all hello, this is bbc news. the headlines: russia investigates how, and what, caused the explosion that severely damaged its state—of—the—art — and well—defended — bridge to crimea. officials in the ukrainian city of zaporizhzia say 17 people have been killed by a russian missile strike on an apartment block. former uk culture secretary nadine dorries says prime minister liz truss needs to change course, if she wants to keep the party together and avoid facing a "wipeout" at the next general election. now on bbc news, we have a special your questions answered on uk financial turmoil and the cost of living. hello. with the cost of living rising

at its fastest rate in a0 years, welcome to this special edition of your questions answered. over the next half hour, we'll be examining in detail different areas of the squeeze on the pound in your pocket and some of the solutions that individuals, and communities, are finding. so, we've got a panel of experts. sarah pennells is a consumerfinance specialist at royal london, which calls itself the uk's largest mutual life, pensions and investment company. sabine goodwin is co—ordinator at the independent food aid network, which provides help to those at the sharp end of the cost—of—living crisis. and mercedes osborne is a mortgage expert at pointers financial — based in exeter. welcome to all of you. and also with us this week, our climate editorjustin rowlatt, who's out and about giving tips to householders on simple measures that may help reduce energy use. we'll be withjustin a bit later. and as you can see, we've got a whole range of topics lined up. but first, here's our personal finance correspondent kevin peachey,

with analysis on what's been a key discussion point this week — working—age benefits and whether they should be linked to inflation. that's prices, rather than wages. working—age benefits cost the government £87.4 billion last year. now, to put that into context, the defence budget is about half of that, at 42 billion, while health and social care for england is more than double, at 192 billion. the benefits budget covers a range of payments, including housing benefit, personal independence payments, and employment and support allowance, so sickness benefits. but the biggest chunk of it goes on universal credit. around 5.7 million people claim this benefit. more than 40% of these claimants are in work. for those who are unemployed and older than 25, they get £77 a week. now, benefits are uprated each april, usually in line with the previous september's inflation figure, which is

published later this month. but as you can see here, benefits didn't actually rise at all for a few years from 2016, and when they've risen since, that's not necessarily in line with inflation. and now, inflation is currently running at 9.9%, but average wages only increased by 5.2%, before bonuses, in the latest figures. increasing benefits by the lower amount would save the government about £5 billion. the prime minister says that pensions will increase by inflation, and some other benefits — like personal independence payment — must also legally increase in line with inflation. but it's the other ones, particularly universal credit, that are under scrutiny. we'll have more from kevin in a moment. but first, let's go to sabine goodwin. so, sabine, you coordinate hundreds of food banks across the country, so you've got a very good

understanding of how much pressure the most hard—up are under at the moment. some research has been done by moneytransfers.com on the impact of the cost—of—living crisis on people's mental wellbeing, and they've found that 54% of adults they spoke to — in a survey of 2,000 people — are facing increasing anxiety because of rising bills. so, what are people saying to you? sp, what ourfood bank members are saying is that so, what ourfood bank members are saying is that our need is increasing at a rate of knots at the moment and the situation is really untenable — both for people who are struggling to afford food and for the food banks who are trying to afford them. there were a few insecurity crises here in the uk well before the pandemic. 43% of households reported food insecurity up to march 2020. but now, our members are seeing more and more people struggling, needing their help, more and more people who are needing regular support, where they might have been

able to get by with support once a month. and more and more people who have never needed the help of a food bank needing their help. maybe people who used to donate to a food bank now seeking out the help from their local food bank. thank you, sabine, we'll be back with you for more a little bit later. but let's talk about the politics of it, because the government has pledged to link pensions to inflation — which is currently 9.9% — but the issue of what's going to happen with benefits still hasn't been resolved, and that's likely to go on. here's our political correspondent leila nathoo on the other issues facing the government. after having announced a series of tax cuts funded by borrowing, the government is now having to look at ways to find savings, to convince the markets its plans are credible. now, one thing the prime minister seems to have her eye on is the benefits bill. she's so far refused to commit to raising benefits in line with inflation. that's something the previous conservative government promised to do, and it's something labour

are calling for, too. now, it's prompted the latest row within the tory party. it dominated the final days of the tory party conference. you had backbenchers — including former work and pensions secretaries, as well as cabinet ministers — openly calling for the rise in benefit payments to be linked to inflation and not wages. the critics think it's politically impossible to be penalising the poorest in society, at a time when prices are rising so rapidly. but the thinking in downing street is that support is already being channelled to those who need it the most through support with energy bills and targeted cost—of—living payments. they think their big intervention on energy bills, to keep them down this winter, is addressing the main component of inflation and will have the effect of bringing inflation down over time. so they could argue that increasing benefits in line with inflation, while wages aren't keeping up, is in effect duplicating support. but there's likely to be more difficult decisions to come, as the government tries

to balance its books. they've already asked departments to find efficiency savings, and there's likely to be a further squeeze on public spending. and, remember, high inflation is already eating into departmental budgets, as well as driving up the cost of living. our political correspondent, leila nathoo. well, let's go back to sabine. just tell us more, sabine, about the increase in the use of food banks and the increasing demand for food aid in this country. so, first of all, it's important to understand that most people who are struggling to afford food won't actually access a food bank at all. we know from food standards agency data that 15% of people in england and wales and northern ireland up tojune, 2021 were reporting food insecurity, but 4% of those people, or 4% of people in those regions, were accessing a food bank. so, there's a huge difference. and that's because people

are ashamed, or worried, or feel the stigma of having to use a food bank. so people's mental health is being impacted, whether they're using a food bank or not. they're struggling and worrying about how they're going to meet the bills for food and energy and rent. and we know that this is, you know, terrible for people. but what we're also seeing on the ground now is this terrible worry that people who are trying to support people to afford food are facing because they can't actually, they don't have the capacity to cope. recent data from the independent food aid network showed that one in five organisations were actually having to reduce the size of their food parcels because they couldn't access sufficient food, or surplus food, to be able to make up the usual parcels they had been distributing. food donations, financial donations have dropped, and food banks are having to dip into their financial reserves in order to try to cope. so the situation is really unsustainable, and we need to see

a solution that increases people's incomes and reduces the need for charitable food aid very, very urgently indeed. thank you, sabine. well, we've had lots of questions from you and we'll be putting them through to our panellists. so, one here for you, kevin, from mr s palgrave, who says... "i'm 59 years old, i live alone in norwich. have you any idea when i'll receive that second cost—of—living payment, as i'm on benefits, unemployment support allowance? i'm sure many people would also like to know, as money is very tight," he says. yeah, 8 million people will probably want to know because they are the ones who are eligible for this particular cost—of—living payment. it goes to those on a low income, who are already in receipt of certain benefits. now, they receive the first instalment, £326, towards the end ofjuly. and what we learnt this week is that second instalment, that second payment, which mr palgrave has mentioned, that is coming between the 8th and the 23rd of november.

that's something we learnt for the first time this week. if you are eligible for this payment through tax credits, then you might have to wait a little bit longer. and it's really important to say that this is an automatic payment. it goes directly into your account. and inevitably, depressingly, fraudsters have been seizing on this, trying to get people's bank account details. but it's really important to stress, this is an automatic payment made into your account. you don't have to hand over any kind of banking details. ok, that's really important for people to know, isn't it? thank you, kevin. well, in terms of energy use, we've been hearing that british households could lose power for up to three hours at a time this winter if gas supplies run extremely low. we've been hearing that from the national grid. the company says it's an "unlikely" scenario, but has added that supply interruptions are a possibility if the energy crisis escalates. but none of us need any

extra incentive to try to reduce our energy bills. well, our climate editor, justin rowlatt, is at a property in east london, helping with solutions on how to cut down on energy spending. interestingly, justin, it's emerged that the government isn't going ahead with a public information campaign to try and tell people what to do because the viewers, it seems, people know what to do and people obviously are already doing a lot. so tell us more about what you've been looking at. yes, the government's taking quite a hard line on this. a report in the times today suggested that there was a plan to have a demand, a campaign to encourage people to reduce their energy demand that was vetoed. we spoke to the climate change minister today. he said there was an agreement across cabinet that this wouldn't be an appropriate way to move forward. but i'm here in hackney, at a flat owned by a guy called rob mcmanus. and i can guarantee you that i can save him money and reduce his impact on the environment. probably, i reckon i can probably cut his energy

bills by about a third. so quite significant savings by managing his demand. so let's go and have a look at his flat. rob, are you still there? hi, yeah. hi, rob. good to meet you. nice to meet you. liam, the cameraman, come on in. come on in, liam. let's have a look. so we start in the main room here. so, this is rob's kitchen and front room. start in the kitchen — very easy savings you can make. when you're boiling a cup of tea, measure out the water in a cup, only much as much as you need. heat stuff up in a microwave, not in the oven. that will save you loads of energy. boil the water in the kettle when you're making pasta, then put it on the pan. that will save you a bit. i've been looking, it's such an intrusion, i've been going round his house looking at everything! now, i notice you've got a couple of led light bulbs and then you've got one of these halogen light bulbs. yeah. the halogen light bulb, i mean, if you put your hand up to it when it's on, you will feel the heat coming off it. you can save yourself six quid a year by changing that to an led light bulb, and cover the cost of the light bulb. so it's a really easy saving.

if you've got halogen light bulbs, go through your house, get the warm—coloured led light bulbs and they're really good. now, more generally, bigger savings now. think about your house, right, where do you spend most of your time? i suspect it's in here. looks like you're working from here. i suggest you say, i'm only really going to heat this room, i'm not going to heat the rest of my house. get a big saving if you do that. and if you're going to do that, what i would suggest is, can you see the window there? get yourself a curtain, that's massively going to reduce draught. you wouldn't believe how much cold air comes through from the window, so get a curtain, that will make a big difference. get yourself a draught excluderfor the door, so you're only heating this room, which means... let's go down the corridor and have a look. which means that you don't need to heat the other rooms. but first, before we go into one of the other rooms, let's take a look at... come on, liam! let's have a look at your boiler. it's an electric boiler. they are not the most efficient. what you've got here, rob, is a giant kettle, right? boiling hot water. i would make sure that the temperature of the water

is down at about a0 or 50. you don't need any hotter than that. that's hot enough for a shower. mix a little less cold in if it's not warm enough. i would also suggest you look and see, lots of energy companies now are saying to people, if you use energy at low, peak times like at night, they actually give you money back. you can make as much as £10 a day by changing your demand pattern, so check with your energy suppliers whether you can do that. but even if you can't, i would suggest you only use this at night because rates tend to be lower at night. so put it on at night, don't heat it in the day. let's go into this bedroom. it's a bit of an intrusion, isn't it, going into all these...? so i'm very glad to see that you're drying all your stuff on the rack. that is much more efficient than a tumble drier, so keep doing that. these radiators, i mean, these are inefficient anyway, but what i'm going to say to you is, don't run the radiator this winter. and i know you've already said, this is an extension, it gets really cold in winter. but i'm saying, you're quite a young man, you can stay warm. get yourself another duvet. i mean, think of the cost of a duvet compared to the heat in the radiators.

it's going to save you a lot of money. and we'll come on to how much in a moment. more bad news for you, rob, i'm going to say no more baths, only showers. short showers, if you can. get yourself clean, then get out of the shower. the hot waterjust is really expensive. don't run the towel rack. you know, hang the towels on the rack in there and let the air dry them. much more efficient. let's go back into your front room. and i'll give you the reckoning, how much energy i reckon i can save for you! so, i reckon if you do everything that i've said, and we've spoken to which? and other experts on this, we reckon we can save you, that's about a third of your energy bill, possibly more. if you're really rigorous with this stuff. and when it is really cold, you stick with that, you know, having an extra duvet in your bedroom, a third of your energy. so at a time like this, when energy prices are higher, that is a significant saving. it is quite a punishing regime, though. what do you think? i think it's doable, yeah. i definitely need to cut back on the amount of energy i'm using through this winter, for sure. and the other thing, if you're watching telly, you don't really need to...

get yourself a blanket and you can sit under a blanket. it's quite cosy. i'm not sure... maybe two blankets, one for your family and one for you! you don't want to cuddle up under one. but you know what i mean? little things like that really do make a difference. i think you've got a question for me as well, haven't you? yeah, my question was about charging a laptop and a screen when working from home now, the additional energy that's used there, as opposed to going into the office. i mean, look, if you go into the office, you're going to be using a computer and probably a laptop as well, so that cancels out. there is an argument that your office probably is heating itself, it's going to be hot anyway, so you're going to save a little bit of home heating. i don't know, if you're careful in here, i suspect, and then you've got to also think, if you're looking at the environmental impact, you've got to think about your commute and how you're doing that. are you cycling, are you taking the train? an impact with that. look, i think it's probably a marginal benefit going into the office, probably slightly better to go into the office, but not huge. so i think it really depends on what you're most comfortable with. yeah. so just one quick question, do you think you're going to stick

to what i'm suggesting? yeah, definitely need to cut back on the amount of rooms i'm heating, for sure. but, yeah, i'll try my best and see how it goes. rob's got a flat mate. do you think your flatmate will be happy when you say, "no more"? h's a bit more of a stickler for the heating, so i'll have to try and convince him, i reckon _ you have had us round now. you have had us round now. anyway, joanna. it looks like there are no lights on there, i'm guessing you ordered him not to put the lights on! oh, that's a good... but you said about keeping the curtains shut or getting curtains. i mean, obviously, if someone... i'm assuming you mean in rooms that you're not in in the daytime, because there's that sort of, the cost then of putting the lights on reversing the cost of losing the heating? yeah, the light, i mean, if you are using low—energy lights, they are not massive. but you should always... i missed it, joanna. sorry. you should always turn the lights off when you're not in a room. and, yeah, he's been quite scrupulous with that. the curtains is more an issue of heat loss, rather than light. i mean, don't close the curtains during the day. but at night, in the evening, you're going to lose a lot of energy through the windows just because there's a cold

panel immediately exposed to the atmosphere outside. so curtains make a massive difference, actually. yeah. let's bring in some questions from viewers. sandra asks, why has the energy cap been set too high for people on benefits? £2,500 might benefit for those on middle incomes, but it does nothing for those struggling to pay now. my only solution is no heating or lighting this winter. it fails the poorest and benefits those middle earners. well, on that point, the energy price guarantee, previously the energy price cap, sets a limit on how much energy companies can charge for a unit of gas or electricity and also your standing charge, but it doesn't set a limit on your bills. so this £2,500 figure that we often hear isn't actually about how much you necessarily pay. and it is worth saying that there is extra help. there's £400 off your energy bill for everybody who has a domestic electricity supply. so basically, everybody who pays

for their electricity use, whether that's a prepayment meter or by direct debit. those payments will start being made first of all this month. if you're on certain means—tested benefits, then you will get the cost of living payment that kevin referred to, your correspondent kevin peachey, of £650. and if you are of a state pension age and on certain means—tested benefits, then you will get more. so all in all, this help could bring down a typical bill for somebody on working age benefits of about £11100, rather than £2,500, and less if you are either disabled or of a state pension age. "what is happening with the triple—lock pension increase, with inflation at 9.9% and wages up, what can pensioners expect

as a raise?" yes, so the state pension traditionally has risen via this triple—lock, which is the highest of inflation earnings of 2.5%. and it was suspended last year due to technical rises in earnings because of the after—effects of covid. now, it is due to kick in again from next april. and we have heard, i guess, a few mixed messages but, most recently, there is more of a commitment to that. so if state pensions rise by 10%, which is going to be probably what we are expecting inflation to be in september, that would take state pension for somebody who retired after 2016 and gets the full amount to about £10,000 a year. for people who retired before 2016, then the basic part of the state pension, that will increase from about £7,200 as it is currently to about £8,000 a year. but as i said, for people who don't get the full state pension, and there are quite a few of them, there are benefits you might be entitled to specifically that can

help with the cost of living. thank you, sarah. well, let's talk about mortgages now, kevin. last week, we saw lots of mortgages being pulled off the market, what has happened in the last week? yes. has happened in the last week? yes, that mini budget _ has happened in the last week? yes that mini budget raised expectations of a faster rise and higher rise in the benchmark bank of england rate and, as a result, lenders pulled those deals off the shelf, if you like. no, they have been repressing them and that is what we have seen quite a lot of this week. and i think if we can look at a graph here, joanna —— re—pricing them. what has happened is if you took out a fixed rate at the start of december, then you are looking at 2% to 3% interest rate, and that rose consistently over the following months as the bank of england revised those rates. so that is over the course of months. the second column we see is the day of the mini—budget. and as you can see, the two weeks after that, new fixed—rate deal has got more expensive, really

jumped up. a two year fixed—rate deal, over 6% interest rate for the first time for 1h years, so we are going back to the financial crisis. and then a five year deal over 6% for the first time for 12 years. and clearly, the difference between back in december, if you took out a fixed deal then come up with now, could be hundreds of pounds on your monthly repayments extra that you would spend now if you have taken out now compared with december. thank you, kevin. compared with december. thank you, kevin- let's — compared with december. thank you, kevin. let's talk _ compared with december. thank you, kevin. let's talk now _ compared with december. thank you, kevin. let's talk now 23. _ compared with december. thank you, kevin. let's talk now 23. mercedes, i kevin. let's talk now 23. mercedes, we spoke to you last week when the mortgage deals were being pulled and we arejust hearing mortgage deals were being pulled and we are just hearing there about the sorts of rates on offer. what is the best advice to someone who finds themselves either needing to remortgage now or take out a mortgage or imminently? 50. remortgage now or take out a mortgage or imminently? so, the best advice is as of— mortgage or imminently? so, the best advice is as of last _ mortgage or imminently? so, the best advice is as of last week _ mortgage or imminently? so, the best advice is as of last week get _ mortgage or imminently? so, the best advice is as of last week get advice - advice is as of last week get advice is the most important thing. get advice as early as possible. a lot

of lenders, and even more so in the last week, have switched that you are in a position where you can actually obtain a new fixed—rate up to six months before it ends untypically, that only used to be three months historically. as kevin was saying cover the interest rates have jumped was saying cover the interest rates havejumped considerably since was saying cover the interest rates have jumped considerably since the early part of the year. they have been on the steady rise but, last week, we did see lots of products withdrawn. in last week, lots of those have returned to lending so we do have more rates on offer than we did a week ago. do have more rates on offer than we did a week age-— do have more rates on offer than we did a week ago. thank you very much mercedes. well, _ did a week ago. thank you very much mercedes. well, let's _ did a week ago. thank you very much mercedes. well, let's go _ did a week ago. thank you very much mercedes. well, let's go back- did a week ago. thank you very much mercedes. well, let's go back to - mercedes. well, let's go back to food poverty and the increasing pressures on people trying to feed their households. farmers are struggling financially and the _ farmers are struggling financially and the main issue on my farm is the rise of— and the main issue on my farm is the rise of costs — and the main issue on my farm is the rise of costs. these costs have risen _ rise of costs. these costs have risen sharply, with fertiliser

rising — risen sharply, with fertiliser rising over 200% in the past year and animai— rising over 200% in the past year and animal feed 60%. with farmers struggling _ and animal feed 60%. with farmers struggling to pay their bills, they are looking at other options like reducing — are looking at other options like reducing the amount of food they produce _ reducing the amount of food they produce to cut costs. so what can be done _ produce to cut costs. so what can be done to _ produce to cut costs. so what can be done to ensure farmers like myself can successfully run our family farm businesses — can successfully run our family farm businesses and continue to put quality— businesses and continue to put quality food on the plates are briiish— quality food on the plates are british people?— quality food on the plates are british people? well, this cuts to the heart of _ british people? well, this cuts to the heart of everything, - british people? well, this cuts to the heart of everything, doesn'tl british people? well, this cuts to l the heart of everything, doesn't it? the increase in costs for businesses, then they get passed on to consumers, inflation goes up. what is the answer to her question about what businesses can do? yes. about what businesses can do? yes, it is a really — about what businesses can do? yes, it is a really difficult _ about what businesses can do? yes, it is a really difficult one _ about what businesses can do? is: it is a really difficult one to answer. we have got farmers seeing high prices, a lot of that is to do with global pressures. not least, the war in ukraine, which pushed up some of those prices for the things they really need like feed and so on. and that has been seen also with other businesses, those costs that they face, they can't get away from,

have been rising and clearly, they are having to pass some of those on to consumers. we see that most obviously with higher food to consumers. we see that most obviously with higherfood prices. there has been helpful business with energy costs. that is new. and also, we have seen petrol prices falling a little bit, which is clearly a major cost for many businesses, too. so there are some things that are moving now, but what is really difficult to tell is what is going to happen in the future. how long this is going to stretch out for. clearly, that kind of certainty is what any business craves. thank you, kevin. carolejones runs the vale pantry, a community food store in north dorset and she is also a conservative councillor on dorset council. welcome, tell us how yourfood welcome, tell us how your food store works. we welcome, tell us how your food store works. ~ . . welcome, tell us how your food store works. ~ ., ., , works. we are a community food store. works. we are a community food store- we _ works. we are a community food store- we are — works. we are a community food store. we are a _ works. we are a community food store. we are a registered - works. we are a community food i store. we are a registered charity, we have _ store. we are a registered charity, we have to — store. we are a registered charity, we have to purchase our food, we

deal with — we have to purchase our food, we deal with around 300 families each week _ deal with around 300 families each week. they make a small contribution and they— week. they make a small contribution and they are _ week. they make a small contribution and they are able to choose their food _ and they are able to choose their food like — and they are able to choose their food. like a food bank model, we have _ food. like a food bank model, we have a _ food. like a food bank model, we have a range of fresh food, chilled foods _ have a range of fresh food, chilled foods and — have a range of fresh food, chilled foods and meat and fish and dairy, lots of— foods and meat and fish and dairy, lots of fruit — foods and meat and fish and dairy, lots of fruit and veg, and it is about— lots of fruit and veg, and it is about giving dignity, choice and hope _ about giving dignity, choice and hope to— about giving dignity, choice and hope to those that need us. and it is a challenge at the moment, i can tell you _ is a challenge at the moment, i can tell you so— is a challenge at the moment, i can tell ou. , ., ., tell you. so tell is more about the challenges _ tell you. so tell is more about the challenges you — tell you. so tell is more about the challenges you are _ tell you. so tell is more about the challenges you are facing. - tell you. so tell is more about the challenges you are facing. two . tell you. so tell is more about the. challenges you are facing. two real challenges- — challenges you are facing. two real challenges. the _ challenges you are facing. two real challenges. the first _ challenges you are facing. two real challenges. the first is _ challenges you are facing. two real challenges. the first is raising - challenges. the first is raising enough — challenges. the first is raising enough money to buy the food we need each week, _ enough money to buy the food we need each week, we currently spend over 3,000 _ each week, we currently spend over 3000 each — each week, we currently spend over 3,000 each week. but what worries me terribly— 3,000 each week. but what worries me terribly at _ 3,000 each week. but what worries me terribly at the moment is we now have _ terribly at the moment is we now have families who can't afford the fuel to _ have families who can't afford the fuel to get into us and we need to find a _ fuel to get into us and we need to find a way— fuel to get into us and we need to find a way of getting to them. so next _ find a way of getting to them. so next project, if we can, if we could find a _ next project, if we can, if we could find a way— next project, if we can, if we could find a way of— next project, if we can, if we could find a way of resourcing a van where we could _ find a way of resourcing a van where we could offer an outreach service is that _ we could offer an outreach service is that we — we could offer an outreach service is that we are in a very rural area. and— is that we are in a very rural area. and wages— is that we are in a very rural area. and wages are low. rents are high and it— and wages are low. rents are high and it is— and wages are low. rents are high and it is very difficult for so many families — and it is very difficult for so many families. but i am worried about those _ families. but i am worried about those that— families. but i am worried about those that can't actually get to us at the _ those that can't actually get to us at the moment.— those that can't actually get to us

at the moment. ., ,, , ., , . at the moment. thank you very much. thank ou at the moment. thank you very much. thank you to — at the moment. thank you very much. thank you to all _ at the moment. thank you very much. thank you to all of _ at the moment. thank you very much. thank you to all of my _ at the moment. thank you very much. thank you to all of my guests. - thank you to all of my guests. sarah, sabine, mercedes and carol and justin. thank you for your questions. and if you are struggling to make ends meet and would like to find out more about where you can get help from, you can contact the bbc action line. the number is on the screen and it is free. or go to that website. well, that is all from us for now, goodbye. hello. whilst it's another day of sunshine to the south and east of the country, gathering dark clouds, wind and rain to the north, and the eest, that rain, strong to gale force winds across northern ireland in the west of scotland as we start the afternoon. the heaviest of the rain on the hills. it may brighten up in the far west of these as we go into the second

half of the afternoon, but that rain edging into eastern scotland, cumbria, the isle of man, gwynedd and also anglesey. much of england and wales, though, will stay dry. increasing amounts of cloud, although the further south and east you are, it stays sunny. 18,19 degrees. a strengthening breeze here, but very strong winds tonight in the far north of scotland. rain clears scotland and northern ireland, initially in northern england and wales before clearing out later. we finish the night with it across parts of south—west england, the midlands, and edging into east anglia and the south—east, where it won't be as cold as last night. but for the morning commute, cloud, outbreaks of rain and drizzle here. turning sunnier later. for many, it's a day of sunshine. a few showers around. north wales, north west midlands, north west england, scotland and northern ireland especially. but even here, some will stay dry, and ratherfresh in the breeze.

good afternoon. at least 17 people have been killed by russian missile strikes in the middle of the night on the city of zaporizhzhia. president zelensky condemned the attack as "absolute evil". the latest strikes came hours after the 12 mile long bridge linking russia to occupied crimea was badly damaged by an explosion. our diplomatic correspondent, paul adams, reports from the ukrainian capital, kyiv. in zaporizhzhia, this is what escalation looks like. a gaping

hole, where