a growing divide among conservative mps over benefit increases and the tax u—turn. the prime minister faces growing pressure from within her party to commit to an increase in benefits in line with inflation. well, we haven't made a decision yet on that specific issue, and all of these things depend on the specific circumstances. it comes as a cabinet minister accuses mps of a coup against the prime minister to force the u—turn on tax. also on the programme... the official public inquiry into how covid was handled in the uk opens in london. its chair promises the bereaved and those who suffered will be at the heart of it. ukrainian forces seize back more territory in southern ukraine that's been illegally annexed by russia.

the former england footballer alex scott speaks out about the domestic abuse she and her mother experienced. i feel sorry right now that i've not used my voice sooner to help my mum, or any other woman that is in this position. and the man who spent 16 years building his own spitfire from scratch with the help of his wife finally takes off. coming up on sportsday on bbc news... i'm here at the inaugural bbc green sport awards, where we'll hear from some of the athletes using their sport to try and help raise climate awareness. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. the predator is facing mounting

pressure from within her party over a refusal to commit to increasing benefits in with inflation. the commons leader, penny mordaunt, said it made sense to do so, but ms truss is considering pegging the rise to the average wage increase — a much lowerfigure. it comes as a hope secretary accused tory mps of undermining liz truss and staging a coup to force a u—turn on the top rate of tax for high earners. chris mason reports from the conservative party conference. how much does this cost if i break it? is the prime minister in control? does she know what she is doing? liz truss, on a visit to a building site in birmingham today. she and the chancellor kwazi kwarteng must be tempted to leave those hard hats on all the time at the moment. the latest right is about benefits and whether all benefits payments should rise in line with wages or the much more

expensive option, keeping up with rising prices. iasked expensive option, keeping up with rising prices. i asked the prime minister, which of those was fair? well, we haven't made a decision yet on that specific issue. all of these things depend on the specific circumstances, but what i sought to do when i got into office as deal with the big challenges that we face as a country. people are facing energy bills of up to £6,000 so it is about making the right decisions at the right time. and as you say, there are different interpretations of what fairness is. for me, what it is about, fundamentally, is making sure everybody across this country has the opportunity to succeed. the prime minister might not have decided, but extraordinarily, this cabinet minister has. penny mordaunt, who sits around the cabinet table, says they should go up cabinet table, says they should go up in line with inflation. i5 cabinet table, says they should go up in line with inflation.— up in line with inflation. is she riuht? up in line with inflation. is she right? as _ up in line with inflation. is she right? as i _ up in line with inflation. is she right? as i said, _ up in line with inflation. is she right? as i said, we _

up in line with inflation. is she right? as i said, we have - up in line with inflation. is she right? as i said, we have not. right? as i said, we have not yet taken a decision, but how we operate benefits is an important issue but thatis benefits is an important issue but that is a decision to be made later this year. that is a decision to be made later this ear. ~ ., , that is a decision to be made later this ear. ~ .,, , ,., this year. when we last spoke you made a virtue _ this year. when we last spoke you made a virtue of _ this year. when we last spoke you made a virtue of being _ this year. when we last spoke you made a virtue of being willing - this year. when we last spoke you made a virtue of being willing to l this year. when we last spoke you | made a virtue of being willing to do things that were unpopular. how is that going? 0n the first encounter with trouble with your parliamentary party, you buckled? the with trouble with your parliamentary party. you buckled?— with trouble with your parliamentary party, you buckled? the 45p rate was somethin: party, you buckled? the 45p rate was something that _ party, you buckled? the 45p rate was something that was _ party, you buckled? the 45p rate was something that was a _ party, you buckled? the 45p rate was something that was a relatively - something that was a relatively minor part of our growth package. and i listened to what people had to say. both my parliamentary colleagues, but also to the public. and we have changed our policy as a result. d0 and we have changed our policy as a result. , ., ~ , ., and we have changed our policy as a result. i. ~ , ., result. do you think it is a good idea to be _ result. do you think it is a good idea to be unpopular? - result. do you think it is a good idea to be unpopular? i - result. do you think it is a good idea to be unpopular? i would i result. do you think it is a good i idea to be unpopular? i would like to see the higher— idea to be unpopular? i would like to see the higher rate _ idea to be unpopular? i would like to see the higher rate lower. - idea to be unpopular? i would like to see the higher rate lower. i - idea to be unpopular? i would like. to see the higher rate lower. i want us to be a competitive country, but i have listened to feedback and i want to take people with me. tra nsparently, want to take people with me. transparently, loads of tra nsparently, loads of conservatives transparently, loads of conservatives and plenty in the country were not with their own cutting tax for the best paid. and the idea has gone. at least for now.

this is a party not at ease with itself right now. listen to how the home secretary describes some of her own backbench colleagues... ultimately, i am very disappointed that members of our own parliamentary party staged a coup and undermined the authority of the prime minister in an unprofessional way. thejob? it is prime minister in an unprofessional way. the job? it is four opening month in thejob? it is four weeks to the day since she became prime minister and as a direct result of your experiment people will pay more on their mortgage or rent and as a direct result, your party has been an open revolt and opinion polls suggest you are tanking with the electorate. it has been a disaster, _ tanking with the electorate. it has been a disaster, hasn't _ tanking with the electorate. it has been a disaster, hasn't it? - tanking with the electorate. it has been a disaster, hasn't it? i - tanking with the electorate. it has been a disaster, hasn't it? i don't| been a disaster, hasn't it? i don't agree with that analysis. if you look at where we were, four weeks ago, people are facing energy bills of up to £6,000. we have taken action to keep taxes low. and the opinion polls? what i cared about is

doing the right thing by the british people, and of course, i have never pretended this would be easy. but what i have done as i have acted decisively, we have got those tax cuts that i have promised. this is how we are going to put the united kingdom on a successful long—term footing. kingdom on a successful long-term footinu. , . , kingdom on a successful long-term footinu. , , ., kingdom on a successful long-term footinu. , ., p footing. this has been a difficult, at times excruciating, _ footing. this has been a difficult, at times excruciating, few - footing. this has been a difficult, at times excruciating, few days i footing. this has been a difficult, l at times excruciating, few days for the conservatives. tomorrow, the prime minister takes to the stage for her conference address. eye to party members, and the country. chris mason, bbc news, in birmingham. well, benefits and how much they should go up by are now at the heart of the debate in government. 0ur social affairs correspondent michael buchanan has been looking at the figures. working age benefits cost the government £871; working age benefits cost the government £87.4 billion working age benefits cost the government £871; billion last week. in context, the defence budget is about half of that at £1;2 billion in the health and social care bill for

england is at almost double that, £192 billion. the benefits budget covers a range of payments, including personal independence payments, attendance allowance and housing benefit. but the biggest one undoubtedly is universal credit. around 5.7 million people claim this benefit. more than 1;0% of those claimants are in work, for those who are unemployed and older than 25 they get £77 a week. benefits are operated each april, usually in line with september's inflation figure, which is published later this month. but as you can see, benefits have not always risen with inflation, they did not rise at all for a number of years from 2016 and from 2020 they have not kept with inflation, either. inflation is currently running at 9.9%, wages before bonuses are running at 5.2%. increasing benefits by the lower amount would save the government

around £5 billion. at the minute the prime minister says pensioners will see their money rise with inflation and some other benefits like personal independence payments must also illegally increase in line with inflation. but it's the other ones, particularly universal credit, that ministers have their sights on. earlier this year, borisjohnson pledged that benefits would increase ijy pledged that benefits would increase by inflation next april. that is a commitment liz truss has so far refused to support. and if she doesn't, the anti—poverty group the joseph rowntree foundation calculate it will be the biggest permanent real terms cut to basic rate benefits ever made in a single year. michael, thank you. 0ur political editor chris mason is in birmingham. some very public disagreements amongst senior tories. some very public disagreements amongst seniortories. give some very public disagreements amongst senior tories. give us a sense of the scale of the disquiet. bluntly, this is a party that is far from being at ease with itself at the moment. we saw the ructions in anger over the proposed cut in tax

for the highest earners and then the u—turn. seniorfigures in government think at least an element of that row was caused by surprise. but it was a rabbit pulled out of the hat that then had to be shoved back into it. by contrast, this row over benefits is playing out differently. the government has not yet taken a decision but there is an open argument from cabinet ministers down, arguing on both sides of it. so, what does the government try to do? it is desperate to try and stoke down, calm down the revolt, there is irritation at the lack of discipline. and yet you have loyalists like the home secretary using the word coup to describe opposition, and that riles the opponents. this is a government in a very difficult place, a government that has a majority of more than 60 and yet is currently having to govern as if there is a hung parliament. a new government with

growing pains, and pains thatare growing. growing pains, and pains that are curowin. , ., ~ growing pains, and pains that are curowin. , ., a charity which stops good food from going to waste by getting it to those who need it most is calling on the uk's major supermarkets and food companies to give them more of their surplus food. fareshare says it's seen a drop in donations at the same time as demand for its services is surging. here's our consumer affairs correspondent, colletta smith. it's delivery day at this food pantry in salford. for £2.50, people can get about £20 worth of food. we have people in work. we have people who are unemployed and they've all got one thing in common. the prices of food are skyrocketing and the income is staying the same. the number of people joining here has been growing in recent months. we're doing double the capacity for about half the quantities. the bottom of ourfridge is completely empty. normally that would be where we put our chicken, our meat. and christine's not alone. fareshare gets surplus food

from producers and retailers into the hands of nearly 10,000 food banks and community kitchens. but this summer, they've hit a big problem. supermarkets are under real pressure at the moment to keep costs low for customers and keep the shelves full, which means their supply chains have been getting leaner and meaner. more of these products ending up on supermarket shelves, and fewer ending up here. it's really empty compared to what it normally is. that's a daily headache for carl. he's getting 1;0 fewer pallets from supermarkets into this centre in barnsley each month. there's just not a great deal in at the moment. so you've got some meat in here. some meat, yeah. somejuices. and donations from supermarkets are particularly important. if you're a community group trying to make a meal out of, let's say, just beetroot, it's really hard to make a meal out of that, whereas the retail food is very mixed. so it makes it much easier for our charities and community groups to make meals for the beneficiaries that they're serving. five big supermarkets have all told

us they are continuing to donate their surplus, but sainsbury�*s and asda also said reducing food waste was important to them. supermarkets and businesses and growers are doing their very best to support food banks and food charities, but it is not their responsibility to hold up the welfare state. the government needs to address the fact that people have not got the money to buy food. the government say they are committed to supporting the most vulnerable. as supermarkets tighten their own belts, it's exposed a hole in the system which they'd been plugging. colletta smith, bbc news. a public inquiry into the uk's handling of the covid pandemic has opened in london. the woman leading it — the former high court judge baroness hallett — said it would investigate how prepared the uk had been, how the government responded and what its impact had been on patients, the nhs and the public. she promised that bereaved families

and those who suffered would be at the heart of the inquiry — which is expected to last at least two years. here's our health editor hugh pym. hello. i'm abi williams. hello, i'm peter openshaw. hi. i'm doctor sanjay bhagani. three experts. a care home boss, a scientist on a government advisory committee, and an infectious diseases consultant. all three saw the early impact of covid before lockdown in march 2020. the world they knew was about to change. i can never forget that day. 0n the 16th of march when i received a call from one of my senior members of staff. she was actually on night duty. she called me about 2am in the morning and said, "abi, i'm sorry to tell you that we have our first covid case." how did you feel when you lost your first resident?

i cried. i did cry. and... ..i was just devastated, really. because i felt i was asking myself the question, "am i doing everything right?" i felt i wasn't doing enough. it was a telephone call. with one of my infectious diseases colleagues in milan. he was like, "sanjay, ihaven't had any- sleep at all this week. 0ur intensive care . unit completely full. the ward is completely full. you know, we are having to ration ventilators. - in other words, we are having to choose who gets onto a - ventilator and who doesn't. " and that for me - was like, oh, my god. we had a young doctor at another hospital- suddenly became very, very sick and required intensive care. -

and that was slightly scary, because it was like, - i can't explain this. i was asked to give an online seminar about what we were projecting in terms of the potential impact. and the numbers that i was giving out almost seemed unbelievable to me. i had to sort of pinch myself. today the inquiry chair said one word summed up the pandemic — loss. those who were bereaved lost the most. they lost loved ones and the ability to mourn properly. it is therefore right that we begin this first hearing with a minute's silence for those who died. she went on to say those who suffered would be at the heart of the inquiry. lawyers for bereaved families wanted further assurances. witnesses will be called from next spring and that will include those ministers who made the key decisions at the time. hugh pym, bbc news.

ukrainian forces have seized back more territory in the south of the country, near the key city of kherson, in one of the regions illegally annexed by russia. president zelensky says fierce fighting continues in a number of areas in the south and east. at the weekend, ukraine retook the strategic eastern town of lyman, which the russians had been using as a logistics base. but both sides paid a price for the battles there. 0ur senior international correspondent 0rla guerin reports — and a warning that you may find some of her report distressing. driving into lyman — now liberated soil. ukraine is clawing back territory. it has the momentum. but among the ruins, victory can look bleak. further in, the wreckage of war. and among the pines, there is death.

along the roadside, evidence of the human cost of russia's defeat. the bodies of fallen soldiers, still lying where they fell. ukrainian volunteers keep watch over the dead, trying to help identify the remains. unknown soldiers in vladimir putin's war. once, they were someone's husband or someone's son. a few steps away, a soviet book for teenagers entitled "adventure library". and something else russian troops left behind. deadly anti—tank mines — barely visible. well, there's evidence here notjust of fighting, but also of the desperate attempt russian troops made to get away. here on the road there is discarded bedding, backpacks, russian army uniforms and boots.

all of this cast aside by russian troops. what happened here wasn'tjust a defeat for president putin. it was a complete humiliation. last friday, he announced to the world that he was annexing territory, including lyman. he said it would be forever russia's. well, looking around here, you get a very different picture. especially from the top of a captured russian tank. we are going to win. i feel very good, very great. but lyman may never be as it was before. these deserted streets were once home to 20,000 people. including the cyrillic letters for the soviet union. lena and her ten—year—old son are out looking for water, and hoping their ordeal is over.

"the hardest thing was surviving the bombing", she tells me. "the shells were exploding." "we prayed as we stayed down in the cellar." "we didn't eat regularly and we couldn't even make tea." deprived of school, her son has learned lessons of war. "well, war is very bad", he tells me, "because people are dying, so the population is being reduced." and how do you feel now? "my heart is more at peace", he says. back at the edge of town, ukrainian forces head for new battles. they know they need to move fast. soon, freezing winter weather could slow their advance. 0rla guerin, bbc news, lyman.

the time is 6:19pm. our top story this evening... the prime ministers facing growing pressure within her party to increase benefits in line with inflation. under home—made spitfire takes off. and on sportsday, and the field is set for a big night of european football as liverpool host rangers in the champions league, the first time the two sides have ever met in a competitive match. the united nations says pakistan is facing a health emergency after the worst floods in decades — with hundreds of thousands of people living in make shift camps with no clean drinking water. the un has dramatically

increased its appealfor aid, saying it needs more than $800 million to try to control the spread of disease. in many areas, the flood waters have still not receded, and it's feared there could be serious food shortages. 0ur south asia correspondent rajini vaidyanathan reports from sindh, the worst—affected province. a warning — her report begins with some images you may find distressing. struggling to breathe. noor is just six years old. her brother ali has carried her to the village centre. running a high fever, she's soaked in sweat and has malaria. one of thousands of children stranded in flood hit areas. noor has been waiting for medical help for days now.

dr. amira gohar is treating her. i have given her antibiotics and paracetamol forfever, so she needs to go to hospital. i would advise them to take them to the hospital. but for noor�*s family, that's a challenge. large parts of pakistan remain underwater, including hundreds of hospitals. dr umar is delivering medical care by boat, part of a team of government doctors supported by unicef. we asked if we could join them as they travel to remote areas in this stricken village. every child we meet is sick. three—year—old gulbahar is covered in scabs. his mother tells us the only water he can drink or wash with is filthy. and that's led to desperation. families scramble as the team share bars of soap, something so basic, a lifeline against infection. one thing that's been striking

as we've been going around with dr amara today is just how many people in these cut off communities are still struggling to get proper food and access to clean drinking water. and it means that dr amara is seeing more and more patients who are malnourished. this stagnant pool which surrounds them swallowed their crops and is now making them sick. as mosquitoes multiply in these floodwaters, so do the diseases they bring. atanothervillage, dramara and her colleagues have set up a mobile clinic. they measure baby sinah�*s arm. she's malnourished. since the floods, her mother struggled to feed her. if this sort of camp didn't exist, what could happen to people in these communities? if we do not provide our extra

facilities to them, they cannot survive. for every child that gets help, there's another in need. pakistan's government is accused of not doing enough, but it says that without more international help, this could become a humanitarian crisis for the history books. a 14—year—old boy has been arrested on suspicion of murder after another 14—year—old boy died after being attacked in gateshead. a 13—year—old girl has also been arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender and also remains in custody. 0ur correspondent fiona trott is in gateshead. police trott is in gateshead. say that the boy's family are devastated police say that the boy's family are devastated beyond belief this evening. it happened here on the springwell estate after eight o'clock last night. 0ne resident told us she was putting her daughter told us she was putting her daughter to bed when she heard someone

screaming, and another resident told us that they saw a group of lads running past, shouting and screaming. an ambulance was called on the boy was taken to hospital with suspected stab wounds but he died overnight and then hours later, as his classmates were going to school, there was a minute's silence held for him, we have been told. flowers have been left at the scene here as well. one of the messages reads, you were an amazing friend to many and you had the most contagious smile. northumbria police say they are supporting the family in every way that they can. they are patrolling the estate this evening to reassure people, they have said this, that in this in —— region incidents of this nature are rare and when you speak to people here they are shocked and upset but there is anger as well, which is why the police are asking them not to speculate on social media because this investigation is still ongoing. the former england footballer alex scott has spoken about the domestic abuse she and her mother experienced during her childhood, saying she wishes she had spoken

about it sooner. the bbc broadcaster has released a memoir in which she describes her father's violent behaviour. herfather, tony, denies her claims though he said he was a strict parent. celestina 0lulode reports. i can visualise it like it was yesterday. it's like you try to move on with your life and leave it to the side, but it never leaves you. former footballer alex scott talking about the abuse she says she endured at the hands of her father, tony. in her new autobiography, she writes how her father was violent towards her mother too, whilst she and her brother were in bed. she doesn't know that her two kids that are in the room hearing everything. she is trying to be strong in a totally different way and we're trying to be strong for her but can't help her. the 37—year—old's father denies all the claims. your father has spoken to the daily mail... yeah. and he has denied ever being violent, but does acknowledge he was strict

and the quote to the paper was, he said, i was never violent. that'sjust not me. i never beat alex or anyone else in the family or did anything like that. strict, if you are saying being beaten with a belt is just being strict, i can take that. i really don't care about me. what i do care is about my mum and the fear and the terror that she had to live in. and the fact i was never able to help her. scott says she wishes she had spoken about it sooner. what i will do is do all i can to help women in this position, so they don't have the feelings that my mum has carried her whole life. scott says all the proceeds of her book will go to help women affected by domestic abuse. celestina 0lulode, bbc news. if you are affected by any of the

issues, you can find details of organisations who can help. the sound of a spitfire — the iconic fighter plane used by the raf during world war ii — is unmistakeable. but this one is different. it is not from decades past. this spitfire is actually brand—new — and it was built from scratch by a man who desperately wanted one, but who couldn't afford the multi—million pound price tag for an original. now it is finally taking to the skies, as duncan kennedy reports. what do you do when a childhood ambition takes off in your dreams? steve markham always wanted to have his own spitfire. but instead of buying one, he built one. the spitfire to me is the best aircraft that has ever been built. i just love flying it. it's a copy of a world war two spitfire photo reconnaissance aircraft. and it took steve more than 11,000 hours to make. has this been a labour of love? there were times when i did

have some deep despair. it would be untrue to say not, but most of the time i just loved doing it. steve was inspired as a boy by this film about wartime fighter pilot douglas bader and fell in love with the spitfire's graceful lines. he began the project in 2006 and, bit by bit, from airframe to avionics, he and his wife, kay, spent 11 years making it. down the years, steve did try and buy a spitfire, but was often outbid. 0ne already made would cost between £2 million and £1; million. the civil aviation authority has cleared steve's plane to fly. it may be a replica, but this is one man's tribute to an iconic original. duncan kennedy, bbc news in hampshire. time for a look at the weather.

here's nick miller. i will start with something that most of us will be happy to hear about, the sunshine and it's been there for northern scotland but most of us have been near to where the friends with cloud or rain that moved north overnight but overnight it moved south again as eventually weekly other cloud away and the sunshine and showers come in. this is what is happening at the moment. some rain in parts of england and wales and its northern ireland that turns wet in the night and all of the rain is pushing into scotland, heavyin the rain is pushing into scotland, heavy in the south—west with the wind picking up as well, and look how mild it will be across much of wales and england in particular into tomorrow morning. the first few hours of the morning you notice things moving east in terms of the wet weather and the process of clearing away, at eight o'clock in the morning, still a lot of rain around in scotland and very wet travel conditions as well and slightly brightening in the western isles. early rainy soon out of the way in northern ireland and it will brighten up quite quickly in the morning with heavy rain to content

with across parts of north—west england, wales and south—west england, wales and south—west england but