this is bbc news. the headlines: the foreign secretary confirms the uk will introduce legislation to override elements of the northern ireland trade deal within weeks. fiur ireland trade deal within weeks. our reference ireland trade deal within weeks. oi" preference remains a ireland trade deal within weeks. qij' preference remains a negotiated solution with the eu and with parallel legislation being introduced, we remain open to talks if we can achieve the same outcome through negotiated talks. wages fail to keep pace with rising prices — analysts say it will worsen because of increasing food and fuel costs. the biggest fall since 2013. the ukrainian military says the defenders of mariupol have

ended their mission, after hundreds of soldiers leave the azovstal steel plant. after being trapped there for more than two months. i want to underline, ukraine needs its ukrainian heroes alive. this is our principle. wayne rooney has given evidence in his wife's libel trial as the multi—million pound case enters its final day at the high court. tributes are paid to kay mellor, the actress and writer best known for the series girlfriends. the foreign secretary liz truss has confirmed the government will

introduce legislation that would change parts of the post—brexit trading arrangements for northern ireland. known as the northern ireland. known as the northern ireland protocol. she told parliament that the uk would prefer a negotiated settlement with the eu but failing that would pass a law to change the protocol to make trade easier in an attempt to encourage pro—unionist politicians back into power—sharing government in belfast. the eu has responded warning that unilateral actions are not acceptable. our political correspondent has more. talk of a trade war with europe might be premature and the cabinet is taking a step that will raise tensions with the eu. borisjohnson�*s government designed and passed into law all aspects of its brexit deal with brussels, knowing what they entailed. now the same cabinet wants legislation to allow it to do something rarely seen, to break the

treaty. liz truss told parliament thatis treaty. liz truss told parliament that is because there is currently political gridlock in northern ireland. eli political gridlock in northern ireland. . , ., , , , political gridlock in northern ireland. . , ., , , ireland. eu customers procedures of movin: ireland. eu customers procedures of moving goods _ ireland. eu customers procedures of moving goods within _ ireland. eu customers procedures of moving goods within the _ ireland. eu customers procedures of moving goods within the uk - ireland. eu customers procedures of moving goods within the uk have . moving goods within the uk have already meant companies are facing significant costs and paperwork and some businesses have stopped trade altogether. without resolving these and other issues we will not be able to re—establish the executive and preserve the hard—won progress sustained by the belfast good friday agreement. it is sustained by the belfast good friday aareement. , ., ., ., ., ., agreement. it is over two and a half ears agreement. it is over two and a half years since — agreement. it is over two and a half years since the _ agreement. it is over two and a half years since the government - years since the government negotiated and signed the withdrawal agreement and that deal included the northern_ agreement and that deal included the northern ireland protocol which required — northern ireland protocol which required by its design and some trade _ required by its design and some trade barriers and checks in the irish_ trade barriers and checks in the irish sea. — trade barriers and checks in the irish sea, which was clear from the outset _ irish sea, which was clear from the outset and — irish sea, which was clear from the outset and it was a choice by this prime _ outset and it was a choice by this prime minister and the government, and yet _ prime minister and the government, and yet now barely two years later the government is trying to convince people _ the government is trying to convince people its_ the government is trying to convince people its flagship achievement was not a negotiated triumph but a deal so flawed _ not a negotiated triumph but a deal so flawed that they cannot abide by it. in

so flawed that they cannot abide by it. ., ., ., , ., it. in northern ireland most of the olitical it. in northern ireland most of the political parties — it. in northern ireland most of the political parties led _ it. in northern ireland most of the political parties led by _ it. in northern ireland most of the political parties led by sinn - it. in northern ireland most of the political parties led by sinn fein i political parties led by sinn fein who won the largest share of seats in the recent elections do not want an escalation of tensions with the eu and they all met borisjohnson yesterday. the dup are blocking the assembly from working unless their issues are dealt with. the dup supported brexit and the consequence of brexit is that there has to be checks on goods moving between the uk and the eu and those checks are now happening at northern ireland's ports and the dup say that undermines northern ireland's ties to the rest of the uk. the arrangement borisjohnson agreed on are known as the protocol, goods are checked as they are moved from england, scotland and wales so they don't have to be customs posts along the land border between the republic of ireland where they enter the eu, and installations on the land border would pose a real threat to the peace process. the irish foreign minister says the eu has made proposals for flexibility to improve

things and that the uk should engage with them. this things and that the uk should engage with them. , , ., ., ., with them. this is not a time for unilateral _ with them. this is not a time for unilateral action _ with them. this is not a time for unilateral action and _ with them. this is not a time for unilateral action and announcing legislation which would essentially break international law and create a lot of unnecessary tension between brussels and london. it is a time for re—engagement on the basis of the work that has been done since february. to see whether we can find agreements on both sides can live with. the uk government says it once a negotiated outcome at and with. the uk government says it once a negotiated outcome a— a negotiated outcome at and the riori is a negotiated outcome at and the priority is to _ a negotiated outcome at and the priority is to get _ a negotiated outcome at and the priority is to get power-sharing. a negotiated outcome at and the i priority is to get power-sharing up priority is to get power—sharing up and running. moving to break its treaty makes building a new treaty with the eu even harder. we just heard from the prime minister and this is what he had to say. how can you justify breaking a treaty that you sign? the say. how can you justify breaking a treaty that you sign?— treaty that you sign? the higher du of treaty that you sign? the higher duty of the _ treaty that you sign? the higher duty of the uk _ treaty that you sign? the higher duty of the uk government - treaty that you sign? the higher duty of the uk government is i treaty that you sign? the higher

duty of the uk government is in j duty of the uk government is in international law is to the good friday agreement, and the peace process, and that is the thing we have to really look to. of necessity we can make changes, i think, to the protocol which is not beyond reasonable desires, it is there, things are not working, you can change it, and it makes it very clear on the face of the text that you should make sure the east—west trade and the integrity of the uk internal market, so let's face it, we want to fix it. we internal market, so let's face it, we want to fix it.— internal market, so let's face it, we want to fix it. we can now speak to our political— we want to fix it. we can now speak to our political correspondent - we want to fix it. we can now speak to our political correspondent helen catt. we don't want to mix it we want to fix it, and he says it an insurance policy on getting a deal but many will say he was the one who signed up to this day.—

signed up to this day. there was a lot of our knees _ signed up to this day. there was a lot of our knees in _ signed up to this day. there was a lot of our knees in the _ signed up to this day. there was a lot of our knees in the house - signed up to this day. there was a lot of our knees in the house of. lot of our knees in the house of commons this lunchtime as the foreign secretary set out the details about the principal of changing parts of the agreement —— there was a lot of unease. and the legality of it. the government says it does comply with international law and it has not set out how at this point in time and liz truss said there will be more details and although there is usually a long—standing policy that the government does not reveal its legal advice, but it is whether spelling out what the government is proposing in this legislation. what it thinks will make the situation better in terms of trade between england, wales, scotland and northern ireland and ireland, and it is talking about introducing two different lanes depending on where your goods are going, so a green lane for goods going, so a green lane for goods going from england, scotland and wales to northern ireland and they will stay in northern ireland, they can go through a green lane which would remove what they see is unnecessary checks and just like

touch checks, and there would still be some, like live animals, they will continue to be checked, but fewer checks. anything going from england wales and scotland and northern ireland that was at risk of them going on into ireland and the eu, they would have to go through the full set of customs checks and the full set of customs checks and the government is also suggesting that businesses could choose which set of standards they wanted to sign up set of standards they wanted to sign up to, eu or uk, and they said there will be penalties for businesses which abuse the system. a lot of the detail would still need to be set out in the coming weeks, things like what would be the penalties for abusing the system, that is not clear, so a lot more detail to come, but that is the broad principle. thank you for explaining that. it sounds very complicated given what we are hearing from the dup, is that they want simplicity and they want northern ireland not to be at a disadvantage when it comes to trade and they don't want to be under different rules and therefore what you havejust different rules and therefore what you have just explained different rules and therefore what

you havejust explained doesn't different rules and therefore what you have just explained doesn't seem at this stage to make that any easier? , ., , , , , easier? the dup has suggested they welcome the — easier? the dup has suggested they welcome the words _ easier? the dup has suggested they welcome the words they _ easier? the dup has suggested they welcome the words they have - easier? the dup has suggested they welcome the words they have heard | welcome the words they have heard and they want to see actions, and i suppose the government's argument is that the goods going between england, wales and scotland and northern ireland that would make things easier because you would remove most of the cheques and that is their argument. as i said, the dup have welcomed this in principle but have said they want to see this, they want to see action. for but have said they want to see this, they want to see action.— they want to see action. for now, thanks for— they want to see action. for now, thanks forjoining _ they want to see action. for now, thanks forjoining us. _ they want to see action. for now, thanks forjoining us. more - they want to see action. for now, thanks forjoining us. more on - they want to see action. for now, | thanks forjoining us. more on that later. we can now get some reaction from europe. that is the view from westminster, borisjohnson says it will help to solve the impasse but what does the eu make of this? not much time has passed since the uk signed up to this deal. that much time has passed since the uk signed up to this deal.— signed up to this deal. that is what the european _ signed up to this deal. that is what the european commission - signed up to this deal. that is what the european commission talks -

signed up to this deal. that is what. the european commission talks about, in terms of this being something borisjohnson agreed to, not very long ago, and we have had a statement in the past 20 minutes from the eu's chief brexit negotiator and i can tell you what he said. he said that already the eu has shown flexibility when it comes to medicines, for example, it has changed legislation at so medicine can flow from the uk mainland to northern ireland and they were in the middle of these conversations, he says, with the british about trying to improve things when it comes to agriculture and food and other products and they also put forward other suggestions when it comes to paperwork and cheques which would have greatly diminished the onus on businesses and that the british were not prepared to listen to them. there is conservatory language as well, but he goes on to say that if the uk is to to supply it to use their terminology to ignore parts of the brexit deal, that would be a very serious

situation and the eu would have all the tools at their disposal to respond. the tools at their disposal to resond. ., .,, ., , the tools at their disposal to resond. ., ., , ., respond. one of those would be a trade war which _ respond. one of those would be a trade war which would _ respond. one of those would be a trade war which would suit - respond. one of those would be a | trade war which would suit neither side but the uk says it is hoping for a negotiated deal, thereby agreed by both sides, but that is not guaranteed, is it? it is agreed by both sides, but that is not guaranteed, is it?— agreed by both sides, but that is not guaranteed, is it? it is not but ou are not guaranteed, is it? it is not but you are right. _ not guaranteed, is it? it is not but you are right, talk— not guaranteed, is it? it is not but you are right, talk of— not guaranteed, is it? it is not but you are right, talk of a _ not guaranteed, is it? it is not but you are right, talk of a trade - not guaranteed, is it? it is not but you are right, talk of a trade war l you are right, talk of a trade war is a long way off because both sides despite putting forward different positions which in some ways a very different to say that a dialogue can be reached so if you think back to two years ago when we were looking at some of these statements and announcements and counter announcements, there was quite often announcements, there was quite often a bitterness within that and they seem to be polls apart, but both sides say dialogue can bring them together on this and i think there are some difficulties in terms of how big the mandate is for the eu site, from what the british are saying, it would take the 27 eu countries to give new powers, a new

mandate to the brexit chief negotiator on this site in brussels to do some of the things the british want to do but we are a long way off a trade wall. both —— trade war. this is the uk putting forward their ideas for legislation and there is no text for the eu to pull over and also this is a time of war in ukraine and millions of refugees have gone into eu countries with soaring gas prices and the cost of living increasing and they simply don't want to be dragged into something which is really negative. nick, for now, thanks forjoining us. i'm sure we will talk about this again later. there are morejob vacancies and unemployed people in the uk for the first time since records began. despite the strong employment figures, the office for national statistics said that

people's wages have seen their biggest fall in real terms since 2013, that is as the cost of living crisis continues to bite. this morning the chairman of marks & spencer said he would not be surprised to see food prices rising ljy surprised to see food prices rising by 10% over the course of this year. as the governor of the bank of england has said, pretty much summed it up, what is happening is a global prices are rising, and it is not to do with uk food so much as the effect of freight costs and wheat prices and oil and energy prices, and as a consequence, all food retailers in the uk, because we operate on very small margins, we are reluctantly going to have to allow some food price inflation to run through the system. to allow some food price inflation to run through the system.- run through the system. to an apocalyptic— run through the system. to an apocalyptic extent? _ run through the system. to an apocalyptic extent? is - run through the system. to an apocalyptic extent? is andrew| run through the system. to an - apocalyptic extent? is andrew bailey suggested. you apocalyptic extent? is andrew bailey su: nested. ., ., ., ,, , suggested. you have to keep it in context, suggested. you have to keep it in context. and _ suggested. you have to keep it in context, and wages _ suggested. you have to keep it in context, and wages have - suggested. you have to keep it in context, and wages have been i suggested. you have to keep it in i context, and wages have been rising quite well in the uk, and we have

given our people 5% wage increase this year so it is very negative for a consumer but i would not use the word apocalyptic, certainly not for our customers. it would not be surprising to see food price inflation over the course of the year running towards 8—10%. but we don't know that yet because it runs through the year. quite a lot still to come. . . , through the year. quite a lot still to come. . . . through the year. quite a lot still to come. . ., a, through the year. quite a lot still to come. . ., to come. that was the marks & sencer to come. that was the marks & spencer boss. _ to come. that was the marks & spencer boss. we _ to come. that was the marks & spencer boss. we can - to come. that was the marks & spencer boss. we can speak i to come. that was the marks & spencer boss. we can speak to| to come. that was the marks & - spencer boss. we can speak to andy verity. we will come onto the jobs stuff in a moment. it is the wage is a bit which is interesting and we were talking about inflation and rising prices, wages are not keeping up rising prices, wages are not keeping up with prices?

rising prices, wages are not keeping up with prices?— up with prices? yes, if you look at the average _ up with prices? yes, if you look at the average earnings, _ up with prices? yes, if you look at the average earnings, excluding i the average earnings, excluding bonuses, which is the figure we look at, it is up by 4.2% and normally you would be very happy to get 4.2% over the last 10—15 years, we have seen more like i—2%, and a lot of wages have fallen compared to prices and we have had a fall in living standards over a decade but if you look at this including bonuses, you see in the private sector bonuses up 7%, average rise of pay, including bonuses, which is more than inflation in the first three months of the year when it was 5.5% so living standards are improving when you include bonuses but they are not likely to last because 5.5% was before the hike in energy bills in april and before the war in ukraine and it is predicted we will see a knock to living standards this year which will probably mean the economy will contract as well. the which will probably mean the economy

will contract as well.— will contract as well. the warnings are that prices _ will contract as well. the warnings are that prices will _ will contract as well. the warnings are that prices will continue - will contract as well. the warnings are that prices will continue to - are that prices will continue to rise quickly, talk about anyone who is looking for a job, the figures suggest now is a good time to be looking? suggest now is a good time to be lookin: ? ., ., suggest now is a good time to be lookin. ? ., ., ., ,., suggest now is a good time to be lookin. ? . ., . ,., . looking? part of the reason we had that 4.2% looking? part of the reason we had that 4-2% is _ looking? part of the reason we had that 4.2% is because _ looking? part of the reason we had that 4.296 is because of _ looking? part of the reason we had that 4.296 is because of the - looking? part of the reason we had| that 4.296 is because of the tightest that 4.2% is because of the tightest labour market we can remember, certainly for the last 30 years, and what i mean by that, fewer people available to work and more demand for them to work then there has been for them to work then there has been for a long time and employers would put it simply, we can't get the staff, and this is becoming a crisis for them, we should remember there's a downside to this, although it gives employees a greater bargaining power, to bid up their wages, employers are paying more to employ them, but the employers have got this work and they can't get the work done, and that means they can't get the staff and that means they are not growing the business as much as they might like that down economic growth. it as they might like that down economic growth. as they might like that down economic urowth. , ., economic growth. it underlines how interlinked this _ economic growth. it underlines how interlinked this all _ economic growth. it underlines how interlinked this all is. _ economic growth. it underlines how interlinked this all is. andy - interlinked this all is. andy verity, thanks forjoining us.

also today, ukraine's military says it is working to evacuate all remaining troops from their last stronghold in mariupol. more than 260 soldiers have left the steel plant and have been taken to areas held by russian—backed rebels. president zelenskyy has held that may kill them here as part of the fighters spent more than two months trapped inside the plant which is surrounded by russian forces in early march. they are expected to be exchanged for russian prisoners of war. 0ur ukraine correspondence has this report. if this is the end of the battle for mariupol, is not how many would have envisioned it. if this is the end of the battle for mariupol, it's not how many would have envisaged it. ukrainian fighters being frisked by the russian soldiers they'd been in a bloody battle with for more than 80 days. some of these men are seriously wounded — it was said, without treatment, they would die. these pictures were released by the russian ministry of defence. the whole process was carried out in coordination with the

red cross and united nations, with one aim in mind. translation: we hope - to save the lives of our boys. among them are heavily wounded. they are being treated. i want to underline — ukraine needs its ukrainian heroes alive. this is our principle. i think these words can be understood by all adequate people. the most seriously injured were driven to hospital. more than 200 more were taken to another facility inside russian—controlled territory. it is believed the soldiers will be exchanged in a prisoner swap. but it seems some fighters have stayed behind. katerina spent two months underground with her husband. she thinks he is still there. translation: eight is very painful for me especially. my husband is l still vile, i know a lot of people still there. ——my husband is still there. what they are heroically doing under bombardment... they are helpless, i want to help them and i do not know how, i feel really

powerless. while moscow can finally claim some success in mariupol, it is a very different picture in the north of the country. ukrainian soldiers yesterday said they had reached the russian border. the process of liberating the towns and villages of kharkiv is well under way. stepanyenko endured the invasion of ruska lozova. with the arrival of ukrainian troops, he decided to escape south. translation: there was a train in i front, a missile hit it and landed. on the ground. it did not explode but it landed two metres from my house. after that i was under cluster shelling. i don't care much but i got my things together and i left. the battles for mariupol and kharkiv may be drawing to a close, but this war is far from over.

volunteer police officers in england and wales are to be allowed to use taser stun guns. the home office says it's to ensure they're not "at a disadvantage" when dealing with violence. our home affairs correspondent, june kelly is in manchester. the home secretary is due to announce this at the police federation conference later. just explain a little bit more about this decision, if you will?— decision, if you will? around 9000 secial decision, if you will? around 9000 special constants _ decision, if you will? around 9000 special constants in _ decision, if you will? around 9000 special constants in england - decision, if you will? around 9000 special constants in england and i special constants in england and wales, the home secretary believes that these unpaid volunteers, because they take the same risks as regular police officers, they should be able to carry the same equipment. now in future, specials won't has to have a taser, it will be entirely up to them, the volunteer, to use them, they will then have to be assessed and approved. this was the home secretary priti patel speaking about it earlier today. our special constables do incredible work alongside our regular officers and, of course,

we want to continue to empower them and give them the tools, basically, to make our streets safer. well, the home office is stressing that while tasers are drawn in many cases, they are only actually discharged in about 10% of the cases where they are drawn. but they are controversial. and certainly they have been faxes in a number of deaths. also, the police watchdog has echoed concerns about their disproportionate use. against black

people. they see that as very important... there was the former england capitain, wayne rooney, has begun giving evidence at the high court in lonfon, in a libel case brought against his wife coleen rooney by rebecca vardy, the wife of fellow england internationaljamie vardy. 0ur correspondent colin paterson has been in court — he told us about what's happened so far today. for the first time today, jamie vardy, the leicester city footballer, turned up with his wife, rebekah vardy, but it was the former england captain wayne rooney who was answering the questions. he was asked about the euros in 2016, a tournament at which he was captain, and he explained that he was taken aside by the england manager, roy hodgson, and assistant manager gary neville, and asked

to have a word with jamie vardy�*s wife, rebekah, and tell her to calm down and not bring any issues off the field that were unnecessary. she had a column in the sun during that tournament. wayne rooney said he 100% remembers having this conversation with jamie vardy because it was so awkward. he said it was in the england team games room, where they played table tennis and darts. jamie vardy had a red bull and he had a coffee. in his statement, wayne rooney says jamie vardy agreed to have a word with his wife. earlier in this trial, rebekah vardy has said jamie vardy told her this conversation never happened. in court, wayne rooney has also said thatjamie vardy was on face time so much with rebekah vardy, it felt like she was there with the team. she was there a lot. an article about him speaking to jamie vardy about his wife also appeared in the sun a couple of days later. what we have also heard this morning is wayne rooney saying that he did not know about his wife's online investigation into who was leaking from her private instagram until the very day that she made the post,

because he was in the states at the time. he has also said that the last two years have made her become a different mother and a different wife because she has found it so traumatic. the case continues. the queen has two cd elizabeth line. the queen has made a surprise visit to paddington station to see the elizabeth line. she was given a tour around the station after using a ticket office. you are still waiting for the £150 energy rebate which is given by the government because of rising prices it could be because the way you pay. councils in england and wales have prioritised payments to direct debit customers who are

often better off than those who pay using other methods. a campaign group says that means help is not necessarily getting to those who need it most. 0ur consumer affairs correspondent has the story. an extra £150 into the mix makes a difference to anyone's budget, but those who don't pay their council tax by direct debit or having to wait longer than everyone else to get it. just because you pay direct debit, what gives them the priority? we're all still paying it. we should all be treated equal. like lots of people at this community coffee morning, chris pays his council tax in weekly instalments, and hasn't heard how he can get his energy rebate yet. i've lost out on things before because i don't do online. many people don't have the computer skills, you know, to do that — go on the computer and apply to all those, you know, information they need to send them. many struggle with that.

would you be worried if a letter arrived just from the council? yeah, i'd be paranoid and i'd be all stressed, where i burst out crying. i'll go to my neighbour in tears because of it. so it's... it's really hard with people with learning needs. most councils say they've now started making the one—off payments to households who they already have direct debit details for, and then they'll work out how to pay everybody else. this is a big government promise, but the money is being dished out through local councils, and that's why it's taking so long. each council has had to work out a new process for how to actually get the money to us. i don't blame local authorities, as it was something that was foisted upon them without any warning. the people i feel most sorry for are those who desperately need the money and are going to have tojump through hoops and round rings in order to access what government told them was £150 of easy money. here in rochdale, more than a third of households don't

pay by direct debit. we recognise that most of those people are probably the ones who are most in need, the most vulnerable members of the community. do you think the government realised what a complicated process this would be? probably not, no. i think governments, very often sat in london, don't always necessarily know what's taking place. it creates a logistical issue for us — which we will work through, but give me another alternative as to how we can manage it. the cash payout hasn't yet reached many of those who are most in need. colletta smith, bbc news, middleton in rochdale. now it's time for a look at the weather. we have already seen some rain in northern ireland and parts of western scotland so far today. in turning much wetter in northern

ireland and parts of that rain going into wales as well. but before that, it is a warm day, quite widely from the eastern side of wales and across england, the low 20s but up to 26 in south east england and the highest temperature recorded so far this year. rain and sundry downpours pushing east over all parts this evening and most places will see some rain before the end of the day and temperatures for many holding up into double figures tomorrow. early showers clearing the way for north west scotland and most great places having a fine wednesday before rain heads into northern ireland and heavy showers pushing back across the southern areas at the day.

hello, this is bbc news. the headlines:

foreign secretary confirms the uk will introduce legislation to override parts of the northern ireland post—brexit trade deal, within weeks. more evidence that wages are failing to keep pace with the cost of living, earnings are down 1.2% from last year when adjusted for inflation. the biggest fall since 2013. hailed as heroes, the ukrainian military says the defenders of mariupol have ended their mission after hundreds of soldiers leave the steel plant, having been a there for more than two months. wayne rooney has been giving evidence in his wife's global trial. the multi—million pound case enters its final days at the high court. tributes are paid to kay mellor, the actress and writer best known for the hit series girlfriend, as bands of gold, who has died at the age of 71.

sport now and for a full round up from the bbc sport centre. good afternoon. the rebuild of english cricket continues, as tom harrison, the chief executive of the england and wales cricket board resigned after seven years in charge. in recent weeks, we've seen a new men's test captain and coach and now a new chief executive from june. earlier, our sports correspondent joe wilson told me what the ecb are looking for in terms of harrison's replacement. is it significant to me that in the job spec for the new ceo, the new cbc, the key part of this role will be taking on leadership of the game away programme, of action and improvements to make cricket a welcoming and diverse sport. in the meantime, i think the ecb are lucky to have someone of the standing of claire corner, in a world detective, to step in as excessive summer anything that is the glass ceiling she has broken through and click the

glass ceiling she has broken through and click cricket. —— in cricket. manchester city are losing their all time top goalscorer, england midfielder georgia stanway — she'sjoining german club bayern munich. the 23—year—old played her last game for city in the fa cup final defeat to chelsea on sunday. she made her senior debut for city at 16 and she leaves with 57 goals in 165 appearances. she said, "i have made memories and friends for a lifetime." there's been lots of praise and encouragement after blackpool forward jake daniels anounced that he was gay. he is the only openly gay footballer in the men's game in the uk. the blackpool forward, who is just i7—years—old, spoke of the "relief" he has felt in publicly revealing his sexuality on monday. his announcement has been praised by prime minister borisjohnson, england captain harry kane and several charity groups. 0ther footballers have come out as gay after they retired, including tomas hitzlesperger. at the age of 17, he knows

that he is brave enough, he knows he is brave and strong enough to cope with all of the attention and that's why i wish him all the power and the luck he needs to be strong and cope with sometimes if it becomes criticism but also all the attention, even if it's positive, because it's a lot that's going to happen. hopefully, he becomes a great football player and at the same time that his dream becomes true, that he helped a lot of people outside of football and be that role model that he wants to be. ——helps. i think he's moved the debate forward much further because that's what a lot of people have been waiting for in the game. london irish teenager henry arandell has been named in a 36—man england squad for a training camp next week. the 19—year—old has only made his premiership debut in february, but he's been in blistering form. the full back has scored 11 tries in 15 matches for irish and england under—20s this season. 0wen farrell, manu tuilagi,

mako vunipola and anthony watson are all back in the squad. that's ahead of a three test tour in australia. some sad news to bring you — former rugby league chief executive maurice lindsay has died aged 81. lindsay also masterminded wigan's revival in the 1980s as chairman and was heavily involved in the creation of super league in 1996. current rfl chief executive ralph rimmer said "he will be remembered as one of the most significant leaders in the sport's history." and finally, cycling royalty has been honoured by british royalty. jason and laura kenny have become the first couple to receive a knighthood and damehood together. seven—time olympic gold medalist jason and five—time olympic champion laura received their honours from prince william at a ceremony at windsor castle. jason has recently become a coach after retiring, while laura continues training

with the 2024 olympic games in paris in her sights. that's all the sport for now. i will have a little bit more for you later in the day. and we say with leading figures in sport, politics and entertainment have praised the blackpool striker jake daniels after he announced he is gay. it's the first time in more than 30 years that a male footballer has come out while still playing for a professional uk club. the 17—year—old said it's a relief to be honest about his sexuality. 0ur correspondent lauren moss reports on a turning point for british football. football is a's game. just some of the words from those in the sports to welcome jake the words from those in the sports to welcomejake daniel is becoming the first openly professional and gay men's footballer in over 30 years. he recently signed his recent

pro contract and another 17—year—old has made history. it pro contract and another 17-year-old has made history.— has made history. it has in it such a lona has made history. it has in it such a long time _ has made history. it has in it such a long time of— has made history. it has in it such a long time of lying _ has made history. it has in it such a long time of lying and _ has made history. it has in it such a long time of lying and i - has made history. it has in it such a long time of lying and i have - has made history. it has in it such | a long time of lying and i have just a long time of lying and i havejust processed and processed, everyday, just about how to do it, went to do it, ithink just about how to do it, went to do it, i think now it's just the right time to do it, ifeel like i am ready to tell people about my story, i want people to know real me. like all the time isjust i want people to know real me. like all the time is just not what i wanted to do. it has been a struggle, but now ijust feel like i am ready to be myself. lintiii struggle, but now i just feel like i am ready to be myself. until now, 'ust in am ready to be myself. until now, just in fashion _ am ready to be myself. until now, just in fashion now _ am ready to be myself. until now, just in fashion now has _ am ready to be myself. until now, just in fashion now has been - am ready to be myself. until now, just in fashion now has been the i just in fashion now has been the only player to announce he was gay was still on the pitch in 1990. he took his own life eight years later. men's football is behind other sports, including the women's game, which is much more representative. keegan has became the first rugby league player to came out to try to come out in 2015. that league player to came out to try to

come out in 2015.— come out in 2015. at 17 years, you want to have — come out in 2015. at 17 years, you want to have your— come out in 2015. at 17 years, you want to have your confidence, - come out in 2015. at 17 years, you want to have your confidence, and your confidence and he is, what is about _ your confidence and he is, what is about he — your confidence and he is, what is about he is— your confidence and he is, what is about. he is a real inspiration to young _ about. he is a real inspiration to young kids — about. he is a real inspiration to young kids because representation matters _ young kids because representation matters. ., ., young kids because representation matters. ., ., matters. homophobia has been an issue in the _ matters. homophobia has been an issue in the game _ matters. homophobia has been an issue in the game for— matters. homophobia has been an issue in the game for a _ matters. homophobia has been an issue in the game for a long - matters. homophobia has been an issue in the game for a long time. | issue in the game for a long time. blackpool football club says they are incredibly proud ofjake and it is vital that football leads the way in removing scrum a nation and prejudice. jake daniels says he has taken a step into the unknown, but is really bring results. —— already. i'm joined by tara hancock, founder of sport against suicide, a charity that tackles mental health within football clubs from grassroots to premier league level. thank you forjoining us. would you join today make make of jake's news? is a landmark moment and we'll come to the mental health aspects are just a second, but what do you make of that announcement? i just a second, but what do you make of that announcement?— of that announcement? i think it is a very positive _ of that announcement? i think it is a very positive move. _ of that announcement? i think it is a very positive move. for- of that announcement? i think it is a very positive move. for all- of that announcement? i think it is a very positive move. for all of- a very positive move. for all of those within the lgbt community, and also within sports because obviously this is going set a new landmark

movement that is needed. it can only bring positive change. although we still need to be mindful of the negativity that that can come with it as well. . . negativity that that can come with itaswell. , . , ., it as well. yes, and i suppose that is what the _ it as well. yes, and i suppose that is what the fee _ it as well. yes, and i suppose that is what the fee here _ it as well. yes, and i suppose that is what the fee here and _ it as well. yes, and i suppose that is what the fee here and what - it as well. yes, and i suppose thatj is what the fee here and what may put off other players, having done the same in the past are indeed in the same in the past are indeed in the future. he isjust 17. the same in the past are indeed in the future. he isjust17. talk to me about what help he would have been given, what help eumenes, there may be some less than favourable responses. —— what help he may need. i have not worked closely with blackpool on this, i would not know exactly what support he would have been given, but i do believe they have worked with i think it was stonewall, the charity, so they will have educated him not to expect, alongside the negativity side of things, as well as how to look after his well—being. i believe, also, they will have worked with the club on this as well, to kind of ensure

that his overall wrangling is being put first. that his overall wrangling is being ut first. . . that his overall wrangling is being ut first. , ., ., ., “ put first. yes, and while we look and will focus, _ put first. yes, and while we look and will focus, obviously, - put first. yes, and while we look and will focus, obviously, jake i and will focus, obviously, jake himself, the symbolism and impact that this will have for many other people and their mental health is what is important here too. it will support a lot of people who may be going something similar? yes. support a lot of people who may be going something similar?— going something similar? yes, i believe so- _ going something similar? yes, i believe so. the _ going something similar? yes, i believe so. the whole _ going something similar? yes, i believe so. the whole change i going something similar? yes, i believe so. the whole change inj believe so. the whole change in society is what is needed. and i think when somebody comes out publicly, certainly someone in the publicly, certainly someone in the public eye, within exports, it is only going to have an overall good effect and i think it will encourage others to come forward. i guess, to alsojust be others to come forward. i guess, to also just be themselves, to live the life they wish to live. we have to make sure that we have the support in place for all of those people who do decide to come out, openly, as gay or with —— within the lgbtq+ community. gay or with -- within the lgbtq+ community-— gay or with -- within the lgbtq+ community. gay or with -- within the lgbtq+ communi . ~ i. ., ., ,, community. when you are working with

clubs and players. _ community. when you are working with clubs and players, where _ community. when you are working with clubs and players, where do _ community. when you are working with clubs and players, where do you - clubs and players, where do you start to make sure they are prepared for something like this? you might draw parallels as well between the abuse in the stands when it comes to racism. it isjust abuse in the stands when it comes to racism. it is just finding a abuse in the stands when it comes to racism. it isjust finding a point of difference whenever that may be, and therefore come as a source of that anger or hatred from the football crowds, with some parts of the football crowd. why do you start to prepare people like that, for that? in to prepare people like that, for that? , ., , , that? in terms of preparing people for negativity. _ that? in terms of preparing people for negativity. i — that? in terms of preparing people for negativity, i guess _ that? in terms of preparing people for negativity, i guess it _ that? in terms of preparing people for negativity, i guess it is - that? in terms of preparing people for negativity, i guess it is about i for negativity, i guess it is about educating them on what to remove from their lives. we must remove any kind of negativity that is available, so we have to start with educating them on at things like the social media aspect, to take that away, to block out anyone who is coming at them from a negative viewpoint about their sexuality. in terms of what we do, to support that person, we also have to do that by educating others, which we have been doing, certainly within sports,

because there are lots clubs out there that are doing the rainbow laces and no acceptance of any kind of abuse within the stands. it is about continuing to support the lgbt community as a whole, while educating those outside of that. many people still don't understand, it still won't get it, and unfortunately we will come across these people in life, so it is about making sure that we just keep pushing forward to protect those who are within that community. there needs to be part of our community, it is about acceptance. band needs to be part of our community, it is about acceptance.— needs to be part of our community, it is about acceptance. and we know jake talked about _ it is about acceptance. and we know jake talked about some _ it is about acceptance. and we know jake talked about some of— it is about acceptance. and we know jake talked about some of mental. jake talked about some of mental health struggles, in not coming out, and anyone who has had to come out will realise that there is a mental health struggle by denying your true identity. but then also a mental health struggle with how that news will go down and the acceptance that you meet needs afterwards. i guess, particularly, a higher level —— at

higher level of exports, you're not coming outjust to higher level of exports, you're not coming out just to friends higher level of exports, you're not coming outjust to friends and family, but also to the world. —— the higher level of exports. family, but also to the world. -- the higher level of exports.- the higher level of exports. yes, cominu the higher level of exports. yes, coming out _ the higher level of exports. yes, coming out on — the higher level of exports. yes, coming out on the _ the higher level of exports. yes, coming out on the much - the higher level of exports. ye: coming out on the much higher skill, will still face those barriers and also the kind of barriers that they put up within themselves as well, it is about self acceptance and understanding that mindset about how other people will see you. all of us as human beings have to accept who we are, internally. that takes time, especially when those within the lgbt community have faced such prejudices for such a long time. they are oversee going to feel that and by being open on a much wider scale, they are much likely to face more prejudice. it scale, they are much likely to face more prejudice-— scale, they are much likely to face more prejudice. more pre'udice. it has been great to talk to more prejudice. it has been great to talk to you. — more prejudice. it has been great to talk to you, thank _ more prejudice. it has been great to talk to you, thank you _ more prejudice. it has been great to talk to you, thank you for _ talk to you, thank you for explaining all of that. tara

hancock, founder of sports against suicide, a charity that tackles mental health in football. really grateful for your mental health in football. really gratefulfor your time, thank you. grateful for your time, thank you. thank gratefulfor your time, thank you. thank you. the founder of the neo—nazi terrorist group national action has been found guilty of remaining in the group after it was banned. alex davies from swansea is the 19th person to be convicted of being a member of the group. our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford reports from winchester crown court. music plays, people shout. it was the most provocative neo—nazi group to emerge in britain since the 1970s. alex davies, seen here with a megaphone, was its founder. national action members were openly white supremacist and said they were preparing for a race war. 0n social media, alex davies was shown doing a nazi salute at buchenwald concentration camp.

whenjo cox was murdered, one national action account celebrated, saying "only 649 mps to go." it led to the group being banned in 2016. but more than five years on, alex davies has now been found guilty of remaining a member after the ban. during the trial here in winchester, alex davies was quite open about his neo—nazi views. he said he was the founder of national action, he said it was his idea, but he insisted he wasn't involved in it after it was banned as a terrorist organisation. "ban us, so what?," he had daubed on a wall in swansea, within weeks of the ban coming into force, and, "new year, same struggle." he was soon organising fight camps, including this one near swindon where he is seen with ben hannam, a neo—nazi who infamously later joined the police. when the time comes, they'll be in the chambers.

over the next few years, jack renshaw from national action admitted plotting to kill an mp with a large knife. a serving british army corporal, mikko vehvilainen, was jailed for national action membership. he'd collected a frightening array of weapons. in all, 19 people have now been convicted of remaining members after the ban. this is a very dangerous group of individuals. they sought to push forward that extreme right—wing ideology, the use of violence was seen as a method to do that. they clearly thought that it was acceptable to use weapons to further their ideological cause. the trial heard how this man, alexander slavros, a neo—nazi living in moscow whose real name is alisher mukhitdinov, helped coordinate contacts between national action and the violent neo—nazi group atomwaffen division in america. it also heard that alex davies had twice been referred to the government's

counter—extremism programme prevent as a teenager in swansea, but that hadn't stopped him setting up the most dangerous neo—nazi group britain had seen for decades. daniel sandford, bbc news, winchester. the headlines on bbc news... the foreign secretary confirms the uk will introduce legislation to overwrite parts of the northern ireland post—brexit trade deal within weeks. more evidence that wages are failing to keep pace with the cost of living — earnings in the uk are down 1.2% from last year when adjusted for inflation — their biggest fall since 2013. hailed as heroes — nearly 300 ukrainian fighters have left a steelworks in the besieged ukrainian city of mariupol, having been trapped there for more than two months.

nasa's perseverance mars rover, or percy as its become known, is about to begin the most important part of its mission. after travelling seven miles since it landed on the red planet over a year ago, it's just arrived at an area that was once a river delta, which scientists have identified as one of the most likely places to find microscopic signs of ancient life. over the next six months the rover will collect rock samples which could answer the question, "was there life on mars?" 0ur science editor rebecca morelle reports. the parachute has deployed and we are seeing significant deceleration. it's a mission that began with a jaw—dropping descent, beaming back real footage of a mars landing, as nasa's perseverance rover was lowered onto the martian surface. over the last year, it's revealed the planet as never seen before — taking some selfies along the way. it's been busy trundling across the dusty terrain...

..and it's made history by flying a helicopter — the first powered flight on another planet. now, perseverance is ready to begin the most important part of its mission — hunting for signs of life — and it's reached an area where it has the best chance of finding it. i have been staring at this delta for years now, mostly in orbiter images, and now we're finally right in front of it, seeing it through the eyes of the rover. we know there was once liquid water on the surface of mars. we know there are organics on the surface of mars. and so all signs point to the surface of mars, 3.5 to 4 billion years ago, being a habitable planet. the rover�*s exploring an area called thejezero crater. billions of years ago, it was a huge lake — you can clearly see a river running into it. and this gives you an idea of what it once would have looked like. if we zoom in, this coloured area shows where the river met the lake,

depositing sediment to create a delta. the rover landed here, in the floor of the crater. it's spent more than a year travelling the seven miles — that's about 11 kilometres — to get to the base of the delta. now it has a 40—metre climb to reach the top, so it's deployed the mini mars helicopter to scout the best path ahead. perseverance will drill into the most promising rocks. the hope is they will contain signs of microbes that once lived there. but the best samples will be left on the martian surface and collected by a future mission that will bring the rocks back to earth. imagine if we found evidence that there was some sort of microscopic life there. that's huge — it's mind—blowing in a way — and so i think the opportunity to look for that and bring it back to earth and then see what we see is going to rewrite history books, regardless of the answer! the mission is revealing the eerie beauty of mars — even showing us a martian solar eclipse, and capturing sounds

of the rover hard at work. tapping. the red planet is dry and dusty today, but exploring the delta over the next six months will give us a new window into its past, and could finally answer the question of whether life ever existed on mars. rebecca morelle, bbc news. the leeds born actress director kay mellor has died at the age of 71. best known for her down to earth, gritty dramas and began working for granada television in the 1980s as a writer on cornonation street. she also wrote the highly acclaimed drama series, band of gold, and more recently the popular series, the syndicate. bbc look north's corinne wheatley takes a look back at her career. putting northern and working class voices centre stage. that was kay mellor�*s trademark. her itv drama band of gold, which first aired in 1995,

was hugely popular, telling the stories of sex workers in bradford. i want people to talk about it. i want people to say, "how can we protect these young women? how can we protect prostitutes? what can we do to make life safer for them?" more hit dramas followed, including fat friends, starring ruthjones and james gordon and bbc 0ne's the syndicate. her stories always had such a human element to them, even when you are looking at a lottery winners going to monaco and spending their money this was all from a working class point of view. so it spoke to many people around the uk and in bradford in particular, she will be very sadly missed. in 2010, kay mellor received an 0be. she was passionate about representing yorkshire and leeds in particular in her work. the musical of fat friends premiered in leeds grand theatre, as did the stage version of band of gold three years ago.

very exciting for me to do it in leeds. more important for me to do it in leeds than in the west end or broadway. this is its home. i think it is as relevant today as back then. and i wanted to keep the same characters. because that is really important. a statement from kay mellor�*s production company said she died on sunday. tributes have poured in from across her industry. lenny henry said he was lucky to work with her on the syndicate. she knew what she wanted and how to get the best of us from the net as actresses or actors. lisa riley said the news was a massive shock, saying, you are the best boss to work for. —— you are the best boss. kay mellor was often described as a trailblazer for women champion for the north, but she was also known as a mentor, someone who inspired generations of writers. kay mellor who has died at the age of 71. the duke and duchess of cornwall

are travelling to canada for a three—day tour to celebrate the queen's platinum jubilee. the trip highlights a special bond between her majesty and canada, which she first visited more than 70 years ago. 0ur royal correspondent sarah campbell reports. the most easterly city on the north american continent — stjohn's in newfoundland. and as the ontario enters the st john's harbour, she took her in canberra to film the rocky coastline of newfoundland. the canberra to film the rocky coastline of newfoundland.— canberra to film the rocky coastline of newfoundland. the then princess elizabeth in 1951. _ of newfoundland. the then princess elizabeth in 1951. it _ of newfoundland. the then princess elizabeth in 1951. it is _ of newfoundland. the then princess elizabeth in 1951. it is the _ of newfoundland. the then princess elizabeth in 1951. it is the country i elizabeth in 1951. it is the country outside the uk she has returned to most often, completing 22 royal tours. hassan is expected to talk about the profound affection she feels for canada and its people. —— her son. feels for canada and its people. —— herson. getting feels for canada and its people. —— her son. getting ready for the

return... getting ready for the return of the royals — the repainting, touching up and cleaning down has been in full swing in quidi vidi harbour in stjohn's ahead of prince charles and camilla's arrival. isa is a really packed schedule, travelling 2000 miles in a little over 48 hours. we are told, on the agenda, the treatment of indigenous peoples, climate change and thanking those people who, like the queen, have lived a life of service. the next morning. _ have lived a life of service. the next morning, after— have lived a life of service. the next morning, after formal tree planting — next morning, after formal tree planting ceremony at government housem — planting ceremony at government house... , . ~ planting ceremony at government house... . ~ . planting ceremony at government house... ,, , ., house... just like his mother, charles has _ house... just like his mother, charles has been _ house... just like his mother, charles has been a _ house... just like his mother, charles has been a regular . house... just like his mother, . charles has been a regular visitor to canada. his first tour was back in 1970. the most recent with the duchess of cornwall, and in 2017. this time around, every word that said, every gesture made will be scrutinised. perhaps as never before. coming as it does, less than two months after the caribbean tours, which sparked such negative headlines. it is tours, which sparked such negative headlines. . , tours, which sparked such negative headlines. , , , ., ., headlines. it is very beautiful and ou can headlines. it is very beautiful and you can see _ headlines. it is very beautiful and you can see the _ headlines. it is very beautiful and you can see the specs _ headlines. it is very beautiful and you can see the specs of- headlines. it is very beautiful and you can see the specs of blue... l

you can see the specs of blue... hosting — you can see the specs of blue... hosting the _ you can see the specs of blue... hosting the rules at government houseis hosting the rules at government house is the lieutenant governor, the queen cosmic representative in the queen cosmic representative in the province. the queen cosmic representative in the province-— the province. they are of differing different differing _ the province. they are of differing different differing opinions, - the province. they are of differing different differing opinions, but i different differing opinions, but everyone is entitled to those opinions. _ everyone is entitled to those opinions, their personal opinions, and i_ opinions, their personal opinions, and i never— opinions, their personal opinions, and i never suggested they shouldn't have their— and i never suggested they shouldn't have their own opinion, but by and large. i_ have their own opinion, but by and large, i think the response will be positive — large, i think the response will be ositive. . . . . large, i think the response will be ositive. , , . ., ., , positive. this is familiar territory for a prince who _ positive. this is familiar territory for a prince who prioritises - for a prince who prioritises listening and learning. key skills for the man he will be one day canada's king. —— beat canada's king. several countries have been battered by red dust storms in the middle east. we are told that that sort of weather is increasingly common in the region this year. there are warnings that there is storms could eventually become a new daily experience. that is as the climate heats up.

it looks like something from mars. less dust here, but quite a lot of pollen. now it's time for a look at the weather with nick miller. hello, an east—west split in our weather this afternoon. across western parts, some of you will be wondering just how wet it's going to get. we've already seen some rain so far today in northern ireland. it will be turning much wetter again through the afternoon. but across eastern parts where you're seeing the sunshine, you'll be wondering just how warm it's going to get. and the answer across parts of england, the warmest day of the year so far, low pressure to the west of us spinning a weather front towards us, which is the source of the heavy rain, becoming more widespread across western areas this afternoon. but around that area of low pressure, the warmth in the sunshine across eastern parts, a big differences across the uk, so turning much wetter through northern ireland. outbreaks of rain in western scotland and rain pushing in across more of wales and south west england that will be heavy and possibly thundery at times. whereas ahead of that system, you've got temperatures which are widely into the low 20s, up to 26 in south east england, near 20 in the warmest parts of eastern scotland. but a cooler day in northern ireland

compared with yesterday. where you have the rain, it's quite breezy. rain, some thundery bursts as well, all pushing eastwards through this evening, so many of us will see some rain by the end of the day. outbreaks of rain pushing across the northern isles overnight. showers returning to northern ireland and western parts of scotland, clear spells elsewhere. and for many of us, a double—figure start to the day tomorrow with plenty of sunny spells around some morning showers that will clear away from northwest scotland. a breezy picture the further west you are and there'll be another weather front approaching northern ireland. but it'll be quite late in the afternoon into the evening before we see some outbreaks of rain out of that and head of it ——ahead of it, through parts of wales, southern england and the midlands. to end the day there'll be some showers and thunderstorms pushing temperatures pretty much on a par with where they are today. maybe not quite as warm as today across eastern and southeast england, but still around 24 degrees celsius. more wet weather will push across the uk overnight and into thursday. the potential for some torrential thundery bursts in east anglia and southeast england for a time

on wednesday night and then during thursday there's a lot of fine weather around. again, just some showers towards northwest scotland and temperatures again feeling warmer. the sunshine mayjust be coming down a degree or so. that's a process that continues into the weekend. rather more widespread showers around during friday. it's northern areas with the greater chance of seeing some showers over the weekend as by then it feels cooler and fresher everywhere.

this is bbc news. the headlines the government confirms that the uk will introduce legislation to overwrite parts of the northern ireland post—brexit trade deal within weeks. we don't want to mix it, we want to fix it. more evidence that wages are failing to keep pace with the cost of living — earnings are down 1.2% from last year when adjusted for inflation — their biggest fall since 2013. hailed as heroes — the ukrainian military says the defenders of mariupol have ended their mission, after hundreds of soldiers leave the azovstal steel plant having been trapped there for more than two months. translation: i want to underline, ukraine

needs its ukrainian heroes alive. this is our principle. wayne rooney has been giving evidence in his wife's libel trial, dubbed wagatha christie, as the multimillion—pound case enters its final days at the high court. and tributes are paid to kay mellor, the actress and writer best known for hit series girlfriends and band of gold, who has died aged 71. hello and welcome. the foreign secretary liz truss has confirmed the government will introduce legislation that would change parts of the post brexit trading arrangements for northern ireland known as the protocol. she told parliament that britain would prefer a negotiated

settlement with the eu, but failing that it would pass a law to change the protocol to make trade easier in an attempt to encourage pro—unionist politicians back into power sharing government in belfast. the eu has responded, warning, "unilateral actions are not acceptable." 0ur political correspondent damian grammaticas reports. reporter: why are you risking a trade war with brussels? - talk of a trade war with europe may be premature but the cabinet is taking a step which will raise tensions with the eu markedly. good morning and thank you very much. borisjohnson's government designed and passed into law all aspects of its brexit deal with brussels, knowing what they entailed, and now the same cabinet wants legislation to allow it to do something rarely seen, to break the treaty it agreed. liz truss told parliament that is because there is currently political gridlock in northern ireland. eu customs procedures for moving

goods within the uk have already meant companies face significant costs and paperwork. some businesses have stopped trade altogether. without resolving these and other issues, we will not be able to re—establish the executive and preserve the hard won progress sustained by the belfast good friday agreement. it is over two and a half years since — it is over two and a half years since the _ it is over two and a half years since the government negotiated and signed _ since the government negotiated and signed the withdrawal agreement which _ signed the withdrawal agreement which included the northern ireland protocol— which included the northern ireland protocol which required some trade barriers _ protocol which required some trade barriers and checks in the irish sea. _ barriers and checks in the irish sea. which _ barriers and checks in the irish sea, which was clear from the outset and it _ sea, which was clear from the outset and it was _ sea, which was clear from the outset and it was a — sea, which was clear from the outset and it was a choice by this prime minister— and it was a choice by this prime minister and the government, and yet now barely— minister and the government, and yet now barely two years later the government is trying to convince people _ government is trying to convince people it's — government is trying to convince people it's flagship achievement was not a negotiated triumph but a deal so flawed _ not a negotiated triumph but a deal so flawed that they cannot abide by it. most of the political parties in northern ireland, led by sinn fein who won the largest share of seats at the recent

elections, do not want an escalation of tensions with the eu. they all met boris johnson yesterday. but the democratic unionists are blocking the assembly from working unless their issues are dealt with. the dup supported brexit but the consequence of brexit is there has to be checks on goods moving between the uk and the eu. those checks are now happening at northern ireland's ports. the dup say that undermines northern ireland's ties to the rest of the uk. the arrangements borisjohnson agreed are known as the protocol. goods are checked as they move from england, scotland and wales so there do not need to be customs posts along the land border with the republic of ireland, where they enter the eu and its single market. installations on the land border would pose a real threat to the peace process. ireland's foreign minister says the eu has made proposals for flexibilities to improve things and the uk should engage with those. this is not a time for unilateral action, announcing legislation

which would breach international law, undermine an international treaty and create a lot of unnecessary tension between brussels and london. instead, it is a time for re—engagement on the basis of the work that has been done since february to see whether we can find landing zones that both sides can live with. the uk government says, like most of the parties in northern ireland, it wants a negotiated outcome. the priority is to get power—sharing back up and running, but moving to break the treaty risks making any deal with brussels even harder to achieve. the prime minister has just been speaking — let's hear what he had to say. how can you justify breaking a treaty that you signed? the higher duty of the uk government is, in international law, is to the good friday agreement, and the peace process,

and that is the thing we have to really look to. of necessity we can make some changes, i think, to the protocol which is not... it is there in the text, if things are not working, you can change it, and it makes it very clear on the face of the text that you should make sure the east—west trade and the integrity of the uk internal market, so we don't want to nix it, we want to fix it. and we will work with our eu partners to do it. fix it, not mix it, says the prime minister, but this is going back on an agreement signed with the eu just an agreement signed with the eu just a couple of years ago. the an agreement signed with the eu 'ust a couple of years agoi a couple of years ago. the eu will view this as _ a couple of years ago. the eu will view this as a _ a couple of years ago. the eu will view this as a breach _

a couple of years ago. the eu will view this as a breach of— a couple of years ago. the eu will view this as a breach of the - a couple of years ago. the eu will view this as a breach of the deal. view this as a breach of the deal and a breach of international law should the legislation ever be passed in the form it is being talked about now and certainly while the government is talking about fixing it and the language is quite ebullient, no talk of ripping up the deal, but nevertheless the eu will see this as being proposed today as an attempt to remove the essence of the protocol which is that northern ireland is effectively still within the eu single market of goods therefore it must follow the rules of the single market. much of what was being talked about today by liz truss would undermine that. the dup has welcomed — truss would undermine that. the dup has welcomed this _ truss would undermine that. the dup has welcomed this in _ truss would undermine that. the dup has welcomed this in the _ truss would undermine that. the dup has welcomed this in the broadest - has welcomed this in the broadest terms and we don't have much detail about quite how it will work and some of the legal ins and outs but you get a sense that this will be enough to get the dup back into stormont? ~ , ,., , enough to get the dup back into stormont? ~ , , .,

enough to get the dup back into stormont? ~ , ., . ., , enough to get the dup back into stormont? ~ , ., . ., stormont? absolutely not. words are not auoin stormont? absolutely not. words are not going to — stormont? absolutely not. words are not going to be _ stormont? absolutely not. words are not going to be enough _ stormont? absolutely not. words are not going to be enough for _ stormont? absolutely not. words are not going to be enough for the - stormont? absolutely not. words are not going to be enough for the dup i not going to be enough for the dup and they wrecked the prime minister earlier in the process —— they met. he came to their party conference and made a bad —— bombastic speech about not having a board in the irish sea, but then they ended up with one. the dup at the very least we'll need to see the legislation pass and then maybe even need to see action grounded in legislation, but may be in the interim while this is taking place we could have a further negotiation between the uk and the eu to try and reach some sort of agreement on modifying the protocol and while liz truss was delivering her speech she did call for a meeting of thejoint her speech she did call for a meeting of the joint bodies, her speech she did call for a meeting of thejoint bodies, and i think the eu's instinct in this situation will be to de—escalate as

much as possible and to get back into negotiations to find a way through this but we also had the warning from the eu chief negotiator saying, listen, the protocol and the withdrawal agreement are the foundation of the broader brexit deal so if you start to supplying part of the protocol we would have to reply with measures at their disposal, they would say, and what the eu could do is say, that is it, because you are doing this to the protocol, that is the end of the agreement, and the eu can give a years notice to save the agreement is coming to an end, and if they want to put the trade parts to bed they can give nine months notice, and if the eu believes that the uk would be acting to breach the rule of law they could potentially terminate the agreement even earlier. we are nowhere near that

stage but those are some of the responses which ultimately the eu could take. fist responses which ultimately the eu could take. �* . responses which ultimately the eu could take. . , , ., , ., could take. at this stage we should look at what _ could take. at this stage we should look at what is _ could take. at this stage we should look at what is actually _ could take. at this stage we should look at what is actually being - look at what is actually being proposed to try and break this gridlock. it involves red channels and green channels and many people might be familiar with that if they have travelled through an airport, so talk to me about what we know so far about how it could work. this idea of red _ far about how it could work. this idea of red and _ far about how it could work. try 3 idea of red and green channels has been about since at least 2018 when the northern ireland civil service were working up a plan at a much earlier stage of brexit and we know that conceptually the uk and the eu do agree that goods which are coming into northern ireland from the rest of the uk and are going to stay here should have a much lighter touch than goods which are due to go on into the republic of ireland and the wider eu so the eu came forward with proposals in october, referring to an express lane for those kind of goods but they have been discussions

between the eu and the uk on this for many months but they haven't been able to agree how it would operate, that idea of a green lane oran operate, that idea of a green lane or an express lane and for the uk, they think the eu is being too risk averse and that they would want so much paperwork for companies to actually get into the grey lane that it would not amount to a green lane at all because they would be so owner us, and for the eu they will say, this is a situation which involves very high levels of trust, can we be sure that we have a partner across the table that we can trust at the moment? because we haven't got the real—time information we have been asking for four months, they would say, and we still don't have a clear commitment from the uk that they will build a properly resourced border control posts in northern ireland at the airports which would act as the red line, so this concept, there is a shared ground between the eu and the uk but not agreement on how you put it into practice —— act as the red

lane. it it into practice -- act as the red lane. . ~ . . it into practice -- act as the red lane. , ,, , ., ., , lane. it strikes me that it involves a lot of paperwork _ lane. it strikes me that it involves a lot of paperwork even _ lane. it strikes me that it involves a lot of paperwork even though . lane. it strikes me that it involves l a lot of paperwork even though this is supposedly trying to simper by the process and i spoke to one trucking firm who said the problem is the extra responsibility and the extra paperwork still mean that trade across the border is very difficult, howeverthey trade across the border is very difficult, however they might try to simplify it. difficult, however they might try to simli it. ~ . ., difficult, however they might try to simli it. . ., ., ,, simplify it. what the uk would like to see in terms _ simplify it. what the uk would like to see in terms of _ simplify it. what the uk would like to see in terms of a _ simplify it. what the uk would like to see in terms of a green - simplify it. what the uk would like to see in terms of a green lane - simplify it. what the uk would like to see in terms of a green lane is i to see in terms of a green lane is that companies with more or less self certify themselves and the information they would provide would be no more, little more than you would have in a normal commercial invoice, that would be fed into a real—time system and the eu would have some sense of what goods were moving and if there was a need for a spot check if something looked suspicious, there would be enough that the eu could make that risk assessment but the eu are not really on that position and at the moment

they are still saying to have a system like that to operate they would need a lot more information thanis would need a lot more information than is being proposed at the moment. , ., ., ., ., ., moment. john, for now, thanks for “oininu moment. john, for now, thanks for joining us- — moment. john, for now, thanks for joining us- good — moment. john, for now, thanks for joining us. good to _ moment. john, for now, thanks for joining us. good to have _ moment. john, for now, thanks for joining us. good to have your- joining us. good to have your thoughts will top that isjohn campbell from bbc northern ireland. that was the view from belfast. 0ur europe correspondent, nick beake had the latest reaction from brussels about the uk government's announcement. we have had a statement in the past 20 minutes from the eu's chief brexit negotiator and i can tell you what he said. he said that already the eu has shown flexibility when it comes to medicines, for example, it has changed legislation so medicine can flow from the uk mainland to northern ireland and they were in the middle of these conversations, he says, with the british about trying to improve things when it comes to agriculture and food and other products.

they also put forward other suggestions when it comes to paperwork and checks, he said, which would have greatly diminished the onus on businesses and that the british were not prepared to listen to them. there is more open language as well, but he goes on to say that if the uk is to disapply it to use their terminology to ignore parts of the brexit deal, that would be a very serious situation and the eu would have all the tools at their disposal to respond. one of those would be a trade war which would suit neither side but the uk says it is hoping for a negotiated deal, thereby agreed by both sides, but that is not guaranteed, is it? it's not but you are right, talk of a trade war is a long way off because both sides, despite putting forward different positions, which in some

ways are very different, do say that a dialogue can be reached. if you think back to two years ago when we were looking at some of these statements and announcements and counter announcements, there was quite often a bitterness within that and they seemed to be poles apart, but both sides say dialogue can bring them together on this. i think there are some difficulties in terms of how big the mandate is for the eu side, from what the british are saying, it would take the 27 eu countries to give new powers, a new mandate to the brexit chief negotiator on this side in brussels to do some of the things the british want to do but we are a long way off a trade war. this is the uk putting forward their ideas for legislation and there is no text for the eu to pour over and also this is a time of war in ukraine and millions of refugees have gone into eu countries, with soaring gas prices and the cost of living increasing and they simply don't want to be dragged into something

which is really, really negative. that is the view from brussels. we can now speak to hilary benn. is this the answer to the impasse in northern ireland over the border issue? j northern ireland over the border issue? ., �* ~' northern ireland over the border issue? ., �* ,, ., issue? i don't think that unilaterally _ issue? i don't think that unilaterally trying - issue? i don't think that unilaterally trying to - issue? i don't think thatj unilaterally trying to set issue? i don't think that - unilaterally trying to set aside part of an international treaty that the uk and the eu have entered into in good faith and signed is the way to deal with it, not least because it would invite retaliation from the eu that may have even bigger economic consequences, but there is a problem and frankly both the eu commission and the government need to sit round a table and find a practical way of sorting it out. the protocol itself and the government's language has changed about recently, there was talk of scrapping it entirely but now they aren't saying they are not going to scrap it and

they are not going to scrap it and they think they are changes that are needed, and there is provision within the northern ireland protocol itself to make changes to the protocol. so the means are there but what is required is the political will and i would say to the eu, and the brexit negotiator dealt with one of the problems to deal with medicines by changing eu law and he showed his willingness to set aside what would normally be the rules is the rules approach, so if you can do that on medicines you can do that on other things so we're not arguing supermarket deliveries and potatoes and parcels and kosherfood. these practical problems that do not represent a threat to the integrity of the single market and the republic of ireland and beyond, the protocol itself recognised that northern ireland was a special case and we need a special solution. but you can only do that by talking and not by threatening to breach an

agreement you signed. that not by threatening to breach an agreement you signed.- not by threatening to breach an agreement you signed. that is the crux of the issue. _ agreement you signed. that is the crux of the issue. the _ agreement you signed. that is the crux of the issue. the foreign - crux of the issue. the foreign secretary liz truss said that changes will not break international law but i wonder what this says about our standing internationally and our standing within the eu when we sign up to do and then say, hang on, we want to change it? that we sign up to do and then say, hang on, we want to change it?— on, we want to change it? that is a aood on, we want to change it? that is a good question _ on, we want to change it? that is a good question because _ on, we want to change it? that is a good question because there - on, we want to change it? that is a good question because there is - on, we want to change it? that is a good question because there is a i good question because there is a lack of trust at the moment between the two sides and internationally people look on and they ask themselves, hang on a minute, if the uk science an international treaty, —— signs an international treaty and takes it through parliament and says it is wonderfulfor takes it through parliament and says it is wonderful for northern ireland which is what the prime minister did, and that he also tried to claim there was no paperwork, that hasn't helped either. and that is not good for britain a's standing in the

international community because people may think in the back of their minds, should we sign a deal with them, then they come back and say, that is not really working in the way we anticipated and if you don't agree to make the changes we might pass laws to amend the treaty unilaterally. 0n the legal point, by the way, we are yet to see the legislation and we are yet to see the attorney general�*s legal opinion as to why this is lawful but what is evident from the statement today is the government having briefed they are going to move quickly to deal with this, the foreign secretary talked about a matter of weeks, and i hope this provides a bit of breathing space for the two sides to look into the abyss of a breakdown in relationships and say it is not worth doing this for the sake of supermarket deliveries and sandwiches and seed potatoes. and enter into a trade war eventually which is a risk when we have got a

real war going on in europe and we are cooperating really well with the eu in supporting ukraine against the invasion of russia. so these can be sorted if the willingness is there and if we do that, and there is a good chance we can get the institutions of the northern ireland government up and running again because at the moment the people of northern ireland have no functioning government and that is not acceptable.— government and that is not acceptable. government and that is not accetable. ~ ., , ., , ., ., acceptable. who is to blame for the osition acceptable. who is to blame for the position we — acceptable. who is to blame for the position we find _ acceptable. who is to blame for the position we find ourselves - acceptable. who is to blame for the position we find ourselves in? - acceptable. who is to blame for the position we find ourselves in? the i position we find ourselves in? the prime minister made it very clear that he wanted to get brexit done to use his phrase, so is it a case that he oversimplified just how complex this issue would be?— this issue would be? brexit has self-evidently _ this issue would be? brexit has self-evidently not _ this issue would be? brexit has self-evidently not been - this issue would be? brexit has self-evidently not been done i this issue would be? brexit has i self-evidently not been done and this issue would be? brexit has - self-evidently not been done and we self—evidently not been done and we are talking about the protocol and there is also the impact on british businesses, dumped a load of cost bureaucracy and paperwork on firms,

some of whom have given up trading with europe altogether and that damages our economy at a time when we are facing challenging economic circumstances. we could spend a couple of hours going through the rather torrid and unhappy history but this is all the consequence of brexit and i campaigned against it but the decision was made and the prime minister said under no circumstances, before he became prime minister, would he agree to a border down the irish sea, but when he got thejob border down the irish sea, but when he got the job the first thing he did was to agree to put a border down the irish sea so he does bear a heavy responsibility but arguing over the past and who is at fault, frankly, it's not the point any more, and the at the moment is northern ireland has no government because of the concerns in the unionist community about the operation of the protocol, just about everybody agrees it is not working effectively and very few people argue they must be more

checks and paperwork on goods that are moving across the irish sea and will remain in northern ireland. that is the crucial point, the eu accepted northern ireland is a special case and that is why they talked about goods at risk of leaving northern ireland to go into the republic and that is where you have got to sort out the categories, the goods that will stay in northern ireland, you don't need any checks and paperwork because that is where they are going to remain. goods that are going into the republic and may be france or germany, you need to have a system for checking those and thatis have a system for checking those and that is the rational way of approaching it, but it requires trust and goodwill between the parties and that has been in short supply but i hope people will put their frustration and anger on one side and say, come on, let's sit around a table and sort this out because i'm sure it can be done if the will is there. we because i'm sure it can be done if the will is there.— because i'm sure it can be done if the will is there. we will get more detail on how _ the will is there. we will get more detail on how this _ the will is there. we will get more detail on how this can _ the will is there. we will get more detail on how this can work - the will is there. we will get more detail on how this can work in - the will is there. we will get more detail on how this can work in due| detail on how this can work in due course, the red channels and the green channels. hilary benn, thanks forjoining us. former shadow

foreign secretary there, hilary benn. ukraine's military says it's working to evacuate all remaining troops from their last stronghold in mariupol. more than 260 soldiers have left the azovstal steel plant and been taken to areas held by russian—backed rebels. president zelensky has hailed them heroes, after the fighters had spent more than two months trapped inside the plant, which was surrounded by russian forces in early march. they are expected to be exchanged for russian prisoners of war. 0ur ukraine correspondentjoe inwood has this report. if this is the end of the battle for mariupol, it's not how many would have envisaged it. ukrainian fighters being frisked by the russian soldiers they'd been in a bloody battle with for more than 80 days. some of these men are seriously wounded — it was said, without treatment, they would die.

these pictures were released by the russian ministry of defence. the whole process was carried out in coordination with the red cross and united nations, with one aim in mind. translation: we hope - to save the lives of our boys. among them are heavily wounded. they are being treated. i want to underline — ukraine needs its ukrainian heroes alive. this is our principle. i think these words can be understood by all adequate people. the most seriously injured were driven to hospital. more than 200 more were taken to anotherfacility inside russian—controlled territory. it is believed the soldiers will be exchanged in a prisoner swap. but it seems some fighters have stayed behind. katerina spent two months underground with her husband. she thinks he is still there. translation: it is very | painful for me especially. my husband is still there, and i know a lot of people who are still there. what they are heroically doing under there, under bombardment,

not being let out, it's terrible. i feel helpless, i want to help them and i do not know how — i feel really powerless. while moscow can finally claim some success in mariupol, it is a very different picture in the north of the country. ukrainian soldiers yesterday said they had reached the russian border. the process of liberating the towns and villages of kharkiv is well under way. stepanyenko endured the invasion of ruska lozova. with the arrival of ukrainian troops, he decided to escape south. translation: there was a train in front, a missile hit it- and landed on the ground. it did not explode but it landed two metres from my house. after that i was under cluster shelling. i don't care much but i got my things together and i left. the battles for mariupol and kharkiv may be drawing to a close, but this war is far from over.

and a quick reminder, we'll be taking your questions on the war in ukraine, this thursday at 1230. we'll have guests able to answer all aspects of the war — from whether ukraine really could now win it, nato expansion and what moscow might do next. you can get in touch on twitter using the hashtag bbc your questions — and you can email us on yourquestions@bbc.co.uk four more people in england have been diagnosed with monkeypox. the uk health security agency says the risk to the public remains very low, although it appears the individuals caught it in the uk. monkeypox is usually associated

with travel to west africa. we'rejoined by dr susan hopkins, chief medical adviser for the uk health security agency. thanks forjoining us. we said the risk remains low but how worried should people be about this? we have detected in total _ should people be about this? we have detected in total six _ should people be about this? we have detected in total six cases _ should people be about this? we have detected in total six cases now - should people be about this? we have detected in total six cases now and . detected in total six cases now and a couple in one cluster who have potentially acquired the disease in the uk which is an important factor and it means people need to be more alert, especially to people arriving from africa and we are also asking clinicians to think about monkeypox, and we are asking people to present to sexual health clinics if they have any concerns about any new lesions that develop and any new rashes and also there are questions

they can ask by phoning 111. i.rbihat they can ask by phoning 111. what are the symptoms _ they can ask by phoning 111. what are the symptoms that _ they can ask by phoning 111. what are the symptoms that people should be looking at and how dangerous is it actually? be looking at and how dangerous is it actuall ? , ., , , it actually? symptoms begin with what feels like _ it actually? symptoms begin with what feels like a _ it actually? symptoms begin with what feels like a viral _ it actually? symptoms begin with what feels like a viral illness - it actually? symptoms begin with what feels like a viral illness so i what feels like a viral illness so thatis what feels like a viral illness so that is difficult to tell what this is compared to anything else but quite rapidly they start developing spots, often on the face but moving down to the body, especially on the hands and feet but also sometimes on the genital areas so it is important if people see unusual spots that change how they look every day, and become spots that look like chickenpox but bigger, so people know what they look like, then that is the symptoms that i would want people to seek medical attention for and keep away from other people at that point. in terms of how dangerous it is, the cases we have detected are from the west african

area and there are two major types, the reports from nigeria and other western african countries has a low mortality of 1% or less which is probably even less than that related to case detection but of course we are just starting to see it here and we will need to be alert to any complications.— complications. what is the investigation _ complications. what is the investigation and - complications. what is the investigation and how- complications. what is the investigation and how do i complications. what is the i investigation and how do you complications. what is the - investigation and how do you make sure that you can keep a lid on this? ~ ., sure that you can keep a lid on this? . ., ., ,, . , this? we are working closely with clinicians and _ this? we are working closely with clinicians and emergency - this? we are working closely with - clinicians and emergency departments and gps and sexual health clinics so if they see people with an unusual rash they can seek advice and sent samples rapidly for testing and we are currently testing for it and working hard to increase that capacity and work with the nhs. dr susan hopkins, good to hear from you susan hopkins, good to hearfrom you this afternoon. that is the chief medical adviser of the uk have

security. now it's time for a look at the weather with nick miller. hello. we have already seen some rain in northern ireland and parts of western scotland so far today, but turning much better in northern ireland, as the afternoon goes on. heavy rain pushing in to wales and south—west england, quite breezy and cool where we have the rain. ahead of that, it's warm to very warm, much warmer across eastern scotland compared with yesterday, near 20 degrees in the warm spots here. quite widely, from the eastern side of wales, and across england, low 20s, and up to 26 in south—east england with the highest temperature recorded there so far this year. rain, thundery showers, pushing east across all parts this evening, then across the northern isles as the night goes on. some places will see some rain before the end of the day and temperatures for many will hold up into double figures as we start the day tomorrow. early showers across north—west scotland clearing away,

most places having a fine wednesday with broken cloud and sunny spells before rain heads into northern ireland, late afternoon into the evening, and some heavy showers pushing back across southern areas during the day. hello, this is bbc news, i'm ben thompson. the headlines: the government confirms that the uk will introduce legislation to overwrite parts of the northern ireland post—brexit trade deal within weeks. more evidence that wages are failing to keep pace with the cost of living — earnings are down 1.2% from last year when adjusted for inflation — their biggest fall since 2013. hailed as heroes, the ukrainian military says the defenders of mariupol have ended their mission, after hundreds of soldiers leave the azovstal steel plant having been trapped there for more than two months. wayne rooney gives evidence in his wife's libel trial, dubbed "wagatha christie", as the multimillion—pound case

enters its final days. we'll have the latest live from the high court. and tributes are paid to kay mellor, the actress and writer best known for hit series girlfriends and band of gold, who has died aged 71. it is just after 3:30pm. sport now and with a full round—up from the bbc sport centre. isaac is here. england have named their provisional 28 woman squad for the european championships which take place later this year. former captain steph houghton has been included. the man city defender has been out injured since january and hasn't played under boss sarina wiegman yet. arsenal midfielderjordan nobbs has been left out after picking up an knee injury earlier this month and looks set to miss another major tournament after missing the 2019 world cup. you can find full details on that

england squads on the bbc sport website. manchester city are losing their all time top goal—scorer, england midfielder georgia stanway — she'sjoining german club bayern munich. she made her senior debut for city at 16 and she leaves with 57 goals in 165 appearances. she said, "i have made memories and friends for a lifetime." the 23—year—old played her last game for city in the fa cup final defeat to chelsea on sunday. there's been lots of praise and encouragement after blackpool forward jake daniels anounced that he was gay. he is the only openly gay professional footballer in the men's game in the uk. the blackpool forward, who is just 17—years—old, spoke of the "relief" he has felt in publicly revealing his sexuality on monday. his announcement has been praised by prime minister borisjohnson, england captain harry kane and several charity groups. 0ther footballers have come out as gay after they retired, including tomas hitzlesperger.

at the age of 17, he knows that he is brave enough, he knows he is strong enough to cope with all of the attention and that's why i wish him all the power and the luck he needs to be strong and cope with sometimes if it comes as criticism, but also all the attention, even if it's positive, because it's a lot that's going to happen. hopefully, he becomes a great football player and at the same time that his dream becomes true, that he helps a lot of people outside of football and to be that role model that he wants to be. i think he's moved the debate forward much further because that's what a lot of people have been waiting for in the game. the rebuild of english cricket continues — tom harrison, the chief executive of the england and wales cricket board has resigned after seven years in charge. in recent weeks, a new men's test captain and coach were announced and injune, a new chief executive. harrison oversaw success in limited

overs cricket with both england's women and men's teams winning the world cup. but recent failures in test cricket have seen a pretty big overhaul at the ecb. the sport has also had face up to issues around racism following former yorkshire cricketer azeem rafiq's allegations. harrison's biggest project was introducing a new limited—overs competition — the hundred — which caused a lot of debate. that was very much as may be. there will still be plenty of people in cricket say that that true a necessary time, attention, resources, money away from those existing structures. i'm sure that tom harrison with went to the increased participation rates come help interest in women's cricket in particular as justifications for that tournament and indeed, for the bonus that he derived from it. london irish teenager henry arandell has been named in a 36—man england squad for a training camp next week. the 19—year—old only made his premiership debut in february but he's

been in blistering form. the full back has scored 11 tries in 15 matches for irish and england under—20s this season. 0wen farrell, manu tuilagi, mako vunipola and anthony watson are all back in the squad. that's ahead of a three test tour in australia. london—born defensive end jack crawford has announced his retirement after a 10—year career in the nfl. he was drafted by the raiders in 2012 and played for the dallas cowboys, atlanta falcons and tennessee titans. he recorded a sack and forced fumble for the cowboys at wembley stadium against the jacksonville jaguars which he says was his career highlight. and finally, cycling royalty has been honoured by british royalty — jason and laura kenny have become the first couple to receive a knighthood and damehood together. seven—time olympic gold medalist jason and five—time olympic champion laura received their honours from prince william at a ceremony at windsor castle. jason has recently become

a coach after retiring, while laura continues training with the 2024 olympic games in paris in her sights. that's all the sport for now. i will have a little bit more later. congratulations to them. come isaac, thank you very much. see you soon. the former england capitain, wayne rooney, has begun giving evidence in a libel case brought against his wife coleen rooney by rebecca vardy. 0ur correspondent sean dilley is at the high court in london for us. sean, what is the latest from today? there's been a lot of twists and turns over the last couple of weeks? they have, as they say, you can't necessarily measure it may but you can certainly feel the tension inside the courts, their home at the royal court ofjustice, several dozen photographers out there, watching the action. wayne rooney today was talking about a conversation that he says he had with jamie vardy when they were both paying for the england football team, during the 26 teen heroes. he claimed that the then football

england manager roy hodgson and his deputy gary neville asked him to speak to vardy about his wife, to quote and quote, calm her down. this was challenged by the barrister say she wasn't exactlyjumping on the tables, was she? no, wayne rooney confirmed, but he was asked to have a conversation. in a statement away from the course, this has been denied byjamie vardy�*s people, saying wayne is talking nonsense, he must be confused because he discussed everything with rebekah vardy. this too was something that was mentioned as wayne rooney said, under oath, he said he remembers very clearly the conversation that he has had at the behest of the england management team. it was in the games room. he said that he has been drinking a cup of coffee and that vardy had a red bull, so something that in his mind, did happen and something away from the court hearing that has been denied by mr vardy. riiisre court hearing that has been denied by mr vardy-— court hearing that has been denied b mrvard. , , , ., . by mr vardy. give us a sense of what the atmosphere _ by mr vardy. give us a sense of what the atmosphere is _ by mr vardy. give us a sense of what the atmosphere is like _ by mr vardy. give us a sense of what the atmosphere is like because - by mr vardy. give us a sense of what the atmosphere is like because we i the atmosphere is like because we have all been following this through series of tweets or transcripts. what is it like in court? is taking

lace in what is it like in court? is taking place in court — what is it like in court? is taking place in court 13 _ what is it like in court? is taking place in court 13 behind - what is it like in court? is taking place in court 13 behind us - what is it like in court? is taking place in court 13 behind us and i what is it like in court? is taking i place in court 13 behind us and we are in an over plucked a overflow room. you kind of hear why reactions from various people who are interested to be there in public, the media has various critics our nation is happening. think that you could really say you could cut the tension with a knife was when it wayne rooney was talking not so much about the outcome of the case, in fact, he even gave a nod saying what adjustments in the case, he had spoken about his partner, calin, how she had changed as a mother and wife. we have been following the story with us has been branded by some as wagatha cristi. wayne rooney did insist that, notwithstanding the fact that they are married, the investigation that she was doing was something that she had absolutely no knowledge of, until what was being referred to behind me as the big reveal in —— wagatha christie. still reveal in -- wagatha christie. still more to come. _

reveal in —— wagatha christie. still more to come, but thank you, sean kelly, reporting from the high court. —— dilley. i asked to do so much it's important for them to have the same secretary to have the same secretary to make as their paid counterparts.— as their paid counterparts. around 9000 special _ as their paid counterparts. around 9000 special castles _ as their paid counterparts. around 9000 special castles in _ as their paid counterparts. around 9000 special castles in england i as their paid counterparts. around i 9000 special castles in england and wales, the home secretary believes that these unpaid volunteers, because they are taking the same risks as regular police officers, they should be able to carry the same equipment. in future, specials won't have to have a taser, it will be entirely up to them, they are volunteering to use in crying then they will have to be assessed and approved. this was the home secretary, priti patel, speaking about it earlier today. fill" secretary, priti patel, speaking about it earlier today. our special constables. _ about it earlier today. our special constables, doing _ about it earlier today. our special constables, doing credible - about it earlier today. our special constables, doing credible work, | constables, doing credible work, alongside — constables, doing credible work, alongside our regular officers, and of course — alongside our regular officers, and of course we want to empower them and give _ of course we want to empower them and give them the tools to make our

streets _ and give them the tools to make our streets safer. the and give them the tools to make our streets safer-— streets safer. the home office is stressin: streets safer. the home office is stressing that, _ streets safer. the home office is stressing that, while _ streets safer. the home office is stressing that, while tasers - streets safer. the home office is stressing that, while tasers are i stressing that, while tasers are drawn in many cases, they are only action discharged in about 10% of the cases where they are drawn. but they are controversial. certainly, they are controversial. certainly, they have been —— they have been factors in a number of deaths. also, the police watchdog has echoed concerns about the disproportionate use against black people. now, the police watchdog this morning welcomes the fact that, we specials now being able to use them and they will be a big focus on training, obviously this is very important, but the rights organisation amnesty international is highly critical of this move, it describes it as a dangerous expansion of taser use. gene kelly there in manchester. more from her a little later. ——june. the photo of a heavily—pregnant woman standing

in the ruins of bombed maternity hospital is one of the most iconic images of the war in ukraine. but its subject was targeted by an extraordinary russian disinformation campaign and online hate from all sides. speaking to western media for the first time since escaping mariupol, she has told the bbc�*s specialist disinformation reporter, marianna spring what it's like to find herself at the heart of a raging information battle — all while giving birth to her daughter veronika in a warzone. marianna joins me now. an incredible story and many people will remember that image. how did you track down and talk me about happened to her? this you track down and talk me about happened to her?— you track down and talk me about happened to her? this is her name, marianna, happened to her? this is her name, marianna. just _ happened to her? this is her name, marianna, just like _ happened to her? this is her name, marianna, just like me, _ happened to her? this is her name, marianna, just like me, and - happened to her? this is her name, marianna, just like me, and this - marianna, just like me, and this debate when those photos first appeared commercially shocked to see them. and i was even more shocked to see come in the hours after those voters, when they were on social media pages, taken by the associated press in mariupol, that they were then taken by russian officials and

state media who accused marianna of acting, they said that she had posed for these photos, that they were staged, that this attack had not happened in the way we think and that russia had not struck a functioning hospital. iset that russia had not struck a functioning hospital. i set about trying to speak to her about that after that, trying to speak to her about that afterthat, because trying to speak to her about that after that, because i want to understand what had happened to some of her friends understand what had happened to some of herfriends in ukraine, russian the met russian and some apanese who is acting and did not live to this attack and i was finally able to interview marianna. it was something that has to happen quite complex circumstances, she was evacuated safely from mariupol, giving birth to her baby, to her hometown in the donbas region, which is controlled by russian —— russian—backed separatists. there was a blogger who functioned a bit like a press officer who was there when she was on these seem to me. she spoke freely entity to be at ease full stop she focused a lot on her personal experience. it is hard for us to know the she never went as far as directly criticising russia, for the accusations that they made, when

she flat—out denies, this idea that she flat—out denies, this idea that she was acting. it is hard for us to know she was protecting herself of this is an indication of quite complex personal view she might have about the situation. what she did do, so powerfully was to talk about what it felt like to be at the heart of this. she described to me very vividly, being in that hospital and hearing those explosions. iflan vividly, being in that hospital and hearing those explosions. can set ou could hearing those explosions. can set you could hear — hearing those explosions. can set you could hear everything - hearing those explosions. can set you could hear everything flying i you could hear everything flying around. — you could hear everything flying around, and in my ears, the sound was ringing— around, and in my ears, the sound was ringing in my is for a very long time _ was ringing in my is for a very long time. �* . was ringing in my is for a very long time. �* , .,, was ringing in my is for a very long time. �* , , ., time. after this, those photos were taken, time. after this, those photos were taken. those _ time. after this, those photos were taken, those famous _ time. after this, those photos were taken, those famous photos - time. after this, those photos were taken, those famous photos of- taken, those famous photos of marianna escaping and is likely to until days later that she herself saw the photos because she did not have an internet connection, she could not. 0nce have an internet connection, she could not. once she logged on to her social media, she saw this overwhelming win wave of abuse telling her she was acting, she was faking it, or triggered telling her she was acting, she was faking it, ortriggered by telling her she was acting, she was faking it, or triggered by this russian disinformation campaign. she told me how offended she was, how upsetting it was to be told she was acting when she lived all of this.

translation: jn acting when she lived all of this. translation:— acting when she lived all of this. translation: in reality, i cannot blame anyone. — translation: in reality, i cannot blame anyone, because _ translation: in reality, i cannot blame anyone, because i - translation: in reality, i cannot blame anyone, because i did - translation: in reality, i cannot blame anyone, because i did not. translation: in reality, i cannot. blame anyone, because i did not see with my— blame anyone, because i did not see with my eyes for certain whether —— where _ with my eyes for certain whether —— where these — with my eyes for certain whether —— where these explosions came from. i received _ where these explosions came from. i received threats that they would come _ received threats that they would come and — received threats that they would come and find me, that i would be killed. _ come and find me, that i would be killed. that— come and find me, that i would be killed. that my child would be cut into pieces. i mean, it is scary. it is really— into pieces. i mean, it is scary. it is really scary. into pieces. i mean, it is scary. it is really scary-— is really scary. really scary. it miaht is really scary. really scary. it might sound _ is really scary. really scary. it might sound like _ is really scary. really scary. it might sound like an _ is really scary. really scary. it might sound like an obvious i might sound like an obvious question, but what impact has all of that had on her life? quite clearly, already dealing with living in a war zone? abs already dealing with living in a war zone? �*,,. , already dealing with living in a war zone? ~,,. , . already dealing with living in a war zone? a , ., , already dealing with living in a war zone? ~,,. , . , . zone? as you 'ust heard, they hate, especially. — zone? as you just heard, they hate, especially. she _ zone? as you just heard, they hate, especially, she has— zone? as you just heard, they hate, especially, she has had _ zone? as you just heard, they hate, especially, she has had very - especially, she has had very difficult. that is actually coming from all sides, and at first, people were saying that she was acting but then after that, it ended up coming also from people who were angry that an interview she first gave when she was a safe, to this local separatist blogger, dennis, the one that was present when i interviewed her and much of what she said in an interview to him focused on what she saw, but we were unsure at the time how freely she could speak. that was picked up by state telly, which had

trashed her, said she was a fraud, an actor, and now relying on her as an actor, and now relying on her as a reliable witness, his testimony alone may believe you what happened, but she says she's not sure what air strike, if it happened, if she had a replacement when i asked the same things, i said there was lots of evidence on the scene with a crater, you can hear aeroplanes in the footage, testimonies from others to suggest there was an air strike and she said that she is one person. that is its, marianna is one person caught up in this. she alone cannot tell us exactly what happened, but she has found herself at what was supposed to be one of the happiest moments of her life, giving birth to herfirst baby, the heart moments of her life, giving birth to her first baby, the heart of this, and the hate especially when she was talking to me as a thing she has found most difficult, she is navigating a hugely complex political situation, between these two political forces. political situation, between these two politicalforces. she isjust one person. she has the same name as me, was the same age as me, itjust feels really shocking to see the effect it has on someone's life like that. it

effect it has on someone's life like that. . , ., , effect it has on someone's life like that. ., , ., , , . that. it really does underline such a treat that. it really does underline such a great example _ that. it really does underline such a great example of— that. it really does underline such a great example of how _ that. it really does underline such a great example of how this - a great example of how this information gets spread online, that all those checks and balances put in place. marianna, really interesting to speak to you, our specialist disinformation reporter. just after 4:45pm. —— 345. the headlines on bbc news... the government confirms that the uk will introduce legislation to overwrite parts of the northern ireland post—brexit trade deal within weeks. more evidence that wages are failing to keep pace with the cost of living — earnings in the uk are down 1.2% from last year when adjusted for inflation — their biggest fall since 2013. hailed as heroes — nearly 300 ukrainian fighters have left a steelworks in the besieged ukrainian city of mariupol, having been trapped there for more than two months. the leeds born actress kay mellor has died at the age of 71. best known for her down to earth, gritty dramas, she began working for granada television in the 1980s

as a writer on cornonation street. she also wrote the highly acclaimed drama series, band of gold, and more recently the popular series, the syndicate. bbc look north's corinne wheatley reflects on her legacy. putting northern and working class voices centre stage. that was kay mellor�*s trademark. she started her career writing plays and worked on coronation street. her itv drama band of gold, which first aired in 1995, was hugely popular, telling the stories of sex workers in bradford. i want people to talk about it. i want people to say, "how can we protect these young women? how can we protect prostitutes? what can we do to make life safer for them?" more hit dramas followed, including fat friends, starring ruthjones, sheridan smith and james gordon and bbc 0ne's the syndicate. her stories always had such a human element to them, even when you are looking

at a lottery winners going to monaco and spending their money, this was all from a working class point of view. so it spoke to many people around the uk and in bradford in particular, she will be very sadly missed. in 2010, kay mellor received an 0be. she was passionate about representing yorkshire and leeds in particular in her work. the musical of fat friends premiered in leeds grand theatre, as did the stage version of band of gold three years ago. very exciting for me to do it in leeds. more important for me to do it in leeds than in the west end or broadway. this is its home. i think it is as relevant today as back then. and i wanted to keep the same characters. because that is really important. a statement from kay mellor�*s production company said she died on sunday. tributes have poured in from across her industry. lenny henry said he was lucky to work with her on the syndicate.

"she knew what she wanted and how to get the best of us from us as actors." lisa riley said the news was a massive shock, saying, "you were the best boss to work for." kay mellor was often described as a trailblazer for women champion for the north, but she was also known as a mentor, someone who inspired generations of writers. kay mellor has died at the age of 71. nasa's perseverance mars rover, or percy as its become known, is about to begin the most important part of its mission. after travelling seven miles since it landed on the red planet over a year ago, it's just arrived at an area that was once a river delta, which scientists have identified as one of the most likely places to find microscopic signs of ancient life. over the next six months, the rover will collect rock samples which could answer the question — was there life on mars?

0ur science editor rebecca morelle reports. the parachute has deployed and we are seeing significant deceleration. it's a mission that began with a jaw—dropping descent, beaming back real footage of a mars landing, as nasa's perseverance rover was lowered onto the martian surface. over the last year, it's revealed the planet as never seen before — taking some selfies along the way. it's been busy trundling across the dusty terrain... ..and it's made history by flying a helicopter — the first powered flight on another planet. now, perseverance is ready to begin the most important part of its mission — hunting for signs of life — and it's reached an area where it has the best chance of finding it. i have been staring at this delta for years now, mostly in orbiter images, and now we're finally right in front of it, seeing it through the eyes

of the rover. we know there was once liquid water on the surface of mars. we know there are organics on the surface of mars. and so all signs point to the surface of mars, 3.5 to 4 billion years ago, being a habitable planet. the rover�*s exploring an area called thejezero crater. billions of years ago, it was a huge lake — you can clearly see a river running into it. and this gives you an idea of what it once would have looked like. if we zoom in, this coloured area shows where the river met the lake, depositing sediment to create a delta. the rover landed here, in the floor of the crater. it's spent more than a year travelling the seven miles — that's about 11 kilometres — to get to the base of the delta. now it has a 40—metre climb to reach the top, so it's deployed the mini mars helicopter to scout the best path ahead. perseverance will drill into the most promising rocks. the hope is they will contain signs of microbes that once lived there.

but the best samples will be left on the martian surface and collected by a future mission that will bring the rocks back to earth. imagine if we found evidence that there was some sort of microscopic life there. that's huge — it's mind—blowing in a way — and so i think the opportunity to look for that and bring it back to earth and then see what we see is going to rewrite history books, regardless of the answer! the mission is revealing the eerie beauty of mars — even showing us a martian solar eclipse, and capturing sounds of the rover hard at work. tapping. the red planet is dry and dusty today, but exploring the delta over the next six months will give us a new window into its past, and could finally answer the question of whether life ever existed on mars. rebecca morelle, bbc news. the duke and duchess of cornwall are travelling to canada for a three—day tour to celebrate

the queen's platinum jubilee. the trip highlights a special bond between her majesty and canada, as she first visited more than 70 years ago. 0ur royal correspondent sarah campbell reports. the most easterly city on the north american continent — stjohn's in newfoundland. and as the ontario enters the stjohn's harbour, she took her own camera to film the rocky coastline of newfoundland. the then princess elizabeth in 1951. it is the country outside the uk she has returned to most often, completing 22 royal tours. her son is expected to talk about the profound affection she feels for canada and its people. getting ready for the return of the royals — the repainting, touching up and cleaning down has been in full swing in quidi vidi harbour in stjohn's ahead of prince charles and camilla's arrival. it's a really packed schedule.

from here in picturesque new, took to antalya, and the northern territories. travelling 2,000 miles in a little over 48 hours. we are told, on the agenda, the treatment of indigenous peoples, climate change and thanking those people who, like the queen, have lived a life of service. the next morning, after formal tree planting ceremony at government house... just like his mother, charles has been a regular visitor to canada. his first tour was back in 1970. the most recent with the duchess of cornwall, and in 2017. this time around, every word said, every gesture made will be scrutinised — perhaps as never before. coming as it does, less than two months after the caribbean tours, which sparked such negative headlines. it is very beautiful and you can see the specs of blue... hosting the royals at government house is the lieutenant governor, the queen's representative in the province. they are of differing opinions, but everyone is entitled to those

opinions, their personal opinions, and i never suggested they shouldn't have their own opinion, but by and large, i think the response will be positive. this is familiar territory for a prince who prioritises key skills for the man who will be one day be canada's king. now it's time for a look at the weather with nick miller. a full look at the headlines coming up a full look at the headlines coming up at 4pm. hello, an east—west split in our weather this afternoon. across western parts, some of you will be wondering just how wet it's going to get. we've already seen some rain so far today in northern ireland. it will be turning much wetter again through the afternoon. but across eastern parts where you're seeing the sunshine, you'll be wondering just how warm it's going to get. and the answer across parts of england, the warmest day of the year so far, low pressure to the west of us spinning a weather front towards us, which is the source of the heavy rain, becoming more widespread across western areas this afternoon. but around that area of low

pressure, the warmth in the sunshine across eastern parts, a big differences across the uk, so turning much wetter through northern ireland. outbreaks of rain in western scotland and rain pushing in across more of wales and south west england that will be heavy and possibly thundery at times. whereas ahead of that system, you've got temperatures which are widely into the low 20s, up to 26 in south east england, near 20 in the warmest parts of eastern scotland. but a cooler day in northern ireland compared with yesterday. where you have the rain, it's quite breezy. rain, some thundery bursts as well, all pushing eastwards through this evening, so many of us will see some rain by the end of the day. outbreaks of rain pushing across the northern isles overnight. showers returning to northern ireland and western parts of scotland, clear spells elsewhere. and for many of us, a double—figure start to the day tomorrow with plenty of sunny spells around some morning showers that will clear away from northwest scotland. a breezy picture the further west you are and there'll be another weather front approaching northern ireland. but it'll be quite late in the afternoon into the evening before we see some outbreaks of rain out of that and ahead of it,

through parts of wales, southern england and the midlands. to end the day there'll be some showers and thunderstorms pushing in. temperatures pretty much on a par with where they are today. maybe not quite as warm as today across eastern and southeast england, but still around 24 degrees celsius. more wet weather will push across the uk overnight and into thursday. the potential for some torrential thundery bursts in east anglia and southeast england for a time on wednesday night and then during thursday there's a lot of fine weather around. again, just some showers towards northwest scotland and temperatures again feeling warmer. the sunshine mayjust be coming down a degree or so. that's a process that continues into the weekend. rather more widespread showers around during friday. it's northern areas with the greater chance of seeing some showers over the weekend as by then it feels cooler and fresher everywhere.

this hello, this is bbc news. i'm ben thompson. these are the latest headlines: the government confirms that the uk will introduce legislation to overwrite parts of the northern ireland post—brexit trade deal within weeks. let's fix it. we don't want to nix it, we want to fix it. we will work with with our eu partners to do it. more evidence that wages are failing to keep pace with the cost of living — earnings are down 1.2% from last year when adjusted for inflation — their biggest fall since 2013. hailed as heroes — the ukrainian military says the defenders of mariupol have ended their mission, after hundreds of soldiers leave the azov—stal steel plant having been trapped there for more than two months. translation: iwant

to underline, ukraine| needs its ukrainian heroes alive. this is our principle. wayne rooney gives evidence in his wife's libel trial, dubbed wagatha christie, as the multimillion—pound case enters its final days. wayne rooney says the fa wanted his wife to calm down. we'll have the latest live from the high court. and tributes are paid to kay mellor, the actress and writer best known for hit series girlfriends and band of gold, who has died aged 71. the foreign secretary liz truss has confirmed the government will introduce legislation that would change parts of the post brexit trading arrangements for northern ireland known as the protocol. she told parliament that britain would prefer a negotiated settlement with the eu, but failing that it would pass a law

to change the protocol to make trade easier in an attempt to encourage pro—unionist politicians back into power sharing government in belfast. the eu has responded warning, "unilateral actions are not acceptable." 0ur political correspondent damian grammaticas reports. reporter: why are you risking a trade war with brussels? - talk of a trade war with europe may be premature but the cabinet is taking a step which will raise tensions with the eu markedly. good morning and thank you very much. borisjohnson's government designed and passed into law all aspects of its brexit deal with brussels, knowing what they entailed, and now the same cabinet wants legislation to allow it to do something rarely seen, to break the treaty it agreed. liz truss told parliament that is because there is currently political gridlock in northern

ireland. eu customs procedures for moving goods within the uk have already meant companies face significant costs and paperwork. some businesses have stopped trade altogether. without resolving these and other issues, we will not be able to re—establish the executive and preserve the hard won progress sustained by the belfast good friday agreement. it is over two and a half years since the government negotiated and signed the withdrawal agreement which included the northern ireland protocol which required some trade barriers and checks in the irish sea, which was clear from the outset and it was a choice by this prime minister and the government, and yet now, barely two years later, the government is trying to convince people its flagship achievement was not a negotiated triumph but a deal so flawed that they cannot abide by it. most of the political parties in northern ireland, led by sinn fein who won the largest share of seats at the recent elections, do not want an escalation of tensions with the eu.

they all met boris johnson yesterday. but the democratic unionists are blocking the assembly from working unless their issues are dealt with. the dup supported brexit but the consequence of brexit is there has to be checks on goods moving between the uk and the eu. those checks are now happening at northern ireland's ports. the dup say that undermines northern ireland's ties to the rest of the uk. the arrangements borisjohnson agreed are known as the protocol. goods are checked as they move from england, scotland and wales so there do not need to be customs posts along the land border with the republic of ireland, where they enter the eu and its single market. installations on the land border would pose a real threat to the peace process. ireland's foreign minister says the eu has made proposals for flexibilities to improve things and the uk should engage with those. this is not a time for unilateral action, announcing legislation

which would breach international law, undermine an international treaty and create a lot of unnecessary tension between brussels and london. instead, it is a time for re—engagement on the basis of the work that has been done since february to see whether we can find landing zones that both sides can live with. the uk government says, like most of the parties in northern ireland, it wants a negotiated outcome. the priority is to get power—sharing back up and running, but moving to break the treaty risks making any new deal with brussels even harder to achieve. the prime minister has been speaking — let's hear what he had to say. how can you justify breaking a treaty that you signed? the higher duty of the uk government is, in international law, to the good friday agreement, and the peace process, and that is the thing

we have to really look to. of necessity, we can make some changes, i think, to the protocol which is not... it's there in the text, if things are not working, you can change it, and it makes it very clear on the face of the text that you should make sure the east—west trade and the integrity of the uk internal market. so, let's fix it. we don't want to nix it, we want to fix it. and we will work with our eu partners to do it. 0ur northern ireland economics 81 business editorjohn campbell says the eu would not look kindly upon any one—sided changes to the protocol.

the eu will view this as a breach of the deal and a breach of international law should the legislation ever be passed in the form it is being talked about now and certainly while the government is talking about fixing it and the language is quite ebullient, no talk of ripping up the deal, but nevertheless the eu will see this as being proposed today as an attempt to remove the essence of the protocol which is that northern ireland is effectively still within the eu single market of goods, therefore it must follow the rules of the single market. much of what was being talked about today by liz truss would undermine that. the dup has welcomed this in the broadest terms and we don't have much detail about quite how it will work and some of the legal ins and outs but do you get a sense that this will be enough to get the dup back into stormont? absolutely not. words are not going to be enough

for the dup and they were mugged off by the prime minister earlier in the process. he came to their party conference and made a bombastic speech about not having a border in the irish sea, but then they ended up with one. the dup at the very least will need to see the legislation pass and then maybe even need to see action grounded in that legislation, but may be in the interim, while this is taking place, we could have a further negotiation between the uk and the eu to try and reach some sort of agreement on modifying the protocol. and while liz truss was delivering her speech, she did call for a meeting of thejoint committee, and i think the eu's instinct in this situation will be to de—escalate as much as possible and to get back into negotiations

to find a way through this. but we also had the warning from the eu chief negotiator saying, "listen, the protocol and the withdrawal agreement "are the foundation of the broader brexit deal so if you start "disapplying part of the protocol we would have to reply "with measures at our disposal." what the eu could do is say, that is it, because you are doing this to the protocol, that is the end of the agreement, and the eu can give a years' notice to say the agreement is coming to an end, and if they want to put the trade parts to bed they can give nine months' notice. and if the eu believes that the uk would be acting to breach the rule of law they could potentially terminate the agreement even earlier. we are nowhere near that stage but those are some of the responses

which ultimately the eu could take. peter, a lot of talk about the new proposal and what this could mean for businesses like yours, this idea of green and red channels, but talk to me about the difficulties that you face every day, just being able to trade across the border? brute you face every day, just being able to trade across the border? we move noods to trade across the border? we move goods north — to trade across the border? we move goods north and _ to trade across the border? we move goods north and south _ to trade across the border? we move goods north and south in _ to trade across the border? we move goods north and south in ireland - to trade across the border? we move goods north and south in ireland and| goods north and south in ireland and we move goods east west, great britain to northern ireland and to the republic, and we get to see how brexit has worked out and the key problem we had was the gb to northern ireland section, which is giving us difficulties today. a regional distributional chain where

goods are complex and basically it is the last few miles of the journey, and the protocol results in eu customs and health control is being placed on those goods and their movements so those are some of their movements so those are some of the most complex controls anywhere in the world, and it means that great britain is treated as a third country whenever it is moving across to northern ireland and the complexity of the shipments and the complexity of the shipments and the complexity of the legislation simply creates that much bureaucracy that for a single palette of ready meals requires tens and tens of certificates just to move. whenever we talk about the checks, it is important to know this is notjust about the checks, because they are the final part of the process, and it is actually the documentation and

preparing it at the collection sites, and by the time the product gets to northern ireland what we actually find is that 0.07% of goods are actually returned to gb from northern ireland having been rejected at belfast, so this is despite hundreds of thousands of pounds being applied by the government to prepare the systems to allow these goods to move. realli;r allow these goods to move. really stark when — allow these goods to move. really stark when you — allow these goods to move. really stark when you show _ allow these goods to move. really stark when you show us _ allow these goods to move. really stark when you show us those - stark when you show us those folders. so what you are telling me, thatis folders. so what you are telling me, that is the amount of paperwork you need for one shipment. who is responsible for doing that and how do you get the information you need and do you have to do that for every single thing you send across the border? . . single thing you send across the border? , ., ., , ., ., border? there is a two tier protocol and at the moment _ border? there is a two tier protocol and at the moment there _ border? there is a two tier protocol and at the moment there are - border? there is a two tier protocol. and at the moment there are schemes in place but that is not what we do,

we do general trade, and movements between britain and northern ireland have to be treated as a movement that could go into the eu so as i flicked through these certificates, thousands of stamps, and they are in russian, chinese, and at the end of the day, this is a haulage community which is having to do this. the government underestimated the challenge here. we were ahead of the game and we set up a new customs house and we set out our own clearance centre so we have been one of the best prepared people but we also move goods between great britain and the republic of ireland that allows us to see what would happen after the government subsidies are removed and the costs that are involved and the time involved in moving those goods is

phenomenal. involved in moving those goods is phenomenal-— involved in moving those goods is phenomenal. involved in moving those goods is henomenal. . , ., ., ., phenomenal. that is what i wanted to ask, so phenomenal. that is what i wanted to ask. so give — phenomenal. that is what i wanted to ask. so give me _ phenomenal. that is what i wanted to ask. so give me a _ phenomenal. that is what i wanted to ask, so give me a sense, _ phenomenal. that is what i wanted to ask, so give me a sense, but - phenomenal. that is what i wanted to ask, so give me a sense, but when i ask, so give me a sense, but when you are having to fill in that kind of paperwork, what does it mean for your time and costs and how you run the business? and whether you have to pass that cost onto customers? latte to pass that cost onto customers? we are a to pass that cost onto customers? - are a service industry and yes we do have to pass the cost onto customers, and in terms of the cost, the first part is placing the equipment and the trailers in the right positions because instead of the next available trailer collecting the goods, because everything has to be certified on the trailer, we have basically got to give the number of days in advance which means we are looking down that window of efficiency we used to have. and then even using the government bosanko numbers and

of the movement assistance scheme, which can be paid over some... —— government's own numbers. i could be charged £100 from moving a paddock from the midlands to wales. —— a pilot. there could be an extra £125 cost. add to that fact i to process the documentation and take the inefficiencies of being checked at the port, all those hold—ups and delays all cost money. we use to operate a highly efficient operation chain between gb and northern ireland but we are really slowed down. the process is so bureaucratically heavy that it means we are running kit at probably 66%

of the speeds that it used to run at in terms of returns across the irish sea. , . in terms of returns across the irish sea. , , ., ., ,, sea. peter, very interesting to talk to ou to sea. peter, very interesting to talk to you to get _ sea. peter, very interesting to talk to you to get a _ sea. peter, very interesting to talk to you to get a sense _ sea. peter, very interesting to talk to you to get a sense of _ sea. peter, very interesting to talk to you to get a sense of what - sea. peter, very interesting to talk to you to get a sense of what is - sea. peter, very interesting to talk to you to get a sense of what is at | to you to get a sense of what is at stake and what may change as a result, potentially. thanks for joining us. peter, a managing director of a ballistics during a haulage company, there. —— managing director of a haulage company, there. there are more job vacancies than unemployed people in the uk for the first time since records began. despite the strong employment figures, the office for national statistics said that people's wages have seen their biggest fall in real terms since 2013 as the cost of living crisis continues to bite. this morning, the chairman of marks 81 spencer says he wouldn't be surprised to see food prices rise by 10% over the course of this year. as the governor of the bank of england has said,

pretty much summed it up, what is happening is global prices are rising, and it is not to do with uk food so much as the effect of freight costs and wheat prices and oil and energy prices, and as a consequence, all food retailers in the uk, because we operate on very thin margins, we are reluctantly going to have to allow some food price inflation to run through the system. to an apocalyptic extent? as andrew bailey suggested. you have to keep it in context. wages have been rising quite well in the uk, and we have given our people over 5% wage increase this year so it is very negative for a consumer's income but i would not use the word apocalyptic, certainly not for our customers. it would not be surprising to see

food price inflation over the course of the year running towards 8—10%. but we don't know that yet because it runs through the year. quite a lot still to come. archie norman speaking to my colleaguejustin webb there. 0ur economics correspondent andy verity explained that it is prediceted that the economy will contract by the end of the year. if you look at average earnings, excluding bonuses, which is the figure we look at, it is up by 4.2% and normally you would be very happy to get 4.2%. over the last 10—15 years, we have seen more like 1—2%, and a lot of wages have fallen compared to prices and we have had a fall in living standards over a decade but if you look at this including bonuses, you see in the private sector bonuses up 7%, average rise of pay, including bonuses, which is more

than inflation in the first three months of the year when it was 5.5%. so living standards are improving when you include bonuses but they are not likely to last because 5.5% was before the hike in energy bills in april and before the war in ukraine, and it is predicted we will see a knock to living standards this year which will probably mean the economy will contract as well. the warnings are that prices will continue to rise quickly. talk to me about anyone who is looking for a job, the figures suggest now is a good time to be looking? part of the reason we had that 4.2% is because of the tightest labour market we can remember, certainly for the last 30 years, and what i mean by that, fewer people available to work and more demand for them to work than there has been for a long time. employers would put it simply — we can't get the staff. and this is becoming a crisis for them, we should remember there's a downside to this,

although it gives employees a greater bargaining power, to bid up their wages, employers are paying more to employ them, but the employers have got this work and they can't get the work done, and that means they are not growing the business as much as they might like that down economic growth. volunteer police officers in england and wales are to be allowed to use taser stun guns. the home office says it's to ensure they're not "at a disadvantage" when dealing with violence. our home affairs correspondent june kelly is in manchester. is this about giving both groups the same tools?— same tools? yes, that is right, the home secretary — same tools? yes, that is right, the home secretary who _ same tools? yes, that is right, the home secretary who spoke - same tools? yes, that is right, the home secretary who spoke to - same tools? yes, that is right, the home secretary who spoke to the l home secretary who spoke to the police federation at manchester this afternoon, said she believes special constables, they are volunteers, unpaid, but they face the same risks as regular police officers and she believes they should be equipped in the same way. this doesn't mean

every special constable will have a taser and they will only get one if they want a taser and they will have to be approved but of course tasers are controversial. certainly the human rights group amnesty international said it is concerned about this expansion of the use of tasers and in the past the police watchdog has expressed concern about the disproportionate use of tasers on black people and tasers have been an issue in a number of deaths. you could say this is a controversial move but priti patel clearly feels she has got the backing inside the police community. latte she has got the backing inside the police community.— she has got the backing inside the police community. we know the home secretary has — police community. we know the home secretary has been _ police community. we know the home secretary has been there _ police community. we know the home secretary has been there talking - secretary has been there talking about that but she was also asked about that but she was also asked about those figures we have been discussing, the unemployment figures and the wage figures and she was asked about wages not keeping up with soaring prices? yes. asked about wages not keeping up with soaring prices?— asked about wages not keeping up with soaring prices? yes, at the big issue at this — with soaring prices? yes, at the big issue at this conference _ with soaring prices? yes, at the big issue at this conference will- with soaring prices? yes, at the big issue at this conference will be - issue at this conference will be police officers is pay and pensions,

and like in the rest of the country it is all about the cost of living crisis and in the question and answer session there was a very emotive speech from a police officer, a detective constable, and she has been in the police force 23 years and she works in child protection and with vulnerable adults and is it in a tough area. fin adults and is it in a tough area. on saturday i went to my mother's house where _ saturday i went to my mother's house where she _ saturday i went to my mother's house where she gave me £40 so that on sunday— where she gave me £40 so that on sunday i_ where she gave me £40 so that on sunday i could put petrol in the car and buy— sunday i could put petrol in the car and buy food for my son's school lunches — and buy food for my son's school lunches because i have no money left at the _ lunches because i have no money left at the end _ lunches because i have no money left at the end of the month. i work in child _ at the end of the month. i work in child protection with vulnerable adults. — child protection with vulnerable adults, the most vulnerable people and i adults, the most vulnerable people and i love _ adults, the most vulnerable people and i love myjob, but if the rates of interest— and i love myjob, but if the rates of interest goes up i can't pay my mortgage — of interest goes up i can't pay my mortgage i— of interest goes up i can't pay my mortgage i can't pay the fuel, i'm not going — mortgage i can't pay the fuel, i'm not going to be able to continue to come _ not going to be able to continue to come to— not going to be able to continue to come to work and i went to see an accountant — come to work and i went to see an accountant and the advice was, leave the police. _ accountant and the advice was, leave the police, work for 22 hours a week and claim _

the police, work for 22 hours a week and claim benefits and you will be better— and claim benefits and you will be better off. — and claim benefits and you will be better off. how can that be right? applause there was a big round of applause for that detective constable after her contribution. you home secretary said she believed the police federation should engage with the pay body and she stressed that the government is committed to increasing the number of police officers and they have pledged an extra 20000 and at the moment there about 13,000 who have been brought in but police officers he would say, vying to increase the number but you —— fine to increase the number but you are in danger of losing experienced police officers like that detective constable if you don't do something about pay. june. don't do something about pay. june, thanks forjoining _ don't do something about pay. june, thanks forjoining us. _ don't do something about pay. june, thanks forjoining us. let's _ don't do something about pay. june, thanks forjoining us. let's return to the first of those issues about the use of tasers by special

constables. i'm joined now by dr kerry pimblott from the northern police monitoring project. what do you make of that announcement? you home secretary says it is to make sure that one group is not at a disadvantage —— the home secretary. does this set a dangerous precedent? lt the home secretary. does this set a dangerous precedent?— the home secretary. does this set a dangerous precedent? it does and we are concerned — dangerous precedent? it does and we are concerned about _ dangerous precedent? it does and we are concerned about the _ dangerous precedent? it does and we i are concerned about the announcement but we won't be alone in this because concerns have been raised by the independent 0ffice because concerns have been raised by the independent office of police conduct and buy a variety of civil society organisations and also amnesty international about the risk of this roll—out of weapons, and it is resulting in a growing number of deaths and has been disproportionally used against the most vulnerable members of our community and it's a real concern. many people will have assumed that these tasers are used to disable someone temporarily if they are posing a threat that you are saying that, actually, they have lethal

implications, and have been targeted at certain groups. latte implications, and have been targeted at certain groups.— at certain groups. we have got to be mindful that — at certain groups. we have got to be mindful that when _ at certain groups. we have got to be mindful that when the _ at certain groups. we have got to be mindful that when the weapon - at certain groups. we have got to be mindful that when the weapon was i mindful that when the weapon was introduced originally it was introduced originally it was introduced as a supposedly non—lethal alternative to firearms so it was supposed to be used in very specific circumstances but increasingly over the last ten years it has been rolled out to a large number of police officers and we have seen it being used eight times more likely against black people compared to white people, increasingly people with mental health issues, and also vulnerable adults in general but also children under the age of 11. the weapon is being used in ways that it was never originally intended and it poses a real threat to our communities. really in terms of being used as a form of compliance as opposed to being used in situation it was originally imagined for. should this not come down _ originally imagined for. should this not come down to _ originally imagined for. should this not come down to rules _ originally imagined for. should this not come down to rules over- originally imagined for. should this not come down to rules over its - originally imagined for. should this| not come down to rules over its use as opposed to not giving them to police officers at all because you

could say if you are faced with a violent offender or aggressor you want the best tools available to make sure you can deal with them in the right way?— the right way? there has to be a balance between _ the right way? there has to be a balance between concerns - the right way? there has to be a balance between concerns about the right way? there has to be a - balance between concerns about the safety of officers and concerns about the safety of the public and policing by consent. and so the use of this weapon which we currently have a series of investigations into whether it is a lethal weapon and there has been multiple incidents now where people have died as a result of the prolonged use of taser or multiple uses, and the evidence is just not clear enough and so it really is a question of whether this weapon is safe to use in front line policing. weapon is safe to use in front line olicinu. . ., ., , policing. thanks for “oining us. interestingfi policing. thanks for “oining us. interesting to h policing. thanks for “oining us. interesting to get _ policing. thanks forjoining us. interesting to get your - policing. thanks forjoining us. | interesting to get your thoughts policing. thanks forjoining us. - interesting to get your thoughts on that. a woman has been convicted

of murdering a one—year—old boy she was hoping to adopt. leiland—james corkill was placed with laura and scott castle by authorities in cumbria less than five months before his death from catastrophic head injuries. this is a terrible case, can you bring us the background? llntil this is a terrible case, can you bring us the background? untilthe beauinnin bring us the background? untilthe beginning of— bring us the background? untilthe beginning of this _ bring us the background? untilthe beginning of this trial _ -- until —— until the beginning of the trial, laura castle said it was an accident, and she wept in the dock and she did admit manslaughter at the beginning of the trial and today she has been found guilty of murdering the one—year—old leiland—james corkill injanuary last year. a day after he suffered catastrophic brain injuries at the home of laura castle and her husband scott in barrow in cumbria. scott

castle was cleared of all charges and he wept and struggled to draw breath as those verdicts were read out today. the court heard leiland—james corkill was moved into their home by the social workers in august 2020 and in november concerns had been raised that the couple were failing to bond with the little boy and the following month the couple were told by a senior social worker she would not support any application to formally adopt leiland—james corkill and recommended further therapeutic parenting sessions and a review by social services was set to take place in the new year but on the 6th of january laura castle called 999 to say leiland—james corkill had fallen from the sofa but doctors at the children's hospital in liverpool were sceptical about the severity of his internal injuries. the court heard how scott castle was asleep upstairs after a night shift when the boy was fatally injured. mr

justicejeremy baker will the boy was fatally injured. mr justice jeremy baker will sentence laura castle next wednesday at 1030 and we expect to hear from cumbria police after sentencing has been passed. police after sentencing has been assed. . ., ., , the queen has made a surprise visit to paddington station in london to see the newly completed elizabeth line. the 96—year old monarch was joined by her youngest son, the earl of wessex, for the official opening this morning. the delayed crossrail project will open to the public next tuesday. now it's time for a look at the weather with nick miller. some record temperatures in places today? the highest temperature of the year so far today at heathrow airport, 27.5 celsius. clearly some

very warm sunshine to be had and mainly across the eastern side of the uk but rain in northern ireland and much of wales and large parts of south—west england and some of that is quite heavy. this is how the rainfall has developed this afternoon, some early rain in northern ireland which has come back and it is across more of wales and south—west england and it is moving its way east as well, even into those areas which have had warm sunshine today, the chance for heavy and thundery downpours this evening and thundery downpours this evening and before that has gone, just left in the northern isles really. double figures to start the day tomorrow. a quiet day tomorrow nearly everywhere and a few showers early on in northern scotland and warm sunny spells to be had and a case of waiting for the next weather system to come into northern ireland but at 5pm it is still not in and ahead of that we have a few thunderstorms in the south—west, but in terms of temperatures, maybe not quite as warm as today in south—east england,

but on a path. we are going to end the day with wet weather pushing a stash par. there could be some torrential downpours tomorrow evening and we will keep you updated on all of that. hello, this is bbc news, i'm ben thompson. the headlines: the government confirms the uk will introduce legislation to overwrite parts of the northern ireland post—brexit trade deal within weeks. there is more evidence that wages are failing to keep pace with the cost of living, earnings are down 1.2% from last year, when adjusted for inflation. it is the biggest of them since 2013. hailed as heroes, them since 2013. hailed as heroes, the ukrainian ministry says the defenders of mariupol have ended their mission after hundreds of soldiers leave the azovstal steel plant, having been trapped there for more than two months. and wayne

rooney tells a libel trial that the fa wanted rebekah vardy to, calm down, during the european championships in six years ago. tributes are paid to kay mellor, the actress and writer, best known for hit series girlfriends and band of gold. good afternoon. england have named their provisional 28 woman squad for the european championships which take place later this year. former captain steph houghton has been included. the man city defender has been out injured since january and hasn't played under boss sarina wiegman yet. however, arsenal midfielder jordan nobbs has been left out after picking up an knee injury earlier this month. she looks set to miss another major tournament, having not played at the 2019 world cup. and our sports reporter

jo currie is here. so jo currie is here. i guess the first place to start is so i guess the first place to start is steph houghton, big worries about whether she would make it, but she is in the squad. whether she would make it, but she is in the squad-— is in the squad. yes, i think there will be fans _ is in the squad. yes, i think there will be fans to _ is in the squad. yes, i think there will be fans to say _ is in the squad. yes, i think there will be fans to say they _ is in the squad. yes, i think there will be fans to say they are - will be fans to say they are relieved to see her make this long list, as it were. the former captain, she has captained england in the past, until recently, she had a torrid season, picked up an achilles injury, made a short appearance for manchester city, had surgery, hasn't played just yet, someone is wonderful to do in the long year, she still has much to prove in terms of her fitness. but is much to make nice to see her back in the squad. latte is much to make nice to see her back in the squad-— in the squad. we are seeing is 36 women squad. — in the squad. we are seeing is 36 women squad, any _ in the squad. we are seeing is 36 women squad, any big _ in the squad. we are seeing is 36 women squad, any big other - in the squad. we are seeing is 36| women squad, any big other stand names on the list?— women squad, any big other stand names on the list? there are a few -la s the names on the list? there are a few plays they think— names on the list? there are a few plays they think would _ names on the list? there are a few plays they think would have - names on the list? there are a few plays they think would have been i plays they think would have been touch and go in terms of fitness, the likes of chelsea forward, frank kirby has been set frank abby has been silent for quite a while, also kelly kelly was back set out for the best part of the year with an acl injury, andjill best part of the year with an acl injury, and jill scots, best part of the year with an acl injury, andjill scots, those best part of the year with an acl injury, and jill scots, those three

are in with the likes of the women don't make those that have been in touch and go, it is making the long list but this is a 28 player squad, it will go down to 23, so five players are still to drop out. abs, it will go down to 23, so five players are still to drop out. b. bit players are still to drop out. a bit of heartbreak, _ players are still to drop out. a bit of heartbreak, then, _ players are still to drop out. a bit of heartbreak, then, for- players are still to drop out. a bit of heartbreak, then, for arsenal's jordan knobs. —— nobbs. she barely played and wasn't fit to play what she was out there, she has talked about how hard it was to play, and she missed the last world cup in 2019 because of an all sore knee injury, because missing out again with a knee injury, that will be hard for her to take. the with a knee injury, that will be hard for her to take.— with a knee injury, that will be hard for her to take. the 23 player s: uad hard for her to take. the 23 player squad selection _ hard for her to take. the 23 player squad selection will _ hard for her to take. the 23 player squad selection will take - hard for her to take. the 23 player squad selection will take place - hard for her to take. the 23 player squad selection will take place in i squad selection will take place in mid june, the tournament starts in 50 days today when england host austria at old trafford. latte 50 days today when england host austria at old trafford.— austria at old trafford. we will look forward _ austria at old trafford. we will look forward to _ austria at old trafford. we will look forward to that! _ austria at old trafford. we will| look forward to that! appreciate austria at old trafford. we will - look forward to that! appreciate you joining us. one player also included in the england squad is georgia sta nway. she's announce today that she's leaving manchester city to join german club bayern munich. the 23—year—old played her last game for city in the fa cup final defeat to chelsea on sunday.

her contract runs out in the summer and she'll leave city as the clubs record goal—scorer with 57 goals in 165 appearances. she won the women's super league in 2016 as well as three league top —— league cup and fa cup titles. there's been lots of praise and encouragement after blackpool forward jake daniels anounced that he was gay. it makes him the only openly gay professional footballer in the men's game in the uk. the blackpool forward, who is just 17—years—old, spoke of the "relief" he has felt in publicly revealing his sexuality on monday. his announcement has been praised by prime minister borisjohnson, england captain harry kane and several charity groups. history has been made in thejury to tell you. it's been the... and

against top—class operation in matteo vanderpool who put his thumb up to admit defeat as the train beaten to the finish line. he has already won a one—day classic race this season but this is the biggest victory in the 22—year—old's career so far. the rebuild of english men's cricket continues — tom harrison, the chief executive of the england and wales cricket board has resigned after seven years in charge. harrison oversaw success in limited overs cricket with both england's women and men's teams winning the world cup. but recent failures in test cricket have seen an overhaul at the ecb with a new test coach, captain and managing director being appointed. harrison's biggest project was introducing a new limited—overs competition — the hundred — which caused some debate. as all the sport for now. studio: thank you, isaac.

ukraine has make military says it is working to evacuate all remaining troops from mariupol. 966 soldiers have left the azovstal steel part and been taken to areas backed by russian—backed rebels. zelenskyy has hailed them as fighters didn't like it was, after they spent more than two months trapped inside the plant. it was around by russian forces in early march and they are expecting now to be exchanged for russian prisoners of war. 0ur ukraine correspondent has this report. if this is the end of the battle for mariupol, this is not how many would have envisioned it. some of these men were seriously wounded and it was said without treatment, they would die. the whole process was carried out in coordination with the red cross and united nations, with one aim in

mind. translation: ~ ., , ., mind. translation: ~ ., translation: we hope to save the lives of our boys. _ translation: we hope to save the lives of our boys. many _ translation: we hope to save the lives of our boys. many of _ translation: we hope to save the lives of our boys. many of them - translation: we hope to save the lives of our boys. many of them are | lives of our boys. many of them are heavily weighted. they are being treated. i want to underline that ukraine needs its ukrainian heroes alive. this is our principle. i think this then you make these words can be understood by all adequate people. the can be understood by all adequate --eole. .,, can be understood by all adequate --eole. , ., _ people. the most seriously in'ured were driven — people. the most seriously in'ured were driven to i people. the most seriously in'ured were driven to hospital. h people. the most seriously injured were driven to hospital. more - people. the most seriously injured were driven to hospital. more than 200 more were taken to another facility inside russian —controlled territory. it is believed the soldiers will be exchanged in a prisoner swap. soldiers will be exchanged in a prisonerswap. it soldiers will be exchanged in a prisoner swap. it seems some fighters have stayed behind. katarina spent two months underground with her husband, she thinks that he is still there. translation: lt thinks that he is still there. translation:— thinks that he is still there. translation: , , ., translation: it is very painful, for me especially _ translation: it is very painful, for me especially for _ translation: it is very painful, for me especially for my _ translation: it is very painful, for me especially for my husband - translation: it is very painful, for me especially for my husband is - me especially for my husband is still there, and i know a lot of people — still there, and i know a lot of people who are still there. what they are — people who are still there. what they are heroically doing under there. — they are heroically doing under there, under bombardment, not being let out. _ there, under bombardment, not being let out. it _ there, under bombardment, not being let out. it is _ there, under bombardment, not being let out, it is terrible. i feel helpless _ let out, it is terrible. i feel helpless. i really want to help

them. — helpless. i really want to help them. i— helpless. i really want to help them. i do not know how. i feel really— them. i do not know how. i feel really powerless. my mac while moscow — really powerless. my mac while moscow can finally claim some success — moscow can finally claim some success in— moscow can finally claim some success in mariupol, it is a very different— success in mariupol, it is a very different picture in the north of the country. different picture in the north of the country-— the country. ukrainian soldiers yesterday _ the country. ukrainian soldiers yesterday said _ the country. ukrainian soldiers yesterday said they _ the country. ukrainian soldiers yesterday said they have - the country. ukrainian soldiers i yesterday said they have reached the country. ukrainian soldiers - yesterday said they have reached the russian border. the process of liberating the towns and villages of hockeyis liberating the towns and villages of hockey is well under way. —— khaki. stefan yang co in george... with the arrival of ukrainian ship, he decided to skip south. translation: decided to skip south. tuna/mom- decided to skip south. translation: ., , ., ., translation: there was a train in france. a missile _ translation: there was a train in france. a missile hit _ translation: there was a train in france. a missile hit and _ translation: there was a train in france. a missile hit and landed i translation: there was a train in france. a missile hit and landed on the ground. —— in front. france. a missile hit and landed on the ground. —— infront. it france. a missile hit and landed on the ground. —— in front. it did france. a missile hit and landed on the ground. —— infront. it did not explode but landed two metres from my house. under that cost a shilling, i was there, i do not care, but i got my things together and left. —— shelling. the care, but i got my things together and left. -- shelling.— care, but i got my things together and left. -- shelling. the battle to mariuol and left. -- shelling. the battle to mariupol and _ and left. -- shelling. the battle to mariupol and how _ and left. -- shelling. the battle to mariupol and how kyiv _ and left. -- shelling. the battle to mariupol and how kyiv -- - and left. -- shelling. the battle to mariupol and how kyiv -- khakis i and left. -- shelling. the battle to i mariupol and how kyiv -- khakis may mariupol and how kyiv —— khakis may be drawing to a close, but this war is far from over.

be drawing to a close, but this war is farfrom over. —— kharkiv. just to remind you as well, we will take your questions on the war in ukraine in a special programme on thursday at 1230. all have a number of guests to answer questions on all aspects of the war. maybe whether ukraine will win and the expansion of nato and the indications are that all may be what moscow net —— might do next. you can get in touch with all your questions using the hashtag on the screen. you can also e—mail us as well. according to a report on the impact of covid—19 on it, just as on england and wales, the system is it still struggling to cope with pressure. it has got worse since the start of the pandemic. they can adjust asjoint start of the pandemic. they can adjust as joint inspection has found that the secretary is under resourced with unacceptable levels of delay and prisoners that spend 22 and a half hours in their cells. i'm joined by charlie taylor, chief inspector of prisons.

he hasjust finished giving oral evidence thejustice committee in parliament. thank you for being with us. maybe just highlights the concerns that you have. we touched on some of them and this report is pretty damning, but what does that look like, day—to—day? lit but what does that look like, day-to-day?_ but what does that look like, day-to-day? if we take three particular _ day-to-day? if we take three particular areas _ day-to-day? if we take three particular areas that - day-to-day? if we take three particular areas that we i day-to-day? if we take three i particular areas that we looked at in support of the first is delays in courts, where we are still seeing delays in a crown court that is three times higher than they were at the beginning of the pandemic. that means that dangers —— there is a danger that cases will collapse, witnesses will give up, forjustice and causing huge distress, potentially, to victims of crime. within the probation service we are seeing is a huge backlog of out—of—court disposals or disposals for people who are supposed to be doing unpaid work as a qt payback and then finally prisons are really

concerning, that prisons are not getting back to normality. —— community payback. that prisoners are not in workshops, in education, learning to live a crime for life when they are released, but instead of spending far too long locks in their cells each day. late of spending far too long locks in their cells each day.— of spending far too long locks in their cells each day. we said in the introduction _ their cells each day. we said in the introduction that _ their cells each day. we said in the introduction that this _ their cells each day. we said in the introduction that this issue - their cells each day. we said in the introduction that this issue was i introduction that this issue was because in some parts by the pandemic, but what part of the pandemic? most things are, we are told back to normal, people are back working, but what is causing these problems? working, but what is causing these roblems? ., ., , , ., , , problems? part of this is absolutely to do with the _ problems? part of this is absolutely to do with the pandemic, _ problems? part of this is absolutely to do with the pandemic, the i problems? part of this is absolutely | to do with the pandemic, the course shuts down or largely shut down in the toughest times of the pandemic and similarly, many of the services that were going to prisons, they simply could not happen and community payback work could not happen either during the pandemic. nevertheless, it is time to get things back open again. this is what this inspection report as saying, that within prisons where we are seeing prisons being too slow to get things going again, restrictions have now been lifted, both in prisons and the community, and our worry is that we are still seeing prisons not doing what they ought to

be doing, not getting prisoners not getting them into work, not getting into education. the getting them into work, not getting into education.— getting them into work, not getting into education. the government says the number — into education. the government says the number of _ into education. the government says the number of outstanding _ into education. the government says the number of outstanding cases i into education. the government says the number of outstanding cases is i the number of outstanding cases is falling, they say they have eased restrictions across prisons that were brought in, of course, during the covid—19 pandemic, they say they have got 4000 more —— prison officers than in 2016, they are recruiting probation officers at record levels, they say all that is improving public protection, but given what you have told me recently do not agree with that? l given what you have told me recently do not agree with that?— do not agree with that? i think there is a _ do not agree with that? i think there is a long _ do not agree with that? i think there is a long way _ do not agree with that? i think there is a long way to - do not agree with that? i think there is a long way to go i do not agree with that? i think there is a long way to go on i do not agree with that? i think. there is a long way to go on this journey, we are seeing numbers of prison officers coming in, but unfortunately, notjust in prisons, but in probation services, we also seem quite high numbers of people leaving the services as well. there is a big concern. also there seems to be a postcode or talker where there is some inertia of getting things back to normal with good governance in a good prisoners are getting prisoners out of their cells for much longer period of time. ——

post covid—19 torpor. we are seeing others where they just post covid—19 torpor. we are seeing others where theyjust locked up all day. this is having a worrying effect on the prisoners' mental health, locked in a cell of six foot by 12 foot, with another prisoner, with an unlocked toilet. it costs £45,000 on average to keep someone in prison for a year, lots of money, this does not feel like a good use of taxpayers' money, with the danger that people are more likely to reoffend when they come out. yes. reoffend when they come out. yes, there are far-reaching _ reoffend when they come out. yes, there are far—reaching applications. charlie taylor, thank you for that assessment, the chief expect of prisons. joining us now is dr kate paradine, chief executive at women in prison. thank you for being with us as well. i hope that you could hear some of that and looking at what you have been saying already, i suspect that you agree with some of those findings. tell me about some of the conditions that many are facing in prison right now.— prison right now. prisons are in a deepening _ prison right now. prisons are in a deepening crisis _ prison right now. prisons are in a deepening crisis and _

prison right now. prisons are in a deepening crisis and what - prison right now. prisons are in a deepening crisis and what has i prison right now. prisons are in a i deepening crisis and what has been outlined in the report which follows hot on the heels of barely a week goes by that we don't get another report like this, a crisis getting worse, because the government is not looking at where the roots of this problem lies, which is in community support services, and addressing the root causes of offending, often at poverty, mental ill—health, and substance misuse and things related to those. when it comes to women in prison, the conditions are devastating. the vast majority of women in prison do not need to be there, and they should be serving sentences in the community, the government itself has a strategy on this and yet, despite that, and the evidence which is overwhelming, that prison isn't working, the government is spending billions building a new prison places, including 500 new prison places, including 500 new prison cells for women, at the cost of £200 million. what this report really does prove is that the government is going completely in the wrong direction and it does not matter how much money it throws in this direction, the problem isjust

going to get worse. we need to be tackling the problems in communities that are bringing people into the crueljustice that are bringing people into the cruel justice system. that are bringing people into the crueljustice system. ls it that are bringing people into the crueljustice system.— that are bringing people into the crueljustice system. cruel 'ustice system. is it the case that crueljustice system. is it the case that some — crueljustice system. is it the case that some of _ crueljustice system. is it the case that some of the _ crueljustice system. is it the case that some of the problems - crueljustice system. is it the case that some of the problems that i crueljustice system. is it the case i that some of the problems that occur in prison need quick diagnosis, swift treatment? and given what this report says, that is just not happening? report says, that is 'ust not happeningafi report says, that is 'ust not haueninu? . , ~ happening? that is right. a report from the inspectorate, _ happening? that is right. a report from the inspectorate, only i happening? that is right. a report from the inspectorate, only a i happening? that is right. a report from the inspectorate, only a few| from the inspectorate, only a few days ago, found 86 women in one prison that were there simply because they —— there were not mental health spaces in the community and there is homer's rate of people leaving present homeless, which is shocking. it is these things that need to be dealt with, if we are to really stem the tide in terms of this re—deepening crisis. so you are absolutely right, dealing with those problems, and those committees command is not in prison, they become worse, is the way we need to go. —— really deepening crisis. need to go. -- really deepening crisis. , ., , �* crisis. sorry to interrupt, i'm interested — crisis. sorry to interrupt, i'm interested in _ crisis. sorry to interrupt, i'm interested in your _ crisis. sorry to interrupt, i'm interested in your response i crisis. sorry to interrupt, i'm. interested in your response to crisis. sorry to interrupt, i'm i interested in your response to what the government has said, they say

they have 4004 prison officers than there were in 2016, they are recruiting probation officers at record levels, they say, do you see any evidence of that? late record levels, they say, do you see any evidence of that?— record levels, they say, do you see any evidence of that? we need to see is evidence of— any evidence of that? we need to see is evidence of investment _ any evidence of that? we need to see is evidence of investment in - any evidence of that? we need to see is evidence of investment in a - is evidence of investment in a community based support services and we are not seeing that. there is a crisis in community based support services, and the fact that women and men go to prison because there are not mental health spaces to deal with people who have the entrenched mental health problems is shameful. it is completely avoidable. there are solutions, we know there is a better way, the government knows there is a better way, and it has a strategy particularly in relation to women which says what it needs to do, which is to invest in community—based support services, and to stop this ridiculous use of prison, whichjust makes prison, which just makes the problems that get people there are worse, as with the cost of living crisis, there is only going to get worse and the demand on kingy support services is going to get deeper as well. —— community

support. the changes need to happen it now before the crisis cannot be turned around.— it now before the crisis cannot be turned around. . ., ., turned around. kate, we are grateful for our turned around. kate, we are grateful for your time — turned around. kate, we are grateful for your time this _ turned around. kate, we are grateful for your time this afternoon. - turned around. kate, we are grateful for your time this afternoon. chief i for your time this afternoon. chief executive of women in prison. the founder of the neo—nazi terrorist group national action has been found guilty of remaining in the group after it was banned. alex davies from swansea is the 19th person to be convicted of being a member of the group. our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford reports from winchester crown court. music plays, people shout it was the most provocative neo—nazi group to emerge in britain since the 1970s. alex davies, seen here with a megaphone, was its founder. national action members were openly white supremacist and said they were preparing for a race war.

0n social media, alex davies was shown doing a nazi salute at buchenwald concentration camp. whenjo cox was murdered, one national action account celebrated, saying "only 649 mps to go." it led to the group being banned in 2016. but more than five years on, alex davies has now been found guilty of remaining a member after the ban. during the trial here in winchester, alex davies was quite open about his neo—nazi views. he said he was the founder of national action, he said it was his idea, but he insisted he wasn't involved in it after it was banned as a terrorist organisation. "ban us, so what?," he had daubed on a wall in swansea, within weeks of the ban coming into force, and, "new year, same struggle." he was soon organising fight camps, including this one near swindon where he is seen with ben hannam, a neo—nazi who infamously

later joined the police. when the time comes, they'll be in the chambers. over the next few years, jack renshaw from national action admitted plotting to kill an mp with a large knife. a serving british army corporal, mikko vehvilainen, was jailed for national action membership. he'd collected a frightening array of weapons. in all, 19 people have now been convicted of remaining members after the ban. this is a very dangerous group of individuals. they sought to push forward that extreme right—wing ideology, the use of violence was seen as a method to do that. they clearly thought that it was acceptable to use weapons to further their ideological cause. the trial heard how this man, alexander slavros, a neo—nazi living in moscow whose real name is alisher mukhitdinov, helped coordinate contacts between national action and the violent neo—nazi group

atomwaffen division in america. it also heard that alex davies had twice been referred to the government's counter—extremism programme prevent as a teenager in swansea, but that hadn't stopped him setting up the most dangerous neo—nazi group britain had seen for decades. daniel sandford, bbc news, winchester. the former england captain wayne rooney has begun giving evidence in a libel case. our recruitment has been full in the day's developments at the high court. when rooney today talking about a conversation that he says he had with jamie vardy when they were both playing for the england football team. they are seen to speak to vardy about his wife, to

quote on quote, calm her down. this was challenged by the barrister saying, she wasn't exactlyjumping on the tables, was she? no, wayne rooney confirmed, but he was asked to have a conversation. in a statement away from the court, this has been denied byjamie vardy�*s people, saying wayne is talking nonsense, he must be confused because he discussed everything with rebekah vardy. this too was something that was mentioned as wayne rooney said, under oath, he said he remembers very clearly the conversation that he had at the behest of the england management team. it was in the games' room. he said that he had been drinking a cup of coffee and that vardy had a red bull, so something that, in his mind, did happen and something away from the court hearing that has been denied by mr vardy. give us a sense of what the atmosphere is like because we have all been following this through a series of tweets or transcripts. what is it like in court? it's taking place in court 13 behind us and we are in an over plucked a overflow room.

——an overflow room. you kind of hear reactions from various people who are interested to be there in public, the media has various critics happening. the thing that you could really say you could cut the tension with a knife was when it wayne rooney was talking, not so much about the outcome of the case, in fact, he even gave a nod saying what adjustments in the case, he had spoken about his partner, coleen, how she had changed as a mother and wife. we have been following the story which has has been branded by some as wagatha christie. wayne rooney did insist that, notwithstanding the fact that they are married, the investigation that she was doing was something that he had absolutely no knowledge of, until what was being referred to behind me as the big reveal. the leeds born actress, scriptwriter and director kay mellor has died at the age of 71. best known for her down to earth, gritty dramas, she began working

for granada television in the 1980s as a writer on cornonation street. she also wrote the highly acclaimed drama series, band of gold, and more recently the popular series, the syndicate. bbc look north's corinne wheatley takes a look back at her career. putting northern and working class voices centre stage. that was kay mellor�*s trademark. she started her career writing plays and worked on coronation street. her itv drama band of gold, which first aired in 1995, was hugely popular, telling the stories of sex workers in bradford. i want people to talk about it. i want people to say, "how can we protect these young women? how can we protect prostitutes? what can we do to make life safer for them?" more hit dramas followed, including fat friends, starring ruthjones, sheridan smith and james gordon and bbc 0ne's the syndicate. her stories always had such a human element to them, even when you are looking

at a lottery winners going to monaco and spending their money, this was all from a working class point of view. so it spoke to many people around the uk and in bradford in particular, she will be very sadly missed. in 2010, kay mellor received an 0be. she was passionate about representing yorkshire and leeds in particular in her work. the musical of fat friends premiered in leeds grand theatre, as did the stage version of band of gold three years ago. very exciting for me to do it in leeds. more important for me to do it in leeds than in the west end or broadway. this is its home. i think it is as relevant today as back then. and i wanted to keep the same characters. because that is really important. a statement from kay mellor�*s production company said she died on sunday. tributes have poured in from across her industry. lenny henry said he was lucky to work with her on the syndicate. "she knew what she wanted and how to get the best of us from us as actors."

lisa riley said the news was a massive shock, saying, "you were the best boss to work for." kay mellor was often described as a trailblazer for women champion for the north, but she was also known as a mentor, someone who inspired generations of writers. martin will be with you for the five o'clock news. —— marinte. it has been the warmest day of the year so far in many of with temperatures freezing despite rising to 28 at heathrow, and most —— mid 20s in other places. let me show you the rain it now, it is now covering

much of northern ireland, wales, south—west england, some of this rain is quite heavy and it is on the move east as we go through this evening, with this weather front here, around an area of low pressure, sitting to the rest of us, throwing up further areas of rain, showers or thunderstorms over the next couple of days. it will drum up draw up lots of humid airfrom the south. this is the wet weather this evening, those areas will see all the sunshine today, but in the east of scotland which has been a the highest temperatures, and of wet and at times in three weather moving way through. —— thundery weather. temperatures will start the day tomorrow like this and a few showers will run across western and northern scotland and northern ireland. some fine weather tomorrow it will come, it will take some time before the next weather system comes in and here it is, not until the evening we see much of this rain coming into northern ireland, but that is this, the showers and thunderstorms pushing into south—west england and wales to end the day. temperatures are pretty much on a par with where

we have been today, maybe not quite as high as they have been in south—east england by a couple of degrees but still very warm in the sunshine. we end the day tomorrow, just as we are today, with quite a bit of wet weather spreading eastwards and the potential for some really quite hefty downpours, may be torrential and astons for a time, with weather in south east anglia. clearing away and going into thursday morning. and again, we are in between weather systems has they have a lot of fine weather. we will see some showers running up towards north—west scotland and quite breezy here. temperatures are still very warm, good to see some sunshine on thursday, they are starting to trail off a little bit and that is the process that will continue into the weekend. a process aided by the fact that on friday, there will be lots of wet weather in the day, some showers, maybe some thunder storms in places, but over the weekend, the showers are over the northern half of the uk, but down in the south it

has been warm over the weekend, but it will be feeling cooler and fresher by then. as ever, the forecast for a or where you are going is available online and on the app.

this is bbc news. i'm martine croxall. the headlines at 5pm — the government confirms that the uk will introduce legislation to overwrite parts of the northern ireland post—brexit trade deal within weeks. let's fix it. we don't want to nix it, we want to fix it and we will work with our eu partners to do it. this is not a time for a unilateral action, announcing legislation which would essentially breach international law, undermine the international treaty and create a lot of unnecessary tension between brussels and london. the ukrainian military says the defenders of mariupol have ended their mission after hundreds of soldiers leave the azovstal steel plant, having been trapped there for more than two months.

more evidence that wages are failing to keep pace