today at six, talks between the government and health unions to try and avert strike action end with little progress and recriminations. unions in england say there has been no offer on pay rises. at the prime minister, on a hospital visit, insist the government will keep on talking. on pay, we have always said that the government is happy to talk about pay demands and pay issues that are anchored in what is reasonable, what is responsible, what is affordable for the country. we didn't get the tangible concessions that we might have hoped or that would enable us to call off the strikes later this week and next. ministers also met teaching and rail unions to try and avoid strike action in those areas. we'll have all the latest. also on the programme... the government pledges to buy

thousands of extra beds in care homes in england, so that people can be discharged more quickly from hospital. in his latest round of interviews, prince harry describes queen consort camilla as the third person in his parents�* marriage. gareth bale announces his retirement from football, after a career that included five champions league wins and becoming wales�* most capped player. and history is about to be made here in cornwall. injust and history is about to be made here in cornwall. in just a few hours, the uk will be launching a rocket to deliver satellite into space for the very first time. on bbc london... and coming up on the bbc news channel, with the fa cup third round action drawing to a close tonight, we speak to stevenage boss steve evans as they upset the odds to beat aston villa.

good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. talks between the government and unions aimed at resolving the worst series of strikes for decades have been described as a "missed opportunity". ministers have been meeting with health, teaching and rail unions to try and resolve the walk—outs over pay and working conditions. the royal college of nursing said they were "bitterly disappointing". unison said some progress had been made. unions are calling for pay rises to keep up with the increases in the rising cost of living but ministers say any offer must be affordable. a government source described the talks today as useful and constructive. currently ambulance staff in england are due to stage two more strikes — this coming wednesday and also on the 23rd january. nurses will also walk out next week for two days — on the 18th and 19th. and in scotland this week there will be two days of strikes by teachers, starting tomorrow, with more staggered action beginning next week. our political editor, chris mason, reports.

a winter of strikes. i'm off to see union leaders heading into the government. so what's the chances of the rows being sorted out and the strikes cancelled? this is the department of health. this morning, unions representing health workers turned up to meet the health secretary. so were they optimistic? i think so, yeah. travelling in hope. but obviously there's some confusion about what is actually going to happen in the room. what are you hoping for today? what we've been demanding is talks on pay. the reality is that we are not going to resolve the crisis in the nhs, we are not going to be able to move on, unless we resolve 2022 pay. next stop, the department for education. teachers are striking in scotland tomorrow and the day after. in england and wales, many are being asked if they want to strike, too, over pay. if there's no extra money, then there can't be any movement. so, we'll see what we get from this meeting and report back afterwards. and there is the ongoing dispute on the railways aboutjobs, pay and conditions. union leaders went in to

see the rail minister. i've had my muesli, i'm ready to go! hi, i'm rishi. the prime minister hinted at the weekend that he might be in the mood for compromise. he was at a doctor's surgery in leeds today. i'm really pleased that union leaders accepted ministers' invitations to come in today to have discussions across the board, and that's a really positive development. and on pay, we've always said that the government is happy to talk about pay demands and pay issues that are anchored in what's reasonable, what's responsible, what's affordable for the country. but the most important thing is those talks are happening, and let's try and sit down and find a way through. one idea being talked about again privately at westminster is a one—off payment to striking workers, to acknowledge spiralling prices. it's something the welsh government, led by labour, is suggesting for health workers — albeit without saying how much it'd be. but it will be a sum of money that would not otherwise be available to their members,

during a difficult period, with all the cost—of—living pressures that we have faced. that could go directly into their members�* pockets. back in westminster, it's lunchtime. and the meetings are wrapping up. now time to dash down the road, around the corner, back to the department of health, and see how the union leaders in there have got on meeting the health secretary. it was a very civil meeting. we did actually manage to talk about pay. we didn't get the tangible concessions that we might have hoped, but it was definitely a progress. the strike is about pay in 2022. that's what the negotiations have to be about, and the government has missed the opportunity again. you sound insulted, angry. very angry. union leaders then left their meeting with the education secretary. we will always engage and always be there, i but while saying there are thoughts of further meetings, there's no- sense of concrete progress. and as for the rail unions, sometimes an expression

is all you need. nothing to say, actually! as you can see, we as you can see, we are as you can see, we are not wildly close to all this being sorted out but we should emphasise we were never likely to be today, with these very short meetings. the government takes comfort that meetings happened in the first place and there seems to have been a change of tone, if not yet a change of substance. but ministers are hinting they are in the mood to compromise and even if those comprises are not fully worked through yet put up there were some subtleties on display, you could see it, some of the union is coming to different conclusions about the meetings going on —— the unions opened and there was a big truth, yes, argument involving different unions in different sectors and different nations of the uk involving different government. as far as england is concerned and these meetings, the strikes that were in the diary this morning are still there tonight. chris, thank

you. the health secretary has announced the government is to block book 2,500 beds in residential homes to try to ease some of the pressure on the nhs. the move would free up beds in hospitals currently occupied by patients who are medically fit to leave. but care providers say it is no subdued for proper long—term planning. here's our health correspondentjim reed. thanks, fiona. we know the health service across the whole uk is under huge pressure. this graph shows the total number of hospital beds in england — around 100,000 — shown here in blue between november and january. doctors say to operate safety, the average number of beds being used should not go above 85%. that is what the dotted line shows. but this winter, once again, the nhs is operating well above that level, around 95% on some days which is beds are being used. the scottish government today also warned that hospitals

are "almost completely full". last week more than 12,000 of those beds in england — that's one in eight — were taken up by patients that's typically because there was no care plan or a social care place for them. the health secretary says extra emergency funding should help with that. when combined with a ramping up of the 500 million discharge funding, it will unplug, which will unlock an estimated 1000— to doesn't delay discharge cases, capacity on wards will be freed up which in turn enables those patient admitted by emergency departments to move towards, which in turn unblocks ambulance delays. this is something we've seen again and again this winter — long queues of ambulances stuck outside a&e, still with their patients, because the hospital itself is so full. one idea behind this new funding is to try to clear that backlog by using beds in care homes, hotels and private hospitals to free

up space in the nhs. labour described the plan as another sticking plaster. the labour described the plan as another sticking plaster-— sticking plaster. the nhs is in crisis, sticking plaster. the nhs is in crisis. the _ sticking plaster. the nhs is in crisis, the biggest _ sticking plaster. the nhs is in crisis, the biggest crisis - sticking plaster. the nhs is in crisis, the biggest crisis in - sticking plaster. the nhs is in crisis, the biggest crisis in its| crisis, the biggest crisis in its history — crisis, the biggest crisis in its history it _ crisis, the biggest crisis in its history. it is clear to the staff who — history. it is clear to the staff who have _ history. it is clear to the staff who have been slogging their guts out over_ who have been slogging their guts out over christmas, clear to everyone _ out over christmas, clear to everyone who uses the nhs as a patient, — everyone who uses the nhs as a patient, the only people who cannot see it are _ patient, the only people who cannot see it are the government. nicola sturgeon said similarfunding to free up beds would be made available in scotland. but care home managers said there needed to be a longer term solution. it should have been looked at much earlier and we knew this was going to be a tough winter, we have been told about that all the time. not only with the fact that covid is still around, but also that we were going to have a difficult flu season. so actually, this is something that has been talked about for a very long time. one big question is how quickly this new money can reach the front line.

and with the pressure on the health service now, doctors say fast action is needed to make any real difference this winter. thank you very much. there's been no comment from buckingham palace in response to prince harry's allegations concerning the royal family following broadcast interviews here in the uk and in the us. speaking on good morning america, the duke of sussex said his mother — princess diana — would be upset about the state of his relationship with prince william and accused here's our royal correspondent, nicholas witchell. across interview after interview, there have been three so far, harry's most damaging claim is that members of the royal family leaked stories to the press to enhance their own reputations and damage those are other family members. this is what he said on us television about camilla, the queen consort. i have a huge amount of compassion for her. being the third person within

my parents' marriage. she is my stepmother. i don't look at her as an evil stepmother. i see someone who married into this institution and has done everything she can to improve her own reputation and her own image, for her own sake. here is what harry believes _ own image, for her own sake. here is what harry believes is _ own image, for her own sake. here is what harry believes is evidence - own image, for her own sake. here is what harry believes is evidence of- what harry believes is evidence of that. in 1998, he says camilla leaked the story that she and the then 16—year—old prince william had a successful first meeting. in fact, the story got out due to an indiscretion by camilla's then private secretary amanda mcmanus who resigned immediately. the editor of the sun at the time with david yelland. he believes harry has misunderstood how the palace press relationship works. i misunderstood how the palace press relationship works.— relationship works. i never knew a situation where _ relationship works. i never knew a situation where members - relationship works. i never knew a situation where members of - relationship works. i never knew a situation where members of the i situation where members of the palace press operation ever briefed against another member of the royal

family. as far as my own personal experiences as editor of the sun, that never happened, however, there were many occasions when deal is needed to be done, but italy when the princes were young. they had done things which they did not want in the press and there were meetings that would happen and they would say, look, can you not print this, maybe you can print this? it was never about another member of the royalfamily, in my experience. carry�*s book is published tomorrow. the monarchy�*s opponents say it proves its time is up under the pressure group republic said this among harry's supporters, there is praise for his candour but also a note of caution.— praise for his candour but also a note of caution. harry and megan have to be _ note of caution. harry and megan have to be quite _ note of caution. harry and megan have to be quite careful— note of caution. harry and megan have to be quite careful right - note of caution. harry and megan| have to be quite careful right now. i think we will see for the rest of this year a couple retreating from a lot of what we have seen in the last

few months. the lot of what we have seen in the last few months-— lot of what we have seen in the last few months. the buffeting has been intense, it few months. the buffeting has been intense. it is — few months. the buffeting has been intense, it is not _ few months. the buffeting has been intense, it is not over _ few months. the buffeting has been intense, it is not over yet. _ few months. the buffeting has been intense, it is not over yet. the - intense, it is not over yet. the palaces remained battened down to ride out the remainder of the storm. rents for tenants living in private properties are rising at their fastest rate in seven years according to the office for national statistics. a quarter of tenants surveyed last december said their rent had gone up in the past six months. overall last year rents increased by 4% as landlords — facing higher mortgage rates — passed on their increasing costs. in the last half an hour, the government has confirmed it will reduce the support it provides to businesses and other non—domestic organisations towards their energy bills. government support will fall by two thirds from £18 billion to 5p. —— five 5p. the current scheme capped the cost per unit of energy for businesses who signed new contracts from april last year. it expires in march and the new scheme will apply

the current scheme capped the cost per unit of energy for businesses who signed new contracts from april last year. it expires in march and the new scheme will apply a discount to wholesale prices rather than cap them. our business editor simonjack explains the likely impact. this chemicals business in west bromwich signed its last from september till march. today's new scheme will give a discount to wholesale prices mean there's is no cap as to what businesses might have to pay. all help is very very welcome, however, we are a small company, our energy is tripling this year, which means that you know, being a small company we have one part of the money. i fear that redistricting our money away from innovation into basically survival is not a good thing for the business and it is not a good thing for uk plc either. very heavy energy users will get a bigger discount but adrian is not clear whether his company will qualify, it is notjust businesses, all non—domestic users like schools and charities are also anxious about future bills.

our costs from gone up from £19,000 pounds a day to £23,000 a day to run the charity, at the moment we are filling in that shortfall with fundraising. it is really tough because obviously, this is something that everyone is facing, and it is quite difficult to get donations in. hugely volatile wholesale prices have fallen in recent weeks as temperatures in northern europe have been higher than usual but they are still over three times their long—term average meaning most businesses will see bills rise this year. now this mild weather has been a blessing for the government, it will end up spending less than the £18.5 billion it is estimated the current scheme will cost, but that could change at any time. you could see a cold snap, escalating global tensions or a resurgent chinese economy, bidding up the demand for global energy, and what this new scheme does it means all the risk of future higher prices now lies with businesses and not the government. businesses like this pub group who have seen energy driven inflation push up the cost of food,

beer and wages, and say that volatile energy prices have hit their confidence and that of their customers. we are being very cautious because the threat of higher energy costs, which we experienced last year is very much in our mind set. but it is notjust the energy increases for ourselves but it is the energy cost increases to our consumer, and if we don't have a confident consumer, then that obviously weighs on our confidence, to go and expand the business. ultimately, this year most businesses will continue to see their costs rise, just as their customers see their disposable incomes fall. a challenging mix for 2023. simon jack, bbc news. the time is 1815. our top story this evening. the prime minister says the government is willing to talk to unions about pay but today's meeting to try to stop the strikes ends with little progress.

and still to come, an inquest hears how a young woman in a secure psychiatric ward was able to order a poison online and take her own life. coming up in sportsday on the bbc news channel, wales captain gareth bale announces his retirement from international and club football at the age of 33, after guiding his team to a first world cup in 64 years. leaders around the world have condemned yesterday's riots in the brazilian capital as an attack on democracy. thousands of supporters of the former far—right leader, jair bolsonaro, stormed and ransacked government buildings in brasilia. bolsonaro came to power in 2019, his admisistration was marked by policies that were seen to be harmful to the amazon rain forest, and his response to covid, where he downplayed the effects of the pandemic.

the new president — left wing luiz inacio lula da silva came to power in october, he had been president before, and had served a prison sentence for corruption, a conviction that was later anulled. the close result in october's election, just 51% to a9, show how divided a country brazil is. our south american correspondent katy watson reports. these chaotic images have sent shock waves across brazil and beyond. two years on from an invasion of the us capital, history has repeated itself, threatening democracy in the most violent way. protesters entered congress, the supreme federal court and the presidential palace. not content with just taking over the government buildings, they destroyed offices and valuable artwork too. this was a scenario many here in brazilfeared might play out after lula's narrow win in october. this is a deeply divided country, and these protesters believe the election was stolen,

that there was fraud, despite no evidence of that. but what angers these hardline protesters most is the fact that lula won, a man they see as belonging in prison, not the presidential palace. translation: we don't believe | that this election was democratic. there are several indications that there was fraud, that there was corruption. lula, the democratically elected president who's been in the job forjust over a week, condemned what happened, calling the protesters fanatical fascists. translation: all those people who did this will be _ found and punished. they will realise that democracy guarantees the right to freedom and free speech. overnight, the area was cleared and a supreme courtjudge ordered the dismantling of the protesters' camp in front of the military barracks in the capital. 1,200 people were arrested and bused to the federal police station. across the country, similar camps were set up after the elections, protesters calling for military intervention to — in their words — save brazil.

here in sao paulo, the police have come in and they're telling everybody to clear out. yes, the calm has been restored, people here are obeying the orders begrudgingly, but there's still a lot of political division and a lot of anger about having to dismantle the camp. question marks remain about how this was allowed to happen — what role did authorities play, but most importantly the former leaderjair bolsonaro, currently in the us and accused of fomenting the violence? there are growing calls for him to be extradited and face justice back home. katy watson, bbc news in sao paulo. an inquest has heard that a patient in a secure psychiatric ward was able to order a poisonous substance online, have it delivered and end her own life despite being under constant supervision. beth matthews was 26 and a well known mental health blogger with tens of thousands of followers. in march last year she was being

treated as an nhs patient at a hospital near manchester run by the private company the priory group. angus crawford has been at the first day of the hearing. she loved sailing, winning races and trophies, was described in court as bright and vivacious, but underneath, beth matthews was struggling with her mental health. the hearing was told beth tried to end her life in 2019 and went through months of physio after suffering serious injuries. and she became a mental health campaigner... obviously that day was the lowest point in my life... ..talking openly about her recovery. but beth was not coping with her injuries and was admitted to a specialist unit here in cheadle, paid for by the nhs, run by private company the priory group. then, on march the 21st last year, she took her own life. her inquest opened today in stockport — herfather chris, on the right, determined to find out what happened.

the jury was told that, despite being in a locked ward under constant supervision, she had a parcel delivered containing a poisonous substance, which she opened and managed to consume. the parcel had foreign writing on it, the powder, in a small plastic container, bought on the internet. a statement from beth's motherjane was also read to the court. she said her daughter had gained a massive twitter following and had touched the lives of so many people. people like melanie in sheffield. she was a truly lovely, genuine, funny and inspirational person. she was just amazing. you know, to know she was lying in a hospital bed, absolutely terrified, in absolute agony and she is still reaching out to you at two o'clock in the morning, telling you you can do it, telling you it's worth it, telling you you're worth it. what beth did more powerfully- than almost anyone was just explain those raw, really difficult, i really challenging moments that she was facing in her life but that kind of willingness .

to share actually saved other people's lives. i but it wasn't only strangers on twitter she helped. she also used her experiences to train police negotiators. it was quite simply quite electrifying in a way because it was just... we had never had that insight before. she was just resolute in the fact that she would do anything she could to help other people and help it not happen to them. beth died in the care of the priory. how that happened is up to the jury to decide. angus crawford, bbc news. details of organisations offering information and support with mental health are available at bbc.co.uk/actionline, or you can call for free at any time to hear recorded

information on 08000155 998. a teenager has admitted the murder of a 14—year—old boy, who was london's youngest stabbing victim, in 2021. jermaine cools was attacked in a fight involving a number of people, near west croydon station in south london. he took himself to hospital where he later died. a 17—year—old will be sentenced next month. gareth bale, the wales football captain, has announced his retirement from the game. in a twitter post, wales' most capped player said he has experienced "the highest of highs" over 17 seasons. before christmas, he led his nation to their first world cup appearance in 64 years. jane dougall looks back at his career. must score... and does! he didn't know it, but this was gareth bale's last goalfor wales. despite saying he would not retire after the 2022 world cup, that's exactly what the 33—year—old has done.

he made the announcement on social media, saying... and it was this patriotic passion which endeared bale to the fans. he's done an awful lot for wales and i think he'll be a sad loss. he's been a star for wales. and i believe he's shown a great demonstration to the people who look up to him. it was just kind of expected, really, wasn't it? _ i think especially after— the world cup and it not going quite as well as you would have hoped. despite the disappointing early exit, bale's international career has been impressive, with 111 caps. as much as he's been a great player at club level, internationally, he's been just as good. so, he is the very, very best, the best welsh player that we've ever seen in a red shirt. he began his professional

career at southampton, but it was whilst playing for tottenham that bale developed into a world—class player. in 2013, he was sold to spanish club real madrid for what was then a record fee of £83 million. bale enjoyed great success, winning five champions league trophies and earning the reputation as one of the best wingers in the world. but in the latter years, he fell out of favour with the club, apparently preferring the golf course. but it was for his country that bale's passion shone the brightest — his team—mates a band of brothers, the fans a red wall. apt, then, that wales's final game in a much anticipated world cup was also his last with the dragon on his shirt. jane dougall, bbc news. final preparations are under way in cornwall as the uk's first ever satellite launch is due to take place in just a few hours' time. the mission will see a repurposed 7117 jumbo jet release a rocket over the atlantic to take nine satellites

high above the earth. if successful, it will the first time the uk has had its own access to space. our science editor rebecca morelle reports. five, four, three, two, one, lift off! in newquay in cornwall, the children of the bishops learning academy are having a crash course in rocket science because a launch is about to happen just down the road from them. we might actually get the chance to see it over newquay and there is going to be, like, probably lots of people there watching it. even though it's very late, i'm going to beg my mum that i can watch it because i'm really excited about it! the launch is taking place at newquay airport, home to spaceport cornwall, but it's a lift—off with a difference. the rocket is attached to this jumbojet, and it will be released mid—flight, firing its engines to send

satellites into orbit — the first time this has been done from british soil. it's been a huge team effort to get to this place. we are the guinea pig. it's the first time any of us has done this so it has been quite a learning experience and it is something we are really proud of but something we want to look at how we make it more efficient going forward, and share the lessons learned. the rocket and aircraft belong to virgin orbit. on the lower deck, all the seats have been stripped out to save weight, because a rocket full of fuel is a heavy load. but at the front, a small modification will have a big effect. here in the cockpit are all the usual controls that you need to fly a plane, but there is one big difference, and it's this. this red square is a release button, and about an hour into the flight, the pilot will press this to drop the rocket. until now, these launches have been carried out from california. copy, drop ready. release, release, release. the drop happens at 35,000 feet,

and it's a perilous manoeuvre. everything has to work perfectly to get the rocket on its way. for the uk flight, raf pilot matthew stannard will be at the controls. we enter what's called a terminal count procedure, and that's for when things, for us, certainly get more interesting, as we go through that sequence. at the end of that 15—minute terminal count, the rocket says, "i'm ready to go now". and it's myjob to make sure the aeroplane is at the right bit in the sky, in the right position, so when the rocket says "i'm ready to go", away she goes. on the ground, at mission control, the launch team will be monitoring every minute of the flight. it will be a tense time. i wouldn't say it's a nervous atmosphere. i think we all run off of adrenaline, for sure. but we're all pretty calm because we've rehearsed, we're confident in our systems since we've done all our checkouts, and we're ready to go, basically. there's a lot riding on this rocket. if the launch goes to plan, it will be a major milestone for the uk — the first step in becoming a global player in space.

rebecca morelle, bbc news, newquay. the plane is just the plane isjust on the plane is just on the runway behind me e and fuelling is about to begin, the launch window opens at just after 9.30 when we should see the plane taking off. about an hour into the flight, the rocket will be dropped, begin itsjourney on into the flight, the rocket will be dropped, begin its journey on wards and upwards to space. there is a great deal of excitement here at space port cornwall, about 2,000 people are expected to watch a moment of uk space history being made. rebecca in newquay, thanks very much. rebecca in newquay, thanks very much. time for a look at the weather. here's matt taylor. the weather has been dreadful, is it going to get better? ida. the weather has been dreadful, is it going to get better?— going to get better? no, cloud may soilthe going to get better? no, cloud may spoil the view _ going to get better? no, cloud may spoil the view of _ going to get better? no, cloud may spoil the view of the _ going to get better? no, cloud may spoil the view of the rocket, - going to get better? no, cloud may spoil the view of the rocket, but. spoil the view of the rocket, but today— spoil the view of the rocket, but today we — spoil the view of the rocket, but today we have had a respite from the rain, particularly in southern area, we had _ rain, particularly in southern area, we had a _ rain, particularly in southern area, we had a dry—

rain, particularly in southern area, we had a dry spell in the summer, it has rained _