tonight at ten — two british men captured by russian forces while fighting for ukraine have been sentenced to death, accused of being mercenaries. sentenced to death, accused the men — along with a man from morocco — were 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'll 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 — outlining measures to boost home ownership in england. the sellers on ebay managing to offer ivory for sale,

despite a ban on the ivory trade — we have special investigation. and the undercover prince — how william took to the streets of london this week, selling the big issue magazine for the homeless. and coming up in the sport on the bbc news channel, the game of golf under threat. bbc news channel, the game of golf underthreat. phil bbc news channel, the game of golf under threat. phil mickelson among players suspended from the pga tour for taking part in the saudi backed liv golf event. good evening. two british men who were captured by russian forces while fighting for the ukrainian army have been sentenced to death. aiden aslin and shaun pinner were found guilty of being mercenaries by a court in the self—proclaimed donetsk people's republic, in eastern ukraine. the foreign secretary, liz truss, has condemned their sentence, calling it a sham judgement 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've surrendered. this was aiden aslin�*s last message to family and friends before he was captured. ran out of ammunition, didn't really have any other choice other than to surrender. he'd 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 russian television, being interrogated about his actions. today, on kremlin—backed media, the men were shown arriving for sentencing in donetsk, which is under the control of pro—russian rebels.

the court where the supposed trial was held is not internationally recognised. what has happened today i think is one of the most extraordinary things i've 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. and sharing footage of prisoners of war is viewed as a breach of the geneva conventions, so for now we're not broadcasting the full clips. there have been many ukrainian soldiers captured during the fighting, but it's 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's unclear of course what duress they may have been under. 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 judgement 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've become part of russia's propaganda war. emma vardy, bbc news. 0ur international correspondent 0rla guerin is in the donbas region tonight. 0rla, what's likely to happen next? well, the russian state news agency

as saying that these men will face a firing squad. in the short term, their lawyer says they will appeal. there is a month in which they can do that. i think realistically we are at the beginning of a complicated, protracted legal and political tug over these men. now, the government has said it's working with ukraine, it's doing everything possible to secure their release. we don't know in practical terms what that means or what leveraged britain could try to apply. downing street may be hoping that these men will be included in a future prisoner exchange. now, those have been happening between russia and ukraine. there have been several so far. excuse me. they have included fighters as well as civilians. but these two britons have become very high—profile figures and it could be the case that president putin will try to drive a hard bargain. it seems clear that this is an attempt by him to put pressure on britain,

which has been staunchly supportive of ukraine from the outset, which has said weapons here —— sent weapons here including some in eastern ukraine in use and has promised to send more advanced weapons systems. now, the families of the men, the british government and the ukrainian government insist they were serving here as part of the armed forces. they were lawful combatants and as such they should not have been subjected to this trial and it is a breach of the international humanitarian law and also of the devey and nick —— geneva conventions. amnesty international has described proceedings is a grotesque show trial and said it was a warning shot to britain because of its support of ukraine and it was in an area controlled by russian backed separatists in an unrecognised court and officials take their orders from president putin so you could say tonight these two britons are hostages of the russian leader. firia

hostages of the russian leader. 0rla guerin, hostages of the russian leader. 0rla guerin. thank— hostages of the russian leader. 0rla guerin, thank you. the cost of filling an average family car with petrol has hit more than £100 for the first time today, with the rac motoring group calling it "a truly dark day". the soaring price adds 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's considering doing fewer journeys in his three vans, or charging for delivery, as higher fuel costs put a squeeze on the business. we're finding it really 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's struggling. we're struggling at home. the staff are struggling. you know, we're all struggling. so, it's not only fuel, it's everything else that's 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 9ap is the cost of the petrol itself. transporting it costs 2p. the retailer takes a margin of 3p, then the government adds 53p in fuel duty — recently cut from 58 — 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 the hardest. the situation is really severe. so, we need the chancellor to cut

duty immediately by 10p a 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'm 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're doing things like increasing the supply- of energy, moving people into work, to ease some of the supply—side - pressures that we're seeing. but for now, at the petrol pump, the supermarket, 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're seeing elsewhere. a £50, £60 a week definitely has gone up to sort of like £70, £80 sometimes and you don't notice it till you get to the till and you think, i've only brought the same as i've bought a few months ago but it's nearly. like, doubling in price. are you coping all right? yeah, yeah. we're doing 0k, yeah. 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 costs

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 easier for people in england to buy a home. while the overwhelming majority of people want the chance to buy their own home, for far too many the finance required simply isn't available. the challenge facing first—time buyers today is bigger than anything we've 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've 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 the 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's this announcement today which is simply reheating an old idea. they piloted it, it didn't work. the prime minister is confronted by political and economic gales that appear to quicken by the week. yes, the cost of living crunch is farfrom unique to the uk but the forecasts are particularly bleak here. the prime minister says he wants to cut taxes, while in reality the opposite has been happening and of course 148

of his own mps want him gone. 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? 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. residents were part of a 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 would like to own her own home and was disappointed not to be accepted on the government's right to buy pilot. 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." most residents in barnesville close are on benefits which cover their rent. the government is suggesting universal credit could be classed as income to get a mortgage, butjackie, who i met on her doorstep, is not alone in being sceptical about how that might work. that's all i get is benefits. i don't get, you know, i've got nothing else, no savings or anything. but the government says you might be able to use benefits against a loan for a mortgage. i don't know. you haven't got 20,000 quid knocking about? i haven't, no. no, unfortunately not. the building lorry identifies a house where tenants did manage to buy their home, now being improved by proud ownerjaman. everybody, they're interested in buying their houses. really? you've started a trend. this extension of right to buy was actually the centrepiece of the 2015 tory manifesto and here we are seven years on and virtually

nothing has happened. indeed, for millions of people on moderate incomes, the dream of getting on the housing ladder is further away than ever. the price of the average house in england has risen from around £50,000 in 1997 to £300,000 today. that means the average house was around three times the average salary 25 years ago. now it's over nine times. glen, the social landlord here, says the pilot shows how hard it would be for ministers to keep their promise of one—for—one replacements of those council homes sold off under right to buy. if we sold 257 properties, we'd replace those with 165. there's still a third missing. the costs to replace are higher than the costs of sale, that's 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. police have recovered the bodies of two people from round four lake in devon after a boat capsized. 0fficers said a large—scale search missing specialist equipment had taken place after the boat capsized near 0kehampton yesterday afternoon. maritime accident investigators say two people who were missing were disabled. 0ne two people who were missing were disabled. one of few people rescued from the boat is in a critical condition in hospital. 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. iran, 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 isjudged 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. 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. 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 i feeljust 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. where it has the money going? not in the places— where it has the money going? not in the places it _ where it has the money going? not in the places it should be. it is immorah _ 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 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. a ban on the sale of ivory across the uk comes into force this week. but will it be enough? an investigation by bbc news and legal experts at the university of portsmouth has found that sellers on ebay are continuing to offer ivory for sale, simply by leaving the word "ivory" off the listing. ebay — which says it's been working to "tackle the illicit trade" —

instituted its own ban on ivory sales on any of its platforms more than a decade ago. but an analysis by ivory trade experts indicated that thousands of objects made of elephant tusk had been sold on the site since that ban. here's our science correspondent, victoria gill. you can sell almost anything on ebay. the online marketplace had 1.5 billion listings in 2021, from sellers all over the world, but there are some things you aren't allowed to sell. one is ivory. this is awful, seeing something like this for sale. this is a classic piece of ivory. ebay banned the sale of ivory back in 2009, but these researchers have carried out an online forensic test. that creamy colour you'd expect to see from elephant ivory. they say there are features visible in listings of items that make it clear they're made of ivory. those characteristic lines that you only see on ivory.

sellers are simply listing those items under a different term. "bovine bone" is the big one. it's the major one. it's the one that we found was used most when we did our three—month investigation, back in 2018, and it's still the biggest pseudonym being used now. but there's only one way to confirm that an item is made of ivory and that's to have it tested, so as part of our investigation, which started back in 2018 when researchers first contacted us, we bought some objects that were listed as "bovine bone" on ebay. this 0xford lab needs just a tiny sample for a tissue fingerprinting technique. we waited several weeks for the conclusion. so what were the results? we tested three of the objects that were advertised as "bovine bone" and of the three this little figure was actually most likely bovine bone. 0k. but two of the objects we were interested to discover, this bracelet and also this carved head, these were both elephant ivory.

these are definitely elephant tusk, elephant ivory? yeah. ebay is not alone in being an online marketplace where people might try to sell prohibited wildlife products. the company said it had been working to tackle the illegal trade in elephant ivory for nearly a decade and that its approach meant that sellers were forced to use code words for listings that were rarely sold. but the researchers who started this investigation found hundreds of sales of ivory that were completed, and the same code words were used repeatedly. wildlife charities and law enforcement have worked for decades to stem the flow of illegal ivory and protect africa's threatened elephant populations. in the uk, a total ban on the sale of ivory has just come into force. under previous law it was legal to sell antique ivory — items made before 19117. all of the progress we've made is great, but it's fragile and it risks being seriously undermined by enabling these transactions to continue to take place through use of the internet. experts in the ivory trade say that

companies that profit from these transactions should invest more of that profit in enforcing their own rules. victoria gill, bbc news. the age at which people can purchase tobacco products in england should be gradually increased — year on year — until no—one can buy them. that's according to an independent review. there are six million smokers in england, and although rates are falling, tobacco remains the single biggest cause of preventable illness and death, as our health editor hugh pym reports. smoking's declining but experts say not fast enough. today, a new review calls for increases in the legal age for buying tobacco from 18 in england. smoking is an addictive killer and we need to do everything we possibly can to reduce the number of smokers. so i'm suggesting that the government passes legislation to raise the age by one year at a time until no one can buy a tobacco product in this country ever again. but the question is, would the policy work in practice? it isn't a very nice habit,

i wish i'd never started and if it's going to stop younger people from doing it, then, what's the problem? 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. the report says vaping should be recommended to help people stop smoking but there should be bans on child—friendly packaging and promotions. the review is part of wider plans to reduce health inequalities and the government's levelling up agenda. smoking has a bigger impact in deprived areas but some argue against state intervention. this is really a question of people's individual liberty to make a decision about the kind of products they buy, what they are allowed to do, and in a free society, we shouldn't be arbitrarily saying because you were born after a certain date, you no longer have a right to purchase a product. so what happens next after this smoking review for england?

well, that is down to politicians at westminster who will decide whether the recommendations should be implemented. the official government line is they are being carefully considered, but one source indicated it was unlikely there would be a change to the legal smoking age at this stage. the uk's other nations are also looking at raising the age for buying tobacco. only a few like new zealand and denmark have so far go down the same route. hugh pym, bbc news. the remains of what's thought to be europe's largest ever land—based predator — a 10—metre long dinosaur — have been found on the isle of wight. the two—legged spinosaurid was more than ten metres long and lived 125 million years ago. sue barker has announced she will be stepping down from presenting the bbc�*s wimbledon coverage at the end of this year's tournament, after 30 years of covering the event. hello and welcome to wimbledon. she said she'd miss the role "terribly" but after 30 years, she felt the time was right.

he was out on the streets of london yesterday — selling the big issue. prince william's attempt at going undercover to help the homeless didn't last too long before he was spotted. some people did walk on by. 0thers though realised the man with the magazine sold by homeless people and the long—term unemployed was in fact the heir to the throne and they began taking photographs — which is how the story got out, as sarah campbell reports. at the weekend, he was with his family on the balcony of the palace he will one day call home. yesterday, prince william was in westminster selling the big issue, which for three decades has helped homeless people off the streets. when this retired police officer explained he had no change, prince william whipped out the card machine. and there was help too for brian gilmore, who asked whether william could put him in touch with the prince's trust, and he did. i have to give it to him. i think he's a great prince, literally. 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? like, that's big, that's rare and, yeah, he is the people's prince as far as i'm concerned. you don't want any of my recipes. it's not the first time prince william has volunteered his time to help the homeless. he has been visiting this charity, the passage, for years. a connection forged with his mother, diana, who brought him and harry here as children to show them, she said, "life beyond the palace walls". the big issue hasn't commented, neither has kensington palace. both happy to let the pictures do the talking. sarah campbell, bbc news. that's it. now on bbc one, time for the news where you are. have a very good night. hello and welcome to our look ahead

to what the the papers will be bringing us tomorrow. with me are the talktv presenter, daisy mcandrew, and the broadcaster, david davies. we will say hello to both in just a moment. we will say hello to both injust a moment. tomorrow's front pages, starting with... the financial times reports on what is calls a "debt blunder" by chancellor rishi sunak — who reportedly squandered £11 billion of taxpayers money, by paying too much interest on the government's debt. the telegraph leads with the two british men who've been sentenced to death by russian—backed separatists, after they were captured fighting for the ukrainian army. it makes the front page of the metro too — which refers to the men as "putin's pawns", and says they'll be executed by firing squad. the i says the death sentence has breached the geneva convention and says russia accuses them of being mercenaries despite their membership

of the ukrainian army unit. and