this is bbc news — these are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world. calls for conservative chair nadhim zahawi to be sacked — after questions over a multi—million pound tax settlement. more questions over claims that bbc chairman richard sharp was involved in securing a loan for the then—prime minister, borisjohnson. in an interview, mr sharp says he welcomes a review into his appointment. iam i am comfortable that i was appointed on merit, and i'm also comfortable that a result of my discussion with simon case that i avoided a conflict or potential conflict because i was not party to any transaction. a report has found failings by the probation service left a serial offender free to commit

the murder of zara aleena, just days after he was released from prison. the chief inspector of the service says it is �*chronically understaffed'. it is impossible to say whether the murder could have been avoided but we did find severe deficits in practice at many stages of jordan mcsweeney�*s supervision. nhs representatives will appear before mps on the health and social care committee to discuss the situation in a&e departments across england. let's cross live to the house of commons and listen in to the health and social care committee address the situation in a&e departments. a more nuanced question than that, demand has a bit with those figures, however, the reason we run into trouble is not the ancillary demand, the ability to deal with the demand.

if we look at things like hospital admissions from an emergency department, those have remained relatively static. we have had problems with increased crowding, problems with increased crowding, problems in care in our departments for several years, problems in care in our departments forseveralyears, but problems in care in our departments for several years, but largely that has not been because of increased demand on attendances in type ones, it has largely been flowed through the emergency departments. one would accept there is an increase over this year in demand in terms of numbers, it's really not the main part of the problem. there has been a significant increase in demand in the past year, thatis increase in demand in the past year, that is true, correct?— that is true, correct? yes, there has been _ that is true, correct? yes, there has been extraordinary - that is true, correct? yes, there has been extraordinary growth. | that is true, correct? yes, there l has been extraordinary growth. if you look back at the last ten years in the type ones, type two is in type threes, minor injury units and urgent treatment centres.- type threes, minor injury units and urgent treatment centres. there are six members — urgent treatment centres. there are six members sitting _ urgent treatment centres. there are six members sitting around - urgent treatment centres. there are six members sitting around this - six members sitting around this table, if there were 12 members of

parliament sitting around this table, it would be a squash in disgrace. so, the sheer mechanics of the numbers coming in and presenting, so parents presenting with worried strep day before christmas, that level of demand has impacted significantly on a&e and emergency departments, karai? fix, impacted significantly on a&e and emergency departments, karai? a bet, es. i'm emergency departments, karai? a bet, yes- i'm slightly — emergency departments, karai? a bet, yes. i'm slightly hesitating _ emergency departments, karai? a bet, yes. i'm slightly hesitating because - yes. i'm slightly hesitating because i think it is still about the flow and the ability to manage existing demand. imilli and the ability to manage existing demand. ~ . ., and the ability to manage existing demand. ~ _, ., ., ., demand. will come onto the and delve into in more — demand. will come onto the and delve into in more detail. _ demand. will come onto the and delve into in more detail. the _ demand. will come onto the and delve into in more detail. the bbc— into in more detail. the bbc reported that there was a 9% higher increase in excess deaths since 2019 reported. there has been a lot of coverage of that. you gave an interview to a radio station on new

year's day in which you said what we are seeing now in terms of these long waits is being associated with increased mortality, and we think, so i presume you are referring to the royal college in we, somewhere between 300—500 people are dying as a consequence of delays and problems with urgent and emergency care each week. we need to actually get a grip of this. i was looking at your website, and the press and media section of your website. there is no statement in that gap, so just before the 1st of january, where you put something out based on a piece of work are based on a piece of peer reviewed research. there is nothing on there that informed that, so i don't believe that you went on times radio and just said that, you must have planned to say that, and presumably you paste it on something, because she said we think

—— you based it on something because you said we think. a&e delays causing up to 500 deaths week... is a senior medic, that she. that was how the guardian reported it, they take the higherfigure. the reason we asked you here today is because nhs england say they don't recognise yourfigure. we'll ask them nhs england say they don't recognise your figure. we'll ask them about that next. can you show is, as your teachers used to say, can you show us your workings out? i’d teachers used to say, can you show us your workings out?— us your workings out? i'd be delighted. — us your workings out? i'd be delighted, thank— us your workings out? i'd be delighted, thank you. - us your workings out? i'd be delighted, thank you. we i us your workings out? i'd be i delighted, thank you. we have us your workings out? i'd be - delighted, thank you. we have shown the link between crowding and delays in emergency care, and we have previously brought this, in 2021 we publish a report on crowding, so for us to say this was not a new thing that might let me talk you through the evidence to make sure we are on the evidence to make sure we are on the same page. a lot of this is

based on a peer review and took the entire nhs england versus department data set, started up a 7 million people and they excluded 2 million because these... between the dates of 2016-2018, because these... between the dates of 2016—2018, emergency department admissions, not people who get sent home from merchant partners, people who were admitted through a tight one emergency. they followed them up to see how many died within 30 days, which is a very standard measure. this is that outwitting the collected by nhs england. —— this is data. they show that about five hours, they went of time in an emergency department is what they were assessing, they showed when you got to five hours you start to see an increase in your risk of subsequent 30 day mortality. and

that goes up in a linearfashion from about five hours to 12 hours. they stopped at 12 hours because at the time they were very few people waiting more than 12 hours. you might think that is because people who stay in emergency departments are sicker, older, likely to have more long—term conditions and have a greater risk of death, so they adjusted for the statistically. so they did some statistical adjustment looking at age, the amount of times they had been to an emergency department before, logistical adjustment to deal with that confined, and the results showed that for every 72 people who stayed more than 8—12 hours, there is one excess death. when you look for people who stayed between 6—8 hours, for every 82 people there is one excess death and there is a gradual linear increase going up. so if you

apply that one in 72 number two the number of people who have been staying in our emergency departments are newly applied to the people who stayed longer than 12 hours, we deliberate went for a conservative cautious estimate, we did not have data about people who stayed more than 12 hours, we only have data about people who stayed... we don't know the harm a0 boasting more than 12 hours but we applied it to the people who stayed more than 12 hours, implying that 172 excess arm two people who had stayed more than 12 hours —— excess harm. i’m two people who had stayed more than 12 hours -- excess harm.— 12 hours -- excess harm. i'm looking at the paper— 12 hours -- excess harm. i'm looking at the paper here. _ 12 hours -- excess harm. i'm looking at the paper here. published - 12 hours -- excess harm. i'm looking at the paper here. published in - 12 hours -- excess harm. i'm looking at the paper here. published in the l at the paper here. published in the emergency medicinejournal and emergency medicine journal and contends that emergency medicinejournal and contends that detail. that's very helpful. could i ask you about your... there is a paper here i've got. titles tackling emergency department crowding. there is a

section here on what you call full capacity protocols. so, putting it into english, sending patients to wards where they would be admitted before a bed is available. correct? have i got that right? that is supported by the college, correct reis supported by the college, correct rei , , , . supported by the college, correct rei ,, , ., ., ~ ., supported by the college, correct rei ,, , ., ., reis yes, these are also known as rocesses reis yes, these are also known as processes of _ reis yes, these are also known as processes of one _ reis yes, these are also known as processes of one thing _ reis yes, these are also known as processes of one thing or- reis yes, these are also known as processes of one thing or full- processes of one thing or full capacity protocols or continuous flow models. flan capacity protocols or continuous flow models-— capacity protocols or continuous flow models. ., , ., , ., ., flow models. can you explain what exactly that _ flow models. can you explain what exactly that is? _ flow models. can you explain what exactly that is? it _ flow models. can you explain what exactly that is? it is _ flow models. can you explain what exactly that is? it is controversial. exactly that is? it is controversial and not everybody in the acute sake them exciting agrees with it. i can understand why the royal college of medicine may push her but people and wards may have a different view. this is a way of sharing risk across the entire system. we know that when we are full, they most serious manifestations of a full emergency department as he delayed ambulance. we need to create that space and

emergency departments allow the off—load. it continues to be more aware rather than wait for your bed be available, you tend to send that patient to the water that bed will be available. what that does is stimulates ward staff to prioritise moving that patient either to a discharge lounge or two a day room, so that bed can be used more efficiently, and it is a way of dealing with and sharing risk across the whole system.— the whole system. where i'm struggling — the whole system. where i'm struggling with _ the whole system. where i'm struggling with that _ the whole system. where i'm struggling with that is - the whole system. where i'm struggling with that is you - the whole system. where i'm| struggling with that is you can admit somebody up to the ward, but if there is no bed, where do they physically go? ontojust if there is no bed, where do they physically go? onto just replacing patient and corridor in ed to patient and corridor in ed to patient and corridor on ward? yes. patient and corridor on ward? yes, but if ou patient and corridor on ward? yes, but if you look— patient and corridor on ward? yes, but if you look at _ patient and corridor on ward? yes, but if you look at your _ patient and corridor on ward? yes, but if you look at your average hospital, you think your standard hospital, you think your standard hospital, probably got a0 wards, which would you rather have? one

person on each of those a0 wards or would you have a0 people waiting for admission in an emergency department through the corridor and the ambulance being... it is not a popular thing, ambulance being... it is not a popularthing, but ambulance being... it is not a popular thing, but it is a pragmatic approach to share this. it is the least worst option. i approach to share this. it is the least worst option.— approach to share this. it is the least worst option. i can see how it im acts least worst option. i can see how it impacts on — least worst option. i can see how it impacts on the _ least worst option. i can see how it impacts on the ability _ least worst option. i can see how it impacts on the ability to _ least worst option. i can see how it impacts on the ability to off-load l impacts on the ability to off—load from the ambulance service, but i'm not sure going back to the evidence and methodology you talked about, is thatjust because you are in a different room in the hospital, doesn't mean your risk, your clinical risk changes, does it? except that with the amount of work the emergency department ministers are supposed to provide is fairly dilated and what we're seeing now is in most emergency departments the staff, probably the same number as last year, are also running a medical ward in addition to being responsible for all the arrivals.

they are being run ragged looking after patients are sick requiring patient care and also trying to deal with the new arrivals. the dilation and delay of care in the emergency department is such a risk that we feel this is justified. department is such a risk that we feel this isjustified. it is supported by some evidence, the evidence isn't great, but this was being written about back in the early to thousands. on balance, patients tend to provide it, but depends on setting. it would be unwise to think it is a solution for all of this, but it is certainly a key part of the picture. it would reruire key part of the picture. it would require the _ key part of the picture. it would require the ward _ key part of the picture. it would require the ward obviously - key part of the picture. it would require the ward obviously to i key part of the picture. it would i require the ward obviously to take legal responsibility for that patient at the point of admission into their ward, patient at the point of admission into theirward, and i patient at the point of admission into their ward, and i wonder, is there anything in practice that nhs england, obviously them later, would later, would say would block on the actress—mack i’m later, would say would block on the actress-mac'— actress-mack i'm not quite sure i understand _ actress-mack i'm not quite sure i understand by — actress-mack i'm not quite sure i understand by legal— actress-mack i'm not quite sure i i

understand by legal responsibility? it would require the ward to say we've got them, we take full responsibility for them and care at the point of them entering through that door of the ward. therefore it requires the whole system to agree with this? , ., requires the whole system to agree with this? , . , , with this? yes, and where this gets implemented _ with this? yes, and where this gets implemented as _ with this? yes, and where this gets implemented as where _ with this? yes, and where this gets implemented as where the - with this? yes, and where this gets implemented as where the chief. with this? yes, and where this gets i implemented as where the chief nurse of the hospital and chief operating officer have said we have to take a whole system view of where the risk is and try and share it. i don't think you will start... when you look at legal responsibilities, i think everyone sort of accepts either it is the nhs trust that is liable, or individual practitioners... i5 liable, or individual ractitioners... , ., practitioners... is anywhere doing this? 0h, practitioners... is anywhere doing this? oh, yes- — practitioners... is anywhere doing this? oh, yes. we _ practitioners... is anywhere doing this? oh, yes. we are _ practitioners... is anywhere doing this? oh, yes. we are going - practitioners... is anywhere doing this? oh, yes. we are going to i practitioners... is anywhere doing i this? oh, yes. we are going to come out of that health _ this? oh, yes. we are going to come out of that health and _ this? oh, yes. we are going to come out of that health and social- this? oh, yes. we are going to come out of that health and social care i out of that health and social care committee on the on accident and emergency, taking evidence from the president of the royal college of emergency medicine, being questioned by a conservative very interesting to hear the earlier answer saying

that 300-500 to hear the earlier answer saying that 300—500 people a day have been dying, sorry, a week extra, because of delays into a&e across the country. across england. he was asked about the evidence for that and he talk to the evidence for that and he talk to the committee through that and explained once you have been in a&e waiting for five hours, explained once you have been in a&e waiting forfive hours, you explained once you have been in a&e waiting for five hours, you start to see an increased risk of mortality, going from five feet in 12 hours waiting, waiting to be seen that the got worst with every hour that people were waiting. people were waiting even longer than 12 hours and was also controlled from patients who were older and may have long—term health problems. he was talking about the problems of ambulances being able to unload newly sick patients and saying they

had moved to try to move patients out of the ne and into wards and even though they might be in corridors, it was a stimulus to try and share the risk and to try to encourage staff on wards to send patients out of beds and therefore release beds and we know the problems with a&e have been that it's been massively overcrowded and that's meant ambulance call out times have also lengthened sharply, and that has caused a loss of public concern, and is also part of the reason the ambulance staff say they are going on strike, notjust about pay, but because they are concerned about their whole working conditions and what they are able to do for the public and for patient safety. so that committee is continuing, we're going to keep right across that for you today. in the last few moments, bbc chairman has been speaking to our culture editor katie razzall. let's here a bit of what he said about any potential conflicts of interest he may have had amid scrutiny over his links

with borisjohnson. having had a discussion with the cabinet secretary about avoiding conflict, ifelt cabinet secretary about avoiding conflict, i felt comfortable and i still feel there was no conflict, because at that stage, what i was seeking to do was ensure the process was followed exactly by the book, and that the process had not started of any kind, in terms of any support that sam was going to provide to by minister. d0 that sam was going to provide to by minister. n, , ., that sam was going to provide to by minister. , ., ~ , ., that sam was going to provide to by minister. ,, ~ ,, ,, minister. do you think you missed slirhtl minister. do you think you missed slightly select _ minister. do you think you missed slightly select committee - minister. do you think you missed slightly select committee and i slightly select committee and advisory panel?— slightly select committee and adviso anel? ., advisory panel? no, i don't. because i had advisory panel? no, i don't. because i had clarified — advisory panel? no, i don't. because i had clarified and _ advisory panel? no, i don't. because i had clarified and agreed _ advisory panel? no, i don't. because i had clarified and agreed with i advisory panel? no, i don't. because i had clarified and agreed with the i i had clarified and agreed with the cabinet secretary, both of us at the judgment that i had avoided conflict, a body to conflict our perception of conflict. why might you understand that particularly at a time when the bbc is making great efforts set...

a time when the bbc is making great efforts set- - -— efforts set... that this looks the opposite? _ efforts set... that this looks the opposite? they _ efforts set... that this looks the opposite? they attack _ efforts set... that this looks the opposite? they attack our i opposite? they attack our impartiality. _ opposite? they attack our impartiality, the - opposite? they attack our i impartiality, the governance put opposite? they attack our - impartiality, the governance put in place is extremely strong on impartiality. i will be talking about that later today. precisely because we should be judged by our output. i think the governance is world—class at the bbc and so i feel comfortable to brand is strong, and that i supported that way.- comfortable to brand is strong, and that i supported that way. saying he arreed that i supported that way. saying he a . reed with that i supported that way. saying he agreed with the _ that i supported that way. saying he agreed with the cabinet _ that i supported that way. saying he agreed with the cabinet secretary, l agreed with the cabinet secretary, between the two of them, that he felt there was no conflict—of—interest in him helping borisjohnson conflict—of—interest in him helping boris johnson secure conflict—of—interest in him helping borisjohnson secure a personal loan for his own finances as he was in running to become chairman of the bbc. opposition parties have

expressed their concern about the whole appointment process and it is now being looked into. opposition parties have called for the conservative party chair, nadhim zahawi, to be sacked now — rather than wait for the outcome of an investigation. the government's independent ethics advisor has been asked to look into mr zahawi's financial affairs — after it emerged he paid a penalty to hmrc over previously unpaid tax — while he was chancellor. he maintains he acted properly. our political correspondent, iain watson, reports. are your tax affairs a distraction for the party, mr zahawi? the conservative party chairman, nadhim zahawi, insists he's not on his way out, but he is under pressure. last summer he insisted reports that he was being investigated by the tax authorities were smears. but in a statement at the weekend, he said he'd reached a settlement with revenue and customs over a careless but not deliberate error. downing street said they hadn't been aware until the weekend that nadhim zahawi had had to pay a penalty to the tax authorities.

and the prime minister's new ethics adviser is now looking into whether mr zahawi broke the ministerial code, which requires honesty, openness, accountability and integrity. the labour mp who chairs the commons committee which scrutinises tax and spending believes the conservative party chairman should go. carelessness for a chancellor of the exchequer or even a politician isjust too much. this is not somebody like you and me scribbling away, sorting out our tax returns as we approach the 31st of january. this is somebody in business with lots of advisors who can make sure that he's done the right thing. and the key thing here is he has been very sparse with information. i think it's very murky. i think rishi sunak�*s kicking it into the long grass with the ethics adviser when he should have just sacked him. labour is arguing that there was an apparent conflict of interest because nadhim zahawi's tax affairs were being looked into when he was briefly chancellor of the exchequer in the summer of last year. and it's the chancellor who's ultimately responsible for tax. but some of his conservative colleagues say there shouldn't

be a rush to judgment. the prime minister isn'tjumping to sack someone based on a couple of news reports over the weekend. he's asked his independent ethics adviser to carry out a probe. and i think that's the right thing to do, get the evidence together and then take a judgment on whether the position is or is not tenable. nadhim zahawi says he's confident he acted properly, but few mps are openly defending him and questions remain over exactly why he had to pay a multi—million pound tax bill. iain watson, bbc news. our chief political correspondent nick eardley had the latest from westminster. i think his position remains pretty precarious this morning, the hope in government will have been that by launching this investigation they take some of the heat out of this, and probably buy nadhim zahawi a bit of time. put it in the hands of the ethics

adviser, let him look into things and then make a decision once that report was done. but clearly some conservatives extremely uncomfortable with the situation, the impact it's having on the party and the cloud over their chairman, and this morning we have heard the first conservative mp say that nadhim zahawi should stand aside during this investigation. here's what caroline nokes told bbc breakfast earlier. i think nadhim zahawi to stand aside until this matter is cleared up, the longer it drags on the worse it gets for him so i hope the investigation is swift, but for his own sake he should allow there to be some space between him being a government minister and this sort of investigation. i don't think that's nadhim zahawi's plan, has been made perfectly clear by his allies he intends to fight his corner, he thinks he has behaved appropriately and wants to make that case.

but the government has continued to face those questions about why it was said at pmqs last week that the matter had been dealt with. the answer seems to be that mr sunak did not know the full details and number ten did not find out until the weekend, that there had been a penalty paid as part of the final tax bill. we've heard this morning from a government minister who said he thinks when those additional questions were riaseed over the weekend rishi sunak decided to launch an investigation and insisted it was not necessary for nadhim zahawi to stand asidejust now. i think it's reasonable that. where there is investigation the person concerned is allowed to continue serving _ while the investigation continues. we have a principle in this country innocent until proven guilty, - that applies in a whole range of different circumstances, i

so the investigation has been i launched by the prime minister, that's the right thing to do is. i know you talk to people in westminster all the time, what's your sense of where the backbench conservative voters on this? do they think nadhim zahawi deserves the time to make his case? because he has been a very successful front line politician for a while? or are they worried this is really damaging? i don't think there is a black and white answer to it, to be fair. there are some that think nadhim zahawi is a very capable politician, think he did a good job as vaccines minister and should be allowed to stay in the job if it proves that he was doing everything how he said. i think there is also a lot of discomfort in the conservative party, frankly, about the mood this creates across government, not only this story, but the question about borisjohnson's appointment

of the bbc chairman as well. a lot of that is a hangover from thejohnson era, nadhim zahawi was chancellor under borisjohnson, rather than under rishi sunak, but these are rishi sunak�*s issues issues to address now. there are conservative mps worried about the impact this has on the party and i think some will be asking, whatever that independent ethics adviser comes up with, whatever his conclusions on the strict letter of code there will be some asking over what has gone over the last few days uphold's rishi sunak�*s promose, and you can bet your bottom dollar

some opposition party mps see an opportunity here to try and continue some of the criticisms they have had over what they describe as tory sleaze and would expect a lot of those criticisms to continue over the next few days, that is uncomfortable for the government. earlier i spoke to former conservative cabinet minister during the major government in the 90s, david mellor... our media correspondent has seen all of our interview with the chairman of our interview with the chairman of the bbc. what's in it? goes into considerable _ of the bbc. what's in it? goes into considerable detail— of the bbc. what's in it? goes into considerable detail and _ of the bbc. what's in it? goes into considerable detail and let's i of the bbc. what's in it? goes into considerable detail and let's go i considerable detail and let's go back to what this is all about. a story in the sunday times on sunday in which there are a series of allegations about the chairman of the bbc being involved in the

preventing of an £800,000 loan to borisjohnson. while richard sharp is applying to be bbc chairman. he has given a bit of background detail about the comment says he was approached by a man who was a friend of his who had seen press reports the prime minister was in financial difficulties, wanted to help out, and richard sharp said he would contact the cabinet office and see this approach had been made, and simon case said that he should have no more part to play in it while he is applying for the bbc chairmanship and said that was the end of it, the end of any conflict of interest issues. . ., ,, ., ., issues. sow richard sharp's argument as he agreed — issues. sow richard sharp's argument as he agreed with _ issues. sow richard sharp's argument as he agreed with the _ issues. sow richard sharp's argument as he agreed with the cabinet - as he agreed with the cabinet secretary between the two of them that they were not going to disclose it to anybody else, but they agreed between the two of them there was no conflict west bank the between the two of them there was no conflict west ban— conflict west bank the issue with richard sharp — conflict west bank the issue with richard sharp unceasing - conflict west bank the issue with richard sharp unceasing if i conflict west bank the issue with richard sharp unceasing if there | conflict west bank the issue with i richard sharp unceasing if there was a decision that there was no

conflict of interest because he had rage at the centre of the matter. the issue is after that as others in the process, should they have known about the? and advisory panel knew nothing about it on the commons media select committee has an official process as part of the appointment process of the bbc chairman, they knew nothing about it, and are certainly going to be asking questions about it when he next appears in front of them. there is people involved in the process you want to know more about this. was there a conflict of interest and also the secondary question about perception of conflict—of—interest stop both of which richard sharp says no to. was also questioned about another issue, which is the chairman these days in the past had a bit more of a hands—off role, where there are essentially to mark the bbc�*s homework. now the bbc chairman is in charge of the board, running the bbc in many ways,

providing strategy for bbc, and should he have been involved in the decision about appointing a head of news? he was asked point blank where you part of that process and he said, yes, iwas you part of that process and he said, yes, i was on the panel. there are details about exactly which panels was but he says he was on the panels was but he says he was on the panel that shows any said it was actually right he should be part of the decision making progress, —— process, because they are on his board. , ., , ., board. the wider question is about the bbc seeming _ board. the wider question is about the bbc seeming to _ board. the wider question is about the bbc seeming to be _ board. the wider question is about the bbc seeming to be impartial i board. the wider question is about | the bbc seeming to be impartial at all times, and there has been a lot of pressure from this government and from the chairman on the question of impartiality, which some critics say the pressures been giving the conservatives more favourable coverage, and that is the concern here, the bbc has got to be seen to

be impartial at all times, and this does raise questions for some about whether independence is maintained. richard sharp is at an event today talking about the topic of impartiality, and the two watchwords of bbc and bbc news at the moment our impartiality and transparency, so both of these are asking questions about it and he was asked with hindsight would you have done this in the same way? and he said yes. but there are those questions about would a degree of essentially over giving of information, would that have been helpful to avoid this situation happening? and the very closeness with the prime minister, he was talking about the fact he, sam and the prime minister had a dennis —— dinner together after he became bbc chairman, but this

essence of e is a friend of boris johnson, close friend of the prime minister of the time, working in downing street, definitely a closeness there, whether or not all of these things together have an impact over the perception of the bbc, especially abroad, whether or not we are an independent broadcaster or whether or not we are a state broadcaster.— a state broadcaster. richard sharp also formally _ a state broadcaster. richard sharp also formally the _ a state broadcaster. richard sharp also formally the boss _ a state broadcaster. richard sharp also formally the boss of - a state broadcaster. richard sharp also formally the boss of the i a state broadcaster. richard sharp| also formally the boss of the prime minister in years gone by, an ongoing topic of the closeness of government in this country. what is happening about inquiries here into the process in the bbc and in government? who is carrying out what appointment? brute who is carrying out what appointment?— who is carrying out what appointment? who is carrying out what anointment? ~ ., ,, ., appointment? we have the commission of a ublic appointment? we have the commission of a public appointments _ appointment? we have the commission of a public appointments who _ appointment? we have the commission of a public appointments who is - appointment? we have the commission of a public appointments who is an i of a public appointments who is an independent watchdog, william shawcross, who will be looking at this. the bbc, that is merely looking at his declarations of interest, are they accurate and

up—to—date, where there any conflicts of interest after he became the bbc chairman? you have got to remember of course that the bbc played no role in the choosing of richard sharp. it was a political appointment it is worth saying if you go right back to the 1920s, these have been political point from these have been political point from the beginning. these have been political point from the beginning-— the beginning. under all governments, _ the beginning. under all governments, labour. the beginning. under all| governments, labour and conservative? bill governments, labour and conservative? �* ., , ., conservative? all governments are liberal at the _ conservative? all governments are liberal at the beginning, _ conservative? all governments are liberal at the beginning, that i conservative? all governments are liberal at the beginning, that was l liberal at the beginning, that was all parties —— all government, and the liberal party at the beginning. there is closeness to politics and political affiliations which is not unusualfor political affiliations which is not unusual for the chairman. the question of course is how open and transparent are those relations. in terms of the government inquiry being carried out by william shawcross, whose daughter works as head of policy for rishi sunak at the moment, i understand it, members of her in—laws' family are conservative donors, how much faith is there going to be in any investigation into this process now?

well, i think that is for others to make a decision about whether they believe in all of this or not. there are two things, what has actually happened and the perception of it and i think it is the perception of it that seems to be uppermost in people's minds at the moment. wouldn't it have been better to have mentioned these things right at the beginning of the process, especially for instance if you are being questioned by the commons media select committee?— select committee? thank you for “oininr select committee? thank you for joining us- _ select committee? thank you for joining us- and — select committee? thank you for joining us. and we _ select committee? thank you for joining us. and we will— select committee? thank you for joining us. and we will bring i select committee? thank you for joining us. and we will bring you | joining us. and we will bring you more of the interview as soon as we possibly can but we know the bbc chairman has said he is confident he has done nothing wrong and has no plans to stand aside or resign over the borisjohnson loans row. speaking to katie razzall, he says he introduced a long—time friend to the cabinet secretary, to avoid a conflict—of—interest, and did not feel it was necessary to mention that during his appointment interview. he also said that contrary to some newspaper reports, the meeting with borisjohnson at chequers happened about three months after he had been appointed and there was no discussion of mr

johnson's financial affairs. there was no discussion of mr johnson's financialaffairs. he johnson's financial affairs. he insisted johnson's financialaffairs. he insisted he did not mislead the appointments panel for thejob insisted he did not mislead the appointments panel for the job and is confident the review by the appointments commissioner william shawcross will determine he was appointed on merit. we will bring you that interview as soon as we can. the chief inspector of the probation service has warned it's not possible to say the public are safe and protected from criminals who are out on probation. an investigation has found that failings by the probation service left a serial offender free to murder the law graduate, zara aleena, lastjune. the killing happened days afterjordan mcsweeney was released from prison. in a damning report, the chief inspectorjustin russell said a "catalogue of errors" led to mcsweeney carrying out the "terrifying and ruthless" attack. our home affairs correspondent june kelly reports. zara aleena's family and friends have said she was just walking home when she was attacked and sexually assaulted. her aunt has always spoken for theirfamily. we're constantly stuck in a loop of disbelief. constantly stuck in a loop

of images in our mind about what happened to her, the horror that she faced, the pain that she must have endured for the length that she was attacked. you're under arrest for rape and murder. jordan mcsweeney, who was arrested shortly after he killed zara, had already served nine prison sentences. and he had been released from jail just nine days before the murder. today's report by the probation watchdog describes how shortly afterwards, he'd been recalled to prison for failing to attend probation appointments. but because he'd been wrongly assessed as medium rather than high risk, he wasn't arrested as soon as he could have been. it really is impossible to know if zara aleena would have been alive today if things had been done differently, but certainly, if his risks had been correctly assessed and if more urgent action had been taken to recall him back

to prison, that would have maximised the time that the police had to go out and find him. the man was known to the criminal justice system, and to the police. what can we do with criminals who are institutionalised, who have had 36 felonies and don't know how to live outside? the report said probation officers in london have excessive workloads and there are high vacancy rates. and in mcsweeney�*s case, it says there was a lack of communication between prison and probation services about the risk he posed. so, i'm not going to sit here and blame our members, doing their best, trying to hold the service together. i think the blame of this systemic failure lies firmly at the hands of the secretary of state forjustice. and i want that secretary of state to meet with me and practitioners so they can get an idea of how hard it is on the front line.

the government has apologised to zara's family for the failings in the case, saying there would be better training to improve risk assessment and investment to recruit thousands more probation officers. june kelly, bbc news. the government has rejected a proposal to make menopause a protected characteristic in the equality act. it was one of a number of proposals from the women and equalities committee, which the mps said would help support women in the workplace in england. ministers accepted recommendations to allow women to request flexible working, and introduce a bespoke prepayment certificate for hormone replacement therapy. but they rejected a call for a standard menopause policy. tim muffett reports. i was floundering. the menopause pushed karen to the brink. i didn't know what was happening. a secondary school teacher, she felt unsupported at work. i couldn't remember things. and misunderstood by her gp. my doctor was telling me i had

anxiety and depression, so she was trying to treat that particular problem. i knew that something was drastically wrong. i was changing. my hormones were going berserk in my body, but i also knew that i couldn't do myjob. how bad did things get for you? i got to the point where i didn't want to be here. i thought i was dying. calls to formally recognise the impact of the menopause have grown louder. a rally outside parliament in 2021. the signing of a menopause mandate pledge last summer, calling for improved diagnosis and recognition. injuly, the all—party women and equalities committee published a report — menopause and the workplace. the report concluded that a lack of support is forcing huge numbers of menopausal women out of the workplace. amongst its recommendations, scrapping prescription charges for hormone replacement therapy

in england, as is already the case in scotland, wales and northern ireland, updated menopause training for gps, and improved guidance for employers. trialling menopause leave from work was another proposal, as was making menopause a protected characteristic under the equality act, similar to age, race or religion. why do you need to understand menopause in the workplace? catherine is a menopause mentor, she runs workshops for employers and employees. today's session is in newcastle. if i can prevent one woman from going through what i went through, then that's wonderful. and just getting the message out to workplaces and organisations, you know. today the government has published its response to the women's today the government has published its response to the women and equalities committee report. it has rejected trialling menopause leave, saying it could be counter—productive, and said no to changing the equality act to recognise

the menopause, arguing that could discriminate against men with long—term health conditions. the government said it was committed to reducing the cost of prescriptions for hormone replacement therapy in england, and it said it wants everyone in health care to be well—informed about the menopause, but would not introduce additional mandatory training. and how i try to navigate in the workplace... catherine feels let down by the response. it's really frustrating. there's a lot of menopause educators out there in the country who do phenomenal work, we stand on our soap boxes and we beat the drum, and obviously, we're going to continue doing that because the government obviously don't see the importance of why this should be mandatory. it just feels like menopause is forever on the back burner. it's never a real priority. consultant gynaecologist anne henderson also feels underwhelmed by the government's response but believes things are moving in the right direction. the current generation of women have access to health care and medication

and training and education in the workplace that the previous generation couldn't even dream of. and my hope is that the next generation of women have everything. hello, hello, hello, how are you? karen is now a successful podcaster. menopause whilst black is now in its fourth series. for too long, women have remained silent. too long, they've suffered. and they feel like they're going mad, they feel like they're alone, they feel like there's something wrong with them. it's important to speak about menopause. no one should feel alone. earlier, the labour mp carolyn harris, who chairs the all—party parliamentary group on menopause, told us ministers had let women down. i am absolutely appalled. i'd like to say i'm surprised but i'm not because it's indicative of the total disinterest in women's

health this government has, but it's bitterly disappointing that we are yet again letting women down. what is the key move they should have done, in your view, that would affect most women who are working and worried about this? it is a lack of knowledge and information within workplaces, within the medical profession, within women. we need to have better education and more knowledge. anything would have been better than what they've done. they talk about the prepayment certificate. that was as a result of my private members bill. the government had done nothing except push this back. i am allegedly meant to co—chair the government's task force on the menopause. we have not met since before last summer recess. borisjohnson was the prime minister when we last met. where is the commitment there to making sure women, and my personal interest, menopause, is a priority? it is not a priority for them

and this is about over 50% of the population. we have 13 million menopausal women in this country and only one quarter, 1a% of those are actually having treatment, diagnosis and the adequate respect they deserve. it is absolutely appalling. in terms of making this a protected characteristic, what difference would that have made if the government had agreed? because women could have gone to employers and demanded, if need be, better protection, better working environment. it would have allowed women who we know have lost theirjobs because of employers' ignorance of the menopause to actually have a legal footing as to challenge those decisions, but it does not really matter what they've rejected, the government always rejects anything which means women's health gets put on a better footing. they are agreeing to flexible working requests, ithink. will that help a bit? and where would you see that

making a difference? i talk most weeks to big companies who are interested in making a change for their female workforce. they are already doing that, so yet again this is the government piggybacking on everybody else's work. they themselves are doing nothing. is there a genuine worry, if they had put further measures in, that it would have had an economic cost at a time when lots of companies, businesses are struggling anyway? definitely not. in fact, it would have reversed any economic problems. when you think about how many women end up on benefits because they cannot continue to work because they're working in a bad environment, how many women end up depending on pension credit because they have not paid full national insurance because they've had to leave work early because of menopausal symptoms, you think of how many companies are losing really valuable women from their workforce... again, the money they would be

saving, let alone how much money they are spending on the nhs on misdiagnosis, very short—sighted of the government, but am i surprises? but am i surprised? no, i'm not. a scheme offering people cheaper bills if they cut their electricity use at peak times will be offered again today. it will kick in between a:30 and six o'clock this evening for customers with smart meters. you can get involved by contacting your supplier and asking to sign up to the scheme. the aim is to avoid blackouts during the cold weather. a firefighter remains in a critical condition in hospital, following a major fire in edinburgh yesterday. 22 crews were called to the blaze at the former jenner�*s department store building, which has been undergoing a major restoration. vincent mcaviney has the details. firefighters battling back the flames spreading through one of edinburgh's most recognisable buildings. the fire inside what wasjenner�*s, the former department store with the famous princes street

facade, was discovered just before lunchtime yesterday. its impact was felt immediately. nearby offices were evacuated as police put a cordon around the city centre location, giving firefighters space to work. the two crews called to the scene initially were reinforced by 20 more. among them, teams wearing breathing apparatus. footage on social media backs up the description from eyewitnesses at the scene. they spoke of seeing firefighters being pulled from the building by their colleagues and given medical attention. the scottish fire and rescue service confirmed that several firefighters had been injured, with one in a critical condition in hospital. as the emergency response to the fire continued, the public were asked to steer clear of the area. surrounding roads were closed off as the fire was dampened down and its impact assessed. it's been described by scotland's chief fire officer as a serious and complex operation. as for what comes next, a joint investigation will be carried out between the scottish fire and rescue service and police scotland into what caused the blaze.

vincent mcaviney, bbc news. the taliban authorities in afghanistan continue to face international condemnation over their treatment of women and girls. it's been a month since they announced a ban on female students attending universities, and it's still unclear if they will be able to return. our correspondent yalda hakim has been speaking to those fighting for change. a basement in kabul, now a place of learning. this 21—year—old used to be a jeweller. she started this secret school seven months ago, running classes for girls of all ages every day. "despite all the risk, i don't want students to forget what going to school means," she tells me. "i want them to still feel they can learn and they should learn." if the taliban authorities find out this secret school is operating, they will be in trouble. usually, more than 30

teenage girls come here. today, only ten. schools closed for girls over the age of 12 when the taliban first swept to power. in march last year, they were told they could come back to their classes, only to be sent back. translation: when i travel here, i am really frightened. _ the situation is really bad under taliban rule, and we are banned from school, but i want to keep coming here for as long as our schools are closed. the taliban government says the ban is temporary. but a 15—year—old student says she doesn't understand why afghan girls are being denied this basic right. translation: i find it so painful that they are not allowing - us into our schools. this decision is against islam. it is illegal. why can boys learn and girls can't?

winter in afghanistan poses all sorts of challenges. some days, it gets as cold as —21 in kabul. but still, the students and their teacher come. "seeing their passion gives me energy," the teacher tells me. "they are full of hope so i have no choice but to take this risk." it is unclear when these girls will return to their schools. until then, women like their teacher are the only hope they have. yalda hakim, bbc news, kabul. european union foreign ministers agreed on monday to allocate another 500 million euros for military aid to help ukraine. but there is increasing pressure for more help with military tanks from germany. poland says it's made an official request to the german government. we have just heard the german

government have confirmed to the bbc they have received the request for approval of experts of german—made leopard 2 tanks which will apparently be reviewed with the urgency and in accordance with german export guidelines. that is what we are hearing from the berlin bureau. sofia bettiza has the latest. strong words from the german foreign minister in brussels on monday. translation: if it loses this war, there will be no more ukraine, i and that is why it is important that we as international partners do everything we can to support ukraine in its right to defend itself. but she declined to comment on the most contentious issue, whether berlin would agree to the sending of german—made leopard 2 battle tanks to fight russian forces. they are world class weapons, widely seen as the best fit for ukraine. but the germans have to give approval before the european allies can export them. and germany is concerned about the possible consequences,

including triggering escalation from russia. brlin, though, is under growing pressure to give the green light. translation: even if we don't get the consent in the end, _ we will still hand over our tanks, together with other countries, to the ukraine. and at the end of the eu meeting, what looks like progress. translation: what came out of these i discussions is that germany is not i going to ban the export of these weapons if any eu country that has them wishes to do so. kyiv sees tanks as a vital weapon to help ukrainian soldiers break through russian lines and recapture territory this year. and with the secretary general of the nato military alliance meeting germany's new defence minister later on tuesday, speculation is building that a decision could be imminent. sofia bettiza, bbc news. the swedish streaming music service spotify has announced it is cutting about 6% of its workforce.

the company says it needs to cut costs as it faces an uncertain economic outlook. it is the latest tech company to announce lay—offs. samira hussain has the details. spotify is the latest company to say it is cutting staff in an effort to cut costs. in a memo to employees, spotify boss daniel ek said he was too ambitious in investing ahead of revenue growth. like so many tech companies we've heard from in the last several weeks, spotify is dealing with the aftermath of two years of pandemic growth, when reliance on tech was very high. corporate america in general is worried about a potential recession in the united states. and although spotify is a swedish company, the bulk of its staff work in the united states, and shares of the company are traded on the new york stock exchange. in the last few weeks, alphabet, the parent company of google, said it would lose 12,000 jobs. microsoft said up to 10,000 employees would be laid off.

one site that tracks job cuts in the tech sector estimates almost 200,000 workers have been let go since the beginning of 2022. it's been the drama that's kept millions of viewers glued to their tv screens for nearly a decade — and the level of tension and despair is only growing, as the finale of happy valley approaches. our entertainment correspondent colin paterson has been speaking to lead actorjames norton on set, as last sunday's explosive episode was filmed. spoiler alert — if you haven't caught up yet, you might want to choose this moment to go and make a cup of tea. quiet, please, guys. 0k, set and...action. james norton filming the final season of happy valley. james, where are we? we are in a disused magistrate's court in bolton, um... as you can see behind me, and we're set up for a court case where tommy lee royce has been accused of a historical murder and he's back in the dock.

yes, this is doubling for greater leeds crown court — the location for a crucial scene. alarms ringing, panicked shouting. stop him! i do something! one of the big moments in this series has been your escape, and that's where it happened — down there in that box. what was that like to film? yeah, that's not... that's not that low of a thing to scale. it's high! it's high, yeah! lock down! lock down the building! as you get older, stunts get a little bit more disconcerting because you're always pumped full of adrenaline, and then you think you can do anything and then you do it and then at the end, you're like, "ow!" and yesterday, i looked down and my leg was bleeding. there's an energy about tommy. there's a kind of animal, vital and unstoppable kind of force. and so when he's allowed to let rip, like he was yesterday, it's so fun. it's clearjames norton has loved making the first happy valley series since 2016. to come back is a complete pleasure, and commenting on how we've

changed in seven years — you know, there's a few more grey hairs, a few more wrinkles — but everyone sort of feels the same. apart from rhys, who plays ryan, my son, who has changed into... a man. yeah, yeah, very much. he's very much tracked the passing of time. you're saying how much fun it is. yeah. it must also have a certain degree of pressure, because people love this show. i think we just feed off that expectation, i think. so that can only sort of fuel us in a positive way, and hopefully embolden us, galvanise us to give it the justice it deserves. and tommy's had quite a look in this series. he has. well, actually, every series tommy's had quite a look. there's always a kind of significant chunk at the beginning of every script describing how he's looking. we've gone from the kind ofjesus messiah complex in the first few eps, and now here i am, a little more clean—cut. but, yeah, he's a vain man. he's very narcissistic. he takes care of his image,

even if he's in prison. how much of that hair was yours? quite a lot. it's quite a lot. yeah, i spent quite a lot of time growing it — and growing the beard. i'm not a massive fan of growing beards. gets itchy. and are you confident — it's the final, third series — that people will be happy with the ending? i think it'll leave people satisfied, yeah. i don't want to give anything away, but it was an absolute roller—coaster to shoot it, so... you're looking confident! i hope... yeah, i hope — i hope that the viewers will get the same excitement that we got from shooting it. you've got quite a time of having to sit on top of secrets now. are you good at it? i am pretty good, yeah. i haven't told many people — including my family. my dad is the worst holder of any secrets, so i fiercely kept it away from him. also, no—one really wants to know. you know, i've rarely found someone who knows and loves the show who's keen to hear what happens. i think most people want to go through the, you know, happy valley experience.

what was your face when you read the final page of the script? give us a demonstration. this might be a spoiler, though, isn't it? if i give you... if i give you my face. i think it was sort of, put down, breathe. there's also a little bit of melancholy because it's the end of a very significant chapter for everyone — ten years of our life. i mean, amongst the shock and the awe and the excitement, there was... there was an element of nostalgia, i guess, creeping in, as this is the end. two episodes to go until it's revealed if happy valley has a happy ending. colin paterson, bbc news, bolton. an iceberg roughly the size of great britain has broken away in the arctic close to a research station. the split was confirmed on sunday. 21 staff are at the base, operating

scientific instruments unfortunately they are not in any danger and are continuing their work until they are due to be picked up early next month. joanna gosling is here this week. catch her while you can, that is all i am going to say. now it's time for a look at the weather with carol. hello again. we had a 21 degrees difference in temperature north to south this morning. the highest temperatures were in the north of the country. high pressure is firmly in charge in southern areas in particular. it is a huge area, sitting across much of europe. so we are still in the colder air today in the south but the milder air is coming our way tomorrow. for all of us, some colder air, and then some mild air comes in for part of the weekend before cold air follows behind. so basically, this chart is showing you that the temperatures are going to be up and down for the next few days. we currently have some cloud across the far south—east. when we lose the lingering fog, it will be a sunny day for many southern areas, but across the north and west, always more cloud although brightening up across north—east scotland and north—east england.

the highest temperatures could well be around the moray firth at 1a degrees. this evening, this cloud in the south starts to roll away. under clear skies, temperatures will fall away as well. we have got two weather fronts both producing rain, both weakening as they push further south. so still comparatively mild in the northern half of the country. still cold in the southern half but not quite as cold as the —8 we saw last night in benson. as we head into wednesday, the weather front sinking south will weaken as it bumps into this high—pressure building in from the atlantic. and a bit of a change in fortunes on wednesday. there will be more cloud from the weather fronts pushing south with some spots of rain across england and wales. but behind it, you can see it brightens up across north wales and northern england and we will have sunshine across northern ireland and scotland. temperatures down a touch in the north and up a touch in the south. as we head into thursday, the high pressure is certainly very much with us. we're also looking at an onshore breeze coming in from the north sea

and that means we start off under clear skies with a widespread frost. where we have got the onshore breeze, we will see more cloud and a few showers coming in. through the day, they could get a bit further west. for most of us, it is going to be dry and sunny and these are the temperatures, six in lerwick, about nine in norwich. we are getting closer to average for the time of year, which is 7—9, north to south. then as we head on into friday, it will be cloudier. we have got a weather front in the north—west and as it pushes south—eastwards, it will weaken and that will clear on saturday, leaving sunshine and showers. but on sunday, more rain and gales in the north and west.

this is bbc news. the headlines at 11. calls for conservative chair nadhim zahawi to be sacked after questions over a multi—million pound tax settlement. more questions over claims that bbc chairman richard sharp was involved in securing a loan for the then—prime minister, borisjohnson. in an interview, mr sharp says he welcomes a review into his appointment. i'm comfortable that i was appointed on merit and i'm also comfortable that, as a result of my discussion with simon case, i avoided a conflict or a potential conflict because i wasn't party to any transaction. nhs representatives appear before

mp's on the health and social care committee to discuss the situation in a&e departments across england. a report has found failings by the probation service left a serial offender free to commit the murder of zara aleena, just days after he was released from prison. the chief inspector of the service says it is �*chronically understaffed'. it's impossible to say whether the murder could have been avoided, but we did find severe deficits in practice at many stages of jordan mcsweeney�*s supervision. there are growing fears that 2023 could see a wave of companies collapsing as the cost of living crisis continues. police in california arrest a suspected gunman, after the second mass shooting in days leaves seven dead. the oscars nominations will be announced later, the shortlist could see more sequels than ever up for best picture.

opposition parties have called for the conservative party chair, nadhim zahawi, to be sacked now — rather than wait for the outcome of an investigation. the government's independent ethics advisor has been asked to look into mr zahawi's financial affairs — after it emerged he paid a penalty to hmrc over previously unpaid tax — while he was chancellor. he maintains he acted properly. our political correspondent, iain watson, reports. are your tax affairs a distraction for the party, mr zahawi? the conservative party chairman, nadhim zahawi, insists he's not on his way out, but he is under pressure. last summer he insisted reports that he was being investigated by the tax authorities were smears. but in a statement at the weekend, he said he'd reached a settlement with revenue and customs over

a careless but not deliberate error. downing street said they hadn't been aware until the weekend that nadhim zahawi had had to pay a penalty to the tax authorities. and the prime minister's new ethics adviser is now looking into whether mr zahawi broke the ministerial code, which requires honesty, openness, accountability and integrity. the labour mp who chairs the commons committee which scrutinises tax and spending believes the conservative party chairman should go. carelessness for a chancellor of the exchequer or even a politician isjust too much. this is not somebody like you and me scribbling away, sorting out our tax returns as we approach the 31st of january. this is somebody in business with lots of advisors who can make sure that he's done the right thing. and the key thing here is he has been very sparse with information. i think it's very murky. i think rishi sunak�*s kicking it into the long grass with the ethics adviser when he should have just sacked him. labour is arguing that there was an apparent conflict of interest because nadhim zahawi's tax affairs were being looked into when he was briefly chancellor of the exchequer

in the summer of last year. and it's the chancellor who's ultimately responsible for tax. but some of his conservative colleagues say there shouldn't be a rush to judgment. the prime minister isn'tjumping to sack someone based on a couple of news reports over the weekend. he's asked his independent ethics adviser to carry out a probe. and i think that's the right thing to do, get the evidence together and then take a judgment on whether the position is or is not tenable. nadhim zahawi says he's confident he acted properly, but few mps are openly defending him and questions remain over exactly why he had to pay a multi—million pound tax bill. iain watson, bbc news. let's talk to our chief political correspondent nick eardley. over to you. hide, overto you. hide, and over to you. hide, and those questions of continued to government ministers this morning who have said we need to let the investigation from the ethics adviser play out

before we get the feel of the dancers, but i get the impression speaking to some conservative mps that they are uncomfortable about the situation, about the cloud hanging over the party chairman, about the impact it has on the government, and ifear it might undermine some of rishi sunak�*s attempts to move on from some of the scandals of the past few years. you will remember you would have heard us talk about the promise for integrity, professionalism and accountability on this morning on bbc breakfast one conservative mp, caroline noakes, said nadhim zahawi should stand aside during the probe. i think nadhim should stand aside until this matter is all cleared up. i think the longer it all drags on the worse it gets for him, so i hope the investigation is swift. actually, i think for his own sake, he should allow there to be some space between him being a government minister and this sort of investigation. i'v e i've just been over in parliament chatting to some mps and there is a

feeling amongst some conservative mps that if this continues to drag on then things might have to change and the prime minister could be forced to act but nadhim zahawi's view is there was nothing wrong and he always behaved properly and wants to make the case to the ethics adviser during that investigation. the one government minister we have heard from on the airwaves this morning is chris philp and he argued nadhim zahawi should stay in post while the investigation plays out. i think it's reasonable that where there's an investigation that the person concerned is allowed to continue serving while that investigation continues. we do have a principle, don't we, in this country innocent until proven guilty? that applies in a whole range of different circumstances. the investigation has been launched by the prime minister, that's the right thing to do. there is one thing that is quite uncomfortable for 10 downing street, that i would not be completely

surprised if it comes up again over the course of this week, is what rishi sunak knew about nadhim zahawi's tax affairs and when because the account we have heard from downing street is that at prime minister's questions last week when rishi sunak stood up and said that the questions had been answered in full and he had nothing further to add, that he did not know, the prime minister didn't know at that point that the conservative chairman had paid a penalty as part of his tax bill. the account we had heard from number ten is that those details started to emerge at the weekend and it was at that point that rishi sunak thought there were more questions to be answered and it was at that point that he ordered a review from the ethics adviser. it's pretty embarrassing, actually, for the prime minister to not know the extent of what had gone on with his conservative party chairman, so as i say, it wouldn't surprise me if that comes up at some point again, perhaps at prime minister's questions tomorrow. in the meantime,

opposition parties say nadhim zahawi should be sacked and rishi sunak needs to take action immediately but no sign of that happening imminently. thank you, nick. the bbc chairman says he is confident he has done nothing wrong and has no plans to stand aside or resign over the borisjohnson loans row. claims have emerged that prior to his appointment as the bbc�*s chairman, richard sharp was involved in securing a loan of up to £800,000 for the then—prime minister. he's been speaking to our culture editor katie razzall. i don't know anything about boris johnson's finances. that's between him and his family. and i imagine the cabinet office don't know his finances. but it looks like you were helping to sort out his finances with his cousin. no, at that stage i didn't know in any shape or form what kind of support there would be. and neither did sam. do you regret, though, not declaring it now? i mean, do you think... no, i don't think there was a conflict. now, william shawcross, the point you raise about cronyism,

is is was the appointment itself on merit or was it in any way distorted? and i believe it's on merit and i welcome the examination by william shawcross. as you know, the independent appointment process isn't one that is made exclusively by downing street because, in other situations, preferred candidates weren't seen to be recommendable. so i'm comfortable that i was appointed on merit and i'm also comfortable that, as a result of my discussion with simon case, that i avoided a conflict or a potential conflict because i wasn't party to any transaction. i mean, we heard yesterday in the public accounts committee that, during the process, candidates were asked if there could be anything that might embarrass the government or the organisation if it came to light. i mean, this is embarrassing to the bbc and potentially the government, isn't it?

yeah, look, having had a discussion with the cabinet secretary about avoiding conflict and the perception of conflict, i felt comfortable and i still feel there was no there was no conflict because, at that stage, what i was seeking to do was ensure that the process was followed exactly by the book and that the process hadn't started of any kind in terms of any support that sam was going to provide to the prime minister. do you think you misled the select committee and the advisory panel? no, i don't. why not? because i had clarified and agreed with the cabinet secretary, both of us had the judgment that i'd avoided a conflict or a perception of conflict. but do you understand, particularly at a time when the bbc is making great efforts to be impartial, to highlight transparency, that this looks the opposite? well, look, i see attacks on the bbc all the time from the media and social media and they attack our impartiality

and i think the governance that we put in place is extremely strong on impartiality, i'll be talking about that later today, precisely because we should be judged by our output. i think the governance is world class at the bbc and so i feel comfortable that the bbc brand is strong and that i support it in that way. but do you feel comfortable being one of the public faces of impartiality at the bbc with this cloud hanging over you? yeah, no, i absolutely feel comfortable about it. i think the ten—point impartiality plan we put in is meaningful. the editorial operations of the editorial guidelines standards committee is meaningful. the separation of the board from the executive function where the director general is the director of news and is responsible for news without the interference of anybody from the board makes me comfortable. so i think we systemically are world class when it comes to evaluating and scrutinizing our impartiality. but, as you say, william shawcross is now examining your appointment. shouldn't you resign or at least step aside while the review is in process?

no, i'm confident that he will determine that i was appointed on merit. that's obviously for him to conduct that investigation and process. it was a highly rigorous process, i can tell you being part of it. a very tough interview, a very tough process to be part of and so i'm comfortable. there was an independent committee of people doing the interview and they were asking very searching and challenging questions of me and the other candidates and i'm sure that process was fully and carefully recorded so it can be minuted and seen whether my appointment was done on merit, and i'm confident it will be seen that that was the case. let's talk to our arts and media correspondent david sillito. break down the key issues here for us, david. , ., , us, david. the first one is the conversation _ us, david. the first one is the conversation between - us, david. the first one is the j conversation between richard us, david. the first one is the - conversation between richard sharpe and sam blythe while richard sharp apply to bbc chairman. issue is did richard sharp get the job apply to bbc chairman. issue is did richard sharp get thejob because he was helping borisjohnson out of a

sticky situation with his finances? richard sharp says no, there was merely one conversation with sam blythe who went to the cabinet secretary and said i'd been approached this way and they said this ends now. you don't take part in any more of this and that's the end of conflict of interest and that was the end of it so there was no conflict of interest and he believes he got the job on merit, conflict of interest and he believes he got thejob on merit, not conflict of interest and he believes he got the job on merit, not because of his relationship with the prime minister and finances. the second one is the issue of whether he should have told more people. he told simon case but there was an advisory panel that was part of the appointment process in the commons media select committee which has a role in the approval of the bbc chairman. they knew nothing about it and there will certainly be questions from members of that committee as to why they did not know about this particular incident. so where does it go from here? we have so where does it go from here? - have the commissioner for public

appointments, william shawcross, and he will look at whether or not richard sharp was appointed and followed all the rules and there was no conflict of interest and there was no examination of the actual process and there is a more subsidiary one which is a bbc one and you have to remember the bbc has no part to play and who its chairman is but they will look at his declarations of interest after he became chairman, check if they are up—to—date and accurate no conflict of interest. up-to-date and accurate no conflict of interest-— of interest. when will the findings of interest. when will the findings ofthat of interest. when will the findings of that to be _ of interest. when will the findings of that to be known? _ of interest. when will the findings of that to be known? well, - of interest. when will the findings of that to be known? well, there l of interest. when will the findings i of that to be known? well, there are many inquiries _ of that to be known? well, there are many inquiries into _ of that to be known? well, there are many inquiries into many _ of that to be known? well, there are many inquiries into many things. i many inquiries into many things. it's as long as it takes to actually happen, so there would be no timescale is given about these things but it's a long interview with other bits of pieces of information and questions were raised yesterday about the chairman and perception of the chairman and how much he is involved in the day—to—day running of the bbc because, you know, it is an appointment that has strong political connections, for instance

the appointment of the head of news and he said he was on the panel but because the head of news is on the board, it was absolutely right and appropriate that he should be there and he was asked also about a dinner that happened afterwards at chequers with sam blythe and borisjohnson and he said it did take place but he said he was merely discussing the future of the bbc on the licence fee, not discussing the prime minister's finances.— fee, not discussing the prime minister's finances. thank you very much. the chief inspector of the probation service has warned it's not possible to say the public are safe and protected from criminals who are out on probation. an investigation has found that failings by the probation service left a serial offender free to murder the law graduate, zara aleena, lastjune. the killing happened days afterjordan mcsweeney was released from prison. in a damning report, the chief inspector, justin russell, said a "catalogue of errors" led to mcsweeney carrying out the "terrifying and ruthless" attack. our home affairs correspondent, june kelly reports. zara aleena's family and friends

have said she was just walking home when she was attacked and sexually assaulted. her aunt has always spoken for theirfamily. we're constantly stuck in a loop of disbelief. constantly stuck in a loop of images in our mind about what happened to her, the horror that she faced, the pain that she must have endured. for the length that she was attacked. you're under arrest for rape and murder. jordan mcsweeney, who was arrested shortly after he killed zara, had already served nine prison sentences. and he had been released from jail just nine days before the murder. today's report by the probation watchdog describes how shortly afterwards, he'd been recalled to prison for failing to attend probation appointments. but because he'd been wrongly assessed as medium

rather than high risk, he wasn't arrested as soon as he could have been. the man was known to the criminal justice system, and to the police. what can we do with criminals who are institutionalised, who have had 36 felonies and don't know how to live outside? the report said probation officers in london have excessive workloads and there are high vacancy rates. and in mcsweeney�*s case, it says there was a lack of communication between prison and probation services about the risk he posed. it is impossible to say that the public are safe given that the quality of work that sometimes is in local probation areas. it really should be a priority for probation to improve the quality of risk assessment and the way that dangerous offenders like jordan mcsweeney are being managed after they've been sentenced or after they have come out of prison. the government has apologised

to zara's family for the failings in the case, saying there would be better training to improve risk assessment and investment to recruit thousands more probation officers. june kelly, bbc news. and we'll be getting more on this story with ian lawrence — the general secretary of napo, the trade union for probation officers — in the next half an hour. the government has rejected a proposal to make menopause a protected characteristic in the equality act. it was one of a number of proposals from the women and equalities committee, which they said would help support women in the workplace in england. ministers accepted recommendations to allow the option to request flexible working, and introduce a bespoke prepayment certificate for hormone replacement therapy. but they also rejected a call for a standard menopause policy. this response comes after the committee published a report lastjuly — which warned about the impact of menopause, said to be causing

the uk economy to"haemorrhage tale nt". let's talk to sharon macarthur. she runs �*miss menopause', which educates employers and employees about the menopause. what do you think about the decisions that have been taken on this? ~ ., , ., ., this? well, i was overall disappointed _ this? well, i was overall disappointed and - this? well, i was overall disappointed and with i this? well, i was overall| disappointed and with an this? well, i was overall- disappointed and with an element this? well, i was overall— disappointed and with an element of frustration and more questions than answers, that was how i felt having read the report. i thought there was a bit of light, but mostly shade. that's how i felt about it.- that's how i felt about it. what were ou that's how i felt about it. what were you particularly _ that's how i felt about it. what were you particularly disappointed by? what would you have liked to have seen? for by? what would you have liked to have seen?— have seen? for me, a lot of this stuff is about _ have seen? for me, a lot of this stuff is about root _ have seen? for me, a lot of this stuff is about root cause, - have seen? for me, a lot of this stuff is about root cause, so i i have seen? for me, a lot of this. stuff is about root cause, so i see this is where you have younger people learning about the menopause from an early age and that was not really fully addressed in the report, and then i would also like to see gps being better trained so when women need to go and seek support, they've got the information and when it comes to the workplace

absolutely employers can do something aware education is the key to this. i will say something quite controversial and i'm not someone who thinks we need to go down the route of having time off going down the menopause, because if you work for a good employer they should be doing that anyway so i think we have lost the battle a bit as much as she wins the war. you are saying it's more for you about learning and responsibility.— more for you about learning and responsibility. rather than rights. absolutely. _ responsibility. rather than rights. absolutely, because _ responsibility. rather than rights. absolutely, because rights - responsibility. rather than rights. absolutely, because rights are i responsibility. rather than rights. | absolutely, because rights are only as good as the humans that read them and sometimes when we look at the whole element operates we are talking about the last chance saloon that it has gone so far down the line that we are in real troubled waters and i would much prefer to not get to that place where if we can educate our young people and our

medical professionals and people in the workplace, whoever they are, so my mission is to make menopause in the workplace is business as usual for everyone we have to get away from the idea that menopause only happens to women of a certain age. it can happen to women at any age and anybody, whether directly or indirectly, we'll encounter it one way or another, so if we can get to the root cause of some of these things then in the future, you would like to think that this would be part of everyday life, is it absolutely is, but it's been hiding in plain sight for too long. you arree in plain sight for too long. you agree with _ in plain sight for too long. you agree with the _ in plain sight for too long. you agree with the impact of the assessment that the menopause causes the uk to haemorrhage talent? i absolutely do. over the last five years since i've been doing this work i've met thousands and thousands of women who have told me some horror stories because we are living in a void of ignorance because sadly the women concerned don't even know what is happening to them could be menopause —related. just to come in. when they talk to

you about the issues,, is it they are experiencing stuff and they decide to walk away from work because they feel they cannot cope, or are they raising issues? i assume it is a mix but the issues are not understood. it is a mix but the issues are not understood-— it is a mix but the issues are not understood. ., ., , , ., , , understood. the ma'ority problem is that women— understood. the ma'ority problem is that women don't i understood. the majority problem is that women don't know _ understood. the majority problem is that women don't know what - understood. the majority problem is that women don't know what is i that women don't know what is happening to their minds and bodies with this life and called menopause and there are occasions where employers have not been too accommodating but i would say the majority of this is around women themselves not even knowing what menopause is about because no one has told us this information. thank ou for has told us this information. thank you forjoining _ has told us this information. thank you forjoining us. _ has told us this information. thank you forjoining us. it's _ has told us this information. thank you forjoining us. it's a _ you forjoining us. it's a conversation that will keep going. thank you very much forjoining us today. a scheme offering people cheaper bills if they cut their electricity use at peak times, will be offered again today. it will kick in between a:30 and 6 o'clock this evening for customers with smart meters.

you can get involved by contacting your supplier and asking to sign up to the scheme. the aim is to avoid blackouts during the cold weather. the german defence minister, boris pistorius, has denied that his county is isolated within nato as it continues to resist sending battle tanks to ukraine. he was speaking during a press conference with the nato secretary general, jens stoltenberg, in berlin. mr pistorius said he expected a decision on the delivery of leopard two tanks soon. he said nato members were coordinating the deployment of the tanks and should begin the training of ukrainian soldiers in their use. mr stoltenberg said it was a pivotal moment for ukraine. let's talk to the bbc�*s damien mcguinness in berlin so, what is the latest? obviously this is a conversation, a row that has been going on for some time and still germany are not saying yes to the deployment of the pistorius tanks. they are not saying yes or

no, that is the criticism, that the german chancellor is being unclear —— the leopard ii tanks. what german chancellor is being unclear -- the leopard ii tanks.— german chancellor is being unclear -- the leopard ii tanks. what we saw from the german _ -- the leopard ii tanks. what we saw from the german defence _ -- the leopard ii tanks. what we saw from the german defence minister, l from the german defence minister, boris pistorius, is that he is keen to signal germany is moving forward, and he said as you mentioned that nato allies should start training their troops on leopard ii tanks and he appeared, and many other german politicians also appear to say that they would not block other countries sending their own german—made tanks to ukraine but so far the german chancellor and it's his decision at the end of the day has not said what he thinks and we've added an element in the past hour where the german chancellor's office has confirmed they have received an official request from poland to send their german—made leopard ii tanks to ukraine and the reason why it's a big movie is that it will increase the pressure on olaf scholz. according to german expert rules, any country that wants to send

german tanks, they have to be requested from berlin first and until now germany could say we have not had a request from ellie allies to send the tanks but now they have and the pressure is going to be more on the chancellor to make a decision on the chancellor to make a decision on the chancellor to make a decision on the re—export guidelines, but also whether germany would want to send its own tanks to ukraine. what send its own tanks to ukraine. what is beinr send its own tanks to ukraine. what is being said — send its own tanks to ukraine. what is being said about _ send its own tanks to ukraine. what is being said about this _ send its own tanks to ukraine. what is being said about this more widely amongst the german public? it is a hu:el amongst the german public? it is a hugely controversial _ amongst the german public? it is a hugely controversial issue - amongst the german public? it is a hugely controversial issue and i amongst the german public? it is a hugely controversial issue and all. hugely controversial issue and all over the press. it is in every talk show and what we are seeing is when you look at polls and phone—ins, the german public is completely divided. you could say that a big minority, the first a0% of germans are unsure and they are nervous about exacerbating the war, but then almost all are half of germans say they want german—made tanks to go to ukraine. the public split. there is

overwhelming support for ukraine and germany, after the us, is almost neck and neck with the uk, the second largest contributor of military aid, 3.3 million euros worth of military aid to ukraine but all of that is being overshadowed by this row, and i think that comes down in part to the communication style of the german chancellor, who is accused of being unclear and not transparent, not telling people what he thinks. his style is such that he likes to talk behind closed doors and then announced a people the decision. that is something increasingly people are thinking, we want to know what's going on and we don't understand why the chancellor is not saying if it's a good idea or not to send of the tanks and which of us out —— aside you stand on, it's a controversial debate. mira; of us out -- aside you stand on, it's a controversial debate. why is it's a controversial debate. why is it that the leopard _ it's a controversial debate. why is it that the leopard ii _ it's a controversial debate. why is it that the leopard ii tanks - it's a controversial debate. why is it that the leopard ii tanks that i it that the leopard ii tanks that are the line currently when there has been such a huge contribution to

the war effort in ukraine already from germany? i the war effort in ukraine already from germany?— from germany? i think that's a really good _ from germany? i think that's a really good question _ from germany? i think that's a really good question because l from germany? i think that's a i really good question because we've seen the redline shift throughout the last 11 months. first it was whether it should be heavy weaponry in the first place and parliament had to vote on that and then the redline was the fighting vehicle, and we had this again and get and thatis and we had this again and get and that is what have critics have said, that is what have critics have said, that eventually he will back down and there will be another redline and there will be another redline and there will be another redline and the issue here, the reason why ukraine says it wants those particular tanks is because they are light, effective, and there are 2000 in europe already as opposed to us tanks on the other side of the atlantic and very inefficient when it comes to fuel. ukraine says these are the tanks that would make the difference in the war effort, but theissueis difference in the war effort, but the issue is for many people in germany, they have seen the mission creep, and there are a lot of questions in notjust germany but western europe in general about what

is the aim, what is the final result that nato and nato allies want to achieve, and how to avoid an escalation? how to avoid nato being pulled into conflict with russia. so over and be on the specific issue of the tanks, there are some legitimate questions being hacked out behind closed doors, and some of those questions olaf scholz has to answer to the voters as well.— now it's time for a look at the weather with carol hello again. today's weather is not too dissimilar to what many of us had yesterday, so across the north and west of the country, we're looking at a bit more cloud, some spots of rain, but some sunshine coming through across eastern scotland north—east england. after a cold start with some frost and fog across parts of the midlands, wales, into the south—west and parts of east anglia, we will see some sunshine. but lingering cloud across the far south—east, towards the channel islands. top temperatures today likely to be around the moray firth at 1a degrees.

tonight, this cloud in the south—east starts to move away. there will be some clear skies. we have got two weather fronts coming south, both bringing some rain. still comparatively mild in the north of the country. still cold in the south with that frost and possibly in sheltered areas some patchy fog. tomorrow, then, more cloud and some rain across england and wales. but brightening up through the day in northern england. also some sunshine for northern ireland and scotland. temperatures down a touch in the north and up a touch in the south.

hello this is bbc news with joanna gosling. the headlines: calls for conservative chair nadhim zahawi to be sacked after questions over a multi—million pound tax settlement. bbc chairman richard sharp says he will not stand down over the borisjohnson loan row. in an interview, mr sharp says he welcomes a review into his appointment. i'm comfortable that i was appointed on merit and i'm also comfortable that, as a result of my discussion with simon case, i avoided a conflict or a potential conflict because i wasn't party to any transaction. nhs representatives appear before mps on the health and social care committee to discuss the situation in a&e departments across england. a report has found failings by the probation service left a serial offender free to commit the murder of zara aleena just days after he was released from prison.

the chief inspector of the service says it is "chronically understaffed". it's impossible to say whether the murder could have been avoided, but we did find severe deficits in practice at many stages of jordan mcsweeney�*s supervision. there are growing fears that this year could see a wave of companies collapsing as the cost—of—living crisis continues. police in california arrest a suspected gunman after the second mass shooting in days leaves seven dead. the oscars nominations will be announced later. the shortlist could see more sequels than ever up for best picture. sport now and a full round—up from the bbc sport centre. good morning. it's been a decade since victoria azarenka last won the australian open and she's continuing her quest to claim a third title at the grand slam. she's secured her spot in the semifinal in a straight sets win overjessica pegula.

the american was the highest seed left in the tournament, but couldn't overcome the 33—year—old belarusian, who won 6—a 6—1. azarenka will play the wimbledon champion elena rybakina. earlier, she swept past jelena ostapenko in straight sets to reach the last four. despite that surprise success at wimbledon, rybakina is still ranked only 25th in the world because ranking points were not awarded at sw19 last year. in the world because ranking points i had ihada i had a tough period before wimbledon in the sense that i was very tired mentally, i played a lot of drug and so i was not at my best that it took a break, so it was kind of i'm not really expected win at wimbledon, but here it is different because, first of all, i already did it once and i have confidence i can do it again. confidence i can do it again.

something of an anti—climax over in the men's draw, with russian karen khachanov reaching the semifinals after his american opponent sebastian korda retired from the match through injury. korda was two sets down and trailing 3—0 in the third when he threw in the towel kachanov will play either stefanos tsitsipas orjiri lehecka in the semifinals. they're currently on court. stefa n stefan of tips it has is one set up at the moment and it is staying with serve. meanwhile, britain's alfie hewett began his reign as men's wheelchair world number one with a commanding victory overjapan's daisuke arai. hewitt will meet his doubles partner, gordon reid, in the quarterfinals. reid beat tom egberink of the netherlands. the biggest shock in the history of the scottish cup, one of the biggest shocks in football — that's how sixth—tier darvel�*s win over premiership side aberdeen is being described. it will go down as one of the great moments in the club's history. the hero wasjordan kirkpatrick, who got the only goal to send the 2000—odd supporters into delirium. aberdeen manager said his

side were disappointed, humilated, embrassed. his side are fifth currently in the top flight. that will be lost on darvel manager mick kennedy, who delivered a stirring team talk before the game, whilst the goal—scorer still had to try and get out of work. it's a bit surreal. i think it'll digest over the night, but it's hard to believe right now. but you see the crowd here that's came tonight, it's amazing. itjust shows you how much it means to them and to us where we are as a level. i'm meant to be at work, so i need to phone my boss and ask him if i can get the night off! they've surely been watching and they're surely on the phone already to see, "nah, don't come in!" i might get a day off tomorrow — a wee sick day, hopefully. england captain harry kane has pulled level with the late, greatjimmy greaves as tottenham's all—time leading goal—scorer. his 266th came in a 1—0 win over fulham last night many, as he once again demonstrated his worth to the club.

it's his 199th premier league goal. only wayne rooney and alan shearer have scored more in what continues to be a stuttering season for spurs. i really important win for us, especially after the last couple of games. it was important to get back to winning ways and pick up a good three points. it is a tough place to come. fulham are only one spot behind us in the league so we knew it would be difficult and we dug deep to get that three points. to get the goal and equalled the record was obviously a nice feeling for me. gareth bale says he's going to play in a pga tour competition just two weeks after retiring from football. the former wales, real madrid and tottenham star confirmed he will be participating in the upcoming at&t pebble beach pro—am. bale willjoin a number of other celebrities at the event in california, alongside some of the world's top professionals. bill murray and green bay packers quarterback aaron rodgers are among those taking part.

the tournament gets under way on february second. just before we go, news just in that elliot daly and jamie george have withdrawn from the england's because of injury. jamie blamire and ollie lawrence have been called up to replace them. there's more on that and today's other stories on the bbc sport website. that's bbc.co.uk/sport. there are growing fears that 2023 could see a wave of firms collapsing as higher costs, reduced consumer demand and the end of government support measures overwhelm businesses. in the uk, the number of companies in "critical financial distress" jumped by more than a third in the last three months of 2022 — that's according to insolvency experts begbies traynor. there are growing fears that 2023 could see a wave of firms an increasing number of business owners report what they are calling "director fatigue". the boss of the uk's biggest business lender, natwest, has been speaking to our business editor, simonjack, about the challenges. a lot of businesses are coping with the here and now.

obviously, there are different pockets of businesses who are surviving and doing well. but we're not seeing what i would call real long—term investment going on at the moment. that's reflected in the very, very low business confidence levels that you're seeing. that for me is a real concern as we look forward to the future, because that's future growth that could be affected. so i think a lot of businesses are managing the here and now. for a lot of businesses, and, i would say, the majority of business owners, they haven't really operated their business through a high inflation, high interest rate environment and a lot of them are recovering, just still recovering from covid. so it's very much managing the short term rather than investing for the long term. and that's actually quite worrying in a way for future growth and productivity, and all those kind of good things that happen when you invest for the future are not going to happen. yeah, i mean, it is a worry because i think that talks to, what is the growth going to be in the economy in two years' time? now, you know, there are pockets of optimism, that i would say. we're seeing a record number of start—ups, so new businesses starting up.

and that's important for a thriving economy and a recovery. we are seeing employment at very full levels. so people are employed and that means wages are being paid. and that's a really important factor of economic stability. but most businesses are focused on the short term. turning our focus to consumers for a moment, you look at things like retail sales, they were off a little bit, but some of the supermarkets had very good christmases, whatever. ijust wonder how people are paying for this stuff. when you look at things like savings, credit card balances, what's the picture there, and what does that mean for the wider economy? so it's interesting, we're seeing things like subscription levels being adjusted. we've seen through our debit card spending, for example, people changing where they spend their money. so maybe rather than spending at a higher supermarket cost point, sort of a lower supermarket cost point. so we're seeing those adjustments in spending.

interestingly, in 03 last year, we saw deposit levels go down and transaction levels go up. so people saved up to go on holiday, but they were still keeping a buffer. so people are sort of reducing their spend o to take account of those higher costs that were coming, in particular with christmas and with, you know, the winter higher energy costs expected. people were adjusting their spending. but what we're not seeing, which is the bit where you say this feels slightly counterintuitive, we're not seeing customers ask for, you know, deferments on their mortgages or not paying their credit cards. there is very little in terms of that. let's talk to vicy pryce, who is the chief economic adviser at the centre for economics and business research. thank you forjoining us. where do

you see this going? we were just hearing there at that detail of people making adjustments, some big, some small, but it is adding up and having a big impact.— having a big impact. absolutely. what we are _ having a big impact. absolutely. what we are seeing _ having a big impact. absolutely. what we are seeing this - having a big impact. absolutely. what we are seeing this year, i what we are seeing this year, which is a repeat in some ways of last year, is disposable incomes are going down. wages are not keeping up with the information we have seen. there are some good signs that inflation may be slowing down, it is beginning to be an issue here as well. therefore, may be, wages will catch up a little bit, but people are very, very careful in terms of what they spend. the interesting thing is you talked about supermarkets and what they have done over christmas, we have seen sales fall in general over christmas. this is because of higher inflation. it is because of higher inflation. it is not really in volume terms. that

is not really in volume terms. that is a reflection of the problem is that people are having and it is affecting a lot of small businesses. the gap that is developing between large firms, which are able to cope with this, have high debts but are able to cope with the higher interest rates, they restructure, like banks are closing branches and others are doing various things, moving may be out of high street places to other centres where they can do better, but lots of small firms don't have that luxury that is why we are seeing this very substantial number of insolvencies right now. i substantial number of insolvencies rirht now. . , substantial number of insolvencies rirht now. , substantial number of insolvencies rirhtnow. , _ ., right now. i was struck by that hrase right now. i was struck by that phrase directory _ right now. i was struck by that phrase directory fatigue. i right now. i was struck by that phrase directory fatigue. all i phrase directory fatigue. all businesses have been through a prolonged and difficult time. absolutely. it is interesting because they had covid to cope with, that the energy costs. if you look at particular sectors where it was quite prolonged in terms of the period during which they had to close, then of course there was a bit of support for example in the

hospitality sector, that support in terms of the vat cut that the sores being removed, so there's quite a lot of concern over whether the price they are charging now are affordable for the average consumer. in some cases they have had to cope with it for quite a period of time. in some cases also now we know that hmrc is looking at some of the bounce back loans that were given and whether they were given legitimately to a number of firms. what we are saying interestingly is where they are starting to investigate and axed for some those looms back, they are basicallyjust closing and calling on the receivers. there will be more of that i think in the coming months. i want to bring in borrowing figures as well. government borrowing hit a new high in december. the difference between spending and tax income was 27.a billion, a rise of 16.7 billion on december 2021. interest on

government debt hit 17.3 billion, the highest december figure since monthly records began. what do you read into that and the fundamentals? one of the interesting things underlined this figure is that receipts have remained quite high. in fact there were higher than they were a year ago. in other words, loads and loads of taxes being paid because of the higher inflation we have seen. if you pay 20% vat it is obviously a biggerfigure in nominal terms. all these things are nominal, we mustn't forget that. if inflation is higher than those figures look higher as well. they have been collecting more but there has been this energy support that has been given to both households and companies. one of the concerns that firms have is what is going to happen when that energy support gets reduced and it is about to be reduced and it is about to be reduced significantly as of april next year. that is one element. the other one is because of high

inflation, interest accrued on the to the government for the index linked bond that it issues, and a quarter of all the bounce that it has outstanding a present or index linked, so they go up with inflation so if the inflation is high then there is a cost increase. a lot of it is due to that inflation uptake we have had. if inflation starts coming down then perhaps some of those pressures to be reduced. there are exceptional items in there that might wash away in the future with a bit of luck. . ~ might wash away in the future with a bit of luck. ., ,, , ., might wash away in the future with a bit of luck. . ~' , ., w might wash away in the future with a bit of luck. ., ,, i. .' ,~ failings by probation officers meant a man with a history of violence was free to "stalk" and "kill" zara aleena, just days after he was released from prison, according to a damning watchdog report. jordan mcsweeney was given a life sentence last month after admitting to carrying out a "terrifying and ruthless" attack on zara as she walked home lastjune. the report highlighted a "catalogue of errors" that led to his crime, but it's also outlined the need for standards to improve across probation services in england and wales. many teams are said to be

short—staffed, especially in london, with some filling fewer than half of the available positions. also in the capital, officers are routinely dealing with 80 to 100 cases, where 50 is thought to be the acceptable limit. each the government says it has recruited 2,500 officers in the last two years and is promising to recruit a further 1,500 by march. ian lawrence is the general secretary of napo, the trade union for probation officers. hejoins us now. thank you forjoining us. how far do you think those sorts of pressures can be blamed for what went wrong in this case? i can be blamed for what went wrong in this case? ~' ,., , this case? i think the report is excellent _ this case? i think the report is excellent in _ this case? i think the report is excellent in the _ this case? i think the report is excellent in the sense - this case? i think the report is excellent in the sense that i this case? i think the report is excellent in the sense that it i excellent in the sense that it delves down into what my call agency failures and the heading of your story inspiration palings. the inspector identified failings. we are looking at that. let's look at

the fact that the perpetrator went through the prison system, wasn't assessed as high risk, went to a private rehabilitation probation company when they were in effect and the risk wasn't picked up there either. then i arrived on probation because my doorstep just nine days before his release without the requisite information being passed on. that is very much highlighted in the report. on. that is very much highlighted in the reort. ~ ,, on. that is very much highlighted in the reort. ~ ., on. that is very much highlighted in the reort. ~ i. ., , the report. when you look at his record, the report. when you look at his record. he _ the report. when you look at his record, he had _ the report. when you look at his record, he had 28 _ the report. when you look at his record, he had 28 previous i record, he had 28 previous convictions for 69 separate offences going back over 17 years —— 17 years, and he was 29, so he had been in the criminaljustice system since she was 12. it is pretty clearjust on that cursory glance, isn't it, that he was likely to offend, so what does medium risk actually mean? that is the risk that is put on someone who has shown no propensity for their index offence, the one they were convicted for last, to

move on to violence. whatever may happen in the past is a consideration for thejudiciary, happen in the past is a consideration forthejudiciary, but you can convict someone for say burglary from a shop and then give them 25 years because of their previous track record. that is the law. we can only deal with what is in front of us. but there were subs —— systemic problems in terms of his assessment, as i said in the start. i can understand for the life of me why that wasn't picked up in prison given that a number of things happened on prison supervision that he was charged with but did not appear in court for. the he was charged with but did not appear in court for.— he was charged with but did not appear in court for. the time that it came into _ appear in court for. the time that it came into the _ appear in court for. the time that it came into the hands _ appear in court for. the time that it came into the hands of- appear in court for. the time that it came into the hands of the - it came into the hands of the probation officers, and you are throwing back to what was going on in prison, but that is the final check, isn't it, the final moment before someone is released into society to give a full appraisal as to how much supervision there needs to how much supervision there needs to be? i to how much supervision there needs to be? ~' ,., to how much supervision there needs to be? ~' , to how much supervision there needs to be? ~' ., to be? i think the report says that the client did — to be? i think the report says that the client did not _ to be? i think the report says that the client did not have _ to be? i think the report says that the client did not have a - to be? i think the report says that. the client did not have a forwarding address, so why was that really sanctioned out of prison? i would have thought that was a very

important piece of information, certainly for our members at this end of it. it is clear and to report that there was insufficient information attached to the client's case to allow the probation in the latter stages to make a judgment. so you're saying probation could not have done this any differently? fin have done this any differently? on the have done this any differently? q�*i the basis of what was presented, thatis the basis of what was presented, that is what i read into this report. that is what i read into this re ort. . that is what i read into this reort. . , , . ., that is what i read into this reort. . ,, . ., report. the chief inspector said it is impossible _ report. the chief inspector said it is impossible to _ report. the chief inspector said it is impossible to say _ report. the chief inspector said it is impossible to say if— report. the chief inspector said it is impossible to say if the - report. the chief inspector said it is impossible to say if the public| is impossible to say if the public are safe because of the quality of work being carried out by parts of the probation service. i work being carried out by parts of the probation service.— work being carried out by parts of the probation service. i think he is alludin: the probation service. i think he is alluding to — the probation service. i think he is alluding to the _ the probation service. i think he is alluding to the fact _ the probation service. i think he is alluding to the fact that _ the probation service. i think he is alluding to the fact that the - alluding to the fact that the service is in crisis in terms of pricing. people are going off ill, people are leaving because they can take it any more. members are not paid particularly well. they don't come into it for the money primarily. they are being treated with this government and as

secretary of state will not engage with us. i want to talk these things through with the minister and find out how much funding will be put into the service.— into the service. these things happening- — into the service. these things happening- £155 _ into the service. these things happening. £155 million - into the service. these things happening. £155 million a - into the service. these things | happening. £155 million a year into the service. these things - happening. £155 million a year the government says it is investing to make things better. it government says it is investing to make things better.— government says it is investing to make things better. it might have thouuht make things better. it might have thou . ht of make things better. it might have thought of that _ make things better. it might have thought of that when _ make things better. it might have thought of that when it _ make things better. it might have thought of that when it privatised | thought of that when it privatised the government says it is investing to make things better. it might have thought of that when a privatised service seven years ago are nearly destroyed it completely. it had no option other than to pump more of money that the private sector was given when seven or eight companies ran 21 probation services, that is a drop in the ocean. we need urgent repairs and we need it now.- repairs and we need it now. thank ou. the swedish streaming music service spotify has announced it is cutting about 6% of its workforce. the company says it needs to cut costs as it faces an uncertain economic outlook. it is the latest tech company to announce lay—offs. samira hussain has the details. spotify is the latest company to say it is cutting staff in an effort to cut costs. in a memo to employees,

spotify boss daniel ek said he was too ambitious in investing ahead of revenue growth. like so many tech companies we've heard from in the last several weeks, spotify is dealing with the aftermath of two years of pandemic growth, when reliance on tech was very high. corporate america in general is worried about a potential recession in the united states. and although spotify is a swedish company, the bulk of its staff work in the united states, and shares of the company are traded on the new york stock exchange. in the last few weeks, alphabet, the parent company of google, said it would lose 12,000 jobs. microsoft said up to 10,000 employees would be laid off. one site that tracks job cuts in the tech sector estimates almost 200,000 workers have been let go since the beginning of 2022.

the oscar nominations are going to come out later. the oscar nominations are going to come out later. let's talk to our entertainment correspondent colin paterson. let's start now with the subject of the sequels. let's start now with the sub'ect of the “quasi let's start now with the sub'ect of the sequelefi let's start now with the sub'ect of the sequels. there has never been more than — the sequels. there has never been more than a _ the sequels. there has never been more than a month _ the sequels. there has never been more than a month ago _ the sequels. there has never been | more than a month ago nominated, today we are expecting three, topcon maverick, the original won the oscar for best song. tom crees could sneak best actor nomination as well. that is one sequel. then we have avatar, we are expecting that to get the best picture nomination. the original got the better —— the most oscar nominations in 2009 and went on to win three. could also be a best picture nomination for black panther, the sequel to the marvel movie which also won three oscars in

2019 when it came out? the reason why we are expecting more sequels is that they have gone to ten best picture nominations this year for the first time in more than a decade, so it has created the space with a kind of films that people actually go and see at the cinema as opposed to poncy critics like king, thatis opposed to poncy critics like king, that is what the oscars are hoping for. ~ ., ., that is what the oscars are hoping for. . . ., ., , ., , that is what the oscars are hoping for. . ., ., ,., , _ for. what are the other phones poncy critics have liked _ for. what are the other phones poncy critics have liked in _ for. what are the other phones poncy critics have liked in that _ for. what are the other phones poncy critics have liked in that list - for. what are the other phones poncy critics have liked in that list of - critics have liked in that list of ten? in critics have liked in that list of ten? .. ., critics have liked in that list of ten? ., . ., , critics have liked in that list of ten? ., , , ten? in fact, one is everything everywhere — ten? in fact, one is everything everywhere all _ ten? in fact, one is everything everywhere all at _ ten? in fact, one is everything everywhere all at once, - ten? in fact, one is everything everywhere all at once, this i ten? in fact, one is everything i everywhere all at once, this crazy movie set in a launderette and dealing with the multi—verse. i could see michelle keogh getting her first—ever oscar nomination at the age of 60. the amazing story of her co—star, who was a child star, he was short round in indiana jones and the temple of doom, he was in the guineas, he quit because he couldn't get the parts and was inspired by

crazy rich agents to give it another go. the director saw him on twitter, for whatever happened to him and asked him if he wanted to get back into acting. he is in his 50s now. he may well get its first—ever oscar nomination with this huge 30 year gap in his career. i nomination with this huge 30 year gap in his career.— gap in his career. i love those stories. what _ gap in his career. i love those stories. what about _ gap in his career. i love those stories. what about the - gap in his career. i love those stories. what about the other nominations in the acting categories?— nominations in the acting catetories? ., , categories? could jamie lee curtis tet her categories? could jamie lee curtis get her first-ever _ categories? could jamie lee curtis get her first-ever oscar _ categories? could jamie lee curtis l get her first-ever oscar nomination, get her first—ever oscar nomination, which incredible for somebody who is of hollywood pedigree to have never got one. it could be the first year since 1985 that no british people get selecting nomination. we are hopeful that bill nye he will get one for living, that would be his first oscar nomination at the age of 73. he plays a bureaucrat that is

told he is going to die gets a whole new lease of life. we think he could get a nomination. olivia colman for empire of lights, but it has not gone down well. i think that would be her fourth oscar nomination gone down well. i think that would be herfourth oscar nomination in five years if she gets that one. what about director? it is going to be hard this year to beat stephen spielberg, who has been nominated for the fable months. it is a really personal movie for him. it is about a kid who happens to love movies and has exactly the same relationship with his mother that stephen spielberg had with this one. he has not actually won an oscar for 23 years. his last was saving private ryan. i think sometimes people think these guys get nominated all the time. he did not win last yearfor

west side story. i think he really wants to win this year. mi west side story. i think he really wants to win this year.— west side story. i think he really wants to win this year. all quiet on the western _ wants to win this year. all quiet on the western front, _ wants to win this year. all quiet on the western front, it _ wants to win this year. all quiet on the western front, it broke - wants to win this year. all quiet on j the western front, it broke records at the baftas. this the western front, it broke records at the lztaftas-_ at the baftas. this is going to be ri t ht to at the baftas. this is going to be right to appear _ at the baftas. this is going to be right to appear for _ at the baftas. this is going to be right to appear for the _ at the baftas. this is going to be right to appear for the most - right to appear for the most nominated film. it is the german war film, in german, but there is an amazing story about the scottish woman who made it all happen. she is lesley paterson. she was a triathlete world champion. she moved to the stage for her career, decided to the stage for her career, decided to get into the movies. her favourite book when she went to school in stirling was all quiet on the western front, so she popped the option elements. this was 2006. ten years later she had not managed to get it made. it was up for option again, she had to pay a five figure sum to do it, she had no money. she entered at triathlon, she had to win to get the money to option it again. the night before the triathlon she was out training, fell and broke her

shoulder. our chances were over, but she thought, i will give this a go. she entered the triathlon, swam a mile with a broken shoulder, was last place which he finished the swim, got on the bike ride, went berserk, got up to fourth. she got into the last section of the run, she said she had to run the cat tyrannosaurus rex because she couldn't be fore arm. she won the race, got the five figure sum, optioned the film again, six he was later got it made into a film that was on netflix last year and today she could get an oscar nomination for best adapted screenplay, for winning a triathlon with a broken shoulder. ., , ., . ~' ., shoulder. can you make the film of her story? — so the nominations are this afternoon. so the nominations are this afternoon-— so the nominations are this afternoon. ., , ., afternoon. live on the news channel at 1:15-m.

afternoon. live on the news channel at 1:15pm. listen _ afternoon. live on the news channel at 1:15pm. listen out _ afternoon. live on the news channel at 1:15pm. listen out for— afternoon. live on the news channel at 1:15pm. listen out for lesley - at 1:15pm. listen out for lesley paterson's name in the adapted screenplay category. a pair of beavers that went on the run for ten days have been coaxed back home, thanks to a trail of parsnips and apples. woody and twiggy broke out from their eight—acre enclosure on the mapperton estate in dorset following storm damage. a member of the public spotted "evidence of beaver activity" about a mile away and the pair were then lured back. now it's time for a look at the weather with carol. hello again. we had a 21 degrees difference in temperature north to south this morning. the highest temperatures were in the north of the country. high pressure is firmly in charge in southern areas in particular. it is a huge area, sitting across much of europe. so we are still in the colder air today in the south but the milder air is coming our way tomorrow. for all of us, some colder air, and then some mild air comes in for part of the weekend before cold air follows behind. so basically, this chart is showing you that the temperatures are going to be up and down for the next few days.

we currently have some cloud across the vast south—east. when we lose the lingering fog, it will be a sunny day for many southern areas, but across the north and west, always more cloud although brightening up across north—east scotland and north—east england. the highest temperatures could well be around the moray firth at 1a degrees. this evening, this cloud in the south starts to roll away. under clear skies, temperatures will fall away as well. we have got two weather fronts both producing rain, both weakening as they push further south. so still comparatively mild in the northern half of the country. still cold in the southern half but not quite as cold as the —8 we saw last night in benson. as we head into wednesday, the weather front seeking south will weaken as it bumps into this high—pressure building in from the atlantic. and a bit of a change in fortunes on wednesday. there will be more cloud from the weather fronts pushing south with some spots of rain across england and wales. but behind it, you can see it brightens up across north wales and northern england and we will have sunshine across northern ireland and scotland.

temperatures down a touch in the north and up a touch in the south. as we head into thursday, the high pressure is certainly very much with us. we're also looking at an onshore breeze coming in from the north sea and that means we start off under clear skies with a widespread frost. where we have got the onshore breeze, we will see more cloud and a few showers coming in. through the day, they could get a bit further west. for most of us, it is going to be dry and sunny and these are the temperatures, six in lerwick, to about nine in norwich. we are getting closer to average for the time of year, which is 7—9, north to south. then as we head on into friday, it will be claudia. pushes south—eastwards, it will weaken and that will clear on saturday, leaving sunshine and showers. but on sunday, more rain and gales in the north and west.

this is bbc news. the headlines. calls for conservative chair nadhim zahawi to be sacked — after questions over a multi—million pound tax settlement. bbc chairman richard sharp says he will not stand down over the borisjohnson loan row. in an interview, mr sharp says he welcomes a review into his appointment. i'm comfortable that i was appointed on merit and i'm also comfortable that, as a result of my discussion with simon case, i avoided a conflict or a potential conflict because i wasn't party to any transaction. a report has found failings by the probation service left a serial offender free to commit the murder of zara aleena, just days after he was released from prison. the chief inspector of the service says it is �*chronically understaffed'. it's impossible to say

whether the murder could have been avoided, but we did find severe deficits in practice at many stages of jordan mcsweeney�*s supervision. there are growing fears that this year could see a wave of companies collapsing as the cost of living crisis continues. police in california arrest a suspected gunman, after the second mass shooting in days leaves seven dead. the oscars nominations will be announced later, the shortlist could see more sequels than ever up for best picture. opposition parties have called for the conservative party chair, nadhim zahawi, to be sacked now — rather than wait for the outcome of an investigation. the government's independent ethics advisor has been asked to look into mr zahawi's financial affairs —

after it emerged he paid a penalty to hmrc over previously unpaid tax — while he was chancellor. he maintains he acted properly. our political correspondent, iain watson, reports. are your tax affairs a distraction for the party, mr zahawi? the conservative party chairman, nadhim zahawi, insists he's not on his way out, but he is under pressure. last summer he insisted reports that he was being investigated by the tax authorities were smears. but in a statement at the weekend, he said he'd reached a settlement with revenue and customs over a careless but not deliberate error. downing street said they hadn't been aware until the weekend that nadhim zahawi had had to pay a penalty to the tax authorities. and the prime minister's new ethics adviser is now looking into whether mr zahawi broke the ministerial code, which requires honesty, openness, accountability and integrity. the labour mp who chairs the commons committee which scrutinises tax

and spending believes the conservative party chairman should go. carelessness for a chancellor of the exchequer or even a politician isjust too much. this is not somebody like you and me scribbling away, sorting out our tax returns as we approach the 31st of january. this is somebody in business with lots of advisors who can make sure that he's done the right thing. and the key thing here is he has been very sparse with information. i think it's very murky. i think rishi sunak�*s kicking it into the long grass with the ethics adviser when he should have just sacked him. labour is arguing that there was an apparent conflict of interest because nadhim zahawi's tax affairs were being looked into when he was briefly chancellor of the exchequer in the summer of last year. and it's the chancellor who's ultimately responsible for tax. but some of his conservative colleagues say there shouldn't be a rush to judgment. the prime minister isn'tjumping to sack someone based on a couple of news reports over the weekend. he's asked his independent ethics adviser to carry out a probe. and i think that's the right thing to do, get the evidence together and then take a judgment on whether the position

is or is not tenable. nadhim zahawi says he's confident he acted properly, but few mps are openly defending him and questions remain over exactly why he had to pay a multi—million pound tax bill. iain watson, bbc news. earlier i spoke to our chief political correspondent nick eardley about the situation. those questions have continued to government ministers this morning who have said we need to let the investigation from the ethics adviser play out before we get the feel of the answers, but i get the impression speaking to some conservative mps that they are uncomfortable about the situation, about the cloud hanging over the party chairman, about the impact it has on the government, and a fear it might undermine some of rishi sunak�*s attempts to move on from some of the scandals of the past few years. you will remember you would have

heard us talk about the promise for integrity, professionalism and accountability, and this morning on bbc breakfast one conservative mp, caroline nokes, said nadhim zahawi should stand aside during the probe. i think nadhim should stand aside until this matter is all cleared up. i think the longer it all drags on the worse it gets for him, so i hope the investigation is swift. actually, i think for his own sake, he should allow there to be some space between him being a government minister and this sort of investigation. i've just been over in parliament chatting to some mps and there is a feeling amongst some conservative mps that if this continues to drag on then things might have to change and the prime minister could be forced to act but nadhim zahawi's view is he did nothing wrong and he always behaved properly and wants to make the case to the ethics adviser during that investigation. the one government minister we have

heard from on the airwaves this morning is chris philp and he argued nadhim zahawi should stay in post while the investigation plays out. i think it's reasonable that where there's an investigation that the person concerned is allowed to continue serving while that investigation continues. we do have a principle, don't we, in this country innocent until proven guilty? that applies in a whole range of different circumstances. the investigation has been launched by the prime minister, that's the right thing to do. there is one thing that is quite uncomfortable for 10 downing street, that i would not be completely surprised if it comes up again over the course of this week, is what rishi sunak knew about nadhim zahawi's tax affairs and when, because the account we have heard from downing street is that at prime minister's questions last week when rishi sunak stood up and said that the questions had been answered in full and he had nothing further to add, that he did not know, the prime minister didn't know at that point that the conservative chairman had paid a penalty

as part of his tax bill. the account we had heard from number 10 is that those details started to emerge at the weekend and it was at that point that rishi sunak thought there were more questions to be answered and it was at that point that he ordered a review from the ethics adviser. it's pretty embarrassing, actually, for the prime minister to not know the extent of what had gone on with his conservative party chairman, so as i say, it wouldn't surprise me if that comes up at some point again, perhaps at prime minister's questions tomorrow. in the meantime, opposition parties say nadhim zahawi should be sacked and rishi sunak needs to take action immediately, but no sign of that happening imminently. the chief inspector of the probation service has warned it's not possible to say the public are safe and protected from criminals who are out on probation. an investigation has found that failings by the probation service left a serial offender free to murder the law graduate, zara aleena, lastjune. the killing happened days afterjordan mcsweeney was released from prison.

in a damning report, the chief inspector, justin russell, said a "catalogue of errors" led to mcsweeney carrying out the "terrifying and ruthless" attack. our home affairs correspondent, june kelly reports. zara aleena's family and friends have said she was just walking home when she was attacked and sexually assaulted. her aunt has always spoken for theirfamily. we're constantly stuck in a loop of disbelief. constantly stuck in a loop of images in our mind about what happened to her, the horror that she faced, the pain that she must have endured for the length that she was attacked. you're under arrest for rape and murder. jordan mcsweeney, who was arrested shortly after he killed zara, had already served nine prison sentences. and he had been released from jail

just nine days before the murder. today's report by the probation watchdog describes how shortly afterwards, he'd been recalled to prison for failing to attend probation appointments. but because he'd been wrongly assessed as medium rather than high risk, he wasn't arrested as soon as he could have been. the man was known to the criminal justice system, and to the police. what can we do with criminals who are institutionalised, who have had 36 felonies and don't know how to live outside? the report said probation officers in london have excessive workloads and there are high vacancy rates. and in mcsweeney�*s case, it says there was a lack of communication between prison and probation services about the risk he posed. it is impossible to say that the public are safe given that the quality of work that sometimes is in local probation areas.

it really should be a priority for probation to improve the quality of risk assessment and the way that dangerous offenders like jordan mcsweeney are being managed after they've been sentenced or after they have come out of prison. the government has apologised to zara's family for the failings in the case, saying there would be better training to improve risk assessment and investment to recruit thousands more probation officers. june kelly, bbc news. nato secretary generaljens stoltenberg has met germany's new defence minister boris pistorius in berlin. after the meeting, they told journalists that they had discussed the controversial issue of whether berlin would allow german—made battle tanks to be sent to ukraine — but that a decision has not yet been made. according to export rules the german government has to grant permission for any german—made tanks to be exported, even if they are owned by other countries. poland has now sent an official request. our correspondent in berlin, damien mcguinness, told me there's

a great deal of ambiguity about the german government's attitude. they are not saying yes or no, that is the criticism, that the german chancellor is being unclear. what we saw from the german defence minister, boris pistorius, is that he is keen to signal germany is moving forward, and he said as you mentioned that nato allies should start training their troops on leopard ii tanks and he appeared, and many other german politicians also appear to say that they would not block other countries sending their own german—made tanks to ukraine but so far the german chancellor, and it's his decision at the end of the day, has not said what he and we've had a development

in the past hour where the german chancellor's office has confirmed they have received an official request from poland to send their german—made leopard ii tanks to ukraine and the reason why it's a big movie is that it will increase the pressure on olaf scholz. according to german expert rules, any country that wants to send german tanks, they have to be requested from berlin first and until now germany could say we have not had a request from any allies to send the tanks but now they have and the pressure is going to grow more on the chancellor to make a decision on the re—export guidelines, but also whether germany would want to send its own tanks to ukraine. what is being said about this more widely amongst the german public? it is a hugely controversial issue and all over the press. it is in every talk show and what we are seeing is when you look at polls and phone—ins, the german public is completely divided. you could say that a big minority,

30—a0% of germans are unsure and they are nervous about exacerbating the war, but then almost all are half of germans say they want german—made tanks to go to ukraine. the public is split. there is overwhelming support for ukraine and germany, after the us, is almost neck and neck with the uk, the second the second largest contributor of military aid, 3.3 billion euros worth of military aid to ukraine but all of that is being overshadowed by this row, and i think that comes down in part to the communication style of the german chancellor, who is accused of being unclear and not transparent, not telling people what he thinks. his style is such that he likes to talk behind closed doors and then announce to people the decision. that is something increasingly people are thinking, we want to know what's going on and we don't understand why the chancellor is not saying if it's a good idea or not to send the tanks

and whichever side you stand on, it's a controversial debate. the polish prime minister says he hopes the germans will respond to his request to send over the leopard ii tanks. if you are watching this on bbc two, goodbye. the headlines on bbc news. calls for conservative chair nadhim zahawi to be sacked — after questions over a multi—million pound tax settlement. bbc chairman richard sharp says he will not stand down over the borisjohnson loan row. in an interview, mr sharp says he welcomes a review into his appointment. a report has found failings by the probation service left a serial offender free to commit the murder of zara aleena, just days after he was released from prison. the chief inspector of the service says it is �*chronically understaffed'.

time tojoin rebecca time to join rebecca for the sport. it's been a decade since victoria azarenka last won the australian open — and she's continuing her quest to claim a third title at the grand slam. it's been a decade since victoria azarenka last won she's secured her spot in the semifinal in a straight sets win overjessica pegula. the american was the highest seed left in the tournament but couldn't overcome the 33—year—old belarusian who won 6—4 6—1. azarenka will play the wimbledon champion elena rybakina. earlier, she swept past jelena ostapenko in straight sets to reach the last four. despite that surprise success at wimbledon, rybakina is still ranked only 25th in the world because ranking points were not awarded at sw19 last year. i had ihada i had a tough period before wimbledon in the sense of i was very tired, mentally and i played a lot of tournaments, so i was not my best and i took a break, so was kind of not really expected to win at

wimbledon, but here is different and we have already done it once and i got confident that i can do it again. and something of an anti climax over in the men's draw, with russian karen khachanov reaching the semi—finals after his american opponent sebastian korda retired from the match through injury. korda was two sets down and trailing 3—0 in the third when he threw in the towel. kachanov will play either stefanos tsitsipas orjiri lehecka in the semi finals. they're currently on court tsitsipas is two sets up — and it's going with serve. hoping to continue his dream as he was the man who knocked out andy murray, so we will keep you across that one. meanwhile britain's alfie hewett began his reign as men's wheelchair world number one with a commanding victory overjapan's daisuke arai hewitt will meet his doubles partner gordon reid in the quarterfinals. reid beat tom egberink of the netherlands

gareth bale says he's going to play in a pga tour competition just two weeks after retiring from football. the former wales, real madrid and tottenham star confirmed he'll be participating in the upcoming at&t pebble beach pro—am. bale willjoin a number of other celebrities at the event in california alongside some of the world's top professionals. this bill murray and green bay packers quarterback aaron rodgers are among those taking part. the tournament gets under way on february second. that's all of the sport for now. the bbc chairman says he is confident he has done nothing wrong and has no plans to stand aside or resign over the borisjohnson loans row. claims have emerged that prior to his appointment as the bbc�*s chairman, richard sharp was involved in securing a loan of up to £800,000 pounds for the then—prime minister. he's been speaking to our culture editor katie razzall. i don't know anything about boris johnson's finances. that's between him and his family.

and i imagine the cabinet office don't know his finances. but it looks like you were helping to sort out his finances with his cousin. no, at that stage i didn't know in any shape or form what kind of support there would be. and neither did sam. do you regret, though, not declaring it now? i mean, do you think... no, i don't think there was a conflict. now, william shawcross, the point you raise about cronyism, is is was the appointment itself on merit or was it in any way distorted? and i believe it's on merit and i welcome the examination by william shawcross. as you know, the independent appointment process isn't one that is made exclusively by downing street because, in other situations, preferred candidates weren't seen to be recommendable. so i'm comfortable that i was appointed on merit and i'm also comfortable that,

as a result of my discussion with simon case, that i avoided a conflict or a potential conflict because i wasn't party to any transaction. i mean, we heard yesterday in the public accounts committee that, during the process, candidates were asked if there could be anything that might embarrass the government or the organisation if it came to light. i mean, this is embarrassing to the bbc and potentially the government, isn't it? yeah, look, having had a discussion with the cabinet secretary about avoiding conflict and the perception of conflict, i felt comfortable and i still feel there was no there was no conflict because, at that stage, what i was seeking to do was ensure that the process was followed exactly by the book and that the process hadn't started of any kind in terms of any support that sam was going to provide to the prime minister. do you think you misled the select committee and the advisory panel? no, i don't. why not? because i had clarified and agreed with the cabinet secretary,

both of us had the judgment that i'd avoided a conflict or a perception of conflict. but do you understand, particularly at a time when the bbc is making great efforts to be impartial, to highlight transparency, that this looks the opposite? well, look, i see attacks on the bbc all the time from the media and social media and they attack our impartiality and i think the governance that we put in place is extremely strong on impartiality, i'll be talking about that later today, precisely because we should be judged by our output. i think the governance is world class at the bbc and so i feel comfortable that the bbc brand is strong and that i support it in that way. but do you feel comfortable being one of the public faces of impartiality at the bbc with this cloud hanging over you? yeah, no, i absolutely feel comfortable about it. i think the ten—point impartiality plan we put in is meaningful. the editorial operations of the editorial guidelines standards committee is meaningful.

the separation of the board from the executive function where the director general is the director of news and is responsible for news without the interference of anybody from the board makes me comfortable. so i think we systemically are world class when it comes to evaluating and scrutinizing our impartiality. but, as you say, william shawcross is now examining your appointment. shouldn't you resign or at least step aside while the review is in process? no, i'm confident that he will determine that i was appointed on merit. that's obviously for him to conduct that investigation and process. it was a highly rigorous process, i can tell you being part of it. a very tough interview, a very tough process to be part of and so i'm comfortable. there was an independent committee of people doing the interview and they were asking very searching and challenging questions of me and the other candidates and i'm sure that process was fully and carefully recorded so it can be minuted and seen whether my appointment was done on merit, and i'm confident it will be seen that that was the case.

our arts and media correspondent david silito explained the key issues of that interview. the central issue is did richard sharp get thejob because he was helping borisjohnson out of a sticky situation with his finances? richard sharp says no, there was merely one conversation with sam blythe who went to the cabinet secretary and said i'd been approached this way and they said this ends now. you don't take part in any more of this and that's the end of conflict of interest and that was the end of it so there was no conflict of interest and he believes he got the job on merit, not because of his relationship with the prime minister and finances. the second one is the issue of whether he should have told more people. he told simon case but there was an advisory panel that was part

of the appointment process and the commons media select committee which has a role in the approval of the bbc chairman. they knew nothing about it and there will certainly be questions from members of that committee as to why they did not know about this particular incident. so where does it go from here? we have the commissioner for public appointments, william shawcross, and he will look at whether or not richard sharp was appointed and followed all the rules and there was no conflict of interest and there is an examination of the actual process and there is a more subsidiary one which is a bbc one and you have to remember the bbc has no part to play and who its chairman is but they will look at his declarations of interest after he became chairman, check if they are up—to—date and accurate with no conflict of interest. when will the findings of that to be known? well, there are many inquiries into many things. it's as long as it takes to actually happen, so there would be no timescales given about these things but it's a long interview with other bits of pieces

of information and questions were raised yesterday about the chairman and perception of the chairman and how much he is involved in the day—to—day running of the bbc because, you know, it is an appointment that has strong political connections. for instance, the appointment of the head of news and he said he was on the panel but because the head of news is on the board, it was absolutely right and appropriate that he should be there. and he was asked also about a dinner that happened afterwards at chequers with sam blythe and borisjohnson and he said it did take place but he said he was merely discussing the future of the bbc and the licence fee, not discussing the prime minister's finances. the government has rejected a proposal to make menopause a protected characteristic in the equality act. it was one of a number of proposals from the women and equalities committee, which they said would help support women in the workplace in england. ministers accepted recommendations to allow women to request flexible working, and introduce a bespoke prepayment certificate

for hormone replacement therapy. injuly, the committee warned the menopause was causing the uk economy to"haemorrhage talent". earlier, sharon macarthur, who runs miss menopause, told us more about her reaction to the government's response. well, i was overall disappointed and with an element of frustration and more questions than answers, that was how i felt having read the report. i thought there was a bit of light, but mostly shade. that's how i felt about it. what were you particularly disappointed by? what would you have liked to have seen? for me, a lot of this stuff is about root cause, so i really see this is where you have younger people learning about the menopause from an early age and that was not really fully addressed in the report, and then i would also like to see gps being better trained so when women need to go and seek

support, they've got the information and when it comes to the workplace, absolutely employers can do something but education is the key to this. i will say something quite controversial and i'm not someone who thinks we need to go down the route of having time off for women going through the menopause, because if you work for a good employer they should be doing that anyway so i think we have lost the battle a bit buit we can win the war. you are saying it's more for you about learning and responsibility. rather than rights. absolutely, because rights are only as good as the humans that read them and sometimes when we look at the whole element of rights we are talking about the last chance saloon that it has gone so far down the line that we are in real

troubled waters and i would much prefer to not get to that place, where if we can educate our young people and our medical professionals and people in the workplace, whoever they are, so my mission is to make menopause in the workplace business as usual for everyone we have to get away from the idea that menopause only happens to women of a certain age. it can happen to women at any age and anybody, whether directly or indirectly, will encounter it one way or another, so if we can get to the root cause of some of these things then, in the future, you would like to think that this would be part of everyday life, as it absolutely is, but it's been hiding in plain sight for too long. do you agree with the impact of the assessment that the menopause causes the uk to haemorrhage talent? i absolutely do. over the last five years since i've been doing this work i've met thousands and thousands of women who have told me some horror stories because we are living in a void of ignorance because sadly the women concerned don't even know what is happening to them

could be menopause—related. just to come in. when they talk to you about the issues, is it they are experiencing stuff and they decide to walk away from work because they feel they cannot cope, or are they raising issues? i assume it is a mix but the issues are not understood. the majority problem is that women don't know what is happening to their minds and bodies with this lifeevent called menopause and there are occasions where employers have not been too accommodating but i would say the majority of this is around women themselves not even knowing what menopause is about, because no one has told us this information. time for a look at the weather. it was another odd start to the day with big temperature contrast across the uk on the day panned out to be someone on the cooler than average side for england and wales and milder than average across scotland and northern ireland but in the days ahead we will rectify this imbalance and we will see this very cold,

arctic air pushed away from the south and the unseasonably mild atlantic air being replaced by something slightly fresher. behind this weather front coming in from the north—west. it will bring some rain into scotland and northern ireland overnight, another mild night to come, somewhat milder for northern ireland and wales, but cold further south with a frost across the midlands, east anglia and the west country and the risk of dense patches of freezing fog first thing on wednesday. a little milder to the far south and more cloud around. as the front slide south across the uk it becomes fresher for scotland and northern ireland but it will bring milder air northern ireland but it will bring milderair into northern ireland but it will bring milder air into england and wales through wednesday. hello ,this is bbc news with joanna gosling. the headlines: calls for conservative chair nadhim zahawi to be sacked after questions over a multi—million pound tax settlement. bbc chairman richard sharp says he will not stand down over the borisjohnson loan row.

in an interview, mr sharp says he welcomes a review into his appointment. i'm comfortable that i was appointed on merit and i'm also comfortable that, as a result of my discussion with simon case, i avoided a conflict or a potential conflict because i wasn't party to any transaction. a report has found failings by the probation service left a serial offender free to commit the murder of zara aleena just days after he was released from prison. the chief inspector of the service says it is "chronically understaffed". it's impossible to say whether the murder could have been avoided, but we did find severe deficits in practice at many stages of jordan mcsweeney�*s supervision. there are growing fears that this year could see a wave of companies collapsing as the cost—of—living crisis continues. police in california arrest a suspected gunman after the second mass shooting in days leaves seven dead. the oscars nominations will be announced later.

tte shortlist could see more sequels than ever up for best picture. seven people have been killed in california in the second mass shooting in the state in two days. 67—year—old man been arrested. the victims of this attack in the tight—knit coastal community known as half moon bay are all thought to have been chinese—american agricultural workers. they died in separate shootings at two separate locations, within about two miles of each other. the gunman's arrest was captured in dramatic tv news footage,

and he has since been identified as a 67—year—old asian—american, zhao chunli. officers say that they have recovered a semiautomatic handgun following his arrest, and they say that at the moment, a motive for the attack is unknown although the gunman is thought to have worked at one of the farms that he targeted. this is what local law enforcement officials had to say. at 4:40pm, zhao was located in his vehicle in the parking lot of the sheriff's substation here in half moon bay by a sheriff's deputy. zhao was taken into custody without incident and a semiautomatic handgun was located in his vehicle. zhao is believed to have acted alone and there is no further threat to this community. all this comes less than 48 hours after 11 people were shot dead in a los angeles suburb, the predominantly asian—american suburb of monterey park, to the east of la. both the perpetrator and the victims

of that attack were asian—american. the gunman, 72—year—old huu can tran, later shot himself dead after a stand—off with the police, and officers later recovered hundreds of rounds of ammunition from his home. california's governor, gavin newsom, was meeting with the victims of that shooting when he was made aware of the incidents up north. california has some of the toughest gun control laws in this country, but the two shootings near san francisco constitute the sixth mass shooting in this country this year alone. the white house has said that president biden is being kept aware of developments. let's talk about energy with some people are able to earn money again this evening on their electricity bill if they are on the energy

saving scheme. the idea is to avoid blackouts at peak hours when more people to return. 26 suppliers have signed up. it is only available for consumers who have a smart electrical metre and have invited to be part of that scheme. electrical metre and have invited to be part of that scheme. let's speak now to trish bryer, who's taking part in the energy saving scheme with her electricity provider, octopus. so you did it last night? yes, we have done it several times. how did it go? it was enjoyable, actually. what do you mean by enjoyable? we what do you mean by en'oyable? we lit what do you mean by enjoyable? , lit candles and just sat and chatted and generally chilled out so no hardship. and generally chilled out so no hardshi -. ., . and generally chilled out so no hardshit. ., . ., , ,, hardship. how much money did you get as a result of — hardship. how much money did you get as a result of doing _ hardship. how much money did you get as a result of doing it? _ hardship. how much money did you get as a result of doing it? that _ hardship. how much money did you get as a result of doing it? that we - as a result of doing it? that we don't know _ as a result of doing it? that we don't know yet _ as a result of doing it? that we don't know yet because - as a result of doing it? that we | don't know yet because octopus haven't run the figures. last time i think it was a couple of points.

generally we don't use a lot of electricity —— electricity at that time of day anyway. it is based on how much you generally use at that time of day. how much you generally use at that time of day-— time of day. why did you decide to tet time of day. why did you decide to get involved? _ time of day. why did you decide to get involved? because _ time of day. why did you decide to get involved? because we - time of day. why did you decide to get involved? because we were . time of day. why did you decide to - get involved? because we were asked. no other reason _ get involved? because we were asked. no other reason than _ get involved? because we were asked. no other reason than that. _ get involved? because we were asked. no other reason than that. we - get involved? because we were asked. no other reason than that. we just - no other reason than that. we just wanted to help. i don't think you're going to save much electricity. obviously, if you turn the lights off you will save that, but if you are planning to cook a meal in the open dual date at another time anyway, so there is no saving. i5 open dual date at another time anyway, so there is no saving. is it about being _ anyway, so there is no saving. is it about being financial or part of the bigger effort for you? it is about being financial or part of the bigger effort for you?— bigger effort for you? it is not financial. _ bigger effort for you? it is not financial, it _ bigger effort for you? it is not financial, it is _ bigger effort for you? it is not financial, it is peanuts - bigger effort for you? it is not financial, it is peanuts really l financial, it is peanuts really could not be safe, unless you are usually quite a high consumer of electricity. 50 usually quite a high consumer of electrici . , usually quite a high consumer of electricity-— electricity. so it is about solidarity. _ electricity. so it is about solidarity. i— electricity. so it is about solidarity. i guess - electricity. so it is about solidarity. i guess you i electricity. so it is about - solidarity. i guess you could say that, solidarity. i guess you could say

that. yes- _ solidarity. i guess you could say that, yes. have _ solidarity. i guess you could say that, yes. have you _ solidarity. i guess you could say that, yes. have you generally i that, yes. have you generally watched your _ that, yes. have you generally watched your energy - that, yes. have you generally - watched your energy consumption because of what is going on? yes. because of what is going on? yes, because of what is going on? yes, because naturally _ because of what is going on? yes, because naturally i _ because of what is going on? yes, because naturally i am _ because of what is going on? yes, because naturally i am a _ because of what is going on? yes, because naturally i am a bit - because of what is going on? me: because naturally i am a bit thrifty and times are hard. how other people manage i do not know, people on really low incomes. ihe manage i do not know, people on really low incomes.— manage i do not know, people on really low incomes. he said that you find it quite — really low incomes. he said that you find it quite fun, _ really low incomes. he said that you find it quite fun, effectively, - find it quite fun, effectively, using candles, going back to older ways. using candles, going back to older wa s. , ~' using candles, going back to older wa s. , ~ ., ways. yes, we quite like the sort of thint ways. yes, we quite like the sort of thing anywav- _ ways. yes, we quite like the sort of thing anywav- 0ne _ ways. yes, we quite like the sort of thing anyway. one day _ ways. yes, we quite like the sort of thing anyway. one day when - ways. yes, we quite like the sort of thing anyway. one day when this i ways. yes, we quite like the sort of i thing anyway. one day when this was happening we did actually cook our meal on the top of the wood—burning stove, but that was just for fun, really. stove, but that was 'ust for fun, reall . �* stove, but that was 'ust for fun, reall.�* ., ,y stove, but that was 'ust for fun, reall.�* ., ., stove, but that was 'ust for fun, reall. ., ., ., ., really. but obviously you are aware that other people _ really. but obviously you are aware that other people are _ really. but obviously you are aware that other people are in _ really. but obviously you are aware that other people are in a - really. but obviously you are aware that other people are in a very - that other people are in a very different context and for them it is a very different scenario. definitely. life must be so hard for so many people at the moment. thank ou ve so many people at the moment. thank you very much — so many people at the moment. thank you very much indeed _ so many people at the moment. thank you very much indeed for _ so many people at the moment. thank you very much indeed forjoining us. have a nice afternoon.

there are fears that thousands of companies could go bust this year. new figures suggest that the number of firms in the uk which are struggling or in critical financial distress has jumped by more than a third. companies are facing higher costs, reduced consumer demand and the withdrawal of government support measures. earlier, i spoke to vicky pryce, chief economic adviser at the centre for economics and business research. she gave me her reaction to the forecast that businesses face a tough time.( sot tx) the gap that is developing between large firms, which are able to cope with this, have high debts but are able to cope with the higher interest rates, they restructure, like banks are closing branches and others are doing various things, moving may be out of high street places to other centres where they can do better, but lots of small firms don't have

that luxury that is why we are seeing this very substantial number of insolvencies right now. i was struck by that phrase 'director fatigue'. all businesses have been through a prolonged and difficult time. absolutely. it is interesting because they had covid to cope with, then the energy costs. if you look at particular sectors where it was quite prolonged in terms of the period during which they had to close, then of course there was a bit of support, for example in the hospitality sector, that support in terms of the vat cut that they saw as being removed, so there's quite a lot of concern over whether the price they are charging now are affordable for the average consumer. in some cases they have had to cope with it for quite a period of time. in some cases also now we know that hmrc is looking at some of the bounce—back loans that were given and whether they were given legitimately to a number of firms. what we are seeing interestingly is where they are starting to investigate and axed for some those looms back, they are basically just closing and calling on the receivers. there will be more of that i think in the coming months. i want to bring in

borrowing figures as well. government borrowing hit a new high in december. the difference between spending and tax income was 27.4 billion, a rise of 16.7 billion on december 2021. interest on government debt hit 17.3 billion, the highest december figure since monthly records began. what do you read into that and the fundamentals? one of the interesting things underlying this figure is that receipts have remained quite high. in fact there were higher than they were a year ago. in other words, loads and loads of tax is being paid because of the higher inflation we have seen. if you pay 20% vat it is obviously a biggerfigure in nominal terms. all these things are nominal, we mustn't forget that. if inflation is higher then those figures look higher as well. they have been collecting more

but there has been this energy support that has been given to both households and companies. one of the concerns that firms have is what is going to happen when that energy support gets reduced and it is about to be reduced significantly as of april next year. that is one element. the other one is because of high inflation, interest accrued on the to the government for the index linked bonds that it issues, and a quarter of all the bonds that it has outstanding at present are index linked, so they go up with inflation so if the inflation is high then there is a cost increase. a lot of it is due to that inflation uptake we have had. if inflation starts coming down then perhaps some of those pressures will be reduced. there are exceptional items in there that might wash away in the future with a bit of luck. thank you, vicky pryce. let's return to the story about failings by probation officers which meant a man with a history of violence was free to "stalk"

and "kill" zara aleena, just days after he was released from prison. shssh that's according to a damning watchdog report. jordan mcsweeney was given a life sentence last month after admitting to carrying out a "terrifying and ruthless" attack on zara, as she walked home lastjune. the report highlighted a "catalogue of errors" that led to his crime, but it's also outlined the need for standards to improve across probation services in england and wales. many teams are said to be short—staffed, especially in london, with some filling fewer than half of the available positions. also in the capital, officers are routinely dealing with 80 to 100 cases, where 50 is thought to be the acceptable limit. the government says it has recruited 2,500 officers in the last two years and is promising to recruit a further 1,500 by march. ian lawrence is the general secretary of napo, the trade union for probation officers. he gave me his reaction to today's report. i think the report is excellent in the sense that it delves down

into what i might call agency failures and the heading probation failings. the inspector identified failings. we are looking at that. let's look at the fact that the perpetrator went through the prison system, wasn't assessed as high risk, went to a private rehabilitation probation company when they were in effect and the risk wasn't picked up there either. then arrived on probation's doorstep just nine days before his release without the requisite information being passed on. that is very much highlighted in the report. when you look at his record, he had 28 previous convictions for 69 separate offences going back over 17 years, and he was 29, so he had been in the criminaljustice system since she was 12. it is pretty clearjust on that cursory glance, isn't it, that he was likely to offend, so what does 'medium

risk�* actually mean? that is the risk that is put on someone who has shown no propensity for their index offence, the one they were convicted for last, to move on to violence. whatever may happen in the past is a consideration for thejudiciary, but you can�*t convict someone for say burglary from a shop and then give them 25 years because of their previous track record. that is the law. we can only deal with what is in front of us. but there were systemic problems in terms of his assessment, as i said in the start. i can�*t understand for the life of me why that wasn�*t picked up in prison given that a number of things happened in prison supervision that he was charged with but did not appear in court for. the time that it came into the hands of the probation officers, and you are throwing back to what was going on in prison, but that is the final check, isn�*t it, the final moment before someone is released into society to give a full appraisal as to how much supervision there needs to be?

i think the report says that the client did not have a forwarding address, so why was that release sanctioned out of prison? i would have thought that was a very important piece of information, certainly for our members at this end of it. it is clear and to report that there was insufficient information attached to the client�*s case to allow the probation in the latter stages to make a judgment. so you�*re saying probation could not have done this any differently? on the basis of what was presented, that is what i read into this report. the chief inspector said it is impossible to say if the public are safe because of the quality of work being carried out by parts of the probation service. i thinkjustin is alluding to the fact that the service is in crisis in terms of staffing. people are going off ill, people are leaving because they can take it any more. members are not paid particularly well.

they don�*t come into it for the money primarily. they are being treated with disrestect by this government and as secretary of state will not engage with us. i want to talk these things through with the minister and find out how much funding will be put into the service. nhs representatives appear before mps on the health and social care board committee what is happening in a&e departments across england.

police forces in england and wales are adopting a strategy that was first developed in war zones. it aims to draw out kinds —— cans from criminal hotspots and ensure they cannot return. grinding their way into a shop selling fake designer goods, greater manchester police are in the middle of an intensive drive against organised crime. the fake goods shops in the cheetham hill area have drawn in drug dealing, violence and prostitution. to fight that, police are adopting a new tactic developed what is it you�*re trying to do? make people safe to come here. you know, we see mothers walking their children to school, the primary school at the top of this road, stepping over rubbish, needles, passing anti—social behaviour daily, running battles in the middle of the street.

no longer. we�*re giving it back to the community. this machete attack in broad daylight was just one example of the recent violence and left the victim with a punctured lung. after what�*s called operation vulcan shut down dozens of shops, and with a permanent police presence, the drug dealing and violence has started to reduce. clear hold build means clearing out organised crime, holding the area to prevent its return and building a new future, working alongside the local council. over the last nine weeks, police have driven criminals out of all these premises. the idea is to take back the area for the community who live here, and the hope is that legitimate businesses will eventually return. the home secretary told me she wants all forces in england and wales to adopt the clear hold build tactic against organised crime. the reason why organised crime is so important is it�*s the root cause of so much crime that we see blighting communities.

it�*s the cause of young people taking up drugs, it�*s the cause of violent crime, it�*s behind anti—social behaviour. police! on merseyside, where a cannabis factory was raided yesterday morning, they�*ve been using the tactic for several months as part of a pilot project and police believe it is having an effect. so do you actually own this whole block here? back in manchester, ali parsaer, who runs a lighting shop, told me he lost 95% of his customers when the violence began in cheetham hill, and he�*s had to move much of his business online. he says the police crackdown is a very welcome gift. sometimes you tell yourself, it�*s not a film, it�*s not a movie, because in the street you see people are fighting each other with a machete, big sword, something. fighting or destroying the cars. so it is not something you used to see here in manchester. of course, the residents

of cheetham hill have seen police crackdowns many times before, and the men on the street corners still returned. but they�*re hoping that this time, clear hold build will make a difference to what has been an unsolvable problem. daniel sandford, bbc news, manchester. it has been a month and banned women and girls from attending universities. a basement in kabul, now a place of learning. this 21—year—old used to be a jeweller. she started this secret

school seven months ago, running classes the girls of all ages, every day. "despite all the risk, i don�*t want students to forget what going to school means," she tells me. "i want them to still feel that they can learn, and they should learn." if the taliban authorities find out the secret school is operating, they will be in trouble. usually, more than 30 teenage girls come here. today, only ten. schools closed for girls over the age of 12 when the taliban first swept to power. in march last year, they were told they could come back to their classes, only to be sent back. translation: when i travel here, i'm really frightened. _ the situation is really bad under taliban rule, and we are banned from school. but i want to keep coming here for as long as our schools are closed. the taliban government says the ban is temporary. but a 15—year—old student says she doesn�*t understand why afghan girls are being denied

this basic right. translation: | find it - so painful that they are not allowing us to our schools. this decision is against islam. it�*s illegal. why can boys learn and girls can�*t? shssh winter in afghanistan poses all sorts of challenges. some days, it gets as cold as —21 in kabul, but still, the students and the teacher come. "seeing their passion gives me energy," their teacher tells me. shssh "they�*re full of hope. so i have no choice but to take this risk." it�*s unclear when these girls will return to their schools. until then, women like their teacher are the only hope they have. yalda hakim, bbc news, kabul. the oscars nominations will be announced later, the shortlist could see more sequels than ever up for best picture.

i spoke to our entertainment correspondent colin paterson to explain more. ina single in a single year there has never been more than one sequel nominated. today we are expecting three. topcon, the biggest film in the us box office last year, the original one the oscar for best song. tom cruse could sneak a best actor nomination as well. then we have avatar, we are expecting that to get the best picture nomination. the original got the most oscar nominations in 2009 and went on to win three. thank you to also be a best picture nomination for black panther? the sequel of the marvel movie which also won three oscars in 2018 when it came out? the reason why we are expecting more sequels as

they have gone to the ten best picture nomination this year for the first time in more than a decade, so it has created the space with a kind of films that people actually go and see at the cinema, as opposed to poncy critics liking. 50 see at the cinema, as opposed to poncy critics liking.— poncy critics liking. so what are the other films _ poncy critics liking. so what are the other films that _ poncy critics liking. so what are the other films that the - poncy critics liking. so what are the other films that the poncy l the other films that the poncy critics like?— the other films that the poncy critics like? ., , ., critics like? one of them is one the tublic has critics like? one of them is one the public has liked _ critics like? one of them is one the public has liked as _ critics like? one of them is one the public has liked as well, _ critics like? one of them is one the public has liked as well, which - critics like? one of them is one the public has liked as well, which is i public has liked as well, which is everything everywhere all at once, crazy movie set in a launderette and dealing with the multi—verse. it could see michelle gayle getting her first—ever oscar nomination at the age of 60. and the amazing story of her co—star, who was a child star, her co—star, who was a child star, he was short round in indiana jones and the temple of doom. to quit being an actor after being a child star because he couldn�*t get the parts. he was inspired to give it another go. the director wondered

whatever happened to him and asked if he wanted a part in the film. he is in his 50s now. today he may well get its first ever oscar nomination with his huge 30 year gap in his career. i with his huge 30 year gap in his career. ., .,, with his huge 30 year gap in his career. ., , ., , . ., career. i love those stories. what about the other _ career. i love those stories. what about the other nominations - career. i love those stories. what about the other nominations in i career. i love those stories. what. about the other nominations in the acting categories?— acting categories? could jamie lee curtis tet acting categories? could jamie lee curtis get her— acting categories? could jamie lee curtis get her first _ acting categories? could jamie lee curtis get her first ever— acting categories? could jamie lee curtis get her first ever oscar - curtis get her first ever oscar nomination, which seems incredible who has the hollywood pedigree has never been nominated. it could be the first year since 1985 that no british person gets an acting nomination. we are hopeful that bill nye he will get one for living. that would be as first oscar nomination at the age of 73. he could get a nomination. olivia colman may be for

empire of light. that would be her fourth oscar nomination in five years if she gets that one. pedigree, yes.— years if she gets that one. pedigree, yes. years if she gets that one. peditree, es. . ., ., . ., pedigree, yes. what about director? it will be hard _ pedigree, yes. what about director? it will be hard this _ pedigree, yes. what about director? it will be hard this year _ pedigree, yes. what about director? it will be hard this year to _ pedigree, yes. what about director? it will be hard this year to beat - it will be hard this year to beat stephen spielberg who has been nominated for his movie. it is a really personal movie for him. it is about a kid who happens to love movies and has the same relationship with his mother that stephen spielberg had with his. we are expecting him to be nominated. he has not won an oscar for 23 years. this last was saving private ryan. sometimes i think people think these guys get nominated all the time. i think he really wants to try and win this year. and we�*ll be doing a special oscars nominations programme later

here on bbc news. jane hill will be presenting and it starts at 1.15pm this afternoon meanwhile, the nominations are in for the razzies, hollywood�*s annual antidote to the oscars, which celebrates the worst in cinema over the past 12 months. leading the charge with 8 nominations is netflix�*s �*blonde�*— about the life of marilyn monroe. its lead ana de armas and producer brad pitt are in the firing line. disney�*s take on pinocchio picked up six nods, including worst picture and actor for tom hanks�* portrayal of the puppet�*s dad geppetto. i really change a person, pinocchio. now it�*s time for a look at the weather.

yet again, another start to the day with dramatic temperature contrasts across the uk. —9 first thing in rural oxfordshire. travel all the way north to the highlands and it is plus 12 degrees. the big disparity comes because we have atlantic air to the north of the uk and arctic air to the site. we tend to see things the other way around more typically. in the next few days, certainly, though, we will return to a more average temperature bridge across the uk. we will squeeze away this article from the south and we will start introducing some relatively mild air from the north. for this evening and overnight temperatures will hold up across scotland and northern ireland, plenty of cloud here. a weather front comes into the north—west and there will be rain for western scotland in the north of northern ireland for the end of the night. further south —— further south, clearer skies. temperatures will

plunge year. where we are sad to see the lowest temperatures across the midlands, east anglia and the west country, also the areas where we are likely to see some freezing fog around first thing on wednesday. throughout the day time this weather front will work its way south, a cold front with a north—westerly coming in behind it. this error has worked its way and originally from the atlantic so it is relatively milder than this arctic air to the south. as different come south, there will be thick cloud, some outbreaks of rain and we will see milder conditions returning to southern areas. it will then start to turn somewhat cooler across scotland and northern ireland, returning to average temperatures here. under high pressure on thursday, fine weather to come across the uk. and northerly winds of the north sea to eastern coastal counties. definitely adding are more raw feel to proceedings. assault in

england it is much milder than it has been in recent days. temperatures start to come down for scotland and northern ireland. we will continue with similar temperature profiles to do is answer into the weekend. we will lose those harsh frosts. a lot of fine weather to come but some of us may be plagued with stubborn cloud.

this is bbc news. welcome if you�*re watching here in the uk or around the globe. i�*m jane hill. the top stories. nato�*s head calls for the swift deployment of more advanced weapons to ukraine, saying the war is at a pivotal moment. a special report from afghanistan where the taliban continue to crack down on the rights of women. and calls for the british ex—chancellor nadhim zahawi to stand aside as conservative party chairman during an inquiry into his taxes.