tonight at ten — the metropolitan police issue dozens more fines for downing street and whitehall staff at least 50 more have been given to staff, but the prime minister isn't among them. more warnings of an impending recession — the economy grew by less than one per cent betweenjanuary and march, its slowest pace for a year. in ukraine, evidence of alleged war crimes committed by russian soldiers close to kyiv — civilians shot as they walked away. england's ambulance service under pressure — paramedics are warning that longer waiting times are putting patients at risk. and the pudding deemed fit to celebrate the queen's platinumjubilee — a trifle wins the title, beating thousands of other recipes. and coming up in the sport on the bbc news channel — harry kane on target as spurs and arsenal fight it out

for champions league qualification. good evening. police have issued at least 50 more fines, after parties in downing street and other government buildings breached coronavirus rules at the height of lockdown. it's thought at least some of the latest fines relate to a christmas party which borisjohnson did not attend. more than 100 fines have now been issued in total, including to the prime minister and the chancellor. the metropolitan police says their inquiries are continuing. labour says it's evidence of "industrial scale" partying at number ten. here's our political editor, chris mason. it's long been suspected. today, further confirmation. covid lawbreaking was happening, involving loads of people, for months on end, right at the heart of the government led by boris johnson. the police offered few words,

but they did have a big number — more than 100 fines. and they're not finished yet. the prime minister's been in staffordshire — happy to pose for pictures, less keen to talk about covid partying. look, as soon as i have any more to say on this subject, i will make sure that you, sam, are amongst the very first to know. but what we're doing here in stoke is making sure that we focus on the thing that i think matters most to the people of this country right now, and that is getting us through the post—covid after—shock. this is a list of the potential post—covid political after—shocks, the events in and around downing street now under investigation. a christmas do on the 18th of december 2020 is thought to have led to a big chunk of this latest batch of fines. there was a downing street christmas party on friday night. do you recognise those reports? i went home!

it was a partyjoked about by downing street staff at the time in a mocked up news conference, later leaked. this fictional party was a business meeting. and it was not socially distanced. down the road in stoke from where the prime minister had taken his cabinet, news of the new fines had reached natasha, a student nurse during covid. i think they owe everybody an apology really. they definitely need to just own up to what they've done, more than anything else, and give people a reason to respect them again. and rosalind's not happy, either. it's affected me because i've worked all through the lockdowns, really, and it shouldn't have happened. they're hypocrites, basically. double standards, as far as i'm concerned. but others are unsurprised and not much fussed. i think they're alli at it, aren't they? obviously it is a problem, but it's the tip of the iceberg, isn't it? i but, yeah, i'm not. really too bothered. labour's leader keir starmer

and his deputy are under police investigation themselves over beer and curry in an mp's office just over a year ago, but the party's still calling for the prime minister to resign. he's in a position of senior leadership at 10 downing street, he has already been fined. keir starmer, in contrast, has already said that if he were to be fined, he would of course resign from his position as leader of the opposition. there's simply no comparison with the industrial scale partying that's been happening at number 10. crucially, too, this is not yet over. of the 12 gatherings the police are investigating, just four or so, we think, have led to fines so far, so there's plenty of potential for more to come, including for the prime minister. few can be certain what's around the corner and how much more serious it could get. watching this tonight, you might be outraged at what you are hearing,

you might be indifferent to what you are hearing. politically i think today hasn't really changed very much. why? well, we've known haven't we, for a while, that there was a shed loads of parties going on in and around here so it was highly likely that would be more fines, but crucially there weren't any four borisjohnson. now, his mps do have the capacity to remove them if they so choose but i don't detect any appetite for that right now from the vast majority of them, but what has become known as partygate is far from over four borisjohnson and for keir starmer. 0ur political editor chris mason, thank you. there have been warnings of a risk of recession, after the latest figures show the uk economy shrank 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 risk of recession has risen. 0ur economics editor faisal islam has the latest.

in cheshire, the small town of middlewich — squeezed middlewich right now. costs are only going one way. at the local cafe, new menus arrive, reprinted with rising prices, reflecting rising costs. like the economy generally, they had been recovering strongly out of the depths of covid, but now the clouds of inflation loom. it is part of a growing economy, but at the moment, it feels like absolutely everything is going up. like, there's no relief. and a big amount, rapidly. i'm sure before, you'd never really notice the jump, jump, jump, but now it seems to be this, this week, it's something else the week after. that reflects this morning's economic data, showing the good news that the economy grew over the first quarter of the year, finally making up all the lost economic ground during the pandemic. but dig down into the start of this year, and all that growth

happened in january. february was flat, and by march, the economy was shrinking, as consumers held back from big ticket purchases and making journeys using increasingly pricey fuel. and that has further raised recession fears among economists and calls for further and faster support. i'm completely aware of what the challenges that people are facing... you say you're aware. but are you really taking the action right now that's needed by so many millions of households? we've taken significant action already, but what i've always said is i stand ready to do more. and every week that's gone on since the spring statement, we're learning more about what's going on in the economy... you've got enough information now, chancellor. you know it's going to go up £500 or £600. direct debits are already going up. and that's why we provided £9 billion to support them with that increase in the energy price. but this is really important, i've always said i stand ready to do more as we learn more about the situation. as you learn more, are you looking again at the case for a windfall tax on the oil and energy companies?

what i want to see is significant investment back into the uk economy, to supportjobs, to support energy security, and i want to see that investment soon. and if that doesn't happen, then no options are off the table. if only the growth we've seen in the first three months of this year could extend to the whole of 2022. but this covers russia's invasion of ukraine, the latest major economic shock to be layered upon others, such as the hangoverfrom the pandemic, now a fall in sterling, and the possibility of a trade war between the united kingdom and the european union over northern ireland. 0n the outskirts of this town, an industrial estate, another small family business trades dinosaur models and toys with the world. we're trying not to go extinct! but sue and mike's business — like the uk economy — facing a series of shocks at the same time. it's taking twice as long to get goods as it used to. it's costing twice as much to actually get them here.

at the moment, it's difficult to sell into europe, but not impossible. but if we have issues and we enter a trade war with europe, for example, and they put on more tariffs or financial barriers, then that will have a significant impact on our business. and whether we can continue to sell into the eu, that is a question that we'll have to ask ourselves very seriously. the chancellor is saying today, no government economic package can make all these inflationary pressures disappear. they will continue to cast a dark shadow over the economy. faisal islam, bbc news, in cheshire. let's speak to our political correspondent alex forsyth. will the government have to intervene?— will the government have to intervene? ., , intervene? the government is pointing to — intervene? the government is pointing to the _ intervene? the government is pointing to the help _ intervene? the government is pointing to the help its - intervene? the government is| pointing to the help its already put in place and if you listen to the prime minister at the queen's speech early this week his message was very clear. you can't spend your way out of the situation, you have to grow your way out, but look at today's

figures. yes, the economy grew overall in the first three months, but in march, its rank and with the war in ukraine and prices continuing to rise the short term picture looks pretty bleak so that government ambition of a high wage, high growth economy, is not going to be realised at any time soon which is why there's so much pressure to do more now to help families that are really struggling. the question is, what? the chancellor doesn't like the idea of a windfall tax on energy companies but he hasn't ruled it out. some conservative mps want tax cuts brought forward. some suggest there should be an intervention on there should be an intervention on the scale of what there was during the scale of what there was during the covid pandemic but that is not when number ten's mind is at the moment. the prime minister told his cabinet today it's on his mind, he urged his ministers come up with options that might help, like cutting the cost of passports for families, shrinking the size of the civil service that could save money and be passed on to households and a

targeted way, but don't expect a big government bail out any time soon but do expect the pressure to on them to do more to help families to keep growing, particularly if the economy doesn't. mega; keep growing, particularly if the economy doesn't.— keep growing, particularly if the econom doesn't. �* ., _ ., ~ economy doesn't. alex forsyth, thank ou. almost six and a half million people in england were on a hospital waiting list at the end of march to start routine treatment. that's a new record. the ambulance service is under particular pressure, with paramedics warning that longer waiting times for ambulances are putting patients at risk. last month, ambulances took on average just over 50 minutes to respond to emergency calls for strokes, burns and epilepsy. 0ur health editor, hugh pym, has been meeting those affected by ambulance delays. it was pouring with rain, it was cold, and i was in a lot of pain. penny, who lives in south devon, broke her leg badly but was told the ambulance would take up to four hours. it was first—aiders from a lifeboat crew who got her onto a stretcher and gave her pain relief, and her daughter who drove her to hospital. i was so grateful to the rnli guys... for penny, a former nurse, it was a sad reflection on the condition of the nhs.

we are in a state whereby we cannot rely on these services, and it's very frightening. so that trust has gone. and to be landed in that situation was really horrible. the south western ambulance service said because of sustained pressure, patients are having to wait longer. penny then endured an eight—hour wait in a&e. the hospital trust in plymouth apologised to her and said on the day there was a high level of staff absence because of covid. there are stresses across the system — ambulances waiting to hand over patients, crowded a&e units, and with gps under great pressure, more people are coming forward, some with conditions that got worse during the pandemic. and that adds to the strain on hospitals. 23 ambulances with patients... scenes like these outside major hospitals can happen in the depths of winter, but this is late spring. paramedics say it's

deeply frustrating. you're stood there with a patient who you need to hand over in the emergency department, and you're there unable to help your colleagues, those doctors and nurses and other professionals in the emergency department who are run ragged. robert collapsed in the bathroom after a stroke. it took the ambulance service more than two hours to get to him. it should be a0 minutes at most. with strokes, speed is of the essence. two months on, he can't communicate and is still not back home. i got a phone call from my mum after the ambulance had been called, i was in my bed in west london, and i managed to get home to chelmsford on public transport before an ambulance get here. that's not an emergency service at that point. the east of england ambulance service apologised but said demand had been very high. the department of health said the government was supporting the nhs with more funding to help people get access to urgent care. we are getting help to you as quickly as we can...

the pressures affect all uk's nations, with more patients to get to and services struggling to keep up. hugh pym, bbc news. it has just been announced that the queen has approved the honour of a damehood for the cancer campaigner and podcast deborahjames, known to millions as bowel babe. the 42—year—old mother of two revealed this week that her treatment has stopped and she is receiving hospice care at home. on monday she launched a fund to help clinical research into bowel cancer which has already raised nearly 5.2 million so far. tonight the prime minister says she has been an inspiration and to honesty, warmth and courage has been a source of strength to so many people. he said he hoped this recognition from the queen would provide some comfort to her and her family at this difficult time.

let'sjoin let's join clive myrie and the ukrainian capital, kyiv. sophie, good evening, on what is an important night for the future security framework of europe, due to the events that have unfolded here since the end of february. in a matter of months, finland could become the latest member of the nato military alliance, after both the finnish president and prime minister today backed their countryjoining immediately in the wake of russia's invasion of ukraine. the news has been greeted with anger in moscow. the kremlin says it will be forced to take retaliatory steps. but it comes as the bbc has found clear evidence of alleged war crimes committed by russian soldiers close to the capital here, with shocking images caught on cctv, showing two unarmed civilians being shot. the police have told the bbc that the bodies of dozens of other people have been discovered

following the retreat of russian troops from several northern towns and villages. 0ur eastern europe correspondent sarah rainsford has this report, which does contain some flashing images. these are russian soldiers on their way to loot and to kill. but their every move is caught on multiple cameras. and so is leonid, the security guard, as he approaches them. the men talk, even smoke, and then the soldiers leave. but suddenly two turn back. they shoot leonid and a second man multiple times in their backs. leonid somehow survives. his boss dead, the guard staggers back to his hut and starts phoning for help. the russians 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's being filmed.

no—one does until it's too late. and all 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 men who'd tried to save leonid, sasha and kostya, who sold air conditioning before the war. translation: we tried to calm him down. - we said, "it's all 0k, we're coming, you'll live." maybe it helped him — maybe. they show me how the nearby road looked in those days, with russian tanks rolling past their positions. it's notjust the burnt—out buildings and businesses along this road that you see, but things like this. two russian tanks just lodged in the forest.

and you can see the vs painted on the front. and it's a really stark reminder ofjust how fierce the fighting was all along these roads into kyiv, and how terrified leonid must have been as he was lying there bleeding and calling for help. leonid's daughter shared this image of her dad as she'd like him remembered. yulia is abroad now. she tells me she wants her father's killers to face justice. translation: they killed a 65—year—old. what for? i'm not so much furious as full of grief and fear. these damn russians are so out of control that i'm afraid of what they might do next. leonid never returned to his home or his pets. another life stolen by russian troops, now notorious for their brutality. sarah rainsford, bbc news, kyiv.

well, day 78 of this war is almost over, day 79 is about to begin, and it's a conflict that every night we here at the bbc have tried to explain for you, the viewers, as best we can. sometimes it is difficult to truly convey how appalling this tragedy is, to help you understand the barbarity of this war. images and numbers and facts can all over time blur into one. often, it's artists and writers who manage to find long—lasting images and words that speak to tragedy. and i've been to meet a ukrainian poet trying to find the right words. the desire to destroy in war amid a cacophony of artillery... ..forever raises the question, why?

what can ever be the reason for the inhumanity of mass murder? this is the main road leaving ukraine's second city of kharkiv, about to enter the suburb of saltivka. the sign up ahead reads, "warning — shelling." we're less than 35 miles from the russian border. the kremlin�*s troops are being forced back, but they're lashing out. every now and again, we hear the sound of artillery incoming from that direction. the front line's only about 8km from here. as the russians continue to pull back, they're firing into this area, and indeed overnight it was hit by a shell. but it's a residential area, look at it. you've got residential apartment blocks there. this is a sort of pedestrian area. the pizza place has been smashed to pieces. this is a residential spot, a suburb. why would you hit a residential area in the middle of a war?

to sow fear and panic — that's how dirty this conflict is. how to comprehend the madness. how best to convey the pain to save future generations making our mistakes. the volunteers among the troops distributing food to those the war�*s displaced include serhiy zhadan, one of ukraine's most prominent poets. we agreed to meet in the perfect place for a conversation about the capacity of poetry to capture the tragedy of war. this was once a museum dedicated to a revered 18th century ukrainian poet. the last visitor — a russian bomb. "the russians are actually trying

to destroy our identity," he tells me, "our subjectiveness." "to me, ukraine, the ukrainian world is to a great extent conveyed and felt through poetry." "using poetry, you can explain a lot." "it's about emotions, about heart." hello, hi, simon, it's clive here. our national poet, simon armitage, the poet laureate, understands serhiy�*s words, having written his own poem called resistance about the ukrainian struggle. i feel as if i've been appointed to speak out in poetic terms in moments of need and to address contemporary situations. and, you know, there's been no bigger situation than this that i can remember in my life.

serhiy speaks ukrainian you'll still sleep in your bed today. you should have returned a while ago. what could happen to him exactly? what could happen? the patrol will let him through, and god will forgive. god's got other things to do. they all were killed at once, both older guys and the young one. silence between the river banks. you won't explain anything to anyone. i've always thought of poetry as a human and humane activity, and what i witnessed

through news reports as the war began was something utterly inhumane. long after the tanks have rusted to powder and nature reclaims its fields, the poets' words will live on — offering solace for future wars, lifting spirits from the depths of despair to the highest stars. that is it from me and the team here in kyiv, now back to you sophie, for the rest of the day's news. clive, thank you. this is the first image ever taken of the supermassive black hole that's believed to be at the centre of our galaxy. the orange areas around it show light orbiting the edge of the hole. it was taken by a team of international astonomers who believe it will allow them to learn more about how the galaxy was created

and how gravity works. 0ur science correspondent 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's revealed by swirling hot matter pulled in by powerful gravitational forces. 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. 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 a0 years old... inside is a man who came up with the idea of photographing a black hole when he was a student in the 1990s. it's a fulfillment of a dream and the beginning of a new chapter, actually. studying black holes in great detail. they�* re 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. for researchers, this isjust 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.

and finally, a lemon swiss roll and amaretti trifle has won the competition to find a pudding to mark the queen's historic platinum jubilee. it follows in the footsteps of the coronation chicken and the victoria sponge to go down in history as part of the british food story. the duchess of cornwall announced the winner tonight on a special programme on bbc one. 0ur royal correspondent daniela relph has been to meet the champion baker. gemma's lemon swiss roll and amaretti trifle. it was a unanimous decision from thejudges. and a popular choice among herfellow finalists. i hope people just stick their spoon in it and eat it how they want to eat it... gemma's trifle is a twist on the traditional trifle — based on recipes passed down from her gran and her nan, and inspired by lemon posset, served at the queen's wedding. i cannot believe it.

everything that i was up against was just the most beautiful desserts, puddings, with beautiful stories. that this quite humble trifle has won is a bit surreal. this will hopefully go down in history, it's something i'm going to have to try and process for a few weeks, i think. almost 5000 entries were cut down to just five. the all—female shortlist had to make their pudding for the queen of baking. very happy! fit for a queen, mary! quite right. the pudding will now be sold at fortnum & mason — all proceeds will go to charity. the flavours were incredible. from my point of view as a chef, she made every element, but you could also buy most of the elements, so that became accessible to everybody. and, you know, it's a trifle, but it's a beautiful, beautiful trifle, and it's sunshine in a bowl. a trifle to mark a moment in history. alongside victoria sponge

and coronation chicken, we now have a queen elizabeth ii platinum pudding. daniela relph, bbc news, central london. that's it. now on bbc one, time for the news where you are. have a very good night. hello, and welcome to our look ahead to what the papers will be bringing us tomorrow. with me are rachel cunliffe, senior associate editor of the new statesman, and martin bentham, home affairs editor at the evening standard. first let's take a look at some of tomorrow's front pages. the metro features pictures from a cctv video which it says show clear evidence of a russian war crime in ukraine — soldiers shooting unarmed civilians in the back.

the ft leads on the turbulence in crypto—currency markets, and also reports on the growing political clamour for a windfall energy tax. the telegraph carries comments from the former brexit minister lord frost, calling on borisjohnson to rip up the northern ireland protocol. however, the ice as the house of lords may try to block government moves to scrap protocol. —— the i. the guardian reports that a delegation of american politicians to discuss us concerns over what the future of the protocol mean for the good friday agreement. thousands of civil servants are set to lose their jobs to save money for tax cuts. that's according to the daily now. the prime minister who tells the paper that the civil service has become swollen. the sun has an exclusive, journalistic campaigner who recorded her efforts to battle bowel cancer in a bbc podcast this week announced that her treatment was no longer effective and that she was in hospice. she is to be