at six — two british men have been sentenced to death by russia forfighting alongside ukrainian forces. the men — along with a man from morocco — were captured during fighting in mariupol. they've been tried by an unrecognised court in russian—held territory. 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. we will be live in eastern ukraine. also tonight. more than £100 now to fill the average family car — the rac calls it a truly dark day. the prime minister works to shore up his position in a speech in blackpool, saying he wants to cut taxes sooner rather than later.

—— outlining measures to boost homeownership in england. current and former staff at a group of children's homes tell the bbc vulnerable young people have been let down. hello, and welcome to wimbledon. and after 30 years, sue barker announces she is stepping down from presenting wimbledon. on sportsday later in the hour on the bbc news channel. half an hour after teeing off in the breakaway liv invitational event, over a dozen golfers are suspended by the us pga tour. good evening. two british men who were fighting alongside ukrainian troops have been sentenced to death in eastern ukraine by a russian court. 28—year—old aiden aslin and 48—year—old shaun pinner were found guilty alongside a third man from morocco, after being

captured during fighting in mariupol in april. the foreign secretary liz truss has condemned their sentence, calling it a sham judgment with absolutely no legitimacy. emma vardy reports. forfighting as soldiers in ukraine's military, after a short trial in russian held territory, aiden aslin and shaun pinner have been told they face the death penalty. if you're watching this, it means that we have surrendered. this was aiden aslin�*s last message to family and friends before he was captured. run out of ammunition, didn't really have any other choice than to surrender. he had spent weeks defending the besieged city of mariupol, before his unit had to give themselves up. to lay down our arms and head towards the russian soldiers. days later, his family in nottinghamshire watched as footage of him emerged looking bruised and in handcuffs on pro—russian

media outlets, being interrogated about his actions. footage of prisoners of war being paraded on television is viewed as a breach of the geneva conventions. there have been many ukrainian soldiers captured during the fighting but it is pretty clear, as british men in this conflict, their treatment has been very different. now, the court footage shows them only answering that they were happy for the trial to proceed without witnesses. but it is unclear, of course, what duress they may have been under. 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. since the russian invasion of ukraine, many foreign fighters have travelled there to join the international legion and other groups helping to defend the country.

but aiden aslin and shaun pinner were different. they had been fighting in ukraine's military for a number of years. aiden aslin passed out as a marine after moving to ukraine in 2018 and was engaged to be married to a ukrainian. but russian channels have called the men foreign mercenaries, and are reporting that they will face a firing squad. the foreign secretary liz truss has called it a sham judgment with no legitimacy. theirfamilies are hoping it may be possible to negotiate a prisoner exchange. but for now, for their involvement in ukraine's conflict, they have become part of russia's propaganda war. emma vardy, bbc news. 0ur international correspondent 0rla guerin in the donbas in eastern ukraine. does the british government have any hope of getting them released? i think that is unclear at the

moment and it is unclear if there will be an attempt to carry out the sentences. they have been handed down by a court that is not internationally recognised, in a self—declared republic, the dpr, which is not recognised by anyone except russia. there is little doubt the officials in the dpr take their orders from the kremlin, so this is very much a verdict from president putin and it seems like a tactic to pressure britain, to embarrass britain, which has been a staunch supporter of ukraine since the war began and has sent a great deal of weaponry, including weaponry in use here in the donbas and of course recently promised to send more advanced weapons systems into the battlefield here. the ukrainian government has given a brief initial response, saying the trial was propaganda, and that the men had the legal status of combatants. that view has been echoed by a legal expert in the uk who has said that there verdict and this trial is in fact a breach of international

humanitarian law and of the geneva conventions but i think there was a certain inevitability about this. 0nce ukraine started prosecuting russian soldiers, as it has done, three have already been convicted, once those trials were under way for war crimes, i think it was inevitable we are going to see this kind of tit—for—tat prosecution taking place and of course for vladimir putin, the opportunity to prosecute british combatants is something that clearly he did would not want to miss. we don't know at this stage of any death penalty sentences ever being carried out in the dpr. ., ~ , ., ., sentences ever being carried out in the dpr. ., ~ i. ., ., , the cost of filling an average family car with petrol has hit more than £100 for the first time today. this is what it costs now to fill a car with a 55—litre tank. diesel is even more expensive. the rac motoring group has called it "a truly dark day". the government says some retailers are not passing on the recent 5p cut in fuel duty to consumers. the soaring prices all add

to the intensifying pressure on household budgets, with energy bills and food prices also now at multi—year highs. our business editor simonjack reports. butcher alistair paul makes deliveries from here in inverness all over the west coast of scotland, but he is considering doing fewer journeys in his three vans, or charging for delivery, as higher fuel costs put a squeeze on the business. we are finding it very difficult. the vans are taking about £130 each to fill up for the week. it's up to over £300 a week, where it was, you know, down in the 200s beforehand. everyone is struggling. we are struggling at home. the staff are struggling. you know, we are all struggling. so it is not only fuel, it is everything else that is going up. at least his business can claim back the vat on fuel, a tax break not available to regular motorists, spending on average over £100 on a tank of petrol for the first time.

the price at the pump is about more than just the cost of fuel. in fact, of that £1.82 record per unleaded litre, only 91tp is the cost of the petrol itself. transporting it costs 2p. the retailer takes a margin of 3p and the government adds 53p in fuel duty, recently cut from 58p, and then puts vat on the whole lot for another 30p. so 46%, nearly half, is tax, and because prices have risen so quickly, the government is now getting more money than before it cut fuel duty, which is why people now are calling on it to do more. motoring organisations say nearly 20% are taking fewerjourneys, and those on low incomes or with no choice but to drive are being hit hardest. the situation is really severe. so we need the chancellor to cut duty immediately by 10p per litre and introduce a fuel price stabiliser. when prices go up, duty should come down. if prices go down, duty can go up.

that will help individuals and help the economy. the chancellor today was admiring a brand—new electric lorry, but pointed to the recent 5p fuel duty cut and said he would get inflation back under control. i want people to be reassured that we have the tools we need and the determination to get inflation back down and under control. i am making sure that our borrowing and debt is handled responsibly so we don't make the situation worse and increase people's mortgage rates, and we are doing things like increasing the supply of energy, moving people into work, to ease some of the supply—side pressures that we are seeing. but for now, at the petrol pump, the supermarket and in utility bills, there is no hiding from a cost of living crisis that is expected to get worse before it gets better. simon jack, bbc news. the prime minister has been in blackpool today — his first public appearance away from westminster since monday's vote of confidence.

borisjohnson spoke on a range of subjects including spiralling prices and measures for boosting home ownership in england. 0ur political editor chris mason reports. in wigan in greater manchester, this community grocery tries to act as a bridge between those who need to use a food bank and using a supermarket. customers pay much less here than the prices they are seeing elsewhere. a £50, £60 shop a week has definitely got up to like £70, £80 sometimes, and you don't know, when you get to the till and you think, "i've only bought the same as i bought a few months ago but it's nearly, like, double in price." are you coping all right? yeah, yeah, we're doing 0k, yeah. i mean, we've learned to live on a budget. there are now 17 groceries like this one around the country. more and more people who are coming to us are in full—time employment but are reallyjust needing to look at where they can cut back because of the increase in cost in fuel and energy bills, so our increase from january to now

has been 44% in the number of people who are shopping with us on a daily basis. another will open in blackpool in a few weeks, where the prime minister promised today to do what we can for as long as it takes to help with spiralling prices, and make it easierfor people in england to buy a home. while the overwhelming majority of people want the chance to buy their own home, forfar too many, the finance required simply isn't available. the challenge facing first—time buyers today is bigger than we have seen before. but this promise comes just days after borisjohnson survived a vote of confidence from his own mps. many people, prime minister, are desperately worried about the cost of living, and yet they see in you a prime minister described by a former conservative leader no less as someone driving down the motorway with two flat tyres. why should people believe you when you say you can deliver, when 40% of your mps don't

think you can? if you want a proof point of what we're going to deliver, look at what we have already delivered. look at the way we got the country through the worst pandemic, i think, for 100 years. mrjohnson wants people in england to put benefits payments towards mortgages and extend a scheme to let tenants in housing association homes buy them. if ever you needed evidence that this divided government is completely out of ideas, it is this announcement today which is simply reheating an old idea. they piloted it and it didn't work. i will have a go, my bricklaying is terrible but i will have a go. the prime minister is trying to shape a better economic future and preserve his own. neither will be easy. chris mason, bbc news, in blackpool. so how will those government plans for boosting home ownership work? the government says the aim is to help more people get

on the housing ladder, but labour says the plans could make the shortage of housing worse. our home editor mark easton has been taking a look at the proposals. barnesville close is a cul—de—sac of traditional social homes in small heath in birmingham, what we used to call council houses. four years ago, residents were part of the pilot for today's announcement, giving tenants who rent from housing associations, as they do in barnesville close, the right to buy their homes. i was trying to, you know, to buy my own house, instead of paying rent. brenda, like eight out of ten people, according to surveys, would like to own her own home and was disappointed not to get lucky in the ballot to be part of the government scheme. i have my kids and grandkids growing up, you know? i would like to have them around me sometimes and say, oh, if i go, this is yours. the building lorry identifies a house where tenants did manage to buy their home, now being improved by proud owner, jerman. everybody is interested

in buying their house. really? you have started a trend? some residents worry that right to buy will worsen the shortage of social housing in birmingham. waiting lists are, you know, there's a massive shortage. there just isn't enough properties to go around for those in need so that is the flip side of selling off your stock. but for you personally, yeah, it would have been great if you could have done it? it would have been... ..absolutely fantastic if i could have done it. there was a promise of one—for—one, and where possible, like—for—like replacements for social homes sold off under the scheme. but so far, less than a third have been replaced, and of the 1,800 lost to right to buy, only 28 have been traditional council houses. glenn is the landlord around here, chief executive of midland heart housing charity, which owns the properties. we sold 257 properties. we have replaced those with 165. that is still a third missing. the costs to replace are higher than the costs of sale.

that is simply a fact. the residents of barnesville close reflect the dilemma at the heart of right to buy. for those who can take advantage, it may provide both a nest and a nest egg, but for those who can't, the policy may make getting a decent home even harder. mark easton, bbc news, birmingham. let's speak to chris is blackpool now. after the events of this week, where does the prime minister find himself? ~ , , himself? the prime minister is confronted _ himself? the prime minister is confronted by _ himself? the prime minister is confronted by political- himself? the prime minister is confronted by political and - himself? the prime minister is- confronted by political and economic gales that appear to quicken by the week. yes, the whole situation around the cost of living is far from unique to the uk but the forecasts are particularly bleak for us. the prime minister emphasises that he can't click his fingers and solve the problem, there isn't a one size fits all solution that immunise us all from the pain, but instead, he says, let's focus on helping the most vulnerable in the short term

and then these long—term structural changes, like the announcement in england related to housing today, to try to improve people's economic prospects in the years and decades ahead but alongside all of that, is this repeated reference to a desire to cut taxes, yet at the same time, taxes have been going up, the tax burden is the highest it has been for decades. and then there is the politics, 148 of his own mps who want shut of him. yes, it is politically and economically gusty and will continue to be. thank you forjoining us. the and will continue to be. thank you forjoining ve— forjoining us. the time is 'ust after quarteri forjoining us. the time is 'ust after quarter post i forjoining us. the time is 'ust after quarter post six. i our top story this evening. two british men have been sentenced to death by russia for fighting alongside ukrainian forces. coming up... the remains of europe's largest ever land—based dinosaur, discovered on the isle of wight. in sportsday in the next 15 minutes on the bbc news channel... an apology to spectators and an admission of failure from the paris police chief in charge of last months champions league final,

but he still condones the use of tear gas. children in care have reported being groomed and sexually assaulted in homes run by a company making large profits from public money. a bbc news investigation found calcot services for children made double the profits of other big care providers last year. but the company has been accused of providing inadequate staffing at some of its homes. the children's commissioner for england said she was appalled by the findings. our special correspondent ed thomas reports. for six months we have investigated the true scale of profits being made in the care and education of vulnerable children. where is the money going? not the places it should be. it is immoral. we have learned of the safeguarding failings. they ran, grabbed her, just fell to the ground. and spoken to whistle—blowers who reveal inadequate staffing levels.

at calcot, it was just failure after failure. i £3 million? £3 million. we are bbcjournalists and we have looked at the accounts of calcot services for children, which runs nine homes and four schools. we have learned that some vulnerable children in its care have been failed. so for every pound of public money that has been paid here, the company is making... 40p. 40p profit? yes. this is an all girls home, one of calcot�*s. a 17—year—old was groomed by a 28—year—old member of 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.

in calcot placed another girl here, a 16—year—old, a victim of sexual exploitation in what is called a deprivation of liberty order — an extreme measure that means she is judged at such risk, she can be locked inside for her own welfare. we have 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 have heard further evidence of another young girl of high needs accepted by calcot being failed. it felt like something was off. mo was a behavioural lead at calcot school. the girl in crisis here was a high—cost placement. but we have been told that despite multiple warnings by staff about inadequate security, she was able to run away to this bridge. they ran, 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. this 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 said 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 through the daytime. nine times out of ten, she would never be on that 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 have learned that was then not reported to 0fsted. how do you score calcot on the care they gave in the homes you were working in? neglectful, disgusting, and ifeel just completely let down with how they have treated these children. a number of pupils have been costed for 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 is meant to improve the lives of some of the most vulnerable children in society. 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... "all homes and schools are rated as outstanding or a good and have the required number of staff. the company prioritises safeguarding all children in its care." it has added... "..all incidents it is aware of have been reported correctly and profits appear to be high as a result of holding money in accounts during covid years." so we have looked at profits...

but the bbc has learned calcot made more than 30% profit in 2019, pre—pandemic. the government says it expects all children's homes to provide the right care and protection. ed thomas, bbc news. there has been a jump in the number of children in england who are now eligible for free school meals — it has risen by 160,000 in a year. figures released today from school census data gathered injanuary show that 22.5% of pupils now qualify, up from 20.8% injanuary 2021. it means a total of 1.9 million children are now eligible for support. the duke of cambridge has been spotted in central london helping to sell big issue magazines. prince william was photographed by passers—by in westminster wearing the red big issue uniform. the magazine is sold by homeless people, the long—term unemployed and those who need money to avoid getting into debt. those who met the prince today praised him for the "silent gesture." the age at which people can buy cigarettes and tobacco in england

should be gradually increased — year on year — until no one can buy them at all. that's the verdict of an independent review. seven million people smoke across the uk at the moment — numbers are falling but tobacco remains the single biggest cause of preventable illness and death. 0ur health editor hugh pym is here. would this ever actually happen? with one in four cancer deaths linked to smoking, campaigners are very keen the findings of this review are taken forward. in fact the government has plans for england to release policies aimed at tackling health inequalities in the next couple of months with smoking having a disproportionate effect on deprived areas, and it may well be some of these recommendations will be included in that. to give you a couple of other policies suggested today, one is to promote vaping more today, one is to promote vaping more to adults who want to give up tobacco smoking, but to crack down

on vaping smoking aimed at teenagers and children. when it comes to raising the legal age for buying tobacco products from 18 year by year, i think there will be a pretty big debate in cabinet over that one, with at least one source indicating to me it's not likely to be considered at this stage. hugh, thank yon _ considered at this stage. hugh, thank you. the _ considered at this stage. hugh, thank you. the champions - considered at this stage. hugh, i thank you. the champions league match in paris was overshadowed by chaotic scenes as fans struggled to get in. the chief of police has apologised for the use of tear gas but defended his handling of the chaos, saying his handling of the chaos, saying his red line was to save lives. electricity companies have been told they need to "up their game" by the industry's regulator, after a review into their response to storm arwen, when almost 1 million homes lost power. 0fgem's findings state some customers received unacceptable

service last november with thousands of homes in england and scotland left without power for more than a week. danny savage has been to the village of stjohn's chapel in county durham where residents were cut off for some of the coldest and shortest days of the year. the damage from storm arwen was huge. a northerly gale swept across the country, bringing down trees, power lines and telephone cables. some communities were without power for over a week. power supply firms are now being told they must do better. they know all about it here in the higher reaches of weardale. there are vivid memories of days without power and information. it was freezing cold, yeah. i mean, we would go to bed at eight o'clock at night and read by a torch, you know, something like that, because that was the warmest place to be. there was no radio, there was no mobile phone signal and we actually didn't have a landline, either, so we had no internet. so we had no means of communicating with the outside world. it felt really, really weird to be

that isolated, that cut off. the state of some of the infrastructure was also criticised in today's report. this is a new electricity pole that went in after storm arwen, to replace this one, which broke during the storm. it has got a woodpecker hole in it, and if you turn it over, you can see it is rotten through the middle. the man living near here says he wrote to the company involved eight years before the storm to say it was in this state. northern powergrid say they have learned valuable lessons and they are now spending millions more on their infrastructure. it was just dark all the time! that is what i remember most of all, stumbling around in the dark. northern powergrid was also criticised for not directly contacting vulnerable customers. they needed a lot of support from us to get that information. it must be possible to put a star against people who will quickly become very cold if they don't have access to electricity. the government says post—storm hardship here was unacceptable and big changes are needed.

danny savage, bbc news, weardale in county durham. sue barker has announced she is stepping down from presenting the bbc�*s wimbledon coverage at the end of this year's tournament. she has been part of the bbc team at wimbledon for 30 years. our sports correspondent laura scott is here. so she is leaving but not until the end of this wimbledon.— so she is leaving but not until the end of this wimbledon. exactly, it's the end of an _ end of this wimbledon. exactly, it's the end of an era. _ end of this wimbledon. exactly, it's the end of an era. sue _ end of this wimbledon. exactly, it's the end of an era. sue barker- end of this wimbledon. exactly, it's the end of an era. sue barker has i the end of an era. sue barker has been the face and voice of the championships for so long. many younger viewers might only know her as a presenter but she was a successful tennis player before going into broadcasting, winning the french open in 1976 and reaching the wimbledon semifinal a year later. i think that is what made her such a good fit for wimbledon. but it wasn'tjust tennis, she presented the olympics, the grand national, the olympics, the grand national, the world athletics championships, and for 24 years she also presented the quiz show question of sport. when she was replaced she said at the time she was sad to leave. what

is clear from the bbc statement todayisit is clear from the bbc statement today is it is clear they wanted her today is it is clear they wanted her to stay on, but sue barker herself felt it was the right time to go, meaning the men's final day this year will be herfinal day meaning the men's final day this year will be her final day at wimbledon.— the remains of europe's biggest land—based predatory dinosaur have been found on the isle of wight — experts say the bones show it was an immense creature. duncan kennedy reports. it's been called a giant killer. as high as a house and as long as a bus. this spinosaurid is a colossus from the cretaceous era. this is one of the significant pieces. this is half of a backbone. its remains are now at the island's dinosaur museum, where experts say it was a fearsome creature. you wouldn't want to go near it. they have incredibly large teeth and a lot of them in a very long skull. i mean, these things have got big fishing hooks on their thumbnail. so it's not the sort of thing you would want to bump into! the spinosaurid is 120 million years old, twice the age of a t rex.

the bones were found on the west side of the island, the coastline rich in dino discoveries. well, at the bottom here, we've got these red ancient soils... but never one quite like this. well, it's a tremendous find. something that was totally unexpected. just some bones falling out of the cliff. we've actually, with these fragments, been able to piece together the biggest meat—eating terrestrial dinosaur in europe. it's absolutely amazing. experts from the universities of portsmouth and southampton say they hope to discover more remains to complete the story of a creature that roamed and ruled its ancient domain. duncan kennedy, bbc news, on the isle of wight. time for a look at the weather. here's darren bett. that looks a little bit ominous. it does, doesn't it? this is an ex tropical storm. does, doesn't it? this is an ex tropicalstorm. unusual does, doesn't it? this is an ex tropical storm. unusual to get one

this close to the uk at this time of year, but it is probably going to strengthen the winds across much of the country, and the strongest winds will be in the north—west. the weather fronts brought a lot of cloud around today, not much rain at all, but we have seen it clouding over from the west. we will have clearer skies following that overnight. there is the band of cloud with a little bit of light rain and drizzle, all pushing out towards the north sea. clearer skies will follow under south—westerly breeze, and that means it will probably be warmer than it was last night, particularly towards the south—east corner of england where it could be cloudy and damp first thing. then it is sunny spells first thing. then it is sunny spells first thing tomorrow with showers as well, not many for england and wales, but most of them for scotland and northern ireland, and in the western isles we could have gale force winds. 0n the whole it is quite warm air coming ourway with winds. 0n the whole it is quite warm air coming our way with that ex tropical storm so temperatures will

be in the low 20s. not good news for hayfever