this is bbc news. these are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world. protesters have clashed with police in athens last night in a demonstration against the operator of the passenger train involved in a fatal collision on tuesday. newly released whatsapp messages suggest former health secretary matt hancock tried to bypass another minister to get schools closed during the coronavirus pandemic. this is about the millions of people, everyone of us in this country, that were adversely affected by the catastrophic decisions to lock down this country repeatedly, often on the flimsiest of evidence. police in sussex are continuing to question constance marten and mark gordon after the remains

of a baby were found in the search for their missing child. the pair are being held on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter. the government has published a plan to improve learning for children with special educational needs and disabilities in england. it includes ending postcode—lottery support. the duke and duchess of sussex have been asked to vacate their british home, frogmore cottage in windsor. the couple's spokesperson has confirmed the request. the duke and duchess of sussex have been asked hello and welcome, if you're watching in the uk or around the world. 43 people are now confirmed to have died in greece's worst—ever rail crash.

a passenger train collided head—on with another carrying freight near the city of larissa late on tuesday night. the station master accused of causing the crash is due in court, amid rising public anger at the failure to prevent the disaster. nick beake reports. the aftermath of greece's worst—ever rail disaster. a station master in a nearby city has now been charged with manslaughter by negligence. and already, the country's prime minister says tragic human error was to blame. but that has sparked anger overnight, including in the capital, athens, because for years there have been warnings the rail network was not safe. this surgeon who came out of retirement to help the injured says the many young lives lost were the victims of systemic failings. it's a disaster, it's a catastrophic event. families are crying tonight. unfortunately, a majority of the wounded, lost people are young students.

they left home, happy, after the long weekend to go for their studies, to see their relatives and never reach them. this is one of the hospitals where survivors are being treated overnight and also where some family members are coming to give their dna so that their missing loved ones may be identified in the coming hours and days. but this is proving to be a really difficult process, particularly for passengers who were at the front of the train, which bore the full force of the collision and where the fire broke out. and the force of the explosions were captured on camera. two fireballs ripping through the carriages. visiting the wreckage, greece's transport minister became emotional as he talked about the country's failing train network and later resigned. it's not known exactly how many passengers are missing, but many families now face

an agonising wait. we can take your life to the scene of that horrific crash between the passenger train and freight train where authorities are still working to examine the scene, deal with the wreckage, the first couple of carriages on the passenger train were charred after bursting into flames and coming off the track. as you saw, the greek transport minister tendered his resignation and the prime minister kyriakos mitsotakis who visited the scene said that he was determined to get to the bottom of this, to find the cause and nick is outside a hospital in larissa where some of the injured people are being treated.

as well as the grief here in this country after this disaster, there is rising anger too because it seems for years there were warnings that there would be a big disaster on the railway network at some stage. there were concerns over safety, but it seems they weren't acted upon. in this particular city, later today, a 59—year—old station master who was responsible for the signals, or certainly was supposed to be responsible for the operation of the signals, he is appearing in court because yesterday he was charged with manslaughter by negligence. lots of people will think you can't blame one person for what's happened here and when they listen to the prime minister saying this was a case of human error, tragic human error to use his phrase, that simply doesn't do it for them. they are worried about systemic failings and they are wondering whether any sort of investigation will really get to the bottom of this and whether it will do justice for those who have died. this is one of the hospitals where survivors and the injured

have been treated. it's also where some family members have been coming to give their dna in the hope that maybe any sort of samples that are recovered from the scene today will be matched to their loved ones who are still missing. we know already that many young people died on this train service. they had been away for a greek holiday, seeing their loved ones, they were returning to their studies, but tragically, they did not make it back. newly released whatsapp messages suggest former uk health secretary matt hancock tried to bypass the then education secretary to have schools closed during the coronavirus pandemic. messages published in the daily telegraph show mr hancock describing sir gavin williamson as battling "tooth and nail" to keep schools in england open in december 2020 — a move he disagreed with. other messages show disparaging remarks about teachers�* unions. our political correspondent david wallace lockhart reports.

more leaked messages from ministers during the pandemic, more apparent insight into decision—making. now education is in the spotlight. the daily telegraph suggests that, in december 2020, matt hancock wanted schools closed for most pupils. the education secretary, sir gavin williamson, disagreed, and he seemed to be getting his way. in a message to his adviser, mr hancock suggested he wasn't giving up, saying: "i want to find a way, gavin having won the day, "of actually preventing a policy car crash when the kids spread "the disease injanuary." he then said, "for that, we must now fight a rearguard action "for a rational policy." in earlyjanuary, borisjohnson announced that schools in england would close as part of a lockdown. in a commentary piece for the daily telegraph, sir gavin williamson has today said this closure wasn't done for the right reasons. he says he now questions if he should have resigned in protest. the telegraph has obtained these messages from the lockdown sceptic

journalist isabel oakeshott, who helped mr hancock write his recent book. other messages seemed to show matt hancock and sir gavin williamson discussing teachers. in may 2020, sir gavin appeared to stress that they had access to ppe, adding, "some willjust want to say "they can't so they have an excuse to avoid having to teach." in a message from october 2020, matt hancock congratulates sir gavin on a cracking announcement on exams and adds, "what a bunch of absolute "arses the teaching unions are". one head teachers�* union labelled this an appalling lack of respect. sir gavin williamson has said his comments were about unions, not teachers, who he has the utmost respect for. a spokesperson for matt hancock said, "these are partial accounts, "obviously spun with an agenda. "they show matt was focused throughout on saving lives. "the right place for a full

assessment is the inquiry." that public inquiry will take some time. more of matt hancock's messages may appear soon. david wallace lockhart, bbc news, westminster. the journalist who leaked the messages, isabel oakeshott, has defended her decision to do so. a vocal critic of lockdowns, she told the bbc�*s today programme she believes the messages are in the public interest. i fully discharged my responsibilities to matt hancock. together, we produced a book that made a fantastic impact. it was the book that he wanted. i didn't leave anything out. actually broke a written legal agreement, a non—disclosure agreement, not to reveal the contents. my responsibilities, having finished that book with him, are now to the public interest. the public interest... did you break an nda? i mean, that's a matter of public record. and did the telegraph pay you...? the public interest is far more important. did the telegraph pay...? i'm a working journalist.

so they did pay you for them? i'm a working journalist. they did not pay me for the messages. i've been helping the daily telegraph with investigation. you'll see that i've been writing stories for the daily telegraph. just for clarity, because it is important. in other words, they didn't pay you a sum to receive them. i'm not going to get into any arrangement i have as a journalist. well, money is partially, arguably, a motive. seriously, anyone who thinks i did this for money must be utterly insane. this is about the millions of people, every one of us in this country, that were adversely affected by the catastrophic decisions to lockdown this country repeatedly, often on the flimsiest of evidence, for political reasons. and yet, you helped matt hancock write a bookjustifying all those decisions. because i wanted to get to the truth of it. isabel oakeshott. geoff barton from the association of school and college leaders says the exchanges between the health and education secretary show a lack of respect to teachers. it is contemptible because we have

to remind ourselves that this was an age of extraordinary anxiety, we hadn't got vaccines etc, and the government was starting to look to the teaching profession to welcome those young people back into school. there was a huge debate going on, very snarky debate, about whether face coverings should or shouldn't be worn. and essentially the very people who then brought those young people back into school are being described in those snide times by that former education secretary. our chief political correspondent nick eardley told me how the former health secretary has reacted to the latest revelations. matt hancock isn't happy, he has called this a massive betrayal of trust. he said he is hugely disappointed and he has apologised to the people whose messages have been leaked. his argument is that there is no public interest in this because he handed over these messages to the public inquiry which is looking into the uk's covid response. they were handed to the inquiry

in the autumn, i understand. the crux of his argument is it would have come out anyway in the right place for it to be properly analysed, the public inquiry, he argues. isabel oakeshott argues, actually, the public inquiry would take far too long and this stuff might never see the light of day and, therefore, there was a public interest in getting it out. she also, in an interview she did last night with talk tv, accused mr hancock of sending her menacing messages. interesting that mr hancock is completely denying that, says it is not true. in a statement he put out this morning, he says he simply asked her... he called her on tuesday night when he heard something was coming saying he was asking her if there were any clues of what it was and when he saw it, he said to her that it was a big mistake, the quote he has

provided in a statement. he is denying he said anything menacing. on those disparaging comments about teachers and unions, that presents a very different private face to the public face, to what the two ministers, then ministers, were saying in public. what problems do you foresee this causing? will there need to be an apology? possibly. it is a bit embarrassing for gavin williamson and matt hancock. i don't think they made any bones about criticism of some of the unions in private, but it was pretty clear some of the language being used was not the sort of language ministers would want to get out in the public domain, clearly slightly at odds with the praise of teachers we saw at the time. and one of the things that is most fascinating reading some of the exchanges published by the telegraph is just how

they lay on the line the sort of discussions going on in government and when it comes to the closure of schools in england, we always knew there had been a disagreement in government about whether schools should be closed for a second time at the start of 2021, but the extent to which matt hancock was trying to fight against gavin williamson's position, the extent to which matt hancock's aides were questioning mr williamson's decision, saying he was freaking out, not being rational, the extent to which the divisions were leading to some big rows between the ministers is really fascinating. and the fact mr hancock made it clear to his team that once the decision had been made by government to keep schools open that he wanted to fight a rearguard action against it is a fascinating insight to what was going on. it matters because a lot of parents and perhaps some pupils as well

will remember the start of 2021 being a bit of a shambles, frankly, where we had a situation where the government was coming on the bbc saying, "schools are definitely going to stay open," then a couple of days later, "some schools might have to shut." by the end of the week, all schools being shut indefinitely because of a national lockdown. we knew there had been a row, we knew it had been pretty chaotic. but the extent to which ministers were battling against each other�*s positions at the time, really fascinating. joining me now is the general secretary of the national association of head teachers, paul whiteman. thank you for your time today. back to the period in question, around december, 2020, what was your professional relationship like at that point with that then education secretary gavin williamson? we could

see at the time _ secretary gavin williamson? we could see at the time that _ secretary gavin williamson? we could see at the time that government - secretary gavin williamson? we could see at the time that government wasl see at the time that government was chaotic and there was not a clear direction of travel for government, but all we could do as trade unions was work alongside the department at the time and gavin williamson and give the best of our advice in terms of what was happening on the ground. we could see from the medical evidence covid was raging in schools at that time and we were desperately trying to get a grip of it because no one could explain the certainty at that point that although everyone felt children suffered the disease better, we did not know whether it was a vector of transmission into the school community and adult population as well. what is revealed in these exchanges is the political drivers of this rather than the health drivers which was always the concern at the time. any concern at the time. any communication, - concern at the time. any communication, the - concern at the time. any communication, the language was professional presumably, courteous? i always got on very well with gavin williamson. we did not always agree.

a lot of occasions when we didn't and we disagreed in public as well. but he was always very keen to try and reassure me he had the utmost respect for teachers and when his colleagues in government made the mistake of criticising the efforts of teachers, we had to respond to that, he privately tried to reassure us that was not his view, that clearly wasn't the case. i don't accept for a second that differentiation he tries to make between unions and their members which are teachers. unions are the sum of their members who are teachers and school leaders, we speak on their behalf and we are the authentic voice of those teachers as well. i can tell you this, throughout the pandemic and period of the disputes we are currently in, our membership has grown phenomenally, the fastest growth we have ever seen, and that is because teachers don't feel safe, don't respect government and it is this type of activity and the type of treatment they have suffered that is

at the heart of that concern they have towards the way they are treated by government right now. and what is at the bottom of this is trust. if what is at the bottom of this is trust. u, , , what is at the bottom of this is trust. , , , ., trust. ifi can 'ust interrupt you for the trust. if i can just interrupt you for the second, _ trust. if i can just interrupt you for the second, i _ trust. if i can just interrupt you for the second, i want - trust. if i can just interrupt you for the second, i want to - trust. if i can just interrupt you for the second, i want to come j trust. if i can just interrupt you - for the second, i want to come back to the issue of trust, so you say that gavin williamson, then education secretary in the uk, was always very keen to tell you he had the utmost respect for teachers, so when you saw these whatsapp messages where he talked about teachers complaining about a lack of ppa to have an excuse not to teach, some teaching unions dojust have an excuse not to teach, some teaching unions do just hate work, and health secretary matt hancock responding with a laughing emoji, what was your reaction? i responding with a laughing emo'i, what was your reaction?i responding with a laughing emo'i, what was your reaction? i think the answer is this, _ what was your reaction? i think the answer is this, we _ what was your reaction? i think the answer is this, we have _ what was your reaction? i think the answer is this, we have known - what was your reaction? i think the answer is this, we have known for. what was your reaction? i think the | answer is this, we have known for a long time there are elements within

government that have content for teachers and the teaching profession, you only have to see how the funding of education and where it sits in policy, the content and how it has been allowed to erode over the last ten years. i can only go on the partial picture which is very worrying and it does not sit well with the conversation i was having with him. matt hancock and gavin williamson will have to explain further whether it is in context, wider context. but the language and the emoji, it reveals an immature approach to try to deal with life and death issues at the time and reveals that while the rest of us were trying very hard to grapple with these things, perhaps the level of seriousness to which it was taken in government was not what it should have been, and we have seen that throughout the revelations since and i think the public inquiry will give us a better picture on

that. ., . ~ ., ., that. coming back to the point on trus wa that. coming back to the point on trusty way beginning _ that. coming back to the point on trusty way beginning to _ that. coming back to the point on trusty way beginning to talk- that. coming back to the point on | trusty way beginning to talk about, you say you believe it reveals elements in government have a content for education —— on trust that you were beginning to talk about. what does it mean for future discussions about yourselves and other education unions and the government? the other education unions and the government?— other education unions and the government? , ., ,. government? the teachers and school leaders are at — government? the teachers and school leaders are at their _ government? the teachers and school leaders are at their wits _ government? the teachers and school leaders are at their wits end _ government? the teachers and school leaders are at their wits end right - leaders are at their wits end right now, that is why we are in dispute with government over various things, some are taking strike action. the only way to find our way through the disputes is to build an atmosphere of trust where we can have a very difficult discussions in private and build a proposition that both sides can take forward. that trust does not exist right now. very clear the way the government is trying to set preconditions for talks that the trust does not exist. unless we can build that, we will never make any progress. what this does is reveals time after time after time that

there are elements of government that will not engage with teacher representatives properly. if they will not engage properly, we cannot make any progress. i very much hope gillian keegan, current secretary of state, will operate in a different way. we are trying to make sure talks can take place so we can progress things, but to try and shift the blame onto the shoulders of teaching trade unions and leadership trade unions actually just reveals there is a poverty of ideas, a lack of experience of industrial relations and how to deal with trade unions on the side of the government and we need to deal with it quickly. government and we need to deal with it cuickl . , ., government and we need to deal with itauickl. , . , . ._ government and we need to deal with it.uickl . , ., , . ., , ., it quickly. general secretary of the national association _ it quickly. general secretary of the national association of _ it quickly. general secretary of the national association of head - national association of head teachers, thank you very much. a postmortem examination is to be carried today out on the body of a baby found by police searching for the missing child of constance marten and mark gordon. the couple disappeared in earlyjanuary and were arrested earlier this week. they are currently being held on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter. the news comes after a days—long

search by police of a 90 square mile area near brighton. vincent mcaviney has more. yesterday, at locations from newhaven to brighton, the search for the missing baby was in full swing over a 90 square mile area. officers from the sussex force were joined by those from the metropolitan police and volunteer experts in search and rescue. there was concern for the welfare of the infant, but there was also still hope. but last night, that hope was extinguished when a baby's remains were found in this woodland area near to where the couple were arrested monday night in north brighton. the detective superintendent leading the search, forced to make an announcement he'd been dreading. police officers searching a wooded area close to where constance and mark gordon were arrested, discovered the remains of a baby. a postmortem examination will be held in due course. a crime scene is in place and work at the location is expected

to continue for some time. 35—year—old constance marten and 48—year—old mark gordon were captured on cctv after emerging from the woods on monday to visit local shops. they returned along the same residential street 45 minutes later, but they'd been spotted by a member of the public who'd called 999. moments after this cctv footage was recorded, they were arrested. the two of them left their home in london in september when her pregnancy started to show. staying in a series of airbnbs, police believe their baby was then born in their car injanuary. but when the vehicle caught fire on the m61 near bolton on january 5th, the police started to investigate. cctv showed them travelling by taxi to liverpool, then harwich, before arriving in east london where they bought a tent and camping supplies at argos. they finally travelled to newhaven. their baby was definitely alive at this stage as the taxi driver who drove them heard it,

but at that point they disappeared, only to re—emerge six weeks later in brighton when they were arrested. for weeks, the police and constance's family have appealed to her to contact the authorities and warned of the dangers of freezing temperatures to her newborn. overnight, officers have guarded the crime scene as forensic tests are carried out to confirm the identity and detectives say a postmortem examination will take place in due course. vincent mcaviney, bbc news. our correspondent yetunde yusuf is in brighton and she gave us the latest this morning from there. there has been a huge local impact because so many people have been involved in the search. local residents assisting police with inquiries and also volunteer search and rescue specialists as well looking through woodland as well as the hundreds of police officers from the metropolitan police and sussex police as well scouring

a 90 square mile area. and this is not the outcome they hoped, but as the days went on and temperatures dropped, they were concerned the baby could have come to harm. this is an ongoing investigation, a postmortem examination is expected to take place. there have been police vehicles guarding the area because there is a crime scene, but they are warning people not to speculate because it is an ongoing case, but they recognise the impact it has had on people following the story very closely and of course a huge impact locally as well in brighton. people have already left tributes, flowers, candles, and there is talk of a vigil later this evening. as the day goes on and people are reflecting, they will be reflecting on the tragic news. the duke and duchess of sussex have been asked to vacate their british home, frogmore cottage in windsor.

the couple's spokesperson confirmed the request, but buckingham palace hasn't commented. they were reportedly told to leave the property injanuary, days after harry published his memoir. our royal correspondent sarah campbell reports. since leaving the uk for a new life in the states, prince harry and his wife, meghan, have returned just a handful of times. and when they have done so, such as lastjune for thejubilee, they have stayed in frogmore cottage, the house gifted to them by the late queen. the five—bedroom property is situated within the grounds of windsor castle. the duke and duchess spent more than £2 million on rent and refurbishments according to royal accounts. but their spokesperson has confirmed the sussexes have now been asked to vacate the property. once again, it has put royal relations back on the front pages, with the king reported to have sanctioned the move and prince andrew allegedly being lined up to move in once the sussexes are out. buckingham palace has offered no comment on what are considered

private family matters. this all comes in the wake of prince harry's memoir, spare, and the publicity campaign that accompanied it and the six—part tv series, putting the couple's grievances with the royal family in front of a global audience. in just two months' time, harry's father prince charles will be crowned. it is still unclear whether harry, his youngest son, and meghan will be there to witness it. sarah campbell, bbc news. i'm joined now by royal commentator victoria howard. thank you forjoining us. as sarah was saying, frogmore cottage was gifted to the couple by the late queen, they paid renovations, originally paid for by the sovereign grant, essentially taxpayers, but it was repaid in full by the duke

macrae. ., was repaid in full by the duke macrae. . , ., , . , macrae. the main question, why has this been done? _ macrae. the main question, why has this been done? the _ macrae. the main question, why has this been done? the way _ macrae. the main question, why has this been done? the way the - macrae. the main question, why has this been done? the way the royal. this been done? the way the royal family have spoken about then since the explosive interviews have been done and that this year has a ways been a beloved family members, still really welcome and part of the family however, this sends a very different message that they are not as welcome because they no longer have a secure base in the uk. the cottage is within the grounds of the windsor estate which makes it a very secure location because it is royal property. this is an ongoing battle harry has been having with the home office with regards to security, currently having privately funded security, so being in the uk, that was the one place they had with a protective ring around them and that is no longer the case. it begs the question, are they ever going to come back? if question, are they ever going to come back?— question, are they ever going to come back? , . ., . ~ come back? if they did come back, wherewith they _ come back? if they did come back, wherewith they base _ come back? if they did come back, wherewith they base themselves? | wherewith they base themselves? where would they stay? what does it

mean for the coronation? i where would they stay? what does it mean for the coronation?— mean for the coronation? i think that is still— mean for the coronation? i think that is still very _ mean for the coronation? i think that is still very much _ mean for the coronation? i think that is still very much up - mean for the coronation? i think that is still very much up in - mean for the coronation? i think that is still very much up in the i that is still very much up in the air but at this moment in time i am leaning towards harry and meghan will not be at the coronation. very difficult. the security for them was a big issue, part of the reason they said the —— they left the uk in the first place and it seems a bit of a jab at them, saying, you cannot have this property, that was probably a gift from the queen for their wedding. to go back on that is very strange. indicative of the state of tensions within the royal family between harry and meghan and the wider royalfamily after between harry and meghan and the wider royal family after the accusations. it wider royal family after the accusations.— wider royal family after the accusations. ., , �* ., accusations. it doesn't auger well in the short _ accusations. it doesn't auger well in the short term _ accusations. it doesn't auger well in the short term at _ accusations. it doesn't auger well in the short term at least - accusations. it doesn't auger well in the short term at least for - accusations. it doesn't auger well in the short term at least for any | in the short term at least for any moves towards reconciliation it would seem. moves towards reconciliation it would seem-— moves towards reconciliation it would seem. ~ , ., , ., would seem. absolutely. harry always said he was asked _ would seem. absolutely. harry always said he was asked in _ would seem. absolutely. harry always said he was asked in his _ would seem. absolutely. harry always said he was asked in his itv _ said he was asked in his itv interview that if he would be attending the coronation, he said, yes, i am

attending the coronation, he said, yes, iam happy attending the coronation, he said, yes, i am happy to, attending the coronation, he said, yes, iam happy to, but attending the coronation, he said, yes, i am happy to, but only after the conversations have been heard about the allegations he has made about the allegations he has made about the allegations he has made about the way he perceived events, the way the royals perceived events, and coming to some reconciliation around those issues. and that is clearly not... i would not imagine that his help in that scenario at all. ., ~ that his help in that scenario at all. . ~ , ., that his help in that scenario at all. ., ~' , ., , that his help in that scenario at all. . ~ ,, , . that his help in that scenario at all. ., ~ ,, , . ., that his help in that scenario at all. . , . ., all. thank you very much for your thou~hts all. thank you very much for your thoughts on _ all. thank you very much for your thoughts on that, _ all. thank you very much for your thoughts on that, victoria - all. thank you very much for your | thoughts on that, victoria howard, editor of the crime conical website and royal correspondent. —— crown. india's prime minister, narendra modi, has urged foreign ministers from the g20 group of major economies to find common ground at the start of a meeting likely to be dominated by russia's invasion of ukraine. india — which holds the g20 presidency — has taken a neutral stance on the ukraine conflict. it will try to steer the agenda

of today's meeting in delhi towards the needs of poorer nations. here's narendra modi, calling on foreign ministers to put their political divisions aside. we are meeting at a time of deep global divisions and, foreign ministers, it is but natural that your discussions are affected by the geopolitical tensions of the day. we all have our positions and our perspectives on how these tensions should be resolved. however, as the leading economies of the world, we also have a responsibility to those who are not in this room. let's put all that into context now with our political correspondent, leila nathoo, who's at the meeting in delhi. it was apparent even before the meeting started that ukraine and the war there was going to come top of the agenda was that eu eu countries and

the us made it clear that they wanted to use the meeting to strongly condemn russia. that was what they wanted to see come out of it. russia, for its part, represented by the foreign minister sergei lavrov, who is here in delhi, is going to attack the west too. so there are clearly going to be very tense conversations going on inside. india, as you say, wants to steer discussions towards the topic that it wants to focus on. it is trying to use its presidency of the g20 to champion the needs of developing nations, acting a bit like a bridge between developing nations and the wealthier economies who are represented here. so you had this address by prime minister narendra modi today in english, which is quite significant. he rarely speaks in english, mostly in hindi. but he was urging delegates here to come together, to put aside their differences, to focus on what unites them as opposed to what drives them apart. he didn't mention the war in ukraine by name. remember, india is taking a neutral stance on the war and is trying to tread that very delicate path between the west and russia. he did acknowledge that there were deep global divisions, but he urged people here to try to overcome those splits

and focus again on the issues close to india's heart as it undertakes this presidency. so you have sessions, for example, today on food and energy security, development cooperation, terrorism, humanitarian assistance, all these issues that india wants to focus on to represent the agenda of developing nations. but i think it's going to be difficult for india to steer clear of conversations about ukraine, given that other countries are very clear that they want to focus on that. the government has published a long—awaited plan to improve learning for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities in england. proposals include ending "postcode—lottery" support, and earlier intervention in mainstream schools. the bbc�*s education correspondent elaine dunkley has more. across the country, there are mainstream schools struggling to support children with special educational needs and disabilities. what's the difference? recruiting for specialist support

assistants is incredibly difficult and incredibly challenging. schools are struggling for resources. local authorities are certainly struggling for resources. the capacity in the system just isn't there. this is leighton primary in blackpool. here, there are more than 90 pupils with special educational needs. needs are becoming more complex as time goes on and therefore, the provision that we need to provide children over time needs to become more skilled and better. this head is transforming an area within the school where children with special educational needs can be assessed and given individual support. we've ordered the right size tables and chairs, lots of sensory equipment. all the local specialist school provision is under huge amounts of pressure to accept increasing numbers of children. what we are planning to do is create a provision whereby we can support them in their learning in a separate environment, but keep them

integrated and integrate them over time back into classroom so that we continue to provide an inclusive environment for children. and then you're on another journey, then, aren't you? for these parents, long waiting lists to get children diagnosed with special educational needs and finding the right support has pushed them to crisis. i don't know where my children will be in years to come. i don't know what will be out there for them. we can fight as much as we can fight. but if there's nothing there to help, what are we fighting for? i don't know. as a parent of send, i'm exhausted. i've fought for ehcp plans for her three times. not got one. i go to different services. i see different professionals. and every single time i have - to explain and explain and explain. see if you can get it on from the same place.

14—year—old maisie is autistic, has adhd and has struggled to cope in mainstream schools. she's been excluded numerous times and now attends school part time. i've never liked school. ijust didn't fit in. i was out of school for a month. so then when i've gone into a school, it's a bit like so many people just everywhere, like crowding me. on the first day i went there, it was a lot. so instead of going to class, i'll be doing one to one science, maths, art. one foot in the stirrup. beautifully done. when maisie's not at school, she comes here to heroes, an educational therapy centre in oxfordshire. it's helped hundreds of children with special educational needs who are struggling in school. i think i've learnt a lot more being here. school pay for me to come here, so they are helping. but i think coming here, we do work, so it's not like we're just like taking the mick out of it and, you know, missing school andjust riding, because we're still doing work. and how are you getting on today here? children with special educational

needs are seven times more likely to be excluded from school. veena verahsammy knows all too well what families go through. her son was excluded from school for a year. she set up an alternative provision. it stops children who are excluded from feeling isolated and permanently dropping out of education. i think especially with the children who have got send needs, a lot of these children aren't getting a diagnosis or some of them are getting misdiagnosed. these kids feel completely isolated. they feel abandoned. one of the biggest issues is funding. so even if a school has identified and they really want to support these children, a lot of them don't have the funds to send them to alternative provision. from mainstream to specialist schools, there are calls for urgent funding and intervention to help support an increasing number of pupils. the government is promising more investment in specialist staff and admits that for too many the system is broken.

almost ended up in the worst of all worlds with a lot more money being spent, but the provision not being right. so a big part of the investment is building the capacity, i mean, £2.6 billion into building more places. can you guarantee that the children who need education, health and care plans are going to get them and they're going to get the right support with these new measures? people feel they need that to get any support. and that's wrong, actually. you should be able, if your child needs extra support at school, they're in a mainstream school, they need extra support with their writing or reading, whatever it is they need, or language, they need extra support, that support should be available. you shouldn't need to get an ehcp plan to make sure that that support available. so that's one of the things we're also doing with mainstream schools. for too many and for too long, it's been a fight to get the right support. a broken system that needs fixing. making the right changes are crucial in transforming the lives of thousands of children and young people. elaine dunkley, bbc news.

earlier i spoke to margaret mulholland from the association of school and college leaders who welcomed the new plans and pledges, but said that it did not address the short term support children with special educational needs require. we need those changes to happen and happen soon in a way that makes sure those education and health care plans really are working on the ground, that they are manageable and accessible and supportive of what parents want to see in school and meeting the needs of that child to access school happily, successfully and thrive within the curriculum. so, i would like to say that the sense of urgency must not, with the announcement of this plan today, must not disappear, because those time lags are too long for those young people. so, we want to know that the workforce development on

offer today, when we hear the detail of the plan, is actually going to support schools to do what they can here and now, but equally, that we have those special school places, those additional tas in the system, that we have the funding to meet those needs, that we have those additional specialists as well, the ot, educational psychologists, speech and language therapist, so we can ensure we can support young people with that wraparound intervention that they need, and do that early, not late. a french government minister is warning the country could be on the verge of a water crisis as a result of an ongoing winter drought. parts of france have had little or no rain in the last few weeks — and water levels have dropped alarmingly. spain has also suffered from the drought — as tim allman explains.

this is, or perhaps was, france's longest river, which seems to be disappearing before our eyes. for week after week, no rain has come. the driest period since records began almost 60 years ago. and for the people who live here, these are worrying times. the people who live here, these are worrying times-— worrying times. translation: i'm scared. i worrying times. translation: i'm scared- ifeel— worrying times. translation: i'm scared. i feel like _ worrying times. translation: i'm scared. i feel like we _ worrying times. translation: i'm scared. i feel like we were - worrying times. translation: i'm scared. i feel like we were like - scared. i feel like we were like water. i have never seen this. often at this time of year as the snow melts, there is a lot of water. but right now, it's shocking to see the water so low. right now, it's shocking to see the water so low-— right now, it's shocking to see the water so low. �* ,, �* , water so low. translation: there is no fishin: water so low. translation: there is no fishing left- _ water so low. translation: there is no fishing left. back— water so low. translation: there is no fishing left. back in _ water so low. translation: there is no fishing left. back in the _ water so low. translation: there is no fishing left. back in the day, - no fishing left. back in the day, the water— no fishing left. back in the day, the water levels were high and we caught— the water levels were high and we caught fish. right now, we can't fish any— caught fish. right now, we can't fish any more, at least for now. winter— fish any more, at least for now. winter is — fish any more, at least for now. winter is normally a crucial period in restoring water levels. but not this year. and 2022 was the second hottest year europe has ever experienced. lack of rain can have a

effect, reduce crops, greater risk of wildfires and potentially rationing. of wildfires and potentially rationing-— of wildfires and potentially rationina. �* ,, �* ~ of wildfires and potentially rationina. ~ ,, ~ . ., of wildfires and potentially rationina. �* ,, �* . ., ., rationing. translation: we are in a articular rationing. translation: we are in a particular situation _ rationing. translation: we are in a particular situation because - rationing. translation: we are in a particular situation because we - rationing. translation: we are in a particular situation because we are i particular situation because we are on the verge of a water crisis in our country for next summer. so we are in the process of acting upon it. �* , ., , are in the process of acting upon it. 2 ., , ., . are in the process of acting upon it. 2 ., , ., are in the process of acting upon it. it's not 'ust france that is suffering. — it. it's notjust france that is suffering. this _ it. it's notjust france that is suffering. this is _ it. it's notjust france that is suffering. this is the - it. it's notjust france that is i suffering. this is the catalonia region of spain. more dry river beds, more concerns about the future, and the problem is climate change can cause. restrictions have already been imposed. people won't be able to wash their cars or fill their swimming pools. be able to wash their cars or fill theirswimming pools. rain is forecast for the coming days, but long term, water or a lack of it, is still a major concern. the country's biggest short story competition 500 words is back. launched in 2011 on radio 2, it's now returning for the first time in three years with a new home on bbc breakfast. children aged between 5 and 11 will be able to take part when the competition returns this september, and once again it will be supported

by camilla, the queen consort. jon kay has more. on my first day at school, do you know what i did? i kicked a nun. 0k. so what i want to think about... as stories go, it's quite an opening. but that's hardly surprising. you made a mate — that's a really happy thing! because today's supply teacher is top children's author and 500 words judge, frank cottrell—boyce. everyone's got a story, everyone can tell a story. we just talked today about important days in your life and every single one of them had a different story. he tells the kids to let their imaginations run wild for 500 words. i'm thinking of making like a story about an astronaut who like, really likes spaceships, because when he was younger, he got to ride one for the first time. we are live at hampton court

for the 500 words final! with a brilliant cover of crazy in love... it was the brainchild of chris evans, and more than a million stories were submitted in the first decade of the competition. as duchess of cornwall, camilla was an honoraryjudge on 500 words, and now, as queen consort, she's supporting the competition again as it returns to the bbc. the joy is that it's about to be relaunched and you have this wonderful moment when you took them, you know, to the venue, the sort of surprise venue for the finals, the pride in those children's faces and the families and schools. the gold—winning story, snow blood window frame by eve molloy. - i couldn't believe it. i thought they were joking. and i was like, oh, my god, me? four years on, eve tells me she's still in shock.

her fairy tale won hundreds of books for herself and for her school. but there was an even greater prize. my confidence, itjust went through the roof. being in 500 words was the best thing that i've ever done. before any stories are written, 4,000 volunteerjudges have to be recruited. teachers, teaching assistants and librarians, like sarah, who did it last time, and who's signing up again. it's an amazing opportunity to really get insight into the minds of children, to have some really brilliant reading to do and and to feel that they're playing a part in something that's a really powerful project that really makes a difference to children's lives. this time, the competition isjust for primary school children, and stories don't have to be submitted until the autumn, with the winners announced on world book day next march. words can be magic.

if you choose the right word, you can make people laugh, you can make people cry, you can start a fight, you can finish a fight. you can make people think if you just choose the right word. thank you so much. jon kay, bbc news. let's speak now to chris riddell, children's author and illustrator. award—winning children's author and illustrator, former children's laureate as well. and in addition to talking about 500 west today, it is of course world book day, the day when children love to get dressed up and their parents go through agonies trying to figure out how to create costumes, usually asked for at the last minute. we will talk about 500 words in a minute, but first, let's talk about world book day. what does it mean to you and why is it important that we have this day? it's a wonderful celebration of

children's books and kids' engagement with what frank was just saying, stories, which are so important. i love going into schools on world book day and seeing a sea of faces all dressed in vaguely familiar costumes, for me as an author. and there is a very special moment for all authors and illustrators when they see pictures on social media of characters, children dressed as characters that we have invented. it's a lovely day. the that must be an amazing feeling. going back to when you were a child and reading books being read to, what were the stories that spark your imagination and where the start of the process of you wanting to become a writer yourself? mr; become a writer yourself? my goodness- — become a writer yourself? my goodness- i — become a writer yourself? ij�*i goodness. i always become a writer yourself? m goodness. i always say when become a writer yourself? m1 goodness. i always say when asked a question like this that my favourite

time at school when i was little was going home time. but my second favourite time was this magical moment before going home time. it was 15 minutes, and it was called story time, and the teacher chose a chapter book and would read that book each day during story time to us as a class. there were no sats involved, it was just the joy of stories, listening to your teacher read a story. and i think on world book day, that is what we celebrate. we celebrate children's engagement with stories. and we celebrate an important thing, which is reading for pleasure. that is something that lasts far beyond one's childhood experiences into adult life. yeah, readina experiences into adult life. yeah, reading for _ experiences into adult life. yeah, reading for pleasure _ experiences into adult life. yeah, reading for pleasure is _ experiences into adult life. yeah, reading for pleasure is a - experiences into adult life. yeah, l reading for pleasure is a wonderful thing. what do you think makes a

good story for children? that is obviously a question you will have pondered. perhaps your inspiration is more spontaneous than that, but what makes a good story for children?— what makes a good story for children? �*, ., .,, ,.,,, , what makes a good story for children? �*, ., , , ., children? it's almost impossible to answer that _ children? it's almost impossible to answer that question. _ children? it's almost impossible to answer that question. i _ children? it's almost impossible to answer that question. i can - children? it's almost impossible to answer that question. i can only i children? it's almost impossible to | answer that question. i can only say that when i write stories for children, i have two motives. one is to employ myself to do the pictures. but the other to try and imagine a book that i would have enjoyed as a child reader. so i'm always writing for my younger self, and by extension my children, but they have now grown up. and i think one always has to think about the child who is encountering your story for the first time, opening the pages, enjoying the book as an object. i think inspiration comes from so many different places. i keep a sketchbook with me at all times and ijot things down sketchbook with me at all times and i jot things down and sketchbook with me at all times and ijot things down and i think of ideas all the time. some are

successful and some aren't. but the pleasure of creating stories is something that authors understand. chris, injust a something that authors understand. chris, in just a sentence, something that authors understand. chris, injust a sentence, it something that authors understand. chris, in just a sentence, it is wonderful that 500 words is back today on world book day. if a child is hoping to enter that competition, one piece of advice to get started one piece of advice to get started on writing their 500 words in a sentence?— on writing their 500 words in a sentence? , . , . ., sentence? pick up a pencil, draw something _ sentence? pick up a pencil, draw something in _ sentence? pick up a pencil, draw something in a _ sentence? pick up a pencil, draw something in a notebook- sentence? pick up a pencil, draw something in a notebook and - sentence? pick up a pencil, draw. something in a notebook and then sentence? pick up a pencil, draw- something in a notebook and then ask yourself who, what, where? that is the beginning of a great story. answer those questions and you will be on the way to writing a wonderful story. be on the way to writing a wonderful sto . . , ., be on the way to writing a wonderful sto . ., ., ., ~ ., be on the way to writing a wonderful sto . ., ., ~ story. pleasure to talk to you toda , story. pleasure to talk to you today. chris _ story. pleasure to talk to you today, chris riddelli. - eurovision tickets will go on sale next week, for six preview shows and three televisied shows at the liverpool acc. ticket prices start at £30 and will cost up to £380 for the grand final on 13th may. the show�*s being hosted in liveprool after the uk was chosen to host the competition on behalf of 2022 winner ukraine. fans will need to register

for a ticketmaster account ahead of the sale going live from noon on tuesday. earlier i spoke to our eurovision correspondent, daniel rosney. there are three things that are important. firstly, no matter where you are in the world, you need to have a ticketmaster.co.uk registered account. tickets go on sale midday, uk time on tuesday. and that is for all nine shows. i'll explain more about that in a moment. the third big thing is that you will only be able to buy tickets for one show per time. so fans who want to go to all nine shows will only be able to purchase for each event and then they will have to reload the page to come back again. so the nine shows are, there are three televised shows, the two semifinals and the live grand final, the big saturday night show we're all used to watching. but there are also six preview shows which are sort of rehearsals. that is a full production run—through for the acts to sing,

but they do it six times in front of a live audience and those tickets are often easier and cheaper to get. the ticket ranges are £30 to £380, depending on the event you buy. but tuesday will be a big event for eurovision fans. it is like glastonbury! let's talk about the uk act, which has to be announced soon. it does. there are strict eurovision rules. we have a fortnight left before all 37 competing broadcasters have to reveal the song and the artist. we still don't have the uk act, so that is to come. there are ten or 11 countries who have yet to reveal who they will be sending. but after last year's success, which was rare for uk fans, with sam ryder coming second, there is a lot of anticipation of who it will be. some countries have huge tv competitions to choose their act, but the bbc is doing what it did with sam ryder.

it is working with a company that has worked with dua lipa and lana del rey, and they are trying to find someone who will do as well as sam ryder, if not better. a man who didn't learn to read and write until he was 18 is set to become a professor at one of the uk's top universities. jason arday was diagnosed with autism when he was a toddler, and was unable to speak until he was 11. but now the 37—year—old is about to take up a research position at the university of cambridge. celestina olulode went to meet him. i always felt it was a privilege to have a period of 11 years where maybe i couldn't speak and i couldn't converse in the way that everyone else could, because it allowed me to see things in a different way. professorjason arday was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder at the age of three. he couldn't speak until he was 11 and read or write until he was 18. throughout his early years, his parents continued to believe in him. at 18, my mum had got to a point where there was only so much she could do, and she was brilliant.

even though she had this belief that "he will do ok", but she decided, "i need someone else to believe in him as much as i believe in him". therapists predicted he would need full—time assistance throughout his life. how wrong they were. you ok? it was this man, college tutor sandro sandri, who helped teach jason to read and write at 18. i'm just so happy for him, you know? i'm speechless, to be honest. but i never doubted for a moment that he would achieve what he has. sandro would spend hours of his free time teaching jason. there was one thing you said to me which i neverforgot, and it was when i was 22 and i said to you i was thinking about doing a phd. and you said to me that it would be the greatest story in the world if the kid who didn't know how to read or write managed to get a phd. you said, like, "i think you can take on the world and you can win". and i neverforgot that.

and now jason is days away from achieving another ambition. nice to see you. good to see you. here's his new boss at cambridge. we do have a lot of work to do, but i feel really optimistic. part of his research will look at new ways to make higher education more accessible for everyone. what can we do to ensure that this isn't a one—off appointment in five years' time? how can this become the norm? we've listened to the voices of our black scholars and our black students, and some of it has not been easy to hear, to be honest, but we're able to face up to some of the structural issues that people face. there will be those who think this is a tokenistic appointment. what are your thoughts on this? the board of electors, on your interview day, were absolutely unanimous. we are so lucky to have you. you are the best in the world in terms of the research that you do.

an extraordinaryjourney, but forjason, this is not an end, it's a beginning. the reaction has been amazing and i'm truly grateful to everyone for their kind sentiment and kind words. we've got a lot of work to do. amazing story. you're watching bbc news. time for a look at the weather forecast with carol. this time for a look at the weather forecast with carol.— time for a look at the weather forecast with carol. as we head throu . h forecast with carol. as we head through the _ forecast with carol. as we head through the weekend _ forecast with carol. as we head through the weekend and - forecast with carol. as we head through the weekend and into i forecast with carol. as we head i through the weekend and into the early part of next week, it's going to turn much colder than it has been this week, with some other seeing some snow. today we have got high pressure firmly in charge of our weather. wide spacing in the isobars means it's not going to be as windy as it has been, so it won't feel as cold than the north sea coastline. but still quite brisk breeze across

the south—eastern english channel. we are also hanging a lot of cloud across eastern scotland and eastern england, producing patchy, light rain. some sunny intervals across parts of scotland. increasing amounts of sunshine across southern and central england and wales through the afternoon. through this evening, more cloud comes in from the north sea and overnight, that will drift further south and west. we will have clear skies in south—west england, wales and parts of scotland. and here is where the temperatures will dip below freezing. so it is here that we will see some frost. but generally, it's going to be a cold night wherever you are. we start on that note tomorrow, high pressure still firmly in charge. if anything, it has drifted a bit further westwards. hardly an isobaric across the uk, so again, we are looking at very light winds if at all. tomorrow too, we are looking at cloud across england and wales. but through the day, it

does tend to push away towards the south and west, so it will brighten up south and west, so it will brighten up later in eastern england. some sunshine in scotland. some sunny intervals at times across northern ireland. a weatherfront is coming in, and that will produce spots of rain. if we pick up on that weatherfront as we head into the weekend, here it is slipping southwards. it is bumping into the high pressure, so it will be a weak affair. possibly not much more than the light spot of rain, but another one will bring some rain and snow to scotland initially on higher ground. and you can see why. this air that filter steadily southwards is coming straight from the arctic, so next week, it is going to feel colder and there is the chance of snow was that it is still a long way off with some uncertainty as to where we are going to see the snow and the timing of it, so keep tuned to the weather forecast. but we do know it's going to turn colder, with more night

frosts.

this is bbc news. i'm martine croxall. the headlines at 11... newly released whatsapp messages suggest former uk health secretary, matt hancock, tried to bypass another minister to get schools closed during the coronavirus pandemic. this is about the millions of people, everyone of us in this country, that were adversely affected by the catastrophic decisions to lock down this country repeatedly, often on the flimsiest of evidence. the government has published a plan to improve learning for children with special educational needs and disabilities in england. it includes ending "postcode—lottery" support. the m5 is closed after a tipper truck collided with an overhead gantry. the back of the tipper is currently resting against the gantry. police say there have been

no reported injuries. the duke and duchess of sussex have been asked to vacate their british home, frogmore cottage in windsor. the couple's spokesperson has confirmed the request. hello and welcome to bbc news. newly released whatsapp messages suggest former health secretary, matt hancock, tried to bypass the education secretary to have schools closed during the coronavirus pandemic. messages published in the daily telegraph show mr hancock describing sir gavin williamson as battling "tooth and nail" to keep schools in england open in december 2020, a move he disagreed with. other messages show disparaging remarks about teachers' unions. our political correspondent

david wallace lockhart reports. more leaked messages from ministers during the pandemic, more apparent insight into decision—making. now education is in the spotlight. the daily telegraph suggests that in december 2020, matt hancock wanted schools closed for most pupils. the education secretary, sir gavin williamson, disagreed, and he seemed to be getting his way. in a message to his adviser, mr hancock suggested he wasn't giving up, saying: in earlyjanuary, borisjohnson announced that schools in england would close as part of a lockdown. in a commentary piece for the daily telegraph, sir gavin williamson has today said this closure wasn't done for the right reasons. he says he now questions if he should have resigned in protest.

the telegraph has obtained these messages from the lockdown sceptic journalist isabel oakeshott, who helped mr hancock write his recent book. other leaked messages seemed to show matt hancock and sir and williamson discussing teachers. in may 2020, sir gavin appeared to stress that they had access to ppe, adding... in a message from october 2020, matt hancock congratulates sir gavin on a cracking announcement on exams and adds, "what a bunch of absolute arses the teaching unions are". one head teachers' union labelled this an appalling lack of respect. sir gavin williamson has said his comments were about unions, not teachers, who he has the utmost respect for. a spokesperson for matt hancock said, "these are partial accounts, obviously spun with an agenda. they show matt was focused throughout on saving lives. the right place for a full

assessment is the inquiry". that public inquiry will take some time. more of matt hancock's messages may appear soon. david wallace lockhart, bbc news, westminster. the journalist who leaked the messages, isabel oakeshott, has defended her decision to do so. a vocal critic of lockdowns, she told the bbc�*s today programme she believes passing on the messages is in the public interest. i fully discharged my responsibilities to matt hancock. together, we produced a book that made a fantastic impact. it was the book that he wanted. i didn't leave anything out. actually, you broke a written legal agreement, a non—disclosure agreement, not to reveal the contents. my responsibilities, having finished that book with him, are now to the public interest. the public interest... did you break an nda? i mean, that's a matter of public record. and did the telegraph pay you...? the public interest is far more important. did the telegraph pay...? i'm a working journalist. so they did pay you for them?

i'm a working journalist. they did not pay me for the messages. i've been helping the daily telegraph with investigation. you'll see that i've been writing stories for the daily telegraph. just for clarity, because it is important. in other words, they didn't pay you a sum to receive them. i'm not going to get into any arrangement i have as a journalist. well, money is partially, arguably, a motive. seriously, anyone who thinks i did this for money must be utterly insane. this is about the millions of people, every one of us in this country, that were adversely affected by the catastrophic decisions to lockdown this country repeatedly, often on the flimsiest of evidence, for political reasons. and yet, you helped matt hancock write a bookjustifying all those decisions. because i wanted to get to the truth of it. isabel oakeshott speaking to nick robinson. geoff barton from the association of school and college leaders says

the exchanges between the health and education secretary show a lack of respect to teachers. it is contemptible because we have to remind ourselves that this was an age of extraordinary anxiety, we hadn't got vaccines etc, and the government was starting to look to the teaching profession to welcome those young people back into school. there was a huge debate going on, very snarky debate, about whether face coverings should or shouldn't be worn. and essentially the very people who then brought those young people back into school are being described in those snide times by that former education secretary. joining me now is our chief political correspondent, nick eardley. so, we are getting more of an insight into the two and four are within government during the covid era, and the disagreements that were going on? era, and the disagreements that were auoin on? �* �* , , going on? aren't we “ust? there is an namath going on? aren't we “ust? there is an argument about _ going on? aren't wejust? there is an argument about whether- going on? aren't wejust? there is an argument about whether or - going on? aren't wejust? there is an argument about whether or not j going on? aren't we just? there is i an argument about whether or not to close schools at the start of 2021. you might remember that the policy at the time was a bit shambolic,

frankly. one day ministers were saying schools would definitely remain open in england, the next day some schools would close, and then by the end of the week all schools were closing because of a national lockdown. it is worth pointing out, the science did evolve, there was advice to close schools. i think what today's exchanges, the once the telegraph are published, anyway, show us, is that ministers were at each other�*s fruits or in this. there is a real disagreement between matt hancock and gavin williamson. when the decision was made to keep schools open, matt hong —— matt hancock was keen to fight it. she was ultimately successful. gavin williamson has said today that he thinks that decision was still wrong. he thinks the decision to close schools is taken for the wrong reasons, and ultimately he should have resigned over it off rather

than just accepting it. have resigned over it off rather thanjust accepting it. more broadly, and i've never read anything like these messages, and i've been in westminsterfor years. i've been in westminsterfor years. i've never seen something that is just so frank in the way that these decisions were being arrived at by senior government ministers, in some cases including the prime minister and his chief of advisers. it seems to me that there is a bit of a sense that it was all a bit fraught, and ideas were being bandied about on whatsapp, and clearly some very vocal disagreement. that whatsapp, and clearly some very vocal disagreement.— vocal disagreement. that is the oint, vocal disagreement. that is the point. isn't _ vocal disagreement. that is the point, isn't it? _ vocal disagreement. that is the point, isn't it? where _ vocal disagreement. that is the point, isn't it? where all- vocal disagreement. that is the point, isn't it? where all of- vocal disagreement. that is the point, isn't it? where all of this was taking place does raise concerns. i was taking place does raise concerns-— was taking place does raise concerns. ~ ., , concerns. i think it does. there will be questions _ concerns. i think it does. there will be questions over- concerns. i think it does. there will be questions over how - concerns. i think it does. there l will be questions over how much concerns. i think it does. there - will be questions over how much of this is actually available to the public inquiry. if you take the example of the messages we are seeing, matt hancock says it has been handed to the public inquiry by him. he said that as a few months ago in autumn of last year. the big question that remains outstanding about the pandemic is how and why

the government arrived at the conclusions it did. there are clearly different interpretations, there are clearly different agendas. it is worth remembering that the journalist who revealed to all these messages, isabel oakeshott, is a well—known sceptic of the government's lockdown policies. the big question is, did the government get it right, and i was at arriving at the decisions it did? i think we are getting a sense that sometimes it was a bit frantic, sometimes it was a bit heated, sometimes ministers were openly mocking each other to their own aids. it feels at times the government was working against itself, and that is an important element of the history of government policy during the unprecedented times of the pandemic. thank you, nick. a postmortem examination is to be carried today out on the body of a baby found by police searching for the missing child of constance marten and mark gordon.

the couple disappeared in earlyjanuary and were arrested earlier this week. they are currently being held on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter. it comes after a police search of a 90 square mile area near brighton. vincent mcaviney has more. yesterday at locations from newhaven to brighton, the search for the missing baby was in full swing over a 90 square mile area. officers from the sussex force were joined by those from the metropolitan police and volunteer experts in search and rescue. there was concern for the welfare of the infant, but there was also still hope. but last night that hope was extinguished when a baby's remains were found in this woodland area near to where the couple were arrested monday night in north brighton. the detective superintendent leading the search, forced to make an announcement he'd been dreading. police officers searching a wooded area close to where constance and mark gordon were arrested,

discovered the remains of a baby. a postmortem examination will be held in due course. a crime scene is in place and work at the location is expected to continue for some time. 35—year—old constance marten and 48—year—old mark gordon were captured on cctv after emerging from the woods on monday to visit local shops. they returned along the same residential street 45 minutes later, but they'd been spotted by a member of the public who'd called 999. moments after this cctv footage was recorded, they were arrested. the two of them left their home in london in september when her pregnancy started to show. staying in a series of airbnbs, police believe their baby was then born in their car injanuary. but when the vehicle caught fire on the m61 near bolton onjanuary the 5th, the police started to investigate. cctv showed them travelling by taxi to liverpool, then harwich,

before arriving in east london where they bought a tent and camping supplies at argos. they finally travelled to newhaven. their baby was definitely alive at this stage as the taxi driver who drove them heard it, but at that point they disappeared, only to re—emerge six weeks later in brighton when they were arrested. for weeks, the police and constance's family have appealed to her to contact the authorities and warned of the dangers of freezing temperatures to her newborn. overnight, officers have guarded the crime scene as forensic tests are carried out to confirm the identity and detectives say a postmortem examination will take place in due course. vincent mcaviney, bbc news. let's speak to our correspondent, yetunde yusuf, in brighton. what sort of impact is this having on the community there? it what sort of impact is this having on the community there?- what sort of impact is this having on the community there? it has had a siunificant on the community there? it has had a significant impact. _ on the community there? it has had a significant impact. so _ on the community there? it has had a significant impact. so many— on the community there? it has had a significant impact. so many people i significant impact. so many people have been involved. local people

have been involved. local people have been involved. local people have been assisting police with their inquiries, you have had volunteers search and rescue teams who have been searching the woodlands, as well as hundreds of police officers from sussex, and also the metropolitan police, who have been scouring that 90 square miles open space area. of course, this is not the outcome that they'd hoped for, but has the days went on and it got colder, they felt that the baby could have come to some harm. this is an ongoing investigation. a postmortem examination is due to take place, and today police officers have been guarding the area, the crime scene, and telling people, warning them not to speculate, because it is an ongoing investigation. they do understand it will have an impact on people who have been following the story very closely. it has had a significant impact on people here in brighton. people have been laying candles, people have been laying flowers. there is a small memorial here. one of the notes on the flower

said, sleep safe little one. there are also plans for a vigil later on this evening. are also plans for a vigil later on this evening-— are also plans for a vigil later on this evenina. ., . ., . �* ~ this evening. you are watching bbc news. it is approaching _ this evening. you are watching bbc news. it is approaching 11:15am. i the headlines on bbc news... newly released whatsapp messages suggest former health secretary, matt hancock, tried to bypass another minister to get schools closed during the coronavirus pandemic. a new plan to improve learning for children with special educational needs and disabilities in england is set out by the government. chaos on the m5 — the motorway is closed after a tipper truck hits an overhead gantry. 43 people are now confirmed to have died in greece's worst ever rail crash. a passenger train collided head—on with another carrying freight near the city of larissa late on tuesday night. the station master accused of causing the crash is due in court, amid rising public anger at the failure to prevent the disaster. nick beake reports.

the aftermath of greece's worst—ever rail disaster. a station master in a nearby city has now been charged with manslaughter by negligence. and already, the country's prime minister says tragic human error was to blame. but that has sparked anger overnight, including in the capital, athens, because for years there have been warnings the rail network was not safe. this surgeon who came out of retirement to help the injured says the many young lives lost were the victims of systemic failings. it's a disaster, it's a catastrophic event. families are crying tonight. unfortunately, a majority of the wounded, lost people are young students. they left home, happy, after the long weekend to go for their studies, to see their relatives and never reach them. this is one of the hospitals where survivors are being treated

overnight and also where some family members are coming to give their dna so that their missing loved ones may be identified in the coming hours and days. but this is proving to be a really difficult process, particularly for passengers who were at the front of the train, which bore the full force of the collision and where the fire broke out. and the force of the explosions were captured on camera. two fireballs ripping through the carriages. visiting the wreckage, greece's transport minister became emotional as he talked about the country's failing train network and later resigned. it's not known exactly how many passengers are missing, but many families now face an agonising wait. lets ta ke lets take a look at the live pictures coming from the sight of that crash in greece. as we saw in

nick's report, cranes are still in place, trying to remove what is left of that wrecked train carriage. rescue workers, as we heard, still going through those burned and buckled carriages, looking for victims. railworkers buckled carriages, looking for victims. rail workers across greece have gone on strike today for 2h hours because of the crash that killed 43 people on tuesday. they are saying that the strike is because there has been disrespect shown over the years by successive governments to the greek railways and their workers, which the union involved believes led to this tragic accident on tuesday. 350 people on board that train which collided with a freight train, both ending up on the same track, causing the front carriages to burst into flames. that is the scene of the recovery site in

larissa. and nick is outside a hospital in larissa where some of the injured people are being treated. as well as the grief here in this country after this disaster, there is rising anger too because it seems for years there were warnings that there would be a big disaster on the railway network at some stage. there were concerns over safety, but it seems they weren't acted upon. in this particular city, later today, a 59—year—old station master who was responsible for the signals, or certainly was supposed to be responsible for the operation of the signals, he is appearing in court because yesterday he was charged with manslaughter by negligence. lots of people will think you can't blame one person for what's happened here, and when they listen to the prime minister saying this was a case of human error, tragic human error to use his phrase, that simply doesn't do it for them. they are worried about systemic failings and they are wondering whether any sort of investigation will really get to the bottom of this and whether it will do justice for those who have died.

this is one of the hospitals where survivors and the injured have been treated. it's also where some family members have been coming to give their dna in the hope that maybe any sort of samples that are recovered from the scene today will be matched to their loved ones who are still missing. we know already that many young people died on this train service. they had been away for a greek holiday, seeing their loved ones, they were returning to their studies, but tragically, they did not make it back. the government has published a long—awaited plan to improve learning for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities in england. proposals include ending "postcode—lottery" support, and earlier intervention in mainstream schools. the bbc�*s education correspondent elaine dunkley has more. across the country, there are mainstream schools struggling to support children with special educational

needs and disabilities. what's the difference? recruiting for specialist support assistants is incredibly difficult and incredibly challenging. schools are struggling for resources. local authorities are certainly struggling for resources. the capacity in the system just isn't there. this is leighton primary in blackpool. here there are more than 90 pupils with special educational needs. needs are becoming more complex as time goes on and therefore the provision that we need to provide children over time needs to become more skilled and better. this head is transforming an area within the school where children with special educational needs can be assessed and given individual support. we've ordered the right size tables and chairs, lots of sensory equipment. all the local specialist school provision is under huge amounts of pressure to accept increasing numbers of children. what we are planning to do is create a provision whereby we can support them in their learning in a separate environment, but keep them

integrated and integrate them over time back into classroom so that we continue to provide an inclusive environment for children. and then you're on another journey, then, aren't you? for these parents, long waiting lists to get children diagnosed with special educational needs and finding the right support has pushed them to crisis. i don't know where my children will be in years to come. i don't know what will be out there for them. we can fight as much as we can fight. but if there's nothing there to help, what are we fighting for? i don't know. as a parent of send, i'm exhausted. i've fought for ehcp plans for her three times. not got one. i go to different services. i see different professionals. and every single time i have - to explain and explain and explain. see if you can get it on from the same place. 14—year—old maisie is autistic, has adhd and a struggle to cope

in mainstream schools. she's been excluded numerous times and now attends school part time. i've never liked school. ijust didn't fit in. i was out of school for a month. when i've gone into a school, it's a bit like so many people just everywhere, like crowding me. on the first day i went there, it was a lot. so instead of going to class, i'll be doing one to one science, maths, art. one foot in the stirrup. beautifully done. when maisie's not at school, she comes here to heroes, an educational therapy centre in oxfordshire. it's helped hundreds of children with special educational needs who are struggling in school. i think i've learnt a lot more being here. the school pay for me to come here, so they are helping. but i think coming here, we do work, so it's not like we're just like taking the mick out of it and, you know, missing school

and just riding because we're still doing work. and how are you getting on today here? children with special educational needs are seven times more likely to be excluded from school. veena verahsammy knows all too well what families go through. her son was excluded from school for a year. she set up an alternative provision. it stops children who are excluded from feeling isolated and permanently dropping out of education. i think especially with the children who have got send needs, a lot of these children aren't getting a diagnosis or some of them are getting misdiagnosed. these kids feel completely isolated. they feel abandoned. one of the biggest issues is funding. so even if a school has identified and they really want to support these children, a lot of them don't have the funds to send them to alternative provision. from mainstream to specialist schools, there are calls for urgent funding and intervention to help support an increasing number of pupils. the government is promising more investment in specialist staff and admits that for too many the system is broken.

almost ended up in the worst of all worlds with a lot more money being spent, but the provision not being right. so a big part of the investment is building the capacity, i mean, £2.6 billion into building more places. can you guarantee that the children who need education, health and care plans are going to get them and they're going to get the right support with these new measures? people feel they need that to get any support. and that's wrong, actually. you should be able if your child needs extra support at school, they're in a mainstream school, they need extra support with their writing or reading, whatever it is they need, or language, they need extra support, that support should be available. you shouldn't need to get an ehcp plan to make sure that that support available. so that's one of the things we're also doing with mainstream schools. for too many and for too long it's been a fight to get the right support. a broken system that needs fixing. making the right changes are crucial in transforming the lives of thousands of children and young people. elaine dunkley, bbc news.

with me now is steve crocker, president of the association of directors of children's services. thank you very much forjoining us. we can hearjust some of the despair that families are going through as they try to navigate the system. how variable can provision be across the country? variable can provision be across the count ? ,., ., variable can provision be across the count ? ., , ., , country? good morning. it is really distressin: country? good morning. it is really distressing to _ country? good morning. it is really distressing to hear _ country? good morning. it is really distressing to hear these _ country? good morning. it is really distressing to hear these stories. l distressing to hear these stories. the special educational needs system at the moment, as it is, it is not working for anybody. it is not working for anybody. it is not working properly for children, it is not working for parents, and it is not working for parents, and it is not working for local authorities either who try to administer it. an example that i know well as the director of children's services in hampshire is that between the years 2000 and 2014, we had a very consistent number of statements to

special educational needs. since then, that number has grown to 15,000. i hope the secretary of state say, quite rightly, that children should be entitled and should be able to access support in mainstream school so they don't need to get an educational health care plan, so they are getting the right support they have to say, the reforms that are proposed are very big step in the right direction, and as the association of the director of children says, we do agree with the vast majority in the report. our remaining concerns about the pace. we want this to move quickly, but also about resourcing and funding, because there is often finance already locked into the system, a lot of expenditure locked into the system that will need to be maintained for future years. hagar maintained for future years. how much simpler — maintained for future years. how much simpler will _ maintained for future years. how much simpler will the _ maintained for future years. how much simpler will the whole process be, ideally, underthese plans, to

enable schools and parents to assess what a child needs and get that provision in place quickly? what what a child needs and get that provision in place quickly? what is ro osed provision in place quickly? what is proposed as _ provision in place quickly? what is proposed as a _ provision in place quickly? what is proposed as a series _ provision in place quickly? what is proposed as a series of— provision in place quickly? what is proposed as a series of national. proposed as a series of national standards, which for a start helps to reduce variation between different areas. it sets an expectation of what is available, what should be available in an area, what should be available in an area, what should be available in a mainstream school. there also is provision for the education health and care plan is to be done online, and care plan is to be done online, and some authorities are already doing that, which helps to simplify the process for parents as well. the other bit that is in there which is very important is the workforce reforms in terms of training for teachers. with the expectation is that more children are supported in mainstream school, we need to make sure that teachers are trained and supported themselves to ensure they can deliver that. in supported themselves to ensure they can deliver that.— can deliver that. in terms of outcomes. _ can deliver that. in terms of outcomes, how _ can deliver that. in terms of outcomes, how much - can deliver that. in terms of.

outcomes, how much better? can deliver that. in terms of- outcomes, how much better? can you measure, can you describe, how much better will outcomes be or are for children who get the provision early on in their lives, compared with those who don't? it is on in their lives, compared with those who don't?— those who don't? it is very interesting. _ those who don't? it is very interesting. when - those who don't? it is very interesting. when i- those who don't? it is very interesting. when i talk. those who don't? it is very interesting. when i talk to | those who don't? it is very - interesting. when i talk to children with special educational needs, they tell me that what they want is the same things that children without special educational needs want. they want a home, a flat, a job, special educational needs want. they wanta home, a flat, ajob, and special educational needs want. they want a home, a flat, a job, and they want a home, a flat, a job, and they want a home, a flat, a job, and they want a girlfriend or a boyfriend. they want to be able to live an independent life in the best way that they can. those of the outcomes we should be really focused on in terms of preparing children for aduu terms of preparing children for adult hood, preparing them for employment, and equipping them with a set of skills. those things can be measured. they are not well measured in the current system, that is something we can and should do in the future. �* ., ,., ., ., .., the future. and that sort of outcome takes the pressure _ the future. and that sort of outcome takes the pressure of _ the future. and that sort of outcome takes the pressure of parents - takes the pressure of parents worrying about what will happen to their kids when they are no longer

around, which a lot of people understandably struggle with. i want to talk to you about this idea about having separate special free schools, ratherthan having separate special free schools, rather than the mainstream. what is the thinking there? if the idea is to stick with the mainstream, why do we need more special free schools? we mainstream, why do we need more special free schools?— mainstream, why do we need more special free schools? we need more secial special free schools? we need more special schools _ special free schools? we need more special schools now _ special free schools? we need more special schools now because - special free schools? we need more special schools now because we - special free schools? we need more| special schools now because we need the capacity in the system, because there are so many children with educational health and care plans that have a special school specified on that. partly that's the tribunal system, this is a little bit technical, but the tribunal system for special educational needs is also an area which needs reformed. it almost invariably leans toward special schools, and we have a backlog of children who have a specified need for a special school. we need to build the schools as quickly as possible. this is one of the areas i think the government needs to move quickly on. we have,

essentially, waiting lists, as i'm sure came through in the package, waiting list for children needing special schools. that is what my money is for. special schools. that is what my money is for-— special schools. that is what my money is for. very quickly, if we not money is for. very quickly, if we got more _ money is for. very quickly, if we got more of _ money is for. very quickly, if we got more of them, _ money is for. very quickly, if we got more of them, children - money is for. very quickly, if we got more of them, children willl money is for. very quickly, if we i got more of them, children will not have to travel miles and miles away from home, or even have to stay away from home, or even have to stay away from them?— from home, or even have to stay away from them? ~ , , . ., from them? absolutely. we need more and better sponsors _ from them? absolutely. we need more and better sponsors for _ from them? absolutely. we need more and better sponsors for the _ from them? absolutely. we need more and better sponsors for the special - and better sponsors for the special schools. there is not a great track record at the moment, the only thing that should be considered is that local authorities, some of which have a good track record in this should be able to open, because we can do that well.— can do that well. really good to talk to you- _ can do that well. really good to talk to you. thank _ can do that well. really good to talk to you. thank you - can do that well. really good to talk to you. thank you very - can do that well. really good to l talk to you. thank you very much can do that well. really good to - talk to you. thank you very much for talking to us. now it's time for a look at the weather with carol. hello again. there is less of a breeze around today, so it's not going to feel quite as cold as it did yesterday. having said that, still quite breezy in the south—east and through the english channel. but, across southern areas, the cloud continuing to break up

and we will see some sunshine before more cloud rolls in from the east later. one or two showers getting into northern ireland, thicker cloud across north—east of england and eastern scotland also producing some showers. towards the north and west, we will see some sunshine. through this evening and overnight, all this cloud starts to romp southwards and towards the west of the country. clear skies across scotland, west wales and also the south—west of england means, for you, there will be a touch of frost, but it will be a cold night with locally some mist and fog patches. tomorrow, this cloud continues to move towards the south and the west, brighter skies following behind across eastern england. also a lot of sunshine across northern scotland. a bit more cloud across northern ireland, though, with a weak weather front producing some patchy rain in the northern isles. hello, this is bbc news with martine croxall. the headlines: newly released whatsapp messages suggest former health secretary

matt hancock tried to bypass another minister to get schools closed during the coronavirus pandemic. this is about the millions of people, every one of us in this country that were adversely affected by the catastrophic decisions to lockdown this country repeatedly, often on the flimsiest of evidence. a new plan to improve learning for children with special educational needs and disabilities in england is set out by the government. chaos on the m5 — the motorway is closed after a tipper truck hits an overhead gantry. harry and meghan have been told to leave their british home, frogmore cottage in windsor. sport now, and a full round—up from the bbc sport centre. good morning. we will start first with some history on the slopes. great britain's charlotte banks and huw nightingale have won world championship gold in the mixed team snowboard cross final, out in georgia.

now banks became britain's first—ever snowboard world champion when she won individual gold back in 2021, but she crashed out of this year's event yesterday. she was much improved today though and after nightingale put in an impressive first run, just 0.07 seconds off the lead, banks brought it home in what turned out to be a clear victory. it's the nation's first—ever title in the mixed team discipline. it follows mia brookes' historic snowboard slopestyle victory earlier in the week. conditions were looking tricky, but we had great boards and the team believed in us and i was just like, go for it, give it all we've got. as a lot of teams around us said, you've got fresh legs. we saved our energy from yesterday and went for it today. former england captain and bbc pundit michael vaughan is appearing at the hearing into racist behaviour at yorkshire county cricket club. the independent cricket discipline commission, established by the england

and wales cricket board, will hear charges brought against seven individuals and yorkshire county cricket club relating to azeem rafiq's allegations which were first made public in august 2020. vaughan is the only charged individual set to appear at the hearing. this morning the ecb are due to set out their cases against andrew gale and richard pyrah, who have withdrawn from the process, before moving on to michael vaughan. fifa's appointment of supermodel adriana lima as its first global fan ambassador five months before the women's world cup is "tone deaf", according to former fifa council member moya dodd. lima, from brazl, is said due to help "develop, promote and participate in global initiatives" before the world cup, that's according to fifa president gianni infantino, who insists she "lives and breathes futebol". dodd, a former australia international, said lima's public image was an "odd fit for an organisation that says it wants to empower girls and women".

the world cup begins on the 20th july in australia and new zealand. fans of league two side grimsby town will need to keep their harry the haddock inflatables pumped up a little while longer after watching their side beat premier league southampton and booking a place in the fa cup quarterfinals. two penalties by gavan holohan helped grimsby edge out the team from three leagues above them at st mary's. they'll next take on another top—flight side in the form of brighton. holohan said he was indebted to a little pre—match practice which helped his side reach the fa cup final eight for the first time in 84 years. look, you just kind of try to keep as commerce possible and back yourself— as commerce possible and back yourself and have belief in yourself. luckily, i had practised a few yesterday in training. we had a li-ht few yesterday in training. we had a light session before the game yesterday morning, so luckily i practised —

yesterday morning, so luckily i practised a few and it isjust as well_ practised a few and it isjust as well i — practised a few and it isjust as well i did — practised a few and it isjust as well i did because it paid off. and here is the full draw for the fa cup quarterfinals. as you've been hearing, grimsby travel to brighton. manchester city host burnley, while there's an all—premier league tie between manchester united and fulham. sheffield united's reward for defeating tottenham is a home tie against fellow championship side blackburn. the european indoor athletics championships get underway in istanbul later. it's the first major sporting event to be held in turkey since the devastating earthquake hit the country last month. the british team contains several medal prospects, including keely hodgkinson. her form in the women's 800 metres has been outstanding over the past 12 months, her latest win coming in birmingham at the world indoor tour finals last weekend. now she's hoping to maintain her consistency ahead of next year's olympics. there is definitely a different atmosphere in an olympic year. i was one of those people in tokyo. it

will be competitive and everybody dials their training towards paris next year. it is so close to home and hopefully we will have family there this time. it will be a proper olympic experience compare to what i have had. that's all the sport for now. i'll be back after 12 with another update. the third and final report into the manchester arena bombing will be published later today. the report will focus on the radicalisation of the bomber, salman abedi, and whether the attack could have been prevented, as our north of england correspondentjudith moritz reports. she was a firecracker. life and soul of every party that she ever went to. loved to travel. be at concerts, nights out. she was just a brilliant little sister, really. kelly brewster was one of 22 people

murdered at manchester arena. they were all here in the foyer when a bomb exploded. it's nearly six years since that night and every aspect of the attack has now been examined. kelly's sister clare went to nearly every day of the public inquiry and has heard about one failing after another. we feel completely let down as a family at every level. everybody failed to protect us on that night and we will never, ever forgive any of them. the bomber, salman obeidi, will be the focus of the last inquiry report, which will cover his radicalisation, the planning for the attack and whether it could have been prevented. it's expected to be critical of m15, who didn't share information they received with the police. on two separate occasions in the months leading up to the bombing, intelligence about salman abedi was received here at m15. at the time, it was assessed as innocent

or non—terrorist criminality. it's now widely accepted that it was highly relevant to the attack. abedi grew up just south of manchester city centre in the suburb of fallowfield. the report will address whether this community missed opportunities to spot a terrorist in the making. abedi went to this school where his head teacher at the time was ian fenn, who was also serving as an adviser to the government on addressing extremism in schools. he wouldn't have known how to make a bomb. he could barely light a bunsen burner. he says abedi showed no signs of extreme views as a schoolboy. salman would have had to have been very carefully groomed and moulded from being a feckless, lacklustre, rather lazy, people would say good—for—nothing. if somebody is going to become a terrorist, they're not going to tell you about it, are they? and the radicalisation of salman abedi happened way after he left school.

the report will examine whether didsbury mosque, where the abedi family worshipped, failed to confront extremism. the inquiry chairman will make a range of recommendations, a legacy of learning for manchester and beyond. absolutely, i would say it's been a really important journey for the city region, some of it really hard, don't get me wrong, really hard. but it's been a process of genuine learning. that phrase is used a lot now, isn't it? lessons will be learnt. well, i can say to the residents of greater manchester, they have been. so many lives were lost and families shattered. the inquiry has answered many questions, but no amount of reflection can repair the hurt. judith moritz, bbc news, manchester. moving to benefits, the child poverty action group has released thatjust over a of third

of people on universal credit subjected to the benefit cap are assessed by the department of work and pensions as not required to look for a job, as they are caring for young children. the group has said that this data debunks the defence from the dwp encouraging people to work, as many families are said they do not require to. let's speak now with sophie howes, the head of policy at the child poverty action group. thank you forjoining us. did it surprise you, this number? ida. thank you forjoining us. did it surprise you, this number? no, i think we have _ surprise you, this number? no, i think we have always _ surprise you, this number? no, i think we have always known - surprise you, this number? no, i think we have always known that| surprise you, this number? iirr, i think we have always known that the group of people who were affected by this policy included families with children, so this data just confirms that the people who are really harmed by this policy are families with very young children which, as you said, really debunks the myth that this is a policy that incentivised people to move into work. ~ ., , ., , work. where does it leave these families, then? _ work. where does it leave these families, then? day-to-day, - work. where does it leave these families, then? day-to-day, ii work. where does it leave these . families, then? day-to-day, i think it leaves them _ families, then? day-to-day, i think it leaves them struggling. - families, then? day-to-day, i think it leaves them struggling. we - families, then? day-to-day, i think it leaves them struggling. we have | it leaves them struggling. we have been hearing a lot about the cost of

living crisis, how people are struggling with high food and energy costs that we are seeing. for lower income families, the costs are higher because they are spending more of their income on those things was there a high housing costs at the moment. we have 4 million children living in poverty at the moment, which is shamefulfor a country as rich as the uk. there are certain things which drive child poverty in this country, and the benefit cap is one of those policies. the defence is that it is a work incentive and this data released today shows that, actually, it is not achieving those policy aims, it isjust driving it is not achieving those policy aims, it is just driving families into deep poverty, where families are struggling. into deep poverty, where families are struggling-— into deep poverty, where families are struggling. what would you like to see in terms _ are struggling. what would you like to see in terms of _ are struggling. what would you like to see in terms of how— are struggling. what would you like to see in terms of how this - are struggling. what would you like to see in terms of how this cap - are struggling. what would you like to see in terms of how this cap is i to see in terms of how this cap is either imposed or removed? we were 'ust like to either imposed or removed? we were just like to see _ either imposed or removed? we were just like to see a _ either imposed or removed? we were just like to see a removal _ either imposed or removed? we were just like to see a removal of - either imposed or removed? we were just like to see a removal of the - just like to see a removal of the cap, because we have a social

security system which recognises that when you have very young children at home, that is a period in your life when you are not going to be able to work as much. that is something that we kind of recognise and most people would support. the dwp itself supports that, because our data shows that over a third of those families affected have no requirements from the dwp to be working, yet they are still affected by the policy which really severely limits income and make it hard for families to cover those basic costs. the only solution is to get rid of the cap. the only solution is to get rid of the ca -. ~ . the only solution is to get rid of the ca . _ . ., ' . ., the cap. what difference would it make? can _ the cap. what difference would it make? can you _ the cap. what difference would it make? can you put _ the cap. what difference would it make? can you put a _ the cap. what difference would it make? can you put a figure - the cap. what difference would it make? can you put a figure on i the cap. what difference would it| make? can you put a figure on it, the cap. what difference would it i make? can you put a figure on it, a monthly figure of how much more they would be able to receive? those affected by _ would be able to receive? those affected by the _ would be able to receive? those affected by the cap _ would be able to receive? those affected by the cap are - would be able to receive? those affected by the cap are losing i would be able to receive? those i affected by the cap are losing £230 affected by the cap are losing £230 a month, which is quite a sizeable amount when you're thinking about families who will say that after they have paid for the housing costs and paid their basic bills, they are

left with a very little margin to buy food, to cover those other costs that we associate with raising children. having an extra £200 a month or more will make a huge difference for children and let's not forget, these are very young children, so it is a critical point in childhood where it is very damaging if they are experiencing of a tea at that age. fine damaging if they are experiencing of a tea at that age.— a tea at that age. one final question. _ a tea at that age. one final question, how _ a tea at that age. one final question, how is _ a tea at that age. one final question, how is it - a tea at that age. one final question, how is it that i a tea at that age. one finall question, how is it that they a tea at that age. one final- question, how is it that they are this trap —— if they are experiencing poverty at that age. it is not a veryjoined—up process. yes, we completely agree with you. it is a policy that the dwp justified by saying... there is no logic, it is an irrational policy. we would agree that the only way out of that is to get rid of the benefit cap, which is a cheap measure, it

would represent a 0.2% of spending on social security. the spending in terms of overall government spending is tiny but it would have a huge impact day—to—day for children and families. impact day-to-day for children and families. . ., impact day-to-day for children and families. ., ~ , ., , impact day-to-day for children and families. . ~' , ., , . impact day-to-day for children and families. ., ~ , . ., ., families. thank you very much follow our time. families. thank you very much follow your time. some _ families. thank you very much follow your time. some breaking _ families. thank you very much follow your time. some breaking news i your time. some breaking news regarding the health unions, who are considering an invitation from the government to enter formal pay talks through the nhs staff council. this is coming from the unite... sorry, the unison union. they are considering this invitation from the government forformal considering this invitation from the government for formal pay talks, according to unison. the health unions need to guarantee the basis under which these talks can get under which these talks can get under way through the nhs staff council, including understanding the status of the talks. a number of public sector unions have been

trying to get pay rises and better terms and conditions for their members and the government has said there isn't money available for the kind of pay rises they are after, but we have seen some talks start up again with the royal college of nursing and, as expected, other unions were saying, if that is happening with the rcn, we would like to consider that as well. they are looking at whether that is something they think would generate something they think would generate some movement through the nhs staff council, but that is separate from talks with the unions. let's see what their reply is when they have had had time to consider. high street retailer wh smith says it has been the target of a cyber security incident. it said the attack had led to illegal access to some of its data, including that concerning current and former employees. wh smith said it had launched an investigation and told

the relevant authorities of the incident. the firm said its website, customer accounts and customer databases are not affected. power has largely been restored across argentina after more than half the country, amounting to some 20 million people, was left without electricity for several hours. the blackout was caused by a fire in fields west of buenos aires, which hit high—tension power cables and put a nuclear power station offline. water distribution and city train transport were among services interrupted during the summer heatwave, and some schools also suspended classes. the headlines on bbc news: newly released whatsapp messages suggest that matt hancox tried to bypass another minister to get schools closed during the coronavirus pandemic. a new plan to improve learning for children with special needs and disabilities is set out by the government. chaos on the m5 as a tippet truck hits an overhead gantry.

the duke and duchess of sussex have been asked to vacate their british home, frogmore cottage in windsor. the couple's spokesperson confirmed the request, but buckingham palace hasn't commented. they were reportedly told to leave the property injanuary, days after harry published his memoir. our royal correspondent, sarah campbell, reports. since leaving the uk for a new life in the states, prince harry and his wife meghan have returned just a handful of times. and when they have done so, such as lastjune for thejubilee, they have stayed in frogmore cottage, the house gifted to them by the late queen. the five bedroom property is situated within the grounds of windsor castle. the duke and duchess spent more than £2 million on rent and refurbishments according to royal accounts. but their spokesperson has confirmed the sussexes have now been asked to vacate the property. once again, it has put royal relations back on the front pages, with the king reported to have sanctioned the move and prince andrew allegedly being lined up to move in once the sussexes are out. buckingham palace has offered no

comment on what are considered private family matters. this all comes in the wake of prince harry's memoir spare, the publicity campaign that accompanied it and the six part television series putting the couple's grievances with the royal family in front of a global audience. in just two months' time, harry's father prince charles will be crowned. it is still unclear whether harry, his youngest son, and meghan, will be there to witness it. sarah campbell, bbc news. a man who didn't learn to read and write until he was 18 is set to become a professor at one of the uk's top universities. jason arday was diagnosed with autism when he was a toddler, and was unable to speak until he was 11. but now the 37—year—old is about to take up a research position at the university of cambridge. celestina olulode went to meet him. i always felt it was a privilege to have a period of 11 years where maybe i couldn't speak and i couldn't converse

while everyone else could, because it allowed me to see things in a different way. professorjason arday was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder at the age of three. he couldn't speak until he was 11 and read or write until he was 18. throughout his early years, his parents continued to believe in him. at 18, my mum had got to a point where there was only so much she could do, and she was brilliant. even though she had this belief that "he will do ok", but she decided, "i need someone else to believe in him as much as i believe in him". therapists predicted he would need full—time assistance throughout his life. how wrong they were. you ok? it was this man, college tutor sandro sandri, who helped teach jason to read and write at 18. i'm just so happy for him, you know? i'm speechless, to be honest. but i never doubted for a moment that he would achieve what he has. sandro would spend hours of his free

time teaching jason. there was one thing you said to me which i neverforgot, and it was when i was 22 and i said to you i was thinking about doing a phd. and you said to me that it would be the greatest story in the world if the kid who didn't know how to read or write managed to get a phd. you said, like, "i think you can take on the world and you can win". and i neverforgot that. and now jason is days away from achieving another ambition. nice to see you. good to see you. here's his new boss at cambridge. we do have a lot of work to do, but i feel really optimistic. part of his research will look at new ways to make higher education more accessible for everyone. what can we do to ensure that this isn't a one—off appointment in five years' time? how can this become the norm? we've listened to the voices of our black scholars and our black students, and some of it has not been easy

to hear, to be honest, but we're able to face up to some of the structural issues that people face. there will be those who think this is a tokenistic appointment. what are your thoughts on this? the board of electors, on your interview day, were absolutely unanimous. we are so lucky to have you. you are the best in the world in terms of the research that you do. an extraordinaryjourney, but forjason, this is not an end, it's a beginning. the reaction has been amazing and i'm truly grateful to everyone for their kind sentiment and kind words. we've got a lot of work to do. eurovision tickets will go on sale next week, for six preview shows and three televised shows at the liverpool acc in may. the show�*s being hosted in liverpool

after the uk was chosen to host the competition on behalf of 2022 winner ukraine. fans will need to register for a ticketmaster account ahead of the sale going live from noon on tuesday. our eurovision correspondent, daniel rosney, gave us more information. so there are three things that are really important. first is, no matter where you are in the world, you need to have a ticketmaster.co.uk registered account. tickets go on sale at midday uk time on tuesday, and that's for all nine shows — i'll explain more about that in a moment. the third big thing is that you will only be able to buy tickets for one show at a time. so fans who want to go to all nine shows, they will only be able to purchase for each event and then have to reload the page to come back again. so the nine shows are... there are three televised shows, they're the two semifinals and the live grand final — that's the big saturday night show that we're all used to watching. but there are also six preview shows which are sort of rehearsals, and that's for a full production run—through for the acts to sing,

but they do it six times in front of a live audience, and those tickets are often easier to get, and they are cheaper. so ticket ranges are £30 to £380, depending on the event that you buy. the singer—songwriter joni mitchell, perhaps best known for her songs big yellow taxi and both sides now, has been honoured for her career at a ceremony in washington. she was given the us library of congress gershwin prize, which recognizes contributions to music. joni, who's 79, performed at the event, telling the audience that she was overwhelmed to see so many old friends. other musicians also sang her songs, which she began writing in the 1960s in los angeles, becoming a leading light of the folk—rock era. now it's time for a look at the weather with carol. hello again. as we head through the weekend and into the early part of next week, it's going to turn much colder than it has been this week, with some of us seeing some snow. now, today, what we've got is high pressure firmly in charge of our weather —

wide spacing of the isobars means that it's not going to be as windy as it has been, so it won't feel as cold down the north sea coastline. there is still quite a brisk breeze across the south east and english channel. we are also hanging onto a lot of cloud across eastern scotland and eastern england, producing some patchy light rain. the odd shower getting into northern ireland, and some sunny intervals across parts of scotland, increasing amounts of sunshine across southern and central england and wales through the afternoon. temperatures 7 to 10 degrees. through this evening, more cloud comes in from the north sea and, overnight, that will drift further south and west. we will have clear skies for south—west england, wales and also parts of scotland, and here is where the temperatures will dip away below freezing, so it is here we will see some frost. but, generally speaking, it is going to be a cold night wherever you are. so we start on that note tomorrow, high pressure still firmly in charge. if anything, it's drifted a little bit further westwards. hardly an isobar across the uk, so again looking at very

light winds, if at all. tomorrow too, we are looking at a fair bit of cloud to start the day across england and wales. but, through the day, it does tend to push away towards the south and the west, so it will brighten up later in eastern england, some sunshine in scotland, some sunny intervals that times across northern ireland and, across the far north of scotland and the northern ireland, a weather front is coming in and that will produce some spots of rain. temperatures, 7 to 9 degrees. if we pick up on that weather front as we head into the weekend, here it is slipping southwards. it's bumping into the high pressure, so it's going to be a weak affair, not much more than cloud, possibly the odd spot of rain, but another one coming into the north of scotland will bring in some rain and some snow initially on higher ground. and you can see why — this air that filters steadily southwards coming straight from the arctic. so next week, it is going to feel colder, and there is the chance of snow. still a long way off, there's still a bit of uncertainty as to where we will see the snow, and the timing of it, so do keep tuned to

the weather forecast. one thing we do know is it's going to turn colder with more night frosts. talk to you. thank you very much for talking to us.

this is bbc news. the headlines... newly released whatsapp messages suggest former health secretary, matt hancock, tried to bypass another minister to get schools closed during the coronavirus pandemic. the final report into the manchester arena bombing is published later today. it will focus on whether the attack could have been prevented. a new plan to improve learning for children with special educational needs and disabilities in england is set out by the government. chaos on the m5 — the motorway is closed after a tipper truck hits an overhead gantry. harry and meghan have been told to leave their british home — frogmore cottage in windsor.

hello, and welcome to bbc news. newly released whatsapp messages suggest former health secretary, matt hancock, tried to bypass the education secretary to have schools closed during the coronavirus pandemic. messages published in the daily telegraph show mr hancock describing sir gavin williamson as battling "tooth and nail" to keep schools in england open in december 2020, a move he disagreed with. other messages show disparaging remarks about teachers' unions. our political correspondent david wallace lockhart reports. more leaked messages from ministers during the pandemic, more apparent insight into decision—making. now education is in the spotlight. the daily telegraph suggests that in december 2020, matt hancock wanted schools closed for most pupils. the education secretary, sir gavin williamson, disagreed, and he seemed to be getting his way.

in a message to his adviser, mr hancock suggested he wasn't giving up, saying: in earlyjanuary, borisjohnson announced that schools in england would close as part of a lockdown. in a commentary piece for the daily telegraph, sir gavin williamson has today said this closure wasn't done for the right reasons. he says he now questions if he should have resigned in protest. the telegraph has obtained these messages from the lockdown sceptic journalist isabel oakeshott, who helped mr hancock write his recent book. other leaked messages seemed to show matt hancock and sir and williamson

and sir gavin williamson discussing teachers. in may 2020, sir gavin appeared to stress that they had access to ppe, adding, some willjust want to say they can't so they have an excuse to avoid having to teach. in a message from october 2020, matt hancock congratulates sir gavin on a cracking announcement on exams and adds, "what a bunch of absolute arses the teaching unions are". one head teachers' union labelled this an appalling lack of respect. sir gavin williamson has said his comments were about unions, not teachers, who he has the utmost respect for. a spokesperson for matt hancock said, "these are partial accounts, obviously spun with an agenda. they show matt was focused throughout on saving lives. the right place for a full assessment is the inquiry". that public inquiry will take some time. more of matt hancock's messages may appear soon. david wallace lockhart, bbc news, westminster. the journalist who leaked the messages, isabel oakeshott, has defended her decision to do so. a vocal critic of lockdowns, she told the bbc�*s today programme she believes passing on the messages is in the public interest.

i'm s o rry , i'm s o r y, w e , r e i'm s o r w i w e'r e 9 o in 9 i'm sorry, we're going to stop that and take you to a speech given in the q e by the former prime minister, borisjohnson. just a minister, boris johnson. just a warning, minister, borisjohnson. just a warning, there may be some rather ripe language. some fit young geezer went past me, he looked like one of my advisers. he shot out a cheery london greeting. iam i am normally impervious to the sort of thing, and i thought, you rot. it is a beautiful park, and the sun is normally peaking over the london skyline for much of which i gave planning permission. this one is in the coots are doing their thing, and you have to be so rude. we have to

put another sign up next to the one that says don't feed the ducks are saying, don't shout at the politicians. i relaxed, and i thought, what a wonderful country it is that we live in. how privileged i am to be shouted out on my morning run, because it shows how minimal the distance between the government and the government is. if you doubt what i'm saying, to imagine vladimir putin, with or without his t—shirt, running around red square, being shouted at. would they do that? they would scatter from his shouted at. would they do that? they would scatterfrom his past like pigeons. what we had in that rather one—sided exchange was something of incalculable value to our country and our economy, which is the freedom to say more or less what you like, to more whomsoever you choose.

as i say this, i conscious that people feel they are being muzzled in britain today. people should be vigilant freedom of speech when we are bold arising roald dahl. nobody will stop me singing about the pollen powers our augustus group. # agusta scope, agusta scoop, the great pitch greedy nincompoop. if anybody behave the way james bond behave to miss moneypenny, that would not be correct. we should never confuse weakness with the genuine terror inspired by authoritarian systems, where

journalists are shot for insulting politicians. where they are not healed for exposing corruption, but jailed stop we should remember how lucky we are to live in a country and a culture where speech and thought are so free. it is those freedoms, freedom of speech, freedom of living your life how you choose, no matter —— so long as you do not do harm to others, that have turned this country into such a helpful talent. i used to say that we have more michelin stars in london and paris, and they churned out michelin stars in paris in a north korean way... more noble prizes than russia

and china combined. the world's most astonishingly gifted artists, musicians and actors, at one stage six of the best selling songs were written in this country. we have the worlds best cultural scene, the world's best museums in london. the british museum has more visitors per year than seven whole eu countries. i'm famed for my diplomacy, as you can see. it is that fantastic concentration of riches in one building that holds up a mirror to all of humanity, and tells the story of the evolution of the human spirit. so, if you give back the elgin marbles to greece, then you leave a huge gap in that narrative. above all, you have no answer in the years ahead to the theoretical claims for restitution from egypt and iraq, syria, lebanon, turkey,

everywhere whose treasures are held in buasri. —— bloomsbury. then, you have deprived the world of some of the great tribes of human progress. those gods and heroes came to our country in 1812 as refugees from the ottoman minefield. they were going to be melted down to make cement. —— ottoman mine killed. we can't send them away any more than we should deport the 40% of londoners who were born abroad, including me. people who come here, because they sense the excitement and the freedom, and they know they will not be judged here. they will not feel the lash of prejudice. they know that they will be coming to a safe society where the police will apply the law to everyone, high or low. i used to

make a joke about how they once arrested prince andrew in the shrubbery of buckingham palace, which i thought was pretty funny, until they actually find me for having lunch at my place in the cabinet table in 10 downing street. i still don't understand the rationale behind it. i do understand the key point. the law is enforced here without fear or favour. that is the greatest freedom of all. freedom under the law. they don't have that everywhere, and it is freedom under the law that enables the political and economic freedom on which we rely. i mean capitalism, the freedom to spend our own money, i mean democracy, freedom to vote for whomsoever we choose, and of course freedom to kick that person out at the next election. you can have capitalism without democracy, and there are some countries that do

well on the soft power index to come into that category. you can even have democracy without capitalism, at least i think you can try. i think democratic socialism is the programme for keir starmer�*s labour party. i don't want to offend the human ballard, and wind him up any more than! human ballard, and wind him up any more than i have already. just to point out, purely for accuracy. when i step down, he wrote me a handful of points behind the labour party will stop i am just saying that. if you want to be a soft power superpower like the uk, then you need both. you need capitalism and democracy. democracy matters, because if putin had been living in a free society with a free media, he would never have made the catastrophic mistake of invading

ukraine. he would never have been so deluded about the true nature of that country. imagine if he had the bbc, the wonderful organisation sponsoring us today, on his case. let alone tory backbenchers. instead of listening to a cabal of cronies, he would have known that the ukrainians are a great unpatriotic people, and they would fight for every inch of their land. if you want a perfect example of why democracy and capitalism need to go together, look at the covid vaccines. who in this room has been vaccinated? just about vaccinated ? ... just about everybody. vaccinated? just about everybody. anybody not been vaccinated? there you go. there is a brave soul, orfor vaccinated? there you go. there is a brave soul, or for whatever reason, chose not to be vaccinated. as a matter of interest, who had sputnik? anybody here have sputnik? now? who

had sinovac? who had astrazeneca? i did. who had astrazeneca or pfizer? astrazeneca, invented in oxford, room temperature vaccine licensed around the world. i think it was one of the most beautiful and moving examples of uk so far i can think of in recent years. it is a notable fact that, after all the years in which we were told you could have capitalism without democracy, it was the free, western, open societies that tended to be the winners in the soft power index, that produce the vaccines that actually work. i think everyone should feel free to point this out. i made this point in singapore not long ago. it was felt

to be so controversial the organisers actually had to apologise. the guardian said, and i hope they are here, my speech was shocking. hope they are here, my speech was shockina. , , hope they are here, my speech was shockin.. , , ._ shocking. this is where we say aoodb e shocking. this is where we say goodbye to — shocking. this is where we say goodbye to our _ shocking. this is where we say goodbye to our viewers - shocking. this is where we say goodbye to our viewers on i shocking. this is where we say | goodbye to our viewers on bbc shocking. this is where we say i goodbye to our viewers on bbc two. we are going to leave borisjohnson speaking at the queen elizabeth ii centre in westminster. the former prime minister addressing a summit on global defence issues, and in particular the soft power that the uk has overseas. we are expecting him at some point to talk about rishi sunak�*s brexit deal. we will keep an ear across it, and we will go back there when he starts to talk about that. let's return to the newly released whatsapp messages regarding the too and fro between matt hancock, the former health secretary, and the former education secretary, and the former education secretary gavin williamson on whether school should have been kept

open or close during the pandemic. joining me now is the spectator�*s political editor, katy balls. iam sure i am sure you are following this with great interest. matt hancock has called these leaks a mass of betrayal. isabel oakeshott says it was in the public interest. where do you stand? i was in the public interest. where do ou stand? ., was in the public interest. where do ou stand? ~' .., , ., you stand? i think when it comes to learnin: you stand? i think when it comes to learning the — you stand? i think when it comes to learning the lessons _ you stand? i think when it comes to learning the lessons of _ you stand? i think when it comes to learning the lessons of the - learning the lessons of the pandemic, the government is in this —— the government's mishandling, you are going to want to hit all accounts. obviously there is a public interest in hearing these things. i think there is definitely some frustration about how long the public inquiry is taken, and whether politicians, particularly tory politicians, particularly tory politicians, and wanting it to take place after the election. there is a worry it will be delayed. i think there are some interesting things in it. i understand why matt hancock feels as though the terms to which he agreed to have gone back on. the

fact he picked someone to write this who clearly did not agree with him in any way on the pandemic, and has a reputation when it comes to their previous works in terms of what they focus on, does mean i think there is some sympathy in the tory party and some sympathy in the tory party and some saying, was this really such a good move to go back out the way he did? —— go about the way he did. hagar did? -- go about the way he did. how damauuin did? -- go about the way he did. how damaging are — did? —— go about the way he did. how damaging are these leaks from matt hancock? when you think that gavin williamson was so against schools closing, then they needed close, the thing matt hancock was pushing far? i think the messages have the potential to be damaging for quite a few people. matt hancock appears in most of them because they are his messages and the ones he received brings in of theirs badge brings in others. there is a lot more to come

out, and it suggests a focus on his media profile. if you look at the first batch, the testing target. on schools, you can see the push. and the same time, a lot of things such as the school debates was reported at the time. i think gavin williamson's roll, and ultimately trying to keep schools open, as a bit more light shed on it right now. it was always known that matt hancock was really the chief dove, as it came to be known, during the lockdown debates, and as secretary of state for health he was pushing for more caution at this point. they are bringing it back into the front, and exam details. i think the most damaging thing from matt hancock is not so much where he stood on these issues, which is quite well known, but whether it looks as though this was to do with his own image, which it does in some of these exchanges, rather than always about what he thinks is best in terms of the country, when it comes to avoiding a

political row, etc.— political row, etc. what you think it tells us about _ political row, etc. what you think it tells us about what _ political row, etc. what you think it tells us about what was - political row, etc. what you think it tells us about what was really i it tells us about what was really happening in government, the fact that these policy decisions seem to have been formulated through this sort of mechanism, but also the tensions that were existed between ministers at the time? i tensions that were existed between ministers at the time?— ministers at the time? i think it toes ministers at the time? i think it goes further- — ministers at the time? i think it goes further. we _ ministers at the time? i think it goes further. we knew - ministers at the time? i think it goes further. we knew there i ministers at the time? i think it | goes further. we knew there are other ways —— we knew there were these tensions, and i think it was a bit further. they were fighting one another. of course it was a very stressful time, another. of course it was a very stressfultime, i another. of course it was a very stressful time, i don't think anyone felt prepared for the pandemic in government, you can see that in some of these messages, but i think how quickly it descended into our fear and loathing situation is one of the most striking things about it. again, why were certain decisions being made? were they being made because you don't want to have an unhealthy political row, or were they being made because you thought that was the right thing for the

country? that was the right thing for the count ? . ., that was the right thing for the count ? ., ~ ,., that was the right thing for the count ? ., ~ i., ., that was the right thing for the count ? ., ~ ., , the m5 motorway has closed after a tipper truck collided with an overhead gantry. police were called to the m5 near bristol at around 8:20 this morning after the truck hit the overhead sign. as you can see from these images, the truck appears to be wedged on to the gantry. local police say there were no reported injuries, but emergency services are in attendance. our reporter scott ellis is at the scene. do we know exactly how this happened? we have not had any official confirmation, but i can tell you this is the gantry. you can see the signs hanging off. that has caused the northbound side to be closed, and the other side also closed, and the other side also closed southbound, that is where the tipper truck hit the overhead gantry. we know is travelling from left to right, down the southbound

side, and a large blue bed of that tipper truck lorry has struck the top of the gantry. there is a lorry a bit further down, a few hundred yards further down. that is the cab of the lorry and the bed of the lorry, that is stationary on the road. the assumption was that was attached to the bed of the tipper truck, and they have gone down the motorway. who knows what has happened, maybe it has come up, maybe he joined the happened, maybe it has come up, maybe hejoined the motorway happened, maybe it has come up, maybe he joined the motorway with a tap in the air, we don't know, for some reason the front end of the bed of the tipper truck has hit the overhead gantry at around about 8:20am. that has caused severe damage to the gantry, damage to the signs on both sides. we know there are electrical cables out there that are electrical cables out there that are severed, you can see them hanging down, and as well as that you have a hydraulic fluid on the southbound side of the motorway there. the police were called around about 8:20am, as you say, thankfully no injuries, but it has taken them out, full of hours to remove the bed of that tipper truck, and they are

now working out how to make that gantry say. until they do that, i don't think anyone is going to come up don't think anyone is going to come up and down the motorway, either northbound or southbound. that is the situation at the moment. there are police here, there are engineers, and really that task now is to work out how to make that gantry save. those savings are really looking quite precarious from our vantage point. we have spoken to eyewitnesses who heard an enormous boom, and we are near the docks where the there are occasionally very loud bangs and crashes as metal objects and containers are moved around, but clearly a very loud bang at 20 past eight this morning. we've also heard from people driving down the motorway, we can quite work out what had happened, but they were left looking at this bed of a tipper lorry, stuck on the m5. the advice really is if you are travelling west of bristol, betweenjunction really is if you are travelling west of bristol, between junction 17 and 18, that is the causeway and the

docks, avoid the area, but deeper look on line to plan yourjourney. i think these guys will be here for several hours yet.— think these guys will be here for several hours yet. thank you very much. a postmortem examination is to be carried today out on the body of a baby found by police searching for the missing child of constance marten and mark gordon. the couple disappeared in earlyjanuary and were arrested earlier this week. they are currently being held on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter. it comes after a police search of a 90 square mile area near brighton. vincent mcaviney has more. yesterday at locations from newhaven to brighton, the search for the missing baby was in full swing over a 90 square mile area. officers from the sussex force were joined by those from the metropolitan police and volunteer experts in search and rescue. there was concern for the welfare of the infant, but there was also still hope. but last night that hope was extinguished when a baby's remains were found in this woodland area near to where the couple

were arrested monday night in north brighton. the detective superintendent leading the search, forced to make an announcement he'd been dreading. police officers searching a wooded area close to where constance and mark gordon were arrested, discovered the remains of a baby. a postmortem examination will be held in due course. a crime scene is in place and work at the location is expected to continue for some time. 35—year—old constance marten and 48—year—old mark gordon were captured on cctv after emerging from the woods on monday to visit local shops. they returned along the same residential street 45 minutes later, but they'd been spotted by a member of the public who'd called 999. moments after this cctv footage was recorded, they were arrested. the two of them left their home in london in september when her pregnancy started to show. staying in a series of airbnbs, police believe their baby was then born in their car injanuary. but when the vehicle

caught fire on the m61 near bolton onjanuary the 5th, the police started to investigate. cctv showed them travelling by taxi to liverpool, then harwich, before arriving in east london where they bought a tent and camping supplies at argos. they finally travelled to newhaven. their baby was definitely alive at this stage as the taxi driver who drove them heard it, but at that point they disappeared, only to re—emerge six weeks later in brighton when they were arrested. for weeks, the police and constance's family have appealed to her to contact the authorities and warned of the dangers of freezing temperatures to her newborn. overnight, officers have guarded the crime scene as forensic tests are carried out to confirm the identity and detectives say a postmortem examination will take place in due course. vincent mcaviney, bbc news. our correspondent yetunde yusuf

is in brighton and she told me what effect yesterday's discovery had had on people there. it has had a significant impact. so many people have been involved. local people have been assisting police with their inquiries, you have had volunteer search and rescue teams who have been searching the woodlands, as well as hundreds of police officers from sussex, and also the metropolitan police, who have been scouring that 90 square mile open space area. of course, this is not the outcome that they'd hoped for, but as the days went on and it got colder, they felt that the baby could have come to some harm. this is an ongoing investigation. a postmortem examination is due to take place, and today police officers have been guarding the area, the crime scene, and telling people, warning them not to speculate, because it is an ongoing investigation. they do understand it will have an impact on people who have been following the story very closely. it has had a significant impact on people here in brighton.

people have been laying candles, people have been laying flowers. there is a small memorial here. one of the notes on the flower said, sleep safe little one. there is also plans for a vigil later on this evening. a station master accused of causing a deadly train crash in greece is due in court, as public anger rises about whether the disaster could have been prevented. 42 people were killed when a high speed passenger service crashed into a freight train late on tuesday night near the city of larissa. nick beake sent this update from a hospital in larissa where some of the injured people are being treated. as well as the grief here in this country after this disaster, there is rising anger too because it seems for years there were warnings that there would be a big disaster on the railway network at some stage. there were concerns over safety, but it seems

they weren't acted upon. in this particular city, later today, a 59—year—old station master who was responsible for the signals, or certainly was supposed to be responsible for the operation of the signals, he is appearing in court because yesterday he was charged with manslaughter by negligence. lots of people will think you can't blame one person for what's happened here, and when they listen to the prime minister saying this was a case of human error, tragic human error to use his phrase, that simply doesn't do it for them. they are worried about systemic failings and they are wondering whether any sort of investigation will really get to the bottom of this and whether it will do justice for those who have died. this is one of the hospitals where survivors and the injured have been treated. it's also where some family members have been coming to give their dna in the hope that maybe any sort of samples that are recovered from the scene today will be matched to their loved ones who are still missing. we know already that many young people died on this train service. they had been away for a greek holiday, seeing their loved ones, they were returning to their studies, but tragically, they did not make it back.

now it's time for a look at the weather with carol. hello again. there is less of a breeze around today, so it's not going to feel quite as cold as it did yesterday. having said that, still quite breezy in the south—east and through the english channel. but, across southern areas, the cloud continuing to break up and we will see some sunshine before more cloud rolls in from the east later. one or two showers getting into northern ireland, thicker cloud across north—east of england and eastern scotland also producing some showers. towards the north and west, we will see some sunshine. through this evening and overnight, all this cloud starts to romp southwards and towards the west of the country. clear skies across scotland, west wales and also the south—west of england means, for you, there will be a touch of frost, but it will be a cold night with locally some mist and fog patches. tomorrow, this cloud continues to move towards the south and the west, brighter skies following behind across eastern england. also a lot of sunshine

across northern scotland. a bit more cloud across northern ireland, though, with a weak weather front producing some patchy rain in the northern isles.

hello, this is bbc news. the headlines: newly released whatsapp messages suggest former health secretary, matt hancock, tried to bypass another minister to get schools closed during the coronavirus pandemic. the final report into the manchester arena bombing will be published later today. it will focus on the radicalisation of the bomber salman abedi, and whether the attack could have been prevented. a new plan to improve learning for children with special educational needs and disabilities in england is set out by the government. chaos on the m5 — the motorway is closed after a tipper truck hits an overhead gantry. harry and meghan have been told to leave their british home, frogmore cottage in windsor.

the duke and duchess of sussex have been asked to vacate their british home, frogmore cottage in windsor. the couple's spokesperson confirmed the request, but buckingham palace hasn't commented. they were reportedly told to leave the property injanuary, days after harry published his memoir. our royal correspondent, sarah campbell, reports. since leaving the uk for a new life in the states, prince harry and his wife, meghan, have returned just a handful of times. and when they have done so, such as lastjune for thejubilee, they have stayed in frogmore cottage, the house gifted to them by the late queen. the five—bedroom property is situated within the grounds of windsor castle. the duke and duchess spent more than £2 million on rent and refurbishments according to royal accounts. but their spokesperson has confirmed the sussexes have now been asked to vacate the property. once again, it has put royal relations back on the front pages,

with the king reported to have sanctioned the move and prince andrew allegedly being lined up to move in once the sussexes are out. buckingham palace has offered no comment on what are considered private family matters. this all comes in the wake of prince harry's memoir, spare, the publicity campaign that accompanied it and the six—part television series putting the couple's grievances with the royal family in front of a global audience. in just two months' time, harry's father king charles will be crowned. it is still unclear whether harry, his youngest son, and meghan, will be there to witness it. sarah campbell, bbc news. let's speak to anna whitelock, who's professor of the history of monarchy at city, university of london and director of the centre for the study of modern monarchy. get deceive. thank you forjoining us. how important did frogmore cottage become for them? it

us. how important did frogmore cottage become for them? it was a uift cottage become for them? it was a aift from cottage become for them? it was a gift from the _ cottage become for them? it was a gift from the queen _ cottage become for them? it was a gift from the queen and _ cottage become for them? it was a gift from the queen and it - cottage become for them? it was a gift from the queen and it was i cottage become for them? it was a | gift from the queen and it was their place in england. much was spent, infamously, on those renovations. the couple had just paid back the cost of them. this is being seen as personal and as a response from the king to harry's memoir. but it can also be seen as pragmatic. the cottage is not being used, harry and meghan are making a new life in california. it is effectively standing empty. i think we have to see this alongside plans to downsize the duke of york, prince andrew, from the royal lodge in windsor and potentially for him to take up residence in frogmore cottage. this is pragmatic and it is part of a plan that will roll out over the next few weeks and months, which is about the king's signalling of a

more streamlined, sustainable monarchy, trying to not have empty properties that can be seen as wasteful. of course, many will say there are so many palaces, of course it is wasteful. this is seen in the best part of a broader agenda. two months from the coronation, there is no doubt that this will be seen as a signal that really any kind of reconciliation talks are not proceeding favourably, and the prospect of harry and meghan attending the coronation is now a fading prospect. brute attending the coronation is now a fading prospect-— fading prospect. we will never -robabl fading prospect. we will never probably know _ fading prospect. we will never probably know the _ fading prospect. we will never probably know the truth i fading prospect. we will never probably know the truth of i fading prospect. we will never probably know the truth of it, | fading prospect. we will never. probably know the truth of it, will we? buckingham palace certainly isn't commenting. but it will be a very obvious absence if he is not there. it very obvious absence if he is not there. , ., .., , , there. it will be, of course. this is his father. _ there. it will be, of course. this is his father. the _ there. it will be, of course. this is his father. the media - there. it will be, of course. this is his father. the media and i there. it will be, of course. this is his father. the media and the public will be observing whether harry and meghan will be there. i

don't think they would necessarily have appeared on the balcony. the queen on her last balcony appearance signal the future of the monarchy and deliberately, we remember the final scene of thejubilee final scene of the jubilee celebrations where she final scene of thejubilee celebrations where she emerged and then on the balcony was charles, the then on the balcony was charles, the then prince of wales with camilla, and then the duke and duchess of cambridge with their children. that is the monarchy, the future, the line of succession. i don't think harry and meghan would have been on the balcony, but not being there will be seen as significant because, of course, harry is the king's son. i think personally the king would have liked him to be there. i think william might have a very different view, he particular has felt very hurt and angry by harry's actions and revelations. ithink hurt and angry by harry's actions and revelations. i think he will probably see harry's presence there as a distraction. flit probably see harry's presence there as a distraction.— as a distraction. of course, you see those photographs, _

as a distraction. of course, you see those photographs, it's— as a distraction. of course, you see those photographs, it's clear i as a distraction. of course, you see those photographs, it's clear who i as a distraction. of course, you see j those photographs, it's clear who is missing, but if this is the direction that king charles want to go in with the royal family, somebody somewhere will get potentially upset.— somebody somewhere will get potentially upset. indeed, but also --eole potentially upset. indeed, but also people would _ potentially upset. indeed, but also people would say. _ potentially upset. indeed, but also people would say, harry _ potentially upset. indeed, but also people would say, harry and i potentially upset. indeed, but also | people would say, harry and megan can't have it both ways. they have signalled the fact that they wanted to step back from royal duties, they have also now said very publicly that their home is in the united states, they have set up home in california, they don't feel welcome or at home in united kingdom, don't want to be part of the working royal family or the broader family's emotional ties that they have seem to have strained. why should the king then have a cottage standing empty for them when they have expressed no desire to live in it and be there? there is a method and pragmatism at play here, and i think

yes, supporters of harry and meghan will say it is provocative, the final punishment for harry's book, but it can also be seen to be simply a pragmatic response to harry and meghan wanting to move on and settle in california. ~ ., ., in california. what more re expecting _ in california. what more re expecting down _ in california. what more re expecting down the - in california. what more re expecting down the track i in california. what more re expecting down the track in in california. what more re i expecting down the track in terms in california. what more re - expecting down the track in terms of tv programmes or books from the sussexes. there is another book in the deal for harry, sussexes. there is another book in the dealfor harry, and sussexes. there is another book in the deal for harry, and they have to bring in money and find an income. at the moment, they haven't really found a purpose beyond, really, selling and commercialising their ties with the royal family. yes, harry has done great stuff with the injectors games, but really they need to make money and their best sort of revenue is the books, and

that does not mean good things for the family relations. good to have you on the programme. thank you very much. the third and final report into the manchester arena bombing will be published this afternoon. it will focus on the role of the security services, the radicalisation of the bomber salman abedi, and whether the attack could have been prevented. 22 people were killed in the blast at an ariana grande concert in 2017. our correspondent, danny savage, is in manchester. what are we expecting this report to focus on, further from what we have just explained? we are six years on from the arena bombing and we have now the final part, the finalfindings bombing and we have now the final part, the final findings of the inquiry. we have been standing here twice before over the last couple of years, first to talk about the planning, policing and preparation of the attack by the bomber and what

went wrong. we had a second one last november where we were talking about the response of the emergency services, we had a former high court judge who has been listening to the inquiry was up over 196 days of hearings, many witnesses. the key witness about what we're talking about this afternoon were heard in secret, because what today focuses on is what security services new about the man who carried out the bombing, salman abedi. could it have been prevented is what the families want to know. they were not allowed to sit through the evidence when m15 and other security services gave evidence, that was a secret hearing which only sirjohn saunders and his legal counsel were party to. he will, ithink, give legal counsel were party to. he will, i think, give a clearfinding

as he possibly can, without obviously breaching any secrecy. but i think he will go as far as you can when he delivers his final findings was to what will happen is that ad 2pm, sirjohn saunders, the chair of the inquiry, will give a live summary of what his findings are in relation to this final stage of the inquiry. that is what we will find —— that is when we will find out exact how much will be answered. thank you. borisjohnson has raised concerns about the northern ireland agreement, saying it is not about the united kingdom taking back control. when i look at the deal we have now, i have mixed feelings. i'm conscious of where the political momentum is and people's deep desire to just get on and this has to be about the

people of northern ireland. their businesses and their lives. given that we have got rid of the bill, i can see why so many people are attracted to accepting a compromise. i agree passionately with sir jeffrey donaldson, for whom i have the highest regard, that the people of northern ireland need their assembly and they need their government. it is not for me to advise sir geoffrey, but i hope he can find a way of reconciling himself and his party to this outcome, which is the fact that we have come and get them back into stormont. but, and i won't be thanked for saying this, but i think it is myjob to do so, we must be clear about what is going on here. this is not about the uk taking back control. although there are easements, this is a version of the

solution that was being offered last year to liz truss when she was foreign secretary, this is the eu graciously unbending to allow us to do what we want in our own country. not by our laws, but by theirs. the former prime minister, not entirely enamoured with the northern ireland brexit deal. the government has published a long—awaited plan to improve learning for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities in england. proposals include ending "postcode—lottery" support, and earlier intervention in mainstream schools. the bbc�*s education correspondent, elaine dunkley, has more. across the country, there are mainstream schools struggling to support children with special educational needs and disabilities. what's the difference? recruiting for specialist support assistants is incredibly difficult and incredibly challenging. schools are struggling

for resources. local authorities are certainly struggling for resources. the capacity in the system just isn't there. this is leighton primary in blackpool. here there are more than 90 pupils with special educational needs. needs are becoming more complex as time goes on and therefore the provision that we need to provide children over time needs to become more skilled and better. this head is transforming an area within the school where children with special educational needs can be assessed and given individual support. we've ordered the right size tables and chairs, lots of sensory equipment. all the local specialist school provision is under huge amounts of pressure to accept increasing numbers of children. what we are planning to do is create a provision whereby we can support them in their learning in a separate environment, but keep them integrated and integrate them over time back into classroom so that we continue to provide an inclusive environment for children.

and then you're on another journey, then, aren't you? for these parents, long waiting lists to get children diagnosed with special educational needs and finding the right support has pushed them to crisis. i don't know where my children will be in years to come. i don't know what will be out there for them. we can fight as much as we can fight. but if there's nothing there to help, what are we fighting for? i don't know. as a parent of send, i'm exhausted. i've fought for ehcp plans for her three times. not got one. i go to different services. i see different professionals. and every single time i have - to explain and explain and explain. see if you can get it on from the same place. 14—year—old maisie is autistic, has adhd and a struggle to cope in mainstream schools. she's been excluded numerous times and now attends school part time. i've never liked school.

ijust didn't fit in. i was out of school for a month. so then when i've gone into a school, it's a bit like so many people just everywhere, like crowding me. on the first day i went there, it was a lot. so instead of going to class, i'll be doing one to one science, maths, art. one foot in the stirrup. beautifully done. when maisie's not at school, she comes here to heroes, an educational therapy centre in oxfordshire. it's helped hundreds of children with special educational needs who are struggling in school. i think i've learnt a lot more being here. school pay for me to come here, so they are helping. but i think coming here, we do work, so it's not like we're just like taking the mick out of it and, you know, missing school and just riding because we're still doing work. and how are you getting on today here? children with special educational needs are seven times more likely to be excluded from school. veena verahsammy knows all too well

what families go through. her son was excluded from school for a year. she set up an alternative provision. it stops children who are excluded from feeling isolated and permanently dropping out of education. i think especially with the children who have got send needs, a lot of these children aren't getting a diagnosis or some of them are getting misdiagnosed. these kids feel completely isolated. they feel abandoned. one of the biggest issues is funding. so even if a school has identified and they really want to support these children, a lot of them don't have the funds to send them to alternative provision. from mainstream to specialist schools, there are calls for urgent funding and intervention to help support an increasing number of pupils. the government is promising more investment in specialist staff and admits that for too many the system is broken. almost ended up in the worst of all worlds with a lot more money being spent, but the provision not being right. so a big part of the investment is building the capacity,

i mean, £2.6 billion into building more places. can you guarantee that the children who need education, health and care plans are going to get them and they're going to get the right support with these new measures? people feel they need that to get any support. and that's wrong, actually. you should be able if your child needs extra support at school, they're in a mainstream school, they need extra support with their writing or reading, whatever it is they need, or language, they need extra support, that support should be available. you shouldn't need to get an ehcp plan to make sure that that support available. so that's one of the things we're also doing with mainstream schools. for too many and for too long it's been a fight to get the right support. a broken system that needs fixing. making the right changes are crucial in transforming the lives of thousands of children and young people. elaine dunkley, bbc news. high street retailer wh smith says it has been the target

of a cyber security incident. it said the attack had led to illegal access to some of its data, including that concerning current and former employees. wh smith said it had launched an investigation and told the relevant authorities of the incident. the firm said its website, customer accounts and customer databases are not affected. the country's biggest short story competition, 500 words, is back. launched in 2011 on radio 2, it's now returning for the first time in three years with a new home on bbc breakfast. children aged between 5 and 11 will be able to take part when the competition returns this september, and once again it will be supported by camilla, the queen consort. jon kay has more. on my first day at school, do you know what i did? i kicked a nun. 0k. so what i want to think about... as stories go, it's quite an opening. but that's hardly surprising. you made a mate — that's a really happy thing! because today's supply teacher is top children's author and 500 words judge,

frank cottrell—boyce. everyone's got a story, everyone can tell a story. we just talked today about important days in your life and every single one of them had a different story. he tells the kids to let their imaginations run wild for 500 words. i'm thinking of making like a story about an astronaut who like, really likes spaceships, because when he was younger, he got to ride one for the first time. we are live at hampton court for the 500 words final! with a brilliant cover of crazy in love... it was the brainchild of chris evans, and more than a million stories were submitted in the first decade of the competition. as duchess of cornwall, camilla was an honoraryjudge on 500 words, and now, as queen consort, she's supporting the competition again as it returns to the bbc. the joy is that it's about to be relaunched and you have this

wonderful moment when you took them, you know, to the venue, the sort of surprise venue for the finals, the pride in those children's faces and the families and schools. the gold—winning story, snow blood window frame by eve molloy. - i couldn't believe it. i thought they were joking. and i was like, oh, my god, me? four years on, eve tells me she's still in shock. her fairy tale won hundreds of books for herself and for her school. but there was an even greater prize. my confidence, itjust went through the roof. being in 500 words was the best thing that i've ever done. before any stories are written, 4,000 volunteerjudges have to be recruited. teachers, teaching assistants and librarians, like sarah, who did it last time, and who's signing up again.

it's an amazing opportunity to really get insight into the minds of children, to have some really brilliant reading to do and and to feel that they're playing a part in something that's a really powerful project that really makes a difference to children's lives. this time, the competition isjust for primary school children, and stories don't have to be submitted until the autumn, with the winners announced on world book day next march. words can be magic. if you choose the right word, you can make people laugh, you can make people cry, you can start a fight, you can finish a fight. you can make people think if you just choose the right word. thank you so much. jon kay, bbc news. eurovision tickets will go on sale next week, for six preview shows and three televisied shows at the liverpool acc. ticket prices start at £30 and will cost up to £380

for the grand final on 13th may. the show�*s being hosted in liveprool after the uk was chosen to host the competition on behalf of 2022 winner ukraine. fans will need to register for a ticketmaster account ahead of the sale going live from noon on tuesday. a man who didn't learn to read and write until he was 18 is set to become a professor at one of the uk's top universities. jason arday was diagnosed with autism when he was a toddler, and was unable to speak until he was 11. but now the 37—year—old is about to take up a research position at the university of cambridge. celestina olulode went to meet him. i always felt it was a privilege to have a period of 11 years where maybe i couldn't speak and i couldn't converse while everyone else could, because it allowed me to see things in a different way. professorjason arday was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder at the age of three. he couldn't speak until he was 11

and read or write until he was 18. throughout his early years, his parents continued to believe in him. at 18, my mum had got to a point where there was only so much she could do, and she was brilliant. even though she had this belief that "he will do ok", but she decided, "i need someone else to believe in him as much as i believe in him". therapists predicted he would need full—time assistance throughout his life. how wrong they were. you ok? it was this man, college tutor sandro sandri, who helped teach jason to read and write at 18. i'm just so happy for him, you know? i'm speechless, to be honest. but i never doubted for a moment that he would achieve what he has. sandro would spend hours of his free time teaching jason. there was one thing you said to me which i neverforgot, and it was when i was 22 and i said to you i was thinking about doing a phd. and you said to me that it would be

the greatest story in the world if the kid who didn't know how to read or write managed to get a phd. you said, like, "i think you can take on the world and you can win". and i neverforgot that. and now jason is days away from achieving another ambition. nice to see you. good to see you. here's his new boss at cambridge. we do have a lot of work to do, but i feel really optimistic. part of his research will look at new ways to make higher education more accessible for everyone. what can we do to ensure that this isn't a one—off appointment in five years' time? how can this become the norm? we've listened to the voices of our black scholars and our black students, and some of it has not been easy to hear, to be honest, but we're able to face up to some of the structural issues that people face. there will be those who think this is a tokenistic appointment. what are your thoughts on this?

the board of electors, on your interview day, were absolutely unanimous. we are so lucky to have you. you are the best in the world in terms of the research that you do. an extraordinaryjourney, but forjason, this is not an end, it's a beginning. the reaction has been amazing and i'm truly grateful to everyone for their kind sentiment and kind words. we've got a lot of work to do. celestina olulode, bbc news. the singer—songwriter joni mitchell, perhaps best known for her songs big yellow taxi and both sides now — has been honoured for her career at a ceremony in washington. she was given the us library of congress gershwin prize, which recognises contributions to music. joni, who's 79, performed at the event, telling the audience that she was overwhelmed to see so many old friends. other musicians also sang her songs, which she began writing in the 1960s in los angeles, becoming a leading light of the folk—rock era.

now it's time for a look at the weather with carol. moving into march means that technically we have left the winter behind us. but it may not feel that way as we head into next week, with some colder weather on the way, in fact cold enough for snow. right now, it is not particular cold out there. it is fairly cloudy in many spots, this is the earlier satellite picture. we have seen some sunshine across southern areas and we will see more of that in some areas as we head through the rest of the day. further north, more cloud and for northern england, northern ireland and scotland, that will produce some showers at times. averages of six to 10 degrees, where they have been throughout this week. tonight, more cloud rolling in across england and wales, northern ireland quite cloudy as well. where there are any clear

skies overhead, a touch of frost to take us into tomorrow morning. tomorrow, more cloud in the south, england, wales and northern ireland seeing a fairamount england, wales and northern ireland seeing a fair amount of cloud and may be the spot of rain. across the north of scotland, that is where we will see the best of the sunshine, although the northern isles will see some showers. it will be quite breezy with temperatures between seven and nine celsius. a band of cloud comes in with some patchy rain, moving into eastern parts of the uk. even further west, increasing amounts of cloud. temperatures again around seven to nine celsius. it will feel colder as we head into sunday and if you look at the charts, the showers will be quite well scattered across the country, but will start to turn wintry in places, especially over high ground at this stage. more persistent rain into northern scotland. those temperatures

starting to drop back a little. as we head into next week, we see this surge of cold air from the north was up surge of cold air from the north was up at times it will be quite windy. that will only accentuate the chilly feel. it will be cold enough for snow to fall, but the exact detail about exactly where that snow might fall is still somewhat uncertain. we will keep you posted.