this is bbc news. welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. i'm martine croxall. our top stories: the british prime minister, rishi sunak, has sacked the chairman of his conservative party, nadhim zahawi, after an independent adviser investigated his tax affairs. more than 50 people, including children, have died in two separate transport accidents in pakistan. israel's security cabinet agrees new measures in response to the deadly attack on a synagogue in eastjerusalem. music tom verlaine, the influential guitarist and frontman of the band television, has died aged 73.

hello and welcome to bbc news. we begin this hour with some breaking news from scotland, where the prison service has announced an urgent review of all transgender cases in its prisons. it says it will pause the movement of all transgender inmates until the review is complete. it follows the outcry of the case of isla bryson, a trans woman convicted of raping two women before changing gender. isla bryson was initially remanded to cornton vale women's prison before being moved to a male wing at hmp edinburgh. the scottish prison service says that we have commenced an urgent review of all trans gender cases currently manage in our

establishment. ourfirst cases currently manage in our establishment. our first concern cases currently manage in our establishment. ourfirst concern is always and remains the health, safety and well—being of all the people in our care and that of our staff. we have very robust risk assessment processes and a track record of keeping people safe in often challenging circumstances. therefore we pause the movement of all transgender individuals until the review has been completed. the british prime minister, rishi sunak, has sacked the chairman of his conservative party, nadhim zahawi. his dismissal comes after an independent investigation of mr zahawi's tax affairs. these have been the subject of growing controversy since it emerged that he had to pay a penalty to the tax authorities. the prime minister said the investigation made clear "that there has been a serious breach of the ministerial code". mr sunak received the report from sir laurie magnus, the independent adviser on ministers' interests. sir laurie told the prime minister that certain "omissions" by mr zahawi fell short of the standards that ministers are expected to abide by. he concluded...

well, mr zahawi has responded to his sacking. in a letter to the prime minister, he writes... he then went on to criticise press coverage of his position, saying... and finally, he assures the prime minister of his "support from the backbenches in the coming years". this is what voters in zahawi's constituency of stratford—upon—avon think. well, it's absolutely right. the independent adviser has said he hasn't been open, he hasn't been honest and he's

failed in that test of leadership, and i think it brings shame on the town, shame on the country and shame on the party that he represents. well, i think it's obviously called for. you know, if he's tried to brush things on the carpet and not you know, if he's tried to brush things under the carpet and not declared certain things, then it's obviously deserved, isn't it? i was really pleased, to tell you the truth. i think he should have resigned when it all came out. _ i think he's making us... i don't know. he doesn't lead by example. no, that's right. and ifeel there's been questions about his conduct locally in various other things over the years and that people have been very dissatisfied with him. i think it's taken its time. i think sunak should have moved more quickly. i think he's been forced into the position. i think he should have gone a week ago, or whenever the story broke.

yeah, it's greed. constituents in mr za hawi's constituency constituents in mr zahawi's constituency of stratford—upon—avon. geri scott is a political reporter with the times who investigated nadhim zahawi's failed leadership bid last year. shejoins us now. thank you she joins us now. thank you for joining us here on bbc news. that letter, no suggestion of an apology, no reference to his tax affairs by criticism ofjournalists. what do you think? criticism of “ournalists. what do you think?— you think? yes, it is quite the letter, because _ you think? yes, it is quite the letter, because as _ you think? yes, it is quite the letter, because as you - you think? yes, it is quite the letter, because as you say, i you think? yes, it is quite the . letter, because as you say, there you think? yes, it is quite the - letter, because as you say, there is no apology there, there's actually no apology there, there's actually no mention of the investigation at all, no kind of acknowledgement of why he has been sacked or white he is no longer in the cabinet, but, yes, getting out at the press who investigated this story, and i think thatis investigated this story, and i think that is quite rich considering throughout this saga of the dean zahawi has repeatedly threatened with legal action to journalists who have just been striving to tell what

we now now is the truth. i don't thing it is a great look, i don't think it covers him with any glory and i do not think it is gracious, really. and i do not think it is gracious, reall . �* ~ and i do not think it is gracious, reall. �* ~ ., ., ., and i do not think it is gracious, reall.�* ~ ., ., ., ., really. but mr zahawi would appear to have a lot _ really. but mr zahawi would appear to have a lot of— really. but mr zahawi would appear to have a lot of support _ really. but mr zahawi would appear to have a lot of support within - to have a lot of support within the party also after all, as you discovered reporting on this last year, he was mounting a leadership bid, orwould year, he was mounting a leadership bid, or would have done had he had the opportunity. bid, or would have done had he had the opportunity-— the opportunity. yes, and isn't absently fascinating? - the opportunity. yes, and isn't| absently fascinating? hindsight the opportunity. yes, and isn't i absently fascinating? hindsight is 2020, but this i would have come out, had nadhim zahawi been prime minister, when he was in number 10. that is quite extraordinary, really. he has support in the party. everyone asked about him praises the job he did as vaccines minister, for example. he has been an effective minister and i think there's probably a way back from in the future, depending of what happens in the next election and in the future.

he is not going to stand down as an mp, we know that, and there is no reason he should do, so everyone has nice things to say about him, but last year when i revealed about his leadership bid, he had a ally in he put a stop to that. he leadership bid, he had a ally in he put a stop to that.— he put a stop to that. he assured the prime — he put a stop to that. he assured the prime minister _ he put a stop to that. he assured the prime minister he _ he put a stop to that. he assured the prime minister he will - he put a stop to that. he assured the prime minister he will be - the prime minister he will be supported from the back benches, but how likely is that, given that he clearly has ambitions? i how likely is that, given that he clearly has ambitions?- clearly has ambitions? i think, reall , clearly has ambitions? i think, really. in the _ clearly has ambitions? i think, really, in the political- clearly has ambitions? i think, - really, in the political environment we are in at the moment of it is quite likely, simply because we are less than two years from an election. probably i would be shockedif election. probably i would be shocked if there was another leadership battle in the conservative party between now and then, although watch that now that i've had and on television, but i think he will support rishi sunak on the back benches, especially as he

kept him on in his cabinet, so i think that probably is the truth, so it is true also that the conservative party is not a happy family at the moment. there were little groups popping up all over the place, whether it is people who backed pores, people who think younger people should be listened to more, there are lots of factors. rishi sunak is having trouble putting together as it is. not a brilliant position to be in either. geri scott, thank you.— brilliant position to be in either. geri scott, thank you. joining me now is the former conservative mp and attorney general, dominic grieve. thank you forjoining us. how much more preferable for the conservative party and rishi sunak in particular would it have been if nadhim zahawi had resigned instead of being stacked? it had resigned instead of being stacked? ., ., , . stacked? it would have been much better. it would've been _ stacked? it would have been much better. it would've been an - better. it would've been an acknowledgement that he had a very serious error which made him unfit to hold office. that was obvious

during the course of the last week. what i find more extraordinary is that mr zahawi did not seem to understand this when the story was first breaking and when he must�*ve been aware that he made this mistake in the evidence was coming out in the public domain. his position was clearly untenable. and it is quite worrying that we seem to live in an age today where an understanding of what it is to be a minister and responsibilities that go with it seems to have sarge —— sort of largely evaporated. you have to wait for an outsider to come and tell you what is obvious.- and tell you what is obvious. where does the problem _ and tell you what is obvious. where does the problem lie, _ and tell you what is obvious. where does the problem lie, then? - and tell you what is obvious. where does the problem lie, then? is - and tell you what is obvious. where does the problem lie, then? is it i does the problem lie, then? is it with the ministerial code itself? or how it is enforced? i with the ministerial code itself? or how it is enforced?— how it is enforced? i think it lies in the culture, _ how it is enforced? i think it lies in the culture, in _ how it is enforced? i think it lies in the culture, in the _ how it is enforced? i think it lies in the culture, in the cultural- in the culture, in the cultural outlook. you look back and you think of ministers who in the past have resigned from office over mistakes by their civil servants for which

they themselves were completely and totally blameless. a tradition was very well—established this country. and yet now we have a series of episodes where ministers appear to cling to office, even though it is perfectly obvious that they should be resigning, and it places the prime minister in a difficulty, but i have to say i think the prime minister would've been better to be more robust about this. it was obvious earlier in the week when the story broke and he was informed with mr zahawi had done, he should have had him in and told him to leave his position. we should not have to wait for the outcome from sir laurie magnus in order to make personally rational judgements and ministers and politicians should understand about the ethics of being in government

and respect it. the ethics of being in government and respect it— and respect it. how much more decisive might _ and respect it. how much more decisive might the _ and respect it. how much more decisive might the prime - and respect it. how much more i decisive might the prime minister then choose to be regarding conduct of other nesters that he is likely to come in front of in the next few days —— other ministers? he to come in front of in the next few days -- other ministers?- days -- other ministers? he has shown himself _ days -- other ministers? he has shown himself to _ days -- other ministers? he has shown himself to be _ days -- other ministers? he has shown himself to be robust - days -- other ministers? he has shown himself to be robust in i days -- other ministers? he has- shown himself to be robust in eating rid of mr zahawi, when the facts were fully established, i suppose if i had to criticise, i think the facts were crystal clear. some of the other matters are factually contested, and there i do accept there may be a better ground for saying, let's wait and see what an inquiry produces, by way of result. but even so, even in those cases, there is at least an argument the minister themselves, there is at least an argument the ministerthemselves, if there is at least an argument the minister themselves, if they are under investigation for something which appears to be reputational he damaging to them and reputation damaging to them and reputation damaging to them and reputation damaging to their own political party, the prime minister, ought to step aside. that might be a hard

reality, because one pass minister dated and was subsequently exonerated, but i think there would be greater public confidence if that were to happen. be greater public confidence if that were to happen-— be greater public confidence if that were to happen. dominic grieve, we a- oreciate were to happen. dominic grieve, we appreciate you _ were to happen. dominic grieve, we appreciate you talking _ were to happen. dominic grieve, we appreciate you talking to _ were to happen. dominic grieve, we appreciate you talking to us - were to happen. dominic grieve, we appreciate you talking to us here - were to happen. dominic grieve, we appreciate you talking to us here on| appreciate you talking to us here on bbc news. in pakistan, at least a0 people have died after a bus plunged off a bridge. the accident happened in the south—west of the country. officials say the vehicle hit a bridge pillar before losing control and bursting into flames. and at least ten children have died in a boat accident in the north—west of pakistan. the boat capsized on tanda dam lake in kor—hart district. saad sohailfrom our urdu service details the circumstances that led to both accidents. this bus was travelling from quetta to karachi and just 120 miles away from karachi, this accident took place. the bus crashed into a pillar, after which it fell into a ravine and it caught fire, so the authorities are confirming

that most of the bodies, because of the charring, cannot be identified. 41 people are supposedly killed and most of them have been moved to karachi. the deputy commissioner from lasbela has confirmed that he is citing overspeeding for the particular incident. audio loss so a heavy loss, but as you also mention, ten children amongst the casualties, and for now the survivors, there was a woman and child that have been rescued. and the woman narrating the incident talks about how the bus, she could hear a loud bang when the bus fell into the ravine and after that, she was just taken to the hospital. the other incident in the north—west is about 25 children travelling from a religious seminary for a day trip to tanda dam, where the boat capsized.

most of the children were aged from 12 to 20, saad sohailfrom the bbc urdu service. the us secretary of state, antony blinken, will arrive injerusalem on monday to discuss attempts to curb the violence in the region, which has seen both israelis and palestinians killed. the israeli security cabinet has approved new measures after friday's shootings outside a synagogue which killed seven people. yolande knell reports from outside the home of the palestinian gunman responsible. israeli forces have told us to keep back, but we're just along the street from the family home of the palestinian who carried out friday's deadly attack. his parents, his siblings have been able to take out some of their things, but soon they're expecting their apartment to be demolished as a punishment. now israel's security cabinet has announced other measures it says it wants to take against the families of palestinian attackers, possibly even deporting them. it's also said it's going to make it

easier for israeli civilians to get gun licenses. and there has been a promise to speed up settlement expansion in the occupied west bank. that's on land that palestinians want for their hoped—for future state. the palestinian government has accused the israeli government and its policies of being behind what they say is a dangerous escalation. on thursday, israel carried out its most deadly raid in the occupied west bank in many years and killed ten palestinians there. this is all going on setting the scene as the us secretary of state, antony blinken, is due to arrive on a pre—planned visit and he's going to meet israeli and palestinian leaders at this tense time. yolande knell. the iranian defence ministry says it has foiled an "unsuccessful" drone attack on a military facility in central isfahan province. this footage filmed and posted online by a localjournalist appears to show the explosion at the facility.

according to local media, three drones were involved and only minor damage was caused to the roof of the building. staff who have lost theirjobs due to the collapse of british regional airline flybe should apply for roles with easyjet and ryanair, the two budget operators said. flybe went into administration on saturday, putting 277 people out of work. the airline has cancelled all planned flights to and from the uk, affecting around 75,000 passengers in total. our business correspondent noor nanji is with me now. it all happened in a bit of a rush, it seems. it it all happened in a bit of a rush, it seems. ., , ., , it seems. it did, and it is a very tou:h it seems. it did, and it is a very tough time _ it seems. it did, and it is a very tough time for _ it seems. it did, and it is a very tough time for flybe _ it seems. it did, and it is a very tough time for flybe staff, - it seems. it did, and it is a very tough time for flybe staff, the | tough time for flybe staff, the majority of whom lost their jobs yesterday. flybe employed 321 people at various sites of at belfast airport, birmingham airport and other sites around the country, the majority of those lost their jobs yesterday morning, when the airline collapsed. of course many of those will now be looking for newjobs and

easyjet and ryanair, two other airlines, have been encouraging workers to apply forjobs with them. ryanair posted a notice under subsite saying it had a range of positions across all areas of business, including flight crew, cabin crew, engineers, ground staff and office staff. easyjet said it was not currently advertising for pilots, but it did encourage flybe cabin crew tubing apply for the vacancies it had.— vacancies it had. what has the reaction been _ vacancies it had. what has the reaction been to _ vacancies it had. what has the reaction been to that - vacancies it had. what has the reaction been to that offer? i vacancies it had. what has the l reaction been to that offer? we vacancies it had. what has the - reaction been to that offer? we have been speaking _ reaction been to that offer? we have been speaking to _ reaction been to that offer? we have been speaking to martin _ reaction been to that offer? we have been speaking to martin chalk, - reaction been to that offer? we have been speaking to martin chalk, who | been speaking to martin chalk, who is the chief of balpa, and he said understandably there was concern from workers when they heard the news yesterday morning. let's hear what he had to say. i heard about it in the middle of the night, as did many of the staff, and of course there is some upset and concern amongst the staff that... some of them have been

through this more than once, having been involved when flybe 1 went bust. so, yes, there's concern and upset. the difference this time is the market is somewhat more buoyant, there are more jobs available, although balpa would like to work with the industry and the regulator and the government to see that there is a much more stable market, withjobs that are available and a pipeline of people to fill them, rather than this churn of one company seeking to steal employees from another, particularly at such a disappointing time for people. aviation experts we've been speaking to have also read the jobs market is better now than when flybe collapsed the first time, which was in march 2020, so air travel demand has rebounded since the height of the pandemic, so there is demand for staff now. and don't forget them airlines are very keen to avoid the repeat of the catastrophe we saw last year, others thousands of flights that were cancelled largely due to staff shortages, so that could make it easier to find employment this time around. this does not take away from the fact that this is a very difficult time for those workers, particularly when

they will be facing rising living costs. the government says its immediate priority is to support those staff will lost their jobs. noor, thank you. noor. a 16—year—old boy has been charged with the murder of a teenage girl after she was stabbed to death in northumberland. holly newton, who was 15, was found injured in hexham on friday evening. the boy will appear before magistrates in newcastle—upon—tyne tomorrow. earlier, i spoke to our correspondent peter harris, who gave us the latest from the scene. tributes to holly have been led today — in fact, by her school. let me read out, martine, what the school have said about her. they said she was a truly lovely student who was quiet, conscientious and kind. they say their priority now is to bring the school community together to grieve. in the morning, of course, those children will return to school, and clearly an extremely distressing situation for children so young. we've also had words today from northumbria police about holly. they said she was a girl with so much to look

forward to in life. holly was from a place called haltwhistle, about 20 minutes' drive from here. now, we know of what happened to holly. it was on friday afternoon, about 5pm, at this spot she suffered a stab wound, as did a 16—year—old boy. the boy remains in a stable condition in hospital. his condition is not life—threatening. now, northumbria police have also told us that another 16—year—old boy who was arrested, well, he's now been charged with murder, attempted murder and possession of an offensive weapon, and he will appear before the magistrates' court in newcastle tomorrow. peter harris in hexham. olice in memphis have disbanded a special crime unit police in memphis have disbanded a special crime unit involved in the death of 29—year—old tyre nichols. protests took place in the city last night, after a video released on friday showed nichols being beaten and kicked by five officers, who are also black. he died three days later. police say the decision to abolish the so—called scorpion special unit "is in the best

interest of all." the princess of wales is launching a new public awareness campaign aimed at one of her most personal causes — the importance of early childhood. in an open letter, catherine says not enough attention is being paid to how the first five years of a child's life shapes the adults we become. it follows a previous report for the princesses' royal foundation which warned of a link between early years and adult mental health issues. tributes have been paid to the american singer and guitarist tom verlaine, who's died at the age of 73. music he founded the legendary art—rock band television — famous for their seminal debut album, marquee moon. mike scott of the waterboys said he was the best rock and roll guitarist of all time.

earlier, i spoke to bbc 6 music dj tom robinson, who will be doing a two—hour tribute show on tom verlaine this evening. he explained why it was so important to him to pay tribute. he was a key part of the new york underground, with the band television he formed, and the cbgbs club, where bands like the talking heads and blondie all came through, so everybody who has been influenced by his band and his sound and his approach. so without him, without his band, we might not have heard of some of the others? i would definitely think so. patti smith was his girlfriend for a long time, she wrote his first ever review, but they collaborated

into the �*90s and the noughties, and they were all part of the underground scene. but also the strokes and lcd soundsystem still influenced by the work of tom verlaine in the early �*70s. so why was he not so well—known, as you would expect, given he was so influential? we were talking about it in the newsroom and anyone who had heard of him, like george was saying, "he was a genius," and other people are going to say, "i've heard of television but not tom verlaine." if people knew the band, they would know his songwriting, voice and particularly his guitar playing. together with richard lloyd, they had a unique way of intertwining the guitars, the melodies and rhythms all working together. but what was unique about them was that it wasn't a blues or rock—based sound. up until then, everybody wanted to be eric clapton orjeff beck or somebody like that, and television took a blank slate and decided, "we will start from ground zero with this guitar style" and worked out a new way of sounding.

but coming out of the cbgbs club, in the bowery, that is emblematic of punk, and you wouldn't call them that either. nonetheless, they were one of the earliest punk bands. talking heads, you wouldn't talk about as being punk, more funk, really, but they were counted as punk in that era. the punk movement grew out of that, and television was formed by tom verlaine with richard hell, who was an anarchist. with a name like that, you're going to be! richard hell and the voidoids... malcolm mclaren stole half of his ideas, came back to the uk with the sex pistols. punk grew out of the same scene, but in america, it took a more musicianly turn, but in the uk, it was

a more anarchic turn. but lots of uk bands, like xtc, the gang of four, au pairs, were all influenced by televison. television did better over here than in the states, in terms of hit singles, is that right? yes, it's a familiar story. so many american artists, particularly and immediately get recognised because of their from the east coast, come over to europe and immediately get recognised because of their brilliance, and because we have a small media in the uk, radio 1 covers the whole country. so have a hit on radio1 and john peel starts playing you, suddenly everyone knows about it, so you have a national hit. in america, you can't dent it without doing eight tours coast to coast over five years, so that's why they took their british fame and took it back to america. tom robinson speaking to us earlier. a british army officer has arrived back in the uk after trekking nearly 900 miles across antarctica. preet chandi — also known as polar preet — broke the record for the longest solo and unsupported trek by a woman. she braved winds of up to 60 miles per hour and temperatures of —50 celsius.

there is much more on all of our stories on the bbc news website. this is bbc news. hello. it's been fairly quiet on the weather front for most of us this sunday. but in northern scotland, outbreaks of rain, strong winds. a weather front is sweeping in and rain is expected at least a little later on in northern ireland and, for example, northwestern parts of england. so, evening rain on the way. now, here's the conveyor belt of cloud on the satellite picture. it's pushed by quite a strong jet stream, and embedded in this area of cloud, this conveyor belt of cloud, are areas of low pressure which will be whistling our way over the next couple of days, two, three days. so through this evening, gale force winds in the north—west. here's that weather front. it does sweep further south. but actually, by the time it reaches the south coast of england, there won't be much rain on it. and behind the weather front, it's generally clear skies, i think, by early on monday morning and not particularly cold,

around 3 to 7 degrees. i think that should cover it across most of the uk. so tomorrow, then, starts off quite blustery in northern and northeast scotland, but then eventually the winds die down, and for most of us, it's a pretty decent day on monday with bright, if not sunny weather, especially east and central and southern areas. in the north—west, however, it will cloud over later on monday, in advance of the next area of low pressure. now, this one will whistle to the north of scotland, but it will bring some very strong winds on tuesday. so actually, tuesday, a really windy day across scotland, frequent showers, wintry over the hills. it will be blustery further south too, across northern ireland and northern england. not too windy in the south, but the gales will strengthen as we go through the course of tuesday evening and through the early hours of wednesday. in fact, northern scotland could have 80 mph gusts, and widely across scotland, around 60 or so, so a really blustery tuesday evening on the way. now, come wednesday, that nasty area of low pressure

moves out into the north sea. but in its wake, an area of cloud and outbreaks of rain also move in. so i think for many of us, wednesday, often cloudy, bits and pieces of rain, especially this central swathe of the uk. it should be dry, though, and brighter on wednesday, especially further southeast and also in the south of the country. and then let's have a look at the outlook as we head into the end of the week. not really much changes. temperatures typically around double figures across most of the uk. and i think on friday, high pressure in charge, so fairly quiet weather. bye— bye.

this is bbc news, the headlines. the british prime minister, rishi sunak, has sacked the chairman of his conservative party, nadhim zahawi. mr sunak said in a letter to mr zahawi that it was clear that there had been a serious breach of the ministerial code, in the last hour, scotland's prison service has announced an "urgent review" of all transgender cases in its prisons. it says it will pause the movement of all transgender inmates until the review is completed. a bus has crashed into a ravine in pakistan, killing at least forty of the forty—eight people aboard. in a separate incident, at least ten children died in a boat accident in tanda dam lake in the north—west of the country. tributes have been paid to the influential american singer and guitarist, tom verlaine, who's died at the age of 73.

he founded the legendary art—rock band, television,