yes. idid. an accompanying television documentary will be shown on bbc two next month. but the podcast series, which started last week, has already caused something of a storm. several national newspapers objected to the bbc giving the oxygen of publicity to a member of a terror group, as they saw it. and neil seagrave emailed newswatch to ask... and sharon doherty also got in touch with us to say...

well, the series editor of the shamima begum story isjonathan aspinwall, and we can talk to him now. thank you for coming on newswatch, jonathan. why did you think this was a podcast series worth making? i think this is an important podcast because of the forensic journalism around this particular story that we have done here at the bbc. it's a really important investigation into what shamima begum did and what she didn't do when she reached the islamic state territory. but it's also a retracing of herjourney from east london to turkey and then into syria and what exactly happened on that journey. it's important to stress that this is a story which is notjust told through challenging interviews with shamima begum. we then go and test what shamima begum has said with other eyewitnesses, with experts, and also with some of the victims of the islamic state. you see, people are saying, all very well, but is it

to interview someone who joined a terror group to tell her story when we know at the same time she's trying to win sympathy for her ongoing court case? i think the key things here are there is a lot of noise and some confusion over what exactly happened on that particularjourney from east london to syria, and we absolutely explore that. we never take her account as necessarily the truth. ourjob is to unpick. ourjob is to test. ourjob is to find out exactly what happened. and then there are key issues around radicalisation, and we know that radicalisation amongst young people is an issue. and shamima begum's experience tells us about radicalisation and you'll hear in this ten—part podcast series about the radicalisation process in terms of propaganda, in terms of social media, there are important public interest editorialjustifications. those are all legitimate questions potentially, and it's all about the framing.

but the title of this podcast series is i'm not a monster: series 2, the shamima begum story. sounds like it's her story. it's not her story. why do you call it that? it's the shamima begum story, is a piece ofjournalism. it's forensic journalism in which we test what's happened. and the i'm not a monster, it's series two of that particular strand and it fits in that particular feed. but the shamima begum story is about proper bbc news investigations, properjournalism by a very experienced team of specialists, investigative journalists. josh baker, who is thejournalist behind this series, has been investigating this for years and years and years and is extremely experienced in terms of reporting on what happens in syria, on what happens, the consequences of the islamic group's actions and also radicalisation. these are his areas of expertise. so this is a very professional team and it's good to see the likes

of the daily telegraph in their reviews of this podcast, acknowledging that this is journalism, that this is very forensic, that it's not giving shamima begum an unchallenged platform. that's a really important to us. what about time? the shamima begum story gets ten episodes. people are very uncomfortable at the amount of attention you're giving her. it's a very complex story. well, you'll know how divisive it is. you'll know the very strong emotions, the very strong feelings about this particular story. and from perspective that some people feel she is a monster, that she should never be allowed back into this country. and they talk about how shejoined the is group, a terror group, and how she went into syria, into islamic state group territory. i would also say there's other perspectives where people say that she was groomed, that she was exploited, that she was trafficked, and that she that she is a victim in this. and ourjob is basically to try and unpick her story and work out what is true and what's not true. so what are the facts and what's fiction?

and that's been the basis of this journalism. and i'm really proud of the journalism that we've done. it's very thorough. it tests what she's saying, and we never take what she says on face value. we really interrogate what she said, and i think that's really important. did the bbc pay her? it's really clear to say that the bbc did not pay her and that would be an absolute red line and that would break our editorial guidelines in kind. not in cash? no, we did not pay her. no. jonathan aspinwall, thank you so much for coming on. newswatch. thank you. jacinda ardern became the youngest female head of government in the world in 2017 when she was elected prime minister of new zealand at the age of 37. on thursday, she announced she was stepping down after what she described as six challenging years in the job.

online and on social media, bbc world news headline their story on this with the words, can women really have it all? and that met with a scathing response from the likes of cat... robert rutledge agreed... and here's catherine o'brien... we put those points to bbc news and they told us... last friday, the cardiologist, drasima

malhotra, was invited onto the bbc news channel to discuss the use of statins for patients at risk of heart disease. he is, though, also well known for holding controversial views about some covid vaccines. and halfway through the interview, he switched tack, claiming that covid mrna vaccines had a cardiovascular risk. that comment, which was shared widely online, contradicted the overwhelming scientific consensus that mrna vaccines are safe. and the interview alarmed viewers such as thomas lubbock, who wrote... well, following complaints like that, six days later, bbc news issued this statement...

finally, as discussed on last week's programme, bbc breakfast celebrated its 40th anniversary on tuesday. a special programme featured a selection of bloopers from years past. a host of former contributors and another return from yesteryear. have you noticed anything different about us? perhaps? look closely. it's not my knees. it's a new clock! but it's an old clock. that is the clock that was put on the screen at exactly this time, while nearly this time, 50 minutes. the original, still the best clock. it looks kind of old fashioned, but it also looks kind of cool,

that sort of eighties retro thing. don't panic, everybody. it's only for one day. it's only for today. not everyone was up early enough to see that explanation, though, and some of those who tuned in later were confused, like paul deakin... but louisa graham begged... anotherfan was david spencer... on breakfast televsison, it was nice to see a proper clock because this is the face that you see on the mantelpiece, on your wall, on all the buildings like big ben. this type of clock really does help children to learn to tell the time with a proper watch. so i hope the bbc will keep it on.

and thank you, bbc, for the breakfast television, which we all remember starting up years ago. it don't seem a0 years. it only seems like a0 minutes. thank you for all your comments this week. if you want to share your opinions about what you see or hear on bbc news, on tv, radio, online and social media, email newswatch@bbc.co.uk or you can find us on twitter @newswatchbbc. you can call us on 03700106676. do have a look at previous interviews on our website. that's all from us. we'll be back to hear your thoughts about bbc news coverage again next week. goodbye. hello. many of us spent friday with blue skies overhead, a bright end to the week, but a cold end to the week. still some snow on the ground for this weather watcher

in the highlands, but there is a change that will start to take place, a slow change, with a bank of cloud pushing in from the northwest, some southwesterly winds bringing something milder. they will develop across northern ireland and western scotland as we go through the night. some rain and maybe some snow on the leading—edge, but by 6am again, temperatures for belfast and stornoway will be up at six or seven celsius. further south and east, a cold and frosty start to saturday. so quite a split in the feel of the weather for the weekend. southern and eastern parts of the uk staying in the grip of the cold air. further north and west, this mild air trying to move south eastwards, but taking quite a while to do so, making very slow progress. so the south and east is set to stay colder with some fog around as well. further north and west, milder but cloudier with some outbreaks of rain. fog could cause issues in east wales, the west midlands

and the west country, freezing fog to start saturday morning. some of that can be dense and slow to clear, and there could be some slippery, icy conditions. but broadly speaking we will see some spells of sunshine for england and wales, the odd shower gracing the far south—east. further north and west, scotland and northern ireland seeing more cloud and splashes of rain, but the mildest of the weather, nine or 10 degrees in parts of north—west scotland. saturday night and into sunday, this next frontal system will bring outbreaks of rain. high pressure to the south—east, could bring some fog forming which could be slow to clear. eastern and south—eastern parts of england, once that has cleared, should see some sunshine. further north and west, some cloud but highs of 11 degrees. temperatures in some places no higher than three or 4 degrees in the south and east. it looks like that mild weather

will eventually reach the south east corner, but not for long because it could turn colder again from the north by the end of next week.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the british prime minister rishi sunak is fined for failing to wear a seat belt as a passenger in a moving car. number 10 downing street says he apologised and would pay the fine western defence chiefs meet in germany fail to agree on the provision of advanced tanks to ukraine the americans say it's still under discussion. you may have heard the german minister of dependency earlier you may have heard the german minister of defense earlier that they have not made a decision on the provision of leopard tanks. it comes despite an emotional plea from president volodymyr zelensky via video link. also in the programme. a top un official has told the bbc she believes progress is being made