know, is helping - people with the cost of energy, {9.1 billion— people with the cost of energy, {9.1 billion package _ people with the cost of energy, {9.1 billion package to _ people with the cost of energy, {9.1 billion package to help _ people with the cost of energy, {9.1 billion package to help people - people with the cost of energy, {9.1 billion package to help people rightl billion package to help people right now, billion package to help people right now. helping— billion package to help people right now, helping local— billion package to help people right now, helping local councils- billion package to help people right now, helping local councils to - now, helping local councils to support — now, helping local councils to support families _ now, helping local councils to support families that - now, helping local councils to support families that are - now, helping local councils to support families that are in i support families that are in particular— support families that are in particular hardship, - support families that are in particular hardship, but- support families that are inj particular hardship, but the support families that are in - particular hardship, but the crucial thing _ particular hardship, but the crucial thing that— particular hardship, but the crucial thing that we _ particular hardship, but the crucial thing that we are _ particular hardship, but the crucial thing that we are doing _ particular hardship, but the crucial thing that we are doing is- particular hardship, but the crucial thing that we are doing is making. thing that we are doing is making sure that — thing that we are doing is making sure that we _ thing that we are doing is making sure that we steer— thing that we are doing is making sure that we steer the _ thing that we are doing is making sure that we steer the economy i sure that we steer the economy through— sure that we steer the economy

through the _ sure that we steer the economy through the post—covid - sure that we steer the economy - through the post—covid after—shocks, with continued — through the post—covid after—shocks, with continued high _ through the post—covid after—shocks, with continued high wage _ through the post—covid after—shocks, with continued high wage high- through the post—covid after—shocks, with continued high wage high school| with continued high wage high school employment — with continued high wage high school employment. and _ with continued high wage high school employment. and that _ with continued high wage high school employment. and that has— with continued high wage high school employment. and that has been- with continued high wage high school employment. and that has been at. employment. and that has been at the real miracle _ employment. and that has been at the real miracle of— employment. and that has been at the real miracle of the _ employment. and that has been at the real miracle of the uk— employment. and that has been at the real miracle of the uk economy - employment. and that has been at the real miracle of the uk economy in - real miracle of the uk economy in the post-covid _ real miracle of the uk economy in the post—covid period. _ real miracle of the uk economy in the post—covid period. we - real miracle of the uk economy in the post—covid period. we have i real miracle of the uk economy in i the post—covid period. we have the biggest _ the post—covid period. we have the biggest plunge _ the post—covid period. we have the biggest plunge in— the post—covid period. we have the biggest plunge in output— the post—covid period. we have the biggest plunge in output for- the post—covid period. we have the biggest plunge in output for 300 i biggest plunge in output for 300 years. _ biggest plunge in output for 300 years. people _ biggest plunge in output for 300 years, people thought _ biggest plunge in output for 300 years, people thought we - biggest plunge in output for 300 years, people thought we would| biggest plunge in output for 300 - years, people thought we would now have unemployment _ years, people thought we would now have unemployment running - years, people thought we would now have unemployment running at- years, people thought we would now| have unemployment running at about 12 or 14%~ _ have unemployment running at about 12 or 14%. actually, _ have unemployment running at about 12 or 14%. actually, it— have unemployment running at about 12 or 14%. actually, it is— have unemployment running at about 12 or 14%. actually, it is right - 12 or 14%. actually, it is right down — 12 or14%. actually, it is right down to— 12 or 14%. actually, it is right down to 38%~ _ 12 or 14%. actually, it is right down to 3.8%. youth - 12 or 14%. actually, it is right - down to 3.8%. youth unemployment is at or near— down to 3.8%. youth unemployment is at or near record — down to 3.8%. youth unemployment is at or near record lows. _ down to 3.8%. youth unemployment is at or near record lows. that _ down to 3.8%. youth unemployment is at or near record lows. that is - down to 3.8%. youth unemployment is at or near record lows. that is a - at or near record lows. that is a crucial— at or near record lows. that is a crucial thing. _ at or near record lows. that is a crucial thing, so _ at or near record lows. that is a crucial thing, so what _ at or near record lows. that is a crucial thing, so what we - at or near record lows. that is a crucial thing, so what we are i crucial thing, so what we are focused _ crucial thing, so what we are focused on. _ crucial thing, so what we are focused on, everything - crucial thing, so what we are focused on, everything we i crucial thing, so what we are. focused on, everything we are focusing — focused on, everything we are focusing on— focused on, everything we are focusing on it _ focused on, everything we are focusing on it now, _ focused on, everything we are focusing on it now, it's - focused on, everything we are - focusing on it now, it's continuing to deliver— focusing on it now, it's continuing to deliveriobs _ focusing on it now, it's continuing to deliverjobs and _ focusing on it now, it's continuing to deliverjobs and growth, - focusing on it now, it's continuing to deliverjobs and growth, which| to deliverjobs and growth, which is the best— to deliverjobs and growth, which is the best way— to deliverjobs and growth, which is the best way to _ to deliverjobs and growth, which is the best way to power _ to deliverjobs and growth, which is the best way to power through - to deliverjobs and growth, which is the best way to power through the. the best way to power through the difficult _ the best way to power through the difficult times— the best way to power through the difficult times caused _ the best way to power through the difficult times caused by— the best way to power through the difficult times caused by global. difficult times caused by global inflation — difficult times caused by global inflation in _ difficult times caused by global inflation in the _ difficult times caused by global inflation in the cost _ difficult times caused by global inflation in the cost of - difficult times caused by global inflation in the cost of energy. i inflation in the cost of energy. that _ inflation in the cost of energy. that will— inflation in the cost of energy. that will eventually _ inflation in the cost of energy. that will eventually come - inflation in the cost of energy. . that will eventually come down, inflation in the cost of energy. - that will eventually come down, that will eventually — that will eventually come down, that will eventually abate, _ that will eventually come down, that will eventually abate, so _ that will eventually come down, that will eventually abate, so we - that will eventually come down, that will eventually abate, so we have - will eventually abate, so we have -ot will eventually abate, so we have got to _ will eventually abate, so we have got to help — will eventually abate, so we have got to help people _ will eventually abate, so we have got to help people right - will eventually abate, so we have got to help people right now- will eventually abate, so we have got to help people right now with all sorts— got to help people right now with all sorts of— got to help people right now with all sorts of things, _ got to help people right now with all sorts of things, some - got to help people right now with all sorts of things, some of- got to help people right now withj all sorts of things, some of which got to help people right now with. all sorts of things, some of which i have _ all sorts of things, some of which i have mentioned, _ all sorts of things, some of which i have mentioned, but _ all sorts of things, some of which i have mentioned, but we _ all sorts of things, some of which i have mentioned, but we also - all sorts of things, some of which i have mentioned, but we also have| all sorts of things, some of which i. have mentioned, but we also have to fix the _ have mentioned, but we also have to fix the underlying _ have mentioned, but we also have to

fix the underlying supply—side - fix the underlying supply—side issues — fix the underlying supply-side issues. �* ., , issues. but more help, prime minister. _ issues. but more help, prime minister, we _ issues. but more help, prime minister, we are _ issues. but more help, prime minister, we are expecting i issues. but more help, prime minister, we are expecting a. minister, we are expecting a statement potentially even before the summer when rishi sunak will have to open his purse strings, can you give us a sense of what you think needs to be done? in think needs to be done? in july, there is going — think needs to be done? in july, there is going to _ think needs to be done? in july, there is going to be _ think needs to be done? in july, there is going to be the - think needs to be done? in july, there is going to be the tax - think needs to be done? in july, there is going to be the tax cut. think needs to be done? in july, . there is going to be the tax cut for 70% of— there is going to be the tax cut for 70% of people _ there is going to be the tax cut for 70% of people on— there is going to be the tax cut for 70% of people on national- there is going to be the tax cut for. 70% of people on national insurance, probably— 70% of people on national insurance, probably worth — 70% of people on national insurance, probably worth about _ 70% of people on national insurance, probably worth about £330, - 70% of people on national insurance, probably worth about £330, you - 70% of people on national insurance, j probably worth about £330, you have already— probably worth about £330, you have already seen — probably worth about £330, you have already seen the _ probably worth about £330, you have already seen the cuts _ probably worth about £330, you have already seen the cuts in _ probably worth about £330, you have already seen the cuts in council- already seen the cuts in council tax, _ already seen the cuts in council tax. we — already seen the cuts in council tax. we will— already seen the cuts in council tax, we will do _ already seen the cuts in council tax, we will do things - already seen the cuts in council tax, we will do things to - already seen the cuts in council tax, we will do things to help i tax, we will do things to help people — tax, we will do things to help people in— tax, we will do things to help people in the _ tax, we will do things to help people in the short _ tax, we will do things to help people in the short term, - tax, we will do things to help people in the short term, of. tax, we will do things to help - people in the short term, of course, i people in the short term, of course, i am _ people in the short term, of course, i am not _ people in the short term, of course, lam not going— people in the short term, of course, lam not going to— people in the short term, of course, i am not going to anticipate - i am not going to anticipate anything _ i am not going to anticipate anything more _ i am not going to anticipate anything more that - i am not going to anticipate anything more that we - i am not going to anticipate anything more that we mayj i am not going to anticipate - anything more that we may do, but the crucial— anything more that we may do, but the crucial thing _ anything more that we may do, but the crucial thing is _ anything more that we may do, but the crucial thing is to _ anything more that we may do, but the crucial thing is to make - anything more that we may do, but the crucial thing is to make sure . the crucial thing is to make sure that we — the crucial thing is to make sure that we have _ the crucial thing is to make sure that we have the _ the crucial thing is to make sure that we have the strong - the crucial thing is to make sure - that we have the strong employment situation, _ that we have the strong employment situation, because _ that we have the strong employment situation, because that _ that we have the strong employment situation, because that is _ that we have the strong employment situation, because that is the - that we have the strong employment situation, because that is the key- situation, because that is the key thing _ situation, because that is the key thing you — situation, because that is the key thing. you remember— situation, because that is the key thing. you rememberthe- situation, because that is the key. thing. you remember the economic crises _ thing. you remember the economic crises of— thing. you remember the economic crises of the — thing. you remember the economic crises of the 80s _ thing. you remember the economic crises of the 80s for— thing. you remember the economic crises of the 80s for the _ thing. you remember the economic crises of the 80s for the 90s, - thing. you remember the economic crises of the 80s for the 90s, and i crises of the 80s for the 90s, and what _ crises of the 80s for the 90s, and what was — crises of the 80s for the 90s, and what was so — crises of the 80s for the 90s, and what was so harrowing _ crises of the 80s for the 90s, and what was so harrowing about - crises of the 80s for the 90s, and. what was so harrowing about those times, _ what was so harrowing about those times, what — what was so harrowing about those times, what i— what was so harrowing about those times, what i remember— what was so harrowing about those times, what i remember being - what was so harrowing about those times, what i remember being so i times, what i remember being so utterly— times, what i remember being so utterly miserable, _ times, what i remember being so utterly miserable, was _ times, what i remember being so utterly miserable, was millions. times, what i remember being soj utterly miserable, was millions of people _

utterly miserable, was millions of people who — utterly miserable, was millions of people who were _ utterly miserable, was millions of people who were on _ utterly miserable, was millions of people who were on the - utterly miserable, was millions of| people who were on the economic scrapheap— people who were on the economic scrapheap were _ people who were on the economic scrapheap were told _ people who were on the economic scrapheap were told that - people who were on the economic scrapheap were told that they - people who were on the economic i scrapheap were told that they could not get _ scrapheap were told that they could not get jobs — scrapheap were told that they could not getjobs that _ scrapheap were told that they could not get jobs. that was _ scrapheap were told that they could not get jobs. that was a _ scrapheap were told that they could not get jobs. that was a terrible - not get jobs. that was a terrible time _ not get jobs. that was a terrible time for— not get jobs. that was a terrible time for our— not get jobs. that was a terrible time for our country. _ not get jobs. that was a terrible time for our country. we - not get jobs. that was a terrible time for our country. we have i not get jobs. that was a terrible | time for our country. we have in many— time for our country. we have in many ways— time for our country. we have in many ways the _ time for our country. we have in many ways the opposite - time for our country. we have in many ways the opposite of - time for our country. we have in many ways the opposite of that. many ways the opposite of that situatioh — many ways the opposite of that situation. the _ many ways the opposite of that situation. the business- many ways the opposite of that situation. the business i- many ways the opposite of that situation. the business i have i many ways the opposite of that i situation. the business i have just been _ situation. the business i have just been hearihg _ situation. the business i have just been hearing about _ situation. the business i have just been hearing about here - situation. the business i have just been hearing about here in- situation. the business i have justj been hearing about here in stoke, they are _ been hearing about here in stoke, they are looking _ been hearing about here in stoke, they are looking for— been hearing about here in stoke, they are looking for labour, - been hearing about here in stoke, they are looking for labour, high i they are looking for labour, high skilled _ they are looking for labour, high skilled people _ they are looking for labour, high skilled people to _ they are looking for labour, high skilled people to come - they are looking for labour, high skilled people to come back. - they are looking for labour, highl skilled people to come back. the they are looking for labour, high - skilled people to come back. the job of government, _ skilled people to come back. the job of government, our— skilled people to come back. the job of government, ourjob _ skilled people to come back. the job of government, ourjob right - skilled people to come back. the job of government, ourjob right now, i skilled people to come back. the job of government, ourjob right now, is to help _ of government, ourjob right now, is to help those — of government, ourjob right now, is to help those businesses _ of government, ourjob right now, is to help those businesses to - of government, ourjob right now, is to help those businesses to find - of government, ourjob right now, is to help those businesses to find thei to help those businesses to find the people _ to help those businesses to find the people they— to help those businesses to find the people they need. _ to help those businesses to find the people they need, to _ to help those businesses to find the people they need, to skill— to help those businesses to find the people they need, to skill up - to help those businesses to find the| people they need, to skill up people in this— people they need, to skill up people in this country. _ people they need, to skill up people in this country, which _ people they need, to skill up people in this country, which is— people they need, to skill up people in this country, which is what - in this country, which is what our queen's— in this country, which is what our queen's speech _ in this country, which is what our queen's speech does _ in this country, which is what our queen's speech does but - in this country, which is what our queen's speech does but also i in this country, which is what our queen's speech does but also to| in this country, which is what our- queen's speech does but also to make sure they— queen's speech does but also to make sure they have — queen's speech does but also to make sure they have the _ queen's speech does but also to make sure they have the dependable - queen's speech does but also to make sure they have the dependable energyj sure they have the dependable energy supply— sure they have the dependable energy supply that _ sure they have the dependable energy supply that they — sure they have the dependable energy supply that they need. _ sure they have the dependable energy supply that they need. that _ sure they have the dependable energy supply that they need. that is - supply that they need. that is absolutely _ supply that they need. that is absolutely vital. _ supply that they need. that is absolutely vital.— supply that they need. that is absolutely vital. supply that they need. that is absolutel vital. ., ~ ., absolutely vital. people in work are still also having _ absolutely vital. people in work are still also having to _ absolutely vital. people in work are still also having to go _ absolutely vital. people in work are still also having to go to, _ absolutely vital. people in work are still also having to go to, for- still also having to go to, for instance, food banks. your mp lee henderson said food banks have grown in part because people are not prepared to cook for themselves, what do you make of those comments? we have to support people who are finding _ we have to support people who are finding it _ we have to support people who are finding it tough— we have to support people who are finding it tough in _ we have to support people who are finding it tough in any— we have to support people who are finding it tough in any way - we have to support people who are finding it tough in any way we - we have to support people who are finding it tough in any way we can, i finding it tough in any way we can, and i've_ finding it tough in any way we can, and we said— finding it tough in any way we can, and i've said some _ finding it tough in any way we can, and i've said some of— finding it tough in any way we can, and i've said some of the - finding it tough in any way we can, and i've said some of the things i finding it tough in any way we can, i and i've said some of the things we are doing. —

and i've said some of the things we are doing. but— and i've said some of the things we are doing, but when _ and i've said some of the things we are doing, but when it— and i've said some of the things we are doing, but when it comes - and i've said some of the things we are doing, but when it comes to- are doing, but when it comes to supporting _ are doing, but when it comes to supporting people _ are doing, but when it comes to supporting people who - are doing, but when it comes to supporting people who need - are doing, but when it comes to. supporting people who need food, are doing, but when it comes to- supporting people who need food, for instance _ supporting people who need food, for instance families _ supporting people who need food, for instance families who _ supporting people who need food, for instance families who are _ supporting people who need food, for instance families who are facing - instance families who are facing particular— instance families who are facing particular hardship, _ instance families who are facing particular hardship, we - instance families who are facing particular hardship, we have - instance families who are facing i particular hardship, we have given extra _ particular hardship, we have given extra money— particular hardship, we have given extra money to _ particular hardship, we have given extra money to councils _ particular hardship, we have given extra money to councils and - particular hardship, we have given extra money to councils and will. extra money to councils and will continue — extra money to councils and will continue to— extra money to councils and will continue to do _ extra money to councils and will continue to do that. _ extra money to councils and will continue to do that. you - extra money to councils and will continue to do that. you know . extra money to councils and will- continue to do that. you know about the holidays — continue to do that. you know about the holidays and _ continue to do that. you know about the holidays and activities _ continue to do that. you know about the holidays and activities fund - the holidays and activities fund that we — the holidays and activities fund that we have _ the holidays and activities fund that we have been _ the holidays and activities fund that we have been supporting, | the holidays and activities fund - that we have been supporting, £200 million _ that we have been supporting, £200 million worth — that we have been supporting, £200 million worth of— that we have been supporting, £200 million worth of support _ that we have been supporting, £200 million worth of support people - million worth of support people whose — million worth of support people whose kids _ million worth of support people whose kids are _ million worth of support people whose kids are going _ million worth of support people whose kids are going without i million worth of support people - whose kids are going without meals, we cannot— whose kids are going without meals, we cannot have _ whose kids are going without meals, we cannot have that. _ whose kids are going without meals, we cannot have that. we _ whose kids are going without meals, we cannot have that. we do - whose kids are going without meals, we cannot have that. we do not - whose kids are going without meals, | we cannot have that. we do not want to see _ we cannot have that. we do not want to see any— we cannot have that. we do not want to see any kids. _ we cannot have that. we do not want to see any kids, any— we cannot have that. we do not want to see any kids, any family, - we cannot have that. we do not want to see any kids, any family, going . to see any kids, any family, going hungry— to see any kids, any family, going hungry in— to see any kids, any family, going hungry in this _ to see any kids, any family, going hungry in this country. _ to see any kids, any family, going hungry in this country. we - to see any kids, any family, going hungry in this country. we will. to see any kids, any family, going hungry in this country. we will do| hungry in this country. we will do whatever— hungry in this country. we will do whatever we _ hungry in this country. we will do whatever we can _ hungry in this country. we will do whatever we can to _ hungry in this country. we will do whatever we can to help. - hungry in this country. we will do whatever we can to help. but- hungry in this country. we will do whatever we can to help.- hungry in this country. we will do whatever we can to help. but is lee anderson right _ whatever we can to help. but is lee anderson right to _ whatever we can to help. but is lee anderson right to say _ whatever we can to help. but is lee anderson right to say people - whatever we can to help. but is lee anderson right to say people are i anderson right to say people are using a because they cannot cook? the best answer for the problems of kids going _ the best answer for the problems of kids going hungry. _ the best answer for the problems of kids going hungry, which— the best answer for the problems of kids going hungry, which in- the best answer for the problems of kids going hungry, which in my- the best answer for the problems of kids going hungry, which in my view| kids going hungry, which in my view is totally— kids going hungry, which in my view is totally unacceptable, _ kids going hungry, which in my view is totally unacceptable, families - is totally unacceptable, families table _ is totally unacceptable, families table to— is totally unacceptable, families table to get— is totally unacceptable, families table to get the _ is totally unacceptable, families table to get the meals - is totally unacceptable, families table to get the meals they - is totally unacceptable, families . table to get the meals they need, is totally unacceptable, families - table to get the meals they need, to do all— table to get the meals they need, to do all the _ table to get the meals they need, to do all the support _ table to get the meals they need, to do all the support we _ table to get the meals they need, to do all the support we are _ table to get the meals they need, to do all the support we are giving, - do all the support we are giving, and as— do all the support we are giving, and as i— do all the support we are giving, and as i have _ do all the support we are giving, and as i have said, _ do all the support we are giving, and as i have said, we _ do all the support we are giving, and as i have said, we use - do all the support we are giving, - and as i have said, we use maximum ingenuity— and as i have said, we use maximum ingenuity and — and as i have said, we use maximum ingenuity and compassion _ and as i have said, we use maximum| ingenuity and compassion throughout this period _ ingenuity and compassion throughout this period as— ingenuity and compassion throughout

this period as we _ ingenuity and compassion throughout this period as we come _ ingenuity and compassion throughout this period as we come through - ingenuity and compassion throughout this period as we come through the i this period as we come through the post-covid — this period as we come through the post—covid after—shocks, _ this period as we come through the post—covid after—shocks, but - this period as we come through the post—covid after—shocks, but also i post—covid after—shocks, but also continue — post—covid after—shocks, but also continue with _ post—covid after—shocks, but also continue with our— post—covid after—shocks, but also continue with our focus _ post—covid after—shocks, but also continue with our focus on - post—covid after—shocks, but also continue with our focus on high. post—covid after—shocks, but also i continue with our focus on high wage hi-h continue with our focus on high wage high skill— continue with our focus on high wage high skilljobs — continue with our focus on high wage high skilljobs. that _ continue with our focus on high wage high skilljobs. that is _ continue with our focus on high wage high skilljobs. that is the _ continue with our focus on high wage high skilljobs. that is the thing - high skilljobs. that is the thing that is— high skilljobs. that is the thing that is really— high skilljobs. that is the thing that is really going _ high skilljobs. that is the thing that is really going to _ high skilljobs. that is the thing that is really going to take - high skilljobs. that is the thing that is really going to take this. that is really going to take this country— that is really going to take this country forward. _ that is really going to take this country forward.— that is really going to take this country forward. northern ireland, prime minister, _ country forward. northern ireland, prime minister, can _ country forward. northern ireland, prime minister, can you _ country forward. northern ireland, prime minister, can you just - country forward. northern ireland, prime minister, can you just set i country forward. northern ireland, . prime minister, can you just set out what you think is needed? do you think that text for instance of the protocol needs to change? is that a precondition for sorting this out or could there be a solution that we negotiate with the european union that leaves that original text the same bitjust changes the way the eu implements it?— implements it? look, northern ireland is implements it? look, northern ireland is an — implements it? look, northern ireland is an incredible - implements it? look, northern ireland is an incredible place, i implements it? look, northern. ireland is an incredible place, has a fantastic— ireland is an incredible place, has a fantastic future. _ ireland is an incredible place, has a fantastic future. at _ ireland is an incredible place, has a fantastic future. at the - ireland is an incredible place, has. a fantastic future. at the moment, very sadly. — a fantastic future. at the moment, very sadly. the _ a fantastic future. at the moment, very sadly, the institutions - a fantastic future. at the moment, very sadly, the institutions of- very sadly, the institutions of democracy, _ very sadly, the institutions of democracy, the _ very sadly, the institutions of democracy, the political- very sadly, the institutions of- democracy, the political governments of northern— democracy, the political governments of northern ireland _ democracy, the political governments of northern ireland has _ democracy, the political governments of northern ireland has collapsed. - of northern ireland has collapsed. the institution _ of northern ireland has collapsed. the institution set _ of northern ireland has collapsed. the institution set up _ of northern ireland has collapsed. the institution set up under- of northern ireland has collapsed. the institution set up under the i the institution set up under the belfast — the institution set up under the belfast good _ the institution set up under the belfast good friday— the institution set up under the belfast good friday agreement| the institution set up under the . belfast good friday agreement are not functioning, _ belfast good friday agreement are not functioning, the _ belfast good friday agreement are not functioning, the executive, - belfast good friday agreement are not functioning, the executive, thej not functioning, the executive, the family. _ not functioning, the executive, the family. they— not functioning, the executive, the family, they cannot _ not functioning, the executive, the family, they cannot form. - not functioning, the executive, the family, they cannot form. that - not functioning, the executive, the family, they cannot form. that is . not functioning, the executive, the family, they cannot form. that is aj family, they cannot form. that is a bad thing — family, they cannot form. that is a bad thing at — family, they cannot form. that is a bad thing at any _ family, they cannot form. that is a bad thing at any time, _ family, they cannot form. that is a bad thing at any time, it— family, they cannot form. that is a bad thing at any time, it is- family, they cannot form. that is a bad thing at any time, it is a - family, they cannot form. that is a bad thing at any time, it is a bad i bad thing at any time, it is a bad thing _ bad thing at any time, it is a bad thing now— bad thing at any time, it is a bad thing now one _ bad thing at any time, it is a bad thing now one of _ bad thing at any time, it is a bad

thing now one of the _ bad thing at any time, it is a bad thing now one of the people - bad thing at any time, it is a bad thing now one of the people of. thing now one of the people of northern— thing now one of the people of northern ireland _ thing now one of the people of northern ireland need - thing now one of the people of. northern ireland need leadership, they need — northern ireland need leadership, they need a — northern ireland need leadership, they need a government, - northern ireland need leadership, they need a government, a - northern ireland need leadership, i they need a government, a regional government— they need a government, a regional government that _ they need a government, a regional government that will— they need a government, a regional government that will focus - they need a government, a regional government that will focus on - they need a government, a regional government that will focus on cost. government that will focus on cost of living, _ government that will focus on cost of living, on— government that will focus on cost of living, on health _ government that will focus on cost of living, on health care, - government that will focus on cost of living, on health care, on- of living, on health care, on transport, _ of living, on health care, on transport, on— of living, on health care, on transport, on the _ of living, on health care, on transport, on the things - of living, on health care, oni transport, on the things that of living, on health care, on- transport, on the things that matter in their— transport, on the things that matter in their everyday— transport, on the things that matter in their everyday lives. _ transport, on the things that matter in their everyday lives. they- transport, on the things that matter in their everyday lives. they have i in their everyday lives. they have not got _ in their everyday lives. they have not got that, _ in their everyday lives. they have not got that, that _ in their everyday lives. they have not got that, that is _ in their everyday lives. they have not got that, that is a _ in their everyday lives. they have not got that, that is a real, - in their everyday lives. they have not got that, that is a real, real. not got that, that is a real, real problem — not got that, that is a real, real problem the _ not got that, that is a real, real problem. the reason— not got that, that is a real, real problem. the reason they - not got that, that is a real, real problem. the reason they do i not got that, that is a real, real. problem. the reason they do not not got that, that is a real, real- problem. the reason they do not have that is— problem. the reason they do not have that is because — problem. the reason they do not have that is because there _ problem. the reason they do not have that is because there is— problem. the reason they do not have that is because there is one _ that is because there is one community— that is because there is one community in _ that is because there is one community in northern - that is because there is one i community in northern ireland that is because there is one - community in northern ireland that will not _ community in northern ireland that will not accept _ community in northern ireland that will not accept the _ community in northern ireland that will not accept the way _ community in northern ireland that will not accept the way the - community in northern ireland thatj will not accept the way the protocol works _ will not accept the way the protocol works at _ will not accept the way the protocol works at present. _ will not accept the way the protocol works at present. but— will not accept the way the protocol works at present.— will not accept the way the protocol works at present. but do you need to chan . e the works at present. but do you need to change the wording _ works at present. but do you need to change the wording of _ works at present. but do you need to change the wording of the _ works at present. but do you need to change the wording of the protocol. change the wording of the protocol to get a solution? lgrate change the wording of the protocol to get a solution?— to get a solution? we need to get the executive, _ to get a solution? we need to get the executive, the _ to get a solution? we need to get the executive, the government i to get a solution? we need to get the executive, the government of| the executive, the government of northern— the executive, the government of northern ireland, _ the executive, the government of northern ireland, up _ the executive, the government of northern ireland, up and - the executive, the government of northern ireland, up and running| the executive, the government of- northern ireland, up and running and that is— northern ireland, up and running and that is vital~ — northern ireland, up and running and that is vital~ so — northern ireland, up and running and that is vital. so it— northern ireland, up and running and that is vital. so it follows _ northern ireland, up and running and that is vital. so it follows that - that is vital. so it follows that since — that is vital. so it follows that since it — that is vital. so it follows that since it is _ that is vital. so it follows that since it is clear— that is vital. so it follows that since it is clear that— that is vital. so it follows that since it is clear that the - that is vital. so it follows that i since it is clear that the unionist community— since it is clear that the unionist community were _ since it is clear that the unionist community were not _ since it is clear that the unionist community were not accept - since it is clear that the unionist community were not accept the i community were not accept the protocol, — community were not accept the protocol, i'm _ community were not accept the protocol, i'm afraid _ community were not accept the protocol, i'm afraid that - community were not accept the protocol, i'm afraid that is - community were not accept the i protocol, i'm afraid that is obvious from _ protocol, i'm afraid that is obvious from what — protocol, i'm afraid that is obvious from what has _ protocol, i'm afraid that is obvious from what has happened _ protocol, i'm afraid that is obvious from what has happened and - protocol, i'm afraid that is obvious from what has happened and we i protocol, i'm afraid that is obvious i from what has happened and we have to fix it _ from what has happened and we have to fix it and _ from what has happened and we have to fix it and we — from what has happened and we have to fix it and we will _ from what has happened and we have to fix it and we will have _ from what has happened and we have to fix it and we will have to. - from what has happened and we have to fix it and we will have to. final- to fix it and we will have to. final question. — to fix it and we will have to. final question, what _ to fix it and we will have to. final question, what is _ to fix it and we will have to. final question, what is your _ to fix it and we will have to. question, what is your response to fix it and we will have to.“ question, what is your response to allegations in the new york times that the concept of party took donations from a donor with links to

russia and many linked with a brush and account? bill russia and many linked with a brush and account?— and account? all our donations are reaistered and account? all our donations are registered in _ and account? all our donations are registered in the _ and account? all our donations are registered in the normal— and account? all our donations are registered in the normalway. - and account? all our donations are registered in the normal way. -- . registered in the normal way. —— russian — registered in the normal way. —— russian bank— registered in the normal way. —— russian bank account. _ registered in the normal way. —— russian bank account. if- registered in the normal way. —— russian bank account. if you - registered in the normal way. ——| russian bank account. if you give donations— russian bank account. if you give donations to _ russian bank account. if you give donations to the _ russian bank account. if you give donations to the party _ russian bank account. if you give donations to the party you - russian bank account. if you give donations to the party you have i russian bank account. if you give. donations to the party you have to be from _ donations to the party you have to be from the — donations to the party you have to be from the uk _ donations to the party you have to be from the uk.— donations to the party you have to be from the uk. boris johnson there in an interview _ be from the uk. boris johnson there in an interview today. _ be from the uk. boris johnson there in an interview today. breaking - be from the uk. boris johnson there | in an interview today. breaking news that we have had also in the last hour, the garment has published heavily redacted documents about the process leading up to the peerage leading to accusations of a cover—up. element had voted for the documents to be made available and the security services had raised concerns about the appointment of this borisjohnson ally but the documents made available today contain limited or no information on the betting agencies. the garment said it would make information available to the intelligence and security committee but it was said

confidentiality was important and to protect national security to maintain in the system and the data protection rights of individuals. the labour deputy leader mp has said this looks like and smells like a cover—up because it is a cover—up. she says if the prime minister is saying he was not involved in the awarding of a peerage to an individual of concern to intelligence services you should publish the documents as parliament has instructed. lord lebedev is the son and business partner of an ex kgb agent and he was made a member of the house of lords by boris johnson. the labour party saying it is time to get to the bottom of this whole lucky business but the government maintaining that they have to protect national security.

—— lurky business. good afternoon. brendon mccullum has been appointed england men's test head coach. the 40—year—old kiwi will start with next month's three—match test series against his home country of new zealand, subject to obtaining a work visa. the move means mccullum will leave his currentjob coaching kolkata knight riders in the indian premier league. he really transformed the mood and culture around the new zealand team. he began the resurgence that ultimately led to them winning the world test championship last year. there is one caveat perhaps, he has only ever coached in limited overs cricket, never in the more traditional form of the game, so in that sense it is a bit of a gamble. we've got the north london derby tonight as tottenham host arsenal in what could be one of the most important derbies in recent years. they're fighting it out for a place

in the champions league. the gunners are in the driving seat. they're four points clear of spurs and mikel arteta knows that a win for his side would be huge step towards qualification. we are talking about an important game and an important game for many different situations and the first, i think the most important thing, we are playing this game for an important target and that is playing in the champions league, i think that has to be the first thing to try to win this game.— try to win this game. now the messa . e try to win this game. now the message is — try to win this game. now the message is clear _ try to win this game. now the message is clear that - try to win this game. now the message is clear that if - try to win this game. now the message is clear that if we i try to win this game. now the | message is clear that if we win against — message is clear that if we win against them we are in the champions league _ against them we are in the champions league position and as if you need any more — league position and as if you need any more motivation and tell them anything _ any more motivation and tell them anything less than that. the opportunity is there and we're going to play— opportunity is there and we're going to play and — opportunity is there and we're going to play and go for it like we always do because — to play and go for it like we always do because it is how we have come into this _ do because it is how we have come into this position and that is how

you're _ into this position and that is how you're to — into this position and that is how you're to approach it. big game tonight. that is all the sport for now. it has been recommended the uk's covid—19 inquiry should examine the impact on mental health as well as on children and young people. the inquiry was set up to examine the uk's preparedness and response to the pandemic. the changes to its terms of reference and need to be confirmed by the prime minister. health correspondent said there was no mention of the impact on children and young people. they have been at very low risk from the virus but schools have been closed, their mental health has been affected and the wider well—being has been impacted. today we have the final terms of reference and they do now include children and young people alongside the wider impact on mental health of

the wider impact on mental health of the whole population. there is also going to be a strength and focus on inequalities, the inquiry said, so that unequal impact of the pandemic on different sections of society will be considered at all stages. a black hole is usually a place in space where no light exists, making it all but impossible to capture on film. despite this, a team of astrophysicists have managed to photograph a black hole in our galaxy, the milky way, for the first time. pallab ghosh reports. for decades, astronomers have been on a quest searching the skies and into the very heart of our galaxy for a mysterious and elusive black hole. now, they've found it, and taken this picture. the black hole is at the centre of the image. it is revealed by swirling hot matter pulled in by powerful gravitational forces. ziri younsi is among the 300 scientists involved in the project. i think it's really cool

and amazing that we can even see a black hole. it's extremely far away, and it's dark, you're not meant to see a black hole, it traps light, and yet here we are capturing something that's meant to be invisible, seeing at the literal edge of space and time, i think that's truly remarkable. a black hole is created by a dead star collapsing in on itself. it has such strong gravity, not even light can escape its incredible pull. the blackhole is the glue which binds our galaxy together, it's part of the evolution of our galaxy, it explains where we came from, it will explain where we're going to. more than half a million computer simulations have been run and compared to the actual image. scientists believe that this video reconstruction is the closest to what the blackhole in our galaxy looks like. no single telescope can see the object, so, several have been linked together to create a giant observatory on earth. here, high in the mountains

of southern spain, scientists have been part of that search. we're in the heart of a telescope that's 40 years old. inside is the man who came up with the idea of photographing a blackhole when he was a student in the 1990s. he was told by his professors that it would be impossible. it's the fulfilment of a dream and the beginning of a new chapter, actually. studying black holes in great detail. it is no longer fantasy, we can test all our understanding and our models, we can do precision astrophysics. how does it make you feel now that you've finally produced this image? it's, you know, it's wonderful! you know, it's. .. it's a dream come true, after 25, 30 years. for researchers, this is just the beginning. theory has now become reality. and they can now kick on to find out how this black hole really works, and even how our own galaxy came to be.

pallab ghosh, bbc news. joining me now is dr imogen whittam who is an astrophysicist at the university of oxford. what are your thoughts seeing these images are published for the first time? , ., ., images are published for the first time? ,., ., ., ., ., , , , images are published for the first time? ., , , , ., time? good afternoon. yes, this is a hu:el time? good afternoon. yes, this is a hugely exciting- _ time? good afternoon. yes, this is a hugely exciting- i — time? good afternoon. yes, this is a hugely exciting. i saw— time? good afternoon. yes, this is a hugely exciting. i saw this _ time? good afternoon. yes, this is a hugely exciting. i saw this image - hugely exciting. i saw this image for the first time at two o'clock today and it is really exciting to be able to see for the first time direct evidence that the compact object at the centre of our own galaxy is a supermassive black hole. and as you mention in your report just now, this isjust and as you mention in your report just now, this is just the beginning. with this data we can go on to learn a huge amount about the supermassive black hole at the heart of the milky way. bhd supermassive black hole at the heart of the milky way-— of the milky way. and what are the key questions _ of the milky way. and what are the key questions we _ of the milky way. and what are the key questions we are _ of the milky way. and what are the key questions we are trying - of the milky way. and what are the key questions we are trying to - key questions we are trying to answer here and what does it mean for understanding more about our own origins and also where we are heading in future? the

origins and also where we are heading in future?— origins and also where we are heading in future? the first thing we can understand _ heading in future? the first thing we can understand straightaway. heading in future? the first thing. we can understand straightaway is that this image matches almost exactly to what is predicted by einstein's theory of general relativity, so the first thing this tells us as this is more evidence that einstein was right and in terms of the big picture, this will hopefully tell us more about how this lack whole at the centre of our galaxy formed and therefore how our galaxy formed and therefore how our galaxy came to look how it was now and what it will look like in the future. �* ., , and what it will look like in the future. �* . , ., , future. and what is that pointing us towards in terms _ future. and what is that pointing us towards in terms of _ future. and what is that pointing us towards in terms of the _ future. and what is that pointing us towards in terms of the direction i future. and what is that pointing us towards in terms of the direction ofj towards in terms of the direction of travel? , ,., ., ., towards in terms of the direction of travel? , ., ., ~ ., , travel? yes, so we do not know yet, that is what — travel? yes, so we do not know yet, that is what makes _ travel? yes, so we do not know yet, that is what makes this _ travel? yes, so we do not know yet, that is what makes this exciting - travel? yes, so we do not know yet, that is what makes this exciting and | that is what makes this exciting and it is really a very human question to try and understand where we came from and where we are going to go, and this has implications not only for our own galaxy, but for all of the galaxies in the universe. because one of the very interesting things about this is that you may remember the first image of the

black hole that was ever released by the same group was of the black hole at the centre of an 87, another galaxy, and at the face of it, those two should look quite different, m87 is an elliptical galaxy and 1000 times more massive than our milky way, yet the two supermassive black holes look very similar, which in itself is extremely interesting. thud itself is extremely interesting. and i asked a itself is extremely interesting. and i asked a an _ itself is extremely interesting. and i asked a an hour— itself is extremely interesting. and i asked a an hour ago for this, but can you explain in layman is angry at what is a black hole and why is it being studied so much? —— layman's language. why is it so exciting to see this for the first time? �* . . ~ exciting to see this for the first time? �* ., . ~' ., , exciting to see this for the first time? �* . . ~ ., , ., exciting to see this for the first time? �* ., ,., , ., time? black holes are so dense that nothin: time? black holes are so dense that nothing can — time? black holes are so dense that nothing can escape _ time? black holes are so dense that nothing can escape from _ time? black holes are so dense that nothing can escape from them, - time? black holes are so dense that nothing can escape from them, not| nothing can escape from them, not even light. so they are where space and time have literally collapsed in on themselves, so we are really breaking the laws of physics as we

know, so these are really extreme objects that provide brilliant test—beds for our understanding of the whole universe and there is just something quite cool about an object thatis something quite cool about an object that is so dense that not even light can escape from it, so they feature a lot in science fiction and i think art naturally fascinating, but are also pretty fundamental to our understanding of the whole universe. and the idea we could all be sacked and eventually by these black holes? do not worry, we will not be sucked into this black hole, it is about 27,000 light—years away, and we are happily orbiting around it. it is not some kind of giant monster that is going to gobble us up, we are quite happily sitting here in our solar system 27,000 light—years away just orbiting around it very gently, so do not worry about that. marvellous, that is the answer i wanted. thank you very much indeed

for explaining that so well, thank you. rebecca vardy is giving evidence for the third day at the high court where she is being questioned about allegedly leaking stories to the sun newspaper. ms vardy is suing colleen rooney for libel, after rooney accused vardy of selling private stories. 0ur correspondent is at court. bring is up—to—date on what has happened today. it bring is up-to-date on what has happened today-— happened today. it has been a difficult afternoon _ happened today. it has been a difficult afternoon for - happened today. it has been a difficult afternoon for rebecca j difficult afternoon for rebecca vardy, she has broken down twice in the witness box, once when her own barrister was complaining to the judge that mrs renee's barrister was making unnecessary comments about mrs vardy�*s evidence and the judge agreed those comments were a necessary and then again a few minutes later when mrs vardy was being questioned about posed inconsistencies in her evidence, but as you say, she spent the third day in the witness box being questioned particularly about whether she has a

close relationship with the sun newspaper, something she denies. she was asked in particular about events like during the 2018 world cup in russia whether she had helped orchestrate, along with her then agent, a picture of all the england wives and girlfriends outside a restaurant in saint petersburg, again she denied having anything to do with the setting up of that picture which subsequently appeared in the sun, and she was also taken through some of the stories that are at the very crux of this particular case, fake stories that coleen rooney says she put on her instagram which coleen rooney says were only viewed by rebecca vardy and then which subsequently appeared in the sun. these were stories like a car crash that coleen rooney was involved in, flooding in the sight�*s basement and also a suggestion that coleen rooney had flown to mexico to consult on gender selection theory

so that her next baby would be a girl rather than a boy. rebecca vardy has girl rather than a boy. rebecca va rdy has consistently girl rather than a boy. rebecca vardy has consistently denied having anything to do with these stories making their way to the sun and she is due to continue giving evidence to the rest of the afternoon and will either finish out the rest of today or possibly tomorrow morning and then after that we expect to see calin rooney in the witness box. {lilia calin rooney in the witness box. ok, thanks very — calin rooney in the witness box. ok, thanks very much — calin rooney in the witness box. ok, thanks very much in —— coleen rooney. the conservative mp for ashfield has been criticised for his comments while talking about food banks yesterday in parliament. lee anderson stated that in his local food bank people are offered cooking courses to make meals for 30p. he also said that there was not a massive use for food banks in the country. it isa it is a great point and that is my point so i invite you personally to come to ashfield, look at our food bank and see how it works and i think you will see first—hand there is not this massive use it for food

banks in this country but generation after generation who cannot cook properly, they cannot cook a meal from scratch, they cannot budget, the challenges that. lucy is the northwest for the charity feedback global. can you give us your reaction to those comments, did you see them? i give us your reaction to those comments, did you see them? i didn't see them and — comments, did you see them? i didn't see them and i— comments, did you see them? i didn't see them and i think _ comments, did you see them? i didn't see them and i think he _ comments, did you see them? i didn't see them and i think he is _ comments, did you see them? i didn't see them and i think he is a _ comments, did you see them? i didn't see them and i think he is a little - see them and i think he is a little out of touch with some of his commentary. —— i did see them. is commentary. —— i did see them. is there any truth in the fact that perhaps teaching people to cook from scratch might help, budgeting skills might help? scratch might help, budgeting skills miaht hel? ., ., scratch might help, budgeting skills miaht hel? ., . ., scratch might help, budgeting skills miaht hel? ., ., ., ., . might help? from what i have noticed and what i have _ might help? from what i have noticed and what i have seen, _ might help? from what i have noticed and what i have seen, teaching - and what i have seen, teaching people to cook is always going to be useful and helpful, but if you are teaching people to cook you cannot access fresh food in the spaces where they live and also cannot afford to purchase a fresh food, it is not that helpful. what we need to

do is look at the access point for fresh food for people who are on a low income and make sure they are able to eat well. his low income and make sure they are able to eat well.— able to eat well. his point was that ou can't able to eat well. his point was that you can't make _ able to eat well. his point was that you can't make a — able to eat well. his point was that you can't make a meal— able to eat well. his point was that you can't make a meal i _ able to eat well. his point was that you can't make a meal i think- able to eat well. his point was that you can't make a meal i think for . able to eat well. his point was that. you can't make a meal i think for 30 p. can you really, though? my experience — p. can you really, though? my experience of— p. can you really, though? my experience of the _ p. can you really, though? my experience of the food - p. can you really, though? my experience of the food banks. p. can you really, though? my. experience of the food banks as p. can you really, though? my- experience of the food banks as they get a lot of their food donated, so have they bought the food or has it been donated as a surplus? is that 30p representative of one person making a mealfor 30p or is that in fact economies of scale and therefore it is meals for 300 people and it works out at 30p a head? ltrulhat and it works out at 30p a head? what are ou and it works out at 30p a head? what are you seeing _ and it works out at 30p a head? what are you seeing in _ and it works out at 30p a head? what are you seeing in terms _ and it works out at 30p a head? what are you seeing in terms of the people you work with now? ltrulhat are you seeing in terms of the people you work with now? what we are seeinr people you work with now? what we are seeing is — people you work with now? what we are seeing is there _ people you work with now? what we are seeing is there is _ people you work with now? what we are seeing is there is an _ people you work with now? what we are seeing is there is an increased i are seeing is there is an increased amount of people approaching food banks and other feed agencies for support. a lot of those people are on low incomes and working, a lot of those people are also in receipt of universal credit etc. the problem with being poor is it is expensive to be poor. you end up on smart

metres which cost you more for your energy and your gas, you have to travel to get to places to purchase food, i can think of lots of examples in the area where we work where people either have to get a taxi or a bus and they say use your car, no, you need money to learn to drive and if you do not have that money and cannot get a car and the bus service does not work in your area or run at the times you are available after you have done your evening shift or whatever it is, how are you supposed to feed yourself and your family? are you supposed to feed yourself and yourfamily? haifa are you supposed to feed yourself and your family?— are you supposed to feed yourself and your family? how much more do ou think and your family? how much more do you think people _ and your family? how much more do you think people need _ and your family? how much more do you think people need to _ and your family? how much more do you think people need to live, - and your family? how much more do you think people need to live, in - you think people need to live, in order to eat and heat their homes for example?— for example? that is quite a hard one to talk _ for example? that is quite a hard one to talk about _ for example? that is quite a hard one to talk about because - for example? that is quite a hard i one to talk about because obviously everyone's circumstances are slightly different, but the fact that the 20 band uplift was removed from universal creditjust at that the 20 band uplift was removed from universal credit just at the time when we are now seeing costs

going up considerably, you could look at it as a saying well, welfare benefits and wages have been given may be a one to 2% uplift, but we are looking at 6% and 7% in terms of food prices and we are looking at considerably more than that for energy and that is where the gap is. it is those that cappeds that we are having difficulty with. —— those gaps. having difficulty with. -- those a a n s. ., having difficulty with. -- those as. ., ., , ., , ., having difficulty with. -- those as. ., ., ., , gaps. how many more people are using cominu in, gaps. how many more people are using coming in, can _ gaps. how many more people are using coming in, can you — gaps. how many more people are using coming in, can you give _ gaps. how many more people are using coming in, can you give us _ gaps. how many more people are using coming in, can you give us a _ gaps. how many more people are using coming in, can you give us a sense - coming in, can you give us a sense of scale? hf coming in, can you give us a sense of scale? th coming in, can you give us a sense of scale? , ., ., coming in, can you give us a sense of scale? y., ., , , ., of scale? if i give you a sense of scale, of scale? if i give you a sense of scale. there _ of scale? if i give you a sense of scale, there has _ of scale? if i give you a sense of scale, there has been _ of scale? if i give you a sense of scale, there has been an - of scale? if i give you a sense of scale, there has been an 8196 i scale, there has been an 81% increase in food bank access in the last five years. and this year? this year, i have not got exact figures for that, year, i have not got exact figures forthat, but year, i have not got exact figures for that, but there are now 2.17 million people who use food banks. that is in england or across the uk? that is in england or across the uk? that is in england. in that is in england or across the uk? that is in england.— that is in england. in england, ok. i do not that is in england. in england, ok. i do not know— that is in england. in england, ok. i do not know if— that is in england. in england, ok. i do not know if you _ that is in england. in england, ok. i do not know if you have _ that is in england. in england, ok. i do not know if you have spoken . that is in england. in england, ok. | i do not know if you have spoken to anyone after hearing lee anderson's

comments that they should be able to manage on 30p for a meal, that if they learn to cook and budget themselves then that is what he is suggesting, obviously people will also be concerned about affordability, how does the garment affordability, how does the garment afford to keep helping people, given the cost of the pandemic we have seenin the cost of the pandemic we have seen in the last couple of years? when you consider the amount of money of wastage during the pandemic, i think that is a question we can perhaps address to the chancellor and ask him about that. there was an awful lot of money that went missing, an awful lot of money that was wasted. i appreciate it was a crisis and things were difficult, but the epidemic is not the only reason we are seeing problems now with people accessing food banks. that has been after ten, 12 years of austerity, of reduction of support, in all these other areas and that is

why we have seen food banks becoming so endemic. . , so endemic. finally, some conservative _ so endemic. finally, some conservative mps - so endemic. finally, some conservative mps i - so endemic. finally, some conservative mps i think . so endemic. finally, some conservative mps i think i | conservative mps i think i suggesting tax cuts, would that help the people you are seeing or are they not paying much tax anyway? they are not paying much tax anyway. it is not about... 0bviously they are not paying much tax anyway. it is not about... obviously it is about taxing more people who can afford to be taxed who can put the money in the pot to help everybody else, but it does not necessarily trickle down that quickly to support people. was we really need to have as a plan of action around neighbourhoods, ensuring there is fresh food available to people and providing additional support when needed to top up wages and persuade employers to pay fair and also fully costed wages. {lilia employers to pay fair and also fully costed wages-— employers to pay fair and also fully costed wares. , . , ., costed wages. ok, lucy, many thanks indeed for your— costed wages. ok, lucy, many thanks indeed for your time. _ we arejust we are just hearing some news from the un that they have launched an inquiry into alleged russian atrocities in ukraine. we arejust

seeing the un there with the rights council, human rights council, passing a resolution to set up an investigation into allegations of rights abuses by russian troops in ukraine formally under the control. 43 members voted in favour, two against, china and eritrea, and 12 abstentions. russia was recently suspended from the council with its 47 members. the un human rights council passing a resolution based a strong majority to set up an investigation into allegations of human rights abuses by russian troops in parts of ukraine. it sounds like the plot of a hollywood movie — an air passenger with no flying experience has to land the plane when the pilot falls ill. but it was all too real for one man,

who managed to land an aircraft safely in florida, after the pilot passed out mid—flight. mark lobel reports. 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 nose dive 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 that you're not expecting, like, this is the situation, you're just 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 1000 feet, your 600 feet, you're 300 feet, and then he disappeared off the radar stuff, so i was kind of like, "uh—oh, what do i do now?" so i wasjust like, "hey, i don't see you any more on my radar. i just want to make sure you are still there, can you still hear me?" "yeah, i still hear you." after a bouncy landing, the plane was towed away. the man who put 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. extraordinary, isn't it? now it's time for a look at the weather with stav. hello, there. things are warming up this weekend, high pressure will be building in. we should see increasing amounts of sunshine, but also the rest of showers. most showers will be across the northern half of the uk, particularly across scotland where it will also be quite windy further south. less windy and we should stay dry with more such around. as we head through this evening and overnight, shows continue across more northern areas, further south should stay dry. more of a breeze around i think tonight, so maybe not quite as chilly as what it was the previous night, loads of eight to 11 degrees. provider, largely dry story of england and wales, plenty of sunshine here. when

you cross the north, particularly in scotland where we will see showers or long spells of rain here, temperatures around the mid teens in the north, 21 or 22 in south—east areas. warming up into the weekend, plenty of sunshine abound, chance of thundery showers across southern areas late on saturday and sunday but it will feel a cooler across the north sea coast on sunday.

this is bbc news. i'm geeta guru—murthy. these are the latest 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. we will do things to help people in the short term, of course, and i'm not going to anticipate anything more that we may do. but the crucial thing is to make sure that we have a strong employment situation. finland's leaders have said their country mustjoin nato without delay following the russian invasion of ukraine. russia calls the move a definite threat.

that's an unalloyed benefit to nato. nato is considerably stronger, because european security is better for it and there is nothing practically that russia can do about it. recommendations for the uk's covid—19 inquiry to now examine the impact of the pandemic on mental health as well as on children and young people. doctors and paramedics say that long waits for ambulances across the uk are having a "dangerous impact" on patient safety. and the enormous black hole living at the centre of our galaxy is pictured for the very first time despite being around 26,000 light—years from earth.

the metropolitan police have issued more than 50 new fines for breaches of covid rules in downing street and other government buildings. these fixed penalty notices are in addition to more than 50 handed out last month, including to borisjohnson and chancellor rishi sunak. neither mrjohnson nor his wife carriejohnson are among those to be fined this time. 0ur political correspondent ben wright reports. are you shocked at the scale of lawbreaking in number ten, prime minister? how could you let that happen under your watch? the fallout from whitehall rule breaking has followed the prime minister to stoke. for a cabinet away day also attended by the uk's top civil servant, simon case. cabinet secretary, can you confirm whether you have been fined by the police? the police have issued more than 100 fines to people who partied in number ten and government offices during lockdown. the met has said it will not name those who have been fined as it investigates a dozen events that happened when covid restrictions were in force.

we do know that borisjohnson, his wife carrie and the chancellor rishi sunak were given fixed penalty notices last month, over a birthday party held for the prime minister at number ten injune 2020. the ballooning list of party fines means tory mps cannot escape the scandal. the prime minister wasn't present that this event, this latest event that we are hearing about but it is quite clear that the prime minister has apologised, he has already changed a lot of senior staff at downing street. i think that is absolutely what is needed to happen and i'm glad that culture shift has happened. this fictional party was a business meeting. and it was not socially distanced. the leaked video of the prime minister's then press secretary joking about a downing street christmas party ignited the scandal and a source has told the bbc that some of the fines issued recently were given to people who attended the do on the 18th of december 2020.

the prime minister was not at it but labour wants to keep the pressure on him. they have reached the very dubious distinction of racking up more fines than any other location in britain, yet he's refusing to do the decent thing. i think that is quite extraordinary considering he made the rules, then broke the rules on a record scale. of course, a labour event is also being investigated by durham police and the party's leader sir keir starmer has said he will resign if he receives a fixed penalty notice. unlike the prime minister who has swatted away calls to quit. this morning number ten said neither borisjohnson nor the cabinet secretary had received fines today but this remains a live police investigation and a smouldering political fuse. mps will investigate whether borisjohnson misled parliament about all this and a full report will be published by the civil servant sue grey. judging by the number of fines now issued, that is likely to be a long and incendiary read. ben wright, bbc news, westminster. and benjoins me now

from westminster. you might be just seeing as you might bejust seeing as i am, we have seen that dominic raab, the justice secretary, has said he had not received partygate fine. and there is still a long way to go on this, we still don't have a timeframe even for when the police investigation will finish.— investigation will finish. that's ri . ht. investigation will finish. that's right- know— investigation will finish. that's right. know precisely - investigation will finish. that's right. know precisely how - investigation will finish. that's. right. know precisely how many parties they have investigated. it's obviously taking quite a long time. the first fines were issued at the end of march, here we are mid—may, and it still feels like we are in the relatively early stages of this. there are parties, we believe, that we know the met police are investigating that we don't think yet some of the attendees have received questionnaires. so this could all go on for a very long time. and the prime minister up in stoke—on—trent wasjust time. and the prime minister up in stoke—on—trent was just asked in an interview, what he felt about this, did he get a find today, the answer

was no. did he die of anything more to say? he civilly tried to put it to say? he civilly tried to put it to one side as he has done to the last few —— did he have anything more to say? he just tried to put it to one side and said he would state would make a full statement to the house of commons when sue grey had finished her inquiry and release it. until then we are in a strange period of waiting and not knowing who got fined, we can assume any of these people are civil servants and officials, the only people that we have been told we are going to be informed about if they receive are fine are the cabinet secretary simon case who hasn't got one yet, and the prime minister. this case who hasn't got one yet, and the prime minister.— prime minister. this is part of a swell of questions _ prime minister. this is part of a swell of questions about - prime minister. this is part of a i swell of questions about integrity which the labour opposition has brought up, also perhaps they have fallen foul of themselves with durham, and today we are hearing on other aspects of the political swell, the process that led to lord lebron deb's period. a long—standing

—— lord lebvedev�*s period. he is a long—standing acquaintance of boris johnson. long-standing acquaintance of boris johnson. , ., ., johnson. yes, owner of the evening standard, nominated _ johnson. yes, owner of the evening standard, nominated for _ johnson. yes, owner of the evening standard, nominated for a - johnson. yes, owner of the evening standard, nominated for a peerage| johnson. yes, owner of the evening i standard, nominated for a peerage in 2020, i think march, and then earlier this year that the security services had concerns about the nomination of lord lebedev, the lords recommended him for a peerage and he does it in the house of lords as a crossbencher. the head of the lords appointment commission told the parliamentary committee earlier this year that m15 had raised concerns, but there was no pressure from number 10. concerns, but there was no pressure from number10. last concerns, but there was no pressure from number 10. last month i think it was, the house of commons, led by labour, voted to compel the government to publish all of the

communications around this appointment, so we could all see precisely what was being said between number 10, if anything, and the lords appointment commission about this controversial appointment. today, the government have published the bare minimum, a couple of letters confirming that the appointment was being sought, letter of congratulations to lord lebedev, but pretty much else. cabinet minister michael ellis has said today that there are serious security concerns around this and the president that was set about releasing this information, which is why it has —— the president that were set which is why it is not in public domain. people in parliament demanding more, they will be very disappointed that this is all we are going to see. finland's leaders say they want to join nato military alliance "without delay", and will make a formal decision this weekend. it would be a dramatic shift in the country's position which has traditionally been

neutral. nato has said this morning they'd be warmly welcomed and could join quickly. support forjoining nato has grown rapidly in finland after russia's invasion of ukraine. but russia has responded by saying finland joining the military alliance is a threat to its national security and it will take steps of a "military—technical" nature in response. finland's foreign minister acceptsjoining nato could increase tensions. 0ur our understanding of this response is that russia may be will have military equipment on the border, and this will be a nato border, then, of course, russia will guard it in other ways than previously. and then the announcement by the former president medvedev, then the baltic sea will no more be a nuclear free area. but we have already seen his sons in canning ground and so forth, and we know that warheads can

been be used so the risk has been there always. michael clarke is a professor of war studies at king's college london. he believes russia doesn't have much choice in how it responds. they could issue cyber attacks may already have in the wet is coping with those, but the russia's choice is between a bit of inconvenience and starting world war iii, nothing much in between. so they can either do a little bit and have andpart all they like all they can massively overreact, take nato on, to start world war iii and lose. let's talk to our europe editor katya adler. there has been a big shift in public opinion on this?— there has been a big shift in public opinion on this? absolutely massive. u. opinion on this? absolutely massive. u- until opinion on this? absolutely massive. up until now. — opinion on this? absolutely massive. up until now. in _ opinion on this? absolutely massive. up until now, in and _ opinion on this? absolutely massive. up until now, in and has— opinion on this? absolutely massive. up until now, in and has preferred i up until now, in and has preferred to work alongside, not inside nato, so taking part in literary exercises

and so on but stopping short of membership. finland shares a very long border with russia, 800 miles long border with russia, 800 miles long and it knew its neighbour did not want it to join nato. as soon as russia invaded ukraine, everything changed here. looking at the opinion polls, before the russian invasion, 20 to 30% of nato membership, now a whacking 76% in favour. of course politicians voter —— listen to what voters want on the ground. today we heard from then on's president and prime minister, and the foreign minister, saying that we have to join nato as soon as possible. the formal bid is expected to come from finland at the beginning of next week, with sweden to follow suit soon after. is week, with sweden to follow suit soon after-— week, with sweden to follow suit soon after. , , , , ., soon after. is the sense there, you would say. — soon after. is the sense there, you would say. that — soon after. is the sense there, you would say, that people _ soon after. is the sense there, you would say, that people genuinely i would say, that people genuinely fear that russia could take action against finland, or is this really more about shoring up the baltic states and others on the border

there which are perhaps even more vulnerable? so,. i there which are perhaps even more vulnerable? so,.— vulnerable? so,. i think if you talk on the streets _ vulnerable? so,. i think if you talk on the streets to _ vulnerable? so,. i think if you talk on the streets to people _ vulnerable? so,. i think if you talk on the streets to people in - vulnerable? so,. i think if you talk. on the streets to people in england, they are thinking about the protection of themselves and their families best and foremost, talking to the foreign minister today, he was saying, we had in europe are kind of post—cold war stability going which was completely appended as soon as russia invaded ukraine. they said they encircled ukraine and said it was a military exercise and suddenly they were invading and wanting to change the government by military force. at that point, the finnish people who he described as very pragmatic said, we have got a long border with russia and we don't want to take any chances. phil and would enjoy the all for one and one for all clause in nato, —— finland. article five, an attack against one member is an attack against all. and even though we have had retaliatory

messages from russia, finland think they are safe inside the nato umbrella. russia has got its hands tied militarily in ukraine, they don't expect russian military vehicles rolling over the border into finland anytime soon. as far as retaliatory measures, you could have russianjets invading retaliatory measures, you could have russian jets invading the airspace here which has happened before, a disinformation campaign which regularly happen again, or cyber attacks as well. the finns say they are prepared and the intention is still to in tents to join nato. are prepared and the intention is still to in tents tojoin nato. lgrate still to in tents to 'oin nato. we will let you h still to in tents tojoin nato. we will let you duck out of the rain, thatis will let you duck out of the rain, that is a gorgeous city, helsinki, we had a job there recently, thank you very much! breaking news from new york, the police watchdog has recommended disciplinary action against 145 officers in connection with their conduct during the black lives matter protests in 2020. a review

board has said 88 of them should face formal charges stop in its report, it said dozens of officers did not follow protocols, covered their names and shields and did not use body cameras. black lives matter is protests were organised across america and other countries after the death of george floyd at the hands of police in minneapolis in may 2020. disciplinary action being recommended across 145 officers by the new evil york police watchdog. —— at the new york police watchdog. the uk economy shrank by 0.1% in march, as households began to feel the impact of rising prices and cut back on spending. the office for national statistics says although the economy grew by 0.8% in the first three months of the year, growth stalled in february and the latest figures show the cost of living is beginning to bite. 0ur economics correspondent andy verity reports. a cheshire market in buckinghamshire, danny is hoping

the upcoming jubilee celebrations will give sales a lift. the bunting's going up in more ways than one. every day he talks to his wholesaler and gets the same message. everything has gone up, everything. everything i sell has gone up in price, everything. give us an example. what about these dog beds, for example? that dog bed there, i was selling it for 19.99 at christmas. it is now 29.99. with their own wages not keeping up with prices, customers are not spending like they used to. this market survived the internet and the pandemic, but in the last six months with pricesjumping and business down an estimated 30%, nearly half the traders have walked away. the cost of living has gone up everywhere, all these people are self—employed, they have obviously got to earn a living and their stock has gone up like my stock has gone up and i think people are having it hard. even in a relatively prosperous commuter town like chesham, there is now a toxic combination of soaring prices and stagnating activity. stagflation is causing real economic pain.

food banks are more in demand now than they were at the start of the pandemic, even though this is only a slow down and that back then was the biggest recession in 300 years. it is not in that crisis but in its aftermath and in the shadow of war that ordinary households are feeling the pinch most. while the economy did grow by 0.7% injanuary, official estimates say there was no growth in february and activity unexpectedly shrank in march. and that is before consumers were hit by higher taxes and bills at the start of april. since then, consumers have cut back sharply on nonessential spending. stricken small businesses are demanding government action. injanuary, our businesses were telling us that despite increasing costs, their order books were strong. in the last month they have seen those order books decline and that is what we are really worried about. we are worried that we are at a tipping point in terms of going into recession and that is why we need to see the government act now

with three key measures — reversing national insurance increases, decreasing vat on energy bills and bringing in free covid testing for businesses. today, the bbc�*s economics editor asked the chancellor why he wasn't doing more and treating this as an emergency. what i would say is i am completely aware of what the challenges that people are facing are. are you really taking the action right now that is needed by so many millions? we have taken action already but what i have always said is i stand ready to do more. labour is now demanding an emergency budget to tackle a crisis that is only likely to worsen in the coming months. with the economy already shrinking, the risk of a full—blown recession this year is on the rise. andy verity, bbc news, cheshire. borisjohnson has insisted that his government will, quit, do things, to

help with the cost of living crisis. speaking earlier he was asked what his government will do to help people right now. in his government will do to help people right now.— his government will do to help people right now. in july, there is auoin to people right now. in july, there is going to be _ people right now. in july, there is going to be big — people right now. in july, there is going to be big tax _ people right now. in july, there is going to be big tax cuts _ people right now. in july, there is going to be big tax cuts for- going to be big tax cuts for everybody on national insurance —— borisjohnson has insisted that his government will, "come and do things". we will do things in the short term, and i'm not going to anticipate things that we may do. the crucial things that we may do. the crucial thing is to make sure that we have the strong employment situation because that is the key thing. joining me now isjon plant, owner of moorland pottery, to talk about how his business has been affected by the cost of living crisis. thank you forjoining us. would you mind showing us some examples of what you actually make? ? 0f mind showing us some examples of what you actually make? ? of course, this is typical of what we produce, this is typical of what we produce, this particular style. it's about us as a company.

and how many people do you employ? there are six of us in total, so only a small company, but the effects of the sexactly the same no matter how large or small you are. what are what have the effect been? the main thin has what have the effect been? the main thing has been _ what have the effect been? the main thing has been that _ what have the effect been? the main thing has been that energy _ what have the effect been? the main thing has been that energy prices - thing has been that energy prices have soared dramatically. 0ur energy has actually doubled, the cost of it. the consequence is for us and our suppliers. what we need to do to produce goods has also gone up. so there is a squeeze on the business and on the property market. so it isn't easy. by any stretch of the imagination. ih isn't easy. by any stretch of the imagination-— isn't easy. by any stretch of the imauination. , ., y., , ., , imagination. in terms of your staff, are ou imagination. in terms of your staff, are you having _ imagination. in terms of your staff, are you having to _ imagination. in terms of your staff, are you having to pay _ imagination. in terms of your staff, are you having to pay them - imagination. in terms of your staff, are you having to pay them more . are you having to pay them more because inflation is rising?

we have done, we have tried to keep up we have done, we have tried to keep up with costs and make people are looked after, they have gone up, yes. everything has gone up tremendously. everything has gone up tremendously. everything has gone up tremendously. so, it is, how do you mitigate that against a business going forward? fortunately, we had a very strong year last year. but i do feel that based on current orders we have gotten the books that we are down on last year's figure. br; have gotten the books that we are down on last year's figure. by how much, down on last year's figure. by how much. how — down on last year's figure. by how much, how much _ down on last year's figure. by how much, how much are _ down on last year's figure. by how much, how much are you - down on last year's figure. by how much, how much are you worried . down on last year's figure. by how i much, how much are you worried you are going to lose orders? i much, how much are you worried you are going to lose orders?— are going to lose orders? i would sa it is are going to lose orders? i would say it is always — are going to lose orders? i would say it is always difficult _ are going to lose orders? i would say it is always difficult to - are going to lose orders? i would say it is always difficult to say, i say it is always difficult to say, because things do change. but i would say, ourfinancial because things do change. but i would say, our financial year starts 1st of april, we are probably down 25% on orders coming in at this point so far, based on last year. and is that linked, does that mean a direct 25% hit on your profit, or is

your profit cut by more than that because of increased costs? it your profit cut by more than that because of increased costs? it will because of increased costs? it will be cut more _ because of increased costs? it will be cut more than _ because of increased costs? it will be cut more than that _ because of increased costs? it will be cut more than that because - because of increased costs? it will be cut more than that because of. be cut more than that because of increased costs. if you have got less turnover, you are not making any profit, or less profit. therefore you have raised fixed costs, and the energy costs etc have gone up, it also forces your bottom line. ~ ., ., ,., gone up, it also forces your bottom line. ~ ., ., i., ~ line. what would you like the government _ line. what would you like the government to _ line. what would you like the government to do? - line. what would you like the government to do? i - line. what would you like the government to do? i think. line. what would you like the | government to do? i think we line. what would you like the - government to do? i think we have not to government to do? i think we have got to have — government to do? i think we have got to have a _ government to do? i think we have got to have a clear— government to do? i think we have got to have a clear policy _ government to do? i think we have got to have a clear policy on - got to have a clear policy on energy. and how they are going to help people deal with it. because it is unprecedented. so i think that is where the big help needs to come from, in easing that, so it's not as difficult as it is at the moment. and you think taxpayers should be made to bear the burden of that for the wider population and to support businesses and individuals? ithihk businesses and individuals? i think it a- lies businesses and individuals? i think it applies to _ businesses and individuals? i think it applies to everyone, _ businesses and individuals? i think it applies to everyone, we - businesses and individuals? i think it applies to everyone, we are - businesses and individuals? i think it applies to everyone, we are all.

it applies to everyone, we are all involved in this. it's every household in the country, going to be impacted by the cost of energy and the cost of materials and the cost of food. so it's notjust business. if it wasn't a business, you wouldn't have jobs, so... business. if it wasn't a business, you wouldn't havejobs, so... is such a complicated issue. riff you wouldn't have jobs, so... is such a complicated issue. of course, we very much _ such a complicated issue. of course, we very much appreciate _ such a complicated issue. of course, we very much appreciate you - such a complicated issue. of course, we very much appreciate you talking | we very much appreciate you talking to us and showing us your marvellous mugs there. to us and showing us your marvellous mugs there-— in ukraine, the bbc has found clear evidence of possible war crimes committed by russian soldiers in kyiv. in shocking images caught on cctv, two unarmed civilians are shot in cold blood at the height of the battle to take the capital. police have told the bbc dozens of civilians were found shot dead after the russians retreated. from kyiv, our eastern europe correspondent sarah rainsford has this report.

these are russian soldiers on their way to rate and kill, but every moment is caught on camera. the men talk to this man, leonid, even smoke. but suddenly they turned back, and should leonid and another man multiple times in their backs. leonid somehow survives. he somehow staggers back to the heart and calls for help. i met one of the friends he calls that day. he told him, the soldiers claimed they don't kill civilians. then they shot him. translation: i civilians. then they shot him. translation:— civilians. then they shot him. translation: ., ,~ ., ., , translation: i asked how he was. i said, can translation: i asked how he was. i said. can you — translation: i asked how he was. i said. can you at— translation: i asked how he was. i said, can you at least _ translation: i asked how he was. i said, can you at least banned - said, can you at least banned yourself up? and he said, vasya, i barely crawl to, everything hurts so

much, ifeel really barely crawl to, everything hurts so much, i feel really bad. barely crawl to, everything hurts so much, ifeel really bad. so i told him to hold in there and called the territorial defence. the him to hold in there and called the territorial defence.— territorial defence. the russians drove a stolen _ territorial defence. the russians drove a stolen van, _ territorial defence. the russians drove a stolen van, daubed - territorial defence. the russians drove a stolen van, daubed with | drove a stolen van, daubed with their v symbol and the words, russian tank special forces. and this is the man we saw shooting, now helping himself to a drink. he has no idea he is being filmed, no one does. until it's too late. until this time, leonid is hiding in here, bleeding heavily. weeks later, we found his clothes and mattress bundled up outside. he died before help could reach him. i met the man who tried to save leonid. they sold air conditioning before the war. as they rushed to the scene that day, they rushed to the scene that day, they tried to reassure leonid that he would make it. they were scared themselves. lgrate he would make it. they were scared themselves-— he would make it. they were scared themselves. we went there knowing themselves. we went there knowing

the risks, under— themselves. we went there knowing the risks, under fire. _ themselves. we went there knowing the risks, under fire. we _ themselves. we went there knowing the risks, under fire. we knew- themselves. we went there knowing the risks, under fire. we knew the . the risks, underfire. we knew the russians would come back, and they had tanks. and we only had our chances were not good but we had to go and get him. thea;t chances were not good but we had to go and get him-— chances were not good but we had to go and get him. they show me how the nearb road go and get him. they show me how the nearby road looked _ go and get him. they show me how the nearby road looked in _ go and get him. they show me how the nearby road looked in those _ go and get him. they show me how the nearby road looked in those days. - nearby road looked in those days. with russian tanks rolling past their positions. police have told us the russians shot at anything that moved here. they found the bodies of 37 civilians on just this stretch of road. it's notjust the burned—out buildings and businesses along this road, that you see, but things like this. two russian tanks, just lodged in the forest. you can see the v painted on the front. and it's a really stark reminder ofjust how fierce the fighting was along all of these roads into kyiv and how terrified leonid must have been when he was lying bleeding and calling to

help. leonid's daughter shed this image of her dad as she would like remembered. usually is abroad now, she says she wants her father's killers to face justice. translation:- killers to face justice. translation: g ., ., ., translation: my dad was not a military man _ translation: my dad was not a military man at _ translation: my dad was not a military man at all. _ translation: my dad was not a military man at all. he _ translation: my dad was not a military man at all. he was - translation: my dad was not a military man at all. he was a - military man at all. he was a pensioner. they killed a 65—year—old, what for? i'm not so much furious is full of grief and fear. those damn russians are so out of control that i'm afraid of what they might do next.— of control that i'm afraid of what they might do next. leonid never returned to _ they might do next. leonid never returned to his _ they might do next. leonid never returned to his home _ they might do next. leonid never returned to his home or- they might do next. leonid never returned to his home or his - they might do next. leonid never returned to his home or his pets. another stolen by russian troops, now notorious for their brutality. some breaking news this hour, a former snp mp has been found guilty

of embezzling over £25,000. she represented glasgow east between 2015 and 2017 and was convicted of two charges of embezzlement after a trial at glasgow court. she was chair and treasurer of the women's campaign group in 2013 to 2015. she was guilty of a second charge of taking money between 2014 and 2015 when she was involved in glasgow in the association of the snp. more on that as it comes into us. the government has received legal advice it would now be lawful to override parts of the post—brexit treaty for northern ireland. such a move could lead to the ending of checks on goods going from britain to northern ireland but the eu has warned it could retaliate by introducing trade sanctions. i spoke to the europe editor of the

irish broadcaster rte for his reactions. irish broadcaster rte for his reactions-— irish broadcaster rte for his reactions. ,, ., ., . reactions. she had told the eu chief neuotiator reactions. she had told the eu chief negotiator that _ reactions. she had told the eu chief negotiator that the _ reactions. she had told the eu chief negotiator that the situation - reactions. she had told the eu chief negotiator that the situation in - negotiator that the situation in northern ireland, where we havejust had an election, was now a matter of the peace and internal security of the peace and internal security of the united kingdom, and if the eu did not act more flexibly on the application of the northern ireland protocol, which was part of the treaty, then the uk would have no choice but to act and by that we understand that she means that they will introduce legislation probably next week. the negotiator responded by saying, doing this unilaterally was simply unacceptable and that it could undermine northern ireland's place in the eu single market because the nature of the protocol means that northern ireland stays in the single market while the rest of the single market while the rest of the uk leaves. that means checks and controls on goods going from great

britain, england, scotland and wales over the irish sea and into northern ireland and that is what this row is about. ., , ., , ., about. tony connelly, referring to liz truss, about. tony connelly, referring to liz truss. the _ about. tony connelly, referring to liz truss, the foreign _ about. tony connelly, referring to liz truss, the foreign secretary. i thousands of palestinians have turned out in the occupied west bank for a remembrance service for the aljazeera journalist shireen abu akleh who was shot dead yesterday. her casket, draped in the palestinian flag, arrived by motorcade at the palestinian authority's headquarters, as a military band played. she died after being shot in the head while covering clashes between israeli forces and armed palestinians injenin. let's have a look at the weather, it was lovely when i came in, will it be a sunny weekend? it was indeed! a lovely day today in fact across central and southern areas, showers, high pressure will

build end of the weekend. it will be fairly warm over the weekend, one or two places reaching 20 the far south—west. the showers will begin to ease down and become confined to the very far north of scotland. a view or chilly spots around tonight, not as good as it was last night, loads of eight to 11 degrees. tomorrow is a similar story, best of the sunshine, dry weather across england and wales. further north, cloud and wind and showery burst of rain. 14 to 16 in the north, 21 or 22 across the south. things are warming up into the weekend. there will be some warm sunshine but turning increasingly humid with thunder moving up from the south, we could see increasing thundery showers to into sunday so stay tuned.

hello, this is bbc news. i'm geeta guru—murthy. the headlines: police say they have now issued more than 100 partygate finds following investigations into breaches up covid—19 rules in downing street and whitehall. finland's leaders have said their country mustjoin nato without delay following the russian invasion of ukraine. russia calls the move a definite threat. britain's economy grew at the slowest pace for a year at the start of 2022 with mounting fears the cost of 2022 with mounting fears the cost of living crisis may plunge the uk into recession. recommendations for the uk covid—19 inquiry are now going to examine the impact of the pandemic on a mental health as well as on young children and young people. doctors and paramedics say that long waits at the ambulances across the uk are having a dangerous impact on patient safety. and the enormous black hole living at the

centre of our galaxy is pictured for the very first time despite being around 26,000 light—years from earth. sport and for a full round—up from the bbc sport centre, here's isaac. good afternoon. england have appointed the former new zealand captain brendon mccullum to be their next men's test head coach. the 40—year—old kiwi will start with next month's three—match test series against his home country subject to obtaining a work visa. mccullum will leave his currentjob coaching kolkata knight riders in the indian premier league. he really transformed the mood and culture around the new zealand team. he began the resurgence that ultimately led to them winning the world test championship last year. there is one caveat perhaps, he has only ever coached in limited overs cricket, never in the more traditional form of the game, so in that sense it is a little bit of a gamble.

we've got the north london derby tonight as tottenham host arsenal in what could be one of the most important derbies in recent years. they're fighting it out for a place in the champions league. the gunners are in the driving seat. they're four points clear of spurs so a win for antonio conte's team would be vital. we are talking about an important game and an important game for many different situations and the first, i think the most important thing, we are playing this game for an important target and that is playing in the champions league. i think that has to be the first thing, to try to win this game. now the message is clear that if we win against them we are in the champions league position and as if you need any more

motivation and to tell them anything less than that. the opportunity is there and we're 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're to approach it. it looks like andriy yarmolenko is going to leave west ham at the end of the season. his contract is due to run out at the end of the season and he is one of the club's highest earners, so manager david moyes has made the decision to let yarmolenko go. the ukrainian scored memorable goals for the hammers against aston villa and sevilla immediately after his return from some time off to deal with issues arising out of the invasion of his home country. england have been named hosts of the 2025 women's world cup. the rfu have said they want 2025 to be the best attended women's world cup. they're looking to fill twickenham's 82,000 seats for the final. in the men's game, australia were unanimously voted the men's hosts for 2027, and it'll be a debut for the united states as they get set to host the 2031 tournament

for the first time. it's been announced that bt sport and eurosport will merge, as part of a new venture between bt and warner bros discovery. the companies have struck a joint deal which could bring big changes to the uk tv sports market. events such as the olympics, premier league football, and cycling grand tours could all come together on one platform. the deal is subject to regulatory review and is expected to go through by the end of the year. 0bviously discovery have a presence here already through their streaming platform, but through... and eurosport, but taking over bt sport broadcast as well give them access to premier league rights which will make the next sort of a round of bidding for the premier league i

think it extremely interesting because obviously the resources are there to take on the incumbent which has cut sky, many have tried to do that in the past but this can be a really significant deal. —— which is sky. that's all the sport for now. a senior sri lankan opposition leader, ranilwickremesinghe, has been sworn in as the country's new prime minister. the former prime minister mahinda rajapaksa resigned on monday amid widespread anti—government protests. mr wickremesinghe was chosen after other opposition politicians refused to take up the post under the presidency of gota baya raja pa ksa. let's go live to anbarasan ethirijan who is outside the presidential palace in colombo. ranil wickremesinghe of course a previous prime minister, is he really going to be able to operate with gotabaya rajapaksa still remaining as president, with huge influence that that family still

has? ., ., ., , ., influence that that family still has? ., ., ., has? you are right, as long as president _ has? you are right, as long as president gotabaya _ has? you are right, as long as president gotabaya rajapaksa j has? you are right, as long as. president gotabaya rajapaksa is has? you are right, as long as- president gotabaya rajapaksa is in power, the rajapaksa family will continue to weigh influence in the government and also you have to remember, ranilwickremesinghe government and also you have to remember, ranil wickremesinghe was sworn in as the prime minister a few hours ago and yet he only has one seatin hours ago and yet he only has one seat in parliament, his seat, and that came through a national proportional representation system, that he needs to get the majority, which means the rajapaksa part in the garment has a number of mps, so he has the support of mr rajapaksa to run the country, but the challenge for him is to have a majority in parliament, to get all the opposition parties together to come out with an economic plan for the country, because there is a food shortage, they have a lot of foreign exchange reserves, it is bankrupt, not able to repay their loans which means now they are talking to the

imf. forany means now they are talking to the imf. for any negotiations with imf or other foreign countries they will expect political stability and that is what they will expect ranil wickremesinghe, with enormous experience, he has been prime minister five experience, he has been prime ministerfive times experience, he has been prime minister five times before and has good contacts with the rest and also with india, that he should be able to put the economy back on track. and what is the reaction from the public and opposition parties? £18 public and opposition parties? 43 hours ago no one expected ranil wickremesinghe to become the pm. they were talking about various candidates, the main opposition and also some technocrats, but he emerged as a frontrunner and there have been demonstrations about the government for the past month or so for soaring costs in living and economic crisis, they have been asking the government to step down and they are not going to accept this change because they wanted something new, a new political system. they wanted all the old

politicians to get out and pave the way for a new system, but then you are bringing back a politician who was first prime minister in 1993 and many people would view him as someone very close to the rajapaksas and the rajapaksas would want guarantee on a safe exit and that is why they have chosen a mr wickremesinghe as the home minister. thank you very much. a black hole is usually a place in space where no light exists, making it all but impossible to capture on film. despite this, a team of astrophysicists have managed to photograph a black hole in our galaxy, the milky way, for the first time. pallab ghosh reports. for decades, astronomers have been on a quest searching the skies and into the very heart of our galaxy for a mysterious and elusive black hole. now, they've found it, and taken this picture. the black hole is at the centre of the image.

it is revealed by swirling hot matter pulled in by powerful gravitational forces. ziri younsi is among the 300 scientists involved in the project. i think it's really cool and amazing that we can even see a black hole. it's extremely far away, and it's dark, you're not meant to see a black hole, it traps light, and yet here we are capturing something that's meant to be invisible, seeing at the literal edge of space and time, i think that's truly remarkable. a black hole is created by a dead star collapsing in on itself. it has such strong gravity, not even light can escape its incredible pull. the black hole is the glue which binds our galaxy together, it's part of the evolution of our galaxy, it explains where we came from, it will explain where we're going to. more than half a million computer simulations have been run and compared to the actual image. scientists believe that this video

reconstruction is the closest to what the black hole in our galaxy looks like. no single telescope can see the object, so, several have been linked together to create a giant observatory on earth. here, high in the mountains of southern spain, scientists have been part of that search. we're in the heart of a telescope that's 40 years old. inside is the man who came up with the idea of photographing a black hole when he was a student in the 1990s. he was told by his professors that it would be impossible. it's the fulfilment of a dream and the beginning of a new chapter, actually. studying black holes in great detail. it is no longer fantasy, we can test all our understanding and our models, we can do precision astrophysics. how does it make you feel now that you've finally produced this image? it's, you know, it's wonderful! you know, it's. .. it's a dream come true,

after 25, 30 years. for researchers, this is just the beginning. theory has now become reality. and they can now kick on to find out how this black hole really works, and even how our own galaxy came to be. pallab ghosh, bbc news. doctors and paramedics say long waits for ambulances across the uk are having a "dangerous impact" on patient safety. one in ten ambulances waited almost an hour and a half outside a&e 0ur health correspondentjim reid reports. 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. the nhs says it is working hard to free up hospital beds to see patients quickly. the government says it is providing billions of pounds to tackle the treatment backlog in england. doctors though say too many people who need emergency care are still left waiting. jim reed, bbc news. the united states has become the first country to report 1 the united states has become the first country to report1 million deaths from covid. the president said it was a tragic milestone. it is the highest official total in the world. the who says the death toll could be much higher as well. the headlines on bbc news:

police say they've now issued more than 100 fines for partygate following investigations into breaches of covid—19 regulations in downing street and whitehall. finland's leaders have said their country mustjoin nato without delay following the russian invasion of ukraine — russia calls the move a definite threat. 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. the conservative mp for ashfield has been criticised for his comments while talking about food banks yesterday in parliament. lee anderson stated that in his local food bank people are offered cooking courses to make meals for 30p. he also said that there was not a massive use for food banks in the country. actually makes a great point, and this is exactly my point so i invite you personally to come to ashfield, look at our food bank, how it works and i think you will see first—hand that there is not this massive use for food banks in this country. we've got generation after generation who cannot cook

properly, they cannot cook a meal from scratch, they cannot budget. the challenge is there. earlier i spoke to the north—west coordinator for the charity feedback global. she gave me her reaction to the mp's comments.— global. she gave me her reaction to the mp's comments. from what i've noticed and — the mp's comments. from what i've noticed and what _ the mp's comments. from what i've noticed and what i've _ the mp's comments. from what i've noticed and what i've seen, - the mp's comments. from what i've| noticed and what i've seen, teaching people to cook will always be useful and helpful, but if you are teaching people to cook who cannot actually access to fresh food in the spaces where they live and also cannot afford to purchase said fresh food, thenit afford to purchase said fresh food, then it is not that helpful. what we need to do is look at the access points for fresh food for people who are on low income and make sure they are on low income and make sure they are able to eat well. his are on low income and make sure they are able to eat well.— are able to eat well. his point was ou can are able to eat well. his point was you can make _ are able to eat well. his point was you can make a — are able to eat well. his point was you can make a meal— are able to eat well. his point was you can make a mealfor- are able to eat well. his point was you can make a mealfor 30p. - are able to eat well. his point was you can make a mealfor 30p. canj are able to eat well. his point was - you can make a mealfor 30p. can you really though? — you can make a mealfor 30p. can you really though? my _ you can make a mealfor 30p. can you really though? my experience - you can make a mealfor 30p. can you really though? my experience from i really though? my experience from food banks as they got a lot of

their food donated, food banks as they got a lot of theirfood donated, so have they bought the food or has it been donated as a surplus? is that 30p representative of one person making a mealfor 30p or is that in representative of one person making a meal for 30p or is that in fact economies of scale and therefore it is meals for 300 people and it works out at 30p a head? ltrulhat is meals for 300 people and it works out at 30p a head?— out at 30p a head? what are you seeinr in out at 30p a head? what are you seeing in terms _ out at 30p a head? what are you seeing in terms of _ out at 30p a head? what are you seeing in terms of the _ out at 30p a head? what are you seeing in terms of the people i out at 30p a head? what are you | seeing in terms of the people you work with now?— seeing in terms of the people you work with now? ~ . ., , , work with now? what we are seeing is that there is — work with now? what we are seeing is that there is an _ work with now? what we are seeing is that there is an increased _ work with now? what we are seeing is that there is an increased amount - work with now? what we are seeing is that there is an increased amount of i that there is an increased amount of people approaching food banks and other feed agencies for support. a lot of those people are on low incomes and working, a lot of those people are also in receipt of universal credit etc. the problem with being poor as it is expensive to be poor. you end up on a smart metres which cost you more for your electricity and your gas, you have to travel to get to places to purchase food. i can think of lots of examples in the area where we work where people either have to get a taxi or a bus and people say to

use your car, but no, you need money to learn to drive and if you do not have that money and you cannot run a car and the bus service does not work in your area or does not run at the times you are available after you have done at your evening shift or whatever it is, how are you supposed to feed yourself and your family? supposed to feed yourself and your famil ? ., . ., ., ,., supposed to feed yourself and your famil ? ., . ., ., y., 4' family? how much more do you think --eole are family? how much more do you think people are needing _ family? how much more do you think people are needing to _ family? how much more do you think people are needing to live _ family? how much more do you think people are needing to live in - family? how much more do you think people are needing to live in order i people are needing to live in order to eat and heat their homes for example? to eat and heat their homes for exam - le? . to eat and heat their homes for examle? . , ., to eat and heat their homes for example?— to eat and heat their homes for examle? . , ., ., ., ., example? that is quite a hard one to talk about that _ example? that is quite a hard one to talk about that because _ example? that is quite a hard one to talk about that because obviously - talk about that because obviously everyone's circumstances are slightly different, but the fact that the £20 uplift was removed from universal credit just at the time when we are now seeing costs going up when we are now seeing costs going up considerably, you could look at it as saying welfare benefits and wages have been given it may be a one to 2% uplift, but we are looking at 6% and 7% in terms of food prices and we are looking at considerably more than that for energy and that

is where the gap is. it is those gaps that we are having the difficulty with.— difficulty with. lucy there, coordinator _ difficulty with. lucy there, coordinator for _ difficulty with. lucy there, coordinator for the - difficulty with. lucy there, coordinator for the charity | difficulty with. lucy there, - coordinator for the charity feedback global. it sounds like the plot of a hollywood movie — an air passenger with no flying experience has to land the plane when the pilot falls ill. but it was all too real for one man, who managed to land an aircraft safely in florida, after the pilot passed out mid—flight. mark lobel reports. 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 nose dive 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 that you're not expecting, like, this is the situation, you're just 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 1000 feet, you're 600 feet, you're 300 feet, and then he disappeared off the radar stuff, so i was kind of like, "uh—oh, what do i do now?" so i wasjust like, "hey, i don't see you any more on my radar. i just want to make sure you are still there, can you still hear me?" "yeah, i still hear you." after a bouncy landing, the plane was towed away. the man who put 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. an extraordinary story. rebecca vardy is giving evidence for the third day at the high court where she is being questioned about alleged leaking stories to the sun newspaper. she is suing calin rooney for libel. my colleague tommy ali

about what happened in court. it has about what happened in court. it has been a difficult _ about what happened in court. it has been a difficult afternoon _ about what happened in court. it has been a difficult afternoon for - been a difficult afternoon for rebecca vardy, she has broken down twice in the witness box, once when her own barrister was complaining to thejudge her own barrister was complaining to the judge that her own barrister was complaining to thejudge that mrs her own barrister was complaining to the judge that mrs rooney's barrister was making unnecessary comments about mrs vardy�*s evidence and thejudge agreed comments about mrs vardy�*s evidence and the judge agreed those comets were a necessary and then again a few minutes later when mrs vardy was being questioned about supposed inconsistencies in her evidence, but as you say, she spent the third day in the witness box being questioned particularly about whether she has close relationship with the sun newspaper, something she denies. she was asked in particular about events like during the 2018 world cup in russia whether she had helped to orchestrate, along with her then agent, a picture of all the england wives and girlfriends outside a restaurant in saint petersburg. again she denied having anything to

do with the setting up of that picture which subsequently appeared in the sun and she was taken through some of the stories at the crux of this particular case, fake stories that coleen rooney says she puts on her instagram which she says were only viewed by rebecca vardy and and subsequently appeared in the sun, stories like a car crash that coleen rooney was involved in, a flooding in the rooneys basement and also the suggestion that coleen rooney had flown to mexico to consult on gender selection theory so that her next baby would be a girl rather than a boy. rebecca vardy has consistently denied having anything to do with these stories making their way to the sun and she is due to continue giving evidence for the rest of the afternoon and will either finish at the end of today or possibly tomorrow morning and then after that we expect to see coleen rooney in the witness box.

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 across, there was water.

you could see the water running out. so, it's different. it is sad. 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. now it's time for a look at the weather with stav. hello there. things are warming up this weekend. high pressure will be building in.

we should see increasing amounts of sunshine. those temperatures creeping into the low 20s, particularly across central and southern areas. but we're still in the rather cool and breezy air mass at the moment. and today is going to be certainly one of those quite windy across the north, with plenty of showers here, but some good sunny spells further south, closer to an area of high pressure, which will continue to build across the near continent. so for the rest of the afternoon, it looks dry for many, more sunshine around across england and wales to what we had yesterday, variable amounts of cloud, the odd shower around. but most of the showery bursts of rain will be across scotland, northern ireland, especially the north west of scotland, where it'll be quite windy. low teens here, but we could see the mid to high teens further south. now through this evening and overnight it stays dry for much of england and wales, there will be further patchy rain showers across the northern half of the country. and again, it's going to remain quite breezy for all, but especially in the north. temperature wise, i think lows of eight to 11 degrees, maybe a degree or so milder than what we had the previous night. for friday, it's going to be quite windy across the northern

half of the country, even gales in exposure across the north and west of scotland. plenty of showers, even longer spells of rain. the further south that you are, though, it will be breezy, it won't be quite as windy. and we should see increasing amounts of sunshine and the temperatures creeping up further because it's 21 or 22 degrees across the southeast, 14 to 16 degrees in the north. so here it is, this building area of high pressure into the weekend. it starts to draw up some warm, humid air from the south and that could even bring the chance of some thundery showers with it later on saturday and into sunday. saturday itself doesn't look too bad. that area of high pressure is building in so the winds will be lighter. we should see a good deal of sunshine around, so most places will be warmer, but particularly so across southern areas where we could see 22, 23 degrees. signs of the thundery plume just getting into southern areas, bit of uncertainty to where this area of showers will move up from. but it could be anywhere along the south coast, and then pushing towards the midlands, the southeast, into the early hours of sunday — there will be some thunderstorms mixed in as well.

through sunday that a plume of showers, perhaps thunderstorms moves a little bit further northwards. but essentially there's going to be a lot of dry weather around on sunday, with temperatures again into the low 20s in the warmest spots and feeling a bit humid.

this is bbc news. these are the latest headlines. the metropolitan police have issued more than 50 new fines for breaches of covid rules in downing street and other at the start of 2022 with mounting fears of a cost—of—living crisis may plunge the uk into recession. lgrate plunge the uk into recession. we will do plunge the uk into recession. - will do things to help people in the short term, of course. and i'm going to anticipate anything more that we may do but the crucial thing is to make sure that we have the strong employment situation.— make sure that we have the strong employment situation. doctors and aramedics employment situation. doctors and paramedics along _ employment situation. doctors and paramedics along with _ employment situation. doctors and paramedics along with your - paramedics along with your ambulances across the uk are having ambulances across the uk are having a dangerous impact on patient safety. denying orchestrating a