of being involved in a plot to assassinate him. mr khan was shot in the leg at a protest march on thursday. the government has dismissed the claims as baseless and irresponsible. king charles has hosted a reception at buckingham palace for over 200 politicians and campaigners, ahead of the cop27 climate change summit in egypt. the king won't be attending but the british prime minister rishi sunak is now going, after initially declining an invitation. now on bbc news, the media show. a warning — this programme contains flashing images. hello, today we are asking whether it matters that the world's richest man now owns twitter. elon musk is the latest

american billionaire to take control of an influential social media platform. should we care? we will also hear from journalists with the bbc�*s africa eye investigations team about how open source journalism allowed them to uncover the truth behind tragedy on the moroccan spanish border. ben strick is one of the investigative journalists behind the story. out of interest, as we are talking about twitter, how important is it as a tool for your reporting? for many of us twitter is a lifeline. not only is it a way to share findings but there are a couple of reasons, first of all, collaboration. i never would have met some of the people i have worked with had it not been for twitter. second, it is a world of sources at our fingertips so we are able to contact those that we would not be able to actually reach. and third, it's a way for us to actually speak to people on the ground and it is one of those crucial platforms for that which, as we have seen with this investigation, we would not have had access to many of those people had

it not been for some platforms like twitter. we will come back to that later but let's go with the big story this week, elon musk announced himself as "chief twit" last week when his takeover of the well—known messaging app was announced, the use of racial slurs on the site spiked, apparently due to trolling. celebrities and concerned liberals threatened to leave. the new boss has now retitled himself "twitter complaint hotline operator." joining me today to talk about all this are peter, a leading tech journalist and host of a podcast. danielle, a professor of law who sits as adivisor to twitter on its trust and safety council. and shona, deputy editor at insiders uk bureau. welcome to you all. peter, you have been following this story, what is the latest on twitter? it this story, what is the latest on twitter?— this story, what is the latest on twitter? it is 1232 and i'm talkin: on twitter? it is 1232 and i'm talking to — on twitter? it is 1232 and i'm talking to you _ on twitter? it is 1232 and i'm talking to you in _ on twitter? it is 1232 and i'm talking to you in new - on twitter? it is 1232 and i'm talking to you in new york. on twitter? it is 1232 and i'm | talking to you in new york and some things can change but the best way to track what elon musk is going to do is to look

at his replies and he has been tweeting all night. he insisted that the $8 charge is going to require people to subscribe to something called twitter blue, he was arguing with stephen king, the horror author, about this a couple of nights ago. that is the blue tick which authenticates?— that is the blue tick which authenticates? , ,, , , authenticates? yes. supposedly he also said _ authenticates? yes. supposedly he also said overnight _ authenticates? yes. supposedly he also said overnight he - authenticates? yes. supposedly he also said overnight he had i he also said overnight he had met with a council, a group of people concerned about hate speech, and other bad behaviour on twitter, and he was not going to reinstate donald trump and other people who had been banned from the platform until after the upcoming us elections. what i need to emphasise, the polite way of describing what elon musk is doing is improvisational, he will say one thing and do another and change his mind, but most important but this is a man who pledged to buy twitter for $411 million in april and then he said he did

not want to do that, but now he owns it, so it is hard to give you a real answer, but a lot is happening and he's selling a lot of stuff at this.— lot of stuff at this. you work on the safety _ lot of stuff at this. you work on the safety and _ lot of stuff at this. you work on the safety and trust - on the safety and trust council, has he been speaking to you and any of your colleagues? it to you and any of your colleagues?— to you and any of your colleagues? to you and any of your colleauues? . , , . , colleagues? it has been as auiet colleagues? it has been as quiet as — colleagues? it has been as quiet as can _ colleagues? it has been as quiet as can be _ colleagues? it has been as quiet as can be and - colleagues? it has been as quiet as can be and we - colleagues? it has been as quiet as can be and we arej quiet as can be and we are supposed to have a meeting, a biannual— supposed to have a meeting, a biannual meeting, trust and safety— biannual meeting, trust and safety council, but no word, so i safety council, but no word, so i saw _ safety council, but no word, so i saw it — safety council, but no word, so i saw it on _ safety council, but no word, so i saw it on twitter, and i said. _ i saw it on twitter, and i said, what is up, i'll be going to be— said, what is up, i'll be going to be meeting, but no word. —— are we — to be meeting, but no word. —— are we the _ to be meeting, but no word. —— are we. the folks i'm working with. — are we. the folks i'm working with. i— are we. the folks i'm working with, i fear, are we. the folks i'm working with, ifear, the are we. the folks i'm working with, i fear, the general counsel, _ with, i fear, the general counsel, they have been fired. the ones — counsel, they have been fired. the ones i _ counsel, they have been fired. the ones i have worked closely with. _ the ones i have worked closely with. as — the ones i have worked closely with, as well as nick pickles, and — with, as well as nick pickles, and i— with, as well as nick pickles, and i wonder if they are in the process— and i wonder if they are in the process of— and i wonder if they are in the process of being fired. i fear he is — process of being fired. i fear

he is responding to bad press in 2014— he is responding to bad press in 2014 and 2015, the whole crew — in 2014 and 2015, the whole crew of _ in 2014 and 2015, the whole crew of trust and tracey foakes, _ crew of trust and tracey foakes, who are very careful and — foakes, who are very careful and sophisticated —— safety folks — and sophisticated —— safety folks it _ and sophisticated —— safety folks. it will be hard to reassemble so much of what is in house — reassemble so much of what is in house and then outside of that — in house and then outside of that, ,, ., ., , ., in house and then outside of that. ,, ., ., , ., ., that. shona, you were nodding, what is your— that. shona, you were nodding, what is your reaction? - what is your reaction? something i have been watching is the _ something i have been watching is the number— something i have been watching is the number of _ something i have been watching is the number of executives - something i have been watchingj is the number of executives who have _ is the number of executives who have been— is the number of executives who have been fired _ is the number of executives who have been fired but _ is the number of executives who have been fired but you - is the number of executives who have been fired but you say - have been fired but you say publicly— have been fired but you say publicly they _ have been fired but you say publicly they have - have been fired but you say publicly they have chosen l have been fired but you sayl publicly they have chosen to resign _ publicly they have chosen to resign the _ publicly they have chosen to resign. the number- publicly they have chosen to resign. the number of- publicly they have chosen to l resign. the number of women publicly they have chosen to - resign. the number of women who have _ resign. the number of women who have said — resign. the number of women who have said that, _ resign. the number of women who have said that, and _ resign. the number of women who have said that, and i'm _ resign. the number of women who have said that, and i'm not- have said that, and i'm not sure — have said that, and i'm not sure there _ have said that, and i'm not sure there are _ have said that, and i'm not sure there are any- have said that, and i'm not sure there are any womenl have said that, and i'm not. sure there are any women left in the — sure there are any women left in the twitter— sure there are any women left in the twitter c— sure there are any women left in the twitter c suite, - sure there are any women left in the twitter c suite, and - sure there are any women left in the twitter c suite, and the| in the twitter c suite, and the situation _ in the twitter c suite, and the situation changed _ in the twitter c suite, and the situation changed very - in the twitter c suite, and thej situation changed very quickly over— situation changed very quickly over the — situation changed very quickly over the last _ situation changed very quickly over the last 24 _ situation changed very quickly over the last 24 and _ situation changed very quickly over the last 24 and was - situation changed very quickly over the last 24 and was but i over the last 24 and was but the person— over the last 24 and was but the person we _ over the last 24 and was but the person we just - over the last 24 and was but. the person we just referenced, the person we just referenced, the legal— the person we just referenced, the legal who— the person we just referenced, the legal who was _ the person we just referenced, the legal who was responsiblel the legal who was responsible for a _ the legal who was responsible fora lot— the legal who was responsible for a lot of— the legal who was responsible for a lot of the _ the legal who was responsible for a lot of the content - for a lot of the content moderation _ for a lot of the content moderation approach, | for a lot of the content - moderation approach, she was out in — moderation approach, she was out in the _ moderation approach, she was out in the initial— moderation approach, she was out in the initial cluster- moderation approach, she was out in the initial cluster of- out in the initial cluster of ewits— out in the initial cluster of exits and _ out in the initial cluster of exits and i_ out in the initial cluster of exits and i believe - out in the initial cluster of exits and i believe the - out in the initial cluster of. exits and i believe the cmo out in the initial cluster of- exits and i believe the cmo in the chief— exits and i believe the cmo in the chief officer— exits and i believe the cmo in the chief officer has _

exits and i believe the cmo in. the chief officer has announced their— departure in the last 24, 48 hours. _ departure in the last 24, 48 hours. and _ departure in the last 24, 48 hours, and some _ departure in the last 24, 48 hours, and some of- departure in the last 24, 48 hours, and some of these . departure in the last 24, 48 - hours, and some of these women were _ hours, and some of these women were women— hours, and some of these women were women of— hours, and some of these women were women of colour, _ hours, and some of these women were women of colour, as - hours, and some of these women were women of colour, as well. l this will have other ramifications. - they believe that twitter has been racked to may grow wrecked tjy been racked to may grow wrecked by its former management because it was trying to prevent a certain group of people from expressing their opinions, on twitter, they thought that was wrong. it turns out most people who were advising about many people who were advising elon musk were on the conservative side of the spectrum but they believe in an old school early internet view of the web, let a thousand

voices speak and we will sort it out, and more speeches better than less speech. if you give elon musk a lie detector, thatis give elon musk a lie detector, that is what he truly does believe, but i don't think he has thought through any of this. well, we're going to come back to all of that and more later when it comes to twitter. but i want to turn to a story from africa eye that was published this week. africa eye is a bbc team that has been pioneering award winning journalism, often initially from information found online. and two of the team are here. you heard ben strick at the beginning, an investigative journalist who worked on the latest story. and suzanne is the director and editor. now, back injune, shocking video started circulating on social media showing moroccan and spanish border guards in violent clashes with african migrants. 24 people died in the incident

and dozens more are still missing. suzanne, how much was actually reported at the time? so that is quite, that's basically the crux of the whole matter of why this investigation led to the film that we that we're talking about, the fact that normally... well, let me let me take it back. there's massive groups of people who are regularly storming that border fence. and it's something that is reported on regularly. and there's never that many deaths. and all of a sudden there's 24 deaths and there's horrific videos going on online. and the response was a lot more violent than ever, yet we were not really covering it. mainstream media were mainly covering the whole the take the authorities were giving. they were saying that it was a violent attack. it was a violent attack by the migrants.

by the migrants. yes, they were defending themselves in that way and they were not really focusing well. they were not talking about the videos that were online. and these horrific videos were showing people detained on the floor, handcuffed on their back, a sea of bodies. you couldn't see where one person started and the other one ended. and there was this disconnect, what mainstream media was saying and and basically the bbc as a news organization struggles to report this kind of stuff when it comes online at first, because you have to verify it. that's the core. that's the core of the problem is that old school media organizations or old school way of doing journalism means you've got a reporter on the ground who who you can trust to tell you what's happened. and with social media giving everybody a camera in their pocket, all of a sudden there's there's there's people filming things everywhere. but again, there's the same problem that a journalist normally covers. who do you trust? what can you say? and the bbc as a news organization doesn't always succeed in getting that kind of stuff as quickly as people would like. ok.

so let me bring ben strick in then to tell us, what did you uncover? so i think it's a pretty interesting question. what we found was quite counter to what the narratives were online. so there were two specific videos that we actually focused on at the start. one video, which was primarily posted in spanish and arabic with language text, shows a lot of people heading towards the border with the idea of, hey, let's defend our borders. the other video shows lots of bodies on the ground, and that's the first video that i was sent by actually suz here, who's in the studio with you. and that kind of started us thinking, 0k, what else is online? what are the other videos that we could find to paint a real picture? and what we were able to do is to piece together all of that footage, to identify the events that happened that day. and through that, we're able to identify certain things that weren't reported. for example, how security forces cornered or backed migrants into a specific box, how they were tear gassed and trapped in that box, but also elements around where exactly where bodies lying on the ground?

were they in grey territory? so mixed spanish or moroccan territory? other things we were able to further identify, whichjust goes to show how much strength there is online and how much extra footage. and so this is things like social media profile, satellite images, that sort of thing that you're looking at? exactly. social media profiles, but mainly photos and videos uploaded from people living in morocco, living in spain. so in melilla, that little enclave and things like that. and that's the most important juice for us is those photos and videos are so core to what we do. 0k. well, suzanne, i mean, africa eye is celebrated for its open source investigations, the kind that ben and you have just been involved with, anatomy of a killing, for example, in 2018, which examined the shooting of women and children that the government in cameroon had called fake news. now, this latest is called death on the border. i wonder what role traditional journalism methods also play in this. and presumably, once you've

started, you've sent that video to ben and you start looking into it and you're looking for material online, but presumably you're also following it up with face to face conversations, sourcing it through the authorities? yes. well, this was this was actually quite a good mix of the two. and i think it's usually our open source documentaries kind of focus on the open source kind of verification. and in this one we really got a chance to mix the two where we have these videos of the whole day basically happening in front of our eyes. but then we also have testimony from the people who were there, and that's very rare. one of our other films was a livestream massacre happening right there and then in sudan, but we never got to speak to the victims. we never got to hear their side of the story. whereas with this one, we actually managed to track down some of the people who are on that floor being held, being beaten, and to ask them how was it, how did this happen? how were you treated afterwards? because i guess that's where the narrative clashes with the official version

of events was that people were saying people were falling off the fences and the crush is what killed most of the people. and so that's what the authorities were saying. but actually, our evidence and our videos and the testimony combined shows that, yes, lots of people died in those events. but actually, the core is there was no care. there's no medical care afterwards. so these people are being held on the floor for hours and hours and hours being detained, handcuffed behind their back. and many of them don't survive. yes, lots of them didn't survive. and that's where there's a big suspicion that, yes, there were 23 people who had died on the day. but actually there's 70 more people missing. and so the question is, what happened to those? who are they? where are they? and there's a suspicion that they probably passed somewhere further down in the day or the few next few days. and that's kind of where all of this gets fudged and and becomes really important. 0k. ben, when it comes to how you've told the story,

you know, it's on the bbc website, it's on youtube, but you've also done this, you know, very significant twitter thread. you were talking at the top about how important twitter is to your investigations, it's also very important to get the story out. yeah, that's right. i mean, forfor someone like me involved with the bbc, it's quite easy to have that reach. but for a lot of people that don't have, you know, that reach or that platform, something like a twitter thread or using twitter is just such a way to really gain traction and really post those full length pieces. and what we're able to do is to post snippets of videos, and we've seen those actually being used by otherjournalists and adding their own context to their such as "i saw this "back in 2017 and i have photos to add from that event too." and itjust allows those snippets of evidence, those little cookies and crumbs along the way to then be reflected into other pieces of information. and for us, that's the biggest thing. you know, all of these bricks that are on the wall with that

context that suz has added about that mortar in between, every one of those bricks can be replaced to make a new wall, which is a new investigation one day. and that's what we're really hoping with these twitter threads. ok, brilliant. thank you. i mean, we were talking at the start of the programme, obviously, about twitter and some of the finer detail of the musk plans about blue tech's job losses, that sort of thing. but, you know, is there a bigger question? shona ghosh, deputy editor, another american billionaire taking control of an influential social media platform. should we care? i think we should care. and, you know, twitterl is obviously an american company with american roots and is conflicted about its - attitude to free speech. but clearly, there is- a sense inside the company and with elon musk, that itl would promote an american idea of free speech, - which doesn't really match actually what the uk practises, what europe practises - and of course other parts of the world. _ so so that's one factor i of how american control and american influence that is despite being i a global platform. i think the other facet of it being american i is the importance of wealth

enabling you to expand - your power laterally. that's true in most - societies, if you're rich that it buys you power. but i think it's particularly true in the us that in this| instance musk and in fact the very wealthy tech - billionaires or indeed general billionaires and millionaires i are able to expand into the media, you know,| outside their core domains, into politics, influence - democracy in possibly. slightly alarming ways. now, musk hasn't necessarily said anything that is - particularly alarming and that necessarily goes— beyond his day to day trolling, i would say. i but it's clear he is - influenced by american ideas of free speech. and i think what's going to be interesting is seeing this- somewhat self—involved american, obviously, i of south african extraction, but being in the us - for a very long time, - billionaire, try and grapple with more complex ideas of free speech beyond the us. -

he's already had blowback from european regulatorsl who have said, you're i going to play by our rules while you operate in europe. and that will mean respecting european laws against hate i speech, for example. who knows what india - is going to say and who knows what what other asian and african nations i might say in response? that's going to be| pretty interesting. danielle citron, your response to that? you know, as an adviser to twitter on its trust and safety council. musk clearly misunderstands the even the american concept of free speech, which, you know, threats, stalking, harassment, certain kinds of defamation, they fall outside of the boundaries of the first amendment. and so the reason why twitter sort of changed its rules in 2015 is because we saw cyber mobs chase, you know, women offline with a perfect storm of totally unprotected speech. and advertisers wanted no part of it. so, you know, ithink i'm concerned that his understanding of what all these free, you know, as peter noted, the concept of let every flower bloom, but flowers cannot bloom when you're under

online assault. so my first book was about cyberstalking. and it is it is impossible to speak in the face of your nude photos being posted online. the suggestion you're a prostitute and where you can be located, rape threats and death threats. so, you know, iworry that, what do they say, what he has wrought, is going to be a whole lot of leaving of twitter, including advertisers. and i'll be sad, you know, i'lljust be personally sad. i really, like ben, who has really crucial reasons to be, of course, on this platform as a law professor, the kind of communities that we also create, computer scientists, you know, the ways in which we reach folks in our work. for me as an intimate privacy advocate, it will make me really sad. peter kafka, host of recode media. i saw a wry smile on your face at that point. oh, i'm not sure where the wry smile came in. i guess one thing i would emphasise is, is thinking

about what we're talking about when we're talking about twitter versus the internet. a lot of the issues we're talking about, so elon musk now blundering into with countries around the world, anyone who operates an internet business or any kind of internet operation has the same problems. most us companies can't operate in china, period. netflix took down episodes of a tv show at the request of the saudi government. anyone who's doing business internationally and ends up inevitably, no matter what they say at the beginning of theirjourney, ends up having to sort of wrestle and comply with different countries regulations. it's the fact that the internet is balkanized. it applies to everyone, not just twitter. and i think, again, elon musk probably has not really considered this again. you need to emphasize that he is twitter's owner, but he's also its most probably prolific and most popular user. and i think a lot of his view of what twitter is has been skewed by that. whenever he tweets something he's deluged with with all kinds of spam bot replies.

thus, he believes that spambots are a huge problem at twitter. if you're a normal person on twitter and you tweet, you probably aren't seeing that — so i think his view of the world and of twitter doesn't reflect many normal people's view. interesting. i mean, let's talk about ownership briefly. shona, twitter isn't actually owned solely by elon musk. of course, the second largest of his shareholders is a company linked to the saudi royal family. what about the influence of saudi shareholders? how committed can you be to free speech if you're partially funded by a regime that has jailed people for things they've posted on this very platform? i would love to say i that that is something that is being, you know, i considered with great depth by twitter or indeed any other tech company that has - links to saudi. but i suspect it isn't. you know, representatives- of the saudi shareholders have been tweeting at elon musk, also complaining about - various niche issues. but actually, saudi money is everywhere in tech, i thanks to a major investor i called softbank, who hopefully most normal people| won't have heard of. but sadly, the rest| of us dorks have to follow quite closely.

softbank is a japanese i telecoms company that has amassed enormous amounts of money from external- investors, including saudi, and has mostly plowed it. i into private tech companies andl now some public tech companies. so actually, the influence of saudi money is much i bigger in tech. so i suspect i don't know. really how carefully twitter will be thinking about it, i given that actually that's a broader problem across us tech. and danielle, we shouldn't forget i mean, the investment from the saudis predates elon musk. these kind of contradictions aren't actually new to twitter. you've advised them for over a decade. how seriously do you think the company took the question of free speech and protecting their users previously? based on what you've already said, i would say you think quite strongly. quite seriously. and of course, you know, twitter signed a memo of understanding with a european commission in 2018 which committed twitter to respecting and taking down within 24 hours hate speech defined in the way

that the european commission would define it, which is quite broadly speech that demeans and denigrates people based on their group membership, you know, specific, sensitive protected groups. and so i do think they sort of understood that they were a global business, that the eu was coming for them, that germany would be coming for them, that they have to adhere to gdpr, uk's gdpr, that is, they are a global company and that the consequences can be horrific when it comes to human rights abuses, when we see this platform used in ways that enable cyber mobs and genocide. so, you know, i think they get it. they used to get it, though we can't be sure, of course, what this looks like going forward. so i think on the one hand, we're going to see either them put out of business because the european and other governments are going to come sit on them hard for, you know, for speech violations that are relevant in their own countries.

or we see a balkanized that is a truly us twitter, which sadly not many people want to join if you don't have content moderation. peter, your thoughts on this? i mean, do you think elon musk has engaged with the idea of regulation at all? is he thinking globally? he will say he's thinking globally and he'll say this decree applies across the world. and then someone from the eu will say, actually, we've got to talk to you about that. he'll say, "oh, yeah, we should talk about that." and again, twitter was having struggles with india long before elon musk decided he wanted to own the company. whether or not he's thought about it doesn't matter. he's going to confront it regardless. and shona, i mean, canfree speech or a genuine town square exist at scale in the way he's talking? nope. and i don't think twitter has ever been a town square. i i think it has always been anarchy since it grew- to many millions of user. you know, there was a time in twitter's very early days i when it was very charming. you had to sms to be able to tweet. -

and it was essentially like - sending a group dm to some very friendly internet strangers. we are long past that internet, that internet is dead _ and gone, which is why some of the conversations that i pete kafka referred to in terms of returning to this pure - internet where it would all moderate itself i like a messaging board is pretty out of touch . in the current atmosphere i of polarisation and the fact that most of the world | is now on the internet. so, no, i don't think a town square is the right analogyl or is possible, that there - might be miniature town squares or communities inside twitter potentially. i but broadly, i would describe twitter as anarchy. _ 0k. well, i'd like, if possible, your predictions on what will happen next, peter? i mean, what are we expecting, more of the same with twitter, something dramatically different? it's difficult to predict with elon musk. i would say i'm 100% sure there will be chaos. in what form? any ideas? no, i'm not. i'm not going beyond that. i just know

there will be chaos. and danielle citron, what's your prediction? disappointing. disappointing? is anybody going to go do anything positive? that's the best i got for you! what about you ? neutral, i think. just looking at how musk runs some of his other companies, j and i'm not necessarily sure i there's an amazing track record there, but clearly at tesla, i which is, you know, has issues. but is very, for- the most part, fairly operationally tight, has achieved some| amazing things. if he has any sense, i he will bring in a group of very tight operators to take some of these issues - off his hands. what he's done that's very wild is obviously fire all these - operators straight off the bat. so he'll very quickly have i to bring in a new, very smart,

very sharp team to put out some of these fires. _ he seems capable of doing that. will he do it in time before twitter effectively collapses? i don't know. and could he do it to make it more profitable, to make the company more profitable and less of an echo chamber? is that in any chance of that survival that's succeeding? i don't think that is a short i or medium term likelihood, no. well, i'm afraid that is all we have time for today. thank you so much to all my guests, peter kafka, a leading tech journalist and presenter at the podcast recode media. danielle citron, a professor of law and author of the fight for privacy, protecting dignity, identity and love in the digital age. shona gauche from insiders uk bureau. benjamin strick, of course, and suzanne from africa eye. we will be back next week. in the meantime, you can head to the bbc sounds app and search for elon musk to find a whole radio four series about him. this will have other ramifications. but for now, thank you so much for listening. goodbye. a ridge of high pressure on friday brought a cold and frosty start, but a beautiful

day right across the country, hardly a cloud in the sky for many. temperatures did recover to highs ofjust under 14 degrees in swanage in dorset. it's all change as we move into the weekend, the satellite picture showing this area of low pressure, the isobars tightly squeezed around it, and it is going to throw yet more cloud, wind and rain in our direction. ahead of it we will see the temperatures falling away but as the night progresses, cloud will continue to build and the rain arrive so here not quite as cold. it does mean sheltered, rural parts of eastern scotland could see a touch of frost and low single figures. that is where the best of the morning sunshine is likely to be on saturday. the cloud, wind and rain will continue to push in from the west and that is going to spread its way steadily eastwards. by the afternoon, it will be sitting across scotland, down through the spine of the country and it will weaken a little bit and it will be cloudy with outbreaks of rain.

blustery winds. the best of the brighter weather in the last couple of days, 10—14 degrees. days, 10—14 degrees. if you have plans for bonfire night, draw a line from let's say south—east england through the wash, down to the isle of wight, anywhere south and east of that could be cloudy. we could see that rain pep up through the south—east into the early hours of sunday morning and lingerfor a time. whatever happens on sunday, low pressure not too far away and it will throw in bands of showers which may merge together for longer spells of rain for a time on sunday. be prepared for a little bit of everything for the second half of the weekend. there will be some drier, brighter interludes and those temperatures, similar values, ii—i4c. into monday and tuesday, it stays blustery with plenty of showers around.

the winds turning more southerly so it will be milder. have a lovely weekend. during a protest march. welcome to bbc news. i'm rich preston. our top stories: elon musk defends his decision to sack thousands of staff at twitter without warning. the american billionaire claims the cuts are essential for the financial stability of the social media platform. the former prime minister of pakistan, imran khan,

says he knew about a plot to kill him before he was shot