of weeks. we understand at couple of weeks. we understand at the times— couple of weeks. we understand at the times you _ couple of weeks. we understand at the times you are _ couple of weeks. we understand at the times you are looking - couple of weeks. we understand at the times you are looking to - couple of weeks. we understand at the times you are looking to cut i the times you are looking to cut income — the times you are looking to cut income tax — the times you are looking to cut income tax to _ the times you are looking to cut income tax to 2p _ the times you are looking to cut income tax to 2p in _ the times you are looking to cut income tax to 2p in 2024 - the times you are looking to cut income tax to 2p in 2024 ratheri income tax to 2p in 2024 rather than — income tax to 2p in 2024 rather than... ., income tax to 2p in 2024 rather than- - -_ by _ income tax to 2p in 2024 rather than- - -_ by 2p! - income tax to 2p in 2024 rather than- - -_ by 2p!- income tax to 2p in 2024 rather than. . ._ by 2p! than... two 2p?! by 2p! you are drivin: than... two 2p?! by 2p! you are driving a — than... two 2p?! by 2p! you are driving a hard — than... two 2p?! by 2p! you are driving a hard bargain. _ than. .. two 2p?! by 2p! you are driving a hard bargain. by- than... two 2p?! by 2p! you are driving a hard bargain. by 2p - than... two 2p?! by 2p! you are i driving a hard bargain. by 2p rather than one. driving a hard bargain. by 2p rather than one- is— driving a hard bargain. by 2p rather than one. is that _ driving a hard bargain. by 2p rather than one. is that something - driving a hard bargain. by 2p rather than one. is that something you . driving a hard bargain. by 2p rather| than one. is that something you are looking _ than one. is that something you are looking at— than one. is that something you are looking at you — than one. is that something you are looking at you michael _ than one. is that something you are looking at you michaelfirsil- than one. is that something you are looking at you michael— looking at you michael first of all, thank yom _ on the mortgage market, yes, people, we want to help them to get deposits, but we also need to have mortgages, we need to have more 95% mortgages, we need to have more 95% mortgages, which cover 95% of costs of the property. it is punitively difficult for so many people now in this country and it doesn't need to be that way and that is one of the reasons we are reforming it. there

are products already there but they come and go and we want to make sure there is a ready stream of such products for the people who need them. as well as all the other initiatives i mentioned just now. on what rishi sunak and myself are talking about on fiscal measures, i'm sorry to say that you are going to have to contain your impatience and reducing income tax to 2p, not even on the back benches of the tory party, nobody has yet proposed that to me, but we, i know and i think everyone knows, that because of covid we had a massive fiscal shock and it was because of the strength of the economy that we were able to look after people and we still are. we just want to make sure that as we come out of it, we keep things

strong and take sensible steps but of course as i think i said a couple of course as i think i said a couple of times, we are strongly inclined to stimulate further growth and productivity with tax cuts as and when they become sensible. mason boycott of the daily telegraph. thank you. you want to get the tax burden— thank you. you want to get the tax burden for— thank you. you want to get the tax burden for working _ thank you. you want to get the tax burden for working people, - thank you. you want to get the tax burden for working people, and - thank you. you want to get the tax| burden for working people, and you say you _ burden for working people, and you say you want— burden for working people, and you say you want to _ burden for working people, and you say you want to cut _ burden for working people, and you say you want to cut taxes _ burden for working people, and you say you want to cut taxes when - burden for working people, and youj say you want to cut taxes when that is responsible, _ say you want to cut taxes when that is responsible, it _ say you want to cut taxes when that is responsible, it is _ say you want to cut taxes when that is responsible, it is not _ is responsible, it is not responsible _ is responsible, it is not responsible now- is responsible, it is not responsible now to - is responsible, it is not responsible now to doi is responsible, it is not - responsible now to do that to is responsible, it is not _ responsible now to do that to help with the _ responsible now to do that to help with the cost— responsible now to do that to help with the cost of— responsible now to do that to help with the cost of living _ responsible now to do that to help with the cost of living and - responsible now to do that to help with the cost of living and to - responsible now to do that to help with the cost of living and to helpi with the cost of living and to help drive _ with the cost of living and to help drive growth? _ with the cost of living and to help drive growth? that— with the cost of living and to help drive growth?— drive growth? that is why, for instance. _ drive growth? that is why, for instance, cutting _ drive growth? that is why, for instance, cutting tax - drive growth? that is why, for instance, cutting tax cutting i instance, cutting tax cutting national insurance contributions, 70% of the people who pay are getting a tax cut next month worth an average of £330, and we are cutting council tax for most people

buy £150 and we have cut fuel duty by the biggest amount ever but yes, of course, we are going to continue to look at ways in which we can sensibly reduce the burden and help households in any way we can. the cost of housing is a big chunk of expenditure and transport is a big jump, expenditure and transport is a big jump, childcare, energy, but tax is the biggest of all, and we certainly aim to get that done. nowjess from the guardian newspaper. aim to get that done. now jess from the guardian newspaper.— aim to get that done. now jess from the guardian newspaper. thank you. a coule of the guardian newspaper. thank you. a couple of questions, _ the guardian newspaper. thank you. a couple of questions, if _ the guardian newspaper. thank you. a couple of questions, if i _ the guardian newspaper. thank you. a couple of questions, if i may _ the guardian newspaper. thank you. a couple of questions, if i may the - couple of questions, if i may the oecd_ couple of questions, if i may the oecd predicts _ couple of questions, if i may the oecd predicts us _ couple of questions, if i may the oecd predicts us having - couple of questions, if i may the oecd predicts us having the - couple of questions, if i may the . oecd predicts us having the lowest growth _ oecd predicts us having the lowest growth in _ oecd predicts us having the lowest growth in the — oecd predicts us having the lowest growth in the 620 _ oecd predicts us having the lowest growth in the 620 apart _ oecd predicts us having the lowest growth in the 620 apart from - oecd predicts us having the lowesti growth in the 620 apart from russia and i growth in the 620 apart from russia and i think— growth in the 620 apart from russia and i thinkwe— growth in the 620 apart from russia and i think we can _ growth in the 620 apart from russia and i think we can diagnose - growth in the 620 apart from russiaj and i think we can diagnose russia's problem. _ and i think we can diagnose russia's problem. and — and i think we can diagnose russia's problem. and you _ and i think we can diagnose russia's problem, and you talked _ and i think we can diagnose russia's problem, and you talked in- and i think we can diagnose russia's problem, and you talked in the - problem, and you talked in the beginning _ problem, and you talked in the beginning about _ problem, and you talked in the beginning about the _ problem, and you talked in the beginning about the impact - problem, and you talked in the beginning about the impact ofl problem, and you talked in the i beginning about the impact of the international— beginning about the impact of the international issues— beginning about the impact of the international issues but _ beginning about the impact of the international issues but why - beginning about the impact of the international issues but why is - beginning about the impact of the international issues but why is it i international issues but why is it particular. — international issues but why is it particular. why— international issues but why is it particular, why is _ international issues but why is it particular, why is the _ international issues but why is it particular, why is the uk - international issues but why is it particular, why is the uk getting such— particular, why is the uk getting such low— particular, why is the uk getting

such low growth _ particular, why is the uk getting such low growth rate _ particular, why is the uk getting such low growth rate up - particular, why is the uk getting such low growth rate up and - particular, why is the uk getting such low growth rate up and a l particular, why is the uk getting. such low growth rate up and a quick second _ such low growth rate up and a quick second one. — such low growth rate up and a quick second one. to— such low growth rate up and a quick second one, to follow— such low growth rate up and a quick second one, to follow up _ such low growth rate up and a quick second one, to follow up on - such low growth rate up and a quick second one, to follow up on the - second one, to follow up on the petrol— second one, to follow up on the petrol question, _ second one, to follow up on the petrol question, you _ second one, to follow up on the petrol question, you say- second one, to follow up on the petrol question, you say you . second one, to follow up on the| petrol question, you say you are watching — petrol question, you say you are watching retailers _ petrol question, you say you are watching retailers very - petrol question, you say you are watching retailers very closely, i petrol question, you say you are i watching retailers very closely, but if they— watching retailers very closely, but if they continue _ watching retailers very closely, but if they continue to _ watching retailers very closely, but if they continue to not _ watching retailers very closely, but if they continue to not pass - watching retailers very closely, but if they continue to not pass on i watching retailers very closely, but if they continue to not pass on the| if they continue to not pass on the cuts. _ if they continue to not pass on the cuts. what — if they continue to not pass on the cuts. what will _ if they continue to not pass on the cuts, what will the _ if they continue to not pass on the cuts, what will the government i if they continue to not pass on the. cuts, what will the government do? on the _ cuts, what will the government do? on the current— cuts, what will the government do? on the current trends _ cuts, what will the government do? on the current trends in _ cuts, what will the government do? on the current trends in growth, i on the current trends in growth, don't forget, because we came out first, because of the steps we took, we are slightly out of sync with the rest of the oecd and we had a faster recovery because we had came out of it relatively fast. we are particularly exposed now to energy price shock and that is because, i'm afraid to make the uk is not self—reliant enough and we made a big run for gas, the price of gas has gone up, we totally failed to invest in nuclear which left us without the self—reliance we need on

energy prices. we are trying to urgently rectify that and we are stampeding towards more offshore wind and more nuclear but the trouble is, offshore wind can come on stream quickly but it requires, it will take some time. if you look at the nuclear... that will take some time. there will be an abatement of those costs within the foreseeable future and you can see the prospect of inflation coming down again. i would remind you that when you look at the imf forecast and other forecasts, when you look at the imf forecast and otherforecasts, they when you look at the imf forecast and other forecasts, they actually have the uk returning at or near to the top of the g7 have the uk returning at or near to the top of the 67 growth league in the top of the 67 growth league in the not—too—distant future, so be of

good cheer about that. the purpose of my speech today is just to say to everybody, look, yes, price pressures are going to make things tough for a while but we will get through it. here are the steps we are taking to get through it and on the other side, we will have a much stronger economy. on your second question, which was about fuel prices. we are watching the pumps and of course we hope that corporations will be responsible and will recognise that now is the time notjust will recognise that now is the time not just to take will recognise that now is the time notjust to take price but to look after consumers and that is in their long—term interests, as well. as i have said to possibly darren, i'm not going to anticipate what the

fiscal decisions the chancellor will take but we will continue to look after people in any way that we can. thank you all very much for your time this morning. much appreciated. that was the prime minister boris johnson making a speech on amongst other things how he plans to tackle the cost of living crisis including plans to boost homeownership and our political correspondent nick is in blackpool and he was listening in. this seemed to be a much more wide—ranging speech than we had been expecting, certainly going well beyond plans to boost homeownership, so what we —— were your thoughts? borisjohnson went through a whole range of things when it came to the bills people are facing and the costs that households have and i think we are going to hear a couple of speeches from the prime minister

over the next few weeks talking about individual things that he thinks are precious that the government can tackle without necessarily spending a whole load of more cash. the one we did get some meat on the bones today was plans to make it easier for people to buy their houses, three things in particular that are worth mentioning, the comprehensive review of the mortgage market, the idea the government has is to make it easier for people to borrow money and buy houses, more 95% mortgages, for example, there was a policy that the conservatives have talked about for a while but borisjohnson says he is determined to deliver which was allowing people in housing association accommodation a right to buy scheme similar to the one that margaret thatcher brought in for council tenants. that is england only, we should point that out, and it is not clear how it will be

delivered. a lot of the details need to be delivered. a lot of the details need to he figured out including talks with the housing associations themselves but that is part of the plan, and the third thing was the idea of allowing people on benefits to be allowed to spend housing benefit, universal credit, on mortgages and saving up to buy a house. he hopes that all three of those things might combine to bring slightly closer some of his pledges to make it easierfor people slightly closer some of his pledges to make it easier for people to buy their homes. but something else the prime minister said is worth bearing in mind, because he did not put a target on how many houses he wants to build per year which is a change because that target was in the conservative manifesto three years ago, the tories promised at the general election to build 300,000 houses per year in england by 2025 and that is something the government has moved away from since they dropped planning reforms a few weeks ago but it shows the housing

promises and delivering them are often slightly different things. speaking to opposition parties and hearing from some in the sector, the housing sector, they want to see more details of how the government is going to deliver some of these promises and i suspect politically, some of his own mps will want to see how those are big headlines are matched in reality. you how those are big headlines are matched in reality. you mention the ranre matched in reality. you mention the ranae of matched in reality. you mention the range of the — matched in reality. you mention the range of the speech _ matched in reality. you mention the range of the speech and _ matched in reality. you mention the range of the speech and it _ matched in reality. you mention the range of the speech and it seemed i matched in reality. you mention the l range of the speech and it seemed to me that this was something of a reset in the wake of the confidence vote early this week. will it work is the question?— vote early this week. will it work is the question? sometimes it felt more like a _ is the question? sometimes it felt more like a general _ is the question? sometimes it felt more like a general election - is the question? sometimes it felt i more like a general election speech, then one you get on a thursday afternoon in the middle of the parliamentary term. which i think does indicate the fact that boris johnson wants to persuade us that he can get on with the job and that he is not going to be sidetracked by

questions over leadership and when he was asked by my colleague chris mason about the leadership issue he tried to steam—roll over it. boris johnson does not want to have us talking about his future, he wants to talk about policy and persuade us he has ideas and i think we will see a lot of that over the next few weeks. he will try to build on the other stuff he has been talking about like making child care a bit cheaper in england and changing some of the rules in nurseries, about how to make transport cheaper, we are going to get a big speech on the chancellor in the next couple of weeks where he will talk about the cost of living, but, and there's always a but, another thing that tory mps have been talking about this week about cutting taxes. cutting personal taxes. bring forward those cuts to things like income tax, cabinet ministers earlier this week were coming out and saying quite publicly that they wanted the government to go further and faster, when it comes to tax cuts. the prime minister wants to do

that and sounded very cautious about the idea of it happening anytime soon. he was talking about the pressure of inflationary pressures, and i think if the income tax cuts come, that will be a couple of years down the road, and so some of the tory mps, some of whom who turned against the prime minister, they were hoping he would listen and maybe change some of his policies and move on to some of their territory. i don't think that is happening at the moment, quite frankly. the prime minister is hoping to persuade some of those mps he can deliver on the promises he made on the 2019 general election and when he talked in that speech about the tax burden of being too high, many of his mps will sit at home, conservative mps, saying, it was our party that did that, we need to think again quite soon if we are

going to win over our traditional voter base. going to win over our traditional voter base-— going to win over our traditional voter base. ., ., ., ~', voter base. next, for now, thanks forjoining — voter base. next, for now, thanks forjoining us- _ voter base. next, for now, thanks forjoining us- -- _ voter base. next, for now, thanks forjoining us. -- nick. _ the cost of filling an average family car with petrol has reached £100 for the first time. petrol retailers are charging on average 182 pence a litre, with some forecourts charging more than £2. the increase is largely blamed on the impact of the war in ukraine on global energy supplies. our economics correspondent andy verity reports. this morning, motorists across the country were getting used to the idea of another unwelcome landmark in the soaring cost of living. 100 quid to fill up the average tank. it's terrible, terrible. every day it is going higher. i don't know what has happened.

it's extremely expensive, it makes me think twice about having a car. when is it going to go down, that's the question, isn't it? | the cost of filling up is in three figures because fuel prices are surging, with the average petrol price up by 1.5 pence between tuesday and wednesday to a new record, and diesel at £1.88 a litre. the big reason for the soaring cost of petrol is, of course, the rising price of crude oil, driven higher by the global economic reopening post—pandemic, and also made worse by the war in ukraine. but the price of crude oil has been higher than this twice before, in 2011 and 2008. and back then, the price of petrol was nowhere near this high. we know, as motorists, how much we are feeling the pain whenever we go to the pumps. but that pain is much, much worse for the lorry industry, on whom we all depend, because everything we get in britain comes on the back of a truck. and if our costs are going up,

then inflation will increase, because we are talking about companies with very small profit margins, typically around 3%. they simply can't afford to do anything other than pass on their costs, and fuel inflation is a result. the chancellor rishi sunak did announce some help for motorists in march. today, i can announce, for only the second time in 20 years, fuel duty will be cut. not by one, not even by two, but by 5p per litre. but the rac says since then, wholesale petrol costs have increased by five times that amount. the vat is something within the chancellor's grasp to do, and i think something should be done there because it is unfair that drivers are paying 30p a litre in vat. but when you look at it, the chancellor is probably still collecting more tax than before the duty cut,

because of the increase in vat going up by more than 5p per litre. after the last peak in the oil price, a big expansion of shale oil production boosted supply, bringing down the oil price. but that took five years. many of today's hard—pressed households can't afford to wait that long. andy verity, bbc news. greg mckenzie is at a petrol pump in north london and we can see the prices there on the board. 186 for unleaded petrol, that is above the average, and what are people saying to you about the price? goad to you about the price? good afternoon- — to you about the price? good afternoon. 186, _ to you about the price? good afternoon. 186, yes, - to you about the price? good afternoon. 186, yes, and - to you about the price? good i afternoon. 186, yes, and people to you about the price? (limp. afternoon. 186, yes, and people here are simply not happy and they say they are already feeling the crunch through the cost of living crisis and this is adding an extra burden, compounding the fact that financially, for them, many coming

here to the pumps are simply struggling. in terms of the breakdown in figures, as of yesterday, the price of wholesale petrol was at £1 50 and that is the price that supermarkets and independent forecourts actually bite the petrol at and then they put their other figure on it, the petrol at and then they put their otherfigure on it, so an extra 36p here, but in terms of the figures, the government takes 53p per litre in fuel duty and that is not including the vat. what you had todayis not including the vat. what you had today is one motoring organisation, the aa, urging the government to introduce a 10p cut in fuel duty so it can help people coming to the pumps that are struggling financially, but the government have said they introduced a 5p fuel duty cut in march but one motoring organisation has said that many

petrol stations simply have not put that saving forward for the consumer, so many have not passed it on to the consumer. one price comparison website said they are about to name and shame these petrol stations. and we say 186 in north london butjust off the a1 in sunderland, we are reporting bpr charging £2 per litre. —— bp are. that is the highest price in 17 years. that is the highest price in 17 ears. ., .., that is the highest price in 17 ears. ., _, , that is the highest price in 17 ears. ., , , , that is the highest price in 17 ears. ., , years. the forecourt is empty behind ou and years. the forecourt is empty behind you and there _ years. the forecourt is empty behind you and there are _ years. the forecourt is empty behind you and there are no _ years. the forecourt is empty behind you and there are no cars _ years. the forecourt is empty behind you and there are no cars filling - years. the forecourt is empty behind you and there are no cars filling up i you and there are no cars filling up which might be a reflection of the time of day but i wonder, talking to the people who run the station and to customers as well, are you sensing any change in behaviour and that may be people are filling up less and only putting in half a tank? ., , . , less and only putting in half a tank? .,, ., , ,, less and only putting in half a tank? ., , ,, tank? people are filling up less so if ou tank? people are filling up less so if you look. _ tank? people are filling up less so if you look. the — tank? people are filling up less so if you look, the woman _ tank? people are filling up less so if you look, the woman behind i tank? people are filling up less so i if you look, the woman behind media shouted out, whether expensive, and

in terms of the price comparison —— behind mejust shouted in terms of the price comparison —— behind me just shouted at. 55 litres will now cost £100 to fill up her tank, woman said to me earlier, she says she banned children and she needs to take them to school —— she has four children. she says she now might take them by other means and this is another compounding issue financially for her and her family and that there seems to be no help in sight. time will tell if these prices will go back down but given that they have just gone up it is probably some time before we will start seeing your prices reduce and people are simply not happy, that is the reaction from here, and i have spoken to many people here this afternoon at the petrol station here in north london and many say they are struggling financially. goad in north london and many say they are struggling financially.— are struggling financially. good to talk to you- _ are struggling financially. good to talk to you. thanks _ are struggling financially. good to talk to you. thanks for _ are struggling financially. good to talk to you. thanks forjoining - are struggling financially. good to

talk to you. thanks forjoining us. j the prime minister is pledging to overhaul how people in england on lower incomes and benefits can become home—owners. borisjohnson has been speaking in the past hour. he's announced the �*right to buy�* scheme that is currently open to council tenants will be extended to those renting from housing associations. he's said that any social housing sold will be replaced �*like for like'. and that people on lower incomes will be able to put their housing benefit payments towards securing a mortgage to buy a home. now is the moment to widen the possibilities and give greater freedoms to those who yearn to buy. i want us to deliver on the long—standing commitment made by several governments to extend the right to buy to housing associations. there are still 1.6 million people and households living in council homes, but there are now

2.5 million households whose homes belong to housing associations and they are trapped, they can't buy and they are trapped, they can't buy and they don't have the security of ownership, and they can't treat their home as their own and make the improvements they want, and while some housing associations are excellent, others have been known to treat their tenants with scandalous indifference. so it is time for change. how affordable will mortgages be for people on low incomes? kevin, boris johnson says it is time for change but what will the announcements he has made mean for people trying to get mortgages? he has made mean for people trying to get mortgages?— get mortgages? he said in many situations it _ get mortgages? he said in many situations it is _ get mortgages? he said in many situations it is ludicrous, - get mortgages? he said in many situations it is ludicrous, some i get mortgages? he said in many| situations it is ludicrous, some of the deposits people are facing, and we have had house prices rising at a rapid rate, even during the pandemic, and he has set up three

areas where the housing policy could change. the first is to re—extend the few restate a policy —— the first is to restate a policy, to extend the right to buy to housing association properties but the mechanics will be interesting to see and we have not had great detail on that about how homes will be replaced when they come out of housing association hands and so on. that will be one to watch the detail on very carefully. a second one was a review of low deposit mortgages. until now we have had the government focusing a lot on another housing policy, the help to buy scheme, we heard a lot about that. people will have seen the signs around newly built homes because that allows people to buy their first home, a newly built home, with a low deposit mortgage. that scheme will be wound down next year so there will be

interest and ministers will be acutely aware that they might need to replace that so that is why we have this review coming up of low deposit mortgages. the third is the idea of benefits and the link between benefits and saving for a mortgage and being able to pay your mortgage. mortgage and being able to pay your mortmae. �* . mortgage and being able to pay your mortmae. �*, ,.~ mortgage and being able to pay your mortmae. �*, _~ i” mortgage and being able to pay your mortmae. �*, ,.~ i. , mortgage and being able to pay your mortmae. �*, , i. ,., mortgage. let's pick you up on the final point. — mortgage. let's pick you up on the final point, and _ mortgage. let's pick you up on the final point, and the _ mortgage. let's pick you up on the final point, and the issue - mortgage. let's pick you up on the final point, and the issue of - final point, and the issue of practicalities of using benefits to get a mortgage, so talk us through how that would work because i think i'm right in saying that someone on universal credit is only allowed £16,000 in savings and a deposit is much more than that, isn't it? the prime minister _ much more than that, isn't it? tue: prime minister used the much more than that, isn't it? ti2 prime minister used the phrase benefits to bricks but it is actually the case that you are far from being locked out of owning a home if you are on benefits and many mortgage lenders will consider it benefits as part of your income when

considering whether to accept your mortgage application. that is a commercial decision for lenders and thatis commercial decision for lenders and that is something that the government has little power to change. what they can change is the benefit system and that is what they are looking at, universal credit starts to get ta ken are looking at, universal credit starts to get taken away when you have savings of £6,000 and it starts to be taken away, and when he gets to be taken away, and when he gets to savings of £16,000 then you can't claim universal credit, so the idea here is, and we haven't got much detail, but certainly the idea here is that those savings will be set aside, if you like, they won't be part of those benefits calculations, and the vehicle for that is likely to be the lifetime isa and young people can already save £4000 per year and then get a government top up, with the lifetime isa, the idea

to use the money to buy your first home and i think that will be used as a vehicle for people to save in it without that effect on your benefits entitlement.- it without that effect on your benefits entitlement. kevin, thanks for “oininr benefits entitlement. kevin, thanks forjoining us- _ we can speak now to lindsayjudge from the resolution foundation. it's an organisation which studies how to improve the lives of people on low and middle incomes. thanks forjoining us. there are three issues here and if i may i would like to take them in turn. let's begin with using benefits to help people buy their own homes, and borisjohnson said this will remove a barrier to people buying their own home. how significant is this change? it home. how significant is this chance? .., home. how significant is this chance? , ., , change? it could be not very significant — change? it could be not very significant or _ change? it could be not very significant or possibly - change? it could be not very significant or possibly very i significant or possibly very significant or possibly very significant and it depends on the details which we don't have a huge amount of yet, but the prime minister is right to identify what is fundamentally an anomaly in the benefit system which is that

benefits support people for their rented costs but they give little support to those who are homeowners. the government will now give benefits to support to those who are first—time buyers but not to those who are currently on benefits and who are currently on benefits and who are currently on benefits and who are homeowners and that will be very problematic in terms of practicalities. it depends on whether the government takes a generous interpretation or not. the oint i ut generous interpretation or not. the point i put to kevin, and in a slightly different way, you can't claim universal credit if you have more than £16,000 in savings so how will people be able to afford a deposit? will people be able to afford a de osit? , will people be able to afford a deosit? , . ., deposit? very challenging. the avera . e deposit? very challenging. the average first-time _ deposit? very challenging. the average first-time buyer - deposit? very challenging. the | average first-time buyer deposit deposit? very challenging. the i average first-time buyer deposit is average first—time buyer deposit is estimated at around £23,000 so if you can only have up to £16,000 and claim universal credit, you are caught between a rock and a hard place. if you look at the statistics, people who are on working age benefits have very low

savings, and four out of five people on universal credit, and other sorts of means tested benefits, actually have zero in savings, it is very difficult to accumulate if you are on a low income. the difficult to accumulate if you are on a low income.— difficult to accumulate if you are on a low income. the second thing is ex-aandin on a low income. the second thing is expanding the _ on a low income. the second thing is expanding the right _ on a low income. the second thing is expanding the right to _ on a low income. the second thing is expanding the right to buy _ on a low income. the second thing is expanding the right to buy to - expanding the right to buy to housing association tenants and borisjohnson housing association tenants and boris johnson says housing association tenants and borisjohnson says this will give millions more the chance to own their own homes. will it? potentially. he is right to point out that many more people now live in housing association properties than old—fashioned council houses and part of that is because we have had right to buy for council houses over many years now and the idea of extending right to bike you housing association tenants is a long overdue promise —— right to buy. we have had pilots of this and we had another pilot in 2018, it has been a slow burner. if the government decided to go full throttle on this and put the whole option of right to buy on the table for all housing

association tenants, that is a big offer, potentially, but the challenge is getting the deposit together if you are on a very low income. ., ., . , income. the third announcement is low deposit — income. the third announcement is low deposit mortgages, _ income. the third announcement is low deposit mortgages, so - income. the third announcement is low deposit mortgages, so do - income. the third announcement is low deposit mortgages, so do you | low deposit mortgages, so do you welcome those? we low deposit mortgages, so do you welcome those?— low deposit mortgages, so do you welcome those? we definitely know that so many _ welcome those? we definitely know that so many young _ welcome those? we definitely know that so many young people - welcome those? we definitely know that so many young people and - welcome those? we definitely know that so many young people and so i that so many young people and so many people on lower incomes are locked out of home ownership and the biggest barrier is the deposit and it often isn't a low interest environment, so encouraging lenders to offer mortgages at lower deposit rates is probably a good thing for the individual but the big risk, there's a reason why we have quite high deposit barriers in this country and it was called the financial crisis of 2008 and you need to get a very careful balance between a housing market that is functioning well for individuals and one that is not overblown and not high risk. we one that is not overblown and not hiuh risk. ~ ., ., .,

high risk. we have looked at all these measures _ high risk. we have looked at all these measures individually i high risk. we have looked at all| these measures individually and taken together, how do you think these policies, how much of a difference do you think they will make to people on low and middle incomes? i make to people on low and middle incomes? ~' ., make to people on low and middle incomes? ~ ., ., incomes? i think some of them have otential incomes? i think some of them have potential to — incomes? i think some of them have potential to be _ incomes? i think some of them have potential to be game _ incomes? i think some of them have potential to be game changers, - incomes? i think some of them have potential to be game changers, if. potential to be game changers, if you extend the right to buy, and if you extend the right to buy, and if you did extend benefit support to everyone who is on benefits and who has a mortgage, that is potentially game changing, but as kevin said the devil is in the detail and we are quite short on those at the moment. lindsay, from the resolution foundation, thanks forjoining us. now we have the weather. hello. we've had some sunshine today, but the cloud cover has been increasing over the past few hours. and you can see on the satellite picture this band of cloud here, that's the weather front. it has brought rain to parts of northern ireland around western areas, as well. so this is where we have slightly

cooler weather, perhaps the high teens, 20 degrees or so further east. and that's also where the pollen levels in some spots are very high. so through the course of this evening and overnight, that band of cloud and patchy rain moves across the country. it's fairly breezy overnight, particularly out in the northwest. now, the temperatures first thing on friday from around 12 degrees in belfast to 15 in london. and tomorrow, a blustery day on the way. gale force winds around the coasts of northern ireland and western scotland. blustery inland, too, with a few showers. but the showers will be most frequent across scotland and our top temperatures from eastern scotland along the north sea coast to london. hello this is bbc news. the headlines: the cost of filling up an average family car with petrol hits £100 for

the first time. it is. family car with petrol hits £100 for the first time.— the first time. it is expensive, makes me _ the first time. it is expensive, makes me think _ the first time. it is expensive, makes me think twice - the first time. it is expensive, makes me think twice about i the first time. it is expensive, i makes me think twice about having the first time. it is expensive, - makes me think twice about having a car and using alternative transport. it is really impacting me.— it is really impacting me. when is it auoin to it is really impacting me. when is it going to go _ it is really impacting me. when is it going to go down? _ it is really impacting me. when is it going to go down? that - it is really impacting me. when is it going to go down? that is - it is really impacting me. when is it going to go down? that is the l it going to go down? that is the question. — it going to go down? that is the question, isn't it?— it going to go down? that is the question, isn't it? boris johnson sets u- question, isn't it? boris johnson sets up plans — question, isn't it? boris johnson sets up plans to _ question, isn't it? boris johnson sets up plans to boost _ question, isn't it? boris johnson - sets up plans to boost homeownership for people in england allowing boosted payments to cover mortgage payments. boosted payments to cover mortgage -a ments. ~ . ., ., ., , ., payments. what we want to do is to make sure we _ payments. what we want to do is to make sure we give _ payments. what we want to do is to make sure we give people _ payments. what we want to do is to make sure we give people the - payments. what we want to do is to i make sure we give people the chance, notjust make sure we give people the chance, not just to live make sure we give people the chance, notjust to live in an affordable home but eventually, when they want to, when they feel their situation enables too, to buy it.— to, when they feel their situation enables too, to buy it. children in encland enables too, to buy it. children in england today _ enables too, to buy it. children in england today should _ enables too, to buy it. children in england today should never- enables too, to buy it. children in england today should never be i england today should never be allowed to legally buy tobacco products once they are adults. the new recommendations to cut smoking rates. the remains of europe's biggest land dinosaur are found on the isle of wight. the predator measured more than ten metres and lived 125 million years ago. and a royal encounter... prince

william is spotted selling the big issue in central london. sport now. let's get a round—up of all the sport. good afternoon. the man in charge of policing the champions league final in paris last month has apologised for using tear gas against liverpool fans outside the stadium, whilst also defending the actions of his officers. the match was delayed by over 30 minutes as supporters were stuck outside and denied entry despite having genuine tickets. videos from the stadium showed fans, including children, being pepper sprayed and pushed — something which the chief of paris police, didier lallement, says he has sincere regrets over. but he says a tragedy could have happened without the action that was taken by police and that they weren't prepared for the scale of the problem that thousands of fake tickets caused. the premier league has suspended it's six year tv deal with russian broadcasters match tv. the deal, worth £43 million, was due to start at the beginning of next season.

however, with russia's invasion of ukraine ongoing, the premier league says it feels it has no option but to suspend the contract. it's not clear how long the suspension will run for, or if the deal will be scrapped completely. british number three harriett dart will be back in action today, as she aims to reach the quarter finals of the nottingham open. she's currently tied at 1—1 against the number 3 seed, camila giorgi. meanwhile, andy murray is on court right now, trying to reach the quarter finals of the stuttgart open. he's playing kazakhstan's alexander bublik. andy murray taking the first set 6—3 and it is 1—1 in the second. the winner could face the world number five, stefano sits a pass. and there's also some good news for emma raducanu. she's expected to be fit

for wimbledon which starts at the end of the month. there had been concerns after raducanu pulled out of the nottingham open earlier this week because of a side strain. england have named an unchanged side at lord's. after all the hype, build up and controversy, golf�*s newest and most lucrative tournament has just started at the centurion club in hertfordshire. 48 golfers, including major champions such as phil mickelson and dustinjohnson will earn huge amounts forjust appearing in the new liv series, that's before they compete for the £3.2 million top prize. the tournament's controversy though comes from the fact that it's backed heavily by saudi arabian investment, meaning competitors have faced questions about the ethics of the series, with the country's human rights record called into question.

championjockey, osian murphy, says he drank so much alcohol that he had blackouts, and feared it could end his racing career. murphy was given a 14—month ban in february for breaking covid rules and two alcohol breaches. there was a lot of low days, most days were low, in fact. i am fully sober now, and i want to maintain how i am. that is day by day. i suppose when i return to the saddle, i've got to be sure i am still feeling this way. i can't really live with the idea of failing another breath test. you know, that is why i'm still going to aa and getting help from my counsellor. that's all the sport for now. we'll have more for you later, but back to you, rebecca.

the minimum age for the sale of cigarettes should be raised by one year every year until no one is able to buy them. that's the recommendation from a government—commissioned review into tobacco controls. ministers are aiming to eradicate smoking by 2030. our health correspondent jim reed reports. stubbing all this out by 2030. that's the government's plan for england. but this report was ordered by ministers and it warns that target will be missed unless there is radical action. it calls for an extra tax on the profits of tobacco companies to help smokers quit. there should be more promotion of vaping, making it available on prescription. the most eye—catching proposal though is a steady increase in the age limit to buy cigarettes from 18 years old today. the reason i'm doing this is because there is no good age for anyone to start smoking. the evidence shows that if people start smoking at a relatively young age they tend to stay as smokers later on, but if they don't start at a young age they rarely pick it up later, so there's a really good argument for raising the age of sale.

the report's authors say england should follow the example of new zealand. it would mean the smoking age rising every year, so today's generation of children and teenagers would never be allowed to legally buy tobacco. critics though say it could drive black market sales and push the habit underground. i don't think it will make a difference, honestly. no, just because i feel like a lot of underage smoking and drinking happens in the uk already. like, i don't think changing the age will change much. when i was young if you wanted . cigarettes they were easy to come by and i don't think that raising the age necessarily— will prevent that. i think it will he obviously preventative for longer term smoking, so i can see the positives because obviously i'm still smoking and i started at that age. yeah, i think this is a good idea too, because it isn't a very nice habit. i wish i'd never started. these are just proposals for england. there would have to be a full consultation before any law change, with ministers in the other three uk nations making their own decisions. jim reed, bbc news.

a growing number of people are making decisions which puts their health care arrest. but of running, some patients are skipping meals or medication. dominic hughes reports. with everything going up, it's just constant anxiety about money, every day. even with food and petrol for my partner to get to work, everything is just costing so much. laura has been battling kidney disease since she was seven, and has already had two kidney transplants. but now she needs another. yeah, so, running the cost of the dialysis machine, it's constantly filtering the water. she depends on dialysis, where a machine carries out the filtering processes that would normally be done by the kidneys. laura was having dialysis at home, but the machine uses so much

electricity and water, the mounting bills have forced her to switch to a local hospital. i would say that it's the straw that broke the camel's back, really, with the cost of running the dialysis machine, the water it uses, the electric. i just... it was adding to my anxiety, like, how am i going to pay to do this treatment every month? those cost of living impacts are onlyjust filtering through. at grey road surgery, north liverpool, gp drjanet bliss and her team have for years seen how poverty can badly affect health. now the rising costs are making a bad situation worse. we're seeing people limiting i the amount of meals they will eat in a week, you know, _ consciously planning to miss meals. we are seeing people deciding to not collect medications, _ not to pay for prescription items. the rising costs of basic foods — fruit and veg, bread, cereals and pasta — is an obvious cause for concern. so in darlington, in the north east of england, an innovative mobile food club is helping people continue

to eat healthily. forjust £7.50, you can get £35 worth of fresh fruit, veg and meat. essential for someone like marj, for whom this project offers a real lifeline. there we go. so free for you today, you'lljust hand that to the van. at the moment, i have to count every penny. this saving will allow me buy him some better veg, better fruit, so he can actually have a good start in life. without it, i don't know what i would do. in one of the wealthiest countries in the 21st century, i have to worry about not feeding my babies, which is, i would say, really, really sad. thank you very much. see you later. ta—ra. no—one believes the pressures on family finances will ease any time soon, and that has implications for our health too. dominic hughes, bbc news. there's been a sharp rise in the number of children in england who qualify for free school meals. 160,000 more

pupils became eligible betweenjan 2021 and jan 2022, according to new school census data. just under 1.9 million children, around 22.5% of all pupils, have been claiming free school meals this year, up from 1.7 million. the association of school and college leaders says it's "shocking" this is happening "in one of the world's wealthiest economies." children in care have reported being groomed, sexually assaulted and given alcohol in homes and schools run by a private company benefiting from public funding. a bbc news investigation found calcot services for children made double the profits of other big care providers last year. but some of its employees say vulnerable young people have been failed. our special correspondent ed thomas reports. for six months, we've investigated the true scale of profits being made

in the care and education of vulnerable children. where's the money going? not the places it should be. it's immoral. we've learned of the safeguarding failings... iran, grabbed her. we just fell to the ground. ..and spoken to whistleblowers, who reveal inadequate staffing levels. at calcot, it was just failure after failure. £3 million. we're bbcjournalists and we've looked at the accounts of calcot services for children, which runs nine homes and four schools. turnover, gross profit. we've learnt that some vulnerable children in its care have been failed. so for every pound of public money that's paid in, the company's making... 40p. 40p profit? yeah. this is an all girls home, one of calcot�*s. a 17—year—old was groomed by a 28—year—old member of office staff at the company, who was redeployed here during

covid, and began working shifts that included staying overnight. in text messages, he groomed her, calling her beautiful and saying he wanted to give her a cuddle and a kiss. soon they slept together. she later told a friend she felt used, manipulated and broken. and calcot placed another girl here, a 16—year—old victim of sexual exploitation, on what's called a deprivation of liberty order, an extreme measure that means she's judged at such risk she could be locked inside for her own welfare. but we've learned the girl was given alcohol by a worker, who even took her back to their home. the girl later went missing. we have this on a regular basis. we heard further evidence of another young girl of high needs accepted by calcot being failed. felt like something was off. m0 was a behavioural lead at a calcot school. the girl in crisis here was a high—cost placement. but we've been told that despite multiple warnings by staff

about inadequate security, she was able to run away to this bridge. iran, grabbed her. we just fell to the ground and ijust held her there for a bit. and she was just sobbing. some of the kids had no business being in a school like that. the same girl alleged she was raped by a boy after they were able to abscond together from this calcot home. at calcot, it was just failure after failure. mia worked in two of the children's homes. she says there was chronic understaffing, which meant she was often left in charge of a girl whose needs were so significant the local authority were paying for three members of staff to care for her in the daytime. nine times out of ten, she would never be on that three—to—one support. how dangerous was that? it was extremely dangerous. mia also says a 13—year—old boy alleged he was sexually assaulted after being found undressed and without supervision in an older girl's bedroom, an incident we've learned

that was then not reported to ofsted. how do you see calcot and the care they gave in the homes you were working in? neglectful, disgusting. and i feel, yeah, just completely let down of how they've treated these children. a number of pupils have been costed for a one—to—one support in the class, and they don't have them. maggie mccarthy was a teacher at a calcot school. while she was there in 2020, the company made 40% profit. this is money from the public purse that's meant to improve the lives of some of the most vulnerable children in society. where's the money going? not the places it should be. it's immoral. the education and futures of these children has been stolen. calcot�*s owners, who live here on this luxury estate, declined to be interviewed. in a statement, they said, "the company is grateful to the bbc for highlighting what it considers to be safeguarding issues.

all homes and schools are rated as outstanding or good and have the required number of staff. the company prioritises safeguarding all children in its care." it added, "all incidents it is aware of are reported correctly, and profits appear to be high as a result of holding money in accounts during covid years." so we've looked at profits. but the bbc�*s learnt calcot made more than 30% profits in 2019 — pre—pandemic. the government says it expects all children's homes to provide the right care and protection. ed thomas, bbc news. an unacceptable level of service was provided to thousands of customers across northern england and scotland during storm arwen last year, according to an investigation by the energy regulator ofgem. it found electricity networks supplied inaccurate information about when power would be restored and didn't do enough to prevent blackouts. simonjones reports.

trees down. power cables damaged. roofs ripped off. the coastline battered by winds of up to 100 miles an hour. storm arwen brought misery as it swept in last november. more than a million homes were left without power, some for more than a week. we need to know how long we're going to be like this, because it is cold and now it's getting really challenging. we kept getting e—mails off them, saying it'll be on at six o'clock, it will be on at 12 o'clock, and then last night the army came. there was two army blokes came, that was the first people that had been to check you're all right. there's nobody. you're left to fend for yourself.

a review by the energy regulator has concluded companies were ill—prepared for the storm. their emergency plans weren't adequate to deal with the damage and customers weren't given reliable information about when they'd be reconnected. the fact of the matter is the network companies were not ready for this. there are lots of things they need to do to improve the resilience of the network, to make sure that people are restored quickly, and to make sure principally that people are even communicated to around what's going to happen to them. the message from the regulator to the energy companies — you need to up your game. ofgem is demanding to see their plans for dealing with the challenges of next winter. although £30 million in compensation has been paid, affected customers say they're still struggling to understand the system. given that we were all off power for the same amount of time there seem to be different amounts being paid out to some customers. the energy networks association, which represents power firms, says more money will be spent on cutting trees and flood prevention, to protect the network against future severe events. but the government says it's clear

thousands of customers were badly let down in the past. the warning — this cannot be allowed to happen again. simon jones, bbc news. in the donbas, there is no peace. these men, foreign fighters are holding the line, just a few with the russians are their forces. translation:— the russians are their forces. translation: , translation: every day we face some sort of russian — translation: every day we face some sort of russian offensive. _ translation: every day we face some sort of russian offensive. i _ sort of russian offensive. i personally say i don't know how much longer we can stand it.—

longer we can stand it. british military intelligence _ longer we can stand it. british military intelligence a - longer we can stand it. british military intelligence a in - longer we can stand it. british military intelligence a in the i longer we can stand it. british i military intelligence a in the last 48 hours the russians have gathered for a renewed push south. the planet seems... even so, the destruction of ukrainian towns and villages has been enormous. this is 30 miles from the front line. speaking to the bbc, russia's ambassador to the un said what he called a special military operation was not hitting civilian infrastructure. it was not hitting civilian infrastructure. . ~ , m infrastructure. it takes time. but at stake in _ infrastructure. it takes time. but at stake in this _ infrastructure. it takes time. but at stake in this war _ infrastructure. it takes time. but at stake in this war is _ infrastructure. it takes time. but at stake in this war is far- infrastructure. it takes time. but at stake in this war is far more i at stake in this war is far more than the east of ukraine. there are fears of a global food crisis caused by russia's blockade of ukrainian ports and mines in the black sea. translation: me ports and mines in the black sea. translation:—

ports and mines in the black sea. translation: we cannot export of wheat, translation: we cannot export of wheat. corn — translation: we cannot export of wheat, corn and _ translation: we cannot export of wheat, corn and vegetable - translation: we cannot export of wheat, corn and vegetable oil- translation: we cannot export of wheat, corn and vegetable oil and l wheat, corn and vegetable oil and other objects that have played a stabilising role in the global market. this means that dozens of countries may face a physical shortage of food. millions of people will starve if russia's blockade of the black sea continues. shill will starve if russia's blockade of the black sea continues.- the black sea continues. all the while, russia's _ the black sea continues. all the while, russia's offensive - the black sea continues. all the while, russia's offensive in - the black sea continues. all the while, russia's offensive in the | while, russia's offensive in the east of ukraine intensifies. this has become an artillery battle with the ukrainian presidential adviser saying his country needs hundreds of advanced artillery systems, notjust advanced artillery systems, notjust a handful that have been promised. until they get them, russia has the advantage. the house committee investigating the attack on capitol hill last year is preparing to go public with its findings. members have interviewed more than 1,000 people and gathered more than 100,000 documents, piecing together

a detailed account of the day a mob of donald trump's supporters stormed congress. they say they have a gripping story to tell in a series of six hearings over the next few weeks barbara plett usher reports. it was an astonishing attack on democracy. the capitol, stormed by supporters of a defeated president trying to overturn the 2020 election results. the investigation into how and why it happened is the most sweeping ever conducted by congress. but much is already known because these graphic scenes played out on television screens in real time. we fight like hell, and if you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country any more. and president trump's fighting words that day echoed around the world. what happened here was shocking. it was dramatic, and it was a year and a half ago. americans have a lot of other things on their minds right now. so the committee is hoping to grab their attention with a blockbuster event with video and testimony and new details, arguing that the threat to democracy still remains. the committee is determined to shape the narrative of that tumultuous day. it's focused on what the president

did and when he did it. we were getting ready to win this election. frankly, we did win this election. from the point when he refused to accept thatjoe biden had won the election and took steps to "stop the steal", to the day when congress gathered to certify the vote, what was his goal? did he want his supporters to go this far? and were the militias who marched to the capitol part of a conspiracy directed from the top? more than 800 of the rioters have been charged. the big question is whether the president will also be prosecuted. the committee only has the power to recommend legal action. i think that the committee believes he has committed crimes. a federaljudge has actually ruled that he likely committed a felony conspiracy to do what he did. but whether the justice department takes that view, i think that's going to be a much longer story. the story is also about the role played by trump's aides and loyalist republican lawmakers. the committee has examined their private communications.

they rejected subpoenas to testify. and after initial criticism, the party has rallied around trump. john bresnahan was inside the capitol building the day of the riot. to see a crowd of americans openly attacking us capitol police is just stunning. he's reported on the investigation since, but in this toxic partisan atmosphere, what can be achieved? it's important still for congress to do this. ido... whether or not it changes anything, congress has to put down a marker. there can't be an attack on the capitol and congress doesn't respond. the political stakes are high because democrats could lose their congressional majority in midterm elections. they'll be trying to persuade voters to hold republicans accountable for the capitol attack. barbara plett usher, bbc news, washington. the remains of europe's largest ever land—based predator — a ten metre long dinosaur — have been found on the isle of wight. the creature, which lived 125 million years ago,

was two—legged and had a face similar to a crocodile. our correspondent on the isle of wight duncan kennedy told us where it's been hiding all this time... laughter it's actually been hiding in some cliffs on the west side of the island, and has become alive and visible because of coastal erosion, as simple as that. somebody walked along and found some of these remains. they've got a model here of what it would have looked like, this spinosaurid. they reckon it was about 10—15 metres long, so more than half a tennis coach, and about four orfive metres high — a really big beast indeed. we've got the remains of it here, along with simon penn, a palaeontologist. simon, what was this beast like? we think they lived in or near rivers, they ate fish, very long scales like a crocodile, lots of teeth, sharp claws and probably a newt—like tail. we have one of the bones here. this one is particularly interesting? this is one of the backbones, it's half, it's broken here, but it's this measurement between here and here that tells us

it was a gigantic animal. how significant is the discovery of this dinosaur? not only is it europe's largest carnivorous dinosaur, it also pushes these creatures further back into the cretaceous. simon, thank you very much. simon tells me this creature would have been as big as or bigger than a tyrannosaurus rex, and about 120 million years old compared to the t rex, which is about 60 million years old. and although they found these remnants, they are continuing to look for others as well and they hope eventually to have, if not a full skeleton, then one that they can perhaps even put together. they are saying it's really exciting, this is possibly the biggest carnivore ever found in europe. now it's time for a look at the weather with tomasz. hello. well, this afternoon, we've got a little bit of sunshine in the east of the country, but for many areas, it has clouded over now. there's also some patchy rain moving in. nothing too heavy, and it

doesn't last for very long. there is a low pressure which will be brushing the north—west of the british isles over the next couple of days. this is actually an ex—tropical storm. it's bringing breezy conditions. here's the weather front, the rain—bearing clouds earlier on moving across northern ireland and reaching western areas end of the afternoon, but out towards the east and the far north—east of the uk, we have got some clear weather. late afternoon, temperatures typically in the high teens, about 20 or so in hull and also in london. also, where we have clearer weather, that's where the pollen levels remain high today, so these are the pollen levels. high there in east anglia, even very high in some areas. so through the course of the night, that band of cloud and patchy rain moves across the country. then we are left with clear spells overnight, but very blustery weather here in the north west of the uk. gale force winds around coasts, and the temperatures typically between 11 degrees for our friends in lerwick there to 15 in london,

and tomorrow's weather forecast, a blustery day on the way. a bright and blustery day with occasional showers, most frequent showers in northern ireland, and also across western and central scotland. maybe not so many there in the borders. and actually, a generally dry day across england and wales, but remember that gusty, gusty wind lasting all through the day throughout the country as a result of this low pressure, this ex—tropical storm, which is brushing the north by this stage on saturday. so here's a look at saturday's weather forecast. high pressure tries to build into southern areas of the uk, so lighter winds and more sunshine, whereas here in the north—west, that breezy weather with frequent showers continues, and actually, fairly cool there in stornoway. only 13 degrees, whereas in the south and the south—east, temperatures could be in the low 205. so here's the outlook into next week, and actually, it doesn't look too bad.

the best of the weather is expected across many southern and eastern areas. bye— bye.

this is bbc news. i'm rebecca jones. the headlines: the cost of filling up an average family car with petrol hits £100 for the first time. it is extremely expensive and it makes me think twice about having a car. and using alternative transport. car. and using alternative transport-— car. and using alternative transport. car. and using alternative transort. ~ , ., ., ., transport. when is it going to go down, transport. when is it going to go down. that _ transport. when is it going to go down. that is — transport. when is it going to go down, that is the _ transport. when is it going to go down, that is the question, - transport. when is it going to go down, that is the question, isn't| down, that is the question, isn't it? borisjohnson sets out plans to boost home ownership for people in england — including allowing benefits to cover mortgage payments. what we want to do is make sure that we give people the chance notjust to live in an affordable home but too eventually when they want to, when they feel that their situation enables them to commit to buy it. ——

enables them to commit to buy it. —— enables them to commit to buy it. —— enables them to, to buy it. children in england today should never be allowed to legally buy tobacco products once they are adults — the new recommendations to cut smoking rates. the remains of europe's biggest land dinosaur are found on the isle of wight. the predator measured more than ten metres and lived 125—million years ago and an unexpected royal encounter — prince william is spotted selling the big issue in central london. hello and welcome. two british men fighting with the ukrainian army have been sentenced to death by a court in the separatist donetsk people's

republic. the men were captured in april after volunteering to fight for ukrainian forces following the russian invasion and yesterday footage on social media appeared to show the pair of men pleading guilty in court to training in order to carry out terrorist activities. a third man believed to be a moroccan national was also seen next to them in the dock. just to remind you, just receiving the news here that two british men fighting with the ukrainian army have been sentenced to death by a court in the separatist donetsk�*s peoples republic. one of the man is 28 and from nottinghamshire and the other is from bedfordshire and is 48. they are reportedly charged with being mercenaries and their families say they were in the ukrainian military.

the court is not internationally recognised i should say and it has now sentenced them to death. has emerged of the two men attending a court hearing alongside a third man believed to be a moroccan national. we will bring you more on that as soon as we get it. the cost of filling an average family car with petrol has reached £100 for the first time. petrol retailers are charging on average 182 pence a litre, with some forecourts charging more than £2. the increase is largely blamed on the impact of the war in ukraine on global energy supplies. in the past few minutes, the prime minister said the government had already cut fuel duty by 5p and urged businesses to pass on savings to consumers. our economics correspondent andy verity reports.

this morning, motorists across the country were getting used to the idea of another unwelcome landmark in the soaring cost of living. 100 quid to fill up the average tank. it's terrible, terrible. every day it is going higher. i don't know what has happened. it's extremely expensive, it makes me think twice about having a car. when is it going to go down, that's the question, isn't it? | the cost of filling up is in three figures because fuel prices are surging, with the average petrol price up by 1.5 pence between tuesday and wednesday to a new record, and diesel at £1.88 a litre. the big reason for the soaring cost of petrol is, of course, the rising price of crude oil, driven higher by the global economic reopening post—pandemic, and also made worse by the war in ukraine. but the price of crude oil has been higher than this twice before, in 2011 and 2008. and back then, the price of petrol was nowhere near this high.

we know, as motorists, how much we are feeling the pain whenever we go to the pumps. but that pain is much, much worse for the lorry industry, on whom we all depend, because everything we get in britain comes on the back of a truck. and if our costs are going up, then inflation will increase, because we are talking about companies with very small profit margins, typically around 3%. they simply can't afford to do anything other than pass on their costs, and fuel inflation is a result. the chancellor rishi sunak did announce some help for motorists in march. today, i can announce, for only the second time in 20 years, fuel duty will be cut. not by one, not even by two, but by 5p per litre. but the rac says, since then, wholesale petrol costs have increased by five times that amount.

the vat is something within the chancellor's grasp to do, and i think something should be done there because it is unfair that drivers are paying 30p a litre in vat. but when you look at it, the chancellor is probably still collecting more tax than before the duty cut, because of the increase in vat, going up by more than 5p per litre. after the last peak in the oil price, a big expansion of shale oil production boosted supply, bringing down the oil price. but that took five years. many of today's hard—pressed households can't afford to wait that long. andy verity, bbc news. we arejoined by edmund king, president of the aa motoring organisation. when do you think £2 per litre will become the average? i when do you think £2 per litre will become the average?— when do you think £2 per litre will become the average? i don't actually think it is inevitable _ become the average? i don't actually think it is inevitable to _ become the average? i don't actually think it is inevitable to become - become the average? i don't actually think it is inevitable to become an i think it is inevitable to become an average because all the factors that were explained in that report are already out there and have happened.

and even though we have seen prices at the pumps increase over the last couple of days, and we have seen the £100 tank today, the actual wholesale price has dropped slightly and it does take awhile for the wholesale price to get through the pump. it is not inevitable that it would become an average but we do think the government can act more and we have asked today for the chancellor to look at cutting fuel duty by 10p per litre and introducing a fuel price stabiliser so that would work as the price of petrol and diesel increases, the duty would be decreased, and as the price of petrol goes down, the duty would actually go up, and that would give a more stable situation which would help drivers but more importantly would also help businesses to plan for the future. in terms of the cut to fuel duty,

the government has already cut it by 5p the government has already cut it by 5p per litre and most people did not really notice much difference, so why would cutting it by another 10p make a difference? that why would cutting it by another 10p make a difference?— make a difference? that cut took lace in make a difference? that cut took place in march — make a difference? that cut took place in march and _ make a difference? that cut took place in march and some - make a difference? that cut tookj place in march and some garages reduced straightaway, especially those that the chancellor did a photo shoot from, but others did not. since then we have campaigned with the government to introduce fuel price transparency and they are hinting they are looking at this and this works in northern ireland where the national consumer council actually publishes the fuel price checker every week and it shows all the local prices, the highest price, the local prices, the highest price, the average price, and the lowest price, and that leads to more competition. today in northern ireland average prices are 6p per

litre for petrol and diesel cheaper than in the rest of the uk, so if they cut duty and introduce fuel price transparency at the same time so they can keep an eye on the retailers, then everyone will get the benefits from it, because currently, those on low incomes, 2% have given up on their cars, 27% are cutting back on food spending because they live in rural areas underlie on their cars for shiftwork and 19% are walking and cycling more which can be beneficialfor their pockets and also for the environment but it shows the depth of the situation. to but it shows the depth of the situation. ., . . ~ but it shows the depth of the situation. ., , . ~ , but it shows the depth of the situation. ., , , ., situation. to pick up on your point and i'm paraphrasing, _ situation. to pick up on your point and i'm paraphrasing, you - situation. to pick up on your point and i'm paraphrasing, you did - situation. to pick up on your point and i'm paraphrasing, you did not| and i'm paraphrasing, you did not use this phrase, but essentially to name and shame petrol retailers who are not passing on the duty cut, i can see your argument of how that might help consumers but what about the petrol retailers? i'm thinking

about the small petrol retailers, when the reality is most fuel is sold by big supermarkets. we totally understand that _ sold by big supermarkets. we totally understand that those _ sold by big supermarkets. we totally understand that those garages - sold by big supermarkets. we totally understand that those garages in i understand that those garages in rural areas that have less throughput will have higher prices and i think drivers understand that and i think drivers understand that and the drivers in those villages and the drivers in those villages and remote areas often rely on those garages for other things, a pint of milk, newspaper, so we totally understand that, but overall competition in the market has reduced. before the pandemic two of the supermarkets would rush out to cut their prices and then other garages close by would follow suit but since the pandemic with more people shopping from home, supermarkets are less inclined to use prices as a loss leader to get people into the aisles of the supermarket and therefore prices are higher and there is less competition

and it is those areas where the government could act by actually publishing a fuel price checker. it works in northern ireland and in other countries around europe and it could well work here and it would help the economy as well as individuals.— help the economy as well as individuals. �* ., , , ~ ~ help the economy as well as individuals. �* . , , ~ ~ ., individuals. i'm assuming the aa and other motoring _ individuals. i'm assuming the aa and other motoring organisations - individuals. i'm assuming the aa and other motoring organisations are - other motoring organisations are talking to the government, so what are you hearing from them? always when it is to — are you hearing from them? always when it is to do _ are you hearing from them? always when it is to do with _ are you hearing from them? always when it is to do with taxation - are you hearing from them? always when it is to do with taxation we i when it is to do with taxation we are always told it is a matter for the treasury and i'm out up for the chancellor and they will announce it to parliament first —— and a matter for the chancellor. we are making the representations, and government talked yesterday about looking at your price transparency and naming and shaming and that is a step in the right direction because that is something we have been talking about the government through the last three or four years.— the government through the last three or four years. edmund king, from the m. _ three or four years. edmund king, from the aa, many _ three or four years. edmund king, from the aa, many thanks - three or four years. edmund king, from the aa, many thanks for- three or four years. edmund king, | from the aa, many thanks for your

time. in a speech on the cost of living this lunchtime — the prime minister said he would bring the tax burden down after it rose during the covid—19 crisis, adding he would also enact supply—side reforms to cut costs for households, businesses and government. it is an aberration, the burden of tax, caused by the fiscal meteorite of covid and it must come down because the answer to the current economic predicament is not more tax and more spending, and the answer is economic growth and you can't spend your way out of inflation and you can't tax your way into growth. so thatis can't tax your way into growth. so that is why the time has come for this government to do what it has been straining at the leash to do over two years but which has been difficult during the covid crisis, and that is to enact the supply side reforms that will cut the costs of government, cut costs for business

and cut costs for people across the country. over the next few weeks the government will set out reforms to help people cut costs in every area of household expenditure, from food to energy to childcare and transport and housing, and we will do this despite any complaints there may be from those with vested interest because this government is firmly on your side in cutting those costs. our political correspondent jonathan blake is in westminster. this seemed to be a very wide—ranging speech, covering a broad range of issues, what was your take on it? ~ ., broad range of issues, what was your take on it? ~ . , , . take on it? wide-ranging speech, that sums it _ take on it? wide-ranging speech, that sums it up — take on it? wide-ranging speech, that sums it up pretty _ take on it? wide-ranging speech, that sums it up pretty well - take on it? wide-ranging speech, that sums it up pretty well and i take on it? wide-ranging speech, i that sums it up pretty well and that is often code for a speech that you are struggling to work out the focus of. there were announcements on housing, widely trailed in advance, but as you heard from that exert their he went into some detail and talked at length about the state of the economy and what the government

plans to do to address it, although there wasn't much in the way of detail. i think there will be some things in there which conservative mps will be pleased and may be reassured to hear from mps will be pleased and may be reassured to hearfrom boris mps will be pleased and may be reassured to hear from borisjohnson who is of course attempting to shore up who is of course attempting to shore up support from within his own party at the moment after the vote of confidence in his leadership last week. he talked about the tax burden of being in general too high and he said you could not simply spend your way out of inflation because that would make the problem worse and he said there would be measures is forthcoming to address the cost of living crisis for many people in the country at the moment. but no specifics yet on exactly what he plans to do, so it might have bought him some time but there will still be plenty of conservative mps keen to see exactly where the prime minister and the chancellor plan to cut taxes in the not too distant future and how they plan to help families and individuals struggling with the cost of living at the

moment, without spending huge amounts of money which is something amounts of money which is something a lot of tory backbenchers have become quite nervous of the government continuing to do in the aftermath of the pandemic. jonathan blake, our political _ aftermath of the pandemic. jonathan blake, our political correspondent, i blake, our political correspondent, thanks forjoining us. the prime minister is pledging to overhaul how people in england on lower incomes and benefits can become home—owners. borisjohnson has been speaking in the past hour. he's announced the �*right to buy�* scheme that is currently open to council tenants will be extended to those renting from housing associations. he's said that any social housing sold will be replaced �*like for like' and that people on lower incomes will be able to put their housing benefit payments towards securing a mortgage to buy a home. the prime minister said these changes were long overdue. now is the moment to widen the possibilities and to give greater freedoms to those who yearn to buy. i want us to deliver

on the long—standing commitment made by several governments to extend the right to buy to housing associations. there are still 1.6 million people, 1.6 million households, living in council homes. but there are now 2.5 million households whose homes belong to housing associations. and they are trapped, they can't buy and they don't have the security of ownership and they can't treat their home as their own, or make the improvements that they want. and while some housing associations are excellent, others have been known to treat their tenants with scandalous indifference. so it's time for change. we can now speak to gavin smart, who is the chief executive at the chartered insitute for housing. he leads the organsiation's policies which aims to support the housing profession and to influence government policy and thinking. borisjohnson has pledged to extend the right to buy to housing

associations and he says this will give millions more people the chance to buy their own homes. what is your view? it’s to buy their own homes. what is your view? �* . . to buy their own homes. what is your view? �* , . , view? it's an interesting announcement - view? it's an interesting announcement and - view? it's an interesting announcement and one | view? it's an interesting - announcement and one where we view? it's an interesting _ announcement and one where we need to make sure that we understand the detail, and the right to buy was a transformational policy when it was introduced along while back in the 19805. our concern more recently is that we have simply not been able to replace the homes that have been sold under the right to buy so we have ended up significantly reducing the stock of the most needed social rented homes. expanding homeownership is a legitimate aspiration for government policy but it can't happen at the expense of a reduction in those most needed social rented homes so it was reassuring to hear the prime minister and the secretary of state talk about making sure that there will be 141 talk about making sure that there will be141 and like—for—like replacements, and we want to make sure that we properly understand the

details of that because what we can't see is a right to buy that results in a reduction in the stock of social rented homes. i results in a reduction in the stock of social rented homes. i understand the distinction _ of social rented homes. i understand the distinction you _ of social rented homes. i understand the distinction you are _ of social rented homes. i understand the distinction you are making. - of social rented homes. i understand the distinction you are making. the i the distinction you are making. the resolution foundation said earlier they thought the policy could be potentially life changing, would you go that far? potentially life changing, would you no that far? ., ., , , potentially life changing, would you rothat far? ., ., , , , go that far? homeownership can be life changing _ go that far? homeownership can be life changing for— go that far? homeownership can be life changing for people _ go that far? homeownership can be life changing for people who - go that far? homeownership can be life changing for people who are i life changing for people who are able to afford it and for whom it is able to afford it and for whom it is a viable option, and they will be some tenants for whom that is the case, and looking for ways to support people into home ownership where that is an affordable option is a legitimate aspiration of government policy but we are also concerned to make sure that as a nation we are able to house those households who have the lowest incomes and for whom homeownership is not an option to any point in the nearfuture, and that is not an option to any point in the near future, and that means we need to make sure that we also have a sustainable supply of social rented homes. historically only about 5% of

the homes sold under the right to bite since its inception have been replaced and indeed the government's pilot of the voluntary right to buy scheme has also found that the replacement was very difficult, and we have heard the reassurances today from the prime minister and the secondary of state so we want to see how that works —— the secretary of state. but it is important that this opportunity does not happen at the expense of losing socially rented homes. ~ ., ., , expense of losing socially rented homes. ., ., , ., expense of losing socially rented homes. ~ ., ., , ., , ., homes. what would be a better way of su- rortrin homes. what would be a better way of supporting more _ homes. what would be a better way of supporting more people _ homes. what would be a better way of supporting more people into _ homes. what would be a better way of supporting more people into home - supporting more people into home ownership? supporting more people into home ownershi . ? ., supporting more people into home ownershi . ? . ., , supporting more people into home ownershir? . ., , ., ownership? there are a number of rates and a — ownership? there are a number of rates and a right _ ownership? there are a number of rates and a right to _ ownership? there are a number of rates and a right to buy _ ownership? there are a number of rates and a right to buy is - ownership? there are a number of rates and a right to buy is one - ownership? there are a number of rates and a right to buy is one of i rates and a right to buy is one of those routes, also shared ownership schemes, shared equity schemes, where the government provides a low interest loan, so there are a variety of options out there and i understand the government is interested in the right to buy because that allows people to buy the home they are living in and at the home they are living in and at the risk of repeating myself, we are not opposed to policies to support

people into home ownership, but it is about balancing and making sure that we are also making sure we have the right stock of socially rented homes for those people for whom that is the only affordable option. gaein is the only affordable option. gavin smart, is the only affordable option. gavin smart. from _ is the only affordable option. gavin smart, from the _ is the only affordable option. gavin smart, from the chartered - is the only affordable option. 6avin smart, from the chartered institute of housing, thanks forjoining us. he was stabbed 27 times on his front lawn. we will bring you more on this breaking story from the court as soon as we get it. there has been a sharp rise in the number of children in england who qualify for free school meals. joining me now is our education editor branwenjefferys. branwen, what do the numbers tell us where are the worst affected areas? we now know with the new figures

today that 1.9 million children in england are poor enough, amongst the very poorest, who qualify for a free meal at school each day, and that has gone up by around 160,000 in the last year, an increase that is building on top of an even larger increase that happened at the height of the pandemic and we note so many families were struggling, and even if you look at the numbers of schoolchildren this is a significant increase in those that are relying on this at a time when so many families are struggling.- on this at a time when so many families are struggling. what areas are worst affected? _ families are struggling. what areas are worst affected? very _ families are struggling. what areas are worst affected? very much - families are struggling. what areas are worst affected? very much so, | are worst affected? very much so, reflectinr are worst affected? very much so, reflecting patterns _ are worst affected? very much so, reflecting patterns that _ are worst affected? very much so, reflecting patterns that have - are worst affected? very much so, reflecting patterns that have been | reflecting patterns that have been there for a while and in the north east, 29% of children are entitled to free school meals and in the south east of england it is 17% but one of the biggest increases we saw was in the west midlands, up around 2%, so now more than one in four

children in the west midlands are entitled to a free school meal. the government says it is very aware of the cost pressures on family budgets and it is putting on a variety of ways of around £37 billion towards that but charities are pointing out that but charities are pointing out that above this, there are many families who don't qualify but who still desperately need help with their energy bills.— their energy bills. what are the schools saying? _ their energy bills. what are the schools saying? they _ their energy bills. what are the schools saying? they would i their energy bills. what are the | schools saying? they would like their energy bills. what are the i schools saying? they would like to see an increase _ schools saying? they would like to see an increase in _ schools saying? they would like to see an increase in the _ schools saying? they would like to see an increase in the rate - schools saying? they would like to see an increase in the rate paid i schools saying? they would like to see an increase in the rate paid for free school meals and of course they are fighting to the rising costs, as well, with their caterers —— and they are facing rising costs, as well with their caterers are struggling to get the meals made under budget. is there, this is a wide—ranging

question, i appreciate, is there, this is a wide—ranging question, iappreciate, but is there, this is a wide—ranging question, i appreciate, but is there any sense is to why these numbers are rising so quickly? it is any sense is to why these numbers are rising so quickly?— are rising so quickly? it is a reflection — are rising so quickly? it is a reflection of _ are rising so quickly? it is a reflection of the _ are rising so quickly? it is a reflection of the big - are rising so quickly? it is a i reflection of the big economic disruption that we have been through which has not been evenly spread across the country and we saw people furloughed and we saw people leaving the labour market so although the official rate of unemployment is very low, there are fewer people in work and that might be for a range of reasons, people feeling they needed to leave work earlier, to deciding they had other more important caring responsibilities, perhaps. important caring responsibilities, r-erhas. . ., ., , perhaps. thanks for “oining us. our education editor i perhaps. thanks forjoining us. our education editor there. _ lets go back to that breaking news. a man who subjected his neighbours two years of anti—social behaviour before stabbing one of them to death has been sentenced. bring us

up—to—date with what has happened in court? at up-to-date with what has happened in court? �* �* , ., ., ., court? at bristol crown court, arslan was — court? at bristol crown court, arslan was sentenced - court? at bristol crown court, arslan was sentenced to - court? at bristol crown court, arslan was sentenced to life i court? at bristol crown court, | arslan was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 38 years in jail and he has been taken back to broadmoor where he has been for the last six months since he was found guilty of murder earlier this year but the story we have heard is one that began more than a decade ago. he was the very worst kind of neighbour and he would take tiny disputes with his neighbours over things like parking and people making noise in their gardens and he would brood on those and he would essentially take the opportunity whenever it came along to have arguments with his neighbours, and eventually most of them stop using the front and back gardens, so scared that he might appear and start reprimanding them and shouting at them. something that happened time and time again, so much so we

have heard in court that a lot of them took out extra security measures on their homes, installing cctv and a high security fencing around their properties, so scared were they of can arslan, and we know in october last year things really boiled over. it had got to the point where the neighbours went to the place and they had taken out an injunction against him and the council had issued him with an eviction notice. each dude on that and brooded on it, thejudge said, and brooded on it, thejudge said, and decided —— he stewed over that and decided —— he stewed over that and brooded on it and thejudge said he decided he had decided, rwanda, that he would kill his neighbours, so he lay in wait for his next—door neighbour, waiting for him to come home work that night, and as he got out of his car he pounced on him, stabbing him at least 27 times, even

after he had fallen on the floor he continued to stab him and then he sat on the body and calmly lit a cigarette. he had at least one other neighbour in mind and he went to that neighbour's house and forced his way in their back door and stabbed that neighbour eight times, only stopping when they forced him out of their back door, and at that point and off duty policeman with what the judge point and off duty policeman with what thejudge said point and off duty policeman with what the judge said was a huge amount of bravery, managed to disarm and knock the knife out of his hand with a plank of wood. there was a further 15, 20 minutes where he went out into the street and threatened lots of other people until police arrived and then eventually managed to overpower him. we have heard an impact statement from matthew boorman's wife, sarah, she said matthew was a fantastic father and she said their children knew only love and caring and kindness and he was my soulmate and he was a

fantastic man, she said, she said she won't speak about the man next door, and she won't use his name, she said he will always be the monster who lived next door. the judge was speaking directly to can arslan and she said without a doubt you are a highly dangerous man and you are a highly dangerous man and you have robbed matthew boorman's children of their father and his wife sarah of their husband —— her husband. you persisted in your attack despite the pleas to stop, and sentencing him just a few minutes ago, she said there would be a minimum term injailfor him to serve before he was even eligible for probation, of 38 years. andrew, i will at bristol _ for probation, of 38 years. andrew, i will at bristol crown _ for probation, of 38 years. andrew, i will at bristol crown court, - i will at bristol crown court, thanks forjoining us. —— our correspondent at bristol crown court. two men serving in the ukrainian army had been sentenced to death in the donetsk people's

republic. aiden aslin and shaun pinner had volunteered to fight for the ukrainian army. footage appeared to show the pair pleading guilty in court on social media, to training in order to carry out terrorist activities. a third man believed to be a moroccan national was also seen next to them in the dock. our reporter is in kyiv. this newsjust coming to us within the last half an hour, what more do you know? we have also seen footage _ hour, what more do you know? we have also seen footage of— hour, what more do you know? we have also seen footage of the _ hour, what more do you know? we have also seen footage of the three _ hour, what more do you know? we have also seen footage of the three men - also seen footage of the three men are now receiving the sentence and the two men, aiden aslin, shaun pinner, 28 and 48, they have their heads bowed, and the other man is a moroccan national and he rocked from side to side as the sentence is read out. all three have been charged with carrying out acts of terrorism and trying to seize power and acting

as foreign mercenaries and all three have received the death sentence. the death penalty. the donetsk people's republic has the death penalty and rush —— rush itself actually doesn't have the death penalty, and although this court is affiliated with russia, it is giving these men a harsher sentence than they would have received if they had beenin they would have received if they had been in a russian court. jae. they would have received if they had been in a russian court.— been in a russian court. joe, for now, been in a russian court. joe, for now. many _ been in a russian court. joe, for now, many thanks. _ been in a russian court. joe, for now, many thanks. now - been in a russian court. joe, for now, many thanks. now we i been in a russian court. joe, for| now, many thanks. now we have been in a russian court. joe, for- now, many thanks. now we have the weather. hello. we've had some sunshine today, but the cloud cover has been increasing over the past few hours. and you can see on the satellite picture this band of cloud here, that's the weather front. it has brought rain to parts of northern ireland around western areas, as well. so this is where we have slightly cooler weather, perhaps the high teens, 20 degrees or so further east.

and that's also where the pollen levels in some spots are very high. so through the course of this evening and overnight, that band of cloud and patchy rain moves across the country. it's fairly breezy overnight, particularly out in the northwest. now, the temperatures first thing on friday from around 12 degrees in belfast to 15 in london. and tomorrow, a blustery day on the way. gale force winds around the coasts of northern ireland and western scotland. blustery inland, too, with a few showers. but the showers will be most frequent across scotland and our top temperatures from eastern scotland along the north sea coast to london.

hello, this is bbc news. the headlines: two british men and a moroccan captured by russian forces in ukraine have been sentenced to death by an unrecognised court in a

territory held by pro—russian rebels. the cost of filling up an average family car with petrol hits £100 for the first time. it is extremely expensive and it makes me think twice about having a car and using alternative transport. when is it going to go down? that is the question, isn't it? borisjohnson sets out plans to boost home ownership for people in england — including allowing benefits to cover mortgage payments. what we want to do is to make sure that we give people the chance, not just to live in an affordable home, but eventually, when they want to, when they feel that their situation enables them to, to buy it. he and aslan is sentenced _ enables them to, to buy it. he and aslan is sentenced to _ enables them to, to buy it. he and aslan is sentenced to 38 _ enables them to, to buy it. he and aslan is sentenced to 38 years i enables them to, to buy it. he and aslan is sentenced to 38 years in l aslan is sentenced to 38 years in prison after subjecting his neighbours two years of anti—social behaviour before stabbing one of them to death.

the remains of europe's biggest [and dinosaur are found on the isle of wight. the predator measured more than 10 metres and lived 125—million years ago. let's get the sport. good afternoon. we start with some breaking golf news in the last hour — the pga tour has suspended all its members who are playing in this week's rival, suadi—backed tournament in hertfordshire, which threatens to tear apart the sport. 48 players, including major champions such as phil mickelson, dustinjohnson and sergio garcia are earning huge amounts of money forjust appearing in the liv series which got under way this afternoon at centurion club. it's the most lucrative tournament in the world, featuring a $20 million prize fund. but it's in violation of the pga tour which has now suspended all its players that are involved in it. our golf correspondent ian carter has been following the story. they have taken a hard line, the players who have resigned as pga

players who have resigned as pga players have been banned from the circuit forthwith. that includes lifetime member phil mickelson, dustinjohnson and european ryder cup stars like lee westwood, ian poulter, graeme mcdowell and sergio garcia. the man in charge of policing the champions league final in paris last month — has apologised for using tear gas against liverpool fans outside the stadium — whilst also defending the actions of his officers. the match was delayed by over 30 minutes as supporters were stuck outside and denied entry despite having genuine tickets. videos from the stadium showed fans — including children — being pepper sprayed — something which the chief of paris police, didier lallement, says he has sincere regrets over. but he says a tragedy could have happened without the action that was taken by police. the premier league has suspended it's six year tv deal with russian broadcasters match tv.

the deal — worth li£3 million — was due to start at the beginning of next season. however — with russia's invasion of ukraine ongoing — the premier league says it feels it has no option but to suspend the contract. it's not clear how long the suspension will run for — or if the deal will be scrapped completely. arsenal forward alexandre lacazette has re—joined lyon on a free transfer — five years after leaving the french side to join the gunners for a then club record $58 million. he scored 5a times in 158 premier league appearances for arsenal and helped the gunners win the 2020 fa cup final. lacazette says a return to lyon was the "obvious" decision — despite the french side's lack of european football next season. he's signed a three—year deal. andy murray's preparations for wimbedon are going well — he is through to the quarter finals of the stuttgart open after a hard fought win over alexander bublik. murray needed all his battling qualities, winning 6—3 7—6. and there's also some good news for emma raducanu today. she's expected to be fit for wimbledon which starts

at the end of the month. there had been concerns after raducanu pulled out of the nottingham open earlier this week because of a side strain. england have named an unchanged side for their second test against new zealand — which begins tomorrow at trent bridge. that means spinnerjack leach keeps his place — despite suffering concussion in the first match at lords. victory would ensure england go 2—0 up and win the three match series. and captain ben stokes says he wants to bring the joy back to playing for england. first and foremost, playing for england you are doing something you dream to have as a kid. you should always be fun. the results of the look after themselves, but try and enjoy it as much as we can make sure we're trying to fun as we possibly can, because it will all be taken away from us one day. if you cannot enjoy doing this, then i don't really know what what you can enjoy. that's all the sport for now. a review commissioned by the government has recommended

that the age at which people can legally buy tobacco in england should rise every year by one year. it would mean that — in effect — children now would never be allowed to legally buy tobacco products. the report also says vaping products should be recommended to help people quit smoking. the health secretary sajid javid says the government will now carefully consider the recommendations. joining me now simon clark — director of forest, a lobby group representing adults who choose to smoke. very good to have you with us, mr clarke. i wonder, very good to have you with us, mr clarke. iwonder, what very good to have you with us, mr clarke. i wonder, what is your reaction to this proposal of raising the age at which people will be able to buy tobacco? we cannot hear you, mr clarke. are you are mute?- mr clarke. are you are mute? sorry. i think the idea — mr clarke. are you are mute? sorry. i think the idea is _ mr clarke. are you are mute? sorry. i think the idea is completely - i think the idea is completely

barking mad. what we are doing is we are infantilised in an entire generation of young adults in this country, they have to be allowed to make up their own minds. when they get to 18 they are legally adults. 15 years ago we supported raising the legal age of sail from 16 to 18. it seemed completely logical to bring tobacco into line with alcohol. at 18, you are an adult, you might be a young and adult and you might be a young and adult and you know the risks of smoking. i have children myself in their 20s and they knew the health risks of smoking because it had been drummed into them and their school friends at an early age. what sort of society do we want to create when choices like this are taken away from us by the government. we have no problem with smoking rates falling, they have been falling for 50 years. but they have fallen through choice, people have learned about the health risks of smoking and they have either quit or they

didn't start in the first place. now we are seeing bullying and coercion taking over from we are seeing bullying and coercion taking overfrom education. that has to be wrong, you cannot run public policy based on bullying. he to be wrong, you cannot run public policy based on bullying.— policy based on bullying. he said the had policy based on bullying. he said they had fallen _ policy based on bullying. he said they had fallen through - policy based on bullying. he said they had fallen through choice, | policy based on bullying. he said i they had fallen through choice, but haven't they also been falling because of the price of cigarettes is now £10 a packet? health warnings, explicit health warnings are put up packets of cigarettes, they can no longer be advertised and they can no longer be advertised and they are not on public display in shops and so on, so what i'm saying is, people having just come to this by themselves, they have been nudged and in some cases, forced into dropping smoking, haven't they? interestingly, the biggestjob in smoking rates in this country happened from the mid 70s to the early 90s when there were very few restrictions on smoking and relatively few anti—smoking campaigns. they were education campaigns. they were education campaigns and that is what people learn from. when the smoking ban came in in 2007, smoking rates fell

hardly at all over the next few years. we had a substantial drop between 2012 and 2016 and that appears to be because of the rise in the popularity of e cigarettes. the one good thing in this report is that they want to encourage smokers to switch to vaping, which on current evidence is significantly safer than smoking. but it has to be a choice, you cannot force people to quit smoking and switch to vaping. but so many other ideas in this report are simply barking mad. they want cigarettes to be green, they want cigarettes to be green, they want to extend the current smoking ban to outdoor areas, including beer gardens. if you are smoking outside in the open air, you are not putting anybody else at risk whatsoever, as long as tobacco remains legal, people have to be able to smoke somewhere. this is absolutely the nanny state at its worst and i really hope the government will come

to its senses, read this report and rejectjust to its senses, read this report and reject just about everything to its senses, read this report and rejectjust about everything apart from the call to encourage smokers to look at vaping as a potential alternative.— to look at vaping as a potential alternative. nonetheless, about 78,000 peeple. _ alternative. nonetheless, about 78,000 people, that _ alternative. nonetheless, about 78,000 people, that is - alternative. nonetheless, about 78,000 people, that is 78,000| alternative. nonetheless, about - 78,000 people, that is 78,000 people die from smoking in the uk each year. surely if raising the age at which young people can buy cigarettes saves just one life, it has got to be worth it, hasn't it? i am afraid that is the type of argument you could use for driving. people die on the roads, we don't say we have to ban all cars. some people die from their addiction to alcohol, we don't say we have to ban alcohol. this is what we're talking about here, it is about prohibition. it is not going to happen overnight, but it will happen over two or three decades. mostly prohibition doesn't work, because it simply feels illicit trade and you can be assured

that if you raise the legal age of sale of tobacco and encourage a lot of people to go to the black market, criminal gangs are happy to sell tobacco to whoever. that includes children. so actually he might make things a lot worse. but we need to live in a mature society where people are allowed to do some things that might not be approved of by government or by fanatical anti—smoking groups who are determined to make smoking history. let's not forget, many smokers enjoy smoking. they take pleasure from smoking. they take pleasure from smoking and smoking is also, some smokers would argue good for their mental health. it helps relieve stress and anxiety. the artist david hockney is 84 and he said he smokes for his mental health. he smokes to his peer in america who have been prescribed drugs. he chooses to smoke, and that is his choice and that the government's. are

smoke, and that is his choice and that the government's.— smoke, and that is his choice and that the government's. are out of time, we could _ that the government's. are out of time, we could probably - that the government's. are out of time, we could probably carry - that the government's. are out of time, we could probably carry on| time, we could probably carry on discussing, but we have to leave it there. simon clark, thank you. the police chief in paris has expressed his sincere regrets to british and spanish supporters who were at champions league final last month. head of paris police prefecture didier lallement says what happened at the stadium was a �*failure' — adding that he will do everything he can to track down the officers who attacked supporters. 0ur correspondent in paris, hugh schofield, was following the press conference. i watched him and i don't think that we should read this necessarily as a climb—down or an admission of guilt, responsibility in the largest sense. he said what the minister says said a week ago, which he said he genuinely feel sorry for those fans

who are caught up in it and were at the wrong end of receiving the tear gas and so on. but there is no particular apology for the way the police operation was held. he certainly said he stood by his decisions of that evening and would do the same again. what he says happened was a failure of kind of information and that led to the problems that follow. that the police and he did not know there was going to be such a large turnout of ticketless liverpool fans near the stadium in the few hours ahead of the match. attached to the fact that there was a strike on the lines of one of the underground stations led to huge crush of people at one particular entry point which led to the police having to pullback and to scenes of chaos on the esplanade itself. ian byrne is the mp for liverpool west derby — and was present at the

champions league final. good to have you with us, thank you forjoining us on bbc news. we were hearing that the chief of police in paris has apologised for the use of tear gas on the football fans before the champions league final. do you accept his apology? he the champions league final. do you accept his apology?— accept his apology? he should a oloaise accept his apology? he should apologise for— accept his apology? he should apologise for the _ accept his apology? he should apologise for the way - accept his apology? he should apologise for the way the - accept his apology? he should | apologise for the way the game accept his apology? he should - apologise for the way the game was policed and the treatment that was meted out to both liverpool and real madrid supporters. but as the reporter said, madrid supporters. but as the reportersaid, it madrid supporters. but as the reporter said, it is very much like the uefa apology, part apology but it doesn't go anywhere near apologising fully for what we felt a week saturday. you apologising fully for what we felt a week saturday.— apologising fully for what we felt a week saturda . a, a, week saturday. you were there, what did ou week saturday. you were there, what did you feel — week saturday. you were there, what did you feel and _ week saturday. you were there, what did you feel and what _ week saturday. you were there, what did you feel and what did _ week saturday. you were there, what did you feel and what did you - week saturday. you were there, what did you feel and what did you see? i i did you feel and what did you see? i seen an absolutely shambolic stadium management process. i seen the most hostile policing i have ever encountered at a sports event. it was the most horrific experience i have had since i was at hillsborough

in 1989. ., , have had since i was at hillsborough in 1989. a, , .,, have had since i was at hillsborough in 1989. a, y have had since i was at hillsborough in1989. ., y a, in 1989. really, as bad as that? absolutely _ in 1989. really, as bad as that? absolutely was, _ in 1989. really, as bad as that? absolutely was, absolutely - in 1989. really, as bad as that? | absolutely was, absolutely was. in 1989. really, as bad as that? - absolutely was, absolutely was. the worrying thing, they have said they would do the same thing again and they have major global events coming up, the rugby world cup, olympics. so they say they will police at the same way? that is really worrying and that is why we need a full, independent inquiry. some of the sentences he was saying was ticketless fans, but no evidence. and also report the cctv outside the stadium has been raised. really worrying, so many similarities to the hillsborough, the cover—up and the hillsborough, the cover—up and the smear operation. i5 the hillsborough, the cover-up and the smear operation.— the smear operation. is that what ou are the smear operation. is that what you are suggesting, _ the smear operation. is that what you are suggesting, this - the smear operation. is that what you are suggesting, this is - the smear operation. is that what you are suggesting, this is a - the smear operation. is that what l you are suggesting, this is a french police cover—up? he did say that a tragedy could have happened without the action taken by the french police, because of the number of liverpool supporters that without tickets? i liverpool supporters that without tickets? a, , liverpool supporters that without tickets? a, a, tickets? i have spoken at length about this and _ tickets? i have spoken at length about this and my _ tickets? i have spoken at length about this and my eyewitness i about this and my eyewitness accounts are nothing like what he's

talking about. he said he cannot produce any scientific evidence. it was a disaster, the disaster was prya vented by the liverpool fans because a huge part that happened is because a huge part that happened is because of the policing. he is doubling down on the lies and the smears from the french politicians that happen straightaway on the night. my absolutely firmly believe they have attempted to cover their own backsides and not learned their lessons. we should be saying, they should never be replicated, it should never be replicated, it should never be replicated, it should never happen again the scenes we had to endure, children being tear gassed, pensioners getting peppe" tear gassed, pensioners getting pepper sprayed. tear gassed, pensioners getting peppersprayed. i have tear gassed, pensioners getting pepper sprayed. i have never seen anything like it and i don't want to see anything like it again. it is worrying the french authorities, police and politicians don't look at the facts and rectify the situation. if they don't do it, they don't

deserve to hold these global events. why do think the trouble is that the liverpool end and not the real madrid end?— liverpool end and not the real madrid end? with regards what ha--ened madrid end? with regards what happened on — madrid end? with regards what happened on the _ madrid end? with regards what happened on the night, - madrid end? with regards what happened on the night, in - madrid end? with regards what| happened on the night, in terms madrid end? with regards what - happened on the night, in terms of the fans? in happened on the night, in terms of the fans? , a, happened on the night, in terms of the fans? , ., a, , a, the fans? in terms of the fans and the fans? in terms of the fans and the policing? _ the fans? in terms of the fans and the policing? hostile _ the fans? in terms of the fans and | the policing? hostile environment, inch the policing? hostile environment, pinch points. _ the policing? hostile environment, pinch points, fans _ the policing? hostile environment, pinch points, fans had _ the policing? hostile environment, pinch points, fans had to _ the policing? hostile environment, pinch points, fans had to go - the policing? hostile environment, l pinch points, fans had to go through a tiny space. it was so shambolic and it was absolutely life—threatening. these lessons have got to be learned. the hostile atmosphere and environment that we were introduced to... share atmosphere and environment that we were introduced to. . .— were introduced to... are you saying the french police _ were introduced to... are you saying the french police deliberately - the french police deliberately targeted the liverpool fans as opposed to the real madrid fans? definitely had a different mindset to the liverpool fans. but then, because it was so shambolic that real madrid fans fell into that as well and 30,000 neutral ticket holders as well, that come from the corporate sector. for me, hostility

started with us as fans, without any intelligence there, there was no need for it, we have been two european cup finals over the last five years and not a jot of trouble, been absolutely fantastic. the hospitality the french police had towards us as football fans undoubtedly was a massive part in what happened. ian undoubtedly was a massive part in what happened-— undoubtedly was a massive part in what happened. ian burn, we must leave it there, _ what happened. ian burn, we must leave it there, good _ what happened. ian burn, we must leave it there, good to _ what happened. ian burn, we must leave it there, good to talk - what happened. ian burn, we must leave it there, good to talk to - what happened. ian burn, we must leave it there, good to talk to you | leave it there, good to talk to you and thank you forjoining us on bbc news. a growing number of people are taking risks with their well—being because they are skipping meals or medication. a health correspondent dominic hughes reports.

laura has been battling kidney disease since she was seven and has had two kidney transplants, now she needs another.— needs another. running the cost of the dialysis — needs another. running the cost of the dialysis machine, _ needs another. running the cost of the dialysis machine, it _ needs another. running the cost of the dialysis machine, it is - the dialysis machine, it is constantly filtering the water. she de-ends constantly filtering the water. she depends on _ constantly filtering the water. she depends on dialysis where a machine carries out the filtering processes which would normally be done by the kidneys. she was having dialysis at home but the machine uses so much electricity and water, mounting bills have full stir to switch to a local hospital. i would say that it's the straw that broke the camel's back, really, with the cost of running the dialysis machine, the water it uses, the electric. i just... it was adding to my anxiety, like, how am i going to pay to do this treatment every month? how am i going to pay to do this those cost of living impacts are onlyjust filtering through. at grey road surgery, north liverpool, gp drjanet bliss and her team have for years seen how poverty can badly affect health. now the rising costs are making a bad situation worse. we're seeing people limiting -

the amount of meals they will eat in a week, you know, _ consciously planning to miss meals. we are seeing people deciding to not collect medications, _ not to pay for prescription items. the rising costs of basic foods — fruit and veg, bread, cereals and pasta — is an obvious cause for concern. so in darlington, in the north east of england, an innovative mobile food club is helping people continue to eat healthily. forjust £7.50, you can get £35 worth of fresh fruit, veg and meat. essential for someone like marj, for whom this project offers a real lifeline. there we go. so free for you today, you'lljust hand that to the van. at the moment, i have to count every penny. this saving will allow me buy him some better veg, better fruit, so he can actually have a good start in life. without it, i don't know what i would do. in one of the wealthiest countries in the 21st century, i have to worry about not feeding my babies, which is, i would say, really, really sad.

thank you very much. see you later. ta—ra. no—one believes the pressures on family finances will ease any time soon, and that has implications for our health too. dominic hughes, bbc news. off gem found electricity network supplied inaccurate information about when power would be restored and didn't do enough to prevent blackouts. simonjones reports. trees down... power cable is damaged. reeves ripped off. the coastline battered by winds of up to 100 miles an hour. storm arwen brought misery as it swept in last november. more than1 million homes

were left without power, some for more than a week. indie were left without power, some for more than a week.— were left without power, some for more than a week. we need to know how lona more than a week. we need to know how long we — more than a week. we need to know how long we are _ more than a week. we need to know how long we are going _ more than a week. we need to know how long we are going to _ more than a week. we need to know how long we are going to be - more than a week. we need to know how long we are going to be like - how long we are going to be like this, because it's cold and now it's getting really challenging. indie this, because it's cold and now it's getting really challenging. we kept caettin getting really challenging. we kept getting e-mails — getting really challenging. we kept getting e-mails saying _ getting really challenging. we kept getting e-mails saying it _ getting really challenging. we kept getting e-mails saying it will- getting really challenging. we kept getting e-mails saying it will be . getting really challenging. we kept getting e-mails saying it will be onj getting e—mails saying it will be on at six _ getting e—mails saying it will be on at six o'clock, on at 12 o'clock. the _ at six o'clock, on at 12 o'clock. the last — at six o'clock, on at 12 o'clock. the last night, the army came, two auny— the last night, the army came, two army blacks— the last night, the army came, two army blacks came and they were the first people that have been to chooky— first people that have been to checky all right. we have been left to fend _ checky all right. we have been left to fend for— checky all right. we have been left to fend for ourselves. the message from the regulator to the energy companies — a review by the energy regulator has concluded companies were ill—prepared for the storm. their emergency plans weren't adequate to deal with the damage and customers weren't given reliable information about when they'd be reconnected. the fact of the matter is the network companies were not ready for this. there are lots of things they need to do to improve the resilience of the network, to make sure that people are restored quickly,

and to make sure principally that people are even communicated to around what's going to happen to them. the message from the regulator to the energy companies — you need to up your game. ofgem is demanding to see their plans for dealing with the challenges of next winter. although £30 million in compensation has been paid, affected customers say they're still struggling to understand the system. given that we were all off power for the same amount of time there seem to be different amounts being paid out to some customers. the energy networks association, which represents power firms, says more money will be spent on cutting trees and flood prevention, to protect the network against future severe events. but the government says it's clear thousands of customers were badly let down in the past. the warning — this cannot be allowed to happen again. simon jones, bbc news.

a ten metre long dinosaur has been found on the isle of wight. duncan kennedy told us where it has been hiding all this time. it kennedy told us where it has been hiding all this time.— hiding all this time. it has been hidin: hiding all this time. it has been hidina in hiding all this time. it has been hiding in some _ hiding all this time. it has been hiding in some cliffs _ hiding all this time. it has been hiding in some cliffs on - hiding all this time. it has been hiding in some cliffs on the - hiding all this time. it has been | hiding in some cliffs on the west side of the island and just come alive and come visible because of coastal erosion. somebody walked along and found some of these remains. they've got a model here of what it would have looked like, this spinosaurid. they reckon it was about 10—15 metres long, so more than half a tennis coach, and about four orfive metres high — a really big beast indeed. we've got the remains of it here, along with simon penn, a palaeontologist. simon, what was this beast like? we think they lived in or near rivers, they ate fish, very long scales like a crocodile, lots of teeth, sharp claws and probably a newt—like tail. we have one of the bones here. this one is particularly interesting? this is one of the backbones, it's half, it's broken here, but it's this measurement between here and here that tells us it was a gigantic animal. how significant is the discovery of this dinosaur? not only is it europe's largest

carnivorous dinosaur, it also pushes these creatures further back into the cretaceous. simon, thank you very much. simon tells me this creature would have been as big as or bigger than a tyrannosaurus rex, and about 120 million years old compared to the t rex, which is about 60 million years old. and although they found these remnants, they are continuing to look for others as well and they hope eventually to have, if not a full skeleton, then one that they can perhaps even put together. they are saying it's really exciting, this is possibly the biggest carnivore ever found in europe. prince william has been spotted on the streets of london selling copies of the big issue— a magazine usually sold by homless people as a away of making money. one man, brian gilmore, met him after spotting him in the street taking phoso with people and explained that he wanted to work at the princes trust, but had been rejected before. after giving the prince his phone

number, brian got a call from the palace offering to help him. i have to give it to him, i think he isa i have to give it to him, i think he is a great prince. he is the people's prince, to be out here first hand on the streets, dealing with people. i am an x offender and trying to help me out. that is big, he is rare. he is the people's print as far as i am concerned. now it's time for a look at the weather with tomasz. hello. well, this afternoon, we've got a little bit of sunshine in the east of the country, but for many areas, it has clouded over now. there's also some patchy rain moving in. nothing too heavy, and it doesn't last for very long. there is a low pressure which will be brushing the north—west of the british isles over the next couple of days. this is actually an ex—tropical storm. it's bringing breezy conditions. here's the weather front, the rain—bearing clouds earlier on moving across northern ireland and reaching western areas end of the afternoon,

but out towards the east and the far north—east of the uk, we have got some clear weather. late afternoon, temperatures typically in the high teens, about 20 or so in hull and also in london. also, where we have clearer weather, that's where the pollen levels remain high today, so these are the pollen levels. high there in east anglia, even very high in some areas. so through the course of the night, that band of cloud and patchy rain moves across the country. then we are left with clear spells overnight, but very blustery weather here in the north west of the uk. gale force winds around coasts, and the temperatures typically between 11 degrees for our friends in lerwick there to 15 in london, and tomorrow's weather forecast, a blustery day on the way. a bright and blustery day with occasional showers, most frequent showers in northern ireland, and also across western and central scotland. maybe not so many there in the borders. and actually, a generally dry day across england and wales,

but remember that gusty, gusty wind lasting all through the day throughout the country as a result of this low pressure, this ex—tropical storm, which is brushing the north by this stage on saturday. so here's a look at saturday's weather forecast. high pressure tries to build into southern areas of the uk, so lighter winds and more sunshine, whereas here in the north—west, that breezy weather with frequent showers continues, and actually, fairly cool there in stornoway. only 13 degrees, whereas in the south and the south—east, temperatures could be in the low 20s. so here's the outlook into next week, and actually, it doesn't look too bad. the best of the weather is expected across many southern and eastern areas. bye— bye.

this is bbc news, i'm rebecca jones. the headlines at 4pm... two british men and a moroccan captured by russian forces in ukraine have been sentenced to death in an unrecognised court in donetsk — the territory held by pro—russian rebels. the uk government says it is deeply concerned. the cost of filling up an average family car with petrol hits £100 for the first time. it is extremely expensive and it makes me think twice about having a car. and using alternative transport. it is really impacting me. when is it going to go down — that is the question, isn't it? borisjohnson sets out plans to boost home ownership for people in england — including allowing benefits to cover mortgage payments. what we want to do is make sure that we give people the chance, notjust to live in an affordable home, but eventually,

when they want to, when they feel that their situation enables them to, to buy it! a man who stabbed his neighbour, a dad of three, to death on his front lawn is sentenced to a minimum of 38 years in prison. the pga tour suspends all its members who are playing in this week's rival — suadi—backed — golf tournament in hertfordshire. and a royal encounter — prince william is spotted selling the big issue in central london. i have to say he is the people's prince. to be out here first—hand on the streets dealing with people and me, i'm an ex—offender, trying to help me out, do you know what i mean?

hello and welcome to bbc news. two british men captured by russian forces in ukraine have been sentenced to death by an unrecognised court in donetsk — the territory held by pro—rrssian rebels. aiden aslin and shaun pinner were captured in april. yesterday footage shared on social media by russia's state—run news agency appeared to show the pair pleading guilty in court to �*training in order to carry out terrorist activities'. a third man, believed to be a morroccan national, was also seen next to them in the dock. the uk government has said it is "deeply concerned" following the death sentences handed to the britons. our correspondentjoe inwood sent this update.

well, we've also seen footage of the three men now receiving the sentence, the two men, aiden aslin and shaun pinner, 28 and 48, stand either side and they have their heads bowed. all the men are in black and south. a moroccan national, a young looking man, rocks from side to side as the sentence is read out. all three have been charged or charged with carrying out acts of terrorism, with trying to seize power, and with acting as foreign acting as foreign mercenaries. and all three have received the death sentence or the death penalty. it's worth pointing out that the donetsk people's republic has the death penalty. russia itself doesn't... it's had a moratorium on it since the 1990s. and so although this is a court which is unrecognised and is associated and affiliated with russia, it is actually giving these men a harsher sentence

than they would have received had they been in a russian court. i am joined now by the mp robertjenrick, who is the former constituency mp for aiden aslin and has brought up his treatment in parliament. how concerned how concerned are how concerned are you by this development?— how concerned are you by this development? how concerned are you by this develoment? ., �* development? good afternoon, i'm extremely concerned. _ development? good afternoon, i'm extremely concerned. this - development? good afternoon, i'm extremely concerned. this has - development? good afternoon, i'm| extremely concerned. this has been development? good afternoon, i'm i extremely concerned. this has been a soviet—era show trial where no evidence has been brought forward to condemn these individuals. these are two british citizens who have been serving in the ukrainian armed forces long before the illegal invasion of ukraine by putin's regime. they were captured by the russian forces near mariupol and should be treated in accordance with the geneva convention which is international law as prisoners of war. instead they have been badly treated, they appear to have been bruised and beaten, and they have been put on this quite extraordinary and disgusting trial. now we learn today that they have been found guilty and they are going to be sentenced to death. this is the most egregious breach of international law and these individuals need to be

released immediately and returned to theirfamilies. released immediately and returned to their families.— their families. they have one month to a- eal their families. they have one month to appeal the _ their families. they have one month to appeal the sentence. _ their families. they have one month to appeal the sentence. what - their families. they have one month to appeal the sentence. what can i their families. they have one month| to appeal the sentence. what can be done to help get them released and returned to their families? this done to help get them released and returned to their families?- returned to their families? this is a show trial. _ returned to their families? this is a show trial, we _ returned to their families? this is a show trial, we should _ returned to their families? this is a show trial, we should not i returned to their families? this is a show trial, we should not be i a show trial, we should not be giving it one shred of credibility. this is just the latest disgusting act by vladimir putin's regime and his affiliates. what we need now is the russian authorities to release these individuals. i'm asking the foreign secretary who i have been in contact with to summon the russian ambassador and make clear that we need urgent assurances from them that these british citizens will be treated appropriately. you cannot treated appropriately. you cannot treat british citizens in this manner and get away with it. this is a soviet—era show trial and these british citizens are now being apparently sentenced to death. fiend apparently sentenced to death. and when ou apparently sentenced to death. and when you contacted the foreign secretary, what did she say? and what else can the government do to

help these men? this what else can the government do to help these men?— help these men? this is a matter rimaril help these men? this is a matter primarily of _ help these men? this is a matter primarily of course _ help these men? this is a matter primarily of course for _ help these men? this is a matter primarily of course for russia i help these men? this is a matter primarily of course for russia to l primarily of course for russia to answer for, primarily of course for russia to answerfor, and i have been in contact with the prime minister, the foreign secretary and ukrainian ambassador in the uk for a number of weeks now. all have been most supportive, doing whatever they can do to put pressure on russia, but i want them now to step up those activities and send a very clear message to the russian ambassador and threw him to vladimir putin that british citizens cannot be treated in this quite extraordinary and depraved manner. these individuals need to be treated in accordance with the geneva convention which means they are perfectly normal prisoners of war. they should be looked after appropriately and released back to ukraine as soon as possible, potentially as part of a prisoner swap. possible, potentially as part of a prisonerswap. but possible, potentially as part of a prisoner swap. but what has happened today i think is one of the most extraordinary things i have seen in recent years. british citizens being

in a show trial and then condemned to death for no reason whatsoever. the russian ambassador and the russian government need to know they won't get away with this. liz russian government need to know they won't get away with this.— won't get away with this. liz truss, the foreign — won't get away with this. liz truss, the foreign secretary, _ won't get away with this. liz truss, the foreign secretary, while - won't get away with this. liz truss, the foreign secretary, while you i the foreign secretary, while you have been speaking, robertjenrick, has said "i utterly condemn the sentencing of aiden aslin and shaun pinner held by russian proxies in eastern ukraine" echoing your thoughts and sentiments. i hear everything you say about being in breach of the geneva convention and that the pressure that needs to be put on russia, but realistically, how confident are you that these men will be released? fii how confident are you that these men will be released?— will be released? of course i don't know what — will be released? of course i don't know what will _ will be released? of course i don't know what will happen _ will be released? of course i don't know what will happen to - will be released? of course i don't know what will happen to them. . will be released? of course i don't i know what will happen to them. that is a cause of great concern and vladimir putin and his affiliates have been committing a whole host of appalling and egregious war crimes in recent weeks. we can only hope that he won't step too far with these individuals and cause them any more harm than he has already. there

are prisoner swaps occurring between the ukrainian armed forces and the russian armed forces, and we want these individuals to be treated in these individuals to be treated in the same manner. if russia believes that by doing this they will assert some pressure on the british government or indeed the ukrainian government or indeed the ukrainian government to change course, then i'm afraid they are sorely mistaken. i'm afraid they are sorely mistaken. i don't believe that will happen and nor should it. these individuals should be treated in the normal manner as perfectly legitimate prisoners of war. there was an appalling tv programme last night on russian television in which presenters debated how these individuals should be executed. this just shows the depravity of putin's regime that this could be on prime time russian television. if however he thinks this is going to put pressure on us to change because, he is mistaken. what we need now is the

russian ambassador to provide assurances they will be treated in accordance with international law and in due course will be returned home either to ukraine or to my constituency in newark in nottinghamshire, to my constituents who want to see them home as soon as possible. who want to see them home as soon as ossible. ~ , ., ., ., ,, possible. while you are talking we were putting _ possible. while you are talking we were putting up — possible. while you are talking we were putting up a _ possible. while you are talking we were putting up a picture - possible. while you are talking we were putting up a picture of i possible. while you are talking we were putting up a picture of these | were putting up a picture of these three men, a new photograph that has been released of aiden aslin, shaun pinner, and the man we believe to be a moroccan national behind bars. you mentioned you want to see them home with their friends and family, what contact have you had with them and what have they said to you? i contact have you had with them and what have they said to you?- what have they said to you? i have been in close _ what have they said to you? i have been in close contact _ what have they said to you? i have been in close contact with - what have they said to you? i have been in close contact with my i been in close contact with my constituent, aiden's mother and grandmother, in fact i have known them for years and they are good people going through the most extraordinary ordeal as a result of

this. none of us would recommend british citizens to fight in foreign wars in this manner, although i would make clear that aiden was fighting in the ukrainian armed forces long before vladimir putin's invasion of ukraine, but that doesn't change things. this is a terrible situation for the family. they are going through huge pressure and what i want to do as their constituency member of parliament is everything within my power to get aiden home. the first thing i think we can do is to send as clear a possible message to vladimir putin via his ambassador that this is an outrage and british citizens should never be treated in this manner. bare never be treated in this manner. are ou aware never be treated in this manner. are you aware of whether aiden aslin's mother has heard from her son? the family have — mother has heard from her son? he family have been mother has heard from her son? tie family have been in contact with aiden ever since he was detained by the russian armed forces and these affiliate in the donbas region. of

course those conversations have been strained because on every occasion we have known that aiden has been speaking under duress with his captors at his side, and on occasion has been forced to say things which i'm certain he would not wish to say if he was a free man. but yes, the family have had contact with him and that has been a great source of comfort to them but now we need to see a pathway to his release and safe return to them so his loved ones back home in newark can see him once again and know that this ordeal is finally over. once again and know that this ordeal is finally over-— is finally over. robert jenrick mp, thank ou is finally over. robert jenrick mp, thank you for— is finally over. robert jenrick mp, thank you forjoining _ is finally over. robert jenrick mp, thank you forjoining us _ is finally over. robert jenrick mp, thank you forjoining us on - is finally over. robert jenrick mp, thank you forjoining us on bbc i thank you forjoining us on bbc news. the cost of filling an average family car with petrol has reached £100 for the first time. petrol retailers are charging on average 182 pence a litre, with some forecourts charging more than two pounds. the increase is largely blamed on the impact of the war in ukraine on global energy supplies.

in the past few minutes, the prime minister said the government had already cut fuel duty by 5p and urged businesses to pass on savings to consumers. our economics correspondent andy verity reports. this morning, motorists across the country were getting used to the idea of another unwelcome landmark in the soaring cost of living. 100 quid to fill up the average tank. it's terrible, terrible. every day it is going higher. i don't know what has happened. it's extremely expensive, it makes me think twice about having a car. when is it going to go down, that's the question, isn't it? | the cost of filling up is in three figures because fuel prices are surging, with the average petrol price up by 1.5 pence between tuesday and wednesday to a new record, and diesel at £1.88 a litre. the big reason for the soaring cost of petrol is, of course, the rising price of crude oil, driven higher by the global economic reopening post—pandemic, and also made worse by the war in ukraine.

but the price of crude oil has been higher than this twice before, in 2011 and 2008. and back then, the price of petrol was nowhere near this high. we know, as motorists, how much we are feeling the pain whenever we go to the pumps. but that pain is much, much worse for the lorry industry, on whom we all depend, because everything we get in britain comes on the back of a truck. and if our costs are going up, then inflation will increase, because we are talking about companies with very small profit margins, typically around 3%. they simply can't afford to do anything other than pass on their costs, and fuel inflation is a result. the chancellor rishi sunak did announce some help for motorists in march. today, i can announce, for only the second time in 20 years, fuel duty will be cut. not by one, not even by two,

but by 5p per litre. but the rac says, since then, wholesale petrol costs have increased by five times that amount. the vat is something within the chancellor's grasp to do, and i think something should be done there because it is unfair that drivers are paying 30p a litre in vat. but when you look at it, the chancellor is probably still collecting more tax than before the duty cut, because of the increase in vat, going up by more than 5p per litre. after the last peak in the oil price, a big expansion of shale oil production boosted supply, bringing down the oil price. but that took five years. many of today's hard—pressed households can't afford to wait that long. andy verity, bbc news. we can cross live to a petrol station in willesden, north london. greg mckenzie is there for us.

how much are they charging per litre there? ,., ., ., ., ., how much are they charging per litre there? ., , . how much are they charging per litre there? ., , 'j~~ there? good afternoon, rebecca. 1.86 er litre there? good afternoon, rebecca. 1.86 per litre here — there? good afternoon, rebecca. 1.86 per litre here in _ there? good afternoon, rebecca. 1.86 per litre here in north _ there? good afternoon, rebecca. 1.86 per litre here in north london, - there? good afternoon, rebecca. 1.86 per litre here in north london, and i per litre here in north london, and that price has gone up significantly since last august, when prices here were 1.30 per litre. many people i have been speaking to on this forecourt this afternoon, some have said it's going to cost them about £10 extra per week, but the majority have told me they simply feel they are being ripped off. this have told me they simply feel they are being ripped off.— are being ripped off. this car is a one litre vehicle. _ are being ripped off. this car is a one litre vehicle. when - are being ripped off. this car is a one litre vehicle. when i- are being ripped off. this car is a one litre vehicle. when ijust i are being ripped off. this car is a one litre vehicle. when ijust gotj one litre vehicle. when ijust got it, one litre vehicle. when ijust got it. it _ one litre vehicle. when ijust got it. it cost — one litre vehicle. when ijust got it, it cost me £35 to fill it. i just— it, it cost me £35 to fill it. i just spent— it, it cost me £35 to fill it. i just spent £75 for a one litre car. what _ just spent £75 for a one litre car. what if— just spent £75 for a one litre car. what if it— just spent £75 for a one litre car. what if it was five litre or six litre? — what if it was five litre or six litre? obviously if you can't afford it, litre? obviously if you can't afford it. don't— litre? obviously if you can't afford it, don't drive it, but this is my livelihood _ it, don't drive it, but this is my livelihood right now so i feel cheated _ livelihood right now so i feel cheated. | livelihood right now so i feel cheated. ., ., livelihood right now so i feel cheated. . ., ., ., livelihood right now so i feel cheated. . . ., ., ., livelihood right now so i feel cheated. . . . ., ., cheated. i have a van and a car. disgraceful- _ cheated. i have a van and a car.

disgraceful. you _ cheated. i have a van and a car. disgraceful. you can _ cheated. i have a van and a car. disgraceful. you can see - cheated. i have a van and a car. disgraceful. you can see the i cheated. i have a van and a car. i disgraceful. you can see the price. in one _ disgraceful. you can see the price. in one day! — disgraceful. you can see the price. in one day! i— disgraceful. you can see the price. in one day! idon't— disgraceful. you can see the price. in one day! idon't know— disgraceful. you can see the price. in one day! i don't know what's i in one day! i don't know what's going _ in one day! i don't know what's going on — in one day! i don't know what's going on— in one day! i don't know what's uuoinon. ., , , . going on. how is it effecting you financially? _ going on. how is it effecting you financially? we _ going on. how is it effecting you financially? we have _ going on. how is it effecting you financially? we have three i going on. how is it effecting you| financially? we have three vans, going on. how is it effecting you i financially? we have three vans, i have a business. _ financially? we have three vans, i have a business. it _ financially? we have three vans, i have a business. it went - financially? we have three vans, i have a business. it went from i financially? we have three vans, i| have a business. it went from £60 financially? we have three vans, ii have a business. it went from £60 to fill the _ have a business. it went from £60 to fill the tank— have a business. it went from £60 to fill the tank to — have a business. it went from £60 to fill the tank to 120. _ have a business. it went from £60 to fill the tank to 120.— fill the tank to 120. well, i think it is bad because _ fill the tank to 120. well, i think it is bad because it _ fill the tank to 120. well, i think it is bad because it is _ fill the tank to 120. well, i think it is bad because it is too - fill the tank to 120. well, i think it is bad because it is too much. j it is bad because it is too much. technically we can't really afford it. , , . , , ., it. the surge in the prices is down to the war — it. the surge in the prices is down to the war in _ it. the surge in the prices is down to the war in ukraine _ it. the surge in the prices is down to the war in ukraine and - it. the surge in the prices is down to the war in ukraine and the i it. the surge in the prices is down to the war in ukraine and the fact| to the war in ukraine and the fact that europe is trying to move away from the dependence on oil coming from the dependence on oil coming from russia. but that isn't helping people hear that some say they have told me they are struggling with the cost of living crisis that is affecting many people up and down the country. we are even seeing down the country. we are even seeing down the a1 near sunderland one bp station charging £2 per litre so these prices we have not seen for

about 17 years. interestingly, one lady who didn't want to be filmed told me she is spending on average about £50 extra per week it's going to cost her, she says on top of school uniforms for her four children, electricity and gas bills, she is struggling and she said to me she is struggling and she said to me she may have to resort to siphoning petrol from other cars just to get by! one is imagining that potentially we will start to see that type of crime rising as people really start feeling the pinch. back to you in the studio. thanks for that. greg mckenzie at a petrol station in north london. the prime minister is pledging to overhaul how people in england on lower incomes and benefits can become home—owners. he has announced the right to buy scheme that is currently open to council tenants will be extended to those renting from housing associations. he's said that any social housing sold will be replaced �*like for like'

and that people on lower incomes will be able to put their housing benefit payments towards securing a mortgage to buy a home. the prime minister said these changes were long overdue. now is the moment to widen the possibilities and to give greater freedoms to those who yearn to buy. i want us to deliver on the long—standing commitment made by several governments to extend the right to buy to housing associations. there are still 1.6 million people, 1.6 million households, living in council homes. but there are now 2.5 million households whose homes belong to housing associations. and they are trapped, they can't buy and they don't have the security of ownership and they can't treat their home as their own, or make the improvements that they want. and while some housing associations are excellent, others have been known to treat their tenants with scandalous indifference. so it's time for change. our personal finance correspondent kevin peachey told me

the prime minister believed people needed more help to own their own homes. he said in many situations it was ludicrous for some of the deposits that people were facing. obviously, we've had house prices rising at a rapid rate even during the pandemic. and he set out three areas really where the housing policy could change. the first, as he mentioned there, was to restate a policy that's been planned for some time. this idea of extending the right to buy to housing association properties. the mechanics of that are going to be very interesting to see. we haven't had great detail on that about how homes are going to be replaced when they come out of housing association hands and so on. so that will be one to watch the detail of very carefully. a second one was a review of low deposit mortgages. now, up to now, we've had

the government focusing a lot on another housing policy, the help to buy scheme. we would have heard a lot about that. people will have seen the signs up around newly built homes because that allows people to buy their first home, a newly built home with a low deposit mortgage. now, that scheme is going to be wound down next year, so there will be interest, i think, and certainly ministers will be acutely aware that they might feel as though they need to replace that. so that's why we've got this review coming up of low deposit mortgages. and then the third is this idea of benefits and the link between benefits and saving for a mortgage, and being able to pay your mortgage. yes. so let's pick you up on that final point and the issue of practicalities of using benefits to get a mortgage. talk us through how that would be worked, because i think i'm right in saying that someone on universal credit is only allowed £16,000 in savings.

and a deposit is much more than that, isn't it? yeah. the prime minister used the phrase "benefits to bricks". well, it's actually the case that you are far from being locked out of owning a home if you're on benefits — many mortgage lenders will consider benefits as part of your income when considering whether to accept your mortgage application. that's a commercial decision for the lenders. and frankly, that's something that that the government has little power to alter. what they can alter is the benefit system, and that's where they're looking at it here. universal credit, as you rightly say, starts to get taken away actually when you have savings of of £6,000, it starts to be taken away. when it gets to savings of £16,000, then then you cannot claim universal credit. so what the idea is, and again, we haven't got a huge amount of detail, but certainly the idea here is that those savings will be

set aside, if you like. they won't be part of those benefits calculations. and the vehicle for that is likely to be the lifetime isa. young people can already save up to £4,000 a year and then get a 25% government top—up with the lifetime isa. the idea is that you use that money to buy your first home. i think it will be that which is used as a vehicle for people to save in without that affecting your benefits entitlement. a man who subjected his neighbours to years of anti—social behaviour before stabbing one of them to death has been sentenced to a mininum of 38 years in prison. can arslan lay in wait for matthew boorman as he came home from work then stabbed him 27 times on his front lawn. our report andrew plant spoke to us earlier from bristol crown court where can arslan was sentenced.

at bristol crown court, arslan was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 38 years in jail and he has been taken back to broadmoor where he has been for the last six months since he was found guilty of murder earlier this year but the story we have heard is one that began more than a decade ago. he was the very worst kind of neighbour and he would take tiny disputes with his neighbours over things like parking and people making noise in their gardens and he

would brood on those and he would essentially take the opportunity whenever it came along to have arguments with his neighbours, and eventually most of them stopped using the front and back gardens, so scared that he might appear and start reprimanding them and shouting at them. something that happened time and time again, so much so we have heard in court that a lot of them took out extra security measures on their homes, installing cctv and high security fencing around their properties, so scared were they of can arslan, and we know in october last year things really boiled over. it had got to the point where the neighbours went to the police and they had taken out an injunction against him and the council had issued him with an eviction notice. he stewed on that and brooded on it, thejudge said, and the judge said he had decided that he would kill his neighbours, so he lay in wait for his next—door neighbour, waiting for him to come home work that night, and as he got out of his car he pounced on him, stabbing him at least 27 times. even after mr boorman had

fallen on the floor, he continued to stab him and then he sat on the body and calmly lit a cigarette. he had at least one other neighbour in mind and he went to that neighbour's house and forced his way in their back door and stabbed that neighbour eight times, only stopping when they forced him out of their back door. and at that point an off duty policeman with what the judge said was a huge amount of bravery, managed to disarm and knock the knife out of arslan's hand with a plank of wood. there was a further 15, 20 minutes where he went out into the street and threatened lots of other people until police arrived and then eventually managed to overpower him. we have heard an impact statement from matthew boorman's wife today, sarah — she said matthew was a fantastic father and she said their children knew only love and caring and kindness and he was "my soulmate and he was

a fantastic man," she said, she won't speak about the man next door, and she won't use his name, she said he will always be the monster who lived next door. the minimum age for the sale of cigarettes should be raised by one year every year until no one is able to buy them. that's the recommendation from a government—commissioned review into tobacco controls. ministers are aiming to eradicate smoking by 2030. our health correspondent jim reed reports. stubbing all this out by 2030. that's the government's plan for england. but this report was ordered by ministers and it warns that target will be missed unless there is radical action. it calls for an extra tax on the profits of tobacco companies to help smokers quit. there should be more promotion of vaping, making it available on prescription. the most eye—catching proposal though is a steady increase in the age limit to buy cigarettes from 18 years old today. the reason i'm doing this is because there is no good age for anyone to start smoking. the evidence shows that if people start smoking at a relatively young

age they tend to stay as smokers later on, but if they don't start at a young age they rarely pick it up later, so there's a really good argument for raising the age of sale. the report's authors say england should follow the example of new zealand. it would mean the smoking age rising every year, so today's generation of children and teenagers would never be allowed to legally buy tobacco. critics though say it could drive black market sales and push the habit underground. i don't think it will make a difference, honestly. no, just because i feel like a lot of underage smoking and drinking happens in the uk already. like, i don't think changing the age will change much. when i was young if you wanted i cigarettes they were easy to come by and i don't think that raising the age necessarily— will prevent that. i think it will he obviously preventative for longer term smoking, so i can see the positives because obviously i'm still smoking and i started at that age. yeah, i think this is a good idea too, because it isn't a very nice habit.

i wish i'd never started. these are just proposals for england. there would have to be a full consultation before any law change, with ministers in the other three uk nations making their own decisions. jim reed, bbc news. prince william has been spotted on the streets of london selling copies of the big issue — a magazine usually sold by homless a magazine usually sold by homeless people as a way of making money. one man — brian gilmore — met him after spotting him in the street taking photos with people and explained that he wanted to work at the princes trust, but had been rejected before. after giving the prince his phone number, brian got a call from the palace offering to help him. i'd have to say he is the people's prince. to be out here first—hand on the streets dealing with people and me, i'm an ex—offender, trying to help me out, do you know what i mean? trying to help me out, that trying to help me out, is big, that is rare, and he's the that is big, that is rare, and he's the people's prince as far as i'm

concerned. now it's time for a look at the weather with tomasz schafernaker. hello. we've had some sunshine today, but the cloud cover has been increasing over the past few hours. and you can see on the satellite picture this band of cloud here, that's the weather front. it has brought rain to parts of northern ireland around western areas, as well. so this is where we have slightly cooler weather, perhaps the high teens, 20 degrees or so further east. and that's also where the pollen levels in some spots are very high. so through the course of this evening and overnight, that band of cloud and patchy rain moves across the country. it's fairly breezy overnight, particularly out in the northwest. now, the temperatures first thing on friday from around 12 degrees in belfast to 15 in london. and tomorrow, a blustery day on the way. gale force winds around the coasts of northern ireland and western scotland. blustery inland, too, with a few showers. but the showers will be most frequent across scotland and our top temperatures from eastern scotland along the north sea coast to london.

hello this is bbc news with rebecca jones. the headlines: two british men and a moroccan captured by russian forces in ukraine are sentenced to death in an unrecognised court in donestsk — the foreign secretary, liz truss, called it a "sham judgment with absolutely no legitimacy". the cost of filling up an average family car with petrol hits £100 for the first time. it is extremely expensive and it makes me think twice about having a car. and using alternative transport. it is really impacting me. when is it going to go down — that is the question, isn't it? borisjohnson sets out plans to boost home ownership for people in england, including allowing benefits to cover mortgage payments what we want to do is make sure that we give people the chance, notjust to live in an affordable home, but eventually,

when they want to, when they feel that their situation enables them to, to buy it! a man who stabbed his neighbour — a dad of three — to death on his own front lawn is sentenced to a mininum of 38 years in prison. and a royal encounter — prince william is spotted selling the big issue in central london. let's get the sport. a lot going on in the world of golf? good afternoon. the pga tour has suspended all its members who are playing in this week's rival — saudi backed — tournament in hertfordshire, which threatens to tear apart the sport. 48 players — including major champions such as phil mickelson and dustinjohnson are earning huge amounts of money forjust appearing in the liv series which got under way this afternoon at centurion club.

the organisers of the new tournament say the pga is being vindictive by banning players. our golf correspondent ian carter has been following the story. they have taken a hard line, the players who have resigned as pga players have been banned from the circuit forthwith. a total of 17 players... that includes lifetime member phil mickelson, dustinjohnson and european ryder cup stars like lee westwood, ian poulter, graeme mcdowell and sergio garcia. the man in charge of policing the champions league final in paris last month, has apologised for using tear gas against liverpool fans outside the stadium, whilst also defending the actions of his officers which he claims saved lives. the match was delayed by over 30 minutes as supporters were stuck outside and denied entry despite having genuine tickets. videos from the stadium showed fans, including children, being pepper sprayed. the chief of paris police says he has sincere regrets over down, what happened but believes his

officers prevented a tragedy. i absolutely firmly believe these are attempting to cover their own backsides and not learned the lessons. what we should be doing is saying, they should never be replicated. they should never happen again, the scenes we enjoyed. children being tear gassed, pensioners getting pepper sprayed. i have never seen anything like it and i don't want to see anything like it again. it is worrying the police and politicians are looking —— are not looking at the truth factor so they can rectify the situation. if they don't do it, they don't deserve to hold them. arsenal forward alexandre lacazette has re—joined lyon on a free transfer — five years after leaving the french side to join the gunners for a then club record £52.6 million. he scored 54 times in 158 premier league appearances

for arsenal and helped them win the 2020 fa cup final. lacazette says a return to lyon was the "obvious" decision — despite the french side's lack of european football next season. he's signed a three—year deal. andy murray's preparations for wimbedon are going well — he is through to the quarter finals of the stuttgart open after a hard fought win over alexander bublik. murray needed all his battling qualities, winning 6—3 7—6. and there's also some good news for emma raducanu today. she's expected to be fit for wimbledon which starts at the end of the month. there had been concerns after raducanu pulled out of the nottingham open earlier this week because of a side strain. england have named an unchanged side for their second test against new zealand — which begins tomorrow at trent bridge. victory would ensure england go 2—0 up and win the three match series. it means spinnerjack leach keeps his place — despite suffering concussion in the first match at lords.and captain ben stokes says he's feeling

at home in his new role. first and foremost, playing for england you are doing something you dream to have as a kid. it should always be fun. the results will look after themselves, but try and enjoy it as much as we can make sure we're trying to fun as we possibly can, because it will all be taken away from us one day. if you cannot enjoy doing this, then i don't really know what what you can enjoy. that's all the sport for now. the police chief in paris has expressed his sincere regrets to british and spanish supporters who were at champions league final last month. head of paris police prefecture didier lallement says what happened at the stadium was a �*failure' — adding that he will do everything he can to track down the officers who attacked supporters. our correspondent in paris, hugh schofield, was following the press conference.

i watched him and i don't think that we should read this necessarily as a climb—down or an admission of guilt, responsibility in the largest sense. he said what the minister said a week ago, which he said he genuinely feels sorry for those fans who are caught up in it and were at the wrong end of receiving the tear gas and so on. but there is no particular apology for the way the police operation was held. he certainly said he stood by his decisions of that evening and would do the same again. what he says happened was a failure of kind of information and that led to the problems that followed. that the police and he did not know there was going to be such a large turnout of ticketless liverpool fans near the stadium in the few hours ahead of the match.

this, attached to the fact that there was a strike on the lines of one of the underground stations led to huge crush of people at one particular entry point which led to the police having to pullback and to scenes of chaos on the esplanade itself. an unacceptable level of service was provided to thousands of customers across northern england and scotland during storm arwen last year, according to an investigation by the energy regulator ofgem. it found electricity networks supplied inaccurate information about when power would be restored and didn't do enough to prevent blackouts. simonjones reports. trees down. power cables damaged. roofs ripped off. the coastline battered by winds of up to 100 miles an hour. storm arwen brought misery as it

swept in last november. more than a million homes were left without power, some for more than a week. we need to know how long we're going to be like this, because it is cold and now it's getting really challenging. we kept getting e—mails off them, saying it'll be on at six o'clock, it will be on at 12 o'clock, and then last night the army came. there was two army blokes came, that was the first people that had been to check you're all right. there's nobody. you're left to fend for yourself. a review by the energy regulator has concluded companies were ill—prepared for the storm. their emergency plans weren't adequate to deal with the damage and customers weren't given reliable information about when they'd be reconnected. the fact of the matter is the network companies were not ready for this. there are lots of things they need to do to improve the resilience of the network, to make sure that people are restored quickly, and to make sure principally that people are even communicated to around what's going

to happen to them. the message from the regulator to the energy companies — you need to up your game. ofgem is demanding to see their plans for dealing with the challenges of next winter. although £30 million in compensation has been paid, affected customers say they're still struggling to understand the system. given that we were all off power for the same amount of time there seem to be different amounts being paid out to some customers. the energy networks association, which represents power firms, says more money will be spent on cutting trees and flood prevention, to protect the network against future severe events. but the government says it's clear thousands of customers were badly let down in the past. the warning — this cannot be allowed to happen again. simon jones, bbc news. more now on the rising cost of living. a growing number of people are making sacrifices which pose a serious risk to their wellbeing. that's the conclusion of leading

healthcare organisations that are warning some patients are skipping meals or medication. our health correspondent dominic hughes reports. with everything going up, it's just constant anxiety about money, every day. even with food and petrol for my partner to get to work, everything is just costing so much. laura has been battling kidney disease since she was seven, and has already had two kidney transplants. but now she needs another. yeah, so, running the cost of the dialysis machine, it's constantly filtering the water. she depends on dialysis, where a machine carries out the filtering processes that would normally be done by the kidneys. laura was having dialysis at home, but the machine uses so much electricity and water, the mounting bills have forced her to switch to a local hospital. i would say that it's the straw that broke the camel's back, really,

with the cost of running the dialysis machine, the water it uses, the electric. i just... it was adding to my anxiety, like, how am i going to pay to do this treatment every month? those cost of living impacts are onlyjust filtering through. at grey road surgery, north liverpool, gp drjanet bliss and her team have for years seen how poverty can badly affect health. now the rising costs are making a bad situation worse. we're seeing people limiting i the amount of meals they will eat in a week, you know, _ consciously planning to miss meals. we are seeing people deciding to not collect medications, _ not to pay for prescription items. the rising costs of basic foods — fruit and veg, bread, cereals and pasta — is an obvious cause for concern. so in darlington, in the north east of england, an innovative mobile food club is helping people continue to eat healthily. forjust £7.50, you can get £35 worth of fresh fruit, veg and meat. essential for someone like marj, for whom this project offers a real lifeline.

there we go. so free for you today, you'lljust hand that to the van. at the moment, i have to count every penny. this saving will allow me buy him some better veg, better fruit, so he can actually have a good start in life. without it, i don't know what i would do. in one of the wealthiest countries in the 21st century, i have to worry about not feeding my babies, which is, i would say, really, really sad. thank you very much. see you later. ta—ra. no—one believes the pressures on family finances will ease any time soon, and that has implications for our health too. dominic hughes, bbc news. there's been a sharp rise in the number of children in england who qualify for free school meals. our education editor branwenjefferys has been looking at the numbers we know with these new figures today that 1.9 million children in england

are among the very poorest who qualify for a free meal at school each day. now that has gone up by a by 160,000 in the last year. it is an increase that is building on top of an even larger increase that happened at the height of the pandemic, when we know so many families were struggling. even if you look at the numbers of schoolchildren, this is a significant increase in those that are relying on this food at a time when family budgets are tightening. are there some areas which are worse affected than others? intern; are there some areas which are worse affected than others?— affected than others? very much so, but reflecting — affected than others? very much so, but reflecting patterns _ affected than others? very much so, but reflecting patterns that - affected than others? very much so, but reflecting patterns that have i but reflecting patterns that have been there for a while. in the north—east, 29% of children are entitled to free school meals. in the south—east of england, it is 17%. one of the biggest increases we saw was in the west midlands, up around 2%. so more than one in four children in the west midlands are entitled to free school meals. the government says it is very aware of

the cost pressures on family budgets and is putting in a variety of ways, around £37 billion towards that. but charities are pointing out that above this, there are many families who don't qualify, but who still desperately need help with their food bills. ~ ., ., desperately need help with their food bills. ~ . ., ,. , food bills. what are the school is sa inc ? food bills. what are the school is saying? schools _ food bills. what are the school is saying? schools would _ food bills. what are the school is saying? schools would like i food bills. what are the school is saying? schools would like to i food bills. what are the school is| saying? schools would like to see food bills. what are the school is i saying? schools would like to see an increase in the _ saying? schools would like to see an increase in the rate _ saying? schools would like to see an increase in the rate paid _ saying? schools would like to see an increase in the rate paid for- saying? schools would like to see an increase in the rate paid for free i increase in the rate paid for free school meals. they are facing rising costs with their caterers juggling to try and make sure they can put a good meal on the plate. it is a worrying sign of child poverty in this country. if you remember, to get universal credit which would get your child free school meals, the household income, all the adults in the household has to be less than £7,400 a year. this the household has to be less than £7,400 a year-— £7,400 a year. this is a wide-ranging _ £7,400 a year. this is a wide-ranging question, | £7,400 a year. this is a | wide-ranging question, i £7,400 a year. this is a _ wide-ranging question, i appreciate wide—ranging question, i appreciate this, but is there any sense as to why these numbers are rising so quickly? it why these numbers are rising so cuickl ? , .,

why these numbers are rising so cuickl ? , . . ., ., quickly? it is a reflection of the bi , quickly? it is a reflection of the big. economic _ quickly? it is a reflection of the big, economic disruption i quickly? it is a reflection of the big, economic disruption that l quickly? it is a reflection of the | big, economic disruption that we have been through, which of course hasn't been evenly spread across the country. we saw people furloughed, we saw people leaving the labour market so although the official rate of unemployment is officially very low, there are fewer people in work. that might be for a range of reasons, for people who feel they needed to leave work earlier to deciding that they had other more important, perhaps caring responsibilities. the headlines on bbc news. two british men and a moroccan captured by russian forces in ukraine are sentenced to death in an unrecognised court in donestsk the foreign secretary liz truss called it a "sham judgment with absolutely no legitimacy". the cost of filling up an average family car with petrol reaches £100 for the first time. a royal

encounter, prince william is spotted selling the big issue in central london. children in care have reported being groomed, sexually assaulted and given alcohol in homes and schools run by a private company benefiting from public funding. a bbc news investigation found calcot services for children made double the profits of other big care providers last year. but some of its employees say vulnerable young people have been failed. our special correspondent ed thomas reports. for six months, we've investigated the true scale of profits being made in the care and education of vulnerable children. where's the money going? not the places it should be. it's immoral. we've learned of the safeguarding failings... iran, grabbed her. we just fell to the ground. ..and spoken to whistleblowers, who reveal inadequate staffing levels. at calcot, it was just failure after failure.

£3 million. we're bbcjournalists and we've looked at the accounts of calcot services for children, which runs nine homes and four schools. turnover, gross profit. we've learnt that some vulnerable children in its care have been failed. so for every pound of public money that's paid in, the company's making... 40p. 40p profit? yeah. this is an all girls home, one of calcot�*s. a 17—year—old was groomed by a 28—year—old member of office staff at the company, who was redeployed here during covid, and began working shifts that included staying overnight. in text messages, he groomed her, calling her beautiful and saying he wanted to give her a cuddle and a kiss. soon they slept together. she later told a friend she felt used, manipulated and broken. and calcot placed another girl here, a 16—year—old victim of sexual exploitation, on what's called a deprivation of liberty order, an extreme measure that means she's judged at such risk she could be locked inside for her own welfare.

but we've learned the girl was given alcohol by a worker, who even took her back to their home. the girl later went missing. we have this on a regular basis. we heard further evidence of another young girl of high needs accepted by calcot being failed. felt like something was off. mo was a behavioural lead at a calcot school. the girl in crisis here was a high—cost placement. but we've been told that despite multiple warnings by staff about inadequate security, she was able to run away to this bridge. iran, grabbed her. we just fell to the ground and ijust held her there for a bit. and she was just sobbing. some of the kids had no business being in a school like that. the same girl alleged she was raped by a boy after they were able to abscond together from this calcot home. at calcot, it was just

failure after failure. mia worked in two of the children's homes. she says there was chronic understaffing, which meant she was often left in charge of a girl whose needs were so significant the local authority were paying for three members of staff to care for her in the daytime. nine times out of ten, she would never be on that three—to—one support. how dangerous was that? it was extremely dangerous. mia also says a 13—year—old boy alleged he was sexually assaulted after being found undressed and without supervision in an older girl's bedroom, an incident we've learned that was then not reported to ofsted. how do you see calcot and the care they gave in the homes you were working in? neglectful, disgusting. and i feel, yeah, just completely let down of how they've treated these children. a number of pupils have been costed for a one—to—one support in the class, and they don't have them. maggie mccarthy was a teacher at a calcot school.

while she was there in 2020, the company made 40% profit. this is money from the public purse that's meant to improve the lives of some of the most vulnerable children in society. where's the money going? not the places it should be. it's immoral. the education and futures of these children has been stolen. calcot�*s owners, who live here on this luxury estate, declined to be interviewed. in a statement, they said, it added, so we've looked at profits. but the bbc�*s learnt calcot made more than 30% profits in 2019 — pre—pandemic.

the government says it expects all children's homes to provide the right care and protection. ed thomas, bbc news. the foreign secretary has called the sentencing of two britons and a moroccan and ukrainian as a sham caught with no legitimacy. they were captured by russian forces and been sentenced to death. we have just had a statement from the ukrainian government saying all servicemen of the ukraine who were captured by the enemy have the rights of prisoners of war. the enemy is forbidden to abuse, intimidate them or behave inhumanly with them. the so—called trial of ua f servicemen in the

occupied ukrainian territories is miserable. such public trials place the interests of propaganda above the interests of propaganda above the law and morality and undermined the law and morality and undermined the exchange mechanisms of all prisoners. well, this man is adviser to ukraine's defence minister and he told the bbc this was another example of russia violating the geneva convention. {iii example of russia violating the geneva convention.— example of russia violating the geneva convention. of course, this is dee -l geneva convention. of course, this is deeply concerning _ geneva convention. of course, this is deeply concerning for _ geneva convention. of course, this is deeply concerning for us - geneva convention. of course, this is deeply concerning for us as i geneva convention. of course, this is deeply concerning for us as well. you know, these people who have been sentenced today to death, they have been, according to the geneva convention, they should be recognised as prisoners of war and like your earlier report said, they should be given treatment according to the geneva convention. so if this does not happen, it will constitute yet another violation of the international laws of war by the aggressor, by the enemy and of course we hope there will be

sufficient diplomatic efforts that will make it possible to avoid this scenario. the remains of europe's largest ever land—based predator — a ten metre long dinosaur — have been found on the isle of wight. the creature, which lived 125 million years ago, was two—legged and had a face similar to a crocodile. our correspondent on the isle of wight duncan kennedy told us where it's been hiding all this time: laughter it's actually been hiding in some cliffs on the west side of the island, and has become alive and visible because of coastal erosion, as simple as that. somebody walked along and found some of these remains. they've got a model here of what it would have looked like, this spinosaurid. they reckon it was about 10—15 metres long, so more than half a tennis coach, and about four orfive metres high — a really big beast indeed. we've got the remains of it here, along with simon penn, a palaeontologist. simon, what was this beast like? we think they lived in or near rivers, they ate fish,

very long scales like a crocodile, lots of teeth, sharp claws and probably a newt—like tail. we have one of the bones here. this one is particularly interesting? this is one of the backbones, it's half, it's broken here, but it's this measurement between here and here that tells us it was a gigantic animal. how significant is the discovery of this dinosaur? not only is it europe's largest carnivorous dinosaur, it also pushes these creatures further back into the cretaceous. simon, thank you very much. simon tells me this creature would have been as big as or bigger than a tyrannosaurus rex, and about 120 million years old compared to the t rex, which is about 60 million years old. and although they found these remnants, they are continuing to look for others as well and they hope eventually to have, if not a full skeleton, then one that they can perhaps even put together. they are saying it's really exciting, this is possibly the biggest carnivore ever found in europe.

some news to bring you, sports presenter, sue barker, is stepping down from presenting wimbledon after 30 years. she said, what a wonderful time i have had working on some of the biggest sporting events around the biggest sporting events around the world. i will miss it terribly, but after 30 years i feel the time is right for me. i have worked with the best of the best. so sue barker stepping down from presenting wimbledon on the bbc after three decades. thailand is moving from some of the world's strictest laws on drug use to the some of the most liberal. from thursday, it's legalising the cultivation of marijuana. it can now be used for medicinal and therapeutic purposes. it's after the nation became the first in south east asia to remove marijuana from its banned narcotics list. but recreational use remains illegal. and here's something to brighten your day, a festival of light has been taking place in singapore. it's returned to the city state

after a break of two years and includes 20 different installations, from dancing fireflies to a walk through a inflatable whale. the festival also aims to promote sustainability, using energy saving lights and environmentally—friendly materials. now it's time for a look at the weather with tomasz schafernaker. i think we have got a nice day in—store tomorrow, lots of sunshine around. today has been cloudy. rain in western areas but tomorrow a bright day, a very blustery one and i have left the shower symbol to just indicate it will not be a completely dry day because showers are in the forecast for some of us tomorrow, but certainly not for all of us. this low pressure is an old tropical store, remnants of it. it

formed in the gulf of mexico days ago travelling in the atlantic. we can see the cloud swelling into the low pressure and that is bypassing us to the north—west. it is close enough for some strong winds to develop around the north—west of the uk. a lot of dry weather this south—westerly wind, so first thing in the morning in the south—east it is as high as 15 degrees and even the cold spots in scotland are around ten or 12. head out tomorrow morning, right from the word go, lots of sunshine, scattered fairweather cloud, pushed swiftly by the strong wind across england and wales. up to gale force around the north west, 50 mile an hour winds in one or two spots and plenty of showers i think in northern ireland and scotland. i say plenty, there will be a rash of them but they won't last for long because they are pushed by the strong wind and you are back to sunny spells. this is the pollen level for tomorrow. it is very high across many parts of england and wales and not good news if you are a hay fever sufferer.

let's look at the weekend, the all—important we can. low pressure to the north of scotland, quite a few isobars with the white lines there. a brisk wind and if anything, saturday will be even more blustery. quite a windy day across the uk. temperatures will be up to 22 degrees, so it will be warm in the sunshine and then the strong, blustery winds. showers expected in the north—west. on sunday, the low pressure is pulling away to the north still leaving a breeze behind it with a few showers, but i think by sunday the wind will be a little less strong and it will feel more pleasant in the south. i think that is all we've got time for.

this is bbc news. the headlines... two british men and a moroccan captured by russian forces in ukraine have been sentenced to death in an unrecognised court in donetsk — the territory held by pro—russian rebels. the foreign secretary because if a sham judgment. president zelensky says the fate of the entire region is being decided in the battle for the city of severodonetsk. because of filling up an average family car with petrol hits £100 for the first time. a man who stabbed his neighbour to death on his own front lawn is sentenced to life with a minimum of 38 years in prison. regulator tells power companies to improve their response to storms after millions of people

across the uk were left without